Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid

This is one of those polishes that I purchased earlier this year and just never got around to posting it.  My Kind of Cool Aid was Cult Nails' very first color.  I ordered it as soon as Maria said it was for sale on her website and then I got it and it quickly got lost in my collection.

Then yesterday, Maria tweeted that Cult Nails had given 600 bottles of My Kind of Cool Aid to the HollyRod Foundation in support of their Design Care 2011 event.  As a mom of an autistic child, I thought, "that's awesome!" and then, I thought "I have that".  So, today, I dug it out of my (still) disorganized polishes.

And now I'm kinda sad that I left it unworn so long.  LOL.

My Kind of Cool Aid is a "greige" shimmer, but it also leans a bit lavender.  Kind of like Wild Orchid from Color Club's fall 2010 collection, though they aren't dupes.  The shimmer in this one is micro-shimmer in shades of pale blue and pink, but you have to look close.  When I first looked it it, the shimmer just looked silver.  The formula was good.  I did have a bit of an issue with drag, but that's easily solved by waiting a couple minutes between coats.  Pic is 3 coats, though it you are careful you could probably get away with 2.

This makes me really want to try more Cult Nails polishes, and I'm still kicking myself for not picking up Captivated before it sold out.  :(  :P
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Cult Nails polishes are available on their website.  They are $10.  Also, I noticed that during the month of August, Cult Nails will donate a portion of its sales to the HollyRod Foundation.

this polish was purchased by me

OPI Serena Williams Glam Slam pt. 3 Review

This is the 3rd installment of OPI's collaboration with Serena Williams.  As this one was meant to coincide with Wimbledon, the names are subtly English.  Also, this is the first set in the Serena Williams collection that isn't a sparkley base color with a shatter top coat, and as someone that still has issues with correctly applying crackles/shatters, I must say that this was a welcome change.  These sets consist of a base color and the same glitter top coat.

Grape...Set...Match - grape purple shimmer base with pink, blue, and turquoise shimmer particles.  Sigh.  I loved this one.  It is an amazing color and the entire time I was swatching this one, I kept thinking that it is a marriage of OPI Ink and Lourve Me Lourve Me Not.  It's got qualities of both.  However, unlike Ink, the shimmer doesn't get lost and unlink LMLMN, it doesn't look muddy.  So, in my mind, it's the perfect combo of the two.  The application on this one was fine, though it was still thin in spots after 2 coats, so it was a 3-coater for me.  

Servin' Up Sparkle (over GSM) - Small round and large hex HOLO glitter in a clear base.  Okay, now this is amazing.  I'm in love with this topcoat.  In fact, as soon as I received this from OPI, I slapped it on my nails.  This looks beautiful over every color I've tried, but really shines when placed over a shimmery base.  This is one coat over GSM.

Your Royal ShineNess - Silver foil metallic.  This one is pretty straightforward.  It's a little more muted than a bright silver, though.  It's reminiscent of Orly's Shine FX colors from last year.  The application was perfect.  2 coats.

Servin' Up Sparkle (over YRSN) - believe it or not, the effect of this over the silver was much more subtle than it was over the purple, but it is still crazy pretty. I think I'm in love with this TC.  

All in all, I'm a huge fan of this collection.  Everything about it is fantastic.  I'm a fan of the Serena Williams collection, in general, but this is my favorite one.  LOVE.

These were sent to me for review

OPI Nice Stems Review

Again, I'm trying to play catch-up with all the collections I received during my unplanned hiatus.  Nice Stems is OPI's summer 2011 collection.  I loved it from my first glance at the PR pics.  I mean... come on... a collection of all pink.  I may think pink to be a commonplace when it comes to nail polish, but it's still my favorite color.  Hence, OPI had me at hello.  :P

Be a Dahlia, Won't You? - bright fuchsia shimmer.  In the bottle, this one reminded me of Ali's Big Break.  However, it didn't have the metallic sheen.  Nonetheless, this is a beautiful color.  It also has a subtle blue flash (as you can see in my picture).  Formula was great.  2 coats.

Come to Poppy - Coral pearl.  This one is a hard one to describe.  It's not peach, it's not pink, and while I think it's a coral, it also reminds me of those salmon pink crayons from the Crayola box.  Honestly, when I put this one on, I thought I was going to hate it.  In fact, after I put it on, I hated it.  Then I took the pictures and I have to say that I really like it.  It quickly grew on me.  The formula on this one was fantastic.  It glided on the nail.  2 coats.

