New Address

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for reading my blog.  I'm very excited to tell you that it has now moved to castinails.blogspot.com.  See you there!

Best,
Tina

Plum Attraction, Indeed

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Wow.  Today I wore Revlon Plum Attraction, a gorgeous lit-from-within purple with a very noticeable shimmer.  When you look closely, the shimmer is actually blue and pink, making it look like a glowing orchid.  Very complex for a drugstore polish!  It's absolutely stunning, I got a lot of compliments on it.  If you're looking for a jewel-tone purple, this is your shade.

Revlon Plum Attraction, two coats with flash

Revlon Plum Attraction, two coats with flash

Revlon Plum Attraction, two coats direct sunlight

Revlon Plum Attraction, two coats direct sunlight

Isn't it gorgeous?!  My one reservation is that application is a little tricky.  I find Revlon's brush to be too skinny, I usually have to re-dip for each nail.  This polish also tends to go on too thickly, and then I have issues with bubbling.  For this manicure though I made sure to keep the coats thin, then sealed it with a coat of seche vite.  Problem solved!

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Birthday Vixen

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Today is a very special post dedicated to my good friend, miss Fabulista, in honor of her birthday!  For this manicure I started with Revlon Vixen, the quintessential vampy maroon creme.  This bottle is over 5 years old and the application and dry time was still great.  I used two coats and one coat of seche vite on top.  The pictures are actually after two days, you can see that it holds up really well with no chips and minimal tip wear.

Revlon Vixen, two coats indoors with flash

Revlon Vixen, two coats indoors with flash

Revlon Vixen, two coats indoors, shade

And now for the Birthday Festivities!  I added one coat of Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday to my ring fingers to avoid glitter overkill.  HB looks GREAT on darker polishes, I love how this turned out.

Revlon Vixen with one coat Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday on ring finger

Revlon Vixen with one coat Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday on ring finger

Happy Birthday, Fabulista!  I hope this makes you as happy as the time we walked through Banff singing the McDonalds Filet-o-Fish commercial.  (And happier than we felt after actually eating it.)

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Jade is the new Starbucks

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I think everyone agrees that Jade Is The New Black from the OPI Hong Kong Collection Spring 2010 is a new classic.  Not only does it flatter most skin tones, but it also applies beautifully and dries with a spectacular glossy finish.  Two coats, no top coat, I love it.  Sophisticated, fun, it's the perfect dusty jade creme.  It totally reminds me of old Chinese jewelry.

OPI Jade Is The New Black, two coats, indirect sunlight

OPI Jade Is The New Black, two coats, indirect sunlight

Being the huge caffeine fiend I am, less than two hours into wearing this polish I realized that it is almost exactly the same shade as Starbucks green.

These reusable cold cups are great, btw.

The perfect pairing.

Even though I love Starbucks, I'm not sure if this similarity makes me want to wear JITNB more or less...

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GaGa is in the House

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Happy Halloween!!!  From the first time I saw it, I knew for this day I HAD to wear Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance on my nails.  First, the combination of black and purple is spoooooky.  Second, this is the polish she created for Lady GaGa, whom I have had aspirations to dress up as since, oh I don't know, March.

Bad Romance is a black base with two sizes of purple glitter: small regular glitter and big hexagonal glitter.  The black base is sheer so I needed three coats for complete opacity.  When the polish dries, it has an uneven texture that reminds me of purple boils on a witch's skin.  It's a look that's growing on me, but I added a coat of seche vite to smooth things over.

Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance, three coats, direct sunlight

Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance, three coats, shade

Look at how pretty the bottle looks!

Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance, three coats, shade

Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance, three coats indoors with flash

And because this post wouldn't be complete without a picture of my costume, here is me being Lady GaGa.

I'm ready for my close-up

The nails were the perfect touch, don't you think?!

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China Glaze Frosty

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In honor of Houston's first below 65 degree morning I decided to wear Frosty from the China Glaze Holiday 2010  collection.  Let me say that if CG was trying to capture the sheen of snowy landscapes in midday, this was a total success!  Frosty is a shimmery white with a hint of teal and lavender sparkle when the light hits it.  One coat was very sheer and could be a nice look if you like that type of thing, but after 3 coats the result was an elegant shimmery pearl that I absolutely love.

China Glaze Frosty, three coats, shade

China Glaze Frosty, three coats, sunlight

China Glaze Frosty, three coats, shade

As an addendum to my post on Mrs. Claus, which was on its way to becoming one of my all-time favorite polishes, I have to add that it chipped horribly on me, even with Orly Bonder as a base and Seche Vite on top!  I have to say I was quite disappointed.  Has anyone else had wear problems with this collection?

