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ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – China Glaze 108 Degrees from the Island Escape Collection
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
In the summer, there’s nothing I love better than a fabulous China Glaze glass fleck nail polish. I always associate that type of finish with the season because China Glaze had a tradition of releasing glass fleck collections every year just in time for summer. The series, dubbed Babes in Toeland, produced some of the best glass flecks I have ever seen; Wicked Step Sisters, Stroke of Midnight, Sass in a Glass and Drinkin My Blues Away among others. The glass flecks continued but away from the Babes in Toeland moniker when the beloved Surf collection released and then we didn’t see another glass fleck collection until Summer Days. While China Glaze still includes some glass flecks in their collections, we haven’t seen a set dedicated to them since. Which brings me to today’s untried, China Glaze 108 Degrees from the Island Escape collection for Summer 2011. Even though there are a couple cremes in the lineup I’m happy to see the return of my favorite nail polish finish. |
ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Glitter Gal Blue Holographic Nail Polish
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.A few days ago, Melissa from The Daily Nail was asking about “linear holographic nail polish” on Twitter. I had to scratch my head as I’ve never heard of holos being referred to as “linear.” Who comes up with this stuff?
Apparently “linear” refers to holographic polishes that create intense rainbows or a prismatic effect on the nail as compared to holographic glitter that flashes multiple colors but doesn’t create a rainbow pattern. This style of holo nail polish is becoming more and more rare as whispers of holo pigment price increases are heard throughout the nail industry. More recently a Twitter discussion of foreign nail polish brands led me to my bin of non-US untrieds, specifically the Australian Glitter Gal Blue holo nail polish. |
ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – American Apparel Butter
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
“They call me Mellow Yellow, quite rightly. The day after our annual trip to Put-In-Bay I’m usually in recovery mode. Staying up til 4am every night, consuming a wee too much alcohol and indulging in all the delicious treats that accompany backyard barbecues take a lot out of a girl. So the last thing I wanted was a bright or vampy nail polish. I looked to my untrieds stash for something soothing and calming and came up with American Apparel Butter. I know it’s been said that yellow is actually a hostile color. That more fights will occur in kitchens painted yellow than blue or green but I can’t imagine anyone getting stabby over a color that looks like it was made from the fuzz of baby chicks. |
ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Cult Nails Living Water
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
I first learned of Cult Nails from my friend and fellow Ohioan, Styrch from Pretty In Dayton. The brand intrigued me but being that I didn’t know the founder, Maria from R3Daily, I was a bit skeptical. As we’ve learned, some brands rely on private label companies to throw together a nail polish line using stock colors that can be easily found at a much lower cost. What convinced me to give Cult Nails a try is Maria herself. Learning about her passion for nails and desire to cultivate the brand by building slowly with custom colors is truly inspiring. I was thrilled to put her formula and colors to the test and I’m starting with Cult Nails Living Water. |
ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Essie Smooth Sailing from the Braziliant Summer 2011 Collection
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
This past weekend I have been at my favorite Ohio destination, Put-In-Bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. Every year my friends from my Cedar Point days rent a house for a long weekend to reminisce about the good old days (wow do I sound old) and create new memories. This is our tenth year taking this trip and it just keeps getting better. Choosing a nail polish to wear for a whole weekend is a challenge as I’m not used to committing to a color for an extended period of time. However, I’ve been tempted by Essie Smooth Sailing from the summer Braziliant collection ever since it arrived. After fawning over Coat Azure, I was curious to see if this new blue hue could live up to the same standard. |
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