OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I've been in the mood for a good red lately, so it seemed like a good day to show you OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It from the OPI Muppets.  On the nail, it turned out far better than it sounds: it's a clear base with powdery-fine red glitter and red and silver hex glitter.  The outcome looks like opaque stop sign red glitter nails with white glitter polka dots.

For the manicure, I used base coat, three coats of Gettin' Miss Piggy With It, and a coat of Addicted to Speed just because it was late.  This morning, I felt around the edges of my nails for any pieces of stray hex glitter overhanging an edge, then just filed off the part over the edge and added a coat of Sally Hansen Salon top coat to seal it and smooth out the glitter.  Without the second coat of top coat, it definitely would have been passably smooth and was far better than I'd anticipated, but I really like perfectly smooth.  Once it dried, I took pictures in the sun.

OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It Nail Polish, Three Coats

Here's a closer look at the glitter in it.

OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It Nail Polish, Close Up of Glitter

There's no way to show you in a still picture just how reflective this glitter is, so I'll tell you.  In low-ish indoor lighting, it completely glows, and I think even in office lighting this one would catch attention from across the room.  It's really stunning, and I'd completely prepared myself for a disappointment since fine glitters often don't build up very well.  With the first coat, I definitely didn't see the potential it had because the glitter looked sparse, the second coat looked almost like this, and I added the third to finish covering a few barer spots.  Gettin' Miss Piggy With It is unequivocally a keeper for me, and it's really an exceptional red for the holidays.

I can chalk up another OPI Muppets success with Gettin' Miss Piggy With It, and that's all there is to tell you this morning.  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.

Konad m84 ~ New Plate!

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I got an email from Jessica at WowSoCool last week telling me that there were two new Konad plates in, m84 and m85, as well as a new "multi stamper," and she sent them to me to review.  I'm always excited when there are new Konad plates, and I was especially happy for these because I just haven't done any nail stamping in a while.  I have a lot going on these days, and the times I've been inspired to Konad, I've simply run out of steam trying to pick which design to use in what color, so being limited to two was doing me a big favor!

I picked plate m84 first because it has lip prints.  Here's the stock image of the plate:

Konad Plate m84

I figured a pattern in addition to the lip prints would be good, so I went with the stars in the middle.  To get back to BCA pinks, I started out with a manicure of Eyeko Punk Polish, the two-coat hot pink, and black and white Konad Special Polish for the stamping.  I used the new multi-stamper for this manicure, and I really liked it.  This is the stock image of it.

Konad Multi Stamper in Stand

The picture shows two pieces, the stamper in its stand.  The top is the regular stamper, the side an angled metal scraper, and fit into the stand is the small Konad stamper, like on the double-sided one.  The first two stamps I did with it were a little awkward because I'm right-handed and have always scraped the plate right to left (toward me) to look at what I'm doing while I'm doing it, but the whole scraper is a little big to look around and moving it that way wasn't easy.  Then I tried scraping left to right, and it was the easiest thing ever - all it took to scrape the pattern perfectly was a little twist of the wrist, that's it.

What I liked best was that after scraping, I used the same tool to stamp.  One reason that appealed to me is that after applying thousands of Konad stamps because I love them, I still associate the process with picking things up and putting them down eighty bazillion times at breakneck speed.  This cut out the part where I quickly look for a place to put down the polish-covered scraper, find where I left the stamper and grab it, and pick up the pattern from the plate while racing the drying Konad polish.  Simplifying the process also cuts out a few seconds between painting the plate and picking up the stamp, which is helpful.  Whenever someone emails me saying she can't get Konad to work and asks for tips, the first thing I always mention is that you have to work at the speed of light, literally as fast as you possible can, and nine times out of ten I get a reply telling me that was it.

I know none of that is life and death stuff, and that's probably why it's useful.  Since Konad (and nail polish, for that matter) are entirely optional, keeping them as easy as they can be makes it likely that more people can use them well, and Konad is such a high payoff for very little effort that making the window where problems come up even shorter is a big help, so I'm a fan.  The speed came in handy with the stars, which I did in Konad White, since tiny shallow patterns dry ridiculously fast and are sometimes hard for me to stamp before they dry, but it worked here.  I added the lip print in black for an accent nail.  My pinky's stars are imperfect because I was too lazy to look for the Konad polish, used Misa Heaven White, was reminded of why I prefer Konad polish, got up to find the white one, and stamped over it.

