June 2017 Favourites

Can you believe that we are already half way through this year already?  It's actually a little scary how quickly this year has gone by so far.  I have even seen people starting to count down until Christmas.  I am definitely not ready for that at all.  Anyway, let's talk about June.  June has been a quiet month for me on the blog front which was nice to have a little break. This month was also the first ever Aussie Indie Con which was AMAZING! I had so much fun meeting so many people, and shopping....so much shopping!  If you are interested in seeing what I picked up at Aussie Indie Con you can see my haul here.  Between the things that I purchased there, plus online shopping, it's fair to say that my swatch racks are overflowing!  I haven't had a chance to play with the majority of things yet so I'll leave them out of today's post (undoubtedly a lot of these will be seen in some future favourites posts or mine).  Today let's focus on the things that I have used and loved throughout the last month.

Nail Art

Nail art has definitely been at an all time love.  I really haven't done a lot of nail art this month.  That being said I still have quite a few favourites.  I didn't actually realize until I put these manis into a collage together, I have been using the same technique a lot this month.  It's super easy to do and I think it looks really pretty.  I can do a pictorial if you guys are interested.  Just let me know.

Stamping Plates

As I mentioned earlier, I haven't really done a lot of nail art this month which means I also haven't been playing with mani new plates (or older plates for that matter).
 

Uberchic Beauty Collection Eighteen

This collection is definitely one of my favourite collections that Uberchic has done.  There are so many fantastic designs across the collection and like all Uberchic plates, they stamp beautifully.  You can see what manis I did with these plates in my review post here.
 

Image from Uberchic Beauty

Stamping Polishes

It's been a while since I have had new stamping polishes to play with and I am always on the look out for new ones - especially creme stamping polishes.  I love creme stamping polishes!

Hit The Bottle

I was lucky enough to receive four stamping polishes from Hit The Bottle this month and I think they are awesome.  They stamp beautifully over both black and white and are really nice colours.  They were one of the tables that I visited at Aussie Indie Con and had to grab some more of their creme stamping polishes as well as the holographic ones.  I am excited to try those!  Polishes shown are Stop And Smell The Lilacs, Let's Go To The Peach, Drunk Tank Pink and Drop Red Gorgeous.
 

Indie Polishes

This month the focus has definitely been on all indie polishes.  With the lead up to Aussie Indie Con there was a lot of new things being released and exclusives!  So many gorgeous exclusives!
 

Emily de Molly 5th Anniversary Trio

Emily de Molly celebrated their 5th anniversary this month in the most beautiful way - with a trio of polishes.  I love each and every one of these polishes.  You can see more swatches of this trio here.  Polishes are Room For More, Dusk's Remaining Light and Overcast Quartz.
 

Emily de Molly Aussie Indie Con Exclusives

This is another trio of polishes that I am loving from Emily de Molly this month.  Seriously how stunning are these polishes?  I actually wore the creme for about three days this month.  You can see more pictures of this trio here.  Polishes are Glee Ridden, The Company I Keep and Lost Direction.
 

Emily de Molly June Releases

It's definitely been a busy month for Emily de Molly with zero complaints from me.  If you didn't already know, EdM is one of my favourite indie brands and has been so for years.  Literally!  They have some of the best formulas that I have tried and the colours are stunning!  I fell in love with these six polishes from the June release.  You can see all of the released (and lots of pictures) in my swatch and review post here.  Polishes from left to right are LE52, Voice Of My Love, The Eighth Letter, LE51, Traverse The Skies and Water Balance.
 

Grace-full Nail Polish Aussie Indie Con Exclusives

Did I mention that there were a lot of exclusive polishes that were released this month?  Grace-full Nail Polish did release quite a few and I was lucky enough to receive three of them (I then stupidly forgot to pick up the others on the day - but I did remember to grab an upcoming collection which I am so excited about!).  I particularly fell in love with two of the exclusives - Darling Of The Harbour (top) and I Wish I Was There (bottom).  You can see more pictures of this and the other exclusive I have in this post here.
 

Powder Perfect Gallery Of Dreams

Unfortunately Powder Perfect were unable to attend Aussie Indie Con this year, however they were still involved in their own special way.  They did free shipping on their site over the Aussie Indie Con weekend, put in a stunning polish into the VIP bag and of course made a very special exclusive polish called Gallery Of Dreams.  This polish is available on the Australia website and it will be on the international site soon.  You can see more swatches and my review here.
 

Mainstream Polishes

There really hasn't been too many new mainstream polishes that I have used this month that I love.  I definitely have a few things in my swatch racks (like the Color Club Pop Play Collection) that I have used in some nail art and have been loving but I haven't used them all or swatched them yet so I will have to leave those out for this month.
 

Your Favourites

Normally I would post what the top nine most like pictures of mine have been on Instagram, but honestly I don't post on there as much as I use to - and I definitely don't post everything I do so I have decided to skip that collage as it really doesn't represent what it should.
 

The blog posts you guys have been loving this month are:
 

Emily de Molly June Releases

Aussie Indie Con 2017 Haul

Emily de Molly 5th Anniversary Trio

Apparently I am not the only one who has been loving Emily de Molly's this month lol.  I am a little bit surprised to see that a haul post made it into the top three for the month though.  Do you guys like seeing haul posts or was it because it was related to Aussie Indie Con?  Let me know.  I am curious to know and would consider doing more haul posts in the future if that is something you are interested in.

Anyway, I think that wraps up everything for June.  July is going to be a busy month on the blog front for me.  I have soooooo many new things to play with (and more coming - have I mentioned that I have a shopping addiction? Lol). 

The Digit-al Dozen Does Birthdays - June 2017

I can't believe that it's nearly the end of the month already.  I really need to get thinking about my favourites for this month (that will be my post for tomorrow).  Today, I have another Birthday mani for the Digit-al Dozen.  This month we are celebrating Amy's (Fancy Side Nails) birthday.  The theme is shades of pink, which I think is such an awesome theme.  There are so many different things that you can do for this.  Plus I love pink!

A little while ago I did this mani in a blue version and thought back then that I should do it in some other colours, just because I really loved the original mani.  Today seemed like the perfect time to do such a thing.  For my base I used OPI Malibu Pier Pressure and stamped using Colour Alike B A Sweetheart and OPI Hey Baby.  Stamping designs are both from Lina Nail Art Supplies Make Your Mark 02.

I hope you have had a great birthday Amy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Uberchic Beauty Garden Love & Fourth Of July Mini Stamping Plates - Swatches & Review

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Uberchic Beauty have recently added two new mini stamping to their collections, the Garden Love and the Fourth Of July stamping plates.  They have also released a new stamping plate folder for the mini plates.  Yay!  I thought rather than doing individual posts for each of these things that I would pop them all into the same post.

Fourth Of July

For those of you in the US you guys will probably love this plate and get a fair amount of use out of it.  Those of you who aren't from the US (like myself) then never fear, these plate has something for us too.  There are stars, stripes and fireworks (hello New Years!)

Image from Uberchic Beauty

As soon as I saw the image in the top left hand corner I knew I had to use it.  I had originally planned to use a neon base but I couldn't go past using some of my polishes.  I decided to sponge on Grace-full Nail Polish's Blueberry, Grape, Lemon and Mango (all from the Fruit Salad Collection) and stamped using Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.

Garden Love

Now this next plate isn't really my thing.  It is full of single images (which if you didn't know aren't my favourite thing - in fact I usually avoid them) and it's not really a theme I like.  I can admire pretty flowers etc but I don't like gardening in the slightest. 

Image from Uberchic Beauty

I kinda cheated and went for a really simple mani for this plate.  I managed to get my hands on the new China Glaze My Little Pony Collection and it just so happened to have this really pretty yellow (polish is called Kill 'em With Kindness) in it so ta da!  One bee mani.  I do quite like the mix of images in this design.  It's quite unique.  Please ignore my terrible stamping in this mani.  I don't think I move quick enough for the thin lines.

Mini Stamping Plate Holder

The new mini stamping plate holders are along the same lines are Uberchic folders for their other plates (but obviously smaller).  It has the same faux leather, and clear double sided pages to slip your plates into.  They come in both pink and black.  I store all of my Uberchic plates in pink folders (you can see a glimpse of them in my nail art collection post here), and my other brands of plates in the black folders.  It makes it easier for me to know which folder to grab.

Image from Uberchic Beauty

The mini stamping plates and the mini plate holders are available now from Uberchic Beauty.

OPI Infinite Shine California Dreaming Collection - Swatches & Review

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I think my recent lot of nail mail is trying to tell me something - I need to go somewhere warmer.  First, there is a 'vacation mode' stamping plate and now the new OPI California Dreaming Collection.  I'm hearing you nail world, I am hearing you loud and clear.  I need a holiday and I need to go to California.  Definitely on my to do list.  Anyway, in case you haven't guessed yet I have the OPI Infinite Shine California Dreaming Collection to share with you today.

