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Milani Holographic Nail Lacquer Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:46:04 +0000

Milani Holographic Nail Lacquers: Hi-Tech, digital, Cyberspace;
HD, 3D, Hi-Res

Milani Holographic Nail Lacquers for Spring

Milani Holographic Nail Lacquer ($4.99 each) really caught my eye after I reviewed Hi-Tech. Here are all of the new shades for Spring swatched and photographed–and still loving them! The formula on these is thin, but it’s not runny–it works quite well and it’s very easy to apply. I did three coats for all the shades, which was just what was needed (except 3D, where two would have been fine). These are just fun, sparkling shades! :)

Hi-Tech is spring-y, yellow-green with different flecks of, predominantly, gold and green shimmer.
Digital is a sparkling medium pink with multi-colored shimmer. Pink and purplish shimmer dominate, but then there are flecks of gold and green, too.
Cyberspace is a sky blue base with green blue shimmer that’s most noticeable, and then the reflective multi-colored shimmer is subtler.
HD is a silver-ish polish with a semi-sheer silver color base and lots of bright silver and multi-reflective shimmer. I found this was the sheerest shade of the bunch; pictured is three coats, and you can still see a bit of the nail through it.
3D is a yellow-gold that goes opaque in two coats, though I swatched it with three, just for good measure. It has brightened golden yellow shimmer along with the multi-coloured shimmer found in holographic shades.
Hi-Res is a shimmering medium red-based purple base, almost feels like a jelly base, with icy purple and pops of gold shimmer dominate, but then there is also red, blue, and green shimmer underneath.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! :)

Product: 29/30
Value: 9/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: Love glittery, holographic polish? Check out the new shades by Milani!

Availability: Local drugstores, Milani

See more photos & swatches!

Milani Hi-Tech Holographic Nail Lacquer

Milani Digital Holographic Nail Lacquer

Milani Cyberspace Holographic Nail Lacquer

Milani HD Holographic Nail Lacquer

Milani 3D Holographic Nail Lacquer

Milani Hi-Res Holographic Nail Lacquer

MAC Give Me Liberty of London: Nail Lacquer Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:50:18 +0000

MAC Give Me Liberty of London: Nail Lacquer Reviews, Photos, Swatches

I like the level of detail of the packaging, from the boxes to the print on the actual products. I just think it’s a nice touch–the attention to detail is reminiscent of past major launches like last year’s Hello Kitty, to put it in perspective. The nail lacquers both have the Liberty bird printed on the front of the bottle.

Nail Lacquer ($12.00 U.S. / $14.50 CDN)

Blue India is a dusty, muted dark gray-blue with a creamy finish. It goes opaque in about two coats, but three coats makes it perfect. This is a surprisingly flattering shade, because even though it’s distinctly blue, it doesn’t run too cool against my warmer skin tone. This is definitely one of the better formulated shades I’ve come across from MAC in the past year.
Vestral White is a creamy white. It’s not an ultra bright white, though. I had trouble getting this one to look even, and I did try three coats to get it to the level shown in the swatches. Not a stellar formula on this one–a little runny, almost watery–and takes some patience to get a smooth, even look.

See more photos and swatches!

Outside of the nail lacquer packaging!

Inside of the nail lacquer packaging!

MAC Blue India Nail Lacquer

MAC Vestral White Nail Lacquer

Please do not repost these images without permission. If you want to share these images, please link to the post! Thank you! :)

China Glaze Poolside Collection: Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:08:00 +0000

Pool Party, Flip Flop Fantasy, Sun Worshipper;
Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Kiwi Cool-Ada, Towel Boy Toy

China Glaze Poolside Collection: Review, Photos, Swatches

Poolside is a summer collection that includes six shades of neon lacquer. As with most neons, application isn’t the easiest, but China Glaze has certainly improved the formula from the last round of neons they did. Similarly, the finish is mostly matte, but I used a glossy top coat to give it the glossy look (but if you prefer something more matte, then just opt to go without a top coat).

Both a benefit and a potential issue, these polishes dry faster (like matte polishes do), so keep that in mind. All of the shades had a runnier consistency than I’m used to from China Glaze, so I went with a thinner first coat to lay down a “base” in a sense, before layering on two more coats (about medium in thickness — it’s easy to over-apply).

Please note, Poolside will not be available until April 2010. (You may see it start showing up online at etailers in March, though.)

China Glaze recommends, “Like most neon polishes, the first layer will look extremely opaque and thin. You will need to build up to desired coverage and always remember to let each layer dry completely before applying the next. This will help prevent streaks and missing patches of color on the nail bed.”

Pool Party is a brightened hot pink. This applied in three coats for an opaque, smooth look.
Flip Flop Fantasy is a neon coral — I’d say it’s a little more coral-pink than the pictures show, but it’s about that dark. Three coats on this one was good enough to give me a solid and smooth look.
Sun Worshipper is an orange-y yellow — aptly named — that just glows. This is my favorite shade from the six, because it’s something different and really vibrant. Three coats for smooth, opaque coverage.
Yellow Polka Dot Bikini is neon, highlighter yellow. I had the most trouble applying this one, and I think if you take your time and build up to about four coats, you’ll get decent results. It’s ultra bright, though! This kind of cool greenish-edge of highlighter yellow is not so flattering on my skin tone, unfortunately!
Kiwi Cool-Ada is a brightened neon green. It’s brighter than grass, that’s for sure! Like Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, application was a little fussier than the other shades. I think a slower, more precise application might be key, as well as layering two thinner coats as the first two, then building up to four.
Towel Boy Toy is a brightened sky blue with soft blue pearl. This is the only shade that has any shimmer in it, but this was the shade that applied the easiest (in fact, it was easy!). Pictured is just two coats, but a third wouldn’t hurt. This was my second favorite, but I’d say some of that comes from how easy it was to apply.

Application Troubles?

Temptalia readers shared their suggestions on perfecting the neon manicure/pedicure…

Samantha suggested applying a thin coat of white polish on before you apply the color itself. April agreed, while Phyrra recommended Color Club’s Milky White for the perfect base coat for these brights.
DVC and Charlotte agreed that lots of thin coats may not be the way to go–two or three coats should do the trick, neither too thin nor so thick it’s hard to work with.
Roslyn finds a sheer, pearly top coat helps make them pop a bit more.

What are your favorites?

See more photos & swatches!

Pool Party, Flip Flop Fantasy, Sun Worshipper;
Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Kiwi Cool-Ada, Towel Boy Toy

China Glaze Pool Party Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Sun Worshipper Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Kiwi Cool-ada Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Towel Boy Toy Nail Lacquer

OPI Hong Kong Collection: Review, Photos, Swatches — Part 2

Christine — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:00:57 +0000

OPI Nail Lacquers: Jade is the New Black, Suzi Says Feng Shui, A Good Man-darin
is Hard to Find, Bling Dynasty, Red My Fortune Cookie, Hot & Spicy

OPI Hong Kong Collection: Review, Photos, Swatches — Part 2

Here is the second half of the Hong Kong Collection!

Jade is the New Black is a deep jade green cream. It’s not like Chanel Jade, it’s much deeper, greener than that, but it’s a nice alternative. This applied easily with two coats and had a decent consistency, if a little on the thicker side.
Suzy Says Feng Shui is a creamy darkened sky blue. This is a really lovely shade of blue. I don’t have too many blue creams in my collection, so this was a welcome addition. It applied smoothly and went opaque in two coats. I felt like this one was a bit on the runny side, though.
A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find is a traffic-stopping neon orange. I don’t think it’s a true neon, but it certainly brightens up the place. This was another shade that went opaque and smooth in just one coat, though I still did two for good measure. Consistency was good–again, not too thick or thin.
Bling Dynasty is a yellow-gold with brighter, truer gold shimmer. I love golds, so in true Temptalia fashion, I also liked this one. The brush strokes weren’t too bad in this one — my shaky hand was more of the culprit than anything else.
Red My Fortune Cookie is an orange-red cream. It’s almost like a tomato red, but more on the orange side than the red side. In the light, it looks more fiery, while in low light it looks redder. This was a one coater as well with a nice consistency.
Hot & Spicy is a peachy orange cream. I found this one a little streaky to work with; even after three coats, I couldn’t get the streaks to disappear fully. I think this is just one of those shades where patience is most definitely a virtue.

See more photos & swatches!

OPI Jade is the New Black Nail Lacquer

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui Nail Lacquer

OPI A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find Nail Lacquer

OPI Bling Dynasty Nail Lacquer

OPI Red My Fortune Cookie Nail Lacquer

OPI Hot & Spicy Nail Lacquer

OPI Nail Lacquers: Jade is the New Black, Suzi Says Feng Shui, A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find, Bling Dynasty, Red My Fortune Cookie, Hot & Spicy

OPI Hong Kong Collection: Review, Photos, Swatches — Part 1

Christine — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:50:58 +0000

OPI Nail Lacquers: Lucky Lucky Lavender, Meet Me on the Star Ferry, Panda-monium
Pink, Pearl of Wisdom, Chop-sticking to My Story, Dim Sum Plum

OPI Hong Kong Collection: Review, Photos, Swatches — Part 1

For Spring, OPI has launched a twelve-piece collection with the theme of Hong Kong. I found the overall application of the collection to be decent to good, with a few being on the thicker side and couple on the runnier side. For reference, I bought mine through TransDesign!

Lucky Lucky Lavender is a creamy reddened lavender. It’s similar to Panda-monium Pink, except it’s darker and more purple. I found this one to have a good consistency, but it still needed three coats to look opaque and minimize streaking. Thicker coats worked better on this than thinner ones, because the thinner coats led to a streakier application.
Meet Me on the Star Ferry is a burgundy-plum with multicolored shimmer and an almost metallic sheen. I found that brush strokes showed up just a little bit in this, but they weren’t noticeable from a regular viewing distance. Two coats worked well here and there wasn’t a problem with streakiness.
Panda-monium Pink is a light, milky pastel pink with a cool undertones. I found the consistency to be a little on the thicker side, which made for a more challenging application. Really found you had to take your time with this one to make it look its best. Two coats and it was opaque, though, at least.
Pearl of Wisdom is a sheer pearlescent pink shimmered shade. It doesn’t go opaque on me at all, so it’s really more of a sheer to me. My shaky hand made the brush strokes more noticeable than I would have liked! The consistency on this one was fine–not too thick or thin.
Chop-sticking to My Story is a browned orange cream. This one is ridiculously pigmented; just one coat and I felt like I could stop there. It feels thick, yet it doesn’t have a goopy feel–it’s thick enough to deliver ultra pigmentation in one coat, but smooth enough to apply beautifully. I wish this color was more my style, since it applied so well!
Dim Sum Plum is a brightened fuchsia-plum cream. This is probably one of my favorite shades, just because it’s a color that I tend to gravitate towards. Like Chop-sticking to My Story, one coat was enough to provide smooth, pigmented color. I went with two, though, for the swatches.

See more photos & swatches!

OPI Hong Kong Nail Lacquers

OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender Nail Lacquer

OPI Meet Me on the Star Ferry Nail Lacquer

OPI Panda-monium Pink Nail Lacquer

OPI Pearl of Wisdom Nail Lacquer

OPI Chop-sticking to My Story Nail Lacquer

OPI Dim Sum Plum Nail Lacquer

OPI Nail Lacquers: Lucky Lucky Lavender, Meet Me on the Star Ferry, Panda-monium Pink, Pearl of Wisdom, Chop-sticking to My Story, Dim Sum Plum