DB Quick Colour Nail Polish: Aubergine

 Australian budget beauty brand Designer Brands (also known as DB Cosmetics) has been around for years but for whatever reason I'd never stopped to have a proper look at their lineup.  That changed when I spotted this very polish being worn by Lou in a recent Instagram post.  A few things caught my eye: the colour first of course for this purpleholic, but also the packaging which looks very chic and reminds me of a very high end brand - for reference I've included an image of the bottle later in the post.

Aubergine is a very rich shimmery pink-toned purple and the colour was not a disappointment when I finally bought my own bottle - it is exactly what I hoped! However, the polish formula was rather thick and it was virtually impossible to apply as thin a coat as I normally like to - fortunately the polish did dry very quickly so I had no issues with smudges or dents.  My final niggle is the manicure wasn't particularly durable and I experienced significant chipping within the week, even with a top coat.  I don't know if I was just unlucky so I will buy another shade to try before I come to any conclusions.  I hope I was unlucky because the colour is a stunner for winter.

All pictures taken in afternoon sunlight:

Now as I mentioned the bottle design did look uncannily familiar to me.  Does the bottle below remind you of any high end brand?? Let me know in the comments below.

[Source]

DB Quick Colour nail polishes are free from formaldehyde, toluene or DBP, are Certified Cruelty Free and Certified Vegan.

Until next time!

Wet n Wild Color Shine Nail Color: Lady Luck

It's time to sport another old polish from the depths of my equally old Ikea Helmer cabinet!

I'd decided that the right shade of pink can be just as easily worn in the middle of winter as the middle of summer so Wet n Wild's Lady Luck is what I came up with for a quick cheer-me-up manicure.  Lady Luck is deeper shade of pink - almost fuchsia - with the barest hint of shimmer that only really reveals itself in the brightest light.  This polish was a travel souvenir from a friend a few years ago and I think it may be discontinued so I apologize again and I won't get into the application details - my point is that pink is a valid nail colour choice for winter, unless of course you're lucky enough to be enjoying the Northern summer right now!

Full sun

 Partial sun

How do you like to brighten up your winter?

Sephora: Summer In Bangkok

Now for something I dug out from the depths of my collection...

Summer In Bangkok is from Sephora's old nail polish line and this bottle was actually gifted to me by a travelling friend a few years ago.  I won't bore you with application because this is discontinued but will tell you the obvious:  It's a gloriously summery aquatic shade of shimmery turquoise and was a bit of fun to wear as a winter option.  As you can see below I chose a gloriously sunny winter's day to wear it too!

Full sun

Shade

Until next time!

Natio: Indigo

The winter blues are having a definite influence in my manicure choices at the moment and probably explains why I've got another blue manicure to share.

Indigo is a cute little blue polish from leading Australian natural beauty brand Natio, whom you've probably seen me go on about here before. Natio is another local Melbourne based brand I love - as a matter of fact it's SO local, the factory warehouse is a mere few minutes drive from my house!  

Getting back on topic about the nail polish, Indigo looked a little bit on the shimmery side in the bottle but this barely translated onto the nail, so the effect is more that of a creme.  Was I disappointed? Just a little. Still, the colour itself is a wonderfully vibrant and youthful primary shade of blue.  Application was trouble-free and took the usual two coats of colour, finished with a top coat.

Apologies for the less than perfect pictures taken in fading daylight...

Until next time...

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...

OPI: Glamour Game

Taking a brief break from COLOUR and venturing back into neutral manicure territory I found this old holiday polish from OPI in my stash, ready to satisfy my needs for something neutral with a little twist.  When I say old, I mean older than I realised actually as Glamour Game harks back to OPI's 2008 Holiday collection Holiday In Toyland! Time is most definitely flying for me!

Glamour Game is an almost white gold metallic polish, with the tiniest shimmery flecks in the mix - just enough to lift it out of the ordinary.  I applied two coats and finished with top coat to smooth it over and here's the result.  Oh yes, please forgive my weird looking pointer/index fingernail - it's the result of a rough mending job as my nail had begun to tear. I gave up and nubbinized my nails the following week!

Shade

 

Sun

 

So my year is off to a good start as I've managed to put up three posts this week - as long as I keep to a minimum of two per week I'll be more than happy with my output!

That's all for week 1, 2015!


Inglot O2M Breathable Nail Enamel: 694

Being the purple-holic that I am once I saw this Inglot polish there was no question and I bought it on the spot!  694 you were always going to be coming home with me...

694 is a very deep yet vivid shimmery violet and almost blue - very regal looking and very much a winter colour too.  I've never used Inglot nail polish before so I've done a little bit of research and discovered the O2M formula is literally breathable as it allows water and oxygen to pass through (as long as you don't wear base or top coat from another brand of course) apparently to keep your nails in tip top condition.  The formula is also 5 Free and doesn't contain toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) or camphor. So as for the application?  The brush is very thin but because the formula isn't too watery I didn't have any issues and this is a standard two-coater.

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Shade

Have you tried Inglot nail polish?
 

Revlon: Divine

Although I bought this nail polish leading up to Christmas 2013 it just didn't feel appropriate to wear a shade like this until now - that's what happens with our upside down seasons!

 

Divine was released in Revlon's Evening Opulence collection and a deep metallic burgundy like this is just meant for cold weather and long dark evenings. It is truly beautiful at first but dammit this polish bubbled like a b**** just after I took my pictures - my subsequent online research tells me this is a common problem with this polish too.  I was so disappointed as even applying two layers of top coat couldn't completely disguise the issue. 

