You guys!!  I can’t tell you how much I’ve been missing you all. And I don’t mean that in the cheesy, that’s what I’m supposed to say, way. I’ve been seriously going cra cra laying on my back not able to talk polish with you.

I look forward to reading your comments and emails every day and it’s been rough not having my peeps to interact with. Also, your comments weren’t lost or anything. I’m so behind thanks to an update to the WordPress app for Android. I can’t get the stupid thing to open on my phone or tablet, bother!

Anywhoodle, I’m back for reals this time. After seeing a spine specialist I was told I have a severe muscle strain. I was just so happy it wasn’t disc related. Though the doc offhandedly mentioned that I have degenerative discs. Um, thanks? I was given a choice of a shot in my back or pills & lots of rest with ice. As much as I wanted get better fast, needles scare the bejeezus out of me so I had to opt for the two week drug induced sleepfest.

I’m not 100% yet but I can sit for more than 20 minutes without wanting to cry and I was able to get through 20 minutes of Zumba so I’ll take it. Side note: Those of you curious about my progress with Weight Watchers, I finally hit the 40lb mark this past weekend. I’m almost halfway to goal. Woot!

So I mentioned my NYE manicure in my last real post and while it’s WAY after the fact, I’m so obsessed with this polish I just have to share it with you. I have literally worn this color FOUR times since I got it. That’s in spite of the removal nightmare that is glitter polish.

China Glaze Tinsel Town is my EVERYTHING in terms of glitter polish. It’s so dense that you only need two coats for full coverage. It’s a gorgeous graphite silver that looks chic no matter the season. And the variety of the glitter particles is perfection. Tiny square and round glitter pieces are packed in the semi-sheer smokey blue-grey base with larger hexagonal sequins.

Yes, it eats top coat. To the point that I could still feel texture after using Gelous as a spackle coat and two layers of Out The Door Top Coat. But you know what, it still sparkled like I had little mirrors glued to my nails so I can deal with texture. The removal isn’t a joy but you’ll have that with glitters.

You can still find China Glaze Tinsel Town and the rest of the Let It Snow collection on my go-to etailers Head2ToeBeauty.com and TransDesign.com. Bottles retail for $3/ea.

Next up, the nomination round for the Fanatic Favorites 2011 and my recap of the Golden Globes. And of course, polish. Lots and lots of polish!!!

Zoya Holiday/Winter 2011 Gems & Jewels Collection – Jewelry for Nails! Zoya Nail Polish presents 3 new jewel toned metallic shimmer polishes and 3 glitzy, glitter glazes (featuring unique bar glitter) for an extra special holiday and winter 2011 season! I know it’s barely September and it seems too early to be talking Holiday but when I saw these beauties at Cosmoprof North America I just KNEW you would adore them as much as I do. Zoya is upping the ante in terms of glitter and glam this season by introducing three bold jewel tone polishes with three coordinating glitters that contain fun, fringe-like particles. Thanks to my friends at Zoya we have an early look at the collection and later today you will have a chance to win a full set Gems & Jewels.

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 three metallic shimmers are all nice and thin but filled with pigment. They are such a dream to apply. I barely needed two coats of each color to get them opaque. The metallic pigment does mean the polish can show some brush marks but if you have a steady hand and use thin coats, that shouldn’t be an issue.

The three glitter glazes are all clear based glitters that need multiple (3-4 coats) to become opaque which makes them perfect for layering. The glitters do dry with a LOT of texture so be prepared to apply multiple coats of top coat or deal with some bumpiness. Application Tip: The bar glitter applies randomly and can hang over the edge of the nail. Run the pad of your finger at an angle under the nail to push back the particles and prevent rough edges. Removal Tip: All glitters are a bother no matter which method you use (foil, felt, etc) but I find that applying a coat of clear polish or top coat helps liquefy the layers.

Zoya Holly is an electric evergreen shimmer. This is a green for the girl who wants to stand out because this color will certainly get you noticed. You know how I feel about greens and anything in the emerald family captures my heart. Holly has shade siblings in Sally Hansen Emerald City and Sinful San Francisco though Holly has more richness and depth of color. Plus neither one has half the opacity.

Glitter Glazes over Zoya Holly (top to bottom): Zoya Kissy, Zoya Rina and Zoya Twila. Zoya Rina has a clear base that is packed with bright green micro-glitter that looks like dust mixed with straight, tinsel-esque glitter that flashes both blue and green.

Rina is the obvious choice to layer over Holly but Twila makes for a really unique combination. My mom actually has this Christmas tree that she decorates with blue lights and ornaments and that combo reminds me of it. Rina over Holly doesn’t really jazz me. It feels like Christmas threw up on my nail.

Zoya Izzy is a hot raspberry pink shimmer. Think of it as a darker version of OPI Kinky in Helsinki. On its own the color didn’t do much for me. I appreciate the vibrancy but don’t really gravitate towards these types of shades. However, once I added the Kissy glitter top coat, I was into it.

Glitter Glazes over Zoya Izzy (top to bottom): Zoya Twila, Zoya Kissy and Zoya Rina. Zoya Kissy has a clear base that is packed with bright pink micro-glitter that looks like dust mixed with straight, tinsel-esque pink & holographic glitter.

Kissy and Izzy were made for each other and using them together is the best combo either color could be a part of. The holo glitter really stands out in this layering combination and Izzy comes alive thanks to the pink micro-glitter. It makes it look as though Izzy is a glitter polish with holo tinsel glitter layered on top. It’s a seamless partnership.

I’m convinced that Twila looks good over everything being that I really dig it over Izzy. Rina looks better over Izzy than Kissy looked over Holly so if you’re going for a pink/green combo, I would opt for this combo.

Zoya Noel is a moody blue that made me immediately think of Zoya Crystal from the Holiday/Winter 2010 Flame collection. Outside of the finish differences and the gold flakes, Crystal’s base is a little more icy than Noel but they are definitely in the same denim blue color family.

Glitter Glazes over Zoya Noel (top to bottom): Zoya Rina, Zoya Twila and Zoya Kissy. Zoya Twila has a clear base that is packed with bright blue micro-glitter that looks like dust mixed with straight, tinsel-esque glitter that flashes both green and blue.

Twila over Noel amps up the smoky base color while Rina creates a mermaid-esque effect. Kissy looks out of place which leads me to think that Kissy is really best over its partner shade Izzy or something not part of this collection, like silver, black, etc.

I also layered all three glitters over a silver foil so you can see the composition of the glitter glazes better. Apparently my Zoya Trixie, a silver foil, has gone missing so I used Orly Shine.

Glitter Glazes over Orly Shine (top to bottom): Zoya Twila, Zoya Rina and Zoya Kissy. Twila over silver has a very wintry look that would be perfect for New Year’s Eve or Chanukkah. Rina doesn’t stand out as much with a silver background and Kissy reminds me of peppermint candy.

Bottom Line: Loving Holly is a no-brainer for me and Noel definitely get two thumbs up. I raved over Crystal last season because of the gold flakes but just as much because of its cool base color. Noel is like the non-glittery version of that. Izzy doesn’t make me jump up in down except when paried with Kissy. The top coats are all very fun and a departure from what other salon and prestige brands have been doing and I like that Zoya took the guesswork out of layering by putting together a collection of shades that work well together. The texture of the glitters can feel a little odd, especially if you love high gloss shine, but that’s the nature of the beast.

Zoya Gems & Jewels for Holiday/Winter 2011 launches on September 15th, 2011 but you can secure your shades during the pre-order that starts today. Zoya nail polishes are available online at Zoya.com and at salons nationwide including ULTA. Visit the Zoya Salon Locator for a retailer near you. Zoya 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.

What do we think of the Gems & Jewels polishes? Which base color is your favorite? Are you loving the bar glitter in the glitter glazes? What is your favorite layering combo? Do you plan to get the whole set or just pieces?

