Summer Lovin' 2012: Dior Bikini

Happy Saturday!  I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  I am on my way to my first MBA event this afternoon, and even though I had to go neutral on my nails with Chanel Rose Cache (did I ever review that polish?? I must check!!), I thought I’d show you a fun color today.  Time is of the essence, so let’s jump right in!

Today I have for you the second polish from the Dior Croisette Summer 2012 collection, Dior Bikini.  Bikini is a orange-tinted coral with a crème finish.  It reminds me a lot of the base color of Chanel Distraction (which I reviewed a few weeks ago) minus the pink shimmer in Distraction.  The formula on this one was a little wonky – very thick and not self-leveling (you can kind of see this problem on the middle finger in the photos below).  While the color is pigmented and I could have gotten away with 2 coats, I ended up doing 3 coats on a few nails to smooth out the bumps.  No fun!!

 

(Apologies for the hang nail on my ring finger – the perils of quickie manis before work!)

As I mentioned, Dior Bikini is really similar to Chanel Distraction, minus the pink shimmer.  If you have one, I’m not convinced you need both, unless you really love the base color and want to have a shimmer option.  If I had to choose, I’d probably prefer to own Chanel Distraction as it had the better formula and more interesting color.


What do you think?  Is Dior Bikini a must-have?  Are you loving the coral nail trend this season?  Or are you just ready for me to review a brand other than Dior (which is quite a reasonable request!)?

Chanel Distraction

 Happy Tuesday, everyone!  I just finished an awesome morning jog – the weather is gorgeous right now in LA, and I love how I have my early sunrises again – it makes waking up for morning workouts so much easier when the sun is already out!

Today I have for you one of my instant new favorite polishes, Chanel Distraction.  Chanel recently released 4 new polishes in the Roses Ultime de Chanel collection, and 3 of the 4 are permanent additions to the collection, including Distraction.  I am on the orange/coral polish train this spring, and Distraction is a much loved stop on the route!  Distraction is a orange-leaning coral with a fuchsia shimmer that is just stunning in sunlight!  The formula was a dream to work with, barely requiring 2 coats for full opacity.  Take a look!

Can you see that fuchsia shimmer? Love.

I haven’t been this excited about a polish in a long time!  Chanel Distraction is my dream coral, and if it wasn’t permanent, I’d run out immediately and buy a backup so I’d never know life without it again.  That’s how much I love it!


Chanel Distraction is currently available at Chanel boutiques and your regular Chanel counters.  Each polish retails for $26 each.  If the price tag has you gasping, you may want to check out Sabrina’s post at The Beauty Look Book, which has some really good comparisons.  If the shimmer isn’t a must-have for you, take a look at Laura Mercier’s new release Cabana, which Sabrina says is really close to the base color of Distraction and comes with the bargain price tag of $18 (ha!).


What do you think?  Is Chanel Distraction as unique as I think it is?  What are you favorite coral polishes?  And are you enjoying the coral train that’s moving at full throttle this spring, or are you over it already?  Sound off in the comments!

Models Own Coral Reef & Facebook Giveaway!

Hey Polish Fanatics!

Today I have for you a color I wore a little while ago, right after my Va. Beach trip. I had to get GOSH Ocean off my toes - hated it! - and so reached for a tried-and-true color, coral. What did I grab? Models Own Coral Reef. This is probably a new brand to a lot of you, as Models Own is a UK polish; sadly, no US stores carry it - yet (fingers crossed!). But don't worry, I'll tell you at the end of the post how you can get your American hands on some Models Own polish on the cheap!

Coral Reef is a strong orange-based coral polish. Most corals I wear tend to be a cooler, leaning towards pink, so Coral Reef was definitely out of my comfort zone. I initially wore this as a pedi, and at first I was not impressed with the Models Own formula - it went on very streaky, and even at 3 coats I didn't think I had full, even coverage. Luckily, it might have been more operator error than actual crappy formula, as this mani is 2 coats and applied very well. Still some streakiness, but not as much as I remembered. Take a look!


(pardon my crappy middle finger - I was doing some nail repair and got super glue all over myself! ugh!)


Hmm. I definitely don't hate Coral Reef, but I'm not sure I love it, either. I'm tempted to keep it in my collection for awhile and give it another chance... but then I remind myself life is too short and there are too many awesome polishes out there begging for my love and attention. Swap! Keep! Swap! Keep! I have no idea.

Models Own polishes, including Coral Reef, are available on the Models Own website starting at £5 (approx. $8 USD). They ship internationally for a flat £9.95 (approx. $16 USD). Here's the really good news - Models Own is currently having a Facebook promotion to reach 50,000 'likes' by the end of August! If they hit 50,000, Models Own will have a sitewide 50% off sale!! So, if you haven't yet, head on over to the Models Own FB page to like it! They currently have a little over 42,000 likes, and based on what I've been following, they'll probably hit the 50,000 in another week or sooner. Definitely check it out!


What do you think? Should I keep Coral Reef, or let it go? What are your Models Own must-have colors? And have you headed over to the Models Own FB paged to like it yet? We need to get to 50,000 people - I need a sale!

Nails Inc. Week/Pink Wednesday: Brook Street

Happy Hump Day! It's Wednesday, which means I'm officially allowed to start day-dreaming about my weekend and all it holds in store for me. Then I remember the only thing I need to be doing this weekend is packing my crap up, and I instantly wake from my daydream and am quite happy to be back in the cold harsh reality that is my office!

In celebration of Nails Inc. Week @ Polish & Tonic, and Pink Wednesday, I bring to you today Nails Inc. Brook Street. Brook Street is described as a "pure coral" but I see it much more as a bright pink creme with a coral tint. This was another 3-coat manicure as I had another unsteady hand; I'm thinking I may need to lay off the coffee for awhile. Right?



I am an instant fan of Brook Street! She was a bit bright for work, but a lot of fun to show off in the summer sun. However, when I was applying her, I had the sneaky feeling that maybe there was a dupe in my collection already, so I went to the Helmer to look for similar colors. I came up with Rescue Beauty Lounge Coral and Julep Natalie.

(RBL Coral; Nails Inc. Brook Street; Julep Natalie)

Here's a look at Coral, Brook Street, and Natalie on the nail wheel:

(RBL Coral; Nails Inc. Brook Street; Julep Natalie)

The verdict: RBL Coral and Brook Street are not exact dupes, but they are really really close. Coral had a little more red than Brook Street, but it's not really noticeable - I only saw it when I held the nail wheel swatch over my own painted nail. Given that Coral is more sheer and required a minimum of 3 coats on the nail wheel - which is a lot - I would recommend picking up Brook Street for your own personal collection. Julep Natalie was also close, but noticeably more orange than Brook Street. A casual polish fan probably doesn't need both Brook Street and Natalie in their collection, but for this addict, I'm keeping them both!

Brook Street was released as a part of the Spring/Summer '11 Collection and is available at select Sephora locations and online at sephora.com. Julep Natalie retails for $14 for a 0.27 fl oz bottle, and you can find it online at julep.com.

What do you think? Do you have any of these polishes, or anything else in the pinkish coral family? Can you even see the difference between these polishes, or have I just been sniffing too many polish fumes and need to get my head cleared?

My European Vacation: Part III

Good Morning! It's almost the weekend! Anyone got plans yet? I fear this is one of those weekends when I have to act like an adult and tick off items on my to-do list: cleaning, laundry, car wash, apartment hunting... you know. The boring stuff.

Continuing on my vacation series, I have for you today Nails Inc. Aldwych. Nails Inc. is a London-based brand which has gotten a lot of buzz in the US. The brand is mainly carried in department stores such as House of Fraser, Debenhams, and Selfridges, but I had a chance to visit their flagship store off Bond St. and had a great time picking out polishes with the ladies there! After about 4 days in London I was bored with looking at RBL Decorous, and so decided to spice things up with my color of choice this summer, coral. Aldwych is a bright orange-leaning coral with a gorgeous light blue and pink shimmer. Another blogger once compared Nails Inc. formula to that of Rescue Beauty Lounge, and I have to say - it's equally as awesome as RBL. Nearly opaque in 1 coat, below is a 2 coat mani of Aldwych:

And for the close-up (definitely click on the pictures for larger views!):


Let me tell you, this shimmer had me staring at my nails constantly! I am so happy I indulged myself with this purchase! I didn't actually pick this polish out - it was a free gift with purchase. Given my current infatuation with corals, as soon as I saw it I had to have it, and so bought a few more polishes just to qualify for the gift! (Yea, I'm that crazy shopper). This polish is definitely a keeper!

Sadly, Nails Inc. is currently not available in the US. However, Michelle at All Lacquered Up posted a few weeks ago that Sephora will begin carrying Nails Inc. this fall, so keep an eye out for it!

What do you think? Have you heard of Nails Inc. before? If you've tried it, how do you think it compares to the infamous RBL formula? And seriously - am I the only one obsessed with corals this summer?!?!

NOTD: Julep Natalie

Good Morning!

One of the reasons I'm such a nail polish addict is because I spend a lot of time online talking to other nail polish addicts and learning so much about polish! I'm always surprised at how much I don't know. I recently found an online community I love, and the ladies have completely opened me up to nail polish brands I'd never heard of (and never would) before. Yes, you have OPI, Essie, China Glaze, Zoya, Sally Hansen, and others, and all of these brands are good at some things and worse at others. But even beyond these major brands, there are some special polishes out there, and today's post is here to introduce you to a boutique brand out of the pacific northwest - Julep Nail Parlor.

I first learned about Julep from a blogger, and I have been in love with their bright colors ever since I first laid eyes on them. Julep (and most boutique brands) is a bit pricey - each polish retails for $14 for a 0.27 fl oz bottle (about 1/2 the size of what you get from OPI, Orly, etc. for almost twice the price). So a few weeks ago when Lucky Magazine had a deal of the day to pick up 4 Julep polishes for 60% off, you know I had to snatch some up!

The summer set came with four polishes: Amy, Helena, Natalie, and Jennifer. I have for you today Natalie, described as a bright 'honeysuckle pink' on Julep's site. Natalie is a beautiful pink with some orange tones - at first I thought it might be a pink-tinged coral, which is how it appears indoors/low lighting. However, after stepping outside this morning, I knew she was the bright pink as promised. The formula on Julep was really nice - I actually thought it went on a little thick, and I prefer slightly thinner polish. I had nearly full opacity in one coat, but put a second on just because. Take a look:


And here's an up-close shot of the polish:


Julep Natalie is definitely a keeper! Although, in the interest of full disclosure, because it applied so thick, I've already found 2 small chips in the mani after typing at work all day. Sadness! However, I'm still completely in love with this color and brand, and can't wait to take the other 3 colors out for a test drive!


What do you think? Have you tried other colors from Julep? Are you a fan of Julep, or any other boutique nail polish brands? And just how much are you willing to spend on a bottle of nail polish?

Chip Prevention: Basecoat or Topcoat?

Chips. No, not Lay's. I'm talking chips in your manicure. Is there anything more unsightly? I can't stand when I see manicures on others in bright blue or fuschia and they're chipped all to hell. If you're wearing a nude or neutral color, lucky you - your chips are less noticeable to the rest of us, but I'm sure you notice and it drives you crazy.

Most brands have a nail treatment product that claims to help prevent chips, either in a base coat or top coat. Which is better to use? I have no idea. So we're going to do a wear test here at Polish & Tonic.

The Challenge: Wear a manicure for 5 WHOLE DAYS and see which mani chips the least - the mani with a chip preventing base coat, or the mani with the chip-hating top coat. Least chipped mani wins!

The Manicure:

For this manicure, I'm making my maiden voyage with a new brand - Butter London. Butter London is on the line between salon brand and designer brand polish (read: it never goes on sale at Ulta), and from the chatter I see on the interwebz I'm not sure that there really is a difference in quality between designer vs. salon brands. So I picked up my first bottle this weekend to try it out. The color is Butter London Macbeth, a bright pinky coral creme that I loved at first sight. I also borrowed some great advice from another blog, All Lacquered Up, and practiced wrapping my tips for this mani to help delay tip wear.

The Contenders:

On my left hand we have Orly Bonder base coat. Orly Bonder is a rubberized based coat that claims to grip your polish to your nails like a leech and hold on for dear life, giving you extended wear with your manicure.


On my right hand we have essie No Chips Ahead top coat. essie No Chips Ahead doesn't promise to adhere to stick to you like white on rice, but instead puts an armor around your fresh manicure and protect it from those things that would do your pretty nails harm - mainly dish detergent, keyboards, and cleaning supplies.

You didn't actually think there would be a visible difference to the naked eye, did you? Doh!

So who will win this battle? Stay tuned! I did this manicure Monday afternoon, so check back in over the weekend to see which coat is last nail standing. (Or Friday, in case I go crazy and can't handle looking at the same nail color for so long!)

Do you have a preference between basecoat and topcoat to prevent chips? Sound off in the comments!