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Blackberry Chutney

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Here are pictures of a manicure I did while I was in San Antonio last weekend (yes, the infamous "halloween nails.")  It's OPI Blackberry Chutney, which I got as a sample from ULTA along with Bogota Blackberry and Brisbane Bronze.  Blackberry Chutney is a dark, almost black, purple that looks like a creme but has a slight purple shimmer.  

OPI Blackberry Chutney, two coats indirect sunlight no flash

OPI Blackberry Chutney, two coats indirect sunlight, no flash

I liked wearing it, but I think I would prefer it if it had more of a shimmer or were totally creme.  To me it doesn't seem that unique.  That being said, I wore it with my Jessica McClintock navy blue recital gown and it was the perfect compliment.  I wouldn't buy the big bottle, but I would definitely get something like it.  Any good suggestions?

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Mrs. Claus moonlights as Gogo Dorothy

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China Glaze's tis the season to be naughty and nice holiday 2010 collection is truly spectacular.  I decided to treat myself to 3 colors from it and today I have swatches of my favorite to show to you.

I am totally IN LOVE with Mrs. Claus.  Light pink/red and dark pink/red glitter in a red jelly base, it looks like your nails are wearing a Rockette costume.  Absolutely amazing, so sparkly I've been walking around staring at my fingers all day.   Application was ok, I used two coats (if I had more time, I might have used three) and probably could have let them dry a little bit longer in between.  The glitter made it pretty gritty so I added a coat of seche vite on top.

China Glaze Mrs. Claus, two coats indoors with flash

China Glaze Mrs. Claus two coats indoors, indirect sunlight

This polish is seriously out of control.  Since its on the pink side of red, if I didn't know it was from a Christmas collection I'd say it looks like the 90's version of ruby slippers.  I have therefore affectionately dubbed it "Gogo Dorothy."  

What do you think?  Do you love this as much as I do??

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Swing Baby With Brad

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Greetings.  I've been meaning to try a ruffian manicure for a while now, and Swing Baby seemed like the perfect color to use as a base.  I used one of my favorite polishes, SEPHORA by OPI I'm With Brad on top and I think it came out looking pretty fancy.

Ruffian I'm With Brad over China Glaze Swing Baby

Ruffian I'm With Brad over China Glaze Swing Baby

Ruffian I'm With Brad over China Glaze Swing Baby

The combination of blackened red looked really nice against the gold.  I'll definitely be doing this type of manicure again in the future.

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Flying Whales and Purple Nails

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Perhaps those of us in love with polish forget just how avant-garde some shades can be...

This weekend I was out of town to play Pines of Rome with a symphony orchestra.  (If you've seen Fantasia 2000, it's the piece with the flying whales.)  I was playing an offstage part, so I figured I could be a little more daring with my nails, since I wasn't on stage.  All the polish colors I brought with me were on the darker side, and I ended up using OPI Blackberry Chutney for the performances, a nice but not too out-there (I thought) vampy maroon.

Before the last performance I was standing backstage with my horn, probably looking at my nails, since that's how I pass the time when I have nothing else to do.  Not knowing many people I was relieved when one of the string players came up and introduced themselves.
And then their opening question:
"Are those your Halloween nails?"
me: "Um, no?"
sting player: "Oh, those are your real nails?"

whoops.
I'll be wearing more subdued polishes from now on.

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Swing Baby

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Friday greetings!  Right now I have something for you from the China Glaze Vintage Vixen collection.  While I love the whole collection, the one I bought is Swing Baby, a metallic muted gold, which I find to look almost silver in some lighting.  The formula is a little thin, but it was opaque in two coats.  The color  really glitters in the sun.  Also I've found this lasts a long time without chipping.

China Glaze Swing Baby, two coats, indirect sunlight

China Glaze Swing Baby, two coats, indirect sunlight

China Glaze Swing Baby, two coats, fluorescent light

You can see how silvery it looks in this last picture, which is a pretty accurate representation of how it looks most of the time.

On a side note, today while walking past Sephora I saw one of their ads for a get-this-look Halloween devil, and what was on the model's nails?  Basically the exact same manicure I had on yesterday!  It was a maroon and black french that looked like it could have been matte.  I feel so on top of the trend!  Or maybe just tacky for wearing a themed look in real life...

Thanks for stopping by, come back again soon!

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A Kiss From Brad

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Since Kiss From A Rose was too pretty to take off right away, I decided to dress it up a little.  I took SEPHORA by OPI I'm with Brad and used it for French tips.  Then I added a coat of Butter London Matte Finish Shine Free Topcoat to make it extra special.  I'm really happy with the result.  I think it's prefect for Fall, reminds me of Indian Candy Corn.  I think this is also how Vampires do french manicures.