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

I know a lot of you requested reviews of the Fall collections and I’m working on them, I promise, but I could not wait to tell you about these incredible glitter polishes from TONYMOLY. A few weeks ago I saw a shot of a gorgeous green glitter go by on my Tumblr dashboard and it was labeled as Tony Moly Galaxy. A little eBay search brought me to these treasures from the South Korean brand TONYMOLY, which means “a place to put style into packaging.” I couldn’t resist those little glitter bombs so I ordered a few to try out and WOW are they glitztastic.

Formula & Application: I have no clue about the ingredients in TONYMOLY nail polish except that their website claims that it, “does not contain harmful ingredients, so it is safe to use!” Take that as you will. I suspect that means it’s 3-Free but you never know. The round 10ml bottles remind me of Nails Inc with a more stylized cap that has the brand name embossed in it.

The round brushes are pretty average in length and width with flexible bristles that put down a lot of product without much effort or dragging.

All three glitters have semi-opaque bases that allow you to achieve full coverage in two coats. They dry with a lot of texture so to say they are masters at the art of top coat suckage would be an understatement. They drink up thick top coats like Seche Vite, which I rarely use, so be prepared to use at least two layers of top coat. I applied a coat of Gelous to act as spackle underneath Out The Door top coat and still ended up with some bumpiness.

Tonymoly GT04, aka Neptune, is a lush verdant green glitter that has a smoky forest base packed with a range of gold and green micro-glitters and larger green sequins. Something about this polish reminds me of these little dolls I had a child called Glitter Girls. Each one came in a different jewel-toned lamé gown and there was one called Jade that came to mind when I saw Neptune. Speaking of Glitter Girls, anyone remember Glamour Gals? I was obsessed with them because the line included a cruise ship!

Tonymoly GT02, aka Earth, has a blue tinged graphite base with light blue and grey micro-glitter and larger pink hexagonal glitter, though the pieces aren’t as large as the ones in Neptune and Jupiter. Can’t you just imagine this as the asphalt in a sparkly world like Oz. Like maybe in the seedy back alleys or industrial downtown.

Tonymoly GT05, aka Jupiter, is a bright purple glitter with flecks of blue, purple, pink and red running throughout. The larger blue sequins and smaller purple hexagonal glitter really are the stars of this show which the pink and red particles add depth.

Bottom Line: Earth and Neptune are both phenomenal colors. I love the vibrancy of Neptune and the unique, gritty charm of Earth. Though for some reason Jupiter comes off as if it’s trying too hard. Like it’s too much glitter or a bit immature or something. I wanted to love it but, on my nails, it felt like overkill. Per usual, be prepared for a messy removal no matter which method you choose (foil, felt, etc). It’s the nature of glitters. My glitter removal tip – add a layer of top coat or clear polish prior to removing. It will help soften the layers beneath and speed up the process.

I found Tonymoly Galaxy glitter nail polishes on eBay. HSC Imports is the seller I purchased from. The nail polishes retail for $9.99/ea for a 10ml bottle with free shipping to the US. Mine arrived in a little over a week.

Have you heard of or tried TONYMOLY nail polishes before? Thoughts on the Galaxy line polishes? Do you plan to pick any of these up? If you have experience with other lines from the brand, what are your “must have” shades?

Disclosure: I purchased these nail polishes. 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 Hump Day Fanatics!  My nails were dying for a break and in need of some major TLC so while I am apologizing for the delay in posts my nails aren’t. I made the switch to non-acetone remover a few months ago to help prevent drying and I obsessively apply cuticle oil but sometimes my little buddies just need a rest. btw, Nubar’s Cucumber remover is the business. So getting back to my untrieds, we’re on Day #119 and I’m digging into my Nails Inc stash. I wanted something bright and fun but I was also curious about the 3D Glitters so I paired the creamy Warwick Way with Special Effects Sloane Square. Let’s see how it turned out.

Formula & Application: The Nails Inc formula varies in terms of ingredients.Warwick Way is 3-Free and Sloane Square is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and free of camphor, which can be an irritant. The round glass bottles are topped with a thick, round, smooth cap of the same width.  The brush is round and pretty thick with bristles that give some resistance when you try to fan it out.

