Essie Smooth Sailing is part of its Braziliant Collection. As soon as I saw the release I fell in love with this unique mix of blue and lavender shade with iridescent reflections from the bottle.
The minute I applied smooth sailing on my nails I literally gasped. It applies smoothly and evenly. The blue and lavender shade looks flattering against my skin tone and the fine shimmer particles shows up on my nails beautifully. I am not a big a fan of glittery nails in some funky shades, though it is fun to look at I am just too old to wear glittery nails! On the other hand this lavender shade gives my hand a very elegant and polished look with an edge.
Swatches with 2 coats ( no top coat is applied)
Bottom Line: Love it! One of the most unique shades that has been released recently.
Labels: ESSIE • NAIL POLISH
This week I have been wearing Chanel Le Vernis in Vendetta – it is such a classic edgy vampy shade that has become one of my all time favorites.
In the bottle it is a deep rich eggplant shade with tons of red micro glitters. Swatched with 2 coats on the nails, it shows up as a deep purple with a hint of navy. Under direct sunlight you can see the magenta sparkles in it. Application was a breeze, 1 coat gives an opaque finish. I prefer an ultra rich and glossy finish hence I always go for 2 coats.
Focused on the bottle.
The only close Vendetta dupe I have is by Sportsgirl in Galaxy.
Left: Sportsgirl in Galaxy. Right: Vendetta by Chanel
Labels: CHANEL • NAIL POLISH
I have been neglecting OPI for a while – the OPI Mermaid’s Tears from the Pirates of the Caribbean Collection reminded me of how much I used to love them. Mermaid’s Tears is a sophisticated seafoam green that mimics the color of Jade. It is neither too bright nor too muted, versatile enough to wear to the office to add a pop of color to the usual boring work attire, or for a casual day out. Two words – love it! A must have for those of you who like greens.
Swatched with 2 coats
Comparing it with the greens from Essie, you will see Mermaid’s Tear is more dusty than the Essie Turquoise and Caicos and is brighter with a stronger turquoise tint than Essie Da Bush.
Labels: NAIL POLISH • OPI
My obsession with rose gold shades continues to grow. This week I am wearing Orly in the shade of Rage which is a beautiful rose gold with a high shine and foil finish. Unlike other metallic shades, Rage looks exceptionally flattering on my skintone due to the rosey undertone.
Swatches with 2 coats of Rage (If you are not into an intense finish, 1 coat is enough for an opaque finish)
Overall thought: I don’t like the bottle design..can Orly please get rid of the ugly rubber cap ..On the other hand, the texture of Orly lacquers is one of the best I’ve ever tried. It is smooth and even to apply – best of all, it dries completely within 10 minutes.
Labels: NAIL POLISH • Orly
This week I have been wearing Fash Pack by butter LONDON which is a 3 FREE company – No Formaldehyde; No Toluene; No DBP. I am quite impressed with the formulation as I thought the texture might not be as good without all these chemicals. It has a runny watery texture that allows for a smooth and even application. Two to three coats is enough for an opaque finish.
Fash Pack is a nice brown muddy shade that works well with my yellow skintone.
From a different angle, you can see a lot of gold shimmers in the bottle but it doesn’t show up on the nails.
If you have missed out on the much raved Chanel Particuliere, I highly recommend Fash Pack – quite a close dupe of it.
Comparison swatches: 1 coat each
Butter LONDON is slightly more streaky than Chanel
Fash Pack lasted up to 5 days without any chipping on me! FYI, Butter London retails for $20 ( a bit expensive I know…), you can find them in a variety of health food stores in Australia.
Labels: BUTTER LONDON • CHANEL • NAIL POLISH
I have learnt this little trick from an Asian Beauty TV show and I was absolutely astounded so I would like to share it with you all. It’s a really simple and fun test to find out how much acetone your nail polishes contain! We all know too much acetone will make your nails thinner, weaker and more yellow right?!
All you need is a piece of polystyrene foam (also known as packaging foam), get your nail polishes in different brands ready, then place one drop of each on the polystyrene foam… Don’t sneeze, don’t blink your eyes..because you don’t want to miss out what is going to happen. The foam will start to dissolve – the depth of the hole will be a good indication of the level of acetone the polish contains.
So here is my little test, I tested it out with a mix of high-end and drugstore brands, as well as the nail polishes that are formulated with 3 FREE (Formaldehyde, Toluene, Parabens free)that are non toxic. The results are..*drum rolls*….haha I don’t want to say in case the cosmetic companies come and shoot me. I’ll leave it to your girls to test it out! However I do want to mention that my favorite brand Chanel didn’t fail on me, it has the shallowest hole!
So will I stop using nail polishes? Probably not because I love them too much, but I certainly know which brands I will be buying more 🙂
Labels: NAIL POLISH
Chanel Mimosa has brought a ray of ‘warmth’ to the dull weather in Sydney. It is growing on me. I wasn’t sure about this shade at first, but I can see myself rocking yellow nails in summer time.
Overall Thought: I have had Chanel Mimosa for a while but this is the first time I am wearing them out. I was prepared for the worst as most of the reviews I have read were that Chanel Mimosa has the streakiest formulation out of all the Le Vernis. To my surprise it wasn’t as bad as I thought. It was streaky for the first coat, but by the 3rd coat I was able to achieve an even and opaque finish. Unlike Morning Rose, the beautiful golden shimmers showing through the bottle is almost invisible once applied on the nails.
Labels: CHANEL • NAIL POLISH
Chanel Le Vernis in Morning Rose from the Summer 2011 Collection is definitely not an ordinary pink once you have it on your nails. It is a universally flattering pink shade with beautiful gold shimmers that would look nice on any skintone.
Swatch of Chanel Morning Rose – Unlike any other Chanel nail polishes I own, what you see in the bottle is what you see on your nails, the gold shimmers in Morning Rose are noticeable under any lighting. The formulation is a little bit on the sheer side but it is very smooth and streak free to apply and to layer. It is swatched with 3 thin coats.
The good news is..I have found a cheap dupe in my collection! It is the China Glaze in 77004 IV – one of my all time favorite pink nail polish.
As you can see, the pink tone is very similar, the only difference is the China Glaze has a cream finish without any shimmers.
Labels: CHANEL • NAIL POLISH
