Color Zone Halloween Trio Swatches

I finally got around to swatching Color Zone's Halloween trio that I posted pics of here http://sweettartesnails.blogspot.com/2011/09/color-zone-halloween-polishes.html and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the cremes. The formula was smooth and became opaque in two coats. The Brush was perfect so the application was effortless. Can't beat that for $4.99!

 

Now for the bar glitter. I found that is didn't spread easily and the glitter didn't lay flat. I don't have a ton of experience with bar glitter so I don't know if that's to be expected. I did look at some pictures online to compare and I found that the bar glitter didn't curl up at the ends like this one. 

SinfulColors - Black Crackle

I stopped in Walgreens the other day and was surprised to see this Sinful Colors display. Looks like they finally jumped on the Crackle bandwagon and as far as I can see, the only color available is black.

This Sinful Colors polish has a relatively high price tag ($4.99) compared to all their other polishes. Of course I was in flighty mode and didn't notice this at the time of purchase. If I had, I would have left it at Walgreens because I already have shatter/crackle polishes in black from China Glaze and OPI. Oh well!

The point is, I did in fact buy it and I took pictures!

The polish came with this nifty little directional booklet around the bottle's neck. Very nice of them. Of course you don't have to use the polish over a SinfulColors polish as per the directions. I used it over an Essence polish called Irreplaceable. 

I actually really liked the formula of this polish. It crackled nicely and the best part was that it didn't need a topcoat (as per directions) like so many other shatter/crackle polishes because it adheres to your base color and doesn't flake off. For those of you that haven't worked with crackle/shatter polishes, they usually need a TC so it doesn't flake off once dry. I really like this without a TC because of the interesting matte-like texture it adds to the mani. 

Color Zone Halloween Polishes

It's that time of year again! This is the most exciting part of the year for me because companies start releasing their limited edition holiday polishes. I become an insane polish hoarder every year starting in Sept. all the way through Dec. I start stalking websites and stores for new seasonal  polish collections everyday. It's a sickness I tell you!    

I went to TJ Maxx the other day just to look around. Usually I can find some heavily discounted polishes and other miscellaneous beauty stuff.  This time I found these Halloween polishes. They were $4.99 for the set of three. I was only interested in the middle polish with the black and orange bar glitter, but for that price it was worth it to pick up the pack. 

The first polish is a neon orange traffic cone creme. The middle polish has densely packed orange and black bar glitter suspended in a clear base. The last polish is a black creme.

Check out this bar glitter! Perfect for Halloween, right?

You can check out swatches here http://sweettartesnails.blogspot.com/2011/09/color-zone-halloween-trio-swatches.html

The DIY Rococo Dupe

I made a dupe of this pricey polish a few years back when I decided I was too poor for the real thing. That and I felt like it was WAAAAY over priced. Basically you just add gold leafing found at any craft store to a clear base. I chose to add it to everyone's favorite fast drying topcoat, Seche Vite (Available at Sally's). By doing so I skipped an entire layering step. :c)

Here's my dupe.

The first three at the left are what I used for my base color and at the far right is my franken. 

Sorry for the crappy pic and unlabled bottles. I took this pic years ago with no intention on sharing it with the world.

Expect more frankens/DIY dupes on my frankening blog, http://thefrankenfiles.blogspot.com/

Green and pink skittles mani

Thumb: Orly - Frolic & Orly - Bubbly Bombshell
Index: China Glaze - Cherish & Orly Frolic
Middle and Ring: Orly - Frolic & Cosmetics Arts - No name
Pinky: Orly - Here Comes Trouble & China Glaze Admire
Image Plate: BM20

Chanel Peridot & Nicole's Brilliant Idea

This is Chanel Peridot with and accent nail in Nicole's Brilliant Idea. Peridot one of the three polishes in Chanel's Fall 2011 collection. The other polishes include Graphite (which I'll review on a later date) and Quartz. Quartz didn't do much for me so I never picked it up. Peridot is one of the more interesting colors in my opinion because it changes between gold and green depending on how the light hits it. I found the formula to be far superior to Chanel's past polishes which is a plus.  Nicole's Brilliant Idea is a Target exclusive and it's one of my favorites. It consists of fine, lime colored glitter with larger hex pieces scattered throughout.

Barry M Nail Effects - 315 & Rimmel - Forrest

I would like to make my first post for Jessica. She was sweet enough to send me these polishes all the way from Northern Ireland.

First off is Rimmel - Forrest. The formula was smooth and the brush was flawless. It's a darker green with green shimmer and it was opaque in 3 coats.

Next up is Barry M Nail Effects in 315. My picture doesn't do this one justice. It's actually more periwinkle in person, but my camera has a hard time picking up the purple tomes. I like the way this polish cracks in comparison to other crackle/shatter polishes because it cracks enough for the base color can come through for a nice contrast.