Barielle - Elle's Spell

I fell in love with this one from the moment I saw it swatched!  *swoon*  I sent my mom looking for it when she picked up my OPI Ulta Exclusives, but she didn't see it anywhere.  I went to another Ulta and didn't find it either... but eventually Barielle had a sale and I picked it up - SO glad I did!  It might be my fave polish... ever!

Elle's Spell is a rather sheer jelly red with Hidden Treasure-type flakies - it's a little too sheer for my liking, so I wore it over OPI's I'm Suzi and I'm a Chocoholic (one of my fave reds... we'll discuss it another day!).  The combo made for one of the best ones ever.  EVAR!

Yay beautiful flakies in red!  It looks like little bits of fire!

My favorite part?  The shift to green!

This was amazingly hard for me to capture - I can't believe this pic even came out, I didn't think I got one to show the green indoors!  It would flash every once in awhile and I would go week in the knees!

I took these outside in my car because the shade is where the green really pops out and I couldn't get it inside.

I have seen claims that Elle's Spell is the flakey La Boheme... which could be why I am so smitten.  La Boheme is my #1 lemming!  I can't tell you what I would do to get my hands on even a mini!  It's something about that red to green shift that I can't get over - OBSESSED!

If you can find Elle's Spell locally, GET IT NOW!  Even if it's just a backup for me!  ;)  I heard it was on clearance at Ulta, but since there isn't an Ulta near me and the closest one didn't have it, I can't confirm that.  I bought mine from Barielle directly.  They occasionally have % off sales and/or free shipping, but they always run a buy 2 get 1 free sale on their Shades line.  They retail for $8 each, so 3 for $16 isn't too bad.  I am seriously considering a backup or two of Elle's Spell and I only own one other backup - Orly's Galaxy Girl, which was my fave polish, before this!

Let's keep our fingers crossed that Barielle makes more like this one in the future!

Basecoat: Beauty Secrets Moisturizing Basecoat

Topcoat: Beauty Secrets Fast Finish

Number of coats: 2

Nfu-Oh #61

Confession: I've had Nfu-Oh #61 for months and have never even swatched it.  I love the pics I've seen of it, but was a little disappointed with how it looks in the bottle when I got it.  I was looking for something fun and crazy on New Year's Eve, so I decided to give this one a try.  And umm... I'm dumb for waiting so long.  Just because it didn't look amazing in the bottle doesn't mean it isn't amazing!

First off, let me apologize for the tip wear you are going to see in these pics... secondly, let me explain.  I painted these on NYE, so I was kinda in a hurry.  This dries fast, but kinda matte, so I grabbed a top coat to make it shiny.  You may have heard that top coat dulls holographic finishes.  I had heard that and had never had a problem.  However, this was the first time I put a top coat on such an amazingly linear holo.  And it did dull it.  It wasn't a major difference, like one was just flat silver and the other was all rainbows, but there was a difference.  I could not figure out how to take pics of both hands at once to show you though - I'm sorry!  And to be honest, I am not 100% sure which top coat I used on this.  I will guess it's my new fave Beauty Secrets one from Sally Beauty Supply.  Anyway, I put top coat on my left hand (which is normally the one you see) and it dulled the holo a bit.  I did not put top coat on my right hand.  It was NYE though and I had stuff planned, so I ran out of the house after taking just a few pics of the left hand.  When I looked at them the next morning, they weren't all that great, so I took pics of the right hand without the topcoat so you could better see the holographic finish as it's supposed to look.  However, this polish does not hold up well and I had some major tip wear in less than 24 hours!

It's totally awesome though, isn't it?

This is a close up of my left hand, with topcoat.  I know my cuticles and the surrounding area looks awful... like I said, I was in a major hurry!  I had been wearing You Don't Know Jacque Suede and took it off with my scrubby tub, which left everything dry dry dry.

It's like rainbow stripes!

This is what had me staring at my nails non-stop for 24 hours.  Little rainbows on each of my nails!  This is my left hand, so the holo is dulled a bit.  Sorry for the funky hand position, but it was the only one I could capture this with.

Pros on this polish - first off, just look at it!  Secondly, it dries super-fast.  You really don't need a topcoat, so it's an awesome one for when you are in a hurry!  And again, just look at it!  :)

There are many cons though - as you can see, it does not hold up well.  Chips and tipwear in less than 24 hours.  Even my left hand, which had topcoat, didn't fare much better.  This polish is also kind of a pain in the butt to apply evenly.  I have the Aqua Base that Nfu-Oh recommends for their holos and I can't imagine how people apply this without it or something similar.  Aqua Base is kind of like glue - it's a thick whitish base coat this makes this apply more smoothly and opaquely (is that a word?!).  Even though it is thick and it does hide some imperfections on your nails, if you have any ridges or anything, #61 is going to show them.  I buff my nails on a semi-regular basis, so ridges aren't too much of a problem, but this polish made my nails look terrible!  I don't know if it's because the holo is so linear that you can see every flaw or if it's the matte finish that does it, but you will see dips and imperfections in your nail that you never saw before!  The bad part about polish that dries super-fast is that often times it dries before you finish the coat and then it gets all uneven and bumpy.  That was a real problem for me on this one.  It was also thick and almost...stringy?  Does that make sense?  There were like strings of polish going between the brush and the bottle.  I probably should have thinned it, but I wanted to try it out before I started messing with it.

So yes, this polish is absolutely stunning, but it does come with a price.  Speaking of price, Nfu-Oh is available for $12.50 a bottle (and free shipping) on FabulouStreet.  This is the only place I know of to order, unless you see them on eBay or something.  I have had no problems and I have ordered several times.  Items are out of stock often, but if you email their customer service, they will put you on a waiting list and let you know when the products become available again.  Awesome CS there!

Recently it has been mentioned on the nail board that there has been a problem with the holographic pigment and people are receiving duds.  I purchased this in August, so they might be different now... I make no promises!  And I noticed now that I posted this that is says "SOLD OUT" on #61, instead of the usual "Out of Stock", so maybe the opportunity to own this one has passed?

Basecoat: Nfu-Oh Aqua Base

Topcoat: Beauty Secrets Fast Finish (I think?!)

Number of coats: 2ish

OPI - Gift of Gold (Ulta Exclusive)

I don't have an Ulta in my town, so when I saw pics of the OPI Holiday Ulta Exclusives, I began to plot how I was going to get my hands on them.  There are only 3 Ultas in downstate Illinois and the closest is over an hour away (and they never have anything good!), so I don't really have a lot of choices.  Fortunately for me, my mom went shopping in the Chicago area and just happened to find an Ulta next door to the scrapbooking store she was visiting!  She called me, I told her what I wanted, and she came home with all 3 exclusives, buy 2 get 1 free!  :D

The only one I've worn so far is Gift of Gold and it is an absolute stunner.  Let me preface this by saying I don't really like gold.  I don't own any gold jewelry and after I started swatching my stash, I realized this was the only gold polish I owned!  (I have since rectified this situation by purchasing OPI's Glitzerland and China Glaze's Midnight Kisses)  Something about this one just blew me away.  Would you like to see?

It's so blingy!  Your nails WILL be noticed in this one!  Can you see the tiny red glitter peeking out between the gold?

It's really hard to capture Gift of Gold's allure in pics.  It looks amazing.  It sparkles and catches every bit of light so you are always getting noticed.  I had so many compliments on this one, and I usually don't hear a peep about my nails, except from the other obsessed gals at work.

As for the formula... this one is THICK, but in a good way!  I think it's supposed to be a 1 coater, but I did two here to make sure there were no gaps.  It likes to eat top coat, so I am wearing a couple of coats of Gelous over it to make it smooth and shiny!

The best part for me was how long this lasted!  I was able to get a full week out of it, only touching up a couple of chips after 5 days.

I know China Glaze's Party Hearty was most people's choice for best 2010 holiday color, but I think Gift of Gold definitely gives it a run for its money.  I don't even like gold and I was absolutely smitten with this one!

If you love it and don't have it, you better get to Ulta quick - it *might* be on clearance there.  Don't fret though, I think the new Milani One Coat Glitter in Gold Glitz is a pretty close dupe.  I don't have it, but I have seen it and it looks pretty similar - it's also core, so it will be easy to find!

Number of coats: 2

Basecoat: Beauty Secrets Moisturizing Basecoat

Topcoat: Gelous + Essie Good to Go 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Catherine H

I think the reason I'm having trouble posting here as often isn't because I'm not painting my nails, taking pictures, or spending time online - it's that I don't want to edit the photos!  So, this past weekend I spent some time editing all the pics I have, and hopefully that means that I will post more often!

Besides being obsessed with nail polish, I am also obsessed with Tudor history.  I've read a ton of books and am always fascinated with how the two most famous rulers in British history are from the same house, which only ruled for 118 years, and only had 5 monarchs (if you don't count Lady Jane Grey... since she only ruled for 9 days and isn't really considered a monarch, but a usurper, history forgets her), but they made some of the biggest changes in history - any history, not just British!

When Rescue Beauty Lounge put out their Tudor line last year, I really had to talk myself out of buying all 4.  I love polish, I love Tudors - must have all! is what was going through my brain.  However, at $18 a pop, I really did have to pick and choose.  I purchased Catherine, for Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine H, for Catherine Howard.  I already have Diamond Cosmetics Never So Ever Green, which is quite similar (but not a dupe!) for Anne, and the nude color of Jane just wouldn't suit me.  I wish I had looked around a little more before spending $18 on Catherine H because BB Couture's Impact Driver seems to be dupish.  It's not a cheap dupe, but cheaper than RBLs!  I haven't found a dupe for Catherine yet, so I won't complain about that one.

For those of you who don't know a lot about the Tudors, I will spare you a full on Tudors history lesson and just talk a bit about Catherine Howard, who this polish is named for.  She was young - her date of birth isn't known, but it's estimated she was 35 years younger than Henry VIII when she married him, right after the annulment of his marriage to Anne of Cleves, who he did not find attractive or compatible.  Catherine was also the cousin of Henry's second and most famous wife, Anne Boleyn.  Henry's third wife Jane had died after childbirth, due to an infection, and then he married Anne of Cleves who he found utterly repulsive, so when he was introduced to Catherine Howard - young and beautiful - he was completely enamoured with her.

Catherine had a sorted past, which was unknown to the King at the time of their marriage.  She had lewd affairs with two men before coming to court, and they were known to most of the people in the house she grew up in.  The second man and her called each other "husband" and "wife", and therefore there might have been some kind of engagement/precontract there... the details are unknown.  After Catherine became queen, many people knowing of the affairs - including the two men involved in them - came to her for favors and in an extreme case of bad judgement, she appointed them to positions in her household. 

Catherine cared about Henry, but the passion wasn't there - he was old, fat, and had a festering, stinking ulcer on his leg - so she found passion elsewhere: Thomas Culpepper, her distant cousin.  He was young, handsome, and one of Henry's favorite courtiers.  Her maid, Lady Rochford (interestingly enough, the wife of Anne Boleyn's brother George, who was beheaded during Anne's trial based on testimony by his wife that the two were having an incestuous affair), set up secret meetings between the two for several months.  It is unknown how far the relationship went, but a love letter from Catherine to Culpepper was found among his things.  Rumors began about the Queen's relationship with Culpepper, and once the information about her pre-marital affairs came to light, she was placed under investigation and her current affair became known as well.  After arrest and torture, Culpepper admitted to a sexual relationship with the Queen and was executed, along with the man from her second affair, in December 1541.

Catherine had the chance to save herself, but she did not fully understand the charges being brought against her.  If she would have admitted to an engagement or precontract in this earlier affair, it would have made her marriage to Henry null and void, therefore she could not be charged with adultry for her relationship with Thomas Culpepper.  She denied the precontract, and so was charged with treason and was beheaded along with her maid in February 1542.  Her body was placed in an unmarked grave near her cousin Anne's.  It is said that the night before her beheading, she spent hours practicing how to lay her head on the chopping block just right.

So, now that you know a little about Catherine Howard, would you like to see the polish named for her?
 

As you can see, it's a gorgeous medium dusty blue - I could probably get away with calling it cornflower blue.  What you can't really see here is its unique pink shimmer!

Can you see all those pretty little flecks of pink?  I'm not a HUGE fan of blue polish, but the pink shimmer here really set it apart.  It's a beautiful dusty hue, and those little tiny bits of pink just make it so interesting, I couldn't stop looking at it!

I only wore this for a couple of days, so I can't comment too much on the wear, but it looked good both days I wore it.  RBL has a thick, but smooth formula, but I didn't find it as amazing as so many other polish-a-holics have.  I felt like this almost dried too fast - I wasn't done with a coat and it started to dry.  I worked fast and it came out ok, but the true novice might have some troubles here.

So, was she worth $18?  The jury is still out.  I have 3 RBLs (the two I've mentioned and Under the Stars, which I bought on eBay for quite a bit under retail) and while their colors are beautiful, the formula has not wowed me on any of them.  I skipped out on the RBL 50% off sale in the fall - I really only wanted Anne (which was not on sale) and Scrangie, so I didn't think it was really worth the effort.  Anne is now sold out, so maybe I should have picked it up?  I keep looking at it's kissing cousin, Never So Ever Green, and reminding myself that it is $16 plus shipping less than Anne!

Catherine H is a limited color available at Rescue Beauty Lounge for $18.  If you like it, I suggest buying it now - when it's sold out, it's sold out, and it's been available for several months now.

Number of coats: 2

Basecoat: Instant Artificials

Topcoat: Seche Vite... I think!

Sally Hansen XTreme Wear - Purple Gala

I've been polish-obsessed for as long as I can remember - I honestly think the obsession is more about color than about actual nail polish, but it ends the same way - me with a huge collection of polishes!  I had 150+ in Jr. High and High School, but it seemed like I wore the same 10 over and over again - some Wet 'n Wilds called "Blackest" - there was Blackest Blue, Blackest Green, Blackest Red, and my fave, Blackest Purple.  I'm pretty sure I even wore it to prom.  (But to be fair, it perfectly matched my prom dress!)

I wore polish all the time until I started working at the bank, 8+ years ago.  I started off wearing it, but contrary to popular belief, working at a bank involves physical work!  I was tearing up my manis within hours of doing them, breaking nails constantly, and just plain making a mess out of my hands.  I finally got fed up with it and quit wearing polish.  (And unfortunately, threw away my stash!)

I met my husband a couple of years later, still in the non-polish phase, so he was completely shocked and floored when I began wearing polish again last year.  He thought it was something new, but really it was an old love that never died.  I became the manager of my department a couple of years ago and wasn't doing the same amount of physical work that I had previously been doing.  I had picked up a couple of new polishes for our vacation so I could have gorgeous pedis and it suddenly occured to me that I could start painting my fingernails again!  I have to admit... I did kinda go crazy.  There were so many beauties I had lost, I had to completely rebuild my stash!

One of the first polishes I bought when I started collecting again was Hard Candy's Mr. Wrong.  It's a gorgeous dusty purple with gold foil flakes in it, and a Nail Board favorite.  I loved the color, but the danged thing would not dry on me!  I tried it for 2 manis with no success, even with Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Topcoat.  (Side note: I was totally obsessed with Hard Candy polishes in high school, but couldn't afford them - now they are at Wal-Mart?  Dirty, ghetto Wal-Mart, for $4 each?  *shakes head*  That makes me just a bit sad...)

When the nail board was all aflutter this summer/fall talking about the new Sally Hansen XTreme wears, I honed in on Purple Gala.  It's not an exact dupe to Mr. Wrong, it's a little bit brighter altogether, but I personally like it better.  I picked it up the first time I found it and have not regretted it!

I chose this picture first so you can see its bling!  It's shiney, sparkley, and catches every bit of light. 

You can really see the gold foil flecks coming out here.  They really stand out against the purple in bright light, but in low light, the whole thing kinda takes a gunmetal/silvery look to it.  I wore it to one of the Illini games and couldn't stop staring at how different it looked!



I tried to replicate the lighting, but it didn't really work out... I do think it looks a lot less purple here than it does in bright lights.  The gold really came out in this pic too, which goes against what I said earlier about it looking silvery!  Anyhoo, you can really see the irregular flecks of the gold foil.

Overall, I loved this polish.  It held up really well and applied easily.  It's a bit sheer, I think this was 3 coats.  I generally like the XTreme Wear line (just hate the name!  SO EXTREME!  *snortle*), I just hate the long stick the brush is on, like so many other Sally Hansen lines.  When are they going to figure out how much easier application would be if the stick was shorter?!

I'm pretty sure Purple Gala was a limited edition shade, but it's still out there (and probably on clearance!), so pick it up if you see it!  If you prefer dustier hues, you might like the Hard Candy a bit better - it's a little more subdued.  Purple Gala is cheaper (even full-priced at $2.99) and you get more (.5 oz compared to .35 oz), so if you don't have a preference, I suggest it.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Purple Gala retails for $2.99 and can be found at a variety of retailers, including Walgreens, Target, and Meijer.

Number of coats: 3

Basecoat: Gelous

Topcoat: Out the Door

Sinful Colors - Cloud 9

In support of my beloved Fighting Illini, I'm always on the hunt for a perfect orange.  My first foray into orange was OPI's Flit-a-Bit mini, which was horrible, to say the least.  The formula was gloppy and streaky and that mini brush was about the most difficult thing I've ever worked with.  I took pics, but umm... it looks good in them.  It looked terrible IRL... and I don't want to false advertise, so I won't post them.

After the Flit-a-Bit fiasco, I decided I was a) never going to buy mini bottles again, and b) I needed to find the perfect orange.  I have picked up quite a few since then, which you will be seeing, as it's basketball season and I have season tickets!  :)

We'll start with Sinful Colors Cloud 9.  I had looked at it all summer long, but kept thinking Flit-a-Bit would work fine when basketball season started up, so I never bought it.  The day after I used Flit-a-Bit, I bought Cloud 9.  It looks like shimmery orange juice in the bottle - it's so pretty and almost mesmerizing!

Like many Sinful Colors, it's pretty sheer.  Even with 4 coats, which is what you see here, there was a bit of VNL, but not as visible as the photo makes it.  The formula was perfect consistency and the dry time was just fine.  The brush is nothing special, but it gets the job done - no wonkiness!

The wear was pretty good - I think I got 3 days out of this one.  My only complaint is that it isn't *quite* Illini orange, which is no fault of the polish.  It's just a bit too light and yellow-based - Illini orange is a little darker and more red-toned.  However, I really liked this one and I think I'll wear it more often in the summer.

If you're looking for an orange juice orange, give this one a try - at $2, it's hard to be disappointed!

Sinful Colors retail for $1.99 at Walgreens, among other retailers.

Number of coats: 4

Basecoat: Gelous

Topcoat: Out the Door

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength - Fairy Tale Ivory

I seem to have an obsession with picking up nail polishes that really don't look good with my skin tone.  Even though I KNOW it won't work, I keep hoping that it will and pick it up, sometimes plunking down $$ for a polish I won't ever wear.  Case in point - OPI's Man of La Mancha.  I love it in the bottle - LOVE! - but every time I put it on, I shudder and take it off within a few minutes.  I think it's because I see things on other bloggers and it looks so great on them, it never occurs to me that I have these weird yellow/green undertones in my hands that they don't have to deal with, and so most neutrals, reds, and pinks look hideous on me!

So a few months ago I saw a blogger wearing OPI's Hollywood Blonde and my eyes bugged out of my head because it is so incredibly lovely.  I'm always on the hunt for neutrals I can wear to work (I wear whatever I want, but I'm looking for ones I can wear without guilt!) and this looked perfect - sheer, nude, but sparkly!  However, when I started looking at prices, my eyes bugged out just a bit more - $15 is the cheapest I've ever seen, and that does not include shipping!

After recently being disappointed by a number of these nudish work safe shades because they look horrible against my skin tone (Essie Demure Vixen, I'm looking at you!), I just couldn't bring myself to spend close to $20 on something that MIGHT work, but probably won't.  I started looking around for dupes and Sally Hansen's Diamond Strength in Fairy Tale Ivory caught my eye.  It seems similar... maybe even a dupe (anyone have Hollywood Blonde out there?), and the price is much more reasonable, so I decided I would get it and not feel bad if it didn't work.

I wanted to include a bottle pic here because you do lose a lot of the color when it's on your nails.  You can actually tell I've used this bottle more than once - a rarity in my collection!

I'll let you be the judge on whether it looks ok on me... but I was pleased with it.  Not enough to spend the $$ on Hollywood Blonde - I doubt I will wear it enough to justify the cost.  However, I've worn it twice now, which is not common for me, so maybe Hollywood Blonde is in my future?

I took a million pics of this, because it does have a unique shimmer that is really hard to catch.  Let me know if you want to see more - I've got 'em!

Sorry for the glare, I still haven't found time to build a light box!

In this close-up, you can see the little flecky shimmers - it looks amazing when the light hits it!

In this super-close-up, you can see all the little rainbow-y shimmers.  There's pink, green, gold - a little bit of everything!

I also wanted to include a low-light pic, because this is how it's going to look most of the time (hopefully minus the bit of yellow staining for you!).  It's still got a nice nudey-shimmer going on, but it's not all blamm-o in your face.

As for wear... this one doesn't hold up the best, however, tipwear / chips aren't all that noticeable because of the color and shimmer.  I can wear this one for 3 or 4 days and no one notices that it isn't looking its best.  It is a sheer, so you will never get it opaque - I do 3-4 coats to really show off the shimmer.  The dry time is quick and there isn't much need for clean up.  My only beef is the brush - well, actually, the crazy-long stick the brush is on.  Was that totally necessary Sally?!  :P

I'm totally sold on this one, though maybe it isn't the best match with my skin tone - I don't even care.  It's great to put on when I don't have a ton of time to do clean-up.  It's work appropriate, but it has enough going on to keep me interested.  And I love the price!  I paid $4 something at Walgreens for this one, but I saw it last night at Wal-Mart for $3, so it is definitely affordable.

I bought this in hopes to dupe Hollywood Blonde, but now, I don't really care if it's a dupe or not - it's a regular for me.  However, if you do have the OPI... let me know what you think!

Number of coats: 4

Basecoat: Gelous

Topcoat: Out the Door