China Glaze Running In Circles

China Glaze Running in Circles is part of the Cirque du Soleil collection from Winter 2012. Personally, I don't care for Cirque du Soleil, or for most of the colors in the collection for that matter...but this one is a different story. Running in Circles is a beautiful, complex grassy green glass-fleck.

I can't even. It's so sparkly, and has so much depth! It's a wee bit sheer, a 3-coater, but I think the finish completely makes up for it.

Running in Circles, like Don't Mess With OPI, stained a blue, but it was nowhere near as bad. Plus, the slight blue staining worked quite nicely for my yellowed nails >.>

There's a P2 polish called Green Palm Tree that I think is similar to Running in Circles, but it is lighter and has this super-cool gold shimmer running through it. The only problem is, P2 is a European brand, but if I could get ahold of it at the same price I paid for this, I would choose the P2. Don't get me wrong, they're both lovely, and I am happy with this one! But I am a sucker for some nice gold shimmer.

Have you tried Running in Circles, or any of the other Cirque du Soleil colors? Thoughts?

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

Orly Halley's Comet

Orly Halley's Comet was released in Fall 2010 with the Cosmic FX collection. I've already shown you Galaxy Girl and Lunar Eclipse, and this is the last one I picked up. Like Galaxy Girl and Lunar Eclipse, I am smitten with this color, even if it is not the most unique. Here it is in the shade. 3 coats, plus top coat.

Yeah, 3 coats means it's pretty sheer, but because of the sheer base, you can see the shimmer very clearly. In indirect light:

Because the base is blue, the shimmer looks mostly greenish, but it is actually gold most of the time. I think it counts as a glass-fleck, but because the shimmer is so dense, it has foil-y qualities to it as well. In the sun:

This is one of my all-time favorite colors for pedicures. I love blues and teals on toes, especially in the summer, but it's a great pick-me-up in the middle of a particularly dreary winter.

As much as I love this color, I will freely admit that it is not unique. There are many versions available, including Zoya Charla (which I believe was the original), OPI Catch Me In Your Net (discontinued), Essence Choose Me!, and probably a few others that I can't think of right now.

How do you feel about these types of finishes and colors? Do you have a preference for color families when doing pedicures versus manicures?

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

Orly Galaxy Girl

Orly Galaxy Girl is from the Fall 2010 Cosmic FX collection. It consists of blue-magenta shifting glass-flecks in a murky purple base. It kind of reminds me of a blackened bruise, but in an awesome way. This is what it looks like most of the time:

As you can see, those blue flecks are super prominent, but in order for that to work, the base has to be pretty sheer. I used 3 coats, plus top coat. The texture of these flecks is so cool! In indirect light:

That pink shift in the bottle does show up on the nail at an angle, but like the purple shift in Lunar Eclipse, I was on the verge of flipping tables trying to capture it. I do have this super awkward shot that I took a while back though. That shimmerrrrr.

Here's a closer look:

I believe there are several dupes for Galaxy Girl. There's Models Own Purple Blue, MAC Formidable!, and Claire's also had a version of this a while back, called Evil Queen, though that one's a bit different. Personally, I prefer Orly's brush and formula, but alternatives are always nice!

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

OPI Smitten With Mittens

OPI Smitten With Mittens was released as part of the Holiday Wishes collection in 2009. It consists of big gold glass-flecks/foil-y flecks in a red jelly base. As a result, it usually looks like a red glass-fleck or glitter, but sometimes when the light hits it right, you can see bits of gold. It's lovely, and opaque in 2 coats despite the jelly base. I think the opacity of the base is the reason that the gold isn't too visible. 2 coats plus top coat.

It's definitely on the cool side of red, but close enough to neutral that I think warmer skintones like mine can pull it off. It's a bit bold for me, but I love it. The formula is great, and I have no complaints about the drying time.

I think Zoya might have a few reds sort of like this. Jade or Delilah, maybe? I think those are actual glitters, and red ones at that, so the finishes are definitely not the same. It also reminds me of OPI Ali's Big Break from the Burlesque collection, but I think that one has a brighter red base, and red/pink flecks rather than gold.