Warwick Way was a dream to apply. The formula is thin and easy to control yet rich with pigment. It flows on the nail effortlessly and levels out nice and even, drying with a high gloss shine. Two coats delivered perfect coverage. Since Sloane Square is a semi-sheer glitter and I used one coat of it to add some glitz to my manicure.

Nails Inc Warwick Way is a BRIGHT, almost neon, teal creme. It’s one baby step away from neon, that’s how bright it is. What’s interesting is that indoors, it looks really green but in sunlight it looks more aqua, though not as blue as China Glaze Aqua Baby. I photographed it in the sun because capturing this color in anything but direct sunlight is a CHALLENGE. That’s why I’m not showing a comparison, it’s too hard to translate this color’s vibrancy to a screen. Though if you’re looking for a color reference, Hard Candy Frenzy has the same base color. It’s just a lighter version.

I thought adding a coat of Nails Inc Sloane Square would make for a fun combo but I’m not sold on it as a pair. Sloane Square has a smoky grey semi-sheer base that is filled with graphite micro-glitter and holographic sequins. The base color darkens Warwick Way, making it a murkier and the sequins look out of place. Indoors it looks really sea-green.

Bottom Line: This is one manicure where the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts. I love how bold and vivid Warwick Way is and that I don’t have any almost-neons quite like it. I really dig the gunmetal glitter party that is Sloane Square but together, I’m not feeling it. I think Warwick Way would look much better under a Nfu Oh flakie and Sloane Square would be phenom over one of the sapphire blues or concrete greys that will be making waves this fall.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: I’m STASHing them both but making a mental note not to wear them together again.

Nails Inc Warwick Way and Special Effects Sloan Square 3D Glitter are available exclusively in the US at select Sephora stores (see full list) and online at Sephora.com. Nails Inc nail polishes retail for $9.50/ea for a .33oz bottle.

Thoughts on these colors? What do you think of them layered together? What would you put Sloane Square over? Have you discovered a new Nails Inc fave since the line launched at Sephora?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Nails Inc. 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. Untried Day #115 – Do you ever have those days where you love your nails? Like when you file them perfectly and they are the exact length and shape you want? I’m having one of those days today. It doesn’t happen often since I’m am hypercritical but, when it does, I just LOVE putting polish on my nails. A few weeks back an image popped up in my Tumblr stream of a pale pink with multi-colored glitter and it reminded me that Essence Space Queen has been sitting in my untrieds for way too long. I wanted to pair it with something a little bolder than the image that inspired me so I pulled out Essence Break Through. You HAVE to love a layering manicure that only costs $2.

Formula & Application: Essence Colour & Go nail polish is 4-Free. For a full ingredient list, visit Essence.eu.  The bottles are small and round with a sizable smooth, plastic cap.  The brushes are wide, flat and long considering the bottle size.  The bristles are somewhat stiff (think MAC) which can lead to some dragging so use a light touch. The thing I noticed this time that I haven’t in the past is that while the brush fans out well, it’s almost too wide for smaller nails, like the pinkie.

The formula itself is well pigmented. Two thin coats are all I need to achieve opacity. The consistency falls somewhere between a creme and a jelly so it’s pretty easy to control.

Essence Break Through is a deep magenta creme. It’s like a cross between red grape and Byzantine purple and very vivid. It’s definitely bright enough to make for a fun spring/summer mani/pedi but it’s dark enough to transition right into fall/winter.

Adding a coat of Essence Space Queen definitely adds a more youthful, flight-of-fancy feel. The clear, jelly-like base perfectly suspends the tiny, hexagonal multi-colored glitter. As the light hits each particle you see small bursts of gold, orange, red, pink, blue and green. I’m not totally loving this combo but it’s entertaining. Space Queen looked better in the inspiration pic over Sweet As Candy.

In looking for a close dupe of Break Though, all my purples seemed to lean too red or too blue in comparison. The best comps I could come up with are Barry M Bright Purple and OPI Pamplona Purple.

