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.

Orly - Foil FX comes to Australia

I know this collection will be old news for my Northern Hemisphere lovelies, but it's just been released here in Australia. So I figured I would give it another try for those Aussies considering buying it.

In short, a glorious collection with one clear and utterly unique standout.  This collection may be coming later to Australia but it's perfect timing as we lead up to Christmas parties.

 Jump to see more!

Ulta3 - Jazzle

Ok, girls, time for this week's caca swatch! Gird your loins for Ulta3's Jazzle.

 

The concept of this lacquer, a gold / peachy base with flashes of green shimmer, is inspired.  The execution?  Not so much.

It's a little too sheer.  On close inspection, it looks like my nails have freckles (which they most certainly do not).  And the flash is too few and far between.

I love you Ulta3 but this could be a deal breaker, like when Kelly did Dylan while Brenda was pretending to be French to land Dean Cain in Paris. 

Ok, having re-read that last paragraph, I think I need to step away from the 90210 reruns.  It's becoming a problem that I can describe every one of my feelings using 90210 analogies.

Wet n' Wild - Shield

I'm not entirely sure if I like Wet n' Wild's Shield. I guess I was hoping for a subtle, sexy pewter-like colour and what I got was a blinging shimmer that can be seen from space.

What I do like about this lacquer is the way it resembles Orly Foil FX in its finish.  It's like the long lost colour of that collection and could easily slot in.

Am a little hectic at work at the moment so this is a short post. My Director leaves for Beijing tomorrow so I'm busy trying to get things done for him before he goes.  Be good and I'll see y'all tomorrow.

Etude House - Red, Silver and Gold Beauties + Ruby Pumps Dupe!

I've had these Etude House lacquers since the start of the year but just never got around to swatching them.  They've actually been sitting on my bureau because, quite simply, they are the most beautiful lacquer bottles I've ever seen.  There's almost a Marie Antoinette grandeur and elegance about them that I adore.

So I pulled my finger out  (uh yeah, the elegance portion of this post has now ended) and finally got around to swatching them.  Peep them after the jump.

Barry M - Gold

Ok, hands up who is already humming the lyrics of the Spandau Ballet song of the same name in their head?

'You're indestructible, always believe in..... you are GOLD'.

Fibbers. I know you're all cutting dramatic hair flips and pouts in your head.  You can't fool me.

As you all know, I heart Barry M lacquers greatly. But I do not heart this as much as I heart my others.

For a start, I suspect the gold is a little too warm for my skin tone.  Cool toned ladies (or gents), this would look fabulous on you.

Secondly, the formula isn't so great.  It's suffering from a case of 'Am I a sheer or am I not?'  It's definitely too thick to be a sheer, but it takes forever (4 coats in the above swatch) to become opaque and, even then, I can see my natural nail.

So not a total success but these things are relative, given how stupendously good Barry M is normally.

And, just for those of you born after 1980-something, here is what I'm talking about with Spandau Ballet.

City Girl 2000 - #34 + World Cup Manicure for our Socceroos

Today I have another City Girl 2000 for you.

#34 is a sheer gold which went on a whole lot easier than it's #19 cousin. 

The above is three coats.  I suspect if I had added a couple more I just might have gotten it to opaque.  All up a total winner, albeit I suspect it's a tad too warm for my colouring.

Now for my Socceroos manicure....

As you all know, I'm from Australia.  More than that, I'm from Melbourne where soccer's popularity  is... well, let's just say it's somewhere behind Australian Rules Football but more popular than a root canal.  I'm sure that, if we were any good at soccer, like, say Brazil, it would be a whole lot more popular.

But even I, a staunch Collingwood Magpie fan, am getting a little exciting about Australia's upcoming match against Ghana.  So I teamed up this lacquer with yesterday's China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada and the results are.... well check it out after the jump.

Inglot - #207

I had high hopes for Inglot #207.  In the bottle, it looked like it might be a gold version of OPI's Mad Hatter.

