Comparison Swatches of Dusty Muaves

So this is going to be a post comparing some of my dusty rose-muave colored polishes. This post may be a bit premature since i am expecting to receive a few more polishes in the mail (a whopping 22 new ones!) but i just wanted to see so i thought i would make a post of it.



L to R: China Glaze in Fifth Avenue ($3-6 Depends on retailer), ELF in Mod Mauve ($1 EyesLipsFace.com), NYX Girls in Flash ($2 Cherry Culture), Pure Ice in Taupe Drawer ($2 WalMart), and Sinful Colors in Vacation Time ($2 Walgreens).




These last two pics really make it confusing which color is which so i will label them again for ya :)

Thumb: China Glaze in Fifth Avenue ($3-6 Depends on retailer)
Much more red/rosey pink based cream color. Only one coat and it is completely opaque. Application is flawless! One of my favorites in my collection and china glaze hit the nail on this one!

Pointer: Pure Ice in Taupe Drawer ($2 WalMart)
This is such a beautiful color but definitely needs more than one coat for even coverage. First thing i thought after applying was that i HAVE to compare it to Metro Chic (once i get it in the mail) because i wonder how the two compare. This is the darkest of all the colors and definitely is more purple/plum toned then the rest and i knew i fell in love. Only problem was the the application wasn't quite smooth, particularly the 2nd coat which can lead it to be less than a beautiful manicure. But i can't say i mind much... Its a great color and the price is right! Definitely grabbing more of this brand.

Middle: NYX Girls in Flash ($2 Cherry Culture)
A little on the sheer side, 2 coats are needed (minimum) but 3 coats really brings out the true color. Application is smooth and you are left with a light pink based dusty color. Lighter than i prefer but it was one of my first "dusty" colors that really got me hooked.

Ring: ELF in Mod Mauve ($1 EyesLipsFace.com)
At one coat, it looks very blotchy and uneven. Application isn't as smooth as i would like but still decent. Give it 2-3 coats and it is a lovely plum/rose mix mauve color. This is definitely a keeper and the price is amazing at only a dollar!

Pinky: Sinful Colors in Vacation Time ($2 Walgreens)
A new addition and my second polish from Sinful that i had to grab when i glaced down at it in line at Walgreens. Application was alright but i'm not sure if it was the brush or the formula that made it slightly annoying to apply. Regardless it is a dusty rose color that is less red than Fifth Avenue but darker than Flash. Very pretty and (in my opinion) work appropriate.



Like i mentioned above, i wonder how Metro Chic will compare to these colors. I can't hardly wait!
If anyone knows any colors similar to these, let me know! I love these 'dusty' colors.

I also thought i would mention real quick that Sephora by OPI currently has a box set of 3 polishes for the price of 2 on their website which includes Metro Chic. I wasn't planning on placing an order today until i was sent a code for free shipping on any orders. Here is the code in case you were interested: Ship4Free and is good until Monday 11/30/09. I also decided to pick up another one called On Stage. These will be my first Sephora by OPI polishes and i am giddy with excitement right now.

Anyway, off to finish my Sunday evening and prep for dead week. Finals are right around the corner... How fun!... (Not!)
Who is ready for Christmas?! I am!

-Antonea
11/29/09

Its Starting to Feel a lot like Christmas!

Oh by oh boy Christmas is very near!

I thought i would do a informal post about my short Thanksgiving holiday break and add a few picks.

Wednesday:
Wednesday was a nightmare with a asthma attack right before my class presentation because i was rushing and started to cough uncontrollably. One of our group members totally dropped the ball and just... it wasn't what i imagined nor wanted. oh well... At least my shift right after was pretty easy and slow. But later that night i discovered that one of my bunnies (Basil) had diarrhea and it was all over his under side. Poor little guy. Luckily, it cleared up seemingly quick. Wasn't sure what it was but today (Saturday) Portland is alerting my area that the water reservoir was positive for E. Coli and to start boiling water or using bottled water. I think this may have been the cause. Came home today and filled their water bottle with bottled water after cleaning it down best i could.
Also my best friend told me she was along for Thanksgiving so i had to have her over and the BF's parents didn't mind. They are wonderful. :)

Thursday:
Rained alllll day long, pretty bad too. Here are some pics.







Yup Good ol' Portland. We had traditional Thanksgiving food along with something new... Pumpkin Ice cream! It tasted like the filling of pumpkin pie in a differnt texture. It was pretty good. We hung out, watched a movie and enjoyed a day off. :)

Friday:
I stayed the night on Thursday with the BF and his parents. The BF went for black friday with his friend but i stayed in bed. Later i helped his dad put together his new couch and went for lunch at a small local restaurant and had the biggest burger i've ever seen IRL. So good too. Then a quick trip to Walgreens (small haul post after this) and home. I can't remember what i did the rest of the day... i think i did my nailsk... Haha

Saturday (today):
I had to work today so i got up early but i didn't mind because it was very slow so i mostly spent my time doing the little chores around the office, processing packages, read polish blogs, search polish swatches, played with my blog layout, started a list of polishes to order next... Yeah, it was fun. Then later i went out with the BF and BFF (yeah lame but its easier to understand this way... i think) to walmart (small haul) and another plaza where i wondered into Sally's for a few minutes.


