Beauty and Fashion Tech

Maybelline Salon Expert Nail Polish

I grabbed a bottle of Maybelline Salon Expert Nail Color because I loved the bright summer pink shade (pink splash, number 822). Turns out that I also love the polish in general.

Maybelline Salon Expert covers really well. You can get away with only one coat of this stuff, but I went ahead and did two. It has a great shiny look when dry, and boy does it last! I type so much and tend to be hard on my nails, so I generally chip the heck out of polish within a day or two. I managed to make the Salon Expert lacquer last about 5 days, then I stretched it a few more by tossing another coat on top.

I was so impressed that I went and bought another bottle in a different shade. It is affordable, quality, easy to find, and has some great shades. What more can a person ask for?

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By Carleenp Posted in Nail Care, Nail Products | 2 Comments

Thymes Gardener Sink Set

I was sent a lovely sink set from the Thymes Company Gardener Collection to try, and I found it rather unique. first, unlike the standard soap and lotion sink sets out there, the Gardener set includes a nail brush, something I made good use of after planting flowers last weekend!

It also has a fresh grass scent that the site describes as: “Freshly clipped grass, aromatic parsley, cool watercress, dewy moss and a pinch of pink peppercorn.” I really like the scent, especially in the lotion. It has a great spring and summer feel to it.The Gardener Collection is full of other interesting products as well, such as cuticle cream, soap pebbles, and a lip balm. Items from the collection would be a perfect gift for the green thumb in your life.Shop for Thymes Bath and Body Products

By Carleenp Posted in Bath and Body, Misc., Nail Care, Nail Products | 1 Comment

Borghese Nail Lacquer Vernis: Not Recommended

It is not often that I do a truly negative review, but I’m afraid I have to on this one. I honestly don’t think people should pay $8 for this stuff.

I have liked the few Borghese spa products that I tried in the past and I know people love various skin care items from the company. So when I spotted Borghese branded nail polish at an Ulta store, I decided to give it a try. I think the company should stick to spa products!

The first thing I noticed about the polish was that the wand had a short stem with a fat and rather stiff brush on the end. Big packaging error! That combination made it nearly impossible to apply the polish without it getting all over my skin. It also kept the polish from spreading evenly. When I did get the polish on, it was very streaky on the first coat and still didn’t look very even after a second. It then chipped off nearly immediately. I am admittedly hard on nails, but on the second day of wear, the polish was so chipped that it looked like I had been wearing it for a week.

This is an $8 polish, which puts it in the mid-upper range. But I found it comparable to the cheapest drugstore kiddie brand. For better choices in the same price range try Essie or Orly. OPI is also pretty acceptable with a huge range of color choices. Sally Hansen Salon polishes also are an excellent value.

Sorry Borghese, I still love your spa products, but I just plain can’t recommend your nail lacquer!

By Carleenp Posted in Nail Products | 5 Comments

The Blue Nail Trend: Getting it Cheap with Wet-n-Wild!

When it comes to the trendy blue nail polish look, I’m a fence sitter. I have seen some women, particularly younger women, wear it well. In the darker shades, I tend to rather like the look. On myself, however, I think it looks rather silly–Something my husband very much agrees with.

Regardless, there is no need to break the bank buying sold out Chanel on Ebay or spending $20 on the Dior version in order to have the current hip look in nails. The cheaper brands are already stepping up and putting out blue shades. When chasing a trend, buying cheap makes sense. You are unlikely to use up the product before it goes out of style anyway

At the cheapest end of the scale, you can get a perfectly acceptable polish in Wet ‘n’ Wild for a couple dollars at your local drugstore. As one of those impulse grocery store purchases, I picked up Wet ‘n’ Wild Sapphire Blue for under $2 and gave it a try. The quality of the polish was surprisingly good. It covered well with only a single coat, dried quickly, and has been almost as chip proof as my more expensive polishes. Plus I kill nail polish so fast, that chip proof means little to me–I chip even the best within a day. Here is another view of it:

