Models Own Beetlejuice For Summer 2012 Collection Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  This afternoon, I have a fairly new collection from Models Own to show you!  This was my first experience with Models Own because until fairly recently, they weren't that easy to get in the United States and the shipping was crazy expensive!  Now a few online stores (and Urban Outfitters) carry some Models Own so I finally got a chance to try them!  The Beetlejuice Collection is a continuation of a collection released last year of 5 darker polishes, and now, for Spring/Summer 2012, they released 3 brighter shades!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  2 coats of Copper Pot

I purposely only did 2 coats of each of these so you can see how sheer they are.  Copper Pot is a coppery bronze with a lot of yellow and orange to it making it very warm toned.  I love the shimmer in here and how rich it is, although to wear as a full manicure I'd have to do at least 3 if not 4 coats because I can't stand the visible nail line.  There is the tiniest hint of green and gold flashes to this but not nearly enough to call it a duochrome.  The formula was ok, it was very sheer but definitely thicker than you expect a sheer polish to be so it took a bit of patience.

Above:  2 coats of Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean was the polish I was most excited about from this collection!  A baby blue base with pink shimmer?  It sounded awesome and the color payoff did not disappoint!  Even with only 2 coats (and lots of visible nail line) the pink shimmer is intense!  I can only imagine how gorgeous this will be opaque!  The finish is halfway between a shimmer and glass fleck, not unlike the new Color Club Take Wing Collection and I love it!  The formula was a tad bit thick for a sheer polish so let the polish dry between coats but this one is a stunner!

Above:  2 coats of Tropical Sun

Lastly is Tropical Sun, a warm toned orange with strong flashes of pink and gold!  This was a surprise love for me from this collection, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore that I am LOVING oranges lately!  This is a super cute pedicure color for the Spring to me.  The formula was the same as the others, a bit thick for such a sheer polish but the cool thing about this one is that it has silver micro glitter mixed in while the others don't!

All in all, I liked this collection but didn't love it.  Would I buy it again?  Probably not, with the possible exception of Indian Ocean.  I would like to try other Models Own polishes to see how the formula adds up but I hate it when I need 4 coats to make a polish opaque or have to layer it over something else.  I like my polish to be simple and at $8-$10 a polish, I expect more.

What did you think of this collection?  Any must haves?  Any dupes?

Priti NYC Darjeeling Swatch and Review!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  Just a quick post this morning to show you a new polish from a brand that's new to me!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  2 coats of Priti NYC Darjeeling

Darjeeling is a very pigmented dusty rose shade.  I like that this shade is bright without being too bright!  The dusty look is so in this year and Priti nailed it with Darjeeling.  Rose shades like this can look a little grandma-esque but I think Priti made this just bright enough that everyone can wear it!  The formula on this was fantastic, almost opaque in 1 coat but I added a second to make it completely even. 

Since I loved the formula on this, I can't wait to try other colors!  Pinks have never been my thing, but they have some gorgeous blues and purples that I really want to check out!  Priti NYC polishes retail for $12.50 on their website and can also be purchased through Bloom.com . 

What did you think of this polish?  Must have?  Dupe?  Any other Priti NYC I should try?

This polish was sent to me for my unbiased consideration.

Fun Friday Featuring SpaRitual Ebb & Flow and Lucid Plus Lynderella Connect The Dots!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  I hope this Friday is treating you all well!  I'm very much looking forward to tonight as it's date night with the boyfriend!  Yummy dinner and hanging out will be a great end to the week!  So, to celebrate, I'm showing you the manicure I'm currently wearing for a second installment of Fun Friday today!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above:  Right Hand

Above:  Left Hand

Per usual as of lately, each of my hands is a different color with a matching accent nail to the opposite hand!  My right hand has SpaRitual Ebb & Flow which is a gorgeous turquoise creme with an accent nail of Lucid which is a light purple creme.  My left hand is the opposite!  I love this combination and added the amazing Connect the Dot by Lynderella is the icing on the cake!  Let's check out some macro shots:

I love all the different shapes and glitters!  Again a big thank you to my friend Marissa who got me Connect the Dots and I can't wait to keep using these SpaRituals!

What did you think of this manicure?  Are you a fan of the different colored hands?

Fun Friday featuring Nail Foils!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  I hope you're all having a fabulous Friday and looking forward to a great weekend!  Today, I have something I tried for you that I've never tried before, nail foils!  I bought these on the website Dollar Nail Art which has tons of nail art supplies!  Now, I purposely left these pictures very messy so you can see what the finished product looks like if you decide to try there!  Now, without further ado, on to the foils!

Per usual, I've been doing my "normal" manicure lately of doing each hand a different color and doing an accent nail of the opposite color!  So to do these nail foils, first you paint your nails with a color that's close to the foil color, since the foils are basically like temporary tattoos that get laid down on your nail and peeled off!  I forgot to take a picture of the bases but the were FACE Stockholm #66 and a Zoya purple that I can't remember!  I have tons of Zoya purples so forgive me.  The Foils I used were Caribbean Tides and Laser Optics.  Laser Optics did NOT want to cooperate with me (you can barely see the cool design and flashes of red in it) but I love how Caribbean Tides looked!  Let's see it close up:

As you can see close up, the application can be a bit messy (it really wanted to stick to my cuticles!) and there are some spots that the design didn't stick (hence the need for a color underneath) and it got a bit crinkly.  However for my first try, I'm not too upset about it!  Here is a look at my entire haul from Dollar Nail Art:

9 different foils - several of which are weekend only because they are BRIGHT and in your face!  I also got more striping tape in two different sizes, some black and gold square studs and some Laser Lace which I'm still not entire sure how it works!  And lastly, I loved this picture when I took it on Instagram (my name is lacqueredlover on there and feel free to follow me and leave your name in the comments so I can follow you back!)

So there you have it!  Another Fun Friday.  And, be sure to check back later because there might be another Fun Friday post coming up!

What did you think of this manicure?  Have you tried foils yet?

Neon Holographic Laser Tape Manicure!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  An early morning post for you all today (and hopefully I will squeeze one in this afternoon as well!)  As you might remember, last Monday, myself and fellow lacquer lovers and bloggers all did a water marble manicure and posted it together for you all to see!  Today, we bring you our take on tape manicures!  I've long been a fan of tape manicures, one of my first tutorials was a tape manicure, my first foray into nail art was a tape manicure, and I've done two tape manicures so far for my freelance job at Divine Caroline!  Last week I discovered the joys of striping tape and now, I bring you a CRAZY manicure I did for my friends birthday party last week where I knew I'd be out in the sun all day!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  Tape Manicure with Flash

First I wanted to show you all how cool this looks with a flash!  To do this manicure, I started with some of my new neons I picked up at Rite Aid (only $2.99! Neon Mattes, amazing!)  These are Nuclear Pink and Rocket Green.  Then I laid down the striping tape in different patterns on each nail and covered with one coat of Layla Black Flash which is a gorgeous charcoal gray linear holographic polish.  I'm obsessed!  Here are some not as fun pictures without the flash but you still get a bit of the holographic effect:

There was a little mishap on the last one, I actually had to do that nail twice and both times messed it up but I actually kind of like it!  I got so many compliments on this manicure when I wore it and it was just super fun to do!  Be sure you check out all the other fabulously talented ladies as well below!

Above:  One last picture of the manicure in the sun!

 

What did you think of this manicure?  Do you like laser tape manicures like this?  What color combinations do you think would look great?

Battle of the Chanel Peridot Dupes featuring OPI, Deborah Lippmann and Gap!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Today, I have a post that many of you have been asking about!  It seems like every nail polish company is now trying their hand at duplicating the gorgeous Chanel Peridot!  Today, I will have a comparison of all the dupes I have for you so you can decide for yourself!

