DUPE ALERT!! Happy Birthday vs Gems

I have been on a serious glitter kick lately! I think the OPI Burlesque Collection got me started!

After I found the dollar store BSN glitter that reminded me of Deborah Lippmann's "Happy Birthday" I decided to go out and seek the real deal. I was considering spending $18 for the full bottle, but then I saw a cute little set of 3 mini DL polishes that came complete with a mini plastic carry case for $25. The colors were: "Happy Birthday", "Wicked Game", and "Dark Side of the Moon". While I am happy I finally got my hands on some DL polishes, I am SOOOO happy I didn't buy the full size of "Happy Birthday"!

I was at CVS yesterday and I saw a new display from Milani called Rockstar Heavy Glitter. The first one that caught my eye was "Gems". It was $4.99 and I knew I had to get it (along with the other glitters in the line)! These new Milani polishes are advertised as being a one coat glitter. Sounds good to me!

Here is a quick comparison between the two:

"Gems" is more dense with glitter than "Happy Birthday". The different sizes and colors of glitter are exactly the same except "Happy Birthday" has pink hexagonal glitter, while "Gems" does not. This is barely noticeable and only a true nail fanatic would notice such a difference.

Overall I think Milani did a great job with this color. I am surprised, but I think I like the Milani version better!

EDIT: If we are not basing it on price, I think I like Deborah Lippmann version better. Since it less dense than "Gems", "Happy Birthday" is better for layering over another polish. Although it isn't too apparent in my swatches, "Happy Birthday" has more of a rainbow confetti feel than "Gems". "Gems" has more of a Christmas feel, which I don't really care for. (Yes, I am a slight Grinch.)

BSN "Remix"

I found this gem at my local dollar store. The brand is BSN (Beauty Sense of NY) and the color name is "Remix". The first thing I thought of when I was applying it was that it reminds me of Deborah Lippmann "Happy Birthday". I don't own "Happy Birthday", but the most obvious difference I can see from checking out swatches online is that "Remix" doesn't have any green in it. Only pink, red, blue, and the tiny gold glitter.

This is 2 thick coats. the first coat dried quickly but the second coat took awhile. It had a funny chemical smell, but it has since disappeared.

The bottom label had something I have never seen before on a nail polish. An expiration date! Apparently this is good until January 2014!

10/17

There are no pictures in this post (obviously!), but I felt like blogging anyway. For some reason it takes FOREVER to upload a picture to Blogger. Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions as how to fix it? It is very discouraging because I would like to blog more, but it just takes too long and sometimes it doesn't even finish uploading. Hmm.

Anyways...

I saw an Orly Cosmic FX display at CVS today! I couldn't believe it. The polishes were only $6.99 as opposed to the $10.00 price tag at Ulta. I grabbed Galaxy Girl, and now my collection is complete! Now I won't have to open my bottle of MAC Formidable from the Disney Villains collection. Should I return it or Ebay it? I see them going for over $30 there! That is crazy! By the way, I can't wait until I try on MAC Bad Fairy!

At Sally Beauty Supply I saw 3 bottles of Orly It's Not Rocket Science in the clearance bin. I'm surprised it would be there already, but I guess it was the least appealing to the masses. I like the color and think it would look good as design over OPI Yodel Me On My Cell, which I am wearing today.

"Mermaid" French

My nail polish collection is multiplying like rabbits, and while that is a good thing because I have so many options, it also overwhelms me. I'm never sure what color or design I want to do. I asked my boyfriend what color he thought I should do. He suggested a sea foam green or a simple french manicure. As soon as he mentioned the sea foam green, "Mint Candy Apple" from Essie popped into my head. It is slightly more blue than sea foam, but I remembered how creamy it went on and realized it would be perfect for the tip on a french. I used "Your Blue-tiful" from Piggy Polish as the base and as the final layer after doing the tips. The base coat is Nailtiques top coat is Seche Vite. I also used those little french nail tip sticker guides since my free hand french isn't perfect yet. They left some sticker residue which bothered me but after I applied the final coats of "Your Blue-tiful" and Seche Vite it wasn't so noticeable.

