Essie Fall 2011 Brand New Bag Collection: Lady Like

Essie Lady Like (2 coats)

Oh man, so many holiday collections are out and I can't wait to get them! You can find the Essie Winter 2011, China Glaze Let It Snow and Color Club Beyond the Mistletoe collections now. If that's not your style and are into duochromes, check out Misa's Surreal Escape collection. I found these on Transdesign's new site called nailsupplies.us. Unfortunately they aren't selling OPI polishes anymore, so be aware of this before you get all disappointed like I did. 

Ok, Essie's Lady Like is definitely dainty and proper like the name implies. It is a dusty rose creme that is very work friendly. Well, I'm really lucky because I can wear whatever I want at work. My boss is so supportive of my blog and tells people about it whenever he gets the chance. I know, right?! How awesome is that? Please don't mind the tiny bubbles in the last picture because it is just from the topcoat I used (blarg, my Poshe topcoat is running out and needs thinned). 

Ok, why is it raining outside when it's not supposed to? Guess who didn't bring an umbrella today.... :-/

Essie Fall 2011 Brand New Bag Collection: Glamour Purse

Essie Glamour Purse (2 coats)

I was 99% sure I wasn't going to blog tonight, but the urge suddenly came over me. I have a little time before Mythbusters comes back on (huge YAY!) so I thought I'd continue the Essie Fall 2011 collection. I have one issue with this collection and it's that there are 2 neutral brown/beige polishes and they look a lot alike. I mean, come on, give us some variety since you're only coming out with 6 new polishes. Don't get me wrong, the milky light chocolate color here is nice, but two aren't necessary. Glamour Purse is definitely the "cool" color with hints of pink while Case Study is the "warmer" color. Application and formula was great, like most of the collection. 

Essie Fall 2011 Brand New Bag: Carry On

Essie Carry On (2 coats)

Since this polish collection is inspired by women's handbags, it got me thinking about the purses I've purchased. I'm one of those people who loves color (surprise, surprise) and I don't naturally gravitate to neutral colors. My current purse is bright pink and it makes me so happy. So, what color is your bag? 

Carry On is the other darker polish from the collection and is a deep berry creme. When I think of fall colors, this is what I think of...dark, vampy colors that tend to look awesome on nubbins. Let me tell you, this polish was extremely opaque and barely needed the 2 coats I gave it. Perhaps it isn't the most unique color, but I still like it. 

Essie Fall 2011 Brand New Bag Collection: Power Clutch

Essie Power Clutch (2 coats)

Oh, it's another Monday. No matter how much sleep I get on the weekend, I am never prepared for Monday. And every time I say I'm going to sleep early on Monday night, I never do. And so the cycle continues until I'm exhausted when Friday comes. I guess I'll never learn. I spent this past weekend painting a few walls in our apartment. It's so crazy how the whole place looks completely different with such small changes. 

I have several polishes from the Essie Brand New Bag collection to show you. On a whole, it looks like a pretty neutral (a.k.a. boring) collection, but that's just what I need sometimes. Unfortunately the picture of Power Clutch isn't the most color accurate. It's an extremely dark greenish grey creme that is quite unique. The formula and application was quite good, too. You never know what kind of formula you're going to get when it comes to Essie. Sometimes they are sheer and watery, and sometimes they are nice and opaque. Overall, it seems like this collection is leaning on opaque (even though several of the polishes are nude).  

Color Club Foiled Collection Fall 2011: Perfect Mol-ten

Color Club Perfect Mol-ten (2 coats)

Boy, it's been raining like crazy here in North Carolina! While driving to the grocery store tonight, we almost hit 3 different frogs on the way--eek! Thank goodness I don't think we hit any. Another thing that makes me sad about when it rains is when earthworms make their way onto the sidewalks and then it stops raining and they dessicate. :-( Ok, sorry about being depressing. 

I am a huge fan of the Color Club Foiled Collection so far. Perfect Mol-ten is a soft green polish with lots of silver shimmer to give it that foil look. The application and formula is probably the best I've come across recently. It was so smooth and the polish has lasted three days without any chipping (I'm sure it would have lasted a lot longer, but I needed to swatch a new color). With the great price point of these, I would definitely pick up a few if you get the chance. 

I hope you're having a great weekend! 

Butter London Autumn/Winter 2011: Wallis

Butter London Wallis (2 coats)

Happy Friday! I'm happily stuffed with pizza and am watching a movie (Quigley Down Under) with my husband. I think the weekend will be pretty slow, but we might go to the county fair if the weather and time permits.

I just couldn't hold my excitement for Butter London's Wallis anymore so here it is. Isn't it beautiful?! It's an olive green metallic shimmer that has some golden undertones. The last time I tried a Butter London polish I had application and formula issues. I'm happy to report that Wallis had none of these issues. Is it worth the $14 they retail for? Well...probably not (for me at least). I really like it, but I was lucky enough to get it buy 1 get 1 free with another $4 off from Ulta rewards. I usually can't get myself to spend that much on a polish because of the blog, but if you don't have many polishes and have the money, definitely pick up Wallis. 

Kiehl's Friends and Family Sale

I love Kiehl's products, but I don't always love their prices. Thank goodness the Friends & Family sale is going on now for 20% in store (by printing the coupon) or online (by entering the code FAMILY).

I'll be back later tonight with a new post. Have a great day!

OPI Femme de Cirque Soft Shades Collection Spring 2011: I Juggle...Men

OPI I Juggle...Men (1 coat on 2 coats of Essence Break Through)

Remember when I posted about Essence's polish called Break Through yesterday? It has a little bit of shimmer, but I wanted more. I've been trying to find the right polish to use OPIs I Juggle...Men shimmer topcoat on, and decided to see what I get. Well, I am slightly....disappointed. This shimmer is just not enough. It looks so beautiful in the bottle, but it hardly translates to the nail. I think it's supposed to be similar to Creative Nail Design (CND) Colour Effects, but it's lacking in shimmer. It contains both blue and purple shimmer that you can see slightly better by clicking on the pictures to enlarge them. Oh, and the rest of the collection was really boring so this is the only one I got from Femme de Cirque. Wow, I feel like such a downer tonight. On a lighter note, I am wearing Butter London's Wallis and it is absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to blog about it!

Essence Colour and Go Polish: Break Through

Essence Break Though (2 coats)

Oh, how disappointing it is when you cannot capture subtle shimmer from a polish. I swear, Essence's Break Through has some pink shimmer in the fun medium purple color. You may want to click on the pictures to make them larger. Since I always love shimmer, I wish this one had just a little more. That's not to say I dislike the polish, because I don't. As usual, I used two coats here and it had full coverage. 

I'm so happy tv shows are finally coming back. Tosh.0 is back on tonight and I can't wait to watch it. Are there any shows in particular you are excited about? 

Color Club Foiled Collection: Hot Like Lava

Color Club Hot Like Lava (2 coats)

It feels like I've been showing mostly drugstore polishes lately. While I love me some drugstore brands, I like to see what the other brands have to offer. I pretty much bought all of the new Color Club Foiled Collection colors, but this is just a sneak peek at them because I haven't swatched all of them yet. Color Club has been really busy because they have three separate collections that came out recently (this one, the Backstage Pass, and Beyond the Mistletoe for the holidays). I picked up a few from all of them so stay tuned. I absolutely adore Hot Like Lava. Sometimes metallic shades like this can be brushstrokey, but this is just perfect. It's so bright and shiny that I got several compliments on this. The application and formula was perfect as well. Are you liking it as much as I am?

Coming up from China Glaze: Haunting Collection

These look like fun, but the glow-in-the-dark ones never turn out as cool as you'd like. I'll probably pick up a few. What about you?

HAUNTING BEAUTY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

China Glaze Introduces a Daringly Dark Collection of Purely Pigmented Crèmes and High Coverage Glitters for Halloween 2011

Los Angeles, CA – (July 2011): Halloween is all about over-the-top style and China Glaze has just what every girl and ghoul needs to complete their costume.  Put the finishing touches on any look with the new China Glaze HAUNTING collection – a six-piece set of mysterious colors and effects perfect for All Hallows Eve, including a glow-in-the-dark Top Coat and a ‘crackling’ top coat for a cobweb effect.

China Glaze captures the spirits lurking in the dark in six sexy, sophisticated shades that are on trend, exciting and will be on every costume crafter’s “must have” list.  Whether a look is dark and mysterious, or bold and dramatic, China Glaze’s HAUNTING collection pulls together any ensemble and will undoubtedly make heads turn – just like China Glaze’s celebrity followers (Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Nicole Ritchie and Dita Von Teese, to name a few)!  Colors in this collection include:

·        Haunting:  Shadowy black with shimmering silver glitter
·        Crimson: Deep purple crème with a hint of blood red
·        Near Dark: Rich mossy green crème
·        It’s Alive: Vibrant green glitter
·        Ghoulish Glow: Glow-in-the-Dark top coat
·        Black Mesh: Crackle Glaze top coat for a cobweb-like crackle effect

The China Glaze HAUNTING collection will be available as open stock colors, 18 piece counter display, and as part of a special “Buy 3, Get 1 Free” set featuring China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat.

