The Polish Well: New Releases + Restock!

Hello everyone!! *waves excitedly*

Today, I will be officially unveiling the new colors that I have been working on! *happy dance* I have not just one but two collections this time.

Before we move on to the colors, I must apologize for not having my usual hand swatches. I had been too busy for the past few days and not to mention busy pampering my sadly ravaged cuticles from all the mixing and testing in my "lab".

First up, we have the summer collection:

This is loosely inspired by good ol' retro days and contains two subtle linear holos, two shimmers and two glitter polishes - something for everyone!

Blue Bell Bottoms.
A dusty dark blue with a subtle linear holo effect. Unfortunately, the swatch stick dulled the holo so you can't really see it in this picture. I really ought to have taken a picture of this on my nails in the sun but I couldn't find the time. ><

Tea Party.
A dusty mauve lilac with subtle linear holo effect. Again, the swatch stick dulled the holo so you can't really see it in this picture. I don't know about you but this color makes me want to have a high tea with my girlfriends ;)

Skinny Dipping.
A green-toned turquoise jelly with gold and copper shimmer. You know how obsessed I am about turquoises and gold so I simply had to try my hand at making this. To be honest, I am pretty happy with how it turned out ^_^

Pompadour.
A dusty rose pink with copper and taupe shimmer. Girly vintage.

Primadonna.
A peachy beige jelly filled with red and black glitters and subtle orange shimmer. Inspired by the song by Marina and the Diamonds - hence the heart glitter. I was sorely tempted to make a dark red color for the pin-up girls that were so popular in those days but I figured this is more appropriate for summer.

Polkie Dottie.
Grey with brown, turquoise and white glitters and subtle holo shimmer. I saw a phone cover in these colors somewhere and I fell in love. It isn't very summer-ish but the glitters remind me of polka dots so in it goes to this collection!

And now, we move on to The Jewels!
Disclaimer: I do not proclaim to be an expert in jewels and the colors are loosely named after the gems for the color and are in no way meant to resemble the real deals (or fictitious ones for that matter)!

I realized I forgot to take a family portrait for these so we will have to make do with individual swatches:

Dresden Green.
An emerald green subtle linear holo. Again, you can't really see the subtle linear holo in this picture. It is probably similar to Glitter Gal's Lizard Belly in terms of its holo. A note of caution: this color stains so do take note before you buy it!

Heart of the Ocean.
A sheer dark blue base with gold shimmer and duochrome flecks that shift from blue to green. Blue and green and gold? Yup, one of my personal favorites.

Moussaieff Red.
A sheer blackened red base filled with lots of red glitters and shimmers with sprinkles of gold. Can look lighter or darker depending on the lighting. I personally prefer it under very low lighting - dark with mysterious sparkles of red and gold *swoon*

And finally a random color that did not fit into any collection:

Concrete Jungle.
A dark grey with black and white shreds and generous sprinkles of holo shimmer. A random color with an equally random inspiration - a floor that I saw somewhere. ;p Odd as the inspiration may be, I love this combination.

PHEW! That was quite a lot of polishes!
Which ones caught your eye? :D

Before I end off this post, I have another piece of happy news to share: I am finally restocking my Etsy store and will be releasing these new colors this Saturday, 6 April at 9am Singapore Time! Details of the restock are as follows:

• All new and old colors will be available except Wrath, Envy (these are discontinued until further notice due to lack of supplies). 
• Prices are as follows: 
• US$8 for 10ml and US$4 for 5ml; 
• additional US$1/0.50 each for holos
• Sales will be on a made-to-order basis and it should take about 1-2 weeks for your package to be mailed. 
• All shipping will be via registered mail and shipping costs are tentatively as follows: 
• International: US$6 for the first 10ml / US$3 for the first 5ml (whichever is higher) + US$1 for each subsequent. 
• Singapore: Shipping to local addresses are at a flat rate of US$3.
• Any updates will be posted at the Etsy store so do keep a lookout for that.

Hope to see you there! :D

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

Ozotic: 908

A few days ago, Ozotic released eight new shades in two separate lines / collections - Sugar and Beam. While these are a break from the usual ozotic duochromes and multichromes, they still take my breath away. Well, honestly, it's hard not to be tempted by the official description:

Inspired by 'reflecting luminous light beams' hence the moonlight colours with sparks! 

908 is jam-packed with green and pink sparks! 

Over black or wear on its own so versatile! 

Layer over black and see 908 explode on your nail reinventing itself to light changing crystals simply amazing! 

A magical transformation in appearance that you need to see to believe! 

Colour varies depending on the angle the light falls on your nail!

Let's take a look at 908:

3 coats on its own.
Ozotic 908 is a clear-based polish filled with small green and pink flecks. It is so packed with flecks that you can actually build it up to opacity in just three coats, or four if you don't like VNLs. At three coats, Ozotic 908 looks like a shimmery metallic/platinum off-white from afar. The green and pink flecks add an interesting touch to the white when they catch the light. I'm not sure if the moonlight flashes green and pink like this but it sure is very pretty.

1 coat over black.
The flecks get thrown into the foreground once it is layered over a dark base. You can see the green and pink hues clearly and I even caught glimpses of *gasp* gold and purple! The flecks are duochrome after all! It is not very obvious from this picture but the color shift is there. It would be stronger if I had done 2 coats or one thicker coat. The green is still the strongest hue though.

And because I think it looks very delicate at just one thin coat on its own, here's a picture with 1 coat over OPI Barre My Soul (to hide my stained tips o"o). I love how soft it looks here! It is almost like Essie's Pure Pearlfaction but with bigger flecks in green and pink.

Application was great. I had no problems getting the flecks to spread evenly over the nails. But like I've said, this is really jam-packed with flecks so you may want to go easy on the polish if you don't want it to overwhelm your base color - just take a little polish and spread it thinly over the nails.

So, what do you think of Ozotic 908?

The new Ozotic shades are now available for purchase on Star Trinkets for S$19.80 each. The price includes postage for Singapore addresses, but there is an additional S$2.50 charged per order for Registered Mail. All orders are sent by Registered Mail. Star Trinkets ships internationally.
The shades are also available for purchase on the piCture pOlish site for AUD$13.00 each. International shipping rates are available on the site.

xoxo,
mich

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

Innisfree: Poem Nail Collection

It's been a while since I've last checked out some of the Korean polishes in the market and I was pleasantly surprised when I chanced upon some pretty-looking promo pictures on Instagram. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had ordered a bunch of them. :P I had wanted to grab another interesting collection too but it was unfortunately out of stock on the website so I made do with these for now.

Innisfree's Poem Nail Collection contains an interesting mix of 2 glitters and 2 duochromes - all extremely beautiful. Just take a look!

The Glitters

Innisfree 101 (Girl's Skirt). 3 coats.
A beautiful seafoam green with sprinkles of tiny gold glitters and a handful of blue hex glitters as accent. Now, doesn't that look familiar? ;) I had been eyeing Deborah Lippmann's Mermaid's Dream for quite a while now so I immediately pounced on this when I saw it. Judging by the swatches of the DL I see online, 101 is similar to Mermaid's Dream - slightly lighter and less densely packed but close enough for me. I still felt like a mermaid wearing this. Incredibly gorgeous. Kudos to Lippmann for creating this insanely beautiful polish. :b
[edit: you can view a swatch-wheel comparison here.]

Innisfree 102 (Cherry Blossom). 3 coats.
A sister polish to 101. This is a delicate silvery pink with a mix of small blue and gold glitters accented with larger hot pink hexes. Interesting color mix that looks wonderfully good together. Still a little mermaid-like - reminds me of one of Ariel's sisters (Alana perhaps?). It reminds me a little of those beautiful ocean corals too. :d

The Duochromes

Innisfree 103 (Autumn Leaves). 3 coats.
A rich and gorgeous duochrome that shifts from reddish-brown to gold. Shimmery fall in a bottle! You know how I love those colors. :L There is also a hint of green in the bottle but it didn't quite show up on the nails.

Innisfree 104 (Purple Night). 3 coats.
Another pretty glass-flecked duochrome. This one shifts from dark blue to a rich purple. The color shift is quite obvious and strong in real life but I couldn't capture it on my camera no matter how I positioned my hands. I could see the two colors on my nails but when I put the camera in front of my face, I could only see a shimmery purple on the screen. :|| End of rant. But honestly, this is stunning in real life.

Application and formula for these were pretty good.
The brushes were a little wide and rather short and stubby. It didn't feel elegant when I was painting my nails but boy am I surprised to see that I don't need any clean up. I don't know how that happened but I guess the brush fits nicely near my cuticles.
The formula applies smoothly on the nails. It is a little thin for the glitters because they are not as densely packed as some of the other glitters in the market. I will recommend some time for drying in between coats though to avoid dragging.

I hesitate to say more because I'm not very sure about it but I thought I smelled something while applying these polishes. Are Innisfree polishes scented? I can't quite put my finger to the scent. Reminds me a little of the fancy scented pens with whimsical dangly charms at the top that we used to have in primary school (elementary school) back in my time.

