Polish Infatuated

Pretty, pretty holo ♥

2012-03-04T17:17:00.000+11:00

Hi ladies :) Back when I had some sunny days, I pulled out China Glaze DV8 from the OMG collection to wear so I could admire the beauty that it is. It's not as holographic as the other polishes I own from this collection, but it's still super pretty ♥

I applied two coats onto my nails before sealing it with a top coat. As with the other polishes in the collection, application is tricky as you may experience dragging when applying a second coat. Definitely wait until the first layer is dry before applying the next! The bonus though, is that DV8 is a really opaque polish :D

And here it is, when no direct light is shining onto it. Still so pretty! :)

Do you own any polishes from this collection? Which is your favourite?

Thanks for dropping by!
~Sharon

Comparison: Orly Faint of Heart

2012-03-02T23:55:00.000+11:00

As promised, here is the comparison of Orly Faint of Heart which I showed in my previous post :) I brought out my nail sticks as I had them all swatched out and at hand - I hope you don't mind!

From top to bottom:
High society, Faint of heart, French quarter for your thoughts, Earl grey

High society is the most different of the four, having more purple in it than the others. Earl grey, French quarter for your thoughts and Faint of heart are more similar but if you look closely, Faint of Heart has just that smidgen more purple in it to help it look different to the other two polishes.

Do you really need all of them? For a girl who isn't all that into neutrals, I'd say no (and I'm quite surprised I have so many similar ones in my stash!). However, if you're a collector and love neutral shades, you'll probably be able to justify the differences to own all of them :P

I hope this comparison was helpful! What do you think, do you need all four? And I would love your feedback on the nail sticks too - like/dislike? ^^

ps. I just changed my blog template too; I just had to bring back the purple love! ♥

Thanks for reading :)
~Sharon

Swatches and review: Orly Faint of Heart

2012-03-01T14:14:00.000+11:00

Hello hello! I have today Orly's Faint of heart from their Cool Romance collection. Faint of heart is a pretty neutral taupe shade. When I first put it on, I thought it looked really similar to Ulta3 Earl grey and Color Club High society. I'll get a comparison post up of this soon!

Anyway. I started off with three coats of Faint of heart. I found the first coat to be really thin and was afraid it wouldn't be opaque, but it built up by the third coat.

Whilst it was a nice crème, I needed that something more so layering it was! I applied two coats of Australis Speck-tacular over it. Yes, it is a flakey!! I need more of these hehehe. Too bad the flakies were so sparse, even with two coats I wasn't satisfied with the coverage it gave. Ahh, the search for more flakies continues!

What do you think of flakies over neutral shades like Faint of heart? :)

Thanks for reading!

~Sharon

Products provided for consideration. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.

When you don't expect nail mail...

2012-02-29T08:17:00.000+11:00

Hi everyone~ The 'What I wore in HK' series has ended, told you it was super mini :P Instead, I have some surprise nail mail to share with you. When I came home from Hong Kong, I was expecting one nail package. To my surprise, I saw not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR nail packages sitting on my desk, just waiting to be opened! Of course, I ripped them open at once because really, who doesn't love nail mail? :D

Breaking it down, here are the polishes I was lucky enough to win a from a giveaway hosted by Taya. My first Catrice and the Essence nail art twins!!

Left to right: Bella, Am I blue or green?, Edward

I also received Orly Faint of Heart from their recent Cool Romance collection.

And look!! FLAKEY ♥ Australis Speck-tacular, Blackmail, Vampy, Flip flops

What do you think ladies? Are surprise nail packages awesome or what?! :D

Thanks for dropping by,
~Sharon

What I wore in HK #3 - Facets of Fuchsia

2012-02-27T21:31:00.001+11:00

Hi ladies :) While in Hong Kong, I was lucky enough to spy Revlon Facets of Fuchsia while bin diving in Sasa. Since it's a cheap dupe to Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance, I bought it to try. I found the polish to be thin and gloopy at the same time and applied three thin coats of the polish in the photos below. I had to wait awhile in between coats or the polish would drag and lump at the tips of my nail.

