365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. I’ve been doing quite a few interviews lately for various publications about summer and fall nail trends. Of course we know that crackle is EVERYWHERE, nail art isn’t dying out anytime soon and neutrals have been making a resurgence. But what I find funny is when looks that are pretty much “old hat” in the nail community end up being the “new” hot trend. I was recently asked by the Style Network’s StyleSpy about the “new” celebrity accent nail trend and the best ways to wear the look. Of course, this isn’t exactly a new look but since so many celebrities have been rocking the accent nail it’s now a thing. My advice has always been to look for contrasting or complementary color combos. Black & white, purple and gold, lime and fuchsia, etc. For this summer my favorite combination is orange & blue or teal & coral, so I rummaged my untrieds to create a fun accent nail manicure and came up with Deborah Lippmann Lara’s Theme and Orly Frisky.

Formula & Application: Deborah Lippmann nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and doesn’t contain camphor, which can be an irritant. Her signature glass bottle is so distinct you would know the brand even without the name on it. It’s one of the best bottle shapes in the industry. The curved cap was designed with professional manicurists in mind as it is shaped to rest comfortably between your fingers.

The Lippmann brush is short, round and average in width with flexible bristles that easily fan out over the nail plate. Lara’s Theme has the same creme jelly hybrid formula that I’ve come to expect from Lippmann. They are packed with pigment but have a squishy, jelly type feel. I was able to get great coverage in two coats but the polish was a bit temperamental and could end up streaky if you press too hard on your brush, requiring a third.

Formula & Application: Orly nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and does not contain camphor, which can be an irritant. Orly polishes come with the fan fave rubberized cap. That signature easy-to-grip topper makes it easy to control the polish. The brush is long and thin with flexible bristles. I personally would like it if there were more bristles to get more coverage in each stroke.

The consistency of Frisky is kind of thick and it isn’t the best at self leveling but wow is it packed with pigment. I used two coats and that almost felt like overkill.

Deborah Lippmann Lara’s Theme was created with supermodel Lara Stone. Of course, the polish is named after the song from Doctor Zhivago. I had a music box that played this song when I was little and even played it on my flute. It’s so haunting. The polish is a Dutch orange creme in honor of Lara’s country of origin. Similar to the Summer 2010 release, Essie Vermillionaire, though Lara’s Theme has a bit more intensity.

Orly Frisky is part of the Happy Go Lucky collection and even though it’s described as teal, I see it as cross between sky blue and turquoise. It has a hint of green in its base though next to a polish with the same depth, Essie Turquoise & Caicos, it looks very blue. It’s a much more interesting color than I expected.

Bottom Line: Together these colors have me longing for Key West or Miami beach. Somewhere with a great party atmosphere, a beach and fruity drinks. On their own, Frisky is definitely the more unique flower. If I were calling the shots, I would say definitely pick up Frisky and snag Lara’s Theme only if you don’t already own Vermillionaire.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: Since I love how these colors look together, I’m STASHing both. I can see a Lara’s Theme pedi with a Frisky mani in my future.

Deborah Lippmann Lara’s Theme is available at DeborahLippmann.com and Nordstrom stores as well as Nordstrom.com and Beauty.com and retails for $16/ea for a .5oz bottle. Orly Frisky is available at salons nationwide including Sally Beauty and ULTA. Orly nail polishes retail for $7.50/ea for a .6 oz bottle.

What if your favorite accent nail combination? Do you switch up the nail you polish with the contrasting color? Thoughts on Frisky and Lara’s Theme?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Deborah Lippmann and Orly. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. You guys! I am simply flabbergasted and overwhelmed by all your lovely comments, emails and tweets. The love and thoughtfulness of the blogosphere is truly amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you! As a quick update, my daddy is home and feeling much much better and the outlook on his health is positive. If it taught me anything it’s to take the best possible care of yourself. It’s something I’ve been failing to do and why I have made some changes myself, including joining Weight Watchers. So if you’re looking for a WW buddy, I’m here! Now let’s talk polish, shall we? If you remember my Revlon Vixen review, you’ll recall that I straight up HATED the formula. It was a bubble filled disaster. Well based on a comment suggesting that I give the Revlon Top Speed line a try I decided that instead of completely writing off the brand I would give it one last go with Revlon Emerald. Let’s see how it fared.

Formula & Application: The Revlon Top Speed formula is 4-Free (including formaldehyde) and is free of camphor, which can be an irritant. The signature Revlon bottle is topped with a slim silver chrome cap that houses a dense, round, average length brush. The bristles are nice and flexible and can be pressed almost completely flat against the nail to provide great coverage without causing dragging.

The Top Speed line is pigmented to be a one-coat polish and it’s almost there. One coat gives great coverage but I had a few patchy spots that required a second coat. If you are a little heavier in your application you probably can get away with one coat but it will probably take a little longer to dry. Revlon claims that this polish will “set in 60 seconds” but I’m not sure what their definition of “set” is. The polish definitely dries fast with a high gloss shine but you can’t exactly dig in your pockets one minute after application. If you use two thin coats your polish should be functional after five minutes which is still great.

Revlon Top Speed Emerald is a rich evergreen creme. It’s got a bit too much blue in its base for me to consider it a true emerald. More important than the actual color is what you won’t see in these pictures… BUBBLES. That’s right Fanatics, Emerald dried sans bubbles which delighted me to no end. A day later and my nails are still bubble-free.

I put Emerald on yesterday so I could make sure it really didn’t bubble and while at dinner last night and my friend Suzanne asked if I was wearing OPI Jade is the New Black. I hadn’t looked for comparison colors at that point and, what do you know, she was dead-on right in her assumption. Revlon Emerald is the closest I’ve come to finding a dead-on dupe of OPI Jade is the New Black and Emerald is way more pigmented.

Bottom Line: I’m really happy I gave Revlon a second chance. I couldn’t be happier with the formula, application and pigmentation of the Top Speed line. Since Emerald has a twin in JitNB I would suggest picking it up only if you don’t already own the OPI shade.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: This is a tough one. Which one do I keep? I’ll let you all decide for me.
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Revlon Top Speed Emerald nail polish is available at drugstores and mass retailers nationwide. Revlon nail polishes retail for $5.99/ea for a .5oz bottle.

Thoughts on Emerald? What has your experience been with the Revlon Top Speed polishes? What are your favorite colors in the line?

Disclosure: I purchased this nail polish. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. When Chanel Riva came out this past spring, I was less than thrilled with it. The sheerness, the lack of sparkle or uniqueness. It just didn’t live up to the Chanel reputation or cost. When I spotted Sally Hansen Barracuda from the Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Spring 2011 collection, I immediately thought of Riva and thankfully it comes with a more affordable price tag.

Formula & Application: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes are 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and free of camphor, which can be an irritant. The hefty glass bottles are topped with a smooth chrome cap that has a rubberized grip around the base. The grip makes opening the bottle easier and keeps the brush from slipping while polishing.

The brush is the same flat, paddle style as the Insta-Dri line with curved bristles. The bristles are firm so use a light touch to avoid streaking or dragging the polish.

The Complete Salon Manicure formula has a thin, squishy consistency and while it usually becomes opaque in two coats, Barracuda required three due to slight patchiness. Since this line is meant to be worn sans base and top coat, it dries with a high gloss shine.

Sally Hansen Barracuda is an energized baby blue creme with the slightest hint of turquoise in its base color. You don’t notice it as much on its own but when you put it next to Riva,  you see the subtle difference.

When you line Barracuda up next to Rescue Beauty Lounge Bikini Bottom and Chanel Riva, it really stands out from the crowd. The other two appear quite muted in addition to the slight color variances.

One of the major differences between Barracuda and it’s competitors is opacity. Bikini Bottom is a sheer and Riva is semi-sheer so they both require at least 1-2 more coats to become opaque. Color-wise BB is more aqua and Riva looks pale and more blue next to Barracuda.

