Monday, March 31, 2014

Revlon Spiderman collection: Spidey Sense and Super Powered

purchased by me

Revlon has a tie-in collection with the latest Spiderman movie available at drugstores now.  For details of the whole collection, see this great post at Nouveau Cheap.  I got two of the nail polishes, and will go back to grab the others, because these are gorgeous glass-fleck polishes!

Spidey Sense is a vivid blue-based red, with a formula that is opaque in two coats, perfect in viscosity, and that lovely glass-fleck depth.

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Super Powered is the same wonderful formula is a gorgeous royal blue.

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If you find these polishes appealing, get them as soon as you see them, because they are limited edition.  I found mine at my local Walgreens for $6.49 +tax.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

L'Oreal Gold Dust: The Reign of Studs

purchased by me

The Reign of Studs is a blue-toned lavender textured glitter with a shiny foil-like base and larger lavender sequins.  I wish the base were less shiny, actually, so the texture popped a bit more.  It's a pretty polish, but I like Zoya Stevie and Nicole by OPI I Lilac Gumdrops better.

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I'm not sure if these are still available at drugstores, but they're in stock on Ulta's website for $6.99 + tax and shipping.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Cult Nails Kiss

purchased by me

Kiss is a perfect, one-coat red with a wax or satin matte finish.  The formula is perfect, the color is perfect, and I've found my new go-to red.

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Kiss is limited edition, so if you want it, grab it now from Cult Nails!  Retail price is $12.00 + shipping.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Mineral Fusion Galaxy

purchased by me

Galaxy is my second Mineral Fusion polish.  It's a deep navy blue stuffed with blue flaky glitters.  The formula was a bit thick, but that's to be expected with all the glitter, and it meant that it was opaque in just two coats.  Galaxy was also shiny before top coat.

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Galaxy is available at Ulta for $7.99 + tax.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Mineral Fusion Emerald Sand

purchased by me

Mineral Fusion is a new-to-me brand.  The polishes were BOGO1/2 off at Ulta, so I grabbed Emerald Sand and Galaxy.  Emerald Sand is a barely-tinted green sheer base with green-to-copper shifting glitter, and I am in love!  From pinkie to ring, I've shown one coat over black, one coat over white, three coats of Emerald Sand on its own and one coat of Emerald Sand on its own (this is clearly meant for a topper).

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I can't wait to try this over a dark green!  If you like Emerald Sand, you can get it and other Mineral Fusion polishes at Ulta for $7.99 + tax.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Nabi 3D Rainbow Effect in Red

purchased by me

Nabi Red is amazing.  It's fluid but not runny, opaque in two coats, a bright orange-toned red with a boatload of scattered holographic sparkle.   If your Walgreens has the Nabi polishes, get this one!

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The Nabi 3D Rainbow Effect polishes are 4/$10 at Walgreens, and I think they're being cleared out, because they're normally $5.99 and they've been on sale for more than a month now.  Do not miss this one!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Nabi 3D Rainbow Effect in Wine

purchased by me

Wine is not really dark enough to justify the name, imo.  It's a very pretty raspberry, but not the burgundy I think of as wine-colored.  It's lovely as is, and the formula is quite well-behaved--a little thin, but opaque in two coats and very shiny without top coat.

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The Nabi 3D Rainbow Effect polishes are 4/$10 at Walgreens, and I think they're being cleared out, because they're normally $5.99 and they've been on sale for more than a month now.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Nabi 3D Rainbow Effect in Teal

purchased by me

I was in Walgreens looking for the new Sally Hansen jellies, and since they're not out yet and the Nabi holos are still 4/$10, I got some more of those as a consolation prize. :)  Teal is a vibrant, blue-toned green with lots of scattered holographic glitter.  It's thin, on the runny side, and took three coats for opacity.  Teal was also prone to later coats trying to pull the previous coat.  Fussy, but pretty, and not too bad for $2.50 + tax.

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The Nabi 3D Rainbow Effect polishes are 4/$10 at Walgreens, and I think they're being cleared out, because they're normally $5.99 and they've been on sale for more than a month now.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Nabi 3D Rainbow Effect in Ocean Blue

purchased by me

I was in Walgreens looking for the new Sally Hansen jellies, and since they're not out yet and the Nabi holos are still 4/$10, I got some more of those as a consolation prize. :)  Ocean Blue is a light, green-toned blue with lots of scattered holographic glitter.  It's thin, on the runny side, and took three coats for opacity.  Ocean Blue was also prone to later coats trying to pull the previous coat.  Finicky, but pretty, and not too bad for $2.50 + tax.

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The Nabi 3D Rainbow Effect polishes are 4/$10 at Walgreens, and I think they're being cleared out, because they're normally $5.99 and they've been on sale for more than a month now.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Incoco nail polish strips in Wild Card

purchased by me

What's black and gold and green all over?

An Irish zebra!

Hahaha, I make me laugh.  Probably not anyone else, but at least me! :-)  So anyway, Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Last year, I did the full on shamrock thing, and it was pretty, but I wanted to be different this year.  I chose an Incoco pattern of zebra stripes in black, gold and green, and went with an accent finger in gold with a single shamrock.



Wild Card is available at Incoco's website for $8.99 + applicable shipping.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Black Phoenix Lupercalia 2014 reviews

purchased by me

Or at least seven reviews to start with!

Koito and Sashichi

BPAL says "Green tea, tobacco absolute, and agarwood."

Jammies says "This is a very delicate white tea fragrance floating on a strong supporting base of tobacco--utterly beautiful."

