OPI Femme de Cirque Soft Shades Collection Spring 2011 Swatches and Review

OPI's annual Soft Shades collection is circus-themed this year. I have to say, I like the theme! No Soft Shades collection can rival my love for the old Princess Charming collection, but the names of the polishes in this set are fantastic.


In The Spotlight Pink. A soft, squishy-looking milky pink jelly. This pink is mostly neutral in the bottle, but it does border on warmer/peachy-toned against my skin.


So Many Clowns, So Little Time. This name seriously cracks me up... It's going on my list of all time favorite OPI names. The color is a creamy off white with a slight splash of pink and grey. Reminds me a bit of the whiter version of Bubble Bath.


Step Right Up. This one has a similar finish to So Many Clowns, but it has more pink and peach in it. Very pale, very white-based, slightly muted, like there's one drop of grey in it.


My favorite part of this collection is the glitter topcoat, I Juggle... Men. Well, it's not quite a glitter, but it's a sparkle. It's sort of like... maybe Orly Fifty-Four or CND Sapphire Sparkle, but it's even more like the duochrome shimmer in OPI Unripened / Nicole Blues In The Night. Funky irregular particles, like mini-flakes... Broken crushed flakes... Super duochrome gorgeous. It wouldn't show up on camera all by itself on my nails, but it's really intended for layering anyway, so I've layered it.

OPI I Juggle... Men sparkle topcoat over In The Spotlight Pink.

OPI I Juggle... Men sparkle topcoat over So Many Clowns, So Little Time.


OPI I Juggle... Men sparkle topcoat over Step Right Up.

As you can see, it's subtle over the sheers, but it adds a nice touch of blue/purple duochrome sparkle. It really shows up best over darker colors. It's especially nice over Color Club Total Mystery.

The formula on these was difficult. I found it to be somewhat watery but goopy at the same time, a texture similar to early Big 3 Free polishes. I did have a hard time applying these. They wanted to run into my cuticles. The Pro-Wide brush seemed smaller and flatter than usual and that added to the difficulty. These are meant to be worn as sheers, but my nails are way too stained to wear them that way, so I did five coats of all. When worn sheer, they are very subtle, providing only a slight milky wash of color.

The exception is the I Juggle... Men topcoat, which is a nice thin, even texture. It dries very, very fast and quite shiny, which leads me to believe it is actually a topcoat, quick-dry even, and not just for layering. It's fantastic.

These would probably make a nice, soft, natural looking french manicure. One that looks like clean natural nails with a touch of softness.

While the colors aren't really my thing, I do love that glitter topcoat and I love the names. They're very, very sheer so if you're someone who is only into subtle tints on your nails, these might interest you.

(These were sent to me for review.)

More random Zoya swatches- Sheers, nudes, reds/berries

Uma

Rose (this has green duochrome shimmer!)

Riley

Racquel

Quinn

Portia

Parker

Mia

Kat

Jaime

Isabel

Heather

Diana (jelly finish!)

Dharma

Celeste

Angel

Guest Review - Kiss and Revlon Press-On Nails

This is only the second time I've had a guest review! This time the guest reviewer is none other than my dear Mom. I was sent some press-on nails by Kiss that I'm literally unable to review. They're so short and small that they don't even cover half of my nail bed, so... yeah... review not possible. While my hands are on the petite side, they definitely aren't petite enough for the Kiss Petite french nails. However, my mom has some of the smallest hands and nails I've ever seen, so she was a perfect candidate to try these. Just one of the perks of being my mom.... Another is that you have an endless variety of polish colors to choose from when I give you a mani/pedi... Also, I'll give you unwanted critical commentary of stupid prime time sitcoms with identical plots for free!


In addition to the Kiss Petites, I put some Revlon press-on nails on her to compare, and here's how the Revlon Zoe nails worked for her:


"I liked them because they stayed on-- no bubbles or loosening. Didn't like because too wide and the color on tip chipped within 2 days."

I applied these to her using the Revlon NailStay glue that's included in the Revlon kit. I filed them down to a medium length- these start out pretty long, which I personally prefer because I have longer nail beds, but the long length doesn't work for her. My opinion of these is that they look a lot less natural than the Kiss nails, the tips are too thick and white. Not that a french manicure ever looks natural, but you know... some are less tacky than others.


