OPI - Designer De Better (12/18/2011)

OPI's Muppets Collection was released November 2011 a few weeks prior to the Muppets movie release and of the twelve lacquers released I picked up two: Designer De Better and Warm & Fozzie.  Of the two, Warm & Fozzie is my favorite but I really do like Designer De Better now on to its review.


Color Description: Described as a light metallic bronze by OPI, Designer De Better is packed with pale golden/platinum micro-glitter with a spattering of burnt orange glitter.  Very fancy but can be worn everyday without the feeling of being over-the-top.


Similar To: Very original and similar to nothing that I own.


This Look: Two coats of Designer De Better and one coat of Maybelline forever+strong topcoat.


Price Point/Availability: You may still be able to find this lacquer at your local JCPenney or Ulta (or any Salon that carries OPI).  This is a limited edition collection so it won't be around permanently and retails for $8.50.


Thanks so much for checking out my page and I'd love to hear from you.  Have you seen the Muppets Movie?  I heard it was really good but haven't seen it yet.  Will more than likely rent it, how 'bout you?

Sally Hansen - Gray Area (12/16/2011)

Has it almost been a month since my last post?  Where did the time go?  Well, it's been a busy month betweem the job hunt, a wedding, a funeral and life in general - let's just say, "things have really been going on!" I have been, however, polishing my nails.  


So what have you missed?  OPI's Warm & Fozzie - I just couldn't take it off and wore it for two weeks straight! Also, really liked OPI's Designer De Better.  I will have posts of these soon.  Now on to what I'm wearing today.  Sally Hansen's Gray Area which is inspired from a handbag that I purchased recently from the Junior Drake Warehouse sale.

Junior Drake - Gia

Color Description: Is it gray? Is it purple? Is it taupe? It's a "Gray Area" is what it is.  It's very unique as far as creme lacquers go and it's very wearable.  Stays in the dark family but does not go black indoors - nice!

Similar To: This is the creme version of Chanel Paradoxal and Dare To Wear's Fortune.  A very rich looking color, indeed.

OTT Lite with Light Box

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


Price Point/Availability: I'm almost certain that this is in Sally Hansen's core line and can be found at most drugstore's for no more than $2.99.


Now if you can imagine this dark gray handbag that in certain light looks like the picture below which is some sort of grayish purple - this is what the Gia bag in Shadow looks like.  


More about Junior Drake coming soon!  One of my favorite handbag designers of 2010-2011...

Junior Drake Warehouse Sale - Leather Handbags (December 16-18)

When: The Junior Drake Warehouse Clearance Sale is happening two weekends in a row and ending this weekend.  I went last weekend and picked up the full leather Gia Handbag for about 85% below retail (see pic below).  There will be hundreds, if not, thousands of leather handbags in every color of the rainbow.

Where: There's always refreshments to keep up your shopping stamina, as well (i.e. hot dogs, cookies, and drinks).  So if you're in the Los Angeles area, by all means, make it down to the Junior Drake Warehouse Sale and have a blast!!!

What: Here's a pic of the handbag I picked up last weekend for 85% off!  

Crazy steal of a deal:

Gia Studded Satchel (color: Shadow)


Matching Lacquer: Sally Hansen Gray Area, Dare 2 Wear Fortune and 
Chanel Paradoxal

Video: Here's a glimpse of what you'll be "in store" for:

Details: Sneak-peek at bags and dates are below:

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?

NYX - Woman (11/11/2011)

As Shania Twain says, this lacquer ♪♫"makes me feel like a woman!"♪♫  NYX Woman is one of those lacquers that until you pick up and look at closely in the bottle you won't realize how special it is.


Color Description:  NYX Woman is a red lacquer that glows from within, truly.  It's a deep ruby red with gold, red and magenta shimmer and I just can't seem to take it off.  After the pics were taken I broke a nail, mended it and reapplied Woman - phenomenal!


Similar To:  Puts me in the mind of one of my oldie but goodies OPI I'm Not Really A Waitress - you get the drift... It's GOOOD!


This Look:  One coat of Instant Artificials, two coats of Woman, one coat  of Mega Shine and one coat of NailShine Miracle.


Price Point/Availability:  This lacquer retails online for about $4.00 but you can find it locally at your mom and pop beauty supplier for less that $2.00.

I'm sure I've seen this many times before and and decided to "walk on by" as the song goes until I recently picked it up and to my surprise it's a real gem of a lacquer.  If you see it in the store give it a gander, you just might like what you see. :)

Pink Wednesday: Ashley Stewart French Kiss w/ Sally Hansen Sheer Strawberry

Today I have for you French Kiss from Ashley Stewart a plus-size clothing store with an eclectic mix of styles to choose from including chunky accessories and now lacquer for your nails.  


Just about every retail outlet is now selling nail polish and Ashley Stewart is no different - who can blame them?  Nail polish is HOT and you can do it yourself.


Color Description:  French Kiss is an opaque pale peachy-pink creme that was extremely difficult to apply (very streaky) and even more difficult to photograph. I layered Sally Hansen's Sheer Strawberry over it to even out the streaks a bit which made it jelly-like.


Similar To:  Maybelline Pink Sorbet is almost the exact same pink (will be gifting French Kiss soon).  I pulled China Glaze Something Sweet and it was much darker and pinker in tone.


This Look: Two coats of French Kiss, two coats of Sheer Strawberry and one coat of Shine & Hold.

Price Point/Availability:  This was recently purchased and is currently on sale for $1.99 (in-store only).


I wore this mani this weekend and it's a bit worn but I still feel "pretty in pink" - Happy Hump Day!

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 - Jade Is The New Black (11/1/2011)

Jade Is The New Black is a beautiful GREEN from last year's Hong Kong collection and is the perfect lacquer to complete, what I will call, my "traffic light series", which included the RED Caviar & Vodka (from the 2007 Russian collection) and my last YELLOW post of The "It" Color (from the 2008 Mod About Brights collection).


Color Description: A very vivid, deep and dusty green creme that looks great in bright lights.


Similar To: The color of the Starbucks logo (lol) and what else?  The closest thing I've seen is Revlon Emerald (comped by The Daily Varnish here)...  Pretty close I'd say!


This Look: One coat of Growing Nails Garlic base, one coat of Instant Artificials, two coats of Jade Is The New Black and one coat of Shine and Hold.


Price Point/Availability: Again, it looks like this color made it into the core/permanent line and retails for $8.50/ea.


Thanks for stopping by once again!  Green means "go" so off to make some moves this week.  See you soon... :)

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?