Even though I was super lemming Bad Romance when it was first released, I don't love Facets of Fuchsia as much. Since it's quite similar to China Glaze Mummy may I (minus the hex glitter pieces) I decided I didn't need both. I placed it on my blog sale page so someone who loved it more could welcome it into her home instead :)

What do you think of the polish though?

Thanks for dropping by.
~Sharon

What I wore in HK #2 - A gorgeous layering

2012-02-26T18:25:00.001+11:00

Hello everyone~ What do you get when you layer a pink base glitter flake over a dark blue polish? Why, a drop dead gorgeous mani of course!

I started off with two coats of OPI Road house blues. It's a lovely dark blue which has a purple tint to it which my camera unfortunately wasn't able to capture. I then took OPI I lily love you and layered on one coat over the base colour. I was soooooooooo in love with this combo!

The glitter flakes in I lily love you are just amazing ♥ I can't wait to use it more!

Hands up those who love this layering :D *waves both hands madly in the air*

Thanks for reading :)
~Sharon

What I wore in HK #1

2012-02-23T19:31:00.000+11:00

Hi ladies~I thought I'd do a mini series on the manis I wore in Hong Kong, using the polishes I bought whilst there :P When I say mini, I mean super mini - I think there are only three manis haha! I'll start things off with a simple mani using Etude House WH702. I picked up this pretty in one of the small boutique stores at Argyle Centre, Mong Kok. They had more to select from but I was a really good girl and only bought ones I didn't think I'd have a dupe of!

This pretty grey polish with a glass fleck finish caught my attention though and I knew I had to have it :P Shown is two coats of WH702.

I love how cute the Etude House bottles are :) Are you tempted by cute polish bottles sometimes? :P

Thanks for dropping by!
~Sharon

An electrifying mani...who doesn't love flakies? ♥

2012-02-22T12:15:00.000+11:00

Hey everyone~ This is a mani I wore before I left for Hong Kong. I don't know why I didn't post this earlier, it's just so stunning and gorgeous ♥ I know I've previously shown this combination before but I loved it so much I had to wear it again.

I started off with two coats of China Glaze First mate and then layered over it a coat of Nubar 2010. For some reason, First mate came out looking more electric blue than navy blue this time - my first post on this combination is definitely more colour accurate. Although I wouldn't mind actually owning a blue of this shade...how beautiful!

I will NEVER tire of flakies ♥♥♥ Who thinks we need more of them? :P

Thanks for reading :)
~Sharon

My Hong Kong haul

2012-02-21T09:51:00.000+11:00

Hi ladies! I was able to pick up some nail polishes during my trip to Hong Kong. While this isn't a huge haul (I was good and only picked up polishes I really wanted!), it has fulfilled my goal to pick up some Asian (read Korean :P) brands as well as welcome into my stash some OPIs I have been lemming but was unable to get my hands on.

Firstly, some OPIs I have had my eyes on for awhile :P I was good and only bought four although I was sorely tempted in the shop to buy more!

Road house blues, I juggle...men, I lilly love you, Russian navy suede

And some Korean nail polishes! :D The annoying thing about them though, is the lack of proper name! They all have numbers only and it's so hard to remember which one is which.

Etude HouseWH702, The Face Shop BL801, PP404, PK102, Skinfood VI408

On my second last day, I spied some Flomar nail polish which were only 10HKD - that's only 1.25AUD!! Sadly, what I thought was white nail polish turned out to be extremely sheer. Hopefully it has some hidden element which will surprise me when I bring it out for layering! And frustratingly, these polishes don't have names either! :(

20, 32

I also picked up some Steam cream while I was in Hong Kong since my skin was sooooooooo dry from the winter air. And it is what a lifesaver it was! After two uses, my skin was back to its moisturised self and oh-so-smooth. It was almost like touching baby skin - yes it was that smooth! I'm currently using the cream sparingly haha, but once I run out, I'll definitely be buying more :D

Thanks for looking!
~Sharon

Spring...or summer flowers?

