Illamasqua Theatre of the Nameless Collection Fall 2011 Swatches and Review

Illamasqua's collection for fall 2011, called Theatre of the Nameless, may just be my favorite theme yet. Illamasqua is a relatively young brand, but in the short time they've been around, they've made a huge impact. Amazing artistry, edgy colors, quality formulas and the ability to transport you to another world just through the story their colors tell are the hallmarks of the Illamasqua brand and something I always look forward to each season.

This year's fall nail colors are inspired by the color coding used by the 1920s-era Wittenberg Platz Boot Girls. The Boot Girls would advertise their services by the color of their boots, and while the details are slightly too NSFW for me to post here, one can easily find the details online if curious enough.

All of the fall lacquers are designed to have a wax-like rubber finish.

The colors are: Faux Pas, Kink, Taint and Vice.

The packaging has received a bit of a makeover for fall as well. Note the rubberized cap on the bottle which indicates the new 'rubber' finish as well as the matching colors on the box labels and the front cutout for viewing the color.


Faux Pas. This is a purple creme with a semi-matte 'rubber' finish. Like most purples I photograph, this one appears too blue. Think China Glaze Grape Pop and you'll have an idea of the actual shade.


Kink. A deep blue-toned green creme with a wax/rubber finish.



Taint. A dirty taupe creme with a rubber finish. This one is a color changer on me. It looks brown in some lights, more grey in others, and in between the rest of the time. It also dries darker than bottle color.


Vice. Purple berry creme with a rubber finish. As much as I constantly hate on berry-colored nail polish, this one isn't so bad. I actually like it. Illamasqua describes it as 'cerise'. I think it looks like diluted beet juice.

You know... I'm still not crazy about that half-matte look. I just can't get into it! I get what they were going for, but it still seems so in-between looking to me. So, I experimented.

For reference, all four shades in their original rubber finish. Faux Pas, Kink, Taint, Vice.


Faux Pas, Kink, Taint and Vice each with a coat of glossy topcoat.


Faux Pas, Kink, Taint and Vice fully mattified with Essie Matte About You matte topcoat.

I love these colors a million times more with a proper matte finish. Maybe one day I'll love the wax/rubber finish. But not quite yet.

The formula on these was excellent. Thin and easy to apply, but not runny. Not thick like most mattes. They all needed two coats and that's what I'm wearing in the pictures. I had some bubbling, but that's entirely my fault. I rushed and put on too thick of a coat too fast after the first one. When I waited a minute in between coats I didn't have a bubbling issue. Dry time is not as fast as most mattes but still faster than the average non-matte polish. I have not worn these long enough to test the wear time.

The full Theatre of the Nameless collection includes more than just the nail lacquers:

I've also received the fall collection's new shade of Illamasqua Precision Ink, Havoc.

Havoc comes in the same sleek black tube as the rest of the Precision Ink liners.


The same firm, pointed felt tip applicator as well.

Illamasqua Precision Ink Waterproof Liquid Liner in Havoc. The shade is a matte dark maroon. In some lights it looks warm brown, in others it looks more red. Here in natural light it shows its redder side.

Instead of doing an eye look using Havoc, I tried it out for some freehand nail art which is quite an accomplishment with my shaky hands.

Here I used a base of Illamasqua Taint and used the Precision Ink liner in Havoc to do a freehand half moon manicure. I coated the entire mani in a coat of matte topcoat.

Here I used a base of Illamasqua Vice and then used the Havoc liner to do a freehand french tip. Again, I applied matte topcoat over the manicure to give it a less shiny look as Havoc has a semi-matte finish similar to the lacquers. This mani makes me think of chocolate dipped raspberries.

The Precision Inks are really easy to use for nail art. The thin liquid liner texture is great for drawing since it's not thick and doesn't start getting dry and gooey right away. The fine point is another feature that makes the liner good for nail art. Once you coat it with topcoat it looks just like nail polish, otherwise it has a rubbery look like the polishes from this collection.



Illamasqua included this little swath of red velour in my package that I just couldn't help but pose with- it's the same one seen on the model above. And I just have to mention... It smelled unbelievably good. Really! I know that sounds so weird, but when I opened the package, this amazing woody spicy floral scent filled the room. They spritzed the fabric with perfume! Illamasqua really knows how to set the mood. Oh, and that perfume? I WANT IT. And pretty soon I think I may be able to have it...

This collection is now available at Sephora (US) and Illamasqua (UK).

(These were sent to me for review.)

OPI Femme de Cirque Soft Shades Collection Spring 2011 Swatches and Review

OPI's annual Soft Shades collection is circus-themed this year. I have to say, I like the theme! No Soft Shades collection can rival my love for the old Princess Charming collection, but the names of the polishes in this set are fantastic.


In The Spotlight Pink. A soft, squishy-looking milky pink jelly. This pink is mostly neutral in the bottle, but it does border on warmer/peachy-toned against my skin.


So Many Clowns, So Little Time. This name seriously cracks me up... It's going on my list of all time favorite OPI names. The color is a creamy off white with a slight splash of pink and grey. Reminds me a bit of the whiter version of Bubble Bath.


Step Right Up. This one has a similar finish to So Many Clowns, but it has more pink and peach in it. Very pale, very white-based, slightly muted, like there's one drop of grey in it.


My favorite part of this collection is the glitter topcoat, I Juggle... Men. Well, it's not quite a glitter, but it's a sparkle. It's sort of like... maybe Orly Fifty-Four or CND Sapphire Sparkle, but it's even more like the duochrome shimmer in OPI Unripened / Nicole Blues In The Night. Funky irregular particles, like mini-flakes... Broken crushed flakes... Super duochrome gorgeous. It wouldn't show up on camera all by itself on my nails, but it's really intended for layering anyway, so I've layered it.

OPI I Juggle... Men sparkle topcoat over In The Spotlight Pink.

OPI I Juggle... Men sparkle topcoat over So Many Clowns, So Little Time.


OPI I Juggle... Men sparkle topcoat over Step Right Up.

As you can see, it's subtle over the sheers, but it adds a nice touch of blue/purple duochrome sparkle. It really shows up best over darker colors. It's especially nice over Color Club Total Mystery.

The formula on these was difficult. I found it to be somewhat watery but goopy at the same time, a texture similar to early Big 3 Free polishes. I did have a hard time applying these. They wanted to run into my cuticles. The Pro-Wide brush seemed smaller and flatter than usual and that added to the difficulty. These are meant to be worn as sheers, but my nails are way too stained to wear them that way, so I did five coats of all. When worn sheer, they are very subtle, providing only a slight milky wash of color.

The exception is the I Juggle... Men topcoat, which is a nice thin, even texture. It dries very, very fast and quite shiny, which leads me to believe it is actually a topcoat, quick-dry even, and not just for layering. It's fantastic.

These would probably make a nice, soft, natural looking french manicure. One that looks like clean natural nails with a touch of softness.

While the colors aren't really my thing, I do love that glitter topcoat and I love the names. They're very, very sheer so if you're someone who is only into subtle tints on your nails, these might interest you.

(These were sent to me for review.)

More random Zoya swatches- Sheers, nudes, reds/berries

Uma

Rose (this has green duochrome shimmer!)

Riley

Racquel

Quinn

Portia

Parker

Mia

Kat

Jaime

Isabel

Heather

Diana (jelly finish!)

Dharma

Celeste

Angel

Guest Review - Kiss and Revlon Press-On Nails

This is only the second time I've had a guest review! This time the guest reviewer is none other than my dear Mom. I was sent some press-on nails by Kiss that I'm literally unable to review. They're so short and small that they don't even cover half of my nail bed, so... yeah... review not possible. While my hands are on the petite side, they definitely aren't petite enough for the Kiss Petite french nails. However, my mom has some of the smallest hands and nails I've ever seen, so she was a perfect candidate to try these. Just one of the perks of being my mom.... Another is that you have an endless variety of polish colors to choose from when I give you a mani/pedi... Also, I'll give you unwanted critical commentary of stupid prime time sitcoms with identical plots for free!


In addition to the Kiss Petites, I put some Revlon press-on nails on her to compare, and here's how the Revlon Zoe nails worked for her:


"I liked them because they stayed on-- no bubbles or loosening. Didn't like because too wide and the color on tip chipped within 2 days."

I applied these to her using the Revlon NailStay glue that's included in the Revlon kit. I filed them down to a medium length- these start out pretty long, which I personally prefer because I have longer nail beds, but the long length doesn't work for her. My opinion of these is that they look a lot less natural than the Kiss nails, the tips are too thick and white. Not that a french manicure ever looks natural, but you know... some are less tacky than others.


And now here are the Kiss petites:


"I liked these better because they were smaller and thinner. I didn't think the glue was as good as the other brand, it bubbles and I kept getting my hair caught in them. The finish lasted, looked more natural and stayed shiny."

I applied these to her using the little disposable tube of glue included in the Kiss set. She's right, the Revlon glue is superior, not just in application, but in longevity. It's kinda difficult to apply the proper amount of glue using those little one-use tubes, and it doesn't set as fast or as strongly as the Revlon. They also lifted on her sooner than with the Revlon glue.

However, I think the end result looked a bit more natural. The actual thickness of the nail is a lot thinner so they do look more like a natural nail from a front/head on view. The base part of these nails is clear, so you won't be able to hide any imperfections on your nail or bubbles in your glue, but that also makes the nail look brighter and shinier. She didn't notice any chipping or wear in the white tip of the Kiss nails and she was able to wear them for a whole week with them still looking new.

The small width and length of these suited her pretty well. This set comes with some extremely tiny nails- the smallest ones are slightly bigger than a lentil! So if you have extremely petite hands and nails with very short nail plates and you want to try press-ons, these would be the nails for you.

The Kiss nails overall seemed thin and lightweight, especially compared to other brands of fakes I've tried. Someone would be less likely to detect that you're wearing press-ons with a nail as thin and clear as these. I can't say I'm a fan of that super bright white tip, but if these had a softer, more milky and translucent natural white, they'd definitely pass for real nails.


Thanks, Mom, for contributing your reviews and photos!

(These were sent to me for review...)

OPI Soft Shades for 2010

I didn't actually realize how long it had been since I posted! We took the week off for my birthday and had a sort of pseudo-vacation, worked on some home improvement projects, went to a wedding... nothing too exciting. But hey, did you know that Minwax wood stain eats nail polish? Now I do.

Once again I'm totally behind on all the things I wanted to post... as if I ever caught up in the first place?

So... where to start... OPI Soft Shades? Had a surprisingly high number of emails asking me to review this, so here it is. And useless trivia? 3 of the 4 shades start with the letter 'i'. Confusing!



Isn't That Precious? Soft pink sheer. Has that kinda squishy-jelly-soft look that I like. It's a creme, no shimmer.



I Think In Pink. The darkest and most opaque of the bunch, but still not dark by any stretch of the imagination.



It's A Girl! Genius, OPI, genius. I can see this shade being super popular for the name alone. Think of all the baby shower gifts! It's A Girl baby pink nail polish! But now they need to do a stereotypical baby blue "It's A Boy" to match. It should come with bubblegum cigars.



Pink-a-doodle. Oddly, the only one that doesn't start with 'i' is also the only shimmer. It's very subtle and a little hard to see, but this pink sheer does have a soft shimmer to it. But I do have to say... Pink-a-doodle?? Huh??


The formula on these was a bit tricky for me to use. I generally find that pink sheers are thick in consistency- and these were a little on the thick side. They're all sheers, so I did four coats. Thick plus multiple coats rarely ends well, so if you're doing as many coats as I did, let them dry for a minute or two in between to avoid that clumping-globbing effect. They do excel in not being streaky on the first coat, so if you're into the sheer look, these will work for you.

Now you may ask, "What's the difference between these colors? How do they compare to each other?" And honestly, I have no idea. They look so similar to me that I'm having a hard time finding a way to describe how exactly they're different. I think in this case the idea is to pick the sheer that best suits your skin tone.

Honestly, I liked last year's Soft Shades collection better. Remember it? They were sheer pinks and whites but they had this really neat contrasting shimmer/flash. These are just plain old pink. A little milky and slightly jelly-ish, but still... plain pink. Not that they are ugly, though, cause I don't find them ugly. They're not streaky, not so sheer you need 97 coats and they're actually pretty flattering on my hands... They're just not my thing. And the collection is clearly labelled "Soft Shades" so it's not like we're getting surprised with sheer pinks instead of colors in a regular collection. So yeah, if you like sheer pinks, woohoo! Awesome for you! I'll be waiting patiently for the next collection ;-)

(These were sent to me for review.)