Born Pretty Store Review: Rose Patterned Water Decals

   Hey guys :D Hope all's been well! Today's post is another Born Pretty Store review, though is a little different to my usual style. It's simple, clean, and very lady-like :P I LOVED wearing it, it was such a change from the intricate tribal designs, and toned down from the usual neon. It's tamer than what y'all are used to, but life can't be all about neons right? (As much as I'd love for it to be :P)

Rose Patterned Nail Art Water Decals

Simply Spoiled Beauty Products Review: Black Nail Art Pen

   Hey y'all :D Today's post is a quick little review of Simply Spoiled's Black Nail Art Pen which has a striper brush and a fine point tip. For this checkered mani, I tried using both the brush and the tip, and found that the striper was much easier to use in creating the squares. 

   On a side note, I've always not seen the use of buying "art" pens, but after using this, I realized the convenience of just having to dip the striper brush into the bottle and continue painting! (As opposed to dispensing a little bit of black polish each time onto paper). Now I think I'll need one of these in white as well!

Swatches: Aussie Indie Moonstone Nail Polish

   Helloooo and a (hopefully) Happy Monday to you all! Today's post is somewhat of a PSA - you all remember the Aussie Indie Moonstone Nail Polish I showed you in October of last year, well Caitlin has now released a new collection which goes live TODAY at 7pm (AEDST)! It is the Magic Treats Collection, and draws inspiration from the lollies found in Honeydukes, the magical sweets shop from the fantastical realm of Harry Potter. And so to celebrate, and maybe tempt you a little, I've got swatches for 3 of the 6 polishes to be released.

   First up is Levitating Sherbert Balls, inspired by the sour Fizzing Whizbeez! It's quite a busy polish, bursting with star shaped glitter, pastel yellow dots, pink, white, yellow, and iridescent hexes, as well as a pink/ gold shifting shimmer - this was the first to catch my eye when I opened up the blogger pack, which was unusual because I'm not usually attracted to shape glitter, or shimmer polish. Though after swatching it, I actually quite liked the look of it. This is one dabbed coat over Ulta 3 Citrus. 

Born Pretty Store Review: Glow In The Dark Nail Stickers

   Hey y'all, hope all's been well (: For today's post, I have a Born Pretty Store review for you guys. Something a little different to what I usually review, as I normally do all the nail art by hand or add bits and bobs to accentuate it, but this time around, I'm trying these Luminous Glow In The Dark Nail Stickers.

14pcs Glow in the Dark Nail Art Stickers

   You get 14 sticker pieces, so you can find the closest fit to your nail bed, and also comes in two different patterns. The pack comes with easy to follow instructions on the back, and are a breeze to apply. The only hurdle I had to overcome was the fact that my nail shape isn't square so I did have to adjust where and how I put the design on my nails so that I could show off the entire pattern.

Born Pretty Store Review: Triangle Nail Art Studs

   Hey y'all! Hope you've been well :D Today, I have another Born Pretty Store review to share ^^ This time it's triangular nail art studs, that are super easy to use, and can spruce up your mani in minutes. The studs are 3mm and come in gold or silver. Each pack contains approximately 200 pieces, so there's plenty to play around with. I chose to go with the silver triangular studs in this super girly - but edgy - Valentine's day inspired mani.

Packet of Triangular Nail Art Studs

   I was aiming for a heart shape at first, using the studs, but ended up with two floral shapes instead, which works out just as fine :P The studs don't need anything special to stick to the nail, I just use regular top coat to stick them on, and another coat of top coat on top to seal them in. Though, if you reallllly wanted to make sure they didn't come off too easily, you could always use nail glue to cement them in place (: 

   For the mani's base, I used Chi Chi Don't You Know Who I Am?, and topped it off with a reverse glitter gradient using Shades Of Phoenix Zeus. 

Review: Celestial Cosmetics Swatches + Review

   Hey guys! For today's post, I've got another Aussie Indie to showcase to you all: Celestial Cosmetics! With the reopening of the store on Monday January 6, Nicki will be introducing 7 new holo polishes that will be added to the Celestial Cosmetics core range. Today, I have 3 of those to share with you :D

   First up is Sand Dunes. Named after the sands and the deserts surrounding Nicki's home - it's a dark rose gold - bronze toned linear holographic polish. It's quite a unique shade: I've seen plenty of dusty pinks, and plenty of gold holos, but this is the first bronze holo I've come across in my polishing journey. 

