Thursday, April 11, 2013

Pahlish Coney Island Queen

When I first saw Pahlish's Coney Island Queen Collection, inspired by the music of Lana Del Rey, I think I must have set a record for shortest time between finding out a polish collection exists and immediately, shamelessly purchasing all of it. My wallet practically vomited out money. Lana Del Rey-themed indies?! Take my money, Pahlish--take all of it! I'm obsessed with Ms. Del Rey, so I absolutely had to have these. :)

Let's take a look at the titular polish from this collection, shall we? Coney Island Queen is a sandy nude infused with shimmering gold microflakes. The gold really warms up the nude base. It's very pretty and beachy!




Coney Island Queen represents my favorite kind of neutral: appropriate for any occasion, but with a touch of fun and sparkle to keep things interesting. The formula is excellent too and covers in three coats. This polish definitely captures the feel of a day at the beach--the hot sand, the sunlight glinting over the water... Ugh, is it summer yet?!

You can purchase Pahlish on Etsy or Llarowe. I can't wait to try more polishes from this collection! Is there a particular celeb who you'd jump at the chance to have polish inspired/designed by them?

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Twinsie Tuesday: Rimmel Out Of Control

This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme is "sweet sixteen"--something you would have liked or worn at that age. The polish I chose for this theme isn't just something I would have liked at sixteen, but something I actually wore at that age: Rimmel Out Of Control. Out Of Control is one of the oldest polishes in my stash. I don't have many left from my high school days, but this is one of a handful that survived.

Out Of Control is a reddish orange packed with gold shimmer. It positively glows on the nail! I'm sure this polish was discontinued years ago but it still holds up after all these years!



The brush on the Play Fast polishes is broad and kinda square. It reminds me a bit of my least favorite brush ever: NOPI's ironically named "Perfect Stroke" brush. But other than that, I really can't complain. The shimmer and shine is totally to die for. It's so dense and vibrant that it freaked my camera out a bit. Out Of Control is a total stunner and I wish Rimmel still made it! I feel like their nail polish line has gotten a lot blander over the years, which is a shame because I have quite a few old Rimmels and they're all awesome!

How has your taste in polish changed since your high school days? Now, I definitely wear a lot more glitter (learning tricks to remove it definitely helped) and I buy from many different brands. My old (and obviously much smaller) polish collection from high school was almost all Rimmel and NYC. I'm excited to check out how my fellow Twinsies' tastes have changed too!



Amanda at Amandalandish
Anna at Going to the Showing
Anne at Grape Fizz Nails
Ashley at Art Evolve
Brandi at The Beaulieu Review
ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi
Cordia at Seriously Swatched
Elizabeth at Did My Nails
Jamie at Polish, Please!
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

Monday, April 8, 2013

Butter London Summer Holiday Preview



Butter London's newest collection, Summer Holiday, features six polishes designed to compliment your summer tan. The collection is already available on Butter London's website and will hopefully be hitting store shelves soon! Take a look at what's in store!

Butter-London-Summer-Holiday-2013-nail-polish-collection
L to R: Bit Faker, Sun Baker, Champers, Poole, Marbs, Bobby Dazzler

I think Poole, Sun Baker and Bit Faker all look like fun shades. I am not one for tanning, but I'm sure I could still rock these! ;)

See any you'll be picking up? What colors do you like to wear during the summer months?

Sunday, April 7, 2013

OPI San Francisco Collection Preview

It may only be April, but we're already getting a look at OPI's fall collection, a set of 12 lacquers inspired by the city of San Francisco! Check out this sneak peek below!


What do you think? The San Francisco Collection will be hitting shelves on August 7, so we've got a long ways to go, but I've definitely got Alcatraz...Rocks!, Muir Muir on the Wall and Peace & Love & OPI on my wishlist. 

Saturday, April 6, 2013

China Glaze OMG A UFO

The China Glaze Hologlam Collection was an enormous disappointment for me. It was marketed as the second coming of the OMG holos, but I found the swatches really underwhelming. I went from thinking I was going to get all of them to feeling like I didn't need any. I was planning to skip the collection altogether, but I had a Sally coupon the other day, so I picked up OMG A UFO, a mossy green. This was the only polish from the collection that really stuck out to me at all (I can never resist a green, you know) and since it was only a buck or two with my coupon, I figured I'd give it a go.



I used three coats here and the formula didn't give me any trouble at all. I didn't use any topcoat or basecoat for this mani. OMG A UFO is a fun, pretty polish, but I'd be a lot more enthusiastic about it if the prices for the Hologlam Collection weren't hiked up so much. The holo isn't all that strong in these polishes (although from what I can tell from swatches, this is one of the stronger ones), so that makes the $14 asking price really tough for me to stomach. I definitely would not have paid full price for this! OMG A UFO is not a bad polish, but there are better, more affordable holos out there. I'd recommend spending your money on some Color Club Halo Hues or an indie brand holo instead.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Rainbow Honey Robot Collection: Review & Swatches






I am back--and not a moment to soon, if you ask me, because the new Rainbow Honey Robot Collection launches TODAY at the Rainbow Honey website and participating retail partners! I have been dying to share these pretties with you! The Robot Collection is a stunning set of six polishes: five sparkling metallics and one glitter topper. These polishes are kind of like the lovechild of a foil and a chrome. They have the sparkle of a metallic foil, partnered with the smooth, mirror-like finish of a chrome. Love it!

