China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Wow, talk about a throw back with China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.  I grew up listening to oldies music with my parents, so when I heard about this color, I immediately burst out in song.

Unless I'm dropping 100 pounds soon, you won't see me in a  yellow polka dot bikini, but that's besides the point.  I used Seche Natural for my base, one coat of China Glaze Snow, 3 coats of Yellow Polka Dot Bikini and then a top coat of Seche Vite.  I must say, yellows are NOT my favorite.  You can see some streaky business going on, which is typical of yellows, and really, I'm not sure how I like yellow with my skin tone.  I have 4 other yellow polishes to swatch so be prepared to see those coming up.  This was really a bright highligher yellow color though, and it did pop.  The shade picture is where the neon really was blazing - my nails just appeared to glow which is what I've found with this collection.  Glowing nails... sounds like a medical condition.

Sun picture followed by shade picture.

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Cheeky Monkey Raunchy Bitch

(Media reader works again)

Oh Cheeky, you've done it again.  Cheeky Monkey Raunchy Bitch was my immediate favorite in the bunch.  It looks very dark in the picture (and in the bottle) but it's actually a dark blue/purple with blue shimmer.  I love it.  The website says it's a "dark metallic blue" but I really was seeing a hint of purple in my bottle.  Also the first coat went on as purple.  The final "test" for me was swatching on a nail wheel and holding it up to the light and oh yeah, it's purple.  This is quite interesting because Cheeky Monkey Romp is listed as a "dark metallic purple."  Hmm...


This color gets NO justice in the shade or on nubbins.  :(  I can't wait until my nails grow out again, and this is the first color going on the long babies.  (I'll also update this post with better pictures when I do.)  Oh yes, and some tag love:

For some reason, I didn't realize that on Cheeky Monkey's website, in addition to having great stories for each color, there is also a drink recipe (adults only please!) to go along with it.  Very fun to read, seriously.  I could spend quite a bit of time on this website.


Here's 2 sun pictures, but again, NO JUSTICE.  I used a base coat of Cheeky Monkey Wet Dream, 2 coats of Raunchy Bitch, and a coat of Seche Vite on top.  I'm thinking that this one might need the light box, because trying to capture the purple was quite a feat.

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics is based out of Canada and you can order right from their website [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Hhmph

Well I WAS going to post, but things just haven't been going right for me!  I did quit my job (the one I just got in January?  Yeah.) for a number of reasons, not limited to "YOU'RE CUTTING INTO MY BLOGGING!"  (Seriously, I get home barely in time for some setting sun pictures - no bueno.)


Then my video card went out.  Turns out the fan was dying and something burst - and the new one that my friend bought?  Yeah, doesn't support my dual monitor set up.  AND NOW MY MEDIA READERS DON'T WORK.  Therefore, no pictures.


Things I have to post (at some point):
-Piggy Paint's new Tween Line, and my personalized coupon code for it!
-An OPI (my second only) that is like a party threw up on your nails.
-My very first Illamasqua
-More of the China Glaze Poolside collection
-A couple of Cheeky Monkey polishes 
-Some drug store Sally Hansen's
-My first Borghese
-A very green Sinful Colors


And I know of at least one more summer collection that is headed my way.


My last day of work is April 1st.  Then you will see my wrath.  (In a flurry of blog posts!)

China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada vs In The Lime Light

I'm always worried that I'm buying duplicates of each other when I get or buy nail polish, so I have another comparison post for you.  This one is China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada from the Poolside collection versus In The Lime Light from the INK collection.


You can already see in the bottle picture that even the shades are a bit different.  Kiwi Cool-Ada is a bit more yellow-green and In The Lime Light is more blue-green.  The major difference is in the finish.  Kiwi Cool-Ada is a true neon (matte and all) where In The Lime Light is actually a neon shimmer (with blue shimmer).


For this swatch, I used a base coat of Seche Natural, 1 coat of China Glaze Snow, 3 coats of color and 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Quite oddly, on the nail, it's Kiwi Cool-Ada that comes out darker.  I know that most of that is because of the shimmer but it's definitely a different look and you can tell these two are cousins, but not dupes.

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada

For my St. Patrick's Day manicure, I chose the hot neon green China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada also from the Poolside collection.  I'm not much of a green fan, but I have to say that this color was easy to wear (especially given the holiday) but now it's Friday and I'm just barely taking it off.  It's very highlighter green - bright and out there.  I used a base coat of Seche Natural, one coat of China Glaze Snow, 2 coats of Kiwi Cool-Ada and then smoothed it out with a top coat of Seche Vite.  However, this was a day where I didn't eat for some odd 19 hours and started shaking (Spring Break makes me lazy) so you can see how I didn't wait long enough on my ring finger and ended up smearing my polish with the brush.  Lovely.  The formula was nice though - a little more streaky than Pool Party, but again I was shaking a bit.


Sun pictures are as follows - as you can see, this color really does glow on your hands

And a couple in the shade - 

I wish I had some kind of 80s party to go to, I'd have a blast with this color.  Not sure if I could mentally wear a green on a pedicure, but I figure it's a good chance to try. ^_^

Poolside launches both domestically and internationally on April 1, 2010

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Pool Party

China Glaze Pool Party is one of the hot new neons from the Poolside collection, launching April 1, 2010 both domestically and internationally.  This is a serious hot pink neon and like neons, it dries matte.  I ended up testing out the polish both by itself and then with one coat of China Glaze Snow under it to make the polish pop.  The formula was great - like most neons I've tried, the first coat is a little streaky/bald but after the second coat, you're done.  This first set has a base of Seche Natural, the pointer and ring finger has 2 coats of Pool Party and the middle and pinkie has 1 coat of Snow and 2 coats of Pool Party.  I did a heavy color correction on all my pictures to bring out the neon to true life, but it makes the background (and my skin) do funky things.

This is my sun picture.  As you can see, the different in having the base of white (Snow) and not having the base of white isn't that great.  With Snow, the color pops a bit more but again it's a matte finish on both.

Shade picture - again that neon is a HOT color - burning retinas.  Seriously.


Next I added a coat of Seche Vite because I'm a shiny creature by nature.  First up is my sun picture.

You can start to see a tiny difference in having Snow on the middle and pinkie fingers.  The color is a bit lighter than without.  I will end up using Snow under all my neons from now on because it does make the color a bit truer to life than when I just use the neon alone.

Shade picture - this is such a hot pink - I do love it a lot.  I think this would also be amazing as a pedicure.


I also finally broke out the light box to try and capture the hotness of this color.  It's not bad, but it was VERY hard to attempt to take pictures of my hand in the light box, even with my Gorilla tripod.  I think I'll stick to the Texas sun for my hand pictures, but for a bottle picture, it's pretty awesome.  This just makes the bottle GLOW.

Poolside launches both domestically and internationally on April 1, 2010

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Nfu-Oh Sale

Woo!  I found this floating around in my inbox from FabulouStreet.com [official website]


We're pleased to offer you a Store Coupon for March Special.

You can redeem this coupon during checkout. Just enter the code in the box
provided, and click on the redeem button.

The coupon code is fabmarch2010

The coupon is valid between 03/01/2010 and 03/31/2010

Don't lose the coupon code, make sure to keep the code safe so you can
benefit from this special offer.

March 2010 Special (10% off)

From now until Mar 31st, 2010, enjoy a 10% discount when you puchase $125 or
more.

Offer have unlimit usage.

deborah lippmann Sale

I still haven't gotten my hands on a deborah lippmann, but sales help!

You can buy deborah lippmann polish at her official website here.

China Glaze Snow vs Moonlight vs White on White

For my Poolside swatches, I wanted a good white to put under as a base coat, in order to really make the neons pop.  Imagine my surprise when I realized I had THREE white cremes (so I thought) in my China Glaze stash.


The Glitters and Cremes (also known as the Specialty collection) that came out last year had a large about of pinks and whites, but all were a little different.  That's where Snow came from.  Moonlight is from the Blush Collection.  Finally White on White is a core line color.


In my sun picture, it doesn't look like there is ANY difference, which made me question my collection habits ^_^

I used Seche Natural for a base and then just one coat of each polish (because I was going to be layering the neon on top).  That's when it became clear.

Snow applied the best - while it was still a bit streaky, it had the best overall coverage in one coat.  Moonlight is super sheer - that's a big no go for my purposes today.  Finally White on White while opaque, had more bald spots than Snow.


I did get 2 swatches of Poolside in today, but I don't want to TOTALLY overload my faithful readers.  Soon my pretties!


China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Illamasqua Information

I still haven't seen a bottle of Illamasqua in person, but I'm hoping that will change soon.  I went to my local (and by local, I mean 176 miles north of me) Sephora on Monday but nada.  Official PR below:

Since its launch in the UK last November, Illamasqua has caught fire with beauty aficionados thanks to its unique night-time make-up concept and extraordinary color range – and has now become the hottest, most buzzed-about brand in the industry. Thousands of professional make-up artists, club kids, beauty junkies, industry insiders and even cutting-edge celebrities like Sienna Miller, Lily Allen, Adele, Beth Ditto and Karen O. are clamoring for the newest, best and latest colors and textures from Illamasqua.

In fact, it’s this global demand for Illamasqua that prompted the brand to finally bring its top 200, best-selling products to the United States through Sephora, the ultimate beauty authority. Its much-anticipated debut will be at Sephora’s newest location, 5 Times Square, on July 31^st, as well as on Sephora.com. 26 additional Sephora stores throughout the country will carry Illamasqua in October of this year.

News of the Illamasqua launch leaked and spread quickly among fans, including beauty bloggers who were among the first to post about the launch with rabid anticipation, sharing the news of this one-of-a-kind, make-up line with their readers. This loyal, cult-like following is not just because of the professional quality and range of products to choose from, but because of the unique point of difference as a night-time make-up brand that encourages self-expression and the unleashing of the alter ego.

Created with the eye of world renowned make-up artist Alex Box, and developed by a team of leading chemists and manufacturers of stage and screen make-up, Illamasqua offers everyone – from London club kids, visionary make-up artists and global fashion icons, to the passionate everyday beauty consumer – the tools to create the most striking, expressive looks possible.

A huge range of Illamasqua’s best-selling colors will be available in the U.S., including 40 different eye shadow shades, 22 high-performance nail varnishes, color-intense lipsticks, lipglosses, lashes and much more, creating a kaleidoscopic, pigment rich palette sure to seduce with its heady mix of color, creativity and limitless imagination.

Illamasqua is available in the United States exclusively at select Sephora locations as of October 2009 and on www.sephora.com. For more information, log on to www.Illamasqua.com

Illamasqua (from what I can tell) sells for $14 a bottle and they have 22 shades currently available.  I'll keep looking and get back to you ^_^

China Glaze Poolside Sneak Peek

While Fed-Ex is officially off my Christmas list, they did FINALLY bring me my China Glaze Poolside samples!  I'm attempting to swatch now, but other bloggers weren't kidding when they said "THESE ARE BRIGHT."  My camera has been FREAKING out, and I even tried my light box out (finally).

So here's my little preview - I'm working my way though my reviews ^_^

Pool Party, Flip Flop Fantasy, Sun Worshiper, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Kiwi Cool-Ada, Towel Boy Toy.  Poolside launches both domestically and internationally on April 1, 2010


China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].


Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Surfer Girl

They aren't even out but the new Surfer Girl colors from Rescue Beauty Lounge are already pre-sold out.  ^_^  I've actually asked about review samples, but didn't receive a reply email.  Official release below:

Doesn't everyone want to be an uber-cool Surf chick? With that perfect salt-styled hair, glowing skin and laid-back attitude. Those sporty-fresh models at the Proenza Schouler Spring 2010 show inspired me to bring vintage surfer-chic to the beaches of Manhattan and beyond. I even learned some surf-speak to name our latest collection:
Diddy Mow, a surf term for a harsh wipeout, is a putty green—the color of sand through sea water, the moment before you eat it!
360° is a move where the surfer and board spin around on the face of a wave. It also is a gorgeous deepwater aqua blue polish.

And nothing sets off a tan (bottle or spray, of course) like Bangin'—a hot red coral like the sun sizzling on the horizon.

And if Spring weather seems far away, fear not. These colors are wonderful accents against late winter’s grays, browns and blacks.

Pre-order now—the web is already buzzing about these new colors. Then get ready to “hang 20” glamorous nails at your next mani/pedi.

A Collection

Not complete yet, but I'm helping a friend with her senior art project on "Collections" so I hauled my collection up to her.  It was also the first time I had counted all the bottles & products I have.  Rough picture until I can get hers (taken with my iPhone)

 Total count: 321 polishes and treatments & 12 bottles of remover.

While not complete, I also was able to fix my spreadsheet.  (I need to add collection names and blog postings)

List of Polish Galore Stock

Cheeky Monkey Hangover

Cheeky Monkey Hangover is described on their website as "mouse's back" and is a light brown/grey concoction with tiny (and I mean TINY) sparkles, and I swear I saw purple and blue sparkles in it.  It gives just a tiny bit of shimmer to it, instead of being a creme.  At first I thought I wasn't going to like this shade at all, but I'm very impressed how neutral it is and how the light plays on it.  I have a sun and shade picture, but what I couldn't capture was my bathroom light and how it almost made the polish look like a very dusty grey purple.  Great for the office!


More tag love!

And my sun and shade pictures.  As you see, I'm back to SUPER nubbins.  My nails started peeling - PEELING and I'm freaking out.  I used 1 coat of Cheeky Monkey Wet Dream for my base and a coat of Seche Vite for my top coat.  This was the recommended 2 coats of color but I wasn't as happy with the formula on this one - the first coat seemed a bit thick and with extra wiping, the second coat went on well, but the polish just seemed thicker than Staggette.

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics is based out of Canada and you can order right from their website [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Color Club Ms. Socialite

A curious plum creme is how I'd describe Color Club Ms. Socialite that I received from the Rebel Debutante collection.  It's not super purple like China Glaze Grape Pop, but has much more of a red tone to it.


The formula on this was very nice - I used Seche Natural for my base and Seche Vite for my top along with 2 coats of Ms. Socialite.

Color Club is located on several etailers, including Head2Toe Beauty which has it for $3.00.  You can also Like them on Facebook and Follow them on Twitter.


Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.