Essie: Fear Or Desire

Orange is another one of those seasonal colour fads I go through, usually at the same time of year.  It's when summer is more than halfway gone and autumn's on the way.

Cue this swatch that has been hanging around on my computer since February - Essie's Fear Or Desire.  This bright orange polish was released in Essie's 2012 Bikini So Teeny collection and I scored it much more recently at a cosmetics discount store for less than half the usual price. Because of that little fact I thought I was going to have to disappoint and say it's been discontinued but this is still available for those orange fiends out there.  Now about the application...it's been so long since I wore this that I can't remember the specifics of the application, but if it was nasty I would have remembered I'm sure!

All pictures taken in indirect daylight:

Do you get colour obsessed too?

Natio: Tangerine

As soon as spring rolled around it was like, "Right! Let's go bright!" for me and as orange is still the thang at the moment it was my first logical colour choice. 

 

Tangerine is another one of local beauty brand Natio's 'Little Treasures' nail polishes and it is a little gem too!  Such a juicy vibrant orange and just the antidote to the dreary old winter we endured in Melbourne this year.  Anyhow let me get back on track: two coats glided on beautifully and this lasted well over the week.  I swear I may just collect all of the shades when no one's looking because they're so cheap and cheerful... 

 

Sun

 

 

Indirect daylight

 

Now take THAT winter!

 

Until next time...

 



OPI: Where Did Suzi's Man-Go?

I'm still in the middle of my orange/tangerine kick so Where Did Suzi's Man-Go? is right up my alley...

This juicy looking tangerine polish is another vibrant shade from OPI's current Brazil Collection, where they cheekily describe this cream shade as "mango smoothie" - Yes, I'll agree with that too, definitely when viewed in the full glare of the sun! This was another two-coater, which applied beautifully and was my choice to cheer up the working week.  This is probably the most trans-seasonal of the vibrant shades I've tried from the collection as I think it works well for spring, summer and autumn.

Shade

 

 

Sun

 

 

And that's it for my current round of OPI Brazil swatches.

 Which was your favourite?

 

 

(This product was provided for my consideration.  All comments and opinions are my own.)

 

Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Color - 96 Excentrique (AKA fulfilling my orange lipstick obsession)

Well...after 8 makeup empties I'm finally posting my first beauty diet reward buy of the year and OMG did this develop into one hell of an obsession leading up to the purchase!

I know I have an obsessive personality at times and when I get a fixation there's no way of getting around it - it just builds and builds and builds!  Much like a chocolate craving where I try eating my way around it but inevitably I will cave - Aargh!!! Yes as per usual it started innocently enough with an evening in the other world of Pinterest when I pored over all the orange-lipsticked  muses and realised that, perhaps, maybe, I didn't have a true orange lipstick? Orange-red, yes indeed I do have that, but true orange? This progressed - logically in my mind - on to what were the perfect true orange lipsticks which led me to Chanel Excentrique...

True to form it's the last thing to catch my eye that I must have first! And here it is...

 

Because of the unfortunate natural lighting situation in my bedroom Excentrique does look more orange-red in these pictures but, oh my, it is most definitely ORANGE in real life!  For reference Chanel describes it as "Intense Apricot" which should give you the idea. 

I don't know if you want me to go on about the packaging (and this is not a new line) so I'll keep it to the point:  obviously the lipstick casing is in keeping with the signature minimalist Chanel look of sleek shiny black and the yellow gold bullet smoothly slides out with the press of a finger, which is something of a novelty for me. 

The formula is quite intensely pigmented and wears very comfortably with a semi-matte finish on my lips. I can only imagine how perfect a true red in this formula would look, although one tube will do me for now while I'm on my beauty diet. Chanel says this lipstick formula contains "... concentrated, ultra-thin pigments...offers radically intense, long-wearing colour with full coverage and a satin finish. Leaves lips supple and protected with lasting comfort."  While I agree I'll stand by my opinion on Tom Ford and Bite Beauty lipsticks as having superior moisturising properties for my lips because of their creamier formulations. However as far as semi-matte lipsticks go Rouge Allure has to be one of the most comfortable I've tried and I'm not unhappy I made the leap - even if it was driven by my obsession with the colour!  Wear time is good as you'd expect and I got through about 4 hours and my midmorning coffee before I had to freshen up the colour.  Pricewise this sits between Bite Beauty and Tom Ford at $50AUD.

 Swatched on the back of my hand

And on my lips. I love how orange brightens up my whole face.

What's your latest colour obsession?

Nails Inc: We ♡ Ita

Another old Limited Edition nail polish is the star of this post and it's from UK brand Nails Inc. I don't have many Nails Inc polishes because until recently they've been an online only proposition here in Australia and for some reason (call me old-fashioned I suppose) I prefer to see my colour choices in the flesh before I buy them.  Okay there is one notable exception and it just happens to be a Nails Inc: the stunning, obsession inducing cobalt blue Baker Street, previously posted here.

Back onto the polish of the day.  This one was a freebie score from Australian magazine Cleo and I think I've had it sitting on my bedside table for 18mths tempting/taunting me to wear it.  The unusual name We ♡ Ita makes sense when you find out that Ita Buttrose was the founding editor of Cleo. This vibrant neon orange cream was named in her honour and probably represents her feistiness in setting up the then ground breaking magazine which left no taboo untouched.  Enough of the Australian media lesson!

Onto the pics - colours like this always freak out the camera but anyway...

Shade

 

Sun

 

Until next time!
 

OPI Liquid Sand: Jinx

This is my first experience with OPI's Liquid Sand formula and it won't be the last. 

The vivid golden orange Jinx is from OPI's Bond Girls collection and is an unusual beauty.  I applied two easy coats and the polish dried down quickly to its rough, rendered texture.  The golden sparkle really seduced me - I loved it! Another thing I loved? Removal was an absolute breeze! This polish formula gives you all the interest without the hassle.  I think I'll let the pictures take over from here. 

 

All pictures taken in cloudy conditions

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think of these textured polish looks?

 



Tom Ford Nail Lacquer: Ginger Fire

 Happy Sunday everyone :)

Ginger Fire was the one bone fide bright in my Tom Ford birthday surprise box and it was a tricky one to photograph! On my initial glance at the bottles I'd pegged this as a orange-red cream but on closer inspection - and in bright sunlight I might add - I spotted a subtle golden pearly shimmer.  Aha! So this is the fire perhaps?  Well, how hard was it to capture that fire! I don't think you'll see it but it's there, albeit very subtly.  In terms of application Ginger Fire was another 3-coater.

Sun

Shade

Okay, I was disappointed about the subtlety of the shimmer but I still enjoyed the bright orange-red hue.  It's also the perfect partner for my TF Wild Ginger lipstick :)

Until next time.

BYS: Clowning Around

I'm posting yet another of my vacation purchases - I've been so excited by all of my buys and can't get around to wearing my way through them quickly enough!  That's what happens when you're obsessed with bright, colourful and sparkly things like this middle-age Ms (Mrs).

BYS have nailed the perfect tangerine with this polish, strangely called Clowning  Around. It's a great summery citrus - bright without crossing over to neon.  I don't have too much else to say here in terms of the colour as it is a straightforward creme so I'll talk about the application:  very smooth, not too stinky and two coats easily provided great coverage.  Wear time was good too and it lasted through a week of typing and the usual weekly routine. 

Shade

Sun

Until next time!

Vita :)

Face of Australia: Would You Like Some Orange Sherbet?

 Another pastel NOTD post to kick off the weekend!

Would You Like Some Orange Sherbet? is another shade from Face Of Australia's girly Pastels range.  Supposedly this was going to be the last of these I had to show you, but -  you know me right? - as I really liked these I had to have more.  So...expect two more FOA pastel NOTD's in future posts!

Now, Would You Like Some Orange Sherbet? does look the colour of orange sherbet, although it's a creme finish and not frosty like the real thing.  I found the application to be a little sheerer than the previous polishes I've tried in the range, and while I applied two coats I can clearly see some sheer patches on the nails, so a third coat is recommended.  As this shade bordered on peachy nude against my skin I added an accent nail (BYS Diamond Glitter Silk) for a bit of interest. 

Shade

Sun

That's all for now.

Vita :)

OPI: Deutsch You Want Me Baby?

Today I'm wearing a nail colour a little out of my comfort zone.  I do have a comfortable relationship with orange but I was a little unsure about wearing a shimmery orange on my nails...

Another shade from OPI's Germany collection, Deutsch You Want Me Baby? had already challenged me with its name, like it was taunting me to buy it.  This is a striking red/orange and OPI's description is just that, "...a self-assured shade of shimmering red-orange".  Couldn't have put it better myself really.  OK, so I wasn't sure about this but I bought it because it was just a little, you know, different.   Application was smooth in two coats and while it looks a little brush-strokey in some of my pictures it was not visible in real life.

Shade

 

 Sun

I liked wearing this particular polish more than I expected and easily found partners for it in my lipstick collection to compliment it.  DYWMB? looked great paired with my everyday red-orange lippy Kiss Me Coral from Revlon (swatched here).

