Butter London: Disco Biscuit

I haven't looked at Butter London polishes for a long time but I'm reacquainting myself because of their Cruelty Free status.

Disco Biscuit (which was the nickname for a tablet of Ecstasy according to Butter London's own dictionary!) is a bright fuchsia jelly with a lovely mix of blue micro-glitter which only enhances the squishy jelly-ness of it. This is such a pretty polish without being overly cute and I adored the colour. I was happy to get great coverage in only 2 coats but I did have to add several layers of top coat to smooth over the surface.  Micro-glitters can be surprisingly thirsty and swallow up the top coat!  Unfortunately this manicure didn't wear very long on me and started chipping after a day or so, although I'll admit to putting it through some pretty heavy housework the day I applied it. I should have just put my feet up and admired it instead...

  

Indirect daylight

Full sun

Butter London is 3 free and contains no formaldehyde, no toluene and no DBP.

Cruelty Free: Yes 

Vegan: Yes

Certified Organic: No

Until next time!

(This product was purchased by me.) 

Vintage OPI: Guy Meets Gal-veston

Why or why didn't I realize how good jelly polishes were when they were everywhere??? Now they're so hard to find...

Oh well at least I have one or two in my collection from back when they were popular so I didn't turn my back on the trend altogether although it's taken me all this time to realize what the fuss was about.  I bought OPI's Guy Meets Gal-veston back in 2011 from their Texas collection and here I am enjoying it 4 years later.  GMG is a vibrant coral jelly and just the thing for the transition into warmer, brighter days.  I applied two coats and added a top coat for an even more juicy jelly finish - you might barely make out the visible white tips of the very edges of my nails so these pictures aren't a dead giveaway that I'm wearing a jelly but...Oh. My. Goodness...This was so gorgeously squishy looking in real life!  Honestly I should stop gushing because this damn polish is only available from Amazon etc these days...

Full sun

Indirect daylight

Did you ever get into the jelly trend?

I.Color Focus Nail Polish: VN24

After my last disappointing manicure it was nice to wear something unashamedly pretty...

This I.Color nail polish was a random find in Hong Kong beauty store Bonjour a few years ago and it has not been worn until now.  VN24 is an unfortunately non-descript name for what is a really pretty jelly glitter polish.  I just adored the soft mauve-pink with the shimmery aqua blue glitter floating about and considering this probably cost me next to nothing it applied beautifully - and - lasted a full week too.  I was full of superlative, creative descriptions for this polish the other day but I'm drawing a blank tonight so I will let these pictures hopefully do the talking.  But, can I just simply say that I loved wearing it!

  All pictures taken in indirect daylight:

Sometimes it's good to embrace the pretty...

Do you have any obscure branded nail polish or makeup in your collection that you absolutely love?

Fuso Nail Enamel: Number 56

Hello and here I am back again from my mini-break!

I've been playing more with indoor lighting for my nail swatches and sometimes it just doesn't work but sometimes it works splendidly, especially when showcasing glitters and shimmers in their true glory - case in point is this budget nail polish from Fuso.  

Fuso is a brand I came across in Singapore a few years ago and this polish, simply called 56 is a vampilicious stunner.  It's a deep black-red jelly with tiny bits of glitter swimming about, giving it that little bit of extra dimension and considering this is a jelly it offered completely opaque coverage in two coats. This wore really well too and I loved it so much it ended up on my toes for my vacation pedi!

I'm tempted to keep taking my swatch pictures this way but what are your thoughts on these indoor-lit pictures?

Essie: Jamaica Me Crazy

Hello again!

I've not been changing my polish all that often lately - and have even taken a short break from wearing it for an entire week! - so my recent choices have been a bit more deliberate I suppose as I try to mix things up around the colour wheel, while still keeping things seasonally appropriate.  Are you with me? Okay, so let's get onto today's little nail polish post!

