Home / Tag: Mint

Mint

FEATURED - Friday, June 20th 2008

Nars Neu Neons: Summer Makeup Collection

Francois Nars visionary shades perfect compliment this seasons fashion bold and bright.  Enliven lips with a ray of neon shines to add a jolt of style to your beauty wardrobe.  Shock your lips with hot pink, tangerine and fuchsia.

Lip Lacquer ($24) - in Capucine - a sheer tangerine. High shine formula with sheer pigments of transparent color for luscious lips day or night. The super-shiny formula can be worn alone or over other lip products.

Lip Pencil ($20) - in Miss Sadie - shimmering carmine pink. Longwearing color in a creamy formula that helps define, correct and shape the lip while preventing lip color from bleeding and feathering. 

Lip Gloss ($24) - in Frisky Summer - a raspberry sorbet. Serious shine and sexy color in sheer, cream and semi-sheer formulas. Extremely wearable and versatile colors may be worn alone or over any lip product for more drama.

Compliment this seasons boldest fashion statement with a shocking shade range blushes unique to the vision of Franocis Nars.  Highlight cheeks with a collection of neon shades from bright corals to brilliant poppies.

Blush ($24) - in Desire - cotton candy pink, Catus Flower Cream - a shimmering poppy and Craze - a raspberry red with shimmer.

 

Nars embraces the summer heat with a range of striking neon shades for the eyes.  Brighten lids with shocking purple and hot poink shadows.  Experiment with bold green and turquoise liners for the seasons ulitmate fashion statement.

Eyeshadow ($32) - Carvaggio - a Azaela pink / Irisdescent Violet, Party Monster - lilac wiith gold shimmer, South Pacific - shimmering blue turquoise / dark aquamarine.

Eyeliner ($20) - Parrot Cay - mint green and Le Sept glitter - purple with gold glitter.

Nars summer collection is now available at Sephora or Nars Cosmetics.

FEATURED - Wednesday, July 16th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Suite Array Collection

The Suite Array collection introduces a new eye shadow suite with pearl glide liners.  Check out all the color information below.  All preliminary information and pictures courtsey of Specktra and Ernie1881.

The Suite Array collection should be available on Sept 25th.

Eye shadow Suites - $16.00 USD

• Blue Zone - Deep grey/green with silver pearlized pigments/Light ice blue with silver pearlized pigments.
• Ocean 2 - Mid-tone blue with silver pearlized pigments/Light blue with silver pearlized pigments.
• Smoke & Ash - Black with silver pearlized pigments/Mid-tone grey silver with pearlized pigments.
• Counterparts - Deep forest with gold pearlized pigments/Mid-tone orange with gold pearlized pigments.
• Rose Suites - Intense blue pink/Light yellow with silver pearlized pigments
• Shallow v. Deep - Bluish green with gold pearlized pigments/Mint with silver pearlized pigments.
• Sweet Liason - Pale yellow with gold pearlized pigments/Deep brown with gold pearlized pigments.
• Team Violets - Dark burgundy with burgundy pearlized pigments/Mid-tone violet with gold pearlized pigments.

Pearlglide Liners - $14.50 USD

• Wolf - Deep grey with gold glitter
• Rave - Deep purple with purple glitter
• Fly-by-Blu - Light blue with blue glitter
• Black Russian - Black with navy blue glitter
• Miss Fortune - Eggplant with light pink glitter
• Bankroll - Rich green with bright green sparkle
• Spare Change - Mid-tone brown with copper glitter
• Molasses - Brown with mid-tone brown glitter

Thanks to Ernie1881 for this sneak peak.  To check out more pictures from this collection, click here.

FEATURED - Sunday, August 3rd 2008

Pedi of the Day: China Glaze for Audrey

 

Today's pedi of the day is the gorgeous China Glaze in For Audrey.  A minty green - turquoise blue creme that's inspired by Tiffany & Co colors.  The application applied flawlessly with two coats and no issues.  Melrose, from Chanel's Robertson Blvd collection, was next in line for my pedi but, I wanted something with a little more jazz - and this is it!  It's so fab, you guys!

The previous China Glaze collections have been rather blah.  I forgot how great the colors and application was until today.  Sexy Sport collection was a marketing campaign gone entirely wrong and Immaterial Girl was pretty but nothing unique.  I knew China Glaze had it in them and the new fall collection proves that.

First impression of Rodeo Diva - sexy, tough, chic independent women with western style.  I'm beyond estatic about this collection.  Actually, I'm beyond because the dark vampy colors for fall are right up my alley.  We're going to be seeing some great collections for Fall.  Ahh - nail polish haven.

Hope everyone's having a fabulous weekend.  I'm heading to the pool tomorrow with the girls and my Sept issue of Glamour.  Why is it that we have to flip through our magazines right away.  My husband can always find me standing at the mailbox or wandering into trees from reading.

FEATURED - Sunday, October 19th 2008

Nail Polish of the Day: Sinful Coco Diamond

Can you guys believe it's almost November?  October seems like it's just flying on by and we know what that means - cold temperatures - yuck!  Anyway, today's nail polish of the day is a new one from Sinful, Coco Diamond ($1.99).  This may be a little hard to describe but I'll try my best.  A taupish grey base color followed by a minty green shade with green and aqua blue glitter/shimmer.

My application required three coats with no true problems.  Within my first coat I noticed the greyish taupe shade to be more visible but, was more of an minty green following the second and third layers.  Coco Diamond would also look great topped over a grey or black.

 

I found a small Sinful display at my local Walgreens consisting of five of six colors.  The only shades that caught my attention was Coco Diamond and a blue shade that I'll be posting in a few days.

Hope ya'll had a great weekend!

FEATURED - Monday, November 24th 2008

MAC and Hello Kitty: Let the Insanity Begin

You've heard the rumors for months now.  WWD sets the records straight for this highly anticipated collection we've all been waiting for.  Seriously, do you know how insane the demand is going to be for this collection?  Read more details below.

MAC has teamed up with Sanrio Global Consumer Products to create a Hello Kitty color cosmetics collection.  This new collection will arrive on MAC’s Web site Feb. 10, in North American stores on Feb. 12 and into overseas stores in March.

“We are thrilled to partner with a brand that shares the vision of offering an innovative, authentic and transforming experience to our loyal fan base,” said Janet Hsu, president of Sanrio. Sanrio’s worldwide retail sales of licensed products for 2007 is estimated at $5 billion.

While the 34-year-old Hello Kitty character is usually assumed to be a cat, she is actually a girl, according to Sanrio. And a girl without a mouth, so she “speaks from the heart,” the company said. “She may not have a mouth, but she’s going to sell a lot of lipstick,” cracked Demsey, noting that a waiting list for the items will go live on Jan. 7 at maccosmetics.com.