Konad m84 over Eyeko Punk Polish

I like it because it's fun and a little silly.  That's why I love lip prints so much, they're so cartoonishly funny to me.  They always make me think of a friend of mine who died of brain cancer in 2004, and older guy of about 70 from a small town around here who worked a blue collar job in agriculture his whole life (one of those friendships where nothing matched but personalities).  He was the funniest person ever - he'd go between saying the most concise, deepest observations imaginable (always preceded by "Kid" when talking to me, since that's what he called me), saying and doing things for the sole purpose of annoying others, and flirting with all the younger women.  He didn't flirt in a gross lecherous way, he had a wonderful wife he'd been married to forever and absolutely adored, he just liked to flirt.  One evening after a gathering he came up to me and the two other women I was with and started his flirting, and he kept teasing me about my bright red lipstick.  I finally just I put my arm around his shoulders, stood on my toes, and planted a big red lip print on his cheek.  We had a good laugh and I took out a Kleenex and mirror so he could take it off, but he was having fun showing off that he got a kiss, and wore it home to show to his wife (who, knowing him best, also thought it was funny).  Ever since then, lip prints remind me of Larry and make me smile.

That covers a lot!  Now you know about Konad plate m84, the multi-stamper, and you've heard my lip print story!  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 Peridot

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

After passing on Chanel Peridot with confidence, I saw someone wearing it in person recently, and that completely changed my mind.  I think it's one that doesn't translate to photos terribly well - I've seen pictures where it looks mostly kind of yellowish or gold , and that's not what it looked like in person at all.  I decided to get it somewhere with easy returns in case I hated it, and I don't.  If only I'd waited to get Stairway to Heaven from Nordies...

Anyhow, Peridot seemed like a nice change for today, so I tried it out.  It's a well pigmented two-coater, mostly green with some pale yellow and a strong shimmer.  I used SpaRitual Lacquer Lock as a base and their Tout de Suite for top coat (some experimenting a few years back showed me those consistently work well with Chanels) and two coats of Peridot.  Then I went outside and took some pictures.  This is Peridot in the sun.

Chanel Peridot Nail Polish, Two Coats

Since it's a duochrome, I also took a picture in the shade.

Chanel Peridot Nail Polish, Two Coats in Shade

It took about ten pictures each to get the real color, and even at that neither picture is as cool as in person.  I never knew it had the shimmer that shows in sunlight, but it does.  Peridot is a happy surprise that's kind of made up for the Stairway letdown.  This is not my favorite duochrome color combination (and not terribly far off from Nubar Wildlife but definitely not a dupe), but it's a very nicely done duochrome so I like it.  If it were the purple/green kind, I'd be giddy about it.

That's Chanel Peridot and the update for today, Dear Reader.  I have some new Konad stuff (the two new plates and multiscraper, which looks super handy) to show you this weekend, so until then, 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.

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.

OPI Excuse Moi

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Today I have a new polish that's also pink to show you, OPI Excuse Moi from the OPI Muppets Collection for Holiday 2011.  I only got a few of the OPI Muppets, and I'm especially happy with this one.

Excuse Moi is a pink base that's opaque enough to completely cover in two coats, but not so opaque that it obscures any of the myriad glitters it's completely loaded up with.  For today's manicure, I used base coat, two coats of Excuse Moi, giving each coat of color several minutes to dry a bit, then two coats of clear polish over Excuse Moi to smooth it out before applying one coat of SpaRitual Tout de Suite.  When applying the clear, I covered the edge of my nails all the way around with each coat and also gave each coat of clear a few minutes to dry, then applied the top coat, covering the edges a third time.  I did that because sometimes when top coat wears a little from typing or just proceeding with the day, if there's a piece of glitter exposed, it'll catch on everything it possibly can and annoy the heck out of me, but I've found the extra padding of some clear polish tends to bypass that.

Once it dried, I went out into the sun and took some pictures, so here is OPI Excuse Moi.

OPI Excuse Moi Nail Polish, Two Coats

Check out all the glitter it has - this is a close up of part of one nail.

OPI Excuse Moi Nail Polish, Close Up of Glitter

That seems like a fair representation of The Muppets to me!  I loved really The Muppets growing up.  My mom only let us watch PBS when we were little, and Sesame Street was my favorite.  My dad was cooler and would let us watch Sonny & Cher sometimes, and he'd also get us Tater Tots and Lucky Charms when my mom went on trips (maybe that was so we wouldn't whine about when she was coming home...), but I was a Sesame Street gal at heart.  We'd watch The Muppet Show as a family when it started later on and going to see the movies was a great big deal, so I was glad that some of these polishes appeal to me for the nostalgia factor.  Some of them really, really don't - I currently have a pretty strong preference for smaller glitter.  The glitter in Excuse Moi is small but very visible, about the same size as that in OPI Teenage Dream.

