Ginger+Liz Swagger Review and Swatches

A glittery metallic smorgasbord of pink.

















































Copied from Ginger+Liz website
Swagger description "So what you strut like a “rooster in a hen house”. Why shouldn’t you? You’ve got it, flaunt it! Swagger is a sexy, tough luxe metallic with rose gold undertones. Rock Glam, Casual Chic and Bohemian styles of dress are perfect contenders for Swagger. And as Liz often says, the colour is just “sexy”!"





















I have a lot of rose gold. And this looks nothing like it. Swagger is very cool in tone, and definitely has more of a pink undertone than a copper undertone (rose gold is made by adding copper to gold).

Also, it is a glittery metallic, which made it apply and remove like a glitter. The underlying glitter is a solid silver.

Due to glitter concentration, this wasn't actually as difficult to remove as a sparser glitter. It still isn't a favorite of mine.


This was the manicure I wore to the Black Eyed Peas concert. It was a Fergie homage. And the homage came to a close the next day.

No shrinkage, tip wear, or chipping by 24 or so hours. This seemed to hold up well, but I wasn't putting the mani through a typical day's wear.

Barielle Hydrating Silk base
2 coats Swagger
Diamont Top coat


Swagger dried quickly, and Diamont really was an afterthought.





















Ginger+Liz Swagger on pointer and ring, China Glaze Delight on middle. (As as aside, all of my CG polishes are starting to lose their script, as seen in the bottle above. I've got black paint flecks on everything!)

















China Glaze Robotika on middle and pinky.




















China Glaze Hi-Tek above and below. Hi-Tek has the warmer glow I was hoping for and expecting from Ginger+Liz Swagger.  And Hi-Tek isn't all that warm, so this shows the ultra cool shading of Swagger.

Lacquer Toxicity - 3-free formulae are NOT created equal

Skin Deep Toxicity Levels for Polishes taken from the Environmental Working Group's CosmeticsDatabase.com

CND - 3

Nfu-Oh - 3

Sephora by OPI - 3

American Apparel - 4

Misa - 4

Revlon - 4

Shades by Barielle - 4

Zoya - 4

BB Couture For Nails - 5

China Glaze - 5

Color Club - 5

Nubar - 5

OPI - 5

Rescue Beauty Lounge - 5

RGB - 5

Diamond Cosmetics - 6

Ginger+Liz - 6

Illamasqua - 6

NARS - 6

Orly - 6

SpaRitual - 6

The worst ingredient identified by Skin Deep is Triphenyl Phosphate, effects are listed as: Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Neurotoxicity, Allergies/Immunotoxicity; Occupational Hazards.

China Glaze, Illamasqua, Nubar, OPI, Orly, RBL, RGB, Shades by Barielle, and SpaRitual all contain Triphenyl Phosphate.

The list of ingredients below does assume that companies are not making massive changes from one batch to the next of their 3-free formula. I am surprised by the CND result of such a low toxicity reading. However, I suppose it makes sense, since these are one of the most recent releases. Which I also suppose makes Ginger+Liz high toxicity reading so surprising.

The most toxic ingredients as per "Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database" results are bolded in each of the lists below.

American Apparel Ingredients

Butyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetate, Nitrocellulose, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Isopropyl Alcohol, Camphor, Benzophenone-1

BB Couture For Nails Ingredients

butyl acetate; ethyl acetate; nitrocellulose; acetyl tributyl citrate/phthalic anhydride/trimellitic anhydride/glycols copolymer; isopropyl alcohol; stearalkonium hectorite; adipic acid/fumaric acid/phthalic acid/tricyclodecane dimethanol copolymer; citric acid; titanium dioxide; red 6 barium lake; red 7 calcium lake; red 34 calcium lake; yellow 5 aluminum lake; yellow 10 aluminum lake; blue 1 aluminum lake; ferric ammonium ferrocyanide; red iron oxide; black iron oxide; guanine; bismuth oxychloride; mica; violet 2; polyethylene terephthalate; synthetic fluorphlogopite; Sucrose acetate isobutyrate; dimethicone; diethylhexyl adipate

China Glaze Ingredients

ethyl acetate; butyl acetate; nitrocellulose; propyl acetate; tosylamide formaldehyde resin; isopropyl alcohol; trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate; triphenyl phosphate; ethyl tosylamide; camphor; stearalkonium bentonite; diacetone alcohol; stearalkonium hectorite; benzophenone-1; citric acid; kaolin; dimethicone; mica; ferric ammonium ferrocyanide

CND Ingredients

butyl acetate; ethyl acetate; nitrocellulose; acetyl tributyl citrate; phthalic anhydride/trimellitic anhydride/glycols copolymer; isopropyl alcohol; titanium dioxide; adipic acid/fumaric acid/phthalic acid/tricyclodecane dimethanol copolymer; adipic acid/neopentyl glycol/trimellitic anyhydride copolymer; sucrose acetate isobutyrate; stearalkonium hectorite; citric acid; ethyl tosylamide; iron oxides

