Strange Beautiful Volume 4 Series. Inspiration: Rose Champagne

Today's manicure is from StrangeBeautiful Color Volume 4.
It's the pink one.
Jane's Inspiration:
Oeil de Perdrix, (Partridge Eye) the color of rose champagne

This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, two coats of polish, and one coat of Nubar Diamont top coat.
These photos were taken indoors with artificial light in a light box.

Strange Beautiful Volume 4 Series. Inspiration: Orange Turban

Welcome to my new project. I recently ordered the new StrangeBeautiful volume 4 set from Lucky Scent and plan to review all of the 8 polishes inside forthwith. Commence operation creme!

Today I bring you the burnt orange one (I call such colors rorange = red + orange)
The colors in the StrangeBeautiful universe don't have names.
According to the official party line: the colors are deliberately nameless
“I find it thought provoking and stimulating to remember and refer to each color by its reference or inspiration”
Jane's inspiration in this case is:
An orange turban in a 15th century Florentine portrait titled Matteo Olivieri

Credit where credit is due:
This painting is in The National Gallery of Art and came from unforth's flickr photostream.
This is my first StrangeBeautiful experience and it applied beautifully. This color qualifies as a jelly because it's quite pigmented, but you can see vnl in these pictures.
You can buy any Strange Beautiful products here:
StrangeBeautiful at luckyscent.com
and you can also get their Double Connector series polish duos from Anthropologie.
This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, two coats of polish, and one coat of Nubar Diamont top coat.
These photos were taken indoors with artificial light in a light box.

Passport to Japan: Sonia Rykiel 003

Shibuya Crossing from above at night




Today's manicure is Sonia Rykiel 003.
I have since heard that it was a special edition released on May 1, 2010 - which happened to coincide with my arrival date in Japan, but I don't know if it is part of a limited edition collection or not. There were three in the collection, but this is the one that caught my eye. It was purchased from iSetan department store in Tokyo.
This polish is rainbow glitter with silver dominating the mix in a clear base. This polish has the same floral scent as the last Rykiel polish. The glitter is somewhat sparse and is probably better suited as a layering polish.
This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, three coats polish, and one coat Nubar Diamont; with the exception of the ring finger which has two coats of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Black Creme and two coats of #003 polish.
These pictures were taken indoors in a light box with artificial light.

Passport to Japan: Sonia Rykiel 15

A photo from my recent trip to Japan of dancers in Yoyogi Park in Harajuku.




Today's manicure is Sonia Rykiel #15.
Sonia Rykiel is a European designer who just happens to have a beauty line exclusive to Japan. When I was staying in Tokyo I picked up two bottles from the Rykiel counter in iSetan department store in Shinjuku. I believe this #15 is part of the core line. It's a sour apple green jelly with iridescent and silver glitter and larger round silver glitter pieces. It is sheer, but not streaky and applies pretty well. I think it may be rose or floral scented like Anna Sui - but it smells less nauseating to me than Anna Sui does. I couldn't buy any Sui there because of my aversion to the scent. Sorry, my cuticles are still gross.
This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, three coats polish, and one coat Nubar Diamont; with the exception of the ring finger which has two coats of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Black Creme and two coats of #15 polish.
These pictures were taken indoors in a light box with artificial light.

OPI Reflecting Pool

Today's manicure is OPI Reflecting Pool. This is purported to be both a Japanese and UK exclusive polish from the Reflection Glitters collection (2009). I bought it off eBay from a US seller, so it's tough for me to weigh in. Japan tends to get beautiful glitters from OPI that the consumers in the US will never see, so I definitely buy it being sold there. I know of bloggers who bought it in store in the UK, so it was definitely retailed there as well. It is not incredibly old since it's new formula green label OPI with a pro-wide brush. It may still be findable in retail locations with old stock in either of those countries, but otherwise you must know someone abroad or buy secondhand.
Reflecting Pool is a super shimmery (bordering on foil) silvery teal base loaded with golden glitter. It's super awesome looking in pretty much any light situation. It's a bit sheer, but not overly so - three coats provided full coverage.
This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, three coats of polish, and one coat of Nubar Diamont.
Disclaimer: These photos were all taken indoors using artificial light (I'm experimenting with a light box).
Taken with indirect artificial light:

Taken with flash:

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Hidden Treasure

Today's manicure is yesterday's manicure (Maybelline Banana Puddin') with two coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Hidden Treasure slapped on top. I wanted to add a little visual interest to this puppy.
Hidden Treasure is a limited edition polish that may be located in a recent drugstore display of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. Some others included in this display were Lagoon, Sea and Be Seen, and Silver Lining. Hidden Treasure has two slots on the far right end of the display. I found this bottle at a Rite Aid; the two bottles were already gone by the time I made it in to my local Walgreens.
Hidden Treasure doesn't really look like much, but can pack quite a punch layered over a dark base color - which I didn't do :-P
If you're unable to find it, I will suggest some alternates that were bandied about on makeupalley: Nubar 2010 and Nfu Oh 38. It's really not THAT special, but it is a big deal in that it's the first drugstore flakie I can remember since Maybelline Coloramas. Let's hope we see more in the future.
Man my fingers look red...I don't know how much of it is that my fingers ARE red and how much is this yellow polish.
This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, four coats Maybelline Wet Shine Banana Puddin', one coat Nubar Diamont, and two coats Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure.
Isn't that crazy?
Sorry about my cuticles. They're a bit neglected.
Artificial light/light box:

Natural sunlight:

Maybelline Wet Shine Banana Puddin'

Today's manicure is Maybelline Wet Shine Banana Puddin'. It's kind of a cult classic - since it was a limited edition and is now hard to find (outside dollar tree miracles or above retail second hand purchasing), but one that is pretty overrated in my opinion. Yellows tend to be the most difficult of polishes. Applying a yellow creme is generally a pain, and this one is definitely no exception. It's streaky and sheer and takes 4 coats to look decent. That's too high maintenance for my liking. It is a nice buttery yellow that really does look like southern style banana pudding, but it just doesn't measure up. Plus, it brings out the red in my skin.
On the bright side, I just watched the season premiere of True Blood and it looks like it's going to be a fun season.
This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, four coats polish, and one coat Nubar Diamont.
Disclaimer: These photos were taken indoors with artifical lighting (I'm experimenting with lightboxes)