“To me, MAC Hello Kitty embodies the ultimate beauty icon,” said Jennifer Balbier, senior vice president of product development for MAC Worldwide. “She’s sweet and sexy, slightly edgy, and appeals to a wide range of customers. We wanted to reflect that through a sweet side, but also something slightly mischievous when it came to the colors. I started out by creating a palette of pinks, since they fit and always trend well in the spring. And this look is so much about the eyes that we did two eye shadow quads.” The Lucky Tom quad has violet blue, brown, gold and pink-coral shades, while the Too Dolly palette has mint, blue-silver, pale pink and magenta shades.

“We incorporated glitter eyeliners because she loves anything that twinkles, and we took the coral and hot pink theme and did pretty, poppy [colored] blush,” added Balbier.

While this collection is intended to have a sophisticated presentation, MAC hopes to appeal to younger fans with two shades of lip conditioners.

The Hello Kitty offerings fall into two collections: the Hello Kitty Colour Collection and the more high-end Hello Kitty Kouture. The bulk of the items are in the former category: six shades of lipstick with names like Fashion Mews and Strayin’, each $14; six Lipglass shades, each $14; and two tinted lip conditioners, $14.50 each; two eye shadow palettes, which each contain four shades and retail for $38; two shades of pigment are $19.50 each, and two Reflects Glitter stockkeeping units — one blue, one pink — are $17.50 each. Four Glitter Eye Liners, each $16.50, two shades of Beauty Powder, each $22; three shades of nail polish, each $11; a black mascara, $12, and false lashes, $12, round out the color offerings. Shades range from pinks and turquoises to lavenders and greens.

Hello Kitty Kouture is intended to be the high end of the collection. Two shades of Dazzleglass, each $28, each feature a reusable silver chain pendant with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals on black with a pink crystal bow. Sheer Mystery Powder, $90 and available in three shades, is packaged in a silver powder compact with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals with a pink crystal bow on a black background.

“We wanted to have affordable luxury and a high-low aspect, so it made sense to do the Hello Kitty Colour Collection and Hello Kitty Kouture,” said Demsey.

The Hello Kitty Colour items, a Petite Makeup Bag, $22, and a medium Makeup Bag, $35, will be in all doors, currently about 581 department and specialty stores in North America including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, as well as MAC’s 138 freestanding stores in North America and at maccosmetics.com. Internationally, the items will be in 1,307 doors in 69 countries, including 296 MAC freestanding stores outside North America. Hello Kitty Kouture will be available at MAC stores and maccosmetics.com only. At the maximum, the collection will be available for eight weeks.

A plush doll, $42; purse mirror, $22, and three-brush collection, $49.50, will be available at MAC stores, Nordstrom doors and maccosmetics.com only. A mirrored key clip, $16; beaded bracelet, $34, will be sold in MAC retail stores and at maccosmetics.com only, and a tote, $45 and soft vanity kit, $55, will be exclusive to maccosmetics.com. These items are intended to animate the counter presentation and create an entire Hello Kitty world at retail, Gager noted.

While none of the executives would discuss sales projections, industry sources estimated that the limited edition MAC Hello Kitty collection could do upwards of $12 million in North American retail sales. That projection is slightly larger than that of the hit Barbie collection.

In-store visuals, shot by Nick Knight, show the polar opposite aspects of the collection. One is an image of a blonde model holding a black vinyl Hello Kitty doll, which will be part of the accessory line. The other visual is what Gager terms “more of a dominatrix creature.” The point, said Gager, is to show that makeup can be transformative. Makeup was done by Val Garland, with hair by Sam McKnight.

And Demsey promises the surprises aren’t over yet. “There will be more products to come in the next three months with this partnership,” he said.

Ladies - start saving up!

FEATURED - Friday, December 5th 2008

Nail Polish of the Day: Revlon in Jaded

TGIF!  Hope your having a fabulous Friday!  Revlon's nail polish in Jaded is another steal I picked up on my Big Lots shopping spree and my NOTD for yesterday.  Sorry guys - I was slammed and didn't get a chance to post this.

Described as a mint green shade with shimmer - that's quite different than any shade I own.  Application was perfect.  Revlon has the bomb formula - I never seem to have any problems.

Did you guys know Big Lots, Dollar Stores or any other discount stores have rare and discontinued nail polish colors?  It's TRUE!  They do and lots of them.  Everytime I go out of town or on vacation one of my priorities is hitting up Dollar Stores or Big Lots.  Not only will you find rare colors, but ridiculously cheap! 

 

Here's my cat, Luv, she's such a wus!  This weekend we'll be painting our kitchen cabinets and let me tell you I am SO not looking forward to that.  Actually, I'm dreading it.  The only thing I love painting is nails!

Have a great weekend and try to stay sane while dealing with the holiday madness!

FEATURED - Wednesday, December 24th 2008

New Line: NYC introduces quick dry nail polish

 

Out with the old and in with the new is NYC's resolution.  You may have noticed stores clearing out the NYC glossies only to make room for these hip new colors.  I've seen that Meijer and some other stores have marked down the glossies to clearance.  Make sure you take advantage of those clearance items and stock up because their bye, bye, bye!

Details: NYC introduces a quick drying nail polish in under 60 seconds called, New York color in a minute.  A vast variety of 24 new colorful shades and one clear fast dry topcoat.

Overall, these are fab.  Most colors are exceptionally pigmented and only requires two coats with the exception of a few lighter shades.  The variety of colors are endless and priced at $1.99 is a steal.

Who has time to sit and wait around for polish to dry?  I certainly don't.  That's why these are perfect for me.  A quick drying polish that stays put for days. 

The nail polish names represent street and popular places you'll see in New York City.

 

Chelsea (first two pics above) 228B - deep candy apple shimmer.  Two coats, no topcoat.

Lincoln Center 232B - dark burgandy red-brown creme.  Two coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added  Manhattan 248B - a deep burgandy magenta-purple creme that could be Lincoln Center's cous.

New* Just Added  It was hard capturing the true colors of both these shades.  Manhattan is much prettier with the magenta purplish undertones.  

Canal Street 220B - a dark brown red shimmer. Two coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added  Broadway 238B- a red- brown cinnamon with red, gold and silver micro shimmer. Two coats.  No topcoat.

 

Fifth Avenue 218B (above) - a rusty copper orange shimmer.  Two coats, no topcoat.

Mulberry Street 212B - a white sand beige with shimmer.  Coverage was really good for light toned shade.  You could even get away with two coats on this one.  Swatch (above) three coats, no topcoat.

Update: After wearing this Creme Bruele shade (Mulberry Street) a few times, I ended up really liking it.  Possibly a mix between NYC's Little Italy and Bryant Park into a shimmer version.  

Little Italy - A crisp white or french white creme.  It's really hard to find a white opaque shade and sometimes I even resort to a french white such as Little Italy.  Swatch (above) two coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added   Wall Street 234B - a mid tone pink with shimmer.  Three coats no topcoat. 

 

Soho 222B - A light pink feminine shade with shimmer.  Three coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added   Uptown 242B - a barbie pink with shimmer.

New* Just Added   Here are some pink comparisons from the NYC line. Uptown is my favorite out of the three. 

Bryant Park 214B - a much lighter version of OPI's Charmed by a snake.  Described as a sand color beige with shimmer.  Bryant Park kinda blended in with my skintone.  Meh for me, but pretty on someone else.   Two coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added   Park Avenue (two pics above) 246B - a unique duochrome shade that switches between taupe, lilac and pink.  Three coats.  No topcoat.

Central Park 216B - a light peach shimmer with some pink undertones.

New* Just Added   Midtown 240B - a vibrant hot pink with blueish-purple shimmer.  

New* Just Added   Downtown 244B - a dusty pomegranate pink creme. 

Times Square 224B - Perhaps the brighest color from this collection.  A bright coral with hints of tomato red creme.  Although my pictures may look tomato orange, Times Square also has distinct hints of coral pink.

 

 Penn Sation (two pics above) 230B - a magenta pink-red with shimmer.

 

East Village (two pics above) 206B - Turquoise blue shimmer that was somewhat sheer.  Three coats to acheive bottle color.  Swatch (above) Three coats, no topcoat.

West Village 204B - a navy blue base wiith pink and purple shimmer. Maybe not the most unique, but very pretty.  Two coats, no topcoat. 

 

Chinatown (two pics above) 210B - Saving the best for last.  Not quite black but not quite purple.  A unique ink  colored shade loaded with some duochrome micro shimmer that looks blue, silver, and mint green at different angles.  It was hard distinguishing the colors.  Talk about gorgeous, whoa!  I highly recommend Chinatown - a definite must have from this collection.

The NYC New York in a mintue quick dry is going to be a permanent line and should be hitting stores in the next couple weeks which retails for $1.89/ea.  So, get on over there and pick you up some Chinatown.

FEATURED - Thursday, August 20th 2009

OPI Fall Matte collection: Review, Swatches

This Fall, OPI introduces the Matte collection, a release of six current OPI shades available in a non glossy, matte finish. Each bottle is included with an instruction tag that states the following:

• Matte by OPI does not wear as long as original OPI Nail Lacquer.
• Do not use base coat, top coat, drying products, or hand lotion when wearing matte.
• Do an all Matte nail. Or do a Matte nail with matching Glossy tip.

Before we get to the details, let's discuss what this means. It's time to toss that rule book out the window because skipping a base coat would be a bad idea. You don't want your nails super stained. If you can hunt down a no shine base coat, that would be best. I've had better luck using a ridge filler for my base.

As far as hand lotion, just be sure to wipe your nails off with a tissue or cotton pad to avoid that shiny, satin finish.

Application is the challenging part. Every matte polish I've tested is super fast drying, which may create problems for the habitual coater. The good news, OPI's wide brush makes it easier to accomplish three brush strokes. Anymore than that, you'll notice streak lines in your application.

Ready for some swatches guys?

Alpine Snow, a white chalky flatte matte. This reminds me of a winter snowy morning when the snow is intensely bright to look at.  

As much as Gargantuan Grape looks minty green in my swatches, it's not. It's a tad bit more yellow based and has that chalky texture.

La-Pazatively Hot is true to the name! A gorgeous hot pink matte with shimmer that's one of my faves from the collection.

 You Don't Know Jacques, a mushroom brown taupe chalky matte.

Lincoln Park after Dark, a vampy blackish purple matte. 

As much as I'd wish Russian Navy was a shimmer like the original, I still love it. A flatte navy blue  matte.

The matte collection is now available at Professional Salons and online at the E-tailers. Have a wonderful night!

FEATURED - Friday, January 23rd 2009

New Bold N Sexy Shades from Black Radiance

TGIF!  Happy Happy Friday.  Today has been a glorious day.  Mid 60's, full sun - gorgeous.  But, I'm not holding my breath because it's just a big fat tease.  Tomorrow were right back to temperatures in the thirties and snow.  Booo!

Let's jump start the weekend with some Bold and Sassy colors from Black Radiance.  So, these aren't exactly new.  Well, they were back in November when I oringially picked them up at Walmart in Jacksonville, FL.

When I spotted these beauties, I was on it because most stores in my area don't carry Black Radiance.  What's up with that?

The colors are extremely pigmented.  You could probably get by with one thick coat.  All my swatches were done with two.

Check out the swatches

 

 Rique -  a deep red brown maroon loaded with gold shimmer. 

 A very close dupe to China Glaze's Side Saddle and NYC's Cognac Sparkle.

 Passion - deep purple eggplant with matching shimmer

 Naughty - charcoal gray with silver and mint green shimmer.

 Seductive - a bronzey gold with gold shimmer.

Seductive and Prize Winning Mare are pretty much an exact dupe.  The only difference is Seductive is just a hair darker, but not by much.  Gold Nugget is more gold compared to the other two.

Now finding these may be a litte tricky.  Check the Black Radiance makeup displays where their regular nail polishes are located. 

Have a great weekend!

FEATURED - Tuesday, February 3rd 2009

Milani Valentines: Illustrations of Love

The month of February marks the season of love and Milani gives you six reasons to celebrate the holiday in style.

The Illustrations of love collection is a new valentine's day release that includes: red and pinks for those passionate lovers, black and purple's for those wanting to vamp it up and grey's and whites for that laid back lover.

Overall, this is a great collection that offers a range of different shades to pick from!  The application was amazing and most colors only required two coats for bottle coverage.

Milani's nail polish has it goin' on.  Their quality is just as good as Sally Hansen or Borghese and other high end brands. 

Day Dreaming - a true medium gray creme.  Hands down, the best gray creme I've seen.  Not to dark nor too light.  Perfecto!

Spring has officially kicked the gray nail polish trend into high gear!  So, don't miss out on this perfect shade of gray.

It's official!  Milani's Day Dreaming is an exact dupe for MAC's On the Prowl from their latest Hello Kitty Collection. 

While digging through my small stash of grays, I came across two close contenders.  RBL's, Concrete Jungle is more blue based and Carolyn's, Handball Courts is much lighter with added shimmer.

Having some fun with Milani's Day Dreaming and black tips with SH's black nail art pen. 