Err, no.  This is most definitely not a lacquer that will ever become opaque on its own.  But, as a layering lacquer, it's a knockout.

I layered one coat of this over Bad Boy and, seriously, I'm channelling a disco loving Cleopatra with this.  I think this is a unique gold glitter in that, while the dominant glitter is gold, there are other colours in there.

So while I'm disappointed that this didn't end up the way I had originally envisaged, I'm pleased with the overall look.  I'm obsessed with layering at the moment and this certainly hits the spot.

Orly - Foil FX

Today, it's all about the Orly Foil FX Collection. I've had this collection for ages but just haven't gotten around to swatching it.  Little Miss Lazy Pants!

There's been alot of talk as to whether this Collection acts a Minx Manicure substitute.  As someone who has had the Minx Manicure (click here for that special goodness), I can safely say this is not a Minx substitute.  Minx is totally smooth whilst these lacquers have a grainy finish.

Not that that negates the fabulousness of this collection.  Each lacquer is stunning.  It's like having molten liquid on your nails.  Two coats to opaque, a coat of Seche Vite for shine and you're good to go.

Click on the jump for picture spamalooza!  All photos have been taken in diffused light.

Etude House - OR202

**Once again, please excuse the weird hand positions.  I am getting better with the new camera, but I'm still learning!  Unfortunately, in this photo, it looks like my hand is trying to attack the screen.  I can assure my hand is a pacifist and means you no harm!**

Here we go with the Asian lacquer naming conventions. Instead of calling this Etude House lacquer, OR202, I'm going to call this Big Red, because it reminds me of Heinz Tomato Soup.

The formula on Big Red is, as my French mother would say, comme ci, comme ca.

It glides on easily enough, is opaque in two coats and dries super duper fast.  That's the good part.

The bad part is the finish.  This doesn't dry matte.  It doesn't dry shiny.  It dries dull.   That's the only way to describe it.  It looked like my hands had been dunked into a bowl of tomatoe soup and left to dry in the sun.  Blurgh.

The swatch on the left is with two coats of Seche, which was the only way I could vibrant this colour up.  With Seche, it looks great, but I don't think I shoud have to work that hard to make a lacquer look good.

Since it's Chinese New Year, I decided to bling this up with Inglot flakie, 203.

This is a beautiful flakie.  It has green, gold and purple through it and makes my nails look like they are literally on fire.  Definitely click to see the close up because there are so many colours running through this.

I love how this takes a fairly basic lacquer and transforms it into something gorgeous.

A few comments regarding the formula. The brush is a little diddy, but the flakes go on beautifully and evenly.  The finish is quite smooth but, as with flakes, you will get flakes hanging off the edge of the nail or - most annoyingly, nestled right against the cuticle.

What do you guys think?  A fitting way to welcome in the Year of the Tiger.

Milani - 3D Holographic Collection

Today, it's all about the Milani 3D Holographic Collection.

I love this collection.  It's cheap, the formula is lovely and.... well, it's holo and how can one resist!

What I'm not in love with at the moment, though, is Cherry Culture.  Although I had bought, and paid for, all six lacquers in this collection, only five came.  I assumed it was just a mistake, however, when I emailed Cherry Culture, they told me the missing lacquer was not in stock and that they would refund me.  It just seems kind of shady that they didn't tell me about the lacquer being out of stock at the time they packed it, or even afterwards.  It took me pointing it out to them before an explanation and refund was provided.  Shady.

Anyway, rant aside, I've put these under a cut because the photos are large and it takes a while for the page to load.  Scroll down and click 'Read More'.

I've also just bought a new camera (a Sony DSC T90, for those interested). These are the first swatches I've taken, so please excuse the odd hand positioning and weird perspective. I'm still getting used to how the camera works. I'm sure I'll get better.

