2 Year Instagram Anniversary - Favorite Nail Art Posts

Two years ago today I decided to post my very first mani on Instagram.  I was so nervous and so excited to be venturing into the world of Instagram.  At the time I didn't think my manis were that bad but boy oh boy I cringe when I look at them now.  But they are a nice reminder of how fair I have come over the years.  To help "celebrate" I have decided to make show you some of my favorite manis that I have posted.  Unfortunately I am unable to save some of the older pictures to my computer (I don't have the original pictures only screenshots) so you will only see larger versions of pictures from this year.

I'm a huge fan of gradients and neons so it is no surprise that one of my favorite manis is a neon gradient.  This mani also happens to be my most liked mani ever on Instagram!  It currently has 1,765 likes which is huge.  Polishes used are OPI Alpine Snow (as my base), China Glaze Sun Of A Peach, Flip Flop Fantasy and Thistle Do Nicely.

The next mani uses the exact same polishes as the neon gradient above.  I just love how completely different polishes can look in different manis.

Continuing on with the orange theme - I absolutely love this dream catcher mani.  Polishes used are China Glaze More To Explore (I reviewed the entire Road Trip collection here if you missed it), Capacity To See Beyond, OPI I Just Can't Cope-acabana and Konad Black stamping polish.  The stamping design is by Bundle Monster.

For those who follow me on Instagram you may already be aware that I have a slight obsession for neon polishes - in particular the China Glaze Sunsational cremes.  I absolutely love these cremes (the formulas aren't great but the colours are amazing) and uses them a lot.  They are my most used polishes (other than black and white).  For this mani I used OPI Alpine Snow, China Glaze Bottoms Up and Highlight Of My Summer.

Another mani featuring two of the China Glaze Sunsational cremes.  For this mani I used China Glaze Highlight Of My Summer, Too Yacht To Handle and Konad Black.  The stamping design is by Pueen.

This mani is one that I re-created for a nail art challenge.  The original mani was done by @melcisme.  Polishes used are China Glaze At Vase Value, OPI Alpine Snow and This Gown Needs A Crown.  Studs are all from Born Pretty Store.

Now this blue I would have to say is one of my favorite blue polishes ever.  Add polka dots and a matte top coat and you have a simple but awesome mani.  Polishes used are China Glaze Boho Blues and my white nail art pen from Simply Spoiled Beauty.

Gradients and stamping always go so well.  This is one of those manis that I started out with no clue what I was doing, stamped over it and wasn't sure if I actually liked it, and then fell in love.  Polishes used are China Glaze In A Lily Bit, Lotus Begin, OPI Do You Lilac It? and Konad White.  Stamping design is by Pueen.

So there you have it.  Some of my favorite manis that I have posted over the last couple of years on Instagram.  Thank you to everyone who follows me, comments and likes my pictures.  You guys make my nail journey more enjoyable and I have made so many friends and meet so many amazing people along the way.  It is truly awesome.  Thank you all so much.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics March 2015 Releases - Swatches & Review

Today I am going to show you two of my new additions to my Femme Fatale collection (the other two that I received I will show you next week).  There were only two new polish releases from Femme Fatale this month - but never fear, there is a lot of new and gorgeous looking stuff coming in April.  My wallet is being prepared for the future damage.  Now onto the swatches.

Faux Pas is a berry plum linear holographic polish with iridescence and red microglitter.  Now this is an "oops shade" but I'm really not sure why.  This is far from oops.  It's absolutely gorgeous. It applies really well too.  I used two coats for my swatch and one coat of top coat but I think I should have used two as it was still a little bumpy in some places.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight

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Tabebuia Rain is a light grey with pink shimmer and microglitters.  I love how different this polish looks both indoors and in direct sunlight. Its so pretty.  It applies easily and builds up nicely.  I used three thin coats for my swatch.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Both of these polishes are stunning.  I love them both.  Unfortunately I don't think these are available to purchase anymore, but make sure you are following Femme Fatale Cosmetics on facebook to keep up to date when the presales begin.

Bella Belle Nail Couture Mixed Swatches & Review

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You know how there are always new brands (and by new brands I mean new to you) that you really want to try but haven't had the chance for whatever reason?  Well that was Bella Belle Nail Couture to me.  I have drooled over her polishes for what seems like forever, until I got a magical email from Vicky asking me if I would like to do some swatching for her.  Naturally I jumped at the chance, so today I am going to share with you three polishes and the quick dry top coat.  There will be another Bella Belle review post coming with some of the Bridal Collection polishes so stay tuned for that one. 

Diamonds In The Rough is a magenta based jelly filled with holographic micro glitter, small pink and purple glitters and holographic pink diamonds.  This polish was originally released for Valentine's and I am so happy that it is still available.  It applies so easily and there is now issues getting out any of the glitter including the big diamond glitters.  I used two coats for my swatch below.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight

So Fairy Pretty is a purple jelly with holographic fuchsia micro glitter, purple/blue iridescent glitter and blue dust/tiny flakies that sparkle like diamonds.  This polish was named by Tegan C as part of the Name It To Win It Competition, and boy did she pick the perfect name.  This polish is really pretty.  I absolutely love it.  It's a gorgeous polish and applies really well.  I used two coats for my swatch.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight

You Mermaid My Day is an aqua based jelly with holographic aqua micro glitter, green/gold iridescent glitter and gold dust/tiny flakies that sparkle like diamonds.  This polish was also named perfectly by Tegan C.  This polish applies really easily and looks beautiful.  I used three thin coats although this polish could be opaque with two coats. 

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Picture taken in direct sunlight

#ilikeitontop is a super glossy and quick drying top coat.  It also says that it is long lasting but I personally haven't tested it beyond a few hours.  But it does dry pretty fast (not as fast a Seche Vite but definitely fast).  It does also dry extra glossy which I love.  There is nothing better than a super shiny polish.

Overall, the Bella Bella polishes I have tried have really impressed me.  They not only look fantastic but they apply like a dream as well.  You can guarantee that I will be growing my Bella Belle collection in the near future.

All of these polishes (and many other pretties) are available at Bella Belle Nail Couture.

Emily de Molly Stamping Polishes - Swatches & ReviewEmily

I am always on the hunt for good polishes that stamp so the day that I saw the Emily de Molly were releasing four stamping polishes I just had to grab each colour.  I mean the other polishes Emily de Molly make are amazing and the stamping plates are awesome so surely that means that the stamping polishes had to be fantastic too, right?  

For the purpose of this review I thought it would be fair to use both a plate by Emily de Molly and a plate by Winstonia.  I have used both plates and images previously and used my regular stamper to ensure that these things wouldn't affect my review of the polish.  And of course I stamped over black and white polishes so you can see the what the colour pay off is like on both light and dark polishes.

Blue isn't a creme stamping polish.  It actually has a shine to it, but I wouldn't class it as metallic.  The colour itself is stunning and it stamps beautifully.

Green is a similar finish to Blue.  This one nearly has a shimmery look to it in person.  It's really pretty.  Again, this one stamps beautifully over both black and white.

Lemon is pale yellow creme stamping polish.  Now I know that the yellow is actually hard to see over the white base but I wanted to keep the consistency of the base colours.  This one surprised me at how well it stamps over the black.  I do wish that it was more opaque though.

Pink is the final colour that has been released.  It has a creme finish like Lemon and stamps really well.

Overall I really like these stamping polishes.  I am really hoping that Emily de Molly releases more stamping polishes in a variety of colours and finishes.  I know I would definitely be grabbing them.

These stamping polishes are available from Emily de Molly in both a 8ml and 12ml size.

Flakie Friday- Powder Perfect Vault Of Heaven

Welcome back to Flakie Friday!  I had a little trouble deciding which flakie polish to pull out next so I thought I would go to the newest one in my collection - Powder Perfect's Vault Of Heaven.  It's not a full on flakie like the combination of flakies I showed last week but it is gorgeous.

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Vault Of Heaven is described as a beautiful indigo holographic polishes filled with amazing ultra chameleon chrome flakies.  And yes yes it is.  I really don't think my pictures do this polish the justice it deserves.  The formula is amazing too.  Two coats is all that was needed for full coverage. 

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Picture taken in direct sunlight

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Flakies and holos make such a beautiful combination don't they?  I am in love.  This polish is still available from Powder Perfect and is worth adding to your collection.

Now the big question, which flakie polish/es should I wear next?  Decisions, decisions.  If you have any suggestions let me know.  I would love to hear them.

New Essence Gel Polishes for April - Swatches & Review

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With the autumn/winter season approaching us Essence have released a lot of new and exciting products ranging from nude eye shadows, new mascaras, lipsticks and lip glosses and oh course nail polish.  I was lucky enough to receive two of the new gel polishes along with the base coat and top coat to swatch and review. 

Now before jumping into my review I should point out that my experience with gel polishes is very minimal.  I have only tried the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Polishes and they didn't require a base coat as it's built in.  Essence have released a base and top coat to go along with the new range of polishes. I haven't tried these with regular polishes but I am interested to see if they would extend the wear time.

I found the base coat to be very thick and lumpy.  It did take a little bit of work to try and smooth it out (which apparently I didn't completely do - but more on that later).  It dries relatively quick which I was surprised about given how thick the consistency is.  It also has a matte finish.

The top coat was reasonably thick but easy to work with.  I found that it was touch dry in about a minute but took a lot longer to be fully dry.  It gives a nice glossy finish but not as shiny as Seche Vite.

Now onto the colours.  4 Ever Young is a bright red creme.  It applies well and gives even coverage.  It does dry slower than a regular polish so you really need to wait longer between coats.  If you notice on my middle finger there appears to be lumps.  This is from the base coat - I must not have smoothed it out enough.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Our Sweetest Day is a really pretty light pink shimmery polish.  It really is pretty but it is so sheer in colour that I needed four thick coats for my swatch.  I probably should have done a fifth because I still have a slightly visible nail line (it's more noticeable in person).  I found that this polish also seemed to bubble a lot which I am guessing is due to how thick my layers are.   

Now to semi test the wear-ability of these I did leave 4 Ever Young on my nails for 24 hours.  I went about my usual day of cleaning and running around after my daughter and didn't have any tip wear.  So that was a good thing.  I do change my polish daily so I can't actually comment on the length of time that these polishes will last.

I believe that these will be available very soon (if they aren't already out) so it may be worth checking out your local Essence stand. 

  

Powder Perfect and Cako A Paillettes Collaboration Duo - Swatches & Review

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Recently you may remember that I posted about Powder Perfect doing some collaboration polishes with her international stockist rather than exclusives (you can see the first collaboration trio here).  Anyway today I am excited to share with you a gorgeous duo between Powder Perfect and Cako A Paillettes.  Now as a word of warning for my Aussie readers these polishes are extremely limited edition from Powder Perfects store - there is only five of each bottle so you definitely will need to be super quick.

New Moon Rising is a stunning silver polish filled with holographic holographic particles and finished with flashes of metallic silver and gold flakes. This polish really is gorgeous in all lights and the formula is amazing.   I used two coats for my swatches.

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Picture taken in direct sunlight

The World Beneath is inspired by the world hidden beneath out feet.  This earthy polish has a duochrome flakies nestled in a unique bronzed red base.  I absolutely love this polish.  The colour shift is more noticeable in person than my pictures captured. And the formula is amazing.  I used two coats for my swatches.

This is a gorgeous collaboration duo and the formulas are both amazing.  I think these are a definite must have for everyone.  They are both so unique and beautiful.

These polishes go on sale on Friday March 20th at 12pm Queensland time and are available from Powder Perfect (remember there is only five bottles of each shade so set your alarms so you do not miss out!) and from Cako A Paillettes.

Also be sure to join Powder Perfect's facebook group here.