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: 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.

12 Days of Round-Up: Favorite Color

I must confess, I don't usually have a particular color preference. Admittedly, I had my pink and blue moments back when I was young but I've since grown to love a wider range of colors. But of course, I still find myself having a soft spot for certain colors every now and then.

This year, the official Pantone color of 2012 is Tangerine Tango. Butttt... that color never really caught my eye. >.<
Instead, I've noticed that the newer members of my stash in 2012 are largely... blue-greens! :h

Let's take a look at some of the blue-greens that caught my heart this year:

China Glaze For Audrey. 2 thin coats.
This was the color that started it all off. A friend of mine asked about turquoise nail polishes and I stumbled upon For Audrey. It was not love at first sight because I wasn't sure how it would look on me but I am glad I bought it. It is such a pretty color that I don't really care whether it looks good on me or not. It is one of the colors that I reach for very often - so much so that I have only about half a bottle left now. :$

Zoya Bevin. 2 thin coats.
A soft dusty sage green that is incredibly elegant and beautiful. It wasn't love at first sight either but I fell hopelessly in love with it after seeing it on my friend. :L It is not easy to get Zoyas in Singapore and I nearly went crazy with need. I know that OPI Thanks A Windmillion is very similar but for some reason I really wanted Bevin. It took me months before I was able to satisfy my lemming but it is well worth the wait. It is surprisingly eye-catching for such a soft color and I received many compliments while wearing it. <3

Rescue Beauty Lounge Halcyon. 2 thin coats.
This is another beautiful dusty medium sage green from RBL's Fan Collection for Spring 2012. I know that Aqua Lily was the one that caught the hearts of many others but Halcyon was the first to call my name when I saw swatches of the collection. It took me a lot of willpower to close the browser tab but as fate would have it, a friend of mine accidentally bought an extra and asked if anyone wanted it. The rest was history. I didn't expect to love this as much as I do but, boy, those gold-copper-pink shimmer-flakes are simply stunning. They are subtle but very visible on the nail and catch the light so beautifully. I never knew pink would go so well with green, copper and gold!

China Glaze Exotic Encounters. 2 coats.
A dusty green-leaning teal. By the time the China Glaze On Safari collection came out, I was hopelessly in love with blue-greens so naturally this was a love at first sight for me. Even the holographic glitters in that collection did not distract me from this gorgeous creme.

a-england Galahad. 2 thin coats.
A bright yet slightly-dusty blue-leaning teal this time. Slightly more teal than what my camera picked up. Not a very common shade but I do love it. I also love how pigmented this is. I could get away with one coat if I had been more careful.

Cult Nails Living Water. 2 thin coats.
A dark teal jelly with tiny brillant blue and green glitters. I love my darks so there was no way I could leave out this beauty. Even after wearing it so many times, I still lose myself in this dark sparkly polish each time I put it on. :L

What is your favorite color 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: Nail Polish Trends in 2012

Good morning everyone and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you!! May each Christmas be the warmest and most wonderful one for you and your family! Of course, I trust that we have been good all year so I hope that our Christmas stockings are filled all that we wished for too! ;)

Today also marks the first of our 12 Days of Round-Up series so let's begin with a brief recap of the nail polish trends that have fought for the spotlight in 2012!

Perhaps they were feeling the heat from the indie polish makers... 2012 turned out to be a busy year for the nail polish companies. Apart from cranking out new shades, they have worked very hard, sometimes too hard, to put out innovative nail polishes to satisfy our never-ending demands for fresh new manicures. 

OPI Spotted

No doubt, the shatter/crackle trend is so two-thousand-and-eleven - yes, that includes glitter shatters/crackles *looks at OPI and CG* But when OPI released Spotted exclusive to France as part of the Amazing Spiderman Collection, the nail community went into a frenzy and everyone wanted a piece of it. And it is not hard to see why! Leaving aside the fact that it has been labeled with the magic word "exclusive", OPI Spotted creates a more elegant and mysterious shrouded effect as compared to shatters/crackles. While the latter gives a punk-rebel look, Spotted exudes more style and class. 

Application is not easy though. The base color must be completely dry or Spotted will crack. For the best results, you must use very very thin coats or the effect won't show. Clearly I still need to work on my application. Wear time isn't fantastic either and it peeled off with the top coat (leaving behind the base color) on my second day. For more details, you can check out Nailderella's post. 

Unfortunately, this is (was?) only available in France because of a substance that was prohibited in some other countries. Alternatively, you may consider the Layla Bubbly Effect polishes in a range of colors - although I think black is the most elegant color for this effect.

Caviar / Fishegg Manicure

Craft beads on the ring finger; Jelly sandwich with OPI Houston, We Have a Purple and Pirouette My Whistle on the rest

Now, this is a trend that got entangled with some controversy when Ciaté attempted to claim intellectual property rights over it. That aside, I was not too impressed with the look when I first heard of it. Being a typical pragmatic Singaporean, I wondered if the beads will even stay long enough on the nails for the day. It would look pretty ugly if bald patches start appearing on my nails.

I finally took the plunge and wore it for my mum's birthday dinner since it is just a quick and small family affair. Instead of putting the beads over a wet mani, I stuck them over a coat of PVA glue and they held up pretty well. Removal was also easy since I could just peel the beads off in one sheet. The only downside was that the glue turned wet each time it comes into contact with water so I think I will try something else next time, if I even do it at all. It didn't look too bad but it wasn't very impressive either. I ended up touching it the whole time just because I was fascinated with the texture. lol!

Velvet Manicure

Source

Right after opening a can of fish-eggs, Ciaté forged ahead by launching velvet manicure sets. Hmmm.. I'm not too impressed with the look but it does look classier than the caviar. I have yet to try it for myself though so I may change my mind. But for now, I am not in a hurry to get my hands on those flocking powders.

Magnetic Polishes

Source: scrangie

Strictly speaking, magnetic polishes may have been around even before 2012 but most of the big brand companies jumped onto the bandwagon this year. Before we knew it, the whole market was flooded with magnetic polishes from high-end brands like Deborah Lippmann to drugstore brands... you get the idea.

I had been really attracted to the idea at the start of the year but my interest kind of withered out even before I bought one to try for myself. There are just too many of them! Admittedly, there are some that stood out from the rest by having different magnetic designs or adding holo glitters (OPI) so those are the ones that I would try if I ever decide to.

For a useful post on how to work with magnetic polishes, please see this on Scrangie's.

Goldleaf Toppers

Zoya Gilty over China Glaze For Audrey

Gold - the one metal that has captured human hearts since time immemorial. So, it is really not that surprising to see a brief gold craze when the big brand companies (OPI and Zoya) started to release their own goldleaf toppers late this year. They were not the first to have goldleaf toppers but they definitely made a huge wave with their large followings.

I did my best to resist but my resolve crumbled into pieces in no time at all (I'm only human!). Thankfully, Lacey from Lace and Lacquers offered to help me get Zoya's limited edition (damn those magic words) Gilty set. She also sent me a freaking awesome swap package but that's a story for another day (I really need to stop procrastinating with my blogposts).

To be honest, I am not a normally a gold lover because it can come across as being too heavy sometimes but I love how the goldleaf topper adds just the right amount of class and luxury without overdoing it. I think it is the only way I will ever wear yellow gold. It is also versatile and goes really well with several colors. This is one of the rare times I splurge but at least I know I won't be buying real diamond polishes. :et

If you have missed the boat for Zoya's Gilty, you can also consider Ninja Polish's gold (The Midas Touch) and white gold (He Went to Jarred) topper.



So, after hearing so much talk from me, what do you think of the nail polish trends in 2012? :i
Which nail polish trend caught your heart and which did not make the mark?

xoxo,
mich

Challenge: Using a French Tip Design

Hello again!

Last Sunday's challenge on FB group, Adventures in Stamping was using a french tip design. The cool thing is that I could use a french tip design and stamp it any way I wanted.

This time I decide to do a simple manicure:

I used: Zoya Gigi as the base and stamped designs from Konad m77 plate using Kleancolor Black.

If you would like to know how I stamped the accent nail you can click here.

Did you like this manicure? How would you do it differently?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Blog Sale Nail Polish Haul

Hello dears!

I have been into shopping for nail polish from blog sales recently because I have not had time to go out shopping.

What I like about blog sales is that I can find brand name nail polishes at very affordable prices. Some nail polishes are brand new, swatches or used for a manicure or two but I don't really care as long as the condition is described accordingly. I'm very happy with these purchases, the blogger I bought from were very nice and some including extra gifts.

Here is what I have bought from different sellers during these past weeks:

 

From left to right: Color Club- Tru Passion, Untamed Luxury and Worth the Risque. China Glaze - Custom Kicks, It's Poppin', Tinsel and Zombie Zest.

Zoya - Astra, Kristen, Gigi and Luna. Orly - Pixie Dust, Prince Charming, Mirror Mirror and Rage.

Icing - Golden Rule, Cosmetic Arts - unnamed bottle, Funky Fingers - unnamed bottle, SH Nail Prisms - Blush Diamond (x2), Ruby Diamond. OPI Nic's Sticks - Silverella (x2)

Milani - Enchantment, Garnet Gems, Fairy tale, OPI - You Don't Know Jacques, Wet n' Wild - Gray's Anatomy, Sally Hansen - Rockstar Pink, Maybelline - Pie in the Sky, Savvy - Prince Ala Charm.

I also bought a big bottle of Solar Oil to pamper my nails.

I hope you had a nice weekend!