July 31, 2017

Gorgeous Cosmos Ayurda Collection Swatches!

*Sent for review*

Hi all! Today I have some lovely polishes from a new to me indie brand called Gorgeous Cosmos. Gorgeous Cosmos is based in India and their polishes are all 5-free! I have six polishes from the Ayurda collection, a group of highly pigmented cremes. The Ayurda collection contains "a special blend of the following herbs and oils: Argan oil Jojoba oil Almond oil Olive oil Tamanu oil Sesame oil Rosemary extract Bhringaraaja (Eclipta prostrata) extract Brahmi (Centella asiatica) extract Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract". Sounds great for nail health! My absolute favorite of the six I received is the Teal Ayurda, it is the most perfect shade of teal, like gentle tropical waters. It's a really unique shade of teal, one that I've actually been looking for for a long time. I find that most polishes this shade are not pigmented enough for what I'm looking for, but no worries with that here.


All of the polishes in this collection are highly pigmented. Most could be done with one careful coat. I did use two coats in my swatches, simply because I can't help myself from applying one more coat. But they are opaque in one coat for sure. I think the second coat just smoothed everything out and looked more lush. The formula on these is a little on the thicker side, but not problematic. All swatches have one layer of quick dry top coat on top.



Next up is Blue Ayurda, such an incredible shade of pure sky blue. If this shade of blue doesn't make you happy, you got issues 😉. It's a really stunning slightly deeper than Robin's Egg blue. It's such a saturated color too, it really pops without being chalky or neon.


This is two coats, but again, you could do one coat. These polishes are very pigmented!!



Peach Ayurda reminds me of the color of Peach Ring candies, not the yellow part, but the darker pinky color. Aaaaaaand now I want Peach Rings... This is a great pink creme with hints of peach, almost leaning into a pink coral territory.


This is two coats as well. This one wanted to flood my cuticles a little bit, so clean up might be needed. Very opaque and saturated with pigment.



Mauve Ayurda is a gorgeous light grape purple creme. You know I am a purple lover, so this one makes me swoon. This is a fantastic shade of purple and if your collection is lacking a shade like this, you need this for sure!


This one really did not need the second coat, it was perfectly pigmented, smooth and lovely in one coat. Love it!



Sunshine Ayurda is the color of the bright yellow sun. So cheery and perfect for summer! This is the perfect primary yellow and would be great as a base for nail art of some sort!


This is the only one in the collection that really could have used two coats. The second coat just evened it out, but that is pretty standard yellow polish behavior. It is very pigmented like the other colors and the formula is on the thicker side as well.



Last but not least is Pink Ayurda. This is the perfect Barbie fuchsia pink creme. A little bold, a little dash of purple to keep it interesting, just my type of pink. Reminds me of the Barbie Dream Car I wanted when I was four and never got...


Two coats again and lovely application on this one. Loving the bold pigmentation in these.


There is also a 7th color in the Ayurda collection that I didn't get, a very cool bright green. These colors are all so rich in pigment, I think they would be perfect for stamping and water marbling. Look out for a future post in which I test that theory!

Check out Gorgeous Cosmos polish at http://www.gorgeouscosmos.com/index.php, Instagram, and Facebook!

July 26, 2017

Octopus Party The Algae-atic Sea and On the Frocks

*Purchased by me*

I have a long way to go towards wearing all of the polish I bought at Polish Con, still wading through it all! Today I have two polishes I purchased there from the lovely Dave at Octopus Party Nail Lacquer. Octopus Party The Algae-atic Sea is a bright near neon lime creme. It's a really unique shade of green and was very hard to capture accurately in pictures. It looks more minty here, but it really is like a lime color. Not as soft either and definitely brighter. I think my first picture is the most accurate, but it is still greener and brighter in person. There are a variety of swatches on the OPNL Etsy store site and they all look different too, so I think it's just one of those troublesome beauties to photograph! What an amazing color in person though, wow!! I topped The Algae-atic Sea with one layer of Octopus Party On the Frocks, a very cool iridescent glitter topper. The glitters in On the Frocks shift from blue to purple to green and are very smooth feeling, not rough at all. I am loving this combo and I got a ton of compliments on this mani!


This is two coats of The Algae-atic Sea. It was lovely to apply and nicely pigmented. If you have longer nails than me, you could need a third coat, but two was perfect here. I topped it with one easy layer of On the Frocks and one layer of top coat.



Octopus Party The Algae-atic Sea is available now in the OPNL Etsy Shop. I don't see On the Frocks, but maybe it will return in the future. While you're there, I strongly advise you to get The Pleasure Principle. It is an INSANELY gorgeous shifty multi chrome. I have to swatch that for you all next, it's nuts!

New Sally Hansen and Rimmel Products for Summer!

Sally Hansen has the hottest “Sand” nail colors to get you beach ready in no time. Have fun in the sun and make your nails look good doing it.

Sally Hansen Color Therapy ($8.99) shown in shades:  Make My Clay, Chai on Life, and Re-Nude






Sally Hansen Miracle Gel ($9.99) in Frill Seeker




NEW! RIMMEL LONDON SHAKE IT FRESH MASCARA

Ready to shake up your lash-look? Rimmel London introduces new Shake It Fresh Mascara, the freshest mascara on the block that won’t dry out or cause clumps. Shake it up to keep it fresh from start to finish. Rock ultra-smooth, clump-free volume from first to last use.

-       First-to-market Shake-Shake technology makes Shake It Fresh Mascara last longer than normal mascara.
-       Patented shaker system refreshes the formula when needed. Formula stays good as new and clump free from first to last day of use.
-       Volume Defining brush with flexible fibers adds volume and separates lashes from corner to corner for a mess-free, defined look.
-       Enjoy flawless, clump-free, smudge-free volume with every application.

