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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Misa Touch the Rainbow

So on Monday, I actually painted my nails China Glaze's I Wanna Lei Ya (also from the Fiji Fling collection). It was a lovely color that couldn't stand up to my bowling league. By the time I had a chance to take photos, my nails were broken and my manicure was 100% chipped and ruined. Every single finger. I'll try it again on another day.

Today I present you with Misa's Tuoch the Rainbow. It's a lovely icy blue with a light blue turquoise shimmer running through it. The formula was mildly challenging to get evenly applied, and required three coats to cover. My hands are something FAR less than steady since the plague hit me, so that could admittedly be a part of it. The color, once applied, is gorgeous! The blue is noticeable, but is not so in your face that it feels awkward in an office (granted, my office is pretty low key about that sort of thing in general, and I'm in a creative department that grants even greater leeway). The color has just the slightest hint of sparkle that gives a nice depth of color. It's great on us pale girls with blue/pink undertones.

Digression: you know what is really, very, not at all cute on us? Yellow. Last night, I got part way through an Electric Pineapple manicure last night before realizing my hands looked hot pink. It was not cute. I'm too pinky-blue and too pale for that. I think I'm going to be willing to give that one to a good, warm-toned home. If anyone reads this and they fit that description, send me an email. The contact info is on the right.

Final analysis of MISA Touch the Rainbow: Great color, just requires a steadier hand than I presently have.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Apology.

No updates since Thursday? That's not a good record for new blogging. A seriously nasty bout of stomach flu roaming through the house has kept me from the nail painting. I hope to rectify this tonight. I DO apologize and hope that I won't have another four day absence any time soon.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Below Deck.

Last night I delved into my new stash and painted my nails in China Glaze Below Deck, a beautiful purple-grey creme. The formula was thicker than a lot of the China Glaze I've used, and I could almost have gotten by with a single coat. I did two just to increase consistency. It self-leveled marvelously and has great shininess. This color is REALLY close to Sally Hansen's Commander in Chic -- just a little bit more purple than brown. The following pictures are one coat of OPI base coat, two coats of Below Deck and a top coat of Seche Vite.



Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Pure Joy.









Behold the haul. You can actually see halos! Or maybe that's just the reflection of gorgeousness on my desk.

I'm at work, so I can't really go full mani (also, broke two nails last night whilst bowling [badly bowling, I might add]), but I checked the formula on the Misa and it is AMAZING. I want to bathe in it. Not really, because while being green and sparkly is fun in theory, it'd probably get weird looks in practice.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Spring Collection Obsession.

So as of today, we have a little more than a month left of spring. I know the summer collections are trickling in, but let's embrace the current calendar season while we still have it! Now, I have NO backlog in terms of content, so I'm going to link to some great bloggers' reviews. I hope it helps add to your wishlist!

BB Couture Touch of Greece God Collection, Goddess Collection Review by Also Known As
God collection contains Eros, Ares, Uranus, Plutus, Apollo, Hades
Goddess collection contains Hemera, Selene, Cybele, Gaia, Aphrodite, Nike

China Glaze Anchors Away Collection Review by Nail Addicts Anonymous
contains Below Deck, Ahoy!, First Mate, Hey Sailor, Life Preserver, Lighthouse, Knotty, Pelican Gray, Sea Spray, Starboard, Sunset Sail, White Cap

Color Club Alter Ego Collections
Reveal Your Mystery Collection Review by Scrangie
contains Get a Clue, Give Me a Hint, Incognito, Revealed, Secret Rendezvous, Sheer Disguise
Keep It Under Cover Collection Review by Body & Soul
contains Ulterior Motive, Alias, Alter Ego, Secret Agent, Masquerading, Total Mystery

Essie French Affair Review by Ommorphia Beauty Bar
contains Kisses & Bisses, French Affair, Sand Tropez, Nice is Nice, Topless & Barefoot, Coat Azure

Illamasqua Toxic Nature Collection Review by Vampy Varnish
contains Radium, Bacterium, Gamma, Stagnate

Misa Wishes Collection Review by All You Desire
Contains Never Say Never, Pixie Princess, Touch the Rainbow, Fountain of Youth, Genie in this Bottle, Whimsicle Wish

Nubar Spring Garden Collection Part 1 & Part 2 Review by Temptalia
Part 1 contains Baby Sprout, Blue Hydrangea, Earthen, Honeysuckle
Part 2 contains Pink Lily, Purple Aster, White Peony, Yellow Primrose


OPI Texas Collection Review by Scrangie
contains Austin-tatious Turquoise; Don't Mess with OPI; It's Totally Fort Worth It; I Vant to Be A-Lone Star; San Tan-tonio; Suzi Loves Cowboys; Big Hair, Big Nails; Do You Think I'm Tex-y?; Guy Meet's Gal-veston; Houston, We Have a Purple, Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em, Y'all Come Back, Ya Hear?

Orly Precious Collection
Review by Vampy Varnish
contains Pure Porcelain, Gilded Coral, Fancy Fuchsia, Ancient Jade, Sapphire Silk, Royal Velvet

Rescue Beauty Lounge Ironic/Iconic Collection Review by Karla Sugar
contains Decorous, Insouciant, Recherche, Iconoclast

Zoya Intimate Collection Review by Also Known As
contains Caitlin, Marley, Dove, Dannii, Jules, Gemma

Monday, May 16, 2011

China Glaze Tantalize Me

So this is not a freshly swatched (HEY, I'm swatching! Kind of...) set of nails. This is from Friday (the weekend totally got away from me).

SO... China Glaze Tantalize Me. I understand this came from the Fiji Fling collection they put out for Spring/Summer 2006. It looks like they did the entire collection in duos of contrasting color which is kind of cool. That could be a fun thing to do an accent nail with. Hm....

Digressing!

So this color is a lovely lilac color that has a really excellent blue shimmer running through it. The formula on my bottle was a bit runny. I got decent coverage with two coats, but even with the Seche Vite top coat, I managed to dent one of my nails about 20 minutes after painting. I may have pouted as I reapplied the polish to the offending finger, but in the end it was totally worth it. I have pale skin and am a red-blue undertoned girl which presents copious color challenges. This color not only didn't give me any lobster hands, it actually made me look somewhat tan. Magic! And that blue shimmer is gorgeous.

Now, please remember that this color is now four days old... and yes... that is Peachy Keen embarrassingly hanging out on a couple cuticles. My only saving grace right now is that nobody knows I exist and with any luck, by the time they do, I'll have several excellent swatches to make this one not seem so bad! But let's not focus on these sad imperfections. Check out the beauty that is this color. She's so pretty.

I would absolutely recommend this to a friend.

It appears I have a problem.

This blog is being born of necessity. Since April 17, I have made three large nail color purchases from the interwebz. Not just one or two... large, large purchases (at least to me). And I have not finished wearing even the first order's worth of pretty, pretty polishes.

I am a polish addict. The more I have, the more I need. I am a burgeoning nail nutty girl, so I figured I'd join the ranks of the websites I compulsively scan for the latest colors. I'm hoping to have lots of fun updates and reviews as I grow my collection.

Prior to the aforementioned hauls, I had a hodgepodge of about 11-12 colors. And this obsession was brought on by my last in-store (ULTA) purchase of two colors from the China Glaze Anchors Away Collection: Knotty and Ahoy. I bought them, I applied them, I loved them, I NEEDED more.

So without further ado, here are my first three orders that have started my collection in earnest.

Order 1. April 17, 2011. The psychosis begins...
China Glaze Jitterbug*
China Glaze Midnight Mission*
China Glaze Foxy
China Glaze Swing Baby*
China Glaze Strawberry Fields
China Glaze Sky High-Top
China Glaze Frosty*
China Glaze Bahamian Escape
China Glaze Secret Periwink-le*
China Glaze Branding Iron
This was my discovery that China Glaze exists online for about 3.00 a bottle. I love this knowledge.
*already worn

Order 2. April 24, 2011. Or: hey, there's another website and THEY sell OPI & that Seche Vite stuff everyone raves about...
OPI Meet Me on the Star Ferry
OPI Bright Light-Big Color* (presently on my toes. I'll spare you)
OPI Japanese Rose Garden*
China Glaze Something Sweet
China Glaze Sugar High
China Glaze Orange Marmalade*
China Glaze Grape Juice
China Glaze I Wanna Lei Ya
China Glaze Ingrid
China Glaze Peachy Keen*
China Glaze Tantalize Me* (presently on my hands. This I'll show shortly)
Seche Vite Top Coat

Order 3. May 15, 2011. I have no yellow. Or green. PANIC! I should order some stuff!
MISA Genie in This Bottle
MISA Touch the Rainbow
MISA Spinning Out of Control
MISA Dirty Sexy Money
MISA Toxic Seduction
Color Club Soft As Cashmere
China Glaze Electric Pineapple
China Glaze Lighthouse
China Glaze Hey Sailor
China Glaze Below Deck
China Glaze Sea Spray

I was greatly saddened by the fact that On Stranger Tides was sold out. I may have even pouted.

So this is where I start. I'm definitely obsessed. I love this whole nail polish thing.