Polishes -Sally Hansen - Complete Salon Manicure in Hidden Treasure
lb2569 4/25/2010 7:33:00 PM
I got this for almost $8 at Walgreens, which is a little bit high for drugstore polish IMO. That being said, it's definitely a less expensive dupe for Nfu Oh #49. And by dupe, I mean a dead ringer. They look different in the bottle, but when applied to the nail (most noticible when layered over black) they look exactly the same. Side by side I can't tell a bit of difference. If you like polish with flakies (not glitter) & Nfu Oh polishes are too expensive, then snatch this up if you can find it!
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Polishes -Essie - Lollipop
lb2569 4/8/2010 9:21:00 PM
Yes, liking this one a lot! I have close to 200 polishes in my collection, and a good number of them are reds, but I have NO dupes of this one. This is not deep and vampy, & IMO I really wouldn't even see it as a vintage 40's red. Compared with the other reds in my collection it's quite a bit brighter & cheerier -- yes, maybe a candy red. That still makes it a year round color for me, suitable in warmer seasons or the winter holidays. On my warm & pale complexion it seems quite neutral on me, not too blue or orange. A keeper!
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Polishes -Borghese - Serena Nail Lacquer Mini Kit
lb2569 12/27/2009 6:43:00 PM
I already have waaay too much nail polish (125+ bottles), but I found the 4 gorgeous colors in this mini set unique in my collection. Because of that I was unsuccessful in talking myself out of buying it. #1 is a shimmery, vampy, smoky plum/wine color. I have quite a few shimmery purples, but none of them was a dupe of this shade, really pretty. #2 is a deep, shimmery tri-chrome. This one is my fave out of the set. Depending on how the light hits, it goes from purple, to a charcoal-type shade, to teal. I think it might be similar to Laura Mercier's Caviar Dreams from what I've read in a couple nail polish blogs. #3 is a deep brown with silver & red glitter. Most browns have gold shimmer or glitter, so the silver & red in it are quite different IMO. #4 has a clear base with pink, blue, red, silver, & gold glitter. This one I don't wear by itself, but it looks great layered over black. The glitter in the last two polishes is not huge and chunky, but I also wouldn't say that's it's the tiny micro-glitter size either, maybe in between the two -- mini glitter rather than micro glitter. The downsides and my reasons for rating this 4 lippies instead of 5: First, the mini brushes were a bit tricky. Definitely not the worst or smallest brushes I've ever used, but not the best either. I had to be more careful with it, but it was workable Also, the formula was rather thick, so I had to thin them out with a few drops of nail polish thinner. The only exception was the brown glitter, which was actually a bit thin & needed 3 coats for full coverage. Finally, for a drugstore polish set costing $9.99, the full retail price is a bit steep for only .14 oz. in each bottle IMO. All that being said, I still love the colors & think they were worth the extra effort. With so many polishes already, the only ones I go for now are those that are unique in my collection, & these definitely fill the bill. When I went back to the store a few days later it was on sale for $7.50, so I bought another one. I think this set was LE for the 2009 holiday season, but I wish Borghese made these in full size bottles.
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Polishes -FingerPaints - Icy Iris
lb2569 12/3/2009 9:34:00 PM
This is from the Holiday 2009 collection. I was really on the fence about whether or not I wanted to buy this, but I'm so glad I did. This is a dark, vampy purple with an almost electric purple glass fleck when the light hits it. Even though it's really dark, it never looks black even in low light. I've gotten a lot of compliments on this, love it! I like it as much, or maybe even better then OPI's Merry Midnight, beautiful color!
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Polishes -Milani - Ms. Milani
lb2569 11/1/2009 5:31:00 PM
I got a bottle of this as an extra in a swap, & I like it a lot. It reminds me of Revlon's Silver Screen (metallic silver), but it has a hint of gold/taupe in it that makes it a bit more wearable on my warm skin tone. It also makes it a little more neutral to go with more outfits. I have probably at least 150 nail polishes in my collection, but there are no dupes of this one, so it's a nice addition.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Maybelline - Express Finish in Glad to be Green
lb2569 10/12/2009 4:48:00 PM
I just found this color this week in a special end cap display of new Fall colors, so I think it might possibly be an LE shade. This is a mid-toned, shimmery green that might be wearable almost year-round. To me it's kind of like a leafy green with a bit of a warm olive tone added. I think of olive greens as sometimes being kind of ugly, but this one looks so pretty to me, I love it! I have probably at least 25 bottles of different shades of green, & this one is totally unique in my collection. None of my others is even close. The only thing I can say about it negatively is that it is *slightly* more sheer than I'd like, so I needed about 3 coats to get it opaque -- I might dock it 1/2 a lippie for that. Great color though, one of a kind IMO. I'd consider even getting a backup.
