Illamasqua Nail Art Contest!

Okay, here's another fun event. My current brand obsession, Illamasqua, is having a nail art contest and everyone is eligible! Not just pros or people who are experienced with nail art. They want everyone to be creative regardless of skill or experience level.

Anyway, here are the rules:

1. To enter, go to the Illamasqua Blog and post the entries in the comments section of the competition page [top right of blog page] with a link to entry. Entries can be submitted in video format on Youtube or can be a blog post, or just a link to the image with some details as to what you used and what your inspirations were. Alternatively, email me directly [please put Nail Art Entry into the subject] at info@illamasqua.com and I will put together a blog post of all entries that I receive through email.

2. The edgier, the more unique and the more creative and adventurous the better! Let us know the inspiration behind the look, too!

3. You don’t have to use Illamasqua products for this competition – but please list what you do use – this can include konad stamps or any other product you may have at your disposal.

4. The competition is open internationally.

5. Entries can use nails on their hands, feet or both.

6. You can enter a maximum of three different looks for this competition.

7. The competition will run from Thursday 13th August 2009 to the 6th September 2009 [midday UK time] so plenty of time to get your thinking caps on!

8. There will be a short list compiled on the 6th September and these will be shown on the blog on the 7th September. Sophy Robson will then choose a winner that will be detailed on the blog by the 16th September.

9. The winners will be notified and the winning looks will appear on the Illamasqua website and blog. Prizes will be sent out within the week to all winning entrants.



And the prizes? First prize wins two polishes from the brand new Autumn/Winter collection and two polishes from the core range- your choice!

Two runners up will also get to choose three polishes from the core range.

The contest runs from NOW until September 6th. Winners will be announced on September 17th. And to make it even more exciting, your work will be seen by world-renown nail artist Sophy Robson.

Please visit Illmasqua's blog to view the full details, submit your entries into the contest or get inspiration!

Essie Survey with free gift for participating!

This is fun!

Essie has put together a little survey about nail polish, and they'd love it if you all participated!

They don't ask for any personal information or anything like that, it's all nail-polish related questions. Have your voice heard!

Click here to take the Essie Nail Polish Survey.

As a little incentive to participate, you'll get a code for a free gift after you complete the survey.

Personally, I love taking surveys... I wish polish companies would do more surveys!

Zoya Holiday sneak preview! More MatteVelvet!

The ZOYA color experts have done it again!

Introducing three new LIMITED EDITION, exclusive MATTEVELVET* shades for Winter 2009/2010...

MATTEVELVET WINTER


Savita (ZP504) - plum gray matte shimmer
Harlow (ZP505) - rose matte shimmer
Veruschuka (ZP506) - evergreen matte shimmer



The incredible Zoya MATTEVELVET* shade collection has been expanded with three new LIMITED EDITION beauties. Get all of the color, none of shine with MATTEVELVET*, Zoya’s exclusive blend of matte base and subtle shimmer resulting in utterly wearable and truly stylish nail polish.



Zoya nail lacquers are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.



Find Zoya MATTEVELVET* as well as over 300 other ultra high-fashion Zoya shades at www.zoya.com. As always, each and every Zoya color is made for women so we name them after women.



*MATTEVELVET nail color by Zoya is not intended to be worn with a base coat, top coat or speed dryer of any kind. Due to the unique matte formulation, color is not as long-wearing as traditional nail color. A completely clean, dry nail surface yields the best results for matte nail color wear. For best results make sure to always prepare nail with Zoya Remove + (3-in-1 nail polish remover, nail plate cleaner and new color prep.) prior to applying color.



MATTEVELVET by Zoya available September 15, 2009.


PRE-ORDER NOW!

Sug. Retail $6.00 per 0.5 oz bottle. U.S.

(BEAT THE OCT. PRICE INCREASE TO $7.00!!! - ORDER NOW)

OPI Suede Collection Fall 2009

Just when you thought we were done with mattes for the year....

OPI is releasing Suede, a collection of six classic OPI shades in a suede finish. Not as strange as it sounds, as you'll see below.

As always, click to enlarge if you so desire.


OPI Ink Suede. Originally from the Night Brights collection (spring/summer 2007). Please imagine that this is purple. It's purple in real life and I've never been able to get a good picture of OPI Ink- cameras turn it blue. Okay. OPI Ink is probably my favorite OPI polish and I was thrilled to hear that it was made into a matte. Oddly, this looks almost nothing like the original OPI Ink. This is the case with all the polishes in this collection. More on that later.


