Pink Wednesday: a Three-fer!

Yes, that’s right for the price of One Pink Wednesday you get THREE! 😉
(Is it obvious that it’s just me trying to catch up on my backlog? Ehh.)

Apologies for the terrible lighting 😦 The stamp was a semi-fail too.
Base color: OPI Sparrow Me the Drama (another lover for the name! hah!)
Stamping Color: Wet n Wild Black Creme
Stamp: Konad M59

The next week, I took out OPI Strawberry Margarita. It’s a bold, vibrant almost-honeysuckle pink creme, and layered that with China Glaze White Cap from their Anchors Away Spring 2011 collection.

At first I couldn’t decide if I wanted it all matte, or glossy. So I tried an accent nail and then decided…

All matte! Hehe.

And now for my final look…

For this one, I began with a coat of Revlon Luxe Laque, a dusty mauve-ish pink creme. It’s not on the range of Pepto Bismol, nor Barbie, but leaning towards almost pastel.

Then I layered Luxe Laque with Wet n Wild Hannah Pinktana, a scattered holographic glitter suspended in a clear base.

I think they go together nicely 🙂

Pink Wednesday: a Three-fer!

Yes, that’s right for the price of One Pink Wednesday you get THREE! 😉
(Is it obvious that it’s just me trying to catch up on my backlog? Ehh.)

Apologies for the terrible lighting 😦 The stamp was a semi-fail too.
Base color: OPI Sparrow Me the Drama (another lover for the name! hah!)
Stamping Color: Wet n Wild Black Creme
Stamp: Konad M59

The next week, I took out OPI Strawberry Margarita. It’s a bold, vibrant almost-honeysuckle pink creme, and layered that with China Glaze White Cap from their Anchors Away Spring 2011 collection.

At first I couldn’t decide if I wanted it all matte, or glossy. So I tried an accent nail and then decided…

All matte! Hehe.

And now for my final look…

For this one, I began with a coat of Revlon Luxe Laque, a dusty mauve-ish pink creme. It’s not on the range of Pepto Bismol, nor Barbie, but leaning towards almost pastel.

Then I layered Luxe Laque with Wet n Wild Hannah Pinktana, a scattered holographic glitter suspended in a clear base.

I think they go together nicely 🙂

China Glaze Tronica

Yep another Spring 2011 collection we’re visiting now! 😛 There was incredible hype about this collection but it is largely inaccessible online. I had to have my awesome cousin hook me up with them! They were released in only Sally’s I think, or something like that.

It’s supposed to imitate the beloved OMG/Kaleidoscope collections from 2006, but when people found out it was going to be scattered holo a lot us were upset. After swatching them in sunlight, I can say there’s a decent amount of holo. A few colors don’t quite have it, but a lot have some holographic goodness in them and I’m satisfied. 😀

Onward to the swatches! I don’t have much to say about them except that they were quick drying, formula was fine by me, and it was two layers for all of them. I didn’t need to use an Aqua Base or anything like that. They weren’t as delicate as normal holographic polish would be. I love almost all of them! There are 12 polishes total.

This one is just highly reflective but not quite holo as the others.

Formula was thin for this one and I got a bit of cuticle drag.

This was a lovely tan holo!

This just looked like sand– not holo at all. This is in direct sunlight!

This had the same situation as Digital Dawn. It had a strong reflective shimmer, but it reflected slightly silver. Not holo.

My favorite. Of course 😉

China Glaze Tronica

Yep another Spring 2011 collection we’re visiting now! 😛 There was incredible hype about this collection but it is largely inaccessible online. I had to have my awesome cousin hook me up with them! They were released in only Sally’s I think, or something like that.

It’s supposed to imitate the beloved OMG/Kaleidoscope collections from 2006, but when people found out it was going to be scattered holo a lot us were upset. After swatching them in sunlight, I can say there’s a decent amount of holo. A few colors don’t quite have it, but a lot have some holographic goodness in them and I’m satisfied. 😀

Onward to the swatches! I don’t have much to say about them except that they were quick drying, formula was fine by me, and it was two layers for all of them. I didn’t need to use an Aqua Base or anything like that. They weren’t as delicate as normal holographic polish would be. I love almost all of them! There are 12 polishes total.

This one is just highly reflective but not quite holo as the others.

Formula was thin for this one and I got a bit of cuticle drag.

This was a lovely tan holo!

This just looked like sand– not holo at all. This is in direct sunlight!

This had the same situation as Digital Dawn. It had a strong reflective shimmer, but it reflected slightly silver. Not holo.

My favorite. Of course 😉

Playing with the craft scissors…

So you’ve seen the tape manis all over, and I read one blog that cut up tape using craft scissors. I thought this was a brilliant idea! It took me forever until I finally found my old scrapbooking bag, and finally used them 🙂

I began with a base of Sinful Colors Unicorn (wtf is with the name though? Unicorn reminds me of silvery colors.. not quite yellow haha). I cut up pieces of tape with my craft scissor, and painted on China Glaze Adore.

