Polish of the Week: MAC Ming Blue

MAC Ming Blue, two coats, no flash

MAC's second collaboration with celebrity nail guru Jin Soon Choi is seriously packed with goodies. There's a gorgeous green called Jade Dragon, some beautiful neutrals, a gorgeous orange, etc. etc. I spent too much money on MAC's other collection that's currently on counters- Fabulous Felines, so I only got one of the nail lacquers. Ming Blue is a beautiful jewel-toned blue that reminds me of the blue in that classic blue and white pottery.

MAC Ming Blue, two coats, no flash

MAC has really worked on it's nail polish formula lately. This one was easy to apply and dried pretty quickly. The pictures make it look a little sheer, but it didn't look like that in person. I probably should have done three coats for photos, but it looked fine to my eye (I hate when that happens!). Ming Blue is a really gorgeous almost glass-fleck finish. It has very fine shimmery particles in it that aren't really glitter, but they're also too large to be called shimmer. This polish is a great summer to fall transitional polish. It's sparkly and watery looking, but dark enough to feel like fall. The second picture is the most color accurate. The other two are a bit more washed out.

MAC Ming Blue, two coats, no flash

Overall, I am a HUGE fan of this polish. I wish I had the extra cash to pick up some of the others in this collection, like Jade Dragon and Imperial Flower. I'm calling this a definite MUST HAVE!

MAC Ming Blue is available online at MAC Cosmetics or at your local MAC counter.

OPI Halloween News

The OPI Halloween mini set is available now if anyone is interested! It looks cute! I may be picking it up.

Also, I have swatches of MAC Ming Blue from MAC's Fall Nail Trend coming up soon. I might get them up later tonight, but if not, I'll do that tomorrow.

OPI Swiss Fall 2010 Polishes

I learned a lesson today when I was swatching the three OPI polishes I got from the Swiss collection. A lot of times, I look at big collections like the Swiss collection, and I'm disappointing when I don't LOVE every single one of the polishes. BUT... I got three from the Swiss collection and absolutely am obsessed with all three!! So, maybe companies can't crank out collection after collection where every person loves every polish, but if you find three real gems in a collection, maybe it's still a winner.

OPI Diva in Geneva, two coats, no flash

On to the goods! First up we have my favorite, Diva in Geneva. GORGEOUS!!!!! This is a stunning pinky-purple shimmer that is a little bit blackened-looking. It's purple, but definitely has a healthy dose of magenta thrown in there. I think this is one of my favorite OPI polishes since last year Holiday collection (I'm looking at you, Merry Midnight). I can not WAIT to rock this polish in the fall and winter. It would even still look hot in Spring. Shown is two coats. Application was perfect. LOVE. This is a MUST HAVE!

OPI Diva in Geneva, two coats, no flash

OPI Diva in Geneva, two coats- this is kind of a bad picture, but I think it captures the slightly blackened feeling I mentioned

OPI William Tell Me About OPI, two coats, no flash

William Tell Me About OPI is another winner, in my opinion. It's a blackened purple/red creme. I have heard that it's close to Lincoln Park After Dark, but I actually don't own that. From what I've seen of LPAD, this is slightly less black-looking. You can actually tell that this polish is not black, but deep deep wine colored. Again, application was great and it only needed two coats. This is a Must Have if you don't own LPAD.

OPI William Tell Me About OPI, two coats, no flash

OPI Glitzerland, three coats, no flash

Finally, we have Glitzerland. Gold shimmer polish isn't exactly groundbreaking, but I love gold polish. Glitzerland is also slightly different than some other gold shimmers I own. The shimmer looks like individual pieces almost, instead of all mixed in, or something I can't describe. I had to do three coats of this one, but I think it's worth it. Very pretty. If you like gold polish, Glitzerland is a Must Have.

OPI Glitzerland, three coats, no flash

Overall, OPI just has the best formula, in my opinion, and I am REALLY happy with these three polishes. They're unique in my collection and all colors I love to wear in the fall. I think I might pick up Lucertaine-ly Look Marvelous and Yodel Me on My Cell also. They sat on my dresser during the 200 Follower Giveaway, and I was sad to mail them away LOL. Anyway, I think my opinion of the OPI Swiss Collection is more favorable than it was in the beginning. It's a solid collection, with something for everyone, so check it out!

The OPI Swiss Collection is available at your local Ulta store.

Sephora by OPI Fall Collection: Just a Little Dangerous

Sephora by OPI Just a Little Dangerous, two coats, no flash


Just a Little Dangerous is definitely the polish that caught my eye when I saw the promo pics for this collection. It's described as a dramatic eggplant purple and has plenty of shimmer, as you can see from the picture taken with flash.

