Ninja Polish Nebula

   Happy Friday all.  I hope you all have had a good week.  Aside from a migraine early in the week mine's been pretty good, just busy.  Today I have a gorgeous polish from Ninja Polish to show you.  For those of you not familiar with Ninja Polish they carry not only their own brand of polish, but also some other indie polish brands and brands from other countries that are harder to get in the US.

   Nebula is a multi-chrome holographic glitter polish.  The base is clear and jam packed with tiny glitters that shift from green to teal to purple and some holographic glitters.  It's sheer enough that you can use it as a glitter top coat over another polish but can also be built up and worn on its own.  If you want to wear it alone I would suggest thicker coats to keep down the number of layers.  You will still have a few sparse spots, but this polish is so sparkly and blingy that you won't notice them for the most part.  
   I found the formula to be good and application was easy, especially for a glitter polish.  For the photos below I used 3 coats of Nebula over a base of Orly Bonder and Duri Rejuvacote.  For my topcoat I did one layer of Gelous to help smooth out everything and a final layer of NYC Grand Central Station for a quick dry time.

Indirect Sun

Indoor Blurred

    I did a blurred shot to show you the holographic glitters.  Please click on the photos above for an enlarged view to see the color shift better.  I wore this as my Fourth of July mani to give a fireworks effect to my nails.  I loved the color shift and rainbows that showed up in all different types of lighting.  The biggest issue I had was how distracting it was, especially when I was driving.  The colors are extremely hard to capture in photos and trust me this is much more beautiful in person.  If you like multi-chromos or holographic glitters, I highly recommend Nebula.  The price was $9 plus a few dollars for shipping, which I found very reasonable for an indie polish.

China Glaze Sunday Funday and Graffiti Glitter

PRESS SAMPLES

   How's everyone's week going?  Good I hope.  I'm in the middle of Semi-Annual Sale at work which is always one of our busiest times of the year.  So a fun bright blue is just what I need right now.

   Sunday Funday is a bright aqua creme from the Avant Garden collection.  Application was nice, but the formula was a bit runny.  
   Have any of you been having brush issues lately with China Glaze?  I've gotten several bottles lately, this one included, where my brush is kind of mop-like.  By that I mean the bristles are really fluffy and soft so they soak up a lot of extra polish and spread the polish out too much.  
   I used 2 coats of polish over Finger Paints base coat and no top coat in the following photos.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Graffiti Glitter is an emerald green and black glitter mix from the Glitz collection.  The glitter mix is the same as the rest of the collection.  The formula was on the thinner side again.  For application I dabbed one thick line down the center of each nail and then brushed out to the edges to get desired coverage.  This is one coat over Sunday Funday and no top coat in the following photos.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

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

China Glaze Budding Romance and Razzle Me, Dazzle Me

 PRESS SAMPLES

  I have been so busy lately it's crazy.  I'm not even sure what day it is most of the time.  I hope you've all been well.  I'm going to try to finish up my China Glaze Avant Garden and Glitz collection reviews this week.  Posts will probably remain a bit sporadic for a while after that unfortunately.  I'm hoping though to get in a routine soon, or that work will settle down some, so I can get back on track with reviews.  If there are any polishes or collections that anyone would specifically like to see, please post a comment and I will make sure to put them on the top of my list.

   Budding Romance is a moss green jelly from the Avant Garden collection.  This is a very yellow based green.  Formula and application are good.  Because this is a jelly, you will need more coats for full coverage.  I used 3 coats over Finger Paints base coat in the photos below.  I did not use a top coat.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Razzle Me, Dazzle Me is a mix of extremely pale pink and black glitter from the Glitz collection.  The glitters are a mix of multi-size and color hex glitters and small black bar glitters.  The formula is thicker on this polish than the previous ones from the collection and gives more dense coverage.  I'm planning to add thinner before I use it again.  The dabbing method instead of brushing directly on the nail still works better though.  The following pictures are one dabbed coat over Budding Romance.

Direct Sun

Indoor with Flash

   Budding Romance is what I would call an ugly pretty color.  I really like it, but it's not a traditionally pretty shade.  It reminds me of new plant growth, especially leaves.  My favorite part though is that it's a jelly.  I added one more thin coat over Razzle Me and I think it makes a really nice combo sandwiched like that.

   What do you all think?  Are you fans of the jelly sandwich look?  Let me know what you think.

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

Color Club Wild Cactus

   During my last beauty supply trip, not only did I find the new Color Club Kaleidoscope collection, but also the new Fiesta collection for Spring '13.  The Fiesta collection is already up on the Cosmetic Group website, so I know this is a Spring collection.

   Wild Cactus is an emerald green creme.  If you haven't heard yet, Emerald is the Pantone color of the year, so we will be seeing lots of it this year.  Application was good and the formula was decent, just a little thick.  I didn't have any issues with the slight thickness.  In fact I think it helped application.  I used 2 coats for full coverage over Nail Tek Foundation II base and did not use a top coat.  

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Wild Cactus is very bright in the sun.  Not neon bright, just vibrant.  With this shade of green I would not be surprised to see some staining, so you might want to wear extra base coat just in case.

