China Glaze Ride the Waves

 Happy Sunday!  How’s everyone’s weekend going?  Any fun events!  I’ve been hanging around the apartment all weekend, cleaning, re-organizing, and de-cluttering.  Two rooms done so far, and it feels like success!  I also did some nail polish hauling yesterday for some international friends, and bought myself a polish or two (but not too many – as I said, I’m trying to de-clutter! ha).

One of the polishes I picked up yesterday was China Glaze Ride the Waves, a somewhat neon blue from the new neon collection for summer 2012.  Ride the Waves isn’t exactly neon, but it’s definitely vibrant, a bright, squishy jelly-like true blue polish.  I saw this in the bottle and immediately thought MUST. HAVE.  The photos below have 2 coats of Ride the Waves.  As you can see, there’s still a little visible nail line; for my next mani it will definitely be 3 coats and I also need to wrap the tips, so the color doesn’t pull back at the tip as it does here. 

Because it’s Sunday Funday, I also added a coat of Nubar White Polka Dots to jazz things up.  All in all, I love the combination!

A look at Ride the Waves in sunlight…

 … and in shade…

 … and the close-up:

A great bright blue for summer, right?  I am in love with Ride the Waves, and will probably be using this as a pedi color very soon.  White Polka Dots was a little difficult to work with – the larger glitters had all settled to the bottom of my bottle, so were a little tricky to get on the nail – but I still love it, and can’t wait to play more with this simple yet pretty glitter soon!

Chanel Rose Cache

Hey nail fanatics!  How’s your Thursday going?  It’s another overcast day here in LA – June Gloom is in full effect – which means crappy weather for photographing.  So instead I went through my photos to find a mani I haven’t shown you yet!

Today I have for you Chanel Rose Cache.  This is a sheer, nude colored polish with a pretty light pink shimmer.  Normally I don’t go for these nude colors at all, but this past winter I was in a nail polish exchange on one of my favorite forums and saw this polish; at the same time I was getting ready for grad school interviews and new I didn’t have anything conservative in my collection, so I grabbed this one up.  I’m so happy I did!  It’s a great neutral-but-not-boring polish.  This is 3 coats of Rose Cache. 

 Here’s a shot in direct sunlight….
 

…and another in indirect sunlight (it was a glorious day in LA!)…

I really like Rose Cache, but I also really dis-like visible nail line, which still shows through after 3 coats.  I’d heard that Dior Incognito, released in the Spring 2012 Color Block collection, had a similar base color as Rose Cache without the shimmer, so I picked up a bottle.  I’ll photograph a comparison of the two soon for you!  Either way, I’m holding on to Rose Cache for now; it’s not an instant love, but it’s a strong like, and maybe I’ll give it another chance…

Rose Cache was released in December 2011 and is currently available online at Chanel and at my favorite department store, Nordstrom.  Each polish retails for $26 for a 0.5 fl oz bottle. 

Make it a great day!

Dior Pink Graffiti

 Hey Everyone!  Happy Hump Day!  It’s been a crazy week so far for me, with a long day yesterday and another one in store for today, so I decided to take 20 minutes to treat myself to do something I like and is overdue – a new post for Polish & Tonic!

Today I have for you the last polish I picked up from this past spring’s Anselm Reyle for Dior collection, Pink Graffiti.  If you remember, the collection included five polishes, including Electric Blue, which I have previously reviewed, and Ultra Violet, which I photographed but never reviewed.  Oops!!  That will be coming shortly hahaha.  Dior Pink Graffiti is a bright blue-based pink crème that leans toward but still isn’t quite neon.  It is gorgeous and vibrant, though!  Pink Graffiti has the excellent formula I’ve come to love and expect from Dior, and this is 2 buttery coats.  Take a look!

Pink Graffiti in sunlight…

… and in shade…

 

Pink Graffiti was such a chameleon to photograph!  The photos are a little too warm – Pink Graffiti has a little more blue than photographed here – but these photos really show the vibrancy of Pink Graffiti the best.  Needless to say, I love it!  I think Dior really hit it out of the park with this collection, and I have to keep reminding myself to not buy Untitled Black (because, um, it’s black) and Metallic Silver (a dupe for Silver Lake, which I already own) to complete the collection, but I’m not sure if I’m going to win this battle against myself.

Pink Graffiti, along with the other polishes in the Anselm Reyle for Dior collection, is available online at Dior.com and at Saks (Electric Blue and Ultra Violet are sold out at Saks, but all are still available at Dior’s website).  Each polish retails for $23.