Two coats of color and two coats of clear for a very smooth and totally opaque glitter manicure is about as good as I could possibly expect, so Excuse Moi makes me really happy.  I have a whole bunch of work to do this afternoon that's going to keep me inside, and this is a polish that make me really want to look at it in the sun, so I'll be fighting that impulse all afternoon.

That's my OPI Excuse Moi manicure, 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.

Nubar Elegant Indigo

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I have one of the newer polishes on the list of things to show you today, Nubar Elegant Indigo from their Fall 2011 Polished Chic Collection.  It's a very well pigmented deep blue with a lot of sparkly shimmer bits, and not only did nobody tell me it's this cool, it looks far less impressive in the bottle than it is on the nail.

I used two very thin coats of Elegant Indigo over a base and finished it off with a coat of Poshe.  In applying the color, I found that one not-so-thin coat would have been enough, but I did two super thin since I have a better time controlling application with very thin coats.  The polish was easy to control and apply, and this manicure has no clean-up.

Indoors, it looks like a nice deep blue shimmer, and it's one of those where in low light you can see it has great direct light potential.  After it dried I went out into the sunlight and confirmed that it is indeed spectacular in direct light.  This is Elegant Indigo in the sun.

Nubar Elegant Indigo Nail Polish, Two Coats

I have a super close-up of the shimmer on part of a nail so you can see how lively the finish is.

Nubar Elegant Indigo Nail Polish, Close Up of Shimmer

In both pictures you can see how the polish just lights up and glows when light hits it - it's brighter and more blurple in the directly lit parts and a darker deep blue in the areas not directly lit.  I particularly like the shimmer in this one - normally, dark blues that look loaded with shimmer in the bottle take direct light and a lot of squinting to see any shimmer at all once they're applied, but this one is really pronounced.

That's Nubar Elegant Indigo and my manicure for the day, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



*This product was sent for independent review by the manufacturer.

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

OPI Think Merry! Pink Merry!

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

For my first manicure of October, I thought I'd go with a pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, although the pink I chose, OPI's Think Merry! Pink Merry! isn't specifically a BCA color.  It was an Ulta Holiday Exclusive a few years ago, I think 2008, but it's a great pink so I'm wearing it.  I don't have any 2011 BCA colors - with the state of the economy as a whole and my household in particular, I'm becoming a bigger fan of direct donations or drumming up direct donations through pledges for walking.  Any money for research is great, so I have no argument with products supporting charities, it's more that my own cash is limited enough that I'd rather see a charity get  my $10 than $1 from a $10 purchase I've made.

I'm very aware of breast cancer this year - my closest cousin fought it a few years back and did well, being cancer-free for years.  She's in the medical field and working on a doctorate, and has been the ideal follow-up patient.  Between twice-yearly oncologist visits to verify everything's still clear with this being the last year of such visits, she was having a lot of joint and leg pain, really bad pain that required attention (for reference, she's given birth six times naturally without a painkiller), and the upshot was that the cancer had returned and gotten into her lymph nodes and bones, all within a matter of a few months.  That's some scary stuff, and it's mean in the sense that it hurts so badly and unfair in the sense that she actively participated in her own treatment and did everything modern medicine said to do yet still had a worst-case result.  It's a gruesome disease, and I tell her story for the awareness side of the month's theme.

So now that I've thoroughly bummed you out but decided to leave the story there because it's just one such case of many, I'll tell you about the manicure.  It's one coat of base coat, three very thin coats of Think Merry! Pink Merry! because the color is on the frosty side and thinner coats are kinder in terms of brush marks, then one coat of Poshe.  I let it dry and then took a picture ion the sun, so here's OPI Think Merry! Pink Merry!.

OPI Think Merry! Pink Merry! Nail Polish, Three Coats

I love the finish on this one because it has little sparkle bits and I like non-streaky frosts, and an opaque pale pink will always win my heart.

I'll be trying to go heavy on pinks this month, mixing in the other polishes I have to show you, so Think Merry! Pink Merry! is the beginning of my 2011 BCA pinks.  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 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.

Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Black Magic

Good morning, Dear Reader!

When I got home last night I changed my nail color to one of the Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers, Black Magic, which I'd shown you bottle pics of but not swatches when I got them.  It's a black that's loaded up with very fine glitters, and it turned out to be quite nice.