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Polishes -Nubar - Gold Leaf
lb2569 9/3/2009 9:35:00 PM
Gorgeous color for those with warm skin tones! This is a plummy brown with lots of gold shimmer. On my nails it reminds me of tiger's eye stone. Application was great -- full coverage with two coats, perfect formula that wasn't too thick or too thin. Love this!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Wet 'n' Wild - Craze in Morbid
lb2569 8/30/2009 7:48:00 PM
This is a nice quality nail polish for only $1.99 at my local Walgreens, but note that it's only .34 oz. instead of .5 oz. like most nail polishes (hence one lippie off -- I prefer a full 1/2 oz polish). I have dozens of shimmery dark green nail polishes, but the closest one this comes to in my collection is Misa's Toxic Seduction. Side by side it's almost a dead-ringer dupe, but it's just the *teensy* bit darker. The brush doesn't seem too bad, & at least the wide cap makes it a bit easer for me to hold onto, as sometimes those small bottles can have such tiny brushes. Excellent subsititute though for Toxic Seduction if you don't want to bother ordering online & paying for shipping.
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Polishes -OPI - Designer Series-DS Desire
lb2569 8/8/2009 10:07:00 PM
This is just a bit sheer for my tastes (I might dock it 1/2 a lippie for that), so I layered this over Orly's Coffee Break. Perfect! It's a really gorgeous, golden carmel color with a beautiful holo shimmer. Definitely a unique shade in my collection of well over 100 bottles & a keeper for me! So glad I swapped for this!
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Polishes -Nubar - Reclaim
lb2569 7/25/2009 12:34:00 PM
This is from the Nubar Going Green collection new out this summer. This is a holo in a mid-toned, slightly muted green. Against my warm, pale skintone this doesn't seem to lean heavily to either the yellow or blue side, pretty much right in the middle to my eyes. In some lighting I see the yellow come out more, but in other lighting more blueish. I had no trouble with the application. Full coverage in two coats, great brush that wasn't too thick or thin. The formula did not seem super thick or goopy, but it's possible that after using this another time or two that I might need to add a couple drops of thinner. This is georgeous to wear mostly in the Spring & Summer. For my tastes it'd probably be a little too light for me to wear in the Fall or Winter, but there's plenty of other beautiful greens from this collection to wear then. The holo effect is beautiful, but not over the top. You can most definitely see the holo in the light, but it's not nearly as "blingy" as the OPI Designer series or even some recent popular Color Club holos like Revvvolution or Worth the Risque. Overall this is a beautiful color, totally unique in my collection of at least 125+. Since this is LE grab it while it's still around. UPDATE: The wear on this is the best that I think I've ever seen. I'm on my 4th day with this on & have no tip wear at all. I have polishes ranging from all the drugstore to all the salon brands, & I don't think I've ever gone this long with any of them & no touch-ups on the tips. Wow, very impressive!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -China Glaze - Drinkin My Blues Away
lb2569 7/22/2009 7:39:00 PM
I absolutely love this color! In my collection of 100+ polishes I do not have a dupe of it. This is definitely not a deep navy like OPI's Russian Navy or Yoga-ta Get This Blue. It's more vibrant than that, but not neon bright either. I might dock this 1/2 a lippie because it is a bit sheer for my tastes. However, I solved that minor problem by layering it over a coat of Essie's Mesmerized, which is almost the same color but in a creme finish. When I look at the shimmer in this in the sunlight on my nails it reminds me of beautiful cobalt blue glass. Great summer blue! I'd definitely recommend snatching up a bottle of this if you can.
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Polishes -Yves Rocher - Vert Noir
lb2569 6/10/2009 5:55:00 PM
Yves Rocher just came out with their Summer LE makeup. This nail polish seriously looks very similar to the famous and much sought-after Nars Zulu. It's a very dark jungle green, almost black in low light, no shimmer. I don't own Zulu myself, but comparing this to the pictures I find of it online it looks really close IMO. I only swatched this on a couple nails, not a full mani yet -- but I love it! This is very pigmented & looks plenty good with 2 coats; the formula doesn't seem overly thick or gloopy. However, the con: this comes in *teeny* 0.1 oz. bottles for $3 each! (Whaaat?) You can get a mani or maybe two out of a single bottle at that size! So to get a full 1/2 oz. of polish like in most standard nail polish bottles you'd need to order 5 of them for a total of $15! I suppose though that's still cheaper than the $50+ that you'd pay scalpers online for Zulu & easier to find as well. So I took a lippie off for the tiny size & the price, but I still might buy a couple more of these this summer. EDIT: I did a full mani of this finally, & I can tell now that this is quite a bit darker than Zulu. From pictures I can tell that while Zulu looks blackened in low light, you can definitely tell it's a jelly green in direct light. This really is fully opaque, not jellied at all. Even in direct bright light it looks nearly black; you have to look really carefully to tell it's dark green. I have an empty bottle of clear polish, so I'm going to pour this in there & try to "water" it down by frankening it with more clear nail polish. I think that might get it closer to the Nars Zulu look that I want. 2nd EDIT: Yep, mixing this with clear polish was what was needed. I poured 2 of these 0.1 oz. bottles into an empty 1/2 oz. nail polish bottle and little by little ended up filling up the rest of the bottle with clear. This is really pigmented so it still definitely looks blackened under low light. But now under direct light you can finally tell it's a dark jungle green, not black; mixing in the clear polish gives it the jelly finish too. *Now* this finally is a good substitute for Nars Zulu, very close IMO, judging by online pics. In the end at least this ultimately gives me more polish plus a bigger bottle & brush to apply this -- I've always hated mini bottles, personally. That might be too much of a bother for someone who wants to just slap it on & isn't obsessed with nail polish like me. (It's a sickness, I know!) But for those of us ever on the search for a good franken substitute for Zulu, I'll deal.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Yokohama Collection- Baybridge Sunset
lb2569 6/7/2009 9:07:00 PM
Gaahhh, I love this, absolutely in my top 10! I have to admit though that this is, indeed, quite similar to DS Vintage & also Day at the Peach. In indirect light, all three are virtually identical; I can barely tell them apart. The main differences in my eyes is in the sunlight: DatP is a teeny bit lighter and reflects just a little more gold or copper, but the holo effect is quite similar. DS Vintage is almost the exact same shade but has a little more "bling" to the holo effect. While this one is my personal favorite among the three colors, it is most definitely *VHTF* in the U.S. (I swapped for mine -- thank you, Jen!!!) If you can find DatP or DS Vintage more easily or for less money, I have to agree with wombat that then you probably don't need this one too. In the meantime though, due to my irrational nail polish obsession, I will jealously guard my "precious," LOL. :D
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Polishes -Revlon - Scented - Not So Blueberry #370
lb2569 5/11/2009 9:06:00 PM
I'm really liking this, definitely a unique shade in my collection of well over 100 polishes so far. IMO this is really more of a duochrome. At a low angle it's a light blue, but looking at it straight on it's a light-to-medium purple. The finish is very shimmery, almost metallic. I really didn't have trouble with the application or texture of this -- 2 *slightly* thicker or 3 thin coats to make it opaque. And it does have a berry scent when it's dried! I don't find it overly strong (especially with a top coat on) or bothersome, but on some level I'd almost like it to be unscented when dried like other nail polishes. (It's mildly distracting when I offhandedly touch my face during the day then suddenly smell a berry scent. It takes me a couple seconds to remember it's my nails, LOL!)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Sally Hansen - Salon Lacquer in Honeydew
lb2569 5/8/2009 4:29:00 PM
I love this polish so much that I actually almost squealed like a 12-year-old when my mani was finished! I am sooo glad I swapped for this, as I still have yet to see it in any drugstores around the Chicago area. (Curse you Sally!) This is a beautiful, shimmery aqua green that reminds me of the color of the green waters of the Florida Keys. I found the coverage & pigmentation to be very good. The formula of my bottle was maybe a tad thick, not bad at all & nothing that a drop or two of thinner wouldn't solve. I still like Sally Hansen's square bottles & rubber handles too -- a winner packaging design in my book. I can see myself reaching for this a lot over the upcoming spring & summer. Definitely backup worthy! P.S. Just a note for comparison purposes: This is definitely a unique shade in my collection of well over 100 nail polishes (it's a sickness!), but the closest I find so far is Essie's Greenport. Honeydew is just a *teeny* bit deeper, maybe the *teeny* bit more green in it, and of couse, a shimmer instead of a cream finish.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No