China Glaze Holiday 2010 - Part II

If you haven't already seen Part I of this collection, click here to get a slice of that holiday goodness!

After the jump is Part II of the China Glaze Holiday 2010 collection.  If you thought it couldn't get better, strap yourself in for a bumpy ride.

China Glaze Holiday 2010 - Part I

I was recently fortunate enough to receive the entire China Glaze Holiday 2010 Collection. All 16 bottles of the stuff! You should have seen me opening up the package. It was a mess of bubble wrap, squeeing and lamingtons.  Ok, the lamingtons I was already eating, but still!

To save my poor hands from trying to divorce me on the grounds of cruel and unusual treatment, I will post these over three days, rather than doing them all at once.  And, instead of playing favourites, I'm going to post them in alphabetical order.  I can't have them getting jealous, yo.  Tis the season and all.

piCture pOlish - Stone + Last Chance to Win

Guys, today is the last day of the October Giveaway.  If you haven't already entered, please read the rules here, and enter using the form below.  Entries close TODAY!

The final lacquer I have for you from piCture pOlish is Stone. 

This is a lovely colour.  Like a cream, but with a subtle hint of green through it.  Great neutral for work.

The formula was a little trickier to work with than the others I'd tried.  I could still get to opaque in two coats but it dried unevenly.  As in, if you have an errant brush stroke, it will show.  This is easily fixable with a top coat.

That concludes my piCture pOlish palooza.  I hope you guys have enjoyed seeing this brand new Aussie brand and that you've entered the giveaway to win three lacquers of your choice.



The lacquer featured in this review was provided by piCture pOlish.  For more information on YGN's Disclosure Policy, please click here.

GOSH - Miss Mole

Oh dear, what an unfortunate name for such a beautiful lacquer.

Miss Mole?  Er no.  I'm renaming this Brown is the new Get In My Helmer.  

Catchy.

This is a sophisticated brown that can be worn pretty much anywhere. The formula is a true one-coater and dries to the shine you see here.

Brown is the new Get In My Helmer. Um, get in my Helmer. Stat.

China Glaze - Awakenings - Halloween 2010

The beautiful Carina, from Gilded Nails, send me some nail polish last week.  I was expecting just the one, but Carina decided to be sneaky and threw in China Glaze's Awakening Collection.  How sweet, right?

She didn't want anything in return, but she made the mistake of putting her address on the package.  So, uh, Carina, expect some goodness in the next week.  No arguments.  I'm older than you.  By multiples.

Click on the jump to see this fantastic collection!

piCture pOlish - Grape + China Glaze Grape Pop Comparison

This is my first week of swatches using a new macro lens for my DSLR camera. So please forgive any fuzziness as I'm still familiarising myself with the lens. On the bright side, I am thrilled that my photos are 100% colour accurate. On the negative side, I need to take care of my hands better!

The fourth lacquer I have (click here, here and here for the previous reviews) from piCture pOlish is Grape.

This is a great little lacquer.  The formula is superb (two coats) and it dries to an amazing shine. The purple has an almost dusty quality to it, which I quite like.  Classic goodness.

If you haven't entered the October Giveaway as yet, there's still a week to go!  Click here for the rules, and enter using the form below.

Oh, and for those of you looking at Grape and thinking dupes, I have a very close dupe under the cut - China Glaze Grape Pop.

Boots 17 - Peacock

Today is a quickie post (my aunt is being discharged from ICU and going back to the ward, so I need to get to the hospital) and it's a lacquer I believe I have swatched previously.

I'm as slack as a tyre of an escaping felon's stolen car on 'World's Wildest Police Chases'.

This is a streaky mess but, man, I love the colour.  I could wear it every day of the week and never get bored.

Rimmel - Cranberry Zest

Ooooh, this is lovely.

This is a basic raspberry, which I always love, with a twist.  It smells of Cranberry.  Or at least it's supposed to.  I don't have a sense of smell, so I got Brett to smell this.  He says it smells like cranberry if you were to make it out of a chemical compound, which would make sense, right?

Regardless of the smell, I really like this raspberry.  It's kinda fun, young (which I'm not, so I'm glad this makes me feel younger) and the formula is delightful.

Topshop - Copper Coated

Today, it's all about a Topshop flakie, Copper Coated.

Now I imagine your internal dialogue is going something like this: 'What? Topshop has a flakie? Wow... nahhhh.... can't be.  Really? A Topshop flakie?  Man, I have to see this'.

And here it is.  I've taken the photos here in flash, just so you can see how beautiful it is.

This is PHENOMENAL.  A beautiful, almost plum-like copper, with fish food like flakes peaking through.  In my lacquer collection, anyway, this is unique and I love it.  Topshop, I'm not overly religious but I'm feeling a fervour that only usually comes at the end of church.

I had a couple more photos in diffused light under the jump, just in case you want some more browny, flakie goodness.

Miss Sporty - Fatal ?

Another gift from my lovely mother in law, Kath, I don't 100% know the name of this.  I think it might be called Fatal Plum but, if you know, confirm for me in the comments.

This is a stunning purple (I know it's coming off blue in this photos, blame my cantankerous camera).  It has a lovely subtle shimmer running through it and is opaque in two coats.

The brush, however, is pure, unadulterated, hell.  Put it this way.  This is like applying lacquer with a worn out toilet brush.  It splatters everywhere and it smells funky.  I persevered with it, and engaged in a cleanup of Ben Hur biblical proportions, but I would not recommend using the brush at all.

All up, sometimes bad brushes happen to awesomesauce lacquers.  This is one of those times.

piCture pOlish - Metallic Mush

Metallic Mush is just what it sounds like.  An awesome mash up of metallic goodness, encased in a lacquer bottle and ready to rock its owner.

