Blogger Round Up

I swear, kids and schedules, and general down-in-the-dumps-yness can make me such a slack-ass blogger.  I totally meant to do a Blogger Round Up 2 Fridays ago.  Then I planned to do it last Friday, and well... I plan and Providence laughs.  LOL.

So, here I am posting your Friday Round Up on Tuesday.  :P

My Travel Diary

Kawaii Nail Art

Life and Polish

Lately, I'm Obsessed With...

Polished Pirate

Gimikdgirl

Embellishments

Love Bean Girl

Nail Polish Anonymous

Glitta Gloves


Whew!  I think I got everyone.  As always, if you'd like to be included in my next round-up (which look to be happening monthly now), please send me an email or reply in this post.  You don't have to be a new blog (though that was the intended purpose when I began these round-ups).  Just a nail polish or beauty blog.  That's it.

While, I normally ask people to either respond in a round-up post or email me, this time around, I also added the girls that posted their URL in recent posts.   I know I have mentioned this before, but I really don't mind you including your URL with your comments.  No, no one likes a link-bomber, but if you are a new blog just starting out, or if you would like to up your readership, or even if you'd like me to review your blog, I have NO problem with you including your URL in any post.  Simply, be respectful.  That's all I ask.  :)

Also, if you contacted me, and I forgot to include you, please email or tweet me.  It wasn't on purpose.  I just missed you.  I'll be more than happy to add you.  :)

Fingerpaints Palette of Petals

So I happened to pop in my local Sally's yesterday afternoon, about an hour before they were set to close.  Lucky for me, they'd put out all of their much-anticipated collections.  They had Orly Precious, ChG Crackle Glaze, ChG Tronica (big fail for me) and the Fingerpaints 2011 Spring collection, Palette of Petals.  They were all such beautiful colors and the display was so cute with the accompanying rings, that I had a mind to pick up all 6 of them, but the pink and the purple looked dupey and the orange would look like doo on me, so I opted for the most unique colors, Chrysanthe-mum's the Word, Carnation Creation, and Aren't You Glad-iolous.  Horrific names aside, I think I may be in love with all 3 of these...

FYI, I had a bad break on my middle finger (stupid car door), so swatches are now down to 2 fingers.  :S  I apologize, but I tried to do 3 and they looked so horrid, I figured 2 was better than looking that that hot mess.  LOL

Aren't You Glad-iolous - Pale lavender creme.  In the bottle, this looked decidedly more periwinkle (though more on the purple side of periwinkle rather then the blue).  However, when I put it on, almost all the blue disappeared on me and it became more of a grey-lavender, along the lines of Zoya Marley from the recent Intimate collection.  I was a little bummed because I was hoping for a true periwinkle (must break down and by ChG Secret Periwinkle finally), but it's still a beautiful color.  Best part?  The formula on this one, and Carnation Creation, are fab.  It flowed on the nail and if I'd wanted, could have done one coat.  I did 2, but it could have been a one-coater if I wasn't so anal about 2.

Carnation Creation - teal creme.  Okay, this one was totally frustrating to photograph.  Much like ChG Flying High from Up and Away, in the picture, it looks far more green.  If you want to see a truer swatch, please check out Kellie Gonzo's swatches.  She did a much better job of capturing the true color.  It's a great teal, and again, the best part is the formula.  I did 2 coats, but I could have easily done one.  BTW, the looks amazing topped with ChG Crackle Glaze in Lightning Bolt.  All that said, as much as I love this color... Head's up, girls... it will stain.  A base coat is not optional with this one.  I didn't wear a base, and now my nails are green.  :\   Not a big deal... just make sure not to forget that BC.

Chrysanthe-mum's the Word - Spring green creme.  This color is so happy.  I originally picked it up to recreate the look that Jen at The Polish-Aholic created using this and ChG Lightning Bolt (it's the first one in the post), but then I swatched it and realized that it's a pale green that actually looks good with my skin.  So while, I definitely plan on trying out her idea (and I told my Sally's SA about it as well), I do plan on wearing this alone as well.  The formula on this one wasn't as nice.  It seemed thicker and goopier and could probably have benefited from a drop or 20 of thinner.  2 coats.

Also, like I mentioned above, these come with these adorable stretchy rings that coordinate with the polish color...

Aren't they adorable???  Fair warning, though.  My SA told me I could swap out ring color if I wanted, I didn't, but if you wanted to make sure you picked up the ring that coordinates with the polish (the thought of them being swapped out drives me bonkers), you may want to pick these up sooner than later.

