OPI Princesses Rule

I was in the mood for something delicate after all those glitter bomb manis lately so I chose OPI Princess Charming. It is a delicate sheer pink shimmer from the OPI Princess Charming collection.

My usual Sally Hansen Triple Strong base coat and then I used two coats of Princess Rule. I probably could've gone with a third but I was happy with how two looked. Lastly I applied a coat of Revlon Colorstay top coat.

Now some pretty photos. I'm afraid I only have a few and only in artificial light :(

OPI Princesses Rule in Artificial Light

OPI Princesses Rule in Artificial Light

I love how soft and delicate this looks. I find this shade great as a palette cleanser but still has a gorgeous bit of sparkle to it. I don't often wear girly shades but I really like this!

Essie Super Bossa Nova

The other mini polish in the Essie set was also screaming my name so I had to put it on :) Also from the Essie Braziliant collection is Super Bossa Nova!

I did my usual one coat of Sally Hansen Triple Strong as a base coat. I then followed this with two coats of Super Bossa Nova. You could probably get away with only using one coat because it is very opaque but I have a habit of always using two coats. I finished my mani off with a coat of Revlon Colorstay top coat.

I was having a bit of trouble photographing this one too because it is really bright!

Essie Super Bossa Nova in Artificial Light

Essie Super Bossa Nova in Artificial Light

 And still not bright enough :(

Essie Super Bossa Nova in Natural Light

Essie Super Bossa Nova in the Shade with flash

 Ooh you can see a bit of that gorgeous shimmer I was talking about!

Essie Super Bossa Nova in the Shade

Love, love, love! Yet another shade that screams summer which I desperately need in this dreary freezing cold weather. Super Bossa Nova is a stunningly bright pink with a gorgeous subtle magenta shimmer. This shimmer also hides like that of Braziliant :( This is really beautiful! Again if you get this in the right light and that shimmer comes to play its amazing!

Zoya Areej

Awhile ago I randomly chose a bunch of nail polishes and decided to wear those nail polishes. I did this because it takes me ages to pick what colour to put on my nails because I kept changing my mind when looking at all the pretties. This way the decision is out of my hands!

So next up was Zoya Areej a vibrant dark pink creme from the Zoya Summertime collection. After the unexpected annoyance that was Zoya Minka I was happy to have my faith in Zoya reaffirmed! I applied one coat of Revlon Calcium Nail Hardener and then applied two coats of Areej. You could definitely get away with one coat but I prefer to do two. Obviously it wasn't my base coat that made Minka so difficult to apply because here I used the base coat and it applied like a breeze! I finished it off with a coat of Seche Vite.

Onto the photos! Lol ignore my shiny fingers, I had applied Burt's Bees Cuticle Cream and was impatient to take photos. Then when I took the photos in the sun my hands were wet *oops*.

Zoya Areej in Artificial Light

Zoya Areej in Sunlight

Zoya Areej in Shade

I usually don't choose pinks but this is one is gorgeous. I think perhaps I like it so much because it is so vibrant and it's also a darker shade of pink which I prefer. The Summertime collection is really impressing me!

Sally Hansen Digital over OPI Black Onyx (Pic Heavy)

Randomly picking a Sally Hansen nail colour I came up with Digital from the Sally Hansen Hi-Definition range. I wasn't in the mood for a bright fuchsia pink on my nails and decided to layer it over a black. I knew that Digital was an intense fuchsia shade and decided that black would keep the intensity but less the bright pink effect.

So I applied OPI Nail Hardener again for my base coat and then applied two coats of OPI Black Onyx for full coverage. Then I applied two coats of Digital. I initial just added one coat which produced this gorgeous vibrant purple/pink colour but then decided to add another layer to really represent Digital. I will tell you now this polish is a PITA to apply. Even though it's a sheer colour the formula is very thin which makes it so difficult to apply. Trying to wrap my tips was a nightmare and Digital seemed to refuse to apply even at the tips of my nails. Then during clean up Digital would easily come off - too easily - so that I ended up with a black ring around the nail polish where the pink came off but the black stayed on. I applied my usual Seche Vite top coat.

I took these photos that night after applying it and you can see that it wouldn't apply evenly over the tips of my nails, perhaps because it is so sheer?

Sally Hansen Digital over OPI Black Onyx in Artificial Light

Sally Hansen Digital over OPI Black Onyx in Artificial Light

Sally Hansen Digital over OPI Black Onyx in Artificial Light

The following day, just ONE DAY, I took these pictures in the natural light. Notice that overnight Digital pulled even further away from the tips of my nails causing the black to poke out. I was so frustrated! It looked so gorgeous the night before and then it pulled away the next morning!!! You can clearly see where it has pulled from the tips and collected further down the nail in the photos.

