OPI Fiji Collection - Swatches & Review

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Do you have a wishlist of places you would love to visit?  I know I do and Fiji is definitely one of them.  The closest I will get to Fiji is with the OPI Fiji Collection and I am ok with that.  Well for now anyway.  There are some fantastic colours in this collection, and a good mix of both bright and pastel colours.  Plus Melbourne has been turning up the heat for us lately so I am definitely in Spring mode now.  Before I get side tracked here, let's get into the swatches.

Coconuts Over OPI is described as a taupe creme.  I quite like the colour of this one (you can never have too many nude/taupe colours in my opinion) and the formula is great.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Do You Sea What I Sea? is described as a shimmery ocean blue.  I do like the colour of this one (and it definitely gives me beach vibes) but I'm not a huge fan of the formula.  It is on the sheer side and drags as you apply it on the first coat.  The second and third coats do apply a lot nicer though.  The tips are still see through in direct light after three coats.  For my swatch I used three coats, but I think next time I might use it over a base colour.  I have seen swatches of this over Super Trop-i-cal-i-fiji-istic and it looks so beautiful.

Picture taken in light box

Exotic Birds Do Not Tweet is a yellow creme.  This yellow matches the yellow on the label of our peanut butter jar (random information for you there but I thought it was funny when I was making a sandwich for my daughter).  Anyway, this one does apply unevenly and needed three coats to even out.  I do think it is a fun colour though.

Picture taken in light box

Getting Nadi On My Honeymoon is described as a a hibiscus pink.  This is such a gorgeous colour, but like most light colours it applies unevenly and needs three coats to even out.  I did find that if you float the brush across you nails it applies more evenly.  I am not sure why I haven't tried doing this before but it definitely helps with the application.  My swatch shows three coats.

Picture taken in light box

I Can Never Hut Up is described as a edge-of-dawn grey with iridescence.  I originally thought that this was a grey creme until I could a glimpse of the sheen in direct light.  It's actually quite pretty and gives it a little lift from being just a flat creme (not that there is anything wrong with cremes - I LOVE creme polishes).  The formula is good and easy to work with.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Is That A Spear In Your Pocket? is a teal creme.  This is a gorgeous color (it's not quite as blue toned as it looks in my picture) and the formula is fantastic.  For my swatch I used two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Living On The Bula-vard! is a bright orange toned red creme.  I found this one to apply quite unevenly, and needed three coats to even it out.

Picture taken in light box

No Tan Lines is described as a warm sunrise orange.  I think this would make for a great gradient with Living On The Bula-vard!  Oh and with Exotic Birds Don't Tweet.  I'm giving myself some ideas here.  Anyway, the formula is easy to work with but it does apply unevenly.  I used three coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Polly Want A Lacquer? a lavender creme.  No surprise that I find this one to be gorgeous.  Again, because it is such a light shade it does apply a little unevenly (floating your brush definitely helps with the application).  For my swatch I used three coats.

Picture taken in light box

Super Trop-i-cal-i-fiji-istic is a blue creme.  I really like the colour of this one and the formula is fantastic.  It's close to being a one coater and it stamps quite well.  My swatch shows two coats.  Just an FYI my bottle is labelled as Super Trip-i-cal-i-fiji-istic which I am assuming that this is a typo but thought I would mention it for in case you are wanting to pick up a bottle that has the same label as mine.

Suzi Without A Paddle is a pastel blue creme.  The colour of this one is really pretty, but like with the other pastels in this collection it does apply unevenly and needs three coats to even out.

Picture taken in light box

Two-Timing The Zones is a vibrant pink creme.  This is a great colour and has a great formula.  For my swatch I used two coats.

Picture taken in light box

I am a big fan of this collection.  I think there are some fantastic colours in here but the formulas are a little all over the place.  I was hoping that the formulas would be for like the Washington Collection.  That collection definitely had some of the best formulas.  My personal favourites from this collection are Polly Want A Lacquer? Getting Nadi On My Honeymoon and Is That A Spear In Your Pocket?, closely followed by Super Trop-i-cal-i-fiji-istic, Suzi Without A Paddle, Two-Timing The Zones and Coconuts Over OPI.

If you would like me to do any swatch comparisons let me know which polishes you would like to see and I'll see if I can do them.

The OPI Fiji Collection is available now from Myer, David Jones and selected salons. 

Uberchic Beauty Little Baby Stamping Plate - Swatches & Review

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Last week I shared with you the new St Patrick's Day mini plate and new glitter stampers from Uberchic Beauty, and today I have the other new release - the Little Baby stamping plate.  This is definitely the cutest plate of the new releases.  I mean who doesn't love babies and baby things?  This plate has a mix of full sized images, individual images and writing.  The possibilities with this plate are endless.  I have seen so many different manis and they all look so unique.

Image from Uberchic Beauty

For this first mani I used OPI's Suzi Without A Paddle and Getting Nadi On My Honeymoon for my base and stamped using Mundo de Unas White Stamping Polish.  I think this mani would be great for a baby shower or gender reveal party.

Now to keep with the whole gender neutral theme I have going on I went for a green toned mani.  I really like this mani.  For my main nails I used China Glaze Too Much Of A Good Fling (which is quite a funny name given the theme of this mani lol), on my accent nail I used China Glaze Optical Illusion and stamped using Bundle Monster Annato Clay.

I think this plate is super cute and perfect if you have any baby related parties coming up.  Now I just need to be friends with someone who's having a baby....

The Little Baby stamping plate is available now from Uberchic Beauty.

 

Lina Nail Art Supplies Feeling Shapely 02 Stamping Plate - Swatches & Review

I know I have mentioned this a few times but I have a lot of Lina Nail Art Supplies stamping plates that I purchased and I am slowly trying to swatch my way through them.  I'm aiming to do one Lina post a week (or there about depending on challenges and my other swatching commitments I have) to get through them.  Starting today.  Today I have the Feeling Shapely 02 stamping plate to share with you.  As we all know I am a big fan of this collection of plates and this plate is no exception. 

Image from Lina Nail Art Supplies

You may remember when I posted this mani on Facebook a little while ago that I mentioned that the image I used was not the image I originally wanted to use.  I really wanted to use the image in the bottom left hand corner, however there is a cut through the plate which means I can't use it.  Really disappointed because that image is one of my favourites on this plate.  It's not the first plate from Lina that has come with faults on it.  I highly recommend checking ALL of your plates and the images and contacting the company.   Anyway, for this mani I used Essie Watermelon and Apres-chic, OPI Alpine Snow and Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.  The black studs are from Born Pretty Store.

Given the amount of dot images on this plate I couldn't help but use one.  I quite like this image as it's definitely different from the standard dot images you see.  I also like that it's not easy to create with a dotting tool yourself.  For this mani I used China Glaze Kiss My Sherbet Lips, Pretty Serious Cosmetics Absence and Mundo de Unas Black Stamping Polish.  You can see on my index nail that there is some excess lines but I think that was more from the polish than an issue with the plate.  My thoughts are still out on the MdU stamping polish.  Anyway I added matte top coat to this mani because I am love matte nails.  

Overall, I like this plate but I don't love it.  I think there are other plates in this collection that are much better.  As I mentioned earlier, my plate does come with a fault which is very disappointing.  I know Lina appears to be struggling to keep up with demand for her plates and it appears that the quality may be sliding a little.  Definitely check your plates carefully and get in contact with the company if you have issues.  This goes for all plates and not just Lina's.  I know I am guilty of not checking my plates properly and I should.

The Feeling Shapely 02 stamping plate is available from Lina Nail Art Supplies.

China Glaze Spring Fling Collection - Swatches & Review

Happy weekend everyone!  I don't know about you but I am so glad it's the weekend.  I'm hoping for a low key one after a few busy weeks.  Today I have China Glaze's Spring Fling Collection to share with you.  I am such a huge fan of China Glaze, especially their Spring and Summer polishes, so I was super excited when I saw that Head2toe beauty had this collection in stock.  There are definitely a few favourites in this collection for me.  So before I start rambling, let's just get in to it.

Beach It Up is a copper and rose gold glitter with holographic bar glitters.  I'm not sure I like this one.  I love the base colour and think if you take out the gold glitters and bar glitter it would be much better.  The formula was easy to use.  My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Blanc Out is a white creme.  This one I love!  The formula is amazing and is sooooo close to being a one coater.  In fact, I am sure if you have short nails and do a careful application then you could easily get away with one coat.  I think this polish could overtake my love for OPI Alpine Snow (and if you have been following me for a while then you will know how much I love Alpine Snow - I have been through countless bottles over the years).  Anyway, I used two coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Crushin' On Blue is described as a marine blue with a pearl finish.  I think the colour of this is gorgeous, however it is quite sheer and there are visible brush strokes.  For my swatch I used three coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box with flash

Don't Teal My Vibe is described as a bright blue turquoise with a Mother of Pearl finish.  This one has quite a runny formula, so much so it actually dripped onto another nail.  It takes a bit of getting use to to get the right amount on the brush so you don't make a mess.  I do like the colour but found that it did bubble on me.  My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

I Just Cant-Aloupe is described as an orange-peach creme.  I like this colour in the bottle but I am questioning whether I like it on my nails.  I'm not convinced either way.  The formula is good though and is opaque in two coats.

Picture taken in light box

It's A-Boat Time is described as a silver grey shimmer.  I found this polish quite sheer and it has visible brush strokes.  It is easy to use though.  My swatch shows three coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box with flash

Kiss My Sherbet Lips is a fuchsia pink.  This one does have a very subtle shimmer in it.  The colour is really pretty and easy to use.  My swatch shows two coats, however I think it may need a third coat.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box with flash

Life Is Suite! is described as a nude pink creme.  I can't find any information that says that this polish is meant to be a matte, but it definitely dries matte.  I wish I had some nice things to say about this, but I don't.  The formula is a pain to work with.  It dries super quickly and drags the polish off if you go over the same spot.  You need to use relatively thick coats to make to polish more workable.  I also experienced some cracking on the first coat (similar to what happened with Partridge In A Palm Tree - you can see what I am talking about here if you would like).  For this swatch I used three coats.

Picture taken in light box (with no top coat)

Picture taken in light box (with top coat)

Moment In The Sunset is described as a pink Mother of Pearl polish.  This one is quite sheer, bubbles and has visible brush strokes.  I think next time I would definitely use it over a base colour because even after three coats it is still see through at the tips in direct light.

Picture taken in light box

Sun's Out, Buns Out is described as a pale pink with small gold particles.  Now this polish is super sheer.  There was no way I was going to attempt to build this up so it was opaque, so I did two coats over We Run This Beach.  I think this is a really pretty combination, and makes for a great glitter topper.

Picture taken in light box

Too Much Of A Good Fling is a pale green turquoise creme.  Now this is definitely a favourite of mine!  The colour is gorgeous and the formula is awesome.  I love it so much so I wore it as a full mani for a couple of days and now have it on my toes nails.  For my swatch I used two coats.

Picture taken in light box

We Run This Beach is described as a pale pink.  This is another one of my favourites.  I love the colour and the formula is great.  For my swatch I used three coats, however you can get away with two coats.

Picture taken in light box

This definitely isn't a favourite collection of mine.  Part of me is a little disappointed with it, but I think that is more because I had such high excitement levels for the Spring Collection.  Hopefully the Summer collection will be amazing to make up for this.  My personal favourites (and spoiler alert - you will be seeing these in my favourites post at the end of the month) are Too Much Of A Good Fling, Blanc Out and We Run This Beach.  I also quite like Crushin' On Blue and Kiss My Sherbet Lips.  I also recommend skipping on Life Is Suite!

What do you think of this collection?  Will you be grabbing any of the shades?

Crumpet's Nail Tarts: 26 Great Nail Art Ideas Challenge: Mixed Tape Manis

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to receive the new OPI Fiji Collection (I am making my way through swatching all of these polishes so bare with me.  I will have a blog post coming very soon).  Anyway I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous these colours are and how well they work together.  Naturally I had to pick two of them for today's mani.

For my base I used OPI No Tan Lines and then used OPI Super Trop-i-cal-i-fiji-istic (I love orange and blue together).  Now I had planned on using the zig zag vinyls and striping tape but my striping tape seems to have melted or something so doesn't really stick anymore.  I do have a bunch of other rolls of striping tape but to be honest I couldn't be bothered trying to find where I have put it (I think it is in a random box).  Anyway, I used some straight vinyls instead.  I seriously love how this mani turned out, especially the matte version.

Which version do you like best?  I'm definitely team matte for this mani.

In case you need reminding (or are wanting to join in with this challenge) here are the upcoming themes.

I can't wait to see what everyone else has done for this prompt. 

Uberchic Beauty St Patrick's Day Mini Plate & Glitter Stampers - Swatches & Review

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Uberchic have recently released some new products.  There is one large plate (which I will have my swatches ad review coming very soon), the St Patrick's Day mini plate and a new glitter stamper.  I figure that seems St Patrick's Day is just around the corner it was the best place to start, and the stampers because they are just too pretty not to play with straight away - have I mentioned that I like sparkly things?  I really am one of those girls lol.  Right, before I get side tracked let's take a look at the goodies shall we?

I'm going to start with the stampers, simple because I used these for the manis I have done with the St Patrick's Day plate.  The new glitter stampers come with two XL glitter stamper heads (one purple and one pink - and both are so beautiful in person), a matte black matte cone holder and a credit card like scraper (see pic below).  The pink stamping head makes seeing darker polishes easier to see, while the purple head is great for lighter colours.

Not only are these stampers really pretty, they stamp beautifully as well.  They are of medium firmness and are quite sticky so pick up and transfer the designs well on my curved nails.  I really am quite impressed with these stampers.

Image from Uberchic Beauty

I don't personally do the whole St Patrick's Day thing (in fact I am not too sure I have really done any St Patrick's Day manis before unless they have been part of a nail art challenge).  Anyway, for those of you who want some great images for you St Patrick's Day manis then this plate is perfect!  It has a great mix of cutesy images and some more sophisticated images.  

I couldn't go past this first image.  I mean how cool is this design?  For my base I used Powder Perfect's Lancelot and stamped using Powder Perfect's Black Stamping design.  I used the pink stamping head for this mani as well.

This next mani is a little bit of a photo fail.  You can't really see the smoosh base that I did as my camera freaked out.  In person you can really see the different greens that I used.  How cute is this image though?  For my base I used China Glaze's Grass Is Lime Greener, Lime After Lime and Treble Maker.  Stamping polish is Bundle Monster's Annato Clay and again I used the pink stamping head for this mani.

As you can see the stamping heads working beautifully.  I am a big fan of these and can see me using them a lot.  I can't see me personally getting a lot of use out of the St Patrick's Day plate, but it's definitely a great plate to have for this time of year.

The St Patrick's Day Mini Stamping Plate and the Glitter Stamper are available now from Uberchic Beauty.

The Digit-al Dozen Does Birthday's - February 2017

Technically I am posting this a day late (it's March here in Australia) but as I normally am ahead in time I figured I would still be posting on the correct day in the US.  As you may be aware each month the Digit-al Dozen girls celebrate a member's birthday by creating a mani inspired by a picture.  This month is Amanda's birthday (Lady Maid Nails) and she has chosen the picture below (I'm really not even sure how to describe this picture).

This picture is definitely not my style so I thought it was a good idea to strip back some of the layers and focus on the dots in the background.  If I was smart I should have stopped at a pink base (I used Zoya Rooney) with the light pink dots (I used OPI's What's The Double Scoop?).  Instead I thought it was wise to do the larger circles as well.  Here is a fun fact: I struggle to do circles freehand on my nails.  Know clue why, they just look terrible so I also go for a dotting tool.  As you can see, this really didn't turn out great.  For the larger circles I used OPI's Cement The Deal, Alpine Snow and Apartment For Two and Color Club's Disco's Not Dead.

I am so sorry Amanda for butchering your picture.  I am sure there is going to be some seriously AMAZING manis from the other girls.  I am now going to pretend that this mani didn't happen and move on. lol