Cover Girl Quartet

Back in February, I included some new Cover Girl shades in a display post; sometime after that, I happened upon a BOGO50% sale on them during a weak moment, which is how I ended up with not just the three new colors but a fourth from one of the Star Wars displays, because of course I couldn't buy three polishes during a BOGO sale, and buying only two of the three new ones was also not possible. So my mini Cover Girl haul consisted of this quartet: Camel, Rose Gold, Mink, and Diva After Dark.



I quite like these bottles; the square shape stores efficiently and the bulky overcap comes off to make using them easier.



I started with Camel, an old gold shimmer. The pro: it's quite opaque, nearly a one-coater, though I used two. The con: brushstrokes.



I tried topping it with Wet 'n' Wild's matte topcoat to see if that would help. Not really. It softened them a bit but I could still see them too well for my taste.



Rose Gold was up next. I used two coats of this one, which is what the name says, rose gold, and while this shimmer it did show brushstrokes, they were less prominent than with Camel. This has more glowiness to the shimmer, which helps diffuse the light, I think. On my index finger, where I was more careful to not let my strokes waver near the tip, the finish looked pretty good on this. On my other fingers, you can see some swerves.



I was able to disguise most of the swerves and strokes by adding a matte topcoat, OPI this time, and then a shiny one (Beauty Secrets). The color is almost mannequin hands on me, so might be something I turn to when I want a shiny but not flashy manicure. I'm trying to envision when that might be in my current life; maybe if I have to go to court for something or apply in person for a loan or something official like that.



Mink, the third new color, has a flecked finish and is more sheer than the first two. I'd describe the color as a cool gold. I used three coats, and brushstrokes were not an issue at all.





That Mink needed three coats made me think it mighat also work as a layering polish, and that turned out to be the case. It worked great over both Rose Gold and Camel to camoflage the brushstrokes while not changing the color too much. Top to bottom below: Rose Gold alone, Rose Gold with one coat of Mink, Camel alone, Camel topped with one coat of Mink. I like the Camel/Mink combination on me much better than Camel by itself, regardless of brushstrokes.





The last polish, Diva After Dark, is a black with silver shimmer. I used two coats, and it was plenty shiny on its own. I picked this from all the Star Wars ones because it seemed the most like space. It's a core color; I'm still not sure what the limited edition shades were for this movie tie-in. Nothing that grabbed my eye, anyway.





I'm a drugstore girl at heart. I love some indie polishes, but I grew up on mass market colors, and really like the instant gratification of going into a store and coming out with new polish for a good price.

Catching Up on Displays

With the whole moving house across the country thing, I once again got behind on posting my display photos. Like my previous display post, this will be a multi-state extravaganza, as even when I am packing and unpacking, I still make time to go out and look for new displays. During the time period covered by this post, I was in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan for periods ranging from a few hours to a few days to a few weeks, as well as in all the other states we traveled through on the way from Michigan to Idaho, though at that point, stopping to look at nail polish was not a priority, especially since it wouldn't be easy to get that 26-foot rental truck into some drugstore parking lots. There was one stop on that trip that we did leave the big truck at a truck stop while we took the little one to a Walgreens a mile or so down the road, so even then I got my shop on a little bit.

Summer brights are starting to show up already, including these from Bonita in their Gel-On line, seen at Rite Aid. Left to right: All Things Blue, Better in Pink, Green Crush (looks yellow to me), Jazz Jam, Safety Cone, Glam'd Up.



Butter London has a new line of polishes out called Sheer Wisdom, six shades of sheer color combined with treatment, a la Zoya's Naked Manicure or OPI's tinted Nail Envy. These were along one side of the regular Butter London display at Ulta. These all have straightforward names, no kicky slang like the regular colors: Light, Fair, Medium, Neutral, Tan, Deep.



Here's a different arrangement of these shades at a different Ulta:



Butter London also has six limited edition colors out now; these were tucked into the front row of the newly diagonalized core display section at this Ulta. Left to right: Splash Out, Sheer Jelly, Minted, Sunnies, Seaside, Easy Peasy.



