Sally Hansen Denim Nail Wraps

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I've had these denim wraps sitting around for ages and I really didn't want to use them because they looked so cool (plus I got them ultra cheap for only $2 off a blog sale and when I get a real bargain, I like to savour it!). But when I had a couple of peeling/splitting issues I thought the wraps would be a good way to prevent a break.

The denim pattern is seriously awesome and the application was easy as. My edges always look pretty rough with wraps though because I can't figure out how to file them off neatly!

Anyone else have this problem?


xxx
NPA

Sally Hansen Gem Crush Swatches

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Happy Sunday Ladies (and maybe 1 gentleman?),

It is a glorious Winter's day in the Chur (haha); sun shining, reasonably warm with little wind and lots of blue sky! And to make it even more perfect my besties are gonna come round for mani/pedi Sunday!!!!!!!!

For now though I have my picks from the Gem Crush collection that came out over the 2011/2012 holiday season.

I pined over these blingy looking glitters for about 6 months, trying to decide if i would take the ebay plunge. Luckily I resisted because their finally made their way to NZ (which I did not expect!!!) and incredibly they have an RRP of just $12.99 each!
Since basically all SH products (at Farmers Dept Store at least) cost around $20+ I was GOB-SMACKED!

I snatched up the 2 I needed the most in a buy 1 get 1 half off sale - Be-Jewelled & Big Money and bought Lady Luck from Polished Claws Up's blog sale (for super cheap, thank you!!!).

Be-Jewelled

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Be-Jewelled is a mauve purple micro glitter with rose pink holo hex strewn throughout. I used 3 coats for the swatches above. It applied fairly well, but gets quick thick. I may try just 2 coats in the future because it's a pretty hungry guy when it comes to top coat.

Big Money

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 Big Money is a gold micro glitter with chunkier mauve purple hex glitter (same colour as the base in Be-Jewelled). Same thickness issues, but I could have left it at 2 coats - only did a 3rd for photo purposes. It's just as gritty.

 Lady Luck

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Lady Luck was the Gem Crush I lusted over most!!!!! Such a pretty magenta pink or maybe just a dark pink or fuchsia-ry micro glitter interspersed with chunkier pieces of silver holographic hex glitter. Very blingy indeed! Again I used 3 coats, but 2 would have sufficed.

By the time I swatched Lady Luck I had some Glitter Gloss (from Aqua Daisy) that helped tame the gritty beastie, needing about 2 coats and 1 layer of normal top coat for smoothness and shine; but for the other two I used at least 3 coats of Sech Vite and they still looked uneven :(.

If you don't enjoy hungry glitters I recommend using 1 coat of the glitter over a base - I think they would 'pop' over black, like the OPI Muppets glitters do!

I'm really happy with the 3  picked up from this range, they are absolutely unique in my collection as I don't have access to the Wet n Wild dupes either.

xxx
NPA

Glitter Gal 3D - Light as a Feather - eeeeeeeeeeeee!

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G'day sheilas!

Today my first ever Glitter Gal polishes arrived!

I bought Light as a Feather, Ballerina & the seemingly popular Lizard Belly. They're all from the normal holographic line - I wanted linear holo effect rather than the scattered sparkle one.

Like everyone else, I was shocked at how teeny weenie the bottles are! I knew they were only 9mL but it still came as a shock to me that the bottles weren't somehow bigger. Maybe they could put them in chunkier ones with really thick glass? It doesn't really matter though, 'cos the products is fantastic.

So far I've only tried out the white and pink. Today I have Light as a Feather to show y'all.

Now I had to take these photos indoors because after a week of gorgeous weather, now we're having a week of storms :) That means zero sun and I can't wait a whole week to swatch these, so. Looking at my nails now the holo effect is a bit stronger than the photos show.

Light as a Feather is a greyed white almost jelly-ish holo. The holo is relatively subtle/soft, which I think suits the colour. It is certainly visible in indoor lighting though - and I can only imagine it is the same if not stronger in direct sunlight.

I had to do 3 coats and then 1 of SV because it was quite uneven & gloopy formula-wise. I'm not going to judge it by that though, because I used Sally Hansen Miracle Growth as my base coat and it always makes my polishes go on streaky. Next time I'll try using a ridge filler or Orly Bonder as my base to see if I can get a more even application. The SV definitely made it appear more even and the holo effect also prevents you from seeing the patchiness too. I didn't seem to get any tip shrinkage using the SV with it either so I'm pretty happy.

Bottom line: I'm a big fan, LAAF is so unique a colour. It has an ethereal quality about it that I love. Due to the price & small amount I think this bottle will only come out for special occasions though. It's just too pretty to waste!

How do you feel about LAAF? Do you have any Glitter Gals and if so which ones? I certainly would like to try more!

xxx
NPA