OPI Simmer & Shimmer

Simmer & Shimmer is from OPI's holiday collection, I can't quite remember the name but it has some exquisite colours. I really want to get that fuchsia one, gorgeous.

I only used two coats here. I think you can use any amount of coats with this one really. Depends what you're after. I haven't tried layering it yet though, I think all of my blues are all too greeny/yellowy. 

I quite like it although I can't help feeling it's too cool. You've got your yellow, orange and red in there but I think the silver is too overpowerring. Well for me it is. I keep looking at the orange glitter in this collection too. It's just so unusual isn't it?

I haven't bought any polishes in awhile but recently I think I've bought over 5! It's quite exciting but I suppose bills and unexpected expenses have to come first, so I'll have to buy in moderation lol. If that's possible.

I quite like how polish companies are pushing the envelope in a way. Bringing us more exciting and differnt colours. I think there was only one red in OPI's holiday collection wasn't there? I don't know if Suzi has been hit over the head lately, but I like what she's doin!

On a side note, it's December already! 

Orly Meet Me Under The Mistletoe

 

 I'm so happy with this colour. It feels really Christmasy to me, and I just love the shimmer in Meet Me Under The Mistletoe.

I only saw it in mini form when the store first got them in. The next time I visited they had the normal sizes in. I'm still deciding if I should get the full sized Meet Me Under The Mistletoe. 

It is a pretty unique colour, has a beautiful formula too. It has really great coverage and is very smooth.

You only need two coats with this one as well, possibly three.

Liquid Palisade Review

Liquid Palisade is a product for those of us who love to do nail art and french manicures. It's really fun to use and I love the colour of it.

It's a product that you paint on and peel off. It takes a little getting used to as I found out.

What I found out while playing around with Liquid Palisade is that you need 'tabs'. What I mean by that is, say, if you drew a straight line down the middle of your nail, how are you going to pick up the Liquid Palisade when you just painted polish over it?

So if you continue painting the Liquid Palisade over the edge of your nail and on to the cuticle, you have a 'tab' to pull. :D Easy peasey!

TIPS WHEN USING LIQUID PALISADE:

- When Liquid Palisade dries it turns to a darker shade of pink which is great for lighter colours. But when painted over darker colours, Liquid Palisade has a pinky/blue shimmer so it is still really easy to see where you painted on darker colours too.

- Liquid Palisade is very stretchy! Be careful of this as I accidentally let it go a few times when I was trying to remove it and ended up flinging back into my nail! No major damage caused lol.

- When you are removing the Liquid Palisade, I recommend to pinch & pull the tab you created in the direction of your design. 

- You do have to apply it when the first coat is dry, otherwise you may pull that off too when you remove the Liquid Palisade.

- You have to make sure you remove it before the coat of polish on top of the Palisade has dried. Otherwise you end up pulling off more polish than you would want and the design gets messy. :(

- The formula is a little bit on the thin side, so make sure you layer up on your design so it's easier to remove.

- Circles don't really work, let me know if you find a way.

- I haven't really figured out a way of doing designs without tabs yet (i.e. designs in the centre of the nail). Once again, let me know if you find a way.

EXAMPLES:

Seeing as my first go round with the stuff didn't turn out so flash, I tried more simple designs. These were probably too simple, but at least you get to see what it does.

I tried a straight line (lol), a curved line and a half-moon manicure. I was particularly happy at how well I could do a half-moon manicure with Liquid Palisade. (Colours used: OPI Jade Is The New Black and Orly Meet Me Under The Mistletoe).

Then I gave Liquid Palisade another go, this time with designs a little more complex. One didn't quite turn out though.

The glitter polishes didn't really work all that well. I think it's because the polish is more glue like than a regular polish. So it tends to pull itself off.

 I also forgot to paint a tab on one of the orange lines, so it was lost under the polish.

This was my favourite design! I really do love Liquid Palisade and will definitely show you some more examples once I get more used to how it works. :)

If you have any questions, please ask away!

You can purchase Liquid Palisade from here and it retails for $22.00. Free shipping at the moment and it looks like you get $5 off on Mondays!

Ingredients: Natural Rubber, Water, Ammonia, Tetramethylthiuram Disulfide, Ammonium Hydroxide. May contain: Iron Oxides, Ultramarines, D&C Red #6 or #7, FD&C Yellow #5.

Warnings: Keep out of eyes, mouth, hair and clothing. For intended use only. Do not use this product if you have any skin allergies to Havea, which is commonly called Latex.

L.A. Disco Light Show

This is a really nice jelly orange if you are after one. It looks quite creamy here, but I assure you it has jelly like qualities. 

I only needed two coats of this one. The formula once again like the other L.A. Girls polishes I have tried, has a nice thickness to it and very smooth. Great coverage too.

I'm not really too sure why I bought this one. I think I just had a thing for orange at the time.

I wonder how I'm going to be able to choose a colour for the walls when I own a house? You know, you just feel so passionate about some colours and want them on everything. Then you get sick of seeing it around and need a change... 

L.A. Disco Vinyl Record

Once again, our faithful cameras let us down again. Vinyl record is much more teal than what is shown here.

You can get this for $7 at Dress Smart in Onehunga. I haven't really seen the L.A. girls colours anywhere else.

The formula was quite consistent with the other shades I tried from this range. Quite a nice thickness to it, very smooth and excellent coverage. It can apply thickly quickly though, so be careful with these ones.

L.A. Disco Can U Dig It?

I recently discovered these polishes at the wonderful Dress Smart in Onehunga. They were pretty cheap too, only $7! They have OPI polishes too but only a lot of sparkly poo coloured ones. Hmm I wonder why no one buys those shades...

Any who, this little beauty is called Can U Dig It? I don't really care much for the name, but I adore the colour! (Still pining over that OPI Shrek colour!). I wore it on my toes first and wore it for weeks. I couldn't get enough of it!

You only need two coats of Can U Dig It? The formula is quite good, a nice thickness and opacity to it. Quite fast drying too as I put it on my toes again the other day, then got distracted and forgot to apply top coat. It dried just fine, maybe not as shiny, but pretty well.

I think the colour of Can U Dig It is a little more vivid than what my photos show.

It also says it glows in black light, I haven't tested that but it sure would be cool to see!

Orly Meet Me Under The Mistletoe & On The List

How's it going? I went into town today and can't resist walking into Farmers and checking out their ever-expanding nail polish collections. Today they had the Orly Christmas shades, the white, green and red that come with a little red purse, and some minis.

The only minis that excited me were these two, Meet Me Under The Mistletoe and On The List.

I don't think On The List is actually a part of this collection, but it sure fits doesn't it?

I will be posting swatches of these two hopefully this weekend if I'm not still settling into the new place, but for now here are some pretty pictures!

Speaking of On The List, which polishes are you wishing that Santa will bring you?

For me.... I think mainly is OPI Who The Shrek Are You?, Isn't That Precious and It's a Girl!