2012-02-20T10:50:00.000+11:00

Hello hello :) I have a summery mani to show you all today hehe. I used Ulta3 Spring shower, Australis Rub-a-dub-dub and China Glaze Light as air as the base colours for the stripes :) I then used a nail art striper to add the thin silver glitter stripes before sticking on some flower nail stickers from Born Pretty Store.

What do you think of this mani? ^^

Thanks for dropping by!
~Sharon

Layering with Alias

2012-02-18T11:00:00.000+11:00

Hi ladies~ Thanks so much to the girls who have helped me clear my stash and bought from my blog sale :) If you haven't done so, check it out here! I'm happy to negotiate prices so do email me if you see anything you like!

Anyway, onto the polish :) What do you get when you cross a purple with duochrome? Utter perfection, that's what ♥ I started off with two coats of Ulta3 Royal fever, which I forgot to take a photo of, darn! It's a gorgeous purple crème - soooo opaque too! Anyway, I decided to layer over it Color Club Alias as I've been meaning to use it again ^^ Since it's sheer, layering it was! Photos show two coats of Alias over Royal fever.

Duochromeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ♥ Like or dislike? :D

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Another blog sale update

2012-02-16T19:17:00.002+11:00

Hello ladies! I'm back home and able to mail polishes again :)

Just letting you all know that I've updated my blog sale page and added more polishes. Do have a look please, I'd love to get rid of them all. Prices are definitely negotiable!

Thanks!
~Sharon

An everyday Christmas glitter

2012-02-16T10:03:00.000+11:00

Hey everyone! Recently, I was lucky enough to win a giveaway hosted by Salla over at Polish-em :) One of the polishes I received was China Glaze Tinsel town. Even though it was part of the China Glaze's holiday Let it snow collection, this polish is totally suitable for everyday wear! :D These gunmetal grey glitters were a hit at the end of 2011 and I'm loving it lots and lots and lots... :) Shown in the pictures is two coats - coverage was excellent!

Do you love these glitters as much as polish companies think we do? :P

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

A girly mani...for Valentine's Day?

2012-02-14T09:29:00.000+11:00

Hello everyone~ This is the last of my scheduled posts ^^ As you're reading this, I'm probably scrambling around doing my last minute packing and hoping that my luggage doesn't weigh over 20kg :P And of course, already missing Hong Kong as well! That's right, I'm finally flying back to Australia. *teary eyes* Anyway!

This mani didn't go the way I had intended it to haha. Maybe it was the colours I used, but it turned out to be quite girly...not something I wear often. I guess this is sort of suitable for Valentine's Day? :P

I started off with two coats of Ulta3 lily white. My bottle is getting sooo thick and gluggy and no amount of thinner thins it out :(. I really need a new one so application won't be such a pain! Anyway. After that finally dried, I applied a thick coat of Glitter Gal Fuchsia and Black alternatively only my nails for the stripes. I used a nail art polish to add the thin silver glitter stripes.

And a photo with flash as I didn't have sun to show off the holo polishes :)

I'm not really into celebrating Valentine's Day - I think it's just a good day for us consumers to be ripped off! A simple dinner is fine with me and plus, I don't need a day to especially show my love; I hope to do it all the time ^^ What are you doing with your loved one though? And are you one to wear girly manis? :)

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Purple glitter and teal

2012-02-11T00:01:00.000+11:00

Hi ladies! :) Today I have a beautiful teal shade from Nicole by OPI. Khloe had a little lam-lam is a gorgeous, gorgeous colour ♥ It's a true one coater and it's a pity I didn't take a photo of it by itself! I decided to layer over Kendall on the katwalk. Another pretty glitter with purple, blue and green shades in it <3.

I loveloveloveeeeeee the glitter, it's such an amazing polish <3333 What do you think of this layering combo? ^^

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

More purple and gold ♥

2012-02-07T10:27:00.000+11:00

Hey everyone~I don't think I'll ever get sick of the purple and gold combination haha. Here's a purple shimmer sponged with golden tips! :)

I first applied two coats of Mode Cosmetics Glitterati and then sponged Zoya Faye onto the tips. Which reminds me, I need to wear Faye again soon!

