Nail Ideas: Fall Trends with Essence!

Essence has been one of my favorite brands in Singapore - not only do they have a nice range of core colors and interesting trend editions, they are also very affordable and wallet-friendly! So, when I was offered the opportunity to work on some blogposts with Essence Cosmetics Singapore, I was more than happy to give it a shot. :$

With a nail contest just round the corner, I set out to do some nail designs with some Essence polishes! Since it is technically fall now, I've sought inspiration from some of the fall trends that have caught my eye :i

Bohemian!
The earthy colors in fall are simply perfect for rocking some boho-chic on the nails. I've always loved the bohemian style - understated, casual yet sexy and spirited. :L

For this look, I started with a clean nude base using Essence's Toffee To Go before free-handing the details with a brush with these colors: Essence's Just in Case, Wanna Say Hello, Luxury Secret, Princess Prunella, Camouflage and acrylic paint in silver and gold. I'm quite pleasantly surprised by how good the colors look together!

Splatter!
The splatter technique is a fun and easy way to give your nails a funky and edgy look! Simply dip a straw into some polish (ensure that there is enough polish in the straw) and give a strong quick puff through the other end to create the splattered look. It took me several tries and some practice before I managed to get a relatively decent splatter mani. So don't give up if you can't get it on your first try! A warning though... this can get really messy so make sure you cover up your workspace and tape up around your nails to avoid too much clean up!

For this look, I started with a nude base using Essence's Toffee To Go before creating the splatters with Essence's Just In Case, Wanna Say Hello, Princess Prunella and Camouflage. I also added a touch of black for an added contrast.

Equestrian Stripes!
The equestrian trend is also hot this season for its classy and elegant look. For this look, I decided to stick to a simple design for a more sophisticated feel.

I started with a silver base using Essence's Luxury Secret and matted it. Then, I added simple stripes using Essence's Wanna Say Hello. I'm loving the contrast between the matte and gloss! :$

Phew! That was some nail art spam!
So, are you inspired to do some nail art now? If you are, do stay tuned to Essence Singapore's Facebook page for more details about the nail art contest! you can head over to Essence Singapore to take part in their Nail It! nail art contest. Contest ends 7 Nov so get your creative juices running!

I will also be posting up swatches of the colors I've used in these designs so keep a look out for some goodies coming your way! ;)

xoxo,
mich

**Some products used in this post are provided for honest review. Please see our disclosure policy for more details.**

Challenge: Using a plate with the # of the day you were born

Hello dear readers!

Oct. 28 Challenge manicure for FB group Adventures in Stamping was using a stamping plate with the number of the day you were born. In this case, I used A series stamp plate A25.

 (Pictures can be enlarged)

I used China Glaze -  Sunset Sail as the base color and a reddish brown stamping polish from Konad.

 

I really like this color combination, it gives this manicure a romantic, vintage look.

In a previous post, I've used the same color combination, you can take a look here.

I showed this manicure to my friend and she said it was perfect for Valentines Day...I should have waited  until then to do this manicure...

What do you think of this manicure? I hope you like it :)

♥ ♥Thank you for reading♥ ♥

Gosh: Holographic

Back when I was a polish noob, I never understood the hype behind holographic polishes.
Then, as time passes, I started to understand the rainbow craze... or so I thought.
It was only when I finally slapped on Gosh Holographic that I truly understand why nail-aholics are obsessed with having rainbows on their nails:

Holy holo!!

Holographic. 2 coats without base or top coat.
A silver polish that explodes into a hella-mighty linear rainbow on your nails under the light. The holo is so intense that I was really speechless for a few minutes. Well, not really... I just kept saying "wow" over and over again. And I will say it again: W.O.W. :rainbow

The holo effect is so strong that it is also evident under indirect light:

A bottle shot under direct light because the rainbow is so pretty:

As you might have already heard, application is really tricky.
Out of curiosity, I tried applying it over my regular base coat and it was a complete nightmare. The formula is thin and bald patches appear each time I go over the spot with the brush. It was really frustrating.
Having satisfied my curiosity, I decided to apply it over my bare nails directly and it was much easier this time. I wouldn't say it applied like butter but application was smoother and there weren't any bald patches. I also didn't need any clean up. I took two coats to reach opacity.

As with most fantastic holo-s, wear time wasn't that fantastic. I think I will try the topcoat sandwich next time.

