Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Pretty Boy Collection Nail Lacquers Fall 2011

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) has just released six new shades of nail polish as part of their Fall 2011 Pretty Boy collection. And they're certainly not your typical fall shades...



Cruising. This is a gold foil, but it's more chunky than most gold foils. Instead of a smoother, more chrome-like look, Cruising has a very defined-particle gold flake look.



Extravaganza. Coral with gold and green shimmer. The sunlight picture shows the shimmer better but the indoor shot is more color-accurate. It's definitely a bright coral, not a dusty one, and it has a lot of pink to it.



Femme. Bubblegum pink frost. This one had quite a few chunks of unmixed pigment in it, even through I shook it before using it. Can't say I'm a fan of frosty pink, but at least some of the frosty shimmer looks green in certain lights.


Palare. Really fun bright fuchsia with a blue and purple flash. The violet shimmer is very fine, almost like a cloud or a haze within the polish. Really pretty. I like the name, too; I learned that word from Morrissey:

Pansy. This is weird because I have a pair of yoga pants that are THIS EXACT COLOR. Weird because it's such an exact match and also because I don't have many polishes this color. It's a light purple, very pink looking... Hard to describe. I've seen this color referred to as 'orchid' before, and I did have an orchid this color at one point, so let's call this one orchid-colored. It's really creamy looking. That sounds weird, too... But I've just never seen many polishes that look this creamy. Don't know how else to describe it!



Pool Boy. Gorgeous light blue creme. It seems a little more aqua/turquoise on my skin, but in the bottle it looks pure sky blue to me. My favorite of the collection. Very flashy without being bright or obnoxious- really stands out on my nails.

The formula is varied but reasonable on these. I did three coats of all and all needed the three coats. Some were thick (Pool Boy, Pansy), some were watery (Palare, Cruising), and the others had a more even, middle-of-the-road medium texture. Drying time was good. I used topcoat on these, but the two creme shades dry extremely glossy without topcoat.

I'm personally not into the pink-heavy palette of this collection. I do like the theme, though- all the colors together portray this sort of retro, Hollywood, glamorous pool-party image to me. My top picks are Pool Boy, Pansy and Palare. Just noticed that three of the six shades in the Pretty Boy collection start with 'P'.

They also released six new Lip Tars that look AMAZING (picture from OCC):


That orange one is calling my name.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics / OCC Pretty Boy is available directly from their website. While you're there, don't forget to check out the Garage Sale to score some Lip Tars and Nail Lacquers at a discount! I have swatches of almost everything on sale here.

(These were sent to me for review.)

Llarowe's Honoring Fallen Soldiers Glitter Gal Giveaway

Leah Ann, aka Llarowe, our new US Glitter Gal supplier is having a giveaway (and a sale) in honor and remembrance of the soldiers lost in the helicopter crash earlier this month. Here are the details:

"The helicopter crash in Afghanistan killed soldiers, fathers, husbands, sons and friends. The members of the military and their families make extraordinary sacrifices for our freedom and deserve our support. Being from a military family I know first hand the sacrifices that these families endure with selfless service to our country.



I will be giving away a set of the Glitter Gal Red, Light As A Feather (white) and Marine Blue to honor these fallen soldiers and their families. This will be a random drawing to be held on September 11, 2011. On the same day, as a tribute to these fallen soldiers and their families, 50% of all sales of Glitter Gal Red, Marine Blue and Light As A Feather on shop.llarowe.com or my Ebay site llarowe, will be donated to the following organization to benefit the families of these soldiers:

http://nswfoundation.org/

Thank you so much for your support and God bless our soldiers and their families for their sacrifices for our freedom!"

Click here to enter the giveaway!

Please note: This is not my giveaway; if you have questions or issues regarding your entry, please contact Llarowe. In order to enter the giveaway, you must click the Contest Machine like above and enter your name and email address. Commenting on this post doesn't count as an entry, so if you want to have a chance in the drawing, be sure to enter via the link!

Llarowe's giveaway is open to everyone worldwide and the winner will be drawn at random.

Nubar Peacock Feathers

Out of all the duochromes Nubar has, this one seems to be the icon. I know it is for me- when I hear "Nubar", the first thing I think of is Peacock Feathers. And for good reason- it's stunning. There are very few polishes I've worn as much as I've worn this one.

Nubar Peacock Feathers. In all the times I've tried to photograph this, I still haven't been able to get all the colors to show up at once. And there are a lot of colors in this one. The main combination is purple with a blue shift. Then green; both golden-green and blue-green. Hints of yellow and orange appear when viewed at an angle in dim lighting. It's really much better in real life than I am able to show in these pictures. The super dark purple/green duo is just so cool.

My bottle of this seems thin compared to my other Nubars. I need at least three coats when I wear this one, but each extra coat gives more impact to the polish.

In Memory Of Sophie

This is a cause close to my heart. Please take a moment to watch or visit the Sophie Lancaster Foundation website.

http://www.illamasqua.com/about/sophie/

http://sophielancasterfoundation.com/

Sephora Collection Body Sparkle Gel in White Praline

This was a cool thing I picked up on a whim last winter but never got around to reviewing. It's described as having "holographic silver shimmer flakes" and being scented with White Praline, so it was a no-brainer; I had to have it. Holographic, gourmand scented body oil? Schwing! Plus, it was dirt cheap and I wanted free shipping.

Sephora Collection Body Sparkle Gel in White Praline.


This isn't a flat, rounded bottle like the other Sephora bath and body things (you know, the ones that shatter when you try to use them?), this is actually a 3D globe- about the same shape and size of your average Christmas ornament.

Look how pretty it is. It looks like magic. It's not holographic and I'm pretty disappointed about that, but it's still good. It's a clear base with some small pastel opal glitter. To understand my disappointment, observe how it looked online:

Doesn't that look holographic? Totally thought I was getting some awesome holo glitter here.


...But this is what it looks like out of the bottle. The glitter is pretty sparse. Right now I could say something dirty about a unicorn, but I won't.


Once it's all rubbed in (it's like a body oil, not a traditional body glitter gel), you really don't get much glitter effect. Just a random sparkle here and there. And wow, the back of my hand looks really dry.

The scent is nice. It's a dry, caramelly, almost savory nutty scent. It's a little bit hazelnut and a little bit almond. Baked smelling but not particularly sweet. If you've ever used the Avon Nautrals Almond scent, or the Bath And Body Works Nutcracker Sweet, it smells almost identical to that. I loved those, so I love this.

Doesn't do much, but it's nice to look at and it smells good, so I'm happy. Only wish it had more glitter.

Sephora By OPI Absinthe Makes The Heart

I admit, I haven't been the biggest fan of the Sephora by OPI line. I bought a ton of them when they were first released but not many since then. I don't care for the formula (it doesn't resemble OPI's consistently decent formula like I expected it to by having 'OPI' in the name) and I find the bottle design very unappealing. Though, every now and then they do release a color that really appeals to me, like this one did.

Sephora by OPI Absinthe Makes The Heart. First things first, what's up with the lazy name? I'm assuming it's a play on the phrase, "absence makes the heart grow fonder," except since the polish is green, they've used the word Absinthe. I'm sure Absinthe can make the heart grow just as fond, if not more so, but now I'm getting off topic. The name. Absinthe Makes The Heart. It makes the heart what? Or does it actually make a literal heart? Maybe they ran out of space on the label, but of other brands can fit names like Right Here Now, No More Later or Hot Ring Illusion Around Saturn onto a label, I don't see why Sephora by OPI can't.

The color itself is rather interesting. When I first got it, I was disappointed with it. It looked so dusty and dull and I wanted it to be greener. I wore it for a day and then put it in a drawer and forgot about it. Then, the other day, I was looking in m stash for fall colors to wear and this jumped out at me. It's better than I remember it.

It's a sheer, smoky grey base with a greenish tint. Within the sheer base are a variety of different shimmer and glitter particles. The most abundant is a very fine gold foil shimmer. There's some small blue-green glitter. Some dusty green shimmer. Coppery red microglitter. Silvery green foil shimmer. Looking at it close up, I don't see how the polish can look so green. I see mainly gold and grey, but somehow that green glitter reflects onto the gold and gives it a green hue.

As for the formula? It's sheer and watery- I needed four coats. Drying time isn't so good, especially not at four coats. Never been a fan of this formula, wish it was more like OPI's regular formula.

Very strange. Still a little too dusty looking, but not as bad as I remembered it. Very nice for fall.

Revlon Limited Edition Super Lustrous SPF 15 Lip Balm in Clear Crystal

This Revlon balm came out sometime around the end of spring/beginning of summer and when I saw it, I had to have it for my blue gloss collection.

It's called Revlon Super Lustrous SPF 15 Lip Balm and the shade is called Clear Crystal. Strangely, the ingredient list is on the top of the lid (but easily removable). If you want a clearer view of the ingredients, feel free to enlarge.

The bottom is clear so you can view the shade inside.

The one thing I like about this hideous packaging is that it includes a lip brush that snaps into the lid. It's a great idea and I wish all jar-style balms and glosses had their own brushes. Unfortunately, the brush is too soft to pick up much of the firm-textured balm.

The lid flips open instead of unscrewing, another positive to the otherwise unattractive packaging.


The color of the balm appears pale, soft, translucent blue with a swirl of flaky silver shimmer. It applies clear without any hint of blue and only a tiny bit of subtle, sparsely-distributed shimmer.

The formula is pretty nice- thick but not sticky, a little bit bouncy even. Slight fruity scent. Reminds me a whole lot of the MAC Tendertone balms (which I loved), just not as soft or hydrating. I like that there's SPF in it, too.

That said, the lack of color in the gloss (yes, I'm aware it's named Clear Crystal), the hideous packaging and the unusually high drugstore price somewhat discourage me from buying any others besides this one. I like the formula, but I like the MAC Tendertones I have more.

Bath and Body Works Slatkin and Co. Cream Fox Wallflower

Isn't this the most adorable thing? I have a soft spot for woodland creatures (okay, all creatures, not just the woodland ones) and as soon as I saw this I HAD to have it. This is the cream fox, but I also saw a red one there that looked suspiciously like the Firefox logo. The cream one matches my decor better, otherwise I would have gotten both.

Bath and Body Works a bunch of new Wallflower starters for fall, and if I used Wallflowers more often, I probably would have gotten more because they're really cute AND on sale 6 for $24 (they're normally $6.50-$8.50 each, so that's a pretty good deal). I did get the Brown Owl because I adore owls, but there's also a Green Owl, two kinds of leaves, brown and cream acorns, PUMPKINS!!, skulls, bats, and Frankenstein's Monster.

The green wallflower refill I have in there matches nicely, doesn't it? It's Apple Crumble. Nice, but a little too weak in Wallflower form. I like the candle better.

I did a crumble. The teacher said mine was the best one.

NARS Introduces Silver Odyssey- Fashion's Night Out Exclusive!

Space Odyssey. A new sparkly nail polish from NARS. Looks awesome in the bottle, wonder if it's just a plain silver glitter / silver foil?

EXCLUSIVE FOR FASHION’S NIGHT OUT

INTRODUCING SILVER ODYSSEY

o celebrate the upcoming Fashion's Night Out, for the first time NARS has created a collection, exclusive for the night. Introducing Silver Odyssey. More details on NARS' involvement in Fashion's Night Out to come, but here is your sneak peek at the collection.

Featuring Via Crispi Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner and Space Odyssey Nail Polish, both products are unique and richly pigmented metallic silvery hues, guaranteed to make you sparkle on fashion’s most celebrated night.

Products Include:

· Via Crispi Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner – silver

Price: $23

· Space Odyssey Nail Polish –aluminum

Price: $17

Available: NARS Cosmetics, beginning September 8^th

(Contains affiliate link.)

Nubar Gold Feather

Of all the Nubar duochromes, this one never seems to get any attention. It should, though- it's super cool. Though, maybe it's not truly a duochrome as it doesn't flip from one color to another, it just has a semi-sheer base with a contrasting glass fleck shimmer in a very different color. The shimmer lights up more or less depending on how the light hits it which gives it the illusion of changing colors.


Nubar Gold Feather. This is a warm golden base- a little more on the brown side than pure gold, and fairly red-toned. In some types of lighting it looks more neutral, so maybe there is a little true duochrome action happening here. The shimmer is a very bright iridescent green. It's large, shiny shimmer like a tiny version of a glass fleck particle. It is very obvious and very different from the warm gold base so it really stands out. Such a unique color, there just aren't many (if any at all) colors like this on the market anymore. It bears a certain similarity to the old discontinued Sally Hansen Chill Frost, but has a different finish and a three-free formula.

Re-swatching all my old Nubars has been really fun for me. I'm not quite done with them all yet, but I've already re-discovered so many favorites. Nubar has some seriously amazing colors in their line, including an abundance of duochromes- something most brands lack. Here's to hoping that there may be more Nubar duochromes in our future!

Scherer Chameleon Blue Sky

I've had this Scherer Chameleon polish in my collection for ages and I've never ever used it. I had heard horror stories about the formula, so I just put it in a drawer and forgot about it until a few weeks ago when I saw it and thought... Hey, what the hell... Let's try it.

Scherer Chameleon Blue Sky. You know what? It turned out to be GREAT. I honestly had no problems with the formula or application; it was nice and smooth, not too runny, surprisingly opaque. Blue Sky is a chrome-like periwinkle blue with purple duochrome when I look at it straight on. Changes in angle reveal darker blue, teal, green and a faint hint of gold multichrome on top of the blue chrome base. It's a bit frosty, but as it dries it appears more chrome/metallic than frost.

I did three super thin coats. It has a very dense yet strangely thin feeling (but not runny or watery) formula. It dries so flat and thin that at three coats it still felt like there was nothing on my nails. Dry time was amazing, lightning fast. I've always heard that these were awful so I was really pleased and surprised at how well this applied and how very multichromatic it was.

I have a couple other Chameleons that I've never used, but now I feel like trying them!

OPI and Serena Williams Glam Slam! US Fall 2011

The final installment of the Serena Williams Glam Slam! series- Glam Slam! United States. If you ask me, this is the greatest duo yet. They seem to have saved the best for last!


Love Is A Racket. This color was impossible to photograph properly. It just wanted to look all radioactive glowy and freak out my camera. That's because it really is a little radioactive-glowy. It's a super fun bright coral glass fleck. My picture doesn't capture even half of its beauty; you simply must see it in person. It's more of a coral-magenta than the red OPI classifies it as and it's full of shiny little pearls of duochrome shimmer. It dries a little dull so I'm thinking there's a little neon pigment in this making it so bright.



Pros & Bronze. This... This is just too good. I mean, look at it. It's insane! It's a foily-duochrome-glitter. The base is a light golden bronze foil particle shimmer. Overlaid on the bronze is rose gold duochrome sparkle. There's some dark copper microglitter and there's some pink and yellow duochrome flash on top of that. It's bright, it's shiny, it's sparkly. In my humble opinion, this is one of the best polishes OPI has done in the past few years. It has everything going for it- unique color, stunning microglitter finish, good formula. It is perfect.

The formula on these was good. A little thinner than the polishes in the Touring America collection, but still easy to control. I did three coats of each color. They looked fine with only two but an extra coat gives them more of a kick. Fast dry time. No issues here.

I think these are awesome. They make up for the lack of sparkle in the main fall collection. Love them both and I couldn't have asked for a better end to the Glam Slam! series. I'm even thinking about getting a backup of Pros and Bronze. It's that good. And hey.... No more crackle polish! Great color choices, good formula... I'm having a hard time finding any downside to this duo.

(These were sent to me for review.)