Quickie Files: OPI Christmas Sets!

I popped into David Jones Queens Plaza (Brisbane CBD) yesterday and I noticed some new OPI Christmas sets - there are actually heaps, but here are the ones that caught my eye (and in one case, my money!)...

BYS Sugar for Nails

BYS have had a few different nail sets out - velvet nails, caviar nails - and I've managed to resist, but when I saw the Sugar for Nails set I caved. I thought they looked cute, like jelly crystals or geodes! So how are they in real life?

 

  

NOTD: Love Thy Polish, Zombie Brains (LE)

Zombie Brains by Love Thy Polish is a lovely limited edition Halloween polish that steers away from orange, swamp green and black, and manages to be super pretty while still looking very much like its name!

NOTD: Rainbow Honey: The Power of Love

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have suddenly gone all girly and everything is pastels, glitter, unicorns and rainbows. This polish should, therefore, come as no surprise, because it doesn't get much cuter than Rainbow Honey's "The Power of Love" - it's like someone stuck a bunch of Care Bears in a blender :)

The creamy, musk lolly pink base is home to an astonishing array of glitter of varying sizes, including fine gold sparkles, mixed sizes of red, pink, blue, purple and holo silver sequins, large silver holo hex pieces and silver holo hearts. Two thin coats is plenty, I had no trouble with glitter placement, and the drying time was very fast. It dries smooth, with a glossy finish, obviously there are still some little bumps due to the glitter particles, but they lay flat and don't feel rough or catch on clothes like some glitters can. The Power of Love is limited edition, but Rainbow Honey have plenty of gorgeous polishes, they are available in Australia from Femme Fatale Cosmetics for $11.85 plus postage.

NOTD: Femme Fatale Cosmetics "A Tisket A Tasket"

Femme Fatale Cosmetics is an absolute Utopia for any serious nail polish addict, especially here in Australia. They stock an amazing range of indie polishes from around the world, but they also have their own cosmetics and polishes. I haven't tried the cosmetics, but I picked up two of their polishes to try, and this is the first!

NOTD: Illamasqua Facet

Illamasqua Facet is a new release polish from their Sacred Hour collection. It is described as a "grey crystal", but I would call it a deep taupe (cool-toned brownish grey) base, with fine gold and copper shimmer throughout.

NOTD: Pretty Serious Cosmetics - Claris

I discovered Pretty Serious Cosmetics nail polishes when I received one in a Lust Have It Eco Box. The colour was called Tux, a black with gorgeous teal shimmer - you can see a swatch of it here on my Facebook page (hint - like my page while you're there? Pretty please?). The formula and wear time were both amazing, and since then I have picked up a few more shades. Claris, however, is in a league of its own, I don't have anything similar and it's one of those colours that makes you feel sooooo pretty!

NOTD: Chanel Taboo and Illamasqua Glitterati

Chanel Taboo - what can I say? She is a beauty! Deep red-toned purple with sparks of bright blue and a slight coppery sheen at some angles. Most of the time it's more spectacular in the bottle than it is on the nail, sadly - in most lights it's just a deep burgundy/purple with a reddish sheen, similar to Illamasqua Baptiste, which I already have in my collection. But when it catches the light just right, those bright blue sparks make me fall in love all over again!

Taboo's staying power is excellent, which is why after a few days I got bored and applied Illamasqua Glitterati over the top!

NOTD: OPI French Quarter for your Thoughts, Ulta3 Stop the Press

OPI French Quarter for your Thoughts is a dusty cement grey with a cool undertone. This was a dream to work with, creamy, smooth and self levelling, and opaque in two coats. It dried quickly with a nice shine.

Ulta3 Stop the Press is a black and white polka dot glitter top coat. It has small black and white glitter pieces, and also larger black and white hex pieces - they have a shiny plastic finish, not metallic at all. This was easy to work with but dried a little slowly, I had to wait a while. Worth it though, I love the finish!

NOTD: Rainbow Honey, The Kraken

I am a nail polish addict - I will write a comprehensive review on polishes from time to time if they're particularly good (or really bad!), but my NOTD tag will be for posts like this, a quick description and a photo of the nail polish I'm wearing right now - I am happy to respond to questions if you would like to know more! 

The Kraken by Rainbow Honey is far and away the prettiest polish I've laid eyes on in a long time, so it gets to be first!

 

The Kraken makes me think of scuba diving in the crystal aqua waters of the Caribbean and discovering a sunken treasure chest spilling over with gold and emeralds. It's truly stunning, and it dries quite smooth and shiny for such a glitter-packed polish - I didn't use a top coat and normally I'd use a couple of layers over a glitter. It gets a little bit thick once you're doing the second coat, but it's very easy to work with and dries super fast. It is absolutely packed with glitter - I used two coats for the pic above.

I received this polish in a Wantable beauty subscription box, but they are available for purchase in Australia (for AUD$11.85) from Femme Fatale, a fantastic site for international and indie brands (A England polishes are available from there at great prices too).

From Bitten to Smitten: 10 Tips to Help You Quit Nail Biting and Love Your Nails!

I remember looking at my nails and thinking, they're always going to be ugly, so why even bother? I'm so glad I did! I'm not an expert, just an ordinary chick with a 35 year nail biting habit that I finally managed to overcome. I thought it was time to share my tips and tricks on how to go from Nibbled Nubbins to Killer Claws!

 Tabbzoid, one of my former foster kittens, showing how it's done.

Read on for my top ten tips: