The Polish Well: Halloween 2013 - Coraline and more!

Dear broadband, *clears throat to sing* how do I live without you~?
So our internet has been down for the past two days and it is driving us insane. But because I am flying off for a holiday this weekend (whooooohooo), I've decided to tether to my precious mobile broadband for a quickie post tonight to show you none other than... my mini halloween collection based on the movie - Coraline!

Oops! Missing a family shot because it slipped my mind so let's just jump to individual swatches shall we?

Coraline.
A deep blue jelly with a slight green tinge filled with turquoise sparkles and blue-green flecks for the spunky blue nails that Coraline sports. I love the depth of this but be warned - it is a stainer.

To the Other World.
A mysterious and inviting deep blue with blue and purple sparkles that give it a glow-from-within look. This was inspired by the tunnel to the other world - when the other mother was still playing nice of course. One of the more glowy blues that I have in my collection. I wore this as a full manicure once and received quite a few compliments - even my sister thought it looks good and she rarely compliments my frankens ;)

Let Me Go!
A mix of gold sparkles in various shades buried in a rich dark chocolate base inspired by the tunnel when Coraline tries to escape. I do love myself some dark browns especially during this time of the year <3

Evil Witch.
For the other mother of course. A deep green jelly with a mix of green glitters and delicate gold sprinkles. I have been meaning to mix a good green for ages but never really found the right colour mix until recently. Can you tell that dark greens are my weakness?


Hmm... perhaps these are not as halloween-y as I'd hoped it would be. Nonetheless, these colours are very wearable any time of the year and that's always a plus in my books ;)

Interested? Here's the release info:-

• I will be accepting pre-orders for this collection from Sunday, 13 October, 9am SGT to the following Sunday 20 October, 9am SGT. 
• Only available in 12ml sizes at US$10 each
• Limited edition - will not be restocked in the foreseeable future
• Shipping at US$6 + US$1 for each subsequent (SG - flat rate of US$4)
• Link to pre-order form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1MZdJZ4_qmM7ywfNjGuU3OVdNH_Oze7TtiDQo9mVtJEQ/viewform (will only be activated during the dates and times stated above)
• If you have an outstanding pre-order with me, please add a note in the remarks field and I will combine your orders for you. 

Other colours that will be made available:

Wrath. (re-release)
Finally... after what seemed like ages, I am finally able to recreate this popular shade from my first collection. A vampy blood red jelly filled with red, gold and black glitters of various shapes and sizes. You likey? ;)

Rose.
A delicate white jelly filled with pink glitters in two shades and a sprinkling of tiny gold sparkles. Inspired by Lee Hi's song of the same name (you need to listen to it - it is hauntingly beautiful). A random bout of inspiration that turned into a shade that I really love.


Yup! That's all from me for now. I need to get myself some rest before my holiday!

What do you think of these colours? Did any catch your eye? :D

a-england: Rose Bower, Order of the Garter & Love is Enough

Sent for Review

Arggggh! I swear the heat is going to kill me one day. It would be a good day for swatching except that my block of flats is being painted at the moment and I don't exactly fancy doing my thang when the painters are hovering outside my window. *awkward*

Thankfully I have some swatches in my camera so I can still blog away!

If you've caught my last post, you would know that I've received some pretties from Dazzled, a new etailer based in Hong Kong. So today, I will be sharing with you some from one of my favourite brands: a-england!

Rose Bower. 2 coats (it is a one-coater but I did 2 anyway)
A gorgeous glowy red base with very subtle holo. Rose Bower is one of the new colours in Adina's latest collection, Burne-Jones Dream, inspired by Burne-Jones' paintings depicting scenes from Sleeping Beauty. Whilst the holo effect is the weakest in Rose Bower, the base colour more than makes up for everything. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the holo sparkles compliment the base perfectly.

Order of the Garter. (3 thin coats)
A sheer deep blue base filled with electric blue glass flecks that shimmer impossibly when they catch the light. I can truly lose myself in the depths within.

Love is Enough. (3 thin coats)
A sheer blackened base filled with shimmery metallic flecks giving it an overall olive hue with gold accents. Extremely glowy, sophisticated and edgy.







