Claire’s 3 in 1 mixable nail polish
I got my bottle of Claire’s 3 in 1 mixable nail polish in my fun swap with lovely Monika last year. I’m so terrible that I’ve only just gotten around to trying it out so here is a swatch of it finally! It’s such a cool polish – it has 3 different coloured layers in a bottle and I was so intrigued to find out what the effect would be like on the nail.
I can’t find a name on the bottle so lets just call it the green mixable. There’s a bottom layer of blue, a middle layer of bright yellow and then a top layer of dark green and the instructions tell you not to mix or shake the bottle. Unfortunately the only colour that you can see on the nail is the green but boy is it pretty!
I’d describe the colour as a dark forest green and the polish is very opaque but I used 2 coats as I had some bald spots. The polish is lightened a tiny bit by of the yellow on the 2nd coat and you can see some tiny swirls of yellow polish but no distinctive colour comes up. The blue doesn’t show up at all which is a shame.
It’s such a gorgeous green and it applied very smoothly and dried quickly. I love it as it has to be THE glossiest polish I’ve used so far to date. All my pics are without topcoat and it’s so darn glossy I can see myself reflected in each and every photo I took!! The only downside of this polish is that it did stain my skin a little when I removed it but easily fixed with toothpaste. I had wanted to konad over it but it was a MASSIVE fail so I won’t be showing it =p seriously it was like I had stamped in the dark or something!
Do you have any Claire’s 3 in 1 mixable nail polishes? I’d love to see your manis using them!
Thanks for looking! =D
I can’t find a name on the bottle so lets just call it the green mixable. There’s a bottom layer of blue, a middle layer of bright yellow and then a top layer of dark green and the instructions tell you not to mix or shake the bottle. Unfortunately the only colour that you can see on the nail is the green but boy is it pretty!
I’d describe the colour as a dark forest green and the polish is very opaque but I used 2 coats as I had some bald spots. The polish is lightened a tiny bit by of the yellow on the 2nd coat and you can see some tiny swirls of yellow polish but no distinctive colour comes up. The blue doesn’t show up at all which is a shame.
It’s such a gorgeous green and it applied very smoothly and dried quickly. I love it as it has to be THE glossiest polish I’ve used so far to date. All my pics are without topcoat and it’s so darn glossy I can see myself reflected in each and every photo I took!! The only downside of this polish is that it did stain my skin a little when I removed it but easily fixed with toothpaste. I had wanted to konad over it but it was a MASSIVE fail so I won’t be showing it =p seriously it was like I had stamped in the dark or something!
Do you have any Claire’s 3 in 1 mixable nail polishes? I’d love to see your manis using them!
Thanks for looking! =D
Pink and bling manicure
I was dying to try out the gorgeous Milani Jewel Fx in Gold I won from Michy and to use some of the new nail art things I received so I decided to change my polish and incorporate them into my next mani. I didn't want a full mani using Gold because I knew it would be hell to remove so I went for something pink but still blingy!
I used 3 coats of Essie Pop Art Pink as a base on all fingers except accent finger. I only have the mini of Pop Art Pink which I hauled ages ago from the Art of Spring collection. It's a lovely pastel pink jelly that takes a few coats to reach opacity but it doesn't feel thick at all on the nail. I forgot to take a swatch picture of it doh!
I then used Milani Jewel Fx Gold on accent fingers. It was really hard to apply as the glitter is really chunky and is difficult to lay flat so I had to use a few coats to cover my whole nail. But the effect is SO worth it! Just look how blingy this awesome glitter is:
I then added some pink, purple, gold and silver rhinestones, gold beads and half pearls to my thumbs. Unfortunately the gold beads bleed =( I drew 2 curved stripes on my index fingers using Art Deco striper polish in gold and added pink, purple and silver rhinestones again. Topped it all off with a coat of Color Club Vivid Color Intensifying topcoat!
I love the Milani Jewel Fx glitters and I want the others now! Do you have any? What's the easiest way of applying them?
Thanks for looking! =D
I used 3 coats of Essie Pop Art Pink as a base on all fingers except accent finger. I only have the mini of Pop Art Pink which I hauled ages ago from the Art of Spring collection. It's a lovely pastel pink jelly that takes a few coats to reach opacity but it doesn't feel thick at all on the nail. I forgot to take a swatch picture of it doh!
