Revlon–Glitz n’ Glam

This is another ancient photo but I still remember this mani well. Why? Because it was the first time I tried the PVA base coat from Essence, of course!

Now ladies (and gents – I don’t discriminate), this stuff is revolutionary. Essence released their Peel Off Base Coat in their Ready for Boarding collection a few months ago. It didn’t take long for the cluey girls at Aussie Nails to figure out it was simply PVA glue in a bottle.

And now, using the foil method to remove glitter bomb polishes is a thing of the past. Now, I’m actually encouraged to peel my nail polish off! As I said, revolutionary!

Enough of my babble. Here is Revlon Glitz n’ Glam:

Two coats of this blingtastic pink glitter bomb gave me full coverage. It had been so long since I’d worn such a full on glitter because of the pain-in-the-ass removal process. But I applied a thick coat of the Essence Peel Off Base Coat and away we went.

When it came to peeling it off, it was a little more difficult than I anticipated. Instead of being able to peel off the polish in large sheets, I had to do a fair bit of scraping. Luckily since then I’ve refined my PVA technique. I now apply two thin coats of the base coat instead of one thick coat. It works amazingly well. There’s nothing more satisfying than peeling your polish off in one perfect piece. Yes, I’m a freak! But I’m okay with that

 

Have you jumped on the PVA bandwagon yet? If not, what are you waiting for?! PVA is cheap and easily accessible. All you need is an empty polish bottle to decant it into!

 

Em

Revlon–Jelly with D’Signer stamping

This pretty polish has been sitting in my untrieds drawer since my lovely friend Kate gave it to me as a birthday gift at the start of April. Wow, that’s almost four months! I’m so glad I decided to try this polish because I love it. I love, love, love it. I’m definitely going to bring this baby out for summer because it is just such a gorgeous, happy colour.

This is Revlon Jelly:

Ahhh, isn’t it beautiful?! This was two perfect coats. Formula was amazing, it dried fast (it was one of the Top Speed ones) and it wore fabulously.

 

I’ve been meaning to try out my D’Signer nail stamping plates for a long time. I got them from Catch of the Day, an Aussie deals website, months ago but have never gotten around to using them. I tried out a different flower on each nail

 

Not bad! I dotted the middles with Ulta3 Frangipani, a bright summery yellow.
I felt like these plates wouldn’t stamp crisply enough. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t bad (especially not for the $7 I paid for the whole kit which includes 5 plates, a stamper and scraper), but there is no way I’d pay the $20 price tag these are supposed to have in Target. The whole nail images are tiny, tiny, tiny, and I doubt they would fit my nails at all.

This mani was very cute and it made me feel very young, like a 11 year old girl doing her nails for the first time!

 

Have you tried the D’Signer Nail Stamping Kit?

Em

Revlon–Stonewash & Custom Polish–Party Smurf

I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect white polish for a long time now. I haven’t found it yet but this Revlon polish is pretty dang good, especially if you don’t want a stark white!


Revlon Stonewash, two coats. Formula was awesome and it’s got a slight shimmer to it. As I said, perfect if you want to avoid that “liquid paper” look on your nails.
The accent nail is a custom creation of mine that my sister in law named “Party Smurf”. Someone has been playing too much Smurfs on their Android phone

I loved this mani because it felt so clean! Sometimes it’s nice to have a simple, palate cleansing polish.

My next white to try is Ulta3 Lily White, the PRC version. I’ve heard it’s the best one coater white polish from the Aussie girls. I hope so

Em

Revlon–Ruby Ribbon

I really must be feeling Wintery at the moment because I’ve been going for a lot of deeper, richer polish colours. I don’t blame me for feeling Wintery because the nights/early mornings here have been bloody cold!!! It got down to –2.4 degrees the other morning. Brrrrr!

 

This is Revlon Ruby Ribbon Matte Suede:

Hrmmm … I’m not sure how I feel about it! I really like the photos now but I remember when I was wearing it I just wanted to stamp over it because it wasn’t the most exciting polish!

