Epic Polish Wins of 2011 - DUO-SHIMMERS?

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I know that it's been the year of Ozotic Pro multichromes etc, but I am yet to get my hands on any - though I have ordered some Hits Mari Moon multichromes (my grubby little hands can't wait!). What I did manage to get this year, was my fill of awesome colour shifting/duochrome shimmers.

Pros & Bronze - sunlight

Pros & Bronze - indirect sunlight

OPI Pros & Bronze is basically a dense combination of pinky copper & orangey gold flaked glitter. After three coats it builds to full coverage and you end up with a gorgeous colour shift between the two glitters. It looks like an intense shimmer in real life. My pictures don't do it justice at all. P & B was released as a Serena Williams polish for the US Open

Warm & Fozzie - sunlight

Warm & Fozzie - shade

OPI did an amazing job with Warm & Fozzie from the Muppet's Holiday Collection. It has the same formula as P&B but in different colours & it is opaque in just 2 coats. This one is a brown, green, red/gold/orange mixture, so it can look very different in varying light. I LOVE!

Rica - sunlight

Rica - shade

Zoya Rica came to us by way of the Sunshine Collection, and though Faye was the one with the most buzz and dupes; I think Rica was the real star! A shimmery peachy/pink base with gold micro glitter flakes = pink to orange to gold all day long. Whenever I wear Rica I can't take my eyes off of her, sigh. She is a little sheer & needs 3 coats for full coverage.

Nouveau Vintage - lamp

Nouveau Vintage - lamp

Nouveau Vintage - indoors, low light

Color Club Nouveau Vintage of the Boho Chic Collection was a runaway hit. It falls somewhere between a duochrome shimmer and a foil. In the bottle there is a very strong green shimmer that on the nail is much more subtle but there is also brown, bronze, red & gold articles in here. This just looks so sophisticated and goes perfectly with my skin tone. WIN!

So these were my hands down favourites, what are yours?

xxx
NPA

Epic Polish Wins of 2011 - FLAKIES

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The flakie trend kind of took off this year - yay for mainstream! Way easier to get my hands on. As you can imagine, this list of epics wins is really long! And some of the photos kind of suck.

Buddha-ful - lamp

Buddha-ful - lamp

Barielle Budha-ful is a predominantly green, yellow & blue/purple flakie set in a sheer, milky, pink base. It looks great layered over the cremes from the Karma Collection.

Lambada: 1 coat over black  - lamp

Lambada: 2 coats over black  - lamp

Hits Lambada from the Mundo de Dancas collection is an explosion of multicoloured flakies in a clear base. Must Have.

Twist - lamp

Twist - lamp

Hits Twist, actually their whole Mundo de Dancas collection is an epic win, but this one is seriously awesome. Dark blue jelly with sea green + cyan flakes. I can't stand it.

Fowl Play - sunlight

Fowl Play - indoors

Orly Fowl Play, yes the OPI Merry Midnight dupe - but accessible as hell!!!! I think the release of this polish had to have netted Orly millions of converts. Why is it that OPI won't rerelease it's most popular limited edition polishes? They're just mean is what it is!!!

Clairvoyant: 1 coat over OPI Blue My Mind - artificial light

Cult Nails Clairvoyant (aka Unicorn Puke) is a mess of purple, pink, green, blue & yellow sparkling flakies in a purple tinted jelly base. Polish-gasmic!


Which flakies are crazy for?

xxx
NPA

Epic Polish Wins of 2011 - UGLY CHIC

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How popular were the military greens & all round fugly colours this year?!
I bought a handful of these shades, but managed to narrow down my favourites to just two. Again, the pictures are far  from good!!

Trendsetter - natural light

Trendsetter - sunlight

China Glaze Trendsetter, oh yeah. It had the dirty greenish mustard thing going on as well as the fine flaked glitter/shimmer and lots of bloggers thought it was reminiscent of baby poo. But darn it if it didn't make me feel ultra stylish and fashion forward! Application was alright - I think two coats was alright but I added a third due to my poor application.

Uh Oh, Roll Down The Window - natural light

Uh Oh, Roll Down The Window - shade

OPI Uh Oh, Roll Down The Window. Finally a funny non-pun named polish from OPI; (enough cause for celebration) and an awesome military-esque khaki green creme?! I'll take that any day. I had to use three thin coats for full coverage but application was a breeze & the yellow undertones suited my skin nicely :)

Which non-traditional polish shades did you squeal over this year? Or do you avoid them at all costs?

xxx
NPA

Epic Polish Wins of 2011 - FOILS

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2011 nail polish was all about trend upon trend upon trend. There were some I wasn't so keen on - like the shatter/crackle polish. They seemed like a good idea at the time... but I wish I could get my money back now! Luckily for me, there were plenty of other trends I could get on board with and stay on board!!!!!