And now here are the Kiss petites:


"I liked these better because they were smaller and thinner. I didn't think the glue was as good as the other brand, it bubbles and I kept getting my hair caught in them. The finish lasted, looked more natural and stayed shiny."

I applied these to her using the little disposable tube of glue included in the Kiss set. She's right, the Revlon glue is superior, not just in application, but in longevity. It's kinda difficult to apply the proper amount of glue using those little one-use tubes, and it doesn't set as fast or as strongly as the Revlon. They also lifted on her sooner than with the Revlon glue.

However, I think the end result looked a bit more natural. The actual thickness of the nail is a lot thinner so they do look more like a natural nail from a front/head on view. The base part of these nails is clear, so you won't be able to hide any imperfections on your nail or bubbles in your glue, but that also makes the nail look brighter and shinier. She didn't notice any chipping or wear in the white tip of the Kiss nails and she was able to wear them for a whole week with them still looking new.

The small width and length of these suited her pretty well. This set comes with some extremely tiny nails- the smallest ones are slightly bigger than a lentil! So if you have extremely petite hands and nails with very short nail plates and you want to try press-ons, these would be the nails for you.

The Kiss nails overall seemed thin and lightweight, especially compared to other brands of fakes I've tried. Someone would be less likely to detect that you're wearing press-ons with a nail as thin and clear as these. I can't say I'm a fan of that super bright white tip, but if these had a softer, more milky and translucent natural white, they'd definitely pass for real nails.


Thanks, Mom, for contributing your reviews and photos!

(These were sent to me for review...)

OPI Soft Shades for 2010

I didn't actually realize how long it had been since I posted! We took the week off for my birthday and had a sort of pseudo-vacation, worked on some home improvement projects, went to a wedding... nothing too exciting. But hey, did you know that Minwax wood stain eats nail polish? Now I do.

Once again I'm totally behind on all the things I wanted to post... as if I ever caught up in the first place?

So... where to start... OPI Soft Shades? Had a surprisingly high number of emails asking me to review this, so here it is. And useless trivia? 3 of the 4 shades start with the letter 'i'. Confusing!



Isn't That Precious? Soft pink sheer. Has that kinda squishy-jelly-soft look that I like. It's a creme, no shimmer.



I Think In Pink. The darkest and most opaque of the bunch, but still not dark by any stretch of the imagination.



It's A Girl! Genius, OPI, genius. I can see this shade being super popular for the name alone. Think of all the baby shower gifts! It's A Girl baby pink nail polish! But now they need to do a stereotypical baby blue "It's A Boy" to match. It should come with bubblegum cigars.



Pink-a-doodle. Oddly, the only one that doesn't start with 'i' is also the only shimmer. It's very subtle and a little hard to see, but this pink sheer does have a soft shimmer to it. But I do have to say... Pink-a-doodle?? Huh??


The formula on these was a bit tricky for me to use. I generally find that pink sheers are thick in consistency- and these were a little on the thick side. They're all sheers, so I did four coats. Thick plus multiple coats rarely ends well, so if you're doing as many coats as I did, let them dry for a minute or two in between to avoid that clumping-globbing effect. They do excel in not being streaky on the first coat, so if you're into the sheer look, these will work for you.

Now you may ask, "What's the difference between these colors? How do they compare to each other?" And honestly, I have no idea. They look so similar to me that I'm having a hard time finding a way to describe how exactly they're different. I think in this case the idea is to pick the sheer that best suits your skin tone.

Honestly, I liked last year's Soft Shades collection better. Remember it? They were sheer pinks and whites but they had this really neat contrasting shimmer/flash. These are just plain old pink. A little milky and slightly jelly-ish, but still... plain pink. Not that they are ugly, though, cause I don't find them ugly. They're not streaky, not so sheer you need 97 coats and they're actually pretty flattering on my hands... They're just not my thing. And the collection is clearly labelled "Soft Shades" so it's not like we're getting surprised with sheer pinks instead of colors in a regular collection. So yeah, if you like sheer pinks, woohoo! Awesome for you! I'll be waiting patiently for the next collection ;-)

(These were sent to me for review.)