They might be worth looking into though, since Smitten With Mittens has been discontinued, and seems to go for around $20 on Ebay. That said, it's not all that hard to find. I've seen several bottles at several different CVS stores in my area.

Thanks for looking and commenting, and enjoy the rest of your week!

Orly Lunar Eclipse

Orly Lunar Eclipse was released with the Cosmic FX collection from Fall 2010. It's a blue foil-y glass fleck in a blue jelly base, with a purple shift. That purple shift had me ready to hulk smash everything! I could not capture it for the life of me. But it's there, I promise, haha. It's not like those polishes that look duochrome-y in the bottle and then completely fall flat on the nail! This is 2 coats, with top coat.

It's so vivid! I love it. This was one of my favorites when it came out, and I wore it a TON that winter, but for the last year-ish I haven't reached for it much. I don't know why, because every time I use it for a mani or pedi I remember how awesome it is. I especially love it in the shade.

I think Lunar Eclipse has a dupe in Sally Hansen HD Laser, but Laser is very sheer. Orly Stone Cold is similar, but doesn't have the purple shift, and the shimmer is also different- those are more like small blue flakes of shimmer. Sparitual and Orly are made by the same company, so Lunar Eclipse is also sold in Sparitual form as the color Meditate on This. I don't think the Cosmic FX colors are easy to come by in person anymore (unless your local Ulta has a bunch of leftover stock), but the Sparitual version is available at Sephora, and is the same price as Cosmic FX and Mineral FX polish.

Thanks for looking and commenting, and HAPPY FRIDAY!

Petites Color Fever Zodiac

Petites Color Fever isn't a brand that I'm too familiar with. I've only ever seen it at Rite Aid, and the colors generally haven't caught my interest, with the exception of Zodiac. Zodiac consists of purple/magenta glass-flecks in a warm purple jelly base. Like most glass-fleck polishes that I've tried, it needs 3 coats for opacity, but compared to the last few polishes I've tried, this is a welcome relief. In direct sunlight:

I do love a nice purple, and this fits the bill. No complaints about the brush or formula. In the shade:

The flecks in this polish shift from purple to magenta when you tilt your nails back, but I just couldn't photograph the shift. It's all good though. I had originally planned to do some sort of red/blue or something, since it's July 4th, but obviously, that didn't happen, lol.

Thanks for looking and commenting, and enjoy your day off (if you're in the U.S.)!

Sinful Colors Cinderella

Sinful Colors Cinderella is a milky light blue with pink flecks of shimmer. Usually with colors like this, the shimmer kind of disappears in the base and never looks as prominent as it does in the bottle. Not the case here!

Shimmerrrrr. It didn't really show up on camera, but trust me, it's a lot more prominent in person. I usually don't like normal pastels on me, because something about my skintone and the combination of light and bright...it just doesn't really work. I actually really liked this though!

It's so unique compared to all the other light blues out there! The only problem? The formula. Oh goodness, that formula. What you see here is five coats, no top coat. My base was a coat of Sally Hansen Miracle Nail Thickener, which is clear. A ridge-filling base coat probably would have helped, but regardless, five coats. And you can still see some of the nail line on my pinky and index finger. I let each coat dry completely to avoid bubbling, so as you can imagine, this manicure took a while. The formula was pretty thick, but manageable, and I like the Sinful Colors brush so it wasn't too bad. Five coats though...if you have a light blue like Illamasqua Caress or Sally Hansen Barracuda, I'd recommend using those as a base. 

That shimmer though! I guess that's the tradeoff. Sheer base, prominent shimmer. I'm not a huge fan of blue and pink together but it works really well here. A closer look:

Thanks for looking!

Green Spam for St. Patrick's Day!

