Ulta3 goodies

I’ve been absolutely loving nail stamping lately. Well, more so than usual Everyone knows it’s my favourite form of nail art! Stamping never fails to wow people and have them asking how I did it. I then go into an explanation of stamping and how awesome it is and people just stare at me like I’m from another planet. Don’t get me wrong, they’re impressed, but I know a lot of people can’t fathom spending so much time and effort on nails. To me, and most other nail addicts, nails is a form of therapy. If I go more than a few days without painting my nails, I get craaaaanky.

 

Anyway, I got some more goodies from The Heat Group to play with. More Ulta3s – YIPPEEEE  

 

This is Footloose Fuschia:

A perfect, glossy fuschia creme. This is one of their older colours and I luuuuurv it. It’s such a vibrant pink. Formula was absolutely perfect and it was very nearly a one coater! I did two for good measure.

 

I added some Bundle Monster stamping for good measure:

Splatters! I used the Konad Special Polish in Pastel Pink. I am a huuuuge fan of the Konad pastels. They stamp so well and I love the single colour contrast of it over a darker shade!

 

Here we have Sizzling Red:

Yeeoooow! What a sexy shade! I love a good red creme and this one didn’t disappoint. This too was almost a one coater with a perfect formula but I did two coats as per my usual routine. I didn’t want to cover this beautiful shade but my partner loathes red nail polish (he calls every single red “Wh*re Red”) so I had to do something to try and redeem it in his eyes. Enter, stamping!

 

Booyah! I looove this! I can’t remember which plate this was but I looove it. My partner actually really liked it too so that means it’s definitely a winner

 

And last but certainly not least:

A mix n’ match mani with Striking on the pointer and middle fingers and Get Teal on the ring and pinkie fingers with a coat of A Lister on top. Two coats of Striking (although you can see I probably need a third because I have a liiiitle bit of VNL), two coats of Get Teal (which only needed one) and one coat of A Lister. Striking and Get Teal are two of my favourite Ulta3 polishes. Striking packs so much ultra fine glitter and shimmer into it but it remains sooooo smooth. It doesn’t even NEED a top coat! Get Teal is the perfect shade of deep teal and it glides onto the nail. I loved this colour combo!

Here’s another shot to show the glitter properly:

 

What’s your favourite Ulta3?

 

Em

Ulta3 spam

Hiya

 

Onto the second part of my spam from The Heat Group, the Ulta3s! Aussie nail fanatics are very familiar with these $2 bargains. Ulta3 is awesome quality polish for a fraction of the price of most others. Ulta3 has been awesome at keeping up with the latest trends and have come out with some really cool polishes lately.

 

Here is a shade from their recent pastels collection, Corsican rose:

Gorgeous, right? This is a dusty mint green. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that I LOVE cremes and I LOVE pastels. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with a good creme and pastels are perfect for the warmer weather. It also helps that it flatters my skin tone like nothing else and makes my nails look twice as long as they are

This was two easy coats of a great formula. Pastels can be notoriously difficult to apply but this was an exception. I do have a lot of shades like this but in my opinion, you can’t have enough of them

 

This is one of Ulta3’s oldest and most common shades, Lollypop Lilac:

It’s a glitzy foil which is more of a dusty purple than a lilac. Talk about bling bling! This was two coats but it would easily be a one coater.

 

I did some weird nail art with it:

I used Essence Sweet Or Nude? for the base colour, which I liked a hell of a lot more than I thought I would. It’s a shimmery pale pink which is a touch frosty but not too much. Two coats. Then I dotted some random Lollypop Lilac dots on it. I’d say it’s a bit of a fail but oh well, I gave it a go

 

Have you got either of these bargain pretties?
Em

Ulta3–Waterlily

I wish this polish was as pretty on the nail as it is in the bottle. This was one of the first Ulta3s I bought last year. I remember how excited I was to find the bin of Ulta3s at a chemist in the city.

 

Anywhoo this is Waterlily:

Two coats. Meh. It was pretty, don’t get me wrong, it just wasn’t me. The formula was pretty good and wear time was about average.

 

What did you think of this colour? Did it surprise? Disappoint? Please?

 

Em

Ulta3–Enchanted

As you all know, I don’t have access to a lot of polish here in the desert. I was whinging on the Aussie Nails Facebook group that I wanted the new Ulta3 magnetics and the lovely Kelly sent them to me! Thanks, Kelly!

 

I tried out Enchanted first, which looked grey in the bottle but turned much darker once the magnet was applied.

I decided to try out all the different magnets and got this:

Thumb: star, pointer finger: diagonal lines, middle finger: chevrons, ring finger: vertical lines, pinky: star again.

The magnet was pretty crap to use, I’ll admit. A small flat magnet stuck on a piece of cardboard. This first hand turned out well, apart from the chevrons. Apart from that design, all the other designs turned out pretty well! I got to my right hand and wow, I could not make it work. For some reason I could not get the design to show up on the curved parts of my nails. I understand that this was due to the flat shape of the magnet but how come I managed to do my left hand alright?!

 

I would definitely recommend using a different magnet for these polishes. For the price (AUD$4.95 each which includes one magnet), I can’t really complain though.

I’m looking forward to trying “Bewitched” next, the pretty deep red.

 

What do you think of the Ulta3 magnetics?

Em

Ulta3–Spring Break with China Glaze–Custom Kicks dotties

I got this Ulta3 from the local Woolies when they first started selling them. Since then the bins have been picked over and there is only a handful of boring shades left.  I managed to snag this one before it disappeared.

 

This is Spring Break:

A beautiful royal purple creme. It’s actually got a really strange finish to it, kind of rubbery. I actually prefer it like this to having a top coat on!

This is two coats. The formula was pretty good, no major issues here!

 

I was in the mood for some spotties so I got out my dotting tools and China Glaze Custom Kicks:

 

Oh I LOVE this colour combo! I did a few different sized dots to mix things up a bit. I loved the result

 

What do you think?

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).

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

essie–Nice is Nice Easter mani

I kind of did my Easter mani at the last minute (ie Easter Sunday morning). I wasn’t going to do one because generally I’m pretty damn lazy when it comes to doing holiday themed manis … but this was so easy I didn’t have much of an excuse not to do it!

 

Here it is:

This is two coats of essie Nice is Nice, a gorgeous pastel purple. Beautiful formula and such a lovely colour. The dots and zig zags are Ulta3 Lemon Tart from their Gelato collection. Horrid formula, as I’ve heard. The zig zags were way harder to do than they should have been!!!

 

Did you do an Easter themed mani?

Em

Ulta3–Kiwi Kaos with Konad

Happy Easter, everyone! I hope you had a great day yesterday and aren't in too much of a sugar coma.

My partner had to work pretty much the whole Easter weekend so I took the opportunity to do extra massages and, of course, extra manis!

This is a mani from a few weeks ago that I'd forgotten I'd even done. You know you're a nail polish addict when you can't remember any of the manis you've done recently:

This is Ulta3 Kiwi Kaos from their Gelato collection:

Two coats... pretty decent formula! I like this! It's a nice, muted green. Some greens are way too bright but this is perfect!

I did some stamping over it in one of the classic Konad designs:

Aussies, doesn't this remind you of the Harris Scarfe logo!? Non-Aussies, Harris Scarfe is a department store here which sells clothes, bedding, kitchen and homewares and electronics. Their old logo and design used to have this design and they have always used green!

Have you done any manis which remind you of something like this!?
Em

Ulta3–Tahitian Lime with stamping

I decided to go for a nice, bright colour last weekend. It was hot on the Friday and Saturday so I felt the need for my nails to reflect that!

 

Ulta3 have been releasing some amazing polishes lately. First, the Summer Siren collection and then the Gelato collection. I’ve been trying polishes from the Gelato collection lately but decided to go back to one of the polishes I hadn’t tried from the Summer Siren collection.

 

This is Tahitian Lime:

Wow, bright!!! But not in a bad way! This is a really funky green. Luckily it didn’t give me lobster hands but I think it would not be a colour that suits everyone. This is two coats and I wasn’t a fan of the formula. It was streaky and applied unevenly as you can see in the photo. Not even Seche Vite could save it!

 

I haven’t done any nail stamping in so long because we have been moving house and my stamping gear has been in boxes. I was dying to do some stamping so I whipped out my trusty Red Angel image plates.

Continuing with the summer theme, I stamped them like this:

This is such a funky design! I love this mani! I used the Konad special polish in white to stamp and the Red Angel plates. Can’t remember what plate number it is but if you ask I’ll check!

 

Have you been doing manis which reflect the weather lately?

Em

Ulta3–Violet Rumble with Konad

Well, Ulta3 have done it again. Another amazing colour for $2.25. How do they do it!?

This is Violet Rumble from their new Gelato collection:

Two coats, fantastic formula. I loooove this colour. It's a pastel purple but like a bright pastel, if that makes sense?

I added some stamping:

I used my Red Angel image plates and dotted the middle of the flowers with my dotting tool and Ulta3 Frangipani.
Wow, I really didn't notice just how smudged my little finger was. Oopsies :P

I love this mani because it's so pretty and summery. Seeing and it's 40 degrees here today, it's quite appropriate!!

Em

Ulta3–Blue Heaven

I love this polish. I love, love, love this polish. I did this the day I got my gel polish put on so I only got to wear it for a couple of hours. Heartbroken! I will definitely wear it again soon.

This is Ulta3 Blue Heaven from their new Gelato collection:

Two coats of perfection. Beautiful formula.
I just LOVE these bright pastels. Can’t get enough of them! So perfect for summer and they will brighten me up in Winter, I can tell!

Do you have the new Ulta3 Gelato collection?

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