12 Days of Round-Up: Giveaway Winners!

Sooo... the long awaited post!

Andddd, the lucky giveaway winners are:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Once again, congratulations Sabrina and Ana!
Yes, I have contacted the winners and they have already sent a confirmation reply so I will be doing some serious shopping soon! Oh goody!!

Thank you all for participating in our giveaway and we hope you have enjoyed yourselves so far! Do check back often for more updates and other surprises coming your way! <3

xoxo,
mich

12 Days of Round-Up: Nail Art Edition!

Finally, the last instalment of the Round-Up posts!

I actually had other plans for this post but I was tagged on Instagram to share some of my favorite manicures for 2012 and this came up:

Yup! My favorite mani-s in 2012 are all nail art! :L

I decided to include this collage here as a New Year's resolution of sorts - to remind myself not to give up on nail art despite having to start work this year. So far, I haven't work on the resolution yet but I promise I will try once I get used to working! For now, I am still very exhausted after work each time. xP

What are some of your favorite mani-s for 2012?
Have you started working on your New Year's resolution yet? ;)

xoxo,
mich

12 Days of Round-Up: Asian Brands to Watch

I apologize for being absent yesterday! I had a bad day at work and couldn't find the mood to blog so I went to bed early et violà! I'm alright again after a good night's sleep! :i

So let's continue with our last two round-up posts, shall we?

Lately, I've noticed some interests in some of the Asian polishes released recently. Ok... maybe it is just me but some of them are really worth noting! :$

Tony Moly

I first saw swatches of the Galaxy collection over at Steffels and it was instant love. I bought them and fell in love again (yes, even on my short nubs and dry fingers). I recently swatched them on my swatch sticks and I fell in love all over again. They are excellent. Then I came across the milky glitters and... gosh, I need them! Yes, they did a dupe of Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air but apart from that, they have been incredibly creative, haven't they?

It has been a while since I've seen anything exciting from them but I'm ready whenever they are!

Innisfree

Another Korean brand that has caught my heart in 2012. They have a huge range of polishes and they have recently upped the game by releasing some really gorgeous glitters too. Like Tony Moly, they are also not afraid to play with new color combinations and that's what I really like about these brands. Just take a look at some of the glitters that I've bought from their Star Sign collection!

Beautiful, eh? I really need to get back to swatching soon. So many pretties in my untrieds!

So, yupppp, these are two of my favorite Asian brands so far! What do you think of them? Have you tried any Asian polishes yourself?

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Indies to Watch

Woohoo! It's almost the end of the week!! I sure miss lazing around the house during the holidays!

For today's post, I'd thought it would only be fair to highlight some upcoming indie collections as well. Unfortunately, there really isn't much information available for me to work on so I decided to blog about some of the indie brands to-watch in the coming year. I will not be touching on the wildly popular  indies (eg. KBShimmer, Girly Bits, Dollish Polish, Pretty & Polished, etc) but instead I will focus on some of the equally-deserving but less popular indie brands. They may or may not be new to some of you but they have recently caught my eye and I have grown to have high expectations of them.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics

Ranking right at the top of my list is Femme Fatale Cosmetics. Keeping true to their name and logo, FFC has churned out many bold and richly-colored glitters fitting of a sexy and confident femme fatale. I was surprised to find myself drooling over most if not all of their polishes and I definitely look forward to seeing more pretties from them this year. And... it seems like they are already off to a good start! You can hop over to their Facebook page to see some of the newest additions to their line. I'm loving Librarian's Shush, Lucent Ametrine and Party Grenade already.

Emily De Molly

Another indie that has won over my heart is Emily de Molly. I love her creative and unexpectedly beautiful mixes. I don't know what other color combos Hayley has up her sleeves (I'm not as good with colors) but I sure hope she keeps them coming! You can hop over to her Facebook page to check out swatches of her polishes.

Penélope Luz

Penélope Luz is a brand that I've stumbled upon at PAA. Penélope first started posting swatches of her beautiful frankens on Flickr and PAA and I fell in love almost immediately. She has since started her own line of polishes and is currently selling them through some Brazilian websites. At least that's what I think - I relied mainly on Google Translate to help me go through her Facebook page and her blog and you know how crazy Google Translate can get sometimes. Urgh. I need to get my hands on these somehow...

Cirque

At first glance, you might mistake Cirque for a lab-indie. The name, logo and packaging totally exudes style and class in all degrees. So you can imagine my shock when I found out that it is actually hand-blended polish! Of course, we polishaholics should know better than to judge a polish solely by its bottle - so let's talk about the polish. They have a good mix of darks and lights that are gorgeous and always elegant. Don't believe me? You can check them out at their Facebook page or simply google for swatches. You will know what I mean.

Nail Pattern Boldness

Ok ok! Last one! I promise!! Nail Pattern Boldness is another brand that recently caught my eyes. The colors are gorgeous. Just look at this Time Traveler collection! You can hop over to her Facebook page to check out some of her polishes.

There are many many many many more deserving indie labels under the radar that I've yet to cover / explore. 

What do you recommend?

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Upcoming Collections in 2013

Phew! I've just survived my first day of work training and it was more tiring than I'd thought. The best part was... I didn't even have any work to do! But really, sitting at the desk doing nothing for hours straight is really exhausting and no fun at all. I sure hope tomorrow will be slightly better!

Anyway, let's jump straight to today's post before I call it a night! As with our usual tradition, here's a round-up of some of the new/upcoming collections in 2013!

Disclaimer: Pictures are taken from everything2k unless specified otherwise!

OPI Mariah Carey

I've already posted about the liquid sand polishes from this collection but OPI also has something for those who are not loving the gritty texture! Creme, glitter and shimmers - now that's something for everyone! I love how the colors are very rich and diva-esque.

Zoya Lovely

source: zoya

Ahh... one of the early spring collections that is already available! This collection features pastel hues in cremes and heavy shimmers. I've read that the formula is slightly tricky for these though. That aside, Neely (was there ever any doubt) and Julie are calling my name.

Orly Hope and Freedom

I am not sure if these are already available but I believe these are already available through some etailers in Singapore. Of course, Peaceful Opposition stole all the limelight with the white-based glitters (swatch here). High On Hope looks gorgeous in the bottle too but not so much on the nails... Still rather pretty though! I haven't seen swatches of the other colors yet but Boho Bonnet and Coachella Dweller are pretty too and worth a look if you don't already have similar colors.

China Glaze Avant Garden

source: melva@nailvibe

Another spring collection that is already available in Singapore through etailers. I'm not too sure about the "Brights" half of the collection (on the left of the picture) but I'm loving the pastels. Not sure if there are dupes for them though.

OPI Eurocentrale

source: opi

Yessssssss! Oh how I want these so bad! If you have missed it, hop over now to see swatches of the blues by Manicurator - they are to-die-for!!!! I am also eyeing BudaPest and Polka.com (how cute is that name?!) It's been a while since I've been so excited about so many colors in an OPI collection - I feel so much love for OPI now.

ETA: February 2013

Butter London Spring 2013

source: bagfulofnotions

Pastels. Omg. They look so so pretty but I don't know if they will look any good on my skintone. That peach and turquoise are making me drool.

Essie Spring 2013

Last but not least, we also have a spring collection from Essie! I'm loving the three colors at the bottom! So pretty! Is there anything like Maximillian already?

ETA: March 2013

Moving away from the Spring collections, here are some of the other collections that are coming out in 2013:

OPI Oz

source: opi

An Oz collection with no reds or emeralds?! I am just a wee bit disappointed. But then again, the new Oz movie is adapted from the novel and not exactly what we have seen in the past so maybe the reds don't come into the picture so much. The glitters are interesting but I don't quite know how I feel about the soft shades. The NYC Ballet collection has set a pretty high bar!

ETA: March 2013

China Glaze Glitz

source: chinaglaze

Gorgeous 3D glitters, combined with black Bitz ’N Pieces create a Mosaic Masterpiece on nails.

