L.A. Colors - Aqua Crystals (05/22/2011)

Run! (don't walk) to your nearest Dollar Tree for this blue glittered beauty.  I picked this up while on a mini-vacay with my sister last week in San Diego and I'm so glad I gave it a chance.  Of the four glitters I picked up (including: Glistening Purple, Jewel Tone and Sparkling Diamonds) Aqua Crystals is my absolute favorite. :)


Color Description:  Aqua Crystals is medium blue jelly with glistening glitter.  If you can imagine the blue equivalent of Orly's new Bubbly Bombshell, then you got it!  And you can get away with one coat of this baby.


This Look:  One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, two coats of Aqua Crystals (went on pretty thick) and one coat of Z Super Fast Dry top coat.

Similar To:  I pulled a few bottles from my stash to compare this with and overall I really like Aqua Crystals (index) the best.  It's the most rich and regal of the bunch, which are, Milani Blue Flash (middle), China Glaze Dorothy Who? (ring) and Claire's Twinkle Twinkle (pinky).  All are two coats and as you can see, Blue flash (middle) is the closest match with Dorothy Who? being too sheer, and Twinkle Twinkle (pinky), though nice, was too dark.


Price Point/Availability:  I found L.A. Colors Aqua Crystals at the Dollar Tree for $1.00.  It's also available online at various e-tailers.


Thanks for stopping by and let me know your thoughts...  I hope you like this color as much as I do!  For one dollar this is a great purchase and if you have any questions please let me know.  I will do my best to point you in the right directions.

L.A. Colors - Solar Gold (5/16/2011)

Today's manicure was inspired by a picture from a Yahoo! article on the web Sunday morning.  I was so in awe by this golden tipped bride that I set out on a quest to recreate the look.  A few thought this was minx and though that may be true, I wanted to see what my stash had in "store" for me, so I went shopping in my own collection.

Color Description:  L.A. Colors Solar Gold is a very pale, yellow,14k-like, gold frost.  Nice but not opaque enough for the look so I layered it over an pale yellow from Maybelline called Bamboo Yellow, (click here to see Scrangie's pic). 

Yahoo! news pic

Similar To:  This gold was the only gold like this that I own.  A few other suggestions were Orly Luxe, OPI Glitzerland or Maybelline's Gold Guitar.  I own two of these and they didn't quite have enough yellow in them and both contained shimmer, which the pic does not.

This Look:  Two coats of Miss Marion's Superbase, one coat of Maybelline Bamboo Yellow, one coat of Sally Hansen NailShine Miracle and one coat of Shine and Hold top coat.  I think I overdid it a bit with the topcoats because there's some bubbling happening which I'm not happy with but overall the color was close that I tried to achieve.

Price Point/Availability:  Both Solar Gold and Bamboo Yellow are discontinued but please let me know if you try to recreate this look what you come up with!  This was my best shot but it's not nearly as pretty as my inspiration picture.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to hear from you soon!

Fun-Friday Mani: Kleancolor Crack - Red Crackle over Sally Hansen - Tipsey Toesey Rose (5/13/2011)

A Fun-Friday Mani is usually on for no more than 24 hours and this one is no exception!  It was inspired by Colour Coated (her mani was awesome, by the way).   I polled some friends and family and they loved it, which made me feel a bit better, after I had chalked this up to a fail.  Well, on to the review:

Color Description:  Underneath this new, bright candy apple red, Kleancolor Crack in Red Crackle, I have on a bright pink from Sally Hansen called Tipsey Toesey Rose, which was part of a weird "Just Feet" collection that ended up at the Dollar Tree (wonder why? - lol). 

Similar To:  There are a few other red crackles on the market but I don't think any are this bright and have this crackle pattern.

This Look:  Veeerrry difficult (see disclaimer below)!  One coat of Miss Marion's Superbase, two coats of Tipsey Toesey Rose, one coat of Red Crackle and one coat of Shine and Hold topcoat.

Disclaimer (Application):  KC's Crack is very fickle and must be painted over freshly painted nails.  It can't be too fresh, though, (i.e. one coat coat of wet polish) or it will crack and take the polish right along with it leaving your bare nail showing.  So I suggest two coats of color, letting the 1st coat dry completely, add the second, let it semi dry (still sticky to the touch) and then add the crackle.  If applied over yesterday's mani, however, it will just dry and blow away in the wind.  You will literally be able to wipe it off with your finger; not nice and very messy.

Price Point/Availability:  Red Crackle retails on the Kleancolor website for $3.99 (+ tax) with a whopping $8.00 for shipping.  So if you can find these in a local beauty supply that's your best bet; they can get as low as $1.99.  The Sally Hansen Just Feet lacquer in Tipsey Toesey Rose is discontinued and can be found randomly at your local Dollar Tree.

