Never Ending Obsession

This is it

2012-02-04T08:28:00.003+13:00

This is it folks. I am off to get married. We are off to stay the night before at the venue with the ceremony on Sunday. My family all started arriving 2 days ago and its getting pretty hectic here. Its 8.30 am and I have been awake since 3am because I just cant get to sleep!

I feel embarrassed to say this but I am wearing fake nails. Too much stress coupled with wearing too much glitter over the last month and a habit to pick at my nail polish has lead to a lot of breakage and thinness of my nails. Three weeks ago they looked perfect and the best they had in a very long time. I'm sad about it now but there isn't much I can do about it.

I love all you guys. Thanks for the support and I'll see you hopefully in about a week with some wedding pictures.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Orly and Valentines Pinks

2012-01-31T22:10:00.003+13:00

Left to Right: Passionfruit, Cotton Candy, Forever Crimson, Butterflies

I spotted this the other day in Farmers.

It appears to just be a re-promote of pink polishes for valentines day.
None of these colours are new.

This may be my last post for a wee while. Our wedding is in five days and I have a lot to do. I have one day left of work to make it through and then 11 days off. Wish me luck!

Lots of Love
Lisa

Deborah Lippmann Glitter In The Air

2012-01-29T21:20:00.003+13:00

Deborah Lippmann Glitter In The Air - Sunshine

Deborah Lippmann Glitter In The Air - Shade

Lisa bought this polish back from America for my Birthday. This is three coats. I think it is very sheer and I might try putting some light blue underwear under it (maybe OPI whats with the cattitude?). I did have to hunt for the glitter bits for the top coat. I think its delicate and pretty, but probably not worth the hype. Revlon also does a much cheaper dupe for this polish now called Whimsical.

Only 6 more sleeps until our wedding. I am not so stressed out yet but I have a feeling I may be in a couple of days when all of our family starts arriving.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Sally Hansen Glitz Gal

2012-01-25T21:28:00.003+13:00

Glitz Gal is another awesome glitter from the Sally Hansen Gem Crush Collection.

Sally Hansen Glitz Gal - Natural Light

Sally Hansen Glitz Gal - Funny the sun was setting and its not shade or sun light

This is a fine charcoal coloured glitter in a clear base with bigger bits of silver holographic glitter particles. This is three coats. It is pretty and looks gorgeous in real life.

I wore this one to work last week. I had sealed it with a coat of Zoya Amor and Seche Vite. This I don't think was a good idea. the nail polish pealed off my nails in sheets over the day. I have found that these glitter polishes last much better with out top coats (you just have to get over that funny feeling of bumpy rough polish on your fingers)

11 sleeps to go till the wedding now!
I will try and post some pics of my hens night when I can find the energy.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Sally Hansen Big Money

2012-01-23T12:27:00.003+13:00

Sally Hansen Big Money - Shade

Sally Hansen Big Money - Sunshine

Big Money is another glitter packed polish from Sally Hansen's Gem Crush collection. It is a clear base with little bits of gold glitter, and bigger light pink bits of glitter. This is three coats. These two colours go well together to form a nice nudish subtle glitter. This is a glitter I could wear to work easily.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Sally Hansen Be-Jeweled

2012-01-19T21:05:00.002+13:00

I'm getting a bit behind on posting all of my NOTDs. I have been changing my polish pretty much everyday during the week but then can not always be bothered posting them. My bad.

This is last Sundays NOTD.

Sally Hansen Be-Jeweled - Sunshine

Sally Hansen Be-Jeweled - Shade

This is from the 2011 Gem Crush glitter collection that Lisa bought back from America for me. This is three coats. It is a light purple glitter in a clear base, with bigger light pink bits of glitter. i loved the way is sparkles in the sun. It is really pretty.

I was doing my nails with this colour on Sunday when my mum turned up 30 minutes earlier than she was supposed to (we were going out to do wedding stuff) and I didn't have time to put a top coat over this glitter. The polish lasted well with no chips at all, but was bumpy and not smooth at all. But as i found out later on in the week whilst wearing another polish from this collection with layers of Zoya Armour and Seche Vite was that whole fingers of polish were flaking off at once. So I think they last best with no top coat, but I need to get used to them being bumpy and not smooth.

16 more sleeps to go!

Lots of Love
Lisa

Nicole by OPI Kim-Pletely in Love

2012-01-18T20:00:00.003+13:00

My wedding is now only 17 days away now and I am still trying to figure out what to wear on my nails. I want a light pink/nude colour that is jelly like and makes my nails look natural but still pretty.

I bought Kim-pletely in Love last week when I discovered the new Nicole by OPI stand at Farmers.

Nicole by OPI Kim-pletely in Love - Sunshine

Nicole by OPI Kim-pletely in Love - Shade

This is three coats. It is a gorgeous light pink with a blue shimmer running through it. It is really pretty.

I was wearing this colour for my final dress fitting on Monday. Although it is pretty and close to what I am wanting, I decided it was too pink for my wedding day. So the hunt continues.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Foiled Collection

2012-01-14T21:24:00.005+13:00

Color Club New Zealand announced that Foiled collection will be the Autumn release in New Zealand. The Foiled Collection is six luxurious liquid shades with a chrome-like shine and the look of molten metal. Color Club’s Foiled Collection will be available in New Zealand from 20th February 2012.

The following swatches are all two coats. The application is easy and the dry time on these is super quick. You can dip the brush in the polish once and paint a whole hand load of fingers.

Color Club Perfect Mol-ten - sunshine

Color Club Antiquated - natural light

Color Club Cold Metal - sunshine

Color Club Hot Like Lava - natural light

Color Club Foil Me Once - sunshine

Color Club Lumin-icecent - sunshine

I am crazy busy at the moment, with my wedding now only 3 weeks away. I have so much to do!

Lots of Love
Lisa

These polishes were sent to me for review.

Spotted in NZ: Kardashian Kolors

2012-01-12T19:36:00.003+13:00

Wohooo Farmers has a whole Nicole by OPI display in store now!!!

Not only did we get the Kardashian Kolors (which I need all of), but we also got a stand with other Nicole by OPI polishes too!

Sorry about the crappy cellphone pictures. I was trying to be sneaky.

These are retailing for NZ$19.99 and at the moment Farmers has 10% off.

I picked up three of the Kardashian Kolors, A grey glitter called Follow me on Glitter, A shimmery light pink called Kim-pletely in Love and a shimmery white called It's All About The Glam. There are more from this collection I would like to pick up, but when you buy more than one at a time they add up in price quickly.

Lots of Love
Lisa

OPI Fly

2012-01-11T20:49:00.004+13:00

OPI Fly - Natural Light

OPI Fly is from the 2012 Nicki Minaj collection. It is a medium creme teal. I have nothing like this colour in my collection. It is much darker than China Glaze For Audrey. This is three coats and they apply easily and smoothly. I highly recommend this colour, it is unique in my collection.

OPI Save Me over Fly - Natural Light

This is one coat of Save Me (from the same Nicki Minaj collection) over Fly. The glitter matches well as it has teal pieces of bar glitter in it.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Blossoming Collection

2012-01-10T19:39:00.006+13:00

Color Clubs Spring Collection for 2012 is Blossoming. It contains 5 pastel shades and Diamond Drops which looks like large odd shaped pieces of silver glitter. These are already for sale in America on the Color Club website. This collection will be coming to New Zealand in August.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Nail Polish Presents

2012-01-09T21:48:00.003+13:00

My best friend Lisa just got back from America and Canada and bought me back some goodies!

Sally Hansen Gem Crush Collection - Razzle Dazzler, Glitz Gal, Big Money, Cha-Ching, Showgirl Chic, Be-jeweled and Bling-tastic (7 out of 8 of this collection)

Sepohora by OPI - Spark-tacular!, G-listen To Your Heart, Looks Like Rain, Dear, Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild

Nails Inc Connaught Square and Fitzroy Square, Wet n Wild It's All in the Cut and Give me a Price Quote, Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air and Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie

These are a combination of my birthday present, Christmas present and what she managed to get for me with some money I gave her! AWESOME!
I have so much swatching to catch up on. Lots and lots of glitter!

Lots of Love
Lisa

OPI Save Me

2012-01-07T12:23:00.006+13:00

Save Me is the new bar glitter polish from OPI released as part of the 2012 Nicki Minaj Collection. This is not out yet in stores in New Zealand, but can be found online (MJ Nail Bank) and on TradeMe.

OPI Save Me - Sunshine

OPI Save Me - Shade

This is three coats. It is a clear base with regular silver glitter and multi coloured bar glitter. The bar glitter is mainly gold and teal coloured, but in the sun looks like a magical holographic rainbow!

The one problem I did have with this polish is that the bar glitter pieces went over the edge of the nail, so you sort of have to trim them once its dry so that they aren't hanging over the edge of your nail. (see my index finger above)

I personally don't think I will be wearing this by itself, I much prefer it over other polishes. I'm glad OPI listened to what people were asking for and made a bar glitter. Hopefully we will see some more in the future.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Shabby Drab

2012-01-06T21:02:00.003+13:00

Shabby Drab is from the 2011 Back to Boho collection. It is the only polish I have tried from this collection so far and I really like it.

I started a new job this week (actually its a secondment but its like having a new job) and I was trying to find not too outlandish colours to wear on my nails the first week in case I freaked people out.

I have a top the same colour as Shabby Drab so I decided to wear it.

Color Club Shabby Drab - White light

This is three coats. It is a very purple toned grey. In some lights it almost looks lilac coloured. It is a nice smooth creme.

Color Club Shabby Drab (accent in OPI Save Me) - White light

I added a coat of OPI Save Me to my ring fingers as accent nails. I loved this mani so much I wore it for Thursday and Friday. So far at work no one has commented on my nails. I dont think I am willing to tell them how many polishes I have yet though. Well see how it goes.

4 weeks out from our wedding now and I am starting to get stressed and nervous and excited. I have so much to do.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: Nicole by OPI

2012-01-04T20:08:00.006+13:00

Due out in stores in New Zealand mid January 2012. I have never watched keeping up with the Kardashians (that is what happens when you cant afford sky TV), so I do not completely understand the love/hate people feel towards them.

I will admit that I saw both of Khloe and Kim's weddings, and I am not surprised that Kim's marriage didn't last long as I though Kris was a bit of a d**k.

Anyway I digress...

Kardashian Kolors Nicole by OPI Nail Polish Collection is actually inspired by six trend setting women – Kris Jenner and her five daughters Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian and Kylie and Kendall Jenner. From vivid hues to dark, shimmering to soft; lots of interesting choices are available.