China Glaze L8R G8R - 3 coats, no base coat

Chanel Peridot - 3 coats, no top coat

China Glaze Glittering Garland

Color Club Snakeskin - 2 coats, no top coat

Don't Mess With OPI - 2 coats, no top coat

Illamasqua Rampage - 3 coats, no top coat

Illamasqua Rampage + Pure Ice Heartbreaker, 1 coat

Illamasqua Rampage + Pure Ice Heartbreaker + Nails Inc. the Wyndham, 1 coat

Illamasqua Rampage + Pure Ice Heartbreaker + Nails Inc. the Wyndham + Essie Matte About You

Hard Candy Envy, 2 coats, no top coat

Green Holo Franken, 2 coats, no top coat

Green Franken, 4 coats

Sinful Colors Mint Apple, 3 coats, no top coat

Ulta Tip the Scales, 3 coats, no top coat

Essie Pretty Edgy, 3 coats, no top coat

Thanks for looking, and I hope you had a great St. Patrick's Day!

MAC Ming Blue

Ming Blue was originally released with MAC's fall/winter 2010 Nail Trend collection, which was full of interesting shimmers. MAC nail polish is, in my opinion, far too expensive for the quantity and quality, and the brush is really pretty terrible, so despite the pretty colors, I chose to just get Ming Blue.

A gorgeous medium blue with little flecks of blue and pink shimmer. It's not regular shimmer, it looks kinda like the flecks in glass-flecked polish, but in a creme base rather than jelly. The pink absolutely refused to show up on camera, but you can see bits of it in the bottle, I think. At first I was thinking "oh, a blue shimmer, how original," but Ming Blue is actually a lot more unique than I thought! I have more blues than any other color family, and nothing remotely like this. So pretty.

Ming Blue had better be glad it's so pretty, because I was ready to Hulk smash this thing. The formula is a nightmare. It's got a thin, watery formula, and dries super slowly. It needs 3 coats minimum, possibly 4 since it's also VERY prone to streaking. It really likes to pull at the tips too. I kept having to patch those in addition to those 3-4 coats. It also really likes to pool in your cuticles!!! Fun. So much fun. I was not pleased with the brush either.

But just look at that shimmer! Totally worth the trouble for a color like this.

Thanks for looking!

William Tell Me About OPI + Finger Paints Sparkle Effect Topcoat

William Tell Me About OPI is a super dark raisin creme from OPI's Swiss-themed Fall 2010 collection. When the collection first came out I though "Meh, boring. Not interested." and yet I eventually wound up with 3 of them (Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, Ski Teal We Drop, and William Tell). I'm not one to get a color from each collection just to have it, nor am I one to buy entire collections, so the fact that I have 3 of them is surprising.

Despite the fact that OPI stuck Pro-Wide brushes on their polishes and I'd much rather be painting with a floppy mop, William Tell Me About OPI was shockingly easy to apply. It has a very nice, smooth formula and is nearly opaque in 2 coats, but I used a 3rd for good measure. Here it is without top coat:

So glossy! It's pretty dark, and does look black sometimes, but most of the time you can tell it isn't. Here it is in direct sunlight:

It's a bit conservative compared to my usual choices for nail color, but I love it. I thought I'd add a layer of Finger Paints Sparkle before removal just to see how it turned out.

Not too bad. Sparkle definitely needs a blue or purple base color to work though, and it's more dense than I would like. I might decant some for a franken, since it's nice and glass-flecked.

It's apparently a dupe for CND Raspberry Sparkle, as well as Dollish Pollish Aurora Australis and Nostalgic Lacquer Magic Dance. Actually, Nostalgic and Dollish Polish have trios of effects that are identical to each other, and at least 2/3 are identical to CND Effects (raspberry and sapphire sparkle). I haven't compared prices but know that you've got several options. As far as Raspberry Sparkle goes, if you can find Finger Paints Sparkle Topcoat that would definitely be cheapest. I got it on clearance for $1.99 at Sally Beauty Supply.

Sparkle has a slight multichromatic shift, from pink to purple to yellow-gold. It usually just looks purple but sometimes you can coax the pink and gold out.

Thanks for looking!