Nail of the Day: China Glaze Riveter Rouge

Hey everybody!  In honor of the beginning of fall, which doesn't mean very much change in temps in my part of the country, I'm showing one of my favorite fall polishes.  China Glaze Riveter Rouge is a real antique, hailing from the 2010 Vintage Vixen collection.  And what a great collection that was!

Riveter Rouge is a burgundy red with a tiny hint of brown.  It's also heavy with microglitter that some people describe as silver, with a tendency to be bumpy.  However, my bottle looks like it has gold microglitter, and it is not bumpy at all...just super sparkling.  Angelo's hair not included in most versions...

The formula of Riveter Rouge was thin with a huge side of watery, but I used two coats, and everything evened out nicely.  This is the type of color that makes you think of fall foliage and drinking cocoa.  Hey, maybe our leaves will change before December this year! :P

You can still find the Vintage Vixen collection around here and there.  Despite the watery application, I do recommend Riveter Rouge for its beautiful autumn color and fantastic sparkle.  What is your favorite color to wear in fall?

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely evening! <3

China Glaze I Love Your Guts and Getting to Gnaw You

Hey everybody!  I'm in the mood for a Halloween polish.  What about you?  You ARE?!  Well, you've come to the right place. :D  Tonight I have two polishes from the China Glaze Apocalypse of Color collection.

The first one boasts an utterly charming moniker:  I Love Your Guts.  Well now...it doesn't get much better than that.

I Love Your Guts is a very cool polish with a very strange finish.  It's a frosty metallic with tiny black glitter that dries matte.  I have to be in a specifically matte-tolerating mood for this to work, and I wasn't at the time of these pics, so I used one layer of top coat, which sort of rendered it semi-matte. 

I Love Your Guts is a very lovely red-pink color.  The presence of the black glitter gives it an overall trashy appearance.  Like actual trash.  Like you dipped your fingers in some spooky mess, reminiscent of a typical horror movie character who makes terribly unwise choices.

Another one I picked up from the collection is Getting to Gnaw You, a black jelly with copper glitter.

"Getting to gnaw you...getting to gnaw all about you..."  Oh, sorry.  Visions of a zombie-fied Yul Brynner as the undead King of Siam were dancing through my head. :)  I loved this one in the bottle, and I have to say, I was surprised at how well pigmented the black jelly base was.  The copper glitter is very pretty and gives this polish a very chic look.  I used two coats of this with 2 coats of top coats...it's a rather hungry little number!

 
China Glaze, in my opinion, puts out some excellent Halloween polishes.  Did you pick up any from Apocalypse of Color?  

Thanks for stopping by, and always remember..I love your guts!! <3

China Glaze Choo-Choo Choose You

Hey everybody! :)  So...China Glaze has released yet another gorgeous fall collection.  I always love their fall stuff.  I seem to recall...something about...buying the whole collection last year?  Oh, I could be wrong.  No...wait...I'm not. 

The All Aboard collection is right up my alley, or should we say track, due to some of its rather peculiar colors.  Khaki with heavy shimmer?  A fabulous ORANGE?  Why yes, yes indeed.  But since I hadn't the funds for the entire collection *cough* yet, I settled for my top pick, Choo-Choo Choose You.  Choo-Choo is a purple/green/taupe/copper multichrome color shifter that is absolutely filled with shimmer.  I say it's purple...it looks rather purple in the bottle, but it's one of those confusing shades that makes you wonder if it's really purple you see. :)

Every picture I've seen so far of Choo-Choo Choose You shows the greenish/taupe side of the color, but I couldn't seem to capture the green in any of mine.  This purple/copper shade is what my nails were in the sunlight.  The green showed up indoors in lower lighting.

Choo-Choo Choose You has some of the prettiest shimmer you'll ever see...so pretty that it merits its own blurred bottle shot:

Pink and gold, and lots of it too!  There was a down side to this beautiful polish though, at least for me, and that was crazy inordinate tip wear.  And I used 3 coats, and it still ended up looking sort of sheer for some reason.  I don't think it does that on normal people. :/  Well, I'll not let that minute detail get me down.

