Perfectly Polished Tips 244 - NOTD Lush Lacquer Golden Goddess

Lush Lacquer is a new to me brand. It is an indie brand created by a mother daughter team :) I have been lemming OPI Dazzled by Gold FOREVER. It came out when I did not have access to Ulta and being that I am picky about gold on my skin I didn't try very hard to get it. Then of course I *needed* it and it was too late. I chose Gold Goddess in hopes of taking my mind off of Dazzled by Gold.

I love the color of this polish, it is on the cooler side and not too yellow. The formula was great, I did have an issue with the silver hex glitter. The etsy listing does say that you may have to fish for the hexes, which I thought meant that if you wanted AOT hexes on your nails then you would have to fish. Well I didn't get any hexes on my nails with just the brush. I tried tipping the bottle upside down, rolling it, shaking it. I eventually ended up sticking an orange stick in there and picking them off the stick with the brush. It was a pain and although I adore my manicure I don't know if I want to have to do that every single time I want to wear it. I don't know that this is the case with all of their polish and to be quite honest I probably would purchase another color if they had something I wanted.

For my NOTD I layered two coats of Golden Goddess over one coat of Orly Luxe

Sunlight

outdoors

I purchased Golden Goddess from Lush Lacquer's Etsy shop. They retail for $8.75 each and I believe shipping was $3 or so. It seems that they make the polish as the orders come in so there is a wait time. I think it took almost two weeks for me to receive the polish, so if you are not the patient type I would skip Lush Lacquer.

Perfectly Polished Tips 217 - the Balm Hot Ticket Collection

the Balm nail polish is a new to me brand. I have used their lip products before but I had no idea they sold polish as well. I found the Hot Ticket Collection on a dusty shelf in TJ Maxx and decided to give it a shot. I think this may have been a holiday collection of sorts, mostly because of the colors that are included. I liked it though because all of the colors were different! No similar reds or pinks, or beige that you can't tell apart.

My cuticles are so raggedy looking, I though the TIPS for Toes nail conditioner was going to be a miracle worker and that I would have gorgeous hands by now. You are not supposed to push back your cuticles as it does more harm than good. I will just have to deal for now but I feel like my pictures look so unappealing. Sorry!

Better Off Red - pink based red creme, always a classic color IMO. Best part about this one? It's a one coater!

Counterfeit - Dusty teal creme, possibly a dupe to OPI Jade is the New Black

Disco Ball - The name says it all. I kind of sponge painted it on. I can never seem to find a proper time to wear silver glitter. Any tips?

Dodged a Bullet - This polish was really the only one I wanted out of the whole collection but since they were a package deal I had to take them all (boohoo right?). Steely grey with blue, pink, and purple shimmer. Of course my camera did not pick up the awesomeness of the shimmer. It's there though I swear!

Goldfinger - Metallic, shimmery gold. I always have a love/hate relationship with gold polish. I want to wear it but I feel like it doesn't look great on me. 

I love the brush on these polishes. It's a nice normal size! The formula was awesome for the most part. Counterfeit was a little on the thin side and I had a bit of a drag. I was surprised by Better Off Red, in a good way! I also adore the pin up girl on the bottle. I'm a sucker for pretty packaging.

I checked the Balm's website and they have a few colors that look very interesting. The names are questionable LOL but worth looking into. I got this set at TJ Maxx for $10 but it looks like each bottle retails for $10 on the Balm.

Perfectly Polished Tips 183 - NOTD Monday

To get me on track with posting and to force me to photograph my Nail Of The Day more often I'm going to try to do these once a week. I don't change my polish nearly as often as I would like. I used to do 3 or 4 manicures a week. To start it off I have Orly Luxe topped with China Glaze Lightening Bolt.

I saw a manicure similar to this sometime last year when the news the crackle polish was making a comeback was released. I remember using the Cover Girl crackle polish when I was younger and loving it. I didn't keep any of the polish I had when I was younger and I often wonder what gems I tossed out! Anyways I saw the manicure and I needed to replicate it ASAP. The China Glaze crackle was hard to come by in my town. It sold out immediately. My lovely sister was able to find it online and got it for me for my birthday. I finally wore it and was happy with the results.

Even though crackle polish is everywhere right now it seems to get mixed reviews. I personally love it. It's nice for a funky/fun mani and my favorite thing about it? I can slap it over an old mani or one I may have smudged and I am good to go.

I picked up Orly Luxe from my local Sally Beauty I believe it's part of the core collection. Crackle polish can be found just about anywhere in a variety of colors.

Perfectly Polished Tips 181 - Perfect Formula Spring/Summer 2011

Perfect Formula is a brand that is new to me. I've tried their cuticle oil and it is pretty nice. If i only I could remember to use it regularly! Perfect Formula polish is formulated with "instant strength technology" which helps to thicken and strengthen your nails. I believe this brand is fairly new so while there are not a lot of color options there are a lot of nice choices. I have my eye on the fall/winter 2010 collection. I really like that this collection is small and basic. All three are perfect in any combination for the season. Calypso would be an amazing pedi and Pirouette is a nice neutral mani. As much as I love gold polish I just don't think it works on me. I've tried so many and it just doesn't feel "right." Maybe I haven't found the right one yet.

On to the polish. Each swatch to two coats of polish, no base or top coat.

Pirouette

Calypso

Tango

Perfect Formula polishes retail for $15 and can be purchased at perfectformulas.com. This brand is a little on the expensive side but I liked them just as much as I like my Lippmanns. For the right color I don't mind spending extra.

(these were sent to me for review)

Perfectly Polished Tips 125 - Essie Winter 2008

For this winter Essie released a collection full of rich, bold, and beautiful colors. Usually I am not drawn to Essie's collections because they normally contain boring reds and pinks, which I have a ton of as it is. However as soon as I laid eyes on pictures of this collection I knew that I would love it. The polishes applied wonderfully and are opaque in two coats, even Shifting Power; however I found that three coats made the shimmer in the polishes pop. I've worn Sexy Divide and Damsel in A Dress, I didn't have great luck with Sexy Divide and it chipped in 2 days. That could have been due to a number of things though. Damsel wore like iron for a week. As most of you know the base coat and top coat play a huge role in how long your manicure will last. Your body's chemistry probably effects that as well.

Shifting Power - sizzling molten gold
Another gold I love but probably won't wear, the brush marks are minimal.

Bold and Beautiful - rich, ruby garnet
Lovely red creme, I actually really like this red.

Sexy Divide - electric violet temptation
This is my favorite from the collection, it's highly pigmented and has a lovely sparkle.

Rock Star Skinny - glamorous crimson red
This is kinda brown on me, with silver shimmer. I didn't really find it to be red at all actually.

It's Genius - violet quartz shimmer
This was another favorite, it has amazing gold glitter. It may be similar to China Glaze's Cow Girl Up but I think the base color might be slightly different.

Damsel in a Dress - oh so deep currant
As with the others this color has a gorgeous shimmer and really fits well with the rest of the collection.

Normally I'm sure that I would complain about all the purple shades included in this collection but I'm going through a purple phase right now and cannot get enough. I think Essie did an awesome job with this collection and the colors are perfect for any time really. I saw some swatches of the Spring Essie collection on Scrangie's blog and that blue is to die for. I cannot wait to get it.

Perfectly Polished Tips 124 - China Glaze Romantique Part Two

Here is the warm half of the China Glaze Romantique collection. I was drawn to the golden shades in this collection but I feel like I probably won't ever wear them. Unfortunately my camera almost made all of the colors look similar (to me anyways), hopefully the swatches are still helpful!

Emotion

Joy

Poetic

Passion

Magical (more of a sandy color)

Delight (bronze-y brown shade)

My favorites from this part of the set are Magical and Poetic. I love golds but I don't think they love me. I can always wear them on my toes!

Perfectly Polished Tips 123 - China Glaze Romantique Part One

Sorry for the long delay in posts! The holiday season is killer. China Glaze's newest collection Romantique includes 12 gorgeous metallic colors. They are perfect for the upcoming spring season or any time really. They apply smoothly and while I did have brush strokes they didn't ruin the polishes for me. My favorite part about this collection is that they are all one coaters! That alone made me forget all about the brush strokes. I am posting the cool part of the collection first followed by the warm.

Devotion

Awaken

Cherish

Adore

Admire (as with almost every pink my camera distorts it, it's a bit lighter/truer pink in real life)

Harmony (a bit deeper in real life)

Being a cool toned girl myself, I am partial to this collection with my favorites being Harmony and Adore. I wasn't a huge fan of Cherish but it might be a fun pedicure color for me. Personally I think silvers look better on me than golds but I always find myself disliking the silvers and craving gold.