Until next time.

Vita :)

My picks from the OPI Germany Collection (bottle spam)

I was more excited than usual when I saw the recently released OPI Germany Collection promos and over the moon when I saw the colours IRL!  Now I never buy entire collections but with these rich metallic colours I was not going to hold back.  I got pretty close - well, I now own 7 of the 12 shades, and 4 of them are mini's so it's still a somewhat controlled indulgence...

Lined up on the windowsill - yes, another gloomy old day I need to apologise for.

(I didn't bother with any swatches for that very reason)

Let's take a slightly closer look at the bottles, starting with my full size picks.  I chose metallics - I love deep metallic shades!

L - R:

 German-icure by OPI

Every Month is Oktoberfest

Deutsche You Want Me Baby

German-icure and Every Month is Oktoberfest look indistinguishable in these pictures but German-icure is a warm brown shimmer while EMIO is more of a dark purple-red shimmer.  Lovely and different enough IRL to justify owning both.  Deutsche You Want Me Baby is something a little different in my collection so of course I had to have it!  It's a vivid burnt orange metallic - I'm sure this one's going to make an impact when I wear it.

Now, onto the minis.  Here are the shades in the Germinis collection.  A nice even mix of cremes and metallics.

L -R:

 Don't Pretzel My Buttons

Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine!

Unfor-Greta-bly Blue

Suzi and the 7 Dusseldorfs

I can see myself wearing all of these.  Of the cremes Don't Pretzel My Buttons is a warm toned beige which works well against my skin tone and Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine! is a cool dark grey which makes for an interestingly edgy neutral.  It was the metallics that caught my attention first of course:  Un-For-Greta-bly Blue is a medium-dark metallic blue, and Suzi and the 7 Dusseldorfs (my favourite) is a gorgeous red toned metallic purple.

The Germany Collection is one of my favourite OPI collections of late so I'm happy to have got my hands on these.

What's your favourite shade from this collection?

Until next time.

Vita :)

OPI: A Roll in the Hague

Today's post features A Roll in The Hague, yet another gorgeously bright polish from OPI with the obligatory doozy of a name.  I honestly would feel awkward answering the question, "What colour are you wearing?" with this one anticipating a response like "Did you say a roll in the hay??"

I'm so happy that orange is still in fashion around here even this winter so I didn't feel out of place painting a hot orange creme on my nails.  A Roll in the Hague is from OPI's current Holland collection and it's that vibrant shade of red/orange ("jaffa"orange) that I've also been wearing on my lips lately and loving.  The polish formula was rather thick and creamy so this was almost a one coater, although I applied the usual two.  It dries down a shade darker than in the bottle which did disappoint me a little but the colour still packs a punch on pale winter skin.

Here are some more cloudy winter's day pictures for you...

Indoors

Outdoors

That's all for tonight.

Vita :)

Orange/red lipstick picks: Tom Ford & Revlon

I've got something for both the luxe lovers and the bargainistas today!  A return performance by Tom Ford's Wild Ginger alongside a similarly lovely (and much less expensive - yay!) lipstick from the drugstore darling Revlon - Kiss Me Coral.  I've been alternating wearing both lately to add some colour to my face and ward off the winter blues, so I wanted to share the love on my blog...

L - R:

Revlon - Kiss Me Coral

Tom Ford - Wild Ginger

I was originally going to call this a dupes post but while these two lovely orange/red or poppy red lipsticks are in the same colour family and look very close in the tube I think they're just distinct enough from each other to say they are NOT dupes. 

Lets have another look at the bullets next to each other.  Pretty close, huh?  Yessss, I'm still (stupidly) trying to preserve the TF stamp on the Tom Ford.  That's the problem with expensive lipsticks and expensive cosmetics in general - you treat them a little too preciously - at least I do!  Next time I promise I'll bite the bullet (pardon the poor pun) and swipe that Tom Ford on with gusto!

The swatch is where the difference in colour becomes apparent.  Kiss Me Coral has a more distinct orange tone to it and it's just a touch lighter than Wild Ginger.  FYI although it doesn't show in my pictures there is a significant difference in the coverage - I had to build up the colour of the Revlon swatch with three swipes to get intense coverage, whereas TF is deeply pigmented in one swipe:

L - R:

Kiss Me Coral

Wild Ginger

Yes, I love the colour of both these lipsticks and could wear them interchangeably - and yet still confidently declare them different!

What do you think? Dupes or different?

Have a great weekend everybody!

Vita :)