Pointless Cafe

Showing posts with label Summer 2012. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Nail Junkie Grape Jelly Shimmer and Watermelon Jelly Shimmer

Today I have two more polishes from The Nail Junkie's Summer Collection of Jelly Shimmers! I tried Apple Jelly Shimmer first and it was AWESOME! This time I'm showing you Grape Jelly Shimmer and Watermelon Jelly Shimmer. But fair warning, there are a TON of photos in this post, so settle in!

First up, Grape Jelly Shimmer.

The Nail Junkie Grape Jelly Shimmer

I'd received my order a week or two ago and they'd been sitting on my desk beckoning to me. I gave Grape Jelly Shimmer a quick shake and applied two coats before I noticed that the holo shimmer had all settled to the bottom. So the first photo shows two light coats with no shimmer. But I shook it up a bit more and the holo shimmer distributed evenly. The third coat shows all the holo shimmer and I used a 4th coat for more opacity. Of course this is a buildable jelly, so there will be a certain amount of VNL (visible nail line) if your nails are longer. I actually had no application issues and the third coat evened everything right up. The 4th coat that I used isn't really necessary for most. I think it turned out beautifully!

The Nail Junkie Grape Jelly Shimmer

Next is Watermelon Jelly Shimmer and it is STUNNING! No matter how many photos I spam you with, it can't really capture the juiciness or beauty of this polish. I used 3 coats and it applied like a dream. This one also has holo shimmer and there was no settling of the shimmer at all. The color is a bit hard to describe. It does look like watermelon! Sometimes it looks more orange and sometimes more red.

The Nail Junkie Watermelon Jelly Shimmer

And then...

I put Lynnderella Love Lace and Lilacs on the accent nail to see if I could actually do a jelly sandwich!

The Nail Junkie Watermelon Jelly Shimmer with
Lynnderella Love Lace and Lilacs Jelly Sandwich Accent Nail

And guess WHAT??? I did it! And I love it!

The Nail Junkie Watermelon Jelly Shimmer with
Lynnderella Love Lace and Lilacs Jelly Sandwich Accent Nail

Before I wrap this up, I just have to brag on the cuticle balm a bit. When you order 2 or more polishes from The Nail Junkie, she includes this cute lil tub of the BEST cuticle balm! I'll go ahead and confess that I am horrible about applying any sort of moisturizer, cuticle oil/cream/balm - heck I don't even use creams and goops on my FACE and Lord knows it needs it. I'm just lazy I think. This is the first one I've ever used consistently! You just need a TINY bit so I can see this sample tub lasting me a long time. At first you're thinking "oh man, it's GREASY!" But once you put it on, it rubs in nicely and does NOT leave a greasy feel at all. The best thing? It's not scented (or very lightly scented) so I don't have to worry about getting headaches or nausea from the smell! It's also available for purchase from her in a larger size. Next time she opens shop, I recommend trying it!

The Nail Junkie Cutie Balm

So what do you think? Which is your favorite?

The Nail Junkie polishes can be purchased for $10 each at Aleta's store and you definitely need to follow her blog and Facebook page for updates and announcements. She offers FREE domestic shipping and $5 flat rate international shipping. Also, 10% of each purchase of polishes from this collection go to the Special Olympics. Great nail polish, FREE shipping and charitable giving all in one!

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Illamasqua Faithful - Swatches and Review

Faithful is one of the polishes from Illamasqua's Naked Strangers Summer of 2012 Collection. I didn't pick up the other two polishes, Monogomous and Swinger, in the collection because I didn't think they would really be shown to their best advantage on my pale skin.

Illamasqua Faithful is a warm, dusty brown packed with metallic copper and gold shimmer that makes it "glow." Away from the light, it reads as a nice warm taupy brown but when the light reflects off of the gold and copper shimmers, it comes alive. The application was very good - smooth and creamy. Two coats for opacity.

Illamasqua Faithful

I had a few people ask me how close, if at all, it is to Dior Exquis and the answer is that they're nothing alike. Here is a comparison photo so you can see just how different they are. Index and middle fingers with Illamasqua Faithful, ring finger with Dior Exquis and pinky with China Glaze Ingrid just for kicks.

Illamasqua Faithful Comparison

Illamasqua polishes, including Faithful, can be purchased at sephora.com here in the States or at illamasqua.com in the UK.

What do you think? Are you liking the "naked" take on summer colors?

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Friday, June 15, 2012

The Nail Junkie Apple Jelly Shimmer - Swatches and Review

Today I have one of the new polishes from The Nail Junkie's Summer Collection of Jelly Shimmers - Apple Jelly Shimmer! The rest of the summer collection includes: Watermelon Jelly Shimmer, Banana Jelly shimmer, Grape Jelly Shimmer, Orange Jelly Shimmer and a Blueberry Glitter Topper. Each polish arrives in a little tube with some felt squares to make removal a breeze.

The Nail Junkie Apple Jelly Shimmer

Apple Jelly Shimmer is a bright green neon jelly with green and holographic shimmer and it really POPS! Since it's a jelly, the color builds with each coat to a squishy finish. The neon (as all neons for me) was hard to capture but take my word for it, it's bright! Perfect for summer in South Texas for sure. I've used three coats for all photos and NO top coat. Formula was easy to work with and applied smoothly. No issues at ALL!

The Nail Junkie Apple Jelly Shimmer

And a little playing around with NailVenturous Floam on top. It really makes the Apple Jelly Shimmer POP!

The Nail Junkie Apple Jelly Shimmer with NailVenturous Floam

The Nail Junkie polishes can be purchased for $10 each at Aleta's store and you definitely need to follow her blog and Facebook page for updates and announcements. She offers FREE domestic shipping and $5 flat rate international shipping. Also, 10% of each purchase of polishes from this collection go to the Special Olympics. Great nail polish, FREE shipping and charitable giving all in one!

What do you think? I think I'm trying the Grape Jelly Shimmer next!

Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration.

For more information, please visit my Disclosure Tab.

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Friday, April 13, 2012

Dior Bikini - Swatches, Review and Comparisons

This evening I'll be showing you Dior Bikini, part of Dior's Croisette Collection for Summer 2012. St. Tropez is the other part of the nail polish duo, but it's a re-release - previously created especially for the Dior Boutique opening in St. Tropez and was a Limited Edition. I'll be showing you St. Tropez, which is a light greenish blue creme, sometime soon.

Dior Bikini is a dusty spicy orange creme that applies smoothly and is opaque in two coats. No issues to report. Shown in various lighting with two coats and a top coat.

Dior Bikini - indirect natural light

Dior Bikini

To see how they compared to some of my other orange-toned colors, I've swatched a few of them for you.

None are dupes as you can see. Chanel Orange Fizz is a bit closer to Dior Bikini than I'd expected. I have both now, but if I didn't, I'd probably only purchase Dior Bikini. It's a smidge darker and I prefer Dior's formula and brush to Chanel's.

What do you think? Is this a summer color you go for?

Dior Bikini and St. Tropez are available in US stores now and through various on-line e-tailers. Retails in the US for $23.00.

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