Polishes -China Glaze - Love Marilyn
polishnut 12/11/2011 1:07:00 PM
China Glaze's Love Marilyn is from the 2011 Eye Candy 3-D Glitter Collection and is a glitter polish in a clear base with small bright red glitter bits and larger round silver glitter bits. This is a typical glitter polish in that it dries very gritty and is extremely difficult to remove. (The foil method described by MUA'ers really helps with getting this to come off.) Application was very smooth and totally opaque and bottle color at three coats. As stated, it dries extremely gritty and needed two coats of regular t/c and two coats of Poshe to make it "close" to smooth. However, with this many coats on my nails, they felt very thick and unusual (but that may be typical of glitter polishes when used alone). The finished mani was very pretty and unique to my collection with these two colors in one polish. However, wear time was horrible at less than 15 hours and it started to chip off in chunks on the fingertips without doing anything that would cause it to do so (like dishes or housecleaning). Therefore, because of the super-short wear time, I would not buy this again. EDIT: Because I love this color combination so much I decided to give it another try. This time I layered one coat of LM over two coats of a basic matching red. The result was that it was not as gritty and I was able to get away with one coat of regular topcoat and one coat of Seche Vite and it was a lot smoother than my original mani with LM alone. However, the trade-off is that the red glitter in LM tends to sink into the basic red polish and isn't quite as sparkly as if you were to wear it alone. However, the trade-off to THAT is that I was able to get four days of wear out of this color with no chipping and removal was a little easier (although still glitter-difficult). All in all, I have added a lippie to bring this to a 4, would use this in this edited-version manner, and would definitely buy it again.
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Polishes -OPI - Movin' Out
polishnut 11/27/2011 1:37:00 PM
OPI's Movin' Out is a very, very sheer pink/purple-based polish with very small microglitter particles in shades of red and pink. Somewhere in this polish there is something that will give the finished mani a gold or even green slight duochrome flash depending on lighting and angle. This polish is extremely sheer and will give the nail a wash of color but I do not believe would ever reach bottle color. I like the microglitter effect as a layering polish/topcoat and would buy it again only for that reason.
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Polishes -OPI - Blushingham Palace
polishnut 11/27/2011 1:29:00 PM
OPI's Blushingham Palace is a warm-toned, dusty, blushed-rose light-medium pink polish with a borderline metallic/borderline frosty finish. This one, IMO, is very safe, work appropriate, and "mature." The color, on my fair skin with yellow undertones, leans toward the peachy-rose gold/gilded rosy mauve end of the spectrum and isn't very flattering to my skin tone. (It kind of gives my cuticles that dirty-tanned hue.) The finish is reminiscent of pearly polish finishes from the 1980s. The application was very smooth and totally opaque in two coats; however, because of the semi-frosty finish there were very faint brush stroke lines. Wear time was very good at four to five days with no chipping or cracking with SV as my topcoat. All in all, I really don't care for this color as it clashes with my skin tones. (Other reviewers have stated they see mauve/lilac/purple tones in this but on me there were none of those colors - just dusty rosy bronzed mauved.) All in all, I do not care for this color and would not purchase it again.
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Polishes -China Glaze - OMG Collection- BFF
polishnut 11/12/2011 3:37:00 PM
China Glaze's BFF is from the OMG collection which is now in the semi-hard-to-find and expensive category. It is a medium pink-mauve linear holographic polish. When finished, the holo effect looks like a candle flame on your nails. The color is very pretty but definitely leaning toward mauve (pink with purple undertones). The application on this one - as with quite a few of the polishes from the OMG line - is difficult to say the least. The trick to these is to get the polish on the nail in as few strokes as possible and DO NOT go over an already-painted section otherwise you will end up with a bald patch. This occurs on all coats, not just the first. The formula is a little gloopy so I added some thinner and this did dry to a semi-matte finish so a topcoat is a must for a high shine. Drying time was quicker than most China Glaze polishes and wear time was very good at five days with Seche Vite t/c and no chipping. This is a very pretty color and an interesting polish and I would definitely buy it again.
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Polishes -Orly - Sugar Plum
polishnut 11/6/2011 4:37:00 PM
Orly's Sugar Plum is a medium-light blue-based pink polish leaning a little toward lavender with a pearl finish. While I'm not partial to "frost" or even "pearl" finishes, this one is tolerable. Application was very smooth with bottle color and almost total opacity at two coast but I added three just to intensify the color and completely get rid of visible nail lines. With Seche Vite as my topcoat, this one dried very quickly and was rock hard at 20 minutes. Wear time was very good at six days with no chips. I'm not "loving" the finish on this one but the color would send me back to buy it again.