More Nail Designs from Fing'rs EDGE!

Halloween is this weekend! I know that a lot of people are using fake nails as part of their costumes, and I recently received some new styles of press-on artificial nails from Fing'rs to try. Some of these styles would be great for Halloween (or just every day)!

Here's the 31388 style and the 31194 style.

31388 is a sheer nude base with a hot pink french tip and a black diagonal grid design. They're inspired by International Recording Artist Mylin, who I'll admit I've never heard of, but she looks kinda like Jackie Warner. I think these would go great with an 80's/90's Prom Queen costume!

The 31194 style is a sheer nude base with white french tip and black polka dots. Very retro-50's looking, maybe these would go well with a retro glamour girl costume. I really wanted to wear these. Boo. They're so cute.

As much as I was looking forward to putting these on to review, I couldn't. To be completely honest, these are too short for me to even wear. As I was sizing the tips and getting ready to apply, I realized that these nails only covered about 3/4 of my nail bed. I would literally have to cut off my fingertips to wear these... so, sadly, I can't show pictures of these on my nails. When they say short, THEY MEAN IT! Hahahaha. I have long nail beds with fairly 'skinny' nails so many press-on nails don't fit me exactly right. I think these are better suited for someone with naturally shorter nail beds and wider nails.

However, one of the styles just barely fit my fingers!

Style 31269. A sheer nude base with deep blue metallic tips. Really cool looking. The tip is kinda glowy and reflective. Would make a good polish color. I wonder if I have a polish that matches this color? Hmm.

Here's how they look on me:


Pretend that you don't see my middle and pinkie nails sticking up over the top of the fakes. I had to file my nails down as far as they would go without bleeding to wear these, but my pinkie and middle were still just a bit too long.

I think they look pretty good, if not a little too wide for my nail beds. I can handle a french manicure when the tip is a fun color, and this blue is really fun. You can see in the flash picture that it's very reflective. It always has a section where the light is hitting the tip and there's a lighter stripe. It moves as you move your hands. Really fascinating!

I used the included glue to apply these, but they also come with stick-on tabs. The tabs are great if you only want to wear these for the night, as they remove *very* easily with warm water. The glue will give you a week of wear if you wanted to keep them on for a while.

For some tips on application, check out my older press-on nail reviews! But really, the two things you really need to know are:

Don't use too much glue. Just a little on the center of your natural nail. Otherwise the glue will get EVERYWHERE and you'll glue your hands to things unintentionally. Not like I'd know... *cough cough*

Press down hard! If you release the nail before the glue is dry or your pressure is uneven, this can cause air bubbles. Air bubbles not only look obvious with a sheer base nail like this, but they can collect moisture and condensation which can lead to some nasty things growing under your nail.

Other than that, these are fun and easy to use. A quick way to change your nails for an event. Best suited for people with shorter nail beds. I myself prefer a much longer nail, but I've heard from many people when I do my fake nail reviews that a short length is preferred for them. So, your mileage may vary!

Revlon Runway Collection Studio Artificial Nails

I'm really digging these Revlon Runway Collection press-on nails. They have a bunch of really cool designs that I would actually wear. One of the recent ones I tried were the 'Studio' style nails. Here's how they look on me:


The Studio style nails are a silver metallic french tip with a grid-stripe chevron design of black stripes laid on top of the silver. The base color is a semi-sheer milky neutral pink. Sort of futuristic-modern looking! Very cool.

For more detailed information on applying press-on nails, please see my previous posts:
Revlon Artificial Nails
Revlon Runway Collection 'Stella' Artificial Nails
Fing'rs EDGE Hardcore Nail Addict Pink Houndstooth Artificial Nails


These press-on nails are really easy to apply. All you do is find a nail that matches closely to your natural nail, apply a little glue to your nail, press the fake nail onto the glue and you're done. The glue bonds and dries within seconds. Sometimes I do get glue on my fingers, but it comes off after a little hand lotion.

