Orly Bubbly Bombshell & Hard Candy Fabuluxe Comparison

I got another comparison request recently from Sarah V. She wanted me to compare Orly Bubbly Bombshell and Hard Candy Fabuluxe. I haven't reviewed either one of these polishes yet, so this will be 2 reviews and comparison in one!

Orly Bubbly Bombshell

with flash

under lamp no flash

Orly Bubbly Bombshell is a purple suspended in a clear base.  The glitters in this come in varying sizes, but create a very smooth finish. The reason I took two different photos of this is because the flash tends to wash out the red tones in this. It is definitely a purple glitter, but it leans slightly to the red side versus blue. This is a great glitter because for me it was opaque in 3 coats!

Hard Candy Fabuluxe

Fabuluxe is magenta and purple glitter suspended in a sheer magenta base. This is chunky and messy glitter. It looks spectacular on the nails, and this picture does not do it justice. However, it doesn't really have a smooth finish and it's not easy to work with. This is also a top coat eater!

1st & 3rd fingers Bubbly Bombshell 2nd & 4th finger Fabuluxe

I realize the my under the lamp photo of Orly Bubbly Bombshell really confuses this situation. I know this photo makes them look like distant cousins, but I was a dummy and didn't take one with out flash. Color-wise they are actually somewhat similar, despite what this photo depicts.

I'll break it down

-Bubbly Bombshell leans more purple, glitter in clear base, smooth finish
-Fabuluxe leans more towards magenta, glitter in sheer magenta base, gritty finish

These are both gorgeous glitters. Personally I prefer Fabuluxe's color , but the Bubbly Bombshell's finish is so much better! I'm sorry for this confusing post. Some colors just don't coporate with the camera, and I'm bad blogger for not taking another photo with out flash. :(

Happy Tuesday!

China Glaze Hey Sailor

Happy Memorial Day to all those in the US! Today, my bf and I are having little BBQ. We're having ribs, hamburgers, pasta salad, and baked beans. I like holidays that give you a reason to cook a meal you typically wouldn't make. Today, I have for you a red from the China Glaze Anchors Away collection.

Hey Sailor

Hey Sailor is a bright pin-up cherry red creme.

I love reds, especially red cremes, so this one is great in my book! It's vibrant and hot. I think this one would be flattering on many skin tones as well. I'd say it's a classic you can't go wrong kind of red!

Do you have any plans this Memorial Day?


Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 5/29/11

Welcome back to Share With You Sunday! I know it's been about 2 weeks since I've done this. Fear not, this will continue every Sunday, unless for some reason I can't get around to it. That being said, I've accumulated some requests over the last week or two for links to share, so some of the links you'll see in "What Your Loving" section will be from previous weeks.

If you have links you'd like to share for this week please fill out and submit this form. I'll add them to this post as the day goes on.

Cute Picture of the Day:

Nails: 
Also Known As....reviews Cult Nails "A Day at the Races" collection. I'm definitely captivated by "Captivated"!
Chrysanthemum does a cute googly eye manicure. 
Concrete and Nail Polish combines 2 things I love nail polish and Disney.
GETCHA NAILS DID shares with us her "Out of this World" NOTD.
Gotham Polish shares with us her "layering glitter under" look.
Josie's Nails has got me into China Glaze White cap over pinks!
Lively Lacquer needs your help in deciding what Deborah Lippmann polish to get.
Nail Noir spotlights this oldie but goodie China Glaze.
Nails Beautiqued makes me want Revlon's new "Just Tinted" nail polish line.
Never Unpolished does an amazing OPI Mermaid's Tears gradient. 
Once Bitten creates awesome snakeskin nails.
The PolishAholic makes me want some Kleancolor polish.

Beauty:
Aquaheart's Obsessions reviews a lip balm that I'm currently loving.
just nice things shares with us Glossy Box UK's version of birchbox.
Power Femme shares with us her May favorites and flunkies.

Miscellaneous:
Drugstore Divas fill us in one what is on sale at CVS this week.
Lacquer Ware For Tips and Toes is sadly going to stop blogging :(. She is having a great a "Going out of Blogging Sale" though, and could use help cleaning out her stash.

