Saturday, November 13, 2010

Nina Ultra Pro Unteal You

           Good news, I got a replacement camera! I've been fiddling with it for a few days, I think I understand it well enough to start posting with it, which means that we are back in real time. Yayy! Today, I've got Nina Ultra Pro Unteal You, from what I think is the core collection. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. 


Unteal You is a mid-range, shimmery, teal blue.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     I really like Unteal You. It's insanely rich and glowy and just looks gorgeous at all times. It's also an excellent candidate for a fall/winter polish, because although it is pretty in the sun, I think it looks better in the shade and indoors. It just looks deeper...like it's smoldering. I can't really explain it that well, but it's hot. I find that there's a big void in my collection when it comes to teal polishes, and Unteal You definitely helps fill that up a bit. 
    Unteal You's formula was typical Nina Ultra Pro stuff. Thin and a tad bit runny, but surprisingly well-pigmented. In the pictures, I'm wearing two coats of polish and one layer of topcoat, and the coverage is perfect. 
   But can someone explain the name to me? Unteal You? I don't get it. :(

And that is all I have for today. Have a great Saturday, ladies!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Illamasqua Phallic

          Happy Veteran's Day!! Although I personally believe that war is a terrible waste of time, resources, and human life, I actually like Veteran's Day. People who were/are in the armed forces are so brave and sacrifice so much, and I love that there is a day dedicated to thanking and appreciating them for what they did and what they continue to do for this country. I don't have any war-themed polish in the backlog, but I thought a blue would be fitting,  being on our flag and all. This is Illamasqua Phallic, from the core collection. 


Phallic is a deep, jewel-toned navy blue creme base with multi-sized sapphire blue shimmer. 


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.



Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash. 

       Phallic is extremely hot. In natural light, it doesn't really look like much, but in the sunlight, it's wow. The base shade is all sexy and deep, but the shimmer sparkles from it like crazy. The contrast between the two elements is absolutely mesmerizing, so Phallic kept a smile on my face all day. And  best of all, it never looks black. Even in low-lighting conditions, I think it's still pretty obvious that this polish is a glorious blue. However, I won't lie to you...as beautiful as Phallic is, it's not especially unique and costs alot of money ($14). I don't regret buying, because it was on sale and I love this color, but I wouldn't call this a must-have for everyone. Unless you love blue shimmer polishes, illamasqua items, penis-themed items, or  know in your heart that you need Phallic in your life, then feel free to skip this one.
   Formula-wise, Phallic was pretty good! It was well-pigmented, applied smoothly and easily, and leveled itself quite nicely. My nails definitely did not paint themselves, but it was about the quality that I'd expect for $14. In the pictures, there are two coats of color and one coat of China Glaze Fast Forward topcoat. And as a side-note, I'd recommend using the shiniest topcoat you've got on this one. The ChG topcoat was not that shiny (for me) and it took alot away from the polish. I put on another layer of Poshe, which was way shinier, and bam...Phallic came to life. Heehee. ^_^



Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Beauty Treats Jingle Bells

    For today, I have another glittery confection. Glitter is like...pretzel M&Ms.  Both are super delicious, and you can never ever ever have too much. ^_^
This one is Beauty Treats Jingle Bells. I don't know much about the brand, but I think you can find it in some beauty supply stores and I've seen it sold in Mandee.

Jingle Bells is small silver and holographic glitter in a clear base. 


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash. 


Natural light, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.
I blurred it a little to show the bling. I wanted to make a video, but my camera kept on turning itself off, so I gave up. 


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.

     Jingle Bells makes my heart so happy! It's really blingy and loud, and especially on a sunny day, it should be used with extreme caution. I can definitely see someone causing a traffic accident, blinding people, or accidentally walking off a cliff because of it. Can you imagine trying to explain that to the authorities though? Omg awkwardd. 
    Jingle Bells' formula was okay, except for that it was a bit thin. In the pictures, there are four coats, and while the coverage is thisclose to being full, I could have gone for another one. I can still kind of see my nail through what was there. Next time that I want to wear this, I'll probably layer it over a chrome polish, like China Glaze Millenium or a smooth silver holo, like China Glaze OMG. And the polish settles out really fast..I don't know if you can see it, but in the second picture, it's already settling. So frequent shaking is advisable in this case. On the upside though, it dried lightning quick and applied smoothly. Overall, I was well pleased, yea verily. ^_^

 Now, I have a test to study for, so I'm gonna run along. Have an awesome night, guys!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

OPI Absolutely Alice

           Well...it finally happened. I went to turn on my camera this afternoon, only to discover that sometime in the night, it quietly shuffled off this mortal coil. I'm a little sad, because we've been through some thangs together...it was a good camera until it went senile. There's no replacement yet, but until that happens, I have some stuff in my backlog that I can post. Stuff like Absolutely Alice, from OPI's Alice in Wonderland Collection.


Absolutely Alice is a clear base, densely packed with small, square, medium-blue glitter. The blue glitter is interrupted by scattered small, gold glitter. There's kind of alot of it, but in relation to the blue glitter, there isn't. If that makes sense. 


Sunlight, no flash. 


Sunlight, no flash.


Natural light, no flash.


Natural light, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.
This picture is color-wise, the most accurate. The others are a bit too bright. 


Sunlight, no flash.
I blurred it a little to show how Absolutely Alice sparkles. 


Sunlight, no flash.

      This was my fifth time wearing Absolutely Alice, which is pretty telling of how much I truly love this polish. It's so beautiful and sparkly...I never get tired of it. ^_^
    But something that I've noticed is that the formula like...progressively gets worse. The first time I tried it, it applied smoothly and nicely. But each time I've tried it since, it's gotten thicker and more difficult. This last time was like...torture. It was so thick that it was opaque in two coats, and kept on gooping up around the neck of the bottle. I'm guessing that the base has been evaporating, but I don't see how, since I've placed my drawers in a place where they are never touched by sunlight and I close my bottles extra tight after every use. In any case, next time I want to wear it, I'll just keep some thinner at hand. 
  
But that's all I've got for tonight. Have a great night!!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Orly Space Cadet

            For today, I have Orly Space Cadet, from the Cosmic FX Collection. I'm like the last person in the universe to post this polish, but whatevah!


Space Cadet is made of small, flat, metallic duochrome shimmer in a thin, sheer dirty-blue base. You can't see the base once the polish is fully opaque, because the shimmer comes together to form a sparkly-foilish finish, but you can see it in the first few coats. And the shimmer is mostly a dark silvery-purple, but will change to gold, green, and pink, depending on the light and angle. 


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.
And that green on the side is not a reflection...'tis the power of the duochrome, yea verily.


Natural light, no flash.


Natural light, no flash.


Natural light, no flash.


Natural light, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash,


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash.


Sunlight, no flash. 

    Space Cadet is a funny one. On one hand, it's kind of an unattractive color. I got some compliments on it when I wore it, and not one single person called it "pretty" or "nice". I got plenty of "cool" and "unusual" though, which is precisely what Space Cadet is. It's not pretty in the traditional sense of a pretty polish, but it is quite intriguing. In bright lights, it sparkles with a pink flash and in lower light, you see lots of the strong purple-green duochrome. And at all times, there's this weird alien-esque green glow that lurks right around the edges of the nail. Like even though my pictures are not so good and don't really capture this one, all of them feature at least a hint of green. But as cool as Space Cadet is, in my eyes, it is not the crown jewel of the Cosmic FX Collection. That title is reserved for Galaxy Girl, because not only is it damn cool, it's also beautiful. But  Space Cadet runs a very close second. 
   Formula-wise, I have no complaints about Space Cadet. It was a little thin, so this is four coats of color with one layer of topcoat. But it was well worth the extra coat, and the polish went on smoothly and easily, so I don't particularly mind.

    And I know I said that I was gonna not show my RBL's but I'm just too excited not to. Here they are! The pictures were taken in the dying evening light with flash,  so they're lame. But when I wear these gorgeous guys and girls, I'll take better bottle pictures.

R-L: Starfish Patrick, Look Rich Be Cheap (ohh the irony), Frugalista, and Recycle

L-R: Scrangie, Catherine, Anne, and Under the Stars

Tiny comparison between Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie and Sally Hansen Grape Going
I'm going to do a real one later though.

  I'm so excited to wear them!! Maybe this week, if weather permits.
But that's all I've got on this gorgeous Friday afternoon! Have a great day!