man glaze

when i first heard of a polish called "man glaze", i literally giggled. after i got over my immaturity, for that moment anyway, i took a look at their polish selection. many rock stars and guys do partake in their products, but women definitely love to sport their awesome varnishes. the first color i have to show you is matte is murder, an awesome matte black with multicolored speckley sparkles embedded in the polish. it dried quick like all mattes, reminding me of asphalt or blacktop on a playground basketball court, and you can see the beautiful sparkley goodness in the wet polish. i had some trouble applying it, but i usually do with mattes. i liken this formula to the opi suedes and maybe just a tad thicker. this is two coats.

matte is murder is the second black in their collection, their first black like this one was called the death tar and was discontinued some time last year. i'm told this one has a better formula and is a more true black.

i did not want to put topcoat on the black--although i definitely will the next time i wear it because swatches i've seen are beautiful, because i wanted to put on all three polishes i got from marc at man glaze at once! the bottles were just too much for me, i couldn't resist using them all immediately.

hot mess is a glittery blingy "matte" top coat. it really is matte, although pictures with a flash make it look just sparkely and shiney anyway. i think it's a really cool way to make any color look different and kind of tarnished and antiquey. it reminds me, again, of the opi suede look sort of. plus i just love the name, i say "hot mess" all the time haha. this is two coats of hot mess, but i probably could've just used one.

the last polish i was sent from man glaze was their new matte topcoat, which of course can be used with any polish, called matte-astrophe.  i was hoping to achieve a more flat look with the black and bling i had going on and with this top coat that is exactly what i got. the colors just melded together perfectly and looked like one sheet. really cool effect. this is one coat.

overall i really liked these products. i ADORE the bottle shape and the artwork on the labels, it makes them look very fun and i was super excited to try them. the lids are not my favorite as they seem like you have to keep twisting and twisting them to get them to close all the way, then they're on waaay tight so it's not super convenient to keep opening and closing them when you have wet fingernails (i close my bottles in between coats to keep polish from evaporating).

i used matte-astrophe with china glaze stella in my previous post (actually after i wore this manicure, i go all out of order haha) and wanted to let you know what i thought about it. i do like the effect it had, but i do prefer my essie matte about you or china glaze matte magic top coats instead. i noticed that around the edges of my polish, the sides would feel like they were lifting and would get caught on stuff. this caused a few bits to rip off and would snag on my hair and stuff. i've had this happen with polish i've mattified before, but only when it's been on a chipped nail already--my nails were totally "perfect" when i put this on them. also, the matte-astrophe tended to leave little streaks of shiny parts where the strokes of the brush overlapped, like where i had painted. i thought it was just a spot i had missed with the product, but i went over it again and then it left a shiny streak in another place. i had to go over my nails a few times to get all the streaks off. so yeah, that was annoying.

anyway, phew, my stress load for the semester is over haha. even tho my midterms haven't even started, i'm not stressed anymore because all my presentations are over with. i'm sooo not a public speaker. i hope everyone is doing well and staying warm :) luv ya!

*the products in this post were provided to me by the company. this does not affect my opinions in any way. please see disclosure note for more information.*

china glaze stella

here is china glaze's beautiful stella from the retro diva collection 2009. she is a gorgeous glowey dark purpley shade. its a sort of metallic violet-magenta. very shimmery and alluring. i've had this in my pile of "untrieds" for a while (from my package from reader amy, thanks again girl!) and i cannot believe that i haven't worn this yet! i have to admit, it looked like any other purple shimmer in the bottle, but once i had it on, i was just mesmerized by it's depth and dimension. it is totally one of my favorites now, it has that amazing ember-glow-from-within feel that i adore. very easy to apply too. this is 2 coats. i had at least three girls in my college classes compliment me on my polish--i've never even talked them before!

and if it's possible, i love it even more when i matte-ified it. i used man glaze's matte-astrophe matte topcoat (which i was sent and will review in another blog post). the matte texture makes stella look like VELVET! awesome. loved it.

i think this is just about the perfect length for my nails. i've had them a lot longer (obviously if you read my blog you've seen) and super short. but this length is very comfortable, for painting and for my lifestyle. i think long nails on me look weird, although i love them on others. what is your perfect length? and shape? i've finally decided that mostly square with slightly rounded edges is the way to go for me, just the way my hands are shaped, it's the most flattering i think. plus it cuts down on snags and broken corners.

i have a big presentation in one of my psych classes this week, so wish me luck! hope you're all having a terrrrific week so far sunshines :D

diamond cosmetics spring 2010

diamond cosmetics sent me their latest collection for review. so i thought i'd post the bottle pictures for you to peruse and i'll have the swatches and my review up very soon :) plus the others that i've been slacking on (i.e. orly sweet, orly bloom, man glaze, the rest of china glaze up & away, and opi hong kong). enjoy!

they also threw in their new super base coat and super dry top coat.

can't wait to try these guys!

my sister and nephew were in town last weekend which was so fun! i always have the best time with them. and my brother is in town this weekend to visit some of his friends from high school and to go snowboarding in the snowy sweet peaks of utah. i've been pretty stressed from school and work so i'm excited to relax and spend some time with him. also, my friend is having his 30th birthday as an 80's theme party this saturday so that will be a super blasty blast, haha. if i'm brave enough, i'll post some pics :) have a great weekend!

china glaze poolside

china glaze has a new collection coming up for summer of 2010 called Poolside. it's full of bright neons that will look amazing whether you dare to wear them on your fingernails (which i no doubt will) or grace your toes with them come flip flop season.

the 6 colors will include:

• Pool Party: Neon Pink
• Flip Flop Fantasy: Neon Coral
• Sun Worshipper: Neon Orange
• Yellow Polka Dot Bikini: Neon Yellow
• Kiwi Cool-Ada: Neon Green
• Towel Boy Toy: Neon Blue

i for one can't wait to see some super brights! i'm a little worn from all the pastels we've been seeing, even though i love them. i enjoyed the super pigmented colors from the Up & Away ChG collex so much that i can't wait to see this new set of polishes. this collection is set to launch at the beginning of april 2010.

anti-valentine's day mani

here's my anti-valentine's day manicure. i was not in the spirit this year. or any year really. even when i am in the "lovey dovey" mood or whatev haha i still don't really relish the valentine's holiday. i think it's a silly reason to celebrate and spend money and it usually ends in disappointment. and i have to watch other people get gifts and hear about "amazing" valentine's day dates the next day and it's just lame to me. so yeah. not to be bitter haha! i swear i'm not a grumpy person normally :)

this is three coats of a George (based in the UK) polish, raincloud, that Charlotte from LipGlossiping sent me from a contest I won in December. super cute, really sheer on the first coat but built very nicely. an art deco sparkly red for the heart and china glaze ink nail art lacquer from the ink collection they did in summer 2008. it may seem like i just slopped on the words, but i actually wanted it to look deconstructed and non-perfect. kind of like graffiti. anyway, hope you had a nice weekend and that a real holiday like President's Day (for of all those in the states) is going well for you!

essie showstopper and seche prize

i got this polish in a discount bin at TJ Maxx. that's kind of an oxymoron, because everything that comes from TJ Maxx is discount...anyway around christmas time they had huge baskets of essie polishes for $3.99. most of them were lame pale versions of white and pink sheers but there were a few choice guys buried in there. this is one of them, essie showstopper. deep berry with a gold shimmer highlight (3 coats). i like this one more in the bottle than on my fingers to be honest. and really, the pictures came out really good. like way better than i was expecting because i don't really like this polish all that much IRL. i loved it more when i made it matte w/ essie's matte about you topcoat. maybe this would look better on someone with a different skintone. does anyone have this polish and love it? oh well, this will make a good addition to my swap pile :)

lamp light

matte-ified

matte-ified under lamp light

i also wanted to post a picture of the haul i got from the people over at Seche Inc. (American International Industries). i won a contest with them on Facebook back in November and i received pretty much their entire collection as a prize. it's been pretty much the best thing ever! the nail treatments (rebuild, recondition, natural, plus) have made my nails bullet proof (honestly i haven't broken a nail since i've started using them *knock on wood*), seche restore has made my seche vite last tons longer than ever before, and i'm loving all of the other products i probably would've never gotten to try had i not won them. they also threw in some salon perfect lashes and brow powder from a sister company. uber exciting huh!

have a great day!

opi hey! get in lime

when chanel came out with their light green color jade last fall, people everywhere flocked to get their hands on it. so of course, polish lovers set out to find dupes in collections they had easier access to (and of course cheaper alternatives). i found mine in opi's hey! get in lime. it's a gorgeous sheerish creme mint green. there is a hint of shimmer in it as well, but it's hardly detectable. this swatch is 4 coats, this polish is super pretty but streaky and thiiiiiin.

also very close to this is mac's peppermint patti, claire's dreamcatcher and charlotte russe's jade color polish. megan chair has a post of basically all the mint green polishes that have come out, like EVER in this amazing post HERE. go check her out, she's fantastic. 

lamp light

sunlight

hope your monday is going awesome beautys!

opi my private jet

here a few sun pictures of one of the polishes i got for christmas, opi's my private jet. a classic dark charcoal holo, of which there are several different versions. i don't really know which version this is, but i like it :) this is 3 coats.

have fun today! i'm up in my room hiding from all the super bowl festivities going on at my house. hope everything is going well for you dolls :)

rbl recycle & starfish patrick

rescue beauty lounge recycle is one polish i've been lemming for A LONG TIME. of course, we all know why. for those of you who don't, i'll let you in on the secret. ZULU. nars zulu, that is. the famed discontinued dark green jelly polish that most of us will never see in real life. but recycle can make a small part of that dream come true. and i finally got it! lovely dark and super easy to apply, jelly-like but creme like too. this is 2 coats. excuse the tipwear, these pictures were taken on day three i believe. it looks pretty dark indoors, but is a definite green. much more so in sunlight.

afternoon sun

rescue beauty put out some "spongebob squarepants" themed polishes and i think they are all hilarious and adorable. i got starfish patrick, named for spongebob's cute albiet clueless sidekick. it is a sheerish jellylike cantalopey orangey pinky color that i adore! in the flash pictures it looks rather pinky but it leans more orange IMO. this one is pretty sheer, so you have to build it up if you don't like visible nail line. this is 4 coats i think and i still had a little VNL, but i don't mind it.

lamp light (makes it look much lighter)

hope everyone is having a great groundhog's day! i know i am :) off to have sushi for lunch soon!