Lemmings? Why Lemmings?

The package I was so eagerly waiting for has arrived.  It contained five piCture pOlish, er, polishes, three of which I'd been eyeing for ages but had never deemed completely necessary for my collection. I figured there was very little room on my rack for new polish and I couldn't really afford it. However, when I heard that Revolution, originally a base coat for the easy removal of glitter, could be used as a top coat for foils, I was sold. 

PiCture pOlish has Everyday Deals where you can pay for four polishes and get one free or buy seven bottles and get two free. Since I was buying four, I figured I might as well get the fifth one free. 

On the left is my longest-time lemming from the brand, Monroe, a dark red jelly with scattered holo glitter. On the right, a month-old lemming, which I could not wait to get my hands on. 

The next two, I've also had wanted for quite a while. I first saw Peacock on Pshiiit some time last year. She has very dreamy photos, which made me fall in love straight away. Then, when her collaboration shade came out, I fell in love with it too.

Finally,  I chose Dorothy as my gifted shade. I like the whole range piCture pOlish has in offer, but let's be honest, those girl know how to mix glitter/flakie/scattered holo in jelly polish and make it look like a million dollars.

I'm so itching to do a manicure or just a plain old swatch but I have an exam tomorrow and I really need to study. Cannot wait for all this glittery, jelly goodness to be on my nails... and foils. Let's not forget the foils.

I just googled the word lemming and this little guy came out.

Source

 English is not my first language. Even though I've been in Australia for 13 years, sometimes I discover words, like lemming, that are given a meaning and then discover the original meaning. How did this little rodent's name become synonym to a desired, unattainable polish bottle? Anyone know why that happened? Would you care to enlighten me? :)

Till next time, 

Laura

P.S. Well, Google came in handy again and I found out why. If you weren't aware, check this out or the comment below by Jessie and Alicea. Thanks!

Face Of Australia in Boogie Wonderland

I've been really good lately and have only been buying about two bottles of polish in average for the last three months or so. Yesterday, when having my lunch break at work and realising I still had 10 minutes left over, I wandered off to Kmart to see if they had anything on clearance. I didn't find anything spectacular that was reduced but I came across Face Of Australia's new Glitterati collection. At $4.95 a bottle, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to acquire a new polish. There are 8 glitter polishes in this collection, 5 in a clear base and 3 in milky, coloured bases. 

The one that jumped out at me the most was BoogieWonderland, swatched below with three coats and no top coat (I'm still waiting on my Seche Vite!). This polish has pink, orange, blue and purple small hegaxonal glitter, silver holographic hexagonal larger glitter as well as silver holographic, green and blue bar glitters suspended in a milky, very slightly violet base. 

The formula was surprisingly good for a Face Of Australia polish as it dried fast, it's shiny without top coat and it didn't flood my cuticles like others polishes I own from this brand. The glitter has to dabbed on but after three coats, the coverage is pretty good and varied, which also makes it look like it has a lot of depth. I'm quite smitten with this bottle. The only  issue I have with this... Look at the curling from the blue and green bar glitters.

It's not really noticeable in real life but it feels like they're gonna snag on clothes, hair, catch fluff, etc. I'm sure I could have poked them into place when the polish was still wet but I was hoping they would lay flat like the silver bar glitter did. Maybe a THICK top coat could do the trick. 

Anyway, Boogie Wonderland was still a good buy for the price, the unusual mix of glitters and the surprisingly good formula. I would recommend it. Never know, someday there may be a big sale at Kmart and I'll be able to get the rest for really cheap.

Till next time, 

Laura

Rainbow Foils and Waiting on Revolution

I love foils. Love how shiny they are, the variety of colours and effects you can achieve with them and mostly I love the fact that they are super easy to apply. Yes, they can take a LOT practice the get right, but once you get use to applying them they can look amazing. 

