Polishes -Zoya - Carly
hooplehead 4/29/2012 12:30:00 AM
Zoya is not generally my favorite nail polish company. Their colors are usually boring, but they have good sales so I get them a lot. Carly made me eat my words. It is a drop dead gorgeous deep plum colored foil. So shiny and pretty! It also dries in the blink of an eye, so you have to blend quickly to avoid weird brushstrokes. You could get away with just doing one coat, but I usually do two. I'm also really pleased with the wear. No chips and only minor tip wear with Orly Bonder base coat and Orly Won't Chip Topcoat. So pleased with this polish. Will definitely repurchase!
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Polishes -Zoya - Zuza
hooplehead 4/29/2012 12:28:00 AM
Zoya is not generally my favorite nail polish company. Their colors are usually boring, but they have good sales so I get them a lot. Zuza made me eat my words. It is a drop dead gorgeous medium blue-green foil. So shiny and pretty! It also dries in the blink of an eye, so you have to blend quickly to avoid weird brushstrokes. You could get away with just doing one coat, but I usually do two. I'm also really pleased with the wear. No chips and only minor tip wear with Orly Bonder base coat and Orly Won't Chip Topcoat. So pleased with this polish. Will definitely repurchase!
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Polishes -China Glaze - Smoke and Ashes 
hooplehead 3/18/2012 10:03:00 AM
This is such a pretty-looking black polish with green shimmer. And it looked so good in online swatches. But it is underwhelming on the nail. The shimmer doesn't show up at all, so the polish just looks black. And it has a flat finish, even with topcoat. It looked like such a stunner in the swatches, I was really disappointed with how it turned out. I guess I willl keep it for a base color, but I would not repurchase.
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Polishes -China Glaze - fast track
hooplehead 3/18/2012 9:57:00 AM
I've seen swatches online that make Fast Track look like a shimmery pinky-taupe. I feel like they were misleading, because Fast Track is a warm toned taupe and the shimmer is barely noticeable. I don't know how they got it to photograph so well on the website, but Fast Track in person was a letdown for me. It didn't look right against my cool-toned skin. (Also, it is a warm-toned dupe of Orly's Night Owl, which I already have and like better.) So I gave my bottle away to a friend who wanted to try it. Would not repurchase.
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Polishes -Color Club - Age of Aquarius
hooplehead 3/18/2012 12:51:00 AM
Age of Aquarius is a striking midtone mint green creme. It is a really gorgeous color, to the point where I would catch sight of it and want to stop and admire my nails. I didn't care for the formula, which was thin and streaky. It took about three coats to get it opaque, and I docked a lippie for that. It had a nice high gloss finish, which was also attractive. But the tip shrinkage was pronounced and very noticeable. I also docked a lippe for that, because I didn't even get a good 24 hours of wear out of it before I wanted to do another manicure. I do have to say that it didn't chip at all. But since I wasn't doing much that day that would make it chip, I would want to wear it on a normal day before I say it is really chip resistant. So in summary: love the color, love the finish, like that it is maybe chip resistant, hate the shrinkage. Even for a cheap polish, this was poor performance. I got this as a mini in a Birchbox. Unless I really fell in love with another Color Club color, I would not purchase again.
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Cleansers -Philosophy - Purity Made Simple (Real Purity Cleanser)
hooplehead 3/10/2012 3:17:00 PM
My skin has been going through some sensitivity issues and is happy with just about nothing anymore, I put this aside when that problem started and was using Caudalie Gentle Cleanser. Due to the Caudalie's sub-par cleansing and lack of foaming action, I picked up the PMS again and was extremely pleased with the contrast. It cleans my skin effectively and gently and does not set my fussy skin off. It is a little pricey, but you need so little that it lasts forever. Would definitely repurchase.
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Polishes -China Glaze - Electrify
hooplehead 3/10/2012 12:13:00 AM
Drop dead gorgeous gold and red glitter bomb. So pretty, such a unique color and shinier that any other polish I've seen. Love love love and will definitely be buying back-ups. ETA-If you want the full effect of the polish, you will need a high-gloss topcoat. This one is a bit of a topcoat eater. But so, so, so pretty.
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Styling Products -Sexy Hair Concepts - Play Dirty Texturizing Hairspray
hooplehead 2/27/2012 6:39:00 PM
Play Dirty is a hairspray with light hold. I first tried it when my hairdresser used it on me and I think I'm in love. Play Dirty does a nice job of smoothing hair and taming frizzies. But the real selling point is the shine. It gives your hair a pretty shine, like in the shampoo commercials. Extremely pleased with this and would definitely repurchase.
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Polishes -OPI - Spark De Triomphe
hooplehead 2/16/2012 11:44:00 PM
Gorgeous, unique dazzling glitter polish. Opaque in two coats, wears like a dream. Definitely buying a backup or two, this polish is just perfect.
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Polishes -Butter London - Tart With a Heart
hooplehead 2/13/2012 9:46:00 PM
This is a weird polish. I was expecting a sort of pinkish, sandy colored version of Lippmann's "Stairway to Heaven." But this is a very different polish. It has microglitter, not flakes, holographic instead of duochrome glitter. On its own and over white I feel like it's a bit much. But it looks pretty cool over black polish. it is more muted and interesting somehow. The color's OK, but the formulation of this polish is so goopy and hard to work with. Would not repurchase.
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Polishes -Orly - Nite Owl
hooplehead 2/11/2012 7:33:00 PM
This is the prettiest taupey nude color. It is loaded with silver micro glitter to give it enough shimmer to add interest. It is the perfect work-appropriate polish. For color alone, I would give it 5. I docked one lippy for Orly's poor wear. They just do not give a very durable manicure. But their polishes are gorgeous, so I will continue to repurchase.
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Top/Base Coats -Poshe - Super-Fast Drying Top Coat
hooplehead 2/11/2012 5:55:00 PM
Love this top coat! 3 free (unlike some topcoats I could name, Seche Vite!) cuts dry time, pretty glossy finish and good wear. Definitely seems to make my manicure last longer. Would repurchase. ETA-While this is good for a topcoat when you do your manicure, it is not suitable for use as a daily refresher TC. Like many fast-dry topcoats, your manicure will show tip and sometimes side shrinkage with more than one coat of Poshe. This is true even when I dilute the formula to try to combat the shrinkage issue. So use this for manicures and a non=fast-drying TC for daily touchups.
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Top/Base Coats -Creative Nail Design - Stickey -Base Coat
hooplehead 2/11/2012 5:52:00 PM
Really loving Stickey! My previous HG was Orly's Bonder, which worked great but stained my nails orange. Stickey is the same kind of rubberized base coat and wears long and well. I see little wear beyond tip wear and chips are almost entirely a thing of the past. Plus, no staining. I couldn't ask for more and would definitely repurchase.
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Treatments -OPI - Chip Skip
hooplehead 2/11/2012 5:35:00 PM
Please read wishful10's review before panning this product. So many reviewers do not seem to be using it correctly. If you are using it in any other order than as she directs, you are not going to like this product. But used as she directs, I have noticed a huge difference in the life of my manicure with Chip Skip. It even helps dissolve those little pieces of nail polish I miss during removal. It is especially important to wipe it around the whole border of the nail, up along the edge of the cuticle. My nail polish used to gunk up at the edges and look awful. With the Chip Skip, that does not happen anymore, It works well under OPI, Zoya, Lippmann and most polishes, keeping them from showing any more than slight tip wear. The only brand Chip Skip does not noticeably extend is Orly, but their wear is crappy, so no surprise there. I am really loving this. I just bought two large bottles and would definitely repurchase again.
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Highlighters -Stila - All Over Shimmer Duo Kitten
hooplehead 2/9/2012 9:10:00 PM
I am a big fan of this pairing. The gloss is a pretty, classic neutral that looks like it would be flattering on most skin colors. But I am really in love with the shimmer powder. I bought it on a whim because it looked like a pretty light bronzer. It is not that, it gives more of a sheer, light wash of shimmery gold. So pretty and flattering. I like it for toning down blush or giving it a bit more depth. It has become a staple and I would definitely repurchase.
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