Don't be fooled by the pricetag

I know that a lot of polishoholics think that the MNY range of nailpolish isn't worth a dime. I know that even more makeupbloggers think that MNY as a whole is cheap crap that should solely be thrown to the fashion-hungry pre-teens. However, I like their nailpolish. It might not be the best product on the market, but competing in the true budget-range, it comes out a winner.
What I expect from a good polish is that it's color accurate (bottle vs layers on nail), easy to work with (rather thin than thick and lumpy), won't get matted down in no time and won't chip just because you waved like Paris.

While the color-range at MNY might not be all that exciting, it certainly has a couple of tricks up it's sleeve. 2 of those are seen above accompanied by 3 Hello Kitty glitters (the foil is the winner of the 3) and the magnificent MPJ by OPI.
Left to right:

• MPJ by OPI.
• 669 by MNY
• 445 by MNY (nr 2 from the left)
• Silver Kitty by Hello Kitty @ HM
• Kitty Queen by Hello Kitty @ HM
• Kitty Princess by Hello Kitty @ HM

All 2 layers though some might have needed 3.

So, what am I saying? Not much other than don't be fooled by the pricetags. Beauties come in all price-ranges.

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Be purple, be yourself

You know it's Wear purple day?
I know all these colors and ribbons confuse a lot of people, for instance October is pink as well as green, but every now and then, there's just that something you know you need to support.This is one of mine. I'm wearing Grape pop by China Glaze (a nice creme that is opaque in one coat) and if it wasn't for this very occasion I wouldn't have noticed that I have far less bottles of purple nailpolish than of any other color. I think I need to scout for some more. Say, what's your favorite purple?

In the picture you see two HM Hello Kitty glitters in purple, Grape pop by China Glaze and in the back, the matte version of Lincoln park after dark by OPI, a purple that is so dark it's almost black.

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Do you ever find yourself staring at your bottles?

I've been spending some quality time with My private jet lately. It's one of those polishes that people tend to love or hate, and I've been in neither category. Until now.

I had applied two layers of MNY's 669, a perfect graphite grey, but the application wasn't perfect. Far from it. Instead of starting over, I decided to do some layering. Add some depth. One layer of My private jet made it look nice and the 2nd livened it up good! Took the yellow tint out of the MNY and brought some of the teal from the OPI. The result in itself isn't that interesting but my experience with My own private jet made me revaluate that particular polish. It may chip pretty darn fast but it most definitely brings something new to the party every time. Depending on the weather and the light, it looks completely different. My daughter described as Turd-polish and from a distance, sure. This summer I could only see the teal shine through but as autumn approached with it's specific light, suddenly, it's more pink'ish brown. What will it look like when the winter hits with it's icy blue light?

I am so much of a nerd I think I need to google pictures of this polish just to see what it looks like at your place.

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Calar me precious

It seems OPI has a thai-sibling. A bastard, not really part of the family. Not even related, but they have the same curves, smirk and appeal, so you just wouldn't know if you didn't have a closer look.

Found this on the swedish part of Ebay, aka Tradera, and had to get them. Haven't seen them mentioned on that many blogs and yet there are a bunch of asian nailart-blogs? I spotted some pages with the old bottles, but not with these.
It's the same font as OPI except this is not Nail Lacquer but Nail Colour. A tiny bit smaller than the OPI bottle and of course, nothing on the bottle-cap. Supposedly the same size, a good 15ml/0.5Fl oz, but weighs less. Has to do with the quality of the glassbottle maybe?
Can't find what shade or number it is unless it's actually the number molded on the bottom of the bottle, which sounds odd and a pricey adventure for a cheap polish. Different labels or print would be a lot cheaper than different bottles for each shade, wouldn't it?
Above you see two of them surrounding OPI's Yes...I can-can!

Yet to try them. Can't wait actually. This is what I love about collection something - the suspense. The eagerness to play with it.

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Repetition

Not much bums me out more than a polish with great potential turning out to be crap. This time it was the brand rarely mentioned on blogs, BeYu, that was a let-down.
Great color, thick as a brick-formula.  Never dried, looked like glue.