Bottom Line: While Barracuda may be a bit brighter than Chanel Riva, I find it to be a great substitute in addition to $OPI Havana Dreams, another LE polish. I prefer the Sally Hansen version simply because it’s brighter and I find it to be more pigmented than Havana Dreams. Plus, Sally Hansen is frequently on sale.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: SHARE the old, SOPI Havana Dreams, and STASH the new, Barracuda.

Sally Hansen Barracuda is available in drugstores nationwide as part of the limited edition Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Spring 2011 collection. Sally Hansen CSM nail polishes retail for $7.99/ea for a .5oz bottle.

Thoughts on Barracuda? Of the three, Riva, Barracuda, Havana Dreams, which do you prefer? Did you pick up Riva or one of its dupes?

Disclosure: A product sample was provided by Sally Hansen. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. Independence Day is on Monday so it’s a holiday weekend here in the US and one of my favorite holidays of the year. It’s not that I’m ultra-patriotic, though I do love my country, I just love the fireworks, cookouts and parties that the weekend tends to bring. One of my blends (blog friends) is having a birthday/housewarming/4th of July party and my neighborhood is having a block party so the weekend should be lots of fun. I’m sure the boyfriend and I will catch a movie at some point as well. I REALLY want to see Midnight In Paris. I recently purchased a grey jersey top with some lace details on the sleeves that I adore so I decided to pair it with a fun purple polish. I’ve been curious about Zoya Mira from the Zoya Summertime collection and since I’ve been on such a glitter kick of late, I thought a gorgeous, glossy creme would make for a nice change of pace.

Formula & Application: Zoya is a 4-Free brand (including formaldehyde resin) plus they leave out camphor, which can be an irritant.  Their signature Italian glass bottles have a tapered, shiny black plastic cap that rests comfortably between the thumb and index finger while polishing.  The brush is short, round and medium in girth with flexible bristles that allow for ease of control.

The consistency of Zoya polishes tends to lean more towards watery than creamy but Mira fell somewhere in the middle. It is a well pigmented purple that provides full coverage in two coats. And while it has a nice flow I must note that it doesn’t self level. I left an uneven stroke on my middle finger and I had to add a third layer of polish to achieve a smooth finish.

Zoya Mira is mid-range grape creme. It walks the line between those “too red” and “too blue” purples and, to my eye, is a lighter version of my signature color, Rescue Beauty Lounge Mismas. I’ll call it Mismas Lite.

Of course being the purple fanatic that I am, I had to go in search of its stash cousins and came up with Barielle Grape Escape and the aforementioned RBL Mismas.

As you can see Mismas is quite a bit darker than Mira but definitely of the same breeding stock. Grape Escape is as close a relative as I could find though it has just a slight bit more red in its base. They are similar enough to not need both though Zoya definitely has one up on this Barielle in terms of formula and opacity.

Bottom Line: Mira gives great coverage and the formula is good despite the leveling issue. If you are looking for a bright, true purple creme, this will satiate you. Though if you already own Barielle Grape Escape I would give Mira a pass unless GE was a bit too red for your taste.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: I’m STASHing Mira and sending Grape Escape to the SHARE bin.

Zoya Mira is available now as part of the Zoya Summertime collection. Zoya nail polishes are available online at Zoya.com and at salons and spas nationwide including national chains like ULTA. Seasonal collection availability will vary by location. Nail polishes retail for $8/ea for a .5oz bottle. Don’t forget, you can try before you buy with the Zoya Color Spoon program.

Thoughts on Mira? Do you prefer the cremes of Zoya Summertime or the glitters of Zoya Sunshine? What was the last purple nail polish you wore? Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?

Disclosure: A product sample was provided by Zoya. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. A few days ago a reader asked me on Twitter if I had tried the nail polish from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. While I’m fan of, and have previously raved over, the OCC Lip Tars, I have yet to try any of the OCC nail polishes I have in my stash. The color range from OCC is filled with a lot of staples, as any line should, but then there are these bright pops of funky colors like a swampy green, brushed silver metallic and school bus yellow. I was drawn to OCC Dangerous, a rich creamy grey.