Despite the tricky application and horrible wear time, I will not hesitate to wear it again because it's just so mind-blowingly awesome:

Lusting after rainbows yet?
Unfortunately, Gosh Holographic was discontinued a long time. I was lucky enough to have won this from The Nailasaurus' giveaway a while ago. While Gosh has re-released it under the name "Holographic Hero", it appears that the holo effect is not as strong as the original.
Nevertheless, the new FNUG holo-s are strong contenders for the title of the holo-est holos so you might want to check them out!

xoxo,
mich

Sparkles by Julie: Bubble Gum and Waterlily

Today, I have another new-to-me indie brand to share with you - Sparkles By Julie!

Waterlily. 2 coats.
A delicate shimmery-white with silver, gold and blue glitters. The white base reminds me of Orly Au Champagne - very soft and pretty. I'm especially loving how the gold and blue glitters go with the white base - it looks like something a Greek goddess would wear. :L

Bottle Shot of Waterlily

Bubble Gum. 2 coats.

The most girly color since pink was invented! This is what Barbie would wear on dates with Ken. This nail polish is a sheer pink base packed with purple, pink and holographic glitter in different shapes and sizes.

Bubble Gum is a stunner in the bottle. Holographic glitters swimming in a rich coral-pink base. The polish has a frosty finish though so you have to be careful with brushstrokes. I have also noticed that the frosty base tends to swallow up some of the smaller glitters. It dries bumpier than Waterlily so I used a second coat of top coat for the swatch.

Bottle Shot of Bubble Gum

Application is pretty good. The brush (I used a mini bottle) is easy to control and the formula is smooth. My only gripe is that the larger glitters are harder to fish out as they tend to cling on to the sides of the bottle even after a few hard shakes. The smaller glitters needed no fishing though and they spread out evenly onto the nails.

No prizes for guessing which one is my fav! I'm in love with Waterlily! It is really unique and the color combination is just breathtakingly gorgeous.

What do you think of these polishes? Have you tried Sparkles by Julie before?
If you wish to get some Sparkles by Julie, you can hop over to her Etsy store or check out Mei Mei's Signature (the exclusive stockist in Singapore)!

xoxo,
mich

**Products provided for our honest review. Please see our disclosure page for more information.**

Rainbow Honey: 20% Cooler

Hi! I'm mich and I'm 23 years old and I love watching animated cartoons. :i Disney cartoons, Looney Tunes, Ninja Turtles... you name it, I've probably watched it some time in my lifetime. Although I have less time for them now, I still squeeze out some time to catch animated movies (Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon, etc) and some of the more popular animated TV series like... My Little Pony!

So, you can imagine how excited I was when I realized that Rainbow Honey has a collection based on MLP - The Equestria Collection. It promptly went on my to-buy list but I never got around to saving enough to buy them all (don't blame me, I'm still unemployed atm). But one day... one day, I will get them all! *pinkie promise* ;)

Meanwhile, I have one of my favorites from the collection to share with you:

20% Cooler. 1 coat over Zoya Kirsten.
A sheer blue polish loaded with electric blue shimmer and an explosion of rainbow glitters! :rainbow

"It needs to be about 20% cooler."

— Rainbow Dash in "Suited for Success"

Yup, this is based on none other than the coolest and most awesome pony in Equestria, Rainbow Dash! After watching all the MLP episodes, I must confess that Rainbow Dash is one of my favorite ponies from the show. She is just so much fun and never fails to have me in stitches!

20% cooler is simply perfect for Rainbow Dash. Not only does it have all the colors that's on Rainbow Dash, it is also a party in a bottle! And because it has a sheer base, you can layer it over any color and make it approximately 20% cooler. I chose to layer it over blue this time because that's Rainbow Dash's color but really, you can layer it over anything to add a dash of fun to your manicure!

Just look at that shimmer! :o

And, you know me, every time I see a multi-colored glitter, I just have to matte it:

Ohhh yea! <3

Application is surprisingly easy for a glitter bomb like this. The formula is smooth and the glitters needed no fishing (from the bottle) or dabbing (on the nail). Although I really love the mini bottle (7ml), I have to admit that the brush is a little short and I fear the bottle cap would ruin my nails if I weren't careful. It never did of course so I may have worried too much.

All in all, I must say that Rainbow Honey is really another upcoming brand to look out for. Apart from the polishes, I also love their packaging and the inspirations behind their collections (my most recent obsession being their Yokai Collection). So, wish me luck saving up for more RHs! :P

You can check out more Rainbow Honey-s on their website. You can also get your hands on Rainbow Honey polishes from our local stockist, Mei Mei Signatures, or Shoppe Eclectico (on clearance).

xoxo,
mich

**Product was provided for our honest review. Please see our disclosure policy for more information.**

Max Factor: Fantasy Fire

When it comes to giveaways, I have really rotten luck. Despite diligently entering into a lot of them, I have never won anything. Well... almost never. The only time that I got lucky was when I won a giveaway at The Nailasaurus - a set of HTFs (Gosh Rainbow, Holographic and Max Factor Fantasy Fire)! As you can imagine, I was over the moon when I woke up and saw the email in the morning. :mj

Fast forward a few months later, I've finally got around to trying one of them and, boy, it sure did not disappoint!

