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. Even though I tend to be pretty much a salon brand kind of girl I do have certain drugstore lines that I consider quality buys. Sally Hansen is a given, Milani puts out some great colors and is regularly on sale and Sinful Colors makes the best budget nail polish I’ve tried. Though it’s always on the bottom shelf of the fragrance counter at my local Walgreens which really does a disservice the brand. Of course my Rite-Aid knows Sinful’s value as they always place Sinful’s seasonal collections in a prominent spot. As was the case last week when I stopped in to see what was new. Side note: The Rite-Aid closest to me has the best seasonal displays of any drugstore chain in the area. It’s a gold mine. The Sally Hansen Tracy Reese & Prabal Gurung collections? Both there, in full! Anyway, on my last visit I noticed a display that looked eerily like the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides collection so I had to investigate by bringing Sinful Colors Open Seas home with me.

Formula & Application: Sinful Colors nail polish is 4-Free (including Formaldehyde Resin) and free of camphor, which can be an irritant. The bulbous little bottles have a really smooth cap that can sometimes make it hard to open the polish. I really wish the caps were rubberized but that would just up the cost and I usually have a rubber band handy. The round brushes are short, stocky and average in width. The bristles are plentiful and flexible which makes it easy to fan them out across the nail.

Now one thing I’ve come to expect from Sinful is that the opacity just isn’t there. The polishes tend to be watery and automatic three coaters but Open Seas surprised me. It has the typical watery, squishy texture but it gave me full coverage in two coats. For a $1.99 polish, you can’t beat that!

Now I don’t want to accuse Sinful of jacking OPI’s style but the color range and marketing graphics are awfully reminiscent of the POTC collection. I know nautical is big this year and all but this one hits a little too close to OPI’s home. Hopefully OPI will just look at it like I do, as flattery.

Sinful Colors Open Seas is a sandwashed sea green creme. It’s not like the minty greens we’ve seen so much of the past couple years. It’s slightly greyed, more wistful, and with a lot more blue to its base.

The big question is, how does it compare to OPI Mermaid’s Tears? Dare we say dupe?

While “dead-on dupe” isn’t a perfect fit, we’re pretty darn close. Mermaid’s Tears may be a hair lighter but it would take one discerning nail polish fanatic to notice. The base color is identical and maybe if I had given Mermaid’s Tears another ten minutes to dry down we would have been looking at twins. As it is, it was hard for me to remember which polish was on each finger.

Bottom Line: If, for whatever reason, you didn’t jump on the OPI Pirates bandwagon, you and your wallet can have the last laugh as you pick up this gem for a pittance. The formula and pigmentation are spot on and the color is a beaut. I see no reason to pass this one by unless you hate green and well, then there’s no help for you.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: STASH! Being that Open Seas is slightly more pigmented than Mermaid’s Tears, I’m probably sending the OPI to SHARE bin after I review the POTC collection in full.

Sinful Colors Open Seas is available now as part of the Adventure Island collection for Summer 2011. Sinful colors can be found at drugstores nationwide including Walgreens and Rite-Aid. Nail polishes retail for $1.99/ea for a .5oz bottle. Visit SinfulColors.com for online shopping and additional retail information.

Thoughts on Open Seas? Have you spotted the Adventure Island display in your area? Have you tried any of the other colors in the collection? What do you think when less expensive brands knock-off a salon or department store brand concept?

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. Color-blocking was all over the Spring 2011 runways but being that my own personal style doesn’t really mesh with color-blocking, I translated the trend to nails. As much as I love how bright colors look on others, I tend to stick to neutrals when it comes to my own wardrobe. My nails are my color statement. Inspired by a dress I saw while online window shopping on Nordstrom.com, I incorporated Orly Ancient Jade from the Precious Spring 2011 Collection to create a color-block manicure.

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.

I clearly have not been wearing enough Orly polish lately because their formula continues to amaze me, as if it’s the first time I’ve ever used it. I raved over Royal Navy’s application and Ancient Jade was just as fantastic. Thin, easy to manipulate, well pigmented. For a color so light, two coats were more than sufficient. In fact to avoid my color-block manicure from getting too thick (which it did) I should have used one coat. I totally could have gotten away with it if I wasn’t photographing the color on its own for this post.

Orly Ancient Jade is a mint green creme but as the name indicates, it’s not a pastel. It’s rich, like the jade stone it was named after, and along the lines of Chanel Jade. In fact, if it had the same Chanel subtle shimmer, they could be close relatives.

In the past couple years Orly has released polishes in this color group but in comparison Gumdrop is lighter and more blue based, while Mint Mojito is much darker, almost a spring green. The closest I could come to finding a similar color is Models Own Jade Stone which is Ancient Jade’s slightly paler sister. I had hoped, based on the bottle color, that this was a MAC Peppermint Patti dupe but no such luck.

Using this dress from Jay Godfrey as my inspiration, I added CND Blackjack and Sinful Rise and Shine to Ancient Jade to create my color-block nails. Normally I would not attempt such a manicure. Nail art is not in my skill set and a lot of the nail art I see is too much for my personal taste. But thanks to readers who pointed me in the direction of Chloe’s Nails and her amazing scotch tape manicures, my first attempt at color-blocking came out pretty decent. Check out this tutorial for Chloe’s tips on working with scotch tape to create clean lines. I chose to not apply top coat between each layer to keep my manicure from getting too thick so I waited for at least 20 minutes before applying the next color. Application Tip: If you apply the tape too early, as long as it doesn’t pull of any color during removal, any surface marks from the tape will be erased with top coat.  I found that out when applying Rise and Shine. I totally marked up Blackjack and you can’t even tell.

Bottom Line: The jade/mint trend may not be the thing anymore but a great green can always suck me in. Ancient Jade’s formula is top notch and the pigmentation is strong with this one. If you’re into this type of color, you will not be let down.

365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: STASH!! In fact, I may be dumping other polishes from my collection in favor of this one. It’s that good!

Orly Ancient Jade is available now at Sally Beauty Supply and ULTA stores though availability will vary by store. Online shoppers can head to OrlyBeauty.com and Head2ToeBeauty.com. Orly nail polishes retail for $7.50/ea for a .6oz bottle.

Thoughts on Ancient Jade? How did my color-block nails turn out? Is this something you would attempt? Have you done a scotch tape manicure before?

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

It’s Go Green Week on ALU! In celebration of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22nd I’m reviewing some of the great green polishes from this season that I haven’t yet shared. Included with the reviews are tips on how you can “green” your manicure routine. I never seem to have luck when it comes to finding the LE colors from Sinful.  I don’t know if it’s because my local drugstores don’t typically order them or whether they sell out in a flash.  Either way, when my friend who lives WAY out east from me said that she spotted a whole mess of new Sinful greens for spring I pretty much figured I’d never see them. So you can imagine my excitement a couple months ago when the clerk at my Walgreens told me they had some green Sinfuls behind the counter that they hadn’t put out yet.  Mint Apple was among those gorgeous green gems and in the sea of mint green polishes we’ve been seeing, this cheese stands alone.  Check it out!

Sinful Colors nail polishes truly are the hidden gems of the drugstore polish world.  Usually carried under the beauty counter at Walgreens, they are easily overlooked but to do so is a mistake.  For the price you really can’t beat the diversity of the color range and the quality of the polish.  Sinfuls just wear so well on me.  You’re looking at Day 3 of Mint Apple below and there isn’t a sign of wear to be found.  The formula is a little thin and watery so I end up using three coats with most of their lacquers but considering that a lot of salon brands apply the same way anymore, I can’t complain.

Mint Apple stands apart from the other mint green polishes in that it really isn’t that pastel or minty.  To me it’s more tropical falling somewhere between turquoise and aqua.  It would actually fit very well with Essie’s Resort collection.  The silver shimmer just adds to its allure.  It adds more of a sheen and twinkle than an all over shimmery effect.

