Revlon Divine

Whoops, I inadvertently disappeared again. But I am here to, for once, post about an LE in a somewhat-timely fashion! Revlon Divine is part of the Evening Opulence collection for Fall 2013, designed by Gucci Westman.

The collection includes another 3 colors: Rich (which looks just like Carbonite), Elusive (a black/teal glitter that looked AWESOME in the bottle, not so much in swatches), and Seductive (a deep purple jelly). I really wanted to like Elusive, especially since in the bottle, it looks like a teal version of Facets of Fuchsia, but nope. It dries matte, which isn't a big deal, but the base is so opaque that a lot of the glitter gets lost, and the result is just sort of lumpy. Top coat is definitely an improvement, but I think I'd rather franken something similar that would be a better fit to my preferences.

Anyway, Divine! Divine might look familiar to you, as it's quite similar to Germanicure by OPI and my all-time favorite, OPI Royal Rajah Ruby! Here it is in the shade:

Dat shimmer! Here it is in the sun:

And another picture of the shimmer, because why not.

How great is that? I know, once again, not the most unique color on the planet, but I love it anyway. I probably won't have time to do a proper comparison to Royal Rajah Ruby, but I do have a swatch from last fall that I hadn't posted. So, for reference, RRR:

I think I can finally stop obsessing over backups, LOL.

On an entirely unrelated note, who else is preemptively freaking out in anticipation of Breaking Bad!? OMGGGGG. I don't think I've ever hated a fictional character quite as much as Walt. Maybe Schillinger. Or Adebisi. But Oz is chock full of unequivocally horrible people.

Have you tried Divine, or any of the other Gucci Westman colors? Were you as disappointed in Elusive as me?

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

Wet n Wild Under Your Spell + Comparison

Wet n Wild Under Your Spell is one of the Megalast colors. Truth be told, I have no clue whether it's core or LE, but it seems to have been released in early 2010. It was sitting in the rack at a local CVS, and since I had some Extrabucks, I figured, why not? Besides, I thought it might be a good, cheap alternative to my beloved OPI Royal Rajah Ruby. More on that later, but in the meantime, Under Your Spell. Here it is in the shade:

Since it's a vampy shimmer, same caveat applies: it's dark and my camera freaked out, you know the deal. The shimmer isn't super prominent in the shade, but it's certainly more visible than OPI Black Cherry Chutney. Now, take a look at it in the sun:

Muuuuch better. As you might be aware, the not-so-new-at-this-point Megalast polishes have biiiig brushes. They are big, and they are fluffy, but they aren't as bad as you might expect. It was thin and watery on the first coat, but I was pleased to find that it was solid in 3 coats. I figured I was going to have to layer it over black to reach opacity, but fortunately that isn't necessary!

Now, let's see how it compares to Royal Rajah Ruby. Royal Rajah Ruby is on my index and ring fingernails, and Under Your Spell is on the middle and pinky fingernails.

They do look quite similar! Royal Rajah Ruby has warmer, more prominent shimmer.

Okaaaay, to most people I guess they're pretty much the same. And it'll do as an alternative, but I have to admit I still like the OPI better.

Now the difference is a little clearer. It's not too obvious in this photo, but Royal Rajah Ruby has a reddish/brown base, whereas Under Your Spell is black-based. The OPI is also more opaque.

Thoughts? Are you as weird and picky about basic dark red shimmers as I am?

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

OPI Black Cherry Chutney

OPI Black Cherry Chutney is from OPI's Spring 2008 India collection. Most of the colors were quite boring to me, but the two vampy shades, for some reason, are freakin' awesome to me. OPI Royal Rajah Ruby, as you might possibly be aware, is my absolute favorite nail polish, and while Black Cherry Chutney isn't quite that awesome, it is pretty great in and of itself! In the shade, it looks like a vampy creme, and I tried to photograph it but it's so dark my camera had a bit of a freakout.

I'd say that's a pretty accurate depiction of how it looks in the shade, but it's so dark my camera freaked and decided to make my skin look super pale. I'm pretty sure my skin hasn't been that light since I was a year old, hahah. But, check it out in the sun!

Eeeeee. So pretty.

I am smitten with this shimmer. The formula wasn't bad, a 3-coater for me, but I think the brush was cut a little funny in this one because application was sort of tricky.

Being a vampy shimmer, OPI Black Cherry Chutney probably has a toooon of dupes. OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest is similar, but cooler-toned, and Midnight in Moscow is warmer, so the opposite. I mean, there are many colors like this. This happens to be a pretty good one, but it's hardly groundbreaking, haha.

Have you tried Black Cherry Chutney, or any of the other India colors? Thoughts?

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

Contrary Polish Firebrand

Contrary Polish Firebrand is one of the original six shades. According to Carrie, Firebrand is one of her top sellers, and I completely understand why! It seems like a pretty boring red, but it's really lovely.

I've told you countless times of my love for vampy reds, and this one is a shimmery jelly to boot! So pretty. I did use 4 super-thin coats, but they dried quickly, and zero bubbling. Bonus: it cleans up nicely! Most reds and vamps tend to spread their reddish pigment around when you try to clean up, so your skin looks angry and inflamed, but this is not an issue with Firebrand.

It has some berryish tones that keep it from being a plain dark red. This is such a flattering, classic color. Since it's a berryish red, I'm sure there's a dupe or something close out there, but I'm quite pleased with this one.

Have you tried Firebrand? What do you think?

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

Reswatch: William Tell Me About OPI

Well, this isn't really a reswatch per se, but I wore William Tell Me About OPI again recently and wanted to share, since it's been a year and two days since I posted it the first time.

Awesome color, awesome formula. Thanks for looking and commenting, and have a great weekend!

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!

Essie Wicked

Today I'm going to show you Essie Wicked. I don't think this came out with any particular collection, but it's widely regarded as a classic, and with good reason. Wicked is a squishy, vampy red jelly that is just full of win. 3 coats, plus top coat, in the shade:

In the sun:

You do have to be careful with application, as it can stain your cuticles red if you get the polish on your skin. And because it is a jelly, it can be a bit streaky, so you would do well to give it a few minutes between coats.

But just look at that shine! So cool. So awesome.

To be fair, this isn't exactly a unique color. Between Essie, Revlon, and OPI, you have tons of alternatives available. I think the OPI colors are mainly cremes rather than jellies, but Revlon has Devil's Lure, and Essie has many many vampy jellies out there. I'd list them all but...

Have you tried Wicked, or anything similar? Thoughts?

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

LA Splash Crimson Tide

Crimson Tide. I'm so mature, but it definitely makes me think of menstruation. Either that, or those toxic red tide blooms that have been causing fish kills. Side note: have any of you read And the Waters Turned to Blood, by Rodney Barker? Dramatic title, but such a fascinating book. And it turns out my former boss was involved in the project that discovered Pfisteria piscicida!

Anyway, back to nail polish. Crimson Tide consists of fine, burnt coppery orange hex glitters suspended in a vampy, bloody red base. I feel like this one's quite good for Halloween, but it's also a lovely color for any time of year. Because of the glitter, it is a bit gritty, but one coat of regular top coat (Revlon Quick Dry in this case) smoothed it out just fine, and it's opaque in 3 coats. LA Splash bottles are awkward to hold, so you get to see my ridge filler instead.

Another side note: OPI Ridge Filler is full of disappointment. But I'm almost out of Essie Fill the Gap, and I can't find anymore. Essie's Ridge Filling Base Coat isn't nearly as good either. BOO. First world problems.

Crimson Tide is a bit streaky, and because the brush stem is SO LONG, make sure you wipe it off really well before you start painting, or you'll wind up with random globs all over your fingers. I may or may not be speaking from experience. But if you wipe it off well, and stick with thin, careful coats, you'll be just fine. Here it is in the sun:

I'm really liking the fact that there are glints of red too, where the glitter is partially obscured by the base. I also like how unique this is, despite the fact that it's a vampy jelly. I haven't seen this jelly/glitter combination anywhere else. At first, I was thinking that they don't even go together, but I think somehow, it works!

Thoughts? Feelings? Do you love vamps as much as I do?

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

OPI Tease-y Does It

OPI Tease-y Does It was released with the Burlesque collection in Winter 2010. From this collection, I've also got The Show Must Go On, which I showed you back in April. I was quite pleased with that one, but this one is even better!! Definitely in my top 20.

Tease-y Does It consists of magenta-coppery shifting flecks of shimmer in a dusty plum base. It's completely opaque in 2 coats, and the application is excellent.

I had a hard time capturing the amber/coppery shift of the shimmer, but you can see a little bit of it on my index finger nail in the photo above.

Such a cool color. It's vampy and kind of "safe" but so interesting!

I expected it to be completely unique, but as it turns out, there is indeed a near-dupe: Nubar Raspberry Truffle. Based on swatches that I've seen, I don't think the shimmer flecks in Raspberry Truffle shift from that reddish pink at all, but they're certainly close enough that you probably don't need both.

How do you feel about colors like these? And what about that OPI Pro-Wide brush (that I finally seem to be getting the hang of)?

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!

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!