Stash Swap, Part II: Orly La Playa

Yup, you read that right!  The time was right for Rach from stuff i (s)watched and I to do another stash swap!  Man, time flies!  Can't believe it's already been almost six months since the last one!  (If you missed the last go-around, you can check out my posts on OPI Conquistadorable Color, American Apparel Butter, and BB Couture Moon Over Manhattan and her posts on Butter London Wallis, OPI Russian Navy, and China Glaze VII.)  Rach and I figured out that this was a great way for us to try out some polishes we've had our eyes on or that may be out of our usual comfort zone, without having to dump the cash on them.  The last stash swap was so fun, and I was super excited for Part II!  

The first polish of Rach's that I decided to try out was Orly La Playa, a navy blue creme.  If you've been with us for a while, you may remember the debacle that was Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm.  I wanted to love that polish, but it just wasn't for me.  I still needed a good navy creme in my stash, but I've been a little frightened to try any new ones.  Thankfully, La Playa applied (and cleaned up) much easier than Dead Calm, so we were moving in the right direction already.  I seem to have a hard time applying Orly polishes sometimes.  It's like I can't really get the polish to MOVE on my nail.  That being said, it wasn't too hard to work with, and two easy coats later I was set.  So, is La Playa my perfect navy creme?

 (click to enlarge)

 (click to enlarge)

YES, YES, YES, and no.  The color is to die for.  It's a bit brighter than Dead Calm, but I liked that.  It's vibrant, but definitely still dark enough to be a navy blue in all lighting.  Never black, though.  I was DYING to add a copper glitter or shimmer, but alas, I don't own one.  D'oh!  I was SO ready to chalk this one up as a total win.  But then...it chipped.  And chipped.  And chipped.  It chipped so much in less than 24 hours.  Rach, I loved me some La Playa, but boy, it did not love me.  HUGE sad.

I did recently change my base coat/top coat combination, but as I mentioned in my last post, I've used it before and since this manicure with no problems.  Maybe it just doesn't jive with Orly polishes?  I have no idea, but I'm not quite ready to give up on La Playa just yet.  I think I'll have to snag a bottle for myself, and find a combo that will work for it.  Yeah, I loved it that much.

I'm not sure if La Playa is in the core collection or not (anyone know for sure?), but it is available for a mere $4.25 on www.nailsupplies.us, if you're interested in it for yourself!  It really is gorgeous!

Also!  Be sure to check out Rach's stash swap posts on Butter London Victoriana and China Glaze Swing, Baby (both of which look completely amazing on her!).  :-D

Orly Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

Let's (finally) finish up with all my Christmas manicures, shall we?  Well, technically I still have one more, but it's not actually a Christmas polish, it's just a polish I happened to wear before Christmas, so it's fair game for after the Holidays.  ;-)  I would've shown this to you in order, but I got so excited I just HAD to show you Smitten with Mittens and Party Hearty first.  You forgive me, right?  Excellent.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is a deep blue-leaning pine green with a finish that falls somewhere between a glass-fleck and a foil.  I'm gonna say it's more of a glass-fleck.  Anywho, application was great on this one, although it did take a good three coats for opacity.  If you're a thinner coat kinda person you may need four.  I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, since Rach from stuff i (s)watched  loved it, but Piff from Polish or Perish hated it.  So, how did I feel about this one?...

 (click to enlarge)

 (click to enlarge)

Meh.  Just completely meh.  Right in the middle.  I don't hate it.  I don't love it.  I like it okay, but not really that much.  It was nice and pretty and got a couple of compliments, but it just didn't wow me.  I think it may actually have been just a smidge too blue-toned for me.  From what I can tell, China Glaze Glittering Garland seems to be a warmer and more vibrant version of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, so I may need to try that one out.  You can see photos and comparisons of the two here from Cilucia.

I swapped for my bottle, but if you're interested in Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, there's great news!  As of a couple of months(ish) ago, it's part of the core collection at Sally's, so you can easily get your hands on this one.  I can't put my whole heart into recommending this one, but I know a ton of people are really fond of it.  Different strokes for different folks, right?  :-)

Well, in case I don't make it back here before the end of the week, I hope you all have a fun and safe and happy New Year!  :-D

How to ruin a manicure with Turquoise Shatter

Remember last time i used OPI's Turquoise Shatter, and how much I loved it?  Turquoise Shatter came out as part of the summer shatter collection for 2011.  It doesn't shatter as well as some of the other polishes, but at least for my last mani, it was awesome.  I wore it over Essie Super Bossa Nova and the color comb with just the hint of pink was rocking.  So when I decided I wanted to spice up my Orly Royal Navy manicure, I threw some Turquoise Shatter on it.  Big mistake.  I'm not sure what I did, but this time it barely shattered.  Whether the shatter needs to be thinned, or I put on too thick of coats, but it covered up my beauty Royal Navy and just resulted in an overall FAIL!

OPI Turquoise Shatter over Orly Royal Navy

OPI Turquoise Shatter over Orly Royal Navy

Close up of OPI Turquoise Shatter over Orly Royal Navy

Oh well, we can't win them all can we?  Turquoise Shatter is still available at stores like Ulta or online at my favorite (non-affiliated) nail polish e-tailer Aveyou.com.  It retails for $8.50 a bottle.

Another Look: Orly Royal Navy

I have been away too long!  Sorry for the long break in posting again folks.  I've had way too much going on in my life, some good, some not so good.  But things are getting back to normal, and I'm about 10 manis deep on posts.  The first up is Orly Royal Navy, which I acquired a while ago but never put it on.  Then when Courtney wore it to my house for fourth of July, I new it needed to be move up on the priority  list.  It's SO beautiful.  This is also my first Orly polish in a LONG time (like since college), so it was fun to "try" a new brand again.

Royal Navy is a bright fun royal blue jelly packed full of teal shimmer.  Courtney and other bloggers have had issues with the shimmer settling in the bottle, so I made sure to really mix it up before applying.  It went on super smooth.  I love when polishes are easy to apply!  I did notice that trying to clean up the polish was tough if I had gotten it on my skin.  It does stain a little, so make sure you use a basecoat and be careful with your application.  I've got some pretty good pics below, and a close up that really shows off the shimmer. I think the best thing about this polish, is you ALWAYS see the shimmer, not just in the sun (I'm looking at you, my beloved RBL!).

Orly Royal Navy

Orly Royal Navy

Orly Royal Navy

Close up of shimmer in Orly Royal Navy

I'm totally smitten with this one!  Royal Navy was part of the In the Navy Collection Orly put out for summer of 2010.  You can still find it in stores, and Sallybeauty.com has is for $5.99.  Not bad!  If you love blue, I suggest picking this one up.

My 4th of July Manicure: Orly Royal Navy and a Patchwork Accent

Happy Independence Day to all the American readers out there!  And a belated Happy Canada Day to the Canadian ladies!  ;-)  I wanted to do something festive to celebrate, so here's what I came up with!  

I started with Orly Royal Navy - a royal blue jelly with aqua blue shimmer.  It's a smidge deeper in color than my photos show, but every bit as vibrant.  It just screams summer!  The formula is amazing, and I used two coats.  It's a jelly, so there's a little VNL (visible nail line), but I promise it's not nearly as noticeable in real life as it is in these photos. The only weird thing about this one is that the shimmer settles to the bottom of the bottle, and it's really hard to shake it back to life.  I usually shake the heck out of it, and then let it sit upside down in a cup while I'm filing, pushing back cuticles, etc.  Then by the time I'm ready for color, it just needs one more shake, and it's good to go!  :-)

 (click to enlarge)

 (click to enlarge)

I really love Royal Navy, and I think it's a great jelly for anyone who's new to jellies and looking to get their feet wet.  Makes a great pedi, too!  You can pick it up for about $7 at Sally's or Ulta.

I was going to just leave my mani at Royal Navy, but I just had an itch to kick it up a bit for the holiday. My original idea was to do red and white dots across the tips of my ring fingers.  I don't have a dotting tool, so I tried using a toothpick.  NEGATIVE.  Bad idea.  I ended up getting polish everywhere and having to redo both ring fingers.  Argh!!

