Polishes -China Glaze - Ruby Pumps
polishnut 4/21/2012 7:27:00 AM
China Glaze's Ruby Pumps is a red glitter polish in a medium-dark red base. This color is absolutely to die for!! It's the perfect shade of red - not to dark or vampy and not bright. The red glitter suspension really pops in the sunlight but is also highly sparkly in ambient indoor lighting. Application was a dream - very smooth and opaque at three coats. Drying time was very quick - quicker than some other China Glaze formulas. This will dry very slightly dull so a top-coat is a must to get this to "pop". With Poshe over top I was able to get seven days of wear with only minor tip wear and no cracking, crazing, or chipping. Removal is going to be quite difficult because of the glitter so I would suggest pure acetone or even the MUA foil method. All in all, this DEFINITELY goes into my Holy Grail pile and I'm considering stocking up!!
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Polishes -OPI - The One That Got Away
polishnut 3/4/2012 12:55:00 PM
OPI's The One that Got Away is a dark magenta sparkly (but not glittery) polish with an almost glass-fleck finish. I'm not quite sure what to call the finish - it's not glitter, it's not foil, but it's sparkly in a borderline glass fleck way!! The color is dark but not into vamp territory and could be worn by anyone probably at any time of the year (although I, myself, would stick to fall and winter). The application was perfect with no streaking and total opacity and bottle color at two coats (although I did three). Drying time was very quick and rock hard in 15 minutes with Seche Vite. I was able to get four days of wear out of this with no chipping (but changed colors due to minor tip wear from typing). This is a beautiful color and I would definitely buy it again.
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Polishes -China Glaze - Nail Lacquer-Awakening
polishnut 2/24/2012 4:41:00 PM
China Glaze Awakening is a shimmery dusty rose/mauve with a heavy gold flash. The gold duochrome in this one gives it almost a metallic finish. It also blends with the plum undertones of the base color making it dusty/bordering on muddy. This color was almost a coppery rose on my pale complexion with yellow undertones. While I don't absolutely hate it, I certainly don't love it because of the dustiness and metallic finish. (If this color were just the base with no gold in it, I'd love it!) The application was very good with total opacity at only two coats. The formula was thin but not runny and went exactly where I wanted it to. Wear time was also very good at four days with no chips and Seche Vite as my top coat. All in all, this is not a bad color, just one that I will not buy again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Bath and Body Works - Mango Mandarin Body Splash
polishnut 2/24/2012 11:08:00 AM
Bath and Body Works Mango Mandarin Body Splash is a light, refreshing, citrus-scented body spray. On me, there is more mandarin scent than mango. I actually like it better that way. It sprays on light without being overpowering and the new tapered shape of the bottle is very easy to handle. The ONLY reason I am giving this such a low rating and more than likely will not buy it again is because there is NO staying power. Half an hour after spraying liberally there is very little scent left. For the higher price of this, I would expect it to last longer. The overall scent of this I absolutely love, but I get better results with lasting fragrance out of the body lotion in the same Mango Mandarin fragrance so I will be using that instead.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Almay - Intense i-color w/ Light Interplay Technology
polishnut 2/19/2012 4:40:00 PM
I bought this Almay Intense I-Color Mascara in Chocolate Quartz. The brush is very big (much bigger than other mascaras) but I didn't find it too difficult to use. (I did knock off one lippie for the size of the brush.) It separated the lashes very nicely and the mascara did not clump or streak. The formula is neither too thick or thin. I had no problems with flaking and it was very easy to remove. For me, this mascara did exactly what I wanted it to do. It gave a natural look which just kind of made my eyes "pop". I'm not sure that this product would be good if you actually wanted to layer it on thick or have anything that looked like really thick lashes. I would definitely buy this again and would recommend it to those looking for "better that your normal" lashes.