First up is Dusty Bot, a metallic lavender. You don't see pastel metallics very often but I really enjoyed this one. It's got a lovely sparkle to it and the color is perfect for spring!



Skyward Bot is a metallic cerulean blue. This is probably my favorite of all the Robot Collection polishes. Not only is it a beautiful shade of blue, it absolutely gleams when the sunlight hits it. So stunning! Skyward Bot reminds me of a Sally Hansen I used to have, a blue from their old chrome collection, back in the day. *memories*



Lucky Bot is a pale green metallic. This is a bit of an unusual color, but I think it's fun. I like the paleness it has; seems to fit very well with the spring season to me. I have a ton of greens in my stash, but this one is quite unique!



Bitty Love Bot is an icy aqua. This is a much lighter shade of blue than Skyward Bot and has more green in its base. It's almost a seafoam-type color. Like Skyward Bot though, this is another real stunner!



Femme Bot is a metallic peony. It's not quite pink, not quite purple. There are these little pink flecks in Femme Bot that I find really fascinating to look at. I think this is one of those polishes you have to see in person to truly appreciate how cool and special it is. There's a lot of depth and dimension to it.



Last but certainly not least is Yoshimi, a layering glitter with black and white matte squares, plus a sprinkling of iridescence. Yoshimi is absolutely packed with glitter, so there's no need for fishing or placing. Just paint and enjoy! I love the mod, confetti-esque look this has on the nail.



The formula on these polishes is absolutely divine. They are not streaky, frosty or brushstroke-y. These are truly metallics done right! They're a dream to apply and have that smooth, molten metal look that I'm such a big fan of. Lucky Bot was the only one that felt a touch thick to me, but otherwise, these are flawless. All are two-coaters, except Lucky Bot, which took three.

The Robot Collection also marks the debut of Rainbow Honey's re-designed mini bottles, so I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the new bottles. They contain 3.75 fl oz and are a completely different shape than their old minis, which were basically shorter versions of the full-size bottles. I gotta say, I was a bit skeptical when I first saw them, but now that I've actually painted my nails with them, I can honestly say these are the most user-friendly mini bottles I've ever worked with--and this is coming from someone who usually hates minis! I was extremely impressed with the design on these though. The bottles are long and cylindrical in shape, which allows for a full sized brush and a slimmer cap. The minis are just as easy to use as full-sized polishes. I wish more brands would do their minis like this!


Overall, I love this collection! It's a tough call, but I'd say my favorites are Skyward Bot, Bitty Love Bot and Femme Bot, although all are truly fabulous polishes! I've really enjoyed watching Rainbow Honey expand and evolve as a brand while still remaining true to their core aesthetic: cute, colorful and quirky. They continue to impress with each new collection and I can't wait to see what's next!


Disclosure: These polishes were sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Guest Post: Elizabeth From Did My Nails

Hello, everyone! Hope you are having a good week so far. I feel like mine has gone by in a flash! My burn is looking and feeling a lot better, so I'm hoping to be back in action very soon. I have been wearing the same nail polish for four days straight and this is obviously not okay. First world problems.

But in the meantime, I've got another fabulous guest poster to keep you entertained today: my pal Elizabeth from Did My Nails! Elizabeth is not only one of the funniest, kindest bloggers I know, but the girl does some great nail art too! (Check out this gorgeous floral mani she did for a guest post on Nailed HERE. Stunning!) So without further ado, I'll let Elizabeth take over from here and share another one of her beautiful creations with us! Enjoy! :)

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Hi, Nailed readers! This is Elizabeth, from Did My Nails, and I'm so grateful to Chelsea for her invitation to fill in today! This manicure started out as something completely different, but once I had my base colour on, my mind sort of wandered. I just wasn't excited about my original idea anymore, but then I remembered this pretty design by Simply Rins and thought I'd try something similar.


The base colour is Docile D224, a scattered holo that's a lot less intense on the nail than it is in the bottle, but I still like the way the tiny bits of sparkle add some texture to the black. Also the brand name "Docile" cracks me up. After that, I used acrylic paint for the flowers and leaves, roughly dotting the flower shapes, then swirling on the white highlights. Rins also had some adorable little polka dots speckled throughout the emptier spaces, but I decided to leave them out, rather than have them compete with the holo...and because I was so happy with my little flowers that I didn't want to press my luck. One of my ongoing challenges in learning how to do nail art is knowing when to put the brush down and walk away before I add "one more thing" that goes wrong or ends up being too much, so rather than trying to copy Rins exactly, I decided to stop while I was ahead.


Overall I was really happy with how these turned out! Close up, they were bright and colourful, and from arm's length, they blended into a sort of Laura Ashley meets nighttime glam that I'll definitely wear again. So, huge thanks to Simply Rins for the inspiration, and many, many thanks to Chelsea for having me as a guest on Nailed!