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Greens Smackdown

Posted on 22 June, 20131 July, 2013 by Cynthia

Guess what, chillens? I’m done with work for the weekend so that definitely deserves a little bit of a celebration…which means that I bought some polish. I bought a few colors at my local beauty supply and I also ordered some minis from Lush Lacquer. I’ve never tried that brand before so I’m super excited because their new collection of bright polishes is right UP MY ALLEY. I wasn’t super happy with how long it will take to get my polishes, but I don’t have to be an impatient asshole…I can definitely wait since I have plenty of stuff to play with and swatch in the meantime. For those of you who read about my head banging episode yesterday, I am glad to say I feel a lot better. My head is still a little sore where I hit it but I don’t feel sleepy or nauseated any longer…well, no more than usual after having to be at work on a Saturday at 6 am. Thank you for all sweet messages on here and on twitter.

So for today, I have a fun post. My Blues Smackdown post got a lot of hits last time so I know that people are always looking for dupes. Being that emerald is the Pantone Color Of The Year, I decided to do a comparison post for some gorgeous greens. I hope you enjoy this and that it can save you a few bucks if you’re wondering if you have a dupe or not. Let’s get ready for my Greens Smackdown!

Color Club Abyss – Illamasqua Venous – OCC Chlorophyll – YSL Vert d’Orient

I don’t think that any of these polishes are 100% exact dupes, but OCC Chlorophyll and Illamasqua Venous are pretty darn close. They are the exact same size (.5 oz) but Illamasqua retails for $17 while OCC retails for $10. In terms of formula, I think that OCC Chlorophyll is just a tiny bit thinner, but it’s not a huge difference. The priciest one is YSL Vert d’Orient and it is also the darkest one of the bunch. I reviewed it here yesterday. Now, is it really worth $25? That’s up to you to decided. Color Club Abyss is the brightest one here and at $8-it’s a steal!

Here is another comparison of 4 more gorgeous greens:

Color Club Wild Cactus – Nubar Into The Wild – Sation RV There Yet? – Sinful Colors Rise And Shine

What do you think about these? I feel pretty confident in saying that Sation RV There Yet? and Color Club Wild Cactus are 100% dupes in terms of color. The Sation ($5.00) has a super sheer jelly formula that takes a lot of coats–4 here–to build up while the Color Club ($8.00) only took two. They are both gorgeous! The base color of the Nubar ($8.00) and the Sinful Colors ($1.99) is very similar but the Sinful Colors has a lovely shimmer throughout. I also found the Sinful Colors formula to be very thin but it was very buildable.

I hope that this post was helpful. I kind of dread doing these comparison posts because I realize how many dupes I probably have and don’t even realize it. However, I know that these posts are good in helping you decide if you really need a particular polish. Let me know what you think in the comments! Do you end up purchasing a lot of dupes? Do you regret getting them? Let me know if you have any other polishes that you think might be good dupes for these.

Have a wonderful weekend, and I will talk to you soon!

Shimmer Polish Part 1

Posted on 17 May, 2013 by Cynthia

Guess what? I am a total mess because I just finished watching the series finale of The Office. I nearly had a heart attack when Michael showed up an uttered his signature line, “That’s what she said.” I seriously lost it at that point because he uttered it with so much emotion that I felt it touch me. Isn’t it funny how a television show can become a part of your life to the point where you feel like you almost know the characters and you look forward to catching up with them every week? Ok, I don’t want to sound like a total weirdo, but I know there are tons of The Office fans out there so you know how I feel. I felt this was a perfect way to end the show–I’m just say it’s the end of it. (I know Lesley and Amanda are shedding a tear with me right now!) So anyway, as I watched the last episode of The Office I had a bunch of polish out trying to decide what to swatch next so I decided to try some new pretties from Shimmer Polish. Those of you who have known me since the beginning of my blogging days–as if it were that long–know that I was a serious glitter hater. I used to cringe at the idea of wearing glitter polishes and a few people always teased me for it. (I’m looking at you, Nicole!) Then one day, it’s like something in my brain just clicked and I saw the error of my ways. All of a sudden, the more glittery and shiny something was, the more I loved it. Yes, ladies, I am reformed glitter hater.

