Blue
Zoya Dare Collection Review and Swatches
 Zoya Dare has landed and after much anticipation, I’ve got your first look at them on the nail. As you may remember, the Dare collection of Zoya’s Truth or Dare Fall lineup is a group of chic, dramatic shades with five cremes and one shimmer. Let’s get right to it and check out the colors, shall we? |
With the exception of Ibiza all the Dare collection polishes are cremes. They all glide on smooth and even in spite of the formula’s thickness. The shades are well pigmented requiring only two coats and dry with a high gloss shine.
Demi is a midtone reddish purple, you might call it a mauve. In the bottle it looked a bit Barney-ish but it’s a very pretty on the nail.
Ciara has a sundrenched raspberry look about it. Don’t get me wrong it’s vivid and rich, not at all dusty, those are just the first two words that came to mind when looking at it. 
Vanessa is a berry based cool red. It applies very close to bottle color on the first coat which is always a plus with reds.
Pinta is the definition of burple (bluish purple). It definitely leans way blue but you can see its purple roots in bright light. My issue is that it’s so dark that unless you’re in sunlight, you’re the only person who will know how truly stunning this shade is.
For that reason I decided to take a sunlight shot of it. You see I shy away from direct sunlight swatching because I find it to be SOOOO inaccurate and I don’t want you kids buying a color and being disappointed when it looks NOTHING like what I showed you. So for the purposes of displaying the base color only, I did this sunlight shot for you.
Envy is a mossy deep forest green that has an earthy, camouflage feel to it. What’s funny is that as I applied it, the first coat had a graininess that looks like watercolor which I originally mistook for shimmer. With the second coat it’s pure glossy creme. Though if you want the bottle color and not an “almost black” make sure you apply two thin coats. Three is way too much.
Ibiza is a shimmery deep sapphire blue. The color is so dark and the shimmer is so subtle that you barely notice it outside of direct sunlight. Honestly, I love Indigo, with its multi-colored micro-glitter, so much that Ibiza is just OK for me.
The Zoya Dare Collection polishes retail for $6/each and are available for PRE-ORDER now on Zoya.com with a ship date of July 15th.
So all my DARE girls out there, what do you think?
NOTD – Barielle Berry Blue
 During a convo with Elle (Barielle Spokesperson) a few weeks back we were talking color and about some of the various Shades by Barielle polishes she loves and she couldn’t BELIEVE that I didn’t have Berry Blue. She went on to rave about its amazingness so of course I had to get my hands on it.
Because I do so much swatching for ALU I only have time to do a full manicure about once a week and it’s usually on the weekends. So this past weekend I decided to give Berry Blue and go and Elle was right, it’s incredibly gorg. Check it out along with its China Glaze cousin, after the jump! |
Berry Blue is a smooth as butter navy creme. On the first coat you can see a bit of OPI Glacier Bay Blues tealishness but after the second coat it’s a deep and pure blue. It does lean towards that blue-black territory when you’re not in day/sunlight but for the most part you can always tells it’s blue.
China Glaze Calypso Blue from the Bahama Blues collection is Berry Blues closest living relative. The main difference is that CB dries a bit darker. It would take a fanatic to tell the difference so if you already own CB you probably don’t need Berry Blue but I’m not giving away my bottle any time soon!
Berry Blue retails for $8 on Barielle.com and their ongoing Buy Two Get One Free promotion means you can get three polishes for a little over $5/ea. If you need some enabling, check out my past Barielle reviews.
OPI Matte Collection Review, Swatches & Comparisons
 When I got my hands on the new OPI Matte nail polishes, I immediately started swatching them on my fingers. This was my first time using a true matte polish and all I could say was, “Wow, that’s MATTE alright!” I’ve never seen anything like these before. Think about dipping your fingers in flat wall paint and that’s the look we’re talking about here fanatics. Not at all like the satin-esque finish I got from using Orly Nails For Males top coat for my matte & glossy nail art experiment. It’s like the black hole of nail polish, no light lives here.
I’ve got swatches, a full review and comparison shots for you after the jump! |
It states that you should NOT use a base coat, top coat, drying drops or hand lotion. According to OPI, “because of the different formulation of the OPI Matte Nail Lacquers, it is best to wear it without a base coat and to stay away from lotions to get the best, most fabulous matte look possible.” My theory… hand lotion will affect the finish, making it more satin looking and a base coat affects the application (streaking, unevenness, etc). Application – This formula dries FAST. Like lightening fast so you must work quickly and meticulously. Any hesitation in your brush stroke will show as will any imperfections in your nail bed, like ridges. The polish is thick and highly pigmented but because of the difficulty in getting it smooth, I needed to do three coats of each shade.
By the following day I already had two chips on my index and ring fingers, by day five, well you can see the disaster they were. Going out to dinner with nails like this was, um “fun.” The boyfriend just shakes his head at this point. Meanwhile, the nails with base coat showed normal tip wear, nothing drastic. While OPI doesn’t suggest using base coat, I highly recommend it for two reasons: 1. So you don’t feel like you wasted your money on a polish that only lasts two days. 2. To avoid staining. The dark colors do stain! It may mean trickier application but it’s worth it for longer wear. Now let’s move on to the colors Alpine Snow Matte is the polish version of painting Wite-Out to your nails. It’s chalky and blindingly bright. I know you’ve weighed in on the matte look but what do you think about OPI’s version? Will you be running out to buy them?
Every bottle of OPI Matte comes with a little tag that explains the nature of the formula, rules regarding application and suggestions on how to wear it (i.e. matte nail w/glossy tip).
Wear – I experimented with the no base coat rule when I did my five day wear test. I buffed then prepped my nails using Seche Prep to make sure they were free of any oils. I applied CND Stickey base coat to three nails (thumb, middle, pinkie) and left the other two bare. I noticed that the formula didn’t flow as nicely over the nails coated with Stickey.
Even though original Alpine Snow is used as a french tip shade, next to the matte version it looks almost off white. Now because Orly Matte has a tinge of color to it, it altered the color of Alpine Snow making it more creamy.
Gargantuan Green Grape Matte is also very chalky and as much as I love a green, I’m not in love with this. It reminds me of a faded dried out pressed leaf. Unfortunately I don’t own the original version (I know, I know sacrilege) so I can’t compare them for you.
As much as I’m not a pink girl La Paz-itively Hot Matte is my favorite polish in the collection. It’s the shimmer in it that gets me, making the finish a bit more satin than the rest.
As you can see La Paz Matte is NOTHING like the original. La Paz is a hot pink but the matte version is more rosey and deeper in hue. Both colors are actually more vibrant in person but my camera just can’t capture that.
I showed you You Don’t Know Jacques Matte in my second matte/glossy nail art experiment but here it is on its own. Is it just me or does it look like I rubbed dirt on my nails? I don’t hate the color but the finish just isn’t doing it for me. It doesn’t have the same uniqueness as the original (below).
Lincoln Park After Dark Matte is the same almost black plum that the world has come to know and love. In most light it looks pretty black, in natural/sunlight you can see the purple undertones. It’s warmer than a flat black just like it’s shiny finish sister.
Now after seeing La Paz Matte I had high hopes for Russian Navy Matte, expecting that same slightly satin, shimmer-filled finish. But that’s not what we got. Instead it’s a lifeless blue-black hue.
In this case, I much prefer the satin version using Orly Matte.
The OPI Matte collection officially goes on sale in July and can be found online at our fave e-tailers and in professional salons like Regis, ULTA, Trade Secret, JCPenney.
The ALU Archives – China Glaze Groovy Green & Moody Blue
 The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash.
The Archives are going retro with a couple of fun, mod shades this week. As I was researching an article for StyleBakery Teen about mint colored nails, I dug out an oldie but goodie, China Glaze Groovy Green. I don’t know how I had forgotten about this gorg shade but that’s what happens when you accumulate way more polish than any one person should. While I was in unearthing mode I also pulled out GG’s Patent Leather collection sister, Moody Blue to show you.
Check ‘em out after the jump! |
I remember when I first got Groovy Green I tried it on my toes. I thought it would be a cool, fresh look. The boyfriend on the other hand said it reminded him of Nosferatu. Of course I shared that gem with my girls on the MUA Nail Board which prompted one of my online pals to dub me “Nosfera-TOE!” Ah, memories!
Getting back to the color, Groovy Green really emulates pastel, mint green more than any other polish I own. If you’re looking for that Chanel runway look, this is the closest you’ll get unless Chanel actually releases the shade. A word of warning, GG isn’t the most opaque polish on the planet but the formula is smooth, like buttah. It takes four thin coats to get there but it’s so, so worth it.
Moody Blue is a pale sky blue creme that dries to a high gloss finish. What I love is that unlike a lot of pastels, it’s not chalky. Though like Groovy Green, it requires four coats for full coverage but I honestly love this whole collection so much that I ignore that.
In addition to these two shades the Patent Leather collection from China Glaze includes White Out, Go Go Pink, Lavender Lingo and Aqua Baby. Even though it’s an old collection all the polishes, with the exception of Go Go Pink and Moody Blue, are available on Head2ToeBeauty.com for $2.99/ea. You can still find bottles of Moody Blue floating around if you do a little online digging. If you find a well stocked supplier, please let us know.
So what do you think fanatics? We we feeling these mod cremes?
And don’t forget… My B-Day Chanel Giveaway ends this Sunday so ENTER NOW!!!!
Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition Nail Color – Part 2
 Last week I showed you the first half of the new Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition collection and now I’m wrapping up the back end and including a couple comparisons for you.
I should note that I was not aware that there are actually eight shades in the collection. A reader pointed out that I am missing a pink named Digital. I incorrectly assumed that Opulent Cloud was the eighth polish in this lineup but it will actually launch closer to fall. Check out the rest of the colors, after the jump! |
Lite has got to be one of my favorite yellows of late. It’s the yellow brick road in a bottle. I love how it glows on the nail and its pigmentation is way more impressive than its HD sisters.
Looking through my collection of yellows, OPI Lemonade Stand By Your Man is a very close twin to Lite. The only major difference is opacity. After three coats, the OPI still has a VNL (visible nail line). And just for funsies I threw in China Glaze Yell-O-Neil which is way more French’s mustard than the rest.
Three D is a warm coral that flashes hot pink. It’s not quite as vibrant as the other HDs and therefore not really wow-tastic. Of all the colors in this collection, this is the one I’d pass on.
Hi Res is much more rosy in person and extremely vivid, not an easy one to capture. It’s packed with pigment so three coats were barely necessary, though I did it anyway for consistency.
After seeing Blu in part one, reader moonchaii asked to see it next to Illamasqua Fern and China Glaze Frostbite. I’d say it falls somewhere in between the two.
The Sally Hansen Hi-Definition Nail Color collection ($5.95) officially launches in July at drugstores and mass retailers like WalMart, KMart and Target though readers have already begun spotting them on shelves around the country.
So now that you’ve seen all the shades, which ones are your favorites? Which ones are a pass?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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