OPI–Don’t Touch My Tutu with Bundle Monster stamping

When I want a pretty, delicate looking mani which will ‘cleanse’ my nails of all the crazy colours I’ve been painting them lately, I reach for one of my trusty OPI NYC Ballet Collection polishes.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I love these polishes. I love them to the point where I can see myself running out of some of the colours. This is almost unheard of in my world! Perhaps I should get backups?

 

Anywhoo, this is the white from the collection, Don’t Touch My Tutu:

So, so pretty. Three coats. This was probably the worst formula out of the ones I’ve used but it still wasn’t bad. It was a tiny bit troublesome in that I had a couple of bald spots when I went over the same area but that was a minor inconvenience which I sorted out pretty quickly. If this is the worst formula, I’m in love!

I freakin’ love this polish. It is so pure and pretty and is such a nice, clean slate to work with. Am I mental for being so in love with a collection of polishes?!

 

Anyway, as pretty as it was on its own, I really wanted to try some more of my Fab UR Nails metallic stamping polishes.

This time I tried the metallic blue:

Freakin’ AWESOME!!! This time I didn’t have any trouble with the design drying quicker than normal on the stamper. The Metallic Blue worked perfectly and I absolutely love the colour.

This is a Bundle Monster design which I’ve been wanting to use for a while. I got so many comments on these nails!

The only thing about these Fab Ur Nails stamping polishes … they stink like Kleancolors! So they’re definitely not 3-free. But for someone like me, that doesn’t matter!

 

Have you been rockin’ the NYC Ballet Collection polishes like me?

Em

duri–Devil Wears duri with Chi Chi Crystal Top Coat

I’ve never worn a duri polish before. My friend Kate got this for me from the US when she was there last year. It looked like such a pretty colour in the bottle!

This is Devil Wears duri:

Two coats, I believe. But could have easily been one. The formula wasn’t too shabby. It’s got a nice shimmer but it just doesn’t really do much for me!

 

So I tried to fix it:

Yeaaaah, still not doing much for me. A coat of Chi Chi Crystal Top Coat (which you could barely see) and I still wasn’t impressed.

So what did I do?

Ohh yeah, mattify it! MUCH better

 

Matte flakies are the bomb, would you agree?
Em

essence–Pink Heat & Golden Sands

I really like manis where you get to try two polishes in one! I’ve been meaning to try this combo for a while because I had a feeling it would look awesome, and luckily I was right!

This is essence Pink Heat and Golden Sands:

 

Pretty! I did two coats of the Pink Heat (which I could not get to photograph properly! It is a touch more pink in real life. Funny because it looks VERY pink in the bottle!). I then freehanded some “corners” with Golden Sands, a gorgeous golden bronze foil.

This was cute It felt really summery to me which helped me momentarily forget how freezing cold it’s been here in the mornings. I’m talkin’ 0.6 degrees Celcius here this morning! Yuck! Still, I do like it better than the blistering 45 degree days we get during Summer here! Ah, the desert, you get the best of both worlds: freezing cold and boiling hot!

 

Have you been doing dark, Wintery manis to go with the season or splashing out with some colour?
Em

Blog Sale!

Hey everyone!

It’s that time again! It’s blog sale time!

 

I’m culling my stash because I just have way too many polishes … it’s getting ridiculous! So take a look and see if there’s anything you’d like.

 

Postage will be quoted depending on how much you buy. I CAN ship internationally but only under 500g.

Please leave a comment on which polishes you’d like and it will be on a first come, first serve basis. Leave your name and email address and I’ll email you an invoice through PayPal. I will be in Adelaide until Tuesday so probably won’t be able to check this until Tuesday evening. Happy buying!

 

Em

 

B (salon brand) – 2 different pinks (unnamed) – $1 each. Ulta3 Strawberry Sundae – $1. Rimmel Tangerine Queen – $1, Milani Photo Flash – $2.

 

 

BYS Anyone for Tennis, Steal the Limelight, Pink in a Blink, Ladies that Lunch, Goldfinger – $2 each.

 

 

BYS Baby Pink, French White, Pink Manicure, Matte Grey – $2 each.

 

 

BYS Hollywood Hills, Pretty Pastel Peppermint, Sunshine, Colour Change Blue Glitter – $2 each.

 

 

Cherimoya 2012 Crackles – Apocalypse, Typhoon – $2 each.

 

Kleancolor Disco Ball, Purple Sparkle, Holiday Jingle, Firework – $1 each.

 

 

essence The Dawn is Broken – $2, essie Real Simple – $5, Zoya Angella – $5, Zoya Lisa – $5

 

NYC Colors Lemon – $0.50c, Ulta3 Lemon Tart – $0.50c

 

 

Bloom – Maui, Copenhagen – $2 each, Nicole – $5 (used for approx. 3 manis).

 

 

Miki minis – red w/ gold shimmer – $1 each, blue-green – $1. Chemistry 618 – $5, 609 – $5 each.

 

 

piCture pOlish Nude & Violet Femme – $6 each.

 

 

Modelista Sao Paulo – $3. duri Devil Wears duri – $5, k.k. unnamed gold & blue-green – $1 each.

 

 

rokk96 Silver Screen & I’ll Be Frank – $5 each. Color Club Foiled collection Antiquated & Lumin-icescent – $4 each.

 

 

Mode Cosmetics – Trendsetter, Blingin’, Style Magnet, Midas Touch – $1 each.

 

Revlon Ocean Breeze (scented), Blueberry Burst, Apricot Freeze, Pina Colada Pop – $3 each.

 

The Face Shop PK105 (Pink with purple flash) – $5 & RD301 (Orangey red scattered holo)- NEVER USED – $8 (RRP $14.95).

piCture pOlish–Violet Femme

I had high hopes for this polish. It just looked so neon in the bottle, but it just didn’t turn out that way .

 

Here is piCture pOlish Violet Femme:

See? Not neon! Meh This was two coats, brilliant formula (of course. I expect no less from PP!)

I found myself wishing I’d done some stamping or some form of nail art with this mani. It was just boring. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice purple, but not what I was hoping for.

 

Have you tried Violet Femme?

Em

Love Thy Polish–Unnamed

Good afternoon all,

I’m writing this from my sick bed. Yes, I’ve been hit with the dreaded Winter lurgy that’s been going around my small town. Unfortunately once one person you know has it, most of the town catches it. I know a lot of people who are resting up in bed right now!!

Anyway, on to the polish. This is another Love Thy Polish I created a few weeks back when I was formulating new colours. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out!

 

I haven’t named it yet because nothing has jumped out at me … any ideas?

 

Two coats. Formula was great and it was very smooth for the amount of glitter I packed into it. It’s got a peacock-y greeny blue jelly base with red and light blue glitter. Very pretty and hard to capture

 

What do you think?
Em

Revlon–Scandalous

Please forgive me for the crap photo below. This photo really does NOT do Revlon Scandalous justice. Honestly, please believe me!!!


I forgot to take a photo until a couple of days after I did this mani, hence the chip and tip wear.
This is two coats of Revlon Scandalous, formerly Facets of Fuschia. Such a beautiful polish! My friend got this for me for my birthday and I loooove it

What do you think?
Em

OPI–You Callin’ Me a Lyre? with Konad

Today I have another polish from my beloved OPI NYC Ballet Collection

This is You Callin’ Me a Lyre?

This is the darker pink of the collection. There are two pinks! This is so, so pretty and dainty, I love it!

Three coats, which seems to be the norm with this collection. But the formula was beautiful and once again, you can build up the opacity to your liking and it doesn’t streak or get bald spots.

 

I tried out my new Fab Ur Nails Metallic Pink stamping polish with one of my Konad Plates:

So pretty and vintage This Fab Ur Nails stamping polish is pretty dang good! It’s not quite as easy to use as the Konad Special Polish but you just have to adjust your technique a little. I scraped a little softer and stamped a little quicker because I found the polish dried quicker than the Konad polish. Gorgeous colour, though! I got the whole set of polishes which includes Gold, Metallic Turquoise, Silver and a couple of others!

 

Have you tried any of the Fab Ur Nails stuff?
Em

Ulta3–Strawberry Sundae

I really felt like wearing a creme polish so I picked Ulta3’s Strawberry Sundae.

I wish I didn’t!

 

Meh. It’s pink. It’s not special. The formula was poo. I have nothing good to say!

