Orly Macabre Masquerade

     Today, I have Macabre Masquerade from Orly's Secret Society collection to show you guys. Macabre Masquerade has silver, pink, red, teal, and navy blue micro glitter in a metallic blue base. I hope you are ready for your Valkyrie genes to be triggered. This polish is a glitter bomb. In fact it's so glittery that It was literally impossible to take pictures of this polish with a flash. So without further ado, here's Macabre Masquerade:

Pictures:

Indoor no flash.

Indoor no flash.

Closeup:

Indoor no flash.

     In these pictures I used three coats of  Macabre Masquerade and a heavy coat of top coat.  Macabre Masquerade applies easily and dries quickly. My only real complaint about this polish is that removal is a beast. Glitter every where! I had to wash my hands twice after the polish was removed to get rid of all the clinging tiny glitters. But I still love it. Blue glitter is one of my favorite kinds of glitter. Anyway that's all I have for you guys today. Until next time, stay classy, and stay polished.
XOXO

Orly Starburst

     Today, I have Starburst by Orly to show you guys. Starburst is a white jelly polish with orange, gold, red, and silver glitter in it. For the following picture I used one coat of China Glaze White On White as Underwear.

Pictures:

Indoor no flash. 

Indoor with flash.

Closeup:

Indoor no flash. 

     In these pictures I used three coats of Starburst over one coat of white on white. Alone Starburst was to flat for my taste so I added undies to make the glitter pop. The formula applies easily and dries fast. It also has a really nice glitter payoff. It also wore really well with only minor chipping. A must for glitter fans. I actually really like how much this polish looks like an Indie polish but easier to get a hold of. Anyway that's all I have for you today. Until next time stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

China Glaze vs Orly vs Zoya

     Today, I have another comparison post for you guys. It occurred to me when I bought China Glaze Strike Up A Cosmo that it looked a lot like Zoya Faye and Orly Ingenue. So I'm going to do a comparison post between the three. And here's what I found out:

Pictures:

Indoor no flash. 

Note the hue differences. 

Outdoor in sunlight.

Note how they kind of look the same and sunlight.

Outdoor and shade.

     And also this is just my little thing (I minored in English so it's not totally weird). But I have heard so many people mispronounce the name of Orly's Ingenue that I figured I'd do a public service and post the video below of how to pronounce it (here's what it means too). Sorry, but my inner English nerd has a seizure when people pronounce words wrong.

     In these pictures I used two coats of China Glaze and three coats of Zoya and Orly with a heavy coat of topcoat for everyone. So you can see they are not dupes, not by a long-shot. While Faye and Ingenue are dupes of each other. They are not dupes for China Glaze Strike Up A Cosmo. Both Faye and Ingenue have more of a copper sheen to them Strike Up A Cosmo has an almost silver or pale gold sheen to it. It's also worth noting that the formula is better on China Glaze, then on Orly and Zoya, because it's opaque in two coats. I would like to note however that in the sunlight, there's really not all that much color difference. And to be honest, if you have one of these polishes then you probably don't need the others. And if you don't have any of them (and you only want one), I recommend China Glaze, because two coats are just more convenient than three. Plus China Glaze is way cheaper than Zoya. Well that's all I have for you today. Until next time, stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

China Glaze Howl You Doin' vs Orly Fowl Play Comparison Swatches

     Today, I have a comparison swatch to show you guys. I noticed when I got my bottle of Howl You Doin' that it looked suspiciously like Orly's Fowl Play. So I decided that I would do a swatch comparison for you guys. Because in the bottle they looked like dead on dupes. Here some pictures:

Pictures:

Indoor no flash.

Note the texture difference.

Outdoor in sunlight.

Note the hue difference.

Outdoor in shade.

Closeups:

China Glaze - Howl You Doin'. Indoor no flash. 

Note the smaller red torn shards and blue micro hexagons (which China Glaze has more of). Seems like everyone's having a hard time getting pics of this polish to show the detail. Not me. My camera may be old but it does macro shots like no other (Yay Nikon!). 

Orly - Fowl Play. Indoor no flash. 

Note the larger red glitter is a torn/flakie glitter (which is larger than that in China Glaze), and the presence of tiny slivers of silver glitter (absent from China Glaze).

