Monday, October 31, 2011

Revlon Carbonite



So guess what! I finally got my hands on Carbonite, long after the hype is gone and it only cost me 3 dollars. I feel like a winner. Carbonite is supposed to be a pretty-close-but-not-quite-dupe to Chanel Graphite, with less of a golden sparkle. I'm a big fan of metallics and Carbonite is no exception. A grungy, almost green toned steel with a bit of reflection, but texture as well. The formula wowed me the most... It applied like a DREAM. The color was solid in 1 coat, but I added the second for full saturation. The polish is very creamy, doesn't snag and dries fast. It's very different to see a metallic finish like this (don't think it's a foil) apply like a creme and be super solid without any grittiness. Removal was also easy! It slides right off, instead of leaving the glitter behind. I honestly did not find any flaws in the formula, color and wear of this polish. I wish it was a little more sparkly, but that can be fixed with a glitter topcoat.

Revlon Carbonite gets a BIG thumbs up from me and I'm happy to add it to my collection.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Halloween Hussy nail art!



"Hussy" is what my nails feel like right now. Super long and black...this began with an idea for a corset mani, like a goth or a vampire theme. I tried doing two corsets and messed up on my middle finger. However, I decided to do a fishnet stamp on ti instead. I think this turned out well and with the theme! I added a bit of blood  and an upside down cross sort of like a vampire. I have not worn black polish on nails THIS long! It's the longest my nails have ever been. So crazy!

Also, I have been messing with the blog layout and design, fixing broken links and implementing the related posts at the bottom. Any feedback? 

Sexy Bomb s32 vs s38



When I went on my mad Vancouver shopping spree for Sexy Bombs, I grabbed 2 very similar polishes, one was a milky pink and another was more of a peachy tone. Since they are so close to each other, I will be reviewing them together. They both contain pink metallic shimmer, and are both of similar opacity and application.  They also use the strange Sexy Bomb formula: runny yet opaque, sort of a creme with VERY fine metallic glitter, so it ends up being a subtle foily shimmer. They both apply like a dream and dry very fast. However, they do smell pretty strongly.

Read on for LOTS of pics!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Forever21 - Gold Iridescence



Saw this at Forever21 and could not pass it up! Chunky holo in metallic beige? Yes please! 
This is a strange color indeed...looks like an amazing beige disco ball in the bottle, it is a frosty(!) beige on the nail with chunky hex holographic glitter.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Sexy Bomb s42 - pink holographic glitter


Another Sexy Bomb to review! This time I'm trying s42, a sexy and sassy pink glitter with little holographic glitters inside! First off, I think this is meant for layering or making a gradient, because the slightly pink jelly base is loaded with glitter and it is a little on the sheer side. However, I was able to get decent opacity with 3 coats, which isn't too bad. The final color is a strange shade of metallic pink, with metallic fine glitter and holographic slightly larger glitter. S42 ends up looking like a very sheer foil basically and it is EXTREMELY shiny.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Lioele - Pearl Plum Purple

I've owned Lioele cremes before and they were a little thick and goopy, but usable. When I saw these matte colors though, I just had to give them a go. I grabbed both the Pearl Plum Purple and Merry Pink Wine. Today, I will be reviewing the purple!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Shiseido Maquillage 93 Holographic

Maquillage is a premium makeup brand from Shiseido that is sold in Japan and focuses on providing a full range of makeup products and colors. Their products are a pretty budget friendly, since they are mostly sold in department stores.



Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Vancouver haul


I'm finally back and buy do I have additions to my stash! I hauled like crazy for the 2 days I was gone and here is what I have to show for it:


Here is the haul itself. May not look like much but read on.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Vancouver early haul update


So I'm still in Van and I'm hauling like MAD. I'm going to have to do a lot of swatches when I get back, but here is a sneak preview on the Korean polishes I got! I thought I bought these at Face Shop but my bad, looks like the store I got these from is called Cara (or SK Cara) in Metrotown, Burnaby.
Here are some Sexy Bombs and I-charm polishes in these bags over here.
This is NOT all I got so far...can't wait to get them all photographed and reviewed :D


Friday, October 21, 2011

NARS Orgasm polish


Orgasm is based on NARS's top selling blush of the same name. As the blush, it is a pinky peach base with golden shimmer. I've been lemming this FOREVER and when a Sephora opened here I bought this first thing.