Geisha in a State of Rumpled Annoyance

BPAL says "French lavender, white plum blossom, white ginger, and rice wine."

Jammies says "On me, Geisha is a clean, sharp lavender.  None of the other notes even make a brief appearance.  I have other lavender scents I like more.

Treasure Ship Coming In

BPAL says "King mandarin, passionfruit, Moroccan rose absolute, labdanum, and amber musk."

Jammies says "I was so excited with the initial sniff of effervescent orange zest, both tart and fizzy at the same time.  Sadly, it dried down to a soft rose, albeit a rose very faintly scented with orange."

Wood Horse

BPAL says "Peony, China’s national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, orange for happiness, lychee for household peace, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat and pomelo for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, cypress for longevity, sticky rice cakes for abundance and hopes for a rich, sweet life, and a splash of blazing red of dragon’s blood."

Jammies says "Initially the lychee is very prominent, with the kumquat close behind it.  As it dries down, the peony comes out more, and then it becomes an exotic fruity floral."

A Demonstration of Affectionate Excitement

BPAL says "White frankincense, ho wood, Himalayan cedar, sweet myrrh, beeswax, and bamboo."

Jammies says "At first this is overwhelmingly cedar, but the resins sneak in and make it a little spicy and there's a faint pine note in the drydown.  No noticeable beeswax, alas."

Death Shall Come in with Thee

BPAL says "Opium poppy, smoke, and tar with green cognac, brittle white vanilla pod, white sandalwood, and clove bud."

Jammies says "Mostly smoky vanilla, but I get the tiniest whiff of clove.  Not really a surprise, since my skin amps vanilla, but I was hoping the clove would hold out.  Le sigh."

Weeping Faces of Wearied Loves

BPAL says "Oman frankincense, grape flowers, sweet myrrh, black currant bud, and Haitian vetiver stained by red wine."

Jammies says "On me, this is very sweet currant with a tiny floral note.  I wish the currant were a bit tarter."

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Models Own 6 for £20 starts tomorrow

press release

£20 converts to about $33.25 right now, but you'll pay almost that in shipping, so if you really want a Models Own polish, I'd recommend going to one of their stockists.  In the US, you can get Models Own polish at Ninja Polish and at Llarowe.

6 for £20 mix + match starts TOMORROW!

Monday, March 10, 2014

OPI Muppets Most Wanted collection

purchased by me

The new Muppet movie, Muppets Most Wanted, premiered on Friday, and OPI's latest Muppet collection is available now!



More after the jump!

Sunday, March 9, 2014

No sneak peek this week.

nothin' to declare

Paper cuts come with the job of court clerk, and I've had more than I can count in the last 14 months.  However, this is the first time I've had two on my swatching hand that both got infected.  Even if I were willing to share pictures of my bleeding paws with the Internet, polish remover hurts like heck!  So I have bottle shots and some nail wheel swatches of the new OPI/Muppets collaboration polishes, and I hope to update the posts with proper pictures when my hand is healed.  Of course this would have to happen just as the lovely G was sending readers my way!  Isn't that life?

Love to all of you who've read this and who are willing to stick around,

Jammies

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Happy Fifth Anniversary to Nouveau Cheap!

Nouveau Cheap celebrates five years of helping readers find the gems and bargains of drugstore beauty products!  G deserves all kinds of applause for an amazing blog, incredible photos and immense dedication.

Happy Anniversary, G!

(Oh, and I got to be one of her reader interviews--you can check it out here)

Friday, March 7, 2014

Incoco Garden Daydreams





Incoco Spring 2014: Garden Daydreams
Winter is coming to an end, and we're welcoming warm sunny days with our new collection, Garden Daydreams! Adorn your nails with pretty florals and pastels perfect for those sweet spring days. 
Shop now at incoco.com!

St. Patrick's Day Shades

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Revlon Parfumerie: Pink Pineapple

purchased by me

Pink Pineapple is a soft pink crème with a white base.  It was terribly sheer--swatches are four coats and it still looks streaky.  Pink Pineapple also didn't smell like pineapple, but just an overwhelming sweet scent.  Since the color is so standard and the scent is so cloying, I'd say to skip this one!

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Parfumerie polishes are available wherever Revlon is sold.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Revlon Parfumerie: Bordeaux

purchased by me

Bordeaux is a pretty burgundy crème which is opaque in two coats, shiny before top coat and smells like grape candy.  I wish the scent was a little more grown-up, but since it's not particularly strong, I can live with it.  If you need a workhorse burgundy in your polish collection, you could do worse than Bordeaux!

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Bordeaux and the rest of the Parfumerie polishes are permanent, and available wherever Revlon is sold.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Revlon Parfumerie: China Flower

purchased by me

China Flower is a tomato red crème.  It's quite pigmented, opaque in two coats, shiny without top coat, and a nice, ordinary red.  It also smells like the inside of a cedar chest, which is not a drawback if you like the smell of cedar, but certainly unexpected from something with a floral name!

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China Flower is not limited edition, and is available wherever Revlon is sold.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Revlon Parfumerie: Spun Sugar

purchased by me

Spun Sugar is part of the Parfumerie line of scented nail polishes from Revlon.  It's a frost finish color halfway between gold and silver.  Spun Sugar is a little thick, almost a one-coater, but I used two for my swatches.  The scent was nothing like cotton candy, which is what I think of when I think of spun sugar.  Instead of a sugary sweet scent, I got a lemony floral.  Different but not unpleasant.  The brush strokes I couldn't get rid of, now those were unpleasant.

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Parfumerie polishes are not limited edition, and are available wherever Revlon is sold.