Sea Siren Cosmetics Swatches and Review part 1

Ahoy mateys! Recently I was contacted by Sea Siren Cosmetics to do some swatching for them. I'm always keen to try a new Aussie brand, and OMG am I glad I did!

Deb really packed a lotta polishes in, so I'm splitting them up into four posts with 5 polishes per post, and some nail art using them all. Today, we start with the blues and (some) of the greens!

Sea Mist - 2 coats

Pastels usually scare me, I get lobster hands BIG TIME with most. That, and the formulas on them tend to be a bit crappy. Not this one. This one could almost be a ONE coater! That's just unheard of! I adore the shade of blue too, it's pastel but still bright. 

Sea Dayze - 2 coats

This is basically Sea Mists older sibling. Such an amazing, bright vivid blue, and the formula was perfection! The opacity was very good, and I found this one to dry pretty quickly.

Deep Blue Sea - 2 coats

And another gorgeous blue. I absolutely LOVE this one. This shimmer is so strong, so sparkly, and at the right angles, it looks purple-ish. This again had fantastic opacity, and could be a careful one coater. I find blues like this may stain on some people though, so if that worries you, double up on the base coat!

Mermaid Tails - 3 coats

This is a gorgeous colour, but it is sheer (it does build up nicely though) and it is a little bit frosty/brushstrokey. I am willing to forgive this one, and so should everyone else! This is a very unique shade of green to my stash.

Mystical Atlantis - 2 coats

This one is one of my favourites. Another highly pigmented, nicely opaque polish that could almost be a one coater. What makes this one super unique is the gold, almost bronzey shimmer through it. Holy wow Batman! Total love!

All of these swatches have Out The Door Topcoat. I decided to use these five together to create an oceany, mermaidy mani!

I have 3 more Sea Siren posts coming up, keep your eyes peeled, because you NEED so many of these!

Until Next Time

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Born Pretty Store Purple Star Studs Review

I love Born Pretty Store. I've said it a gazillion times. The mani and product I'm showing tonight are these adorable purple star shaped studs, and it's inspired by Neverland Nail Blog.

I used Color Club Twiggie as my base, attached the studs with clear topcoat, and then used Ulta3 Over the Rainbow to make some fun, super sparkly shooting stars!

These stars come in single colour packs of 200 studs. These purple stus are colour #5. They are super cute, and small enough to sit almost totally flat on my rather curved nails.

I also have a 10% discount code for Born Pretty store, they are my favourite place to buy nail art stuff!  The code is AFL91

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Pretty Pots Polish swatches!

Pretty Pots Polish is a rather newish Aussie indie brand (they're popping up like crazy- and I LOVE it!), that I recently decided to try instead of drooling over Instagram pics!

I bought these in December, and am only getting around to posting them tonight, because, well I'm lazy!

The first one, Season of Giving was what made me place an order! Pretty Pots was offering a very limited amount of these for an amazingly generous deal - free, all you had to pay was postage! Can't say no to that! It's a gorgeous grey crelly base packed with green micro glitter, yellow and pink hexes, pink circles and white star glitters. No fishing required to get the glitter out, but I sit every chunky/indie glitter upside down for a few minutes before applying it. I used two coats with Out The Door topcoat for my swatch.

The other colour I chose (have to make shipping worth it!) was Riot on the Sidewalk! from the Colour Riot collection. This one has a light blue base, packed with black, yellow, green, pink and blue hex glitters through it. This one was weird, used with out a base coat, the glitters tended to clump together, and it's a little sheer. I chose to layer it (2 coats) over Zoya Blu, with one coat of OTD topcoat.

Two very unique glitters, and a brand I'll definitely be buying from again! What are your thoughts?

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Miss Ashleigh Swatches and Review!

Miss Ashleigh is an Aussie Indie I've been lusting after for a long time, and I was recently given the chance to swatch some of her new collection, and every single shade SCREAMS summer! It's summer here in Oz, and it's bloody hot (where I live it hit 45.1C today - roughly 113F) so these shades are PERFECT to be wearing right now!

Before I show swatches, I will share my thoughts on the formula. They all had roughly the same formula- thickish, but easy to apply and very easy to work with.

