Essence Happy Girls Are Pretty Collection: 06 On The Choco Side of Life

This is a rather nice polish with a rather weird name.

I apologize for taking so long to getting around to wearing On The Choco Side of Life because I know the shelves have been cleared of the Happy Girls Are Pretty Collection.  Oh well, in the off chance you see it somewhere or wanted to track it down - here it is.  Chocolate is a theme that's being embraced this season, with some brands even launching full lip collections and this polish sort of taps into that without being too full on chocolate per se.  I think it's more of a bronze and it leans into neutral territory but that's what I like about it.  I applied two coats here and sealed with top coat.

All pictures taken in indirect daylight:

Cruelty Free: Yes 

Vegan: To be confirmed

Certified Organic: No

Until next time!

(This product was purchased by me.) 

OPI Fifty Shades of Grey collection: My Silk Tie

Part deux of my OPI Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy features My Silk Tie...

 

I love a smooth metallic silver and this polish delivered for me.  Described as a "silky, gleaming silver", My Silk Tie applied evenly in two coats with minimal streaking - you'll probably notice some here but close ups are infinitely more brutal than real life! Being a mid-toned, more neutral silver this polish isn't too cold or blue toned so I'd say it's more universally flattering on the skin than some can be. I decided to finish the manicure with a traditionally glossy top coat this time.

 

Shade

 

 

Sun

 

Until my next swatch instalment!

 

 

(This product was provided for my consideration.  All comments and opinions are my own.)

 

OPI: Glamour Game

Taking a brief break from COLOUR and venturing back into neutral manicure territory I found this old holiday polish from OPI in my stash, ready to satisfy my needs for something neutral with a little twist.  When I say old, I mean older than I realised actually as Glamour Game harks back to OPI's 2008 Holiday collection Holiday In Toyland! Time is most definitely flying for me!

Glamour Game is an almost white gold metallic polish, with the tiniest shimmery flecks in the mix - just enough to lift it out of the ordinary.  I applied two coats and finished with top coat to smooth it over and here's the result.  Oh yes, please forgive my weird looking pointer/index fingernail - it's the result of a rough mending job as my nail had begun to tear. I gave up and nubbinized my nails the following week!

Shade

 

Sun

 

So my year is off to a good start as I've managed to put up three posts this week - as long as I keep to a minimum of two per week I'll be more than happy with my output!

That's all for week 1, 2015!


Natio: Stardust

The polish I'm wearing in this post is what I chose to wear for my birthday celebrations a few weeks ago. I wanted something glam but neutral at the same time - you know, to go with the outfit changes, right? *wink* 

 

Stardust was one of a trio of shades in Natio's tiny but stunning Metallic Nail Colour Collection released last year. Stardust is a highly metallic pewter and the perfect metallic neutral. Full stop. I really can say no more about the colour.  The fact that the polish is so metallic did mean some more of the dreaded brushstrokes to deal with - and I was in a rush doing my nails which never helps -  but the photos do exaggerate and the finish was cleaner in reality.  This is two coats with topcoat.

 

All pictures taken in indirect daylight:

 

 

 

Just showing my age again but this colour reminds me of the polishes I used to wear all the time in the 1990's!

 

Until next time.

China Glaze: Swanky Silk

Hello :)

I hope you like the changes around here - my little self made blog was long overdue for a facelift and finally I have a blog layout I love thanks to the very talented Sharnee!  The colour scheme is completely opposite to what I had before but it reflects my taste a lot more closely and most importantly it's renewed my love for posting. So let that be the segue to this first post in my 'new' blog...

Swanky Silk is the sole shade I have from China Glaze's stunning duochrome New Bohemian collection released last year. It's a shade I find myself drawn to:  rose gold with the slightest green duochrome.  I did find the formula a tad streaky but I'll forgive it because I adored the colour. As it always is with duochromes the effect is more subtle on the nail than in the bottle - Still a very pretty rose gold though and a very versatile shade.

Shade

 

Sun

That's it for now!

S-he Stylezone: 290 (and I'm going on vacation!)

