Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy versus Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game

I picked up a handful of the new Wet n Wild Fast Dry polishes and this color immediately stood out to me. I think it's a re-release from the summertime, but now it's permanent. The shade is called Gray's Anatomy and it's a sheer silvery purple, grey, green and blue duochrome. Sound familiar? I thought so.


This is Wet N Wild FastDry in Gray's Anatomy all by itself- three coats, no basecoat or topcoat. The duochrome effect shows up best in low light, but you can see the colors in the sides of the bottle. It isn't the strongest duochrome effect like a Sally Hansen Nail Prism would be, but it's still undeniably color-shifting.



And here it is alongside Lippmann's Wicked Game. Can you tell which finger has which polish? No? It's:

Left to right, pinkie to index:
Pinkie: Four coats of Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy
Ring: Four coats of Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game
Middle: Four coats of Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy
Index: Four coats of Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game

They are so very, very close that I feel comfortable calling them dupes. There are some minor differences in formula- the Wet n Wild is a lot thicker and more opaque, requiring only three coats while Lippmann Wicked Game is more sheer and a little more watery and needs at least four coats for opacity. There is ever so slightly more duochrome effect on the Lippmann polish. And, one totally superficial difference: The Deborah Lippmann polish has a way, way prettier looking bottle. I looooove Lippmann's bottles. But, side by side, the polishes are practically identical.

Wet n Wild? Ninety-nine cents on sale at Walgreens. Lippmann? $16.00 plus shipping if you buy online. The Wet n Wild is definitely the most budget-friendly way to get the look but you can't deny the glamour and aesthetic advantages of the Lippmann bottle. But, it's good to know there are options!

I'll post the rest of the Wet n Wild shades I picked up eventually- but let me just say right now that Buffy The Violet Slayer is not to be missed. It's so good.

Hard Candy First Flush and Glamazon Glow Kits

Here's some more of the new Hard Candy line I picked up from Wal-Mart. I know that Wal-Mart has changed their logo to remove the hyphen, but I think "Walmart" looks even more grating... Anyway. These were another matching set- a pink and a gold version of each.




First Flush is the name of this kit. It comes with a Blush Crush Baked Blush in Living Doll, a Glow All The Way Face and Body Luminizer in pink (shade might be 'Doll Face' but I'm not certain), a Plumping Serum Volumizing Lipgloss in Uptown Girl and a Sheer Envy Face Primer. All are mini sized.

Up close.



Living Doll, Luminizer and Uptown Girl.


This is the Glamazon Glow set. It contains a So Baked Bronzer in Tropics, a Glow All The Way Face and Body Luminizer in gold (Glamazon Bronze?), a Plexi Gloss Glossy Lip Shine in Genie and a Sheer Envy face primer. All minis.

Look inside...


Tropics, Luminizer (Glamazon Glow?) and Genie.

I like these items a lot more than the Naturally Naughty and Bad Girl Next Door kits. The Sheer Envy face primer is the item I'm especially surprised by- it's great! It's a thick silicone-based primer- think Smashbox Photo Finish. It feels and looks and performs just like all of my $30+ price range primers. Very impressed. They give you a really good size in these kits, too - almost half an ounce!

I also love the glosses. The plumping gloss doesn't seem to do anything plump-wise, but it does have a subtle cooling effect. The color is a light milky pink with shimmer. The Plexi Gloss is a clear with gold flecks in it. They both have the same strong vanilla-cupcake-frosting-marshmallow smell to them and I love that. It's not quite the same as the old Hard Candy gloss scent, but it's similar enough. They're quite strongly scented and a little bit sweet, so they're winners in my book. Sticky texture, though. But still... cupcake scented. Can't complain.


The luminizers are neat but... I'm not really sure what to do with them? They're so opaque and frosty that I can't imagine using them on my face. I can see using them to highlight my collarbone or maybe as sheer eyeshadows or maybe even as body bronzer with the gold one... Or I could go all Goldfinger and cover my whole body in it.

The blush and bronzer are they only fail for me. They're SO FROSTY. Think MAC Mineralize Skinfinish and then amplify the frosty shimmer by ten. I don't want that much shiny frosty frost on my cheeks. It highlights every imperfection in your skin- tiny hairs, scars, bumps, everything. And I don't want reflective cheeks, so.... Yeah. These would probably make decent eyeshadows, though.

After trying the items in these kits I kinda want to go back for some full sized lipglosses and maybe a full sized tube of this primer.

NARS Vintage Collection Fall 2010

I've been holding off on posting this until I could photograph all the colors next to the originals, but I can't seem to find my Full Metal Jacket and can't get my hands on King Kong and I just need to post these before they become irrelevant. Argh! So much for plans.

Anyway, this year NARS was awesome enough to bring back a few of their old discontinued shades including the mythical ZULU. I'm insanely happy about this and it really makes me view NARS much more positively. Many of us have been begging for a Zulu re-release since the day it disappeared- and apparently they listened!

Here are the shades:


King Kong. Rusty brown shimmer. I never recall this being a super popular shade as far as NARS polishes are concerned, but it's actually really pretty. Reminds me of fall for sure. Very smooth and velvety looking on the nail.

Full Metal Jacket. A silver-grey frost. This is one of the few frosts that I actually like. It's a little streaky but not obnoxiously so, it does dry a lot smoother than it applies. It's very shiny and metallic looking, but not quite chrome-like. It's sleek and sexy.


MASH. I think I'm just as happy about the re-release of MASH as I am about Zulu! This is an incredibly beautiful dark olive green with gold shimmer. One of NARS' best old shades, if you ask me.


Midnight Express. This one can change appearance a bit depending on how it's applied. This is two rather thick coats, but I think it looks better with three thin coats. It's a jelly, so the more even you apply the coats, the better. Really brings out the jelly effect. This is a super dark blue which looks especially nice in a jelly finish. Illamasqua Propaganda is similar in color and finish, but this was easier for me to apply and had a more jelly look.


Zulu. I apologize for the strange pictures. Zulu is really hard to capture and I wanted to show the green-ness of it. If you're not familiar with Zulu, it's a super dark blackened green jelly. One of the most unique and gorgeous polishes ever released. I know some would disagree with the 'unique' label, but I've really never worn, seen or frankened an exact match for this. The closest I've used is George Evergreen. Somehow none of the Zulu-clones have that dark jelly depth and squishiness that the original Zulu has. Unfortunately, the new Zulu also lacks a lot of the jelly effect of the original. Still awesome, though.

The best thing about the re-released polishes has to be the formula. It's three-free and greatly improved. The old ones were a little on the sheer and slightly runny-goopy side (I think they were three-free before, weren't they?) and took a while to dry. These are now thicker and more opaque which means they're easier to apply and need fewer coats. They also dry quickly. NARS' brush is not my favorite- too thin- but that's the only complaint I have about the bottles and formula.


I do wish they had re-released Platoon along with these to make a full six. But, they re-released Zulu, MASH and Midnight Express so I really can't complain! Really cool of NARS to bring back the old shades. If only some other brands would do the same- like Urban Decay or Revlon!

(These were sent to me for review.)

Nubar Finest Silks Collection Winter 2010

I don't think this is intended to be a winter-themed or holiday-themed collection, it just happens to be being released for winter. More thoughts on this collection after the pictures!





Charmeuse. A soft coral-mauve creme. On the warm side. Looks like dark muted pink with some orangey tones. A little too dated for my tastes but it may look good on someone with a warmer skin tone.



Chiffon. Soft, muddy, mousy grey-taupe. Love these types of colors. Looks more grey in the picture than it does on me in real life- it's more tan toned in real life.



Marabout. Another gorgeous taupe-grey-muddy color. This one is darker than Chiffon, more purple toned (but not purple-looking) and less warm. This one seems to suit my skin tone better but they're both nice.