I think the blue looks odd on me, but that is not the fault of the brand. I plan to give Wet ‘n’ Wild another look for some shades that are better suited for me. Why spend $8 for Essie or O.P.I. when a $2 brand at the grocery store works just as well? The shade choices are more limited though and I have to admit that my favorite shades happen to be from Essie and MAC. So I doubt I will be entirely switiching brand loyalties.Here are a few other affordable options for blue nails (both currently on sale for under $6 through the links): OPI Nail Polish Yoga-ta Get this Blue! from the India Collection, and Essie Nail Polish - Aruba Blue. Other bargains can be found online, as can the more expensive Dior version. Also watch for all of the drugstore brands to play catch up and start releasing their own blue shades.

Comparison shop for blue nail polish

By Carleenp Posted in Nail Products | 6 Comments

Total Nail RX Nail Treatment Products

The Total Nail RX line of nail treatment and specialty products is fairly new to the market. I have seen it only at Walgreens, so it may be exclusive to them.

Total Nail RX Fill Me In Surface Smoothing Base Coat

The line features a number of items aimed at various nail issues, such as chipping, strength, ridges etc. It also features a French manicure set and base and top coats. I purchased the Fill Me In surface smoothing base coat and the Slick Fast Dry top coat.The Nail RX base coat did a nice job of filling in ridges and providing a good surface for polish to adhere to that is not too slick, but not overly tacky. The base coat appears to be a peach color in the bottle, but it dries clear.

The Slick Fast Dry top coat also worked quite well. It provided a quick hard surface and gave off a nice amount of shine.

My one complaint about the line is that the bottles come with a thick rubber band around the lids that I suppose is meant to make it anti-slip when using the brush. But the band falls off of the bottom and I found it uncomfortable if pushed up. Fortunately, it is easy to remove, so it would not stop me from purchasing the items, nor does it prevent me from recommending them.

Look for Total Nail RX products at Walgreens stores by the other nail products. Price regularly runs from around $7-$10, but I have seen the items on sale fairly frequently.

By Carleenp Posted in Nail Products | 9 Comments

M.A.C. Cosmetics Antiquitease Holiday Collection Part One: Nail Lacquers

My mention last week about my sneak peak at the M.A.C. Antiquitease collection generated quite a few questions, especially about the nail polish! I had a number of email requests for pictures, and since I was curious about them myself and had the products available, I gave them a try. Part One will feature the nail polishes and Part Two will look at the rest of the collection.

The Antiquitease Collection is available beginning tomorrow, October 18, 2007. The entire collection is incredible, but the gold veneer nail polish particularly stands out for me. By itself, it is great a a stand alone gold polish. I don’t remember seeing a gold before that had quite the color quality and shine that this one has.

I plan to try the Gold Veneer simply as a stand alone gold polish at some point. It is featured though to be used with a white polish to create some interesting effects. The white polish is rather flat, which makes sense when it is intended for use for effects. Too much shine and a top polish won’t adhere well or won’t look right!

I decided to try creating a crackle effect, which was quite easy to accomplish. So create this look, apply one or two coats of the white polish and let it dry. Next, apply a coat of the gold veneer and blot lightly and quickly with a textured paper towel. That removes a bit of the gold to reveal the white underneath. How much gold is left can be adjusted based on how much you apply to begin with and how much is blotted off. Top it off with a clear top coat if desired.

Below is a look at the finished effect from a couple of different angles:

M.A.C. Cosmetics Antiquitease Nail Polish Gold and White Look

M.A.C. Nial Polish Antiquitease Look White and Gold

The fun part about this is that you get to mess up your nails on purpose! It also looks pretty darn cool from a distance and it is definitely very festive!The whole collection is quite nice. I did some swatches of the rest of the collection and took pictures of those as well, so look for that soon. I am also told that it is just the beginning of many great holiday products from M.A.C. this year!

Update: You can view my post on the rest of the collection here.

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