China Glaze High Def - Swatches and Review

China Glaze High Def is another yummy offering from their Tronica Collection, Spring 2011. I hope I was doing something really important last year to have missed out on this collection. Geesh. It's really pretty outstanding. I think maybe part of the problem was the hype leading up to the release had everyone thinking (and hoping) that it would be more like their hugely popular and highly coveted OMG Collection. It wasn't. And while it may have been much different, I think it is pretty spectacular in its own right.

High Def is a cool-toned cornflower blue with a fairly tight scattered holo. The holo isn't quite as tight in High Def as it was in Electra Magenta, but it's close. Went on creamy and evenly. Two coats to full opacity.

Photos here shown with two coats and no topcoat (in most photos) unless otherwise stated.

China Glaze High Def

China Glaze High Def

China Glaze High Def (with top coat)

China Glaze High Def (with top coat)

China Glaze High Def

China Glaze High Def (with topcoat)

As stated in my previous Electra Magenta post, these aren't in stores anymore (unless you're in on a supply store or something) but you can still find them at a reasonable price on Amazon, at blog sales, etc.

There were 12 polishes in the collection.

3D Fantasy
Cyberspace
Digital Dawn
Electra Magenta
Gamer Glam
High Def
Hologram
Hyper Haute
Laser Lime
Mega Bite
Techno Teal
and
Virtual Violet
Did you snag any of these when they were in the stores? Which are your favorites?

Also, don't forget to enter my Winter Giveaway if you haven't already! 

If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to "like" it! Thanks!

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Orly Frolic Swatches and Review

This is the first time I'm wearing Orly Frolic and I have no idea why it sat in my untrieds for so long.

It's from their 2011 Happy Go Lucky Collection for back-to-school. For me, this is a really difficult color to describe. Its definitely NOT a neon, in spite of how bright it looks in the bottle. I'm calling it fuchsia purple. LOL! It reminds me of an orchid. It's a somewhat bright red-based lilac creme with a unique finish. Illamasqua has a finish similar to this and they call theirs a "rubber finish." It doesn't dry matte, but it's not high gloss either. I quite like it! I started to put a top coat on when I was finished, but I just couldn't bring myself to change it! And it's a one-coater! Even with one-coaters, I usually do two coats, but this one just looked so pretty, I stopped at one.

All photos are with a base coat and ONE coat of color. No top coat and no clean-up.

First the close up - I think it most accurately portrays both the color and the finish.

Orly Frolic

Orly Frolic

Orly Frolic

Orly Frolic

Had I tried this one out before I did my Top 11 of 2011 post, this might have made the list!

I really ♥ this one.

Dior Camel Swatches and Review

Dior Camel

Dior Camel is part of a duo of Limited Edition polishes called The Mitzah Collection 2011 (Mitzah Bricard - Christian Dior loved and thus surrounded himself with women. When he arrived in Paris, he met the woman who would later become both his muse and advisor: Mitzah Bricard, an extremely sensual woman, with a divinely chic allure and captivating presence ...From the Dior website)

Camel #622 will be shown here and the other part of the duo is Ebony #912, which I don't have yet. It's aptly named as it's a camel color - a light tan that leans more gold than the mustardy look I feared. A straight up highly pigmented creme that has an easy, two-light-coats application. It's darker and much more opaque than Dior Safari Beige, which was part of the Fall Blue Tie Collection.

Unfortunately, it's not the best color for my pasty white skin tone, but do I care? Not Really. I'll wear it anyway!

Dior Camel

Dior Camel

Isn't it yummy?

Dior Camel

It's a Sephora Exclusive ($22.00) for now. Since there's not a Sephora near me, I just had to close my eyes and click the buy button sight unseen. It turned out okay. Whew.

It's a neutral that still stands out on the hands just enough.  What do you think?

Chanel Rouge Carat - Holiday 2011

From the Les Scintillances de Chanel Collection comes this gorgeous red...Rouge Carat. Picked this baby up at my local Chanel counter last week and I'm finally getting around to wearing it. Mainly because I didn't have much time to change polishes and I know and trust Chanel's formula. And this one does not disappoint. All photos are shown with ONE coat. And because the formula is so smooth and easy, no clean up! That's worth two thumbs up from me all by its own self!

Chanel Rouge Carat #587

It definitely has that luminous or "lit-from-within" look.

Chanel Rouge Carat #587

Candy apple red with fuchsia shimmer.

Chanel Rouge Carat #587

Chanel Rouge Carat #587

If I'm being honest, since I'm finding out how much of a plain creme finish girl I really am lately, I prefer Chanel Dragon. While I certainly appreciate other finishes, especially the luminous, shimmery ones like this, I'm somehow always drawn first to plain cremes. #gofigure (or it could just be a phase?)

Will you be getting this one? Or is it just too similar to other reds in your collection?

OPI Skull and Glossbones Swatches

Yes, I realize I'm pretty far behind on this one, as usual. But in my defense, my local HEB Plus just magically came up with an entire set of the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, Spring 2011. Being behind here in Po Dunk pays off sometimes! So I picked up Skull and Glossbones as well as Stranger Tides (LOVE!) and Mermaid Tears, which I haven't worked up the courage to try yet.

OPI Skull and Glossbones

OPI Skull and Glossbones

This went on like most other OPI polishes...smoothly. It was just a smidge thicker than most, but still no problems. When I saw it and passed on it the first time around, I figured it was too close to other grey polishes I had.  Until I tried to do newspaper nails and realized I didn't have any nearly this light. It's a light murky grey which is PERFECT for newspaper nails and certainly fills a small hole in my grey collection.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice! Model's Own Duo Chromes November 2011 - AMAZING!

This is the first time I've been THIS excited for any of the Fall/Winter nail polish collections.

Model's Own Beetlejuice Collection

They released this information today via Facebook and I had to wipe the drool off of my screen!

From their Facebook page:

 NEW from Models Own and launching this November - The BEETLEJUICE Collection! 
Consists of FIVE new multi-tonal shades - GOLDEN GREEN, a fresh energetic acid; PINKY 
BROWN, a warm rusty pink; PURPLE BLUE, a vibrant punch of fuchsia indigo; AQUA VIOLET, a true sky shimmer; and EMERALD BLACK, a bold-blackened midnight peacock!
 Each bottle contains four pearlescent colours mixed into one gleaming shade, and the 
complex colour-shifting, with flashes of vivid tones and ethereal hues, gives a shimmering 
duo chrome finish. Priced at just £5 each and available early November exclusively at our 
website.



I want all of them!  How about you?

And yes, they confirmed that they DO, in fact, ship to the US.  The minimum order is the equivalent of 20 GBP, which I don't see being a problem AT ALL. *giggle* They can be purchased here once they're available.  Stay tuned!