Kardashian Kolors Nicole by OPI Nail Polish collection includes:

All Kendall-ed Up – a fab girly shade
Sealed with a Kris – an intense dark red tone
Kim-pletely In Love – a soft, delicate pale pink hue
Khloe Had a Little Lam-Lam – an eye-catching dark emerald hue
Kourt is Red-y for a Pedi - a classy, timeless red tone
Rainbow in the S-kylie - a striking glittery shade with multicolored specks
Disco Dolls - a glittery golden hue
Listen to Your Momager! – a striking deep blue tone
Wear Something Spar-kylie - a feminine rose pink glittery shade
It’s All About the Glam – a shimmering-white glitz hue
Follow Me on Glitter – an alluring glittery deep grey
Kendall on the Katwalk – a sparkly blue-green tone
My Empire… My Rules – an ultra flatting taupe tone
Hard Kourt Fashionista - an attention-grabbing deep brown tone

Regardless of who these polishes are associated with, they are pretty colours and I can't wait to spend my Christmas voucher at Farmers and get a whole bunch of these.

Lots of Love
Lisa

2011 in Review

2012-01-01T13:20:00.008+13:00

Well it is 2012 here already. I can not believe how fast 2011 went. Mainly because I haven't lost any weight and I get married in exactly 5 weeks and now I am starting to freak out.

2011 The Year of Crackle

2011 really was the year of the crackle nail polish. There were crackle offerings from OPI (Shatter), China Glaze (Crackle), Color Club (Fracture), Models Own (Smash Up) as well as Sally Hansen, BYS, Nicole By OPI and Sephora by OPI to name just a few. They all had the standard black, with most collection also containing white, silver, gold and an array of other colours.

Color Club - Broken Tokens

Color Club - Kiss & Break Up

There are still more crackles to come in 2012, starting with the plum coloured Super Bass Shatter in OPI's Nicki Minaj collection as well as a Glitter Crackle collection coming from China Glaze.

Best new Brand: A England

I only have 4 of these polishes but I love them all. The names, the colours and especially the formula on these.

A England - Isuelt

Best Product: Orly Bonder

I know this isn't a new product for 2011, but this product has been a manicure life saver for me. When a polish used to chip within a few hours on me, I know get a full solid day without chips (trust me this is good for me).

Best Holographic Polish: A England Tristam

The A England Mythicals collection contained two deep dark holographic shades. Tristam (a dark blue) and Lady of the Lake (a dark purple).

A England - Tristam

Best Collection of 2012: Color Club Wicked Sweet

I love this collection. Bright shimmery neons with ulta violet flashes of blue that smell AMAZING. I especially love I Always Get My Man-darin as I have no other polish quite like it in my collection.

Color Club - I Always Get My Man-darin

We know that next year sees the Zoya Fleck Effects collection coming out (argh more flakies), along with OPI's Nicki Minaj and Holland collections. China Glaze has a collection of neons coming out for summer as well as their promised Hunger Games collection.

Who knows what else will come in 2012. Hopefully more from A England and Models Own.

May 2012 be the year of holos and flakies!

Lots of Love
Lisa

My Pre-Christmas Haul

2011-12-29T14:21:00.004+13:00

My partner flat out refuses to buy me nail polish (for Christmas or my Birthday).
So I have to order them for myself and try not to think about what currently owed on my credit cards.

At the start of December I ordered the Models Own Beetle Juice collection. (I also gave my best friend Lisa a set for Christmas)

Five beautiful duochrome polishes I cant wait to start trying out. This set comes with the Models own 3 in 1 base coat/top coat & Gloss. and because I ordered before Christmas it came in a cute little models own box.

A couple of weeks ago I posted that www.usanailsonline.co.nz was having a sale on their boxed Color Club sets. I picked up both sets of the Back to Boho collection for $69.

Not too sure these fit with whats in the shops at the moment in New Zealand for summer, they seem more like autumn/fall/winter colours to me.

Lastly on Christmas Eve MJ Nail Bank announced on Facebook that they had the Nicki Minaj OPI Polishes in stock. Whoohooo out comes my over used credit card again. (I blame pay pal, its so easy to use and you don't even notice the money is gone until the bill arrives at the end of the month)

Left to Right - Save Me, Fly, Metallic 4 Life

These beauties arrived in the mail today. These are the three I picked up. The shatter is pretty but I don't think I would use it enough so I passed on that.

We have had 5 amazing days of sun here in Wellington, but the weather today and for the next few days is not looking so good. Hopefully I do get some sun at some stage so I can do some swatching.

Please be careful if you are out on the roads this holiday season!

Lots of Love
Lisa

Models Own Peacock Green

2011-12-28T19:57:00.004+13:00

This is one of my favourite polishes of 2011. I'm not sure when exactly it was released by Models Own, but I only got it this year.

Models Own Peacock Green - Natural Light

Models Own Peacock Green - Sunshine

This is three coats. It is a Green/Teal/Blue that will mesmerism you with all the beautiful colours hidden inside it. I couldn't stop staring at my nails all day when I wore this. It looks a little more green in real life (especially in the bottle).

Lots of Love
Lisa

Christmas NOTD - Fresh Frog of Bel Air

2011-12-26T11:03:00.003+13:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
Hope you all had/are having a great day!

It is now boxing day here, and we are trying to decide if we brave the malls and visit the boxing day sales or not (for those in the US, boxing day sales here are kind of like your Black Friday sales, but on a smaller scale as we are only a country of 4 million people)

OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air over China Glaze Jolly Holly - Natural Light

OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air over China Glaze Jolly Holly - Sunshine

These two greens are a great match for each other. This is one coat of Fresh Frog of Bel Air over two coats of China Glaze Jolly Holly (from last years Holiday collection). Fresh Frog of Bel Air really does appear to me as a top coat glitter instead of a stand alone polish.

OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air - Natural Light

I am not a fan of this by itself at all. This is three coats. This is the only glitter I got from the OPI Holiday Muppet collection. I think my problem with this is that its not glitter dense enough and the bigger silver bits of glitter don't really appear to me.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Orly Frolic + Kleancolor Chunky Holo Purple

2011-12-19T18:58:00.003+13:00

I have been on a little bit of an Orly kick lately.

This is Orly Frolic from the 2011 summer Happy Go Lucky collection.

Orly Frolic - Natural Light

This is two coats. Its nice to apply, with a smooth texture. The Happy Go Lucky collection was nice and pigmented so all only needed two coats. This is a great summer nail polish.

Kleancolor Chunky Holo Purple over Orly Frolic - Natural Light

This is one coat of Chunky Holo Purple over Orly Frolic.

Ok so Im just going to say it. This polish is not holographic, so why did Kleancolor name them so? It is a glitter polish. A iridescent glitter in a light purple base. I just don't get it.

But in saying that its a nice glitter to use on top of other polishes. Kleancolor is not B3F so smell a bit strong. I found this at a Postie Plus store in New Zealand (2 for $8 - super cheap!)

Lots of Love
Lisa

Orly Oui

2011-12-14T14:43:00.003+13:00

Orly Oui is a polish I picked up a couple of weeks ago from the Farmers buy one get one free sale (which I am pretty sure is still going)

Oui is from the 2011 Holiday Soireé collection.

Orly Oui- White Light

Oui is a light purple glass flecked polish with a gold shimmer running through it. This is three coats. It is actually really pretty, but at the moment polishes are only lasting a day on my nails, as I get bored easily.

7 more work days left till the holidays!!!
Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club on Sale in New Zealand!

2011-12-11T16:28:00.002+13:00

Color Club Nail Polishes on Sale in New Zealand!

You may be interested to know that we are cleaning out our 7 packs pre-Xmas.

All of them are half price on our website www.usanailsonline.co.nz That includes the latest USA ranges that haven’t even released officially in NZ yet.

Prices range from $29 upwards.

The sale starts now, and stocks are limited. First in first served.

Check them out for some great deals. I just ordered both 2 packs from the Back to Boho collection for NZ$69.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Models Own Purple Haze

2011-12-11T14:59:00.003+13:00

This is Models Own Purple Haze over two coats of Color Club Disco Dress.

Models Own Purple Haze over Color Club Disco Dress - Natural Light

The is two coats of Purple Haze over Disco Dress. It is a deep purple glitter in a clear base. This is one size of glitter. The application is easy, but removal was still hard. I used some non-acetone nail polish remover to remove this and it sucked the colour off the glitter before it removed it.

Disco Dress is a perfect match for underneath Disco Dress. I haven't yet worn Purple Haze by itself yet. But I am a fan of it worn this way.

Hope you are all having good weekends so close to Christmas.
Lots of Love
Lisa

Orly Bubbly Bombshell

2011-12-07T20:49:00.005+13:00

Bubbly Bombshell was my mani to my Fiances Christmas work do on Saturday night.

Orly Bubbly Bombshell - Natural Light

Orly Bubbly Bombshell - Sunshine

This is a bright pink fuchsia glitter in a clear base. There are actually two sizes of glitter in this, a smallish one and then a bigger rounder one. This is three coats, but its still got quite a bit of nail showing through and tips are really hard to wrap with a glitter polish.

Here is some bonus pictures and a comparison.

Look how it matches the shoes I wore!

Orly Bubbly Bombshell over black - Natural light

Nubar Petunia Sparkle - sunshine

Here is a picture of Nubar Petunia Sparkle for comparison. They are almost exact matches for colour, but Petunia Sparkle only has one sized glitter and has a more matte appearance.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: Orly Holiday Soireé

2011-12-03T14:12:00.003+13:00

I got an email with a picture from Lisa (the other one) exclaiming that Orly were buy one get one free at Farmers and they had the Holiday Soireé collection in stock.

Orly Holiday Soireé display at Farmers

Luckily we were already heading to the mall so I got to see these for myself in real life. I still had a $30 gift card so picked up Androgynie and Oui. They also come with cute little files attached to the bottles.

Orly retail for $24.99 each, so buy one get one free is a pretty good deal. I can totally justify $12.50 on a nail polish, where as I have problems spending $25 on a polish these days.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Alter Ego - Reveal Your Mystery set

2011-11-27T12:02:00.004+13:00

This is the pastel set of polishes from the 2011 Color Club Alter Ego collection. These come in a 7 pack called Reveal Your Mystery which also includes a Milky White Basecoat. All swatches are three coats.

Color Club Get a Clue - Sunshine

Color Club Revealed - Natural Light

Color Club Incognito - Sunshine

Color Club Secret Rendezvous - Natural Light

Color Club Sheer Disguise - Natural Light

Color Club Give Me A Hint - Sunshine

The Alter Ego collection is available in stores in New Zealand now.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Orly Frisky + Comparison

2011-11-23T13:40:00.005+13:00

Orly frisky is from the 2011 Happy Go Lucky collection.

Farmers had by one get one free on Orly the other day and I had a $20 voucher so I paid $5 for two Orly polishes :) I love sales and vouchers.

Orly Frisky - Natural Light

The formula on this is great. This is 2 coats, and that it all that is needed. Dries at an average time and wears well.

I did some nail art over the top of Frisky. The Sparkles are Esseence. The first finger is stamped using an Essence plate and China Glaze DV8. Third finger is layered with Color Club Si Vous Please!

Orly Frisky + Nail Art - Sunshine

I ended up wearing Orly Frisky covered in Color Club Si Vous Please! on all fingers to work on Monday.

Orly Frisky and China Glaze For Audrey look pretty close to each other. For Audrey used three coats, compared to Frisky's one coat. For Audrey is slightly lighter and a bit more dustier toned. Frisky is brighter and bluer. I wasn't a fan of For Audrey but I really like Frisky, which is odd considering they are so close to each other.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Models Own Golden Peach + Comparisson

2011-11-20T10:36:00.004+13:00

Models own Golden Peach is another polish I picked up from Models own 50% off sale.

Models Own Golden Peach - Sunshine

Models Own Golden Peach - Shade

This is three coats. It is a peach with a lot of golden shimmer running through it. It applies easily and dries at an average speed.

I thought I would do a comparison of some other peach polishes. Here is Models Own Golden Peach, OPI Melon Of Troy and Zoya Elise.

Elise is a lot runnier in consistency and needed 4 coats. The Zoya is more orange, and the golden shimmer in it isn't as visible. Melon of Troy is a march darker pink colour with no golden shimmer running through it. In this case I think I really do like Golden Peach the most. The golden shimmer is more present and makes it feel girly and pretty.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: Color Club Mini Poptastic

2011-11-19T11:39:00.003+13:00

I spotted these on Monday at Life Pharmacy.

They are totally cute little bottles. They would make great Christmas presents and stocking fillers. And would be great for younger girls.

The Poptastic collection is a great collection of bright creme shades. There were also 4 packs of Starry Temptress (bright glitter shades) and Wicked Sweet (neon fruit scented polishes).

The Poptastic Minis were selling for NZ$9.90 a bottle. I am sorry but I totally did not take note of the prices for the four packs.

I have some little bottles, they are 7mls (so half the size of a regular bottle), but still have a great sized brush that makes application easy.

Lots of Love
Lisa

A England Tristam

2011-11-17T22:45:00.003+13:00

A England Tristam doesn't really need many words. It is simply just amazing.

A England Tristam - Sunshine

Tristam - the courteous knight

The symbol of the knightly virtue, and romantic love. When Tristam and Iseult accidentally consume a love potion, fall helplessly in love. Despite facing numerous trials to test their secret affair their love was never known to fade.

Tristam is a deep dark blue holographic polish. Enlarge the pictures in the sun by clicking on them to see how beautiful this really is. I think its great to see more darker colours being made into holographic polishes.

This is two coats. A England is quickly becoming one of my favourite brands for formula. All only need two coats and apply like a dream.

A England also have great customer service, and sometimes even offer free around the world shipping. It also didn't take them long to get to New Zealand (less than a week, compared to another brand in the UK that took a month to arrive here in NZ)

Lots of Love
Lisa

Models Own Evergreen

2011-11-15T20:25:00.004+13:00

I love a green polish and I was looking forward to getting this one from Models own. a green polish is hard to get right, and I'm not sure the completely got this one right.

This is Models Own Evergreen.

Models Own Evergreen - Sunshine

Models Own Evergreen - Natural Light

This is three coats. The formula is great and smooth and dries quickly. Its a pretty medium green shimmer that has a hint of metallicness about it. But the colour doesn't really pop and make me say wow! I think it needs to be slightly darker and more complex. I just feel meh about it. I suppose that is what happens when you order polishes from the other side of the world on the internet.

Lots of Love
Lisa

It's My Birthday Tomorrow! (NOMB)

2011-11-13T22:23:00.004+13:00

Nail of my birthday (NOMB) does that make sense? Not really. I dont think it will catch on.

I think I will be too busy too post tomorrow so here is what I have on my nails for my 25th Birthday tomorrow.

This is OPI Designer Series Temptation from 2011.

OPI DS Temptation - natural light

OPI DS Temptation - sunshine

This is 3 coats. when you apply the first coat you can see that the glitter is an ugly dark blue base. However once you build up the layers it is amazing! Its so complex. Its purple mainly but also has pink and blue glitter, with tiny bits of other coloured glitter (green and iridescent) scattered throughout.

Three coats gives perfect coverage. Its a bit rough, so mine is topped off with a top coat in these pictures. But I have a feeling this may be a tad hard to take off, being a glitter.

OPI have stared more and more away from the Designer Series Holographic polishes of years gone by. Quite a shame really as OPI haven't made any holos in a while now. they seem to be focusing more on glitters. Fine by me beacuse here in New Zealand DS polishes retail for around NZ$35, so as you can imagine I look elsewhere for my holo fix.

Unfortunately I don't get tomorrow off work. So not only is it a Monday, but yes I will be at work on my Birthday :(

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: OPI Muppets Collection

2011-11-03T17:19:00.007+13:00

The OPI Muppets collection showed up on trademe and other online websites (beyond beauty, mj nailbank and candygirl) a few weeks ago. But wasn't officially released in New Zealand stores until the start of November.

This collection is now out in Farmers stores in New Zealand, and with that I presume other authorised stockists.

Click on the picture to enlarge it

From the New Zealand suppliers website (Global Beauty):

Get ready to get your Muppet on this holiday season. As a tie-in to the forthcoming movie The Muppets, OPI is launching 12 limited-edition lacquers in time for Christmas. The collection includes six shimmery reds and neutrals, plus six glittery shades — perfect for holiday parties.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Revealed

2011-10-26T20:10:00.004+13:00

Revealed is from the 2011 Alter Ego collection, which is going to be in New Zealand Amazon stores about now, just in time for summer.

Color Club Revealed - Shade

Color Club Revealed - sunshine

This is three coats which applied easily (slightly thin) and dried quickly. Its a nude/peach colour that is pink toned. Its not so visible in the pictures but there is a fine pink shimmer running through this polish. Makes a regular nude colour a little bit more exciting. It matches so perfectly with colours coming out in stores now (like Forever New - I love that store).

Lots of Love
Lisa

China Glaze on NZSale

2011-10-26T08:54:00.004+13:00

For those followers in New Zealand, China Glaze is selling polishes on NZSale again.

I thought I would tell you what happened to my last China Glaze order off NZSale.

I ordered 6 polishes. I knew that things from NZSale could take a while to arrive. Also shipping on these is quite expensive. Shipping increases with each polish you add to your cart.

I was excited one night when we went down to the couriers to pick up my parcel. My excitement didnt last long when I recieved my parcel. It was smaller than I expected. No way 6 polishes could fit in there.

I was right. They had only sent me three polishes. But that is not the worst of it. All three sent to me were not colours I had ordered.

I rang NZSale - apparently its not up to them to fix it. Its up to the people who were selling the polishes through their website. And they no longer had any of the polishes I had ordered in stock - WTF?!?!?! Who got my polishes then? They had them in stock when I ordered them.

I did manage to get a full refund for these polishes (and shipping) after returning the 3 the had sent me. But all in all not a good experience.

The other Lisa ordered some too. Last I heard they hadn't arrived (we are talking four months later) and NZSale are blaming it on the courier company. I have my doubts here.

So if you are planning on ordering some China Glaze polishes off NZSale. Be warned. I will not be attempting another order for these. I have given up on NZSale.

Lots of Love
Lisa

OPI I Eat Mainely Lobster

2011-10-24T16:18:00.003+13:00

I Eat Mainely Lobster is from the 2011 OPI Touring America collection which is out in stores now.
This has to have been the most painful polish ever to get colour accurate photos of. I swatched this three times over a month and nearly gave up. Finally today I managed to get some colour accurate pictures!

OPI I Eat Mainely Lobster - Natural (overcast) light

This is a complex pinky/peachy/coral/orange colour. It is quite pigmented so you can get away with two coats. It has a golden/pink duochrome-ish shimmer running through it.

The first two times I swatched this in sunshine, shade, inside, outside and under white light it would appear orange in the photos. This is not orange. The golden shimmer running through it sort of gives it an orange hint. But I have classified this as a pinky coral colour. It has the same base colour as OPI Shootout at the OK coral.

Lots of Love
Lisa

This polish was sent to me by CandyGirl in New Zealand. Check out the "where to buy" tab at the top of this page to see the range of polishes they have for sale.

All Blacks NOTD

2011-10-23T15:42:00.003+13:00

The final of the world cup is on tonight in New Zealand.

Here is my manicure from Friday, where we had a dress in black to support the All Black day.

This is OPI Black Onyx with a fern done free hand using Essence Nail Art Freestyle and tip painter in Silver Surfer. The stars were chris's idea. They are little silver stars.

At work I ended up doing nails like this for a few of the other girls. They mostly ended up with ferns on most of their fingernails and numbers of names on the rest of their nails.

Hope your all having a good weekend.
I am sooooo glad Monday is a public holiday here. I have needed an extra day off work for so long.

Bonus picture of Keera (because shes black)

Lots of Love
Lisa

OPI Nicki Minaj Collection

2011-10-22T12:25:00.004+13:00

Its official! OPI today confirmed on their Facebook page the existance of the new Nicki Minaj collection, due out next year. And I will gladly admit I am totally excited about this collection - bot because I love Nick Minaj but because the colours look great.

From the OPI Facebook page:

Despite what you've seen online, we wanted to make sure you got accurate information from us. The Nicki Minaj collection consists of a deep shimmering purple Shatter called "Super Bass" and these five Nicki-inspired colors: "Metallic 4 Life", "Save Me", "Fly", "Did It On 'Em" and the bubble gum hue "Pink Friday".

Are you excited about this collection?

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure

2011-10-20T22:06:00.005+13:00

Just spotted these at Farmers in Wellington. The other Lisa wasn't with me today so this is taken on my phone camera. I dont have an iphone so its not the best picture sorry. Looks like there are 14 polishes in the range released here. The colours didn't look overly exciting, so I didn't buy any. I could not for the life of me find the price of these polishes. In New Zealand stores don't usually stick price stickers to products, instead you have to search the shelves for a label with the price.
Farmers has Sally Hansen at 20% off at the moment.
They also have Orly for $16.99.
And you can get a free OPI shatter polish when you purchase two other full price OPI polishes.

Sale pictures from the online catalogue at www.farmers.co.nz

Lots of Love
Lisa

OPI Cherry Blossom

2011-10-19T21:35:00.004+13:00

Because the Rugby World Cup is on in New Zealand at the moment, at work we had to decorate our work spaces with decorations relating to one of the countries playing in the Cup.
Our group of four desks had Japan. We made a giant cherry blossom tree (by cutting out about 500 flowers from pink paper), had origami cranes hanging from the ceiling and had Japanese kimonos hanging up.

A few weeks ago we had a Friday dress in you country colours. I was wearing OPI China Glaze on my nails with Konad flowers. In the end the people from the England group one (they were a bit nuts)

OPI Cherry Blossom - White light

Cherry Blossom is from the Japanese (and Australasian) exclusive range. It is a light pink shimmer made up of very fine glittery particles. This is three coats. The konad design is from plate m3 and is done using white konad special polish.

It is really a shame that OPI (and other brands) have ranges of polish that are exclusive to certain locations. Everything should be available everywhere!!!

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Tattered in Gold

2011-10-17T20:06:00.003+13:00

This is the gold offering from Color Club in their Fracture collection.

Color Club Tattered in Gold (over A England Galahad) - Natural light

Tattered in Gold is a metallic shimmery gold, and because of this it is more sheer on the nail. It feels like it needs to be thicker to get the gold to show up better, but obviously cracks different with different thickness coats.

I honestly found this really hard to pair with base coat colours. I just could not make up my mind over what to stick it over. If you have a gold shatter/fracture/crackle what colours are you using it over?

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: BYS Scented collection

2011-10-16T17:44:00.006+13:00

This post is a bit late. I found these in store the weekend before I got really sick and never got around to posting them. So they have been available for a month now.

I found these polishes after stalking my local Cosmetics Plus store and ringing the up about four times to find out when these were coming in. A few times I got sales assistants who had no idea what I was talking about, which is frustrating when as a consumer you know more about a product than the retailer. If I worked there I would spend a couple of minutes a week on the BYS website and would made sure I knew my stuff. Anywho.....

Image from www.bys.com.au

The BYS website says there are 18 polishes in this collection. My local Cosmetics Plus store only had 8 of these. Apparently its up to the managers to decide what colours they bring to New Zealand. :(

Next issue I discovered was that no where on the bottle or in the shop did it tell you the scent of the polish. The labels on the bottom of the bottle just tell you the colour and these names have no link at all to the scent. Also because of the smell this brand of polishes has it was impossible to smell the scent in the shop.

So I went based on colour and only picked up one of these polishes.

BYS Scented Light Pink - Natural Light

Want to hazard a guess at the scent of this one???

Surprise.... It is Roses!

The formula on this was nice. It was three coats and the polish actually has a golden shimmer running through it, although it feels like a creme polish. The shimmer was hard to capture in the photo but trust me it is there, its just very subtle.

My problem is again with the naming of these polishes - This one isn't even really light pink. Its a nude/peachy colour. And there was no way to guess it was rose scented before I bought it home and tried it.

In saying that it does actually smell like roses. You have to wait until it is dry to smell the roses. It smells a bit like rose scented soaps.

Unfortunately (unlike the Color Club scented polishes) you can not really smell the roses that much through a top coat (I used Seche Vite). The problem with BYS is it really does need a top coat to prolong its wear (which for me is especially short with BYS).

All in all, I like this colour, I like the roses smell, but I wish it was stronger so I could smell it better through my top coat.

Lots of Love
Lisa

I found the perfect nude polish (for me)

2011-10-15T12:43:00.004+13:00

I never thought I would find one, but low and behold I have.

Color Club Incognito - Sunshine

Color Club Incognito - Shade

This is three coats of Incognito from the Color Club Alter Ego collection. I realise that these photos make my hands look pinker than they really are. Incognito is a pale grey tones biege. It doesn't seem to have too much pink in it. It is a sheer jellyish creme polish.

The Color club Alter Ego collection will be in Amazon stores in New Zealand by the end of the month. I have more swatches of this collection coming in the future.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Models Own Lilac Dream

2011-10-09T19:27:00.004+13:00

Hello again lovelies!

Its been a while. The flu I have had has really knocked me for six. It has been almost two weeks. The first week was spent in bed. I still have a runny yucky nose and trouble breathing. I think I am operating at about 70% at the moment.

Because of this my nails have been totally naked. I have had no energy at all. Today was the first day I felt up to swatching. There was also a bit of sun.

Models Own Lilac Dream - Sunshine

Lilac Dream is a perfect one coater creme polish. It is smooth and opaque. This is two coats, but in a hurry you could definitely get away with one. My ring finger is stamped using an Essence plate (these oddly don't seem to have names or numbers) and Models own Purple Mystique.

I think next time I might do the stamping with a holographic purple, like Color Club Wild At Heart or China Glaze Virtual Violet, especially when I can take advantage of it while its sunny.

The is my first Models own experience. These polishes are not B3F (although the Models Own Pro Series is) so they do smell a bit. The round fat-ish lids are harder to control while holding, and the brushes are not overly special at all. I do love the box they come in, and am totally looking forward the the up coming Bettlejuice collection, due to be released in November.

Bettlejuice collection: Golden Green, Pinky Brown, Purple Blue, Aqua Violet and Emerald Black

Hope you are all feeling well.
Lots of Love
Lisa

500 Followwer Giveaway Winners!

2011-10-02T17:26:00.004+13:00

There were 551 entries from 166 followers.

Winner of prize number one is entry number 258

Which is Holly Boneham from Canada!
Congrats Holly.
Can you please send me an email with your address and I'll send your prize out to you.

Winner of prize number 2 is entry number 85.

Which is imfeelingnail-venturous (aka Amy) from America!
Check out her AMAZING blog. Her nail art is to die for.
Congrats Amy.
Can you please send me an email with your address and I'll send your prize out to you.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who entered.
Next giveaway will probably be at 750 followers.
I am going back to bed to continue dying. This is day 6 of the my flu and I still feel terrible.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Last day to enter my giveaway

2011-09-30T19:24:00.004+13:00

****GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED****

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.
I have the Flu (this is day 4) and basically want to die.

Today (tomorrow for those on the other side of the world) is the last day to enter my 500 followers giveaway. Get those entries in to win!

Lots of Love
Lisa

I love getting nail mail

2011-09-25T11:34:00.005+13:00

Friday was a great nail mail day for me.

My models own order finally made it to New Zealand.

Top row: Purple Mystique, Golden Peach, Magenta Divine, Evergreen
Bottom row: Blue Med, Purple Haze, Lilac dream, Bluebelle, Peacock Green

These are the polishes I ordered from the 50% of sale. There were a few extra I wanted but they were sold out. Models own polishes are usually £5 each. International shipping is £9.95. All up my order with the 50% discount only ended up costing $65.99, which is only $7.33 a polish. I cant wait to try these out.

I am a huge Disney fan. It sucks because we don't have any Disney stores at all in New Zealand. I saw these on Ebay and had to have them.

Top row: Jasmine, Rupunzel, Pocahontas, Belle, Mulan
Bottom row: Snow White, Cinderella, Tiana, Aurora, Ariel

These are small only 6mls each. The packet says that they are adult cosmetics, so I am hoping they are decent quality. Although based on the smell I assume that they are not B3F. These came from Hawaii and did end up costing a bit. I paid US$55 for the polishes alone. But as I said, I am a huge Disney fan, and when it is combined with nail polish, I couldn't say no.

Hope your all having a good weekend. Its raining here and I need to clean the whole house.

Lots of Love
Lisa

A England Iseult

2011-09-21T20:47:00.005+12:00

I am quickly falling in love with A England and their beautiful polishes.

Todays polish is Iseult - the fair lady.

The legendary beautiful princess forever linked to Tristam after they mistakenly drank a love potion that left them eternally in love with each other in a powerful romance and tragedy.

A England Iseult - White Light

This is a pale pink shimmer. The shimmer is very fine and is slightly iridescent, but does not over-power the pink. The formula is perfect. Two coats and it is perfectly opaque. The consistency is great, nowhere near runny and not too thick.

A England has got free shipping worldwide at the moment. My last order took less than a week to get all the way from England to New Zealand.

I have two more of these polishes to show you at a later date. A England are gearing up to release a new collection soon as well. I can wait to see what they come up with. These are amazing quality polishes.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Clean Break

2011-09-19T21:03:00.003+12:00

This is one of the fractures I was most looking forward to trying out.

Color Club Clean Break - shade

Color Club Clean Break - sunshine

Clean Break over Color Club Wicked Sweet, Disco Dress,
Peace out Purple and Raspberry Rush.

This swatches use different thickness coats of Clean Break, with a tick coat on the left, moving towards a thinner coat on the right. You can see how Clean Break cracks and fractures differently based on the thickness of the coat used. You can create fractures in different directions by brushing the polish on in a different direction.

I love the stark white of this fracture and the way that it can bring a skittle mani together as one. In the shade you can see how it appears matte. however it really is more of a regular creme polish.

Lots of Love
Lisa

This polish was sent to me for review.

Orly Here Comes Trouble

2011-09-18T19:56:00.002+12:00

This is one of the polishes I picked up the other day from the Pin Up collection.

Orly Here Comes Trouble - Natural Light

Orly Here Comes Trouble - Sunshine

This is three coats. It has two different sizes of green glitter. The problem is that it has a funny yellow green base that appears in the gaps not coated in glitter. I think it is better as a top coat to avoid the funny green base coat.

Orly Here Comes Trouble over Black - Natural Light

Here is two coats over black. I love this.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: Orly Pin Up Collection

2011-09-15T20:13:00.003+12:00

Spotted these at Farmers today.

I picked up the two glitters, Bubble Bombshell (the Purple/Fuchsia glitter) and Here comes Trouble (The grass green glitter). I cant wait to try them out. Hopefully well get some sun over the weekend and I can do some swatching.

Farmers have put the price of their Orly polishes up to $24.99 now.
Luckily I had some gift vouchers because there is no way I would pay that much for a polish.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Nfu Oh Neon Collection

2011-09-13T21:21:00.004+12:00

There is a new Spring Neon Collection from Nfu Oh.
None of these have names and as far as I can tell neither does the collection.
These will be in New Zealand at the end of September.

Lots of Love
Lisa

A England Galahad

2011-09-10T21:41:00.005+12:00

Last month A England held a competition on their facebook page. Each day they posted a picture of one of their polishes. All you had to do was tag yourself in one of the pictures to enter. One person then won that polish.

Would you believe I actually won one! I won a brand new bottle of Galahad. I figured I might as well order some more while I am at it so I ordered Iseult, Avalon and Tristam (swatches of these to come later on).

The first A England collection is called The Mythicals.
I wasn't sure what Galahad means but luckily their is a glossary on the A England website.

Galahad is the pure knight. (Son of Lancelot) the achiever of the holy grail. Renowned for his gallantry and purity is considered the most perfect knight in the world.

A England Galahad - Natural Light

Galahad is a dusty medium teal creme. I don't own anything else like this. It is a grey/green toned teal colour. This is two coats. The consistency and feel of this creme polish is perfect. It is very pigmented and could be used as a single coat. Try time is great and it drys to a great gloss finish.

Shipping was really cheap on these polishes and they only took a week to arrive from the other side of the world. Their customer service is excellent. I highly recommend these polishes. With shipping they only work out to be about NZ$15 each. Check out their website at http://www.a-england.co.uk

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Gimme a Grape Big Kiss

2011-09-09T19:37:00.004+12:00

The rugby world cup has officially kicked off in New Zealand. The opening ceremony is on now. I'll be the first to admit that I cant stand watching rugby, but with only one tv in our tiny little flat, and a fiance who likes rugby, I cant avoid it as much as I would like. The world cup is the biggest sporting event our country will ever hold. It's a pretty big deal.

Color Club Gimme a Grape Big Kiss - White light

Now this was a purple that actually photographed well. This is three coats. This one is grape scented and comes from this years Wicked Sweet collection. I don't know if you have it in your countries but we have a brand of bubble gum here called Hubba Bubba and this polish smells just like the grape back the versions of that. Its a sweet, fake grape smell. This collection of polishes really does remind me of all the lollies and smells of when I was younger. I also love that the smell is strong enough to penetrate a top coat.

Lots of Love
Lisa

500 Follower Give-away

2011-09-03T12:30:00.008+12:00

****GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED****

Hi Lovely Ladies,

The number of followers has been fluctuating between 495 and 499 for a while now, so it is about time for the:

NEVER ENDING OBSESSION 500 FOLLOWER GIVE-AWAY!!

Prize 1 consists of:

OPI Start to Finish
Zoya Color Cube Enchanted Evening
Sally Hansen Blush Diamond Nail Prism
OPI Pink Shatter
Glitter Gal Marine Blue 3d Holographic
Glitter Gal French Kiss Lip Gloss

****************

Prize 2 consists of:

Splitting Image (blue Fracture)
Clean Break (White Fracture)
Kiss & Break Up (Pink Fracture)

Provided by the wonderful people at Color Club New Zealand

****************

All prizes are brand new and unused.
They have been purchased by me for you.
Apart for prize 2, which is provided thanks to Color Club NZ.

Two winners will be drawn.
The first name will win prize one, the second will win prize 2.

This competition is open to any one in the world.
You just need to be a follower.
Competition will close on the 30th of September.

Just leave a comment below telling me:
1. Your follower name (1 entry)
2. What country you are in (1 entry)
3. What nail polish you want most in the world (1 entry)
4. If you tweeted or blogged about this giveaway (2 entries)

Lots of Love and good luck
Lisa

Color Club Kiss & Break Up

2011-08-31T21:59:00.005+12:00

Kiss & Break Up is the fuchsia fracture polish from Color Club.

This has got to be my favourite one so far (but in saying that I am a massive sucker for pink still).

Color Club Kiss & Break Up over OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender - white light

Kiss & Break Up is a fuchsia fracture polish. This is a thinish coat. It crackles pretty quickly after application, as long as the polish underneath is completely dry.

Color Club Kiss & Break Up over Black - white light

Unfortunately this one didn't work the best over black. It appears slightly more purple. This here is a thicker coat.

Don't forget you can pick this up for only NZ$7.50 at www.usanailsonline.co.nz

Lots of Love
Lisa

This polish was sent to me for review

Color Club Splitting Image

2011-08-28T20:15:00.003+12:00

Color Club Splitting Image is the blue Fractured polish from the 2011 Fractured collection.

Color Club Splitting Image over Color Club Yum Gum - white light

This is a thin coat of Splitting Image over 2 coats of Yum Gum. Splitting Image is a medium shimmery blue. It is interesting that some shatters/fractures are cremes and some are shimmers/metallics.

Color Club Splitting Image over Black - white light

I liked this pairing better than the pink combo. This is a thick coat of Splitting Image over black. You can see the differences caused through having thinner of thicker coats of polish. I don't think my black polish underneath was quite dry enough as there is a little bit of rouging on my ring and little fingers. You need to make sure that the polish underneath is completely dry first to avoid this happening.

I don't have any comparison pictures but I have the bottles and Splitting Image is lighter in colour than OPI Blue shatter and less green toned that OPI Turquoise shatter.

If your in New Zealand these are being sold online at www.usanailsonline.co.nz. You can get this polish for only $7.50!!!!!! You can also get Clean Break (white fracture) and Crush on you (fuchsia) for NZ$7.50. Smash Hit (black), Broken Tokens (silver) and Tattered-in-gold (gold) are selling for NZ$15 each.

Lots of Love
Lisa

This polish was sent to me for review

Essence Circus Confetti

2011-08-27T20:26:00.003+12:00

Essence Circus Confetti is a multi-coloured glitter bomb. This polish was sent to me in a swap from Daniela in Portugal. It is like a copy of Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday and Milani Gems. Unfortunately none of these polishes are available for sale in New Zealand.

Essence Circus Confetti over Color Club Disco Dress - white light

This is two coats of Essence Circus Confetti over Color Club Disco Dress. Circus Confetti has small little bits of glitter and bigger hexagon pieces of multi-coloured glitter in a clear base.

Luckily because its such a sparse big glitter it isn't so hard to take off. I think it would take a lot of coats to wear by itself, so I will just continue to wear it as a top coat.

Lots of Love
Lisa

China Glaze CG In the City

2011-08-25T22:35:00.005+12:00

This polish comes to us thanks to Candy Girl, a New Zealand based online nail polish seller, based out of Christchurch. You can get China Glaze polishes for $13.95 each. (China Glaze is hard to get in New Zealand, so this is a great sight to get them from). Visit their sight here: www.candygirl.co.nz

CG In the City is from the 2011 fall/winter China Glaze Metro Collection. It is one of two glitters in the Metro collection.

China Glaze CG In the City - white light

Close up of China Glaze CG In the City - white light

This a dusty dark purple glitter in a clear base. The glitter in this is finer than recent glitter polishes released (such as the OPI burlesque glitters). This is three coats, with the third coat being quite thick. It was easy to apply, and luckily didn't get glitter everywhere.

This glitter doesn't sparkle rainbows like some others do, so is quite a conservative glitter in my opinion. It seems adequate for the fall season and is a nice dark colour that is quite wearable.

Glitter is always a pain to take off, so you need to use the foil method to remove. I always make sure I have a good base coat when wearing glitters, to try and help with removal.

Lots of Love
Lisa

This polish was sent to me for review

Color Club Broken Tokens - Silver Fracture

2011-08-23T20:03:00.007+12:00

Broken Tokens is Color Club's Silver Fracture polish.

Color Club Broken Tokens over Black - white light

Here it is over plain black. This is a medium coat. Broken Tokens is a shimmery foily silver polish. The polish is quite easy to apply, however the base colour has to be completely dry. I used a coat of Seche Vite to speed up the drying process (Can you believe I don't actually own any quick drying drops?). The crackles in this worked out really well.

I passed on the OPI version of this when it came out about a month ago, but am glad that I got this one. It looks super cute over neon skittles.

Color Club Broken tokens over neon skittles - white light

Here is a thinish-medium coat of Broken Tokens over The Lime Starts Here, Raspberry Rush, Disco Dress and Age of Aquarius (All from Color Club)

These are heading into stores now. Color Clubs fraction collection will be sold in Amazon surf stores, Life pharmacies and online at www.usanailsonline.co.nz. I am pretty sure retail for these is $19.95.

Lots of Love
Lisa

This polish was sent to me for review

Sppotted in New Zealand: OPI Glam Slam + swatches

2011-08-22T19:24:00.005+12:00

Yesterday I spotted some of the OPI Glam Slam packs at Life Pharmacy in Johnsonville. These were retailing for $44.90 at Life Pharmacy.

They had the France set which contains spark de triomphe and white shatter.

And also the New English collection, which contains Grape...set...match and Servin' up sparkle.

I had just bought this set off trademe last week and OMG it is AMAZING!!

OPI Grape...set...match - sunshine

This is an amazing purple. It is a glass effect micro shimmer polish that has pink and blue tones and is soooo deep and fascinating - you can stare at it all day long. This is 3 coats. It seems a shame that it comes with a glitter top coat in the same pack, because this beautiful purple shouldn't be covered up.

OPI Servin' up Sparkle over Grape...Set...Match - sunshine

This is two coats of Servin' up Sparkle over Grape...Set...Match. Serving up sparkle is another amazing polish. It is a clear base with little silver bits of glitter and bigger hexagon shaped silver pieces of glitter. They sparkle like little rainbows in the sun.

I have to admit that these two polishes alone could make up for some of the recent disappointments that OPI has put out lately. This is by far my favourite Glam Slam set. I wouldn't pay full retail for them though. Check out www.candygirl.co.nz which has the sets for $37.90 or MJ nail back (on facebook and trademe).

Lots of Love
Lisa

Glitter Gal Marine Blue

2011-08-21T13:23:00.003+12:00

There was a tiny little bit of sun yesterday so I quickly swatched Glitter Gal Marine Blue from the 3D Holographic collection. I can not wait for summer so I can wear more holographic polishes.

Glitter Gal 3D holographic Marine Blue - Sunshine

This is a medium blue. This was two coats. Unfortunately the holo-ness of this polish didn't transfer well into the photographs, as it is much more visible in real life. The holographic particles are linear and form rainbows in a line, as opposed to scattered all over the place. The polish was easy to apply, even though they are in little bottles (9mls). The brush is still a decent length to make application easy. Dry time was quick. I find holographic polishes don't take as long to dry as regular polishes.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Nicole by OPI Party in the Penthouse

2011-08-20T13:43:00.003+12:00

This is one of four polishes from the Nicole by OPI Gossip Girl Collection that came out in 2010.

These were not available in New Zealand so thanks to smoochiefrog from Manicure Mommas for sending me this collection.

Nicole by OPI Party in the Penthouse - white light

Its a dark dusty blue silver shimmer. This is three coats. It is pretty and suitable for winter and the cold weather we are having at the moment.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Untamed Luxury - Grey shades

2011-08-17T20:07:00.003+12:00

The snow has stopped :(
The last snow here was yesterday afternoon. We ended up with snow for three days and it was pretty awesome. Because we never have it, I still want it to keep happening.

I thought the following polishes seem pretty appropriate for the weather outside as it is grey and yucky at the moment.

These polishes are the second half of the Color Club Untamed Luxury 7 piece Indulgence collection. You can find the first half of this collection here.

Color Club Pretty in Platinum - white light

This is a frosty white toned silver pearl. Only two coats is needed for this one. It is more shiny than it looks in this picture.

Color Club Positively Posh - white light

This is a taupe brown I can actually kind of stand. It is like a cross between a jelly and a creme polish. This is three coats as it starts of thin like a jelly. You can still see through it after three coats.

Color Club Soft as Cashmere - white light

Another jelly creme cross. This is a greige color (a cross between a grey and a beige) that is also slightly brown toned. This is three coats.

Color Club Wild Orchid - white light

This is a grey shimmer. It leans to the blue side and the shimmer definitely appears blue. This is three coats. This is my favourite of the bunch. I think its classy and great if you work in a serious work environment.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Worth the Risque + Snow!

2011-08-15T21:59:00.006+12:00

OMG! It snowed in Wellington. I have lived my whole life here (25 years) and it has never ever snowed!

It started about 4pm on Sunday afternoon. There was still snow outside my house when I got the bus to work in the morning and then about 11am it started snowing again! It has been snowing on and off all day since.

Here is a picture of my mum and dads house.
Its about 15 minutes from where I live.
They were brave enough to go outside and take pictures.

This is a huge deal in our part of the country. The novelty has not worn off for me yet.

So to celebrate this awesome snow I just finished this mani tonight to wear to work tomorrow. By the way its going to be just as cold any yuck tomorrow....this means more snow.

Color Clubs Worth the Risque is a silver holographic from the 2009 Femme Fatal collection.

Color Club Worth the Risque - crappy indoor night time lighting

Unfortunately because it is 10pm at night you cant see the holo-y goodness that is this polish. This is two coats. Application and dry time were great. Even at night I can see the holo in this polish. It is a linear holographic, where the holo rainbows appear in lines on the nail as opposed to scattered all about.

I topped this off with some snowflakes done using Konad plate m59 and Black konad special polish. Its a shame that I only own two different snowflakes, as you end up repeating the same ones over again.

If your in New Zealand I hope you are enjoying the snow too!

Lots of Love
Lisa

Milani Cyberspace

2011-08-13T11:09:00.004+12:00

I had a terrible day at work yesterday and am really still upset. My nails are naked and I cant think of any polish I want to put on that will cheer me up even a little. Today is Saturday but one of my best friends is having a house warming so I have to go and see everyone from work there and I am so not looking forward to it.

This is a mani from last week. It is two coats of Milani Cyberspace over two coats of OPI Whats with the Cattitude?

Milani Cyberspace over OPI Whats with the Cattitude? - white light

It is still winter here so there isn't any sun (in fact they are predicting snow where there isn't usually snow tomorrow), but this is holographic and i liked the softness of the light blue. I think the creme polish underneath helped make the holographic on top seem cleaner and nicer.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Get your Lem-on

2011-08-10T20:24:00.005+12:00

Get your Lem-on is another scented polish from Color Club's Wicked Sweet Collection, currently in stores in New Zealand or online at www.usanailsonline.co.nz

Color Club Get Your Lem-on - white light

This is three coats. It is quite sheer (mainly I think due to the fact that it is yellow). It smells sort of like a lemon scented cleaning product, or some sort of funny lemony bubblegum flavour.
It has a blue shimmer running through it and in the bottle looks exactly like Color Clubs Volt of Light. Here is a picture of Volt of light in the sun from ages ago....

Color Club Volt of Light - sunshine

Lots of Love
Lisa

This product was sent to me for review.

China Glaze on NZSALE!

2011-08-09T08:55:00.001+12:00

China Glaze is on NZSALE for NZ$7.50 a polish!!!!

All New Zealanders go and get some now!!!!!!!!

Essence Bella and Edward

2011-08-08T21:28:00.006+12:00

Thanks to Daniela from Under the Gravity's Nails for my most recent swap in which she sent me the newest sets of Essence nail art twins polishes.

Now I will be the first to admit that I can not stand twilight. I missed out on the appeal and to be honest I do not think Robert Paterson is hot at all. But I do love Bella and Edward the nail polishes.

Essence Bella - white light

Bella is the base coat. This is two coats. You could almost get away with just one coat as it was quite thick and very colour dense. Even though it was slightly thick it did apply well and dry time was normal.

Essence Edward (over Bella) - white light

This is two coats of Edward over Bella. Compared to the other nail art twins from essence, the Edward top coat was less dense glitter wise and needed two coats, where as I normally only do one. Edward is full of teal/turquoise glitter, with bigger green square pieces of glitter.

I do love this pair though and I am so happy that Jill and Daniela have sent me Essence polishes to try out. Thanks girls.

Lots of Love
Lisa

P.S we are almost at 500 followers. Almost time for another giveaway. If you have any ideas of what the prizes should be. let me know :)

Glitter Gal Not Another Red

2011-08-07T13:56:00.003+12:00

Glitter Gal truly is Australia at its finest.

Glitter Gal Not Another Red - sunshine

OMG! These polishes are AMAZING!!!!
Even compressed these pictures show how amazing the polish is in the sunshine.

These are only 9ml polishes and look teeny tiny next to a regular sized polish, but lets be honest - who uses a whole bottle of polish up anyway. The brush is still a good size and length and makes the polish easy to apply. I didn't need any clean up after this.

These are now being sold in New Zealand on trade me, or through the email polishqueennz@gmail.com.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Upcoming collections from BYS?

2011-08-06T12:40:00.006+12:00

I spotted these gift packs on the BYS website. They are available for pre-order at the moment for delievery in oct/nov/dec. Based on the gift sets I am hoping that they are creating whole collections based on these....

A possible scented collection?

A possible Animal print collection?

I am hoping for a whole animal print collection. It could be cool.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: OPI Touring America Collection

2011-08-04T17:55:00.006+12:00

Look what we found at Farmers today.....

OPI Touring America collection (Winter/Fall 2011)

I didn't realise at the time but there is an empty spot in the middle of the display. Thanks again to Lisa taking sneaky pictures on her iphone for me.

I am not going to get any of these polishes (especially not at NZ$27 each that they are at Farmers). There is 6 dark brown/taupe/grey colours and six red/pink/purple colours. (edit: my bad there are actually 4 micro-shimmer polishes in this collection and the other 8 are cremes)

Lots of Love
Lisa

Zoya Mimi

2011-08-03T18:07:00.003+12:00

I think this polish has just become my favourite purple polish ever! It definitly makes it into my top 20.

Zoya Mimi is one of six polishes from the 2010 summer Sparkle collection.

Zoya Mimi - Natural Light

Zoya Mimi - Close up

Zoya Mimi - White Light

This is amazing! it is the most in-depth interesting purple glass fleck glitter polish ever. The natural light picture is more colour accurate. Is applies like a dream and needed almost no clean up. This was three coats, you can tell its going to be good even after the first coat.

So far Ive had this on for a day and there are no chips. I don't think I am ready to take it off yet either. It is just gorgeous.

Unfortunately Zoya polishes are hard to come by in New Zealand. You can buy online in New Zealand here. There are a few salons around the country selling these, but to be honest, online is easiest. A lot of my Zoyas came from ebay.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Models Own 50% of Facebook Sale

2011-08-02T21:46:00.002+12:00

Just announced on Facebook....

Once they reach 50,000 likes by the end of August they are going to have a week long 50% of sale!

Please like their facebook page and help us get a sweet deal on some great European polishes. I really want to try out their glitters. I have heard some great reviews from Models own.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Untamed Luxury Vampy Shades

2011-08-01T18:52:00.003+12:00

Sorry July was such a slow month here. Ive not had the best nails and am now rocking nubbins, so thought I'd wear some of this seasons dark vampy colours while they are short and hope that start growing soon.

These three shades are out of the Untamed Luxury Indulgence 7 piece set. You can by them individually for $16 at Life Pharmacies or the whole 7 piece set online at www.usanailsonline.co.nz for $39!

Color Club Ready to Royal - Sunshine

This is two coats. Ready to Royal is a dark deep purple jelly. You can see the purple colour while wearing just one cost, but the second makes it a very dark colour. It has a high shine once dried.

Color Club Jewel of a Girl - Sunshine

This is a deep red toned plum shimmer. It is stunning in real life. Again this is only two coats. I loved it. The application on this was great.

Color Club Nothing but Truffle - white light

Nothing but Truffle is a deep dark chocolate shimmer. This one is also two coats, but I had a few problems with it. The consistency was thick and I just could not stop it from flooding my cuticles. Even with pure acetone the clean up didn't go well.

I wore this one today at work and it lasted well (I am trying out new base coats and top coats though and think I've found something that works), however I don't think its my colour. I am definitely a brighter colour person. This is the by far nicest chocolate colour that I have in my collection though.

Lots of love
Lisa

Color Club The Lime Starts Here

2011-07-25T18:16:00.006+12:00

This is another of the scented polishes from the New Wicked Sweet collection. And the novelty of fruity smelling polishes has still not worn off on me.

Color Club The Lime Starts Here - White Light

This is actually quite a nice neon lime green. It has the right balance of blue and yellow and it is totally wearable. The lime scent is a nice one as well. It is more of a lime lolly smell than actual limes. This is three coats and the polish has a nice creme finish. I like the fact that even with a top coat you can still smell the lime.

Lots of Love
Lisa

This polish was sent to me for review

Spotted in NZ: Glitter Gal

2011-07-24T17:12:00.004+12:00

Glitter Gal now has a distributor in New Zealand.

You can buy these polishes on trade me or send an email to the seller at polishqueennz@gmail.com to buy straight through the seller.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: Orly Birds of a Feather

2011-07-21T18:30:00.005+12:00

The Orly Birds of a Feather collection has made it to New Zealand

Finally New Zealand is starting to get polishes not long after they release over seas - (unlike the six months we normally wait) Although as I am typing this I realise we still haven't had the Orly Cosmic FX collection here.

Orly Birds as a Feather Collection

Fowl Play (purple sparkle)
Lucky Duck (green creme)
Nite Owl (beige shimmer)
Peachy Parrot (coral shimmer)
Sea Gurl (grey shimmer)
Sweet Peacock (blue shimmer)

I saw these in Farmers yesterday. They had a full untouched display. I think these sell for about $23 each. I like to wait until Farmers had buy one get on free on Orly - which they some times do, unlike the meager 15% the have off OPI.

I didn't pick any up myself. Fowl play looks like a pretty close match to OPI Merry midnight, but as I own this already I didn't think I needed two. None of the other really stood out to me.

I was hoping that New Zealand would be getting Orly's Pin-up and Happy Go Lucky mini collections as these are much more my colours, that a bright and glittery.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Resort to Red

2011-07-19T19:50:00.001+12:00

Color Club Resort to Red is from my 7 piece Untamed Luxury Diamond Collection.

Color Club Resort to Red - sunshine

Color Club Resort to Red - shade

This is a dark fuchsia/red colour. This is two coats. It is super pretty. The formula was great.

This is not a unique colour. Before I spread my polish wings to other brands I owned a bunch of OPI polishes just like this. I was a sucker for anything dark pink and shimmery.

This was the only polish in the Diamond collection that is not full of glitter, so I thought I would try out with the flakey top coat - Covered in Diamonds.

Color Club Covered in Diamonds over Resort to Red - sunshine

To be honest I am not a huge fan of covered in Diamonds. It is thick and goopy and I feel that the oddly shaped glitter particles are too big. I feel that Nfu Oh flakies are much easier to work with.

Lots of Love
Lisa

OPI The One That Got Away

2011-07-17T12:53:00.004+12:00

First up a recap on my wedding dress shopping......

It was awesome!!!!
First of we went to Astra Bridal. I really really love the look of Maggie Sottero dresses. They look so great in the pictures and are made of great fabric. But after trying on about 8 of these dresses I knew they weren't the dresses for me. :(

Next up was brides on Thorndon. By this stage I had more of a picture in my head of what I did and didn't want. I knew I wanted white (my mum kept saying no to white but I knew it was fine on me and everyone else agreed white was great on me), I knew I didn't want lace, or too many sparkles. I wanted big and poofy.

The ladies at Brides on Thorndon were really nice. They picked out about 7 dresses for me to try on. Turns out the first dress I tried on was perfect. They made me try on 3 others, but I still liked the first one. An hour later I left the shop with the first dress in a bag and all mine. It fits perfectly now, is the right colour and size and is discontinued so is no longer available so that it was on sale. I never thought it would be that easy at all.

I'm not going to say to much about what it looks like in case some one who isn't supposed to see it sees what it looks like. So if you want me to send you a link of what I got email me.

Anywho onto the polish you came here for....

My mum came over the other day and started doing her nails with this polish and ended up taking it home with her. I kind of cringe every time she does her nails because she is so terrible at it and ends up with polish everywhere.

OPI The one that got away - natural light

This is three coats. It is a pretty dark fuchsia with the glass effect finish.

OPI Black Shatter over The one that got away - natural light

I think I like this one better with out the shatter on top. I have a huge soft spot for fuchsia pink polishes, and this one is really pretty. Plus my shatter is still really goopy and thick.

Hope you are all having a great weekend.
Lots of Love
Lisa

Rubi Shoes Disco Nights

2011-07-12T19:38:00.005+12:00

Rubi Shoes and Cotton On in New Zealand and Australia have bought out nail polishes to add to their clothing and shoe lines.

I have only seen about 5 colours in total. In New Zealand and Australia these polishes are retailing for $4.95 (this is pretty much the cheapest polish in the whole country). This one I actually found on sale for $2!!!! It was the only shimmer and the only one they had on sale so I bought a couple of them as extras for swaps aswell.

The bottles are exactly the same size and shape as OPI's bottles, but the label on the back says that these are 18mls. And based on the smell I can pretty much garuntee that they are not B3 Free.

Rubi Shoes Disco Night - Sunshine

Rubi Shoes Disco Night - White Light

This one appears more colour accurate to real life than the photo in the sun, but the photo in the sun shows the texture better. Turns out this polish is a foil. It is a silver that leans towards a pinky/bronzy colour. Two coats is perfect as this polish is almost a one coater with good coverage.

I am going wedding dress shopping tomorrow! I am so excited I can not wait! We have been engaged for a year and a half now so it seems like we are finally getting there being able to finally get the dress! I have no idea what will suit me yet. I have a feeling I am not going to get any sleep at all tonight!

Lots of Love
Lisa

Zoya Apple

2011-07-10T19:52:00.003+12:00

This is one of last weekend purchases from the New Zealand Beauty Expo.

I am quite fond of green polishes, I think because they are rare here and arent something everyone wears on their nails.

Apple is from this years sunshine collection which was made up of six glass effect polishes.

Zoya Apple - Outside natural light

This is outside in natural light, it was cloudy, but at least there was no thunder storms and hail like yesterday. It is a beautiful medium green glass fleck polish. It shimmers golden yellow in the right light and various shades of green. This was 3 coats, but 2 would be ok - I think I've developed a habit of always doing three no matter what now.

Lots of Love
Lisa

NZ Beauty Expo Part 2

2011-07-06T20:54:00.006+12:00

Beauty Expo Part 2 continues from the Color Club booth

Here Color Club were debuting their Fractured collection which is due to arrive on the ship from America at the end of the month. They were also selling their new summer collection Wicked Sweet, which is the fruity scented polishes, their Untamed Luxury winter collection in the 7 piece packs, as well as all the polishes from their large standard colour range.

I picked up the rest of the Wicked Sweet polishes I was missing from my collection, as well as some older polishes from the Femme Fatal and Catwalk Queen collections.

Unfortunately I didn't get any of the Fractured polishes, but Steph got Tattered in Gold and you can check out her post on that here.

There was a couple of blokes selling Jessica polishes along with their salon supplies. They seemed like a hard case, and were completely unsure about selling these polishes. I picked up a dark blue shimmer called Midnight Moonlight and a pearl shimmer called Chic. I have never seen Jessica polishes in New Zealand before. If you are interested in getting any of these send me an email and I can pass it on to the suppliers.

That was about it in the way of Nail Polishes. Lots of companies were selling gel polishes and were aiming these at salon owners.

What was notably missing from this expo was Global Beauty who are the New Zealand distributors of OPI. To be honest this doesn't stand the company in good steed in my opinion. I think they should have been there. Especially as the expo is aimed at beauty salon owners, who may stock OPI. It just seems a little arrogant to me.

Also missing from the expo but available in New Zealand was Orly, Essie and Butter London.

All in all I had a great time. I loved meeting Steph and her mum, as well as the great people (you know who you are!) at the Color Club booth, who I ended up helping out on the second day while I waited for my flight back home.

I cant wait for the next expo.

Lots of Love
Lisa

P.S. I burnt my hand really bad on some steam whilst helping my mum cook dinner today, so I am typing this one handed and an in a tonne of pain. It is also the finger tips of my left hand so there will be no swatches (maybe even posts) for a while, while I recover from blisters and huge amounts of pain. Ive had ice on it for 2 hours already and it still hurts heaps!!!!

NZ Beauty Expo Part 1

2011-07-04T21:01:00.008+12:00

The past two days I spent in Auckland at the New Zealand Beauty Expo. It was amazing!

On the Saturday morning I met up with Steph from Nail Juice and her mum and we went to check out the expo together. I love the fact that her mum loves nail polish as well.

Our first stop was the Nfu Oh booth. For those who are still wondering how to say this - its N fu Oh (said like kung fu).

Steph's mum went nuts over the polishes they were selling cheaply - I'm not going to say how much we paid for all of our polishes as it may make some of you a tad jealous. But I am going to say we brought LOTS here. I brought 9 Nfu Oh polishes (48, 50, 124, 90, 29, 93, 68, 80 and 69) and some heart shaped diamantes. We had to visit this booth again at the end of the day so that Steph's mum could buy even more polishes here.

The ladies at this booth were really nice to talk to as well. They come from the New Zealand Nail Academy based in Tauranga.

They are also the suppliers of Sheekee nail wraps. These have some great patterns and everyone has been commenting on this one finger all yesterday at the expo and today at work.

This is how it looks after three days. It isn't lasting two well on my fingers, but they have had a lot of use of the last three days. They do however look super cool and apparently last a lot longer if you do a gel top coat over the top. These are stuck on the nail like a sticker, heated up and stretched over the nail and filed down to fit. It seems a relatively easy process, but I am not sure I would be able to do this myself to my right hand.

I also got one finger done with the new colours from the Entity Colour Couture Collection of Gel Soak Off Gel polishes.
This is a beautiful red glitter called "All made up" after 3 days of wear. This is just like other gel polishes, where the polishes is cured under a special light and dries immediately. They had some nice new colours coming out as well.

Next up was the Zoya booth. I have never seen such a big supply of Zoya polishes in such a small space before.

Zoya is only really sold in Salons in New Zealand (well at least Wellington anyway) so it was great to be able to actually see the polishes in person before buying them. They also had all the collections in sets here, which is such a bad temptation for my wallet. After the experience of the Nfu Oh booth I was thinking OMG I have to control my spending but it was soooo hard.

I picked up Mitzi and Phoebe from the summer 2011 Mod Matte collection, Mimi and Ivanka from the summer 2010 Sparkle collection and Apple from this years summer Sunshine collection.

Nothing was bought by any of us at the Creative (CND) booth. These polishes were still super expensive in New Zealand. I am sure their booth was great for those who own salons and are interested in Shellac, but we kind of just passed straight by it.

Nail Systems NZ Ltd are the suppliers of China Glaze in New Zealand. I was surprised to find out that China Glaze was in New Zealand, as I have never seen it here. Turns out it is available in some salons, but to be honest, once the lady in charge there found out we were just bloggers and didnt have a salon we were kind of brushed aside and ignored. They also did not have many polishes on sale here and really were only selling sets of the new collections. I would have loved to have been able to get some of the Island Escape polishes.

Young Nails is an acrylic and gel nail systems with glitter and colour powders.

This is the one finger I got done with the Young Nails system, and it seems like something I would get done again. It is a clear gel polish that stimulates healthy nail growth, followed by a black coat and then any combination, pattern or colour of glitter you can think of. This is super thick on the nails once it is complete, I think its about 5 layers and takes a while to do with curing under a special light. Some ladies were getting their whole hands done like this and they looked great. They were even doing it on toes. I am going to endeavor to find a place near me that does this.

Ok this is getting super long so I am going to stop here and continue tomorrow.

Lots of Love (and although it is not celebrated here - happy 4th of July for all my international followers)
Lisa

Update

2011-07-02T17:48:00.001+12:00

Hi all,

I am in Auckland this weekend at the New Zealand Beauty Expo.

It is totally awesome!

I can't wait to get home and tell you all about it.

Lots of Love

Lisa

Serena Glam Slam England

2011-06-26T19:31:00.005+12:00

I totally love that Serena Williams is wearing her own polishes at Wimbledon.

And I totally love the three polishes released for Wimbledon. I cant wait to get them. I love the idea of the glitter top coat instead of more shatter polishes.

Your Royal Shine-ness, Servin' Up Sparkle and Grape..Set...Match!

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: OPI Shatter Collection

2011-06-25T19:35:00.003+12:00

Farmers in New Zealand now has the OPI shatter collection in stock.

Black, White, Red, Blue, Turquoise and Navy Shatter

Although the Farmers I visited today only had Navy, Black and Silver left in stock. They have figured out that these are selling very well though and are stocking a lot of shatters on their shelves for sale.

If you are quick take advantage of Farmers buy 2 get 1 free while you can, because $28 each is a lot to pay for any nail polish.

I didn't get mine from Farmers but I do now own the Blue and Turquoise shatter. The Blue and Turquoise are such pretty colours in the bottles, that even as just regular polishes they would be super pretty shimmer colours. Swatches to come later.

Lots of Love
Lisa

A question for my NZ followers....

2011-06-23T09:43:00.004+12:00

If there was a website in New Zealand that sold Glitter Gal products, would you buy them??

I appreciate any feedback you have on this. Please leave a comment below.

Thanks

Lots of Love

Lisa

Orly Lift the Veil

2011-06-22T21:47:00.003+12:00

Orly Lift the Veil comes free with a new subscription of the New Zealand Bride and Groom magazine, for the current issue.

Orly Lift the Veil - White light

This is three coats. Its a light pink creme polish - it is very slightly darker than it appears in the photo above. I found this to be very thin. It is in no way a unique colour, as every brand has a range of light pinks to pick from.

I am not thinking of wearing a light pink on my nails when I get married. I haven't decided whether I go with the colour theme and have light teal colours on my nails or a nice shimmery white - it depends on what colour my dress is. Argh I don't know!!

Lots of Love
Lisa

Spotted in NZ: OPI Femme de Cirque

2011-06-20T22:12:00.003+12:00

The 2011 OPI softshades collection Femme de Cirque has been spotted in New Zealand. First found at a Life pharmacy, but I assume Farmers may get it in stock too.

There are three light pinks and a flakey/shimmery top coat called I juggle...Men. I have heard mixed reviews about this top coat polish. Some like it but a lot of people on Make Up Alley were not fond of the top coat.

I myself will not be getting any of these polishes. So no swatches sorry.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Best invention in the world??

2011-06-19T12:44:00.005+12:00

PiCture pOlish published this picture on their Facebook wall on Friday night

Yes you are seeing that right. It is a NAIL POLISH VENDING MACHINE!!!!!!!

It is situated in the Robina Town Centre in the Gold Coast Australia.

How awesome is that? It would be cool if we could find these all around the world. I know that I would use them. especially if they had cheaper polishes as you didnt have to pay for having them in a shop and paying for labour costs.

We have a flat inspection next week so I will get back to my cleaning now. And when I say cleaning I mean everything - even under the washing machine! By the way I hate cleaning - It is NOT good for your nails at all.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club I Always Get My Man-darin

2011-06-18T21:25:00.005+12:00

Mandarins are in season here at the moment and Chris eats about 10 a day. I hate how he leaves their skins around the place. I am not a huge fan of mandarins myself, because I am one of those people who has to pick all the stringy white pieces off each piece.

Color Club I Always Get My Man-darin - white light

It is a neon medium yellow-orange packed with green/blue shimmer. That in istelf is enough to make me love this polish, let alone adding in the fact that it smells like mandarins as well!!!

I have always said that Color Club's Electro Candy collection is one of my favourite all time collections, and this colour is an extension that would fit perfectly in with the rest of the collection.

It is on the thin side and quite sheer, but the swatch above is three coats and it is fine with that many.

Unfortunately I had a severe vertical break on my big finger so swatching is not going to happen this weekend. Sorry in advance if there is fewer posts until it grows back out :(

Lots of Love
Lisa

This polish was sent to me for review.

Some Essence Spam

2011-06-15T21:41:00.003+12:00

These are a couple of the Essence polishes Jill sent me from Europe.

These are all 2 coats. They are all reasonably thick and very pigmented. The bottles are little and cute, but harder to use because of their size. These are all 5mls.

Essence Underwater - white light

Darkish dusty blue. In the bottle you can see a light blue shimmer, but it doesnt really transfer on to the nail very well.

Essence Ultimate Pink - white light

This one is a medium pink creme.

Essence What Do U Think? - white light

This is a medium orange peach with a fine gold shimmer.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Yum Gum

2011-06-14T20:08:00.004+12:00

Yum Gum is from the 2010 Color Club Wicked Sweet collection. This collection is amazing!

Color Club Yum Gum - white light

Yum Gum is a light pink creme that once dried smells like pink bubblegum (the cheap stuff we used to get when we were kids from the shops for 5cents). This is three coats. It dried fast and well and the smell comes through straight away. I haven't tried these with a top coat yet, as I feel that the smell will go away and then the novelty will be gone. Not only does it smell yummy but it is a really cute pink colour.

These will be on sale in New Zealand at www.usanailsonline.co.nz on June 17. I cant wait to get the rest of this collection!

Lots of Love
Lisa

This polish was sent to me for review.

I am still alive

2011-06-12T15:55:00.001+12:00

Sorry for the week of no posts.

I have been so busy at work and tired at home I just haven't felt up to blogging lately.
My hands are also quite dry at the moment so once I am all moisturized and feeling energetic I promise more posts!

Hope you are having a great weekend.

Lots of Love
Lisa

Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver

2011-06-04T19:44:00.004+12:00

Now I am the first to admit that I can not stand Justin Beiber. I thought he was a girl the first time I heard his song. And I don't like the idea of companies making money of his gullible young fan base with nail polishes, dolls and perfumes.

Neither the less Tina sent me My Lifesaver as a bonus in our latest swap.

Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver - White Light

I do like this polish as a colour and I am getting used to the interestingly shaped Nicole brushes. this is three coats. Its a nice creme that glides on really well. Dry time is standard.

Color Club Si Vous Please! over Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver - White Light

This is a great layering combination. Si Vous Please! is the blue glitter top coat from the Pardon my French collection. It sparkles like a rainbow over the top of My Lifesaver. I like it much better this way.

Yay for long weekends! We get Monday of this week for Queens Birthday holiday!

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Starry Temptress (the top coat)

2011-06-02T20:38:00.002+12:00

This is the final polish from the Color Club Starry Temptress collection. It is the top coat called Starry Temptress.

Color Club Starry Temptress over black - white light

This is one thick coat of starry temptress over black. It is really pretty and does sparkle in the sun. It leans to the blue side, but does flash other colours such as purple, green and teal. I personally don't like to wear it over the top of the other polishes in the starry temptress collection, but I do like it over the top of dark creme polishes. It seems very similar to Color Club Si Vous Please! from the Pardon my French collection. I will endevour to do a comparison over the weekend (hopefully).

Lots of Love
Lisa

RIP Noodles

2011-06-01T20:19:00.002+12:00

Tonight my childhood cat got put down.

I was 10 when we got Noodles. (My sister was 8 and my brother was 5). He was named after Maggie 2minute noodles that we loved to eat as kids - this is what happens when you let your kids name your cat.

He spent his first day in our house hiding behind the fridge. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of him when he was younger - we didn't have digital cameras back then.

He didn't like it so much when I brought Keera (my cat) home with me when I was 17. He was 7 years old then and thought she was annoying. But they got along fine for the 3 years they lived together.

He loved to sit on our knees and purr and cuddle. He would growl at you if you moved him off you knee and got up. You used to feel guilty if you needed to visit the loo and he was asleep on your knee.

Here he is in my dads glasses.

My dad had a thing for doing stupid things with noodles - like wearing him as a hat - noodles put up with a lot of crap from my dad. Dad used to vacuum him with the vacuum cleaner and spin him around in the air.

He had been sick for the last two years. Many visits to the vet did not yield a diagnosis. He stopped cleaning himself and had to have baths. He lost a lot of weight and threw up all his food (especially at the end).

He still had lots of energy and this morning managed to catch a bird for mum and dad before they took him to the vet - he liked to do that - catch things present them dead to dad and then walk off - he wouldn't even eat them, just show us he could still do it.

Even though I didn't live at home for the last three years I still saw him all the time (mum and dad only live 15 minutes away). I'm crying as I write this. He was my childhood cat and it is sad but he was in pain and didn't deserve to suffer.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Lots of Love
Lisa

I Love Burlesque (the movie and the polishes)

2011-05-30T15:32:00.004+12:00

I've taken a sick day off work today and am sitting at home watching Burlesque (again).
I love it. Plus Cam Gigandet (who plays Jack) is super super hot! (even with eyeliner on)

Here is a recap of the Glitters from the 2010 OPI Holiday collection named Burlesque.

OPI Extra-va-vaganza!

OPI Bring on the Bling

OPI Simmer & Shimmer

OPI Glow Up Already!

OPI Sparkle-icious

OPI Show it and Glow it!

I will be back at work tomorrow as I have so much to do. :(

Lots of Love
Lisa

Color Club Age of Aquarius + Nfu Oh 55

2011-05-29T19:33:00.006+12:00

Unfortunately over the last 4 days I haven't been able to log into blogger. Very frustrating to say the least. Luckily Chris managed to fix it all and I am back online. :)

I have already posted about Age of Aquarius at the start of the year while I was wearing fake nails. You can find this post here.

Color Club Age of Aquarius - White Light

I found Nfu Oh 55 in my untrieds. I had completely forgotten I had even bought this one. I figured it would be a good match to wear over the top of Age of Aquarius.

Nfu Oh 55 over Color Club Age of Aquarius - White Light

Nfu Oh 55 over Color Club Age of Aquarius - Shade

Nfu Oh 55 is a medium teal green flakie polish that has little bits of glitter and bigger gold/rainbow coloured flakes through out.

I found this polish a lot thinner than the other Nfu Oh flakie polishes I have. The others have sort of a thick jelly texture but this was much much runnier. This was one coat. Because of the thinness of the polish not many of the bigger gold flakes ended up on the nail, a second coat could fix this.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Lots of Love
Lisa