A vegan nail polish blog. A celebration of colour and light, as well as of justice for nonhuman animals.

Archive for the ‘Misa’ Category

Picture Polish Paris and stamping

Picture Polish Paris is a beautiful jellyish coral pink with the signature PP scattered holo particles. Two coats plus top coat. Love this shade! With flash:

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In shade:

picturepolish_paris_shade 

I did a stamped accent using Misa Blueberry Blast and the damask pattern from Konad plate M83.

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It didn’t really turn out as blue as I’d hoped; almost looks more grey without the Misa bottle right next to it. But I still like it! Blueberry Blast worked quite well for stamping, considering it’s a regular, pastel polish!

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Misa Jasmine and Picture Polish Jasmine

Two polishes named Jasmine! And they happen to go together very well. 

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This is Misa Jasmine, a wonderfully dusty light purple creme, with an accent nail of Picture Polish Jasmine, which has green, silver and blue medium hex glitter and similar-sized purple square glitter in a lavender crelly base. 

picturepolish_misa_jasmine2 

I used two coats plus top coat for Misa Jasmine. It had a great, smooth and creamy formula. 

picturepolish_misa_jasmine 

For Picture Polish Jasmine, I used three coats plus top coat for even glitter coverage. With flash:

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And here’s a little crossed-paws, head tilting (to follow the fingers I was wiggling at her!) Jasmine collage:  

A few odds and ends

I have a few random phone pics of relatively-recent manis to share today!

Quo by Orly Infinity and Beyond (same as Orly Milky Way), layered over Cosmetic Arts Sky High (which I think is the same as Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau). Accent nail is just the Cosmetic Arts by itself.

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Kleancolor Concrete, a one-coater, with Kleancolor Yogurt Raisins on the accent nail.

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Maya Cosmetics Big Chief, two coats. The glitter was a little sparse but other than that it had a great formula.

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And finally, Misa High Brow, a gorgeous vampy purple shimmer with a satin-matte finish. On my rarely-seen right hand:
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On my usual hand, with topcoat:
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From the Vault, again…

More random old stuff!

Nubar Pink Flame, under artificial light:

Nubar Pink Flame, artificial light

Nubar Pink Flame, artificial light

Nubar Pink Flame, artificial light

Comparison: left to right, Finger Paints Catwalk Queen, Butter London Bumster (middle and ring fingers), Misa Hot Couture. The Butter London and Finger Paints polishes are quite close, Finger Paints just has slightly more orange, while the Misa is noticeably darker.

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Butter London Bumster by itself:

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OPI Pepe’s Purple Passion (in light box and camera wouldn’t focus properly on the polish surface!):

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I’ll admit, while I ended up really liking Pepe’s Purple Passion, I mainly wanted it for the name, because of this handsome guy whose name is Pepe. Although we usually call him Tex. 🙂

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Essence Wanna Be My Sunshine with accent nail in NYX Girls Pure Green, all layered with LA Girl Zesty Citrus overtop:

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Illamasqua Elope:

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China Glaze Sun of a Peach and comparisons

Here’s another neon from the China Glaze Sunsational collection!

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

Sun of a Peach is a neon pastel peach, and a great unique colour! I like the name too, haha.

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

The formula is a bit difficult to work with, but not really worse than other neons or pastels.

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

I used three coats to even everything out. The photos include base coat and top coat.

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

I think the colour is certainly worth putting up with the neon formula. With flash:

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

In the shade:

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

And here is a nail wheel comparison with other peaches, neon and non-neon, and some that lean more towards coral. The photo was taken with flash, but somehow the polishes still look a bit darker than they do in real life. So, word of warning that these aren’t colour accurate, but give a good indication of the relative differences in these polishes!

Sun of a Peach and peach/coral comparisons

1) China Glaze Sun of a Peach, 2) Misa Shake it to the Samba, 3) China Glaze Peachy Keen, 4) Nubar Orange Creme, 5) NCLA Poolside Party All Eyes On Me, 6) Joe Fresh Orange Sorbet, 7) Kleancolor Mango, 8) Jessica Tangerine Dreamz, 9) NYX Amazon, 10) Cult Nails Scandalous, 11) OPI Apricotcha Cheating, 12) FingerPaints Circus Peanuts, 13) NYX Girls Naked Pink, 14) Funky Fingers Daiquiri on the Deck, 15) Barry M Peach Melba, 16) Kleancolor Pastel Orange, 17) Illamasqua Purity, 18) Essence Rebels Peach Punk

None of these are close to Sun of a Peach; the most similar are Kleancolor Mango which is darker and much less bright, and oldie NYX Amazon which is a translucent jelly with iridescent glitter, however. But as you can see there are some dupes and near-dupes among the other polishes – notably China Glaze Peachy Keen and Misa Shake it to the Samba which are basically identical. Cult Nails Scandalous is also similar to OPI Apricotcha Cheating, and Kleancolor Pastel Orange to Illamasqua Purity, but those pairs aren’t close enough to be dupes.

China Glaze Neon & On & On, Shell-o, and neon pink comparisons!

China Glaze Neon & On & On and Shell-o are from their recent Sunsational collection of neons. Since they’re both in the pink-coral family, I thought I’d post them together along with nail wheel swatches of all the neon pinks I own!

Shell-o is a neon coral pink jelly. I used three coats over ridge filler for the swatches. I didn’t have problems with application for this one.

China Glaze Shell-o

It dries somewhere between glossy and matte, and these photos do not include top coat.

China Glaze Shell-o

In the shade:

China Glaze Shell-o

Neon & On & On is a warm/coral leaning pastel neon pink creme. I used three coats over ridge filler, plus top coat.

China Glaze Neon & On & On

The formula on this one was difficult to work with. It helps to not go over the same spot twice while applying each coat.

China Glaze Neon & On & On

It dries very quickly, so that’s a plus. The polish dries matte, and a little lumpy before topcoat due to the thick and quick-drying formula. But top coat really helps to even it out. Next time I think I’ll try adding thinner to this one.

China Glaze Neon & On & On

In the shade:

China Glaze Neon & On & On

ANd now for the great neon pink comparison! I’m including two photos in slightly different lighting (apologies that the orientation of the wheel isn’t quite the same in both photos).

1) Kleancolor Barbie Pink, 2) China Glaze Surfin' for Boys, 3) China Glaze Flirty Tankini, 4) China Glaze Shell-o, 5) China Glaze Pink Plumeria, 6) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, 7) China Glaze Neon & On & On, 8) Milani Pink Hottie, 9) Color Club Electro candy, 10) Zoya Kiki, 11) Color Club Poptastic, 12) Kleancolor Neon Pink, 13) Misa Girls' Night Out, 14) Kleancolor Pink Lady, 15) Zoya Renée, 16) Orly Passion Fruit, 17) China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, 18) Misa Bikini With a Martini

1) Kleancolor Barbie Pink, 2) China Glaze Surfin’ for Boys, 3) China Glaze Flirty Tankini, 4) China Glaze Shell-o, 5) China Glaze Pink Plumeria, 6) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, 7) China Glaze Neon & On & On, 8) Milani Pink Hottie, 9) Color Club Electro candy, 10) Zoya Kiki, 11) Color Club Poptastic, 12) Kleancolor Neon Pink, 13) Misa Girls’ Night Out, 14) Kleancolor Pink Lady, 15) Zoya Renée, 16) Orly Passion Fruit, 17) China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, 18) Misa Bikini With a Martini

1) Kleancolor Barbie Pink, 2) China Glaze Surfin' for Boys, 3) China Glaze Flirty Tankini, 4) China Glaze Shell-o, 5) China Glaze Pink Plumeria, 6) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, 7) China Glaze Neon & On & On, 8) Milani Pink Hottie, 9) Color Club Electro candy, 10) Zoya Kiki, 11) Color Club Poptastic, 12) Kleancolor Neon Pink, 13) Misa Girls' Night Out, 14) Kleancolor Pink Lady, 15) Zoya Renée, 16) Orly Passion Fruit, 17) China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, 18) Misa Bikini With a Martini

1) Kleancolor Barbie Pink, 2) China Glaze Surfin’ for Boys, 3) China Glaze Flirty Tankini, 4) China Glaze Shell-o, 5) China Glaze Pink Plumeria, 6) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, 7) China Glaze Neon & On & On, 8) Milani Pink Hottie, 9) Color Club Electro candy, 10) Zoya Kiki, 11) Color Club Poptastic, 12) Kleancolor Neon Pink, 13) Misa Girls’ Night Out, 14) Kleancolor Pink Lady, 15) Zoya Renée, 16) Orly Passion Fruit, 17) China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, 18) Misa Bikini With a Martini

Some Cult Nails Swatches

How about a few random Cult Nails swatches?

Spontaneous, a dusty purple creme with small purple glitter. The formula was a little thinner and runnier than I expected; I used three coats for coverage and to even it out. Shown with Wicked Fast topcoat.

Cult Nails Spontaneous

Cult Nails Spontaneous

Cult Nails Spontaneous

Before topcoat, it dries a little matte and slightly textured:

Cult Nails Spontaneous

Blackout. It isn’t black, but a dark charcoal grey. If you look at it from up close in real life, you can see that it’s actually got a sheer jellyish base packed full of tiny little specks of pigment giving it a soft, smoky finish. It does look pretty much black in some lighting situations, although not quite as much as it does here in my photos.

Cult Nails Blackout

I used two coats although it was still just slightly patchy with its jelly base so I could have used a third.

Cult Nails Blackout

This photo is more true to colour, where you can tell that it’s grey and not black:

Cult Nails Blackout

Comparison with a couple of medium-dark greys to show how much darker it is: Kleancolor Concrete (1 thick coat), Blackout (2 coats), Misa Office Polish-tics (3 coats, it was a bit thin). I should have also compared it to a true black, ah well…

Cult Nails Blackout, Kleancolor Black, Kleancolor Concrete

Top to bottom: Kleancolor Concrete, Cult Nails Blackout, Misa Office Polish-tics

Evil Queen, a pink-toned red semi-jelly. I don’t usually like cool toned reds on me, but I really like this one!

Cult Nails Evil Queen

It was almost a one-coater, but I did two coats for the photos.

Cult Nails Evil Queen

Great formula, shiny and smooth!

Cult Nails Evil Queen

Cult Nails Evil Queen

Feelin’ Froggy, a cool/neutral green with green shimmer. This one is sheer to let the shimmer shine through and I needed three coats. It’s a little cooler toned in real life; I’d say the first photo is the most colour accurate.

Cult Nails Feelin' Froggy

Cult Nails Feelin' Froggy

Cult Nails Feelin' Froggy

Zoya Tracie, Meg and comparisons

Since October is Depression Awareness Month (yup, it’s not just for breast cancer!) and the depression awareness colour is green, I thought a green-heavy first post of the month would be appropriate.

So, I’ve got Zoya Tracie and Meg from the Beach and Surf collection, along with nail wheel comparisons with tons of other green shades!

Zoya Tracie

This is Zoya Tracie, two coats. I love this colour, soft yellow-toned green creme base with subtle pearly silver shimmer.

Zoya Tracie

The formula was a little tricky, thick yet threatening to drip down the brush stem, and I had to take care to let it dry between coats to prevent dragging. Worth it for such a great shade! The photos include base and top coat.

Zoya Tracie

Meg is a medium green foil. I also had a little streaking and dragging with this one, but then I didn’t use a base coat for this swatch so that may have been the reason. This is two coats of Meg.

Zoya Meg

Really nice polish as well, but much less interesting than Tracie to me. Tracie is much more unique.

Zoya Meg

Zoya Meg

And now for the massive comparisons! The first photo shows the nail wheels in direct sunlight, and the second photo shows them under the Ott Lite. Clicking on the photos will bring up a bigger version where it’s easier to see the polishes (but then, the caption isn’t included, so the close-up polishes and their names aren’t visible together; sorry about that). Meg and Tracie are the polishes in the middle that are almost touching, one on each wheel.

Zoya Tracie & Meg green comparison wheels

Left wheel, clockwise from top: Color Club Mol-ten, Color Club Kiss Me Mistletoe, Wet n Wild Jungle Fever, Cosmetic Arts You Sleigh Me, Zoya Meg, Kleancolor Metallic Green, Butter London Dosh, Finger Paints Comet’s Collar, NYX Girls Luscious Green, Zoya Midori, Nicole by OPI Make Mine Lime, Sparitual Greenhouse, Gosh Golden Dragon.
Right wheel, counterclockwise from gap in polishes: NYX (Salon line) Lime, Nicole by OPI My Favourite Gold, OPI Simply Smashing, Kleancolor Jazz Olive, Zoya Tangy, Misa Secrets, OPI Bikini Envy, Zoya Tracie, Milani Original, LA Girl Color Addict Urge, Soulstice Telluride, Misa Fountain of Youth, Milani Key Lime Shine, Nubar Baby Sprout, NYX (Salon line) Pastel Pistachio, Nubar Kiwi.

No exact dupes to these Zoyas, but Wet n Wild Jungle Fever is very close to Meg, and Cosmetic Arts You Sleigh Me (next to Meg) is also pretty similar. The base colour of the NYX Salon polish in Pastel Pistachio is pretty close to Tracie, but the NYX polish is just a plain creme without any shimmer. OPI Bikini Envy is the shimmery polish that I’d say is closest to Tracie, but the OPI is lighter, more sheer, and frostier. Actually, I’m thinking Tracie is pretty similar to what it would look like to mix NYX Pastel Pistachio and OPI Bikini Envy together!

Zoya Tracie & Meg green comparison wheels

Left wheel, clockwise from top: Color Club Mol-ten, Color Club Kiss Me Mistletoe, Wet n Wild Jungle Fever, Cosmetic Arts You Sleigh Me, Zoya Meg, Kleancolor Metallic Green, Butter London Dosh, Finger Paints Comet’s Collar, NYX Girls Luscious Green, Zoya Midori, Nicole by OPI Make Mine Lime, Sparitual Greenhouse, Gosh Golden Dragon.
Right wheel, counterclockwise from gap in polishes: NYX (Salon line) Lime, Nicole by OPI My Favourite Gold, OPI Simply Smashing, Kleancolor Jazz Olive, Zoya Tangy, Misa Secrets, OPI Bikini Envy, Zoya Tracie, Milani Original, LA Girl Color Addict Urge, Soulstice Telluride, Misa Fountain of Youth, Milani Key Lime Shine, Nubar Baby Sprout, NYX (Salon line) Pastel Pistachio, Nubar Kiwi.

A couple pairs of notable near-dupes in here: Color Club Mol-ten and Kiss Me Mistletoe (Mistletoe is scented, though); OPI Simply Smashing and Nicole by OPI My Favourite Gold (which I think is an odd name, my favourite gold is a green??).

Misa Epiphany, Taking Chances, and a comparison

Today I have my two picks from Misa’s Wanderlust collection for fall 2012 to show you.

First is Misa Epiphany, a light beigey mustard shade with gold shimmer. The finish is kind of like a creme with shimmer flecks in it. I used two thick coats; I found the formula to be thick but not a problem to work with if you use thick coats and don’t manipulate it too much.

Misa Epiphany

I love this shade! It makes me think of a shimmery version of China Glaze’s Kalahari Kiss. The large version of this next photo gives a good view of the finish.

Misa Epiphany

The second polish I got from this collection is Taking Chances, which has the same finish as Epiphany but in a coppery, dusty light orange with gold shimmer. Very appropriate for fall!

Misa Taking Chances

Formula was also similar to Epiphany, maybe a bit less thick. This was also two thick coats.

Misa Taking Chances

I really like this shade as well, but when I opened the package, I thought, “this looks familiar!”

Misa Taking Chances and Sephora by OPI It's all About the Fringe

Here is Taking Chances next to Sephora by OPI’s That’s What Fringe is For, from their spring 2012 collection.

Misa Taking Chances and Sephora by OPI It's all About the Fringe (Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI)

Left to right: Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI

They aren’t *exact* dupes, but, well, for all intents and purposes they are dupes. It’s really hard to see the differences, so I’m including several photos of the comparison. From index to ring are the Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI, two coats of each.

Misa Taking Chances and Sephora by OPI It's all About the Fringe (Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI)

Left to right: Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI

The biggest difference is in the formula, since the OPI is much thinner (not runny though). It also seems that the Misa has slightly bigger shimmer particles, making it appear a tiny bit lighter at times with the added reflectivity. Just barely.

Misa Taking Chances and Sephora by OPI It's all About the Fringe (Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI)

Left to right: Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI

Great colour, but if you have one of these two you probably don’t need the other! Unless you have the mini bottle of the Sephora version, like I do, and want the Misa as a backup!

Misa Skinny Dipping and Comparison

Skinny Dipping is the second of two polishes I got from Misa’s Hot Summer collection for summer 2012. It’s a gorgeous neon aqua shade with blue shimmer!

Misa Skinny Dipping

The polish was fairly sheer; I think the sheerness helps add depth with the shimmer though. I used three coats here.

Misa Skinny Dipping

The consistency was a little thin on the first coat, but seemed less so by the third coat (that’s probably the effect of the humidity that day…).

Misa Skinny Dipping

The polish dries to a satin finish due to the neon pigment in it. I didn’t use any top coat for these photos, so as you can see it’s definitely not totally matte.

Misa Skinny Dipping

I really love the blue shimmer in this! In the shade:

Misa Skinny Dipping

This polish is quite unique, at least in my collection. I did a comparison to the most similar polish I have, Color Club Wicked Sweet (which itself is basically a dupe of Color Club Pure Energy; that reminds me I have some old posts still waiting in the archives that I should really get around to posting some day!). Left to right, Wicked Sweet, Skinny Dipping, Wicked Sweet, Skinny Dipping:

Misa Skinny Dipping and Color Club Wicked Sweet

These two polishes are kind of like opposites – Wicked Sweet is blue with turquoise shimmer, and Skinny Dipping is turquoise with blue shimmer!

Misa Skinny Dipping and Color Club Wicked Sweet

I also used three coats of Wicked Sweet, although it wasn’t quite as sheer as Skinny Dipping. This next photo really shows off the difference in the base colours:

Misa Skinny Dipping and Color Club Wicked Sweet

Another big difference between the two is that Wicked Sweet is scented; it has a blueberry-candy scent to it.

Misa Skinny Dipping and Color Club Wicked Sweet

I like how these two complement one another!