Deborah Lippmann Stairway to Heaven

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I decided to try Deborah Lippmann Stairway to Heaven when I ordered another Lippmann, and it got here in record time so I thought I'd give you a peek.  I looked at some pictures to decide on it, and it looked sheer-ish white with light colored moderately sized glitter.

I was surprised at how sheer Stairway to Heaven looked in the bottle and I simply don't have the patience for a million coats of color these days, so after applying base coat I applied one thin coat of Misa Heaven White.  I picked Heaven White not for the handy name tie-in but because it's not as stark a white as my other layering standby, FingerPaints Papier Mache.  On the very first nail, I was glad I'd put something under Stairway because I found it to be both sheer and incredibly thick, so thick that it was kind of hard to get it on the brush well.  In getting it on my nails, it was so thick that I had to got over some spots to flatten out the little square glitter bits I'll show you in a minute - the base was letting them stay standing on end.  I missed a spot in the flattening process of the first coat on one nail, and it's still lumpy after it dried (but it's on my right hand and not in the picture).  I did a total of two coats of Stairway to Heaven and  finished it off with Addicted to Speed, and the polish on my nails is pretty thick, so more coats of Stairway wouldn't have worked well for me.  I let it dry and went in the sun for some pictures, so here's Stairway to Heaven.

Deborah Lippmann Stairway to Heaven Nail Polish, Two Coats over White

Here's a look at the glitter, which looks like itty bitty squares of colored transparent plastic.

Deborah Lippmann Stairway to Heaven Nail Polish's Glitter

I liked it more when I started writing this than I do now because I've snagged a piece of wayward glitter on the edge of a nail about seventeen billion times so far.  I did wrap my tips with top coat, but extra clear wasn't an option when the polish was so thick to start with (I understand that's to suspend glitter, but there are limits to what's useful and I could always mix it before applying it if glitter settled...).  This isn't something I'd wear on its own, and it seems like a Springtime glitter to me.  I also have to point out the lack of gold - not many songs have specific color references, but what what do we know from the very first line of Stairway to Heaven?  There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold.  I would have put some gold in, because looking at this polish, this lady is sure all that glitters is pastel.

That's Lippmann Stairway to Heaven - not a huge failure, not a huge hit, but kind of a disappointment for me.  That's the update for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Edited to add a little note on removal: What a nightmare!  Imagine the worst Nfu Oh flaky removal you've ever had and square it.



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Deborah Lippmann Bring on the Bling & H4

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today, I've just added to the Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet I applied yesterday.  I started with Chez-Delaney plate H4, using the tip pattern I showed you from it, in Konad Green Special Polish.  That worked out well, but I thought the whole thing could use some sparkle, so I added two coats of Deborah Lippmann Bring on the Bling, then quick dry top coat.

Deborah Lippmann Bring on the Bling & H4 over Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet

Now, I think it's fair to say that Bring on the Bling is a little more assertively named than is descriptive, but at the same time, I understand that Bring on the Subtle Shimmer just isn't as catchy.  In any case, as you can see, the Lippmann is good for adding some sparkle, but it's not the over the top kind.

So that's my new and improved manicure for today.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I was going to hold off on changing my manicure until later today, but my Ruby Red Slippers was chippy, so I did a quick change to Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance.

Bad Romance is kind of like a purple Ruby Red Slippers.  It's a black jelly base with purple regular and hex glitter.  I used two coats, but really could have used a third to make it totally opaque.  Here's the finished mani with Bad Romance.

Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance Nail Polish, Two Coats

I really like it - I think it ties with Lady Sings the Blues for my favorite of the Lippmann glitters of this season.

I expect to have something really good for you later today, assuming all of the stars align properly.  As soon as I have it, I'll give you a peek!  Until then, love and nail polish to you!  

Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers

Good evening, Dear Reader!

Today I have a Lippmann glitter nail polish for you that's not new, but really, really good: Ruby Red Slippers.  It's a black jelly base with red regular and hex glitter.  For easier removal, I layered one coat of Ruby Red Slippers over one coat of Chanel Black Velvet.  I really like it, and it got a lot of compliments today.

Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers Nail Polish, One Coat over Black

I've really been enjoying the glitter lately, and have another planned for tomorrow - I managed to get hold of a bottle of Bad Romance, which I'm looking forward to trying out.

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

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe for you.  It's a blue jelly base with lighter blue regular and hex glitter as well as light green hex glitter, and it's really cool.  I needed three coats to make it totally opaque.  I was afraid that would be overkill on the glitter, but it turned out nicely, I think - the glitter looks almost 3D with how it peeks out to varying degrees, and it's really mermaidy.  Here it is finished with top coat.

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe Nail Polish, Three Coats

I really like it a lot, but I think my favorite of the new Lippmann glitters is Lady Sings the Blues.  I can't judge on Bad Romance - Nordstrom's cancelled my preorder of that one... That's my first negative experience with Nordies, so I was sad, I really want to try Bad Romance.

That's the update for now, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Deborah Lippmann Some Enchanted Evening

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm back with the last of the Lippmann All That Jazz Trio, the current Nordstrom Exclusive one.  I already showed you Lady Sings the Blues and Razzle Dazzle, so that leaves us with Some Enchanted Evening.  This one's the least impressive to me.

Some Enchanted Evening is kind of a salmon pink glitter, regular and hex, in a clear base.  My initial impression upon picking up the bottle is that it looks a lot like NARS Arabesque, which means it should work well over NARS Pussy Galore.  That good news, because my next impression, after applying three coats, is that it looks a little rashy to me on its own.  I'll let you be the judge...

Deborah Lippmann Some Enchanted Evening Nail Polish, Three Coats

Layered, I think it will be nice, on its own, not so much.  Now you've seen the whole All That Jazz Trio.  I think the first two were knockout, and we'll assume this one is the one that costs $4 to tack on...

That's it for today.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have another polish from the Deborah Lippman All That Jazz Trio, the Norstrom Exclusive, for you this morning.  I showed you Lady Sings the Blues from the set last night, and it pained me to remove it so soon, but I wanted to show you Razzle Dazzle.  Most of us have felt the sting of losing out on Nordie's Beauty Exclusives by hesitating too long, so I wanted to show these to you while the set's still available.

Razzle Dazzle is a raspberry jelly base with matching regular glitter.  The glitter is relatively fine and the polish is smooth.  I used three coats of Razzle Dazzle to make it completely even and opaque, but I think on an average length nail two coats would do the trick.  Two was almost enough for me, and I'm spreading each brushload further than most do.  As with Lady Sings the Blues, the jelly base of this one is really great - opaque, but it lets the glitter shine through.

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle Nail Polish, Three Coats

These two are, from looking at the bottles, my favorites from the All That Jazz Trio.  The third, Some Enchanted Evening, looks like it might need to be layered, as it has a clear base, but we'll find out soon.

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

Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I'm back sooner than I thought to show you something I got today, Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues from the Nordstrom Exclusive Trio.  The bottle says "Deborah Lippmann," not "Lippmann Collection," so I'm just going with what the bottle says - I don't know if that recently changed.

Lady Sings the Blues is a great deep blue jelly with regular and hex glitter and excellent color saturation.  It took two coats to make it opaque, which is odd for a jelly.  The glitter distinctly shows through the almost-blackened-yet-still-blue base.

Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues Nail Polish, Two Coats

I really love this one.  Lippmann does some great glitters, and this is definitely a great one.  I'm fired about about two of the three in the trio, and the third isn't bad.  They're still on Nordstrom's site if you need it.

That's all I have for you for now, Dear Reader.  Until next tome, love and nail polish to you!  

Chanel Illusion D'Or over Lippmann Bitches Brew

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I was so determined to get through all the Revlons, then I opened up my Chanel Illusion D'Or and had to try it out.  I'd seen swatches of it over various colors, but none over what I wanted to see it on: Lippmann Collection's Bitches Brew (that's how it's spelled, like a statement rather than a thing).  Bitches Brew is a burgundy shimmer, and in my mind's eye I saw it working well with Illusion D'Or.

I used two coats of the Lippmann, one of Illusion D'Or, and topped it with Diamont.  Here it is in the sun.

Chanel Illusion D'Or over Lippman Collection Bitches Brew

I like it, but I now know what I'm going to try it over next to improve upon it (I hope!).  I'll let that be a surprise for you.