It’s so cool. Hardly can tell which color was painted on (ignore the fact I messed up with the pinky) and it kind of looks like theatrical curtains).

Playing with the craft scissors…

So you’ve seen the tape manis all over, and I read one blog that cut up tape using craft scissors. I thought this was a brilliant idea! It took me forever until I finally found my old scrapbooking bag, and finally used them 🙂

I began with a base of Sinful Colors Unicorn (wtf is with the name though? Unicorn reminds me of silvery colors.. not quite yellow haha). I cut up pieces of tape with my craft scissor, and painted on China Glaze Adore.

It’s so cool. Hardly can tell which color was painted on (ignore the fact I messed up with the pinky) and it kind of looks like theatrical curtains).

Playing with the craft scissors…

So you’ve seen the tape manis all over, and I read one blog that cut up tape using craft scissors. I thought this was a brilliant idea! It took me forever until I finally found my old scrapbooking bag, and finally used them 🙂

I began with a base of Sinful Colors Unicorn (wtf is with the name though? Unicorn reminds me of silvery colors.. not quite yellow haha). I cut up pieces of tape with my craft scissor, and painted on China Glaze Adore.

It’s so cool. Hardly can tell which color was painted on (ignore the fact I messed up with the pinky) and it kind of looks like theatrical curtains).

Smackdown: Misa Paradise Shore and China Glaze Island Escape

That’s right guys. When I swatched the CG Island Escape collection over white, I thought… hmmm.. something is uncanny here. Then I realized this “uncanny-ness” was found in a recent head2toe order, containing my Misa Paradise Shore! I matched them up, and the similarity is… well, mentionable. No exact dupes, that’s for sure, but the theme is strikingly similar!

Same color themes, same summer theme (Paradise Shore, Island Escape =) ) Their lab rats must have had the same wavelengths or something when they came up with this collection. Have a look:

Hmmm.. I’m onto you!

Before we begin the comparisons, I only compared five out of six possible matches. This is because Senorita Bonita, from China Glaze Island Escape, has no partner 😦 She is all alone. I feel sorry for her, especially considering she’s a PURPLE. Misa threw off the matching-up with their two blues in a six-piece collection (Krystal Water, Mermaid Dreams). I also threw in a little Zoya for good measure. You’ll see 😉

Electric Pineapple with Under My Sunbrella. In this picture it appears some of the yellow flakies from Under My Sunbrella has also migrated over to Electric Pineapple??
The Misa is a lot more yellow, while Electric Pineapple is all about a saturated, neon-ish yellow creme.

And here we have the blues: Krystal Water, Blue Iguana, Mermaid Dreams.
I thought this really cleared up where all the colors fall in the blue gradient scope. These polishes, combined, would make a GREAT gradient manicure I think!

Papaya Punch with Endless Keys.
Easy to see they share the same origination, and are pretty close-knit already. I can’t believe I didn’t think to layer Endless Keys over Papaya Punch!! They were obviously meant to be. 😦 I don’t have Papaya Punch with me, and alas cannot test these layering ideas out. The CG Island Escape collection are all chilling in a Helmer, (safely I hope) in a storeroom up at DC.

Bottle picture of China Glaze Cha Cha Cha, Misa Mega Margarita, and Zoya Apple. When I pulled the China Glaze and Misa out, the shimmer and green made me think of Zoya Apple as a possible dupe. When I pulled it out, the answer is: it is clearly not. But I swatched it anyway, to give you ideas of their finishes, which vary a bit.

As you can see Apple has a strong golden foily feel, it catches and reflects a lot of light. Cha Cha Cha isn’t related at all in these two families– he’s the milkman’s kid. If you catch my drift. Neither is Zoya, but I wasn’t talking about Zoya.

And now here, the possible dupe:

Bottle, side by side picture of China Glaze 108 Degrees and Misa Summer Love.
I am still a bit stuck on this one. They LOOK like dupes don’t they? They have the exact same hot-pink flash going on through the bottles, and of course the sheer dark-grapefruit pink base.
Well…

They are clearly not dupes. But I wouldn’t justify owning both. The China Glaze has a far superior formula and shimmer. The Misa has hot pink flakes scattered throughout, which the CG bottle lacks– again making it ideal to layer over a, perhaps, honeysuckle shade.

And, that’s all I have for you guys 🙂 I hope you enjoyed them.

The only regret I have is not layering them over each other! They look like perfect partners. What do you think? What combinations would you try out?

Smackdown: Misa Paradise Shore and China Glaze Island Escape

That’s right guys. When I swatched the CG Island Escape collection over white, I thought… hmmm.. something is uncanny here. Then I realized this “uncanny-ness” was found in a recent head2toe order, containing my Misa Paradise Shore! I matched them up, and the similarity is… well, mentionable. No exact dupes, that’s for sure, but the theme is strikingly similar!

Same color themes, same summer theme (Paradise Shore, Island Escape =) ) Their lab rats must have had the same wavelengths or something when they came up with this collection. Have a look:

Hmmm.. I’m onto you!

