Finally! Ulta3 Nail Polish in Adelaide

Ever since I saw some gorgeous NOTDs on Lovely Gangster's blog using Ulta3 Nail Polish I have been searching random locations in Adelaide trying to buy some of my own and today I hit jackpot at Chemistworks Ingle Farm.

Ulta3 polishes come in a great range of colours and seem to be stocked at random chemists across the country. The bin I found today had a reasonable selection of colours (including glitters, top coats and the very trendy cocoa bean colour) and all for the low price of $2. I picked up 6 to try out - yes I know I have a problem - I purchased Sweet Violet, Waterlily, Elegant Mauve, Earth, Envy and Jelly Bean.

Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary so we are heading off in a couple of hours to stay somewhere nice but when I get back home I'll be sure to do some tip swatches at least :)

EDIT: Can I also recommend looking at More Nail Polish as well. There are just heaps of Ulta3 swatches there.

Have a great weekend everyone!

NOTD: China Glaze Yee-Haw!

I couldn't leave my last NOTD up there any longer. Truly it made me so sad as Color Club is one of my favourite nail brands. In any case I had another pretty one up my sleeve and a happier story as well.

Meet Yee-Haw! from China Glaze's Rodeo Diva Collection - and may I add this was a rippa of a collection as well. Yee-Haw! is a gorgeous metallic golden colour. I have seen this one described as 'peachy' but I don't get the pink although clearly this is not a straight metallic gold either.  I have included another photo to show the colour better -

 This is 2 coats, no top coat and in natural sunlight. This colour applies beautifully, lasts for days and dries quickly. I absolutely love the finish and cannot wait to have this on my nails again.

NOTD: Eyeko Lilac Nail Polish

Let me introduce you to Eyeko's Lilac Nail Polish. I got this polish as part of the Cult Classics collection... if you want to learn more about collection that check out this post

Now because I took this so late in the day the only place in the sun was in the backyard in front of our offensively yellow painted brick wall... previous owners please don't blame us...so this colour has been washed out a little... think slightly amped up but still the same shade.

This pic was taken after 2 coats without any top coat.How gorgeous does it look!

I am currently looking also getting more of these in the colours rain, coral and posh (although those kinds of shades usually do nothing for my skin tone).
If you are interested in Eyeko... get yours from here

Edit: This polish lasted 5 days, with no top coat and I only have minor chipping on the edge of my nails. I am so impressed!

Eyeko Nail Polish - The Cult Classics and Vampira.

This week has been a bit up and down for me. Great because I got the job I worked hard to get (Go Team!), good because all my parcels came this week (oh except for my Essie order... next week hopefully) and then bad because I am stuck finishing a project that will never end and I am feeling my energy to get it done just drain away.

NOTD: Color Club's Pucci-licious

I heart this polish. 

I discovered Color Club after pouring over swatches on Scrangie - my favourite nail polish blog. Before that I was sold on China Glaze. I find her reviews extremely honest and her pictures of colours very accurate so when she gave a rave to CC I decided to give them a go.

As for Pucci-licious this was released in CC's Poptastic Collection. I found it difficult to find swatches of this entire collection but decided to give it a go based on colour and name. And I love this formula it is perfect....it's easy enough to maneuver around around the nail without being runny, it's very forgiving and I think everyone should start with CC the first time they paint their nails.

This isn't quite a neon but it is a fierce purple all the same. This is a creme - not an ounce of shimmer here and it is soooooo not required to make this a hot colour. It is a blue based purple that I think is very flattering in tone and lasted without chipping despite me spending an afternoon assembling IKEA bookcases. This colour was opaque in 1 coat but this pic above is after two coats without any topcoat.

This company is pretty much a 10/10 for me. I get mine from here

A little polish haul

From left to right: Color club polishes in Pucci-licious, Tru Passion, 

Peppermint Twist, Untamed Luxury and essie Turquoise & Caicos

Recently I mentioned that I had a little nail polish haul and here it is. I wanted to try some brighter and lighter coloured polishes now that the weather is getting warmer again. Sorry for the dark pic above, I only recently found the right settings for my camera to take such close up shots. I'll post NOTD pics as I get around to using them.

Here is my NOTD in essie's Turquoise & Caicos

NOTD: Essie Turquoise & Caicos

 

So yesterday it was sunny (as you can see) and my poor old CG polish had lasted a week so I went from Blue Island Iced Tea to my first (and only) Essie shade Turquoise & Caicos. 

This is truly an odd shade... I purchased it because all the swatches showed it was a blue-green... and I guess compared to something like the grass in the background... but honestly it's not. I spent the first couple of hours trying to work out if I actually liked it or not. I think I do... it's certainly unique.

In the past I have been put off Essie by stories of good and bad essie... and the price. I'll be honest if I can get a $2.99US bottle of china Glaze or a $2.75US bottle of color Club why would I pay $8US for Essie... well look at the colour. I had to try it right?

For reference this is 3 coats, and is still not 100% opaque. This quality and finish on the nail polish is absolutely fine... I wouldn't want it to be the first nail polish I've ever used but it was very workable. The brush was fine... no issues with me... but I did find the drying time a little longer than CG or CC.

I am undecided on this one.. let's see how resistant it is to chipping (I have a top coat on now as well).

BTW... I just ordered a set from Eyeko which has been on my mind for a while so when they come in I'll share..and I just had a small haul of Color Club which I will share pics of soon (this polish was part of that haul so don't get too excited lol).

NOTD: China Glaze Blue Island Iced Tea

 This shade was  released with Bahama Blues Collection. For me this is the perfect blue - not too dark but not so light as to make it unflattering and with subtle sparkle to finish it off. This is with 3 coats and a top coat.

Unfortunately when I took took this shot it was light but not sunny so you'll have to take my word on the sparkle. I would also say this is not the easiest shade to apply as it is a little runny but it dries quickly to a smooth finish (and given the colour) all is forgiven.

Love it! I got mine for $2.99USD here.

NOTD: Color Club Wild At Heart

I know this is a blog but sometimes a picture speaks a thousand words....

Purple holographic nail polish. It's smooth to the touch and dries quickly. If you're in a rush this is opaque in 1 coat... Bliss!

Nail Polish and a Sunny Afternoon

Today is one of those gorgeous days after the long winter where you actually get excited that summer is coming. Presently my backyard is full of lillies (yet to die off in the heat of summer) ...

What I love most about these flowers is that we haven't planted one... and every year they come up with more and more beautiful flowers. One of my cats has even been tempted outside for an inquisitive look around...

Meet Madison... she's as gorgeous as she looks... but I am biased of course. Anyway... none of this has to do with makeup so I'd best be onto that now... Sex on the beach...the china glaze colour (of course) is a gorgeous shimmering peach colour. (Inserting bottle shot now...)

This is clearly an earlier effort for China Glaze but I love the summery feel to it. It's pink, it's peach, it's gold and I assume universally flattering as a result. It's a colour you wear when you care what's on your nails but not if anyone else does. Despite it's lame (in my opinion) name it's a winner. A subtle winner... for the less adventurous of us out there. Here's a pic on my skin tone below...

I removed the background as I had ugly garden hoses in it. Forgive me if the image is not up to scratch.