Essence Snow White Collection Swatches and review.

so Essence brought out in Target this month a Fantastic range of polishes called Snow White and the seven dwarfs...after the movie.
When i saw that these polishes were coming out i just HAD to have them!
I have always been a sucker for Essence polish as 99% of the time their polish i a "one coater"and i love that about their products.

So as soon as i knew the release date i went to my local target and brought thee whole set,along with the decals.

Unfortunately i got a dud set of decals but the fantastic people at Essence were happy to swap it for another set that were fine. there things happen from time to time but as long as i get good service...which i did ! i am a happy bunny!!!

So where do i start??? as you can probably gather there are 7 "dwarf"polishes, snow white, and then several glitter toppers, which included-evil queen, the huntsman and prince charming.

so i think i will start with the dwarfs..........

First up is Bashful.

Bashful is a really nice green with a fine gold fleck through it. I was quite happy with the formula but it did take 3 coats to get the above look. i also used 1 coat of Seche vite as a top coat.


Next is Doc......

Doc is a bright orange creme. with 2 coats this polish was opaque and i have nothing like it in my collection so i was really pleased with this polish. I also used SV as a top coat.


The third polish is  called Dopey.

I love the colour but i was not a fan of the formula. i love how the polish has the small silver flecks through it but after 3 coats of this polish i was struggling to get it opaque and i did not want to go to a fourth coat as it would have never dried. I think in future i am going to put a base coat of white on so i only need 1 or 2 coats,cause i just love this colour SO much i am willing to forgive it for the formula.

The next polish is called Grumpy.

I have to say this was my Favourite of all the polishes in the collection....Yes EVEN the glitters. you know why? because this polish has pretty much filled my wish for a polish called Baker Street by Nails inc.
Yep you heard right! this little polish of Awesomeness is nearly a dupe for that very expensive and elusive polish called Baker street. I Was so happy!!!!! I really wish i could get another bottle of Grumpy but the target i went to only had one bottle left. so i will be wearing it sparingly.
I am wearing 2 coats with a top coat of SV. i would have liked to wear 3 coats to make it fully opaque but i just did not want to waste it :) I am certainly in love with this polish.

The next polish is called Happy.......
 

This really says Happy! 2 coats of Happy with a top coat of SV. i have every yellow that essence has made and this polish is totally unique to their collections that i have. the formula was a little thick but nothing a few drops of polish thinner would not fix. this is defiantly a keeper.

The second last dwarf is called Sleepy.
 

This polish is another pretty colour it is a pale blue with a almost purple shimmer in certain lights and in some lights a blue/aqua shimmer. very hard to catch on the camera.
Though i love the colour the formula was a little watery for my liking. it took 3 coats to get the above pics but i think i could have done with a fourth. i also used SV as a top coat.
Again like Dopey i think in future i will pop over a white base.

And the Last Dwarf is Sneezy.

 I have never been a much of a brown polish person but this was a really nice warm colour. the fine fleck in the polish made it have a bit of character,and not look dull and boring. i used 2 coats to get the above look with SV as a top coat.


OK so now for the Glitters........

 First up is Evil Queen.

I Dabbed on the glitter with this polish as it was really hard to get the hexes to go where i wanted them. i actually ended pouring a bit of polish onto an old bit of plastic and fished out the hexes. then moved them about on my nail. i would have liked a more even spread of the hexes but i had a 2 year old on my arm at the time so it was hard to get them even!
There was no curling or bleeding of this glitter so i was happy about that! a really pretty polish!

Next up is The Huntsman.

Personally i am not a huge fan of gold and copper glitter but there is a gap in the market at the moment for this colour combo and it was great to see that Essence filled it! The combo of the different size hexes and then shredded glitter made a good coverage on the nail and the above result was after only 1 coat!  I did love how it looked over happy! but i think i would like to give it a go over a black polish next.

The last glitter is prince charming.

