Monday, April 26, 2010

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 from Passport to Paradise
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
L'Oreal High Tide and Essie Sag Harbor

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

L'Oreal Waters Edge from Passport to Paradise
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
L'Oreal Waters Edge and Essie Greenport

Ocean Breeze is the blue creme...

L'Oreal Ocean Breeze from Passport to Paradise
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
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!  

Sunday, April 25, 2010

It's Sprung!


Ok, so it's over 80°F here in Vegas, I dare say that Spring has SPRUNG! Today's nail design was a simple one, I had very little time after class before I went to the International Beauty Show to do anything terribly inspiring, but I still like how it turned out!! I used one of the new polishes from my haul yesterday from a brand I've never used/heard of before- Dare to Wear by Lechat, I have to say, the polish is great, it applied wonderfully, and was opaque in 2 coats. :) (and CHEAP- since it was a discontinued color, it was $1.25 at the show. :-D Happy nail blogger here!! I also got to check out the new Shellac from CND, the lovely Kristina applied it to two of my nails. I'll post more details tomorrow about it!! :)



I used Dare to Wear Inspiring Surroundings as a base, with China Glaze DV8 applied with Konad Plate s9, and topped off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Ta-Ta for now.. I'm off to see Confessions of a Mormon Boy at the ONYX Theater here in Vegas. :-D Have a great night!! :)

SpaRitual Full of Life and Konad M73

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I have my do-over mani to show you: SpaRitual Full of Life from the Soulful Collection with Konad M73 and M19 in Konad Black.  I saw a variation of this on a message board this mornng and copied it, I liked it so much.

I started with two coats of Full of Life, added top coat and let it dry for a bit, then got to stamping.  I used Konad Black Special Polish for all, stamping both hands once with M73, then each nail twice with M19 to make the tip (one stamp was too short).  Had I known what I was getting into when I started, I wouldn't have started - three stamps is a lot more than my attention span can handle.  I finished it with a coat of Diamont and some drying drops, and the good news is that I love it.  This is after it's totally dry under artificial light.

SpaRitual Full of Life Nail Polish and Konad M73 and M19
SpaRitual Full of Life Nail Polish with Konad M73 and M19 in Konad Black

I'm wearing this out with a black dress, so I'll match.

So that's my do-over mani.  I love it!  That's also all I have for you today, so until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!