Glitter Parade - Femme Fatale Party Grenade, Zoya Mimi

I wish I had better photos! This is what I wore on the day of Mardi Gras, which was also my birthday. :)

[Femme Fatale Party Grenade over Zoya Mimi]

Femme Fatale's Party Grenade is craaaaaaaaaaaaaaazzyyyy. There are so many different types of glitter and they're all really easy to get out of the bottle. No fishing needed. It's always a little harder to spread big glitter over long nails because they tend to drag to the tips. Or that could be my fail skillz...

I'm going to try to describe what glitter there is in Party Grenade but I'm sure I'll miss some: Green, red, pink, black, holo blue square glitter, black, white, holo silver diamond glitter, big red square glitter, small red, blue, black, pink, gold hex/square glitter. All of this are suspended in a clear base. Zoya Mimi, which is my base nail polish here, is a gorgeous, purple polish.

Party Grenade was easy to apply and was a real party on the nails. Next time I'll try this against nude or cream-colour. :)

Blorange Bliss - Barielle Falling Star

 "Maybe orange and blue is not the best. But you know, sometimes there's other things you wouldn't think would be a good combination, end up turning out to be like a perfect combination.You know, like two people together. Who nobody thought would be together. Ever."

So, I thought this quote was hilariously appropriate for the mani I've got for you today. Like two people nobody thought would be together (ever), here's blue and orange in an absolutely winning combination.

[Bottle to nail: Barielle Falling Star (3 coats)]

This is Barielle Falling Star - a slightly dusty medium blue creme/jelly with orange glitter. Now, I don't really subscribe to the whole X must never be seen with Y, and this is a stunning example of non-conventional colour mixes. Note that the blue is dustier in real life than my photos make it out to be.

[3 coats: Barielle Falling Star]

The formula was alright. It could've been better in my opinion as the first coat was fairly streaky. I think you can get away with two but I used three for mine.

[3 coats: Barielle Falling Star]

What this polish absolutely excels in though, is the orange glitter. A good proportion somehow remains at the surface instead of sinking into the blue and getting muddied up. You do get some slightly submerged particles but because the majority remains on the surface, that gives it depth instead!

Definitely a unique polish and one I'll keep in my collection!

Sweet Shades - Femme Fatale Sparkleshell

Yet another birthday polish! I do so love my glitter in jelly base. :)

[Three coats: Femme Fatale Sparkleshell]

This is Femme Fatale's Sparkleshell. Don't you love the name? SPARKLESHELL. I adore it. One of the best names I have seen in awhile. :D Oh, and about the polish! It's lovely, no surprise there! It has black, gold and blue medium glitter, and small pink and holo gold glitter, all within a white jelly base.

[Three coats: Femme Fatale Sparkleshell]

Application is easy and I love the mix of colours. I don't think you need a base here, as it's pretty opaque even at two coats.

I'm so glad Femme Fatale is easily accessible to us because I do love their polish!

We Are Young - China Glaze 2NITE

I've been on a bit of a holo kick recently so here's another one! This one's an oldie but a goodie from the China Glaze OMG collection. =)

[3 coats: China Glaze 2NITE]

2NITE is a dusty medium blue linear holographic polish. It photographs a bit more vibrant than you see in this photo, mainly just around the curved edges of the nail. The pictures below are a bit more true to shade!

[3 coats: China Glaze 2NITE]

Compared to the recent Color Club Halo Hues collection, the OMG collection has finer particles and a smoother linear effect, but because of that the sparkly holographic goodness is actually a bit duller unless under direct light. This seems quite similar to the new China Glaze Hologlam collection, although they've managed to include a few deeper shades that look quite interesting!

[3 coats: China Glaze 2NITE]

The formula is thin and prone to balding in the first coat but smoothes out with the next. I used three coats because I left my nails fairly long for maximum holo effect! =p

However, I noticed that it does magnify any imperfections in the nail (you can see some ridges in mine above) so a ridge-filling base coat might help. Note though that base coats with these polishes can result in some drag with application!

[3 coats: China Glaze 2NITE]

Still a lovely colour and OMG remains an awesome collection although definitely considered hard-to-find  these days! I consider the OMG holos not particularly in-your-face, especially indoors, but with a bit of light, the rainbows do come out to play!

Splash and Splatter - Nyx Girl Algae, Blue Black Gold

Oh foils, I'm loving you a lot more now! This isn't actually the first thing I tried out of the bag of gifts Ev gave me but it's so pretty that I just wanted to share it immediately!

[Base: Nyx Girl Algae; Foil: Blue Black Gold]

I had to look this up but it looks like the foil is called Blue Black Gold...missing the colour purple in its name! The gold isn't just a gold colour. It looks like gold foil/flakes. All of these have a coat of Jordana Quick Shine Topcoat to seal the foil in.

Here's what I used as my base:

[Nyx Girl Algae]

The base is Nyx Girls' Algae. It's a dusky blueish-green, just slightly greener than the blue on the foil.

[Base: Nyx Girl Algae; Foil: Blue Black Gold]

Ah, so lovely~ I wore this one a whole week which is amazingly long for me. :P I think Blue Black Gold is the perfect foil to try if it's your first time using foil transfers. The pattern on the foil means that little flaws on the foil isn't visible.

My attempt at using foil transfers this time was almost a 100% improvement. I could see that the transfers were much cleaner this time compared to my past attempts and I think it's because of these two tips Ev gave me:

1. Cut the foil closer to the size of your nails, especially keeping it close to the width of your nails. You're less likely to get wrinkling and loss of transfer at the edges if you do it that way. 
2. Leave the coat of glue to dry for about 10 minutes.

Hope the tips help! :)

Rainbow Party - Color Club Angel Kiss

I have a gorgeous polish here for you today - this is Angel Kiss from the Color Club Halo Hues 2012 Collection. If you haven't seen yet, the 2013 Halo Hues collection is already available, and amongst others, includes an amazing deep black and a deep purple holo! =)

[Bottle to nail: Color Club Angel Kiss (2 coats)]

So, Angel Kiss is an aqua linear holo and like the rest of the Halo Hues collection, is absolutely stunning in direct light. Check out those holo particles!

[Direct light: Color Club Angel Kiss (2 coats)]

Formula is awesome for the entire collection - you could probably get away with one thick coat, but two works best for even coverage. I didn't experience much dragging (such as with the Layla Hologram Effect polishes) and dry time was quite fast as well.

[Diffuse light: Color Club Angel Kiss (2 coats)]

Under diffuse lighting, Angel Kiss is an aqua colour, a bit less saturated than my photos show because holo particles tend to dull down the colour a little.

[2 coats: Color Club Angel Kiss]

But under bright lights, these are such gorgeous gorgeous polishes! Definitely not a collection to be missed! They're a bit pricier than regular Color Club polishes at about USD8 (depending on retailer) but it's well worth it in my opinion.

[2 coats: Color Club Angel Kiss]

Linear holos are awesome and Color Club is definitely not disappointing with both their Halo Hues collections. I have quite a few from the China Glaze OMG collection and I reckon these top them in terms of sheer rainbow power...!!

China Glaze is coming out with their Hologlam collection as well but from the swatches I've seen so far, it doesn't seem as fabulously holo as these ones, or even the OMG collection.

So if you have the chance to grab some of these, definitely do!

Happy Birthday To Me!

It was my birthday last weekend! It coincided with Mardi Gras this year, so it was like Sydney was throwing me a giant party. :)  This news is of importance to you because... I have pressies! Here's my loot from Ev, who always knows what I like most. <3

Nail foil transfers! :O~~~  These look absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to try them!

Ev does get overenthusiastic with her wrapping... She wrapped each bottle, the dividers, the spots beneath the bottles, the entire thing... Yeah. It's a sickness, clearly. D:

I unwrapped them with glee and got:

Eeeeeeeeeeee~~~ She sure knows what I like! From left to right, I have:

• Tony Moly GS08 - Glitter in a pale blue jelly base. Ev knows I love this type of plish, ahaha!
• Femme Fatale Sparkleshell - I love the name so much! It sounds adorable~ And I love Femme Fatale's glitter in jelly base plishes, omg... 
• Femme Fatale Galaxis Shards - All sorts of holo-ish glitter in black jelly base. It looks psychedelic! 
• Femme Fatale Party Grenade - Okay. OKAY. EXPLOSION OF CONFETTI GLITTER IN A BOTTLE!
• Color Club Beyond - Black holo aaaaahhh look at how holo it is!!!
• Color Club Eternal Beauty - Purple holo! I screamed when I saw this. My favourite colour plus holo! And a nice mid-purple holo too, not a pale purple!

