While I'm still waiting for the Spring Misa to arrive, I'm going to present you some ugly NOTDs. Because I'm so original I want to show you real life examples of semi-mythical "it's doesn't work with your body chemistry".
Zoya Casey. Spectacular vampy, universally loved. I feel very special because I hate darn Casey; and it's mutual. It was patchy. It bubbled like a swamp and chipped the next day.
You can tell me "Hey, Inna, shut up and learn how to apply your polishes first. Might use a little thinner as well." Nope, not my fault. I used a thinner appropriate for B-3 polishes; I tried several base coats; I reapplied several times; I danced a little dance for it - nothing worked. Still a bubbly, ugly swamp of a mani. Guess what: I did my BFF's mani with Casey the same day (same humidity and temperature). No bubbles, excellent application and acceptable wear. It just hates me, that's it. Your personal chemistry really can clash with a polish.
China Glaze Sugar High.
One big "booooo".
First, it's way more neon and way less pink than I expected it would be. Sorta neon coral or coral neon. Coral in general and neon coral in particular make my hands look dirty.
Picture is not the most accurate one; it exaggerates neon a bit:
Formula was as bad as Grape Pop's one. Actually, it was worse (see my middle finger). Couldn't control the application at all. I've seen so many wonderful Sugar High manicures; and it just plain sucked for me.
Guess what I'm trying to say here is no matter how other people love the brand, or the color group, or this one particular polish, there is a chance it won't work for you. At all. Don't get upset and don't expense too much efforts trying to tame a stubborn polish. I sent these two black sheep to the better homes, where they will be loved; and you can do the same. /I sound a little like a Martha Stewart, don't I?/
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What a great purple! Pleasantly neutral (not to be confused with boring) - not too warm, not too cold. Pigmented and very reach. The color actually reminds me of a lilac bush in bloom rather than of a grape pop.
Yes, excellent purple, but such an annoying little bitch to photograph! I took 90+ pictures, yet still do not have a perfect one; so I'm showing Grape Pop a-la puzzle.
Here I'm pretty happy with the bottle color. When I saw in on a shelf in Trans Design, I was "Wow, it has some dusty quality to it!" Yep, bottle color does seem a bit muted:
Ring finger and pinky are very close to life as well; pointer and the middle one are way off: much bluer than IRL.
On the nails, thou, Grape Pop is extremely bright and vivid, nothing muted and dusty about it:
It's pretty color accurate.
As much as I love the color, I dislike the formula. I don't know if I got a dud; but I sure hope I did, otherwise it's one disaster of a collection formula-wise. I barely deep my brush into the bottle and somehow end up with a huge blob of varnish; the blob is both runny and too thick. Bleh. Half-full glass: it applied streak-free in two thin coats.
After two days I decided to spruce my mani up a bit... And invented a poor man's Scrangie! Oh well, it's not exactly RBL Scrangie (OK - not really close); but the general idea is here:
Is it pretty or what?
Yes, I got carried away...
Not a bit of PhotoShop involved: I just took some pics under a bright sunlight; and some in the shadow.
CND Sapphire Sparkles over China Glaze Grape Pop.
PS: Did you noticed I was able to visit Trans Design? Yep, brick and mortar. It's heaven.
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OK, I have a first disappointment with China Glaze glitters. Pom Pom looked very promising in a bottle: deep, sophisticated mauve-lavender with some pink. Yep, in the bottle it looks like that (click on the pic, it's pretty):
But. But. On the nails it's just bright, very sparkly pink. Peeeeeeenk. A kind of pink that says "Oh hai, my totally pink ipod is totally, like, loaded with all Taylor Swift albums". The name - Pom Pom - is good, for it really has some cheerleader-y vibe to it. /no offense to cheerleaders/
Jelly-like base is full of tiny pink and silver dust-like glitter; and bigger round pink and silver glitter. Bigger ones look like pink/silver freckles - adorable.
It is certainly pretty, but it doesn't have much to do with a bottle color. Booo.
Bling is insane. If you like sparkly polish - grab this one.
I'm season-blind when it comes to nails polish: I wear vampies during GA Summer and love me some pink in November; but even to me Pom Pom seemed a bit off. So I slapped a coat of Matte About You on it. Love the results:
PS: I'm writing this post instead of working on a paper for my macroeconomics class. Monday is a deadline; and I have just one paragraph written. I decided I need to make a bargain with myself: as soon as I finish the damn paper, I will file down my nails and do a nice vampy mani - Misa Dreamy Puple. Please cheer me on, guys; I need to get it done - each day late is one letter grade penalty. Oy. I'm back to Macro.
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I have mixed feelings about this collection.
