OPI Nicki Minaj Super Bass Shatter & Colors

Hey Everyone! We're a little late to the party with the Nicki Minaj collection from OPI. We usually like to post right before colors come out, but it's been a busy month and we are just now posting our review of this set.

At the heart of OPI's Nicki Minaj nail polishes is the Super Bass Shatter. This purple shatter is a hit! The collection also includes Dig It On 'Em, Fly, Pink Friday, Save Me, (all of which are pictured) and Metallic 4 Life, which isn't shown - yet.

About the Super Bass Shatter: It's no surprise we love it. The purple is a good color choice. It shatters well, but like all of our crackle polish reviews, we have some notes. In our experience, the deeper pigmented shatters tend to dry out faster, so keep the lid on this one as much as possible. Also common with reds and dark colors is the streaking that transfers onto the top coat brush. Just brush it against a tissue before you dip the top coat brush back into the clear bottle, and you won't color your top coat red. In case you are tempted to try Sally Hansen's Purple Crackle as a dup for the OPI Super Bass Shatter, don't bother. We've been there, done that, and are NOT a fan of that one. (See our review here.)

The Nicki Minaj Colors:
We purchased a mini set, which is a great way to discover new shades at a fraction of the price. It's ideal for us, because honestly, the yellow-green Dig It On 'Em wasn't our first color choice when viewing the bottle. It was our favorite under the Super Bass Shatter though. Dig It On 'Em had a sheer application, and took us three coats to match the shade in the bottle. Pink Friday and Fly applied well in just two coats. The pink was our favorite for an everyday look, yet we liked the deep teal blue Fly for the right occasion.

The OPI Mini-Set included Save Me, but FYI, the box stated it was Metallic 4 Life. (That shade is much darker.) We really liked Save Me, a clear polish infused with silver shimmer and elongated glitter flecks - so much so that we are buying a full-size bottle before it goes away. We also plan to pick up Metallic 4 Life, which we will add to this post. Check back for more OPI Nicki Minaj swatches! :)

Revlon Custom Eyes at Target

Two Glambo Girls walk into a store... They each have different complexions and skin tones, yet they both independently pick out the exact same set of eyeshadows. Sounds like the beginning of a bad bar joke, right?

It's true. We wanted to try Revlon Custom Eyes and were both drawn to the neutral set of colors exclusive to Target. We applied it several times and compared notes.

The set includes a black, great for using as a liner or a smokey eye; a glittered gold, used for the inside corner of the eye, but beware, that glitter travels onto the rest of your face; a taupe for the base of the lid, which we really liked; a white shimmer, which we used under the brow line; and a brown with gold glitter flecks. The brown didn't go on as dark as we thought it would, and the glitter didn't really transfer onto the eyelid. We used the applicator that came with the set a few times, then switched back to our usual make-up brushes. The brown applied better with our version.

It opens from the side, not the top of the shadows.

After using Revlon Custom Eyes for quite some time, we noticed the guide on the back. Turns out, we were using all the colors in the 'correct' suggested places.



Application Guide for Revlon Custom Eyes


We both liked the neutral tones. Like most eye shadow sets, we continued to use some colors more than others. We eventually added a shadow that we already had to create our daily look. For a drug store brand, we liked it, and would buy it again.

Chinese New Year Nails

This year, Chinese New Year falls on January 23rd. Red and gold colors symbolize luck and good fortune, and we thought this was the perfect opportunity for a gold shatter manicure. We added the Chinese symbol for 'luck' with a nail art brush and black nail polish. Not too bad for our first free-handed attempt at Chinese lettering.

May the Year of the Dragon bring you good luck, prosperity and happiness.
Love,
The Glambo Girls

Alyssa Milano Goes Jersey

We aren't Jersey Girls, but we are always intrigued by a good Jersey transformation. From Snooki's Fanned Duck Nails to BumpIts, Glambo's got you covered. We laughed as our favorite SNL alumni "Hit the Jersey Floor" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. And, now, it's Allysa Milano who gets Jersey-ified in this short video from Funny or Die.

Alyssa Milano's Evolution: Jersey Shore from Alyssa Milano

Republic Nail - Crackle Nail Polish

While at the local Walgreens, we noticed yet another brand of crackle nail polish. We had never heard of this company before, but since we have tried all others, we decided to put Republic Nail 'Green F' Crackle to the test.

It retails for $5.99, which is the cheapest of the bunch. It also comes packaged, which is different from other shatter nail polish brands. There are basic instructions in English and Spanish: Base color, crackle, top coat. What was interesting is that there was an expiration date. Ours was purchased in August of 2011 and it expires in November of 2012. This makes sense since nail polish thickens as it ages, and crackle polish tends to dry out. Republic Nail also states, "Strongly shake before using."

The style of the brush and the consistency of the polish made it difficult to use thin brush strokes, but that didn't seem to be a problem since the thick coats crackled better. (Every brand and sometimes even color can vary the optimal application technique.) This polish has a very strong paint thinner odor, unlike any nail polish we have ever tried. We would suggest using it in a well ventilated area, but not under a ceiling fan as crackle polishes will dry out in the bottle. This brand thickened some during use.




(Please forgive the short nails. They broke right before trying this polish.)

We used a white nail polish as our base color. The green crackle had a very matte, almost chaulk-like finish to it once applied. A top coat added some shine. Republic Nail crackled okay. We did get some on our skin, which was not easy to remove, and our cuticles seemed dried out. (You can see it in our photo even after we used lotion.) We selected the neon green color since we had not seen that shade before. The polished effect matches the bottle. (It definitely has a bright, day-glo hue in different lighting.)

We would pick a similar green as a base color and top it with a another brand of white shatter to create this combination in the future. If you have the option, our advice is to spend the extra $1-$3 to buy another brand. We're not going to officially give it a Glambo Dis, but we're not raving fans of this brand.

OPI GelColor

Hello Beauties! We Glambo Girls always love to share the latest and greatest beauty finds, and today, we are super excited about OPI's upcoming release of their GelColor line. We got a sneak peek at our local pro beauty supply. They only had two bottles and aren't even allowed to sell them yet, so we feel lucky to get a glimpse to share.

What is OPI GelColor? Basically, it's a gel nail formula that you can apply just like regular nail polish, then cure with a light. There are gel nail products on the market right now, but GelColor is a little different. Unlike it's closest counterpart (aka competition /CND Shellac,) this formula uses a LED light instead of a UV light AND cures in just 30 seconds! Plus, it comes in 30 shades of OPI's existing most popular colors. That means that there is a regular bottle of nail polish we can use for that little bit of outgrowth or to match for a non-gel pedicure. Manicurists will love the price point, because for just a few dollars more than the competitive brand, OPI gives an extra .50 ounce of product.

OPI already has Axxium, which is a colored gel nail product that comes in little pots and is applied with a separate nail brush. Although that product is good, we LOVE the idea of GelColor. There is something about the traditional looking bottle of nail polish with it's own brush that is appealing. All of the OPI bottles are black with the lid showing the name and color of the bottle's contents. We like this idea so that the GelColor doesn't accidentally get mixed up with the matching OPI nail polish shades.

OPI Promotional Shot of gelcolor in Russian Navy.

For those lucky nail techs out there that purchased OPI GelColor, let us know what you think. If you are headed to the salon for nail services, be sure to ask for OPI GelColor by name. We look forward to hearing your experiences with what promises to be a very hot new product.

How to Create a 3D Lip

This quick video comes to us from MAC backstage at fashion week. Very easy to do and can be created with any brand of lip product (although we are partial to MAC.)

Enjoy!

Glambo Reviews Cami Secret - Shhhh!

Front of Cami Secret Package

The secret is that if you are a busty girl (and therefore need to cover a lot of cleavage,) Cami Secret doesn't work! We loved the idea. Those of us that developed generously know it's hard to find clothes that fit properly. Tank tops worn under shirts add bulk to the waist. The mock camisole seemed like a great solution. We hoped it would be an opportunity to expand our hard to fit wardrobe. A little extra coverage can go a long way to make that top more appropriate for the office or even for church. (No girl wants to see her Pastor, Priest, Rabbi or Bishop with the girls poppin' out.)

The package contains three mock camis; one white, one nude / beige, and one black.
The problem is that using Cami Secret to cover big boobs is like trying to cover a big bootie with a thong! It just doesn't work!

The First Set of Problems:

The camis are not that wide, and the V shape at the bottom is too severe. When laid over our bras, the bottom of the cami barely touched the top of the underwire between the breasts. (It definitely shows more coverage in the commercials and on the package.) We were worried that the 'flap' would come out the top of the neckline of our shirt. Talk about embarrassing! That would draw more attention to our breasts than simply showing cleavage.

Problem 2: The clasps are too small to go around full figured bra straps. We actually had to fold over the strap of the bra to get the cami clasp to close. Then, one side popped off and opened. We joked about poking our eye out. And, no, we are not putting pictures of our boobs on the Internet - even for the sake of beauty blogging. :)

Good Luck Getting this Clasp Around your Bra Strap!



Photo of Back of
Cami Secret Packaging.
'Gap' text added.

Problem 3: The clasp needs to go around the bra strap, but that point is higher up on the bra for large cup sizes. It put the top/ lacy part of the Cami Secret too close to the base of the neck (about the width of three to four fingers for us.) That's too much coverage over the chest area, and not enough over the bustline, as we previously described.

Problem 4: The Gap
There was a huge space between the cami and the bra. The photo on the back of the package shows a slight gap, but it was MUCH larger in real life. Depending on the cut of the shirt, the edge of the cami could show, along with some skin -
in all the wrong places!

Cami Secret, we want to like you, but for raising the hopes of busty women everywhere, and then failing to deliver, you get a Glambo DIS!

The Hangover

Ah, January 1st of The New Year brings such possibilities for the future. So many resolutions to follow through on, so many adventures to experience, places to go, people to meet, and beauty products to try! But let's face it, none of this is going to happen until you get rid of this nasty HANGOVER!

Some of Glambo's best advice for battling a hangover, so you can get on with your life: GET HYDRATED! Drink lots of water. And next time you indulge in too many cocktails, drink a lot of water before you head to bed. Most of the hangover syptoms we experience (headache, dizziness, and lightheadedness) are caused by dehydration.

Also, if your stomach can handle it, try a banana to replace some electrolytes and potassium. In addition to this, an aspirin or ibuprofen will work to get rid of the headache--but only if you do not have an upset stomach!

If you have an upset stomach, in our experience, it may be the best thing to have a little Pepto Bismol (if you can tolerate it), and let it run it's course. Still, drink water if you can.

Take a nice long SHOWER, using one of our favorite aromatherapy products: SHOWER BURST Hangover Buster. It's specially formulated with 100% essential oils (nothing artificial) by our friends at Hydra to counteract the symptoms of the morning after. This essential oil blend includes Juniper, Rosemary and Lemon, and combined with a hot steamy shower, it really has worked to help me break out of a hangover and feel human again! These retail for $3.95 online and are worth more than every penny.

Now, once you are all freshened up, may we recommend a little undereye concealer to hide the dark circles, a few sweeps of mascara, some peachy sheer blush, and a swipe of lipgloss, to make you feel pretty and ready to face the New Year.

We hope 2012 brings much happiness and beauty to your life !
XOXO
The Glambo Girls