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!

Another drugstore favorite: Massini Slamming Red

I'm actually kinda shocked at just how many of my favorite polishes are drugstore polishes. Of all the well-marketed and hugely hyped higher-end polishes out there, I find it quite hilarious that I usually prefer the cheapo no-name 99 cent bin stuff.


This is Massini Slamming Red. This picture just doesn't capture how truly awesome this polish is. If you look at the bottle, you'll see a whole lot of holographic effect happening- that's what's happening on your nails when you wear this. I tried to blur this picture a little to show some of that amazing holo glitter, but I just haven't been able to capture it. The name of the polish is Slamming Red, but it's not really a true red... more of a deep magenta? Dark pink? And it's made of lots and lots of glitter in a lightly tinted base.

Now, the thing about this polish is that it's chunky as hell. The texture is thick and paste like when applying (though thinner does help) and it's super bumpy scratchy when it dries. However, the polish itself is just so incredibly amazing that I don't care about the formula or scratchiness at all. Even if it was twice as thick and lumpy I would still love it. Sure, it needs an extra coat or two of topcoat, but that is a small price to pay for awesomeness.

You may be familiar with Massini if you live in the midwest. It's Meijer's "house brand" of nail polish. You may also find a lot of the names and colors to be very familiar. Massini is a private label by Forsythe (aka Color Club!) so you'll see a lot of Color Club shades in Massini bottles. Which is great if you want to see Color Club's latest collections in person before you buy. They don't always have all the colors and they do have a lot of shades unique to Massini, like Slamming Red and Purple Medallion and those two wacky glitters from Fall that have no names.

Massini also has another glitter like this called Purple Medallion, which I've also never been able to capture on camera... But I'm going to keep trying!


So... yeah... I love this polish. A lot. And if it doesn't look amazing enough on its own, I Konad'ed over it once with black and it looked super cool. The bright colored holo peeking through the stark black lines... So beautiful.

Nicole by OPI Holiday 2009

At least I think these are Ulta exclusives, because I haven't seen them anywhere besides Ulta. I could be wrong, it is a little tricky to find Nicole around here. Anyone know for sure? Edit: Whew! They're not Ulta exclusives! Thanks, Sybelle!

There was a red with this collection as well, but I didn't get it... It just didn't appeal to me. Maybe when it goes on clearance I'll get it, but it didn't look drop-dead gorgeous like OPI Dreaming of Red.


Bah Plum-bug! Muted plum purple with hidden shimmer. This isn't an accurate representation of the color- it's much less blue in real life. Very soft, dusty, muted plum purple. It looks like a creme, but in certain lights, you'll notice that it has a hidden shimmer. The overall look is a greyed-out plum with a hidden reddish-goldish shimmer that only shows in certain lights.


Faux Fir. Medium blue-toned green shimmer. I think it's really shimmer bordering on frost. Not a true icky brushstrokey frost, but a really dense fine shimmer. From looking at this color in the bottle, I didn't think I would like it very much, but once I wore it I really grew fond of it. It's even better with Winter Glitterland on top. I do wish it were slightly more yellow toned.

Winter Glitterland. Okay... be nice... my nails are really stained. But, it's not like it matters normally because I never wear sheers... It just looks so gross when I swatch sheer polish! Anyway, Winter Glitterland is a combination of medium holographic hexagon glitter and small silver and holographic glitter. In the bottle, this looks like it has a golden or brownish tint to it, but that doesn't seem to transfer to the nail. It just looks like straight silver-holo glitter in a clear base to me. Great for layering, but I also kinda like the look of this solo (that is, if my nails weren't yellow!)

And now for the fun part!




Winter Glitterland over Bah Plum-Bug! Wow, this picture turned out a lot better than Bah Plum-Bug alone. Much closer to real life color. So... this is one coat of Winter Glitterland on top. How gorgeous is that? Looks like falling snow (now with 100% more power of suggestion!)

Winter Glitterland over Faux Fir. This is my favorite combination. Again, one coat. I've worn this as an actual manicure twice now. What can I say? I just love glitter. And green. And purple for that matter.


The formula on these was good. Faux Fir and Bah Plum-Bug! had a very strange consistency... it wasn't thick or too thin, but it felt... fluffy? I don't know how to describe it, actually... squishy, fluffy, unusual. It didn't give me any trouble, but I found it quite strange. I did three coats of polish in these pictures, but only Winter Glitterland needed a third coat. Decent opacity. Good formula. Drying time was average- not fast but not what I would consider long either. The only thing I don't like about Nicole is that damn melted bottle!

Overall, I think these are pretty cool. It's not total head-over-heels love but I like them enough to want to reach for them regularly. Out of all of them (the left behind red included) Bah Plum-Bug! is the most unique. I can't think of a match to Faux Fir off the top of my head, but it doesn't strike me as being one of a kind. That's not to say it's bad, it just feels like I've seen it before. I've heard that Winter Glitterland looks a lot like one of those rare Japanese OPI glitters, but I don't recall which one. Purple, green, glitter, cute winter seasonal theme... Yeah, you won't hear me complaining!

I just wish Nicole was easier to find! Meijer is carrying Nicole now, so if you have a Meijer, be sure to check there.