The Glam Is A Lie

EDIT: Forgot to add that I did send Sally Hansen a letter on December 18th and as of today have not received a response. I will give them a couple more weeks to address the issue and then I'm taking this crap back to the store. :)

I was out shopping one day and something caught my eye as I was walking past the cosmetics department: bright, colorful boxes full of Sally Hansen nail products. I immediately went over to inspect. "Hmm, six great nail colors, two treatments and some tools, eh? Looks awesome! I have to have this!"

Since the set was $9.99, I decided I could wait to get it- it didn't seem to be in danger of selling out- the shelves were packed with these Sally Hansen Nail Glam party things.

I came home and asked the ladies on Makeup Alley's Nail Board if they had seen these, and they warned me that there was nothing good inside. I had a hard time believing that there was nothing good inside this bright, colorful, fun-looking box of polish, but now I know that I was wrong. Very wrong.

I couldn't get this kit out of my head, and I ended up buying four of them- two of the large, and two of the small.

Just look at this box! How could I pass this up?! I needed this! The box says:

Sally Hansen Nail Glam Party Pack
13 Amazing Nail Essentials
Get Great Stuff!
Your Party Pack Includes:
6 Great Nail Colors
2 Nail Treatments
5 Manicure Tools
____________________
13 Amazing Nail Essentials

Glam party! Amazing nail essentials! GET GREAT STUFF! Six great nail colors!! How could this be anything but awesome?

I mean, look up close at what the lady on the package is wearing:
Blue, hot pink, red, purple and silver 'skittles'! Wow, this is just the coolest nail gift set ever!!!

But I must have been a naughty girl this year, because all I got in my stocking was a big fat lump of FAIL:


WTF?!!!!! What the hell is this?!?! Where are the bright cheerful colors advertised on the front of the box? WHY WOULD YOU PLAY THIS CRUEL JOKE ON ME, SALLY HANSEN?! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?!?!?!

Look at this! Out of the six "GREAT NAIL COLORS" I was supposed to get (oops, left one out of this picture! It was a duplicate and it's pictured below), this one was completely clear:
No, you're not imagining this. That bottle of clear nail polish clearly says Sally Hansen Nail Color on the front. Yes, Nail Color. What color is this, exactly?

But, hey, it's not all bad! Look! I got one of those amazing Sally Hansen Fire Opal Nail Glazes!



...NOT!

Seriously, what kind of a sick, demented joke is this? Putting clear nail polish inside a Fire Opal polish bottle. Some sadistic bastard must have created these nail sets. "They think they're getting a Fire Opal Nail Glaze but it's really just clear polish in a clever disguise! Muahahahahaaa!!! "

This just pisses me off. I try not to get too worked up over nail polish, but come ON! WTF IS THIS SHIT?!?! ARE THEY SERIOUS?!?!?! Does the package not clearly say, "Get Great Stuff!"? Does it not say, "Nail Glam Party Pack"? I don't know what kind of party they had in mind... a wake? Whatever party they're having, I'm glad I wasn't invited.

How about we take a little peek at what the other sets had inside.

Like I said, I got two of each kit. This is the second large kit. Let's see here, we have pale pink (duplicate from the first set), clear inside a Fire Opal bottle, yet another clear, ugly mauve, ugly coral, boring ugly mauve red in a square bottle (also a duplicate from the first set).

Here's one of the smaller kits:

Oh, this one is a Nail Glam Salon. How special.

I think this salon probably won't be in business very long. Two sheer pinks and a red. Tres chic, no?

What's even worse is that none of the bottles even have labels:



They're all completely blank. No shade names. Nothing. You aren't even allowed to know the name of the ugly colors you got in your kit.

It's like they just took whatever leftover bottles they had sitting around and filled them with the lamest polishes they could think of. Instead of just throwing out what they couldn't sell, they packaged it up in a deceptive little package and sold it for $10! Genius! Make them think they're getting what's advertised and then watch the disappointment on their gullible faces as they open the box only to find clear, pink and mauve!

I have always thought favorably of Sally Hansen. They consistently make some of the most beautiful and creative polishes of all. I have so many awesome Sally Hansen polishes. Nail Prisms, Fire Opal and Star Opal Nail Glaze, Magical Nail Makeup, Salon, Lacquer Shine, Xtreme Wear Hard As Nails, Chromes, I could go on and on. How could a company that has made such incredible and unique products sell such a horrible and deceptive box of garbage? It's not like they have a shortage of good polish to put in those boxes! At least give me one out of six! If I got one good polish out of one of those boxes, maybe just one Magical, a Prism, or even just a color that's not pink, mauve or red, I would be a happy girl. But no. Nothing. At all.

I wouldn't have a problem with these Nail Glam sets if they weren't so deceptive. The box is bright and colorful, decorated with blocks of vibrant colors. The model is clearly seen wearing several different shades of polish. The box even says,"Nail Glam" and "Get Great Stuff!". It is false advertising, plain and simple. If the box had said, "Boring Pink and Mauve Nail Salon" or "Grandma Gertrude's Ladylike and Uninteresting Nail Party Kit" or "Polishes We Put In The Wrong Bottle And Can't Sell Because They're Defective Super Awesome Happy Fun Time Value Kit" I wouldn't be complaining. But I am complaining because that's not what it says on the box. The box is bright pink and blue and says Nail Glam Party Kit. It's a lie.


I have no tolerance for false advertisement. The consumer gets screwed enough as it is even without false advertising. This really gets my panties in a bunch. Bright packaging. Model with cool polish. Claims of "glam" and "great" product. Clear nail polish being sold as a color. Fire Opal bottle filled with clear polish. Am I over-reacting? Should I not be upset about this? This is deceptive and dishonest! Of course I should be upset about this!

So, I suppose this is my warning to you, my fellow nail junkie. Beware of false advertising or anything that seems to good to be true.

Tee hee.... Had to do it.

Claire's Mixables and random fun poll.

I've been dying to see those Claire's Mixables ever since I first heard about them... You know, those polishes that have three colors in one bottle and are supposed to be a surprise color? I hate going to the mall and haven't worked up the nerve to go there and look for them, so I had just about given up on them.

However, my awesome mom got me a couple for Christmas! I have the best mom in the whole world :)


Jinglebell. It's a Christmas-themed polish! Sweeeeeet! It has a top layer of white, middle layer of light green and the bottom is red glitter. The bottle says DO NOT SHAKE, but I had this laying on its side and the layers got a little messed up. I don't think it had any effect on the polish. The color just seems to be white with some red streaks. I don't know how these work.... I would think the colors would end up all mixed up anyway, but they aren't! Crazy. It blows my mind.


Mixable. Yes, apparently that's the name. It has a neon green top layer, a bright yellow middle layer and a bright blue layer on the bottom. The polish applies as a neon green with some yellow streaks. This picture isn't really color-accurate because I couldn't get the neon green to photograph properly. It's more along the lines of Color Club Limelight- bright, glowy, vibrant neon green.


I can not for the life of me figure out the secret to these. How do they not just mix together?! When I look in the bottle, all I see is the top color with a few streaks of the middle color. Even swirling the brush around doesn't give me a mixed color. How do they do it?! I think my brain is going to explode!!

Despite their mysterious nature, they are still really awesome. The polishes apply very well. The white is nice and opaque, smooth and not too chalky, and the green is your average neon green that dries quickly to a matte finish. I would definitely get the rest of these if I ever got the chance to.


On a totally unrelated note, I've been thinking. You guys all come here and listen to me babble about what I like and what I don't like, and it's all me all the time, right? Well, I want to hear about you! I've met so many other nail fanatics since creating this blog and I never would have guessed that there were so many people who like nail polish and makeup as much as I do.

So I swiped one of these online poll things and added a couple of my own questions just so I could get to know my awesome readers a little better.

Post a comment with your answers, and I'll post mine here!

What is your favorite food?
I don't think I can pick one favorite, but I really love vegetables, steak and pumpkin pie.

What is your favorite season?
FALL!!! I wish it could be October all year.

What is your favorite color?
I can't pick favorites!!! I really like purple, though.

What is your favorite animal?
Well, I can't think of a single animal I don't like, but I'd say dogs are my favorite. I really, really love dogs. I also have a soft spot for rodents.

What are your top five favorite songs at the moment?
Iced Earth - Wolf
VNV Nation - Rubicon
Finntroll - Trollvisan
Das Ich - Schwanenschrei
Grendel - Nothing Like Senses
Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains - Thai Noodles
Wumpscut - War
(I can't pick just five!! Arrrgh!!! )

If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?
Japan!! Then Germany, then Finland, Norway, Sweden... Actually, I'd love to go everywhere. I want to travel the world!

And one last question...
How did you find my blog?
Well... um... I write it.... XD

Can't wait to see your answers :)

Reader request: Silver Holographic Comparisons

Ack! I've been meaning to post this for over a week, but my life has been crazytown and I just haven't gotten a chance.

Here's a couple of comparisons between some silver holographic polishes.


Index and middle: Color Club Magic Attraction
Ring and pinkie: OPI Paris Couture For Sure


Index and Middle: OPI Paris Couture For Sure
Ring and Pinkie: OPI Designer Series Coronation

The biggest difference between Paris Couture For Sure and Coronation is that Coronation is slightly darker and more grey with more scattered looking holo, while Paris Couture For Sure is more silvery with somewhat more uniform holo .



Index: OPI Designer Series Coronation
Middle: China Glaze OMG
Ring: Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup Crystal Ball
Pinkie: OPI Paris Couture For Sure.

Sally Hansen Crystal Ball is by far the most "holo" holo I own. I don't own Chanel Holographic, but I can see them being close in level of holographic awesomeness. I don't even know why I put the two OPIs in this picture because, as you can see, they don't even begin to compare.


Hope this is helpful! I have a lot of things I want to post this week. Let's hope I can actually be able to sit down and post them :)

Lakshmi Rai

Lakshmi Rai (aka Laxmi Rai) was born on May 5, 1981 in Hubli, Karnataka, India. She is model turned actress mostly appears in South Indian films like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam language films. She started her career with Tamil film Karka Kasadara in 2005. Currently she is filming romantic comedy Bollywood movie HHey Gujju where Himesh Reshammiya is performing double roles. Shruti Agrawal is another lead actress in this movie.

Miss World 2008: Ksenia Sukhinova

Ksenia Vladimirovna Sukhinova was born on August 26, 1987 in Nizhnevartovsk, Russia. She is 5ft 10in tall, blond hair with blue eyes Russian beauty queen who won the title of Miss Russia 2007 and Miss World 2008.

Ksenia Sukhinova of Russia was crowned by Miss World 2007, Zhang Zilin of the People's Republic of China.

Ksenia also won the title of Miss World Top Model.

Parvathy Omanakuttan of India became the first runner up while Gabrielle Walcott of Trinidad & Tobago became second runner up.

Also check out our previous posts on Miss World 2005 and Miss World 2006.

Update on Misa Promotion

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that Misa is working through all of your emails and should be caught up by the end of the week. They're swamped with orders and the system was down for a while, but they're working very hard to take care of everyone!

I'm still waiting on a definite answer to the other questions regarding this promotion, but as soon as I hear anything, I'll be sure to post it right away.

Thanks everyone :)

EDIT: UPDATE!

Here are the answers from Misa:

Is this open to internationals? Yes. They can ship internationally, but the shipping will be more than $7.00, and this cost depends on the shipping method (Postal Mail is cheaper than UPS). Shipping cost depends on the country. They may not be able to ship to all countries, depending on distributors guidelines. Call or email for more information.

Payment methods accepted: Credit card, wire transfer and check. Orders paid by check will ship when check has cleared.

Products included in promotion: Includes all treatments except Joli Treatments.

Hope this helps! Again, this promotion is valid until the end of January so you still have a while to choose :)

Too Faced Smurfette Collection: Smurf You Starry-Eyed Liner

I'll admit, I have never seen a single episode of The Smurfs. I know absolutely nothing about The Smurfs, other than that they are blue and appear to spend a lot of time around giant mushrooms.

That being said, when I saw this Too Faced Smurfette Collection Starry-Eyed eyeliner on Sephora.com, Smurf-fan or not, I had to have it. The shade is called, "Smurf You." Is that supposed to be as naughty as it sounds?



Pretty metallic blue cap!


Quick, blurry swatch. It's a vibrant medium blue with a little bit of silvery blue glitter mixed in for contrast. Looks extremely hot over black eyeliner.

Too Faced Starry-Eyed glitter liners are my favorite glitter liners ever, and this color is a perfect addition to the line. I didn't get the other shade, but I probably will soon. Everything about this liner rocks, so the other one has to be good!

Anushka Sharma

Anushka Sharma was born on 1st May 1988 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. She is 5ft 9in tall elite model and actress in the Bollywood film industry. Anushka made her Bollywood debut with Yashraj film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, directed by Aditya Chopra where Shahrukh Khan played male lead role.

Before appearing in Bollywood she has done campaigns for Silk & Shine, Whisper and Fiat Palio.

Apart from that she is doing her major in Economics.

Scam Alert: Fragrancenet.com

This isn't exactly polish related, but it is beauty related.

I used to shop online at Fragrancenet.com quite often. They didn't have the best prices, but they had the most perfumes in stock, including a huge selection of old, nostalgic discontinued perfumes.

I no longer shop there. I much prefer Scentiments.com for my discount fragrance purchases.

One thing that FragranceNet does is send you ungodly amounts of spam. Every day I'm deleting anywhere from five to fifteen spam emails from them. They always tell me "insert name of fragrance I've purchased before ON SALE TODAY ONLY!" and crap like that. Really gets on my nerves.

When you order from them, they also fill your box with spam. Probably ten different fliers advertising totally irrelevant things- ceramic angels, fake gold jewelery, checks with animals on them, snowglobes, that type of thing.

While that is extremely annoying, it's not *quite* a scam, but this next item is.

I got a check in the mail from FragranceNet. I believe it's an actual, legitimate $5 check, made out to your name and everything. However, if you look closely, it says on the front, in small print:
By cashing or depositing this check you are purchasing a membership in Just For Me.

A lot of people might not even read that text and go to the bank to cash this check. And what happens when you cash the check?

Well, this happens! (Taken from fine print on back of check)
...I understand that my membership will be automatically extended for an additional eleven months and the $129.99 annual membership fee will be automatically billed to my credit card on file with FragranceNet.com...

Yes, you can cancel after the first month, but most people will forget. And if you forget to cancel?

...At the end of my first year, my membership will be automatically renewed at the $139.99 annual fee for the next twelve months and I will also be billed every year thereafter...

The very worst part? The last line of the fine print:
By cashing this check I authorize Fragrancenet.com to securely transfer my credit card information to Just For Me for enrollment, billing and benefit processing.


I don't even know what to say about this. To disguise a $130 charge as a $5 check is bad enough, but to transfer sensitive personal financial information to a third party is just despicable.

So, if something looks too good to be true, like, say, a $5 check that randomly shows up in the mail, it probably is. Please always be sure to read the fine print on everything you agree to sign.

I will never make another purchase from FragranceNet.com.

Restoring Polish: Quite Possibly The Most Important Post Ever

I want to talk to you guys about the shelf life of polish. How long does polish last? Do I have to throw it out after a certain amount of time?

To put it bluntly, the polish will outlive you. Seriously. There is no reason to ever throw away polish. It doesn't spoil, it doesn't get moldy, it can't 'go bad.' It can separate, but that is fixed by shaking before use. It can thicken or, in some strange cases, thin. That doesn't mean you have to throw out your polish.

I want to show you how to fix a completely dried polish. This will come in handy some day.




I saw this poor bottle of L'Oreal Bijou Crystals in B.Shocking on a store shelf and thought it would be the perfect chance for me to demonstrate this point. Look at it. It's completely dry. People would never buy this because they think it's garbage, but it's not! It's just a wilted flower, waiting to be watered.


Tip it over- it's so dry, it stays put. That's a solid mass of dried polish in the bottom. The brush is embedded in the dried polish. Tug gently to remove it.




My secret weapon: Seche Restore. I am in love with Seche Restore. I've gone through bottles and bottles of this stuff. Most people will tell you that it doesn't make a difference which polish thinner you use. While all polish thinners will thin polish, Seche Restore contains Toluene- a wonderful, magical substance that turns finicky polish into smooth, quick-drying chemical loveliness. This is especially handy for restoring older polishes because it's the toluene that has evaporated from them. Adding Seche Restore can also improve the texture of gooey three-free polishes. No, I don't work for Seche- I just freakin' love this stuff.


All you have to do is pour in some Seche Restore. I don't bother with a dropper when I'm using this much, but if you have some disposable pipettes, those work quite well. I try to add as much Restore to the bottle as I can- I try to picture where the polish would be in a full bottle and I add Restore to create that amount of liquid. Place the cap back on the polish.



You can see that the the Restore starts to dissolve the dried polish immediately. Once the cap is on tightly, shake the polish vigorously. Don't be alarmed if some Restore leaks out of the bottle. It's much thinner than polish and can sometimes make it out of the bottle. And to all of you out there who are gasping in horror when I say to shake your polish: Don't worry. It's okay to shake your polish. It absolutely WILL NOT HARM your polish. The worst it can do is cause bubbles, which settle on their own within five to ten minutes of shaking. So please, be kind, shake your polish. Much safer than rolling, because without a firm grip on the bottle, you could potentially drop the bottle and break it. I speak from experience.



If the polish is completely dried, like this one was, you may have to loosen the dried polish from the bottom of the bottle. I use a toothpick to pry the dry polish lump away from the bottom and sides, and then I stir it a for a little while to break up the dried lump.



After a little while of stirring and shaking, voila! Good as new. The texture is perfectly smooth- or it would be if it didn't have so much glitter in it!- and all of the dried polish has dissolved. You would never know that this was a reconstituted polish. It goes on smoothly and dries quickly. Now you have a full bottle of amazing polish that someone would have thrown in the garbage!


Here's the polish on my nails. It applied like a dream. However, I can't say I really like the color that much- streaky silver metallic and loads holographic glitter don't play well together. If you want a holographic silver metallic, it's best to use a holo topcoat, like China Glaze Fairy Dust or Piggy Polish Sunshine On Snowflakes on top of a silver polish to avoid the lumpy look that mixed-in glitter causes.



Here's another bottle that I revived from a dried clump of polish. It's CND Pucker Up. I ordered it online and when it arrived, the bottle was actually open and the polish was completely dried. I don't know how they didn't notice that when they packed my order, but somehow it did. I wasn't worried, I knew how to fix it and now I have a perfect polish that would have otherwise been trash!

Here's my message to you: DON'T THROW OUT YOUR POLISH! It can be fixed. I wonder how many old, rare, wonderful polishes have been chucked in the bin because they had thickened, separated or dried. The thought of it breaks my heart! To me, the older the polish, the better.

I hope this was helpful for you. I consider this to be very valuable and useful information. When I was younger, I never knew that polish could be fixed and I threw away so many bottles of gorgeous polish that I really regret getting rid of now. I wish I had them. Beautiful, unique, irreplaceable polishes that had separated or thickened. I am positively kicking myself for not holding onto them. Don't be like me!

Free Nail Polish from Misa! A gift to my readers.

Good morning everyone! I have an awesome present for you all.

Misa, one of my favorite nail polish companies, is giving you a free nail polish of your choice. All you have to do is pay shipping- a flat rate of $3.00 and you can choose any polish you like.

If you can't make up your mind on which polish to choose, you can order up to eleven additional polishes for a discounted rate of $1.50. If you choose to order more than one bottle, shipping will be a little more, but won't cost more than $7.00. If you decide to go with twelve polishes, you'll pay $23.50, and that includes shipping. Rock on!!

This is an awesome gift from Misa to my readers!

All you have to do is contact Misa and mention my blog to get your free polish. The contact information is:

PHONE: 1-888-733-6472
EMAIL: info@misacosmetics.com

Or, alternately, you can email me and I will pass the information on to them. This promotion will run until the end of January.

You can browse Misa's website for pictures of all the colors, or you can use the search function on my page so see the Misa swatches I have posted so far.

One of the things Misa does best is duochrome polish. The have some really cool duochromes, like Bo Jangles, Decadent Drifter, Embroidered Emerald, Foxy & Folksy and Road Warrior, just to name a few.

Bo Jangles


Decadent Drifter


Embroidered Emerald


Foxy and Folksy


Road Warrior


They also have some of the best neons around! My favorite neon color from Misa is Pour Me Something Tall and Strong:




Misa doesn't just have duochromes and neons, they have my other favorite formula: GLITTER.

And hey, if you're not into any of those, Misa has some of the nicest cremes, shimmers and vampy colors around. Remember the Poisoned Passion collection? Oh yeah. You know what I'm talking about.

I'll be posting some Misa swatches soon in case you need help deciding which free polish you want. I am so excited!!!


Thanks MISA!!!

OPI Need Sunglasses?

OPI Need Sunglasses?

So... why am I posting a picture of OPI Need Sunglasses? I have no idea. I just really love this color. Isn't it pretty?

Yellow polish rocks!

/random