That all I have for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Konad Plates M78 & M80

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I thought I'd show you a few patterns from Konad plates M78 and M80, the two of the new ones I've cracked into, as well as two of the new Konad Special Nail Polishes, Dark Red and Pastel Violet.

For the first, I used a base of Color Club Uptown Girl from the Rebel Debutante Collection. To it, I added a tip pattern from plate M80, using Pastel Violet for the stamping.

Konad Plate M80 in Konad Pastel Violet Special Polish over Color Club Uptown Girl Nail Polish

Next up is another with plate M80, this time using the Dark Red over Lippmann Collection Rhapsody in White. The pattern looks like it could be placed either at the cuticle or tip of the nail, I chose cuticle for variety.

Konad Plate M80 in Konad Dark Red Special Polish over Lippmann Collection Rhapsody in White Nail Polish

From plate M78, I just used black and white Konad Special Polish, but each of the two I have for you are full nail patterns that I was really, really hoping would work for a double stamp. It turns out that both of them did, quite well.

First is a base of Poptastic with White Konad Special Polish.

Konad Plate M78 in Konad White Special Polish over Color Club Mrs. Robinson Nail Polish

The second is a base of Wham! Pow!, also from Poptastic, with Black Konad Special Polish using the animal print pattern from Konad plate M78.

Konad Plate M78 in Konad Black Special Polish over Color Club Wham! Pow! Nail Polish

The two new polishes both worked beautifully - no problems at all. As for the new plates, M78 and M80 are the only ones I've tried thus far because I'm having so much fun with them. I'm sure I'll use the other this week. I used the clear stamper for these, and I found it much easier for the Pastel Violet and yesterday's Pastel Pink than the old pink one.

That's what I have to show you of my new Konad goodies for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Sephora by OPI Untarnished Image over Lippmann Stardust

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I felt like a wintery, blingy manicure this morning, so I tried out Sephora by OPI's Untarnished Image over Lippmann Collection's Stardust (which I'm sure I've shown to you before). Untarnished Image is fine, almost flakey sliver glitter in a clear base, and Stardust is a foily silver. Together, they're sparkletastic.

I used two coats of each color. That's a lot of nail polish. I waited about two minutes between coats so I'd have any chance of getting the later coats to apply well. For a top coat, I used Seche Vite (it was what I could easily find at the moment), and then used drying drops over it. All went well, after pulling out the big guns of a quick dry top coat and drying drops together.

Here it is after I was able I wash off the drops.

Sephora by OPI Untarnished Image over Lippmann Collection Stardust Nail Polish, two coats each

Clicking on the picture gives you more detail of the finish of Untarnished Image. It's a nice one, and it's smooth.

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

Lippmann Collection Wicked Game

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I made some plans to go out to dinner with my dad tonight, and thought the glitter party manicure would not be the most appropriate thing in the world. My dear ol' dad loves me just as I am, but for him, I tone it down a little bit!

I chose Lippmann Collection's Wicked Game, the other Holiday 2009 color, as the next one to wear. It's really strikingly duochrome in the bottle, but only moderately so on the nail. I did three coats and can still see through my nails in the light, but can live with it. I like the color a lot. It's primarily a pinkish purple shimmer, somewhat washed out, with a kind of hard to describe, brownish, greenish duochrome effect. Very pretty, neither color is especially strong, and they kind of fade into one another, which is what makes them hard to describe. In the bottle, where the effect is strong, it's hard for the eye to catch either - it's cool.

This is three coats over a base in two different lighting conditions in an attempt to show you the duochrome a little better.

In the second picture with the brighter light, you can see through my nails. The color in that one is more true to life. I gave the first, dimmer picture to show the duochrome - it seemed to me that the effect showed up a little better in that picture, but the picture itself is dark.

That's it for today, Dear Reader. I'm done with nails today! I'm off to do other stuff for a few hours, then out to dinner with my beloved father. I'm going to his house half an hour early so we can show off our current projects to each other - we're each other's #1 fan. It's a good deal! So until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

Lippmann Collection Happy Birthday Part Deux

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I was just sitting here for a moment, and out of the corner of my eye saw the sun shine on the house next door, so I ran outside and took new pictures of Lippmann Collection's Happy Birthday for you. It's not bright sunny out - it's cloudy, but the sun peeked out through the clouds just enough to get a good picture. It's actually better than glaring sun, especially for glitter, and the pictures turned out quite true to life.

