No time for a manicure.

I'm going on vacation this week and haven't had the time to do a manicure or take pictures. This weekend I purchased a gorgeous Butter polish, Wallis, in the Ulta sale for $10, so will be playing with that when I return. I have so many polishes that I promised myself I would blog about them for the next few months before buying anymore but it's hard to resist a sale!

I discovered an amazing nail blog, www.polishallthenails.com, whilst googling for manicure ideas. I've included a picture below. This blogger has some of the most incredible manicures I've ever seen. She takes individual pieces of glitter and arranges them across the nail one by one. I cannot wait to try this, even if I just do an accent nail. The effect is stunning. Please take a look if you love glitter.

A mermaid manicure from Polish All the Nails. I'm in love!

China Glaze - It's A Trap-eze Nail Polish Review

China Glaze It's a Trap-Eze Bottle

I purchased China Glaze 'It's a Trap-eze' after seeing swatches online. This polish was released as part of the December 2012 Cirque Du Soleil Worlds Away collection. The polish is a white opaque creme infused with hexagonal and round glitter in shades of green, orange, blue, pink and silver. This polish is so me!

The formula of this polish is great. It's packed full of glitter and gives great coverage after only 2-3 layers. The end result is gorgeous! The polish looks exactly how it does in the bottle when applied to your nails because of the generous amount of glitter included. I'm usually so dissatisfied with glitter polishes because of their poor coverage but this polish didn't disappoint. 

Overall I was extremely happy with this polish. It's unique and unlike any other polishes in my collection. I like how you have the effect of a white creme with a glittery top coat with only 3 layers of polish. I haven't tried any of the other polishes from this collection but I love how Bend over Backwards looks and have added it to my list of polishes to try.

OPI Fall/ Winter 2013 San Francisco Collection Minis - Swatches and Review

I purchased this mini set a couple of weeks ago from Ulta as an impulse buy. I usually prefer to buy individual polishes than sets as one or two of the colors always seem to end up un-used. The set consists of four mini nail polishes, two cremes and two duochromes.

First Date at the Golden Gate

'First Date at the Golden Gate' is a deep cherry red creme polish. I really like the color of this polish. It's a deeper red than anything else that I have in my collection. The consistency of this polish was good too, it applied easily and I wore it for around 3 days before it began to chip. The picture below was taken after I'd applied 3-4 coats.

Muir Muir on the Wall

I adore this polish! 'Muir Muir on the Wall' is a deep plum duochrome with flecks of gold that peek through the rich plum base. Dark plum polishes aren't usually my first choice but I love this and can see myself wearing it throughout the winter.

The first photo is very true to life in terms of color. The second photo was me playing with the settings on my new camera but I thought it turned out pretty.

In the Cable Car-Pool Lane

'In the Cable Car-Pool Lane' is a deep burgundy creme. The photo below is more true to life in terms of color. This polish was my least favorite of the collection. The formula was OK but it took around 4 coats to achieve completely even coverage. I wasn't blown away by the color but I may try this in the fall with a gold glitter top coat. Overall this polish wasn't a winner for me.

Peace & Love & OPI

'Peace & Love & OPI' turned out to be my second favorite polish of the collection. When I saw this in the bottle, I had to have it. I thought it would blow me away but I prefer the gold fleck of 'Muir Muir on the Wall'. This polish is described as holographic sage and eggplant but it's actually a duochrome with a deep green/ grey base interspersed with mauve shimmer throughout. I love how this polish shifts in the light but it started to chip within a day of wearing it. Very pretty but I thought it would be more special than it turned out to be.

These pictures really capture how much this polish shifts in the light!

Overall I was pretty pleased with this mini collection. I'll probably wear 'Muir Muir on the Wall' the most frequently but I like the uniqueness of 'Peace & Love & OPI', I have nothing else like it.