Last year I got a heap of them from eBay and Dollar Nail Store and was using them fairly regularly. The only problem, as most people that have used foils would know, is the fact that they wrinkle up like crazy and some of the shine can disappear when any sort of topcoat is applied. If you were like me and wanted to keep the shine/holo/3D/smooth effect, you would go without top coat and only sport the foils for a few hours.

Luckily, piCture pOlish has just come out with a new glitter base coat, Revolution, which also works to seal foils without wrinkling them. When I read about it in More Nail Polish, I almost fell backwards on my chair and ordered this base coat as soon as possible. Unluckily for me, I'm still waiting for my packet as I ordered the day before ANZAC Day. 

I couldn't really wait any longer and I brought out the foils anyway. I'm only going to bed after this, so if they get ruined, their memory will be held in this post.

Rainbow foils. Aren't they pretty?

You may or not be wondering, why I stamped on them without showing you the foil by itself. Well, I thought all the practice I had gotten would carry over even if I hadn't done it for a while, like riding a bicycle or ice skating. Turns out that wasn't the case and the foils looked terrible. I figured a good way to cover them up would be by stamping them. I was pleasantly surprised to see that indeed the mani looked a million times better with the stamp. I used Bundle Monster's BM209 plate with Konad Polish in Black. The stamp also makes them wearable for the day as it makes the mani a tad more subtle.

This is what the foils looked like without the stamp. Still very pretty colours but it was a baaaaaaad job. I might have to keep practicing until Revolution arrives. Very likely afterwards as well so I don't waste any precious top coat.

Anyone else crazy for foils? And so happy Revolution has finally arrived? I certainly will be when the mailman knocks on my door (hopeful with fingers crossed) tomorrow.

Till next time, 

Laura

Testing out the Blogger App

Even if I don't post too often, my nails are painted for 99.9% of time. I find that posting on the blog can take a while if I wanna do it all at once, and considering the semester ends in 5 weeks, it can be pretty hard to find the time.

I was browsing through Google Play, the Android app market, and came across the Blogger app. If I had thought about it, I probably could have searched for it but to tell you the truth, it didn't even cross my mind. Anyway, here I am, posting my first entry through mobile.

I wanted to show you the kit nails wraps I've been sporting the last couple of days. I got these for free from Mecca Maxima when they opened their Brisbane store last year. I really love the design and they were super easy to apply. The design remids me of those old school peppermint lollies, which once upon a time, I used to get from my grandmother. I've reviewed kit's wraps before here, if you wanna know more.

I guess the best thing about this app is that stops me from blabbing on because typing on a tiny keypad can be pretty annoying.

Hope you enjoy.

Till next time,

Laura

Sideways Ruffian

Here I was again itching to paint my nails after spending the whole weekend without nail polish on. That was almost 72 hrs!!! How did I survive? I had to think of something simple and choose fast drying polish, since I'm lacking quick-drying topcoat and I want to go to bed.

This is where Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Night Flight and Sonic Bloom came out to play. This mani took me about ten minutes from using basecoat to the taking photos. I started with a PVC basecoat, then applied one coat of Sonic Bloom, let it dry and applied one coat of Night Flight using its flat brush to create the sideways ruffian. Finished it all off with a high shine topcoat and voila! Extra quick mani.

I picked up these two bottles from Kmart on clearance for $4 each a little while ago. Every so often, Kmart discounts the Insta-Dri polishes, even though they remain in the core line in every other shop. I find it a bit strange but I've taken advantage of it a few times. I won't stop buying them as I can't wrong their creamy formula, super quick drying time and one coat application.

I found these polishes to be a perfect way to try the ruffian trend that's been around for ages. I wasn't originally planning on creating this but as I applied the black polish to my middle finger, I decided halfway through the stroke I wanted a sideways ruffian. I don't think it turned out too bad but I'll let you guys be the judges of that.

What do you think? Would you consider this nail art or is it too simple?

