Tropical Storm

Polish - L.A. Colors Tropical Storm

Tropical Storm is a nice steel gray, that I'm gonna call a cross between a shimmer and a foil. It's almost both, but not quite fully one or the other. It's got a bad habit of showing brushstrokes, which I don't like, but a coat of Seche Vite made those a lot less noticable from far away. I think I can live with that.



The application, as with almost every L.A. Colors polish I've tried, was pretty much hassle-free. Coverage was very good, requiring only 2 coats for complete opacity.



I'm telling you all again, don't let the $1 price tag on this brand fool you. It's a great go-to, that rarely disappoints, and there are some really fantastic colors out there. While Tropical Storm may not be my favorite polish, it's still a good alternative to dove-gray, when you're not in a bright and cheery mood, but don't want to go vampy either.



Go get'cha some!

Star Spangled

Polish - Orly Star Spangled

As you can see, I'm a bit behind on my posts.  This was my 4th of July manicure.

I'm one of the few people who really enjoy these little "sample" size Orly polishes.  I love the little tiny bottles.  The brushes work well for me, and I don't have any trouble gripping the cap.  I once took one to get a pedicure (back before I learned not to pay for a pedicure) and the girl almost wouldn't even use my polish.  I always took my own polish, so I was ready to just leave, but she finally gave it and used the little bottle.  I thought that was so strange.

Anyway, Star Spangled is a sparkly red, that leans just ever so slightly toward pink.  In the bottle it looks like it might have some black flecks in it, but that must be some sort of optical illusion, because on the nail it's just a red with red flecks.  It's so pretty in the sun!









If you're looking for a sparkly red, or need a go-to 4th of July or Valentine's Day color, go get this one.  I'm pretty sure it's still available, at least in the mini bottles.  Enjoy!

Purple Rain

Polish - Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Purple Rain

Cue the Prince music!  This color really should have been named Raspberry Beret.  It's a super dark raspberry purple cream.  It goes on smooth, self-levels, and really did wear pretty well.  I didn't do a 10 day or even a 5 day test on it, but I think I ended up wearing this color for a good 3 days, which is a long time for me, and it help up very well.



I applied Hard as Nails basecoat, 3 medium coats of polish, and a coat of Seche Vite.  With three coats, it has great coverage, but comes out very very dark.  If you have a steadier hand than I do, and want it a bit lighter, you could probably get by with just 2 coats. 





This is a pretty shade, a little vampy and dark, but pretty.  I'll be keeping it around for sure.

Suvi

Polish - Zoya Suvi

Well, I have never had the pleasure of visiting New York, so I'm not sure if I love it. But I know I don't love Suvi. I don't know what it is about this color, but it's just so "meh" to me that I almost can't even stand it. I got it as part of a 3 polish St. Patrick's Day set back in February and even out of the mail package when I swatched it, I just didn't like it. The first coat is horribly ugly and streaky. That gets better with the second and third coat. It ends up with very good coverage, but I just can't stand the color. I've never seen it on anyone else, so I can't say if it's just my skin tone that I hate it with or if I just don't like the polish period.

It's a bummer though, because from the bottle you'd this it would be a stunning green. It's even got a shimmer, which you know I usually love. But here? Not so much.

We're having a bit of an overcast day, so I had to use the flash to get a good glimpse of the real color. I'll also post a shadow photo, for comparison.

Flash






Overcast




If you try Suvi and like it more than me, please let me know. Hopefully it just doesn't mesh well with my skin tone.

Magnetic Force

Polish - L.A. Colors Color Craze in Magnetic Force

I guess it's good that Virginia is for Lovers, because I am in love with Magnetic Force.  It has officially taken over as my new favorite polish for Summer!  Flip Flop Fantasy can suck it, y'all!

Magnetic Force looks pink in the bottle, but on the nail, it's a true beautiful coral.  And it has a wonderful gold shimmer that just adds that extra oomph to take it one step past FFF.  It was easy to apply, left no streaks or cuticle drag, and I could have easily gotten away with one thick coat if I were in a hurry.  For this manicure, I applied 3 thin coats over my basecoat, and a final coat of Seche Vite for quick drying.

Direct Sun


Indirect Sun


Shadow


And that beautiful golden shimmer...


I first applied Magnetic Force this past Friday evening.  It was already dark, so I didn't have a chance to take a decent photo.  The next morning I had to work, and that evening I went bowling.  We spent all day Sunday at a drag boat race and let's just say my nails took a beating over the weekend.  I took this photo this morning, after 4 days of hard wear and tear.

As you can see, if it weren't for the couple of peely nails I have, this would have only shown minimal tip wear.  I give it an A for effort.

