ManGlaze Sneak Peek

I never thought I was a matte person until I started seeing multiple postings of ManGlaze show up online.  ManGlaze is cruelty-free and big 3 free, and made by hand here in the States.  The best part is their owner and founder, Marc.  That guy is seriously a riot.  I mean it.  Check out his Twitter page sometime.


ManGlaze was launched in 2007 and claims to be the original matte polish.  I wouldn't doubt it, since I don't ever remember seeing matte polish prior to this - not in black or grey.  There are 4 stores that sell ManGlaze but unless you live in NYC, Chicago, or um, Greece (not sure how they got the stuff), then you can only find it on their website [official website].  Now I have to have my bonding moment - the name "Man Glaze" came from when Marc's friend Cory came back from a GWAR concert.  During the concert, GWAR has these anatomically correct cannons that shoot various bodily looking fluids at the audience.  In 2005, I got to go to the Sounds of the Underground tour and actually interview GWAR (this was back when I was a radio DJ and news director for a local tv station), and let me tell you... scariest and weirdest interview of my LIFE.  I also got to be in the media pit for their concert and I was THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPHER there.  Can you say "easy target"?  So I have a very ... frightfully funny memory of GWAR, needless to say.


Believe it or not, their customer base is about 50/50 with men and women.  Not only is is rough and tough enough for men, women love matte polish as of lately, and you can use a top coat and ManGlaze has a secret rainbow soft side (more on that later).  I really think ManGlaze and Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics need to combine their powers one day.  Now that would be something awesome.


Now I KNOW that there is 5 bottles out there of ManGlaze... but they are only selling 4 of them on their website, so you know - I bought the whole line.  The one that I didn't get was their "The Death Tar" which I believe is a matte black, but according to their website, the last bottle was purchased in October 2009, and Matte Is Murder was their new, more awful matte black.  So I purchased the grey matte "Fuggen Ugly", the matte top coat "#Matte Astrophe", the black matte "#Matte is Murder" and the silver top coat "Hot Mess".  Now I don't really know why, but my Fuggen Ugly cap was shorter than the others.  The bottle was the same, but as you can see in the first picture, it's got a short handle.


Now these bottles are not for the faint at heart.  The artwork is pretty out there, but hey, who's to say all polish is supposed to be pretty roses and whatnot?  ManGlaze DOES market to men, with its dark, matte color and finish.  I decided to use my AWESOME computer skills to make this animation of the bottle's entire label (and each bottle is covered completely in a label).  This is "Fuggen Ugly"

Now a few things that I automatically have loved about this brand.
(1) He answers his Twitter - frequently.  Granted he has "only" 1,013 followers, but that's still a LOT of followers to individually be answering a TON of those Tweets.
(2) The bottles are all designed at an angle.  As a former graphic designer, I can appreciate the little things like that.  Even though the bottles are square, all the artwork is so that you have to put the bottle in a diamond shape to see the label "properly".  LOVE IT.
(3) His website takes PayPal (!) as well as major credit cards.
(4) Shipping was FAST.  I purchased on May 11th (around 10 a.m.), and it was shipped on May 12 (at 2 a.m.!).  I received it by May 15th.  Hello, 4 days waiting for nail polish?  Very happy me.
(5) Shipping and handling is included in the cost of the polish.  Each polish is $6.66 and each top coat is $13.13.
(6) Everything was packed SO well, even to how the packing peanuts were arranged in the boxes.  Again, I'm very appreciative of the little things.

The polishes come in cardboard boxes that again, are stamped on the edges so you have to diamond it up to see it properly.


Also with my order, I got some free business cards (these rock) and some decal stickers.  I'm totally slapping one on my Guitar Hero guitar.

The fine print at the top of the back of the card says "Fill in your contact info below and give this card to someone kinda forty."  LOVE IT.

Check back for my reviews of each product - I was seriously happy with the way this stuff turned out.  And of course, I get to giggle and say "I'm wearing ManGlaze" whenever I walk out with this stuff on.

Sula Slate

Yay for more paint and peel!  Slate is a yellow brown creme color that I thought would be a great neutral for the office, or just when I don't feel like WOWing people with my nail polish (and believe it or not, that happens more often nowadays, hah).  Once again, I didn't use any kind of base or top coat, and used 2 thin coats, waiting about 2 minutes between coats so I wouldn't screw anything up.

I still think I'm just doing it wrong, because as you can see, there is some bald spots especially on my pointer and middle fingers.  I have considered more coats - I mean hey, it's paint and peel - where's the downside in this?  As you can see, it's just a nice yellow brown - nothing too crazy.