 

Here’s another not-good thing I have to say: Manicare Glam Nails Nail Art Pens are a total waste of money. I bought three while I was in Adelaide and I really wish I hadn’t. I couldn’t get the black one to work at all. The silver one took literally an hour of me shaking it and pressing the tip in and shaking it some more before the polish flowed.

So when I finally got the silver pen working, I did this:

Cool stripes, right? I look a bit like a present!

The bad part? See that thick, uneven stripe in the middle of my pinkie? That’s where the pen ran out.

Oh yes, I barely got to finish ONE HAND and my $10 nail art pen RAN OUT OF POLISH.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! What a waste of my hard earned cash. Honestly, what is the point of these pens?! I had such high hopes for them and they DO do a good job once they start working, but this is one expensive mani!!!

 

Have you tried the Manicare nail art pens yet?

Em

OPI DS Magic

I’ve been using my OPI DS polishes sparingly lately. I like to bring them out on a special occasion, like when I’m feeling a little blue and need cheering up.

 

This stunner is enough to brighten up anyone’s day!

This is OPI DS Magic:

Oh, and it truly is magic. A beautiful glittery, shimmery blue/purple duochrome. I found it really hard to get the purple to pop in the photo but you can see it a little in the bottle. It is a real stunner. It’s very bling bling without being over the top.

 

I think this is my favourite out of all the DS’ I have Which is your favourite?

 

Em

OPI–My Pointe Exactly with Pirouette My Whistle

I was  so looking forward to the OPI NYC Ballet Collection. As soon as I saw Scrangie’s swatches I knew I had to have ALL of them! I’ve been searching for the perfect french polishes for so long and I had a feeling these were it! I was actually a little scared that the collection wouldn’t live up to my expectations.

Well, I needn’t have worried. This collection is AMAZING!!!!

 

This is My Pointe Exactly:

A gorgeous light grey milk jelly. Can you say perfect?! I am so in love.

This was three coats. The awesome thing about the polishes in this collection is that you can build them up to the opacity you want. One coat adds a pretty shine and polished look to your nails, two coats adds more colour and three gives you the beautiful squishy jelly look above.

 

Of course, I had to try out Pirouette My Whistle, the lone glitter of the bunch:

Ahhhhhhhh! I love you, Pirouette My Whistle! So beautiful! Silver microglitter with tiny little silver hexes. I actually thought they were circles at first but upon closer inspection they are very subtle hexes.

 

Stay tuned for more of this collection because I can’t seem to stop wearing them

Em

essence–True Love

How many times have you worn a polish and thought “meh, I don’t love it!” and then looked at the photos and gone “wow!”

You can really see the beauty in this polish in the photos.

essence True Love from the Vampire Love collection:

Two coats. Awesome formula!

It’s really too bad I didn’t like this polish that much when I wore it, because the photos really are lovely. You can see the depth of the polish in the photos but it doesn’t seem to shine through in real life.

 

What do you think? Do you agree or do you think I’m crazy?

Em

Color Club–Fashion Addict

This polish has been sitting in my untrieds drawer for months. For some reason I just never had the desire to wear it until just the other day.

 

Unfortunately I didn’t choose a good day to wear this pretty scattered holo. No sun in sight!

 

Here is Color Club’s Fashion Addict:

Apologies for the crappy photo. Artificial light is just not the same with a holo  

Anywhoo, this was a pretty, delicate light purple scattered holo which grew on me more and more as I wore it. It helped that wear time was fabulous and I didn’t get any chips or tip wear after a few days. That’s always a winner in my book!

 

I only wish I got Revvvolution, the black holo from Color Club! But I’m seriously contemplating a No Buy for May … I have way too many untrieds to get through and I have a hard enough time picking one to wear as it is!!!

Em

Chi Chi–Everyday I’m Shufflin’

Don’t you love it when you get polish as a present and the person just completely hits the nail on the head? My partner’s mother got me a few polishes for my birthday which I got during my last Adelaide trip. And honestly, one of the polishes is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.

This is Chi Chi Everyday I’m Shufflin’:

Droooooool! Look at that BEAUTIFUL blue/green duochromey goodness? it is so, so gorgeous. This was two coats and the formula was amazing.

Chi Chi, you are amazing.

 

Here is another shot of the gorgeousness:

Ahhh. Doesn’t it just make you happy? No? Only me? I’m okay with that

 

Have you tried Everyday I’m Shufflin’?

Em