Sally Hansen Oxide

Good evening, Dear Reader!

Tonight I have pictures to show you of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Oxide, one of the Tracy Reese shades for Fall 2011 that their PR sent me to review.  It's a really gorgeous charcoal along the lines of a darker Chanel Graphite, really the closest thing I've seen to Graphite with respect to finish, although a good bit darker.  If you recall, it's the finish in Graphite that made me swoon, and Oxide does the same.

I currently have a pretty big backlog of cool things to show you all set aside together, and Oxide is one I've really been looking forward to trying out.  I knew I'd have an opportunity to change nail color this evening, but had been torn as to what I wanted to wear because this manicure will have to stay until Sunday, and tomorrow night a friend of mine, the coolest boss I've ever had, is playing his last live show after a few decades of performing.  That's right, an IT-guy rock star.  The original plan was to coordinate with cool shoes, but last weekend I really sprained my ankle wearing hideous matronly flats to take out the trash, so I have to wait until I'm leaving to pick what I can wear (I think that was The Goddess of Hot Shoes sending me a warning, which I'll heed in the future).  Then I got a surprise when UPS delivered some non-nail-related stuff I'd ordered during a 50% off of clearance prices sale, and when I placed the order I saw a giant black rose rhinestone ring that ended up being under $3 after all the percentages off, so I added it.  When I saw it in person today, Oxide seemed like a perfect choice.

For this manicure, I used one coat of base coat, two of Oxide, and one of Lippmann Addicted to Speed since I wanted it to dry really fast and be perfect.  After it dried, I went out to take pictures, and had a kind of funny experience.  I'm friendly with the ladies who live on either side of me, and both recently had babies.  I guess they both came home with their babies in tow at the same time and met in the middle in my yard to chat.  I went out with stuff to take pictures, said hello and had a little chitchat including assurance that I didn't mind them meeting in the middle, but it was late and the last of the light would be gone if I took too long, so I just went about the business of taking the pictures with them standing there a few feet away, offering no explanation.  One of the husbands came home while I was taking pictures and went up to his wife, so at this point there was a small crowd chatting in my yard pretending that I'm not over in the corner evaluating light and clicking away.  They still have no idea why the heck I keep taking pictures of small things I'm hiding in my hand!  It was socially awkward enough to be entertaining at the time.

After all of that, I got some good pictures of Sally Hansen Oxide in sunlight.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Oxide Nail Polish, Two Coats

This is a closer look at the shimmer.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Oxide Nail Polish, A Look at the Finish

And just for fun, I took a picture of it with my fabulous cheapo ring.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Oxide Nail Polish & A Fabulous Ring

I love this a whole lot.  Admittedly, the overall look is somewhat vampiric, but aside from wearing nothing but pastels all the time, there's not much to be done about that so I go with it.  I'm extra happy about having a manicure I love as the start of an ensemble for a fun event tomorrow night.  I would have been fine with a blood red that went with anything, but it's always a little more enjoyable to wear something that thrills me.

That's the scoop on Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Oxide, which should be showing up with the other Tracy Reece shades any day now.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



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

Chanel Graphite

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Today I'm wearing Chanel Graphite. which is every bit as fabulous as I'd hoped it would be.  It's the dark grey shimmery one released pretty recently, and all it took was two coats of color to be just right.  Here's Graphite in the sun.

Chanel Graphite Nail Polish, Two Coats

I'd count Graphite amongst the really fabulous Chanels - when they do a good one, they really do a good one.

That's about all there is to tell you about, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



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

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Fall 2011

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Today I have a limited edition Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure collection to show you.  You might have read about it last Spring when promo images first came out, it's the collection created for Prabal Gurung's Victorian-inspired Fall collection.  Here's the backstory from Sally Hansen's PR:

Red carpet favorite Prabal Gurung teamed up with Sally Hansen and to create a new collection of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes to complement the designer’s Victorian-inspired fall collection. Celebrity manicurist, Jin Soon designed and hand painted each set of nails with new fall hue, Crinoline, a warm white base and added flecks of black polish for an Asian inspired design. Prabal Gurung and Sally Hansen will release their full five-color Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure collection in the fall. The patented polishes feature the most advanced lacquer formula, concentrated high-intensity color and encapsulated treatment spheres of Vita-Care technology.