I received Essie's Jamaica Me Crazy as part of an unexpected gift of three Essie polishes from a cubicle buddy at work who obviously knows me all too well!  I used to be crazy over magenta back in the day so Jamaica Me Crazy called out to me first - this shimmering magenta is something I hadn't worn in a long time.  This polish wears like a shimmery raspberry jelly on the nails and is a little bit retro but I still enjoyed it.  It applied nicely in a couple of coats but even with a top coat did take a while to dry properly and unfortunately I managed to do some damage after taking these pictures.   Also, please excuse the nubbies!

Shade

Sun

That's it for now - and my next post will be the long overdue Autumn empties...

Orly: Red Carpet

I'm still playing catch up around here so that will explain why I'm posting my Christmas Day manicure in the middle of January!
 

I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas beauty and so I'd always planned to go with a red (or gold, or green!) polish.  Red Carpet is one of the Orly polishes I chose at the Salon Melbourne event last year and it's a cherry red jelly with a subtle glitter sparkle. I'll tell you right now these pictures will not do justice to this little gem because it actually sparkles madly in the right light! This is two coats, finished with a single coat of top coat.

 

Sun:

 

 

Shade:

What did you choose for your Christmas mani?



W7: Dawn Raider

Hi everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season :)

 

Sorry for my unannounced hiatus.  I was feeling quite a bit tired towards the end of my working year and I guess I didn't realize quite how mentally tired I was until I after I finished work on the 17th.  One day dragged out to the next and the next until a few weeks slipped by. Anyway I hope you get what I mean.  Now I'm finally getting ideas swirling away in my head for future posts - and I also have a ton of nail swatches - so let me get back on this blogging bike again starting with this nail post!

 

I wore this deep blue polish from W7 a few weeks ago when the weather was kind of dreary and I wasn't feeling in the mood for bright spring/summer colours.  Dawn Raider is basically fine silver glitter swimming in an inky navy blue jelly base so the glitter itself appears quite blue on the nail. The glitter mix and colour base are very dense so two coats easily did the job for me.  I finished with a single layer of top coat but would recommend two for a smooth glassy veneer - I still had some bumpiness on my nails although obviously not enough to annoy me to apply that second layer!

 

Shade

 

 

Sun

 

Until next time!



OPI: Vodka & Caviar

Because I'm not doing quite as many nail polish posts these days I'm trying to mix it up so you don't just get the same shades over and over - like purple and more purple if I had my way...

 

Not true! I do get different colour cravings and I decided last week was a red week so I went hunting for one of the few classic red creams I have in my collection.  Vodka & Caviar is one of those classic OPI reds from their Russian Collection released years ago and it's a slightly translucent jelly so the finish is something a little special.  The formula was the perfect consistency to maintain control without any flooding or streaking so two coats applied super smoothly and the precision cut brush always helps too. Unfortunately I've found out this particular red has been discontinued - I know I'll be hanging onto it now!

All pictures taken in indirect daylight

 

 

This actually reminds me of toffee apples :)

 

Until next time!



Christmas Day mani: OPI - Underneath The Mistletoe

Now for what's likely to be my last post for 2013!

Continuing with the traditional red and gold theme for Christmas season manicures I chose another variation for my Christmas Day mani using a combination of something new and something old from OPI, who always manage to bring out something to blow me away in their annual holiday collections.

 

The new shade I used on most of my nails is Underneath The Mistletoe from OPI's latest collaboration with Mariah Carey for their 2013 holiday collection.  Underneath The Mistletoe is a deep cranberry jelly polish swimming with fine silver glitter giving it a multidimensional sparkle.  I used three coats for an opaque coverage.  For my accent nail I chose an old OPI holiday glitter, the slightly greenish gold Glow Up Already (from OPI's 2010 Burlesque collection) to add yet more sparkle and voila!

Shade

Sun - the camera's freaking out here...

Until next year!

 

Tom Ford Nail Lacquer: Bordeaux Lust

Sorry for the break between posts.  It's just the general busy-ness in my life getting in the way of my creativity again. I haven't lost my blogging mojo, I just haven't had the time to let it get out! 

