Browsing Tag

blue

Zoya Crystal

Wednesday, 29 December, 2010
Zoya Crystal

My pictures do not do this color justice. This is the smoother, sleeker version of OPI’s Absolutely Alice.

I am going to re-swatch this color again now that I’m more familiar with my camera and processing pictures in RAW mode.

For now, enjoy the pretty blue gold goodness that is Zoya Crystal. It is a beautiful metallic blue with flecks of gold glitter thrown in. Application was easy and smooth. This is right up there with Zoya’s Ivanka, in my opinion. Two coats and dried quickly.

I think that Zoya Crystal is one that you need to have in your collection. For some reason, when I look at this, I’m reminded of a globe from my old days in school. It’s like land masses surrounded by all the water. It’s just super gorgeous! Can you imagine if they did a green version of this?! *swoons*

Zoya Crystal.

Zoya Crystal

Two different shade shots of Zoya Crystal to show you the gold flecks and the shimmery metallic goodness of blue.

Zoya Crystal

Sunlight washed out this shot, making it appear dull and lifeless. That is not the case, it really is a gorgeous color

Now that you’ve seen Zoya Crystal, do you think you want/need this in your collection? I think it’s a must! Do you?

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Chanel – Riva

Wednesday, 1 December, 2010

I was surprised with this color. Hubby got it for me and who am I to say no to a bottle of nail polish? 😀

I was happy to get a color like this. I had been in two minds and I couldn’t make it up – do I want it or don’t I want it? Then I got a confirmation email saying it was on the way…decision taken out of my hands.

However, had I known then what I do now, I’d have said, “Let me find a dupe and pass.” I’d have used the money towards purchasing some other polish.

First off, what a craptastic formula. Streaky and a total pain to work with. Not opaque after 3 coats. Took forever and a *beeep* day to dry. I wasn’t even going to try and do 4 coats because even after the first coat, I had BUBBLES. BUBBLES IN A FIRST COAT THAT WASN’T EVEN THICK. I’m beyond disappointed.

And Chanel had a gorgeous shimmer that was prevalent in the bottle…and barely noticeable in sunlight.

Skip this. Get something like OPI’s What’s With The Cattitude or Finger Paints’ Blissfully Blue and then slap some CND Nail Effect Sparkle on it.

Ok, I think you get how disappointed I am by this polish. On to the pictures. As always, keep clicking the image until you can click it no more and it is huge. Remember, these are just thumbnails. The overall details will be seen in the original size of the picture (ghetto hangnails and all!) – you will see the shimmer in the sunlight shot and the bubbles.

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Nars – Midnight Express

Tuesday, 30 November, 2010

I didn’t expect this color to be so…luscious. I had anticipated this dark blue that would be almost black…and it is.

It’s beautiful.

Sadly, I couldn’t do it justice. I am so awful in application. See the VNL? Streaks! It dried quickly even with three coats.

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OPI – Yodel Me On My Cell

Wednesday, 3 November, 2010

Pretty, pretty blue….how I do love you.

Please excuse the VNL – I tried a new technique on application and it failed me. I’ll try it again later, but if it keeps failing me I’ll go back to how I used to apply.

This formula was thin and a bit moody. I had to do 3 coats to get it to look this color, but you can still see nail line. Grr. It dried quickly, that was one of the saving graces…oh, and the brush wasn’t jacked up, either. YAY!

I’ve heard this shade described as an aqua blue, but it doesn’t really remind me of any kind of aqua nor does it remotely remind me of the sea. I kept thinking, “TEAL! Teal light.” However, the shimmer in this is just freaking fabulous. I mean, Rachel Zoe shut it down, I DIE kind of fabulous.

As always, keep clicking the thumbnails because the pictures get HUGE. These are merely thumbnails. The one downside to making the picture the original size is that you really see all the imperfections in my nails and in application. Oh well. That’s a risk I’m willing to take.

PS I’m still squeeing a little bit for my Giants! I’m TiVo’ing the parade and will watch with hubby when he gets home tonight…he took caltrain in to work and said the place was a MADHOUSE. Good thing I opted to drop him off at the Santa Clara Station, but even then, it was insane. I retweeted the picture and you can find it in my twitter feed in case you’re interested.

