Ulta3 Mini Haul and Swatches

Today was a good day for me shopping wise. Not only did I pick up some lovely products that I am excited to try out and review for, I also managed to stumble upon these Ulta3 polishes in Coles for 50 cents. Ulta3 are my favourite cheap nail polish brand by far, so I went rummaging through the bin like a mad person. They  are incredibly well priced usually, at around the $2 mark, but I was so excited to see them for even cheaper.

As you can see from the picture, all of the colours I got are in the red/pink/purple family, because they were really the only colours they had left. That was fine by me, as I have very few reds in my collection.

In person, these colours probably look closer to how they look in the top photo of the bottles than the one I have swatched for you above. The top three are definitely much darker than this picture shows. All of these were opaque and streak free with only 2 coats. 

• Pepper Pot - In the bottle looks like a very dark brown burgundy colour. On the nail the burgundy doesn't translate, and it looks mostly like a dark red.
• Flashback Fuchsia - A deep very red toned purple
• Sunset Pink - Not remotely pink. A red toned purple, similar to Flashback Fuchsia but a couple of shades lighter. This reminds me a bit of OPI's Miami Beet, except it dries to a demi-matte finish without a top coat.
• Pink Colada - This is a pretty, almost raspberry shade of dark pink and my favourite so far.
• Tangelo - A fluorescent pinky orange. This looks very close to the Ulta3 polish I showed in a post a while back called Carrot Top (you can check it and my other Ulta3 polishes out here).

If anyone knows of any other good cheap nail polish brands, please please please let me know!

NOTD: OPI's Lucky Lucky Lavender

I don't know why, but when it comes to nail polish, I never want to wear colours to suit the season. This past summer, I couldn't wait for cooler weather to wear OPI's William Tell Me About OPI (you can see a post on it here). It's been cold for ages now, and I've worn it once. I know there are no rules to when you can and can't wear certain colours, but I would love to be one of those put together girls with the perfectly seasonally appropriate outfit and nail polish to match.

So instead of dipping into my immense collection of gorgeous wintery colours. I went for OPI's Lucky Lucky Lavender.

Lucky Lucky Lavender is a stunning purple colour, that looks more lilac than lavender, from OPI's Hong Kong Collection from 2010. It's a creme finish polish, that is opaque in 2 to 3 coats. It can be very streaky, so I tend to go for 3 coats, to get a more flawless end result. Please excuse the minor chipping. I have actually been wearing this for a couple of days already without a top coat, and it's lasting power, as always, has been pretty darn good.

Don't forget to come back in six months time when I will finally be wearing all of by burgundies, deep blues and other assorted winter colours.

Bargain Buy: Ulta3 Nail Polishes

I don't often fall prey to the impulse bins and stands set up in shops and supermarkets. Maybe it's a product of having worked in a supermarket for many years while at school and uni, but I just tend to ignore them. I especially ignore the ones full of cheap cosmetics. I know there are a lot of good and cheap makeup brands in the US and UK, but here in oz, cheap makeup usually equates to bad experiences for me. 

Recently, however, a bin full of these Ulta3 polishes caught my eye at Coles. They are usually $2 a piece, but were on special for a whole $1. I couldn't not. So I did.

The colours I bought, from left to right, are:

• Carrot top - an orange toned red
• Tahitian Lime - a bright lime green
• Mermaid Green - in the bottle this one looks similar to Fly by OPI, but dries closer to to a green
• Purple Passion - a shimmery magenta purple

I'm so happy I picked these up, because they are actually pretty good polishes. Especially when you consider that even at full price, I could pick up 10 of these for the same price as one OPI or Essie polish. Most of them were opaque within two coats and lasted for two to three days before starting to chip. I only regret not buying more.

For any fellow Aussies interested in these, they are available at Coles supermarkets, Terry White Chemists, Blooms the Chemist and Good Price Pharmacies.

NOTD: Australis' Sinfully Sweet

I would like to introduce you all to the beautiful pink polish that is Australis' Sinfully Sweet. I won this baby on twitter from the beautiful people at Australis! I never win anything, so I'm pretty excited. It was waiting for me in the letterbox when I got home and I couldn't wait to try it out and show you all.

This nail polish was a dream to work with. The formula is fairly thin, but very easy to work with. Here I am wearing three coats, but it was opaque within two. That is some serious opacity for a pale pink polish!

