MAC Formidable!

When I first heard of the Venomous Villains MAC collection, I was super excited about the three nail polishes.  I went to my local (one hour north) MAC counter, and told the salesperson that I wanted to pre-order all three, and so she took my name down and did just that!  Now, I know that two of the colors are complete dupes for the Orly FX collection, but Orly is HARD to come by where I live.  (Formidable! is a dead on dupe for Orly Galaxy Girl)  Now, granted I say that, and then all of a sudden we get an Ulta (same place as the MAC counter) and they had THREE SETS of Orly FX, but by that time I had already gotten my MACs.  Anywho.

This isn't my first MAC polish but it is the first one on this blog.  I purchased 2 on a whim to try them out but neither color had wowed me so I hadn't worn them out yet.  Formidable! is a dark purple with teal blue shimmer - it's been compared to the color of a bruise.  Now the sun pictures just flat out aren't pretty to me - especially not the bottle.

I used a base of Seche Natural, 3 coats of Formidable! and still had VNL and a top of Seche Vite.  The formula was okay but a bit thin I felt, especially for the price.

Lots of purple here.  It's almost a rusty purple if that makes sense.  Like I said, not a fan of this color in the sun.

However, you get this bottle in the indirect sun or shade and well... let me just post pictures.  First the bottle.

Ooh pretty colors!  Next, indirect sun pictures

See how this gets more interesting?  Finally, shade

I'm still not completely sold on this color but it is very unique in my collection.  I can see this color working all year round because of the flash of teal that you see in the shade.  I'm on the fence.

MAC retails for $13 a bottle and can be purchased at MAC stores, counters or online.  Currently online, Formidable! is sold out and there isn't any word if there will be restocking.  Check your local MAC counter/store!

Chanel Paradoxal

I have a lot of nail blogs that I follow, and this past season, Chanel Paradoxal was ALL the rage.  People have gone nuts trying to dupe this color or find a dupe (Barry M and Models Own have very close dupes I've seen).  I really wasn't interested in a purple taupey grey but I figured I'd go to the Chanel counter and just ask "Do you have a bottle of Paradoxal" and if they did, I'd buy it and if they didn't, I'd move on.  Well, they had one, so here we are.


Did you know that the boxy Chanel cap is a fake?  I didn't until I pulled it off by accident.

Now you can paint with either the small round grooved top or the thick block top - either one works just as well.


Paradoxal is a smoky grey with purple shimmer.  I used a base of Seche Natural, 2 fully opaque coats of Paradoxal and a top of Seche Vite.

Here in the sun you can see the purple well but the grey isn't as pronounced.  It almost looks like a hazy fog?

In the shade, you can see more of the dirty grey coming though and just a bit of the purple in the bottle.  I think I need colder weather to feel like this is an awesome color but it seems so out of place with all the sun I have here.  It's just barely getting down to the 80s as far as weather goes!  For the price, I don't feel this was a unique color or the best formula, but you're wearing Chanel... if brands matter - then go for it.  :P


Chanel sells for $23 a bottle and can be purchased in stores or online.

China Glaze Holiday Giftables

I saw this today on China Glaze's website and just had to share!  It is only open to USA residents - sorry international friends!

Enter to win all 8 New must-have holiday giftables!  

Enter now at China Glaze's website: http://chinaglaze.com/contest/

I'd LOVE if you referenced me as how you heard about the contest - just choose "Other" and then type in my blog address http://www.polishgalore.com


China Glaze Holiday Contest Official Rules/Consumer Disclosure

China Glaze holiday giveaway of one full set of holiday promotions (8 total) begins on Sunday, October 10, 2010 and ends on Monday, November 1, 2010 at 11:59 P.M. PST. This contest is sponsored by China Glaze. Verifiable retail value of the gift is $_____. To be eligible, you must be a legal resident of the fifty United States and Washington, D.C. who is at least 18 years of age at time of entry. Employees of China Glaze or its subsidiaries are not eligible to win. Void where prohibited by law. Winners will be selected on November 1, 2010 by a random drawing conducted by the sponsor from all eligible participants who provided the requested information. Prize winners will be notified by email no later than November 5, 2010. Prized winners will be required to respond (as directed) to the notification within 48 hours of attempted notification. The failure to respond timely to the notification may result in forfeiture of the prize. Odds of winning depend on the total number of participants. Winners must provide their legal name and physical address within the United States for delivery of prize by Fed Ex (P.O. Box addresses will not be accepted).  

China Glaze Tis the Season online!

I was pretty surprised to see that the 'Tis The Season to be naughty and nice collection is already online at Head2Toe Beauty and at TransDesign.  Don't forget Head2Toe Beauty has their monthly 5% savings by using the coupon code OCT05 during checkout.


Because I'm absolutely obsessed, I'll be buying all the gift sets that have actual presents... Cheers To You (shot glass), Celebrate in Style (holiday necklace), Merry Mint (holiday peppermint cuticle oil) - coming soon to Head2Toe Beauty, Oh, Ruby Deer ("Ruby" the reindeer), Party Hearty (Party Hearty glitter top coat) and Rejoice! (holiday candle).  The other 2 sets - Peppermint Kisses with Holiday Wishes (candy cane holder) and Dreamin' of a Green Christmas (no gift) don't really interest me.  Now to hope they don't sell out before I get some money in!

China Glaze Bad Kitty

Here's a pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month!  Actually, it's kind of a "fail pink."  China Glaze came out with 50 different "Cremes and Glitters" also called the "Specialty Collection" that came out in 2009.  Now, I had heard some rumors that the glitters were supposed to all be minis going to the Japanese market only, but frankly I've never seen any truth to that.  Much to my wallet's dismay, I purchased every single one of them, and yet I still haven't swatched them all.  There are a ton of good ones though, although many of the glitters are best layered over a creme in my opinion.


Bad Kitty is a pink that settles between Barbie and bubble gum.  It has a multicolored fine glitter that runs through it, but it's not as easily seen unless the light hits it just right.  I used a base of Seche Natural, 3 coats of Bad Kitty which still left a VNL (visible nail line) and a top of Seche Vite.  Because this is a true glitter, it was hard to remove and required extra time, patience and a bit of scrubbing.

In the sun you can really see the VNL showing.  The base is a very watery pink which is why I think this would be best layered.  China Glaze has MANY pinks that would be appropriate - some from the Specialty collection itself.

In the shade you can see all the glitter that I talked about.  It almost gives the polish a foiled look because there is so much glitter packed into the base.  Overall a very cute color to wear but not necessarily a fall color.  


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].