SPARKLE: More Spolied Polishes

I am so pleased to be able to try Spoiled and Sinful Colors nail polishes FINALLY. Today I have swatches of another couple of the Spoiled ones I picked up. First up is Plenty of Fish in the Sea...

This shade is a gorgeous shimmery blue. I had no issues with application or chipping. This was 2 coats without a top coat. I just love this polish!

The next one is Distant Memory which is a beautiful green with a matte finish (which you can see on the bottle tip swatch). Given it was summer though I decided to do a layer of China Glaze's Snow Globe over the top. Me loves!

These polishes are so easy to apply and last really well. I wish I had picked up more when I was in the US, cos you know... I need more polish in my life!

Jacx

BLOG: No buy 2013.

Yes, yes, yes, sigh, no buy time is back. Dee (and here if you like perfume) and I have decided along with Jade and Amy to do a no buy. The original terms between Dee and I were to no buy until our birthdays which happen to both be in May.

For me I wanted to pause my purchases as the nail polish spending has been pretty constant since November last year. The real problem being that in October I purchased 80 odd polishes in the US (please don't judge, many were drugstore ones on my wish list for ages). Look either way this is an insane amount of polish to have - even for me - where polish is actually a hobby. I like the finishes, the colours, the bottles, the formulas....and I don't drink or smoke although I assume that sometimes life would be less stressful if I did ;) You know I seriously want to delete this whole paragraph as it annoys me when people try to justify their purchases but I wont delete it... I'll just say I am Jac, I am a polishaholic and I have the income to support it.

Anyway back to the point of this post for anyone who is still reading - "hey I am on a no buy, so are some of my buddies and you are welcome to join us if you want". Much like any diet, I am thinking support will be key to success. Eighteen days in and I am going ok - no thanks to Julie G releasing 27 new shades in her 2013 polish line or Zoya's new spring collection (bastards!!!).

I'll update how I am going from time to time and if you want to join in for a week, a month or a year then come along, the more the merrier.

Wish us luck!

Jacx

BUY: A rave for Julie G and the Jesse's Girl Cosmetics website.

While in the US I was smart/addicted/cashed up enough to pick up 4 Julie G nail polishes - which I love. However back home in Adelaide I had NFI how to acquire anymore. Enter in Jesse Girl Cosmetics who is the manufacturer the JulieG nail polish line. I was able to order the entire JulieG Holiday 2012 Nail Polish collection (5 polishes) for $14.95 USD plus $10 postage. That's pretty impressive in my opinion.

Cut to 10 working days later (or so) and my polishes arrive securely packaged in a box including an absolute tonne of mineral eyeshadow samples - seriously it was a wod of samples, I was so impressed (and then promptly gave them to Dee). I know that there may be a desire to write off a line created by a "YT Beauty Guru" but seriously I now have 11 polishes and there is not a dud in the bunch. I have a couple of colours that I think are unflattering on me but what doesn't work for me might look gorgeous on someone else. The formula, brush and bottles are just lovely for the $3.99 USD price tag.

Not only do they do bundles of the Holiday collection you can also purchase the 2012 and 2013 lines (27 polishes) for $82.00 which is $3USD per bottle. I have worn but not taken pics of most the shades I own, so I'll be sure to make an effort to do some NOTD or group swatch posts. In the meantime JulieG has videos showing live swatches of her 2012 and Holiday collections. It goes without saying I will be purchasing more of her polishes once my no buy lifts.

I have no hesitation in recommending the following colours I own (and have tried) or Jesse's Girl Cosmetics website based on my experience:

1. Butterflies and Rosebuds
2. Dance in the Dark
3. Julies Fav
4. Mermaid's Tale
5. Under Mistletoe
6. Gift Wrapped
7. Big Red Bow
8. Ornamental (looks awful on my skin)
9. Light it up (nice glitter, not my taste)

Have you tried any polishes in this line? Any colours I need to get? Anything that you have tried from Jesse's Girl that is worth a look once my no buy is over?


Jacx

P.S I have purchased all polishes with my own money - just in case anyone was wondering.

SPARKLE: KBShimmer's Showgirl

It was the beautiful Radha who got me looking at KBShimmer which I purchased from Harlow and Co. I recently made a purchase of 6 colours when they were restocked.

*side note: Indie polish = less to sell = more stalking = delayed gratification of purchases*

I was feeling a bit flat energy-wise after a full week at work (oh woe is me lol) and decided I needed something to spark me up. Enter KBShimmer's Showgirl polish which is described on Harlow and Co's site as:

"... this polish starts with a semi-sheer base of black. Deep enough to cover in two coats, but sheer enough that the glitters can show through. We then add medium sized rose glitter, a small fuchsia, pink holographic glitter, and square sliver glitter. Black holo glitter, black shred and black hex glitters complete this polish. "

When I swatched this shade I realised it was a little sheer for me to wear alone (I do hate that VNL) so I used one coat of Rimmel's 60 seconds polish in Black Out (I hate the brush on this polish) underneath. Then I did 2 coats of Showgirl followed by 1 coat of top coat. I love the effect and this polish applied like a dream.

KBShimmer polishes retail for $9 on Harlow and Co and that site offers free international shipping for purchases over $50 USD.

Have you tried any KBShimmer polishes?

Jacx

BLOG: Project Good Health 2013

As I have indicated on here a few times recently 2012 was a rock bottom year for me health-wise. Some of my health low lights of 2012 include Whooping Cough, a broken arm and Shingles. One of the commitments I made to myself was to concentrate on restoring my health in 2013 and I thought it was time for an update. I thought it might also be good to do an update here every few weeks or months to share what's been working for me.

Supplements
I have been taking 3 supplements daily and I definitely think they have been making a huge difference. Pictured above they are

1. Bioglan's Cal C Powder
2. Morningstar Minerals Immune Boost 77 mineral supplement
3. Source Naturals Wellness formula.

Bioglan is readily available in Australia (I got mine at Chemist Warehouse) while I ordered the other 2 online from iherb. I have hyperlinked the locations above.

Diet
To be honest my diet has been a bit up and down. Some days are better than others but I am trying to eat more fresh food to avoid binges/lack of energy. While I haven't lost any weight (I have PCOS so weight loss is difficult at the best of times) I am feeling better for eating better.

Energy levels
If I am completely honest my energy levels have also been a bit up and down. Some days I feel great and other days I feel like something the cat dragged in. What I am noticing though on days when I do feel good is how great it is to feel good again. I am sure it took a while to completely deplete my immune system so I have no doubt it will take a while to build it back up again.

Other strategies
Taking leave when I need it. I decided to take an additional 11 days of Long Service Leave in Jan this year to rest and recover from the Shingles (my rash came up the week before Christmas - which I renamed Shinglesmas as a result). Part of me wants to push to do more but I am really trying to pace myself - I am in this for the marathon not for the sprint.

Being kind to myself is another thing I am trying. Instead of telling myself what a loser I am for being sick and lacking energy, I am instead listening to the fact I need rest and taking it. I think so many people waste energy on their negative inner dialogue - I don't have any energy to waste yet so that can piss off.

Drinking water is another thing I notice that pretty much instantly makes me feel better. Unfortunately this is something I struggle with so I have an app on my phone called Water Tracker which will literally prompt me to drink several times a day. I also try to break my day up into thirds trying to get through at least 600ml in each session. I am pretty sure that if natural selection had been allowed to run its course I would have died out years ago. How can a human being struggle to drink water??? Sheesh.

Anyways this is just a quick update to share what has been working for me so far. I hope this post finds you all happy and healthy

Jacx

BUY: Emily de Molly Etsy store.

Once I started looking at indie polishes seriously, I started stalking browsing 2 sites in particular - Llarowe and Harlow and Co. Both of the sites ship internationally and feature different brands (with a little cross over). I highly recommend both sites by the way after my ordering experiences.

One of the brands carried by Llarowe that caught my attention was Emily de Molly. As I searched for swatches of her shades I stumbled across an interview with the creator of this brand on the More Nail Polish blog. Imagine my excitement realised this was a) an Aussie brand and b) I could order her polishes directly from her etsy store. 

I ordered 3 shades from her store (trust me I could have ordered a tonne more) and eagerly awaited my nail mail delivery. The 3 shades I ordered were Somber Party, Black Forest and Studded Jeans which totaled $36.30 including postage. These certainly aren't the cheapest shades but in Australia her polishes are still cheaper than Revlon, Essie and OPI if you go and buy them in the stores (crazy right???).

Black Forest

Somber Party

 

Studded Jeans

Black Forest is a little sheer for me so I would recommend putting it over a base of black creme. The other 2 were opaque in 2 coats. I'll be sure to feature these in some upcoming NOTDs but the swatches look exactly the same as the bottle shots above (except for Black Forest which seems to have a sheer black jelly base). The packaging, formula and brushes of these polishes are spot on. Given how quickly these polishes arrived, the quality of the packaging and the products I purchased I definitely have this brand on my radar now.

If you live outside of Australia you can also purchase her polishes on Llarowe as stated above. So pleased to be able to give an Aussie brand some love too.

Aussie Aussie Aussie.... Polish Polish Polish (?)

Jac x

SPARKLE: OPI Jade is the new black

I put off getting this polish for the longest time because of my dislike of OPI and how hyped this colour was. Ultimately I have come to have an appreciation for some OPI shades (any polish brand is bound to create some stunners) and after eyeballing this shade for 3 months I finally ordered it.

This colour is the most gorgeous shade of green. It has a beautiful shiny finish and was opaque in 2 coats. Unfortunately for me this chipped the next day which is something I experience only occasionally with brands. While I found the wear time to be disappointing I think it is fair to mention that this shade was released in OPI's 2010 Hong Kong collection. As with any brand formulas improve and I have not had this issue with any of the other OPI shades I have tried so far.

If you love creme finishes and green, it is hard to pass up this shade as it is simply stunning. Just don't expect it to last too long on your nails and you'll be BFFs.

Happy Saturday everyone

Jac x