steffels.

Lynnderella ChocoLotta Love

2012-03-04T15:05:00.000+11:00

Sorry I've been a bit lax in posting these Lynnderellas but anyhow, here's the first one.

ChocoLotta Love. Two coats over Sancion Angel Trinity.

Mmmm.... Chocolate! Almost looks edible. It reminds me of M&M chocolate cookies. Or maybe not so much the cookies but the dough. Yummy!

And here is what I layered CLL over--Sancion Angel Trinity. One coat.

A brown holo. Awesome! The holo effect is weak, like the Tronicas; but it adds a lovely glow to the polish. This is another lovely one I got from Brazil.

NOTD Spam

2012-03-01T14:29:00.000+11:00

Just some of what's been on my nails lately.

A-England Saint George konaded with ChG 2030 and plate BM20. Saint George is such a gorgeous and saturated teal. Opaque in one single coat as well!

Gradient done with Etude's Wannabe Perfumed Syrup Nails set. Look how pretty the packaging is...

Pa A20. Bight jelly-esque blue. I really need more Pa's. I adore each and every one I have.

Lynnderella Change over Essence Nude It! I've done this exact combination before but I adored it so much I wanted to wear it again.

Big Universo Espectral over black. A beauty from Brazil. The flakies are really dense in this one. Only one coat is pictured above.

Hits Speciallità 389

2012-02-29T20:36:00.000+11:00

I was part of an enormous Brazilian group order last year and this little beauty was part of my package. 389 is part of Hits' Glitter Forte range which I believe will be available on Llarowe soon.

This is two coats of 389 over Etude House Mocha Brown.

You can view an ugly-ass close-up if you click here.

389 is a mix of a couple shades of brown and copper glitter in a sheer brown base. I think you'd need four coats to make this opaque by itself and since the bottle is so tiny, I layered it. Plus, I like layering glitter.

Here is Etude House Mocha Brown all by it's lonesome.

Amazing formula. Opaque in one coat. But I did two just because.

I do love brown. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but it's right up my alley.

Clarins 230 Comparison

2012-02-28T16:13:00.000+11:00

I was recently gifted BeYu 209 and Max Factor Fantasy Fire by a dear sweet friend of mine - Kristy. If you don't know about her lemming-inducing blog, click here. You're welcome.

I decided to do a little comparison since both of these are a little easier/cheaper to get than The Pee.

Here they are swatched at one, two and three coats.

Opacity: Clarins 230 is the sheerest needing at least three coats while the BeYu is most opaque--you could definitely get away with just two. Fantasy Fire is a little more opaque than 230 but also looks best at three coats.
Colour: Compared to 230, the BeYu is very red while Fantasy Fire is very blue.
Shimmer: 230 has the most duochrome shimmer followed by Fantasy Fire and then BeYu 209 which has the least.
Overall: I think they are all very pretty but 230 is still my sweet baby :)

A few more pictures? From index to pinky: Clarins, BeYu, Max Factor, Clarins

Lynnderella Lovely is as Lovely Does

2012-02-25T15:48:00.001+11:00

Bottle spam of Lynn's latest collection for your viewing pleasure.

I ran out of nail wheels so there are no swatches but I suppose you don't really need them since I'm so late in posting these. Actually, this whole post is probably redundant--but hey, humour me :)

As always, I left the pictures huge and you can click to enlarge if you so desire.

Llarowe is currently the exclusive distributor for Lynnderella products. Please visit her website as well as Lynn's blog for more details.

NerdLacquer Hyperspace Bypass

2012-02-24T17:14:00.000+11:00

Uhh... sorry for disappearing the past month. I am back from vacation now but not only has it been really hectic around here, but I also fried my laptop a couple weeks back :( The blog just hasn't been a priority.

So Hyperspace Bypass. This was the one I wanted most when I first found out about NerdLacquer and it didn't disappoint. It lived up to every one of the very high expectations I had for it.

Hyperspace Bypass is a bright yellow base filled with a couple different shades of gold plus black glitter as well as larger gold and holographic hexes.

I used two coats above and as you can see, it's pretty much at full coverage. An incredibly unique polish. The only other yellow-based glitter I have is Missha GGL01 and that is still nothing like this.

You can check out NerdLacquer on Etsy though Amanda has currently closed up shop so she can process orders. Be sure to keep an eye out for when she opens again!

Rose Konad

2012-01-29T10:49:00.000+11:00

I very much like how this mani turned out...

Ozotic 621 with roses from plate M65. My pictures don't capture the glow that 621 has. I think I wore this for almost a week I was so enamoured with it!

Pink Brocade Konad

2012-01-20T09:12:00.000+11:00

One of my favourite manis I've ever done. I very much loved it!

I started with this...

American Apparel Coney Island stamped with plate M71 and OPI Mrs O'Leary's BBQ.

Then matted down....

Ahhh.. YES! The texture and the print totally reminded me of some kind of fancy pancy velvet brocade wallpaper.

I received so many compliments when I wore this. A tonne. A stranger actually stopped me on the street to ask me what it was. Apparently, I was on my phone, so she shadowed me until I hung up so she could ask me. Hahahaaaa! We had a good laugh.

China Glaze 2NITE

2012-01-12T11:02:00.000+11:00

Also from my Top 20 2011... China Glaze 2Nite.

Cornflower blue holo! Do love. There is something just so pretty about this one. It's a delicate colour but it still packs a punch with it's lovely linear holo. Yummy.

Sally Hansen Gem Crush Collection

2012-01-10T08:09:00.000+11:00

Well... not really the whole collection. Just my favourite three. Again, many thanks to the awesome Ali for getting these for me. *hugs!*

Lady Luck. Magenta microglitter and small silver holo hexes. Amazing! It's so strange that I would pick a pink as my favourite from a collection... but yes. This is my favourite. It's so bright and happy. And the shade doesn't give me corpse hands!

Glitz Gal. A couple of shades of charcoal microglitter plus small silver holo hexes. Sparkly! I love wearing this as a pedi. I know there are a few dupes to this one out there though.

Cha-Ching! Red microglitter and small silver hexes. Such a rich red on the nail. I love how this pulls together... the silver glitter looks like it's half buried in a sea of red. So awesome!

One thing I think should be mentioned are the brushes on these. They're the same as the Complete Salon Manicure ones resembling a big ass paddle. Do. Not. Like. I hate brushes like these. They don't give me enough control while painting. Love the colours though. I'm willing to forgo the brush for that!

OPI La Boheme

2012-01-04T11:06:00.000+11:00

From my December Top 20... La Boheme.

I swear that the bottle I obtained a couple years back did not have as much of the duochrome shimmer as this one does. Or maybe my noob eyes just couldn't see it. Who knows. *shrugs*

But this one... this one is magic. It freaking gloooowwsss. Love it. Thank you Kristy!

Rainbow Leopard Konad

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

Something bright, colourful and happy! Perfect way to kick off a new year.

Black spots on white, I think it was plate BM221. Then filled in with dots of colour. I received so many oohs, aahs and compliments when I wore this. It was very attention grabbing.

******
Love. Peace. Prosperity. Happiness and Good Health. May all these blessings be with you through 2012 and beyond. Happy New Year!

Top 20 December 2011

2011-12-30T08:09:00.000+11:00

BYS Black Satin, Glitter Gal Marine Blue, Lynnderella The Glittering Crowd, OPI La Boheme
OPI Black Cherry Chutney, Tony Moly Mars, BK 20, Bloom San Francisco
China Glaze 2NITE, Precision Poison Ivy, OPI Absolutely Alice, Ozotic 505
Lynnderella Gotta Love Brains, BB Couture Erotic Night, Lynnderella Connect the Dots, Clarins 230
Orly Glitz & Glamour, Etude House BL009, Milani Purple Gleam, Sparitual Earth Matters

A healthy mix of holo, glitter, duochrome, vamp and glowy shimmer. Plus my favourite black creme :)

Kleancolor Chunky Holo Purple

2011-12-27T10:12:00.000+11:00

Reece pretty much convinced me I needed these Chunky Holos with this post. DUDE. I don't even.... O.O

I am highly uncreative and just layered mine on black. Still pretty freaking amazing though!

These definitely aren't holo but they are awesome... many different flavours of awesome.

Have a Very Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000+11:00

Here is my favourite Christmas mani that I did this year.

The bases are Zoya Sarah and Revlon Powder Puff then some konaded snowflakes with Konad Special White and Essie Red Nouveau.

On another note, I'm on vacation now! I'll be gone the whole of January but I have lots and lots of scheduled posts done so hopefully this blog doesn't completely die from neglect, hahaa

Wishing you all the Joy of Family, Happiness of Friends and the Love of Christmas! Happy Holidays guys!