Now, get thee to a Dollar Tree and snatch this color up.  It's perfect for Summer!

Tropical Breeze

Polish - L.A. Colors Color Craze Nail Polish in Tropical Breeze

L.A. Colors polish is really pretty great stuff.  I buy it at my local Dollar Tree store for a dollar.  How amazing is that?  It's at least 3 free, if not 4 free (free of the bad stuff, that is) and is beyond cheap.  And it's usually a pretty good formula to boot!

Tropical Breeze is a true grape purple shade.  It's a cream, and goes on a little watery at first, but after three coats, it provides total coverage.  As you will see, I have just minimal cuticle drag on a few nails, but if I had not been in a hurry while applying it, I don't think that would have been an issue at all. And as it is, it's not bad enough to show much with the naked eye.

This polish is somewhat shiny without a shiny topcoat, but I still prefer extra shine, so put a coat of Seche Vite over it and it's nearly perfect.







This is the prettiest, truest grape I've seen, in a long time.  Go ahead and make that trip down to Dollar Tree and pick it up.  It's totally worth the price of gas!

Flip Flop Fantasy

Polish - China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy
NonNubs - Day 1

The nubs are officially non-nubs, y'all! I'm very excited. I can finally scratch an itch. Fun times.

Today's color is a real beauty, I'm not gonna lie. It's a perfect shade for summer. It's so bright and pretty. It looks nice on almost any skin tone. It's a really winner in that regard.

It's a little tricky to apply. I had to use 3 semi-thick coats to get good coverage. But, with a coat of Seche Vite afterwards, there were no drying issues at all.

My only other complaint is that, as of this writing, it's been less than 18 hours since application, and I already have small chips on 4 fingers. It's a bummer, but it doesn't mean I'll be throwing this polish out. It's still a winner, overall.

This photo was taken in indirect sunlight. You can see that it's still as bright as bright can be. It's basically a neon, and it's lovely.



All the rest of these photos were taken in direct sunlight, and wow - isn't it something?









If you haven't done so already, go out and buy this one.  I don't think you'll regret it.

Banana Bamba

Polish - Maybelline Express Finish 50 Second Nail Color in Banana Bamba
Nubs - Days 10-15

I know you'll be shocked, but I got this polish on clearance at Big Lots.  I got it because it looked like a nice mellow yellow in the bottle, and I didn't have a nice yellow in my collection.  I had a possibly-school bus yellow (that's later on down the list of untrieds) but nothing soft like this one.

The brush was squat and very thick.  It really sucked up the polish, which you'd think would make it go on a lot smoother.  Well, it didn't.  It was kind of a streaky mess to apply.  But with 3 thin coats and some Seche Vite, it came out as well as could be expected.

The day after I put on this polish, I started reading about how horribly the Maybelline Express Finish polishes chip and don't wear well at all.  Well, at that point, it became a quest to see how long it would last.  I wore it for 5 solid days and it wasn't as awful as I'd expected.  I never reapplied my top coat, and it still ended up with just tip wear and just a couple of small chips.  I will say that the first of those chips came within 12 hours of application, though.  If you look closely, you can see it on the edge of my thumbnail.  But that was it until the last day.  I was impressed, for the most part.  But that doesn't mean I'll be flying out to scoop up anymore of this polish.  If I come across another color that I like the look of, and it's cheap enough, I'll probably buy it.  But I don't plan to start hoarding it or anything.



You can see the soft shimmer in this photo.  It gives it a little extra kick and makes it just a little more special, don't you think?






And this is after 5 solid days of wear.  It's not a wonderful photo - the sun was almost set by the time I remembered to go out and take it.  But you can still see the wear.  Not too bad.

Raspberry Rush

Polish - CQ Raspberry Rush
Nubs - Day 8

Well, finally, a polish that wasn't free or on clearance!  I bought this CQ polish probably 10 years ago and I'm sure I purchased it from Wal-Mart.  It's not truly untried, but it's untried within the past 5 years, for sure.  I figured that should count for something.

When I was maybe 5 years old, I was a flower girl in a wedding.  My dress was this color, almost exactly.  I loved that dress.  And I love the color of this polish.  The finish isn't my favorite, but it is better than the Rimmel from a few days ago.  I will give it that much. 

When applying this polish, I had planned to use 1 coat of Sally Hansen Double Duty, 2 coats of polish, and a final coat of Double Duty.  I knew the coverage on this polish would be sufficient after 2 coats.  It was meant to be a quick, stress-free manicure.

Well, things didn't go according to plan.  In the middle of doing my mani, the storm came, and we had to move the car to a safer location, in case it hailed.  And then a bunch of other stuff happened.  It was a crazy night.  So what I finally ended up with was, 1 coat of Double Duty, 2 coats of polish, 1 coat of Seche Vite, another coat of polish, and a final coat of Seche Vite. 