I then used Milani Jewel Fx Gold on accent fingers. It was really hard to apply as the glitter is really chunky and is difficult to lay flat so I had to use a few coats to cover my whole nail. But the effect is SO worth it! Just look how blingy this awesome glitter is:
I then added some pink, purple, gold and silver rhinestones, gold beads and half pearls to my thumbs. Unfortunately the gold beads bleed =( I drew 2 curved stripes on my index fingers using Art Deco striper polish in gold and added pink, purple and silver rhinestones again. Topped it all off with a coat of Color Club Vivid Color Intensifying topcoat!
I love the Milani Jewel Fx glitters and I want the others now! Do you have any? What's the easiest way of applying them?
Thanks for looking! =D
Some giveaway winnings!
I was lucky enough to win giveaways from another 2 lovely and talented ladies recently which is so exciting!! It totally made my month and the prizes arrived last week yay! I won 2nd prize in Michy from Original Wacky's giveaway and I was also one of the winners in Deniz from Emerald Sparkled's Born Pretty Store giveaway.
You might remember that Michy won my Polished Pink for October giveaway in October last year and we were both so shocked that I won hers! What are the odds. I squealed when I opened her package – not only are the polishes awesome but the strawberry lollies Michy included are some of my faves and are kind of hard to find here.
L – R: Claire’s Grape Popsicle, Wet n Wild Cheers and Tipsy. Michy featured similar scented Claire’s polishes on her blog and I was so envious. Now I get to try one out for myself!! =D
L – R: Milani Jewel FX Gold, elf Metal Madness and Matte finisher. The Jewel FX polishes have been on my wishlist ever since I saw swatches online and I can’t believe she included one!! She also included some very yummy smelling Lipsmackers balms =)
I was one of the 5 lucky winners to score a $20 coupon to Born Pretty Store from Deniz's giveaway. I've been wanting to purchase some items from there for a while so I got some pearls, striping tape and assorted fimo sticks to add to my nail art collection! I also bought some acrylic paints too =)
I can't wait to try them all out for my upcoming manis! A big thank you to both ladies for these wonderful prizes!
What exciting packages have you received in the mail recently?
Thanks for looking!
You might remember that Michy won my Polished Pink for October giveaway in October last year and we were both so shocked that I won hers! What are the odds. I squealed when I opened her package – not only are the polishes awesome but the strawberry lollies Michy included are some of my faves and are kind of hard to find here.
L – R: Claire’s Grape Popsicle, Wet n Wild Cheers and Tipsy. Michy featured similar scented Claire’s polishes on her blog and I was so envious. Now I get to try one out for myself!! =D
L – R: Milani Jewel FX Gold, elf Metal Madness and Matte finisher. The Jewel FX polishes have been on my wishlist ever since I saw swatches online and I can’t believe she included one!! She also included some very yummy smelling Lipsmackers balms =)
I was one of the 5 lucky winners to score a $20 coupon to Born Pretty Store from Deniz's giveaway. I've been wanting to purchase some items from there for a while so I got some pearls, striping tape and assorted fimo sticks to add to my nail art collection! I also bought some acrylic paints too =)
I can't wait to try them all out for my upcoming manis! A big thank you to both ladies for these wonderful prizes!
What exciting packages have you received in the mail recently?
Thanks for looking!
Chanel Riva NOTD
I knew I had to have Chanel Riva as soon as I saw the first promo pics of it last year. I absolutely ADORE baby blue polishes! I've loved them ever since I purchased my very 1st nail polish at the tender age of about 11 which was a lovely pastel blue shade from Grace Bros (I remember it so well!). My mum kindly gave me a bottle of Riva as a belated Christmas gift =D
Chanel describes Riva as "a soft oceanic blue" and was a limited edition polish from the Côte d’Azur Makeup Collection released last year. Personally I'd describe this shade as more of a sky blue with a jelly-ish finish. It doesn't really need an introduction though as I'm sure you heard all the hype about it already!
