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China Glaze Anchors Away Spring 2011 Collection – Sand & Sea Swatches & Review

By on February 9, 2011
in Blue, China Glaze, Gray, Nude, Spring 2011, Tan, Taupe, White with 57 Comments
china-glaze-anchors-away-spring-2011-nail-polish-collection I can’t begin to tell you how apropos it is that China Glaze created the nautical themed Anchors Away collection for Spring 2011. You see I grew up sailing. As a child I spent every weekend of my summers on my parents’ sailboat cruising the shores of Lake Erie. It was such a huge part of my life that even though I’m not exactly a fan of sailing (it can be boring), being on the water is an essential piece of who I am.

It’s always been part of my life plan to have a boat of my own to enjoy everything Lake Erie has to offer. The Lake Erie islands, the Sandusky Bay area, it’s all so beautiful and fun. This spring my dream of summering on a boat just may come true. The boyfriend and I are signing up for a safe boating course and starting to shop for our own floating home away from home which has me on an all things nautical high.

I’ve been shopping for new deck shoes, conjuring up boat names, contemplating the boat themed manicures I’ll wear, etc. And after seeing a mani/pedi combo using the navy and orange cremes from this collection, I already know what is going on my nails first.  But before we get into the bold Knotty Nauticals let’s take a look at the softer side of the Anchors Away collection, the Sand & Sea six piece set.

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Color Club Rebel Debutante Swatches & Review

Color-Clube-Rebel-Debutante-Display One of Color Club’s three, yes I said three, new collections is Rebel Debutante.  The collection introduces nine new creme polishes that for the most part are very chic and subdued but it’s the stand out blue and green that caught my eye.What an unexpected twist to add such bright pops of color to the palette.  I suppose they are the rebels in the group.  Though what I like about this collection as a whole is that even though the majority of the shades are neutrals, they are what I’d call “new neutrals.”  They have an updated feel to them.  See what I mean after the jump!

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StrangeBeautiful Color Volume 3 Review & Swatches

By on September 21, 2009
in Gray, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, StrangeBeautiful, Tan, Teal with 29 Comments
strangebeautiful, strange beautiful, nail polish, nail color, color volume, nail polish libraryTo be Strange is to be Beautiful. This is the concept behind the StrangeBeautiful line of nail polish and it’s what makes their libraries of color so intriguing. Founder Jane Schub‘s love of art, architecture and design has been translated into a set of eight seasonal hues that I can only describe as achingly unusual.I’ve long said the reason I adore nail polish and started this site is because of my lifelong obsession with color. That while I don’t wear a lot of colorful clothing, I express my creativity and mood through nail color. This is why I was immediately drawn into this 3rd Volume of color from StrangeBeautiful. I swear I must have sat, staring at the polishes, for a good fifteen minutes remarking over and over how wonderfully brilliant and unique a collection this is. Let’s explore this new-to-me brand after the jump!

 

strangebeautiful, strange beautiful, nail polish, nail color, color volume, nail polish libraryTaking inspiration from design pieces like the vibrant red typewriter by Ettore Sottsass and everyday objects like a lobster shell, each season StrangeBeautiful creates an eight shade limited edition collection that is both provocative and wearable. Using a creme finish for all the polishes makes them refined and chic.

The formula is 3-Free, including Formaldehyde Resin, highly pigmented and flows smoothly on the nail drying with a high gloss finish. The 220 strand brush is thin, long and pliable, easily spreading out for the perfect three stroke application. Like I said, the polish is pigmented, even the lighter shades, so you only need two coats to achieve complete opacity.

What I find interesting is that because the polishes are sold as a library, the individual shades are unnamed. They are also produced once in extremely limited edition so when a volume sells out, that’s it.

Because the inspiration for each color is so specific, and there aren’t descriptive names for each polish I thought including descriptors straight from StrangeBeautiful would be helpful in understanding the concept.

The saturated rusty iron color of an Irish bog caused by the reaction between tannin, wood and iron. The rich warm color of this polish reminds me of the peanut sauce that comes with chicken satay. It’s definitely best suited to a neutral or warm skin tone but I love its fabulous fall feel.

The veins of green mold running through Roquefort. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this deep teal green was the one I rushed to put on first. My love of all things green is infinite and there’s something about the aged feel of this hue that I can’t get enough of.

The dreadfully wonderful dirty almond color used on kitchen appliances. Growing up in a home that reveled in the 60s avocado, almond, red shag aesthetic, this shade takes me right back to the adorable ranch-style house I grew up in that my Dad built for us.

