Drugstore Gems: Black Radiance

So a couple of weeks ago, I was browsing Rite Aid for garbage bags when naturally I decided to check out the cosmetics selection. My local Rite Aid had recently remodeled their cosmetics layout, and I noticed that they expanded their line of Black Radiance cosmetics. So yeah, I'm not the target audience but that doesn't and shouldn't stop me from expanding my horizons, right? Anyway, normally their selection is only so-so but I spotted two new polishes (it helped that their stickers said New!) and at $1.99 a piece, I decided to just get them. One was a pretty burgundy shimmer and another was a vampy, dark blue shimmer.

Sadly, my color-blindness let me astray yet again. The burgundy shimmer, though named Crimson Chrome, wasn't crimson at all. It actually was VERY much a brown. Though the application and shimmer was gorgeous, it did not look good on me at all. I know some people can rock the browns but for me, it just looked like shimmery poop. Application was fantastic though:

Next up is the GORGEOUS Blue Nile. I noticed how it looked like OPI Light My Sapphire in the bottle, but sometimes that doesn't always translate the same onto the nail. However, it's pretty similar. Here is it by itself, sorry about the first picture. I prefer to take pictures in direct or indirect sunlight but sometimes the sun can wash a color out.


Want to see how similar it is to LMS? Here's a comparison, with Blue Nile on the index and middle finger and LMS on the ring and pinky finger:

I think they are pretty much dupes, except LMS is a tad more sparkly. Here's a comparison of Blue Nile, LMS, and NYC Midnight...I messed up the order of LMS and Midnight, sorry. Blue Nile is on the index finger, Midnight is on the middle finger, and LMS is on the ring finger (all 3 coats)

Excuse the blurriness too, but Midnight has more blue shimmer than the other two. Overall, Blue Nile is an effective replacement for OPI Light My Sapphire if you can't find it or don't want to pay the price of a OPI.

I had a really good experience with Black Radiance, and I look forward to trying more colors. Hopefully my Rite Aid or CVS will have more colors, I see some potentially hot ones on their website. They retail for $1.99 and are Toluene, Formaldehyde and Phthalate-free as well. They have a list of where to buy on their website, but some stores may not carry it (another Rite Aid near where I live doesn't have this line) or carry a limited selection (like my local CVS).

Impressions: Avon Midnight

This could hardly be considered as early morning hotness, more like early morning ????????????

I've never bought anything from Avon before, but about three months ago I ordered some stuff online because there was a free shipping over $15 code. I mainly wanted to try their gel eyeliner because it was on sale, and I also really wanted their Women's Empowerment Bracelet. So while struggling to fill up my cart, I naturally turned to nail polish. None of the colors really impressed me and the colors swatches they give you on the website are terribly small. I ordered Avon Midnight because it looked like an ok red and the name evoked something exciting.

Well, it definitely didn't live up to it's name. It's a medium-red with strong brown tones and bronze shimmer (Wikipedia identifies this type of color as "russet".) It looked ok in the bottle, and when I got it I immediately opened it to swatch onto tape. I normally do this with all my polishes, and it looked ok. Nothing too exciting but nothing revolutionary either. However, a couple of days passed and I noticed that my polish was diminishing! Sometimes evaporation happens (I think my Essie Strawberry Shortcake has evaporated a bit, and I know many people who have ChG Moonpool have had this happen too), but I've never seen it happen so fast. I only opened it once and tightly closed it and eventually the evaporation stabilized to this:
Kind of noticeable, eh? I'm sure I could have returned it but online returns are such a hassle. Even returning stuff from Amazon.com, who makes returns very simple (I love them and their preprinted and prepaid shipping labels), can be exhausting and annoying, especially if you're waiting for a replacement. I also don't know any of my local Avon ladies. So, because I'm a firm believer in not judging a book by it's cover, I decided to try it out.

After trying out this color, I decided that it was ok that there was so much evaporation because it just means that there was less of it to go around. Let's just say that my tan Asian skin does NOT go with russet.
Do you see how horrible the polish looks against my skin? It looks, for the lack of a dignified word, like poo on my nails, which isn't helped by the fact that this color is so dull. Since I put this on at night, I allowed myself the 12-hour rule and waited to see how it looked in sunlight. But as soon as I took this picture, I busted out my nail polish remover. While the application was pretty fantastic, it's going to take a while for me to order polish off the Avon website again. It would be helpful if they provided a description of a color instead of a dinky little color swatch. Luckily there was a sale on nail polish and I didn't pay too much for it.

I did however just visit the Avon website and they are no longer selling this color and, I'm happy to say, upgraded their swatches to be a bit more clearer. Still no description of color to accompany the swatches but they are larger and clearer now so it's not entirely necessary, even though I believe in the more detail the better!

Maybe down the road sometime I'll buy some more Avon polish to try, but since I'm not in dire need of any Avon or mark products right now, it will have to wait.