OPI Nicki Minaj Collection FLY

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Hey guys,

It's a sunny Saturday evening in Chch so it felt the the perfect time to post Fly

Fly - 2 coats - white light

Fly - 2 coats - white light

 Fly was released as part of  the Nicki Minaj collection in January of this year. It's a bright blue-green with yellow undertones. It was rather difficult to photograph true to colour. The formula was really nice, a slightly squishy creme that gave perfect coverage at 2 coats.

I really like Fly, but it's not particularly flattering on me. I'm still going to wear it, but I'll probably reserve it for Summer only!

Hope you're enjoying your weekends

xxx
NPA

Claire's CANDY SHOP

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Good Morning Ladies,

When it's 4:30am and one can't get back to sleep, what is one to do?

Why BLOG of course!
Can you tell I'm single or what?!

Candy Shop is a much cheaper dupe of Deborah Lippmann's Candy Shop. Somehow Claire's managed to get away with giving there version the exact same name too. How did they get away with that?!
Nevermind, I'm just glad I picked it up on ebay (even if I paid like 5x the retail price!!!!, oh to love in the States).

Candy Shop - 2 coats - white light

Candy Shop - 2 coats - white light

Candy Shop - 2 coats - white light

Candy Shop - 2 coats - close up

So Candy Shop has a slightly dirty semi-sheer pink base and is filled with multi-cololured small and medium hex glitter. I was really impressed that it only took 2 coats for full coverage and it applied fairly well too. I didn't have any issues with placing the larger hexes they just painted on easy peasy!

As cool as Candy Shop is, it doesn't really suit me, the pink is just a bit too dirty for my liking. The base would pop a lot more next to the glitter if it was a bit brighter too.

I don't have the DL Candy Shop so I'm not sure how close they are but I think it's safe to say you don't need both :) Coincidentally Lani posted about the DL Candy Shop today too. You can check out her beautiful swatches and layering experiments HERE.

Now I shall try to go back to sleep!

xxx
NPA

Nubar Elegant Indigo

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Hello

Only 4 more sleeps til I'm back home with my dogs!!! Cannot wait. Spent about an hour last night looking at pictures of Buster and Charlie. Boy, do I know how to procrastinate?!

Today we have Nubar in Elegant Indigo. EI is part of the Polished Chic Fall Collection 2011. I yearned for it for months and was finally able to purchase it a month or so ago.

Elegant Indigo - 2 coats - white light

Elegant Indigo - 2 coats - white light

Elegant Indigo - 2 coats - white light

Elegant Indigo - 2 coats - macro

Is EI beautiful or what?! With it's deep blackened blue/purple/charcoal grey base and blue to purple colour shifting shimmer flecks it's one of my favourite darks!!!
It didn't receive the best reviews from fellow bloggers, namely because they thought the duochrome was very obvious in the bottle but not on the nail. I on the other hand, think that the colour shift is great on the nail. Perhaps not as strong as n the bottle but I can see it just fine.
Application was ok, I needed the full two coats and the formula wasn't quite as watery as usual for Nubar.

Do you like it too?

xxx
NPA

Pink Wednesday - OPI Pink Me I'm Good

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It has been a very long time since I've done a pink wednesday post!!!

I searched high and low for the Ulta exlusive OPI Pink Me I'm Good. I believe it was from a holiday collection, though it's not very christmasy looking, so perhaps not?
Either way this is one awesome pink glitter!

Pink Me I'm Good - white light

Pink Me I'm Good - sunlight

Pink Me I'm Good - close up

Pink Me I'm Good is a sheer yellow toned pink (not really a jelly) filled with opalescent glitter that shines mainly orange.  On it's own, you need at least 4 coats for full coverage and by that time it's really thick. In the photos I've layered it over China Glaze Sugar High which is a slightly bluer toned pink creme. I only put 1 coat of PMIG on top for it to look so amazing! It's a bit gritty so you'll need a good top coat like Seche Vite or Nubar Diamont, then you're good to go.

