Saturday 26 February 2011

NOTD - China Glaze Atlantis

Today's NOTD is China Glaze Atlantis, one of my favourite glitter polishes of all time, it has recently been re-released as part of the China Glaze Treasures Collection which I believe is available in Sally's stores in the US, I've not seen it over here as yet. 

This was 3 coats + Seche Vite

Atlantis is a sheer turquoise green polish packed with holographic glitter, it takes a few coats to get an opaque coverage, but the stunning effect is more than worth it! If you layered it over another polish it would probably only take 1/2 coats.


close up

Friday 25 February 2011

My Take On Texas - 5 OPI Texas Collection Swatches

So the promotional photographs and info regarding OPIs Texas Collection for Spring 2011 left me feeling a little unexcited, especially with regards to the so-called "sorbet finish" on half of the polishes in the collection. Sorbet Finish sounds to me like a glitzy way of describing a jelly finish, i.e. sheer. I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of sheer polishes, unless the colour itself is extremely special or unique, and I'm not sure I think any of the polishes in this collection really fit that bill, none the less I started to see some swatches of the collection that sparked my interest a little more, so I picked up the OPI Texas Lil Shooters Minis (Austin-tatious Turquoise, I Vant to Be A-Lone Star and Do You Think I’m Tex-y?, rapid dry top coat) and two large bottles: It's Totally Fort Worth It and San-Tan-Tonio

Austin-tatious Turquoise
I have to admit Austin-tatious Turquoise was the colour I was most excited about from this range. It's a mermaid turquoise shade packed with shimmer, but unfortunately is extremely sheer, this was 4 coats and I still wouldn't call the coverage opaque. It is a beautiful colour though, depending on the angle, this polish flashes blue and green and the shimmer really makes it sparkle. I imagine this colour would look quite lovely layered over a blue creme polish, will have to try that out soon :D
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Here's a comparison swatch of Austin-tatious Turquoise alongside some other turquoise polishes, I've not found an exact dupe, but these shades are definitely similar if you love the turquoise effect.
L-R GOSH Ocean, Orly Halley's Comet, OPI Catch Me in Your Net, OPI Austin-tatious Turquoise

 I Vant to Be A-Lone Star 
I Vant to Be A-Lone Star has swiftly become my favourite shade from this collection, it's a very light pearly grey/blue shade with a subtle shimmer effect when you look closely, the effect is quite similar but a little more obvious than China Glaze Sea Spray from the Anchors Away Collection:
China Glaze Sea Spray
Sea Spray is a little darker than I Vant to Be A-Lone Star, but they both have that awesome subtle shimmer, gorgeous colours! I Vant to Be A-Lone Star was opaque in 2 coats, which actually surprised me, I was expecting this one to be sheer, so that's a definite plus :D

Do You Think I’m Tex-y
So I finally get to see what all the fuss is about with this "Sorbet Finish" OPI are raving about. This was 3 coats of Do You Think I'm Tex-y? a berry pink shade. So on a closer inspection, there is a difference between this finish and your average jelly polish, although the nail line is visible its quite evident that that is the desired effect of this polish, I guess its going to be a love/hate thing, It does make me think of an ice lolly though, so I do see the appeal of this finish as the weather warms. However if I'm honest I don't really think I'd be wearing this finish too often, which is why 1 mini bottle with this effect is definitely enough for me.

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In case you're interested the 6 polishes from Texas which have this "Sorbet Finish" are: Do You Think I’m Tex-y?, Y'all Come Back Ya Hear, Too Hot Pink To Hold-Em, Big Hair...Big Nails, Guy Meets Gal-Veston, Houston We Have a purple.

It's Totally Fort Worth It
Another Sheer shade *sigh* from the Texas Collection. It's Totally Fort Worth It is a shimmery silver/grey shade, on a close inspection you will see gorgeous pink shimmer in this polish, which does give it a more interesting dimension, however its sheerness means this polish will be better suited to layering, this was 3 coats. It's Totally Fort Worth It reminds me a little of a Zoya polish: Laney:
Zoya Laney
Laney is more on the silver side and where It's Totally Fort Worth It has pink shimmery particles, Laney has green shimmer, so although the colour is different it's definitely worth checking out if you like the effect of this polish, also Laney is far more opaque at 3 coats.

San-Tan-Tonio
The main reason I picked San-Tan-Tonio is the fact that I don't own any colour like it and it's one of the few cremes in the collection. It's a warm caramel shade, and reminds me of that suede material you'd see on cowboy clothes, would probably look quite funky matte. It's too dark to be considered a nude, but it's definitely a great colour for everyday or if you generally prefer an understated look. This was opaque at 2 coats, with a glossy finish. It was pretty easy to apply, however I do find it slightly tricky to apply polish with OPI's pro wide brush, especially on my little finger nail, I think the brush must be designed for people with wider nail beds than me :)

On the whole this collection is still a little on the disappointing side for me, yes there are a few awesome shades I will definitely be wearing a lot, I'm just a little sad that so many are so sheer, and also the fact that a lot of the "sorbet" shades are very similar in colour, it would have been nice to have some funky different bright colour shades with this effect, I expect to see more of them popping up in summer collections. So what do you think of the "Sorbet Finish" will you be wearing it this spring?

