I'm Naked! Er, I mean wearing Naked!

*The color in the bottle looks much more close to real life than the color in the pictures below*

When Deborah Lippmann's Naked arrived on my doorstep I took one look at it and said "I won't like that."  Well guess what.  I was wrong!  The slightly yellow tinged nude actually looked great on my nails, I could not stop staring at them.  I wore this polish for almost four days... Not because I had to, but because I liked it so much!  Please excuse the Lobster Hands (when a polish clashes with your skin and makes it look pink or red) in the picture below, I took this picture eeaarrrrrrlllllyyyyyyy in the morning before the sun came up!

Have you surprised yourself by liking a nude polish lately?

xoxo,

polish insomniac

*The polish in this post was loaned, I did not retain any of the product*

Why I am in love with KIKO 270

A picture is worth a thousand words! And Lisa, who sent this to me, is worth a thousand swaps! Thank you Lisa!!!



KIKO 270 (over Zoya Pinta)

Don't you think that the KIKO Sparkle Effect layered over a deep blurple kinda reminds you of a like a polish Deborah Lippmann would make?  Like maybe this one?

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

This was only one coat of the KIKO Sparkle Effect, next time I will try two and see how close to the Lippmann I can get!

xoxo,

polish insomniac

Pink Me I'm Good Jelly Sandwich!

base coat
1st coat:  OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-y?
2nd coat:  OPI Pink Me I'm Good!
3rd coat:  OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-y?
Seche Vite

I love glitter polishes, but some of them are so bumpy I can't stand it.  OPI Pink Me I'm Good (V-day 2010 Ulta Exclusive, now randomly found at CVS) is one of those bumpy glitters.  This was gifted to me by none other than the Polish-aholic (you can see it on her here).  I knew as soon as I saw it that the bumpiness would drive me crazy.  Then I remembered a technique I had seen on the MUA NB, layering a sheer over a glitter.  Here is my first attempt at this technique, I hope you enjoy it!  *Click on the pics to enlarge!*

xoxo,

polish insomniac

*The product in this post was purchased moi.*

One Day without Shoes, One Day without Blues

Essie recently partnered with TOMS' to spread the word about a special event, One Day Without Shoes, which will happen THIS COMING SATURDAY, April 5th.  There were a certain amount of free polishes Essie and TOMS' were giving away via Facebook, and mine arrived today!  I was afraid it was going to be similar to my other blue Essie's, but I am happy to say that without a doubt it is unique!  I am glad I got my hands on one, but more importantly, I encourage you to go to www.onedaywithoutshoes.com to find out WHY this is such an important cause.

Essie One Day without Blues

Coming Soon!

I don't know about you, but I was super impressed by the last FingerPaints collection, so I have high hopes for this one too!  I love the theme, it looks super fun!

Cult Nails Iconic and Giveaway - ONLY 5 DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER!

I have put off posting this polish for far too long.  See, I love it.  That is the problem.  My camera doesn't.  These pictures barely resemble this polish in real life.  That is the reason I have never posted them.  I have worn this polish twice and swatched it a third time, but NONE of the pictures come close.  (I blame my phone's camera.  I wish I knew how to use a fancy camera with a cool macro lens.)

Image if you will Nfu-Oh 51 (FLAKIES!), but take any hint of purple out, so that you are just left with magenta.  Then change the purple to red.  And make it need less coats.  And longer lasting (I ALWAYS get shrinkage with Nfu-Oh's!). THAT, my friends, is Cult Nails Iconic.  Right now I am going to overwhelm you with the pics of this polish that sort of come close to reality.

For those of you who are new to my blog, here are the rest of my Cult Nails posts:

• My Kind of Cool-Aid (in depth review and wear test)
• Quench
• Living Water

Cult Nails will soon be releasing new shades, so I highly encourage you to go to www.cultnails.com and sign up for their mailing list!


PLUS Maria is hosting a FABULOUS giveaway, see the awesome prizes in the video below!!!

Dusty Week - China Glaze Open-Toed

Today is the last day of China Glaze Dusty Week.  Please let me know if you enjoyed this trip into the past of China Glaze, as I would love to do it for other brands!  I have quite a few old OPI's I would love to show off if you all are interested!

When I looked this polish up on the China Glaze Wiki (which is not run by China Glaze, though they should think about endorsing it!) I found that this polish came from the 2001 Babes in Toyland collection.  Which I believe was the holiday collection, so the name Open-Toed strikes me as wrong, some how!  Thank goodness people other than I know how to read!  The collection was called Babes in Toe-land.  Ahh.  That makes sense!!!

I purchased this polish, sight unseen, from a blog sale.  I imagined it to be a loud pedicure pink or red.  Don't get me wrong, I actually love it!  It is unique in the vast amount of silver polishes I own.  I am not sure what to call the finish.  It's not quite a foil, it's definitely NOT a glitter, and it dries to a matte finish.  Any thoughts?*

*UPDATE:  The wonderful Jeannie let me know that it was a hybrid formula of foil and glass fleck that is not used today.  Wonder if China Glaze could figure out how to bring it back, that would be interesting!!!

xoxo,

polish insomniac

*The product was purchased by moi.*

Finally! Bb. at Sephora

I heard this late last year and I have been anxiously awaiting the day I can buy my precious Bb. Does it All at Sephora.  *crosses fingers my store will actually carry it*

Dusty Week - China Glaze Nightfall

Ohmigawd.  That is what I thought when I put on this polish!  Welcome to Day Four of China Glaze Dusty Week!  I hope you are enjoying this step back in time as much as I am!

This is a super old polish.  According the China Glaze Wiki, it was part of the pre-2000 core collection.  However, the bottle I have is a creme - no gold shimmer here! 

Nightfall is the perfect name for this polish.  The color is so deep and complex its kind of like staring into a really deep pool of water.  It's not black, it's not blue, and it's not purple, but rather it's own unique shade.  Image the gorgeous color that come out at twilight, and you will have this color.

As like most non-B3F polishes, the formula on this was great and dried quickly.  Which was good, because it smelled horrible!  I found my bottle on the bay of evil.  If you love vampies, you need it!

xoxo,

polish insomniac

*The product was purchased by moi.*

Dusty Week - China Glaze Dusk

Welcome to Day Three of China Glaze Dusty Week!  If my memory serves me correctly, this polish was sent to me by a lovely NB'er name Nancy.  You may know her as NanRx.  She is just the sweetest person.  I have to figure out how to get down to Florida and chillax with her!

China Glaze Dusk is a red-based purple with magenta shimmer that flashes back at you in the sun.  I know not everyone likes non-B3F polishes, but I truly enjoyed the formula on this one.  Chemicals work!  This is two coats.

First released in the 2001 Platinum Series collection.  I know this one is still available online, I encourage you to track it down!  All purple polish lovers need this one in their helmers!

xoxo,

polish insomniac

Dusty Week - China Glaze Lavender Lynx

It's my birthday, so instead of worrying about what I am gonna write, I am just going to SPAM you with tons of pics of this incredible polish!!!  Just like a real Lynx, it changes its spots based on background and lighting!  If you are interested in this polish, it can still be found on the bay of evil.  I did not spend too much on it, I think maybe $6 or so?

Have a good one!  I will talk more tomorrow, promise!

xoxo,

polish insomniac

*The product was purchased by moi.*