I swear I didn't plan this, but I have to admit I was pretty happy that the two nail polish colors in this post are "Nirvana" and "Crowd Surfing". Sometimes titles just write themselves!
So I finally picked up Nirvana (retail: $1.99 at Walgreens), which is one of the new Sinful Colors shades, even though I own enough mushroom brown/greige/taupe shades to last me the next ten years (literally). I couldn't resist getting Nirvana, but now that I've been wearing it for a few days I have a confession to make:
I think I'm officially over greiges.
I own so many of them (Sally Hansen Commander in Chic, Rimmel Steel Gray, etc. etc.) that I just don't think you'll see me swatch another one for the rest of the year. Sorry to those who are just now discovering the beauty of greiges, but there are tons of fabulous blogs out there where you can get your fix. I just can't buy another drugstore greige at this point--it's a case of "too much of a good thing."
That said, Nirvana is a creme (no shimmer, no sparkle, no glitter) and it applies fairly well. Unlike the Sally Hansen and Rimmel versions of this shade, which take one to two coats for total opacity, Nirvana required three coats. Other than that, no problems at all with this one, although I noticed that the brush bristles in this bottle were much shorter than other Sinful Colors polishes I own. I don't know if I just got a "wonky" brush or if this is a change that's consistent with the new shades--if anyone knows, please leave a comment!
After wearing this polish for a few days and feeling "blah" about it (again, this is just due to my greige burnout) I didn't even bother to take pics. BUT THEN, I was at my local Marukai (Japanese dollar store where everything's $1.98) and I noticed that they now have a display of LA Girl Rockstar Nail Lacquers (yay!) and I was immediately drawn to Crowd Surfing, which is a sheer minty green with iridescent orange-gold flakies and smaller minty green flakies. Um, WOW! It's kind of like Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure but with a mint green base instead of a milky white base.
So here is one coat of Crowd Surfing over three coats of Nirvana:
The minty-green base of Crowd Surfing is actually pretty clear when it's on the nail--it's a VERY soft green tint, so it didn't alter the color of Nirvana much at all. What I really love about Crowd Surfing is that it's got the "glowing embers" vibe of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, but then it's also got the beautiful, and much smaller, mint green flakies.
So even though I'm officially over greiges, Crowd Surfing takes Nirvana to a whole other level and I'm absolutely in love with it.
If you were never able to find Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure when it was still available, I think LA Girls Rockstar Nail Lacquer in Crowd Surfing is a very nice alternative. And as luck would have it, the Rockstar Nail Lacquers are currently on sale over at Cherry Culture for $2.80 (regularly $4). If you're in San Diego and you want this shade, I'd hurry over to Marukai because there was only one bottle of Crowd Surfing left the last time I was there (not counting the bottle I bought)!
Do you own any of the new Sinful Colors shades, or any LA Girls Rockstar Nail Lacquers? What are your favorite shades?
I agree. Completely over greiges as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm still in love with these, but I bought Nirvana thinking it would be much more brown than it was (fluorescent lighting gets me again!).
ReplyDeleteI have a TON of SC, I'm not sure what's 'new' and what's been around a while but when they're good, they're really good, and when they are bad....let's just say my term for a polish that is awesomesauce in the bottle but would take 14 coats on the nail to get the same effect is 'Bali Mist Syndrome'. I passed on this greige but did get a taupey brown that I haven't tried yet, I guess I'm saving it for a day when I feel like going low key. I only ever had one total fail and I'm thinking it was just a bad bottle (of 24/7). Still my favorite cheap indulgence.
ReplyDeleteI haven't met a greige that looks good on me. That being said, layering it with Hidden Treasure sounds good. This is a nice look too. I haven't seen any LA Girl Rockstar polishes where I live,but I do have one that was given to me, called "Punk".
ReplyDeleteWow that is pretty! I agree, the greiges are nice, but I'm ready for pretty pastels and brights for the summer! With that said, this is a completely different look, and is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI too am over griege, until fall! Bring on the pink, peach, lilac and mint colors!
ReplyDeleteI know I need to get Crowd Surfing!!! I think Dollar Tree is the only place around here to get LA Girl polishes. I was at one today and they don't have squat! Booooo >:(
ReplyDeleteI have some L.A.Colors RockStar polishes.
ReplyDeleteMy faves so far are Addict, Punk and Groupie.
P.S. If you live in a state that has the store Five Below. Go get L.A Girl and L.A.Colors polishes now. They are on clearance. Boo!
FB decided to sell their own brand.
When I need/want more I'll have to order it now.
what a great find ive been really wanting hidden treasure but not willing to result to evilbay wish i had that store near me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a nail polish person, but I notice Sinful Colors have some really pretty shades. I almost bought some at my local Walgreens coz they were so cheap. But I didn't coz I'm not going to use them.
ReplyDeleteHey G I forgot to ask...Do you own the polish Nubar 2010? I've heard it is a great dupe of Hidden Treasure. Thoughts or opinions?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Awesome layering! How does Crowd Surfing compare to Green Ocean?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBe careful with Crowd Surfing. I layered this over a color and it stained my nails!
ReplyDeletePretty combo though.
Angie D: Haha! Glad I'm not alone.
ReplyDeleteLove,B: Aww, I hate it when that happens!
Shieldmaiden96: "Bali Mist Syndrome"!!! Bwhahahahahaha! I love that! ;) And yeah, they are DEFINITELY hit or miss, but lately I've been having a lot more hits than misses (fortunately!). xo
Starlight: Yeah, it kind of adds a whole new dimension, doesn't it? If you own any greiges already, try a sheer color on top and it might work better for you too! :)
ShakeupYourMakeup: Awww, thank you so much, sweetie! And I agree--bring on the pretty pastels and brights! :)
robin: Yes!!!! :D
Kimberly: Don't you hate it when you walk into DT full of anticipation, only to be completely let down? That's the worst. :(
Melody: Oooh, that's a great tip! Thank you! :)
BeauxsMom: Well, there's always Cherry Culture, which, if you're hauling some other goodies, wouldn't be too bad even with shipping. :)
Becky: lol! Yeah, if you're not into wearing polish, I guess that would be a waste, huh? :(
btrfly98: Would you believe I do not own any Nubars? They have been on my "to try" list forever now! Someday soon, I hope! :)
Lilybeans: Good question! Green Ocean doesn't have any of the "glowing embers" flakies (the orange-gold ones) that are in both Crowd Surfing and Hidden Treasure. Green Ocean is blue and green-based, so I would say that's the biggest difference. Also, the flakes in Crowd Surfing are smaller (even the largest pieces in Crowd Surfing are a bit smaller than the flakes in Green Ocean). Hope that helps!
Contests and Such: Oh my gosh, that sucks! I just removed my Nivrana/Crowd Surfing combo today and no staining at all. I wonder if that's because I had three layers of Nirvana on, plus a top coat, before I applied Crowd Surfing? Interesting...
Nice tip for layering flakies over Nirvana. I layer my vibrant colors with special topcoats when I want to extend my manicure but never my neutrals. Gotta try this soon!
ReplyDeleteyour nails look like an eerily close dupe to $OPI's 212 Sephora which is one of my fave glittery polishes!
ReplyDeleteYou've introduced me to greiges with your blog and I'm thinking at $1.99 a bottle, I'm defintely going to try out Nirvana! I think it would make a great professional fall shade!
ReplyDelete