CND Red Hot Duo Swatches

Good Morning!  I went and got a pedicure yesterday it was sooo needed. I ended up doing China Glaze Starboard on my toes...It was between that and Zoya Dannii but my Grandma liked the green better...go figure haha!

Today I have for you guys the Red Hot Duo that CND has put out for Valentines day. I am not really a red kinda girl but I like it enough that I needed this duo and it did not disappoint, for the most part anyway. First up is the colour of the duo, Just Red, which is a a gorgeous blue toned red and it's amazing! I feel like every time I post a CND polish I go on and on about how fantastical they are...but man they are awesome. CND never ever ever disappoints me with their colour polishes. The formula was awesome, and this is a bit of a jelly/creme finish, yum! I used 2 coats of  Just Red for the photos below.

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Now onto the Effect part of this package, Red Sparkle. Red Sparkle is pretty much just red glitter in a clear base. To be honest this effect doesn't thrill me too much, I guess I just expect more from their effects. I do however love how it looks layered, especially in the 2nd picture below. I used 1 coat of Red Sparkle over Just Red for the pictures below.

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Sephora by OPI Urban Ballerina Mini Set Swatches

Good Morning everyone! Today I have for you guys swatches of the polishes included in the Urban Ballerina mini set from Sephora by OPI. There are 2 more polishes not available in the mini set, but they weren't out at my Sephora yet, they only had stock of the mini sets :( When I bought the mini set I was chatting with the girl ringing my purchase up and she commented that they had already sold 3/4 of the mini sets they had gotten in during the 1 day they had been out on the floor, that is nuts!  Please ignore the greenish tint on my ring finger in the pictures today...blame Who Let The Dorks Out from yesterday's post for that...I couldn't get it off even after soaking my finger in polish remover!

First up from the mini set is Leotard-Optional. Sephora describes it as a mocha color, to me it looks like an orangey tan-ish brown-ish color...I like it! I think this is a great neutral color, very office appropriate. The formula was great and the polish flowed nicely even with the mini brush. I used 2 coats of Leotard-Optional for the pictures below

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The Way Tutu His Heart is a very light baby pink. Not much to say about this one, other than the formula was not great. To get it opaque it took 1 streaky coat, 1 semi thick still streak coat and 1 very thick coat with a very light touch. I have plenty of shades just like this that aren't that much work. I would pass on this in the full sized bottle. I used 3 coats of The Way Tutu His Heart for the picture below.

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Who's Spinning Tonight? My favorite one of the set, it's a dark grape purple with a pink, purple & blue shimmer. I didn't realize there was shimmer in this until I started put it on, even looking at the bottle you couldn't see it, probably because the bottle is so tiny! It was a nice surprise! The formula was great, I used  2 coats for full opacity.

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Can we see the shimmer?

Last up is Break a Leg-Warmer, a dark gray. This one had the best formula out of the bunch, but it's not a unique color by any means. Another one I would pass on in the full sized bottles, unless you don't already have a gray just like this. I used 1 coat of Break a Leg-Warmer for the picture below.

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You can buy the Urban Ballerina mini set at Sephora.com and Sephora Stores, it retails for  $18. The full sized bottles of the Urban Ballerina Collection retail for $9 each. 

Sephora by OPI Mash Up & Who Let The Dorks Out?

Good Morning! I went to Sephora last night and picked up the last 2 Glee polishes I was missing, yay! If you missed the first post with the rest of the Glee collection you can check it out by clicking here!

First up is Mash Up inspired by Mr. Shue! It's a silvery greenish purple duochrome. Remind anyone of a polish in a certain singers collection? I thought so too, when I posted the first batch of Glee swatches HeatherS commented on the similarity also which made me want to find a bottle so badly! I decided to buy Mash up despite it's similarity to Not Like The Movies from the Katy Perry collection... I did a comparison on the two of them...more on that later. Mash up was fairly sheer, I used 3 coats for full coverage. I couldn't seem to pull out the duochrome as much as I wanted for my pictures. It was a bit more apparent in real life.  Below is 3 coats of Mash Up.