If you're looking at this and thinking Orly FX, then we're on the same wavelength.  I looked at this and automatically wondered if this was the love child of Shine and Rage.  Check out the comparison after the jump.

Sally Hansen - Opulent Cloud - Take II

I was bitterly disappointed with the last swatch of Sally Hansen's Opulent Cloud.  So much so that I decided to redo it, to see if I could redeem my poor swatching.

I think I have done this justice.  I can absolutely see why this was such a big hit when it came out.  It's the gun metal grey mixed with gold mixed with flashes of purple mixed with a special ingredient called awesomesauce.

piCture pOlish - Mad Magenta

The second in my series of piCture pOlish lacquers is the glorious Mad Magenta.

This is a beautiful bright pink with a strong purple undertone running through it (I found it near impossible to capture this as it really looks.  Hence you might notice different lighting as this was the closest I could get to the real hue).  As you can see, it doesn't dry to a gloss finish and is more a satin matte.  Which I quite like but, if you're a fan of the high gloss, make sure you apply a top coat over the top (which I recommend anyway to extend the durability of your manicure).

Also, The Girls from piCture pOlish have informed me that international shipping is now available. So for those of you not from Australia, you can now purchase freely and excitedly!


Have you entered the piCture pOlish Giveaway as yet?  Read here for the rules of entry and use the entry form below for your chance to win three piCture pOlish lacquers of your choice.




The lacquer in this reviewed was provided by piCture pOlish. For more information on YGN's Disclosure Policy, please click here.

October Giveaway - piCture pOlish Picture Perfect Giveaway

I am so excited about this month's giveaway, as it involves brand new Australian brand, piCture pOlish.

Over the next five weeks, I will be showcasing five of their amazing lacquers.  In short, though, these are beautiful lacquers.  The formula is creamy, they take two coats to get opaque and they last for ages.  Best of all, they post internationally which is rare for an Aussie lacquer company. << The Girls have just informed me that international shipping is temporarily on hold, but will be back up and running in December. The first one I'm showcasing, Camo, is my personal favourite. It's the perfect khaki and one of those colours that would be suitable for both work and play.

Now, if you love this, click on the jump to see how you can win three piCture pOlish lacquers of your choice.

OPI - Russian Navy Suede

Firstly, I need to apologise to you guys for the upcoming week.  As some of you know, my aunt was hit by a car on Friday and is in hospital with a fractured skull and amnesia.  As a result, my already jam packed schedule of full time work, two children and two blogsites,  has now had daily visits to hospital and, as my aunt's power of attorney, dealing with all her paperwork added into the mix.

So please accept my apologies if I don't respond to comments quickly.  I will still post everyday and, if I get a moment, might throw in a little smack talk. I'm sure I will catch up eventually but, at the moment, something has to give and the comments seem the most logical.  I will still approve all comments quickly, but I won't be able to respond for a few days.

Here is the glorious OPI Russian Navy Suede.  Just, just, just, phenomenal.  One coat, dries in seconds, looks amazing.  It will highlight any nail imperfections you might have.  I have a scratch on my pinky and the lacquer shows it off to perfection!

  And, for those of you who always want more, I have the gloss version after the jump.

Marks & Spencers - Rainbow

My lovely mother in law, Kath, sent me some more lacquers.  I saw this, thought 'oh yeah, it's a grey, cool' and didn't think anymore about it.

Until I came to swatch it and I realised..... HOLO!  Being the holo ho that I am, I immediately got my lucite heels on and did a happy dance around the pole.

This is a very subtle holo.  It's definitely not a China Glaze blinging holo but, given how hard those holos are to come by these days, this is a great substitute.

From a formula perspective, this is a solid two coater.  Those more madly skilled could probably get away with one.

Just delightful. Kath is amazing.

Le Beauty - #200

After yesterday's caca swatch, Le Beauty's #200 is soothing to my soul.  It also makes me want to dance to David Silver's Switch It Up.  Look, I promise to do away with the 90210 references next week.  I'm just enjoying reliving 1994 way too much right now.

 

I want to take this to Barbados and marry it in a ceremony on the beach.  It's creamy, sexy, easy to work with and heavenly to look at.  Le Beauty lacquers are fast becoming one of my all time favourites.

The lacquer featured in this review was provided by Le Beauty.  For more information on YGN's Disclosure Policy, please click here.

Miss D - Catch Up For Coffee

Miss D is an Australian brand attached to accessories store, Diva.

I bought these with low expectations.  As Diva is an accessories store predominantly, I figured these would be pretty terrible.  Kind of like an afterthought rather than a product they would invest time in perfecting.  I know, faulty assumption to make but, hey, I'm old and I'm allowed to be cynical.

But, oh, how I've had to eat my words with this brand (along with some Creme Eggs).  Check out Catch Up For Coffee, an amazing greige.

Gorgeous.  A genuine one-coater.  Glides on a like a dream.

I am utterly impressed.  So much so that, each of the prize packs for this month's giveaway has a Miss D lacquer up for grabs.  Yes, I'm prepared to stake my reputation on these.  They are a wonderful surprise package.

Am totally going back for more of these.  Let's just hope no-one else figures out how good they are and beats me to the counter!

China Glaze - BFF

Another super quickie from me today. I'm kinda behind on... well.... EVERYTHING....  Plus my Director is overseas next week so I'm trying to get a whole lot done before he heads off tomorrow night.

Not that I need to sell the following.

Whoever came up with the idea for this collection..... well I just hope they got the world's biggest performance bonus ever.  Off the chain.