I'm writing this post in the middle of packing for our family trip - I wanted to cram in one last post just in case I don't get another chance to post over the next few weeks.  I've been so busy I haven't scheduled anything to post automatically either this time.  What can I say? Sorry. My bad. 

Today's post is starring the vibrant metallic blue polish non-descriptively labelled 290 by S-he Stylezone.  This was the first experience I've had with this brand and it was all good, resulting in the perfect blue manicure in two easy coats.  Not too much else to say really other than I LIKE IT!  I'm keeping this one on for our vacation...

Sun

 Shade

And finally, this is where we're headed - Noosa Beach, Queensland:

[Source]

Normal posting will resume after 12th of January 2013.  

Speak to you lovelies soon!

Vita :) xo

Ruby Kisses: Red Romance

I hope you've all had a merry Christmas and/or happy holidays!

I'm sharing my Christmas mani with you and it was a simple one too this year - no nail art, no embellishment, just the polish speaking for itself.  I wore metallic raspberry polish Red Romance from a brand I've only just been introduced to, Ruby Kisses.  Ruby Kisses is a budget US brand and in the roundabout way things happen I actually received this all the way from Slovenia via a polish swap!  Red Romance was an obvious pick for Christmas as this raspberry red also has holo bar glitter and a subtle smattering of microglitter mixed in.  The formula was a little on the gloopier side so it was a little difficult to control, so I very carefully applied my two coats of colour.  I would have liked to see some more of the bar glitter shining on my nails too, to give them a more tinsel effect but it was a very subtle take on glitter and suitable to wear in front of the older family members with no questions asked!

Sun

Indoors natural daylight

Before I go, for those of you who haven't seen it on Twitter, here's a picture of our family's Christmas tree and lights decorating the window:

Until next time.

Vita :)

BYS Magnetic: Neptune

The third polish I'm reviewing from the BYS Magnetic range was unexpectedly interesting.

Neptune is the perfect name for this metallic teal polish because it's the green-blue colour of the sea.  I loved the depth of coverage after one coat, albeit being a little brushstrokey.  I could have so easily worn it as is - and I'll show you a 'before' shot to compare - but of course these polishes are all about the magnetic effect and this one was surprising.  I was expecting the magnetic pattern to be the usual light stripe but this one is black!  The striped pattern kind of reminded me in an off-kilter, off colour way of a bumblebee!?!  For the fun factor alone I like this magnetic polish the best so far!
 

 This is two coats of colour without top coat.  All pictures were taken in cloudy conditions:

Now here's the 'before' shot for comparison:

There are 9 shades in the BYS Magnetic nail enamel range.  BYS polishes are available from discount stores nationally or may be purchased online from FashionAddict.

Until next time.

Vita :)

 (These products have been provided for my consideration.  All comments and opinions are my own.)

OPI: Unfor-Greta-bly Blue

As promised, here's another swatch from OPI's recently released Germany collection.

Unfor-Greta-bly Blue (what a tongue-twister of a name!) is another of the jewel toned metallics in the collection and sat high on my polish radar.  And jewel toned it is indeed as OPI has described this rich, deep blue as "brilliant sapphire".  What I also love about this polish is the added dimension of colour with an ever so subtle hint of teal.  This is 3 coats of colour with top coat for added shine:

Sun

 

Shade

 Lamplight

On a random note, I just noticed that yesterday's post was my 501st!  Wow, that's a lot of rambling to you all, and I've loved every bit of it!  :)


Until my next ramble!

Vita :)

Borghese Rapido Fast Dry Nail Lacquer: Violetto

I've got a few more OPI Germany swatches ready to post but I thought up break it up with a random swatch from a brand I'm not really familiar with - Borghese.

