Essie - She's Picture Perfect (03/09/2012)

I was able to get my paws on the entire Essie Sure Shot - Resort 2012 Collection and my favorite is She's Picture Perfect. 

There's not much out on this collection other than a few write ups on the web - however, here's a more detailed description for your reading pleasure from Chic Profile.  Now onto She's Picture Perfect:

Color Description: She's Picture Perfect is a beautiful periwinkle lavendar with a pink iridescence.  The iridescent quality can only be seen in certain light and would definitely be considered a secret shimmer making this lacquer extra shiny and extra special.

Similar To:  I have absolutely nothing else like this!

This Look: One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, two coats of She's Picture Perfect and one coat of Shine & Hold topcoat.

Price Point/Availability:  This collection will be available this month at salons and other retailers that carry Essie and is generally priced between $8 - $8.50.

Have a great weekend my lovely ladies!

Kleancolor - Holo Chrome over Wet n Wild On A Trip (02/12/2012)

Halogen Lighting w/ Cloudy Camera Setting
(for truer color)

I decided to spice up my WnW with a little Holo Chrome from Kleancolor.  These are a great accompaniments to one other as they are both blue based medium-toned purples.


Color Description: Holo Chrome is a fine particle scattered holo in a blue-based purple clear jelly. It is a very striking lacquer and will definitely glam up any mani.


Similar To: Holo Chrome is definitely a stand-alone lacquer but if you're looking to layer it, try this combo.  WnW On A Trip is, again, is the same color/hue of purple.


This Look: One coat of Holo Chrome over my last mani and topped with Shine & Hold.

Day (OTT) Lighting w/ Cloudy Camera Setting

Price Point/Availability: I, generally, find these in a local beauty supply and have seen them for as low as $1.00. They are also available at Kleancolors website for $3.49 (+ tax and $8 an shipping charge). 


This should be a good week, instead of starting the weekend with party nails I'm ending the weekend with them. 

Day (OTT) Lighting w/ Normal Camera Setting
(shows blue but still nice, eh?)

Have a great week and see you in a day or so...  I have a hunch that I'm going to get tired of these nails really quick and I already know what's next.  See you soon!

Wet n Wild - On A Trip (02/10/2012)

w/ Cloudy Setting (most accurate)

Run, don't walk to your nearest Walgreens and pick up Wet N Wild's new MegaLast Salon Nail Color in On A Trip!  I found this today and just had to put it on my hands, especially after I looked in my melmers and finding that I have no similar color in my collection.  However, I will still do the "Similar To" section and let you know what I thought it would be close to - NOT!!!


Color Description: Periwinkle creme! That's it and that's all... It definitely photographs blue so in order to get the truest color I had to set my camera to cloudy and wahlah a nice rendition of what On A Trip really looks like on my hands.  I ♥ IT...


Similar To: This is what I imagined China Glaze's Secret Periwinkle to look like on the nail.  I've only seen in real life once and watched while one of my nail polish buddies snagged it telling me how sought after it was.  Well for all you CG SP lovers, give this one a spin.  I also thought it would be close to Zoya Mira or American Apparel African Violet but these are darker with less blue-tones.

w/ Auto Balance

This Look: One coat of Starting Over After Artificals, two coats of On A Trip, and one coat of Shine & Hold.


Application: I thought I'd add this since the brush is huge!  About the same size if not larger than the Sally Hansen Salon Manicure brushes which can be a bit unwieldy.  But it wasn't a real issue and the formula is very creamy and thick; bald with one coat and opaque in two.


Price Point/Availability:  I've only seen this collection at Rite Aid and Walgreens.  Walgreens is having a sale right now for B2GOF and at only $1.99/ea. you'll be getting 3/$3.98.  Nice deal!


Hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!  Please let me know if you've picked it up and your thoughts. :)

OPI - Visions of Sugarplum

OPI Visions of Sugarplum was released in the Fall/Winter of 2009 and was an Ulta Exclusive.  This is how behind I am in wearing my lacquers, because I actually wear them for a few days (sometimes up to five) when its a really good color and stays in tact. :)

Color Description: A sparkling purple/wine lacquer with beautiful iridescent shimmer.

Similar To: There are many dupes on the market but the closest is Finger Paints Icy Iris (which is discontinued), however Zoya Valerie is also said to be extremely similar.  This type of color is not hard to find this time of year.

This Look: One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, two coats of Visions of Sugarplum 

and one coat of Shine & Hold.

Price Point/Availability: Again, this was an Ulta Exclusive for the 2009 Holiday collection and is now discontinued but there are many drugstore and higher end lacquers with the same look as Visions of Sugarplum.

