A soft leopard print look

Hi everyone~I saw this amazing nail art over at Katrina's blog (I can't find the post anymore ><) and knew I had to try it out for myself :)

I applied three coats of NOPI Kim-pletely in love onto my index and pinky nails. For my fourth finger, I applied three coats of China Glaze Sunset sail. Two coats of Ulta3 lily white was applied onto my thumb and third finger. I then took Kim-pletely in love and Sunset sail to apply the random dots for the leopard print. The prints were outlined with Ulta3 black satin.

I loved this mani so much I wore it for four days :D What do you think of it?

Thanks for reading.
~Sharon

Blue addicted

Hi ladies~ Wow, it's been almost a week since I've last posted! I have a lovely blue glitter polish to show you today - Essence Blue addicted. It's sooooo pretty ^^ ♥ I've always wanted to own Across the Universe by Deborah Lippmann, so this cheap alternative is going to be highly treasured!

I layered one coat of Blue addicted over a coat of China Glaze First mate. First mate is an extremely pigmented crème navy blue and one of my favourites from the Anchors Away collection released at the beginning of this year.

How amazing is Blue addicted? <3

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Guess the holo pretty revealed & a gorgeous layering :)

Hi ladies~ I have a lovely layering combination to show you all today! I started off with two coats of China Glaze Emerald sparkle before layering one coat of China Glaze Atlantis over it. Emerald sparkle by itself is simply divine - add on the holo glitter though and you've got nothing short of amazing <3

Oh, and here is the bottle shot of the sneak peek I showed in my previous post :) Yeah, this was in natural light, indoors and no sun. And still so much holo goodness! :D

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Guess the holo pretty ♥

Hello~A short post for today :)

I had this nail polish on my table after using it and only just noticed how pretty the holo glitter is! Any guesses as to what polish it is? :) Oh btw, it's a bottle shot. This was taken in natural light, believe it or not! Ahhh, so pretty ♥♥♥

I spotted some lovely Essence nail polish in Target today as well, I've been waiting for these to turn up here in Australia ever since they were spotted in European countries! I'll try get a post up soon when I've edited the photos :)

Thanks for reading,
~Sharon

Rainbow leopard

Hi ladies~A few days ago, I decided to try out Nicole by OPI It's all about the glam from the Kardashian Kolors collection. However, after three coats it was still a little patchy and so voilà, a rainbow leopard print evolved :P It's all about the glam is a pretty marshmallow white with shimmer running throughout it. Too bad about the sheerness - I might try to layer it over a white crème first next time.

Because it was patchy and I didn't want to add a fourth coat, I brought out some colours for the leopard spots.

Orange: Australis Titania
Green: Australis Sweetpea
Yellow: Ulta3 spring blossom
Purple: China Glaze Light as air

I quite enjoyed this spontaneous mani and wore it for three whole days :)

For Australian ladies, NOPI nail polish can be found at Terry White Chemist and selected pharmacies. Each bottle retails for $14.95. The Kardashian Kolors collection will be available in December.

What do you think of this mani?

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Some products were provided for consideration. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.

Sea gurl mattified

Hello ladies~I showed you what Orly Sea gurl looked like a couple of days ago. I decided to add a matte top coat to it since I haven't mattified any manis in a while :P

What do you think? Matte or glossy? :)

Thanks for reading!
~Sharon

Sea Gurl and some bling tips!

Hello everyone~ I'm still very much into the glitter layering - I really can't stop cos it's so simple and has such a beautiful result ^^

I started off with two coats of Orly Sea gurl from their recent Birds of a Feather collection. I then dabbed on China Glaze 5 golden rings onto my tips, moving from the tip to the middle. For some extra bling, I lightly dabbed on some of OPI Servin' up sparkle. I love the pretty holo glitter mixed in with the gold look! I added some gold sequins I received from my friend for that little extra oomph before finishing off with two coats of top coat.

See the holo glitter coming to life in the sun? ^^

And indoors, with natural light.

What do you think of this mani? I think this will look amazing matte - I might try it out later :D

Thanks for reading,
~Sharon

A product was provided for consideration. 