Before we begin the comparisons, I only compared five out of six possible matches. This is because Senorita Bonita, from China Glaze Island Escape, has no partner 😦 She is all alone. I feel sorry for her, especially considering she’s a PURPLE. Misa threw off the matching-up with their two blues in a six-piece collection (Krystal Water, Mermaid Dreams). I also threw in a little Zoya for good measure. You’ll see 😉

Electric Pineapple with Under My Sunbrella. In this picture it appears some of the yellow flakies from Under My Sunbrella has also migrated over to Electric Pineapple??
The Misa is a lot more yellow, while Electric Pineapple is all about a saturated, neon-ish yellow creme.

And here we have the blues: Krystal Water, Blue Iguana, Mermaid Dreams.
I thought this really cleared up where all the colors fall in the blue gradient scope. These polishes, combined, would make a GREAT gradient manicure I think!

Papaya Punch with Endless Keys.
Easy to see they share the same origination, and are pretty close-knit already. I can’t believe I didn’t think to layer Endless Keys over Papaya Punch!! They were obviously meant to be. 😦 I don’t have Papaya Punch with me, and alas cannot test these layering ideas out. The CG Island Escape collection are all chilling in a Helmer, (safely I hope) in a storeroom up at DC.

Bottle picture of China Glaze Cha Cha Cha, Misa Mega Margarita, and Zoya Apple. When I pulled the China Glaze and Misa out, the shimmer and green made me think of Zoya Apple as a possible dupe. When I pulled it out, the answer is: it is clearly not. But I swatched it anyway, to give you ideas of their finishes, which vary a bit.

As you can see Apple has a strong golden foily feel, it catches and reflects a lot of light. Cha Cha Cha isn’t related at all in these two families– he’s the milkman’s kid. If you catch my drift. Neither is Zoya, but I wasn’t talking about Zoya.

And now here, the possible dupe:

Bottle, side by side picture of China Glaze 108 Degrees and Misa Summer Love.
I am still a bit stuck on this one. They LOOK like dupes don’t they? They have the exact same hot-pink flash going on through the bottles, and of course the sheer dark-grapefruit pink base.
Well…

They are clearly not dupes. But I wouldn’t justify owning both. The China Glaze has a far superior formula and shimmer. The Misa has hot pink flakes scattered throughout, which the CG bottle lacks– again making it ideal to layer over a, perhaps, honeysuckle shade.

And, that’s all I have for you guys 🙂 I hope you enjoyed them.

The only regret I have is not layering them over each other! They look like perfect partners. What do you think? What combinations would you try out?

China Glaze Island Escape Revisted

Yep, we’re revisiting the CG Island Escape Summer 2011 collection. Why? Well, when I swatched them here a bit of them showed up sheer. Some of you commented and shared the same sentiment about disliking the amount of VNL we were all seeing.

I decided to layer them all over one even base of white polish (In this case, it was my China Glaze Snow, or my “white-out” as I call it XD) It only took two coats to achieve full opacity and near bottle color!

I think it is worth it, the white base really brings out the gorgeousness of these polishes. I would have done 3 layers with a single Island Escape sheer, and still had VNL anyway. Basically, the same amount of layers but with an extreme amount of bling!

Here’s some more close up comparisons of the swatched over white and the old swatches on my nails with all its VNL glory.

Starting with the cremes, and the ones I was “uncomfortable” with.

Papaya Punch
On my nails, without a white base, it looks a bit more of a light papaya color. With the white base the orange is brought out much more strongly, almost mango.

Electric Pineapple
Washed out yellow, but over white it almost is neon. It comes pretty much to life.

108 Degrees
108 Degrees was not exactly a “sheer” polish, I did achieve full opacity with three layers (of course) but it just looks a lot more yummier over white. You can see the silvery white fleck glitter here.
(and why do animal hair always haunt me?! This was in a pet-free DORM room. agh).

Blue Iguana
Sorry about the dent. This one I was not able to get a very good picture of. Over white, I achieved a more bottle color rather than the paler blue that is being shown on my nails.

Senorita Bonita
On my nails the pink fleck shimmer was almost undetectable, and it pulled too pink in the photo. The nail wheel swatch, over white, is definitely ALMOST (haha, an oxymoron. See what I do?) color accurate. This is a hard color to capture. Anyway, over white, the pink shimmer showed through so much more strongly and confidently. This was a color I had always looked forward to when I first heard of the collection, and was disappointed to find how “meh” it looked on the nails 😦 However, over white, it’s revived some of my original faith and love in this color.

And my favorite, layered over white:

Cha Cha Cha!
I was “meh” about it when it was on my nails, but over white? OMG. If I didn’t have so many untrieds, this would be my “go to” color. Hell yeah!

Now, over white, I would suggest/recommend these polishes even more! 🙂 It is not much trouble for me to layer them, and I do enjoy layering polishes to achieve bottle color. The only thing I have to watch out for is making sure the white was applied evenly and is not “too” wet when I apply the first base of color on it, or else it will become a draggy, streaky nightmare. We don’t want that.