Thanks for checking in folks!  Talk to you real soon...

OPI - Have You Seen My Limo? (01/06/2012)

So gorgeous in the bottle and out this, somewhat vintage, nail polish was released in 2007 in the limited edition Holiday in Hollywood collection.  This is a very mysteriously beautiful lacquer and I must say that I am not, at all, disappointed.


Color Description:  Have You Seen My Limo? is a subtle duochrome that flashes dark green but is predominantly a deep eggplant purple; one reviewer said it reminded her of a bowl purple of olives - very nice description!  It has very find silver shimmer (just enough not to be frosty) and is one of those colors that have someone grab your hand and say, "What color is that?"  Again, mysterious.


Similar To:  This puts me in the mind of Orly's Royal Velvet (see my post here) but at the same time is totally different. However, this is a nice addition to my Bruised Beauties collection (right click to view post here).  It has also been compared to Sally Hansen's Black Tie.

This Look:  Two coats of Starting Over After Artificials (needed some extra strength because I've been washing dishes with no gloves - FOR SHAME!), three coats of have you seen my limo (for added umph-factor), and one coat of Shine & Hold.


Price Point/Availability:  I found this at an old dusty beauty supply and only found one for sale online for $15.99. So if you see this lacquer and you like the color, definitely pick it up because it has now become a collector's item.

As always, I love sharing my beautiful colors and rare finds with you all and hope you like listening to my thoughts.  Also, if you have any good suggestions for dish gloves let me know.  I use these: Water Stop Gloves and they're pretty and water does not seep through the top but I've gone through at least three pair because they are thin and finger tips wear easily and they get discolored (not long-lasting, at all).  So let me know what you use!

Omega Labs - #333 (11/17/2011)

I really wish this lacquer had a proper name but alas it is just called #333.  Alrighty then (lol)...


Color Description: A really nice and cheery lavender that struck me as a bit different from others in my collection leaning towards the pink/blue family which made it a must have.


Similar To: This totally reminded me of Sally Hansen's Delphinium and L'Oreal Delicate Dusk at first glance but after pulling the bottles these two are much duskier/dustier in tone, whereas #333 has no grays in the mix.  May be more in line with OPI Do You Lilac It? but I don't have this one in my collection.


This Look: Two coats of #333 and one coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine. #333 is bit thick so it was difficult to apply but the end result was pretty nice.


Price Point/Availability:  I found this while on vacation and am not sure where else to purchase it.  I checked their website and #333 is not listed (it jumps from 331 to 334) go figure? At any rate, these retail for $7.00 and have lots of other nice lacquers to choose from.


Thanks for stopping by today, oh, and my next post will be "next to nubbins".  My nails always tell me when they're too long by chipping on the corners so I took them down a millimeter or so.  I love to rock dark shades with shorter nails so can't wait to where something new soon!

OPI - Purple With A Purpose (11/14/2011)

What can I say?  Purple With A Purpose is a very pretty color...  I'm sick with a really bad sore throat and cold right now but I wanted to show you my latest look.  This color makes me feel not as bad...

Color Description: This color has a glowing pearl finish with magenta undertones.


Similar To: Nothing else in my collection.

Price Point/Availability: Purple With A Purpose is from the Brights Collection and is included in the core line; retails for $8.50.


Hope I feel better soon!  Next color up, I can tell you is another purple but in a totally different hue.  See you sooner than later and stay well in this weather, 'kay?

L'Oreal Luminescence (10/21/2011)

♪♫ "Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful..." ♪♫ 
It's taken me a long while to wear this lacquer, at least a year and I really should've gotten around to wearing this stunner sooner!


It would've been even better if I could've taken pics of Luminescence in the daylight but I have a few shots that captivate this beauty's allure.



Color Description: 
A deep almost blackened purple with blue and magenta shimmer that can only be seen in certain light.


Similar To: Believe it or not this is very similar to Wet N Wild's Ready To Pounce (RTP) however Luminescence has a much better formula with a great depth of shimmer than RTP.



This Look: One coat of Instant Artificials, two coats of Luminescence and one coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine.


Do you have this color or RTP?  This is a great vampy shade that I'm certain will be great on all skin types.  Well, that's all folks and see you soon!

From the Vault: Color Club - Precious Gifts

I found this gorgeous lovely called Precious Gifts by chance a few months ago and fell in love!  You don't find many pics or much talk about this one other than it being on a few wish lists, but I am so pleased that I found this.


