Illamasqua: Raindrops

Purchased By Me 

A quick post today because I was a little busy over the weekends...

Presenting... Illamasqua's Raindrops!

Raindrops. 3 thin coats.

A blue-grey jelly filled with sprinkles of tiny silvery white flakies meant to resemble its namesake.

One of the most raved-about color released by Illamasqua. It was first introduced as part of the winning trio of Illamasqua's polish design contest but it was discontinued before I could get my hands on it (I was certain my wail of anguish could be heard all the way at the other side of the globe). Thankfully, Illamasqua recently re-released it as part of their Broken Heart Collection and, having learnt my lesson, I immediately placed an order for it.

The emo-gal in me fell in love with the inspiration and Illamasqua certainly didn't disappoint. Raindrops is the perfect portrayal of a rainy day. The little flakies are much more visible in real life than what the swatch picture shows - closer to what you see in the close-up picture on the left.

Application was perfect as well. I've heard that the previous batch of Raindrops was really sheer but I did not have much trouble reaching opacity with 3 thin coats.

I've heard that Illamasqua also released an accompanying Pink Raindrops but I skipped it because I am not that fond of pink.

What do you think of this? Did you get your hands on any of the Raindrops?

OPI: Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides

Purchased By Me 

So, I'd lost my blogging mojo for a few weeks. To be more accurate, I actually bordered on losing interest in nail polishes altogether. Terrifying, I know... But there are many reasons that drove that crazy idea into my head - work, filling orders from my Etsy store and my stubborn insistence to indulge in my other hobbies (eg. manga, TV dramas) till late in the night. With so many things to do, I hardly found the time to do swatches / nail art for the blog *hangs head in shame*

This went on for a few weeks and I finally decided to do something about it:

From now on, my Etsy store will only be opened on the first and last 3 days of each month. 

I thank you for your understanding. Hopefully, this will give me more time over the rest of the weekends to recharge and spend time on other things that I love too - including updating this blog! ♥

To kickstart the first post after my brief hiatus, I'm happy to say that I've finally gotten my hands on OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean collection! *happy dance* I am not even a fan of pastel colors (I love them but they don't love my skin tone) but I am all gaga over these colors. I believe this is the first time that I've spent slightly more money to get my hands on discontinued colors and I am not regretting it the least bit. Take a look:

Mermaid's Tears. 3 thin coats.
Bright but slightly dusty turquoise. You know how much I love turquoises. Make them dusty looking and I'm completely sold. This is also the reason why I spent a couple of bucks more to get this one. Thankfully I didn't have to fork out retail price for it though - OPIs are going at about S$20 through the official retailer *winces*

Stranger Tides. 3 thin coats.
A dusty murky green. I can't even begin to say how much I love this.

Skull and Glossbones. 3 thin coats.
A beautiful light grey with hints of khaki green. I had dismissed this initially because I thought it would look horrid on me but it rocketed to be one of my favorite colors in this collection. The green is just enough to make it wearable and unique. Simply perfection.

Steady as She Rose. 3 thin coats.
A beautiful lilac shade-shifter. It leans more pink or purple depending on the lighting. Another must-have. Work appropriate too!

Sparrow Me the Drama. 3 thin coats.
Soft bright pink. I don't really like bright pinks but I make an exception for this - it is bright but dusty enough for my liking.

Planks A Lot. 3 thin coats.
A beautiful dusty red-toned purple. I thought it was similar to a-england Guinevere but this is less dusty and brighter.

Yup, I'm seriously in love with all the colors in this collection. If you are a fan of dusty shades, you wouldn't want to miss this collection... well, except the silver shatter perhaps - because it is passé. Although the collection has been discontinued, I believe it is not difficult to find them online on eBay, etc. My advice? Grab them before they become really HTF.

Which color(s) do you like?

China Glaze Hologlam - Strap on your Moonboots

Hello dear readers!

Today I want to show you swatches of China Glaze  - Strap on your Moonboots.

This nail polish is part of the Hologlam collection. There are 12 different holographic nail polishes but this one is one of my favorite colors.

Strap on your Moonboots is a stunning navy blue holographic nail polish. Formula-wise, it is pigmented enough with 2 coats. As for the application, I had a few problems because the nail polish was goopy in consistency...the nail polish cap was loose when it arrived and I think that's the reason and not a problem the formula. 

 

The holographic finish is different from CG previous holographic collections, it is linear and the particles are very fine...I also like that it has a metallic sheen to it that I've never seen on other holographic collections.

Do you own a nail polish form China Glaze Hologlam Collection? 

If not, what do you think of this color?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Ninja Polish - He Went to Jarred - 12K White Gold Top Coat

Hello dear readers!

I'm still catching up (or at least trying) with nail swatches that are overdue on my blog...

Last month, I showed you swatches of Ninja Polish - The Midas Touch 24K Gold Flake Top Coat (Click here to read) and today, I have swatches of He Went to Jarred which is the silver version made of 12K White Gold flakes.

I applied 2 coats of He Went to Jarred over Man Glaze - Matte is Murder.

 Just  as its gold counterpart, this silver flake was easy to apply.

One thing I forgot to say about this flake top coat... contrary to glitter nail polishes, gold or silver flake top coats are very easy to remove with regular acetone.

Which flake top coat do you like the best, gold or silver?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Man Glaze - Matte is Murder - With shiny topcoat

Hello dear readers!

On my previous post about Man Glaze - Matte is Murder, I showed you swatches with this nail polish in its natural matte beauty. This time, I want to show you swatches of this badass nail polish with topcoat.

As if Matte is Murder wasn't cool enough by itself, I went ahead and added topcoat just to add a bit more to the awesomeness of this nail polish...

I love the purple and green shimmer effect when shiny!

Extra pic...

Which finish do you like better? Matte or shiny?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Man Glaze - Matte is Murder - Review & Swatches

Hello dear readers!

Here is another belated post. Some of you may notice that on some of my recent posts my nails look long, a bit short on the next post and back to long on the other... I'm mixing some of my recent pictures with a few older ones that I had on queue... This one is  from the beginning of March.

It is the first time for me to try Man Glaze nail polish, I've read and seen awesome reviews on this brand and I knew I needed to try them myself.

 Matte is Murder is an awesome matte black nail polish with a hint of shimmer.

 The application was very easy, it is fairly opaque in one generous coat, but two coats are better. It can be applied without any problems with streaking or bald spots, just perfect. The drying time is relatively fast considering you don't apply topcoat to keep the matte finish.

Extra pic...

I'm usually not a fan of the matte finish, but Man Glaze nail polishes are just too good to pass up, these nail polishes are not plain at all!

I will show you swatches with shiny topcoat on my next post  ;)

 *This nail polish was purchased by me. The opinion expressed of this product is solely my own.

 

Do you like matte finish nail polishes?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