I had seen so many lovely swatches of Shimmer Polishes all over the place so I am super excited to be sharing these with you today. I don’t normally like to wear glitterbombs on their own so I decided to layer these over a colored base. The formula on all of these polishes can be summed up in one word: delicious. The glitter applies very smoothly and is plentiful; one coat gives you beautiful coverage over a colored base. If you want to wear these sparklers on their own, I do recommend applying one thin coat and then dabbing on a second coat to get even and full coverage. Let me show you these sparkling gems before I talk your ear off.

Shimmer Polish Valerie (Sation Heather)

Shimmer Polish Sarah (Sation RV There Yet?)

Shimmer Polish Kim (Sation Board Girl Blue)

Shimmer Polish Alice (Sation Strumming My Nails)

Aren’t these gorgeous combinations? It pained me to remove them as I moved from swatch to swatch because they were all just so glittery and decadent. What is your preferred method for wearing glitterbombs? Do you layer them on top of colored bases like I did or do you just jump in full force and wear them alone? Do you have a favorite Shimmer Polish? Let me know!

For news on Shimmer Polish and to keep up with all the gorgeous beauties that Cindy creates, don’t forget to follow her on all of her social media sites:

Website: http://www.shimmyshimmer.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShimmerPolish

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShimmerPolish

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShimmerPolish

I’ll be posting a couple more installments of these Shimmer Polishes in the coming weeks so I hope you enjoy the glitter overload. Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a great weekend!

Sation Board Girl Blue

Posted on 24 April, 201324 April, 2013 by Cynthia

Sation Board Girl Blue was a press sample. All other products were purchased by me.

Wednesdays are fun for me because I don’t have to go to work, but at the same time I feel like I don’t truly enjoy my day since I’m just dreading that I have to go back to work on Thursday. Oh well, nothing can be perfect, right? Today is such a weird weather day since it was really hot the last few days and today is overcast and it has been sprinkling all day. Damn you, crazy California weather! This is the kind of weather that ends up making me get sick so I’m trying to just relax and not get too worried about it. I’ve actually been doing some cleaning all day so at least that has been relaxing. Since the weather was so summer-like in the last few weeks, I decided to look through my summer colors from last year and I stumbled upon Sation Board Girl Blue. I previously reviewed this polish last summer, and I kind of cringe at the quality of my pictures. I hope that I have learned a little about how to improve my pictures since then! I still love this color so much, and I can’t stop thinking about one of my favorite silly movies: Blue Crush. Yes, I know…it’s dumb, but it’s soooooo entertaining. hahaha Anyway, let me show you some swatches of Sation Board Girl Blue.

I’m going gaga about how beautiful and vibrant this color is. The formula remains the same: smooth, highly pigmented and glossy. If you’re not too familiar with the Sation polish line, you are definitely missing out. In fact, for those of you who are subscribed to Ipsy, a Sation nail polish was included in the last bag. How cool! I love that more people are getting the opportunity to try Miss Professional Nail–especially if it’s hard to find their polishes where you live.

I had mentioned earlier that I was reminded of Blue Crush (which is a surfer girl movie) when I wore this polish so I decided to stamp over it. This funky circle pattern from Winstonia Plate W112 ended up reminding me of bubbles in a way! How appropriate. Let me know what you think about this color and how it looks with this stamping design. Thank so much for stopping by to catch up with me today–have a great day, and I will talk to you soon!

Sation Board Girl Blue was a press sample. All other products were purchased by me.

Sation Delete Your Junk Male

Posted on 9 March, 20138 March, 2013 by Cynthia

Today’s post is dedicated to my friend, Nancy, whom I have known since I was 8 or 9 years old. The name of this polish fits perfectly with the advice that I had given her a couple of weeks ago. I hope it makes her smile. Sation Delete Your Junk Male is the only polish from the Miss Antoinette Spring 2013 Collection that I found at my nail place the last time I was on a Sation hunt. I definitely need to go on another hunt because I need the rest of the colors in this collection! So let’s look at my new pretty:

Sation calls this polish an electric cerise red which I feel is fairly accurate. If you love jellies, you will love this polish. It has that glossy and squishy quality to it, but it is also super sheer. I had to apply 4 coats here and I could still see some VNL. I was also a little sad to see that the super pretty pink micro-glitter/shimmer was really hard to see once it was on my nails. You can definitely get a flash of it when you’re out in the sun and it’s glorious but fleeting. Can’t win them all!

I don’t know why I’ve been so bummed out lately. I think that my hate for my job is finally starting to wear me down so today I headed over to Sephora for some polish retail therapy. Since they finally had the speckled Illamasquas, I want to go check them out in person. Once I got there, I went absolutely insane and grabbed a bunch of stuff including 2 Dior polishes: Rosy Bow and Gris Trianon along with all the speckled Illamasquas. While I was standing in line to check out, I looked down at my basket, and I thought to myself: “What the hell are you doing? You’re not rich, bitch!” So I put most of the stuff back. I did however come out with more than I should have but here are my new prized posessions:

These are Superstition, Speckle and Venous. Aren’t they pretty? I’m obsessed with Illamasqua polishes so I can’t wait to try these out–especially Speckle!

There is a lot of stuff that I wanted to write about but frankly, I’m so tired right now. I will leave it for a later post. Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a good weekend. Talk to you soon!

Illamasqua MILF

Posted on 8 March, 20137 March, 2013 by Cynthia

And in my series of inappropriate polish name posts, today I have Illamasqua MILF. You all know that I love my Illamasquas and this one did not disappoint. However, I think that I got a super old bottle that had been at Sephora for eons because the bottle design is a little different AND the polish kind of smelled like poison. Despite all that, I didn’t hesitate to slather it on like nobody’s business.

Isn’t this the creamiest and most lovely mint green polish? The formula was very opaque but also kind of runny which I found very strange for Illamasqua. I actually flooded my cuticle pretty badly on the first nail I painted so I had to be very careful not to get too close with the brush. When I saw this gorgeous green, I immediately thought of blinging it up.

This is Sation Ego-friendly. *pause for ooohs and ahhhhs* I’ve worn this over dark colors, but it looks absolutely breath taking over a lighter color. I’ve been messing with polishes all afternoon, and this is the only combination I’ve actually liked. It’s like St. Patrick’s Day threw up all over my nails.

So I’m keeping this post short and sweet. I hope you liked it, and that you have a great Friday. Thanks for the visit today, and I will talk to you soon!

Sation Candylandia Collection Swatches

Posted on 7 March, 20137 March, 2013 by Cynthia

Today I have some really fun swatches for you from a super fun collection from Miss Professional Nail: Sation Candylandia. I was only able to get my hands on 5 of the 12 shades because my nail place had a very disorganized display. I hope that I can find a few more because there are some really awesome colors that I’d like to eventually pick up. Let me show the swatches before I get carried away and start rambling…

As far as vibrant pinks go, Queenie In A Bottle is perfect. It dries to a satin/rubber finish and seems to be a little thin because you can still see VNL at two coats. While I like rubber finish polishes, I couldn’t resist top coating it. I know I’ve said this before, but there is nothing better than a beautiful glossy creme.

I don’t think that Abbacadazzle will be for everyone. I’ve been super obsessed with yellow polishes lately so I was excited to try this one out. This color reminds me of when I was a kid and I would paint my nails with a yellow highlighter. I actually do like this color quite a bit–if only it wasn’t so sheer! I applied 4 coats here and you can still see right through it. The next time I wear it, I am definitely going to put on some white undies.

Peppermint Pedi is just a traditional red. I don’t have too much to say about it besides noting that the formula is nice and it’s very glossy which I appreciate.

I don’t even know where to start when it comes to Cast A Spill On You. This polish is so gorgeous that I did NOT want to remove it. I’ve been enjoying a lot of blue nail polishes lately and this one just blew me away. Doesn’t this look like it’s glowing from within? Even better, the formula is to die for. You can actually get away with one coat if you apply it carefully. If there is one color that I would recommend that you run out and get NOW, it would be this one.

