Tuesday 30 September 2014

Dauphine by Pipe Dream Polish swatches

Today I have Dauphine from Pipe Dream Polish.  This polish was part of the Sweet Addictions September box that is available through Cupcake Polish.

Dauphine is a pink leaning nude crelly with blue and white glitter. It applies nicely, but is a bit chunky. Make sure to give it a good layer of top coat to smooth. I also had a few bubbles on one nail. Not sure why, but it is there. Again, just one nail, so I don't think this is going to be an issue.

Pipe Dream Polish Dauphine

Dauphine by Pipe Dream Polish swatches

Dauphine by Pipe Dream Polish swatches

To find this polish, please visit Cupcake Polish on Big Cartel. Pipe Dream Polish store can be found here. Thank you for the visit today! I hope to see you back soon.

*polish purchased by me and all opinions are my own*

Monday 29 September 2014

Teal Gradient with Julep Lissa and Donna

The Crumpet's Nail Tarts 52 Week Pick n Mix Challenge has begun!


The challenge for this week is two colour gradient plus teal. You can use one of the prompts or both. So I went for straight up teal. These are two untrieds from my collection, so it was a nice was to incorporate that in as well. I also tried a new technique. Obviously, that didn't turn out so well. I still liked the colours though!

nail art gradient

teal gradient

Thanks for the visit and make sure to check out everyone else that is participating!!  



Thursday 25 September 2014

Autumn Leaves Stamping MoYou London Mother Nature 07

I've finally done a fall manicure. The weather has changed, so I thought it was time.

My base is Girly Bits King of the Lab. I then dry brushed on a bit of Cirque Lichen and stamped with Rica Mother Earth using MoYou plate Mother Nature 07.

Girly Bits King of the Lab

MoYou London Mother Nature 07

MoYou London Mother Nature 07

Girly Bits King of the Lab

MoYou London Mother Nature 07

Some of the stamping got lost over the darker green areas. Live and learn, I guess. I was still pretty happy with how it turned out.

Here are links to stores:  Girly Bits | Rica | Cirque | MoYou

*products purchased by me*

Wednesday 24 September 2014

WingDust Collections Imagine Me n' You

Welcome everyone.

Today I have Imagine Me n' You from WingDust Collections for you to ogle. This is a pretty periwinkle creme base with shimmer. Loaded with bright glitter in magenta, green, aqua, purple and others. I used two coats and didn't have to fish for any glitter. Smooth with a coat of KBShimmer clearly on top. This was a fun polish to wear!

WingDust Collections Imagine Me n' You


WingDust Collections Imagine Me n' You

WingDust Collections Imagine Me n' You

WingDust Collections polishes are available HERE. Imagine Me n' You is currently in stock too! Thank you for the visit. Hope to see you back.

*polish purchased by me and all opinions are my own*

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Naild'it Unique Polish Virgin Margarita - Mei Mei's Exclusive

Good day all! I'm happy to report that our teachers strike is over and my kids are finally back to school today. Hopefully I'll be able to pay more attention to my blog now!

Today I have Naild'it Unique Nail Polish Virgin Margarita for you. This polish is exclusive to Mei Mei's Signatures. I couldn't tell how opaque this polish would be, so I swatched it on its own and layered. My index finger is three coats of Virgin Margarita with no undies. The others are two coats of Virgin Margarita over white. So, you can get this opaque on its own. I actually preferred it without the undies. I had no issues with application and one coat of top coat smoothed everything out. There is a wide variety of glitter in this polish but they all work very well together.

Naild'it Unique Polish Virgin Margarita - Mei Mei's Exclusive
macro with undies
Naild'it Unique Polish Virgin Margarita - Mei Mei's Exclusive
macro no undies
Naild'it Unique Polish Virgin Margarita - Mei Mei's Exclusive

Naild'it Unique Polish Virgin Margarita - Mei Mei's Exclusive
shade
Naild'it Unique Polish Virgin Margarita - Mei Mei's Exclusive

Naild'it Unique Polish Virgin Margarita - Mei Mei's Exclusive

Overall I was really happy with this polish. It is definitely unique! I can't think of a dupe off the top of my head and I have nothing like it in my collection. As mentioned, this polish is only available at Mei Mei's Signatures. It is currently still in stock!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoyed today's polish!

*polish purchased by me and all opinions are my own*

Wednesday 17 September 2014

Ciate Beach House Set Summer 2014 Swatch and Review

Today I'll be showing you the Ciate Beach House set. The set includes five polishes. Four cremes and one glitter. This set was purchased from Sephora.



Beach Bum is a sandy beige creme. Good formula with some minor issues with self leveling. They were fixed with top coat. I used two coats. The shade is nothing unique, but it did go well with my skin tone.

ciate beach house beach bum

ciate beach house beach bum


Palm Tree is a very bright lime/grass green creme. The formula was on the thin side, but it was still easy to apply and well pigmented. Self leveled and two coats for full coverage. Pics with top coat.

ciate beach house palm tree

ciate beach house palm tree

Raspberry Collins is a hot pink creme. No issues with formula or application. Two coats plus top coat.

ciate beach house raspberry collins

ciate beach house raspberry collins

Off Shore is a royal blue creme. This was very close to a one coater. Had I applied more carefully, it would have been. Self leveled completely on its own. Dried the shiniest of the bunch. Photos shown are without top coat to show the shine.

ciate beach house off shore

ciate beach house off shore

Surf's Up is the glitter in the group. Consists of iridescent shards in a light base. I layered this over Off Shore, so I'm not sure what the base would look like over a lighter shade.  Also the suspension base is a bit strange in this one. I would describe it as gel like. It was still easy to apply, just odd. The glitter payout isn't that great with this. I used two coats plus top coat.

ciate beach house surf's up

ciate beach house surf's up

Overall, I think the set is pretty nice even though it isn't original. I'm sure all these colours have dupes available. I also want to note that the bottles are minis and they don't contain mixing balls. I had to shake the crap out of them and let them sit for awhile. Please note that I didn't wear any of these to test for staining and wear time.
Thank you for sticking all the way through this! Hope you enjoyed.

