China Glaze House Of Colour Collection - Swatches & Review

Friday, 5 February 2016


Today I have another new China Glaze Collection to share with you.  I stumbled across the House Of Colour Collection when I was purchasing another large bottle of Seche Vite (I seriously go through these things like there is no tomorrow) and I just had to grab it.  Initially when it arrived in the mail I wasn't overly excited by the polishes until I tried them on.  Then it was a different story!


About Layin' Out is a salmon pink creme.  The formula of this one is easy to use but it does have a bit of a jelly like formula so you can still see a visible nail line after two coats.  I used three coats for my swatch.

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Chrome Is Where The Heart Is is described as a blush chrome.  This is a really pretty polish (that stamps perfectly) and is definitely unique in my collection.  The formula is amazing and is fully opaque in one coat.  Seriously what's not to love about that?

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Come Rain Or Shine is a bold blue with a pinky purple shimmer through out.  I love this one.  The shimmer in it is definitely a lot more noticeable in person that it is in my pictures.  My camera just didn't want to show it.  The formula is great and is opaque in two coats.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight
Don't Be Shallow is a sky blue creme.  I love the colour of this one, however I found the formula a little on the sheer side, especially on the first coat.  It does build up nicely on the second coat (which you can get away with) but seems I don't like having a visible nail line I used three coats.

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Girls Just Wanna Have Sun is a light yellow creme.  This is probably one of the lightest yellow cremes that I own.  The formula is easy to use and is opaque in two coats.

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Glitter Me This.... is a glitter topper with gold, pink and white glitters.  Such a pretty mix of glitters.  The pink and white glitters are more visible in person than my pictures show.  I found this was rather heavy with the base so I recommend dabbing on the glitters or even sponging them one if you want a more glitter.  I used one coat over Let's Chalk About It.

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In The Near Fuchsia is a fuchsia creme.  Really pretty colour and the formula is easy to use.  I used two coats for my swatch, however next time I would probably use three coats as I found that I still have a slight visible nail line in certain lights.

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Let's Chalk About It is an ultra soft pink creme.  In my picture it nearly looks white, but I promise you it's not as white looking in person.  I am seriously in love with this polish.  The colour is gorgeous and the formula is amazing for such a light colour.  I used two coats for my swatch.

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Moonlight The Night is described as a translucent blue and purple colour reflective glitter.  This is another polish that I love.  It's so pretty.  The formula is great and has great glitter payoff.  I used one coat over Don't Be Shallow.

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Pink Or Swim is a warm bubblegum pink creme.   Another great colour with a great formula.  I used two coats for my swatch.

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Shut The Front Door is described as a pink creme, however it has a bit of a shimmery finish to it.  I also think that this is more of a purple than a pink.  This is definitely a pretty colour with a great formula.  I used two coats for my swatch.

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Sorry I'm Latte is a nude creme.  Nice colour and great formula.  I used two coats for my swatch.

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Overall I quite like this collection.  It wasn't a collection that I was drooling over when it arrived but I definitely change my mind now that I have swatched them.  My absolute favorites from this collection are Let's Chalk About It, Moonlight The Night and Come Rain Or Shine.

I have had a super quick look in my collection and have found a few polishes that are comparable, however I haven't had a chance to do swatch comparisons.  Let me know in the comments below if you would like to see some comparisons.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Dune Collection & November 2015 COTM - Swatches & Review

Wednesday, 3 February 2016


Today I am taking another trip back in time to November last year.  This time I have Femme Fatale's Dune Collection and their Colour of the Month.  The Dune Collection consists of eight polishes which are inspired by the 1965 science fiction novel, Dune by Frank Herbert.  I personally have never read this book so I have no clue what these polishes reference but I do speak polish an that is all that matters.  Let's jump in shall we?


Blue-Within-Blue Eyes is a clear/light blue to bright blue thermal with soft pink shine and iridescent green flakes.  I didn't manage to get any transition pictures of this one and I'm not 100% why.  If my memory serves me correctly, the day I swatched these was boiling hot and no amount of ice was changing this polish to cold long enough for me to take pictures.  Anyway, I think this polish is quiet pretty and it was easy to use.  I used three coats for my swatch.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight
Picture taken in direct sunlight

Genetic Memory is a brown creme with strong purple over and pink to gold chrome flakes.  The formula was easy to use and was opaque in two coats.

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Grandfather Of The Desert is a clear based bright gold microglitter packed with holo glitters and glass flakes which shift to blue at an angle.  Personally I didn't notice any shifts at all, but it is still a pretty polish.  It is definitely quite sheer so takes a bit to make opaque.  The formula is easy to work with.  My swatch shows three thick coats.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight
Lazarou {Collector Of Wives} has a muted mauve base with grey tones and packed full of copper flakes, orange iridescence, copper and rose flecks.  This was November's COTM and is no longer for sale.  The formula was easy to work with.  My swatch shows two coats.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight
Reverend Mothers is a brick red glass flake filled with silver holo and blue iridescence.  I quite like this one.  The formula is good and easy to use.  It is a little on the sheer side though.  I did two coats all over my nails and then added some extra polish to the tips so there was no visible nail line.

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Sandcrawler is a rich copper base with a strong green-gold overlay.  This one surprised me a little.  I honestly didn't think I would like it on my nails.  While I don't love it, I definitely don't hate it.  The formula is great and opaque in two coats.

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The Secret Coinage is a clear based microglitter that is primarily a strong copper holo with luminescent copper/red flakes and violet sparks.  This one is quite sheer but really pretty.  My swatch shows three coats, although I could have done with a forth coat.  I think next time I would use a base colour first.

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The Weirding Way is a dark brown with strong blue shimmer and iridescence, along with silver holo microglitter.  Again this is another pretty polish with a good formula.  I used two coats for my swatch.

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Voice Of The Outer World is a clear to magenta thermal packed with chrome shifting blue flakes and blue iridescence.

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While I think there are a couple of nice polishes in this collection, there is nothing that I truly love.  If I had to pick favorites I would say Voice Of The Outer World, Reverend Mothers and Blue-Within-Blue eyes.

I am not sure if any of these shades are still available or if they are all discontinued now.  I'd suggest checking out one of the stockists to see what they have available.

OPI New Orleans Collection - Swatches & Review

Monday, 1 February 2016

  
I am so excited for today's post!  I saw somewhere on social media that OPI had released the New Orleans Collection in the US and I was seriously hoping that it would hit the Australia stores sooner rather than later.  You can imagine my surprise when the full collection arrived at my doorstep.  Unfortunately for me, they arrived when I was still really unwell so they had to sit and wait.  That was pure torture for me, but I finally had the chance to swatch them all and boy did they not disappoint me!  


Crawfishin' For A Compliment is a light orange creme.  I do love this colour in the bottle, but I am not 100% sure if it agrees with my skin tone.  That won't stop me using it though.  This polish applies slightly unevenly on the first coat, however it does even out and becomes opaque in two coats.

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Got Myself Into A Jam-Balaya is a creamy peach.  Quite a pretty colour.  The formula is a little on the thin side and applies unevenly on the first coat.  I needed three coats to make it fully opaque.

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Humidi-Tea is a nude shimmer.  I quite like this shade too.  The formula is great and is opaque in two coats.

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I Manicure For Beads is a purple creme.  No surprise that I really like this one.  The formula is amazing and is so close to being a one coater.  I used two coats for my swatch.

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I'm Sooo Swamped is a verdant, creamy green.  This one doesn't photograph very accurately.  I did a search and none of the swatches I have seen are accurate.  Not sure what magic is it that it tricks cameras.  In person, it's not as bright and has a slight olive-y tone too it.  It's definitely not a bright green like it looks in pictures.  As for the formula, it's amazing.  Close to being a one coater.  My swatch shows two coats.

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Let Me Bayou A Drink is a light blush pink.  This is super pretty and surprisingly wasn't as streaky or sheer as I would normally expect from such a light coloured polish.  You can definitely get away with two coats, however I did three coats out of habit.

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Rich Girls & Po-Boys is described as a China blue creme.  Stunning colour with an amazing formula.  You could easily get away with one coat, however I used two coats for my swatch.

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She's A Bad Muffuletta! is a hot red creme (with a slight coral tone to it).  Great colour and formula.  I used two coats for my swatch.

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Show Us Your Tips! is a periwinkle shimmer.  This one is a little sheer and patchy on the first coat, however it does even out on the second coat.  I used three coats for my swatch, however if you don't mind a very slight visible nail line you can get away with two coats.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight
Spare Me A French Quarter? is a raspberry creme.  Gorgeous colour with an amazing formula.  I used two coats for my swatch, however you could get away with only one coat.

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Suzi Nails New Orleans is a light bright pink creme.  Stunning colour and easy to use.  My swatch shows two coats.

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 Take A Right On Bourbon is a warm metallic pewter.  Like with a lot of other metallics, this one shows every brush stroke which personally I am not a fan of.  The formula is easy to work with and you can get away with two coats.  My swatch shows three coats.

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Overall I am a huge fan of this collection.  The formulas are all easy to use and I love that quite a few of the cremes are so close to being a one coater.  Seriously, if I was in a hurry I would easily grab one of these and just do one coat.  My personal favorites from this collection would have to Let Me Bayou A Drink, Rich Girls & Po-Boys, I Manicure For Beads, Spare Me A French Quarter?, Suzi Nails New Orleans and Show Us Your Tips!  I haven't gone through my collection to see if I have any other polishes similar to this or not, but if you would like to see any comparisons just let me know in the comments below.

The OPI New Orleans Collection will be available from February exclusively from select salons, Myer and David Jones.