Yes, this collection features some sparkly glitters mixed with black hexes and bar glitters! Now that is definitely edgy alright! I haven't seen swatches of these but they look pretty promising in the promo shots. I hope it won't turn out too much like Whirled Away - it just didn't look quite right to me...

China Glaze Hologlam

Yes, this is a repost but I couldn't resist including this again! The swatches seen at Polish Galore look really promising but recent swatches that appeared on Instagram seem otherwise... You can check them out here and here. I'm really hoping that CG don't disappoint me!!

ETA: March 2013

China Glaze NEONS On The Shore

Create waves with NEONS On The Shore. Twelve new SUN-sational crèmes and jellies.

Yes you read that right - JELLIES. I wonder how neon jellies look like. The teal looks really pretty in the promo shots though!

ETA: April 2013

Sooo... what do you think of these? Which ones are you eyeing?

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Trends in 2013

It's 2013!! Did you have a great New Year's Day? :party

To usher in the new year, I will be continuing the 12 days of round-up series by covering some of the polishes to look out for in 2013! :e Of course, the materials I have to work with are very limited so this will only be a small preview of what is in store for us this year.

OPI Liquid Sand / China Glaze Texture / Zoya PixieDust

source: OPI

source: everything2k

source: zoya; swatches at manicurator

Very fine glitters that dry matte and gritty. Yup, all three of them are putting out these glitters in different colors! Heh.. makes one wonder if all the companies have a meeting at the start of the year to decide on the trends for the year. xD

I am most fascinated by how the polish base seemingly disappears to leave behind the glitters. That aside, I am not normally a fan of gritty nails so I don't quite know if I will like these. Swatches for the OPI and Zoya glitters are already floating around and bloggers agree that they are not as gritty as they look so I may give it a shot. Of these, I have to say that I prefer the OPI colors - kudos to them for adding different glitters to make it more interesting and varied. And Stay the Night looks absolutely stunning - I have a weakness for red and black.

Nails Inc Leather Effect

source: nailsinc

From The PolishAholic's swatches, especially the sun pic, the leather effect polish appears somewhat similar to the liquid sand / pixie dust glitters but Jen noted that it was less gritty - perhaps due to the creamier base? In any case, I am loving their packaging - black leather with skulls? Yes please! \m/

From what we can see so far, it appears that the companies are going big on texture for the new year!
What do you think of this trend? Yay or nay?

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Indie Favorites

And now... for my indie favorites!
I had such a hard time doing up my list when there are sooooo many to choose from!

source: scrangie

a-england Dragon.
Oh that gold flash is to die for - so dragon-esque. Honestly, I don't know why I don't have this in my stash. I need to remedy that pronto. :L

Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed. 1 coat over Illamasqua Rampage.
A sheer green base filled with silver and green glitters and a scattering of orange-gold flakies. Absolutely stunning combo. I'm sorry if the swatch looks a little gritty. I realized that I forgot to add a top coat until I was editing the pictures. It is completely smooth and glossy with just one coat of top coat. :P

source: fashionpolish

Cult Nails Flushed.
A stunning purple with that magical fiery shimmer not unlike OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest or Max Factor Fantasy Fire. I admit I have a weakness for such polishes. Yes, it is my fault for not getting it early but it is currently on its way to me. *happy dance*

Emily de Molly Harmony. 3 coats.
Another horrible swatch. I've worn this a few times already and each time the sky was overcast so I can't get a good picture of it. It is December after all. Anyway, I digressed. This is a beautiful grey with scatterings of teal, purple, lavender and white glitters and super tiny holographic shimmer/glitter in the base. Completely unique and absolutely chic and gorgeous. You know you need it. <3

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Hydraxia. 2 coats over Cult Nails Living Water.
Another Aussie indie polish that is absolutely fabulous. It looks good in the swatch and I can tell you, it looks even better in real life.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Winter Hyacinth. 4 coats on ring and 2 coats over China Glaze For Audrey on the rest.
I'm sorry for the mini Aussie indie spam but they totally deserve a spot on the list. Just look at it. I simply can't adequately describe how awesome this is.

HARE Polish Magic Mist. 1 coat over a-england Guinevere.
I love purple and this is one of the prettiest purple glitter I have ever seen. Delicate yet bold at the same time.

source: harepolish

HARE Polish Oceans of Alloys.
It's blue/turquoise so you know it has my heart that wee bit more than the other colors in the collection. The color mix is also perfect. Even my nuggle (nail polish muggle) friend agrees. I've worn this a few times already but never had the time to take a proper picture because I was always rushing some where else after slapping it on.

source: scrangie

Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily.
I can kick myself in the butt a million times over for missing out on this when it was first released. And I can stab myself in the heart a million times for not grabbing this when it was available the second time. WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING?! Ji, please say you will make it available again. :c I promise I will never never let it slip me another time!

source: imfeelingnail-venturous

KbShimmer Hex Appeal.
I don't know why I keep telling myself I don't need this when I obviously do. It's such a rich deep blue and the glitters accentuate it perfectly. I'm so not skipping this the next time I'm making an order.

Yup so these are some of my favorites this year!
Admittedly, these are just the tip of the iceberg - there are still plenty of indie brands that I have yet to try so there may be other gems out there that I've missed out.
Do share some of your favorites so I can check them out! :d

Let's hope that 2013 will be another great indie year, shall we? xD

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Mainstream Favorites

Whoohoo!! We are officially mid-way through our round-up! I hope you are enjoying the series so far! It is something that I have never tried before but I do like sharing some of my favorites with you and hearing from you about your favorites!

Today, I have some of my favorite mainstream polishes to share with you.
I must confess though, I did not buy many mainstream polishes this year. With the colorful indies everywhere, it is starting to require much more before a polish wow-s me - as if I am not already picky enough. :P

China Glaze Riveting. 2 coats.
Bright and fiery. I am not a fan of orange but I couldn't help falling in love with this.

China Glaze I'm Not Lion. 3 coats.
Light champagne holo glitter that is incredibly sparkly and elegant - just the way I like my bling.

Max Factor Fantasy Fire. 1 coat over Zoya Kelly.
Magic in a bottle. I know there are a lot of polishes with the same color-shifting shimmer but I love Fantasy Fire because the shimmer really pops in the sheer purple base. I have never worn it on its own before but I just (like half an hour ago) painted it on a swatch stick. I can stare at it all day long. I will try to take a picture soon!

OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest. 2 coats.
Inky base with fiery red shimmer. This was an instant favorite from all the fall polishes by the mainstream brands. Simple, elegant and smoking hawt at the same time.

Innisfree #101 (Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream Dupe). 3 coats.
A polish that looks like the shimmery scales of a mermaid's tail - or at least it looks like what I imagine a mermaid's tail to be. I didn't even know it was possible to replicate the perfectly textured look in a polish! For sweeping me off my feet like that, it deserves a spot on the list. I'm using the innisfree dupe because I am a pauper but you know I am referring to the original. :i

Of course, the blue-greens are also on this list but I thought I shouldn't bore you with a repost ;)
What are some of your favorite polishes in 2012? :h

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Best Indie Collection 2012

Oops I apologize for this incredibly late post today! I had been really busy with spring cleaning (where did 2012 go?!) and trying to swatch my collection on swatch sticks during my little "breaks" from all the housework.

Anyway, having looked at some of my favorite mainstream collections yesterday, let's take a look at some of the indie collections that caught my heart this year!

a-england The Legends

source: ommorphia

Gorgeous colors to go with a beautiful story. I have a weakness for myths and legends so I am already slightly biased towards this collection. Add some beautiful holos to the collection and *poof* instant favorite. Although there are many other polishes with stronger holo effect, I still have a soft-spot for a-england's holos because they are softer and look more elegant.

