Urban Outfitters NP Chilly & Mystic

I have a couple of polishes to show you today that I picked up a few weeks ago at my local Urban Outfitters store.  They really had some great colors on display and in abundance.  UO has bulked up their cosmetics, BIG TIME.  If you go to their UO online store they have even more cosmetic options than they have in their stores, including an extensive collection of Anna Sui polishes that I really haven't seen anywhere else as well as ELF brand makeup.  I did end up ordering an Anna Sui polish as a treat along with a fantastic coat and a pair of wedge sneakers for a bargain basement prices - the AS polish was not so much of a bargain, but still very pretty.  I'll post about that one later.  So, these lovelies were purchased in person and totaled $8.72 with our super high 9.10% sales tax included.  I believe these are $5 each or 2 for $8.

I was very impressed with these UO polishes.  They were inexpensive, they looked fabulous (I don't own a polish that looks like either of these) but did not behave like a cheap polish.  The formula for both was good with Chilly being thicker than Mystic, as expected, since it was all full o' glitter.  I used my usual Orly Bonder  base coat for both manicures, but I layered Chilly over 2 complete coats of Essence Oh My Glitter which is a lovely lavender shimmer polish.  Both built up well in 4 coats.  I topped both off with a nice thick coat of SV.  Chilly was a slight top coat eater, so I put a second coat of SV on it for good measure.

Here's Chilly:

 Next is Mystic.  Mystic was a little hard to capture because it is inky indigo inky blue.  Aaaand best of all, it's a FLAKEY! ::swoon:: Now who doesn't like a flakey?
I tried to post the most accurate shots of it, color wise, that I took, so excuse the strange brightness of my hands.

Pretty cool, huh.  I realize that Mystic reminds me a little bit of Cult Nails Clairvoyant, but definitely isn't a dupe or anything.  *Edit - Duh!  I just realized that Mystic may just very well be a dupe for Deborah Lippman's Ray of Light.  Sadly, I do not own Ray of Light, so I'm unable to do a comparison, but in in reviewing swatches of ROL online, looks like it might be a ringer!*

Next on my lemming list for UO are their holo polishes. They have a couple stunners that I NEED to have, but we'll wait til next paycheck for those.

So what do you think?  Have you ever given UO polishes a chance?  Will you now?

Until next time  ☺

Halloween Dot Mani

This Halloween Dot Mani was inspired (thieved!) from Kayla Shevonne's blog.   Hers looks much neater than mine, but she is a true nail artist and I'm just a mere amateur and copy cat.

For this mani I whipped out my dotting tools and used the following colors:

• Black base:  Essence Black is back
• Orange: Pure Ice Hot Tamale
• White: Ulta Snow White
• Purple: American Apparel African Violet
• Green: Blush  no name 

Topped with a coat of SV and there you go.  

Happy Halloween!!

Misa - Wanderlust Collection for Fall 2012

Today I have the Misa Fall 2012 Wanderlust collection for you (minus Live Without Knowing).  I love Misa polishes and there have been a couple of seasons now where I have liked and bought their entire collection or most of it  (the Surreal Escape Collection was a recent good one).  A lot of folks aren't familiar with this brand, but they should be.  They put out lovely polishes and are quite affordable.  I bought these lovelies through Transdesign for $3.75 a piece + shipping.

Per the Transdesign website description: 

Transport Nails to Colorful Escapades

All Season Long With Misa Cosmetics’

Wanderlust Collection

Sometimes you just have to get away. But whether you’re traveling

to far-off exotic locales or simply going for a spin on the town, you

need nails that personify glamour, grace and subtle sophistication.

Enter the Misa Cosmetics Fall 2012 collection, Wanderlust, with six

polishes that offer understated femininity and a definite departure

from the ho-hum. When the desire to explore new horizons hits,

make sure that nails are also prepared for a fantastic voyage.

For each of these swatches I did not use a base coat or a top coat.  All applied very nicely with the exception of Lost to the World, which was a little on the thin and runny side, but still managed to build up nicely by the third coat.

Now for the photofest!

First up is Lost to the World:

I would normally consider a color like Lost to the World to be "snoozeville", but it has that lovely gold shimmer that really gives it a little more interest that your typical work appropriate neutral.  I do very much like it and see myself actually wearing it while out and about.  

Next is Epiphany, which is like CG's Classic Camel on gold steroids.  This one is really unique and very wearable and flattering even against my yellowish skin tone.  

Taking Chances is a surprisingly lovely color.  I wasn't too sure about this one, but it looked great on and is nothing like any color I have in my stash.  It's perfect for October and Fall.  Gorgeous!

 Frozen in Time is a lavender/periwinkle blue color with a hot pink shimmer in it.

BreakAway is a rich royal purple with a gold/pink shimmer.  This one I think is my favorite.

So what do you think of Misa's Fall collection?  Think you want to give them a try?  Well, you should!

Until next time.  ☺