American Apparel California Trooper

(2 coats)

When others are turning to browns and bronzes in the Autumn, I turn to putties. They're in season but still work with my skin color.

I love this polish. It applies really well and chipping is not terrible despite the large amount of pigment in the polish.

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My Top 5 Summer Pedi Colors of 2010

Inspired by K2K's post, I thought I would share with you my own top 5 summer pedi colors of the 2010 summer. I wore all of these at least twice last summer.

I generally get pedis year round, but some colors just feel right when it's hot out (and some feel very wrong, like my fav pedi color - NARS Midnight Express). Here's my summer-time list:

• American Apparel Malibu Green
  

(2 coats)

You didn't think I was gonna subject you folks to my feet, did you?

Love this color, but holy crap, I wore it ONCE as a mani and will never do that again. Stain city! Very pigmented formula. Could have gotten away with one thick coat. AA has some incredible polishes.

• Zoya Charisma (Sinful Dream On, Essie Perky Purple)

(2 coats)

This photo isn't even close to color accurate. I couldn't even fix it w/ photoshop. It's like my computer is telling me this color does not exist and is merely a figment of my imagination.

No matter what, you know what it looks like. You've seen Charisma or one of her cousins. It's a great "staple" neon. I love this color so much.

• OPI Cajun Shrimp
  

(2 coats)

Probably my favorite pedi color period. I did a pedi with this 3 times last summer and a couple times as a mani. Considering how many polishes I have...

• China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

(2 coats)

I'm fairly certain it was THE pedi color of the Summer of 2010 among NP enthusiasts.

• Milani Radiant in Purple
  

(2 coats)

Really any medium purple creme works in this space. It's a go-to for me.

I wonder what's in store for us this year...

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Branching out to familiar territory - AA Mouse

One of my (polish-related) New Year's resolutions was to try to branch out in terms of the brands I use. However, I wanted to be really conscious about which polishes I let into my life, so I researched heavily (of course I did) and the winner was American Apparel. I've heard so many great things about these polishes - high quality, smooth application, and their range is made up of beautiful looking cremes. So on to my first American Apparel polish! Of course it had to be the taupe - Mouse. If I'm going to branch out in terms of brands, I'm going to go with a colour I know I'll love. Here is a truly heinous picture:

I was running out the door to catch the bus when I took this and didn't get the opportunity to re-take it. Suffice to say that the colour is a dream - a perfect taupe that isn't too dark or too light. Application was lovely. I didn't get a chance to fully test the wear because I had another polish I was antsy to try, but I will let you know! Polishes don't pass the k2k test unless they wear well. If they don't, they get booted from the collection! (*cough* Chanel *cough*)

What do you think about American Apparel polishes? How is the wear on you?

kittytokaren

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American Apparel Mannequin.... eugh.

I usually LOVE American Apparel polishes. I think they've got some of the best, most affordable cremes on the market and their color range is eclectic (even though they only do cremes).

This is one I'd return if I could.

American Apparel Mannequin

A nude shade that looks more pink on me than it does in the bottle. Three coats. Goopy, streaky, aggravating, impossible.

Also: I wasn't allowed to use my Groupon that I bought to American Apparel for the purpose of stocking up their nail polish! Why? Because it is "multibrand": the fact that nail polish is considered "multibrand" on isn't on the coupon at all. It just says that you can't use the coupon on "multibrand" items.

Isn't it funny that no other brand is listed on the actual bottle? I was pretty pissed. If there is no indication that nail polish doesn't qualify for the Groupon -- and no indication on the bottle that any other company makes the nail polish -- then I really don't think I should've been prohibited from using the thing.

That being said... obviously they don't manufacture the nail polish like they may manufacture their clothes. But I wouldn't know that if I didn't spend my life immersed in nail polish.

But now what am I going to do with $50 to American Apparel? Buy $50 worth of leggings?

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STRANGEBEAUTIFUL Volume 1, Part II of II

The rest of the STRANGEBEAUTIFUL Vol 1 polishes...

STRANGEBEAUTIFUL Vol 1 tyrian purple

Nice even red-leaning purple. For those who have been following this blog for awhile, you'll probably know that I'm not a fan of this color generally. I have a ton of clothing in it -- and quite a few polishes -- but I just find it a really boring color to wear (possibly because I've overdosed on it). But I really liked this polish: it applied really well and has sort of a squishy jelly feel to it. Three coats.