The tombstone cap wasn't a problem to use as a brush handle, but the brush itself falls short of ideal.  It's long and kind of floppy, and mine had some wacky stray hairs.  My experience of Wet n Wild is that the quality of the products is generally good, particularly for the price, and that the quality of the packaging is what keeps the cost as low as it is, so I wasn't horrified to discover that the brush wasn't great.

I applied base coat, two coats of Black Magic, which was enough for even and opaque coverage, and a coat of Poshe.  The brush only interfered with one nail, my middle left, where the edge of the polish along the cuticle is imperfect, but not enough of a problem to actually do something about it.  This morning, after it dried nicely, I took pictures of it in the sun.  Here is Wet n Wild Black Magic.

Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Black Magic Nail Polish, Two Coats

Here's a closer look at the glitter.

Glitter in Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Black Magic Nail Polish

I absolutely love this polish - it's really fun to wear.  Out of bright light, it's clear that there's glitter in it, and then in bright light it's really sparkly and cool.  I was definitely worth the $2-$3 I spent on it.

That is what I know about Wet n Wild Fantasy Maker Black Magic, my manicure for the day, 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 Himalayan Blue

Good morning, Dear Reader!

After two days of wearing Skyscraper, which is truly spectacular in sunlight, I figured I'd go for something a little more basic and upbeat and chose Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Himalayan Blue, one of the Fall 2011 Tracy Reese shades.

Himalayan Blue is a really lovely intense sky blue creme, and in applying it I was impressed with its quality.  The polish is very well pigmented, with two coats being plenty, easy to control, and dried very quickly to an unusually high shine.  I used a base coat, two coats of Himalayan Blue, and a coat of Poshe.  After it dried, I took a picture of it in sunlight, and you can see in the picture just how shiny it is, especially since Poshe doesn't add much in the way of shine.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Himalayan Blue Nail Polish, Two Coats

Although not a traditional color for fall, Himalayan Blue feels right for an autumn day like today in the Midwest - the sun is out after a couple grey days of rain, and it's a cloudless perfectly blue sky.  These are my favorite beautiful days before the cold begins to set in, so I really like a polish that feel just right for them.  Of course, the temptation was to Konad this, being a plain creme, but a plain particularly happy color is sometimes best left alone.  I might add to it after wearing it for a day, but today I'm just going to savor the pretty simplicity.

This was sent to me by Sally Hansen's PR for review, and the press materials indicated that the Tracy Reese shades would be available in fall with nothing more specific regarding a date.  Sally Hansen limited editions normally tend to show up in my area within the first week or two of release, and I can tell you that they're not here yet.  I've been to the two stores where collections usually show up first locally for other stuff in recent days and took a detour to cosmetics to see if they were around, but they weren't, so just keep an eye out for them because they should be available very soon now.

That's Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Himalayan Blue, 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.

China Glaze Skyscraper

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I felt like a fun polish today, so I used China Glaze Skyscraper from their Metro Collection.  I think this might be the only one I have from that collection, maybe one other.  Skyscraper is a really striking deep blue with very, very fine silver glitter.

I used base coat, three coats of Skyscraper, and a coat of Poshe.  After two coats, the blue base of Skyscraper had some uneven spots, so I added a third to make it even.  It dried just fine after a third coat of color, so it wasn't a problem at all.  I also noticed that despite being loaded up with glitter, the surface of the polish is quite smooth after drying.  This is Skyscraper in the sun.

China Glaze Skyscraper Nail Polish, Three Coats

This is a fun cool weather polish, so I like it, and a smooth glitter is always a plus.

That is China Glaze Skyscraper and just about all there is to tell you about this morning, 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.

Nubar Beguiling Carmine

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I wanted a traditional shade for something I have going later on today, and I figured it was a good time to show you a shade from Nubar's Polished Chic collection, and I went with Beguiling Carmine.  The premise of Nubar's Polished Chic is that it's modern classic shades, so it seemed like a good fit.

Beguiling Carmine is described by the manufacturer as "a brick red creme," and there's not a heck of a lot to add to that.  The color is a tiny bit muddier than a standard brick red, just enough to update the color but not enough to call it something else.  I used a base, two coats of Beguiling Carmine, and finished it off with a coat of Poshe.  The polish is well pigmented, where at one coat it's clear that two will do the trick, was easy to apply and control, and it has a good shine.  This is Beguiling Carmine after drying, in artificial light.