As with all the a-englands, the formula and application on these are perfect so no complaints there. In fact, it is one of the reason why I love a-england so much - painting is not just a process to getting pretty nails, it is an enjoyment by itself.

At the moment, a-england only ships within the UK but you can get your hands on these beauties through various distributors including Dazzled. Starting from yesterday, Dazzled is officially offering worldwide shipping (including countries outside Asia) so all you international ladies can satisfy your needs and lemmings too. On top of that, to celebrate 2,500 likes on Facebook, Dazzled is having a storewide discount of 10% with the code "2500FB". The code is valid until 6 September so don't wait! ;)



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

The Polish Well: BANG!

Happy Sunday everyone!
I can't believe the long weekend (we had 2 days of public holidays on thursday and friday) passed by so quickly. I still don't feel adequately rested! T_T

Anyway, I thought I would share some of my new concoctions on the blog today. It has been quite a while but I've finally finalised a new collection that is based on one of my favourite korean bands - Big Bang! I was introduced to Big Bang by my sister earlier this year and have since been hooked onto quite a number of their songs. The idea of a collection came about way back in March when I had a sudden bout of inspiration and created Hallelujah. Since then, I have mulled over the rest of the colours and I am happy to say that I've finally made some headway. Take a look:

p.s. you can click on the lyrics to enjoy the lovely songs on youtube :)

Fantastic Baby.

Jump at the sound of your heartbeat till this comes to an end yeah

I can't baby don't stop this

Just go corrupt today (go crazy and rave) let's go

wow fantastic baby ~ Boom Shakalala

A berry red jelly filled with an assortment of glitters - holos, reds, purples, circles, squares, hexes and a sprinkling of shimmer. I had such hard time coming up with a colour for this song. Every ounce of my instinct told me to throw a bunch of silver holo glitters together for the dance number but I wasn't sure if I could come up with a mix that is better than what is already available in the market. In the end, I scoured through the lyrics and settled on "heartbeat" for my colour inspiration. Even then, it took me several tries before I came up with this. Quite happy with the squishy look. :P

Ego.

You’re so beautiful, I’ve been bewitched

I can’t fall asleep tonight at thoughts of you

You’re so wonderful, I have gone crazy

I can’t snap out of it, I’m getting dizzy 

She killed my ego

Red with gold and holo shimmer. Slightly darker than what it looks in this picture. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to capture much of the shimmer in the picture either - it is slightly more visible IRL :(

Love Dust.

When today passes, you will disappear like dust – what is love?

If I look sad, my tears are like smoke, like dancing smoke

Tomorrow, my day will start like nothing is wrong and I will forget you

I’ll just remain here, smiling, as I pray that you will be happy

A soft salmon pink with peach and gold shimmer. A colour that is very heavily inspired by the melody and what I think love dust looks like.

Haru Haru.

Don't look back and leave

Don't find me again and live (on)

Because I have no regrets from loving you, take only the good memories

I can bear it in some way

I can stand in some way

You should be happy if you are like this

I become dull day by day (eh eh eh eh)

Oh girl I cry, cry

You're my all, say goodbye...

A soft greyish-blue mint with subtle holo. This was partly born from my obsession with turquoises and mint and partly from Deborah's (lovevarnish) request for a soft mint holo. I took a look at the bottle after the shaking and mixing and "Haru Haru" immediately came to mind.

Monster.

I love you baby I’m not a monster

You know how I was in the past

When time passes, it’ll all disappear

Then you will know baby

A sage green with rose flecks and subtle green shimmer. This is not new to the blog and some of you might already know that this was from my feeble attempt at duping Butter London's Two Fingered Salute. I've since gotten my hands on the real deal and they are definitely not dupes. While the base colours are almost, if not exactly, identical, the shimmer and flecks are completely different. Nonetheless, I really like this lab creation and it seems to fit with the song so I've decided to keep it in this collection. :P

Lies.

A late night and rain falling down. 

I bring you back from my memories. 

I promised myself I would be fine without you, but I can’t help it.

A deep teal with a mix of aqua blue and green shimmer. Another song that gave me a difficult time but I am glad I finally had an eureka moment.

Bad Boy.

