Wear-test with Misa Endless Keys

You guys, the wear on Misa's polishes is seriously amazing. This is after one week of wearing it, with no base or top coat.

As you can see, there is absolutely no chipping. There is a small bit of tipwear, however. This is, hands down, the best-wearing polish I've ever used.

There's not really much else to say. If you've never tried Misa polishes, I strongly recommend them.

China Glaze Senorita Bonita

Senorita Bonita is another polish from China Glaze's Summer 2011 collection, Island Escape. It's a gorgeous almost-frosty purple, with blue and red shimmer. I love it on my fingers, but I think it makes an even better pedicure color.

This was two coats. It went on great, with your standard China Glaze formula. It makes me think of what might be the end result if two other China Glaze polishes, Coconut Kiss and Flying Dragon, had a baby.

Tomorrow, I have for you the results of the wear test I've been doing with Misa Endless Keys. Spoiler alert: Misa seems to be superior to the other brands I've tried, in terms of wear. See you tomorrow!

China Glaze Blue Iguana

Blue Iguana is a bright blue glass-fleck from China Glaze's Summer 2011 collection, Island Escape. In some of the pictures, the bottle looks like it has some purple glass-flecks, but it doesn't show up very frequently on the nail. I saw it a few times from certain angles, but it's not obvious. It's a pretty color, and it reminds me more of those really nice-looking beaches that you see on TV, with the crystal clear, bright blue water, than an iguana. However, I really like iguanas, so I'm a fan of the name.

Blue Iguana was pretty sheer, and this was three coats. Another downside is that it stains pretty badly when you take it off. I always find that blues stain my hands though, so maybe it's just me.

If you're looking for a bright blue glass-fleck, don't mind doing three coats, and are perhaps a bit more careful with your removal technique than I am, I think you'll like Blue Iguana.

Misa Endless Keys

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I didn't anticipate being as busy as I was. I have a couple weeks of vacation now before I start the new semester, so I am going to work really hard at swatching a lot of things that I want to review, so that I have a bit of backlog to work through as I begin school. I will be able to have a couple days a week where I can create more of a backlog once the semester begins. Hopefully this will allow me to post as regularly as I want to!

As some of you may know, Canadian politician Jack Layton died today. As such, I wanted to do an orange manicure today as a small tribute to a great man. I chose Misa Endless Keys, a tangerine-orange loaded with gold glass flecks, from their Summer 2011 collection.

I've never bought or used a Misa polish before this one, and it blew me away. The formula was great; it wasn't thick at all, but I don't want to say it was runny, because it wasn't. I guess I would say it was "pleasantly thin," while not being totally sheer. For these pictures, I used three coats. One thing about Endless Keys is that I wanted it to be as orange as it is in the bottle, but it has more of a golden yellow tone once you put it on. I bet it would look great layered over an orange creme, and it would look more like the bottle.

I will definitely be buying more Misa polishes in the future. I got this one from TransDesign, which ships internationally, and paid $3.75 USD.

China Glaze Hey Sailor

Hey Sailor is a bright, true red creme from China Glaze's Spring 2011 Anchors Away collection. It applies very smoothly, and dries to a very shiny finish.

I did two coats here, but it was honestly opaque after one; I just did two because leaving it as one feels strange.

I'm not really a red nails person. I have two red polishes: this, and China Glaze Ruby Pumps. However, I really love Hey Sailor. I like that it's a true red, and doesn't lean too warm or too cool. I also liked that it didn't give me lobster hands! I think it would be a great pedicure color, and that's probably how I'll wear it from now on. It's not the most unique color, so I'm sure there are dupes of it, but if you are looking for a red creme, I certainly don't think you'll be disappointed by Hey Sailor.

China Glaze Life Preserver

Life Preserver is from China Glaze's Spring 2011 Anchors Away collection. It's a dusty-looking orange creme. The name is a great fit because it's exactly the color of those hard, plastic, orange life preserver rings. It also reminds me a bit of autumn leaves.

Life Preserver applied SO nicely. This is two coats, and it was nearly perfect after just one! I like that it's not the typical kind of orange you would find in a spring collection. The dustiness makes it more interesting.

I feel like I can't express enough love for China Glaze polishes. You can buy them at really inexpensive prices at e-tailers like TransDesign and 8ty8 Beauty, they almost always apply like a dream, and they have a huge range of colors in addition to seasonal collections. They're my favorite nail polish brand. Typically, my favorite collections are the spring ones, although I thought that the 2010 Holiday collection was AMAZING. If you've never tried China Glaze, I highly, highly recommend them.