Color Club Ingredients

butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, nitrocellulose, acrylic resin, isopropyl alcohol, camphor, benzophenone #1, may contain: D&C Red #6, D&C Red #7, D&C Red #34, iron oxides, titanium oxide, ferric ferrocyanide, trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate, bismuth oxychloride, D&C Yellow #5

Diamond Cosmetics Ingredients

Butyl Acetate; Ethyl Acetate; Nitrocellulose; Acetyl Tributyl Citrate; Phthalic Anhydride/Trimellitic Anhydride/Glycols Copolymer; Isopropyl Alcohol; Stearalkonium Hectorite; Adipic Acid/Fumaric Acid/Phthalic Acid/Tricyclodecane Dimethanol Copolymer; Citric Acid; colorants; Polyethylene Terephthalate; Calcium Sodium Borosilicate; Titanium Dioxide; Tin Oxides Silica; Aluminum Powder; Iron Oxides; Aluminum Powder; Fragrance 

Ginger+Liz Ingredients

Butyl Acetate; Ethyl Acetate; Nitrocellulose; Acetyl Tributyl Citrate; Phthalic Anhydride/Trimellitic Anydride/Glycols Copolymer; Isopropyl Alcohol; Stearalkonium Hectorite; Adipic Acid/Fumaric Acid/Phthalic Acid/Tricyclodecane Dimethanol Copolymer; Citric Acid; colors; Polytheylene Terepthalate; Calcium Sodium Borosilicate; Titanium Dioxide; Tin Oxides Silica; Aluminum Powder; Iron Oxides; Aluminum Powder; Fragrance

Illamasqua Ingredients

ethyl acetate; butyl acetate; nitrocellulose; propyl acetate; tosylamide-formaldehyde resin; isopropyl alcohol; triphenyl phosphate; trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate; stearalkonium bentonite; ethyl tosylamide; camphor; diacetone alcohol; benzophenone-1; citric acid; dimethicone; titanium dioxide; mica; bismuth oxychloride; ferric ferrocyanide; aluminum powder

Nfu-Oh Ingredients

Ethyl Acetate; Butyl Acetate; Nitrocellulose; Acetyl Tributyl Citrate; Isobutyl Acetate; Isopropyl Alcohol; Adipic Acid/Neopentyl; Silica; Styrene-Acrylates Copolymer; N-Butyl Alcohol; Cl 26100

Misa Ingredients

butyl acetate; ethyl acetate; nitrocellulose; adipic acid/neopentyl glycol/trimellitic anhydride copolymer; acetyl tributyl citrate; isopropyl alcohol; red 5 lake; acrylates copolymer; yellow 5 lake; stearalkonium bentonite; red 7 lake; styrene/acrylates copolymer; n-butyl alcohol; silica; benzophenone-1; titanium dioxide; trimethylpentanediyl dibenzoate; polyvinyl butyral

NARS Ingredients

ETHYL ACETATE ; BUTYL ACETATE ; ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL ; ADIPIC ACID/NEOPENTYL GLYCOL/TRIMELLITIC ANHYDRIDE COPOLYMER ; NITROCELLULOSE ; TRIPHENYL PHOSPHATE ; TRIMETHYL PENTANYL DIISOBUTYRATE ; CALCIUM ALUMINUM BOROSILICATE ; ETHYL TOSYLAMIDE ; STEARALKONIUM BENTONITE ; DIACETONE ALCOHOL ; TOSYLAMIDE/EPOXY RESIN ; SUCROSE ACETATE ISOBUTYRATE ; BENZOPHENONE-1 ; STEARALKONIUM HECTORITE ; ETOCRYLENE ; CAMPHOR ; CITRIC ACID ; DIMETHICONE ; SILICA ; MAY CONTAIN: MICA ; CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE) ; CI 77491 CI 77492 CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES) ; CI 19140 (YELLOW 5 LAKE) ; CI 15850 (RED 6 LAKE, RED 7 LAKE) ; CI 15880 (RED 34 LAKE) ; CI 77510 (FERRIC AMMONIUM FERROCYANIDE) ; CI 75170 (GUANINE) ; CI 77163 (BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE) ; CI 77000 (ALUMINUM POWDER) ; CI 73360 (RED 30 LAKE) ; CI 60725 (VIOLET 2) ; CI 47000 (YELLOW 11) ; CI 26100 (RED 17) ; CI 17200 (RED 33) ; CI 45370 (ORANGE 5) ; CI 42090 (BLUE 1)

Nubar Ingredients

Ethyl Acetate; Butyl Acetate; Nitrocellulose, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer, Isopropyl Alcohol; Triphenyl Phosphate; Trimethyl Pentanyl Diisobutyrate; Butyl Alcohol; Stearalkonium Hectorite; Citric Acid; Benzophenone-1; Dimethicone; Mica; Titanium Dioxide; Black Iron Oxide, Red Iron Oxide; FD&C Yellow #5; Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide; Bismuth Oxychloride; D&C Red #7; D&C Red #6; D&C Red #34

OPI Ingredients

ethyl acetate; butyl acetate; nitrocellulose; propyl acetate; tosylamide/formaldehyde resin; isopropyl alcohol; trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate; triphenyl phosphate; ethyl tosylamide; camphor; stearalkonium bentonite; diacetone alcohol; stearalkonium hectorite; benzophenone-1; citric acid; dimethicone; alumina

Orly Ingredients

butyl acetate; ethyl acetate; isopropyl alcohol; nitrocellulose; adipic acid/neopentyl glycol/ trimellitic anhydride copolymer; triphenyl phosphate; trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate; stearalkonium bentonite; ethyl tosylamide; tosylamide/epoxy resin; sucrose acetate isobutyrate; stearalkonium hectorite; etocrylene; benzophenone-1; citric acid; acetyl tributyl citrate; aluminum powder; water;calcium sodium borosilicate; dimethicone; polyethylene phthalate; polyvinyl butyral; propyl acetate; silica; styrene/acrylates copolymer; synthetic fluorphigopite; tin oxide; Trimethylsiloxysilicate; mica; bismuth oxychloride; ferric ferrocyanide; ammonium ferrocyanide; titanium dioxide

Rescue Beauty Lounge Ingredients

ethyl acetate; butyl acetate; isopropyl alcohol; adipic acid/neopentyl glycol/trimellitic anhydride copolymer; nitrocellulose; triphenyl phosphate; trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate; stearalkonium bentonite; diacetone alcohol; ethyl tosylamide; sucrose acetate isobutyrate; tosylamide/epoxy resin; stearalkonium hectorite; camphor; etocrylene; benzophenone-1; citric acid; aluminum powder; polyethythene terephthalate

RGB Ingredients

ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, isopropyl alcohol, nitrocellulose, adipic acid / neopentyl glycol / trimellitic anhydride copolymer, trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate, triphenyl phosphate, stearalkonium hectorite, diacetone alcohol, citric acid, dimethicone, benzophenone-1, red iron oxide, ferric ammonium ferrocyanide, mica, titanium dioxide

Revlon Ingredients

Ethyl Acetate; Butyl Acetate; Nitrocellulose; Tri-Benzoin; Isopropyl Alcohol; Propyl Acetate; Acetyl Tributyl Citrate; Stearalkonium Bentonite; Serica (Silk Powder); Dimethicone; PPG-2 Dimethicone; Triacetin; Citric Acid; Malic Acid; Tetrabutyl Phenyl Hydroxybenzoate; Stearalkonium Hectonite; Calcium Sodium Borosilicate; Silica; Alumina; Polyacrylate-4

Sephora by OPI

butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, nitrocellulose, tosylamide/epoxy resin, acetyl tributyl citrate, isopropyl alcohol, stearalkonium bentonite, benzophenone-1, silica, trimethylpentanediyl dibenzoate, polyvinyl butyral, cl 77891, cl 15850, cl 77491, cl 77120.

Shades by Barielle Ingredients

ethyl acetate; butyl acetate; isopropyl alcohol; nitrocellulose; polyester resin; trimethyl pentanediol diisobutyrate; triphenyl phosphate; stearalkonium hectorite; benzophenone-1; ferric ammonium ferrocyanide; titanium dioxide; bismuth oxychloride; mica

SpaRitual Ingredients

ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, nitrocellulose, adipic acid/neopentyl glycol/ trimellitic anhydride copolymer, isopropyl alcohol, propyl acetate, trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate, triphenyl phosphate, butyl alcohol, stearalkonium hectorite, stearalkonium bentonite, benzophenone-1, citric acid, dimethicone, ethyl tosylamide, tosylamide/epoxy resin, sucrose acetate copolymer, acetyl tributyl citrate, polyvinyl butyral, trimethylsiloxylsilicate, titanium dioxide, mica, silica, bismuth oxychloride, ferric ammonium forrocyanide, aluminum powder, tin oxide, water

Zoya Ingredients

butyl acetate; propyl acetate; ethyl acetate; nitrocellulose; isopropyl alcohol; polyester resin; camphor; stearalkonium hectorite; benzophenone-1; titanium dioxide; iron oxide; ferric ammonium ferrocyanide


The polishes in the picture are:

China Glaze V

CND Guava

Misa Dirty, Sexy, Money

Nfu-Oh 124

PeaceKeeper Paint Me Patient

OPI My Private Jet (original)

Orly GingerLily

Rescue Beauty Lounge Starfish Patrick

RGB Cognac

Revlon Peach Nectar

Shades by Barielle Driven

Sephora by OPI Brainiac

SpaRitual Fall in Love

Zoya Austine

Vogue 8546 - Dress Pattern

Simple princess seamed knit dress with keyhole bodice.