I overlooked Pamplona Purple when it first came out and now I regret doing so. Especially after seeing this pic. In this instance however, it’s not a match. Nor is Bright Purple. BP is too red and Pamplona is too dark.

Bottom Line: Essence nail polish would be a great buy at 5x the price so for a $1/ea there’s no reason to pass this line by. Break Through may be too warm for some, myself included, but it’s a great shade with no dupes in my collection. Space Queen is a fun glitter top coat but I’m not in love with it over a color this dark. It looks a bit cheap over a color this dark. I think I will reserve it for use over lighter colors.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: I’m STASHing both of them. They tiny and cheap. What’s not to love?

Essence Colour & Go nail polishes are available at ULTA stores nationwide, availability can vary, and online at ULTA.com. Essence nail polishes retail for 99¢for a .1oz bottle.

How are we feeling about Break Through and Space Queen? If you have Space Queen what do you like to layer it over? If you haven’t tried Essence yet, what are you waiting for?

Disclosure: I purchased the Essence nail polishes. The Barry M and OPI polishes were furnished by reps for the manufacturers. 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. I always feel pangs of guilt when I review a really amazing nail polish that all my international fanatics don’t have access to so I love when I’m able to get my hands on polishes from outside the US. piCture pOlish is an Australian nail polish brand and they have quite a diverse color range to choose from. Thanks to the generosity of the piCture pOlish girls I was able to select three shades from their line to try and the glitter fiend in me was instantly drawn to Heavy Metal.

Formula & Application: piCture pOlish is 3-Free and the stout bottles are topped with rubberized tapered caps. The brush is long, thin and round with flexible bristles that easily fan out flat.  Due to the chunkiness of the glitter, the brush on Heavy Metal felt a bit heftier and didn’t flatten out as well as the ones in the other finishes.

In spite of the high level of glitter power, the polish actually flows on the nail relatively smooth delivering great coverage. I only needed two coats. You will need some extra layers of top coat to battle the texture but the finished product makes it all worthwhile.

piCture pOlish Heavy Metal is a burnished silver glitter that appears to have a sheer, silvery grey base but it’s so packed with sparkle that it’s hard to tell. This reminds me of the Milani One Coat Glitters in terms of coverage and particle shape/size though the color of Heavy Metal is much lighter and brighter than the graphite hue of Milani Silver Dazzle.

I honestly have nothing to compare this polish to as all my silver glitters are either really sparse and chunky or foils. Misa Dance Fever was the only other actual silver glitter I could come up with and it looks more like the color of aluminum foil than silver.

Bottom Line: I have a soft spot for glitters even though I moan about the removal. And please don’t tell me about the foil method again. The soak-off/foil method does work but it’s time consuming and still leaves me with glitter in my hair, on my face, etc. so I will continue to bitch throughout my glitter usage. Regardless of the downside of glitter, Heavy Metal is gorgeous and will be a standout in my silver drawer.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: In case you haven’t already guessed… STASH

piCture pOlish Heavy Metal is available online at piCturepOlish.com.au where they also sell Ozotic Pro. Nail polishes retail for $9.90 AUD which is approximately $11 US for a 11ml bottle. The international shipping cost is the only real bummer as it’s not cheap to get the polishes here but I hear the same thing from non-US fanatics who order from our favorite e-tailers so I guess it’s all even.

Have you tried piCture pOlish before? Thoughts on Heavy Metal? What are your favorite colors from the brand?

Disclosure: A product sample was provided by piCture 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. I try to make drugstore nail polish runs as often as I can. I like to check out the seasonal displays regularly and see what’s new. The last time I was out, maybe a month ago, I noticed a display of Sally Hansen Hard As Nails polishes that included a fun glitter called Ice Queen. I keep meaning to wear it but I didn’t know what I wanted to layer it over. Well I pulled out some of my Essence untrieds today and inspiration hit. There’s something about the moody, neutral hue of Essence Movie Star that made it the perfect partner for the glittery happiness of Ice Queen.

