China Glaze Westside Warrior

When I first saw China Glaze Westside Warrior I had to get since I adore khaki greens and I can't believe it has taken me so long to finally put it on! Westside Warrior is part of the China Glaze Metro collection.

I started with a coat of Revlon Calcium Gel Nail Hardener followed by two coats of Westside Warrior. I'm assuming Westside Warrior didn't like my base coat because it kept forming bald patches RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES! Ignoring this the actual application was smooth. Luckily the second coat worked to give a lovely even finish and a coat of Seche Vite to finish the job :)

These photos were taken in artificial light that night.

China Glaze Westside Warrior in Artificial Light

China Glaze Westside Warrior in Artificial Light

Then the following morning I took these photos in the bright, bright sunlight. Lol please ignore the edges of my nails! I managed to rake my fingers down the stupid front door mesh *sigh*.

Love. It. This is such a gorgeous khaki green creme and it perfectly matches the khaki green clothes I have lol! I would definitely wear this one again it's just so pretty and, ignoring the weird balding tantrum, it was a dream to apply :)

Nail Art Fail: "Bleeding" Cuticles

I wanted to completely change up my Zoya Minka manicure from the other day and for the life of my I can't figured out why I decided red would be the best colour to go with it O.o

So using French nail tip guides I painted a semi circle at the bottom of my nails using a single coat of Maybelline Racy Red (of course!). For some unknown reason I chose not to push the guides down firmly on my right hand so my left hand actually turned out better! Lol it was a strange night :) Then I decided to added a clear rhinestone to the base of each nail. Added a top coat of Seche Vite and my nail fail was done :)

These were taken that night in artificial light.

Nail Fail: Bleeding Cuticles in Artificial Light

Nail Fail: Bleeding Cuticles in Artificial Light

Then the following morning these were taken in natural light.

Nail Fail: Bleeding Cuticles in Natural Light

Nail Fail: Bleeding Cuticles in Natural Light

Nail Fail: Bleeding Cuticles in Shade

I kept alternating between "it looks like my cuticles are bleeding" to " no I like it!" and back to the bleeding again :) I wouldn't wear this again but I think I would probably try it with a triangle at the top of my nails in red and then placing a rhinestone somewhere!

Zoya Minka

I was after a nude nail polish so I chose Zoya Minka from the Touch collection. Minka is a light beige creme, a nude like the other polishes in the Touch collection.

I used a single coat of OPI Nail Hardener for my base. I was surprised because I had quite a few problems with the application of this one. Zoya polishes usually apply like a dream but this one was a bit on the thick side and very difficult to apply evenly over the nail :( I struggled along, applying two coats, because I didn't have time to try again or pick a different colour. Finally I added a coat of Seche Vite top coat to finish it off.

These photos were taken in artificial light and you can see the pearl finish :)

Zoya Minka in Artificial Light

Zoya Minka in Artificial Light

I was lazy and took these photos in natural light a few days later.

Zoya Minka in Natural Light

Zoya Minka in Natural Light

 Although this is primarily a creme it has a subtle shimmer/pearl finish to it that is easy to overlook. This colour was a great beige but since I have such pale skin it seemed like liquid foundation painted onto my nails but in a colour too dark for my skin tone. I like this colour but I'm still searching for the perfect "nude" shade for me :)

Weekly Giveaway Round Up

SPLAT is having a Matte Glitter Giveaway!

The prizes are:

• Essie Matte About You
• Milani Jewel FX Gold
• Milani Jewel FX Silver
• Milani Jewel FX Gems
• NYX Glitter Mania Disco Ball
• NYX Glitter Mania Hot Gold
• NYX Glitter Mania Purple
• NYX Glitter Mania Blue

There will be one lucky winner! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 2nd April 2012 at 12am. To enter click HERE.

Nail & Polish is having a My First Giveaway!

 

The prizes are:

• Soap & Glory Sit Tight Firming Lotion
• Lee Stafford Poker Straight Hair Serum
• Kleancolor Pinky Moon
• Kleancolor Chunky Holo Poppy
• Kleancolor Chunky Holo Teal

There will be one lucky winner! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 5th April 2012. To enter click HERE.

