L'Oreal Blue Marine

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I changed my polish to L'Oreal Blue Marine, the sparkly blue from the L'Oreal Summer Siren Collection, after wearing my Fourth of July manicure for three days.  I'll tell you, the red OPI did not hold up spectacularly well - I had quite a few chips, which is what prompted me to change it.  Anyhow, the need to change it gave me the opportunity to try out Blue Marine, so that's alright...

Blue Marine is really a three-coater for me, after two I could still see through my tips a bit.  The coats were very thin, but the pigment in this polish (the kind that seems like tiny flakes) doesn't seem to appreciate thick coats, so three it is.  I topped it off with some quick dry top coat and went to take pictures in the sun.

L'Oreal Blue Marine Nail Polish, Three Coats

Although I like this one quite a bit, there is some disappointment.  When I showed you a bottle picture of Blue Marine, I'd mentioned that there was a purple duochrome effect in the bottle that wasn't showing up in the picture.  Well, it ain't showing up on my nails, either, not in any light at all.  I applied it in a bright room with morning sun shining in through sheer curtains and could see it on the brush, but not on my nails at all, it clearly doesn't show in the sun, didn't in the shade, and doesn't here in a room with low natural light.  Now, in the post with the bottle picture, I recall at least one comment assuring me the duochrome shows up when the polish is applied, so I think this one might be a little trickier than most to get the purple to show up.  All I can think of that would make it show up for others and not me would be the curve and shape of a person's nail bed.  Mine have an unusually strong C curve (the curve left to right over the nail bed), which usually makes duochromes show up really well, but it's not helping me any here.  Regardless of the cause, my own experience is disappointment that zero purple show for me, but I know that others have had a better outcome.

That's just about all there is to tell you about today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

L'Oreal Coral Starfish

Good morning, Dear Reader!  Today isn't the best day ever, as it's the third anniversary of my mom's death, so this one's going to be kind of short.  It's not the worst day either, but I figure keeping it brief is the best bet to avoid tears this morning.

I picked L'Oreal Starfish Coral to wear today, the orange of the L'Oreal Summer Siren Limited Edition shades.  I tried to do thicker coats this time, but by the third nail quit paying much attention and did my normal thin coats on autopilot for the rest.  That meant that again, I had to use a third coat, but since Coral Starfish applied very well and dries fast, that's not such a big deal.  I finished it off with Diamont, let it dry, and took a picture of it outside even though it's a bit cloudy.

L'Oreal Coral Starfish Nail Polish, Three Coats

This one's also really pretty.  From a normal distance the overall appearance, like that of Pink Shells, is a bit foily, but the gold sparkle breaks it up and keeps it from being too garish.  This is a really good orange.

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

L'Oreal Summer 2011 Limited Edition Nail Polish

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm a bit late with them, but today I have L'Oreal's Limited Edition Summer Siren Collection, their four polish shades for Summer 2011.  I'd seen these a few times before and kept walking, but today I took a look and liked what I saw - they're really spectacularly sparkly and shimmery.

I used Pink Shells, which you could probably guess is the pink one, today.  Two coats could have worked, but mine were very thin and with the clear fake tip I have, I needed a third.  It applied really easily and dried very fast.  Here's L'Oreal Pink Shells.

L'Oreal Pink Shells Nail Polish, Three Coats

I took bottle pictures of the other three for you.  The only picture I'm not thrilled with is of the blue, Blue Marine, which seems to have some purple duochrome going on in indoor lighting, but that got washed away in the sun.  Here's Blue Marine.

L'Oreal Blue Marine Nail Polish Bottle

Yellow Seahorse has the potential to be what I wanted Chanel Mimosa to be, and I'm really hoping its shimmer shows up well.

L'Oreal Yellow Seahorse Nail Polish Bottle

The last one is called Coral Starfish, and it's a blazing orange with gold shimmer.  It's really pretty.

L'Oreal Coral Starfish Nail Polish Bottle

It's my hope that the remaining three shades sparkle the same way that Pink Shells does - it's hard to take my eyes off of it.

That's L'Oreal Summer Siren and the update for today, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

L'Oreal Passport to Paradise Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have swatches of L'Oreal's Passport to Paradise Collection for you today, and found that they were very familiar.  On April 21, the news broke that L'Oreal was acquiring Essie, and it looks like L'Oreal took Essie for a test drive with this collection.  They're exact dupes for last year's North Fork Collection from Essie.

High Tide is the light blue shimmer...

L'Oreal High Tide Nail Polish from Passport to Paradise

...which is an exact match to Essie's Sag Harbor.  My index and ring fingers are the Essie, the others the L'Oreal.

L'Oreal High Tide and Essie Sag Harbor

Waters Edge (no apostrophe) is the turquoise creme...

L'Oreal Waters Edge Nail Polish from Passport to Paradise

...which matches Essie's Greenport.  Again, index and ring are Essie.

L'Oreal Waters Edge and Essie Greenport

Ocean Breeze is the blue creme...

