Showing posts with label Brown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brown. Show all posts

Claire's Rockstar & Magic


Above & Below: Claire's Rockstar shown outdoors. I used 2 coats and no top coat.
Below: Magic is such a pretty shade! 2 coats, outdoors, no top coat.


First things first...Happy Birthday to Helen from Helen & Sheenie's Nice Things Blog! I'm back to the untried's today and I'd like to share with you the extent of my Claire's polishes. I picked these up this past Spring and am just now trying them out. I'm happy to report that the wait was worthwhile, because these are much nicer than I expected. The only negative I found, is that they didn't dry quite as fast as I would have liked. I used 2 coats on each of these, and although Rockstar looks alright with 2, I think I'll use 3 the next time. Rockstar is more of a mocha or lighter brown shade, but it does have hints of purple in it as well. It's filled with small silver glitter which gives it an interesting look that adds both shine and a slight foil appearance. Magic is just that...magic. It's a plush, deep purple shimmer with both red and blue shimmer mixed in. The finish is extremely glossy and it has a glow to it. The depth of this shade and it's beauty reminded me of another purple I love, Essie's Viva La Vespa.

My Claire's doesn't have a very wide range of colors and I actually picked these up in Michigan City, IN when I went to the Cosmetics Company Outlet. After using these and being very impressed with them, I'll be on the lookout for more. For those of you that have some, I'd love to hear your color recommendations.


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OPI Holiday Wishes: Holiday Glow & All A-Bordeaux the Sled!

Above & Below: OPI's Holiday Glow is a shade that is called Charcoal by OPI, but it can take on brown and purple tones as well.
Below: All A-Bordeaux the Sled is a red/brown creme.

Below: The last 6 of this collection are pictured here. If you're interested in the first 6 I swatched, you'll find them a few posts down.
Here we have it, finally...the last two shades from this collection. I find it much easier to swatch an entire collection when they're smaller, say the size of Essie's Sweet Time of the Year! All in all, OPI's Holiday Wishes is a very nice collection because it has some unique colors and finishes, some more than others. I would have preferred to see a few less reds and a few more additional colors, perhaps a deep blue or emerald green with the flakies and glitters that are found in Merry Midnight, for example, but maybe next year.

Holiday Glow, described by OPI as "Charcoal grey glowing with a touch of silver", is an interesting shade, in that I do see charcoal when I look at it, but I also see purple or brown also, depending on the angle and the lighting. It's filled with very small silver glitter that seems to reflect in the light and turn from silver to red. This one is quite different in terms of color, so I'm happy to have it. All A-Bordeaux the Sled, classified as a "wine" shade by OPI, is a deep, rich shade of what I would term as raisin, or deep mahogany red. It's a little more brown-toned than what I consider Bordeaux to be. This one is a creme and I ended up going with 3 coats because I still had a few mild "bald" areas after 2 coats. A nice shade, but nothing really stands out to me about this one that makes it exceptional.


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OPI Holiday Wishes: Glove You So Much and Meet & Jingle

Above & Below: Glove You So Much is a rich burgundy shimmer.

Above & Below: Meet & Jingle, a true red shimmer.
Below: The 6 shades I've used so far from OPI's Holiday Wishes Collection.
This puts me halfway through the OPI Holiday Wishes Collection and today I have the 2 red toned shimmers for you. I wouldn't say that either one of these have any color or finish qualities that make them unique, but they are pretty shades nonetheless. They both applied nicely in 2 coats with minimal drying time. Glove You So Much is a burgundy shade and OPI describes it as "Glove You So Much! Almost as much as this rich burgundy!". It is a very deep, rich shade and both of these shades remind me of crushed velvet. The shimmer in them is so dense and fine that it tends to make the finish look plush and almost textured. Meet & Jingle, described "as rich crimson that loves to mingle", is a nice, true red shimmer. I've posted a photo of the 6 shades I've used so far for a comparison for you, and I'll be finishing up the other 6 later in the week.


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OPI Holiday Wishes: Ginger Bells


Above: OPI Ginger Bells shown with 2 coats, indoors with a flash.
Below: I added a coat of OPI's Glitter Bit of Music to it, but I'm afraid nothing will help!

Here's another from the OPI Holiday Wishes Collection, but I'm kind of wishing this had not been included! Hmmm, what to say about this one...I'm sure had I not wanted to have the entire set, this is not a shade I would have purchased on it's own. The official description says "A yummy shade of gingerbread." If it were a cookie, I'd have to agree, and maybe it's just me, but I'm not loving this. Who am I kidding? I'm not even close to liking this one. On the plus side, it did cover very nicely in 2 coats. I added a coat of OPI's Glitter Bit of Music as a top coat, but I'm afraid nothing is going to make me like this one. I toyed with putting a matte top coat on it, but the descriptive words that came to mind for what that might have looked like, weren't very pleasant. Oh well, with 12 colors in this collection, there was bound to be at least one that disappointed me. What do you think? Any positive reactions to this shade?


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China Glaze Mahoganie


Above & Below: China Glaze Mahoganie is a red-toned brown with small, multi-colored glitter. The finish is a little rough feeling, but I love the shade. All photos except the last one in this series were taken outdoors with no flash. The last one was taken indoors with a flash.

Another one of the Glitters! Mahoganie has a rather odd spelling, but it is a very pretty shade filled with the smaller, holographic glitter. At first glance, this shade appeared to me to be slightly mauve toned, but once on the nail it takes on a red-toned shade of medium brown. The base color is different than anything else I have, so I can't really compare it for you. The glitter is small and multi-colored and the final look is different and unique. I only used 2 coats and it covered nicely. The polishes with the smaller glitter in this collection appeal to me more than those with the huge glitter flakes. I'm looking at Dollhouse in the bottle and those glitter pieces are massive! I'm set with all of the glitters I want now from this collection.


Yen from Victoria Nail Supply e-mailed me last night and said they finally received the last polish that they were waiting for in the Glitters, Solar Flare. They're also going to be getting a special Halloween polish from China Glaze, but as yet, I haven't seen any pictures of it. Did you end up getting any Glitters? My favorites are probably Trophy Wife and Mahoganie, although there are a few others that I like almost as much. What were some of your favorites?


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Mac Jin Soon: Rich, Dark, Delicious

Above & Below: MAC Jin Soon in Rich, Dark, Delicious. Above photo is in full sunlight, below photo is in the shade, no flash. In the photo below, those are reflections on the finish, not the finish itself!
Below: I felt like it needed something, so I topped it with one coat of Revlon's Rio Cool.

Today I have some messy swatches that I did very quickly between weeding and trimming in the yard (that sounds like a good excuse!). RDD is a dark brown creme, described as a 'rich blackened brown'. I'm calling it a creme because the shimmer really doesn't show up on the nail. It's darker than a chocolate brown, with a hint of charcoal, more than black. The pictures show 2 coats and I can see a spot or two which make me think that it could have used a third coat. I wouldn't say that this shade is anything out of the ordinary, although I don't really see anything in my browns that look terribly close to it. I used an older Revlon shade (Rio Cool) as a top coat in the last pictures, and I think I like RDD a little better this way.


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China Glaze Glitter: Ginger




Above & Below: Ginger has a bright shiny finish and when topped with a matte top coat (below), takes on a foil finish look.

Ginger hasn't received much coverage yet, perhaps because it's more of an earth tone, rather than the bright golds, turquoises and pinks that have proved to be so popular in this collection. This is a copper shade, and the base in this one appears to be a shimmer. All of the glitters shades in this collection are filled with a phenomenal amount of glitter, and this one is no exception. The glitter is multi-colored, multi-sized and multi-shaped. Ginger covered nicely in 2 coats and in my opinion, looks nice with a matte top coat also. The top coat gives it a foil finish and diminishes some of the color in the glitter, but it's still an interesting look. This shade is the perfect glittery polish to welcome in Autumn.
Sally Beauty has a coupon for $1.00 off of China Glaze polishes this month in their sale flyer if you're looking to acquire some of these for your collection. I received the flyer in an e-mail, but I believe you can access and print the coupon from their site, as well as pick up their flyers in the store.


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Essie's Judith Ripka Collection & Lots of Reminders!

Above & Below: Put A Ripka Ring On It is a shade that Essie does best: pale pink. Perfect application, 3 thin coats.

Above & Below: Queen of Hearts applied very nicely in 2 coats. This is a vivid red shade and it appears to be almost a coral red.

Above & Below: Heart My JR Jewels is a dark brown shade with a hint of red. This one applied a little thinner than the others and is shown in 3 coats.
I have lots of reminders and notes that I wanted to mention today, so let's do that first. Niki at the fabulous MagicxMaid blog came up with a very fun idea to have a Blogger Holiday Gift Exchange. She's got it organized very well and if you click here, you can check out all of the details and sign up. The sign up deadline is September 14. I am extremely excited about participating in this! Thanks so much Niki, for planning this out so well.