 

I'm pretty sure this is a dupe for OPI's Germanicure - which doesn't bubble - so if you fell in love with the colour like I did then don't go past the OPI option if you see it!

 

All pictures taken in indirect daylight:

 

 

 

Until next time.

 



OPI: Miss Piggy's Big Number

Happy Hump Day everyone! It must be time for another nail swatch post...

At first sight Miss Piggy's Big Number was my number one pick from OPI's Muppets Most Wanted Collection. This is one opulent jewel-like colour in the bottle and just the thing I like to wear when the weather gets colder - I do have a weakness for jewel shades! The shimmery sapphire blue lived up to my expectations on my nails and it has just the teensiest shift to purple from certain angles to add a little mysterious something extra.  The only downside was the shimmery formula does have a tendency to show up brushstrokes so I had to take extra care in when applying.  Be prepared to take a bit more time with this one. 

All pictures taken in indirect daylight:

Miss Piggy's Big Number seemed quite familiar to me and it reminds me very much of Chanel's Bel-Argus released in 2013.  I'll have to do a comparison swatch and let you know if it is a Chanel dupe. Just kick me occasionally so I don't forget!


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

Zoya: Shivon

I was in a real autumn mood when I went digging through my older polishes and found Shivon, a vintage beauty from Zoya.  I don't know if it's officially "vintage" because Zoya still sell it but it's been around for quite a while!

 

Shivon is from Zoya's 2008 (Eep! That is a while ago!) Flourish collection and to me it's pretty much autumn in a manicure. The rich reddish bronze with its subtle gold duochrome shimmer is reminiscent of the changing colour of the leaves around here.  Because of the complexity Shivon is one of those chameleon colours which somehow goes with everything and can appear either cool or warm depending on what you accent it with.  Application was excellent considering I've had this polish hanging around for easily 4 or 5 years as it painted on smoothly in 2 coats, taking care of my colour craving. 

All pictures taken in indirect daylight:

 

 

 

What nail or makeup colours do you love wearing in autumn/fall?

 

Revlon: Ooh La La Lilac

My nails have been making all kinds of statements lately and I just felt like a change of pace.

 

Occasionally I crave a breather from brights and metallics and Revlon's Ooh La La Lilac is one of those gently subdued nail shades - just perfect for understated fingers.  It's an ethereal colour, a milky sheer lilac with a hint of pink shimmer. Ooh La La Lilac was released as a LE shade back in 2011 (I think?) but it can still be snapped up on eBay if this is your kind of manicure.  I needed three coats to build up the coverage for a not too sheer finish and I really liked the "breath of fresh air" prettiness of it.  It's suitable for everyday wear but it conjures up images of sheer floaty dresses, ballerinas and blah, blah, blah - I'd better stop before I get too carried away in my daydreams!

 

All pictures taken in natural daylight indoors 

Thanks for looking as always!

Sephora: Hippie Hippie Shake

Our Melbourne summer has been all over the place since it started but all the same I decided to embrace the summer vibe with a retro summer shade of polish.

 

Sephora's Hippie Hippie Shake is quite retro in my book as it's a shimmery hot pink-coral - something of a throwback to the 1960's maybe as its name suggests???  Well I took the leap and I think this polish is perfect for summer. So perfect in fact I decided it was the thing for my first official summer pedicure too.  It's a joyously fun colour which really reminds me of icy watermelon granita.  Summery indeed...

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What are your colour picks for summer?

 

 

Covergirl: Grapevine

Here's another jewel-toned Covergirl nail polish for you!

 

Grapevine is a wonderfully warm pink-toned purple with a metallic shimmer.  Application wasn't quite as seamless as my first experience but still pretty smooth and the rich colour is perfect to feed my purple obsession.  This is the usual two coats plus a top coat which adds the mirror shine...

 

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That's all for now!



Covergirl: Constant Caribbean

Covergirl's Outlast Stay Brilliant nail polish line has been around in Australia for months now however I hesitated to buy any - it was only when I scored a Priceline voucher that I came down from the fence to try some.  It turns out I should never have worried!

 

Constant Caribbean is one of the most vibrant teal green shimmer polishes I've ever tried and the application was pretty much flawless.  The polish was easy to control and superbly smooth on the nails.  This manicure easily lasted the week too with no chipping and...and I was impressed that a shade like this removed with zero staining!  Seriously, this drugstore polish is a case of what's not to love about it? So it's pretty clear how I feel then!

 

All pictures taken indoors in indirect daylight:

 

 

 

Have you tried Covergirl Outlast nail polish?

What do you think?

Ulta3: English Rose

I chopped my nails back to nubs again and felt that red was THE way to go with nubbins.  To me it feels less Cruella de Vil of Disney's 101 Dalmations infamy, more French ingénue like Amelie wearing little bright red nails! Ah, if only I could actually be an ingénue again *sigh*...

Ulta3's English Rose was my choice for indulging my inner ingénue.  English Rose is not at all subdued as the name would suggest but instead is a very punchy bright orange-red with a distinct gold shimmer.  I feel like reds like this have been around forever but they never really go out of style.  Two coats provided perfectly opaque coverage and heck I was loving the fiery golden sparkle!

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Shade

What's your favourite way to dress up shorter nails?

Until next time.