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Color Focus: Purple Nail Polish Photos & Swatches

November 6, 2009

Thanks to several e-mails and other blog recommendations, I checked out the new Hard Candy Mr. Wrong at Walmart and the new OPI Merry Midnight Nail Polishes. Hard Candy Mr. Wrong is very sparkly with a base similar to Dior’s Silver Purple but with chunky gold glitter mixed in. I was initially worried that OPI’s Merry Midnight would be too over the top, but when I tried it on at home, it turned out really pretty. The formula is super sheer though and required 3 full coats for me. Here are a few swatch pictures to compare.

Unique Purples: Hard Candy Mr. Wrong (Walmart), Dior Silver Purple (Holiday 2009), Dior Lemon Balm (Nordstrom Exclusive)


Plummy-Mauve Purples: Le Metier Violaceous Splendor, OPI Merry Midnight, Le Metier Black Orchid

* Note, the OPI Merry Midnight sparkle doesn’t show up so well in the swatch photo, I highly recommend you check out All Lacquered Up or Scrangie’s Blogs for better swatch pictures!

Light purple shades: Like purples, but don’t like darker colors? Check out Le Metier de Beaute Phlox, Chanel Violette, MAC Love & Friendship


If you want to see more purple nail polishes I’ve written about, check out these links:

* Color Focus: Dark Vampy Nail Polish
* I *HEART* MAC Baby Goth Girl
* A Few Alternatives to Super Dark Nail Polish . . .

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A Few Alternatives to Super Dark Nail Polish (That Are Still Kinda On The Dark Side)

October 27, 2009

When it comes to fashion and beauty trends I am not always brave enough to be a true follower. There are always styles that are cute and chic on others that I could never pull off (for example teal eyeshadow, black lipstick/gloss or leggings with boots). If you like dark nails but feel the new releases are a bit too vampy or deep, here are four softer alternatives I really like:

L to R: OPI Melody in Mocha, Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan, Urban Decay Gunmetal, Dior Lemon Balm, Chanel Noir Ceramic


* I believe the OPI and Chanel are both discontinued, but you can still find quite a few online through swap boards, ebay or discount nail e-tailers

* OPI Melody in Mocha is a complex fawn grey with slight mauve tones and gold shimmer, I was lucky to get one in a swap and love it – I think there are quite a few dupes, there’s one from China Glaze that might be similar (the flash makes it look lighter and emphasizes the silver – in real life it’s not quite as pale for the swatch at least)

* Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan is a sparkley medium-light gunmetal shimmer, it is on the sheerer side so I had to use four coats but the finished result has a lot of depth – it’s hard to explain but it looks different depending on the way the light hits the color

* Urban Decay Gunmetal is currently only available in the Apocalyptic Nail Kit, I really hope it comes out in full size, it’s a deeper gunmetal shimmer with slight brownish tones in it so it doesn’t turn blue on me like most gunmetal shades

* Dior Lemon Balm was a Nordstrom Exclusive for their last Anniversary Sale, I believe you might still be able to find it online at nordstrom.com, it’s an oddly-named color, in the container it looks more greyish, but on the nails and compared to the other greys, it definitely pulls more purple with brown shimmers

* Chanel Noir Ceramic was photographed mainly for comparison purposes, but it’s a nice black with silver shimmers which make it softer and less harsh than most blacks, a close dupe is Chanel’s Black Satin which is darker



One more view:


I’d really LOVE to hear your favorite shimmer nail polishes that are medium-to-dark. I’m always looking for more colors by recommendations to check out. I tend to feel overwhelmed when I shop at Ulta or Sephora for nail products – too many colors to choose from and I usually end up with too many reds that look almost identical.

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Dior Red Dahlia Nail Polish (Sephora Exclusive)

August 17, 2009

This is a follow up on my Sephora Haulings post to show more pics of the new Dior Red Dahlia Nail Polish for Fall 2009 which is a Sephora Exclusive (other counters received Black Plum).

I wasn’t happy with the original swatches because the photos were pulling more red than fuchsia for the Red Dahlia, so hopefully these will give you a better look at what it really looks like.