Now for the first of my Tom Ford Nail Lacquer swatches.  I was delightedly overwhelmed to receive a boxed set of TF nail lacquers for my birthday (see here) and the hardest decision was what to wear first! I ended up basing my decision on my husband's favourite pick - the vampy Bordeaux Lust.  This shade is the colour of dried blood or deep wine.  I was a little surprised to find a dark shade like this took three coats to build to full opacity but I think the end result was worth it.  I understand why these nail colours are called nail lacquers because the finish totally reminded me of lacquered Japanese boxes.  This polish is almost a jelly in its sheerness but definitely a lacquer in its finish.

Sun

Shade

That's all for now.

You Beauty: Shade 017

Hello again - I'm struggling to keep up with blogging at the moment because I'm on a health and fitness kick and working out 6 days a week! I need to get the optimum routine going and then it will all come together again blogging-wise etc.  Trouble is I think I'm going to have to haul my sorry butt out of bed earlier in the morning and I'm just not a morning person.  Right - now that ramble's out of the way let's get onto the polish!

Shade 017 is for you if you like grape jelly.  Yes, it's a jelly finish and is the perfect match for grape jelly in a jar.  Of course it also has a generous sprinkling of fine glitter!  The blue and purple glitter complement the base polish perfectly and appear to swim on the nails through the translucence.  It's not terribly summery but sometimes it feels good to mix it up...

Shade

 

 Sun

Indoors

 

That's it for tonight!

Vita :)

BYS: Pop Princess

Here is a nail polish I can tell you I absolutely, unreservedly looooooooved wearing!

Pop Princess is another polish from BYS and one of the two shades I recently chose from their Mardi Gras collection (see my vacation haul here).  This collection is all about glass flecked goodness and Pop Princess was a standout for me because of its electric pink brightness.  Pop Princess is a 1980's party girl fuschia pink jelly with blue and pink sparkly flecks.  Because of the jelly finish I needed to apply three coats to get sufficient opacity and prevent any dreaded visible nail lines.  Shades like this are very hard to photograph and capture the complexity of but I've tried my best here. 

Shade

Sun

Indoors

Enjoy your weekend!

Vita :)

Australis Nail Colour: Vampy

Happy hump day!  I'm happy because the busiest part of my working week's over - I hope!?

Today's mani is from Australian beauty brand Australis.  I've tried a few products from Australis but haven't tried their nail polish in years, nay, DECADES!!!  I bought Vampy quite a few months ago because I liked the subtle glittery look in the bottle.  A name like Vampy conjures up images of blood, or deep plum colours but Australis' Vampy is more of a raspberry-plum shade if that makes sense.  Now the glitter effect is very subtle too because the polish is quite opaque, so it was really difficult to photograph - It surprised me when I removed it to find the glitter was actually silver and not red as I'd thought!  The application was pretty tricky with this one - it was sort of gloopy and jelly-ish, and combining the strange formula with a soft brush made for an interesting time indeed!

Outdoors shade

Partly cloudy

Indoors

Sun

What do you think of this subtle jelly glitter?  Too subtle?

Until next time.

Vita :)

Eleanor nail polish: Sparkly strawberry jelly

After a week of neutral nails I craved something a little more interesting.  I went diving in my stash and came out with a glittery strawberry jelly!

I have a few bottles of Eleanor nail polish I bought from Sasa in Singapore a few years ago and this is the first one I've got around to wearing.  Of course the colours don't have names, nor even serial codes so all I can do is describe the colour and finish of this pretty vibrant polish.  While it looks like a red polish in the bottle, on the nail it translates to a juicy strawberry jelly with the tinest hint of holo glitter and shimmer.  I used two coats of colour and there's a slight VNL but not enough to be obvious.  The only complaint is a bit of tip shrinkage but I can even forgive that because it's pretty darn cute to me.  Seriously every time I looked at my nails I craved strawberry jubes or jelly/jello!

Sun (Yay I got some rays!)

Shade

Have you heard of or tried Eleanor nail polish?

Until next time.

Vita :)