Shimmer Leslie & Brooklyn

Today is 12-12-12, the last of the major numerical dates for another century. Are you planning anything memorable today? More importantly have you done anything with the past eleven? I really can't say that I have and today will be no different. I plan to dedicate the day to sleep since I'm exhausted after the past week/weekend at work. If you are worried for having nothing special planned than have no fear. According to some numerology experts the real 12-12-12 is in 2019 since 2+0+1+9=12 and by that theory today is just 12-12-5. So relax, enjoy the day and take a look at these Shimmer swatches... ;)

Sunday Stamping: Precious Gemstones

I was really stumped this week by the Sunday Stamping challenge in the group Adventures in Stamping. The theme seemed simple enough, to create a manicure using precious gemstone colors. I have been agonizing over it all week trying to decide on the color/stone. I really wanted to stay away from the "typical" colors such as emerald (been there, done that). My first attempt was opal, but even though I loved the manicure (will show you soon), it didn't really look like opal, so back to square one...

Finally it dawned on me that today is my grandmother's 95th birthday and I wanted something inspired by her when I visit later today. She loves garnet and amber and since amber is not really a stone, the choice was clear. I guess sometimes all it takes is a personal connection to what you are doing to get inspired...

piCture pOlish Festival with Aphrodisiac

What is it about flakies that is so magical? I can't seem to get enough. I have already worn the combination of piCture pOlish Aphrodisiac and Festival twice. Both times for at least three days. That must be some sort of record for me. I even went into Sally's Beauty with this and they had the nerve to ask me if it was one of their flakies. After a gentle hint that their flakies are impossible to hunt down, I told them about a lovely brand called piCture pOlish :D

Barielle End of the Rainbow with Starry Sky

Today I have two more Barielle polishes to show you. A teal named End of the Rainbow and a glitter named Starry Sky. Starry Sky consists of hex shaped silver glitter in a clear base. I applied one thick coat of Starry Sky to get all the glittery goodness. It was easiest to apply by first placing a drop of polish with glitter on the nail and then spreading it around with the brush. This seemed to give me better control of where the glitter went to avoid empty spots. It is nice to just add a touch of sparkle to a manicure. I can picture it looking like a true starry sky if layered over a dark blue or black.

Comparison: Nicole by OPI Purple Yourself Together vs. OPI Dutch'ya Just Love OPI?

A comment was made that the new Target exclusive Nicole by OPI Purple Yourself Together resembles an OPI purple shimmer named Dutch'ya Just Love OPI? from the Holland Collection. I must admit they do look very similar in the bottles so I was intrigued to try them side by side...

Black and White Challenge Day 8 - Sponging

It is day eight of the Black and White Challenge which means a sponged manicure. I had in mind a marble or granite look, so I turned to the internet for inspiration, as I often do. Somehow it helps to have a picture to stare at as I work. While searching for black and white stone, I stumbled upon a photo of Emma Stone in a black and white dress that I just couldn't resist...

Emma Stone photo Source

Color Club All About Color Collection

I recently bought this Color Club collection at Ross and wanted to post swatches while it is still available. The collection is not new, I assume it is from 2010 based on the copyright date on the back. No names are listed on the bottles or the packaging and my attempts to contact Color Club resulted in no response. I was about to give up on finding names when Kirsten from Geeky Owl posted her Ross Haul which included this collection. Much to my amazement she had names listed! Long story short, Color Club provided the names in response to a question on their Facebook page. Yay! Thank you Kirsten :)

Sally Hansen Deep Purple

Sally Hansen Deep Purple is a shimmery metallic grape purple with a blue shimmer. The color is most accurate on the index and pinkie fingers. It is not as blue as it appears on the other two fingers, but the camera likes to pick up the blue shimmer. The formula was not as pigmented as I expected. The first coat does apply fairly sheer. It did build up to full coverage with two coats, but still had problems wrapping around the tips. This may have benefited from a third coat. Swatches are with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Sally Hansen Collection: Hard as Nails: Xtreme Wear Color Name/Number: Deep Purple, 170 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Contains Camphor

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Sinful Colors Slate

Sinful Color Slate from the Destination America collection is a soft gray with a silver shimmer. The shimmer is very fine and it perfectly compliments the gray. The formula is good, easy to work with, two coats for full coverage and no visible nail line. Swatches are with a top coat...