This is two coats which went on well.

I had a feeling this polish would look better with a top coat, so I applied a coat of Seche Vite:

Much better! Still not grabbing my attention but it really brought out the shimmer. I still think a nice silver stamp would have looked awesome over this. I think this will go back in my untrieds drawer to remind me to try it again sometime!

Have you been using darker colours for Winter, Aussies?

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).

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

Revlon–Perplex

This is one of those colours which looks good in the polish but amazing on the nail. Revlon have really lifted their game lately and this is a particularly impressive polish:

Two coats of Revlon Perplex. I didn’t really need the second coat but you know me, I do it anyway! Beautiful formula.

Can you see the gorgeous purple shimmer through it? I’m not really sure how to describe the colour of Perplex … it’s like a grey-purple. A grurple?

 

What do you think?
Em

Adelaide Christmas Haul!

I picked up some awesome polishes while in Adelaide over Christmas and New Years. Some were presents, some were ones I bought for myself. Are you ready? Here we go!

BYS

A Drop in the Ocean. I’ve been wanting this blue for ages and finally picked it up. It looks like a gorgeous, gorgeous vibrant blue.

Essence
I have been lusting after Essence glitters ever since I saw them on quite a few Aussie blogs. I picked up the two that appealed to me most:

Blue Addicted and Time for Romance. Jam packed full of glitter. I’m in lurv!

I also got some from the Vampire’s Love collection because they had some pretty unique colours which jumped out at me. Excuse the shocking photo.

The Dawn is Broken, Gold Old Buffy, Into the Dark and True Love. I cannot wait to try Into the Dark, which is a beautiful blue with a silver glitter through it.

Mimco
Do you know, I didn’t even know Mimco made polishes?! B’s mum got these for me as a Chrissie present and I love them.

Russian Red and Nude. I’ve tried the Russian Red on my toes already and it is stunning. It’s a one coater (which stains the cuticle like crazy, mind you!!). I can’t wait to try Nude.

Inglot

203 (flakies, eeee!) and XL7.
I’m a bit mad at myself because I wanted the blue flakie. I picked it up and gave it to the shop assistant and she said they had run out… she showed me XL7 quickly and said “it’s pretty much the same but it’s the same price for a bigger bottle”. I should have clicked that there was no way they were going to be selling the same polish in a bigger bottle for the same price!! XL7 is gorgeous, but it’s definitely not a flakie. Grr. So now my hankering for the blue flakie still remains.

Revlon
$4.95 for a Revlon polish when they are up to $17 in pharmacies – can’t go wrong!


I picked up these three Glimmer Glosses because they looked so perdy. This is Blueberry Burst, Apricot Freeze and Pina Colada Pop. Can’t wait to layer these babies!

Sportsgirl
My sister got these for me for Christmas. I’ve never tried the Sportsgirl polishes before but they look like gorgeous colours!


?? and Lucky Star. I can’t actually see the name of the beautiful dark teal polish because it’s rubbed off the label. Can anyone help me out here?

Ulta3
Ulta3 have released yet another gorgeous collection, their Gelati Collection.
These have to be my absolute favourite Ulta3 colours yet. They are perfect for summer!


Violet Rumble, Kiwi Kaos and Lemon Tart.


Blue Heaven, Strawberry Sundae and Mango Mayhem.
These are all gorgeous colours, what I’d call bright pastels. I can definitely see a skittle mani in the future!

NYC Color
I picked these three polishes up in a service station on our way out of Adelaide on New Years Day. For any non-Aussies, a service station is a gas station/petrol station.
They were 3 for $6 so I jumped at them!


Gold Coin, Bronzed and Copper Penny. So perdy. B picked them out for me and I can’t wait to do some tape manis with these.

How do you like my haul? That will be all the hauling I’ll do for a while now. I have so many polishes to try!!