By the time I saw the China Glaze Lite Brites display at Sally Beauty, it was crazy picked over, so I didn't even bother to note the names of the shades that were left. I can only hope that I get to Ulta shortly after they put out their display so I can see more of the colors in person.



I'd seen the retail display of Essie Spring 2016, Lounge Lover, at Fred Meyer earlier this year; the salon version showed up at Ulta after that. Left to right: High Class Affair, Lounge Lover, Sunshine State of Mind, Off Tropic, Pool Side Service, Shades On.



Ulta was the first place I saw Essie's 2016 Bridal collection, Mrs. Always Right. Left to right: Between the Seats, Steal His Name, Coming Together, (blank space where Passport to Happiness, the green, should be), Groom Service, Mrs. Always Right.



Essie's Silk Watercolor collection is not new, but the mini kits showing up at Walgreens are. These have a full size White Page plus three mini watercolor shades. In this particular display, Palette 2 is on the left, with White Page, Highest Bidder, Point of Blue, and Pen & Inky. Palette 1 on the right has White Page, Muse Myself, Love Sheen, and No Shrinking Violet.



Sally Beauty has some new colors of FingerPaints. I first saw them displayed by themselves, but on my most recent visit, they were integrated into the core display on the wall. Left to right: I'm So Enameled By You, Umber-ella, Off to Collage, The Mural of the Story, A-Cry-lic a Girl. Also Top Coat.



I don't remember seeing FingerPaints Hard as Steel Strengthening Nail Color before; the treatment called Hard as Steel, yes, but not the colors. I guess these are new? Left to right: My Best Self-Portrait, Lavender Brushstrokes, Ink You Cute, Peek-a-Hue, A P-ink Mess, Kiss Me Like Hue Mean It.



The most recent FingerPaints display I've seen is for the Project Runway collection. Left to right: Thank You Berry Much, Beverly's Touch, 50 Shades of Ashley, Party Teal Dawn, Lavender Love, Blushing with Excitement.



Last time I was in a Five Below, before Easter, they had four new Fresh Paint shades, all labeled "Matte" on the handles. Left to right: I Haz Matte, Matte About U, Matte in the USA, and Mattely in Luv.



Kmart had a display of Just Add Sun polishes, which change color in the sun. I didn't notice until I got the one I bought home (the glittery purple, of course) that these had individual shade names. Oops. If these are still there when I go back next time I will try to jot them down. There were a dozen different shades, I do know that.

EDITED 07-Jun-2016 to add names. Front row: Coming Up Roses, Pinky Toes. Second row: Hot Stuff, Envious Much. Third row: Sweet Like You, Twinkle Toes. Fourth row: Fool for You, Glitterama. Fifth row: Raydiant, Orange Sunkist. Back row: Strawberry Dreams, Pink Punch.



At a Rite Aid in Michigan last month, I saw an L.A. Girl Color Pop display for St. Patrick's Day. I'm not sure if these are new or limited edition or core colors or what. Left to right: Quick Dry Top Coat, White On, Crackle, Leap, Lucky Gal, Peacock.



Fred Meyer had a display of L.A. Colors Color Craze Gel which touted "15 new shades", some of which were gone by the time I got there. Front row: Frosting (clear), Sweetheart, Aura, Vanilla Latte, Refresh, Hooray, Breezy, Zing, Dare Devil, Lush (x2). Back row: Flurry (x2), Matchmaker, Aura, Matchmaker, Anarchy (x3). The ones that were gone, based on the labels on the display: Jammin' (light teal), Flashy (hot pink), Zen (lavender).



L'Oreal has a new Collection Exclusive display out, which I saw at Rite Aid; this one has pink shades (with a forgiving definition of pink) with celebrity tie-ins (like the previous red and nude collections; I wonder if they'll do another next year, and if so what color it'll be since they've already hit the big three muggle shades). Left to right: Julianne's Pink, Eva's Pink, J Lo's Pink (which says Jennifer's Pink on the cap), Doutzen's Pink, Liya's Pink, Blake's Pink, Zoe's Pink, and Frieda's Pink.



Walgreens had a corner display with those same L'Oreal polishes plus matching lipsticks and other makeup.



Ulta had the OPI Soft Shades Pastels for this year. Bottom row: One Chic Chick, It's in the Cloud, I Am What I Amethyst. Back row: This Cost Me a Mint, It's a Boy, Stop it I'm Blushing.



A store called NW Beauty out here in Idaho is the first place I saw OPI's Alice Through the Looking Glass. Top row: The I's Have It, Having a Big Head Day (x2), Mad for Madness Sake (x2), Oh My Majesty. Bottom row: A Mirror Escape, Fearlessly Alice (x2), What's the Hatter with You? (x2), I'm Gown for Anything.



NW Beauty also had an OPI Hello Kitty display variant I hadn't seen before; this had the more vibrant colors in it. Front: My Twin Mimmy, My Pal Joey, 5 Apples Tall, Never Have Too Mani Friends. Back: Starry-Eyed for Dear Daniel, Super Cute in Pink.



There are new colors of Orly Epix (their two-step no-light gel system); I saw them at Ulta. Left to right: Beautifully Bizzare, Vintage, Trendy (missing, and not on the swatch card either), Feel the Funk, Hip and Outlandish, and Window Shopping.



It feels like it's been a while since I saw a Pretty Woman display at Rite Aid; this new one is called Island Brights and has four straightforwardly named shades: Island Brights Red, Island Brights Purple, Island Brights Teal, and Island Brights Pink.



At Meijer, I saw the Revlon Floating in Love Spring 2016 Color Collection display, which has one new shade of polish, Daydreamer, and limited edition Love Tattoos, nail decals packaged with topcoat. I like the inclusion of a nail art component, but do not like their use of the word "holographic" when there are no rainbows in sight.





I saw the SinfulColors Play Your Cards Right display at Walgreens. As per usual, this is a mix of new and old colors. Left to right: Ice Dream, Aced Out (new), Energetic Red, I'm All In (new), Blue La La, Trump Card (new), Cash Game (new), I'm All In (still new).



Walgreens also had the SinfulColors Live in Color Land shelf top display, which has some new shades with stickers touting them as limited time Sugar Crushin' or Porcelain Matte. Left to right: Surreally Sweet (new), Clear Coat, Mad Matter (new), Cheshire China (new), Snow Me White, Sweet Tooth (new), She's Gone Matte (new), Glazy Sunday (new).



Yet another Walgreens had a corner display of SinfulColors called Play in a Spring Wonderland that combined shades from Play Your Cards Right and Live in Color Land, plus had some additions Sugar Crushin' and Porcelain Matte shades. I've read that there is a similar assortment in a sidekick display, but I haven't run across that one yet. Top row, left side: Sugar High (new), Cash Game (new), Cheshire China (new), Tempest, I'm All In (new), Aced Out (new), Easy Going, Glazy Sunday (new). Second row, left side is same at the top row. Bottom row, left side: I'm All In (new), Snow Me White, Sugar High (new), Trump Card (new), Slate, I'm All In (new). Top row, right side: Rose Dust, Blue La La, Mad Matter (new), Nirvana, Mint Apple, We're All Matte Here (new), She's Going Matte (new), Surreally Sweet (new). Second and bottom rows on right side are all repeats of colors in other rows.



SinfulColors has joined with Kylie Jenner to do some polishes; the Trend Matters collection is "velvet demi mattes". I've seen these at Walgreens, Kmart, and Shopko. Front row: VIPeach, Kool as a Kukumber, Kurtsey, King Size, Krushed Velvet. Back row: Silhouette, Kashmere, Mauve On, Karma, Kommotion. (I can't even with some of those spellings.)



There are SinfulShine colors in the Kylie collaboration, too. I saw them at Shopko. Front row: True Kolor, Kreme de la Kreme, Kryptonite, Miss Chief, Koko-nuts. Back: Slay Grey, top coat (x2). The two empty slots are for (based on a display I later saw at Kmart but was on too high a shelf to photograph discretely given how close it was to the service desk) Kommando (beige) and Kween (rosy pink).



At Kmart (and also at Walgreens), I saw a non-Kylie SinfulShine display that had some colors I don't recall seeing before (as well as some I do). Front row: top coat (x2), Illusions (new?), Most Sinful, Smoke & Mirrors (new?). Back row: Rendevous, Blurred Vision (new?), Pragmatic, Mystical Glare (new?), Come Hither.



Back in the midwest, I saw the Studio M Fresh Picked Color display. Near as I could determine, only five of these colors are new to the brand. Top row: Blue-ming, Poetic Hues, East Austin, Thunderbolt, Neon Pink, Energy Star, Birthday Suit, Wicker Park. Second row: same as top row. Third row: Total Wow, Blue-ming, Who's That Girl, Sweet Tooth, Frenzy, Tru Passion, Vintage Couture, East Austin. Fourth row: Spring Breeze (new), Who's That Girl, Robin's Egg, Total Wow, Blue-ming, Fresh Grass (new), Poetic Hues, Covered in Diamonds. Fifth row: Cantelope (new), East Austin, First Bud (new), Cherry Blossom (new), Wicker Park, Punked, Tru Passion, Frenzy. Sixth row: same as third row. Seventh row: same as fourth row. Eight row: same as fifth row. Bottom row: same as third row.



Over in the core display for Studio M, the top row had colors that looked new as well, with "colors of the year" printed below the shade names: Rose Quartz, Peach Echo, Cnorkel Blue, Limpet Shell, Lilacy Gray, Fiesta, and Iced Coffee.



At Kmart, I saw tweets, the water-based polish I hadn't seen anywhere since its brief run at Walmart some years back. This was a much edited color range from what I recall Walmart having, but it does have the basecoat, which I've heard is a good substitute for Nfu Oh Aqua Base under finicky holo polishes. Left to right: CUIMD, B4C (this is the base), FUMTC, H&K, ROFL, JK.



I shared the Wet n Wild Spring into the Wild display last from Walgreens time, but since then spotted a larger version at Rite Aid, with makeup in addition to the polish colors and metallic tattoo sheets. Polish shades: Lay Out in Lavender, Love Fest (pink), Breeze on By (periwinkle blue), Kiss My Mints.



Whew, so that's it for this round. I will try very hard to not let so long pass before my next display post. Should be do-able, since I am not going to move again anytime soon.

OPI Shatter Paints

Today I have some oddities I found at a discount store (I think it was Tuesday Morning? I really should keep track better, not that one can count on finding something again at stores like that, with their bins of random polish). These are OPI Shatter Paints, which confused me when I saw them, as I didn't remember ever hearing about them, and you think I would have since I was all over the crack craze when it came back this last time. I grabbed both the shades they had in the store, Pink Shatter Paint and Orange Shatter Paint.



Based on the overwraps on the cap, I first thought these were colored crack polishes formulated to look good over a black base, but no, they are like the Pure Ice Vinyl Remix ones, with black crack that makes its own colored base when used over white. I chose FingerPaints Paper Mâché as my base, and topped it with Orly Sec 'n Dry to make sure it was dry before I put the crackle on. My index and ring got the Pink Shatter Paint, with Orange Shatter Paint on my middle and pinky. I got some wicked shrinkage from the base of my nail on my pinky, but other than that, the crack behaved well.







From what I can find online, these are part of a five-shade collection OPI released in Europe in 2013 (the other colors were yellow, blue, and purple). How they showed up at a bargain store in Michigan three years later, I have no idea. I'm glad they did, as you know I love unusual polishes and these fit the bill. Will I wear them for a full mani? Probably not now, but crack will come back, and I'll be ready.