... NYC Color - Red Slippers ...

NYC Color - Red Slippers

Available from Woolworths and Big W

Apologies for the lateness of this post. I've been having all sorts of unfun Blogger issues :( Hopefully it'll play nice now and upload my photos and posts!! I will try and make up for it later in the week. I've joined a few Aussies in presenting Australian polishes this week. I haven't forgotten my Rimmel series and I will resume that shortly.

Anyway this is NYC Color in Red Slippers. NYC Color is totally different from the US NYC brand but it is the same as the other Aussie brand Ulta3 [this colour is know as English Rose under the Ulta3 banner]

While it's a beautiful red ... I find it doesn't suit my skin at all which is a shame.

I've used 3 coats in these swatches and it was fast drying and no issues. I know a lot of Aussies overlook the Ulta 3/NYC polishes because of the cheap price but cheap price definitely doesn't mean cheap product. Majority of the colours in the range are really nice.

In order to try and make this colour work for me I tried some stamping on it but failed miserably. I used the beautiful Lilic's plate in A01 but as you can see I stamped half the wrong way and yeah ... massive fail. Whoops!

So there you go. Beautiful colour and I honestly wished we could be more compatible as it's such a pretty red.

Other Aussie blogs I highly suggest you visit for more Great Aussie Polish ....

Kelly from www.kellyskolors.com

Debbie from http://charmedmakeupbeauty.blogspot.com.au/

Michelle from www.labmuffin.com

Rebecca from http://polishedperipherals.blogspot.com/

Kristy from http://thepolishhaven.blogspot.com.au/

Tara from www.osirisandlokipainttheirnails.blogspot.com

Bec from http://lacquerdreams.blogspot.com.au/

Jasmyn from http://blingtasticnails.blogspot.com.au/

Alanna from http://prettypurplepolish.com

... piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2012 ...

Wayhey! Happy piCture pOlish day!! I'm super excited to be a part of the many blogs this year appearing on your RSS feed showcasing some awesome Aussie products to the world!!

If you haven't heard of piCture pOlish then ... where have you been?? I'm super pleased to show off these two beauties ... "Tease" and "Attitude".

hope & desire equals curiosity!

I'm kicking off with Tease which is a part of the Mesh Range. It reminds me a lot of Jealousy from the range but in pink instead of green. The mesh part is the colour mixed with silver.

These swatches are 3 coats of Tease but you could easily get away with 2. It's fast drying and super smooth which is great considering the silver particles.

This is beautiful. It's ranking up there with my favourite polishes from piCture pOlish. I ended up wearing this for a few days and it held up quite well with no chips just slight tip wear.

Tease on the nails definitely looks a lot better than tease on the hair!! Do not try this at home! Trust me! No matter how many drinks we've had - it's not a good idea! Walk away from the comb!

 

[Proving yet again why I am not a beauty blogger!]

Oh and a funky bottle shot. This shows the beautiful mesh of silver and pink. Honestly it's really beautiful.

And onto polish #2 ...

cause every girl needs some!

Attitude is from the new Collaboration Shades collection and it was designed by Kim from Overall Beauty. Overall Beauty is one of the USA network members who help spread piCture pOlish love across the USA.

"Attitude" is definitely that - a polish with attitude!! It is a beautiful purple with super micro holo bits. I've used 3 coats in these swatches. I found it didn't dry as quick as Tease but a quick dry top coat will sort that out for you!

Snazzy blurry macro to show you all those little holo wonders that are hiding in this beauty!

To finish ... I must award it with the dodgy oversized Oscar ShatterMeClaire Award for being exactly like a celebrity ... extraordinary beautiful but difficult to work with in front of the camera!! I really hope that I've managed to catch it's beauty as purples deserve to be purple - not blue!

Both these shades are available to buy from piCture pOlish. For overseas readers outside of Australia, "Tease" is available from all Network members and "Attitude" is only available from Overall Beauty.

Oh and cos I was curious to see what both shades would look like together ...have some rocking stripes.

I really do like the fact that piCture pOlish puts QR codes on their bottles. I wish more polishes had these as if you are like me ... then you do not have a Masters Degree in Google Fu. It's really easy to use. Simply scan it with any smart device with a QR reader and bam - straight to their webpage!

piCture pOlish are also on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest if you want to follow them and have your feed full of Australian lovelies regularly!

* Both these polishes were provided from piCture pOlish for Blog Fest 2012 and all opinions, Aussie humour, dodgy puns and bad hair are purely my own!!

... 7 days 7 ways - Day 3 Stamping ...

Day 3 already? Wow!

Today I wanted to do some stamping but I really struggled to find a design that would work well with lime green until I saw this.

[Image provided by Google Images from http://plantsvszombies.wikia.com]

I've rediscovered my love for the game Plants vs Zombies lately. My youngest is ill and there is only so much daytime TV you can handle without going inside.

This design is from the Fun 1 stamping plate that is available from Fab Ur Nails. There are so many fun designs on this plate. It's well worth the money! The black is just NYC Color in Night.

I kinda ruined it by not waiting for the stamping to dry before I put on a top coat but I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out!

Now ... back to those zombies!!

... 7 days 7 ways - Day 2 Gradient

Incase you missed yesterdays post I'm going for 7 days wearing Rimmel 60 second - 460 Limealicious.

I'm just going for a quick gradient look today. I'm going to use another Rimmel from the I love Lasting Finish range called 238 Forest. Sadly Forest is discontinued *sobs* but you can still find it from time to time in clearance bins if you have a good eye. Anyway it's a beautiful "Forest" Green with a secret green shimmer that appears when you look closely. Love!!

This is also a quick and easy way to fix a manicure if you have tip wear appearing! Also there is no right or wrong way in regards to gradients. Some people like clean lines, others like random areas - it's totally up to you.

This look is really easy to create and there are a lot of tutorials out there on how to do it so I won't go into it. Personally I just use makeup sponges [you can buy a cheap bag of them for like $2] and just tear them into smaller pieces. Practice makes all the difference with gradients and my top tip is patience. Wait for each layer to dry [or stick a quick dry top coat on] before sponging some more colour on. To smooth it all out after use a top coat.

See you tomorrow for Day 3!

... 7 days 7 ways - Revisited ...

7 days 7 ways

Rimmel 60 Seconds - 460 Limealicious

Purchased from Priceline - $6.36 AUD

I tried this series a few months back and had a lot of comments so it's back!! 7 days 7 ways! The idea is really simple. I'm wearing 1 polish every day this week but showing 7 different ways to show it off.

I've chosen Rimmel 460 Limealicious from the 60 seconds range. I picked this as it's seriously a unique colour and as with all the 60 second range it's super fast drying. I also picked this as Rimmel is an easy to get hold of brand in Australia



So Day 1 is just showcasing this beautiful polish by itself. I've used 3 coats in these swatches so you can see how pretty it is by itself. But be warned you will need rather thick runny coats or you will get streaks especially with the big brush that this series comes with.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more ways to wear!

... Coral Colors Magnetic Nail - Blue Appeal ...

Coral Colors Magnetic Nail - Blue Appeal

Purchased from Chemplus - $7.95 AUD 

Like Alluring Violet the previous Coral Color I looked at ... Blue Appeal is an extremely pretty polish by itself without having to rely on the magnetism to make it stand out. It's a shame there isn't a non-magnet version.

I've used a single thick coat for these swatches like the instructions say and I found it was surprisingly quick drying considering. Also I've used the stripe magnets that came on the top of the bottle and actually after previously using it for Alluring Violet I found this really easy to use! Awesome! [Hint! Just roll it from side to side slowly and without hitting your nail!]

Oooh pretty glitter stripes. Also this was a beautiful winter polish to wear on those rainy days. Not too overpowering but still stunning.

Pretty bottle shot ... sparkle sparkle!

Oh and I'll leave you with a matte shot to show how truely beautiful this is! 

** Final Verdict **

Such a beautiful colour. Fast drying and definitely easy to use with the magnet supplied. The only fault really with this polish is the fact that Coral Colors don't supply any other magnet designs with it! If you are into the magnetic look then you might want to look out for this one.

... Pretty Serious Cosmetics - BSOD ...

Pretty Serious Cosmetics - BSOD

Purchased from Pretty Serious Cosmetics - $9.95 AUD

Howdy everyone! I'm trying to make a dent into my disgustingly huge "unswatched" pile - or drawer! It's pretty bad which is why I'm doing "No Buy July" - or attempting too! It's hard! It's taken me awhile to get to this beauty and I can't believe I've waited so long!!

This is BSOD from Pretty Serious Cosmetics and I don't want to use the word "Indie" on this range if I can help it. The creator may be a blogger but there is definitely a lot of sweat and tears put into this range that's put it in my opinion higher up on the list. No stuck on labels or bleeding glitter issues ... just a fantastic product that you'd expect to pick up at the shops on the shelves next to all the others.

Firstly ... how pretty is the packaging?? I honestly love the effort with this - it's the little things that make you smile and remember brands.

