Fuschia

Plate: Fauxnad M69

Base Colour: Barbara Daly Make Up - Cardinal

Fauxnad Colour: Stargazer 118 - White

Top Coat of NYC

OPI Shrek Comparisons: The Blues

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have more OPI Shrek Collection comparison swatches for you today, this time the blues.  I did them the same way as the purples - all are with base and top coat, dry, and thumb, middle and pinky are OPI, index and ring are the comparison color.  The pictures were taken in sunlight.

I'll start with What's with the Cattitude, the lighter of the two blues.  I compared it to Color Club Factory Girl (formerly Blue Light), Essie Shelter Island, and SpaRitual Full of Life (again, just using what was handy and seemed like it might be close).

Factory Girl was a close match, just a tiny bit lighter than the OPI.

OPI Shrek What's with the Cattitude and Color Club Factory Girl Comparison

Shelter Island is distinctly darker than the OPI.

OPI Shrek What's with the Cattitude and Essie Shelter Island Comparison

SpaRitual Full of Life was again quite close, bit a bit lighter.

OPI Shrek What's with the Cattitude and SpaRitual Full of Life Comparison

Clearly, the Color Club is the closest match, barely distinguishable from the OPI.

The darker OPI Shrek Blue, Ogre the Top Blue, I compared to Color Club Chelsea Girl (formerly 220 Volts), Nubar Hot Blue, and SpaRitual Crystal Eyes.  Each was a bit darker than the OPI.

Here is Chelsea Girl.

OPI Shrek Ogre the Top Blue and Color Club Chelsea Girl Comparison

This is Nubar Hot Blue.

OPI Shrek Ogre the Top Blue and Nubar Hot Blue Comparison

Finally, SpaRitual Crystal Eyes.

OPI Shrek Ogre the Top Blue and SpaRitual Crystal Eyes Comparison

Although they're not dead-on dupes, I think both the Color Club and the Nubar are close enough to the OPI to fill in for one another.

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Side Frenchy

Here, as promised - a brand new post.

Konad Plate: M56

Base Colour: All About Face from Tesco - Soft Lilac

Konad Colour: BYS - N146 Royal Purple

Top Coat of NYC

I don't know if I've mentioned before, but this NYC Top Coat I always use is AMAAAZing because it doesn't smudge the Konad designs like many topcoats. I found it in a store called 'The Original Factory Shop', which is basically a seconds store, for £1 a bottle. I bought a few but they don't have any more and it's near impossible to find anywhere :(

OPI Shrek Comparisons: The Purples

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm back with some comparison swatches of OPI Shrek's Funky Dunkey and Rumple's Wiggin'.  I just grabbed a few polishes that were that were handy to compare.  The pictures are all in sunlight, all with a base and top coat, and dry.  In all, the OPI is on thumb, middle, and pinky, and the comparison color is on index and ring fingers.

For Funky Dunkey, I used China Glaze Grape Pop, RBL Mismas, and SpaRitual Shoot for the Stars.

Compared to Grape Pop, there's a minor difference in direct sunlight, but just walking around in normal light they're almost identical.

OPI Shrek's Funky Dunkey and China Glaze Grape Pop Comparison

Rescue Beauty Lounge's Mismas is even closer to the OPI.

OPI Shrek's Funky Dunkey and Rescue Beauty Lounge Mismas Comparison

Shoot for the Stars isn't a match - it's redder than Funky Dunkey.

OPI Shrek's Funky Dunkey and SpaRitual Shoot for the Stars Comparison

For Rumple's Wiggin', I used Nubar Lavender, Revlon Gum Drop, and Illamasqua Wink.  All three are pretty close.

Nubar Lavender is pretty much a match for Rumple's Wiggin'.

OPI Shrek Rumple's Wiggin' and Nubar Lavender Comparison

Revlon Gum Drop is a bit lighter than the OPI, but not by much.

OPI Shrek Rumple's Wiggin' and Revlon Gum Drop Comparison

Finally, Illamasqua Wink is almost a match for Rumple's Wiggin', again just a hair lighter.

OPI Shrek Rumple's Wiggin' and Illamasqua Wink Comparison

I'll try to hunt down some blues to do comparisons for those next.  The greens are unique, so they won't be compared to anything.

That's all for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

OPI Shrek Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I wasn't up for swatching OPI Shrek last night, but I was this morning, so I have swatches for you.  Five of the pictures are under artificial light - my first shot at using a new light box.  The colors are true to life, but I'm still working on placement of the lamps to eliminate shadows.  The sixth was taken last night by the setting sun.

All six of the Shrek Collection are cremes and were three coaters for me, but I've found the dry time to be reasonable.  The brush on them is good, too - a little big, but not as moppy as in some collections.  There are two blues, two purples, and two weirdo greens in the collection, and I like them all.

The first weirdo green is Fiercely Fiona, a color like if you made pea soup using both green and yellow peas.  This one is a full manicure, and the picture I took outside last night.

OPI Shrek: Fiercely Fiona Nail Polish, Three Coats

The other weird green is Who the Shrek are You?, which is really the color of Shrek.

OPI Shrek: Who the Shrek are You? Nail Polish, Three Coats

The lighter of the two blues is What's with the Cattitude, a baby blue creme.

OPI Shrek: What's with the Cattitude Nail Polish, Three Coats

The darker blue is Ogre the Top Blue, a bright medium blue creme.

OPI Shrek: Ogre the Top Blue Nail Polish, Three Coats

The lighter of the purples is Rumple's Wiggin', a slightly pink pale lavender.

OPI Shrek: Rumple's Wiggin' Nail Polish, Three Coats

The last one, the darker purple, is today's Nails of the Day, Funky Dunkey.

OPI Shrek: Funky Dunkey Nail Polish, Three Coats

That's OPI's Shrek Collection, and what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Hot Topic Fauxnad & Konad Plate M63

Good evening, Dear Reader!

My OPI Shrek nail polishes arrived today, but I'm just not up for swatching, so I figured I'd show them to you one at a time as Nails of the Day.  In the meantime, I thought I'd show you yesterday and today's Nails of the Day so they don't get lost in the shuffle because I especially like them.

Yesterday was Nubar Black with Hot Pink accent ring fingers, and I used two patterns from a Hot Topic fauxnad plate on them.

Hot Topic Fauxnad over Nubar Black & Hot Pink, Two Coats Each

Today, I've worn OPI's Jade is the New Black with some of the old black added to it from Konad plates M63 and M19.  I used three coats of the OPI.

Konad M63 & M19 over OPI Jade is the New Black, Three Coats

I thought that one turned out really nicely.

Now that I've caught you up on recent NOTD's, I'll be wearing OPI Shrek colors for the next six days to show you those.  Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Blue Criss Cross

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Things are pretty hectic now I'm finishing my first year at Uni and I've had a few deadlines to meet and still got looooads of exams to revise for. So here it is... I promise you a post tomorrow. (:

Konad Plate: M64

Base Colour: Barbara Daly Make Up - Tattoo
Konad Colour: George@ Asda - 35 Frost Bite

Top Coat of NYC

L.A. Girl Rock Star Nail Lacquers

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm about a year late showing the L.A. Girl Rock Star nail lacquers, but I just got a few of them recently and they were too cool to not show you.

Overall, they're somewhat sheer, so I layered the lighter shades over black.  I used one coat of Nubar Black and one coat of the Rock Star polish for each of those swatches.  The darker colors, I just used two coats of the Rock Star.

Scandal is a pale pink shimmer that doesn't really show up on its own, but really comes alive over black.

Scandal L.A. Girl Rock Star Nail Lacquer, One Coat over Black

Crowd Surfing is an interesting green with glaky gold glitter, also over black.

Crowd Surfing L.A. Girl Rock Star Nail Lacquer, One Coat over Black

Addict is a vampy red jelly with gold glitter.  This is two coats.

Addict L.A. Girl Rock Star Nail Lacquer, Two Coats

Overdose is a pink and purple glitter in a clear base, and one coat over black worked well.

Overdose L.A. Girl Rock Star Nail Lacquer, One Coat over Black

Rock Star is a purplish brown with gold glitter.

Rock Star L.A. Girl Rock Star Nail Lacquer, Two Coats

Punk is a kind of duochromey blue base with purple glitter.  I think it would have been better over black.

Punk L.A. Girl Rock Star Nail Lacquer, Two Coats

Those are the L.A. Girl Rock Star nail polishes I chose, but there are quite a few more.  I got them from Cherry Culture, where I believe they are still available.

That's it for this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Wet n Wild Blackest Green

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today's Nails of the Day is Wet n Wild Blackest Green, a really cool blackened green shimmer.  It took three coats on me, but the dry time is good and I otherwise have no complaints, so I like it.

Wet n Wild Blackest Green Nail Polish, Three Coats

That's the short but sweet update for this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

L'Oreal Passport to Paradise Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have swatches of L'Oreal's Passport to Paradise Collection for you today, and found that they were very familiar.  On April 21, the news broke that L'Oreal was acquiring Essie, and it looks like L'Oreal took Essie for a test drive with this collection.  They're exact dupes for last year's North Fork Collection from Essie.

High Tide is the light blue shimmer...

L'Oreal High Tide Nail Polish from Passport to Paradise

...which is an exact match to Essie's Sag Harbor.  My index and ring fingers are the Essie, the others the L'Oreal.

L'Oreal High Tide and Essie Sag Harbor

Waters Edge (no apostrophe) is the turquoise creme...

L'Oreal Waters Edge Nail Polish from Passport to Paradise

...which matches Essie's Greenport.  Again, index and ring are Essie.

L'Oreal Waters Edge and Essie Greenport

Ocean Breeze is the blue creme...

L'Oreal Ocean Breeze Nail Polish from Passport to Paradise

...which corresponds to Essie's Shelter Island.

L'Oreal Ocean Breeze and Essie Shelter Island

Sorry I got a little sloppy on the last coat of Shelter Island.

So we see these are all dead-on dupes.  I prefer both the brush and the price tag of L'Oreal, so if I had to choose which to keep, it would be the L'Oreals.

If you want a fill review of the colors, you can just look back at the North Fork review - they're the same colors, so no point in making you endure a full review just to show you they're dupes.

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

SpaRitual Full of Life and Konad M73

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I have my do-over mani to show you: SpaRitual Full of Life from the Soulful Collection with Konad M73 and M19 in Konad Black.  I saw a variation of this on a message board this mornng and copied it, I liked it so much.

I started with two coats of Full of Life, added top coat and let it dry for a bit, then got to stamping.  I used Konad Black Special Polish for all, stamping both hands once with M73, then each nail twice with M19 to make the tip (one stamp was too short).  Had I known what I was getting into when I started, I wouldn't have started - three stamps is a lot more than my attention span can handle.  I finished it with a coat of Diamont and some drying drops, and the good news is that I love it.  This is after it's totally dry under artificial light.

SpaRitual Full of Life Nail Polish with Konad M73 and M19 in Konad Black

I'm wearing this out with a black dress, so I'll match.

So that's my do-over mani.  I love it!  That's also all I have for you today, so until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Hot Topic Fauxnad & Konad Plate M2

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm on a neon with Konad kick lately, and have yesterday's and today's Nails of the Day to show you.

Yesterday, I did a skittles manicure (another kick altogether) using Color Club Poptastic and topped it off with the stars pattern from one of the Hot Topic fauxnad plates.  I wish Hot Topic still made these!  The base coloes are, from thumb to pinky (or top to bottom), Pucci-liscious, Jackie Oh!, Mrs. Robinson, Chelsea Girl, and Twiggie, and I did the stamping using Konad White Special Polish.

Hot Topic Fauxnad in Konad White over Color Club Poptastic

For today, I used Essie Punchy Pink and, again using Konad White, stamped it with Konad plate M2, using two patterns.  For the picture, I had to use my back-up bottle of Punchy Pink - there's about 1/4 left in my original.  I might get another while I still can - this is my favorite pink neon, and it also makes me laugh every time I wear it when I think of the friend of mine calling it "whorish and unwearable" the first time I wore it.  I also giggle a little at the memory of wearing it to a court thing in Chicago (divorce stuff), and a guy in a sports car being a complete jerk on the drive from where I live now while I was in no mood for it.  The look on his face when I showed him a nicely manicured Punchy Pink middle finger out the window as he finally passed me was priceless.  

Konad Plate M2 in Konad White over Essie Punchy Pink

I might have to change this one - the down side to doing your nails while coffee brews is making poor choices.  I have a date with an old flame tonight, and showing up with hearts and "love" all over my nails might rightfully freak him out.

So the main points for today are that (i) Hot Topic shouldn't have discontinued their nail stamping kit, and (ii) Essie Punchy Pink is good for highway driving for the flip-off factor.

That's it for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Sephora by OPI Havana Nights Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Yesterday I got Sephora by OPI's Havana Nights Collection, and I have swatches for you today.  I took the pictures yesterday in moderate natural light.  I can't really say much in general about the collection - it's really all over the place with respect to application, number of coats, color, finish... I'll just tell you about each with the picture.

Havana Dreams is a very pale pastel blue, and took three medium coats to be opaque.  It was tricky to keep this one from being streaky.

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams Nail Polish from the Havana Nights Collection

Read My Palm was one a was looking forward to, a light green creme.  It's a bit darker than Chanel Jade (I just compared bottles), and not minty.  It was good in two coats and easy to apply.

Sephora by OPI Read My Palm Nail Polish from the Havana Nights Collection

Caribbean Cocktail is a great medium blue shimmer with the little microglitter bits that are in a lot of Sephora by OPI polishes, and they're silver.  This one took three coats to be reasonably opaque, and applied relatively well.

Sephora by OPI Caribbean Cocktail Nail Polish from the Havana Nights Collection

Caliente Coral is a creme so caliente I'd call it orange, not coral.  It took three coats and applied well.

Sephora by OPI Caliente Coral Nail Polish from the Havana Nights Collection

Teal We Meet Again is another I was excited about, a teal shimmer, but it's bluer than I'd hoped for.  On the up side, it was good in two coats and applied very well.

Sephora by OPI Teal We Meet Again Nail Polish from the Havana Nights Collection

Finally, the surprise of the bunch, Rumba Romance.  It's really bold brassy gold microglitter in a clear base, and three thin coats made for metallic nails.  This one is a full manicure with top coat.

Sephora by OPI Rumba Romance Nail Polish from the Havana Nights Collection

That's the Havana Nights Collection from Sephora by OPI, and all but Teal We Meet Again and Rumba Romance are limited edition.  

My favorites based upon application and color are Rumba Romance and Read My Palm, although I definitely see wearing the other four.  Caliente Coral is a great bright for summer, and Havana Dreams is a delicate enough shade of blue to warrant being a little high maintenance.  Teal We Meet Again and Caribbean Cocktail strike me as more Fall/Winter colors, but they'll keep until then - I do like both.

That's the update this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!