Neutral Ombre!

You know you have too much a lot of nail polish when you can do a near-perfect ombre manicure without having to mix any colours at all. Thankfully, I did have to mix two colours for this mani – definitive proof that I, in fact, do not have a problem…maybe.

• Thumb – OPI’s You Don’t Know Jacques (possibly my favourite taupe)
• Index – Leighton Denny’s Supermodel (not available in North America as far as I know. Got it for free in an issue of Cosmo UK, I think, sometime in the summer. I’ve always wanted to try the brand so I was very excited about this freebie. Why don’t US magazines give freebies like the UK ones do?!)
• Middle – OPI’s Tickle My France-y (possibly my favourite neutral)
• Ring – 1 part OPI’s Tickle My France-y, and 1 part each of two Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure colours in Wet Clay and Lavender Cloud
• Pinky – 1 part Wet Clay and 1 part Lavender Cloud

Mixing the colours wasn’t actually that difficult. I used a piece of plastic packaging as my palette to mix colours on. I put a generous drop of each polish colour onto the plastic, and used the brush from one of the actual bottles to mix and apply. Make sure to mix enough for two fingers, and apply it to the same finger on both hands before proceeding to the next one – you don’t know want your unique polish colour to sit on the plastic for too long and dry up!

As for those worried about using a brush from an existing bottle, I wouldn’t be too concerned about it. The colours you’ll mix are likely to be similar, so any “tainting” of the original colour will be marginal.

An easy and fun way to expand your mani “repertoire” :)

Polish for Business Nerds: Essie – A Crewed Interest

I want to be the person who names nail polish for a living. It’s so fun! This one has a BUSINESS PUN in it. As an aspiring accountant, there was no doubt that I would own this.

Essie’s A Crewed Interest, from the Spring 2012 “Navigate Her” collection (ha, get it? Accrued interest?)! It’s a light, saturated peach pastel creme. Let me just get one thing clear: I bought this mostly because of the name. I’m not usually drawn to pastels.

But I do love how the colour looks on me! Gorgeous, and makes my hands look extremely tan. The colour really pops and is incredibly pretty for spring.

I had some formula issues, as it’s rather chalky and streaky – I needed to apply three coats very gingerly. I feel like the extra effort was worth it, though. I mean, the name alone! Yes, I am obviously quite easily amused.

Essie – Lapiz of Luxury

Two midterms and a load of homework later, it’s finally FRIDAY which means…Reading Break starts! A full week of unadulterated slacking off. This one will certainly be memorable because I’m heading to the Bahamas on a cruise! :D I’m thinking this colour will be fitting for the occasion.

Essie’s Lapiz of Luxury! This is from their 2010 Resort collection. I don’t know how else to describe this but a clean, light-medium cornflower blue creme. It reminds me of one of the many shades of blue you find in Caribbean waters. It’s GORGEOUS. I had this on for a full week and didn’t even remove it because I was bored of it. It’s that gorgeous. I also got tons of compliments on the colour from complete strangers!

Application is typical Essie – dreamy creamy ease (why yes, I do appreciate rhyme and assonance, how did you know?). And because I had this on for so long, I can attest to the long wear of this particular polish. A full week and not a chip in sight. The perfect spring colour!

Deborah Lippmann – Ruby Red Slippers

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! In celebration of this special day, I’ve used my new, occasion-appropriate polish…

Deborah Lippmann’s Ruby Red Slippers. Sigh. Doesn’t Deb just do the best glitters? What with Across the Universe and Happy Birthday, I don’t think you can go wrong with a Lippmann glitter. Breaks the bank though, so I only purchase on special occasions. What was it this time? A special Shoppers/Murale promotion where I got an additional $80 from spending my points! It’s like I got this baby for free :p

I have the same issues with this as I did with Across the Universe. The base black colour is super sheer (which is necessary in order to allow the red hexagonal and round glitters to really pop). But it’s an easy fix – just start off with a coat of black polish (I used OPI’s Black Onyx here), apply two coats of the glitter polish and it looks perfectly opaque. As with most glitters, this polish is a bit thicker than usual, but again, this is necessary to suspend the glitters within the liquid.

I love this, I really do. Not as much as Across the Universe, as this one is a bit one-dimensional in comparison. But for what it is, it’s pretty badass. I’m not much of a mushy Valentine’s Day celebrator – I avoid the cutesy pink nail polish on the day at all costs. This is a much sexier and exciting option, don’t you think? ;)

American Apparel – Neon Violet

A few weeks ago I bought a coupon for American Apparel nail polishes – $15 for 5! Sweet deal. Look for more AA reviews in the near future!

American Apparel’s Neon Violet is a very bright violet-magenta jelly. It doesn’t strike me as exactly…neon. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hella bright. But it’s neon in the way that a neon purple highlighter is – it always seems to pale in comparison to the wacky neon yellows and greens. I just don’t really think neon purple exists, but I guess this is the best approximation.

Nevertheless, the polish is still brighter than your average purple/magenta jelly, so I was still pleased with it. Application was a breeze as well, but jellies tend to be easy to work with as long as the opacity is there (which it is, for this one).

Maybelline Express Finish – Cool Couture

Bought this several months ago and never got around to reviewing it. I think it’s limited edition as well, so hopefully you can still find this!

Maybelline’s Cool Couture, from the Express Finish line. A stunner and truly a unique colour from a mainstream drugstore line. I can honestly say I never expected Maybelline to come out with such a sophisticated, yet trendy polish. The base is a cool gray creme with a fair amount of “hidden” blue-teal shimmer running throughout. This is the gray/teal sister of Chanel’s Paradoxal, which has a smokey dark gray-purple base with purple shimmer. Yes, I just compared Maybelline to Chanel!

The Maybelline Express Finish brush is great. Not the widest out there, but decidedly flat (which makes it much easier to work with, at least for me). The formula on this was fine too – two coats, no dragging or opacity issues. I’m a happy camper.

Belated Christmas mani: Nicole by OPI – Sensational Scarlet

Yet again, I have neglected this blog! Apologies all around. Previous term was pretty awful, but since it’s a new term and a new year, I though I’d start off fresh…by showing you what I wore for Christmas!

Nicole by OPI’s Sensational Scarlet. A beautiful jelly berry red full of small red glitters and rounded holographic glitters. So wonderfully festive! Got tons of compliments on this colour – it was just perfect for the holidays.

This brush was awful. Nearly unusable. I tried to cut off the rounded edge to make the brush perfectly straight in the hopes of making it like the OPI ProWide brushes, which sort of worked. The formula of this is not too bad to work with. It’s a bit thick, and the texture is something rough and goopy…I remember reading somewhere that it reminded someone of oatmeal? Not a bad description. It dries to a gritty finish and loses its shine as well, so make sure to follow up with an ultra-shiny fast-drying top coat!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure – Grass Slipper

There was a sale on the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line at Shoppers a few weeks ago, and of course I took advantage of a good deal! I took this chance to buy a colour that I knew I didn’t own – one that is unique, attention-getting, and mood-boosting :)

I think Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Grass Slipper fits the bill! A simply gorgeous, clean-looking lime-yellow green creme. Not much to say about it, except that just looking at it makes me happy! Formula on this was was superb for a drugstore brand. Two easy coats, no streaking issues or weird consistency at all. The brush, which I usually hate (it’s one of those “sculpted” ones) worked decently. I think these kinds of brushes are a hit or miss. If they’re cut well, they work well. If they’re cut poorly, it’s just a big ol’ mess. Luckily I got a good one with this bottle.

I have read that this colour can stain quite a bit (I certainly experienced this with another one Sally Hansen’s bright colours), so make sure you use a good base coat before applying!

Orly – Androgynie

Anyone who really knows me knows that I’m a huge astronomy geek. I love it so much that I’m willing to buy any polish that reminds me of space in any way. This was one of them!

Orly’s Androgynie, from their Holiday Soirée collection, is a sheer black that has noticeable bits of gold and multicoloured glitter, as well as big pieces of hexagonal multicoloured, possibly holographic glitter. This polish looks insane in the bottle! I couldn’t wait to try it on and see the closest approximation of the universe on my nails…

Unfortunately, this polish is disappointing. The base black colour is sheer, yet manages to “eat up” a lot of the gorgeous shimmer and glitter. you see in the bottle. As a result, what you see on the nail isn’t really that impressive. The sheerness of the black base was mitigated, though, by applying a coat of OPI’s Black Onyx underneath it, which is just a flat black creme polish.

Also, the glitters somehow manage to stick themselves to the side of the bottle, but rarely find their way to the brush and onto your nail. The big hexagonal glitters, especially, make only a rare appearance on the nails. Argh. Was really hoping this would be a showstopper, but sadly, it isn’t.

Thankfully I bought it on sale at Winners, so no harm, no foul!

Zoya – Neeka

Zoya’s Neeka, from their Fall 2011 Mirrors collection, is a spectacular polish. A dusty royal purple packed with flecks of larger gold shimmer. Still sophisticated, but with a lot of visual interest. This is my second Zoya polish – my first being Crystal. You may remember reading that I wasn’t quite impressed with the brand, but this polish completed turned my opinion around. Neeka is incredibly pigmented and applied smoothly, with little effort. I wish the Zoya brushes were just a touch longer though. The relatively short brush was a bit difficult to get used to. But I’m willing to deal with it if it means getting to wear this beautiful colour!