Throwback Thursday – Dior Vinyl Blue (1996)

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Another Thursday, an another vintage Dior!  This is Dior Vinyl Blue, thought I call in Blue Vinyl in my head.  Once again, the formula was great for a polish as old as it is!

I really wish I knew more about these polishes… I don’t have a clue when they are from. I am guessing the late 90’s?  I spent two hours on Google a few days ago and came up with nada!  If only the internet existed sooner…

UPDATE:  The lovely Kaz pointed out that I can't read - the date on the paperwork inside the box states 12/96 in teeny tiny letters on the bottom.  Thanks Kaz!

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

Coming Soon: China Glaze The Giver

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Are you as excited as I am up for the release of The Giver, premiering August 15th?  I had never heard of these books when I saw the previews, but knew I wanted to read them - hello, dystopian novels are my thing!  Oh, and Alexander Skarsgård?  Yes, please!



I went looking for the books and found them for a really great price in the iBooks store, then proceeded to read all of them in 3 days, much to my husband’s dismay.Now that I have had time to digest them, I have started worrying about the movie!  Is this movie just the first book?  I can’t find anything about future movies!  Plus, the book doesn’t spell everything out for you, instead if forces you to think for yourself.  Will the movie be a dumbed down version?



OK, enough of my rambling!  On to the real reason you are here – let’s look at the China Glaze Giver Collection!  If you have not read the books, the names may not have meaning to you – yet!  The China Glaze® The Giver collection includes:

Boundary of Memory – Black with gold and amber glitter

Community – Brown crème

Five Rules – Clay crème

Seeing Red – Red crème

History of the World – Navy crème

Intelligence, Integrity & Courage – Gray-blue crème

New Birth – Baby blue crème

Capacity to See Beyond – Bright aqua crème

Givers Theme – Vivid violet crème

Friends Forever, Right? – Baby pink crème

Release – Greige crème

The Outer Edge – White and silver glitter

China Glaze® The Giver limited edition nail polish collection is available at beauty supply stores nationwide including Sally Beauty and Ulta stores. Individual shades retail for $7.50 MSRP.

What are you more excited about?  The polishes, or the movie?

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.
China Glaze® is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze® nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, please visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze® on Facebook (@ChinaGlaze), Instagram (@ChinaGlazeOfficial), Twitter (@ChinaGlaze) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/chinaglaze). #CGTheGiver.
© 2014 The Giver SPV, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

OPI Nordic Collection Fall/Winter 2014 ♥ Swatches & Review

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Shop for OPI Nail Polish at ULTA

It’s almost August… are you thinking about Fall yet?  If not, the OPI Nordic Fall/Winter 2014 Collection will get you there!  The OPI Nordic Collection is filled with warm browns and rich plums, exactly what I think of for Autumn.  There are some great transition shades too – a bright pink, a delicious orange, a fun purple and a jade green!  I love that 10 of the 12 shades are crème!

So that I don’t repeat myself, all swatches below are two coats of color plus top coat.

My Dogsled is a Hybrid is a smooth, creamy green that is more jade than mint, which makes it stand out in my collection.  I could not find any dupes!  The formula was perfect too, which cannot be said for some of the mint greens in my collection.

Can't Afjord Not To is a fun melon orange.  I love that I can wear this shade “now” without it feeling “too fall.”  The formula was thin but controllable (meaning it didn’t flood my cuticles).

Going My Way or Norway? is a light warm-toned tan shade.  I really didn’t think I would like this one, but once I got it on it was more flattering than I thought it would be!  The first coat was thin but not at all patchy.  I was impressed that it only needed two coats.

Ice-bergers & Fries is a warm-toned medium brown.  Once again, I am not drawn to shades like this, but I liked it once it was on my tips!  Again, the formula was thin but only needed two coats.

How Great is your Dane? is an elegant cool-toned dark brown… much more my speed!

Do You Have This Color In Stock-holm?  I don’t know if they have this color in Stockholm, but they should!  This purple is everything!!!

Thank Glogg It's Friday! is the obligatory red shimmer.  I don’t think this collection needed it.

Skating on Thin Iceland is a rich aubergine.  The first coat went on light, but the color deepened on the second coat.

Viking in a Vinter Vonderland is a wonderful deep purple.  I would call it vampy, but it felt more elegant than that.  The formula was thin but easy to apply.

My Voice is a Little Norse (over Skating on Thin Iceland) is a textured silver holographic glitter in a grey base. 

