Sparkled Beauty

I Live to Shine

8/18/2010

NOTD: Icing Van Gogh and haul

Posted by Halifax @ Sparkled Beauty

I love the Claire's chain stores, you ladies already know that. The thing is Claire's is in the mall right at the bus terminal that I frequent, and Icing is way out of the way that it'd take quite a while to get to. That's why you see more Claire's hauls than Icing's :)

In the weekend, the bf drove me to Icing to browse around as it's gonna be a trip for a long while. I was excited to see more than a shade or two of polishes at the sale corner (which is not always the case). I got:

From L-R: Blue Goose, Sandy Beach, Van Gogh, Lady Lucky (matte) and Blackout.

The first 4 shades were CAD2 each, as part of the 5 for $10 sale - I got a pair of earrings to make to 5 items. I like the diversity of this group, bright/ neutral, shimmer/ matte, and 1 black, all cool tone though :)

Blackout is a highly sought-after shade but somehow I never found it in store before (I might overlooked it). This time I saw it and grabbed it right away, paid CAD5 (full price) for it.

I had enough with bare nails in the last few days, so I picked out Van Gogh to paint. I had bought a few colours from Icing before but they are still in the untry bunch, so this is My very first... Icing mani.

Van Gogh is an interesting colour to photograph.

With the flash, it appears a little more blue than IRL. On my nails, it looks like a greyish shade with a hint of blue, and in the bottle, it looks a bit more beige. I can't say I know what to call it.

The finish is a beautiful and smooth chrome, reminds me of the China Glaze chrome collection a while back. Opacity is great too, would have been ok with 1 coat if not because of the brush. More on that later, but for now, let's just say I love Van Gogh for what it is - an awesome nail polish. I don't even care if it doesn't go well with my skin tone, lol.

And, about the brush. I unfortunately picked up the bottle with a crappy brush. Looks like someone took the brush and smashed it on the ground, as it all flared out all 4 directions. It is wide and thick at the same time.

However, somehow the brush did not stop me from having an even application. After the first coat, a few spots at the corners of the nails were a bit sloppy but 1 more coat and it was beautiful all over. I can't imagine how much better it would get if the brush is in great shape.

All in all, my first experience with Icing polish is an A (A+ if with a good brush). If you live near an Icing store, check out their sale and get a few of their nail polish. That is all :)

11 comments:

  1. i've had that happen with more than one icing unfortunately. wonky brush = grr! now i try to check the bottles before i buy :) lovely color on you!

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  2. I remember there being an Icing in my local more yeaaaaaaaaaars ago, but now theres only Claires. I haven't seen any Icing stores (maybe 1) in the GTA, I'll have to look them up!

    I'm most interested in Blackout, can't wait to see a NOTD with that one.

    Oh, and thanks for the birthday wishes! (:

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  3. I really like Sandy Beach! I used to have an Icing close by but it closed down and I have no idea where's the next closest one =(

    http://xmaterialgirlsx.blogspot.com/

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  4. Van Gogh looks like my kinda color! I'll go look for it the next time i hit up Icings. I rarely go to Claire's or Icings anymore but I think I should start!

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  5. I like Blue Goose the best. What kind of a store is Icing? We don't have any in Alberta.

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  6. thanks for your comment I decided to reply back here because I know I always forget where I've commented and never check back!
    My swap with Karen was great I can't wait to try the mood polishes, my nails are super short right now though so I want to try them when I have some length! And YES! I plan on doing a major Claire's haul I can't wait! It seems like Halifax has a lot of polish selection probably because the low population? Great for us though! Where is Icing located? I didn't know they had another store for Icing!

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  7. great haul and great colour for your mani! it looks as though it has a hint of lavender in it <3

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  8. Kellie, now that bothers me if the brush is wonky more than once. I should have checked before buying from now on. Thanks for letting me know.

    Arezu, it surprises me that there're less and less Icing stores around. My whole city only has 1. Blackout is gorgeous :) Hope you had a fun birthday.

    Lisa, Sandy Beach looks like a "manequin hand" shade to me, we'll see :)

    Ashley, it is a great colour, if you can find it. I have lots of fun at Claire's and Icing :)

    Prettyonabudget, Icing is a sister store of Claire's, selling jewelries, accessories and nail polish, seems to serve a more mature clientele than Claire's

    Gaby, thanks hun :) I'll try it out soon on a NOTD.

    Smita, now I don't know whether I should answer you here or back on your blog, lol. Icing is quite a drive away, at Dartmouth Crossing - a new mall area. Easy if you have a car, but not too much with buses :)

    KONADmania, you're probably right on the lavender hint. I just suck at describing colours :)

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  9. Pretty color! I don't have any convenient Icing stores by me, either--but plenty of Claire's.

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  10. Thanks, Karen. It still bugs me why there aren't too many Icing stores around

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