The Polish Well: Christmas Duo!

Happy weekends everyone!
Even though it is a gloomy rainy Saturday, I am still riding on a high from my most amazing nail mail week - you can catch a glimpse of the pretties that I've hauled on my Instagram page.

Since I can't do any swatching today, I looked through my pictures and I stumbled upon a prototype that I've made a while back during Halloween. I did not release it then because I've received a number of comments that it was more suited for Christmas! One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had mixed up another prototype to go with it as a Christmas duo.

Naughty or Nice.
A daring shade of deep berry-leaning red filled with holographic sparkles and a dash of holiday gold. Sparkly reds are Christmas classics so I simply had to try making one myself. More pictures below.

Bottle shot - macro

Shot under direct sunlight

Trim the Tree.
A forest green filled with yellow and hot orange / red glitters. I hardly do contrasting colours myself but this one grew on me the more I stared at it.

So what do you think of these two colours? What do you like to wear on your nails for Christmas?

Pre-order Information:

As before, I will be making these polishes available for pre-orders from Sunday, 17 November, 9am SGT until 21 November, 9am SGT.

If you wish to place an order for the older colours, you may also include them in your order list and I will see if I have any available stock for you.

All colours will be available in the following sizes:
12ml @ US$10 each
5ml @ US$4 each

All orders will be mailed via Registered Mail and shipping rates are as follows:
International: US$6 for the first 12ml / US$3 for the first 5ml + US$2 for each subsequent 12ml + US$1 for each subsequent 5ml
Singapore: flat rate of US$4
IF YOU HAVE PLACED AN EARLY PRE-ORDER FOR THE CATCHING FIRE COLLECTION THAT IS STILL BEING PROCESSED, PLEASE INDICATE IN THE "REMARKS" SECTION AND I WILL COMBINE YOUR ORDERS FOR YOU.

Please note that pre-orders will be filled as quickly as I can (but I cannot guarantee they will reach you before Christmas!) and they will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis according to the timestamp on the pre-order form.

My Ten Friends: Astrochicken & Zero-G

Sent for Review

Happy Sunday everyone!
So sorry for the brief absence! I had been busy with the pre-orders earlier so I didn't have the time to swatch/blog. I really ought to plan my posts in advance >< Anyway, I am happy to say that I have shipped out half of the orders and the other half are packed and ready to be mailed out this week! Keep a lookout at your inbox for email notifications with your tracking numbers!
Thank you for making this pre-order such a success!

With the pre-orders out of the way, I can finally do some swatching and blogging! Boy have I missed playing with all the pretties sitting in my drawers! I have some serious backlog by now so let's jump right into it, shall we?

Today, I have some pretties from a new-to-me indie brand - My Ten Friends - given to me by the lovely Denise from Dazzled!

Oh yeaa.. They look gorgeous, don't they? My mum walked into my room when I was swatching a bunch of polishes and Astrochicken immediately caught her eye. Her taste in polish is awfully trendy and bold for a woman her age. I am so proud of her ;)

Astrochicken. 3 thin coats.
A sheer yellow base packed with shimmers and a handful of red, lime green and gold glitters in various sizes. As delicious as it may look, I had a nagging suspicion that it is not actually inspired by some space cuisine. So, I had a quick look at google and viola~ The word “astrochicken” is a name given to an egg-like spacecraft imagined by Freeman Dyson, a theoretical physicist, which would be launched into space where it would hatch and move around exploring space. At least, that is what I got from Wikipedia. The rest of the words were beyond me #_# Interesting concept huh? If it were ever constructed, I hope it would look as delicious as this polish does ;)

Zero-G. 3 thin coats.
A sheer black base that simply explodes with silver holo glittery goodness that defy gravity - from hexes to shards. One of those that give you instant galaxy nails. The base is an interesting one and I am not quite sure how to explain it. It is actually a load of tiny black particles suspended in a lightly tinted base. It is apparent on the first coat but it builds up to opacity very quickly on the second/third coat.




Application was good. Although the formula is slightly on the thick side, it is still easy to control and the glitters spread evenly on the nails without any dabbing or placement. No fishing needed to get the glitters out of the bottle either.

So what do you think of these two colours? What are your favourite My Ten Friends' colours?

My Ten Friends polishes are available on their website or through stockists like Dazzled. For more information and updates, you may wish to follow My Ten Friends on Facebook and Twitter.

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

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

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

China Glaze: Sunsational Jellies

Sent for Review

Finally, the second half of the China Glaze Sunsational Collection - the jellies!

As you may have already heard, some of the jellies are quite sheer so I chose to layer all the colours over white in my swatches below.

Isle See You Later. 4/5 coats over white.
A blue jelly. The sheerest of the whole collection. It is so sheer that I wouldn't advise you to try getting it to reach opacity on its own. Because it is so sheer, the blue does not come across as deep as it looks in the bottle. Nonetheless, it is a gorgeous bright baby blue on the nails when layered over white.

Keepin' it Teal. 4 coats over white.
A green-leaning teal jelly that is also on the sheer side but slightly better than Isle See You Later.

Shell-O. 4 coats over white.
A coral orange jelly that screams fluorescent. With my thing for corals at the moment, it is no surprise that I really like this one.

Heat Index. 3 coats over white.
Bright hot pink jelly. Very aptly named. Hmmm... I think the next time I will add another coat or two to get closer to the bottle colour. I am surprised that I quite like this one.

You Drive Me Coconuts. 3 coats over white.
A relatively more muted pink with blue undertones as compared to Heat Index. It is still very bright though. The formula is one of the better ones in this half of the collection - I suspect it can actually reach opacity on its own.

Are You Jelly? 3 coats over white.
Another bright purple! It is also more opaque but the formula is a little patchy.

Now that you've seen all the swatches of the China Glaze Sunsational collection, which ones are your favourite?
(psst! If you've missed out on my previous post, you can check out the first half of the Sunsational collection here.)

On the whole, formula aside, I must say I really enjoyed the colours that China Glaze has put out for this summer. I am especially in love with the cremes. Because of them, I am officially a neon convert now. No kidding, even as I type, I am wearing some of them as a gradient on my toes - no worries, I won't be posting pictures of that. ;)




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

Femme Fatale Cosmetics: Gilded Rose, Scorchling, Incendius and Chocoholic

Sent for Review

By now, you should know that I am utterly obsessed with Femme Fatale Cosmetics. For the uninitiated, FFC is an Australian indie brand that is known for its unique and gorgeous glitter mixes. From right at the start, Sophie, the creative genius behind FFC, never failed to impress me with her eye for colour and her sense of depth - two important factors that make a polish look complete. In fact, her polishes were a part of the reason why I got started on Wow (yup, she takes some of her inspirations from the game too!).

Still not convinced? Just take a look:

Gilded Rose. 1 coat sandwiched between OPI Barre My Soul.
Gilded Rose is a glitter bomb filled with gold, pink and even sprinkles of purple glitters of different shapes (including stars!) and sizes. As it has a clear base, it is very versatile and can be used as a topper over different colours - in the first picture, I layered it over OPI My Very First Knockwurst on a swatch stick; Bec of Nail Gun XS also has a gorgeous swatch of it over a metallic pink. For this swatch, I chose to do a squishy jelly sandwich with OPI Barre My Soul for a more delicate look. <3

Scorchling. 1 coat dabbed over Illamasqua Vice.
A sheer berry-red jelly filled with red, burgundy and black glitters and pops of red and blue shimmer. One of my favourites and a prime example of why I love FFC polishes - the colour and glitter mix are just so perfectly balanced for a bold fierce look.

Incendius. 1 coat dabbed over Michelle R3.
Another clear-based glitter topper. This is filled with red, orange, gold and black glitters of various shapes and sizes. I had layered it over a dark shimmery red for a fiery look but the glitters really pop if you layer it over a black - in the swatch stick above, I layered it over a near black, Wet n Wild Under Your Spell.

Chocoholic. 2 coats over Essence Wanna Say Hello.
This is a sheer dark plum base filled with tiny brown glitters and larger brown hexes accented with sprinkles of royal purple and some pink and blue dots. So deliciously dark and rich, I had to stop myself from taking a bite. Love it so hard!


So, what do you think of these FFC polishes?

FFC is available on their website at http://femmefatalecosmetics.com.au/.
At the moment, FFC does not ship polishes outside of Australia but, thankfully, us international girls can satisfy our lemmings at one of their stockists. You may also wish to try your luck at their clearance section - these polishes are available for shipping internationally subject to a limit of 6 bottles.

You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 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.