Color Description: Precious Gifts is a deep fuchsia jelly with small red glitter and fine blue glitter and is something to behold in real life.


Similar To: Absolutely nothing!  Definitely a layering project...


This Look: Two Coats of Color Clubs Precious Gifts, and one coat of Maybelline Infinite Shine.


Price Point/Availability:  This lacquer so old the name is written in gold so I'm certain it has been discontinued.


Thanks for stopping by!

Maybelline - Purple Trend (08/21/2011)

Coming at you really quick with my NOTD (albeit messy, I still ♥ it)!  I went back to Rite Aid to pick up Purple Trend from the new Maybelline Fall 2011 - Scene On The Runway Limited Edition Collection.

Color Description: To the naked eye this is just another dark plum creme but to the trained eye there's a blue shimmer that is to die for.  I would describe this as a prune bordering brown burgundy with as secret blue shimmer.

This Look: One coat of Instant Artificials, two coats of Purple Trend and one coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine.

Some may say what's the point of a "secret shimmer" if you can't see it?  Well, even when you can't see the shimmer this type of nail lacquer is extra shiny and unique. 

Guess what tomorrow is?  My one year blog-i-versary!  And I know just the color I will wear...  Something very special! :)



OPI - Congeniality is My Middle Name (07/28/2011)

The many faces of Congeniality is My Middle Name (CiMMN)!  From picture to picture this beautiful lacquer from the upcoming Miss Universe Collection changes hue and finish.  I guess Miss Universe needs to be versatile and  OPI has done it again creating a lacquer that's fitting for the most lovely lady in the "universe".  WARNING: pic overload ahead (from dark to light).

Color Description: Described by OPI as a berry-wine shimmer, CiMMN is a darker in certain settings - very mysterious with micro glass-flecks for an effervescent look.  Reminds me of the purple raspberry that is best picked in early July.  Well it's late July and CiMMN is ripe for the picking ladies! 

Similar To:  There's no dupe in my collection though this put me in the mind of at least two lacquers I own: China Glaze Stella (is a frost and a bit darker but same hue) and Sephora by OPI Screen Test (a bit brighter with no flecks).  Congeniality is My Middle Name falls somewhere in between.

This Look: One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, three coats of CiMMN (two coats are sufficient but wanted a deeper berry color) and one coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine.

Price Point/Availability: Some retailers have put this collection out a bit early (score!), but this "limited-edition [collection] will be available beginning August 2011 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for  $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer."

Hope you like this lacquer as much as I do!  Which colors will you select from the Miss Universe collection? I, generally, don't watch the show but will you?

Dare 2 Wear - Love Potion (A Year Ago)

Well, it's been 15 months since I've taken off my acrylics and about 9 months since I started the AllThingsNails! blog.  Today I reveal to you my nails a year ago!  


At this point in time, I was very happy with what I was learning from the Nail Care Board at MakeupAlley and was posting almost every NOTD there, however, I felt like I had a lot to say and needed a platform to really express the way I felt about nail polish. 


At any rate, Dare 2 Wear's Love Potion was my absolute favorite nail polish last June and since then I have new favorites but this is still right up there in my top five.

Fun-Friday Mani: LaRosa Crackle - Hot Purple over Essie - Status Symbol w/ OPI Silver Shatter (5/27/2011)

This weekend I will be going to the Purple One's concert so I did a funky fresh mani for the occasion and I am lovin' me some Hot Purple crackle right about now!  For an added Purple Reign effect, I added a faint layer of glitter over top; for this I used L.A. Colors Glistening Purple and then a little Silver Shatter on my tips to "ice it up" a bit - lol.

Color Description:  As mentioned in my previous review, Status Symbol, is a flamingo pink, however LaRosa Hot Purple is a shimmering dark purple that is muy, muy caliente, my friends and the crackle effect is awesome with a capital 'A'.  

Photo by Cooper Griggs (via Flickr)

L.A. Colors Glistening Purple is a very sparse magenta glitter in a clear base that will not detract from your mani, it will only enhance it; a very nice layering glitter.  As you see, the Silver Shatter didn't shatter much, but I still like the look.

Similar To:  Hot Purple isn't similar to anything that I know of - a purple crackle with hidden shimmer?  This crackle is TDF (to die for) and although the Glistening Purple glitter was a disappointment when I first swatched it alone, over a crackle is definitely the way to go with this sparse glitter, and again, I own nothing else like this.  Silver Shatter is also in a stand-alone category for the gorgeous shimmer effect it gives.

This Look:  One thin coat of Hot Purple over a 3-day old mani after surface was prepped with a nail primer, one coat of Glistening Purple, tipped with Silver Shatter and one coat of Shine & Hold top coat.

Outside during Sunset :)

Crackle Application: LaRosa crackle works best on completely dry lacquer, I mean completely dry, like an hour or so (or a day or so when creating a new look), unlike Kleancolor which works best over freshly painted nails and I'm still on the fence about OPI's crackle lacquers, they're a bit thick and inconsistent, in my book.  Of all of the crackles on the market I ♥ LaRosa the best.

Price Point/Availability: LaRosa Hot Purple crackle is retailing online for about $4.00 a bottle and I picked mine up from a beauty supply store while on vacation last week.  L.A. Colors Glistening Purple was found at the Dollar Tree and was, of course $1.00 and I purchased OPI Silver Shatter in the JC Penney Salon a few weeks ago for regular retail.  All are fairly new to the market and should be readily available online.

Well, this should be a fun weekend!  I've never been to a Prince concert for various reasons, but today is a new day; not only has he cleaned up his act, per say, he's lowered his ticket prices to a mere $25 a seat.  If just only for curiousity's sake, I'm going and I can't wait to see what he has in store for the last weekend of his 21 Night Stand concert.  

So far he's had guests ranging from Whitney Houston to Chaka Khan and Mint Condition to Nicole Scherzinger.  I've also heard that Janelle Monae performed one night and then on another night grammy-award winning Esperanz Spalding was in full effect and you can be sure that Sheila E. will be on the drums.  So, yeah, I'm a little geeked right now...  Hope you enjoyed this look and TTYS!

Orly - Bubbly Bombshell (5/5/2011)

Oh my!!!  Bubbly Bombshell was the absolute surprise of my yesterday!  One of my beauty supply stores allowed me to go into the "stock room" and check out the new Orly's Summer Pin-Up Collection.  
I had to have two from the collection and it's no surprise that they were both shiny and sparkly - Bubbly Bombshell, and Here Comes Trouble.


Color Description:  Bubbly Bombshell is described by Orly as a "purple glitter" but it's so much more than that!  It's more like a hot pink/magenta glitter with flashes of purple.  So, so pretty this really could have been in the OPI Burlesque glitter collection...


Similar To:  After swatching a few lacquers that I thought looked similar in the bottle I was pleasantly surprised that I don't have a dupe of this in my collection.  I swatched Milani Purple Gleam and Zoya Roxy and boy oh boy was my eye off.  Nothing similar about these, at all, except glitter!


This Look:  One coat of Starting Over After Artificials for my base, three coats of Bubbly Bombshell, one coat of Sally Hansen's NailShine Miracle and one coat of Shine and Hold on top.  This is a fairly gritty glitter so you will need a few thick layers of topcoat for best results.


Price Point/Availability:  This collection is retailing for $7.50 and should be in stores right now wherever Orly is found.

Well, this should really brighten my work day today!  Accounting can be a tad bit boring, thus the nail hobby and with polishes like this, who can really be bored.

Take care and if you have any questions or comments, by all means, let me hear from you.


Left: 17 year wedding anniversary (5-7-2011) w/ Bubbly Bombshell. :)

DESIGNER SERIES: OPI - DS Original (4/6/2011)

What can I say other than, "Why did it take me so long to wear this?"  It is to die for indoors, outdoors, while sleeping - lol!


Color Description:  Described as, "gorgeous, glistening plum" by OPI, DS Original is a light purple almost lavendar holographic, which reflects every color of the rainbow in all lighting - dim or otherwise.


Similar To:   If I were to compare this to anything it would be nail foil.  My nails look unreal as if they've been foiled - nail foil, that's it and that's all.  There are some other excellent holos out there like the Catherine Arley's but I don't own any of them.


This Look:  One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, two coats of OPI DS Original and one coat of OPI DS Top Coat.


Price Point/Availability:  DS Original is discontinued but can still be found online and at some salons that keep older stock.  If found it will definitely retail for $12.50 or higher.


Talk to you well-polished ladies at a later date!  Oh and it's wearing well, too...  Polished them Tuesday night, did housework (getting the house ready for next week's guests) all Wednesday and not one chip - PRETTY AMAZING (pun intended - lol).

Zoya - Faye (Summer Sunshine Collection 2011)

I thought for sure I had a dupe on my hands when I started polishing my nails, but alas, no dupe here.  We'll get to that a bit later.  On to the review...


Color Description:  Who better to describe this lacquer than Zoya!  Faye is said to be, "A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with bright gold sparkle.  A unique gilded shade that will work in any season."  These undertones give Faye a duochrome effect that is very, very fancy.

Faye/Wild And Willing

Similar To:  Okay, so I was a bit bummed when I did this mani because I thought it was exactly the same as Color Club's Wild And Willing.  It is similar in every way, as if it were made from the same formula but WAW has no purple *whew!*.  So if you like the finish of WAW you will love Faye with its purple flash.


This Look: Base coat of Starting Over After Artificials, three coats of Faye and one coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine.  You won't have to look too closely to see that I have the dreaded shrinkage.  Faye is extremely slow drying and dentable for hours and with a fast dry topcoat shrinkage is inevitable, oh well...  It's not awful, though.

Faye/WAW: 3 coats/2 coats/1 coat

Price Point/Availability:  Zoya is availabe at most Salon/Beauty Suppliers and online at Zoya.com for $8.  I try to purchase these when they're having new collection promotions (seasonal).

I can't thank you enough for your feedback and well-polished thoughts!  Have you picked up any new Zoyas lately?  New or old this is a great brand to have in your collection.

American Apparel - African Violet (03/19/2011)

I discovered this beautiful color on a fellow MUA nailboarder (p0key) and said, "What is that?"  She told me that it was her absolute favorite brand, American Apparel and it was called African Violet.  Needless to say, I was there within days to find this gorgeous purple.


Color Description:  This is an extremely rich, comic book, BOOM, POW, WOW, purple.  It's a medium to dark creme that photographs on the blue side but definitely has a hint of magenta in there somewhere.  I attempted to capture the true hue of African Violet...  This is definitely one to own, ladies!


Similar To:  I, honestly, have nothing to compare this with in my collection.  It's uniquely different for a purple.

This Look:  One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, two coats of African Violet and one coat of Mega Shine.


Price Point/Availability:  These are sold online or in-store at American Apparel for $6 ea. or 3/$15 and can go for as low as 7/$32 online.


Alright, ladies, I'm going to go make some tea and try to kick this cold!  Have a nice and well-polish weekend for me, because I won't be going anywhere for a while. :)

Milani - Purple Mirror (3/15/2011)

Color Description:  Purple Mirror is a glowy, metallic purple with a satin finish.  I was at a Mom & Pop beauty supply store (the kind that specialize in wigs - lol, if you get my drift) and came across this beauty.  So happy I did!  I'd never seen nor heard of this color and when I googled, it looks like no one else has either.


Similar To: The only lacquer I have in my collection that comes close to this is a very old Orly from the Satin Hues Collection called Satin Finesse.  Can you think of anything else?  Would love to know of more colors like this.


This Look: One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, two coats of Purple Mirror, one coat of Mega Shine and another coat of my local favorite, Shine & Hold.  Because Purple Mirror dried down, somewhat, flat I put two topcoats but this morning its finish is still satin - still nice.


Price Point/Availability:  This can still be found online in a few places, but it looks like this lacquer dates back to 2007 or before, so it may be hard to find at a brick and mortar.  I happened to pick up an extra ("one for me and one for you") so I will try to do my first "GIVE-AWAY" with it or swap it away.  Not sure if anyone else will be interested!   All I know is I like it A LOT... :)


Can't wait to package this one up and send it to one of you well-polished cuties!  Until then... take care.

Orly - Royal Velvet (Spring 2011 Collection)

Royal Velvet (RV) has just gone to the top of my favorite nail polish list and is so much more stunning in person than in these pics.  And more beautiful on the nail than in the bottle.  Onwards with the review!


Color Description:  I am personally describing Royal Velvet as the quintessential blurple - hands down!  How many facets of color can one lacquer have?  Well, with flashes of blue, purple and deep magenta, RV is a duo-chrome that must be purchased, owned and worn to truly appreciate.  I've included four pics and took many more to capture its essence and this is the best I could do ladies. :)


Similar To:  I've been told that Royal Velvet is very reminiscent of SpaRitual's Health Wealth and Happiness, as well as, China Glaze's Tempest.  If you own either of these, please let me know if they're dupes to RV.


This Look:  I'm wearing one coat of Barielle's Camouflage underneath becuase it was a bit sheer; two coats of RV and one coat of Shine and Hold.


Price Point/Availability:  Royal Velvet is from Orly's Precious Collection for Spring and will be available starting March 2011 for $7.50 each.  Looks like a few smaller beauty supply chains are putting them out a little early - yay for me!


Thanks for checking in and please have a wonderfully well-polished week!