Fantasy Fire. 1 coat over Zoya Kelly.
A sheer purple base filled with fiery multichrome shimmers that shift from red to gold to green. I was completely mindblown the minute I removed the bubblewrap. The multichrome in the bottle was so distinct and strong that it looked almost unreal. One thin coat over a dark base color was all I needed to see the fantasy fire come to life and rage across my nails. I was tempted to do another coat but I decided against it - I have only one small (like really tiny) precious bottle of this liquid magic and I am not about to start wasting it.

I don't do this often but this is too gorgeous not to do some picture spam:

If fire looks like this, I would gladly jump right into it and burn. :fire
While this is not really an exact dupe of the legendary Clarins 230 (which is said to be sparklier and has a different base color), it is probably the closest I can get to owning unicorn pee. That said, I'm still hoping that a polish fairy godmother will appear one day and hand me a bottle of Clarins 230. A girl can dream, right? :angel

If I am not wrong, Max Factor Fantasy Fire is available in the UK and Australia.

xoxo,
mich

Halloween Pumpkin Nail Art and Tutorial

Hello dear readers!

Today I decided to do a freehand nail art featuring a Halloween design. (Last year's Halloween nail art here)

This time, Halloween pumpkins were my inspiration.

Below you will see step by step pictures and instructions on how I did this nail art.

First, I painted my nails using a dark purple nail polish. I used Orly's Fowl Play. 

Using an orange color nail polish (or acrylic paint), paint the tip of your nails making semicircular edges at the top of the design. The nail polish I used is Ulta - Sun of a Gun.

With a metallic or glittery nail polish paint the outline of the pumpkin. I used Kleancolor - Metallic Orange.

Now, paint the faces of the pumkins. The facial expressions are up to you ;)

Paint stems and leaves on the top of the pumpkins. I used Kleancolor -  Metallic Green.

This step is optional: you can add any glitter, dots, etc... I painted some candies on the accent nails using to finish the design. I added wrapped candies on the thumb and candy corns on my ring finger nail.

Finished!

I hope you liked this nail art. You still have time do it yourself for this Halloween ;)

♥ ♥Thank you for reading♥ ♥

Innisfree: #85 (Raspberry Yoghurt)

I feel like a zombie lately. My coursework is growing heavier by the day and with the other things that I am working on, I think I've bitten off more than I could chew. :( At times like this, it is perhaps unavoidable that I've resorted to retail therapy. I didn't plan it but it just happened. o"o

So, before we get overwhelmed by the next haul wave, let's try to finish swatching the polishes from the previous haul(s) before the untrieds get out of control, shall we? :$

#85: Raspberry Yoghurt. Sandwiched with OPI Barre My Soul.

Raspberry Yoghurt is a light pink/lavender filled with pink and gunmetal hexes of different sizes. Super delicate and pretty. I will even venture to say that it is work-appropriate but, of course, that's just the nail polish addict in me speaking. ;)

Raspberry Yoghurt is part of Innisfree's Yoghurt collection of milky pastel glitter polishes (#81 to #85). Although all the colors are very yummy-looking, only Raspberry Yoghurt called out to me. On hindsight, I'm kind of regretting not picking up the green (with pastel lime and orange glitters) - it looks really fruity! 

Application was not exactly breezy. The formula was a little thick hence I chose to layer it over a base color. I think I will thin it with some thinner the next time I wear it.

So what do you think of Raspberry Yoghurt? 

Have you tried any Innisfree polishes before? Like I've said before, I'm really quite impressed with Innisfree. In fact, I have, urm, ordered more Innisfree-s recently - I should be getting them by this week. o"o 

Stay tuned!

xoxo,

mich

Pomegranate Nail Lacquer: Improv Show

Today, I have one of the seven new fall shades released by Pomegranate Nail Lacquer to share with you. Pomegranate Nail Lacquer is a USA brand that is relatively new to me. Apart from making me swoon with their cute brand name and logo, their polishes are all 4-free (does not contain Camphor) and cruelty-free!

Improv Show. 3 coats.