Sally Hansen Digital over OPI Black Onyx in Natural Light

Sally Hansen Digital over OPI Black Onyx in Natural Light

Sally Hansen Digital over OPI Black Onyx in Natural Light

I just HAD to share these photos taken in the shade. I think they really show the intensity of this combo.

Sally Hansen Digital over OPI Black Onyx in the Shade - no flash

Sally Hansen Digital over OPI Black Onyx in the Shade -  flash

Regardless of the huge PITA this nail polish was to apply I simply LOVE this colour combination. I'm not sure if I'll like Digital on it's own but applied over black it has such an intensity and the colour is just too gorgeous. I would still apply Digital over black but perhaps only as a day manicure before it begins to pull away. I like that applying the first layer gives a mouth-watering purple/pink colour and then subsequently layers of Digital push it further towards a bright fuchsia colour.

Nicole by OPI It Starts With Me

Choosing yet another pink I chose Nicole by OPI It Starts With Me from their Liquid Metals collection. It Starts With Me is a gorgeous silver-based pink/peached toned foil. I applied one coat of OPI Nail Hardener. Then I used two coats of It Starts With Me and a topcoat of Seche Vite Dry Fast. The application of It Starts With Me was flawless! The brush was unbelievably easy to use and the formula just glided on. This is the first Nicole by OPI nail polish that I have used and let's just say I'm impressed!

These photo's were taken that night in artificial light.

Nicole by OPI It Starts With Me in Artificial Light

Nicole by OPI It Starts With Me in Artificial Light

Then the following day I took these photo's in the sunlight. These photo's accurately represent the colour of It Starts With Me.

Nicole by OPI It Starts With Me in Natural Light

Nicole by OPI It Starts With Me in Natural Light

This colour is simply stunning! It has a silver base packed with pink/peach and a foil finish. The formula is amazing and there are no visible brush-strokes!! My first impression upon applying It Starts With Me was that it was a bronzed rose colour. Whatever it's "true colour" it's beautiful!

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink

I had a very belated urge to do something Valentine's Day related. Since I didn't do anything special or themed for Valentine's Day I decided to pick go with Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink which I picked up from their new Xtreme Wear collection. When I picked it up this colour screamed Valentine's to me, add glitter to the mix and this was a no-brainer!

I applied OPI Natural Hardener for my base coat and then applied three coats of Rockstar Pink. The formula is thin but not runny. now that may sound contradictory so let me explain :) Since the formula is thin this allows the glitter to glide on smoothly and subsequent coats allows for total opacity without any clumping from the glitter. This polish was a breeze to apply and was almost perfectly opaque with two oats but I added a third to ensure total coverage. I applied a thick coat of Seche Vite top coat and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri drops to hasten the drying time. I would suggest you add another layer of top coat if you want it feeling perfectly smooth since it still had a grainy feel with just one coat.

I just wanted to note that the bottle contains 11.8ml and for this one manicure I used a significant portion of it to achieve complete opacity. I can't wait to try this over other nail polishes as a top coat :)

These photo's were taken a night later in artificial light after I had removed most of the excess glitter.

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink in Artificial Light

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink in Artificial Light

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink in Artificial Light -  blurry goodness!!!

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink in Artificial Light

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink in Artificial Light

Then two days later I took these photo's outside but unfortunately it was overcast so there's not much sunlight to work with.

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink in Natural Light

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink in Natural Light

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink in Natural Light - more blurry shots :)

GLITTER OVERLOAD!!! This colour is just stunning! It's so pretty and smoothly blends together for a glitter overload. Rockstar Pink had pink, purple, blue and silver glitter particles all through it in a clear base. I keep finding my attention drawn to my nail polish, especially with the sunlight sparkling off them. If you love pink and glitter I suggest you pick this colour up at once!

Revlon Iced Mauve

I realised I hadn't shown you Revlon Iced Mauve on it's own in the sunlight before I used it for my pastel water marbling. So I used Revlon Quick Dry base coat and then two thin layers of Revlon Iced Mauve. If you use a thicker coat it is opaque in just one layer. The formula isn't as bad as most Revlon nail polishes, this one is easy to control and not crazy watery. To finish it off I applied a coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat.

I took these photo's in artificial light once I applied my top coat.

 Revlon Iced Mauve in Artificial Light

Revlon Iced Mauve in Artificial Light

Then these were taken in natural light, outside in the lovely sunshine. You can see where I clumsily managed to knock my nails - oops!

 Revlon Iced Mauve in Natural Light

Revlon Iced Mauve in Natural Light

Iced Mauve is a gorgeous purple pink colour, a light mauve. It has a subtle shimmer to it that you can see in the photo's. It has a longer dry time than other nail polishes but most of the Revlon polishes I use take quite awhile to dry. This is a beautiful colour and easy to grab if you're in a hurry since it's opaque with one thick coat. Just remember to let it dry without knocking it - unlike like me!