Icing Mint 2 Be

Today I have Icing Mint 2 Be, a mint green creme. Unlike Essie Mint Candy Apple and some other minty colors I own, Icing Mint 2 Be is really green, with less of a blue tint than some of the others. In the picture, I used two coats of Mint 2 Be and no top coat.

indoors, artificial light

Mint 2 Be applied nicely - I didn't feel like I had to fight with it like I do with a lot of pastels. I think like this would be a really good base for Cover Girl Krypton Ice, which I found after I took this picture, so I may have to try that at some point. While this color isn't particularly unique or special, I really like it and I feel like it fills a hole in my collection. If you don't have a dupe, I'd definitely recommend it.

Note: I'm writing up a few scheduled blog posts before I leave so that I can concentrate on my interview weekend and still put blog posts up. I hope it works - I've tried to schedule posts before and it didn't work right.

Ulta Material Girl

Before I talk about the polish, I wanted to let you all know what's going to be coming up on this blog in the next little while. First, I'll be posting the three Dr.'s Remedy polishes I received to review, and I am super excited to do that. I've tried two of the colors so far and they are lovely, and even better, the formula is amazing! Then, as I'm sure most (if not all) of you know that Rescue Beauty Lounge released their top eleven fan colors to be voted on yesterday, and a lot of people - including me - were disappointed in the colors chosen. That inspired me to go to frankentown yesterday and I created four frankens last night, and I am absolutely in love with all of them. Along with several other frankens that I haven't blogged about yet, that'll probably be what I post on for at least a week after the Dr.'s Remedy polishes.

However, none of this will start until Sunday or Monday of next week, for one simple reason. Tomorrow afternoon, I leave town to head to an interview weekend at the college I'll be attending in the fall. I've been selected to come interview for their full-tuition scholarship, so that's very exciting! Unfortunately, it also means that I'll be wearing a fairly boring polish most of the weekend, and if I have time to blog at all I'll be blogging about colors I've already swatched.

indoors, artificial light



I love it! The combination of the shimmer and holo glitter give the polish a great depth. I just hope Ulta puts out more stunners like this one, especially their polish is so affordable with the sales they have on all the time. I got this in a giveaway, and I ended up loving it even more than I thought I would. This was two coats with a coat of Rush, which it needs because it's a bit gritty and not completely glossy without top coat. But when you put top coat on, it's totally worth it!

Note: If you submitted a color to the RBL competition and didn't get selected, email Ange from Scandalously Polished - she's a frankening genius and has offered to try frankening people's ideas. She's already frankened a gorgeous one thought up by Stephanie at Imperfectly Painted - check it out!

Kelier Nail Crack Polish in Blue

It sure took me a loooong time to post this after my review of the pink Kelier crackle, didn't it? I have no excuse...but here it is now! It didn't take me nearly as long to apply this as it did the pink, because I had already figured out how best to apply this kind of crackle polish. This is one coat over two coats of Icing Mint 2 Be.

indoors, artificial light

Like the pink crackle, this takes a while to crack and looks a bit streaky if you don't apply it well (like me). However, I still prefer this crackle pattern to that of OPI Black Shatter and the China Glaze crackles. You can buy these crackle polishes from Born Pretty for $3.67 a bottle, and international shipping is free, which is a huge plus for me. 

I was lucky enough to find an old white crackle (Ghost) from Cover Girl yesterday at the Dollar Tree (among other things), and it looks like it'll have the same kind of crackle as these, so I'm anxious to see how it applies compared to the Kelier crackles.

*This product was provided to me for an honest review.

Finger Paints Romanticism Ruby

I had a LOT of trouble picking the color I would post today. It's Valentine's Day, after all, and though I didn't do any V-Day nail art, I wanted an appropriate color to post. I swatched several reds and pinks last week, and a lot of them had Valentine-appropriate names: Finger Paints Romanticism Ruby, Sinful Colors Secret Admirer (not a pink or red, but just look at the name!), Color Club Sexsea, Nina Ultra Pro Sweet Nothings, Sinful Colors Sugar Sugar...you get the point. Finally, I decided on Romanticism Ruby because it's gorgeous and glittery and very romantic (ha, ha).

indoors, artificial light

Mm, sparkles! In real life, this glows much more than in the picture. It's absolutely gorgeous, and applies like a dream as well. I used two coats. It's not too shiny without top coat, but it is MUCH smoother than most glitters...it's about a smooth without top coat as any of the OPI Burlesque glitters are with two coats of Seche Vite. Impressive. I've been searching for the perfect red glitter for a while now, and I think I've found it. This, my friends, is love. :) Happy Valentine's Day!

Color Club Regatta Red

Color Club Regatta Red, from the Rebel Debutante collection (EDIT: My bad! Alison kindly corrected me - this is not from the Rebel Debutante collection. I believe it's actually from the Yacht Club collection.), is a bright medium red that leans a bit pink. While it's not my favorite kind of red, I do like it and am glad to have it in my collection. This was two coats without top coat, and the application was very easy, like all the other Color Club polishes I've tried.

indoors, artificial light

That's all I have for today...I'm not feeling my best, and I really ought to be spending my energy doing schoolwork (even though it's a snow day) rather than blogging. TGIF!

TBN Hot Pink Flouro

TBN (Totally Beautiful Nails) Hot Pink Flouro is one of several Australian polishes I received in a giveaway. This one sat in my untried box for quite a while because even though it looked like a great pink, I always had something else to try. I swatched it the other day as part of my marathon session, and here are the results. Like any true neon, Hot Pink Flouro dries matte. Unfortunately, like most neons, Hot Pink Flouro does not photograph accurately. It's pinker and less salmony than my pictures show, as well as more neon. Here are two coats, without top coat and then with Rush top coat.

indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

Isn't it lovely? It's more of a satin finish than a matte, which I actually prefer, at least for cremes. I feel like completely matte cremes make my hands look really greasy and gross. The color makes me think of flip-flops and the beach...summer pedi, anyone? I like that even thoughh I pretty much hate summer - hot, humid, sweaty, UGH - this color makes me wish it was summer. Good job, TBN.

Dr.'s REMEDY

Here's a press release I got in my email the other day. I mentioned this to my mom, and she said she'd heard of the brand...I must admit, I felt like a bit of an idiot when she knew something about polish I didn't. :) 

"DR.’S REMEDY WINTER WONDER-NAILS

The Hottest Nail Shades of the Chilly Season

Sleigh bells are no longer ringing, snow is well-past glistening, and the mere thought of walking through a winter wonderland has you worrying – way too early – about next year’s Christmas plans. Enter some seasonal delight to make you sizzle (literally): Dr.’s REMEDY introduces four fabulous shades of Enriched Nail Polish, perfect to ring in 2011 and wear throughout the rest of winter (wonderfully).

The collection includes:

·       Healing Heather Grey: a seductive pewter with deep blue undertones

·       Revive Ruby Red: a shimmer-infused, Wizard of Oz-inspired shade of crimson

·       Desire Dark Brown: a cocoa-meets-hot fudge handsome hue

·       Nurture Nude Pink: a delicate, damsel-in-distress barely-there beautiful

Dr.’s REMEDY Enriched Nail Polish is available for $16 online atwww.remedynails.com

or by calling 1-877-323-NAIL.

Dr.’s REMEDY is a new line of doctor-inspired cosmetics that are dedicated to using clean, hypo-allergenic, anti-fungal ingredients. The birth-child of two New York-based podiatrists, Dr. Adam Cirlincione and Dr. William Spielfogel, Dr.’s REMEDY proves quintessentially-perfect for any person looking to better the condition of her skin and nails. Dr.’s REMEDY is sold online at www.remedynails.com or by calling 1-877-323-NAIL."

What do you think?

This press release was sent by a PR firm. For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Le Beauty 56

For the rest of my posts up to and including Valentine's Day, I'll be showing pink and red polishes to celebrate my least favorite holiday of the year...however, I DO like pink and red, so I guess that'll be my excuse.

I received Le Beauty 56 in a giveaway a while back, along with a couple other Le Beauty polishes. I've already tried 152, which is silver, and I wasn't too happy with it - I liked the color, but it was too brushstrokey for me. This one, on the other hand, is perfect. It's opaque in two coats, the application is great, and it's a gorgeous color. The blue flash isn't as dominant in real life as in my picture, but it was definitely visible even in dim light.

indoors, artificial light

Even though I hate heat and love winter, this polish makes me want summer and strawberry sorbet. *slurps* I can see myself wearing this any time of the year because I wear whatever polish I want no matter the weather, but I'm sure I'll be bringing it out more once the warm weather rolls around...not anytime soon, judging by this evening's weather forecast. That's perfectly fine with me, though - bring on the snow! 

All Fired Up Nail Art

I took All Fired Up off after it chipped and replaced it with China Glaze Ingrid, but I loved that red so much that I had to do something else with it. I wore it again with black tips and polka dots because I absolutely love black and red together. I used Nailene tip guides for the tips and a dotting tool I got from Sally's for the dots.

indoors, sunlight through the window

I'm really happy about the way this turned out, and I got several compliments on my nails when I was wearing this, which always makes me happy. I did the same thing on the right hand, but with the dots on the ring finger instead of the thumb. Unfortunately I'm still having computer problems - my mom's been sick and hasn't been able to look at it any more. So for now, I'm still going to be blogging somewhat sporadically, and probably not on the weekends. Sorry about that! Fortunately, I do have plenty of material - I swatched a bunch of my untried polishes yesterday (26, actually), so I'm not short on stuff to post.

Sally Hansen All Fired Up

I'm sorry for not posting for the last few days...this has just been a crap week for me in a multitude of ways, and not being able to post because my grandparents' Internet was down just added to that. Fortunately, it's working again now (though my laptop is still pitiful), so here I am! I will say that I got All Fired Up purely because the name has some sentimental value for me, but it actually turned out to be a great red. Unfortunately, I only have one picture because it's been gloom and doom outside for the past week or so. Fits my mood, I guess.

indoors, artificial light

Squishy, bright, and opaque in two coats. What's not to love? This is the perfect pinup red, in my opinion. It makes me think of cherry tomatoes, old cars, and fifties movie stars (I typed that and then thought, "one of these things is not like the others..."). As you can see, it did chip on my ring finger, but that was after two days of me bashing my hands around like a maniac, as I tend to do. I took it off after I took this picture and wore China Glaze Ingrid for a couple days, but I loved All Fired Up so much that I have it on again today with some nail art, so you'll see that next. It's really rare for me to love a red creme this much, but I'm so glad I do! I may have to find a backup bottle... :o