May 2019 Favourites

It's the end of May - which also means that it is the start of winter here in Australia.  Something I am definitely not looking forward to.  But let's forget about that for now and focus on all the good things from May.  It has definitely been a great month in the polish world.

Nail Art

In April I sadly did no nail art (and I mean none - not a single one) but May the nail art has been back!  And I think I did some really good manis.  Well they are ones that I really love anyway.

Stamping Plates

I have recently discovered Moyra Stamping.  While I haven't had a chance to play with all of the plates I own I did get to use one and I fell in love.
    

Moyra Stamping Nature Stamping Plate

I really like the mix of images on this plate and they stamp beautifully.  It's definitely a plate I look forward to using again.

Image from Moyra Stamping

Stamping Polish

This month I added a few new stamping polishes to my collection but a few of them I haven't shared on my blog yet so I won't be including them in this month's favourites.
   

Hit The Bottle I Like Mauve It, Mauve It 2.0 Stamping Polish

We all know that I am a sucker for purples and this one is beautiful.  I do think it looks better in person than it does in pictures though.
    

Moyra Foil Stamping Polish - Silver
For some strange reason I didn't actually take a picture of this foil stamping before adding foil to it.  To be honest, it just looks like a silver stamping polish - but it does dry a little slower which makes it great for adding foils and pigments.  I love it!  Especially with the silver foil over the top.  It's so good!

Mainstream Nail Polish

This month I have played with a few new mainstream collections and have discovered quite a few favourites.

Anna Gorelova by Dance Legend OWL In Love Collection

I'm still not sure if I should be considering Dance Legend as a mainstream or an indie but for today I am going to consider them mainstream.  I love all three of the polishes from the OWL In Love Collection.  They are all gorgeous!
   

China Glaze x Sesame Street You Do Hue Collection

While this collection as a whole isn't a favourite of mine there are some great polishes in the mix.  My favourites in the collection are Monster Piece, Grover It and Free To Be Sesame.
     

Dance Legend Step Holo (Part) Collection

I love both of the holo's I was sent from Dance Legend as part of the Step Holo range.
    

Dance Legend Step Shine (Part) Collection

I was sent two of the polishes from the Step Shine Collection and I love them both.  In fact, I actually like the looks of the entire collection.
   

Essie Summer 2019 Collection

If you saw my post about this collection then it will know that it has been close to two years now since I last purchased an Essie polish.  I fell in love with collection as soon as I saw Essie post it and it didn't disappear.  There really is only one polish in this collection that I question whether I should include in here but as a whole I really like this collection.
   

Indie Polish

Each and every month the indie girls kill me (in the best way) with their polishes and May was no exception.

Emily de Molly Anniversary Releases

I don't think I can rave about these polishes enough!  They are all amazing and I think everyone needs them.
   

Emily de Molly Cute As A Button (Polish Pick Up May 2019)

The mixture between the colour and flakies means this polish was an instant love for me!
    

Emily de Molly LE160

This polish was actually meant to be released as a Polish Pick Up a few months ago but it didn't end up happening.  Luckily Hayley released it along with some other limited edition polishes which means I got to share it this month.  Woohoo!  I have so much love for this polish.
    

Grace-full Nail Polish Starfire (Hella Handmade Creations May 2019)

It's not a favourites post without some Grace-full Nail Polish.  I love everything about this month's Hella Handmade Creations polish.  It is absolutely stunning!

Grace-full Nail Polish Karma Chameleon (Polish Pick Up May 2019)

Any polish that shifts seems to always end up in my favourites.  The shifts always make wearing the polish fun and eye catching.  This is just one of those polishes that you put on and just keep looking at.  So much love!

Hit The Bottle Love Missile F1-11 (Polish Pick Up May 2019)

Polish Pick Up had some amazing releases this month's.  I mean look how gorgeous Love Missile F1-11 is?  

Wow!  This post is a lot longer than I thought it was going to be.  I guess there was a lot more things that I fell in love with.  Not that that is a bad thing....well until the end of the year and I have to try and narrow down all the favourites.

