China Glaze Devotion

(2 coats)

I prefer Sci-Fi. Devotion is more purple (a preference) but the brushstrokes are unacceptable.

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China Glaze Metallic Muse

I'm totally late to the party on this one. I think practically everyone here has this polish. But I love it! So glad I added it to my last pre no-buy order. Chromes are my favourite finish and aqua-blue is a very frequent colour in my wardrobe, so this fits right in.

The only issue I have with chromes is that they're such a bugger to clean up - I end up with sparkly bits everywhere. There are a few ridgey bits evident in these pictures, but that's my own fault. My favourite way to apply chromes is to sandwich them with a coat of seche vite, which makes them really smooth (base, two coats polish, SV, polish, SV) and gives amazing wear time - my butter london fairy lights mani (a pink chrome) lasted 9 days with no chips. This one was more like 3 days, but then it's only two coats between lumos base and top coat (neither of which are that great, in my opinion).

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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 one coat (what if I come under REALLY BRIGHT LIGHT and I can see VNL if I look very closely?!) so this is two.











The colour is described as 'the colour of a new penny'. Just to be really pedantic I decided to test this claim - think of this as the nail polish Mythbusters. So, 2010 English penny in hand, I can confirm that...it's not the same colour. It's considerably pinker. Still really pretty, though!

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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. It was like the OPI pro-wide except a little shorter and the bristles seem to be a bit finer. Application is SO nice with this brush. WHY did they have to take it away? :'''''(

This one is going in the swap pile. I don't do layering polishes. For me, adding a shimmery layer to a creme is like Dior switching to the paddle-mop from the old one. Ruining things.

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Missha HG R01

(2 coats)



The rose scent on this is so impressively strong. I could smell it days later.

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Trying pink victory! Butter London Fairy Lights

While I'm not usually a pink kinda girl, this one ticks all the boxes. I am obsessed with it. Not a surprise given that the merest hint of a metallic polish is guaranteed to drive me batshit...and this is a rich, pink chrome. Sorry in advance for picture overload. And any lemmings created.



It's fully opaque in two coats. You could even get away with one, but since chromes show imperfections, I use two with a coat of seche vite layered inbetween and lumos on top, which totally hides the fact that I have a couple of teabag patches right now. (You can tell my nails are bad if I'm willing to butcher my precious Whittard teabags to fix it). But rather than waffle on, I'm just going to show you pictures. Which are no-where near as pretty as the polish, so you'll have to use your imagination.


It's slightly blue but is so super shiny that it shifts colours in different lights. Right now indoors it looks baby pink. Outdoors it's darker and cool-toned. In the sunshine it glows white. Being a chrome it's also a whizz to apply and dries really quick.


I have bought a back up since this is limited edition and I tend to wear my chromes a lot. That doesn't count towards the no-buy, right?! (OK, so maybe the other three BLs I bought to make up the shipping do...) /guilt. Looks nice under red shatter, too:

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Funky French

After my last black and green flakies manicure (which was every bit as involved to remove as you'd think) I was craving something pale and clean. Inspired by K2K's gold tip french I decided to try my own renditition, which is a bit less subtle.



This is OPI creme of crete (three coats) as the base with China Glaze 2030 tips freehanded over the top. I usually use creme of crete for french tips and I'm not sure what possessed me to use it as a full manicure. It's very runny and streaky and my planned sheer base fell by the wayside because it's impossible to get it to level while keeping it sheer. Nevertheless I quite like the effect, unintended though it is, and it's also covering my first go at a teabag patch (on my middle finger).



I've only ever freehanded french tips - what do you do? Any suggestions for good stencils?

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Trying pink: GOSH frou frou & giveaway winner

First things first: in the giveaway there were 122 entries, 116 of which were valid (couple of double posts and some after time). I punched that into random.org and this was what came out. Number 58 was meipinggg, who said:

'hmm, i think that i'd usually end up with coral nail polishes )': i have like 3 nearly identical ones? AND THEY DONT EVEN LOOK GOOD WITH MY SKIN COLOUR D:'

Congrats Mei, I've emailed you! Thank you to everyone who entered, I loved reading your comments.

My favourite was this one from Laurawire:

The number of indentikit brown leather handbags in my wardrobe is so far past the amusing point that I'm beginning to wonder how many I need to have to open a store. Or get sectioned. One of the two.

Laura, if you see this, drop me an email and I'll sort you out a runner up prize.

Abyway, continuing with GOSH, after my last attempt with one of their polishes, which was less than fruitful, I decided to try this one. This is very far out of my comfort zone - it's a shimmery metallic pink, which is about as un-me as it's possible to get - but I saw it in Superdrug and my instant reaction was 'Ooooooooh, shiny!'.

Look at the shiny! Just look at it!

This applies like most of the slightly flaky metallics I own, and the finish is much the same as, say, China Glaze's holiday metallics. The first coat is a total hot mess of patchy glitter, and a second coat evens it out. I stopped at two coats, although there is very slight VNL in bright sunlight, so I can imagine some might want to do three. The brush is pretty average, but drying time is fast. I left it five minutes between coats, and it was dry. This lasted five days before I got bored and took it off, and the chips were really minor (and not noticable because the colour's such a good match on me). Into the lazy pile it goes.

Sorry about the cat hair...

Overall, I really like this. Any suggestions for other pinks I should try?

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China Glaze Hi-Tek

This one was my favorite of the 4 I got (Millenium, 2030, Hi-Tek and Sci-Fi).

It was the exact color of a new penny. I loved it.




(1 coat)

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China Glaze 2030 & China Glaze Party Hearty

***I've updated my blog sale post! I'm selling off the balance of stuff for $30. See the post for details.***

Of the ones I got from this collex, this was my least favorite. The color didn't look great on me.



(1 coat)


Old Christmas mani anyone?



(1 coat 2030, 1 coat Party Hearty)

***I've updated my blog sale post! I'm selling off the balance of stuff for $30. See the post for details.***

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China Glaze Millennium

I can't believe I waited so long to buy from this collex. I love all the ones I got.




(2 coats)

You could get opacity from 1 coat but I have learned that my ideal number of coats for minimal chipping and peeling is 2 coats so I always try to keep it to 2 these days. (Be warned: one coat or 2, this is a chippy SOB.)


(Millennium is on the left, Mirror Image on the right)

I remember when I first really launched into my nail polish fancy, minx was everywhere and I was obsessed with getting that look. At the time, the closest way to replicate it with a polish was Maybelline's Mirror Image, which I paid through the nose for on eBay (the only time I've done that).

As you can see they are basically identical. In person, the Mirror Image is ever so slightly more mirror-y. Very slightly.

I'd still go with the Millennium, however: (1) Mirror Image wears incredibly strangely; the elements to weird things to it. It's not durable in the slightest. (2) You have to use that glue base-coat it comes with. Why go to all the trouble. (3) The bottle Mirror Image comes in is SO small, it's basically a mini.

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A festive combo - OPI DS Glow meets OPI Dazzled by Gold!

Reminder: Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY featuring Essie Smokin' Hot and a Pradman labradorite ring!! Click here to see the original GIVEAWAY post, or just enter using the widget at the top of the blog - ONLY 2 DAYS LEFT!

With the holiday season swiftly approaching, it seems to be an appropriate time to start trying out some more festive manicures. This mani is putting me in a holiday spirit - which is nice seeing as I will probably be working in the lab over the holidays...

Also this is two of my favourite polishes combined, so how could it be bad right?!

This is OPI DS Glow (see it on its own here) with one coat of OPI Dazzled by Gold (click here to see "the precious" solo) on top.

Oooo sparkly...

and reflective...

By adding a coat of Dazzled by Gold overtop, the red-tone in DS Glow is dampened, which I think makes it more flattering and definitely amps up the "gold" factor.

Even though I will probably be predictable and go with OPI Smitten with Mittens for Christmas and OPI Mad as a Hatter for New Year's (*gasp* k2k would wear a full-0n glitter!?!?!? Yes...on New Year's :P), I'm really loving this 24-karat combo.

Do you have your holiday manicures picked out already? What are they?

kittytokaren

P.S. Congratulation to Piff for finally getting her hands on OPI Dazzled by Gold!!! I no longer feel guilty for posting this. :)

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What Chanel Trapeze Should Have Been - $OPI Already Famous

Reminder: Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY featuring Essie Smokin' Hot and a Pradman labradorite ring!! Click here to see the original GIVEAWAY post, or just enter using the widget at the top of the blog!

In general I try not to buy Sephora by OPI ($OPI) polishes. I hate the brush, and I think they're mad overpriced. But every once in a while, one comes along that demands my attention. This gorgeous metallic/taupe concoction hits so many of my "need-it-now" buttons that it was a must-purchase! (I alleviated my price annoyance by buying it during Sephora's F&F sale...)

Behold - a non-streaky taupe-metallic-foil dream...$OPI Already Famous.

In shade:

In the sun...it's even more sparkly in person!:

This is basically an amped up version of Chanel Trapeze (see it here). While Trapeze is a shy wallflower waiting to be asked to dance, Already Famous is the first girl out on the dance floor. Yes, the finishes are very different, and Already Famous is probably darker, but I think this is what I was wanting from Trapeze all along - a neutral but sparkly polish devoid of telltale brushstrokes. Sorry Trapeze...you're very pretty, but I think my dance card is full now.

Have you been tempted by any $OPI polishes lately?? Did you buy any during F&F?

kittytokaren

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China Glaze Millennium

Well hello, futuristic fingernails! Have you discovered world peace in 2036?


I can't help it, I love some icy silver nails and this puppy does the trick! Millennium is from the Khrome collection from way back when and in two coats it is a shiny, reflective eye-catcher. Sure, you've got some brushstrokes here and there, but whatever! It makes me feel like I should have a flying car and a jet pack... or maybe I just feel like Rhianna. Either way, it's all good.

Silver hotness!

Happy day, all!

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NOTD OPI Glitzerland

I know K2K already said it but...



(2 coats)

You know what rocks unexpectedly? This does. Seriously!

(Dazzled by Gold will be mine one day. grrrrrrr.)

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Some LA Girl Metal swatches: Pink Steel, Millennium and Metallic Olive

This is one great -- and affordable -- collection for those who like foils and other shiny things. You can generally find these for about $3; they are often on sale on CherryCulture.com.

LA Girl Metal Pink Steel

I don't think the photo properly expresses the awesomeness of this polish. Did you know that every nail polish collection HAS to have a BURNING HOT PINK FOIL? Because I did not know that I needed one until I swatched this beauty. My collection had been unknowingly bereft without it! Three coats here, could have been fine with two. Very smooth application, which is typical of foil polishes. It's retina-searing in the sun. Does not dry glossy though, which may bother some but I like the Suede-like texture of it.

LA Girl Metal Metallic Olive

Dark shimmering green made of nearly-black dark green shimmer, gold shimmer and lighter green shimmer. Three coats. A dark, dusky color that brightens in the sunlight. Me likey. :)

LA Girl Metal Millennium

I liked this one the least out of these three polishes. I guess I'm not a big purple person but there just wasn't anything too special to me about this purple foil. It applies very well though. Two coats.

September 29th (15m cardio).

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