Go Green Week Nail Tip – Today’s Go Green Tip comes to us courtesy of Jenna Hipp Green Celebrity Nail Stylist.  Jenna uses “green” products on herself and her celebrity clientele after experiencing formaldehyde poisoning so she suggests you become more aware of the ingredients in the products you’re using. “The average woman applies 240 products topically to her skin every week, so be aware of of what you’re using! Try and purchase from companies who source through Fair Trade and make sure skincare products are free of parabens, synthetic dyes, fillers, and petroleum.”

Sinful Colors nail polishes can be found at drugstores nationwide and retail for around $1.99 ea.

How many of you got your hands on Mint Apple? What do you think of the color? Tell us some of your favorite Sinful Colors polishes!

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

Mannequin Hands is a new series featuring ALU Fanatics showing off their “mannequin hands” shade.  The one polish that best gives that elongated, flesh-toned look to their hands.

Today Kelsey S. is showing off her “mannequin hands” using Sinful Colors Satin.  Kelsey is a Bare Minerals Medium Beige/MAC NC35 and this is what she has to say about the color,

“This was a hand-me-down polish from a friend who had much darker skin and didn’t like the the way it looked on her. I found that it matched my skin tone pretty much perfectly and I love it! Having so many colors, this is always my go-to polish when I can’t make a decision on what color I feel like using. The formula goes on quite smoothly, and I never really have had any problems with Sinful Colors polish. It also has microscopic silver sparkles in it that you can’t really see unless you have a magnifying glass, that add to the luminosity of the polish.”

Where are Kelsey’s hand twins?  Who else is intrigued by her description of silver sparkles adding luminosity? Get me to a Sinful display!

Don’t forget, you have until January 15th to share your Mannequin Hands with the group. CLICK HERE for more details.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Fanatics! Mr. ALU is spending the weekend studying for the last part of the CPA exam (please wish him luck) which gives me plenty of time to play in the polish room. Not the most thrilling holiday weekend ever but at least after Tuesday we’ll be free to enjoy the rest of the summer. The rest of our lives really! Plus my pal Jamie from The Beauty of Life is home so I won’t be high on polish fumes all weekend long. Anywho after posting details on OPI’s upcoming Matte polish collection, Suzi’s suggestion about combining finishes prompted me to experiment. Using the black, textured nails I saw at the CND production suite during Fashion Week as inspiration, I got to work. Check out the products I used to recreate the look and see the finished result after the jump!

Tools Nail stripping brush, $3.95 for 3, Head2ToeBeauty.com Sinful Colors Black on Black, $1.99, Walgreens Nubar Black Nail Art Polish, $7.00, ByNubar.com Orly Nails For Males, $4.95, Head2ToeBeauty.com CND Super Shiney, $3.50, Head2ToeBeauty.com Technique I chose to do an alternating effect. With two coats of Sinful Black on Black as the base color, I used matte and shiny top coats on every other finger and, when dry, placed shiny and matte stripes (respectively) over top. Just to see if there was a difference in the look, I did one set of shiny stripes with the black nail art polish (middle finger) and the other set with the glossy top coat (pinkie finger) using the nail stripping brush. I had better control with the brush but it’s really a matter of preference. Because these top coats aren’t quick drying, I waited a good 5-10 minutes for each one to set up before applying the stripes. The matte top coat applies glossy and dries to a satin/flat finish. Using two coats intensifies the effect. Using the nail art brush, dip into the matte/glossy top coat and gently drag across the nail. I find it easier to hold the brush relatively steady and roll the nail underneath. Experiment to find the method that works best for you. What you see below is my first attempt so my lines aren’t as clean and even as they should be.

What I love about this look is that it’s subtle and unique. It’s not over the top nail art but it’s distinctive. I did a glossy tip using OPI A Grape Fit! last night and it looked really cool. Too bad sheet marks wrecked it by morning.

So what do you think? Are you into it?

