Guest Blogger Diane shares some Orly Cosmix and one from the Christmas Collex!

Since I am a complete slacker, I asked a friend to do a post for me. She's done a most excellent job of it...I may never have to blog again!

First off, I want to thank Liz for giving me the opportunity to share these with you! My name is Diane, and I'm addicted to nail polish but I already run two blogs and really don't have time for a third. I do post all my manicures to my Facebook page, so feel free to add me if you like! Just let me know who you are :)

So, onto the amazing polishey goodness! Last week I went out to run some errands, and since I was in the area I couldn't resist a stop at my usual polish supply store which shall remain nameless in order to protect their faux pas.  I puttered around, picked up a few old polishes I'd been meaning to get (a few Art Club liners, ChG Frostbite and Heart of Africa) and as I was standing at the counter, I noticed a few strange Orly bottles on a shelf behind them. They were rich, glittery duochromes that looked familar but I couldn't place them. I asked to see them and when she handed me the bottles I checked the names. Space Cadet, Out of This World, and Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. The owner told me they were sample bottles, and they wouldn't be for sale until at least August. After a bit of whining on my part, she offered to sell me those three at her standard Orly prices, $7 a bottle. I was giddy, how could I refuse?

As soon as I got home, I took bottle photos to gloat online. They look just as gorgeous sitting around as the promo photos would have you believe. Please forgive the stray cat hair - I have an overly affectionate marmalade Maine Coon who gets into *everything*, including my polish storage and photo areas.

Without flash

With flash.

I was so eager to try them out, I did a full mani with Space Cadet immediately. Orly describes it as "Green with purple gold FX", but Liz called it "GAAAAHHH!!" and my friend Erin referred to it as "sexy-space-vampire-colored!", both of which I think are very apt descriptors. It's by far the most irridescent and multi-chrome. In indirect artificial light it generally looks like a warm raspberry, but as soon as you step into bright light or sunlight it goes absolutely nuts. It's an explosion of pink, orange, gold, and olive green with a dense gold glitter. This was three coats with a top coat.

I decided it wasn't over the top enough, I added a coat of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure on top. It added a subtle flakey effect without killing the glory that is Space Cadet. These photos were taken after six full days of wear. And as you can see by the state of my hands in general, I am pretty abusive to them. I work in a toy store and do a fair bit of manual labour, as well as being on the computer or playing video games pretty much constantly in my spare time. The wear on these was pretty fantastic.

After posting photos of Space Cadet, Liz asked me if I'd be willing to swatch and blog about the other two. Always looking for excuses to repaint my nails, I waited until the tipwear on Space Cadet was too bad to deal with and gladly swatched the other two.

Next up is the other entry from the Cosmix collection, Out Of This World, which Orly describes as "Purple with pink silver FX". It's definitely purple, and I do see pink, but I'm not so sure about the silver. It's a very pretty colour, but has nowhere near the drama of Space Cadet. I did my best to capture the pink shimmer, but it doesn't translate so well on camera.

And taken in fluorescent indoor lighting in an attempt to capture the pink and silver

The last one I got was from the Holiday collection, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. I haven't even found descriptions for this one yet, so I'm not sure what kooky promo text Orly's come up with for it. This is a beautiful green, in some lights it's a pure emerald and in some it's a very blue-leaning teal. The shimmer is green and slightly gold. I think it's definitely a great holiday colour, but very much like China Glaze's Emerald Sparkle, it will also be totally appropriate for other times of year. I apologize for the state of my cuticles - I'm still new to swatching and by this point my hands had given up! 

The formula for all three of these was about the same. Not too thin, not too thick, and very easy to control. They all started out very thin - the first coat went on watery and barely shimmery and I was worried it would take five or six to develop properly. I was pleasantly surprised when the second coats made them mostly opaque. I used a third coat just to help develop the shimmer, multi-chrome, and overall "oomph", but I think only Space Cadet really required it. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe and Out Of this World could probably have sufficed with two coats, but three just looks better. Removal was a bit of a nuisance, but not as bad as I'd anticipated. OPI's summer glitters (Catch Me In Your Net and Wing It!) were much worse to take off, to give a frame of reference.

Overall, these colours are all beautiful and unique, and I'm incredibly glad I got them. I will probably be snagging the rest of the Cosmix collection as soon as it's in stock. However, if I had to choose one out of the three, it would definitely be Space Cadet.

Thanks for reading! Now back to your regularly scheduled Lizard!
-Diane


Thanks Diane! I'm so happy that you were able to get those on your hands! Thanks for sharing them with those of us who still have to wait. :)  Diane also collects and documents her collection of Kimonos at www.moonblossum.net/blog/  Check her blog out, the collection is gorgeous1

Peeking in

Hi Everyone...

I've got stuff, really I do...just dealing with some "life stuff" right now and blogging time is not at a premium right now.  I'm reading your blogs (not always commenting) and that's keeping me connected with all you wonderful women. I'm cleaning out my closets, so to speak. Doing some great reading and just getting a new head space in place.

Life's been challenging, but I'm getting back to looking at the bright side. I'll post up some stuff this weekend!

Hugs all around,

Culling Continues with Corals

These are, according to my notes, the Light Corals. The players are, in order of appearance from left to right: Zoya Calypso, Essie Shindig and Zoya Cassi.

