Misa polish

2010-10-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm kinda-sorta thinking about getting back to blogging. I miss it.

Really, how will the world keep turning without me saying "Hey, Color Lock was a big fail"?

I dunno.

It's a tough decision. Seriously. I'm in the middle of a very tough semester; and internship hunting (it sucks, BTW); and I have a lot going on in my personal life.

And my Crystal has bubbles.

Couldn't come up with a good title for this post -

2010-04-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking about my blogging latel~~ing~~y. I feel like I'm doing not even a half-ass, but a quarter-ass job. The thing is, I have a lot going on in my non-polish life. For instance, I finally got accepted to the university. The program I chose is very competitive, demanding and time-eating. I really love straight "A"s; that definitely means even less time for blogging.

Yep, you can call me a blood traitor, for I'm going to trade nail polish for the concepts in federal taxation and such. I'm about to start a very intense and exciting May-mester.

Why didn't I simply delete my blog? Well, I hope some of you still read me via Google reader, so you'll be able to read it after I delete; I feel like I owe you some sort of explanation.

I have 90 days to change my mind. I might as well do that; I'm indecisive (except when it comes to buying a purple polish).

Happy polishing, y'all! Thanks for reading me!

Misa Mardi Gras - full review and swatches

2010-04-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

I have very mixed feelings about this collection. Well, to the swatches first; my feelings can wait.

Jester Ate The King Cake
I saw people describing it as a neon. Nah, it would be a neon with an extreme case of iron deficiency - anemic neon. I'd say, it's a pastel. I have yet to see a yellow that applies without efforts; Jester is not an exception. It was streaky, but 3 coats pretty much evened things up:
I'd say, the truest to life is pointer; second to it would be pinkey.
Do you guys think it's a neon?

Shake It To The Samba.
When I first saw it out of the box, I thought "Whoa, this is one ugly dude of a color!" Then I painted my nails and thought it wasn't so bad... It's a weird, fleshy-toned color with a hearty helping of orange. Surprisingly brighter than I expected it would be:
I believe shadow picture represents the color more accurately, so there:

Single And Ready To Limbo:
The most...convenient of the bunch - a true classic red; very warm one, no blue here. But boy, the formula blew me away. Extremely pigmented and completely opaque in one coat. Very smooth and glossy.
It's very close to Essie E!; but Misa has way less orange and looks more flattering with my skin tone.

Throw Me Something Purple Please
Purple? Hmm... I don't think so. It's a typical blurple; but I'm in a romantic set of mind today, so I will call it a color of Persian lilac:

It's a tad lighted in real life. Probably my favorite from this collection. I don't have anything similar in my stash. The closest relative would be OPI Dating A Royal, but OPI has more blue in it.

Now, the problem child: Blame It On Fat Tuesday. The color itself is nice; it's quite a unique (to my knowledge) green. But I cannot photograph it accurately to save my dear life. Misa describes it as a mint green. Nope. It's more of a turquoise with a shot of yellow; and really bright, almost neon. For some reason, the best picture I got was the one with skittles:
This one - obviously photoshopped to oblivion - gives a vague idea of a brightness.
(yes, I know, this picture is ugly)

I skipped Party In The Masquerade - it's a dark pink peon, almost neon raspberry, if it makes any sense. Pretty.

About my mixed feelings. I cannot understand what this collection has to do with Mardi Gras. Promo image with the sparkling beads was very Mardi Gras. In my opinion, it promised lots of glitters and/or sparkly shimmers. But cremes? Cremes, really? I wouldn't say a word if the name of it were "Easter Egg Hunt ~~in Atlanta Country Club~~" It's a solid Spring collection; but it's as far from the floats, beads and sparks as a collection can go.

Quick skittles of MG

2010-04-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

I came home from a very dull day at school to a box containing Mardi Gras collection.

From pointer to pinkey:
- Blame It On Fat Tuesday
- Throw Me Something Purple Please
- Single and Ready to Limbo
- Shake It To The Samba

I hold Jester Ate The King Cake

Sorry about pre-cleanup pictures.

Quick notes:
- formula is excellent
- red is much deeper and very fierce
- no, my camera's white balance doesn't suck: Throw Me Something Purple is, indeed, very blue
- Shake It To The Samba has all the potential to become a new OPI And Apple Pie.

This collection was sent to me by manufacturer for review.

Misa Spring - last installment (ETA - about this collection)

2010-03-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

I won't be getting this collection for review. Unfortunately, the collection is out of stock at the moment. Keep your eyes open for other bloggers - I saw Mardis Gras review at Kelly's (Vampy Varnish).

"But these polishes hate me" NOTDs

2010-03-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

While I'm still waiting for the Spring Misa to arrive, I'm going to present you some ugly NOTDs. Because ~~I'm so original~~ I want to show you real life examples of semi-mythical "it's doesn't work with your body chemistry".

Zoya Casey. Spectacular vampy, universally loved. I feel very special because I hate darn Casey; and it's mutual. It was patchy. It bubbled like a swamp and chipped the next day.
You can tell me "Hey, Inna, shut up and learn how to apply your polishes first. Might use a little thinner as well." Nope, not my fault. I used a thinner appropriate for B-3 polishes; I tried several base coats; I reapplied several times; I danced a little dance for it - nothing worked. Still a bubbly, ugly swamp of a mani. Guess what: I did my BFF's mani with Casey the same day (same humidity and temperature). No bubbles, excellent application and acceptable wear. It just hates me, that's it. Your personal chemistry really can clash with a polish.

China Glaze Sugar High.
One big "booooo".
First, it's way more neon and way less pink than I expected it would be. Sorta neon coral or coral neon. Coral in general and neon coral in particular make my hands look dirty.

Picture is not the most accurate one; it exaggerates neon a bit:
Formula was as bad as Grape Pop's one. Actually, it was worse (see my middle finger). Couldn't control the application at all. I've seen so many wonderful Sugar High manicures; and it just plain sucked for me.

Guess what I'm trying to say here is no matter how other people love the brand, or the color group, or this one particular polish, there is a chance it won't work for you. At all. Don't get upset and don't expense too much efforts trying to tame a stubborn polish. I sent these two black sheep to the better homes, where they will be loved; and you can do the same. /I sound a little like a Martha Stewart, don't I?/

Misa Spring swatches...

2010-03-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

probably will be posted by the end of this week.

Illamasqua Baptiste vs Essie Sexy Divide

2010-02-25T17:48:00.000-08:00

I got Baptiste as a gift from my very dear friend and loved it instantly. Essie Sexy Divide has been one of my favorite purples for a long time. How do they compare?

Let's see:
Very different in the bottle: Baptiste has a distinctive red undertone; and Essie features a strong blue one.

Let's look on the nails now, shall we?
/don't forget you can click to enlarge/

Not so different, huh?
I have SD on my pointer and ring fingers; Illamasqua on middle and pinky.

They are definitely not dupes; but Essie is a very acceptable substitute, even by mine "buy-all-dark-purples-ever-released" standards.

I prefer Baptiste application-wise. Other than that, they are really close. Difference? Illamasqua has this strong, dense glow to it; Essie shows more of a sparse, star-like sparkle.

PS: Please excuse my deformed pointer. I had a bad cooking accident back in September, when I chopped off a big part of the nail bed; it's still in recovery.

Misa Spring 2010

2010-02-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

It's called Mardis Gras!

Neons and brights; and some pastels (huh?), all seem to be cremes:

Bottle pics separately:

Blame It on Fat Tuesday: mint-green according to Misa, but I'd rather call it dollar-green. Not sure I'll be able to pull this off, but I certainly like the idea!

Shake It To The Sumba: neutral, flesh-like color. At first I was surprised to see it in the Mardi Gra collection; then I realized it was not flEsh, it was flAsh what they probably had in mind. Think beads and... well... beads.

Single And Ready to Limbo: not exactly original, yet pretty red-coral (?) Or is it just red? Difficult to tell until I see this one in person.

Jester Ate the King Cake: Pastel yellow. Pretty, but I cannot wear such colors, unless I want scare Easter-hunting kids with my red-lobster hands.

Party in the Masquerade: Hot pink. I think it's a neon, actually.

Throw Me Something Purple Please: Purple. Purrrrrr-ple. I really, rally hope it won't be a dupe of Ghina Glaze Grape Pop.

My thoughts about this collection. I'm surprised (unpleasantly surprised, dare I say) there is not a single glitter or at least shimmer in this collection. Hello, Misa, it's Mardi Gras! It's all about sparkle, glitter and over the top (look at your promo image - you got it exactly right here). If I recall correctly, this is a third collection in a row consisting of all cremes. Some of my readers will be seriously pissed (waves to Gabrielle). Kudos for the mix of pastels and neons - I know at least two girls who would like it!

PS: All pictures are clickable, as usual.

EDITED TO ADD: According to Misa representative, all colors are brand-new, no repromotes.

Zoya Adina

2010-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

When I saw the first swatches of Adina, it immediately reminded me of some other polish; but I couldn't place it. Finally, my Adina arrived yesterday and I realized that was it: Adina looks like a much more condensed and seriously improved Significant Other Color by OPI. Both polishes have purple base with a green duochrome/flash. Unlike OPI, intended for the layering purposes, Zoya is not sheer at all. It's perfectly opaque in two thin coats.

Base color. Actually, it's more lilac than purple, don't you think? This warm hue reminds me of Misa's Foxy and Folksy

Here is Adina in all its duochromy glory:

Green side is very, very strong:

Despite the similar idea behind Significant Other Color and Adina, latter is definitely unique; and it's an absolutely beautiful color. Formula was excellent, neither runny nor gloopy. Kudos to Zoya.

And one more pic; just because I feel like it:

Speaking about Zoya, I hauled just a little bit: in addition to today's color I also got a long lemming of mine, spectacular Casey; and Qtica balm. Cannot wait to show off Casey!

PS: I had to file my nail down to the quick. Sad. This will teach me to go without manicures for days (unpolished nails=unprotected nails).

From my kitchen to yours - lemon, lime and some OxiClean

2010-02-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

OK, OxiClean does not exactly belong in a kitchen, but I couldn't help channeling Paula Deen.

For unknown reason, China Glaze Khromes left really ugly dark orange stains on my nails. One day I was doing laundry pretreating some stuff in OxiClean solution; and on a whim decided to try it on my nails. I dipped my hands in a laundry bucket, for about 30 seconds. Voila - stains were almost gone! That makes sense, since one of the OxiClean ingredients is hydrogen peroxide. I washed my hands immediately and followed by a heavy-duty moisturizer and did not see any adverse effects.

Lemons. I was making hummus (I make really mean hummus) and tried to squeeze as much lemon juice as possible. I was actually scraping the pulp with my fingers, squeezing out that last oz. About a minute inside the lemon made my stained nails absolutely clean. I'm talking "no stains at all" clean. I don't know why, but limes, which I tested while making ~~Margaritas Mojito~~ guacamole do not do the job as well as lemons do; yet I see a big improvement in stains.

If you want to try these tips, please exercise your good judgment. Do not stick your fingers into a lemon if you have the tiniest cut/scrape - it's gonna sting like a mofo. Or if you are allergic to citruses and/or any components of OxiClean. I'm allergic to the OxiClean dude, but it's OK - as I've said, no adverse reaction.