Over the next fews days I will share with you my list of the greatest polishes of 2011 (that I own) and the ones I wish I had forked out for. I apologise for the poor quality of most of the photos. I didn't have the time to re-swatch them, but they give the general idea of colour and finish.

To kick it off, here are my top picks from the FOILED (metallic) trend:

Swimsuit... Nailed It! - indoors with flash

Swimsuit... Nailed It! from the OPI Miss Universe Collection kicked off the electric blue foil craze. Two coats of  well pigmented lacquer that pops. Especially easy to apply too, due to the Pro-wide brush. Just watch out for the staining!!!!

Liquid Mol-ten - indoor, artificial lighting

 

Liquid Mol-ten - artificial lighting

Liquid Mol-ten took everyone by surprise. An almost minty/tinsel green foil?! Color Club did a fantastic job with the buttery formula, too. This is a one coat wonder.

Designer... de Better - lamp

Designer... de Better - lamp

Designer... De Better from the Muppets Holiday Collection, is another OPI foil that makes my hit list.  Pale gold/silver (looks like light pewter, truth be told) & copper micro glitter/shimmer combine to make a unique beauty. Again OPI knocked it out of the polish park with this formula. A perfect two coater, holiday collection foil.

What are your favourite foils of 2011? Do any of you hate the foil trend? If so why?

Stay tuned for more hits of 2011.

xxx
NPA

Happy Boxing Day

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Hey guys,

Did you get in on the boxing day sales or, like me, did you hide out at home watching the boxing day test & playing with your xmas gifts? I also made my way through a LOT of xmas leftovers, mmmmmm....

Yeah, this is me without makeup, a shower or having used a hair brush, but aren't the dogs gorgeous?! Except for Charlie's red nose - it looks more like a gimp gag, ultra creepy!!!!

Poor Buster is having real trouble with tear staining at the moment & it ruins his pretty little face!
On xmas morning the Crufts Dog Show was on & a Maltese won the Best Toy Breed category, yay!!!!!

Here's a Butter London I got from my Dad for Christmas, (I actually picked out all my own presents from him - that way I can't be disappointed come Christmas morning :)

Henley Regatta - outdoors, overcast

Henley Regatta - outdoors, overcast

Henley Regatta is a mix of green and blue micro glitter in a clear base. This was 4 coats. Clean up was a bit of a nightmare (I find fine glitters much harder to clean up than chunky ones - I can never get rid of all the particles), but the end result is worth it. It dries remarkably no-gritty for a fine glitter. The pieces manage to lay flat so 1 layer of quick dry top coat is enough. I used Seche Vite for the photos.

I ordered some INM Out the Door quick dry  TC just before xmas cos I'm on to my last bottle of SV and wanted to see if I could get the same result minus the shrinkage from another brand. Once it arrives & I give it a go I'll give you a review.

Also, I'm currently compiling my list of favourite polishes from 2011. So look out for some best of posts, coming up.

xxx
NPA

Christmas Eve Nail Art

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Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's 12.41am so only a few more hours til I open my prezzies!
Before I fall asleep, here are the manicures I gave my Mum & Aunt yesterday:

Christmas Pud - artificial lighting

Christmas Pud - artificial lighting

Mum got some xmas puds inspired by Sam of the Nailasaurus' post *here*. Some nails turned out better than others but from a short distance they all looked really cute & perfect. Didn't do any clean up on her nails though, woops.

Santa's Suit - artificial lighting

Santa's Suit - artificial lighting

I gave my Aunty Santa Suit nails. I used a combo of dotting tools and brushes; the ones that I made a little messier were better truth be told!!! Again, these looked very good from a few feet away!

So xmas eve was very successful indeed!

Hope you like. Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!!
Hope Santa is kind to you.

xxxxxxx
Michaela

It's Christmas Eve And...

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Warrior Ethos - lamp

Hey guys,

It's christmas eve and we're about to have our xmas dinner (a first for my family - usually we do it all on xmas day- because everyone's got other places to be tomorrow :( ).

I've done a couple of holiday manis on my mum & aunt so will get those photographed & up tomorrow. For now here are some shots of another epic win from Nerd Lacquer. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Warrior Ethos - lamp

Warrior Ethos - outdoors, cloudy

Warrior Ethos is a pinky red tinged jelly with two sizes of  black glitter, some fine blue/violet glitter & orangey large hex glitter. This polish is currently top of my epic win list! Applied beautifully - this was 3 coats & 1 coat of SV.

Because it's only a mini I will probably end up layering it over a red like OPI Malaga Wine or Finger Paints Sculptured Scarlet - or it'll be gone in a flash.
I love that I can wear this at xmas and still feel festive :)

Merry Christmas,

xxx
Michaela

Liebster Blog Award

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Herrow ladies,

Just two more sleeps til the big fat fella comes down your chimney and gives you presents (and drinks your beer!).  And The lovely Kaki @ Obsessed With Glitter has passed this award on to me.

This is what Kaki has to say about the Liebster award:
"Liebster" is a German word, meaning dearest or beloved, but it can also mean favorite.  The idea behind the Liebster Blog Award is that it is given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers in order to create new connections and bring attention to these wonderful blogs!


I took the Deutsch at high school and while I was fairly crap at it ("one must learn their vocab & grammar", as my german teacher, the English Herr Atkinson would tell me. We called him Frau Atty, once I called out for Frau Atty in class too - he didn't seem to notice but the rest of the class cracked up :) ) - anyway the point of telling you that I took it is that we always used liebster for favourite ie. Lieblingsmannschaft  - favourite football (or Soccer) team. or Lieblingsfach - favourite subject at school. So it is nice to get an award for I suppose favourite blog!!!! Thank you very much Kaki - I love your blog too & I am envious of your nail art skills. I might have to put some more effort in to making mine happen.

Here are 5 blogs I nominate for this award:

• All Things Meve Love
• Dandy Nails
• Embellished Nails
• Glamo Nails
• Polished Criminails

Oh & these are the award rules!

The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.

2. Reveal the five blogs you have chosen and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Copy and paste the award onto your blog.

4. Request that people you have sent the award to forward it on to their favorite bloggers.

So thank you once again Kaki

xxx
Michaela

Purple Power

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Howdy lady folk,

Today we're going to take a look at some purple polish spam - one of my favourite polish shades. I just can't seem to get enough.

MAC Reign of Flowers - lamp

MAC Reign of Flowers - lamp

MAC Reign of Flowers - natural light

MAC Reign of Flowers is my one and only MAC lacquer. Very pretty colour but so dark. Love the glitter particles cos they shine blue or fuchsia depending on the light, The base is a really dark royal purple - I love red based purples!!! A little cuticle drag and this is 3 coats.

Revlon Royal Cloak - natural light

Revlon Royal Cloak - lamp

Revlon Royal Cloak has those gorgeous white glitter flakey flecks that I adore. The purple leans blue (you can see the pink tone by my cuticles). This was just 2 coats. Very cool and pretty.

Revlon Grape Fizz - lamp

Revlon Grape Fizz - lamp

 
Revlon Grape Fizz i a really sheer pinkish purple with lots of fine flaky glitter that shines pink, purple & blue. I used 4 coats to get it almost opaque. This smells strongly of grape candy. Kinda of wish it wasn't scented but that won't stop me wearing it. I want to try layering Grape Fizz over some purple and blues.

Nubar Purple Rain - indirect sunlight

Nubar Purple Rain - direct sunlight

Nubar Purple Rain is an ultra dark blue toned purple with purple and holographic micro glitter. Dries ultra gritty so a couple of layers of top coat is a must. This was 2 or 3 coats. Kind of on the fence - I wanted it to be more obviously purple. Hmmm.


What nail polish colour can you never say NO! to?
xxx
NPA

When Weather is Uninspiring

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Hey guys,

Blah! It's supposed to be Summer, but it's all storm cloudy and rainy!!!!! This is not what I call Christmas!!! I want the beach & bbq weather darn it :(

ok enough with the grump rant... When the weather is uninspiring, I like to put on some super cool polish. And lucky for me, my Girly Bits polish order showed up last week! This is Pam's Sea's The Day Collection (pic heavy so the rest of the post is after the jump).

L-R: Denim Diva, Stormy Skies, razzle Dazzle, Purple Potion, Sailor's Delight, Street Magic

Don't Blink - you won't want to miss this

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Merry Christmas!

Just 5 more sleeps til Santa comes down that chimney and gives you presents!!!!

Nerd Lacquer is another franken label selling off Etsy that I've gone crazy over lately. Amanda's polishes are so professional looking too. The packaging is awesome. Check it out *here*

I recently got two mini quads (so 8 5mL polishes) from Nerd Lacquer so there will be lots of swatches coming up for you to drool over. Today I have Don't Blink to show you.

Don't Blink - lamp

Don't Blink - lamp

Sorry about the lack of clean-up. Was feeling a bit grumpy when I was swatching! My cuticles look absolutely disgusting! Mainly because when I get Seche Vite on them it dries the crap out of them!!! Good news is I finally got my hands on some acetone so it's more likely I be cleaning up the cutes in the future :)

So Don't Blink is a pale grey creme base with dark grey/black and white & possibly silver micro glitter + medium & large white hex glitter. I love it! This is as close as I've got to Lynderella's Snow Angel so I'm happy as can be! It actually looks a lot like a bitterly overcast sky! Or dirty snow sludge. This was only 2 coats so really good coverage & I had no probs with application. The glitter doesn't sink & it's not hard to get the hexes on to the nail. Pretty much a 5 star polish. I just wish I'd gotten a full size bottle.

What do you think of Don't Blink? Do you have any Nerd Lacquers I need to check out?

xxx
NPA