Review & Swatches - Nfu-Oh Holographic Series: #61

Hey guys!

Another silver holo post for you today!

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be doing a series of reviews/swatches on all 6 of the Nfu-Oh Holographic polishes. Because I've heard a lot of different things about the formula, application and wear of these polishes, I've decided to not just swatch them on nail wheels like I normally would, but to actually put them through wear tests.
Additionally, these polishes are just too special and coveted that I had to do full nail swatches for each of them.

This means that you won't be seeing any new nail art from me while I'm doing this series but I'll try to itch the nail art bug for you by uploading a few tutorials of my past designs.

At the end of the series I'll do an overall review/recommendations post for all 6 of the shades so that you'll have an easy access post for all of them.

I'll go in the proper numerical order of the shades so today I'll be starting with Nfu-Oh #61 which is a bright silver linear holographic polish.



Keep reading for swatches and the full review!
(Believe me, you're going to want to keep reading.)



(Artificial Light)


(Flash)


(Flash)


(Sunlight)


(Sunlight)


(Sunlight)
I've got a total case of lobster hands in this photo but it was too pretty and showed the rainbow effect of the holo too well so I just had to include it.


Unfortunately, I don't own the Nfu-Oh Aqua Base which is supposed to help with the application of this polish and the only retailer of Nfu-Oh products (www.fabuloustreet.com) has been out of stock of this product for a while now. Thus, everything that I have to say about the formula of these polishes might sing a different tune if I had the Aqua Base to accompany them, so please keep that in mind when you're reading my review.

The formula/application of #61 was absolutely awful. I knew beforehand that the formula of the Nfu-Oh holos is notoriously disappointing so I was extra careful and cautious in my application, but I can't say that it helped much. The first layer applies ok (not great, but ok) but when you go to add the second coat, the brush picks up patches of the first coat and clumps them together with the new layer of polish, leaving bald spots in some areas and little clumps of polish in others.

Regarding the wear of this polish, I got a much better wear time out of #61 than what I expected to get after what I have heard/read about in other reviews. I've heard some people say they don't even get a full 24 hours out of their manis with these polishes, but I got a full 4 days with only tip wear and no chips at the time of removal. In fact, a few of the photos above (the sunlight ones) are from day 3 of this mani and it still looks fresh and new. I'm honestly only removing it tonight because I want to move on to the next colour, but I think I could get another day out of #61 without any chips.

How did I manage to get a better wear time out of #61? Well, since I had heard about the short wear time, I prepared myself and used products that I thought would help to extend the life of my mani.
First, I layed down a layer of OPI Chip Skip (review to come after more testing) and then I used CND Stickey (review to come) as my base coat. I don't want to say that these products made my mani last longer without chipping because I can't be certain, but it certainly didn't hurt my mani to use them.

Now, onto the good aspects of this polish.
It's GORGEOUS! Seriously, I've caught myself just staring at my nails so many times over the last 4 days. It's so beautifully prismatic, especially in the sunlight. Even in the shade you get a more subtle but still noticeable linear holo that catches your eye.

Also, the Nfu-Oh bottle design is stunning. It looks great in photos and it has become my new favourite bottle to hold to take nail photos (my prior fave to hold were Zoya bottles).

Overall, despite the formula/application, I would definitely recommend this polish. It's so beautiful and special and I love having these bottles in my collection. Furthermore, the Nfu-Oh Aqua Base is supposed to help with the application of these polishes so the problems I had might be easy to solve with the right product.

Nfu-Oh polishes are sold by this online retailer and they will run you $12.50 US or $13.82 CAD. Unfortunately, #61 is currently out of stock but #'s 62-66 are still available and you'll be seeing swatches/reviews of those from me in the near future.

What do you guys think about Nfu-Oh #61?

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Review & Swatches - Nfu-Oh Holographic Series: #61

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Top 5 - MAC Lipsticks

Hey!

In the sidebar poll that I had up last week, you all told me what you would like to see more of on my blog and I really did take what you had to say seriously. With 12% of the votes, you guys voted that you would like to see more makeup posts. Now, while there were a number of options ahead of this in terms of votes, it's clear that at least some of you still want to see more makeup related posts.

So, although my blog will remain primarily focused on nail polish and nail art, I will do my best to include more makeup posts in the mix.

Today I'll be showing you my top 5 MAC lipsticks. I was originally just planning a top 5 lipsticks post, but once I went through all of my lipsticks, my favourites all ended up being from MAC.



Keep reading for swatches and more info on my favourite lipsticks!



Top 5 MAC Lipsticks: MAC London Life, MAC Courting Lilac, MAC Viva Glam Cyndi, MAC Laugh A Lot, MAC Sweetie




5. MAC London Life (from the Euristocrats II Collection)
I wasn't into MAC when the Euristocrats Collection was released (Summer 2009) and I actually thought this was a permanent shade until I just did some quick research. I'm guessing that it stayed up on the MAC website for a while after the collection because I did purchase it from the MAC site. Nevertheless, it has since been discontinued from the site but it's not considered a HTF shade so if you're really into it, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding it.
London Life is a deep berry shade packed with lots of tiny shimmer particles, and it's a lustre finish shade. I'm a little intimidated by really opaque shades of lipstick on me so I tend to lean towards the lustre shades much more than any other finish, especially when it comes to deeper shades. This is great for me because it's a deep and vampy but not too overpowering on my super fair skin.




4. MAC Courting Lilac (from the Tartan Tale Collection)
Courting Lilac is a light lilac shade with gold shimmer and sheen and is a glaze finish. The gold shimmer and sheen of this tone it down from being a true purple shade - which would really intimidate me. It's unique in my collection and it's really flattering on my skin colour.




3. MAC Viva Glam Cyndi (from the From Our Lips Viva Glam Campaign)
Viva Glam Cyndi is a soft coral-red lustre finish shade. This shade of red is my way of wearing red - not totally opaque and not really bright. I think most people fell more in love with the Viva Glam Gaga shade that was released with this collection but Cyndi was the winner here for me.
WARNING: My photos above are not colour accurate. For some reason my camera spazzed out and didn't want to get a good picture of this shade. It's more muted, red and less coral in reality. The swatch photos below are much more accurate.




2. MAC Laugh A Lot (from the Spring Colour Forecast Collection)
Laugh A Lot is plum-pink lustre finish and is my favourite my-lips-but-better shade of lipstick. I really don't like nude/flesh coloured lipsticks on my so this is my favourite type of shade to wear when I just want to add a touch of colour to my lips.




1. MAC Sweetie (permanent)
Sweetie is a medium rosy pink with gold shimmer and once again, it's a lustre finish (are you seeing a pattern here?). This is my everyday go-to shade, as you can see from the usage shown in the picture. I absolutely love this shade and I'm SO glad that it's part of the permanent line at MAC because otherwise I'd be in trouble.


Top 5 MAC Lipsticks: MAC London Life, MAC Courting Lilac, MAC Viva Glam Cyndi, MAC Laugh A Lot, MAC Sweetie


Top 5 MAC Lipsticks: MAC London Life, MAC Courting Lilac, MAC Viva Glam Cyndi


Top 5 MAC Lipsticks: MAC Laugh A Lot, MAC Sweetie


Are any of your favourite MAC shades listed here? What's your everyday go-to shade of lipstick?

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Top 5 - MAC Lipsticks

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Swatch Spam - OPI DS Polishes: Part 2

Hey!

I think you should all be super proud of me today! As you all know, I have been checking my beauty supply store for the OPI Nice Stems Collection for a couple of weeks now and they still don't have it in. Well, I got news last night night that one of the salons in my area has both the Nice Stems Collection AND the Miss Universe Collection, which I wasn't expecting to even start looking for for another couple of weeks.

The dilemma for me was that I get professional pricing at the supply store that doesn't have these collections, but not at the salon which has both collections. So, I had to decide which was going to win - my wallet or my impatience? I finally decided that it would be better if I just waited for the professional store to get the collections in and save myself some money. Yay for willpower!

Anyways, that's not the point of this post at all, I promise.
Today I'm going to be showing you the rest of my OPI DS polishes that weren't included in this post a couple of days ago.
These last 4 shades includes my favourites out of all the ones I own, so enjoy!



Keep reading for the swatches!



OPI Designer Series: Original, Desire, Extravagance, Passion


OPI DS Original (medium lavender scattered and linear holo)
This is currently my all-time favourite polish in my entire collection and it's also the most expensive polish in my collection. I did a full review of this when I first got it so I won't go into too much detail here and you can just check out that post.


OPI DS Desire (rich, deep gold linear holo)
This is another of my favourites that has somehow managed to go overlooked in my stash. The holo is really strong and although this looks good on my skin tone, I bet this will look spectacular on darker skin tones.


OPI DS Extravagance (rich raspberry-purple scattered holo)
This shade is SO luxurious looking I can't get over it. The scattered holo is one of the strongest I've ever seen - the particles just light up within the deep base.


OPI DS Passion (medium rosy pink linear holo)
This one is similar to DS Chiffon from my first post but has a more mauve base and a slightly stronger holo effect. I like both of them a lot but I prefer Passion just little bit more because of the little teeny bit of purple in the base.


Original, Desire, Extravagance, Passion


Original, Desire


Extravagance, Passion


Passion, Extravagance, Desire, Original


Passion, Extravagance


Desire, Original

Which of all 9 shades is your favourite?
Oh and by the way, I haven't forgotten about my part 2 Deborah Lippmann swatch spam post - it's coming soon.

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Swatch Spam - OPI DS Polishes: Part 2

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https://emogirlhairstyles2011.blogspot.com/2011/07/swatch-spam-opi-ds-polishes-part-2.html

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Swatch Spam - OPI DS Polishes: Part 1

Hey!

After looking through my untried stash that I posted for you yesterday, I noticed that I've already swatched most of them for you guys and the majority of them are just waiting to be swatched on my own wheels. So, I've made it a mission to finish swatching all of my untrieds for you and then I can move onto swatching them on my wheels.

There were 2 OPI Designer Series polishes in my untrieds that I haven't swatched for you or on my wheels so I decided that I'll do those first, along with the rest of my DS polishes. I own 9 altogether so I'm breaking this post up into 2 separate posts and today I'll be showing you 5 of my 9 OPI DS polishes.



Keep reading for the swatches!



OPI Designer Series: Reflection, Coronation, Classic, Mystery, Chiffon


OPI DS Reflection (bright coral-pink scattered holo)
This is a gorgeous, eye-catching shade of coral-pink and even if it didn't have the added bonus of scattered holo, I'd still love it. It's also a one-coater which adds to it's awesomeness.


OPI DS Coronation (bright silver scattered holo)
I always love silver holos - whether scattered or linear because I think they show the rainbow effect of holographic particles the best and this one is no exception, as you'll see in my swatches below.


OPI DS Classic (light nude scattered holo)
This was my first time swatching this one and I really like it. It can be used as an office environment appropriate shade while still being trendy.


OPI DS Mystery (deep inky purple jelly with small gold flakies)
I think this is a DS shade that is definitely under appreciated, but I like it a lot. It's got flakies - which polish addicts usually go crazy over - but I think they can tend to get lost in the deep base, which might be why it's often overlooked. However, when the light hits this and the flakies are made visible, it's stunning.


OPI DS Chiffon (delicate pink linear holo)
Here's another work appropriate yet trendy shade. The linear holographic effect is not totally BAM IN YOUR FACE HOLO but it's definitely there and it's really pretty.


Reflection, Coronation, Classic, Mystery, Chiffon


Reflection, Coronation, Classic


Classic, Mystery, Chiffon


Chiffon, Mystery, Classic, Coronation, Reflection


Chiffon, Mystery, Classic


Classic, Coronation, Reflection


Which of these shades is your favourite?
And stay tuned for part 2 of the OPI DS swatch spam!

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Swatch Spam - OPI DS Polishes: Part 1

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https://emogirlhairstyles2011.blogspot.com/2011/07/swatch-spam-opi-ds-polishes-part-1.html

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Review & Swatches - China Glaze Crackle Metals Collection

Hey guys!

I was finally able to get my hands on the Crackle Metals by China Glaze, so right now I'm only stalking my beauty supply stores for one collection - OPI Nice Stems and I have been calling every day this week checking to see if it's in (I'm sure they're sick of hearing from me, haha).

Although, by the time I get that collection, I'm sure there'll be others that I'll be looking for.

Anyways, today I have a full review and swatches of the China Glaze Crackle Metals Collection for you. I decided to swatch all of the shades over a plain black cream polish (China Glaze Liquid Leather) to best show off the colours of the crackles. However, if you're interested in seeing any of these shades over a different polish, let me know in the comments and I'll do my best to satisfy your requests.





Keep reading for the review and swatches!



China Glaze Crackle Metals: Cracked Medallion, Platinum Pieces, Haute Metal


China Glaze Crackle Metals: Oxidized Aqua, Tarnished Gold, Latticed Lilac






China Glaze Cracked Medallion (copper shimmer)


China Glaze Platinum Pieces (silver shimmer)


China Glaze Haute Metal (rosy shimmer)


China Glaze Oxidized Aqua (silver-toned aqua shimmer)


China Glaze Tarnished Gold (gold shimmer)


China Glaze Latticed Lilac (light lilac shimmer)


Cracked Medallion, Platinum Pieces, Haute Metal, Oxidized Aqua, Tarnished Gold, Latticed Lilac (all over China Glaze Liquid Leather)


Cracked Medallion, Platinum Pieces, Haute Metal (all over China Glaze Liquid Leather)


Oxidized Aqua, Tarnished Gold, Latticed Lilac (all over China Glaze Liquid Leather)


Latticed Lilac, Tarnished Gold, Oxidized Aqua, Haute Metal, Platinum Pieces, Cracked Medallion (all over China Glaze Liquid Leather)


Latticed Lilac, Tarnished Gold, Oxidized Aqua (all over China Glaze Liquid Leather)


Haute Metal, Platinum Pieces, Cracked Medallion (all over China Glaze Liquid Leather)

These crackle polishes didn't crackle quite as much as I would have liked, but the colours are super pretty and the formula is really nice - it doesn't feel really thick like some of the creamier crackles.

With the black polish underneath, both the colour of the crackle polish and the base colour are able to really stand out, but I think if you were to use a similarly coloured base coat, you might not be able to notice the crackle effect quite as easily, just because these don't crack as much as some of the other crackles. For comparison, check out my swatches of the original China Glaze Crackles and you'll see what I mean.

All of my swatches are without top coat so you can see just how shimmery these are on their own but a top coat will add to that even more.

Overall, I'm happy with this collection and I think China Glaze did a good job of sticking with the current trend but still adding a flair of innovativeness to it - I appreciate that.

I spoke a little about how I'm feeling about the crackle trend in my review/swatches of the OPI Blue-Hued Shatters but I'll mention it again here since it's completely relevant. Basically, I've gotten bored with this trend and I'm hoping to see it die out soon. However, when brands release new and unique shades of crackle polish (as most of these shades are), I'm happy with that. I'm just sick of seeing the same shades of crackle polish over and over again by different brands.

The China Glaze Crackle Metals Collection is available now at Sally Beauty Supply and professional salons nationwide. They retail for anywhere between $4-6, depending on where you live/where you get yours.

What do you guys think of the China Glaze Crackle Metals? Any layering combinations you'd like to see?

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Review & Swatches - China Glaze Crackle Metals Collection

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