Things I like about Khromes:
- futuristic-looking, mirror-like finish
- they dry in no time at all, without fast-drying top coat
- as a matter of fact, no top coat is necessary
- they are very pigmented: you can be fine with just one coat
- ideal for Konad designs
Things I dislike about Khromes:
- being very pigmented, they stained my nails terribly, worse than any blue or green can
- as they dry in a record time, Khromes are a bit tricky to apply. Try not to go over the same spot twice: cover the whole nail in a one gigantic stroke
- Khromes are kinda boring as a collection. Yes, the finish is fantastic; but the color choice - not so much. Seriously, how many different golds does a person need? I would love to see the same finish in an array of colors: blue, green, pink, purple... Yes, purple Khrome, pretty please!
On to the pictures (they are clickable, as usual):
Millennium: very silvery, very reflective silver. These are not ridges on my nails, these is light reflected off the Millennium.
2030: warm-neutral gold
I did not use a base coat, so you can see my horizontal ridges in all their ugly glory. TC is a must with these polishes!
Hi-Tek: a mix between a warm bronze and rose gold. Color is the most accurate on ring and pinkey.
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I got lots and lots of polish for my birthday from my family and friends (did you expect I would ask for, say, a new tool bench or pancake griddle for my birthday?); so I have plenty of pretties to swatch and photograph.
Today - one of China Glaze new glitters, Ginger. It's unmistakably Fall color - reach pumpkin orange mixed with a reddish-brown caramel:
Chock-full of silver shiny micro-glitter and round holographic macro-glitter. Don't get me wrong, larger one is not chunky at all, but big enough to be visible.
Very festive, somewhat weird color - reminds me of a scarecrow in a sequined dress. I mean it in a very good way. I guess, an odd combination of a typical fall color and all this bling confuses me a bit. Ginger is really blingy. Here is a blurred picture to show you the sparkles:
Almost opaque in two coats. Not rough at all; it's a smooth kind of glitter.
PS: I also have Pom-Pom, really sparkly pink that makes my inner 3-year-old squeal... And red; and some gold.
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Yes, that's right - I just said "Twihard". I know it's lame, but I'm sure Glacier is exactly what Stephenie Meyer had in mind when she described Edward's sparkly butt vampire's skin under the sunlight.
Glacier is a multicolor - mostly pastel - glitter (with some holo particles) in a milky-white base. It is very pretty, very sparkly and very difficult to photograph.
Here is the best I could do (click on the pick to enlarge):
This pic shows the different colors pretty well, but there is no way you can see how incredibly sparkly it is; serious driving hazard, really.
I figured Glacier would be too cool for my skin tone, so I layered two coats of it over one coat of a neutral beige - Color Club Sugar Baby.
Formula is really good: not too thin, not too thick and easy to work with. I was afraid it would be very gritty, but one coat of TC smoothed it out completely.
So far, I have just two of new China Glaze glitters - Glacier and Cleopatra - and I truly love them both. Very happy polishes.
PS: Twihards, take no offense - I'm one of us, just closeted. Yes, I'm closeted Twihard, Team Jacob. Now you know.
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Metaphors aside, I stamped a golden konad design over China Glaze Pink-Rox-E, a wonderful color, chock-full of gold shimmer. The thing is, I really like konad plate # m57, a fishnet design in particular; but I was too chicken to use it ("fishnets are vulgar yada-yada" - mommy issues all over again). Something subtle seemed like my best bet.
Finger Paints Gift of Gold for the fishnets. Viola! (don't forget to click on the pic to enlarge it)
It's a bit Legally Blond-ysh, but I like it and plan to wear it till it chips for good:
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Gotta love these words - "while supplies last". I truly loathe all the limited editions, special collections and limited quantities. Bottom line - these are just gimmicks making us to shell out our hard-earned dollars or euros, or rubles, or sand dollars - whatever your currency is.
But this is not the case here: China Glaze is discontinuing the most amazing holo-collection ever: Kaleidoscopes. I have no idea why. I imagine an evil nail dwarf, cackling at the idea of depriving us, girls, of great polishes. The same dwarf who is responsible for Elizabeth Arden killing off their line of polishes completely; the same dwarf who made sure that only the most boring and safe OPI colors will make it to Colorcopia.
Anyway, to the Kaleidoscopes. They are wonderful. Application is breezy; they are incredibly forgiving and flattering; they dry lighting fast and wear like iron. They come in two sets: Warm and Cool. And let me tell you, they mean it. I'm really warm and the colors from Cool set looked horrible on me. If you have not been blessed with a neutral skin tone, I suggest to stick with "your" set.
Onto the pictures.
The only color I have from the Cool set, Sexagon. Artsy!
(Corpse nails alert!) Silver cold holo is not my thing.
Unlike a true gold holo, It's My Turn:
It has some green bling to it. Isn't it amazing?
Spin Me Round, beige, but not a boring beige by any stretch of imagination:
I'd say, you can get away with this one in a non-conservative office environment.