Formula & Application: Essence Colour & Go nail polish is 4-Free. For a full ingredient list, visit Essence.eu.  The bottles are small and round with a sizable smooth, plastic cap.  The brushes are wide, flat and long considering the bottle size.  The bristles are somewhat stiff (think MAC) which can lead to some dragging so use a light touch. The formula itself is pretty well pigmented. Two thin coats are all I need to achieve opacity.

Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Ice Queen is also 4-Free and free of camphor, which can be an irritant. The bottle is pretty tall and the brush handle is long with a short, stubby brush. The bristles are kind of stiff but I think that works as an advantage here as they tend to pick up a lot of glitter and place it pretty evenly on the nail. The sequin glitter will always need some finesse but it wasn’t a challenge to get them to stick.

Essence Movie Star is a deep blue-based grey creme. It dries a lot darker than the bottle would suggest. It’s about as dark as Models Own Moody Grey only with a blue-grey base as opposed to the green in Moody Grey.

The pink and blue sequins in Sally Hansen Ice Queen are reminiscent of Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air, only more intense. Those particles are more cotton candy colored and these are more intense. The pink leans toward lilac and the blue towards royal. The silvery micro-glitter is actually holographic glitter in that it reflects multiple colors depending on the light.

Bottom Line: Essence Movie Star is a great budget friendly basic and with its blue undertones it will flatter cool skin tones. The opacity and formula are pretty spot on so I see no reason to pass this one by if you’re in the market for a great grey. Sally Hansen Ice Queen is spectacular and ranks up there with my favorite layering glitters, Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow & Today Was A Fairytale. If you can find it, BUY IT!

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: I’m STASHing them both. And based on yesterday’s poll, it looks like I’m STASHing both of those as well. This weeding out thing isn’t really happening, is it?

Essence Colour & Go nail polishes are available at ULTA stores nationwide, availability can vary, and online at ULTA.com. Essence nail polishes retail for 99¢ for a .1oz bottle. Sally Hansen Ice Queen is a limited edition nail polish so check your local drugstores and mass retailers soon if you don’t want to miss out. Sally Hansen Hard As Nails polishes retail for $1.99/ea for a .45oz bottle.

Thoughts on Movie Star and Ice Queen? If you have Ice Queen what is your favorite polish to layer it over? Which do you prefer, Ice Queen or Glitter in the Air?

Disclosure: I purchased both of these nail polishes. 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. To celebrate Independence Day in the US, I decided to get my red, white & blue sparkle on. I even planned to get all crafty incorporating scotch tape and the result ended up being one giant mani-fail! Of course, instead of getting down on myself for it, I’m learning from my mistakes and sharing my missteps with you. To create today’s look I went straight for my Milani One Coat Glitters in Red Sparkle and Blue Flash. When you want full-on sparkle without multiple, thick layers of polish, look no further. It’s just a shame they didn’t come out with a white version to complete my manicure. In order to conserve my favorite white sparkler, China Glaze White Kwik Silvr, I pulled out another untried, China Glaze Cloud Nine from the Specialty Glitters collection.

Formula & Application: Milani nail polishes are 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin).  The bottles have a tapered, black shiny plastic cap with a long, thick, round brush.  The brushes on Milani polishes are bigger than most and combined with the flexible bristles they allow for optimal coverage of the nail plate.

The only downside here is that the One Coat Glitter formula is kind of thick so it kind of plops on the nail which doesn’t really allow for phenomenal control.  Thankfully glitters are pretty forgiving so any uneven brush strokes around the cuticle aren’t noticeable from an average distance.

Regarding the “one coat” coverage promise, Milani comes close but doesn’t quite hit the mark.  The first coat definitely covers better than most glitter polishes but it’s not completely opaque.  I would imagine to get it done in one coat you’d need to apply the polish pretty thick which is usually a formula for chiptastic nails.  Applying two thin-medium coats will give the best results.

China Glaze is a 3-Free brand with a round brush that is both medium in length and firmness with enough give to allow for ease of control. The cap is slightly tapered and made of smooth plastic that is comfortable to hold.

