Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Spring 2011

Here are three polishes from the Tracey Reese collection for Sally Hansen that came out in the Complete Salon Manicure polish line this Spring. The collection was heavily pastel but there were a few brighter shades thrown in.

First is my favorite, Casting Call. It's a melon coral crème that was opaque in one coat. I used two because I normally do and it makes the color look nicer on most polishes. The formula was superb. Flowed nicely and wasn't thick or thin, but in that nice polish sweet spot.

Next is Eel Skin, a very gorgeous cool toned grey crème. I really adore this polish and wore it as a pedicure color for a while. I was surprised to see this in a Spring collection, but I don't care I love it! This is two coats.

And last to show you today is Barracuda, a pastel baby blue crème with that mod day-glo look, almost as if you painted a coat over white. This one was slightly thicker than the others, but still relatively easy to work with. This is three coats.

I'm impressed with these Salon Complete polishes, they have great formulas and pigmentation. I don't think I'll ever love the bottle design or the brush totally, it's just too much. The brush stem is way too wide for the opening of the bottle. Otherwise, I give these polishes a thumbs up.

Products provided for review.

Misa Wishes Collection

Misa came out with the Wishes collection this Spring, a seemingly typical pastel set of polishes. However, these have a special satin finish that mimics frosted glass. Very ethereal, they almost look matte but it's easily discernible that they're shiny. Très interesting. I blogged about a few of them previously but recently got the entire collection so I figured I'd review them as a whole.

Touch the Rainbow is the palest sky blue with white iridescent shimmer glaze. This is one of my favorites in the collection, super angelic. Two coats.

Whimsical Wish is a pale peach with pink iridescent shimmer glaze. I wasn't sure if I'd love this one but I ended up really liking how clean and fresh it makes my skin look. This is two coats.

Never Say Never has a bit more shimmer and almost a metallic grain look to the finish. It's a frosted glass granite grey color that is very striking while keeping in tone with the other demure colors. This is two coats.

Genie In this Bottle is a soft pinky lavender polish with a slight grey undertone and tiny flakes of red, but they're very subtle, almost undetectable. I love the pink shimmer in this one, super gorgeous. This is also two coats.

Fountain of Youth is a pale celadon green with silver shimmer. I love how spring worthy these colors are! They look like they could be colors of bridesmaid dresses *giggle* and I love it! Two coats here as well.

Last is Pixie Princess, a darker peach than Whimsical Wish with a more subtle pink shimmer. This is very pretty and even though I don't think it looks the best on me, it will definitely flatter some lighter and darker skin tones out there. Two coats here. I love the thickness of these polishes, just enough to get perfectly opaque in two coats.

What do you think of this collection? I think it's lovely to see such a different style of finish once in a while.

Products provided for review.

Color Club Alter Ego Collection: Keep it Undercover

I wasn't sure if I was going to like the Keep it Undercover half of the Color Club Alter Ego collection at all. It is full of shimmer/foil dark jewel tones that lend themselves to cool skin tones--which I do not have. I didn't think I'd like the textures or anything. However, when set upon a swatch fest with the bunch, I found that I actually liked this troupe very much, a lot more than first anticipated that is for sure!

Masquerading is a silvery steel blue/black color with a tinge of green. It's a very interesting color that is crazy hard to pinpoint. This is ALMOST a frost and ALMOST a pearl but it's totally not frosty which makes this polish a freaking enigma. That should've been it's name. This is two coats of mystery.

Total Mystery has a cobalt blue inky watery base with pink and blue microglitter. This ended up being one of my favorites out of the collection but it scared me in the bottle, it looks like one that would stain and run everywhere. However it didn't, it was super easy to control and opaque so I liked it. This is two coats.

Alter Ego reminds me of Sally Hansen Purple Gala, only less opaque. I should've done three coats on this but oh well, this is two. It's a greyed out purple foil with gold shimmer sparkles, although the glare looks distinctly silver...another odd but beautiful one.

Ulterior Motive is the same kind of texture as Total Mystery, watery almost jelly base with lots of microglitter, so much that you almost get a foil. This is a deep berry fuchsia pink with pink and blue glitz. This is three coats, although it was surprisingly opaque. I usually really don't like fuchsias, but I enjoyed this one.

Secret Agent has the same finish as Masquerading, frost-like but not a frost. Very close though, but packed with shimmer. This is a bright blurple and sadly the only one in the collection that I couldn't bring myself to like that much, only because me and blue tinged purples do not get along too well. This is two coats.

Alias is my favorite in the collection, similar to Orly's Out of this World but more charcoal based and thinner in consistency, not as foiled. I love the silver sparkles that catch the light in this dark violet shade, very elegant and mysterious. Two coats.

Stay tuned to see the second half of this collection, coming soon :)

Products provided for review.

Nubar Spring Garden Collection

Nubar's Spring Garden collection is full of gorgeous soft tones named for beautiful flowers. I can honestly say that I loved every single one of these lovely polishes. Pastels are notoriously hard to control and streaky, but these were not! They covered remarkably well in two coats (expect one) and were easy to paint with. I am ridiculously happy with this collection, it has beyond exceeded my expectations!

White Peony is the most perfect ivory creme. This is the only one I used three coats on. I painted on a coat of Dewdrop, the collection's multi-colored (in soft tones) glitter topcoat, for this and all the other polishes. I liked how it brought out a different tone on each polish.

Pink Lily is a pale but vibrant pink crème. These colors usually look really mod to me, but this one still appears very feminine and delicate.

Baby Sprout is an adorable soft pastel green with a slight sheen, almost a pearl quality. Just darling!

Blue Hydrangea is a sweet pastel blue with that pearl-like quality that Baby Sprout has. I find this so charming!

Earthen is a taupey grey crème with that nice glint of pearl. I was excited to see this one on, and it was different than I expected from the promo images. Very surprising and pretty!

Yellow Primrose is a dainty pale yellow crème. It reminded me strongly of Illamasqua Load, but this is definitely more creamy while that one has more of a jelly texture.

Purple Aster is a dusty pastel purple pearl. This is strongly reminiscent of Zoya's Marley but she was more of a cool lilac while PA has a warmer tone.

Honeysuckle is the token color of the year, the Pantone color of the year to be exact  haha. This cheerful bright crème is really striking and beautiful. It was definitely hard to choose, but this has to be my favorite out of the collection. I'm a sucker for bright pinky crèmes like this.

This collection is now on sale (until Friday 3/18/11) for $39.95 on nubar.com :)

These were provided for review.

Upcoming Essie Polish

Hey girls! I haven't heard a lot about Essie's upcoming collections this year, well certainly much less than I have heard from most other brands lately *cough* China Glaze *cough*. But Teen Vouge editor Eva Chen has given us a few sneak peeks via her Tumblr blog. She's posted pictures of the Resort collection that comes out around May and the Summer collection that is due out around June.

Clockwise from top: Your Hut or Mine, Lion Around, Fair Game, Da Bush

left to right: Brazilliant, Too Too Hot, Super Bossa Nova, Absolutely Shore, Meet me at Sunset, Smooth Sailing

I have just received (today!) two of the Resort collection colors, Da Bush and Fair Game to review so you'll be seeing those soon. (Although, my Fair Game looks significantly different than the one pictured above...) I have always liked Essie polish and I am no more or less a fan since they have been acquired by L'oreal. I just like 'em!

xoxo,
kelliegonzo

*Image credit: Eva Chen

Nicole Something About Spring collection Sneak Peek

Nicole by OPI Introduces Something About Spring, Exclusively for Target

Nicole by OPI welcomes warmer weather with twelve new vibrant shades from the Something About Spring Collection, available exclusively at Target. From bold purples to fierce yellow metallics and iridescent shimmers, Something About Spring has a hue to accentuate every style.

“We are thrilled to exclusively provide Target with some of Nicole by OPI’s hottest shades for 2011,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Nicole by OPI Executive VP and Artistic Director. “Target is filled with affordable, chic wardrobe staples and Something About Spring includes a variety of colorful, fun lacquers to accessorize every fashion-savvy consumer.”

With playful names reminiscent of blossoming flowers, picnics in the park and seaside vacations, Something About Spring adds a fresh touch to every sunny spring adventure.

Nicole by OPI’s Something About Spring Collection includes:

Brilliant Idea

Glittery lime never looked so good…genius!

Daffy Dill

We picked this lime-green shade just for you.

Dandy Lion

An un-caged and totally fierce metallic yellow.

I’m a Pool for Love

Jump right into this deep, dark grape.

Iceberg Lotus

Refreshing bright green, packed with shine.

Make a Comet-ment

A once-in-a-lifetime, sliver-glitter sighting!

Nicole’s Nickel

Bling out your nails with this deep silver glitter!

Pink. Seriously

This classic hot pink means business.

Pink-nic in the Park

A sunset-worthy shade of pink

Sea How Far You Go

A limit-pushing gold.

Shell Me the Truth

A glowing peach, fresh off the shore.

You’re S-teal the One

U gotta stay true to this amazing green-blue.

Nicole by OPI Nail Lacquers and Nail Treatments contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. The new Something About Spring Nail Lacquers will be available March 2011 for $7.04 each at select Target locations nationwide and Target.com.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

xoxo,
kelliegonzo