Makeup Withdrawal

Showing posts with label CND. Show all posts

CND Effects- Shimmer Edition

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Good evening!

Tonight, I wanted to show you some of my CND Effects, namely the Shimmer Effects that I have. It's funny, I've had these for the longest time but I never give them the attention they deserve.
If you don't know much about CND Effects, they're sparkle, pearl and shimmer polishes meant to be transforming topcoats. Awesome in a bottle, basically.
I swatched four of these polishes over various colors to show you. Here is Emerald Shimmer (#554), Scarlet Shimmer (#557), Copper Shimmer (#556) and Gold Shimmer (#553), which is the order they are from left to right on every picture.

Over black (Wet'n'Wild Black Creme):

This makes the shimmery colors pop out the most.

Over a light pink (Wet'n'Wild My Private Cabana)

It's really hard to see, but the shimmers give lighter colors a delicate pearlescent feel. It's soft, very subtle but I think it does transform work-safe into something with a little bit more personality. Copper Shimmer, in particular makes this pink glow.

Over a jade green (Orly Lucky Duck):

You won't believe how Emerald Shimmer absolutely POPS over this green. It enhances the base color so well!

Over a dusky mauve-taupe (Essence Walk of Fame):

I think these shimmer look rather unusual on top of this faded shade. Not unusual in a bad way, per se, but unusual in a "hmm, I've really never seen this combination before" way.

I saved the best for last.
Over an indigo blue (Orly La Playa)

LOOK AT THAT. Is your mouth open? Are you making weird sounds with your breathing? If not a single one of these shimmers appeals to you layered on top of this dark blue, you might be dead inside. And I would get that checked out, if I were you.

I want to get Ice Blue Shimmer too, and I'll be satisfied. Have you seen the mood ring manicure CND created using Shimmer Effects? Check it out Steph from Imperfectly Painted's take HERE and AllLacqueredUp's take HERE.

CND Effects are usually price around $8+ but can be hard to find. Your best bet might be eBay to acquire these amazing transforming topcoats!

Have a great night!
-Mimi

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

My Take on CND for Jen Kao Spring 2011

Thursday, November 24, 2011

*I'm on vacation, so this is an automated post. I'll reply to your comments as soon as I'm back!*

As soon as I saw the pictures from CND's press release for Jen Kao Spring 2011, I was in love with the neon blue + black gradient nails.

I tried to duplicate them to the best of my ability. I don't have rounded nails though and used what I had- Funky Fingers 220 Volts and Wet'n'Wild Black Creme.

image from CND

I'm quite happy with the result!

Happy Thanksgiving (to those that celebrate it)!

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

L.A. Colors Nuclear Energy

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Hello!
Super late night post tonight. I took pictures of this polish a few days ago but didn't get a chance to edit it until now.
This is L.A. Colors Nuclear Energy, purchased from the Dollar Store about seven months ago. I had lost the packaging that it came in, so I had to Google a bit to figured out what shade I had.

What a beauty! It's a very, very thin cream. So thin that in my pictures, it's a four coater. 4! It still almost looks somewhat streaky and see through in certain areas in my photos, but let me assure you that this is not the case, to the naked eye it looks solid. A stunning true purple that I couldn't get enough of.

Oh wait, did I make it even better? Yes, I did! I added CND Effects in Scarlet Shimmer on top.

Click to enlarge. You won't regret it, I promise.

Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!

Love,
-Mimi

Products mentioned in the post were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

CND Blueberry Whip

Monday, February 21, 2011

1x Nail Tek Foundation II, 3x Blueberry Whip
No flash, lightbox

Good evening!
Like I promised, here's my second post of the night.
Last time I was at CosmoProf, it looked like they were clearing out their CND polishes at two for the price of one. I happily snatched up an interesting creme, Blueberry Whip as well as another Effects topcoat.
The instant I saw Blueberry Whip's name, I thought that it was really fitting. This polish really reminds me of a blueberry parfait- right where the blueberry juice touches the yogurt and it's not blue but rather a melty purple. It's delicious looking.
I though that it would be streaky, considering how pale of a shade is and how close to white it is. But no, CND's formula for this creme is absolutely amazing. It's smooth and glides like cream onto the nail . It's got to be one of the easiest polishes I've ever applied.
In a way, Blueberry Whip looks almost like a lighter version of Sally Hansen Concrete, and it is really close, though a tad bit brighter. Perhaps I'll post a comparison picture later.

Flash, under lightbox

My only regret is that I didn't buy more of these. If I had known that CND made such great opaque cremes, I would have definitely purchased more shades.

What's your favorite soft pastel shade?

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use.

CND Effects: Sapphire Sparkle

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

2 coats of Sapphire Sparkle over (from L to R): Borghese Almondine,
OPI Mrs O'Leary's BBQ, China Glaze Flyin' High, OPI DS Mystery.

Hello readers! Another nail post today.
I've really fallen in love with Creative Nail Design's Effects polishes. A whole line of colored sparkles and shimmers to transform your polish? Sign me up, please!
Today I have Sapphire Sparkle to show you. Tiny flecks that shift from blue to magenta in a translucent base? I drool a little bit just thinking about it.
Now before we go any further, I will shamefully admit that I've neglected my cuticles lately. The irony is that I'm in nails right now at school... I spend so much time learning about nails and tending to other peoples' phalanges that mine have gone to crap.
I especially like how Sapphire Sparkle looks over Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ. That almost looks like Orly Galaxy Girl, but the sparkle is bluer with Sapphire.

Indoors, lightbox, no flash

And here's what my fingers looked like before the Sparkle Effects:

And of course, a picture of the bottle!

Look at all that delicious color shifting goodness.

CND Effect Sapphire Sparkle was pretty cheap too, $4.50 for a bottle (0.33oz) at CosmoProf. I'm not sure where else these are available in store, but the CND site has a store locater.

What do you think of this flashy, sparkly topcoat?

All products were purchased by me, with the exception of Borghese Almondine and OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ which were gifted to me.