Fond of You is the perfect off white creme that's a great alternative to Chanel's White Satin.  Actually, we might have an close dupe here.  I'll have to check later today and let you guys know.

The application was simply amazing for a white.  Only three coats to achieve bottle color. 

 

Sweetheart - a bright hot pink creme.  Not as vibrant as a neon.

Milani Sweetheart.

 

Sweet Love - a reddish pink with subtle pink and purple shimmer.  The actual shade was hard to caputre for some reason.

 Sweet Love.

My Darling - a charcoal black with mint green shimmer. 

Devoted - a deep black purple with subtle pink and purple shimmer.

The valentines day collection should be hitting stores this week.  Keep an eye out for Day Dreaming!

FEATURED - Wednesday, March 4th 2009

Shades by Barielle Sugar Rush Collection

Get your sugar fix on this summer with Shades by Barielle.  The Sugar Rush collection introduces six new vibrant shades sure to please your sweet tooth cravings.

Talkin' about sweet nail candy!  A selection of scrumptious shades that look so good, you'd wish they were edible.

After seeing the first installment of Summer collections from China Glaze, Barielle had some high expections to live up to.  And, I'm happy to report they totally nailed it.

Everything about summer rocks.  Bright, bold pops of color, color and more color!  Most of the shades applied perfectly in two coats with the exception of Lemondrops and Cotton Candy.

Must have's: (wow, this is hard because I loved them all) Sweet Addiction, Lemondrops (if your a yellow lover), Swizzle Stick, Decadance.

What I loved about this collection - No Reds!

Check out all the swatches below.  

Lemondrops is a bright yellow creme that's perfect for tootsies in the summertime.  A close comparison is Rescue Beauty Lounge's, Yellow Fever minus the shimmer.

Decadance is a shimmery turquoise blue that's gorgeous.

Stop the press - who's that?!  Sweet Addicition totally rocks my world you guys.  Described as a unique slice of minty green goodness.   This shade is spectacular and looks even better on.  Can't wait to sport Sweet Addiction on my toes with a tan.  Totally Hot!

Check out the close comparison below. 

 

The comparison may look like close to a dupe, but I assure you both are quite different and equally beautiful.

 Grape Escape is a vibrant Barney purple creme.  Can't say no to purple!

Cotton Candy is just as you would imagine.  A semi sheer pink with hot pink shimmer. 

Swizzle Stick is a soft baby blue creme that's not as vibrant as pictured above.  For some reason, I just couldn't capture the actual color representation.

The Sugar Rush collection is now available online at Barielle and/or CVS which retails for $7.99.  Barielle usually runs online specials for buy 2 nail polishes, get one free ($16 for 3).

Note: I have yet to see any Barielle's at my local CVS's and believe me I've been to several.        

Here's a little slideshow of my picture swatches from Barielle's Sugar Rush collection.

FEATURED - Thursday, March 5th 2009

Going Green: Green Nail Pic Spam Part One

This is a great image of the actual color representation.  For Audrey's unique shade can be rather difficult to capture digitally. 

Happy Thursday!  Today is the first little segment of my "Go Green" theme this March at Steph's Closet.  Since I have so many greens to show you, I'll be breaking my posts into four seperate parts and featuring each part once a week.  

I wanted to start off with a french mani, because you guys know how much I love those funky colors.  

What I used:  Two coats of China Glaze For Audrey and two coats of my favorite Sally Hansen Nail art pens for the white tips.  The color combination just look stunning and only can image how hot this would look on those tootsies!

China Glaze, For Audrey a tiffany colored green - blue. 

Claire's, Blue for you is a seafoam green with fine shimmer.  Very pretty and feminine for spring.

 

Nars, Mash is a gorgeous deep olive bronze with gold shimmer.  A stunning color, espically for summer.  Looks fab on olive and darker skin tones.

Max Factor, Momentum Moss is dollar store gem, a olive gray metallic with shimmer.

Claire's, Green Confetti is a light green jelly glitter with subtle holographic effects.

Have you guys been in Claire's lately?  They have some pretty spectacular shades for spring.  I have a whole segment planned for those too!

Sally Hansen's, Jumpin Jade screams riches and luxury.  A deep, rich green that's seriously gorgeous!  A great drug store pick.

Maybelline's, Jade Flash is a green with blue undertones, but still falls in the green category.

And here's the two I posted a few days ago.

Icing, Awkward is a mid tone green with gold and subtle blue shimmer.  A great alternative to OPI's, Rainforest.

LA Flairs Girl, Green is a deep green with blue undertones. 

I'll be adding more to this post later this evening!  Have a great one!

FEATURED - Monday, March 16th 2009

St Pattys Day: Mani and Pedi of the Day

Happy Monday Ya'll! It's not officially St. Patty's Day yet, but I wanted to be ahead of the game because it's going to be a jam packed day tomorrow. So, how in the heck do you go about choosing a green for St. Patty's Day? It's virtually impossible because greens rock.

The verdict - Claire's 3 in 1 Mixables in Technopop because it's cool and I just like it!  Knowing me, I'll probably change my mani before St. Patrick's Day.

Claire's 3 in 1 mixables are pretty neato.  You get three different colors in one bottle. No shaking or mixing required.  Do you know how hard it is to not shake the bottle? I guess it's just habit, but it's pretty darn H A R D.

What I love about Claire's 3 in 1 mixable's - their mostly duochrome colors.  You'll see various colors in different angles of lighting.

Technpop is describled aa a bright minty green duo that changes from green, purple and blue.  And, has added holographic glitter for that ultra flair.

I have a boat load of Claire's swatches I'll be posting in the next weeks to come. 

I really loved how my pedicure turned out.  The black polka dots just pop on a neon base. What I used: Massini's Neon Greenlight and for the polka dots, Sally Hansen's Nail art pen in black.

The neon green is much brighter in real life compared to my swatches above.  I really like Massini's neons because their opaque and you don't have to worrry about a white basecoat.

Hope you have a wonderful night and St. Patty's Day!

What's everyone wearing for tomorrow? Be safe!

FEATURED - Friday, March 20th 2009

MAC Sugarsweet: Review and Swatches

This spring, M·A·C is all temptation... frostings, finishes, fillings. Each of them whipped, creamy, deliciously stylish, as inspired by the world's most popular sugar-sweet desserts. Never has a season looked so eat-me-up gorgeous!

Overall, we see a whole bunch of repromotes to the Sugarsweet collection that your wallet will be thanking MAC for. It's a great time to stock up on colors such as Lollipop Loving lipstick (from fafi) and Aquavert eyeshadow (from lure, bait, hook) that some of us missed out on.

What I picked up: Sugarshot eyeshadow, Sweet Thing lipstick and Peppermint Patti nail polish. 

Most of these were repromotes from previous MAC collections that I already own.  The only shade I picked up was Sugarshot.  Much like Nylon or Phloof, Sugarshot is a great hightlighter that you can't go wrong with.

Mostly repromotes and permnament colors, Lollipop loving and Sweet Thing were my two faves. 

 

Tricolour Lipglass is a colourwave of three stacked shades with varying pearl combination in one lipstick vial.

The tricolour lipglass sure sits pretty in her little container with three blingtastaic colors sure to grab you attention.  But, as far as the color pay-off, notta. Tasty, the only one I picked up had the best color pay off out of the five.

Seasonal Peach (repromote from Cremesheen) and Peppermint Patti are MAC's two newest editions to the Sugarsweet Collection. When I was at the MAC store swatching, I noticed Seasonal Peach wasn't nearly as streaky as I remembered. Espically, with only two coats being used on the above swatch and one coat with Peppermint Patti.

Yes, Peppermint Patti is beyond gorgeous which doesn't suprise me because it's lighter shade of green (hello). You might tell yourself you don't need it, but you really DO!

I'll be posting the nail polish swatches in a seperate post later today. The Sugarsweet collection is now available MAC Cosmetics.  Seasonal Peach and Peppermint Patti sold out already on the MAC site, but you can still find them at Nordies, Macy's or your MAC counter.

FEATURED - Saturday, March 21st 2009

MAC Cosmetics Sugarsweet: Nail Polish Swatches

Seasonal Peach is a perfect example of a fabulous color gone completely wrong. The shade itself is extremely pretty, but the application is a hot mess. If you'll notice in my swatches above, the color has visible streaking - even with three coats.

Described as a pastel peach cream with pink undertones. Seriously, it's really hard not to love this color because it's gorgeous and just pops against warmer skintones.

Most of us will probably be torn on whether to order this color or not due to the bad application.

I do like it though. You could always put Seasonal Peach to work with creative nail art such as polka dots!  I've posted some nail art examples below.

Peppermint Patti is everything I expected and more. The color pops and I just love it. And, if your having second thoughts about this one - don't. The color is fabulous. More than likely, you'll be kicking yourself in the behind for not grabbing this sooner.

Described as a true minty green pastel that was a dream applying compared to Seasonal Peach. So, the application isn't completely perfect with very minor streaking. But, surely a 50% improvement from Seasonal Peach.

The most obvious possible alternative, OPI - Hey get in Lime. Not an exact dupe though, but pretty darn close. OPI's version has more lime green undertones compared to MAC's true minty green.

Here's some polka dot nail art below that I did with both colors.

How cute do the colors go together?! Seasonal Peach my be worth the purchase just for the dots.

Hopefully most of you guys were able to snatch Peppermint Patti before it sold out.  If not, try checking at your local counters, Macy's or Nordies online.

What did everyone end up getting from Sugar Sweet?

FEATURED - Friday, March 27th 2009

Nail Polish of the Day: CQ Tahitian Green

It's Fridayy!! Hopefully your having a fabulous afternoon on this gloomy day. Today I'm bringing you a brand new color from CQ, Tahitian Green ($2.19). Described as a deep minty green with teal undertones and bright green shimmer.

This minty green shade was standing out like at sore thumb at Walmart just callin' my name. In fact, it's the only green they had in the makeup isle period.

To give you an idea where the color falls, Tahitian Green is much like China Glaze's, Passion in the Pacific. CQ's base is more green and both have the same colored shimmer.

The only place I've seen CQ cosmetics is at some Walmart and Rite Aid stores that retail between $2.00 - $2.50/ea. Hope your having a great weekend!

FEATURED - Sunday, March 29th 2009

Pedicure of the Day: MAC Peppermint Patti

Hopefully you guys had a great weekend! With the rain and coldness returning to the Tri-State this Sunday, it was a perfect time to treat my tootsies to some much needed love.

Ever since Ms. Peppermint Patti landed at MAC, she's been causing quite a frenzy. Perhaps one of the star attractions released with the Sugarsweet Collection, this minty goodess makes a fabulious pedicure color.

After playing around with Peppermint Patti a few times, I noticed the formula tends to get really "thick", You may need to add a few drops of thinner if you run into this problem. No big deal - just a quick fixer uper.

Check out one more swatch below.

Just adding a simple decal sticker such as a flower gives instant flair to your pedi. Have a great night - sleep tight guys!

So do we likey, likey - I wanna hear?!

FEATURED - Wednesday, April 1st 2009

Spring Nail Colors from Nina Ultra Pro

Happy Hump Day Ya'll! Today I'm bringing you some flirty spring colors from Nina Ulta Pro ($3.99). You can find Nina Ultra Pro at Sally Beauty Supply stores or online. Most colors were opaque in only two coats with the exception of Mermaid.

Sweet Nothings (pictured above) - a blue based muted pink lavendar creme with no shimmer. Not your typical pink or purple. Very pretty.

In a Tiff - one of my favorites, is an opaque tiffany blue loaded down with white micro shimmer that's gorgeous. Love!

Tangerine Dream - an opaque tangerine coral orange creme with no shimmer.

I only wished Mermaid had the opaqeness that the others did. A sheer lime green loaded with bright minty green micro shimmer. 

You can find Nina Ultra Pro nail polish at Sally Beauty Supply stores that retail around $3.99/ea. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

FEATURED - Tuesday, April 14th 2009

Essie Summer: North Folk Collection Swatches

Grab your sunglasses, beach towel and a little SPF this summer and get ready to sail your blues away with Essie's new North Folk collection.

This summer Essie introduces two releases for summer - North Folk and The Neons.

North Folk is a  small collection of three fun, yet watery shades that take you back to those lazy summer days.

Bravo, Bravo, Essie! And another Bravo for the fabulous blue colaboration this summer!  Essie must of been listening, this collection goes out to the nail polish lovers that have been longing for unique shades such as,  Starry Starry Nights and Dominica Green.

Overall, everything about this collection is amazing, including the dreamy application. All my swatches were done with two coats and no visible problems.

Check em' out.

Greenport - a minty blue green creme that's gorgeous. A lighter version of Misa's Dirty Sexy Money, but not an exact dupe.

Sag Harbor - Wow, this is HOT! Described as a powder blue shimmer with grey undertones that's amazing. Not quite a "traditional" duochrome, but it definitely changes from gray to powder blue in different lighting.

What you can't see, the gorgeous gray undertones that's more apparent in real life.

Shelter Island - a bright sky blue creme that's not too bright, but not too dull.

Essie's North Folk collection is now available at Essie, Beauty Salons, or online at Head2Toe.