PS: I have had some pretty manis lately, but damn weather sucks. It was snowing today - for Pete's sake, it's GA!

NOTD: Misa Bellacious

2010-01-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

One deceptive color, this Bellacious. When I spotted it on a shelf, it looked like a pale, dusty-rose creme. On the nails it turned out to be rather bright pink-peachy jelly, with the slightest hint of lavender. Go figure.
I don't like jell finishes, so I did 3 thick coats; but you can still see the VNL here.

In the direct light pink really pops:
Despite the pinkness, I'd say it's a nice, office appropriate neutral, yet with an edge to it. Like it.

Absolutely Blue Sparrow Alice

2010-01-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

As usual, I'm late with my review. You've already heard: Absolutely Alice is all that plus a bag of chips. I agree.

Dense blue glitter with added gold sprinkles. What amazes me about Absolutely Alice (in addition to its unanimously accepted amaziness) is how the color changes depending on light. From deep electric blue/medium blue to sky blue. Very cool.

It looks nice with a matte top coat, but honestly, Absolutely Alice is born to be blingy:

Another source of amazement: people keep comparing it to Dorothy Who? I cannot agree; in my humble opinion, AA is much closer to another China Glaze polish - Blue Sparrow. Different blues, definitely, but the same happily saturated vibe:
(Sparrow on the left, AA on the right)

I probably risk being polished to death, but I do not dig Absolutely Alice (as I didn't dig Blue Sparrow). Yes, I appreciate it; it's a unique and wonderful and very Alicesque clolor. But I look at my nails and the sentiment is "Ummm... So what?" The same happened to Blue Sparrow. I'm not trying to be original and make a "meh" face at everybody's favorite. I just don't know how to wear such blues. It's way out of my comfort zone.

PS: My friend Karianne posted THE best picture of this color I've seen so far. Enjoy!

China Glaze Grape Pop: alone and layered

2010-01-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

What a great purple! Pleasantly neutral (not to be confused with boring) - not too warm, not too cold. Pigmented and very reach. The color actually reminds me of a lilac bush in bloom rather than of a grape pop.

Yes, excellent purple, but such an annoying little bitch to photograph! I took 90+ pictures, yet still do not have a perfect one; so I'm showing Grape Pop a-la puzzle.

Here I'm pretty happy with the bottle color. When I saw in on a shelf in Trans Design, I was "Wow, it has some dusty quality to it!" Yep, bottle color does seem a bit muted:
Ring finger and pinky are very close to life as well; pointer and the middle one are way off: much bluer than IRL.

On the nails, thou, Grape Pop is extremely bright and vivid, nothing muted and dusty about it:
It's pretty color accurate.

As much as I love the color, I dislike the formula. I don't know if I got a dud; but I sure hope I did, otherwise it's one disaster of a collection formula-wise. I barely deep my brush into the bottle and somehow end up with a huge blob of varnish; the blob is both runny and too thick. Bleh. Half-full glass: it applied streak-free in two thin coats.

After two days I decided to spruce my mani up a bit... And invented a poor man's Scrangie! Oh well, it's not exactly RBL Scrangie (OK - not really close); but the general idea is here:
Is it pretty or what?

Yes, I got carried away...

Not a bit of PhotoShop involved: I just took some pics under a bright sunlight; and some in the shadow.

CND Sapphire Sparkles over China Glaze Grape Pop.

PS: Did you noticed I was able to visit Trans Design? Yep, brick and mortar. It's heaven.

Awesome awesomness

2009-12-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

OPI Merry Midnight.
This is definitely THE best OPI of this year. Purple base with blue micro glitter and opalescent mica scales/flakes.

I'll let the pictures do the talking:

It looks fantastic with a matte top coat. Here I used Essie's one:
(please excuse my horrible cuticles)

Absolutely unique and very, very pretty. Merry Midnight is a part of a Christmas collection; so grab it "while supplies last".

PS: Another flaky polish from the same collection - Shim-Merry Chic - it a total boring fail, IMO.

Unfortunate NOTD: Nubar Raspberry Truffle

2009-12-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

So far, my first big disappointment with Nubars. Raspberry Truffle looks stunning in the bottle and under a very bright sunlight:

Alas, without the perfect conditions (meaning: on the nails, not in the bottle) it turns a bit... boring. Shimmer is basically invisible. What's worse, it has a hint of a muddy gray; I like muddy gray, it's stylish and all that; but it does nothing for my skin tone: my fingers turn a bit muddy gray as well. Thanks, but no thanks.

I layered CND Raspberry Sparkle over Raspberry Truffle (woops, double raspberry - I just realized it); but it's still meh on me. My expectations for this color were too high to accept its mere OK-ishness.

Orly Nail Rescue vs silk patches

2009-12-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

You might know that I'm a big, big fan of the silk patches from Sally's. They are cheap, they are easy to apply (or so I thought) and easy to maintain.

Have to tell you, I've been through a breaking spell recently. Couple of days ago I broke a nail on my right middle finger - opening a car. Who does that? Anyway, I was a very nasty break: my nail split both horizontally and vertically (you know, when it sorta splits in two layers). Not really reparable with the patches.

I was about to file all my nails down; and then I remembered Orly Nail Rescue - my good friend L. swears by it. To Sally's I went.

Long story short, I basically made a fake tip for the broken nail, in one minute. It looks really good and holds up very well.

You need to cover your nail with a special glue (this stuff reeks); then dip your nail into a white powder; then tap off the excess and buff. Done!

Definite pros, compared to the patches:
- it's faster; no cutting/sizing needed;
- you can repair these nasty little cracks here:
which is pretty much impossible with patches;
- you can use Nail Rescue as a preventive measure (actually, it was exactly what L. did before her vacation)

Cons:
- I do not see a "spot treatment" possible here; you have to cover the whole nail, no matter how small of a break you have;
- buffing is a must. I personally suck at buffing: I either overdo it or have unbuffed spots left;
- related to buffing: I still have rough edges close to cuticles - it almost impossible to buff in this area; so the overlay is somewhat visible (especially if you use Macro function of your camera and/or a microscope):
To conclude: I will probably use up the patches - they are really good as a spot treatment for the small, easy to reach breaks; but won't buy them again.

Couple of words about application and maintenance. I did all my ten toes tonight and instead of dipping them into the powder (what am I, a gymnast?) I sprinkled the powder over the glue. Worked out perfectly. Use non-acetone remover; acetone will dissolve Nail Rescue.

PS: Dear L., thank you so very much!

Comparison swatches: Icy Iris vs Visions of Sugarplums

2009-11-25T07:36:00.001-08:00

Finally got a glimpse of sun today, so here are the swatches I've promised:
Icy Iris is on the left. Wait, it's on the right! No, left. No right! Well, you got the idea. Please click to enlarge - more obvious this way.

Sorry, not the best swatches ever; but it's the best I could do - weather is not swatch-friendly at all.

PS: Funny, I know they are dupes; and I still want the OPI - badly. Some addicts are hopeless.

Finger Paints Icy Iris vs OPI Visions of Sugarplum

2009-11-23T17:14:00.000-08:00

They are dupes. Duuuupes. I will post nail wheel swatches tomorrow (if sun cooperates).

Dixi

A very bad limerick and a very nice color: OPI Smitten with Mittens

2009-11-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

Certain lady from Scandinavia
With an excellent taste in jewelery
Dared me to wear red spark on my nails -
There, you have it,
Oh lady from Sweden!

/umm... new level of poetry suckage?/

Anyway, here is Smitten with Mittens:

It's a very, very deep red - without any hint of orange at all, even thou it seems like it on most pictures including mine - with loads of golden sparkles.

Insanely sparkly. I'd say, it definitely kicks Ruby Pumps' ass. My new favorite color for pedicures.

And this one is probably the most color-accurate in this bunch:

Ssssssparrrrk. Remember, it's not orange at all. It's deep, deep sparkly red.

PS: I'm 32 and just did something on a dare! /rolls eyes/

Reward NOTD: Misa Dreamy Purple +CND Raspberry Sparkle

2009-11-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

I turned in my infamous macroecon paper. Yay me. /gloomy/ 13 pages in a language I'm not native in; in the subject I...dislike, to put it mildly. Have to wait for a grade till Monday in the best case scenario. Cliffhanger, if you ask me.

Anyway, here is my "I've been good" NOTD. I added one of the CND Effects - Raspberry Sparkle - over Dreamy Purple. I thought Effects worked the best over the dark cremes; but over shimmer it turned out OK:
I have no idea how they came up with this name. Have you ever seen a lavender-golden-iridescent raspberry? Well, neither have I. Did they have some result of an extreme genetic manipulation in mind? What's funny, other Effects have normal, meaningful names. Sorry, I'm being bitchy (see above, Re: cliffhanger).

I'm not the biggest fan of shimmers; so I like this particular effect not for the spark (which is, in fact, spectacular), but rather for a subtle douchrome effect:
It's sorta triochrome probably.

All in all, I liked my first Effect a lot. Even thou I don't do much layering, I might get a couple more Sparkles. Crimson and Amethyst?

NOTD: Misa Dreamy Purple

2009-11-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

It's purple. I don't know who dreams purple, but this one is certainly a dream material:
It has the same glowy quality to it as Nubar Pasadena Purple, but without a frosty finish I personally dislike.

Color probably is the most accurate on this picture, especially on the bottle (don't forget to enlarge so you can see the amazing multicolored shimmer):
This purple has so much glow to it, it's almost neon, if it makes sense to you.

Application was good - I didn't need to do any clean up at all. My only complaint - the formula is on a runny side; 3 coats were necessary for me.

PS: Yep, I filed my nails down; but if you think my paper is done, you are mistaken.

NOTD: China Glaze Pom Pom

2009-11-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

OK, I have a first disappointment with China Glaze glitters. Pom Pom looked very promising in a bottle: deep, sophisticated mauve-lavender with some pink. Yep, in the bottle it looks like that (click on the pic, it's pretty):

But. But. On the nails it's just bright, very sparkly pink. Peeeeeeenk. A kind of pink that says "Oh hai, my totally pink ipod is totally, like, loaded with all Taylor Swift albums". The name - Pom Pom - is good, for it really has some cheerleader-y vibe to it. /no offense to cheerleaders/

Jelly-like base is full of tiny pink and silver dust-like glitter; and bigger round pink and silver glitter. Bigger ones look like pink/silver freckles - adorable.
It is certainly pretty, but it doesn't have much to do with a bottle color. Booo.

Bling is insane. If you like sparkly polish - grab this one.

I'm season-blind when it comes to nails polish: I wear vampies during GA Summer and love me some pink in November; but even to me Pom Pom seemed a bit off. So I slapped a coat of Matte About You on it. Love the results:

PS: I'm writing this post instead of working on a paper for my macroeconomics class. Monday is a deadline; and I have just one paragraph written. I decided I need to make a bargain with myself: as soon as I finish the damn paper, I will file down my nails and do a nice vampy mani - Misa Dreamy Puple. Please cheer me on, guys; I need to get it done - each day late is one letter grade penalty. Oy. I'm back to Macro.