Thursday 24 February 2011

China Glaze Anchors Away Swatches and Review Part 2 Knotty Nauticals

L-R Life Preserver, Hey Sailor, Ahoy!, First Mate, Starboard and Lighthouse


Knotty Nauticals is the more vibrant set from the Anchors Away Collection, in this range of polishes we have 4 cremes and 2 glass flecked shimmer polishes which are slightly more sheer, here are some individual swatches:

 Life Preserver
Life Preserver is an Orange/Red Creme polish, I'm not usually a massive fan of standard orange polish, but the red undertones make this colour slightly more understated than your average polish, and I have to admit I love it :) This was opaque in 2 coats, applied very evenly with a shiny finish.


Hey Sailor
Hey Sailor is a bright red creme polish, it's more of a brilliant red than crimson, a perfect red for springtime as the weather brightens up :) If you are a red lover, this polish will definitely please you! This one reminds me a little of Red My Fortune Cookie, from OPIs Hong Kong Collection:
OPI Red My Fortune Cookie

 this was 2 coats, though its practically opaque at 1, applied evenly with a glossy finish.


Ahoy!
Ahoy! was the polish I was the most excited about, when I initially saw the promo pics for this collection, and it really has lived up to my expectations, it's one of the two shimmery shades in this set and its absolutely gorgeous. A vibrant pink shade with gorgeous glass flecked Shimmer, I've seen this compared to OPIs Let Me Entertain You from the Burlesque Collection, but this shade is definitely not a dupe:
OPI Let Me Entertain You
Ahoy! is definitely a lighter pink shade than Let Me Entertain You, and one of my favourites from this collection!



First Mate
First Mate is a deep blue creme polish, If you haven't been able to get your hands on Mac's Spirit Of Justice from their new Wonder Woman Collection, this colour is very similar, here's a pic:
Mac Spirit Of Justice
This polish was opaque at 1 coat, but here I applied 2 to get a perfect finish, another lovely glossy creme.




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 Starboard
Starboard is another creme polish from the collection, it is a vibrant green shade with the slightest hint of blue undertone, this one does remind me a little of OPI Jade is the New Black (but less blue)
OPI Jade is the New Black

 and also it is quite similar to Essie's Pretty Eddy:
Essie Pretty Edgy
Starboard applies evenly and was fully opaque at 2 coats, another winning creme from this collection!


no flash so you can see the blue undertones
  Lighthouse
Lighthouse is a golden yellow polish packed with shimmer, it reminds me a little of Cowardly Lyin' From China Glaze Wizard Of Ooh Ahz, but it is a lot more golden and not packed with glitter chunks, here's a pic of that polish so you can see the difference:
China Glaze Cowardly Lyin'
Lighthouse is a little on the sheer side, this was 3 coats and there is still detectable nail line, but it's pretty subtle, and probably shows up a bit more in the photos than it would in real life, I've been looking for the perfect golden yellow shade for a while now, and I think I may have found it in Lighthouse :D


I found all the polishes in this collection a joy to apply, only the two glass flecks Ahoy! and Lighthouse took a few more coats due to sheerness, but I imagine these would look awesome layered as well as on their own. Another awesome collection from China Glaze, by far my favourite Spring Collection!

NOTD - Essie Vintage Wine


Vintage wine is a gorgeous burgundy red shade, its packed with shimmer, I have to admit I was a little sad that the awesome gold shade you can see in the bottle doesn't really appear when the polish is actually applied, but I love the fact that the actual colour when applied is a few shades lighter than it appears in the bottle, gives the colour awesome depth, this colour seriously glows! It applied flawlessly and was completely opaque in 2 coats. Possibly my favourite deep red shade!


Tuesday 22 February 2011

NOTD - Essie Lapis Of Luxury

Finally got to try this one out, it was a Christmas present :) I've only been recently trying out Essie, and I have to admit they probably have the longest wear time out of any of the brands I've tried :)

OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
Essie Lapis Of Luxury 2 coats

Essie's Lapis Of Luxury is from the Essie Resort 2010 Summer Collection. it is a gorgeous pastel dusky light blue creme polish, I've not seen another colour too similar to this one, its a lot more muted and not as saturated as your average blue polish, and I absolutely love this colour! The first coat applied a tiny bit streaky but it is fully opaque and has a lovely coverage with two coats, and the wear time is simply awesome, 5 days plus for me! 

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Sunday 20 February 2011

KOTD - Wonder Woman Manicure - with Mac's new Wonder Woman Collection, Konad M03 and Nail Art

I simply couldn't resist trying out a Wonder Woman Themed manicure once I'd swatched the two new Mac Wonder Woman Polishes: Spirit of Truth and Obey me, if you'd like to see them on their own please click here. Here is the final result :D

Left Hand
OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
Mac Wonder Woman: Obey Me 2 coats
Tips: Konad Special Polish in Gold applied with an extra fine Nail Art Pen (see below)
Top Coat: Seche Vite
Black W lines added with an extra fine permanent Marker pen
Top Coat: Seche Vite
before the lines were added


Right Hand
 OPI Chip Skip
Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
Mac Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth 2 coats
Top Coat: Seche Vite
about 10 mins later stars applied individually using the biggest star from Konad Plate M03 and Konad Special Polish in White, this took quite a while, I used the Konad Double sided Stamper, as it has the smaller side for small designs, which makes it easier to place the image exactly where you want :D
I didn't bother with a top coat after Konading, because I actually liked the way the stars looked matte :D


I'm actually really happy how this one turned out :D I am really love this collection by Mac :D Hope you guys enjoy!! :D