I Lily Love You (over Be a Dahlia, Won't You?) - Holo flakies in a pink clear base.  I was a little saddened that this one wasn't opaque, as this was the one I was most excited for, based on the PR pics.  Nonetheless, it's a nice top coat, especially over Dahlia.  It reminded me of a pink, more functional, version of CC Covered in Diamonds.  Also, over Dahlia, the gold tones in the flakies really pops.  One coat over the base.

Play the Peonies - pale pink pearl with silver micro-shimmer.  This one is crazy pretty, and I really wasn't expecting much from it.  However the color is beautiful.  It's pink, but it almost looks like a colored white, if that makes sense.  The finish is pearly, not frosty, which doesn't age my hands.  And the micro-shimmer is subtle, but gives depth to the color.  This one really made me wish I had darker skin and pretty feet, as it would look amazing as a summer pedi.  3 coats.

All in all, I really liked it.  Dahlia and Poppy are beautiful, as is Peony.  I think Lily is a bit of a miss, as it's not really usable on it's own, but as a TC for brighter colors, I think it works.  It's a nice collection.  Certainly nothing revolutionary, but it's pretty for summer.

These were send to me for review

Zoya Touch Review Redux

A few days ago, I reviewed Zoya Touch.  Unfortunately, I've been out of this for so long that my pictures were crappy and my review was a little half-assed.  As I was able to find my good camera, I figured I'd re-do my pics and the review, so here goes...

Save for the color, these polishes are identical, so I'm going to post pictures and color descriptions/color reviews first and then post my review of the application and finish.

Minka - warm yellowish tan.  When I first had this one on, I hated in on my hands.  Then, last night when I was swatching it for this redux post, I realized it wasn't so bad.  It almost reminds me of China Glaze Classic Camel, though it's lighter and doesn't have the same shimmer.  Like Classic Camel, it doesn't work with my skintone, but I did like it.  I think this color would look amazing on someone with a darker skintone (actually, all of these colors would probably work MUCH better on darker skin).

Pandora - Pinky Beige.  Again, I find myself really liking Pandora (though, I'm not sure I will wear it regularly... more on that below).  It just works with me.  This is the only one of the 3 that didn't give me red-hands.  

Shay - Silvery beige.  Shay is probably the most neutral of the 3, however, it's the one I liked the least.  The color just wasn't flattering on me.  I thought it made my hands look old.  Like Minka, thought, this one probably would work on a darker skintone or someone with more yellow in their skin.

This collection was a bit of an odd duck, especially for Zoya.  It was nice in concept, but there was something about it that just seemed off to me.  Even though they were similar in a lot of ways, each color was unique in the way that a display full of foundation colors is unique.  They all had subtle variants, but they were all, in essence, beige.  So it really is like foundation for your nails.  Normally, nail polish is more one-size-fits all.  However, these were not.  You would have to really know where you fit in terms of your skintone before you picked up one of these.  

Also, the formula wasn't typically Zoya.  I found it to be difficult to work with and it was easy to get application marks.  So, I had to go slow and use thin coats.  Because of this, it took 3 coats to reach opacity on these.

Additionally, I didn't really find myself a fan of the frosty finish.  In part, I think that is what aged my hands, in the pictures.  That's why I probably won't wear Pandora regularly, though it is a nice color.

All in all, I hate to say it, but I think this was a bit of a miss for Zoya.  I've heard Smoke and Mirrors is fantastic, though, so I think Touch was just a small misstep.  Again, the concept is cool, but the finish is what didn't work for these.  

These were sent to me for review.

Zoya Touch

Finally, I am able to start to review some of the polishes I received during the time I've been out of commission.  First up is Zoya Touch.  This collection has been out for a few months, and with Smoke and Mirrors just being released, you may no longer care, but I wanted to review them nonetheless.

Unfortunately, I had to use my backup camera, as my children have absconded with my better camera, so I didn't realize the pictures were sub-par until I'd already written the review.  My apologies.  Once I find my good camera, I will try to re-take them.

This is a small collection of only three colors, each one being a shimmery nude.

Minka - warm tan. 

Pandora - Pinky beige.

Shay - Silvery beige.

These were all identical in finish, though Shay had a bit more silver in the sheen, but and application (3 coats, a little streaky).  And unlike most other collections, this one that I wouldn't say you need them all.  In fact, you may just need one.  It's almost like foundation for your nails, and like foundation it's not a one-size-fits all.  Shay and especially Minka just didn't work for me, but Pandora was perfect.  It completed my pink skin and didn't give me red-hands.  If you are warmer, then you would probably love Minka.

These were sent to me for review.