China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Mommy Kissing Santa

China Glaze Mommy Kissing Santa (2 coats)

This is the second to last of the China Glaze Holiday polishes! I decided to leave the best for last. Goodness this was such a huge collection! I have a few random polishes to show, but then I will begin the Zoya polishes I received from their buy 1 get 1 free special a few weeks ago. There is one special polish in there that is probably in my top 5 polishes of all time. You'll just have to wait and find out which one! You all know my feelings about red polishes. Mommy Kissing Santa is a deeper red shimmer, and despite being red,  I actually like this one! I've said this so many times while reviewing this collection, but the color isn't the most unique. I dunno, I liked this collection, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend buying the entire collection and just pick and choose the ones that really call to you.

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Naughty and Nice

China Glaze Naughty and Nice (2 coats)

Our trivia team lost again :-( How many weeks have you guys heard that? Haha. Oh well. I promise, we only have 1 or maybe 2 polishes left of this collection. Frosty was OOS when I ordered and I didn't order all of the red polishes. Naughty and Nice is a very vampy polish. It is an extremely dark plum creme. The picture on the bottom is a bit washed out because of all the light, but I think it shows how it is really a dark purple and not black. I dunno, the polish is fine, but these aren't the types of colors I normally go for. I do, however, enjoy seeing vampy colors on short nubbins (which I may be sporting in the next few days because I have a nail that has started to split...such is life when you go through so much acetone). I had no issues with application and formula and I only needed 2 coats. What do you think, do you go for these extremely dark colors?

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice: Jolly Holly

China Glaze Jolly Holly (2 coats)

Yup, it's time for everyone to get back to work tomorrow. At least back to normal until Christmas time comes around. Man, I can't believe how Christmas is almost here. Has anyone starting decorating or buying gifts yet? I have been purchasing gifts, but we haven't had the time to put a tree or decorations up yet. Tonight we have a gorgeous polish called Jolly Holly. It is a deep forest green shimmer that is just perfect. I know, I was complaining about having 2 golds in this collection, but I don't mind having 2 greens since they are so different from each other. This polish was so pigmented it barely needed the two coats I gave it here. Overall, it isn't the most unique polish, but it is still a beautiful color with great application.

Wet N Wild Holiday 2010: Prancer

Wet N Wild Prancer (2 coats) over China Glaze Midnight Kiss (2 coats)

Apparently the Wet N Wild polish Prancer is a bit elusive, but I was lucky enough to find this one at Walgreens about 2 weeks ago. The polish itself looks much smaller than the usual Megalast polishes, but come packed with a Megalast Clear Nail Protector which I'm not sure how to use. The retail price for the pack of 2 was $1.99 which is on par with their polishes. Prancer is definitely just a glitter topcoat and I don't suggest trying to wear it on its own since the glitter is so sparse. It contains 2 sizes of red glitter, the first being the small specks you can see in the background, as well as the larger hexagonal red glitter. What is shown is two coats, so you can see the glitter is not densely packed, but I still love this one. I put it over China Glaze's Midnight Kiss and I'm really happy with the results, but I could see this looking nice on other colors such as white, silver, or black (among others). Overall, it's a great glitter topcoat for a great price!

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND nice Collection: Little Drummer Boy

China Glaze Little Drummer Boy (2 coats)

Happy Friday! Having the holiday yesterday has really messed me up this week and it doesn't feel like Friday at all! I was given a huge surprise from my husband today and it was Rescue Beauty Lounge's Dead Calm polish. I've been searching all CVS stores to find the new Gem glitter from Milani (to no avail) and since I have been so unlucky, my husband decided to give me what was supposed to be a Christmas present early. I can't wait to swatch it! Speaking of blues, we have Little Drummer Boy from China Glaze tonight. It's a very beautiful navy blue shimmer that never looks black which is a real plus in my book. The pigmentation was very impressive and barely needed 2 coats to be opaque. I forgot to mention something I liked about the collection and that is that the caps are silver on this collection, not the normal black. I can only think of a few other collections that have the silver caps (Kaleidoscope and OMG collection to name a few). Anyway, I still love this blue.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to have a quick post saying Happy Thanksgiving! I can't believe how the time has flown by since starting this blog. I appreciate all of you who come to the blog and say such kind words. This has been a trying few months and you guys have been so understanding. If you aren't in the US, I still hope you are having a wonderful day! I will be back tomorrow to continue the China Glaze Holiday Collection (I swear, we have to be about done with it, right?) so stay tuned!