Formula & Application: OCC nail polish is 4-Free (including Formaldehyde Resin) and free of camphor, which can be an irritant. The tall square bottles are topped with a smooth plastic cap that houses a round, bushy brush.

The brush turned me off at first look as it reminds me of a horse tail. It’s kind of splayed and dense and doesn’t spread out on the nail without causing major streakage. I would prefer the brush to be better but you can definitely work around it. What I found is that the polish actually flows on really well if you hold it perpendicular to the nail plate and lightly drag the polish across. You don’t get a ton of control this way but thankfully the formula does all the work.

The formula is a bit squishy but pretty creamy. It’s really well pigmented and you barely need two coats. As I mentioned, the brush doesn’t offer much control but the polish levels itself out really well so as long as you get near the edge of the nail, it should spread out on its own.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Dangerous is a wet cement grey creme. It makes me think of dolphin skin. OCC describes the finish as “satin” but it dries with a nice gloss. What struck me as interesting is that even after sitting in storage for over year, the polish didn’t separate out to show a blue or green base as a lot of my other greys have done. I think of RBL Stormy which shows a green base and RBL Concrete Jungle which shows a blue base. Dangerous definitely needed mixed but appears to be a pretty true grey.

While I couldn’t find an exact match for Dangerous in my collection, the depth of its color puts it in the same company as Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy and China Glaze Recycle.

Bottom Line: I like that the formula is well pigmented and the texture is smooth and easy to work with. I can’t say I’m a fan of the brush. It can get the job done but there’s room for improvement. While Dangerous is a nice grey creme, since I have so many, I can’t say it is a must-have. It’s a great basic and if you want to give OCC a try, this one won’t let you down.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: While I dig the color, it’s not overly unique and considering that I have greys in this range with better brushes, this one goes in the SHARE bin.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Dangerous is available on OCCMakeup.com. OCC nail polishes retail for $8/ea for a .5oz bottle.

Have you tried OCC nail polish before? What are your favorite colors from the line? Thoughts on the brush? Does Dangerous draw your interest?

Disclosure: A product sample was provided by OCC. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. It’s funny how my feelings about my birthday have changed over the thirty #$%$# years I’ve been alive. Growing up an only child, my parents spoiled the pants off me so it’s no wonder that I spent my teens and 20s turning my day into a week that was “all about me.” When I hit 30 the world was ending, of course, and now that I’m more comfortable with that first digit in my age, I find myself not caring so much about the celebration as I used to. I just remember how lucky I am to have two amazing parents who think the world revolves around me (it does doesn’t it?), a boyfriend/partner who goes above and beyond to make my life complete and a wonderfully diverse cast of characters who are more like family than friends. And of course, I’m so so lucky to have all of you supporting me and sharing the polish love. Today’s polish choice was a no-brainer since today is my birthday. Cue the fanfare, ha! I started off the month with a polish named Happy Birthday so it seems fitting to close it out the same way. This time with Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday and guest star I Know What Boys Like from the Summer 2011 color collection.

Formula & Application: Deborah Lippmann nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and doesn’t contain camphor, which can be an irritant. Her signature glass bottle is so distinct you would know the brand even without the name on it. It’s one of the best bottle shapes in the industry. The curved cap was designed with professional manicurists in mind as it is shaped to rest comfortably between your fingers.

The Lippmann brush is short, round and average in width with flexible bristles that easily fan out over the nail plate. Both polishes have a squishy, watery feel in application. It’s as though the formula is a blend of jelly and creme. For reference, Call Me Irresponsible has the same texture and reminds me of the current Essie formula. The level of opacity in these two polishes is very different so I’m going to address that in the individual reviews below.

I started my birthday manicure with a base of Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like one of the new Summer 2011 polishes. When I first saw IKWBL last Fall I immediately thought of Call Me Irresponsible. I even asked if this was the blue version of that shade. In essence it is but the formula is much better in my opinion. Whereas I needed three coats with CMI, IKWBL is utter perfection in two flawless coats.

I feel like I’m using the word periwinkle a lot lately but it fits this color rather well. Though unlike the smoky versions of the shade I’ve talked about recently (Zoya Caitlin, Sparitual A World of Compassion) this is a rich, vibrant representation.

I added two coats of Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday on top to add a little flair. Happy Birthday is nail confetti. Its clear base houses what can only be described as a sh*t-ton of glitter (nice mouth, I know). A rainbow of large hexagonal sequins are mixed with smaller square glitter. Every piece is a colored mirror begging the light to play with it. Now these types of glitter polishes are tricky to work with. If you want the most glitter impact per stroke you have to lay it down kind of thick and with authority and even then the majority of the glitter will end up closer to your tips. It’s the nature of the game.

Now my original plan was to go all out with a full Happy Birthday manicure but the whiny baby in me didn’t want to deal with the removal. But after I completed my layering manicure I decided I needed a bit more bling so I removed the polish from my ring finger and turned it into my glitter accent nail. To get this look I used four thick coats of polish. And as much as I worried that it would make my nail feel really thick, it didn’t. The base is so nice and thin that all you really feel is the texture from the glitter, which with top coat isn’t that noticeable. The sequins lay down nice and flat so there’s none of that bumpy feel you get with some glitters.

Bottom Line: I Know What Boys Like is so my style, that I can’t imagine not loving it. Clearly I’m having a periwinkle moment and this vivid version is perfect for the season. As soon as I saw it last September I had a feeling that it would be a favorite and now that I’ve worn it, I know it’s true. Now Happy Birthday does have several dupes on the market including the more budget friendly Milani Jewel FX Gems. I would say the one advantage HB has over Gems is the color range of its glitter. Gems feels a bit Christmas-y in that red, gold and green tend to stand out as opposed to HB’s pops of pink and blue.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: While I don’t know that I’ll use HB as much as IKWBL I’m STASHing both.

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday and I Know What Boys Like are both available now at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Barneys NY stores. Online shoppers can head to DeborahLippmann.com,  Nordstrom.com,  Barneys.com,  Beauty.com, and NeimanMarcus.com. I Know What Boys Like retails for $16/ea and Happy Birthday retails for $18/ea for a .5oz bottle.

Thoughts on these two shades? Do you plan to pick up either shade? What is your favorite Deborah Lippmann nail polish? What was your last birthday manicure?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by PR reps for Deborah Lippmann. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. Happy Friday Fanatics! I hope you all have something fun planned for the weekend. We are finally, FINALLY, seeing the sunlight at the end of the rain tunnel that has enveloped Cleveland and I plan to enjoy it. So with all this good weather, what am I doing wearing jet black on my nails? Well tune in tomorrow as you’ll see that I have a very good reason for going to the dark side with my manicure. Until then check out one of the best black polishes on the market, CND Blackjack.

Formula & Application: CND nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin). The bottle is shaped to fit comfortably between fingers, like the Shu Uemura bottle. The brush is a thin, narrow and flat with flexible triangular bristles that soak up polish like a squeegee mop. Allow the brush to hang out in the polish for a couple seconds between strokes to properly absorb the lacquer.

CND has one of the best formulas on the market. I’d even go so far as to say it is comparable to RBL’s cremes so you KNOW it’s good. Their polishes are extremely pigmented and smooth. The lacquer glides on the nail with ease in three simple strokes, requires only two coats and dries to a perfect, even finish. Unlike the old CND formula, the Colours all dry very fast with none of those denting issues of the past.

CND Blackjack is a pitch black creme. It’s high on the gloss factor and packed with pigment. Applying two coats feels like overkill, that’s how well it covers. While in theory a black is a black is a black, I think Blackjack is part of a very elite group of black cremes. It ranks up there with my all-time fave Sinful Black on Black in that you don’t see any brown or green in its base and the formula is immaculate.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for the ultimate black creme, look no further. Blackjack wears well, applies phenomenally and gives amazing coverage. Black has become a classic in nails and, like the little black dress, every nail polish wardrobe needs one.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: It’s going right back where it came from, my STASH!

CND Blackjack is part of the Colour & Effects line which is available at salons and spa nationwide including national chains Beauty Brands, Beauty First and Trade Secret. For more info visit CND.com. Online shoppers head to GoInduge.com or TransDesign.com. CND Colour nail polish retails for $9/ea for a .33oz bottle.

Thoughts on Blackjack? Have you tried the Colour & Effects line? What are your favorite Colours? Remember to come back tomorrow to see what I’ve created with Blackjack.

Disclosure: For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to. Today made me realize why the Bangles sang a song called “Manic Monday.” This was one CLUSTER (as my friend Nancy would say) of a day.  I spent my morning aiming a hair dryer at the wall of ice in our beer fridge so I could save the two kegs inside from spoiling.  The rest of my afternoon included getting prices on garage door openers since mine decided to die over the weekend while the boyfriend was away at a hockey tournament, of course. By the time I got around to removing my Inglot 646 manicure, I should have expected to find that it STAINED my nails Smurfy blue.  After all everything comes in threes, right?  Even though my precious Orly Cutique removed most of the staining I was so not in the mood to even think about applying a light colored polish.  Instead I decided to itch the brown nail polish scratch that Estee Lauder Chocolate Crave started.   I went hunting for an untried brown and stumbled upon Essie Little Brown Dress.

Formula & Application: Essie is a 3-Free brand. The square bottles are embossed with the essie logo and the smooth plastic caps include an embossed e on top.  The brushes are thin, round and shorter than most. The bristles are very flexible, allowing you to easily fan out the brush to cover your nail width.

While Little Brown Dress has the somewhat squishy texture I’ve come to expect from Essie, the polish was heavily pigmented giving flawless, opaque coverage in two coats.  Normally squishy, watery or jelly indicates a low level of opacity so I was pleasantly surprised to see this color go on so well.  The finish was so glossy that I really didn’t need a top coat but I applied one anyone just to make sure it dried quickly.

Essie Little Brown Dress is a muddy coffee bean creme.  It’s as if you made a paste with cocoa powder.  It’s not deep enough to be considered a dark chocolate yet it’s nowhere near milk chocolate either.  It has a bit of black in its base so it’s not an overly warm brown and I think that’s what drew me in.  I love a true brown creme but this one has a bit of edge to it.

Bottom Line: It may be Spring but I’m all about non-traditional colors this season, especially browns.  Given its perfect formula and pigmentation and the fact that I can’t find a dupe for it in my collection, I consider Little Brown Dress a win.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: STASH it!

Essie Little Brown Dress was released as part of the Fall 2010 collection but it’s still available on Essie.com and TransDesign.com.  Essie nail polishes retail for $8/ea for a .46oz bottle.

Who’s in on my current brown polish obsession?  Thoughts on Little Brown Dress?  If you own it, have you discovered a dupe?  If you don’t, will it make your shopping list?

Disclosure: For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

The stars at night are big and bright Deep in the heart of Texas ~Deep in the Heart of Texas lyrics by June Hershey Tell me you can hear those lyrics and NOT clap your hands. Go ahead, tell me! This Spring, OPI is venturing down south to the Lone Star state of Texas. In the past OPI has focused on areas within the US (Painted Desert, New England) or specific cities (New York City, Chicago) but this is the first time I can remember where and entire state has been the inspiration for a collection. The OPI Texas Collection for Spring/Summer 2011 is standard in that it consists of twelve polishes but for the first time there is a definitive dividing line between each set of six shades.  OPI is introducing their take on the beloved jelly texture with six “sorbet” style polishes; semi-sheer colors with a lucite look.  Before we tackle the sorbet lacquers let’s examine the creme & shimmer polishes.

