Nubar's "Peacock Feathers"

Nubar - Peacock Feathers

A few weeks back I finally was able to get a couple of Nubar polishes I had on my wish list for the longest time.  Nubar was having a one-day (I think??) 20% off sale on their website, so I had to seize the moment.  Like many polish afficionadas out there, I had to get Peacock Feathers.  I've never owned any duochrome polishes previously, and heard Nubar's are the best.  Peacock Feathers does not disappoint in the least.  Capturing it's beauty was very difficult.  If you look at it straight on, it looks deep indigo blue/purple.  Shift your fingers slightly and you get emerald green, and at times you may catch glimpses of gold.  You can definitely see the different shades better in the bottle than on my nails.

As far as the application, I used 3 coats and 2 coats of ridgefilling base coat, since on previous occasion, my other Nubar polish was sheer enough to have VNL.  I don't think it was necessary for Peacock Feathers since the color is darker than the one I was using before, but I just wanted peace of mind.  The application was pretty good.  I can't remember how many days I wore this since it was a while ago (plus my memory isn't as great as it used to be...sleep deprivation and all - those with children know what I mean...hehehehe).

I just got a new camera so hopefully I'll be able to post better swatch pics. 

Alternative Top Coat Recommendations?

Hey polish afficionadas!  Sorry that my blogging has been sporadic, but with a husband and son to take care of, my energy to post swatches is difficult.  Anywho, just wanted to throw it out that I'm looking for recommendations on a non-quick dry but still super shiny top coat.  Don't get me wrong, I love my Seche Vite, but there are times where I don't want to use the rapid dry top coat.  Strange huh?  Any recommendations on a top coat that packs as much shine as Seche?  I have a little bottle of CND's Super Shiny, but it doesn't to be as "shiny" as Seche (just my opinion).  If there's something that works well for you, let me know please.  Thanks :)

Zoya's "Kylie2"

Zoya's Kylie2

Oh Kylie2....I really wanted to like you, but unfortunately, you were such a disappointment!! You deceived me!!  You pretended to be a color that you are not!!!   

( ¬ . ¬ )  Even this picture doesn't capture the true coloring of Kylie2.  Here's the cause of my disappointment: When I chose my polishes from Zoya's website, I thought I was getting this...

As you can see though, that's not what I got. :(  The website description is red-orange coral, which I guess is more true than the pictured representation.  If anything Kylie2 is more orange than anything.  It's slightly redder than a true orange.  It's not that I don't like Orange, Red, or Coral, but what bugged me is that I thought I was going to get one color, and ended up with something different.  I have Oranges, and Reds, and this just didn't fit in, so I ended up giving it to my friend.  (It looks better on her anyway LOL)  Buyer beware...definitely learned my lesson. :)

Better Picture of Urban Decay's Woodstock (Sort Of)

Urban Decay's Woodstock

Woodstock is another polish from Urban Decay's Summer of Love Mini Polish Collection.  I love this polish.  I don't consider myself to be a neon pink kind of gal, but after I finished applying the first coat, my reaction was, "WOW".  I'm bummed that I still couldn't capture it's "neon-ness".  I'm not sure if it's the lighting (natural light but indoors) or something else, but in reality, the color on my nails is the same as in the bottle.  Seriously this color is NEON, like they liquified a fluorescent pink highlighter and bottled it, or "will-cause-you-to-go-blind-if-you-stare-directly-at-it-too-long" type of neon!!! LOL  Definitely an attention grabbing polish.  Got a lot of compliments for this one. It's pretty opaque.  I used three coats but maybe I could have gotten by with just two coats?? (can't really remember now).  If you haven't gotten your hands on this collection yet, you can purchase it at any Urban Decay store/counter or on Urban Decay's website http://www.urbandecay.com/categories/SummerOfLoveNailKit.cfm.  I purchased mine at the Urban Decay counter at Macy's.

NEON, but not?? ( o _ O )

"Woodstock" from Urban Decay's Summer of Love Mini Polish Collection

Sorry for the blurry, horrible picture (taken by my camera phone), but I had to show you guys what I'm currently rocking.  I've been wanting to wear Woodstock for a while, but the mood didn't really strike me until a couple days ago.  I wish I would have tried it sooner because I LOVE this color!  It's neon pink creme, though my janky little camera can't do close-ups or capture it's lovely "neon-ness".  Trust me, in real life this polish pops!  I'll try posting a better picture of it this weekend.  I was planning on doing some swatches this weekend, but now I'm not so sure.... LOL

Zoya - "Dominique"

Zoya's "Dominique" is another one of my acquisitions from the nail polish exchange promotion deal. **Please excuse my horrendously dry cuticles** I bought this purely because of the name. (FYI - "Dee" is one of many nicknames I've been given over the years) Yes, I'm a dork for buying this simply so I can respond to the "Ooo what's the name of this polish you're wearing?" with, "Dominique". LOL (I actually had the opportunity to do this when I was with two of my girlfriends and they both exclaimed, "Yeah right! Are you serious?!" When I told them that Zoya's polishes all have female names, they asked if there are polish colors with their names. Guess I' not the only dork!! LOL) Growing up with a unique name (Dominique seems to be more common now than back in the 19-XX-ties) made it hard for me to find any "personalized" souvenirs (like those keychains or mini-license plates at theme parks or tourist attractions), so when I saw this I thought "HOW COOL IS THIS!!!" (As a side note, this whole scenario reminds me of the Simpsons episode where the family goes to Itchy & Scratchy Land, Bart and Lisa go to the gift shop and Bart can't find his name, but there's "Bort"...check out the YouTube clip if you have chance - "BORT")


Anywho, Zoya's description on its website is "Very bold medium orange-toned brick red creme. Not a subtle color by any means, this vampy red is ultra-provocative!" I don't necessarily agree with the whole "vampy" "ultra-provocative" part, since it seems like any other red creme. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty color with good application and it's the Big 3 Free which is a plus, but I guess part of me was thinking of a red with a little more "oompf". When I asked my husband if he thought this color was "me" (as in was it my style or represent my personality), he said, "No, I pictured you more as a purple-colored polish." He knows me best ;)

Does Zoya have a polish that shares the same name as you? Did you get it? Do you like the color??

Submission for Polish Hoarder Disorder's Weekly Challenge - Color Accent

One of the blogs I regularly follow (and my fave by far), Polish Hoarder Disorder, does a weekly challenge.  Up until now I've always liked watching from the sidelines, but not participating, either because I don't have the time (deadlines are usually Friday at midnight), the resources (haven't purchased that Konad Stamping Set), or the "know how" to send in a submission.  However, her challenge this week is a "Color Accent" mani: use grey, black, white and ONE color as an accent.  The deadline is tonight instead of last night, so I figured, "I can TOTALLY do this one."  Mind you that I've never done any sort of nail design before, and my skills as an artist are the next step up from "caveman drawings", so this is really my first time doing anything outside of just putting polish on my nails.  (It's been years since I've even given myself a french manicure!!!)  Anyhow, here's my submission for the challenge:

I used American Apparel's Factory Grey as my base, Orly's La Vida Loca as my accent color, and then Sally Hansen's nail pens in Black and White to fulfill the other two polish requirements of the challenge (strangely enough I don't have bottles of black or white polish).  My idea for the design was "a car's racing stripe".  You know, you see a beautiful Mustang or other muscle car with this nice wide white (or some other colored) stripe going up the center of the car....I guess I watched too much of "Pimp My Ride" when it was on MTV.  LOL

While it's not quite to my liking (the perfectionist in me kept saying "You can do better"), I figure it's pretty good for a first try.  I LOVE the color of La Vida Loca, which is why I chose it as my accent color.  I had some other candidates, but I figured this is a unique color, and since my design is so simple, I had to add something special to make it "pop".  What do you think?  Is this something you'd wear?  I'd like to try it again once I've perfected the technique and do a comparison :)