Julep Maven - Classic with a Twist April 2013

Julep Maven - Classic with a Twist Intro Box (March 2013)

February Manicures!

Apologies for the delay in this post! Evidently instead of publishing it, I just saved it as a draft...twelve days ago. At any rate, if you'd like to see the manicures I did throughout February, keep reading!

OPI Euro Centrale Comparison - Gold

This week I'm going to compare the polishes from the OPI Euro Centrale mini set to the other polishes in my collection.

The final comparison from the set is for the gold polish - OY-Another Polish Joke! I don't really like gold on my skin, so the only other gold polish I have is Goldeneye from the Bondettes mini set from the Skyfall collection. They're definitely not dupes. Goldeneye has much bigger flecks of gold and therefore has more nail that shows through the first coat or two. It's also darker.

L-R: OPI - OY-Another Polish Joke!, OPI - Goldeneye

OPI Euro Centrale Comparison - Lavender

This week I'm going to compare the polishes from the OPI Euro Centrale mini set to the other polishes in my collection.

Today I'm comparing You're Such a BudaPest! I was expecting this polish to be a match for something in my collection as well, but it's unique too! It's a bluer shade than Sally Hansen's Lacey Lilac, although they're about the same level of pastel. You're Such a BudaPest! is sort of like a pastel version of Zoya's Caitlin.

L-R: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Lacey Lilac, OPI - You're Such A BudaPest!, Zoya - Caitlin

OPI Euro Centrale Comparison - Blue

This week I'm going to compare the polishes from the OPI Euro Centrale mini set to the other polishes in my collection.

Today's comparison is with the blue from the set - Can't Find My Czechbook. I was not expecting to love this polish as much as I do! I also wasn't expecting it to be so different from my other polishes. I thought I had a decent amount of blue polishes but it seems they're all either much more teal, more purple, or just darker than this particular shade. Hopefully I don't end up wishing I had a big bottle of this one! Although surely I can find a similar shade if I ever use up the mini bottle. 

L-R: China Glaze - For Audrey, OPI - Can't Find My Czechbook, Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Blue-Away

OPI Euro Centrale Comparison - Pink

This week I'm going to compare the polishes from the OPI Euro Centrale mini set to the other polishes in my collection. 

First up: the pink! The slightly coral-leaning pink of Suzi's Hungary AGAIN! is not particularly unique to my collection as I find that type of shade to be particularly flattering against my skin tone. While none of these polishes are exactly the same, the OPI, Revlon, and Urban Outfitters colors are similar enough that you certainly would not need more than one of them in your collection. The China Glaze is more of a true pink than the others, although it is certainly not too far off.

L-R: Urban Outfitters - Cocktail, Revlon Top Speed - Guava, OPI - Suzi's Hungary AGAIN!, China Glaze - Sugar High

OPI Euro Centrale Mini Set

I couldn't resist the mini set from OPI's newest collection! I seem to have tackled this collection much the same way as I did Skyfall - by intending to just get the glitter, and then leaving with the mini set as well. What can I say? These colors really appealed to me! Although, I do wish this set had one of the darker blue or purple shades rather than the gold, but I'll get past it.

For more photos, swatches, and my thoughts - keep reading!

January Manicures

Another new month means another month's worth of manicures to share with you! I really enjoyed all of them this month - and I was especially into glitters! I also tried Ciate polishes for the first time, and expanded both my Butter London and OPI collections a bit - two brands I've fairly recently come to appreciate.

If you'd like to see, larger photos and names of the polishes I used will be under the cut!

Organization & Display: Jumbo Eye Pencils

Trying to strike the perfect balance between functionality and aesthetic in my makeup storage is a never-ending project for me. However, this little project I took on this week seemed to be another step in the right direction! I had picked up the glass at Bath & Body Works during their semi-annual sale. Although it's meant to hold their mini candles, I don't actually have any of those - I just thought it was attractive! I decided it would make a nice addition to my makeup storage. 

