Friday, April 15, 2011

BUTTER London No More Waity Katie swatches and review

I'm a complete sucker for purple nail polishes and I was not able to ignore this one:)

BUTTER London No More Waity Katie is a limited edition nail polish released to celebrate royal marriage of Kate Middleton and Prince William. "Waity Katie" is a nickname of Kate given by a press for waiting 8 years for this marriage.
I'm not a big fan and follower of the news about royal family, but this nail polish is completely amazing. Butter London just released lip gloss of the same shade.

No More Waity Katie is a stunning grey-purple glitter. The nail polish is thick, but not that hard to apply, dries fast and lasts long. Although there's a lot of lilac glitter in it, the overall look on the nails is very classy. As you will see from the photos - the glitter is not sparkly at all, maybe that's why "Katie" is very elegant on the nails.


Butter London no more waity katie nail polish swatches and review

Butter London no more waity katie review

Butter London no more waity katie swatches


Here is the picture of the No More Waity Katie lip gloss. It's a little bit more purple than the nail polish. Quite a nice color as well, but nothing exceptional from my personal standpoint.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Golden Rose Holographic Iced Latte swatches and comparison with OPI DS Design

I already swatched Black holographic Golden Rose here. I bought Iced Latte as well. It’s a nice neutral holo, perfect for office manicure, but quite shiny to notice it. Good color overall, but I also have OPI DS Design and I will compare these two in this post as well.


golden rose iced latte swatches and review


Frankly speaking, I didn’t see that much of a difference. Golden Rose formula is thicker than OPI, but application is quite easy as well. OPI is a little bit shinier, but difference is barely noticeable. The only major difference is that DS Design is much more durable (4-5 days) than Golden Rose (2-3 days), but that what you would normally expect from OPI nail polishes and huge difference in price.

In terms of color, Iced Latte is closer to cold color palette and OPI Design has obvious nude/brown undertones. In the natural daylight the difference in color is slightly noticeable, but in artificial light (lamps) you can actually see that these two are not the same.

golden rose iced latte and OPI DS design comparison



Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Revlon Not So Blueberry Swatches

I couldn’t pass up this new beauty from Revlon. The color is pretty unique.
Not So Blueberry - is a new shade in Revlon’s scented nail polish collection. But don’t try to sniff it right from the bottle….it smells awfully… a mix of chemicals and acetone. But when nail polish dries, the blueberry smell is much better, although it still smells a little like…hmmm…yeah….chemicals. As long as you have this nail polish on your nails, be prepared to be able to smell it every second you have your hand close to face…it lasts long.

As I mentioned couple of times in my previous posts, I’m quite impressed with the quality of Revlon’s polishes. Not so Blueberry didn’t disappoint me as well…application is easy, it stays on without chipping for a long time and the color is amazing.

In the bottle it seems like a duo chrome, although it’s not exactly the one….under artificial light nail polish is more purple and under natural daylight it’s more blue.
revlon not so blueberry swatches and review

revlon not so blueberry

not so blueberry nail polish review

Friday, April 8, 2011

OPI Touring America and Pirates of Caribbean Swatches

Just found these 2 videos on YouTube done by OPI to show swatches of upcoming collections.
I can't wait till May:) Most of the shades are really amazing.I also liked the way they presented Touring America collection, quite creative.
Enjoy!!

UPDATE: here are some swatches from this collection





Touring America Fall 2011 Swatches
 






 
Pirates of Caribbean Swatches





I liked that the girl shows different ways how you can use shatter...

Overall, I think it's quite a good and smart move for OPI to utilize social media. As far as I know, none of the other brands use YouTube to show swatches of their upcoming collections.
What do you think?

Golden Rose Black Holographic Swatches

I got this Golden Rose nail polish and was not expecting much. IT was a really popular brand back in the day in Russia, but the quality and color palette were really poor. So, I didn’t expect much….but I’m impressed…

Golden Rose doesn’t give fancy names to the nail polishes, so on the site it was just Black, a part of Holographic collection. The color is amazing, it reminds me OPI My private Jet, but without brown undertones. It’s a little thicker than other holo nail polishes and the brush is smaller, I had no problems with application.

I will try to make a comparison with other black holographic nail polishes later today…I’m really in love
with it. 
golden rose black holographic swatches and review

golden rose black holo

golden rose 118 swatch

The price of the nail polish is only $3.49 if you order directly from the Golden Rose site here and the shipping is free for the purchases of more than $20.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Weekend Manicure with Konad Dupes

Last week I read the review of MASH design plates on Beauty & Nail Art Blog. I decided to give it a try since the price seemed quite unbelievable (around $14 including shipping) for....set of 25 design plates. The shipping was blasting fast and I already tested a couple this weekend.

If I haven't owned Konad plates I would not probably be able to tell the difference, they are the same size and shape.Plates even have the same numbering as Konad.

Another pleasant thing about the MASH design plates is that the quality is surprisingly good for the price. I received some plates that I already have in Konad version and again, I wasn't able to see the difference.

