... Polish Fixation - Bad Postie! ...

Bad Postie!

Gifted from the fantastic Erika!

Today I've got for you a gorgeous franken from Erika at Polish Fixation! [go check her out *hint hint*]

This beautie is called "Bad Postie!". Obviously I'm Australian and here we call the Postman [or Mailman/Letter Carrier/Dude that brings your mail etc] the "Postie".  Here ours generally dresses in fluro colours like someone at a rave or with bad colour blindness and rides around on little motorbikes trying to avoid getting run over by reversing cars out of driveways - if you are lucky enough yours walks around on foot.

I swear mine as he is nasty and brings me unwanted bills and not enough parcels of love!! He also doesn't deliver on the weekend and I think as a general rule there should be parcel services on the weekend to brighten your day [no bills though - that just would put you in a bad mood!]

** Postie photo stolen from Google images as I thought I'd look too much like a stalker if I chased mine down the street with a camera **

So Erika has managed to pick up a "Speak like an Aussie" star of approval from me for using the word "postie"!!  Now back to the polish! It's a beautiful blue with holo flecks throughout! Pretty! Application was super easy and if you don't like feeling the holo particles then stick some top coat on for instant smoothness.

As always my camera doesn't want to play nice but all the lovely dots of white are actually holo particles.

** Final Verdict **
Beautiful franken. Fantastic colour. Holo Bonus! Plus I've had this song stuck in my head all day ... "Stop! Oh yes - wait a minute Mr Postman ... Wait! Waaaaaaaaaaaait - Mr Postman"

... Revlon - 375 Passion Fruit ...

Revlon - 375 Passion Fruit

Gifted by Lyncia

I know the scented polishes have done the rounds already but I've only just gotten my hands on some and I'm quite excited.

Firstly - this polish is a BTP [b*tch to photograph] ... the top pic is closer to the truth than the pink that turns up in the later pic. Judging from what I pulled on Google Images it seems I'm not the only one with this problem. So I've made some dot points about this polish for you all ...

DO use at least 2 coats [1 just doesn't quick do the trick]
DON'T make the coats too thick even though it's tempting with the amount that comes off the brush
DO enjoy the lovely look and smooth streak free coating
DON'T attempt to eat chips while waiting for it to dry or it will no longer be smooth
DO enjoy the fruity smell while on your nails
DON'T try to take a whiff out of the polish bottle to see what it smells like
DO show all your friends
DON'T shove your fingers under peoples noses and say "smell my finger"

** Final Verdict **
A nice refreshing change from having stinky polish ... the scent seemed to hang around for awhile aswell which I wasn't expecting. I thought it might disappear after a few washes. I keep getting a pleasant scent everytime I put my hands up past my face. I also found them this week in my local Target for $13.95 - woohoo! No excuses not to try! Get on it!

... Happy Spring Gradient ...

I decided to try something different today and try out some gradient art - now I've sucked badly at gradients in the past but practice makes perfect so I'll keep plugging at it. After failing badly at using makeup sponges to do this I received last week a cheapo sponge from Hong Kong as a freebie with an eBay order I placed. Basically it's the same shape as a Konad stamper but just has a foam base so I thought I'd give it a shot.

So I've started with yesterdays mani of Finger Paints in Art Nouv-Yellow and sponged Ulta3 in Crazy over the top.

Oooh ... actually doesn't look too bad - so to finish it off I've sponged Ulta3 in Sizzling Red on the top for a 3 way contrast.

And then I decided to get out the OPI White Shatter to see what that looked like on top. In hindsight I probably should have stamped on top but hey - next time! It still looks happy even though I should have waited longer for the red to dry as I have pink in a few places instead of white.

** Final Verdict **

I was quite pleased with myself with how it went so I'll definitely try this technique out again in the future!

... Finger Paints - Art Nouv-Yellow ...

Finger Paints - Art Nouv-Yellow

Gifted from the lovely Tamala

I've already said I've got a thing for yellow this spring! So this one was jumping at me out of my untested overflowing helmer drawer.

This is a beautiful yellow - it reminds me of bananas! Nom nom nom. I've seriously missed eating bananas and can't wait until they are back in production and cheap to buy again! [For those non-Aussies banana prices jumped to a seriously expensive $15/kg due to a cyclone that hit North Queensland last summer - they are only starting to drop in price now]

This is 3 coats and while there is some visible nail line going on it's still really beautiful. No lumps or bumps with this polish but there is a slight dent on my nail which I apologise for - that's my actual nail doing that not the polish.

** Final Verdict **
Ah yellow ... such a happy colour. I would have loved it if this particular yellow was thicker but it's still a beautiful polish. Makes me smile!

... blogroll ...

Howdy everyone!

I'm hoping I'll be back up and blogging from tomorrow. I've really just been waiting for 2 cuts on my hands to heal up after an altercation involving me and flat pack furniture that wouldn't play nicely. Unfortunately both cuts were right near my nail and obviously nail polish remover really stings!

While I've been out of action I've updated my Blogroll. If you are a follower then please check that you are listed on my "Blogroll" Tab and over on the left hand side if you aren't viewing this via mobile blogger.

I have a lot of blogs on my dashboard these days and while I'm not complaining because I love finding new things to read - some days due to time I seriously only look at those on my blogroll. So if you want me to continue to swing by regularly then please make sure you are there!!!