Sephora by OPI Just a Little Dangerous, two coats, no flash

This isn't the most unique polish I own, but it's definitely a beautiful fall/winter purple. I'll be wearing it a lot when the weather gets a little more fall-like! Application and formula were both good, as you can expect from a polish made by OPI. I did two coats here and the polish is nicely opaque. I do like this because it never looks black, and while I like black polish, I think we need purples that always look purple!

I would call this a Must Have if you don't own anything like it already!

Sephora by OPI Just a Little Dangerous, two coats, with flash

Sephora By OPI Just a Little Dangerous is available online at Sephora or at a Sephora near you!

GIVEAWAY WINNER!!!!!

And we have a winnnnnneerrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations go out to Heather Shaw, Google Follower and follower on Twitter! Hit me up with your address and I'll send out your prize! Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

For those who didn't win, I do have another prize on it's way to me as we speak. I just need two more followers and I'll get that contest up!

News and Reminder!

NEWS FLASH:

The highly anticipated China Glaze Awakening collection is now available on Victoria Nail Supply!!! It also should be available soon on Transdesign. I ordered my set yesterday, so I should have swatches next week for ya!

In other news, today is the last day to enter the 200 Follower Contest!!! The contest closes at midnight EST, and I will try to announce the winner sometime tomorrow.

And my third piece of news... I ordered an AWESOME prize for a 300 follower giveaway!! Hopefully, we'll get 300 really soon, because I CAN'T WAIT to give this away!!!!!!

Dud of the Week: Orly Space Cadet

Orly Space Cadet, three coats, with flash

I was really excited for the Orly Cosmix Collection. Then, I started to see the posts that showed all the dupes for the Orly Cosmix. That was my first disappointment. If you're going to charge $10 because a polish's formula is so unique, you had better make sure it really is unique.

Despite my first disappointment, I still purchased Orly Space Cadet. I didn't see a dupe for it, and duochromes always catch my eye. When it arrived, it looked gorgeous in the bottle!! But, my second disappointment came when I put it on my nails. It's so sheer!!!! All of these pictures are three coats and you can see VNL all over the place. Aside from just being sheer, the polish turns an odd blue color at the tips of my nails. You can see this clearly in the first picture with flash. The green, gold and pink duochrome is cool-looking, but the blue tips are really throwing it off for me.

Orly Space Cadet, three coats, no flash

The formula dried pretty quickly, but I feel like it's kind of patchy. It's more sheer in some spots than others. I like the concept of this polish, but the delivery isn't there. It is NOT worth $10 in my opinion. Nubar Wildlife is a better option if you're looking for the green/gold/pink duochrome.

Orly Space Cadet, three coats

I had planned for this polish to be Polish of the Week, since I was so excited about it at first. But I have named it "Dud of the Week", due to it's inability to live up to my expectations. Boo Hiss.

Orly Space Cadet is available online at Transdesign and at your local Ulta.

Don't forget to enter our 200 Follower Giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool Sephora Events for Fashion's Night Out

If you're a Sephora addict like myself and live near Manhattan, this news might interest you! Sephora has all kinds of cool events, including celebrity guests, for Fashion's Night Out (September 10th). Here's the details:

"This September 10th, Sephora will be hosting interactive events in all 15 of their Manhattan locations in celebration of Fashion’s Night Out, the most anticipated global fashion initiative of the year. Sephora has pulled out all the stops to make every store an exciting place to be. In addition to raffles, product giveaways and makeover services from some of the world’s most coveted beauty brands, some of the hottest names in beauty will be stopping by select Sephora locations for exclusive appearances, including Gwen Stefani, Kat Von D, Josie Maran and Alexandra Richards.

Sephora Soho

555 Broadway b/w Prince and Spring

· Meet Gwen Stefani – Sephora & Harajuku Lovers Fragrances are teaming up to give you an exclusive sneak peek at HL’s newest fragrance collection, Wicked Style. Harajuku Lovers is taking to the streets in a branded fragrance truck looking for some wicked style fun. Follow @harajukulover_g on Twitter to find out where the truck will be throughout the day to grab samples & great giveaways. Be one of the first 100 people to buy HL's special Fashion’s Night Out fragrance package at Sephora Soho & Gwen will personally sign the Wicked Style bottle! In addition, guests can enter to win tickets to the L.A.M.B. fashion show during NYFW! While in store, get Harajuku makeup and hair looks by Make Up For Ever and T3.

