Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! So excited today to show you one of Kaz from Pretty Random's little babies - part of her new line of Pretty Serious cosmetics!
Yes that's right, Kaz is living the dream of every beauty blogger and has started her own cosmetics company. How insanely cool is that???
She has her first line, "Hello World!" for sale right now on the site, and it consists of 6 nail polishes, matching eye shadows and scented lip glosses. Everything is vegan, cruelty-free, not to mention 3-free and formaldehyde resin free!
I'm also chuffed to report I haven't had any allergy problems, so Pretty Serious is also officially "Nixxy Approved", too! I should get a stamp or something...
Now before I go any further in my review I must point out for those who don't know that Kaz and I are friends and so I am particularly biased. I am biased because I know just how much energy she's poured into these products and believe me when I say you can see it.
The girl's a legendary nail blogger and collector. Her Helmers are like the Area 51 of the nail polish world. We're talking that level of commitment to the polish cause here, people. So you better believe that when she creates her own polish, she's gonna have everything perfect.
The packaging is super cute. The bottle has a non-slip grippy handle. The brush is just the right length and width.
And the actual polishes? Well I think some pics of "VT100" might be in order, here...
This is two coats and a top coat. The formula is perfect - application is easy, it's highly pigmented so you could even get away with one coat if you're in a hurry.
Ah! A gorgeous green with tiny micro-glitter which looks gold but sometimes silver depending on the light.
Sorry - bit blurry here but I'm trying to show that this green also has the tendency to change - one minute it's lime, the next it's more olive, then forest. It's like a little chameleon.
Even in overcast conditions it's striking :)
And the microglitter means this stuff is tough. I had this on 6 and a half days to make SURE I wasn't going to have any reaction, and it hardly had any dints or chips. Brill!
So there you have it! Go check out the site for the rest of the collection - everything is $9.95 Australian, there are discounts for buying in bundles, and she ships internationally, girls!
I'm so thrilled and proud of Kaz and can't wait to try the rest of the collection. It's gonna be Big McLarge Huge!
It's a bit of a lazy Sunday today so I thought I'd post this little article while I had the chance. It's an old swatch from the vault which somehow escaped my notice until yesterday. And look - I have nails in the pics! Actual. Nails!
Anyhoo, I think the reason this colour got a bit lost in the collection was that I was a bit "meh" about it. Orangey colours and I have a bit of an awkward relationship. I kinda sort of like them and they kinda sorta like me back. But not enough to set up any regular dates or anything...
It's a funny strawberry pinky orangey number. Let's call it "Sunset". More pinky or more orangey depends on your lighting. Observe -
No big problems with application, although I would make sure you've got a top coat on it for better wear.
Overall...meh. Y'know? It's nice but I just can't drum up much enthusiasm. I guess for something with "HD" in the title I was hoping for -
Jazz hands!
And instead I got -
But maybe it's just me being a fussy bitch :) And despite these pics being taken about a year ago, you can still pick this up for about $14.95 in Australia (I got mine from Priceline).
Well hey! I'm back after several false starts trying to get another blog post up. Having huge problems loading pics to blogger lately - it's sapping my will to live.
Anyhoo - today you will be treated to the untrammeled beauty of my nubbins, as I've recently snapped off all of my nails. Combine that with my seeming inability to apply polish lately and it's a wonder I have anything to post at all!
So please ignore my bad nails and bad application and just look a the pretty colour, okay?
This is one of the polishes I brought home from the UK last year - what looks like a duochoromey purple. Sadly the chromey aspect disappears once out of the bottle, but it's still a lovely purple, make no mistake...
See that lovely "oil in a puddle" effect? Unfortunately, that's the last you'll see of it once applied...
The good thing is that although it was a bit of a let-down effect-wise, the actual colour and wear were great. This is 3 coats and it lasted quite well.
Would I buy it again? Meh. Probably not seeing as I have other colours similar. But if you don't, have at it, dudes :)
And now here's a picture of a cat to expunge your retinas of my icky fingers...
Anyone notice something slightly different to the right of your screen? Yes, the long list of Aussie nail blogs belonging to the Gumleaf Mafia is gone. But don't despair! There's good reason -
WE HAVE A GUMLEAF MAFIA PAGE!
The new Gumleaf Mafia site is the portal to all the Aussie nail blogs you can shake a roo tail at! Just click Blingy Bill and he'll take you to the brilliant page super genius Kaz from Pretty Random set up for us.
It's updated hourly with thumbnails so you can see what all of us have been up to, with links to the full posts. Soooo much easier!