Butter London Friends and Family Sale

Will you be purchasing anything? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Peace on Earth

China Glaze Peace on Earth (2 coats)

Happy Hump Day! It's almost Thanksgiving, and I'm not 100% sure if I'll blog tomorrow or not. I know a lot of people will be traveling and what not, so I may just wait until Friday to post. Who knows though, perhaps I'll surprise you! Peace on Earth is probably my favorite of the collection and it's an olive green shimmer. I definitely don't have anything like this in my collection and I have to give kudos to China Glaze for coming up with this one. I've been complaining about the lack of creativity in this collection, but there are definitely some gems in here! Again, fabulous application and formula on this one. If you're a fan of greens, you need to get this one STAT!

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Cheers to You

China Glaze Cheers to You (2 coats)

Are you guys (in the US) getting ready for Thanksgiving? I honestly haven't decided what exactly I'm going to wear, but I think it's going to be a new one from Zoya since I just got my package this week. I can't wait to eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce...I could just go on and on. What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving? The parade, the food, the family, or the football? 

Up tonight we have Cheers to You which is a silver foil polish. Again, it's flashy and really cool, but it's not really unique and reminds me a bit of Zoya's Trixie. If you don't have a silver foil, definitely pick this one up. Overall I've been fairly impressed with the formula in this collection. Most of these have been 2 coaters and I have had no issues with the application.

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Midnight Kiss

China Glaze Midnight Kiss (2 coats)

I almost forgot to blog tonight! I had absolutely no good reason for it (well, I did go to Trivia Night for the first time in months!), so I'm sorry this is so late. I figured since I talked about the second China Glaze gold polish from the Holiday collection yesterday I should show it today. Here is Midnight Kiss in all its glory. As you can see, it is not exactly the same as Jingle Bells since it is much more of a true foil than Jingle Bells. Midnight Kiss is a bit flashier, but I think I prefer Jingle Bells for some reason. I feel like polishes like Midnight Kiss have been done a lot lately. Either way, gold is always in for the Christmas season, so you can do no wrong with either polish. So which polish do you prefer?

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Jingle Bells

China Glaze Jingle Bells (2 coats)

I just got back from watching the new Harry Potter movie. I'm going to be honest, the last book was clearly the worst book out of all of them, in my opinion. I mean, they did what they could in the movie, but when they are camping the whole time, it's hard to make it interesting. Feel free to disagree. 

Oh yeah, this is a nail polish blog, right? China Glaze, why do you do this to me? Why do you have to have 2 gold polishes that are so close to each other that I have to keep going back to look at my pictures and the bottles themselves to make sure it's the right one? I think 1 would have been plenty. I do, however, like this gold shimmer called Jingle Bells. Application and formula was great on this one, but personally I don't think both are necessary for the collection. Pick your favorite out of Jingle Bells or Midnight Kisses and go with that one.

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Sugar Plums

China Glaze Sugar Plums (2 coats)

Sorry for being MIA yesterday, but I had a party to attend to that was partially in my honor. Lots of alcoholic beverages were had (not by me...I had 1 glass of champagne) and it was a fun time. I just got back to North Carolina today, so I had a long day driving. Continuing on with the China Glaze Holiday collection is Sugar Plums which is a plum/burgundy shimmer with a bit of holo glitter thrown in there for good measure. I don't know what it is about this polish, but I absolutely love it! I love the color and I love the bit of holo goodness to it. This is definitely in my top three favorite polishes from this collection. It was also really pigmented and only needed 2 coats with perfect application. What do you think, do you love it as much as I do? I hope you are having a great weekend so far!

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Mrs. Claus

China Glaze Mrs. Claus (3 coats)

Yup, another red, but this time it is a glitter and what doesn't scream Christmas like glitter? Mrs. Claus has a bit more pink to it than the other reds in the collection which is really nice. The glitter (like Mistletoe Kisses) has a silvery tone to it as well. The base is quite jelly-like and is fairly sheer and needed at least 3 coats for full coverage. While I did like this one, it isn't very unique like some others in the collection. I dunno, I guess I'm just not blown away by it. What do you think?

Barielle Sale Until November 28th

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Phat Santa

China Glaze Phat Santa (2 coats)

Happy Hump Day! China Glaze decided to put several different versions of red in their holiday collection and our first tasting of it comes from Phat Santa, which is a bright red creme. I didn't buy the very similar color called Ruby Deer because you guys know my feelings on red cremes and I felt like it was just too similar to warrant buying both. I mean, Phat Santa is nice enough of a color, but it is not unique at all and I feel like every company has something you can dupe it with. If you're still looking for a nice red, then by all means get this one because it's still nice. I believe this was 2 coats so it was really pigmented and it applied like a dream.