I spotted bottles of Borghese Rapido polish on sale at the discount beauty stall in the concourse at Southern Cross station in Melbourne, which I pass every day on my way to and from work (dangerous)!  Violetto was the most interesting colour to try out and for 4 or 5 bucks why not?  This is a very cool toned silvery violet metallic polish which was a little finicky to apply.  After 2 coats I could still see some sheer patches so I applied 3, and on some nails 4(!), coats to get a fully opaque coverage.  Good news is it lived up to its Rapido name and dried quickly enough, so when I applied it before bed I didn't wake up to the dreaded sheet imprints!  Also, it wasn't horribly streaky as I'd feared it could have been.

I was a bit afraid that this shade would be unflattering but I think I carried it off.  It's an interesting shade of purple but I'm just about ready to start trying more spring appropriate colours as the sun starts to reappear...

Outdoors shade

Sun

Have you tried Borghese nail polish?

That's it for tonight.

Vita :)

OPI: Suzi & the 7 Dusseldorfs

Suzi & the 7 Dusseldorfs was the first polish which caught my eye from OPI's new Germany Collection and I couldn't wait to wear it!

OPI describes this bright metallic purple as a red-violet and this shade has an obvious red undertone to it.  The red adds a subtle warmth to this purple polish making it a very flattering shade to wear so there are no dead hands here!  I'm an unapologetic purple fan so of course I'll tell you I love this polish.  This is two coats with top coat, although I would recommend three coats for a perfectly even coverage.

All pictures taken outdoors in cloudy daylight conditions - yes again...

Thanks again for looking!

Vita :)

My picks from the OPI Germany Collection (bottle spam)

I was more excited than usual when I saw the recently released OPI Germany Collection promos and over the moon when I saw the colours IRL!  Now I never buy entire collections but with these rich metallic colours I was not going to hold back.  I got pretty close - well, I now own 7 of the 12 shades, and 4 of them are mini's so it's still a somewhat controlled indulgence...

Lined up on the windowsill - yes, another gloomy old day I need to apologise for.

(I didn't bother with any swatches for that very reason)

Let's take a slightly closer look at the bottles, starting with my full size picks.  I chose metallics - I love deep metallic shades!

L - R:

 German-icure by OPI

Every Month is Oktoberfest

Deutsche You Want Me Baby

German-icure and Every Month is Oktoberfest look indistinguishable in these pictures but German-icure is a warm brown shimmer while EMIO is more of a dark purple-red shimmer.  Lovely and different enough IRL to justify owning both.  Deutsche You Want Me Baby is something a little different in my collection so of course I had to have it!  It's a vivid burnt orange metallic - I'm sure this one's going to make an impact when I wear it.

Now, onto the minis.  Here are the shades in the Germinis collection.  A nice even mix of cremes and metallics.

L -R:

 Don't Pretzel My Buttons

Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine!

Unfor-Greta-bly Blue

Suzi and the 7 Dusseldorfs

I can see myself wearing all of these.  Of the cremes Don't Pretzel My Buttons is a warm toned beige which works well against my skin tone and Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine! is a cool dark grey which makes for an interestingly edgy neutral.  It was the metallics that caught my attention first of course:  Un-For-Greta-bly Blue is a medium-dark metallic blue, and Suzi and the 7 Dusseldorfs (my favourite) is a gorgeous red toned metallic purple.

The Germany Collection is one of my favourite OPI collections of late so I'm happy to have got my hands on these.

What's your favourite shade from this collection?

Until next time.

Vita :)

Witchery: Bronze

 Happy Hump Day lovelies!  I'm always happy to get the first half of the week out of the way :)

I wore this polish to go with a special outfit last Saturday night but straight up I've got to tell you it was a disappointment.  Australian fashion chain Witchery bring out seasonal nail polish and makeup collections to coordinate with their clothes and accessories and I bought Bronze to match a silk shirt I'd bought on sale at the same time.  So, the plan was this polish would accent beautifully with my new shirt, and another rust coloured knit dress in my wardrobe.  However...Bronze is lighter than I expected which makes it look more rose gold than bronze which is still okay-ish BUT it was very thick and brush-strokey.  This metallic polish just didn't work for me. Not loving this one unfortunately.

Now for some cloudy day pictures:

 

Until next time.

Vita :)