As always the bottle is one of the highlights of owning a Chanel polish. It's sleek, elegant and its square shape makes this OCD blogger very happy lol.
Riva contains a subtle blue shimmer that's present in the bottle but unfortunately doesn't translate onto the nail which is such a shame. I tried to capture the shimmer as best as I could in the bottle as it was impossible to capture on the nail.
Riva is such a stunning colour however application sure wasn't. It was an absolute PAIN IN THE BUTT to apply!! It's one of the streakiest nail polishes I've tried and there were just bald spots galore which you can just see on my pinky. The brush also didn't want to cooperate with me so my mani isn't neat at all. I attempted to do thin coats but it wasn't exactly working so I switched to thickish coats. It's lucky that the polish dried quickly or else it would take forever to finish a mani using the polish. Pictured in all photos is 4 coats topped with a coat of Color Club Vivid Intensifying topcoat.
Although application is terrible, the colour itself is just so summery and pretty and oh so whimsical. I LOVE this gorgeous sky blue! It is so definitely worth the hassle of 4 coats for me! If only pastel shades weren't so hard to apply =(
If you can't get your hands on Riva, I've read that dupes include Eyeko Pastel Polish, China Glaze Moody Blues and Hard Candy Sky which are more readily available.
Thanks for looking!
Chanel describes Riva as "a soft oceanic blue" and was a limited edition polish from the Côte d’Azur Makeup Collection released last year. Personally I'd describe this shade as more of a sky blue with a jelly-ish finish. It doesn't really need an introduction though as I'm sure you heard all the hype about it already!
As always the bottle is one of the highlights of owning a Chanel polish. It's sleek, elegant and its square shape makes this OCD blogger very happy lol.
Riva contains a subtle blue shimmer that's present in the bottle but unfortunately doesn't translate onto the nail which is such a shame. I tried to capture the shimmer as best as I could in the bottle as it was impossible to capture on the nail.
Riva is such a stunning colour however application sure wasn't. It was an absolute PAIN IN THE BUTT to apply!! It's one of the streakiest nail polishes I've tried and there were just bald spots galore which you can just see on my pinky. The brush also didn't want to cooperate with me so my mani isn't neat at all. I attempted to do thin coats but it wasn't exactly working so I switched to thickish coats. It's lucky that the polish dried quickly or else it would take forever to finish a mani using the polish. Pictured in all photos is 4 coats topped with a coat of Color Club Vivid Intensifying topcoat.
Although application is terrible, the colour itself is just so summery and pretty and oh so whimsical. I LOVE this gorgeous sky blue! It is so definitely worth the hassle of 4 coats for me! If only pastel shades weren't so hard to apply =(
If you can't get your hands on Riva, I've read that dupes include Eyeko Pastel Polish, China Glaze Moody Blues and Hard Candy Sky which are more readily available.
Thanks for looking!
Review: KKCenterhk false eyelashes
I was offered the opportunity to review false eyelashes by Maggie from online store KKcenterHK recently. KKcenterHK is an online store based in Hong Kong that sells makeup, wigs, nail items, false eyelashes and other assorted items. Maggie kindly allowed me to choose which false eyelashes I wanted so I chose ES A26 after much deliberation and here is my experience with them. I've mentioned this before but I must warn you that I’m a noob when it comes to applying falsies but I’m slowly getting more practise so please excuse the beginner application!
The lashes arrived in about 10 working days and were packed in a padded envelope. You get 10 pairs of lashes per box which is great!
ES A26 are black natural criss cross lashes and are priced at $2.80US per box which equates to only $0.28US per pair! What a steal. After seeing them in real life, they are a little more dramatic than what I was hoping for but these would be fantastic for a night out. They are very long and luxurious looking!
Below is a pic of my naked eye - ie. lashes not curled, no eyeshadow, no mascara and no eyeliner. Clearly I was not blessed with long, luscious eyelashes but at least I have some haha. They look super light in this pic but in real life my eyelashes are quite black.
