Crystal File 070: Nailtek Intensive Therapy II

As winter has lingered here, my nails have begun to show the effects in the form of peeling on a few of my nails. As a result of this I decided to finally give Nailtek Intensive Therapy II (therapy for soft, peeling nails) a try. I have to say, this turned out to be a huge mistake on my part. Unfortunately, I have come to suspect that the formaldehyde component in Nailtek actually intensified the peeling problem for me. Over the course of ten days, the peeling areas became much worse than I have ever experienced. Obviously I abruptly discontinued use of this product, as I don't think my nails could have tolerated even one day more!

I have heard many wonderful things said about Nailtek products, so I was quite disappointed. This is truly a product where individual results may vary. Keep in mind, I'm only posting this as a warning. I think any product can be worth trying, just be aware that some products can be counter-effective (which is a term I just made up, but hopefully you get the idea) depending on the individual.

In addition to this note on Nailtek, I do have to apologize to my readers for not having posted much recently. Both my Grandmother and my husband's Grandfather passed away recently, so we've been busy with funeral travel and such. Hopefully things will settle down now. I should have quite a few exciting new summer colors coming my way, so please keep checking in!

Crystal File 069: Zoya Scavenger Hunt for Summer Hints!

Zoya has decided to send you all on a scavenger hunt to all your favorite blog sites for swatches of their 12 new gorgeous polishes for summer. Here is the actual text of the press release:

Summer color is bright and fun,
Summer color is for everyone

Zoya Nail Polish announces Summer 2009 Collections…
LA-DI-DA and OOH-LA-LA

Summer preview coming soon…
6 creams – 6 metallics – 12 beautiful colors

Connect the (blogger) dots… 12 colors to collect!



This is one of the niftiest promo marketing ideas i've encountered! Have fun hunting all your favorite sites for the clues :)

My swatch is Katy, which is listed as a metallic in the La Di Da collection.



My gal Scrangie has Midori, Siobhan over at thenailphile has Paz, Vanessa at CasualLavish has Pippa, Kelly at VampyVarnish has Emme, AllLacqueredUp has Tallulah, and you can find Goldie at ClumpsofMascara. I'll try to continue updating the link list as more become available! UPDATE: Stephanie over at Polish Addict has Dita, and Dami of Perfectly Polished Tips has Ali. Enjoy!

Have fun "connecting the blogger dots"!

Crystal File 068: Nubar Cleopatra Collection

This is the perfect collection for all of my fellow purple lovers! I am even in love with a couple of the cremes, and any of you who know me will know that I'm not much of a creme loving gal. I'd say my favorite of the collection is Passionate Purple, closely followed by Sphinx Purple, and then Isis Purple. Since i recently began trying Nubar polishes, I've discovered that i truly love their brush and bottle design. I hope to be able to bring you many more beautiful and exciting colors from Nubar in the future.

First up, my favorite, Passionate Purple:






Next is Sphinx Purple:






Isis Purple (this one applied so beautifully, i was absolutely stunned)




Toga Purple (i was losing the sunlight, these photos make the color a bit darker than it truly is)






Nile Purple (had some brushstroke issues with this one, the finish is metallic, base and top coat may help even it out)






Hieroglyphs Purple (very similar to Zoya Moxie and Misa Push Upon It)




Pharaoh's Purple (a more dusty/grey version of OPI Parle-vous OPI)




Pyramid Purple (a really pretty mid-toned purple creme)




Although the full set of the Cleopatra collection is now available from bynubar.com. Individual colors should be available within a few weeks. Check back with me soon, i hope to have China Glaze Summer Days photos up within the week!

Crystal File 67: Comparisons of new Color Club Holos

I know many of you have been wondering how the new Color Club holos (Worth the Risque, Fashion Addict, and Revvvolution) compare to other holos you might already have in your stash. To enable you polish addiction, I've snapped a few quick swatch photos of each of the new CC holos compared to a couple of others from my stash.

Before i move on to the photos, i need to tell you in advance, the CC holos are by far some of the best holo polishes i have used. The application is smooth, they don't magnify nail imperfections, and they are all nearly opaque in one coat (completely opaque in two).

First up is my comparison of Color Club Revvvolution. Polishes are (index to pinky) OPI My Private Jet (original holo version), Color Club Revvvolution, China Glaze Let's Do it in 3-D, and one coat MPJ over black creme. Each polish is two coats, no base or top coat, unless otherwise noted.



Next the silver holo comparison shot, index to pinky: OPI Standing Room Only Silver, China Glaze Sexagon, China Glaze OMG, and Color Club Worth the Risque.



And finally the lavender holo comparison, index to pinky: China Glaze IDK, Color Club Fashion Addict, China Glaze Visit Me in Prism, China Glaze Octa Gone Wild.



I hope you'll all find these useful. Personally, i have to encourage any holo polish lover to get the Color Club holos, i think they're fabulous. They're well worth the tiny price tag!

Crystl File 65: NOTD Color Club Revvvolution

I have to say, Color Club may have created the perfect dark grey holo! Unlike some holo polishes i've tried in the past this polish isn't overly sheer, and has no application issues. It was almost completely opaque with just one coat, my manicure photos are with two coats as i am an habitual two-coater.









This polish, as with many heavily pigmented holo polishes, does dry a bit matte. However, one coat of Poshe shines it up perfectly. Another up side to this one, aside from the fact that its gorgeous, is that it dries incredibly fast! Hope you gals enjoyed :)

Crystal File 064: Recent NOTDs Chanel Feu de Russie and Nubar Peacock Feathers

I have to admit that when i saw the $30 price tag on the Chanel Moscou polishes i thought it was insane. But the more i saw of these lovelies, the more i decided that it was time to splurge and buy a couple of high end lacquers. So Feu de Russie and Nuit de Russie came to live with me. Both polishes apply beautifully and the pigmentation in these is amazing. You could very nearly get away with one very carefully applied coat.

However, i did find that (for me) Seche Vite and the newer Chanel formula do not play nicely together. With some polishes Seche can react unfavorably, developing a haze between the polish and the top coat. The outer surface of the top coat is still perfectly shiny, but the haze within the top coat causes the gorgeous shimmer to be obscured. Not what you want when you have just done your first ever manicure with a $30 polish. So, when i did my second mani with these beauties (this time using Feu de Russie) i used Poshe fast drying top coat with gorgeous results. I have heard that some people experience chipping with Chanel polishes, i did not have this trouble with the combination of Sally Hansen Nail Quencher base coat and Poshe top coat.

Now to share photos of the incomparable Chanel Feu de Russie (i'll have to get better photos of Nuit another time, the SV incedent left me with awful photos of that mani). I truly do not regret the $30 price tag for either of these polishes. I think you'll see why.








Now for part two of this post! Nubar Peacock Feathers is beauty in a bottle. I love this color and will absolutely not hesitate to get a back up. Generally speaking i do not find myself drawn to duochrome colors, i'm not certain why this is the case, i just don't usually feel drawn to them. Peacock Feathers is a different story entirely. Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to capture the complexity of this polish in my photos, but i hope they'll give you some idea of how beautiful it is.








I hope you've enjoyed these latest additions to the files. I have so much catching up to do, i've no idea where to even start. Lovely polishes from BB Couture for Nails, new Color Club lacquers, Misas, Essies.....I don't even know where to start!

Crystal File 063: A Return From the Dark Side

As some of you may have read in one of my previous posts, i took a brief foray into the unknown and spent a roughly 4-6 week trial period using Poshe AHA Cuticle Care (instead of my HG CND Cuticle Eraser). I posted a short while ago that while i still prefered CND Cuticle Eraser, they seemed to work equally well.

Here's the thing, I've since concluded that i was sorely mistaken. I began to notice that i had quite a lot of peely, flaky skin around my nails. More of those lose edges that tempt me to, Eeeep!, bite the skin around my nails. As a result i switched back to Cuticle Eraser to see if my old HG might remedy the situation. All i can say is, WOW! The difference after only a couple of days is tremendous. I have hardly any of the icky, peely skin remaining. The skin around my nails is once more soft and smooth.

So my final conclusion is this, don't waste your dough on the Poshe product. I think my initial observation that the two products seemed to work equally well was simply a result of a rushed experiment. Once the effects of my long time use of CND Cuticle Eraser had worn off, the Poshe simply couldn't maintain as Cuticle Eraser always has. I've now purchased a HUGE (1.75 ounce) tube of my beloved Cuticle Eraser from one of my favorite e-tailers, and i won't be making this horrible mistake again!

In the Pipeline for review: I still have to get decent pictures of Essie Spring 2009 for you all, as well as the new Misa Speed of Life collection for Spring/Summer. Please keep your lovingly manicured fingers crossed that the weather cooperates at least one day this week. I need some sunlight to provide you all with pics!