illamasqua Shrapnel

Illamasqua shrapnel, one of the colours from the design competition from last winter. This is easily my favourite of the bunch. It's a metallic pink-copper (flinty, you'll love this) with tiny silver microshimmer flecks. It's a very cool toned metallic and definitely unique amongst my collection. It's opaque in one coat, but I refuse to do...

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Hellpolish - Essie Barbuda Banana

I don't have many HTF (hard-to-find) polishes in my stash. This one was fairly recently acquired, and I was so excited! I've always wanted a soft yellow, and you know how much I love Essie...so I thought this would be perfect!Alas...Looks nice, eh? Lies!! It's a beast!! This is by far the rougest time I've ever had with a polish. I struggled....

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Chanel Peridot

My new academic year's resolution -- besides to finish my qualifying exams at the end of the Winter 2012 quarter -- is to be more consistent about posting here! Chanel PeridotGot lots of compliments on this one. It felt more like a foil to me than a duochrome and oddly enough, the duochrome is more pronounced in the photos than in real life....

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Urban Outfitters Barstool

(3 coats)SWEET LORD ALMIGHTY this rocks my world. This may not be your taste but it is EXACTLY mine.JellyLight colorMurkyFlatteringBlueYUUUUUUSSSSSSS. This color reminds me of photos of blue glaciers sitting in ice-y wat...

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MAC Dry Martini

Oh, Dry Martini...I wanted to love you. So badly. But three streaky coats later (with evident bald spots), and the beautiful olive green tone of the bottle replaced by duck poo brown on the nail...I don't love you. At all. I've seen this colour look amazing on other people but on my skin all the green just flew right out of it.I also have...

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Trying New Things - Orly Pure Porcelain

I've been feeling more adventurous lately - maybe not with colour, but with brands! I recently tried a SpaRitual (long story - you will see it soon!) and loved it. This inspired me to finally break my 'brand rule' and order a polish I have really really wanted for a long time from Orly - Pure Porcelain! (SpaRitual and Orly happen to be sister...

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Dior Timeless Gold & Pure Diamonds

Timeless Gold(2 coats)An extremely cool gold (though the camera makes it more silver-y pewter than it is). Really like it. But it makes me sad because Dior messed with perfection with their new paddle (Sally Hansen mop-style) brushes.Pure Diamonds(2 coats - ignore the ding, hasty swatching)This one has their old brush. It was so perfect....

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New Shape, "New" French

Very rarely do I change up my nail shape. I'd venture to say never. They pretty much grow "squoval" (except my index fingers...those little rule breakers) and I've stuck with that.BUT. I got super inspired after seeing this video of Sophy Robson doing Lisa Eldridge's nails - HERE. (P.S. I totally want to be Lisa Eldridge.)A couple glasses...

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H&M Blue My Mind

Oh neon blue, my old nemesis. My favourite colour to wear and my least favourite to photograph. This one's worth the effort, though:Two coats. I've used a topcoat but the polish (surprisingly for a semi-neon) dries glossy in any case. It pools a little at the cuticles because it's a thick creme but the brush makes it very easy to control,...

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Dior Czarina Gold

(2 coats)This is like China Glaze's Ingrid pumped up (and darker, which works better with mah skin). Love ...

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OPI Fall 2011: Touring America - I got a little crazy.

I initially only ordered a couple of polishes from the OPI Touring America collection - and then I saw them in Ulta and picked up a bunch more. I honestly wish I had restrained myself a little more, but at least I can share them with you now! I really wanted to show you the colours as they appear in real life (not lit up by some super bright...

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Illamasqua force - a 'WTF?' polish

(Ho ho ho, a Star Wars joke, bet you didn't see that coming!)Since we've had a rare few days of sunshine, and since I now have a car, I took the opportunity to go to some of the National Trust properties nearby. They're basically rural stately homes that are preserved by a charity and they're generally speaking lovely - Packwood House, where...

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Missha HG R01

(2 coats)The rose scent on this is so impressively strong. I could smell it days lat...

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Pinky Perplexity - Essie Lion Around

Remember how I went on my Hunt for Red (by) October last year? I may have to consider doing the same thing to find my perfect pink - opaque, not too sugary sweet, but not too fleshy either. This came close, but didn't hit the mark...and it's driving me bananas. (B-A-N-A-N-A-S.) I think the winner might have been Chanel Mistral, but I missed...

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Holy magenta! Illamasqua obsess

I'm totally going back on my adult aversion to pink, because this is a knock out. It's a good job this polish didn't exist when I was 15 because I had my hair the same colour and would have drained bottle after pricey bottle.Three coats of opaque, neon blue-pink fabulousness. It's much more purple than barbie pink - more magenta - but it's...

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Lippmann Funky Chunky

(2 coats)So... I don't hate this. It reminds me of an 80s purse in black patent faux-snakeskin (with a chain armstrap!). I've never hated this. I've worn it a few times, in fact.This is a trick to apply and to dry: The glitter sinks so you have to shake it like a polaroid picture in between coats and then you have to sit and let it dry because...

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