And if you're an Aussie blogger and not a member, it's easy to sign up - just head on over to the page and fill in a form.
Let us all give praise and maybe a little bouncy dance to the all-knowing Kaz for her brilliant idea and hard work!
Well, another month, another blog post, huh? Time flies when you're having...well...not fun, but life I suppose. Remember when I used to do a post every weekday? Ha! It took an hour just to load the pics for this post! Not that I mind or anything. No sir-ee! Not. At. All.
Ahem. Anyhoo - better late than never, and I have a doozy for you today by the name of Jingle Jangle - another of the Color Club "Under the Mistletoe" collection.
I'll let the pics do the talking with this one...
Okay - I'll do a little bit of talking! This is 3 coats and a clear topcoat. Again, like Sugar Plum from my last post - this is a dense glitter and I found it doesn't really need a coloured undercoat to reach opacity. Faboosh!
Got a soft spot for this one cos it kinda reminds me of my Calisthenics club's pink and blue uniform :)
Unfortunately, this is the last polish I wore before I managed to snap off EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY NAILS, bar one! I have ugly little nubbiny things now which refuse to grow more than a millimetre before frigging breaking again. Gah!
I will try my best to get swatching again, but beware the nubbins in the next posts! Beware!
I will leave you now with something slightly bell related (Jingle, Jangle - geddit?). If you follow my Twitter, you may already know this is quite possibly one of the most awesome, wack-a-doodle pop videos of all time. It involves ninja kicking nuns and a bit of girl on girl action (ooh-er!) And the song's chorus is actually a real earworm :) But mainly it's about the ninja kicking nun...
Well hey there! How was your Christmas and New Year? From the number of updates on the blog, you can see I got a bit busy, huh?
I'm working on a new writing project which has pretty much seized my brain and not let go. Plus I'm my grandmother's carer and she had a bad run the week before Xmas. Was not looking good but thank God(dess) for the Palliative Care people - they've been fabulous and Nanna got a pain-free Xmas with the family.
And speaking of Xmas - now that Kaz has her present, I can finally feature these on my blog and not spoil her surprise! The Color Club "Under the Mistletoe" Collection I nabbed in the UK (thank you, TK Maxx!).
I was using "Sugar Plum Fairy" constantly while in the UK and got so many compliments. Even had a girl grip my hand over the baked potatoes in the cafeteria at Regent's College and exclaim, "Omigod, look at your BLING!"
And yes, bling would be an accurate term -
It's holographic glitter with the palest lavender/lilac tint...
Awww yeah, baby...in sunlight or indoors, this stuff can't be stopped.
I mean, honestly - what can I say? I love this! It's a heavy glitter, so no need for a coloured undercoat - 2 to 3 layers should do the trick. I always apply a thick layer of top coat cos I like a smooth finish.
Definitely my fave out of the whole collection, and instantly in my fave glitters of all time. If you love your glitter or holos and haven't got this collection, you need to snap it up now or you'll regret it!
Very excited today because this is the first OPI polish I've been able to wear and feature on the blog in YEARS, thanks to their new 4-Free formula (free of formaldehyde resin now!).
Apparently this change came into effect after the Texas collection, and I can only hope that they start producing all their back catalogue the same so I can eventually wear their DS range :D
Lordy, lordy it's a beautiful day!
So I picked up some Muppets mini polishes while in the UK, and although I wasn't hot on this one at first, when I tried it on it was a revelation.
OPI describes it as "metallic bronze", but really it's more like a dull silver with tiny flecks of copper/bronze that give it a slight tint. If you don't like/don't suit bronze (like me) don't worry - this will suit just about everyone.
Did I mention it was a mini?
Makes my normal bottle of Rainbow Connection look like Godzilla!
So - down to the polish. You'll have to excuse my index finger. I dun gone got a break...
This is two coats. Great coverage and drying time. I'm wearing OPI dudes!!!!
See what I mean? More silver than bronze, even in sunlight...
I'm so impressed with this. I didn't think this was my kind of colour at all and it's just perfect. I think this could even be a good work-safe metallic.
And the mini size is just so cute! Just beware of leaving it round the house as the cats decided it made a really good toy...
Sigh. OPI guys. I thought I'd never see the day I could wear it again. I'm off to have a lie down.
Hi!
I'm allergic to formaldehyde (and formaldehyde resin now), so you will never see any polish on this blog that contains it - unless it's with a large warning.
I got the allergy from wearing too much polish with the BIG F in it - so let this be a warning to you!
nixxysnailsATlive.com
Ah! A gorgeous green with tiny micro-glitter which looks gold but sometimes silver depending on the light.
