Saturday 30 June 2012

Ulta 3- magnetic nail polish

I'm pretty sure that everyone has heard of Ulta 3. Ulta 3 is a brand that is mostly known for their cheap nail polish at only $2. The nail polishes work great and a very easy to use. I have used a lot of Ulta 3 polishes and have always been impressed but imagine my reaction when I heard they were making magnetic polish. This month Ulta 3 released six magnetic polishes for only $5 each which also included a magnet, however they all had the same magnet. For additional magnets the price was $3. I knew I had to buy some and for $5 I wouldn't complain if they weren't great. The only downside was the Nail polish colours were similar shades in the colour black and red/pink. So there was hardly any variety however Ulta 3 seem to be listening to their customers and have planned to release a second collection with different colours. Right now the second collection is only in discussion mode so who knows how long that will take but I'm glad that they do take in what customers have been saying.

I chose the colours enchanted, bewitched and hypnotic

I also purchased two additional magnets

Today i swatches Bewitched for you guys but I will swatch the others soon.


Ulta 3 Bewitched has a magenta shimmer. The nail polish on its own is a gorgeous colour and may be temping me to wear it on its own someday. When the magnet is applied, it brings out a even darker colour then the actual polish. The magnet worked pretty good with this and I am amazed at the quality. For $5 each I would definitely buy the whole collection and further polishes from the Second collection when it comes out.

The nail polish has a small amount of red shine when indoors. I do apologize for the messy nail polish applying and pictures but I wasnt at home to have access to my clean up supplies.

Ulta 3 polishes both classic and magnetic are available at certain chemist/pharmacies. I checked 8 chemists before finding a store that actually sold the magnetic polishes. All the other did sell the classic Ulta 3 polishes but not the magnetic ones. I had to contact customer service to find a store that sold them. Most people have had luck at Terry White Chemists but for full stockist near your area contact Ulta 3 customer service at 1800 181 040

Thursday 28 June 2012

Dots And Bows Manicure

So a few posts before I received dotting tools to review and I promised I would post a manicure using them. So here goes, I couldn't come up with a name for it so Dots and Bows manicure is what I'm going to call it.

I used three coats of China Glaze Groovy Green. Groovy green is like a light milky-creamy green. For the dots I used Rimmel London Black Out but any black nail polish will do. The reason I used Rimmel London was because it was a 60 second polish so it dried fairly quickly. This helped so it doesn't smudge when I use a thick topcoat. Then for top coat I used Jordana Quick Shine Topcoat. the quick shine topcoat by Jordana is amazing and I mean amazing. Everytime I use this topcoat my manicure lasts for 2-3 weeks sometimes even longer. It's such a good topcoat and plus it's also 60 second topcoat so before you know it, it's dry. My favourite topcoat. I also added a black bow Fimo cane slice

There was no clean up for this manicure. It was a simple manicure and everyone loved this. I got so many compliments especially from my friends.

I then sliced two pieces of Fimo cane in a black bow design and attached it to my ring fingers, kinda like an accent finger. It just adds an extra touch to my design.

Here is a close up. For a weird reason the camera wasn't focusing up close but I posted the picture anyways just so you get a idea of how it looked.

Here is a picture of the nail art with all the supplies I used in the background. As you can see my topcoat is nearly finished. I rarely use this topcoat as I don't want to finish it but I wanted this manicure to last for a long time so I used it.

Hope you guys enjoyed!!!

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Soft Gradient Nail Art

Gradient Nails!!! Gradient nail art is simple. There is not much to it, just apply many colours of nail polish onto suitable makeup sponge and dab onto your nails. You can go as crazy as you want with these but keep in mind that the colours you stamp don't make up a muddy colour. For this I have used a bluey-teal colour and a purple colour. The nail polish I used was Orcala #20 and Orcala #36. The bluey teal comes out blue-ish once dabbed onto nails. Underneath I have a light blue colour from Eclipse in the number 613 and like always a base coat to protect and stop my nails from staining.

This was a really fun Nail art design. As you can see I did accidentally remove a bit of my polish on my pinky(smallest finger) but it didn't really bother me so I left it like that. If you do by mistake remove some then re-dab some nail polish on top

Hope you guys enjoy!

Sunday 24 June 2012

Revlon- Sunshine Sparkle

How is everyone? I hope you're all doing well. Today I have Sunshine Sparkle by Revlon. Sunshine Sparkle is a creamy yellow with shimmer. The shimmer adds a great touch to the colour. Although the shimmer did transfer to the nails, it wasn't the best. I still like the colour and how it looks, so I'm not really disappointed. It is slightly sheer so you may need a base colour such as a creamy yellow. I was thinking about using a base polish but I decided against it just to see if the polish would survive on its own. It can be used on its own but will require a few coats. Below I've used 3 coats and it is a little see through. I might've needed a 4th coat or so. That is why it is best to use a base polish. Now to the pictures


As you can see the shimmer does come onto the nails however I would have loved it if it shimmered more. Also you can see a bit of under my nail even with three coats.


Overall it's a great nail polish. The applying was easy although it was un even with the first to coats however it did even itself with the third coat. The formula was good although I found that some people were disappointed with the formula. I can say that it wasn't perfect but it was good and better than some other brands so I am definitely not complaining


This polish is by Revlon in the colour Sunshine Sparkle and it is number 089

Thursday 21 June 2012

Born Pretty Store Magnetic Polish + Dotting Tool

The Born Pretty Store sent me two things to review, Magnetic nail polish and dotting tools. I was really excited for the Magnetic polish since I have never tried it and was waiting for ages to try.


The magnetic nail polish comes with a magnetic plate all for only $6.38. I have seen other brands with their plates and I was happy to see that this brand had handles to hold from. The nail polish I got to review was CH Nail Magnetic Nail polish NO.14, The NO.14 is a metallic blue with purple and blue shimmer particles however the purple is hardly noticeable and definitely not noticeable on your fingers. Overall the nail polish worked amazingly and the magnetic plate was fairly strong. Let me warn you the photos don't do justice to what it really looks like. It looks much better in person than in photo.


Below is the swatch for the nail polish.


This is what the polish looks like in the sun or outside. It is a gorgeous blue and I was very happy with the quality. The nail polish dried fairly quickly in fact after having the magnet plate over your nails for about 10-15 sec they were almost dry.


This is basically what the polish would look like if you're indoors, the colour is more of a navy blue this way. Both in the sun and indoors the colour looks amazing.

Steps to achieve this look:
1. Paint a thin layer of polish on your nails and allow to dry
2. Paint a thick layer of polish and quickly hold the magnetic plate over your nail for 10-15 seconds. The closer the magnetic plate the better the effect
3. Apply top coat to keep it lasting for a while.

The magnetic polish dries very quickly and the quality of the polish was amazing. The nail polish was very pigmented and the colour was awesome. The best thing is you can even use it as regular nail polish without the magnetic. The amazing price is only $6.38. The formula of the polish was great and applied easily. The only downside is you may not get perfect stripes across your nail every time so it's kinda trial and error however once you get used to it, it will be easy


The Dotting Tools worked great and definitely felt of good quality. It didn't feel cheap and felt like quality nail art equipment. The dotting tool set comes with five dotting tools, each double sided and with different size tips to make different size dots. The dotting tool was very easy to use and doesn't require any practice. I will be posting pictures of nail art using the dotting tool pretty soon so stay tuned.


The shipping of the Born Pretty Store is free worldwide. They contain everything you need for nail art so be sure to check it out. Don't forget to use the code SADAFW21 for a 5% discount.


These items were sent to me for review. In no way does it influence my opinion. Like always my review is 100% honest opinion

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Giveaway- BYS nail polish

Giveaway time. I didn't intentionally plan to have a giveaway but a lovely lady asked me if I could have a BYS nail polish giveaway since she didn't have BYS nail polish in her country. So this is a BYS nail polish giveaway.

The winner will win:
5 basic BYS polishes
2 BYS colour changing polishes
1 BYS mirror finish polish
1 BYS crackle polish
1 BYS glitter polish

How to enter:
1.Simply state your name and email address in the comment box(this will give you one entry for the giveaway)
2.optional- if you become a follower you will get an extra entry in the giveaway and therefore will have two entries.
3. Must Do- mention what type of post you would like to see. Eg- nail changing polish, which brand is better?, what can you buy for $4, cheap polishes that work amazingly, a swatch of glitter polish. Anything you like

The winner will be picked randomly. Your names will go into a bowl and drawn out. If you have commented your name will go into the bowl once. If you have commented and was or have become a follower, your name will go into the bowl twice.

Giveaway will end 8th July Australian Time

Winner will be contacted via email with 48 hours


EDIT:

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who entered. Time to announce the winner.

And the winner is........ Daniella Doban

You have been contacted, please respond in order to receive your prize

BYS- Crackle Grey

I am super excited as I have never posted about crackle nail polish on my blog ever. When crackle nail polish first came out, the only brand in Australia that sold it was BYS. It was at this time I bought a few crackle polishes. Over time more brands came out like Sally Hansen but I never found it necessary to buy other brands. So you guys will be shocked to hear that the only brand of nail polish for crackle I have is BYS.

Anyways let's start. The base coat is BYS Baby Bloom and the crackle coat is BYS Grey. Crackle nail polishes by BYS can come separately or in kits.

BYS- Baby Bloom (Swatch)

Hey guys. Another BYS nail polish swatch for you. I am going to be light on words as I am not feeling my best. This is a swatch for Baby Bloom. Baby Bloom is a soft creamy pink. It is such a great pink. Sadly for those who live somewhere other than down under(Australia), this nail polish brand isn't available. So mostly this will be for people living down under. Now time for pictures

Sunday 17 June 2012

BYS- Kung Fu Blue (Swatch)

So today I was looking through my blog and realized that I didn't have any swatches for BYS nail polish even though I have lots. What I love about BYS is that it is an Australian brand so it's easy to find. It's also very affordable and works amazingly well. Plus it has a huge range of nail polish to choose from and I mean huge.

Check out BYS for supplies And stockists.

Today's colour is called Kung Fu Blue. Kung Fu Blue is blue with a shade of grey. Although when I searched for it online I noticed a lot of people had Kung Fu Blue but it was like a sky blue colour. I don't know whether mine was labelled correctly or not but I decided to still call it Kung Fu Blue. I love this colour so much, one of my favourite colours.

This is the polish in the bottle. Doesn't it look pretty!!



Here is what it looks like just with no sun or lights.



Here it is with flash. It was late so I couldn't get what it would look like outside or in the sun but it's been raining for about two weeks and I haven't seen the sun so the flash was the best way to go.

What I realized is this polish looks very similar to for Audrey by China Glaze. When I held them next to each other they looked identical. Check out For Audrey swatch here and compare for yourself

BYS polishes are available at Gloss Cosmetics, Kmart, Reject Shop and some other stores.

Keep in mind these stores don't have all colours or full stock. Some stores have certain nail polish colours and other stores have different colours.

Friday 15 June 2012

Swatch- Jordana (Blue Flash)

Today we have a swatch for a lovely brand called Jordana. I personally like this brand, although its not China Glaze or OPI. It is one brand that impresses me with colour, quality and applying.

Today we have a swatch for Blue flash which is number 967. It's such a deep, royal blue with pieces of small and tinsel glitter. Let me warn you that it is darker in person. The photo is showing the blue lighter than it really is. For this polish you will need top coat as it is rough due to all the glitter.

Hope you enjoy this post

Sunday 10 June 2012

Review- Luxury Hand Spa by Homedics

Before I start with the review, I want to mention the past week has been really packed and busy for me which has resulted in no posting. I can also mention that the next two weeks will also be busy but I will try to post as much as I can. Just bare with me.

I know that although I haven't posted in a week and a half, I hope that this small review will make up for it.

So I believe it was last month or the month before that, that I went and purchased Homedic's Luxury hand spa. The main reason behind this was I needed a nail dryer since I often paint my nails. This review was requested although I did intend on doing a review.

The luxury hand spa contains 12 of equipment for your manicure/pedicure needs. These worked amazingly and no need for batteries. It gets charged so it was a added bonus. My favorite would have to be the cuticle lifter which lifts your cuticles and pushes them back, all while it makes your cuticles need. This method worked better than using an orange stick and pushing back my cuticles. It looked so much neater with the cuticle lifter. The 12 pc equipment included things like bluffer, shiner, ball point nail trim, filer and basically all the nail needs.

Onto the hand spa. The hand spa worked great and it was easy to use. Although for me I personally won't be using it a lot. It basically gives your hand a warm bubbly massage while softening your cuticles. The only great point was softer cuticles which means easier to push back. Although its always a plus to have.

The last thing is the nail dryer component of the luxury hand spa. The nail dryer definitely dried my polish faster. It worked amazing and was exactly what I needed when I was searching for a nail dryer. If your looking for a nail dryer than this will be great plus you get bonuses such as a hand spa and manicure/pedicure equipment. The only downside to the nail dryer is that it is fairly noisy. I have heard noisy nail dryers but this was even more noisier. In fact I found myself closing my door so others at home wouldn't get disturbed. Other than that it worked great. Personally the noise didn't bother me as long as it was doing its job. So if you don't mind a noisy nail dryer than I recommend this one.