Galactic Party - Orly Galaxy Girl, Wet n Wild Party of Five Glitters

Here's a layering combo I wore a few months ago combining a duochrome with a glitter topper.

[Base: Orly Galaxy Girl; Glitter: Wet n Wild Party of Five]

This is Orly Galaxy Girl from the Cosmic FX collection, topped with a layer of Wet n Wild Party of Five Glitters.

[Bottle to nail: Orly Galaxy Girl (3 coats)]

All the polishes from the Cosmic FX collection are absolutely gorgeous! Although some may be a bit sheer, they build up really well to opacity in thin even coats.

[3 coats: Orly Galaxy Girl]

Galaxy Girl has a plummy red-brown base with very strong teal shimmer which shifts to a bright pink at an angle. The two photos above compare the shimmer in diffuse and direct lighting.

[3 coats: Orly Galaxy Girl]

Some people have commented that it looks a bit bruise-like! I do like how the blue shimmer brightens up an otherwise dark vampy shade. I also particularly like how it's big particle shimmer (glass-fleck style) as it adds to the bling!

[Base: Orly Galaxy Girl; Glitter: Wet n Wild Party of Five]

Of course, being a bling-addict, I popped on a layer of Wet n Wild Party of Five Glitters which went unexpectedly well with Galaxy Girl! I think this level of glitter density and size variance is just perfect for a topper. =)

Also, compared to NYX Carnival and Milani Gems, WnW Party of Five Glitters is a combination of cooler colours compared to the warmer shades present in Carnival (lots of gold) and Gems (includes gold and orange). I really should get around to swatch comparisons of all the party glitter combinations I have.... =p

FavouRED - Milani Red Sparkle

I don't know if it's particularly noticeable, but over the past few months, my posts have been limited to just my usual weekly Monday post.

However, a couple of weeks ago, I passed an exciting milestone - I handed in my doctoral thesis and am officially on my way to becoming a regular working person! *gasp*

Now that I'm not immersed in writing and data analysis all day, I'm really hoping to get back on the blogging bandwagon which I admit really got dialed back while I was writing up. =)

Just to make this a plish-related post, here's one of my very favourite polishes - Milani One Coat Glitter in Red Sparkle!

[Bottle to nail: Milani Red Sparkle (2 coats)]

This is definitely in my top five, maybe even top three polishes that I own! It's just so simple, but so gorgeous. A perfect red glitter. Deep, but still bright and shiny!

[2 coats: Milani Red Sparkle]

As advertised, it's meant to be a one coat glitter, and it certainly is dense. This is two coats though, to make sure any bare patches were covered up.

[2 coats: Milani Red Sparkle]

The upper image shows Red Sparkle under diffuse light, where it appears like there are two shades of red glitter giving it gorgeous depth. The lower image is under direct light, showing the amazing shine. It tends to dry matte and is a bit of a topcoat eater though, so a generous layer of topcoat is best to show off this one!

[2 coats: Milani Red Sparkle]

I wore this mani a few weeks ago when my hunney treated me to a weekend trip to Melbourne, where lots of walking was done and delicious food was eaten! I haven't been on holiday to Melbourne since 2006, which coincidentally was where we visited on our first holiday together as well. =)

It's already gone in my thesis acknowledgements, but I'll say it here again! So much <3 to him for putting up with my thesis woes and general craziness! (...and also for bearing with the polish fumes that often waft through our house... =p)

...and that's enough for my self-indulgent post! Happy weekend, all!

Bright and Cheery - elianto

I was just saying to Ev that I wouldn't be buying anymore nail polish and lo and behold, here we go!

[One thick coat of elianto S02]

I found this Korean store called elianto which sells cosmetics and all sorts of pretty nail polishes! All of the plishes are made in Korea.

elianto S02 is a grassy green creme and I love it. The picture above is under indoor lighting and the colour is a tad more neon in the photo than it is in real life. The nail polish is pretty glossy even without a topcoat (only the last finger has a topcoat in the photo above). I have a neon shimmer in about the same shade and I really dislike it, but it turns out that I just needed the shade in creme. :)

[Base: elianto s02
Tips: unknown blue elianto polish]

As always, when it started chipping at the edges after a couple days, I added French tips in blue. The above picture is under indirect sunlight. The blue nail polish is from elianto too but it is without the sticker with its code! After browsing swatches online, I think it could be elianto Dodger Blue (some of their polishes have names, some have codes), but I can't be sure. :( 

Both nail polishes were a little thick, but I suspect a few drops of thinner will solve that. They're rather cheap (after conversion, nearly AUD2) and have fairly nice quality. I would buy more if I had the space for much more!

Happy Birthday Daphne!

It's Daphne's birthday! This gorgeous girl is the mascot for Pretty Serious and it's her first birthday today! Kaz has created an amazing glitter polish to celebrate this but I wasn't able to join in the amazing swatch party happening today for various reasons.

I've admired Kaz's creations for a long time though and wanted to add a little something of my own just to celebrate, combining the pin-up look and a "digital swatch" of Daphne's Birthday Party! =) 

Congratulations on the milestone! Have a super duper great birthday, Daphne!

Fairy Lights - Color Club Sugar Plum Fairy

Another sparkly holographic polish that I wore a few months ago~ =) This is Sugar Plum Fairy from Color Club's Beyond the Mistletoe collection. 

[Bottle to nail: Color Club Sugar Plum Fairy (2 coats)]

Sugar Plum Fairy consists of blingy holographic glitter in a clear base. It is tinted slightly purple so you get a sort of pale lavender tinge to your holo goodness.

[2 coats: Color Club Sugar Plum Fairy]

The glitter particles are fairly large and the polish itself is pretty dense with glitter so coverage is good. The formula is slightly thick as a result but since you don't need more than two coats for maximum bling, I didn't find it a problem. It does dry gritty, and is a crazy topcoat eater!

[2 coats: Color Club Sugar Plum Fairy]

...but it's all worth it for that shiny goodness! Sorry for the tip shrinkage - I always get that the more layers of topcoat I slap on, unfortunately. Definitely a gem in a collection already full of sparkle! =)

Purple Power - Color Club Eternal Beauty, Layla Cloudy Violet

Behold! Feast your eyes on the purple madness below!

[Color Club Eternal Beauty]

Isn't it gorgeous? I'm totally in love. This is Color Club Eternal Beauty (what a terrible yet fitting name) from their Halo Hues collection. It's pure purple with a dense linear holo. The purple colour is still going strong under all that holo! Easily my current top ten nail polishes now. <3 

I also decided to compare it with Layla:

[Left: Layla Cloudy Violet
Right: Color Club Eternal Beauty]

On the left is Layla Cloudy Violet from their Hologram Effect collection (You can find a full swatch here). On the right is Color Club Eternal Beauty. Layla Cloudy Violet still wins in terms of holographic goodness, but as you can see, Color Club Eternal Beauty is not that far behind when it comes to holo density. In terms of actual colour, Cloudy Violet is more of a gray-purple while Eternal Beauty is a medium purple.

The two are different enough that you could get both. Personally, I prefer Eternal Beauty as I think it hit just the right balance of holo density versus colour.