My Voice is a Little Norse (over Viking in a Vinter Vonderland)

What A Nice Finn-ish is a bronze-leaning gold frost.  Not my cup of tea, but I liked that it didn’t show brushstrokes.

Suzi Has A Sweet Tooth is a bright Barbie pink.  It felt slightly out of place to me with the rest of the collection.

When I first saw promo pictures of this collection, I admit I was underwhelmed.  When I think of Nordic, I think of mountains, ice, and downhill skiing, so I thought this collection would be cool blues, icy silvers and frosty whites.  Don’t get me wrong – it’s a fabulous fall collection… it’s just the name that doesn’t fit!

My favorites from this collection are My Dogsled is a Hybrid, Can’t Afjord Not To, Viking in a Vinter Vonderland and  Do You Have This Color in Stock-holm?

The Nordic Collection from OPI is available now at ULTA.

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

Top 10 Basecoat/Topcoat Combos (Budget Friendly & High-End)

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Save both time and money with these Double Duty Time Savers!

1. Sally Hansen Double Duty • $4.99
2. Revlon Multi Care Base + Top Coat • $5.99
3. Sally Hansen Ultimate Shield - Fortifying Base & Top Coat • $6.49
4. Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat • $7.29
5. Orly Top 2 Bottom Basecoat and Topcoat • $7.99
6. Nicole by OPI 3-in-1 Base Topcoat & Strengthener • $7.99
7. OPI Regular Formula Start-to-Finish • $13.99
8. SpaRitual Multi-Tasker Base & Top Coat • $17.00
9. Deborah Lippmann Hard Rock Hydrating Hardener • $20.00
10. Givenchy Le Vernis Base and Top Coat • $20.00

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

Makeup Wars: Too Faced Cat Eyes Palette

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I have been a fan of Too Faced palettes for as long as I can remember, so when a member of the Makeup Wars team suggested that we all post about the new Limited Edition Cat Eyes Palette together, I jumped at the chance and ran out to buy it!

One of my favorite things about Too Faced palettes (besides the awesome formula!) is the layout.  I feel like the larger size pans of the lightest shades were designed just for me!  As someone with deep-set eyes, I use shades that most people think of as a “highlight” shade all over my lid.

My first instinct was to use all the purples – Kitten, Pussy Cat and Jungle Love.  Here they are swatched over primer.  How pretty is Pussy Cat layered over Jungle love???

Wearing Too Faced Cat Eyes with CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Waterproof

However, instead of the purples.  I decided to push myself to go outside my comfort zone and use the warm browns in this palette.  Tiger’s Eye, while gorgeous, is one of those shades I never think will look good on me.  This palette has finally convinced me that yes, I can wear medium warm-toned shimmery browns!

Left to right:  Meow, Leopard, Tiger’s Eye and Purr (over primer).

After I primed my eyes, I started out my Too Faced Cat Eyes EOTD with Meow as an all over base.  I then went in with Tiger’s Eye in the crease and blended it all the way up to my brow bone, which helps disguise my hooded lids.  Next, I deepened the corner of my eye with a light dusting of Leopard, which blended like a dream!  To bring my deep-set eyes forward I tapped Purr all over my lid and under my brow.  Finally, I went back in with Leopard on an angled brush and smoked it out on my lash line.

In the end, the shade I was most afraid of, Tiger’s Eye, has turned into my favorite shade in the palette!  Even blended out, it has the most beautiful sparkle, which you can see in the out-of-focus picture above.  My second favorite shade is, without a doubt, Leopard.  It is amazingly pigmented – you can create a line with just one pass of your angled brush – but for a liner shade it also blends out beautifully!

The Too Faced Cat Eyes Palette has not been spotted in Sephora yet, but thanks to Sephora’s in-store finder, I found mine at the Sephora inside JCPenny!  I also found it online at  Macy’s, Beauty Bridge, Too Faced and Sephora for $36.00.   If you order from Sephora, don’t forget to check out the current coupon codes!

In the words of Pink Sith, Do You Need This Palette?  YES!  YES you need this palette!  The neutrals mixed with purples make it a very versatile palette - I can’t wait to see the looks everyone else created!  And did you catch the part where I said it was LIMITED EDITION?  I highly suggest you snatch it up NOW, or you might find yourself in a cat fight when supplies run low!

Check out the rest of the looks created with the Too Faced Cat Eyes Palette below!

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.