I'm also rather impressed with the eco-friendly concept that Innisfree adopts. You can read more about it here. I am definitely looking forward to seeing more from this brand.

So what do you think of these polishes? Have you tried any Innisfree before?

xoxo,
mich

p.s. these polishes have names too but I couldn't read Korean so I didn't include them in this post. :et I have edited the post and included the names!

Glitter Gal: Twisted Jealousy

More duochromes? Yes, please!!

Not long ago, Glitter Gal released a premium range of 6 duochromes to satisfy our never-ending need for color-shifters.

Our Duo Chromes are quick drying, high gloss nail polishes which are long lasting, chip resistant and have a multi-dimensional metallic special effect which shows a “Metallic Chrome” like finish that changes colour when viewed from different angles. Truly Captivating.

- Glitter Gal

To top it all off, the duochromes are all 5-free - containing no TFR, Camphor, Formaldehyde, DPB and Toluene! This must be the most harmless polish I have in my collection! :o

When I first heard about the Glitter Gal Duo Chromes, I thought they were the Shade Shifters, also released not too long ago. However, it turns out that they are two completely different collections:

"Both the Shade Shifters and Duo Chromes are “5 Free”. The main difference is the Shade Shifters are more opaque and can be worn either alone or over another colour. The duo chrome, whilst can be worn alone, are really designed to be worn over black, like a top coat, to create a brilliant deep colour."

- Glitter Gal

So, as you can imagine, I was really excited and honored when I was contacted to do a review for one of the duochromes!

Had to include a shot of the box - looove the chic packaging!

And this was the beauty that came in the box:

Twisted Jealousy. 1 coat over black.
A duochrome that shifts from olive green to a chocolate brown. Honestly, I wasn't particular impressed with the shade in the bottle. But, boy, did it blow my mind off when I put it on. Is it the green? Is it the brown? Nah, they are not my colors (I hardly have any olive greens or browns!) but when you put them together, I fall inexplicably in love. :L I haven't seen anything like this before! I also love that the color-shift is very strong. And the name? Absolutely fitting. Great job, Glitter Gal! :tup

Because I went trigger happy with my camera, here's a shot with more greens...

And a shot with more browns...

I did my best trying to capture the colors but they are more vivid and the color-shift is much stronger in real life.

Application was excellent. Like the Ozotic 505, the formula is slightly thin and flows nicely on the nails. The brush was also easy to control and I hardly needed any clean up. It dried glossy but I added another layer of top coat anyway - there's never too much shine, is there? ;)

In any case, If you are a fan of duochromes, Twisted Jealousy is a unique shade that will be an interesting addition to your collection. It is available on Glitter Gal for AUD$17.95 or you can purchase it from our Singapore stockist, Mei Mei Signatures, for S$24.50 each.

So, what do you think of Twisted Jealousy?
Oh, and you can check out swatches of other colors from this collection by local bloggers here or you can see Michelle's swatches at Cosmetic Cupcakes.

xoxo,
mich

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

Ozotic: 730

If you have been following our blog for a while, you would have noticed that I'm a huge sucker for duochromes or multichromes. And one of my all-time favorite brands has to be Ozotic. Their color-shifts are simply mind-blowing (see Ozotic 505 for case in point). 

While their 500 series have received much love and praises, their 700 series are sadly neglected despite being pretty amazing in their own right! Just look! 

Ozotic 730. 2 coats on its own.
Gorgeous duochrome that shifts from red to gold (see color shift from index to pinkie). The red is much richer and slightly brighter in real life. The perfect fall shades. :L

730 is significantly less sheer than its 500 series counterparts and can be worn on its own without compromising the color-shift. Unlike 505, the formula is not as runny - it's slightly thicker and flows smoothly on the nails. I had a little problem with my brush though. It felt a little strange and did not fan out very much. Thankfully, that didn't really affect the painting and I was able to get away with minimal clean up.

Because I've heard that the Ozotic 700 series look different when layered over white and black (how cool is that?!), I simply had to try it out for myself.

So here's 2 coats of 730 layered over white:

Here, 730 took on a slightly softer and more pastel look with the red turning a shade of coral-pink and the gold looking more yellow.

And this is 2 coats of 730 layered over black:
(two pictures to show the gold and the red)

Here, 730 takes on a dirtier, grunge-look. The red looks almost fuchsia and the gold turns slightly olive. 

Ozotic, I'm impressed. :b

More, pretty please? *flutters lashes*

Meanwhile, you can get your Ozotic fix from piCture pOlish or Star Trinkets (she also carries other brands like Manglaze and piCture pOlish!).

xoxo,

mich

**Product is provided for our honest review. Please see our disclosure policy for more details.**