I was too harsh that night

I didn’t know you would really leave

The words, “I’m sorry”, is too difficult for us that we take it to the end

Because I’m ill-tempered

We fight over stupid things numerous times a day

You take off crying, I look around and think,

‘She’ll come back tomorrow. She’ll definitely call me first in the morning'

A deep blue with a mix of copper, blue and purple shimmer. This was another song that was very challenging to put in a bottle. In the end, I went with the colours of a beautiful sunrise that I happened to catch. I think this one needs a bit more shimmer for the colours to pop.

Tonight.

I look for you, oh-eh-oh (tonight), below that moonlight that illuminates me (such a beautiful night)

I look for you oh-eh-oh-oh-oh I don’t know where the end is but (good night)

A deep plum jelly with gold, royal blue and purple shimmer-flecks. This was an accidental mix that came about because I was curious what I would get if I mixed all my shimmers together. I didn't go further than these three colours when I fell in love and abandoned my initial quest. I will toy with that again in future - though I suspect it may not look fantastic.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah, I'm falling, I'm falling, falling

Within those collapsed buildings (yeah)

Hallelujah (yes) I'm falling (yes), I'm falling, falling

A mix of holo silver, gunmetal and lavendar glitters and with a smattering of purple shimmer falling within the depths of the black jelly. My very first colour of the collection and one which I still love.

Blue.

The winter's gone

And the spring has come

We've withered away

And our hearts are torn from the yesterdays

(I'm singing the blue)

I'm used to the tears, the doubt and the fears that hold me back, oh

(I'm singing the blue)

I hope you can see, I'm losin' my grip on you, oh oh

A slate grey with blue, green and silver shimmer. Inspired by the very first Big Bang song that I fell for. My sister had been playing Big Bang songs for ages but this was the very first that caught my attention. Unlikely most other korean songs that my sister played, this was unusually mellow and emotional. Till now, it is still one of my favourite songs by Big Bang so there was no way I could leave this song out. 

Phew. That was quite a whole lot of polishes, wasn't it? 

Now that you've seen them, which one(s) caught your eye?

As you might have noticed, I have temporarily placed my shop on hiatus and I am no longer taking any orders at the moment. Although I've enjoyed creating these new colours, I have yet to firm up any plans for my store so these polishes (together with the other colours) are not available for sale at the moment. I will post an update once I have a plan. 

So why am I showing these new colours to you, you ask? 

Well... apart from the fact that I couldn't wait to show you my creations, I've also decided to throw a small giveaway to celebrate my birthday this week! ^_^

The prize? The entire unreleased BANG! collection (minis) for one lucky winner!

The giveaway is open on this blog (details in the rafflecopter widget) and on Instagram (details on my IG post). All entries will be collated for the draw so you need not enter twice - duplicate entries will be deleted before the draw.
The usual rules apply so fire away!
Giveaway closes in a week's time on 18 August 2013 at 12am, SGT. Good luck!

Giveaway has ended

piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013: Celebrating the Year of the Blogger!

Sent for Contest

After an agonising month of keeping my mouth sealed, I am happy to say that the day has finally come! Yup! It is time for piCture pOlish's Blog Fest 2013! For those who are new to the scene, piCture pOlish hails from down under and every year, a group of bloggers embark on a massive mission to swatch and showcase new colours from piCture pOlish for polishaholics to drool over. Well, at least that was what happened in the past...

This year, the girls from piCture pOlish decided to catch us all by surprise by having a huge competition instead to celebrate the Year of the Blogger! Yup! They have dedicated this event for all the bloggers and to celebrate what we do ♥ I must say, I was rather surprised and touched when I first heard about the theme for the blog fest this year. I might have mentionned it before but I think there are still many people out there who have the impression that nail blogging is a piece of cake. It looks deceptively simple but bloggers often put in a lot of effort to maintain their nails, painting them as perfectly as possible, photographing them accurately, editing the pictures and finally blogging about them - all these on top of living a regular everyday life (yes, we really do engage in other activities apart from painting our nails). For me, it has become slightly more challenging this year when I took on a full-time job after my graduation. I am often bone-tired after work and there were several occasions when I felt like throwing in the towel so that I can rest a little more during the weekends... but your comments kept me going, so here I am! ♥

So, before I digress further and get all soppy, let's talk about the competition, shall we? On 29 July, 7pm, local time, participating bloggers will showcase their own nail art creation to take part in the competition. All nail art creations will go into the running to be chosen to.... create a collaboration shade with piCture pOlish!! *excited dance* There are only three winners though - 1 voted by all of you, 1 voted by the participants and 1 chosen by the girls from piCture pOlish.

