Essie - Cocktail Bling

I was basically in awe of this colour ever since it got released in last year's winter collection, because it was so different from anything I already had. Funnily, I only just got round to wearing it for the first time since today was pretty overcast and I have to admit I'm underwhelmed. I don't know if it's the season or the colour, but something just wasn't wow-ing me. But the formula was nice and smooth, and painted on opaquely in 2 coats, with 1 coat top coat.

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China Glaze - Surreal Appeal

Today I'm wearing a new polish from China Glaze's Cirque du Soleil collection. This pinky coral was so nice to apply, almost a one coater. Whilst this means that the polish was quite thick, it was an easy thick that still dried quickly and didn't glop or pull. This is 2 coats with 1 thin coat of OPI's The Man With the Golden Gun gold leaf topcoat.

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Butter London - Fiddlesticks

Today I'm wearing Fiddlesticks from the newest Butter London collection. Out of the shades I purchased, I expected to like this the least but I've actually worn it 4 times since I got it, which is almost unheard of for me! I prefer it with a topcoat, but I wanted to see what it'd be like matte, so that's what you're getting today ;) This is 2 coats, with 1 coat of matte topcoat.

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China Glaze - Twinkle Lights

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone :) My christmas eve, christmas and boxing day manicure was China Glaze's Twinkle Lights from the holiday collection last year. I purchased it back in May specifically for Christmas day, yet I almost changed my mind! Luckily I came to my senses because this was such a nice Christmas colour to wear. Red, green and gold glitters, it just sparkles in the sun. Two coats was so close to being opaque, but I added a third coat just to make sure.

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Essie - Fiji

Today I'm wearing Fiji, one of the most talked about Essie polishes on both blogs and youtube. I do see the appeal, especially since it definitely suits all skin colours. It's also really opaque and paints on reasonably smoothly. The only application issue I had (and it was totally my fault) is that on the second coat, I didn't quite paint over the entire first coat so that near the cuticles you can see where the first coat starts and the second coat starts, if you know what I mean (if you enlarge the images you'll see a bumpiness at the cuticle where I tried to clean it up until it was even but missed a smidge). Anyway, what I'm really trying to say is that if you're looking for an opaque white-pink, this is a nice one.

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Butter London - Jack the Lad

A few months ago, I decided that I was only going to purchase from brands I already owned, mainly Essie and China Glaze, and that I really didn't need to keep branching out into new brands when I own so many polishes. This resolve lasted about 2 months until Butter London's newest collection came out (holiday or winter? I'm not really sure). Buying this collection, of course, meant that Butter London's polishes were fair game and I have about half of their collection making it's way to me now..whoops! Anyway, this colour is what started my need: Jack the Lad. It's absolutely beautiful, with green and blue glitters suspended in a darker green base.

This was 3 coats, but 2 could have easily sufficed. I've heard that the polishes from this collection are top-coat-eaters, but I've worn 3 of the colours so far (forgot pictures of the other 2 :( and I only had to use one coat of Essie's Good to Go and Deborah Lippmann's Addicted to Speed (both relatively thin top coats) and I didn't have any roughness at all.

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L'Oreal Paris - Divine Indigo

Today I'm sporting another of L'Oreal's mini colour riche polishes in Divine Indigo. When I saw it, it reminded me of Orly's Lunar Eclipse, but it's so pretty I bought it anyway. Lunar Eclipse is a slightly lighter blue, and Divine Indigo is more purple with a much finer glitter. This is 2 coats, 1 coat top coat. Once again I had issues with the brush size, but other than that I really like this polish.

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Chi Chi - Don't Be A Hater

Yesterday I wore this beauty, Chi Chi's Don't Be A Hater. Kind of fitting for the internet? Haha. Isn't it just so pretty though? This polish looks best in the shade because you really get to see the silver and teal glitter, but it still sparkles in the sun. For AU$5, I definitely think this shade is worth picking up if you like the colour. This was 2 coats, no top coat.

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Revlon - Iced Mauve

This may be an oldie, but it's definitely a goodie. Iced Mauve is my idea of a palette cleanser because it's not a "hey, look at me!" colour, but it's still a colour. Some may call this granny-ish, but I don't mind because I love it anyway. It painted on smoothly in 2 coats (no top coat), and I especially like the subtle silver shimmers/sheen.

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China Glaze - Kinetic Candy

Whilst I'm not a pale-blue nail polish person, it was so hot today that it felt oddly refreshing to have Kinetic Candy on my nails. This is 2 coats, 1 coat top coat.

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OPI - The Spy Who Loved Me

So, who knew you could run out of photo space on blogspot? Because I certainly didn't! Since I'm uncomfortable with monthly subscriptions, I chose to upload my photos onto Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/knicksandnails/) and forward them here. I'm really only letting you guys know this in case it affects the layout or quality or if my photos suddenly disappear because I'm new to this kind of stuff so please bare with me! Also, if any other bloggers use flickr, please let me know how you do it because there has to be an easier way than how I'm uploading!

So onto todays post. I purchased the mini Bond collection from ebay and I'm so glad because I love 3 of the 4 colours that it came with (the gold one looked pretty terrible on my fingers). This went on so smoothly, I barely even had to clean up my nails at all. This is 2 coats with 1 coat top coat. Isn't it gorgeous?!

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Essie - Orange, It's Obvious!

Lately I have only been reaching in my Essie draw for polish picks, so I'm sorry that's all you've been seeing! This isn't a polish I've ever worn before, even though I picked it up shortly after it was released (I'm thinking the spring 2012 collection, but it could've been a collection around the same time). As a mid-tone orange, I wasn't sure how much I'd like it on, but I really like how bright and cheerful it becomes in the sunshine! I used 2 coats, with 1 coat of Deborah Lippmann's Addicted to Speed top coat.

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Essie - Butler Please + Stroke of Brilliance

I only had time to snap the one picture of this mani I wore the other day, hence the poorer photo quality. I figured I'd still post it though because I had fun wearing this. 2 coats of Butler Please, 1 coat Stroke of Brilliance (from the LuxEffect line) and 2 coats of Rimmel's matte top coat (which I really don't recommend, hence the 2 coats). 

Essie - Splash of Grenadine

Hey guys, sorry about the lack of posts this month, I've just been rewearing colours I've already blogged about. Today is Essie's popular Splash of Grenadine, a purpled pink creme. This painted on smoothly in 2 coats, with Deborah Lippmann's Addicted to Speed over the top.

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