Sephora 5th Ave

597 Fifth Ave b/w 48 and 49

· Meet Kat Von D, famed tattoo artist and beauty creator – Kat will be celebrating the launch of her new Adora beauty collection with an exclusive reading from the soon-to-be-released The Tattoo Chronicles, the follow up to her New York Times bestseller, High Voltage Tattoo at 9PM. Meet Dan Smith, renowned tattoo artist and High Voltage hottie.

· Model with Josie Maran - Come meet supermodel and homegrown-beauty maven Josie Maran from 7-9PM as she shares her beauty secrets and shows off her pure and natural makeup line. Then step into Sephora’s mini photo studio where Josie will give guests posing tips, and will walk away with a signed copy of their best shot. Plus, be the first to get the not-yet-launched, Argan Oil Colorstick in Cherry Popsicle—created exclusively for Fashion’s Night Out—with every Josie Maran Cosmetics purchase at the event.

· Meet Dr. Gross, founder of Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare – Guests can visit NYC celebrity dermatologist Dr. Dennis Gross at his Sephora Skincare Advice Booth from 6-8pm, and get their complexion questions answered, including a personalized skin analysis valued at $275. And with any Dr. Gross purchase that evening guests will walk away with a free 1.7 oz cleansing foam.

· Meet Michelle Phan, Lancôme video makeup artist and YouTube™ Sensation - Michelle Phan is making her very first in-store appearance for Lancôme. Come meet Michelle and watch her in action as she films one of her signature makeup tutorials—featuring an exclusive Fashion’s Night Out look—live in Sephora’s window at 7PM! Then let Michelle answer your burning beauty questions from 8-9PM and get your makeup done by a Lancôme pro.

· Get Styled by Sultra - Sit down for a free styling session with a pro from Sultra and experience their new Bombshell One Inch Rod Curling Iron.


Sephora Times Square

1500 Broadway b/w 43 and 44

· Groove with Yves Saint Laurent Beauty and celebrity DJ Alexandra Richards – Join Sephora Times Square for the exclusive worldwide premiere of Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture. Experience the new, exclusive lipstick shade N°20 Rouge Flamme created especially for Sephora. Guests can listen to special guest Celebrity DJ, Alexandra Richards spin tunes from 7-9PM while they sip champagne, snack on sweets and get their makeup done by an Yves Saint Laurent makeup artist. Guests can also enter to win one of three pairs of YSL Tribute Too Red shoes ($795 value).

Sephora 5 Times Square

200 West 42nd at 7th Ave

· Temptu’s Runway to Reality - Pull up a front row seat, and watch TEMPTU’s glamorous live models as they turn Sephora into their catwalk. Guests can also flip through their look book, have their favorite high-fashion look re-created by a TEMPTU pro then get their picture snapped for Sephora’s window by a professional photographer. Special appearance by Kat Von D at 7PM.


Sephora 34th Street

130 West 34th Street b/w 7th and Broadway

· Beauty Rocks the Runway with Benefit - Try on beauty trends straight from Fashion Week with the world debut of femme metale, the newest addition to the Maggie & Annie Collection. Guests will receive runway inspired makeup lessons, posh party favors, music and more.


Sephora Union Square

45 East 17th Street b/w Union Square West and Park Avenue South

· Sync up with Hourglass Celebrity Makeup Artist, Gina Brooke - Join Hourglass Artistic Director Gina Brooke for a performance art, avant-garde makeup show, followed by runway-to-realway consultations by Hourglass artists.


Sephora Flatiron

119 Fifth Avenue at East 19th Street

· Become a Buxom Babe! – Guests are invited to get buxom-ized with a free makeover inspired by a favorite Buxom girl. Whether they’re a Dolly, a Katie, a Sugar or a Trixie, guests will leave with a sinfully sexy new look, a deluxe free gift and a chance to win Leslie Blodgett-signed beauty items.

Sephora Lexington

711 Lexington Avenue b/w East 57 and 58

· Get Glam With Dior – Guests are invited to have their makeup done up by Dior pros, who will be sharing backstage beauty secrets and creating luxurious fall eye looks featuring the amazing new Lash Maximizer set.


Sephora 67th & 3rd

1149 Third Avenue at 67th Street

· Celebrate 10 Years of Eco Chic Beauty with tarte - Wish tarte a happy birthday as they celebrate the launch of their TEN Anniversary Collection. Be among the first to sit down with one of tarte’s natural beauty experts and enjoy a makeover fit for a fashionista. Guests can also enter to win several eco-fabulous raffle prizes.


Sephora 76th & Broadway

2164 Broadway at 76th Street

· Learn Pro Secrets from NARS –Guests can stop in for a special Fashion’s Night Out eye makeover and let NARS artists re-create a hot-off-the-runway look just for them.