The Studio style nails are a really nice length. While they are still a little too short to be completely comfortable for me, they're more of a medium length than the super-short length of some of the other nails I've tried. They come up just past my fingertip. I still had to file my natural nails short so that they didn't hang over the edge of the artificial nails, but I was covering a broken nail so it worked out fine for me.

The Studio style in particular is an example of an inexpensive way to get a salon nail art look without paying an arm and a leg at a dirty nail salon. It would be very challenging to get this look at home- my shaky hands would never let me do lines that thin and straight. I don't have the patience to play with those little strips of nail art foils and stickers, either, so the Studio nail takes care of that. What would take at least an hour at a salon takes me five minutes at home.

The manufacturer recommends to replace the set of nails after ten days of wear. Removal is as easy as application- file them down and soak them in 100% acetone. It only takes me a few minutes to remove these, I've got it down to a science now, haha! Once they're off, there is virtually no damage to my natural nail. The only 'damage' to speak of is the dryness I experience after having my fingers in acetone. This is fixed instantly by applying a good cuticle oil like CND Solar Oil. The important thing to remember when removing these nails is not to pull, pry, pick or peel them off. Not even a little. Even if the nail is mostly dissolved in acetone already, any prying of the nail will take parts of your natural nail with it and leave you with rough, uneven nails. Resist the urge to peel. You can do it.

I still have more fun nail art styles of Revlon Runway Collection (and a few other brands I recently tested out) nails to review, plus a few plain french-manicured ones as well.

Fing'rs EDGE Hardcore Nail Addict 31120 Black French Manicure Nails

The black-tipped french manicure seems to be extremely popular these days. I can deal with that. Personally, I like the look and I have worn it in the past. French manicures can be tricky to do yourself, so if you need a little help, Fing'rs EDGE has something you might like.



These are the Fing'rs EDGE black french manicure artificial/press-on/glue-on nails. The style number is 31120. It includes 24 short-length (and they do mean short!) nails, a small tube of nail glue and a sheet of stick-on tabs.

Application of these is the same as with any press-on nail, and you can read about the application process in more detail in these posts I've done about them:

Revlon Color Allure Vintage Velvet
Fing'rs EDGE Hardcore Nail Addict Pink Houndstooth French
Revlon Runway Collection Stella

Anyway, here's what they look like on me:




As you can see, these nails are extremely short. This is an uncomfortable length for me as I had to file my nails down as far as they could go to apply these. If they were just a few millimeters longer, they would be much more suitable for me. However, I know that a lot of people prefer very short nails and don't have the same problem as I do. As always, with any product, your mileage may vary. These were too short for me, but might be the perfect length for someone else.

The design itself is great. It's a flawless black french tip that's perfectly even across all five fingers. The line is not too thick and it looks nice and neat. I would be hard pressed to do a black french this good on my own.

The base color of the nails is a semi-opaque milky nude pink. It's not a perfect match with my natural skintone, but it does mimic the look of a lot of salon french nails that I see on people. I think I prefer a more clear look on the nail bed, but these are especially good at covering damage or stains because they're not too sheer.

One thing I really like about the Fing'rs EDGE Hardcore Nail Addict line of artificial nails is that they all come with a sheet of adhesive tabs with enough tabs to do at least three full manicures. A lot of people wear these type of nails for a temporary look, and using the adhesive tabs instead of the glue makes these not only temporary, but also reusable. Alternately, I can see these being a first fake nail experiment or a dress-up type product for a very young girl and the adhesive tabs would be safer to use than the nail glue, but also allows the nails to be removed with hot water instead of soaking off in acetone.

The other thing I love about Fing'rs EDGE is that they have the best designs. I'm not the type of girl who wants a traditional french manicure or who wants frilly-frou-frou pretty pink princess nails... Fing'rs EDGE acknowledges that another type of girl exists (FINALLY!!) and provides products and designs that fit my personal style. I honestly love every single Fing'rs EDGE product I've ever tried. Repeating themes within the line seem to be skulls, stars and 'Rock Star' designs and that makes me very happy.

These nails are available at pretty much every drugstore I've ever been to, and I've never seen them for more than $6.