On the positive side, the new camera is capturing the colour and brilliance of lacquers perfectly - how these photos look is precisely how the lacquers look in person. Make sure you click to see the holo close up.  It's spectacular.  :-)

Totally Beautiful Nails - Gilt

Sometimes, I'll pick up lacquers on the cheap and think to myself 'You know, if you don't turn me blind, I'll consider it a success'.

Totally Beautiful Nails is one of those brands where I had really, really, really low expectations.  $2.50.  Bought from a bin inside a dingy pharmacy in Chinatown.  And, afterwards, I bought fried ice-cream from a sorry looking street vendor (the less said about my obsession with buying food from street vendors, the better).

Gilt, however, is proof positive that I should never, ever judge a book by its cover.

This is a beautiful gold shimmer lacquer that applies like a dream.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that the brush on this is the equivalent of OPI's Pro-Wide.  There I said it.  And it's true.

The lacquer itself is creamy and only requires two coats to become opaque.  You will need a top coat, though, if you want a high shine.  The swatch on the right is without top coat because I quite like the grainy finish.

And is it just me or do these bear a strong passing resemblence to the finish of the new Orly Foil FX lacquers? 

I will be buying plenty more of these (and they will be the feature in an upcoming Swatch Watch).  What do you guys think?  Are you feeling the power of Gilt?  Are you hankering for fried ice-cream like I am?

China Glaze - Wizard of Ooh Ahz - Part I

Mmm, so I know all of you have seen China Glaze's Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection swatched a million times so... uh..... just pretend to look surprised.

This is a gorgeous collection.  Every colour is spectacular in its own right, although I admittedly do have my favourites.

I've divided this post into two, just because of the size of the photos and because I've done a couple of dupe comparisons. 

Check out Part I after the jump! (Scroll down and click 'Read More')

China Glaze - 5 Golden Rings

Hi all, I apologise for not getting around to the comments you’ve left. My internet connection is terrible! It will work for five minutes and then fall out for another twenty. So, when I do manage to get access, I work as quickly as I can to get an actual post up before the access falls out again. Arghhhh!  I promise I will try to get to the comments as soon as I can figure out this connection.

Anyway, back to normal programming…

I think it’s saying something about the quality of a product when you say ‘Mmmmm, I don’t know if I love this’ but still would consider it amongst your top lacquers.

That’s how I feel about 5 Golden Rings. I love it. But I don’t LOVE it. Does that make sense?

Ok, so this looks lovely on the nails. And it’s very Christmas-y and sparkly. Which ticks two big boxes on my list.

But, sheesh, this dries to a rough finish. Unlike Tinsel, which is as smooth as silk, this is rough and hangovers are everywhere. And I found more than a few bald spots with this, resulting in me having to do three coats to get to bottle colour.

Yet, despite these problems, I still find this totally amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a collection where even the weakest link is an absolute star!

What do you guys think? Did you have a favourite from the collection? A weakest link? Let me know in the comments.

kit - Move Up

Last week, I trialled kit Cosmetics' Power Up, a magnificant black with fine silver particles strewn throughout. So I had high hopes for Move Up, which is described by kit as a 'chrome pewter'.

First off, the formula for this is entirely different than Power Up.

Where Power Up was like liquid silk and opaque and shiny in one coast, Move Up is typical of many shimmery chromes. This took two coats to get to bottle colour, and has a 'gritty' finish (which can be made glossy with a good top coat).

This has the potential to be streaky, as with all chromes. Thankfully, the shimmer does make it a little more forgiving. Marginally. I found that, if I wanted a perfect finish, it was better to wait until the first coat had dried before applying the second.

This is a colour that can be worn at work, but would also work for evening functions. Which I love because the idea of not having to change lacquers from day to night really appeals. I'm so lazy!

This is another success story from kit Cosmetics. I have another two left to try (a berry creme and a taupe creme) and I can't wait. Whilst these are a little on the pricey side, I can't fault the quality or colour pay off.

So, what do you think Ladies? I feel like I'm channeling Cleopatra with this colour!