Orly and the Space Cadet

October 15:

Alas, it has been a full week since I last graced this little project of mine, but it is for a very good reason, I promise! Through my travels of the exciting world of College, my former laptop has been my constant companion, but as I entered into my third year, I figured it was time for a new laptop. Today as new laptop day, and after spending a few hours playing around with it, I am satiated enough to write my first blog with my new computer!

Onto the nails!

This week I have ventured into uncharted territories...at least for me. Orly is a nail product brand that I know of but have not really used anything from before. I own only two Orly polishes and one top coat, so as far as my collection goes, that is nothing, but so far I am impressed.

The color seen here is called Space Cadet and it is from their Cosmos FX collection (I think it is the fall 2010 collection as well). Anyways, I literally had to hunt this one down! First, I

went to one Sally's Beauty, then an Ulta, then another Sally's where I was lucky to find one bottle of it left. I was fully pr

epared to go to more shops for it because I think this nail polish is so different from anything I own and I needed to get it! (Side note: Every Sally's I went to carried this line, and two out of three Ulta's have it so you have some options).

When it comes time to catalogue the color, I run into issues. It is an obvious and true duochrome with the two colors being rosy purple pink and gold yellow green but it has a teal base. So should I put it as a blue with foil shimmer? What about a purple or a green or a yellow or a pink? There are just too many options and I love that! Eventually I decided it was a purple and so a purple it shall stay.

I tried to take a picture that represented how different this

polish can get on the nail but it is too hard to truly capture this color on camera.

The formula was pretty good in my opinion. It was not too thick nor too runny, and it was good in three coats. The finish was very foil-like and I used two coats of top coat to make it shiny but it dried smooth. Removal took a little extra effort, but now where near as much as a glitter would. I think the removal was like taking off Sally Hansen's HD nail polish. Also, the polish lasted for a good amount of time for me. I kept it on only 3.5 days, but it didnt chip in that time so that was a plus!

Now to Orly's brush and bottle. Can I just begin by saying I love Orly's bottle design! The rubber cap is pure genius for the home manicurist! It feels so secure in my hand and it is shaped just so that it fits comfortably between my fingers! The brush was a little bit bigger than Essie's but no where close to OPI's and for my nail length and width it was perfect.

Over all, I am impressed with Orly's product and I think I shall purchase from them again. The brush, bottle and formula were great and the polish was completely unique and long lasting!

Next I think a visit with OPI is in store, for I simply can not get enough of the Swiss Collection. That means another trip to the Alps...but who could complain about that? This time I am looking to find the gem of a color that is called "Cuckoo for this Color".

Until next time,

Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress

I happened upon an Ogre

October 8:

Ah yes, it would seem that after traveling for a short while I would be due to encounter some silly creatures. But an Ogre, it is weird enough to write the word let alone behold the fellow (by which I mean Shrek!), this was a change! Twas a short trip from Essie over to Far Far Away, ruled by OPI, where I found "Who the Shrek are you?" from the Shrek collection waiting to be painted on my nails.

This was quite an adventure for me, seeing as the previous weeks had be full of fall colors, yet it was just what I needed to mix things up!

Of course, I love OPI's formula, which is usually a good consistency and is opaque in two coats. However, this polish was a bit more runny, like Essie's, without being as pigmented as Essie so I ended up painting three coats of polish and could have used a fourth to touch up. I hate using more than three coats, and even three is pushing it, but the end result is worth it. Luckily the dry time isnt bad either, I'd call it average for OPI, which is still good!

Luckily this odd Shrek colored green looks good on me, because this could have ended up as a major disaster! Instead, it looked like someone had liquified Shrek and mass marketed him, and I'm not complaining!

After having talked about OPI for a few posts, I just have to say that I think their brushes are a bit too big for me. I have smaller nails...I think, which means that no matter how careful I am, I always get polish on my cuticles. I find that Orly's and Essie's brushes are a lot better for my nail shape.

This color has given me the courage to try another one of Shrek's collection, that being "What's with the Cattitude". Hopefully we will be seeing that one on my nails in the near future, perhaps I'll even go back for "Rumple's Wiggin". Writing all of these names is so much fun!

Next, however, I am making a trip to the final frontier...yes I mean space. I plan to seek out Orly's "Space Cadet" for a nail expirience unlike any other.

Until next time,
Happy Painting.

The Nailventuress

Cozying up with Essie's Angora Cardi

October 5:

Hello again! This morning I woke up to quite a chill, so I decided what is the best way to deal with cold weather is to throw on an angora cardi. Sadly I don't have one of those lying around, but I decided a trip over to Essie to paint on "Angora Cardi" was the next best thing.

How many times have I praised Essie's formula? Well however many it was, it wasnt enough! This time I decided to go out on a limb and leave the nail polish without a top coat. Let me repeat that... NO TOP COAT! This is the most outlandish thing I could have done when it comes to painting my nails, and yet I did it! This travels seemed to have made me more keen to trying new things.

Anyways, this was a two-coater for me, and that shine is au natural. This was such a beautiful purple dusty pinky mauve that it was absolutely perfect for the cold Autumn weather that has been greeting me in the mornings!

After three days of having this polish on, I found that it had started to wear a bit at the tips of my nails, but besides that, it was still shiny and had kept its color!

To my complete surprise, my nails were rock hard within five minutes of applying the second coat, and I'm not just saying that either! I received a visit from my mother, such a treat on these travels of mine, and with she had brought bagels. Mind you bagels are wonderful to munch on while relaxing on a Sunday morning, but they are a fresh manicures worst nightmare! All the hard toasted bread and garlic and poppy seeds, it was making me nervous. To solve the nerves, I simply polished off my bagel, then looked at my shiny new manicure and was pleased to find it was still shiny and new without a single dent in it!

The conclusion of my mini Essie expirement...win! Essie is long lasting, shiny, fast drying pigmented polish that looks great on the nail.

Oh and the clean up is a dream, for one who travels such as I do. I used one cotton ball, only one, to clean up all ten of my fingers. Tis such a small thing, but when supplies are crucial, these things make for one very happy nailventuress.

Well, my many travels to Essie have left me quite satisfied, and I'm sure I'll be back before long. Now, however, as I look over my map, I am reminded of times that happened in a land called "Far Far Away." Ah yes, it is to the kingdom where Shrek and Fiona rule that I seek out next. This time I am looking to brighten up these cold mornings with a fun green known as "Who the Shrek are you?" It shall be quite exciting!

Until next time,
Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress

Revlon helps welcome Autumn

October 3:

Good Morrow dear friends. It is quite early (or late) in the morning here, yet I find myself writing this post. As promised, I journeyed to Revlon to keep my appointment with a color called "Iced Spice." Seeing as Autumn began to make an appearance around here, I decided an orange upon my nails was the perfect way to welcome it in.

As you can see in the first picture, the orange I chose is a lot more copper than orange, almost like a shiny new penny combined with pumpkin pie, but I LOVE it! The only thing I would change about this polish is I would make it scented. I have a thing for Revlon scented polish and with a name like "Iced Spice" I would have loved a smell to accompany it, but alas, twas chemicals that met my nose.

But on to the details... The brush is long and thin, which is fine by me, though I found that sometimes it did not pick up enough polish and I had to "double-dip." This usually isn't an issue for me, but for some reason with the Revlon polishes, when I double-dip, the nails polish gets really bumpy on the nails and it doesn't dry flat like Essie.

The formula is good, I think the wear is great for the price and it takes only 2-3 coats depending on how thick your coats are. The dry time for this polish is pretty good... well, yes and no. It dries fast enough, but I've found with Revlon polishes that you really need to take the time and wait in between coats or else bubbles are bound to pop up. And we all known what I think about bubbles!

After two days, I got antsy and decided to apply a "matte" top coat that I had purchased a few days before. This time I used Orly's "Matte" top coat but I call it "matte" because in reality it is a suede/satin finish. It turned my nails even more coppery then they were before like a goldfish but once again I LOVE it! The suede/satin finish looks great with this color, and it is such a great color for Autumn that I'm sure we will see this one back on my nails in the near future.

Overall, I love Revlon's polishes even though I always have a few bubbles pop up. The brush is the only thing that I would change, because I don't think it picks up enough polish when I dip it into the bottle.

Up next I think I shall revisit my dear friend Essie and cuddle up with "Angora Cardi"! This color is guaranteed to be a fall favorite of mine.

Until next time,
Happy Painting.

The Nailventuress