Thanks for dropping by.
~Sharon

A silver that's not silver?

2012-02-03T10:26:00.000+11:00

Hi ladies! Today I have my first ever Maxfactor nail polish :) It was gifted to me by a friend who wanted to clean out her stash...I was a very willing recipient! Shown in the photos are two coats of Silver. I don't get why it's called silver when the base is quite plainly a brown shade...although I do like the silver shimmer it gives off.

Does it annoy you when nail polish companies not only name their polish a colour...but it's the wrong colour too? :P

Thanks for reading :)
~Sharon

A stripy nail art

2012-01-31T08:46:00.000+11:00

Hellohello~When surfing the internet for some nail inspiration, I came across this Korean nail blog and fell in love with the design. It didn't look too complicated so I decided to try it out for myself :)

I started off with two (goopy) coats of Ulta3 lily white. I then freehanded the turquoise stripes using Essie Turquoise & Caicos. Next, I took my nail art striper and applied the thin black stripes over the the middle of the white stripes. I finished everything off with a layer of OPI Servin' up sparkle.

I think this kind of reminds me of candycanes lol....should have done this while it was still Christmas haha! What do you think of this design? :)

Thanks for dropping by!
~Sharon

My love for purple never ends ♥

2012-01-27T09:32:00.000+11:00

Hello everyone~ My friend recently gave me some polishes she didn't want (I gladly accepted them! :D) and one of them was Essie St. Lucia lilac. I love purple and I love pastels so this polish was an instant love! I applied three coats as I found it was still a little patchy at two coats.

After a day, I layered over a Dark purple crackle from Nails and Stuff over it. To top things off, I applied one coat of Gel Top Coat. It was quite thick but dried extremely fast. I found you have to be careful with application for this or you'll end up with bubbles.

What do you think of this purple on purple layering? :)

Thanks for dropping by!
~Sharon

A product was provided for consideration. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.

Are you in the mood?

2012-01-25T11:00:00.000+11:00

Hello everyone :) Today I have for you a mood changing polish. I remember early last year (or was it late 2009? *memory fails*) when mood polishes became popular. I was super lemming the mood polishes by Claires and was so envious of the US girls who were able to get their hands on them. Well, I finally won an auction on ebay for the Calm/wild...and have since worn it twice? I found they weren't so fit for the summer weather here...no gradation at all! :( I've since given up on it, until I received Dear Rus LAD560. Deciding to give it another go, I tried it on.

Shown is two coats. On the Nails and Stuff website, this polish has been renamed to LAD560 - Turquoise - Hot n cold Colour changing polish and retails for $9 each.

I'm not sure I like the warm colour of this polish haha. Lime green just isn't for me! What do you think of mood/colour changing polishes?

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Product provided for consideration. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.

Chinese New Year mani

2012-01-22T08:16:00.000+11:00

Hi everyone :) Today is the day before Chinese New Year and it's huuuuuge! One of my cousin is cooking up a storm for dinner tonight - CAN NOT WAIT :D Anyway, this was a mani I came up with just before I left for Hong Kong :) I was going to wear it over but I had to wash the dishes and turned out it hadn't dried thoroughly so it wrinkled :( Too bad then!

Anyway, here's my simple CNY skittle mani :)

Pinky: Two coats of China Glaze Poinsettia and then layered two coats of Ring in the red.
Ring: Two coats of Ulta3 Lily white and then layered over it China Glaze White cap.
Middle: Two coats of Poinsettia with Nubar 2010 on the tips.
Index: Two coats of Hello Kitty Golden girl and then layered Essence Make it golden over it.
Thumb: Two coats of Zoya Gloria.

Alllllllllll the polishes I used haha!

Happy Chinese New Year to all who celebrate! I'm off to stuff myself silly... :D

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Review: Nails and stuff

2012-01-19T09:34:00.000+11:00

Hi ladies :) This is my first of a few scheduled posts while I'm away in Hong Kong!