Since it's taller than the container I previously had my jumbo eye pencils in, it was harder to see the colored tip of each one. I thought turning them upside down would help - except all of the NYX pencils are completely white, unlike the other brands I have, which show the color of the pencil on the bottom. 

Instead of giving up, I put my nail polish collection to use - matching each pencil to a polish & painting the bottom section! I taped off the bottom section so they'd have a crisp line and did as many coats as needed to get to the right opacity. For three of the colors I mixed polishes together to achieve exactly the right shade and texture, but the rest I had polishes that were close enough.

I am thrilled with the way they look! It's much easier to see each pencil's shade, and I think having the colors displayed more obviously will make me more likely to reach for them - lately, my jumbo pencils have been somewhat ignored! 

If you have any questions about the process, the colors I used, or anything else - just ask!

Christmas Haul 2012

I got some fun new beauty items for Christmas this year! Two Sephora by OPI nail polishes in fabulous colors and some of the Sephora makeup brushes! I can't wait to use these polishes in a manicure - they're very similar to the colors on my bedroom walls, so I think I'll try to combine them somehow. The brushes are so nice as well. The powder brush is absolutely enormous but so soft and fun to use. The angled liner brush is fantastic, and I always need more of them. I haven't used the stippling brush yet, but it feels really nice! If anyone has any usage tips for that one, I'd love to hear them.

Did you get anything beauty related for gifts this year?

November Manicures

OPI You Only Live Twice (Skyfall)

Zoya - Pinta

Revlon Colorstay - Cayenne

Illamasqua - Noble

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year 2012 Nail Lacquer Set

Maybelline Color Show - Twilight Rays

Sonia Kashuk - Two Cent

Sonia Kashuk - Two Cent, OPI - The Living Daylights (Skyfall)

Sonia Kashuk - Two Cent, OPI - The Living Daylights (Skyfall), Butter LONDON Matte Finish Topcoat

Pixi - Paradise Pink, L'Oreal - The Bigger The Better (Diamond Collection)

Nail Polish Comparison - butter LONDON Wallis

L-R: Safari Gold over Stone Cold, Safari Gold, Wallis, Zombie Zest over Stone Cold

For more photos and detailed information and comparisons, keep reading!

Nail Polish Comparison - Medium Pinks

This is the final post of pink polish comparisons! (For now at least!) 

L-R: China Glaze - Strawberry Fields, Covergirl - Fuchsia Girl, SXY (Payless) - Pink  Prestige

The Covergirl is a long-time favorite of mine - I've had a bottle of it for YEARS, and this is actually the second bottle! I had another one that I probably used about half of before the cap split and the polish dried out completely! It's a very opaque and easy to apply color.

Although I haven't had Strawberry Fields as long, it's definitely one of my favorites as well. It's so beautiful, especially in the sun. Although its base color is similar to the other pinks, the gold shimmer in it really makes it quite different. It's one polish I'd recommend everyone have in their collection - at the very least for summer pedicures!

Nail Polish Comparison - Neon Pinks

This group is definitely the least color-accurate of all the pinks! Neons are notoriously hard to get photographed correctly, and these are no exception. 

L-R: China Glaze - Light My Tiki, L.A. Colors (no name), China Glaze - Shocking Pink (Neon), Essie - Lights

Light My Tiki is the least "neon" of the bunch. It has glitter and dries to a shiny finish. It's very bright though! The L.A. Colors shade and Shocking Pink are both true matte/slight satin neons. The L.A. Colors one in particular is really opaque and even for a neon polish. The Essie dries to more of a satin than a matte finish, and isn't quite as in-your-face vibrant as the others, although it is still very, very bright. It also applies really beautifully. 

Nail Polish Comparison - Pale Pinks

Today's installment of pink nail polish comparisons features the pale/pastel pinks of my collection!