Now for the comparison, in the store Mash Up looked to me to be an exact dupe of Not Like The Movies, even when I got home and sat the bottles next to each other they looked exact. Once I got them on the nail they started just looking similar and not dupey. The duochrome in Not Like The Movies is a bit more strong and it also leans more purple in the sun where Mash Up tends to lean more silvery green in the sun. I rule these fraternal twins, similar but not the same. Do you need both? Probably not. I'd pick  Not Like The Movies if I could only have 1.

I used 3 coats of Mash Up & 3 coats of Not Like The Movies for the pictures below.

Finally the polish inspired by Sue Sylvester, Who Let The Dorks Out? This polish is a bright shimmery teal, in the bottle it looks to have a purple shimmer at some angles but it didn't translate onto the nail :( It's still a gorgeous color, one of my favorites of the collection! It was a bit sheer but it builds up beautifully! I used 3 coats for the pictures below.

China Glaze Pelican Gray

Hey guys, happy Friday! Anyone doing anything fun this weekend? I'm getting a pedicure on Sunday, I am SO looking forward to that. I hate painting my toes so it's nice to have someone else do it for me! Other than that nada, I'm pretty boring!

Pelican Gray is from China Glaze's Spring 2011 Anchors Away collection and it's a light gray with a fine silver shimmer! I love this color but it is doing weird things with my skin tone...doubt that will stop me from wearing it though haha! The formula was top notch, and I am loving the subtle hint of shimmer in this. I used 2 coats of China Glaze Pelican Gray for the pictures below.

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Finger Paints Palette of Petals Spring 2011 Preview

Hi Guys, this just landed in my inbox, Finger Paints is bringing us 6 news shades for Spring 2011. They look so pretty, I'm loving Carnation Creation and Dhalia My Number! Also, how stinking cute are those rings on the bottles?!? Love them!

These will be available March 2011 at Sally Beauty Supply for $4.99 each.

(picture is clickable)

Here is a closer look at the polish colors, these are also clickable

 

(all images provided by PR)

Sephora by OPI GLEE Collection Swatches

Hi everyone! Today I have for you guys some swatches of a bunch of the Sephora by OPI GLEE polishes! I'm missing a couple, but hopefully I can get my hands on those soon! It appears that these are now in stores, I bought mine online but called the local Sephora by me yesterday afternoon and they already had the mini sets. They did not have the full sized bottles in stock though, so you may want to call and ask about these before making the drive to Sephora. These retail for $9.50 for the full sized bottle, which is $0.50 cents more than regular Sephora by OPI polish. Kinda lame that they increased the price if you want my 2 cents about that.

First up are swatches of the polishes included in the mini kit, 3 of the 6 polishes in the mini kit are exclusive to the kit and are NOT available in full sized bottles :(

Slushied, inspired by Finn Hudson is a bright blue creme. Love the name of this polish! The formula was great! Slushied IS available in a full sized bottle! I used 2 coats for the pictures below.

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Next up, Celibacy Club, this is the first of the 3 mini kit exclusives. Celibacy Cub is silver and holographic glitter in a clear base. Best used as a top coat, I don't believe you could build this up without a bazillion coats. This one is more holo IRL than in my pictures, I fail at catching top coats like this in pictures...sorry! Below is 1 coat of Celibacy Club over Slushied.

Another mini set exclusive, this is Express Yourself to Yourself. Love the name of this one too lol! This polish is a coral-y glass flecked pink. The formula was pretty sheer, I needed 3 coats for full opacity. Makes no sense that they would put a polish like this in the mini set only....if you like this one good luck getting more than a couple mani's out of the bottle. Below is 3 coats of Express Yourself to Yourself.

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Gleek Out is inspired by Kurt Hummel, I loooooove this polish! It's a green and gold glass flecked beauty. Totally my kind of color, it fulfills my need for weird colors! This one was also pretty sheer, but good news...this IS available in a full sized bottle, which I fully plan on buying! I used 3 coats of Gleek Out for the pictures below.

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Miss Bossy Pants, inspired by Rachel Berry is a bright fuschia pink with a touch of a purple shimmer. This IS available in a full sized bottle! I like this one much more than I thought I would, it was extremely easy to work with even with that stupid mini brush! I used 2 coats of Miss Bossy Pants for the pictures below.

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Last up from the mini set is Sue Vs. Shue, this one is the last mini set exclusive polishes. What a shame, I love this one! It's a dark navy blue with a gorgeous shimmer. I love navy's like this that actually look blue and not black! The formula was great, if you use thick coats of polish you could probably get away with 1 coat, I used 2 coats for the pictures below.