STRANGEBEAUTIFUL Vol 1 Dartmouth green

This looks a lot like Dartmouth College's signature green: dark forest green that's got a bit of blue in it. I don't have a pic of it but it's a bit more blue and right in between Orly Enchanted Forest and Orly Wandering Vine in terms of lightness (luminosity? Not sure what the right term is here). It's worth keeping to me because I love dark greens but those who have either Orly might not care to have this polish. Not that it matters after you buy the whole set. Three coats.

STRANGEBEAUTIFUL Vol 1 sapphire blue with Rescue Beauty Lounge Teal (ring finger)

In the bad lighting in my apartment at night, I thought these might be sort of dupey. Yeah, not even close. It's also not dupey to American Apparel Passport Blue, which is darker and dustier. I did three coats here, but it is probably passable at two coats. I really enjoy the glossiness of these polishes!

STRANGEBEAUTIFUL Vol 1 candy apple red with American Apparel Downtown LA (ring finger)

Yup, they are pretty dupey except that the AA is more opaque in three coats than the SB. (It is also slightly less glossy.) I saw on some blog (forgetting which one) that RBL Chinoise is a dupe to AA Downtown LA so we can assume that this candy apple red SB is probably a near-dupe for Chinoise. (Yeah, just get the American Apparel polish.)

I was hoping that of the three SB sets I got, I'd want to keep an entire one intact. This might be the set to keep. :) Anyway, two sets down, one left to go. Though I swear I heard something about a new one coming out soon...

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A couple of the new American Apparel polishes: Summer Peach and California Trooper

I ordered these the day they came out.

And then four days later, I got a coupon code for 30% off. *headdesk* Patience is a virtue I do not have. And it doesn't pay. Literally.

American Apparel California Trooper

I don't know what it is about this khaki shade -- it's kind of ugly -- but I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw bottle pics. It's not a color I have many examples of. The closest I can find is the recent Essie Playa Del Platinum (which I think I described as a "sandy greige"): they are very close and most people will only need one but CA Trooper is more yellow in tone and a smidge lighter. Application was great for this polish: two coats to opacity, smooth finish. As usual, I find the AA brush too long and too eager to retain polish (which it then deposits onto my cuticles) but that's a brush issue, not a formula issue.

American Apparel Summer Peach

(Ignore the dent in my nail! Don't think of a pink elephant!) I wish I could pull off colors like this one. It's a bit too stark for my skin (and gives me lobster-like hands) but it's still a lovely peach creme that straddles the pink-orange boundary nicely. Application was not fun for this one: it is nearly opaque in two coats but I really needed three. The formula was thick and a bit sticky. I was tempted to put some thinner into it and put on a third coat but I was running out of time to do my nails so I skipped all that. Probably my least favorite AA polish so far.

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More American Apparel swatches

I finally got all my American Apparel nail polishes exchanged! And I finished swatching them! I really like these cremes. I hear that AA will actually be releasing new colors sometime (no idea when) but I can't wait to see what else they've got in store. :)

(Please excuse the dry cuticles! I don't know what was going on the day I was swatching these.)

American Apparel Mount Royal

Absolutely gorgeous cobalt blue. It actually leans a slight bit more purple than the photo shows. But this color is certainly a stunner. Two coats, very easy application. I wonder if they changed brushes for these polishes: I had problems with the last one (very long bristles) and they look the same but I feel like they retained less polish than the old ones. Or maybe I knew to be careful not to overload the brush this time around.

American Apparel Factory Grey

I love this cool grey that is just lightly tinged with blue. This is supposedly the colors of the American Apparel factory floors: nice floors! I don't know why: the polish looks sort of strange and washed out on me in IRL. But I love this color. Two coats.

American Apparel Dynasty

(Why is this called Dynasty?) This is one of those dusty mauve-taupe-looking colors that seem to be all over the place. It looks great in the photo but it also appears somewhat washed out on me IRL. Another two coater.

American Apparel Downtown LA

Va-va-va-voom! A perfect scarlet shade. This might show up as a bit deeper red on other people (closer to bottle color). I loved this red and I don't usually enjoy reds at all because I can never seem to rid myself of VNL with them. The above is three coats and it is scarlet perfection as far as I'm concerned. Also, it didn't leave me with lobster claws when I took it off. :)

Leaving for New York tomorrow. Going to be in the city from Thursday through Sunday and it looks like I'll be pretty busy. Seeing some of my oldest and closest friends. Hopefully meeting some new ones. Getting a Minx pedi. Maybe some shopping. And being intellectually stimulated at the conference. Or bored to death. Hard to tell. :)

But first... I have to write a 15-20 page paper in about 36 hours. Which is going to be interesting because I have no idea what it's supposed to say. I've tried to stop bullshitting... and it's really put a crimp in my style.