Karinea0a is having her First Giveaway!

 The prizes are:

• Irish green jelly with multicoloured flakies and glitter
• Salmon coral jelly with multicoloured flakies and glitter

There will be two winners each of whom will win one of the above colours and get the chance to name the polish! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 15th April 2012. To enter click HERE.

Deuce Beauties is having a Transition into Spring/Summer Giveaway ft China Glaze Island Escape Collection!

The prizes are:

• China Glaze Electric Pineapple
• China Glaze Papaya Punch
• China Glaze Cha Cha Cha
• China Glaze 108 Degrees
• China Glaze Senorita Bonita
• China Glaze Blue Iguana

There will be one lucky winner of the above prizes! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 29th March 2012. To enter click HERE.

The Giveaway Lifestyle is having a 1000 Follower Giveaway! 

The prizes are:

• Konad Stamping Kit
• China Glaze Blonde Bombshell
• China Glaze Electrify
• Spoiled Shuffle the Deck 
• Nubar Indigo Illusion
• Revlon Starry Pink
• Revlon Facets of Fuchsia 
• Revlon  Blue Mosaic
• Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream
• Sally Girl mini Cuticle Oil 

Everything a nail blogger could want! There will be one lucky winner! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 15th April 2012 at 11:59 pm. ET. To enter click HERE.

Pointless Cafe is having a One Year Blogaversary Giveaway! 

 

The prizes are:

• Butter London Knackered
• Butter London Nail Foundation base coat
• Butter London Hardwear top coat

There will be one lucky winner! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 31st March 2012. To enter click HERE.

Nail Polish Anonymous is having her First Giveaway!

The prize is:

• Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream

There will only be one winner. This giveaway is open internationally and ends 8th April 2012 at 12pm EST. To enter click HERE.

Pretty Polish Please is having a 50 Follower Giveaway!

 The prizes are:

• Australia Speck-Tacular flakie top coat
• Essence Blue Addicted
• Essence Gold Old Buffy
• Essence The Dawn Is Broken
• Essence Hunt Me If You Can
• OPI Touring America mini set

There will be one very lucky winner! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 1st April 2012. to enter click HERE.

The Trace Face Philes is having a Many Reasons To Celebrate Giveaway!

 The prize is:

• the ENTIRE China Glaze Hunger Games collection!

OMG! One winner that I will be VERY envious of will win the entire 12 polishes from The Hunger Games collection! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 27th April 2012. To enter click HERE.

Dragon Lady Nails is having a 200-500 Follower Giveaway!

 

The prizes all include:

• 2 nail art stripping tape
• 5 fimo sticks
• An empty nail art wheel for storing fimo slices
• A glitter notebook

Prize 1 also includes:

• Sally Hansen HD Hue
• Sally Hansen HD Resolution

Prize 2 also includes:

•  Four unnamed Black Radiance Bold & Sexy polishes

Prize 3 also includes:

• Milani Jewel FX Glitter Gems
• Milani Jewel FX Glitter Silver
• Milani Jewel FX Glitter Teal

Prize 4 also includes:

• Mega Dare Polish Plum Up
• Mega Dare Polish Cotton Candy
• Mega Dare Polish Blueberry Bright
• Mega Dare Polish Apple Tart

Prize 5 also includes:

• Mega Dare Polish Hot Date
• Mega Dare Polish Lime Action
• Mega Dare Polish Total Flirt
• Mega Dare Polish Last Dance

There are five prize packs and there will be five winners! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 31st March 2012. To enter click HERE.

Glowstars is having a Fantasy Fire Giveaway!

 The prizes are:

• Oh So Nails Metallic Green
• Max Factor Max Effect Mini Fantasy Fire 
• George Ultraviolet

There will be one lucky winner! This giveaway is open internationally and ends 4th April 2012. To enter click HERE.

Revlon Galaxy over Ulta3 Blue Heaven

I wanted to try out the other Revlon Top Coat nail polish that I had picked up. So I decided to try Galaxy over the Ulta3 Blue Heaven manicure I was already wearing.

This time I only applied one thick coat instead of two thin coats like I did with Slipper. It applied very easily and like slipper the glitter is well suspended in the clear coat. Galaxy has black and blue glitter and then the same holographic hexagons that Slipper has. I added a layer of Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat to help smooth it out but the following morning it was still a bit bumpy so I would recommend trying Seche Vite instead.

These photos were taken in artificial light.

Revlon Galaxy over Ulta3 Blue Heaven in Artificial Light

Revlon Galaxy over Ulta3 Blue Heaven in Artificial Light

Then these in natural light the following day.

Revlon Galaxy over Ulta3 Blue Heaven in Natural Light

Revlon Galaxy over Ulta3 Blue Heaven in Natural Light

I think I like this top coat even better than Slipper! I can see wearing Galaxy over numerous other colours since it's primarily made up of black and silver hexagons.

Ulta3 Blue Heaven

I chose another Ulta3 nail polish from the Gelato collection. This time I chose Blue Heaven, a gorgeous blue creme, since I plan to use it as a base for another polish.

I applied a coat of OPI Nail Hardener for my base coat then followed it with two coats of Blue Heaven. Blue Heaven applied much the same as Mango Mayhem. The brush was still too thick collecting too much polish and the formula was also thick like Mango Mayhem. Again when I finished the two thick layers it was uneven and dried to that same vinyl/semi-matte finish. My bottle also has these solid white particles that I mostly picked up in my first coat so thankfully they were covered with my second coat but no matter how much I tried mixing the contents I couldn't get rid of them :( I applied Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat and as with mango Mayhem the top coat worked to smooth the polish giving it an even finish *sigh of relief*. I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Drops to hasten the drying time of my top coat.

I took these photos straight away that night in artificial light.

Ulta3 Blue Heaven in Artificial Light

Ulta3 Blue Heaven in Artificial Light

The following morning I took photos in the natural sunlight. I'm surprised that you can't clearly see where I whacked my index finger after taking photos the night before. Yay lol!

Ulta3 Blue Heaven in Natural Light

Ulta3 Blue Heaven in Natural Light

And then this lone photo in the shade :)

Ulta3 Blue Heaven in the Shade

I really love this colour, well blues in general! Blue Heaven is a gorgeous sky blue creme and with a top coat the finish looks fantastic - not bad for a AUD$2 nail polish :) Both the Ulta3 nail polishes I have tried dried very quickly on their own, probably because they dry to that semi-matte/vinyl finish.

Nail Mail from Carina!

I won the China Glaze Magnetix Giveaway over at Carinae L'etoile's Polish Stash and it arrived yesterday! OMG I am SO HAPPY! When I saw the box I was just so excited and couldn't wait, although it took  me an embarrassingly long time to finally get it open lol.

Want to see? Of course you do :) I would have shown you how safely everything was wrapped but I was way too excited and impatient to take photos oops!

It took me awhile to get through all the tape lol

This was what I won:

China Glaze Magnetix Instant Chemistry, Attraction, Cling On, Drawn To You, Pull Me Close, You Move Me and the Magnet

I was so happy to have won this giveaway because I don't own any magnetic polishes and was looking forward to trying them :) I can't believe I won the entire set!

And then there was ALL OF THIS!!!!!!!!
 

Look at all these extra goodies!!!!

I wasn't expecting so much extra! We had a bit of trouble with the shipping and Carina said she would be adding some extra items as a sorry for the trouble but I had NO IDEA how much extra she would add! I think she's qualified for Sainthood lol.

I'm sorry but I'm still doing a happy dance and have been smiling non-stop since the package arrived. So close ups of the added goodies:

Zoya Opal, Maise and Chloe

I was over the moon when I saw she had sent me the entire Zoya Fleck Effects collection. When this first came out and I saw swatches of them they were instant lemmings of mine although I had no idea how I was going to get them. I only have one poor flakie polish so I am eager to add these to my stash :)

Color Club Nouveau Vintage and Alter Ego

Carina also sent me Nouveau Vintage from the Back To Boho collection and Alter Ego from the Alter Ego collection. I swear it's like she was reading my mind! I loved both these gorgeous shimmer polishes from each of these collections and was hoping to eventually get them but Carina beat me to it!

Nails Inc Magnetic Polish House Of Parliament and Whitehall

My first Nails Inc polishes!!! And they're magnetic to boot! She did it again! These were my two picks from the Nails Inc magnetic polishes and she sent me them both! Wow I think I'm running out of exclamation marks but there are more coming.

Butter London Knees Up

 MY FIRST BUTTER LONDON! I swear I almost died when unwrapping this. All I kept thinking was it couldn't possibly be a Butter London polish (since I was guessing from the shape) and almost screamed when it was. I can't wait to try this one on, it's such a gorgeous vibrant red. I love reds!

Barielle Love Your Nails Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover Towelettes

I didn't know Barielle did nail polish remover towelettes but I've seen these wipes popping up on nail blogs. I can't wait to try these out, they will definitely come in handy!

Aww she's so nice!

And the lovely note that Carina wrote :)

Phew! Thank you so much Carina!  I am overwhelmed at all my amazing goodies and don't know what to try first. I think I'm still on overload! Carina did such an amazing job and I love everything that she sent me. Please do check out her blog - it's amazing and her pictures make me so jealous!

Ulta3 Metallic Crush Swatches

So I picked up a few of the new Ulta3 Metallic Crush collection and figured I would swatch them :) First of all I wish they had kept the name Molten Metallics, it just sounds so much better than Metallic Crush! But I guess they wanted it to be different from Face of Australia Molten Metallics collection. I didn't pick up Pinot because when I picked up the bottle it looked almost identical to Shiraz and I also didn't buy Burnt Orange because it didn't appear to be a metallic like the others in this collection.

Each of these swatches is without base/top coat. All photos are taken in artificial light.

Jade

This is two coats. Application was good. Jade is a gorgeous jade green metallic. As expected you can see the nail brush strokes but they aren't very defined so it doesn't bother me at all. I love this shade!


Copper

This is two coats. Application was good. Copper is a vivid orange metallic. This one's a stunner! The moment I put it on it reminded me of China Glaze Riveting.

Shiraz

This is two coats. Application was good. Shiraz is a brilliant red metallic. I love this one too! It looks like my nails are on fire :)

Antique Gold

Two coats. The formula on this one was slightly thick and I think that might be why the brush strokes are a bit more obvious. Overall though the formula wasn't anywhere near horrible just a bit thicker than the others from this collection. Antique Gold is a dark gold metallic. I don't have any colours like this in my collection so I like it!


Cocoa

Two coats. Application was good. Cocoa is a brown/bronze metallic. This one was another stunner. I think I only have one other bronze nail polish so I'm happy to have this one it's so pretty!

Enchanted

 

Two coats. Application was good. Enchanted is a dark plum purple with a gorgeous green shimmer. I saved the best until last! Enchanted is absolutely gorgeous! When I picked up the bottle there was an obvious green shimmer to the polish that I desperately hoped came through when applied to the nail AND IT DOES!  Love This!

Stamping

Copper, Antique Gold, Enchanted

I saw people asking about how this collections is for stamping. They all come out very sheer, except for cocoa, so if it's an intense look you're looking for I wouldn't recommend any of these. I tried these with different images and found that ones with small detail didn't work at all so you needed large whole images. If you're using a stamping image without fine detail and after a subtle look these will work. However, I found Cocoa came out really clearly unlike the others.



Overall

I love this collection! I was surprised to fine that the application of these was so good! I have almost no metallics in my collection so I was more than happy to pick these colours up, especially considering how cheap they are (AUD$2.25ea). I was especially happy since the formula on these was so great, except for Antique Gold. My personal favourite of these has to be Enchanted! However, I love the intensity of all the colours, they're absolutely stunning.