What You're Loving:
Opinionated Little Finger shows of an orange jelly polish by the french brand Biguine. (Submitted by Cristina)
My Nail Graffiti shares with us Zoya Rica (Submitted by Amber)


Happy Sunday!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Essie Edition

Again, sorry for a late post. Today, I have some Essie bottle spam for you. I have a very small collection of Essie, but it's growing. I know a lot of people don't care for Essie going retail, but I love it. I've never been able to shop such a large selection of Essie before. Also, when I shop at CVS I usually end up getting coupons, so it makes them worthwhile. I'm pro-Essie retail :P.

Marshmallow, Chincilly, Lollipop, & Gernaium

Turquoise & Caicos, Coat Azure, Lapis of Luxury, & Smooth Sailing

Sew Psyched, Dive Bar, Angora Cardi, & It's Genius

Lilacism, Nice is Nice, Splash of Grenadine, & Bermuda Shorts

What is a brand you'd buy more of if it was more readily available?

Happy Saturday!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac & Comparison

Sorry for the late post. This cold is kicking my butt. I normally try not to complain too much about colds, but this one is brutal! I'm SO over it. Plus, I gave it to my boyfriend. He's not pleased. I'm ready to breathe, not sound like Chuckie from Rugrats, taste, smell, hear, and other various things an evil cold takes away from you.

Anyways, I'm a bad bad bad blogger. I got a request for this comparison at the beginning of May, and I'm just getting around to it now. I got this request from JessieMae, I'm so sorry this is late! She wanted me to compare Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac and Essence No More Drama. Since I haven't blogged about Lacey Lilac yet, I'll show you that first and then the comparsion.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac

Lacey Lilac is a pale lilac creme.

SH Lacey Lilac vs. Essence No More Drama

Lacey Lilac on first and third finger, No More Drama on second and last finger.

Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac is definitely lighter and more stark than No More Drama. No More Drama is still a pastel creme, but it a darker and "dustier" than Lacey Lilac. They're very different but great colors!

Happy Friday!

NYX Las Vegas

Boo, I have a bad cold. I'm glad I got it now rather than last week when I was away, but it still sucks! I have a pretty NYX polish for you today, and it's green! There are greens I do actually like! I actually do like greens, they just don't work well on me, but the darker they are the more likely they are to work.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a deep emerald jelly with green micro shimmer.

Fantastic color! You can't go wrong with a jelly and this type of shimmer. This kind of reminds me of a possible cousin to China Glaze Emerald Sparkle with more jelly-ness, and more of shimmer than a glitter.

Happy Thursday!

Steph

Wet n' Wild Shameless & ABC of Me

This next Wet n' Wild polish is a flea market find. I've had hit or miss results with flea markets, mainly misses sadly. This one was definitely a win though! This is an old polish, I think? Is this one still around? I have no idea when it was released or if it was in a collection. If anyone has info on that please share in the comments. :)

Shameless

Shameless is a grayed lilac with a pink shimmer.

Yeah, this is pretty awesome! I love the pink shimmer in this one it makes it unique. Like many other polishes I love, there is not much else I can say.  I can only say I love it, and it's great so many times. :P

Anywho I saw this ABC tag on blogs while I was gone so I figured I'd join in. If you'd like to use this to please go ahead!

A. Age: 
     24

B. Bed size:
    Full and that's shared by 2 people and a cat...it's is challenge..need new bed...

C. Chore you hate:
     Folding laundry and sweeping

D. Day:
     I don't really have a favorite day. I tend to like Tuesdays for some reason they tend to always be good days.

E. Essential start to your day:
    Check email

F. Favorite color:
    I have lots. I love aquamarine, cadet blue, purple, teal, lavender, burgundy..I like colors

G. Gold or Silver:
     Gold

H. Height:
     5'1", I am short.

I. Instruments:
  I played the flute for 8 years, in school. I can still play it, but I don' t really "play" anymore if that makes sense. 

J. Job title:
   Slave to textbooks, but I don't get paid aka student which isn't really a job, but feels like one at times

K. Kids:
     No thanks, unless they bark or meow. I have one meow-kid.

L. Live:
    Orlando, Florida

M. Mom’s name:
     Stacey

N. Nicknames:
     I really never had a nick name. Lame I know. 

O. Overnight hospital stays:
     None that I know of, I'd like to keep it that way.

P. Pet peeve:
    Self absorbed entitled people who think the world should cater to them, constant complainers, bigots, people who don't put their shopping carts back in the right area, & unsupervised out of control children 

Q. Quote from a movie:
     "You're an interesting species, an interesting mix. You're capable of such beautiful dreams and such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you're not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other."-Contact 1997

R. Right or left handed:
     Left

S. Siblings:
    None

T. Time you wake up:
     Usually between 8-10am depending on what I have to do

U. Underwear:
     Ok? I wear it. 

V. Vegetables you dislike:
Celery mixed in foods I don't mind it alone but in salads and soups gag.. I do like celery seed though a lot in tuna salad and cole slaw. Strange I know. I think it's a texture thing with the celery.

W. What makes you run late:
      Nothing. I am almost never late. I'm usually way too early. I hate being late. 

X. X-Rays you’ve had:
     I know my head when I fell on it when I was toddler. I know explains a lot right? Lol. My right ankle a few times.

Y. Yummy food you make:
     BBQ chicken, roasted vegetables, tomato basil bisque, green chili stew

Z. Zoo:

    I like going to zoos when it's not a million degrees outside, but I really prefer aquariums. 


Happy Tuesday!


Steph

Essie Smooth Sailing...at Sea!

I'm back! I have to be honest, I'm not thrilled to be back. It was an amazing vacation, and I'm depressed that's it's over. The cruise was spectacular! The service they provide you on a cruise is like nothing else. The people who work on a cruise ship work incredibly hard. I give them kudos and great tips of course. Now, I'm home and I don't know what to do with myself? I sported 3 nail polish colors on my trip Essie Smooth Sailing, China Glaze Papaya Punch, & China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

Here is some Smooth Sailing action over the ocean!

Smooth Sailing is the perfect periwinkle blue with blue and silvery glass fleck.

I will do a proper review of it later, but I've worn this color 3 times in the past 3 weeks. I don't think I've ever done that with a color. It's definitely a 2011 favorite!

Here are some other random pics from my trip. If you'd like to see them all you can on my Facebook.

Our ship Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas outside Labadee, Haiti

More pics from Labadee. 

Grand Cayman

Pirate Ship at Grand Cayman..well not real....

Cozumel, Mexico

 Outside balcony at sea

All in all it was a great time! I got sunburned, even though I put on massive amounts of sunscreen. I did get a nice tan. My parents, boyfriend and I got 3rd place in Progressive Trivia, but we should of got first, we were playing against a team with a 80 year old professor , and the 2nd place team had 6 people, and we only had 4. Yes, I'm a bit bitter about that! We also won $100 at a game of Bingo. I had a great Mango Martini and other fruity drinks. They had a lot of chocolate desserts so now I weigh 5000lbs. I also picked up some Del Sol polishes in Grand Cayman, no worries! Good times all around!

I'm back to reality now. I have TONS and TONS of stuff to swatch. I am so far behind even from before I left, so bear with me if I'm a bit slow these next few weeks! I did miss you all of course..kinda...just kidding! :) <3

Happy Monday!

Steph

P.S. Thank you to all the guest posters last week. I appreciate you volunteering to post on my blog. Your posts were all great!

Guest Post: Emily's Nail Files- "Best of British" Swatch-Fest

Hello everyone!

First of all, thank you to Steph who is letting some of her fellow polish addicts guest post on her blog while shes away – we hope you have a lovely holiday!

My name is Emily, of Emily’s Nail Files, and I’ve decided to show you a sort of ‘Best of British’ swatch-fest. I’ve done some swatches of my personal favourite British Brand polishes to hopefully give you an idea of what we can get over here in the UK, and what I usually work with when doing Nail Art.

 

Firstly, Topshop polishes – a recent discovery of mine. Although Topshop are more well known for their clothing, I find the formula of their polishes is fantastic, and the colour selection is interesting and different. This is Two coats of their periwinkle blue, Celestial:

Here is 3 coats of Peaches and Cream, a peachy orange cream, which dries a little darker than it appears in the bottle:

 

Next up is Models Own, these retail for the same price as the Topshop Polishes, and have just collaborated with super-fashionable London Nail Art Salon WAH Nails to create their “smash up” range, a really good range of crackle polishes that I find bettere is Model’s Own Pastel Pink:

 

This is a really lovely baby pink cream, and is opaque in 2 coats and not a bit streaky – love it! Here it is with the Silver Smash Up over the top:

 

This is a thin coat, with no topcoat. I would love to see how this compares to OPI Silver Shatter, as this Models Own is half the price over here.

Barry M is probably my all time favourite UK Polish brand, with really bright, unique colours (as well as a Chanel Paradoxal dupe!). They also do fantastic glitter polishes, and their black crackle is my favourite to use. Here is their Boots Limited Edition polish, the perfect purple in my opinion:

 

This is with Barry M Hologram Hexograms over the top, a holographic, chunky hex glitter which is amaaaazing when it catches the light! The formula for these polishes is perfect – if you ever get a chance to get hold of some Barry Ms, DO IT!! Here is their supe for Chanel’s Paradoxal:

 

Although available worldwide, Rimmel London have a range of Fruity Polishes which I loooove! Here is Apricot punch, a gorgeous red based coral, that smells exactly as the name suggests :D

 

My favourite ever beige nude, is Nails Inc London’s Caramel, which came free with a diet coke promotion – it applies beautifully, and is such a lovely warm shade of brown, exactly like caramel sauce :D Note the Cupcake stamping from the bundlemonster plates too!

I hope you enjoyed your whistle-stop tour through my favourite British Brands, thanks to Steph for hosting! If you want to see nail art (which is my blog’s speciality!) you can check out my little corner of the internet at http://emilysnailfiles.blogspot.com/

Take care, Emily! x

Guest Post: Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes- Franken I Glitter Bombed That Bitch!

Hiya Lacquer Lovers! I'm Chris from Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes and I'm going to be your guest blogger today! The thing I do the most of is make frankens so of course I'm going to show you a franken today.

Welcome to the Wii Interactive (thank you, Kimberly) franken creation post. Today's franken is named (wait for it) I Glitter Bombed that Bitch! Below is BC, 3 coats of I Glitter Bombed that Bitch! and no TC.

Okay, NOW comes the interactive. One thing about using holo glitter dust or glitter powder (I've learned) is it can take awful photos even though it blings your eyes out in real life. So, I started moving my computer screen (I have a laptop) and I learned as I moved the screen away from me - the bling comes out much better (still not as good as in real life - I mean seriously, I was sitting in the half dark of the living room and this thing wouldn't quit blinging me). So give it a try and slowly tilt the computer screen away from you.  If you have a non-moveable screen you get to move your body instead (hence the Wii Interactive bits). lol Below is a blurred photo for a little more bling factor and I'd still be moving my screen to catch it better.

I Glitter Bombed that Bitch! Recipe:
3/4 bottle of Savina Lavender Holographic
4 tsp (yes, count them) of any good holographic glitter powder/dust
1/8th bottle of Wet n'Wild Clear

That's it. I liked the original Savina a little but it didn't do a lot for me, so I thought, hmmm, now if this blinged every which way I looked at it, well that would be cool!  So what started out as a subtle holo became a glitter bombed bitch holo. lmao 

TIP: When top coating frankens you've made with glitter powder/dust plan on at least 2 coats of TC. These dry glitters eat top coat like they're Lay's Potato Chips (can't eat just one). Sometimes I've found I need 3 thin or 2 thick layers of TC to make this smooth and glossy.

I can't wait to see what Steph has brought back from her trip - I hope she got me lots of presents!  I asked her for a cabana boy so we'll see?

Happy Day!
Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes


If you are truly interested in frankening and would like to learn more. You might like DragonRhia Creations.

Guest Post: Let Them Have Polish- Essie Pretty Edgy

Hi guys!

While Steph is away the Cris will play.. With some Green Polish! I visit this blog everyday and if there is something I've learned about our lovely blog mistress is that she and Green don't always mesh well haha. So for this guest post I decided to show... Essie's Pretty Edgy. Which is one of my new favorite Green polishes.

Pretty Edgy is an amazing Emerald Green creme that came to me all the way from Australia. I'm in love. LOVE I tells ya! I don't own any other true Greens like this one. It seems everything I own leans Minty or Jade so this one being a True green makes it unique in my collection. The formula on this color is amazing! It starts off a bit sheer but it builds up nicely. I only used Two coats for this mani. This is like Summer- grass bright and I think Stephanie should get her hands on this because I think it would look lovely on her! I'm still not huge on Essie polishes but this one really put a smile on my face and I say if you are a Green lover this is an excellent one to have as part of your collection.

Come to the Green Side
<3 Cristina

Color:
Essie Pretty Edgy
Stamp: Sally Hansen Color Quick Chrome Pen in Green Chrome
Plate: BM210
TC:Seche Vite

To see more great posts from Let Them Have Polish check out her blog!

Guest Post: squared nails- Essie Mochacino

Mochacino is a light brown taupe with loads of silver shimmer. I know think I have any taupes like this. Mochacino reminds me of milk chocolate or even a latte. I read somewhere it looks like it has been coated in sugar - and that's very accurate. Most shimmers just have a small amount - this polish is loaded with silver shimmer.

Application was beautiful - Essie's have a smaller brush but I like that sometimes because I can be more precise. I did three coats - but you could easily get away with two coats. Essie polishes retail for around $8, but some stores are selling Essie's for around $7.75. Mochacino is a retail exclusive, and can be found at retail stores such as Walgreen's, Target, and Walmart.

You can find more awesome posts on squared nails blog!

Guest Post: Clumps of Mascara- Sinful Colors Innocent

I love Sinful Colors. How they can be SO perfect and only cost $1.99 is beyond me. I was strolling through Walgreens one day (you know, because the beauty department is where I hang), aaaaand I come across this Shrek-green that I just HAD to have.

Even IF I have a similar shade at home. For the record, I don't care how many bottles of polish you have, if a bottle that is only $1.99 screams at you, you HAVE to buy it. Seriously.

It's in the unofficial invisible beauty book.

 I'm serious.

Sinful Colors' Innocent reminds me OPI's Who The Shrek Are You. The formula on this kid is just as good as OPI's too.

It was opaque and gorgeous at only 2 coats. But to make things even more interesting, I did a coat of China Glaze's White Cap.

Do you find polishing your nails to be therapeutic? I do. In fact, I'd much rather do my own nails than have someone else do them. Maybe it's because I'm cheaper than cheap but that's neither here nor there. 8) What's the fastest trying top coat in the world?

Seche-Vite, baby! The final look...

Loves it. Sinful Colors, you are perfect in every way. Never ever change.

I mean that.

You can find more great posts from Clumps from Mascara on her blog!

Guest Post: Glitta Gloves-Ocean Manicure

Hello lacquered lovelies! I'm so excited to be doing a guest post for Stephanie, I've been reading her blog for a while now and I have a nail crush on her. Which isn't weird at all... anyway! Since Stephanie is going on a cruise, I wanted to go with a sort of ocean-inspired mani using one of my new BM plates!

I started out with three coats of China Glaze Cyberspace, a colour that always reminds me of sand in the bottle. It's from the Tronica collection and it's not a linear holo, but it's pretty nonetheless. Sadly, I couldn't get good light when I was starting this after work, but this is what it looks like most of the time.

Next, I stamped a full nail image from BM-215, which kind of looks like seashells to me. I used Konad white special polish. Then I added some glitter, of course! I used Color Club Sultry, LA Colors Color Craze Goddess and Sephora by OPI Only Gold For Me. Goddess has these circular holographic bits of glitter in it, which isn't much like real sand at all, but who can ever say no to sparkles?

And super macro so you can see the details...

And that's it! Really simple but I like how this came out. I don't often just sit and play around with polishes but I kept looking at that shell image and thinking I should try something with it! I think this would look cool with a gradient base too, different sandy browns, maybe something with some silver shimmer thrown in to look like real sand? I wish I knew of a polish like that! Do you?

What do you lovelies think? Do you like "theme" manis? Have you gotten the new BM plates? I love them, they've improved so much between the last set and this set. The images are larger and sharper and they're still so affordable and a great alternative to Konad plates!

Thank you, Stephanie, for letting me do this! I hope you have an awesome time on your cruise, sugar! And thank you all for reading! Have a beautiful day!

You can find more excellent post by Glitta Gloves on her blog!