Incoco Fright Night

purchased by me

Happy Halloween!  Just a quick post with some Incoco polish strips in Fright Night.  Typically easy to use, these can be found on the Incoco website for $8.99 + shipping.

Indoors without flash:

Indoors with flash:

Glitter Daze A Garlic a Day Keeps the Vampires Away

purchased by me

Happy Eve of All Hallow's Eve!  My Halloween present to myself was an order from Glitter Daze, my first but definitely not my last!  I got mostly minis, but couldn't resist a full-size bottle of A Garlic a Day Keeps the Vampires Away.  A Garlic a Day has red and holo mini-glitter, plus black squares, shards and bars in a thermal color-changing base that goes from white (warm) to deep rose (cold).  It's supposed to be red, but I couldn't get my hands that cold, and besides, I liked the rose color!  The formula was a bit thick, very glitter-packed, and dried rather slowly, matte and bumpy, but I love this polish.  A coat of Gelous followed by a coat of regular top coat smoothed it out and made it shiny.

The pretty, pretty packaging:

Cold:

Warming up:

Warm:

A Garlic a Day Keeps the Vampires Away is LE, so hurry over to Glitter Daze and grab a bottle ($11 + shipping) before they're gone!

Sinful Colors Gilded

purchased by me

When I first saw the news about the big Sinful Colors holiday display on Nouveau Cheap, I figured it would be a lonnnng time before I saw the polishes in person.  NE Ohio is not known for being quick to get new products!  You can imagine my surprise when I found the whole display at my local Walgreen's last weekend!  I was immediately drawn to Gilded, which is a combination of fine gold micro-glitter and larger red glitter.  Red and gold always screams holiday luxe to me, and Sinful polishes were 99 cents each that day, so I grabbed it.  The formula was very easy to work with--full of glitter but not too thick, and it looked great on its own in just two coats.  The ding in my ring finger is because my old doggie always has to go outside NOW when I have wet nails.  He's worth it, though.  The dry time was decent, and Gilded dried a bit bumpy, so I used a coat of Gelous, then a regular top coat for smooth nails.

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

If you love red and gold, snag Gilded when you see the display, because I'm pretty sure it's LE!

Ruby Wing Cupcakes & Champagne collection: Cinnamon Bun

purchased by me

The third and final polish I got from the Cupcakes & Champagne collection is Cinnamon Bun, and they hit the ball out of the park with this one.  It's a scented, color-changing duochrome polish!  Indoors, it shifts from a rosy copper to a greenish gold, and outdoors it shifts from a deep red-purple to a deep reddish brown.  You're going to have to take my word for the latter shift, because it was too cold outside for me to try more than a few times to capture the color.  The formula was smooth and a dream to work with, plus it was opaque in two coats.

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

In the sun:

If you get only one polish from the Cupcakes & Champagne collection, make it Cinnamon Bun.  The double duochrome effect is crazy beautiful, and the scent of cinnamon hearts is subtle and far from offensive.  Plus, the colors are gorgeous and so is the formula!  Ruby Wing polishes can be found at a variety of etailers for $8-$10 US.  I got mine at Head2ToeBeauty.

Sneak peek: 10/28/13-11/01/13

purchased by me

Cult Nails 25% off!

press release Between now and October 31, Cult Nails is offering the opportunity to convert your friends and family to the Cult!  Using coupon code F&FCONVERT you, your friends, and your family can save 25% on all lacquers!!!  Sorry, no collection specials, or discounts on nail files.. EVERYTHING ELSE IS FAIR GAME!   CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE SITE NOW!!!

Sinful Colors Leather Loose

purchased by me

Leather Loose is part of Sinful Colors' first textured collection, and it dries matte but doesn't seem particularly textured to me.  However, it's gorgeous with top coat.  It's a deep, warm brown with copper glitter.  The formula was easy to work with, and it was opaque in two coats.

Indoors with flash:

Indoors with top coat and flash:

Indoors without flash:

I've no idea if Leather Loose is limited edition, but since Sinful Colors has just released a new textured collection, my guess is that it is.  Sinful Colors polishes are sold at Walgreens, CVS and other drugstores, and usually retail for $1.99 each (plus tax).