China Glaze Tis the Season to be Naughty and Nice Collection Winter 2010: Mistletoe Kisses

China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses (2 coats)

I'm baaaaaaaaacccckkkk (and hopefully better than ever)! I'm finally finishing up the China Glaze Holiday Collection. Since most of this dissertation thing is over with, I have this overwhelming feeling that the holidays should be here. I know, I know, it's so early (and still fairly warm here) but I just want to have some time off and there's no better time than the holidays. I digress. Man, China Glaze really put a huge collection out for this Holiday season. One of my favorites is definitely Mistletoe Kisses. It's such a beautiful silvery green glitter that does remind me of mistletoe. I know there are a ton of you green lovers out there, and if that's you, run out immediately and get this one! I was at Sally's Beauty Supply last week and they have these out and you can also find them at online e-tailers or Ulta. Oh, and application and formula were just fine :-D

American Apparel Expands Its Nail Polish Collection with 12 New Colors

LOS ANGELES -- American Apparel (Amex: APP), the vertically integrated clothing manufacturer based in downtown Los Angeles, is announcing the addition of twelve new colors to its successful line of nail polish.

The company's Made in the USA nail lacquer is now available in 48 colors. The 12 new shades take inspiration from simple and straightforward elements of both Angeleno and global culture, reflecting the ubiquitous nature of the T-shirt on which American Apparel built its brand. Echo Park, a new shade of concrete grey, and MacArthur Park, a muted mossy yellow, both reference neighborhoods where the company first opened stores and where many of its employees live. Others, like Trenchcoat and Army Jacket, are nods to iconic garments and their evocative, eponymous tones.

"Nail polish is our favorite category for exploring color. We planned on releasing only six new shades, but we felt so strongly about all of these that we decided to release a full dozen. Its difficult to pick a favorite--they all compliment wardrobes in different ways. We can't wait to see the looks people create with them," said Marsha Brady, a creative director for American Apparel.

American Apparel Nail Lacquer has become one of the company's fastest-moving products. The two previous launches of colors quickly sold out worldwide. The consistency and quality of the polish has been universally noted in the reviews of the product and the company diligently oversaw the production process to ensure this standard again.

American Apparel Nail Lacquer is priced at $6 per bottle and is available in a 3-pack for $15 and 7-pack for $32. It is sold at American Apparel stores worldwide as well as online. The nail polish is DBP, toluene and formaldehyde-free. For a full view of color range, ingredients, swatches and photographs, please visit our online store.

You Can Call Me Doctor...

I passed! I spent the evening napping since I could finally sleep! I was given a new black labcoat with my name and Ph D on the end. I cannot believe I am finally done and you were all so kind to me over the past week. I am taking the night off, but I will be back to reviewing polishes tomorrow night :-D

Oh, and I wore China Glaze's Party Hearty (the glitter from the new holiday collection) today on my nails. I wanted something flashy for the special day.

A Big Thank You!

The last week has been a huge challenge for me. I didn't think I would get this stressed, but boy have I. I just wanted to give a quick thank you to everyone for your continued support and kind words the past few days. Just knowing I have a few more people pulling for me really helps. Tomorrow is the day that I defend, so I won't be posting tomorrow either. Either way (if I pass or don't pass) I will be back to posting this week. Again, you guys have been great.

Thanks,

Audrey

China Glaze Holiday 2010 'Tis the Season to be Naughty AND Nice Collection: Snow

China Glaze Snow (3 coats)

I'm finally starting the China Glaze Holiday Collection! This is going to be short because I am ridiculously stressed and I feel like crying constantly, but I was hoping to make someone's day by posting (I dunno, is anyone happy that I'm posting?). Up first is Snow that is a pure white creme that is not chalky at all. I did have a bit of an issue with streakiness which isn't uncommon for white polishes, but with three coats it evened out just right. I absolutely love this one and I definitely don't own enough white polishes. What a great start to the collection!

China Glaze Fight Like a Woman Collection: Endurance

China Glaze Endurance (3 coats)

I know, I'm getting behind! Eeek! I'm sorry, but I'm starting to get really busy (and stressed) about the defense on Monday! You guys have really been great. A winner was randomly chosen and has been contacted. Thanks again for all the entries and I hope all of the new viewers stick around (I swear, I'm not usually as flaky about posting!).

Up tonight is the other polish I got from the China Glaze Fight Like a Woman Collection called Endurance. It is a deep fuchsia pink jelly with pink glass flecks as well. I think this one is nice because it is for a good cause and it's bright, but not too bright. I just love how China Glaze does their glass fleck polishes! Now if we could only convince them to make another holographic collection....I used three coats on this one as well because it is a jelly and is a bit more sheer. I had no issues with application though.