This dark purple polish is flecked with subtle blue and pink shimmer and silver sparkle to reflect the darkness of the theater and the bright spotlights.

Pomegranate Nail Lacquer

A vampy red-toned purple is a Fall staple but what makes Improv Show stand out from the other purples is its beautiful blue and red/pink shimmer and the sprinkle of larger silver flecks. They look really striking and gorgeous against the dark base.

I know, it's so pretty ♥

Application was really good. The formula was on the thin side but flows smoothly on the nail. It is slightly sheer to allow the shimmers and silvery flecks to shine through but it only needed two coats to reach opacity. I added a third for a richer color. The brush was easy to control and I hardly needed any clean up.

What do you think of Improv Show? Have you tried any Pomegranate Nail Lacquers?

If you wish to purchase some of these Pomegranates, you can find them on their website or you can head over to Star Trinkets - she ships international!

xoxo,
mich

**Product was provided for our honest review. Please see our disclosure policy for more information.**

Halloween Collections 2012 Round-Up - Indie Edition!

With Halloween coming at the end of the month, I thought it would be appropriate to round up all the Halloween collections that have been released so far. Since I've already done a round up for some of the mainstream polish companies in an earlier post, let's focus on the polishes that the indie polish community whipped up this time, shall we? :d
I came up with the idea of doing a bumper post for indie polishes after seeing the various Facebook updates on Halloween collections and I thought it would be great if someone could gather all the updates in a single post. Of course, it would be almost impossible for me to exhaustively cover all the indie brands so I have only picked a few that has caught my eye so far. Feel free to let me know if I've missed out any note-worthy ones!

Disclaimer: As there aren't any official press releases for indie brands, I've done my best to find pictures from their respective Facebook pages (and sometimes edited to make a collage) for the purposes of this post.
A note to all indie polish makers: I do try to give credit to your pictures by providing a link to your Facebook page but if you object to the use of your pictures in this post, please do contact me and I will remove them as soon as possible!

So let's jump to it, shall we?
In alphabetical order...

All That Glitters: BOO-tique (Facebook, Etsy)
I really like the name of the collection - BOO-tique. :r Polishes have either clear or slightly tinted bases - mostly meant for layering but it is said you only require 2-3 coats for maximum coverage by the glitters. It is hard for me to pick my favorites but I think I will go with Pumpkin King and Night Fright. I think I have a thing or two for bright orange glitters.

Dandy Nails (Facebook, Etsy)
No prizes for guessing which one caught my eye - Grave Robber! So much orange goodness! Mighty Fine Print is a close second - black jelly base with silver and some red glitters.

Dollish Polish: This Is Halloween (Facebook, BigCartel)
This is a collection inspired by the movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. You can check out Jen's swatches here at The PolishAholic! I'm loving Vampires Coven (yes, even though I have Lynnderella's Very Pretty Vampire - I just love shades like these!), Spectral Pup and Deadly Nightshade. I like the colors in Something's Up with Jack but *meeps* there are bar glitters!

Enchanted Polish: Falloween (Facebook, Etsy)
Yup, not only does Chelsea make some mean holos, she also whips up some great glitters! The first one that jumps out at me must be "Practice Safe Hex" - gotta love a good name! *giggles* I also like the colors in Practice Safe Hex, Beetlejuice, Dexter (!) and Witchful Thinking. You can also see Jen's swatches at The PolishAholic here!

Girly Bits (Facebook, BigCartel)
I'm going to be completely honest here and admit that Girly Bits is one of the next indie brands on my to-get list. I very very nearly caved in and order a bunch earlier this week but I resisted (because my card bill came and reminded me how much I've spent already :f ).
Ok, back to the Halloween collection! You've guessed it - I have a soft spot for them all. If I really have to choose, I think I will go with Boo-Berry, Apparition, Monster Mash... Fright Night and Candy Corn. Oh oops! That's still all of them, isn't it? :$ You can view Pam's swatches here!

Lush Lacquer (Facebook, Etsy)
I think you will love these if you like some glitter bombs! Hey Jack! is calling me.

Nail Pattern Boldness. (Facebook, Etsy)
I'm new to this brand but it has already caught my heart with Bitches Brew (I swear I saw 'Witches' Brew' at least thrice before I realize it's a B not W) and Hades. Witch Pit is a gorgeous black and teal combi - I really love the colors but they are bar glitters (swatched here at Spit & Polish). >.<

source: chalkboardnails.com

Pretty n Polished. (Facebook, Etsy)
If you look at the skulls, you can see the colors in the collection (You did a great job with the banner, Sarah!). I'm digging Blood Clot because it really looks like... well, a blood clot! :v Would be even better if the red was darker but honestly, the effect is really cool. Them Bones comes a close second for me even though there's bar glitter - I don't mind them much here. You can view swatches by Sarah at Chalkboard Nails.