Here's a promo images of the color all lined up.  It's a tiny one, but I have giant swatches so you'll see detail of each.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure with Prabal Gurung for Fall 2011

Furthest to the left is Dorien Grey, a nice medium light grey that's between a jelly and a creme.  At two coats it looked like a well-pigmented jelly, at three it's a super shiny creme.  This is three coats without top coat.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Dorien Grey Nail Polish, Three Coats

The next one over is Crinoline, which is a barely beige-pink creme.  I needed three coats because I made the coats thin, and the third was required to even it out.  I think two moderate coats would do the same thing, but three is pretty standard for something this pale.  This is without top coat.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Crinoline Nail Polish, Three Coats

Ballet Rouges is in the middle, and it strikes me as a modern version of Crayola Carnation Pink in a creme nail polish.  It has a little of that faded-out quality that's common in very recent years, but it still looks Carnation Pink for the most part.  It's a great balance of pigment and shine, and two coats was perfect.  Here's Ballet Rouges without top coat.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Ballet Rouges Nail Polish, Two Coats

The second from the right is Courtesan, a bright fuchsia creme that's also very pigmented and very shiny.  Two coats was plenty here, and the picture of Courtesan is without top coat.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Courtesan Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last one is Madame X, a slightly pinkish red creme.  One coat gave even, opaque coverage and I added a second for shine.  This is what I'm now wearing as a manicure, so Madame X does have top coat.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Madame X Nail Polish, Two Coats

The quality of each of these is quite nice and I have no complaints about them, so I think it come down to color preference.  I always like well-done or updated simple shades, and these qualify.  Madame X is nice enough that I'd choose this formula over just about any other for the shade.

The press release tells me they'll be out this Fall, and that's as specific as it gets.  If I get additional info, I'll tack it on here, but I really have no reason to believe the release of these will be different than other, so different retail locations will likely get them at different times over the next couple of months.

That's what I know about the Prabal Gurung Sally Hansen limited edition colors, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



*The products featured were sent for independent review by a PR firm.

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

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Midnight Sky

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today is the first Fall day for me, so I picked a great Fall color, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Midnight Sky, one from a display of all glittery Xtreme Wears I recently came across. It's officially Fall for me because there's something I'm allergic to, I think tree pollen, that makes me ears buzz really loudly so I can hear nothing at all, and this morning I woke up to the start of it. It happens every August, so waking up this morning, it just felt like Fall. It's not a big deal at all, just a tiny bit annoying, but it generates a lot of really funny conversations!

Anyhow, in light of an early Fall feeling, I reached for Midnight Sky. I looked at the display I mentioned, and was really pleased when I found this one. It's about the grey of the graphite in pencils, which is a handy segue to the reason I was so pleased about it.

I'd avoided pictures of Chanel Graphite so I wouldn't be too tempted until the Revlon rendition came out, and when I looked at comparisons it was that grey with a whole lot of Chanel sparkly bits that got me, not the Revlon. When I saw Sally Hansen Midnight Sky, the reason I was excited about it is that it has a whole lots of pronounced sparkly bits, and since it was that grey with a lot of sparkle I was after, I'm able to dismiss Graphite. Not having used a Graphite, I'd never propose that anything was a dupe for it, it's that the elements of Graphite that really appealed to me are in Midnight Sky, so I'm content with it for $20 less.

I used a Nutra Nail base (I'm just using up what's around and doesn't cause troubles), two coats of Sally Hansen Midnight Sky, which applied beautifully and was great in two coats, then Diamont. Here's Midnight Sky in sunlight (that sounds like something from Late Lament!).

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Midnight Sky Nail Polish, Two Coats

Isn't that a nice one? I'm a big fan of the Xtreme Wear line - a lot of really nice colors of offered, and the quality of them is usually very nice for little cost.

That's Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Midnight Sky and just about all I know this morning, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!



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

Zoya Mirrors Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

After I thought I was all done yesterday, a set of Zoya's Mirror Collection sent for review arrived, and I have swatches of them for you today.  This is a really cool collection - each of them applied really beautifully, the one I'm wearing dried well in reasonable time, and they're fun to look at.

All of these are base coat, two coats of color, and top coat, and I let each dry for a few minutes before taking a picture in sunlight.  There's no real significance to the order of the swatches.  Now that you know all of that, let's look at pretties.

Tao, which Zoya describes as "smoky slate gray metallic", is what I'd call a light gunmetal shimmer, and a good one.

Zoya Tao Nail Polish, Two Coats

I'd agree with Zoya that Marina is "smoky steel blue," but I say it's a shimmer and not so much metallic.

Zoya Marina Nail Polish, Two Coats

Nimue is called "smoky rich thistle metallic", and and strange as it sounds, I think "smoky thistle" is the best description of Nimue, a shimmer.  A technical difficulty resulted in less nails swatched for this one.