Till next time, 

Laura

Bejeweled: Take 2

I was supposed to have uni this morning but the floor where I was going to have class flooded and the class got cancelled. What is a girl to do with the time she would have otherwise spent commuting? Well, if you're reading this I'm sure you know the answer.

I present to you and uber-speedy manicure. I used two coats of Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Bejeweled, a small purple and larger pink glitter that takes two seconds to dry. Ok, maybe it takes fifteen seconds but you get the gist. I then applied Rimmel Pro Matte Finish topcoat but I didn't see a lot of difference as this polish dries fairly matte by itself.  Finished by stamping with Konad Special Polish in Black using Bundle Monster's BM-212 plate. I'm not sure what the motif actually is but the abstract look can also look good.

What do you guys think? I actually have done a post about 10 months ago with this polish but it was terrible! Think glittery cuticles, awkward hand position, a loooooooong post where I just kept blabbing on. You could say I'm trying to redeem myself with this one and hopefully the other one can be forgiven.

Either way, I love this polish and it's glittery goodness. I'm off to keep studying.

Till next time, 

Laura

CoverGirl's Constant Caribbean

Something simple and straight to the point today. I present to you CoverGirl in Constant Caribbean, a bluish teal shimmer. Like the other two CoverGirl polishes, this formula was great, only had to use two thin coats for opacity, shiny without topcoat and it dried quickly; for a person with no patience, that is VERY important. Did I mention I love the colour?

Unfortunately I have an issue with this almost perfect polish. Check out those streaks!!! I tried to avoid them by doing thin coats on all fingers but they still showed up badly. In my index finger, where they are more noticeable I applied a medium coat to see how it would show. Boy, you can see the streaks on that finger! Let's be honest, no one's gonna look that closely and judge us for having streaky shimmer polish but it's still a tad disappointing that I didn't get the perfect mani.

I find this sort of colour always gets a lot of attention and gets a lot of compliments, even from guys. So I'm gonna move on and enjoy this polish. 

Bottle shot for show. I just discovered that, like Chanel bottles, the cap comes off to reveal a more manageable brush. I don't really feel the difference and I like the bottle better with the cap on. That's just me.

Hope you enjoyed my short series of CoverGirl polsihes. Let me know. :)

Till next time, 

Laura

CoverGirl's Midnight Magic

In the last post I showed you guys Cover Girl's Wine Stain, which was absolutely amazing. At the same time, I purchased Midnight Magic by the same brand and of course, I had to show you.

This polish seems to be a gunmetal silver jelly with tiny iridescent flakies and multicoloured glitter. I say it seems because the base can change from a lighter grey to a oil-slick black to almost a mossy green, depending on what light is being reflected. 

Swatches were done with two coats and no topcoat.This formula was great. There were no flooded cuticles, no gloopiness or thickness and it dried quickly and super smooth, which can be unusual for glitters. It was just perfect. Another big tick for the new range of CoverGirl's polishes.

With low flash

With strong flash

I would love to show you what this polish looks like in the sun but as I started writing this, a massive storm popped out of nowhere, taking the sun away with it. Instead, I'll show you the accent I created with striping tape and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Night Flight. Finished the mani by top coating only the ring finger to smooth the black polish out.

So original, right? I still love the way it looks. I hope you guys like it too.

I'll have to update you with bottle photos as it's looking kinda dull without that sun. Watch this space.

Till next time, 

Laura

CoverGirl's Wine Stain

I have vowed to myself to only buy new polish if I have worked extra hours and the desired bottle has a shade I have nothing close to. Saying that, I still like going into Target and look around at the stands and see what's new. In my last trip, I came across CoverGirl's new range of nail polish which 'Dares to go topless with our new nail polish formula that combines a base coat, high gloss color, and a chip-resistant top coat in one simple step'. I must say their range of colours is not completely unique but there are a lot of pretty shades in the bunch of 45 options.

Since they were half price, $3.47 per bottle to be precise, I decided maybe I should go through the bin the polishes were in and get one or two. I ended up with three. So here's the first of the bunch. I present to you, CoverGirl's Wine Stain. Two coats and no topcoat. 

