Catherine Arley - 806

Like the gold one, this orange one the colour was interfering too much to be able to see the holographic effect. It must be something about that part of the colour spectrum. It just does not bounce off, no one can see it unless they stick my hands right under their eyes.

Formula - spot on. Never any trouble with the 3 Arley's I've tried so far. Doesn't need a special base coat like the Make Up Store one did. So gorgeous to work with, its a dream. Very tangy orange colour. Not really my colour range, I think it makes my hand look very orange toned.

Can't wait to try out the rest.

X6 - 2015

Well... you never know what offbeat stuff you will find in a two dollar store. I picked this up for $2 in fact. It smells terrible and the brush ugh... it had the feel of one of those old bristle turkey basting brushes and that also contributed to scraping the previous layer of colour off. It took 3 coats for a good amount of colour to go on. How to describe... Close up you can see all sorts of bald patches everywhere. But it's so reflective that it is dazzling in sunlight. It's like a jelly shimmer of mid blue. Really love the colour, not really like anything else. The formula was a bit sticky and the brush made it hard to work with. But I did like the bottle, the long thin stem I find easier to control the brush with than the chunky sort they have for most brands now.

Orly - Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

Oh this is the greatest green ever. It's sparkling, deep, reflective and festive. I suppose the girls call this glass fleck. There is silver glitter, green glitter and soft jelly base to house it all in. I did 3 or 4 coats for each nail. What I found was that it did chip easily after 2 days. I had top coat on one hand and that survived right through to when I took it off, except for tip wear. The other hand, it started chipping off at the cuticle end.

Lots of people commented on this colour. It is just really lovely. I couldn't stop looking at it either.

Scrumptious! Click for bigger!

B Collection "Osaka" vs Bloom "Elise"

B Collection is the poor cousin of Bloom, so while you buy Bloom at Myer, you can get many versions of the same colours in the cheaper B which is stocked in Target.

Now who knows what I was thinking on the day but I came home with Elise and realised I already had Osaka. So what can I do but have a play off.

So on the 2nd and 4th nails are Osaka. On all the rest are Elise. Can you tell the difference? I can't. But I can say that the brush for Osaka was actually much nicer, resulting in a more accurate and enjoyable painting experience, and the formula of Osaka was really nice too.

Both were a four coat job. The first coat you could tell was streaky and patchy. The 2nd coat still had bald patches. The polish was a bit dull too, so over the top with some Mega Shine.

Well, they are both an electric magenta, lovely raspberry jewel tone with heavy amounts of deliciously fine glitter, also magenta.

At the moment Target have B on special for $10. I think they are actually trying to get rid off all their B stuff. Sad times, but we all gotta shine and fade away.

Sally Hansen crackles

Are in Terry White chemists.

Roadside finds

You just never know what you might find digging through a box of discarded goods outside someone's house. I took most of the clothes and shoes to the op shop, but was glad to pick up a few bottles of polish in ok nick.

They are Revlon Sweet Nothings Nude Nighty, Maybelline Sheer Satin Slip, Estee Lauder Raffia (a really nice tan shot with gold shimmer), and Rimmel Deliciously Dark.

My holographics

Got my nail wheels this week so have set about cataloguing my colours.

Got started on my holographics. You know, despite all my griping about Make Up Store's formula, it's polish turns out the best in terms of holographic effect. Also I went back in today to the MUS stand and discovered that there is actually a special base you have to use for the holos to make it grip properly. !!!

Special thanks to my friend JJ who sent over the Catherine Arley ones!!

Revlon scenteds

Also in Terry White.

Rimmel - Hypnotise

Beautiful formula. Beautiful deep purple red creme (berry). Anti chip. I wore it for 5 days before tiny bits came off. Has one of the wide flat brushes that take getting used to and I'm finding with this that it is easier to do the two edges first then the middle stroke.

I loved this colour so much, it really has a gorgeous sheen and depth. Only needed 2 coats.

Christina Fitzgerald "Deborah" and Cosmiss glitter

Deborah is a milky blue with blue iridescence. It was interesting to look at and was in the bargain bin, so unfortunately not in its best condition and stayed tacky for the 3 days I wore it. Collected smudged from things like newsprint as the days wore on. :( Sad times.

Hard to see the iridescence once on the nail, but it was apparent in the bottle.

Because all the edges pushed up from not drying, I decorated the tips with glitter to hide it. I've blogged the glitter before, but just to recap it was a dodgy fake from China that I picked up along with a fake OPI. So the bottle has come from somewhere and I know nothing about Cosmiss.

The glitter is very nice though.

Revlon scented "Colada Fizz"

A yummy, coconutty and pineapple scent. Still apparent after 3 days of wear. But I think its a real shame it's not darker. This is after 4 coats of polish but I think you could barely say it was even vaguely blue. To most it looks grey. So aside from the delicious smell, it's not a favourite. It's not even chic for the office.

So to describe, a very sheer jelly with an angelic baby blue, with swathes of silvery, pink and green flakies or glass fleck some call it. I'd rather call it sugar crystals. Perhaps this would be a really sweet top coat over something else.

The consistency is nice, goes on really well and smoothly. Dried very quick.