NOTD: Andrea Fulerton Gemstone Overcoat

Geeez, it's been an entire week since I've last posted! I can't believe the first week of October is already coming to an end! Time is flying and before you know it, hello 2012! ;) Anyway, hope all is well.

Today, I have the gorgeous Gemstone Overcoat from Andrea Fulerton. I received this beauty in  a swap package a while back and I can't believe it's taken me this long to show you all! -_- Let's get down to business, yeah?!

  1 coat of Gemstone over China Glaze Wagon Trail 

ewww, dry cuticles! -_- lol!

alternate view

Just for fun, I added 1 coat of Essence Matt TC

alternate view

As you can see, Gemstone is a true beauty and is, well, a gem ;) I prefer flakies over a dark base since its true colors are fully visible and can bask in all its flakie glory! 

I used my existing mani in CG's Wagon Trail, which I showed you here. I'm not sure if Gemstone is a dupe for the famous Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, but it sure is good enough for me. (i missed out that color -_-)

Lastly, since Halloween is well on it's way, I've changed the font of my watermarks to join in on the Halloween spirit!

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Do you own Gemstone? Have anything like this? In your opinion, is this a dupe for SH Hidden Treasure or Nubar 2010? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below.

NOTD: Revlon Fierce

About a week ago, I came across the new Revlon Edgy Elegance Collection at my local Bed Bath & Beyond.

If I'm not mistaken, there are 8 new colors from this collection including a Quick Dry Top Coat. I couldn't decide on either Fierce, Punk, or Princess, but I quickly made up my mind when I realized I had nothing like Fierce in my collection. Here a few swatches.

Revlon Fierce 

$3.00-$5.00

2 Coats no TC

Flash

Fierce is a combination of a fuchsia/purple that dries to a fabulous foil finish. It was a bit difficult to capture as the lighting throws the color off at certain angles. The last photo is probably the most accurate of the three. 

 It's opaque with 1 coat, but knowing me, I added another to be on the "safe side". Formulation was perfect and had the perfect sized brush for effortless application.

Like most foils, removal is a bit tricky and requires a little more elbow grease, but nothing too overwhelming .

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping.

Do you own anything from this collection? Own anything similar to Fierce? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

NOTD: China Glaze CG in the City

Good morning! 

As I continue making my way through the China Glaze Metro Collection, CG in the City was my next stop.

Here are a few swatches.

3 Coats - No Top Coat

1 coat of CG in the City over Concrete Catwalk

CG in the City is a combination of silver, bronze, and some sort of smokey greyish purple micro-glitters, suspended in a clear base. This would be great for layering or adding as an accent to your thumb and ring finger. 

Even after 3 coats, I probably wouldn't wear it alone. Perhaps if I added 2 more coats, it would have been more opaque. Nonetheless, I do like it; it's just a matter of how you wear it! :)

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping.

Do you own CG in the City? Own anything similar? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

NOTD: China Glaze Trendsetter

Hi everyone, hope all is well!

 Just a quick post to show you Trendsetter from the new China Glaze Metro Collection. Let's get started.

2 Coats

Flash

No Flash

No Flash

Close up

2 coats Trendsetter + 1 coat Sally Girl Gold Glitter

Flash

No flash

No flash

Trendsetter is a unique combination of mustard/olive shades. It took 2 coats for opacity, but 1 would be enough if you are careful. Application was a D-R-E-A-M! This is probably one of my favorite formulas from CG, great  job! :)

Overall, this particular color is something you'll either appreciate or dislike. It's one of those pretty, ugly colors. If you own Sinful Colors Innocent, you know what I mean by, pretty/ugly. If you're new to this or just uncertain, adding glitter may help you warm up to this color. Again, it's not for everyone, but for me, it's a keeper! ;)

I also picked up a few more shades, stay tuned for swatches! :)

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Do you own Trendsetter? Own anything like it? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

NOTD: Barry M. Turquoise

Hi everyone! Hope all is well :)

Today, I want to show you the lovely, Turquoise from Barry M.

Barry M. Turquoise

2 coats

Like all blues and purples, my camera does not play along nicely with them. In the pictures, it looks a bit more more bright than in person. Nonetheless, I love the way this color makes my nails look crisp and clean.

This was my first full mani w/ Barry M and I have to say that I'm quite impressed!

The quality of the formula is outstanding. Application was a breeze and had the perfect brush for effortless opacity. Formula was of great consistency, not to thick & not too runny.

