Three Beauties Radiant Silver

Silvery base with a purple/ green duochrome. This is a color that was rather popular in 2011; it has many relatives out there. I don’t own the others but Wet N Wild Gray's Anatomy looks like a sheerer match.

As with most duochromes, there are some visible brushstrokes (first two nails). To prevent that, I sponged on the last coat on the other two nails. Whether layered over black or by itself, the duochrome looks equally strong to me. I actually prefer the softer look of it alone.

The formula was great. My camera couldn’t capture the green very well, but it’s really strong in the last two images.

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• Three Beauties Radiant Silver (1 coat) over black – index & middle fingers
• Three Beauties Radiant Silver (3 coats) – ring & little fingers
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Tony Moly GS09 Shooting Star

Collection: Glitter (2012 Spring)

Sheer lilac jelly with multi-colored glitter. There’s small and medium hexes, plus a sprinkling of gold micro glitter. The lilac base reminds me of OPI Care To Danse? – not just the color but the opacity too.

I found that the glitter doesn't distribute evenly, there was some dabbing and pushing around to get a good spread. It’s not a deal breaker for me but I wish I love the finished look more. It's very delicate looking but I don't favor so many colors of glitter.

Polish peels:
• PVA Glue (1 coat)
• Tony Moly Shooting Star (3 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Three Beauties Radient Turquoise

Sheer green base with blue/ purple duochrome glass flecks. I bought this polish on a hunch that it’ll look awesome over a black base and I’m happy to show you that I’m right! Look at that glass fleck duochrome goodness!

Innisfree 108 Aquarius

Collection: Star Sign (2012 Summer)

Clear base with multi-shaped glitter. At first glance, the glitter appears to be purple with a sprinkling of green. But when you take a closer look, there’s also a bit of pink, blue, silver, gold and red. It’s basically a purple version of Libra (108).

I didn’t like the how crowded my nails looked the previous time, so I loaded the brush with less glitter this round. That’s why the glitter looks sparser here even though both bottles have the same formula – which is rather thick.

I’m sorry I haven’t been posting in the last few weeks; my hands went really dry all of a sudden. The skin around my fingers (and thumbs) started flaking and peeling so I decided to take a short break.

Polish peels:
• Nature Republic PP402 (2 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)
• Innisfree 108 Aquarius (1 coat)
• American Classics Gelous (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Essence Dotted Fish Tails

I did this manicure for the Essence Nailed It! Nail art competition. I admit, it’s not my best and it looks thick because of all the layers. Still, I like how the colors look together. If possible, please vote for my design by liking it on Facebook (:

I started out with the dots – I didn’t really have an idea in mind, I just wanted to practice the technique. It turned out rather pretty so I kept it. Then I searched the web for simple nail art ideas and settled on the fish tail for the rest of my nails.

Take at look at the other entries here. If you like my design, please vote for me by liking my picture, thanks!

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• Essence Walk Of Fame (2 coats)
• Essence Irreplaceable (2 coats) – dotted on index finger
• Essence A Lovely Secret (2 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

LA Girl Hustle

Collection: Disco Brites

Bright violet crelly (jelly-cream hybrid). This is one of my favorites as it was my first purple when my stash was still small. I love the color but recent attempts to swatch this has proven it to be a PITA.

The pictures you see are the third time I’m swatching this. The formula used to be great but it keeps bubbling on me now. Maybe it needs more thinner? Still, the gorgeous color is worth it.

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• LA Girl Hustle (3 coats)

a england Lady of the Lake

Collection: The Mythicals (2011)

Dark purple scattered holographic. This is the first a-england that I’ve tried and it doesn’t disappoint. The rich purple base has a slightly muted tone that I love!

This little lady is opaque in two thin even coats. If only all polishes had formulas like this! It also wears pretty well on me, no chips during the week I had it on.

Thanks for reading!

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• a england Lady of the Lake (2 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Nubar Indigo Illusion

Happy Chinese (Lunar) New Year! I wanted to post this up two days ago but did not manage to. This is not my current manicure though, I have a red jelly sandwich on my nails. I'll try to post that one up by next week! In the meantime, here's an awesome duochrome!

Blue-green base with pink/ purple/ gold duochrome shimmer. This shade really reminds me why I love duochromes! I kept staring at my nails while I had it on; the color shift is very pretty!

The formula gave me no problems except for the slight brushstrokes. The brush was easy to control so that wasn’t a big deal. I noticed a few bald spots after my nails dried, but I think that was an application issue on my part.

