Finger Paints - Asylum over Revlon Fearless (12/27/2011)

Asylum [əˈsaɪləm] n.  An institution for the shelter, treatment, or confinement of individuals, esp. a mental hospital (formerly termed lunatic asylum). - The Free Dictionary (online)


Finger Paints Asylum will have you questioning your sanity it's so beautiful and I'm also glad that Finger Paints has brought a few more unique flakie formulations to the general population.  "Hidden Treasure" (Sally Hansen) is so "2010" (Nubar) - LOL!!!


All jokes aside, what I mean is that these type of multi-colored flakies (see FingerPaints ad below) are usually a bit more pricey and available online only - this is not the case with Finger Paints.  Plus, I'm not a fan of buying polish online when I'm literally swimming in nail polish in my local area.  Now that my mini-rant is done, on to the review...

Color Description: Asylum is a mix of purple, orange and yellow flakies suspended in a clear milky base and will amplify the look of medium to dark lacquers.  It may get lost on pastels or paler colors.  My red combo is showing peeks of color for a more subtle look but to really show this line off you'll need to go much darker, if not black.


Similar To: A combination of Nfu Oh #56 & #43, but I doubt there's anything on the market right now that has these colors all mixed up like Asylum.


This Look: Two coats of Asylum over my previous mani with a coat of Shine & Hold for a nice shiny quick-dry.


Price Point/Availability: These will be available at your local Sally's Beauty Supply come January 1st, 2011.  I just asked if they had them, they did and I purchased two on sale for $4.99 (regular $5.49, I believe).  I'm hoping for these to be placed in Finger Paints core line but know today's marketing strategies, they will more than likely be "Limited Edition".


I can truly say that Asylum and Twisted are my favorite lacquers of 2011 (even though they're not to be officially released until 2012).

Revlon - Fearless (12/24/2011)

I spotted this new Revlon at CVS this weekend and fell in absolute love all over again.  I keep falling for these colors and just convince myself when I'm in the check-out line that it's slightly different from the the four or five other brands that I have at home.  


You do have to be very careful with Revlon color choices, though, because they have been known to rename and recently repackage the same color and sell it as new.  How Tricky!


Color Description: Fearless is a gorgeous orange-red creme that can almost be jelly-like, but not quite.  It is bright, thus the name but I find it to be very wearable and this shade always garners lots of compliments.


Similar To:  Let me count the ways (cough, cough)! Let's just say that a few in my collection are similar... Click here for my orange-red collection.


This Look: One coat of Nutra Nail Touch of Color Nail Strenghtener, one coat of Instant Artificials, two coats of Revlon Fearless and one coat of Shine & Hold. Great application that gives a flawless finish.


Price Point/Availability: This lacquer is $4.99 and was found at CVS in a new freestanding display toward the front of the store.  Be careful, there's a dupe of Perplex in this collection called Naughty (do not be fooled, like me - lol).


Thanks for checking me out today!  I can't wait to try the new flakies at Sally's later on.  Picked up Asylum and Twisted - crazy names but beautiful effects. :)

Essie - Tart Deco (09/30/2011)

Wow!  How gorgeous is this one and why did it take me so long to purchase it?


Color Description: A beautiful melon color that looks great on any complexion.


Similar To: This has been compared to Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Snappy Sorbet but I don't own that one so wouldn't know for sure.


This Look: Two coats of Essie Tart Deco and one coat of Out The Door topcoat.


Price Point/Availability: This can be found at CVS and other retailers and etailers.  Not at all hard to find... :)


Well, when I wore this everyone was in love with it, even the girl at the In-N-Out drive-thru - lol!  Definitely one to own.

Forever 21's Love & Beauty - Coral (08/06/2011)

This post will be short and sweet!  Let me know you thoughts on this lacquer from Forever 21 - Love & Beauty Coral.

Color Description: The classic orange-red coral.

Price Point: $2.80 from Forever 21.

Similar To: A few in my collection are similar, including last weeks post.  Click here for relating posts.

Have a great Sunday! 