For a full review of the entire All Aboard collection (and some nice green pics of Choo-Choo), check out Yadi's review over at Night Swatcher.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! 

Coming Around...

Hey everybody!!  Wow, I've missed you all! 

I am slowly getting back into the swing of things after my 3 month long hiatus.  So much has changed for me personally since my last blog post...I'm still trying to get over it. :/  I thought I would show you some of the things I've been wearing since June.

butter LONDON Shag - metallic and shimmery and gorgeous and chipped all over the place...

Orly Star Trooper - coffee-colored jelly and white glitter!  Yikes, it's pretty!! Oh, and this...

Zoya Payton - imagine blackberry jam where the seeds are holo.  Yep.

China Glaze Optical Illusion - my absolute favorite microglitter!

Zoya Aurora (complete with tip wear!)

I hope you all have enjoyed your summer and are ready to listen to me whine about the slow-poke arrival of our Southern autumn. :)

And a special thank you to my co-bloggers and friends Liesl, Yadi, Christine, and Emily for checking on me over the past weeks.  It means more than you know. <3

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day. 

Grass Green Comparisons: Zoya, China Glaze, Nicole by OPI

Hey everybody!  Well, much to my dismay, it's spring.  And with it come pollen and lots of growing things that have no mercy on my allergies.  So I decided to do a nice springtime comparison today, minus the hay fever.  I've got three different grassy greens for your viewing pleasure. :)

First up is Zoya Meg, a foil polish that you could, quite honestly, apply in the dark.  Okay.  Maybe that wasn't *entirely* honest.  But my point is that Zoya's foils are so wonderfully forgiving...in fact, I tend to reach for them when I'm tired and my eyes aren't focusing quite right.

Meg is a medium grass green from the 2012 Surf collection that ensnared me completely.  She is very shimmery and has a yellow undertone, but I won't hold that against her.  I used 2 coats of Meg for full coverage.

Next I have China Glaze Paper Chasing, a more subtle shimmer that's a kelly green.  It's the color of the legendary Crayola crayon called "Green", back when crayons were named actual color names, as opposed to "Dragon Guts"  or "Fat Caterpillar" or something of that ilk.

Paper Chasing is a bit on the sheer side, so I used three coats and still had Mr. Troublemaker Who Shall Remain Nameless peeking through.  For some reason, though, the VNL doesn't bother me with this polish.  It's just so pretty and I can't stay perturbed at it.  It's also got a great formula.

Well, if Paper Chasing was a bit sheer, Nicole by OPI Make Mine Lime is cheesecloth.  Another grassy-hued hard shimmer with just a *hint* of chartreuse, Make Mine Lime is so sheer that I had to use FOUR coats to achieve the amazing lack of opacity you see before you. :)

Yet, it IS lime.  It's quite summery, and the shimmer is really pretty in this.  I just don't know how many people would have the patience to put it multiple coats just to assure themselves that they hadn't mistakenly reached for a topper. :/

So there you have it...three grass greens that are as different as rye, centipede, and St. Augustine. :)  Are you all glad to see spring here?  You are??!!  UGH!  WHY?!! :P

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day. <3

China Glaze City Flourish: What a Pansy and Strike a Rose

Hey everybody!  I have returned after a 2-week long hiatus, during which time I was house sitting for my traveling sister, AND I broke four (4) nails.  And I can't stand my nails short.  I think they make my fingers look like little bratwursts.  Oh well...last time I checked, I loved me some sausage.  So I'll  have to make the best of things whilst Duri Rejuvacote works its magic. <3

You all know I love winter.  I hate to see spring coming.  Our spring lasts approximately 47 minutes, and then it's summer for the next 10 months. Sigh.  I do like spring polish collections though...not as much as I do winter ones (i.e. vampy), but they are usually pretty, eye-pleasing colors.  Today I have 2 picks from the City Flourish collection by China Glaze, a floral-inspired (and named) group of pastels.

