Zoya Tamsen & Ashley

Sadly swatch pictures (almost universally, including mine) are not accurate on this one. You are better off believing the description on the Zoya site: a "Medium warm brick red with strong orange tones" indeed.





(2 coats)

I bought this instead of Sooki because I was fairly sure Sooki would not look good on me and I am forever in search of a great orange based red.

But this is red, orange and a healthy helping of brown. Sure in bright light it's gorgeous. But really, in most other lights it's just a brick red (I tried to capture it in the last photo but even that is still too red in my view).

If you're still interested well then SLAM it into your checkout cart because the formula is love. Smooth, silky, and you can almost do one thick coat and call it done (instead i did 2 medium coats). No drying issues either (for me).



(3 coats)

I went through my stash and counted. I have 2 berry-red cremes. And this is one of them. And I like it! Very much. (Ladies of Color - if you are having a hard time finding a red that you can pull off, inch over to the berry-reds. They're very flattering.)

But as I purge I have to be strict about formula and 3 coats to get an even finish on what is a standard berry-red creme is....well. I can't go for that, noOOooooo (noo); no can do.

So now I have one berry-red creme in a stash of hundreds. Maybe I'll covet it now, instead of ignoring the poor dear.

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Trying pink victory! Butter London Fairy Lights

While I'm not usually a pink kinda girl, this one ticks all the boxes. I am obsessed with it. Not a surprise given that the merest hint of a metallic polish is guaranteed to drive me batshit...and this is a rich, pink chrome. Sorry in advance for picture overload. And any lemmings created.



It's fully opaque in two coats. You could even get away with one, but since chromes show imperfections, I use two with a coat of seche vite layered inbetween and lumos on top, which totally hides the fact that I have a couple of teabag patches right now. (You can tell my nails are bad if I'm willing to butcher my precious Whittard teabags to fix it). But rather than waffle on, I'm just going to show you pictures. Which are no-where near as pretty as the polish, so you'll have to use your imagination.


It's slightly blue but is so super shiny that it shifts colours in different lights. Right now indoors it looks baby pink. Outdoors it's darker and cool-toned. In the sunshine it glows white. Being a chrome it's also a whizz to apply and dries really quick.


I have bought a back up since this is limited edition and I tend to wear my chromes a lot. That doesn't count towards the no-buy, right?! (OK, so maybe the other three BLs I bought to make up the shipping do...) /guilt. Looks nice under red shatter, too:

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Worth it - Chanel Graphite

I had convinced myself that I would never buy a Chanel polish again. They chip horrendously on me and are terribly overpriced. However, Graphite really really called to me - ever since I saw some promo shots from the runway those many months ago. Upon it's release online, I managed to hold fast - I resisted!! I told myself I didn't need it, it wasn't *that* special, and Barry M would come up with a good dupe before long.

Then my mother went to preview the Chanel fall collection. I think she wanted some of the new eyeshadows. (Which I want as well.) She saw that Graphite was a hot commodity, and decided that she needed to get it for me. She even told me it was "the only one of them that won't make your skin look even more jaundiced that it already does". Ah, honesty.

How glad am I that she picked this up for me?

So glad.

Shockingly, I've been wearing this for *days and days* now, and am in the midst of moving and it has only chipped a tiny bit on one finger, where I smudged the polish initially. Seriously shocked at this. Also...it's effing gorgeous!! It's like OPI Brand New Skates on shimmer 'roids! I love things that have a bit of a gold tinge to them - I usually wear gold jewelry so it works for me. Honestly, I can't really explain, either in pictures or in words, how densely packed with shimmer this is, or how gorgeous and multi-faceted the colour is. I implore you to go to your nearest Chanel counter and check it out.

In the end I managed to stay true to my mantra of "don't buy any more Chanel polishes," thanks to my mother's generosity. But sometimes mother truly knows best. My verdict on this one? Even as a Chanel skeptic, I say - worth it.

Have you tried any of the Chanel Fall 2011 polishes? What about the eyeshadows? I'd love to hear what you think!

kittytokaren

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Sally Hansen Evening Fog

(2 coats)

Holy crap, I'm upset I avoided the Sally Hansen Complete Salon polishes for so long (hate the bottles) the formula is tdf. This was so creamy and smooth; perfect in two coats.

Love this color, so few taupes look good on me. This one works because (1) it's really light (so it doesn't compete with my skin color) and (2) it leans green heavily as opposed to being more of a mushroom/brown (so it doesn't clash with my skin tone).

I liked it so much when I wore it, my brain started whispering, "back up!"

But, I'm in the middle of a stash cleanse at the moment. I have 30 untrieds and an almost full helmer. So I can't actually buy a back up, and I forced myself to go through my collection looking for near-dupes.


(2 coats)

This is Sand Tropez, obviously it's way off. Unsurprisingly, the formula was classic watery Essie.


(2 coats)

This is Skull & Glossbones. Formula-wise, this was the most comparable to Evening Fog. It was lovely and creamy. Color isn't right though, this is much more grey than Evening Fog; there's just less color in it.


(3 coats)

Playa Del Platinum is the closest color. It's just a touch less green. The formula was really watery and needed 3 coats.

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Nubar Baby Sprout and Essie Kisses and Bises

Despite its imperfections (umm, I don't know why my Poshe has developed black lint... wtf??) I loved both of these NOTDs.

Nubar Baby Sprout

A little bit on the stark side, Baby Sprout is a light pastel green with very fine pearly shimmer. It does appear creme in lower lights but as soon as the sun hits it, the pearly finish comes out. This was three coats (on the second day of wear, I believe).

Nubar Baby Sprout and Essie Kisses and Bises

And I was just OBSESSED with this manicure. I had read that Kisses and Bises was really a very neat layering polish but I didn't think that this pink/purple shimmer in a mostly clear base would wow me as much as it did. It added such depth and interest to Baby Sprout! It's subtle and playful at the same time. Love it. I used one coat of Baby Sprout.

Closeup of Baby Sprout and Kisses and Bises

See! The fabulous! shimmer. :) Ignore the freakin' lint. :(

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