About a month ago, I was contacted by Annika who runs an online shop called Nails and Stuff, selling nail polish and other nail related goodies such as stickers, rhinestones and foils.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to try out some of the nail polishes they offer in their range, including a mood changing polish and crackle nail polish which I will feature in later posts. First up for today though, I have a brand of polish which I don't usually see around - Eclipse. To my knowledge, this brand is Korean as I have seen these polishes in Morning Glory before, a Korean stationary shop. And well, they have Korean writing on them :P

I applied two coats of 706 onto my fifth and middle nails. This polish is very opaque and I would have left it at one coat, but I wanted to see if the colour built up with another. I really like this shade of blue (really loving these brighter shades lately!) and the best thing is, it doesn't stain! :D On my fourth and index nails, there is two coats of 276. It has a magenta shimmer running throughout it and I'm sure this will be instant love for pink fanatics :)

On my fourth and fifth nails, I applied one coat of 527 over the base colours. You can see it also on my thumb - it shows three coats and still has visible nail line so layering is definitely a better option. I might try it over a silver base next time :)

These nail polish retail for $7 on Nails and Stuff. For ladies who live within Australia, shipping fee is shown below (registered shipping):

purchase amount	shipping fee
under $30.-	$10.-
$30.- - $59.99	$5.-
any order $60.- and more	FREE SHIPPING

International shipping is also offered, however you may have to contact Annika for more information regarding pricing.

Personally, I find some of the nail polish a little pricey (but I'm cheap :P), especially since I've seen Eclipse nail polish sold for around $4 in Morning Glory stores. However, Nails and Stuff is definitely a great alternative for those who can't easily access the brand.

-update- I have been informed by Annika as to the price differences in the Eclipse nail polishes. I've included the explanation below.

Morning Glory does sell it for less than $7.-, but as you probably know, most brands of polish will use either a-grade or b-grade ingredients. Unfortunately there is no easy way for the consumer to spot the difference. We pay extra for the a-grade ingredients in our Eclipse. Their version of Eclipse does not use the a-grade ingredients. This explains the price difference.

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Product provided for consideration. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.

Off to Hong Kong! :D

2012-01-16T09:36:00.000+11:00

Hi ladies~ You may have noticed my decrease in posting lately - this is due to me being being busy preparing for my trip back to Hong Kong! Because I'll be busy enjoying my holiday and shopping, posting will definitely be more sporadic. I do have some posts which are scheduled and I'll probably update if I can while I'm in Hong Kong, but for the majority of the time, I won't be able to come onto my little blog corner!

Before I go though, I have a favour to ask you all ^^ Last time I was in HK, I wasn't into nail polish. Now that I am and am going back too....where are some good places to shop for nail polish? I'm hoping to find cheap Korean brands like Skinfood and The Faceshop as well as Nfu Ohs (hopefully!!!) and other hard to find brands in Australia :D Thanks in advance!

As for now...

Thanks for reading :)
~Sharon

Back to basics: A good old holo!

2012-01-15T16:23:00.000+11:00

Hey everyone~ Sometimes, after some complicated nail art or even just sponging, it's a nice feeling to just be able to slap on some nail polish and call it a day :P No spending time thinking of a design, no need to wait for coats to dry, and best of all, it takes less than 20mins! ♥

Here I have 2 coats of Color Club Fashion addict. This is only my second time wearing it - darn, I need to bring my holo polishes out more to wear!

No sunlight:

Direct sunlight:

And under artificial light. It's not colour accurate here, but just look at the gorgeous holo coming to life! <3

I know a lot of polish lovers adore holo polishes. Are you any different? :P

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Fiery tips

2012-01-12T19:45:00.000+11:00

Hi ladies~ A short and sweet post for today as I'm lacking in words :P I saw this on a blog once but I can't remember where - if you know and can link me, it would be greatly appreciated!

Two coats of Ulta3 black satin with Nubar 2010 applied at the tips.

Ahh, if only I applied Nubar 2010 better onto my tips, then I'd love this mani. What do you think of it? :)

Thanks for dropping by.
~Sharon