NOTD and Fat Fingers

I've been feeling a little pudgy lately so I had to take off my wedding ring.  It left a pretty nice tan line but I wanted a way to show that I still had it even if I wasn't wearing it.  So, in the tradition of the one-finger-with-a-different-polish, here is what I did for the NOTD:

Manglaze Lesbihonest (Index, Middle, & Pinkie) and Fuggen Ugly (Ring) - 3 coats each color

I just received this polish after finally buckling down and ordering it off Amazon.  I was originally trying to buy it off the Manglaze FB page but I was having issues with the checkout (totally NOT Manglaze's fault and Mike, the owner was so super cool about it!)

I do not regret this polish at all and so you shouldn't either.

It was hard to choose the ones I'd get first to pop my matte nail polish/Manglaze cherry, but I finally went with Lesbihonest, ILF, and Fuggen Ugly.  They are gorgeous.  You need these.

Formula wise, I didn't see any of the problems that I have read usually come with mattes.  Really smooth to apply, two coats are sufficient although I went three, and I'm pretty sure with a topcoat like Seche Vite, they'd look absolutely beautiful glossy too.

Here's ILF:

Manglaze ILF - 3 coats

I love teal/blue/aqua so of course I had to have this color and it didn't disappoint either.  No streakiness, easy to apply and all three colors dried super fast which is typical of mattes.

They are a little pricey (around $12 with the 10% off) but seriously, you need these in your life.  They were worth every penny.  Not to mention Mike himself is all full of awesome-ness.   He responds quickly to any problems you contact him about and shipping was incredibly fast -- I got my order in three days from Chicago to San Diego.

I would say that if you could only buy one matte nail polish, Manglaze should be the first place you go.  With a variety of shades ranging from standard issue black (for the rockers and the posers), to hot pink (F*** Off & Dye), there's sure to be a shade in between to make you happy.

Adventures in Matte Land

I was a little skeptical of the whole "matte thing" but being one not to shy away from a challenge, I found a girl willing to swap her Essie Matte About You on MUA.  Here are the results of my findings.

Butter London - Trout Pout with Essie Matte About You (Index finger layered with Essie Flawless then Matte About You.)

I hunted this down at Ulta.  It was the last bottle and looked like it could have been opened but I gave it the benefit of the doubt.  It is an absolutely gorgeous color on it's own but with a matte finish gives it a pretty interesting look.  I plan on experimenting with other brights in the near future.

L'Oreal - Waters Edge with Essie Matte About You

Waters Edge is supposedly an Essie Greenport dupe.  As I don't own the latter, I can only rely on pictures from other blogs and it looks pretty close.  I really like this family of colors (being a Pisces) and it also looked pretty neat as a matte, but I still prefer Trout Pout.  Incidentally, I also ordered ILF from Manglaze who happens to be the purveyor of fine matte polishes.  It's supposed to be a nice teal color so I'll be swatching that as soon as I get it (which I hope is soon!)

Formula wise, MAY is nice, not too goopy like Seche Vite can be and dries quickly, which from what I understand is typical in a matte polish.  I like that this type of topcoat allows you to turn your normally glossy polish matte as opposed to turning your matte polish glossy.  Anyways, its a nice addition to my top coat family and it will probably be one I'll be using frequently to "tone down" a lot of the bright shades in my collection.

My Pretty Priti - #209 Alister Stella Gray Rose

Today's NOTD is exceptional in that, after five minutes I didn't want to take it off.

Priti - #209 Alister Stella Gray Rose

Alister Stella Gray Rose is a nail polish created by Priti NYC An absolutely gorgeous shade, it's one of the first four Priti polishes I ever purchased.  It was also the one I was drooling over the most, partly because it was especially designed for Stella McCarthy's F/W 2011 Paris Fashion Week showing.   It is a soft, work-friendly coral pink that leans more pink on my skintone -- wow, am I that yellow? (J/k)

Anyways, Priti also collaborated with McCarthy to create a shade for Spring/Summer 2012 Paris Fashion Week:

#137  Sweet Pea

And here's her Spring/Summer 2012 Paris Fashion Week show:

I'm not a huge fan of sheers so I'm not sure how sold I am on it yet but I'm definitely a fan of Priti after trying Alister Stella Gray Rose.  Formula was not too thick to be difficult to work with and I reached an acceptable opacity after 3 coats.

The only downside to this polish is that it is on the pricier side, $12.50 USD per bottle but it makes up in a decent formula and gorgeous color payoff.  But for me, this is a polish I would definitely want a backup bottle of.  Not to mention the color online actually matched what I received.  Shipping was fast -- I placed my order on Tuesday and had them on Friday -- and they do have a "clearance" section where bottles are half off.  The color line itself is pretty work-appropriate and I don't regret choosing to buy Priti over Rescue Beauty Lounge this time around.

In addition to this shade, I also ordered #511 - Dusty Miller, #559 - Coffee Bush, and # #593 - Lamb's Ear, with the latter two being part of their new 2012 Pre-Spring collection.  I'll have photos up on the other three as soon as I can bring myself to take off Alister Stella...hopefully sooner, but probably later.

XOXO

Secret Valentine Surprises and Things of That Nature

Well a few interesting things have happened thus far and its only Hump Day.