A close-up of the shimmer...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Sinful Colors Collection: Destination America Color Name/Number: Slate, 1055 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

I would love to know what you think of this! Are you a fan of gray polishes? :)

NOTE: This is a scheduled post. I appreciate all your comments and will respond as soon as I return from my trip! Thank you in advance for commenting :D

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Avon Wicked Malice + Sunday Stamping Challenge

I can't believe it is time for another Sunday Stamping Challenge in the facebook group Adventures in Stamping. This week the challenge was to create a Valentines Day mani. Since I have been wearing lots of pastels lately, I chose a dark, vampy base of Avon Wicked Malice. I stamped using Color Club Hot Like Lava from the Foiled collection and Red Angel stamping plate RA-114. I like that it is subtle, simple and not overly girly...

On it's own Avon Wicked Malice was a bit of a disappointment. The color in the bottle has an incredible dark red shimmer in a nearly black base. You can clearly see it in the bottle on any of the photos. The sad part is that it didn't transfer to the nail. Yes, the polish is still a beautiful dark, vampy color, but without this red shimmer, it lacked that special something for me. For the most part the polish looked dark berry to nearly black. Only in direct sunlight or under the lamp was the shimmer visible on the nail. Otherwise application was very good. Two coats for full coverage. With a top coat in these photos...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Avon Collection: Main line Color Name/Number: Wicked Malice, N409 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

I would love to know what you think!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

OPI - Holland - Part 2

Today I have the second half of the Holland collection from OPI to share with you. You can find the first half here, if you missed it. These should be available for purchase on the 8th of this month. Since there is lots to show, I'll get to it... :)

Kiss Me On My Tulips
A pretty pink cream that I would best describe as Barbie pink. I used three coats plus a top coat in these swatches. Application was very good as usual. I was fascinated (and this is probably just me) that the first coat dried darker and with a frosty finish, but the following coats were lighter and shiny. Anyone else pay attention to useless stuff like that? :)

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Holland, Spring 2012 Color Name/Number: Kiss Me On My Tulips, NL H59 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Pedal Faster Suzi!
A pretty lavender pink with a silver and pink shimmer. The shimmer in this one is larger and almost resembles tiny flakes. It starts out very sheer, but does build up nicely. I used three coats and could only slightly see the nail line. These swatches are with a top coat...

A close up to see the shimmer...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Holland, Spring 2012 Color Name/Number: Pedal Faster Suzi!, NL H60 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Red Light Ahead...Where?
This is a cross between a cream and a jelly. I don't see too much red in it, as the name would suggest. I would classify it as a coral orange. It is not nearly as neon as the last two photos would suggest, but it is a bright color. Great for spring. I used three coats plus a top coat for this one...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Holland, Spring 2012 Color Name/Number: Red Light Ahead...Where?, NL H61 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Thanks a Windmillion
A sea foam green cream. Application was perfect, only two coats for full coverage. I have such a weakness for these colors...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Holland, Spring 2012 Color Name/Number: Thanks a Windmillion, NL H62 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Vampsterdam
A deep plum shimmer. The polish certainly lives up to it's vampy name. The formula was very thin and runny, not what I expected. I'm not sure if it is just my bottle like that. It took three coats to build up to full coverage  Swatches are with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Holland, Spring 2012 Color Name/Number: Vampsterdam, NL H63 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Wooden Shoe Like to Know?
A milk chocolate brown with a reddish copper shimmer. Application was great, two coats for full coverage. I have been leaning toward brown polishes lately so this was right on target. I wore it as a full mani to work and loved it!

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Holland, Spring 2012 Color Name/Number: Wooden Shoe Like to Know?, NL H64 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Will you be getting any of the colors from this collection?
I'd love to know what you think of them so don't be shy :)

For more information you can visit www.opi.com.
Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

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 **