I'm able to comment on the wear of this polish as well, and have found it to be excellent. I mentioned I've been knitting - my technique is atypical (I taught myself using books in college), and I use my nails to move stitches, which is murder on a manicure. I'm quick, so multiply the wear by a several hundred stitches since I put it on. I didn't refresh the mani for new pictures, and it shows no wear at all, so I'm very pleased.

Here are the pictures in good light, again with a base and top, now about 16 hours old having been knocked around.

I love it more now than I did last night! It's just so dang happy.

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

Lippmann Collection Happy Birthday

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I have the cool thing I was going to show you tomorrow now... It's too cool to wait!

I'd placed an order, reluctantly, with Lippmann Collection for their holiday colors maybe a week ago. I bought one of each, and they showed up just a bit ago. I was in the back room doing some arduous calculations for the next step of something I'm knitting, and the doorbell rang, and when I was faced with the question of opening the package or suffering the calculations, the answer was clear. Upon opening the shipping box, I got no further than Happy Birthday, which was on top in a clear plastic (rather than the typical white paper) box. I swooned! Calculations be danged, I was off to play!

I was reluctant because I simply haven't liked several of the recent Lippmann's I've bought. This one, I LOVE. It's definitely staying on all day tomorrow, so I might take some new pictures in the morning - the light on these pictures is by the setting sun, which is a bit more yellow than I care for. In any case, Ms. Lippmann seems to simply be making some cool nail polish with this release. I'm thrilled so far, and look forward to Sunday's test drive of the other color.

Happy Birthday is many crayon colors of glitter, both regular and hexagonal, in a clear base. I see red, yellow, orange, green, light blue, and then silver (it's not a glitter party without the silver!). The thought that popped into my head when I applied the first coat to the first nail was that it looked like birthday balloons, and if I'd had it a couple weeks ago, I would have worn it for my birthday. I'm sure some will question this as a Holiday offering, but after two coats, it's predominantly red, green, and silver, with the birthday theme as a more of a background, so it's appropriate for the holiday season of their 10th anniversary.

In applying this, I fought my instinct for total opacity (like Lippmann's Superstar). I realized right away it would take a zillion coats to do that, so I figured it was probably intended to have two, so I'd do two. Know what? I can see some bare nail and I don't mind it! That's pretty clearly how it's supposed to look, to my eye. This is two coats over a base with a top, with the light of the setting sun. I'll give you better pics tomorrow, but since I haven't seen any of this one that I recall and I'm so pleased with it, I thought I'd show you what I could get for now.

That's all for today, Dear Reader. I'll do a little dance for good daytime sunlight and hope for the best so I can get some better pictures for you tomorrow. Until then, love and nail polish to you!

Dior Turquoise Diabolo

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Just for funsies today, I took the lid off of a box that was full of polish to randomly pick an oldy but goody for today. Fun now, I'll be sorry when I have random bottles of polish all over, but I can worry abut that later... In any case, I struck gold. What I found was some old Diors, and I selected Turquoise Diabolo. In needs a dark blue base, and in the same box was Lippmann Collection's Devil in a Blue Dress, so I was set!

I started with three coats of the Lippmann. I don't know if the color development folks at Lippmann just like jellies or if they're stingy on pigment, but it took three coats. As I was doing coat number two, I wished I'd chosen another base color. However, it dried fast, so it was no biggy. Then I gave it a coat of the Dior, the clouds parted, angels started singing, and all was well.

Since it was so much polish to dry, I finished it with Lippmann Collection Addicted to Speed, which dries almost too fast. It starts freezing up on the brush stroke at the free edge of my nail. Since it's $20 for the full size, I only have a mini of it that came with a little mini set, and it did the job.

Here it is as it looks in regular good light.

Here it is in full sun.

The Dior sparkly colors like this came in a bunch of colors, and they're fantastic. They look foily in normal light, and just insanely sparkly in direct light. What fun! Of course, since they're old, they're discontinued - they really shouldn't have stopped making these, though!