China Glaze Khromes

2009-11-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

I have mixed feelings about this collection.
Things I like about Khromes:
- futuristic-looking, mirror-like finish
- they dry in no time at all, without fast-drying top coat
- as a matter of fact, no top coat is necessary
- they are very pigmented: you can be fine with just one coat
- ideal for Konad designs

Things I dislike about Khromes:
- being very pigmented, they stained my nails terribly, worse than any blue or green can
- as they dry in a record time, Khromes are a bit tricky to apply. Try not to go over the same spot twice: cover the whole nail in a one gigantic stroke
- Khromes are kinda boring as a collection. Yes, the finish is fantastic; but the color choice - not so much. Seriously, how many different golds does a person need? I would love to see the same finish in an array of colors: blue, green, pink, purple... Yes, purple Khrome, pretty please!

On to the pictures (they are clickable, as usual):

Millennium: very silvery, very reflective silver. These are not ridges on my nails, these is light reflected off the Millennium.

2030: warm-neutral gold
I did not use a base coat, so you can see my horizontal ridges in all their ugly glory. TC is a must with these polishes!

Hi-Tek: a mix between a warm bronze and rose gold. Color is the most accurate on ring and pinkey.

NOTD: China Glaze Ginger

2009-11-03T08:27:00.001-08:00

I got lots and lots of polish for my birthday from my family and friends (did you expect I would ask for, say, a new tool bench or pancake griddle for my birthday?); so I have plenty of pretties to swatch and photograph.

Today - one of China Glaze new glitters, Ginger. It's unmistakably Fall color - reach pumpkin orange mixed with a reddish-brown caramel:
Chock-full of silver shiny micro-glitter and round holographic macro-glitter. Don't get me wrong, larger one is not chunky at all, but big enough to be visible.

Very festive, somewhat weird color - reminds me of a scarecrow in a sequined dress. I mean it in a very good way. I guess, an odd combination of a typical fall color and all this bling confuses me a bit. Ginger is really blingy. Here is a blurred picture to show you the sparkles:
Almost opaque in two coats. Not rough at all; it's a smooth kind of glitter.

PS: I also have Pom-Pom, really sparkly pink that makes my inner 3-year-old squeal... And red; and some gold.

Finger Paints Holiday collection

2009-10-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

Wow. Wow-wow-wow. I have no idea that "nonconformist" is a new word for "ass-kicking"; but this certainly is the case with Finger Paints 2009 Holiday collection. It's truly stunning and not exactly traditional color-wise.

Let's start with nonconformist part. Seriously, who includes pink in a Christmas collection? Finger Paints does; and this pink is absolutely dazzling, living up to its name, Decked with Dazzle:
I don't like pink at all, and even I must admit - this is a stunner. Foily finish, multicolor sparkles (it seriously sparks); opaque in three coats. The only problem this it was the smell - for some reason, Decked with Dazzle reeks. Weird chemical smell, not at all like a "normal" polish smell.

It works great with a matte top coat. Here I used Essie Matte About You:

Now, another gem of this collection is Evergreen Dream:
It's very close to both Nubar Greener and legendary Emerald Sparkle by China Glaze. Evergreen Dream has the same velvety depth as Greener features; but it sparks almost as intensely as Emerald Sparkle does. This is an absolute must for those of you who love green. It's just... I don't know... OMGOMGOMG it's so gorgeous. One coat was enough; but I did two out of habit.

A little comparison pic, Greener and ED; Greener on the left:

As you can see, ED's texture is a bit rougher than Greener's - this is because ED has more prominent shimmer, or, rather, golden sparkles.

Last, but certainly not least - Icy Iris. Purple lover's dream comes true.
Eggplant purple, loaded with unbelievable multicolor shimmer/spark. It's breathtaking. Instant top 1 in my vast collection of purples.

Please click on the pics to look at this wonderful, magical, I-can-stare-at-this-forever shimmer. Yes, I'm drooling with Barbie-pink drool. Just wait till you see this color on your nails and then judge me.

Icy Iris formula is opaque in one thick coat; unfortunately, it stinks as badly as Decked with Dazzle does.

This collection also features a pale sparkly silver and two reds: one with multicolor shimmer and one with a distinctive gold hue. I didn't care for either one of them; so no pics of these three will follow.

Finger Paints Holiday collection is available at selected Sally's. Good luck finding it!

PS: Special thanks to my friend Hanna who made this post possible.

Random Nubar NOTDs - Greener and Iced Licorice

2009-10-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Just pics, without me blabbering:

Greener by itself and Konaded:

I really think this green doesn't need any comments.

Iced Licorice, one of the prettiest polishes ever:

Please keep in mind these pictures are not exactly color accurate. This polish is more duochomeysh IRL; and it has a distinctive warm brown undertone to it.

PS: As you probably noticed, I really got into Nubar lately. I have plenty of pics to follow, as well as a couple of words about their treatment.

China Glaze Glacier aka Twihard NOTD

2009-10-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right - I just said "Twihard". I know it's lame, but I'm sure Glacier is exactly what Stephenie Meyer had in mind when she described ~~Edward's sparkly butt~~ vampire's skin under the sunlight.

Glacier is a multicolor - mostly pastel - glitter (with some holo particles) in a milky-white base. It is very pretty, very sparkly and very difficult to photograph.

Here is the best I could do (click on the pick to enlarge):
This pic shows the different colors pretty well, but there is no way you can see how incredibly sparkly it is; serious driving hazard, really.

I figured Glacier would be too cool for my skin tone, so I layered two coats of it over one coat of a neutral beige - Color Club Sugar Baby.

Formula is really good: not too thin, not too thick and easy to work with. I was afraid it would be very gritty, but one coat of TC smoothed it out completely.

So far, I have just two of new China Glaze glitters - Glacier and Cleopatra - and I truly love them both. Very happy polishes.

PS: Twihards, take no offense - I'm one of us, just closeted. Yes, I'm closeted Twihard, Team Jacob. Now you know.

NOTD: Nubar Moon Shadow

2009-10-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

Long time no see, huh? I'll explain my extended leave of absence in the following posts; now on to the polish.

Moon Shadow. One of Nubar duochromes. Nubar makes really mean duochromes (check Scrangie - I'm sure she posted a bunch of Nubar duos a while ago). This one is purple/brown/amber-green. Really complex and really gorgeous. Main color - purple - has this glowy quality to it. I'm very picky when it comes to purples, but I love this one.

Under some light purple leans a bit on a brown side; very warm brown:

Moon Shadow is not one of the subtle duochromes, when you need to squint to see a change in color. It's a bold and true duochrome; as obvious as a chameleon.

I dunno about you, but I said "Wow!":

Couple of words about application. This one required three coats; in two coats it still looked like an ugly, weird muddy gray (huh?). Talk about ugly duckling.

PS: Don't forget to click on the pics to enlarge them. Totally worth it.

OPI DS (Designer Series) Mystery

2009-08-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

About a month ago nail polish world became agitated about the newest addition to OPI DS family - promo pictures promised a long-awaited purple.

I was able to get my hands on a mystery Mystery. Well, let me tell you: if you expected a purple holo, you're up for a big disappointment. It's not a holo; and it's not exactly purple. For me, DS Mystery is what I wanted Sephora OPI Never Enough Shoes to be.

Mystery is almost black and loaded with millions of tiny gold scales. Unlike other DS polishes, it's not a smooth holo, but somewhat gritty glitter. /side note - do you see any similarities between this picture and a OPI stock image? I don't/
My guess, it's as badass as OPI can actually get. Not exactly edgy, but cool enough. After the Espana collection (aka yawn inducer in my book) I'll take it, thankyouverymuchsuzi.

Under natural light Mystery looks like a very, very dark brown. Base color is actually dark, inky purple, but polish certainly doesn't look like it.

I like this type of glitter: not smooth, yet not scratchy either. Here, I dissolved a base color to show the gold particles:
Rather ugly picture of one coat, freshly applied, to show the base color:

It's purple, right? Too bad it doesn't look like one after a second coat.

I think this one would be an awesome choice for those of you who like clubbing - for some reason, Mystery looks wonderful under artificial light. Golden sparkles turn into brown, red and purple ones; and polish itself looks way more purplier (is it a word?):

More pics, just because I've already edited them:

All in all, it's a good color with a very decent application. When I saw a bottle, my heart skipped a bit: Mystery looked like a magician's cloak: velvety-purple with golden stars. In reality=on my nails it's not even close to this Dumbledore-ysh color; yet, I'll probably keep it.

Patriotic fireworks -

2009-07-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

lame, I know, but I couldn't think of a better name for this Konad.

I'm a little embarrassed, actually. This KOTD is...well, let's call spade a spade - tacky.
Misa Haven White for a canvas; OPI Little Red Wagon; Orly Witch's Blue; and random Sally Hansen silver for the design. Konad plate #M65.

I'm little unhappy about design being cut on my middle finger. Other than that, I think it's a good, festive manicure. Tacky-schmacky - we are talking about fireworks here, not the latest IRS regulations!

You guys have a happy and safe holiday. I'm off to catch up on my work and to think about KOTD that would be a good representation of IRS regulations.

NOTD: Nubar Gold Leaf aka...

2009-06-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

...one of the best duochromes ever.

Golden/brownish-pink/mauve duochrome. Sounds a bit old lady, but man, this is one of the pretties colors I've ever seen:
(click on the pick to enlarge)

I don't know what Nubar has added to this polish - must be fairy dust, or a unicorn ~~pee~~ hair, but it doesn't spark in the sun - it lights up from within. Amazing! I know, way too much fangirling adjectives and superlatives in this blog entry, but I seriously adore Gold Leaf. I fangirl Gold Leaf.

Another pic, to show both colors at once:

...not so boring mauve. Actually, it looks more brown/bronze IRL.

Application is flawless, consistency is perfect; and I just run out of adjectives and superlatives. Get this one immediately if you don't have it yet. Dixi.

I gilded a lily - and I like it!

2009-06-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

Metaphors aside, I stamped a golden konad design over China Glaze Pink-Rox-E, a wonderful color, chock-full of gold shimmer. The thing is, I really like konad plate # m57, a fishnet design in particular; but I was too chicken to use it ("fishnets are vulgar yada-yada" - mommy issues all over again). Something subtle seemed like my best bet.

Finger Paints Gift of Gold for the fishnets. Viola! (don't forget to click on the pic to enlarge it)
It's a bit Legally Blond-ysh, but I like it and plan to wear it till it chips for good:

Sitting on the beach, naked…

2009-06-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

Don’t get me wrong: I have not joined a nudist colony. I just got 3 unexpected days on a beach; and forgot to pack my base and top coat. My nails are naked, that’s it. And to think that I have planned a deliciously garish mani/pedi combination: Finger Paints Gift of Gold and Misa Six Pack Summer!

Random beach observations:
- Sand exfoliates rough cuticles effortlessly.
- Beach or no beach, I dislike a look of a French pedicure. Sorry, nothing personal.
- Ocean water makes one’s nail stronger and whiter.
- People who bury cigarette butts in the sand are morons.

Being as a devoted picture spammer as I am, I will post at least a pseudo-NOTD:
Surprisingly good picture of Misa's Six Pack Summer. Traffic cone neon!

Finger Paints Gift of Gold - red-based, hence, very warm gold (duh!)

Please excuse my rather yellow tips. No base coat to cover ugly stains.

My mini-haul and NOTD - Lilac Lagoon by Finger Paints

2009-05-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

I've been on a very strict budget lately; but I caved yesterday - no willpower here - and bought two Finger Paints polishes.

First one is Lilac Lagoon, from a recent Finger Paints Summer collection.
Pale, yet warm lavender, loaded with teeny golden scales - very similar to ones in Elizabeth Arden Vincenza Raspberry.

I'm not a big fan of pales, let alone lilacs - usually I cannot pull such colors off; they make me look like a corpse. Not this one, apparently.
This polish is really sheer.I'm a habitual 3-coater, so I did three coats. Bad decision - I left two coats on my pinky, just for a comparison sake, and I like it much better than 3 coats.

If you are a nail polish fanatic, you sure know that Finger Paints is a great alternative to the expensive "salon" polishes. They are reasonably priced ($4.59, as I recall); before they went good-chemical-free, they had one of the best formulas available. Now Finger Paints polishes are Big-3 free (too bad!) and formula is a bit inconsistent, fluctuating from great to drippy-crappy. I've got a good bottle, thou.

Magenta Mood is a recent addition to their core collection. It's a bright, sparkle-loaded red, a bit on a cool side (magenta is supposed to be cool, right?). I do not have a mani pic of this one, just the bottle pics:
Small orange-amber-god particles offset the coolliness of magenta really nicely, so even the Warmy Warmerson like myself can wear this color.
It's my current pedicure, and I love it. I think it's too loud for a summer manicure, so to the back burner it goes, till Fall is here. For some reason, Magenta Mood reminds me of a cranberry pie - hello, my future Thanksgiving mani!

Another pic, blurry and not very accurate color wise, but showing the sparkles:

NOTD - OPI All That Razzberry

2009-05-25T15:31:00.001-07:00

Another pink. I've been trying really hard, working my way to the summer-appropriate colors.
Actually, it's not even pink - it's more of a bright purple with a pink undertone and a hint of neon. Of course, being purplish-neonish, All That Ruzzberry is not fond of the camera, so I had to tweak my pictures a bit to show you a somewhat accurate color. In real life OTR is a bit deeper and darker. Would make an awesome pedi.

I stamped it with a totally clashing Konad polish the next day:
Looks crazy, but I like this combo.

PS: All That Razzberry is a retired color. Of course.

Oh damn you, Ji Baek!

2009-05-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

I was so, so over Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes, so obnoxiously priced and obnoxiously named ("Frugalista" for $18? oh, pweease). Totally over, I swear. Typical case of sour grapes. Rescue Beauty Lounge is kinda Robert Pattinson of the nail polish world: unequivocally gooooood and unequivocally out of my league - I cannot get my hands on either of them. Pattinson is not for sale, as far as I'm concerned; and I do not have money for Baek's concontions - at the moment.

And then I reached for my box of untried polishes. And found RBL Recycle - it was a very sweet and absolutely unexpected Christmas gift from a fellow polish fan, KathyWA.
/direct sun/

Yep, I'm that big of a chicken - I've waited since Christmas to wear this green. I'm an idiot; because it's a perfect polish. Perfect. I'm in love with this brand - again.

Unbelievably glossy. Dark, yet never black or dreadfully "almost black".

I try to be as objective and honest as possible while reviewing polishes, but I couldn't find anything to be improved upon. Butter-smooth application, perfect coverage with 2 thin coats.

Kathy - again - thank you, thank you, thank you!

Ji - I don't like you. Your polishes are just...mean.

Dixi.

NOTD - Essie Guilty Pleasures

2009-05-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

Old news, really old: Essie Guilty Pleasures. I think it's a part of Spring-08 collection. Anyway, here is my attempt in a cheerful spring mani:

Nice color, guys.

First, it has a jelly finish - kinda see-through. Pain in the neck to apply, but if you enjoy a "morning toast with marmalade" look, I'd say go for it. I did 3 sloppy coats; it's still a bit uneven.

Second, it's not a typical pinkey-pink. Rather, Guilty Pleasures is a mix between a subtle coral and a vivid neon pink. Here is another pic, hopefully showing neon side a bit better:

I'm itching to take this mani off, but it's just my aversion to pink.

Misa Honeybunch

2009-05-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well, this semester is behind me. I'm an A student. Yes, I'm smug, smug enough to brag about my grades on a nail polish blog. You have no idea how smug I am. My straight As took very serious elbow grease, brain kind; and total mani negligence. For about 2 weeks I had been sporting the same manicure - Misa Honeybunch.

Not my cup of tea. At all. I do not like sheers; I do not like sparkly sheers. But boy, this polish wears like iron. Two weeks, no kidding. Of course, I had some chipping by the end on a first week. I had no time to care about chipping, thou.

Aside from sheer practicality, Honeybunch is pretty. It looks white-silverish on my pictures, but in reality it consists of multicolored microsparkles. Think blond sister of OPI Princesses Rule. I bet it will work wonderful for layering over dark polishes.

Mmm... too bad it's not my cup of tea.

New rubric -

2009-04-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've promised it a while ago - "I ain't no Paris Hilton". As you probably have guessed, it's about money; or, rather, about not having much money. I'm not going to annoy you with stuff like "make your own reusable kitty litter"; instead, I will talk about great products - and by "great" I mean both effective and affordable.

Let's start with cuticle oil (lotion, cream, pen, balm - you decide). A definite must if you want healthy and good looking nails.

The choices are overwhelming: from Dollar Tree finds to whooping $12.

I really wanted to know if a higher price=better quality and results. So I performed a little experiment. I picked two cuticle oils:
A Fancy One - Barielle Intensive Nail Renewal Oil, $12.5
A Homely One - Haken Cuticle Oil available from Sally's, $4.99

Fancy guy ingredients: GLYCINE SOJA OIL, VITIS VINIFERA SEED OIL, ORYZA SATIVA BRAN OIL, TRICAPRYLIN, PERSEA GRATISSIMA OIL, PRUNUS ARMENIACA KERNEL OIL, JUGLANDS REGIA SEED OIL, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS LEAF OIL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, OLEIC ACID, PALMITIC ACID, RETINYL PALMITATE (AND) CHOLECALCIFEROL, PARFUM
/Sorry for excessive caps here, I just copy-pasted from Barielle web site/

Haken: Sufflower oil, apricot kernel oil, canola oil, vitamins A and E, essential oil (they need to elaborate here, don't you think?) and jojoba.

I have been using Barielle and Haken on my left hand - pointer/ring finger and middle/pinky, respectively. Yes, two oils on the same hand - for the sake of my experiment.

The results:
Click on the picture to open a big one, and tell me if you see a difference, I dare you.

They both apply and sink in very well. Cuticles look and feel moisturized immediately after you apply either Barielle or Haken. Haken smells much better, thou, and comes in a range of scents: Strawberry Kiwi, Vanilla Almond, Mango and Tropical.

Bottom line: expensive cuticle care delivers great results (as long as you don't forget to use it); but so does affordable, readily available cuticle oil. As long as you use it regularly. Even olive oil will whip your cuticles into shape, just massage it in at least twice a day.

PS: I got Barielle in a local TJMaxx for $4.99. But it's not relevant.

My name is Masa and I'm an admitted holoholic - part two

2009-03-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

(my nails look a bit weird on this picture, but it was taken from underneath - the best way to show off a spectacular holo)

Gosh Holographic. Poor man Chanel Holo.

Note to all evil principals of the boarding schools - if you need to punish a kid, do not use whips. Whips are outdated. Use Gosh holo. I've never used a polish so difficult. For this manicure I did five very thin, very careful coats. Let a coat dry completely before applying a next one; otherwise it will wipe off all the layers you've applied so far. It's almost like coating your nails with metal micro-particles... or foil particles - very cool, but difficult to describe.

You don't need a top coat with this polish. Yes, it will peel off in 24 hours, but good news - you can just slap a quick blob over the dent and nobody will notice. The texture of the polish is extremely forgiving (think Terminator repairing him(it)self). Again - very, very cool. If you still want to use a top coat, be prepared: holo will dull a little; it will be absolutely matte until your top coat is absolutely dry.

Let's hear it for spring!

2009-03-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

OK. This post actually should have being called something like "The frigging chameleon". Or "The worst photographing polish ever".

For the first day of school (yay! I had helluva fun during the spring break - think tax documents assembling and a school project) I decided to go with something really, really springy. Elizabeth Arden, Michigan Avenue Red.

This name is very deceptive, actually. It's not "red" red. It's a very tricky color - pinkish red or reddish pink (you decide). For some reason, Michigan Ave Red obviously has some self-esteem issues; I do not have any other explanation for its obvious camera hate. I took more than hundred (!) of pictures and none of them has came out exactly right; or even close to right color.

Let's see:
This extra blurry pic happens to represent color somewhat accurately. Mmm... I think it's more pinkish red that reddish pink. What do you think?

Under certain light it does look like a classic red, rather loud one:
Yep, this is the same polish.

What I do not like about this Arden (in addition to its photo issues, of course) - it's a jelly. Semi-opaque color; looks very much like a jam on your morning toast - even thou it's definitely colored, you can still see the toast under the layer of jam.. I do not like to see my nails through polish, even thou I admit the jelly effect can be pretty.

And, at the end, two close-ups. Thus little stubborn dude deserves them.

Thanks to the Cackling Polish Dwarf I love to blame on polish disappearances, this color is discontinued, along with the whole line of Arden polishes. The closest dupe I can think of is OPI Dutch Tulips. It is from the same pinkish-red family. I'm not sure about the photography issues; let me know if you have Dutch Tulips - I'm really curious if it runs in a family.

I also have an incredible spring pedicure - Misa Tender Pink. For obvious reasons I do not post pedi pics, but I will throw in an old mani picture.

I hope y'all having a nice spring!

My name is Masa and I'm an admitted holoholic - part one

2009-03-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Masainn holo-evolution:

Before: Holo polishes are too much. They should be illegal to wear by anyone older than 20.

Now (approximately a year later): I want them all. All, and then some.

My first nail polish purchase since, I believe, October 2008 - Color Club holos. These polishes is a part of two different Color Club collections: Catwalk Queen and Femme Fatale. They are absolutely OMG-worthy.

See for yourself.

Fashion Addict. Lilac-silver holo, incredibly intense, and shiny, and driving hazardous. /Don't forget to click on a picture to see it full size/
Actually, it's more like a rainbow in a bottle, so "lilac and silver" is just to give you a vague idea of a base color.

Worth the Risque. Silver holo. Again, silver is just a base color, but this polish has so much more than silver to it!

Usually I cannot wear silver because they turn me into the Corpse Bride, but Worth the Risque is multicolored enough so I can pull it off (or can I?).

Bam!

I saved the best one for desert. Revvvolution. Black holo, truly black and opaque one. It's so black that OPI My Private Jet looks mousy-brown compared to Revvvolution (bite me, Suzi!).

My husband the dearest says this color looks a bit like a teenager's car. Oh well. It might, but I don't care.