I picked this up on Trade Me for NZ $14.50 which was quite a score. On Ebay I've seen it listed at US$20-25, which is a bit excessive!

Happy Pink Wednesday my lovelies.
Are you rocking a pink of your own?

xxx
NPA

China Glaze Capitol Colors Fast Track

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Hello all,

Bit of a blow to the old ego today... I had my first GFC follower Unfollow me!!! Bit of a rejection! I can't even get closure waah wah wah!
Haha, oh well I'll live. If I'm doing something wrong do tell guys.

Now segwaying to another topic; I follow a blog called Never Enough Nails and lately I've been empathising in a major way!!!!
I went hauling Feb-Mar and for the first time in history I haven't swatched every polish as I receive it. (Just to be clear, I don't necessarily photograph each polish as I swatch it, but I like to paint 1 hand with each colour so that I can get the full effect of the polish and decide if it's a keeper or not.) There is just not enough time in the day/night and not enough nails to try out all my new polishes on! Sometimes I think it'd come in handy having a couple of daughters around for the extra fingers and toes!!!!
My nails have also been struggling to keep up with the volume of lacquer being applied and removed from my nails so they're very weak and are pretty darn short at the moment :( 

After a week I've finally managed to slap on Fast Track - my favourite polish from the Hunger Games Capitol Colors Collection from China Glaze.

Fast Track - 3 coats - sunlight

Fast Track - 3 coats -close up

Fast Track - 3 coats -white light

Fast Track is kind of beige verging on a light taupe choco-block full of fine gold flecky shimmer! It's so gorgeous and a really work friendly colour with a little oomph.
I see hints of green in the shimmer every now and then, whether it's just wishful thinking or reality? I'm not entirely sure.
I used 3 coats for the photos, but at 2 it looked fairly opaque. The formula is quite thin and really spreads, so I recommend leaving only a very small amount of polish on the brush or it'll flood your cuticles. I found that 2-3 very thin coats went on beautifully though.

Do you have Fast Track? Do you want it? Do you hate it? Drop me a line!!

xxx
NPA

Haze Glaze FROZEN UBE swatch & review

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I didn't get the best photos of Frozen Ube, it was night time and under a lamp the real beauty just didn't come out. Here are the photos anyway

Frozen Ube - 2 coats - white light

Frozen Ube - 2 coats - white light

Frozen Ube - 2 coats - white light

Frozen Ube is a shimmery grape purple filled with various sizes and shapes of silver, blue and purple glitter. Application was pretty good. I had to dig a little to get the large blue hex out. Needs a layer or two of SV to even it all out.

You can purchase Haze Glaze lacquers here

xxx
NPA

Pretty & Polished minis - swatches & review

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Sad Sunday to you all!

Sunday's are so depressing!!! I never want to go to sleep because I know when I wake, the weekend will have ended.

Actually the afternoon sun is just starting to warm up my bedroom (because it faces full west) and I've got the radio on so my Sunday's feeling quite lax right now :)

So I bought some Pretty & Polished mini bottles round my b'day and realised I hadn't posted them for you yet. Chelsea's got some really great lacquers at her etsy store and I managed to pick up 3 of them.

CCBB - 2 coats - white light

CCBB - 2 coats - closeup

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang is a sheer light pink filled with golden shimmer and multi-coloured hex glitters. In the photos I applied 2 coats to my natural nails but this is probably a polish that most would wear layered. I think it's beautiful! The delicate shimmer is so pretty and the hex glitter adds a bit of fun! Application was great, not too thick or thin and it went on really even with good glitter dispersion.
 

Fun Haus - 2 coats - white light

Fun Haus - 2 coats - white light

  
Funhaus is a dirty light pink with weak linear holographic effect. To be honest I was a bit disappointed by Funhaus. I was hoping the holo would be stronger :( But it has a pleasing formula, applies like a really opaque creme and I didn't really need the second coat. I also didn't get to see this is full sun because we had really crappy weather when I swatched it so... I kind of like that it's a dirty pink because it makes it a bit more of a wearable work colour. Most of the pinks I have are either baby pink or really bright/bold and super girly!!

