OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Suede topped with CoverGirl City Lights

 OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Suede (1 coat)

topped with CoverGirl City Lights (1 coat)

I needed a quick mani last night and remembered that the OPI Suede line usually worked well, as they dried super fast and usually covered in just one coat. Sadly, LPAD Suede was a bit thick so I added some thinner, and I think I did't let it mix well enough because I wasn't very happy with the uneven mani I got.

As I have done in the past, I grabbed my old favorite CoverGirl City Lights for a rescue! LOVE this!

Sparkles Save a Bad Mani

Cover Girl Boundless Color in City Lights (1 coat) (sorry, discontinued!)

over

Sephora Formula X in Prophecy (2 coats)

 

Do you ever do a mani, and something just goes so so wrong? This mani seemed to be a lost cause (more on that in a minute), but just one coat of a holo glitter saved the day! I am sad that City Lights is discontinued, but there are two others that are easy to find and work in quite the same way: China Glaze Fairy Dust and Out The Door Northern Lights Silver Hologram Top Coat. Swatch and Learn has a great comparison post here.

 

Anyway, back to my failed mani. A few weeks ago I read beautygeek's review of the Sephora Formula X Brushed Metallics line and I knew I had to have Prophecy. You've got to check out her pic! It's amazing.

 

But on me..... it crackled! It was so very strange. I used my normal base of NailTek II, which I guess the Sephora X did not play well with. The first coat of Prophecy was very streaky but I figured the second coat would even it out. No! The second coat made it crackle! Just like the crackles of a few years ago. I was so frustrated, and I was late and I was tired and wanted to get to bed. I grabbed my trust bottle of Cover Girl City Lights, which has saved me before, and let it work the magic. I ended up loving how this mani turned out.

 

I'll have to try Prophecy again, I guess with a different base. Anyone had better luck with something else?

 

 

CoverGirl Glosstinis in #RavingHot

CoverGirl Glosstinis in #RavingHot

2 coats

from the Ready, Set Gorgeous display

 

Although CoverGirl does not have any info about this collection/display on their website, even under "New Releases", Nouveau Cheap does have some pics of the display. Quite a few products are featured- foundation, powder, concealer, and new shades of Smoochies, Glosstinis and Flamed Out Shadow Pencils.

 

I found the display at my local Walgreens and checked out the Glosstini section- the polishes are labeled either "Glossy Days" or "Glowing Nights" (the display says these glow under black lights). Since I haven't had a black light since I was a kid in the 70s, and am pretty sure I won't be at any clubs with one either, I decided to try one of the Glossy Days shades for just $2.99. (I also used a $1 coupon from the P&G coupon insert from the Sunday paper, making my cost $1.99.)

 

I just love these little bottles- at .11 fluid ounces, they are quite tiny, but I don't have any problem with the brush. I was super pleased with the color- Since it's a jelly, I've got some VNL showing, but I wasn't bothered because the shade is so bright and cheery.

 

Have you tried any of these shades? I'd love to see what the Glowing Nights shades do!

 



CoverGirl XL Nail Gel in Overblown Orange

CoverGirl XL Nail Gel in Overblown Orange (2 coats)

 

Today I'm showing you the other shade I purchased from the CoverGirl display with the new "XL Nail Gel" polish.

 

Overblown Orange is a bit more opaque than Ample Apple, but still has a jelly quality. It's gorgeous and gave good coverage in two coats.

 

I continue to be impressed with this line- application was super easy, as was cleanup. It does have a nice thick look to it, although of course it's not actually gel...... It did dry nicely when I used my usual NYC Grand Central Station as a topcoat.

 

 

Pop Culture Cosmetics Wonderland over CoverGirl XL Gel in Ample Apple

Pop Culture Cosmetics Wonderland (1 coat)

 over CoverGirl XL Gel in Ample Apple (2 coats)

shade picture

 

Today I'm wearing another of the three glitter toppers I won in March I in giveaway from Pop Culture Cosmetics.

 

I did just one coat of Wonderland (using a dabbing method) and got what I consider to be great coverage for a glitter topper. I waited a bit, applied a thick coat of Gelous to help smooth it out, and did my normal topcoat of NYC Grand Central Station and had a really smooth result. I do see some glitter shapes and colors that I didn't get in this application on these four fingers- there are also some black spades and clubs in the bottle in addition to the hearts and diamonds I did get in this pic- so this polish contains all four of the card suits.

 

Thanks to Pop Culture Cosmetics for an awesome giveaway- I'll be featuring the last shade soon!

 

 

 



COVERGIRL XL Nail Gel in Ample Apple (2 coats)

CoverGirl XL Nail Gel in Ample Apple (2 coats)

 

Earlier this week I was in Walgreens and happened upon a CoverGirl display with new "XL Nail Gel" polish. Of course I had to pick up a few to try- Ample Apple and Overblown Orange.

 

I chose Ample Apple to try first and I LOVE it! It's a gorgeous jelly that gave good coverage in two coats. A bit of VNL is visible, but it's a jelly after all, so I'm not too bothered.

 

I'm impressed so far- application was super easy, as was cleanup. It does have a nice thick look to it, although of course it's not actually gel...... It did dry nicely when I used my usual NYC Grand Central Station as a topcoat.

 

 

CoverGirl Glosstinis in Scalding Emerald

  CoverGirl Scalding Emerald Glosstinis Nail Polish

3 coats

photo taken in sun

photo taken in shade

Scalding Emerald is part of the CoverGirl + Hunger Games Catching Fire collection. I purchased this at Target for $3 around the time the movie came out.

Note that Glosstinis are definitely in the mini bottle category at just .11 ounce. I didn't have too much trouble with the brush, although it was short as mini bottle brushes tend to be.

I did need 3 coats to cover my visible nail line. At two, it was very apparent in the sun that I didn't have complete coverage.

If you are interested in seeing the rest of the collection, KarenD has swatches of all 9 shades in this collection.

CoverGirl Violet Flicker Glosstini Nail Polish

 CoverGirl Violet Flicker Glosstini Nail Polish

3 coats

photo taken in sun

 photo taken in shade

close up shot to show the gorgeous shimmer in there.... you can see blue and pink in certain light

Violet Flicker is part of the CoverGirl + Hunger Games Catching Fire collection. Since I am absolutely obsessed with Hunger Games (already bought my opening night movie ticket!) I was so excited to see this collection! I found the shades I picked at Target for just $3 each.

Note that Glosstinis are definitely in the mini bottle category at just .11 ounce. I didn't have too much trouble with the brush, although it was short as mini bottle brushes tend to be.

I did need 3 coats to cover my visible nail line. At two, it was very apparent in the sun that I didn't have complete coverage.

If you are interested in seeing the rest of the collection, KarenD has swatches of all 9 shades in this collection.

My Collection of CoverGirl Polish

I don't have very many CoverGirl polishes, but the new Hunger Games collection is causing me to add to my collection!

Seared Bronze

Rogue Red

Violet Flicker

Pyro Pink

Scalding Emerald

all 5 from the Hunger Games collection

Ruby Dust

Amethyst Mist

Disco Dazzle

City Lights

I purchased all off these about 5 years ago at Target. City Lights is my favorite- I have used it so many times! It's a China Glaze Fairy Dust dupe.

Amethyst

Sangria

I purchased Amethyst to do a Paradoxal/Perplexed comparison, and Sangria was the first Glosstini  I purchased to see what the hype was all about- Sangria is definitely a fave.

NOTD: CoverGirl Rogue Red Glosstini Nail Polish

CoverGirl Rogue Red Glosstini Nail Polish

3 coats

photo taken in sun

photo taken in shade

Rogue Red is part of the CoverGirl + Hunger Games Catching Fire collection. Since I am absolutely obsessed with Hunger Games (already bought my opening night movie ticket!) I was so excited to see this collection!

Seared Bronze was the first shade I bought from this collection, and this weekend I picked up four more at Target since they were just $3 each.

Note that Glosstinis are definitely in the mini bottle category at just .11 ounce. I didn't have too much trouble with the brush, although it was short as mini bottle brushes tend to be.

I did need 3 coats to cover my visible nail line. At two, it was very apparent in the sun that I didn't have complete coverage.

If you are interested in seeing the rest of the collection, KarenD has swatches of all 9 shades in this collection.

NOTD: CoverGirl Seared Bronze

 CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstinis in Seared Bronze

3 coats

photo taken in sun

photo taken in shade

You can really see the different shades in this macro shot. It's gorgeous. Some bloggers are saying it's a dupe for OPI Warm & Fozzie from the Muppets collection, but I think this one has more depth, especially in the shade.

