Polishes -China Glaze - On Your Knees
violetcobra 6/12/2008 1:43:00 AM
THE COLOR... On Your Knees is a cinnamon-infused red. Brownish muted wine red. The bottle contains swirly shimmer of a gold-gold (not a yellow gold). It is a dark shade of red, meaning neither midtoned cherry red nor vampy red. On your nail, the color is very close to what you see in the bottle--save the shimmer. When shimmer is visible on the bottle but not on the nail, where does it go? Does the slight hint of metallic wine red give you a clue? In my opinion, the shimmer sort of fades into the depths of the color, giving a metallic cast to the shade. Lovely design, however, very warm toned.
THE APPLICATION ... no complaints. Two coats. The first coat was pretty even, and the second covered completely. Pigmented colors like deep intense wines sometimes take a little bit of care to go on right and I cleaned up little touches onto the cuticle on about 4 nails. Color smoothly landed on my basecoat (and I did a base of Nailtek II Foundation so this good application is expected).
THE WEAR... going on day three, I had no chips and the tiniest bit of wear. I felt rushed to try another color to move untrieds through my stash and so I left it at two full days with no noticable tip wear at all.
Overall, highly recommended of warm toned ladies who aren't bothered by another warm deep/dark red/burgundy to their collection. Again, this color doesn't want to be a vampy and it isn't. It doesn't want to be a red and it isn't. It knows exactly what it wants and I think if I can find a clone for it, I'll list it here (but I suspect NYC Wing It Wine could be close).
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - Navy Venom
violetcobra 6/2/2008 12:18:00 AM
I agree with Mel_C's comments to a large degree yet found this to be too cool toned and too dark for this dark blue lover.
The Color. . . in the bottle you will see a very dark, deep navy with almost a blackenned purple tone, with some monochromatic shimmer that you basically cannot see since it's so dark. What happens on nails is that it's so heavily pigmented and thick, two coats gives you exactly the same look as in the bottle. At times, your nails will look black. In bright light (flash bulb photo), you can see a lighter blue captured within the navy. In my daylight pictures, you only see a finely ground very cool very shiny navy to black. Too cool for me, I knew it wasn't a fit.
The Application. . . not too bad for a very pigmented color, I still had problems handling the brush around my very narrow flared nails beds. The product is smooth enough, the brush is good, but it's still too pigmented to really get a nice shape by the cuticles. No streaks. Not gloopy. Probably good for anyone ordinary; I'm a tough sell on good application due to nail shape.
The Wear . . . not surprisingly, great wear. A little tip wear is all and I wore this color a good five plus days.
I love the brush and the bottle shape and grip of these SH Salon formulas, but just average for me as far as color and price ($5.99 rivals an Essie, China Glaze or OPI at full retail) and as for me, I won't be rebuying. But I passed this color onto a person who would appreciate it far more than I, as such, a lower rating from me as one would expect.
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Lotions/ Creams -Thalgo - Laid Hydratant Douceur
violetcobra 2/8/2008 12:24:00 PM
I in general would buy this again however it was a gift and something I did not select or pay for. I selected 3 because we don't have a ? or a n/a to select for any confusion if the price is exceptional reasonable or unreasonable.
The bottle is a basic screw cap crimped bottle made of plastic. At the end I wasn't sure how much if any was left. I prefer a pump.
This is a very softly marine scented very smooth absorbing hand cream. The marine scent is sort of a typical "hey I'm a marine product" with a hint of kelp... but as you wear, it turns to a citrus sort of lime scent. Very nice and subtle, somewhat masculine and spa/European.
You cannot beat the rate of absorbtion, instantly accepted by the skin and softening. I don't think it lasted however for long and I think I wash my hands way too often for something so softening. I think a silicone one works better for me actually but that's just me.
I think having this at my desk made my hands very smooth for when I used this, for a month or so. Loved.
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Polishes -Revlon - Holiday Bubbly
violetcobra 9/24/2007 12:48:00 PM
I wouldn't buy this again, this was a gift from my DH because I didn't go gaga over the color. Not gaga. But I have to admit it's still pretty unusual for a shimmery nude gold to have so much peach in it, looks a little metallic like pink gold on the nail, better far on than in the bottle.
The Color... in the bottle, a yellowy peachy gold warm shimmer. Looks very dense with monochromatic colored shimmery glitter bits, and looks slightly chunky although the shimmer (which is extremely plentiful) is the same color. On your nail the peach turns slightly pinky. In bright sunlight, more yellow peach with oodles of sparkly glinty shimmer.
Revlon polishes apply just ok for me, it seems they're a little thick and don't lay down completely nice for me. They seem to not come off the brush that well, they feel a little thick. Despite the weird feel, the application was pretty good. Yet since this color is so shimmery and appears somewhat metallic, you will see ridges and you better fill them.