   Next up is T's In A Tizz. Named after a good friend of Nicki's (Theresa) - it's a super gorgeous emerald green holographic polish. I only own one other green holo - Nubar Reclaim - and it pales in comparison to how stunning T's In A Tizz is!

   Lastly, there's Ocean Mist. Named after Nicki's love for all things related to the ocean - it's a very striking beautiful blue - almost teal - holographic polish. 

   In each of the swatch pictures, I've used 3 thin coats for opacity (without top coat). With only 2 coats, there was still VNL, but after the 3rd coat, it smoothed itself out and was completely opaque. Something to mention also, is that not only are they vibrant under the sun and the camera' flash, they're also quite stunning in the bottle (and on the nail) under regular lighting! I was really impressed with how strong the holo was in each polish!

   So if I've tempted any of you into taking a second look at these beauties (and the other 4 polishes to be added to the core range) make sure to check out the Celestial Cosmetics store on Monday January 6 at Noon AEST! Nicki is also on Instagram @CelestialCosmetics if you want to follow her for more pictures and updates.

*The item/s mentioned in this post were sent to me for my 100% honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them. For more information, please read the Contact and Policy page of the blog*

New Aussie Indie Brand: Moonstone Nail Polish Swatches + Review

   Hello, Hello, Hello! So for those of us who love our Aussie indies, there's a brand-spankin'-new brand that's entered the scene: Moonstone Nail Polish. AND it releases today!! Tuesday 29th October, at 9am AEDST - that's less than 7 hours away! *Hurray* The person behind it all is Caitlin Vine - a 20 year old girl with a love for mixing polish (and love potions too! :P haha Any Potterheads here?!) I was approached by Caitlin (@caitnails on Instagram) a couple of weeks ago to do some swatches for her, and I gladly accepted ^^

   The first collection for Moonstone Nail Polish includes 8 polishes, 2 of which I have to show you all today. Somehow, Caitlin knew (or by a lucky coincidence :P) my favourite colour was purple, and both the polishes she sent me were purple toned, and sparkly! First up is Radioactive. It's a violet shimmer, with a subtle pink to blue colour shift. 

   It can easily be worn on its own, and is opaque in 3 thin coats. As it is quite sheer, and requires multiple coats for complete opacity, be sure to wait a bit for each coat to dry before applying a new coat or you'll end up with bald spots - like I did in my impatient first attempt. 

   Though, since I AM a sucker for colour shifters, with my second attempt at swatching it, I opted to layer 1 coat of Radioactive over 1 coat of black, to intensify the shift. And this is the end result:

   ....purple, colour-shifty-goodness! It's quite soft and subtle, but very pretty nonetheless! 

   The second polish I have to show you all is one that took my breath away when I first saw it. Even just sitting in the bottle it promised such awesomeness. Dark Shines is a blue-purple jelly filled with shiny, sparkly, holographic goodness. Caitlin describes it as: "A blurple jelly jam-packed with deep purple holographic flakes with a blue shimmer."

   Again, as with Radioactive, it's easily buildable in 2-3 coats for opaqueness, but I chose to layer it over 1 coat of black. It does dry to a semi-textured finish, so it will need a generous coat (or two depending on your topcoat - I use Revlon Colorstay and needed 2 coats) of topcoat to smooth it out.

   It is absolutely stunning in the sun - all the tiny holographic particles come to life and dance at my fingertips. This to me, is like a blurple version of Ulta3 Triple Threat, or Butter London Black Knight, and I just love it when dark colours have that little bit of sparkle in them, giving them a bit more character... AND they look great when the light hits them!

   That's 2 of 2 that I have to share with y'all, so now if you are interested in getting your hands on these, or are curious to see the rest in the collection, make sure to head on over to their store Moonstone Nail Polish, and have a gander. They also have an Instagram account (@moonstonenailpolish) that you can follow for all their updates, and swatches. 

So which of the two is your favourite? For me, as much as I LOVE colour shifters, I'm obsessed with anything dark purple that sparkles in the sun :P so it's one more picture of Dark Shines for you all.

Review: Femme Fatale Cosmetics Press Kit 2

      Second instalment of the Femme Fatale Cosmetics Press Kit... GO!

   First up is Delush Polish Cirque Fantastique (felt so fancy saying that out loud :P). A mix of super fine glitter and an array of teal, yellow and pink square glitters suspended in a milky white base - this polish screams candy and all things nice.

   What I have on is 1 coat of white, and 2 coats of Cirque Fantastique. With a little shake of the bottle, each stroke brought out tons of glittery goodness, and applied quite evenly on the nail. It reminded me of ice cream dipped in colourful candy sprinkles.. or cupcake icing topped with hundreds and thousands!