Here's what I've got using China Glaze Secret Peri-wrinkle and Revlon Gold Coin for design along with MASH plate m63
konad dupes manicure

konading with dupes china glaze secret periwrinkle and revlon gold coin

Friday, April 1, 2011

Butter LONDON SWATCHES - Macbeth and Minger

These are my first Butter LONDON nail polishes and I really like the quality so far. First of all, the finish of the polishes is very glossy and shiny.

I like the fact that Butter London is 3 free (no DBP, formaldehyde or toluene). The application is easy, because the polish is not thick, and 2 coats are enough for the full opacity. This brand has a pretty diverse color palette and some colors are quite unique. The average price of the nail polish is $14, many of the regular colors can be found in OPI and CG collections for much cheaper price.

Macbeth – is coral with hints of orange and red. Very “spring” nail polish, bright and joyful, but I got bored after 1 day of wear:(. I can’t even say why I was disappointed – I like the color overall…maybe it was too plain and obvious.
Butter London macbeth nail polish swatches and review

Butter London macbeth swatches


Minger – is a burnt orange color. I absolutely love it…it’s ugly and amazing at the same time. Before it arrived, I expected the color to be a very bright and screaming, but it’s quite “muted”. It’s a lighter version of my favorite OPI Ginger Bells.  
My British friend said that “minger” is a slang word for disgusting, smelly or ugly person…lol.

Butter London minger swatches

Butter London minger swatches and review


Thursday, March 31, 2011

Net French Manicure

For Net French manicure I used Butter London "Macbeth" and Illamasqua Baptist. I tried to experiment with this Konad  design couple of time till now, but it never worked out like I wanted.

I'm still looking for the best polishes to use with Konad, I would appreciate any advice:)




Monday, March 28, 2011

China Glaze Fall 2011 - Metro Collection

Sometimes I wonder if competing brands actually plan their collections together…just a thought, but I often see similarities between the names of the collections, overall theme and colorsJ))) 

So, couple of days ago I wrote about OPI gorgeous “Touring America” Fall collection.  
China Glaze is releasing Fall 2011 collection called “Metro”, dedicated to New York in July.

china glaze metro collection 2011


Although different in many ways, both collections have a lot of interesting “earthy” shades worth looking at closer.
Overall, Metro Collection will include 12 shades.
2 glitters:
 - Skyscraper (swatches are here)
 - CG In the City 
3 shimmers:
 - Loft-y Ambitions
 - Midtown magic (swatches are here)
 - Trendsetter (swatches are here)
7 crème nail polishes:
 - Urban Night
 - Traffic Jam
 - City Siren
 - Brown Tone
 - Street Chic
 - Concrete Catwalk(swatches are here)
 - Westside Warrior(swatches are here)

china glaze metro fall 2011


Some of the shades are pretty ordinary for me, but I definitely look forward top see Skyscraper, CG in the City, Trendsetter (amazing mustard shade), Westside warrior and Brownstone closer:))

Saturday, March 26, 2011

OPI Fall 2011 Collection - Touring America

OPI definitely pleases my nail polish taste this year. Recently Fall 2011 Collection was announced. Each of the 12 deep hues is inspired by a specific US city: Baltimore, Clarksdale, Hollywood, Jackson Hole, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, St. Louis and Tucson.

Touring America collection will be out in early August. I'm definitely excited about grey and melon ones:)
You can see some swatches from this collection here

opi fall 2011 touring america collection

Colors are (left to right):
- Uh Oh
- Roll Down The Window
- Honk If You Love OPI
- A Taupe The Space Needle
- French Quarter For Your Thoughts
- Get In The Expresso Lane
- Road House Blues
 - Suzi Takes The Wheel, I Brake For Manicures
- Are We There Yet?
- Color To Dine For
- I Eat Mainly Lobster
- My Address is Hollywood

Friday, March 25, 2011

Knockout Cosmetics Matte nail polish swatches – Liberty and Calamine

Yesterday I received 2 Knockout nail polishes – Liberty and Calamine. Frankly speaking, I fell for the beautiful bottle design and colorful description on the site and decided to give it a try.
Overall the application is a little tricky, because the top of the bottle is very long and it’s uncomfortable to hold the brush. Other than that, I’m totally in love with the nail polish.

 Liberty  is a  gorgeous soft mint color. I like the way it looks on the nails…it has a unique “plastic” finish. And that’s what makes me like itJ

 It’s no-shine and has no glitter or shimmer in it. On official Knockout site it’s claimed that 2 coats are enough for the full opacity, but I needed 3 to get the effect I wanted.
Taking into account the price ($14 on Beauty.com), similar effect probably can be achieved with any other cream nail polish and matte top coat.  But in this case “plastic” texture will be lost.

knockout cosmetics flatte liberty swatches and review

knockout cosmetics flatte liberty nail polish swatch


Calamine is a matte pale pink nail polish. A little bit boring for me….and the color by itself is not extraordinary, but definitely pretty. 

knockout cosmetics calamine flatte polish swatch and review

knockout matte nail polish calamine swatch

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

OPI summer 2011 Nice Stems! collection

This is another colorful collection from OPI that comes out this summer.

  
Nice Stems! Collection is a celebration of pink. All nail polishes are different variations of…pink…yes. For those who like this color there is 4 pretty shades to choose from. The colors are:
·         Play the Peonies - creamy elegant pink
·         Come to Poppy - pink a hint of red
·         I Lily Love You - bright pink
·         Be a Dahlia Won't You? - pink glitter

I’m not a fan of pink so…I’m not planning on getting any of them…hmmm…maybe except the last one, amazing glitter “Dahlia”J

opi summer collection nice stems

Monday, March 21, 2011

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui with Revlon Gold Coin tips

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui is my favorite blue oneJ. This is my weekend “french” mani, if you can call it this way. Tips are Revlon Gold Coin, that is actually one of the best polishes for this purpose, ‘cause you can make perfect tips with just one coat. (I can never make normal tips with nail polishes that require 2 or more coats for full opacity….:))

I also added CND effects Gold sparkle as a top coat.





Friday, March 18, 2011

Deborah Lippmann - Ruby Red Slippers

This is my first Deborah Lippmann nail polish and I’m definitely not disappointed. Amazing…fabulous and unique!!

Red Ruby Slippers-is a black base with red glitter of various sizes. The base is jelly, but 2 coats are enough. I think, if to apply it over any black polish, the result will be the same with only one coat.

With all the beauty of the polish it’s hard to apply it though. Glitter particles were all over my cuticles. And when it dries it’s very hard to remove as well. Maybe I’m doing something wrong….so sorry for messy pictures.

deborah lippmann red ruby slippers swatches and review

deborah lippmann red ruby slippers swatch


I tried to experiment a little and put Essie matte top coat over. It turned out to be even more stunning J 





Thursday, March 17, 2011

OPI Shatter Collection is coming out in May!!!!!

I’m an OPI Shutter lover. I didn’t buy any of the China Glaze’s Crackles, because I really don’t like the way they crackle. So I was waiting patiently…for a Silver one that will be part of Pirates of Caribbean Collection.

But, OPI decided to give me another present for birthday OPI Shatter Collection of 6 colorsJ
Maybe the picture is not clear …but it seems that Navy Shatter will be with sparkles. Hmmmm…can’t wait till May. Definitely getting all of them......


opi shatter collection

POP Beauty Ablaze Swatches

I love the nail polish color palette POP beauty has, but I haven’t seen it in the stores. Beauty.com has a pretty good assortment of available shades, so I decided to give it a try and Ablaze was the one…such a bright and joyful color.


Ablaze is definitely “love it or hate it” nail polish. My friends and co-workers split into 2 groups with no one indifferent.  Personally, I love it and think it is a lovely color for spring. I was also impressed by the quality of the nail polish – it’s easy to apply, even one layer gives a nice jelly-like color and doesn’t chip.

Pop nail glam Ablaze is a true orange with blue shimmer…ohhhh and I love everything with blue shimmer…

                                                                          Natural light

pop nail polish ablaze swatches and review

pop nail glam polish ablaze

Unfortunately, on the photos you can't see blue shimmer effect:(

Monday, March 14, 2011

Revlon Matte Suede - Powder Puff

My close friend works at CVS and she tells me about all new nail polishes in stock at my local store. Last week I picked up couple of Matte Suede Revlon's: Fire Fox and Powder Puff.

Fire Fox was instantly given away. It's is a quite regular red nail polish and it's not matte by any means, because it contains small glitter particles. It just looks weird to me..that's all:(

I really like Powder Puff though. It has a powdery white base with blue shimmer. Yes...blue shimmer...it's not matte at all to me as well. But I like it anyways - coverage is good, only 2 coats are needed for 100% opacity and it's great as a base for nail art.
Natural Light

revlon powder puff

From the last picture it is obvious that the polish is not matte. I haven't used any top coat at all.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

China Glaze Tronica Swatches - Laser Lime and Gamer Glam

China Glaze Tronica collection is stunning. I wish I could get my hands on more colors, but by the time I got to the beauty salon most of the shades have already been sold out.
Ebay sellers  have unreasonably high prices on these nail polishes and limited selection of colors.
I guess Tronica collection is inspired by recent Tron: Legacy movie, because most of the polishes have cyber-names like digital dawn or techno teal among the others. Frankly speaking, this is the first time I want to buy all 12 colors, usually I buy only 1 or 2 from the particular collection.


I was lucky enough to get Laser Lime and Gamer Glam. And I'm slightly obsessed about getting Digital dawn and High Def:)


Laser Lime is very similar to L8R G8R from OMG!. It's a little less holographic, but still very pretty. I would say, Laser Lime has more metallic finish.


laser lime swatch


china glaze laser lime swatches and review


Gamer Glam is gentle sparkly holo violet.


china glaze gamer glam swatches and review

china glaze tronica gamer glam swatch


I wish this collection was not a limited edition and could be found not only in limited beauty salons and Sally's Beauty Supply:((