Since I am just reviewing swatches, I can not speak as to wear on the nail.
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Polishes -Cover Girl - Midnight Rose
violetcobra 9/24/2007 12:36:00 PM
In a two pack at the Dollar Tree, Midnight Rose came with Mystic Peacock. They are a flat squarish bottle with a long skinny cap, NailSlicks. Get this is you can find it if you like vamps.
The color..... in the bottle, it looks like a blackenned brownish blood red. There is silver small small small silver glitter hugging the outside of the bottle. Looks slightly interesting and slightly fugly but... if you put it on the nail, you get more of a plummy blackenned red on. The shimmer on the nail shows up way more than the shimmer stuck inside the bottle... the shimmer shows up as a gorgeous deep inner sparkle. Not blingy but a little sparkle.
On nailboard I compared this to Essie Priceless but I find this color much more pretty than Priceless, which is interesting but not as lovely, I think because the glitter doesn't sparkle but it does somewhat clash with the deep clear plummy cocoa muddieness of Priceless.
The Application........ pretty good, actually. No complaints. It came off the brush to my nail smoothly and I found it easy to follow the contours at the base of my nail with the brush. No complaints.
My only complaint is... why cannot this color be put into the core line? I hate having people not being able to find these lovely colors which are becoming increasingly hard to find.
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Polishes -FingerPaints - Sketch Me If You Can
violetcobra 9/24/2007 12:28:00 PM
A lovely shade of pink, it goes on the nail nothing like the bottle. Love, get it at Sally's while you can since I got it for a great value I'm assuming this is going bye.
The Color............. in the bottle, it's a muted light pinky brownish red. Looks nothing spectacular, but, take it out and put it on your nail. You will see a very unusual shade of pink. It's a darker, warm pinkish salmon red. The brown goes completely away. There is a bit of shimmer in this too, I cannot see the color for sure but I think it's silver to white and the color shows a tad over it so it appears lighter monochromatic.
The Application............ as always, FingerPaints applies so well, it's going to have to be up there with China Glaze and OPI (with their old formula, not the new and improved one without DBP, Tolulene and Formaldehyde!) as my favorite application. Perfect, smooth, and easy to apply from the brush down to the nail where you want while not glooping into the raingutter. These new "improved" formula feel like they're not getting onto your fingernail from the brush but I digress.
I did a few swatches hoping to pick my next week's mani (yes, a whole week for me since I'm doing week 3 of Nail Tek II on my blog). This was by far the prettiest of the bunch. The others were funky and fun or dramatic, but this stands alone as pretty. I am not reviewing wear but will come back later as I spend the entire week with this polish.
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Polishes -Sinful - San Francisco
violetcobra 9/13/2007 8:24:00 PM
Definitely I would repurchase. I loved this color. The value is great or even magnificent. Lasts forever. The only deduction is.. I took a digit off of the Packaging Quality rank because no ballz.
The color..... yes I agree with the review earlier, this is a foil green Christmas bow shade. In the light you'll see it more of a sparkle kelly green. Very very shimmery and glittery. There is no two colors going on, it's solid green, deep, and lots of it. Did a pedi, two coats. Perfect, wonderful color.
The application...... went on a bit thick, had to clean out a raingutter or two with a business card. However, it self-leveled and dried to a totally normal look without any gloopy crunchy edges. Wonderful.
The wear..... it's been about 2 weeks and there's not a chip or wear at all. I did use a shiny topcoat (Seche Vite) and it's not as glossy as it used to be. I'm not tired of the color at all. I could wear it another week (but I won't). This and Rich In Heart have my vote for best Sinful ever.
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Polishes -Elizabeth Arden - Palatino Rose
violetcobra 9/13/2007 8:19:00 PM
I spotted this lovely shade at Ulta in early spring 2007 and I went back for it in late summer. It captured my attention, it still does after wearing it for over four days, and I'd repurchase.
THE COLOR
This shade is slightly sheer, which is necessary so you can see the lightly scattered gold glitter, smallish flakes. Does not look tacky at all to me. The pink shade is a slightly watermelon strawberry pastel pink, medium, somewhere in the neighborhood of the intensity of Essie Needs a Vacation. For a brighter peony shade, check into Elizabeth Arden Vincenza Raspberry. This was neither too warm or cool for my neutral olive skintone.
THE APPLICATION
I don't know what it is about the brush but it's great. It's smaller than what I'm used to and I think it navigates in my small curved and flared nails really well and applying consistent color. I tend to overpaint, and I didn't have this problem with my Palatino Rose (hint hint OPI prowide). Two coats later, I had a nearly perfect glossy reflective applied surface.
THE WEAR
After a few days of wear (I am blogging the results of Nailtek II on my horrible peeling nails) I am proud to state that the wear has been great. I have sustained three small chips and I beat the heck out of my nails so I'm ok with this. I just filled in the chips with more color and they really look fine. I'm excited.