Seared Bronze is part of the CoverGirl + Hunger Games Catching Fire collection. Since I am absolutely obsessed with Hunger Games (already bought my opening night movie ticket!) I was so excited to see this collection!

Seared Bronze is used in the District 2 (Masonry) look as well as District 7 (Lumber).

I am thinking I need to look into getting all the colors in this collection since I'm such a fan of the movie.

Note that Glosstinis are definitely in the mini bottle category at just .11 ounce. I didn't have too much trouble with the brush, although it was short as mini bottle brushes tend to be.

KarenD has swatches of all 9 shades in this collection.

NOTD: Dermelect Renegade topped with Covergirl Disco Dazzle

Dermelect Renegade (2 coats)

topped with Covergirl Disco Dazzle (2 coats)

This glitter topcoat is at least 5 years old, and you can probably see that I had a hard time getting the hex glitters out. They had all sunk to the bottom...... After I did this mani, I turned the bottle upside down and left it for a few days and now it's mixed together better. Still, I liked it and it gave my days-old mani a new look, which is fun and a great trick when you are short on time.

 

Disclosure: The Dermelect shade was provided for review purposes.

Paradoxal vs. Amethyst vs. Perplex vs. Perplexed Purple

Monday was a gorgeous day and I was home with my daughter, who wasn't feeling well. During a third viewing (in as many days) of Beethoven's 5th, I decided I'd do some swatching of four shades I had set aside to compare.

Left to right:

Chanel Paradoxal

Covergirl Outlast Amethyst

Revlon Perplex

Avon Perplexed Purple



Left to right: (2 coats of each)

Chanel Paradoxal

Covergirl Outlast Amethyst

Revlon Perplex

Avon Perplexed Purple


The first three are so very close! If you missed out on 2010's Chanel Paradoxal and 2011's Revlon Perplex, Covergirl Amethyst, currently in stores, is a must-get. Avon's Perplexed Purple is actually quite different, but still so pretty.

NOTD: CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant in Amethyst

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant in Amethyst

Earlier this month, a reader named Tess left me a comment on a post I did last April comparing Avon's Perplexed Purple to Chanel Paradoxal and Revlon Perplex. 

...almost a year later, but I wanted to share that I found another possible Paradoxal drugstore dupe. This time it's in the Chanel-shaped bottles from Covergirl. The color is Amethyst and while I can't put my hands on my Paradoxal or Perplex, this looks awfully close. No one's blogged this potential dupe yet but I'm very curious whether you've seen it, since you have the best and most complete comparisons I've seen.

So of course I had to go find the CoverGirl! I desperately want to do a post comparing all four on the nails, and also throw in Sephora by OPI Metro Too Chic just because the shimmer is so pretty they make me think of them together. Maybe the sun will be out this weekend and I can get that done.

Amethyst was my first purchase from CoverGirl's new Outlast Stay Brilliant line. Although they say the topcoat is built in, I of course ignored that and added a coat of NYC GCS. I got a good five days wear out of this before I started to see chips, and I think two days of indoor swimming pool had something to do with the chips starting.

So I'm pretty impressed with this line! Any other shades I should try out?

Dr.'s Remedy PASSION Purple w/ Cover Girl City Lights

Dr.'s Remedy PASSION Purple

topped with Cover Girl City Lights

After my success last time I used City Lights over blue, I had to try it again. And I really like it over purple too!

Disclosure: The Dr's Remedy polish was sent to me for review purposes. The Cover Girl polish was purchased by me.

NOTD: Sephora by OPI Countdown to the Kiss plus bonus

Sephora by OPI Countdown to the Kiss

from the Glimmer Wonderland Collection

Oh, it was a blustery day yesterday! Absolutely no sun, ugly cloudy, and rainy. Absolutely no chance for a good outside pic. Such a shame because this was quite a pretty shade! It's an opaque royal blue with medium glitter that is a bit lighter blue.

I had some time last night before bed, and one of my nails broke a bit so I spent some time filing them down. Then I decided to try topping it with a Cover Girl sparkle topcoat that I picked up a few years ago, but hadn't had a chance to try.

Sephora by OPI Countdown to the Kiss

topped with Cover Girl City Lights

WOW! Isn't that pretty in the sun? This may be my new favorite topper. I can't stop staring at my nails! I added two coats of the CG sparkle topcoat and then topped it with SV.