Showing posts with label Burgundy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burgundy. Show all posts

Vampy Varnish BB Couture Collection: Part I

Above: Napa Valley red, shown in 2 coats. This is a deep violet red or deep burgundy red-toned jelly base with coordinated glitter. No matter how many photos I took, they simply do not do this shade justice. Kim at Overall Beauty believes this is the best-selling one, and I can certainly understand that.
Above & Below: Union Square, shown in just 1 coat! Unbelieveable coverage on this metallic bronze shimmer with what appears to be tiny silvery pink glitter. Below, with a matte top coat.
Below: Mendocino Midnight has a special place in my heart, because I have always been partial to tealish green shades. I used 2 coats on this shade. It looks like a deep evergreen with hints of teal on the nail, and the small glitter reflects an emerald green sparkle in less direct lighting.
As many of you know, the lovely Kelly from Vampy Varnish recently had the opportunity to work with BB Couture in developing her own polish collection. You can read about her experience and see her swatches here. BB Couture polishes have always impressed me with their formula, their color selections, and their range of finishes. Combine that with Kelly's eye for color and style, and I knew these would not disappoint. I purchased mine from Kim at Overall Beauty last week. I happened to be on Twitter when Kim announced one of her fabulous sales...buy one get one free, limit 3 free. I jumped on that opportunity immediately, because it was only available for one day, and ordered the entire collection. This is the perfect trifecta of nail polish...the quality of BB Couture, the unique and beautiful polishes that Kelly designed, and the customer service of Overall Beauty! Congratulations to Kelly for doing such a wonderful job turning the colors in her imagination into such beautiful polishes!


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Essie Sassy Satchel & Essie Carnival

Above & Below: Essie's Sassy Satchel shown in various lighting. This is a deep rich burgundy shade with the slightest touch of fine gold shimmer.
Below: Shown topped with one coat of Essie's Carnival, it adds a rainbow of sparkle.
Below: A coat of Essie's Matte About You defines the glitter shape, but tones down the sparkle considerably. It also brings out the brown undertones in Sassy Satchel.
Today I have some of my finer quality polishes...you know I love some of the drugstore shades I've been showing the last few days, but it's always a pleasure when I use Essie. I've always been very impressed with the application and the quality of the finish I get from this brand. I used 2 coats of Sassy Satchel and the coverage was even and the formula flowed perfectly. I picked this up at TJ Maxx a few months back, and I'm glad I did. Sassy Satchel is in the burgundy family, but it has the slightest hint of a deep brick red with brown undertones. The brown undertones are more evident with a coat of Essie's Matte About You.

Carnival is a perfect topping for a darker base, because it's a clear polish packed full of small, holographic glitter. I used one coat as a topping, and the way that the glitter pieces play with the light is truly mesmerizing. I don't think it would look nearly as nice using it alone, but I could be wrong. Have you ever used Carnival alone? What did you think?


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Man Week Continues~BB Couture Hammer Drill & Stud Finder

Above & Below: BB Couture's Hammer Drill shown using 2 coats. Above photo is with a flash, below photo is no flash. Both pictures were taken outside under snowy skies.
Below: Finish detail.
Below: BB Couture's Stud Finder shown using 2 coats. This picture was taken with a flash, while the photo below is shown with no flash.

Below: Stud Finder with one coat of Essie's Matte About You.
Below: Finish detail.
Here are 2 more shades from BB Couture's latest collection of polishes for men, Hammer Drill and Stud Finder. I kept hearing Hammer Time Can't Touch This in my head as I was swatching Hammer Drill, so now that I've gone and gotten it stuck in your head, let's talk about this color! Hammer (Time) Drill is a shade that falls into the burgundy/maroon/wine family, although there's something about it that makes it difficult to fit into any of those families. I really like this shade, but again, I'm having a hard time defining the color. I'd call it a muted or dusty burgundy shimmer with the slightest hint of a brown undertone in darker lighting. The shimmer is mainly gold, but again, it too is somewhat muted, making it difficult to define.

Stud Finder is also a unique and very pretty color, and again, to define what the shade actually would be called, is causing me a slight problem. As I was applying it, I thought it almost looked as if gold, silver and bronze had been mixed together, because I saw traces of all three of those colors. This too is a shimmer, and I can see both a bronzed gold and a silver tone within the shimmer pieces, although the silver is much more evident. Once applied, I'd have to say that the best description is a deeper taupe shade. I wondered what it would look like with a matte finish, because it reminded me of OPI's You Don't Know Jacques from their matte collection. One coat of Essie's Matte About You convinced me that indeed, it is very similar. The matte coat darkened the shade slightly and refined the shimmer.

I'll finish up with the newest BB Couture men's polishes tomorrow, and then move onto their earlier collection of polish for men. Overall Beauty is still offering their free shipping offer, valid through 12/11 . Make sure and check out their newest polishes called The Disco Collection. Oh great, now I'll have Dancing Queen stuck in my head!


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FFF Preview: China Glaze Dripping Wet & Crystal Ball

Above & Below: China Glaze Crystal Ball shown with a flash indoors, above. Below is outdoors in the rain, no flash. I used 2 coats and no top coat.
Below: Blurred photo of the finish to show you how the micro-glitter changes colors.
Below: This is one coat of Dripping Wet over Crystal Ball. It darkens the colors without hiding the micro-glitter in Crystal Ball for a glowing effect.
Below: Dripping Wet is a jelly finish in a very deep burgundy or blood red. I normally use 3-4 thinner coats, as the color initially goes on as almost a raspberry shade, but builds deeper upon each coat.
Tomorrow is the start of Body & Soul's Friday Follower Freebie (details on entering are in the upper right side column), so I thought it might be a good idea to show you the 2 China Glaze polishes that are going to be won by 2 lucky followers. As I mentioned earlier this week, Dripping Wet and Crystal Ball are some of my favorite discontinued China Glaze Shades. My reasons for loving them are varied, but I actually like these for two for quite opposite reasons. They are both in the burgundy family, but still very different. Dripping Wet makes a bold statement. It's dark and vampy, most definitely a jelly finish, dark enough, but still light enough that it looks like a very deep, blood red without ever looking black. Crystal Ball on the other hand, is a more demure shade, a much lighter burgundy than Dripping Wet, but the ever changing micro-glitter fancies it up just enough to make it a definite eye-catcher without looking like a full-blown glitter.


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NOTD: Essie Wrapped in Rubies

Above & Below: Essie's Wrapped in Rubies shown outdoors with no flash, 2 coats.
Below: Bottle picture showing the gold veining.
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! I'm being purely lazy today, even though I have plenty of work around the house I should be doing. Not to mention that I'm terribly behind answering my comments and reading the multitude of blogs I follow, but hopefully tomorrow will find me more productive! Today's NOTD is another shade sprinkled with gold, which I adore in a polish. Wrapped in Rubies is a medium burgundy shimmer with gold veining. I wouldn't call it a true burgundy, because it has a hint of brick red going on too, which makes it a rather unique shade. The gold shows up well on the nail, like a fine dusting of magic gold fairy dust.

Do you have a favorite polish with this type of gold in it? I would love to hear what they are because, well, you know, I always need more polish! Wouldn't it be fantastic to see an entire collection based on this? There are some purples and reds in my collection that have gold veining, but I'd love to see a blue, green, brown, charcoal...the possibilities are endless. I would call the collection "You're So Vein". Clearly, I should be doing something more productive today!

Don't forget, the Body & Soul November contest ends at midnight tonight. So if you'd like a chance to win the complete set of China Glaze's Wizard of Ooh Ahz, check out the information in the original post found here.


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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: Smitten With Mittens


Above & Below: OPI's Smitten With Mittens is much darker that what's coming across in the photos. OPI describes it as a burgundy and I would agree that it is actually more burgundy than red. 2 coats, outdoors in the rain.
Below: With one coat of Essie's Matte About You.

Below: It's been windy and raining for a day now, so guess what I'm doing this weekend?
I can't recall ever being smitten with a pair of mittens, but I am smitten with this shade! It's a darker, deeper shade of ruby red than how it appears in pictures, and according to OPI's description, they are calling it a burgundy. The marketing tag reads "A burgundy glitter to warm your fingertips." The glitter in this is much like the shade I showed you yesterday, Crimson Carol. It too has gold and a matching deep ruby glitter, but the gold isn't as noticeable on the nail as it is on the bottle. The glitter is very sparkly though and perfect for the holidays. I used 2 coats and had very good coverage with quick drying time. I like this shade better than Crimson Carol because it's darker and is a true red, whereas Crimson Carol had some pink or fuchsia tones to it. This shade reminds me of China Glaze's Lubu Heels, only with a blood red base rather than a black base.

Adding a matte top coat (Essie's Matte About You) darkens the shade even more and gives it a foil-like finish. It also seems to show somewhat of a black base with a matte coat, although it's not as evident in the photos as it is in real life. I call this look Smitten With Mattens.


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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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