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

Lippmann Collection Marquee Moon & Don't Tell Mama

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I got Lippmann Collection's Fall 2009 nail polishes, Marquee Moon and Don't Tell Mama, and gave them a try. Just a try. Neither stayed on too long...

Marquee Moon is like a silver Funky Chunky, of which I was not a great fan. The polish is just too opaque for the glitter, and the glitter is BIG. You can see I have a few rogue pieces of it waiting to catch on something and come off here. This is two coats over a base, dry with no top coat.

I really just don't think this is a good look. At all... It's been suggested that perhaps I just "don't get" this type of polish. That's possible. However, it's nail polish - there's not too much to understand here.

I was excited about Don't Tell Mama from pictures I've seen, but either the bottle I got is from a different batch or the pictures I've seen were taken under floodlights because mine looks almost black. This is three coats with a base and top coat under a really bright light - just walking around, it's almost black.

I didn't find this one objectionable, but I also didn't find anything about it to love. I left it on all day, and loved it no more or less at the end of the day than at the beginning.

So those are Lippmann Collection's Fall 2009 offerings. I've been a big Lippmann Collection fan for a while, but they're beginning to lose me with the latest releases.

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

Lippmann Collection 10th Anniversary: Funky Chunky

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I'd planned to wear a color called Lucy in the Sky, but it's a happier shade than I'm feeling today. Instead, I thought I'd show you Lippmann's Funky Chunky, which really just looks like Fade to Black with textural issues.

I'd planned Lucy in the Sky because today is the first anniversary of my mom's death, and although only doctors and the IRS called her by her given name, Lucille, when I was a kid my dad would run around the house singing Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

I'd also planned to tell you a funny story about her, but I'm too much of a train wreck to come up with a good one. I'll just tell you she had the classic Irish gift of gab, and she'd tell funny stories all the time, but she'd be dying laughing the whole time with her super contagious laugh, so a whole room full of listeners would be laughing with no idea why we were laughing.

Ah, I just came up with a classic... She was also a practical jokester. She was a nun for 18 years, and once while cleaning the church, found a great big dead cockroach. She picked it up and saved it, and when she had a chance, slipped it into the rosary case of another nun who was often the target of her jokes. The next day during prayers when the other nun opened her rosary case, saw the roach, shrieked, and my mom started maniacally laughing. She was funny as hell. I miss her a lot.

Back to Funky Chunky - it's really just chunky, and not in a good way. The hex glitter doesn't show at all, it just screws up the texture of the polish. This is far from my best application, but I assume you'll forgive me. I selected pictures that best show the textural issues I'm talking about.

Isn't that weird how the glitter doesn't show? I didn't need Superstar, so I paid a lot for Ruby Red Slippers since this one's a great big fail.

Last day for the unrelated note: check out my dad at Woodlines. He has a piece for my mom today, but his is more upbeat.

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

Lippmann Collection 10th Anniversary: Ruby Red Slippers

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have one of Lippmann Collection's Nordstrom Exclusive 10th Anniversary colors for you, Ruby Red Slippers. It's a black jelly replete with red glitter and red hexagon glitter - it's what Lubu Heels wants to be when it grows up!

This is three coats over a base with a top coat.

I absolutely love this polish. I think it's hot. However, as I was applying it, I did question how generally wearable it is. I can't imagine the average person would wear this to the office. For the weekend though, this is one hell of a nail polish!

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

Dior Purple Candy & Lippmann Prelude to a Kiss

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I was so displeased with my failure of a manicure yesterday that I changed it to the opposite of what I had. Since the problem was that it was way to much, I thought I'd change it to simplicity itself: Lippmann Collection Prelude to a Kiss. This is three coats.

Much better! The last time I wore this, I didn't care for it, but I like it now.

I had a new one to try out this morning, so I just used it, this time Dior Purple Candy. Here's two coats.

I thought Purple Candy could use a little something, but having learned my lesson yesterday, I kept it simple with a delicate pattern from Konad Plate M67, using Konad Princess Nail Polish in Coral Blue.

I really like it! I wavered on Purple Candy for a while, but am glad I went for it while I could.

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