The Color Workshop in "Leopard Lovin'"

This is the very last of the trio of unnamed Color Workshop polishes that I have written about. For the sake of having something intelligent to say about this polish, I incorporated it into my version of MissJenFabulous' valentines day manicure. Unlike Jenny, I actually cite where I got  the ideas for my nail art. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW7VilLcy3Y)
Now, about the polish: This third color workshop polish is an extremely gold shimmer polish. To show just how sheer it is, I did not put a white base underneath. There are three coats of the gold on each nail pictured below. One thing I do like about the polish is that it holds up well to the rigors of my job. The picture was taken after 3 hours of catering a private reception for Lady Antebellum just before her concert here in town.
The things I did differently than MissJenFabulous in this nail art look were that I used a heart glitter on my red nail rather than painting a big stupid heart on it. I also prefer to use a nail art pen instead of a striper brush when I do animal prints.

Sinful Colors- Ruby Ruby

Sinful colors is an inexpensive, drugstore brand that seems to retail between $.99-$1.99 for colors and base and top coats. Despite being so cheap, they are very popular due to the good value and wide selection of colors. This wide selection often means you can get an inexpensive dupe for a higher quality polish.
However, Ruby Ruby is not an exact dupe for any of my other red creme polishes, which is nice because a variety of different reds is something I think is important. Reds can often be seen as too vampy or sexy if they are dark, so a brighter, more innocent red is a good thing to have in your arsenal.
Ruby Ruby is just that. It is a very bright, maraschino cherry red. In addition, I really appreciated the package quality, specifically the width of the brush is about perfect, not too thin like Pixi, not too wide like OPI.
The formula, however, left something to be desired. Like many polishes in that price range, the formula is very thin, leaving an uneven distribution of color and a dull finish on the nail. An easy way to solve this problem would be to apply a top coat and a base coat, which I do not apply when I am trying a polish out for the vary first time like I did for this review.
With a high quality base and top coat, this would be a lovely, bright red polish to wear around that isn't so vampy or dark.

OPI- Lincoln Park After Dark

Lincoln Park After Dark began in OPI's Chicago collection fall 2005. Since, this shade and Mrs. O'Leary's Barbecue have made it into the permanent lineup of OPI colors. Both are quite dark colors.
Lincoln Park After Dark is a very dark, almost black, inky purple color. The formula is pretty nice, and I guess could be buildable if you wanted just one thin coat to show that the polish is in fact purple. My one complaint about the application process is that the brush is really wide. I didn't clean up my cuticles in the pictures just to show how unwieldy the brush is.
This really was the first polish of its kind in terms of color offerings from OPI. The brand new Gwen Stefani by OPI collection has a very similar shade called "I Sing in Color." Other drugstore and high end brands have variations on this color, but they are generally a very dark maroon or brown, and not purplish. This color is one that I consider a staple for any collector of OPI.

Ciate- Feather Manicure

Ciate is a new brand for me. I have definitely heard of it before, but had yet to try the products until a friend got me the feather manicure set for Christmas. The set I am reviewing here is the neutral one, there are also more colorfully dyed feathers with different polish as well.
The kit came with a mini nail polish in Chinchilla, which is a gray polish. I want to do a separate entry about that one, so the polish I used for this post is a shimmery dark blue Color Workshop polish that has no name. In addition, I got a pair of scissors for cutting the feathers, a little envelope of feathers and a full sized top coat.
After using the kit twice to two very different results (my first attempt was ghastly and embarrassing), I have learned a few things that work best. They are:
-Use the distal end of the feather to put on your nail. The thicker the rachis, the more difficult it will be to get it to stick to the nail.
- Be patient with the cutting. Let the feather mostly dry to the nail before you try to remove any excess, otherwise you will just smear the polish. Also, the scissors that come with the kit aren't great, so maybe use a different pair.
-The feathers consume topcoat. Apply a lot of it if you don't want your nails to feel fibrous.

Overall, I think this is a great idea, but maybe not the easiest look to get right. Practice is a good thing. I really like the quality of the polishes in the set, and maybe I'll try some more Ciate in the future.

Bareminerals Marvelous Moxie Lipglosses

I realized something recently. I have a ton of lipglosses. Of these glosses, my favorites are definitely my Marvelous Moxie glosses from BareMinerals. They are a variety of lip plumping glosses, some glittery, some shimmery, some shiny, with a variety of coverage from very sheer to moderate color payoff. The five I have are all in the mini size: I have gotten them as deluxe samples or as parts of kits or gift sets either at Sephora or from their boutique at the mall. Full sized lipglosses are a bit pointless when you have so many- you are just not ever going to run out of them.

From left to right we have: Femme fatale, Head Turner, Icon, Maverick, and Style Setter.

And now, the breakdown.

The first three there are from the "Show Me the Shimmer" set. I have three and my mom has the other three. I'm not sure if you can get the shades outside of that set. Femme Fatale is definitely the darkest of them, a dark magenta with flecks of rainbow shimmer. It is my least used simply because it is not subtle and I prefer dramatic eye looks if I have to choose one or the other. Head Turner is a sheer light pink with gold and pink shimmery particles. It's incredibly sheer, almost going on clear if that is something you're into. Icon is my favorite of this little trio. It is a golden peach color with multicolored shimmery flecks. It is less subtle than Head Turner, and has a brightening effect for most skin tones.
Maverick looks quite dark in the tube, but is actually quite sheer when applied. I'd call it a maroon color with silver flecks. This is the shade included in most of those get started kits because BareMinerals bills it as the most universally flattering shade in this line.
I got Style Setter in the "Stop, Look and Glisten" kit at the boutique. It actually has no sparkle to it, just a patent-leather like shine. It's a good nude, and goes well with the bright white shadow look that is so popular right now.

Overall, I would say I am very impressed with all of the glosses. They are all wearable, not sticky, and don't have weird quasi-fruit smells like a lot of glosses do. I guess they smell kind of minty, and cause the lips to feel tingly when applied. Anyways, swatches:

Femme Fatale, Head Turner, Icon, Maverick, Style Setter.

Sally Hansen Triple Shine: Blow Bubbles

I have returned! I swear this is not because I am lazy, but rather that I had a nonfunctioning camera for about a month. Seriously, don't ever buy a scanner just because it comes with a free camera. There is no such thing as free lunch.
Anyways, I picked up my first of these new Triple Shine polishes recently at CVS. They all seem to have kind of an underwater theme going with the names, otherwise a pink shade with bubbles in the name makes absolutely no sense.I'm not sure where the triple part comes from, but Sally Hansen's website says they are
" protected with the Ultimate Shield Complex, exclusive to Sally Hansen, designed to help polish withstand the wear and tear of everyday living for non-stop shine."
Also, they claim the polish is formulated with crushed pearl to make a resistant formula. 
I am, however, not impressed with this product. I picked out the polish because the color was really beautiful,  which for me was the only thing this product delivered on. It's a lovely pink color in a warm tone, with little golden duochromish flashes. However, the polish is runny and very sheer, resulting in me having to apply several coats to get it opaque that never really dried or set to my satisfaction.
However, the polishes retail for only $5 each, so maybe I'll pick out another one and see if maybe this color is just a bad apple. A lot of other bloggers have had less than positive things to say about this one, but positive remarks overall about the line, so I'm remaining optimistic that there will be one in the collection that I will like.