We bought hair dye because my BFF is in ROTC and needed to get rid of her peak-a-boo highlights. It was my first time dying anyones hair and it appears that i didn't miss a spot! :) Yeah, i'm a natural i guess. The pic is her letting it sit in her hair while we watch Save the Last Dance.





I also wanted to show you some cute penguin snow globes i've gotten (i love penguins!)



Sooo cute! BF's parents got me this :)












Surprisingly we found this at Safeway and the BF insisted we get it. Needless to say, i love it!

Oh yeah... And Today i found out that our reservoir for my part of the city has been contaminated with E. Coli and the city is cautioning everyone to boil water and use bottled water. Aw great...
This sign was just posted in my building this afternoon after i left.
Eck gross




Well that is that. It is currently almost 2:30 am Sunday morning. Tomorrow is a full day of studying more accounting and working on the project. Before Intermediate Accounting, i loved doing my accounting homework but this class is nothing like that. I can't wait to get out of it already.

Anyway, Hope you had a good mini break if you celebrate Thanksgiving. :)

La Girls & China Glaze (+ Quick update, haul and SALE)

Hey guys! I've been meaning to do more nail related things during this thanksgiving holiday but i forgot how the holidays tend to go (laziness and good times) plus i almost forgot i worked today.

Anyways... Here is two recent NOTD's. Currently Garnet is on unless i decide to try marbling for the first time tomorrow. We'll see...


LA Girls in Garnet

This is such a beautiful color









This is an amazing Red. I don't go for reds much but when i do i go for the darker colors. This is definitely a beautiful deep red to die for! Can you believe this is only one coat with no visible nail or streakiness LA Girls has some amazing polishes for such great prices. I've found them at Forever 21 ($2.80) and Cherry Culture (usually $2.80 but $4 if new line like the mattes i recently hauled). LA Girls is definitely a brand that needs more recognition. All the colors i have are loved and admired. (Don't confuse with LA Colors. Not as pleased with their polishes)



China Glaze in Cords

This was my previous manicure. The picture isn't great but it isn't the easiest to photograph as it can look brown/grey or totally metallic (like it looks above) and because its been so cloudy here in Portland. It lasted pretty well for a few days with slight wear (with seche vite as a top coat). I was pretty impressed. Application was smooth and it wasn't streaky at all. I believe this was one coat and it is totally opaque.

Okay onto 2 quicks hauls!



This one is from Walgreens on Friday. I went in because i could not find my bottle of acetone anywhere! And while the non-acetone remover i have (nearly gone) works fine, i just prefer the speed of acetone removers... (And i hate being so low on anything...). But of course i just happened to see the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque on sale as a BOGO. One thing you should know... I LOVE BOGOS! So i paid $3.99 for two! So glad to finally try it (although i don't think its good in winter when my skin is uber dry). And of course i had to pick up a Sinful Colors polish in Vacation Time because the single Sinful Colors polish i had was lonely by itself... Of course it is a dusty muave color that i adore and own too many versions of. And of course acetone remover by studio 35.
All 4 for a total of $10.03 (with WA tax)




Next haul is from two places - Wal-Mart and Sally's Beauty Supply (Love this place except for the rude employees i always run into). From Wal-Mart we bought the Revlon Black hair dye to dye my best friend's peak-a-boo highlights back to normal since she is in ROTC and needs to cover them up more easily ($3). As well as the scissors for hair from Goody ($6) and of course i had to grab two polishes... I grabbed the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polish in Nude Shimmer ($4) and Pure Ice in Taupe Drawer ($2). With tax it was $16 or so.
From Sally's was the Orly Bonder Base Coat that i have been dying to try so i snatched it when i had the chance (we were waiting for the BF to finish up at Harbor Freight Tools) for $6 with my Sally's card. As well as a nail tool thingy for $.99 for a total of $7.55 with WA tax.

Okay i should also mention that i placed a small but highly anticipated order on Avon.com for some goodies because they had a buy 3 for $7.99 on certain products and free shipping with $5 purchase (code:SPREE2009 ends 11/30/2009). I picked up some polishes, glosses and a cheap face mask for $18 - no shipping! I really love the shipping deals because often i just want a few things on sale/clearance and don't want to pay shipping for 3-4 little cheap things. Great idea Avon!