Here's my eye lined with heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner in black, NYX eyeshadow, lashes curled and a coat of MAC Dazzlelash:
The lashes were too long so I trimmed the ends and then applied them using Duo Eyelash adhesive in clear-white. Below are pics with them applied. I didn't realise until after I took them off that I hadn't blended my natural and false eyelashes together very well so please excuse that. I really should leave makeup application to the experts and just do nails xD
Whoa just look at the HUGE difference! I love the look of these on me and they really opened my eyes up giving me a dolly look. I will definitely be rocking these on a Friday night out! The band on these are a little stiff compared to others I have but they still felt very comfortable on. They are also not the most natural looking lashes but for lashes this length it's pretty obvious they aren't natural lashes. Plus for the price they retail for one can't complain at all!!
You can really see my natural lashes in this pic. FAIL xp
Will I repurchase: As I only wear falsies when I go out, this box will last me for a while so I probably won't need to repurchase this particular style. I will however definitely consider purchasing other styles! I'm looking for some natural looking falsies that are budget friendly and KKCenterhk is definitely the place to go. You can purchase your own eyelashes from their site here.
A big thank you to Maggie from KKCenterhk for providing me with this product! I was sent the above product to sample but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion.
Do you enjoy wearing false eyelashes? What brand/type are your favourite?
Thanks for looking!
The lashes arrived in about 10 working days and were packed in a padded envelope. You get 10 pairs of lashes per box which is great!
ES A26 are black natural criss cross lashes and are priced at $2.80US per box which equates to only $0.28US per pair! What a steal. After seeing them in real life, they are a little more dramatic than what I was hoping for but these would be fantastic for a night out. They are very long and luxurious looking!
Below is a pic of my naked eye - ie. lashes not curled, no eyeshadow, no mascara and no eyeliner. Clearly I was not blessed with long, luscious eyelashes but at least I have some haha. They look super light in this pic but in real life my eyelashes are quite black.
Here's my eye lined with heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner in black, NYX eyeshadow, lashes curled and a coat of MAC Dazzlelash:
The lashes were too long so I trimmed the ends and then applied them using Duo Eyelash adhesive in clear-white. Below are pics with them applied. I didn't realise until after I took them off that I hadn't blended my natural and false eyelashes together very well so please excuse that. I really should leave makeup application to the experts and just do nails xD
Whoa just look at the HUGE difference! I love the look of these on me and they really opened my eyes up giving me a dolly look. I will definitely be rocking these on a Friday night out! The band on these are a little stiff compared to others I have but they still felt very comfortable on. They are also not the most natural looking lashes but for lashes this length it's pretty obvious they aren't natural lashes. Plus for the price they retail for one can't complain at all!!
Will I repurchase: As I only wear falsies when I go out, this box will last me for a while so I probably won't need to repurchase this particular style. I will however definitely consider purchasing other styles! I'm looking for some natural looking falsies that are budget friendly and KKCenterhk is definitely the place to go. You can purchase your own eyelashes from their site here.
A big thank you to Maggie from KKCenterhk for providing me with this product! I was sent the above product to sample but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion.
Do you enjoy wearing false eyelashes? What brand/type are your favourite?
Thanks for looking!
Burlesque inspired manicure
I decided to try out OPI Ali's Big Break first from my swap with Alice that I showed you the other day. I was going for a Burlesque look but I think it turned out more festive than Burlesque haha. Keep in mind I haven't seen the movie yet so I was just going off my impression of the movie so it was a bit of a fail! I think this design would be ideal for Christmas or Chinese New Year which is coming up.
Ali's Big Break is a bright red packed with gold micro glitter. It is so gorgeous and festive! I love having bright and fun nails to look at during the day =) I do like the Prowide brushes but sometimes they just don't want to cooperate with me and that was certainly the case for Ali's Big Break. The brush just wouldn't behave! ARGH. It applied very smoothly though and dried to a glossy finish. Pictured below is 2 coats without topcoat.
Close up:
I then freehanded gold tips using Art Deco striper polish in gold glitter and added a black star rhinestone to each nail. Topped it off with a coat of Color Club Vivid Color Intensifying topcoat.
Thank you for adding another Burlesque polish to my collection Alice!! What's your favourite polish from the OPI Burlesque range?
