Sunday, March 31, 2013

Nail of the Day: Dior Red Queen Satin # 842

♥

Happy Easter Sunday!

Just a quick post to show you my NOTD: Dior Red Queen Satin #842 - from the sweet Kim over at The Ides of Polish.

This one went on like a dream - PERFECT formula. Two coats for full opacity and no top coat for the photos. The brush isn't the really old one, it's the semi-wide, flat one from right before they changed to the current wide, beveled, flat one. It's my favorite brush they've had. I like the newest one, but not quite as well.

Dior Red Queen Satin #842

OH! And I've already been asked how close it is to Dior Mervielle. It's not.

Here's a quick snapshot - Mervielle on the thumb - no top coat.

Dior Mervielle (thumb) vs Dior Red Queen Satin (fingers)

It's SO sparkly in person - no glitter just a glowing shimmer or glass fleck. It's got that "lit from within" look for sure.

This is discontinued, but it's still available on eBay and Amazon for around $20 or so.

♥

If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to "like" it! Thanks!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Nail Junkie Spring Pastel Line 2013

♥

Good evening! Tonight I have The Nail Junkie's new Spring Pastel Line to show you! This line consists of three new matte pastels to go with Daffodil, Rose and Violet - the ones she released last spring! And just a hint - at the end, there's a link for a giveaway of these polishes!

This time we have Bluebonnet, Gardenia and Green Goddess.

The Nail Junkie Spring Pastel Line 2013

The formula and application on all three of these was great and I had no issues. I used two coats for full opacity and no top coat so the matte finish could shine, so to speak. The only thing I'd like to mention is that if you have any ridges or tears in your nails, buff them before applying polish. Any imperfections you see in the photos aren't the polish but imperfections in my nails that I didn't buff out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

BLUEBONNET - A pastel blue shimmer polish that dries to a powdery finish

The Nail Junkie Bluebonnet

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GARDENIA - A pastel pure white shimmer polish that dries to a powdery finish - this one is a "silver white"

The Nail Junkie Gardenia

The Nail Junkie Gardenia - natural lighting

The Nail Junkie Gardenia

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GREEN GODDESS - A pastel green shimmer polish that dries to a powdery finish

The Nail Junkie Green Goddess

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And just for kicks and grins, I did a little Easter Skittles mani using these three new ones and Daffodil and Rose from the previous Spring collection.

Easter Skittles Mani

----------------------------------------------------------------------

These 3 new polishes, as well as past lines, are available NOW at her Etsy store. She is no longer taking sales through her personal website. Be sure and follow her on Facebook to stay up-to-date on restocks and see swatches and other information. Her polishes are all full size and are $10 each.

*FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING AND LOW FLAT RATE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING!!!!

All orders receive a free gift! Purchases of 2 or more bottles of polish will receive a jar of all natural, hypo-allergenic "Cutie Cuticle Balm": a blend of lanolin, avocado oil,argon oil, and vitamin E aimed toward healing and protecting your cuticles.

So - go check out Aleta's (Creator of The Nail Junkie) blog post on this new line and enter her contest for a giveaway of all 6 Spring Pastels!

Giveaway Here

♥

*PR Samples provided for my honest review

If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to "like" it! Thanks!

Serum No. 5 Press Release - SS13 Part Two Cali

SS13 Part Two Cali

Releases April 5, 2013 at 10 am PDT.

Beach Cruisin'
Time to go Beach Cruisin' and see the ocean, green and sun glitters in a sparkling sandy base.

Happy Place
Go to your Happy Place where everything is black dots, red squares, dandelion hexes and white glitters in a light gray base.

LA Reign
It's LA Reign in lavender, gold, white and silver glitter in a sheer purple base.

Fame

Transform yourself with Fame, sparkle and holo.

Day Glow and Sky Lights will also be restocked on April 5, 2013 at 10 am PDT as well.

[Image Shown: Sky Lights in the shade after being charged in the sun]

Copy-Caturday! Starring Illamasqua, a Sponge and a Stamper

♥

Good Morning! It's Copy-Caturday again and I'm excited to show you what I did for this week. I've gotten a LOT more compliments on this mani than usual and that's always a good thing.

I'm copying Ashley's Bright and Fun Spring Mani over at AshleyIsPolishAddicted - go check it out!

Here's what I did:

Spring Flowers Sponge Mani 2013

Without top coat

Spring Flowers Sponge Mani 2013

With top coat

Spring Flowers Sponge Mani 2013

and yes, I usually do both hands!

My right hand came out better than my left hand! I think because I didn't muddle the base colors as much on that hand by going over and over it.

Base: Salon Perfect Sugar Cube
Illamasqua Cameo
Illamasqua Gamma
Illamasqua Superstition
Illamasqua Smash
Illamasqua Faux Pas
BM 313 Stamping Plate

What do you think?? Hurry Up Spring!

♥

If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to "like" it! Thanks!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Literary Lacquers - Roissey

♥

I decided not to make you wait for the last polish from Literary Lacquer's The Good Parts Collection. So here is Roissey!

First, here's what the maker has to say about it:

Roissey Full Size Nail Lacquer : The Good Parts Collection - Erotic fiction from Fanny Hill to 50 Shades

Black and blue polish inspired by The Story of O published under the pseudonym Pauline Reage in 1954. This polish is named for the chateau where O, our heroine, is taken to be transformed into a sex slave. In an article in 1994 in The New Yorker, Anne Desclos came out to the world as the actual author of this intense and sometimes brutal smutty book.

Roissey is a royal blue polish with a very sparkly finish and black shredded glitter. This polish has a fairly thin consistency and works best at three thin coats for full coverage.

She was right - three thin coats of this one! No issues with formula or application. One generous coat of Poshe top coat for the photos.

Literary Lacquers Roissey

What do you think of this one? Which is your favorite of the collection? I'm torn between Laters, Baby and More Like Fire Than Light.

If you missed any, here's a list of the links to my reviews and swatches of the others in this colleciton:

Bionic Mmmm Detector
If It Pleases You
John Thomas/Lady Jane
Laters, Baby
More Like Fire Than Light
Roissey
Woman of Pleasure
Zipless

This is part of their new Good Parts Collection and is available at her Etsy shop here. You can also follow on Facebook here to stay up-to-date on the goings-on over at Literary Lacquers.

♥

*PR Samples provided for my honest review

If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to "like" it! Thanks!

Literary Lacquers - Bionic Mmmm Detector

♥

Good evening! Tonight I have another Literary Lacquer polish to show you from The Good Parts Collection: Bionic Mmmm Detector!

Here's what the creator had to say about Bionic Mmmm Detector:

Bionic Mmmm-Detector Full Size Nail Lacquer : The Good Parts Collection - Erotic fiction from Fanny Hill to 50 Shades

This polish was inspired by Vox by Nicholson Baker, published in 1990. This entire book is one long anonymous phone sex conversation over a 1-900 number. This book, published in the midst of the AIDS crisis represents the ultimate safe sex in a pre-Internet era. This book gained even more notoriety as the book famously given to President Bill Clinton by the young intern Monica Lewinsky.

Bionic Mmmm-Detector is a black jelly polish packed with aqua, teal, blue and green microglitter.

I used 3 coats of Bionic Mmmm Detector and had no issues with formula or application at all. One generous coat of Poshe for the photos.

Literary Lacquers Bionic Mmmm Detector

What do you think of this one? I love that the blue and green glitters make it appear as a gorgeous teal.

Here are all of the links for my swatches of this collection in case you missed one:

Bionic Mmmm Detector
If It Pleases You
John Thomas/Lady Jane
Laters, Baby
More Like Fire Than Light
Roissey
Woman of Pleasure
Zipless

This is part of their new Good Parts Collection and is available at her Etsy shop here. You can also follow on Facebook here to stay up-to-date on the goings-on over at Literary Lacquers. I have one more from the collection that I hope to show you tomorrow, so stay tuned!

♥

*PR Samples provided for my honest review

If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to "like" it! Thanks!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Thrifty Thursday! Starring Hard Candy Pee Wee Purple

♥

How DO these weeks keep flying by so fast? It's already Thrifty Thursday again! Tonight I have Hard Candy Pee Wee Purple to show you.

Pee Wee Purple is part of their new Itsy Glitzy Micro Glitter polishes and it qualifies for Thrifty Thursday because it retails at Walmart stores for $4.00. This one is a red-violet leaning purple microglitter polish. I used 2 coats for full opacity and no top coat for the photos. Great formula. No issues to report.

Hard Candy Pee Wee Purple - natural light

Hard Candy Pee Wee Purple

Hard Candy Pee Wee Purple - natural light

What do you think of this one? Have you tried any of the new Hard Candy polishes yet? This is the 2nd one I've tried and I'm impressed with the formula of both and with the "character" of them. They're more complex than we are used to with "mainstream" polishes for sure.

Available at Walmart stores nationwide for $4.00 each.

♥

*Products purchased by me

If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to "like" it! Thanks!