Nail Medic CC Cream Laquer Review

This first impression blog post doesn't need very many words, the pictures can do all the talking.
But here's a little background:

Like all nail polish addicts, my nails have become badly stained - some worse than others. Thanks to China Glaze But of Corpse, my right thumb has been in pretty bad shape. It's grown out some, but the yellow is still very prominent. Sometimes I just want to let my nails go naked in public, but I'm always embarrassed that the yellow is too noticeable. So I was doing my normal scope-out at Wal-mart - and I have to say, they are really doing a great job of stepping up their nail care section! They now have this nail treatment brand called Nail Medic. I think the parent company is called Pretty Woman. they have complete step-by-step nail treatments to nurse damaged nails back to health. So i decided to try some out. I'm always in the market for new base coats, so I picked one out of the several options available. I chose the CC Cream Color Correcting Base. On the box, it claims to "instantly whiten & brighten nails" while treating them with green tea extracts and vitamin E.

As with all new things, I like to go in with little to no expectation. At the most, I just thought it would be a patchy clear coat. But man, new things are really working out for me lately! This turned out sooooo much better than I expected!

It made my nail beds whiter and it basically neutralized the yellow on the tips. It looked even better after I applied the second coat. You can even see in the photo that the yellow is virtually gone from my right thumb! This was so exciting to see!

So after it passed the inital first impression test, it was time for the wear test! After I applied the base, I worked on an ombre nail art  (more on my ombre adventures soon!) After a week, this wore so well. normally, I will pick at my nails and seek out weak spots to chip or peel off, but with this base coat, there were none! I had no tip wear or chips after a week of wear! This never happens to me! I didn't do anything special with my topcoat; I just used my normal Seche Vite topcoat. 

The two pictures above from fresh mani to a week later. 

So, I would highly recommend this base coat for anyone in the market to try something new. I would expecially recommend it to anyone trying to neutralize yellow stains on their nails. I have used it for two weeks now, so only time will tell if it has any long-term benefits!

New Colour Prevails Nail Polish First Impression

I was wandering around Walgreens one day when I came across some shiny new displays where you would normally expect the Jordana/Sinful Colors to be located. They were for two new makeup collections! Of course - I immediately scope out the nail polish! I can't remember the name of the first collection (they didn't have nail polish, hehe) but the other one was Colour Prevails - definitely more eye-catching! The display seems to have an entire line of makeup, but I was definitely on the look-out for nail polish! I am always pretty apprehensive about scooping up new polish lines, and sometimes over-the-top packaging seems like more of a gimmick to make up for poor formulas - in my opinion. That doesn't mean I'm not a sucker for packaging! So I picked out one bottle. I figured if it sucked I could still keep it for the packaging. I went for the most unique-looking color in the display...

This is Blue Blood. It is a deep blue/sapphire shade with blue and teal shimmers in it. The coverage is actually really good. It could be opaque in one coat! The shimmer is super subtle on the nail - you can only see it in direct sunlight. It is definitely more prominent in the bottle.

I was super impressed by the formula of the polish (it pays to have low expectations)! So, naturally I had to know more about this company, like:

What kind of company is this?

                                    How old are they?

                                                           Why did they choose the drug store market?

How does a new company charge $8 for a bottle of polish with little to no advertising?

What makes them think they can enter the market and already be on par with the likes of Essie, OPI, and other high end but available in drugstore brands?

I just needed to know...the business major in me came out to investigate. So I did some digging and it turns out that the brand is headed up by Nonie Creme - former founding Creative Director for butter London! Then I promptly took several seats. Lol.

So Nonie has broken out on her own and brought her creative genius to Walgreens everywhere! The main product's claim to fame is the ergonomic handle on most of the products adorned with a beautiful butterfly wing! This puppy is definitely not just for looks, either. It is meant to give you a steady hand and therefore more accurate application of makeup or nail polish. It did give me a steadier hand to paint my nails neater, but it was no miracle worker - my left-hand painting is still atrocious!

Overall, it is a very decent polish, and the packaging is beyond beautiful. But the price point is what gets me. Paying $8 is pretty pricey for a drugstore polish. Why pay that when you could pay the same for an Essie or China Glaze polish? Or pay a little extra and get an OPI polish? I don't think they brand has enough pull for people to buy just for its exclusivity just yet. The colors in the rest of the collection aren't much different from other brand either. However, I will be keeping my eye on this company - especially with Nonie Creme at the helm! There are bound to be some great things coming from this brand!

More shots of the shimmery goodness of Blue Blood below! 

New Julie G NEW Core Collection Shades!

While at Rite Aid, I also got a hold of the new shades Julie G has released from the core collection. There are 9 new beautiful shades! First impression of these is that they all are very Zoya-esque! Meaning that they are super shimmery, glittery, and have amazing formulas! After I started swatching, I found 3 that could serve as Zoya dupes! I'll have those pictures up after the initial swatches!

Julie G Core polishes from L to R: Obsessed, #nailsoftheday, Molten Lava, Supervillian, 

Poker Teal-er, Brady Bear, More Karats Please, Albuquerque, Pin-up Girl

This first polish is called Pin-Up Girl. It is a satin-y/metallic fuschia. The formula is pretty smooth and it applies evenly. It is a little thin, but it is buildable. (Shout out to my Cinderella hand for being decent enough to swatch on! hehe)

This polish is called Albuquerque. This is a bright orange with a golden shimmer. The formula is great - it is very smooth and easy to apply. This swatch in the photo is two coats. The nail line is still pretty visible, but I believe it can be built up. The shimmer in the sunlight is unbelieveable! 

This polish is absolutely fantastic! I didn't get too worked up on this polish initially. I figured it would be like a gold "topper" but I literally gasped when a applied this to my nail - no lie! I was completely blown away. This gold is spectacular! It's a more yellow gold than any gold that I have in my collection. The formula is solid it's completely opaque in 2 coats. I think it has one of the best formulas of this whole batch. Oh yeah, the name is More Karats Please. <drools>

The next polish is #nailsoftheday. This is a plum with gold shimmer. I think this formula was a little tricky - it ended up getting a little gloopy on my middle finger, but it smoothed out just fine. The plummy base also has a little black in it which gives it a lot more depth. Again - very Zoya-esue with the formula. It reminds me of something that was in the Zoya fall collection - India maybe? I don't have it to compare to though, so...:(

This polish is called Molten Lava. It has the same formula as #nailsoftheday, but this is a medium berry base color. It has the same beautiful golden shimmer and extra dimension. This one may be pretty close to Zoya Teigen. 

The next polish is called Supervillian. This is a sultry red with golden shimmer. This has a great formula like all the other polishes. It is a great red with dimension and depth. This is probably a dupe for a Zoya polish, but it's another one I don't have in my collection. :(

Next is Brady Bear - affectionately named after her sweet doggie Brady! This is a beautiful bright blue with golden shimmer. It is so much brighter than what it looks like in the bottle! It was almost as exciting as More Karats Please!

This is a shot of what it looks like indoors. Still a very striking blue!

I did manage to go through my Zoya collection and find something I thought was similar - and it was the much praised and much talked about Remy. Remy is such a beautiful pigmented blue. Brady Bear is just slightly lighter and brighter. It is also a lot more pigmented. The swatch is 2 coats of Remy and 3 coats of Brady bear. Both are absolutely beautiful though! 

Pictured on the pointer and ring finger: Zoya Remy. On the middle and pinky finger: Julie G Brady Bear

Just look at the shimmer on both of these polishes!! Ugh. Beautiful!! (Zoya Remy on pointer and ring. Julie G Brady Bear on middle and pinky)

This next polish is a shimmery teal dream! This is called Poker Teal-er. It has the usual amazing formula! It is a bright teal with a golden shimmer. The swatch above is in sunlight, and the below swatch is indoor lighting. Two coats will get you opaque with this one.

This polish happens to be a dead-on dupe for another Zoya polish! This is a dupe for Charla. Charla is one of the first Zoya polishes I ever bought and I love it so much! You can look at the side by side comparison below. They both have the same teal tone and shimmer.

Zoya Charla is on the pointer and ring finger and Julie G Poker Teal-er on the middle and pinky finger. This is a shot in the sunlight.  

 Here is a swatch in indoor lighting. Zoya Charla on the pointer and ring, Julie G Poker Teal-er is on the middle and pinky finger.

Last but definitely not least, Obsessed. This is a deep smoky purple with golden shimmer. It is absolutely a stunner! The shimmer just looks awesome against the dark purple!

This is a shot of Obsessed in direct sunlight.


 And once again, Obsessed is a dupe for another polish in the Zoya Ignite collection - Sansa. This is the only one that is an EXACT match - down to the way the formula applies! None of the other two were as close as these two! I get so excited when I find dupes like this! Especially for colors that are as dynamic and unique as Zoya!

Bottle shot of Julie G Obsessed and Zoya Sansa

Sunlight shot of Zoya Sansa on pointer and ring finger, Julie G Obsessed on middle and pinky,

Close-up shot of Zoya Sansa (top) and Julie G Obsessed (bottom)

Shade/indoor lighting shot. Zoya Sansa on pointer and ring finger, Julie G obsessed on middle and pinky.


This entire group of new polishes is spectacular! I always get excited for new Julie G polishes, but these were unlike anything that's ever been released from her! Overall, the formulas were consistently good - and very comparable to Zoya polishes. Some I didn't have to compare to, but they share the same glass fleck characteristics of the Ignite collection. So if you are looking for a cheaper alternative to Zoya, here you go!

Standouts for me are definitely More Karats Please and Brady Bear hands down! 

 Dupes for Zoya!

Julie G Candy Shoppe Colors Collection

Another weekend, another nail polish adventure! This weekend we set out to Shreveport to scope out our closest Rite Aid store for the newest Julie G nail polishes! And at last, we were successful! I came home with the entire Candy Shoppe collection as well as the nine new polishes from her regular nine. Today, I want to share swatches and first impressions of the Candy Shoppe Collection. I was really excited about trying out a new texture of polish. This collection features a jelly bean finish. I've seen "waxy" finishes before and they seemed pretty intriguing - so I'm glad to finally try these out!

What it looks like right in the middle of a Rite Aid adventure! hehe. Scoping out the clearance section. We had good luck the last time - but not so lucky this time!

Polishes L to R: Lollipop, Sour Grape, Pixi Stick, Sour Apple, Licorice Twist, Candy Shop, Sweet Tooth, Wild Cherry, Lemon Drop

The first polish is Candy Shop. It is an orange creme. It's a tad bit brighter in the sunlight. This is two coats, and my nail line is still visible. I think three coats would be enough to eliminate that.

This beautiful yellow creme is Lemon Drop. I think this one was a sleeper for me. I didn't expect it to be one of my favorites, but I think it's one of the nicest sunny yellows. I think the finish makes it that much prettier!

Next up is Licorice Twist. This is a light black - if that's even possible. It's like a smoky black lol. I think the finish offers a more sophisticated spin on the classic black nail.  

Now on to the first of the two purples in this collection. I must confess I am slightly disappointed that these two purples are so similar. Maybe one of them should have been a pastel purple or even a fuschia. Anyway, the first one is Lollipop. I've been calling it the juicier looking purple haha. It is a red-toned almost berry-like deep purple. Again the two coat swatch still has visible nail lines, but three is enough to eliminate that. 

The second polish is Sour Grape. This is Lollipop's dusty sister - seriously! This is also a deep purple, but it has a lot less red tones in making it a dusty purple.

This next polish is probably my favorite out of the bunch - Sour Apple. It's a bright springy green that in the bottle reminds me of Holla-Peno also from Julie G. I think it may be slightly darker. 

Next up is the pink from the collection, called Pixi Stick. It is a bright bubble-gum pink.This one also shows up brighter than what the picture is showing. This is a really nice pink, but nothing too special. =/

This beautiful blue is called Sweet Tooth. This probably had the most pigmented color of all the polishes and it did seem a bit thicker. I am a sucker for any bright blue like this, so of course I love it!

Lastly, is Wild Cherry. A beautiful blue toned cherry red - duh! I had to take the picture in a different light, because it came out looking very similar to Pixi Stick. Really nice formula though, as will all of these polishes!

Overall, I liked the concept of this collection, I just wish there was more color variation in the collection. Aside from the two purples, the pink and the red looked almost similar in some of the photos I took for swatching. I also wish there was a way to topcoat these without losing the effect. The formula for all the polishes is consistent across the board - smooth and easy to apply. The first coat of course, will be sheer - even Julie acknowledges that in her video - but it is very buildable to an opaque finish. Even though it is sheer it isn't runny at all. It applies very evenly!

After wearing it for two days, there is no chipping or tip wear, however I am seeing scratches and dents on the nail. I'm sure there is a waxy topcoat out there somewhere though! Standouts for me definitely are Lemon Drop and Sour Apple. There are a bunch of spring/summer looks that can be created using these polishes - even having them contrast with other textured polishes. I will definitely post looks I come up with here on the blog! This is the initial one I did using Lollipop, Sour Grape, and Lemon Drop.

Discount HAUL! TJ Maxx, Ross, Burlington

So yesterday, I decided to scope out holiday leftovers and perhaps inventory restocks around town. I'm getting the familiar itch of needing to polish very (un)necessary polish. Most of the time my discount stores are hidden gems for some great polish. Especially cult classics that most people browsing would pass by. That is how I came across greats such as China Glaze's Water You Waiting For and Angel Wings. That kind of excitement is what makes it so addicting. So anyway, I hit up all the stores and came away with some good cheap finds.

TJ Maxx: I found a lot of mini sets from OPI as well as some of their Perfect Pair Duos.The two minis I picked up were the Gwen for OPI holiday set and a set called Flamingo tinis. I also picked up one duo set which had a Mariah Carey Liquid Sand Stay the Night and the infamous Frog in my Throat. I bought it especially for Frog in my Throat; I already had Stay the Night ;) I also snagged some neat looking holo nail foils.

 

The Gwen Stefani set contains: Red Fingers & Mistletoes, What's Your Point-Settia?, I Carol About You, and Kiss Me-Or Elf!. ($5.99 at TJ Maxx)

The Flamingo tinis set contains: Flamingo Tini Pink, Feel the Mo-Heat-Oes Green, Alpine Snow, and You're Such a Budapest. ($5.99 at TJ Maxx)

Contains 1 set of nail foils. ($2.99 at TJ Maxx)

Frog in My Throat. AKA the OPI polish that doesn't exist. Read this intriguing article by Beautygeeks for more details on this and other polishes like it. Apparently it is a repackaged Sephora by OPI polish that was super limited edition.

Purchased in an OPI Perfect Pairing duo package. ($7.99 at TJ Maxx)

Ross: My Ross has just started bringing Formula X for Sephora polishes, so I scooped up all the ones I could find: Extraterrestrial, Revolution, and Catalyst. I also picked up a Ciate London foil mani set that was on super clearance. 

Formula X by Sephora polishes L to R: Catalyst, Extraterrestrial, Revolution. ($3.99 ea at Ross)

Contains full-size polish in Cream Soda, foil glue, and 30 assorted foil sheets. ($3.99 at Ross)

Burlington: I picked up four Ciate London sets. Two were holiday mini sets and the other two were black light polish sets. The packaging of the black light sets is so awesome! These were my first Ciate London polishes ever, and I got them all for under 6 dollars each! I'm excited to try these out! I took a bunch of pictures of these two sets, and will post in a separate post. 

Ciate London Mini Mani Month 2013. Contains 18 assorted mini polishes, 4 nail art accessories, and 2 mystery gifts. ($5.98 at Burlington. Original price: $58)

Ciate London Tee Trinkets Holiday Set. Contains 6 mini glitter polishes in clear ornaments. ($2.98 at Burlington. Original price: $30)

Ciate London Corrupted Neon Manicure Set. Purchased Orange and Blue set. ($3.98 each at Burlington. Original Price: $25)