Les Deux Chiens

NYC - 113A

2010-06-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

First off, I apologize for the ridiculously long time it has taken me to post again... I'd give an excuse, but really I just needed a break... But now summer is starting again, and I have plenty of time on my hands. Enough time, in fact, to paint my nails a lot more. Also, shamefully, I started biting my nails again, so they're a lot shorter. However, they're longer than they have been previously, and hopefully I can use this blog as an excuse to not bite them... We'll see how long that lasts... :)

Anyways, on to the polish!

To start up again, I decided to randomly choose a polish... This one is a shimmery purple, although it looks almost lavender-ish on my nails... Although it's not necessarily amazing, the application was decent, and it looks fine. This would definitely not go under my absolute favorites, but it's also not on the worst list either... In short, this is a pretty "blah!" polish, which is kind of weird, considering how purple it is...

My only problem(s) with this polish was the application... The brush was really tiny, so it took several more strokes. Furthermore, it was pretty streaky, which required even more strokes to even everything out... It still ended up looking good, though, so I guess it wasn't too bad... Just a little bit of a pain... :)

Here's what it looked like in the bottle!

This is pretty close to its true shade, although I think my camera kind of warped the color of it on my nails...

And now for the (somewhat changed) rating (system)!!!

Number of Coats: 2 (and no base coat/top coat either...)

Finish: Frost/Foil-y

Application: 2.5/5

Color: 3/5

HILTND: no chipping, but there were a lot of sheet marks... and the polish is really dull now...

Overall Rating: 3/5 - mediocre

Next Polish: to be determined... (have a suggestion, leave me a comment!)

Thanks for reading, and I apologize (once again) for the ridiculously long delay... :)

Wet 'n' Wild Kaleidoscope

2009-09-07T16:02:00.000-07:00

In order to save time, and my sanity, and because everyone voted for a different polish, I will swatch all the colors that were voted for... So, first up (and because school is tomorrow), I chose Wet 'n' Wild Kaleidoscope, which is a clear polish with holo glitter. It looks subtle enough for school, and it really shows off how long my nails have gotten...

Here's what it looks like in the bottle... But my camera was so overwhelmed by the glitter that it completely forgot about the actual writing on the bottle... :)

Here's what it looks like on... Even though I got good coverage, that's only because I had to use a zillion coats (well, not really, but close enough)...

NUMBER OF COATS: 5 (yep, that's FIVE COATS!)

FINISH: holo glitter

APPLICATION: 3

COLOR: good!

WEARABLE-NESS: pretty good, and it looks subtle enough for work/school... :)

HILTND: absolutely flawless, and still sparkling! :)

NEXT POLISH: unnamed purple :)

NYX Nails (blue)

2009-09-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

So, even though the contest is still going on, I just have to share this beautiful blue with you... As you probably don't know, blue is my absolute favorite color, but it's rare to find a blue that goes with my skin tone and doesn't look too bizarre... The polish I'm using this time is by NYX nails and it came in a set, but the part which tells the name of this polish has long since disappeared... If anyone knows the actual name of this polish, please comment! This is driving me nuts!!! Anyways, here's the polish...

This is such a pretty bottle... But it looks even better on... :)

In order to stop myself from raving about this polish for too long, I will move on to my ratings system... :)

NUMBER OF COATS: 3

FINISH: shimmer (but it's very slight)

APPLICATION: 2.75

COLOR: good!!!

WEARABLE-NESS: surprisingly good, for a blue... :)

HILTND: flawless!!!

This polish is a must have for any/all blue lovers...

As for next time, please vote, or I will be forced to use holographic glitter... :)

NEXT POLISH (unless enough people vote): Wet 'n' Wild Kaleidescope

Winner!!!

2009-09-06T12:48:00.001-07:00

AND THE WINNER IS... My mom... Yeah, I'm actually not joking...

So, I will instead make this a democratic decision... Below you will see nine different nail polishes. Please vote on your favorite, and tell me why... If you can't decide (like I usually can't) you can pick up to three favorites...

As you can see, your options are: Wet 'n' Wild Kaleidoscope, Claire's Wacky Watermelon, Sally Hansen Fearless Fuschia, Mood Changing Plum To Red, Nina Ultra Pro Punki Purple, Unnamed Purple (the one in the small bottle with the white cap), Sinful Colors Swedish Blue, Sally Hansen Shooting Star, or NYX Nails (unnamed yellow green glitter/jelly).

Please vote, or I will subject you to even more ugly polishes... :)

And my next polish will still be the NYX Nails blue, unless it stops looking so good on my nails... :)

Twenty!!!

2009-09-05T22:45:00.001-07:00

That's right, I've posted 20 polishes so far on my blog... AND I now have 7 followers... When did that happen?!

So, even though this wasn't too sucessful last time, I will have another contest... The prize is similar to what it was last time, and until someone wins my contest, the prize will not change... How's that for creativity? :)

Basically, the first person to comment on this post will get to choose either a color or a brand for my next manicure (from a wide variety of choices). And, if nobody comments, my sister will get to pick, as usual...

Please note, I will still post my beautiful blue NYX nails (taken on my NEW DIGITAL CAMERA!!!) but I'll do that later... :)

So, for now, enjoy... :)

L'oreal Strong-Arm

2009-09-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the ridiculously long delay, but here's another pink... I'm really obsessed... But my nails are getting longer and longer and hopefully my application technique will improve at some point in the near future... :)

This time, my pink is actually a beautiful magenta color... You could probably still wear this to work, but it looks too elegant to waste it on something like that...

Even though it looks like an ugly creme in the bottle, this one is actually a beautiful shimmer...

As far as polishes go, this one was a dream! Everything about it was perfect... :)

NUMBER OF COATS: 3

FINISH: shimmer

APPLICATION: 3

COLOR: good!

WEARABLE-NESS: good!

HILTND: flawless!

This is one polish I will definitely wear again and again and again... Make sure to check back next time for a polish that is NOT PINK!!!

NEXT POLISH: NYX Nails (blue)

Beyond Perfect Poetic Peony

2009-08-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

Here's another work appropriate color! That's right, another pink... :) This time it's a pastel color by beyond perfect, which I must confess I have never heard of... I just found it in my drawer, so it must be one of my sister's... lol :)

As you can see, it looks like a fairly classic pink, and the square bottle looks oh-so-elegant! Here's what it looked like on:

This is three coats, but no top coat. Two coats would have probably been enough, but the application was very uneven, some of my nails came out perfect and others looked like a mess... The color also looks more like bubble gum and less refined on my nails, but it could have just been how my cuticles were looking that day... :) Also, even though I reserved a sufficient amount of "drying" time, I got horrible dents in my nails without even trying. Even though it applied relatively thinly, it felt way too thick for this polish to do any good.

NUMBER OF COATS: 3
FINISH: very light shimmer (but it's still there)
APPLICATION: 1.25 (there was a lot of drag and the polish wasn't consistent)
COLOR: pretty good
WEARABLE-NESS: good
HILTND: not consistent at all... some of my nails turned out gorgeous, and some of them had dents. However, none of my nails got sheet marks and tip wear is very slight...

Check back next time for a magenta-y color! Definitely NOT pink... :)

NEXT POLISH: L'oreal Steel Color Strong-Arm

Pinkie Swear Punch

2009-08-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

Here I am, with yet another "work appropriate" polish. This time, it's a beautiful white glitter that I cannot stop wearing! According to the polish bottle, this is a "nail blush" but it looks like an ordinary glitter to me... :) Here's what it looks like in the bottle:

Because the bottle's so short, it made application a little difficult, but it was still ridiculously easy, even with my left hand. It looks even better on:

This is two coats, with no base or top coat. The glitter was a little "gritty" but it still stayed on and I couldn't be bothered to put on a top coat. This is one of my favorites because even though the glitter pops, it still looks normal enough to be worn without a lot of awkward stares... :) And now, for the official rating:

NUMBER OF COATS: 2

FINISH: glitter

APPLICATION: 2.75/3

COLOR: good!!!

WEARABLE-NESS: good!!!

HILTND: absolutely amazing, with no tip wear or dents!

Make sure to check back for a gorgeous pink... Yes, I'm obsessed... :)

NEXT POLISH: Beyond Perfect Poetic Peony

OPI Chapel of Love

2009-08-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

Here I am again, with another classic OPI pink... This time, it's Chapel of Love, which has a much brighter tone than Aphrodite's Pink Nightie. This pink is also perfectly matched to my skin tone, so that the color really pops.

It even looks gorgeous in the bottle! As with most OPI's, this one had good application, but I still need three (or more) coats to get this lovely shade...

And now, for the ratings (please notice the extras)!

NUMBER OF COATS: 3

FINISH: shimmer (but very slight)

APPLICATION: 3/3

COLOR: good!

WEARABLE-NESS: good!!

HILTND: not so good... I got a lot of dents, even though I let it dry for an obscenely long time...

And make sure to check back next time for a white glitter... I just can't stop myself... :)

NEXT POLISH: Pinkie Swear Punch (yes, I know pinky is spelled incorrectly)

OPI Aphrodite's Pink Nightie

2009-08-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have a classic OPI shade for you today! This is a beautiful pale pink, which is perfect for work. This color may be a little too pale for my skin tone, but I wore it anyways... :)

As you can see, this is definitely a pale pink, and there's a little hint of purple as well. This is also a pearl, which is a first for this blog!

This is three coats, but no topcoat. It applied perfectly and two coats may have been enough... And now, for my complicated rating system!

APPLICATION: 3
COLOR: pretty good!
WEARABLE-NESS: good!
HILTND: there was a little bit of tip wear, but nothing too major. And no chipping!

And finally...

NEXT POLISH: OPI Chapel of Love

NYC 118A

2009-08-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

I'm back with yet another NYC polish. This one is a beautiful teal green, and it's definitely a prettier shade than the last green I tried. :)

Despite the beautiful bottle color, it was surprisingly sheer, but the final color is worth it.

It's shown here with one layer of base coat and three layers of polish. It dried relatively quickly but I'll check on how well it wears tomorrow evening.

And now, for my new and improved rating system:

APPLICATION: 3/3
COLOR: good!
WEARABLE-NESS: good!
HILTND: *Edit* There is no tip wear and the polish still looks fantastic!

And finally,

NEXT POLISH: OPI Aphrodite's Pink Nightie

Rating System

2009-08-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Just as a little FYI, I've decided to streamline my rating system for polishes. They will be judged based on application, color, wearable-ness, and how it looks the next day.

For application, it will be rated on a scale of 1 to 3, 3 being smooth, perfect application.

For color, it will be rated on how pretty the color is. This will just be a good, bad, or okay rating.

Wearable-ness is how easy it is to wear a color. This includes how it looks with my skin tone, and how it would look for work. This will also be on a good, bad, or okay rating.

And finally, how it looks the next day (HILTND) is exactly what it sounds like. After a night of sleep, and a day of wear, I will post whether there has been any tip wear, and if the polish became lumpy.

This rating system is in affect starting....................................... NOW!

Wet 'n' Wild Desert Plum

2009-08-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

Here's another old polish, but this time it's a Wet 'n' Wild one. This is a very pretty mauve creme, but the pictures I got were NOT color accurate... Check them out anyways... :)

This is actually one of my favorite colors so far, most likely because of how it can easily be worn to work without looking too over the top...

This picture was taken with two coats of polish, but one would have been fine. My nails got smudged so I had to add another coat. Without a top coat, this polish does NOT wear very well... But the color is definitely worth it... :)

POLISH RATING: 4.75/5

NEXT POLISH: NYC 118A

Claire's Raspberry Sorbet

2009-08-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Here's another one of my sister's picks. This polish is from the ever popular store: Claire's. This would definitely not be my first choice of color, mainly because I tend to shy away from jellies. However, after three coats, I can safely say that jellies look much better on my nails than my usual cremes.

Here it is pictured with three coats of polish. Two would probably have been enough, but I kept smearing so I just added a layer. However, I'm really starting to like the resulting color. Another nice thing about jellies is that extra polish just peels off my fingers when I'm not very tidy about my application.

A semi weird thing about this color is that one coat (and in the bottle) looks pink, but three coats, and it's a definite red... hmmm...

However, reguardless of its perks, I definitely cannot fave this polish.

POLISH RATING: 2.5/5

-this was a pain to apply, and not really worth it...

NEXT POLISH: Wet 'n' Wild Desert Plum

Revlon Ultra Violet

2009-08-19T20:09:00.001-07:00

Here's a bizarre polish; an ugly color with perfect application! This is another old polish, but instead of getting thicker, I think it's gotten thinner. It still became completely opaque in two coats.

The bottle's kind of a weird shape, and the brush is actually a little bigger and a little wider than a normal brush. This probably helped my application technique.

However, this color turned out extremely ugly. Maybe it's just my nails, or maybe it's the lighting, but this is UGLY! It applied perfectly though...

Another weird thing about this polish is the finish. From up close, it's a shimmer, without a doubt. But in real life (and from these pictures) it looks like a creme. Even weirder, in the bottle, it looks almost like a duochrome, but not enough for me to classify it as such...

POLISH RATING: 4.25/5

COLOR RATING: 1.25/5

NEXT POLISH: Claire's Raspberry Sorbet

HC Cosmic

2009-08-18T22:08:00.001-07:00

Today's polish is a random one. It's a very sheer, nude glitter. HC, of course, stands for Hard Candy, which was discontinued a while ago. But not so long ago that I don't have half full bottles lying around... :)

Warning, this polish is MUCH shiner than it looks in the pictures here. These were taken with a coat of nail strengthener, a layer of basecoat, and two coats of polish. I apologize for my horrible cuticles, but I didn't have enough energy to do a full manicure...

As you can see, this polish is definitely a nude color. But, even though it looked sheer in the bottle, two coats was more than enough. This is a really good color when you want to go low key. It's a little bit browner than my actual skin tone, but that didn't show up very well in the pictures...

POLISH RATING: 4.75/5

NEXT POLISH: Revlon Ultra Violet

Remember, the first person to comment on either this post, or the post right before it ("TEN POLISHES!") will get to choose my next manicure color (which will be featured for a week!). Otherwise, I'll just have to let my sister pick... :)

TEN POLISHES!!!

2009-08-18T22:02:00.001-07:00

I am starting an official tradition here on Les Deux Chiens; every ten polishes posted, I will host a contest. The first person to comment on this post will get to choose my next manicure color. If I'm feeling particularly generous, I will franken a polish and name it after him or her!

So go ahead, start commenting!

NYX Nails Sunset Blvd

2009-08-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Here's another new color: orange! This one is part of a group of NYX nails that my mom was given for her birthday. This one is particular was chosen by my sister.

It applied very smoothly and I only needed two coats. It's pictured here with a coat of nail strengthener, one layer of base coat, two layers of polish, and a topcoat.

Even though this is shown after having been worn for a day, I was still disappointed with the results. Some polishes I've used without a top coat and they've shown less tip wear than this one has. However, it's barely noticeable, so I still love it.

This polish is definitely an orange shimmer, but in the close up pictures the glitter is very noticeable. Hopefully I'll post the rest of the polishes this one came with very soon...

POLISH RATING: 4.25/5 (because orange doesn't look good with my skin tone)

NEXT POLISH: HC Cosmic

Sinful Colors Forget Now

2009-08-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

Here I am, once again. This time I'm using a fairly new polish, so maybe somebody has heard of it... :) It's a magenta/fuschia polish with very small red glitter. It looks good in the bottle and on the nail!

Here's my sister's hand. I had to use three coats... Two would have been enough, except she went swimming before I could take a pic of it and it started chipping. So excuse the thickness and bizarre uneven-ness...

This polish applied very smoothly and did not clump at all. I would give it a similar consistency that I did to NYC 110A (the green). The only difference is the bottle... :)

POLISH RATING: 4.5/5

NEXT POLISH: NYX Sunset Blvd.

NYC 110A

2009-08-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

I'm back! This time with a light, olive green. Even though this polish looks really ugly in the bottle, I fell in love with it on my nails.

It actually doesn't look as bad in this picture, but in real life the bottle looks ugly...

And here it is on my nails! Even though this polish is really sheer, I only needed two coats to get the perfect affect. From a distance, this looks almost like a foil, but it's actually a shimmer. Up close, the sparkles are really clear.

All in all, I would give this polish color a 3.5/5, but actual application gets 5/5 because of how easy it was to put on, even on my right hand!

That's it for this polish, but my sister got to pick the next one, and it's a good one!

NEXT POLISH: Sinful Colors Forget Now

Wet 'n' Wild Shiver

2009-08-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here I am! And this time, I'm doin' something different... :) Today's polish is Shiver by Wet 'n' Wild, which is your basic drug store polish. This one is a blue-ish silver. It looks almost like a light blue foil on my hand.

I'm not quite sure about the age of this polish, but one thing for for sure, it's THICK! It took me two coats to try and get a perfect manicure, but not because of opacity, but because of how unevenly this polish applied. Even though I like this color, there are a lot of similar colors that apply much better than this one. It did, however, wear well, once given enough drying time. This picture here is after I'd worn it for a day with no top coat. All the bald spots were there when I originally painted my nails.

It is a nice color... Maybe I'll give it a few days to determine whether or not I really like it. But for now, that's it for this polish!

NEXT POLISH: NYC 110A

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Lapis Amethyst

2009-08-13T21:50:00.001-07:00

Here's the next polish, and it's not pink!!! This is a lovely blue prism, which I distinctly remember buying a looooong time ago. Nonetheless, it still held up and produced a beautiful blue-ish purple. But first, here's what I put on my nails:

I was originally just going to use my usual China Glaze strengthener, but one look at my stained nails convinced me to use Nail Life Gripper basecoat too. Here's how it looked on my nails:

Although it looks blue with the flash on my camera, if you turn your hand a little bit, it becomes purple. As pretty as it looks, this polish was almost not worth it because of the applying time. It required three-ish coats, and a lot of drying time in between. However, I didn't put a top coat on, and it still held up throughout my entire day. Application was very streaky, most likely because this polish was so sheer.

Check back for even more polish stories!

NEXT POLISH: Wet 'n' Wild Shiver

My Stash! (Pt 1)

2009-08-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

So, I was getting bored today, so I decided to document all of the polishes in my stash. A lot of them were the same brand so I grouped those together... I haven't yet gotten to all of the unnamed, no brand polishes, but most of those are probably history by now... So here's some of what I do have!

NYC Nail Polish:

From left to right: Techno Foil, Foil 'er Up, 209A, 204A, 202A, 118A, 113A, 110A, 103A

As you can tell, none of them except for the foils have actual names... But a number will still help... :)

And now for: Express Finish:

L to R, Silver Speed and Bolt of Blue

OPI:

From left to right: Mother Road Rose, Aphrodite's Pink Nightie, Chapel of Love, Pompeii Purple

PHEW! I'm exhausted! Maybe I'll post more of my stash later... But for now, I'm done. I need to get off the internet... :)

Wet 'n' Wild Red Red

2009-08-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back! And this time with a classic red. This is another old one that I found in my cabinet, but it's such a classic I just had to try it. But first, here's what I put on my nails:

Yep, it's my usual China Glaze strengthening base coat and my cheap Sally's Beauty Supply top coat. And the actual color is just as cliche! Here's what it looked like on:

I apologize for the horrible state of my nails, but here's the basic color. In the bottle, it looked more like a creme, but it applied very similar to a jelly. I only needed one coat, and it dried relatively quickly. It's definitely not an original, but it's a classic!

Check back tomorrow for another awesome polish!

NEXT POLISH: Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Lapis Amethyst

OPI Mother Road Rose

2009-08-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

Here it is! Polish #4, OPI Mother Road Rose... Even though it's a darker (and more "winter") color, I decided to try it on yesterday. Much to my surprise, it really wasn't all I thought it would be. But first, here's what I used on my nails!

As you can see, I used my usual China Glaze base coat and my cheap Sally Hanson top coat. Here's the end result! (I apologize for the shoddy painting job, but it's my right hand and someone else did it for me...

This color is fairly close to the actual color. I took this one indoors, and I found that the polish appeared to be two very different shades depending if I was indoors or outdoors. It's not a duochrome, and the change in color happened even though it wasn't very sunny outside. It looks browner indoors and more pink outdoors.

Also, even though I would categorize this polish as a creme, in the bottle there was a bit of shimmer. It's really apparent in the sun, but not so much in this picture...

Either way, this polish took two coats (which normally is fine but by my standards, too much) and smeared horribly. Even with the top coat, this one just would not dry... Still, I'd give this polish a 3.5/5, because it's a nice color, and if I had painted my left hand instead it would have probably turned out better...

That's it for this polish, but I have an update on NYC Foil 'er Up, which is still on my left hand. There is practically zero tip wear, and I'm liking the color more and more! Check back for more updates!

NEXT POLISH: Wet 'n' Wild Red Red

Finger Paints Psychedelic Pop

2009-08-10T20:48:00.001-07:00

I'm back, once again, with a bright pink. This time it's Finger Paints Psychedelic Pop, which is a bright pink creme. This time, I used my mom's nails, and here's what I put on them:

As you can see, I used Nail Life Gripper as my base coat, Finger Paints Psychedelic Pop as the color, and Beauty Secrets Hardener as my top coat. Here's the end result:

Forgive the oddly shaped nails and polish line; it's my sister's doing! I personally thought one coat would have been enough, but we ended up putting two coats on, so it's a bit thick. Although this one is bright, I much prefer lower maintanance polishes... :)

That's it for this polish, but check back later to see even more!

NEXT POLISH: OPI Mother Road Rose

Island Girl Hawaii

2009-08-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

I'm back! And this time with a nail polish straight from Hawaii... This came in a set of four polishes, and there weren't any color specific names attached, so I'll simply call this one magenta. This polish is shown on my sister's nails, which are much longer than mine. Here's what I ended up using:

As you can see, I used China Glaze Nail Strengthener & Growth Formula as the base coat, and Island Girl Hawaii (in magenta) as the actual polish. Because this one was matte (whether it was intentional or not) I decided to forego a top coat.

This polish turned out to be very matte, but it's a beautiful magenta color. I only used one coat, and even with minimal brush strokes it still filled in all the "unsightly" parts of the nail. Opacity was perfect, and the color is beautiful in the sun.

That's it for this polish, but there's some really good ones coming up soon!

NEXT POLISH: Finger Paints Psychedelic Pop

NYC Foil 'er Up

2009-08-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

This is my first polish on this blog; it's called NYC Foil 'er Up. Obviously, it's a foil polish. It didn't look that way at first, but it could have been because of my shiny top coat. However, this polish looks really good on the nail, even though the bottle itself is not so awe inspiring. But first, here's what I put on my nails:

As you can see, I used China Glaze Nail Strengthener & Growth Formula as my base coat, NYC Foil 'er Up as my nail color, and Beauty Secrets Hardener as my top coat. Here's the end result!

I apologize in advance for my short nails, but they're longer than they used to be... :)
This polish looked very different than the bottle, and I love it a lot more! I only had to use one coat, plus my base and top coat, to get it completely opaque. This one is definitely a keeper!

Check back next time for even more awesome polishes!

NEXT POLISH: Island Girl Hawaii

First Post

2009-08-10T19:44:00.001-07:00

This is my first post! This is a blog all about nail polish! I will be using really old polishes found under my bathroom sink so this will hopefully reach out to everyone... I know I hate looking at polish sites when all they have are recent, expensive polishes... Maybe after I'm done documenting all the ones in my house, I'll go out and buy some more. But until then, enjoy these oldies! :)

And check back for some awesome polishes!

NEXT POLISH: NYC Foil 'er Up