Can you tell which is which yet?  Here are the contenders (in no particular order) CHANEL Peridot, GAP Gold Rush, Deborah Lippmann Swagga Like Us and OPI Just Spotted The Lizard.  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Each nail above has three coats of the color.  I tried to show you with my nails at different angles so you can see the color flashes.  Have you guessed yet which is which?

This is the order they are on the nail, from pointer finger to pinkie it goes OPI Just Spotted The Lizard, CHANEL Peridot, GAP Gold Rush and Deborah Lippmann Swagga Like Us!  Let me tell you, I'm glad I took a picture of the order because with three coats, the OPI, CHANEL and GAP look identical!  Same shade, same color flashes, the only difference was the formula!  The OPI has the most brush stroke looking and needs the 3 coats the most to achieve the effect while the CHANEL and the GAP seemed pretty identical in formula and basically achieved the same look in two coats.  As you all can see, Swagga Like Us by Deborah Lippmann is NOT a dupe, it's much warmer, more copper rather than gold and doesn't get nearly as much of the green flash!

So there you have it, I'm going to call it and say that the first three ARE dupes!  I know I didn't originally think that Just Spotted The Lizard was in my Spiderman post but with three coats, I can't tell the difference between the three.  There is however quite the large price difference!  CHANEL Peridot retails for $25 while OPI Just Spotted The Lizard is around $8 and GAP Gold Rush is $6.  I'm a HUGE Chanel fan and think their formula is outstanding, but my second choice if you don't want to spend the money would be the GAP polish! 

What do you think of these polishes?  Dupes to your eyes as well? 

Essie Wedding Collection for Summer 2012 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  I hope you are all having a lovely Tuesday!  It's super windy here in NYC today but the sun is shining so I can't complain!  Today I have a brand new collection to show you!

Yes I know this picture isn't color accurate but I took it this weekend on Instagram and I love it!  Every Spring, Essie releases a wedding collection.  Last year I discovered the perfect red creme from their Wedding Collection (First Dance) so I was super excited to see what they came up with this year!  I decided to buy the mini cube rather than full sized because I don't wear pastel colors too often.  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  3 coats of Instant Hot

Instant Hot is a very slightly off white polish.  The little bit of shimmer you see in the bottles does NOT translate onto the nail which was a bit disappointing.  The formula on Instant Hot was also pretty hard to work with, I used three coats above and it's still a bit streaky.  This was my least favorite of the bunch because it was just a pain to apply!

Above:  3 coats of Like To Be Bad

Like To Be Bad is a dusty pale pink that almost looks nude on my skin tone.  Again, the shimmer that you can see in the bottle, which is a really pretty brighter pink, just does not translate onto the nail well.  In direct sunlight, you can see the tiniest hint of it.  The formula on Like To Be Bad was much better, I still used three coats but the third coat really balanced it out to make it not streaky and fully opaque.

Above:  2 coats of Love & Acceptance

Love & Acceptance is a very dusty, greyed out lavender.  It's so greyed out that it's virtually grey but has just enough of a hint of purple to still call it a purple.  I really liked this one although it reminded me of many polishes I already have, namely the Zoya Feel Collection greys.  The formula was really good on this one, only two coats to be opaque and streak free!  Not the most unique but if you are missing a polish of this shade the formula on this was great!

Above:  2 coats of Who Is The Boss

Am I the only one a bit disappointed in these names?  Luckily, this polish doesn't disappoint!  Who Is The Boss is a really pretty pale blue with a bit of green to it.  It's very pale, just gives a slight wash of color but I somehow really like that!  The formula was great on this one, opaque in 2 coats and no streaks.

All in all, this collection was just ok in my mind.  The shimmers were a pain to apply, none of them were terribly unique and I wish there was more color!  In my opinion, the 2011 Wedding Collection far surpasses the 2012.  I'm really glad I got the minis rather than the full sized because I can't imagine I will use these enough to justify the full.  These polishes are available now wherever Essie is sold!

What did you think of this collection?  Any must haves?  Any dupes?