Now I haven't been reacquainted with the BSOD [blue screen of death] since my Windows desktop died. We used to have daily meetings towards the end of it's life because it loved me so much and wanted to make sure I knew it was there!! Unlike my desktop version - BSOD doesn't make you want to give it a swift kick or throw it out a window!

It's a beautiful glitter packed blue jelly of win! I've used 3 coats in these swatches. It's bright, fun and super pretty. It actually dried rather quickly for a jelly providing you don't try and make it opaque with 1 coat.

See all the droolworthy sparkly bits packed in under that shine! So pretty! The sparkle seems to move along in the light aswell.

 Actually moving it around reminded me of something but I couldn't put my finger on what but this is pretty close ... the blue matrix! Pretty!

And as a matte those happy blue glitters stand out even more!! Hot!! Usually I'm not a fan of putting matte on something that sparkles/shimmers/looks great but this really worked for me! Would highly recommend it!

*Final Verdict*

A fantastic and beautiful polish that's "local"!! I have absolutely no faults or unkind words to say about this at all. Now go and support an Aussie! Go go go go go!

... Winners Post! ...

Congratulations to the winners of 

 The Super Aussie Giveaway!!! 

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Entry #3144 - Melissa J 

Entry #2986 - Florinda F 

Entry #1944 - Angelique C 

Entry #744 - Missy R 

CONGRATULATIONS!!

PS - One of our winners has yet to make contact with us!! If you see your name above then you may want to check your inbox!

... Cate Ruby - Emerald City ...

Cate Ruby - Emerald City

Purchased from Cate Ruby - $14.95 RRP

As requested for Karen after we were talking about it the other day. This beauty is from the latest Cate Ruby "Ice Box" collection which was released for Winter [yes it's winter down here in the Southern Hemisphere]

This is a fantastic forest green metallic and it's fast drying and super pretty. I've used 3 coats for these swatches.

I must admit I love a metallic!! Not as much as flakies or holos but it's up there!!

As with all the bottles from Cate Ruby you get a free ring! I generally leave mine on the bottles but they are super fun if you need something blingy to wear! It's definitely something that I haven't seen on any other brand.

The wear on this polish is FANTASTIC!! I ended up stamping [and forgot to photo it directly] but this is taken 6 days after I applied. There is slight tip wear and some slight wear on the middle finger stamping but that's it. So impressed!!

For the record I stamped using Cate Ruby in Mulberry using the Konad m63 plate.

** Final Verdict **

If you like green or if you like metallics or if you just like long lasting polishes then this is definitely a polish that you should check out! You'll thank me!!

There are Cate Rubys as the main prize in the giveaway currently running for this month. If you haven't entered then get there now! CLICK CLICK CLICK

... Coral Colors Magnetic Nail - Alluring Violet ...

Coral Colors Magnetic Nail - Alluring Violet

Purchased from Chemplus - $7.95 AUD

 Magnetic polishees have finally decided to make an appearance down here in the last few weeks - hurrah! Some of the new kids on the block are looking fantastic although I need to sit down and compare the actual colours as some look similar.

This is Alluring Violet which is a beautiful purple with sparkles. Honestly this would make a beautiful colour without the magnetic fun.

Each the Coral Colors comes with a magnet that's wrapped around the handle [which you can see on the picture] And the instructions are written on the inside ...

1. Remove the Magnet Paper Ring
2. Shake the bottle
3. Apply a thick coat
4. While wet place the magnet directly above for 10 seconds with the guide resting on your nail
5. Add a top coat

There is a finger guide on the cardboard but even before applying the polish you can see that it's really easy for the magnet to hit the polish. I found it a lot easier if I held my finger up so I could make sure it didn't hit ... but it definitely is the best magnet to work with this polish. I tried my essence, ulta3, china glaze and homemade magnets but nothing seemed to work except the Coral Colors for me.  I'm not sure if there are other designs in this range but the ones supplied are diagonal stripes.

All up it definitely is a 1 coater and it dries quite quickly which surprised me. It has a slight gritty feel to it that can be rectified with a top coat. Oh and it also it was a breeze to remove which was a pleasant surprise.

And my first ever macro shot - please be nice!  Just showing how pretty it is without the magnet.

 ** Final Verdict **

Not my favourite magnetic polish in the world but it's so pretty that I might be able to forgive it for that.  I'm not sure if it was just me having the issues with using other branded magnets or if this one is just picky for love from the magnet that arrived with with it I've got another in the series that I'll test another day so I guess we will see then.