Wheel P6: Glitters from Claire's and Other Brands

As promised/threatened last week, Nail Wheel Wednesday is back. In this edition, I have glitters, some toppers, some wearable on their own, and mostly from Claire's. I haven't been to a Claire's in ages; I have to go just a little out of my way to get to any of the ones in my area, and it's best that I don't because I invariably find something to buy when I do. I am especially weak in the face of the mini sets they always seem to have, one of which I've got on today's wheel.



My notes don't say anything about adding topcoat to these; I usually do on glitter wheels, and usually note it in my little book, but this time no note and some of these look kind of bumpy, so maybe I skipped it.

1. Claire's unlabeled mini silver holo (3 coats)
2. Claire's unlabeled mini silver holo and black (3)
3. Claire's unlabeled mini green/turquoise/magenta (3)
4. Claire's unlabeled mini turquoise/magenta (3)
5. Claire's unlabeled mini purple (3)
6. Claire's High Maintenance (3) [almost a two coater]
7. Claire's Gold Glitter Top Coat (3) [pretty dense for a topcoat]
8. Claire's Glitter Top Coat (3) [ditto]
9. Claire's Disco (3)
10. Claire's Bedazzled (3)
11. Claire's Chunky Purple (3) [I still don't know why this didn't get on the same wheel as its chunky siblings]
12. Claire's Candy Shop (2)
13. Claire's Mystical (3)
14. Claire's unlabeled heart bottle lilac/iridescent (2)
15. Claire's unlabeled heart bottle magenta/iridescent (2)
16. Le Chat CM Midnight Imposter (2) [I don't think I'll ever get Essie Starry Starry Night, but I'm happy with this more purple, bigger-glittered cousin]
17. Nina Ultra Pro Glamrock (2) [looks a lot like some of the chunky textures that came out later]
18. Nina Ultra Pro Purple Xing (2)
19. Kleancolor Starry Meteor (3) [this makes me think of Easter for some reason]
20. Kleancolor Twinkly Love (2)

Bottles 1 through 6:


7 through 10:


12 through 15:


16 through 20:

Nina Ultra Pro Gold Flake Topcoat

Just a quickie today, since I am once again crazy busy at work. This is Nina Ultra Pro Gold Flake Topcoat, layered over a black creme. It showed up at Sally Beauty at the same time as the Nina matte topcoat I included in my last matte topper comparison, in the same twirly triangular section next to the core Nina display (yet another thing I'm behind on is getting display photos up so I haven't shared that one yet).



I wish I could tell you which black creme and how many coats of the gold I used, but that information got washed away when I spilled Zoya Remove+ on my swatching notebook a couple weeks ago—yeah, as per usual, I am swatching faster than I'm posting. I thought I'd written up all the stuff on the pages that took the most damage, but forgot about this Nina. (You can see some of the carnage on Instagram.)





This Nina delivers exactly what the name promises: gold flakes. Depending on the angle of the light, the flakes sometimes look quite dense and sometimes almost disappear. Also, at certain angles, I was sure I could see a hint of a green cast in them. Though gold is not my metal, I liked this polish.

Matte Topcoat Comparisons, Part 6

My desire to collect matte topcoats continues unabated. Today I've got the most recent eight (yes, eight, and yes, that's a lot) to join my stash going up against some favorites from past installments of this ongoing series.

The first quartet to take the stage consists of Nicole by OPI Matte Top Coat (purchased at CVS), OPI Matte Top Coat (one of our returning champions), Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat (purchased at Meijer from the new Nail Art Display), and Formula X for Sephora (purchased, not surprisingly, from Sephora).



Below, on the nail in the same order over Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme:



The Nicole by OPI ($7.99 for .5 oz.) appears to be just the same as the OPI ($9 for .5 oz.), which is good, as I really like the OPI. The Sally Hansen (around $5 or $6, I think, for .4 oz.) holds up very well against the first two as far as matteness and application. The Formula X for Sephora ($12.50) is just a tiny touch less matte than the other three. This was my first time trying anything from Formula X; I was happy to find that the chunky outer cap lifts off. The Sally Hansen is the best value in this group; I don't remember exactly what I paid, but I know it was at least a couple dollars less than any of the others (it is a slightly smaller bottle, true: .4 oz).

I carried over the Nicole and OPI to the next set, where they were joined by newcomers Deborah Lippmann Flat Top (I think this has been around a while but I just got from Beauty Brands recently) and Dolce & Gabbana Matte Nail Coat (from Sephora).



Here they are on the nail, same order as bottles above :



I have to say I was disappointed by the two high end toppers. Neither one matched the NOPI/OPI as far as matteness, and neither applied as smoothly, either. The Lippmann (retail price $20 for .5 oz.) was a bit more matte than the D&G ($24 for .37 oz.). This was my first time touching a D&G bottle; that gold cap slides off to reveal a ridged black plastic one. It's definitely quality packaging, but if you want truly matte nails, I'd pick a different topcoat.


Next up, it's Nails Inc. Westminster Bridge Matte Effect Top Coat (from Sephora), OPI (to provide our standard of matteness), Nina Ultra Pro Matte Topcoat (bought at Sally Beauty), and Illamasqua Matte Top Coat (from Sephora).



On the nail, same order as bottles:



The Nails Inc. ($10 for .33 oz.) is more of a wax/satin finish than anything I'd call matte. The Nina Ultra Pro ($3.99 for .5 oz.) is nicely matte, but I had trouble getting it to apply smoothly; I blame the brush, which is very wide and a bit stiff. The Illamasqua ($14 for .5 oz,) is also nicely matte and applied nicely. It's not $5 more matte than the OPI, though.

I know I said I had eight new matte toppers to share, and we've now seen all eight, yet I am not quite done. At the same time as I picked up the Nina Ultra Pro Matte Topcoat, I got Nina Ultra Pro Black Vinyl, which I understood was a matte black polish. So I wanted to try that and figured I'd give the Nina matte topper another go to see if could wrangle the brush better this time. I pulled out the Sally Girl limited edition matte topcoat for comparison's sake, and filled out the quartet with the Nails Inc., thinking maybe I just hadn't let it dry long enough the first time or something.



And here they are on the nail (the toppers over Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme, of course):



Black Vinyl dries to a satin/wax/ finish. I did better with the Nina topper this time; it looks like it's the same as the Sally Girl as far as finish. The Nails Inc. was no more matte this time, and I waited extra long for it to dry (obviously the Nina and Sally Girl had plenty of time to dry matte).

Of the eight new to me matte topcoats in this post, the Nina Ultra Pro and Sally Hansen provide the most matte for your money.

Previous installments in the series in case you missed any or want to look back:

Part 1: OPI, Barielle, China Glaze, Sinful Colors, Butter London, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
Part 2: Revlon, NYC, Essie, Claire's
Part 3: OPI, Essie, GOSH, Cult Nails, Icing, Ulta, Fing'rs
Part 4: Orly, Salon Perfect, OPI, Sally Girl
Part 5: OPI, elf, L'Oreal

Fall Texture Week Comparisons

In preparing for this post, I went back and looked at the comparisons post I did to wrap up the first Texture Week here on the blog. I was amused to see this statement: "This probably won't be the last you see of texture here on this blog, but I can't imagine there will be this much in this short a time ever again." Ha, I say to that now. This week did have fewer polishes and fewer posts than that first Texure Week, but it was still pretty packed. It would have been more so if I'd had the found the time to swatch all of my latest textured acquisitions, and there's yet another collection I haven't found in stores to buy yet but I hope to soon. Just as well I didn't have more swatches done; as it is, I've got plenty of comparisons to round out this Fall Texture Week 2013.

Let's start with the creme texture comps. First up, some silliness that I couldn't resist doing: pitting OPI It's All San Andreas's Fault against some shiny OPI cremes in the same color family, Over the Taupe and You Don't Know Jacques. To my eyes, Over the Taupe's base color is a good match for It's All San Andreas's fault, with You Don't Know Jacques being a bit darker and cooler. Top to bottom below: OTT, IASAF, YDKJ, IASAF.



I do have a textured polish to compare to It's All San Andreas's Fault, Kiko 638 Taupe. This is one of the recent acquisitions I spoke about not being able to get to in time to swatch for this Texture Week. It came to me from my swap buddy at Under the Gravity's Nails (she sent a bunch of other pretties, too, and I also got more Kiko textures and other goodies in a swap with Julie Vernie; I hope to post about both of those wonderful swaps before too much more time passes). The Kiko is lighter and cooler-toned than the OPI; I think you can figure out which is which below.



Moving on to the other OPI creme texture, I have these dark blues: OPI Wharf Wharf Wharf and Sally Hansen Laughie Taffie. The OPI is ever so slightly darker, but these are close enough that I don't think you need both. Left to right below: OPI, SH, OPI, SH.



It wasn't until I was some days into a manicure wear test that I realized I'd failed to do comparisons of the other three new Sally Hansen Sugar Coat textured creme colors, so I had to resort to nail wheel swatching.

Milani Aqua Splash is much lighter than Sally Hansen Spare-A-Mint, though they are definitely in the same neighborhood color-wise.



Milani Purple Streak and Sally Hansen Gummy Grape are look very much the same as each other in most lighting conditions. In bright light, the Sally Hansen looks a bit lighter than the Milani and it also seems to have a slightly cooler cast. Much as I love purple, even I can't say you need both of these.



China Glaze Itty Bitty & Gritty definitely leans more red/coral than Sally Hansen Candy Corn.



Moving on to glittery textures, I have another nail wheel comparison: Zoya Sunshine and Nina Ultra Pro Twinkle Twinkle. The Zoya is darker and has more of a matte appearance than the Nina, which is lighter, dustier, and more shimmery.



I knew from looking at the bottles that the Nina Twinkle Twinkle was not going to be a dupe for Julie G Blueberry Fizz, either, but I went ahead and did a comparison anyway. The Nina is darker and lacks the larger silver hexes that the Julie G has.



I apparently have some sort of blind spot when it comes to Nicole by OPI, as it did not occur to me until I was editing the photos for this post that I should have compared Nina Twinkle Twinkle to NOPI Blue-berry Sweet on You—based on this pic of Julie G Blueberry Fizz and NOPI Blue-berry Sweet on You from last Texture Week, it sure looks like the Nina and the NOPI might be close.



I had no trouble finding a dupe for Nina Shooting Star; Orly Silver Pixel is the same silver with the same sort of glitter mix. I can't tell them apart on the nail, but for the record, below it's Nina, Orly, Nina, Orly.



In the category of rosy pink textured glitters, Orly Pink Pixel, Julie G Crushed Candy, and Nina Ultra Pro Star Bright are like peas in pod; you definitely don't need all three. The Julie G is maybe a touch lighter and more silver-y than the other two but no so you'd notice in most lighting situations. Sally Hansen Treat Heart is the odd one out; it's a warmer and lighter pink than the other three and lacks the larger hex glitter that they share. Left to right below: Orly, Julie G, Nina, SH.



Icing Sand Castle and Orly Rose Pixel are nearly identical twins. Maybe the Icing is a touch more textured and the Orly a tad more silver-y, but that could just be the light. Top to bottom below: Icing, Orly, Icing, Orly. Now I'm sort of curious to know if Icing did dupes of the other Orly MegaPixel FX colors. Not so curious I'm going to make a special trip to the mall, though.



OPI Magazine Cover Mouse and Julie G Hot Cinnamon could go to a twins festival together, too. Left to right below: OPI, Julie G, OPI, Julie G.



In the not so identical department, we have OPI Jinx, Zoya Dhara, and Julie G Sugar Rush. They're all orange with golden highlights, but they vary in how red they lean. Left to right below: OPI, Zoya, Julie G.



I'm going to round out this post with a couple of nail wheel comparisons, since I don't have all of these polishes in my collection now (not to say I won't get them later if there's a sale or swap opportunity). But first, a quick illustration of why I use white nail wheels instead of clear—they really do give me a good idea what the polish will look like on my nails. (If I could have gotten my finger and the wheel at the same distance from the camera lens, that would have been good, but I'm only so coordinated.)



Zoya Tomoko on the left, OPI Honey Ryder on the right:



Zoya Arabella and Nicole by OPI My Cherry Amour:



So there you have, the grand finale of Fall Texture Week 2013. Do you like mega comparison posts like this or would you rather see the relevant ones immediately following the swatches of each collection? Do you like theme weeks like this? If so, are there other themes you'd like to see me do? I appreciate any input you have on those questions or textured polish in general.

Some of the polishes shown in this entry were provided free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider.

Textured Glitters from Nina Ultra Pro and Icing

Continuing Fall Texture Week 2013, today I've got offerings from Nina Ultra Pro and Icing, also know as miscellaneous texxtured glitters I bought this summer but didn't get around to swatching until now.

The Nina Ultra Pro Matte Glitters showed up at my Sally Beauty store in early June, in a narrow twirling triangular unit stuck next to the core display. At my store, the polishes were facing out (pic here), but I've seen photos of other stores where the display unit was spun around so the polishes were hidden and what showed was a display card with the words "Matte Glitter". There are three limited edition shades (left to right below): Star Bright, Shooting Star, and Twinkle Twinkle.



Star Bright is a rose pink; the glitter particles are mostly very small but there is also a scattering of larger ones that adds some visual interest. Though the brand calls this a matte glitter, it doesn't really look especially matte when it dries, probably because the glitter has a silvery metallic undertone to it. I used two coats for the swatch.





Shooting Star has the same glitter mix and texture, just all silver. This was two coats as well.





Twinkle Twinkle is dark dusty blue. Like the first two, I used two coats. Unlike the first two, this didn't have the larger glitter particles in the mix, just the tiny ones.





Of the three, this one looked the most textured when dry, probably because it didn't have the larger glitters reflecting light and distracting the eye. That meant it was the only one I felt compelled to try topcoat on. Here's how that turned out (I only did one nail because I was feeling particularly lazy):



The last polish I want to share today is not from Nina Ultra Pro but has a very similar finish. It's Icing Sand Castle, from their Quick Sand line. I only bought this one color to try; there are others, I'm just not sure how many since I don't haunt their store the way I do other places. Sand Castle is a rosy tan glitter. Like the Ninas, it was two coats.





If you think some of these look familiar, you're right. I'm planning a big comparison post to wrap up texture week, and you'll see these polishes again then—I can tell you now that three of these four are dupes of colors in the Orly MegaPixel FX collection. All four of these are cheaper than Orly FX, too.