BBC "Grenade" vs CG "Agro" Comparison

Hello lovely ladies and lacquered lads... Today, I saw a swatch of CG "Agro", and it's a gorgeous color... but it reminded me very much of my beloved third-ever color, BB Couture For Men "Grenade". So, here's a comparison:

The index & ring have Grenade, the middle and pinky have Agro. Please excuse the sloppy cuticles - I was rushing to catch the sun...

Taken in full sun:

Taken in indirect sunlight:

These colors are very similar, but they're not dupes. The Agro has more of the gold shimmer, in the sunlight it's almost hard to call it a green. The Grenade shows a more subtle gold shimmer in the sun, and is a deeper, more elegant green indoors and in the shade.

Application was great with both products - I slapped these on thick, with little drying between coats, and both were very forgiving... no bubbles or dragging from either one. If I didn't have either, I'd be happy with the other, but if I could only pick one, I would take the Grenade. OTOH, the Grenade costs more, and I had to order mine, while China Glaze is available at many conveniently located cosmetics retailers!

Considering the similarity between these two colors, I would guess that Agro might have been inspired by Grenade - but that's PURELY a guess. IF it's true, that would mean that China Glaze is trying to emulate a MEN'S Nail Color - which I see as an awesome sign for the whole male polish "movement".

I purchased each of these with my own money, and I have not been compensated in any way for this review.

2009 My Private Jet! SCORE!!

(Here's the blog post I promised on Saturday )
<Singing> (with apologies to Dean Martin)
How lucky can one guy be?
I found one, right next to three..

I'm the fella that said,
"Gimme all four of My Private Jet!"

This color ain't really black
But I'm never takin' 'em back.
I said "just wrap 'em to go
I love that holo-y glow!"

My head keeps spinning;
I see my hands and I can't stop grinning.
Hope you don't mind my singing,
but this color is so beautiful.
When the sun hits my nails just right,
Rainbow flashes fill me with delight!
It's like the nail tech said
"I'll make you a bet..
you're gonna love My Private Jet!"

Like the nail tech said,
You gotta get My Private Jet!

My head keeps spinning;
I see my hands and I can't stop grinning.

Hope you don't mind my singing,
but this color is so beautiful.

It's not Original '07 "Jet"
2009 was the best I could get;
Still, the holo is there;
Thank God for Spectraflair!
You know I'll be keepin' the set;
Tell me quick, don't you love 'Jet?
Don't you love, My Private Jet?
</singing>

This was my second attempt at a dusty hunt - I hauled these 4 pretties home and also a bottle of "A Man In Every Portugal" - my first OPI black label, it's like a creme version of my beloved "Bogota Blackberry", so it's a better match to my favorite shirt!

Of course, I'm still keeping an eye out for an original, 2007 MPJ... but I'm incredibly happy to have found these!

New Men's Nail Blog - It's Ok For Men to Have Painted Nails in Public

My friend Guy has started a new blog about his experiences with painted toes! Check him out!
It's Ok For Men to Have Painted Nails in Public: Introduction to my Blog:

NOTD - St. Pat's Mani/Pedi...

St. Patricks has come and gone... I hope everyone had their share of the green beer, corned beef etc...

This was my mani for the weekend. It's another green one - sorry for that - but it's the last green I'll do for a while, I'm kinda greened-out. Anyway, on my toes I'm wearing "Watermelon Rind" by China Glaze - this time, over a coat of white, because I wanted to brighten it up for the holiday, and my toes like to be more sparkly than my hands do... On my fingers, I took this opportunity to finally try out my Butter London "British Racing Green". Here it is:


 

The photo makes the colors look almost identical - but the Watermelon Rind is actually much sparklier and a little brighter than the BRG. I apologize for the sloppy application - my heart wasn't entirely in this one just because I've worn a lot of green lately. I have to say though that the BRG is an awesome formula - it goes on smooth as butter, covers in one coat, and dries quickly. I'll come back to this one often!

Travelling Nail Polish!

I've posted a new page - http://lacquerman.blogspot.com/p/travelling-polish.html

If anyone would be interested in signing up for a nail polish relay, as a way to interact with other NP addicts, check out my page at http://lacquerman.blogspot.com/p/travelling-polish.html 

Or, just go to this Google map, click "Edit", add a placemark for yourself and put your name, city, state, zip and email in your placemark's description.
View Nail Polish Relay in a larger map

NOTD - THE Green I've Searched For! *UPDATED*

One of my favorite colors in the whole world is the iridescent green-black of a mallard duck's head. I've looked for a nail polish like that - and I think I've found it in Finger Paints "Avant Garde Green".

This is an incredible color, a shimmery emerald green, that looks almost black at oblique angles in direct light. Unfortunately, I had trouble with application... the Finger Paints brush is a standard narrow round, and the formula is on the thick side, so the brush doesn't fan out well, and the polish doesn't flow well on the nail. I ended up putting it on too thick to compensate, which led to bubbling. I had to redo several fingers, and one needed redone again... On the bright side, it does seem to dry faster than other Finger Paints I have used. Still, the result is worth the effort - I love the color, and I'll wear this often!

*UPDATE*
Just for fun, I tried another approach to achieve the same "Mallard Green" effect.

This time, I applied an opaque, true black. Then, I floated two drops (per 2 nails) of China Glaze "Watermelon Rind" on water, and dipped my nails as per water marbling. This gave me a very thin, even coat of WR over the black. WR is more sparkly than shimmery, and at this thickness it flashes brilliant green and then abruptly goes black. The color is darker than WR on its own (shown on the pinky), and is very similar to the color of the AGG above... but the color is more "active" in motion (makes it harder to photograph though), and much more dazzling in sunlight. Plus, even with the water dip, application was easier because the black goes on super smooth and glossy, the green lays right on, it all dries faster, and I had no bubbling issues and no need to redo anything.


Of the two versions here, I like the second one better!

(Disclosure: I bought this all myself, I have not been compensated in any way for this review.)

Say Hello To My Little Friends!

The awesome ladies in the FB group "Polish-aholics Anonymous" have been all excited about a Walgreens sale on Sinful Colors polishes... so I thought I would grab some.

Aren't they great? Front & center is Cinderella, flanked by Savage and Exotic Green. Behind them is Courtney Orange, 24/7 (pink) and Out Of This World.

Also, say hello to my new camera! It's a Nikon Coolpix S4100, with 14MP, 3" touchscreen, 5x optical zoom and an awesome macro setting! It also shoots 720P video... Look at the second photo in full size. Zoom in on the ingredients label on Cinderella - except for where the bottle curves, you can see every word! This camera cost $99 at Best Buy - I remember paying more than that for a single camera lens, back when photos were shot on film and $100 was a lot of money! Now that I have a respectable camera, I can get to work on a full tutorial for the turquoise mineral nail art.... look for that this weekend.

Here's another photo from the Nikon..

That's right - this week I have Skittle Toes! The colors (right to left) are NOPI Prized Possession Purple, OPI Fly, Sinful Colors Exotic Green, Jordana Mellow Yellow, Jordana Orangesicle, OPI Bogota Blackberry, Orangesicle, Mellow Yellow, Exotic Green, and Fly. Yes, they're in ROYGBIV rainbow order - I'm a little OCD that way...

Anyway, thank you to my newest followers, and a giant bearhug to Megan at Painting Rainbows for mentioning me on her blog. This week's pedi is for her!