Jawbreaker - 2 coats - natural light

Jawbreaker - 2 coats - natural light

Jawbreaker - 2 coats - close up

Jawbreaker is definitely my favourite! It has a soft white (leans slightly pink) base and is filled with tons of  glitter in different sizes, shapes and colours. There's small purple standard glitter, blue, yellow and red small hex glitter, large blue hex glitter, green bar glitter and a smattering of large red square glitter. The application was great with a good dispersal of the different glitters and only 2 coats to give full coverage. The only fly in the ointment was that it was tricky to get the red squares onto the nail. They are obviously more dense than the other glitters so really liked to hover around the bottom of the bottle!!! I had to spend some time fishing them out for the photos. Other polishes I own with red square glitter seem to have the same problem too fun-illy enough!

Have you got any of Chelsea's polishes at home?
You can check them out at her etsy store Pretty & Polished

Enjoy the rest of your lazy Sundays!

xxx
NPA

Speciallita Hits Powerpuff Girls - ELEMENTO X

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Ahoy-hoy ladies,

a couple of weeks back, I picked up the best looking polish from the Powerpuff collection Brasilian brand Speciallita put out - Elemento X

 I think the green Powerpuff Girl is called Buttercup and this polish falls under her inspired colours:

Elemento X - 2 coats - white light

Elemento X - 2 coats - white light

Elemento X - 2 coats - white light

Elemento X - 2 coats - close up

Elemento X has a blackened green base that looks a bit like a brown-black in low light. It has this great green/gold shimmer that comes to life in the sun!!! The shimmer is just the best coloured green, kind of a dark swampy green with hints of gold. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I used 2 coats for full coverage. The formula was pretty thick and I'm not really a fan of it in general because the tip wear is crazy bad - just like their duochromes!!! But at least I only needed 2 coats...

What are your thoughts on Elemento X? Have you tried any of the Powerpuff Girl polishes?

xxx
NPA

China Glaze Haunted vs OPI Metallic 4 Life

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Hey guys,

I was having a look through the swatch vault when I noticed I had pics of 2 blacks with silver glitter in it. I actually have Nubar Knight's Armour as well but no swatches, darn it!!!

The OPI & ChG are in no way dupes, but I thought it would be interesting to see which one you all preferred!

Metallic 4 Life - 2 coats - natural light

Metallic 4 Life - 2 coats - natural light

Haunted - 2 coats - sunlight

Haunted - 2 coats - sunlight

So M4L is a mix of small square and small and large hex silver glitter in a black base. It has great pigmentation needing only 2 coats for full coverage and it dries without much texture. The formula is fab!!
Haunted on the other hand has fine silver glitter in a black base. This too has a great formula and application is nice, needing 2 coats. It dries smooth as well!! I just managed to get a bit of cuticle drag that could have been avoided if I'd waited a little longer to apply the second coat.

I am a huge fan of both. In the photos Haunted doesn't look as impressive, but in person it's really nice and a sophisticated way to wear black. More of a daytime or subtle polish. Whereas M4L is a super awesome in your face polish that would be perfect for a party!!

Which one do you prefer? Or do you dislike them both?

I just had to include some photos of Buster having an afternoon nap because I miss him so much! He was sleeping under the blanket but by the time I got the camera ready he woke up and rolled out!!! Only 1 1/2 weeks til I get to kiss and cuddle my little rascal! I hope he hasn't changed too much!!!!!!

xxx
NPA

All That Glitters - Cha Cha Twist

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Heya,

woohoo, past 200 followers now, starting to get a big head everyone!
A giveaway is in the works, just need to decide what the prizes will be. I think I'll have a competition this time, rather than just a entry form to fill out; could be a bit more fun!