Well, off to go have dinner with the hubsters.  I'm in the mood for an Island's margarita (yum!).  I like Fun-Fridays, how about you?

Pink Wednesday: OPI - Sparrow Me The Drama (5/11/2011)

OTT Lighting in Light Box

What a pretty pink!  I picked up the entire set of OPI's Pirates of The Caribbean lacquers and Sparrow Me The Drama is my first mani from the collection.  Believe me you, this color does not disappoint...


Color Description: Sparrow Me The Drama has been best described as a cool toned pink with lilac/blue undertones.  It has a gorgeous, shiny creme finish that I think would be lovely on all skin-tones.  And is somewhat unique and sophisticated as far as pinks go.


Similar To:  I went to the pink section of my stash and nothing, then I went to the mauves and still nothing.  Whew, no dupe here, but please share if you find a similar color out there.

Incandescent Lighting

This Look:  One coat of Miss Marion's Pink Garlic Nail Hardener (as base), two coats of Sparrow Me The Drama and One Coat of Maybelline's Vinyl Shine (an old-school clear coat found at the Dollar Tree that dries surprisingly fast).


Pictures:  IMO, the first picture is more color accurate, but, as you can see from the two pictures, Sparrow Me The Drama looks totally different in various light settings.  


Price Point/Availability:  Again, I found mine in the JC Penney Salon where it retails for $8.50.  Although this is a Limited Edition color, you can still find this online and at other Salon locations.   


Well, have fun with this collection - I know, I am. :)

Essie - Ruby Slippers (5/8/2011)

There's no place like home...  Essie Ruby Slippers is what I call a "special occasion" nail polish, however, it is very wearable; you wanna be anywhere but home with when you wear this.  My hubby picked this out for our anniversary and though I couldn't wear it to dinner, I put it on the first chance I got and wore it on Sunday.  I've been wearing this for three days and so far so good.


Color Description:  Ruby Slippers is a deep red jelly with medium (almost chunky) multi-colored glitter from shades of red to orangey-gold.  Depending on how many coats you apply, the glitter appears to be suspended in strawberry syrup.  If you've ever made your own strawberry shortcake from scratch, with fresh strawberries, you know exactly what I'm talking about.


Similar To:  It's different than any other red glitter I own because of the size and color of the glitter.  But, believe it or not, this is not my favorite red-jelly glitter of the bunch...  I actually preferred Wet n Wild's Extravaganza, so much so, that I bought an extra and have it in my back-up box!


This Look:  One coat of Starting Over After Artificials, three coats of Ruby Slippers, one coat of Sally Hansen NailShine Miracle and one coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine.


Price Point/Availability:  I received this in a swap from the lovely rmcandlelight of Nails Beautiqued, however, Essie has long since discontinued Ruby Slippers. After doing a quick google search, I see that it is still being sold online at a few e-tailers.


Well, it's time for a change!  I really want to join in the Pink Wednesday craze, so I'm off to remove this and see which pink I want to wear...  Talk to you soon. :)

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. :)

Kleancolor Crack - Green Crackle (5/4/2011)

Left Hand

The market has been flooded with all sorts for crackle collections for every budget and I wanted to try a few colors from the Kleancolor Crack line, so I picked up Green Crackle, Red Crackle, Brown Crackle and Purple Crackle.  


Color Description:  Green crackle is deep green like the color of school bus seats in the 80's - lol!  Oh and the crackle pattern reminds me of a tortoise shell.


Similar To:  Is there another green crackle on the market yet?  If you know of one please fill me in, but for now I know of nothing similar.

Right Hand

This Look:  Two coats of Miss Marion's Super Base (white), one coat of Green Crackle, and one coat of Z Super Fast Dry topcoat.  Please note that a good base is imperative.  I painted my bare nail and 1st it didn't crackle and second, as I was blowing it dry, it literally blew off my nails like powder.  So, strange!


As you can see from my pics, the left hand (thin layer) crackled a finer than my right hand (thick layer).  I prefer the look of the right hand, myself. 


Price Point/Availability:  I believe these were released within the last week, or so, however, they are not available online yet but will retail for $3.99 (+ tax) with a whopping $8.00 for shipping.  So if you can find these in a local beauty supply that's your best bet; they can get as low as $1.99.


Well, today's my day off so I will wear this for a few hours tops!  Have you seen these around yet?  There are a few other Kleancolors that I'd like to get my hands on and for this price you can't go wrong.  As always, stay well-polished and talk to you a bit later.