The belly of a pigeon. I suppose I’m fortunate to say that I haven’t been up close and personal with a pigeon though I doubt the Lake Erie seagulls are any less annoying. Regardless this moody, lilac tinged gray is so me it’s not even funny.

Aged Armagnac. There’s something about this burnt sienna that makes me long for a bonfire, hot cider and the smell of pumpkin pie on a cool, fall night.

The artist Sean Scully. Deep and vampy, this dark plum looks like Grape Dimetapp in the bottle but dries pretty dark on the nail. Think OPI LPAD.

The rich black olive green color of Loden cloth. Hellooooo luvah!! There just aren’t enough mossy, olive greens in this world for me. So even though I own RBL No More War and Illamasqua Hectic, I love that this Swamp Thing hue is less yellow based therefore much more wearable on a range of skin tones.

The dull brown red of Redrope files. I truly wish the creaminess and slightly browned base of this red had translated better on camera. It’s very luscious and rich in person.
Color Volume 3 from StrangeBeautiful is available now on LuckyScent.com. The library of 8 shades retails for $79, which is less than $10 each.

Who has tried StrangeBeautiful before? Thoughts? How do you feel about these colors and that they come as a set?

China Glaze Fall 2008 – Rodeo Diva Hay Ride

china glaze, fall 2008, nail polish, nail lacquer, nail color, rodeo divaGiddy up little cowgirls for the Rodeo Diva collection from China Glaze is here. Twelve nail polishes divided into two sets, warm and cool, these shimmering beauties will be causing a frenzy. And even though I tend to go the cool route (blues, greens) the gold shimmer in the Hay Ride polishes is incredible.

I would describe the shimmer as micro glitter yet it doesn’t affect the finish or cause that skin crawling glitter scratching as you remove it. All in all, the polishes applied well. Though I did notice the formula getting thicker as I went from lighter to darker shades. The lacquers dry glossy and the pigmentation is excellent, I only needed two coats to achieve bottle color.

Now you’ll notice that my skin tone looks a bit funky in the swatch pics below. That’s only because I altered the images to best show the polish color, which resulted in my skin looking a bit jaundiced in some and flushed in others. You’ll just have to excuse that.

Yee Haw! is a golden peachy orange that just radiates in the sunlight. I don’t think it necessarily works on me but the shimmer really gives it a punch to take it from being just another peach.
china glaze, fall 2008, nail polish, nail lacquer, nail color, rodeo diva, yee haw!, yee haw
Golden Spurs is actually one of my favorite shades in this group and I’m not a big fan of tans. There’s something about how the shimmer really adds dimension to what could be a totally boring color that draws me in. It’s a sexy evening neutral.
china glaze, fall 2008, nail polish, nail lacquer, nail color, rodeo diva, golden spurs
Prize Winning Mare is a hard shade to capture. It’s golden brown but not chocolaty and very chameleon-like. In every light, it looked different. Very unique
china glaze, fall 2008, nail polish, nail lacquer, nail color, rodeo diva, prize winning mare
Lasso My Heart’s golden shimmer makes it look more rosy in person. In fact, in the bottle, I thought it was a duo-chrome because of the way the shimmer affects the color.
china glaze, fall 2008, nail polish, nail lacquer, nail color, rodeo diva, lasso my heart
Wagon Trail was the one color I most look forward to testing and it didn’t disappoint. You know me, any mention of green perks my ears up. This golden green is dirty, funky and totally fun. Like nothing else I own. I know there are fans of the discontinued China Glaze shade, Cat’s Eye (I don’t own it). Well I’d say that Wagon Trail is its blackened, trampy cousin.
china glaze, fall 2008, nail polish, nail lacquer, nail color, rodeo diva, wagon trail
Side-Saddle is for all you vamps. A browned plum peppered with gold, this shade represents the “diva” in Rodeo Diva the best. The minute I saw it, I thought of my pal Sara from Bit By The Beauty Bug. Even though I’ve helped encourage her to explore the lighter, brighter side of polish this summer, she’s a vampy girl at heart. I just know she’ll love this!
china glaze, fall 2008, nail polish, nail lacquer, nail color, rodeo diva, side saddle, side-saddleAnd since I knew there would questions of how Side-Saddle compares to NYC Cognac Sparkle, I beat you to the punch. Cognac Sparkle is more berry/wine based and a tinge lighter. Sorry gals, no twin here.

The Rodeo Diva collection can be found online at Head2ToeBeauty and is coming soon to 8ty8Beauty. China Glaze can also be purchased at ULTA and Sally Beauty Supply, call for seasonal collection availability.

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