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.

OPI: Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides

Purchased By Me 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Which color(s) do you like?

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

HARE Polish: The First Collection (Reformulated)

Ok... it is no secret that I am a huge HARE polish fan right? Right. :e
And so it should not come as a surprise that I did a mega haul of shame during her last few Etsy restocks, right?

In my defense, my brain was malfunctioning during that period (revision for exams!) and I badly needed some retail therapy... Oh, scrap that. Who am I kidding?? There is no way I could miss HARE polish's restock! :brow

So let's start off with some swatches of the reformulated First Collection, shall we?

A Positive. 2 coats over 2 coats of OPI Houston, We Have A Purple.
A super squishy bright magenta red jelly filled with a mix of silver hexes of three different sizes. The base color was a little sheer so I decided to layer this over HWHAP lest the silver hexes cover up the entire base color if I try to build it up to opacity on its own. I had contemplated skipping this but I'm really glad I didn't. :L If you love jelly glitters, this will be right up your alley too.

Pegasus. 2 coats over China Glaze Light As Air on the first three fingers & 2 coats on its own on the pinkie.
Another silver hex glitter mix but in a soft lilac base this time. The silver hexes are colored white by the base color, giving it an unexpectedly delicate and feminine look. :angel I'm so glad I managed to snag this one after lemming for it for so long!

Bisbee. 3 coats on its own.
And finally, the star of the collection - this little bunny was wiped out within seconds in each of the restocks and I was really lucky to get it before it was gone. It was literally the fastest shopping I had ever done - I was in and checking out in under a minute. The adrenaline was still coursing through my body long after the damage was done.... Oops, I digressed.
Bisbee is a bright green-leaning turquoise filled with a mix of gold hexes of different sizes. I had some problems with the larger glitters clumping and curling a wee bit but nothing a little prodding and manipulating can't solve. In any case, how could I hold it against a pretty polish like Bisbee? You know you want it too. ;)

There is one other polish from the First Collection, Archipelago, but it is not ready to be included in this reformulated collection. :( I am hoping that Nikole will be able to find the right materials to make it once again! It's a stunning beauty and I would hate to miss it.

So, what do you think of HARE polish's First Collection?
Stay tuned for more swatches soon!

xoxo,
mich