Showing posts with label Discontinued/HTF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discontinued/HTF. Show all posts

China Glaze Indian Ocean

Above & Below: China Glaze in Indian Ocean is shown indoors with a flash above, and outdoors in full sun, below.
Below: Outdoors in the shade shows the smooth, almost pearlescent finish. Look closely and you can see that it also has a nearly black base behind the shimmer.
There's nothing better than the older China Glaze shades. Not that there's anything wrong with the newer ones, but the discontinued ones are always nice to reflect on. The chemical smell, the unique colors, the forgotten memories...who knew a nail polish could invoke such nostalgia? It isn't often that I buy more than one bottle of the same polish, but my original bottle was getting dangerously low, so when I saw that Victoria Nail Supply still had some of these in stock, I didn't hesitate to get another one. Indian Ocean is a deep shade of Indigo blue with shimmer, and what I like the most about it, is that it has a deep charcoal base. It's not quite a black base, and it's not even that evident, but it's part of what I love so much about this one. The other trait I like about it, is that yes, it's a shimmer, but it has a somewhat pearly finish. Not frosty at all, but just a smooth pearlescent look to it. You can see a hint of purple iridescence in the bottle, but this is a definite deep blue shade. I used 3 coats in the photos, and the brushes seem a bit narrower on the older polishes, but those are minor issues to deal with when it comes to the oldies but goodies.

I have quite a few other older China Glaze favorites, probably too many to mention! If forced to pick a favorite, I'd have to go with Dripping Wet, followed closely by Crystal Ball and Indian Ocean. Check out the Friday Follower Freebie box over on the right, because I've updated it with this week's Freebie (hint: 2 of my 3 favorites for 2 winners!).


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How I Love Sally Hansen Emerald Amethyst Nail Prisms

Above & Below: Emerald Amethyst displaying it's many personalities. It's olive and purple...
...a silvery lilac...
...a metallic shade of amethyst...
...silvery grey with a tinge of purple and green...
...difficult to define, but easy to love.
Another one of my older polishes, and the older it gets, the more I love it! I have just a few of these and Emerald Amethyst is my favorite. It's a duo chrome changing from a dusty lilac shimmer to an olive green with a little bit of gold in the mix. It can also look like a silver shade in the right lighting. I used one coat over a polish I showed you earlier this morning, LA Girl Metallic Pink. The shimmer is very fine, making the finish somewhat metallic when showing the lilac shade. I always enjoy rediscovering certain polishes, because it makes me appreciate their beauty all over again.


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Essie Viva La Vespa


Above & Below: Essie Viva La Vespa, outdoors with no flash.

Above & Below: The picture above is indoors with a flash and below is a close-up of the glitter.
Essie's Viva La Vespa has got to be one of my favorite shades, definitely in my Top 10. It's discontinued, as is my other Essie favorite, Starry Starry Night. Viva La Vespa is still able to be purchased here and there, much more so than SSN. Viva La Vespa is not only a perfect shade of royal purple, but it also has blue, red and purple shimmer. What else is so unique about it? Well, it's somewhat iridescent, somewhat of a duo chrome and it glows. You know how some polishes just have a luminous, glowy look to them? This one definitely does. I used 3 coats and as always with Essie, the finish is a high shine gloss. Now, if I could get my hands on Starry Starry Night, my life would be complete. Maybe not complete, but it would definitely make me happy!


I'll be stalking Essie's web site tomorrow, because their "Sweet Time of the Year" collection is supposed to be available around October 15. How many of you are interested in the "Sweet Time of the Year" collection? I definitely think Mint Candy Apple is going to be a big seller.


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China Glaze In The Mood-Color Changing (slightly!) Polish

I say slightly in my post title, because while the old China Glaze In the Mood Color Changing polishes may not all be as chameleon-like as other brands, they're still fun to have as a collector. I don't know when these were originally released, but I do know that there were almost 50 different shades, and many of them are more dramatic in their changing ability than this particular one.

Above & Below: These are activated by body temperature, but the only way I've ever been able to get it to change color is by running my hands under cold water. That kind of takes some of the fun out of it though! If you're wondering why my hand is all wet, that's why. The name of this is simply Pink to Silver, and it's a very pale pink creme with tiny silver glitter. As you can see on my pinkie and ring fingers below, it turns more white than silver, but it's very subtle.
When we moved into our house 3 years ago, I stashed some boxes in the basement that were filled with items I don't use too much, like old china, books, and that sort of thing. I just knew I had some old polishes that I haven't been able to find, and I decided to take a quick look in those boxes yesterday. I did find 8 polishes stashed inside of a smaller box, and some of those were the China Glaze In the Mood polishes. I know there's more somewhere, so I'll have to keep looking. Do you have any of these in your collection? An old roommate of mine from college sent me some of these years ago, but if you know when they were released, I'd like to know!


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Bottle Pics & Where To Buy Discontinued Forsythe Polishes

As promised, here are some bottle pictures of the discontinued Forsythe polishes that I haven't swatched yet. I had to photograph them indoors because of the rain, so I apologize for the lighting glare. If you're interested in getting any of these shades (also see my Forsythe label for the 8 shades I have swatched that aren't included in these photos), eMail Yen at Victoria Nail Supply and tell her which ones you want (she only ships within the U.S.). She's been wanting to list them on her site, but hasn't had the time to do that. When she told me about them, I was so excited that I told her I wanted to order one of every color she had--now had I seen them prior, I wouldn't have actually done that! Some of them are nothing out of the ordinary, but there are quite a few others that I'm really happy with. She tells me that they have limited quantities, between 6 and 12 of each shade, and they're $2.00 each.

Above & Below - Group 1: The quickest way for me to do this was to lay them flat to show the color, then show their labels (click to enlarge) so you know the names. The top row above matches the top row below, while the bottom row above matches the bottom row below.
Below - Group 2
Note: The lilac one in the top row on the far left has a faded label. I believe it's called Shimmering Lilac.
Below - Group 3

Below - Group 4
Note: The mint green on the bottom row has no label, so I don't know the name. Maybe just refer to it as the mint green one!
For those of you who like older discontinued polishes, I hope this helps you out! If you need any more information such as the finish type explained better than the photos do, or questions about the shades and how they might compare to some more recent colors, leave me a comment or send me an eMail and I'll try to answer your questions. I wish I had time to swatch them all right now, but if there's something you'd like to see, I'll try my best to get it done!


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Forsythe Rosy Glow

The sun popped out for a short time this afternoon, so here's a look at another old Forsythe polish that I was particularly curious about, based on the bottle appearance. This is called Rosy Glow, although I think a better name might be Golden Plum.

Above & Below: This was opaque in one coat, but I did use 2 hoping to get a little more of the golden veil of shimmer to appear. This shade is a plum creme with gold micro-glitter.
Below: The two photos below show how in the shade, it appears as a more grape purple creme sprinkled with tiny gold glitter.

Below: This is the bottle picture, so you can see why I was curious how this would translate to the nail.
Below: Macro shot showing the glitter detail on the nail.

So far, I'd say that Heart Strings and Rosy Glow are among my favorites of these old Forsythe polishes. This one also applied very well, and they seem to dry at an average to a little faster than average rate. I'm trying to get some photos of all of them with the names, but I'm forced to take them indoors because of the excess of clouds and rain we're experiencing. I thought it was supposed to by summer! I'll try to get them posted tonight and also let you know how you can order some, if you're interested in adding some very old polishes to your collection.


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More Old Forsythe (Color Club) Polishes!

A couple of weeks ago, I showed you an old Forsythe polish called Heart Strings (here), which from all accounts, is from the late 70's when Forsythe Cosmetics began manufacturing nail polish. Forsythe now labels their polishes as Color Club, as most of you know. These were all photographed indoors using an Ott lamp.

