Color Club POPtastic: Color that POPS!

I'm continuing to slowly make my way through swatching all my Color Club sets. Only seven more sets to go! Color Club POPtastic was released for Spring 2010. I had no intention of getting the set when it first came out and even passed it by in the stores multiple times. It was not until a friend brought one with her on a  weekend trip away and the girls went dotty, that I knew I had to have it. It is by far my most used set for nail art and I'm so glad I got it...

Almost Famous
A bright, primary yellow with a very smooth and creamy formula. Application is great, only two coats for full coverage. Swatches are with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: POPtastic: Color that POPS!, Spring 2010 Color Name/Number: Almost Famous Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Wham! Pow!
I think the name says it all! A bright highlighter orange cream. It has a bit of a jelly feel to the formula which gives it the liquidy look, but also makes it more sheer than a cream. The application was great. This is three coats plus a top coat.

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: POPtastic: Color that POPS!, Spring 2010 Color Name/Number: Wham! Pow! Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Poptastic
A bright bubblegum pink jelly cream. This also need three coats for full opacity. The formula is very nice and applies easily. This is the name sake of the collection and the one I find most "wearable" for me on it's own. Somehow being more wearable in my world means it has gotten the least use.

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: POPtastic: Color that POPS!, Spring 2010 Color Name/Number: Poptastic Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Warhol
A bright neon pink. It is much brighter than what shows in the photos, but cameras are notoriously stubborn at capturing neon. This creamy jelly also needed three coats plus a top coat. It is brighter than what I like to normally wear on it's own. The neon polishes tend to gray out my skin tone. However, I did wear this one a full day on it's own and my eyes must have gotten used to it since it didn't seem so blinding after a while...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: POPtastic: Color that POPS!, Spring 2010 Color Name/Number: Warhol Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Pucci Licious
A violet cream. Sadly, it photographed more blue than it is in real life so these are not entirely accurate. The color itself is lovely. Two coats for full coverage. It does dry with a slight satin finish, so a top coat is needed.

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: POPtastic: Color that POPS!, Spring 2010 Color Name/Number: Pucci Licious Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Twiggie
A bright green cream. I'm at a loss for words to find the right color name for this. It has a great, smooth two coat formula for full opacity. Swatches are with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: POPtastic: Color that POPS!, Spring 2010 Color Name/Number: Twiggie Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Chelsea Girl
A bright blue jelly. The nail line is still visible after three coats as seen here. It does dry stain-y, but a top coat really bring out that squishy, jelly look. I didn't have time to make a glitter sandwich with this jelly, but it is definitely on my list to try.

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: POPtastic: Color that POPS!, Spring 2010 Color Name/Number: Chelsea Girl Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

As I mentioned, this is my most used collection for nail art so I thought it would be fun to look at some of the manicure created with it so far. Click on the photos to be taken to the original post...


I hope you enjoyed this review. I would love to know what you think about this! :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Apps - Parisian

Today I want to show you Parisian, one of the newly released Pure Lacquer Nail Apps from OPI. The Nail Apps are 100% pure nail lacquer. I love how these look and feel. They stretch slightly to contour to the individual nail shape without warping or puckering. Also, since they are 100% pure nail lacquer, they are easily removed with nail polish remover or acetone. Even though removal is so easy, I will be keeping these on for a while. I will try to update every few days on how they are holding up...

The Nail Apps come in an airtight sealed package. Air will dry these strips out, so once the foil package is opened, they must be used right away. Each package includes 16 strips (two of each size) to match different nail sizes. My nails are short enough that I was able to cut each strip in half and use it for two nails. For me 8 strips was plenty to do a full manicure. I wish that each set of 8 strips was packaged individually as it is by Sally Hansen so I could make two manicures, but these are one manicure only. Did anyone say matching mani and pedi? :)

Application was very easy. Basically just apply to the nail, smooth it out, and then using a nail file, file off the excess. Doesn't get easier than that!

They don't need to be sealed with a topcoat, but I did anyways as I wanted to seal the edge (tips). When the nails grow out a bit, I will apply another top coat to seal the edge closer to the cuticle as well.

Parisian is a bright silver base with a pink and gray lace pattern. They are very delicate looking and the pattern is very subtle from a distance, which I love. Makes it perfect for me to wear to work since I'm not a fan of loud patterns in that setting.

Lots and lots of photos of how these look...

I even dragged my bf outside to take a photo in the sunshine. So shiny!

There are 14 different patterns currently available, 7 creams and 7 shimmer. Parisian, which I have shown here today is one of the creams. It appears to have a shimmer sister (2nd to last) loaded with glitter. The only disappointing thing about Parisian is that the pattern is not actually centered as it appears in the promo shots. On the other hand though, it means I can easily cut them in half and apply them upside down without worrying about alignment and making sure all nails look exactly the same.

I'd love to know what you think of these. Have you tried pure polish strips before?

UPDATE: See how these held up with a week's worth of wear here...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** These were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Sunday Stamping: Pet Day

After my failed Sunday Stamping attempt, I decided to rethink the mani and come up with something else. I was still set on a kitty manicure so I picked two other kitties that I liked. Somehow these are a little more Halloween to me which is why I didn't choose them at first, but I really like how this turned out...

For the base I used Zoya Carey and then randomly stamped skelly fish using Zoya Kelly to create a background pattern. I have been trying to find an occasion to use those skelly fish and I finally found one! I used the fish from Red Angel plate RA-107, but there is an identical one on Shany plate SH02. I'm sure lots of others out there as well. The cats were stamped with Wet 'n Wild Black Creme using Bundle Monster plate BM02 and Shany plate SH08. 

To finish the manicure, I felt it needed a black edge, but I didn't want to do full black tips. I tried something that I first saw done by The Nail Buff a long, long time ago. It is just like wrapping tips, but instead of using the base color, a contrasting color is used. I loved the way it looked on her manicure and have been meaning to try it ever since. It is very subtle here, but really finished off the manicure for me...

A few bonus swatches of Zoya Carey, a beautiful soft gray cream. Formula on this one is just perfect, very smooth. Two coats for full coverage. The swatches are with no top coat...

Thanks for looking and commenting!
Anutka :)