 Now, while researching, I usually came across negative reviews. The formula was bad, streaky, the color dried orange, didn't look the same as in the bottle, etc.
I chose to disregard these, I thought "I can make it work. It'll good on my skin tone. It CAN'T look badly on me". With these desperate hopes of making it work, I purchased it and stared at the bottle. It's the best...so pink and the shimmer is very subtle. I wish it came out that way on the nails. When it dries (IF it ever dries) it does become flat orange... The shimmer comes through too much and kills the peachy pink, turning everything orange. That and it took about 3 coats to get the opacity you see here (not very opaque) and IT DID NOT DRY. It stayed squishy even under a coat of Seche Vite, which has never failed me. A day later and it's still getting nicks and scrapes. For 25 Canadian collars, this is a HUGE fail. 
This...has pretty much scared me away from most HE polishes. I keep hearing about Chanel stuck-upness in terms of customer service and the runny formula...keep hearing about NARS being streaky and runny. 
I found that if I stick to cheaper options, like WnW the results are great. The highest I'm willing to pay for a polish would probably be 12$ for OPI. Lesson learned...

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Sexy Bomb s37 - more Korean polish!

note: it's even brighter in real life!


I really want to know what the label says

This is the last Sexy bomb I have to review in full detail. 
S37 is my favorite of the bunch and it's FANTASTIC!
When I was browsing these, the SA told me I should get this color, even though I was hesitating. She had it on and for some reason I still didn't love it. S37 did not hit me until I put it on at home. This color is...get ready for this... a hot pink foil! It has metallic shimmer and the base is a neon pink that's blinding in the best of ways. When I wear s37, I feel like Barbie! The formula is fantastic and it dries very fast. Sexy Bomb uses a pretty wide brush, but it works very well for me and you just need 1-2 strokes to cover the nail entirely. Full opacity is at TWO coats. This polish lasts a while on me and slightly hard to remove (a true foil!)

Speaking of Korean hauls, I can't wait to visit the Face Shop in Vancouver again come this weekend. Get ready for more Korean and other asian goodies!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Revlon - Blue Lagoon


Blue lagoon 092 is a robin's egg blue, a colour I have 2-3 variations of.  Lagoon is unique in the sense that it has glass flecks so the colour has a bit of depth. In the bottle it's a beautiful blue and you can see the flecks if you look real close.


Here's a closeup of flecks:



In terms of application, it's gross. The flakies give it texture of what could be best described as porridge. The color is streaky, yet chunky. It does not dry as fast at it could and needs about 3-4 coats to reach full opacity.
I really do love the way it looks with 3 coats and a topcoat on, but for the price you pay (7-8$cdn) you'd think Revlon would have a nice formula like NYC Colour or Wet N Wild polishes (2-3$cdn). I do not own many Revlon polishes and their formula is the biggest reason. With that said, after the pain-in-the-butt application and gross texture, it does look fantastic at the end. The finish is one of my favorite light blue colors, because the rest are cremes and Blue Lagoon stands out. All in all, it's a toss-up between me liking the colour and finish, while hating the polish itself.



Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Tea themed gradient nails!

I'm in love with Twinings blackcurrant black tea and I adore their packaging! It's a pretty black to purple gradient with a golden border... 
Yes, tea in bags is not the best tea, but this particular one is so good and yummy I just cannot resist. I love their other teas too, like Lady Earl Grey and normal Earl Gray.
I've been meaning to do this for a while and I'm floored by how it turned out.
Colors used: WnW black creme and NYC color - prince street. Gradient was done by dabbing a makeup sponge in layers and letting it dry inbetween.
There's a picture with some nice golden hex glitter as an accent.



It looks EXACTLY like the teabag! Yess



Wow, I am loving gradients more and more these days. 

Monday, October 17, 2011

Gradient Leopard nails!

I got inspired when browsing tumblr and wanted to try my own breed of a colourful leopard manicure. It's just so psychedelic 80's neon and I needed some color in my life.



The gradient is China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy along with OPI - Feelin Hot Hot Hot. I used ORLY - Frisky for the rest of the nails along with OPI silver shatter.  I had the Konad leopard stamp and for once, it came in handy. I usually shy away from animal print but this was such a sassy idea, I simply could not resist. My only mistake is that I chose a pink that was too cold in its tone, so against ChG FFF's  neon orangeness' it looked almost...mauve? eww. Other than that little setback, this turned out great! I gotta try another leopard mani sometime.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Essie Chinchilly + OPI rainbow connection


Essie Chinchilly is a warm grey color that I've resisted for a while as I thought it would NOT be any different.
I did finally cave and buy it...it has become one of my favourite greys! It's got a pink undertone with a hint of purple and just looks so nice and neutral. I'm wearing two coats, the Essie formula is fantastically smooth and opaque. 
This is a great addition to my growing collection of greys (exciting, I know) and it's great for layering, too!


Here is OPI Rainbow Connection hex glitter from Muppets 2011 Holiday collection on top of Essie Chinchilly.
I gotta try flakies next!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Pac Man nails


I attempted pacman nails and they turned out so good!!
I started with 2-3 coats of each color, then did white dots with a chopstick for eyes, dotted black inside as well. After that, I cut a sawtooth design into the tape and applied it with the teeth down. Painted black from the base and up, removed the tape and Voila! Adorable googly-eyed ghosts! I made pac man by taping off the mouth and doing a black dot with a chopstick. I'm really happy the way this turned out...I want to do more video game nails! Any suggestions? 

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Halloween nails - bloody nurse



Halloween is coming! Candy is bite sized and abundant!
 TIME FOR SCARY NAILS.
I attempted a bloodsplattered look with a toothbrush and topped off with dropslets of the same color. 
This turned out very nice! Bright and creeepy.
I can't wait to do more Halloweeny stuff.

OPI Muppets Warm and Fozzie

Today, I got my hands on OPI Warm and Fozzie, from the Muppets 2011 holiday collection!
To be honest, I was not excited for the Muppets collection at all. I didn't really dig the topping glitters and it just didn't feel like something I needed to buy. However, after seeing them in PERSON they looked like little disco balls! I was almost tempted to buy all of the glitters when I settled just on Rainbow Connection, which is a rainbow hex glitter and Warm and Fozzie, a color I did not expect!




This is an interesting combination. It's a warm, golden brown foil, with golden and raspberry flecks mixed in. Warm and Fozzie is very reflective and was a pain in the butt to remove, a true foil! I continue to be impressed with the OPI foil formula, it's fast drying, glides on and best of all...looks fantastic in 2 coats!
This is one of the most unique takes on winter polishes I've seen yet...I should try this matte sometime.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Nfu-oh 51




Nfu-oh 51 is a BEAUTIFUL flakie suspended in purple jelly, with some glass flecks. The multichrome effect reminds me of opal actually. In the bottle, it looks like fire (bottle pic here) and on the nail, it turns a bit more blue/purple. I swatched this over black and the flakies turned red! The formula is smooth, the brush picks up enough flakies to how with one swipe.
 I did two coats over SH xtreme deep purple (which turned out a little sheer) and the effect is wonderful!
This lasted three days on me and didn't chip (with top coat) and then I just got tired of purple. This one is definitely a great polish to layer with, as well as fine on its own. It's like a pre-made jelly sandwich!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Sexy Bomb s66

S66 is much more of a foil than the other Sexy Bombs. It's a green base with a LOT of light green shimmer.



On on the nail, it's a salad-green foil, very reflective and fresh! I've never seen a foil like this myself, so it was a welcome surprise.  Most of the color is the foil shimmer, so application was good, but a little patchy due to larger particles. There is a TINY flash of light gold in this color, as seen on the pinky and more so in the bottle. Since this is a true foil, taking it off was a bit of a pain but I still love foils :D

Overall, I like this salad foil. It isn't a bright color but I like using it as a base for nail art.


Saturday, October 8, 2011

Sexy bomb s22

Sexy Bomb s22 is another amazing polish that came home with me from Metrotown's Faceshop, Vancouver BC. I hauled most of these on the account that they look like fantastic duochromes in the bottle, but so far it's been a trend with them looking much less impressive, but still very pretty on the nail. 


S22 is a sandy/camel base with light brown shimmer. It translates to a warm beige shimmer on my nail, sort of like a darker champagne. I did notice that it gives off a green flash, as seen on the index finger and it's visible in both daylight and indoor light. Application is AWESOME and only took me 2 coats to get it solid. Sexy Bombs come with a wide brush but it's not clunky and works well. The polish itself seems pretty runny, so I was surprised at the opacity I got. I really do love this color, it's not bright but not quite a neutral at all... very unique.
I think I have about 2-3 more Sexy bombs left to swatch!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Layering with Nfu-oh 38

This is OPI done out in deco with Nfu-oh 38, which is a clear polish full of iridescent flakies floating about (bottle shown here)


It turned out so pretty! I'm going to need to try layering it on other polishes and try it matte as well.
What do you like to layer your flakies with?

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Sexy bomb S71

Untried swatch time!
Sexy Bomb s71 


Lookit this bottle! There's even a purple flash on the edge!!

No cleanup because I took this off pretty soon.
I swatched s71 since it looked like the perfect deep mystical forest green in the bottle, but came out grainy black on the nail with a green flash. This polish is a BLACK base with green shimmer. The black eclipses most of the shimmer, so it's more an edgy black as opposed to a forest green. 
The best way I can describe this color is "goth Christmas".
I'm a little disappointed in the color of this polish, especially since it looks FANTASTIC in the bottle, but oh well.
Application, however, was great and it was solid within two coats. The drying time is very fast for the Sexy Bomb polishes and it was really fun to play with. I might use it to Konad later on. 

Monday, October 3, 2011

Nfu-oh haul and holographic nails

I have finally obtained my first serious holo! The package from fabuloustreet came on my birthday...I ripped it open and my dreams came true. 
I ordered nfu-of 61, aquabase, as well as 38 and 51 (flakies).
Even though 61 is the new formula where it's more of a foily finish but not as holo (especially indoors, where it looks like silver) it still glows in the sun! I need more holo...more!

Here is a pic of the haul:

And a pic of nfu-oh 61!


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