I'm pretty sure these are meant to go live tomorrow, March 1st, but there's been talk of them being out a bit early.  I got mine yesterday.

I purchased these for myself

Sunset Gradient

Because of the formulation of the sorbets and closeness of the colors, I was able to do a gradient without sponging.  I created this using 4 colors from the OPI Texas sorbets.  This is 2 coats of Y'all Come Back Now Ya Hear topped with 1 coat each of Guy Meets Galveston, Too Hot Pink to Handle, and Houston, We Have a Purple in a gradient pattern.    I topped it with one coat of Seche Vite, after everything had dried just a bit.

This really reminds me of a fruity tropical drink.

OPI Texas Collection - Sorbets

Today, I have for you the first half of OPI's new spring 2011 Texas collection.  This half of the collection consists of 6 "sorbet" finish polishes.  All of which, to some degree, are in the red/orange family.

As the finish on all these is the same, I'm going to only post color descriptions with the pictures and then discuss the finish below.  All these had the same formulation and on all of them, it was 3 coats.

Big Hair... Big Nails - Orange-leaning, tomato red.   OPI's PR info stated "rosy pageant peach", but on me, this was definitely a tomato-y red.  I get the hint of peach, and the more I stare at it, I do see a touch of rose, but the first thing that stood out to me was the orange/red.... which I guess is just a more vibrant way to say peach/rose.  :P

Do You Think I'm Tex-y? - Berry.  Pretty straightforward.  Just a different interpretation of OPI's classic berry cremes (i.e. No Spain No Gain or Manicurist of Seville).  

Guy Meets Gal-veston - Bright coral.  Coral was the descriptor in OPI's PR stuff and while I definitely agree, I almost wanted to use "guava" in my description.  It's feels very tropical and makes me want a fruity drink.

Houston, We Have a Purple - Red-based purple.  Very similar to Do You Think I'm Tex-y? (almost like the differences in No Spain No Gain and Manicurist of Seville, which I mentioned earlier).  One is more grape and one is more berry, but they are quite similar. 

Too Hot Pink to Handle - Bright red-pink.  Again, another straightforward color.    It's a beautiful red-based pink.  Honestly, as boring as it may be... I think this is my favorite of the sorbets.

Y'all Come Back Now, Ya Hear? - Juicy orange.  OPI says it's "tangerine".  Potato, Potahto... same thing.  LOL.  :P  Again, this reminded me of a new take on another OPI polish... Nicole by OPI Fresh Squeezed Orange. 

One thing you must keep in mind is while the formula isn't thin per se, it isn't your typical OPI formula.  It had a tendency to spread, especially down near the cuticle.  It took me a couple of strokes to get the hang of it, but once I got it... they applied really well.  You can't have too much product on your brush.  In fact, less is more.  You will want to do thin coats with all of the sorbet polishes, otherwise, you will get streaks as you build the polish.  These dry very fast, so while it does take 3 coats to reach opacity, it doesn't take long.  If you are interested, here's a link to a video from OPI about how to properly apply the sorbets (sorry about the link, I tried to embed and it wasn't playing nice)...

Sorbet Video

Regarding the finish on these... over the past few weeks, in the nail polish community, there has been quite a bit of buzz about this new "sorbet" finish.  Admittedly, it has been as big of a buzz as the hubbub surrounding all the new crackle polishes (:P), but the chatter is still there.  Mainly it's focused on if the sorbets are actually jellies or not.  For my money... while I do see plenty of similarities with sorbets and jellies, I don't think that "sorbet-finish" is just a glorified term for jelly.  To me, these have a milky quality that makes them stand out.  While many people compare jelly polishes to candy or jell-o, IMO, these look like fruit snacks.  I really hope that makes sense... otherwise, it means I spend WAY too much time around 5-year-olds.  :\

Also, I really like the finish on these, and I'm not a huge fan of jellies.  I find them to be frustrating as a true jelly will never reach opacity.  These do.  It takes 3 coats, but they will become opaque.  However, like OPI mentions in the video, you can of course wear these as a colorwash over your nails by using only one coat.  Here, I used one coat of Too Hot Pink to Handle, to show you the effect with just one coat...

I'm not a huge fan of this look, but at least it doesn't look like a streaky mess.  So if you wanted just a bit of color, this might be a good solution.

All in all, like I mentioned above, I really like these sorbet polishes, and I'm kinda hoping that OPI offers more of them in the future (hopefully some in a different color range).  These are available now at B&M suppliers and online at etailers.  OPI retails for $8.50.

