Wednesday, October 31, 2012

China Glaze Glitter Goblin

Happy Halloween! I know, I'm a little late. But did you do anything fun tonight? I spent all night working, so no fun for me. I hope everyone on the east coast is staying safe and warm!

For my Halloween mani today, I went with China Glaze Glitter Goblin, a glitterbomb with orange and holographic silver glitter pieces. I almost layered this over black but decided to go with OPI Take The Stage, a metallic orange foil, at the last minute. I think that may have been a bit of a mistake since Take The Stage is so close in color to Glitter Goblin's orange glitter that only the silver glitter really pops. Oh well. At least the end result is still super sparkly!


 With flash:

Glitter Goblin isn't as opaque as I expected it to be. What you see here is three coats and while it may not be super noticeable in pictures given how similar my base is to the glitter, I still had pretty visable gaps in coverage, which was disappointing. As you can see in these pics, I also had some chipping and tipwear within 24 hours. Ugh!

I will probably try Glitter Goblin over a dark base at some point to see if I like this combo better when the orange can have a chance to really pop. I love how shiny and crazy sparkly the silver holo is, but overall I was a bit let down by this polish, at least in this combo. Any thoughts on some good underwear for it? I'm thinking maybe a deep navy might be fun!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Twinsie Tuesday: Darling Diva Invoke The Spirit

With Halloween just around the corner, this week's Twinsie Tuesday theme is a Halloween-inspired mani. I'm sure many of the girls will have some incredible nail art to show off today, but let's face it: nail art is not my strong point. So I decided to go with a Halloween polish that will do all of the work for me and provide some instant art: Darling Diva Invoke The Spirit!

Invoke The Spirit is a black jelly base filled with large iridescent hex glitters (in blue, green, orange and silver), silver holographic stars, green crescent moons and blue flakies that also glow in the dark! The overall effect reminds me a lot of planets in space. This has got to be my favorite Halloween polish I've ever tried!






So cool, right?! I love how inventive Darling Diva's owner, Carrie, is with her polishes. She is always playing with new colors, textures and shapes, so there's always something unique and interesting to try out in her line. I think Invoke The Spirit is one of her best polishes yet--instant planetary nails!--and the fact that it glows in the dark on top of all of its glittery awesomeness is just icing on the cake. My old-ass camera wouldn't cooperate for glow-in-the-dark shots, but the flakies have a bright neon blue glow to them once the lights are out.

Despite how packed with large glitter pieces Invoke The Spirit is, the formula is still fabulous. I used three coats here with Rimmel Black Satin as my base to intensify Invoke The Spirit's own black jelly base and really bring out the gorgeous iridescent colors. Those large hexes are so fun to look at and really pop off the nail! I think they're what sold me on this polish the most.

If you like Invoke The Spirit, don't wait! Carrie has said that once Halloween has come and gone, her Halloween polishes will be gone as well. You can purchase Darling Diva at Carrie's Etsy shop. Trust me, if you are a fan of Halloween or glitter, you need Invoke The Spirit!

In the "spirit" (ugh, sorry, I had to) for more Halloween fun? Then check out the other Twinsie Tuesday blogs below!


Amanda at Amandalandish
Anna at Going to the Showing
Anne at Grape Fizz Nails
Ashley at Art Evolve
Brandi at The Collegiate Nail
ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi
Cordia at Seriously Swatched
Elizabeth at Did My Nails
Jenn at All That Is Gorgeous
Jenna at I'm Still Thinking...
Katherine at Haul of Fame
Maribeth at Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite!
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Meredith at Polish and Charms
Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails
Rachel at Top Coat It
Sarah at See Sarah Swatch
Tara at Polishy of Truth

Sunday, October 28, 2012

China Glaze Cast A Spell

I've got one of my two picks from China Glaze's Awakening Collection to share with you today. Cast A Spell is a black base rich with antiqued gold shimmer. I knew I already had a couple polishes similar to this one (as detailed below), but I couldn't help myself!




The formula on Cast A Spell is flawless and covers in two coats. I love that while this polish has a black base, it doesn't look like one of those pesky near-black polishes. The gold shimmer really shines through and lights up the base beautifully.