Em

Revlon Rock with Konad m83

Here we are again, another purple. This isn’t a terribly unique purple but it’s a pretty one!

This is Revlon Rock (or Rock Star, depending on whether you bought the mini or full size or both, like me. Grr.)

 

Two coats. Beautiful formula, but excuse the messy application (if you click to make the photo big, you’ll see!) I’ve had a tummy bug/food poisoning/something disgusting so I haven’t had a lot of time to spend on my nails. Let’s not go there.

I Konaded one of the newer Konad designs from m83, the heart flowers/balloons/whatever it is. I’ve seen this design around a lot and I love it! I used my new Konad Special Polish in Pastel Lilac. I also bought the pastel blue, green and pink. I know I can just mix my existing Konad polishes with white, but I’m lazy and I use white a lot so it’s kind of precious to me!

I had real problems lining this stamp up! It’s a bit wonky, especially on my right hand, but it’s still pretty. I can’t wait to try the other designs on m83. Konad have really stepped up their game and started producing some different designs other than flowers lately!

Do you like their newer plates?

 

Em

BYS Reign Supreme with Revlon Galaxy

I haven’t worn a BYS polish in a while (two weeks, maybe, that’s a while ) so I thought I’d try one of their new ones, Reign Supreme:


This is two coats. A pretty, pretty colour, but it wasn’t really anything special. The formula was amazing, possibly one of the best I’ve used.

I’ve developed an aversion to wearing polish with nothing on top (apart from holos, of course!) so I added some Revlon Galaxy as feature nails:

There is so much going on in Galaxy. I tried to capture the sparkle, I truly did, but my camera kind of freaked out and refused to cooperate. But you can see in the bottle there are fine holo glitter particles as well as bigger silver hexes. I originally thought the hexes were circles, but they have very small sides to them.

I’m just not feeling glitter at the moment. Has anyone else “gone off” glitter?

Em

Goodies galore!

I finally received my Ozsale order the other day. I’m not sure if I’m going to be ordering from them again, to be honest. While they have good prices, these took forever to get to me. They do warn you that items won’t be despatched until after the sale closes, but these took about five weeks to get to me from only a couple of states east from where I am. Not impressed! They ran out of one Bloom polish so they’re meant to be refunding it. I’ll have to keep an eye on that!

Anyway, onto the haul:

 

Bloom

Adelaide, Sydney and Cairo.

 

Vienna, Antwerp, Tel Aviv and Bianca.

 

A four way buffing block. I’ve already used it and I must say, I’m really impressed!

 

Revlon

Ocean Breeze, Galaxy, Perplex, Rock and Grape Icy. I’m so annoyed! I bought a mini Revlon three pack the other week and there is a purple in it called “Rock Star”. You guessed it, it’s the same as “Rock”!!! Gerrrr!

 

This is Galaxy up close. What a pretty, pretty polish. Can’t wait to layer this over a nice dark polish.

 

I also received my order of the Color Club Foiled collection. Before I show you them, look how the lady I bought them from wrapped them:

Isn’t that ADORABLE?! It’s the little things, people.

Anyway, here’s the foily goodness:

Wheeee!!!! I’m sooo excited about these! I probably should have shaken these up a little before the photos but you get the idea!

 

And finally, I got my giveaway prize from Julia’s giveaway: three PiCture pOlish nail polishes! I even got to choose the colours Here’s what I chose:

When I opened these, I just stared. How beautiful are these colours?! I love everything about them. I love the colours, the bottles, the rubber tops, the font on the label (I’ve done graphic design at uni so I’m alllll about the fonts!)

They just look amazing. The three colours look so stunning next to each other too. I wonder if I did that subconsciously?

I’m sorry I’m gushing about these polishes, but they are just sooo pretty.

Alright, I’ll stop now … until I try them

 

And that is it for hauling for at least October! I’m thinking it will stretch well into November too. I currently have 119 untried polishes, and I need to get through some of those before I buy any more!

 

How many untrieds do you have?

Em