After four days, and three more to go, I'm thrilled I picked this color for my Nailtek results blog. One thing I should point out is that I did get bubbles on the manicure but I don't think the Palatino Rose is to blame, I believe I put on too thick a coat of my Nailtek.... sigh... except you can hardly see the bubbles. I should add that the texture even with the glitter is very smooth. But I could feel the bubbles even before I saw them.
As always I do have photos of this I can post for you etc. I would encourage anyone to try this polish.
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Scrubs -Arbonne - Awaken Sea Salt Scrub
violetcobra 8/16/2007 2:02:00 PM
My friend who sells Arbonne has given up on me buying anything although I did love their products (NutriminC packet). She gave this to me as a mini, and I have to admit I love their products, it's just I am cheap and won't buy them even for wholesale.
That being said, I love this product. It's just sea salt and safflower, avocado and almond oil so it's very natural. The scent is a spice-scented lemon, and it is really pretty. I had to shake it around a lot to mix it, and there is a little knife-scooper there. Once it's mixed it just feels really natural. I love the presence of the oil on my skin in the shower and I didn't wash it off. Now I wonder if I could skip a step and just omit lotion from my routine.
It's really a lot nicer than most crappy scrubs I've tried. I liked that you could almost eat it, it's so natural.
And I really think for a good review you should disclose if you are an Arbonne consultant. I would guess half the reviews containing one liner raves are going to be the consultants. I'm not but I have nothing against their IMHO pretty awesome products.
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Polishes -FingerPaints - Scarlet Leaves
violetcobra 7/31/2007 12:59:00 AM
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply in August 2007 from a Limited Edition collection of six autumn shades. Really very similar to OPI Cheery Cherry LE Ulta Exclusive 2006. Fantastic purchase and I would repurchase if I lost this one without doubt though I don't intend to use it all up.
THE COLOR is a very bright syrupy maraschino cherry color, cool toned compared to the warmer Cheery Cherry, with loads of sparkling shimmer seems to be very suspended in color (i.e., not really pronounced, more suspended within the enamel as if layered under a sheer bright red). One of my favorite types of shimmer, this. Not only does the COLOR of the two differ but also the SHIMMER differs in that Cheery Cherry has smaller shimmer, almost indistinguishable as a shimmer because it's so finely ground. The Cheery Cherry seems a bit darker but it could be since it's slightly warmer. HONESTLY I really don't know if anyone would be able to distinguish them from another they are so close.
Not at all like I'm Not Really a Waitress since that one is so shimmery it's practially metallic. But maybe the rich bright hot red could be the same.
THE APPLICATION was ok, no problems noticed. Sadly there was some bubbling but hey, these were color swatches on my natural nails. And I didn't prep them well, so that is me.
I'm not reviewing wear right now but dang, get this color if you like suspended glowy shimmer in a maraschino cherry bright red cool toned base.
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Polishes -China Glaze - For Audrey
violetcobra 6/25/2007 8:48:00 PM
Yes I would buy this gorgeous Limited Edition again. Either China Glaze has been reading the various nailboard queries... or else has read in Nails or Glamour that the "something blue" for today's bride is toenails. In full swing of June, China Glaze comes up with the Tiffany-box blue inspired pale robin's egg color named For Audrey. You'd think they could have released it in March for those bride planner chicks to really have the excitement build up, but nope, it comes out on the week of June 18th.
THE COLOR in the bottle is the blue I expected. There is no shimmer of any kind or satin flecks. Pure cream. The color is very very glossy. Excellent color.
THE APPLICATION was great, not too fussy, no mistakes in putting the polish down. The surface of my unprepped nails bubbled a little (reviewing a swatch I don't always use my trademark Foundation by Nailtek). I am stuck with a bubble but I'm willing to give the item a break since it literally rolled off the truck an hour ago.
The only complaint I have is that my own skin color (a funky mix of green, blue and yellow) does distort the color somewhat. I wonder if there would be any way China Glaze would ensure, no matter what your skin color or amount of melanin you've got in your skin, that the color would always be true. I love this color anyway and I cannot wait to do a full manicure or pedicure on my shorter nail length.
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Polishes -Orly - Get a Grip
violetcobra 6/6/2007 4:42:00 PM
I disagree with the previous review's color description. This is not a wine at all. Get a Grip is a metallic (as in it's loaded with fine grained silver shimmer) light to medium purple. It's a warmer toned purple, I believe it's closer to a red-violet than a true purple. The thing that makes it hard to answer an easy question (such as "what color is Get a Grip?") is because of the metallic silver shimmer. It's warm toned but with cool shimmer? I don't know how, but it is.
Similar color include probably OPI Three Plums I Win and China Glaze Violet Hush. Both of those are red violet metallics but it looks like Violet Hush varies based on the Community Site reference... I found the third picture to be the most true (not cat's or KL's).
