Sally Hansen Insta Dry: Currant Trend.

Happy Friday lovelies!! I hope you all are going to have an amazing weekend. I will be working, as per usual. If you are snowed in like me I hope that you are safe and warm as well!

Today's polish is going to be one I picked up back in the mid fall, but is still available today. I saw them at Rite Aid not too long ago.

Sally Hansen really stepped up their game with polish last year. They put out some amazing glitters and  Insta Drys! Today I have one of those Insta Drys to show you. Its called Currant Trend. I have never seen a currant but I am hoping its similar to this color.

Correction: I just Googled what a Currant is and its more red and burgundy then this polish color but this is still a beautiful polish.

Its such a vibrant purple!! I gravitate towards towards purple polishes and probably have way too many in my collection. You know the deal with the Insta Dry polishes, they dry fairly quickly, hence the name, and they come in these nifty bottles that are triangular shaped. They also have a large flat brush as well. The only thing I don't really like about the Insta Dry bottles is the neck of the bottle its so narrow and the wand and brush always come out full of polish so if you don't wipe it off well you still get a running flow of polish from the stem to the brush and you risk flooding your cuticles. As you can see I had that problem and my cuticles are slightly stained.

However with that one defect aside this color is beautiful. If look close you can see the individual blue and purple flecks that make this polish what it is. In real life in bottle it looks like a glass fleck but doesn't finish that way.

You can find Insta Dry polishes at your local drugstore, Wal-Mart, Target, etc.

Until next time.
<3 Nicole

China Glaze Loves A Beach.

Hello all! Happy Friday afternoon!

It has been bitterly cold here in New York for the past almost week, I can't tell you how much I want the spring time to get here!

To help combat the bitter cold today I have a polish that will make you want to go to the beach!

Loves A Beach is from the China Glaze Summer Neon's collection it is a medium bright florescent pink. You could compare it to Hang Ten Toes its just a shade or two darker.

When Loves A Beach dries the shimmer that you can see in the other colors isn't too prevalent, at least to me it isn't. The finish is much more of a matte satin. With the addition of top coat though the shimmer comes alive and creates a great back drop for nail art or glitter.

The formula on this polish is pretty good, three coats take care of any visible nail line. It is definitely a good idea to wait a few minutes in between coats so you don't get any brush drag or bald spots.

I still believe that The Summer Neon's is still available to purchase through the online E-tailers. So if your stuck in the bitter cold like I am or just in need of a spring-ish color then you might want to pick up a couple of these colors!

Do you already own any of the Summer Neon's?

<3Nicole

From the Swatch Vault Hard Candy Sky.

Good afternoon polish friends! Hope you all are well!

Today I have a post for you that was sitting in a folder on my USB drive that I took FOREVER ago and never posted here. I think I never posted it here because I wasn't happy with the outcome of the photos but I'm going to show you anyway since the brand this polish is, is being discontinued!

 How sad is that???

If you remember when The Hard Candy Cosmetic Company launched at Wal-Mart sometime ago, they put out a line of polishes with it. It took me forever to buy any of them, and I don't think it was the price point. They retail for $5 each and my Wal-Mart had maybe six different colors to choose from.

The first time I bought one of the Hard Candy polishes, it turned out to be their matte top coat called Mattely In Love. Mattely In Love was the first drugstore/affordable matte top coat I found, considering Essie at the time was $8 and NY Color hadn't released theirs yet.

Later on I wound up purchasing Splendid a bright yellow crème that is not the best by any means and what I am showing you today, Sky.

Sky is a lovely sky blue with hidden blue shimmer that's a tad bit darker. From what I can remember about the formula it takes about three coats to reach opacity and its very thin and watery too. It will definitely flood your cuticles if not careful.


*All photos taken in natural light, three coats and a top coat.

Now here comes the sad news. While reading the drugstore beauty blogs, I found out that Hard Candy is discontinuing quite a few products, including the Just Nails line. So the polish I am showing above will eventually no longer be available. Hopefully though Hard Candy will be putting out a new line of polish and maybe a color similar or better, we can all cross our perfectly manicured hands!

So if your Wal-Mart sells Hard Candy and you have never purchased any of their polishes I would go an take a look because there are a few gems out there.

Do you already own any Hard Candy Polishes?

Nicole. <3

Loreal Paris Nail Polish: Tea and Crumpets!

Good morning my dears!

Hope you all are well and ate lots and lots of turkey and did some Black Friday shopping! I went shopping on Saturday and scored five polishes off my wish list. They were never up here on the blog though b/c I'm horrible at updating those pages!

Today I have for you the last of the Loreal Paris Polishes from tr British collection. This one is called Tea And Crumpets. It is a fantastic nude color. Defnitly a palette cleanser for me. I don't have anything like this in my stash.

It's a very pale nude/grey cream that is opaque in 3 coats, the first coat is sheer and patchy but buy the second coat it starts to even itself out. If your too quick to apply each coat you can get some unevenness and visible brush strokes.

I plan on using this polish for the base color for some nail art ! I started over Thanksgiving trying out different designs and decided on my first tape mani. I haven't really attempted one because I always screw if up! But this time I managed quite well! Usually people use scotch tape but I didn't have that on hand so I used masking tape and just ran it over my hand once or twice and then placed it where I wanted it to go.