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Polishes -Nubar - Prize
polishnut 2/19/2012 4:30:00 PM
Nubar's Prize is a holographic glitter polish in a redded pink base. In certain ambient indoor lighting, what you seen in the bottle is what translates to the nail (more red than pink). However, when you step outdoors, the color turns a lot more pink (but still in the red category). This is not a bad thing, but I would have liked it to be more red all the time. The application was to die for! It was very smooth, practically leveled itself, and was opaque in two coats. The only downside is that it does dry very dull, gritty (but not quite in the sandpaper realm!), and matte so a topcoat is needed to really make the glitter sparkle. I used a thick coat of OPI t/c and then two coats of Poshe which tamed the bumpiness very well. Drying time was extremely good with this one. By the time I had the second hand done, the first one was dry. I was able to get a full five days of wear out of this with no chipping. All in all, I love this color (even though it is more pink outdoors) and would definitely buy this one again.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Telescopic
polishnut 2/4/2012 5:59:00 AM
I have to agree with other reviewers that this may be the worst mascara I have ever used. The brush is really weird with only four rows of bristles and a flat, rubbery part in between each row. This makes it hard to apply the mascara evenly and without clumps. The formula is very thin and watery which allows for too much product on the brush at a time thereby creating a clumpy mess. On the up side, once it was on correctly and dried, there was no flaking and removal was very easy. However, given the wonky brush and thin formula, I will not be buying this one again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Didgeridoo Your Nails
polishnut 1/18/2012 4:32:00 PM
OPI's Didgeridoo Your Nails is a warm-toned, medium, slightly redded rose pink polish with a shimmery (but not frosty) finish. There is a slight gold shimmer in the bottle that adds depth and warmth to this polish without that "flash of gold" that some polishes have. I see no flash of gold, just a warm shimmer that blends with the polish to make it interesting. I have very pale skin with very slight yellow undertones so this polish tends to pull a little more on the redded-pink side on me rather than fuschia (but still pink). IMO, this is a medium pink that anyone could pull off. I don't feel it is either too young or too mature - just neutral. The application was very good on this one with bottle color and total opacity at two coats. With Seche Vite this was very shiny and dried to a rock hard finish in 20 minutes. In my opinion, this is a very 'safe" shade of pink without being boring. I'd definitely buy it again.
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Polishes -China Glaze - Endurance
polishnut 1/11/2012 3:14:00 PM
China Glaze's Endurance is a bright medium raspberry polish with the glass-fleck finish that CG does oh-so well. (Think Tequila Toes or Summer Days collections from the past.) The super-fine raspberry pink and silver glitter give this a very shiny and sparkly (but not glittery in the sense of glitter polish) finish. The consistency of the polish is a little on the weird side (kind of like painting with jelly!) but thinner helped the gloopiness. There was no streaking and I achieved bottle color with no visible nail line at three coats. The finish was very smooth and very shiny - it almost doesn't need a topcoat. However, I used Seche Vite and was able to get five to six days of wear out of this one. This is, IMO, the perfect shade of medium pink that anyone could wear. I've stocked up on this one and would definitely buy it again.
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Polishes -China Glaze - fairy dust
polishnut 1/8/2012 3:39:00 PM
China Glaze's Fairy Dust is a multicolored holographic glitter topcoat polish in a clear base. What you see in the bottle is exactly what you get on the nail after only two coats. This adds depth and dimension to every shade of polish. The formula is very gloopy and sticky but nothing that a little bit of thinner won't cure. With another topcoat over Fairy Dust, it's completely smooth and glass-like. This has become my favorite something-extra topcoat and I will definitely be stocking up on this and putting it over everything!!!
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Polishes -China Glaze - Gamer Glam Tronica Collection
polishnut 1/8/2012 3:36:00 PM
China Glaze Gamer Glam is from the Tronica collection and is a blue-toned, grayed, medium-light lavender holographic polish. The holo effect on this one is interesting but, in my opinion, kind of boring (for a holo, that is). It's nowhere near the blingy scatter effect of the Kaleidoscope Collection and not even close to the linear flame effect of the OMG collection (but still very pretty). This one just kinda sits there and looks pretty and makes an otherwise regular old lavender polish something special. Now for the application . . . gloopy (needed to add some thinner) and it will do the same thing as the OMG and Kaleidoscope polishes - if you have to paint over an already-painted area, it will leave a bald patch. If you can avoid re-painting areas, there won't be a problem with this and it will be totally opaque and bottle color in two coats. Another thing this polish does (which is the same as some of the Kaleidoscopes) is that it dries very dull but shines up super-nice with a top coat. Drying time was also quicker with this line than with other regular CG polishes. All in all, the formula and application are the same on this collection as on the other two CG holo collections. The color of Gamer Glam is very pretty but on my pale skin with slight yellow undertones it's clashing with my skin tone. In some lighting it looks really good, in other lighting my hands look lobster-y (like they've been in dishwater all day), and in still other lighting, the color is almost corpse-like (that would be from the slight gray underbase that this one has). Lavender is not a color that I can wear well and while I like this color on other people (and it IS a pretty color!) it does not look good on me. Therefore, "I" would not buy it again but would recommend it to anyone who can wear lavender.
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Polishes -China Glaze - Twinkle Lights
polishnut 12/31/2011 3:10:00 PM
China Glaze's Twinkle Lights is a very festive Christmas glitter polish. This one contains very fine red, gold, and green glitter in a clear base. It's mostly gold so it reminds me of those fake silver (or gold, in this case) Christmas trees from the 1970s and the red and green would be the lights on that tree. But I digress . . . this is a typical glitter polish and is going to be very difficult to remove. (I recommend the foil method that other MUArs have used.) Application was very smooth and I was able to achieve bottle color in three coats and a very blingy mani! However, this can be layered over a gold polish with one coat in order to achieve the same color (and less-difficult removal). If wearing this alone, you will need a couple/three coats of a thick topcoat because this one does dry very gritty. (Again, layering it over something else tends to cut down on the grittiness; therefore, fewer coats of t/c are needed.) I can't comment on wear time if the mani were done with TL alone as I layered it and was able to get five days with no chips or cracks with Seche Vite as my topcoat. All in all, I absolutely love this color and would definitely buy it again.
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Polishes -China Glaze - Swing Baby
polishnut 12/31/2011 3:01:00 PM
China Glaze's Swing Baby is a champagne-colored polish with a heavy foil finish. This is the perfect shade for someone not wanting the complete yellowiness of a gold polish. Application was perfect - very smooth, not runny or gloopy, and total opacity in two coats with no streaks or bubbling. CG has gotten better with their drying time as well - very quick at about three minutes between coats. I was able to get a full week of wear out of this with only minor tip wear and would definitely buy this one again.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - A-Rose At Dawn...Broke by Noon
polishnut 12/21/2011 1:23:00 PM
OPI's A-Rose at Dawn . . . Broke by Noon is a bright medium pink/rose polish with a very, very frosty finish (think 1970s/1980s). This is a beautiful color but quite-dated finish. The formula was very good - not too thin and not gloopy at all; however, you will get brush lines with this one and when dry, the finish will show every flaw, dimple, and divot in your nails. Two coats makes for opaque bottle color. I have tried this color a couple of times and have either removed it or covered it up both times. (China Glaze Sex on the Beach makes for a nice frost-killer and still leaves the pink color). While I love the shade of pink in this, the frost finish makes it extremely out of date and I would not buy it again.
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Nails -Revlon - revlon top speed nail enamel sugar plum
polishnut 12/20/2011 12:42:00 PM
Revlon's Top Speed Sugar Plum is a blue-based shimmery medium plum/burgundy polish. The shimmer that you seen in the bottle does not translate as well to the nail, although it is still slightly shimmery. It does dry quickly like the bottle says (1 minute between coats); however, this tends to lead to dragging and skipping it you're painting too slowly or don't have enough product on the brush. The formula is a little gloopy and I did get slight bubbles; however, I was able to achieve bottle color in two coats. I agree with the other poster who stated that this was of the same color family as OPI Meet Me on the Star Ferry - the only difference being that MMotSF has a gold undertone which leads to muddiness. Sugar Plum has a silver undertone and wasn't muddy but just ended up being dull and lifeless on the nail. The finished mani was slightly dull (which I have found with other quick-dry enamels) so I'd advise a topcoat. However, even adding a topcoat doesn't do a whole lot for this color except shine it up "some." Wear time was very good at five days with Seche Vite and no chips. All in all, while the color is very pretty, it lacks depth and character and is overall just plain boring. Therefore, I would not buy it again.
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