Trying to not put a damper on my eggplant-lusting mood, I decided to put on a layer of Opi's Yes...I can-can! which is a similar color but with greyish shimmer. While I have had some minor issues in the past with this polish, it's a strange feeling when you use a good nailpolish after a bad - you can't help but wonder what all these crappy formulas are doing on the market! If it is an uninspiring brand with so-and-so formulas, why are people still buying it? Or is it really something wrong with the formulas or has it to do with who uses it when and where?

I still think it has something to do with chemistry - what you use and wear in your daily life, everything from handsoap to medication to fabric softener, it all adds up. Why shouldn't it? We're all toxic avengers, the sum of what we have done and where we have lived.
What some praise, others consider useless. I got bashed recently for commenting that in my opinion  not all basecoats works with all nailpolish, but I do think there's more to polish than just apply and dry. I for certain know that my Orly Bonder does not work well with Depend's polish - they never dry. If that's because my Orly Bonder is the odd one out, made on a Monday, I don't know but it's a fact.

That is why a review is just that - one person's opinion on something.
Having said that, take my posts with a grain of salt - it's my nails in my world.
This means there will be no more BeYu for me.

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How matte are you?

After reading Alizarine claw's post on matte polish and wear, I decided that maybe I should post one of my own as I am currectly matte. Now, I am no rockstar and neither a construction worker, but as an alloment-slaving mother of a 3-year old, I think I can produce a whole lot of wear in little to no time.
Add to that the fact that my skin's been shedding like I was a snake, making me look like a zombie, and not just somebody that got penicillin prescribed.

2 days of Lincoln Park after dark, the matte version. It's been with me digging after carrots, looking for Spongebob at the beach and itching my fingers because of that darn Kåvepenin.
The bottle suggests that this is an Eggplant-colored polish but with 3 layers on my fingernails it looks more like the darkest Kalamata olives or maybe even dried blood, which gives the expression vampy a whole different meaning.

And psst, if you know what movie-poster is reflected in the mirror, I think I love you.

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Nail-junkies, aren't we all?

I have developed a crush on Sinful colors and I think it may very well be the brand that (finally) puts Orly as number two.
Nice bottles, nice brushes, great formula that might be considered on the thin side (but I'd rather do many layers than not get a single one right) and they have some amazing colors.

I've been eyening Catch me in your net for a while but I have to confess, it's OPI and I really don't like what OPI's been doing to bloggers, nailoholics and sellers/retailers. I know that it's well within their right to protect their brand, but the way they have gone about it has just left me with not just sour taste in my mouth, but also disgust.
I could write a long entry about how I think certain brands (and not just OPI) are pushing authorized stores as a way to keep prices up, but I won't. Instead I will just state that a while back, I decided to only buy my OPI on Ebay/Tradera, ie, I won't support the brand with my money. I know OPI couldn't care less as I am just one girl with bad cuticles and no money, but never the less.....
That meant Catch me in your net is not going to be purchased so when I spotted Nail Junkie by Sinful Colors, I was not only thrilled but ultrapleased as it's so much cooler than the one I was lusting for.

More aqua-green than aqua-blue, sheer and holo-glitter in a jelly base that's flooded with the tiniest silver glitter. Think mermaid, so pretty your eyes hurt. You can't stop staring at the nails/bottle.
I wore 3 layers and it's almost opaque.

Nail Junkie for the win.

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New friends over

Just got 7 new friends. Don't think I've ever got that many polishes in one batch before. Don't even know to start?! One could be to try and figure out which My private Jet it is that I've got my hands on. I think it might be the teal and not the holo.

If it wasn't so darn hot right now I'd be taking better pictures of them all, but I leave it for another day.

Edit:

You aren't, are you?

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And on the 4th day, she removed the polish

I have a confession to make. A bad review to retract and a quick judgement to regret:

OPI's Yes... I Can-Can is not a bad nailpolish.

It's not among the worst I have tried and no, it's not only worth it's buck because of the lovely hue - it's also worthy all of your money because it's one goddamn fine nailpolish!

How so?
As mentioned earlier, I have a 3 year old kid, a 2 year old dog and a mighty fine allotment that requires that my hands get dirty more often than not.
Granted, the OPI polish did chip within a few hours, but then it seemed to get it's act together and did hold up for 3 days of playing fetch, dogwrestling and lego-juggling. That with no base-coat and no top-coat.
That's good enough for some rugby beauty, right?!

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