I then used China Glaze Pink Plumeria on the part that wasn't taped off. I have to say that the manicure is very work appropriate and just overall nice and clean. I feel like one could get away with wearing such a manicure in a more strict office setting.

Okay that's it for this post! Stay tuned for the next one and check out the pictures below! All taken in natural light!

China Glaze Immortal vs. Claw Polish Phantom

Good Morning!

Hope you all are well! For those of us here in the Northeast we are currently watching and waiting on Hurricane Sandy. She is supposed to hit some where near New Jersey late Monday night and bring lots of rain and wind :( This would be my second hurricane, the first one being Hurricane Irene, (really she was a tropical storm) but it certainly caused a huge mess. I'm hoping Sandy doesn't do that much damage this time, since most places are just getting back on their feet over a year later.

Anywho on to today's post! I hinted a few post back that I had another dupe post for you, and if you read the title then you know exactly what I am talking about! This year China Glaze put out this amazing grey creme polish that has the slightest shimmer of blue and silver and a hint of magenta. When I first saw bottle shots and early swatches I thought that it could be close to a polish I got last Halloween.

So when I saw it in person at Sally's I knew it most likely was a dupe but I had to have it anyway!

So today I bring CG Immortal vs. Claw Polish Phantom.

Lets talk about the Claw Polish. I only bought this polish because I had seen swatches of it on my all time favorite beauty blog Nouveau Cheap! I thought it looked unique and I did not have any grey polishes at the time, when I saw it in CVS I thought okay its pretty but it might be sheer. It is a buildable sheer polish. The shimmer in it is significantly silver/grey but you occasionally see a small speck of blue or magenta  After wearing it for a short time last year I included it in my top 11 polishes of 2011.

The formula on these two polishes is different but not in a way that will shock you. Immortal is a tad thicker than Phantom and only needs two coats to be opaque, where as Phantom looks best at three. Both polishes after four coats are this very dark graphite grey which to me wasn't very appealing. In my photos below are three coats and one coat of top coat.

So to compare, China Glaze Immortal is on my pinkie and middle finger and Phantom is on my ring and pointer finger. These two polishes are dead on dupes for each other, the only difference being the formula. I would say that if you didn't have access to the Claw Polishes from last year, although I hear they are out at Kmart this year then the China Glaze polish is a good pick.

I hope you enjoyed my dupe post! And thanks for taking the time out to read it!
Until next time <3 Nicole

OPI I Have A Herring Problem.

Hello! Happy Sunday!

Today I have a polish that I am so glad made its way into my collection. I know I've said it before but the grocery store I work for has a small selection of OPI Polishes. We only get new ones in once in a blue moon and its usually one or two new shades. On Friday while working I was going around the store having to put stuff back on the shelves and had to pass the OPI rack several times. Eyeing a few shades that were different I knew I had to check it out when I got off.

Checking out the rack I immediately saw a slate blue grey polish with shimmer and had to have it. I had pulled out I Have A Herring Problem from the Holland Collection! This and Kiss Me On My Tulips have been on my wish list from this collection. So 1 of 2 complete!

I Have A Herring Problem is a gorgeous medium slate blue grey polish with tons of sliver shimmer that has gold undertones. I noticed it slightly when looking at the polish in the sun,.

This photo was taken with my IPhone with the flash on. My other camera wouldn't pick up the amazing shimmer!

 Application was a pretty good. The first coat is rather sheer but the second coat takes care of that. You can definitely wear this polish with just two coats. In my photos I used three for good measure. I also do not have a top coat on either.

I purchased I Have A Herring Problem for $8.99 at my local grocery store. I am pretty sure you can get OPI at salons and beauty supply stores  for about the same. But prices may vary due to location!

Until next time!
Nicole

Maybelline Color Show: Crushed Candy.

Hello! I hope you all are having a wonderful Friday!

I know I always say this, but I cannot believe that I haven't posted since the first of May! Wow this year is going by fast!

Today I have a really awesome polish to show you! Maybelline has come out with new nail polish, in a line called Color Show. They are available at Walmart, and I got mine for $2.97.

These polishes have decent range of color and textures, from glitters to cremes to shimmers. Crushed Candy is a shimmer/glass fleck polish.

Sadly the display at my store was fairly empty. :( There were not many colors left and this was the only color out of the lot that stood out to me. I am hoping they will restock the display soon. This color totally reminded me of Butter London's Disco Biscuit, a color from their spring line. I cannot fathom spending $14 dollars on a nail polish. Maybe one day when I do not have a ton of bills.

Crushed Candy applied like a dream. Two coats and its at full opacity. The color is just perfect for the summer time.It is a hot pink fuchsia  that flashes with purple and blue shimmer. I do wish I owned Disco Biscuit to see if they are dupes of each other. I haven't seen any comparisons online so for all I know I could be off by miles. Haha.

 The formula is thin but easy to handle. Just like with any other thin polishes if you are not careful you can flood your cuticles. When I went to change my polish, Crushed Candy hung around my cuticle area so I had to go back with a brush and remover to get it all off. Remember if you use 100 percent acetone like I do it WILL dry out your nails/cuticles/skin  so it is important to wash your hands immediately and moisturize.

Have you picked up any Color Show polishes? If you have any recommendations on what ones you think are worth a shot? Leave a comment below!

Talk to you all soon!
Nicole