For this competition, I was given these three shades to work with:

Stunning, aren't they? I will post swatches of each of them but first... let's take a look at what I came up with. After wrecking my brains out, I've decided to unleash my inner Pollock to create this mani:

If you have been following me for a while, you would probably know that I can't really draw to save my life. And you should also know that it doesn't stop me from doing nail art ;) After all, there are plenty of nail art techniques that are really simple and idiot-proof! This is one of them. All you need is some pretty colours, a fan brush and follow these steps:

1. Start the manicure with a coat of base coat to protect your nails.
2. Paint your nails with a coat of white as the base colour and let dry.
3. Drop a drop of polish on a piece of paper.
4. Dab the fan brush lightly against the drop of polish so that the tips of the brush pick up some polish. You would want only a small amount of polish to get a streaky brushed look. 
5. Run the fan brush down (or up) your nails to get streaks on your nails.
6. Repeat steps 2-4 with other colours.
7. Once satisfied, seal the design with top coat and you are done! (Clean up required, of course)

Because the design is really simple, you are free to use any colours that you like. Personally, I think analogous colours with a splash of complementary colour work very well to create a striking combination. If you like some texture, you may use varying shades of the same colour or make use of slightly sheerer colours to create the illusion of depth. The trio from piCture pOlish were perfect for this and that was one of the main reasons why I went with this design. 

Now for swatches of each of the colours:

Flirt. 2 coats.
A bright magenta that certainly deserves that warning label on the bottle. And yes, it is more flirtatious than sweet so bring it on ;)
Before I forget, this hawt babe is a one-coater that applies itself. Super fantastic formula.

Violet Femme. 3 coats.
A deep bright purple that is slightly sheer but builds up to opacity nicely. Dries to a matte-satin finish - I think it really does have neon pigments! - so a top coat is definitely needed. I really love this shade of purple.

Kryptonite. 3 coats.
Now this is my kind of kryptonite. A deep dark green with chunks of holo particles and shimmers. Wonderfully shimmery and mysterious in the shade but all glowy and sparkly then it catches the light. You absolutely need to click through on the picture and look at the details in the original reso. I did not manage to catch the holo action but trust me, the chunky particles swimming in the dark green base is enough to make you weak all over too - well, maybe except the nails, they will be superhuman.



piCture pOlish is available on their webstore (everyday deals and international shipping available!) or through their network members. You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for more updates.




**Products were provided for contest participation. All views expressed are our own honest opinions. Please see our disclosure policy for more information.**

Rainbow Honey: The Summer of 199X

 Sent for Review

So back in those days when WoW was just introduced to the world, gamers were apparently getting their kick from SNES Earthbound. I had never tried it myself because I was still too young and probably rolling stupidly in the sand at a playground near my house.

Nonetheless, I was totally psyched up when Rainbow Honey announced its newest collection, Summer of 199X featuring 10 new colors inspired by Earthbound. Even though I could not identify the references to the game, there is no denying the beauty of these polishes. Rainbow Honey generously sent three polishes for me to share - just take a look:

Mint Flavor. 3 thin coats.

Part aqua, part baby blue, part shimmer, this was hands down the best window flavor. Because...you taste windows, right?

A soft aqua blue with subtle green shimmer. I especially love that flash of shimmer. Formula was a bit tricky (as with most pastels) but totally worth it. So delicate and pretty. Easily my favourite of the trio. ♥

Apple Kid. 2 coats.

This bright and rosy fuchsia creme won't build you any useful contraptions but it is filled with more shimmer than you can shake a Pencil Eraser at.

A brilliant hot pink with tiny pink flecks that shimmer and shine when they catch the light. Very flattering on the nails - definitely a head-turner.

I Miss You. 1 coat dabbed over Essence Hello Marshmallow.

I Miss You is a pastel rainbow of glitters and shimmer, these butterflies are sure to cure the homesick traveler.

A delicate pastel glitter mix filled with primarily baby blue and pink glitters and a generous sprinkle of tiny iridescent glitters and blue shimmer. The formula is a tad thicker than the other two colours but the glitters apply easily over the nail. I did have to prod at the larger glitters a little to place them where I want them to be.

And just because I can, I added a matte top coat over them for a daintier effect ♥

Yup, Rainbow Honey most definitely hit the ball out of the park with this collection! Apart from these trio, they also have other mind-blowing glitters and pretty shimmers - something for everyone!

So what do you think of these colours?
Which colours from the Summer of 199X caught your eye?

Rainbow Honey is available on their website. They do not ship internationally but international girls can also get their hands on RH pretties through their stockists. ^_^
You may also wish to follow Rainbow Honey on Facebook for more updates.




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

essence: Spring / Summer 2013

Sent for Review

Happy Sunday everyone! ^_^

I'm feeling particular exuberant today because the air in Singapore has cleared up somewhat in the last two days! The past week had been absolutely horrible. Fires raging in Sumatra caused a huge haze in Singapore with the PSI readings hitting the hazardous range for the first time in years. I have been shuffling to and fro work with a mask because the haze (oh the burning smell!) was giving me a tremendous headache. So I am really relieved that we have some brief respite over the weekends - finally some remotely breathable air! Of course, it would be even better if the government could declare a stop work order next week... yea, I've been told that I am too optimistic :(

Anyway, back to the polishes!

essence Singapore has recently brought in some new shades for spring and summer and they have most generously sent them over for me to share with you. I don't have much to say except that these colors are simply perfect springy/summery shades! Take a look:

Ice, Ice Baby! 4 thin coats.
A squishy off-white jelly that is slightly tinged beige. A little streaky on the first 2 coats but evens out to a perfect glossy finish. It didn't really need the top coat but I top-coated it anyway to speed up the drying process.

Peach & Cream. 3 thin coats.
A soft peach puff with slight pearly shimmer. The pearl finish is not that obvious on the nails after 2 coats so that's a big plus for me - I am not really a fan of that finish. I did not think the color was very flattering on my skin tone under some lighting but I wore it for a few days anyway because it went well with my new turquoise phone casing! :P

That's What I Mint! 3 thin coats.
A soft pastel mint with very very slight green shimmer (that is clearly not visible on the nails). You know my obsession with blue-greens - this was instantly my favorite. Of course, I wore it for a few days because it matches my phone casing too! ;) It is a tad lighter than China Glaze's For Audrey and they will make a good ombré manicure - I just need to find 3 more shades of turquoise / mint... See! That's why I need more shades of this color in my life. *nods solemnly*

Hello Marshmallow! 3 thin coats.
A delicate lilac with sprinkles of red and blue shimmer. The shimmers are not that visible on the nails but you can catch a few glimpse of the elusive shimmer where the light hits the nails. It is significantly less similar to China Glaze's Light As Air than I'd thought - more purple and brighter.

Flashy Pumpkin. 2 thin coats.
An eye-searing tangerine orange. It is so bright that I would even call it neon. Super summery but definitely not for the faint-hearted. Formula for this was exceptionally good. It is very pigmented and I suspect you can get away with one thick coat.

Prom-berry. 2 thin coats.
An intoxicatingly rich vampy purple with very subtle red and blue shimmers. The shimmers are not obvious on the nails but they give the nails a slight glowy look when the nails catch the light.

Miss Universe. 1 coat over black.
A sheer black base filled with intense sparkly blue and green microflakies.   It is very sheer and will need about three to four coats for full coverage on its own. Very similar to Zoya's Kotori except that it has that extra oomph from the bright green sparkles. Needless to say, I am head over heels in love with this too.






Overall, I am extremely happy with the new colors. The colors, brush and formula do not disappoint. As always, the pastels are slightly streakier than the other colors but they even out fairly nicely on the third coat so I have no complaints there. Plus, at only S$2.90 each, they are a steal - definitely one of my favorite affordable brands.

So, which colors caught your eye? :D

essence cosmetics is currently available at these Watsons stores: Ngee Ann City, City Square Mall, Causeway Point, Lucky Plaza, Plaza Singapura, Bugis Junction, Sun Plaza, JEM, JCube, Parkway Parade, IMM, Lot 1, Anchor Point, Rivervale Mall, Park Lane, Bedok Central, Beautyworld Centre and SMU.