FEATURED - Wednesday, April 22nd 2009

Earth Day Mani: Color Club Wild Child

Happy Earth Day ya'll! Hopefully you guys were able to take advantage of Butter London's free nail polish promo going on today. Due to the mass volume of traffic, the site was down for a little while, but eventually came back up.

With summer creeping around the corner, I wanted to sport one of my favorite green neons for the occasion.

Color Club's Wild Child, is a bright neon green that you've probably seen Rihanna sporting around. Not like your typical neon polish, Wild Child dried to a shiny finish with only three coats needed.

Hope everyone's having a fabulous Tuesday!

FEATURED - Sunday, May 3rd 2009

Nail Polish of the Day: Orly Mint Mojito

Happy Sunday! Hopefully you guys had a wonderful weekend. I was really hoping to get this post in earlier this afteroon, but fell short of time quickly. With all the rain we've been having lately, it feels like ages since I've last swatched anything. I'm back logged like you wouldn't believe.

So, on to this fabulous color from Orly. Mint Mojito, recently released from the Tiki Summer Collection that I have yet to swatch, is described as a true mint green creme. This one is so pretty and a definite standout from the Tiki Collection.

The application was fairly good. A little streaking with the first coat or so, but evened out after the second coat to perfection.

Mint Green is all the rage this season, and Mint Mojito tops that list. The color is really unique and quite different from the other greens we've been seeing such as: MAC Peppermint Patti, OPI Hey Get in Lime, Essie Greenport and rumored to be Chanel in the Fall 09'.

One more swatch below.    

To add a little jazz to Mint Mojito, I applied some blue tips with Sally Hansen's nail art pen. This probably wouldn't look half bad if I didn't gnaw off my pinky nail the day before!

Have a great night and Monday morning!

FEATURED - Friday, May 8th 2009

KO Liberty: Mint Green Matte Goodness

Today is a happy happy Friday and it's all thanks to Knockout's new shade, Liberty. This one is hot, really hot! Described as pastel mint green matte that dried to a satin with three thin coats.

Well all know mint green shades are on fire right now, and I think Liberty will break us from our matte nail polish phobia. It's the perfect Spring or Summer shade for mani's and pedi's.

My Application: There was a little bit of streakiness at first, but it all seemed to dry out evenly in the end. You could probably get by with two thicker coats.

And now for the comparison.  

Liberty is much greener than For Audrey, and just a pinch bluer than MAC's Peppermint Patti. If your swooning over mint greens lately, this is a must have!

Liberty is now available online at Knockout Cosmetics and retails for $22 for a huge bottle (.56). Have a wonderful weekend! 

FEATURED - Thursday, June 4th 2009

It's Tiki Time: Orly Summer 09 Tiki Collection

With summer almost being here, it's time to get out the tiki torches and party it down with Orly's new Summer Tiki Collection.

Introducing four new bright shades sure to get you noticed this summer. When I say bright, it's not your typical neon bright. Just enough to get some worthy attention.

Application. Overall, some of the formula's fall on the semi sheer side, but nothing that three coats can't fix. I was able to get by with two coats on most, with the exception of Mint Mojito, which is definitley worth the three coat application.

My Favorites: Mint Mojito and Calypso Blue. Check out the swatches. 

Mint Mojito, is a little piece of mint great heaven sure to please your sweet tooth. A must have for any green lover.

Check out a comparison picture below.

As you can see, Mint Mojito is certainly special amoung the others. 

Calyspo Blue is pretty special indeed. Nothing like Essie's Mesmerize or Sephora's Blue Grotto. A medium to light blue that definitley stands out amoung the rest. Although, this one could have used an additional coat. Loves it!

Sol Cabanna, is a orange creme that's more toned down.

Teeny Bikini, ultra bright red creme. Orly's Tiki Collection is now available and retails around $3.20 - $4.99. Online, you can purchase this collection at Head2Toe and Transdesign.

Have a wonderful day!

FEATURED - Wednesday, July 1st 2009

BB Couture for Nails: Review and Swatches

Today I'm bringing you a truly fabulous nail polish brand called BB Couture for Nails. If you've been reading the nail blogs, then your somewhat familiar with this one-of-a kind polish that's just phenomenal. The color selection is beyond amazing and my swatches don't do any justice...really!

Each formula contains no hazardous chemicals and is Big 3 free. And the best news yet, you get everything in this little package. Base, Top coat, Nail Color, and Strengther - all in one. What a brilliant idea? Just brilliant. Why didn't anyone think of this sooner?!

The Wear. Since you get everything in this little bottle, you really don't need a base or top coat. But, I have a feeling most of my readers will have trouble skipping this step, which is OK! I still love ya! Plus, you can never be too safe. My average wear was three days with no chipping, which is pretty remarkable with no base or top.

I know, enough of the review, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Opposites Attract, a medium gray with silver glitter and some black. The black was very subtle, but you can look at the bottle pic and see the darker black glitter. 

Blind Love gives Chanel's Kaleidoscope a run for it's money. Described as a pewter silver foiltastic color that's pretty much an exact dupe to Chanel's.

Balboa Beach Bunny, a deep purple with multi colored glitter. All the jellies are amazing! I'm totally crushing on them.

 

 Sea of Cortez, fabulous light blue jelly with glitter.

Moon over Manhattan is one of the best blues I've ever laid eyes on. Described as a mid tone blue with teal undertones and fine glitter.

Here's a comparison swatch of Moon over Manhattan and Sea of Cortez.

Frosty Meadow, gorgeous light green jelly with glitter. 

Zuma Wave Rider didn't quite capture as well as I'd liked. It's a mix between a lavender purple and baby blue pastel. The pastels applied a little streaky, but nothing three coats can't fix.

Laguna Lagoon, a pastel mint green creme.

 Laguna Lagoon is similar to OPI's Hey get in Lime, but just a tad more lighter and pastel.

Poison Ivy, a medium green creme. One of the best greens on the market.

Iced Olive is insanely gorgeous! Described as a olive green with gold shimmer.

Where do I buy BB Couture? You can purchase BB Couture directly through BB's site or Overall Beauty. I highly recommend Kim at Overall Beauty. Her customer service exceeds excellence and she ships internationally at a pretty reasonable rate. The retail price is around $8.00 - $9.95/ea.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Enjoy peeps!

FEATURED - Monday, July 20th 2009

New Icing nail colors: I'm seeing Green

Happy Monday everyone! Hope ya'll had a wonderful weekend! Today I'm bringing you four new colors from Icing by Claire's and two of them being my favorite color, Green!

You've probably heard me say this a thousand times and I'll continue to say it, Icing's nail polish seriously rocks!

