The BATTLE #4: Neon vs Pastel

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I had some fun with this challenge y'all!

SPLATTER TIME

Splatter Mani with a base of Sinful Colors Unicorn

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To achieve this look I applied 2 coats of Sinful Colors Unicorn, which is a pastel yellow creme. It looked slightly uneven, but I knew the splatter would cover most of it up so I didn't add a 3rd coat.
Next I splattered on China Glaze Blue Sparrow which is a 'neon' blue with ultra fine glitter, using a straw. Once that dried, I splattered on China Glaze Flying Dragon another 'neon' purple with ultra fine glitter. After that one dried I splattered on my final neon, Pool Party also from China Glaze. It's a super neon pink that always photographs more orange, I think because it leans a little red/pink. I finished up with 1 thick coat of NYC GCS which left my nails glossy and even to the touch.

My last splatter mani was a whole year ago when I was doing the 31 Day Challenge, so I felt like the time was right to give it another go. Even though I completely taped off my nails, the clean up was horrendous! It might have just been the fact that I used neons for the splatter... Anyway the acetone didn't do the trick entirely.

An entire pastel splatter mani would've been fun too! Or a spun sugar mani in neons or pastels, yum reminds me of candy! Maybe I can work those in to another challenge.

If it were up to you, would you pick NEONS or PASTELS ?

Don't forget to check all the other participants Challenge #3 posts:
Two Matejas Creating
An Indie Girl's Passion
Lacquered Tips
My Wondrous Marvellous Obsession
Cats n Nails
Jibber Jabber
Life in Color!

Annie Suzie 

Polished Polygot

xxx
NPA

The BATTLE #3: Pink vs Purple

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Ok, for this challenge I had to choose both!
And the perfect polish arrived for the job: Girly Floam!

Ninja Polish Girly Floam

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Girly Floam is a fine pink and purple matte glitter in a clear base. I wore 3 coats and got fairly good coverage. It's pretty thirsty and I only used 1 coat of Glitter Gloss before taking these photos, so trust me when I say it looks better with another coat of NYC GCS!

In the future I see myself using a base colour with Girly Foam and I know it'll be a hit with my friend's daughters.

So what do you think, PINK or PURPLE?

Don't forget to check all the other participants Challenge #3 posts:

Two Matejas Creating
An Indie Girl's Passion
Lacquered Tips
My Wondrous Marvellous Obsession
Cats n Nails
Jibber Jabber
Life in Color!

Annie Suzie 

Polished Polygot


xxx
NPA

The BATTLE #2: Black vs White

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Yeah, so this post is soooo late, sorry if you were looking forward to it!
It's been a really busy 2 weeks and the blogging has been suffering as a result. My nails have been changing almost daily, but the posting, not so much!

So this is the second challenge: Black vs White:

 OPI Alpine Snow

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Nubar Black Polka Dot

OPI Metallic 4 Life

Wet n Wild Fergie Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night

Pahlish Typewriter Keys

For this challenge I went for both black and white. I have heaps of black glitter top coats so I pulled a few of them out for once!!!
I started with 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow, followed by 2 coats of;  Nubar Black Polka Dot (pinkie), OPI Metallic 4 Life (ring), Wet n Wild Fergie Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night (middle) and Pahlish Typewriter Keys (index), over top. Then I finished with a coat of NYC GCS top coat.

In the macro shots you can see lots of bubbles, woops! Might need to thin that top coat...

My favourite top coat is the Pahlish. Black and white shredded matte glitter plus iridescent white glitter and shimmer is so gorgeous!


In a battle are you for BLACK or WHITE?

Don't forget to check all the other participants Challenge #2 posts:

Two Matejas Creating
An Indie Girl's Passion
Lacquered Tips
My Wondrous Marvellous Obsession
Cats n Nails
Jibber Jabber
Life in Color!

Annie Suzie 

Polished Polygot

xxx
NPA

Red and Sparkly: Elevation Polish MATSUDA & Sea Lore ARISTA

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It has been a very busy week ladies...

Happy Thanksgiving to all the USA readers, I hope you are enjoying your holiday or the Olympics of retail shopping???

When I wore Arista over Matsuda so many people told me they loved my nails (from little girls to the elderly!), that I raced home and took some photos in the late afternoon sun.

Sea Lore Arista over Elevation Polish Matsuda

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 Arista is part of the Triton's Daughters Collection from Sea Lore. It is a pink leaning red base with glowing flakies and holographic silver hex and small red glitter. It is the most opaque of the collection as I could get it opaque in 2 thick coats. In the photos I layered 1 thick coat of Arista over Matsuda from Elevation Polish. I added a layer of NYC GCS top coat too.

Elevation Polish Matsuda

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Matsuda is a deep red with hints of pink and brown. It has an almost hidden purple shimmer and is a build-able jelly. I wore 3 coats for good coverage. The formula is nice, non-streaky and dries in a reasonable time. This is part of the Japan Collection and maker Lulu's ideal red lacquer.
I found it to be very flattering on me.


That's all folks, off to beddy-byes,


xxx
NPA

China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection 2012: ANGEL WINGS & GLISTENING SNOW

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Hey ladies!

I worked for (almost) a whole day standing by a photocopier scanning documents...
Yet I'm surprisingly upbeat, go figure!