Cult Nails Behind Closed Doors

Source: Chalkboard News

Sexy naughty collection with incredibly rich colors = extremely hard to resist. Right up my alley!!
I tried to tell myself I don't need them but I don't know how long more I can hold out for. I already caved in and got Flushed. :$

HARE Polish Finder's Keepers

source: harepolish

Now, don't look at me like that! I am a HARE fan but I honestly did try my darndest to choose only two or three to buy. I stared at swatches for hours and.... ended up buying everything. I am such a fail. :b In my defense, the colors are all so unique and pretty! I honestly don't understand how Nikole manages to snag my heart again and again...

Rainbow Honey Yokai

Yup, I couldn't resist. Folklores and myths? Check. Beautiful colors? Check. Unique? Check. The formula wasn't the best but I think I can put up with it.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Fan Collection Spring 2012

source: scrangie

This is a collection that made me wish I were rich enough to buy them all. Incredibly gorgeous colors that are so unique. It certainly didn't help that I'm on a blue-green kick this year! The more I look at them, the more I want them. Unfortunately, most of these are no longer available for sale at RBL - I don't know whether to feel relieved (money saved!) or frustrated (because I didn't get them when they were available). :et

What are some of the indie collections that caught your heart this year?

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.

12 Days of Round-Up: Best Mainstream Collections 2012

Before I attempt to list down some of my favorite polishes of the year, I thought it is worth mentioning some of the collections (as opposed to individual colors) that have caught my heart this year.

So let's take a look at the collections that had me going "BUY-ALL-THE-COLORS!!" :fire
At least until I realize I don't have enough money to cart them out :P

OPI Holland

source: fab fatale

Brights, dusty faded colors and even darks - this collection has them all! It is really hard to ignore a collection that has something for everyone. It didn't help that the colors are so pretty too! Just looking at this picture makes me all ready for spring. :rainbow

OPI NYC Ballet

source: scrangie

An unexpected favorite of mine - this is a collection that I had dismissed time after time (even after seeing swatches) until I saw Scrangie's post. She captured the softness and squishiness of the jellies perfectly and I couldn't help falling in love with them. :L Because I don't usually wear soft shades, I only got Barre My Soul (the first on the left) and Pirouette My Whistle. But I am definitely thinking of getting more for work though - the formula was perfect.

Color Club Halo Hues

source: color club

Now this is a highly-anticipated collection that set many holo-lovers' hearts racing. It is said to have an excellent formula (i.e. no need special base coats, etc) without compromising the holographic effects so it definitely deserved a spot on this list. I have my eyes on this collection but I am holding back for now and waiting to see the China Glaze Hologram to be released in 2013! :P

Zoya Designer & Diva

Source: scrangie.com

Ahh... fall collections are my favorites of the year - I am such a sucker for rich, dark, vampy colors. I must say that I have at least a favorite from each of the fall collections but Zoya's fall collections, as a whole, stole my heart. I love the range of sparkly colors in the Diva collection. They also had me ooo-ing and ahh-ing at the smoky cremes in the Designer collection - if there is anything that I love more than a vampy color, it is a smoky vampy color. I swear, if Zoyas were more readily available here, I would have snapped them all up in the blink of an eye.

Zoya Ornate

Source: scrangie.com

Another Zoya collection! This time, we have Zoya's first holographic polishes! Extremely beautiful colors to go with the scattered holo particles - you can't go wrong with black, purple and red. I believe they are similar to some of the Ozotic polishes so if you have been holding back because of the price tag on the Ozotics, you should not miss out on these Zoyas. Apart from the holographic polishes, I also fell in love with their foils. Instead of being a plain and boring foil, they have a little something to keep them from looking too flat on the nails. I don't really like Electra because of the bar glitters but if you are a fan of bar glitters, you will love how sparkly it is. For the unique and beautiful colors, Zoya stood out amongst all the other holiday collections for me. :h

What are some of the mainstream collections that have caught your heart this year?

xoxo,
mich

P.S. Don't forget to enter our year-end giveaway to win amazing polishes from both mainstream and indie brands! Ends 12 Jan 2013.