September 2017 Favourites

My last blog post for September!  Woohoo!  This is my 49th blog post for this month.  How crazy is that?  I did a quick count and I have done at least 100 manis this month.  I think I am proud of that effort...and maybe just a little scared.  Anyway, even though there is still one more day left for the 31DC2017 challenge I still wanted to do my monthly favourites today just to keep the consistency on my blog.  I like having my monthly favourites on the last day of the month.  Given how crazy this month has been, this post may be quite long so I will apologize in advance.

Nail Art

This month has been all about the 31DC2017 challenge, but I have also been doing a couple of nail art challenges as well as some stamping plate reviews so it makes sense that there is a lot of nail art favourites.  I am happy that I did manage to cut it back to just nine manis.  

Stamping Plates

This month I haven't really been playing too much with new stamping plates, except for the new Uberchic ones.  I have loved using both the Halloween 03 Stamping Plate and Collection 20 plates.

Uberchic Collection Twenty

In particular I love plates 20-01 and 20-03.  They are full of images that I will continue to grab for.  You can see how I used these plates (as well as getting a good look at the individual plates) here.

Image from Uberchic Beauty

Uberchic Halloween 03 Stamping Plate

I am a big fan of this years Halloween plate from Uberchic.  Uberchic make some of the best Halloween plates.  You can see the original post here.

Image from Uberchic Beauty

Stamping Polishes

Hit The Bottle Pour Some Neon On Me (Part) Collection

I'm sure it is no surprise that these polishes have made their way into my favourites post.  I love neon polishes and these stamping polishes are fantastic.  I am missing two of the polishes....for now.  I will definitely be adding them to my collection very soon.  You can find my original swatch and review post here. 

Indie Polishes

Swatching has taken a little bit of a backseat this month.  Partly from a lack of time, but also because a lot of the things I have to swatch require sunshine which sadly Melbourne is lacking at the moment.  Never fear though, I am sure I will have sunshine soon enough and will be jumping back on board the swatching train.

Emily de Molly September Releases

This month EdM released seven new polishes.  There are some awesome polishes in this release only five have made their way to the favourites list - Door Prop, Urban Dictionary, Magical Refuge, Paper Universe and Sitting Still.  You can see more swatches of these polishes here.   

Mainstream Polishes

The bulk of the swatching I have done this month have come from mainstream brands.  I am considering Bow and Dance Legend as mainstream polishes because I am not quite sure they fit into the indie category.

Bow Nail Polish

I swatched two polishes from Bow Nail Polish this month and I love them both.  The colours are great and so are the formulas.  You can see more swatches and my review here.   Top picture is Feeling Good and the bottom polish is Playing With Fire over a black base.

China Glaze Happily Never After Collection

I am a huge fan of this years Halloween Collection from China Glaze.  Last years collection was disappointing but they have stepped up their game.  I have picked four of the six polishes as my favourites for this month - Crown For Whatever, Sin-derella, Queen Please! and Life's Grimm.  You can find the original swatch and review post here.

Dance Legend - Thinking Out Cloud & Lumos Blue

I received quite a large package from Dance Legend this month and I am slowly swatching my way through them.  Prepare yourselves because October you will be seeing even more Dance Legends on my blog.  Anyway, two of them really caught my attention this month - Thinking Out Cloud and Lumos Blue (even though it's not actually a polish).

OPI Iceland Collection

I am a big fan of the OPI Iceland Collection.  I think the colours are perfect for the cooler weather and the formulas are great across the collection.  There are four shades in particular that stole my heart - Turn On The Northern Lights, One Heckla Of A Color!, Check Out The Old Geysirs and Less Is Norse.  You can see the full collection and my thoughts on the individual polishes here. 

That wraps up my favourites for this month.  Honestly, I am quite surprised that this post isn't longer given how busy this month has been.  Now bring on October!  *spoiler alert - there are a lot of new pretties coming in October. 

 

31DC2017 Inspired By A Tutorial

It's officially the last day of September (I will have my monthly favourites up later today) but it's not quite the last of the 31DC2017 challenge.  Tomorrow is the final day and I am so excited!  While I do enjoy doing this challenge, it definitely takes up a lot of time on top of my usual schedule.  I am excited to go back to daily blogging (with maybe a few days off - we'll have to wait and see what happens there). 

Today's theme is inspired by a tutorial.  I was checking in on Tammy's (ohmygoshpolish on Instagram) to see if she had posted anything because I hadn't seen here manis for ages.  Turns out she hasn't posted anything since the 12th September.  I'm hoping that she is just taking a break and she will be back soon.  Anyway, while I was looking at her page I saw a really sparkly mermaid inspired mani and I wanted them on my nails.  Tammy did use holo flakies but I don't have anything like that.  Instead I used Color Club's Harp On It as my base and then applied Starrily Ultima.  I wish I had some decent sunshine or an indoor lighting option for holos because this mani is so blingy!  I love it.  Stamping image is from Bundle Monster BM-XL211.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in overcast lighting

Right, time to start seriously working out my monthly favourites.  Eek!  As much as I love doing the monthly posts I always find them so hard to do and they seem to take the longest to write - possibly because they are usually so full of stuff.  Oops.

An InLinkz Link-up

Crumpet's Nail Tarts: 26 Great Nail Art Ideas: Your Signature Style

Today is the last day of the 26 Great Nail Art Ideas Challenge!  I can't believe that it is officially done.  Does any one know if there will be another 26GNAI challenge?  I have quite enjoyed this challenge and doing a mani every fortnight.  Anyway, the final theme is 'Your Signature Style'.  My first thought was to do a sponged background with stamping because they are my go to nail art at the moment, but then I was questioning if that would be considered my signature style.  I ended up asking Margaret what she would consider as my signature style and she said the sponged background.  It's nice to know that what I consider my signature style, someone else does too. 

I have always been (and will always be) a massive fans of neons so I just had to do a sponged neon background.  Polishes used are China Glaze That's Shore Bright, Bottoms Up, More To Explore and Daisy Know My Name?, and Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.  Stamping design is from Lina Nail Art Supplies Make Your Mark 04 Stamping Plate.

I'm excited to see what everyone else does for this prompt.  Do you think this is my signature style or have I missed the mark on this theme?

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC2017 Inspired By The Supernatural

The Supernatural theme is always a tricky one for me.  I never know what to do.  My first two years I was very adventurous and did free hand manis (one was a Superman mani and the other was a Harry Potter mani) but sadly I don't free hand much anymore so the skills (I am going to use that term loosely there) that I had learnt from doing regular free hand have gone out the window.  Lucky for me I know how to stamp and have a variety of images at my finger tips.  Like this ghost image from the new Uberchic Halloween 03 stamping plate.  I had originally planned on using this image in my initial review but got side tracked with the other images.  Today I decided to break the plate out again and use the ghost image.

Polishes used are Color Club French Tip and Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.

Two more manis to go.  Woohoo!  I will be back later today with another mani.

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC2017 Inspired By A Flag

In Australia we are currently all voting for the legalization of gay marriage.  I don't tend to go into these sorts of topics very often (and don't take that as a sign I don't care) but honestly I think having to vote for the legalization of gay marriage is crazy.  Why can't two people who love each other get married because of their genders?  Seems crazy to me.  I mean who am I to stop two people from getting married?  Anyway, in honor of this I thought it would be appropriate to do a rainbow mani inspired by the rainbow flag.

Polishes used are Grace-full Nail Polish Raspberry, Mango, Lemon, Apple, Blueberry and Grape.

Only three more themes to go.  I can't believe this challenge is nearly over for this year.

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC2017 Inspired By Artwork

Inspired By Artwork is definitely one of the themes that I dread doing each year.  Artwork is not my strong suit, so trying to translate something onto my nails is quite the challenge.  I always google things like "basic art work" or even "DIY artwork" etc as I can usually find something that isn't too complicated for me.  This year I happened to find a tree image with rainbow leaves/smudges and I just so happen to have a layering image so a tree mani is what I have done for today's theme.

Polishes used are Color Club's French Tips (for my base), Bundle Monster's Quasar, Tee Pee Tipping, E-tronica, Opus One, Astronomical, Eldorado and Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.  Stamping image is from Uberchic Lovely Leaves 02 stamping plate.

Four prompts to go.  How are you going with this challenge? 

An InLinkz Link-up

Uberchic Beauty Collection Twenty Stamping Plates - Swatches & Review

PRESS SAMPLE

I feel like I have been sitting with Uberchic's Collection Twenty stamping plates for ages.  You will have seen quite a few of these manis throughout my 31DC2017 posts because I have used them pretty much since the day I received them.  It's definitely a great collection.  Let's take a look at these plates shall we?

Image from Uberchic Beauty

20-01

I really had a hard time narrowing down which images to use on this plate.  There are some great images which you will undoubtedly be seeing me using over time.

Image from Uberchic Beauty

I'm going to start with the last mani I did using these plates.  In fact, it's the mani that I posted earlier today for 31DC2017 Inspired By A Pattern.  How great is this image?  I think this image would look great with various backgrounds.  I went for a simple gradient using Pretty Serious Cosmetics Snugglebutt and Sugar Cakes.  Stamping polish is Powder Perfect's White Stamping Polish.

One type of mani that I just absolutely love is a simple black and white mani.  I love that there is to versions of this image.  I went for the bigger of the two and love how bold it looks in black and white.  

As part of the 31DC2017 I did a watermarble mani.  Given the effort I put in (I am still not a fan of doing watermarble myself) I thought why not stamp over it.  This negative space image was perfect to go over my watermarble base.  Polishes used are Pretty Serious Cosmetics Fluffykins, Peachie Poo and Cutie Patootie, and Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.

20-02

I have mixed feelings on this plate.  I think there are some great images but there is also a lot of images that I personally don't think I will get much use out of.

Image from Uberchic Beauty

This first image I quite like.  I haven't seen anything like this before.  I love that dots in the stripe format.  For my base I used Essie No Place Like Chrome, Good As Gold and Penny Talk and stamped using Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.

This next image was perfect for the geometric mani that I needed to do.  I wanted something nice and simple to let the image take centre stage.  Polishes used are Sally Hansen Pacific Blue and Powder Perfect's White Stamping Polish.

20-03

Now this plate is definitely more up my alley.  There are some fantastic images on this plate.

Image from Uberchic Beauty

This first mani is probably my favourite of all the manis I have done using this collection.  I mean how can I not love a rainbow mani?  All polishes used for the gradients are from Grace-full Nail Polish's Fruit Salad Collection and stamping polish is of course Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.

And my last mani with this plates is a nice and simple one.  Have I mentioned I love simple manis?  plan base with basic stamping.  They are simple and effective.  For my base I used Dance Legend's Thinking Out So Cloud and stamped using Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.

Overall I quite like this collection of stamping plates.  I can see me reaching for them a far bit.  Probably the first and last plates more than the second though.

Collection Twenty Stamping Plates are available now from Uberchic Beauty. 

31DC2017 Inspired By A Pattern

Today's 31DC2017 theme is another one of my favourites in this last section of the challenge.  I mean inspired by a pattern you can really do anything you like can't you?  When I received Uberchic's Collection Twenty stamping plates I just knew that the image on the first plate would be perfect for today's theme.  It's not really want I imagined this mani would turn out like (I had something else in mind originally but changed my mind at the last second).  

This is probably one of the worst gradients that I have ever done but let's just pretend it's a decent gradient.  Polishes used are Pretty Serious Cosmetics Snugglebutt and Sugar Cakes, and stamped with Pretty Serious Cosmetics White Stamping Polish.  Stamping design is from Uberchic 20-01.  I will have my swatches and review of these plates later today. 

Only five more manis to go.  Can you tell I am getting excited?

An InLinkz Link-up

Bow Nail Polish Summer 2017 (Part) Collection - Swatches & Review

PRESS SAMPLE

Today I have another two polishes that I received from Dance Legend to share with you.  These polishes are from their Bow Nail Polish Summer 2017 range.  There are a total of eight new polishes added to the range (and there are some real pretty ones).

Feeling Good is described as having a light blue base with a purple undertone enhanced by a pearly pink shimmer mixed with holographic particles.  I love this one.  I think it's so beautiful and the formula is great.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Playing With Fire is described as A semi-sheer raspberry-tinted jelly loaded with duochrome green-pink metallic flakes.  This one can be built up to be opaque on it's own but I am thinking it would take four coats (or maybe three if you aren't as fussy as me).  I used a black base for my swatch.  I really like this one too.  There are more shifty colours in this polish but my camera couldn't quite capture them.  My swatch shows two coats over black.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Both of these shades along with the other six shades are available now from Bow Nail Polish and Dance Legend.

31DC2017 Inspired By Fashion

This is probably one of my favourite "inspired by" themes to do.  There are so many cool pieces of clothing out there and not just high end fashion either.  Although maybe high fashion is more what this theme is going for.  I'm not sure.  I have used a Ralph Lauren dress worn by Kendall Jenner as my inspiration for today's mani.  I like how simple it looks but still has a cool element about it.

Polishes used are OPI My Vampire Is Buff, Exotic Birds Do Not Tweet and Pretty Serious Cosmetic Absence.

The light is at the end of the tunnel now.  It's crazy to think that Sunday will be the last day of this challenge for me.  Then it's back to a regular blogging schedule.  Woohoo!

An InLinkz Link-up

SM Polish The Magic Garden Collection - Swatches & Review

PRESS SAMPLE

Today I have the final new collection I was sent to swatch from SM Polish.  This collection is called The Magic Garden Collection and consists four crelly polishes in various shades.
 

Fairy Blossom is described as a soft satin pink crelly with multiple sized glitters in various colours.  The formula of this one is sheer and leaves visible brush strokes (they are more obvious in person than in my picture).  I used four coats for my swatch.

Lilac Lane is described as a satin purple crelly with micro gold and large fuchsia glitters.  The formula is the same as Fairy Blossom.  Again, my swatch shows four coats.

Magic Lake is described as a shimmery olive crelly with multi sized gold holographic glitters.  This is the most opaque of the group.  I used three coats for my swatch. 

Unicorn Lagoon is described as a teal crelly with hints of gold shimmer and multiple sized gold glitters.  The formula is like the first two polishes in the collect.  It's sheer and has visible brush strokes.  I used four coats for my swatch.

I am not a fan of this collection at all.  The formulas are so sheer (which based on the three collections I have tried from SM Polish, this seems to be how they make all of their polishes) and the colours/glitter mixes aren't great.  It's actually quite a disappointing collection for someone who has been making polishes for two years.  This is the type of collection I would expect to see from someone just starting out.

The Magic Garden Collection is available now on SM Polish's site.   If you use my code 'olivia10' you will receive a 10% discount (minimum purchase I believe is $20).