Sally Hansen - Lightening (Insta-Dri)

We have a few more weeks until summertime is officially over (09/22/12), so I'm posting a polish I wore back in May when my nails were a bit longer and Summer was in full bloom.  Now, from the archives we have Sally Hansen's Lightening and it truly is lightening in a bottle!

Color Description: Lightening is a bright lemon yellow, not to be worn by the faint of heart.  And not really for those who care what people think about their nails.  It's a daring, bright, artsy color for the willing and able - lol.

Similar To: Nothing else I own is the same but Lightening has been compared to Chanel Mimosa (color not finish) and Revlon Electric by the wonderful blogger Fab Fatale (check her out!).

This Look: One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, two coats of Ligtening and one coat of Shine & Hold.

Price Point/Availability: Of late, I've seen this online for as little as $3, however, I purchased mine a while ago at Big Lots and generally when cosmetics go to Big Lots or discount stores they've been discontinued.  But, by all means, check your local drugstore for the Insta Dri's, you may just find it there.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed wearing it.  Have a great day!

OPI - Don't Talk Bach to Me

Don't you just love the title of this lacquer? Some lacquer names I could care less about, others will prevent me from purchasing a lacquer altogether, and some I must own due to the great name.  Well, with this lovely shade, I fell in love with the color long before I knew the name.

Don't Talk Bach to Me (DTBtM) hails from OPI's Germany Collection for Fall/Winter 2012. This collection is described as "edgy elegance" and is said to include "rich colors and striking textures for fall". I would describe it as redundant, with the exception of two shades, the namesake of this post, and Schnapps Out of It!  The other colors I've seen before and could not justify purchasing.

Color Description:  OPI describes DTBtM as a sassy lime-yellow.  It's sassy because there's a secret silver shimmer going on that makes this lacquer extra shiny.  I love this color because on me it turns into a lovely neutral that can be worn with anything.

Similar To: Okay, so I pulled out American Apparel's MacArthur Park and at first glance, in the bottles they look very similar but the AA is darker albeit in the same family.  It has also been compared to Fiercely Fiona in OPI's Shrek Collection (not even close) or China Glaze's Trendsetter which is closer but not nearly enough to call it a dupe.

This Look: One coat of Growing Nails Orderless Garlic base coat, two coats of DTBtM and one coat of my all-time favorite Shine & Hold topcoat.

Velusa: yellow green/gold -
Wallpaper from the 70s

Price Point/Availability: Germany by OPI became available August 8, 2012 and can be purchased at Professional Salons near you including JCPenney and ULTA; retails for $8.50.

70's Vinyl Sofa

Don't Talk Bach to Me is the kind of color that you just forget you have on all together until someone pays you a compliment - which will happen, a lot. This yellow leaning, green reminds me of a throwback to the 70's upholstery fabric or wall coverings.  Just gorgeous!

Kleancolor - Funky Yellow

Whoooo! Can you say bright? Well, today is a rather cold and dreary Tuesday here in Southern California, so I decided to brighten things up a bit with this bold lacquer from Kleancolor - Funky Yellow.  


I should also mention that I'm housebound (without wheels) today so this is the perfect color to wear inside - p.s. I don't think I'll be sporting this look for the public, but you can be sure that bold and daring celebrities rock this color all the time; everyone from Seal to Rihanna have been spotted with this look.


Color Description:  Neon (aka highlighter) yellow creme.


Similar To:  There are many colors like this on the market but this one is by far the least expensive.  Perfect for a lacquer that more than likely won't be worn much.


This Look:  One coat of Instant Artificials, three coats of Funky Yellow and one coat of Shine and Hold.  Note: Two coats were totally opaque but had balding in certain spots, thus the third coat.


Price Point/Availability:  If you can find these in a local beauty supply, that's your best bet; I've seen them for as low as $1.00. They are also available at Kleancolor's website for $3.49 (+ an $8 shipping charge - yikes!).


Would you wear this color or is it too avant garde?  Have a great evening and take care of yourselves. :)

China Glaze - Trendsetter (11/4/2011)

I pulled Trendsetter out of my box of untrieds for this Fall and I must say I really like this one, a lot. 

Color Description:  Best described as a yellow-toned mossy green with gold shimmer, Trendsetter is definitely on the mustard side and is very unique.

Similar To: With a name like Trendsetter it better not have any dupes... Can you think of one?  I can't.