I'll admit that things have been so hectic crazy here that I haven't been keeping up with new releases and trends. So the Color Club holos completely surprised me. The following surprised me even more:

The first thing I said was, hey, there's a nearly nude Mariah Carey on this box. Then Ev said omg, this liquid sand plishes are like one of the latest new things, you heathen. Something along those lines. :P  I can see why they're of interest though. They look very pretty and remind me of my other favourite OPI nail polishes; their suede collections. I don't know if they look the same yet, I haven't tried these new ones on!

In the box from left to right:  Get Your Number, Can't Let Go, The Impossible, Stay The Night.

I would describe them but I suspect there are plenty of swatches and descriptions online already. :)

And then, last but not least...

*DRUMROLL*

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The polish I have been lusting after ever since I saw it and one of the few things I immediately pointed out to Ev when it first came out; OPI Black Spotted! CAN'T BELIEVE SHE BOUGHT IT FOR ME OMG EV LET ME SQUEEZE YOU!!!!!

Just so you know, she not only bought OPI Black Spotted for me, she also somehow sculpted an aluminium foil...ahem...penis...around it. I kid you not. And since she gave me the presents over lunch with friends, they all had a look at the wrapped gifts and had a few things to say about that. I have pictures but I wasn't sure if I should be taking the blog in that direction. :P  Ev's sense of humour is questionable, to say the least.

In all happy seriousness... THANK YOU, EV!  >3<  I LOVE THE PRESSIES!

Chinoiserie - Color Club Cloud Nine, Midnight Blue Floral

I missed last week's post due to being pretty terribly ill, but I am all recovered now and to make up for it, I've picked a pretty floral manicure for today!

[New Year Chinoiserie]

I wore this one during the Lunar New Year celebrations last month. As it was a foil transfer, it was a quick, no-fuss way to get a fancy look with minimal effort!

[1 coat: Color Club Cloud Nine]

I used a holographic base this time - Color Club Cloud Nine from the Halo Hues Collection. This is a pale purple linear holographic polish. Seen here at one coat, it's opaque in two if you're using it on its own. (Sorry about the stubby, I broke my nail just before doing this mani...=/ )

[Base: Color Club Cloud Nine (1 coat); Foil: Midnight Blue Floral]

The foil transfer is called Midnight Blue Floral and it's a beaut! The majority is opaque, but the flower petals and butterfly wings are slightly translucent so the holographic base shows through! A cream base works well with this transfer too if you want to keep the entire look non-glittery.

[Base: Color Club Cloud Nine (1 coat); Foil: Midnight Blue Floral]

So there you go! Check out my previous foil transfer post for a look at what a transparent foil would look like instead.

Remember, with foil transfers, patience is the key! Let your glue dry as long as you can. 5-10 mins is awesome. With this kind of transfer (non-shiny), there's less of a wrinkling issue, but avoid quick-dry topcoats over them anyway. I usually use a layer of regular topcoat first, then quick-dry after if I really want that shiny glossy finish. =)

Illusionary - Ozotic 532 & 504, Kleancolor Metallic Black

Yesterday I posted a mani of Kleancolor Metallic Black. Here's what I layered over that!

[Ozotic 532 over Ozotic 504 over black]

This is Ozotic 532 layered over Ozotic 504 with the whole thing over the black base. 504 has a deep purple to red duochrome flash. 532 has a lighter green to blue to purple multichrome with a holo shimmer. I love these two polishes, that's why I wanted to see the result of a combination.

The final product is a blue to purple colour-shift plus holo. If you add one more coat of 532, you see green at sharp angles too. All in all, it makes for an interesting combo!

[Ozotic 532 over Ozotic 504 over black]

The above three photos are just to show the obvious blue to purple shift depending on how the light hits the nail. Looks pretty good to me!

I do quite like my Ozotics but I note that they sometimes bubble. It's not obvious and you can't really see them in the photos but I find that bubbling is something that occurs more with shimmer/colour-shift type polishes.