Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Untrodden Snow Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have an older Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer to show you. I am a sucker for shimmery whites so when I saw this for sale second hand I knew I had to have it.

Untrodden Snow features a white based with a very fine blue flecked shimmer. The formula was a great consistency. I used a slightly heavier hand that I usually do with each coat since this is a white polish and was able to reach opacity in three coats. The shimmer is a little more muted on the nail than in the bottle, but if you really wanted it to pop you could gently sweep some remover over your nails before adding top coat. Photos show three coats of Untrodden Snow with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in daylight spectrum lighting.

You can find Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer at:

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer

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Happy polishing,

Michelle

Femme Fatale Rich In Beauty Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have a polish from the Femme Fatale 2015 Valentines Trio, Rich In Beauty.

Rich In Beauty features a clear base packed with various shapes of small holographic light gold glitter and a good dose of purple shimmer.  This can be worn either as a full coverage glitter or a topper.  I used three coats to achieve good coverage.  Though not 100% opaque it is so sparkly that you don't really notice the nail line.  The formula was excellent and no dabbing was needed.  This polish dried with a slightly textured finish so a good top coat is required.  Photos show three coats of Rich In Beauty with one coat of Gelous and one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in daylight spectrum lighting.

This polish is a bit of a chameleon.  In some lighting it looks gold, others champage and at just the right angle... silver with a purple overlay.  As of this post this shade is still in stock at Color4Nails and Shiro Cosmetics.  In general you can find Femme Fatale Cosmetics on:

https://femmefatalecosmetics.com.au

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Happy polishing,

Michelle

Products I Finished This Month - May 2015

Press Sample Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Another month gone by means it's time to gather up May's empties.  Here are the products I finished up last month.

Bath & Body

You're probably super sick of seeing how much citrus epsom salts I go through but they are here again.  I also finished up a bottle of Burt's Bees Naturally Nourishing Body Wash which I really liked.  It was creamy and moisturizing but didn't make my shoulders break out.  I also finished up a couple of I love... bubble baths and a soap sample from Soap Barista that I got in a Sweet Delights sample box.

Face

Lots of face products this month.  You can check out my original review of the Cetephil DERMACONTROL in which I wasn't a huge fan of the moisturizer.  However, I ended up using the rest of the bottle as body sunscreen and I really like it for that application.  It didn't make me break out nearly as badly as regular sunscreen and left my skin feeling less greasy.  I also finished up a pack of Olay Fresh makeup removing cloths with I love when I'm traveling.  The derma e hydrating night creme I got from Birchbox was a surprise favorite.  It was moisturizing without making my break out.  I will definitely consider buying more.  I absolutely hated the Lashem Picture Perfect Instant Wrinkle Reducer I got from Beauty Box 5.  It smelled bad, left a powdery tight residue on my face and didn't deliver any noticeable results.  I also finished up the Cetaphil DERMACONTROL foaming face wash, a mini Clinique liquid facial soap, St.Ives Apricot Scrub and Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearning Toner.

Hair

Herbal Essences Naked products continue to be one of my favorite lines.  Pantene is a strong second.  However, I didn't like the Fructis shampoo.  I found my hair never felt really clean after using it and took less time to start feeling oily again.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Pretty & Polished Summer 2015 Collection Swatches & Review

Press Sample

Hello readers,
Today I have four polishes from Pretty & Polished's Summer 2015 collection.  This collection features a variety of colours and finishes so there's bound to be something for everyone.

Strawberry Lemon Ice

 

Strawberry Lemon Ice features a very pale pink crelly base with pale pink, white and yellow hex glitters.  The formula on this one was easy to work with.  I brushed on the polish and then did a tiny bit of dabbing to ensure even coverage of the crelly base.  It does dry a little uneven due to the glitters so I used a coat of Gelous to smooth things out.  Photos show two coats of Strawberry Lemon Ice with one coat of Gelous and one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in daylight spectrum lighting.

 

 Solar Flair

Solar Flair features a sheer milky base with tiny yellow and red glitters along with larger yellow hexes.  When exposed to sunlight the base turns a sheer bright red that borders on pink.  The formula was very easy to work with.  I used two coats over Sally Hansen White On to get good glitter coverage and then sealed everything up with a coat of top coat.  Photos show two coats of Solar Flair over Sally Hansen White On with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in indoor (daylight spectrum) lighting.

This is where things got a little tricky.  When I went outside to take pictures of the colour change the polish in the bottle changed to red right away but the polish on my nails stayed clear.  What's going on here?  After some experimentation I discovered that my top coat was inhibiting the colour changing property of the polish.  It must filter out whatever wavelength triggers the colour change.  Photos below show the colour change (or lack of colour change) with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat.

I added one more coat of Solar Flair (so three coats in total if you're keeping count) and didn't put on a top coat.  You can see that there's a nice rosy colour shift now.

With this new knowledge I went and did the entire mani from scratch - two coats of Solar Flair over Sally Hansen White On - but this time I didn't use any top coat.  Unfortunately, by time I had finished repainting my nails the clouds had rolled in.  In cloudy daylight there's still a good colour change as you can see below, but not as strong of a shift as you get with direct sunlight.

Nina of Model City Polish reviewed the same shade with Gelous as a top coat and didn't have any problems getting the polish to change colour in the sun.  Moral of the story... If you want a strong colour shift from this polish, make sure you do a test swatch with your top coat of choice before hand.

I'm Just Orchiding

I'm Just Orchiding is a bright medium purple creme  It was also the most difficult polish to photograph with any colour accuracy.  The photos below are pretty damn close, though in some lighting it leans a tiny bit less blue to the eye.  The formula was great.  I used three coats to reach opacity.  It dried to a matte finish so a top coat is definitely needed.  Photos show three coats of I'm Just Orchiding with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in daylight spectrum lighting.

Who Wears Short Shorts

Who Wears Short Shorts features a dusty blue crelly base packed with fine shimmer and an assortment of small blue and aqua glitters.  The formula on this one was perfect.  I used three coats to reach opacity.  This polish dries smoothly with a waxy finish so top coat is recommended for shine.  Photos show three coats of Who Wears Short Shorts with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in daylight spectrum lighting.

Conclusion

My personal favorite of the four is Who Wears Short Shorts with I'm Just Orchiding in second place.  I love the combo of shimmer and microglitter and the formula was just perfect.  These four polishes along with the rest of the summer collection release today, June 1st 2015.  You can find Pretty & Polished on:

https://shopprettyandpolished.com

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Happy polishing,

Michelle