Some More Reds compared

These are bit deeper and richer than the last set. I like a true red, and a blue-red sets my heart afire. I find them very hard to resist. Here are a couple of each...(and, Yes I do have the Nubar Reds!)

The contenders:

Essie Fishnet Stockings, Miss Marion Mamey, Essie A-List and OPI Xmas 2009 red with no name. Help is welcome. Natural daylight (but indoors). And below is with flash.

As you can see even with the flash, Essie Fishnet Stockings is the bluest-red and I think I love it. Did I mention it's also a jelly?

In the same order on my nails: Fishnet Stockings, Mamey, A-List and OPI in the shade and below is in sunlight.

HAHAHAH! I just found my notebook and I have ZERO notes on these except what I've already noted above. I checked and they are ALL still in my stash...I guess I love them all and can't let them go. I do love a red jelly. Still, I have to let a couple go...I think it's going to be A-list and the OPI. I love Fishnet Stockings and Miss Marion holds a special place in my heart...

The Lizard Rates these like so:
Fishnet Stockings: Toasty
Mamey: Toasty
A-List: Toasty
OPI: Tepid

Which ones did you like best?

Stay tuned, next up I think will be the corals.

Where to get Miss Marion Nail Polish

Contact the company here: customerservice@missmarion.com  and ask them where you might find it in your area. If it is unavailable there, you will get information on how to purchase direct. Enjoy!
~The Lizard

Miss Marion GARNET

Here it is, the one you've been waiting for and I apologize that it's taken this long. I love this polish just as much now as I did way back in the day. I can't stop looking at my nails. The formula is amazingly easy to apply once you get used to it. It's a little thinner then some, but the consistency is such that it stays where you put it, so you just have to get used to how much you need on the brush for best application. This is another one that doesn't like being brushed over, and seems to level itself out. The brush is a little thin, but I had no problems with it during application.
Garnet is labeled as a frost, but it's truly a shimmer. Here she is without topcoat:

sorry for the sheet wrinkles, she's not a quick dry polish, though I did give her plenty of time to dry.

I put the polish on yesterday and let it get good and dry so the transformation would be obvious. Unfortunately, there wasn't any sun today, but this is in overcast natural light and I actually think it's best for show you all what this polish does. I love this part! I put a coat of Seche Vite over the top because I needed to head to work right after I took the photos, but ANY top coat creates this transformation. 

With topcoat, the blue-red of Garnet becomes this awesome Candy Apple Red with depth and that "lit from within" appearance. This is the color every pinup girl needs to have in her arsenal. Observe:

G E O R G E O U S!

And to reiterate the transformation, here is left and right, can you tell which one has topcoat and which is nekkid?

come closer

and closer til it's a bit blurry...

Do I need to tell you that you have to get this polish? Just remember to get it directly from J Pinon and stay away from Peachtree World. They are not authorized dealers and you may not get what you pay for.

I still cannot stop staring at my nails. I've missed this color so much. GAH! Garnet, I love you.

That is all

~ The Lizard

Miss Marion - The Frosts

Here we have the collection of Frosts I received from J. Pinon Cosmetics, the makers of Miss Marion Nail Polish.

The players from left to right front row first we have - Red Volcano, Confetti, Malva Rose, Garnet, Platinum Champagne and Brown Sugar.
I left Garnet and Platinum untried as I only have 5 fingers and you know I have to review Garnet by herself. :)

Here we have Red Volcano, a frosty red orange and very vibrant!

followed by Malva Rose a frost rosy pink

next up Confetti a super silvered rosy pink. Note: the tone of Malva Rose and Confetti is the same, the frost is much more intense in Confetti and lightens it up, makes it almost chrome-like.

and skipped Garnet to save her for a future post and went to the back row and chose Champagne. I imagine a platinum blonde rocking this color with a black gown. It's very frosty.

and for the thumb I used Brown Sugar, a gorgeous glimmering brown frost.

I know a lot of you are not fans of the frost, but I would urge you to give Miss Marion Frosts a chance. Some of them are brush stroke-y but many of them are just beautiful. Look at that brown! They appear a lot more like the best chrome polishes out there, just shiny metallic goodness adding to the pretty color.
I've always loved the Miss Marion Frosted polishes, they just know how to do a frost the right way....simply gorgeous.
What do you think?
Til next time!
~The Lizard

Miss Marion - The Cremes

I received a rather large package from J Pinot, Inc. the makers of Miss Marion Nail Polish, for review. I will begin with the cremes in the package. Here are the players:

They are from left to right starting with the front row: Cocoa, Elizabeth, Carnival, Mamey, Midnight Red and Ebony.
 I don't yet have "where to find" information other than you can order direct from the company for now by writing to customerservice@jpinon.com
First up is Cocoa, a light nude creme that covers well in two coats but I did three because I am a three coater by habit.

My Namesake - Elizabeth, didn't impress me much in the bottle, but after wearing this "Miss Marion Skittle" mani for a day, she really grew on me. A pretty rosy beige that is office friendly and elegant if maybe just a little bland. :)

Then we have Carnival a bright fiery red creme that wows at two coats. This one leans just a little orange, but it's sexy!

And Mamey, a rich lady in red that I just love.

Sexy, no?
And then there is this Midnight Red a gorgeous deep red-brown similar in color to Cheeky Monkey's Social Climber. Maybe I'll do a comparison in the future.

These applied without any issues. The formula is B3F and they've got it down quite nicely. I thought the consistency of these was very easy to work with, stayed where I applied it and spread "like buttah" :) They dried just fine with a coat of Seche Vite on top and wore extremely well the next day when I shuffled at least 2000 pages of paper while assembling a bazillion tax returns. I did see a few marks on the white pages as the polish left traces when my nails scratched the paper, but it was mostly Mamey and Carnival as they were on the index and middle fingers, the ones I use the most for the task I was doing at the time.

Cocoa was a bit too light for me as I tend to go toward the more dramatic colors, but I am betting it would be the perfect nude for someone out there. Elizabeth grew on me and I'm quite fond of my namesake. :) Carnival suits it's name quite well as it's a very festive red, Mamey is just plain sexy, and Midnight Red is a great go to color. 

Next up, the frosts...but tell me, what do you think of these cremes?

til next time!

~The Lizard

These Companies Agree: Customer Service is Job 1

I've been doing a lot of writing to various companies to ask questions about their products and I am amazed at the level of service I've received from the following: Miss Marion, China Glaze, Color Club and Cheeky Monkey have wowed me with the level of service delivered by their representatives/employees.

I wrote to Miss Marion - the J Pinon Cosmetics company - when I wrote to them about my experience with "Garnet" they not only responded but sent me replacement product with assurance that what I had was not what I thought I had. I have since received the replacement and some fun stuff along with that which I'll be sharing soon. I think the change from old formula to 3free is what has made a difference, but Garnet is still quite a gem and I'll show her to you very soon!

"Carnival" - a bright red jelly

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics not only responded to my email, but I have had a few more email conversations with the founder to learn more about the product. It's obvious that Andrea cares about her customers as much as she cares about her company and delivering a quality product.

 

Social Climber, Man Chaser, Trailer Trash, Pop My Cherry 

with top coat - I Like it on Top and base coat Wet Dream

This is some high quality product and fast becoming a favorite of mine!

China Glaze not only answered my questions about their products, but went above and beyond to find out information about a sister company for me. Sadly, the answer was not what I was hoping for, but once a product is discontinued, that's all there is to say. Irene was so helpful and I hope to be in contact with her again sometime in the future, it was a pleasure to chat with her.

My Love - China Glaze Atlantis with a stripe of Twenty-Four K

Color Club, what can I say about this company? W O W. I wrote a quick email on their site asking about a product and I didn't get an email at all. At about 6:30 pm this evening I got a phone call from Forsythe Cosmetic Group that led to a wonderful conversation about their products and my recent experience with Color Club. The conversation ended with them being more than willing to correct a problem and make sure I was delighted with the resolution. 

Color Club Wild at Heart with a Matte Funky French tip

This is customer service at it's best. I wish every company in the United States would truly understand this and act upon it like the companies I've mentioned did.  I am impressed and so happy to have found this world of nail care again. From the companies I've dealt with to my fellow bloggers, it's a pretty great place to find myself right now and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.


I have a ton of pictures to share, and I'm on a no-buy til I swatch and swap what I have, keeping only the true keepers. I have a ton of dupes to do comparison swatches and choose the keeper...then I'll give the rest away to make room for new stuff. :)


I don't think I'll be posting much til after April 15 since I'm in the midst of the busiest part of the year at work.  But I've got some stuff to share and will do my best to get them posted for you all very, very soon. Bear with me and thank you so much for being there, reading, commenting and even just perusing my pictures. I don't even have much time to respond to your comments, but I'm reading them and appreciate every single one!

Update on Miss Marion "Garnet"

Happy Friday everyone!

Yesterday, I wrote an email to the makers of Miss Marion nail polish to let them know about the review I did and how I was disappointed to find "Garnet" wasn't what it used to be, or maybe I got a bum one.

I was assured that the color I shared with you is NOT "Garnet" but, in fact, a different color. Guess what it's called? Come on...guess! It's right there in the original post! You got it! "Tomato C! LOL

So there ya have it. When Miss Marion creates a color, they are dead on and name it appropriately. I will have the REAL "Garnet" on my nails soon and will share it's magic with you then. I cannot wait to show you the beauty that it truly is and I'll have more information for you about the company and hopefully some other co then.

I will tell you this: DO NOT PURCHASE FROM PEACHTREE WORLD. They sold me this relabeled carp. They haven't purchased from Miss Marion in over 3 years. This means their stock is old and they are trying to dump it and I fell for it. I will be contacting them for a refund though I doubt I'll get it. I will find out where you can get Miss Marion and let you know.

And the best part? Their polish is 3 free! Stay tuned! More Miss Marion to come! Can you wait?? I can't!

Blast from the Past is a disappointment. :(

So here she is, she's been reformulated or this is a bad fake...so the change isn't as dramatic as it was long ago when I was 18. I am so sad about this and plan to contact the manufacturer to find out if I got a knock off or if they did, in fact change the formula.

I give you Miss Marion "Garnet" She used to dry almost matte and about 5 shades darker than the bottle and you'd think, wth??? But now, that doesn't happen. It does dry about 1 shade darker, but not enough to blow your mind anymore. Here it is: I did 3 coats


The "special" thing about Garnet was the whole put the top coat and watch her shine and transform into this amazing Candy Apple Red. What I got here is more like Candy Tomato Soup. :( So disappointed!!!


There IS a slight difference, left side has no top coat, right side has top coat. Pardon my cotton fuzz, I was seriously swatching my brains out.


I'll let you know what I find out, and hopefully this is a knockoff. What do you think of it?