Milani - Hot, Hot, Hot w/ Accent Nail & OOTD (07/30/2011)

Experimentation was the name of the game today with my Milani Hot, Hot, Hot mani.  If you scroll through my previous manis you won't find one hint of nail art other than crackle or glitter, but I was totally inspired by the traveler's tank I found yesterday with a friend!  Aren't the colors wild?  I also found Hot, Hot, Hot yesterday and thought I'd wear them together.


Color Description: Milani Hot, Hot, Hot is a bright orange-red creme that is perfect for the summer.


This Look: One coat of Starting Over After Artificials then base color Milani Hot, Hot, Hot, then the accent nail consists of Milani Whitest White, Mood (turquoise) in Confident/Peaceful, FingerPaints (navy) in Cobalt Cardigan and Color Club's (dark yellow) I Always Get My Man-darin.  The manicure was then topped with Sally Hansen Mega Shine.  Fun, fun, fun!


Outfit:  I will wear this artsy tank with my navy blue Chico's necklace and a turqouise linen jacket and wide leg slacks.  Patent navy gladiator sandals will finish the look.


Similar To: Very close in hue to OPI's Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It and others in my collection (click for previous review).


Have a great rest of the weekend.  I'm pretty tuckered out and need to get some rest but hope to hear from you soon. :)

Essie - Meet Me At Sunset (4/27/2011)

Orange is one of the hottest trends of this Spring/Summer and Essie hit the nail on the head with Meet Me At Sunset (MMAS) from their 2011 Summer Collection: Color Me Braziliant!  


Color Description:  Essie describes MMAS an "intense flamigo citrine", I say, google "safety orange" and you'll get its overall feel.  But don't feel as if you have to play it safe and pass this one by, it's definitely a wearable orange.


Similar To:  I compared a few orange-reds from my collection here and the bottom line was that MMAS has the most vivid orange hue of them all!  These are all close: OPI - Big Hair Big Nails, Essie - Meet Me At Sunset, OPI - Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It, Borghese - Castello Cherry and Love & Beauty - Coral.


This Look:  One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, two coats of MMAS (definitely could've used a third) and on coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine.


Price Point/Availability:  Essie retails for $8 at some drugstores and select salon locations.  I really like the fact that CVS is now selling these and I can use my ExtraBucks to purchase them.


Now orange you glad you can be fabulous for as little as $8?  Nail polish is just a little way to introduce trends into your wardrobe and I'm all for that.  Let me know which Summer Essie's you're picking up this season.  Stay well-polished and TTYS!

Q&D - Essie Meet Me At Sunset Comps

We've all been noticing Essie's 2011 Summer Collection: Color Me Braziliant pop up in various drugstores.  Well, while out and about today I picked up two: Meet Me At Sunset (index finger) and Smooth Sailing (the periwinkle shimmer).  

First up we have quick and dirty swatches to  compare Meet Me At Sunset (MMAS) with other similar colors.  As you see I love orange-red cremes but MMAS is a stand out!  


In this pic from thumb to pinky, you have: 

• OPI - Big Hair Big Nails (thumb), 
• Essie - Meet Me At Sunset (index), 
• OPI - Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It (middle), 
• Borghese - Castello Cherry (ring) and 
• Love & Beauty - Coral (pinky)

Now for the bottle pics (in the same order as above) you will see how close they appear.  Please note, though, that none are dead-on dupes, due to their slight nuances.  I can't really pick a favorite but I do know that I will enjoy wearing each and every one of these this season!

I will say this, however, Essie MMAS has the most vivid orange hue and will be my next mani;  for a complete review of this check back a little later.  Hope this helps you make your decision on purchasing the new Summer Essie Meet Me At Sunset (or not) and if you have any questions on where these can be purchased please let me know.

OPI - Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It (12/3/2010)

Yesterday while at Sally's Beauty Supply two sales associates at different times asked me what color this was.  Here I am thinking, "Wow, they work at Sally's with over a hundred shades of nail polish and they're curious about this color - that's amazing!"  I was beaming and was happy to give them the 411.

Color Description:  Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It (TDMMDI - whew!) is an orange-red, leaning towards neon, but not quite.  Vivid and vivacious, TDMMDI reminds me of the safety orange vests worn in Earthquake Drills (a California, thing!), but this color is anything but safe.  It's out there, as far as color goes, but can be worn with pretty much any outfit.