Thursday, April 28, 2011
Finger Paints Palette of Petals Collection Spring 2011
This is Finger Paints' Palette of Petals Collection from this spring.
Friday, April 15, 2011
OPI Femme de Cirque Soft Shades Collection Spring 2011 Swatches and Review



My favorite part of this collection is the glitter topcoat, I Juggle... Men. Well, it's not quite a glitter, but it's a sparkle. It's sort of like... maybe Orly Fifty-Four or CND Sapphire Sparkle, but it's even more like the duochrome shimmer in OPI Unripened / Nicole Blues In The Night. Funky irregular particles, like mini-flakes... Broken crushed flakes... Super duochrome gorgeous. It wouldn't show up on camera all by itself on my nails, but it's really intended for layering anyway, so I've layered it.


The formula on these was difficult. I found it to be somewhat watery but goopy at the same time, a texture similar to early Big 3 Free polishes. I did have a hard time applying these. They wanted to run into my cuticles. The Pro-Wide brush seemed smaller and flatter than usual and that added to the difficulty. These are meant to be worn as sheers, but my nails are way too stained to wear them that way, so I did five coats of all. When worn sheer, they are very subtle, providing only a slight milky wash of color.
The exception is the I Juggle... Men topcoat, which is a nice thin, even texture. It dries very, very fast and quite shiny, which leads me to believe it is actually a topcoat, quick-dry even, and not just for layering. It's fantastic.
These would probably make a nice, soft, natural looking french manicure. One that looks like clean natural nails with a touch of softness.
While the colors aren't really my thing, I do love that glitter topcoat and I love the names. They're very, very sheer so if you're someone who is only into subtle tints on your nails, these might interest you.
(These were sent to me for review.)
Monday, March 7, 2011
Nubar Spring Garden Collection Spring 2011 Swatches and Review








There's one more color in this collection- a coordinating glitter topcoat called Dewdrop. It doesn't really show up well alone, so I've only photographed it layered. It's a pastel opal glitter in a clear base, reminds me of something like Color Club Bishop's Weed or China Glaze Glacier.
I've done one coat over each color, no topcoat.







These pastels are a little bit different from all the other pastels this year. I really like Earthen and Yellow Primrose, and White Peony is a nice white for wearing alone since it's not quite as chalky looking as other whites.
These will be available soon on ByNubar.com, though I don't know the exact date.
(These were sent to me for review.)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Nubar Spring Garden Collection
Have you seen this yet? If not, I'll post it here...
I can't help but think of this Chinese restaurant I used to go to when I see the name! Now I'm hungry!

The Spring Garden Collection
Take a leisurely stroll down the Earthen path through The Spring Garden, the scent of Pink Lily in the air. The fresh colors of early Spring abound, with the soft green of the Baby Sprout, gentle shade of Blue Hydrangea, delicate Yellow Primrose, silky Purple Aster, fresh White Peony, and the lively Honeysuckle, each enhanced with the elegant sparkle of Dewdrop.
Always free of formaldehyde, phthalate and toluene, the nail lacquers in nubar's The Spring Garden Collection are:
1. Pink Lily – vibrant pink creme
2. Earthen – subdued earthen grey creme
3. Baby Sprout – soft pastel green
4. Blue Hydrangea – muted pastel blue
5. White Peony – ivory creme
6. Yellow Primrose – delicate pale yellow
7. Purple Aster – dusty pastel purple
8. Honeysuckle – cheerful honeysuckle
9. Dewdrop – fine glitter top coat
nubar nail lacquers feature an ergonomically designed cap and a 299 bristle brush built for comfort and performance.
Essie Spring 2011 Collection








Essie Kisses and Bisses, two coats, over Essie French Affair
Essie Kisses and Bisses, two coats, over Essie Sand Tropez
Essie Kisses and Bisses, two coats, over Essie Nice is Nice
Essie Kisses and Bisses, two coats, over Essie Coat Azure




The formula on these was nice and even. I didn't have any issues with the formula itself, but the opacity isn't what I was expecting. They're not sheer, but lately when you see colors like this, they're one-coaters. These needed two at the very least, but I did three just because. They do look best with three. Drying time is quick and these wear pretty well, too.
Overall, strong spring collection. Are the colors totally unique? No, we've all seen these before. Despite not being completely unique, the colors are all perfect. They're just really great pastels. They all look good on and they're all even better layered with Kisses and Bisses. I would wear every single one of these (and I have worn them all but Topless and Barefoot!), they go perfectly with my skintone, none of the dreaded lobster hands. They all have a soft, creamy look instead of a chalky white-out look. I don't mind the chalky look at all, but the creamier finish of these is easier to pull off for most people.
I like 'em. Do you?
(These were sent to me for review.)
Thursday, February 17, 2011
China Glaze Crackle Glaze Layering




Sorry about the blurry pictures. I can not hold my hands still today. They're shaking so bad I'm even having a hard time typing. Bleh!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
China Glaze Crackle Glaze Collection for Spring 2011
You can use them over any color or finish you want, I just used what I had nearby and I think the layering combinations turned out pretty nice!







Anyway...
The formula on these is good! They're not normal polish so you can't really compare it to a normal polish formula. They are thick and you have to apply them quickly because they dry even faster than mattes. They crackle quickly and perfectly and they remove easily, unlike the old-school crackle polishes. They dry matte, so you'll need a topcoat. I used topcoat in my pictures (except for the second picture of Fault Line).
I used a sort of random application technique on some of these to try to get a different shape happening. I like the vertical crackle lines, but I also like bigger random chunks of crackle too! These are really fun to play with. I adore crackle polishes and these make me so happy!
They're available now, online and at Sally!
(These were sent to me for review.)