Overall Beauty Sale Haul!

Eeek they're here! I'm been dreaming about these nonstop since I first saw them and now they're finally here! *squeal* (Click these suckers to enlarge, they're ginormous!)


Kelly's Green, Redwood Forest, Vampy Varnish, Mendocino Midnight, Union Square, Napa Valley Red. OMG SO HOT

These are Kelly of Vampy Varnish's personal creations! Check out her swatches!

These came along for the ride as well:


Studio 54, Saturday Night Fever, Hard-On Nail Strengthener, Top Rock Topcoat.

Studio 54 almost seems a little frosty, Saturday Night Fever looks like it could be twinny to Emerald Sparkle. I'll admit, I only bought Hard-On for the name and Top Rock because it's scented. Heh.

Looks like they made the bottles smaller, as you can see in the second picture. They're .5oz now instead of .6oz.

I can't wait to try all of these on. OMG I'm so excited. SO MANY GREENS!!! SO MUCH GLITTER!!!! The colors, Duke!

OMG super awesome sneak preview SPRING 2010 BARIELLES!

UPS man just totally surprised me with this package! A Festivus miracle!!

Darling Dahlia, Blossom, Myrza's Meadow (someone at Barielle plays Magic: The Gathering? Oh wait... that's Urza.), Snap Dragon, A Bouqet For Ava and June Bug.

Click to enlarge.

Two of these have GLITTER!!

I'm on my way to a Christmas party so I have to post and run... More info soon!

EDIT: Forgot to post these, too excited!


Myrza's Meadow


June Bug

100% of the proceeds from A Bouquet For Ava, June Bug and Myrza's Meadow purchased at www.orcf.org will be donated to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

A polish I really like - China Glaze Afterglow

China Glaze Afterglow. I found this polish in my stash a couple weeks ago. I was moving all my China Glazes into an Ikea Helmer, attempting to sort them vaguely by color. That's when I saw it. I didn't even know I had this. I don't think I've ever worn it. It's a shame, cause it's SO FREAKIN' COOL! It's a sheer polish with a milky nude-peach-yellowy pink base, which throws you off because it looks kinda funky. But the funny base isn't what shows up on your nail- it's the wicked blue iridescence! It has both a bright blue flash and bright blue shimmer particles. It looks electric. I can't stop looking at it. I think it would be amazing for layering over other colors, but I kinda like how this looks all by itself. This is three coats. I think one of the reasons I'm so drawn to this is that it reminds me of a polish I had in junior high. It was from Afterthoughts, remember that place? They sold cheap jewelry and did crappy ear piercing? Anyway, the name of the polish was Angel. Angel looked a bit like this (and a lot of other polishes, white with blue iridescence seems to be a popular theme).

So, there you go. China Glaze Afterglow. Cool polish.

You know... I really like doing random posts like this. I haven't had much time to sit and do 'real' reviews of collections lately (despite the fact that I have months worth of crap to post! Oy) and it really has me thinking.... Random posts are fun. Reviews feel like work, unless it's something I'm super-super excited about, and then it's fun.

And speaking of reviews, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do my full Nubar Prism review soon, as I STILL haven't seen the polishes in sunlight. It's been... what... a week? That's Chicago winter for you. I really wanted to see how much they sparkle in real sunlight and get some better pictures. I may just have to review them with my initial impressions. Hopefully I'll get a little sunlight before they come out and I won't have to do that.

I think that's all I wanted to say... I feel like I'm forgetting something. I don't know. *dodges avalanche of green slime*

If I don't get another chance to post before then, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! I know I will, I'm making rum cake.

Nag, nag, nag. Sales!

Okay, since this is the third or fourth email I've gotten about it, I figured I might as well post it.

Barielle's still having their Holiday sale- 10% off orders over $25, 20% off orders over $60 (and free shipping) or 30% off orders over $100 (and free shipping.) No code needed. Ends December 25th. A couple swatches here: Barielle

Also, BB Couture is doing a buy one get one free sale. Buy one polish and get another of the same polish for free. No code required, ends December 25th. Only valid on BB Couture's site.