*set purchased by me and all opinions are my own*





Monday 15 September 2014

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Arcane Sugar

Hello everybody! Hope you're doing well.
Today I have Arcane Sugar from Scofflaw for you. This was part of the newest release.

Arcane Sugar has a pale minty green base with cream and copper glitter. There are also some light coloured flakes in the base. They are subtle but very pretty in person. I really enjoyed this colour combination. It's all very me. I used two thicker coats followed by a coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top. This smoothed it all out. The glitter applied evenly and I didn't have any issues with application.

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Arcane Sugar

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Arcane Sugar

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Arcane Sugar

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Arcane Sugar


Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you back soon.
*polish purchased by me and all opinions are my own*



Sunday 14 September 2014

Stamping Over A Purple Base

The Sunday challenge this week was stamping over a purple base.

My base is Julep Morgan, which is a lovely pearly purple. I decided to stamp with Konad red and used Messy Mansion plate 07.  Nothing terribly exciting, but I like it.

julep morgan messy mansion 07 konad red

julep morgan messy mansion 07 konad red

julep morgan messy mansion 07 konad red

For those interested, here are a couple pics of Morgan without the stamping. Two coats plus top coat.

Julep Morgan

Julep Morgan

Thanks for the visit. I hope you enjoyed today's stamping.

Friday 12 September 2014

Renaissance Custom Lacquer in L'Ete

Is there a better way to end summer then with a polish named summer? Okay, maybe, but this is close!

L'Ete is a berry pink creme with holographic shimmer and glitter in silver, blue, and purple. The glitter isn't dense, so application is very easy. I used two medium coats and topped it off with KBShimmer Clearly On Top. Perfectly smooth and shiny.

Renaissance Custom Lacquer in L'Ete

Renaissance Custom Lacquer in L'Ete

Renaissance Custom Lacquer in L'Ete

Renaissance Custom Lacquer in L'Ete

SHOP | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

*polish purchased by me and all opinions are my own*

Thursday 11 September 2014

Stamping with MoYou Tropical plates and Rica Polishes

Summer is winding down but I am determined to drag it out on my nails. The brighter the better! Today I went with some bright stamping.

My base is A England Iseult. It is a fabulous pale pink with a subtle shimmer. Index and pinky fingers are stamped with MoYou Tropical plate 12 using Rica stamping polish in Summer Mint. The flamingo's are Tropical plate 06 using Rica polish in Pinky Promise. No issues to report with the plates or polishes.

Stamping with MoYou Tropical plates and Rica Polishes

Stamping with MoYou Tropical plates and Rica Polishes

Stamping with MoYou Tropical plates and Rica Polishes

Stamping with MoYou Tropical plates and Rica Polishes

I really liked the way these turned out. They got a lot of notice, that's for sure! My summer will be going out in a bang. At least on my nails ;) I do need to mention that Pinky Promise is being discontinued due to issues with availabiliy of a pigment. Some international stockists still have it in stock. Act quickly!

RICA | MOYOU

Thank you for visiting. Hope to see you back soon.
*all products purchased by me*

Wednesday 10 September 2014

Duri Brush 'n Go Top Coat Review

Today I have an inadvertent top coat review for you. This started out as just doing my nails, that were then ruined by a new top coat I tried. Blah. Angry nail lady alert!

I recently bought a bottle of Duri Brush 'n Go from my local Winners. I love Duri Rejuvacote, so I thought I would give the top coat a try.

The description on the box, verbatim.
Dry and shine wet look top coat is recognized for extremely short drying time, brilliant gloss and best nail polish sealer. Brush 'n go dries nail polish layers through including base coat, creating a uniform solid coat. This top coat never yellows due to unique formula combination. Brush 'n go could be applied on wet nail polish without dragging or streaking. Use Brush 'n go and "always sexy wet look nails" will last and last.

Duri Brush 'n Go Top Coat Review

Duri Brush 'n Go Top Coat Review

My mani started off good! These are four polishes from the China Glaze The Giver collection. The zig zag nails are a base of New Birth topped with Community. Ring finger is Capacity to See Beyond. Pinky is the same topped with The Outer Edge.
I did my tape removal and clean up before applying the top coat. It was at least ten minutes. (This was a full two hand manicure.) I do load my brush with top coat. As you can see, it was ruined. Sad panda. I really liked the look of these nails. So much for their claim of no dragging or streaking. It failed miserably in that department. It also left brush strokes. I'm not sure if I have ever had that happen with a top coat. Plus dry time was more in line with a regular top coat opposed to a quick dry.



So, overall opinion... This stuff sucks! Don't bother. Avoid. Save your money. I think you get my point. Has anyone else tried this top coat? What were your thoughts?

*purchased by me and all opinions are my own*