BSB: Beauty news, makeup swatches and pictures, nail polish articles, makeup tutorials, product reviews, and how-to's from a MAC-trained makeup artist.

Summer Whites - China Glaze Snow (nail polish review, pictures, swatches)

I love a fab white manicure! It's super chic in the Winter, of course, but just as stunning (maybe more!?) in the heat of Summer. White hot heat! White nails remind me of the 60's. Tres mod!

This particular polish is from China Glaze's Winter '11 collection. It's called Snow!  I loved that this went on nice and opaque, and this is only 2 coats, girls. Two coats!

I placed the first coat on fairly slowly and thin. The second coat was thicker, and it self-leveled nicely (I had my doubts for a few minutes, though).

I wore this bright white for 4 days before I started seeing minor tip-wear, and no chips. And guess what? It stayed nice and bright white. Can you believe it?

Do you do white manis? Pedis? What is your favorite Summer polish look?

Loving the shimmer and shine of Summer weather! My NOTD...

Essie: Lapis of Luxury (nail polish swatches, pictures, review)

This polish was a surprise find. I was just minding my own business in Ulta, looking at the latest color collections in the nail polish section and finding myself restless and bored. OPI's Texas did nothing for me, and most of the other displays were mostly empty - and what was left in them was boring. A sign announced that Essie polishes were "Buy 2, Get 1 free" so I took a closer look...

CORNFLOWER BLUE! My dream color! The actual name of the polish is "Lapis of Luxury". It's a just-barely-purpled blue. It's a cream formula that applied really, really well (2 coats), and wore great, too! Definitely going to be showing up a lot on my tips and toes this Spring and Summer.

Do you have any cornflower blue polishes? Do you have a "dream color" you're looking for? What are on your tips and toes right now?

Disclaimer 1: I purchased this polish with my own money.

Disclaimer 2: The images were adjusted in photoshop to accurately
portray the cornflower blue shade, which was impossible to capture.

I decided to finally foot the bill and get a pedicure. And just in time for flip flop weather!

How long has it been since you treated yourself to a manicure or pedicure?

I believe it's been an embarrassing TWO YEARS since my last professional pedi! Before you cringe away in disgust, it's not like I've been ignoring my tootsies. It's just that since I had Baby #2, time and finances have been directed elsewhere and all of my pampering has been self-administered!

Anyway, I finally submitted to the capable hands of someone else, and my feet are thrilled. Hooray for taking time for ME! Gotta do this more often...

I admit, I skipped the salon mani and did my own. I'm incredibly picky with my nails and I've gotten fairly good at doing my own. Besides, for whatever reason, I don't find salon manicures relaxing. I'd rather save the money and time and do it myself. I chose a cool grey with a hint of purple simply because it contrasts so beautifully with the eye-searing coral neon on my toes! Why be predictable?

Colors used: China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy (Summer '10) on feet; Essie Smokin' Hot (Holiday/Winter '10) on fingers

(see my favorite pedi prods here & here)

So how long has it been for you? Do you go for mani-pedis regularly? Are you a do-it-yourselfer? Do you prefer to treat yourself with massages? Facials? What's your go-to pamper pleasure? What do you scrimp on?

Nfu-Oh GS 14. You need this polish.

If you believe all other polish compnies, a smooth black polish with visible glitter is impossible to create.

Or is it?

 
Nfu-Oh GS14. Maybe the perfect nail polish.

Black with rainbow holographic glitter.

Amazing.

Here's my dynamic swatch video. There's not much else to say...

 

 

China Glaze: Crackle Glaze ~ Fault Line, Lightening Bolt, Broken Hearted (nail polish review, swatches, images)

In case you didn't know, crackle topcoats are the new nail polish trend.

 I tested three shades of China Glaze's new crackle topcoat called Crackle Glaze.

I have gone on record before saying I am not a fan of this trend. I did say I would give it a shot -  I've been known to be wrong on occasion.