I have to tell you about the quality. Perfect. Amazingly easy application, great formula and a super-fast drying time. These are 3 thin coats and they were completely dry in no time at all. Actually, fast drying time is typical for all holos, but these were fast-drying champions. Really, I do not have any single complaint about these three. They are even work with Konad. I slapped something on my nails to show you the endless kitchy possibilities:

(I used one of China Glaze Romantiques for the purple design over Fashion Addict).

Kudos to Color Club and I hope they will give us more holos in all colors imaginable!

Color Club polishes are available from Head2Toe.

Special thanks to Queen Jedi for being my holo-guru and inspiration.

While supplies last...

2009-03-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

Gotta love these words - "while supplies last". I truly loathe all the limited editions, special collections and limited quantities. Bottom line - these are just gimmicks making us to shell out our hard-earned dollars or euros, or rubles, or sand dollars - whatever your currency is.

But this is not the case here: China Glaze is discontinuing the most amazing holo-collection ever: Kaleidoscopes. I have no idea why. I imagine an evil nail dwarf, cackling at the idea of depriving us, girls, of great polishes. The same dwarf who is responsible for Elizabeth Arden killing off their line of polishes completely; the same dwarf who made sure that only the most boring and safe OPI colors will make it to Colorcopia.

Anyway, to the Kaleidoscopes. They are wonderful. Application is breezy; they are incredibly forgiving and flattering; they dry lighting fast and wear like iron. They come in two sets: Warm and Cool. And let me tell you, they mean it. I'm really warm and the colors from Cool set looked horrible on me. If you have not been blessed with a neutral skin tone, I suggest to stick with "your" set.

Onto the pictures.

The only color I have from the Cool set, Sexagon. Artsy!

(Corpse nails alert!) Silver cold holo is not my thing.

Unlike a true gold holo, It's My Turn:
It has some green bling to it. Isn't it amazing?

Spin Me Round, beige, but not a boring beige by any stretch of imagination:

I'd say, you can get away with this one in a non-conservative office environment.

Rated Holographic and Don't Be a Square are kinda similar. Both are just a bit boring, in my humble opinion. Rated Holographic is a beige-pinky and Don't be a Square is a pink-pinky. Here is Don't Be a Square:

Now I want to introduce you to my two favorites from this collection. They are very different, yet equally spectacular.

Visit Me in Prism - very delicate silver/beige/mauve, with a warm lilac undertones. The one and only polish I have a backup of.
Unfortunately, not the best picture.

Let's Do It in 3D is but delicate or modest. Va-va-voom, wowza etc.

If they made black fireworks, that would be it.

All in all - grab these colors if you have a chance. They even worth paying retail for them.

Spreading blog love

2009-03-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

I was given a "Your blog is fabulous" award. It sure is flattering, but it comes with a catch. Here is what I have to do:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which you think are fabulous.

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blogs.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

I think it's a good chance for you to know me a bit better, so I'm going to show you my favorite blogs outside the polish bottle (so to speak) as well.

Here we go:

1. Scrangie. She is fabulous, simply put. Perfect pictures, perfect writing, brutally honest in her reviews. At some point I was sure she was a virtual creation of several marketing companies - but no, she's real. Yes, I do have a girl crush on her.

2. Polish Addict. Look at these nails, people!

3. Siobhan. Konad Queen. Do I need to say more?

4. Dr. Frankenpolish. Amanda makes stunning custom polishes.

5. You might be surprised, but I have some other body parts in addition to the nails. For instance, I have hair. It's black. It's curly. And finicky. It reacts to humidity, dew points, wind, sunshine, bird chirping, rain and whatnot. The best blog for all us, curlies is Live Curly, Live Free. The most interesting curl information, written by a professional in a simple English.

6. The College Curly - the very first curly blog I've ever read. It's like a first love, y'know? Laura has the most awesome guide to Curly Girl method ever written.

7. The next Best Thing To Going Shopping Yourself - covers all my makeup needs, and then some. Swatches are enabling. Yes, Karla is uber-enabler.

8. The Chic and Green blog. Amazing recipes for homemade bath and body goodies (check out DIY tag); wonderful reviews.

9. Pittsburgh Curly - yet another curly (duh!) blog, with a science twist. Great post about misterious dew points.

10. Daily Curl - curly digest; self explanatory.

Picking my nominees was not an easy job. I do read and enjoy all the blogs in my blog roll, no exceptions. I was just trying to show you my "nailless" side.

Note to nominees - I know that many of you are really busy, so feel free to disregard the reward conditions; just know that I read your blogs and appreciate your efforts.

I think I need an intervention

2009-03-14T12:43:00.001-07:00

I prefer to think about myself as a cheerful, sunny, smiley person. I was delusional, apparently. Look at the random sampler of my manicures. Cheerful? Ha!

Essie Solemate (total PITA to apply, by the way).

SpaRutials I Feel The Earth Move:

Orly Plum Noire:

Barielle Shades, Hidden Hideaway:

Sephora by OPI, Caffeine Fix:

Finger Paints (extremely underrated brand), Be A Pale-ette:

Lippmann, Dark Side of The Moon:
Yours truly definitely needs sunshine, creamsicles, bunnies, bird chirping and something with mittens. Cheerful! Jeez...

For Melissa, by special request

2009-03-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

She asked me if Spa Rituals The Giving Tree and $OPI On Stage were twins.

Nope, Melissa, you have an indult issued by me to have them both. I cannot take a comparison picture since it's raining here; and it will be this way for the rest of this week.

But here they are:
The Giving Tree

On Stage

I prefer $OPI formula-wise. For some reason, I've had a very bad luck with SpaRitual. They chip on me withing 24 hours usually, even if I use the same brand base/top coat.

Elizabeth Arden Vincenza Raspberry vs China Glaze Strawberry Fields

2009-03-12T11:19:00.001-07:00

There been rumors circulating in a polish world about Strawberry Fields being a possible dupe of much coveted and long-discontinued Vincenza Raspberry. Sorry, guys, they are not the same.

They do look deceptively similar in a bottle: /Don't forget to click on the pic to enlarge it!/

On the nail - not so much. Left to right: VR, SF, VR, SF.

VR has a different base color - it's a bit colder and has kinda milky quality to it.

Also, glitter is very different as well. VR has much bigger, even chunkier flecks of gold; while SF glitter is denser and more...infusable (it's certainly not a word).

Here, another pic to show the difference:
...And one more:
You see - chunks in VR and smooth golden infusion in SF.

Sorry to be a bearer of bed news for those who are on a quest for VR dupe.

/Do not tell anybody, but I prefer China Glaze - color-wise, it works better with my skin tone./

China Glaze Summer Days collection

2009-03-12T11:18:00.001-07:00

Boy, China Glaze did a wonderful job. I have just two colors from the collection, but they are truly Summer in the little bottles. I've been incredibly down lately; and Orange Marmalade and Strawberry Fields worked much better than any anti-depressant.

Orange Marmalade. This is my very first orange ever. For some reason I was sure orange did not work with my coloring. I guess I was wrong?

Very intense orange, but without being garish. I think creamsicles, fluffy beach towels and sun-highlighted hair.

Happy color for sure:
I love how it sparkles, infused with tiny golden flecks
/Can you tell I'm exited?/

Strawberry Fields.
Pink. Bright, cheerful pink, mixed with myriads of golden sparkles. Fairy dust, butterfly dust - I don't know.

I'm amazed to admit it, but I prefer Orange Marmalade. It has more summer in it, if you know what I mean; Strawberry Fields is a bit on a spring side (nothing wrong with spring, I just miss summer).

Formula-wise, both applied very decent, even thou they are a bit sheer - I used 3 generous coats.

PS: Swatches of the whole collections are available here, at Scrangie's.

Sophistication. I haz it.

2009-02-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

...and let me show you how it's done.

Rescue Beauty Lounge, Bruised.
Old news, I know.

This color is hard to describe. Cocoa with raisins? Muted plum? Raisins without the cocoa? All in all, I do not have any dupes for Bruised in my stash. Cousins - yes: SpaRituals The Giving Tree, Sephora OPI Call Your Mother and On Stage, to name a few. Siblings, let alone twins, - no. It's a tad (or two tads) lighter than it appears on my picture; but this pic is the most color accurate tone-wise.

Unlike most RBLs, Bruised gave me some troubles - its formula seemed to be both runny and glue-ish, if it makes any sense. It is, thou, highly pigmented - if it was not for the weird formula, I could get away with just one coat.

This color is perfect by itself, but I decided to konad it anyway. $OPI On Stage for the design, and I got this:

For some reason, this manicure reminds me of Good Old England. Tea parties, tea roses, wide-brimmed hats, Pym's novels, fox hunting and an old lady flannel undies. I told you - I have sophistication.

PS: This is not spit on my nails. You should know me better to know that I know better than spit on my precious nails. It's Oh So Wet top coat decided to get bubbly on me. Suggestive name probably explains its ugly behavior, but it's another story, for another post.

Orly: Smudge Fixer

2009-02-16T15:29:00.000-08:00

Have you ever smudged a fresh mani? No? Lucky you - your mortgage is probably paid off, tires never need a rotation and your toilet paper gives birth to a new roll every time you run out. Good for you. As for me - I'm a queen of smudging. Queen of smudging no more, for I've discovered a great product: Smudge Fixer.

OK, today I was turning off a cell phone for a class and chipped my perfect Malaga Wine mani.
School=trouble.

To repair a chip like this one, I usually apply a dot of polish right on the chip, let it set for a bit; then apply a thin coat all over a nail and finish with a fresh top coat. If everything goes smoothly. Do you remember Cinderella's Stepmother? "I said "If".

Usually this happens because I'm a klutz. Today I hit my nail solely for educational purposes.

Good news: even this disaster of a chip is reparable. Get a big blob of Smudge Fixer and drop it on the nail - where you have the thickest layer, not on a place where you have a thinner layer or no polish left. There:
Then start smoothing the bulge out, rewetting the brush as needed. What you are trying to do is to make all layers even. Work in progress:

Gently push the wrinkle with a dripping wet brush towards the bald spot, until you have almost no wrinkle left. Then liberally apply Smudge Fixer on the whole nail (as if you are painting it) to level all layers out completely.

Wait a couple of minutes; apply a new coat of polish; finish with your top coat of choice.
Voila!

Honestly, with such a huge chip I'd rather remove the polish completely and redo this nail - I used Smudge Fixer just for the sake of this tutorial. Smaller chips will take almost no time and no effort to repair. Be careful: color will transfer to the brush and into the Smudge Fixer bottle, unless you wipe off/rinse your brush before dipping it again into the bottle.

Smudge Fixer is available retail (Sally's Beauty Supplies, Ulta and CVS, to name a few) and via major etailers.

Misa I Will Survive

2009-02-11T13:16:00.000-08:00

Misa I Will Survive is a great basic color. Sorry, guys, no pictures here. For some reason I could not make myself to take a picture of my nails with the black polish. Yep, I Will Survive is a glossy black, perfectly opaque in two colors. Formula was a bit runny, but otherwise it's a great color, if you're into blacks. I'm not, but I might user it for frankening. So far, my one and only attempt in custom-mixing polishes is my Perfect Purple.

But I know someone who is way more experienced in this kind of alchemy. My friend Amanda has recently started a blog dedicated to frankening. Take a look at the colors she makes. I'm jealous.