Rainbow Honey: The Yokai* Collection (Facebook, Shop)
Oh gawd. This is, hands-down, my favorite Halloween collection (not too sure if it is a Halloween collection but I'm going to assume it is). :b I love love love the inspiration / theme she chose - I'm a sucker for Asian folklore - and her promo pictures absolutely blew me away (no I'm not a a fan of 'claws' for nails but it fits the theme so well!!!). The colors in this collection are fantastic as well. I like how Dee managed to create such beautiful and unique colors without using too much glitters. Yup, I'm so in love with this one. :L

*Yōkai (妖怪, ghost, phantom, strange apparition)

Scooters 4 Hooters is not part of the Halloween Collection!
This beautiful polish is a glitter topcoat made in honor of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Sonoma Nail Art (Facebook, Etsy)
This is another rare one where I actually like all the glitters in the collection. The colors go so well together! Just excellent. You can view Sarah's swatches here at Chalkboard Nails.

Whimsical Ideas By Pam: Hallowhimsy (Facebook)
Yup, Wicked was inspired by the artwork for the broadway musical, Wicked. I so wish I'd caught the musical when it was here. :(

Phew! That sure took me longer than I'd thought! I wish I could include more but there's just too much pretties out there!
So... now that you've seen so many indie Halloween collections in one post, which ones are you eyeing? ;)

xoxo,
mich

p.s. Do let me know if you like reading posts like this! I'm still debating whether to do these round-ups on a regular basis. ^_^

More disclaimer: 
As with all my round-up posts, I am not in any way sponsored or affiliated with the sellers I've included. I do not profit from writing such posts. All views expressed are simply my own honest opinion.

Challenge: Metallic Madness

Hello dear readers!

This Sunday's challenge for Adventures in Stamping consisted in using stamping with a metallic or chrome finish nail polish.

This time I used my pendant as a stamp plate because the engraving works very well for that purpose :)
I have used this stamp on previous posts, here and here.

 (All pictures can be enlarged)

I used Kleancolor Pearl Fuchsia for stamping on top of a black nail polish base.

Did you like this way of stamping?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

HARE polish: Part II

As promised, here's part 2 of my mini HARE haul!

Midsummer's Midnight. 1 coat over black.
Black jelly with a mix of purple, fuchsia, green and the occasional blue glitters in various shapes and sizes. I can't even find words to describe how freaking beautiful this is - words are probably redundant anyway. The polish builds up nicely by itself in 2 to 3 coats (I know because I've worn this twice already) but the swatch above shows one coat over black. I can't decide which way I like it more. They are both stunning and eye-catching. <3 My friends love it and even my friend's boyfriend noticed it - just in case you are wondering, I think he gave a stamp of approval. :tup

Twilight Savings. 3 thick coats / 6 thin coats.
A beautiful blue/purple polish (somewhere between a periwinkle and majorelle blue) with silver squares and small purple hexes.

This is the only one that gave me some problems. Don't get me wrong! I love it a lot but it was not easy to work with. It was really sheer when I first painted it on my pinky and I found that I needed at least 6 thin coats to get the opacity that I liked. It looked pretty (there was a lot of depth to the look) but it was very tedious and a little thick on the nail. Because I couldn't find the right undies for it, I slapped on three thick coats for the rest of the nails instead. I ended up with lots of square glitters on my nails. :et
I've googled around a bit and I think not everyone had the same issue as I did. It looked beautiful on Sarah at just three coats and on Nikole at just two coats.

Revlon Royal-Twilight Savings-Royal-Twilight Savings.
A jelly sandwich with Revlon Royal! I just couldn't resist - the silver glitters were simply calling to be sandwiched! :L
On a side note, Royal is really gorgeous - a vibrant royal blue jelly with so much depth. If you don't have it, you should hunt it down.

So that's all the HARE polishes I have for now.
And if you know me, they will definitely not be my last. ;)

Just in case you are itching to get some HARE polishes too, the next restock at Llarowe will be this coming Wednesday and it will include Bisbee, A Positive, Pegasus, Monster and the Fall collection. I am not too sure if Nikole will restock her Etsy shop too.
Word has it that Nikole is going to be putting up swatches of her new Fall collection soon so do keep an eye out on her Facebook page or her blog. I simply can't wait!!!

xoxo,
mich

p.s. Do check out Part I of my HARE haul here if you have missed it!