Sephora by OPI Meet Me At the Disco

Nothing To Disclose
It's fun to rummage through my Helmer drawers and find my hidden gems like today's Sephora by OPI Meet Me At the Disco. This is a rainbow reflective microglitter in a clear base. While it's meant to be a top coat, I think you already know what I did.

Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That

Press Sample

Did you hear that some photography I did ended up in Nail It magazine? And one of those photos was a bottle of Digital Nails polish? Well, now you know. And it made me feel like a rockstar.

Prior to that, I decided to place another order from Digital Nails and she added in a bottle of Ain't nobody got time for that, her new ultra fast drying top coat. This is a big 3 free top coat that also doubles as a glitter smoother - it's not as thick as Lynnderella Glitter Tamer, but thicker than Seche Vite.

I used it over my Essie Sunday Funday manicure but have also used it over other manicures and I'm happy to report that it does dry fast - not as fast as Cult Nails Wicked Fast but faster than Seche Vite. And I haven't had any problems with shrinkage.

Digital Nails is currently restocking Ain't nobody got time for that but there are a few bottles in her Etsy shop now. You really need to buy this because HELLO IT WORKS and more so because the cost?!  It's only $6 for a 13mL bottle.  SIX DOLLARS. Uh, I have time for that.  If you miss out on this stock, more will be coming on Friday, 9/13. (I ended up buying another bottle... and uh 4 more polishes from Digital Nails last night.)

Digital Nails [Facebook | Twitter] is sold exclusively on Etsy. 

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

Layla Ultra Violet

It's coming...  Layla Cosmetics is bringing Holograhic polish back to the United States!  Today I have Ultra Violet, a light purple holographic polish with linear holo!!!  This is where you can see the full rainbow on the nail versus a scattered holo (like China Glaze Tronica).  Now there are some downsides but we'll get to those much later.


First off, Layla claims not to need a base or top coat with its polishes - they keep it simple.  Instead, they provide a nail file with the holographic polish that has 2 sides.  The pink side is to file the ridges down, the white side buffs your nails.  Then you have a smooth surface to apply your Hologram Effect polish on.  I buffed my index and ring fingers but left my middle and pinkie finger unbuffed.

Can you see the difference in the shine and amount of ridges on my nails?


Next I applied 3 coats of polish to all my nails.  Warning, lots of nail spam coming now!

nom nom nom.  Nail LOVE.  This color is a lot like China Glaze Octa Gone Wild except this has way more holographic goodness in my opinion.  Again, this is without a top coat.

Okay, downside in the shade.  You can see that I had a bit of patching on both my non-filed middle finger and my filed ring finger.  Boo.  :|


Next, I wanted to try some top coat.  Layla makes a top coat called Brilliant Due Nail Polish Protector ($19 at Zappos for 0.33 fl oz).  It has a bit of a "glass effect" that will prove useful in upcoming Layla collections (but that's all I can say about that for now) so I wanted to check it out.  

Now, normally top coat dulls the holographic finish of polishes.  I wanted to test polishes so on my index finger I have Layla Brilliant Due, middle finger - CND Air Dry, ring finger - Seche Vite and pinkie finger - Sephora by OPI top coat.  Check this out.

The holographic polish is definitely dulled by CND and Sephora by OPI but Seche Vite holds up a bit and Layla obviously looks the best.  Here's a comparison of just Layla and Seche Vite.

Hello holo!


Okay, now for the bad news.  First, Layla Hologram Effect polish won't be available until May.  :|  At that time it will be available in Ulta and possibly more stores online but Ulta is the only confirmed.  The second piece of bad news is that it's a bit pricey at $15.50 for a 10 ml bottle.  To compare, Glitter Gal's old bottles were 9 ml for $14.00.  a-england is priced at $12.00 for 13 ml.  OPI is ~$8 for 15 ml...  so yes, it's expensive but it will be available and that's sometimes half the battle.


I cannot WAIT to get my hands on more of these.  Check this out!

Photo courtesy of Layla Cosmetics Facebook page

Must... have... all... of... them...  Formula wise, the polish was just slightly thick but not nearly as bad as GOSH Holographic.  A tiny bit of thinner would probably make this perfect.


Again, this line will be available in May at Ulta for $15.50 a bottle.

