Black and Yellow: Pure Ice Crackle in Catwalk over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blackout

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I know what you must be thinking, so you might as well play this while reading:

Pure Ice Crackle is another drugstore version of the crackle polishes we have all come to love or loathe. There is a wide range of colors and textures available in the Pure Ice range. I saw these at Walgreens, and the variety of colors different from those I already own, attracted me to try at least one. So I chose the yellow shimmer, called Catwalk. I had problems deciding between that and a murky green cream crackle.

Catwalk, a yellow shimmer crackle, applies smoothly and is similar in texture, finish and application to OPI Shatters. The shatter pattern appeared nicely and application was a much easier process than my previous drugstore crackle experience with Sally Hansen Crackle. This yellow shimmer dries matte. I added a topcoat in the above swatches. You might notice in the enlarged clickable version of the pictures, that there is an almost imperceptible rainbow shimmer hidden in the yellow that is so pretty. It gives this polish a little extra pizzazz. I used the crackle over Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Blackout. Blackout is also available at Walgreens, and is a fast drying, opaque black cream polish. I only needed one coat for full opaque coverage.

Pure Ice Crackle is a great choice for those who like crackle polish at a great price. It is available at Walgreens at a retail price of $3.99.

China Glaze Halloween 2011: It's Alive

Time to officially start your Halloween shopping, Yeay!

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China Glaze It's Alive is part of the Halloween collection this year. The color is an olive green glitter. It is packed full of olive green flakie, circle and regular glitter in an olive base. The application was wonderful and the above swatches are two coats. I would consider this the must have of the collection. This polish will be available soon at Sally Beauty Supply and is available now at certain e-tailers at a retail price of $5.99.

a-england: Holographic Beauties Lady of the Lake and Tristam

Hello! Today I am covering two beautiful scattered holographic polishes from the U.K. brand a-england.

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Lady of the Lake is a royal purple scattered holographic polish, two coats.

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Tristam is a navy blue scattered holographic polish, two coats.

Just like many fellow nail polish addicts, I am always on the hunt for new and unique holographic polishes. These offerings from a-england make a great addition to any holo lover's stash. Lady of the Lake is a true royal purple, which is hard to find in holographic polishes. Tristam is also my first navy blue holo. I have searched far and wide for as many blue holos as I can get my hands on. I have only come across sky to medium blue holographic polishes, never a true blue or darker. So I am very happy to own this polish. The swatches above are two coats. The formula is thick, but applies easily and the finish is smooth.

A-england polishes are available at http://www.a-england.co.uk/ at a retail price of 9.00 GBP, or about 14.77 USD. Dollars for 0.4 fl. oz. Shipping to the U.S. is 4.00 GBP approximately 6.56 USD. Word around the Twitterverse is that their next collection will feature a green holo! Keep an eye out on their Twitter for more information.

OPI : Nice Stems Collection

Hello! Today I have swatches of the OPI Nice Stems Collection.

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Play the Peonies is a pale pink/white shimmer. The swatches are two coats. The application is slightly streaky, but it is still a nice neutral to have.

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Come to Poppy is a bright medium tone coral pink shimmer. The swatches are two coats.

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Be a Dahlia Won't You is a hot pink shimmer polish with small smooth glitter. The above swatches are three coats and there is still slight visible nail line. The shimmer in this polish flashes violet and fushia.

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I Lilly Love You is a unique glitter topcoat suspended in a clear pink base. The topcoat has large foil and flake glitter of multiple shapes and colors. It also has. smaller multicolored square and circle glitter. I used two coats over a navy blue polish.

The OPI Stems Collection is limited edition and can be found where OPI products are sold. I got my set from  Amazon.com where many sellers have the sets for around 20 dollars. Each polish individually sells for a retail price of $9.50.

China Glaze Metro Collection: Westside Warrior, Concrete Catwalk, Trendsetter, Skyscraper

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Westside Warrior is an army fatigue green cream polish, two coats.

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Concrete Catwalk is a deep shark gray cream polish, two coats.

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Trendsetter is a mustard yellow, with a slight green tint, and fine gold shimmer, two coats.

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Skyscraper is a sheer navy blue base with silver shimmer, three coats for opaque coverage. Layer it over a navy polish to use less coats.

China Glaze Metro is part of the Fall 2011 collection. All of the polishes above have a smooth even formula, and the only one that needed three coats was Skyscraper.  Trendsetter, Weekend Warrior, and Concrete Catwalk were all fully opaque in two coats. They are available at Sally Beauty Supply at a retail price of $5.99.