Golden Rose Paris 108

I had really hoped that 2011 would be the year of holographics, but it's becoming apparent that this is the year of crackles.  I had never heard of Golden Rose nail polishes until I was reading the blog Chromatic Misadventures and I knew I just had to have these considering the price.  :)


So Golden Rose is a company in Illinois that has a large range of cosmetics including holographic nail polish for GET THIS - $3.50!  Now the bottles are smaller at 0.39 Fl. Oz. (versus 0.5 Fl. Oz. in a bottle of China Glaze or Finger Paints) but they are holographic! As you can see, it's a little diamond shaped bottle with a long thin handle but I didn't find it hard to work with at all.  I do wish their colors had names instead of numbers, but I'll deal.


For Paris 108 "Burgundy", I didn't use a base or top coat and this is 2 coats of polish.

Check out that opacity and coverage!  Ohhh lovely.

In the shade, you lose the holo look but it's still quite pretty.


You can purchase Golden Rose polishes from their website.  They offer free shipping for orders over $20 and free samples as well.  Sadly, they do not ship internationally.  You can like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

deborah lippmann Bad Romance

deborah lippmann's Bad Romance is a purple hex and small round glitter in a black base.  It's funny, when I start humming this song, I start singing "Judas" at the same time.  It sounds a bit the same to me!


Okay, I went to YouTube just to see if anyone felt the same - and oh, they have.

Anyway!  I originally bought this color in August of last year, but just let it sit on my shelf... forever.  Well, not forever but still.  I don't know why?!  Purple, glitter, love!

Because I'm used to deborah lippmann glitters being a bit on the sheer side for its base color (black), I used a base coat of Seche Natural, 1 coat of CND Blackjack, then 2 coats of Bad Romance and a top of Seche Vite.  The formula worked SO well with that base coat of Blackjack!  I ended up wearing this for 4 days and took the pictures in day 2 or 3 I believe, which is why there is a bit of tip wear.

Hello sun!  The hex glitter doesn't get on the nail as well as the small round glitter but it's still so pretty.

Check out the richness of the purple in the shade!  Oh I love it.

And an indoors with flash - very nice.  The formula worked well over the coat of Blackjack.  When I tried this color alone, I had to use 4 coats to get the black opaque enough to cover any visible nail.

deborah lippmann [official website] sells for $18 a bottle.  You can also Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Maybelline Blue Brilliance

I routinely like to visit CVS/pharmacy and Walgreens which, in my town, are literally across the street from each other...  One of my last visits, I spied a display of "Limited Edition" Maybelline.  Now, I don't own any other Maybelline polishes - but Blue Brilliance looked so pretty with a green blue color with tiny flashes of lilac in it (totally not seen in the bottle above).


Even though it considers itself a 50 second nail color, I used my normal routine of a base of Seche Natural, 3 coats of Blue Brilliance and a top of Seche Vite.  After the first two nails, I realized this was going to be a sheer mess for me, so on my last two fingers I did a base of CND Blackjack.  

Okay, can you smell my frustration?  My ring finger is this stroke-mess, my first two fingers are sheer and a brush stroke-mess...  The only thing that redeems this color is all the duochrome (trichrome?) available... purple, blue, green.  LOVELY.  Maybe I should try putting it over a white?

Random shade shot to show you a few more colors this thing bounces off.

Indoor picture to show you a bit more of that purple green blueness.


Honestly, I'm not happy with this one.  I don't like the sheerness, I don't like the brush strokes.  I think I paid $4.50 for this (not 100% sure), and I probably would take it back if I could find my receipt.


Maybelline can be found in various grocery stores.  Check their website for more information.  You can follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook.

Revlon Perplex

Gotta love my dad popping up in the background - hah.


Revlon Perplex is another dupe to Chanel Paradoxal and a much cheaper one at that.  I actually bought a couple of extras for future giveaways because it's my understanding that this color is sold out in some areas due to it's likeness to Paradoxal.


I used a base coat of Seche Natural, 2 coats of Perplex and a top of Seche Vite.  The formula was nice and smooth.

In the sun, you definitely see more purple shimmer than grey which Paradoxal was more grey, less purple shimmer.  I have to be honest, I'm more of a purple girl so I love this way over Paradoxal.

My shade picture kind of blew me away - check out that smoky purple color!  Big fan.

Indoors with flash - lots of purple shimmer in a grey base.  It's a bit dark for me for spring but I never really wear colors according to the "season" - I just wear colors.  ^_^


Revlon can be found in several grocery and drug stores - price may vary from $3-5.  Check out their website for more information.  You can also follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook.

Blogs of Note

Happy Easter to those who celebrate!  My 4 year old will probably hunt for some plastic eggs later... it's been in the 90s+ degrees with lots of humidity... not my favorite type of weather, as you can quite imagine.  So I might allow my parents to have their grandparent moment and let them do the hunting, haha.


First today is Polished And Frosted.  Chele is a dear friend of mine from my line of work and I'm really fond of her ^_^.  She has short to medium nails and I'd really love if you visited her blog.  


Next is Polishing The Nails!  She writes in both her native tongue (Danish) as well as English on her posts, which is super helpful.  Also, something I love about her site is she posts her swatches with 1 coat on her pointer, 2 coats on her middle finger, 3 coats on her ring finger and 4 coats on her pinkie - really helps when it comes to judging opacity for polish.  She has short to medium nails.


Last today is PolishMeHappy!!!!  She also has short to medium nails and posts swatches as well as some nail art.


