Cult Nails - Toxic Seaweed

Hi friends! Just popping in with a 'nail of the day' :) Cult Nails put out a limited edition glitter bomb a while ago called Toxic Seaweed. It's friggen a-mah-zing! It's a sea green jelly with absolutely tons of glitter, silver almost-microglitter and orangey gold flakes. Really complex and unique. This is three coats, with adequate dry time between coats. Next time I will layer it over a deep green to make it more opaque.

You can get this, for now, at www.cultnails.com for $10. Be quick, like I said, it's limited edition so when it sells out it's gone. I also can't wait to try this matte, which I'm sure will be sooo sexy. I would've done it today, but I'm house-sitting and forgot some of my nail stuff. Have a great Saturday everyone!

OPI NYC Ballet Soft Shades Collection

OPI's Soft Shades collection this year was inspired by the New York City Ballet. The collection features five sheer shades lightly tinged in hues of beige, pink, white, lilac and gray, as well as a silver sparkly topper. I was expecting these to be creams from the promo images but I was pleasantly surprised to find them to have a jelly finish.

First is Barre My Soul, a soft beige peachy shade. It's a nice flesh tone that still retains it's jelly-translucency. This one seems to be the least opaque but I like the effect. This is three coats.

Next is Care to Danse?, which I always say with a fancy-pants accent in my head. It's a lilac tinted sheer that pulls more milky pink on the nail. This is three coats.

Here is You Callin' Me a Lyre? I was confused when I heard the name of this one, not knowing what a lyre has to do with ballet off the top of my head. I found out it is a symbol representing NYCB. This is a sheer baby pink, very femme and bridal. This is three coats.

My Pointe Exactly is a baby grey jelly, which is really unique and beautiful. I don't think I have another polish quite like this one. Three coats here as well.

Don't Touch My Tutu! is a sheer bright white jelly. I really like this color, it's very flattering. There are plenty of white sheers out there, but this one seems to have more pigment and a better formula than most. This is also three coats.

And the pièce de résistance of the collection, glitter topcoat Pirouette My Whistle. Terrible name haha, but absolutely beautiful glitter. It is similar to Nubar's White Polka Dot, the big hex glitter pieces are satin finish light grey/opal/white and it has tons of silver microglitter that makes this extra twinkly. Here is two coats by itself.

I also layered one coat of Pirouette My Whistle over Don't Touch My Tutu!. I love how ethereal and dainty this looks!

I am super impressed with the formula on these, they are all fantastic. You could get away with one coat even if you like, the streaks issue is almost non-existent. These should be out officially in April. Let me know what you think about these pretties!

Products provided for review.

Nail-Venturous Floam

This polish has become truly infamous in the polish community. Amy from I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous created this unique polish and called it Floam, because it looks like the squishy moldable toy from the 90's called Floam! This glitter is unique because it's not shiny/metallic, it's neon! Very stand-out and unique. It's got both turquoise blue and acid green glitter pieces, speckly dinosaur egg-esque :) This is three coats and top coat.

It's sold out right now, but normally you can pick this up on Ninja Polish for $9 for a full-size bottle. You can sign up for email alerts to be notified when it comes back in stock. Do you like this or is it too weird for ya?

BB Couture Classic Hollywood Divas

Hi everyone! Hope everything is going well for you this fine week :) I have a new collection from BB Couture to show you called Classic Hollywood Divas. It has 8 polishes named after hawt ladies from the silver screen of yesteryear. All of these contain holographic bar glitter! I've said it before and I'll say it again, BB Couture always keeps it fresh and funky. They always put forth the most unique colors of any other company out there!

Audrey is a creamy yellow with round silver glitter and holographic bar glitter. This is two coats. I've never seen another polish like this and I like it! Audrey of course refers to Audrey Hepburn, one of my idols, her photo is all over my room and "Breakfast At Tiffany's" is my favorite movie!

Marilyn is a shimmery bright medium pink with silver round glitter and holographic bar glitter. Very fun and frisky! This is two coats. Marilyn Monroe is absolutely another one of my all time favorite Hollywood icons. I don't care if it's cliche to like her, I adore this blonde bombshell!

This is Vivian, a sheerish blue-black jelly with tons of glitter. This girl has more glitter than the others, and tt's good because the base color isn't as pigmented as some of the other polishes in this collection. This swatch is three thin coats. Vivien Leigh played Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind", the epitome of a classic film!

Next is Claudette, a shimmery medium ocean blue with the same dose of silver and string glitter as the others. This is three thin coats. Her namesake, Claudette Colbert is someone I'm not familiar with but I did read that she was the highest paid actress in the 1930s.

Here is Lucille, a creamy bubblegum pink with round silver glitter and holographic bar glitter. This one is three coats. Lucille Ball was one of the most popular stars in the US during her lifetime, a comedic staple in the lives of Americans.

Raquel is a reddish brown jelly packed with glitter, more on the sheer side than the creamier colors. This is three coats. This color is named after Raquel Welch, the only living namesake of the bunch. You might remember her from her famous animal-skin bikini from "One Million Years B.C.", or from her fierce wig collection.

This is Bette, a medium slightly shimmery green with lots of glitter. This is two coats. Bette was also a film star, from movies such as "All About Eve" and "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?". When I hear her name though, I first think about the 80's song "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, haha.

And last of the Hollywood Divas is Elizabeth. This is a purple-toned red jelly with mega-tons of glitter. This is three thin coats. Of course this is named for Elizabeth Taylor, who died just barely over a year ago. "National Velvet" made her a star when she was just 12, she shined as "Cleopatra", and wowed us with her constant beauty.

You can purchase these for $9.95 from www.bbnailpolish.com or from www.overallbeauty.com. Oh and in case anyone is wondering, Cindy from BB Couture has let me know that they will have the original blue caps back in stock in about two months. What do you think of these gals? Any favorites?

Products provided for review.

Nubar Polka Dots

Just a quick post today folks :) I reviewed the white polish from Nubar's Polka Dot duo in this post, but here are both of them together. White Polka Dot has satin opal hex glitters and iridescent tiny glitter. The Black Polka Dot has black hex glitters and tiny black glitter.

I layered the White Polka Dot over Wet n' Wild Black Creme and I layered the Black Polka Dot over Wet n' Wild French White Creme. You can get the polka dot lacquers in a set from www.bynubar.com for $20.

Products provided for review.

Orange Pacific vs. Riveting

Hey folks! I'm so in love with The Hunger Games movie, it's not even funny. I showed you some of the polishes from China Glaze's Hunger Games collection yesterday and today I wanted to make a comparison for one of them. Riveting from the HG set is an intense orange with gold shimmer and it reminded me of one of China Glaze's older lacquers, Orange-Pacific.

Left: Orange-Pacific, Right: Riveting

Orange-Pacific is on my index and ring fingers, Riveting is on my middle and pinky nails. OP is more red toned and Riveting has much more gold. Also, OP took three coats to make opaque and Riveting only took two, plus R has a much better formula. If I'm not mistaken, I think OP is the older formula (it came out in the Surf Collection of 2007) which isn't Big-3 Free, that could account for the formula difference.

Hope this helped anyone out there wondering how these stacked up against one another! Oh, and on another "orange" note, I just got a new kitty! He's a long-haired domestic with orange and white fur. I named him Sawyer :D

Some of the products mentioned were provided for review.

China Glaze - The Hunger Games: Some Capitol Colours

Hola amigos! I am beYOND stoked for the new movie based on the book, The Hunger Games! I get to see it tonight at the midnight premier and I can't wait! I really enjoyed the book, when it first came out and I heard about it, I could not put it down! It's very engrossing and unique. Of course, I'm hoping the movie will be spectacular. China Glaze got on the bandwagon by putting out a collection of Hunger Games inspired nail polishes! Uhh two of my favorite things combined?! How badass is that!

Apparently, the polishes were originally (tentatively?) named with labels inspired by certain characters and situations in the story, there was some changes made to the final product. The names are inspired by the 12 "Districts" of Panem, lining up to each of their exports/labor specialties. I personally like the previous names better, but I do like the idea of a polish representing each District.

First I have the polish that I most anticipated from the promo images, this is Smoke & Ashes. It represents District 12 for Mining. The base color is silky black and the glitter is aqua and green duochromey. It doesn't show a huge duochrome at first glance, but it's still gorgeous. This is two coats. I feel like this color is really hawt! It dries really shiny too.

Here is a lightbox photo of the bottle so you can see the different colors in the glitter. Très belle no?

Next is Dress Me Up. This is one I really prefer the "original" name, Primrose, for the main character's younger sister. The current name represents District 8 for Textiles. So I secretly think that name in my head when I see this one, haha. It is a beigey-nude muted rose pink. I think this is a really pretty color, but I have to admit I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. Two coats.

Next is Harvest Moon, a color I wouldn't have picked out the bunch really. It represents District 9 for Grains. It turns out to be pretty beautiful in real life. It is burnished copper filled with foil-like golden glitter. This is two coats.

And last is Riveting! Can I just say, WHOA! This is a ridculously beautiful bright glowing orange with gold almost glass fleck glitter. It reminded me of China Glaze's Orange Pacific at first, but it's less red, more true orange. I am borderline obsessed with golden glitter and this has it in spades. It was really nicely opaque too, this is two coats. Oh yeah, this represents District 3 for Technology.

I hope to get Electrify and Fast Track from the collection as well, those look ravishing on the swatches I've seen. Well, everyone Happy Hunger Games and May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor! I can't WAIT to watch it!

Some of the products mentioned were provided for review.

Icing Magnetix - Green

What's up ninjas? Today I would like to show you my newest favorite magnetic polish. It's from Icing and it doesn't really have a name I don't think, but the color is fabulous! It's mossy metallic goldish green with glittahhh. In case you don't know, magnetic polishes are a newfangled special effects type of nail polish that has metallic particles in it, so when a magnet is held over the nail the iron powder pulls forward toward the surface forming a pattern. Most of the polishes have the special magnet with the design hidden inside on the cap, with a little lip to rest your finger on so your nail gets super close but doesn't touch the magnet itself.

See the little edges? Very convenient.

This cap has a diagonal line design, but there are others like a star design and chevrons, etc. This is two coats of polish, on the second coats I applied the magnet right away after I polished each nail. The magnet on this was super strong, I could actually see the particles forming the design as it happened! I've used way worse magnets and it can be frustrating to work with them.

I love the gittahhh :D You can buy these Magnetix polishes from Icing stores (in most shopping malls) for $9, and they always have a "Buy One, Get One 50% Off" sale on cosmetics.

Nubar White Polka Dot

Is it really "spring"? Because it's been a freaking winter wonderland for the last few days. I swear we have over 2 ft. snow on my lawn. No bueno. Mostly for picture taking. It's no secret that I am hard on myself and I really hate putting up photos that are not up to my perfectionist standards (yeah like they're perfect, gag) and honestly I tend to hate every photo I take that isn't in direct sunlight. I just don't like how they look in comparison. However I've been really trying to get my lightbox and light set up to work to get some good photos so I can continue swatching with the absence of sun. Not to ramble, just thought I'd let you in on my thought process, and give you a glimpse into how crazy I am. In summation, I hope you don't hate these photos cuz I have obsessed over getting them to look good haha!

Today I wanted to show you this polish, which I've been lusting over for a LONG time. Nubar White Polka Dot is a clear polish with opal/white satiny hexagon pieces and tiny silver and blue iridescent glitter. At first glance you don't see the blue tint to the small glitters but once it's on the nail it sparks to life. I personally love the idea of satin finish glitter, meaning it's non-shiny.

I did a gradient with the glitter over one of the new Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes (which is not out quite yet) called IKB:2012, a vibrant blue jelly. I know OPI has a similar glitter topcoat coming out in their SoftShades collection, but the small glitter is different I believe.

You can get this Nubar polish in a two-pack with it's black counterpart (to be reviewed soon) for $20 on http://www.bynubar.com/, or you can get The Painted Nail's version of this polish called Moon Drops for $12.50 on http://shop.thepaintednail.com/.

Products provided for review.

Misa Precious Moments Collection

Helloooo guys and dolls! Today I'd like to show you Misa's latest offering for Spring, the Precious Moments collection. It's five pastels and a bright jelly, that equals Spring-forward in my book! The formulas on all these were a tad thick but very manageable. Save the jelly, they were all two coats.

First up is Someone Like You, a pinky beige cream. It's a delicate and subtly sexy polish. You know I love my nudes honey! It's also the same name as the Adele single that's been so popular lately, which is now stuck in my head haha.

Next is Deep Breath, a pale cream grey with very slight blue undertones. This is actually really pretty, albeit a bit plain jane.

This is Pinky Promise, a pale pink cream with a delicate purple tone. I'm not super impressed with this one. Purple toned pinks are one of my least favorite types of colors. Still, it is nicely feminine.

Little Hands is a mod mint green cream. Very opaque and bright. I have a bajillion mint polishes and this is probably not one of my top five, but I still like it. The name creeps me out. It makes me thing of doll hands, and dolls make my skin crawl a little haha.

And here is Sweet Thing, a pale lavender cream. Very sweet and very soft. Again, I have a lot of polishes like this but this one might be in my top five pale purples, because the formula is pretty on point.

Last is Bed of Roses, a bright posy pink squishy jelly. Now you know I la la love my pinks and my jellies so this is automatically one of my favorites. This is three coats and there is still visible nail line, but this type of color doesn't need to be opaque to make an impact.

I'm not the biggest fan of pastels, but honestly for Spring it's pretty much to be expected haha! I like a few of these more than I predicted, but overall it's not a ground-breaking group of shades. You can find these from MisaCosmetics.com for $7.50 each. What do you think of these y'all?

Products provided for review.

BB Couture Girls On Tape Collection

Hi folks! Hope your week is off to a great start :) I have some new BB Couture polishes to show you today, yay! The Girls on Tape collection for Spring 2012 is made up of six glittery shades all named after movies. I'm a total film buff so I love the idea of course!

First is Happy Hooker, a light bright purpley toned pink with lots of silver glitter and sparse red and dark blue glitter. I thought this one would be super sheer, but it build up really well in two coats! The Happy Hooker is a comedy movie about a "true call girl", haha I've never seen it but it sounds interesting.

Next up is Carrie, one of my favorite films. This is a navy blue foil with silver glittery shimmer. It was opaque in one coat but I did two here. I am huge into Stephen King novels and Carrie is so classic, the film adaptation is really great. Horror films ftw!

Here is African Queen, a green yay! At first glance it reminded me of another BB, Frontier Woman, but that one is definitely darker. This is a happy spring green with nice silver shimmer, two coats. I've never seen The African Queen, a 50's film staring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. I'll have to add it to my Netflix queue :)

Gidget is a medium brownish-red pink with silver and red glitter and sparse dark blue glitter pieces. I love this color and I love the surfing movie it's named for! It's more subtle than the other shades in this series but still nicely glittery. This is two coats.

Now on to Black Widow, a really special polish and another movie I haven't seen haha. It's a super dark plum purple with red and silver glitter. I can't think of another polish like this! Very cool and vampy. This is three thin coats.

And last is Pretty Woman, a guilty pleasure movie starring Julia Roberts. This is a medium berry pink with the same silver, red, and dark blue glitter as the other polishes. It dries semi-matte but I used a topcoat to make it shiny. This is two coats.

You can purchase these from the BB Couture website at www.bbnailpolish.com for $8.95 each or at www.overallbeauty.com for $9.95.

Products provided for review.