Sasatinnie FCGL002

Dark purple jelly with red/ green flakes, blue/ purple glitter & silver shimmer. This is supposedly a dupe for OPI Merry Midnight and Orly Fowl Play. I don’t have either but I did find someone who did a comparison between the three. In my opinion, this looks identical to FP while having the sheerness of MM.

Sasatinnie (left) vs. Essie (right)

I have a love-hate relationship with the Sasatinnie brush. Although the shape and size allows me good control, the stem is too short and the cap too bulky for my liking. The bristles are also a little stiff and uneven in length.

As I mentioned, this is one sheer polish. When I decide to do a full mani, I’ll layer this over a base color instead. Still, it’s a good alternative for local ladies who want FP or MM at a cheaper price. I bought it at two for SGD $5 at Sasa together with another flakie.

Thanks for reading!

Polish sandwich:
• Michelle Base (1 coat)
• Sasatinnie FCGL002 (4 coats)

Purple Paradise

It was my birthday on Sunday and I decided to treat myself by breaking out my bottle of Nfu Oh 51. However, since it has a sheer purple jelly base, I painted it over another untried color, Michelle M32. M32 is a purple cream that is nowhere near to 51’s base color (more on that below). No matter, I think it turned out well!

Zoya Caitlin + Nubar 2010

When I first saw this combination here I knew I had to try it! I haven’t really experimented with 2010 since I got it. I only have one bottle and I’m afraid I’ll use it all up! This is the first time I’m using Caitlin as a mani, but I loved it on my toes last month and I wanted to use it again!

Elianto Lilac

Collection: Sparkling Diva

Sheer lilac jelly with pink and gold glass flecks Lilac is the most delicate and sheer of all the Sparkling Diva polishes that I have tried. It is also the only one that has pink glitter; all the others have silver or just gold glitter. I bought this together with Shimmer Pink and thought it was really pretty! And it is if you’re into shades like this – which I am normally not.

I can still see my VNL even after four thin coats. When I did a full manicure though, I settled with three thick coats instead. I have put this on as a full manicure a couple of times but now prefer it as a layering polish. It dries smooth and shiny so it’s fine even when I skip the top coat.
Thanks for reading! What colors should I try layering this over? (:

Polish sandwich:
• Elianto Lilac (4 coats)

Elianto Glittery Nickel

Collection: Sparkling Diva

Greyed purple with silver micro-glitter. This is one of those colors that are hard to categorize. It looks like dark grey in my pictures, especially in the shade, but it definitely leans more purple in real life. I really like this shade, because I have a weak spot for colors that are “in-between” and hard to classify.

The formula was a bit thick, and I needed a third coat to cover up some bald patches. Perhaps if I thin it, two coats might be enough. It dried smooth and glossy like all the others from the same line. To enlarge the pictures, please click on them! Thanks for looking!

Polish sandwich:
• Elianto Glittery Nickel (3 coats)

Elianto Persian Indigo

Collection: Sparkling Diva

Dark purple jelly with silver glitter. Although I’m not a big glitter fan, I’ve also had a soft spot for purple jelly glitters. They remind me of jam, especially grape flavored ones. When I first heard the name of this polish, I thought it would be a blue leaning purple. Instead, it’s a beautiful deep reddish purple. The translucent base allows the glitter to shine through, causing some of them to flash purple.

The pigmentation is great and opacity was achieved in two easy coats. Although there is a lot of glitter (which you will realize during removal), it dries to a smooth finish and has the usual shine expected from a jelly. If the night sky were dark purple instead of blue, this is how I imagine it would look like.

Please feel free to click on the pictures to see the pretty glitter! Thanks for reading!

Polish sandwich:
• Elianto Persian Indigo (2 coats)

Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie

Collection: Blogger (2009)

A medium purple with green iridescence and microshimmer. I did a comparison on Scrangie previously, but I realized that I hadn't done a proper swatch of it yet. Besides, the comparison had horrible pictures and I wanted to get better ones of this beautiful polish.

I think two coats should be enough but I did three so see if it would provide better depth. Be sure to give it enough time to dry between coats or there'll be cuticle drag. Here's a slightly blur picture for a better look at that green iridescence. Feel free to click on the pictures to enlarge them!

Thanks for looking!

Polish sandwich:
• Poshe Fast Drying Base Coat (1 coat)
• Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie (3 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Orly Space Cadet

Collection: Cosmic FX (2010 Fall)

A sheer teal base with duochrome glass flecks that flash gold, purple, brown and green. Absolutely stunning! When I first showed my best friend swatches of this online, her response was “No wonder it’s called Space Cadet.” And I agree that it’s aptly named!

It took three thin coats to reach full opacity but it was completely worth it! Dry time between each coat was fast and the glass flecks were so shiny that I didn’t need to add top coat.