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On to a couple polishes that are only available in full sized bottles, I am missing a couple. Who Let The Dorks Out? and Mash Up, hopefully I can get my hands on them soon!

Diva-in-Training is inspired by Santana Lopez and is a bright pink. Almost neon but not quite, it did dry semi matte though. The formula on this one was really great, the first coat went on a bit streaky but the second coat evened everything out. I used 2 coats of Diva-in-Training for the pictures below.

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Saving the best for last, this is Hell To The No which is inspired by Mercedes Jones. Hell To The No is a purple with a freakin amazing coppery gold shimmer. I love this polish so much, they should have named it Hell To The Yes because it's just that fantastical! If you only buy 1 polish from this collection I would recommend this one, it's the standout for me. The formula was great, I really can't complain about anything. This is 2 coats of Hell To The No.

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Once I got Hell to the No on it reminded me of something, Pa A24. Below is my swatch from a while back, different shade a purple but same general feeling. If you have been lemming this Pa polish Hell To The No might squash that.

Nicole by OPI is bringin us 8 more Justin Bieber polishes!

I know I know, Justin Bieber. The colors sound fab from the descriptions!

NICOLE BY OPI ONE LESS LONELY GIRL

8 New Lacquer Additions

WHAT:    Nicole by OPI is unveiling eight more shades in the One Less Lonely Girl collection!  With colors created by Nicole by OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, these eight new Nail Lacquers are inspired by Justin Bieber’s songs and his devoted fans.

The One Less Lonely Girl Collection was conceived to raise awareness for Pencils of Promise, an organization that builds sustainable schools for underserved children in the developing world. In addition to educating consumers about this non-profit, Nicole by OPI has committed to building two such schools.

LACQUERS:    

• My Lifesaver

Go overboard in color with this soft mint green!

• “Baby” Blue

A sweet light blue that totally loves you.

• One Time Lime

A vibrant lime that’s worth your time.

• I’m A Belieber

This popular purple has quite the following.

• Red-y to Runaway Love?

Run away with this riveting red.

• Make U Smile

Mood-boosting bunches of silvery glitter!

• I’ve Got Bieber Fever

This gorgeous dark plum is super contagious!

• Not A Gold Bigger

A genuinely glamorous gold that you’ll never take for granted.

RETAIL PRICE:    $7.99 each

AVAILABILITY:      January at Walmart and February at select Target, Sears, ULTA, and other retail locations, for $7.99 each.

ABOUT PENCILS

OF PROMISE:    Pencils of Promise, a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, builds sustainable schools, partnerships and solutions to enable basic education for underserved children in the developing world. More information about Pencils of Promise is available at pencilsofpromise.org.

A Couple of Orly Spring 2011 Comparisons!

Good Morning! I went out last night to buy tickets to a concert with 2 of my friends then we went out to dinner and got ice cream, I got home pretty early but then couldn't sleep so I am tired this morning! It was so fun though, I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time!

Time for a couple of comparisons for the Orly spring polishes, swatches of the collection can be found by clicking here. I have 1 more that isn't in this post. Mac Blue India va. Sapphire Silk. My stash is in disarray right now and I can't find my bottle of Blue India! Once I do I'll get that one done! If you guys have anything else you would like to see any of the Spring Orly polishes compared to please let me know in the comments, I'll be happy to do them (if I have the polish of course!)

First up is Orly Ancient Jade vs. Eyeko Vintage Polish. I happened to have these 2 sitting next to each other on my desk. They looked pretty dupealicious so I had to see if they were. The answer, not really. Vintage is much more blue, and squishy looking. The formula on the Eyeko left a little to be desired, I used 3 coats for the picture below vs. only 1 coat of Ancient Jade

Next up up Royal Velvet vs. Galaxy Girl, this one was requested by Beauty By Brittany. I didn't think these would be very similar, and they are actually more different than I expected.  The base colors are very different shades of purple and finish is very different. The formula on both was pretty similar, I used 3 coats of each polish for the pictures below.

Clarins 230!!

I dont think I need many words for this post. We all know what this is and how freaking amazing it is! I love Unicorns!!

Below is 1 coat of Clarins 230 over 1 coat of Zoya Pinta