For some bizarre reason this polish was really hard to photograph! i must of taken over 20 shots and could not, for the life of me get a good shot of this polish. my camera just did not want to play ball!
But anyways, prince charming is a really pretty blue hex with small holo glitter mixed in. the blue hex, which is a bright aqua blue is perfect! THe polish even reminds me a little of a glass slipper more than prince charming but i still loved this a lot! I have used 1 caot above over grumpy.

So lastly...... the final polish...... Snow White.....

If you like reds, you will love this. i got good coverage with this polish, the formula was great and i did the above man in only 2 coats plus a top coat of SV.
Another happy finding that this polish is a very close dupe of a Essie winter 2012 polish, called snap happy. they are almost dupe on the nail.  a great alternative to a expensive bottle of polish!


Now finally i have used a few of the decals on my manis. I tried several of them and they went on with no problems. in the pics i did not put a top coat on as i was changing my mani for swatching but under normal wear i would pop a top coat over the top to protect them.
i was quite impressed as my 2 year old kept going on saying "apple! Apple"so i popped several of the apples on her thumb nails and put some top coat over them. they lasted a whole day! which is good when you are talking about a little one.

So there you have it! the Snow white collection. i think my top pics are Grumpy, and Doc. both are such great colours and i just want to wear them all the time!!!

These polishes can be found in Target and range from $3.25 to $3.95 depending what polish you purchase.

Tara :)
 

Look what i got for xmas!!!!

So this is a quick post cause i am so excited!!!! my brother got my my biggest lemming of the year!
OPI the man with the golden gun! it is SO pretty!!!
here is a quick swatch.

I put it over OPI tomorrow never dies.
 i have 3 coats of tomorrow never dies and then 2 ocats of TMWTGG. the first coat wen on kinda sparce but the second coat made up for it. and note ...you REALLY need to shake the bottle well to get the gold on your nail. and another tip is if you wipe the brush on the neck of the bottle the polish seems to go back in but leave a a fair bit of gold on the inside of the bottle neck. i then just dabbed the brush in to get more flecks.

I also got the living daylights for xmas from my hubby, and i just brought moonraker and on her majestys secret service. so i will swatch soon to add the the review.

Tara :)

Essie christmas collection 2012 swatches and review.

Hello everyone! only a few more days till xmas., i cannot believe i have not done 1 single xmas mani yet! i have been crazy busy and just not had the time! plus i am waiting for my stamping plates from born pretty and 3 weeks later and still no plates :(

anyways, i purchased several of the Essie winter collection this year as the colours are just SO nice! i do not own many Essie polishes, but when i saw butler please i knew i had to purchase them!
so here we go.........

first up is....... Beyond Cozy.

 What can i say...... OMG! this polish is awesome! it is a really densely packed platinum coloured glitter. it was almost opaque with one coat, but i used 2 coats with no top coat. I reckon with a coat of seche vite and it will look even better! I only brought a mini bottle of this but i think i will buy a full size cause i just love it!


Next up is..........

I was a little disappointed with this polish as i saw a bunch of swatches and i really thought it would look better on the nail. I was expecting more glitter in the red jelly but weather it was because i had a mini bottle or maybe a dud one, you can see the glitter is not that densely packed. Don't get me wrong it is such a great colour, but i am glad i only got a mini. i tihnk i will stick to China Glaze Ruby pumps for my red jelly glitter.
This was 2 coats with no top coat.

The third polish is....Snap Happy......

Snap Happy is a lovely red creme. I think Essie has a great Red creme in every collection they do! I think more than anything i was a sucker for the name. I am not a Red polish person, but i quite like this polish. it went on great and this was 2 coats with no top coat, and look at the shine!!! Out of all the ones i brought this was the one that my daughter Poppy ,who is 2, likes the best! as soon as she saw it shew was shouting "Nails! Nails!" so she was sporting snap happy for 2 days on her nails!If you are looking for a similar colour a little cheaper, try Essence Snow White. i forgot to do a swatch comparison but they are quite similar.

