Fright Night Claw Polish Swatches and Review

I found these little jewels in the Halloween section of Wal-mart.

I know it must be a HUGE surprise that I bought every color they had. I mean, the bottles ARE SHAPED LIKE COFFINS! Who in the world could pass that up? NOT ME that's who. Not to mention they say FRIGHT NIGHT on the stinkin' bottles!!! I had to have them. It was not a choice, it was a need. A deep, stabby, grabby, clingy, unrelenting NEED.

Did I mention the bottles are shaped like coffins? Because they are. My fiance likes to tell me that this form of marketing is called "the appeal to emotion" and that it was invented and created solely based on me. But I say it has nothing to do with freakin MARKETING!!! THE BOTTLES ARE SHAPED LIKE COFFINS! MUST ACQUIRE!!!!!

Coffin bottles aside I think my favorite thing about these polishes are the names. I was literally laughing my ass off while I was swatching them and reading the names. They have these very scary, halloweeny names like Sinister, Poison, and Toxic then they throw in Blue as a name just to spice things up a bit. I just kept running scenarios through my head as to how the same company can name one polish Bloodshed then the very next one Blk Orange. Did the polish naming dude get pissed off and walk out because they docked his overtime pay and the only employee left to name the polish was a one armed, imagination less chimpanzee with Sars? Did the label printer dude fail the 12 steps and crawl into a bottle of Jack during the printing process?  It's things like this that are truly hilarious to me. 

 This is a really awesome topcoat.  The base color is perfectly pigmented. It's just pigmented enough to be opaque on it's own in 3 coats and also work as a topcoat over other polishes without completely changing the base color. This ruby red sparkler seriously gives Ruby Pumps a run for its money people.

 This is described on the packaging as "metallic" and I guess it sort of is. I'm not sure what else to really call it besides pretty.

 A one coat satin black from a cheapy Halloween polish brand? Say it ain't so!

 This one is black and orange string glitter in a clear base layered over Sinister. The name rules dudes! So freakin original!

 This one is also a one coater if you're careful.

 I think the name says it all on this one guys.

 Another one described as "metallic". This is a 2 coat gorgeous purple shimmer.

Listen up dudes. This is the most neon polish I have ever seen in my life. I had to take the photo in the dark to keep it from over exposing or blurring out completely. It's a jelly base and takes a good 3 thick coats but it's totally worth it for the retina burning neon effect!

To my surprise these actually don't suck! They apply well and all of them are two coaters or less with the exception of the "topcoat" VooDoo and the orange one called Pumpkin. I was pretty shocked when the black flowed onto my nails and covered in one single coat! I was really expecting these to be nothing more than cute novelties in awesome bottles but they are actually wearable! Bonus!

 Happy Halloween!

Love, MM

Hard Candy Halloween 2010

This year Hard Candy released three limited edition polishes exclusive for Halloween. Hell yeah! 

Halloween polishes are my THANG baby! Then go ahead and tell me they're limited edition and I might not be able to get them... DANG! Slow your roll Hard Candy! Nail Polish + Halloween + Limited Edition = I'll buy a bottle of stale date baby food if it's got a lid with a brush in it.

Limited edition Halloween is totally cool so it's too bad these colors are pretty much played out and overdone. I mean I guess they are ok. It's like, they ARE Halloween colors so how many options are there to actually be unique? At least one of them kinda breaks the mold on traditional Halloween colors.

 Yet another brown/black base with orange glitter. HURRAY! As you can see by the state of this mani this polish is goop city. It was like trying to apply cottage cheese on my nails. It did cover nicely but good lord it was impossible to keep it from clumping up. Just check out the polish tumor on my pinky nail. This is three coats. It could be done in two if you would just take the time to add some thinner to keep it from clumping which I obviously did not do. Or just slap one coat over black.

 Black with silver glitter. This one is possibly the most overdone out of the three. Not only is it a Halloween standard it's also a common color in regular collections. It was the easiest to apply though. This is two coats.

 

This one is the most unique and it's quite a different color as far as Halloween colors go. The problem with this one is that it has a clear base and the glitter is much too sparse for it to be worn alone. At three coats (shown) it's still transparent and at 4-5 coats, while opaque, it ends up clumpy and goopy and won't dry.

Happy Halloween!

Love, MM

Hard Candy- Beetle

I about flipped my lid when I saw this in Wal-mart last night! I bought it as fast as I could, as if somebody was going to snatch it from me before I could pay for it. I admired it all the way home. I even called my BFF to tell her how amazing it was in the bottle! 

Now, I will just flat out say this, "FUCK YOU FLORESCENT LIGHTING!!!"  Once AGAIN I have been duped into buying a false profit under the disguise of florescent lights. I got home and slapped it on my nails immediately. At half a freakin coat on the first freakin nail I screamed out, "THIS IS ANOTHER DUPE FOR SPACE CADET! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!".

That's right folks. Instead of buying Orly's super new, totally exclusive, ground breaking FX technology in the form of Space Cadet you can now get it from not only Mac in the form of Mean & Green, but you can BUY IT AT WAL-MART. I mean how super exclusive is THAT?

 While this is an exact dupe to Orly Space Cadet and therefore an exact dupe to Mac Mean & Green I like this one the best. I can only speak for Space Cadet and Beetle though, as those are the only two I have. Beetle is at least twice as pigmented as Space Cadet which makes it need way less coats and dry faster. I don't know if you guys have ever actually gotten Space Cadet opaque before but in my experience it takes SO MANY coats that it goops up and never dries. This photo of beetle is at three thin coats. It dried super fast and is totally opaque.

 Here is the comparison of the two in the shade. Space Cadet is at 5 coats here.

 And here they are in the sun.

Let's do a quick price breakdown folks-
Mac Mean & Green = $13
Orly Space Cadet = $10
Hard Candy Beetle = $5

See you at Wal-mart.

Love, MM

Maybelline New York Fashion Week 2010

I had been eyeballing these for a few days and have had them in my basket at Walgreens twice, each time putting them back. Finally last night I went and bit the bullet and paid full price $4.49 each for Maybelline express finish nail polishes. It was like shock therapy when the cashier told me my total. WOAH PEOPLE! These things are SO overpriced! But keep in mind this is coming from someone that gets her Maybellines at dollar stores and big lots for $1-2 each.

In the store these polishes with the exception of Gray-T Glamour and Chic Chocolate looked like heavily pigmented, wondrous and rich jellies. The ONLY reason I got the 6 I did was because I thought 5 of them were jellies, my second favorite finish ever. You can imagine the disappointment when I got home to find only one of the 6 was actually a jelly. But I'm over it, it's all about sucking it up and posting swatches for you guys so I'm cool. I'm totally NOT enraged and overcome with anger at ALL. I swear.

I skipped Chic Chocolate and the black from this collection because they are just too overdone. I mean come on, no nail savvy shopper is going to pay almost $5 for a black polish when you can buy the best black polish on the freakin market for 99 cents! GRRRR! 

Even though I was overall deeply disappointed in them, these shades are not all that bad and hopefully some of you out there will like them! Hell, even I like a few of them it's just that they are NOT what I thought I was buying!

 Super duper DARK cobalt blue with blue shimmer. This one looks dead ass black on the nail indoors and pretty much every other time other than in glaring sunlight or under flash photography.  I was most excited about this one in the bottle because it looked like the most beautiful dark blue jelly. SIKE!

 This really is a gorgeous dark red jelly but it just irritates me to no end that the only jelly in the collection ends up being the red one! GAH! I have at least 50 red jellies people! This one is especially pretty though.

 Very nice greyed out medium green toned creme with subtle shimmer. This one is also really dark on the nail when indoors.

 I think this one ironically became my favorite of the bunch. It's a mid range grey creme with a nice sparkle shimmer.

Blech. This one, just like Charming Cobalt, looks black on the nail 95% of the time. In very bright light it reveals it is in fact purple with blue and purple shimmer. This one just flat out pisses me off.

My second favorite. Rich berry creme that leans a little bit towards purple. Pretty.

These were all two coaters except for Divine Wine which took 3. As promised on the label they do dry very fast but I had terrible problems with them bubbling terribly as they dried. Millions of tiny little bubbles. Also, all 6 brushes had the Maybelline curse crooked cut brushes and 2 had stray hairs that needed trimming before I could use them.

Love, MM

Reader Request- Rescue Beauty Lounge Comps, Dupes, and Alternatives

Tamika requested a comparison of Rescue Beauty Lounge Diddy Mow and Essie Sew Psyched to help her plan for the Rescue Beauty Lounge 50% off sale on Nov. 1st.  So, I'm going to post her request along with some other RBL polishes and their dupes or close alternatives. Hopefully this will help you guys out when it comes time to pick your polishes for the sale. I admit I went a little nuts with the comparisons but I thought that ruling out possible dupes was just as important as posting actual dupes. 

I'll start with Tamika's request.

Diddy Mow:

 This polish is a dead on, exact duplicate to Essie's Sew Psyched.

Here is the bottle comparison. After sitting they even separate the exact same way.

Diddy Mow VS. Essie Sew Psyched.

As you can see by the photo it's impossible to tell these apart. The RBL applies a bit more opaque but even the formula is almost identical. If you can find the Essie on sale (less than $8) or already own it I would skip Diddy Mow for sure, but if not then I would Definitely pay the extra $1 and get the RBL at the sale!

Dead Calm:

*sigh* 

I thought I nailed a dead on dupe for this one until I saw the pics, but I did find a few kinda close alternatives.

Here are the blues I had in my stash that I thought came close based on the bottle color.

Dead Calm VS. Sephora by OPI Blue Grotto.

This is in the same category and is pretty close but by no means can it replace DC.  If you just want something close and close is good enough then this might be for you, BUT during the sale this polish is the exact same price as the RBL! So the RBL wins! 

Dead Calm VS. Nina Ultra Pro Sailor.

In the bottle, holding it in my hands I thought I had found and exact dupe for DC and I literally jumped for joy! Even in dim lighting on my nails it looked exact! But alas my friends, no impostor can hide from the camera flash! But I'll say it again, if close is good enough you can get this polish at Sally Beauty Supply for under $4.

Dead Calm VS. China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway.

Another kinda close blue that falls in the same category in my opinion. Not a dupe but it is an alternative if you need to be ultra picky or are on a limited budget, you can get it for $3 at the etailers.

Dead Calm VS. Misa On the Edge.

This one is the furthest away out of the 3 I posted but I still wanted to post the comparison for those that can't compare them on their own and have to rely on online swatches.

In my honest opinion even if there were an exact dupe to Dead Calm I would still buy it at the sale. To me it is a MUST HAVE, NO EXCEPTIONS polish for any stash no matter how big or small.

 

Grunge:

I think this one is going to be "undupeable" because of it's subtle shimmer. I personally don't like the shimmer and I found a dupe for it minus the shimmer. So if you don't care for the shimmer either, listen up!

Grunge VS. Orly Country club Khaki. 

An exact dupe of the base color of Grunge. EXACT. Another awesome tidbit is that CCK is a solid 2 coater just like Grunge.

Grunge VS. OPI Tickle my France-y.

Also close minus the shimmer.

Grunge VS. Essie Jazz. 

A distant third runner up, but still good enough to pass on Grunge if neutrals are not your thing or if you have any of the above.

While all three of these are close enough in color for me personally to pass on Grunge keep in mind that Grunge is a two coater and Both the OPI and Essie are 3+ coaters.

Atame:

 I had a pile of about 15 dark red jellies piled up anticipating finding SEVERAL alternatives to this polish but I only found 2 that I think are worth passing for.

Crappy bottle photo I know, and I'm sorry. 

Atame VS. Avon Tweed. 

Dudes, I would take the Avon over the RBL in this case no question. It applies better, is more opaque and the brush is heaven! Also it is cheap!

Atame VS. Essie Berry Hard

This is another almost exact dupe. If you have this already then pass on the RBL, if not it's worth the extra $1 to pick up the RBL instead of the Essie. These were the same amount of coats and opacity.

Orbis Non Sufficit:

I apologize for the terrible bottle photo! I took so many and somehow not even one came out well. 

Blech.  Both of these polishes are hideous in the bottle! They both separate so bad, it looks so icky!!!

Orbis Non Sufficit VS. Avon Olive Green.

Another exact duplicate! The Avon even applies just as well as the RBL in every way, plus the Avon brush is better. You can get Avons easily for about $5 and you can find them for $2-3 with a bit more effort at flea markets and swap meets.

Teal:

I took a bottle comp photo for this but it was so terrible I can't bear to post it even if it makes this the only polish in the post with no bottle photo. I don't care, it's just too horrible. Maybe I'll go back and take another one to add later. I had really stank luck with bottle pics today!

RBL Teal VS. OPI Ski Teal We Drop.

Honestly I kept hearing that these were exact dupes left and right but IMO the OPI is a tad lighter. As far as choosing one the RBL is a true one coat wonder and dries faster than the OPI. This one also comes down to a $1 difference for the RBL. I would go for Teal hands down.

Glamourpuss:

This one has 2 dupey polishes that are good alternatives if you can get them cheap.

They don't look all that close in the bottle but in this case it's all smoke n' mirrors man.  Also, Let me go ahead pre-apologize for all the visible nail line I'm about to bombard you with! Red Jellies, 2 coat swatches, and flash photography don't mix man!

Glamourpuss VS. Misa Cherry Topping

CT is a tad lighter but is a close, much cheaper alternative.  

Glamourpuss VS. Essie Bold and Beautiful.

These are almost too close to tell apart for me. Once again the RBL is only $1 more during the sale so if you don't have the Essie or the next dupe get the RBL!

Glamourpuss VS. China Glaze Ravishing, Dahling.

DUPES DUDES! This one is a no brainer for me since you can get this China Glaze for $3 at most etailers!

Recycle:

 Ok, so I went a little nuts with the pics on this one. I just felt like unless you own all these greens and can see them personally you might mistake them as dupes for Recycle based on online swatch pics. So I wanted to basically rule most of them out as dupes more than actually find a dupe, which I might add seems like an impossible task for this polish!!! 

Here is the line-up of all the greens I thought might be in the running based on online swatches. I went ahead and compared them all to Recycle even though there was not a possible dupe in sight. 

 Recycle VS. New York summer Amaranth.

 Recycle VS. Orly Enchanted Forest.

This is sorta kinda a little bit close... maybe?

Recycle VS. American Apparel Hunter.

Recycle VS. Claire's Kelly Green.

  Recycle VS. Orly Wandering Vine.

Recycle VS. Nubar Forest.

I think Recycle is another must have RBL polish. It's such a unique green!  Hopefully these green comps can settle some questions some of you might have had about Recycle's dupeability, if not at least they're fun to look at. LOL!

So ladies don't forget the 50% off Rescue Beauty Lounge sale is on Nov. 1st. Happy shopping!!!

Love, MM