day one hundred and nineteen, lippmann collection superstar

here's a good one for a new year's eve celebration (steve and i are happily laying low at home...spaghetti and meatballs and maybe some cookies later on!), it's from the lippmann collection 10th anniversary set. i am loving the two polishes i have tried so far from this collection (ruby red slippers and this one, superstar). they are JAM PACKED with glitter and wear like iron. they're just fun and eye-catching. i like this one because it's even more interesting than it appears. it isn't just bronze glitter on a sheer black base, it's all different shades of brown glitter mixed together and it glows in the light (which actually came out this afternoon!).

however...this is a chunky, chunky polish. i put on TWO layers of topcoat and it still wasn't smooth..but it did fill in the gaps amongst the glitter bits so it didn't catch on anything. less annoying to remove than ruby red slippers (i used a better cloth for removal this time)...just a good, fun colour...perfect for the holiday!

happy end of 2009 everyone!

day one hundred and eighteen, creative nail design hyde in the dark

so i took advantage of the full 5 minutes of sunshine we had today. weather has been completely rubbish! this is an old (no longer produced) creative nail design polish (from before they rebranded) called hyde in the dark. it's an awesome dark gunmetal that definitely is more black than silver but i adore it. it can't quite pass for silver unless under really bright sunlight but it doesn't make it any less beautiful. it also makes a good base for konad...i got new plates in today so i will try them and obviously post the results when they are acceptable. the problem with this manicure was i put a topcoat on before the design was completely dry so it streaked.

if you have any of these old CND polishes they make for great konad stamping polishes, thick and opaque...exactly what you want in a stamping polish!

day one hundred and seventeen, diamond cosmetics never so evergreen

okay! adding the commentary now that yesterday's migraine is thankfully history!!!


i know. i love diamond cosmetics. they're just amazing!!! BUT i did place an order for some bb couture nail polishes over at www.overallbeauty.com so i will have a new brand to debut in a few weeks while it wings its way across the atlantic. this is part of the whole...smoked out trend. it is like orbis non sufficit except a different shade of green and this has a definite antique golden shimmer running throughout. i know it almost looks grey...but i promise it is a dusky green. there has been NO sunshine in london the last 48 hours, very dark and rainy so i held my hand next to a lightbulb and this was the closest to accurate i got!

as always, a great colour and only $2/bottle

day one hundred and sixteen, essie it's genius

okay. today's awesome polish is 'it's genius' by essie. whihc i bought and forgot about because it fell down behind my bedside table (which is where the polish i'm most excited to swath tends to reside). it's an intriguing colour...it's purple and magenta at the same time but really elegant. it also is full of shimmer, it reminds me of the china glaze glass fleck shimmer. i really like it, it's professional and fun but not totally outrageous. i also am trying to teach myself to be less bad at konad. this design didn't come out too clearly because i used a diamond cosmetics polish for stamping and it wasn't quite thick enough. i have some more plates on their way and if the designs don't look too bad on my nails i'll show them!

day one hundred and fifteen, misa on the edge

here is one that restores my faith in misa. i love misa! on the edge is an awesome deep blue colour that is totally different from china glaze 'bermuda breakaway' so you can easily justify owning both!!! i had trouble capturing on film the differences....but misa is definitely a lighter dark blue. it never looks black, it's very vibrant without being a neon...this makes me happy beacuse it reminds me how much i love misa and why they are so fabulous!

day one hundred and fourteen, orly prince charming, opi mamma mia

here's something a little different. this is my second to last orly (ya rly!) polish in my collection, also from the fairy tale collection (i swear one day i'll write about a collection and remember it's name! but to me..just knowing the polish name is the most important, you can find the collection from the name on your own if you wish!). it's a nice brown colour...a nice creme. but i had it on and wanted something more. creative nail design (CND) redesigned their brand awhile back and added 'effect' polishes which are sheer polishes you can layer on top of other polishes to create a specific effect. i don't own any of these polishes but i do own sheer polishes and i used one, mamma mia (from the same collection as la boheme and rent) to give this (kinda boring) brown a pink shimmer. it's really obvious in daylight (and really pretty) but it doesn't overpower the polish. i'm really quite pleased with the results, especially because it doesn't detract from the brown of the original polish!!!