It's not that this cracked, contrasting colors lacquer look isn't cute.*  It's not that it reminds me of the 80's.** It's not that I consider it too "young" of a look for me.***

It's just busier than I think is attractive. And it looks sloppy (hello, chips!).

That said, it's not as ugly as I thought it would be. You've gotta pick your colors well, and I think the white crackle looks too much like a Wite-Out Top Coat (read: yuck). But I kind of liked the pink over the black. And the purple over a shimmery teal looked great in person (but was a b*tch to photograph).

In all, kinda neat - on the right person.****

Of course, since it's China Glaze, the three shades of Crackle Glaze that I tested (Lightening Bolt, white; Fault Line, purple; Broken Hearted, pink) were easy to apply and wore fairly well (4 days).

What are your feeling about the crackled polish look?

_{*it's not
**it does
***it really is
****not me}

China Glaze: Anchors Away - Starboard (nail polish swatches, pictures, review)

I don't wear green nail polish. It's Over The Top.

Um...

Except for this one...

It's called Starboard, and it's part of the Anchors Away collection from China Glaze.

As with most other CG polishes, Starboard applied smoothly, wears well, and looks great. It's a pretty midtone green cream with a touch of blue in it (but not at all a "teal").

Even if you aren't looking for The Perfect St. Pat's polish (and this should surely be a contender!), it's a great shot of Spring for the tips or toes.

More pics after the cut...

_{Note: shown with an Nfu-Oh glitter on the ring finger.}

Nail polish review and swatches: China Glaze - Anchors Away collection - Below Deck

With all due respect, I thinks it's time to let the putty/mushroom polish thing go. Everyone has made at least one now, right? Don't get me wrong: it's one of my favorite colors to wear on my nails, but damn! It's everywhere.

This one is a good one, though. Below Deck. It's part of China Glaze's Anchors Away collection. It reminds me of driftwood.

It's different from others I own in similar colors thanks to miniscule blue shimmer that isn't at all apparent once topped with topcoat, but helps give the polish a nice glow.

Wear is fantastic (it's China Glaze, after all) and while just a tad on the thick side, it applied smoothly.

Now, can we all stock up on these shades and give the new mushroom releases a rest, please? At least for a little while?

In case you were wondering how similar Below Deck is to other putty polishes, I have some comparisons after the cut. To summarize, though: they're all pretty damn similar unless you're a collector, in which case none are dupes.

China Glaze: Anchors Away collection - Life Preserver & Sunset Sail

Remember "Mannequin Hands"? That was last year's trend of polish that matched your skintone. I still say I can only carry this off if my polish has a bit of peach to it. Enter China Glaze's Sunset Sail (from their Anchors Away collection). It's the prettiest peachy-nude I've seen in ages. Just a tiny bit of shimmer keeps it lively, though it's so subtle it only serves to prevent a chalky look (I can only see it in the sun). Lovely! Warning: the first coat is a streaky mess. I found one thin coat followed by a second thicker coat is ideal. The result is smooth and even. _{(shown above left)}

I have a weakness for orange, even though it's not always flattering on my pale, pinkish skin. Life Preserver is a particularly Fall-like shade, which sounds weird for Spring but is actually spot-on trend and a refreshing change from pastels! It's a pumpkiny rusted shade China Glaze calls "poppy". Amazingly pretty, perfectly wonderful to apply. _{(shown above right)}

These shades make me feel like this:

PS: I'm so stuck in the accent nail rut at the moment! I did one mani with Sunset Sail + Life Preserver as the accent, and another with Life Preserver + Sea Spray as the accent. A full display & review of Sea Spray is coming soon.

 

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Please read our review policy on our About tab for more information.

Rudolph Carl Gorman-Woman With Poppies via</sub>

 

China Glaze: Anchors Away collection - Ahoy!

How pretty is Ahoy! From China Glaze's Anchor's Away collection? I love this raspberry color. Ahoy! is going to be in constant rotation around here. The glass flecks are incredible and really catch the light nicely. This was my Valentine's Day manicure. I love China Glaze!

