Top Ten Favourite Summer Nail Polishes

From Left to Right:

Orly Rage - An amazing metallic rose gold. I love metallic nails in summer as they really catch the sunshine. This is equally pretty at Christmastime.

OPI Dim Sum Plum - I love this deep pink shade for toes in particular.

Orly Fancy Fuchsia - This is more vibrant in person than it looks in photos. Texture is a bit goopy but I really love the colour. It's a gorgeous Barbie pink.

Barry M Lemon Ice Cream - I did a post about this one a while back. It's a nice cheery yellow (:

CND Guava - A lovely peach. It's quite a soft colour so it's a good option for something which is still bright but not fluorescent or over the top. CND polishes are great quality too.

Revlon Tropical Temptation - I think this is the perfect coral shade. It doesn't have too much red, pink or orange in it - just the perfect balance!

Rimmel Coralicious - This is more of a red coral. I like this one on my toes especially with Tropical Temptation on my fingers.

Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream - A gorgeous sky blue!

Essie Coat Azure - This is a medium blue with a slight bit of shimmer. It definitely reminds me of the sea!

Rimmel Sky High - A nice medium turquoise colour.


Hope you like my picks for summer!

Orly Fantasea + Barry M Vivid Purple = Multidimensional Awesomeness!

There's something about the colour purple that I love so much, and I can't quite explain why. It could be that purple is a colour with enough oomph to not be boring, and yet still remains a colour that's pretty work-appropriate, or it could be that purple was the first colour of nail polish I tried, and fell in love with. Whatever the matter, I love purples, and I'm constantly trying to create more pretty purples to wear on my nails.

In one of my experiments, I tried creating a multidimensional purple on my nail, and I layered Orly Fantasea over Barry M Vivid Purple. Now both are gorgeous purples in their own right, and a quick google will turn up plenty of pretty NOTDs featuring one or the other worn alone, but I just had to try them together.

Here is the result:



Orly Fantasea, one of those hard-to-find but oh-so-gorgeous polishes, is a very pretty colour, consisting of multidimensional shimmer in a sheer purple base. It's the shimmer in Fantasea that's showing up on the nail and giving the entire layering experiment it's complexity. However, Orly Fantasea is quite sheer when worn alone on the nail, which is why I chose to layer it. I didn't want to waste my precious bottle of Fantasea trying to build up the colour by using 4 coats!

Barry M Vivid Purple, the base colour, is a purple with gold shimmer that's opaque in 1-2 coats, and one of the standouts in the entire Barry M nail polish lineup (in my opinion anyway). The gold shimmer doesn't really show through after the layering, but I'm sure it's in there contributing in some subtle way.



I don't know about you, but I absolutely love the effect. The resulting purple is a gorgous deep purple with a certain multidimensional shimmer quality that I love. I can't quite describe it, but it seems to me to look like little flecks of shimmer just capture the light and wink at you. I can make out pink and blue, but I'm sure there are more colours in there I can't describe. It's not a duochrome, but it sure is pretty.

Application for both Barry M Vivid Purple and Orly Fantasea was smooth, and the entire combination lasted for about 4 days before chipping, which was average for me. I definitely love this colour, and I'm sure I'll wear it again soon!

Hard Candy Beetle

This nail polish is too much on its own, I really did NOT wanna mess with it.  This is a duo-chrome, it goes from olive green to a pinkish purple… It really changes as you move, and it looks way better in person. I was even told by someone that my nails looked like a chameleon! It is that impressive! 

I hear this is an Orly Space Cadet dupe, and I am glad because I couldn't get a hold of the limited edition sold out Space Cadet.  Another great thing about this polish is the price and availability: only 5 bucks and you can find it at your local Wal-Mart. 

Indoors

Direct Sunlight

Gold Foil Dupes? Orly Luxe, Etude House Lucidarling Sparkling Royal Gold, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold

With Christmas coming up, you absolutely know you have to have a gold foil in your nail colour arsenal. After all, gold is one of the colours of Christmas, and the foil finish, with its metallic-like surface, is so festive. Even if it isn't Christmas, a gold foil is a gorgeous colour to have anyway. And the good thing about gold foils is that there's a shade of gold foil to flatter every skintone, from cool to warm, from dark to light.

So here are a couple of gold foil comparisons. Up for swatching are Orly Luxe, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold, and Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails 01 Sparkling Royal Gold. As always, it's a source of slight amusement that the product names of Asian brand cosmetics are always so much longer than Western brands - it can't just be nail polish, it has to be Lucidarling (whatever that means) Fantastic Nails :P



L-R: Orly Luxe, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold, Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails 01 Sparkling Royal Gold

Well, I guess they're not dupes. And they may not all be gold foils. But let's see how they hold up to swatching, shall we?

Here are the 3 polishes swatched on my nails:


L-R (Index to pinky): Orly Luxe, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold, Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails 01 Sparkling Royal Gold, Orly Luxe

As you can see, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold isn't really a foil. But it's a pretty gold polish, nonetheless. It does have a metallic finish, but not the fine-grained finish of a foil. It's a good option for those who don't like foils, but want something gold and metallic.

Orly Luxe is a cult favourite among foil finish fans, and I absolutely see why. It's a bright gold that isn't so warm-toned that it's unwearable for cooler-toned people. There's just something about it that catches your eye.

Etude House Sparkling Royal Gold (I'm not going to type out the entire name) is also a foil, but it's a bit more muted, and slightly warmer than Orly Luxe. I also like it a lot, and I think this would be a great substitue for anyone who felt Luxe was too OTT with the bling, and wanted a more subdued version of Luxe.

Here's what Luxe looks like in the context of my fingers, just so you can see the contrast of nail polish against skin:



L-R (Pinky to Index): Orly Luxe, Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails 01 Sparkling Royal Gold, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold, Orly Luxe

In terms of application, all were good. I had no trouble with any of the three. But Orly Luxe and Aztec Gold were a lot more pigmented than the Etude House version. Both Luxe and Aztec Gold were opaque in one coat, but you'll need 2-3 coats with Sparkling Royal Gold before you don't see any VNL (visible nail line).

I'm glad they're all different - it totally justifies having them all :P But for anyone who wants just one, my personal favourite would be Orly Luxe. However if you can't get your hands on it (since Orly is one of those hard-to-find-outside-the-US brands), then it's great to know that Collection 2000 in the UK has a viable replacement, and that Etude House also has something similar for us Asians.

Christmas Plaid Konadicure

More Holiday themed manicures!  I love this color, I used Emerald city from Sally Hansen as a base.  I'd been looking for something like this for a while.  I really like Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, I like their long brushes and their highly pigmented, easy to apply formulas.  This nail polish was no exception, almost opaque in 1 coat, perfect in 2 coats.

Read more »

ManGlaze Fuggen Ugly vs Orly Iron Butterfly: Dupes or Not?

Awhile back, I was gushing over ManGlaze Fuggen Ugly, the ubercool matte tar grey polish. I mentioned in the post that there were similar colours, so I thought I'd do a comparison post today swatching Fuggen Ugly side-by-side with one of its sisters, Orly Iron Butterfly.

Here are comparison swatches:



L-R: First 2 fingers ManGlaze Fuggen Ugly, last 2 fingers Orly Iron Butterfly

As you can see, there are similarities and differences. The similarities are that both are matte, and have the same black-grey base. Both also apply very well, although I feel like Fuggen Ugly applies a bit better, because it goes on in thinner coats.

The differences are that Iron Butterfly has much bigger silver glitter than Fuggen Ugly. Fuggen Ugly isn't totally matte - there are very minute silver shimmer that adds a dimension to the colour, but the shimmer isn't visible on the finger, unlike in Iron Butterfly, where you can clearly see the discrete pieces of silver shimmer.

So, which one should you spring for? A lot is going to hinge on the shimmer for most people. If you want a more matte shade, then ManGlaze is the one to go for. But if you want some bling, then Orly's version will be your preferred choice.

Fall

Sorry for the delay between posts, there's been TOO MUCH stuff going on in my life, but I am pretty sure you're not reading this blog to hear that, but to see some manicures… On with the nails!

I wanted to do a Fall or Thanksgiving inspired manicure but wasn't feeling so creative.  Also, I had just received some faux Konad image plates (Bundle Monster, 21 plates for 17 bucks) and I wanted to try them out.  

As a base, I used Sally Hansen Laquer Shine in Glossy. A-ma-zing shade!  I've had this for a long time but I forgot about it, and trust me, Im glad I found it! It has the most perfect goldish burgundy shimmer to it. Once the light hits this baby, it just comes alive. 

On top of it, I randomly stamped some leaves with Orly Luxe and White Konad Special Polish.

This is the final result.  I didn't really like it that much, I think it came out a bit matronly. 

I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving!

The final result

Sally Hansen Glossy.  Can you see the shimmer?

Metallic Zebra

I really liked how this one turned out because it was exactly what I had in mind.  You can use any color combo you wish. I've done it in the past with neons (hot pink, orange and yellow) but this time I wanted to use metallic, foil-finish nail polishes (silver, gold and bronze).  It may seem like it's a lot of work or like it's hard to do, but not at all! 

You are going to grab your silver nail polish (I used Finger Paints in Easel come, easel go) and paint about 1/3 of your nail. Then, the gold (Orly Foil FX in Luxe) and paint the next third of your nail, and finally the bronze (Cover Girl Boundless Color in Bronze Beauty) and paint the last third of your nail.  It doesn't matter if the line between the colors is not straight.  I actually like the way it looks when its a little bit uneven, or overlaps at some points.

Wait for your nails to dry, then use the zebra print in Konad's image plate m57, with Konad Special Nail Polish in Black, and stamp your nails.  You can also do the zebra stripes by hand if you don't have a Konad, You can use a nail art black polish, a nail art pen, or any black polish with a fine brush.  

I hope you like it! Thanks for looking.

KOTD: Orly Foil Luxe and Wet n Wild Black

A few weeks back, my programme had a boat party for the postgraduates, and of course I had to go - it was free for students, and they provided dinner, and you know I'm all up for a free meal :P The dress code was formal, but in rebellion of the utter impracticality of wearing tuxedos and gowns in summer, our class chose to go informal anyway.

Anyway, the whole point of me telling you this is because it actually has something to do with today's NOTD. I started building my outfit around my nails, as I am increasingly wont to do lately, and I decided that I wanted to wear blingy gold nails with some konad. (Note to everyone: only weirdos like me start thinking about their nails before thinking about their clothes.)

Naturally, I picked out Orly Luxe, from the Foil FX Collection, and I stamped it over with Wet n Wild Black. I used Konad plate M81 for the design. And tada:



This is two coats of Orly Luxe, under natural light, konaded over with Wet n Wild Black, which is a really opaque black creme. I just LOVE Orly Luxe. It's probably the best gold foil ever, and definitely the standout of the entire Orly Foil FX Collection. I mean, good gold foils are hard to come by, and this one is smooth, easy to apply, and opaque in one coat (ooh, gold foil konad coming up!). And not to mention I love the colour - it's a shade of gold that isn't too brassy or too warm, and would be perfect on almost anybody.

After I had done my nails, I realized that my nails matched a skirt I had just bought a few days ago (on sale from H&M, yay for 50% off summer sales!). So I ended up wearing the skirt, just because they matched my nails! And yes I know I'm a freak for matching my clothes to my nails, and not the other way around. What can I say - I probably have more nail polishes than I have clothes.

Here's a photo of my nails against the skirt. See, see? They match!



And of course, since it was a boat party for postgrads, I managed to find something else that matched my nails:



That was my friend's bottle, LOL. I don't drink very much, primarily because alcohol is full of empty calories, and I've never thought it was worth putting on weight for, with the possible sole exception of pear cider, LOL. I know, I'm a weirdo, but that's a pretty convincing argument to me, LOL.

Anyway, that was my KOTD, and I promise the next post won't feature any alcohol :P

Orly Foil FX Rage and GOSH FrouFrou: Are They Dupes?

So the Orly Foil FX Collection, launched a couple of months back, has met with general aplomb from bloggers and nail polish lovers alike, being right on trend with its metallic take on golds, silvers and pinks. But of course, for us who aren't in the US, Orlys (is it me, or is it just that everytime I see the brand Orly I think - O RLY?!) are hard to come by, and when they are, they aren't cheap either. I know, doesn't it just make you want to cry? But I was lucky. One of my friends agreed to buy it for me and mail it here, so I have both Rage and Shine (I'm still trying to get my hands on Luxe). But not every girl could be so lucky, so I thought maybe I'd see if there isn't a dupe for it yet.

And sure enough, I found something I thought was dupey - GOSH FrouFrou! Actually, I had already done an NOTD with that colour! (Come to think of it - is it a NOTD? Or an NOTD? I know grammar rules say that if the first letter is a vowel, or has a wel sound, then it should be 'an'. So I guess since N sounds like a vowel, it should be an NOTD. But I always feel like typing 'a' because I'm seeing it in print, not hearing it in my head when I type...) Anyway, that NOTD was done waaay back when the only reader of my blog was my imaginary pet dog, but you can see it HERE. Wow, I never knew I was so ahead of the curve! Weird, I know.

Anyway the big question all my UK ladies want to know: are they indeed dupes?

Here are bottle comparison pictures:



L-R: Orly Rage, GOSH FrouFrou

They look pretty similar, don't they? They could be dupes!

Here are the comparison swatches:



My index and ring fingers are Orly Rage, while middle and last fingers are GOSH FrouFrou. That means L-R: Orly Rage, GOSH FrouFrou, Orly Rage, GOSH FrouFrou

Ooh, so close, sooo close. They're not total dupes though. Although both colours are metallic foil pinks, Orly Rage is a more beige, making it a beigey-pink, while GOSH FrouFrou is pinker. But otherwise, they're entirely alike - the way they apply is similar, the finish is similar, and both are just good metallic foil-y goodness that can be worn to work despite the bling, because the colour is so innocuous.

So which one should you pick, if you somehow have access to both but only wanted one? (I think this is purely a hypothetical scenario though, since Orly is available in the US only for most part, and GOSH is only available in Europe for the most part.) Well if somehow you could buy both but only wanted one, then it would depend on your undertone, and how beige or pink you wanted your colour to be. I think the beige tinge in Orly Rage would suit warmer girls better, especially if they find GOSH FrouFrou too pink and unwearable, while the pink might work better on cooler-toned girls. I don't think it really makes that much of a difference though; both colours are neutral enough either way.

Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm and Orly Foil FX Shine KOTD

There are times when I really hate my photo-taking skills, my camera, and my crappy looking nails, because on the rare times when I really like a KOTD, my photos never ever seem to do it justice. Today's KOTD, using a holographic polish (OOOHHHH HOLOS!) and an Orly Foil FX, is one case in point.

For the base I used Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm, also known in some circles as Chacha (you know, CHAinmail CHArm?). It's a beautiful black holo, and the holographic shimmer really shines through. Unfortunately, my camera didn't seem to like the holographic goodness as much as I did:



Please excuse the messiness, because that was a pre-cleanup picture (because I was going to konad over it). But the point is, that is a gorgeous holo which my camera didn't capture. I really like it, it's cool, and I love holos. Something about the colour-changing shimmer just captures me.

I could look at Chainmail Charm, but in one of my rare moments of brilliance, I thought I would konad over it, with one of the newfangled Orly Foil FXs, Shine (I've been trying to get Luxe - the gold one), using a full nail design from the Konad M78 plate.





I know it doesn't look like much in the photo, but can I pinky promise you that it looks soooo much better in real life? Orly Shine (and the other Foil FXs I'm told) make for good konading polishes, so I wasn't disappointed to konad with this. Shine is a Foil with plenty of bling to draw attention to any dull manicure! The Orly Foil FXs have not been disappointing so far - I've got Rage and Shine, and I've been trying to go after Luxe. I love the combination of black and silver, holo and foil, and bling and more bling! I just wish my camera and my skills were better at capturing this blingy goodness.

Nail Polish Haul: OPI, Essie, China Glaze, and Orly!

Awhile back, to reward myself for getting through a particularly stressful period of school (believe it or not, despite all my professors' assumptions about the "copious free time" we have, us grad students are actually a relatively busy bunch), I decided it was time to place an order of my lemmings. Hey, don't judge me - my groupmate bought himself a camera, so I figured it was perfectly reasonable for me to buy nail polish. And so I did. And these babies arrived all the way from the great USA, the land of cheap Chinaglaze, etailers of nail polish, and buy-1-get-1-free drugstore makeup promotions. Oh, just thinking about it makes me so jealous!

Anyway here is my amazing haul. Please pardon the crappy pictures, they were taken at night under my yellow lamplight, and I suck at using photo-editing software:



Ooh, China Glaze Khromes! I've been wanting these FOREVER for konading purposes! I got China Glaze Sci Fi, Robotika, Millenium, and 2030, in that order from left to right. I'm going crazy just imagining the konading possibilities! Oh, I also got Essie Chinchilly. Mmmmm, grey. But this is not any ordinary grey. This is grey with the slightest green tinge, so chic and unique.



Ooh holos! And duochromes! And my favourite nudey greige mushroomy colour! In order it was Orly Golden Halo (this one is supposed to be sheer though, darn), Orly Country Club Khaki (my favourite! I know I have enough greige nudes, but I can't help it...I need to collect them ALL), and OPI DS Signature and DS Extravagance. I kind of prefer Extravagance, because it has that jewelled quality to it in the base colour, but DS Signature shows more of the holographic "rainbow" in the bottle. I can't wait to try these on my nails - I just KNOW they'll be amazing!

So that's my stress-induced haul. I know I can't be the only one hauling during times of stress, and hey, I figure at least getting a few more pretties is a better way of coping with stress than smoking pot, gambling or drinking :P Yeah, yeah, I know I'm full of excuses...But I can't help it, they're all so pretty!