College Algebra vs Nail Polish - a battle of the year

2009-02-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

Yes. I thought it would be like King-Kong vs Godzilla or Alien vs Predator. Harsh reality: College Algebra wins. To the extent of me running around with chipped nails. So, it's more like Godzilla vs Little Stuart. That means I will spare you my annoying bubbling and go right to the business.

Misa Persian Carpet
Wonderful purple:
It's a very, very warm color. It actually has a strong amber cast to it, visible under the certain angles only (of course! - certain angles, certain lights...grrr).

Golden Thread. Rusty-brownish red. More of a Fall color, but who cares if it's beautiful:

These two colors are from the same "Fabric" family as the spectacular Embroidered Emerald, Brocaded Burgundy, Crimson Damask and Sepia Stained Cotton.

I was looking up those names for you and found out that Embroidered Emerald has been discontinued. Utter shame. Fortunately, Misa people seem to listen to us, humble customers. So if you want this color back - and I sure do - contact Misa and let them know.

Yes. I'm still alive.

2009-01-27T16:40:00.000-08:00

Or so I've been told, anyway.
I've been neglecting my blog; and I miss writing and miss all my readers (are you still out there?). Lame and old excuse: I have a lot on my plate. Among things I'm willing to share on public - I'm back at school now. It's challenging by itself; add a job, a family and a necessity to take a minimum care of my 30-year-old exterior and you will get a recipe for "I'll write in the blog tomorrow" disaster. Blog-shmog, I've been running with unpainted toes for 2 months now.

I have been swatching, thou. Lots of pictures ahead if you are willing to stick around.

I am determined to get posting again. I even have a new rubric in store for you - "I ain't no Paris Hilton" (yep, I certainly ain't no Paris, and this fact adds to my plate).

Well, see you soon!

I'm pleasantly surprised - with Essie, that is

2008-12-03T07:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, I really love Winter-08 collection so far. You've seen Sexy Divide already, and today I have pictures of another purple-ish polish - Damsel in a Dress. I have to say, application was great, it's completely opaque in two coats; I've been wearing it for three days now, typing a lot, and have just a minimal tip wear. I cannot believe I'm about to write this, yet - Way to go, Essie! Keep up the good job! /chocking on words, coughing/

All right, to the pictures: /please click on the following link to read more!/

This is my favorite picture from the bunch I've taken. It's the prettiest, but, unfortunately, it's not exactly true to life. Damsel indeed has this velvety shimmer to it; yet, purple undertone is not that pronounced as on this picture.

True color is more raisin-brownish, with a hint of gray/silver:

And this is how Damsel in a Dress looks most of the time in a natural light:

While I'm on this topick - another Zoya

2008-11-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

Zoya Sloane. Exactly what we all need - another gorgeous, dark, shimmery purple.

Seriously, it's just gorgeous - under the bright light, that is.

And it falls inevitably black in so-called "low light". Reality check - we live in a low lite 99% of the time.

Thankyouverymuch, dear Zoya. We needed another disappointing vampy. And speaking about disappointments - Sloane applies like a polish from polish hell (unlike Flourish polishes, by the way - they were perfect application-wise).

Zoya Flourish

2008-11-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

I'm really late to the party, but one of the polishes got stuck in a transit.

Pic of my least favorite in this collection, Kalista

Yes, that's true - my least favorite. This is an awesome brown with lots of gold in it; very warm and wearable. For some reason word "chestnut" comes to my mind every time I look at this polish.

But both Richelle and Zara are so much cooler!

Click on the "Read more" below to see the pics.

Zara. So far, this is the one and only lilac that works with my fair yet warm skin. Usually me + lilac = The Corpse Bride.

Zara has so much multicolored gold in it that one can almost call it a duochrome. See for yourself:

Shimmer is really multicolored: in addition to gold, it has some green, purple and ...? /dunno/ in it.

Richelle. My Momma's FAIL. Epic FAIL, I'd say. (don't you think this blog quickly deteriorates into a therapist's couch substitute?) Anyway, "gold" in my Mom's book means an epitome of vulgar, especially in a form of a nail polish.

Nuh-uh. Blingy - yes. Vulgar - no.

As the rest of Flourish collection, this color is very warm. Gold is not monochromatic, but very complex. It consists of some copper, some green, some purple and...? /dunno/. Basically, Richelle = Zara - Lilac. I'm a very casual kind of girl, yet I think Richelle would look awesome paired with just blue jeans and a sweater, no fancy dress necessary.

Unlike many others nail polish fanatics, I've skipped all the reds from this collection and got just three colors: Kalista, Richelle and Zara. I already have a gazillion of shimmery reds; but if you are into them, please take a look at the great swatches here, there or there.

PS: From the swatches I've seen, Shivon seems to be a dupe of China Glaze Awakening.

My Top-20 (part 2 of 2)

2008-11-24T10:45:00.000-08:00

Here comes the rest of my Top-20.

Risque, Misa

Meet For Drinks, Sephora by OPI

Malaga Wine, OPi

On Stage, Sephora by OPI

Yasmeen, Zoya

Just Walk Away, Renee, Lippmann

Killa Red, Rescue Beauty Lounge

Sexy Divide, Essie

Pink Camellia, Misa

Lady is a Tramp, Lippmann

I think someone here has a thing for red and purple...

My Top-20 (part 1 of 2)

2008-11-20T15:15:00.000-08:00

Twice a year, members of Nail Board play Top-20 game. Every members picks her 20 most beloved, most precious polishes, cast her ballot and then Nail Border Top-20 decided. The most exciting part is to share one's results with other members. I've decided to go further and to share my Top-20 (as of today, that is) with you.

Pictures posted in no particular order.

Buckle yourself up and let's get started!

Kew Gardens Wine, Elizabeth Arden:
Embroidered Emerald, Misa:

The Giving Tree, SpaRitual
Black Tie Optional, OPI:

~~Well, bite me!~~ We all entitled to our opinions.

Crappy shadow picture:

It's not that gorgeous, yet it definitely has some color, as opposed to black. In reality, it looks kinda grey/silver-purple in a shadow, 'cause I was way too generous with a silver (Easel Come Easel Go).

OK, you can enjoy my baby, while Momma is going to rest in a delivery room. /Harsh reality - back to work/

I've been looking for a purple...

2008-10-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

No, for The purple. I wanted a deep, deep, shimmery purple which won't look black in a low light. /"Low light" is a Nail Board apologetic euphemism for a normal indoor lighting. Use in a sentence: "It's a nice color, but looks almost black in a low light..."/ Is it too much to ask? Judging by a little purple graveyard in my polish rack - yes. They all pretty, but you have either use a magnifying glass or stick your nails into your eyes to see the shimmer.

So, I've given up on manufacturers and made my own!

I don't have a shadow pic (yet), but I swear: it looks purple indoors, not black.

Ingredients:

- unlabeled OPI for a base (I suspect it was Buffalo Berry)
- several drops of Misa I Will Survive (black)
- some Misa Sin Worth Committing (deep blue)
- Color Club Groove Tang (blackened purple)
- a lot of Finger Paints Make a Scene (neon pink, no kiddin')
- some random Finger Paints red
- a lot of Finger Paints Easel Come Easel Go (way too much...)
- a bit of Sally Hansen Nail Prisms in South Sea Pearl

...bat jerky and a unicorn hair?

I'm ridiculously happy with a result. Will post better pictures lately, a lot!

Special thanks to my Husband the Dearest, who provided much needed mixing balls (BB gun pellets).

Misa base and top coats

2008-10-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

Do you know this dreadful feeling - when you are watching a performance of a person you care about; and this performance is really, really bad? I hope you don't, but chances are, you do. So, you know exactly how I feel about Misa'a top and base coats.

Let's start with something positive. Well, I really like the names. BREAKneck and BACKbone, top and base respectively. Creative, but without a cuteness overload.

Now to the performance.

Base coat is available at Transdesign and Head2Toe for about $3. I cannot tell you much about this one - I use ridge-filling coats exclusively, so I don't know how BACKbone compares to other non-ridge fillers. Polish peeled off from one nail the very next day, but I don't know whether it was a top or a base problem. BACKbone has a red hue to it, but it's not noticeable on the nails. My guess, it's just to distinct a base coat from the same brand top coat, since bottles are identical.

Hard part. Top coat. It's marketed as "Fast-Dry Non Yellow Top Coat" and available from the same sources.
What does typical fast-drying top coat do?
a) dries
b) dries fast
c) smells offensively
Well, take out (b) from the equation and you got yourself Misa'a top coat. It does dry (a). Eventually. Let's say, my pedi was smudgeable (is it a word?) in 3 hours after I used BREAKneck. And it did smudge, indeed; and ruined my otherwise perfect pedicure. Call me a top coat nazi, but I do not like when top coat behaves this way. In addition to that, it pulls polish while being applied to the nail. It's weird, actually, for BREAKneck is watery thin and I do not expect something this thin to be a polish-puller. This product, thou, performs excellent in a smell department (c). As you can guess, I'm used to the smell of nail-related chemicals; but this topcoat is something really different. Seems like Misa chemists have tried to disguise an offencive, yet usual smell with some kind of pleasant aroma. This mix is no good.

Bottom line: do not waste your money, got a bottle of Misa polish instead and stick (no pun intended) to your regular base/top.

Sephora OPI - Meet For Drinks

2008-09-30T11:17:00.001-07:00

I'm not happy to admit it, but OPI really has nailed this color. Perfectly Fall, wine-red with a purple hue, with gorgeous velvety shimmer.

Application was breezy. I think it will wear great as well - I've been typing the whole day and still no trace of a tip wear.

Those of you who cannot get your hands on HTF NYPD Beet - get Meet For Drinks. It's not an exact dupe, but this rich velvety shipper makes them look very much alike.

Konad - yet again

2008-09-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

All Konaders and Konad-addicts, I have great news for you.

Konad special polish? Not so special any more. Once you have figured out how to work the scraper, you can achieve good results with regular aka reasonably priced polishes!

So far, I've had excellent results with Easel Come, Easel Go and Gift Of Gold (both by Finger paints).

One picture is better than thousand words, so here we go:
Easel Come, Easel Go over RBL Au Chocolate. I know, it seems like a blasphemy to konadize this polish, but what can a poor Konad-adict do?

Gift Of Gold:

Please excuse the sloppiest swatches ever, I was really excited to stamp this gold right away over anything.

To be honest, these pictures just do not do the justice - gold is so much richer in real life!

I have also tried a couple of OPI - old formula red and a new blue - to recreate Sara's wonderful 4th of July mani. Guess what? Both worked just great!

The only problem I've had so far was with Essie Marshmallow. I want to use it for Konad french tips, and polish is too thin. I left it opened for to make it thiker and cannot wait to report you the results of this experiment.

I will get Misa's white and black and try them as well.

I really hope this post would save some of you a couple of bucks!

/Konad 10 ml special polish - about $10; Finger Paints 15 ml - about $4. Goft of Gold is discontinied, but Fool's Gold from a current collection seems like a good replacement/

The tackiest many in the world... Or is it?

2008-09-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

One might even call it the best mani for TGIF night on the town.

I've been experimenting a lot with Konad; and finally decided to give a holo-polish a go. The only holo I have is OPI Designer Series Design.

Ingredients:
- OPI Have You Seen My Limo as a base
- OPI DS Design
- Konad plate # m20

Results:

Daylight many:

I think, it's an acceptable manicure for a casual Friday in a "relaxed" office. You can barely see the design.

But wait until the light strikes it!

Little flowers almost lighten up from within:

So, what do you guys think?

Two birds with one stone: OPI classic, La Boheme

2008-09-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

We are having a week dedicated to HTF (hard to find aka discontinued) polishes on Make Up Alley's Nail Board. I've decided to be a smart one and post pictures of both HTF and a Fall-suitable polish.

OPI La Boheme. Honestly, I've almost stopped to hunt HTFs. I had an epiphany: polish is a polish is a polish. In most cases, anyway; but not in this one. La Boheme is cerainly well worth to hunt it down. Is it warm? Is it cold? Is it sparkly? Is it a bit of this, this and that?

Horrible truth about RBL top coat revealed!!!!!! Click here to find out more!!!!

2008-09-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

As my readers (anyone out there?) might know, I've been having issues with a bad tip wear of my precious Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes.

Recently I was given a RBL top coat as a present (thanks again, Diann!) Well, I have to tell you: it improves the wear tremendously. I'm on my third day with Au Chocolate; have been typing lake a mad typist all the time; and still not a hint of a tip wear. Sad, but looks like you need to buy the $16 top coat (or even $48 treatment system) to get a good wear out of RBL polishes.

Couple of words about the top coat. Short disclaimer: I do not do regular top coats, just fast drying ones; I have a life, you know. RBL top coat is not a fast drying treatment; neither a self-leveling, unlike Seche Vite or Poshe. It does, thou, yields an incredible, glass-like, hard glossy finish. A great way to refresh a dull mani. A bit expensive for a refresher coat? Oh, yes. But if you are a heiress - why not?

A healthy way to deal with choco-cravings

2008-09-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolate. Dark chocolate at its best: smooth, glossy and undeniable. Great polish? Yes. Expensive? Hell, yes. But I didn't say "cheap", I said "healthy".

Bless the Fall

2008-09-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

Finally, it has arrived. True, it's still hot here, in Atlanta (darn electrical bills!). Yet, we can already sleep with a window open, air smells like Fall; and maples are morphing from green to purple.

To celebrate the season - three colors I enjoy for Fall.

Misa, Sepia Stained Cotton. Hot chocolate lacking some milk and definitely loaded with chocolate. Some bronze sparkles and a hint of green shimmer.
I have to tell you about an application: it was awesome, flawless, perfect - I can keep going like this for a while. Practically, this polish just applied itself. Two coats to achieve a bottle color. Love!

RBL Drifter. Glossy, deep, vampy purple. Signature-perfect application.
Just a litle problem - it chipped in 24 ours, sharp. I know that nothing is perfect in this world, but still - one can expect some durability for $18 a bottle.

Sephora by OPI, On Stage. Oh my, I love this color: muted, dusty purple with a hint of lilac-y gray. My description may stink like patchuly, but I swear - nothing momsy about this color.
The only drawback is an application. Goopy hunk of a mess. Person with average manicure skills (I'm modest, aren't I?) might just throw the bottle in the trash. Booo! The color is worth an every painful brushstroke, thou.

Sephora OPI - I'm late to the party, but still want...

2008-09-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

...to share my 2 cents. Or, more likely, $27. Yep, these polishes are $9 a pop.

I wasn't excited about Sephora by OPI. For starters, I'm a bit of a snob in a twisted anti-snob way: I hate exclusives, limited editions etc. Price tag did not make me happy either.

But being as Curious George as I am, I swapped for a couple of bottles and now I have to admit - I like these polishes.

First of all, brushes in Sephora OPI are normal, old-time OPI brushes (as opposed to the Pro-Wide mops).
Second, application was really good for all three colors I have.
Third, I like the colors. In my opinion, OPI has achieved a very nice balance between edgy and wearable. Good comeback after France collection, as boring as it gets.

To the pictures.

I'm With Brad. Vampy red creme; very, very blackened. Unlike most blackened polishes, it doesn't look black indoors, but shows its red nature. Under a bright light it just glows. I'm not a big fan of shimmers, but I do like I'm With Brad.

Run With It. Great example of a wearable edge-ness or edgy wearabless. Grey-beige, appropriate for a non-conservative office, yet very trendy. Note a delicate shimmer: it reminds me of a concrete mixed with glistening gold sand. /gah! that's corny!/
Please excuse a sloppy Konad job.

Call Your Mother. Elegant, muted, sophisticated pale purple. Looks like a wilted lilac flower. And, somehow, reminds me about signature IKEA meatballs gravy - creamy, glossy, naturally looking and totally unhealthy (in this case - for your account).

Bottom line: these polishes are worth looking at. Despite the crazy price tag, they are extremely popular, so hurry if you want to get any colors from a limited edition (yuck!) Autumn & Eve Fall collection.

Let's talk more Konad?

2008-08-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Judging by your responses, Konad techniques might be interesting to some of my readers. OK, let's get stamping.

***
Here comes a short seance of a self-therapy:

My environment is totally Konad-unfriendly. My mom, bless her heart, still tells me that bright or, God forbid, red polish reserved for the fallen creatures only. My beloved husband used to roll his eyes ones hear the words "nail art". "Honey, how old are you, exactly? Thirteen?". Yes, he can pursue a PhD in being sarcastic with his wife. I had been drooling profusely over Sara's beautiful Konad manicures (check the links at the end of her post). Yet, somehow I was sure I would look like a retired ho' with a lot of time on her hands (literally) if I would get myself one of these sinful stamps. I have to admit, pictures on Konad official web site did not exactly prove the opposite. So, buying a Konad was somewhat of a rebellious act. I was working late and out of the blue I though: "Hell, this is my life and I just want to have some fun". Hi, my name is Masa and I'm so proud of myself for finally getting a Konad!
***

Konad is a trade name of a company that produces kits for "stamping nail art". In theory, you apply a bit of a special nail polish on the design of your choice; scrape polish excess with a miniature scraper; press a rubber stamp on the design and transfer it to your nails. With the greatest of ease. I wish!

After getting my Konad, I did one - one! - design successfully and then it just did not want to work for me anymore. Instead of transferring countless immaculate "highly detailed, sophisticated designs" to my nails, I was almost crying in frustration. Then I remembered that I have a polish fanatic colleagues and sent out a lot of emails.

Carla G was nice enough to share this link. Please, read the section "Stamp not picking up image" carefully.

Konad's nuts and bolts:
1. Before you begin, file the rubber stamp with your regular nail file - just a touch.

2. Do not try to swipe your polish over the design in different directions in attempt to cover all little nukes and crannies. Swipe with one fast, wide motion. If you work with polish for too long (we are talking seconds here, not minutes), it will dry out right on the plate and your stamp will not pick up the design. Big blop of polish is not necessary at all. Thin layer can produce very good results.

3. Clear both the plate and a scraper after each swipe, with acetone-based remover.

4. Use Konad special polish. I hate "special" products; usually it's just a marketing trick, making you to pay more money for a product equal to a regular, not-so-special stuff. Well, "special polish" does yield better and more consistent results.

5. Experiment with the stamp: try to place it on the design straight, head first; or try a gentle rolling motion.

6. Transfer the design to the nail in one rolling motion.

7. Even if you are a perfectionist, please, do not get mad at yourself. Some designs are just more difficult to work with than others. I still cannot master this one:

For some reason it's almost impossible to pick up completely. I've already wasted gallons of polish on it, and was able to pick the design for 95% just once. Oh well.

8. Buy more polish than you think you would use. You will inevitably waste some while learning ropes.

9. Make sure your top coat is fresh and thin; otherwise it will pull your design and ultimately ruin it.
Some tips and tricks:

1. Stamping over your base coat works well. Great way to refresh an old mani.

2. If you work over the base coat and have smudged the design, gently scrape it off the nail and redo. I use plastic nail tips from Sally's for scraping.

3. Some of regular polishes do work with Konad. For instance, Color Club nail art polishes. One of nail boarders also has mentioned that Misa I Will Survive (glossy black) works perfectly. Go, Misa!

Experiment and have fun!

Special thanks to NOTD blog for inspiration and advice; and to Carla G for the great link!

Neon opposite mani

2008-08-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

After neon intoxication I wanted to paint my nails into something muted, subtle and sophisticated to the extent of being boring. So I've reached for OPI Parlez-vous OPI? It turned out to be exactly what I wanted, but I could not just stop here. When one just got a Konad stamper, creativity itch is inevitable. I used plate #63 with Konad silver. Love the results (ha - I've been wearing this mani for almost 4 days; usually I change every other day).
And another - shadow - pic to show off the design. I've got couple of smudges, but nobody's perfect, right?

Another attempt - the same design in black, over Sephora OPI Run With It.(You can catch a glimpse of I'm With Brad on a ring finger).

I need more Konad plates.

Neon Pictures are here

2008-08-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

As you know, Misa's neon collection is huge - 12 colors all together. 12 colors means a lot of swatching, so with Scrangie The Greatest we have decided to ~~attack you, guys, form both left and right~~ split our efforts. Please refer to her post to see another 6 colors from this collection.

Here comes a disclaimer. I hate neons. The feeling is mutual - neons are not so thrilled about me, either. They look horrid on me. Imagine a very brightly colored shell parakeet pooping on one's nails right after having a big breakfast of neon markers. Now you have an idea of neons on my nails. Plus, neon is very hard to capture accurately. So, please be gentle with me and forgive my not-so-ideal pics.

General observations:

I thought the idea of releasing a neon collection mid-August was rather odd. However, I received these colors on a very dreadful rainy day, and looking at them - bright and smiley as a bunch of over-caffeinated cheerleaders - was very comforting. Not so bad idea after all.

All of the very few neon polishes I have met before were kinda...dense and chalk-like. Misa neon polishes are complete opposite. The consistency is a bit goopy and drippy at the same time; and they dry to a jelly finish. Drying time is fine. Unlike other neons, usually drying to a matte finish, these ones dried semi-gloss.

I had several issues with applications. Consistency does not allow to make three thin layers (which I prefer) accurately. Polish bulged a bit closer to the tips of my nails. The higher the jelly factor, the worse the application (my biggest problems were with Ready, Set, Sunshine and Bikini With a Martini).

Most of them are opaque in three coats.

I wish for the brushes to had more bounce - this would make handling of a heavy polish so much easier.

Enough words, let's move to the pictures.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat is one of my favorites, yet it takes the worst pictures in the whole bunch.
In real life it's a tone or even two lighter and have some hint of orange in it. Think a typical light pink highlighter.

Girl's Night Out is a very, very bright purple; one of the jellyest (is it a word?) in the bunch:
/OK - it shows perfectly on one of my monitors and really meh on another one. Just in case - it's a dark, bright purple/

Ready, Set, Sunshine. Meet your old friend from Driver's Ed - road cone. Or you can think about this color as a carrot which has been consuming way too much energy drinks:
This one has the worst opacity rate: in 3 thick coats you can still see the white part of my nails. My guess, if you flash somebody with nails colored in Ready, Set, the person will go blind anyway and won't mind the sheerness of the color.