Just Another Christmas Mani

2011-12-24T11:20:00.001+11:00

Only one more sleep till Santa arrives!

OPI No Room for the Blues with Bloom Abbie sponged lightly on the tips. Then stamped with various designs whose plate numbers I can't remember.

It's really hot down here today. I wish we could have Christmas in winter... alas, that's not the case so I'll just stick with a wintery mani :)

More Christmas Konads

2011-12-22T09:45:00.000+11:00

As the title suggests, more Christmas manis. Only three more sleeps!!

My favourite Dare to Wear Enchanted Forest konded with BM203 and China Glaze 2030. This wasn't my favourite mani. The konad didn't come out straight and there wasn't enough contrast between the green and gold so it just looked muddy. Ehhh...

Essie Red Nouveau konaded on white with plate M57. Yay lace! Lots of smudginess... but it looked pretty cool anyway. Reminded me of those winter jumpers people wear.

Zoya Blair and Nubar Greener. Konaded with BM20 and China Glaze OMG. This mani has received so many compliments. I loved it too. Wore this for three days straight. I think it would've been even better if I used Nfu-Oh 61 instead of OMG. There would've been mooarr rainbow action!

I hope everyone is enjoying their countdown to The Big Day!

Lynnderella Holiday Houseguests

2011-12-21T00:24:00.001+11:00

Another Christmas post. This time by Lynnderella - her holiday duo, "Holiday Houseguests" which includes Happy Holo Daze! and One Nutty Fruitcake.

Two coats of Happy Holo Daze! over black. The easiest way to describe this would be.... Bottled Christmas. Yes. A hundred times better than Party Hearty. Red, green, silver, gold and holo glitters in all different shapes and sizes. Amazing!

One coat of One Nutty Fruitcake on dusty lilac... I can't remember what it is, sorry! One Nutty Fruitcake is freaking gorgeous. It's basically black, red, green plus a plethora of other different colours. The predominance of the red and green keeps this festive even amongst all the other colours. The microglitters also really pull everything together. Love. Absolute love.

As always, please check Lynnderella's blog and Llarowe for more info. I believe neither Lynn or Leah Ann will be selling until the new year.

Some Christmas Konads

2011-12-19T01:50:00.000+11:00

I can't believe there's only a week till Christmas is here. Time goes by so quickly... so here's my first holiday post of the season!

This is white Special polish with konad plate M79 on black. I then dotted some red and green at the intersections. This was a really subtle Christmas mani... you can't really tell it has a festive theme until you get up close.

OPI Got the Blues for Red. Two coats. Stars from plate M37 with China Glaze 2030. Another subtle festive mani and super simple. I really enjoyed wearing this though. I haven't put on a plain red creme in ages and the stars I thought were a nice touch.

Two coats of China Glaze Emerald Sparkle with white candy cane stripes from plate BM20. I think I needed an extra coat of ES since I see bald spots in a few places but I wanted it to dry quicker so I could konad on it. Yay Candy Canes! Minty, sugary goodness!

Lynnderella Funny Money Part 2

2011-12-18T00:37:00.000+11:00

Here's the second part of Funny Money!

Two coats of Mysterious Ways over Missha VL001. I layered MW over a lilac because I wanted to bring out the purple tones in the polish. The holographic glitter looks awesome glinting through the sheer base. It's ethereal looking. Really lovely!

Two coats of Attitude Adjust-Mint over ChG Re-Fresh Mint. Ahhh this one is so cool. I love the iridescent green-y, gold-y glitter. I think I should have chosen a different base though. Maybe a softer mint green... the China Glaze looks pretty stark doesn't it?

Two coats of Change over Essence Nude It. This one was one of the Lynn's I was most excited for. It doesn't disappoint! It's freaking perfect.... the best gold glitter ever. Actually, a lot of the glitter isn't even gold. There's silver, copper, flecks of red and green and also note that big ass bronze hex on my ring! I was stumped on what to layer this over though... Gold to match? Purple to contrast? I settled on a tan-based nude. I think it looks really nice!

Two coats of I Can Afford It! over Ulta3 Frog Prince. Bright as hell green glitter with specks of copper and purple. Did I mention it's really bright? It's kind of like a very subtle Mardis Gras mani...

As always, please check Lynnderella's blog and Llarowe for more info. I believe neither Lynn or Leah Ann will be selling until the new year.