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As pristine as the newly fallen snow: some white swatches

This is probably going to be a visually boring post as it is devoted to one single color: white. But hopefully it'll be informative to somebody -- hopefully, D's whet some appetites on white nail polish with her Underware comparisons.

I'm pretty much always on a quest for a perfect opaque white creme. WnW White is often recommended. But in my experience, it isn't as fab as WnW Black. Very streaky and chalky on me.

I can't locate photos of all the opaque white polishes I've tried out and so before I forget, here are some of the ones I've tried but won't be showing photos of:

• Anna Sui 015: Soft white. As much as I love the candy rose scent of these polishes, this one was a nightmare. Three coats, totally uneven, goopy, and it never dried. (And it resembled White Out in texture.) Smelled nice... but nice-smelling nail polish is of no use to me when I can't wear it!

• Rescue Beauty Lounge Underware: Stark white. D's covered this one already. I've heard tell that this is a brilliant one-coat wonder! For me, that was simply not true. Three coats, also uneven. I tried it under the pastel jellies like Bikini Bottom for the "lit within" look... It looked pretty bad because the Underware was very streaky. So whatever power other people have over RBLs... I certainly do not possess it.

• CND Cream Washed: Beige-white. Not opaque at all. Trust me, I tried...

• OPI Alpine White: Stark white. It's been years since I've used it but have found this to be a pretty trustworthy white: two coater for me, IIRC.

OPI Tickets to Paradise

This is definitely not meant to be an opaque polish: the photo above shows five or six coats. It also leans a bit pinkish grey. It's a very nice polish with a pleasant jelly finish but not quite what I want in an opaque white creme.

Missha WH001

Soft white. Four coats, still VERY uneven. It was only a couple of dollars but totally not a worthwhile polish for me.

CND Brilliant White

Stark white. Four coats, very easy to build (please ignore the ugly chips that happened because it refused to dry for hours and hours). Certainly very close to what I want in a white (opaque, smooth and creamy in texture) but four coats was pushing my patience. Brilliant White was probably one of the better ones I've tried though!

American Apparel Cotton

Cream white. I like how soft this white is: it just has a tinge of tan in there. It does even out in three coats -- and does apply quite nicely for a white -- but man oh man, did this totally not dry at all.

Revlon Street Wear White Out

And saved the best for last: I need backups of this one. It's closer to a softer white than a super stark white. Passable at two coats but really needs three... but when you apply that third coat, it's opaque white polish perfection. So smooth (though not glossy). And so easy to apply! I hate having a discontinued polish be an HG of any sort -- and thus, the search continues -- but really, quite a jewel of a polish and one of the ones that I got for 4 for $1. :)

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NOTD American Apparel Hunter with Konad Plate M78

Hello everyone! School is kicking my butt and I am SO ready for summer to be here. Anyone else??

I have decided to wear nothing but green nail polishes until St. Patrick's Day. I'm not Irish, but I do love green, so I figured, why not!

I started out with a base of American Apparel Hunter, which applied like a dream in 2 coats. I was really impressed. I bought the original Hunter when it was out in stores several months ago and then I just exchanged my original for the new bottles from the recall (the new bottles appear to have thicker glass than the original bottles - no changes to the colors). Then the next day I applied this pattern from Konad Plate M78 (one of the new ones) with China Glaze Cherish from the Romantiques Collection. Here's how it turned out:

Kinda blurry indoors:


Indoors natural light:


Flash:


Well, what do you think? I'm still a Konad novice but I'm getting better. :) Also - these photos were taken on the 4th day of wear. The 4th!!! Insane, huh? I was doing some heavy cleaning too - very impressive, American Apparel!

I purchased American Apparel Hunter from an American Apparel store, China Glaze Cherish from Victoria's Nail Supply (though it's available from all the e-tailers, I believe), and Konad Plate M78 from OCNailArt.

On a side note, I am sorry to promote my own research here but I figured why not - those of you not interested can skip over this paragraph! :) I am in the process of starting my Master's Thesis and I have decided to continue my research on the Twilight saga. I am mainly analyzing Twilight's phenomenon, its audience, why people love it so much, and what it means for feminism and women today. Obviously there is more to it than that but that is the gist of my project. Anyway, I am hoping to gather some information from Twilight fans (and haters!) out there and would love it if you guys could send me any thoughts you have about why you love (or don't love) Twilight. Any thoughts can be sent to my research email address at twilight [dot] saga [dot] research [@] gmail [dot] com.

