L'Oreal Safari Chic

   A few months ago L'Oreal introduced a whole new line of Colour Riche nail polishes.  I want to say there are around 42 new shades that are widely available at most drug stores and other mass retailers.  L'Oreal claims the polishes give a 10-day wear, but I haven't tested this.  If any of you have I would love to hear your results in the comments below.

   I bought 2 colors from the line that looked the most interesting to me.  The first I'm going to show you is Safari Chic.

   Safari Chic is a sage green polish with a micro-shimmer of silver, pink, and either blue or green, I had a hard time trying to decide which it is, or if it's a combination of the two.  You can see the shimmer in the bottle, but it really doesn't translate to the nail.  On, Safari Chic really looks like a creme.  The polish dries much darker on than in the bottle.  But I had no issues with the formula or application.  Pigmentation was good and I only needed 2 coats for full coverage.  I used Beauty Secrets Ridgefiller for my base and no top coat.

Direct Sun

Shade

Indoor

   I like the color a lot.  But I'm a bit disappointed that the shimmer doesn't show on the nail.  The shimmer is what made the polish appeal to me.  Without it, I feel the color is more familiar and similar to other polishes I have. 

China Glaze On Safari Press Release

Please enjoy the following press release from China Glaze for their upcoming Fall 2012 On Safari Collection:

UNTAMED COLOUR AWAITS YOU

China Glaze® Introduces 12 New Crèmes and Glitters for Fall 2012

Los Angeles, CA – (June 2012):  China Glaze® nail lacquer invites you to take an exotic expedition with its Fall 2012 collection, On Safari.  Be captivated by the earthy tones, rich plums and celestial sparkles that make up this adventurous assortment of polishes.

The China Glaze® On Safari features 10 rich crèmes and two glitters including:

·         Kalahari Kiss: Light sand brown

·         I’m Not Lion: Glistening gold and multi-color glitter

·         Call of the Wild: Beautiful chocolate brown-dark cherry blend

·         Adventure Red-y: Vivid red

·         Desert Sun: Delicious caramel

·         I Herd That: Brilliant copper glitter

·         Man Hunt: Bold cobalt blue

·         Exotic Encounters: Lush green crème with blue undertones

·         Elephant Walk: Cool graphite grey

·         Jungle Queen: Smoky violet

·         Purr-fect Plum: Bold burgundy

·         Prey Tell: Daringly dark red

On Safari is also available in:

·         6-piece “Native” Collection: Man Hunt, Exotic Encounters, Elephant Walk, Jungle Queen, Purr-fect Plum and Prey Tell

·         6-piece “Tourist” Collection: Kalahari Kiss, I’m Not Lion, Call of the Wild, Adventure Red-y, Desert Sun and I Herd That

·         12-piece counter display

The China Glaze® On Safari collection will be available at fine salons and beauty supply stores nationwide in July 2012.  Individual polishes retail for $7 MSRP; the 6-piece sets retail for $42 MSRP.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

Zoya Reagan and Carly

   Fun fact, this is my 200th post.  So yay!  Ok, enough rejoicing.  For this special post I'm bringing you the first of my Zoya Beach and Surf swatches.  My plan is to show you the corresponding colors from the two collections together.  I'm starting with Reagan from the Beach collection and Carly from the Surf collection.

Reagan

   Reagan is a red-purple creme polish.  I would almost call it a purple tinged pink.  Formula and application were excellent and it dries very shiny.  I used China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat, no top coat, and 1 coat of polish.  Yes, this is a one coat polish.

Direct Sun

Shade

Indoor

Carly

   Carly is a red-based purple metallic foil with silver micro-glitter.  Formula and application were good, but the silver micro-glitter will stick to your skin.  I again used China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat and no top coat, and like Reagan, Carly is a one coat polish.

Indirect Sun

  

Indoor

   Reagan is a very bright, fun summer shade.  Carly is much darker, but definitely my favorite of the two.  The rest of the Beach and Surf collection colors correspond more than these two do, but they could make a good mani/pedi combo.