Like all new polishes I purchase, I like to put them to the "No Top Coat Test". Barry M also continues to impress me under this category as well. I get a full 4 days before any slight, yes, slight chipping. Any nail polish that can withstand that long without a top coat is a keeper. :)

As always hope this helps & happy shopping!

Do you own Barry M Turquoise? Have anything similar? What are your thougts?! I'd love to know down below!

NOTD: Magnetic Shimmering Silver

I'm on a swatch roll! Slowly, but surely, I'm making my way through all my swap swatches. ;)

Today, I want to show you Shimmering Silver from Magnetic. Here are a few pics.

2 coats

See all that holo goodness?! It looks linear in the bottle, but has more of a scattered holo effect on the nails. Either way, it's a beauty ;)

As always, you can enlarge each photo for better holographic viewing!

Application was effortless and thankfully, no bald spots! ;) Formula is slightly runny, but nothing too overwhelming.

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Do you own Shimmering Silver? Have anything similar? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

NOTD: Clay-ton My Hero, you're Irreplaceable

Hi everyone! Hope all is well :)  Today, I have two gorgeous colors from one of my previous swap w/ Barbara.This is Essence Irreplaceable over Catrice Clay-ton My Hero. Let's take a look at the swatches, shall we?!

Irreplaceable

1 Coat

 The name suits the polish perfectly! It has a beige base w/ flecks of tiny golden goodness.

Outdoors/no flash

See the way it shines in the sun? So pretty :)

Catrice: Clay-ton My Hero

2 Coats

(the name is upside down, i need to get used to holding it the right way! -_-)

Clay-ton My Hero is a greige shade that dries to a creme finish.

Like Irreplaceable, Clay-ton My Hero also has tiny golden flecks, but are much more fine and less noticeable w/out proper lighting.

IMO, both colors are very work appropriate and is the perfect beige/nude.

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Do you own these colors? Have something similar? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

NOTD: GOSH HOLOGRAPHIC

First, a huge thank you to the lovely Kelly for supplying this highly sought after, breathtaking beauty. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would have this polish under my possession. With the crazy, ridiculous prices on eBay, you are a gem, Kelly!

Feast your eyes on the gorgeous GOSH Holographic! :) I feel as if I'm repeating myself when describing holos as gorgeous, beautiful, amazing, fantastic etc. This Holo, sums up all of them ;) Here are a few pics!

Gosh Holo

3 Coats

This is the perfect intense silver linear holographic I own at the moment, hands down!

Indoors/no sun

Looking good has its sacrifices. -Fabolous

As much of a stunner this polish is, it's a pain in the ass to apply!

The downside of this polish is application and formula. It's very tricky to work with and creates TONS of bald spots if you go over the same area twice. As if application wasn't bad enough, the formula is crazy thiiiiiick! I'm a bit scared to add polish thinner since I'm not sure if it will diminish the holo effect.

I needed 3 coats for full opacity and to cover up any bald spots. My mom and I seem to be grabbing for this polish lately and w/ 3 coats each, I'll be out of it in no time :( I actually might need to hide it from her! ;) I think the also famous, NFU OH 61 may be similar, if not stronger?!

Longevity is great. I get a full 5 days before any "major" chipping. Keep in mind, I do dishes and clean around the house, so, 5 days w/out a topcoat is amazing. :)

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Do you own GOSH Holographic of NFU OH 61? In your opinion, are they about the same in terms of holo intensity? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below.

Somewhere over the rainbow: China Glaze Crackle Glaze

I've been completely "gaga" over these polishes and have been experimenting with a wide variety of colors. I also wanted to know what finishes worked best with this particular crackle polish. I decided to kill two birds with one stone by painting my nails the colors of the rainbow and using a few different finishes I had in my collection. Here a a few pics!

I started by diagonally painting my nails the colors of the rainbow, then added a medium layer of Black Mesh on top.

(Note: Since you'll be putting the crackle polish above the base colors, the lines do not have to be perfect. Once you apply the crackle polish, the uneven lines become nonexistent!)

Here are the polishes/finishes I used to achieve this design:

(NOTE: The green & the last two colors are completely off, my camera hates blues and purples -_-)

Red Hot Tamale: Creamy/Jelly Finish

Sunny Side Up: Creme Finish

Lightening: Satin Finish

Irish Green: Jelly Finish

Mint Apple: Pearl Finish

Midnight Blue: Metallic Finish

Let's Talk: Metallic Finish

As you can see, the crackle effect seemed to work great with these finishes. I wonder how will it work with foil, glitter, neon's, holographic, and duochrome finishes!

As always, hope this helps! =)

Have you tried any rainbow patterns on your nails?! I'd love to know down below! =)