Zoya Nimue Nail Polish, Two Coats

Zoya says Neeka is "sparkly amethyst purple  metallic," it's a bit deeper purple than Nimue and has little gold glitter.  Neeka is right along the lines of Sally Hansen Salon Arabian Night from a collection Tracy Reese did with them a few years ago.

Zoya Neeka Nail Polish, Two Coats

The other with glitter just like that in Neeka is Yara, where it's in an olive green shimmer base.

Zoya Yara Nail Polish, Two Coats

These five are all lovely, but I think almost any polish would pale in comparison to Zoya Jem.  It's described as "sparkly fandango pink metallic," but mine's nothing like fandango pink at all.  It's a fantastic red plum shimmer, and there's something about the shimmer in it that makes it look just like cool custom car paint.  It makes me think of a neighbor I had when I was a teenager who was terribly proud of his IROC-Z.  The custom paint job even included his name on the driver's door - too bad it was spelled wrong... Anyhow, this is Zoya Jem - see if it transports you back to the days of watching a whole bunch of guys trying to construct an entire car out of Bondo.

Zoya Gem Nail Polish, Two Coats

I think the whole Mirrors Collection is excellent (Zoya's really been making great colors), but Jem put it over the top.  Jem is one amazing nail polish.

That's what I know about Zoya Mirrors, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Nubar Marble Tower & D09

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I finally decided to take a breather from things that sparkle today, but I didn't take a break from fun manicures.  Today I figured I'd try out a few patterns from the D-series nail art stamping plates, which I've only seen at Chez-Delaney.com.  I went with plate D09, which is one with several stamps of iconic celebrity pictures.

For a the stamps, I thought black would be best, and I decided to use Nubar Marble Tower, a light grey creme, as the base color.  Here's what I ended up making.

Nubar Marble Tower Nail Polish with Nail Art Stamping Plate D09

Starting at the top, that's Clint Eastwood on my thumb,  Jim Morrison on my index finger, The Blues Brothers, Audrey Hepburn, and Sylvester Stallone in Rocky.  Audrey won the prize in a battle against Bob Marley for her spot - he's also an option on this plate.

I've been reluctant to try these because the Chez-Delaney.com owner only sells this series as a substantially discounted set, stating that several of the patterns within the set don't work.  With these particular images being so detailed I thought there might be troubles, but there wasn't a single one.  I'll probably play with stamping plates for a few days since I'm so completely enamored with this manicure.

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

China Glaze Crackle Glaze

Hello, Dear Reader!

This morning's manicure was another fail.  Not so huge that I won't show it to you, but enough that I didn't want to look at it all day, so I figured I'd just crank out some swatches of the China Glaze Crackles I haven't shown to you already.

To recap, I already showed you Broken Hearted, the pink creme, over purple and later compared Black Mesh, the black creme, to OPI Black Shatter using China Glaze Sea Spray as the base color.  Here are the pictures of those so you can see all six Crackle Glazes in one place.  All six have base coat, base color, Poshe, crackle, Gelous, Poshe (the Gelous was what I used to smooth them out).

China Glaze Broken Hearted Crackle Glaze

China Glaze Black Mesh Crackle Glaze

Today's failure was a result of playing with Konad over a crackle.  I don't care for it.  I only stamped one nail, so we can just pretend I didn't do that.  I had base coat, two coats of Essie Lovie Dovie, and two of OPI Teenage Dream topped off with China Glaze Lightning Bolt, the white creme, which I consistently want to call White Lightning (a name synonymous with moonshine is just more amusing).  The Konad stamp which we're all ignoring is from plate m83 in Konad Cool Red.

China Glaze Lightning Bolt Crackle Glaze

I really like it except for the stamp.  To my eye, the clean lines of the Konad stamp over the rougher looking crackle is unappealing.  It looks like a mistake to me.  Lightning Bolt is very cool though.

The next one is the purple shimmer, Fault Line.  I was concerned about how this one would do because I've seen some pictures where it didn't break up too well.  I found that Fault Line was very thick, so I applied it as thinly as I could.  I used a good bit of pressure on the brush and really smeared Fault Line on more than painting it on, assuming that since it just shrinks anyhow that any irregularities in the application would disappear.  It turned out that was accurate.  This is Fault Line over Nfu Oh 63 with Aqua Base.

China Glaze Fault Line Crackle Glaze

Crushed Candy is the aqua creme that looked super green in one promo picture.  I applied this one as I did Fault Line, using Essie Dive Bar as the base color.

China Glaze Crushed Candy Crackle Glaze

The sixth and last shade is Cracked Concrete, a medium grey creme.  I like red and grey together, so I went with China Glaze Hey Sailor as the base color.  I used the same manner of application as I did with Fault Line and Crushed Candy for Cracked Concrete.