Also placed a hefty order with Zoya for their "green" friday promo where u can get 6 free green polishes if u spent $20. I decided to just buy enough to grab free shipping. The Zoya polishes i have are great but normally a little on the pricier side than what i prefer. But 14 polishes for $56 comes out to $4 a bottle. More reasonable than the $7 price tag. Yeah my polish collection is gonna start growing exponentially at this rate! Okay not quite... But a girl can dream can't she?

Currently looking for new nail polish organization ideas... Gonna need it. :)

Nail Polish Haul!

Hey guys! I am bringing you my latest nail polish haul and i must admit... I am quite giddy! I wish i was some sort of human octopus so i could wear all my new colors!

But anyways, let's get to the haul.
Everything i purchased is from 3 places: Head2ToeBeauty, CherryCulture, and a few from Forever 21.

As a result, my collection has reeeeally grown. I have can only assume that this is just the start. :P




China Glaze is one of my favorite brands. A great price and a wide array of colors. While i like other brands, not many seem to really step out and make bold colors as often as they should. All the China Glaze below were from Head2ToeBeauty.

So here are the colors i picked...

Left to Right: Stella, Recycle, Cashmere creme, Cords (Wearing this now)


Left to Right: Hybrid, VII, Sex on the beach, Coconut Kiss, III


I also decided to snag some Color Club polishes because of the great prices on Head2ToeBauty.


L to R: Babe, Electronica, Diva in Brown, With abandon, Love 'em Leave 'em (AMAZING color!)


L to R: Mocha Whisper, Slow Jam, Ready to Wear, On the wild side, Jewel tone blue


L to R: Skin Deep, Summer of Love, I am not a plastic bottle (these are mini sizes)



LA Girls make some great polishes as well! I bought a few from Forever 21 and the rest from CherryCulture.


L to R: Burgundy, Indigo, Deep Purple (these are all amazing colors i got from Forever21)


L to R: Matte Alpine Green, Matte Plum


L to R" Garnet, Luminous, Rock n Roll


Also tried some polishes from LA Colors and I'm not sure how i feel about them yet...


L to R: Sandstorm, Dark Gray, Grain


And two Misc polishes


L to R: OPI in How to Jamaica Million and Sinful colors in Noelle

So this is my haulage! I took the pics in the best lighting possible in the dreary fall weather but they colors came out pretty accurate. I'll be posting my new nail color, a few new things i picked up as well as a list of wanted nail polishes so i can begin to be a serious collector. :)


BTW, have you noticed the new look of my blog? Still not complete but it is getting there. Any input would be welcomed.

New item! And a swatch of Elf Mod Mauve

Hey guys! So this is the first of many nail polish swatches that i will start doing. Really getting into nails lately and have been so inspired by all the amazing blogs out there!
A few days ago i started hunting for polish swatches and found soo many! But... I also came up empty on so many colors that i had to just take a chance on them. So that's why i plan on doing my part and adding swatches to my own blog. Yay! :)

I ordered from head2toebeauty and have not received tracking/shipping info yet so i assume it will be sent monday (i hope since i ordered 10:30am on Thursday)

Anyway, let the swatch begin!!


This is a E.L.F. polish ($1) from eyeslipsface.com and i have to say that the formula of their polishes are pretty great but some are prone to chipping (like this one). This is called Mod Mauve and it is such a neat color. For some reason i love dull, dusty creme colors and this one is perfect for my tastes. It is similar to the ever-so famous Metro-Chic (OPI at Sephora) but less grey toned. Still wanting metro-chic but this shade will suffice for now.
(sorry for the poor lighting. its raining like crazy here in Portland)

I have quite a few of the elf polishes some of my favorites are blush and champagne which i will swatch sometime soon.

Under it i am wearing the Nailene So Natural Brush On Gel ($9 at RiteAid) that i have been eying for a few weeks. Surprisingly it has been hard to find even online (weird huh?)


The kit is quite small compared to regular polishes (i compared the size to a china glaze bottle). It is meant to strengthen and thicken your nails to make them super tough. Right now i am trying to grow out all my nails to make them long and even so i needed something to keep them from breaking in the midst of this process. So i thought i would try this.

The is only 2 steps. First, apply gel over nails with brush. And immediately follow up with the activator on top (before gel can dry). Then just clean the activator brush in the cleaner bottle.

I've heard of people using gels like those from IBD to strengthen their nails but the kit was quite pricey and complicated so i am trying this out first.


I applied it late last night and took a bath this morning. When i got out my nails still felt strong and looked great. I applied the mod mauve over it with a coat of seche vite to set it and so far so good. I am reeeally hoping the strong nailene base will keep this polish on longer. Last time i wore this is chipped really quick so... I guess we will see.

I'll try to update on how the polish and nailene kit last together.

In the meantime i am busy with school, work, and my business fraternity (CO-ED) its making my head spin but i am really looking forward to getting in some stuff i ordered including a flat iron from Folica.com, polishes from head2toebeauty and cherryculture (ordered polishes here too haha).

Should i do a haul post?