The Specialty Glitters all differ in their opacity and consistency. Cloud Nine is squishy and milky and tries hard to be opaque in spite of the plethora of glitter packed into its base but doesn’t really succeed. I ended up layering it over China Glaze Snow to avoid having to use 4+ coats.

Milani Red Sparkle and Milani Blue Flash are both pretty straight up glitters. They don’t have any noticeable pigment to their bases, just tons and tons of glitter. Blue Flash is a cross between cyan and royal and Red Sparkle reminds me a lot of China Glaze Ruby Pumps. As you can see, Blue Flash mellows and darkens when layered over Red Sparkle.

China Glaze Cloud Nine has a milky white base packed with opalescent flakie glitter that looks like burning embers when the light hits it. The flakes don’t really show up on camera but they made me think of the fiery showers the float down from the sky after a firework explodes. China Glaze Snow’s opacity made it the perfect base since I only needed one coat.

Now let’s discuss the disaster you see above. I attempted a diagonal stripe scotch tape manicure using the two Milani glitters but it just didn’t work out. After my third attempt at getting the middle finger perfect failed, I just gave up. It’s a holiday and I want to enjoy it, not spend it frustrated with my polish.

What went wrong? Well, I thought I would speed up the process by using a UV top coat. I have a few and opted for Seche Ultra-V because it’s somewhat thick and would cover up the texture of the glitter. Well, even though the polish seemed solid after three minutes of curing in a UV lamp and waiting like 5 minutes, it was still pliable and came up with the tape. I attempted to fill in the bald spots but that just made things worse. I also didn’t wait long enough after adding the stripes to put on my top coat and that caused some of the glitter to bleed. Not a good look.

While I like the concept, the execution definitely needs some work. Here’s what this experience taught me:

• The Milani glitters are too thick to try the UV top coat trick. They just don’t cure that fast
• If the tape pulls up the polish, start over. Trying to cheat and fill in spots just makes for more mess.
• Patience, patience, patience. Admittedly this is not my strong suit. Let’s just say, I could never be a teacher. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to this process, stick to solid color nails or do free hand art.
• Tapping the scotch tape on your palm keeps it from being too sticky but don’t remove too much of the tackiness. The tape I used on my pinkie nail wasn’t sticky enough and it lifted up, allowing polish to seep underneath. I tried to push the glitter with an orange wood stick and made things worse (see #2).

In the end, a basic red, white and blue look ended up being the winning combo. As I mentioned above, these glitters dry with TEXTURE. A thick coat of Seche Vite or mulitple layers of a regular top coat are needed and even then they aren’t completely smooth but that doesn’t take away from the sparkle.

Bottom Line: The Milani One Coat Glitters are a glitter fiend’s BFF. They give great coverage in just a couple coats and deliver a ton of bling at a wallet friendly price. If China Glaze Cloud Nine was more opaque it would be a winner but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. It’s basically a milky version of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasures (or Nubar 2010) with smaller, less plentiful flakes. In hindsight, either of those would have been better over Snow than Cloud Nine.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: Milani Red Sparkle & Blue Flash are staying in the STASH and I’m kicking China Glaze Cloud Nine to the SHARE bin.

Milani One Coat Glitters are available at drugstores nationwide and online at MilaniCosmetics.com and CherryCulture.com. Milani nail polishes retail for $4.99/ea for a .5oz bottle.

Did you create a special 4th of July manicure for the holiday? Tell us about it. Are you a fan of the Milani One Coat Glitters?

Disclosure: I purchased the Milani nail polishes. China Glaze Cloud Nine was provided by China Glaze. 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. After I posted about the OPI Glam Slam! England duo with Grape…Set…Match quite a few of you requested that I also share my thoughts on Your Royal Shine-ness. To be honest, I wasn’t even planning to talk about this polish because it looked like just another silver foil in the bottle and I have more than my share of those. Turns out I have to thank you all for prodding me into giving it a whirl because it ended up being one of those “Don’t judge a book by its cover” kind of moments. And isn’t that the whole point of this series and my blog in general? Keep reading to see what I mean.