Nubar Beguiling Carmine Nail Polish, Two Coats

This is a good autumn red - it has enough brown to fit the season but is still distinctly red overall.  I noticed in looking through pictures that my top coat has some bubbles, which is kind of a bummer, but I'm betting that I'll get through the day just the same with or without them and leaving it alone.

That is Beguiling Carmine, my manicure for the day, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



This product was sent by the manufacturer for review.

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

Nubar Jeans

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I just got a promo image that's pretty interesting for Nubar Jeans, which they say will be online within the next two weeks.

Nubar Jeans Nail Polish Collection

Look familiar?  They look like dupes for Les Jeans de Chanel to me.  The only other info I have is that the set of three will be $19.99 and the colors are as follows:

Faded Jeans, a light blue shimmer
Boyfriend Jeans, a medium blue creme
Dark Wash Jeans, a dark blue creme

That's what I know, and now you do too.  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.

Color Club Hot Like Lava

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I did a quick color change to another of the Color Club Foils last night, so I'm wearing Hot Like Lava today.  It's got the same finish as the last (all six do), is partway between pink and red, and is fantastic.  One coat of Hot Like Lava would have been plenty but for the ridges in my nails, so I added a second and that concealed them nicely.  The polish was exceptionally easy to control, is very pigmented, and dried quickly.  I topped it off with a coat of Poshe and called it a manicure.

Since the likelihood that I'll think of taking a picture of the manicure later is very slim, I have an artificial light picture for you that I just took, and the polish is thoroughly dry.  To be honest, Hot Like Lava is really fabulously glowy in a way that never translates to a picture, so this picture sells it short.  What it reminds me of in indoor lighting is what metal looks like with a colored finish, the kind that's usually done on aluminum things - if an e-cig battery came in this color, I'd be all over it (that's the only colored aluminum item I'm using these days...).  There might be a name for colored metal like that, I don't know, but maybe Indi will help us out with that one.  Anyhow, since it the middle of the night I used artificial light, and my picture just gives you a tiny hint of how awesome this polish is.  I'll put my camera in my purse on the off chance I think of taking another one and if I get one that's worthwhile I'll tack it on later.  In the meantime, here's Hot Like Lava.

Color Club Hot Like Lava Nail Polish, Two Coats

The bright light for the picture washed the color out somewhat, and it's really a bit darker than it appears here, but this was the least washed out picture of the bunch.  The coolest thing about it is the glowiness, where in normal lighting a line down the center of my nails is lit up and the sides are darker, and I think any adequately lit picture loses that, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

So far, the Color Club Foils are two for two, and I'm looking forward to seeing if the winning streak continues.  For now, that's Hot Like Lava, 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.

Color Club Lumin-icecent

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm sorry I've been neglecting you, but I have something very cool to show you this morning to make up for it.  Color Club sent their Foiled collection, which is a collection of six really nice foils (or chromes), and when I finally had a chance to change my polish, I picked Lumin-icecent to wear.  That's a super Suzi name, but more like Suzi on a good day since the color of this one is a good ice blue.

I meant to take a picture of three days' wear on Facets of Fuchsia because I had no chips or tip wear at all, but it really needed to be changed because that Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle serum I'm using really seems to be working - the manicure looked a good five days grown out.  However, it was 11:30 at night when I had a chance to change color, so here wasn't adequate light to be had.

For Lumin-icecent, I used Nailtek II as a base since it's a ridge filler.  I have pretty pronounced ridges in my nails and chromes are the absolute least forgiving finish for that, so I figured ridge filler would help me out.  I then applied two coats of Lumin-icecent, which went on very easily and was no problem at all to control.  To avoid brush strokes, I just used a light hand with the brush and it worked out well.  I finished it off with a coat of Poshe, and now I have a perfect manicure for a very chilly day.  Here's Lumin-icecent totally dry on a cloudy day.

Color Club Lumin-icecent Nail Polish, Two Coats

I love this because it's foily enough to look like metal, but isn't bad on brush strokes or showing my ridges too much, and it's a perfect ice blue.  The other five shades are equally good - Color Club left out the obligatory silver and gold that have been done to death and gave us just cool colored foils.  I had a hard time choosing which to wear and just picked this one so I could put it on and get to sleep.

Lumin-icecent is just the first of the Color Club Foils I have to show you, so there will be more to come.  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 Bewitched

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I was looking for something dignified this morning, and I picked Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Bewitched, which is one of the upcoming limited edition Tracy Reese polishes for fall 2011.

