Rescue Beauty Lounge - Glamourpuss

Glamourpuss is one of my favorite reds because the formula is so amazing.  Like most RBL polishes I've tried (with the exception of Cherry Love), the consistency is very thin yet opaque with just one or two coats.  Even when I mess up and apply the polish a little unevenly, I feel like it smooths itself out so there are no streaks.  Originally I hesitated to buy this one because red is so common and I have several similar colors that were less expensive, but ultimately I'm glad I got this because the formula is just that good.

Del Sol - Heartbreaker

Heartbreaker is a bright red glitter that is supposed to turn purple in the sun.  Red glitter polishes always remind me of the winter holidays, and since it's spring I wanted to see if I could use Heartbreaker on top of something else (like I did with Ruby Slippers) to mix up the effect.  The pic below is Heartbreaker (without sun) on top of silver, black, and white:

There wasn't much of a difference between Heartbreaker on its own (first nail) and Heartbreaker over white (last nail).  I had hoped it would look more pink over white, but the red jelly base turned out to be fairly pigmented so this was a bit of a failed experiment.

Now, the same combinations in the sun:

As with Girls Night Out which I posted about in January, the color doesn't transform into a true purple as the label would indicate.  It becomes more of a fuchsia color, slightly darker than the outdoor version of Girls Night Out.  I like the fuchsia but I'm not as thrilled about the red indoor color, so I probably won't use this again for a manicure.  Maybe it would be perfect for a pedi?

Confetti Masquerade Ball (compared to I'm With Brad)

Masquerade Ball is another great color from Confetti.  It's a black base with dark red shimmer and the formula was super smooth and pigmented.  I think it's comparable to I'm With Brad from Sephora by OPI:

I can't really tell the difference when I look at my nails and I thought the formulas for both were great with no issues.  If you're interested in a comparison of the brushes you can check out my old post on Metro Chic where I have the brushes lined up.

Confetti - Just Dancin

Love this color!  Above is Just Dancin from Confetti.  It's sort of a plum / wine color, between a purple and red.  I don't have anything quite like it so I was happy to add this to my collection for just $2.  I wore this plain during the day but I wanted something more flashy for night:

I used tape to cover a section of Just Dancin on each nail then applied a coat of Rage from Orly's Foil FX collection.

More Crimson Cutie

After I posted a swatch of Crimson Cutie yesterday I was experimenting with one of my new GCOCL plates and came up with this:

All the images came from GCOCL plate E02:

I really liked the designs on this plate!  I'll definitely be using these again with different colors.

Confetti - Crimson Cutie (compared to OPI)

Above is Crimson Cutie from Confetti.  I originally grabbed this bright red shimmer at CVS because I thought it looked just like OPI's I'm Not Really A Waitress and I wanted to do a comparison.  I'm Not Really A Waitress was one of the first nail polishes I ever owned, and I've heard it's OPI's best selling color of all time.  It's my favorite red for pedicures in both summer and winter.  Check out Crimson Cutie and I'm Not Really A Waitress side by side (three coats of each):

Though it's tough to tell the difference in these pictures, I think Crimson Cutie is just a teeny bit lighter than I'm Not Really A Waittress.  For the most part I think they're nearly indistinguishable, though a more discerning eye may disagree.  Either way I'd recommend Crimson Cutie as a cheaper alternative ($1.99 vs. ~$8.50).

Sephora by OPI - Personal Shopper

I was in the mood for a classic red so I chose Sephora by OPI Personal Shopper.  I got Personal Shopper as part of a free gift set from Sephora that also included Dear Diary (a light pink) and I'm with Brad (a black with red shimmer).  The first picture above is more true to color; the second was taken in really bright direct sunlight.  See close-ups after the jump:

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Sephora by OPI - Techno Girl (with Red Tips)

I thought Techno Girl from Sephora by OPI would be cute for Valentine's Day, so I tried it using China Glaze Sexy Silhouette for the tips.  Techno Girl is a nice medium pink but it's similar to a lot of pinks that I own.  Sexy Silhouette is a really nice shimmery fuschia but it goes on translucent so I usually use it in layers.  I played around with a few different combinations including a matte effect--see more pics after the jump.

Continue Reading . . .

Pink & Red Valentine's Day Mani

I wanted to try out some of my new polishes in a Valentine's Day look so I used two Confetti colors, Crimson Cutie and Party Hearty.  Crimson Cutie is a bright shimmery red and Party Hearty is hot pink with a touch of gold shimmer.  To get the half red / half pink look, I painted my entire nail with the pink first and then layered the red on top of one side.  Then I stamped the heart design from fauxnad plate M21 using white Konad polish.

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Cherry Love

I ordered Cherry Love from Rescue Beauty Lounge ($18) because the description was so intriguing:

"Popsicle-fuschia, the love child of hot pink and sizzling red. When pink is too tame and red is too expected, give this glamorous shade a try." --Rescue Beauty Lounge

The cherry red color was great, but the formula wasn't as amazing as other RBL polishes I've tried.  What I usually love about Rescue Beauty polishes is how the polish magically levels itself out so that there are no ridges, but I thought Cherry Love was a little bit streaky and my bottle has gotten kind of goopy since I first bought it about a month ago.  Disappointing for $18, but I obscured the streaks with a thick layer of top coat so it's still usable.

The rose is from GCOCL plate A01:

Confetti - Cherries Jubilee

Cherries Jubilee from Confetti is a dark magenta color.  The first coat matches the color in the bottle, but after three coats (as above) the color gets darker, like a soft red with a touch of pink.  Added some hearts from fauxnad plate M12 for a pre- Valentine's Day flourish:

Confetti - Dressed To The 9's

Dressed To The 9's is the first color I tried from Confetti--it's a rich metallic red with a faint gold shimmer.  The bottle has big swirls of shimmery gold in it but after application the gold only shows up in bright light.  I thought I'd be disappointed by that, but overall the red color is really gorgeous.  I used three thin coats (though two is probably enough), and it's lasted for days without chips using CND Stickey base coat and OPI top coat.  Definitely worth $1.99!

OPI Have You Seen My Limo?

OPI Have You Seen My Limo? came out for Christmas a few years ago and I thought the color was so unique.  It has a a great reddish / eggplant shimmer in the light but at other angles it looks very dark, almost black.

Love it!

Holiday Nails Pt. 1

Winter is such a great season for nails--I love playing with darker tones, reds, and metallics.  Today I'm wearing one of my favorite deep reds, OPI's Little Red Wagon, which is from the 2008 Holiday in Toyland collection.  I thought it could use a little embellishment so I stamped a design from Bundle Monster (fauxnad) plate BM11 using China Glaze 2030.  The design reminds me of Christmas lights--perfect for the holidays!