China Glaze: Anchors Away collection - images

OooooooOOOOooooh! AaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaahhh!!!!!

Swatches on the way.

 

Christmas tips from The Nail Ninja

image sources are noted after the  jump.

The Nail Ninja is feeling jolly.

Well, as jolly as The Ninja ever gets, that is, which isn't saying much. She did, however, pull out a nice glowy rose gold shade with tons of glass-speck reflects. It's called Glow, and it's one of OPI's Designer Series shades (read: a bit more sparkly and a few bucks more pricey).

Gorgeous.
Approprite for any holiday festivities.
Get it.

The Nail Ninja asks: Whose nails are these?

 

These two stepped out recently to celebrate the launch of a new cranberry-flavored adult beverage.

The Nail Ninja: Holiday sanity check.

Shopping for the gifts. Cooking the food. Wrapping the gifts. Caroling the... carols. Roasting the chestnuts. Shoveling the snow. Admiring the lights. Stuffing the stockings. Ninjaing the missions.

Whew! The Ninja is overwhelmed!

Complete and utter sensory overload.

The last thing she needs is a loud & busy mani this week. She opted for ManGlaze's signature shade of matte charcoal, Fuggen Ugly. It has the most amazing multi-color minimicroshimmer that makes the polish look alive and not at all fuggin' ugly.

Wooed by the cheerful spirit of the season, The Ninja did elect an accent nail (all the rage with the kids these days) in China Glaze's glorious Sugar Plums from their "Tis the Season" collection (which is phenomenal).

What about you? Are you already rocking a holiday mani, or are you taking some kind of nail sanity check or downtime?

The Nail Ninja asks: Whose nails are these?

This gorgeously coiffured beauty sparkles as she signs copies of her work recently. The answer is after the cut!

The Nail Ninja asks: Whose nails are these?

This recently-single, dark-haired beauty wore this mani while partying in Vegas with some girl friends for her birthday.

Answer after the cut.

The Nail Ninja: Little Drummer Boy (by China Glaze) {nail polish review, pictures, swatches}

The Nail Ninja says: while deep blue isn't what one automatically thinks of for a holiday nail lacquer collection, it's kind of genius. This China Glaze blue, Little Drummer Boy, is just shy of leaning green, and it has a very pretty lighter blue microshimmer. Maybe you have similar blues, but a blue collector will enjoy the unique spin this shade brings to the table.

The only downside: what a pain to clean up. Medium-to-dark blue varnishes always stain The Ninja's cuticles and skin during removal. Were she not so distracted, she'd have remembered to slick on some cuticle oil before carefully sliding the remover-saturated cotton away from the nailbed. Whoops. Instead, she had to resort to a hearty scrubbing then a full manicure including cuticle remover. Sigh. She'd lile to say she'll do better next time, but it's doubtful...

The Nail Ninja: Sugar Plums - more than it appears (by China Glaze) {nail polish pictures, reviews, swatches}

The Nail Ninja says: It's a matter of record that The Ninja adores a plum polish. This one, Sugar Plums,  is sneaky, though. What appears to be a fairly typical, unassuming plum with miniscule silver shimmer is actually a radiant shade with a bit of holiday mystery. The secret? A resplendant multi-colored mini sparkle that comes out only when the time is right... sorta like Santa.

The wear and application are stellar, as always. Thanks, China Glaze! Swatches are 2 coats.

The Nail Ninja: Frosty {by China Glaze} (nail polish swatch, review)

The Nail Ninja says: Don't disregard Frosty, one of the holiday selections from China Glaze. It's ethereal and sheer with one coat, gloriously shimmery with two, and pristinely chic in three. Easy to apply, this pretty white polish glides on and wears well. Look closely and you'll note its resemblance to shimmering snow with a thin layer of ice on top.
_{Shown here with an overlay of Nfu-oh GS-7 as an accent nail.}