With a stamp, since this is how I wore it out. 

I don't think any other name could have described it any better. I love the deep colour it holds but that's not where it stops. This polish has an amazing formula that applies like butter and, could you please look at how shiny it is without topcoat? You could almost say it's a jelly but it's highly pigmented, not a lot of light goes through this polish, it just shines!

One other thing this polish promises is that you don't need to use a base coat, which in my case, I use to avoid nail staining since my nails are painted 99.99% of the time. As I was trying to clean up, I noticed this maybe a slight stainer. Ooops! I guess I'll have red bed nails for a while.

 Lastly, it should create a chip-resistant manicure. As I use my hands for manual work, I noticed a tiny little chip on my index finger after a day, but the rest lasted three days before I got bored and had to move on. Not bad either way. I also noticed this polish, even after a day, had a very squishy texture. This meant that there were small dents on the polish that weren't greatly noticeable but dulled the shine a little bit. Not an issue, but I hadn't come across this before, not even with actual jellies.

Overall, Wine Stain is a stunner. After a quick Google search on CoverGirl polishes, I found a lot of lacqueristas telling horror stories of previous polish releases by this brand. I must say I am extremely happy with this polish and would highly recommend it. As previously mentioned, they are ridiculously cheap at Target for $3.47 for 11ml or you can get them 2 for the price of 1 at Priceline. I don't think they've changed the stands to fit these polishes, so you'll find them in bins.

One last thing. I also love the shape of the bottle. It looks a lot like the Chanel bottles and I can tell you I have had a better experience with this.

Bottle shots for comparison.

Till next time,

Laura

Gold on Blue Stamping

I have discovered that blogging actually helps me with uni work. Sounds like a massive excuse for procrastination, right? Well, I find that blogging gets me writing and engaged in one particular task for longer than 10 minutes and, luckily,  I am able to transfer that set of mind to other things, in this case uni work.

So here's my 'I really need to read 150 pages of a textbook by next week' manicure. I used one coat of Sinful Colors' Blue By You, a beautiful, opaque, blue jelly full of tiny flakies that reflect light in light blue, aqua and green tones. Did I mention it was opaque in one coat and that the formula was amazing? This is the first time I tried it this polish and I would add it to the favourites straight away. I used Essie's Penny Talk for the stamping using Bundle Monster's plate BM-212.

 

That's it from me. I really need to get reading.

Till next time, 

Laura

Neon Saran Wrap Mani

Or since I'm in Australia, should I call it Neon Cling Wrap mani?

Whatever name you'd like to give it, here's my first successful saran wrap manicure. I've tried it a lot of times before but it always looked lumpy or I would take off the base with the wrap. I learnt to be a gentler and it looks like it paid off.

I used American Apparel's T-Shirt as a base for American Apparel's Neon Pink. I then layered B Collection by Bloom in Miami and gently applied pressure while still wet to create the effect . 

It was actually a bit bumpy after blotting the wrap on my fingers. At the moment, all my topcoats have either yellowed so much they change the colour of the polish, or are rock solid and no thinner would save them. I'm waiting to for my first Seche Vite to arrive in the mail but it's taking forever. I was itching to post. 

Anyway, instead of topcoat, I used OPI's Natural Nail Base Coat. It seemed to even things out a bit and give it shine but it took foreeeeeever to dry and, after a couple of hours, still has a rubbery feel. It also seemed to dull the neon colour a tad. Can you tell? 

This was originally going to be the base for some tribal nails. I have been trying to get some done but every time my hands seems to get shakier/completely-uncooperative and ended up with a terrible mess. They will not elude me!!! One day, I'll draw the coolest tribal nails and everyone will be talking about them. Haha! No, not that far. I'll just have postable nail art.

Is there anything that's you love but haven't been able to recreate?

Till next time, 

Laura