I know there was one more sale I'm forgetting.... I think I deleted the emails already. It might have been Lippmann.

Color Club Wonderland Minis Winter 2009

Holy crap. I just realized it's almost Christmas and I still haven't posted these Color Club glitters. I took these pictures BEFORE HALLOWEEN. Talk about backlog... I feel like I'll never be able to post all the things I want to post. Argh! Well, like I always say, better late than never. And there's no rule that says you can't wear green glitter after Christmas, so, there!

(These were sent to me by Color Club)

Under The Mistletoe. Let's just start off with my favorite. Green glitter, any surprise it's the one I like the most? Didn't think so. This is not generally what I think of for a 'mistletoe' shade, but it's still nice! It's a light yellowy silver-green glitter. The base seems tinted, but the glitter is dense enough to cover the entire nail with no problem. Very very sparkly.


Wonderland. Super sparkly light silver glitter. The picture speaks for itself. Uber-sparkly snowy silver glitter. Has a very bright reflective overall look. Not as dense as other silver glitters, this one would work well as a topcoat but it is dense enough to wear alone.

Yule Love It. Light red glitter in a light red tinted/jellyish base. Again, not the traditional red glitter Ruby Pumps close. I like it! This is a very pinkish red shade, almost more of a deep magenta than a true red. The base isn't as sheer as I had expected it to be, it's more of a jelly finish than a sheer tint. Lovely. Does double duty as a great Valentine's Day color as well.

Here's a quick indoor shot of them from the day I got them. That's Abracadabra on my middle finger.

The formula on these was good. The glitter was nice and dense, I did three coats of all and that was good enough coverage for me to be happy. They're a little on the thick side. Drying time wasn't lightning fast, but not what I'd consider long. Average for Color Club, but faster than the Glitter Vixens. The glitter does have a little grit to it and needs a coat of a nice thick topcoat but they're also not as gritty as the Glitter Vixen ones were. These are more of a slight bumpy finish than a scratchy gritty finish. Yule Love It is actually quite smooth for a glitter. This set also comes with a clear topcoat- I haven't used it so I can't really judge the formula.

Worth mentioning again, these are mini size, but they still have a decent sized brush. No stubby little OPI-Mini style brush. That's one thing I really like about Color Club minis, real brushes! And I just can't resist minis... they're too cute... Don't know what it is with me and mini things. Mini food, mini polish, mini perfumes... I'm just attracted to them like a magnet!

It probably goes without saying that this little set makes me squeal like a schoolgirl. Throw some glitter at me and I'll be singing your praises forever. I'm a total glitter ho.

Another little super-quick Zoya Reverie preview

Just got some little swatches of Zoya's new Reverie collection- very interesting!


They all look duochromey/iridescent. Adina is by far the best, with a rich purple base and strong green/teal duochrome. Not a dupe of Ki, but similar feel to it. Best color I've seen in a while. Closest thing it comes to is Nubar Peacock Feathers, but it's not a dupe of that either. Very rich color.

Here's a couple quick shots of the swatches- hopefully I'll have the real thing to swatch soon! I know, they're blurry and glare-y, but I had like two seconds to take the pictures, sorry :(



Flash, shows the gold duochrome, click to enlarge.



Indoor ambient light, really shows the nice duochrome on Adina and accurate representation of the colors of the rest. Click to enlarge.

Closeup of Adina.


They all look pretty in person, but I'm most excited about Adina. It's awesome.

Nubar Prisms Collection Quickie Blurry Preview

I was way too excited to wait for appropriate lighting for swatches, so I snapped a few pics in the dark of the Nubar Prism samples that just arrived. I really need to see these in sunlight to assess them properly and write a real review, so here are some funky blurry crappy pictures because I'm impatient and overly excited about new holos.

sparkles yay omg

[Holy crap I can't believe I'm posting these O_o]

Absolute

Brilliance


Essence


Gem

Jewel


Prize


Spark



Treasure

Real swatches and a review will be posted when I get a chance to do them. But now it's 2am and I'm going to bed.

I may dream about glitter. Or meatballs.

Wire Stripper Konad

I was inspired to do some Konading the other day and I kinda like how this turned out. Maybe next time I wouldn't do the golden knobs on all four fingers (I skipped the thumbs and did a different design using the same Konad stamp), but I really wanted to try them.

The base is BB Couture For Men Wire Stripper with China Glaze Millennium as the stamp. I can never remember the plate numbers, so I don't know what plate this was.




And oddly enough, every day since this I've had some sort of nail art on my nails.

Holy crap, Nubar HOLOS! Prisms Collection 2010!

I just got this in my email and I had to share... omgomgomg HOLO

Release date is January 1, 2010!


Click to enlarge!

Edit: Hit publish too soon! Colors are:

Spark, which appears to be a warm tan gold holo
Jewel, warm chocolate brown looking holo
Gem, light greyed- brown/taupe holo
Essence, warm pink looking holo
Treasure, PURPLE HOLO OMG
Brilliant, different pink holo?
Absolute, blue holo woohooo!
Prize, red holo, finally!

From these promo pics, some look like Kaleidoscope-type holos and some look like they have holographic glitter. Won't know for sure until I see them in person.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Spam

I was able to re-do a couple of Rescue Beauty Lounge swatches... Cause some of my old ones are pretty bad.... And I know lots of people like to look at swatches before a sale :)

Didn't get to do as many as I'd hoped, but still got a few done!


Atame. Sunlight, indoors.


Bruised. Sunlight, indoors.

No More War.

Plie. Sunlight, indoors.


Purple Haze. Not as blue in real life, but this is the best picture I've gotten of it so far!

Mismas. Again, less blue in real life.


Orbis Non Sufficit.


Sheer Red. Three coats. Looks kinda pink/coral-ish at three coats, probably best layered over white or silver.


Locavore. Damn, I love this polish.

Frugalista.

Look Rich, Be Cheap.

And since a few people asked, here are my top ten favorite must-have Rescues (excluding discontinued ones, Scrangie and the other bloggers... cause... you can't vote for yourself and I'm not choosing favorites!) Though it must be said... All three blogger polishes are outstanding and I wear them all frequently.

1. Recycle
2. Locavore
3. No More War
4. Teal
   
5. Dead Calm
   
6. Purple Haze
7. Look Rich Be Cheap
8. Frugalista
9. Grunge
10. Stormy

Orly Wandering Vine / Green Creme Comparisons

I figured I'd jump the gun on this one just because I know the minute I post swatches of Wandering Vine I'll get lots of questions about dupes... And no... it doesn't look like Zulu. Hahaha :)


The first picture is taken in very bright, warm sunlight, so it's a little washed out but it shows the base color of each polish well. Second is taken in shade indoors.

Index: Orly Wandering Vine
Middle: Rescue Beauty Lounge Recycle
Ring: BB Couture Poison Ivy
Pinkie: Nubar Forest

Can't say any of these are exact matches, unfortunately! Or is that fortunately?


Again, first is bright sunlight, second is indoor shade.

Index: Orly Wandering Vine
Middle: Orly Enchanted Forest
Ring: Illamasqua Rapmage (four coats for depth)
Pinkie: Hot Topic Green (Kelly Green?)

Again, no exact matches. Wandering Vine is a little bit grey compared to all the rest of the greens. It doesn't seem greyed on its own, but when it's next to all the other greens it doesn't seem as clear and vibrant.

So far, I really like Wandering Vine, but I haven't done a full swatch or a full mani with it yet, so there's still time for me to change my mind. XD

Hmm...

If you aren't signed up for Rescue Beauty Lounge's mailing list already... you might want to sign up... right now!

Cause... you know... VIPs get codes for secret sales... that may or may not happen soon...

And you may or may not want to use the code 'VIP 5 HOUR' at checkout on Tuesday December 15th from Noon to 5pm Eastern... Cause wouldn't it be so awesome if you could get some Rescue polishes for 50% off?

(Okay, the email says it's a secret for VIPs only and not to tell, but come on... this is really too good not to mention)

Maybe I should have finished re-doing all my old, broken-nailed Rescue swatches!