China Glaze Grape Crush

While at a local nail salon, I decided to press my luck and try to buy an old bottle off the place.  I am a horrible sales and negotiation person.  HORRIBLE.


The lady was terribly confused at what I was asking (English was not her first language, and Mandarin Chinese is actually my 6th language - took a whole semester of it in college), so that was the first speed bump.  Finally she got that I wanted to BUY the bottle and told me to name my price.  I figured since the bottle looked at least half empty (don't go by the above picture), I'd offer her $3 since a new bottle can be easily $5.  However, this is a dusty - a term I heard on another blog.  Basically, the bottle is so old there is a fine layer of dust on it (and there was).  She wanted to thin it for me but I lounged for the bottle and said I'd do it myself, haha.


This is one of the OLD China Glaze colors, from before the Big 3 formula was introduced.  Now I have no idea how old this bottle really is - everything I find online is just that this is a HTF (hard to find) color.  Score?


Problem is, the color was seriously OLD.  First I added a bit of clear NYC polish to it to try and thicken up the base a bit (um, bad idea), and then I resorted to adding some Seche Restore (which I heard from somewhere... I think the Seche Twitter Feed?) because it's a pre-big 3 formula so Restore would thin it properly because it got to be a goopy mess...  then I added 5 ballz to it (to help the polish mix) and well, I just don't know anymore.  I need to play with it a bit more.


I do like the base color which is a good medium purple - not as pigmented as China Glaze Grape Pop but almost on the same wavelength as China Glaze Grape Juice.  (They are running out of Grape words, I think).


I used a base coat of Seche Natural, 3 thin coats of Grape Juice, and a top coat of Seche Vite.  Just like China Glaze Cosmic (from the Glitters & Cremes Collection), there is more rainbow glitter in the bottle than translates on the nail. (Boo)

You can see a bit of the rainbow on my nails - I was a fan of the color despite it not having a heavy rainbow glitter like I hoped for.  Plus it's purple.  Win.

Ooh shiny!  I'm having a bit of an issue with my shade pictures being too "green" - not sure why, but whatever.  You can see that the bottle name is starting to rub off here, haha.  Overall I'm a fan of this polish for sure - purple, rainbow, glitter...  my favorites. ^_^


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].

Nail Bubbling

I thought it was just me, but I've noticed a few other bloggers having nail bubbling problems.  Sometimes I think that Deborah Lippmann herself reads my blog.  I know she doesn't, but I'm going to pretend like she does.  Or at least her assistant's assistant's doorman's wife does.  Whatever.


This email came in last Thursday all about nail bubbling.  Thanks Deborah!  However, because her text was actually a picture, I'm just going to type it out (not so thanks).  


The Bubble Trouble...
We all hate those little tiny bubbles in a manicure.  And they may not be noticeable until a few minutes after you're done.  Here are solutions to the problem.


1) Never shake your bottle of polish before use.
If you do, you'll have to wait 45 minutes or so before you using the polish.  All polish separates over time, to mix it, roll the bottle between your palms, you've probably seen your manicurist do this.


2) Applying polish before the previous coat is dry can cause bubbles.
Polish needs time to set, use thin coats (it will dry faster) and wait 2 minutes between each coat (your manicure will last longer).


3) Humidity can cause bubbles and your polish will take longer to dry.


So ends the words of Deborah.  Please note, that's straight from her email (typo included) and not my words or my advice.  I'm still trying to keep the bubbles away from my nails.  ^_^

Sula Merlot

After reading and hearing about nail polish you peel off, I went to check it out and was shocked how many different colors Sula [official website] has!  In addition to nail polish, they also carry an array of other products - I was a little upset I hadn't heard of them before, to be honest.  Granted, I'm still new to the whole polish scene but still!  They carry their products in the USA and Canada or you can purchase from their website, which is convenient.  They also seem to be carried in ULTA, which I have NEVER been to one.  In fact, at looking at their website, I see there is an ULTA in the mall that I go to every time I'm in San Antonio, so I'm going to have to check it out next time.  Rumor is that we're getting an ULTA at the mall closest to me as well (still 45 miles from home, but closer than 3 hours in San Antonio).


The directions for Sula are right on the bottle - apply 2-3 coats to clean, naked nails.  Avoid contact with hot water for 4 hours.  Peel off when desired.