This Look:  One coat of Instant Artificals, two coats of Trendsetter and one coat of Shine and Hold.

Price Point/Availability:  This lacquer is from China Glaze's Metro collection for Fall 2011, however, I believe this was a limited edition offering but you can readily find Trendsetter online.

How do you choose which color to wear next? For me it really depends on how the wind blows but as I mentioned above if all else fails I have a trusty-dusty box of untrieds to choose from. :)

OPI - The "It" Color (10/31/2011)

OPI The "It" Color is the color that started my lacquer collecting craze!  Little did I know that I already had 80 bottles of polish thrown in a box from over 20 years of buying nail polish.  But there's a difference between "buying" and "collecting" and I'm sure you all know what that is.  Anyway, with this color I found an artistic form of expression with color and my nails - Bright, Bold, Beautiful color and away I went!


Color Description: The "It" Color is a caution yellow creme, like the color of street signs, school buses, manila envelopes and pavement lines.  It is definitely a bold and daring color to wear and also matches one of my favorite handbags.  The color of this handbag is Chamois Yellow...  this works, too.


Similar To: I find this color to be very close to Stockholm by Dare to Wear, however, the D2W seems to be a jelly while the OPI is a creme.


This Look: One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, one coat of Instant Artificials and three coats of The "It" Color (yellow tends to be a bit streaky) and one coat of Shine and Hold.


Price Point/Availability:  The "It" Color is still in OPI's core line of colors and can be purchased just about anywhere you can buy OPI.


What started you on your way to becoming a nail polish fanatic; for some it's design, for me it's color, what is it for you?

Kleancolor - Holo Yellow/Catherine Arley #801 Comp

Just out of curiosity I swatched Kleancolor's Holo Yellow on my pinky so that I could compare it with Catherine Arley's #801.  As you can see the coloring is very close in color but the finish is totally different. 

The finish of the Catherine Arley is jelly and linear (very sophisticated), while the Kleancolor Holo Yellow is a bit more frosty and definitely a scattered holo.

Again, if you can't get your hands on Catherine Arley's version, Kleancolor will definitely do!

Catherine Arley - 801 (08/09/2011)

Before yesterday, I'd only seen pictures of Catherine Arleys and since I own over to 50 holograpic lacquers including 25 OPI Designer Series, 10 China Glaze OMGs, 11 Tronicas and a hand full of Color Clubs and Kleancolors, I don't get too excited anymore but behold Catherine Arley - 801 in all of its chartreuse golden jelly goodness.

Color Description: Can a lacquer be holographic and jelly at the same time?  Well, Catherine Arley figured away to combine the two and I'm thankful to have this in my collection.  Again, I would consider this a golden chartreuse with scattered holographic prisms in a jelly finish.

This Look:  Two coats of lacquer with no topcoat!

Similar To:  This is a very unusual holographic lacquer but also very similar in coloring to Kleancolor Holo Yellow.  If you can find the Kleancolor around this may satisfy a lemming for Catherine Arley 801.  However, the Kleancolor has somewhat of a frost finish to it.

Availability: Catherine Arley is manufactured in Turkey and can be purchased on the web, however, I've had no success getting a response from the online distributor.  So glad I got this in a swap!

 One last pic for the road!  Have you heard of Catherine Arley?  Which do you have in your collection?

Debbilia - #51 (Chartreuse)

Incandescent Lighting

Another popular color this season is chartreuse and although some say it's a difficult to wear, I feel daring, bold and will be wearing this with a suit the exact same color later on today at a special event. 


Color Description:  Debbilia #51 is a very regal and interesting color.  It is a  chartreuse or lime green shimmer with gold and pink undertones - stunning.  


Similar To: Looks extremely similar to OPI Simply Smashing from Serena's line.  It also puts me in the mind of OPI Who The Shrek Are You or Fingerpaint's Lucky in Love Lime, however, the finish is totally different.  Not sure if there's anything out there exactly like this - I haven't seen it, at least.

This Look: One coat of Miss Marion's White Super Basecoat, two coats of #51 and one coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine.

Price Point/Availability:  I picked this up at the Debbilia beauty supply store that is no longer open.  I went back one day and it was GONE.  I think this cost me all of $1...  I tried to google it and the old address comes up *iz sad*.


Thanks for reading my jibber-jabber and hope you like this color.  If anyone knows another color like this on the market, please leave your comment below.  Also, what do you think about this?  Is it too bright for you or would you totally rock this?  Let me know!