Oh shade - this makes the color look much more brown, and you know it just might be my skin that threw such a yellow cast in my pictures.  The application was nice and clean with this color, and I'm sorry I didn't have the official "Slate" image from the bottom of the bottle.  The stickers are clear with writing so it makes it quite hard to photograph - I'd prefer a white sticker with black writing.


Sula is available on their website [official website] or check the "Where to find Sula products" [link] page to see what stores carry it near you.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Grape Crush

While at a local nail salon, I decided to press my luck and try to buy an old bottle off the place.  I am a horrible sales and negotiation person.  HORRIBLE.


The lady was terribly confused at what I was asking (English was not her first language, and Mandarin Chinese is actually my 6th language - took a whole semester of it in college), so that was the first speed bump.  Finally she got that I wanted to BUY the bottle and told me to name my price.  I figured since the bottle looked at least half empty (don't go by the above picture), I'd offer her $3 since a new bottle can be easily $5.  However, this is a dusty - a term I heard on another blog.  Basically, the bottle is so old there is a fine layer of dust on it (and there was).  She wanted to thin it for me but I lounged for the bottle and said I'd do it myself, haha.


This is one of the OLD China Glaze colors, from before the Big 3 formula was introduced.  Now I have no idea how old this bottle really is - everything I find online is just that this is a HTF (hard to find) color.  Score?


Problem is, the color was seriously OLD.  First I added a bit of clear NYC polish to it to try and thicken up the base a bit (um, bad idea), and then I resorted to adding some Seche Restore (which I heard from somewhere... I think the Seche Twitter Feed?) because it's a pre-big 3 formula so Restore would thin it properly because it got to be a goopy mess...  then I added 5 ballz to it (to help the polish mix) and well, I just don't know anymore.  I need to play with it a bit more.


I do like the base color which is a good medium purple - not as pigmented as China Glaze Grape Pop but almost on the same wavelength as China Glaze Grape Juice.  (They are running out of Grape words, I think).


I used a base coat of Seche Natural, 3 thin coats of Grape Juice, and a top coat of Seche Vite.  Just like China Glaze Cosmic (from the Glitters & Cremes Collection), there is more rainbow glitter in the bottle than translates on the nail. (Boo)

You can see a bit of the rainbow on my nails - I was a fan of the color despite it not having a heavy rainbow glitter like I hoped for.  Plus it's purple.  Win.

Ooh shiny!  I'm having a bit of an issue with my shade pictures being too "green" - not sure why, but whatever.  You can see that the bottle name is starting to rub off here, haha.  Overall I'm a fan of this polish for sure - purple, rainbow, glitter...  my favorites. ^_^


China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Nail Bubbling

I thought it was just me, but I've noticed a few other bloggers having nail bubbling problems.  Sometimes I think that Deborah Lippmann herself reads my blog.  I know she doesn't, but I'm going to pretend like she does.  Or at least her assistant's assistant's doorman's wife does.  Whatever.


This email came in last Thursday all about nail bubbling.  Thanks Deborah!  However, because her text was actually a picture, I'm just going to type it out (not so thanks).  


The Bubble Trouble...
We all hate those little tiny bubbles in a manicure.  And they may not be noticeable until a few minutes after you're done.  Here are solutions to the problem.


1) Never shake your bottle of polish before use.
If you do, you'll have to wait 45 minutes or so before you using the polish.  All polish separates over time, to mix it, roll the bottle between your palms, you've probably seen your manicurist do this.


2) Applying polish before the previous coat is dry can cause bubbles.
Polish needs time to set, use thin coats (it will dry faster) and wait 2 minutes between each coat (your manicure will last longer).


3) Humidity can cause bubbles and your polish will take longer to dry.


So ends the words of Deborah.  Please note, that's straight from her email (typo included) and not my words or my advice.  I'm still trying to keep the bubbles away from my nails.  ^_^

Sula Merlot

After reading and hearing about nail polish you peel off, I went to check it out and was shocked how many different colors Sula [official website] has!  In addition to nail polish, they also carry an array of other products - I was a little upset I hadn't heard of them before, to be honest.  Granted, I'm still new to the whole polish scene but still!  They carry their products in the USA and Canada or you can purchase from their website, which is convenient.  They also seem to be carried in ULTA, which I have NEVER been to one.  In fact, at looking at their website, I see there is an ULTA in the mall that I go to every time I'm in San Antonio, so I'm going to have to check it out next time.  Rumor is that we're getting an ULTA at the mall closest to me as well (still 45 miles from home, but closer than 3 hours in San Antonio).


The directions for Sula are right on the bottle - apply 2-3 coats to clean, naked nails.  Avoid contact with hot water for 4 hours.  Peel off when desired.


Sounds like a win to me!  I was a little nervous about not using a base or top coat.  Now Sula has a "Clear Top & Base Coat" that they sell for $10 and they say that it can be peeled off up to 10 days later (the same claim that CND Shellac makes, the new hybrid nail polish that one day, I hope to review).  They also have a "Metallic Top Coat" for $9, but I didn't receive either one with my PR sample here.  Also Sula does say that with one of their top coats, you MAY need remover, but without the top coat, you just literally peel off the polish when you're done.


Now, it's been HOT here again.  I'm talking triple digits (today was 102).  I don't know how this is badly affecting my nail polish but at least one person says it's the humidity (more on that later).


I'm wondering if "I'm doing it wrong" because I started putting on my first coat, and the polish was applying weird.  You're supposed to wait a couple of minutes before putting on a second coat, and then wait a total of 30 minutes before you decide to peel off the polish.  But really, you can see what I'm talking about right here

See how it's streaky and bumpy?  I don't know what I did wrong.  Also, the problem with polish that is designed to peel off is that if you bump it and it "chips", the whole thing can be peeled off in one piece.  They do say that you can just fix "chips" with the color quickly and easily.

The steakyness was mostly seen on the ring finger - I don't know what I did wrong.  I'd like to try this again when I have long nails as nubbins just are harder to paint for me.  Merlot is a nice vampy red creme (all their polishes are cremes, can you imagine peeling off glitter?!) that I'm just so happy with the COLOR, now to get this application down.  I took a nap and about 5 hours later, went to peel off the polish.  You just chip a bit and then the whole thing pulls off like latex paint off a bucket - in one piece.


From their FAQ: 
Q: Will all the peeling ruin my nails?
A: No, the polish sits on top of the nail and it will not dry them out.


That was crucial for me since I can't stand the thought of scratching my nails up (it literally makes my skin crawl).


Overall, I'm excited about this line and want to try more of it.  I received another color for review that will be showing up here soon on Polish Galore. 


Sula is available on their website [official website] or check the "Where to find Sula products" [link] page to see what stores carry it near you.


Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

300 Followers Giveaway! [EVERYONE!]

Welcome to part 2 of my 300 Followers Giveaway!  This part is being done all by me, meaning I bought the products, and I will be in charge of fulfillment.  THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

1) You must be a follower of my blog.
2) You must live in a country where UPS or FedEx will deliver nail polish.
3) You must use the form at the bottom of this post (Google Form) to leave your entry.  Entries in the comments section WILL NOT BE COUNTED.

One (1) winner will receive a brand new bottle of Sally Hansen "Hidden Treasure"

One (1) winner will receive a brand new package of OPI Havana Nights Minis (Teal We Meet Again, Read My Palm, Rumba Romance, Caliente Coral)

One (1) winner will receive a brand new package of OPI Tiny Takeouts Minis from the Hong Kong Collection (Red My Fortune Cookie, Dim Sum Plum, Suzi Says Feng Shui, Rapidry Top Coat)

One (1) winner will receive a brand new package of Modern Flower minis (Handpicked for Me, It's Bouquet with Me, Iris I was Thinner, Leaf Him at the Altar).

One (1) winner will receive a brand new package of OPI Shrek minis (What's with the Cattitude, Fiercely Fiona, Rumple's Wiggin', Who the Shrek Are You?)


Whew!  Five (5) winners in all.  Here's the form - be sure to fill out your name and your email address to win!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

300 Followers Giveaway! [USA ONLY]

Thank you to Seche [official website] for sponsoring this part of my 300 Followers Giveaway!

Not only are they handling all the prizes (yay) they are EVEN handling fulfillment!  (Meaning THEY ship to you, double yay for me, as my last winner found out when I had to ship her package twice... not using USPS for International anymore, let me tell you....) 
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

1) You must be a follower of my blog.

2) You must be a USA resident.

3) You must use the form at the bottom of this post (Google Form) to leave your entry.  Entries in the comments section WILL NOT BE COUNTED.

Two (2) winners will receive a Seche Pack that contains one (1) bottle of Seche Vite Crystal Clear Top Coat, one (1) bottle of either Rebuild, Recondition or Retain (winner's choice), and one (1) bottle of Seche Restore.

Two (2) MORE winners will receive a "Secrets to the French Manicure" FULL SIZE SET.

That's four (4) total winners!  (And that's just THIS part of my giveaway.)

You may enter BOTH this giveaway, and my other part of the giveaway, and you MAY win both (although it is unlikely since I do use a number randomizer).