Happy Happy is yellow yellow and pretty pretty. I would love to wear it, but it's not my color at all:

Bikini With a Martini is the most wearable, at least for me. Bright magenta in a bottle, it looks surprisingly orange on the nails:

Let's Go Green is a very Honda-Element color, if you know what I mean. Nitrate-fertilized lime with a gold shimmer. Amazing shimmer is exactly the same as in Luminous. Basically, Let's Go Green is a chemical-green version of Luminous (sounds weird, I know). Required 4 coats and still was not completely opaque. Again, I love it, but cannot wear this one:

Please excuse some pink inclusions - I cannot stop playing with my brand-new Konad. I thought neon overload would look cute, but you have to use Konad special polish to get neon-bright results (I used Color Club pink).

OK, ladies, enjoy the colors; and I'm off to polish my nails into something muted, subtle, dark and boring.

It's raining cats, dogs and neon polishes here!

2008-08-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

Meaning:
1. Neons have arrived, all 12 of them!
2. I cannot swatch: it's pouring here; and neons + indoor lighting = deceptive pictures.

Here is an uber-ghetto swatch, for your /very questionable/ viewing pleasure:

First pictures of Neons -

2008-08-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

...by Nailphile.

Enjoy! /I definitely did/.

Update on Neons

2008-08-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

First, I just got a confirmation that I'll be getting them really soon.

Second - turns out, Misa did this collection three years ago; way before all major players have come up with marker-colored collections! They wanted to test the market first.

Third - most important, probably - this is a part of the core collection now. Certain Canadian gal should be happy, as well as many others neon enthusiasts.

Stay tuned for swatches!

An excuse to post this picture - I want to show you...

2008-08-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

...how well these patches work. An actual reason - I wanted to show off one of my old time favorites. Bitches Brew by Lippmann. It was my very first expensive polish; and the very first "bold" color (I used to be all neutrals, modest pinks and sheers kind of gal). Worth every penny: smooth, nice brush, dries quickly and wears exceptionally well. Who am I kidding here - I would get it just for the name.

Stupid weather did not let me capture a delicate, yet deep shimmer. Deep shimmer - does it make any sense?

Patches, oh yes - patches. There is a little bump on a pinky, but I needed to know if Swiss Silk would survive heavy picking on it. It did; and also has passed non-acetone remover test: did not even budge.

Out of the blue Neon

2008-08-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

This Spring/Summer were marked (or, even better, highlighted) with neon collections - from Essie, OPI and Color Club.

Voila - as of today we have Misa Neon as well (scroll down to the Misa link, please - I do not have a better picture yet). Mid-August is a bit odd time to release such a season-oriented collection. Misa representative said that they did not want to jump in the band wagon. According to the same source (boy, it sounds extremely cool!), collection will be available all year round. On Transdesign site, thou, Neon called "Spring/Summer". Puzzling.

Hopefully, I will get Neons next week. Expect swatches galore: it's a 12-shade collection.

Stay tuned for updates!

My affair with Rescue Beauty Lounge - very long and emotional post,

2008-08-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

... as cheater's chronicles should be.

It would be stupid to deny that I use other brands than Misa - I sure do. Usually, thou, I do not get emotionally attached /God, I'm such a freak - who else can get attached to a polish?/ Well, it was not the case with RBL. After Scrangie's brilliant pictures I got mad. As those pretties are $18 a pop, I've been swapping, swapping and swapping; I even paid retail for a couple of them - and I'm a known Scrooge.

I guess, I cinically cheated on my beloved Misa, as I admit: RBL is better. Yes, sure, RBL is almost 9 times Misa, but still... They apply absolutely flawlessly and have an outstanding color pay-off. With many of them you can achieve a bottle color and an even coverage with one - one - coat:

/Killa Red; middle finger - one coat/

RBL customer service is a second to none, truly. I admit, I'm a sucker for a good CS, that's right. I grew up in an ex-socialist country, which meant zero attention to customer. Too many companies give me flashbacks from the past. Hello, Nubar, do you really needed two month to answer a simple email question? RBL's representative usually emails back in an hour.

The only fly in the ointment (besides the killer price, of course) is a tip wear I've been getting in 2-3 days despite all my efforts. I tried any base coat/top coat combination possible, I wore gloves almost 24/7 - nothing has worked. I was about to write a really bitter post "$18 polish should jump on your nails and stick to them forever", swap away all my RBL and come back to Lippmann for a luxury fix.
/Killa Red, second day/

And then I sent an email to RBL asking about their upcoming Fall collection (addict is an addict is an addict, no matter what). Got a usual prompt respond, but signed by Ji Baek herself! I could not believe my eyes and said it was too bad it was impossible to get her autograph. In a couple of days she sent me a scanned one. It was a very sweet and personal touch and I really appreciated it, for I'm sure she is busy.

Being as ungrateful pig as I am, I wrote her about my issues with polish durability. Yes, I do type a lot; no, I don't use RBL base/coat; no, it doesn't happen with much cheaper polishes. I expected a polite version of "try our base and shut up, everybody raves about my polish" as an answer. Damn, no! First, she seemed to be truly concerned. Second - nothing about to shell out more money for RBL treatments. Ji nicely suggested to try a tip wrap (when you start painting from the tips). What a smart way to win a customer back. Trick did not help, I got a bad tip wear again. But for her being so genuinely concerned about my problem, I'll try to make it work between me and RBL. (Misa, cover your ears, please, I'll be back anyway!)

I understand that I sound like a 13-year-old Hannah Montana fan, but I do think Ji is amazing. I'm sure she is tough, as she built a successful business; yet she is sweet and, according to Scrangie, hot. I wish I could have a boss like her.

To wrap this emotional bubbling up - I look forward to Rescue Beauty Lounge Fall collection (available mid-October). And I still think that $18 is a ridiculous price for a nail polish, even for the best one.

Broken nail doesn't mean you have to file it up to the quick.

2008-08-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

Couple of days ago I broke a nail on my left pinky - while vacuuming, arrgh! The tear was past the quick and pretty wide, almost to the middle of the nail. After kicking my vacuum cleaner for a while, I just let it go. Well, have you ever got a towel thread stuck in a teared nail? It hurts and it doesn't help the tear shrink. I have a choice: either file all the nails up to zero or try Swiss Silk Wraps recommended by my fellow Nail Boarder Ponchy.

Ponchy, thank you so much! You saved the day/nail.

SuperNail Swiss Silk Wrap Self-Adhesive Tabs look like nail-shaped pieces of silk (duh!) sandwiched together with a paper base. You cut a piece of a size you need with scissors; peel off the silk layer and apply it to the teared part of your nail. Patch holds by itself, but to make it completely secure, you will need ibd 5 Second Brush-On Gel Resin:

it looks like a miniature nail polish bottle. Brush up the patch with IBD, let it set for a couple of minutes - and you're done!

I'm pretty sure that there are other similar products on the market, but this one, as I said, was recommended by another nail fanatic, so I've decided not to reinvent the wheel.

Patch will serve you for about a month, withstanding non-acetone polish remover. Acetone will dissolve the gel; you'll have to reapply the patch.

Illustration:
Really, don't wait for a nail emergency, go to Sally's and keep these two products in your medicine cabinet.

Quick comparison: OPI Eiffel For This Color vs Lincoln Park at Midnight

2008-08-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've been weeding out duplicate colors recently (one cannot have infinite amount of polish, you know...). So I'm mad at myself now for getting Eiffel For This Color, for it's a dead-on dupe of OPI famous Lincoln Park At Midnight. There is a difference, but it's so insignificant that might not be enough even for a Nail Boarder.

To the pictures. Left to right: EFTC, LPAM and Rescue Beauty Lounge Film Noir (just because I like it, that is):

As you can see, the only difference is in shimmer, base colors are identical in both polishes. Eiffel has star-like shimmer inclusions, as opposed to all-over, evenly distribited shimmer in LPAD. /Beautiful Film Noir is absolutely flat and gorgeous/.

Another pic I purposefuly took with an exaggerated flash, to show off base colors:

See? LPAM is evenly shimmery, while Eiffel is flat with shimmer inclusions.

If you don't have either Effel or LPAM - take my advice and get the latter; formula is so much better.

Elizabeth Arden: the eulogy

2008-08-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Line of Elizabeth Arden polishes has been discontinued about a year ago, I believe. I have no idea why Arden's big shots made this decision. I'm sure, they had their reasons; but so did the Spanish Inquisition. You think I'm overreacting? Well, see for yourself. Formula as smooth as glass, brush is impeccable, wear is great...

What about colors? Well, colors...

Let's start with Vincenza Raspberry. It's an epitome of "pretty": bright pink with sparkly gold flakes. I'm not a sparkly kind of gal, but this is truly pretty. Besides, it's good to wear something really summer-y before we all jump on a Fall wagon.

Arden can do shimmers like no one out there (damn, could do shimmers). How about that: bright jelly red with rather chunky gold glitter? Sounds garish, doesn't it? Not true. It's Camden Pepperberry:

Excuse my ignorance, I have no idea what pepperberry really is. But for me this polish looks like Christmas morning and mistletoe.

Next one is extremely popular among my Nail Board buddies:
West End Purle Sage. Warm purple, loaded with lots of silver shimmer. One can barely see shimmer on the nails (as opposed to the bottle). Honestly, I don't know why it has caused such a frenzy among polish fanatics. I guess, it's just not my color. I've seen better -

Like Connecticut Ave. Merlot, for instance. Rusty-red, loaded (again!) with a fine gold shimmer.

If you don't know, I'm all cremes, not shimmers; so I left the best one for dessert. Buckingham Blackberry.
Just look at this purple perfection!

I made this picture to show of a hint of shimmer, which as not visible on the nails at all. It probably adds depth to the color, or something like that. But it might as well be an old good fairy dust: BB looks absolutely gorgeous.

What do you think? I hope a marketing CEO (or whoever made the decision to discontinue this line) had a very good reason. Like saving a life of a puppy. Otherwise, I wish her goopy polishes for the rest of her life (if it's a women); or a bad-tempered girlfriend with constant hangnails (if it's a guy).

PS: You still can find Arden polishes in selected Ulta stores (clearance shelves); in some nail supply stores and via on-line stores.

Comparison: Misa Fatal Affair and China Glaze Midnight Ride

2008-08-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have bad news for a lovely Canadian gal. Michelle, I was wrong: these two are not dupes; I would say - not even sisters; cousins - may be.

Quick and somewhat dirty swatches.

First - taken in a full sunlight (yay, we had a bit of sunlight today!). Starting from index finger: FA, MR, FA, MR.

Difference is obvious: MR is more blackened and its shimmer is dark purple, as opposed to blue-shimmered and purple-based FA. By the way - I discovered that Midnight Ride has a very dark olive-brown base!

Another picture - shadow.
While both Fatal Affair and Midnight Ride are blackened purples, they are so different that you can easily spot it even in such lighting (or lack thereof).

Hands down, I like Misa's color better. Hands down, China Glaze wins formula-wise. I think I overestimated Misa Fall formula. It's actually too thick, not to the point where thickness causes serious problems with application, but...

PS: Midnight Ride was a present from Hill The Sweetest. I wrote about her here; and - voila - she just did another good deed. Hill, thanks again!