China Glaze Rated Holographic

(2 coats)

This applied so nicely but alas the color is a little too close to my skin color it just sort of it blah. Chipped really quick, which isn't a surprise I suppose.

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Serena Glam Slam! - Wimbledon

I grew up in a "tennis family". I've watched tennis on TV since I was in utero, and one of my earlier memories is of jumping up and down on my bed yelling "Go, Agassi, GO!!". ( This was way back when he had long hair and was the new kid on the tennis block...I feel ancient.) I've also spent years of my life watching my little brother - who is *phenomenal* - compete in a million tournaments. My family has trekked to tennis events all over the world, and I have to say, my absolute number one favourite is Wimbledon! So naturally, I was excited about the polishes coming out for the most storied of the slams!

I only got the polishes from one of the duos - the silver one. The purple just simply didn't appeal to me. Here they are...

OPI Your Royal Shine-ness

A really beautiful silver foil. Completely over-shadowed by Chanel Graphite, which was released at a similar time, but it really deserves some real kudos. It's like Grahite's younger, lighter sister - yes, a silver foil, but just a bit more complex than that. It has a touch...juuuuuussssttt a touch...of gold pigment thrown in. This serves to warm the polish up a bit, which I appreciate. Other silver foils, like OPI DS Radiance, were too cool for my skin tone. I find this one very wearable for me.

OPI Servin' Up Sparkle

Usually not something that is up my alley, but it's a cute layering polish. I chose not to show these two polishes to you layered, because I don't like the way they look together, and I think you get a better idea of what is in this polish from a bare-nailed pic.

As lovely as these polishes are, they really don't say Wimbledon to me. Wimbledon is all about classic - classic all-whites, classic traditions, classic strawberries & cream. In that sense, I'm a little disappointed. BUT, that being said, they are completely Serena. Which is what it's really all about isn't it?

Are you a tennis fan? What's your fav Slam?

kittytokaren

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TiNS The Neptune and China Glaze Lightening Bolt Crackle

TiNS makes the most incredible glitterbombs. Alas they are fairly expensive and rare in the US so I have to rely on... well, an MUAer by the name of TerribleTerra. She gets tons of polishes from Asia, sells the ones she doesn't want... and over the years, I must've purchased around 100 polishes from her. Nearly all my Asian polishes -- with the exception of the ones I purchased this year from Taipei -- are from her.

TiNS The Neptune

Cobalt blue jelly, chunky (but not in a dull and icky way) with different sizes of holo glitter. This was two coats and on the third day of wear (as you can see from the tipwear/shrinkage). Most TiNS glitter polishes sparkle without the benefit of actual sunlight. I. just. love.

Close-up of The Neptune

ALL sorts of holo glitter: larger hex glitter, smaller round glitter, square glitter... glitter galore!

TiNS The Neptune with China Glaze Lightening Bolt on top

This didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would. Part of it is that the white crackle never quite looks as opaque as one feels like it should. Part of it was that the contrast wasn't striking enough.

BUT! Take a peek at this pic. I wish all the nails turned out like my ring finger:

Crackle polishes were made for macro mode, don't you think?

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Effect Nails 011

My stash shopping continues.

This one has been languishing in my miscellaneous drawer for quite some time. It was a lovely RAOK from the best MUAer ever.

Holos don't typically light my fire, scatter holos even less so.

So it just sat there. Meh.




(2 coats)

And yet... it's awesome isn't it? The color is superflattering (more oranges in 2011!!) and the polish is lively without screaming. The formula was good. No complaints. Glad I finally got to this one!

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My so-called "dud" - OPI My Private Jet

This is the newest version of My Private Jet - the one no one really likes...but I do! It has mild scattered holo glitter with an amber flash...

This is perfect for when I'm in the mood for something a little special and sparkly! Still neutral enough for me to be completely comfortable as well.

I know that by saying this some sort of polish-fan-god is going to come down and smite me, but....you know...I really think that if OPI had released this as a different polish with different name (NOT My Private Jet) that people would really like it! Instead now it's just viewed as a 'dud'. And I think that's just a crying shame.

Do you have a 'dud' that you think is a hidden gem?

kittytokaren

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Zoya Malia & OPI DS Diamond

Spring is coming right? Soon?

This is one of my very favorite spring-y colors (it's also in my Top 20 colors generally).


(2 coats)

A soft, pink-leaning purple. Perfection.

Another spring fav and Top 20 polish is OPI's DS Diamond

(2 coats)

I wore this for my graduation a couple years ago (omg so long ago).

Big fan of this one. The holo is super subtle. In fact the only time I've seen it come alive, including out in the sun, was in this random Korean bbq place. *shrugs*

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Kanebo Kate PK-22 over China Glaze Empowerment

Still haven't abandoned my sparkly Taiwanese manis yet.

Kanebo Kate PK-22 over China Glaze Empowerment

I was hoping this glitter wouldn't be as sheer as it was but it was extremely holo (small glitter and hex glitter), so I forgave it. ChG Empowerment went on well enough at two coats though if I hadn't meant to layer it with something, I would've put on a third coat to even it out.

So... here's something crazy. We're most likely going to hit 1,000 posts in February. Yikes.

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GOSH Holo

Wow. I'm not a holo girl, but I had to get this color when I had the chance. All I can say is wow.






(2 coats)

Wow.

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China Glaze Grape Crush: there's nothing I like better than an HTF that cost me a couple of bucks!

About half a year ago, I stopped in a random dusty while waiting for a Hawaiian barbecue takeout order. I walked out with China Glaze Grape Crush. For free. (Well, I bought a couple of other polishes which came to $12 total and the woman who owned the shop didn't feel right about selling me a two-thirds full old nail polish... so she threw it in. :D) It's so true: HTF lemmings do find you eventually, without having to resort to eBay scalpers!

China Glaze Grape Crush

Metallicky purple shimmer dotted with holo glitter. A little bit gritty but gorgeous in the sunlight. Three coats.

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L'Oreal Bijou Gems B. Daring

This cost me $0.00. Freecycle is awesome.

L'Oreal B. Daring

This is possibly one of my favorite red polishes ever. And I hate red polishes. But this one: glittery, holo and jelly! ALL AT ONCE. The photos are a little bit off: it's actually a deeper, richer red (and it's a lot more holo) in person.

Video of B. Daring

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Black glitter holos from Australia: Glitter Gal and Ozotic!

I am FLABBERGASTED at how long it took me to get the Glitter Gal swatch up. It's such a great polish.

Glitter Gal Black

Two coats, so smooth, opaque. AND SPARKLY. This is a very holo polish and that makes me VERY happy. :)

Ozotic 526

Do you see the holo in the bottle? DO YOU SEE THE HOLO ON THE NAIL? No. :( That being said, this was only one coat, that's how opaque it is. Unfortunately, the pretty holo glitter is lost. Not happy. :(

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Glitter Gal Deep Green

I'm leaving for NYC tonight. Another red-eye flight: my favorite... It'll be a really short visit: getting there Friday morning and leaving Sunday evening. But I haven't been home in a few months so it'll be nice to get a couple of days in the city at least.

I'm sorry I've been sort of absent from the blog. It's been a busy few weeks and my mind is just elsewhere and all over the place. I even wore the same mani for a week last week... and didn't even get a picture! (Pity, because it was MAC Bad Fairy... and man, the tipwear on that one was not pretty. Hence, no picture.)

But here is another pretty polish:

Glitter Gal Deep Green

Darkened teal shimmer with golden-green shimmer... PLUS HOLO GLITTER. A winning combination and such a great formula: this was two coats. Glitter Gal polishes may be small but man, the payoff is so worth it. :) I just love this polish.

You might be noticing that I haven't been updating with my exercise regimen. BIG part of this reason is that I haven't been working out for the last week. Why? I started a new medication and have developed a really bad tendency to forget to eat... so by the time I usually work out in the evening, I'm usually pretty woozy from not eating from 8am to 8pm. And then by the time I eat, I just don't want to move anymore. Given that, I don't really think running on a treadmill would be great for me. I'm still adjusting to it and now have taken to setting an alarm so I remember to eat.

Also, I've been feeling sort of melancholy, unmotivated and very under the weather. I think schoolwork has been really overwhelming for me this quarter. A cough that won't die doesn't help.

But I have played 12 hours of Rock Band 3 in the last 40 hours. This did not help me get my schoolwork (or packing for my trip) done. Not even close. BUT! My SO and I are first place for vocals on our (mutual) favorite song, with me on melody and him on harmony. We did it four times over because we kept on coming in second... and when you take two stubborn perfectionists and you dangle first place in front of their masochistic little faces... you get PEOPLE WHO GET THE NUMBER ONE SPOT. Because otherwise, they wouldn't be able to fall asleep. And humans need sleep. ...it was an issue of survival. ...really.

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Butter LONDON All Hail McQueen

When I bought my first Butter LONDON polishes from an Ulta in Chicago, they were out of it so I wasn't able to post it when I posted swatches of other colors from this collection. But it found its way to me and now it is mine mine mine!

Butter LONDON All Hail McQueen

Tanned beige holo prettiness! This was three coats, it went on very easily and though it isn't a super holo glitter bomb, it's a very nice neutral... with a glittery twist. Something you can wear to work (IMO) and not have it be too showy... but then you can stick your fingers in a stray ray of sunlight and watch the holo come to life. Like I said, it's not crazy holo but it's a nice little pop of rainbow. :)

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Some OPI Designer Series Swatches

I have to admit that the Designer Series polishes are my favorite holographic polishes.  They aren't quite as holographic as the Nfu-Oh holographic polishes, but they apply a whole lot better.  In fact, they apply just like regular polishes.  None of that crappy, streaky, draggy formula where you have to be careful to let the previous layer dry completely before moving on.  Nope.  The Designer Series polishes are fantastic.  You don't even need a special base coat to make these work.

First up, this is Original, a light purple.  The holographic effect on this polish is top notch and one thing I like about this color is that it's still gorgeous in the shade.  Of course, the holographic effect goes away in the shade, but it's beautiful either way.  I used three coats for this swatch.

I decided to take some pictures of these at a different angle to really show off the rainbow effect.

This is Shimmer.  Shimmer is a silver holographic polish that really should be saved for top coat use only.  It's very sheer and I needed four coats for this swatch.  I don't want to waste it so this is probably the only time I'll use it alone.  Still, this one is very holographic and just gorgeous in the sun.

This is Signature, a cool pink holographic polish.  I don't usually go for pink polishes, but this one is really pretty and I could picture myself wearing this one and loving it.  Hey, add holographic particles to most anything and it makes it better, right?  I used three coats of Signature for this swatch.

I saved my favorite for last.  This is Desire, a tan holographic polish.  I love, love, love this polish.  It's holographic and it's neutral enough to wear to work, in my opinion.  Although, I do work with a guy with a bright red mohawk so that just shows off our lack of a dress code.  I could get away with just about any polish for work so this is seriously tame.  I really wish I had more holographic neutrals.  I used three coats of Desire.

That's it for the rest of my holographic Designer Series polishes.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I enjoyed swatching these beauties.

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