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

Savvy Garland

I've never tried Savvy polishes before.  However, I happened to see this at Sally's on clearance for $.99.  I thought it was such a beautiful color, that I had to pick it up.  Savvy Garland is a velvety, blackened, emerald green shimmer.  The brush was a bit unwieldy, but in all honesty, that's probably just because I've been spoiled by OPI's brush.  I tend to get easily frustrated by anything that isn't the Pro Wide brush.

Unless I'm mistaken, Savvy is only available at Sally Beauty at on their website.  As this polish was part of their Christmas collection, it's part of their clearance sale and probably won't be around much longer.

Embracing my inner Stepford Wife

So, remember how I mentioned that I was going to try some other brands of fake nails that were supposedly to "achieve a professional look without the professional price" to compare them to the Revlons? Well, I did that over this week. I used IBD 5 Second nails in "French Chic" from Sally's.

Now, normally, I'm not a thick french mani kinda girl. They look a little "Real Housewives of Whatever" to me. To each their own, but not normally for me. However, I must be smoking some good crack, but the look of a glitter french is strangely attractive to me, and I have no idea why. Not one done with glitter as the french (which I want to try too and am planning as my next mani, actually), but rather a small line of glitter between the french and the nail. You can see this in the pic below:

I really like the look of these and I can't tell you why. They are a pink-beige shimmer base with a thin silver, glitter divider line and an off-white iridescent tip. They go against everything my nail polish loving heart believes in, except for the belief that you should have the ability to wear whatever makes you happy. But like I said, I liked them. Unfortunately, they didn't hold up. Within 24 hours, I had a crack down the middle of my left thumb. While they were a PITA to remove, as it seems like the Revlon glue and these nails combined to make some sort of "super duper can't dissolve it" bond, I actually was a bit happy to be done with them. They were starting to make me question my belief system. LOL.

Compared to the Revlons, I think I prefer the overall look of the IBDs over the Revlons, simply because I couldn't see my damaged nails through the glue-ons, as the beige-pink base was darker than other glue-on french mani bases. Also, the IBDs were lots longer and thus easier for me to apply. However, Revlon wins hands-down for durability. A crack in 24 hrs just isn't acceptable, no matter how inexpensive these are. After all, they say "for professional use", which incorrectly or not, indicates some sort of promise of longer wear. These were $2.99 with my Sally's card and are available here (and in stores, of course. That's where I got mine). They come in numerous color options, and the price is right enough. However, they don't come with glue or any sort of nail file or orange stick like the Revlons. But that wasn't a problem for me as I have all the related supplies on hand. I just wish they held up longer, because while I was slightly over them, I don't like my glue-ons to decide for me when I have to do a new mani. :P

I have another package of these IBD nails in "French Oui Oui" to try, and I'll probably do so within the next few weeks. Also, I have a pack of Pretty Woman nails (I can't find the style name and the style number isn't showing up on Sally's website) to try out. I'll update when I try these as well.