Deborah Lippmann - Stairway to Heaven

Oooo, do I love this. I'm not even bothering to make some really tard-riffic funny about the name. I'm jumping right to the chase. I loves. I loves a lot.
This is a pearly sheer with iridescent white square glitter. I can't...just look.

SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!
How freaking amazing is this? I have no words. I know you don't believe that! But I don't!

I clearly took a couple bottle front pics just to make sure I did this justice. I see no reason not to include them both because they're both nice swatches. See how opalescent this is? The base is clearly a little shimmery but that taste of color does little more than amplify the opal quality of the traditional square glitters and add a touch of shimmer quality. It's like that Whatever Lola Wants but without the hint of pink.

Meh, crap of the label (there's another of this one, too) but great of the glitters. See how they glow? How cool is that?

I la la la la lahuv this.

K, what I want you to see here is that little glitter sticking off the pinky nail. This is what I keep cautioning you about. That little guy needs to get shoved back up on the nail proper. For one thing, he's going to cause a chip. For another, these glitters are SHARP. You don't need to itch your nose or try to get something out of the corner of your eye with that hanging off there. It seems like common sense but so easy to forget!
Hmm. Look at that ring finger. It looks like raindrops. Pretty pretty pretty!!!

Nice shadow. **roll eyes**
Look at how pretty this is! And it's not so in your face. You might be able to rock this at work if you have a forgiving enough workplace. It's glowy and shiny and sparkly but it's not aggressive.

 

Look at the flash of lavender at the cuticle on the pinky. To. Die. For. 

Obviously, this little gem can go over about anything, but I really kind of love it without anything detracting from it. Maybe a pearly white just so you aren't seeing nail line? Too pretty to stay in the bottle, though!

This clearly falls victim to the other glitter problems, all the same. It wants to chunk up, it is rough to the touch, it's hard to get off, etc, etc, etc. But this one is so worth it.

Stairway to Heaven? I'm on it!

Happy Talons!

Deborah Lippmann - I Love the Nightlife

I love to boog-ay! On the Disco Rowhownd!
Or whatever she's saying.

This is a disco ball trapped inside a bottle of clear lacquer. I'm still trying to decide if there are two different colored glitters in here (I think so) or if it's just the way the light hits them.

This is one coat again. I just think it shows you the polish better. If you love it this way then you will buy it and you can experiment with what you like. If anyone just NEEDS to see a two or three opaque swatch of this, let me know and I'll try to get one for you, but...this shows you what you have to work with. I think...look at this and let your imagination run amok.

I love this swatch, not because it's particularly great. It's not. I've definitely seen a lot better, but look at the different personalities of all that glitter! It's dark, it's silver, it's grey...There may be black in there, but I don't think so. I think it's just the way the light hits the silver. It's almost more gun metal, actually...it's interesting and fun.

I didn't manipulate this, this is how this one went on. I would say the base of these is a typical base/top coat formula. This would be really interesting over black, don't you think? I wonder what this would do over, say, Orly Goth?? Oooo...might have to try that.

Last shot:

Wow..that's a bad swatch! I don't mind telling you! It's not like you can't see it. But I'm including it anyways so that you can see the reflective properties of this hex glitter. So chunky, so shiny, so BLING. Loves.

Once again, though, keep an orange stick handy. You're going to want to push the ones that want to cliff hang off your tips back on the nail because these are chunky glitters. They're not going to file down easily. You're going to have to put them back up where they belong.

I hope you're loving the nightlife, too!

Happy Talons!

Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? Do ya? DO YA?? Deborah Lippman wants to know!

Deborah Lippmann did a whole bunch of chunky glitters this year. They're all beautiful, you've already seen one here. I have a couple more to show you as well! This one is a gorgeous chunky red. I only did one coat for the swatches...I think the last chunky glitter shows you what they look like layered, but I didn't feel like I was really showing you the polish. So...I present a one coat of these glitters, at least for the next couple.

Oooo. It's like Valentine's heart red. See, on this single coat swatch thing you can really see the glitters and how they disperse. I can't lie, these are not that easy to use. See the pinky finger and then the ring finger difference? That's a really easy difference to make. Then you get into a layering war thing trying to make sure you get them sort of even. As pretty as these are, I think I prefer to layer these over something else, but do what you gotta do. You're not going to be wrong regardless.