Have a great Sunday!

deborah lippmann Waking Up In Vegas

deborah lippmann's Waking Up In Vegas was all the rage last year when Lady Gaga was photographed on the cover of Vanity Fair back in September 2010 wearing it.  I'm pretty confused as to why it's a "putty-liscious grey" creme when I'd think "Waking Up In Vegas" would be a glitter bomb... then again I've never been to Vegas...  That's my goal for my 30th birthday (which is coming up sooner than I'd like) and I REALLY want to go to CosmoProf America in July (also in Vegas)...  anyway.


So I finally broke down and purchased this with a gift certificate that I had for Apothica.  This polish sells for $16 a bottle.  My bottle had a lot of yellow tone to it, as you can see in this bottle picture but on the nail it wasn't yellow, which was good.  My polish tends to do a lot of sitting on table tops and acrylic racks so sometimes I'll see the polish needs to be gentle rolled to be mixed around.


I used a base coat of Seche Natural and just 1 coat of Waking up In Vegas.  I topped it with Seche Vite

As you can see in the sun, the bottle still looks a bit yellowish grey but on the nails, it does look like putty.  It also shows off my tons o'ridges.  I normally buff my nails every few months but haven't in a while as you can tell.

I seem to get a bit of lobster hands with this color which surprised me but overall it's a great office appropriate shade.  I'd probably want to either add a glitter top coat or Konad or something.  ^_^


deborah lippmann sells for $18 a bottle.  You can follow her on Twitter.

Sephora by OPI Hell to the No

Another from the Glee line of Sephora by OPI is Hell to the No, an opaque bright royal purple with fine gold glitter.  It reminds me a bit of Zoya Dannii with less foil to it, and a bit brighter purple.  This color was inspired by Mercedes Jones from Glee and bares the same name as the song she sings in the episode "Original Song" that aired on 16 March.  (I told you, I'm a Gleek!)


I used a base of OPI Natural Nail, 2 coats of Hell to the No and a top of OPI Top Coat.  The formula was nice and smooth and had a good consistency.

Check it out in the sun!  See that orchid like goodness?

And in the shade.  Just lovely.  I'm a sucker for purples, so I'd totally purchase this again even with owning Zoya Dannii.  Dannii is more foil like with more sparkle than Hell to the No.


You can purchase Sephora by OPI in Sephora stores or online here for $9 a bottle.  The actual Glee line can be found here

Blogs of Note

Sorry the lack of posts.  Some awesome stuff happened at work (news here), then I got sick (not fun) and well, it's just been blah here with my arm (inflamed rotator cuff).  So please enjoy these blogs of note while I prepare for another long week with my son's follow up appointment for his surgery 2 weeks ago and another IV infusion for myself!  Fun times!


First today is Polish or Perish.  This is one of my favorite blogs because it's a group of bloggers who all have a lot of education under their belts but also a lot of polish!  I was also super excited when MeganChair joined them - if you've been into blogs in the past year, you may remember MeganChair's Picture Perfect Manicure.


Next is Polish Up.  She has short nails and also features some nail art/stickers.


Last today is Polish Wasteland.  These two ladies have medium nails and also feature some makeup as well.


Well enjoy the rest of your Sunday, or if it's already Monday where you live, happy Monday!

Nicole by OPI Got Style?

Another from the Nicole ♥ Walmart collection today - the "mauve frost" Got Style?.  I really didn't think I'd like this color originally but it's super pretty, especially in the shade!  (Did I just say that?)


I used a base of OPI Natural Nail, 2 coats of Got Style? and a top of OPI Top Coat.  I had to fight myself on taking this off because I really liked it THAT much.  Formula and application were awesome.

Oddly enough, in the sun, I didn't love this color as much.

But in the shade this frost/metallic/whatever awesomeness in a bottle shows up and made me super giddy.  I guess frost would be the best way to say it because it looks like someone blew ice over it.

And one quick inside with a flash.  ^_^


Definitely pick up this color if you can find it - it's absolutely lovely.


Nicole by OPI is available beginning at ULTA, Meijer, Harmon, HEB, Sears, Wal-Mart and more for around $8 a bottle.  For more information, visit their website, follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter or become a Facebook fan.

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

Unforgettable Moments Sapphire

During Christmas last year, I had a slight shoe accident where I walked into mud and caked my Airwalk slippers (which I have an odd fascination with) and being 3 hours away from home, I knew there was another Payless Shoe Store near my aunt's house, so I drove on over.


What I didn't know was that select Payless Stores like this one, also carries Unforgettable Moments nail polish!  If you've been in a Payless in the past 13 years, you probably remember Unforgettable Moments... that's the company that will dye your shoes any color to match your dress?  When I was 14, I begged my mom to dye some shoes to match my blue dress for my Army JROTC Military Ball,  but she said no.  I still remember, oh yes.


Unforgettable Moments Sapphire is apart of the 3-piece "Romancing the Gemstone" collection (trio) that runs for $7.99.  They were having a buy one set, get the second half off, so I grabbed another trio and headed for the counter (with my new shoes).


I used a base of Seche Natural, 1 coat of Sapphire and a top of Seche Vite.  The formula was quite nice, no Smurf staining afterwards.  It's a dark metallic blue, much like a sapphire (go figure).

A little sun action for you - click to view larger for those tiny blue particles in the polish.

And a shade picture - same story.  ^_^


You can find Unforgettable Moments in select Payless Shoe Stores or online here.  They are not currently on Facebook or Twitter.