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were sent to my by the company for consideration.

How I Moved My Polish Collection

   Moving nail polish is no easy task.  Especially when you have a large collection.  Long distances up the risk even more.  Moving companies and storage/shipping cubes won't allow polish, or other flammable and combustible items.  Which basically leaves mailing your polish, ground shipping only, or taking it in your car with you.  For me, mailing wasn't a cost effective option so in the car it had to go.  

   The next hurdle was how to pack the polish to best prevent breaks and explosions.  I say explosions because we were driving across the middle of the country and in the desert at the end of May, so temps were already reaching the 90s in some areas.  Heat and polish do not mix well.   My solution was to wrap each polish individually in paper and tightly pack as many as possible into a big red cooler lined with a trash bag and bubble wrap.  I figured the cooler would help insulate the polish from the heat.  The ones that wouldn't fit, or were still in the boxes they were sold in, went in a few other boxes, again wrapped individually for the most part and surrounded by bubble wrap.  Wrapping each polish prevents the glass bottles from constantly bumping against each other.  That jostling can often lead to breaks.  Here's a picture of the cooler with polish in it:

   I packed the cooler as tightly as possible to avoid as much movement as possible.  I was really glad to have someone else to lift the cooler once it was packed, because it was HEAVY.  I filled the cooler as far as I could, but I did have to pack a few other boxes as well.  I used the cooler, the 3 boxes on top of it, and the photo box in front:

   And this is after I purged quite a bit.  But I am happy to report that everything survived.  4 or 5 polishes leaked just a little, but there were no breaks or explosions.  So while this might not have been the best solution, it worked for me and maybe will give someone else some ideas in the future for moving a large collection.  This is just a fun shot of my floor after I unpacked the cooler:

China Glaze Smoke and Ashes

   Getting back to reviews now I promise.  I have lots of fun stuff to catch up on and show you guys.  Today's post is Smoke and Ashes from the China Glaze Hunger Games collection. 

   Smoke and Ashes is a very dark, almost black, base with Evergreen shimmer/mini flakes.  I can definitely see where the name comes from.  On the nail the base looks mostly black, but the shimmer does help the green come through in most light.  The formula and application were both nice and I only needed 1 coat for full coverage.  I used Beauty Secrets Ridge Filler base coat and no top coat.

 Sun

Shade

Indoor

   Sorry the pictures are a little blurry, my camera did not want to fully capture this polish.  The shimmer and flakes are more apparent in person.  The shimmer will stick to your skin, as you can see above, but washes off pretty easily.  If you like dark colors and shimmers, I would recommend this polish.  It's not one I see myself wearing a lot, but I'm sure it will make an appearance in the fall.

Disclaimer:  The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration.

Our Cross Country Road Trip

   Hey look everyone I'm still alive!!!  The hubby and I successfully made it from Georgia to California without killing each other during the 40 hour car drive.  Even more miraculously, all of my polish appears to have survived as well.  I'll tell you more about that later.  

   I obviously have lots of reviews to catch up on and will start those tomorrow.  But today I thought I would share some of the waaaaay too many pictures I took along the way.  While there are some very boring stretches of just highway on the trip, there are also some EXTREMELY gorgeous areas too.  I don't necessarily remember exactly where all the shots were taken, but I'll let you know as close as possible, or at least a state if I can.  Most of these were taken with my phone through the car window so please excuse any blurriness or road grime.

Day 1:

We started out by packing up all the essentials into the car.

I was impressed we were able to see out of the back window still.

This is the lower Appalachian Mountains.  This was either in Georgia or Alabama, but I'm not really sure which.  I didn't take many shots the first part of the trip since it's the area I've lived in most of my life.

Crossing into Mississippi

Dinner was at Uncle Lou's in Memphis, which was featured on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  The food was excellent and if you're in Memphis I recommend it.

Around sunset we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas, where we stopped for the night in Little Rock.  Just before the river is a random pyramid in Memphis that I can't explain.