Nordstrom Galaxy

   I'm so sorry for the lack of posts lately guys.  My job has been kicking my butt since I got promoted in March.  But I'm going to try to get back on a decent posting schedule.  Back last Fall I was in Nordstrom one day and came across a new line of polish from the store.  So of course I had to pick one up.  

   Galaxy is a medium dark grey crelly, like storm clouds, with silver glitter.  Application was good, but the formula was a little thick.  The thickness might be from the glitter, but a couple drops of thinner should help.  
   Glitter distribution is even across the nail.  However it leaves a bumpy texture on your nail and hides the sparkle.  Adding top coat brings out the sparkle from the glitter.  I used a coat of Gelous and a coat of Seche Vite to give an extra smooth surface.  For the below photos I used 2 coats of Galaxy over a base of Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   I'm not sure you can tell but I smudged my thumb a bit before taking these photos.  I was trying to see if the square cap was a removable outer cap.  As far as I can tell it is not.  Retail price for the Nordstrom line is $8.50.  If you don't live near a Nordstrom, they usually offer free shipping through the website with no minimum purchase.  I like Galaxy and will probably purchase more polishes from the line as they catch my eye.

China Glaze Elephant Walk

   Are you ready for fall yet?  I know I'm ready for the cooler temps, but not ready for the days to start getting shorter again.  The China Glaze Fall 2012 On Safari Collection has a lot of good colors to help transition between the seasons.  

   Elephant Walk is a green tinged grey with a subtle shimmer.  The shimmer is a mix of blue, pink, and silver.  The formula was ok, but you need to work quickly when applying Elephant Walk or you'll start to get polish drag.  This is almost a 1 coat polish, but I used 2 to cover a few thin patches from dragging.  I used Finger Paints base coat and no top coat in these photos.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   The shimmer in Elephant Walk adds a lot to this polish in my opinion.  Most greys are cremes.  There's nothing wrong with a good grey creme, but personally I'm more likely to reach for a shimmer, even a subtle one, over a creme.

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration.

Zoya Carey

   Carey is another polish from the Winter 2011/2012 Feel collection from Zoya.  

   Unlike Megan which is a lavender creme with a big grey tinge, Carey is a grey creme that has a purple tinge.  The formula on Carey was not what I've come to expect from Zoya.  It was a weird combination of thick yet thin at the same time.  That being said, with thin coats Carey still wasn't too hard to work with.  I used a base of China Glaze Strong Adhesion and two coats of polish.  No top coat.

Direct Sun

Shade

Indoor

   Carey is a very nice neutral grey.  I'm going to try adding thinner to my bottle and see if that fixes the formula issues.  Either way though, this is definitely a polish I will wear again.

Nicole by OPI Kardashian Collection Part 2 - Shimmers and Glitters

   Part 2 of the Nicole by OPI Kardashian collection contains 8 shimmer and glitter polishes.  For all of these swatches I used Beauty Secrets base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  Most only needed 2 coats for good coverage, but I'll say which needed more.

Rainbow in the S-Kylie

   Rainbow is a multi-colored, multi-sized hex glitter with a clear base.  This is one coat over Hard Kourt Fashionista.  I did not put a top coat over Rainbow.

Direct Sun

Shade

Indoor

   I really liked this combo.  The darker base lets the colors pop, but with a warmer feel than using black.  If Rainbow in the S-Kylie looks familiar, that's because it is.  It is the exact same polish as Rainbow Connection from the OPI Muppet collection.  Here's a shot of the two bottles side by side:

   See?  These are the same polish under different names.  I am very disappointed by this.  With the source inspiration material for both of these collections I can't understand how they couldn't come up with a different polish for one of the collections.

It's all About the Glam

   Glam is a white base with silver shimmer/micro-glitter and a hint of pink shimmer.  It starts out very sheer, but builds nicely.  I used 3 coats here, but you might want to do 4.  The shimmer is much more apparent in person and the vnl is less apparent.  I apologize for the bad clean up job, the micro-glitter did not want to come off my skin.  For some reason, this polish dried very slowly.  Usually by the time I finish clean-up and pictures a polish is dry when I use a quick dry top coat like Diamond Dry.  But this one was still easily dentable/smudgeable at that point.

Direct Sun

Shade

Indoor

OPI French Quarter For Your Thoughts

   French Quarter For Your Thoughts, which I'm going to refer to as just French Quarter since that is a very long name to type out, is from OPI's Fall 2011 Touring America collection.  French Quarter is a medium grey creme that looks a lot like cement after a rain shower. 

   It's been raining all week here, so the pictures I have for you, which do not include a separate bottle shot sorry, aren't the best ever.  I used Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein as my base and Manicure Extender as my top coat.  For French Quarter I needed 2 coats for even coverage and full opacity.  Formula and application were pretty standard, no problems with either.  The flowers are decals I got at Sally's the other day.

Outside, Overcast Sky

Sort of Shade

   I say sort of shade because there's not much difference with overcast skies, but this one was taken under the balcony outside my door.  

Indoor with Flash

   I don't normally use flash in my pictures, but this is probably the most color accurate shot I have.  

   I liked this polish.  I've been wearing it for 3 days now with no major chips and only a slight desire to change it.  I will definitely be wearing this one again.

Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were sent to me by the company for consideration.

OPI Pirates Part 1

   OPI released a 6 piece creme collection in conjunction with the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean movie back in the Spring.  I'm splitting the collection in to two parts- the greens and greys and the pinks and purples.  All of the colors in this collection are a bit greyed and muted, sort of like you'd expect colors to look in a swamp.

   The greens in this collection are Mermaid's Tears and Stranger Tides and the grey is Skull and Glossbones.  I used OPI Natural Nail base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  All swatches are with 2 coats, though S&G possibly could have used 3.  Application was good and the formulas smooth.

Mermaid's Tears

   Mermaid's Tears is a pastel-y almost mint green.  

Direct Sun

Shade

Indoor

Stranger Tides

   Stranger Tides reminds me of spanish moss.  It is a very grey green.  The sun was playing peek-a-boo with me when I swatched this one, so keep that in mind while you look at the pictures.

Sun

Shade

Indoor

Skull & Glossbones

   Skull & Glossbones is well named to me.  It reminds me of buried bones that have been uncovered.  A bit morbid maybe, but it is that time of year.  This would be a good Halloween color, either as a base or as detail in some nail art.  

Direct Sun

Shade

Indoor

Disclaimer:  The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration.

Zoya Dove

   I never really thought I would be a fan of grey nail polish.  And then I tried Dove from the Zoya intimate collection.  Now I'm a convert.  Bring on the greys!!!!!!  And the trumpets, but that's something else entirely.  Side note, my husband does not find that commercial amusing at all.  I admit it's random, but it's just fun to me.  Back to the polish.  Dove is the perfect name for this color.  It's a soft grey creme, just like the color of a dove's feathers.

   In the bottle you can just tell that this is grey and not white.  Formula and application were just what I expect from Zoya.  I used 2 coats to achieve full opacity.

Direct Sun

Shade

Indoor

   On the nail though, there is no question that this is grey.  I was initially afraid this shade would make my hands look dead.  Luckily, this was not the case.  I think this is actually a very flattering color to my skin tone.

   If you've never tried grey polish, this is good one to start with.  Very soft, nice pigmentation, smooth application.  What do you folks think?  Want to try grey polish now?  Already tried some?  What are your favorites?  Let me know which ones I should try.

Disclaimer:  The product(s) in this post were sent to my by the company for consideration.