China Glaze Tranzitions - Shape Shifter

I decided to pick up just one of the China Glaze Tranzitions polishes: Shape Shifter, a steel grey that changes to a saturated blue-ish purple after the addition of topcoat. 

This is Shape Shifter before the addition of any topcoat; a slightly frosty gunmetal grey. 

Below you can see my clumsy attempt at doing tips using a clear topcoat to change the colour of Shape Shifter; while it's kind of neat to see the gradual colour change after applying topcoat, it also makes it a touch harder to see where you've already painted while you're in the process of applying. I'm not sure it makes a better alternative for nail art- I'm not sure why one wouldn't just use another opaque nail colour altogether (although, admittedly, it's kind of cute to have "two shades of polish in one"... perhaps less so when one already has an absurd amount of nail lacquer).

Finally, the best result: Shape Shifter, fully top-coated. Gorgeous, deep, glow-y purple. Extremely pretty, and my reason for buying this in the first place.

Did you bother picking up any of the China Glaze "Transitions" shades? What did you think of them?

China Glaze - Some Like It Haute

Today I've got another mani that is from ages ago- this past New Year's Eve, to be exact. This is China Glaze's Some Like It Haute, a charcoal grey glitter with silvery/holographic accents. The base is clear, but the glitter is dense enough to be opaque in 3 coats. 

What do you think? Overall, I think it was a pretty solid NYE mani option- can't go wrong with a dramatic steely grey accented with sparkly holographic goodness! Now I just need to get better at posting these manicure pictures before they're months old...

China Glaze Magnetix II - Sparks Will Fly

Today I've got a magnetic polish to show you: China Glaze Sparks Will Fly. I've been meaning to post this for awhile, but only got around to it now. This is part of the Magnetix II collection, and here's a look at the new magnet designs. I was pretty excited about two of them; the circular pattern and the criss-crossing lines are both unique in my collection. 

The magnetic patterns turned out really well on my thumb nails, probably because it offers a flatter surface for the design to take effect. Here you can see the criss-crossing lines pattern- it makes me think of a quilt.

I think the circular one is even better... it reminds me of ripples in a pond. I'm also really happy with the colour contrast- a light blue shifts to a vibrant cool-toned deep blue when the magnet is applied. I love this shade!

Unfortunately, this didn't work as well on the rest of my fingernails- they're quite curved, so the design couldn't really wrap around the whole nail. You can see where it fades towards the tips of my nails. Nonetheless, I still think it looks pretty cool. Left to right, you can see the pattern with straight lines, criss-cross lines, circles, and the criss-crossed pattern once again on the pinky nail.

What do you think of Sparks Will Fly? Are you still attracted to magnetic polishes, or have they lost their hold on you? Myself, I'm still kinda charged up by them. ;)

Essie Blue Rhapsody (plus glitter gradient!)

Today I have Essie Blue Rhapsody from the new Essie Mirror Metallics Collection to share with you. 

Blue Rhapsody is reflective light blue metallic polish. In the sunlight, some very minor brush strokes are apparent, but mostly this applied very smoothly. This kind of polish does tend to highlight any imperfections on your nail, so it's worth it to buff out any problem spots before painting (or, consider using a ridge-filling base coat to help with creating a smoother surface).

Overall I'm fairly happy with how this looks- I'm crazy about chrome/metallic polishes, so it's a keeper for me.

I couldn't resist adding a glitter gradient to this manicure! Maybe it's KawaiiKagura from Nailpocalypse  and all her recent posts featuring awesome gradient manis, but I pulled out two different glitters to experiment with:

China Glaze Lorelei's Tiara, and Claire's Night Sky.

The two nails on the left have Claire's Night Sky, and the two on the right have China Glaze Lorelei's Tiara:

I think both of these glitters are a perfect complement to the shiny metallic blue of Essie Blue Rhapsody, but overall I really love how Lorelei's Tiara looks as a gradient over this! I'll have to remember to pull this combination out during the winter- it reminds me of ice and snow.

One last picture to show of the amazing holographic glitter in Night Sky:

What do you think of Essie Blue Rhapsody? Do you think it works well with a glitter gradient?

Comparison Post with China Glaze Kalahari Kiss and Illamasqua Stance

In my post about China Glaze's On Safari collection last week I mentioned doing a comparison post for Kalahari Kiss; I have that (plus another comparison featuring Illamasqua Stance) for you today. 

By far the closest colour to China Glaze Kalahari Kiss in my collection is MAC's In The Buff (a limited edition shade from summer 2010). However, I think these two colours are far from being twins. Kalahari Kiss is much brighter and cleaner, whereas In The Buff has a much dirtier, murkier tinge to it.

Left to Right: China Glaze, MAC, China Glaze, MAC

In The Buff leans towards the greenish/grey side, while Kalahari Kiss is much more of a clean camel-beige. It's also much more wearable than In The Buff, and generally more flattering, in my opinion. Formula-wise, I'll also take the China Glaze over the MAC. MAC's lacquers are notorious for being weak in terms of formula, and this was still a little streaky at two coats, were Kalahari Kiss was perfect.

The other comparison I wanted to share with you features Illamasqua Stance and Zoya Charisma.

When I first tried Illamasqua Stance, it's nearly-neon vividness brought to mind another purple-neon: Zoya Charisma. However, the two are actually quite different.

Left to Right: Illamasqua, Zoya, Illamasqua, Zoya

Illamasqua Stance is much more cool toned and purple leaning, where Zoya Charisma is more of a warm pink-red. Charisma is also more of a true neon, drying with a matte finish. I much prefer the look and finish on Illamasqua Stance. For me, there is no contest here- Illamasqua knocked this one out of the park. You can see my original swatches of it here.

Just for the heck of it I also pulled out NARS Anardana to add to the comparison (it's shown here on the index finger), but it much more of a pink, rather than purple.

I hope these comparisons helped you out! Which colours are your favourite?

China Glaze - On Safari (Fall 2012) - My Picks!

Tonight I've got a few of my picks from the China Glaze "On Safari" Collection (Fall 2012) to share with you. 

First up is Desert Sun. This is a really unique colour- certainly not something I've seen much of before, and it's unique in my collection. This is a burnt caramel coloured creme. It reminds me of butterscotch pudding. The formula on this was good- very easy to control. What you see below is two coats. 

Next up is Kalahari Kiss, another fairly unique creme colour. This is a beige-yellow; calling it khaki would probably be spot on. Like Desert Sun, the formula on this was good, and coverage was full at two coats. The closest thing in my collection to Kalahari Kiss is MAC In The Buff (I'll have a comparison post for you next week).

While I like this colour on my fingernails, I have to admit, it didn't make for the most flattering pedicure. I've been into wearing neutrals on my toes lately, but this just didn't work.

And last (but certainly not least!), this is I'm Not Lion. This is a gorgeous super-fine white gold glitter with tonnes of holographic sparkle. I'm crazy about this one! I absolutely love it- it's blingy and noticeably holographic, yet not overdone. I love the sugar-like texture of the glitter in this. It's also very dense, and only took two coats to be completely opaque.

Blurry pic to show the amazing holographic sparkle!

What did you think of my picks from the China Glaze On Safari collection? Which ones are your favourites? Have you picked up any polishes from this collection?

I'll leave you with a picture I took recently of a rather spectacular sunset (it doesn't quite come through in this, but the field of canola in the foreground is in full bloom and is the most amazing electric yellow).

Models Own Indian Ocean - a lemming satisfied!

I, like many other nail fanatics, have been lusting after the recent Rescue Beauty Lounge fan collection- especially the very beautiful Aqua Lily shade (brilliant turquoise blue with purple shimmer). Unfortunately, at $20 per bottle (plus expensive shipping), I couldn't quite swallow the price tag. Luckily for me, I saw Ilexica's superb post about Models Own Indian Ocean over at Polish or Perish (do view Ilexica's posts at your own peril- I find they almost always create insta-lemmings for me!). I was immediately convinced to seek out a bottle of Indian Ocean for my very own, and then promptly layered it over China Glaze For Audrey (a gorgeous Tiffany blue creme). This was the result:

I'm sure it's not a duplicate of Aqua Lily, but it might be even better, in my opinion. The turquoise base colour still shines through, but the shimmery duochrome addition of Indian Ocean overtop really adds depth. It positively lights up in the sun, but even indoors and in the shade it looks really cool.

Gorgeous fine pink/golden shimmer! The blue base of Indian Ocean just slightly alters the way For Audrey looks, to give it a cooler cast.

I think this last picture is a good representation of how it looks in indoor lighting, and how much complexity the finish has... stunning!

A look at the bottles:

What do you think of Models Own Indian Ocean? Is it enough to quash your lemming for Aqua Lily? And does anyone else fight the constant urge to insert an apostrophe into the brand name to make it "Model's Own"?

Finally, I have an exciting hint for my readers about what's on the horizon for my 100 follower giveaway...

Okay, so that wasn't so much a hint as just telling you all that my 100 follower giveaway will be a bottle of Lynnderella's Connect the Dots! I know this has been a really really tough one to get ahold of, so I'm happy to be able to announce that this giveaway will be happening soon!

This time my giveaway will be open to both old and new followers, but I will tell you, without going into details, that my existing followers (at the time of the official giveaway announcement) will have an advantage when it comes to winning. I feel this is a fair way to hold a giveaway because I really value the readers who have been following my blog over the last few months not because of a chance to win a giveaway, but because they like the content. That said, I'm looking forward to the chance to connect with new readers as well!

Anyways, this is also my little heads up to any readers of my blog who may not be formal followers via GFC, but still read regularly. If you're interested in entering this upcoming giveaway, you still have the option of following me now for extra chances at winning.

I'm really excited to hold this giveaway! Let me know what you all think of this plan... and of course, please let me know what you think of my Models Own Indian Ocean manicure!

China Glaze - Traffic Jam

Today I wanted to show you a swatch of my current pedicure colour- China Glaze Traffic Jam.

Traffic Jam is a lovely purple-y pink berry shade; I actually don't own many berry shades, so despite seeming like a common colour, it's pretty unique in my collection. The best thing about it is that it's a one-coater. Really! It's wonderfully pigmented, has a great formula, and what you see here is only one coat.

I'm pretty thrilled that I got my nails on this one, and even better, I snagged it for $2!

What do you think of China Glaze Traffic Jam?

China Glaze Foxy

Several readers requested swatches of China Glaze Foxy after seeing it make an appearance in my copper comparisons post. Ask and you shall receive! Here they are- this is two easy coats of China Glaze Foxy:

Foxy is a beautiful velvety rust-red, with lots of coppery gold sparkle. Lots of depth to this one. And for $1.99, I'm very happy I found it!

What do you think of Foxy?