Formula & Application: OPI nail polishes are now 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and free of camphor, which can be an irritant. This is a new development as OPI’s pre-Texas were only 3-Free. I just wish OPI had changed the color of the print on the labels so buyers can identify 4-Free polishes like they did when they made the switch to 3-Free.

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.

As with most foil metallics, this polish gives great coverage in two coats and unlike traditional metallics, it doesn’t leave you with brush stroke madness on the surface. The formula is smooth and workable, which is great for amateur polishers.

As I mentioned above, I didn’t expect much from OPI Your Royal Shine-ness. I ASSumed it to be a twin to some of the other great foil metallics I own; China Glaze Cheers To You, Orly Shine and Sonia Kashuk Smoke & Mirrors. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is more unique than that. YRS-ness actually has a bit of a tarnished feel thanks to the mix of silver and gold foil particles. That allows the color to look both silver and slightly pewter depending on the light. To me, this is like the foil version of Spark de Triomphe with its mix of silver and gold glitter.

Adding a layer of OPI Servin Up Silver amps up this look to full-out disco ball dance party. The fine holographic micro-glitter particles light up your nails like multi-color twinkle lights while the larger holographic sequins create bursts of color whenever the light hits them. This would make an amazing NYE manicure and an eye catching summer pedicure. But you better make sure your feet aren’t busted if you wear this on your toes because everyone will be looking down to check out this combo.

Bottom Line: I know better than to trust a bottle yet I completely ignored my own advice and thankfully I listened to all of you and gave Your Royal Shine-ness a try. It turned out to be quite an original metallic. If you happen to shy away from silvers because they are too cool for your skin tone, this may be the perfect solution for you. The gold really warms up what could be a very cold color.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: No doubt about it… STASH!

OPI Your Royal Shine-ness and Servin Up Silver from the OPI Glam Slam! England collection are available now at salons and spas nationwide including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret and ULTA. OPI nail polishes retail for $8.50/ea and the Glam Slam! duos retail for $14.95 for two .5oz bottles.

Which of the two OPI Glam Slam! England duos do you prefer? How are you feeling about Your Royal Shine-ness? Do you know of other foil metallics that mix silver & gold like this one? What nail polish have you tried lately that looked unimpressive in the bottle but ended up winning you over on the nail?

Disclosure: For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

More like, let’s get this GLITTER party started! As part of Nordstrom’s annual Anniversary Sale, Deborah Lippmann has yet again put together a glitzed out set of glitter polishes called Get This Party Started.

Nothing says ‘Party’ like the magnetic sparkle of glitter. So for the biggest party season of the year, I’ve created shades that truly dazzle. Get This Party Started, a set of three glitters, was inspired by the overwhelming demand for my best selling Happy Birthday, a glittery party in a bottle. The set includes Happy Birthday, along with two new variations of the sparkling shade: Forget You and Candy Shop. They’re both packed with the same unique hexagon-shaped glitter that gives Happy Birthday its magnificent glint, only Forget You has a sheer black base and Candy Shop a bubblegum pink.

I love how festive all three look and feel, whether wrapped a round a champagne glass or peeping out of a glamorous pump. But what I truly love the most: how a few coats of any shade instantly transform you into the life of the party.

The set (l-r): Happy Birthday, Candy Shop, Forget You

Happy Birthday – a party in a bottle (glitter)

Candy Shop – bubblegum pink (glitter)

Forget You – party all night (glitter)

The Deborah Lippmann Get This Party Started set launches on July 15th 2011 during the Nordstrom Anniverary Sale. The set will retail for $42. Pre-orders officially begin July 5th though I hear some stores are accepting them now.

Thoughts on Get This Party Started? Will you be picking up the set when it comes out? Or will you wait for the individual colors to come out in August? What is your favorite Deborah Lippmann glitter? Is there a specific type of glitter you wish she would come out with? I would love to see an emerald version of Lady Sings The Blues.