One Bath and Body Squeaky Clean Shampoo Bar

One Bath & Body Squeaky Clean

Hi folks,

It’s Mr. Right on the Nail, here.  The Mrs. did a review of the first of our One products the other night and, as I have a “case of the oilies” and she doesn’t, she asked me to write the review of the other product that One sent us to try out.  Squeaky Clean is a shampoo bar like Hair Biscuit (but with a much better name). They’re super convenient because you can use them on hair or body or both and the little metal case that they come with is well designed, if a little difficult to open up in the shower with your fingers. It’s not terribly difficult, but I usually have to wedge a fingernail under the edge and work my finger around to open it.  Probably the best bet is to think ahead and open it before you get in the shower, but I hardly ever do that.

My hair is pretty oily and very fine.  I have to wash it every day because it’s kinda gross after a night of sleep.  As such, I have a preference for fairly harsh shampoos that will whip my hair into shape.  (If anyone cares I could do a little post on some of the other ones that I like.)  Squeaky Clean doesn’t strip my hair down to the extent that it’s literally squeaky, but it does do a good job of making my hair non-oily and manageable.  I went with very little product today, and my hair felt really nice without being too light to manage.

The smell is a little faint, but it’s pleasant and fairly gender-neutral.  I think it smells faintly like oats and some sort of really light flower or clove.  I love that it only takes one swipe across my head to get a good amount of suds. Don’t go overboard on the application of these shampoo bars. You never need nearly as much as you think you will.

Sinful Colors: Cloud 9

Sinful Colors Cloud 9 (3 coats)

Woo, it's Thursday already! Time has just been flying by lately, and I can't believe we're about half way through September already. It's supposed to be a high of 59 degrees F tomorrow which is completely crazy! It's going to start warming up this weekend, but I'm going to have to wear jeans and a jacket tomorrow. How has the weather been in your neck of the woods?

I bought Cloud 9 during the last Sinful Colors sale at Walgreens for $0.99 (which is still going on until this weekend). I also wanted to mention that lots of Wet N Wild polishes that normally run $1.99 are only $0.99  for a limited time. Cloud 9 is a bright orange polish with some gold/orange shimmer that reminds me a bit of Sephora by OPIs Note to Self. The formula was a little sheerer and needed 3 coats, but the application was fine. I like it!

One Bath and Body Hair Biscuit Solid Shampoo

One Bath & Body Hair Biscuit

Did I mention that I'm going to Cambodia for work at the beginning of November? I'll be doing some sampling most of the time, but I'll also have a little down time to check out the country. The possessions I'm allowed to bring with me will be extremely limited, so I wanted to find ways to downgrade as much as possible. I used to be a huge fan of Lush Cosmetics and used their shampoo bars for awhile, but I never had one in my hometown and their price hikes turned me off a bit. When I had the chance to review a product that will save me some baggage room and be available locally at Target, I was all for it. You may even have seen other One Bath & Body products in their specialty bath aisle that include bath fizzers, soap and lip balm. 

The Hair Biscuit comes with its own aluminum tin that, unlike Lush ones, does contain holes in the bottom so that excess water can escape and the bar can easily be removed. The scent was just ok for me. It has a floral undertone that isn't really good or bad. It's not a big deal because conditioner is what I can smell during the day, not the shampoo. The price is also much better than the Lush ones since these will run you about $6.99 (I think) instead of $9.95-$10.95. 

The one downfall I see is the fact that it has SLS in it. I try my best to use non-SLS shampoos because I feel  like my hair is healthier that way. This isn't a deal breaker for me, but I wish they could make a version without it. My hair is pretty normal (not oily or dry) and this worked fine for me. If you have the oilies, they make a version called Squeaky Clean that would probably work best for you. Overall, I like it and I will definitely be taking this with me on my trip.



*This product was provided the the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Maybelline: Red Comet

Maybelline Red Comet (3 coats)

Remember a few weeks ago when I found a polish from a few years ago that I forgot I had? I don't even remember buying Maybelline's Red Comet, but it was definitely before I got into China Glaze. I thought it looked similar to Ruby Pumps, and I am not wrong. This polish is probably years discontinued, so if you are interested in polishes like this one, check out Ruby Pumps at your local Sally's Beauty Supply or at other online e-tailers.