L-R: Revlon Colorstay - Cafe Pink, OPI - Pink Friday, China Glaze - Something Sweet, Revlon - Flirt

Cafe Pink and Pink Friday are very similar. I haven't actually worn a full manicure of either yet, so I can't say how they wear yet! Flirt is definitely the thinnest formula, but it's not actually that sheer! It is also the most purple of the four, but it fit into this bunch the best.

Nail Polish Comparison - Light/Medium Pinks

I was enjoying picking out similar-looking polishes and taking comparison photos, so I did quite a few over the same weekend. The ones I'll be posting first are all the pinks I compared, since the color seems to be everywhere for breast cancer awareness currently! 

China Glaze's 'Naked' polish is one that was included in a set with Seche Vite topcoat and a little keychain. I believe 5% of the set's sales went to Susan G. Komen for the cure, which is a nice bonus. I just liked the pink and can always use another bottle of Seche Vite! Especially for $7.99 for the set!

L-R: Pixi - Pirouette Pink, Revlon Top Speed - Candy, China Glaze - Naked, China Glaze - Sugar High

China Glaze Sugar High is one of my favorite pink polishes of all time. Candy is a nice color, but I don't particularly enjoy the Top Speed formula - they seem to be tacky and actually dry slower than the regular Revlon polishes!

The Pixi polish is much brighter than it appears here, and I'm not sure if you're able to see it but there is a little bit of glitter/shimmer to it as well! It's interesting - like a neon pastel pink!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Collection

Because the Complete Salon Manicure line of polishes from Sally Hansen has been spotted on clearance at Walgreens, I figured now would be a good time to post my collection! I only have five from them since they're my least favorite line of Sally Hansen's, yet they're the most expensive. I prefer more opaque formulas. They're not difficult to work with if you don't mind sheerer polishes or putting on several layers, and as long as you don't have tiny nail beds, because the brush is quite wide.

The swatches are all done with about five coats.

For the names of the polishes and bottle photos, keep reading!

Nail Polish Comparison - Yellow-Greens

L-R (in all photos) : China Glaze Electric Pineapple, OPI Did It On 'Em, Sinful Colors Innocent

Once again, none of these are dupes for each other, but they're all very similar. Innocent is more green whereas the others have more yellow to them, and the OPI is a bit more vibrant, although certainly a very similar shade, to the China Glaze.

The Sinful Colors is a bit more opaque in one coat than the other two, but none of them take many coats to get even and opaque coverage. They're all a pretty nice formula to work with as well. I love fun, bright colors like these and would definitely recommend having one of them in your collection! They're great as accent nails or in nail art if you're not sure about wearing an entire manicure with a color like these, too.

Nail Polish Comparison - OPI vs China Glaze

Recently I realized that I could be using the many similar shades and near-dupes in my somewhat extensive nail polish collection to help other people avoid buying such similar colors, or deciding which one they want more! I plan to do several posts like this with different colors. 

First up, China Glaze Innocence vs. OPI Bubble Bath. I've heard OPI Bubble Bath mentioned quite a bit, but rarely have I seen Innocence brought up! I don't think they're 100% dupes, but they are very, very similar. 

L-R: Innocence on its own, Bubble Bath on its own, Innocence over white, Bubble Bath over white.

On their own, I had to use about six coats to get the opacity shown. I did use very thin coats to avoid streakiness or pooling, so it's possible that it could be done with fewer. Or, of course, if you don't mind the visible nail line, you could definitely get away with fewer coats! 

I also decided to test them over white. For this, I used two coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On as the base, and then I still used two or three coats to get a nice uniform coverage. I'm not very used to using sheer polishes, so there may be a better technique to apply them in fewer coats, but I think the color showed up well this way. 

The difference between the two polishes is most clear over white, but even then the difference is barely noticeable. I'm not sure if they're dupes if they're not 100% identical, but they are certainly close. The formulas performed equally in application, neither required more effort or more coats than the other.