I've tried to link as many of you as I can over and I'm super sorry if I've missed you - it's totally nothing personal just an oversight on my end. But please let me know so I can add you! Cheers!

... Zoya - Dove ...

Zoya - Dove

Gifted by the lovely Lyncia ♥

Wowsers - it's my first Zoya. Seriously I jumped around like a kid in a candy store when I opened my mail to find this!

This is dove and it's a beautiful grey creme with a tint of blue. I sat looking at it for ages trying to work out what it reminded me of until it hit me ... blu-tack! I'm sure I wasn't the only one in Primary School who put blu-tac on their finger nails and pretended it was polish ... c'mon ... own up!!

Unlike blu-tack this polish isn't sticky and looks amazing! It's such a pretty colour. Application was a breeze and this is 2 coats which covered my nail completely and dried quickly.

[please excuse the 2 fingers with cuts ... the new Ikea furniture won that particular round! Lots of swearing involved. Damn things!]

** Final Verdict **
Love the colour, love the application - all in all ... I need more Zoyas!

... A England - King Arthur ...

... A England - King Arthur ...

Won! [Hoorah] but available online at the A England website

Awhile ago the A England Facebook page had a "tag and win" competition on their beautiful range of polishes - and I was lucky enough to win one of them!! Woohoo!!!!!

So I was so excited when it arrived! We all know Australia Post isn't fast at the best of times but I'm glad it finally got here in top condition [as any King should!]. I also got a little card from Adina! YAY!

I've seen swatches of A England around but nothing could prepare me for how wonderful these actually are. King Arthur is a beautiful dark grey - reminds me of that dark murky colour of armour and swords. My camera didn't capture how wonderful this polish actually is - it seems to slightly change colour in different light to more of a blue grey. Brilliant! There is a slight shimmer that is visible that varies from pink to green to silver to blue. Wow!

This polish just glides on and it's beautiful. This is only 2 coats of pure awesome. King Awesome! Super fast drying with no unslightly bumps or anything. Gorgeous!

[ooh - the shadowing makes my thumb look evil!!]

** Final Verdict **
It's been awhile since a polish blew me over like this. It's fantastic in colour and even better in application! So over the weekend I've ordered a few more of this collection in hope that they are just as wonderful! Also ... they have free shipping worldwide!!!! FANTASTIC!!! You know you want it! DO IT!!!!!

... 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

... It's all in a name & NOTD ...

I seem to have offended someone lately with this so I'll come clean. Personally I don't see the big deal - as a name is a name but I don't want anyone feeling unloved that they didn't know and I don't want anymore hurt feelings.

For those of you who don't know technically my name isn't "Claire" - It's not the name written on my birth certificate and really it's more of an alias. A portion of people in my real life that I have met in the past few years call me Claire which is a really long story that I don't have time to type up but it started with someone believing my name was Claire and calling me that constantly. Dunno where it came from but it became more of a humourous point of my life than an annoying point - my husband and I get a huge laugh from it and I seriously don't mind being called Claire - she seems to have a lot of fun!

I'm a big believer that if you tell someone that "they don't look like a *name goes here*" then the reason is simple ... you know someone with the same name and that the 2 people don't look alike. I struggled in high school reading a book about a character named "Homer" as all I could think of was Homer Simpson [doh!] ... so I must look like a Claire!

When I started getting back into polish I had a dream about a blog and I was going to call it "Shatter me Claire" - I don't often remember dreams so it was a weird occasion for me but I took my own advice and here we are today.

So ... there you go. Feel free to call me Claire still ... or you can go to Sarah Claire which is what I'm on Facebook as these days. Honestly I'm not fussed but I don't want anyone else to feel upset over it.

And with that out of the way .... here are my nails of the day.

This is Finger Paints Add & Abstract with China Glaze Fairy Dust over the top ... pretty. The sun is out today so holo away my beauty! I've already done a swatch of Add & Abstract in the past but I'll do a full one on Fairy Dust soon!

Have a good one *heads out into the sunshine*

... NYC Color - Frappé ...

NYC Color - Frappé

Purchased from Woolworths Supermarkets - $2.00 AUD

Remember a week or so ago when I posted a big bin of NYC polishes at my local Woolies - well that's now gone. I can't believe how quickly that massive bin emptied. I'm now seriously hoping they restock as I only walked away with 6 or so polishes.

Anyway I'll come out and say it ... Frappé really should have been named "Crappé" - ugh. This polish was awful for me - streaky and took forever to try and then still smudged. It was also quite sheer and it's really disappointing considering how beautiful this is in the bottle.

Firstly obviously what I think as the colour "frappé" isn't the colour at all as this is the second polish with this name in my collection and both are similar colours being more of a pinky purple and not browns at all.

On the outside it looks like a beautiful dusty pink that nearly looks like a metallic in the bottle - in reality it's an extremely sheer light pink.

This is 3 coats of frappé and it's not entirely opaque plus you can see a lot of streaks. There is no bubbles but the drying time leaves something to be desired. Even with a top coat this only lasted a day before I started to get chips and tip wear - seriously disappointing.

** Final Verdict **
Rather disappointing and I won't be wearing this again ... well not like this. I'm hoping to be able to franken it into something wearable though.