Have a great night!

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Quickie American Apparel swatches!

I've got a bad case of the winter frazzles this week, so apologies for that. Try to concentrate on the pretty creamy colors I'm about to show you. :)

I'm well aware of the reputation that American Apparel has and their voyeuristic soft-core porn-like advertisements. And I've heard tell of some questionable hiring practices. Unfortunately, this is a brand I happen to like for some clothing. (The jersey bandeau dress is my favorite thing to wear in the summer: I love being able to wrap it this way and that way and whatever way I fancy.) And now, I like them for their nail polish.

I snapped up seven of these the day they were available online (incidentally, the day that they put out a press release about their new nail polish line). Like American Apparel itself, these polishes are simple but colorful: a whole line of cremes in interesting shades. Not a speck of shimmer or glitter to be found anywhere (though I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually put out gold and silver polishes).

American Apparel Passport Blue

For you American citizens out there, this is a pretty damn descriptive name: it's the color of the US passport. Just a shade darker perhaps. It looks black indoors but in sunlight, it is definitely the dusty blue that ought to be recognized by immigration and customs officials. It was so pigmented, it was practically opaque in one coat. Smooth application and dried pretty quickly: it was still tacky when I put on Diamont but after twenty minutes with Diamont, it was pretty much dry. I wore this as an NOTD.

American Apparel Manila

It took me awhile to figure this one out. A Filipino NBer (I think) commented that she'd love to have a polish called Manila (the capital of the Philippines). I didn't think much of it until I was swatching this polish and my eyes fell upon some yellow interdepartmental envelopes sitting on my desk: manila envelopes. So called because they were originally produced using a fiber found in a plant indigenous to the Philippines. Anyway, this was a pretty great yellow: streaktastic in the first coat but pretty much evened itself out for the second coat. As good as most yellows get, in my experience! Someone on NB also asked about whether this resembled The It Color. Originally, I had thought The It Color to be more tangerine-leaning, but I think the real difference is more in the finish: The It Color is more jelly (and takes about four coats to get opaque) while Manila is more creme.

American Apparel Palm Springs

This was the first polish I swatched and you can tell I'm still getting used to the formula. Whenever I use a new brand of polish, it always takes awhile to "calibrate" my application technique to suit the viscosity of the polish and the amount of polish the brush can hold. AA ones tend to be on the runnier side and the brush, which is rather long, retains a lot of polish. So when I was applying this for the first time, I kept on overloading the brush and then having to clean up my flooded cuticles. Palm Springs is a peachy beige, surprisingly pigmented for a pastel: two coats (though those coats were somewhat thick). It does not suit my skin at all but is a lovely color.

American Apparel Hunter

Dark forest green that is feinting in the direction of teal. Two coats, very smooth application. This may resemble Orly Enchanted Forest but I'd have to do a direct side-by-side comparison to be sure about that. I wish it didn't have that blue in it; I really wanted this to be a very dark forest green like NARS Zulu.

American Apparel Office

A cool, blue-leaning green. This is the one I wanted the most and this was probably one of the bigger disappointments for me. I have a ton of minty greens now and as with any pastel, it's a little streaky going on but I didn't expect to have to put on three coats of it to get a smoothish surface... that would have been improved with a fourth coat. Is this the color the AA offices are painted? I always associated this color with mental institutions. You know, soothing.

American Apparel Coney Island

Light carnation pink, kinda like cotton candy (as the name suggests). Totally streaky for the first two coats and still kind of uneven (but passable) at the third coat. This is a very stark, bright pastel on me. I still like it a lot though!

American Apparel Peacock

I wish I had Illamasqua Muse because this looks like it would be similar. From pictures I've seen, I think Peacock is probably darker and more blue but it definitely has a teal slant to it. The easiest application out of all the polishes for me: went on perfectly and smoothly with no clean-up. One coat would have been okay but this is two coats. And it's perfect at two coats. I love this polish, even though I don't like this color as much as I do some of the others.

The 0.5fl oz bottles are $6 each on AmericanApparel.net. I LOVE the shape of the bottles: I really enjoy the tall rectangular bottles, even though I'm always paranoid about knocking them over. They feel great to hold and look so elegant and neat when stored. The brushes are a bit long with the typical brush bristle shape (i.e. not some flatter brush like OPI Pro-Wide or the new CND brushes). I really want to go pick up more of these cremes but I think I'll wait until my local AA gets them in.

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