Summer Neon Comparisons

Hello to all! How's everyone's weekend going? I haven't done anything but clean and polish. I'm almost to the point where I'm ready to do something on the weekend ha. Next weekend is a concert somewhere in a field (from my understanding) by Frank Foster- his new album release concert.  He's this guy that my husband graduated high school with (mind you he had only 10 people in his graduating class). You can check him out on Facebook here. It's not really my kind of music, but he's very talented and a good friend of Allen's, so we enjoy watching him become famous. Pretty cool.

Anyways, since this summer has been all about neons I wanted to compare a few for you all. I seem to have collected quite a few yellow neon colors that I have been staring at on my shelves and thought I would try them side by side to compare.

                             

So I chose to compare China Glaze I'm With the Lifeguard, Milani Totally 80's, Nina Ultra Pro Solar Flare, and Orly Glowstick. These are shown as they are on my nails from left to right.

First up is China Glaze I'm With The Lifeguard. First of all, I loved this collection, as did most people I found. I loved all of the colors I have from this collection. This is def a neon in my eyes but doesn't have that complete semi-matte finish neons usually have, but rather an almost shimmer finish to it and only required 2 coats with no undie- like most other neons.

Milani Totally 80's is one that I bought but haven't tried until now. It did require some white undies and was very sheer and needed like 5 coats for an opaque look. This is actually a more green than yellow color. This was the only color that has a creme finish to it.

Nina Ultra Pro Solar Flare. I've yet to find this brand anywhere but Sally's. They did have a summer neon collection come out, but not much is said about this brand. I think it's just as good as any of the other brands found at Sallys (China Glaze, Orly, etc.) This was the only color I bought from this neon collection. I had it on my toes early summer and got a lot of compliments and it is a very bright, very much a neon. All the qualities- requires white undies, very sheer, so bright it hurts, semi-matte finish. 

Orly Glowstick and Solar Flare look exactly the same when side by side. Same qualities and a few dollars more in price. I love Orly but sometimes the application can be a little frustrating. The brush is long and thin and seems to make it harder to apply this neon since semi-mattes and mattes have a tendancy to dry quickly. I also used a white undie along with about 5 coats for an opaque look- even witht the white underneath. I still found the latter two polishes a bit streaky looking and wasn't quite pleased with the outcome.

So, there you are. 4 yellow neons from this summer. Just for review purposes I used Orly Bonder as basecoat and Seche Vite on top. I like all these colors and loved the neon polishes that were released this summer, but I'm ready for some fall colors, as I've already shown you with my previous review of Zoya. So, did anyone else like these colors or have any others they would add to this (other neon yellows)? Tell me what your favorite summer color was?

Well, as always I like to leave you with lil something. I was playingn around on YouTube this morning and found the "Yes Dance 2" from Rob Hoffman. I don't think it's as funny or original as the first, but nevertheless, it was a good laugh.

Never really seen a hot straight guy in a tutu...gotta watch!

Maybelline Color Show Denims

Good Sunday to all! I hope everyone is having a super weekend. So, I have quite a post to share, so let's get to it! Warning: pic heavy!
Today I wanted to show you a couple of new Maybelline polishes that I got a while back. I've never worn Maybelline before- maybe when I was a teen, but they release a new Color Show line that sales for only $2.99 a bottle. Couldn't pass that up! I got a bunch of them, nothing really special and unique. But, I did get a couple grouped as Denims, which are shimmery, flaky blues that I thought looked great and were blog-worthy.

First, is Denim Dash, which is the lighter of the two:

What impressed me about these polishes was that I only used one coat for both! It was a wonderful opaque shimmer and applied very smoothly.

Denim Dash closeup

Then I thought I'd get all fancy and add one coat of Sally Hansen HD DVD, which is a micro-flaky iridescent purple and blue- this is meant more as a layering or top polish as it is very sheer and doesn't look good on it's own.

Denim Dash                                                  Denim Dash with DVD

I just loved this combination and took like a million pictures...I still had to narrow it down and I could do any less than this! sorry!

Just a side note: I think it's' time to thin out my bottle of Seche Vite- it was so goopy it was stringy almost like a glue gun. Since I don't have any polish thinner, here's my system real quick:
I keep about 5 bottles of it on hand (available at Wal-Mart and Sally's for about $8 a bottle, but if you have a Sally's card, there are usually deals to get free top and basecoats) and use about 3 at a time. I have them listed on the bottom from thickest (oldest) to newest. When one becomes too thick I just add more from the second bottle...and so on. It works for me until I come up with something better! Ok, back to the polish...

Next, is the darker of the Denims, Styled Out:

Again, I used one coat of Styled Out and a thick coat of Seche Vite. I just loved this little polish and can see myself using it for stamping.

Styled Out closeup

Here is Styled Up with DVD on top:

I liked this one with no top coat. Gives it kind of a matte look. I love the iridescent shimmer of the different shades of purple and blue. Here they are compared side by side:

Honestly, I couldn't really tell the difference since the polish was dark to begin with. But, nevertheless, this was a fun swatch. Lastly, here are the Denim Dash and Styled Out together:



Denim Dash                                                                           Styled Out

I don't really wear these brands I guess because they're so well known and usually not unique. Most of the colors have been around for a while, but I really liked these and at such a great bargain they are great polishes and I was impressed enough to take a ton of pictures! Let me know what you think? Have you tried any of the new Maybelline Color Show line?

M.A.C. Deep Sea vs. Nicole by OPI Khloe Had a Little Lam-lam

So, I ordered my first M.A.C polish and was SO excited to get it in last night.  Upon first look I immediately thought of Nicole by OPI Khloe Had a Little Lam-lam from the Kardashian Kolors. I thought I would do a little comparison...now I'm just depressed.  This deep teal is my favorite color of all times, so I'm still happy to have these colors, just wish I hadn't spent as much money as I did.

Here's the colors from online:

nordstrom.com

amazon.com

 Here they are side by side:

I was thinking, "This can't be right." So, I decided to wear them side by side.  I used 3 coats of each, taking pictures of each coat as I went.  The weather today is gloomy and depressing and had trouble getting a good picture with lack of light, but did my best.  I found that they are similar in price, yet Nicole by OPI is a few dollars less and available in stores like Wal-Mart and Walgreens- much more convenient.  It took me 5 days to get my M.A.C. through FedEx, so needless to say I was disappointed at my results.

 

I absolutely CANNOT tell the difference!

 Even closeup the difference is impossible to see. I even had to make a note to myself which brand I put on which finger. I wasn't planning on this and wish I had chosen a different color from M.A.C. To add to all of my sadness, it's my opinion that Nicole by OPI is a better polish- it went on smoother, the brush was bigger, and it was easier on the wallet (although the link that I included from Amazon on the Nicole polish was selling it for $20, but I got it at Wal-Mart for $11.)  With all this being said, I almost wish I hadn't done the comparison.