Sounds like a win to me!  I was a little nervous about not using a base or top coat.  Now Sula has a "Clear Top & Base Coat" that they sell for $10 and they say that it can be peeled off up to 10 days later (the same claim that CND Shellac makes, the new hybrid nail polish that one day, I hope to review).  They also have a "Metallic Top Coat" for $9, but I didn't receive either one with my PR sample here.  Also Sula does say that with one of their top coats, you MAY need remover, but without the top coat, you just literally peel off the polish when you're done.


Now, it's been HOT here again.  I'm talking triple digits (today was 102).  I don't know how this is badly affecting my nail polish but at least one person says it's the humidity (more on that later).


I'm wondering if "I'm doing it wrong" because I started putting on my first coat, and the polish was applying weird.  You're supposed to wait a couple of minutes before putting on a second coat, and then wait a total of 30 minutes before you decide to peel off the polish.  But really, you can see what I'm talking about right here

See how it's streaky and bumpy?  I don't know what I did wrong.  Also, the problem with polish that is designed to peel off is that if you bump it and it "chips", the whole thing can be peeled off in one piece.  They do say that you can just fix "chips" with the color quickly and easily.

The steakyness was mostly seen on the ring finger - I don't know what I did wrong.  I'd like to try this again when I have long nails as nubbins just are harder to paint for me.  Merlot is a nice vampy red creme (all their polishes are cremes, can you imagine peeling off glitter?!) that I'm just so happy with the COLOR, now to get this application down.  I took a nap and about 5 hours later, went to peel off the polish.  You just chip a bit and then the whole thing pulls off like latex paint off a bucket - in one piece.


From their FAQ: 
Q: Will all the peeling ruin my nails?
A: No, the polish sits on top of the nail and it will not dry them out.


That was crucial for me since I can't stand the thought of scratching my nails up (it literally makes my skin crawl).


Overall, I'm excited about this line and want to try more of it.  I received another color for review that will be showing up here soon on Polish Galore. 


Sula is available on their website [official website] or check the "Where to find Sula products" [link] page to see what stores carry it near you.


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

300 Followers Giveaway! [EVERYONE!]

Welcome to part 2 of my 300 Followers Giveaway!  This part is being done all by me, meaning I bought the products, and I will be in charge of fulfillment.  THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

1) You must be a follower of my blog.
2) You must live in a country where UPS or FedEx will deliver nail polish.
3) You must use the form at the bottom of this post (Google Form) to leave your entry.  Entries in the comments section WILL NOT BE COUNTED.

One (1) winner will receive a brand new bottle of Sally Hansen "Hidden Treasure"

One (1) winner will receive a brand new package of OPI Havana Nights Minis (Teal We Meet Again, Read My Palm, Rumba Romance, Caliente Coral)

One (1) winner will receive a brand new package of OPI Tiny Takeouts Minis from the Hong Kong Collection (Red My Fortune Cookie, Dim Sum Plum, Suzi Says Feng Shui, Rapidry Top Coat)

One (1) winner will receive a brand new package of Modern Flower minis (Handpicked for Me, It's Bouquet with Me, Iris I was Thinner, Leaf Him at the Altar).

One (1) winner will receive a brand new package of OPI Shrek minis (What's with the Cattitude, Fiercely Fiona, Rumple's Wiggin', Who the Shrek Are You?)


Whew!  Five (5) winners in all.  Here's the form - be sure to fill out your name and your email address to win!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

300 Followers Giveaway! [USA ONLY]

Thank you to Seche [official website] for sponsoring this part of my 300 Followers Giveaway!

Not only are they handling all the prizes (yay) they are EVEN handling fulfillment!  (Meaning THEY ship to you, double yay for me, as my last winner found out when I had to ship her package twice... not using USPS for International anymore, let me tell you....) 
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

1) You must be a follower of my blog.

2) You must be a USA resident.

3) You must use the form at the bottom of this post (Google Form) to leave your entry.  Entries in the comments section WILL NOT BE COUNTED.

Two (2) winners will receive a Seche Pack that contains one (1) bottle of Seche Vite Crystal Clear Top Coat, one (1) bottle of either Rebuild, Recondition or Retain (winner's choice), and one (1) bottle of Seche Restore.

Two (2) MORE winners will receive a "Secrets to the French Manicure" FULL SIZE SET.

That's four (4) total winners!  (And that's just THIS part of my giveaway.)

You may enter BOTH this giveaway, and my other part of the giveaway, and you MAY win both (although it is unlikely since I do use a number randomizer).

Instead of having comments, I'm trying out the Google Form - make sure you fill out both parts.  Entries in my comments section WILL NOT COUNT.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED