OPI Serena Glam Slam England

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have one of the OPI Serena Glam Slam England sets to show you, the purple one with Grape...Set...Match and Servin' Up Sparkle.

Grape...Set...Match is a truly fantastic purple, about the same shade as Nubar Pasadena Purple, and the OPI has distinctly visible pink and blue shimmer bits.  It's very well pigmented, requiring only two coats and very easy to apply.  Here's Grape...Set...Match without top coat.

OPI Grape...Set...Match Nail Polish, Two Coats

I topped it off with two coats of Servin' Up Sparkle, which looks just like Disco Ball Sparkle, the UK exclusive from a couple of years ago, but the glitter seems to reflect more colors in Servin' Up Sparkle.

OPI Servin' Up Sparkle Nail Polish, Two Coats over OPI Grape...Set...Match

This is my favorite of the Serena Glam Slam sets so far - the purple is gorgeous, and I think Servin' Up Sparkle is just more versatile than the shatters in the previous sets.

That's the news of the day, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I was going to hold off on changing my manicure until later today, but my Ruby Red Slippers was chippy, so I did a quick change to Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance.

Bad Romance is kind of like a purple Ruby Red Slippers.  It's a black jelly base with purple regular and hex glitter.  I used two coats, but really could have used a third to make it totally opaque.  Here's the finished mani with Bad Romance.

Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance Nail Polish, Two Coats

I really like it - I think it ties with Lady Sings the Blues for my favorite of the Lippmann glitters of this season.

I expect to have something really good for you later today, assuming all of the stars align properly.  As soon as I have it, I'll give you a peek!  Until then, love and nail polish to you!  

Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers

Good evening, Dear Reader!

Today I have a Lippmann glitter nail polish for you that's not new, but really, really good: Ruby Red Slippers.  It's a black jelly base with red regular and hex glitter.  For easier removal, I layered one coat of Ruby Red Slippers over one coat of Chanel Black Velvet.  I really like it, and it got a lot of compliments today.

Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers Nail Polish, One Coat over Black

I've really been enjoying the glitter lately, and have another planned for tomorrow - I managed to get hold of a bottle of Bad Romance, which I'm looking forward to trying out.

That's it for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe for you.  It's a blue jelly base with lighter blue regular and hex glitter as well as light green hex glitter, and it's really cool.  I needed three coats to make it totally opaque.  I was afraid that would be overkill on the glitter, but it turned out nicely, I think - the glitter looks almost 3D with how it peeks out to varying degrees, and it's really mermaidy.  Here it is finished with top coat.

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe Nail Polish, Three Coats

I really like it a lot, but I think my favorite of the new Lippmann glitters is Lady Sings the Blues.  I can't judge on Bad Romance - Nordstrom's cancelled my preorder of that one... That's my first negative experience with Nordies, so I was sad, I really want to try Bad Romance.

That's the update for now, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Revlon Glitter Top Coats & Companions

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I'm back with something cool to show you that I found while grocery shopping this morning.  I found a Revlon display I haven't seen before or heard of, and the colors looked really cool, so I got one of each to show you.  As usual, I don't know the name of the display - I think I forgot to even check what it was.  I saw glitter and that was the end of it!

This display had eight shades, four cremes and four corresponding glitter top coats.  Two of the cremes, I could do without having swatched them.

The first creme, Silver, is a light grey creme.  Mine had a comically wonky brush and was a three coater.  One of the lighter Nubar greys or Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Wet Cement would be better.  Here's Silver alone.

Revlon Silver Nail Polish, Three Coats

The top coat for this one is called Belle (Silver Belle...).  I added two coats.

Revlon Belle Nail Polish, Two Coats over Three Coats Silver

The next creme is a dark red called Ruby, a two coater.

Revlon Ruby Nail Polish, Two Coats

The top coat for this one is Slipper.

Revlon Slipper Nail Polish, Two Coats over Two Coats Ruby

Next up is a purple creme called Rock, also a two-coater.

Revlon Rock Nail Polish, Two Coats

Its top coat is called Star.  Here's two coats of Star.

Revlon Star Nail Polish, Two Coats over Two Coats Rock

The last creme is a black called Lunar, a two-coater with a wonky brush.

Revlon Lunar Nail Polish, Two Coats

The glitter top coat for this is the most impressive to me.  It's called Galaxy.

Revlon Galaxy Nail Polish, Two Coats over Two Coats Lunar

Those, Dear Reader, are the Revlon glitter top coats and their creme companions which I stumbled upon this morning.  I think they're great, and at $4, I don't expect to do better.

That's all I have for you.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Anna Sui 101

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm keeping up with the glitter today with Anna Sui 101.  It's sheer blue base with fine opalescent glitter and medium blue hex glitter.  I got it from Urban Outfitters, who recently started carrying Anna Sui nail polish, but I couldn't tell you how they have it listed.  They don't use the color numbers, which makes it kind of hard to find a specific polish.

I used two coats of Anna Sui 101, and it's definitely a bit odd, but I like it.  It looks like my hands are icy cold, which would be kind of nice right now!

Anna Sui 101 Nail Polish, Two Coats

Of course, the added bonus is that now my nails smell like roses, which is fun.

That's the update for today.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Deborah Lippmann Some Enchanted Evening

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm back with the last of the Lippmann All That Jazz Trio, the current Nordstrom Exclusive one.  I already showed you Lady Sings the Blues and Razzle Dazzle, so that leaves us with Some Enchanted Evening.  This one's the least impressive to me.

Some Enchanted Evening is kind of a salmon pink glitter, regular and hex, in a clear base.  My initial impression upon picking up the bottle is that it looks a lot like NARS Arabesque, which means it should work well over NARS Pussy Galore.  That good news, because my next impression, after applying three coats, is that it looks a little rashy to me on its own.  I'll let you be the judge...

Deborah Lippmann Some Enchanted Evening Nail Polish, Three Coats

Layered, I think it will be nice, on its own, not so much.  Now you've seen the whole All That Jazz Trio.  I think the first two were knockout, and we'll assume this one is the one that costs $4 to tack on...

That's it for today.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I'm back sooner than I thought to show you something I got today, Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues from the Nordstrom Exclusive Trio.  The bottle says "Deborah Lippmann," not "Lippmann Collection," so I'm just going with what the bottle says - I don't know if that recently changed.

Lady Sings the Blues is a great deep blue jelly with regular and hex glitter and excellent color saturation.  It took two coats to make it opaque, which is odd for a jelly.  The glitter distinctly shows through the almost-blackened-yet-still-blue base.

Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues Nail Polish, Two Coats

I really love this one.  Lippmann does some great glitters, and this is definitely a great one.  I'm fired about about two of the three in the trio, and the third isn't bad.  They're still on Nordstrom's site if you need it.

That's all I have for you for now, Dear Reader.  Until next tome, love and nail polish to you!  

Anna Sui 203

Good morning, Dear Reader!

You've seen today's nail polish before, but I like it so much I thought I'd show it to you again.  It's Anna Sui 203, a reddish plum jelly base with holo glitter and hex glitter.  And it smells like roses.  It's in the newer bottle design and the rose fragrance is not as knock-me-over as in the old design.

I used three coats of Anna Sui 203 to make it opaque, and I just used one coat of top coat.  It could have used another to make it smooth, but at least my nails smell like roses.

Anna Sui 203 Nail Polish, Three Coats

That's the update for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Purple Manicures

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have a few Nails of the Day for you, including today's, that are purple.  That's all they have in common.

First up is China Glaze LOL from the OMG Collection.  I used Nfu Oh Aqua Base and Diamont top coat with it.

China Glaze LOL Nail Polish with Nfu Oh Aqua Base

Next is yesterday's Nails of the Day, which was two coats of Nubar Pasadena Purple with a tip pattern from Bundle Monster plate BM18 in Konad White.

Nubar Pasadena Purple Nail Polish with BM18 in Konad White

The last is the manicure I just did for today, Nina Ultra Pro in Purple Xing (I have no idea what's going on with some of the Nina Ultra Pro names...).  It was a two-coater.

Nina Ultra Pro Purple Xing Nail Polish, Two Coats

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Sephora by OPI Midnight Mambo

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I'll show you a manicure I wore last week, Sephora by OPI's Midnight Mambo.  It's a light medium blue base with a ton of baby holographic hex glitter in it.  It was opaque in two coats, but took an absolute boatload of top coat to smooth it out - I used one coat Diamont, a coat of Gelous, then another coat of Diamont to get it smooth.

Sephora by OPI Midnight Mambo Nail Polish, Two Coats

Despite that, it was relatively easy to remove, and I really like how it looks, so I think it's a winner.

That's all for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Essie Splash of Grenadine & Konad M79

Good evening, Dear Reader!

It turned out that Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Midnight in NY was a complete failure for me.  As I'm sure you could tell from my last post, I wasn't thrilled with it.  I decided to fix it up a little with Chanel Illusion D'Or.  I added one coat and another coat of top coat.

Chanel Illusion D'Or over Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Midnight in NY

That was sufficient for me, and I would have been happy with it, but a full hour after adding to it I took a nice Sunday nap, and woke up with the polish smudged all the way down several nails.  It would seem the formulas are not friends...

Rather than spend the rest of my day with squishy, smudgy nail polish, I changed it, and I'm thrilled to bits over the replacement which is why I'm showing it to you now.  I'll likely have to go into The Vault for something to show you tomorrow, I like this one so much - I want to keep it for at least a day.  As the title tells you, it's Essie Splash of Grenadine from The Resort Collection, which took two coats for a perfectly even, opaque, super glossy finish, to which I added a pattern from Konad plate M79.  I used the dotted net pattern in Konad Blue Pearl Special Polish (or Pearl Blue, whatever...), and added tips from plate M19.

Essie Splash of Grenadine, Two Coats, and Konad M79 and M19 in Konad Blue Pearl 

How fun is my new mani???  Since Splash of Grenadine is between pink and purple, I thought the blue would bring out the purple, and this is my other favorite Konad Special Polish, along with Psyche Pink.  Both were introduced with the Coraline Konad plates, and the two are far and away my favorites because they're glowy and striking.  I love many Konad polishes and likely use Black and White the most, but these two are my top picks, so I'm happy when I get to use one of them.

That's my new manicure and all I have for you today.  Fortunately, I have some stuff in The Vault to show you tomorrow, so until then, love and nail polish to you!  

Nicole by OPI Nail Polish, Part II

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have the rest of the new-to-me Nicole by OPI's to show you today. My light wasn't as good as yesterday's, but it was sufficient. I used a different number of coats for the different shades, so I'll tell you about each as we look at the color.

First up is Violet Vibe, which is not new, but is noteworthy because it's also a hard to find OPI color. Just get the Nicole! It's a light pinkish purple shimmer. I don't have the OPI here to compare the two versions, but I looked up pictures of OPI Violet Vibe and it looks like this is just a dupe of the OPI. Now, we know OPI's not perfect at duping their own colors, but it's an attempt at a dupe and looks close enough. This is three coats.

Nicole by OPI Violet Vibe Nail Polish, Three Coats

Next, I have some new-ish, Christmas colors. Bah Plum-Bug! is a deep plum with a slight shimmer in the bottle which does not show up on the nail. It took three coats, and someone should be jailed for its name.

Nicole by OPI Bah Plum-Bug! Nail Polish, Three Coats

To it, I added two coats of Twinkle of Sprinkle,a clear base with silver and holo hex glitter that's a dupe for OPI's Disco Ball Sparkle. Truthfully, I forgot it was a dupe for Disco Ball Sparkle when I got it, but I love hex glitters so it work outs alright.

Nicole by OPI Twinkle of Sprinkle Nail Polish, Two Coats, over Three Coats Nicole by OPI Bah Plum-Bug! Nail Polish

Last is Faux Fir, a slightly bluish green shimmer. It only required two coats, and was the one I chose to wear for the last day. I really like it. Unfortunately, my Orly Nail Rescue had degraded again by this time in swatching... Sorry about that!

Nicole by OPI Faux Fir Nail Polish, Two Coats

Now you've seen all my new Nicole by OPI nail polishes. I got these from AveYou.com with a 20% off code and $1 shipping. I've ordered from them a few times in the last several years and only had one problem order, and they took care of it, so I can say I believe they're safe to order from. RetailMeNot.com usually has their current codes listed.

That's what I have for you for now, Dear Reader. Please throw your name in the hat for a bottle of Orly Iron Butterfly is you have not yet, and until next time, love and nail polish to you!

China Glaze Glitters (Still More)

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have still more China Glaze Glitter swatches. There will always be more...

Snow Globe is more of a top coat, with lots of regular glitter and a bit of hex glitter in an almost clear base.

China Glaze Snow Globe Nail Polish, Two Coats

Nova is a clear base dense with silver holo-y glitter.

China Glaze Nova Nail Polish, Two Coats

Doll House is gargantuan rose hex glitter in a clear base.

China Glaze Doll House Nail Polish, Two Coats

Glam is glitter the same color as Doll House, only a more reasonable size, also in a clear base.

China Glaze Glam Nail Polish, Two Coats

Candie is a soft pale pink with multi colored glitter.

China Glaze Candie Nail Polish, Two Coats

Mahoganie took three coats and is spelled funny, but is a great reddish brown with holo glitter.

China Glaze Mahoganie Nail Polish, Three Coats

That's all for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!