Gold
Orly Metal Chic Metallic Matte Swatches & Review
A perfect addition to your special occassion Orly’s newest set of matte colors, Metal Chic, includes three metallic shades that will add a fun twist to your party look. Iron Butterfly, Glam Rock and Solid Gold are in the same vein as the OPI Suede and Zoya MatteVelvet polishes in that they contain metallic shimmer to add a bit of bling to what could be a very flat, wall paint-ish polish.
Even though I’ve been a proponent of using a matte top coat versus a matte nail polish, there is one HUGE advantage in the matte polish corner… dry time!! Even though I love painting my nails, I don’t always have time to execute the perfect manicure. Case in point, last night. I was heading downtown for a charity event but was running late, per usual. It was bad enough that my tips were naked during my charity beauty sale but two nights in a row was unacceptable. So I threw on a quick coat of Iron Butterfly and not only did it give great coverage, it was dry before I got out the door. Talk about convenient. Check out these last minute manicure wonders along with some comparisons, after the jump! |
China Glaze Wizard of Ooh Ahz Swatches, Comparisons & Review
The highly anticipated Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection is finally here. After a lot of nail board begging, petitions and pleas the people at China Glaze listened and brought back the famed 2001 collection including the much talked about but rarely seen Dorothy Who?, Good Witch? and C-C-Courage.I’ve been fortunate to have owned, or seen in person, all the original WOOA polishes but most have not been as lucky, even the people AT China Glaze. Thanks to the help of original WOOA owners, like myself, the brand attempted to re-create the collection and they’ve come pretty close for what they had to work with. Check out the 2009 version of these beauties and see how they stack up against the originals (that I still own), after the jump! |
China Glaze ‘Loves You Snow Much’ Holiday Swatches & Review
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That seems to be the China Glaze adage for Holiday 2009 and I totally get it. I mean how much did we all freak out over Emerald Sparkle? It’s the ultimate in green glitter gorgeousness. And how many of you regretted not getting a backup?
Well China Glaze obviously “Loves You Snow Much” to bring it back with a brand new friend. They’ve expanded last year’s Sleigh Ride trio of Tinsel, Ruby Pumps and Emerald Sparkle to include the way apropos 5 Golden Rings. Check out the new kid on the block and refresh your memory as to why Emerald Sparkle is an utter must-have.
Wearing My Cleveland Pride – Go Cavs!
 The Cleveland Cavaliers kick off Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs tonight at home against Atlanta so it’s a perfect time for a sports themed manicure. Confession: I’m not really a big time Cavs fan. I’m not even going to pretend be. Like a lot of folks here in the Cleveburg, I’m a fair weather fan of all Cleveland sports teams outside of the Browns. We’re just a football kind of town, regardless of how many win-less years we face.
However, when the Cavs or Indians do well (which is rare) I’m all on board. So this season, color me a fan all the way down to my fingertips. Last week my friend Steph asked for a Cavaliers color rec so I went hunting through my stash for the perfect wine and old gold. |
In an attempt to keep my color choices accessible, I decided upon and Sally Hansen Wine Not? and Orly Gold Rush only to learn that Gold Rush is discontinued. Which is a shame because it matches the Cavs’ logo the best. I picked up Gold Rush at a local CVS last year so there may be bottles still floating around. Some great alternatives would be Sally Hansen Tassel from the Tracy Reese Spring collection, Zoya Goldie and OPI Curry Up Don’t Be Late.
I took a shot of it using flash to show how rich the tones are and the subtle twinkle in Gold Rush.
Zoya Ooh-La-La for Summer 2009
 As I’m sure you know by now, metallic polishes and I aren’t friends. Why? Because for the most part, metallic = brush stroke madness. So you can imagine my disappointment when I heard that one of Zoya‘s two collections for summer, Ohh-La-La, consisted entirely of metallics.
I decided to reserve judgment until I got my mitts on them and I’m so glad I did. With the exception on one or two problem children, brush strokes are nowhere to be found. Overall, the colors are fun and bright, I just wish they were more pigmented. The majority required three coats though I’ll take that over a thick gloppy polish. Check them out after the jump! |
Midori is the shade I was most excited to see. This green lover can never get enough. A lovely grassy hue packed with golden metallic shimmer, Midori reminds me of a perfect green apple. Though it’s not entirely unique. It’s actually a dead on dupe for last summer’s Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine Glow. In person, you can’t tell the difference.
Katy is a stunning hot pink shade with just a subtle hint of shimmer. Unlike the rest of the shades in this collection, Katy looks like a creme away from the bright sun. What I love is that is has a touch of rosy-ness that keeps it from being neon. I think this will be a knockout pedi shade.
Goldie was one of my problem children due to brush strokes but it wasn’t horrifyingly bad. It has to be the most gold bar-like shade I’ve ever seen. It’s very vibrant. I predict that this one will be a shade you either LOVE or HATE. There’s no middle of the road here.
When I saw the promo pic of Ginessa I was hoping for a sparkly white instead of a foil-like light silver. I’m all over whites for summer. Though the lightness of Ginessa keeps it from being disco ball silver. I just wish it applied better. It went on streaky, pulling at my cuticles, requiring three coats. And when I removed it, it left little sparkles all over my cuticles that were such a bitch to get rid of.
Emme was my other problem child. Think of her as Bender from The Breakfast Club. Rebellious and a royal pain in the arse. Emme’s warm pink hue is very bubblegum, which I love however, the brush strokes were unbearable, which I DON’T love. I know some people can deal but my perfectionist side can’t. My mom, on the other hand, loves this type of finish and will give Emme a great home.
Tallulah is my “must have” of the collection. It has this gorgeous cornflower base that is electrified with bright blue shimmer. It’s yet another unqiue blue to add to my stash. What really pleased me was that it applies a bit darker than how it looks in the bottle because side by side, it looked like an identical twin to yet another Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine shade, Flash. But as you can see below, Flash doesn’t even come close.
The Zoya Ooh-La-La collection retails for $6/ea and is on sale now at Zoya.com and in salons across the country.
What do we think? Who’s already hauled from Ooh-La-La? What did you get?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
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