Vintage Vixen Swatches - "Cat's Meow"

Happy Hump-Day all! Are we ready to finish out the China Glaze - Vintage Vixen swatches? I knew you'd be excited!>>>

Classic Camel - Maybe the most interesting color in this collection. I love weird shades like this. This is a yellow-tan with gold shimmer. It's sort of like Dijon mustard but shimmery!

First Class Ticket - I love this and it was my first official manicure with this collection. This is a plummy purple that has a lot of blue shimmer than makes it look very "blurple" and even very blue in the bottle. I love this one.

Emerald Fitzgerald - I may like this more for the name than the actual shade, but I do still really like this emerald green. It is pretty blue sided. It reminds me of Nubar - Earth but deeper.

Midnight Mission - Oooh. This denim blue polish with tons of silver shimmer immediately made me think of a starry night sky and a particular highly coveted nail polish of a similar name: Starry Starry Night. This would be a very distant relative to SSN as that one is glitter and this is shimmer, but still...

Riveter Rouge - This is a ruby red with gold shimmer and micro glitter pieces. I don't usually care much for reds but this one is interesting and I like it! Do you think Rosie would be proud? :cP And how about that close-up bottle shot?!

Goin' My Way? - Ooh oooh! I did not think this would be so pretty! This one was a big surprise. This is a brown shimmer but this shimmer is incredible. It is multi colored and and shines like mad. I can see glints of green, gold, red... it's just gorgeous.

This set has very pigmented shades and I was able to do 2 coats for all of them. I am really digging all these shades and can't wait for the cooler weather so I can wear them. The finishes of all these are very interesting and shimmery and sparkly. I think the word "frost" should be used a bit more lightly for this collection. When we got the first pictures and shade descriptions the "frost" was thrown around a lot and it put me off big time and I am sure plenty others. These are more like shimmers than frosts and even if a couple of them seem a bit frosty, like Goin' My Way? and Bogie, they are flattering.

Now that we have seen them all, what do you think?
-Elaine
:c)


Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Holy Layering!

Happy Monday! How's the start to your week? Mine isn't the best, I have to admit, but I am smiling thanks to the mani I have on!

I have a wild and awesome mani for you today. I did it over the weekend and am stunned at it's depth. It has it all: it's blurple, it's flakie and it's shining every color possible at me. Why do I need to wear anything but this? :cP

I started with a coat of Essie - Mesmerize. Then I added Nfu-Oh - #51. The sheer purple of #51 over the bold blue of Mesmerize created an electric blurple that is just perfect for this insane mani.

Then I threw on a great flakie I received from a sweet lady in Holland called "Rainbow" and it is from a line called "GOSH". I know GOSH is well known to my international readers but us fanatics in the US don't have access to it. The flakies in it are just like Nfu-Oh - #51 but the base is clear, making their "flakie-ness" shine a bit more than #51's.

Then the kicker. I added Nfu-Oh - #40 on top which I showed you over black here. #40 is one of my favorite polishes ever. Alone it isn't that exciting, but layered... oh. How it kills layered. #40 is what really makes this creation because although the flakes in #51 and Rainbow are well, rainbow, you get the different colors when you move your nails and look at them from different angles. So straight on they show mostly red and orange, but straight on #40 looks blue, green and aquamarine, so you all colors at once without twisting your hands around. It's rather intense!

Let's give a round of applause to the crew that made this possible! Woo! Mesmerize, #51, Rainbow, #40.

Also if you didn't know, fabuloustreet.com (where I get my Nfu-Oh polishes from) is having a sale this month:
All Polishes are priced at discounted prices. We are clearing our inventory on the Discontinued Paint Series (No. 133-282) They are marked 30% off. All other polishes are marked on 10-20% off. OFFER Valid from 04/01/2010 until 04/30/2010

Something to consider if you are in the market for some Nfu-Oh polishes!

What do you think? Do you rock layered looks?
:c)

Drugstore Awesomeness: Rimmel

I picked up a couple new Rimmel London 60 Second polishes at Ulta last week (also available in most drugstores if you don't have an Ulta nearby) and I am amazed at how beautiful they are. I have swatches of Camouflage, Green With Envy and Night Before. All swatches are 2 coats.

Camouflage - This is one I have actually had for a really long time and I just wore it over the weekend. Wow. It is so beautiful! I can't believe it took me so long to wear it. It is a emerald green with gold shimmer and it glows so much it almost looks like a foil-ish metallic. I love this. I am buying a back up.

Green With Envy - I died when I saw the name of this in the store. I had to have it. It is blue!! Not green! But this turquoise shimmer does have a pretty strong green tinge to it. (It's not terribly apparent in my swatch) This is another glowing, unbelievably beautiful, foil-ish shimmer. Wow.

Night Before - This is a blurple base with a strong, bright purple flashy shimmer. My camera is totally screwing us. It would not pick up the shimmer. You have to just trust me on this one. It is really bold and beautiful and the shimmer also has a slight gold duochrome. HOTT!

The formula on these is great. The bottle says one coat and done, but I disagree. I say 2 coats, but there is nothing wrong with that. The brush is nice and easy to control. Does it dry in 60 seconds? I don't know because I throw top coat on it anyway, but I don't think it matters. I didn't buy it for dry speed. I bought for color! I need to pay more attention to Rimmel when I am shopping. These are unbelievable!

Diamond Cosmetics Swatches

Hello! I finally got myself some Diamond Cosmetics nail polishes! They are all awesome. I love them all. I swatched them all and will show some today and some more tomorrow. All swatches are 2 coats.

Swatches!! ---->

Seafoam Spray - This is more of a pale mint, I think, than a seafoam green. And it has a golden shimmer. Very pretty! I think maybe, possibly, I did 3 coats on this but now I can't remember!

Chainmail Charm - This is a brown-black holo. It is more brown than another popular black holo realeased this year; Color Club - Revvvolution. But Chainmail Charm is more holo. I like Revvvolution, but I have always felt like I really had to dig for the holo. It only shows up in strong sunlight or flourescent lighting. But Chainmail Charm shines even in low light. Comparison:

Revvvolution on the left and Chainmail Charm on the right.

Never So Evergreen - Cloudy fir tree green with a golden shimmer. I love this. Of course! I don't have another green like it.

Not Your "Hum Drum" Plum - Okay. Whoa. This is one of the best colors I have ever seen! It is a bold blurple cream and I swear it glows! It is so vibrant. It is more purple than in the pictures. My camera makes purples lean blue sometimes. When I look at this I hear a scream of joy in my head yelling, "BLURPLE JAM!" I love this. Must have for any purple/blurple lover.

Don't Teal My Heart Away - Teal cream. Perfect. I adore this.

Diamond Cosmetics polishes can be purchased HERE and retail for $2!!!