China Glaze Cracked Concrete Crackle Glaze

Those are the China Glaze Crackle Glazes.  I figured I'd show them to you over a variety of colors and finishes since each could be used with anything at all.  I'm a complete convert on the whole crackle/shatter thing having smoothed them out a bit and tried some other colors than black.  I'm fond of them now, and think it's an easy way to get a fun look.  It's certainly not practical for everyone, but there's nothing stopping me from wearing them.

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

FingerPaints Spring 2011

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Last week, I showed you the press release for the FingerPaints Palette of Petals Collection for Spring 2011, and this week Sally Beauty Supply sent me a set for review, so I have swatches of them for you today.  I'll get straight to the pictures and tell you about each as we go.

Aren't You Glad-iolous? is a greyish lavender creme, and it's a true one-coat polish.  Its coverage was so good in one coat that I photographed it that way.  Here's one coat of Aren't You Glad-iolous?

FingerPaints Aren't You Glad-iolous? Nail Polish, One Coat

Did You Ast-her Out? is next, a pink creme with just a touch of coral.  Something about this color reminds me of Sally Hansen Sumptuous Petal from a few years ago, which I liked but was way too jelly for me.  At two coats, it's more of a jelly and I could see through my tips, and at three, which I used here, Did You Ast-her Out? is opaque.

FingerPaints Did You Ast-her Out? Nail Polish, Three Coats

Heavenly Hydrangeas, a kind of dusty purplish creme, shows me that the one-coat coverage of Aren't You Glad-iolous? is more than just luck.  Heavenly Hydrangeas is also perfectly good in one coat.

FingerPaints Heavenly Hydrangeas Nail Polish, One Coat

Chrysanthe-mum's the Word is one where the promotional image raised questions.  The picture showed a lime shade, but the description said it was mint.  It turns out that it's about halfway between the two, either a particularly dark and yellow yellow shade of mint or a very blue shade of lime, and it's a creme.  One coat was almost enough, and in two Chrysanthe-mum's the Word is perfect.

FingerPaints Chrysanthe-mum's the Word Nail Polish, Two Coats

Carnation Creation is a teal creme, also a two coater.

FingerPaints Carnation Creation Nail Polish, Two Coats

Finally, the sixth shade is Dahlia My Number, an orange shimmer.  It's also a two coater, and FingerPaints seems to have decided that if there's only one shimmer in the collection, it would be a heck of a shimmer.  Here's Dahlia My Number.

FingerPaints Dahlia My Number Nail Polish, Two Coats

As for the Palette of Petals Collection as a whole, I'd have to say the quality is exceptional, particularly when cost is taken into consideration.  They're unusually heavily pigmented (with the exception of Did You Ast-her Out?, which seems to be by design) for any polish, let alone for a line that retails for $4.49.  I always look forward to the FingerPaints seasonal collections, and this one lives up to my expectations.

I have one more picture to show you for Palette of Petals - remember the great big flower things on the bottles in the promo picture?  Well, one of those was included with the polishes, and it's like a ring with little metal bars threaded over elastic on either end for a band.  Here's a picture of my fabulous new cocktail ring.

FingerPaints Palette of Petals Collection Ring

Girly things attached to nail polish bottles really bring out my inner five-year-old.  I have a strong desire to wear this in public for some reason.  I most likely won't since neighbors already see me wandering around outside taking pictures of something I'm hiding in my hand, and I think playing dress up in public in conjunction with that may be a bit too eccentric for this area, so I'll restrain myself.

That's what I know about the FingerPaints Palette of Petals Collection for Spring 2011.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Dior Bond Street

Good morning, Dear Reader!

When Dior's City Gris nail lacquers became available, I got only one, and that's Bond Street.  Bond Street is a grey blue creme, kind of halfway between a deep denim blue and slate blue.  It's the only one that seemed unique enough to get - Gris Montaigne looks like a grey creme, and after Nubar's Fortress Collection I'm set on those, and NY 57th looks like a gunmetal shimmer, and I'm good for those as well.  That left Bond Street, which does not disappoint.

It went on like any Dior, perfect in two coats, and in addition to being a really cool color, it's super shiny.

Dior Bond Street Nail Polish, Two Coats

I love Dior nail polishes, but they're just too pricey unless the color is exceptional.  In the case of Bond Street, it was well worth it to me.

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

Barielle Coalest Day of the Year

Good morning, Dear Reader!

The next color I have to show you from Barielle's Holiday Hustle Collection is Coalest Day of the Year.  It's described by the manufacturer as "a carbon gray with white pearls," but I think it's charcoal with silver-white shimmer.  Probably six of one and a half dozen of the other, but that's what I'd call it.

Anyhow, the polish is a bit on the thick side, but thin coats make it really manageable.  Coalest Day of the Year is good in two coats, and I also found it to be quite durable.  After this manicure dried but before I'd taken a picture of it, something went wrong around the house that required a whole bunch of cleaning where my hands were in water.  I was certain it would be ruined when I finished tidying up, and there's just a small amount of tip wear, which impressed me.  Here's the manicure after being tested.

Barielle Coalest Day of the Year Nail Polish, Two Coats Dry

Dangit, I just noticed the shadow over my pinky in the picture, but this one showed the polish best, so I'm keeping it shadow and all.  Please just ignore my pinky.

Back to the polish... I see where the folks at Barielle are coming from calling this "carbon gray."  It does look a little bit like pencil lead.  The really strong shimmer you can see in this Coalest Day of the Year is what differentiates it from other charcoal shimmers for me.  Since I'm often of the "The More, The Merrier" school of thought when it comes to shimmer, I like it a lot and would reach for this shade before most charcoals.

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


*This was sent to me for review by the manufacturer.

Konad Plate M56

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Konad plate m56 is my favorite tip pattern plate, but I haven't used it in a long time because I haven't been able to find the plate.  After many, many months, I finally bit the bullet last week and got a replacement, so I have two manicures using m56 to show you today.

First up is one using two patterns from m56.  I started with two coats of Nubar Barricade, then stamped the free edge with the swirly pattern on the plate in Konad Pink, then did the little ribbon and bow pattern at the nail line in Konad Black Pearl.

Konad m56 over Nubar Barricade Nail Polish

I'm not as wild about that one as I'd hoped to be, but I guess I just won't love them all... It's more about how the colors look together than the patterns though.  I'll likely try the same thing again with different colors to see what I think.

The second one, I like a lot.  For this one, I started with four coats of China Glaze Shocking Pink.  Four coats is high maintenance, but Shocking Pink is worth it to me.  I then painted my tips white, gave them a minute to dry, and stamped the white part with the checkerboard tip pattern using Konad Black.  I really like the outcome, and it's what I'm wearing today.

Konad m56 over China Glaze Shocking Pink Nail Polish

The picture here just hints at how truly retina searing Shocking Pink is, and with the black and white checks, it's a little hard on the eyes!

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

NARS Full Metal Jacket 2010

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have another of the recent NARS rereleases, Full Metal Jacket.  I had the original and thought it was the perfect gunmetal grey shimmer.  The polish goes on a little thin, so it needed three coats, but it's super shiny and still the perfect gunmetal.

NARS Full Metal Jacket Nail Polish, Three Coats

I'm thrilled with it.  There are lots of greys out now, but this one is just right for me, so it's good to have it again.

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

My Snakeskin is an Untamed Luxury! Color Club Untamed Luxury collection

Today I have 2 more from the Color Club Untamed Luxury the Covered in Diamonds set.
Untamed Luxury is an teal glitter in a teal jelly base.This is 2 coats in shade
Normally I would use this as a layering polish but I wanted you to see the color as it is.In full sunlight it looks like the glitter is more blue/green than teal.Application was as good as it gets with glitter. Even, smooth and not

Color Club De-Luxe-Cious (Untamed Luxury Covered in diamonds)

This color is De-Luxe-Cious!A medium grey glitter.This is three coats in shade with no top coat.It has a soft blued undertone which I really likeThis is in direct sunlight. The multi colored glitter can get a little lost in the background.The pink glitter stands out the most to me. This is a bit bumpy but not so bad that a thick coat of top coat wouldn't cover well.
I love the base color and

Color Club Untamed Luxury Every Shades of Indulgence

These are beautiful fall shades with a fabulous formula!Each is 2 coats with no top coat. Smooth application and very nice pigment.Beautiful platinum white with silvery white shimmerWild Orchid is more of a grey with orchid shimmer but a favorite none the lessPositively Posh is a shade of the popular rich fall brownSoft as Cashemere is the ever popular grey/beigeNothing but Truffle is a deep

Sally Hansen Mystic Lilac

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This week I came across the new Sally Hansen Xtreme Wears, and today I have Mystic Lilac for you.  It's kind of a lilac grey shimmer.  I've read reviews criticizing the sheerness of Mystic Lilac, so I layered two coats of it over one coat of SpaRitual Living in the Moment, a grey creme of about the same shade, which provided an opaque base without changing the color of Mystic Lilac.  It worked out well that way.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mystic Lilac Nail Polish, Two Coats

I like the shimmer in it quite a bit, but I don't think it's worth all the hype it's gotten.

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