Thanks for looking =)
Ali's Big Break is a bright red packed with gold micro glitter. It is so gorgeous and festive! I love having bright and fun nails to look at during the day =) I do like the Prowide brushes but sometimes they just don't want to cooperate with me and that was certainly the case for Ali's Big Break. The brush just wouldn't behave! ARGH. It applied very smoothly though and dried to a glossy finish. Pictured below is 2 coats without topcoat.
Close up:
I then freehanded gold tips using Art Deco striper polish in gold glitter and added a black star rhinestone to each nail. Topped it off with a coat of Color Club Vivid Color Intensifying topcoat.
Thank you for adding another Burlesque polish to my collection Alice!! What's your favourite polish from the OPI Burlesque range?
Thanks for looking =)
Mini Illamasqua haul and The Little Snail
Hi ladies! How was your weekend? Work on Saturday was crazy busy (think drunk and fighting patients!) so I was looking forward to spending my one and only weekend day off with the boy. We went on a relaxing outing to the city yesterday for a lovely French lunch and to do some browsing. Too bad it was so darn hot!
I made a beeline for Myer to take advantage of the Illamasqua Make-Up Amnesty. Until January 30th at Illamasqua counters in Aus, you can bring in any unwanted make-up product and they will give you a huge 25% discount off your IIlamasqua purchase. It was too good an opportunity to pass up so even though I'm not supposed to be buying so I only did a very mini haul. But as @IllamasquaAus said on Twitter, I AM saving money so it was definitely worth breaking my no buy hehe ;)
I had to limit myself to 2 polishes and it was SOOOOOO hard to choose which colours to purchase! I ended up choosing Baptiste and Wink - gorgeous purple shades. They retail for $34Aus which is over my budget so with the 25% discount the polishes came to only $24.50 each which is reasonable for the quality of the polishes. I had a $40 Myerone voucher to use so all up I only paid $11 for 2 polishes!! What a steal =D
We then went to The Little Snail for lunch which we haven't been to in ages. It was another bargain for the day as we went courtesy of the Entertainment card and got 25% off woot. Everything was absolutely delicious as always!
We both had Escargot de Bourgogne (Dozen snails marinated in herb-infused court-bouillon, oven baked in garlic butter) for entree. These were SO deliciously garlicy!
I had the Prime Australian Beef Fillet served with pommes puree and red wine jus for my main:
The boy got the seafood plate which included grilled salmon, garlic prawns, salt and pepper squid, chilli mussels, beer battered soft shell crab and mesclun salad. It wasn't really enough for him so I gave him some of my steak hehe.
I love dessert so it was hard choosing what to get as their selections are always so yummy. I ended up getting the chef churned Hazelnut and Praline Ice Cream on shortbread with Grand Marnier caramel. YUMMO!
While the boy had his favourite Crème Caramel:
All in all a nice end to the week! What did you guys get up to?
Thanks for looking!
I made a beeline for Myer to take advantage of the Illamasqua Make-Up Amnesty. Until January 30th at Illamasqua counters in Aus, you can bring in any unwanted make-up product and they will give you a huge 25% discount off your IIlamasqua purchase. It was too good an opportunity to pass up so even though I'm not supposed to be buying so I only did a very mini haul. But as @IllamasquaAus said on Twitter, I AM saving money so it was definitely worth breaking my no buy hehe ;)
I had to limit myself to 2 polishes and it was SOOOOOO hard to choose which colours to purchase! I ended up choosing Baptiste and Wink - gorgeous purple shades. They retail for $34Aus which is over my budget so with the 25% discount the polishes came to only $24.50 each which is reasonable for the quality of the polishes. I had a $40 Myerone voucher to use so all up I only paid $11 for 2 polishes!! What a steal =D
We then went to The Little Snail for lunch which we haven't been to in ages. It was another bargain for the day as we went courtesy of the Entertainment card and got 25% off woot. Everything was absolutely delicious as always!
We both had Escargot de Bourgogne (Dozen snails marinated in herb-infused court-bouillon, oven baked in garlic butter) for entree. These were SO deliciously garlicy!
I had the Prime Australian Beef Fillet served with pommes puree and red wine jus for my main:
The boy got the seafood plate which included grilled salmon, garlic prawns, salt and pepper squid, chilli mussels, beer battered soft shell crab and mesclun salad. It wasn't really enough for him so I gave him some of my steak hehe.
I love dessert so it was hard choosing what to get as their selections are always so yummy. I ended up getting the chef churned Hazelnut and Praline Ice Cream on shortbread with Grand Marnier caramel. YUMMO!
While the boy had his favourite Crème Caramel:
All in all a nice end to the week! What did you guys get up to?
Thanks for looking!
Swap with Alice from absolutely-alice!
Time has just completely run away from me this last week leaving me barely enough time to complete the normal everyday things let alone leave me any time to enjoy myself! I've been polish-less for 3 days (OMG!) and today a patient asked me "Are you ok 'chelle? You don't seem yourself" whilst looking at my bare nails lol. It's kinda weird when people try to gauge what kind of mood I'm in by the state of my nails hahaha.
One thing that really brightened up my week was an AWESOME swap package I received in the mail from the very lovely Alice from Absolutely-Alice! I was so lucky to be able to swap with her, she is such a sweetheart and I'm so fortunate to have met her through the beauty blogger community =)
Look at all the wonderful goodies!! Alice - you included so many polishes from my wishlist eeeeeeeek! Thank you!
Everything was wrapped so nicely that I didn’t want to unwrap the goodies! It only lasted about a minute though and then I ripped into it lol. How cute is the silver and white heart paper??
Essie Petal Pink, Pillow Talk and In Stitches.
OPI Ali’s Big Break, Orly Thorned Rose and Snowcone.
American Apparel Echo Park, Peacock and Office. My 1st American Apparel polishes!!
elf Plum and Berry Pink.
So many wonderful extras and yummy treats! I've always wanted to try the Yes to Carrots range. The milk candies were delicious!
Alice makes wonderful handmade items and she very kindly sent me some! I love how she added the bows to make the hair clips more girlie. I now have even more bow accessories yay! Alice hand crafted the beautiful bracelet below from rose quartz and it is EXACTLY the type of bracelet I would snap up for myself in a shop! I am in love with the heart detailing and the heart clasp. And it's pink yay!
Thank you so much for swapping with me Alice! I look forward to our next swap =) Check out Alice's blog here! She does cute manis and has great tutorials for DIY projects. Please post more often Alice as I always enjoy reading your posts!
I have so many wonderful polishes from all my swaps that I haven't tried yet so I'm determined to get my untrieds down to 1 helmer drawer before I am allowed to buy anymore nail polish. But that's going to have to start from Monday because I'm heading to the city tomorrow to take advantage of the Illamasqua amnesty woot!
Thanks for looking! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend =)
One thing that really brightened up my week was an AWESOME swap package I received in the mail from the very lovely Alice from Absolutely-Alice! I was so lucky to be able to swap with her, she is such a sweetheart and I'm so fortunate to have met her through the beauty blogger community =)
Look at all the wonderful goodies!! Alice - you included so many polishes from my wishlist eeeeeeeek! Thank you!
Everything was wrapped so nicely that I didn’t want to unwrap the goodies! It only lasted about a minute though and then I ripped into it lol. How cute is the silver and white heart paper??
So many wonderful extras and yummy treats! I've always wanted to try the Yes to Carrots range. The milk candies were delicious!
Alice makes wonderful handmade items and she very kindly sent me some! I love how she added the bows to make the hair clips more girlie. I now have even more bow accessories yay! Alice hand crafted the beautiful bracelet below from rose quartz and it is EXACTLY the type of bracelet I would snap up for myself in a shop! I am in love with the heart detailing and the heart clasp. And it's pink yay!
Thank you so much for swapping with me Alice! I look forward to our next swap =) Check out Alice's blog here! She does cute manis and has great tutorials for DIY projects. Please post more often Alice as I always enjoy reading your posts!
I have so many wonderful polishes from all my swaps that I haven't tried yet so I'm determined to get my untrieds down to 1 helmer drawer before I am allowed to buy anymore nail polish. But that's going to have to start from Monday because I'm heading to the city tomorrow to take advantage of the Illamasqua amnesty woot!
Thanks for looking! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend =)
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