Shades: Extreme Black and Black
Recommended Retail Price:     $6.99

July 20, 2017

New Sally Hansen Color Therapy Shades!

 *Sent for review*

The Sally Hansen Color Therapy line is really fantastic, if you haven't yet tried it. It's patented argan oil formula moisturizes your nails as you wear it and I do see an improvement in the texture of my nails when I wear it without base coat for a few days. There are some new shades in the line and I have a couple of them for your today. Sally Hansen Reflection Pool is a gorgeous green-blue shimmer. It looks like a normal teal in the bottle, but it really has a great green flash to it, almost like a blue with duochrome green. It also looks like a touch of golden shimmer is living in this pool! This shade is just beautiful and screams summer day at the beach to me.


This is just two coats of Reflection Pool and the application was perfect. Very easy and smooth. I used one coat of the Sally Hansen Color Therapy top coat and it was nicely shiny. It's not marketed as a quick dry top coat, but I find it to be very fast. Maybe not as fast as Seche Vite or Glisten & Glow, but still a very respectable drying time.



Sally Hansen Haute Springs is a nice crimson red creme. It's a great, rich-looking red, perfect for any red lover out there.


This is two coats of Haute Springs. The formula was a little on the thinner side, so I just had to make sure not to load the brush up too much to avoid pooling at the cuticles. I used one layer of Color Therapy top coat.



Sally Hansen Slicks and Stones is a vampy eggplant purple with pink and gold flecks glowing from within. The pink and gold flecks really pop out in the sun, but when I took these pictures, sun was lacking a bit! I can still see the flecks in all lighting conditions though, they don't disappear in low light. 


This is two coats again and the formula was very good. Nice and smooth, with great pigmentation. Topped with the Color Therapy top coat.


These pretty polishes are available now at a drugstore or Target near you! For more information on where to buy, visit https://www.sallyhansen.com.

July 18, 2017

Zoya Sophisticates Fall 2017 Preview!






FALL 2017 ZOYA NAIL COLOR – ZOYA SOPHISTICATES
Meet the SOPHISTICATES, Zoya’s latest palette of smoldering nudes, wine reds and shadowy hues in pearl, metallic and cream nail polish finishes.


Mckenna (ZP904): a refined pearl in soft almond. 
Beth (ZP905): a soft, sandy, rose gold metallic. 
Presley (ZP906): a smokey, mauve taupe cream. 
Joni (ZP907): a deep, dusty plum cream 
Hera (ZP908): a muted, red mauve cream. 
Padma (ZP909): a deep, vermillion red cream. 
Yvonne (ZP910): a rich, bordeaux red cream. 
Mona (ZP911): a deep, burgundy plum cream. 
Elaine (ZP912): a dark, umber brown cream. 
Hadley (ZP913): a smokey, midnight blue cream. 
Tabitha (ZP914): a refined pearl in a deep hunter green. 
Gal (ZP915): a smokey, iridescent, peridot gold metallic. 
  




AVAILABLE August 1, 2017. ZOYA.COM $10 ea.(US) 
  
*10 FREE FORMULA: FORMULATED WITHOUT FORMALDEHYDE, FORMALDEHYDE RESIN,
DIBUTYL PHTHALATE, TOLUENE
, CAMPHOR, TPHP, PARABENS, XYLENE, ETHYL TOSYLAMIDE and LEAD.

July 14, 2017

Lynnderella Friday, Vol. 78!

*Sent for review*

OK time to get this blog back on track, yikes! What a busy couple of months I have had, it's been crazy. It's time for a good Lynnderella Friday around here and today is a great day for it because Lynnderella was actually on the nails of Hailee Steinfeld as she performed on The Today Show this morning!! She wore a Lynnderella called Diamond in Training and you can check out a clip of her performing/get a glimpse of the polish here- http://www.today.com/popculture/see-love-myself-singer-hailee-steinfeld-rock-out-today-plaza-t113853. I think that is a pretty cool accomplishment for Lynnderella!!



Lynnderella Snazzy is a seriously STUNNING polish. Lynnderella describes it as a "charcoal black holographic microglitter with a red metallic glow". The red metallic glow is so strong and contrasts beautifully with the charcoal glitter. The effect in the sunlight is like fire, the holo rainbow and the metallic glow are so strong! Indoors you can see the charcoal gray/black color more, but the red flash is definitely still there and very visible. Overall such a unique polish!



This is two coats of Snazzy. It was gloriously easy to apply and very pigmented. I did use two layers of top coat because I thought it would really bring out the metallic glow.




Lynnderella Picnic is a holo watermelon pink microglitter. It's a nice juicy pink and has a light rainbow flare of holo glitter. Great summer pink for glitter lovers!


This is two coats of Picnic. It was a little thicker than Lynnderellas typically are and I found the first coat to be a little lumpy. The second coat smoothed everything out and was better, but it wasn't as flawless a formula as I have grown accustomed to with Lynns as of late. I used two layers of top coat here as well.



Lynnderella Tra LaLaLa is a "blue-violet shimmered charcoal black holographic microglitter with neon and iridescent flake accents". The charcoal glitter in this looks totally different than in Snazzy, it really has more of a purple-y feel. I love the fun colored accent glitters and flakes, they really pop out nicely. The charcoal glitter is nicely holographic and the whole polish has a rainbow look to it in sunlight.



This is two coats of Tra LaLaLa and one layer of top coat. It was easy to apply and had nice coverage. Every time I read the name of this polish, I sing it to the tune of "Swalla" by Jason Derulo and Nicki Minaj LOL... can't help it.



These three lovely Lynnderellas are available now at http://stores.ebay.com/lynnderella-lynnderella. Lynnderellas are also available on Amazon and StorEnvy.