The problem with that, was that almost immediately after, I gave my husband a haircut and ended up gouging my right thumb and middle finger.  And with no time to redo them, the following photos were taken of my left hand instead.  I normally take photos of my right hand, because I am left handed and therefore my right hand always looks better than my left.  But, not today.

On top of the mess that was this manicure's life, it's also a rainy, cloudy, yucky day.  So the photos are not great.  But, I got some decent color representation with the flash and also got a good shot of what you would think would be shimmer in the bottle.  Well, the shimmer from the bottle is nonexistant on the nail.  Which is a shame.  It might have brought this polish to a special place, but it kind of falls flat.  This polish has been kicking around for so long though, that I'll probably still keep it in my stache.  At this rate, I'm not going to weed out anything, am I?

See?  Beautiful subtle shimmer!  To bad it doesn't actually exist.




Lost in the shadows, right here...gah!

In the Mood

Polish - Ulta Professional Nail Lacquer in In The Mood
Nubs - Day 6

Well, y'all, I hate to admit it, but this polish was 99 cents in the Ulta clearance bin when I picked it up.  Do I own ANY full price polish?  I don't even know anymore.

I don't usually enjoy wearing creams all that much.  The application is never easy for me.  My nails have ridges and flaws, and creams seem to show every single one.  But this polish wasn't bad to apply at all.  It gave me pretty good coverage and didn't streak much.  I was pleasantly suprised.

I used my usual cream trick and applied my Orly Bonder basecoat, then 2 coats of In The Mood, then a coat of  Seche Vite fast drying top coat, a final coat of In The Mood, and then a final coat of Seche Vite.  And, it worked like a charm.  I've had experience with a couple of other Ulta polishes, and I have to say, they're typically really nice to work with.  In The Mood was no exception.

It was cloudy yesterday, so it was difficult to get a good photo representation of the color.  The first photo is the closest to the true color, which is a nice gray-purple.  I wanted to show it in shade and shadow as well, so I'm including the other photos too.

Zing

Polish - Rimmel 60 Seconds Mirror Nail Polish in Zing
Nubs - Day 5

Today's polish was FREE, y'all.

I was scrounging around under my sister in law's bathroom sink, looking for nail polish remover, and came across a cosmetic bag full of old nail polish. I spied an old school Urban Decay and asked how much she'd take for it. She said I could have it all, as she didn't use any of it anymore. So, I greedily wrapped it all up and put it in my overnight bag so I wouldn't forget it. Today's polish is one of those long forgotten colors, that's been stashed away for a good 7 or 8 years now.

Over my Orly Bonder basecoat, I applied 2 thin coats of Zing and 1 coat of Seche Vite fast drying top coat.

The application of Zing is just fine. It's what you'd expect from a foil type finish. It goes on easily, covers very well, but shows every single brush stroke and defect. It's one I'll keep in my collection, at least until my nails have grown out. I haven't used a foil finish in years, so I'll be curious to see how it looks once they are longer.

It is a nice shade - a rosy pink mauve color.


But as you can clearly see here, every brushstroke shows.


In the end, it does have a great, foily shine.




This polish is no longer available from Rimmel, but they did relaunch their 60 Second polish in 2010, with all new colors.

Russian Navy Suede

Polish - OPI Russian Navy Suede
Nubs - Day 2

Wow, my first two polishes are both from the clearance rack. 

I purchased this polish from the clearance rack at Ulta for about $3.50.  It was one I had seen photos of a few times, and I always liked the look of it.  The only problem I could see, was the wear time.

I usually get a chance to do my nails every other day or so, but what if I was wearing this polish during one of those 4-5 day stretches?  Would it last?  Probably not, according to the instructions that come along with the bottle.  So, I thought I'd experiment with putting a matte top coat over it, and see if that extended the life at all.  I'm currently on day 2, and just have minimal tip wear, and a tiny chip on my right thumb.  The good thing about the sheen of this polish is, it does mask small defects.

Over my Orly Bonder basecoat, I applied 3 thin coats of this polish, and 1 coat of Essie's Matte About You top coat.  The matte does take a bit of the unique sheen away from this polish's finish, but I think it's worth it for the extended wear time.  Overall, I'm pleased with this manicure.

In this photo, I've got Matte About You on my pointer and middle fingers.  My ring and pinky fingers have no top coat.  If you look closely, you can see the difference, but it's very subtle.


Here is a closeup of my middle and ring fingers, for a closer comparison.


The following photos were all taken this morning, after one full day of wear.