At only $7.95 each, these polishes are really good value. Unfortunately for those not in Australia, I don't believe Australis is sold in other countries.

NOTD: OPI's Ski Teal We Drop

Today's NOTD is OPI's Ski Teal We Drop. I absolutely love this smokey dark blue colour. It's work appropriate with enough of a hint of difference to keep me happy. 

Here I'm wearing two coats, but it's nearly opaque in one. The formulation is also thin for how opaque it goes on, and is very easy to work with.

NARS Thakoon Summer 2012 Collection Impression

Hi Guys. Just a quick post today to share with you my impression of the new NARS Thakoon nail polish collection for Summer 2012. It's a bit of a bittersweet impression too. But before I share that, here are the colours:

Clockwise from the top right they are:

• Armchoor - a bright sunny yellow
• Kutki - a pale powder blue
• Koliary - a sky blue
• Lal Mirchi - abright orange toned red
• Anardana - a bright pomegranate pink
• Ratin Jot - a medium purple

Apparently this collection was created in collaboration between NARS and fashion designer Thakoon Panichgul, and was inspired by the intense colours found in the spice markets of India.

As summer colours, to me, these are spot on. They look vibrant, they look beautiful and I would love to get my hands on them to wear for summer (or any time for that matter).

Now for the negative. I just feel like these colours have been done before, or ones very similar at least. Don't get me wrong, I really love the look of them, but they are just really unsurprising for summer colours. The one that seems the most exciting to me, the Lal Mirchi, is also only available at NARS' Bleecker Street store in New York.

I really like these colours, but I'm just not overly surprised or moved by them. Maybe I'm expecting too much from the brand that brought us Kismet (a metallic marigold), and Ecume (a bright white) last Northern Hemisphere summer.

What does everyone else think? Is my feeling of being slightly underwhelmed for nothing?

NOTD: Sunshine and Rainbows

Hi Guys. I have a fun one for you today. Off the back of yesterday's NOTD using OPI's Banana Bandana, I have created a bright, multicoloured, mood elevating mani for you (phew, that's a lot of adjectives). Check it out!

It's deceptively easy to create, and near on impossible to mess up. As you can see, I used a mix of thick and thin lines to keep it casual, and switched up the colours on each nail. I used:

• Blue - OPI Fly
• Pink (showing up dark orange in photos) - OPI I Mainely Eat Lobster
• Orange - OPI In My Back Pocket
• Purple - OPI Ate Berries In the Canaries
• Green - Essie Pretty Edgy

Let me know what you think! xx

NOTD: OPI's Banana Bandana

Another NOTD for all you nail polish lovers! The weather here over the past couple of days has been cold and drizzly, but today turned out to beautifully sunny and warm. As many of you know, I am from Australia, which means we're in Autumn and heading into Winter right now. With that in mind, I decided to make the most of the sunny day and desperately cling to the warmer weather by paying homage with a very summery nail colour: OPI's Banana Bandana!

I've had this polish for so long, but it hasn't got a great deal of use. It really only comes out when I want a pick me up. I'm thinking about taking full advantage of the colour and doing some nail art with it tomorrow, so stay tuned.

So, how about you my lovely readers? Does the weather affect your nail polish choices, and if so, what ones do you reach for and when?

NOTD: Steady As She Rose

Time for another NOTD! Today I'm wearing OPI's Steady As She Rose, a colour that defies description. In some lights, it's a lilac purple, in others, rose pink or grey. At times all three. Sometimes it's cool toned and sometimes it looks quite warm. I have never come across a creme finish that is as dynamic in its colour as this one. Isn't she pretty?

To apply, the formula is slightly thicker than most but easy enough to work with. It goes on very opaque, but streaky, and usually only needs 2 coats.

So tell me, what are you wearing on your nails right now? And has anyone seen a creme finish polish that seems to shift colours in different lighting like this one?

NOTD: William Tell Me About OPI

Hi Guys, just a quick NOTD. After the very girly, very pink ombre nails I've sported over the weekend, I needed to go to the opposite end of the nail polish spectrum. William Tell Me About OPI is the perfect antidote - a darker than dark red creme that is oh so grown up and perfect for returning to work tomorrow.

So tell me, beautiful people, what's your go to 'serious' nail?