I hope to be back to posting regularly, and I hope you all had wonderful holidays!

Perfectly Polished Tips 122 - Carolyn New York Colors Holiday 08

I am a huge fan of Carolyn New York polishes. I got my first ones about a year ago and instantly fell in love. Since then they've branched out with colors and I think have a great line of polishes. They have rubberized caps which I am always a fan of, the brush is small enough for me to comfortably use and not make a mess with, and the formula is great. It's not too thick, or thin, even the lightest colors are not streaky. They wear amazingly too, I got 5 days each out of the last two polishes that I used. The only thing I wasn't in love with when I ordered was the customer service, however since they were just starting out I suppose it was to be expected. Now everything is great and I really recommend this brand overall.

Here is the Holiday 2008 collection:

Holiday Shopping - is pretty orange, maybe not as bright as the photo but I wouldn't call it rosey as the website does. It has gorgeous gold mircoshimmer.

House Party - red with gold glitter, this is my favorite one. It's festive and fun.

New York New Year - purple with subtle yet pretty purple and gold shimmer. This is a must for purple lovers.

Tinsel Town - yellow gold with silver sparkles which give it a foil finish. There are still a few brush strokes but the glitter makes up for it. I go through these phases where I love gold and collect a million, than I realize that gold doesn't look good on me and I pass them along. Well I'm back on that gold kick and I hope I keep them all this time.

Carolyn New York Colors are currently on sale for $5.99 each or you can buy the Holiday Collection as a set for $29.45. Carolyn is also offering free shipping until the end of the year, no code needed.

Perfectly Polished Tips 94 - China Glaze Tinsel

Tinsel is another polish from the China Glaze Sleigh Ride set, I posted pictures of a couple months ago from a sweet MUA'er. I also said I am not falling for the hype, but I did and I think I'm glad. Tinsel is a silver version of Emerald Sparkle but not as intense. It's kind of hard to describe, I don't think Tinsel's base is clear but it's not silver, if that makes sense. This polish is not opaque in two coats, it might be better to layer with. I've only tried it alone so far.

Here is a comparison with Color Club Sex Symbol:

As you can see Tinsel's glitter is much finer, easier to remove too!

Head 2 Toe Beauty is showing all three of the sleigh ride polishes in stock right now. Sally Beauty was also suppose to have the collection but it depends on your town's store.

Perfectly Polished Tips 87 - Zoya Flourish

Zoya Flourish is new for Winter 08/09. It is a whole collection of rich colors with a foil finish. I have become a huge fan of the foil finish as I mentioned in previous posts. This collection isn't filled with colors that strike me as winter colors but more of spring-ish colors. I think the mettalicness and foilness make up for that though. They applied great with the exception of Shivon, I had a lot of brush marks which are pretty visible in the picture. All of the colors are pretty opaque, my swatches are all 2 coats of color, a couple like Zara will probably benefit from a third coat.

Richelle is a beautiful yellow gold. I really like this polish but I feel like it clashes with my skin. A while back I went through a gold phase collection every gold I could get my hands on. Then one day it hit me that gold was not my color. I'm still going to try to attempt to wear this one. I feel like if you have the confidence to pull off something anything will look good.

Kalista is a mohangany brown with gold shimmer. It has more of a red base rather than purple. I really like this polish more so than OPI Esspresso Your Style. EYS went very plummy on me and I just didn't like how it looked. I'm not sure if my new found love of brown is what makes me want to wear this or if it actually flatters me. Either way this is the winner of the collection for me.

Shivon is a rose gold color, looks duo-chromey to me. This color reminds me of pennies, but it is pretty. This one I got a lot of brush strokes with. I'm not a huge fan of it, I don't think it looks good on me, others might like it though.

Mieko is an orangey red, boarding more pink with gold sparkles. The sparkles in this polish are amazing and this picture doesn't do the color justice. This is my second favorite from the collection.

Zara is a pale violet with gold shimmer. Zoya calls this a duo chrome but I think it just has a gold sheen. This one is kinda sheer, this picture is 2 coats of color. A third coat might make it pop a little more but I like two coats. When I first saw the promo pictures of this collection I thought Zara was going to be a Sally Hansen Arabian Night dupe but it is nothing like AN.

Cyma is a deep pink red with gold shimmer. This color is the least unique to me, I feel like it has been done a million times. However a Zoya collection wouldn't be complete without one. Just like Essie and her sheer pinks.

I don't usually review cosmetics but these beauties followed Flourish home. Zoya Hot lips are pretty great. I've only worn Starlet so far, the gloss isn't overly sticky and the applicator is rounded making it easy to get the product out. It smells like those fire cracker ice pops, I think that is what they are called. It tastes nice too. Starlet is sheer but buildable which I like. I am not very big on wearing any type of color on my face, except blush. I was able to apply this gloss and only leave a light tint. It has glitter but it's not gritty and with the sheer coat I applied it wasn't visible. This can be a pro or con depending on what you like. Personally I'm not a huge glitter fan so I liked that I could wear it with out the glitter being an issue. The gloss also lasted for a decent amount of time which is great. You know what else is great? Matching your gloss to your polish. The three above match Richelle, Kalista, and Mieko almost perfectly.

Zoya nail lacquer and Zoya Hot Lips can be found at Zoya.com. The polishes retail for $6 each or you can purchase a sampler (which is full size polishes) for $36. Hot Lips retail for $6 each and come in a wide variety of colors.

Perfectly Polished Tips 84 - Superstar Nail Lacquer

Recently I was asked to try out a fairly new line of nail polish. Superstar Nail Lacquer. The polish is fast drying, free of toxins and comes in 21 different colors. Superstar has bold colors as well as subdued lady like hues. I got to test out 3 of the 21 shades, Fierce Fuchsia, Silver Screens, and Gucci Green. I was really impressed with these polishes. The company definitely has the brush and toxin free formula down. The brush wasn't too wide which is good for me because I have such small nail beds. They applied beautifully, no clumps and most importantly no streaking.

Fierce Fuchsia is a hot pink neon. It is slightly brighter than the photo above. This polish needed 3 coats for full coverage which was not a huge deal because it was dry in seconds. I do not have a top coat on in any of my swatches, because this is a neon it dries matte. A good top coat like INM Out the Door or Seche Vite will give you great shine.

Silver Screens (I mislabeled it in the picture, I apologize) is a foil-y metallic silver. For whatever reason I have been loving the foil-y, icy colors as of late. This color jumped out at me as soon as I opened the package. It is opaque in one coat but I prefer two, so that is what is shown above. Even without top coat it is still smooth and shiny. This one is going to get a lot of use from me.

Gucci Green is a deep forest green with a hint of gold sparkle. It is a very pretty color but for some reason I just cannot get into greens. This polish probably could have used three coats to make the color pop even more.

Why is Gucci Green living in a Lippmann Collection bottle you ask? Well my lovely 2 year old decided that he did not like Gucci Green and threw him against the wall. Snapping his neck and causing him to lose a lot of his contents. I was able to salvage a little more than half the bottle. My rug on the other hand was not so lucky. The purpose of this picture is to show you the slight gold shimmer.

Superstar Nail Lacquer retails for $8.50 and can be found at Stacia Pierce's Style Shoppe. Over all I am impressed with the quality of these polishes but I feel like the colors have all been done before. However I am still lusting over Ambitious Blue, Park Avenue Purple, and Walk the Red Carpet. If you have the opportunity to try these polishes do it. I tested Silver Screens over my manicure the other day and as of today had no chips or anything so I'm thinking the wear on these is pretty awesome too.

I'm not sure if there are any retail locations that sell this brand but it looks as if the website has a flat rate of $5 for shipping.

Perfectly Polished Tips 74 - NYC Molten Metal

NYC has released a metallic shade called Molten Metal for fall, I believe as of right now it is a limited edition color. It has been spotted in various drug stores and Target. I wasn't able to find it here in upstate NY, but it might just not have made it here when I looked. I am usually not a fan of drug store polishes, but this one was too unique to pass up. It is very sheer though, my swatch is 3 coats and it was mostly opaque. It was slightly streaky though but it is a glitter polish.

While I do like it on it's own I decided to try a layering experiment. I put one coat of Molten Metal over two coats of China Glaze's Bermuda Breakaway. The result was interesting, I don't think it's too pretty but it's grown on me. I put it on two nights ago and I have zero tip ware and no chips. It's probably a combination of the polishes, I don't think I put a base coat on though, I don't remember. Here is the result of my layering experiment.

NYC polishes are usually $2-3 depending on where you get them. They can be found at various drug stores, Target, Walmart, and possibly KMart. I am not sure what the display for this one looks like because it was sent to me since I couldn't find it here.