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Polishes -FingerPaints - Hue Left a Message?
polishnut 11/6/2011 4:30:00 PM
FingerPaints Hue Left a Message a dense pink glitter polish with very tiny pink and silver particles. This polish is of the same consistency as FingerPaints Wicked Glitter from a couple of years ago (except this one is a straight-up pink). The pink is kind of "muted" and more "grown-up" so even us adults heading toward 50 can get away with this one!! If you're going to use this alone, it will take three coats to complete opacity and it will dry gritty but not as gritty as some glitter polishes. It will require a couple of coats of a thick topcoat to make the glitter "pop" and also smooth it out. I also used this over a boring pink to make it more interesting and it only required one coat to add a little bit of "bling." Application was very smooth for a glitter polish and wear time was also very good at five days with no chipping. (I used Seche Vite plus a non-quick-dry top coat over this one.) Removal will be quite difficult so acetone remover is a must. All in all, while I'm not one to head for glitters, I really like this one and would buy it again.
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Top/Base Coats -Nubar - Diamont Top Coat
polishnut 11/5/2011 3:07:00 PM
Nubar's Diamont is a quick-dry top coat along the lines of Seche Vite and Poshe (in theory only!) This is suposed to dry your mani in a matter of minutes to a rock-hard finish. However, 1 hour later and this was still tacky. And to make matters worse, it bubbled on every nail. I have used this t/c for two different manis at different times of the year, in different weather (humid and not) and ended up with the same results both times. I've tried regular drugstore topcoats that dry quicker than this product and do not bubble. Therefore, this one gets two thumbs way down (if I could give this 0 lippies I would)and I will not be buying this again.
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Polishes -China Glaze - Lasso My Heart
polishnut 11/4/2011 4:53:00 PM
China Glaze's Lasso My Heart is a warm-toned red-based medium-dark plum polish with a gold shimmer. Indoors under ambient light the gold mixes with the plum shade and makes this color slightly browned (almost like a sable shade of plum). In outdoor lighting the color is more purple-toned. Application was a little gloopy but completely opaque in two coats. Drying time was very quick at about four minutes between coats and rock hard with Seche Vite at 20 minutes. I was expecting this to be more purple than it is and since I'm not partial to anything with brown undertones, no matter how slight, I will not be buying this one again.
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Polishes -FingerPaints - Decked With Dazzle
polishnut 11/3/2011 3:25:00 PM
FingerPaints Decked with Dazzle, from the 2009 Holiday Collection, is a very sparkly, medium plum-toned polish with an almost (but not quite) foil finish. It's sparkly but doesn't have that tin-foil appearance of a true foil finish. Due to the amount of super-microfine glitter, application was a little gloopy but not unmanageable. I had complete bottle color and total opacity at three coats. Drying time was very quick, not gritty, and completely dry in 20 minutes with Seche Vite t/c. I have put this in my "winter pink" holy grail category and would definitely buy this again.
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Polishes -OPI - Copper Mountain Copper
polishnut 9/26/2011 4:50:00 PM
OPI's Copper Mountain Copper is a shimmery brick-redded medium copper polish. In ambient indoor lighting the very, very slight brown in this polish and the very, very slight gold mix together with the overall brick red color and turn this into a very warm copper color. However, in outdoor lighting or other types of bright light, this is a warm-toned brick red. I found that under most lighting it's a highly shiny, very shimmery, rich, warm-toned brick red. It's a very good fall red. Also, the polish has that lit-from-within quality where it seems darker around the edges and shines in the middle. The formula on this was a little thick but was easily corrected with some polish thinner. Two coats gave perfect opacity with no streaks. Drying time was very quick and rock hard in 20 minutes with Seche Vite. I was able to get four to five days out of this shade with only minor tip wear. Overall, while I like this color I'm still on the hunt for the "perfect" fall red. This one is definitely more copper than I would like but I would still use it/buy it again.
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Polishes -OPI - Calendar Girl
polishnut 8/29/2011 7:07:00 AM
OPI's Calendar Girl is a light-medium pinked red shimmery/glowy polish. On my pale skin with slight yellow undertones this color pulled a little on the coral side. (I was concerned this might be the case because under certain lighting the bottle color has an extremely slight orange tinge.) The shimmer on this one is very pretty and gives it that "lit from within" effect. The formula was very thin and sheer so the polish went on very runny and I still had visible nail line at three coats. (I think it would have taken at least four/if not five for this to be completely opaque.) However, I did achieve bottle color at three coats. Drying time was very quick and was highly shiny and rock hard with Seche Vite in 20 minutes. Wear time was four to five days with no chipping or cracking. All in all, while I like this color I don't see myself buying it again as it takes too many coats for opacity and there are other colors in other lines that are similar enough that I don't need this one again.
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Polishes -OPI - Grape Set Match
polishnut 8/23/2011 8:51:00 AM
OPI's Grape . . . Set . . . Match is a dark vampy blue-based purple semi-foil to foil finish polish with pink, blue, and purple dense microglitter and a flash of pink shimmer. Outdoors is where the foil finish and microglitter really pop to give it a mirror-like quality and very sparkly. Indoors under ambient lighting the foil does not show up as much and this looks like a glittery very dark purple polish (but still very pretty). Application was a little weird on this one. The polish tends to be slightly gloopy because of all the glitter. (I have found a lot of foil finishes to be this way.) The first coat was very gloopy, streaky, and almost muddy; however, the second coat covered it all nicely. I probably could have gotten away with two coats but there was still "some" streaking showing through so I added a third coat. Drying time on this one, for some reason, was extremely slow. It was still tacky at ten minutes after the third coat. However, with another topcoat and SV it was completely dry in 20 minutes. All in all, while I like this color, I'm finding it a little dark for my taste and pale skin and although I indicated that I would buy it again, I don't see myself reaching for this one very often.
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Polishes -OPI - Designer Series - DS Elegance
polishnut 8/20/2011 12:29:00 PM
OPI's Designer Series Elegance is a cool-toned rosy light pink polish with a multicolored rainbow holographic finish. The holo effect really pops in sunlight but is also very visible in indoor ambient lighting. Application was a breeze with total coverage and bottle color at two coats. The Designer Series line also seems to be shiner than regular OPI's so one could technically get away without a topcoat. Drying time was very fast at about three to four minutes between coats but I used Seche Vite over the top and it was rock hard in 20 minutes. Wear time was excellent at a full six days with no chipping, crazing, or cracking. I rated the "price" section of this polish based on the old retail of 12.50 but this is now out of production, hard to find, and quite pricey when one does find a bottle. This is one of the pink polishes that I tend to grab constantly and would definitely buy again (but glad I stocked up when it was cheaper!)
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Polishes -OPI - Designer Series - DS Perfection
polishnut 8/16/2011 2:29:00 PM
OPI's Designer Series Perfection is a warm-toned medium rosy pink nail polish with a very sparkly foil duochrome gold/rose finish. The microfine glitter is made up of gold, pink, and silver. The gold duochrome flash shows up mostly under sunlight but also under indoor lighting depending on angle. The application on this one was very smooth (not gritty at all) and was opaque and bottle color at three coats. Dry time was also very quick at about three minutes between coats. I was able to get a full six days out of this mani with Seche Vite on top with only mild tip wear. This color is now considered very hard to find and is quite pricey. While I'm not a big fan of foil finishes, I would definitely buy it again if I were to find an inexpensive bottle because I love the color.
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Polishes -China Glaze - Senorita Bonita
polishnut 8/7/2011 2:29:00 PM
China Glaze's Senorita Bonita is a red-toned purple shimmery polish with tiny flecks of pink and orange glitter. (The orange glitter is almost like baby flakies - it's bigger than glitter but smaller than an actual flake.) I'm not sure what to call this finish because it's not the typical CG glass fleck, it's not a foil, it's not a glitter, or your regular shimmery polish. It's sparkly but not glittery. This is one you really have to see in person. The orange is extremely, extremely subtle. Other reviewers have said it looks like orange flecks that give it a sunset kind of feel and if you turn your hand a certain way that's just what it looks like - one of the hues in a sunset (but this polish isn't a duochrome, it's just a certain lighting kind of thing). I'm knocking off one lippie because application was a bit tricky. It was gloopy, sticky, and runny all at the same time on the first coat with bald patches and streaking. However, by the second coat I had achieved bottle color but it took a third coat to completely get rid of the streaking and patches. The finish seemed just a "tad" dull so I would advise a topcoat with this one. Drying time seemed to be a little on the slow side at about eight minutes between coats; however, it was rock hard at 30 minutes with SV. The picture I uploaded was on a semi-cloudy day so the color is actually a little more vibrant. All in all, I really like this color and can forgive the formula problems. I would definitely buy it again.
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