The keyhole is not at all deep, and perfectly wearable to a variety of functions.






















I made the dress pattern with sleeves for a work appropriate outfit ... for those throw and go days.







































A Vogue wardrobe pattern, this had a mix of pieces that appealed to me. But now that I've made up the dress, I am less impressed.


The shaping of the princess seams is really throwing me. The inward turn to the centerpoint seems ... odd. And I'm just not sure the keyhole is me.







































Pattern Adjustments -
- size 12 bodice to 14 hips

- added 5/8" to the length at waist

- sway back adjustment by NOT adding length at the center back and incrementally rotating out the waistline to meet the added length in front

- dropped bust point by 1 inch

I lengthened the hem by one inch and added a one inch hem facing. I like deeper hems in knits. The hem is totally off ... I did not walk the pattern so: either the back pieces are too long in the pattern OR I added too much length to the back. The jury is out.

I added pockets, but got the opening too shallow ... ugh. It works to hold a cellphone, the most important job at the moment. When my alarm buzzed today in class, I could feel it radiate up the length of the fabric ... I was leaning over enough that I couldn't feel it against my leg. That was an odd sensation.

I also reworked the facing to catch in the armscye, and interfaced the neckline all around.















This is the very last of my bird family knit. Some of the cheapest fabric I have ever found in my life. It ate up needles like they fall from the sky. There are so many skipped stitches! The fabric stiffness has added wrinkles galore and makes the dress fall away from the body.

I do think half of my problems are solely due to the fabrication used. But that has little effect on the keyhole and princess seams.

I am tempted to make this without the keyhole in a nice fabric before I make a final toss or keep decision for this pattern.

China Glaze Peachy Keen

China Glaze's Peachy Keen is awfully, uh, bright.





















Barielle Hydrating Ridge Filler Base
3 coats lacquer
1 coat CND "Air Dry"


Not streaky so much a wash when applied thinly. After two applications, I still had some funny washed looking nails along with some bright nails. A third coat gave them all a bright evenness.

I had some tipwear at day three, but it did hold up remarkably well during a spectacular crash that shaved off nail layers. Very little chipping around the damage.














Laid out on my colorcard, I can't figure out what "Peachy Keen" is ... it is not orange, it is not red, it is not pink. It is a funky combination of the three.

I'd definitely consider it a nectar/melon color. And it looks horrid on me. I suspect someone with some skin pigmentation would pull this off much better than myself.

It is flirting with neoness when mixed with my pale yellowed skin tone.

Ginger+Liz Polish Tough Luxe

Update -

I wore this on the first half of my Florida Vacation as a Pedi color.  And it just doesn't cut it when you can't get it close to your eyes to ooh and aah.

The bling just isn't there when it is 5 feet from your head.  I just ended up with a dark muddy green on my toes that just did not thrill me at all.


I would recommend this as a mani color ONLY!































 

Ginger+Liz

I ordered three polishes from this new company and tried Tough Luxe first for a pre-St. Patty's mani.

Tough Luxe is a blinged out military reminiscent color. A medium/dark green washed with cadet blue liberally sprinkled with gold and multicolored microglitter. Wow.

The Good-
The lacquer has an excellent application and brush (great shape and width, not as wide as the ProWide, which meant my pinky application wasn't all over the place).

No cuticle drag.

Dries quickly.

It does not have the strong chemical smell I'm used to from lacquer ... hm ...



The Bad -
Thin is streaky, so two thick coats work best for even coverage.

It doesn't have the strong smell because it has a cover fragrance. Not good.



The Ugly -
Tip wear and a chip on the second day. I don't think longevity is a character of this polish.



Skin Deep rates this polish a 6 out of 10 on the toxicity scale.

Ingredients:
Butyl Acetate
Ethyl Acetate
Nitrocellulose
Acetyl Tributyl Citrate
Phthalic Anhydride/Trimellitic
Anhydride/Glycols Copolymer
Isopropyl Alcohol
Stearalkonium Hectorite
Adipic Acid/Fumaric Acid/Phthalic Acid/Tricyclodecane Dimethanol Copolymer
Citric Acid
a freak load of color
Polyethylene
Terephthalate
Calcium Sodium Borosilicate
Titanium Dioxide
Tin Oxides Silica
Aluminum Powder
Iron Oxides
Aluminum Powder
Fragrance