I think my eyes might be playing a trick on me, but Paint Some Sugar On Me really reminds me of Essie Starry Starry Night The glitter here doesn’t look as silvery and pronounced, but it looks a lot more vibrant in real life. The blue base in this polish is very sheer and jelly-like so I had to apply 3 coats to get this deeper and darker color.

Overall, I am really happy with the colors I picked up and can’t wait to see if I can find the rest of this collection. What do you think of these colors? Do you have a favorite? Let me know. Thanks for stopping by today, and I’ll talk to you soon!

Cacee BFF Nail Lacquer Sky

Posted on 25 January, 2013 by Cynthia

It’s Friday which means that I have made it through my first week at my new job! Woot! I am still in training and it really is tons of information to process, but things are starting to fall into place so I’m not feeling so overwhelmed anymore. I still haven’t worn nail polish to work yet, but I’ll probably start wearing it next week. After work today, I headed over to my nail polish places to see if they had anything new…and they didn’t. I hate it when I go in hoping that they have some new collection early so I can get the scoop but end up with nothing. Well, you know what nothing means to me: 5 polishes, some Seche Restore and a new brush for clean-up. One of the polishes I picked up is what I decided to try out tonight: Cacee BFF Nail Lacquer Sky.

Sky seems like a run of the mill vibrant blue but beejus the formula is great! This beauty is so incredibly pigmented, and I was very sorry when I got it on my cuticles because it was a biatch to remove.

For this design, I used Sation Strumming My Nails to paint the tip of my nails white and for the white dotting. I’ve mentioned Strumming My Nails before and I can’t believe that I haven’t done a proper mani with it to show you just how amazing this polish is. It’s not a pure white–it has some grey tones which I looooooove. Even better, this polish is almost a one-coater! These nails are a direct copy of the mani that Siobhan has on her blog’s banner. Every time I would see that picture, I immediately wanted to copy it and I finally did!

I’m not that talk-y tonight. I should have posted this hours ago, but I got sucked into watching puppy videos on youtube for hours. I’m not kidding…HOURS. It was sooooooo worth it! Thanks for stopping by today. I have a new Spring collection to share with you this weekend so don’t forget to check in. Talk to you later!

Disclosure: Sation Strumming My Nails was provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR firm. All other products featured in this post were purchased by me. For more information, please see my disclosure policy tab here.

Silly Lily J-E-L-L-O & A Giveaway!

Posted on 24 January, 2013 by Cynthia

Is there always room for Jello? I always find it strange when I meet people who say they don’t like Jello. I have loved Jello since I was a little kid mostly because it seemed like such a fun thing to eat. It’s colorful, squishy and candy-like…how can a kid not like it? I had quite a few mail surprises today–some expected and some not. Aren’t those unexpected packages the best? I don’t know about you, but I rip through those babies as if they were Ho Ho’s and I was craving chocolate. I have something super fun to share with you today: Silly Lily J-E-L-L-O! But before I show you this lovely top coat, let me show you what I wore underneath.

This is Sation Teacher’s Pet from their Class Of Sation Collection. The last time I went Sation hunting, I found this one at one of my local beauty supply stores so I snatched it up immediately because I really don’t have a delicate baby pink like this one. Unfortunately, the application was a little challenging because it was thick and went on really streaky. It was still a little streaky after the second coat, so I added some thinner to the bottle and applied a third thin coat to my nails. This seemed to fix the polish right up, but don’t ask me why I didn’t add thinner after the first coat. I guess I can attribute it to a brain fart.

And this is two coats of Silly Lily J-E-L-L-O. This polish is chock full of square matte glitters in rainbow colors in a clear base. I got a little too excited with the confetti-like look so I think that I applied a wee bit too much. I think it would look better with a thinner application. The possibilities are endless as to what base color you can use! For a polish so full of glitter, I was surprised that it wasn’t thick as glue. It was fairly easy to apply the glitter which I always appreciate.

I have an extra bottle of this cute polish and guess what? One of you can win it! Just enter using the rafflecopter widget below. As always, this giveaway is open internationally, but please make sure that you know if there are any customs restrictions in your country.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

You should check out all of Lily’s other polish creations at her Etsy shop here. You can also follow her on facebook for updates and discount codes. In fact, she currently has a promo code for 10% off to celebrate 500 sales! Just enter WOOHOO10 at checkout to get the discount which is valid until 1/31/13.