Fuzzy Nails (or how I spent my Friday night)

I'm finally posting again! I have been on hiatus, and I'm happy to be back.

I have been sick this week with some kind of "respiratory ailment". I say that because I am not sure what to call it. It started as a cold and quickly progressed to a high fever, ear pressure, sore throat, and sinus/chest congestion. Yum. Hopefully I will be back to 100% soon.

One of my few outings I have made these past few days has been to the craft store Michaels. I was looking for some fine grain glitter for frankening, and in my feverish state I grabbed the wrong package. When I got home I looked at the package and realized it wasn't glitter at all, but something called "crushed velvet flock". Basically I had bought brightly colored fuzzy velvet lint.

I was planning on returning it but then I got an idea. What if I used it like I would use glitter on my nails? Felt nail designs?

This is the result. This is not my best design because I was working quickly. It was supposed to be a test run and I wasn't intending to post this, but I thought the result was unique and I wanted to share!

I was already wearing Milani's "Dress Maker" (which is a Chanel "Jade" dupe). I used Sally Hansen Complete Manicure "Pink Slip" (a light sheer pinkish white) to paint the designs and then I sprinkled the fuzzy stuff on it and pressed lightly and repeated as necessary.

I tested the durability by washing my hands a few times. It looses some of it's softness, but the effect still looks the same. The only one that was effected was the polka dot index finger nail. Most of the fuzz washed off the dots.

I'm not planning on keeping this on, but I do like the felt-like effect. My favorite nail is the thumb. I would definitely do a nice fuzzy heart on one of my nails again!

What do you think? Would you wear something like this as a manicure? Has anyone seen or done nails like this? I personally haven't seen something like this done, but I can imagine it already has been!

BTouch

I apologize for my lack of posts. I've just been busy and haven't had much time to swatch, photograph, and upload.

Two days ago I noticed my nails were looking a little bit ragged. I haven't been using my beloved Nailtiques lately, which is bad especially since I have been growing them out for the first time in years. They are long and strong, but some of the tips are peeling. The nails on my left hand have a yellowish cast to them since I always swatch on my left hand.

I decided I needed a professional manicure. It was a Saturday evening, and I wasn't home and by the time I would have gone to to my regular nail salon it would have been closed. I found a place near where I was and they did a "cheap" mani-pedi. Only $18. I usually expect to pay $20-$27, depending on the place, and the day of the week. $18 on a Saturday seemed like a good deal.

I walked in and immediately I was turned off. It reeked like acetone. The whole salon looked very unprofessional. And the ultimate turn off... they had a very small selection of nail polish! A few standard selection of Essie colors and a jumble of colors from different brands. I saw a light blue color from a brand called Btouch that looked ok. Since the salon didn't LOOK unsanitary, I just figured I should give it a try and hope for the best.

Overall I think my nails came out nice. There were no frills in this mani/pedi, but the end result was fine. The color looked better on my nails than in the bottle.

I wish I had my camera when I was in the salon so I could have taken a picture of the polish bottle. Has anyone else heard of Btouch brand? The color I used was called "174-Ocean Blue". It reminds me more of a pool blue. I love this color and will try to extend the life of this mani/pedi as much as possible! Lets see how long it can last!

ORLY Plastix- "Purple Pleather" Review

FYI: ** I bought this polish with my own money. My opinion is honest. None of the companies mentioned in this post will provide compensation for me for doing this review. **

I was roaming around Ulta looking for Essie's "Lapiz of Luxury" (which was sold out) when I stumbled across a display for a new line from Orly.

Only recently have I gotten into matte finishes for nails. A few years ago I tried a matte color and it was horrible! Not only did it look bad on my nails, it wore off fast. After that I didn't pay much attention to matte colors until I started reading nail blogs. Since they weren't looking as bad as my personal matte experience, I decided to try one. And I ended up really liking it! (I can't remember the name or brand, I'll probably do a post about mattes in the future where I will mention it again.)

