Lacquered Literati

Hello, all! I don't know how it's gotten to be Saturday already! I was busy at work this week with training staff, so I didn't have time to get you any good swatches, but I have one today!

This is 3 rather sloppy coats of Sally Hansen HD in Spectrum.  So far, I only have 3 colors from this line, but I really like them!  This is a super glitter packed turquoise that has a summery tropical water feel to it. After seeing this photo enlarged, I would probably do 4 coats next time to get better coverage.  I think these would be awesome to layer, since they are on the sheer side. 

Posted in Glitter, Sally Hansen, Summer '10, Turquoise

This weekend was not long enough! I don't want to be at work today, my bed is calling my name!

Here is 3 coats of Sally Hansen HD Laser.  I snatched up  two more from this line on an impulse buy, but I may go buy more :)  This color is a nice purple blue with bright purple-y glitter. On the nail it mostly shows its silver side, but I do see flashes of purple and pink. 

Here's a bottle pic where you can really see that purple glitter!

Hope everyone survives their Monday. I'm already looking forward to mine being over. 

Posted in Blue, Glitter, Sally Hansen, Shimmer, Summer '10

Hope all of you are having a good short week.  I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend again!

This is 3 coats of the super hot MAC Mercenary.  This was from last year's summer collection, Style Warrior, I think? I loooooove this polish.  It's the prettiest bronze shade with golden shimmer.  This color is such a fun summer color.  I love wearing it with teals and turquoises on my toes.  Just hotness. 

Posted in Bronze, MAC, Metallic, Shimmer

Woot woot, we have sunshine today! I hope everyone has a fun Saturday and a stress free weekend.  I don't have too much planned, but I'm looking forward to this nice weather.  So here is another Summer appropriate color :)

This is three coats of China Glaze Sun Worshipper. I wasn't sure I was going to like this color on me, but I ended up loving it! This is such an amazing, retina searing yellow orange and it's so great for summer.  I got a good deal of compliments on this polish and I think I have a new love for neons.  I've been wearing this and Flip Flop Fantasy as a pedi for some time now :). Thank you China Glaze for the Poolside Collection!

The wear on this polish was good, although once mine started chipping, the whole nail would end up chipped off.

Have a great weekend all! I'm out!

Posted in China Glaze, Neon, Orange, Summer '10

I really am a spoiled Californian, but I'm getting tired of this grey weather.  It's the end of May, I demand sunshine and summer weather!

Well, this is supposed to be a photo of China Glaze's Flip Flop Fantasy, a bright neon pink, but I don't know what my blog is doing to this photo.  Its a super fun bright pink with a wee twinge of coral and it looks that way in my Iphoto, but on here not quite so much. I currently have this on my toes and it's a fantastic color even in the shade. So bright!

These neons are a pain in the arse to photograph, but this one is a must have. I'm gonna do my best to edit it this so it shows up on my blog correctly! Sorry if this throws you guys off :(

Posted in China Glaze, Neon, Pink, Summer '10

Hey everyone! Thanks for being patient with me this week.  I haven't been too motivated, but I did get some swatches done for you guys. I'm needy and don't want you to abandon me :P

This is two beautiful lovely coats of OPI Funky Dunky from the new Shrek collection. I keep calling it "Funky Donkey", so forgive me if I type that!  This polish is my first purple creme! I love it.  It's a rich purple with a hint of grey in it.  It's super duper shiny and looks great sans topcoat.  I could practically see my reflection in my nails! 

I think I may pick up one or two more of the collection, but I don't know about the Shrek colored greens! Maybe, I should just be adventurous!

Posted in Creme, OPI, Purple, Summer '10

Sorry for the quick post ya'll.  It's been a bit hectic in my life right now.  A really good friend of mine passed this last week, so I haven't really been focusing on much. But,  I needed a happy color and this one suited me just fine!

Zoya Sienna is a really yummy orange shimmer.  This polish is pretty comparable to China Glaze's Orange Marmalade and has a very similar glass fleck appearance.  I did 3 coats to completely rid myself of visible nail line. 

Hopefully, everyone is having a good week.  I'll post more when I can. 

Posted in Glitter, Orange, Shimmer, Zoya

Apparently, there was a mass Walgreens scouring across the country when this polish came out.  Luckily, with my red beanie and glock in hand, I found the elusive Hidden Treasure. 

