MAC Prêt-à-Papier Nail Lacquers

The MAC Prêt-à-Papier collection features two lacquers, one is a light brown with a teensy amount of shimmer, the other a fairly standard bronzish metallic shimmer. I found this less boring than the other collections lately. For some reason I am really taken with the brown paper bag color of the light brown, called, of course "Brown Bag". Somehow it strikes me as very stylish. So I got it and I like it. It feels very au courant as MAC says. Though frankly even thinking the words au courant makes me feel like such an asshole.

I didn't bother with the bronze lacquer, called Originality, as it isn't. At all. In fact they seem to forget MAC Mercenary, released just last year, is very like it!! Did someone get amnesia? I mean they aren't exact dupes but come on.

MAC Brown Bag. Actually not too wildly different from Essie Uptown Taupe, if you have that. Brown Bag is warmer than Uptown Taupe though, and UT has a silver shimmer not a goldish one. So they are like cold/warm sisters.:

OPI DS Mystery and DS Glow, Where I Have Been and My Nails

SO! Where have I been? Well, I did say I'd be gone most of December. The Winter Holidays are a time of much celebration and stuff to do in my life. Then on December 31, I had some surgery. I recovered just in time to start school, then get sick. Eyeroll and sigh. I am all better now, for the most part. But since I started clinicals in Nursing, I will be much busier. I have also run out of stuff to do daily polish posts about. I'll be posting stuff I buy, and most new collections, but I probably won't be posting daily any more. To top it all off, I have to keep my nails 1/8th inch from now on, so pretty much everything you are going to see from now on is fake nails. Eh, no biggie. I have one more collection to post, possibly tomorrow, then get ready for the POLISH MAYHEM 2009 POLISH COLLECTION AWARDS. My Top 5 Favorite and Least favorite Polish Collections of 2009!!!

So anyway on to OPI DS Mystery and DS Glow. I've been waiting for these a while, and I am sure most other blogs swatched these ahead of me. I like these. Same great DS formula, so very easy to use and so pigment rich. The shimmer in these is intense, pinpoint, and packs a nice punch. Your typical OPI DS. Great quality.

DS Mystery is a nearly black deep royal purple jelly with a bronze/old gold shimmer. Really nice. I expected a lighter shade, but this is lovely.


DS Glow is the same bronze/old gold shimmer as in DS Mystery, but that is all there is to this. I really love this. So many golds are frosts, or cremes with a lot of shimmer in them. This is slightly sheer, and is gonna look INCREDIBLE in the summer, next to a good tan. Wearing this is going to make you look like a summer goddess, trust me. Believe me you will be seeing it on my hands!


Nice. OPI DS polishes seem to disappoint me very seldom.

Orly Metallic Matte Collection

Been on vacation but I am back!!

As you can probably tell from the pictures, these are a lot like OPI's Suede Collection. A nice satiny finish with a ton of metal shimmer underneath. Tons of texture and depth. They give us a couple nice new shades for matte, gold and bronze, and we have the black already but it's very nice in the satin/suede finish!

These apply just like regular polishes, and do not dry too fast. But try hard to remove any overlap, or brushstrokes that clump, because it will show up in the final polish. Just mess with it til it is smooth.

Orly Glam Rock:


Orly Iron Butterfly:


Orly Solid Gold:

Black Phoenix Claw Polish

I was the very lucky recipient of some of the illustrious Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's nail polish, which they call Claw Polish (love it)! BPAL doesn't just make hundreds of incredible artisan perfume oils in "magickal, pagan and mythological blends, Renaissance, Medieval and Victorian formulas, and horror / Gothic-themed scents", they do jewelry, Tshirts and assorted neat stuff which fortunately includes a growing offering of nail polishes (under the Black Phoenix Trading Post arm of the site). Mostly now it is blacks and browns, deep reds and a few pinks, and one glow in the dark. I hope to see them branch out! They certainly have enough inspiration.

First thing that is notable is the formula was quite surprising. It was terrific. A polish line in which the CREMES are more manageable than the jellies??? Wow. Dries fast, hard and just like glass. It's incredibly shiny stuff. I would use topcoat for protection but it is in no way needed for a glossy finish. It's kickass. The brush may be a bit stubby for you long brush lovers, but otherwise is standard. Anyway all due accolades to the talented people at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Thank you!!

I tried a different style photograph for these polishes, inspired by the "Claw Polish" name. Yes, Napoleon, I have large talons. If you hate it feel free to call me an asswipe.

You're going to have to take my word for it that Destroying Angel is not black. it's a dark chocolate, but it's browner than the picture. I am sure I will try again at some point.


Smokestack is actually a very dark blurple jelly with a ton of very fine subtle shimmer. It packs far more punch than you think it will. Very nice.


Croquet they call a flamingo pink, I think it's a bit softer and a great deal prettier than flamingo. Bet the Sissies will love this one!


Malediction is simply black, with that stunning super-gloss that China Glaze Patent Leather has. This is a jelly, not a creme.


Sed Non Satiata is a smooth, sleek berry.


Robotic Scarab is a gleaming bronze shimmer. I drool on this.


Bordello is a beautiful lightly metallic raspberry shimmer. Suckable!

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Nubar Moodies #M138

Nubar Moodies don't work. Pretty much a given. But this one KINDA works. As you can see the tip is a nice warm bronze and the top half of the nail is a beautiful gilded orange falling leaf color. It kind of gives you a fall leaf manicure all on its own.

Nubar Moodies #M138:

Another Month of Zoyas! - Zoya Beyonnce

Zoya Beyonnce is a kind of rose/bronze duochrome with gold shimmer. It's very pretty and fun. I love polishes with something special in them like this. I don't see any reason Beyonnce couldn't be worn at work as well as be super hot out on the town. My picture does not do it justice.

Zoya Beyonnce:

New MAC Style Warrior Polishes!

I picked up the three new Style Warrior polishes from MAC's new collection today. Style Warrior seems to be based on strong earth colors and bronzers. While I was not too excited by the collection, or the tanning mousse (darkest one just even now at beginning of summer only gives me a tad of color and later won't do anything) I bought the polishes to try. I have the weird clumpy Solar Bits from last year, and frankly they are not my first choice in any situation, their size and kind of stickiness make them hard to use.

Anyway onto the polishes. Peaceable is a sand colored frost. At $11.00 per bottle I'd sooner get cheaper boring workplace polish. Violet Fire is a sort of very subdued violet purple shimmer. It's kind of smooth and satiny, there's no big bits, it's kinda like just a general shine. I dunno but I suspect this is a rerelease? The last one is a bronze shimmer called Mercenary, which sparkled rainbow in stronger light and sunlight. In my opinion it's the highlight of the collection.

So make your choices, or choices not to buy soon! Likely these will fly out the door too fast like all other MAC limiteds.

MAC Peaceable:


MAC Mercenary:


MAC Violet Fire:

Month of Zoyas! - Zoya Pru

Zoya Pru is a purply-red jelly with heaps of bronze shimmer. It's puuurrrrtttyyy. You may need an extra coat with this. Very nice!

Zoya Pru: