Cult Nails Hypnotic Collection

While at Cosmoprof this year, I had the pleasure of meeting Maria of Cult Nails fame. While I've heard wonderful things about her polishes, I had never gotten to see or try them in person...until now. Maria was generous enough to gift me a couple of her latest collection, the Hypnotic Collection, and  I am super excited to show them to you! These polishes far exceed my expectations, and the polish I didn't really think I'd like (it's so sheer, and my nails are so stained!) turned out to be the gem, and my favorite of the four!

The four colors included in the Hypnotic collection are In a Trance, Awakening, Enigmatic, and Hypnotize Me. 

Cult Nails In a Trance

Murky olive green shimmer that has hints of gold and coppery awesomeness.

This is the color I was SUPER excited to check out, and it surely didn't disappoint. When the sun hits this polish, it is stunning! A perfect color for fall, I wouldn't miss picking it up if I were you. 

Opacity scale (1-5): 3

Use for Konad: TBA 

Finish: Shimmer, 2-3 coats to be opaque

Cult Nails Enigmatic

Winey purple with silver sparkle.

This silver sparkle in this seems to pick up different colors of the rainbow - at first I thought it was holographic, but it's not. Very pretty though! 

Opacity scale (1-5): 3

Use for Konad: TBA 

Finish: Shimmer, 2-3 coats to be opaque

OMG, look at that amazing deep blue sparkle!

Cult Nails Awakening

Dusty teal creme

This, although simple, is a gorgeous color, and I wore it for 5 days straight!! Paired with Hypnotize Me, I truly couldn't keep my eyes off it (especially in sunlight!) This polish IS fairly sheer, but it did build up very nicely in only 3 coats. 

Opacity scale (1-5): 2

Use for Konad: TBA 

Finish: Creme, 3 coats to be opaque

Cult Nails Hypnotize Me

Sheer green base with green and blue glitter. 

Though I would probably never wear this color on its own, since my nails are so stained, I absolutely adore this color over Awakening.  LOVE. IT. The glitter in this polish morphs from different angles and over different colors. This is a MUST purchase. Bear in mind that, like most glitters, this dries to a semi-matte, textured finish, so you'll definitely need a top coat like Seche Vite.

Opacity scale (1-5): 1

Use for Konad: TBA 

Finish: Glitter, a million coats to be opaque :-D

Cult Nails polishes can be found at www.cultnails.com and are sold for $10 per bottle. 

Disclosure: Polishes in this post were provided for review by the manufacturer. 

Cosmoprof 2011 - CND Shellac

So at this point, I'm sure that 99.99999% of you have heard of the wonder product from CND called Shellac. I'm not here to introduce it to you. I'm here to PROVE it to you! As you may know, Shellac's claim to fame is that it is scratch-resistant, smudge-proof, etc. for 2 weeks! I have to say, I was skeptical. I knew that I had to put it to the test...normal nail polish rarely lasts a few hours on me before I see tip wear. Yes, yes, yes, I'm one of those girls that do bad things to their nails, I've even been known to use my nail as a screwdriver. Yes, I know. I tell you this so you can fully comprehend the awesomesaucenosity that is Shellac.

The proof is in the pictures....

The new Shellac colors!

The superstar of the new Shellac colors - Zillionaire, a flakey!

Day 1. 

On the thumb, Kristina did a cool technique where she cured the Shellac like normal, then buffed the shine off it, then added small droplets of Shellac top coat, then cured it, which looked like water droplets!

On the ring finger of each hand, she did black glitter 

(which was my idea, but it didn't really show up *sadface*)

Day 15.

I didn't get a chance to take a picture on Day 14. See how much it's grown out?!  NUTS!  I have to admit, I was getting stir crazy with it on so long. As you can see, it is actually still in REALLY good shape. There is a crack on the thumb nail, but that is where I accidentally bent my nail when packing some boxes, so it's my fault. 

Minor tipwear. 

Some tip wear, and some minor chips (which happened on Day 14) 

Bear in mind this is my dominant hand, so it gets abused the most. 

The removal process.

The removal process was super easy - just had to soak the pad of the removal wrap with acetone, then apply it pretty much like a band-aid, wait 10 minutes, and it comes off really easily.

Bandaged hand!!

WHAT?!  Look who I got to meet!

I got the chance to meet the artistic genius behind the CND Fashion week nails, co-founder and style director of CND, the fabulous Jan Arnold... and get this, she knows my blog!! *dies*

Overall, I was exceptionally impressed with Shellac. It wore strong through all 14 (15) days with only minor tip wear, even with how hard I am on my nails. The only downside I see of it is that I got bored with the color after a few days, and my nails grow so fast that the space created by the growth was distracting. Fun fact though, you CAN paint over Shellac, and remove it with Non-Acetone remover, and it won't damage the finish at all!

Are you as impressed with CND Shellac as I was?

Cosmoprof Preview! OPI MUPPETS!!

Ok, so I'm sure that you've seen the PR posts popping up lately on blogs about the much-anticipated OPI Muppets collection. I was lucky enough to visit the OPI booth, and though I wasn't lucky enough to meet Suzi, the genius behind all the amazing colors that OPI releases like Kimmi of The Plastic Diaries was, I still got my hands (and camera lens) on the incredible glitters that we have waiting for us this holiday!

I only photographed the glitters and 'Warm & Fozzy' from the other half of the collection, because I felt they were the most unique and awesome colors. :) In retrospect, I wish I had taken pictures of all of them, not just the ones I was gaga over. :-/

Here we go....

The GLITTERS!!!

The glitters, closer to see polish names and see colors better.

THe Simply Moi half, mostly reds, but a few others (like Warm & Fozzy) tucked in!




NOW for the closeups!!! & OMG they're AMAZEBALLS.

Rainbow Connection. Seriously dying for this combination of multi-color (and SIZED!) glitter!
Do you SEE all those huge hex sequin glitter pieces? *dies*

Excuse Moi! This fun, pink glitter is sure to catch the attention of everyone!

Gone Gonzo. Gonzo was always one of my favorite muppets, and this amazing blue glitter 
with the addition of larger silver hex glitter mixed in is over-the-top awesome.

Fresh Frog of Bel Air. This is another of the collection that I absolutely NEED. (OK, I need ALL 
of the glitters!) Grass green glitter with larger silver hex glitter mixed in?
 It sure makes it easy being green. :)

Divine Swine. Lovely magenta glitter with larger silver hex glitter mixed in. 
Sensing a pattern? (an AWESOME pattern?!)

Getting' Miss Piggy with It. Fiery red glitter with cool silver hex glitter mixed in. 
Perfect for the holidays!





Warm & Fozzy. I heart this. It makes me feel all warm and, dare I say, FOZZY?! 
The OPI description says a metallic copper, but I don't see that at all really.
 I see a gorgeous brown-based and gold metallic foil in the bottle, 
but it could look different on the nail.

Blurry to show the amazing sparkle!!

OK, so I don't know how you guys feel about this collection, but I'm sure I can probably guess. This collection is amazing, and really shows what OPI can do with glitter. I cannot WAIT to get these on my hands and feet. The ones that I think I am most excited for are Rainbow Connection, Fresh Frog of Bel Air, and Warm & Fozzy. 

Which are YOUR favorites?!

Lippmann or Not?

Check out this polish!! Pretty right? I've been lemming Deborah Lippman's Ruby Red Slippers for some time now, and my hot little hand is wrapped around it... or is it?

While at CosmoProf '11, I made sure to hit (or try to hit) all the booths that had ANYTHING to do with nail polish, nail care, etc. One of the booths that I visited was the NYX booth. I was excited to see what they had lined up- last year I saw some pretty amazing glitter polishes in their NYX Girls Nail Polish collection. This year they launched a new Spa Collection, which, granted, included several pretty colors. I was first struck by the selection, until I noticed the bottles. Look familiar? They're the same as Deborah Lippmann bottles! Worse yet?  Check this particular polish out....

Oh yes, that IS a Deborah Lippman Ruby Red Slippers knock-off/dupe... in the very same bottle!

I understand that polishes can tend to look similar, and to an extent, it's acceptable, and even expected. However, to so blatantly rip-off such a well-known and loved polish? Lame. 

What do you think? Does it bother you that NYX has seemingly copycatted a Deborah Lippmann?

Which would YOU buy?

Zoya Smoke Swatches & Review

ZOYA Jana

Putty/greyish taupe with plummy undertones

This is such a great, simple color! It applied flawlessly, and is a perfect toned-down, yet still trés chic color for fall!

Opacity scale (1-5): 3

Use for Konad: TBA 

Finish: Creme, 2 coats to be opaque

Zoya Petra

Raisin-toned grey. 

Another amazing neutral for fall. I love the undertones in this polish - and can totally see myself wearing the crap outta this polish. Appears darker on the nail than in the bottle in real life. 

Opacity scale (1-5): 3

Use for Konad: TBA

Finish: Creme, 2 coats to be opaque

Zoya Codie

Bittersweet dark, rich chocolate with a tinge of a murky green undertone

Seriously? Look at that shine. This color is stunning. Perfect for a night out, or for a little bit of edge without going all out with black. 

Opacity scale (1-5): 3

Use for Konad: TBA

Finish: Creme, 2 coats to be opaque

Zoya Anja

Rich port wine color/Black cherry

This full-bodied wine color screams fall. Dark, sexy and vampy, this polish is an amazing excuse to do a manicure when the leaves turn! My bottle seemed a little thicker than the others in the collection, probably a fluke though.

Opacity scale (1-5): 3

Use for Konad: TBA

Finish: Creme, 2 coats to be opaque

Zoya Cynthia

Blackened teal with a hint of shimmer

Another fabulous twist on black in this smoke collection. I love that this color skirts the line of being black, but still stays true to it's teal-y goodness. You can even catch a touch of microscopic shimmer if you look hard enough!

Opacity scale (1-5): 3

Use for Konad: TBA

Finish: While technically a creme, it contains a hint of shimmer. 2 coats

Zoya Dree

Olive drab with yellow undertones

Ooooh, hey there pretty lady! I'm such a sucker for murky olives, and this gorgeous polish is no different. It should be no surprise that this is my favorite of the Smoke collection. These colors look horrible on me - damn my red undertones, but I just can't stay away!

Opacity scale (1-5): 3

Use for Konad: TBA

Finish: Creme, 2 coats to be opaque

What it really comes down to...

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of using a Zoya polish knows that they rarely disappoint, and this half of the Smoke & Mirrors collection is no exception. Every color is a trendy, simple, chic, and amazing addition to your fall nail wardrobe. The standouts for me are definitely Dree and Petra, with Codie making it a tight race. 

Zoya nail polish can be found at the links above, www.zoya.com, or at ULTA stores and salons for $8 a bottle. 

Disclosure: the products in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer for review.