Nfu Oh 570

(3 coats)

This is a streaky mother. I wish it applied like 119. But I like the color very much. It's quite a bit greener on the nail than in the bottle.

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Nfu Oh 119

Over my several month purge effort, I've gotten rid of well over half of my Nfu Ohs. I either had dupes, the formula was deplorable, or I wasn't feeling the color enough to see myself ever wearing it again.

This one was the first in the keep pile. I love an almost black. This is a particularly good one because the base color (which you see in the first coat) is a vibrant cobalt blue. It gives the mani a glow even though the ultimate color is very dark.



(3 coats)

This is three coats but I actually wore it as just two (I sloppily applied a third coat because there was two days wear and I didn't feel like showing off my tip wear). It dried very well (unlike the majority of my Nfu Ohs).

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Oodles o' purple: Butter London HRH & Nfu.Oh 51

OK, long pic-heavy post - so I'll try and keep it light on the text.

Butter London HRH. Nice standard royal purple, red-toned base. I did two coats but it could probably have done with three since the base is a little jelly-ish. Me being me and compelled to fiddle with things that ought not be fiddled with, I put Nfu.Oh 51 over the top and the result really wasn't pretty:



Urgh. Sooo, that lasted all of twelve hours before I took it off. But I wanted to try 51 over something else because the real draw is the amazing blurple jelly base colour, which was totally lost over HRH. So I swatched it over (L-R) Orly gogo, illamasqua wink, illamasqua force, and OPI dim sum plum. And the result was much prettier:



Orly Gogo is just a total PITA to apply and not worth the 7 coats of polish (4 orly, 3 of the flakies) but 51 looked lovely over any of the other three. Two coats on force and dim sum plum, three on wink. I will definitely give this a full outing soon, because I really like the duochrome pinky colours in the flakies (just not over HRH...dear God not over HRH). Do click to enlarge this one, it's a doozy.



As Borat would say: 'naaaaaaice. Vairry naice.'


Edit - the UK Nfu Oh retail site has now launched. It's at Nfuoh.co.uk. Enjoy!

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Illamasqua Boosh and Nfu.Oh 56

Illamasqua Boosh is a pretty standard black creme. I have 'issues' with black cremes. I spent my teenage years sporting Boots No.7 black nail polish (or occasionally 'black cherry' for variety, which was...well black, basically) which I applied on a weekly basis in front of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So, perhaps unsurprisingly, it's been years since I've been willing to go near black creme. I'm not sure if I'm looking back on my younger days with rose tinted glasses (unlikely, to be frank) but I didn't think the application on Boosh was that great. It was a little sticky and required a bit of work to get it to level. Then again, that's black cremes for you. Man am I glad I don't wear this stuff all the time anymore.


Fortunately, I can't say the same for the lovely green flakies I put over the top, which are much more my to my twenty-something taste. This is the infamous Nfu.oh 56, which is every bit as good as I'd hoped. Bright green flakies with shimmer and a blue duochrome, these really pop layered over a dark colour. I had a hell of a time trying to pick up the duochrome (it drifts between grass, emerald, teal and blue, with the blue showing up best indoors in low light - I am sure those of you who are into lenses will know why this created such problems!) but here's a couple of badly focused macro shots which kind of show it. Click to embiggen.





Yummy, no? The only problem with Nfu.Oh is that I keep wanting to type it 'NFU', which is the national farmers' union. I wrote a couple of my Masters essays on path dependency and regional governance in EU agriculture. I can't see the national famers' union producing nail polish somehow. Anyway...

The Nfu.oh was sent to me for review by Affiniti, the Illamasqua was purchased by my own fair hand. Although technically it came free in the Art of Darkness four polish set, so I'm feeling like a big cheap-o today. No-buy status: 6/35.


Edit - the UK Nfu Oh retail site has now launched. It's at Nfuoh.co.uk. Enjoy!

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Nfu.Oh 497: so bright it broke my camera

Usually I try to show my photos as 'normally' as possible - I take off all my fancy pants custom camera settings (it's used more frequently for portraiture and suchlike), leave it on P, take off the colour tweaks, and off I go. This one? 60 shots later, I am still no-where near doing it justice. It's just SO. AWESOME. Seriously. This is straight into my top-ten polishes - I do not want to take it off.


First off, I should say, this polish was sent to me for review by Affiniti, who are Nfu.oh's UK stockist. They are about to open a non-trade sales website, which I am very happy about, having spent 8 months trying to track down the flakies. (You US ladies have it made). After trying this and No.56 (coming soon to a blog near you) and going bananas for them I now have a wishlist as long as my arm, so as soon as I can afford it - on which see below - I will be getting more (GS14, come to mama!). I don't think I would have chosen this colour if it wasn't sent to me, but I'm so glad it was because I adore it.


You see this? This is like, a quarter of how amazing this polish is in the flesh. It's very very bright, yet deep and oceanic. It's creamy, yet squishy and super shiny and vinyl-like without having any VNL. It's super blue, but has a slightly cyan undertone (which is probably overplayed here, because most of the shots made it look like a light turquoise). Most blues look purple on my skin but this is really flattering. It was a whizz to apply in two coats and I just love it to death. I think it's knocked Illamasqua force off my no.1 blue spot. I also have an extra special reason to love it...

It's the same colour as my new car.

I am now on a no-buy. For the rest of my life.

OK, I jest - the ilexicamobile does 60 miles per gallon, so it's not going to bankrupt me, but it seems a good opportunity to spend less money on non-car stuff since the insurance is a bit steep, what with being a newly qualified driver (I passed my test yesterday). I will be thinking up some rules for a shop my stash challenge for the next post, and hopefully the threat of public shame will keep me on the straight and narrow.

Having a car is going to make my life so much easier. I commute 160 miles to university (usually once a week, usually on a train) so being able to make it under my own steam if the weather's horrid or I'm due back late will be heaven. Hoo-rah!

Edit - the UK Nfu Oh retail site has now launched. It's at Nfuoh.co.uk. Enjoy!

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Nfu Oh Jellies

Here are the other three Nfu Oh jellies I bought.

JS 09


(2 coats)

Color me pleased! Imagine my glee, 2 coats and I'm satisfied with the coverage. What is a pretty pink-leaning coral in the bottle really just pulls pink against my skin but I'm still ok. This one's a keeper!

JS 42


(5 coats)

I had to seriously mess with the photoshop in order to get this one even close to the reality. It is a red leaning brown, not a brown leaning red.

Given that I needed 5 coats to get it to acceptable coverage, I am shocked by how well this dried and without bubbles at that!

JS 04



(4 coats)

People on MUA have responded pretty well to swatches of this one but make no mistake, the formula on this one is a hot mess. Verrrrry gluey and does not level at all.

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Essie Nice is Nice

(3 coats plus 1 coat)

Poor formula on Nice is Nice, gooey and would not level.

Shame... it's a really pretty half pink/half purple.

(Nfu Oh 38 on top)

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Nfu Oh Jellies

I bought 6 Nfu Oh jellies: three ~non-traditional~ colors and three classics.

Today are the non-traditional colors (i.e. the only colors you guys care about).

Teal Jelly JS-33

(5 coats)

This one was the most clear. 5 coats and it's still no where near bottle color. The VNL is much more visible in person. At 5 coats I was worried about dry time (not Nfu Oh strong suit, IME) so I slapped on an ultra thick coat of Diamont and bubble city!!! Hated this mani and it didn't dry great, quelle surprise.

Apple Green Jelly JS-17



(3 coats)

Ahhhh more reasonable coverage. I think we'd have full coverage, no vnl at 4 coats but I don't do 4 unless I HAVE to. And I thought the unbelievable squishiness of this one would be compromised if I went with any more coats.

This one dried a liiiittle bit fussy (a some bupples popped up after 20 minutes or so) but applied reasonably well and I got lots of compliments. Just look at that swatch! I want to drink that color it looks so juicy!

Raspberry Jelly JS-26


(3 coats - Warning - this one is a bit more purple IRL, also the smudge on the middle finger is the TC not the polish)

Formula-wise, this one was the star. It applied pretty evenly and dried nicely (though not speedily).


I bought colors based on the fabulous street swatches (which are wanting in terms of lighting) and I tried to guess at the more opaque jellies (I can live with VNL but I really don't like completely see through, which is JS-33). One was a failure but frankly I was quite pleased with the other two.

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Purple Jelly Comparison

Hi guys!  I have a small comparison for you today.  A reader asked how these two polishes compare when I posted my swatch picture of Deborah Lippmann Call Me Irresponsible so I figured I do a formal comparison.  I don't have a bottle comparison picture since the Milani is in an opaque bottle.  First up, I'll repost the swatch pictures of each.

I think this is four coats of Milani Rad Purple.

And here's a picture of four coats of Deborah Lippmann Call Me Irresponsible.

Now on to the comparison.  I've got Call Me Irresponsible on my index and ring nails.   Rad Purple is on my middle and pinkie finger nails.  I used four coats of each and this picture was taken in the sun.

This picture was taken inside by a window.  This one is the most color accurate of all my photos.  I think it's funny how the Deborah Lippmann comes closer to the Milani bottle than the Milani does.

And this picture was taken with the flash.  It's not very color accurate, but that's how it sometimes goes with purples.

Rad Purple is brighter and redder than Call Me Irresponsible (which is bluer). Rad Purple also dries to a satin finish so I put top coat on it. Call Me Irresponsible dries shiny.  Formula-wise, the Milani behaved better for me.  I had a heck of a time trying to get the Deborah Lippmann even, but the Milani wasn't so bad.  They are both jelly finishes.

It seemed like such a shame to just wipe these off after taking pictures so I tried out some layering.  I pulled out Pure Ice Heart Breaker and Nfu-Oh #51 and added on coat of Heart Breaker to my index and middle nails.  Then I put one coat of the Nfu-Oh on my ring and pinkie fingers.  Gah!  This was so gorgeous.  I'll have to do a full manicure of Call Me Irresponsible with the Nfu-Oh on top very soon.

I hope you enjoyed!

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An Nfu-Oh Flakie Extravaganza!

I love flakies.  They are so unique and never fail to get lots of comments.  The last time I wore a basic flakie polish over black, the cashier at REI totally couldn't believe I did my nails myself.  She asked where I got them done and when I told her I did it myself she was really surprised.

The Nfu-Oh flakies I have fall into two categories.  There are what I call pure flakies.  That is, they don't have any shimmer in them and the flakes are usually suspended in either clear or a very sheer jelly.  Then there are shimmery flakies, which are pure flakies, but with added shimmer.

The thing with pure flakies is that they aren't very interesting on their own.  In order for the flakes to really stand out, it's better to layer them over another polish.  So in my swatches, I've layered my flakies over several different polishes so you could see how they look.

First up is #40.  This is pretty much clear on the nail.  You can't see how cool this one is until it's layered over something darker.  I've layered it over OPI Alpine Snow Matte, Orly Country Club Khaki, Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme, and OPI Sapphire in the Snow.  I used two coats of the flakie here and I snapped this photo under my Ott Lite.

I also got pictures with no direct light source.  I think flakie polishes look best when they are in the shade.  I feel it makes the flakes pop out even more.

Here's #44 over the same four polishes as above.  I used two coats of #44 for these swatches.  I really love this one over black.  It reminds me of autumn leaves.

The shade really makes these flakes stand out.

Here's #50, which looks very similar to #40 on the nail.  The flakes in this one are a little larger than the flakes in #40.  Honestly, if you're going to order some flakies, I wouldn't order both #50 and #40 since they do look very similar.  I used two coats here.

And the shady picture.

The last pure flakie polish I have for you is #59, which has a slightly more pigmented base.  However, it's still pretty sheer and unless you layer it, you're going to have a very hard time getting rid of visible nail line.  I've layered three coats over the white and khaki polishes and two coats over the black as well as OPI Got the Blues For Red.

Here's the shady picture.  I chose to layer #59 over a red instead of Sapphire in the Snow.  I think this one looks really neat over the khaki polish.

That's all I have for pure flakies.  Let's move on to my shimmery flakies.  First up is #51.  I once wore this one alone and didn't like it.  It's way too sheer to wear alone if you don't want visible nail line.  Even after four thick coats, this one still shows visible nail line.  Again, layering this is a must in my opinion.  I used three coats over the white and khaki polishes and then I used two coats over the black and purple polishes.

Here's the shady picture.  This polish is truly a rainbow in a bottle.

Here's #52.  It's blue in the bottle, but sometimes it's blurple, sometimes it's blue, and sometimes it's green.  Very unique!  I layered three coats over the white and khaki polishes and then I layered two coats over the black and then Ulta Moody Blues.

Here's the shady picture.

Here's #56, a green.  I think this one is perfect for St. Patrick's Day.  I layered three coats over the white and khaki and then I layered two coats over the black and CND Green Scene.

The shady picture:

Since I think these look coolest over the black, I did a swatch with just a black base.  I layered just one coat of each of the flakies over one coat of Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme.  This is #51, #52, and #56 from left to right.

And in the shade.  I'd also like to point out that I like Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme so much that I decanted it into the bottle that my OPI Black Onyx came in.

And because this post isn't already picture-heavy, I thought I'd add in one last photo of the above polishes.  This is #56, #52, and #51 from left to right.

I hope you enjoyed my Nfu-Oh Flakie Extravaganza!

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