The unique shades are unbelievable. I just wish they'd work on improving the application brush a bit. Besides that, this would be a kick ass brand!

Everytime I visit my Icing store in the mall, it never ceases to amaze me that I come home with four bottles, at least. They always have updated colors, I love it! 

Check em' out! 

I can see why this is Laura's Fave, it's gorgeous. A bright seafoam green or minty green with fine subtle blue and silver shimmer. The blue shimmer makes this a tad bit more blue toned compared to Essie's Greenport. 

Bad Apple is by far an amazing green and quickly becoming one of my favorites. A semi sheer jelly that's darker than Essie's Dominica Green, but equally beautiful. Green Lovers, this is a must have! Run, hike or drive to your nearest Icing, it's well worth it.

Paparazzi is a rustic orange with silver and holographic glitter. You know I'm all for bling, so I couldn't pass this one up.

I passed up Taylor at least four times before I actually snatched her up. The unique blend of light pink and slight lavender undertones kept pulling me in.

You can find these at Icing stores (USA, Canada) usually located in your local Mall. The nail polishes retail for $4.50/ea and they have buy one, get one half of deals going on regularly. 

Have a great Monday!

FEATURED - Tuesday, August 25th 2009

Limited Edition: Damone Roberts 1968

Happy Tuesday! How was everyone's weekend? Besides by the fact it flew by, it was great! Today I have a delicious mint dessert to show you guys and it's all thanks to my favorite nail blogger, Michelle for enabling this lemming.

Damone Roberts, known as the Eyebrow Queen, teams up with OPI to create this gorgeous, green shade inspired by the walls of Damone Roberts' studio. "It's not your typical mint green. It has a little touch of gray in it and a little touch brown," says Roberts.

Damone Roberts 1968 is a pastel mint green creme that applied beautifully in two coats. This past weekend, I've sported this dreamy color and couldn't stop starring at my nails. It's perfect shade of mint green that pops!

You didn't think I would leave you without comparisons?!

It might be hard distinguishing the differences of these mint greens, but my camera did one heck of a job trying! If you look back from the computer screen, you may notice a deeper green in Damone Roberts compared to the other two.

Don't miss out on this limited edition nail color guys and gals, you'll love it. It's simple to order. Just call the NY salon at 212.764.4755 or the Beverly Hills location at 310.271.2100.  The retail cost is $9.00 plus $3.95 for shipping.

What do y'all think? I wanna hear from my mint green lovers! Have a great night!

FEATURED - Monday, August 31st 2009

Twitter Giveaway: Damone Roberts 1968

Good morning and happy Monday Ladies and Gents! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. To kick off this week and my upcoming birthday, I'm hosting a twitter giveaway for one of my new favorite greens, Damone Roberts 1968.

To enter, it's simple! Just make sure you're following Steph's Closet at twitter and your automatically entered for this gorgeous minty green shade. The contest is open to all US and International residents that are following me. Winners will be announced on my birthday, Sept 5th via Twitter. Good Luck!

FEATURED - Friday, September 4th 2009

MAC Cosmetics: Nail Trend FW 09 by Jin Soon

Collection: MAC Nail Trend F/W 09, Nail Lacquer .34 oz

Price: $12.00/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: MAC Cosmetics, MAC Stores

More than a colour statement, an of-the-moment approach that dazzles with innovation and style. How to do it? Enter Jin Soon, much-sought-after nail guru who has worked the shows, collaborating with us to create nail colours exclusively for M∙A∙C.

I’m excited to bring you MAC’s latest collaboration called Nail Trend, created by professional nail artist, Jin Soon Choi. In this new collection, we have a variety of six falltastic runway colors ranging from luscious chocolate to blackened teal, army green to party purple and cool lavender to brick house red.

A little Jin Soon Choi  Aside from Jin’s incredible talent, she owns a Natural Hand and Foot Spa located in New York City where you’ll find the best nail art around - even the celebrities are taking notice. Known for her “No Airbrush” rule, you’ll walk out with a Choi masterpiece.

Are you ready for some swatches?

Cool Reserve is one cool Cat and I have nothing close to compare. It's a grayed out lavender creme that coordinates perfectly with the ongoing gray trend.

Dry Martini, not quite olive nor army green - perhaps a mix of both rolled around in the mud. As much as I raise my eyebrows with Dry Martini, I find myself drawn to the strange and unusual color.  

Beyond Jealous, a blackened Teal and just in case you're wondering, Beyond Jealous is a bit greener compared to Sephora's Dark Room. But, both are similar. 

Dance All Night, A red brick house creme. 

Rich, Dark, Delicous is one of my faves from the collection, a blackened chocolate with very subtle shimmer that dries to a creamy texture.  

 

For Fun is a fun party purple, and paired up with MAC's Peppermint Patti makes one sassy combination. Don't you love how the mint green polka dots pop on this purple grape?

All in All, Nail Trends F/W 09 hit the spot. Each cream shade flowed perfectly on my nails with minor application issues. And, not to mention the fabulous color selection to choose from.

What do you guys think? Love this, hate this? Favorites? 

FEATURED - Tuesday, September 15th 2009

Chanel Jade Collection: Swatches, Review

Product: Chanel Jade Collection, LE Vernis Nail Colour 0.4 oz

Price: $25.00/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Chanel, Boutiques

The time is here Ladies and Gents! Ever since the debut of Jade at Chanel's Fall 09' Fashion Runway Show, I couldn't wait to get my grubby little hands on this gorgeous minty green shade.

In this new collection, we have two limited edition shades from Chanel, Jade and Jade Rose. Both shades are lightly sprinkled with a dose of shimmer. I'm talking very subtle, almost non existent shimmer. My application required three full coats to achieve bottle color. 

Let's move on to the swatches! 

This year, mint green hit the scene bigger than ever and Jade fits the bill perfectly. A gorgeous mint green with a dash of faint shimmer that makes this different from most greens I own.  

Jade Rose is a soft pink beige with extremely subtle pink shimmer. With my skin tone, Jade Rose turned out very "neutral-ish" on me. It's a cross between Essie's Eternal Optimist and Not Just a Pretty Face minus the shimmer, which isn't very noticeable anyways.

And for the polka dot lover in all of us!

All in All, the superstar in this collection is clearly the beautiful Jade. Although I'd hope the shimmer would be more visible, I'm happy with the overall color.

The Jade collection is only available online at Chanel or Chanel Boutiques and retails for $25/ea.

FEATURED - Wednesday, December 2nd 2009

Essie Sweet Time of the Year: Winter Collection

Product: Essie Winter 2009 Collection, Nail Lacquer 0.5 oz

Price: $8.00 Retail

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Essie, Professional Salons, E-tailers

It's that Sweet, Sweet time of the year and this Winter Essie whips up three fun n' fresh, candy coated colors sure to please your cravings!