   And hence, this: a cupcake mani, complete with blueberry drips and sprinkles! :D

   Last, but definitely not the least, is Rainbow Honey Magic Cake. Oh how I've been lemming a neon glitter topper for ages, and lo and behold Sophie sends me one to review... now I think I need a full sized bottle of this baby!

   Magic Cake is a glitter topper packed to the rim with super fine glitter mixed with blue, green and pink multi-sized multi-shaped glitters in a clear base. It's every neon lover's dream!

   This is 2 "dabbed" coats - just to evenly distribute the larger pink hexes - over 1 coat of Sinful Colors Black on Black (great 1 coater!). I was initially going to layer this over a pastel to white gradient, but couldn't find my make up sponges anywhere, so decided to do it over white instead ...but on a whim, I tried it over a black base. And boy did the colours pop!

   The colour scheme of this glitter is so funky I might just have to make an entire mani based around it. But for now, a little tribal nail art for the accent nail will suffice :D

   And that brings us to the end of the Press Kit. As with the other two polishes in the last blog post you can purchase these beautiful concoctions at the Femme Fatale Cosmetics website. 

   So which one's your favourite?

 

*The item/s mentioned in this post were sent to me for my 100% honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them. For more information, please read the Contact and Policy page of the blog*

Review: Femme Fatale Cosmetics Press Kit

   Morning all :D So this month, I thought I'd give applying for a Femme Fatale Cosmetics Press Kit a go, and fortunately I was selected in this month's batch of applicants.

   Femme Fatale Cosmetics carries a wide range of Australian and International indie polish brands, as well as their own Femme Fatale Cosmetics range of beauty products. It has grown to become pretty much a one stop shop for all Australian nail polish lovers - though Sophie now offers international shipping so international customers can now order polish through the site!

   Now, onto the polish! In the kit, Sophie included 4 mini bottles from 4 different brands she carries on the website for me to swatch and review. I've decided to split the review in half and do the first two today, and the next two tomorrow. So first up is Love Thy Polish Shangri-La.

Taken in the light box using a flash on the SLR Camera

   Shangri-La is a peachy - pink linear holo that really surprised me! I'm not one for holos because the two that I have from the first Color Club Halo Hues collection looked washed out under normal light and only bedazzled (I like that word :P) me when in direct sunlight or under a flash. But Shangri-La was super holo just sitting in my room!

Under normal light taken with my camera phone

   It's coming off really pink in the above photo, but leans halfway between a nude peach and a dusty rose in person. It's such a unique shade, and is so soft and subtle on the nail, makes me feel so feminine :P I had no problems applying it, though the formula is a little sheer, but easily buildable. In all the swatch pictures, I'm wearing 3 thin coats with 1 coat of top coat. 

Taken outside of the light box, with direct flash from the SLR camera

   And of course I couldn't resist doing a bit of nail art on top :P My first successful watermarble of this style! Despite the bubbles (anyone have tips on how to NOT get them?!) I think it turned out pretty neat :D

   Next up, Femme Fatale Cosmetics Edge of the Cosmos. 

   It's a dark purple - almost black - jelly base jam packed full of glitter! It's incredible how much glitter a little bottle can hold! This is 3 "dabbed" coats over black, and as you can see, plenty of sparkle! Mixed in with the fine holographic particles are different coloured holo stars, moons and large dot glitters, as well as medium sized holo hex glitters. It's a feast for the eyes. 

   The only minor hurdle I came across when applying the polish (as with a lot of shape glitter polishes) was even placing of all the shape glitter. But it wasn't nothing a little dabbing and glitter placement couldn't fix! Not a biggie at all - easy as pie (: 

   Sophie writes in her description for this polish: 

            "To make this a little more interesting we vary batches slightly, replacing one or two glitters with another of same size and shape but different colour. We wanted to embody the ever-changing beauty of the universe with our mini version in a bottle ;)"

   And so, I decided to match it up with some colourful galaxy nail art that I've been meaning to try for ages. Didn't turn out too shabby :P

   These first two polishes get a big thumbs up - smiley face - YAY from me! You can purchase both of them (and a bunch of fabulous others) from the Femme Fatale Cosmetics website. 

Love Thy Polish Shangri-La

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Edge of the Cosmos

   So two down, two to go! Stay tuned for the other half :D

*The item/s mentioned in this post were sent to me for my 100% honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them. For more information, please read the Contact and Policy page of the blog*