Lynnderella Funny Money Part 1

2011-12-16T12:56:00.000+11:00

Ok... so here are the first three of the Funny Money Collection. Sorry these took so long. I wanted to wear each one as a full mani as I swatched them, haha

So without further ado.....

Two coats of Funny Money over one of DtW Enchanted Forest. This guy is a mix of different greens and black glitter with a bunch of other random glitters thrown in. It also smells like Bergamot! Sadly the smell kind of diminishes with top coat, but it's most definitely there when you are applying.

Two coats of Thank Blue! over DtW DJ Mix. Turquoise, blue, teal, green... extraordinary. It conjures up images of a twinkling ocean surrounding a beautiful island somewhere in paradise...... and mermaids :D

One coat of Lucky Numbers on Misa Heaven White. Black and red glitters in a clear base with pinky-red shimmer. One top of white, it totally looks like playing cards. Very Poker-esque.

As always, please check Lynnderella's blog and Llarowe for more info. I believe neither Lynn or Leah Ann will be selling until the new year.

Lynnderella - Bottle Spam Edition II

2011-12-10T13:29:00.000+11:00

Thanks to my friends, I've now got my grubby paws on Lynnderella's Funny Money and Holiday Houseguests Collection.

Here I've got both bottle pics and nail wheel swatches. The same as Bottle Spam Edition I which includes the First Edition and Early Halloween collections.

I've left the pictures very very big if you want to click through for much more detail.

Funny Money

Two coats of Attitude Adjust-Mint over mint (ChG Re-fresh Mint)

One coat of Lucky Numbers over white (Misa Heaven White)

One coat of Change over purple (Ulta3 Spring Break)

Two coats of Mysterious Ways over grey (American Apparel Factory Grey)

Two coats of I Can Afford It! over green (Ulta3 Frog Prince)

Two coats of Thank Blue! over teal (DtW DJ Mix)

Two coats of Funny Money over dark green (DtW Enchanted Forest)

Holiday Houseguests

Two coats of Happy Holo Daze! over black (BYS Black Satin)

Two coats of One Nutty Fruitcake over pale blue (Precision On Cloud 9)

Gorgeous right? All my Lynns belong in my Special helmer drawer - the one I'd grab if (God forbid) there was some kind of emergency.

For more information please check Lynnderella's blog. Lynn's next store opening will be sometime next year in January. Llarowe is now carrying Lynns as well although she is currently sold out.

I am working on swatches of these. Bear with me while my lazy ass tries not to sit around procrastinating all day instead :D

Yum.

2011-12-09T07:36:00.000+11:00

Many thanks to Lynn and The Diva. Love you both!

Four More Lynnderellas

2011-12-08T18:46:00.000+11:00

So uhh, I received my new Lynnderella package containing her new collection today and realised that I haven't even posted the rest of the Early Halloween's. My bad!

Shape Shifter. One coat over black. There are so many different shaped holographic glitters in this. I got a moon, star, butterfly and diamond in this swatch but I've also seen squares, hexes, hearts and flowers!

Bibbity Bobbity Boo Blue. Two coats over Pure Ice French Kiss (thanks Noelie!). All different shades of blue glitter. Put them together and what have you got? Bibbity bobbity boo.....

Bride of Franken. Two coats on black. Shimmer, holo microglitter and electric blue glitter. This one layers really nicely over pretty much anything!

Mercury's Rainbow. Two coats over Ulta3 Wild Berry. Just take a look at all that holoiness right there. Amazing! It's so sparkly in the sun.

For more information please check Lynnderella's blog. She's not opening shop until the new year though so be sure to stay tuned!

A Few Recent NOTDs

2011-12-05T16:14:00.000+11:00

Some of what's been on my nails for the past little bit....

A slight gradient mani. Ozotic 601 (the pink) with 624 (purple) sponged lightly on the tips. The effect reminded me of the pink to purple Claire's mood polish.

ChG Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. Three coats over one coat of Revlon Powder Puff. Streaky as hell but well worth the effort. Neon highlighter yellow!

RBL No More War. Two coats. The colour of baby poop. Love it.

Lynnderella Connect the Dots over ChG Kiwi Cool-ada. Love CtD so very much. It's amazing over pretty much everything - pastels, neons.... just amazing.

Black stamped with ChG High Def. Plate BM221. The image didn't come out very well but I think it looked really cool anyway. I copied this mani from my friend JiLoverz who did something similar a while back.

I've also updated my contact page with a small FAQ. Nothing exciting... but I thought I'd let you guys know anyway.