I hope that you have enjoyed this super fun polish as much as I’ve enjoyed wearing it. Thanks so much for stopping by, and I will talk to you soon!

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were purchased by me. Silly Lily J-E-L-L-O was purchased by me at a reduced rate for review and giveaway purposes. For more information, please see my disclosure policy tab here.

Miss Professional Nail: Sation Candylandia

Posted on 23 January, 201324 January, 2013 by Cynthia

Second post of the day? Why, yes! I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to share this because:

I am beyond impatient.
You all know I love me some yummy Sation polishes.
CANDYLANDDDDDDDDDD!

SATION SWEETENS THE NEW YEAR WITH CANDYLANDIA

Miss Professional Nail (Miss) has announced the launch of “Candylandia,” their Limited V nail lacquer collection. The flavored, fantasy-themed line presents 12 candy-coated colors with a mouth-watering range of confectionary names. Candylandia was inspired by the edible escapism of Hasbro’s Candy Land board game, a classic favorite spanning six decades. Miss loved the bright, playful visuals of the swirly rainbow board, which sparked the creation of its own irresistibly sweet polish palette. This whimsical collection offers winning colors that will stir up memories of childhood imagination and endless game-playing.

Embark on a magical, manicured journey filled with fun characters and luscious lacquers. Sweeten up your new year when Candylandia hits the shelves this January.

Polish players, take your places at the Sation starting line!

AbbacaDazzle: Ta-da! You’ll go bonkers for this yummy sunflower yellow
Cast a Spill on You: A bewitching cornflower blue with a pearl sheen will hypnotize you
Chocolate Chip Resistant: A creamy cookie dough with a sugary glaze
I’m so Ogre it: Reach for this sleek steely gray for those moody mani days
Lollipop! Goes the Princess: Pucker up for this pale, pretty periwinkle
Paint Some Sugar on Me: This sparkly blue-raspberry shade will give you a sugar rush
Peppermint Pedi: Your nails will be in mint condition with this refreshing vermilion
Plenty of Frogs: A toad-ally awesome grassy green with a kiss of shimmer
Queenie in a Bottle: Blink blink blink for this royally rich pink!
Super Nail-tural Powers: A potent indigo-grape will keep your players spellbound
Unicorns are Teal: No one can clip your wings when wearing this mystical turquoise
You’re My Lacquer Charm: Cross your fingers and flash this pop-rock pink for good luck!

Isn’t this collection absolutely precious? I want them all! Do you have any you’re already eyeing?

All Miss products are free of DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde
Miss is an MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) certified company

Sation I Paint In Peace

Posted on 19 January, 2013 by Cynthia

Remember how I was complaining about how cold it has been lately? Well, today it’s going to be in the upper 70’s/low 80’s and here I am wanting to complain again. haha! Is it so hard to just have nice mild and temperate weather that is season appropriate? I guess so! This weekend is supposed to be super nice so maybe I’ll take advantage of my last two days of unemployed freedom and go to the beach or something outdoorsy like that. How’s the weather in your neck of the woods? Since it’s getting warm, I decided to wear a polish that was a little brighter than what I wore previously which was essentially a black/purple polish. I settled on yet another lovely from the Sation Nailstock Colletion: Sation I Paint In Peace.

Sation I Paint In Peace is a beautiful dark and mossy green with a strong and noticeable silver shimmer. The first coat of this polish was super sheer so I was cringing inside thinking that I would have to apply 5 gazillion coats but it was perfect after the second coat. I should know better than to second guess my beloved Sations.

I then used Layla Flash Black and a design from Mash plate MASH 47 for this subtle houndstooth design. Even though it looks super subtle in these pictures, you can really see the design in real life. I am so in love with using holos to stamp.

I hope you’re having a nice weekend. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Disclosure: Sation I Paint In Peace was provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR firm. Layla Flash Black was purchased by me. For more information, please see my disclosure policy tab here.