Ok..Next up.... is Where's my Chauffeur?

Can i just say first up  that i Adore this colour. between this and butler please, they were my lemmings from the collection. But unfortunately i did not like the consistency of this polish :(
I was gutted when i put it on. the formula was suppose to be a creme but it was really watery and it took 4 coats to get opaque look and no nail line. these are without top coat. as you can see in the pics it is still not 100% opaque. i really want to wear this again and again cause of the colour but the formula is really stopping me. again? a dud bottle? this was in the mini set also and maybe the travel from USA to australia affected the polish? who knows... but if it was not for the great colour this polish would be on my do not buy list!

So last up........

So, butler please. This was the reason i even looked at the essies from the winter collection. I have had a lemming for Nails Inc baker street and it is almost impossible to get it in australia. so when Butler please came out i was like "I HAVE TO HAVE THIS!!!"
And it did not disappoint. I have used 2 coats with not top coat. the KAPOW! blue with this polish is great and confused my camera a little!!!

I think i am going to wear this polish a lot of times!!! and it had really helped me with my desire for nails inc baker street!!!

so verdict???

Beyond cozy,snap happy and butler please are my fav picks!
 I do love the colour of wheres my chauffeur? but the watery formula really turned me off, so my search for the prefect aqua/green colour.. and leading lady? well i love this colour but i thought there would be more glitter in the bottle.

What you you think???

Tara :)

OPI Black spotted Swatch and review....

Ok.... So after a huge delay in our group buy that we did in July...YES! July!! we finally got our black spotted polish last month. a HUGE thanks goes out to kelly for sorting this out for us all at Aussie Nails and the patience she had with the sagas involved getting these polishes!

So OPI black spotted. There a few things you need to know with this polish.... Firstly it is AWESOME! i love the finished look. but there are a few issues with the polish.
First up is you HAVE to put the black spotted over COMPLETELY dry nails. if you do not do this black spotted ends up as black crackle. i do not know why?? but it does. secondly is that you have to use the smallest amount of polish on your brush and you cannot really go over your nail to fix it up. once its on its on. remember both these things and your nails will look awesome.
so here are the swatches. i put my spotted over color club metamorphis.

 *on a side bar..... make sure you use a LOT of base coats if you are using metamorphis. the blue polish managed to stain all through my gel nails and actually my nails as well!!! never again will i wear that colour :( *

how great is that polish!!!!

i used 2 coats of the colour club as a base and 1 thin coat of black spotted. then 1 coat of seche vite on top.

Tara :)

W7 Mosaic swatch

Hey there,
Today i have W7 Mosaic for you to see.
A purchased this in a group sale from the UK along with Lava flow.

I muse say i liked mosaic in the bottle more than on the nail. don't get me wrong it is really pretty but it just seemed better in the bottle :(. i think this may end up in my next blog sale.......

anyways here is the swatch.

This swatch is of 2 coats over my gelicious clear nails. i do not have any top coat on. this was not as rough as lava flow with 2 coats but after finishing off my nails i did need 2 ocats of seche vite to get rid of the roughness totally.

Tara :)

W7 Lava Flow swatch

Hello there everyone!,
I was lucky enough to get in a group buy of some great W7 polishes from the UK a few weeks back! I managed to get my mitts on a bottle of W7 Lava Flow and Mosaic!
i have for you today W7 Lava Flow.

(excuse the nubbins..... my nails got stained by the OPI live and let die polish i swatched the other day and it was driving me nuts!!!)

This was 2 coats over my gelicious clear nails. i did not put a top coat on as i wanted to share with you the roughness of the glitter with out it. the glitter was a little hungry and it did end up taking 2 coats of Seche vite to make them smooth to out with.

Tomorrow i will share with you the other W7 polish.

tara :)

20% OFF SALE OVER AT LOKI'S LACQUER

Hello everyone,
christmas is a coming and its time to have a little sale!
Loki and osiris are all ready for xmas........

and they want YOU to make sure you can paint your nails over the silly season.
so by using the code - SANTACLAWS you can buy all the Loki's Lacquer you need! this includes the -
Happy Holiday 2012 collection......

and the LIMITED EDITION Monster high collection.........

As well as Halloween polish and any other polish that tickles your fancy!

so don't forget this offer is only available till the 24thdecember 2012

Tara :)

OPI Skyfall mini bondette collection swatch and review

Who doesn't like James bond and well Daniel Craig!..... :p
And when OPI announced that they were creating a 007 collection of polish i thought "yeah!" cause i knew that because i had a hubby that also loved bond..and totally for different reasons i do LOL!! i could con him into buying a bunch of them for me, without the constant nagging of..."don't you have enough polish?"

Last weekend i was a very lucky lady cause Myer got OPI in and my hubby brought me the bondettes home with him!

and here they are for me to review!

First up is Goldeneye-

I loved this polish in the bottle! it is just so pretty. but i got ever so frustrated with the polish when i put it on. I definitely think i needed some kind of undies with this polish. after 3 coats as you can see above it still was not perfect. maybe i am impatient but i like a polish to give me full coverage in 2 coats. i did not use any top coat for these cause i wanted you to see  what it looks like by itself. I have to say tho it is an awesome gold! but i just wish it was not so patchy :(

Next up is the spy who loved me -

Of the reds this is not my favorite. i would have likes to get die another day rather than this one but even so it was a really nice red this is 2 coats. the first coat went on a little streaky but the second fixed it right up.
my nails are really shiny due to me trying out essie dry oil  which i mush say worked really well apart from the shininess i got!

next up is The world is not enough-

This polish was another one i was really excited about when i saw the promos for it. again though it was quite sparse and after 3 coats i felt i could still see a bit of my nail line :(  I will make sure i wear undies next time i wear this.  the colour does not translate from the bottle to the nail but i still love this colour!

Last up is live and let die-

This polish was the one that surprised me the most. I was not expecting i would love it so much!
but i am seriously thinking about getting a full size bottle of this polish! It is an awesome British racing green with fine gold flecks through it. and it is a 1 coater! the swatches about are only 1 coat and no top coat!
This one was the winner for me out of the mini set!
Well i hope you  like the swatches and go to your local myer and pick a few up!

Tara :)

Different dimension- light it up blue,swatch an review

hello there! today i have a very special polish from Different Dimension on Etsy.
When i first saw this polish i just knew i had to have it. The Polish is called Light it up Blue! and it was made for Autism Awareness. Plus $2.00 of this polish goes to Autism speaks in america.
Having an Autistic daughter myself there was no question i would but this. and when i got it in the post this week i could not wait to get it on my nails!

I popped it over 2 coats of Chinaglaze kaleidoscope him out,which in the sun looks awesome casue the holographic goodness comes through the fairly sheer glitter polish.
I amalso wearing 2 coats of light it up blue and 1 coat of seche vite. though i maybe could have done with 2 coats as this polish was quite top coat hungry.
The coverage was quite good and i only had to fish for a few white hexes so n real dabbing was required.
Now....do you want to see the best bit about the polish?????

YEP! it glows in the dark BLUE!!!!! and it stays glowing for quite some time.
I just love this polish and the fact it has a history to do with Autism awareness.

I think one of the funniest things about receiving it though was after i opened the package and showed my ASD daughter Zoe she got mega excited and ran around the house shouting "this polish is all about me!!!" Zoe has not put the polish on yet cause she is sporting gel nails at the moment but i am sure it will go on for the school disco on thursday!!

Do not forget to pick up your bottle over at Different Dimension they have a great range of polish and do ship world wide!

Tara :)