Moyra Stamping Foil Polish Stamping Kit 3 - Swatches & Review

As you may be aware I recently made my first purchase from Moyra Stamping.  My main reason for this was their foil stamping polishes.  I love the idea of foils (I certainly have a lot of them in my collection) but I can never get them to work how I want them too.  When I saw that Moyra had foil stamping polishes I thought this could be the perfect solution for me.  I thought I would take the gamble and buy basically one of each (I will be sharing these with you over time) but I did discover that Moyra also sell Foil Polish Stamping Kits.  Each kit contains two of the magic foils, one foil stamping polish and two pigments.  I decided to grab Foil Polish Stamping Kit 3 which is what I will be sharing with you today.  This kit comes with the silver foil stamping polish, magic foils in silver and blue, and pigment powder 23 and 27.  For consistency I would swatch everything over black and used Moyra's Colour Book Stamping Plate.

Silver Foil Stamping Polish
This is exactly what you think it is.  It is just a silver (although more of a shimmery silver than a metallic silver).  It's quite pretty on its own and stamps perfectly.  I had zero issues with it.

Silver and Blue Magic Foils
There is definitely a learning curve when it comes to using these foils and I have since learnt that each of these foils perform slightly different.  For the silver foil it appears that dabbing the foil on in bits is better than putting the foil all over the nail in one piece.  I dabbed the foil on my pinkie while the others was placed on the full nail.  I also only used top coat (seche vite) on my ring nail.  The others don't have any top coat.

Now for the blue I tried dabbing it on my pinkie again but as you can see it doesn't seem to work as well as the silver foil.  I also tried doing over the whole nail and that seemed to have better results, but overall I'm not loving the look as much as the silver.  I might try this foil over the white stamping polish and see if that will give a better result.

Pigments 23 & 27

I haven't tried these pigments as whole nails yet so I can't comment on that but over the foil stamping polish I really like them.  They are easy to use, although they do make quite a bit of mess.  I found that dipping my nail into the jars were better than trying to apply the pigment with a brush.  On my pinkie and ring nails I have used pigment 23 and on my middle and index nails I used pigment 27.

Overall I quite like the idea of this kit.  I am definitely excited about playing some more with this kit as well as the other foils and stamping polish I have from Moyra.

The Foil Polish Stamping Kit is available from Moyra Stamping.

Essie Summer 2019 Collection - Swatches & Review

It has been a looooong time since I have purchased any polishes from Essie.  In fact, the last collection from Essie I grabbed was the Fall 2017 collection.  I honestly didn't realize it had been that long but that's what my blog is telling me.  I'm not really 100% sure why I haven't purchased any in the recent years - it will either be a lack of interest or a lack of money....or perhaps a combination of the two.  Anyway, I saw the new Summer Collection and this collection spoke to me so I had to have it....

Claim To Flame is described as a burnt red-orange.  I think there is a discrepancy with the name of the polish.  My bottle is labeled as "Claim To Flame" but the Essie website lists it as Claim To Fame.  Anyway, I'm really not sure how I feel about this colour.  It definitely is unique in my collection.  The formula is amazing though.  You could get away with one coat if you were in a pinch.  My swatch shows two coats.

In Full Swing is described as a neon peachy nude.  I love this one!  When I first saw it I was a little on the fence but on the nails I love it.  I think it would look even better with a tan.  The formula is great - it was a little patchy on the first coat but evened out beautifully on the second coat.

Soles On Fire is a tangerine orange.  I love the colour of this one.  This is definitely a great colour for summer (says the girl who is basically in winter at the moment).  I did find that this one was a little streaky on the first coat, and was still uneven on the second.  I used three coats for my swatch.

Strike A Rose is a hot neon pink with coral undertones.  This is such a gorgeous colour.  Formula wise it is easy to use but it is on the sheer side.  There is still a visible nail line so I used three coats for my swatch.

Take The Lead is a neon sky blue.  I love this one!  It is such a gorgeous colour and the formula is amazing.  You could get away with one coat if you were in a hurry as it applies evenly and is pretty opaque.  For my swatch I did use two coats.

Tangoed In Love is described as a neon purple.  I'm not convinced that this is a neon, but it's a bright mid toned purple.  I love this colour.  I think it is truly stunning - but it doesn't photograph accurately at all.  My pictures make it look a lot more blue than what it is.  The formula is awesome and applies like a dream.  I used two coats for my swatch but I think I should have used three coats as it is still a little see through at the tips for my personal taste.

I love this collection!  The formulas are all fantastic and the colours are gorgeous!

Emily de Molly Anniversary Release (June 2019) - Swatches & Review

PRESS SAMPLE

What seems to be an eternity to me now Hayley shared with my the bottle shots of this year's anniversary release.  If you have seen them in the Facebook group then you will know exactly how drool worthy they are!  Never the less, I stalked the postie like a crazy person until they arrived and I have to say the are even more jaw dropping in person than they are in pictures (no offense to anyone's photography skills - I am a firm believer that polishes always look better in person than in pictures).  Anyway, fast forward to now and I have swatches and a review of all of the new pretties.  Woohoo!

Botanical Musings is a dark teal green with a fine particle red to green aurora shimmer.  I loooove this one!  The colour is gorgeous and that shimmer!!!!  *insert heart eyes here*  The formula is amazing and so easy to use.  I used three coats for my swatch as I found it a little see through at the tips for my personal taste.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Magic Maker is a mauve / purple crelly filled with iridescent flakes in orange / gold / green.  It's purple and has flakies so you just know that I am going to looooove this one!  The colour is stunning and there are soooo many flakies.  Love, love, love!  The formula is fantastic and applies easy.  My swatch shows three coats, however I am sure most people will stop at two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Ornate Print is a dark grey crelly filled with iridescent flakes in orange / gold / green and also blue / purple.  Have I mentioned that I love flakies?  No?  Well I do!  I absolutely love the flakies in this one and I love the base colour too.  Like with Magic Maker, the formula is fantastic and so easy to work with.  I used three coats for my swatch, however you can stop at two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Pictures taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Pale Horse is a bright pink / gold / green multichrome with silver holographic micro glitters.  Love, love, love this one!  The colour is gorgeous, the holographic micro glitters are beautifully and that shift of the multichrome!!  I don't think words can quite describe the love I have for this polish.  The formula is fantastic and easy to use.  My swatch shows three coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Take Backs is a pink to green magnetic multichrome with a gold magnetic effect and gold holographic micro glitters.  You will be sick of me saying this but I love this polish as well.  I think it is a gorgeous colour and it is so shifty.  Personally I think I prefer this one without the magnet.  Now you will notice that there is a difference in my swatches when using the magnet.  The first time I wore it I was having an "off day" and couldn't get the magnet to work (I also kept knocking my nails) so I did reswatch it.  I thought I would show you both versions so you can see what it looks like with a more subtle look as well.  My swatch shows three coats.

Picture taken in light box (with magnet)

Picture taken in light box (with magnet)

Picture taken outdoors in shade (with magnet)

Picture taken outdoors in shade (with magnet)

Picture taken in light box (with subtle magnet)

Picture taken in light box (with subtle magnet)

Picture taken outdoors in overcast light (with subtle magnet)

Picture taken outdoors in overcast light (with subtle magnet)

Picture taken outdoors in overcast light (with subtle magnet)

Picture taken in light box (no magnet)

Picture taken in light box (no magnet)

Picture taken in light box (no magnet)

Picture taken outdoors in overcast light (no magnet)

Picture taken outdoors in overcast light (no magnet)

Picture taken in overcast light (no magnet)

Test Subject is a bright cornflower blue with a fine particle red to green aurora shimmer and silver holographic micro glitters.  This one is definitely a favourite of favourites.  I'm so in love!  The colour is absolutely stunning, the shift is amazing (although I think it may be more shifty in person than it looks in my pictures) and the formula is fantastic.  I used three coats for my swatch, however you can stop at two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken outdoors in shade

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Unframed is a medium purple crelly base with metallic turquoise green micro flakes.  Will it come as a surprise for me to tell you that I don't love this one?  Of course it would be a surprise but it is also a big fat lie.  I love this one!  The colour and shimmer are both beautiful and the formula is amazing.  For my swatch I used two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

I'm sure it goes without saying that I absolutely LOVE each and every one of these polishes.  They are all amazing and I think everyone needs this collection.

The Anniversary Releases will be available from Emily de Molly's Australian site on Tuesday 28th May at 10am AEST and on the international site on Monday 27th May at 7pm EDT.