Eight hours til the end of the Inque nail design contest! And some KleanColor bottle pics. :)

The Inque Nail Design contest ends in eight hours (at 11:59PM PST). Plenty of time to flex your creative muscles still. :D And because I don't want this to just be the bad type of spam... some bottle pics of my most recent haul from KleanColor! (mmm... glitter. click for larger pics!) Aurora, Mix Signal, Sugar Coat, Take a HintAfternoon Picnic,...

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OPI Red Hot Glam is Red.

Surprise, surprise, I'm a sucker for a limited edition polish.Here's OPI's Red Hot Glam, a limited edition OPI sold at Beauty Brands.It's red. And shiny. And has a nice brush. And has a bit of a shimmery finish. And it's red.And that's about all I've got.Happy day, a...

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China Glaze Lighthouse and White Cap (Anchors Away, Spring 2011)

One "ewww" and one "ohhhh"... China Glaze LighthouseThis one is the "ewww". I want so badly to find a medium yellow shimmer that I actually like. They all look horrible on me and the application on this one was not at all fun. The above is three coats (with super obvious VNL) and I didn't dare do a fourth coat because the formula was thick...

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Urban Ballerina - $OPI Shiny Dancer

I really loved the idea of the Sephora by OPI (fondly known as $OPI) Urban Ballerina collection. All the greys and pinks were right up my alley! Here is Shiny Dancer...In the shade...Blurred to see the beautiful shimmer...Hehe and the polish matches my sparkly ballet flats! I thought they fit the theme as well - Urban Ballerina...so apropos!...

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China Glaze Knotty & Pelican Gray (Anchors Away, Spring 2011)

Goodness gracious. What is happening? I'm starting to love the neutrals while K2K is starting to get comfy with more atypical nail polish shades. Pigs flying. All over. China Glaze KnottyThis has to be one of my favorite neutrals (though it does lean a little more gold). A glass-flecked pale camel color that has just a bit of jellyish squish....

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Ulta Little Black Dress

Do you know that polish that you have in your Helmer (or on your shelf, in your drawer, whatever) that is the polish that you always reach for, that polish that makes the birds sing a little sweeter and chocolate taste even better? Oh, Little Black Dress, that is what you are to me.I cannot BELIEVE that I have neglected to post Ulta Little...

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Done Out In Deco Dilemma

I wanted a little pop of colour in the cold weather, and decided on OPI Done Out In Deco. On other people's swatches, it looked like the perfect winter purple - dusty, vivid but not too bright, and cool toned - a not-quite-lavender. I hunted it down and....was disappointed!On my hands it looks totally different than other online swatches...

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Zoya Dove & Dannii (Intimate, Spring 2011)

Took me about six weeks but finally got done with swatching Zoya Intimate. (Now... starting on China Glaze Anchors Away!) Intimate is such an amazing collex. Unique, fascinating, beautiful... and most are pretty nice, application-wise. I'm SO glad I bought the entire set!Zoya DanniiOne of the more gorgeous (if a little brushstrokey) polishes...

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Zoya Gemma & Jules (Intimate, Spring 2011)

And the countdown to 1,000 posts begins... this one is #991, I believe. These were two were unique polishes to me. I don't have anything like either of them. Zoya GemmaSlightly murky green creme, filled with non-subtle (but not glaring) blue and purple shimmer! The application on this one was aggravating: the formula was thick but sheer....

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INQUE CONTEST DEADLINE EXTENDED TO FEB 28TH!

The new deadline for the Inque Nail Design contest is Monday, February 28th. (It's a whole extra weekend to flex your creative muscles!) All submissions must be in by 11:59PM PST (2:59AM EST). For those who have missed out on the original announcement, the contest is for one Polish or Perish reader to have her own guest artist series of nails sold at Inque. Anyone is welcome to apply: simply design a series of nail sets! Your...

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OPI Black Shatter

I do not live in a hole, and I realize that you have seen fifty million photos of OPI's Black Shatter...AND I DON'T CARE! It's awesome, it's awesome, it's awesome and I LOVE IT!Shown here is Black Shatter over China Glaze Millennium and it is AMAZING! I taught a ceramics class the day after I applied this lovely combo and at one point I...

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A Red Re-visited - Essie Limited Addiction

After my Hunt for Red last year, I was pretty burned out on reds. However, during my red hiatus, I've felt as though perhaps I dismissed a couple red options too quickly, and that they deserved a second look. The first red I wanted to re-visit - Essie Limited Addiction. I can't even tell you how many people have raved about this colour! Not...

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A few from my Top 20; re-swatched

In December, MUA's nail board had a Top 20 survey and I went on a swatching binge of my Top 20 colors of all time. I've posted these colors before, but I like these swatches better.China Glaze Recycle(2 coats)Cool greys don't look so great on me so I love this one, which seems to have just a touch of brown in it.BB Couture Moon Over Manhattan(2...

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Zoya Kelly

Grays and grayed out colors have been so trendy for the past year or two, my collection of them has been ever growing and I feel like I need to filter which ones I buy now, there are just so many of them now! Zoya Kelly is a beautiful gray with touch of purple that the camera didn't pick up. It dried darker than the bottle and a little less...

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CND Sparkle Effects - Raspberry and Sapphire

I resisted these Sparkle Effects for a while, but when I fell, I fell hard.Here is Sapphire Sparkle:And Raspberry Sparkle:Both are absolutely MAGIC over Ulta Wild Night, a lovely dark navy shimmer. These Sparkles are unbelievably capable of transforming a polish; the Sapphire Sparkle coats your polish in a dusting of bright blue shimmer...

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Cutesy Valentines Mani!

Let me just say - I love Valentine's Day. I love LOVE. I love it in all of its cheesy glory!!Onto the manicure...Once upon a time I got some really cute heart sequins/glitters as a swap extra. I thought they were adorable, but I waited until the right time to use them - Valentine's Day was obviously going to be that perfect occassion! I wanted...

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An Apology and a Wild Night

First of all, I would like to deliver my sincerest apology to all of you lovely readers of PoP.I've been really absent of late when it comes to posting, specifically when it comes to responding to comments, and for that I am incredibly sorry. Time has been of the essence lately (isn't it always? I petition for four more hours a day, is...

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Zoya Caitlin & Marley (Intimate, Spring 2011): a return to swatching

....and boy, if you don't use it, you lose it.I haven't really swatched anything -- I've worn stuff but not swatched -- in months. And it shows.Also, I forgot to use basecoat. Which I NEVER do. I always used basecoat when swatching. Anyway, this was the wrong collection to re-start my swatching habit. The colors are so interesting and subtle......

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Stick It On! - Sally Hansen Nail Effects in Cut It Out

There's been huge buzz about the Sally Hansen Nail Effects polish strips lately - they've been popping up in drugstores all over the country and nail-obsessed people and 'civilians' alike have been quizzing me about them! I purchased 3 - Laced Up (black lace on a nude background), Girl Flower (multi-colored flowers), and Cut It Out (black...

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China Glaze Hi-Tek

This one was my favorite of the 4 I got (Millenium, 2030, Hi-Tek and Sci-Fi).It was the exact color of a new penny. I loved it.(1 co...

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*Insert "getting shellacked" joke here*

I did it! I finally broke down and returned back to the nail salon, which is exactly what the fine people of CND wanted when the created the miracle Shellac, isn't it?I'm going to be honest - I am not a nail salon kind of girl. With a passion for polish like mine you'd think that I would love those havens of hand massages and racks of color,...

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