Sephora 42nd & Madison

300 Madison Avenue at East 42nd Street

· Laura Mercier Presents “Fresh-Faced & Flawless” - Join Laura Mercier Global Makeup Artist Luis Soto and his team for on-the-spot complexion touch-ups and an exclusive look at Laura’s latest innovation, the Bonne Mine face palette. Signature cocktails will be flowing, and amazing prizes will be raffled off every hour, on the hour.


Sephora Columbus Circle

10 Columbus Circle on Broadway b/w 58 and 60

· Too Faced Presents: Eye Love Fashion - Celebrate Too Faced’s fall collection with makeovers using products from their coveted eye shadow collections, Swarovski crystal tattoos and a glamorous gift with purchase. Plus, be one of the first 50 people to sit for a consultation, and get a full-size Starry Eye Liner—free.


Sephora 86th & Lexington, Sephora 150 Broadway, Sephora 99th/Columbus:

· Stop in and enjoy cool refreshments, sweet treats and free makeovers by some of our favorite brands. "

If I'm free on September 10th, I'd love to attend some of these events!

Remember to make sure you're entered for our 200 follower giveaway!!!!

200 Follower Giveaway!!!!!!

OK so I know we're a few over 200 followers, but to thank you all for following, I'm having a giveaway in honor of you, Never Enough Nails' 212 (currently) followers!!

To enter, you must be either a follower of Never Enough Nails through Google Friend Connect/Google Reader (remember to "follow publicly") OR be a follower on Twitter. If you are both a Twitter follower and a Google Follower, you get two entries! The contest is open to both US and international readers. The contest will end Sunday, August 22nd at midnight EST, so get following!

Enough boring details- onto the prize!! One lucky winner will win a total of 5 polishes:



China Glaze Midnight Mission (see review)
China Glaze First Class Ticket (see review)
OPI Yodel Me on my Cell
OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous
China Glaze Ingrid (see review)

Good Luck!!!

Polish of the Week: Sally Hansen Calypso Blue

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue, three coats, no flash

The Polish of the Week is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Calypso Blue!

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue, three coats, with flash

This poor polish has been sitting in my "To Try" pile since June. For some reason I thought it would be really sheer and I am NOT interested in a sheer blue. When I put the first coat of this on, it was sheer. I got a little sad. But after the second coat, I could see that it was going in the right direction. I did three coats in all of these pictures and there is a tiny bit of VNL, but not so hideous that I wouldn't wear this polish.

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue, three coats, no flash

I really like this color. It's a gorgeous ocean-y, water-y blue with some almost duochrome-like shimmer. The shimmer is kind of green/gold at times. My pictures make this polish look a little lighter than it is in person. It's not sky blue at all, it's definitely like water blue. Formula was good, easy to apply and dried relatively fast. The first nail I did got a little chunk of dried polish in it, which is annoying, but the rest of the nails were fine (except for the bubbles, but I was sitting next to an open window, oops!). This is a very pretty summer polish. It's not 100% unique/groundbreaking, but it's very pretty nonetheless.

Sally Hansen polishes are available at a CVS near you.

Reader Request: China Glaze Grape Pop with Wet and Wild Glitz

China Glaze Grape Pop with Wet and Wild Glitz, no flash

I have to thank reader Aurora's Nails for this gorgeous combo. She wanted to see Wet and Wild Glitz over purple or black. Since I'm still in a summery polish mood, I decided to put it over China Glaze Grape Pop from the Up and Away Spring Collection. I did two coats of Grape Pop, a medium purple creme (see it alone here), and one coat of Wet and Wild Glitz.

China Glaze Grape Pop with Wet and Wild Glitz, sunlight

I seriously can't stop staring at my nails right now. These pictures don't even capture how good the pink, blue and silver glitter looks with the purple base. I put a shiny top coat on for these pictures, but I bet in a day or so I'll be putting on a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic. I think this would look amazing matte! I liked Glitz on it's own a lot, but over a purple creme, it is outstanding! For $1.39 it can't be beat!

China Glaze Grape Pop with Wet and Wild Glitz, no flash

Polish (BARGAIN) of the Week: Wet and Wild Glitz

Wet and Wild Glitz, three coats, no flash

The polish of the week is gorgeous, glitter-packed, and DIRT CHEAP. I'm talking about Wet and Wild Glitz. Look at this pink, baby blue and silver glitter!! These pictures don't do this polish enough justice. I couldn't stop staring at my nails. The best part? Glitz set me back a total of $1.39. Yes, you read that correctly. $1.39.