Layla Cosmetics is distributed to the US through the Luxcon Group who has a Facebook Page to several online websites including Zappos, AVEYOU, Brigette's Boutique, Amazon, and Drugstore.

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

Lynnderella Mercury's Rainbow

For my birthday, I asked for a gift certificate to Llarowe so I could get some more Lynnderella polishes.  Sadly I didn't get it, but I did get cash, so I put it to use.  Mercury's Rainbow was one that I had been eyeing because of it's micro holographic glitter paired with medium hexagonal holographic (rainbow reflecting really) glitter.  I thought this was a black base but it's not - it's more of a watery grey.  At first I was trying the polish on its own but after seeing how sheer it was, I layered it over Sephora Black, my favorite $1 polish ever.


This is a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and CND Air Dry for my top coat.  Over Sephora Black, 2 coats of polish was also used.

Yes, that's some spam there.  You can see that this is a THIRSTY glitter - it just soaks up top coat.  We'll get to that in a minute.  See what I mean about it not being opaque?  Sad panda, but it's still a pretty polish.

In the shade, you can see some good amount of glitter that is just too hard to capture in the sun.

Indoors with the flash and again you can see lots of glitter (which yes, is a pain to get off - use felt instead).


Now, Lynnderella also makes a top coat that she calls Glitter Tamer.  I have no idea what it's made of but I just know that it makes my eyes water, and that doesn't happen with nail polish and my eyes.  It's nose hair burning, eye watering, choking on your spit horrible but it works SO well.


Here is a nail without Glitter Tamer (the watery grey ring finger)

See how you can see the edges of the glitter poking up?


Now a shot of Mercury's Rainbow with Glitter Tamer.

Bad hangnail!  But look how the glitter is smoothed down and sealed- not gritty.  The stuff really works but man does it stink.


Lynnderella is only available through the etailer Llarowe.  Currently, you have to contact Llarowe at the email address lalas.lynn.network@gmail.com in order to get on a shipping list which is sorted in 4 ways, so if you'd like to find out how to order, email that above address.


Lynnderella is sold by American e-tailer Llarowe for $15 a bottle.  Glitter Tamer sells for $8.00.

INM OutTheDoor Northern Lights Silver

Last time I was at Tony Nail, I saw this little gem sitting on a counter, so naturally I grabbed it.  (OOH SHINY!)  The brand is INM and you've probably seen their "OutTheDoor" top coat (which I personally haven't used), but this is Northern Lights collection which has both "silver" and "gold".  Both are a hologram top coat, a lot like China Glaze Fairy Dust, but all the particles are at the bottom of the bottle.  As you can see from the above picture, you are supposed to "Shake It Up!"

Pre-shake.

Shaken!


I decided to try this over FingerPaints "Give Pink A Chance" to have a kind of 80s throwback look but it didn't quite achieve the look I had in my mind.

This is just one coat of Northern Lights and I'm thinking maybe I should have used 2?  It was pretty sparkly in person, but it really doesn't show up as well in the pictures.

And here in the shade you can start to see some of the rainbow glitter showing up.  Still lovely especially for only $2.95.  ^_^

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

OPI Flower-To-Flower

Oh OPI.  Today, in my spare time, I was reading their Facebook Fan Page [Facebook] and I was just reminded how much people like to complain.  Love them or hate them, OPI has made the decision to be sold by only approved professional salons and stores.  Trade Secret (which I just recently found out is a national chain) is one of these approved professional salons, and I'm lucky enough to have one only 30 miles away from me.


Back to today's nails.  Flower-to-Flower is a Barbie pink with this teeny tiny silver shimmer from OPI's Summer Flutter collection.  It's so subtle indoors that I thought this was a creme at first!  I used a base coat of Seche Natural, and 2 thin coats of Flower-to-Flower.  I may have been able to get away with just one coat, but I went with 2 to be safe.  I really do like the brush design of OPI.  Instead of being round, it's nearly flat so that you have this nice wide brush to work with.  Am I making sense?  Megan from Little Music Boxes has actually taken the time to take pictures of all the nail polish brushes she has [here].  Who knew there were so many ways to make a nail polish brush?


I didn't have any issues with application - even with my super nubbins!  I have to apologize - my hands are in horrible shape.  For the past 3 weeks, I've been working on my house (I'm buying it), and I've been staining and painting and moving and scraping and cleaning and yes I'm a mess.  Dry rough cuticles, stubby nails, you name it.  I'm a slight wreck.


