Pure Ice: Five Shades of Grey

I may be the only one who has not heard of the novel Fifty Shades of Grey. It was not until seeing a press release from Pure Ice offering us their five shades of grey that I looked it up. Since I prefer for my blog to be nail polish related, I will leave the topic of the book for another day and instead show you the five shades of gray from Pure Ice...

Beware
A densely packed silver glitter in a clear base. It has almost full nail coverage in three coats and any missed spots are hardly seen with all that sparkle. The photos don't accurately convey just how shiny and glittery this really is. A gorgeous polish that can be worn either alone or used in small doses for nail art. This is three coats with a top coat, originally swatched here...

Nicole by OPI Texture Coats for Spring 2012

I'm back today with more swatches of Nicole by OPI Spring releases that are set to hit stores in April. In addition to the four Target exclusive polishes and the six new Kardashian Kolor polishes, Nicole by OPI is releasing four texture coats to add to their existing line. These are a little different from standard crackle polishes and appear to be a cross between an effect top coat and a crackle...

Pure Ice Not Now and Lightning Strikes for St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! It looks as though I didn't catch a Leprechaun in time to get some luck since I managed to break a nail and had to cut them all. Maybe it is not such a bad thing though, sometimes shorter nails are good too.

I have for you swatches of another Crackle & Ice Duo from Pure Ice. It contains a shimmery metallic dark green named Not Now and a silver crackle named Lightning Strikes. The combo works really well to give a little pop of green through the crackle. Although for St. Patrick's day, I wonder if a gold crackle would have been a better match.

Pure Ice - Winter Crackle & Ice Duo - Silver Glitter with Teal Crackle

I have another Crackle & Ice Duo from Pure Ice to share with you today. This set contains a silver glitter (number 537CP) and a teal crackle named Strike a Pose. The crackle is a metallic bright blue teal. I can honestly say I have nothing like it in my collection. It is a bit sheer and allows the glitter shine through. It was easy to apply and the crackle very consistent. The photos can't accurately capture just how sparkly this manicure really is. I'm at a loss for words as I keep staring at my nails :D

Swatch Details
	Brand: Pure Ice Collection: Winter Crackle & Ice Duo: Silver Glitter & Teal Crackle Color Name/Number: Strike a Pose, 576CP (over 537CP) Number of coats: 1 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Contains Camphor

By itself 537CP (I wish they would name it), is a dense silver glitter. It provides almost full nail coverage by three coats. The only problem I ran into with this polish is that is has a very strong chemical smell. I was quite surprised since none of the other Pure Ice polishes have bothered me before. If you are sensitive to strong smells then you have been warned. These swatches are three coats plus a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Pure Ice Collection: Winter Crackle & Ice Duo: Silver Glitter & Teal Crackle Color Name/Number: Beware, 537CP Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Contains Camphor

UPDATE: Thanks to the information from a lovely reader, the glitter polish actually has a name of Beware.

I know everyone is over the crackles, but I'm quite impressed with the ones I have tried from Pure Ice. The combos go so well together and this metallic teal crackle is a stunner. I'm just thinking of how it would look over a dark polish... hmm! If you missed my previous two reviews, check out the Gold Glitter with Black Crackle and Gold with Red Crackle.

I love your feedback, so let me know what you think :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


** These polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. For more information please see the disclosure policy **

OPI - Nicki Minaj Collection - Swatches & Review

Today I have swatches of the OPI Nicki Minaj collection that I have been playing with over the weekend. The collection contains three creams, two glitters and a shatter. It is a fun collection so take a look at the photos (be warned, there are a lot of them) and let me know what you think :)

Did It On 'Em
This is a chartreuse cream which kind of caught me off guard. I did not expect to like the color as much as I did. I have no idea how, but it made my nails appear narrower and longer. You won't hear me complaining about it... Application was good. I used three coats plus a top coat for the full even coverage in these photos...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Nicki Minaj Color Name/Number: Did It On 'Em, NL N13 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Fly
A beautiful teal cream. This one applied thin with the first coat, but did build up very nicely. Make sure to use a nice base coat with this one as it did stain my nails blue (I was lazy and skipped the base coat... lesson learned). The photos below are three coats plus a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Nicki Minaj Color Name/Number: Fly, NL N14 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Pink Friday
A sweet pink cream. This one was a bit thicker than the other creams and therefore only required two coats for full coverage. Definitely a shade I would reach for if I needed something quick, clean and work friendly. Didn't expect to find such a shade in a Nicki Minaj inspired collection, but I like it. This it two coats with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Nicki Minaj Color Name/Number: Pink Friday, NL N16 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Metallic 4 Life
A black jelly base with small square and larger hex silver glitter. I love this one. The silver makes a nice pop against the black. It had full nail coverage at two coats, but I applied three just to get more glittery goodness. These are with one layer of top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Nicki Minaj Color Name/Number: Metallic 4 Life, NL N15 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Save Me
This glitter consists of small silver glitter in addition to blue and holographic bar glitter. I am not sure how many coats of this it would take to get full coverage, but I did not try it on its own. I consider this a layering glitter. The holographic glitter was hard to capture in the photos although it was not at all shy in real life. You can see it best in the bottle of these swatches. I applied one coat plus a top coat over all three creams in the collection...