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat over Velvet Bow

Good morning, Dear Reader!

For today I just added one coat of FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat to my China Glaze Velvet Bow manicure and finished it off with a coat of Sally Hansen Speed Shine, and I think it turned out well.  The sun is shining, so I was able to get a sunlight picture of it.

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat, One Coat over China Glaze Velvet Bow

The duochrome of Sparkle Top Coat comes out to play quite nicely in this manicure, and I like it!

That's about all there is to tell you today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

China Glaze Velvet Bow

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

After all the glitter I've worn in recent weeks, China Glaze Velvet Bow from their Let It Snow Collection seemed really appealing to me.  That's the burgundy jelly-ish creme, and I'm absolutely smitten with it now that I have it on.

I used Illamasqua base coat (for no other reason than it was handy), and I tried to do thicker coats to see if I could get Velvet Bow even in two coats.  I almost did, but the fact is that I normally do very thin coats and at this length I'm spreading the polish pretty thin, so I needed three for even coverage.  I think most people could do fine with two.  I finished it off with a coat of SpaRitual Tout de Suite, and after it dried I took pictures in moderate natural light.

China Glaze Velvet Bow Nail Polish, Three Coats

I love this as a holiday color, but also as an all-purpose color.  It's along the lines of a Rouge Noir standard vamp, and it's also just the color of a rich burgundy velvet.  It's one of those colors that I associate with childhood Christmases (I had a fabulous burgundy velvet dress that I loved when I was maybe five, and it brings it to mind), and I think the older I get the more holidays are about tradition and family history, so this one fits the bill.

I'm thinking of adding a coat of FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat to this one tomorrow just because Velvet Bow seems like it would make a cool base color for it.  We'll see!  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

China Glaze Holiday 2011

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Today I have swatches of the China Glaze Let It Snow Collection, their Holiday 2011 release, which China Glaze sent for review.  These are already out now in stores, so you should be able to find them pretty easily.  As a whole, it strikes me as a really good classic holiday collection with a decent amount of variety, but that's just about the only generalization I have.  There are lots of colors to go through, so let's get to it!

The pictures are all under artificial light, all but one are swatches without a base or top.  I'll start with the reds (or reddish shades), and there are three of those. All three are more jellies than cremes and each needed three thin coats to be even and opaque, but three is what I expect of a red jelly.  Poinsettia is the bright red of a poinsettia, and a really good holiday basic.

China Glaze Poinsettia Nail Polish, Three Coats

Winter Berry is a berry red jelly and a good bit darker than Poinsettia.

China Glaze Winter Berry Nail Polish, Three Coats

Velvet Bow is a really exceptional one, a deep burgundy jelly.

China Glaze Velvet Bow Nail Polish, Three Coats

There are also two metallics, another holiday basic, and both were two-coaters. The first is Icicle,a really good silver with sparkly shimmer bits.

China Glaze Icicle Nail Polish, Two Coats

Champagne Bubbles is a yellow gold with glitter that brings to mind Cowardly Lyin'.

China Glaze Champagne Bubbles Nail Polish, Two Coats

There are two that are kind of off on their own before I move on to the glitters.  Holly-Day is an evergreen creme that was good in two coats.

China Glaze Holly-Day Nail Polish, Two Coats

Blue Year's Eve is a fantastic blue shimmer with the slightest purple duochrome flash, which you can see on the left side of the bottle.  This is the one I'm wearing, so the picture is two coats of color with base and top coat, and I noticed that purple showed while I was driving a little bit ago.

China Glaze Blue Year's Eve Nail Polish, Two Coats

That brings us to the glitters. I'll start with Snow Globe, which I'd use as a glitter top coat.  It's light glitter in a clear base, and here you can see one coat over Blue Year's Eve, Poinsettia, and Holly-Day.

China Glaze Snow Globe Nail Polish, One Coat over Various Base Colors

In the bottle, I thought Ring in the Red was similar to Ruby Pumps, but swatching showed me that's true only in the sense that they're glitter in a red base.  Ring in the Red has powdery fine red glitter and very small red hex glitter.  On the first coat, it looked like it would take a zillion coats for coverage, but it only took three.