Moire. This is an odd color! It's a brown-toned medium pink nude... Very difficult to describe. It's fleshy and earthy. It's like coffee with cream mixed with the color of ham. It's breakfast colored!



Organza. Sheer pearly white shimmer. More of a pearl than a frost. Still has the same brushstroke issues as frosts do but it has that shiny, smooth pearl-like reflection on it. I'm sure this is meant to be worn sheer and I think it would actually look better sheer. I bet you could layer it to add shimmer to these colors as well.



Pekin. The lighter of the two reds in the collection. It's a medium bordering on dark red and it seems blue based to me.




Sateen. This is the darker of the two. It's a red wine color with a hint of brown undertone.



Taffeta. Soft warm milky brown with a touch of warm orange or pink in it. Not a pure milk chocolate color, it's more of a pink chocolate. Or perhaps... a brown peach? Skintone shade- most likely intended as a nude color for a deeper, warmer skintone than mine.


The formula on these was just perfect. Dreamy. Flawless, effortless application. Excellent coverage on all shades except Organza (I used three coats to build opacity, it's probably intended to be worh sheer). Drying time is good and I experienced no problems with the texture, application or brushes. The formula was really, really great, I am impressed with it more than I am with the colors....

These are all very soft, conservative, office-appropriate types of colors. Nothing fun or wild or attention-grabbing. I don't believe they were intended to be. Normally I would blast a collection for being this bland and safe, but in this specific instance I'm not going to. The press release states that they were aiming for a collection of timeless colors for every skintone with the benefit of a two-coat coverage formula, and that's exactly what they've created. Seems like Nubar is trying to expand their line lately- adding lots of shades in the same color family but with that lovely new formula. Reds, the greys, the greens, the corals, the purples, the browns....

I do like a couple of the colors- Chiffon and Marabout of course, but I'm also intrigued by Moire. While the collection doesn't suit my personal tastes, I gotta say that the formula was amazing. Their creme formula seems to have been perfected- comparable to Rescue Beauty Lounge's perfect creme formula. So, if you are looking for colors like these I'd recommend based on formula alone.

Though, I must say I was really looking forward to some sort of sparkly, glittery colorful winter/holiday type colors for their winter release.... I am a bit sad that they've done nudes and wines for the winter collection instead. Oh well... Maybe they'll have something more edgy and fun for Spring!

(These were sent to me for review.)

Barielle Holiday Hustle Collection for Winter/Holiday 2010

I was at Costco this week and noticed that they had already taken down the Halloween decoration aisle and put up the Christmas decoration aisle! It's September! I've never seen them do that before. I feel like I'm being rushed! Luckily that is not the case with Holiday polish collections... I'm the opposite with those- I want them in June! Ha!

Here's Barielle's Holiday offering:


Coaldest Day Of The Year. Yes, Coal-dest. I know. *groan* I think it wants to be OPI's Baby It's "Coal" Outside, from the looks of things. This is a black/charcoal with blue-toned silver large particle shimmer. It's not round shimmer, it's more like broken pieces of shimmer. Icy.



Elle's Spell. My favorite of the collection. This is a dark candy apple or light wine red sheer base with red/orange toned opal flakes, a la Nfu Oh. This is rather sheer and not quite as jelly like as I had thought from looking at it in the bottle so it may look better layered if you want a stronger flaky effect.


Get Me To The Party. A deep bronzy gold. Looks sort of duochrome, doesn't it? Has the lighter gold area in the center and the deeper more bronze color on the edges. A little frosty but more metallic than pure frost, but definitely not chrome.



Jess' Champagne Toast. This one is painful. Look how AMAZING it looks in the bottle! It's spectacular! I could barely believe what I was seeing when I held the bottle up in the sunlight. It's a periwinkle leaning toward light lilac frosty metallic base with lots of pink microglitter. Sadly, it doesn't translate on the nail. It looks lumpy and bubbly because the frost base is too, well, frosty? And the glitter is too delicate to be seen through the thick frost. It always makes me wonder when I see a polish like this.... Did they actually wear the color on the nail before they decided to release it? This totally could have been saved with a thinner, more sheer metallic base!


Snow Day. This one is more like a chrome. It's a super reflective metallic blue-toned silver. Very blue toned... Maybe it's actually a silvery blue! Ha! But yes, you will need to be careful with brushstrokes. Frosty.


Wrap Me In Ribbon. This does remind me of ribbon. Pretty. It's a mauve metallic frost, again not a plain frost but more of the China Glaze Romantique Chrome reflective type of frost. You can see how reflective it is in the picture but you can also see some brush strokes.

The formula on these was odd. Elle's Spell and Coaldest Day Of The Year were really thick and a little goopy but the rest of the colors were oddly... soft feeling? I can't even describe it. It's like they're oily or too soft or maybe airy? Know what I'm talking about? They feel strange going on. Maybe it's the too-soft brush. I'm really not digging Barielle's brush lately, it doesn't conform to my nail and I can never get a nice application with it. Drying time is long.


I don't know what to say about this collection. I like some of the colors like Elle's Spell and Get Me To The Party. It just seems like Barielle is making so many frosts lately. I miss the Barielle I fell in love with in 2008.

(These were sent to me for review.)

Closer look at the Illamasqua Contest Winners

So, I've now seen them in sunlight and worn them each for a little while and here's what I think.

Eclipse. Let's just get the one out of the way first. This color is nothing like I expected it to be based on the early images. In reality, Eclipse is a dark blue with silver frost. It is slightly purple- it is more obvious in real life, but there are definite purple tones in this. The color is nice but I'm just not really on board with this new Frost Revival thing going on. It's really not a bad polish at all, but my expectations were just super high for this... This was what I hoped it would look like:

Dark purple, blue, green- duochrome looking with glitter or even flakes. Isn't that what it looks like there? It looks incredible. I was so excited about this shade. But now all I can say is this:



Raindrops. Actually... my blurry low-light picture of this was better at showing the cool qualities of this shade. It's a blue-toned light grey jelly-creme (very sheer- this is three thick coats) with lots of random and irregular shaped silver flakes. This one turned out really well, pretty much exactly like the promo shot:



Shrapnel. This isn't as bad as everyone's making it out to be. I rather like it. It's a coppery rose gold metallic- or is it chrome? Yes, it's frosty but it is super shiny and reflective, so it has more of a chrome finish than a true frost. Reminds me of the China Glaze Romantique collection chromes. Very, very shiny. I had expected this to be more of an orangey copper flame type shade with glitter, but it's really quite different! This has a definite 80's dance party look to it. Retro-futuristic. And yes, brushstrokes :( But, I think this might be great for Konad- it is VERY dense and pigmented- this is one coat. But really, nothing like I expected based on this:

Yeah... that's really not the same polish, is it?

But, the formula was great as usual. It's Illamasqua. Their formula is one of the best I've ever used. Thick, opaque, smooth- with the exception of Raindrops which is sheer. Drying time was good. Brushes were nice and even and thick. No problems with the formula or brushes.

You know, this is really sticky territory for me. On one hand, these polishes definitely weren't what I was expecting, but on the other hand I don't want to insult or upset the winners of the contest because I was disappointed. Also, I am a giant Illamasqua fan and this is the first time I have been let down by the colors, that kinda stings... I think Raindrops turned out the best and truest to the original pictures, but I really loved the inspiration behind Eclipse and Shrapnel too. If any of the winners are reading this- how do you feel about the end result? Is it what you imagined it would look like?

And also because I'm really super curious about what the other entries were like- how many of you entered? What was your color going to be like? I'm positively dying to know this. Please comment and tell me all about it if you entered.

I have seen a disturbing amount of frosts this year... I hope this is just a phase.

(These were sent to me for review.)

Preview of the Illamasqua contest winning shades

Please refer to my previous post about these for details, cause I can't remember what they were! XD

These just arrived and I couldn't wait to get them on my nails, so I snapped a few dimly-lit and not so fantastic pictures and figured I'd share :) I will attempt to get 'real' pictures when the sun comes back, but for now I'm really enjoying this rain, even if it means crappy swatches!

(And I apologize in advance for all the smudges and fingerprints on the bottles... this acetone + glycerin swatching remover makes my hands kinda sticky... ew.)


Eclipse. A frosty dark blue with hints of purple. I had really high hopes for this one based on the promo images- it looked like a dark blue/purple duochrome with silver microglitter, but alas, it is not.


Raindrops. This is prettier than I expected! It is sheer- this is three coats- but the sheerness really helps the little silver flakes shine through. And it reminds me of this:



Shrapnel. This one doesn't quite look like I imagined it to look based on early images, but it's really interesting! It's a bright copper or perhaps rose gold metallic, a little frosty but more shiny/chrome/metallic than true frost and it has really tiny silver microglitter. Super opaque, this is one coat. Great coverage. Very flashy.

I want to evaluate these in sunlight to get a better understanding of the colors.... Will come back to these.

(These were sent to me for review.)

BB Couture Regular Guys, Tools for Men and Mechanics 101

Making progress on my backlog! Yes! Three collections in one post! All are from the BB Couture Men's line, 2009 and 2010. Awesome!!

Regular Guys

Blue Collar. Sky blue/baby blue with silver metallic shimmer. Reminds me of nail polish from the 90s. Actually, a lot of things in this line remind me of the 90s- which is a plus in my book! This color is really cool looking, soft with an edge. If it takes all night to be just who I am... Well I'm gonna be a blue collar man...


Bullfighter. Deep bloody red jelly with shimmer. This one changes color depending on how many coats you do. It's lighter and brighter with one coat and deepens to this red/maroon color with three coats (I have three in this picture). Jelly shimmer is a really cool effect. Looks deep.


Coal Miner. In the year of 98, the mining trust became our fate... The weight of work now breaks the backs of the dirty black leg miners... I love when a polish reminds me of a song. Especially one of my favorites. Anyway. Coal Miner is a dusty blue charcoal type of color in the base with a speckled blue shimmer on top. Very unique and I'm quite fond of it.


Cowboy. This one also reminds me of a song, but it's a song I really really hate! Also reminds me of another song that I like more.. You see us comin' and you all together run for cover.. We're takin' over this town! Man, everything reminds me of a song. But about the polish. It's suede colored. A soft suedey taupey brown with secret shimmer.

Golf Pro. This one looks like it could be Kelly's Green's brother! A muted dusty jadey green with silver shimmer and black microglitter. You may need to enlarge to see the black glitter, but it's there.


Mariner. Really frosty dusty evergreen color. A deep green with tons of silver frost. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I alternate between liking it and being disappointed by it. I like it better in sunlight than indoors, indoors it looks dull and dusty.

Mechanics 101

Drive Shaft. Hehehe.... Shaft. *ahem* This is a really unusual pick for a men's collection. Sort of a peachy-coppery-mauvey frost. A little dated looking. Not my favorite of the collection. Wish I had more to say about it! Frosts just aren't my thing.


Fuel Injector. Fuel injection makes you high... (Maybe I shouldn't listen to my iPod when I write reviews.) This color is AMAZING!! Vibrant grassy, leafy yellowy green with tons of gold shimmer. This is what I love about BB Couture. Millions (okay, maybe... dozens?) of awesome kickass greens.

Stick Shift. ... And safety belts? Bucket seats have all got to go. Seriously, I'm on a roll now. I wonder if they do this on purpose to get songs stuck in my head? Oh yeah, the polish. Everything about this polish is love. It reminds me of this guy I had a crush on in like... 3rd grade. He used to wear shorts this color. It's a murky mustardy yellow with a crazy weird pink flash. This polish makes me happy.

Shock Absorber. Okay, this one doesn't remind me of a song. Lucky you. But it is a light rusty red coppery fall-ish shade. Frosty, though. Really frosty.


Intake Valve. A chameleon color! It changes on me depending on the lighting. In some lights it's grey, sometimes it looks lavender and indoors it looks like straight greyed-out pink. It has some hidden shimmer to it. Unique for sure. Pretty fun to look at as well. Two thumbs up.


Universal Joint. Oooooh neato. Duochromeish swampy green with gold shimmer and faint pinkish shimmer. Love these BB greens. The name makes me laugh though, sounds like it could be the name of some sort of hippie jam band.

Tools For Men

Vise. Deep dusty blue with silvery bluey shimmer. Sometimes looks a little duochromey because of the dense shimmer (the shimmer is dominant at some angles, at others the base is) but I can't call it a true duochrome.


Studfinder. This one morphs on me as well. In sunlight it looks like straight neutral brown with silvery shimmer and indoors it looks like a dusty plum-brown with gold shimmer. Weirdness! Cool color, though. Goes along with Cowboy in the soft-suede department.

Hammer Drill. It's frosty... Frosty frosty frost... however... I think I like it. It reminds me of fall. It's maroon-brown-red-chestnut-plum frost. Sometimes it looks redder, sometimes it looks browner. I think sunlight really pulls out different tones in these polishes.


Wire Stripper. I think I posted this one before with a Konad design on top. Another fascinating color to look at- it looks black sometimes, but I think it's mostly a deep grey with heavy brown tones. Or.... maybe it's just dark brown with dustiness? It's brownish-greyish with lots of silver, gold and red shimmer.


Pipe Bender. A deep bluey-green base with a crazy purple-navy frosty shimmer flash. Totally unique. The duochrome/blue flash acts really strange in this one. It's like you can see both colors all the time... they compete with each other... Green! Blue! It's pretty sweet. And it makes me wanna yell, "Bite my shiny metal ass!"


Impact Driver. Slate blue with microglitter and shimmer. It's muted and greyed looking, on my skintone it looks blue but I've seen a few pictures where it looks grey on others. The shimmer is really pretty in this. It's a very subtle soft color.


The formula on all of these was great. Standard BB Couture formula with no deviations. Which means... a little bit thick (but not as thick as something like Barielle for comparison) but perfect application. Three coats of all. Good pigmentation, a lot needed only two coats, but three coats deepens and enhances all the neat effects in the finishes of these. Dry time on these is actually faster than the 'regular' (non-men's) BB Coutures I have. Maybe it's my imagination... but with these I can paint and topcoat and be ready to go in five minutes. Anyone else experience faster dry time with the Couture For Men line, or is it just me?


Wow. What do I even say about these? First, I love them. I love unusual unique colors and that's just what these are. Only maybe two or three polishes out of all three collections that I didn't care for. Heavy on the greens. Lots of flash and soft duochrome. Glitter. Interesting finishes. I don't think I have anything negative to say about these. Well... okay. I can think of something. Why so much frost?? BB Sure loves their frosts. But... they also love their glitters and their green polishes so I shouldn't complain! No one else does anywhere near as many greens and glitters.

And I know these are marketed for men- which I think is awesome- but of course women can wear them to. And vice versa... No reason a man can't wear a polish marketed for women. It's just colored paint.

OH!! That totally reminded me! I went to a wedding last Friday (wore some killer hot shoes too) and there was a boy there WEARING NAIL POLISH!!! It was just black nail polish, but still... it made me happy. It was well done, too- no polish on the cuticles and no chipped tips. Right on, dude.

Before I click 'publish' I thought I should say (cause I get asked every time I post BB)- you can buy BB Couture For Nails at overallbeauty.com or bbcouture.com . I have never seen them in stores, and I don't think they are actually in any retail locations. Correct me if I'm wrong though! I'm under the impression they're online only.

(These were sent to me for review)