It might be because so many polishes are on their way to my doorstep, eeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

Before I bit my nails to the quick, I managed to swatch the gold and silver super fine holo glitters from China Glaze's holiday collection. As soon as I saw the publicity still, with a Christmas puppy I knew I had to have as many of these as possible. Half the set is glitter, epic win ChG!!!!!!

China Glaze Angel Wings

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Angel Wings is a devine super fine milled holo gold glitter in a clear base. It's a dupe for last year's Ulta Exclusive ULTAmate Holiday. On me I see a distinct chartreuse leaning in the shade, which I love!!! The coverage is great, wearable at 2 coats but I think it looks best after 3 like above. You may choose to thin it, because these fine glitters are low on base thus quite thick. She's a thirsty b**** too so I recommend at least 2 layers of thick top coat.

China Glaze Glistening Snow

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Glistening Snow is a super bling-y ultra-fine silver holo glitter. A pure white-silver! Exact same formula as AW but somehow it is even more holo-tastic!!!! Some peeps don't seem too into GS and I have no idea why?!!!! It's too perfect and bonus, flattering on my warm toned skin. Not many (if any) silvers are as kind to me.

Angel Wings and Glistening Snow are much more holo in person, and made my camera freak out a lot (so please excuse the blurry pics). Try to let each coat dry fully to avoid any glitter dragging, cos these glitters are prone to a bit of movement.

I hope to bring you swatches of 3 more Holiday Joy glitters soon. Please grow back nails. I just want you long enough to squoval!!!!


xxx
NPA

Different Dimensions Swatches & Review

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I discovered Different Dimensions a few months ago when my friend Grace wanted to do a group buy. I could only afford 4 at the time, but I look forward to gainful employment so I can get the 10 or so other DDs I want!!!

Different Dimensions Rainbows & Butterflies over OPI Planks A Lot

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Rainbows & Butterflies has a heavy silvery, flaky shimmer base akin to the Ozotic Beam range (only the colour shifts are very subtle) , pink, blue, green, purple and holo hex glitter plus pink holo butterflies! I was a wee bit worried at first that the base was going to be too heavy and silver, but it looks gorgeous in just 1 coat. I didn't find it hard to get the butterflies out, but you do need to work a little on placement so they don't end up looking odd on your nail. I love the mix of hex glitters in there, especially the lime green and brght pink together! I layered 1 coat of R&B over OPI Planks A Lot (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Collection).

 Different Dimensions On Wednesday's We Wear PINK

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 On Wednesday's We Wear PINK is inspired by Mean Girls. A sheer milky pink with iridescent micro and square glitter, bright pink matte micro glitter and bright and baby pink matte hexes. It ends up with VNL after 3 coats so if you don't like the look, layer it. The iridescent glitters are much prettier in person, but my camera couldn't capture the colour range in the available light. The formula is sort of thick/gloopy so it takes a bit longer to dry, but application was okay (a little uneven at first). You might want to try thinner.

Different Dimensions Sparkles Like Edward

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Sparkles Like Edward is a wee bit like the watercolour painted Easter Eggs I used to make as a kid! With a pearl white base heavy on pink-gold flake shimmer and filled with small light teal, rose pink, lavender, gold and holo hex glitters, it is the perfect Spring polish!!!!! I used 3 coats for full opacity, but I think it'd look fantastic layered over a white cream. The formula is again, a little thick and dry time is slower as a consequence but SLE is sooooo worth it!!!! The pink shimmer really sparkles in the sunlight, JUST LIKE EDWARD! And I saw Breaking Dawn Pt2 today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Different Dimensions That Is SO Fetch over WnW Fantasy Makers Tombstone Polish in Rest In Pieces

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That is SO Fetch is another Mean Girls inspired polish. A purple glitter top coat in varying shades and sizes of purple hex glitter. There's also some holo and iridescent square glitter like in On Wednesday's We Wear PINK. My batch has a bit too much base in it, you have to shake it up to get a good amount of glitter on your brush. I did 2 coats and then a wee bit of dabbing, which was a bit of a drag... But I plan on pouring some of the clear out of the bottle anyway. The base is a black purple with seriously micro, micro-glitter in fuchsia I think? It's so fine, I can't tell!!!!


I love the look of all of these polishes even if the formulas aren't spot on. My DD wish list is ever expanding thanks to how great these ones turned out!
You can purchase Different Dimension lacquers on Etsy for $8.50. Missi offers international shipping and has a really diverse Holiday Collection out now!


xxx
NPA

China Glaze United - United In Purpose Collection

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I was so good for once! I only bought one polish from a new China Glaze collection. Except it's the one for Breast Cancer awareness so perhaps that's a bad thing?

China Glaze United

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United is drop dead gorgeous! Another super fine milled holo glitter from ChG. It's a mixture of deep and rose pink and gold holo glitter, perfect for the warmer toned ladies. I used 3 coats, but I think you could get away with 2. It is a thirsty motherf*cker though, so get out your Glitter Gloss/Glitter Tamer.

Did you pick up any of the United in Purpose Collection? Some of them look pretty awesome so I'd love to hear your recommendations.

I've finished the move, so I hope to be more of a daily presence again. Unfortunately I bit my nails down to the quick during the drive up (well actually on the ferry...) so they are uneven and nubbin-like so I'll be doing my best to avoid photos til they look a little more presentable! Let's hope there's enough in the vault to tide me over. I have to do some more BATTLE challenges too!

xxx
NPA