Oh and stay tuned for Swatch Requests, I’m gonna try and bang as many of the most requested comparisons as I can. Toodles for now!

The ALU Archives focuses on older, beloved shades from the All Lacquered Up stash. This week, we continue on with the Archives’ green theme for March. It’s been so incredibly beautiful and warm here in the Cleveburg and I noticed some of the ten billion daffodils in our yard starting to pop up. The previous owners were major green thumbs. The boyfriend and I, not so much. However, the new growth inspired me to look for a grassy green. That brought me to drugstore fave Sinful Colors Show Me The Way. I seriously don’t write about Sinful enough. It’s such an underrated brand. They have a wide color range with some outstanding greens and blues and if you’re looking for a cheap, glossy jet black for frankening or just to wear, you can’t beat their Black On Black creme.

Show Me The Way is a mossy, yellow tinged, metallic looking sparkler. The formula is semi-sheer with a jelly-ish feel that requires three coats. What I love is that the specks of micro-glitter float in the polish so you get a completely smooth finish, similar to the China Glaze glass flecked formula. Also, it prevents the metallic nature of the gold shimmer from leaving brush strokes on the nails. Basically, it’s pretty damn fab.

Sinful Colors polishes retail for $1.99 and are carried at a number of drugstores but I have the best luck in my area at Walgreens and Discount Drug Mart. At Walgreens, the display is typically on fragrance counter. According to the Sinful Colors website their products are also carried at Eckerd, Longs, Meijer, Safeway and number of other regional chains.

OK raise your hands kids. Where are my Sinful lovers? What’s your favorite shade?

For ’tis green, green, green, where the ruined towers are gray,
And it’s green, green, green, all the happy night and day;
Green of leaf and green of sod, green of ivy on the wall,
And the blessed Irish shamrock with the fairest green of all.
~Mary Elizabeth Blake

I am not the least bit Irish but that doesn’t stop me from loving St. Patrick’s Day, the greenest day of the year. With my undying love of all things emerald, is it any wonder. It’s the one day when draping yourself in it is perfectly acceptable.

Of course that means green is shade of the day for nails and I’ve put together my picks to best express your Irish Pride or just join in the fun. All the polishes featured are current and available for purchase.

My St. Patty’s Day manicure is of the gorgeous Sinful Colors San Francisco. Sinful Colors is a drugstore brand that you can find at Walgreens. They have a wide variety of shades and are very reasonably priced. The formula on this one is similar to a jelly finish. It spreads like jam on the nail. But the color is so outstanding that I’m willing to play to get it right.
For a darker more forest green look, check out NYX Las Vegas, butter London Thames, Zoya Suvi, China Glaze Outta Bounds and Rescue Beauty Lounge Recycle.And if you want a bolder emerald or springier green, look for Rimmel Underground Camouflage, Carolyn New York Greenwich Ave, Sinful Colors San Francisco or China Glaze Treehugger.
So what are you wearing for St. Patrick’s Day? Have a favorite green I left out?

I wouldn’t be a true polish fanatic if I didn’t pay homage to the biggest trend to hit the polish world since Uma Thurman donned Chanel Vamp in Pulp Fiction. Chanel’s introduction of Black Satin caused a frenzy like I have never seen. The insane eBay prices, the story about Sarah Michelle Gellar stealing one from a party, the waiting lists at Chanel counters for a re-release, it’s madness. Pure madness. And with the release of Chanel’s new black for spring, Noir Ceramic, the craze continues.

(l-to-r) Misa Stiletto, Milani Black Cherry, Zoya Yasmeen, OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight, OPI Black Tie Optional (DC’d)

(l-to-r) Revlon Dark Pleasures Talk Dirty, Creative NFS, Creative Blue Blood (DC’d), Misa Blueberry Glaze, China Glaze Up All Night, Revlon Dark Pleasures Midnight Affair

(l-to-r) OPI Espresso Your Style, Orly Talk Dirty, Creative Fedora, Sinful Colors Black on Black, Zoya Raven, Orly Goth, Misa Wishing On A Star