L'Oreal Ocean Breeze Nail Polish from Passport to Paradise

...which corresponds to Essie's Shelter Island.

L'Oreal Ocean Breeze and Essie Shelter Island

Sorry I got a little sloppy on the last coat of Shelter Island.

So we see these are all dead-on dupes.  I prefer both the brush and the price tag of L'Oreal, so if I had to choose which to keep, it would be the L'Oreals.

If you want a fill review of the colors, you can just look back at the North Fork review - they're the same colors, so no point in making you endure a full review just to show you they're dupes.

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

L'Oreal LaquiResist Supernova

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I took out an old favorite for you today: L'Oreal Supernova from the discontinued UK LaquiResist line. There are quite a few great colors in the LaquiResist line, but Supernova might just be my favorite.

It's a deep purple shimmer with lots of medium sized glitter. It's loaded with the old chemicals, but is so pretty it's worth it. This is two coats of Supernova.

L'Oreal LaquiResist Supernova Nail Polish, Two Coats

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

L'Oreal Star Magnet Red

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

The mailman arrived nice and early this morning, and saved me from my resentment toward Yves Saint Laurent. I had a package containing some L'Oreal Star Magnets that I was able to get for a much better price than when they were originally released, so I could pick up the Red and Purple that I had to pass on previously due to their prohibitive original cost.

You'd think I'd go for Purple first, but the Red was so striking that after accomplishing a few things this morning, I changed my manicure to it. I'll show you the results and then tell you how they work, in case you don't know, after the pictures.

This is two coats of L'Oreal Star Magnet Red.

L'Oreal Star Magnet Red, Two Coats, with Base and Top Coat

I think this is the best I've done with a magnetic polish. The right hand turned out better, all nails perfect, but we've recently been reminded of what a poor job I do taking pictures of it, so I cannot prove that to you!

Here's how it works: there's iron in the polish, and a magnet attached to the bottle cap. Here's a close up picture of the magnet, which I'll refer to in the directions below.

L'Oreal Star Magnet Bottle Cap, Attachment with Magnet

To do a manicure, the first coat goes on as usual. I know to stretch these, since they're small, some people match the color and use regular polish for the first coat. Since I have not done that, I cannot tell you how well it works. I always use the magnetic polish for both. The second coat is where the magnet come in. In the picture, it's the little circular part on the top-facing side (in the picture - facing the top of this page) of the black attachment, parallel to the side of the bottle. I have not read actual directions for the Star Magnet brand, I go by the directions for the Lancome Le Magnetique brand of magnetic polish, and have modified the time with the magnet to what works best in my experience.

So here's how I do coat number two:

1. Paint the first nail as usual.

2. Quickly close the nail polish bottle tightly.

3. To use the magnet, I hook the center of my freshly painted nail on the crescent-shaped ridge at the bottom of the magnet attachment. Do you see it there in the picture? It's like a little shelf with a ridge to place your nail properly. Having centered the nail on the ridge, I raise the rest of the nail to be parallel to the magnet (and thus the bottle cap).

4. Hold there, very still, for 20-25 seconds. The Lancome directions say 5, in my experience that's sufficient to produce a smudge, not a star. Remove the nail in one quick motion and admire you nice neat star.

5. Repeat nine times.

6. I have no idea if this is necessary, but I give the polish 2-3 minutes to dry before top coat. Better safe than sorry - I'd hate to mess up a pretty star!

So how easy is that, really? I think the results look kind of intimidating, but it's really not hard to do. The hardest parts for me have been (i) centering the star, which I discovered is easiest to do by getting the center of the nail hooked on that ridge properly before raising the rest of it up, and (ii) getting a good star by disregarding the five second instructions. So now you know what I know about getting around the parts of the process that I had to learn through trial and error.

That all there is for today, Dear Reader. Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

L'Oreal Hopeful Plum

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Thanks so much for all of your birthday wishes! Each one made me very, very happy.

As this publishes, I'm back in Chicago taking care of some unsettled business. That will never end. Ever. No matter what... I'm up at 12:30 am writing this, but have to leave to get there in time in just a couple of hours, so I don't want to go back to sleep lest I miss the alarm at 2:00.

I wanted to wear Chanel Jade for another day, but it's not so appropriate for the setting, so I switched to L'Oreal Hopeful Plum. I'm hoping the name helps things go my way! Not so likely, but worth a shot.

Hopeful Plum is part of a limited edition display with it and one other (boring) nail polish that I didn't get. This one's all Fall-y and sparkly though, so I did get it. It was good in two coats, went on well, and I have no complaints. Here is the finished, dry manicure.

It's certainly more subdued than many I wear, but I need some subdued colors. The sparkly bits make it more fun, too!

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

L'Oreal Pro Brights for Summer 2009

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I'm back home, and I accomplished my mission: I found a fabulous little house to move to! It's better than I'd even hoped for, so I'm all happy. I won't have a Chanel boutique, a Sephora, a Nordstroms, or an Ulta, but I'll have a yard, quiet, a sky where I can actually see the moon and the stars, and a lot of good friends and my dad with me. I'm happy!

