"This is Halloween" Nail Art - FINAL DAY!!!!

Hoorah! I made it to the end! Sure I missed a few days [whoops] but for me I'm quite pleased with myself.

Kinda embarrassed to put this up as it's definitely not what I imagined but you win some, you lose some!  Todays task is to recreate a favourite from the challenge. I chose this manicure from Cathy at More Nail Polish which looked fantastic!! I thought I could pull it off but hey ... can't compete with the master!

Instead of Kleancolor Metallic Orange I used Chemistry 523 [like Ozotic 523] and lets just say I killed it with the black! The blacks I chose weren't up to the task and my stamping sucked!! While it didn't look too bad from a distance, this macro shot does it no favours. Meh!

I'll chalk it up to experience and bring you something great tomorrow for the beginning of a new month!!

Check out some more Halloween blogs here

... FNUG comparison post ...

Bit of a quick comparison post for you today that I've been trying to put together for a few weeks.

I received my beautiful FNUG holos from Harlow & Co and I was asked about comparisons! So here goes ...

ALL SWATCHES ARE 3 COATS ON CLEAR SWATCH STICKS. NO BASE OR TOP COAT.

First up is the silver which is called Psychedelic and I've picked out 5 holo silvers to compare this with

Left to Right ... Gosh Holographic, FNUG Psychedlic, Gosh Holographic Hero, NfuOh 61 and Jade Psicodelica

I couldn't find my MUS holo which is disappointing but as you can see the FNUG is snug between the 2 versions of GOSH Holographic. Like GOSH and NfuOh you need to apply carefully or you will get drag and bald spots. Very beautiful though!! I've been told that the KOH silver holographic is more brighter but I don't have that polish *sad*

I don't have many green holographics *sad* I'm taking it as a sign I need more!!!  Fantastica slots in on the "Wheel of Holo" in between Glitter Gal Green [or Glossy Moss if you have the large bottle] and China Glaze L8R G8R

Left to Right ... Glitter Gal Green, FNUG Fantastica, China Glaze L8R G8R

The FNUG is definitely like it's silver brother and applies a lot more dense than polishes like Glitter Gal. While I don't have Ozotic green I do have the Chemistry equivalent as it's not as holo as the Glitter Gal so I haven't shown it here.

Left to Right ... Chemistry 515, Layla Ocean Rush, FNUG Futuristica, NfuOh 65

The FNUG is definitely the same shade as the NfuOh but with more holo and less patchy bald spots! The poor Layla just gets left behind ... awwww.

For all of these FNUG polishes you will need some sort of Aqua Base or there will be issues! You've been warned!!

I hope that helps people out. I'm happy to do more holo comparisons if I have them in my collection but I've picked out the few from the "ring of holo" which are the most similar in colour and holo rainbow!

... Chemistry 515 ...

Chemistry 515

Available from Essential Beauty / Essential Distribution - $12.35 AUD

The weather has been really warming up here so I've been trying to take advantage of the sunlight and pull out the holos!

This is Chemistry 515 and for those not in the know - this is the exact same as Ozotic 515 but just cheaper.  Chemistry polishes come out of this funky little warehouse [and I mean little] but there is like a whole WALL of this series. Unfortunately being a warehouse it is often hit and miss to what they have in stock.

Chemistry 515 is a linear blue holo and it's extremely pretty [find me a linear that isn't!]. As with all the Chemistry line it dries fast and it's not a tricky polish to work with at all - bonus. I actually really like this colour blue ... it's not light and it's not dark ... just a nice vibrant blue.

Inside looking pretty.

Pretty holo - clickity for more to drool over

** Final Verdict **

This is a gorgeous polish with a fantastic holo. If you are in Australia then check out the Chemistry brand of polishes - and if you are in Adelaide get your butt to the warehouse pronto!! They are extremely nice and you are guaranteed to walk out with a stack of goodies!

... Chemistry 242 and Haul photos ...

Chemistry 242

Purchased from edistribution - $4.70 AUD

So I finally dragged my butt down to the edistribution warehouse last week [aka Polish Heaven] as I haven't been for awhile. This is the warehouse to get Chemistry polishes from and as I've explained before they are Ozotic dupes [although some batches are slightly different to Ozotics as we are finding out]

Sadly to say the top shelf is the 500 and 600 shelf ... and it's looking a bit sad and sorry for itself. If it's been restocked then it's also been quickly raided.  This was the only photo I took but to get an idea of this place multiply these 3 shelves by 4 or 5 across ... very drool worthy!

I'm embarrassed to say this is how many I walked away with this trip ... I've been trying to condole myself by saying that most are for other people so I don't feel so guilty about it.

Also heads up to anyone heading that way that apart from a few crusty bottles that look like testers - the square Essential Beauty polishes aren't in stock either. I couldn't bring myself to buy a half empty bottle ... Bummer really as they look so good.

Anyhoo ... on to todays swatch. This is 242 and I've found some real gems in this 200 series. This is a blue to greeny-gold duochrome - pretty!

I'm not sure if it was the brush or the polish but this one did come out a bit streaky but not enough to make me throw it in frustration. It still dried really quickly though.

Pretty blue

Turning light blue

Weird greeny gold colour - dunno how to describe it but it looks fantastic

** Final Verdict **

For the price really you can't go wrong. The other duochromes in the 700 series are just as nice but more expensive. The only downside was the slight streaking but that can be easily overlooked when it changes colour before your eyes.

End Note - If I brought some of these polishes for you for whatever reason I'll be emailing you today to let you know what's going on! Cheers

... pink holo comparison ...

Today I have a bit of a quick one for you that was requested at some stage in the past and as usual I totally  forgot about it. Firstly - how does Ozotic Pro 601 compare with Chemistry 601 and how do they both compare to Glitter Gal pink polishes. I'd seen swatches of Ozotic 601 and from there really wanted to get hold of it as it looked slightly different from Chemistry 601 but until I put them together I wasn't 100% sure

So here are the contenders ....

From left to right ... Glitter Gal Fuchsia, Chemistry 601, Ozotic 601, Glitter Gal Frappe

Just from the bottles you can see that the 601 polishes look identical. GG Fuchsia is close but there is more of a rainbow and Frappe is a lighter colour all together.

Again left to right  ... Glitter Gal Fuchsia, Chemistry 601, Ozotic Pro 601, Glitter Gal Frappe

These are 2 coats of each on the colour wheel and you'll notice that the Glitter Gal Fuchsia and Chemistry 601 are a similar shade of pink but the difference is that the Glitter Gal is a linear holo with that full rainbow appearing while the Chemistry is a scatter. Frappe is definitely a lot closer in colour to the Ozotic in this shot [although again one is linear one is scattered] - they aren't as similar as the Fuchsia and Chemistry though.

Left to right ... Chemistry 601, Ozotic 601, Chemistry 601, Ozotic 601

Pretty close but slightly different - the Ozotic is a lot more sheer than the Chemistry. This is 3 coats of Ozotic and 2 of Chemistry. Plus the Chemistry is noticeably darker and doesn't show the white dots of holo so much when they aren't out blinging in the sun.

** Final Verdict **
All up it's a hard call when you compare scattered and linear holos. I love Chemistry 601 and definitely prefer it over Ozotic 601 just because it is a brighter pink and doesn't have the white spots in the shade. Both the Glitter Gals are pretty nice but I'd definitely pick of Fuchsia just because Frappe is rather sheer.

... Chemistry 241 ...

Chemistry 241

Purchased from Essential Distribution - $4.70 AUD

Here's another fab polish from Chemistry. I really need to get my butt down to the warehouse and get some more gems. This is 241 which is a lovely green duochrome that turns to a fantastic brown. I've actually been quite taken with this one and worn it for the past 2 days. It's pretty without being totally in your face.

As with all the other Chemistry polishes I've reviewed this one is fast drying and has no lumps or bumps. It does however have slight streaking if you coat on too thick but I didn't find it overly annoying or anything [and I'm generally pretty picky!] It's also pretty chip resistant without a top coat!

So here are some swatches - I'm actually trying out a different camera so hopefully they come out ok.

Looking bright green

 

Starting to turn brown

Hello brown *waves*

** Final Verdict **

I'm a fan of this one and it's going into my "wear again" pile - I like the green. I like the colour shift to brown. It's just a nice subtle polish - score!

... Friday Favourites - Chemistry 601 ...

Hello to new followers *waves* Welcome to my little piece of the web! I'm planning a giveaway at 100 so hopefully that won't be too long to go :) Here's todays "Friday Favourite"


Chemistry 601

Purchased from Essential Beauty / Essential Distribution - $6.90

Do you think I remembered to swatch all the holos and glitters that are waiting when the sun was actually out for a few days? Ugh - that would be logical!  Although the rainy days do make me want to put on some of my more blingy polishes - just to make me smile when the sun does appear and hits it right.

On todays nails is Chemistry 601. Chemistry is Ozotics just in a different bottle with a different logo. So this is the exact same as Ozotic 601 [which I've heard is the same as Ozotic 516 - go figure]. I'll be honest and say I really do prefer the Chemistry range and for 2 reasons. One - it's a lot nicer on my wallet than Ozotics! I like the fact I can get 3 times the love and Two - the bottles line up a lot nicer in my helmer than the round Ozotics!!

601 is a pink holo glitter - sounds like fun doesn't it! This is one of my favourite polishes just because it seems so happy. I'm a pink girl and this just wants to sparkle and always makes me smile. Let's swatch!

Just by picking up the bottle you can tell that this polish is going to be great. It's pink with holo goodness shining back in your face. I've done 2 coats of fun this time around and if I used a nude base I probably could have gotten away with a single coat. It dries quick, no streaks or bubbles. It actually is a glitter that dries smooth which is a bonus.

** Final Verdict **

It's happy, it's fun and it's holo. What more do you want? It's affordable!! I'm impatiently waiting for the Chemistry warehouse to restock and then I'll be back again for more. For Aussies - it's worthwhile sticking your head in Essential Beauty for these polishes if you are walking past a franchise and seeing what they've got ... some places are crazy and will slug you $19.95 for polishes - while others no longer sell polish and stick them all in clearance bins where you can buy them for a few dollars each [one place I went too had thrown out a full box of multichromes and holos into the dumpster as "they didn't sell" - I wanted to cry and even considered trying to be a bin scab for a bit to see if they still lingered on at the bottom of those big rubbish skips]

... Blue Monday - Chemistry 744 Revisited ...

I really wanted to revisit this duochrome that I struggled to swatch properly in the first place HERE.  So welcome to attempt #2. Black base didn't show this polish like I wanted. White base didn't show this polish like I wanted ... so hello nude base!!

I ended up using Nfu-Oh #23 which has turned into my fave nude - I'll be using this for quite a few of these tricky polishes that I've discovered. It's slightly darker than my skin tone but not much and I'm finding it a great base coat for those polishes that are too sheer otherwise.

Now here are the photos of it looking both blue and purple. Again my photography skills are sucky but I'm hoping you can see the slight difference between the blue and purple. It's not a huge shift but it's definitely there.

Looking blue

And here it is looking slightly more purple!

Like before this polish was still easy to apply with no streaks and dries as quick as it did last time.

** Final Verdict **
I really like this polish and it's subtle colour change. I've been finding it uplifting over the past few days since the weather has been drab and cold.

... Chemistry 523 ...

Chemistry 523

Essential Beauty / Essential Distribution - AUD$11.95

As requested today by Kitties26 from More Nail Polish -  it's Chemistry 523 in all it's glory - well if you ignore the kids Shampoo bottle in the background! Whoops. 523 is a multichrome that shifts from dark brown to bright copper to burnt orange to shiny gold - like all of the multichromes it's very pretty and mesmerising.

First things first - this is shown over my super favourite nude Nfu.Oh23 but I'm sure it would look fantastic layered over black aswell. Unfortunately this one streaks and took ages to dry [so excuse the smudged finger] but the colour goodness definitely made up for that.

Apologies in advance for the dodgy photography - I like to hope that one day I'll be fantastic at capturing these in their awesomeness. My poor pinky finger has decided today not to photograph nicely *sad*

** Final Verdict **

If you ignore the streaks and everything this is a fantastic polish like all the others in the Chemistry/Ozotic/Artform range. I tried to Google to see if there is another multichrome brown to gold but it wasn't bringing up much success with the keywords I was using.

If anyone else has a request for something I have in my stash please ask! I'm more than happy to help out!

... Chemistry 133 ...

Chemistry 133

Purchased from Essential Beauty / Essential Distribution - $4.55

So today I've been continuing on with the requested Chemistry swatches from my hauls a few weeks ago. If you want to request a polish from this range [or any other range!] that I have in my possession feel free to suggest it. I'm slowly adding all my polishes to the "Stash" tag up the top.

This is a light purple glitter polish and it's easy to apply and streak free. Because of the glitter you aren't going to get a smooth finish but if that's your thing I'm sure some top coat will sort that problem out for you.

I'll be really honest. This really does look and feel like piCture pOlishes new "Antique" which I reviewed not long ago. Antique is slightly darker than 133 but I think that's only because 133 isn't so thick with glitter pieces and it is slightly more sheer but really I don't think you can tell the difference.

Can you tell? Middle and smudged pinky are in Antique while the other 2 are in Chemistry. If you didn't know better I think you could pass it off as being the same colour.

** Final Verdict **

I've already said that I love this colour when I reviewed Antique and I stand by that. It's a fantastic purple! Honestly I prefer the piCture pOlish version just for the heavier polish but really for $4.55 this is a super fantastic polish if you can't afford Antique.

... Lavender Nails for Caylee Anthony ...