     For these pictures I used two coats of China Glaze Howl You Doin' and three coats of Orly Fowl Play. Both polishes are in a jelly base with red and blue glitter in them. As far as formula goes, China Glaze is a better formula because it only needs two coats, and it dries faster. That said, with China Glaze there's more glitter, so it is a bit bumpier in texture. When it comes to color, Orly is a little bit more of a dusky indigo color, where China Glaze is more of a grapey color (it reminds me a little bit of grape juice). Also, Fowl Play seems to have teeny tiny silver micro glitter shreds in it, and Howl You Doin' does not. It's also worth mentioning that the red glitter in Fowl Play is more of a flakie glitter and I would classify the red glitter in Howl You Doin' as more of a shard glitter. So as you can see from the pictures they are not really dupes (The bottles lied! *insert mock horror here*). However they are close enough that if you have one, you probably don't need the other. And if you don't have either I would say get the China Glaze, because it has more glitter, dries faster, and it is a prettier color (IMO). Well that's all I have for you today. Until next time, stay classy, and stay polished.
XOXO

Sunset Mermaid Manicure

      So, first off before I get to the manicure I wanted to let you guys know why I've been MIA the last week or so. It's really a super fun collection of "super fun" (Sarcasm alert) events. My car broke down, then the keyboard in my laptop quit working (then randomly started working again the next day), and I broke my baby toe or my left foot (don't ask how it's kind of an embarrassing story, who am I kidding when is it ever a non-embracing story when I hurt my clumsy ass). Plus, a couple of good things also distracted me: I read four books I couldn't put down, and got a new Sims 3 expansion pack...so yeah all these things have converged to distract me. But anyway, I am back and I have some nail art to show you guys. Do you remember the Mermaid Manicure Tutorial I posted back in January? Well after getting my new Sims 3 Expansion (Island Paradise) and playing with the new mermaids I wanted to do a new mermaid manicure. But this one is a different version of the Mermaid manicure. Or at least a different color scheme at any rate. I am calling this one Sunset Mermaid. Enjoy.

Pictures:

Indoor no flash. 

Indoor with flash. 

Outdoor in sunlight. 

Outdoor in shade.

What I Used:

ORLY - Ingenue

OPI - Sprung

China Glaze - Passion

Shany Stamping Plate - SH222

     I used sponging to get the base gradient and then stamped over top of it. Over all I really like this look. It reminds me of tropical sunsets and mermaids of course. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this manicure as much as I do. Until next time, stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

ORLY Mermaid Tale

     Today, I have a swatch of Orly's Mermaid Tale from their Flash Glam collection to show you guys. Mermaid Tale is a mix of large and small holographic, green glitter, in a clear base. For these pictures I used OPI Mermaid's Tears as underwear.

Swatches:

Indoor with flash. 

Indoor no flash. 

Outdoor in shade. 

Outdoor in sunlight. 

Closeups:

Outdoor in sunlight. 

Indoor no flash. 

     I used two coats of OPI Mermaids Tears under two coats of ORLY Mermaids Tale followed by a layer of top coat. The formula can glob up on you, so make sure you keep the coats thin, it does however dry fairly quickly so if you want to go for a third coat you won't have to wait that long for it to dry. Over all I really like this nail polish. Let me clarify that for a minute by saying that green is not normally a color I can pull off (without being asked if ill). But this one , I can wear and I genuinely love it. So pretty. Possibly my favorite of the Flash Glam set that I own. Anyway, that's all I have for you today. Until next time, stay classy, and stay polished.
XOXO

January Haul 5 - Now With Indies!!!!

     So for a short little post before my real post I have another haul to show you guys. And yes I am no longer an Indie Polish Virgin. I am the proud owner of four brand spanking new Indie polishes as of yesterday. Plus I got a few other goodies in the mail. Want to see what I got? You don't have to twist my arm. Here are the lovely new ladies that joined my polish stash this week.

eBay:

                       

Dollish Polish:     I'm The Boogieman         This Is Halloween          We're Simply Meant To Be

My number one nail polish crush (my first ever nail polish crush).

Floam - Nail-Venturous

Yeah, so not a nail product, but seriously like the best lip butter ever. It's not available in my area so I had to buy it online. Yummy, caramel flavored kisses. 

Amazon:

OPI - Sprung & A Butterfly Moment

Zoya - Storm & Orly Mermaid Tale

     So there you have it the newest ladies to join my polish stash. I just couldn't be more thrilled about finally having a bottle of Floam for my very own. I went all Gollum on it when I opened the package. I stroked it fondly and said "My precious." Which is how I know I'm a polish nerd. Anyway I hope you have an awesome day and I'll be back later with a swatch post. Until next time, stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

Zoya Faye vs. ORLY Ingenue Comparison

   Okay, so after wearing Zoya Faye (swatch here) I realized it was very close to another polish I already have, ORLY Ingenue (swatch here). So after some encouraging(insisting) by my friend Marcie I did a comparison side by side swatch. So let's get to it shall we.

The bottles:

Swatches:

Indoor with flash.

Indoor no flash. 

Outdoor. No sun today. :(

Closeups:

Outdoor.

Outdoor. 

And another Hinder song... because I am loving their new CD. 

Hinder - Anyone But You. 

      All pictures are with two coats of polish and a top coat. As you can see there is no real difference in color between these two polishes. They both wear the same so that's not an issue either. The only real difference is in formula. Ingenue is a thicker formula than Faye, but on the nail they look exactly the same. This should be the part where I smack my forehead for buying two polishes that look the same...but I won't because I love this polish so much I'll just think of it as my backup bottle. One can never have to much of such a lovely polish. Well that's all I have for you today. Until next time, stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

Blood Splatter Mani

     I just entered my first nail art contest and since I can't show you my left hand until the voting starts I figured I could show you my right hand since it wasn't entered in the contest. You will understand the connection when I can post a link to the voting. But until then I will just show you the right hand.

Indoor with flash.

Indoor no flash.

Outdoor in the shade.

Outdoor in sunlight.

     For this look I used 3 coats of OPI Samoan Sand as a base color and ORLY Grave Mistake for the blood splatter. I used the straw method to get the splatter effect. I was actually surprised at how easy this look was to achieve. I may do a tutorial on it in the future. It's fast easy and fun...well fast compared to the length of time my normal nail art takes to do.

Warning incoming tangent....

     I can't say enough good things about Grave Mistake. It was perfect for use as blood in this mani. How fitting since it came from the Dark Shadows collection. Even if Johnny Depp as the vampire Barnabas Collins is more of a 'Count' (from Sesame Street) than a Dracula, Valek, Radu, or Barlow, at least the polish is a really good 'gory' vampire blood red color. We will just over look the fact that JD's vampire is more of a Backstreet Boys version of "dangerous" type of vampire (aka perfectly harmless), mostly because the polish is so fierce. And since I may be the only (hetero) female in the world that doesn't find Johnny Depp attractive the polish is all I am talking about. Anyway, I digress...I could have just said the polish is awesome...it is...but you know me I ramble. That's kind of what I do here. Thanks for putting up with my shenanigans. That's all I have for you guys today. Until next time, stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

Contest Entry Slasher Movie Bad Guy Mani

     Yay, I have internet again! And here is the proper post I promised you of my Slasher Movie Bad Guy mani. The Halloween contest is open through October 21st so please go over Here, follow the blog and vote for my entry. I'm number 24. You can vote once a day. And since I could only upload one picture for the contest here are some more shots showing you this mani in all it's glory. Also now you know what the left hand that went with my right hand splatter mani looks like.

Indoor with flash.

From left to right: Freddy Kruger (Nightmare On Elm Street), Leather Face (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Ghost Face (Scream), Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th), and Mike Myers (Halloween).

 Indoor without flash.

Outdoor in shade.

Outdoor in sunlight.

Over all look.

Polish List.

ORLY - Grave Mistake

China Glaze - Salsa

China Glaze - Liquid Leather

China Glaze - Near Dark

China Glaze - Street Chic

China Glaze - White on White

China Glaze - City Siren

OPI - Skull & Glossbones

Nails Star - Black

     So that's my contest entry it took forever and the pinkie nail being the most difficult...it's one of those times I wish I had bigger nails. So if you would go over to The Manicured Monkey's website and vote for number 24. One more time here's the address Vote For Number 24. That's all I have for you today. Until next time stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO