Nubar Purple Beach

         Firstly, I'd like to take a quick minute to say hello to all the new followers! There are now over 300 of you, which is like...flabbergasting, man. So thanks for coming to my little corner of the interwebz! n_n 

Okey doke, now down to business, which today is Nubar Purple Beach.

Purple Beach is a wildly multichromatic purple polish. It shows a smokey shade of purple mostly, but you'll also get gold, silver, bronze, a hint of blue, and a couple of shades of green. Yeah, this is serious business. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

       I'm not going to say much about Purple Beach. Although the pictures don't really do the polish justice, hopefully, they give you a good idea about what a fabulous color this is. The duochrome shift is so obvious without the need for finger cirque du soleil or magical lighting, and even the base purple color has this lovely hazy, nebulous quality to it. Nubar did a fantastic job here. 

     Purple Beach's formula was a bit thin but not uncontrollable and the pigmentation was okay. I used three coats of color and a layer of topcoat for full opacity and some shine. 

And that's all for today! Thank you for reading and have a most beautiful day! ^_^

NARS Zulu

        The weather cleared up a bit, so I was able to take a few minutes and get some pictures of the polish that I've been wearing for the past few days. Yay! This is NARS Zulu, from their 2010 Vintage Nail Collection.

Zulu is a blackened forest green jelly. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    I've worn Zulu about five times since I bought it (which is alot for me) and I still am so enamored with it. Between the depth and darkness of the shade and the glossy, squishy finish, it's so uber sexy and I cannot stop looking at my hands when I have this on. The only issue with Zulu is that in almost any light, the wearer will be the only one who can tell that it's actually green. And indoors, even I had trouble convincing myself of its greenness. So I'd probably only recommend Zulu to green fiends, NARS fans, or people with serious lemmings. If you're none of the above and are just searching for a pretty dark green, I think you'd be happier with Illamasqua Rampage, because it's actually...green. Ha, I said green like forty times in the past three sentences. 

   Formula-wise, Zulu was okay. It was opaque but a bit streaky in two coats, and if you want a polish that actually reads green, that would be your best bet. I ended up going with three coats, which knocked out alot of the green color but resulted in a perfectly smooth finish. Zulu dried quickly and glossy, but I went with a layer of Seche Vite on top to really give me that wet sealskin look that I like. 

And that's all for today! Thanks for reading, and have a great day! 

Diamond Cosmetics Concrete Jungle

          It's been a while since my last Brain Tumor Awareness grey, so behold Diamond Cosmetics Concrete Jungle. 

Concrete Jungle is a dove grey creme, with a bit of a blue cast.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

      Concrete Jungle is beautiful. I love the hint of blue in the shade, and I really love how soft and fuzzy the finish is. It's like an adorable kitten or a cashmere sweater. 

      Diamond Cosmetics also did a great job with Concrete Jungle's formula. I only needed two coats for opacity, and they applied without a hitch. Dry time was also quite good. I really do wonder how they manage to make these apply so nicely. 

And with that, I am all done for today! Enjoy your Apocalypse-free Sunday! n_n

Diamond Cosmetics Don't Teal My Heart Away

     Although the weather is gorgeous today, there's unfortunately no time for swatching. The end is nigh. *trembles gently* So from my backlog, I have Diamond Cosmetics Don't Teal My Heart Away.

Don't Teal my Heart Away is a slightly dusty, mid-range teal blue creme. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

       I don't really have too much to say about Don't Teal My Heart Away, except for that it's totally a winner. The color is pretty...it's a simple, straightforward teal blue that I could imagine looking good on just about any skin tone. It's also a beauty purchase that you can feel good about, since for every bottle sold, Diamond Cosmetics donates 25 cents to ovarian cancer research. 

    And along with a lovely, flattering color and a good cause, Don't Teal My Heart Away can also boast a perfect formula. It went on silky smooth with the perfect consistency, and was very well pigmented.  A careful person could do one thick coat and be done, but with the lighting conditions I was working with, I went with two, and was quite pleased with the opacity and depth of color that I ended up with.

And with that, I am all done. Hopefully, just for today though. ^_~

Whatever happens, have a beautiful Saturday! 

Studio M Slammin' Red

       For today, I have Studio M Slammin' Red.

Studio M is a very dark pink (it's not reallyyy red) base, densely packed with multi-sized silver and holographic glitter. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

And slight blurring for the sake of sparkliness.

Sunlight, no flash.

      I was kind of disappointed with Slammin' Red because I really wanted it to be legit red. But once I got past that, I really enjoyed it. The base color is pretty and feminine and the glitter sparkled so beautifully in the sun. The sparkle and holo effect were not as pronounced on the nail as they were in the bottle though...I think the base ate them up a bit. But that's okay. I still like it and will be keeping it. 

     My only real issue with Slammin' Red is the formula. It was so terrible...gloopy, thick, and hard to work with. It also dried uber gritty and needed like three layers of Poshe to finally become smooth. On the upside though, it was perfectly opaque in just two coats, dried quickly, and was totally worth all the trouble.

And that's all for today! Thanks for reading and enjoy your Friday!

It's Giveaway Time!

   

    These past few months have been pretty eventful for The Phalanges Files. We turned one year old on March 14th, and now have over 250 followers! So to celebrate and thank you all for being so supportive, I'm planning a couple of giveaways in the coming months. The first will be going live today, and will have two winners.

Here's what's up for grabs:

Prize 1: Sally Hansen Fractured Foil and Antiqued Gold

Prize 2: Sally Hansen Fuchsia Shock and Distressed Denim

Rules:

1. To enter, all you have to do is be a follower through Google Friend Connect and have a valid email address. New followers can play too!

2. People who were following when this giveaway went live get two extra entries.

3. People who blog about the giveaway and can link me to it (sidebar counts) get one extra entry.

4. You can only enter once, via the embedded form below.

5. International polish lovers are welcome!

6. The giveaway will end June 4 2011, at 11:59 EST. I will draw and email winners on the 6th, and they will have 24 hours to respond.

Finally, nooo cheating. I know we all love nail polish, but it's not that serious.

And I think that's it! Thank you for reading, commenting and following (because without you guys, this would not be nearly as fun) and good luck! ^__^

*Giveaway is closed!! Thanks for entering!! ^_^*

OPI Mystic Moonshine

     We are having some crummy weather today (and for the rest of the week) in New York, so the next few posts will be coming from the backlog. Damn Mother Nature, always trying to ruin my life. But anyway, here's Mystic Moonshine, from OPI's New England Collection.

Mystic Moonshine is a silver base, studded with small, square silver glitter. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    I don't like Mystic Moonshine. The silver base is quite pretty and clean, but the glitter just looks lumpy and messy to me. That was weird too, because the glitter didn't feel lumpy. It just looked lumpy. I also felt like it didn't sparkle properly, and in this type of color, the sparkle is necessary. I kind of want to keep it, just because it's elderly, but moving my polish back home this past weekend has taught me that mercy and sentiment is for the weak and the masochistic. So regrettably, Mystic Moonshine will have to be re-homed.

    But moving on to the formula, Mystic Moonshine was okay...not terrible, but not great. It was opaque in three coats, and dry time was quite good, but it was prone to bubbling and dragging. 

And that's all I've got for today! Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day!