Happy Valentine's Day!

OPI- Rising Star

The ugly mess you thought you were is fading fast
Now something's spoken through it's virtues
The night of black is rolling back at long last
The wheel of fate turns to your fortune
---Wishbone Ash "New Rising Star"




I knew I wouldn't like this, so I was meh with the swatching, sorry. I just don't like glitters that much. I like the red one, but the rest, bleh. Not a fan personally. They are very pretty and blingy though, just not my style.

Color is a super-shiny, bright foily glitter with a golden base. Application was decent, considering it was a mini and the brush sucked. Dried quickly as well.

Report card:

Color= B+ (it's interesting, I'll give it that, and pretty, if you are into glitters)
Formula= A (this was rather nice, considering)
Brush= A (well, rating for a regular OPI brush, not this one, which was a mini and sucked totally)
Price= D- (OPI are 7.50 to 8 bucks, which to me is too expensive for a polish I am not in love with)

Overall= B

Hard Candy- nameless purple

Roses are red
Violets are purple
Sugar is sweet
And so is maple surple




This was part of a "Limited Edition" 4-polish gift-set at Wal-Mart this year for the holidays. I snatched it up on half-price clearance, so just $5 for 4 polishes. I only wanted it for the obvious Orly "Goth" dupe, but this ended up being a pleasant surprise. The orange and magenta glitters are atrocious. If you bought this set and haven't tried those yet, take my advice and toss them. All 4 of the polishes stink. They have a bizarre burnt-plastic, heavily chemical smell, a very strange thread of unusual fumes. Not your normal polish-fume, but a truly weird one, and I instantly get a bad headache from it. Insta-migraine, what joy! Those two stain like the dickens as well, so not only double up, but TRIPLE up a base coat. They aren't very opaque either. Took me 3 coats for those to get them opaque even somewhat.

But this post is about the purple one. It's got a slight duochrome effect and is a dusky purple metallic. It has that same odd fume as the others, but it's so pretty, I am willing to experiment with topcoats to hopefully counteract it.

Shown is 2 coats, but as you can see, it probably could do with a third.

If you aren't prone to migraines, and you like purples or duochromes, it would be nice to snag this set. Otherwise, I kinda get the impression that the orange and pink were the dregs of set, where they just sorta slapped something together to get the gift set on the shelves. Whatever that chemical is, they should definitely NOT use it again. It's AWFUL!

Report card:

Color= B- (pretty nifty, but not ground-breaking)
Formula= D+ (slightly poor dry time, and somewhat sheer, yet also staining. Main detraction is the bizarro fume)
Brush= C- (it's not the best, it's obviously cheap)
Price= D+ (HC runs $5, which is too much in my opinion. I've yet to be truly impressed with them)

Overall= C-

OPI- The Show Must Go On

"The Show must go on!
The Show must go on! Yeah,yeah!
Ooh! Inside my heart is breaking!
My make-up may be flaking...
But my smile, still, stays on!"
---Queen, The Show Must Go On




Wow, isn't that just brazen glory right there!? It's a deep, cranberry red foil/glitter. I got it in a mini set of the Burlesque collection. For that reason, my review may be affected, since the minis won't lend themselves to thick, glitter-based polishes, I'm thinking. It was hard to apply and took several coats.

Ultimately, I thought it was rather pretty and definitely fit the mindset of the collection. I can totally see a showgirl rocking this polish, leading the fellas around with just one crook of her finger. However, as lush and beautiful as it is, I don't think I will wear this polish any other time than the holidays. It's just not my regular style, and I found the glitter bothersome to remove, even with the FOIL method. I am just not a fan of glitters, no way around it.

Report card:

Color= B+ (very pretty, but not versatile)
Formula= B- (thick and unwieldy at times, but I blame the mini brush)
Brush= C+ (too small for this polish- if you want this color, get the full-size)
Price= F (OPI are expensive for this little country bumpkin, at $8.50. I know there are worse ones, but that's a spicy meatball for me)

Overall= C

Barielle- Jess's Champagne Toast- New Year's Mani!

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?"
---Auld Lang Syne




This was my New Year's Mani. I found this polish at Ulta, my first ever trip there. It was on clearance, just 99 cents I believe, maybe 1.99? I'm a sucker for blue, metallic, and rose gold, so this was sort of a must-have once I laid eyes on it.

I forgot how badly I tend to dislike glitters. They are often thick, clumpy, and gritty. And a total pain in the a$$ to remove. Even with the touted FOIL method, it just wreaks havoc on my nails. But, I think this combo is very pretty. I would love a smoother version where the glitter could float or suspend rather than sink into the polish.

I think it dried fairly quickly and was fairly smooth, to the touch at least, though I feel like it looks much grittier than it feels. It was nice and hardy, lasted well, but it did chip in just a day, so now I had to change it. I'll probably try it again and try to apply it more smoothly and see what I think then. As it stands, I was slightly disappointed.

Overall, I think I might relegate this to holiday-only. I don't think it's very versatile.

Report card:

Color= A+ (very imaginative, I love it)
Formula= C+ (thick, smudgey, gritty, but remember, I just plain' ol don't like glitters usually)
Brush= B+ (pretty good, slightly better than average)
Price= D+ ($6...meh. I paid 2.99 for mine though on clearance at Ulta, my very first trip in!)

Overall= B-

L.A. Colors- Electrified

We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we'll take it higher
---Eddy Grant, Electric Avenue




For just one dollar, I purchased this little gem at the Dollar Tree. It's a bright, hot pink foil-type glitter. I went on fairly well and dried pretty quickly and with a nice, hardy, smooth finish. It also lasted for a while, especially considering its cheapness.

But, it's not something I will wear over and over. I'll basically only wear it on Christmas or New Year's, maybe Valentine's Day. It's just not something I think is very versatile.

Report card:

Color= C+ (It's ok, but nothing you should break your back to find)
Formula= B- (pretty average)
Brush= C+ (a wee bit flimsy for this thickish polish)
Price= A+ (just a dollar, w00t!)

Overall= B-

Holy Holiday Haul!

I have racked up. Thank you gift cards and cash gifts!

-OPI Irri-swiss-ables Mini set (Color So Hot it Berns, Yodel Me On My Cell, Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, plus a topcoat)
-Burlesque Holiday Set (Ali's Big Break, Rising Star, Take the Stage, The Show Must Go On)
-Revlon Perplex
-Essie Nude Beach, Pinking Up the Pieces
-Cover Girl Copper Penny, Satin Sheets
-Sally Hansen Plum Power
-Color Club "Rebel Debutante" set (Ms Socialite, What Are You Wearing, High Society, Best Dressed List, Charity Ball, Uptown Girl, She's Sooo Glam)
-Piggy Polish (Toe'd You So, Wave to Go, Daylilly's and Music)
-Orly La Playa (plus topcoat)
-Barielle Snowy Day, Jess's Champagne Toast
-"Simple Pleasures" multi-set from JCP Sparkling Pink, Light Blue, Sparkling Purple, Light Purple, Light Pink, Purple)
-2 from Hot Topic, nameless powder blue duochrome with pink flash, grey duochrome with purple/burgundy flash)
-Claire's "Rain Drops" and mood polish "Excited/Bored"
-OPI Done out in Deco

Wet n Wild- Morbid

I love the dead before they're cold,
Their blueing flesh for me to hold.
Cadaver eyes upon me see nothing
---"I Love the Dead" by Alice Cooper




Morbid is a very dark pine green base with green and teal shimmer. It was lovely and perfect for Christmas, despite it's Halloween-ish name, when I needed a dark, fancy-type green to correspond on my other hand, opposite the L.A. Colors Hot-Blooded.

It was $1.99 at Walgreens, but I got it on sale for $1.09. I bought Lust with it as well, and since I had been so impressed with that one, I had high hopes for Morbid. It's not that it is bad formula- it's not, it's actually great. The color is great too. My problem was the terrible brush. There are like 5 strands that are longer than the rest, and the rest seem sort of "fluffy" and puffed up. It's unusual. But, I guess for such a cheap price, you can't be too shocked. But it makes for a very difficult application.

However, ultimately, I really like this color. I will wear it again, and indeed, I wore it several times this month. I also layered WNW Blitzen over it at one point (pictured earlier) and absolutely loved that effect. I think Blitzen might be my favorite nail polish purchase of all year. It's certainly been the most versatile, despite being a holiday polish. I'll be rocking that bad boy come New Year's Day and I bet my birthday as well.

Anyway, Morbid's report card:

Color= B+ (pretty neat, but lots of brands have similar colors)
Formula= A- (pretty dang good, it might be a smidge prone to bubbles though)
Brush= F (practically useless)
Price= A- (even not on sale, $1.99 isn't bad)

Overall= B-

Merry Christmas!

"Gifts I'm preparin'
For some Christmas sharin'
But I pause because
Hangin' my stockin'
I can hear a knockin'
'Zat you, Santa Claus"
---Zat You Santa Claus, Louis Armstrong








Just a couple quick pics of the holiday skittle I've had for 3 days (til tonight). First pic is my left hand. Starting at thumb and heading to pinky, I had Wet n Wild "Lust", Wet n Wild "Caribbean Frost", China Glaze "Classic Camel", Nicole by OPI "Bah Plum-Bug" with a topcoat of Wet n Wild "Blitzen", and then Wet n Wild no name "Shiver???".

On the right hand, starting at pinky: Wet n Wild "Red Red", Wet n Wild "Morbid" plus Wet n Wild "Blitzen" topcoat, Wet n Wild no name "Wild Orchid???", L.A. Colors "Electrified", and Jazz "18K Gold."

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone!