[Review] Maybelline Express Finish Nail Polish for Fashion Week Spring 2012

A couple weeks ago, I wandered around CVS looking for the new Maybelline Express Finish nail polishes for the Spring 2012 Fashion Week Collection.  I had given up when I spotted the display in an odd location, placed above eye level (and I'm 5'10") and pushed back on the top shelf above the beauty tools.  My local CVS places make-up displays all over the store, so if you can't find them, look all around your store.  I bought five of the six Maybelline polishes in the little display, so I have five out of the total eight limited edition polishes (two more colors are showcased on the bigger Maybelline Fashion Week displays).

[Maybelline] Love Me Lavender, Tulip Tango, Orchids Oh My!, Peachy Petal, Posy Pink

Maybelline Express Finish Nail Polish for Fashion Week Spring 2012

I bought the colors Orchids Oh My!, Tulip Tango, Love Me Lavender, Posy Pink, and Peachy Petal.  I love all of the colors on me, but I don't love all of the formulations.

[New Maybelline Polish] Love Me Lavender (pointer), Tulip Tango (middle), Peachy Petal (ring), Posy Pink (pinky), and Orchids Oh My! (thumb)

Orchids Oh My! :: This is my favorite of them all.  This polish has a medium-to-thin consistency, and looks opaque in two coats.  It's not at all streaky, and it almost looks like it has a jelly finish.  It is a gorgeous vibrant raspberry color.

Tulip Tango :: This has a similar consistency to Orchids Oh My!  It is a bright pink coral.

Love Me Lavender :: This has a similar consistency to the last two.  It is a bright medium lavender color. It looks very similar to Essie Splash of Grenadine, which I already own (whoops!).

Posy Pink :: This is one of the problem polishes.  It is very chalky and streaky.  I needed at least three coats to fix the streakiness, and even then, the texture looked uneven on my nail.  The color is a lovely light bubblegum pink which isn't too harsh against my skin.

Peachy Petal :: This suffered from the same problems as Posy Pink: chalky and streaky.  The color is a bright light pink-leaning peachy tangerine, which I think I might actually be able to pull off.  I'm a cool-tone, fair-skinned girl, and normally I look sickly in peaches or tangerines.

I do highly recommend Orchids Oh My!  Tulip Tango and Love Me Lavender are great quality polishes if you don't already have similar colors.  I don't regret buying Peachy Petal because it is a unique color, but I could do without Posy Pink.  Because these polishes are hits or misses, I haven't bothered picking up the rest of the collection.

[New Maybelline Polish] Love Me Lavender (pointer), Tulip Tango (middle), Peachy Petal (ring), Posy Pink (pinky), and Orchids Oh My! (thumb)

Overall, these polishes are great colors, but they are hits or misses with the formulations.

[NOTD] Color Club Blushing Rose with Glitter

I don't like Color Club Blushing Rose.  It's from the new Color Club Blossoming Collection for spring 2012.  It is incredibly streaky and does not even out on my nails.  I had to apply four coats to hide the streaks, and I would have had to applied five if I wasn't covering it with glitter.  The color is also too stark against my cool-tone pale skin.  It is a milky bubblegum pink that is almost neon.  I had been hoping it would be less stark and more muted.  I hate it.

Shown below is 1 coat of Orly bonder, 4 coats of Blushing Rose, 1 coat of China Glaze Techno (on all fingers except my accent fingers), and 1 coat of New York Color Grand Central Station.  My accent fingers have 3 coats of Sally Hansen Strobe Light.  So my accent fingers have 9 coats of polish - 3 of those glitter - to remove.  That will be fun.

Color Club Blushing Rose (4 coats), China Glaze Techno (1 coat), and Sally Hansen Strobe Light on accent nail (3 coats)

I do love the glittery China Glaze Techno.  It looks great with only one coat, and it sparkles in the sunlight.  It sparkles so much that my camera had a difficult time focusing on my nails.

China Glaze Techno sparkling in the sunlight

[Review] New Wet n Wild Megalast Nail Polishes

I bought five of the new Wet n Wild Megalast nail polishes.  I think some of the colors are new, and the entire line has new packaging.  The sturdy new bottles and pretty colors grabbed my attention.

[New Wet n Wild Megalast Nail Polishes] Undercover, Sugar Coat, On a Trip, Disturbia, Candy-licious

The new bottles contain .45 ounces of product instead of .3 ounces.  The new bottles are square(ish), are made with a thicker glass, and have "Wet n Wild" inscribed in the sides.  However, some of the bottle bases are not flat, so they may wobble a bit.

The new brushes are wider, which may be a good or bad aspect depending on what your prefer.  I generally prefer more narrow brushes.  Unfortunately, the new brushes are very fluffy, making it difficult to precisely apply the polish.  Also, the brushes have inconsistent quality.  A couple of my brushes are symmetrical while others are asymmetric, twisted, or have irregular length brush hairs.

New Wet n Wild Megalast nail polish brush

The consistency of the nail polishes is the same, from what I can tell.  They have a thick consistency, and most of these polishes go on opaque in one or two coats.  (Sugar Coat needs three coats because it is a little streaky and lighter.)  I do like wider brushes with thick polish, so that is a good match.

Here are a few of the Megalast manicures I've worn already.  All are shown over my Orly Bonder basecoat with a coat of New York Color Grand Central Station on top.

Wet n Wild Megalast Undercover (2 coats, sunlight)

Wet n Wild Disturbia (2 coats, sunlight)

3 coats Wet n Wild Megalast Sugar Coat topped with 1 coat Essie Kisses & Bises (sunlight)

The polishes I have tried have all lasted me a few days without chipping.  Undercover lasted five days!

I bought these polishes for only $1.19 each at RiteAid when they were on sale.  Normally, they cost $1.99, which I think is still a good deal.

Overall, I think the Wet n Wild Megalast polishes are excellent quality nail polishes for the price as long as you don't mind the brushes.

[NOTD] Orly You're Blushing

I'm changing my manicure right now, but I have been wearing Orly You're Blushing for the past three days.  You're Blushing is from the new Orly Cool Romance Collection.  While all the other gray-purples I have tried have been too dark, You're Blushing is the perfect light gray-purple for my pale skin.

You're Blushing is shown in sunlight as two coats of color over Orly Bonder and topped with New York Color Grand Central Station.

Orly You're Blushing

Orly You're Blushing

[NOTD] Orly Bon Bon

Orly Bon Bon is one of my new favorite nail polishes.  It is a very pale, dusty lavender.  It is sheer, but the color can be built up to opaque.  I wore it almost-opaque with three coats of color.  I used Zoya Anchor for a basecoat and New York Color Grand Central Station for a topcoat.

Orly Bon Bon