Epic Polish Wins of 2011 - GLITTERS

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Hey everyone,

Happy New Year!

Been MIA for almost a week and am finally getting back in to the blogosphere! I went away for a few days at New Year for the Highlife event in Matakana - actually really enjoyed myself (thanks LISA!).
Had my friend staying with me for a few more days which was nice and now I'm back on my lonesome... Actually I have a LOT of polish to keep me company!!!

Now it's time to get back to my favourite polishes from last year. Today it's the fabulous glitters that just kept on coming last year:

No More Waity, Katie - 3 coats

Butter London's No More Waity, Katie was a bit of a love it or leave it but for my part, I love it. I will try layering it over a grurple (grey/purple) in the future so that it looks nice and even up close, but I don't mind the sort of bald looking spots. Needs a top coat for smooth surface.

The Dark Knight - 2 coats

Butter London's The Dark Knight is a gorgeous black base with blue, pink, red & silver/gold glitter. It was a holiday release that I couldn't stop myself buying! Dries very gritty so 2 coats of SV was a must.

Holiday Splendor - 2 coats

Color Club's Holiday Splendor is a holo glitter version of the earlier Untamed Luxury. It was the only polish from the holiday collection to have a tinted base so it had a superior formula and great coverage. The bright sea green is beautiful, as are the holo sparkles.

Black Polka Dots - 2 thin coats

I really love that Nubar's Black Polka Dots is a black hex glitter. It also contains small black glitter. I learned to do thicker coats to get way better coverage, but it's still a layering polish, not a wear alone. My one and only black glitter, will definitely treasure her.

Love Is A Racket - 2 coats

Love Is A Racket - 2 coats

Maybe some would consider this a shimmer but something about the large flakes in Love Is A Racket (from the Serena US Glam Slam release) scream  hybrid to me. Apart from the awesomeness of it's shimmer & shine; it is the most incredible pink/red colour - almost duo chromatic (but not quite). Great dry time too!

Temptation - 3 coats

OPI DS Temptation was one of the new Designer Series releases. A violet tinted base with blue, purple & fuchsia glitter. Looks amazing, no pics would do it justice. Needs lots of top coat because it is ultra gritty.

Pepe's Purple Passion - 2 coats

Yum, yum, boysenberry glittery/shimmer delight. OPI's Pepe's Purple Passion IMO was the stand out of the Muppet's Holiday Collection. Super opaque, it is a dark burgundy/maroon with flakes of winey glitter or shimmer. This seems to have the same sort of flaked pieces as Love Is A Racket. It dries to an odd texture and likes its top coat. The shimmer it gives off is so pretty in the sun.

It's Alive - 2 coats

China Glaze's Halloween glitter offering It's Alive blew me away. From the promo shots I thought it was just a renamed Zombie Zest - turns out it's an awesome dark green base with swamp green micro glitter & medium hex glitter to boot. Amazing coverage & application too! I can't wait til next Halloween when I'll be rocking it again!

Are there some glitters you went gaga over last year that didn't make it onto my list? Do share!

xxx
NPA

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