Those silver labels are so hard to photograph!
OK, see the reflection here? This one is a straight up clear base, no tint to it at all. With this red do you really need it? Not so much! I'm looking at this and wondering what I'd put it over. Pink could be interesting...or black. I could see that as my Valentine's mani. BB Couture Cash Black or Lippmann Black Vinyl with this on it.
Not a big fan of the Valentine's.

This may have been intended as a more Christmas color...huh. All I can see are those big heart shaped boxes of chocolate.

See the weird disbursement of glitter? I found that irritating, actually. Then see how on the ring finger nail, I tried to level it out and instead they stuck to one another and caused a 12 sparkle pile up. Thpppbbbbb. Keep an orange stick handy for these.

They're just so irresistible. You know they're going to be hard to get off, you're going to have glitter everywhere, if you can even get them off! and you're going to fight with it to get it how you want it. And yet...gotta have them. They're so hypnotic. You just want to stare at them. The glitters are so shiny...they're practically tiny sequins. With the right outfit this would be a show stopper.

As I was only swatching this, I can't speak to wear but I imagine if you do a good job keeping the glitters from sticking off the ends of your nails it should wear rather well. It's basically chain mail, for pete's sake. These are gritty, obviously, and I don't know that any amount of top coat is going to help that. It's just going to be rough to feel and that's about the end on that!

I hope you like it and you think it's sexy!!

Happy Talons!

Deborah Lippmann - Whatever Lola Wants

Lola gets...and little man, little Lola wants YOU....Make up your mind to have no regrets....and how could you have any regrets with this polish. I kinda was putting off getting this one. I confess, I picked it up to pad an order to get free shipping. Erp. Well, the whole Kelly Ripa design thing kinda threw me off, I barely know who she is, just she's this very very skinny person on those appliance commercials, like we're supposed to believe she a. eats actual food that can be cooked, and b. uses her own appliances. I mean, maybe she does, what do I know, but I was like...who is she and why would I want her nail polish?
Well, cause it's gorgeous. It's not really my thing, I generally eschew all sheers but if you put this over an opaque pale pink cream you'd have something. It's pretty on it's own, too. However, as an avid polish wearer, discoloration isn't new to me and sheers don't work with that. It's like you're trying to cover up a 2 pack a day habit and it just doesn't look pretty. Opaques...polish addicts usually go for opaques.

Pale pink. But it looks like icicles! Pale pink icicles. I loved this. It was like brushing on diamond dust, and if you know Lippmanns, you know diamond dust is a real possibility.

This would be a really lovely color for like, a wedding. I don't plan on ever having one of those but you guys might and this would be a good color to keep in mind if you are doing a traditional wedding. Elegant shimmer, won't detract from the flowers, dress or ring.

See how pretty? Dries smooth, too. The microshimmery particles in there probably would not be dulled down with top coat, either, but you might try a nail before you commit. This is VERY sheer, I think this is 2 coats, I don't know what it would take to get to opaque if you even could. I'd be surprised if you pulled that off.

Little blurry to show the sparkly iciness. I really do like this quite a lot. It's mesmerizing.

See that dark spot on the index nail? Just as aside that is a stray piece of Shake Your Groove Thing. Those glitters are beautiful, but GOD are they hard to get off! And the glitter sticks to everything. You, the dog, the carpet, the walls. It's everywhere. Ugh.

So back to Lola...like her? I think she'd like you! This would look good on anyone because it's so pale and so sheer, it's just going to work with whatever color nail beds you have. Mine happen to be pink so it looks more pink but I think if you were of a darker skin tone it would work well with that as well. You can't beat sparkle!

Happy Talons!

Deborah Lippmann Shake Your Groove Thing (yeah yeah!)

I've never really worn a Deborah Lippmann chunky glitter. (Ducks flying tomatoes aimed at my head) I love them, I've lemminged them, I've bought them and gazed with wide-eyed wonder at the amazing sparkle. Sparkle that is specifically designed to entrap creatures like birds and squirrels and nail polish addicted bloggers. Lippmanns are glitters that take no prisoners. They say "I sparkle!" and they mean it. They sparkle like Vegas show girls. Check this out:

Shake Your Groove Thing (I want to say "Thang") is a clear base with big gold hex glitter. There isn't a lot more I can say to describe it than that. It's densely packed with glitter and probably should really be a top coat. This was two coats here.

Like anything else I will show you, do what you gotta do, but the clear base makes this tricky as a solo polish. See on the middle nail where the glitter clumped up? That kind of thing is what I'm talking about. It's simply a hazard of this kind of polish, but if you want to wear it solo, be sure to keep an orange stick nearby so you can derail these little pile ups. I couldn't get to one with wet nails so we have to live with it. I didn't think. Derrrr....

It really is dazzling, though. Lots of reflective shine going on. The second coat really puts the glitter on because it catches on the first coat, or that's my theory. The polish is densely packed with glitter particles, and they are thick. This does not go on smooth, not that I think you expected something like this would. It has texture, and texture you won't easily smooth out. That can be OK when you're sporting this kind of shine, but it's something to make note of.

One more shot for the road.
Pretty amazing isn't it? Like I said before, there isn't much I can say to do it justice. I have to let the pictures speak for themselves!

Happy Talons!

Orly Birds of a Feather - Fowl Play

Far Out!
...
Did I just date myself? Know that movie? Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase...never mind.

Fowl Play is the stunner of the group. The others are pretty and I especially love Nite Owl, and still think it might be my favorite, but this is so unique. It's almost Nfu-Oh flakie unique.

Let's see if I can accurately describe this. It's a purple jelly base with red flakes and blue micro-shimmer. If you enlarge this swatch by clicking it, you should pick up the blue. It's amazing. There is so much going on.

Meh...I had a lot of trouble with swatches that day. Lighting getting weird, blur...this seems to have both...but you can see the polish and I think it's not so bad to have it in different lights or sometimes a bit blurry because it shows the color as you're really going to wear it. The blur sometimes just amplifies the sparkle. But..this is still not great. Sorry!

OK, now here you go. Even at normal size you can see some of that blue sparkle showing.
Now, it seems to me that this was rather sheer and the flakies make it a little tricky, but nothing you can't handle. I'm no pro and I got it on OK. From a distance this probably would just look like a nice purple, but when the light hits it...POW! Love it.

Look at the depth. Isn't this cool?

This is the last of the Birds of a Feather series! I tried to end it on a bang. I love this collection. It's fun, it's whimsical and not a real loser in the group. It's really diverse, too. They covered the bases. I think all we needed was a holo and we'd have hit most of the polish types. Plus, being available readily on line I was able to pick most of this collection up relatively cheaply, which is a bonus. I think it's worth checking out!

Happy Talons!

Orly Birds of a Feather - Nite Owl

Nite Owl...I picked it up. I put it down. I picked it up again. Put it down again. Finally...when I decided I would order the collection a lot cheaper than retail, I picked it up. So glad I picked it up. It doesn't look the best on me, others in this collection look better. I'm so creamy white that beiges tend to wash out on me, but I love it anyways. It's unique and pretty and sparkly!

 I have swatches that show it better, but look at the bottle in this shot! OOOO! Sparkly silver yumminess!

This is a nice creamy lovely beige neutral with a kick. That silver sparkle just sets this apart. It's not boring or plain, it's stunning and I love it. This is one of my favorites of this collection. It does remind me of an owl's wing, actually, the brown with the white spots...one of the cool things about this polish is that the silver sparkles distribute nicely throughout and you don't have any mess. It's so micro and so well distributed and so dense that it's everywhere.

Meh. I have definitely done better swatches. Let's try that again.

Oooo. That's what I'm talkin' about. See all that? And the shine? So pretty. So wearable! You could pair this with a staid interview suit and be showing a little personality without looking too daring or weird but this will also go just great with jeans and a sweater. Love.

 I just love this! It's not exciting but it is unexpected. Good stuff. It went on like the others: really nice formula, easy to control, good brush...typical Orly stuff. It's nice when a brand can be so consistently dependable. I can't think of a single Orly I've ever had that's been bad.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

Happy Talons!