Wednesday 31 October 2012

Shimmer Swatch Series: Trisha

Hi ladies! I'm back with another Shimmer polish, this time it's Trisha! This is going to be a super quick post, so let's jump straight into the swatches!







Trisha is clear base packed with square Orange glitters as the main focus, with added Blue, Purple and Gold hex glitters in various sizes and micro Silver glitter. As I mentioned before, Shimmer polishes are so dense they only need one coat when over a base colour, or 2/3 coats for full coverage over a naked nail. I layered one coat of Trisha over Finger Paints Cordur-Orange without a base or top coat.

Shimmer retails at $12 for 15ml and you can even create your own custom polish for $15! You can find everything you need to know about the latest offers, releases and swatches for Shimmer polish via her Etsy, Facebook and Blog.

Monday 29 October 2012

Shimmer Swatch Series: Kim

Hi ladies! I have another 'Swatch Series' for you, this time featuring various polishes from Indie brand Shimmer. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be posting various polishes from Shimmer, these won't be daily but I shall try my best to make them as frequent as possible! Shimmer Polish, created by a lovely lady named Cindy, was created earlier this year and has since been popping up on various blogs ever since. I must say, Cindy is a master of glitter combos with a mixture of shades to suit any ones preferences, she's definitely at the top of her game.
I want to show you one of my favourite polishes from Shimmer, which was created by Kim at Overall Beauty, which of course, is the reason it's called Kim.






Kim is a mixture of large and small hexagonal Purple and Blue glitters, as well as squared glitters and a small sprinkling of various sized Silver glitter for good measure. Since the polishes are so glitter packed, you'd think that they'd be a nightmare to apply, but you'd be wrong! The polish applies perfectly without any clumping or patching and even dries smooth without having to use a top coat. I layered 2 coats of Kim over BarryM - Blue Plum for the photos above, which have all been taken inside my light box, without a base or top coat.

I hope you've enjoyed the swatches of Kim and you can except more beauties to come during my Shimmer Swatch Series! In the meantime, why don't you check out my previous Shimmer post, where I featured 6 polishes during my 30 Day Challenge!

Shimmer retails at $12 for 15ml and you can even create your own custom polish for $15! You can find everything you need to know about the latest offers, releases and swatches for Shimmer polish via her Etsy, Facebook and Blog




Swatch: Girly Bits - Wet Bikini

Hi ladies! I thought I would show you a swatch of a Girly Bits polish I bought recently during Harlow & Co.'s 15% off offer on their website whilst I was supposed to be on a no-buy...whoops. I did only stick to one polish though, so that counts right?! I've also recently bought a light box and am currently in the process of learning the best way to use it and get the most results, I only have one lamp at the moment, which I think does take away slightly from the overall effect, but that aside it means I can now swatch at night, not just during the day; in your face dark Winter nights! The photos you will see below have all been taken inside my light box using two different cameras, the slightly Yellowy tinted ones have been taken on my bridge camera, whilst the others have been taken on my compact camera. I'm so annoyed at my bridge camera because it comes out so Yellow, but it takes a lot clearer photos of glitter than my compact, which kind of outweighs it's flaws.

Enough Rambling, let's take a look at Wet Bikini!








Wet Bikini is a mixture of Aqua, Blue and Opalescent various sized Square and Hex glitters in a Clear base. I had no trouble with the application of Wet Bikini, it went on smoothly and spread evenly without any major clumps. Wet Bikini is more colour accurate in the 3rd and 4th photo, whilst the last two photos show the glitter more clearly. I layered 2 coats of Girly Bits - Wet Bikini over Finger Paints - Late Night Rendezvous without a base or top coat.

So there you have my light box debut! I obviously need a bit of a mess around with my bridge camera to get the white balance correct, but it can only get better from here right?! Hopefully you can expect more frequent postings now I am able to swatch at night, if there's anything in particular you'd like to see, let me know!
You can purchase Girly Bits polishes directly from Pam, the mastermind behind Girly Bits, on her Bigcartel for $10 each as well as various on line retailers such as Harlow & Co. and Llarowe for $11/12 each. To keep up with the latest Girly Bits news and releases, be sure to like them on Facebook!

Thursday 25 October 2012

Swatch Series: OPI - Skyfall Collection


Note: I suck, this was supposed to be published yesterday! But for some unknown reason it didn't work.
Hi ladies! We've reached the end of the Skyfall Swatch Series! With the namesake of the collection, nonetheless. Skyfall is taking the nation, maybe even the world, with it's new theme song by the amazingly talented Adele, which is currently playing as I write this! Before I show you the swatches, I will present you with the poster, trailer and theme song of the movie, which is released in UK cinemas this Friday.


The 23rd James Bond film

Daniel CraigDaniel Craig...
Helen McCroryHelen McCrory...
Bérénice MarloheBérénice Marlohe...
Ben WhishawBen Whishaw...
Q
Ralph FiennesRalph Fiennes...
Javier BardemJavier Bardem...
Naomie HarrisNaomie Harris...
Judi DenchJudi Dench...
M


Opening dates: UK October 26, 2012; US November 9, 2012.



Now for the last time...the swatches!




Skyfall is a Burgundy creme polish that leans more towards Brown than Red. I really love this colour, I think it's the perfect shade for Autumn time and the changing of the seasons, without being too 'plain'. I used 2 coats of Skyfall without a base and top coat for the photos above.


So there you have my 12 swatches of the 12 Skyfall collection polishes! I hope you've enjoyed them and I plan to do more of these in the future, without the movie entries, of course! Which has been your favourite shade of the Skyfall collection? If you need a little memory jog, click here to see all of my swatches together!

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Swatch Series: OPI - Skyfall Collection


Hi ladies! Here's the penultimate instalment of the Skyfall Swatch Series posts, with the exception of a little something extra at the end of the series! Today we move in to the current James Bond, Daniel Craig's, movies, kicking off with his debut as Mr Bond, Casino Royale.



The 21st James Bond film

Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, Eva Green as Vesper Lynd, Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre and Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter. Also with Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino, Simon Abkarian, Tobias Menzies. Directed by Martin Campbell; screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, doctored by Paul Haggis. Theme song by Chris Cornell.


Opening dates: UK November 16, 2006; US November 17, 2006.



And as always, here's the swatches!




Casino Royale is a Berry Purple with Pink undertones. This is another one of my faves from the collection, in fact almost all of them are stunning! OPI really out-did themselves with this collection in my opinion. This is 2 coats of Casino Royale without a base or top coat!

Monday 22 October 2012

Swatch Series: OPI - Skyfall Collection

Hi ladies! There's only two posts left to show you after this one! It's gone quite quick, I better get planning some more posts to do after this one! If there's anything in particular you'd like to see, let me know! Today's post brings us to Die Another Day, which automatically brings Madonna's song to my head, which you'll be able to hear further down the page! As always, here's a little information about the corresponding movie!


The 20th James Bond 007 film

Starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, Halle Berry as Jinx, Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost, Toby Stephens as Gustav Graves, Rick Yune as Zao, Michael Madsen as Falco. Returning are Judi Dench (as M), John Cleese (as Q), Samantha Bond (as Moneypenny) and Colin Salmon (as Charles Robinson).

Directed by Lee Tamahori. Written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Theme song by Madonna.



Opening Dates; UK November 20, 2002; US November 22, 2002


As always, time for the swatches!




Die Another Day is a Brick Orange with subtle Orange shimmers. There's a hint of a Brown/Red undertone to this polish, it's not the most unique shade but I think it's actually quite pretty. This is 2 coats of Die Another Day without a base or top coat.

Sunday 21 October 2012

Swatch Series: OPI - Skyfall Collection



Hi ladies! We're almost at the end of my Skyfall Swatch Series! I hope you have been enjoying them and I apologise to those who have not. Today we have The World Is Not Enough, which has probably one of my all time favourite James Bond theme song, with the exception of Adele's Skyfall.


The 19th James Bond film

Starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, Sophie Marceau as Elektra King, Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones, Robert Carlyle as the villain Renard, John Cleese as Q's assistant, Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Zukovsky.

Directed by Michael Apted. Screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. Score by David Arnold, theme song by Garbage.



Opening dates: UK November 26, 1999; US November 19, 1999.



Now for the swatches!




The World Is Not Enough is a Brown base with Pink, Blue, Silver and Gold flecks. This is another one of my favourites from the collection, however it is very similar to GOSH - Galaxy. I applied 2 coats for the photos above without a base/top coat.

Saturday 20 October 2012

Swatch Series: OPI - Skyfall Collection

Hi ladies! Today's instalment of the Skyfall Swatch Series is Tomorrow Never Dies, as always here's a little background into the movie itself;


The 18th James Bond film, 

Starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin, Teri Hatcher as Paris Carver, and Jonathan Pryce as the megalomaniac villain, Elliott Carver. With Ricky Jay, Joe Don Baker. Also Julian Fellowes, Hugh Bonneville, Brendan Coyle and Samantha Bond, all later of Downton Abbey

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Written by Bruce Feirstein. Theme song by Sheryl Crow.



Opening dates: UK December 12, 1997; US December 19, 1997.


Now for the swatches!





Tomorrow Never Dies is a true 'Blurple' shade with subtle shimmers, by 'Blurple' I mean that it can either look Purple or Blue depending on the way the light hits the nails. This is probably my favourite shade in the whole collection, it's so vibrant and looks as though it glows on your nail! The photos above are 2 coats of Tomorrow Never Dies without a base/top coat.

ANOTHER BLOGSALE UPDATE!!!




I HAVE UPDATED MY BLOGSALE YET AGAIN WITH LOTS OF NEW POLISHES! CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT 



HAPPY SHOPPING!!

Friday 19 October 2012

Swatch Series: OPI - Skyfall Collection

Hi ladies! I'm back again today with Golden Eye and one of my favourite James Bond actors. As always, here's a bit of background!


The 17th James Bond film

Starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, Izabella Scorupco as Natalya Simonova, Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp, Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan (Agent 006). With Robbie Coltrane, Alan Cumming and Minnie Driver.
Directed by Martin Campbell. Screenplay by Bruce Feirstein. Theme song performed by Tina Turner, written by Bono and The Edge from U2



Release Dates: UK; 24 November 1995 (My fourth birthday! AWWW)



Now for the swatches!




Golden Eye is a clear base packed with Gold flakes. This can either be layered over another colour or worn alone. I chose to wear this alone for the swatches above. This is 3 coats of Golden Eye without a base/top coat.


We're 7 Days away from the Skyfall premiere and we have 7 polishes left since I now have The Man With The Golden Gun, which I will be showing on the last day of the Series! See you tomorrow!