I got my Secret Valentine package from a very awesome Andrea who sent me four wonderful polishes in all my favorite colors and included a Hello Kitty *gasp* treat as well:

I was so excited I swatched each polish on my right hand, swatching the scented polish on my index and middle fingers:

Thumb to pinkie: Piggy Polish - Around Sundown | Revlon - Pretty in Papaya (index/middle) | Orly - Fresh | OPI - Who the Shrek Are You?  (My pinkie got a little messed up when a cotton ball landed on it)

It's always nice to get nail mail.  :)   In case you're wondering, the Revlon scented polish does actually smell quite nice once it dries.  Each color is two coats over Essie - Lady Like (I told you I was excited.) 

I also realized that I need to consider investing in a better storage container for my growing polish pile:

Polish Organizational Fail.

What does the rest of the week hold for me after all this excitement?

Giveaway Winner, OPI DS Dupe, & Why This Week Feels Like a Polish Bust

Congratulations to Bridget who won the "Besties Forever" giveaway!  Your palette will soon be on its way and I hope you love all the colors!

For everyone else who entered, make sure you check back soon because if I can hit 150 Facebook fans by my birthday (March 16!) I have a very special giveaway planned that's HUGE!

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OPI DS Magic was a recent acquisition from the nail salon at the Walmart Supercenter by my parents and my first DS.  Needless to say I was excited especially since the price I paid seemed reasonable for a Designer Series polish.   I just couldn't resist the silver cap:

I thought it might be similar to OPI Ink which is another great color but Magic leans a lot more blue than Ink does and there's a ton more sparkle.  Its also slightly less opaque, requiring approximately 3 coats for full coverage.

So its a great polish right?  Well, for what I paid (let's just say its more than the usual bottle of OPI) I was expecting it to be a unique shade that I definitely wouldn't own a dupe of especially since I still have a fairly small collection.

Boy, was I wrong.

Noticing it earlier tonight, for a minute I thought I had accidentally put the silver cap back on my bottle of Ink.  When I went to pick it up, I realized it resemble another color I had procured a few weeks ago on clearance while buying Seche Vite and Sally Hansen Glass Slipper at Walgreens.

 

Here they are together.

Why it took me this long I'm not really sure but I showed them to my husband as soon as I noticed.  He asked if they were "cons."  It was cute.  These are the results of my findings.

 

Can you tell which is which?  Yeah, neither can I.  OPI Magic is on the Middle/Pinkie fingers, Milani is on the index/ring fingers.  OPI took three generous coats, Milani took two and Milani was a quick dry.  If you can still find the Milani polish, I would highly recommend picking it up if you like this particular OPI DS color.  Chances are it'll be on clearance like mine was and it'll save you upwards of $8 or more depending on where you usually buy OPI. 

I also swatched two other polishes I recently acquired, OPI Fly from the Nicki Minaj collection and LA Colors BCC 564 that I picked up from my local Dollar Tree for $1.  They weren't so dupey but it was close.

Fly is on the middle/pinkie fingers while BCC 564 is on the index/ring fingers.  BCC 564 was greener but only took 2 coats while Fly leaned more blue and took 3 coats.  I would argue you don't necessarily need both and if you want a more saturated color, BCC 564 is the way to go especially for $1 + tax.  

Monday Mani Challenge: Crackle

This is my first Mani Challenge anything so I wanted to put my best foot forward.  Unfortunately, the theme was crackle and I am still on the fence about it.  So, I wanted to find a way to make crackle work but not do the whole nail so this is what I came up with!

I used Color Club Blue-topia as a base, (although you can't really tell) CC Revvvolution, OPI Red Shatter, and then LA Colors Art Deco in black.  I think it turned out a little 80s Tony Montana.  x_X 

oops.

butter LONDON Love at First Brush

It was hard to decide which butter LONDON polish to buy first but I managed to choose Wallis because a) I was looking for a gold polish and b) it looked absolutely lovely on all the swatches I found online.

Named for Wallis Simpson, the woman who so beguiled a king he abdicated, is a mature shade which, in my opinion, is pretty work appropriate especially on shorter nails.  It feels like a dark brown/black that's been washed with an almost matte gold layer of shine, not so much shimmer.  Its an absolutely gorgeous color and has sort of got me jonesing for the rest of the line.

Judge for yourself:

The most wonderful thing about this polish is that it only took two coats for me to be happy with it opacity wise.  Lately I've been on a "two coat policy," in which, a polish passes or fails solely based on if I can get it opaque in two coats.  Clearly, Wallis doesn't disappoint. 

I'm always curious to see how shades like this come across on Asian skintones.  For example, I look terrible in most green polishes so I've pretty much decided to give up on them.  The interesting thing about Wallis is that its not a bright gold by any stretch.  Its more of a patina-ed gold that gives it a very interesting olive tone to it.  This actually brings out the red in my skin even though you can't really tell in the pictures.

In the beginning, I wasn't sure if I'd like this polish.  But, in the week or so I've had it, I've worn it three times.  I think that's saying a lot.  I'm not sure about tip wear yet so in terms of longevity, its still yet to be tested, but when it comes to my overall first impression, butter LONDON's Wallis is as equally charming as the Duchess of Windsor herself.