First some sun pictures:

Boy do I hate super nubbins.  But look at that pink and that shimmer!  It's eye catching without screaming neon.  Also, before you ask, the reason (I think) that I have a black label (that's missing the ingredients flap) is because this bottle came straight from OPI as a press sample.

My fingers look all clumsy - it's the stress!

This is in the shade (!) and you can really see how hot of a pink it is.

Very subtle shimmer.


Now, I did use a top coat (as always!).  Last time I tried OPI, I had issues with using Seche Vite, so on my right hand, I used Seche Vite like normal.  On my left (swatching) hand, I used OPI Rapi-Dry Top Coat that came with one of my OPI Minis packages I purchased.  It's a teeny tiny bottle, check it out.

Only 1/8th of a Fl Oz or 3.75 mL.  In comparison as you can see, a bottle of OPI is 0.5 Fl Oz or 15 mL.  I put on one coat of OPI RapiDry, went outside to take my pictures (which was about 5 minutes) and came back in to touch my nails with my other hand.  The polish didn't wrinkle, pull or smudge.  I'm doing a slight wear test to see how it works in the morning but so far, so good!


I think this color would also be perfect for younger women - maybe it's just because I'm looking at my super nubbins and thinking "little girl", haha.  Either way, total win.


OPI is available at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer. Please visit their website for details [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.

ManGlaze Hot Mess

I have to admit, I love the artwork on these babies.  Reminds me of the local band here "The Reely Rotnz" that I would jam out to as a teenager.  Two of the band members were family friends, so I felt like a VIP since I had their CDs and stuff.  Anyway.


Hot Mess is the obnoxiously awesome silver microglitter top coat in a clear base from ManGlaze.  I think "Hot Mess" is one of my favorite things to say, as well as its an awesome song by Cobra Starship.

I wanted to see how this would work over a variety of nails, so in the sun we have Hot Mess 2 coats on the pointer finger by itself.  Almost opaque but still has a bit of VNL.  Middle finger has 2 coats of Hot Mess over 2 coats of #Matte is Murder.  Ring fingers has 2 coats of Hot Mess over 2 coats of Fuggen Ugly.  Finally my pinkie has 3 coats of Hot Mess over 2 coats of Fuggen Ugly.  Which do you like best?

Shade picture:

My hands are having issues right now.  I'm working on that.  I also have a HUGE bruise on the top of my polish hand where my nurse completely mangled me with my IV last week.  Thankfully it doesn't hurt, but between that, and the other nurse who bruised my inner elbow drawing blood, I look like some kind of junkie.  Awesome.


Now, this is a glitter so I had to take my felt and scrub a bit.  I am just not patient enough to remember to PLACE the felt around my finger (and I never use foil, but I should, and will, I promise), but overall it ALL came off on the felt, no crazed microglitter on my hands for hours.  Yay!  


You can purchase ManGlaze on their website [official website].

ManGlaze Sneak Peek

I never thought I was a matte person until I started seeing multiple postings of ManGlaze show up online.  ManGlaze is cruelty-free and big 3 free, and made by hand here in the States.  The best part is their owner and founder, Marc.  That guy is seriously a riot.  I mean it.  Check out his Twitter page sometime.


ManGlaze was launched in 2007 and claims to be the original matte polish.  I wouldn't doubt it, since I don't ever remember seeing matte polish prior to this - not in black or grey.  There are 4 stores that sell ManGlaze but unless you live in NYC, Chicago, or um, Greece (not sure how they got the stuff), then you can only find it on their website [official website].  Now I have to have my bonding moment - the name "Man Glaze" came from when Marc's friend Cory came back from a GWAR concert.  During the concert, GWAR has these anatomically correct cannons that shoot various bodily looking fluids at the audience.  In 2005, I got to go to the Sounds of the Underground tour and actually interview GWAR (this was back when I was a radio DJ and news director for a local tv station), and let me tell you... scariest and weirdest interview of my LIFE.  I also got to be in the media pit for their concert and I was THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPHER there.  Can you say "easy target"?  So I have a very ... frightfully funny memory of GWAR, needless to say.


Believe it or not, their customer base is about 50/50 with men and women.  Not only is is rough and tough enough for men, women love matte polish as of lately, and you can use a top coat and ManGlaze has a secret rainbow soft side (more on that later).  I really think ManGlaze and Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics need to combine their powers one day.  Now that would be something awesome.