But that's not what we're here for! We're here for nail polish. And as luck would have it, I have pictures of some for you! I found the new L'Oreal Pro brights display downstate, and I sprung for them since they were so much cheaper there than here. I'm reasonably certain they're Big 3 Free, although truth be told, they have one heck of a lot of ingredients and I got tired of reading the label. I also don't know the name of the collection. I noted it and promptly forgot, so if you know, feel free to leave a comment or email me.

These also don't represent my best applicatione ever, so sorry about that! On the last forty miles of my drive home, I was enjoying the adrenaline rush of being one of a seemingly infinite line of cars in the left lane, all doing 85 and all protecting our territory by leaving less than a car length of following distance, way too much to notice that I was really white-knuckling it, so my right hand was a little tired and shaky when I did these swatches. They're not perfect, but they show you the colors.

These are all three coats over a base, and I'll show them to you in order of their finishes.

First we have the cremes, which are all solid colors. Yellow Buzz is a great crayon-yellow.

Sizzling Tangerine is an aptly named hot tangerine creme.

My favorite, of course, is Purple Pop.

Next, we have the shimmers. I'll show these to you in ascending order of shimmeriness (new word!), because the first was disappointing.

Rockin' Pink would have been, had it been as sparkly on the nail as in the bottle, but no such luck. There are gold sparkly bits in the bottle that don't show on the nail.

Shocking Green is a good one, and the sparkly bits I was looking for in Rockin' Pink show up on the nail with this one.

The most shimmery of all is Electric Blue, a sparkly medium blue.

So that's the report for now, Dear Reader. Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

Nubar Hot Red & D-Day!

Good evening, Dear Reader!

Today was D-Day (Divorce Day), and I'm single and free again. What a great feeling!

Here's the mani I wore to court - I decided to go with something that would make me happy all day. It's the new L'Oreal Gold and the Konad leopard print (not sure of the plate number offhand), stamped using Lippmann Collection Fade to Black.

Yesterday, I couldn't stand my ridges with the Dazzle Dry, and changed to Nubar Hot Red. It's likely my most retina-searing nail polish. I stamped it using White Konad Special Nail Polish and Fauxnad plate M70. Be careful of your eyes as you gaze upon this Fauxnadicure!

Today's post is a little random, but truthfully, I'm really sick today, so please forgive me!

Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Tiny Bottles!

Good morning, Dear Reader!  The stars did not align properly yesterday, and I'm still waiting for the something fabulous that I have coming.  As soon as it shows up, I'll show it to you.

Today I have two Nails of the Day pics for you with only one thing in common - they both have tiny, tiny bottles.

The first is one that I wanted forever, almost paid ridiculous ebay prices for, and then found recently for $0.33.  Happy day!  It's purple, it's sparkly, what more could I want?  It's L'Oreal Bijou Crystals in B. Brave.  Look at how tiny the bottle is!

 

The other is today's NOTD, which I may or may not Konad.  It's Dior Poison Blue, which cost more than $0.33, but is one spectacular blue.  It has a secret shimmer that only shows up in strong light, and is probably my darkest blue that still looks blue rather than black.  Here's another tiny bottle!

 

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

L'Oreal Star Magnets in Silver

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I have a tentative announcement of the winner of the Black Tie Optional: it was Sunny.  I have yet to receive a reply to the notification email, so I'll wait until next Friday to hear from her.  If I don't be then, I'll randomly select another winner, but in the meantime, I'll hope for a reply.

Today I continued my efforts to take advantage of my new nubbins by using polishes differently, and today I chose L'Oreal Star Magnets in Silver.  A friend of mine got these for me a while back, and I had yet to use Silver, so it seemed like it was worth a try to see if the star pattern would center on my nails.  Indeed it did!

To use these polishes, I apply one coat as usual.  Next time I'll use a regular polish that matches the color as the first coat, as it's been established that using the precious 9 ml Star Magnet as the second coat only works just as well as using it for both coats.  It's the second coat where the trick comes in.  Here, I apply another coat to one nail, hold the nail up to the magnet for eight seconds, then move on to the next nail until all ten have been painted and treated with the magnet.  I took pictures of the magnet for you to show you how it works - there's a little ledge on it to anchor the nail, and I use that holding my nail parallel to the magnet.

Here's the front view of the magnet, which is on a ring around the lid of the bottle.

Here's the side view if the magnet, which shows the little ledge upon which I anchor the tip of my nail.

That's the process I used, and now I'll show you my results, which I admittedly prefer over the Funky French I had using another Star Magnet on longer nails.

 

 

I'm a sucker for a good silver, which this is, and I really love the strange effect the magnet brings to it.  This is a mani that makes me happy I have nubbins, at least for today!

That's what I have for you for now, Dear Reader.  Until later, love and nail polish to you!