Bewitched is an interesting shade in a good way, kind of a cross between plum and the (I can't think of a more savory description for this) dried blood shades with a creme finish.  I used a base coat, two coats of color, and a top coat for this manicure.  I found that Bewitched almost gives full coverage in one thin coat, but I did need the second to make it completely even on all ten nails.  It dried to be pretty markedly darker than bottle color, as you can see in the picture.  This is Bewitched on a cloudy day.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Bewitched Nail Polish, Two Coats

That's quite a big difference between bottle shade and dry-on-the-nail shade, but I'm happy with how it looks on the nail.  The down side to a significant difference in bottle color versus dry color is that I have to remember that Bewitched is one of that dries darker, but if that's its biggest trouble, I can live with it.

Bewitched does have the usual Complete Salon Manicure brush, which I know is not the most popular design ever, but it's worth noting that it does a really nice job once you get a feel for it.  I don't recall what the first shade from this line that I used was, but I do recall thinking that it looked like I'd let a little kid paint my nails the first time I used this brush.  It has an unusually long stem, lots and lots of short bristles trimmed to a rounded shape, and it's wider than average, and the result is that it holds a lot of polish and is a little harder to manipulate than most.  Since I have great big nails by some standards, that might seem like a good thing, but it's easy to pick up way more polish with it than I want for one nail.  I found that wiping off both side of the brush inside of the bottle's neck rather than just one side as I normally do fixes the issue of quantity, and once the excess polish is wiped off, I found it's way easier to control where the remaining polish goes.  Having gotten a feel for using the CSM brush, it does a great job (there was no cleanup on this mani), but it took several crappy to marginally bad manicures to get to that point.  Since the colors in this line are so often very nice, it was worth the effort of learning to work with the brush.

That is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Bewitched, the first of the Fall 2011 Tracy Reese polishes that Sally Hansen's PR sent for review, 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.

Chanel Blue Rebel

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today is the last installment of Les Jeans de Chanel with Blue Rebel, the darkest of the three.  I put it on last night and managed to scuff it up a little bit before I took a picture, but I can still show you the color.

Blue Rebel is really saturated with color, and one thin coat is almost enough for a manicure.  Two makes it really shiny and rich.  It's just a standard blue, but very nicely done.

Chanel Blue Rebel Nail Polish, Two Coats

This is in direct sunlight, for reference on the color.  Although it is a very nice blue, this is the one of the three with which I'm least impressed.

That's the update for today, 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.

Chanel Coco Blue

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have Chanel Coco Blue to show you, which is the lightest of Les Jeans de Chanel.  It has a nice mica shimmer that give the polish kind of a glow and is distinctly visible as shimmer only in direct light.

For the manicure, I used SpaRitual Laquer Lock base coat, two coats of Coco Blue, and one coat if Lippmann Addicted to Speed to finish it off.  Here's Coco Blue in natural light on a slightly cloudy day.

Chanel Coco Blue Nail Polish, Two Coats

That's all for today, Dear Reader, 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.

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.

Chanel Blue Boy

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I received a fabulous gift of Les Jeans de Chanel today, so it seems that my waffling over whether to purchase them resolved itself without a decision ever being made.  All three polishes are quite pretty, but I'd say Coco Blue is the standout of the collection.  It's lighter than I was in the mood to wear, so of the other two I chose Blue Boy, the middle one, to wear today.

Blue Boy is a medium kind of slate blue creme, but bluer than slate blue and I don't know the official name of the shade, but that seems like a close enough description since I'm about to show you a picture anyhow.  I used SpaRitual Lacquer Lock for a base, two coats of Blue Boy, and I topped it off with Addicted to Speed.  At one coat, Blue Boy looked like it might be a jelly, but the second coat made it a super shiny Chanel creme.  Blue Boy is to medium blue what Dragon is to red and Imperial to brown, where the color itself isn't out of the ordinary but the incredible gloss to the polish is.  Whether that's $29 special is a personal call, I think, and I'm just glad my birthday falls when it does so I can stop evaluating whether it's $29 special and just enjoy wearing it.

This is Blue Boy in sunlight after it had dried.

Chanel Blue Boy Nail Polish, Two Coats

I haven't tried a new Chanel creme in quite some time, perhaps since last September, and I'd forgotten the high shine they have.  It makes a simple color really a standout for me, so Blue Boy makes me happy.  I think my reluctance to purchase high-end polishes has made gift giving very easy for people who like me - I'm suddenly really easy to shop for!

That's what I know about Chanel Blue Boy, 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.