Review: Sally Girl, Color Club, China Glaze and more Art Deco!

It's been awhile since my last post and there's actually quite a few things I wanted to post about... but I've been busy and very tired.

Some general housekeeping items:

• I've finally made a Bloglovin button that you can use to follow my blog if you want. You can see it on the right hand side of my page. I know some people use it so I decided to get off my lazy arse and figure out how to stick that onto my page. & thank you to my one reader who added my page to bloglovin!! ♥ I really had no idea how to set anything up on Bloglovin so I was really happy someone else had already done it for me :D
• I took down my music player and have decided to not put it back up again. I figured most people probably *don't care* about what music I like. As well, it made the page load slower and probably turned off some people so I took it off.

Ok! That's all the housekeeping!!

Here are two nail looks I've sported -- one before the X Japan concert and the other during :D


So I went to Sally Beauty Supply for the very first time sometime last month. I never knew we had any in Ottawa; I thought it was strictly an American chain until I talked to a girl who was cutting my hair and she told me about Sally Beauty in Ottawa ^^

It turns out we actually have 3 locations in Ottawa!! And during my first visit, I picked out a few polishes. There's a *ton* of hair care products but I didn't really care about any of them. I already have shampoo and conditioner that I like for my hair and the only treatment I use is 100% organic coconut oil. As it stands, my hair is really strong and healthy so I don't need anything else.

So this is what I ended up getting + hair clips (not pictured but will post later):

Sally Girl nail polishes - There are no names listed on these. I had to go onto the website and look at swatches to *try* and figure them out. I'm still not sure about the names for all of the glitter polishes.

L -> R
China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

4 Sally girl (Sally Beauty house brand) mini nail polishes:
U Glow Girl (glows in the dark ♥!),
Genie(?) (#315),
Way 2 Disco(?) (#320),
So 70's(?) (#119)

Here's a clearer shot of them


Review
Sally girl in Genie (?)

This one is very simple but sweet and girly. I tried to do a glitter gradient but it doesn't photograph well T_T

Flash


Natural Light


Pros:

• Cheap price. I got this for 1.60$ CAD?
• Small size - only 5.3ml. Perfect for those who rarely finish their bottles and for trying out colours
  
• Small size - good for traveling and packing light

Cons:

• Small size - if you find a color that you really like it would be a pain to keep buying so many tiny bottles
  

Misc:

• Formula is just ok. Drying speed was average.

Would I repurchase: Probably not. I kind of regret getting 3 glitters. I have a feeling when they're applied they'll end up looking very similar to each other :( As well, since everything about these were pretty mediocre, I'll save my money to try new polishes.

Some tips for glitter polishes:
A confession: I didn't know much about glitter polishes so when I tried to remove it, I just did the usual swiping motion and oh my gosh!! my nail plate got sooo scratched up, it was horrible =( It also took forever to remove and the whole procedure ended up damaging my nails. I ended up having peel-y nails on a few fingers and I am now in the process of growing my nails out so I can cut off the damaged ends.

After that incident I decided to use my Google-fu and looked up how I could effectively take these types of polishes off without doing major damage. After a bit of online searching I came across the "tin foil method" so I'll be sure to try that the next time I use these babies!!


Multiple reviews and what I used:

L -> R
L.A. Colors Art Deco - White
L.A. Colors Art Deco -Sky Blue
Color Club - Wild At Heart (#870)
Revlon - Top Speed 60 second base coat (this is old, I don't know if it's still available)
China Glaze - Fast Forward Top Coat


Review
L.A. Colors Art Deco in White and Sky Blue (copy pasta from my previous L.A. Colors review)

Pros:

• Cheap price. I got this for only 2.50$ CAD (regular price)
  
• It's SUPER opaque ♥
• It has a super thin brush. Perfect for nail art which is what it's meant for.

Cons:

• The brushes can be kind of a hit or miss. Some are perfectly straight while others are slightly bent.
  

Would I repurchase: Yes!! I'm actually trying to buy all the solid colours that are available at my local drugstores. They're missing a ton of colours though :( These are PERFECT for konading!!! They're so opaque with just one coat and very vibrant. They are totally HG status and I'd much rather pay 2.50$ a polish than 10$!


Review
Color Club in Wild At Heart

Pros:

• I got a bunch of Color Clubs for a really good price. I bought the whole Fall 2009 collection at Winners for 12.99$+tx (6 polishes+1 top coat). That's less than 2$/bottle! It says "compare at" 25$ for the set.
  
• It's really good quality! Super smooth application and dries *so* quickly! Count me impressed.
• It's quite shiny so you can even get away with no top coat
  

Cons:

• Can't think of any!

Would I repurchase: Yes! Superb quality and good price. I love this color soooo much! Purple is one of my favourite colors and this one is a nice mid range color. It's also holographic!! It's the first holo that I own along with another color in the Color Club set.


Review
Revlon - Top Speed 60 second base coat

Pros:

• It dries *really* fast. It will definitely be fully dry after 60 seconds
  
• It keeps my nails from being stained. I have not had a problem with staining yet.
• Polishes do last longer with the base than without
  

Cons:

• Can't think of any!

Would I repurchase: Yes, if I can find it. This is an older bottle and the few times I've looked at the Revlon polish section, I don't think I've seen it :( I will look harder once I'm about to run out of this bottle.


Review
China Glaze - Fast Forward Top Coat

Pros:

• It dries pretty fast.
  
• It's really shiny.
  
• Polishes do last longer with the top coat than without and don't chip as easily.

Cons:

• The smell is a bit strange. It somehow smells kind of sickly sweet.
  
• Even though it makes my nails really shiny, I noticed as more days passed it would get less shiny (but overall, the nails would still stay shiny, just not *as* shiny as day 1)
  

Would I repurchase: Maybe. Overall, it's a good top coat but I've heard so many good things about Seche Vite top coat that I'd like to try that one next.


Finally, pictures of the Konadicure that I did with these polishes! I apologize for the messy application. I didn't clean them up until the next day after I took these pics.

Color Club in Wild At Heart
With flash



Check out the holo :)
This is base coat+two coats of polish - no top coat



No flash


These are my Paradise Kiss inspired nails. I got the idea for them after writing this post and it's based off of George's final dress design. ** Didn't want to spoil anyone so only click the link if you don't mind being spoiled or you already know what it looks like and want a refresher!








I used this plate for the 2 types of butterflies (m39) and m57 for the flowers.



I'm currently working on another nail design and it's almost done. This time it will be a diy nail polish so check back for that!