Lincoln Park After Dark Suede. Originally from the Chicago collection (fall/winter 2005) Again, this looks really nothing like the original Lincoln Park After Dark... but that's not to say it isn't cool! Just look at it- it's gorgeous. A matte eggplant with outrageous shimmer.


Russian Navy Suede. Originally from the Russian collection (fall/winter 2007) Very beautiful navy blue matte with shimmer... But also... not much of a resemblance to the original! I've actually been wearing this one since the weekend to test the wear.

Suzi Skis In The Pyrenees Suede. Originally from La Coleccion de Espana (fall/winter 2009) This one became a matte charcoal grey instead of a smoky blue like the original. This shade looks especially nice matte- though it's not quite like ManGlaze Fuggen Ugly. I bet the men will dig this one.


We'll Always Have Paris Suede. Originally from La Collection de France (fall/winter 2008) I like the way this one translated into Suede. It's kind of a soft purple rose with lots of shimmer, I like the contrast between a traditional shade and a non-traditional finish. In case you don't have the original, this looks nothing like it. Observe:

OPI We'll Always Have Paris from OPI La Collection De France (fall/winter 2008).

You Don't Know Jacques Suede. Originally from La Collection De France (fall/winter 2008). Wow, two matte versions of this. I love You Don't Know Jacques a whole lot, but I'm ready for some *new* colors. This one looks less grey and more golden brown than the original.


And how cruel would I be to have these shimmery mattes and not do pictures with topcoat? In my opinion, this is where they shine (no pun intended).

OPI Ink Suede with topcoat. Again, pretend this is purple.

Lincoln Park After Dark Suede with topcoat.

Russian Navy Suede with topcoat.



Suzi Skis In The Pyrenees Suede with topcoat.

We'll Always Have Paris Suede with topcoat.

You Don't Know Jacques Suede with topcoat.

Okay, aren't those just the most gorgeous thing ever with topcoat? They are ridiculously sparkly. They aren't glitter- they're a really dense metallic silver shimmer. I think I'd call these matte foils- they have that foil sparkle look that, for example, Zoya Trixie or Hard Candy Scam have. Dense, metallic, fine flaky shimmer in an opaque colored base. A couple of the shades are almost iridescent once you put topcoat on them.

As I mentioned in several of the descriptions, these really don't look anything like their namesake polishes. I really think that OPI should have just come up with new names for these for two reasons. One, it's pretty confusing to see 'OPI Ink Suede' and it looks nothing like OPI Ink (original)- people who don't look at swatches before buying might be disappointed to find that the suede version isn't what they expected. Two, they're different enough that they really could have just been new colors- the resemblance to the originals isn't strong enough that you would have even expected that's what they were if you didn't look at the name.

I had a couple of the originals handy when I was swatching and I did a quick comparison to show you what I mean:

Index: OPI Ink
Middle: OPI Ink with Essie Matte About You Matte Finisher
Ring: OPI Ink Suede
Pinkie: OPI Ink Suede with topcoat

I'm not expecting the suede finish ones to have a similar finish to the original, but the shade is just so different than the original. It's not really as obvious in the OPI Ink comparison because my camera warps the color too much, but have a look at this:

Index: Lincoln Park After Dark
Middle: Lincoln Park After Dark with Essie Matte About You Matte Finisher
Ring: Lincoln Park After Dark Suede
Pinkie: Lincoln Park After Dark Suede with topcoat.

See what I mean? It's not even remotely the same color. So if you're worried about having too many duplicates if you buy these- don't be! The naming of these is silly.

Formula-wise, these are great. The formula is thin and smooth, slightly slower drying than the other mattes. Having a slower-drying matte formula is a plus because it gives you more time to work and it's more forgiving. These are faster than the Nubars but not as fast as the Zoyas. They still dry completely in around five minutes. The wear is average for mattes- I made it two days without any major chipping but on day three I got a few large chips. The matte finish becomes more satiny the longer you wear it.

They say not to use mattes with a basecoat, but you can just ignore that warning. As long as the basecoat is *fully* (I do mean fully, completely, absolutely) dry before you apply the polish, there are no negative effects whatsoever. If your basecoat is still wet when you apply these, it'll cause the matte polish to crackle as it dries.