Wet and Wild Glitz, three coats, with flash

In these pictures, I am wearing three pretty thick coats of Glitz (the base is clear, so you do have to kind of load it on to get coverage). So you can imagine my surprise when I wore this for four days with absolutely no chips or tip wear. As much as I love OPI Absolutely Alice and Mad as a Hatter, I can't say the same for them. I get chips with those two in less than a day! My only wish is that Wet and Wild would make a ton more of these glitters in all different colors!! I would definitely buy them all!

Wet and Wild Glitz is available at your local Walmart or at Harmon online (they're a whopping $1.79 online though!).

China Glaze Vintage Vixen Comparisons

OK so after doing this comparison post, I like Emerald Fitzgerald a bit better than I did at first. In my head, I thought it looked a lot like China Glaze Watermelon Rind, just darker. However, it is a LOTTTTTT darker than Watermelon Rind and the finishes are totally different. Watermelon Rind has that awesome glass-fleck finish, whereas Emerald Fitzgerald is microglitter. I still like Watermelon Rind better, but at least I no longer feel like I own two very similar polishes.

Left to Right: Two coats Emerald Fitzgerald, Three coats Watermelon Rind, no flash

Left to Right: Two coats Emerald Fitzgerald, Three coats Watermelon Rind, Three coats Emerald Fitzgerald, Three coats Watermelon Rind, no flash

Now, as I thought, Midnight Mission is pretty similar to OPI Russian Navy Suede with a shiny top coat. I wouldn't call them dead-on dupes, but they are similar enough that the average person might not want both. In sunlight, the difference is obvious- Midnight Mission is darker and more navy-colored. OPI Russian Navy Suede is lighter and more purple-y blue. Both of these pictures show two coats of MM with shiny top coat and two coats of OPI Russian Navy Suede with shiny top coat.

Left to Right: Two coats China Glaze Midnight Mission, Two coats OPI Russian Navy Suede with top coat, no flash

Left to Right: OPI Russian Navy Suede, China Glaze Midnight Mission, OPI Russian Navy Suede, China Glaze Midnight Mission

So, if you were looking for dead-on dupes, you're out of luck. If you have some sort of self-control (i.e. you are the opposite of me) over your polish collection, you might decide you don't need Midnight Mission if you have OPI Russian Navy Suede, or whatever.

In other news, the poll results were kind of what I figured- 55% of you (like me) are planning to pick up one or two polishes from OPI Swiss. Which ones are you leaning towards? I'm thinking about William Tell Me about OPI (I don't own LPAD), Lucertaine-ly Marvelous and Diva in Geneva.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen Part Two

I finally have the other two polishes from Vintage Vixen for you. My pictures of Emerald Fitzgerald are not so hot, but I'll take more when I do the comparison post for it. It just randomly gets really cloudy here lately!

China Glaze Ingrid, three coats, no flash

First up is Ingrid. I really love this one!! It's surprising to me that I love the two neutral polishes as much as I do. Ingrid and Classic Camel are really going to get a lot of wear from me. Ingrid is a pretty taupe-y/greige-y color with plenty of golden shimmer packed in there. I did three coats and I think the third coat really brought out the shimmer. The formula was good, maybe a little streaky on the first two coats, but the third coat really evened it out. The gold shimmer makes this one different from all the other taupe polishes out there. This is definitely a Must Have for me!

China Glaze Ingrid, three coats, no flash

China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald, two coats, with flash

Ahhh Emerald Fitzgerald. You would think this would be my favorite of the collection, right? What with my strong obsession with green polish and all. But, no. Honestly, it is winter Watermelon Rind. I love China Glaze Watermelon Rind, but this is the same polish, just darker. I'll definitely do a comparison post for these two polishes to see how close they really are. Emerald Fitzgerald is pretty, definitely. I did two coats here and you can see it looks maybe a little patchy in some places. Overall, it's just not thrilling me. I would not call it a Must Have, especially if you have Watermelon Rind.

China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald, two coats, no flash

My thoughts on Vintage Vixen as a whole-
1. I'm glad they didn't do a collection of all.most cremes. I am bored to death of cremes.
2. Ingrid, Classic Camel, and First Class Ticket are gorgeous and unique. Go buy them now.
3. Too many reds.
4. I just can't wait for CG Halloween and OPI Holiday, so I just think every collection until then is going to bore me a little.

Anyway, the collection is definitely worth a look. If your collection is missing some exciting neutrals, pick up Ingrid and Classic Camel.

The China Glaze Vintage Vixen Collection is available online at Transdesign.