In natural light, no flash pic this time. and below on my nails in the same order, left to right in shade...a little too much shade for Cassi, but still you can see her color.

One more shady pic to try to let Cassi show her shady side...(I really dislike the uneven length of my nails here.)

And below in the sun: Ka-POW says Calypso!

All were 3 coats to this coverage.

The Zoyas were both a bit thin and watery but easy to control while the Essie formula was buttery and it also had a fuller brush.

Zoya Calypso is a very pretty orange/coral base with multi colored shimmer. This one is VERY pretty and I am fond of Orange so it's a favorite. Lizard Rating: Toasty!
Essie Shindig is soooo pretty in the bottle. I love just looking at the bottle and swirling it around. It also has a multi colored shimmer but the base has more pink (truer coral) and not as much shimmer as Calypso. Lizard rating: Balmy
Zoya Cassi is a soft coral with a gold shimmer, nice but it loses to Calypso for me. Lizard rating: Tepid

I think all three are still in my stash, but after taking a second look and doing this comparison, I'm thinking I can let go of Cassi.
What do you think? Which one or two would you keep...or would you keep all three? And if so, why?

Happy Birthday Ange-Marie!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Scandalously Polished!
Happy Birthday to you!

Hope you have a fantastic day filled with holo polish and debauchery! ;)

~The Lizard

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.

EDIT Gosh Nubar! Metallic Blue Absolute Prism

Yes, it IS Monday and my son's first day at his new, exciting job! I can't wait to hear how it went. My son is a very talented artist, maybe I'll share some of his art here one day. I know I'm his biggest fan, but he really does some awesome work. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to afford to send him to school to persue a degree, but  now he's landed a job working for a graphics company and he'll get to travel and use his art in cool ways. I'm excited for him and think he may just have found the path to his dream. Of course, I reserve some of my excitement for after I hear from him tonight. I'm truly thrilled for him and hope he enjoys what he's doing. Perseverance trumps talent, but when you have both, LOOK OUT!

Ahem, please excuse the proud mother gushing above...on to the polish:

Ok let me explain the title: I give you Gosh Metallic Blue with Nubar Absolute for a funky french.
This is evening fogged out sun with phone flash

Evening shade with phone flash...

And here I finally got some of the Holo to show up:

I've been reluctant to post lately because, since my SD card died I have no macro photo option. All I have is my phone and while it does a decent job, I cannot capture photos I'd like to capture. I'm posting these because I'd rather post something than nothing at all and they aren't bad. (I hope!)

I finally ordered some SD cards for my camera...jeez there are so many TYPES now for faster cameras, slow cameras, average cameras...a girl has to do a TON of research before ordering one little card, (I ordered 2!) So in a week or so, I'll be back to better photos. In the meantime, I do hope these will be useful.

As for the Polishes: Gosh Metallic Blue is a beautiful chrome metallic in the same family as Nubar Absolute (from the Prisms collection) and I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I started the mani, I was trying for a chevron but it's a bit sloppy. The application of Metallic Blue was easy, second coat didn't drag or rumple the first, and it dried super fast. 1 coat was truly sufficient (as is normal with these kinds of nail polish) but I did 2 because some of my lines weren't as clean as I like them. I suppose a ridge filling base coat would have looked nicer, but I haven't found one I like yet.

Nubar Absolute is a gorgeous prismatic blue that I will have to wear on it's own sometime soon to view it in all it's prism-y glory. 2 coats on the tips dried quickly with the help of quick drying top coat.

Both polishes applied nicely, I find it hard to complain about Nubar. The Gosh was a bit runny and took some getting used to, but I got the hang of it!

I used Nubar Foundation Base Coat and Nubar Diamont Top Coat as I'm enjoying that combination and trying it out to see if it helps some of the peeling issues I have with the nails I have some problems with. Seems my right thumb wants to be a shorty most of the time and so far, the only thing that has helped is to coat the free edge with Orly Nail Rescue. I want to find something healthier and nourishing, suggestions welcome!

I do still have the comparisons...just need to find my notebook! They're next!

Nubar Spark - the Office appropriate Prismatic/Holo

Like Ange-Marie (happy early Birthday woman!), I am a holo-whore. So I had to get the entire Nubar Prisms set when I got a killer discount and could afford to order it along with the Nubar Reds (which are also absolutely divine!)

I chose Nubar Spark to wear first because I had a big business event I had to attend and I was the person doing the checking in of all the business women. I thought this was a nice color to use for the event, understated but with some bling in the right light. It wasn't really noticed and that's pretty much what I was going for. Yeah, I saw a few eyes diverting to my nails, but no one said anything. Success!
Here is Nubar Spark in evening sunlight: (you can always click the pics for a bigger view)

In the shade with the flash from my cell phone:

Again in the evening sun/shade...almost my prism mannequin hand?

One more time!

For this mani, I used all Nubar products: 2 coats Foundation Base Coat, 2 coats polish and 1 coat Diamont Top Coat. This manicure wore so well, I was truly impressed. The Nubar products work very well together and gave me a mani that lasted a week and might have gone long had I been able to avoid boredom and need a new color to look at. You can get Nubar nail products at www.bynubar.com

I have to say, this isn't the most prismatic/holo nail polish I own, but it is a holo that is suitable for the office and for that the Lizard give it a rating of Toasty. I'll wear it again for work or when I need that understated bling that Nubar Spark is so good at delivering.