Formula & Application: OPI is a 3-Free brand. They made the switch to 3-Free in 2008. You can identify an OPI with the 3-Free formula by the green lettering on the label. Bottles with black lettering have the old formula. Always check the labels to be sure. The OPI Pro Wide brush is flat, wide and medium in length. It’s of average stiffness and easily spreads out on the nail when pressed. The only downside to the Pro Wide brush is that it can be too wide for slim fingers or little toes.

This half of the Texas collection consists of three cremes, one opaque shimmer and two semi-sheer micro-glitters. The cremes all applied with a squishy texture that reminded me of China Glaze while the opaque shimmer (I Want To Be A-lone Star) had a creamier feel. The opacity with all four is spot on with each color.  They only required two coats.  The micro-glitters didn’t fare as well.  After three coats I could still see my smile line through each one.

I Vant To Be A-lone Star is a pale pastel blue packed with silver shimmer.  It straddles the line between baby blue and white.  I was really impressed at how well it applied considering how light the color is.  A polish this light tends to either be thick and streaky or watery and semi-sheer.

I’m sure a lot of you thought the same thing, that I Vant To Be A-lone Star is a dupe for China Glaze Sea Spray or Essie Sag Harbor.  We were all wrong.  The other two are darker with less obvious shimmer.  Unlike its pale blue predecessors, I Vant To Be A-lone Star’s shimmer isn’t hiding from anyone.

San Tan-tonio is a sandy beige color.  It’s a bit warmer than it appears on screen and reminds me a lot of CND Desert Suede.  Something about this type of color makes me think of bad foundation.  It’s just not flattering with my skin tone.  I could see this looking stellar on someone with an olive or darker complexion.

OPI Austin-tatious Turquoise looks like a vibrant aquamarine hue in the bottle but on the nail it comes off lighter with a dirty gray undertone.  The blue metallic shimmer and micro-glitter paired with the semi-sheer turquoise base looked promising it’s pretty muddled on my nails.

It’s Totally Fort Worth It has a shimmery pale grey base filled with pink micro-glitter.  Like Austin-tacious Turquoise it has a muddy quality that appears a bit dirty.  Normally I’m all about a “greyed” anything but it doesn’t work in this case.  Throw in semi-sheer coverage and I”m all “Mismas out!”  Sorry, it’s Idol season.

Suzi Loves Cowboys is one of the truest brown cremes I’ve come across in a while.  There’s no dominating red or black base color pulling it towards warm/cool territory.  It’s like a liquid Hershey bar.  The squishy jelly-like texture had me thinking it might need three coats to go opaque but I was happy to only need two.

Don’t Mess With OPI is a rich grass green creme.  For some reason when I uploaded my swatch image, WordPress changed the colors making it look WAY more muted than it appears in person.  I can’t get it to load with the proper shade so I really wouldn’t go by this picture.  DMWO is pretty bright in person but not like kelly green bright.  It’s definitely darker like what I think of as a shamrock green.

I did a comparison with China Glaze Starboard and Essie Pretty Edgy and again, the colors didn’t appear right after the image was uploaded (If you know why this happens, EMAIL ME!).  What I can tell you is that both Starboard and Pretty Edgy are lighter shades than DMWO.  I would say Starboard and Pretty Edgy are more closely related with Starboard being more muted compared to the astroturf-esque Pretty Edgy.

Bottom Line: Regardless of whether these colors represent the state of Texas well, there doesn’t seem to be a cohesive theme here.  Maybe I just don’t get it.  Now you know I’m always on board where greens are concerned so Don’t Mess With OPI gets a definite thumbs up.  I love the obvious shimmer in I Vant To Be A-lone Star and having a solid brown creme like Suzi Love Cowboys is a great addition to any collection so those both get my stamp of approval.  The rest are a pass.

The OPI Texas Collection is available now at salons and spas nationwide.  OPI nail polishes retail for $8.95/ea for a .5oz bottle.  You can find OPI at national chains including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta.