THE APPLICATION.............maybe because this was RIS and used once, the application was not the worst in the world but not as nice as the other colors I reviewed today. The first coat did not lay on smoothly. There was a hiccup of a gloopage fest on the edge of the nail. But the second coat lay on fine and the third even better. I can hardly see the gloopfest on the edge of the nail, but I know it's here so it gets a demerit.
Definitely this would be a mani or pedi color for me. I really liked this color, and I'm not reviewing wear, just swatches for now. I have pics if anyone wants to see.
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Polishes -Orly - Take Him to the Cleaners
violetcobra 6/6/2007 4:27:00 PM
THE COLOR...........I don't necessarily agree with all the reviews below but I will say I was shocked that this goes on darker than in the bottle. The bottle shows a very darkened burgundy-red with a substantial addition of subtle (and plentiful) bronzy-burgundy shimmer. On nails, however, this deepened to a sort of a brownish soft black, and the shimmer changed to a raisin-red burgundy. I love it in the bottle, and I think I like it even more on my nails than in the bottle.
I think most people would mistake this for black except for the occasional friend, who may say, "Hey I need to see this in the light!" and you would be able to say, "Oh it looks fantastic in the light!" And then the red/brown/raisin would come out.
I love this color and although I will never be using up this full bottle, I would repurchase if I lost this one and I would recommend it. Other colors like this would be Lincoln Park At Midnight (cooler), Black Magic Mountain, and Cuppa Joe/Eat'n Eggplant.
THE APPLICATION.................not the best of the four Orlys I am reviewing/swatching today and tied for last place with a RIS used once swap item that is from the Orly core collex. I think it's hard to get truly pigmented colors to lay down right on the nail, esp. if your nails are very small and very curved like mine are. The edge near the cuticle was very fussy and jagged after the first coat, but the second coat made it better. The third coat (yes I did!) made it even nicer. Each successive coat lay perfectly over the other coat, even though the initial coat was crappy.
I cannot review the wear right now, but I believe this would look great on a manicure. I hope to do a full fledged manicure with this one soon.
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Polishes -Orly - Spice
violetcobra 6/6/2007 4:17:00 PM
After reading the shanghaisweetie review, let me just add that I love this color and I TOTALLY am a purple fan.
THE COLOR..........while not the most unusual color in the world, we have a warm-toned medium to dark purple. It's not the color that will allure you probably, it's the shine.
It's somewhat pearlescent, in that it has a glowy thing going on where you either get a glossy dark purple or a glossy lighter warmer purple, depending on where the light is. I don't classify this as a shimmer polish at all. But it's NOT a cream. I classify this as a pearl, but there are little bits in there somewhere that do something with the light. I cannot see what color they are, but I think the little bits are so small and so refractive such that they are unable to be seen. I would guess that the little bits are red violet and they sink into the darker warm violet vehicle.
THE APPLICATION.................not the best of the Orlys I am reviewing today, but not the worst either! The first coat was a bit skittish and went on raggedy around the cuticle round, but the second coat fixed that and left an ok even edge. I like a perfect edge and I didn't get that (I don't correct except for gloopage now). But I liked the second and I even put on a third. No problems.
I don't want to review the wear right now because this is only a swatch, but this is going to be my next pedicure color. I took a photo of my swatches, presently in my profile. PM me if you need to see it.
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Polishes -Orly - Red Sea Pearl
violetcobra 6/6/2007 4:06:00 PM
Orly colors never do a thing for me. On occasion I thought I'd try this color but each time I'd put this color back. Finally this made it into my cart.
The color......................This color is a DARK hot pink fuchsia with a strong flash of medium blue-violet. The main colors anyway. The main colors are somewhat cool toned. However, if you tip your nail downward 45 degrees, you see a somewhat warmer dark flamingo orange-pink-red and NO irridescence. You sort of get a lot of bang for the buck with this color because it does have different hues depending on the light and the angle. Sometimes you get a very dark warmer rhododendron, sometimes a fuchsia-magenta.
The application/texture.............................. Of the four Orlys I tries, this one had the best texture (the other three I am reviewing on this date to compare). The flow was perfect, thick but not runny, and lay down when I brushed. The coverage esp. at those tricky cuticle edges was fantastic. There is a great balance between holding the product on the brush, and letting it go, and because it's not runny, it's thick AND smooth and easy, I was glad I tried all 4 at the same time to see what good polish feels like.
The shine........................... I am shocked and surprised at how SHINY this color is. The gloss and shine really look great.
I am only reviewing swatches today but this has earned a spot of the coveted NOTD queue. LOVE. I would recommend, and I would repurchase if I lost one, but I won't be rebuying this in real life since, well, I am a hoarder and I have so many now. I have a pic of this if anyone wants to see, it's in my profile.
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