Now I KNOW that there is 5 bottles out there of ManGlaze... but they are only selling 4 of them on their website, so you know - I bought the whole line.  The one that I didn't get was their "The Death Tar" which I believe is a matte black, but according to their website, the last bottle was purchased in October 2009, and Matte Is Murder was their new, more awful matte black.  So I purchased the grey matte "Fuggen Ugly", the matte top coat "#Matte Astrophe", the black matte "#Matte is Murder" and the silver top coat "Hot Mess".  Now I don't really know why, but my Fuggen Ugly cap was shorter than the others.  The bottle was the same, but as you can see in the first picture, it's got a short handle.


Now these bottles are not for the faint at heart.  The artwork is pretty out there, but hey, who's to say all polish is supposed to be pretty roses and whatnot?  ManGlaze DOES market to men, with its dark, matte color and finish.  I decided to use my AWESOME computer skills to make this animation of the bottle's entire label (and each bottle is covered completely in a label).  This is "Fuggen Ugly"

Now a few things that I automatically have loved about this brand.
(1) He answers his Twitter - frequently.  Granted he has "only" 1,013 followers, but that's still a LOT of followers to individually be answering a TON of those Tweets.
(2) The bottles are all designed at an angle.  As a former graphic designer, I can appreciate the little things like that.  Even though the bottles are square, all the artwork is so that you have to put the bottle in a diamond shape to see the label "properly".  LOVE IT.
(3) His website takes PayPal (!) as well as major credit cards.
(4) Shipping was FAST.  I purchased on May 11th (around 10 a.m.), and it was shipped on May 12 (at 2 a.m.!).  I received it by May 15th.  Hello, 4 days waiting for nail polish?  Very happy me.
(5) Shipping and handling is included in the cost of the polish.  Each polish is $6.66 and each top coat is $13.13.
(6) Everything was packed SO well, even to how the packing peanuts were arranged in the boxes.  Again, I'm very appreciative of the little things.

The polishes come in cardboard boxes that again, are stamped on the edges so you have to diamond it up to see it properly.


Also with my order, I got some free business cards (these rock) and some decal stickers.  I'm totally slapping one on my Guitar Hero guitar.

The fine print at the top of the back of the card says "Fill in your contact info below and give this card to someone kinda forty."  LOVE IT.

Check back for my reviews of each product - I was seriously happy with the way this stuff turned out.  And of course, I get to giggle and say "I'm wearing ManGlaze" whenever I walk out with this stuff on.

Cheeky Monkey Wet Dream & I Like It On Top

Included in my bag of treats from Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics [official website] was their sticky base coat Wet Dream and their shiny shine top coat I Like It On Top.  Even though they are definitely colored in the bottle, they both go on the nail clear.

Wet Dream says on the bottle to shake gentle and apply 2 coats, but I forgot and only used one coat.  The bottle has a nice wide brush for complete nail coverage.  Additionally, all of Cheeky Monkey bottles comes with a small tag on each bottle with a great note inside.  Here was Wet Dream's tag (although I don't think they are specific to each bottle, not sure on that one).

Seriously, just something to make you smile a bit, and I did.  Oh yes, I did.  ^_^

Like Wet Dream, I Like It On Top also says to shake gently and apply 2 coats.  Now, you know that I'm complete spoiled by Seche Vite, but I had to try this out.  Also, you can see that my bottle has a bit missing from it - it arrived that way, but I didn't see any spilling or leakage in the box.  All the other bottles were completely full, and I know Cheeky Monkey is a small company, but I don't know where or how they fill their bottles.  Honestly, not that big of a deal to me, but it was noticeable, especially in the first shot.


Don't forget the tag!

Now, this is the hard part.  I had to wait.  And wait.  And wait.  I waited 15 minutes after the second coat and then brought the nail to my lips to see if it would leave lip prints.  Instead, my lip dragged on past, so I thought I was in the clear.  I then touched my index nail with my finger tip and BAM, finger print.  Yes, the top coat was not fully dry.  This is when my impatience got the best of me and I pulled out my Seche Vite and added one coat of it and within 3 minutes, my nails were hard and slick.  I must say though, I really did like Wet Dream and I think if I had more patience, I'd really like I Like It On Top as well.

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.