Raging H&M - from the vault

From Last Summer when my nails were long, I give you H&M Fashionista with Orly Rage on the tippy tips:

Sorry for the sideways shots, I guess I uploaded without straightening them out. I really love the 2 H&M polishes that I own thanks to swaps with friends in other countries...Now I know I can send my son to the Seattle store and just pick them up when I go visit. :) 

Enjoy!

I've joined the Cult! (Warning Picture heavy!)

Cult Nails that is...I have to be brutally honest here, because we all know Maria, the lines creator/owner, is a fellow blogger and a friend to many of us.

I wasn't going to purchase this nail polish. Another purple gray I didn't need. Not even really a fan of gray polish, but it's starting to grow on me thanks to my son's color preferences and I have to say he's right...desaturated colors look best with skin. I digress.

I purchased this polish because I've been following Maria's blog almost from the beginning post and I didn't want to NOT have it. Like Landa over at Bright Lights Big Color, I too wanted an Autographed bottle to have in my collection to enjoy as Maria's star rose into the limelight.

I got my bottle last Monday and applied it Tuesday night. At first, I found the formula a bit thick, but as I learned to work with it, I really began to appreciate it! It stayed RIGHT where I put it and, as so many other reviews have pointed out, it just about applied itself. And I have to say, this polish wears like IRON. The pictures you are about to see are from Saturday afternoon (sun) and Sunday afternoon (shade).  I've worked them too, filing at work, pushing plenty of paper - and we all know what that can do to tipwear! I've torn boxes apart, plenty of typing and dishes too...without gloves...I had to know. :)

I wasn't a huge fan of the price, but it matches the quality so I'll not complain any more! I do believe she's created a formula to rival that of Rescue Beauty Lounge. Yes, I said it and I mean it.
Ok, enough gushing, here are pictures after 4 and 5 days of wear. This is three coats over base coats with top coat of Seche Vite. On my left forefinger I have added a coat of Lippmann's On a Clear Day and I think it's love. It's subtle in the photos, but it's noticeably shinier to my eye.

 These are all of my left hand.

 And here is the right hand

Chanel Black Pearl...Ho Hum

I swatched the mighty lemming last night at Nordstroms and left it there after comparing it to real black pearls in the jewelry department.  I love black pearls and so I was excited to see if it was worth the hype.

I have to say, for me, it isn't. But then I really wanted it to look like a black pearl on my nails. In my opinion, this color is too green. That would be ok, but there should be some brown duochrome in there to make it work like a real pearl.

I realize that the black pearl comes in many tones, from gray to brown to green and even almost silver, but they all have a duochrome that is, sadly lacking in this polish.

So today, while trying to cram all the new polish in with my existing stash, I rooted through the stash to find comparable shades that might make my fussy ass happy!  I found it in Misa's "It's You!"  It's got the right balance of green/brown duochrome with just a little too much sparkle to completely pull it off but, I can keep my 25 bucks and have the color I want don my nails anytime I want it to. :)

That makes me happy!

Here are a few comparison shots: Thumb is always Chanel Black Pearl. (I realize my cuticles look like hell, just look at the pretty colors!) But first, let's begin with a few pictures of some ACTUAL Black Pearls:

Source

With Gosh Purple Heart (too much like Nubar Peacock Feathers and Borghese Stellar Notte ie: too much purple)

With Nubar Moon Shadow (thought the brown might work, but nope, it shows up very purple too.)

Sally Hansen Prisms Emerald Amethyst is actually very close, just reversed, but I can live with that.

And with Misa "It's You!"  is an almost perfect dupe only better! It shows the duochrome better in the shade, the sunlight brings out the shimmer and it's a bit more sparkly than the Chanel and/or a real Black Pearl. This one actually has the green in the middle with the purple around the edges. It's gorgeous!

I also compared it to the new Estee Lauder Wild Storm, very similar, but WS is more silver...still, I think I see a trend here. :)

And since I swapped my untried Lippmann Hit Me With Your Best Shot, I had to swatch that (I'll replace it with my Apothica gift cert won from Evil Angel) Love this color so much!

This is what my hands looked like after all the swatching. :) And again, please ignore the horrible condition of my cuticles. I've been doing a bunch of house cleaning and it's time for a deep moisture treatment. That week in Las Vegas was hard on my skin!

Why yes, that IS Lippmann Marquee Moon...which shall be mine one day. I love it, it's so different! The sparkles is me comparing Lippmann Happy Birthday with Milani Gems. I know they're not exact, but they're similar enough I can live without HB.

All in All, this Lizard gives Chanel Black Pearl a rating of Chilly. I'd say Tepid, but for the price...it's definitely chilly!

Which color do you like best or do you have an even better "Black Pearl" color? Tell me about it please!

Champagne Toast Anyone?

I had to post this up because I haven't seen pictures that do this polish justice AT ALL. Even our Goddess of Nail Polish: Scrangie, didn't truly capture it's awesomesauceness.   I'm talking about Barielle's Jess's Champagne Toast.
This polish is simply tantalizing and I cannot stop looking at my nails. It's a lavender silver with tiny pink slivers of glitter. It's just amazing in it's simplicity and elegance. I love this polish...can you tell?

All the photos were taken under incandescent 12 volt light with the white balance on my camera set manually to capture true white. I have looked at these beside the color on my nails and this is true to form, though the second photo captures it best. I have to add, it looks textured in the photos, but it really isn't...this polish is smooth even before topcoat.

I think the polish looks a whole lot like the bottle color and I truly do love this one. Looks like my son will get one more ornament to add to his tree. :)

Remember to click so you can see all the detail (and my winter cuticles.)

On another note, I tried NailTek II and my nails are peeling more than ever before. Guess that is proof that everyone is different. Anyone want a couple of bottles of this stuff...one brand new and the other slightly used? I've honestly not had much luck with some of the stuff I've seen suggested on other blogs lately. Dermelect seems ok, but I don't get the stellar results that Scandalous or Bright Lights, Big Color have seen on their nails. I guess it's time for me to return to my old favorite...more on that soon.

Did you pick this one up? Did you like it or hate it?