Barking Up The Wrong Sequoia is described as a peach creme.  This one has a great formula, however I am not sure I am a fan of this colour.  My swatch shows two coats.

Don't Take Yosemite For Granite is described as a slate.  This one is so close to being a one coater and super easy to to use.  It does have visible brush strokes (the are more obvious in person than in my picture).  I used two coats for my swatch.

Excuse Me, Big Sur! is a rose pink creme.  I'm not a fan of this colour.  I feel like it might appeal more to a more mature person.  The formula is great and it is opaque in two coats.

Feeling Frisco is a nude creme.  I think this is a nice nude.  It does apply unevenly and takes three coats to even out.

GPS I Love You is a medium pink creme.  The formula is great and I am a big fan of the colour, which is probably no surprise.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Malibu Pier Pressure is a cotton candy pink creme.  This is another polish that I am a fan of.  The colour is pretty and the formula is great.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Me, Myself & I is described as a coral creme.  I'm not a fan of this one.  It definitely seems more like a red toned orange, and is actually quite similar in colour to Santa Monica Beach Peach, so much so I would say you only need one of them and definitely not both.  The formula is good and is opaque in two coats.

Santa Monica Beach Peach is an orange creme.  As I mentioned above this one is quite close in colour to the Me, Myself & I, however it's not quite as red toned.  This one does apply unevenly, but evens out ok on the second coat.  I used two coats for my swatch, but question if I should have done a third. 

Sweet Carmel Sunday is described as a glistening gold.  This one is easy to use, however like most metallic shades this one does have visible brush strokes.  I used two coats for my swatch.

This Is Not Whine Country is described as a merlot.  I really like the colour of this one and was hoping it was a creme formula.  Sadly, it's more of a jelly.  The formula is great and builds up nice.  My swatch shows three coats.

Time For A Napa is a coral creme.  This is a bit of an interesting one for me.  When I swatched it I was really on the fence about the colour, but looking at my swatch I think I quite like it.  I do like it in the bottle.  The formula is great and easy to use.  My swatch shows two coats.

To The Mouse House We Go is a red jelly.  This one is really sheer (as expected with a jelly I guess), it's easy to use and really glossy.  I used three coats for my swatch, but as you can see there is still a visible nail line (which I dislike!).

Overall, I am not loving this collection.  It seems a little bit of an odd range of colours and some of the colours are too similar in my opinion to be in a collection together.  It's definitely a collection that I would say you don't need to buy the entire collection, however it does have some staple colours in the mix so if you are new to polish then some of these polishes may be great to kick start your collection.  My personal favourites from this collection are GPS I Love You, Malibu Pier Pressure, This Is Not Whine Country and Feeling Frisco....and possibly Time For A Napa.  I may have to wear it again to make my mind on it.

The California Dreaming Collection is available now from David Jones, Myer and selected pharmacies.

Uberchic Beauty Vacation Mode Stamping Plate - Swatches & Review

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Uberchic Beauty have introduced a new single stamping plate to their range, the Vacation Mode stamping plate.  Now I am going to say that this plate is depressing - mainly because it is winter here in Melbourne and this plate is full of tropical designs which is making me miss the warm weather even more!  In all seriousness, this plate is great for those of you who are in warmer places in the world, whether it is because you live there or just visiting.  

Image from Uberchic Beauty

This mani you guys may have already seen as I used it for a challenge mani a couple of days ago.  For my gradient I used OPI Malibu Pier Pressure and GPS I Love You. For the stamping I used Powder Perfect's White Stamping Polish and Colour Alike B. a Sunshine. 

I love how this next mani turned out!  For my base I sponged on Color Club's Friendzone, All Dolled Up, Having A Ball and Play Date.  I then stamped using Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.  I decided not to add top coat over this because I really like the contrast between the matte base and the glossy stamping polish.  I also like that it has a slight textured look that this mani has.

Vacation Mode stamping plate is available now from Uberchic Beauty.

Powder Perfect Gallery Of Dreams - Swatches & Review

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Last week I was lucky enough to attend Aussie Indie Con and you may have seen that I now have quite the swatching pile to work my way through. What you probably didn't know, I also have received some awesome new things (note the word "things" and not "polish") from Powder Perfect to play with. Included is the gorgeous Gallery Of Dreams, which was launched in celebration of Aussie Indie Con. 

