China Glaze VIII

Today I will show you China Glaze VIII. It's a basic eggplant creme that was released with China Glaze's X collection in Fall 2007, to celebrate their tenth anniversary. The colors were all named with Roman numerals, and frankly they are pretty much as boring as the names. I do like this one though. It's very opaque, almost solid in 1 coat but perfect in 2.

I didn't bother with shade pictures, because it just looks black in the shade. The formula was ok. Thick but manageable, for the most part.

As you can see, I had some difficulty getting a clean line at the cuticle because of the thickness of the polish, so I'll definitely thin it before I use it again. It's a very elegant color though.

I don't feel that this color is particularly unique, but most of the similar colors I can think of are much much warmer, like SHCSM Pat on the Black. OPI Lincoln Park after Dark is darker and warmer. Zoya Monica is lighter and cooler. VIII is core at Sally Beauty Supply though, so if you're after it, nothing to worry about.

Have you tried VIII? Thoughts?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and have a great week!

China Glaze White Cap

China Glaze White Cap was released with the Anchors Away collection for Spring 2011. It consists of yellow-gold flecks in a sheer white base. It works well as a layering polish, especially over Sea Spray (from the same collection), but I wanted to try to replicate the look in the bottle. I started with 3 coats of OPI Ridge Filler, and used 3 coats of White Cap on top. In the shade:

In the sun:

Totally not my usual kind of look, but I dig it.

For some reason, when I started writing this post, I figured, "Oh, White Cap probably has tons of dupes out there." Except now I can't really think of any? CND Jade Sparkle has a very similar look, but is in a clear base, so it's more versatile. Aside from that...I got nothing.

Thoughts? Have you tried White Cap, or anything similar? Did you like it? What kinds of base colors would you pair with it?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and have a great weekend!

Illamasqua Charisma

Illamasqua Charisma was released with the Generation Q Collection for Fall/Winter 2012. It consists of a berry base with red and gold shimmer. This is 3 coats, with top coat, in the shade.

And in the sun:

The formula was great. It's solid in 2 coats, but I found that a third added depth. I'm one of those people that never ever matches my tips and toes because I find it boring, but I love this color enough that I sported Charisma tips and toes for a week straight. Here's another sunlight pic, because...why not.

OPI Diva of Geneva is similar, but it's much cooler-toned, with pink and purple leanings. Charisma is definitely warm. As it's a berry shimmer, I'm sure there are other similar colors, but Diva of Geneva is the only one I can think of at the moment. Either way, it's awesome.

Have you tried Charisma, or any similar colors? Thoughts?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and I hope you're having a great week!

Sephora Pantone Violet Quartz

Sephora Pantone Violet Quartz was released sometime last summer or fall. It is a warm purple duochrome with a coppery shift. 3 coats for opacity. In the shade:

It's a bit warmer in person, but the above photo is mostly accurate. In the sun, Violet Quartz does this really weird thing and a sort of silvery sheen appears? Not a fan of that, but at least it only shows up in bright, direct light.

But in most lighting situations, it looks AWESOME. Check out the color shift. Advance apologies for my dry, awkward hands.

I didn't even have to layer it over black! I haven't tried that at all, actually. Usually, layering over black helps bring out the color shift, but I don't really think it's necessary here. The formula was pretty good- a bit watery at the first coat, but by the time I got to the third, I was used to it and application was much much easier.

I think this is a fairly unique polish, but similar to Nubar Moon Eclipse (or Moon Shadow, I'm not sure which name is the correct one) and Rimmel Zeitgeist. Moon Eclipse/Shadow is pinker, and Zeitgeist is pinker and frostier, with a stronger color shift. Zeitgeist is, however, discontinued, and I think Violet Quartz was clearanced out recently, so if you're after a color like this, Moon Eclipse/Shadow is your best bet. I believe it is available on amazon.com.

Thoughts? Have you tried Violet Quartz, or any similar colors?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and have a great week!

Essie Lapis of Luxury

Today I've got for you Essie Lapis of Luxury. It was released with the 2010 Resort Collection. It's a super squishy periwinkle blue creme.

So smoooooooth. So pretty. In the sun:

Here's the problem: it took me 5 coats to get this result. There is no reason a creme should require 5 coats. I've posted about this in various places on the intarwebs, and while most people said that their bottle needed just 2-3 coats, there were a few who had the same problems as I did. So I guess, be wary of the batch from which your bottle comes? I used Essie Fill the Gap as a base coat, so I don't think there was a compatibility issue in that regard...

Oh well. It's shiny and periwinkle, so who cares.

As far as dupes and near-dupes go, I have a very hard time distinguishing between colors in this family (indigo, blue-toned purples, periwinkle, etc.), but China Glaze Electric Beat looks quite close. Lapis of Luxury would be easier to get ahold of though, since it is core, whereas Electric Beat is no longer available in most stores.

Have you tried Lapis of Luxury? Was it as much of a pain for you as it was for me? If not, how did you make it work?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and have a great weekend!

Revlon After Party + L.A. Girls Uninhibited

Today's manicure is one that I'm feeling pretty "meh" about. 3 coats of After Party, 1 coat of Uninhibited, 1 coat of Gelous, which clearly wasn't enough to smooth it out.

I think the glitter is cool, I just chose the wrong base for it. Or maybe it needs to be matte.

Thoughts? Feelings? Any recent manicures that just didn't do it for you?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and have a great weekend!

Grey/Magenta Water Marble

So, I was so stoked about my first water marble that I just had to do another one! This time I chose OPI Miami Beet and SHCSM Dorien Grey. Grey and pink is a fun color combo, and I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I started with a base of 2 coats of Dorien Grey. My left hand, in the shade:

Unfortunately, the design smeared a bit when I put on top coat. :( I should have waited longer. In the sun:

And here's my right hand! I decided not to top coat this one because I was happier with these designs (especially the pinky) and I didn't want to risk smearing them. Sorry about the wonky nail shapes, and I don't know what those little bumps on my middle fingernail are. Oh well.

I had fewer translucent patches of Miami Beet on this hand. One of these days I'll figure out how to get rid of those altogether.

Thoughts? Feelings?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and I hope you had a great New Year's!