Ebay score

Every so often I browse ebay to see what polishes are available, and recently came across a listing for some Sally Hansen Magical's polish.
Here is what I wonSally Hansen Copper Cauldron, Blue Aura and Mystical Mandarin.

First up is Copper Cauldron, this photo is a bit blurry, but this is the best one that I could get to show the colour
I had to include this pic, this really shows off the size of the holo particles

Next up is Blue Aura. On my middle finger, I have swatched China Glaze 2nite.
Compared to the Blue Aura, the holo particles are smaller, and the base colour is a darker dustier blue. The Blue Aura is a lot lighter brighter blue, and to me the holo effect is a lot more flashier.
Finally is Mystical Mandarin. On my ring finger I have swatched China Glaze BFF which is a deeper pink holo.


My thoughts on Sally Hansen Magical's.
The formula was a bit tricky for me, I had to make sure that I did not apply the polish over the same spot twice, or I had problems with creating bald spots on my nails, which I had to let thoroughly dry to recoat.
Although application had to be more precise than my usual method of slap it on, the payoff was worth it. The colours are nice, and I love the way that the larger holo particles catch the light even in low light conditions.

On the China Glaze holos, they were my first love, I first saw them on a nail blog last year and h.a.d. to have them. I didn't buy the full collection, but one of the packs which included OMG, BFF, 2Nite, IDK, LOL, DV8.
Personally I have found the application on the China Glaze easier to work with than the Sally Hansen Magicals, the China Glaze for me seems to just flow on without any issues.

I am glad that I had a chance to pick up the Sally Hansen Magicals, they are the only Holos that I own other than the China Glaze, and I can see why people love them. At 9.8ml compared to the CG 14ml I wont be wearing them often, I would be more likely to wear the CG..

Surprisingly for me, my favorite CG holo turned out to be BFF, it is subtle enough for me to wear at work without feeling that it might be flashy enough to attract managements attention, but has enough sparkle to keep me entertained during the day, :)

Various Swatches

First up is Sally Hansen Gunmetal, I think that this was about two coats. This has a slight shimmer, and self levels nicely.



This polish is by NYC, Molten Metal. This pic was taken indoors under a desklamp. This shows how well that this polish shines up under lower light conditions.


This polish is by Wet N' Wild, Crystalic. I love this polish, it is a black, with a glass fleck shimmer. This is without topcoat and it has a beautiful shine.



This polish is by Sally Hansen, Nonstop Nude. From memory, this was about three coats. Personally, I did not like the application on this one, the polish seemed a bit "gloopy", and I had bubbling problems. I might be able to fix this with some polish thinner, but as yet, I haven't bothered yet.



This polish is by Wet N' Wild, Wild Shine - Wild Orchid I think. From memory, this was three or four coats. This is another polish that I love, it is a beautiful shade, and I love the holographic glitter in this one. To begin with this polish seemed pretty sheer, but it really is worth building up, or layering over another purple polish.


This polish is by Wet N' Wild, Wild Shine - Carribbean Frost. As you can see, this polish shows up all the flaws on my nails, but this could be easily corrected by a topcoat. I think that this was about two coats. This has a lovely microshimmer.

All of these polishes are ones that I recieved from Lissa from Lissa's Nails from when she was destashing.

I do have some more to post up when I get time.

I would just like to thank Lissa for the opportunity to try some polishes that I can't obtain in Australia easily.

China Glaze Atlantis Inlays

Hi, as I warned, I am a very infrequent poster. I am an avid reader of a fair number of nail blogs, and am awed at the quality and photographic skills of the blogs that I follow.
I am also awed at how skilled other bloggers are at either at painting their nails (or their awsome cleanup skills) in which department I fail badly.
I constantly wear nail polish, but usually don't have the motivation to attempt to photograph my shoddy efforts, or by the time that I think to take a pic, I have been to work, and have totally trashed my manicure. I have to change my polish every day when I am working, because it only takes a couple of hours till they are chipped. I work as a checkout chick at a local supermarket, so polish doesn't have much, if any chance of surviving the day unscathed.

At lunchtime today at work, I had an idea for a really cool manicure, and luckily remembered the concept when I got home.

What inspred me for this concept was seeing , of all things, an ebony wood hairstick, inlaid with I think it was malachite stone.
I am hapy with the way that the manicure turned out, it wasn't anywhere near as good as the other ones that I see on other blogs, but, hey, I have to work tomorrow, so there is not a chance of it lasting anyway.
The polished that I used were the glittery China Glaze Atlantis and Sally Hansen Black Out (and about 3 coats of Sally Hansen Mega Shine)
Basically all I did was paint my nails with Black Out, wait till that had dried, and used a nail art brush and painted on a stripe of China Glaze Atlantis. That was all fine when using my dominant hand, but when painting with my less disciplined left hand, the stripes were not as well defined. That was easilly remedied by waiting untill the Atlantis had dried, and taking some Black Out and defining the wonky edges.
Clean up still needs to be worked on (as well as my photography) but I hope that this looks as pleasing to you as it does me, I am quite happy with how it turned out.

ETA (I just realized that the inspiration for this mani came from Scrangie, although I had forgotten about it when I posted this, so, apologies) I am sure that this was from Scrangie, although that I am now searching, I cannot find it, so, who knows where I got the idea, except that it was a nail blog somewhere

(Omg, I just noticed that when I signed in to post this that I have one follower!!!, All I can say is Thanks, and I hope I dont bore you too much, lol)