ONWARD!

Thar she blows, folks!  This is three coats of Hidden Treasure over my bare nails.  I actually wore this as a mani for a good 3 days before taking this photo.  I really wanted to test out Sally Hansen's 5-in-1 claim and see how it would do without additional base and topcoat. I scrubbed the shower right before this so pardon the cuticles.  I will say my polish held up well and it looked awesome at that.  It's like I had opals on my fingertips :) 

And here is the Captain of the A team! This is two coats of Hidden Treasure over eleventy billion coats of Sally Hanse Blu. I kind of wanted to pick a lighter base than a normal black, just to see what would happen.  I do like the result, it reminds me of a pair of simulated opal earrings I used to have.  

The wear on these Sally Hansen Complete blabbity blah polishes have been good so far.  I really hope they keep coming out with interesting colors such as these.

No Jaguar Sharks were hurt in the making of this review.  (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please go watch The Life Aquatic :)

Posted in Flakies, Sally Hansen, Summer '10

I wish all stores would get all polishes at the same time.  No more endless lists on the Nailboard about who found a certain flakie polish where! We all want it at the same time! That being said, I'm sure you know which brand is the culprit. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure...state your case.

This is 3 coats of Sea and Be Seen.  It's a light cornflower blue with a slight twinge of purple running throughout the polish.  The silver shimmer is interspersed with slightly more chunky particles making for a really pretty effect.  I will say that I prefer the bottle a little more to what shows up on my nails.  In the bottle you can see some green and purple casts, but on the nail I haven't been able to see it. 

The formula was pretty good, but be careful when applying multiple coats, they may smudge.  I like the brush, but I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea. I found that the wear on this polish has been really good, so I'm thinking of maybe picking a few more of these up

Posted in Blue, Sally Hansen, Shimmer, Summer '10

Ahhh summer is upon us! I am so excited to be wearing neon collections like China Glaze's Poolside!  So far, I've only got one from the collection because my beauty supply only had one :(

This is two coats of China Glaze Towel Boy Toy.  I would've bought this for the name, but the color so happens to be amazing as well! This is a very bright color, but not really a true neon.  It's a brightened light blue with ultra fine shimmer.  My mom, who isn't a polish fiend, was quite impressed at how fine the shimmer is in this polish.  I couldn't quite get a photo of it, but it's more apparent in the bottle than on the nail.  

Hopefully, I'll be able to get my hands on the rest of this collection.  I've got my eye on Flip Flop Fantasy!

Posted in Blue, China Glaze, Neon, Shimmer, Summer '10

Posted in Blog Love, Giveaway

Posted in Random

I just love polish brands that fly under the radar.  I love wearing brands that aren't sold regularly in brick and mortar stores.  I feel like I'm in some exclusive polish club :)

2 coats

Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm is a member of the holo club and the "really cute name" club.  This polish is a great find and if you like dark holos you won't be disappointed by the oil slick quality this one has.  It isn't a black holo, but more of a charcoal grey with a hint of brown.  It dries super glossy and is still holo in low lighting.  There are a few similar colors to this out there, but for the price you would definitely do best to get this one!

Posted in Diamond Cosmetics, Grey, Holo

Another Monday *groan* Well, I'll take the Mondays as long as we're getting closer to summer.  The weather in my area this weekend really made me excited for days to come.  I even managed to get to the beach :)
Speaking of things that don't have anything to do with the weather or the beach...

Eyes Like Sapphires is a royal blue with a slight frost to it.  It also has thicker grains of silver shimmer peeking out, which did result in me getting a few bumps of grit here and there.  A good topcoat should be able to even all that out, though. 

Posted in Blue, China Glaze, Shimmer

Sweet baby Jeebus! Lookit at all my new followers! I'm glad you guys are here.  Hopefully, you'll all be able to stand my incoherent ramblings and general nonsense :)

This confection for your fingertips is Diamond Cosmetics Sweet as Sugar.  It is indeed very sweet! I don't do sheers very often, but this one is quite nice.  It looks like I dipped my nails in very fine baking sugar.  This was three very thin coats and as you can see I've still got some visible nail line.  I'm thinking I would use a more opaque base coat prior to this polish. I don't think you'd have to layer it over a nude polish. 

Hooray for the week almost being over.  I'm so looking forward to the weekend.  Are you guys up to anything fun come Friday?

Posted in Diamond Cosmetics, Glitter, Pink, Sheer

Well ladies and gents, I now have 50 wonderful followers on my little blog!  I am so excited to have each and every one of you following me, so I decided to have a giveaway to show my appreciation! Many thanks to all of you!!

Summer is on it's way so I tried to pick out some fun colors that will look great in the sun :)

The winner will receive:

- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Purple Pizazz

- Sinful Colors Cream Pink

- Nicole by OPI Honey-Dew You Love Me (cute blue hearts!)

- OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui

- Poshe Super Fast Drying Topcoat

- China Glaze LOL

- China Glaze DV8

- China Glaze Luna

- China Glaze Blue Hawaiian 

- China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

This giveaway is open to followers and subscribers and will run until 11:59 PST on May 3rd, 2010. 


To enter:

1) You must be a follower of some kind. Any and all new followers are welcome! Leave me a comment letting me know your email address in case that you win.  1 entry


2) Blog about this contest for another entry! Leave a comment with a link to the post. 1 entry


3) Tweet about the contest! Either @ me on twitter or leave a link to your twitter in the comments! 1 entry


4) Add Lacquered Literati to your blogroll. Send me a link and I'll make sure to add you back.  If anyone has a blog that you would like on my blogroll, please email me! 1 entry

5) This one is a freebie! Tell me what colors you like to wear during summer or anything you want about the summer season! It's up to you :) 1 entry

To save yourself some sanity feel free to put all your entries into one comment. No matter what, please include your email so I'll be able to contact you.  You have until May 3rd, 2010. Have fun!

Posted in China Glaze, Contest, OPI, Sally Hansen, Sinful

I really jumped aboard the matte train this last fall and I was really happy to see different companies embracing the trend.  I will say that in the case of OPI the Suede collection is FAR superior to their matte collection. Their mattes were just so chalky looking, blegh.  Here is one of my faves from the Suedes.

2 coats

OPI Russian Navy Suede is probably my favorite blue matte/suede finish polish. It isn't flat at all and the fine matted shimmer gives this polish a great depth.  Whenever I'm feeling lazy or don't have time to wait for a mani to dry, I throw this one.  It dries super quickly, so you can do two coats and be out the door.  If you do have some time, see my next photo :)

With topcoat

I love throwing on topcoat a day or two later, because it's like a brand new mani without all the hassle! There is so much shine in this polish and a quick swipe of a clear polish does this baby wonders.  I almost prefer it to the matted finish!

Posted in Blue, Matte, OPI, Shimmer, Suede

This is two coats of Diamond Cosmetics Fiery Coral.  It does live up to it's name with its bright coral pop and fine eye catching shimmer. This is a great spring and summer polish!

I love the formula on Diamond Cosmetics polish.  They have a good solid application and the dry time is relatively fast.  It's nice to see that for around two dollars you get a great quality polish! 

Posted in Coral, Diamond Cosmetics, Shimmer

So after the lovely pre-marriage bliss that was my first Sparkle post, this could be considered the honeymoon post. I think? Yeah, I've probably lost my marbles, but it's all out of love.  Imagine cool blue tropical waters and these colors on your hands....

3 coats

Oh, Charla.  This is one polish that would represent a honeymoon.  It's such a beautiful turquoise-y blue with fine iridescent shimmer that looks like the sun hitting tropical waters. I actually ran into a wall while swimming laps one day because I could not stop gaping at this polish. 

3 coats

Mimi is a purple that wants to be seen.  It is far brighter than my photo depicts.  The fine pink and silver shimmer add so much depth to this polish.  I wish my photo did it justice!!

3 coats

I imagine Ivanka being a shimmering piece of green seaweed on a hot white sand beach.  Boy, this post really tells a good deal about me, huh? This is such a vibrant happy green and the fine flecks of shimmer only make it that much better.