The lovely Facebook group Nail Polish and Gossip today is having "Lavendar Nails for Caylee Anthony". I'll be the first to admit I know little about this case but from what I've gathered whether you believe mum is innocent or guilty - you can't help but feel for the precious little girl that was taken too soon from this world.  So Lavender nails it is today.

For some reason I seem to have a lot of blue polishes and a lot of purple polishes but no lavender - so I've gone for a compromise of something that is blue and purple.

Chemistry 744

Purchased from Essential Beauty / Essential Distribution - $4.55 AUD

From what I can see on the piCture pOlish site this looks similar in the bottle to Ozotic 744 ... is it purple or is it blue? The Ozotic line is that it's a "colour flop". It really changes in the light so it's really neither blue or purple for very long - very pretty and mesmerising though.

I seem to have picked a few of these Duo-Chromes lately and I'm finding the challenge is more trying to find the best way to wear it. I've decided to showcase it on both a black and white base

The polish has a slight glitter shimmer through it aswell but it's very sheer and streaky. I didn't seem to notice the streaks so much on the black base but I could on white and also on a natural nail. Really it's hard to believe that the base coat can make so much difference on this polish. The blue will shift slightly to purple but try as I might I couldn't get that on film. The purple just stayed purple though.

Black Base - Rimmel 60 seconds 800 Black Out

White Base - BYS French White

I won't leave you with a final verdict as this post isn't a total review post and I will revisit this polish in the future. I think it will make an interesting top coat if I try to make some nail art with black and white underneath.

Rest in Peace Caylee ♥

... Chemistry 42 ...

Right-o. As promised from last week here is the beginning of the Chemistry swatches that were asked for.

Chemistry - 42

Brought from Essential Beauty / Essential Distribution - $4.55

On the outside this looks like a really interesting polish to review. It's pink but there are hints of a bright blue through out if you move the bottle around. I've never seen anything like this before. If you know what it's actually called please let me know as I have a few bottles in various shades that seem to shift to a blue. I'm mesmerised by it! I'm still really new to polish in the scheme of things so if you could help a girl out I'd appreciate it.

[See the blue goodness in the bottle!]

Nearly all of the other Chemistry polishes have an Ozotic "twin" but while this one matches google photos of Ozotic 42 I can't find any mention of them having a blue shimmer throughout or having a colour shift involved. The closest match I can find through searching online it is something like OPI Rosy Future which seems to also have the same blue iridescence.

So first things first. This is a super sheer polish - regardless of how many coats you put on you'll still see your nail and it's colour through the polish which is fine if you want a french look but not fine if you have stained nails [like I currently do]. It also has a weird smell to it. It's not overpowering but it's not a usual polish smell.

It took me a few tries to work out what colour to actually put underneath as a base and I'm still not totally sold on how to wear it. I originally tried a pink which didn't work out - it just seemed pink. The blue didn't shine through but ... if I put it on black you get all blue and no pink! You can't even tell that I originally had a black base [How is that even remotely possible?? It's a pink polish] It's a beautiful blue though *drools*

Pink Base - Ulta3 Stardust

Black Base - Coral Colours Black Sateen

** Final Verdict **
I'm still really intrigued by this polish but I wish I knew how to utilise it properly. Any ideas out there on a base colour? I have other similar polishes with the blue in a white and a light blue that I'd love to swatch. Teach me your secrets!!!

... Chemistry 203 ...

Chemistry - 203

Essential Beauty/ Essential Distribution - $4.55
[current sale - if you buy 5 bottles its $3.95 each]

I went out of my way to get my hand on some Chemistry polishes after I'd heard about them on the MakeupAlley boards. They are definitely Ozotic dupes to the point that they have the same number!

They don't come in the pretty round bottles that the Ozotics do and you get 1ml less polish [it's only 15ml bottles] ... but the price is a lot cheaper! Ozotics are generally between $12.95-$14.95 and these basic Chemistry branded polishes retail for under $5 [the multi-chromatics are only $9.95 if you buy them singular - I paid $3.95 for the few I got my hands on! Wooooo]

203 isn't much to write home about by itself but it's a great as a top coat. It's a clear polish with red glitter and holographic strips. Sparkle City!!! Glitters in clear polish generally looks fantastic in the bottle but are bitterly disappointing when on the nail. I'm so glad this didn't let me down!!

[Nails just look black in this one but check out the holos in the bottle! Woah!]

[blurry photo to check out the red glitter goodness!]

** Final Verdict **

If you already have the Ozotic Pro version then don't bother ... but if you are in Australia and too poor to fork out for the Ozotic versions then I'd definitely give this a try!  I love the shiny red glitter when the sun catches it. Definitely a whole lot better than most glitter polishes that come my way!