Thoughts on this half of the Texas Collection? Do the Texan fanatics out there feel this collection represents everything great about the Lone Star State? Which colors made your list of must-haves?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by OPI. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

Last September I had the pleasure of meeting famed Celebrity Manicurist Lisa Logan backstage at the Chris Benz fashion show in NYC. Lisa is Beyonce’s manicurist among others and I was geeked to meet her.  At the show Lisa was using a bold purple nail polish that caught my eye and I’ve been dying to get my hands on it ever since. The color is Violet Groove from the Lancôme Spring 2011 collection, Ultra-Lavande.  The collection of purples and pinks also includes Le 54, a sheer lavender glitter polish, and together they make one killer combo.  Keep reading to see for yourself.

Lancôme’s Daniel Martin was inspired by 60′s French pop singer Frances Gall to create a modern take on the mod look for the Chris Benz Spring 2011 presentation. He used the pale lavender shadow from the Cool Lavande Color Design Minerale Quad on the lid and placed tiny black dots along the lash line with Artliner. “From a distance it looks like a fuller lash,” explained Daniel, “but up close it’s just cool.”  Daniel is “just cool.”  Seriously he is one of my fave MUA’s to interview as he always has a fun makeup story to tell and is so down-to-earth and friendly.  He always has a smile on his face and that can be a rarity in the backstage world. Of course the nails were the star of the show for me.  A few days prior to the presentation I heard that Chris was debating between the two new Lancôme spring colors, a creamy violet and glittery lavender and even though I was hoping for some sparkle, using Violet Groove ended up being the right choice for this collection.  The bold pop of purple against Chris’ playful palette of color added a touch of fun and whimsy.

Formula & Application: Lancôme polishes are 4-Free (including Formaldehyde Resin).  The flat wide brush is about the same length as OPI’s ProWide Brush but it’s more tapered, not as wide.  The bristles are flexible and spread easily across the nail.

Both polishes applied with squishy, jelly-like texture and were easy to manipulate.  Violet Groove is high on pigmentation resulting in a perfectly opaque finish in two coats.  Le 54 on the other hand is very sheer best used as a top coat or for a simple wash of color.  I am showing it with three coats and you can still see my smile line.

Violet Groove is aptly named as it reminds me of my sorority’s official flower, Woodland Violets.  This color is gorgeous and just screams Spring.  Due to the jelly-ish texture it dries with a high shine gloss all its own.  It should be noted that I’m holding a mini bottle in my hand but the polish is sold in the full size bottle.

Though as soon as Violet Groove dried on my nails I couldn’t help but think it looked familiar.  I just happened to have my bottle of Rescue Beauty Lounge Purple Haze sitting on my desk and, ta da, a dupe was found.  I don’t use the word dupe often but in this case there is no other word.  I couldn’t tell these two colors apart if I tried.  They even look identical in the bottle.

Le 54 on its own is a sheer lavender packed with blue shimmer and micro-glitter.  On its own it does nothing for me.  This is the type of pale purple I say gives me “alien hands.”  It’s just not flattering to my skin tone.  The base color reminds me a lot of those old Revlon Glimmer Glosses.  I remember excitedly buying the purple from that set only to have it clash with my coloring.

However, put these two colors together and SHUT IT DOWN.  The sprinkling of blue glitter, the subtle shimmer and the vivid purple base make for one gorgeous layering combination.  I’ve been wearing it on my nails for a few days now and I don’t want to take it off.  These polishes were made to be worn together.

Bottom Line: Since I already own RBL Purple Haze this polish wouldn’t make my personal must-have list but if you haven’t been able to get your hands on the RBL version, this is an excellent substitute.  Le 54 is really best for sheer lovers (unlike me) and layering.  I can already think of so many colors that this would look great under it.

The Lancôme Ultra-Lavande nail polishes are available now at Lancôme counters nationwide and at Lancome-usa.com.  Nail polishes retail for $19/ea for a .34oz bottle.

Thoughts on Violet Groove and Le 54?  How many of you are sheer polish lovers?  Could you see yourself picking up Le 54 just for layering purposes?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by Lancôme.  For more information view my Disclosure Policy.