Image Slider

Showing posts with label OPI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OPI. Show all posts

Of Nail Polish and Swatch Sticks - Nail Mail!

Over the past couple of months I have been buying quite a few nail polishes and related items online. It's like going through a phase where soemtimes you favour buying lipsticks, other times blush and other instances nail polish. Although most of the time it's all these things together, lately, the latter category tickled my fancy the most. Well let's face it, nail polish was my first love :) Here's what I got!

To start with, I bought a set of soak-off nail clips so that I can use these when I want to take off hard-to-remove nail polish or gel polish by soaking my nails in acetone. I have already used these a couple of times and I quite like them for they are easy to use and hold the cotton disc in place. I also got a new box for all my nail art brushes and tools and I'm happy to say this houses all my tools neatly. 


Moving on to actual nail polishes, I bought quite a handful, starting with Zoya Ibiza and Neve for I was looking for a nice metallic blue. I first got Ibiza and it turned out to be the perfect blue but then I saw swatches of Neve which has a hint of purple and looks like nothing in my collection so I went ahead and got that too.


I also got three shades out of the Essie Cashmere Matte Collection, namely, Coat Couture, Comfy in Cashmere and Just Stitched. I have already worn the first two and I'm in love with their finish! They lasted for around three days without chipping (remember they dry matte so I didn't top coat them) and I really like the iridescent sheen in them.


I have also acquired three Sinful Colors in the shades Shamrockin' (which of course I wore for St. Patrick's) as well as Flower Power and Petal Be The Day from their Spring collection. The formula with these is very nice to work with and the glitter is evenly distributed.


From OPI, I got the Fifty Shades Collection and the Sheer Tints both in the mini versions. I really like the mini bottles can't wait to use these polishes!


Lastly, I got myself 6 packets of swatch sticks and ring binders to re-organize my swatches. The thing is, I had my swatches on swatch wheels but whenever I got a new polish, I had to paint on the next available post on the wheel and to me it just didn't look right to have a light coloured polish in the middle of dark ones etc so I looked up alternative methods of organizing swatches and this appealed to me the most. So I went ahead and bought myself all the supplies and swatched all my collection in 4 days. I'm really happy with how this little project turned out so if you would like me to do a post on how I swatch and organize my polish collection, please do let me know!



OPI Muppets Most Wanted | Swatches and First Impressions

OPI have recently released a new collection in celebration of Disney's motion picture Muppets Most Wanted. The collection consists of 8 beautiful shades ranging from delicate nude hues to some serious glitter bombs. I bought myself three shades out of the collection, namely I Love Applause, Gaining Mole-Mentum and Muppets World Tour.


  • I Love Applause ~ a crème finish, sweet, sheer pink that is opaque in two to three coats. Personally it reminds me of pink marshmallows and is the perfect pink for spring time.
 
  • Gaining Mole-Mentum ~ yellow gold, rose gold and silver flakes in a transparent base mix to produce a unique topper polish to add a touch of sophistication to complimenting plain manicures. Another one-of-a-kind polish that I say everyone should own!

Gaining Mole-Mentum over I Love Applause
  • Muppets World Tour ~ a decadent mix of silver microglitter, opaque white and gold small hex glitter and larger blue, Italian pink and rose gold hex glitter that dries to a Liquid Sand textured finish.

Are you tempted to get any shades out of this collection?

November Collective Haul

I've been quite naughty this month and bought quite a lot of stuff, so let me start by showing you the clothing items I parted my cash with.
 
My father's cousin owns a little clothes shop at Xemxija and finally I had the chance to visit. I bought quite a lot of things actually and she gave me a discount (prices quoted are in full) and some free costume jewellery as well. Have a look at my purchases in the following pictures.
 
First up is this jacket, which costs €22. It is a very elegant piece and the colour is more green than in the pictures but for some reason my camera decided she favoured grey. I love the embellishment details on it and I think I will save this for my brother's graduation due in the beginning of December. Next is probably my favourite piece, this white dress with a black print that reminds me of those designs on Chinese ceramics from a long gone dynasty. It features and open back and fits me like a glove! I wore it to one of my best friends' lucky birthday bash and got a lot of compliments on it! It costs €21.

 


I have another two dresses to show you and these are more winter friendly. I love both of these for their simplicity because I can wear them in various ways. They cost €22 and €16 respectively.



The last items I got were this pair of shoes which I got for everyday and costs just €8 as well as this gold curb chain which I cannot get enough of and these two pearl bracelets, all which were given to me for free.
 
 
 
I have some purchases from the newly opened Mango shop in Paola but I will share those with you in December's haul post as I am saving the outfits for our village festa and my brother's graduation. I also scored two bargain finds from Debenhams from the sale bin. I don't usually shop at Debenhms because I think their clothes are aimed for a more mature audience but the last time I was there with my Mum and aunt, I managed to find this pair of jeans for €12.42 instead of €46 and this wristlet for €5.94 instead of €22.
 

 
Moving on to beauty purchases, I have some essentials up first, namely, Lycia facial wipes and Nivea Eye Make-up Remover. These cost €1.85 for each pack of wipes and €3.52 for the make up remover. I have also been to a warehouse sale in Attard and while I didn't find any clothing items that suit my taste or style, I found some beauty accessories at just €1 so I got two boxes of q-tips - very handy for make up removal and application and two packs of facial sponges which I use all the time to take off face masks. Total of purchase, just €4! Apart from these items, I bought a lot of cosmetics this month which you can check out in my makeup haul post here.


After seeing a lot of swatches of the new Mariah Carey for O.P.I. Holiday 2013 collection, I caved in and bought two polishes from the collection. I got the shades Wonderous Star and Ski Slope Sweetie. I paid €5.81 and €6.64 respectively and got them from a US Ebay seller. If anyone would like to see swatches are more photos of them, just let me know :)


I also bought this snow-flake effect polish from the flee market for just €2. I love the combination of glitter in this one and I will feature this polish in a Christmas themed manicure during the coming days. The last polish for this month is Zoya Payton from their holiday collection, Zenith. It is a beautiful cranberry shade with holographic glitter. I can't wait to wear this! It cost €12.52 from a US Ebay seller, including shipping.
 
 

Lastly, I gave in to try a Milani Baked Blush and bought my first from Ebay for €10.59. I got the shade 03 Berry Amore and I can say I love the colour but I am not a big fan of the packaging as it does feel a little flimsy. I will do a full review in due course so stay tuned for that too :)
 
 

That is all for November girls! Gotta save up for Christmas gifts!

Products I Absolutely Love But Are Afraid Of Hitting Pan On

Good afternoon everyone :) Finally I have some free time on my hands and I will put it to good use...catch up with blog posts!
 
As you can tell by the title, this post will be all about products which I don't want to use up just because I like them so much! In fact, I tend to be very careful how much I use whenever I reach for these products! 
 
All the products I am going to show you are either limited editions, discontinued or very hard to find, and I also have products from brands which are not available in Malta or they are too expensive to buy.
 
Fitting the latter two categories are products I get from Meg's Makeup and I am going to start with those. I have mentioned this website in some of my previous posts and while I do not redeem points every month (I like to wait till I accumulate 250 points since you have to pay $15 for shipping), I really like the whole idea of it. By paying only for shipping, I usually receive 4 full-sized products from high-end brands which would add up to much more than just $15. Plus, I get to try different brands as well! The only downside is that sometimes, the packages take long to arrive but to make up for the last such occurrence, Meg sent me and others whose packages also took long to arrive, an additional 3 products in a separate package which was so lovely of her and a pleasant surprise for me!
 
Enough rambling and let's get going with the products! So first up, I have Napoleon Perdis Ultimate Contour Kit. I have featured this palette countless times in my monthly favourites. Besides the packaging, the reason I love this kit so much is the matte bronzer. It is not too dark and not shimmery so it is perfect for day and night use for the most natural sun-kissed glow and it blends with my pale skin nicely. All three components have a silky texture and are easily blendable/buildable.
 
 
Also from Meg's Makeup, I have the RevitaLash Volumising Primer. I just can't get over how full my lashes look when I apply this before mascara! Being navy blue in colour also makes it excellent to use under a blue mascara to intensify the shade as well as being easier to cover up than a white primer.
 
 
Moving on, I have Liptini Lip Liquor in Pink Lady, which, come this time of year, is a staple product. I have a dupe for it in my collection but this one is more buildable and lasts longer plus it takes less time to dry...oh and I love the name!
 
Keeping with the lip products theme, I have this Maybelline WaterShine Lipstick in 02 Beige Glace. If you have been following me for a while you know that I had run out of this lipstick way back when it was called Cocoa Shake and I couldn't find a back up anywhere. After doing some research, I learnt that they changed the name and packaging so I started the search again, and I was lucky to find the last one available at my local supermarket! This was actually my first lipstick and I love how natural the colour looks!
 
 
Next up is this XXXL Shine Lipgloss by Essence in the shade 020 Wood Of Roses. I remember eyeing the product up during a bloggers' event and I got hold of it as soon as I could! It is a beautiful, shimmery plum shade that is pigmented enough to be worn alone or layered with lipstick. Sadly this has been discontinued so I am being really careful with it.
 
More from Essence. I have 4 limited edition products from this budget friendly brand and I am kind of gutted that they never thought of including any of them in their permanent line at least for now and as far as I know. The first three products belong to the Marble Mania Trend Edition and they are namely. the blush 01 Swirlpool and two eyeshadows 01 Seriously Mixed Up and 03 Swirl It Baby! All three have excellent pigmentation and staying power and I just love the look of them. The other product is from the more recent Guerilla Gardening  Trend Edition and it is the eyebrow mascara in the shade 01 Garden Girls. I like how this mascara makes my brows appear fuller instantly and being a tad lighter in colour, it doesn't look too harsh.
 
 
From Essence's sister brand Catrice, I have this Long Lasting Eye Liner Pen in the shade 070 Puddle Of Mudd. Sadly, this too is discontinued and I cannot see why. It lasts all day without budging and is probably the best brown eyeliner I have ever tried.

 
The last eye product I have is from Maybelline and it is this EyeStudio quad in 400 Olive Martini. This was actually a limited edition designed for some Fashion Week and it is quite hard to find. I managed to find a genuine, not overpriced, unopened one from a French Ebay seller last year and I covet the little palette to date! Two of the shades are quite unique and I have never seen anything like them before.
 
Moving on to the last category of products, nail polishes, I have yet another hard to find product from Maybelline. It is none other than Wet Shine Diamonds Into The Sunset. It is the most beautiful shimmery coral I have ever seen and it is my go-to summer shade. Pity I cannot find a back up for it.

 
Next are two polishes from Essence, both of which are totally cool for this time of year. I have Irreplaceable from their old line (which ironically has been discontinued in their new line) and True Love from the Vampire's Love Trend Edition. They are both shimmery shades and I always get a lot of compliments when I wear them.

The last product I want to talk about is my most expensive polish and it is from the O.P.I. Skyfall Collection in celebration of 50 years of James Bond. The shade is The Man With The Golden Gun and it is and 18K gold top coat. It adds a sophisticated edged to any manicure and it is one of my most treasured polishes.


So that's it for this post ladies! Am I the only one with this 'fear'? No? Let me know which products you are most afraid of running out of :) 

Nail Polish Collection | O.P.I., Zoya, Essie & Orly

Next up in my nail polish collection are O.P.I., Zoya, Essie and Orly. I have grouped these brands because I do not have a lot of polishes from any of them. Out of all these, O.P.I. is my favourite brand. I really like their formulas and the creative names they always come up with! I tend to go for their glitter mostly because of their unusually unique combination. I would like to experiment more with the other brands though especially Orly since I use their Gel FX on my clients. Here goes!

 
 

Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It (Vintage Minnie Mouse Limited Edition - Summer 2012) - iridescent pink, purple and gold glitter and light pink heart confetti suspended in a light pink jelly base
Minnie Style (Couture de Minnie Limited Edition - Summer 2013) - pink, white, red small hex glitter and white square confetti in a transparent base
Lights Of Emerald City (Oz The Great and Powerful - Spring 2013) - opaque white squares and smaller iridescent square confetti in a clear base
What Wizardry Is This? (Oz The Great and Powerful - Spring 2013) - dark brown with greenish-gold reflects. Dries to a matte finish and features O.P.I's ground breaking textured finish
When Monkeys Fly (Oz The Great and Powerful - Spring 2013) - large gold hex confetti mixed with different sized holographic hex glitters in a clear base
The World Is Not Enough (Skyfall 007 | The Dangerous Shades - 2012) - pewter with pink, blue and silver shimmer and a touch of bronze
Skyfall (Skyfall 007 | The Seductive Shades - 2012) - luxurious burgundy crème with maroon undertones
 
 
 
The Man With The Golden Gun (Skyfall 007 - 2012) - luxurious 18K gold leaf pieces in a clear base.
 

 
 
 
Lara - bright pink crème
Neely - pastel mint crème
 

 
 
 
Vanity Fairest - sheer nude pink with tiny silver shimmer
Licorice - black crème
Stylenomics - dark green crème
Very Structured - dark tan crème
In Stitches - dark old rose crème
Shine Of The Times - iridescent flakes in a clear base
 
 


 
Dazzle - silver foil


From Orly, I also have my two favourite base coats of all time, namely Nailtrition and Bonder which help strengthen my nails and polish to adhere better respectively.

Which is your favourite brand/shade out of the ones in this post?

*Update*

Here are two O.P.I. polishes that I have received after posting this collection instalment:

 
 
Alcatraz...Rocks (San Francisco - Fall 2013) - navy blue with multi coloured shimmer. Dries to a matte finish and features O.P.I.'s ground breaking textured finish
Which Is Witch? (Oz The Great and Powerful - Spring 2013) - holographic silver large hex and bar glitter