In this limited edition collection, we have a mixture of three juicy hues of red, pink and a luscious creme de menthe dessert you don't want to pass up. Each color applied like butter. The formula was pure perfection!

Check em' out! 

Lollipop is a juicy, mouth-watering red creme/jelly. It's a bit sheer and transparent on my nails as you can see in my first picture above.

Rock Candy is a sheer pink that's very Essie-esque.

I was most excited to swatch Mint Candy Apple and she does not disappoint! A perfect combination of blue and green pastel that's very unique. Looks great on most skin tones too!

For my dupe lovers, Mint Candy Apple is one of a kind. More blue than most mint greens I own, but not quite as blue as For Audrey.

And for my dotters!

It wouldn't be the same without some fun polka dots? Which is your favorite? I think I like the red with mint green dots best.

Overall, Good Collection. A fun and refreshing breath of Holiday color. Mint Candy Apple is simply amazing; a definite must have Diva's! Application and formula perfecto!

Spill the beans, who picked up Mint Candy Apple? How fabulous is it? Have a wonderful night! 

FEATURED - Thursday, December 24th 2009

Tis The Season To Be Mint Green

Merry Christmas Eve, all! To celebrate this festive holiday, I wanted to kick off with some minty green nail spam for your viewing pleasures. Enjoy!

(Above) Chanel Le Vernis in Jade

 MAC Cosmetics Nail Lacquer in Peppermint Patti

OPI Nail Lacquer in Damone Roberts 1968

 OPI Nail Lacquer in Hey! Get in Lime

Essie in Mint Candy Apple 

RGB Cosmetics Nail Polish in Minty 

American Apparel Nail Polish in Office 

OPI Nail Lacquer in Creme de Menthe 

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Milf 

Avon in Teal Waters 

Claire's Cosmetics Nail Polish in Dream Catcher 

Nicole by OPI Nail Color in Hint of Mint 

And a little polka dot nail art for fun!

Those are a few of my favorites. Click here to check out more Minty goodness. Do you love this cool, pastel-y color? What's your faves?  

Wishing you a safe and wonderful Christmas!

FEATURED - Wednesday, January 27th 2010

Icing by Claire's: Mint 2 Be Nail Polish

 

I'd like to introduce the new kid on the block. She's sassy, refreshing and worth jetting to your nearest mall to snatch her up. Mint 2 Be is Icing's newest addition, she's described as a creamy, pale mint green pastel.

The application was dreamy more or less... Is that even possible from a pastel? Even though the formula was on the thick side and even applied semi streaky, it dried to perfection. No streaks or bald spots with two coats.

Check out one more swatch below.

If you're wondering and I know you are, Mint 2 Be is more pale and lighter to most pastel greens I own. Since I haven't had a chance to compare, I'm guessing Icing's might fall close to China Glaze Re-fresh Mint.

Can you handle all these mint greens? Why yes, I think we can! Have a wonderful Wednesday!  

FEATURED - Thursday, January 28th 2010

American Apparel Gets All Lacquered Up

Collection: American Apparel Nail Lacquer .5 oz

Retail Price: $6.00/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Will be available in a week or two.

American Apparel, known for their edgy yet provocative clothing line launches a beauty brand consisting of 18 new nail lacquers.

Before we get to the initial review, I feel we need to discuss the article posted on Jezebel a few days ago. After hearing different stories and receiving numerous emails, I felt it was necessary to contact my PR rep to get the real deal and here's what they said:

After receiving a few reports of bottles breaking, we made the internal decision to do a voluntary recall of the bottles on both a retail and public level.

We chose this small US manufacturer to produce our nail polish because we support their business model and have a fondness for family who runs it. However, one of the realities of all manufacturing is first-run glitches. We worked all last week with the manufacturer to make the improvements necessary for the second run. Another reason we sought out a US-based company is so we would be able make changes and now, we can investigate what went wrong as quickly as possible. We still believe in the factory we're working with and the new polish will be in stores within the next two weeks.

We will offer an exchange of two new bottles or a $10 giftcard for anyone who brings in a unit from the original run or a receipt.

On another note, one thing we're taking very seriously is the disposal of the bottles we had in the stores. Even though our polish was DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde-free, we don't want our stores just tossing it in the trash. We're using our internal shipping and distribution line to arrange a pickup and removal of the polish to make sure it gets done right.

Since we have that covered, let's move on to the good stuff. American Apparel... who would of guessed? This stuff is selling like hotcakes and the proof is in the pudding or shall we say lacquer. The color selection is unbelievable with 18 different creme shades to choose from, reasonably priced at $6.00 each or 3 for $15 in stores.

Talk about perfect formula, these were oh so dreamy to apply. Each color is smooth, opaque and lasted four days with a base and top coat. Way to go American Apparel!

Check out the swatches.   

I never get tired of greens and Office is a nice minty green creme.

Mouse fits into the taupe/mushroom/nude category. It's much lighter than most mushroom shades on the market. A great neutral that goes with everything.

Hunter is a deep, vampy hunter green creme.

Hassid is a black creme that dries to a satin like finish.

Overall, Awesome! If you're a creme lover, then this is your cup of tea. Perfect application, formula and color selection.

Have you tried American Apparel polishes yet? What do you think of the brand? Have a wonderful day!

Full Disclosure: The following product(s) was provided to Steph's Closet by the manufacturer or PR company for consideration.

FEATURED - Monday, February 1st 2010

Bargain of the Day: Sinful Mint Apple

Product: Sinful Professional Nail Polish in Mint Apple, .5 oz

Price: $1.99/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Walgreens

Bargain of the day is a new weekly series featured on Steph's Closet that focuses on stylish and fashionable nail polish colors without breaking your bank.

If you missed last week's Bargain of the Day, click here to check out Wet n Wild's glittery purple goodness. Today's featured nail polish is a new shade from Sinful Colors that I recently snatched up at my Walgreens store.

Introducing... Sinful Mint Apple. Take a peep below! 

We've heard the name before, but it's not what you're thinking... Mint Apple is a mint green with gorgeous shimmer. Looking at the bottle I thought this might have a dusty quality such as Misa's Dirty, Sexy, Money or Sephora's Ocean Love Potion, but it doesn't. It's lighter, a bit more green and has added shimmer - bonus!

Application is the typical Sinful standard. It's slightly sheer with good coverage in three coats.

Mint Apple is now available at Walgreens along with a few other new colors. What do you guys think of this new color? Has anyone picked it up yet? Have a great Monday!

Page 1 of 3
1  2  3  >  >>