SEPHORA by OPI I'm with Brad over Deborah Lippmann Kiss from a Rose

with one coat of Butter London Matte Finish 

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Lippmann Kiss From A Rose feat. Genghis Barbie

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Greetings.  Over the Summer, Gilt Groupe had a sale on Deborah Lippmann Polishes and, having a $25 credit burning a hole in my account, I was fortunate to pick up two colors for a whopping $2.75.  That's right, $2.75.  While the sale's offerings were a little disappointing (I was really hoping for Marquee Moon and Funky Chunky) I am thrilled with the two polishes I did score; Kiss From A Rose and It's Delovely.

Today I have swatches of Kiss From A Rose, a super sexy and sophisticated red creme.  Lippmann's website calls this a "bold merlot" and I can see that, although to me it's more reminiscent of the muted scarlet of a 1920's billiards room.

Deborah Lippmann Kiss From A Rose, two coats indoors, fluorescent light

Deborah Lippmann Kiss From A Rose two coats indoors, fluorescent light

Deborah Lippmann Kiss From A Rose, two coats indoors, indirect sunlight

Application was flawless and dry time, as on all Lippmanns I have, was excellent.  This wore well even with just Orly Bonder and no top coat.  I absolutely love this color and will be sure to wear it again.

Now before I go, I'd like to leave you with a musical offering.  Since all of Deb's polishes are named after songs, I can't use one and not get it's tribute stuck in my head.  Here is my favorite version of Kiss From A Rose performed by a great up-and-coming group, if you don't know them you should- Genghis Barbie.

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Revlon Cherry Fizz Fruit Inspirations

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Greetings.  Today I have another Revlon for you, this time Cherry Fizz from the Glimmer Gloss collection.  Cherry Fizz is a vibrant cherry pink jelly with a subtle shimmer of glitter.  The bottle calls this a sheer, but I don't particularly like it in one coat- kind of looks like bloodshot nails, and not in a good Halloween-y way.  After three coats it built to a nice jelly texture but I think no matter what you do there will be a visible nail line.  Application was very smooth and try time is about average, even with this polish being over 5 years old.

Revlon Cherry Fizz, fluorescent light

Revlon Cherry Fizz, indirect sunlight

Revlon Cherry Fizz, indirect sunlight

I think this color would look great on shorter nails but I wasn't too keen on wearing it by itself.  I decided to go along with the fruit theme and have some fun painting my tips with China Glaze Watermelon Rind to create a fun [seedless] watermelon mani.

Revlon Cherry Fizz with China Glaze Watermelon Rind 

Revlon Cherry Fizz with China Glaze Watermelon Rind

I felt a little silly wearing such a summer mani in October but I'll definitely remember this one for next year.  Bring on the picnics!

Thanks for stopping by, come back soon.

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Lippmann Happy Birthday & China Glaze Swing Baby

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Greetings.  Today I have a special mani I did in honor of a few friends' birthdays that all happened to be on the same day.  I was wearing China Glaze Swing Baby and layered over it two coats of Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday.

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, two coats over China Glaze Swing Baby, all indoors, indirect sunlight

Happy Birthday is so festive, there's no way you can have it on and NOT be happy.  I would've liked more of a vibrant gold underneath though, I think HB looks more dramatic layered over bright colors.
All in all this was a fun look.  (Removal: not so fun.)
What colors would you like to see Happy Birthday over?  Or do you prefer it by itself?

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Shazam! Welcome to My Blog

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Greetings!  What you are about to read is a blog chronicling my love of all things nail polish.  As a reformed nail biter whose been collecting polishes for ages, I have a modest stash which I would like to share with you, swatching some older colors I've been hard-pressed to find other pictures for.  I will also be keeping you up to date as my collection increases.

For my very first post I thought it fitting to start out with the first polish I ever fell in love with, Revlon Super Top Speed Shazam.  Why this was discontinued is an enigma, I could kick myself for not picking up an extra bottle when I had the chance!  It's dark pink, light pink and silver glitter in a clear base and it just screams for your nails to be noticed!  Perfectly opaque in two coats (amazing for an 8 year old polish), this is it with no base coat and one coat of seche vite.

 Revlon Shazam, two coats indoors, indirect sunlight

 Revlon Shazam, two coats indoors, indirect sunlight

 Revlon Shazam, two coats indoors, fluorescent light

Revlon Shazam, two coats indoors, direct sunlight (Bling!)

I love the way it sparkles in the sun!  The color also seems to compliment any outfit I have on, it truly is an amazing polish.  Sadly this is probably my bottle's last application left, so I'm glad it got the chance to be memorialized here.  If you're ever fortunate enough to come across it I wouldn't hesitate to snatch it up.  There are some possible dupes I'm looking into, anyone have any suggestions?  What was your first polish obsession?

Thanks for stopping by, come back again soon!

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