Next idea - a patchwork manicure!  You can find a way better tutorial on patchwork manicures than I could ever show you here from Erika at Chloe's Nails.  She pretty much pioneered the patchwork manicure, and her work is incredible!  The basic idea is to use Scotch tape to block off areas of your nail, then add other colors on top.  I think there's a bit of a learning curve when using tape for your manicures, but overall, it's a pretty simple process.  I used Milani White and China Glaze Ruby Pumps over my original Royal Navy manicure, and I'm pretty happy with the result!

 (click to enlarge)

WOO-HOO!  I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Fourth of July!  May the fireworks be abundant and beautiful!!  :-D

Orly Galaxy Girl

Hi guys!  A thousand apologies for taking so long to get this post to you!  Our modem died and left us without internet over the entire weekend into Monday.  It was awful - like someone cut off my right arm.  We finally got functionality back yesterday afternoon, but then of course it was the dreaded grocery day.  We all know how much I love grocery day.  Ugh!  Don't ever leave me again, interwebz!!  *Hyperventilates*  Anyway, on to the polish!  

Today I have for you another gem from my Orly Cosmic FX collection and its dupes, Galaxy Girl (I love that name!).  I had never planned on buying this one, as I wasn't that impressed with it from the swatches I'd seen, but when hubby saw it in the store he said it looked "badass," and therefore I had to buy it.  Well, you don't have to twist my arm!  ;-)

It's an odd bird in the flock, that's for sure.  It's a murky reddish plum base with super duochrome microglitter that flashes between aqua blue and fuschia.  After my last two one-coat wonders, I had completely forgotten that pretty much every polish from the Cosmic FX requires three coats.  Oops!  But trust me, this one applies super easily, and dries surprisingly quick, even as a three-coater.   And the best part?  It's JUST as duochromey on the nail as in the bottle!  Woo-hoo!!  Definitely click to enlarge these photos to check it out up close!

OooOoooh...Ahhhhh....

I have to be honest.  I thought this polish was going to be a total bust!  With that murky red-purple base, I thought it was going to look like a sparkly bruise.  Yuck!  But I stand corrected.  I loooove this!  It's just as badass as the hubby thought it would be!  I should listen to him more often.  :-)

The funny thing about duochromes is that you'd think they'd show off best in full sunlight, because they're so sparkly, but they actually love indirect lighting best.  So here are a few shots in natural, more dim lighting.  It really shows off the fuschia flash, but you can still see that sparkly blue!

(click to enlarge)

These photos don't even do it justice.  You've just got to see this one for yourself!  Thankfully it's still available on www.transdesign.com and www.amazon.com, even if at the full $10 price.  If you're into duochromes, definitely pick this one up while you still can.  If you don't own any duochromes, this is a great one to start off with.  Galaxy Girl definitely gets my seal of approval!  :-)    

Orly Out of This World

If I had to pick the most epic collection from last year, Orly's Cosmic FX would without a doubt be it.  Full of six unbelievable duochrome polishes, it was like Orly bottled up a little bit of magic in each one.  Yes, magic!  Being a complete nerd, they sold me on their space-themed names and futuristic looks, so I managed to pick up the entire collection over the last six months or so between getting the actual Orly polishes and then some of their dupes.  Just for the record, I have:

Orly:  Space Cadet

         Galaxy Girl

         Out of This World. 

Dupes:  Sally Hansen Laser (dupe of Lunar Eclipse)

            China Glaze Zombie Zest (almost dupe of It's Not Rocket Science)

            OPI Catch Me in Your Net (dupe of Halley's Comet).

I'm sure I'll end up showing you every single polish from the collection, but today I have for you the lovely Out of This World.  (You can find the entire collection and amazing swatches here from Michelle at All Lacquered Up.)

Out of This World is a deep blackened purple with brighter, more red-toned purple and gold duochrome shimmer.  It's almost a foil finish, but I'd still file this one away as a shimmer.  Application was a breeze in two coats.  I'd say in terms of color, it's slightly more red-toned in real life than in these pictures (stupid purples always photograph more blue - whyyyy?!), but these are pretty darn close!

(click to enlarge)

I just love this color!  It's got such depth!  Unfortunately, it's probably one of the least duochrome polishes in the collection.  You can see that gold flash around the curve of the bottle, above the Orly "O", but it just doesn't translate to the nail very well.  Ah, well...so the duochrome won't catch your eye from across the room, but I promise you that gorgeous, mysterious color will!

The Cosmic FX collection was released in fall of last year, which means it's pretty much gone by now.  You may find a few spare bottles at your local Sally's or Ulta.  The good news is that this collection was so awesome it was duped by pretty much every company out there.  If you love Out of This World, but can't track it down, go for Zoya Julieanne instead.  You can get it for $8 at http://www.zoya.com/.

Out of This World and Julieanne are reminiscient of Zoya Mimi from their summer 2010 Sparkle collection, so I did a quick comparison of the two for you.  What you see below is one coat of each, and this is where you see the major difference between the two (as usual, these two are both more red-toned in real life). 

(L) Orly Out of This World - one coat, (R) Zoya Mimi - one coat

Mimi is much more sheer than Out of This World (I can't speak to the opacity of Julieanne, as I don't own that one), and also a brighter, more vibrant purple.  Below is both of them at complete opacity.  Sorry for the strange background - it's my hand!  I had to put it behind the nail wheel, because my camera just wouldn't focus otherwise!

(L) Orly Out of This World - two coats, (R) Zoya Mimi - three coats

Yup, Mimi's a three-coater!  She also isn't even remotely duochrome, but she is stunning!  I wore Mimi as a pedicure a few weeks ago, and just loved how sparkly my toes were!  Out of This World/Julieanne is like Mimi's sultry and refined older sister.  Perfect for a night out or to say "Come hither..." with your nails.  ;-)

Verdict?  I absolutely adore both of these and think they're definitely different enough to own both.  I think it just depends on what kind of look you're going for!

Hope you all are having a happy Friday!  :-D

Essie Marshmallow and Orly Winter Wonderland

Quick - someone write this moment down!  I'm about to show you a manicure I wore to work....and it wasn't an edgy neutral!  I KNOW, right?!  Don't worry, I'm not ill, and I promise you my unhealthy obsession with edgy neutrals has not ended.  *Cuddles with bottle of $OPI Metro Chic*  This was actually a two part manicure that spanned over four days.

I started out with Essie Marshmallow.  This polish had been on my list for a long time.  After seeing a comparison of whites from Scrangie (It's the second photo in this post.), I just had to have it.  Most whites are almost harshly opaque and somewhat chalky in texture.  Not Marshmallow.  It's a soft, squishy, jellyish white like no other.  Unfortunately, the price you pay for that squishiness is at least three coats.  There's no real application issues, it just takes that many to even everything out.  Scrangie used three, and you could certainly stop there.  I did four, because I wanted that extra opacity.  I love how it turned out!

(click to enlarge)

Such an angelic white.  And a nice change of pace from my typical "office colors."  I wore Marshmallow on its own for two days, and then I decided to spice it up.  I had a few "effect" polishes to choose from - Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure (an opalescent flaky), China Glaze White Cap (a sheer white with golden sparkles), and Orly Winter Wonderland (a soft white irregular fleck).   None of these are really buildable to opacity, which makes them great for layering.  Here's how each of them look over Marshmallow on my nail wheel (Sorry for the bad photos, it's difficult to capture the beauty in all of these!):

 (L) to (R):  Hidden Treasure, White Cap, Winter Wonderland

 (L) to (R):  Hidden Treasure, White Cap, Winter Wonderland

Why I didn't choose Hidden Treasure or White Cap is beyond me, but Winter Wonderland had been a lemming of mine since it came out in this past year's 'Tis the Season collection, and look how nice it is where the light hits it!  I had to try it out.  (And don't worry, White Cap will get it's moment in the spotlight soon!  hehe)  So here it is, one coat over Marshmallow:

(click to enlarge)

I promise you this looked better in person.  The lighting casts a strange beige color to it that isn't as noticeable in real life.  Maybe I should've taken a picture in the sun (D'oh!).  Can you see those irregular shaped flakes?  Winter Wonderland is kind of like if a shimmer and a flaky had a baby.  It's sparkly like snow on a sunny day.  It's interesting and pretty, and I did get compliments on it, but I'm not loving it.  Shame, since I waited so long to finally get my hands on it.  Oh well, back to the drawing board!