[NOTD] Pink Ombre

I was swatching pink polishes to decide which one to wear when I realized that they looked good together.  I created this ombre manicure with (dark to light) Nicole by OPI All Kendall-ed Up, Wet n Wild Megalast Candy-licious, China Glaze Dance Baby, New York Color City Sweets Pink, and Wet n Wild Megalast Sugar Coat.  I used Orly Bonder for a basecoat and New York Color Grand Central Station for a topcoat.

Pink ombre nails with Nicole by OPI All Kendall-ed Up (thumb), Wet n Wild Candy-licious (index), China Glaze Dance Baby (middle), New York Color City Sweets Pink (ring), and Wet n Wild Sugar Coat (pinky)

[NOTD] Memorial Day Weekend

In the United States, Memorial Day Weekend marks the start of summer, and summer indeed has arrived here in Massachusetts.  This weekend, the weather has been sunny, hot, and breezy.

To celebrate, I painted my nails bright summery colors.

Summer nail polish: Zoya Maya and Nicole by OPI All Kendall-ed Up

I painted my finger nails with a bright coral, Zoya Maya.  Maya is a sheer polish that can become opaque in three or four coats.  I sometimes like seeing my nail line under polish, so today I wore only two coats.  As you can see in my pictures, my nail line is barely visible even with two coats.

Zoya Maya

Zoya Maya

On my toe nails...

[Comparison] Essie Splash of Grenadine Dupes

Essie Splash of Grenadine is one of my favorite nail polishes.  I love the bright plum pink color.  Maybe that's why I accidentally bought two very similar polishes: Maybelline Love Me Lavender and Color Club Sweetpea.

Maybelline Love Me Lavender | Essie Splash of Grenadine | Color Club Sweetpea

Love Me Lavender (not a lavender shade) and Splash of Grenadine are nearly identical.  In some lighting, Splash of Grenadine looks a smidgen more purple.  Sweetpea is more gray and a shade darker than the other two.

Essie Splash of Grenadine (pinky & middle fingers)  with Color Club Sweetpea (ring finger) and Maybelline Love Me Lavender (index finger)

All polishes have thin consistencies and look opaque in two coats, but Color Club Sweetpea does not level out on the nail.  Splash of Grenadine wears the longest - almost a full week!  Love Me Lavender lasts a few days while Sweetpea chips within a couple days.

None of these nail polishes are available in permanent lines.  Splash of Grenadine was originally in a Summer 2010 collection.  I'm not sure if it has been moved to Essie's permanent line or not, but it can still be found online.  Sweetpea and Love Me Lavender are in Spring 2012 collections.  Essie retails for $8, Color Club retails for $8, and Maybelline retails for around $5.50.  I bought Splash of Grenadine and Sweetpea from Transdesign.com at discounted prices, and I bought Love Me Lavender at CVS.

Since Love Me Lavender and Splash of Grenadine are very nearly dupes, I recommend buying only one.  (I do not recommend Sweetpea at all.)  While Love Me Lavender costs less, it does not wear as long as Splash of Grenadine.

[NOTD] Rainy Day Ombre

To celebrate the spring rain showers of the past few days, I wore this gray-purple ombre manicure.  I used these polishes (dark to light): Sally Hansen Complete Manicure Commander in Chic, Wet n Wild Megalast Bite the Bullet, Orly You're Blushing, Zoya Megan, and Essie Master Plans.

Rainy day ombre nails

Gray-purple ombre nails

Grayed purples ombre manicure

Sally Hansen Commander in Chic | Wet n Wild Bite the Bullet | Orly You're Blushing | Zoya Megan | Essie Master Plans

Does you enjoy spring showers?

[Comparison] Color Club Lavendarling v. Zoya Malia

Although I had previously never tried a Color Club nail polish, the Spring 2012 colors from Color Club caught my attention, and I purchased a few polishes from the Blossoming Collection.  When my order arrived, I realized that Color Club Lavendarling looked awfully similar to another polish, Zoya Malia.

Color Club Lavendarling versus Zoya Malia

Zoya Malia is one of my favorite nail polishes.  It is a creamy medium grape purple.  Its formula is perfect - self-evening, not streaky, and looks fabulous in one to two coats.  However, Malia costs $8, and I purchased Lavendarling for only $3, so I would be happy to find a more affordable dupe.

In the picture below, I am wearing two coats of Zoya Malia on my middle and pinky fingers and two coats of Lavendarling on my pointer and ring fingers.

Zoya Malia (middle, pinky) | Color Club Lavendarling (pointer, ring)

While the colors of the two polishes are indeed identical, the Zoya formula far outshines the problematic Color Club polish.  As you can see, Lavendarling was thick, streaky, and did not even out on my nails.

I'll stick to Zoya Malia.

[NOTD] Rainy Day Nails

I'm sporting two gray-purple polishes: Essie Master Plan and Sally Hansen Commander in Chic.  I'm wearing two coats of each with Orly Bonder for my basecoat and New York Color Grand Central Station for my topcoat.

[Rainy Day Nails] Essie Master Plan with Sally Hansen Commander in Chic

[Gray-purple Nails]  Essie Master Plan with Sally Hansen Commander in Chic

These colors remind me of storm clouds.

[NOTD] Color Block Aqua & Purple

This weekend, I had cheery spring color blocked nails.  I wish my pictures showed how cheery they were in person, but I took them at night.  I wore Color Club Lavendarling (3 coats) on three fingers and Orly Gumdrop (2 coats) on two fingers of each hand.  As always, I used Orly Bonder for my basecoat and New York Color Grand Central Station for my topcoat.

[Color block nails] Color Club Lavendarling and Orly Gumdrop

[Color blocking aqua & purple] Color Club Lavendarling with Orly Gumdrop