i've already broken my no nail polish till february ban...i did some damage at the illamasqua counter in selfridges today. unfortunately their polishes weren't on sale but they will make their debut here shortly. one colour has totally revitalised my love of purple...so stay tuned in about a week's time (the next 7 days of polish have already been determined)

happy boxing day....4 christmases in the UK and i still don't see a purpose to boxing day. it doesn't even have anything to do with boxing!

day one hundred and thirteen, diamond cosmetics seafoam spray

as we say in the UK, 'Happy Crimbo!' to those who celebrate, and happy friday to anyone (like me) who doesn't! my boyfriend celebrates christmas so i go along with it because it is important to him. he and i will be making our first ever christmas dinner by ourselves (usually we are at his parent's house in Gloucester) and i'm a bit nervous! so this is my 'Christmas' manicure.

this season (in the 'nail polish world') mint green has been HUGE. i mean...HUGE!!!! i only own two mint ones, peppermint pattie (by MAC) and this colour, seafoam spray by the ever fantastic diamond cosmetics. i'm going to keep pimping this brand until the day i die, $2/bottle just blows me mind (especially after i spent £15 on a bottle of Nails Inc polish and was incredibly disappointed). the biggest mint green of the year has been 'Jade' by Chanel. this colour never came to the UK (but you can technically buy it on ebay...though i would recommend against it as you are going to pay at least £90 for it...and don't give in to scalpers people! don't encourage them no matter how much you want it! i know i've never seen jade in person..but nail polish is just NOT WORTH £90! [okay...rant over!]). so even though i haven't seen Jade i do feel like this one comes pretty close. the main thing that all other mint greens couldn't capture was the subtle shimmer of Jade. and while this doesn't have a subtle shimmer it has a really pretty gold effect that is definitely visible. it isn't just a plain mint green like Peppermint Pattie (or it's dupe, MintGreen by the awesome BarryM). it has something special to it. it's very pretty, very soft and kind of reminds me of pillows...even though i've never seen a pillow this colour. it's just a really lovely colour!! it's eye catching and not garish..just really soft and beautiful!

have a great day whether you open presents or just go to the cinema and eat chinese food!

x
sara

day one hundred and twelve, china glaze let's groove

happy chrismtas eve to those who celebrate, thankfully chanukah is over so the two don't conflict. i grew up in a jewish neighbourhood in los angeles so it's still a shock to me (after 5 years) just how important christmas is in the UK, it's a HUGE deal! so here is a lovely, non traditional red or green celebratory colour.

let's groove is a beautiful deep purple from china glaze and in addition to the typical (gorgeous) glass flecked shimmer china glaze is known for...it also has rainbow microshimmer. it's hard to describe but i think i captured it pretty accurately. it's not as reflective as the prismatic shimmer from yesterday's designer series, it's much more mellow. when the light hits it just right it has all this colourful red, silver...tons of colourful shimmer. i like that it is subtle because it allows the purple to really shine. this is definitely worth getting over my weird purple aversion (i hope it wears off soon...i have so many purples to show you!)

and excuse the messiness of my pointer finger, my cuticle is going renegade so it makes for not-so-perfect looking polish application!

day one hundred and eleven, zoya kotori

okay. i might get hated for this post. this is zoya, kotori. a really nice light blue shimmer on a thin jelly black base. this polish is on the thin side, in order to get this opacity i did about 4 coats. this is a really pretty polish...but i just don't love it. i never have. there's nothing WRONG with it...it just doesn't do anything for me. i wish it did...it's really nice. it doesn't really have a place on any of my favourite lists..it's just...nice. so, here is a nice polish: