Creme
MAC Fall 2007
I wish I had been able to share these shades with you before they sold out on MAC‘s website. All this moving stuff is slowing me down. I didn’t expect nail lacquers to be the only products from the Smoke Signals and Blue Storm collections to sell out (with the exception of one lipglass). Though considering how gorgeous they are, it’s not overly surprising.
Being the bargain hunter that I am I generally don’t look to MAC for my polish at $10/bottle but, I can’t resist a pretty color. Which is why I covet my bottles of Vin Goth, Blue Sprinkles, Rose Topping and Tiger Tiger. And why I have a drawer filled with blue, green and purple MAC shadows even though I rarely wear makeup other than my everyday neutral look.
I have to thank the lovely and generous Julia from All About The Pretty for offering to send her samples of these four new lacquers to me.
First up, the Blue Storm shades.
Whirlwind is glorious. Even more so in person. There is no way to capture this incredible shade and do it justice. If you can still find this at your local MAC counter, buy it!! Even if you don’t wear blues or greens, BUY IT!! It applies like a dream, has amazing shimmer and fire and is completely swoon-worthy.
Rainy Day is what I’d call a “great concept, poor execution”. A beautiful stormy blue-gray is right up my alley. But making it a metallic chrome instead of a shimmer like Whirlwind was a mistake in my opinion. The application and it’s finish filled with brush strokes disappointed me. This is a case where layering could save this beautious shade. I’ll have to play with some combos.
Now on to Smoke Signals.
When I first read that MAC was coming out with a black with red shimmer I thought here we go, they’re jumping on the Lubu Heels, RBL Revamp bandwagon. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong. Why Wildfire is described as having red shimmer, I’ll never know. It’s actually a plum shimmer that turns this black based polish into a sexy deep purple on the nail.
Nocturnelle is a repromote that originally debuted with the Nocturnelle collection in October 2006, right in the middle of the black polish craze. For a black creme, Nocturnelle represents well. It’s highly pigmented, glossy and smooth. But, I couldn’t in good conscience tell you to go buy Nocturnelle when there are plenty of similar black cremes in your local drugstore that look just as nice. Unless you specifically want MAC’s formula, I say skip it.
Were any of you lucky enough to snag these beauties? Which ones are your favorites?
Top Coat Challenge – Zoya Armor
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Zoya polishes. Not only because they are a local Cleveland family owned business but because they make an excellent polish with an incredible range of colors.
Unfortunately, not everyone shares my opinion. I’ve read complaints about wear. I’ve even heard it from my own nail tech and esthetician. The main issue is that the polish peels within a day or two of application. However, that seems to be that case more often when using a quick dry top coat like Seche Vite.
I guess I’ve been fortunate to never have this issue when using my usual combo of Creative Super Shiney top coat with Qtica 1/2 Time drying drops. Though I started thinking about this as it’s not just an issue for people using Seche Vite.
After speaking with reps from both Zoya and Nubar, it makes sense that using a non-Big 3 Free top and base coat with a Big 3 Free polish would cause peeling, bubbling or shrinkage (pre-mature pulling back from nail edge). So I decided to give the entire Zoya family of products a trial run to test the theory. I used Zoya Anchor base coat, Zoya Sweet nail lacquer, Zoya Armor top coat and Zoya Hurry Up quick drying drops. Here are the results after 5 days of wear.
As the pictures show, there was very little tip wear after 5 days and no chipping. Even though Armor took a little longer to dry than the popular quick dry top coats, I still didn’t have to wait more than 30 minutes before I could function. I may have even waited too long, I was just being cautious. In fact, I did this mani before bed and woke up with no sheet marks, just pure glossiness.
So for those of you out there that gave up on Zoya polishes or haven’t tried them because of performance reviews, I would suggest giving them a try with a Big 3 Free base and top coat of your choosing. I hope you get the same results I did.
**** UPDATE – After speaking with a rep from Zoya it turns out that ingredient that is causing peeling problems for people is CELLULOSE ACETATE BUTYRATE. “Zoya lacquer will not adhere to base coats containing it. Top coats containing it must be formulated carefully to not cause problems when used with Zoya lacquer.”
Additionally, I must make a correction. Poshe is Big 3 Free which is why I haven’t experienced peeling when using it.
NOTD – Nocti Flying Naked
Well, I’ve learned my lesson about trying to do a last minute mani. It’s a Don’t! I was trying to be quick like a bunny yesterday morning and I should have known better.
Cremes, brights and darks are not the kind of polishes you can just slap on and run out the door. Thank goodness this pic doesn’t show it but, I ended up with air bubbles from not waiting between coats, blue polish on my skin from rushing and overall blech-ness.
On the upside, I love the color. Nocti Flying Naked is bold and well pigmented. The shade flourishes even more under a shiny top coat and it flowed on my nail extremely well.
Now I know that the issue I had applying them to my nail art wheels was just because of the surface not the polish. Though I must point out that this is a two coat polish. The initial coat did go on a bit streaky and uneven. But the 2nd made it perfect. I’m always afraid of cremes because they magnify imperfections as compared to a shimmer/glitter polish but the nails that I didn’t eff up actually look really good and smooth.
So those of you that took the plunge and ordered Nocti sight unseen, I can honestly say you’ll be pleased.
Misa Spring ’07 – Love Connections
Love Connections is the name of Misa’s newest collection for spring and as you can see from the picture (click for full size image), it’s definitely got that Valentine’s Day vibe. I believe it will be released by the end of January, just in time for your V-day manis.
Looking at the bottle pics up close, it looks like they’re all cremes but we’ll just have to wait and see. As much as I love my glitter and sparkle, the gloss of a great creme looks classy. Does anyone remember the old Fancy Feast commercials where you just saw a hand petting a fluffy white Persian? The image of the red nails on that hand is so vivid in my mind that every time I wear a red creme I want to run my hands through my cat’s fur. And not in some creepy cat lady way.
The colors: (l-r) Row 1 – Ur Too Sweet, Baby I Love You, Row 2 – Kiss Me Now, You’re Beautiful, Row 3 – Be My Lover, Muah..Ur Too Delicious.
Photo courtesy of Misa Cosmetics.
While I’m immediately drawn the berry goodness of You’re Beautiful, I think I’ll have to get Muah..Ur Too Sweet for the name alone. I tend to shy away from orange based reds but the name, OMG the name. Misa, Muah..Ur Too Cute!!
Also, with the introduction of these new colors comes a new formula. Misa will be using nanotechnology in this new line and eventually converting all their polishes to it. To quote Misa on how this technology will affect the polish…
Nanotechnology allows us to create products that are easier to use (apply and remove) that provide long-lasting, superior results. Nanotechnology eliminates many of the problems associated with conventional products—including higher abrasion resistance, finally improves the wear.
It provides a smoother, more even surface, allowing light to reflect evenly, Conventional Nail Polish create a less even surface, which causes swirl marks on the surface of nails Nanotechnology improves the performances of the Nail Polish:
- Ease of Application
- High Gloss
- Higher Abrasion Resistance
- Improvement Stability
I certainly am looking forward to testing out this new formula and seeing how it stands up against the traditional Misa formula.
Lisa N.
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