China Glaze Ring in the Red Nail Polish, Three Coats

Glittering Garland is a great deep green glitter in a green base that really is the color of a garland.  I used two coats.

China Glaze Glittering Garland Nail Polish, Two Coats

It's hard to name a favorite in this collection because I love holiday polishes, but the next two are in the battle for first place.  Tinsel Town is powdery fine and small hex glitter in a base just a hair lighter than a charcoal grey, and it was good in two coats.

China Glaze Tinsel Town Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last polish in this collection is Twinkle Lights, a clear base loaded up with mostly gold glitter and a decent amount of red and green glitter.  In this swatch, I used two coats on the top two nails, and on the bottom one I used one coat over two coats of Champagne Bubbles because I wanted to see how they looked together.

China Glaze Twinkle Lights Nail Polish, Two Coats

As you can see, the traditional holiday colors are all here and there's a good bit of variety, so I'd have to call this one really solid holiday collection.  That is China Glaze Let It Snow, and I hope the swatches help you make your picks!  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

China Glaze Ghoulish Glow

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I'm back with an addition to my Numbskull Salon Effects manicure I wanted to show you because it turned out surprisingly well.  I'd mentioned that adding glow in the dark top coat to it was a possibility, and I added China Glaze Ghoulish Glow with nice results.

This is a bottle I bought in a prior year.  I'm not sure when, I just knew I already had a GID top coat.  I was hunting for my Wet N Wild one because I'd read it worked better after being stored for some time, and although I couldn't find it, I did find Ghoulish Glow.  It was on its side in a plastic drawer thingy, and although the GID pigment had visibly settled, it mixed in easily when I shook it up, so I held the bottle up to a light and checked it in the dark and sure enough, it was glowy.  I added two thin coats of it to Numbskull and then top coat to dry it, and it gave the manicure kind of a zombie cataract look.

China Glaze Ghoulish Glow Top Coat over Numbskull Salon Effects

I stopped in the bathroom (the only windowless room here) and shut the door to get a picture of the glow.

China Glaze Ghoulish Glow Top Coat over Numbskull Salon Effects in the Dark

So it worked, and I get to wear this out!  I noticed the glow doesn't last as long as the OPI GID's, but what the heck... I think Sephora by OPI Full Moon, the white GID from last year, is the best there is for that of glow in the dark polishes I've used, but this was nice to just tack on to an already-finished manicure.  I guess I'll just be running up to available lights to charge my nails as often as I can get away with!

That's it for today, Dear Reader, I just wanted to share some spooky Halloween glow in the dark fun with you.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

China Glaze It's Alive

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I realized it's the second half of October and I haven't done a thing for Halloween yet, so today's manicure is China Glaze's It's Alive, one of their Halloween polishes.  It's a murky green glitter and I really like it, especially because it's not an obvious orange or black.  While those certainly have their place and are fun, lots already exist, and being the ardent horror flick fan that I am, I know there's infinitely more fodder for Halloween colors than that and late October is the only time anyone other than horror fans particularly cares.

It's a pretty polish right at the first look, tons of normal fine and small hex glitter in a matching jelly base, but I couldn't immediately see any tie-in to the original It's Alive! movie (that's the one with the big mutant baby).  It's been a while since I've seen it and I never saw the remake since the 1974 state of the art special effects are part of its charm for me, so I checked out the movie trailer and found one.  I say "one" rather than "it" because I don't even know whether China Glaze was making any specific movie reference at all, but an odd green can be connected to the film.  Around 1:50 in the trailer, the doctor asks the parents of the mutant baby if they've ever been exposed to radiation, and it seems like weird shades of green are pretty standard for radiation, as that's what we see in all of the Return of the Living Dead movies as well as in all the Tromaville movies (Class of Nuke 'Em High, The Toxic Avenger, ...).  Here's the 1974 It's Alive! trailer so you can see. Even if you don't care in general, the first few seconds have some of my all-time favorite things going awry in a scary movie music, so I urge you to play it just for that.

So now that I've established a solid case for an odd green for Halloween (I don't know why that was necessary either, but it was entertaining to do),  I'll show you the manicure.  It's base coat, only two coats of It's Alive!, which was plenty for even and opaque coverage, and three coats of top coat.  It was gritty alone just because it's a dense glitter, and the Tout de Suite I applied to dry it was quickly eaten up by the glitter and it was gritty again.  I added one coat of BB Couture Top Rock to smooth it, and after a bit I needed one more coat of Top Rock.  Now it's shiny and green.

China Glaze It's Alive Nail Polish, Two Coats

Here's a closer look at its glitter on one nail.

A Closer Look at China Glaze It's Alive Nail Polish's Glitter

I really like it!  It's a fun change from the usual Halloween fare, and I see a scary movie reference when I look at it.  I'm glad I got it.

So that's China Glaze It's Alive and a case for its Halloween tie-in, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

China Glaze Let it Snow Collection Preview

Ho Ho Holiday 2011!


Spend the Holiday season with glittering, shimmering, ravishing color in the Let It Snow Collection from China Glaze—launching September 2011!





Los Angeles, CA –(July 2011): Spend the holidays in style with the new Let It Snow collection from China Glaze! Introducing 12 festive shades sure to get any girl in the holiday spirit this season. Specifically created with the wintery season in mind, Let It Snow will have even the biggest Grinch feeling jolly all winter long. Not only a must-have for a holiday manicures and pedicures, Let it Snow is available in 12 seasonal inspired gift sets perfect for stocking stuffers, Hanukah gifts, Secret Santa, co-workers and Teacher’s gifts. China Glaze Let It Snow collection will be available at fine salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide!"

Shades include:
· Poinsettia – Ruby red crème inspired by the traditional holiday plant.
· Ring In The Red – No Holiday season would be exact without this glittering red polish for holiday gatherings.
· Winter Berry – Creamy, cranberry-red perfect for sipping hot cocoa by the fire.
· Velvet Bow – Rich red crème color inspired by your favorite red wine.
· Glittering Garland – A dazzling glittery green to match the holiday greens of pine trees, garland, and mistletoe.
· Holly-Day – Looking for a bold color without the glitz? Holly-Day is a rich hunter green without the sparkle.
· Champagne Bubbles – Sophisticated gold metallic with a golden shimmer.
· Twinkle Lights – A mix of glittery shades to emblemize twinkling tree lights.
· Snow Globe – Frosty white polish with flecks of snowy color.
· Icicle – Smooth silver shimmer with a hint of flash and ice.
· Tinsel Town – Bold silver, metallic glitter and the perfect match for sparkling night on the town.
· Blue Year’s Eve – Ring in the New Year with this lustrous, shimmering blue.

The Let It Snow Collection is available in a 12 piece counter display, 24 Piece Lil’ Stuffers Display and a 36 Piece Polish Rack. Gift sets include:

· Belle Of The Ball: Champagne Bubbles and Tinsel Town with a Festive Ornament.
· Seasonal Sparkles: Poinsettia, Twinkle Lights and Holly-Day.
· Meet Me Under the Mistletoe: Ring In The Red, Velvet Bow and Glittering Garland with Lip Lacquer.
· Santa’s Little Helpers: Ring In The Red, Holly-Day, Twinkle Lights and Velvet Bow.
· Let It Snow: Blue Year’s Eve and Snow Globe with a Mini Snow Globe.
· Holiday Spirits: Icicle, Champagne Bubbles and Glittering Garland with a Pewter Bottle Stopper.
· Berry Sweet: Velvet Bow and Ring In The Red with a Holiday Berry Moisturizing Lotion.
· Baby It’s Cold Outside: Icicle, Blue Year’s Eve and Poinsettia with Fingerless Gloves.
· Deck The Halls: Glittering Garland and Champagne Bubbles with Limited Edition Holiday Berry Cuticle Oil.
· Winter Ice: Blue Year’s Eve, Tinsel Town, Icicle and Snow Globe with a Snowflake Charm Necklace.
· Holly Bear-y: Holly-Day and Winter Berry with “Holly Bear” Plush.
· Carry Me Away For The Holidays: Tinsel Town, Poinsettia, Velvet Bow and Icicle with a Manicure Carrying Case with Nail File.

I want Ring In The Red and Twinkle Lights. I'll have to see swatches of the others to see if I want any of the rest.

China Glaze Eye Candy Collection Preview

3-D GLITTERS ARE A GIRL’S NEW BEST FRIEND

China Glaze Introduces Six New Innovative Glitter Polishes for Winter 2011



Los Angeles, CA – (September 2011): Forget diamonds! This winter China Glaze introduces a nail industry first: utilizing 3-D glitters in its new “Eye Candy” collection. Inspired by Marilyn Monroe and her timeless allure, this innovative new glitter technology provides a knock-your-eyes-out, super sparkly effect to your manicure. Multi-sized and differently shaped glitter particles are cleverly combined to create a sexy, super decadent, 3-D finish in six bright, eye-popping shades. Whether you prefer gleaming gold or glamorous smoky grey, China Glaze’s “Eye Candy” collection adds a dazzling finish to your holiday look with a glimmer that is sure to catch everyone’s eye! Colors in this collection include:

· Love Marilyn: Vivacious Red with Shimmering Silver Particles
· Blonde Bombshell: Glistening Multidimensional Gold Flecks
· Lorelei’s Tiara: Sterling Silver Infused with Blue Sprinkles
· Material Girl: Posh pink with Holographic Bubblegum Glitter
· Some Like It Haute: Graphite Gray with Holographic Glitter
· Marry A Millionaire: Alluring Amethyst with Multi-tonal Fibers

I pretty much want all of these :) what about you?

China Glaze Skyscraper

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I felt like a fun polish today, so I used China Glaze Skyscraper from their Metro Collection.  I think this might be the only one I have from that collection, maybe one other.  Skyscraper is a really striking deep blue with very, very fine silver glitter.

I used base coat, three coats of Skyscraper, and a coat of Poshe.  After two coats, the blue base of Skyscraper had some uneven spots, so I added a third to make it even.  It dried just fine after a third coat of color, so it wasn't a problem at all.  I also noticed that despite being loaded up with glitter, the surface of the polish is quite smooth after drying.  This is Skyscraper in the sun.

China Glaze Skyscraper Nail Polish, Three Coats

This is a fun cool weather polish, so I like it, and a smooth glitter is always a plus.

That is China Glaze Skyscraper and just about all there is to tell you about this morning, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

China Glaze Cat's Eye

Today's awesome nail colour is China Glaze Cat's Eye.

With a name like that, there was no way ever, that I was not going to own this polish.  It's a discontinued polish, but I wouldn't say that it is hard to find.  I got mine off ebay recently, for far less that retail price in Australia.

It is a beautiful green toned gold., which is a little sheer.  It needed three coats for full opacity.  It also has a slight tendency to streak, but I was generally able to keep those streaks straight.  Although my index finger is a little wobbly.

What I absolutely love about this polish is that when you look at it closely you can see a orange and green shimmer.  The speckled shimmer almost seems to float on top of the gold base colour.  You can see the green and orange clearly in my index finger below.

Here is a macro where you can see the sparkling dots of green and orange.

We have several kitties, but certainly our little Nahla has eyes just like this polish.

And yes, I have managed to add another gold polish to my expanding collection, which must be made up of at least 25% gold polishes!

Birthday mani

Hi ladies~ Apologies for not being around as often these days, I've been busy with uni and on top of that, I've fallen sick :( There seems to be some sort of bug going around - everyone I know is sick or recovering. Anyway, here's a quick update on my birthday mani (it was yesterday. and I was sick :S) before I go and rest a little more.

I applied two coats of OPI Siberian nights onto my index and fifth fingers, then layered with China Glaze 5 golden rings. For my thumb and fourth fingers, I applied three coats of Orly Fowl play. I love the flakies in this polish, I really do <33. On my middle finger, I applied one coat of Ulta3 gold rush fever then used a tape to tape off two thin lines. I then applied a thick coat of OPI Lincoln park after dark suede.

Ahh, not much else to say. I think I'm ready to go to bed again~ Check out my Blog Birthday giveaway if you haven't already!

~Sharon