Today I've got Cha Cha Twist to show you from indie brand All That Glitters:

Cha Cha Twist - 2 coats - white light

Cha Cha Twist - 2 coats - white light

Cha Cha Twist - A blue tinted base filled various sized glitters in red, blue, aqua and silver. Some of the medium blue hex is holographic/iridescent. Needs alot of topcoat, but I think I'll wear it 1 coat layered over another polish so that should cut down on the amount of top coat!!! Really cool polish, I recommend :)

Sorry about the mess around the nails, it's mainly dried Seche Vite as I was too lazy to do any clean up before the pics. Typical Michaela :)

Also want to show you a quick skittle swatch of the Guppy polishes that just arrived!

L-R: #18, #04, #05, #06

Index - pinkie: #15, #14, #13, #17

 I got these off ebay for $3 each I think and they look very promising, especially the coral! A couple bottles were absolutely ruined in the post! They smashed at the neck with 1 spilling all over the others and completely drying out. Luckily the other was salvageable so I poured the leftovers into an empty bottle.
Can't wait to do full swatches of these lovelies!!!!

FYI: You purchase All That Glitters nail polish HERE

xxx
NPA

Barielle Glammed Out Garnet

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I love, love, love Glammed Out Garnet.

Hands down, best burgundy shimmer I own or know of!

GOG - 2 coats - white light

GOG - 2 coats - white light

GOG - 2 coats - macro

Glammed Out Garnet is burgundy with loads of gold, red/orange & pink shimmer. It's just so beautiful and wow! It's part of the All Lacquered Up collection that said blogger helped create. She did such a great job, with this lacquer and the collection as a whole. I have a lot of them and I can see myself buying more in the future.
 The formula is very pleasing in pigment and thickness; only needing 2 coats for full coverage and depth. The photos are without top coat and you can see it's pretty darn shiny!

I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of this fine flecky shimmer!!!

xxx
NPA

Haul-errific Tuesday

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Hey guys!

Tuesday seems to be the day that numerous packages arrive each week - no doubt due to the postal delays each weekend.
Well, my birthday orders have started to flow in and today 4 boxes arrived on my doorstep. I gave my flatmates full warning that my obsession was intense but I think poor Daniel was still a bit bowled over!!!

Here are the goods:

 First up, from indie brand Lacey Lou's Nail Stockpile (clockwise from top left): Love Potion, Wicked, Gina's Galaxy & Edward's Kiss. Lacey was so sweet to include a new pottle of Wicked and a cuticle oil too!!! I love surprises!

L-R: China Glaze Dress Me Up, Fast Track, Mahogany Magic

L-R: China Glaze Smoke and Ashes, Luxe and Lush, Riveting, Electrify

L-R: China Glaze Full Spectrum, Misa Bed of Roses

 I got all of these from Nail Supplies: 7 of the new China Glaze Hunger Games collection as well as Full Spectrum from the Prismatic Chroma Glitters release. I also picked up my favourite of the Misa Precious Moments collection: Bed of Roses - a surprisingly vibrant sheer pink jelly.

L-R: Spooky Bones Full Moon mini, Watcher's Woods, Dead Man's Fist mini, The Dream Girl mini

L-R: Spooky Bones Green of Greece mini, One in the Pink mini, Witch of Pungo, The Accident mini

These ones are from another etsy indie polish brand called The Spooky Bones Company. The four in the first photo are from the newest collection, Are You Afraid of the Dark. The pink is a freebie and very nice I might add.

The fourth parcel is from Dollish Polish, but since Dolly send them to me to swatch for her store, I didn't want to include them, feels a bit wrong if I don't pay for them, you know? She sent me all the new polishes that were available the last time the store was open so hopefully I can get her some decent pics before she opens up again!

This is the first haul post I've done in many months cos feel uber guilty about getting tons of polish, but I wanted to give you a taste of things to come! If you'd like to see any of these ones swatched (especially the indie ones, since photos on the net are harder to find than the big brand companies ) please request them in the comment section and I shall be happy to oblige!

xxx
NPA