Show Us Your Watermelons- First of all, LOVE the name! This shade is a bright, bold watermelon colour. It's a neon that doesn't require a white base, and is opaque in 2 coats. It's a little bit pinker in person than it looks in photos, and I really love this shade. Will be perfect for a pedi! 2 coats, with Out The Door topcoat.

The Grape Gatsby-  another great name! This one is a sheer-ish purple jelly base packed with glitter. There's micro holo, tiiiiny holo hexes, big pink, blue and silver hexes and probably more. Super complex! This one can be worn alone or layered, I chose to wear it alone. This is 3 coats, with OTD topcoat.

 

Deja-Blue - This one is a dreeeeeeeeeeam! It's a blue holo creme- think Essie Butler Please/Nails Inc Baker St, but with subtle holo. Gorgeous! This one needed two coats, with OTD topcoat (doesn't dull the holo btw!)

I saved my favourite for last! Let's Clown Around- clear based glitter topper full of blue, red, pink and yellow hexes, circles and square glitters. Love love LOVE this one! It's so different to all the other bright glitter toppers that have been popping up. I've layered two thin coats over Ulta3 Black Satin with OTD topcoat. I loved this combo so much I'm still wearing it as a full mani!

You can find Miss Ashleigh on Facebook, Instagram or her website (there's a list of stockists there too!). Definitely a brand I recommend!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Victorian-esque Skittle!

I'm a big fan of a classic black and white damask pattern, so I have been practicing painting it by hand. Today, I'll be showing you my latest attempt, and one of the best manicures I've done on myself in a long, LONG time.

I used Ulta3 Black Satin and Lily White, and A England Perceval. The perfect red, not just for this mani, but in general. The rose and damask pattern were done with a small nail art brush, and it was all finished with Out The Door Topcoat.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

Some NEW Gloss 'n Sparkle Shades!

Gloss 'n Sparkle are one of my fave Aussie Indie Brands. In fact, it was my first! I recently did a decent sized order - HAD to have the Halloween collection (will show you soon!), and Angela offered to throw in some of her new shades as well, and I couldn't say no!

All four of these shades are stunning in their own way. What I love most about G'nS is the creme based glitters she does. Unicorn Droppings anyone?! The mix of the base colours and the glitters are just phenomenal.

 The Lotus Eater

Oh. My. God. This is absolutely gorgeous! Angela describes this polish as "A bright blue shade packed with glitter in matte and metallic shades of teal, turquoise, purple, pink, fuschia and garnet." Everything about this polish is pure love. I adore the base colour, and the glitters compliment it perfectly. Not to mention, The Lotus Eater is a great song by Opeth! 2 coats, with Out The Door Topcoat.

 Can't Even Breathe

"A creamy grey purple base, with copper, teal, fuschia and garnet matte, metallic and holographic glitters." I wasn't sure about this one in the bottle, but it is SO much prettier on the nail! I love the dusty purple base, and the glitter combo is very unique! 2 coats, with Out The Door Topcoat.

The Huntress

"A dark blue leaning green jelly, packed with small glitters in gold, black, pink, garnet, emerald, turquoise and lime." LOVE this one. The base reminds me of one of my first G'nS polishes, Goblins Grave, but it may be a bit darker. This one is impossibly gorgeous, so sparkly and yet not in your face about it. I've included a picture of it at 2 coats, and a single coat so you can see the delicious base colour. It does become very dark once you add a second coat, but it adds to the charm. 2 coats, with Out The Door Topcoat.

 Tonality

"A glitter topper in a clear base packed with various shapes and sizes of glitter in circles, squares, rectangles, hexagons and diamonds in black, white, holographic silver and irridescent purple, blue and green glitter." This is a revolutionary black and white glitter topper! For one, IT DOESN'T HAVE BAR GLITTER! Big win for me there! The holo-ness and the iridescent glitters make this polish really unique in terms of B&W glitters. I have one coat, lightly dabbed, over Sally Hansen Blue Me Away with Out The Door Topcoat.

Every single one of these polishes blew me away. They are all so different to what most indie brands do, and they're all worth buying! I've actually done ANOTHER G'nS order too, cannot resist a Boxing Day sale! 

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*