Essie Braziliant

I couldn't wait to try the new Essie poishes that I picked up and Braziliant was calling my name! Braziliant is a gorgeous bright orange polish.


I applied a base coat of Sally Hansen Triple Strong and then two coats of Essie Braziliant. Braziliant was a breeze to apply, perfect smooth formula. I finished off with a coat of Revlon Colorstay Top Coat.

I did the best I could with the pictures but between the bright colour and intermitant sunlight it was a bit of a pain.

See this is what all my pictures kept looking like :(

Essie Braziliant in Artificial Light

But finally I got this one yay ):

Essie Braziliant in Artificial Light

Essie Braziliant in Natural Light

Essie Braziliant in the Shade

I love this colour! It's crazy bright, not quite a neon in my opinion but it certainly screams summer. Braziliant has a beautiful coral orange shimmer that is mostly hidden but when it comes out to play - WOW! Definitely can't wait to wear this again when we have lots of actual sunlight :)

China Glaze Style Wars

Continuing my attempt to pretend it's Autumn I decided to go with an orange and somehow ended up with China Glaze Style Wars from the Kicks Collection. Style Wars is a vibrant orange jelly with a reddish tint to it.

A base coat of Revlon Calcium Gel Nail Hardener to start me off (why do I keep using this??). When I was applying my first coat of Style Wars all I kept thinking of was orange cordial because it was so thin and runny O_o. I followed it up with another two coats to try and get it as opaque as possible. I found the first coat of polish was the hardest to apply because it was so this so I had to paint slowly to control the brush and therefore the polish.

Now I tend to watch a movie while I paint my nails so I have a habit of paint a few nails and then pausing to watch the screen. But with this polish I discovered THIS IS A BAD IDEA!! I did my right hand and then moved onto my left but got distracted by the movie. Then when I got back to doing my left hand I discovered that the polish on my thumb on my right hand had pooled down the side of my nail because I had been holding it at an angle >.< I was one unhappy camper! So I learnt to paint my nails quickly and then lay them flat and keep them there!

After applying my final coat and leaving my hands nice and flat to dry I applied a coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine for my top coat. Luckily since it is a jelly the mess I made when applying my first coat was easy to remove when cleaning up my manicure.

And pictures!

China Glaze Style Wars in Artificial Light

I'm sitting here looking at my nails in the artificial light and they're not this bright!

China Glaze Style Wars in Natural Light

China Glaze Style Wars in Natural Light

This is one elusive colour to capture! It shifts from a bright candy orange to a bright reddish orange depending on the sunlight.

China Glaze Style Wars in the Shade

Glorious jelly goodness!!! Lol! I really love this colour. I actually didn't realise it was a jelly when I bought it so I was quite surprised when I applied my first coat. As with most jellies there is still a VNL which I usually prefer not to have but I couldn't be bothered doing a fourth coat so late at night. Ooohhh I definitely see a jelly sandwich in my future :)

Ulta3 Mango Mayhem

I'm so embarrassed to say that even though I live in Australia this is the first Ulta3 nail polish that I have tried! I picked Mango Mayhem from the Ulta3 Gelato collection. Mango Mayhem is a muted orange creme and the first orange I have tried.

I applied a base coat of OPI Nail Hardener and then two coats of Mango Mayhem. I'll tell you now the brush was a PITA to work with. It doesn't sit flat and is very thick, not broken but fanned out. It made it very difficult to apply the polish because the brush kept picking too much nail polish up at once and I couldn't brush most of it off. To top it all off the formula was very thick which made trying to apply a thin even coat impossible. I was really frustrated when I finished the two coats and some areas were so much thicker than others. It also dries to a vinyl/semi-matte finish which would look OK if the polish applied evenly. I still added a top coat of Seche Vite and was SO HAPPY that I did because it managed to level out the nail polish and give it a shiny finish. With the top coat levelling out the nail polish I loved this manicure!

These photos were taken in artificial light.

Ulta3 Mango Mayhem in Artificial Light

Ulta3 Mango Mayhem in Artificial Light

The following morning I took these photos in the natural light.

Ulta3 Mango Mayhem in Natural Light

Ulta3 Mango Mayhem in Natural Light

I have to say I don't think this colour suits me. However, I ADORE THIS COLOUR! I just didn't want to take it off, it is such a gorgeous colour. It's not quite a pastel more a muted orange instead. For AUD$2 I am so happy I finally decided to try Ulta3! And since I'm allergic to mango this is as close as I'm going to get :)