Cast A Spell has been mentioned as a possible dupe for another CG polish, Wagon Trail, and while they definitely have similarities, they aren't dupes. The shimmer in Cast A Spell is chunkier and looks more like glitter pieces, whereas Wagon Trail is more of a traditional, more finely-grained shimmer, if that makes any sense. Cast A Spell also reminds me of Rainbow Honey Oni. Oni is a deep brown base and has a dash of purple shimmer in the mix that Cast A Spell doesn't have, but the two share that chunkier shimmer and have kind of the same vibe to them. While Cast A Spell isn't a dupe for either Oni or Wagon Trail, if you have one of those two, then I'd say you don't need Cast A Spell unless you are really into dark-based gold shimmers.

Darling Diva Regulus

I've been a bit lax on wearing all of my Halloween polishes. I don't really get into the spirit of holidays until just a few days before, so now I'm powering through the holiday polishes I've been neglecting. The one I'm about to show you today is a bit different from your normal Halloween fare though. Darling Diva Regulus is a bright magenta jelly filled with iridescent purple flakies, large red hex glitter and small green square glitter. I could not stop staring at this polish, it was ridiculous! The flakies are what really got me!





Ugh, don't those flakies just kill you?! So gorgeous! The overall formula is just about perfect and covers in three coats. I love that you can wear this alone without having to worry about that pesky VNL! As much as I enjoy coming up with combos for my indie glitters, sometimes it's fun to have a polish that takes all the guesswork out of of things for you.

Regulus is technically a Halloween polish and while normally I'm a bit OCD about wearing holiday polishes around their designated time of year, I would totally wear Regulus year-round. It's a really unique combination of colors, shapes and textures that I think works regardless of season.

Friday, October 26, 2012

OPI Mariah Carey Collection Preview

Following in the footsteps of celebs like Katy Perry and apparent rival Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey is getting her own OPI collection. The collection was announced back in August but bottle shots have just surfaced, along with the revelation that OPI is also unveiling a new finish with the Mariah collab called liquid sand. According to OPI, the liquid sand polishes will dry to a textured matte finish but still have glints of glittery sparkle to them. So long as the liquid sand finish isn't super gritty, I'm definitely game to try it out. Take a look at the collection below!

Top row, L to R (all liquid sand polishes): Can't Let Go, The Impossible, Stay The Night, Get Your Number
Bottom row, L to R: Pink Yet Lavender, Anti Bleak, Butterfly Moment, Sprung
I'm excited to see how the liquid sand finish looks and feels, but I'm not quite as jazzed for the other four polishes. I expected something a bit flashier from a collection with Mariah Carey's name on it. I'll definitely be checking this collection out though when it hits stores in January.

What about you? Are you a fan of Mariah's? Will you be picking any of these up come January?

OPI On Her Majesty's Secret Service

I've got another Skyfall stunner to share with you today! On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a beautiful smoky metallic blue with purple, pink, gold and green sparks. They flare when the light hits them like little fireworks going off! LOVE!





I love how complex this polish is and it's ten times more beautiful in person when you can really see all the different flecks of color up close. It's a lot like what I wanted Zoya Feifei to be. I've got no complaints on the formula. What you see here is three coats.

I almost didn't get this one because I thought it might be a redux of Feifei: amazing metallic rainbow duochrome awesomeness in the bottle, but kinda flat on the nail. I'm happy to say though that if On Her Majesty's Secret Service is just as stunning on the nail as it is in the bottle! If you like this or any of the other Skyfall polishes, be sure to pick them up sooner rather than later. Word is that the OPI warehouse is already sold out of the entire collection, so once the polishes already out there are gone, that's it!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Guest Post At See Sarah Swatch

I've got a guest post up at my friend and fellow glitter lover Sarah's blog See Sarah Swatch today! Want to learn more about this ridiculously neon indie you see below? Then click HERE to go directly to the post!

Naild'It Girls Gone Wild In Camo

Naild'It Girls Gone Wild In Camo is extremely unique. I can't think of another polish out there like this one. It's a mix of tan, yellow, orange, pink, red, green, black and brown glitters. It's a slew of traditionally fall colors with a girly twist. This is two coats of Girls Gone Wild In Camo over Nails Inc The Thames.





How cool is this?! I am obsessed! The formula is fab and covers in two coats. I really like how the colors pop over the grey base and it's just an all-around fun polish. Girls Gone Wild In Camo has unquestionably become one of my favorite fall polishes! I love the variety the Naild'It line has to offer and Girls Gone Wild In Camo is a prime example of what makes this brand so special.

Although I absolutely love this polish, I do want to mention that I have had some issues in my experience ordering from Nail'd It on Etsy, specifically with orders arriving incomplete. But both times I've had to contact the owner, Andrea, about missing polishes she has been very helpful, polite and prompt in fixing the problem. I was ultimately very satisfied with how she handled both situations, but like I said, I did want to make mention of the fact that I've had some problems. However, now there's also the option of ordering from another distributor too, if you like. You can purchase Nail'd It at Overall Beauty, Andrea's Etsy shop and Llarowe.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Nicole by OPI Selena Gomez Collection Preview

Along with big sister line OPI's Mariah Carey collaboration, NOPI will be launching a set of colors inspired by Selena Gomez this January. The collection will feature 14 new colors. Take a look!

Love Song
Confetti Fun
Pretty in Plum
Inner Sparkle
Hit The Lights
Stars at Night
Spring Break
Mi Fantasia
Scarlett
Naturally
Kissed at Midnight
Heavenly Angel
Sweet Dreams
Selena
 
I'm liking the look of Confetti Fun, Hit The Lights and Selena. What about you?

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Twinsie Tuesday: Cult Nails Captivated

This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme is a polish from our first swap. Coincidentally, my first swap was with a fellow Twinsie: Tara from Polishy of Truth. I got a ton of awesome polishes from Tara, including my very first Cult Nails: Captivated!

Captivated is a coral jelly packed with gold and coral glitter. The glitter has an almost iridescent quality to it and absolutely glows on the nail. Unfortunately it's been raining here the past few days (you may notice a raindrop on one of my fingers in the shots below) so I didn't have the best lighting to really show off Captivated's glow, but I hope how utterly gorgeous this polish is still comes across despite the crappy weather.



 
The formula on Captivated is thick, but the glitter still spreads evenly on the nail. You might want to give yourself a little bit of time between coats though to avoid any goopiness. I used three coats here. It's a jelly, but definitely still opaque enough to wear alone.
 
I totally love how glow-y Captivated is. I can't think of any other glitter in my collection that practically radiates light like Captivated does. It really is a stunning polish, so a big thanks to Tara for swapping me for it! Captivated was from Cult Nails' "A Day At The Races" Collection but thankfully it has become part of the brand's core line. You can purchase Cult Nails at the brand's official website.
 
Be sure to check out the other TT blogs today for more swapped polishes!

 


Amanda at Amandalandish
Anna at Going to the Showing
Anne at Grape Fizz Nails
Ashley at Art Evolve
Brandi at The Collegiate Nail
ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi
Cordia at Seriously Swatched
Elizabeth at Did My Nails
Jenn at All That Is Gorgeous
Jenna at I'm Still Thinking...
Katherine at Haul of Fame
Maribeth at Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite!
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Meredith at Polish and Charms
Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails
Rachel at Top Coat It
Sarah at See Sarah Swatch
Tara at Polishy of Truth

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Nicole by OPI Modern Family Preview

Coming this January, NOPI will unleash a collection of 14 new polishes inspired by ABC's hit comedy Modern Family. I've never really watched Modern Family but based on the popularity of the show, I'm guessing this collection will get a lot of buzz for NOPI. Check it out!

Am I Making Myself Claire?
I Do De-Claire
She's Lily Something
My Jay Or The Highway
A Like-Haley Story
Stand By Your Manny
Alex by the Books
Haley Good Lookin'
Basking In Gloria
Luke of the Draw
A Phil's Paradise
Candid Cameron
Back In My Gloria Days
What's The Mitch-uation
She's Lily Something and Haley Good Lookin' are standouts for me! What do you think, Modern Family fans? Do the names and colors do justice to the characters? Will you be picking any of these up come January?