Above & Below: Orange Aura applied nice and easy in just one coat. This is a vivid coppery orange shimmer.
Below: Mocha Cloisonne is a taupe shade with a hint of rose gold. This also applied nicely in 1 coat, but as with most metallics or chromes, the brush strokes are on full display.

Below: Stellar is a subtle golden peach shimmer that is shown using 2 coats.

Below: Opal White is a 2 coat iridescent pearl white shade that shows subtle flashes of pink.

Below: French Linen, an antique white shimmer, also covered well using 2 coats.

Below: Star Studded is a pale pink with grey undertones that's packed full of silver glitter. I used 2 coats on this one.

I am amazed at the application on these shades, given how old they are! I haven't yet been able to determine when Color Club came on to the scene, but my best guess based on what someone at Forsythe told me, was that these were from their early beginnings, which would be 1979 and several years thereafter. This was just a random selection I swatched of the ones I recently obtained, and there are some much more awesome shades, and some much more boring shades in the lot. Would you be interested in seeing more? Maybe not swatches, because there are so many, but I'd be happy to post group bottle photos if you'd like to see them. Here's another question--would you be interested in buying some (limited quantities) for yourself at $2.00 a bottle (U.S. only)? If you would, I'll get busy posing them all for a family photo and let you know how to get some of your own!


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Pre-Color Club: Forsythe Polishes circa 1979?

Gas was just 86¢ per gallon, Jimmy Carter was President, My Sharona by The Knack was the No. 1 song of the year, and this nail polish may have been a top choice on the Disco floor! The precursor to what we now know as Color Club, was Forsythe nail polish.
I contacted Forsythe Cosmetics about these polishes and was told that this bottle style indicates that they are from the time that their business started in 1979. That means that my newest polishes are also my oldest. I'm not sure when the Color Club brand name came into existence, but if you know, please let us know.

Above: The glitter is more dense in the bottle than when it's applied on the nail.
Above & Below: Call me a freak--like that would be the first time that's happened!--but I have an abnormal interest in old nail polish, the history of it, and bottle shapes in general. This bottle shape is so interesting to me, not to mention practical. Square ones fit nicely next to each other, so that's always a plus. You can't quite see it in my photos unfortunately, but the surface at the top of each side bevels downward at an angle forming a reverse arc. The only markings of a name/brand are on the bottom label and the cap edge.
Below: Let's take a look at this one. The vapors were wonderful, the polish was opaque in almost one coat so I went with 2, and it dried as fast as any fast-drying modern day polish.

Above & Below: This shade is called Heart Strings and is a medium pink hued mauve shimmer with small round, square, and hexagon shaped multi colored glitter. In the sunlight (above), it has a very light veil of gold shimmer. In the shade (below), the shimmer and golden highlights almost disappear, making it look more like a creme finish with glitter.

Below: This photo was taken with a flash.
Below: This macro shot of the polish on the nail shows how the glitter covers evenly, although not as dense as is it looks in the bottle.
Below: Heart Strings is similar to China Glaze Carnival Lights, only it's a little more reserved.
Below: And there's more!
Below: Mocha Cloisonne, a medium brown shimmer with pools of silver shimmer. Interesting.
Below: Orange Aura, a vivid copper shimmer.
Below: Stellar, a delicate muted peach with gold shimmer.
Below: Opal White, a milky white with an iridescent flash.
Below: French Linen, a pearl white with fine shimmer.
I researched on line quite a bit looking for information on these polishes when they arrived today, and after finding nothing, I called Forsythe and was told that they were from the late 70's when their company started. Assuming that is valid information, which I have no reason to believe it's not, Heart Strings applied like it was made yesterday. My bottle of thinner was at the ready when I opened them all up--you know it was really just because I wanted to sniff the old school formula that I had to open them all--but they seem to be of good consistency. Do any of you have any knowledge of older Forsythe polishes or have any in your collection? I'd love to hear about it if you do.


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