Shelter dog nails!

purchased by me/press samples

Thanks to the lovely and talented Erika of Icy Nails, I now know that October is Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog month!  Of my four dogs, two have been rescues, one is a foster dog, and one is a shelter dog.  Inspired by Little Miss Piggie Pie, aka Smoky, I've done a manicure intended to give the impression of her fur.  She's mostly black, with orangy-tan eyebrows and a tan belly and lots of scattered white hairs which inevitably show up on my black pants!

I started with a base of Zoya Raven, then added sloppy small moons of e.l.f. Desert Haze, then a coat of Sally Hansen Tweedy, followed by a coat of Ulta Salon Formula matte topcoat for a satin matte finish.

So how'd I do? :-)

OPI Wooden Shoe Like To Know?

purchased by me

Wooden Shoe Like To Know? was part of OPI's Holland collection for Spring 2012, but I love it in autumn.  It's a warm brown with red-gold shimmer and the formula is gorgeous.  It's smooth, easy to work with, opaque in two coats and dries shiny without top coat.

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

Although Wooden Shoe Like To Know? was part of a 2012 collection, it can still be found at salons and on Ulta's website for around $9.

BOO!

purchased by me

Did I scare ya? :P  Halloween is coming, and I couldn't resist grabbing these adorable glow-in-the-dark polish strips from Incoco.  They are the cutest mummy pattern I've ever seen, in black and white with little hints of red.  They also glow so strongly that they illuminate things around them in the dark!  Little bitty cute flashlights for your nails--what could be better for Halloween?  As always, they're easy to use, and I used one coat of top coat even though Incoco says you don't need it.

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

Glowing in the dark!

Boo! and other Halloween nail polish strips are available at Incoco, $8.99 for the regular strips and $9.99 for the glow-in-the-dark strips.

Ruby Wing Cupcakes & Champagne collection: Strawberry Shortcake

purchased by me

Strawberry Shortcake is a glitter bomb with gold and holographic glitters in a strawberry candy scented base that's clear in artificial light and pink in sunlight.  The formula was smooth and not at all thick despite being so packed with glitter, and it was opaque in two coats.  It did dry a bit rough, so I recommend a good thick top coat when you wear it.

In the sun:

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

Ruby Wing polishes are available at a number of etailers, and I've seen them in person at my local Rite-Aid

Ruby Wing Cupcakes & Champagne collection: Doux

purchased by me

Ruby Wing is a division of Color Club, and their fall collection, Cupcakes & Champagne, is full of scented, color-changing polishes.  The first of three that I got was Doux, which is a pale champagne base with pink-to-purple shifting shimmer.  There is a lot of shimmer, and even indoors, it doesn't matter that the base is still transparent after three coats, because the glow hides all the flaws in my nails.  Outdoors, it changes to a medium greyed-purple base with the same color-shifting shimmer.  It smells like grape candy, but not so strongly as to put you off if you don't like the scent.  I love this polish--it's work-safe with a hidden twist!

In the sun:

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

Ruby Wing polishes are available at a number of etailers, and I've seen them in person at my local Rite-Aid

Milani Gold Glitz

purchased by me

Gold Glitz is part of Milani's "One Coat Glitter" collection, but I found it took two coats for complete opacity.  It's a warm gold, looking yellow-toned in bright light and almost copper in lower light.  I love this as a fall color, and the formula was super-easy to work with.

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

In the sun:

Gold Glitz can be found in many major drugstores, etailers and at Milani's website.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects: Don't Be Koi

purchased by me

Ugh, another punny name, which I can live without.  However, the strips are adorable--fat red fishies standing out against a background of black and white fish scales!  As always, these were easy to apply and lasted four days before I saw any tip wear and five or six before I had any chips.

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips can be found at major drugstores, usually for between $10-$12 per box.  I like that the boxes have 2 sealed containers of 8 strips each, because if you rock the shorties, you can get one manicure per container and have a second for later.

Sneak Peek: 10/14-10/18

purchased by me