These were sent to me for review

Comparison: Zoya Caitlin vs Zoya Kelly

In my review of Zoya Intimate post, Roberta commented that she didn't know if she needed both Caitlin and Kelly, as they looked similar.  So I figured that would be a great comparison post, and I have to say before I post the picture that they are similar, but by no means dupey...

Left is Caitlin, right is Kelly

Honestly, they looked more similar in my mind than they actually look on the nail.  Like I mentioned in my post, Caitlin seems like a springy interpretation of Kelly.  To me, Caitlin is more of a grey-blue and Kelly is more of blue-grey.  If that makes sense.  IMO, if you love blues and greys, then yes... you need both.  :)

Both of these were sent to me for review

Adoree Polishes

Recently, the great folks at Esther's Nail Center sent me 5 Adoree polishes to swatch and review.

Unlike usual, I applied all these polishes over a sticky basecoat (Amour).  Some were thin so it made everything flow better.

Also, as Esther's lists Adoree by number first, I've included that with each review.

166 Deep Purple - Tyrian purple shimmer with red and blue shimmer particles.  This is a deep, rich, and regal vampy purple shimmer.  When I first saw it in the bottle, I thought I wasn't going to like it, as I saw silver ribbons.  And silver ribbons usually equate to frosty mess, but I was pleasantly surprised.  There is a bit of frosty sheen to the finish, but it's not brush-stroke-y and it's not unflattering.  This was one of the thicker formulas that I tried.  Pic is 2 coats.

216 Fruit Shake - Pale milky peach with silver microshimmer.  Okay, when I say "microshimmer", I mean microshimmer.  The shimmer is definitely there, but because it is so fine, it tends to sit on top of the polish, giving the finish a slight pearl effect.  It's not a pearl polish, but it does have a bit of a pearly sheen.  I think this is a beautiful color, although it doesn't really work with my pink skin.  I think it would look fabulous in the summer with tanned skin.  It reminds me of a peach milkshake.  The formula was pretty thin, but it was manageable.  Pic is 3 coats.

191 Harbor Brown - Medium-toned brown frost.  In the bottle, I thought this was going to more of a muted chrome, but once I put it on, it was full-on frost.  The shade is pretty... a slightly warm, pink-based brown, but I didn't really care for the finish.  I went very slow and was careful with my strokes, but you can still see strokes, which is just the nature of the frosty beast.  The formula was nice.  2 coats.

165 Ivory Tusk - Golden ivory shimmer.  This is another one I think would perfect on darker or tanned skin.  It's sheer so it would either need to be worn as-such or be used as a top coat.  I think this would look great over red or deep purple.  3 coats.

Tahitian Pearl - Grey-green/purple duochrome.  Unlike the other polishes in this post, Tahitian Pearl is LE.  Also, it doesn't have an item #.  It's the first polish listed in their Adoree selection.  If you love anything duochrome-y, you are going to LOVE this one.  The green/purple flash on this is gorgeous.  The catch?  Of course there had to be a catch... it's extremely thin.  Like if-the-color-wasn't-so-amazing-I-wouldn't-fool-with-it thin.  This picture is 5 coats.  I would normally never recommend a 5-coat polish, but the coats on this were very thin and it dried quickly.  After I applied the last coat, I added a coat of SV and within minutes it was dry.  So, while it is many coats, it's also not out-of-the-question.  It's so pretty, I say it's my favorite of the 5 despite the thinness.  It does look nice layered, but that has a tendency to change it from a duochrome to a shimmer.

In the US, Adoree is exclusively available at Esther's Nail Supply (at least I think it's exclusive).  I haven't seen it elsewhere online and I'm not sure if it's sold in B&M supply stores.  Adoree retails for $6 each and Esther's offers free shipping over $89 (they carry CND Shellac and a bunch of other supplies as well).

These were sent to me for review

Zoya Intimate Review

Hi all.  Finally, I am able to review this collection.  I was so looking forward to it.  I got it, and then my life got crazy hectic and it's just been sitting on my desk next to my keyboard for weeks.  I was finally able to swatch it a few days ago.  I wasn't completely satisfied with my swatches (my cuticles look not-pleased. LOL), but I figured I'd go on and post it, rather than wait any longer.

I want to apologize in advance for the super-nubs.  They'd been doing so well, and then I had a break a few weeks ago and forced me to cut them all back.  Then, 2 days ago, I was cleaning in Amelia's room and I must have hit my nail against something... because I looked down and the entire free-edge on my left ring finger was shattered.  Now, I don't mind shorties, by any means, but I like them a little longer than this.  LOL.

Anyway, back to the collection... Zoya Intimate is their Spring 2011 offering and I'm telling you... if you are in the mood for spring colors, this one doesn't disappoint...

Caitlin - Light to medium, grey-blue creme.  In the bottle, this one was slightly pearlescent, but unlike with Marley (below) it didn't really translate to the nail.  This is, essentially, Zoya Kelly reinvented for summer.  If you liked Kelly, you will love Caitlin.  Excellent formula.  2 coats.

Dannii - Mid-tone, red-based purple metallic with golden shimmer.  Okay, I love this one.  It looks like it a perfect balance between the colors in last summer's Sparkle collection and the 3 metallics in winter's Flame collection.  While purple is rather common, this shade of purple is not.  Also, I'm always curious to figure out where Zoya gets their name inspiration, and while I did find the name a bit odd (2 I's... really?), I also learned that there's an Australian singer/actress named Dannii Minogue (Kylie's sister).  I know... random.  :)  This one is one of my favorites of the collection. Formula was perfect.  Pic is 2 coats.

Dove - Pale grey creme.  Even though, my picture leans it slightly green (which I'm not really seeing as I look at it in the bottle), this one is pretty straight-forward.  I love this color and think it would look fabulous with pink in the spring.  It also had one of the better formulas in the collection.  Pic is 2 coats.

Gemma - Bright, olive-y green creme base with pink, purple, and blue microshimmer.  Ah, Gemma.  I loved you in theory.  It was just so unique of an idea that I had to love it.  Right?  Well, in actuality... not so much.   I say it's an olive green in the description above, but it's not drab.  It actually looks like creamed spinach to me, but that's such a horrible descriptor, that I figured "bright olive-y green" was better.  It's one of those greens that just doesn't work with my skin, and the flash, while really cool seemed a little odd for the base color. That said... I do love the idea, as I appreciate anything that doesn't follow the status quo, and I think it would look great on someone with darker or olive skin.  Plus, I adore the name.  Gemma is one of my "if I were British, I would name my little girl this" names.  :P  The formula was a bit on the thin side, but not hard to manage.  Pic is 3 coats.

Jules - Champagne gold metallic.  It seems like we have seen so many gold metallics lately, especially in the fall collections, and this one is a little unique in that it's more more muted and leans more taupe than a traditional gold metallic.  I think it's a pretty color, but golds and Megan just don't mix.  It's still a lovely color, though, and would make a beautiful summer pedi.  Formula was a bit thin, but still just 2 coats.  

Marley - Pale lavender with a pearlescent finish.  The lavender in this one leans grey, so it looks great with the pearly finish.  Aside from the differences in color, this finish on this one reminds me of CC Pretty in Platinum.  I absolutely love it and it's one of my favorites of the collection.  However, because of the pearly finish, you do have the be careful with your strokes.  It's not the same as a frost polish, but pearls can show brushstrokes just as easy.  Formula was fine.  2 coats.  

All in all, I adore this collection.  It reminds me of gauzy, spring chiffon scarves and Easter dresses.  The top 3, for me, are Caitlin, Dannii, and Marley, though they are all beautiful colors.  Gemma and Jules didn't worth my skin, and I do think Gemma is a bit of an odd duck, but there's nothing wrong with any of them.

I know a few weeks ago, on FB or Twitter, the Zoya Social Media Fairy mentioned that Intimate was on it's third production run.  I'm sure it's more than that now.  

Zoya Intimate is available at Zoya.com and retails for $7, though you can get the full collection for $36 (a $6 savings).  

These were sent to me for review

Hi! My name is Megan and I'm a RBL reject.

Okay, I know Ji had a shit-ton of entries, and perhaps it's my neverending naivete, but I was still hopeful that my entry would be picked.  Alas, she posted the list of 11 hopefuls yesterday and my awesome idea was not part of the group.  Bummer.

Here she is...

















I'd been waffling about my entry ever since she announced the contest and I'd ultimately decided not to enter.  Then I saw this and fell in love.  Can you imagine?  I took this the day after Christmas while we were out letting the spawn spend their Christmas money.  We'd just had our first-in-who-the-eff-knows-how-long white Christmas and we were drying out the day after.  Who knew the dirty asphalt at a gas station would look so beautiful?

Having the effect of an oilslick has long been a dream of mine.  I know some polishes have come close, with OPI MPJ being the one that stick out in my mind.  However, more than a holo, I wanted a dark asphalt grey polish with subtle tonal shimmery that flashes blue, orange, yellow, pink, and green (or a combination thereof).  A multi-chrome, if you will.  :)  I know no nail polish could do the swirly effect above, but I thought a beautiful, shimmer multi-chrome could capture the message I was trying to convey.

Sadly, Ji just didn't like it or felt it couldn't be done.  Which I suppose is, ultimately okay, as I've fallen out of love with RBL as of late.  I finally decided I couldn't deal with trying to cope with the formula (which does not work with me), and blog-sold most of my RBL stash (I still have the 3 glitters, Plie, Smitten, and PH).

I've been trying to franken it, but I have no idea where to start.  I got the asphalt grey down (with a combo of Zoya Freja, black creme, CC Wild Orchid, and CC Pretty Platinum), but it's I try to add the other colors that things go to shit.  :\  I plan to keep on trying, but I dont' have faith.  If any of you franken goddesses want to try it, feel free.  :)

If you'd like to vote for your favorite of the 11, Ji has it posted on her blog.  Personally, I voted for #6.  :)

Kaylala Cutie Pie Cuticle Cream

A few weeks ago, I received a sample of Kaylala Cutie Pie Cuticle Cream.  As I'm always searching for a product to help my problematic cuticles, I was so excited to try it.  Up until the last week (when everything was tossed in the air), I used it religiously on my cuticles and nails.  We were going through a bit of cold weather down here and that always wreaks havoc on my cuticles.  So, I was slathering this stuff on like nobody's bidnez and I kinda fell in love with it.  :)

Packaging

Product

Cream on my nails

And now I realize I should have taken a picture of the ingredients list, but I forgot, so here's the list...

Refined Emu Oil, Organic Aloe Vera, Unrefined Beeswax, Organic Macadamia Nut Oil, Organic Apricot Kernel Oil, Vitamin E (non GMO), Organic Lemon Tea Tree Oil, Organic Turmeric, Lemon Oil.

All in all, like I mentioned above, I love this.  I think it's great stuff.  :)  It's extremely soothing, so it's great to slather on after you've been playing in acetone or after you come in from the cold.  Also, it's lemon scented, but it by no means smells like Pledge.  It smells like lemon curd to me.  I loved smelling my hands while I was wearing this.  Is that weird?  LOL.  

Also, I adore the packaging.  It's cute and seems a bit homespun, but by no means cheap.  I feel it goes in line perfectly with their natural/organic/do-as-much-as-we-possibly-can-from-our-own-farm philosophy.

If you'd like to try Kaylala Cutie-Pie Cuticle Cream, it's available on their website (along with many other natural/organic products*).  Price is $7.95.

*Also, be sure to check out the information on their family Emu farm.  While by no means nail-related... I found it completely fascinating.  

This was sent to me for review

My Poor, Little, Negleted Blog

:(

Lately, I can't do anything but feel like I'm chasing my tail.  Between dealing with scheduling Blake's appointments, trying to de-clutter my house, and forgetting to charge my camera battery for 2 weeks, my blogging has all but fallen by the wayside.  I had great intentions of swatching, photographing, blogging last night but, I sat on my butt and watched a crap-ton of stuff on my DVR while folding laundry.  Tim is still out of town until Sunday, so hopefully... hopefully... I will be able to get the kiddos to sleep tonight and blog while they are snoozing.  I feel like I have so much to show you all.  I have Zoya Intimate and 5 Adorees, as well as a couple of treatments, waiting in the wings.  Plus, a few recent finds/loves that I have to show off.

I know no one likes a slack-ass blogger.  LOL.  But I'm really going to try to get back to your regularly scheduled posting soon.  I have to.  I miss it.

Happy Birthday, A Polish Problem!

Yep... this is the same picture I posted last year.  I just couldn't resist it.  LOL.

Today is my 2 year bloggiversary!  Two years ago, I had this bright idea to start a blog, and I'm so proud to still be active.  I know sometimes (like now), my posting slows down, and I know sometimes, I don't have the best cuticles/nails/pics (this is a continual evolution), but I appreciate all of you so much. 

Thank you so much for reading my blog!

Also, I fully intended on a giveaway to help celebrate my bloggiversary, but time got away from me and I forgot to plan it out.  I will work on that soon, so stay tuned.  :)