There you have it folks.  How could I resist wanting to be with Zoya Sparkle forever? I promise I'll be loyal and true! Ok...well...maybe until the next Zoya collection comes out ;)

Posted in Glitter, Shimmer, Summer '10, Zoya

I've never really wanted to marry a nail polish, but Zoya has made me want to marry an entire collection (possibly a bottle of remover as well).  I can picture it now....Zoya Sparkle and I will play in the sunshine and watch our little sparkle babies scamper in the grass.
Ok, I'm being creepy. On with ze photos!

2 Coat

I'm still choosing to pretend that Alegra has two L's in it and was named after me.  I shouldn't be such a jerk because this polish deserves nothing but praise.  This polish is a much more vivid, bright magenta that what my picture depicts. It's a jelly base with a mix of superfine pink and clear sparkles. 

3 coats

Gilda, you saucy minx you.  I shun pink, but how can I resist your bright pink hue and fish scale type glitter? You're right, I can't

2 coats

Nihdi stops me dead in my tracks.  For all the smack talking I do about reds, this was smacked me back HARD.  This polish has quite a dense base color that I was not expecting.  Also, instead of matching red glitter it had flecks of gold and fine silver shimmer throughout it. 

I cannot help but love all these colors and they are not my usual cup of tea.  Stay tuned for Part II and the rest of the Sparkle lovelies!

Posted in Glitter, Shimmer, Summer '10, Zoya

Ok.  I really need to get back into the swing of posting frequently.  Sad thing is that it still isn't consistently sunny in my area! I did get some swatching done today, so I'll have to awesome Zoya posts this week, whoop whoop!

Here was my Spring mani I wore for Easter.  Although I've loved these spring colors and pastels, I think I'm ready for some summer colors!

I chose to do two coats of China Glaze Flyin' High with an accent nail of Lemon Fizz polka dots.  I only do simple nail art, otherwise I'd end up with some ugly swamp creature nails!  I thought this was festive and it went well with the two minutes of sun we had yesterday, haha.

Posted in China Glaze

I keep realizing how many holo polishes I have.  Hopefully, you aren't all sick of these kind of posts, cause I could stare at holo photos all day!

OPI DS Extravagance fits it's title so very well.  It is the most eye catching deep magenta shade that I've ever seen in a polish.  It is so smooth and gorgeous.  Every polish lover should own this!  It's a perfect pedicure color as well and I'm really glad I forked out money for this polish! It'll be one that you can't stop staring at!

Posted in DS, Holo, OPI, Pink

Oy, a week without posting. Sorry, all! Life just got away with me last week and I pretty much did not turn my computer on for the last 5 days.  Bad, blogger, bad!!

This is 2 coats of China Glaze Cowgirl Up.  This is such shimmery, frosty purple and once out of the bottle it really shows its stuff.  There are teeny little blue flecks of glitter throughout the polish and if you pay attention you'll catch them from time to time.  Ignore the wibbly application on my ring finger, because this polish applies very smoothly.

I don't normally wear purples this tone on my hands, but this can definitely be an all year polish color.  I'm thinking it'd look great as a pedi. 

Posted in China Glaze, Frost, Purple, Shimmer

Wow! I now have 40 followers on my lil' blog and I must say I appreciate each and every one of you! It's nice knowing that people find me (somewhat) entertaining :) I think once I hit 50 I'm gonna have a cool polish and book giveaway! Thank you all again so much!

Here we have Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Purple Pizazz.  I do really love this polish, but it is seriously so dang sheer.  These photos are with three coats and in the direct sunlight I still had visible nail lines! *grumble* At least this polish applied well and it's beautiful jelly finish makes it a must have from your local drugstore.  Check out the fine flecks of reddish glitter! 

Posted in Jelly, Purple, Sally Hansen

I seriously could have a million holo posts and I'm positive this will not be my last one.  I can't help it, the sun is out and for me that means BLING polishes!
I'm also celebrating my friends 25th birthday this weekend and I know will be spending some time by the pool.  I think this polish is pretty festive :)

3 coats, Insta-Dri topcoat

China Glaze OMG, you complete me.  Your ultra fine holo shimmer satisfies my inner raccoon. I have to promise myself to not stare at you while driving, lest I cause an accident.  

What's your favorite holo?!

Posted in China Glaze, Holo, Silver

Hopefully, everyone has recovered from all their St. Paddy's day endeavors! I snapped a few photos of yesterday's mani and the wonderful gifts I received in the mail!!

For this manicure I did one coat of Rimmel Camouflage with three coats of Nfu-Oh 56.  I love the flakies in this manicure.  They were a little hard for me to capture in the direct sunlight, but I know you can see those opalescent flakes! Pardon the tip wear, I wore this one all week :)

Here's a macro shot from that same mani. 

Here are the lovely giveaway goodies I received this week from Mary over at Body and Soul.  I recently won one of her Friday Follower giveaways and I loooove my prize pack. 

I received - California Mango hand care kit

                 - Orly French Polynesian Travel Kit

                 - Barielle Rebuilding Nail Protein

                 - Orly Nail Rescue (So happy I won this!)

                 - China Glaze Dripping Wet (I'll have swatches for you soon!)

So this was a lovely package to get in the mail.  Did you get any goodies in the mail this week? 

Posted in Blog Love, Flakies, Green, Nfu-Oh, Rimmel

Since there is no such thing as too many green polishes, I figure why not post some! Just call me Alan GreenSPAM.

This lovely is Rimmel Camouflage.  It's a beautiful green with a golden shimmer to it. The bottle says it'll be good in one coat, but I didn't find that to be the case.  This here is two coats! A great St. Patrick's Day color!

Zoya Suvi, is a great blackened deep forest/hunter green. In super dark lighting it can tend to look black, but in the sunlight this polish shows its rich shimmer.  This polish does go on sheer, so three coats were completely necessary for me. 

Zoya Verushka is one of my all time favorite matte polishes. Its a slightly steely evergreen with fine silver shimmer running all throughout it.  This was my go to fall color, but trust me it's not just for fall.  Throw a topcoat on this one, please!

Hold onto your balls! Didn't I tell you it would be great?! Simply adding a topcoat transforms this polish to an amazingly sparkly green with tons of shine.  I love that I get two very different polishes in one bottle :)

China Glaze's Gussied Up Green is hands down my favorite forest green. Although, similar to Zoya Suvi, I find that Gussied Up Green looks "cleaner" in my opinion.  I'm not sure if that makes sense, haha. 

Well, from the looks of things I think I need some brighter greens! I've got a few more greens in my collection, but have yet to be photographed.  I'll try and post my actual St. Patrick's Day mani later on!

Posted in China Glaze, Green, Rimmel, Shimmer, Zoya

I've been meaning to write more book posts since I've gotten back into reading more often.  Here is one of the latest that I've read...

Shades Of Grey by Jasper Fforde

Rating: 4/5

Recommend: Yes, indeed!!

Quote: ""Okay, this is the wisdom. First, time spent in reconnaissanse is never wasted. Second, almost anything can be improved with the addition of bacon. And finally, there is no problem on Earth that can't be ameliorated by a hot bath and a cup of tea."" 

Jasper Fforde is one of my favorite authors and I always enjoy the satiric way he plays with words. Having read all of Fforde's last books, I knew I wouldn't have trouble enjoying this one. This book is much different than his last few, but his off beat sense of style is very apparent throughout the novel. 

Shades of Grey is the start of a new trilogy set in a dystopian world called Chromatica, a world were the social hierarchy is determined by the colors you can see. Our main character, Eddie Russett, is sent away from his comfortable home town to the Outer Fringes to do a survey for the Colortocracy.  Eddie soon comes to find that the world he once knew has all but dissolved.  His normal, rigid adherence to the rules of the Colortocracy are no longer doing him any good. Eddie, with the help of Jane, a Grey, begins to learn that following the rules will not guarantee merits and safety in the Outer Fringes.  

I wish I could give this book a 5, but the extreme slow pacing in the beginning gave me a rough time.  I had to force myself to read at times, but once everything fell into place I could not stop.  Fforde takes great care in building a story and the world that it takes place in. There's action, humor and the end holds you until the very last pages.  I'm already wishing for a sequel!!

If you've ever read and enjoyed any Jasper Fforde novels, I highly recommend you pick this up!

Posted in Books

I must say that I love China Glaze so very very much right now.  All of their colors always seem to suit my mood and make me happy while I wear them.  Today, I've got two from the Up and Away Collection.  These are such great spring colors!

I love Lemon Fizz, although it did give me a small case of lobster hands in this photo.  It's such a bright pale lemon color that isn't too pale or too bright.  This color may be a soft yellow, but it does command some attention and you won't go unnoticed while wearing it.  I'm proud to say this is the only yellow I have that doesn't look horrible on me, hooray!!

Flyin' High looks a little more sky blue than it actually is in this photo. It's got an aqua feel to it that I just can't get over.  I've worn this polish for a week straight because it makes me happy. I've gotten quite a few compliments on this one too.  I think people cannot help liking colors like this.  

I have Four Leaf Clover as well, but I CANNOT for the life of me get an accurate photo.  Every time I take a picture I get a blue and not the lovely green that it is.  I'll keep trying and see what I come up with. 

So, what polishes do you love from this collection?

Posted in Blue, China Glaze, Creme, Spring 2010, Yellow

Since St. Patrick's Day is approaching and green is one of my favorite colors, I figure my blog could use with a green polish.  I notice that I've got a lot more blues and purples, but not nearly enough greens as I should.

Welcome to one of my favorite drug store greens.  This is two coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Emerald City with two coats of Claire's green Chunky Glitter on the ring finger.  I liked the idea of an accent nail for this mani and I think it looks fun without all the hassle of glitter removal.  I can't say enough about SH Xtreme Wears.  They are so worth their little price tag.  Claire's also has a few other shades of chunky glitter, but mine only had the blue and green.  

So what are your favorite greens? 

Posted in Claires, Glitter, Green, Sally Hansen, Shimmer

I've got Luxe and Shine for you today! My Sally's did not have Rage, although I'm not really into rose gold type shades.  These are my first two Orly polishes!

Ok, I HATE gold jewelry, but Luxe is the most beautiful shade of gold polish! This one really appeals to me because it is a true gold without leaning toward yellow gaudy-ness. This polish seems to have a super  teeny, fine shimmer to it that I can't quite describe.  It's pretty much opaque in one coat and a definite must have if you like the look of Minx and foil finished nails!

The sun had just ran behind clouds as I took this photo, but Shine is freaking amazing none the less! This is such a crisp, clean silver and I'm sad that I don't have a better photo for you.  Trust me, it's so worth it.

Both of these polishes applied smoothly and I did two thin coats for both. The fact that these are metallics with a foil finish AND not a brush stroke in sight makes me love Orly.

What does everyone think about these polishes?

Posted in Foil, Gold, Metallic, Orly, Silver, Spring 2010

Although it's mid-week and I have Friday to look forward to, this rain is killing me! I need a sunshine fix soon or I'm going to go bonkers.  So, I'm posting a happy manicure that reminds me of glistening swimming pools and summer.  

I didn't think OPI Sea, I Told You So! needed any help being pretty, but layering Nfu-Oh 53 over it made it hot! The flakies in that polish remind me of a really light, lab created opal set of earrings I had when I was younger.  I loved the color of them, but couldn't suffer through wearing non-surgical steel earrings.  So, now when I want an opal fix, I just slap one Nfu-Oh or another over my polish and the effect is amazing!

Posted in Blue, Flakies, Nfu-Oh, OPI, Shimmer

This lumpy, bumpy, POS picture is of Sinful's Mint Apple.  This is actually the only mint I own.  For some reason, I never really got behind the idea behind all the other mint polishes of the world, but I do like this one. It looks much dustier in the bottle, but it's a beautiful pale green with very fine shimmer. The formula on this was so-so.  This picture was three coats, so be patient and use thin coats. 

All in all this is a great little polish.  For $1.99 at Walgreens anyone can afford to bulk up their polish collection with great colors like these!

Posted in Mint, Shimmer, Sinful

PURPLE RAIN!!! I finally have the polish that kicks Vendetta's wannabe bum!  

This is my first NARS polish and I am so damn impressed. This color is a deep purple with red and blue shimmer throughout the entire polish.  The shimmer in this polish is amazing.  I almost did not want this polish from how it looked in the bottle, but boy I'm glad I got it. RUN to Sephora and get this! Well, driving would make more sense, but you get the urgency, right?

These pictures looked great in my Iphoto, but they appear to be a little washed out once I uploaded them to Blogger.  This polish is a deep purple that leans on the side of red, not a light purple at all.

Posted in NARS, Purple, Shimmer