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China Glaze Spring 2008 Preview

By on November 26, 2007
in Big 3 Free, China Glaze, Spring 2008 with 11 Comments

After a reading about how few lucky MUA nail boarders stumbled across some never before seen China Glaze polishes at a local beauty supply, the board went into a frenzy. With holographic polishes given techno savvy names like DV8, IDK, QT and LOL and brights named Flying Dragon, Sacred Heart and Blue Sparrow how could they not. Of course, I had to investigate further.

Hide your wallets now ladies because China Glaze is hitting us with three, THREE, new color collections this spring. Something for the chat-addicted sparkle fanatics, the eco-conscious lacquer lover and the bold artists in all of us.

OMG! – Fingers are the focus when flying across the keypad. For today’s texters, having beautifully manicured digits is so important. New OMG!– 12 micro particle holographic lacquers–gives the stylish and tech-savvy women of today something to get their hands on. Two palettes—one hot, one cool– plus Wireless Holographic Top Coat. Text in colour.ECOllection – In Blahniks or Birkenstocks, going green is always fashionable. Reminding everyone to tread lightly, ECOllection shades represent sun, clouds, trees, water, sand and earth. Printed on recycled paper. Conserve in colour.INK – Tattoo art has moved out of back alley parlors onto the couture collections of fashion’s top designers. INK is a collection of neons for brilliant self expression. China Glaze wants every woman to get inked. Comes with nail art decals.I don’t have an official release date but I’ll update you when I do.

Images & Info: Courtesy of China Glaze

Zoya & Qtica For The Holidays

By on November 12, 2007
in Big 3 Free, Holiday 2007, Qtica, Zoya with 1 Comment

By the time you read this, some of these items may already be out of stock so if you’re in a shopping mood, order quickly. Zoya and Qtica put out some adorable holiday items this year.

The Minicure set ($15) is the complete Zoya Color Lock System in mini size: 0.25 Armor – basecoat, 0.25 Anchor – topcoat, 0.25 Hurry Up – speed dry drops, 1 oz Remove+ and 0.25 Zoya professional polish in Shiloh (red). Not only do the sets make great gifts but how great will these minis be for traveling?
I know these Color Cubes ($7.50) are a popular item and may or may not be available. Each includes a Hot Lips gloss and coordinating mini .25oz Zoya lacquer.Holiday Gold – Paparazzi Hot Lips & Austine, Really Red – Resolution Hot Lips & Resolution, Purple Party - Hocus Pocus Hot Lips & Roxy.

Qtica put together a little something for every skin care need.
The Scrub-A-Dub sets from the Smart Spa line include a 5.7 oz tube of shower gel or hair and body wash plus exfoliating gloves ($12). Choose from Cool, Pomegranate Lime, Vanilla Wild Plum, Exotic Mango, Lime Zest, White Tea & Mandarin Honey.The Holiday Nails set includes 0.5 oz Nail Growth Stimulator, 0.25 oz. Extending Topcoat, 0.25 oz Half Time and a special edition 0.25 oz. Intense Cuticle Repair Balm. All packaged in a festive snowflake cosmetic bag ($25).The Holiday Hands & Holiday Feet kits both include limited edition balm jars ($24.99).Holiday Lips & Tips set includes Lip Repair and Cuticle Repair balms in festive holiday packaging ($15).

OPI Blue Comparisons

By on November 6, 2007
in Big 3 Free, Blue, Fall 2007, Holiday 2007, OPI with 16 Comments

Since navy is such a big color this fall and with OPI putting out three great blues this year, I thought you all might appreciate a little side by side comparison. While I love these dark colors, capturing their true beauty on screen is REALLY difficult but I did my best.

To me, the major differences are:
Russian Navy – has a blue green base, like Glacier Bay Blues, subtle shimmer on the nail and is the closest to an actual navy shade
Who Are You Wearing? – has more purple in it’s base, multi-colored blue and red shimmer, looks blue/purple depending on the light and has an overall darker hue
OPI Ink – is the most burple (bluish purple), has the most sparkle and glitz due to the silvery micro-glitter, is the least “blackish-blue”

Which one do you prefer? Or did you just give in and buy all three?

OPI Holiday in Hollywood: Dazzling Darks & Neutrals

When I think of glitz and glam, my mind immediately drifts to Hollywood, award shows and the red carpet. For Holiday 2007 OPI takes us there with the Holiday in Hollywood Collection. It includes two distinct sets of six polishes: Dazzling Darks & Neutrals and Glamour Reds.

The Dazzling Darks & Neutrals are up first. The Glamour Reds are soon to follow.

(l-r) Stars In My Eyes, Hollywood Blonde, I’d Like To Thank

(l-r) My Big Break, Have You Seen My Limo?, Who Are You Wearing?

Stars in My Eyes is a semi-sheer sparkly silver. What you see below is two thin coats. I’m sure a third coat would make it completely opaque. As I was applying Stars in My Eyes and the majority of the sparklers in this collection I noticed a great multi-colored shimmer in the lacquer but it doesn’t appear on the nail. Instead this shade has a slightly pinkish cast and amazing depth. It dries semi-matte so if you really want to put on the glitz, add a super shiny top coat.Hollywood Blonde is my surprise of the collection. I totally didn’t expect to like, let alone love, this shade. From the few pics I’d seen of it online, it looked like a blah nude. Wow was I wrong. A glistening nudish pink semi-sheer, this is my kind pale. The gold shimmer gives it depth and a fairy dust quality. I would totally rock this on my tips or toes for a holiday party. I love when a polish blows my expectations out of the water.I’d Like To Thank… is described by OPI as a “copper shimmer.” I don’t know what Suzi has been smoking but I see no copper here. I’d Like To Thank is a duo-chrome; a shade that changes from one shade to another depending on the lighting. This one changes from a mid-tone peachy pink a deep golden rose thanks to the magical gold metallic shimmer. This is a shade I’d say is more suited to warm skin tones. The only real downside of this color is that the metallic quality made my brush strokes more apparent.My Big Break has the same consistency and duo chrome effect as I’d Like To Thank. And the same visible brush stroke issue but it’s not nearly as visible. There is a small amount of green shimmer in the formula that shows up on the nail at certain angles. Overall it’s a lovely berry rose shade that leans towards a deep lilac depending on the light.Have You Seen My Limo? gets the prize for most unique. Yet another duo-chrome, the deep grape base has silver and green shimmer that allows the shade to transform from reddish purple to a dark silvery plum. I really hope OPI adds this to their permanent Classic Collection.Who Are You Wearing? is a tough color to accurately capture. I must have shot 40+ images of it and I still had to add swatch shots from other images to give you an idea of how truly cool this polish is. When I first saw online swatches of it I thought it was just another blue, like OPI Ink or Russian Navy but, oh no it’s so much more! The final duo-chrome in this collection, Who Are You Wearing? has a red shimmer that only appears in warm indoor lighting. Otherwise it’s a battle between the blue shimmer and the purple base as to which color you’ll see. The purple being the hardest to capture digitally. This is a shade you MUST see for yourself.The Holiday In Hollywood collection is available now at professional salons, including Ulta, Trade Secret, Regis, Pure Beauty, JCPenney, Dillard’s, Beauty First, and Beauty Brands.

Now it’s time for you to weigh in. Which shades have you drooling? Which ones have you bought? What’s on your wish list? What didn’t work for you? Any lemmings killed?

MAC Holiday 2007 – Antiquitease

By on October 17, 2007
in Big 3 Free, Gold, Holiday 2007, MAC, White with 5 Comments

The first of the highly anticipated MAC Holiday collections is now available on the MACCosmetics.com website. The Antiquitease Colour collection not only includes some gorgeous mineral eyeshadow duos that I’ll have to snag but, also two new nail lacquers.

The line will be in stores tomorrow (October 18th). I’ll be reviewing the lacquers soon but for now, here are some teaser pics courtesy of MAC.

Vestral White – Creamy White (cream)

Gold Veneer – Tarnished Yellow Gold (frost)

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