Also, mattes say not to use them with hand lotion- ignore that also. Of course, if you apply hand lotion it will make the matte finish shiny. That's obvious. The solution? Wipe it off your nails or wash your hands. Simple! The matte finish isn't meant to last for a week, but hand lotion won't ruin it any faster.

Overall, I really like these. The suede finish is nice as-is, but with topcoat applied it's gorgeous. Super sparkly and I like all of the shades- can't go wrong with grey, blue and purple! I do think they should have just given these new names, but other than that I have no complaints about these. They're pretty and versatile and there aren't any duds in the collection.

These will be available in September.

In Memory of Konad Week - Awesome Deal from OC Nail Art

I know a lot of you are going, "WTF happened to Konad week?!"

I got two posts into Konad Week before the thought of posting the same thing for a week straight bummed me out too much to continue. That, and I kept getting interrupted by cool new stuff. Important lesson learned- I need variety and if I force myself to do the same thing for more than a few days it makes me not want to do it.

I'm still going to post all the Konad stuff I was planning on posting, just not consecutively. It makes me happier that way. I'm very sorry if I let any of you down by not doing 7 solid days of Konad. There will still be Konad posts, I promise.

Anyway, to make up for it, I have great news from my gal Kathleen over at OC Nail Art! Here are the details:

Effective August 11, 2009, OCNAILART will honor all competitor's coupon codes... if you see a competing Konad e-tailer with a coupon code and you want to use that code - just enter it at checkout and you will receive that discount!! And as always - shipping is FREE on all orders over $20 (after discounts are applied) - even INTERNATIONALLY.

If there's a code out there that doesn't work at checkout, Kathleen might not be aware of it. Just send her an email and she'll add it! http://store.ocnailart.com

And if you don't know of a code to use, there's always 'scrangie' for 20% off :)

Konad Plate M39 with Konad Purple Special Polish (dark purple butterflies)

Barielle Fall Collection is up!

Hey everyone- the Barielle All Lacquered Up Collection is available now on Barielle's website! You can see my swatches here: Barielle Fall 2009 Swatches

And just a little reminder- If you click on the Barielle banner in the right sidebar to order your polishes, it helps me. I am quite embarrassed about even mentioning it, honestly! But I know you might not even know it's there, so I guess it can't hurt.

Also, you get all polishes buy two get one free, free shipping on orders over $50, 10% off orders over $60 and free samples with every order!

In honor of the Urban Decay Friends and Family Sale...

I thought I'd do some Urban Decay swatches. In case this is the first time you're hearing about the Urban Decay Friends and Family sale, here's the details:

30% off all orders from August 10th to August 20th. Use code FNFF1 at checkout. Free shipping (USPS Priority) on orders over $50. Cannot be combined with other codes.

Onto the swatches! As always, click to enlarge- these babies are huge.



Here's an old one... I'm not even sure if they still have this:

Book Of Shadows. Stupid palette design but great colors! I hate the pull out drawer.



Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in Spandex and Glitter Gel in Power Ballad. I have some of the other glitter liners but I can't seem to find them... They're too sheer anyway. I had to take the stopper out of the tube to get enough glitter on the brush to make a line.


Liquid Liner (from left to right, top row first): Perversion, Oil Slick, Revolver, Smog, Honey, Lucky, Gash, Radium, Roach, Acid Rain. Love these.



Deluxe Shadow Box palette (top and middle row): Fishnet, Honey Ransom, Graffiti, Zero, Peace


Deluxe Shadow Box palette (bottom row): Shag, Scratch, Underground


The cover of the Sustainable Shadow box- it's made of wood!


Inside the palette.

Taken at an angle to show the glitter in some of the shadows.



YDK, Flipside, Grifter, Uzi. Grifter and Uzi have silver glitter.


Twice Baked, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Flash, Oil Slick. Twice Baked is matte with subtle glitter, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again and Oil Slick have silver glitter. This is the new version of Oil Slick so it only has silver glitter- I liked the old multicolored version better.


Kiddie Pool and Half Baked. Kiddie Pool has light blue-green glitter.


I have a lot of other Urban Decay stuff, but these are my favorites. If there's anything else you want to see, let me know- if I have it, I could swatch it. Makeup swatches are much faster to do than polish swatches :)

I ordered a bunch of eyeliners. If the arrive before the sale is over, I'll be sure to post a review!