The first one was hand-picked by my number one polish shopping buddy, my dear hubby.  And he picked it because he loved the name...What a Pansy.

What a Pansy is a periwinkle creme that is more purple than blue.  It also looks a touch dustier in real life than the pics.  This polish had a strange formula...the first coat went on very patchy and thin, so I applied the second coat a bit heavier, and it just sort of sat there and didn't level on its own.  But I will say my top coat did level out the unevenness of the polish.  What a Pansy is pretty shiny too, and I like the color a lot...very feminine, yet a bit edgy. :)

My other pick from City Flourish is Strike a Rose.  "What?" you ask..."an indecisive pinky-coral shade that you always find so offensive?"  Uh...look!  Pictures!!

I can't help myself.  This is SO pretty.  Strike a Rose is...yep...a dark rose pink with a lovely subtle shimmer.  It really is mostly rose with just a *speck* of coral, so I guess it's really NOT that color I hate.  Whew.  I feel so much better. :P  The formula on this one was good, and I used two coats with no issues.

Blasted little shorties! :(

The City Flourish collection is made up of 12 really pretty pastel shades.  I have read that some people had a lot of trouble with the formulas.  While What a Pansy was a little troublesome at first, it didn't behave too horribly for me.  Overall, I liked both of these quite a bit and sort of wish I'd picked up the mustard-esque yellow and lime green ones.  Do I need my head examined?? :)

Thanks for stopping by, and thank you for sticking with me while my nails grow long again. :P

A Lovely Legend: China Glaze Atlantis

Hey everybody!  S-C-R-A-T-C-H...did you just hear that?  That was the sound of a polish being officially marked off my wishlist as being MINE now. :)  China Glaze Atlantis is a polish that has captivated me for a while, mainly because it goes along with the mermaid/fantasty/oceanic/teal/whatever theme that I just love.

Can you see why Atlantis disappeared?  There was too much awesomeness going on, and the whole city had to go into hiding for fear that the swells of humanity would descend upon its borders to soak up all the awesome.

Atlantis is a "specialty shade" from 2009...I love the fact that, like the city of Atlantis, this glittering relic disappeared, and now you have to go hunt for it! :)

Atlantis is a light teal jelly, and it's absolutely packed with the most delicious holographic glitter you ever saw.  I used two coats but probably could have used three to help with the visible nail line, but you can hardly see it in real life.  It dries pretty gritty, so you do need a thick coat (or two) of top coat.

DO NOT ADJUST YOUR MONITOR...

What do you think of Atlantis?  I found this not-so-sea-logged treasure on Amazon.  It really isn't even that difficult to find.  So...just take that as your orders to go look this one up if you haven't already!!

Atlantis is a true "mermaid" polish without the mermaid moniker.  All this look needs to be complete is Sebastian the crab.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! :)

Understated Elegance: China Glaze Strike Up a Cosmo

Hey everybody!  How has your weekend been?  Mine was good...my sister is a volunteer at the county animal shelter, and yesterday she and I took a sweet little dog on a three and a half hour road trip to go live with his new owner.  Nick, a Miniature Pinscher mix, was an adorable boy, but my goodness, did that little dude ever smell bad.  He hadn't gotten a bath since he'd been at the shelter...Melanie and I were dying laughing because it was so bad.  I never thought a car ride with a thoroughly smelly pooch could be so hilarious. :D

But on a MUCH more elegant note, today I have a polish from the China Glaze Autumn Nights collection that has completely stolen my foil-loving heart.  I pretty much fell in love with the whole Autumn Nights collection, but one of my favorites was Strike Up a Cosmo, a gorgeous, golden lavender-pink.

Look at that beautiful rose gold color!  UGH, I love this.  It sparkles and glistens and looks ever so Christmas party-ish. :)

I used 2 effortless coats for the photos...true to typical foil application, you pretty much can't mess this one up.  What a huge plus this always is in my world of kindergarten paint jobs. :D

This polish reminds me so much of the holiday season...I think it's the faint resemblance to sugar plums or something Victorian.  Uh, does anybody know what I'm talking about, or do I just need some cocoa and a good night's sleep? :P  

See?  Look!  Strike Up a Cosmo is all ready for the punch and presents!  Wow...I hadn't realized I was THIS ready for Christmas season...

And I have a question for you all:  I have read that so many people just detested the Autumn Nights collection, but I am crazy about it.  Am I in the minority?  Becoming unfashionable?  Reading the wrong blogs?  Wait...I guess that was technically three questions, huh...

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely evening! 

Fall Favorites: China Glaze Harvest Moon

Hey everybody!  Do you have a polish that never ceases to amaze you every time you revisit it?  That's how I feel about today's post polish!  You all know I don't like orange...but add a dash of bronze or copper, and we'll talk. ;)  China Glaze Harvest Moon is, in my humble opinion, the epitome of an autumn polish. <3

AHHH...it always gets me, this polish.  It's so stinkin' pretty.  Harvest Moon was one of the many lovely offerings from the 2012 Hunger Games collection.  Wow...now that was a great collection. :)

One of my favorite traits of Harvest Moon is the wonderful application.  It applies like a foil (you can't mess it up!!), but I suppose it's technically a metallic shimmer...make than an extreme shimmer.  This is an October forest of fiery-colored leaves in a bottle.

I applied 3 coats of Harvest Moon for the photos *just* to make sure the visible nail line went bye-bye.  I didn't want that to distract my readers from this amazingly fantastic color and shimmer!

I thought the entire Hunger Games collection looked perfect for fall, even though the movie was released in March.  Oh well!  Hey, speaking of which, are you all excited about the release of Catching Fire??  I am...it was my favorite book of the trilogy!  TEAM PEETA!! :D

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day and a safe weekend! <3

Comparison Post: Attack of the Murky Greens!!

Hey everybody!  I hope your Saturday has been a fantastic one!  

Earlier in the week, I did a post on Sinful Colors Classified.  It's one of those greens with a pretty serious identity crisis...it doesn't know if it wants to be green, or blue, or grey, or all of the above.  Some of my friends observed that Classified bore a resemblance to a couple of other colors out there, so I decided to do a comparison post for your enjoyment (and possibly helpful info...or maybe just curiosity?). :D

L to R:  butter LONDON Victoriana, Zoya Evvie, Sinful Colors Classified, China Glaze Elephant Walk

Who knew there were so many polishes in desperate need of therapy?  One has to wonder if these gals could even describe themselves if asked!  Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this mystery... 

 

butter LONDON Victoriana

I finally snagged this one from my wishlist! :)  Victoriana is a dusty, more-blue-than-green color with a lovely foil-like shimmer and superb application.  Greasy bottle thumbprint not included in most versions. 

Zoya Evvie

Evvie is definitely a green-grey color with only a very slight hint of blue.  As you can see, just my holding the bottle gives the whole photo a murky quality.  Evvie is a creme with a lovely application.

Sinful Colors Classified

You can read my entire (not so) Classified review here. :D  It's more blue-leaning than Evvie but not as much as Victoriana.  It's got a great creme formula with a remarkable price tag!

China Glaze Elephant Walk

I would say Elephant Walk is 50% green, 45% grey, and 5% blue.  This is one of those colors that looks different on the nail than in the bottle, and in a very good way.  I was surprised by this polish...it's a fantastic neutral with a gentle shimmer.  And that adds up to 100% gorgeous! :)





Now for some group shots!  And yes, Midget Pinky is fully aware that she looks ridiculous.  She'll be needing therapy too...