Black Plum & Red Dahlia

1. MAC Rougemarie (bottle shown)
2. Dior Red Dahlia (bottle shown)
3. OPI Miami Beet
4. OPI Quarter of a Cent-Cherry
5. Nars Jungle Red

1. OPI Quarter of a Cent-Cherry
2. MAC Rougemarie
3. Nars Jungle Red
4. Dior Red Dahlia
5. OPI Miami Beet
6. Essie Private Bash
7. Essie Very Cranberry
8. Chanel Shanghai Red

Two views, left to right: MAC Rouge Marie, Dior Black Plum, Dior Red Dahlia, Nars Jungle Red, Nars Chinatown, Essie Very Cranberry

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Recent Sephora Haulings: Urban Decay, Lorac, Benefit, MUFE, Dior

August 13, 2009

I occasionally stop by Sephora and a couple days ago went to check out the new fall collections and saw they had the new Urban Decay/Dior fall items and picked up Ruthless Eyeshadow and Naked Lipstick and Red Dahlia Nail Polish.

The haul along with some other items I have picked up over the past few months:

Close ups of the items, Lorac Baked Matte Satin Blushes in Velvet Rope & Exposed:

Benefit Coralista & Rich Beach Eyeshadow (also featured HERE):

Benefit Lipsticks in Swoonderful, Lady’s Choice & Good to Go – all great neutrals:

Benefit/Urban Decay Lipsticks (no flash, L to R Jailbait, Naked, Swoonderful, Lady’s Choice & Good to Go):

Urban Decay Lipsticks in Jailbait & Naked:

Urban Decay Eyeshadows in Ruthless (deluxe), Shakedown & Naked (mattes):

Make Up For Ever Super Lipgloss + swatches in 20, 21, 30:

Dior Nail Polish in Red Dahlia (Sephora Exclusive) compared with some other fushia-pink-red shades – this is pulling more red in all the photos I’ve taken. It’s most similar to OPI Miami Beet, so you might want to try googling/searching for pics and swatches of that shade to get a better idea:

1. Dior Red Dahlia (bottle shown)
2. OPI Miami Beet (bottle shown)
3. Essie Private Bash
4. Essie Very Cranberry
5. Chanel Shangahi Red

Will be updated soon with comparisons to some true/classic reds so you can see the fuschia tones.

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Color Focus: Dark Vampy Nail Polish

July 14, 2009

For makeup I’m obsessed with neutrals, but for nails, I’m obsessed with dark vampy colors and reds. Even though it’s mid-summer, I thought I’d share my favorite vampy colors to go along with the recent fall release themes like Dior Black Plum & Nars Tokaido Express. (Please excuse the messy manicures.)

***Note all pictures taken in direct natural sunlight. Also note the bottles shown don’t necessarily coincide with the shade on the finger directly above it. Bottles shown are notated in each category.***

Vampy Burgandy Shades (Sephora for OPI I’m With Brad & Chanel Vamp bottles shown):
1. Sephora for OPI I’m With Brad
2. Chanel Vamp
3. Chanel Rouge Noir
4. Chanel Cosmic Violine
5. Chanel Tulip Noir


Vampy Wine Shades (Dior Black Plum & Nars Gimme Shelter bottles pictured):
1. Nars Gimme Shelter
2. OPI NYPD Beet
3. Sephora by OPI Meet for Drinks
4. Dior Black Plum
5. MAC Boom!


Vampy Plums & Purples (Dior Licorice & Chanel Feu de Russie bottles pictured):
1. OPI Black Cherry Chutney
2. Nars Tokaido Express
3. Le Metier de Beaute Black Orchid
4. Dior Licorice
5. Chanel Feu de Russie


Miscellaneous Dark Shades (Chanel Nuit de Russie & Blue Satin bottles pictured):
1. OPI My Private Jet
2. Laura Mercier Caviar Dreams
3. Chanel Nuit de Russie
4. Chanel Blue Satin
5. Chanel Vendetta

Unfortunately for me this is how these blues/purples look on me without the sunlight:

I’m new to photographing nail polishes – so for more views or to check out these colors, I’d highly recommend checking out other various nail polish blogs for more swatches in case any of these look off on your screen! Or if some of the shades look identical, these blogs and galleries might help!

Some of my favorites:
* Community Nail Polish Gallery
* Scrangie
* All Lacquered Up
* Steph’s Closet Blog

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