Purr-fect Plum
August 20, 2012I’ve had an absolutely awful time polish wise lately. I’ve been so busy with work and life that I hardly have the time to do a decent job of my nails, and when I do, I seem to ruin them within five minutes, or absolutely hate the job I’ve done. Naturally, as a result, I can’t seem to bring myself to take photos.
In even worse luck, I ordered the 6 Native polishes from China Glaze’s ‘On Safari’ collection, only to have one of the polishes (Elephant Walk) leak during transit, and three polishes arrive with faulty brushes. I’ve not heard back at all from China Glaze regarding the faulty brushes, which is a bitter disappointment because I really expected more from them: I wasn’t asking for anything but replacement brushes, which would cost them very little. I guess it’s bad news for them, because now they get a slightly miffed blogger unleashing a little anger on her blog! ;)
Nevertheless, I really have been enjoying the ‘On Safari’ collection. I’m keen to get a few that Ally has featured from the Tourist side of the collection, particularly the holo glitters, but for now I’m enjoying the dark, fall-y colours from the Native collection. One colour I’ve found myself wearing several times since receiving it a few weeks ago is Purr-fect Plum, which is fairly revolutionary for me, because I often go several months before wearing the same polish again.
Purr-fect Plum is really that: The perfect plum. It’s lovely and deep with strong pigmentation. With a thick enough coat, this could be a one-coater, but due to capping my tips, mine required two coats. I adore the colour: In some lights it leans more purple, in others more red, and in others more pink. I can see myself wearing this many more times before spring and summer properly make an appearance here in NZ!
~Sarah
4 Comments
China Glaze | Purples | Reds
A slightly neutral gradient!
July 24, 2012Hi folks! So, forgive me for the lack of posts lately, life has a knack of getting in the way. At least Ally’s been on the ball sharing some of the gorgeous China Glaze On Safari collection… I’ve got a couple to share with you soon too, so definitely keep an eye out!
Today, I’ve got a bit of a gradient mani to share with you. I’ve tried the gradient technique before with poor results, which I have a feeling is mostly to do with the tools I’ve used. It didn’t turn out too badly this time around, so I thought I’d show you the results.
For this manicure, I started with two coats of Fast Track by China Glaze. Then, using some make up sponges, I sponged on a combination of Fast Track and Zoya’s Lotus by layering them over each other on the sponge and sponging on. The amount of Lotus that transferred wasn’t quite enough for me, so I then sponged some more of Lotus by itself on the very tips.
I really love the result. The neutral base was an interesting alternative to the typical gradient manicures I usually see. I got LOADS of complements on this one at work, so I must have done something right!
The only downside..? The make up sponges :( — I bought them especially for nail art, however, they flake off little bits of sponge VERY easily, and absorb NO water, which is a massive downer, as I’ve seen the best gradient manicures achieved with wet sponges. Boo.
Have you tried a gradient mani before?
~Sarah
Comment?
China Glaze | Nudes | Purples | Zoya
butterLONDON: Lillibet’s Jubilee!
June 11, 2012I’m currently having a love affair with butterLONDON polishes. For a number of reasons I’ve been increasingly drawn to their polishes recently, despite the price tag (although with the way polishes are going in NZ, they’re only $3-$5 more than OPI now!). The formulas are more consistent than any other brand I’ve tried extensively, the colours are more unique (both in terms of what I own and of colours in their range) & of course great names don’t hurt!
My first butterLONDON polish that I owned was No More Waity-Katey, released early 2011 for the Royal Wedding. I know a lot of people weren’t thrilled with it, but I love it to pieces. And now! a brand new royal themed polish has won my heart. Just in time for Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th (!!!) Jubilee we have…
Lillibet’s Jubilee! Described by butterLONDON as: “a silvery, lavender metallic foil that boasts the perfect amount of sparkle that is fit for a queen!” I can’t think of any better way to describe it! It’s a mesmerising shade that shifts from lavender to silver and back again in the blink of an eye. It catches the light brilliantly & best of all, it is almost impossible to end up with brush strokes! The formula is absolute perfection.
Indoors, no flash. Today is a really overcast day & still this polish manages to catch the light!
I’m normally not a fan of foils. Or metallics. Or silver. But somehow Lillibet’s Jubilee manages to pull it off with style and grace. I think you could easily get away with one coat if you were extra careful about the application, it seems quite pigmented. However, I would STRONGLY recommend a base coat, if you don’t habitually use one – a ridge filler would also be a plus, I imagine this would show flaws in the nail.
with flash – you can see the purple really clearly in this pic & how much glitter appears to be in the polish!
In artificial light (ie: indoors at night) it reads more as silver, while in the sun it was more lavender, but that’s the beauty of this polish – it’s not a duo-chrome, but the lavender base & silver glittery foil play off the light & each other to make the polish sparkle at every opportunity – just like a true Queen.
~Cait
2 Comments
Butter London | Purples
Gradient Mani
June 1, 2012While I was marathoning the most recent episodes of Supernatural, I decided to cave in to my desire to do a bright gradient mani. At first I was going to stick to the same color family (maybe that could be a post for another day), but I wanted bright and slightly obnoxious… so I used the first four random colors I saw in one of my polish drawers (my polish storage could also be a post for another day).
The polishes I used (L-R in the above photo): Ulta Celebutante, Ulta Coral Chic, Jesse’s Girl Beauty Guru, and Ulta Sun-Sational.
All of them are creme polishes with average formulas, with most requiring only two coats for complete coverage. The only exception is Sun-Sational, which is a bit streaky and may need three coats to even out.
The way I sponge on the polish for my gradients is similar to this tutorial, though I skip soaking the sponge in water.
~Allyson
2 Comments
Jesse's Girl | Oranges | Pinks | Purples | Ulta | Yellows
Lady of the Lake
May 4, 2012This is just a quick swatch of Lady of the Lake from A-England’s ‘The Mythicals’ collection. It’s a muted purple with a subtle, scattered holographic effect.
The formula of this polish is amazing. If I apply it perfectly, it’s opaque in one coat… but it’s certainly opaque in two. It wears well; these photos were taken on the third day, and there were only a few very small chips on the corners of a couple of nails.
Oh, and it’s just as nice out of the sun, where the holographic effect disappears… it becomes a lovely shimmer that reminds me of a purple version of Butter London’s Victoriana.
(All photos taken in natural light – the first two in direct sun, the last in the shade. Two coats.)