Over Did It On 'Em...

Over Fly...

Over Pink Friday...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Nicki Minaj Color Name/Number: Save Me, NL N17 (over Pink Friday) Number of coats: 1 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Super Bass Shatter
A purple shatter which as far as I'm concerned works well over any color in the collection. My favorite combo though was with Did It On 'Em. I like the contrast in this case. What makes this shatter special is that it is not a cream, but a strong purple shimmer instead. I applied one coat of shatter over the above cream with Save Me combinations...

Over Did It On 'Em plus Save Me...

Over Fly plus Save Me...

Over Pink Friday plus Save Me...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Nicki Minaj Color Name/Number: Super Bass Shatter, NL N18 (over Did It On 'Em) Number of coats: 1 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

I would love to know what you think of this collection!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


** These polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. For more information please see the disclosure policy**

Pure Ice - Winter Crackle & Ice Duo - Gold Glitter & Black

Today I have another Pure Ice Crackle & Ice Duo set to share with you. This one contains a gold glitter numbered 582CP and a black crackle named Strobe Light. This was my first time layering a crackle over a glitter and I love it. As always, just imagine this 100 times more sparkly in real life. I just keep wiggling my fingers and staring at the sparkle. Strobe Light crackled quickly and evenly. I had no problems with application at all.

Swatch Details
	Brand: Pure Ice Collection: Winter Crackle & Ice Duo: Gold Glitter & Black Color Name/Number: Strobe Light, 567CP (Over 582CP) Number of coats: 1 (Over 2 coats 582CP) Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Contains Camphor

On it's own the gold glitter is very pretty as well. The glitter is comprised of small mostly gold, but also some copper particles. It is very dense and covers well. Two coats for full coverage with no visible nail line. Can easily be worn on it's own. I topped it off with two layers of top coat to get a smooth finish...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Pure Ice Collection: Winter Crackle & Ice Duo: Gold Glitter & Black Color Name/Number: 582CP Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes - 2 coats Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Contains Camphor

Have you tried crackles over glitter? What do you think of this combination?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** These polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Pure Ice Year of the Dragon Crackle & Ice Duo

Today I have one more Year of the Dragon manicure to share with you. This one comes courtesy of Bari Cosmetics who kindly sent me these two polishes for review. Unlike my previous manicure, this one is a more traditional color scheme for Chinese New Year. It reminds me of beautiful lanterns with light shining through.

For the manicure I started out with the gold, which sadly does not have a name, only the number (313CP) on the bottom. In all the communication I received it is simply referred to as Gold. I topped the gold off with a layer of Show Stopper, a bright red jelly crackle. I had no problems with application. The crackle was very consistent. I love that it is a jelly and allows the gold to shine through.

When it came to the symbol to stamp, I had a hard time picking one out since there are so many plates with Chinese symbols and I have no idea what they mean. I enlisted the help of a friend to explain the meanings of them until I finally settled on the symbol from Bundle Monster plate BM-221. She translated it to means lucky, fortunate in life and so much more. So here is to a wonderful Year of the Dragon...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Pure Ice Collection: Year of the Dragon 2012, Crackle & Ice Duo Color Name/Number: Show Stopper, 569CP Number of coats: 1 (over 3 coats 313CP) Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Contains Camphor

Here are the swatches of the gold on it's own. It is a bright yellow gold foil with some shimmer qualities. Streaking was minimal with careful application and because it is so shiny you can't see any of them in the photos regardless. I used three coats to get full coverage. Photos are with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Pure Ice Collection: Year of the Dragon 2012, Crackle & Ice Duo Color Name/Number: Bite Me, 313CP Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Contains Camphor

UPDATE: The gold is named Bite Me

Let me know what you think!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** These polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. For more information please see the disclosure policy **