   In case you're wondering, Wild Cactus is several shades darker than Abyss.  Here is a side by side bottle comparison of the two.

   Abyss is on the left and Wild Cactus is on the right.  The difference is more noticeable in person I promise, but you can still see they are not dupes.  You can also see that Abyss is bluer than Wild Cactus.

St. Patty's Day Nail Looks from CND

   Does everyone have their mani picked out for Sunday?  I'm still deciding what I'm going to do, but obviously green will play a big part.  I want to avoid being pinched all day at work after all.  If you're also still thinking over your options, check out these ideas from CND Shellac.

Lucky Charms (for your nails!)

With St. Patty’s day just around the corner, it’s time to channel your inner leprechaun and start prepping for the festivities! If you’re not thrilled about the prospect of drawing green freckles on your face, CND has some much chicer options for you.

New for Spring, CND Shellac in Limeade is the perfect way to subtly sport your Irish spirit - or try one of these other fashion-forward looks if you’re feeling a bit more daring. Your friends will be green with envy! To locate a CND Shellac Certified Salon near you, please visit www.cnd.com/find-salon. 

Shellac in Limeade

 

Lemon & Lime can be created using:

CND Shellac in Cream Puff

CND Additive in Yellow

CND Additive in Cerulean Blue

Green Tea can be created using:

CND Additive in Cerulean Blue

CND Additive in Medium Green

CND Additive in Spectrum-Shimmer

CND Additive in Antique Bronze

Iced Lime can be created using:

CND Shellac in Iced Coral

CND Additive in Yellow

CND Additive in Cerulean Blue

 

Serpentine can be created using:

CND Shellac in Hotski to Tchotchke

CND Shellac in Asphalt

CND Shellac in Black Pool

 

Oxidized Metal can be created using:

CND Shellac in Dark Lava

CND Shellac in Iced Coral

 

 

CND Shellac is a professional salon service product. Manicure prices typically range from $25-$45 and pedicures from $40-$60 depending on location. Visit cnd.com to find a salon near you.

 

Do any of these looks strike your fancy?  I'm thinking about trying to replicate the Serpentine look myself. 

Butter London Trustafarian

   Continuing my Butter London theme this week, today I have a polish from their Fall 2012 collection.

   Trustafarian is a celery, or sage, green scattered holo.  The formula was good and I got a smooth application over my regular Finger Paints base coat.  Some holos are very streaky without a special base coat.  Luckily this is not one of those.  Trustafarian is a bit sheer and I needed 3 coats for full opacity.  Be careful with the coats though, as brushstrokes will show.  Especially inside and in low light.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Trustafarian is not a strong holo.  But you can definitely see the holo in the sun.  So far, I've been impressed with all the Butter London polishes I've tried.  If you haven't tried any yet, I would recommend the brand.  If you can find it on a good sale.

Zoya Lovely Part 1

I have the first half of the Zoya Lovely collection from Spring 2013.  The first half consists of 3 pastel creme polishes- Jacqueline, Neely, and Blu.  I used Finger Paints base coat and no top coat for all of these photos.

Jacqueline

   Jacqueline is a nude creme with a slightly yellow base.  The consistency was a bit thick, which I kind of liked, but it made application less smooth.  The polish didn't self-level very quickly which led to the first coat streaky and patchy.  Because of this I needed 3 coats for full coverage.  I also hated this with my skin tone, though others said it looked ok.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Neely

   Neely is a pale mint green creme.  It reminds me of the base of mint chocolate chip ice cream.  The formula was thinner than Jacqueline, more like what you normally expect from a Zoya polish.  Application was decent, less streaky on the first coat, but still a bit patchy.  I only needed 2 coats for full coverage.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Blu

   Blu is a very pale blue creme.  I get a very icy feel from the polish.  Formula and application is the best of the 3 cremes of the collection.  There was no major streaking and only needed 2 coats for full coverage.  Blu is very bright for a pastel, possibly from the amount of white in the base.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

   My pick of the cremes is Blu with Neely a somewhat close second.  

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

Zoya Diva Collection Part 2

   Today I have the second half of the Zoya Diva collection for Fall 2012 to show you.  I used Finger Paints base coat and no top coat for all swatches.

Ray

   Ray is a deep forest green shimmer.  This is darker than a Christmas green.  I didn't have any issues with formula or application.  I did notice a bit of streaking if I used thin coats and there are a few more brush strokes than the other shimmers in this collection.  I used 2 coats for these photos.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

Fei Fei

   Fei Fei is a blue based grey toned micro glitter with gold and pink particles.  I want to call the base almost steel colored.  It's very hard to describe, at least for me.  I used 3 coats for these photos, but you could probably get away with 2 coats if you use thick, even coats.  I had no issues with formula or application.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

Daul

   Daul is a purple micro glitter with gold particles.  There's a lit from within quality from the gold.  My brush is a bit wonky, but aside from that I had no issues with formula or application.  I used 3 coats for these photos.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Fei Fei is by far my favorite of the entire Diva collection.  If you haven't picked it up yet you should.  My pictures really don't do the polish true justice. 

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