L to R:  butter LONDON Victoriana, Zoya Evvie, China Glaze Elephant Walk, Sinful Colors Classified

L to R:  butter LONDON Victoriana, Zoya Evvie, China Glaze Elephant Walk, Sinful Colors Classified

 

L to R:  Sinful Colors Classified, China Glaze Elephant Walk, Zoya Evvie, butter LONDON Victoriana

My final thoughts:  these are all four clearly not replicas (no, I will NOT use that annoying word) of each other, even though they have that same murky quality about them.  All four formulas are very good...it's just a matter of whether you like a foil, a creme, or a shimmer application best. :)  I really love all the colors and find that swamptastic shades like these look pretty good on me.  I think? :)

What do you think?  Which of these is your favorite?  

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

Nail of the Day: China Glaze Get Carried Away

Hey everybody!  I hope your Sunday has been great.  Today for church I wore a black, red and white dress.  You all know how I insist on matching my nails to my clothing...well, I found the perfect polish for the occasion. :)  And it just happened to be an untried!  This one is China Glaze Get Carried Away, from the very lovely Cirque du Soleil Collection. 

 

Get Carried Away is a sheer black jelly filled with large red and silver hex glitter, tiny silver glitter, and black bar glitter.  The bar glitter is a bit strange...it's so tiny that it's almost got the consistency of fibers.  So if you hate bar glitter, this might not bug you too badly. :)

I love polishes with tiny black or tiny silver glitter, because it looks like salt and/or pepper.  Nuts, I know.  Why do I like the look of salt and pepper on my nails?  I don't know??  A snack for later, perhaps? :D

When the Cirque du Soleil Collection came out late last year, I really liked it a lot.  Get Carried Away has an indie-ish look about it.  I layered one coat of Get Carried Away over one coat of black, and there's plenty of sparkle to spare! :D

Oh, and never mind the tip wear.  After all, I'd had this on for a few HOURS.  Just keep in mind it won't look like this on a normal person. :)

Do you have any polishes from the China Glaze Cirque du Soleil Collection?  If you're looking for a classy kind of bling, then Get Carried Away might just...uh...carry you away? 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely evening! :)

Because I'm Fancy: China Glaze Dress Me Up and Luxe and Lush

Hey everybody! :)  I don't get excited about movies very often.  But it seems like the ones I do get excited about are always the ones for which somebody makes a corresponding nail polish collection, like Alice in Wonderland and Oz the Great and Powerful.  Oh, and I was really excited about Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but I suppose "Orangutan Orange" would have been a bit much.  Anyway, I recently saw the new trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and OH yes...I can't wait for that one. :D  It made me want to revisit some of the polishes from China Glaze's Capitol Colours Collection that came out in conjunction with The Hunger Games.

In my opinion, China Glaze Dress Me Up was the real standout of that collection.

China Glaze Dress Me Up

Dress Me Up is what I call "my kind of neutral."  I can't wear cream-colored polish, and most neutrals look dreadful on me.  Since my hands are white, I need something with a neutral feel but a bit darker, and Dress Me Up fits the bill perfectly.  And it just so happens that I love to dress up. :) Heh heh...

China Glaze Luxe and Lush

For my accent and thumb nails, I used a coat of China Glaze Luxe and Lush, also from the Capitol Colours Collection.  It's a gorgeous, fiery flakie topcoat that I have worn numerous times in a little thing called a jelly sandwich.

China Glaze Dress Me Up and Luxe and Lush

The formula on Dress Me Up is so surprising...it's a creme, but oddly enough, I have no problems with it at all.  Cremes would have to be my least favorite polishes because I always make a hearty mess out of them.  Dress Me Up applies so well that I have no cleanup.  Amazing!!  

The color of Dress Me Up is very unusual too.  Are any of you familiar with rose-flavored foods?  I LOVE rose-flavored foods, especially rose Turkish Delight.  Well, I would describe the color of Dress Me Up as rose-flavored cocoa.  Oh my WORD that sounds delicious!!

The Capital Colours Collection was a good one.  I have 2 more polishes from it, and they're beautiful as well.  But Dress Me Up is still my favorite because I love, love, LOVE the rosy oddness of it. 

What's your favorite neutral? :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely Friday!