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China Glaze – Holiday 2010 – ‘Tis The Season To Be Naughty And Nice

Friday, 22 October, 2010

This is a seriously image heavy post…28 pictures. I didn’t want to break it up because…well, I didn’t want to. 😉 It’s my eye candy and Friday Red. Enjoy!

All of these were two coaters and they dried in record time.

BOOM! Right out of the gate…this is my favorite red this season. Beautiful. Opaque in 2 coats.

I liked this, but it’s not my favorite red. It’s a bit too light for me. I am sure it would look better on someone else where it looked ok on me.

A gorgeous mulberry with a shimmer that makes it a perfect holiday shade.

I didn’t think I would like these, but I do. CTY is a lovely metallic foil that some other brands didn’t quite get right. This really sparkled and shined, truly reminding me of tinsel. MK was a lovely rich foil gold…absolutely gorgeous and I kept thinking it was a wonderful shade of almost 18k. Jingle bells is a bronze that doesn’t quite shimmer like CTY and MK, but it is very subtle. While not flashy, it’s still a pretty shade to behold.

A sheer white base with white glitter thrown in…it reminded me of snow.

This is a wicked shade of green…it glows. I swear, it generates its own electricity! Wouldn’t you agree? I mean, just look at it.

A wonderful blue, but it really reminded me of OPI’s Yoga-ta Get This Blue.

The jury’s still out on this color. I can’t decide if I like it or not. It’s a pinky/red jelly based color with pinky/silver glitter. Removal was a pain, but I’m not sure about this.

I no longer mourn the loss (that much) of my beloved Chanel Rouge Noir. How can I with these fabulous dupes that are 3-Free?

Oh the glitter…the humanity. THE SHINY! I like it a lot, but ugh…the removal. The removal is a pain.

How pretty is this? I love that it’s an olive green tossed into the mix…to make it even 700 shades more awesome, they made this a shimmer. Fabulous!

White creme…’nuff said. I think of this as a base for nail art and not just a color to be worn on its own.

This is China Glaze’s answer to OPI’s Tease-y Does It. I like both and I like that this is lighter and has a fine micro glitter.

Of course, I had to include Mistletoe Kisses because it’s part of the collection, even though I had done a comparison earlier in the week. FYI: MMUTM = Meet Me Under The Mistletoe.

And there we go…all 16 colors swatched. Yay! Hope you enjoyed it.

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Monday Morning Blue – OPI's Glacier Bay Blues

Monday, 4 October, 2010

I sometimes like and can tolerate Mondays. However, today with the overcast skies and funky cold weather, I can’t deal with it. I haven’t uploaded this swatch, but it’s been sitting in my archives for forever and a day. I busted out with it to cheer me up.

Great flashes of color – the base is a dark blue that’s a wonderful ocean color with flashes of green and just a host of other surprises that are good. The only truly bad thing is that this formula is OPI’s old formula. You know – formaldehyde, tuloene and ethyl blah blah blah. In short it’s not 3 free. And it stanks. Yuck.

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MAC Cosmetics – Ming Blue

Wednesday, 29 September, 2010

I’m currently wearing this blue on my nails. I have been for the past few days. I neglected to take a picture until yesterday so please pardon the tip wear.

I like blues like this and the only thing I wish MAC had done was make this polish bolder. Maybe the glitter in it a bit more big and boomin’, ya know? This was opaque in two coats and it dried quickly. However, much as I did enjoy this color, it didn’t live up to the hype I had put in my head for it. Don’t get me wrong – I do like it. I just wish it had wowed me a bit more.

As always, keep clicking the pictures to enlarge until they can enlarge no more! The actual sizes are huge and these are just thumbnails.

Bottle shot!

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Orly – Lunar Eclipse

Monday, 27 September, 2010

This blue is amazing. I wasn’t able to capture the gorgeous purple shimmer that was in it. I get compliments on it – even from people who don’t like blue nail polish. I love this color and I wear it whenever I can, even bumping aside tried and true colors that I wear. I have to get a back up for this one, too!

This lovely polish is part of Orly’s Cosmic F/X for Fall 2010.

The formula is amazing – quick drying and opaque within two coats.

In the shade shots you can see the gorgeous purple shimmer in the bottle, but it didn’t translate well into the picture, but in real life the purple shimmer/flashes were just…amazing. This is definitely a color that’s well worth the purchase.

The sunlight drowned out the purple shimmer, but it is there! But it’s just beautiful, isn’t it?

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