Gallery Of Dreams is a purple holographic polish with lots of microglitter, including contrasts of ultra-holo silver and blue .  I love this polish. It looks slightly different depending on what light you are in, sometimes you can see the blue, other times you can't. It's a really pretty polish and the formula is great. I used three coats for my swatch, however you can get away with two coats.  I found it to be a little too see through at the tips in direct light for my personal taste. 

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Gallery Of Dreams is a limited edition polish and is available now from Powder Perfect's Australian site.

Crumpet's Nail Tarts: 26 Great Nail Art Ideas: Going On A Holiday

Happy end of the week everyone! I have a few things happening this weekend so I am using my time wisely tonight (it's Friday for me now but by the time I post this it will be Saturday). My daughter has gymnastics practice on a Friday night for two hours which I stay at, so thought why not use this time to write my blog post? It means I have extra time later to do some more manis. 

Anyway, it's time for another 26 Great Nail Art Ideas mani. This time the theme is "going on a holiday". I don't really go on holidays, in fact I was laughed at when I said that my trip to Sydney for Aussie Indie Con was a holiday.  I had originally planned to do a destination mani but I just so happened to received Uberchic Beauty's new Vacation Mode stamping plate and the OPI California Dreaming Collection. Put those things together and I am going somewhere with warmer weather.... and pretty flowers. 

For my gradient I used OPI Malibu Pier Pressure and GPS I Love You. For the stamping I used Powder Perfect's White Stamping Polish and Colour Alike B. a Sunshine. 

I'm happy with how this mani turned out. I can't wait to see what everyone else does for this theme.  I sense that I will be adding some more destinations to my wishlist.

In case you haven't been following along with this challenge here are the themes.  I can't believe how close I am to completely this challenge.

An InLinkz Link-up

Aussie Indie Con 2017 - Haul

I have a slightly different post for you guys today.  I had originally planned on having pictures etc of Aussie Indie Con, however I was too distracted to actually take any pictures on the day.  I have seen a quite a few hauls from some of the other people that attended and I thought it might be fun to share what I purchased on the day.  I'm not usually one to do hauls but figured it was a special event so if I was ever going to do one now would be a good time.  

VIP Bag

It took me ages to decide whether or not I should go to Aussie Indie Con as a VIP or not.  Eventually I decided to go as VIP so that I could get the goodie bag with the exclusives.  I think there are some great polishes in here, however I was a little disappointed that not all of the brands had put a polish in there eg, Sayuri had a voucher that you needed to use on the day once you spent $30 at their table.  Don't get me wrong here, I think putting a voucher in the VIP is fine, but I think for the price of the VIP paid you shouldn't then have to spend more money to receive anything.

There was also some other things in the bag like a shot glass, pen, wax melts etc, but I am just focusing on the polishes (because that is the only thing I was after at Aussie Indie Con).

Polishes from left to right (top row) are Hit The Bottle On The Loose With Chartreuse LE, Powder Perfect Wonderful Tonight, Joss Better Than Bare, Joss Magic Black Holo and Femme Fatale Cosmetics Darling Eve.  On the bottom row we have Miss Priss VIP Treatment, Grace-full Nail Polish Eldritch, Celestial Cosmetics The Coat Hanger and Emily de Molly A Minute To Spare.

Pretty Serious Cosmetics

In the VIP bag was a card to go and choose your two free polishes from Pretty Serious Cosmetics.  I definitely had a tough time deciding which two to grab.  I ended up grabbing Petrichor and Precipitation from the Rainy Days Collection.  Now these don't photograph accurately at all.  Well they definitely didn't today.  Fingers crossed I have more luck when I swatch these.

Ok so moving onto the things that I actually purchased.  These aren't necessarily the order I purchased them in but then that would involve me really thinking about the order I did things.  I know I did make a couple of trips to the Grace-full Nail Polish and Hit The Bottle tables.

Celestial Cosmetics 

I went into the Celestial Cosmetics table thinking I was going to buy the Aussie Indie Con exclusives (which are the two on the left) and possibly one other.  As you can see I ended up with a couple of extras.

From left to right: The Hungry Mile, Cockle Bay, Twisted Selection, There's A Party In My Polish & You're Invited and Sample 20 (which was a lucky dip polish).

Emily de Molly

Prior to going into Aussie Indie Con I had a bunch of EdM's on my list.  I was very lucky to actually be sent a lot of what I was thinking of buying to swatch so it meant I didn't really have much left to buy on the day.  Most of what Hayley had I already own.  Lol.

From left to right: Ava, A Pink Acquisition, State Of Mind and Clean Up Crew.  I would have grabbed more Clean Up Crew but I thought I should share with others.

Grace-full Nail Polish

The Grace-full table was definitely my most expensive table of the day (zero complaints from me on that one).  I love everything I grabbed!

I have absolutely no clue how I missed these two polishes when they were first released but I am so happy they are finally mine.  Polishes are Pink Lux and Lilac Light.

The Fruit Salad Collection was definitely at the top of my list of things that I had to get.  The colours look amazing and they watermarble!  Now I know you what you are thinking "Tracy, you don't watermarble".  Well you are correct, however I have watched Cathy (more nail polish) watermarble and I am wanting to try again....at some point.

Polishes are: Raspberry, Mango, Lemon, Apple, Blueberry, Grape and Strawberry.

Now this collection that is coming to soon to Grace-full and is inspired by the Gilmore Girls.  I am unsure of the name of the collection or it's exact release date, all I can tell you is that I am excited!!  Polishes are: Get A Hooker, Yes Purple!, I'm The Man, Ace, Dodge Lancer, Vale Richard, The Subsect and Oober.

Hit The Bottle

As you all know, I am on the hunt for more creme stamping polishes so naturally I had to stop buy the Hit The Bottle table.  Most of the colours that I saw I already own but I did come across these two: A Flock Of Seagulls and Call A Plumber.

I also couldn't go past getting the holo stamping polish collection.  It may be a bit of time before I can actually swatch these because we lack sunshine.  Polishes are Under The Strobe-berry Lights, Musk Have The Holo, Amethyst Sizzle, Prismatic Purple, Holo There Beautiful!, A Glint Of Gold, Lucky Spark, Turquatic and Hololulu Blue.

I also picked up a clear top coat from Hit The Bottle which Cathy said worked well for negative space watermarbling.  I somehow forgot to take a picture of it.  I am going to blame the fact that my polish are is a HUGE mess at the moment.  I have sooooo many things to play with at the moment so stay tuned for those!

I had an absolute blast at Aussie Indie Con.  Aside from the shopping, it was so amazing putting faces to people that I have spoken with over the years, meeting the makers behind the brands that I shop from, meeting a bunch of new people as well and watching Cathy watermarble (that was definitely a highlight for me - I have been following Cathy for years so to see her work her magic was amazing).  I know that I missed quite a few people (some I was even sitting near without realizing it) so I am so sorry if you were one of those people.  I am hoping that there will be another Aussie Indie Con next year and I will get a chance to meet more people.

Let me know which of these polishes you would like to see me swatch and review first!  I have no clue where to even begin.

Emily de Molly Aussie Indie Con 2017 Exclusives - Swatches & Review

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Hello everyone!  It feels like forever since I sat down and have written a blog post.  In case you missed why I disappeared a little, I had my dear friend Margaret (@loveslacquer on Instagram in case you didn't know) come and stay with me for the week and I wanted to spend the time with her rather than my computer lol.

Last week I was sent (and swatched) the Aussie Indie Con Exclusives from Emily de Molly.  I was hoping to get a chance to get this post done before I went to Aussie Indie Con but I just didn't get a chance.  I'm sure a lot of the girls that attended on Saturday have picked these up already, but good news for those of you who were unable to attend - Emily de Molly will be releasing these polishes in her online stores!  Woohoo!  Warning:  I have gone a little bit over board with pictures in this post. 

Glee Ridden is a bright turquoise green creme.  This polish is amazing!  I actually wore it for a couple of days and couldn't stop staring at it.  Now depending on your screen, my swatches my be a little off in comparison to what it looks in person.  My screens make it look more minty than what it is.  The formula is amazing.  You could easily get away with one coat, but I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken outdoors in the shade

Lost Direction is a dark teal with pink to green multichrome shimmer, iridescent glitters and blue flakes.  Love this one as well!  The formula is great and is opaque in two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

The Company I Keep is a dark blue with copper micro glitters, iridescent flakes and a subtle pink to green microchrome shimmer.  Again, I love this one!  It's gorgeous and the formula is fantastic.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Seriously, how amazing are these polishes?  There is zero chance I could pick a favourite of the three.  I recommend grabbing them all if you can.

To my knowledge these will be available Wednesday 21st June at 9am AEST from the Australian site and will be available at a later date on the international site.  Definitely join the Emily de Molly Facebook Group to keep up to date with all the information from Hayley.