Rated Holographic and Don't Be a Square are kinda similar. Both are just a bit boring, in my humble opinion. Rated Holographic is a beige-pinky and Don't be a Square is a pink-pinky. Here is Don't Be a Square:
Now I want to introduce you to my two favorites from this collection. They are very different, yet equally spectacular.
Visit Me in Prism - very delicate silver/beige/mauve, with a warm lilac undertones. The one and only polish I have a backup of.
Unfortunately, not the best picture.
Let's Do It in 3D is but delicate or modest. Va-va-voom, wowza etc.
If they made black fireworks, that would be it.
All in all - grab these colors if you have a chance. They even worth paying retail for them.
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Boy, China Glaze did a wonderful job. I have just two colors from the collection, but they are truly Summer in the little bottles. I've been incredibly down lately; and Orange Marmalade and Strawberry Fields worked much better than any anti-depressant.
Orange Marmalade. This is my very first orange ever. For some reason I was sure orange did not work with my coloring. I guess I was wrong?
Very intense orange, but without being garish. I think creamsicles, fluffy beach towels and sun-highlighted hair.
Happy color for sure:
I love how it sparkles, infused with tiny golden flecks
/Can you tell I'm exited?/
Strawberry Fields.
Pink. Bright, cheerful pink, mixed with myriads of golden sparkles. Fairy dust, butterfly dust - I don't know.
I'm amazed to admit it, but I prefer Orange Marmalade. It has more summer in it, if you know what I mean; Strawberry Fields is a bit on a spring side (nothing wrong with spring, I just miss summer).
Formula-wise, both applied very decent, even thou they are a bit sheer - I used 3 generous coats.
PS: Swatches of the whole collections are available here, at Scrangie's.
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All normal people experiment in college. All but me. I was a perfect teenager: straight As, no acid-colored hair and acid addictions. Same in college: I had no time to experiment, since I was way too busy with my grades, a job and a bunch of destructive, yet somehow "normal" relationships. According to Husband the Dearest, I'm having a teenager - rebellious, in-your-face teenager - phase right now, in my thirties (yuck!). Well, I've decided to live up to my reputation for once, and performed a series of experiments with colors. I did "totally-not-me" manicures, in colors that would normally scare me off.
Part One, China Glaze Emerald Sparkle.
Wow. Wow, wow, wowza. I don't care for green - at all. I don't have any single green item in my wardrobe. Yet, this polish somehow managed to mesmerize me. It's an absolute driving hazard: I just cannot stop staring at my nails.
Sparkly, green goodness, showing a bit of a teal side in some lighting.
As much as I love the polish, I'm still not sure if it works with my coloring. At some moments I think - "It's a pure perfection!"; at some - "Boy, I look like a pasty-sparkly frog, who desperately needs to see a vet". .
What do you think, gyus? Frog, or perfection, or a perfect frog?
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I have bad news for a lovely Canadian gal. Michelle, I was wrong: these two are not dupes; I would say - not even sisters; cousins - may be.
Quick and somewhat dirty swatches.
First - taken in a full sunlight (yay, we had a bit of sunlight today!). Starting from index finger: FA, MR, FA, MR.
Difference is obvious: MR is more blackened and its shimmer is dark purple, as opposed to blue-shimmered and purple-based FA. By the way - I discovered that Midnight Ride has a very dark olive-brown base!
Another picture - shadow.
While both Fatal Affair and Midnight Ride are blackened purples, they are so different that you can easily spot it even in such lighting (or lack thereof).
Hands down, I like Misa's color better. Hands down, China Glaze wins formula-wise. I think I overestimated Misa Fall formula. It's actually too thick, not to the point where thickness causes serious problems with application, but...
PS: Midnight Ride was a present from Hill The Sweetest. I wrote about her here; and - voila - she just did another good deed. Hill, thanks again!
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Well, I sure can.
My favorite from China Glaze Rodeo Diva collection is actually Wagon Trail.
Scrangie pointed out that it is a black melted with gold. Surprisingly enough, it looks like olive green on the nail.
I want to say something like "wow dude that's awesome" or may be "woot!".
"Holy cow!" seems appropriate as well (no pun intended).
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You can tell me "Hey, Inna, shut up and learn how to apply your polishes first. Might use a little thinner as well." Nope, not my fault. I used a thinner appropriate for B-3 polishes; I tried several base coats; I reapplied several times; I danced a little dance for it - nothing worked. Still a bubbly, ugly swamp of a mani. Guess what: I did my BFF's mani with Casey the same day (same humidity and temperature). No bubbles, excellent application and acceptable wear. It just hates me, that's it. Your personal chemistry really can clash with a polish.
Formula was as bad as Grape Pop's one. Actually, it was worse (see my middle finger). Couldn't control the application at all. I've seen so many wonderful Sugar High manicures; and it just plain sucked for me.
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