I bought the "Purple Pleather". When I got home I looked it up and found this description:

"ORLY, the company that continually pioneers the Nail Lacquer arena with the most cutting edge colors, technology and textures, introduces the Plastix Collection. Complementing the Fall 2010 runway looks that featured bright neon colors amid shiny black plastic, latex, and rubber reinventions of vintage must-haves,Plastix evokes the vintage classic trend with four new lacquers and a unique new formula that coats the nails with a smooth glossy matte “plastic” finish. The exclusive finish and texture is a first in the nail category, delivering a monochromatic, shiny and rubbery look that takes experimentation to an entirely new level, with the focus being on both the distinctive nail surface, as well as the latest in color trends. The unique look can not be achieved with color alone as the finish is a must for recreating the true “plastic” statement."

Plastic finish??? Cool!! And it is from the Fall 2010 collection and isn't going to be released until July 2010. I got lucky!! I wish I would have had the chance to swatch it right away, but I had camera issues. So here it is (2 coats, no base or top coat):

Indoor lighting

Outdoor lighting/partial sunlight

To compare the much buzzed about plastic finish, I put Essie's Matte about you top coat on my index finger, and Sally Hansen Double Duty Base and Top Coat on my ring finger. As you can see, the finish is definitely more matte than shine, yet it has a soft sheen to it that a regular matte doesn't have..

Overall I liked the color and the formula. It went on smooth. The drying time was about average. When you first put on the polish it looks wet, and as it dries it begins to look more matte. The plastic finish wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I was thinking some kind of magic outer space technology or something... lol. It was still pretty neat though! I probably won't buy the other 3 colors. The teal looks cool, but I already have a teal matte. The orange is interesting looking, but I think I'll pass for now. The red didn't appeal to me all that much because I am not wearing reds lately.

The Orly Plastix line would be perfect for someone who wants to try a trendy matte look, but who doesn't like the dull finish of other matte polishes.

First (bottled) franken!

I have been mixing nail polish colors ever since I was 9 or 10. I saw a contest in Seventeen magazine where you were to create a new nail polish color and give it a name and a brief description of what the color means. I never entered the contest, which I regret now. At first I was too young and then I kind of forgot about it because I stopped reading Seventeen because I liked magazines like Cosmopolitan and Allure since they were more "grown up" (::rolls eyes:: LOL). So since then I loved to mix polish swatches on paper and give them cool names. For some reason it never really occurred to me to mix whole bottles.

Some past winners of the contest are:

"Ciel de Nuit" (the first year winner)

"Rain" and "Shine" (they had a double winner one year. "Rain" was a sheer shimmer light blue grey and "Shine" was a sheer shimmer pastel yellow. I'm not sure if these were the exact names and color descriptions, but I think I'm pretty close.)

"Haute Chocolat" (the most recent winner it seems, from 2008)

For this franken, I wanted to be as original as possible and not mix already made colors. I chose to mix pigments with clear polish. I used a Sally Girl Mini nail polish. I had bought some pigments from Coastal Scents a few months back to make mineral makeup. I took a deep cool toned burgundy pigment and added it to the bottle. I then added a sparkly gold hoping that the end result would be a pretty purple with gold shimmer. It turned brown. Since it didn't come out as originally planned, I was disappointed. I did a test swatch on my nails and then suddenly realized it wasn't as bad as I thought! Don't mind the sloppy cuticles, as this was just supposed to be a test swatch!

I haven't seen many brown polishes around lately. I want to restart a brown trend! This fall I'm definitely going to be wearing a lot of browns.

I don't have a name for it yet. Suggestions are welcome!

Nail Polish Credits?

Am I the only one who sometimes wishes that there were "nail polish credits" in movies, magazine articles/ fashion spreads, music videos, and where ever else you see models or famous people with manicures/pedicures?

I probably wouldn't care about a beige nude or a sheer pink. But every now and then I see a cool color or design and I want the same thing! The first time I saw "Minx" nails, Beyonce was rocking them. As soon as I saw that cool mirror foil look I HAD to find out what she was using. It took awhile on Google, but I finally found out what it was.

Today I was watching Lady Gaga's new video, "Alejandro". I must say, I really like her nail color. It is a slightly metallic blue black grey color. It isn't the most unique shade, but I still like it. I did a little bit of research on what brand it was, but I haven't turned up anything.

I guess I'll have to make a franken! :)

Check out the video. You can see her nails clearly from about 3:06- 3:17.