Here are the winners from the Fall Frenzy contest:

***Kitty from Kitty Luvs Color blog won the Color Club Dark Romance mini set***

***Sarah C. from California won the Barielle/All Lacquered Up collection. Sarah doesn't have a blog to share with you, but she is very happy and excited about her win!***

***Nina from Nina's Obsessions blog won the Color Club Wild at Heart collection***

Coupon/Code Reminders & Updates: Don't forget about the Quirius/QRS $3.00 coupon available on any orders through 9/7/09. I still have a few more QRS polishes to post about and I'm placing another order today so I can take advantage of the coupon before it expires! They have a Fall collection coming out soon, so I'm anxious to see what that looks like. Victoria Nail Supply continues to offer my readers a free item with any purchase. This month you have your choice of 3 items: Color Club's Loosen Up Cuticle Softener, Color Club's Vivid Color Intensifying Top Coat, or 3 pair of OPI toe separators. Just mention 'Body & Soul' in the comments section of your order and also which item you'd like to have. Offer expires 9/30/09. Details about both of these coupons/codes can be found over in the right hand column.

Now to the Judith Ripka collection...Essie recently released this set of 3 shades which are infused with Diamond Dust. The collection is called Essie Loves Diamonds by Judith Ripka. These polishes retail for $15.00 (hey, diamonds are expensive!), although I didn't notice anything 'special' about them. I was a little disappointed that the diamond dust wasn't very noticeable, as I thought they may have a little glitter in them. I caught a flash of glitter or shimmer during the application of the two darker shades, but these look like cremes for the most part. The shades are nice, but again, nothing spectacular. The application was perfection, so I am pleased with that aspect. These polishes come with the chance to win a precious gemstone, including a diamond, a sapphire, or an emerald, by entering the UPC code at the Essie or Judith Ripka website. I haven't checked mine yet, but I'll let you know if I win!


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Jessica Muse Collection: Fall 2010

Jessica Cosmetics has a new collection coming out for Fall and I have swatches for you today. This collection contains 6 shades that are perfect for the season, including 2 shimmers and 4 cremes.

Jessica's MUSE collection presents mesmerizing rich tones that reflect the beauty and sophistication of Fall Fashion. Each colour individually allows you to become inspired and exert your inner MUSE!

Are you ready to exert your inner MUSE? Let's do it!

Above & Below: Intrigue, a haze of purple according to the press release, is one of my favorites from this collection. In the bottle is appears as a pale mauve creme, but once on the nail, this one reveals taupe, grey, and mauve depending on the lighting.


Below: Bittersweet is described as chocolate brown, but it has more than that going for it. This lighter cocoa shade is laced with fine gold shimmer within the brown creme adding a touch of elegance.


Below: Victorian Crush is an army green creme that is sure to please those of us with an affection toward the olive green family.


Below: Scarlet is a daring red creme with warm tones. The first photo below is a little washed out by the sunlight, and I'd say that the second photo is more true to color.


Below: Majesty Blue, a royal blue with silver shimmer is a very nice dark bright navy blue color. The shimmer is fine and seems to remain quite subtle even in the sunlight (below). It's more noticeable in brighter artificial light, as evidenced in the second photo.


Below: Crimson Reflections is a burgundy wine creme that has a near jelly finish. This shade appears as a medium berry shade in brighter lighting, and a burgundy shade in lower lighting.


Jessica's Muse Collection is a nicely done assortment of Fall shades with some fairly common shades and some shades that are a little more daring and trendy. As I've found with all Jessica polishes, these applied very well and I used two coats on them. If you haven't had the pleasure of using this brand, I highly recommend giving them a try. Their formula is superb, their color and finish range is expanding nicely, and with the pricing of many other brands increasing, these are very reasonably priced for the quality.

You can find the most current shades on the Jessica Cosmetics web site (the MUSE collection will be available within the next month), and I have purchased many of my Jessica polishes from hellogorgeous.net. They have a large inventory of shades and are priced at $4.95. A Google search will often yield a coupon code for $5.00 off and their shipping and response time is very good.

How many of you have tried Jessica brand polishes? If you have, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts about them.

*Products featured were furnished by the manufacturer or PR firm for review.


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