Instead of having comments, I'm trying out the Google Form - make sure you fill out both parts.  Entries in my comments section WILL NOT COUNT.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

300 Followers Giveaway! [Information]

First off, thank you all for reading and supporting Polish Galore.  This started as just my fun little side project, and I feel blessed that people actually take interest in reading my blog!  What better way to celebrate than with a giveaway!  Now, this giveaway is going to be separated into three posts.


This post is just the information post saying, hey, I'm having a giveaway!  Please do NOT sign up on this post (in the comments section) because your entry will NOT BE COUNTED.


Thank you again so much for your love and support!

Claire's Pre-Glued Nails

I went to a Claire's in what I'd consider an upscale shopping center about 3 hours away from me a few weeks ago, and found these.  I absolutely hate the idea of putting glue on my nails, but these "pre-glued" nails caught my eye.  The cashier said they had JUST come in, so I grabbed two packages (it was buy one, get one half off) and was waiting for nubbins to try this out.  The package of 24 nails cost $5.00 US, which was pretty awesome considering that a manicure of fake nails can be up to $30 around here.

This seemed like a simple design - a white tip French with pink and blue stamped flowers and a blue shimmer top coat over it.

First complaint.  You can see my nails underneath.  I went ahead and pointed out the painfully obvious to you with arrows.  Granted, it probably wouldn't be seen by the average person, but it annoyed me to no end.


Well, not even 10 minutes in having these nails, and I decided (not so smartly) to run my hands through my hair.  I nearly died as my nails got STUCK in my hair - the hair wrapped UNDER the nails at the cuticles and got stuck in the glue on several of them.  I wanted to die. 


At this point I wanted to rip every single one of them off, but I decided to wait and sleep on it so I could get some sun pictures.

Left Hand - This is after around 12 hours of wear (or so).  As you can see in the light, my original nails are showing, which again, irritating to me!

Right Hand - More annoying - do you see that the glue almost made a "bubble" on my middle finger?  My pointer finger cuticle is all messed up from when I had a wart removed as a kid, so that wasn't fun.  But also check out the ring finger.  I originally put that nail on my pointer finger before realizing it was WAY too big, so I tried to peel it off and put it on the ring finger.  Instead I got all those weird gross bubbles.

CHECK OUT THAT LIFT.  No wonder my hair got caught under there.  OW.

I mean seriously, this was just plain painful.

It even lifted from the sides of my nail.  The "pre-glued nails" don't have glue all the way out to the edges, so the result is that the nail is lifted on the sides.  The insert says to slightly "buff" your nails with a file to maximize adhesion, but no way was I scoring my nails with a file.


Removal wasn't too fun either.  I totally misread the instructions - you're supposed to soak your hands in warm water for 10-15 minutes and peel the nails off from the side.  Instead, I put my hands under hot water for 15 SECONDS and peeled these suckers off.  I was left with some glue because of it, but my Zoya Remove+ got rid of any excess glue.


Verdict?  If you're in a super rush for a photo shoot, totally use these.  If you're planning on keeping them more than an hour, no freaking way.  I don't feel like it was a TOTAL waste of $5, but it was close.


Claire's is available world wide or online [official website].

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure

On my recent trip to Victoria, I decided to stop by a Walgreens to see if just MAYBE they had the new Sally Hansen's.  OH YEAH THEY DID!  In fact, the display was completely untouched.  They retailed for $7.49 a piece but since they were having a 'buy one, get one half off" sale, I only paid $3.75 for one of them.  Wee!  (That's going in my 300 Followers Giveaway!)


I love this stuff.  It's a flakie - which is such a rare brand of polish finish.  It's been related to "mermaid scales" because of the way it flakes on the nail (not literally flaking off, but it has flakes of color).  Now the best part about this polish is that depending on your base, you can see a variety of different colors in the flakes.


For this first manicure, I wore it over my last NOTD: China Glaze Seduce Me.

As you can see, the flakes are seeing as more of a yellow and a gold against the red base of Seduce Me.

You can almost see a greenish yellow on my pointer finger.

Almost a little more green there!


Then on Thursday, I put on CND Blackjack (1 coat) and a layer of Hidden Treasure.  Please excuse the horrible quality - this was on my iPhone.

As you can see, in the shade, Hidden Treasure was more orange, but in the sun you could see green.  I actually wore this manicure for 4.5 straight days (pretty much a record) and only got a little bit of yellow staining on my nails (I had a coat of Seche Natural for base, 1 coat of CND Blackjack, 1 coat of Hidden Treasure and 1 coat of Seche Vite), so success!  I've never had so many people compliment my manicure, EVER.  I love it.  LOVE it.


Sally Hansen [official website] can be found at several stores including CVS/pharmacy [official website] and Walgreens [official website].