China Glaze: Smoke and Ashes

Finally the last color I got from the China Glaze Colors from the Capitol Collection: Smoke and Ashes (District 12 - Coal)!

Smoke and Ashes was one of my most anticipated colors from the collection based on the promo pictures. Dark with tiny sparkles of color - what's not to love? And it definitely did not disappoint. Look:

Smoke and Ashes is really dark but not quite black and is filled with small green and blue flecks that really pops out when the light hits the nails. I know the pictures don't really show it but the flecks are more obvious IRL - almost like mini flakies. Really sophisticated looking.

Love!!!
(sorry for the slightly blurry pic)

It reminds me of Cult Nails' Living Water but they are not quite dupes. For one, Living Water has really bright glitters instead of flecks. I will get around to doing a swatch and comparison one day!

Application for Smoke and Ashes was slightly tricky - I had a bit of dragging issues with my second coat. I will definitely wait a while more for the first coat to dry the next time I wear this. Otherwise, the formula is slightly thick but smooth and very pigmented (it really surprised me that the flecks showed up at all!).

What do you think of Smoke and Ashes? Did you get another other colors from the collection? Which are your favorites?

xoxo,
mich

The 100 Followers Giveaway: Winners!

Good morning everyone!

Finally... the announcement that everyone is waiting for!!

Thank you for participating in our giveaway!! The immense response was waaayyy beyond what we've expected. We're so extremely overwhelmed by the wonderful messages and support and love you have sent our way. So here's an official welcome to all the new followers! *waves* And also to our loyal long-time followers: we love you very much! *bises*

Before we go on to announce the winners of the giveaway, we've decided that it is only fair for us to address the comments and suggestions that you've given us during the giveaway.

While some of you have enjoyed our blog (thank you for the sweet comments!), many of you have also suggested more nail art, swatches, tutorials, tips and tricks, comparisons and hauls. We will be working on incorporating more of these posts in our blogging routine to make it more interesting and varied. Some of you have also requested for more swatches of HTFs but as we've just started this little hobby of ours, we do not have any of such beautiful and rare polishes :( A number of you have also asked for Zoya swatches... I have only one confession to make: I'm ashamed to say that I've only recently started noticing Zoya but I will definitely be working on getting myself more Zoya love! We will also be working on adding a "where to buy" page to help other polishaholics satisfy their addiction needs ;p

Sooo... in conclusion, we will be having a revamp of our blog as soon as we find the time. Do keep a look out for that! Meanwhile, if you have any other suggestions or things that you would like to see on our blog, please do drop us a comment on our blog, facebook, twitter or email! We would love to hear from you! After all, that's partly why we decided to join in the polish community in the first place! :D

And now, for the part where all of you have truly been waiting for (bet you just scrolled down to this, lol!):

The winners!!

China Glaze: Fast Track

Good morning everyone!

So I've finally finished slogging through my assignments!
To be honest, I was quite impressed by myself.  I took less than 5 days to finish each of my assignments - from research to writing! Hmm.. this should carry some advisory: extreme stunt - do not try this at home! Lol! It was quite a mad rush but I have only myself to blame for procrastinating. Amazingly, I managed to squeeze in at least 4 hours of sleep each day so I survived the intense two and a half weeks. ;p

Today I have for you my next pick from the China Glaze Colors from the Capitol Collection - Fast Track (District 6 - Transportation)!

Fast Track is a dusty beige that is jam-packed with GOLD FLECKS. Really beautiful.
It looks similar to Essence Irreplaceable but darker and warmer (see comparison at My Lucid Bubble).
It reminds me of Greek goddesses like this:

source

Must be the gold accessories or the golden hair against the skin, no? I shall pretend I'm a Greek goddess anyway ;p

See what I mean by jam-packed?!

Fast Track was a little sheer on the first coat and looked nearly mannequin on me but two coats was enough to reach opacity. I had slight dragging on my index finger but I think I didn't let it dry a little in between coats. Formula was otherwise pretty great.

So what do you think of Fast Track?
Stay tuned for my last haul from this collection! :)

xoxo,
mich

More Upcoming 2012 Collections!!

Some of you might have already seen the latest press releases and other whisperings floating around... I know I am a little late into the party so I shall make it up by having a bumper post on the some of the collections that I've caught wind of :D

So, ladies (and gentlemen), just sit back and enjoy~

Disclaimer:
I do not have access to press releases myself so don't hold me to the accuracy of the information below!
All pictures shown are from everything2k unless stated otherwise.

Source: zoya

Zoya Summer 2012: Beach & Surf
Available: 1 April 2012

Now now, what are these pretty shades and shimmery beauties that I spy? If these don't scream summer, I don't know what else does! They make me want to bust out my shades and sunblock for a relaxing tan at the beach (with some refreshing tropical drinks).... ahhh, that would be life! ;p
Anyway, you can already see swatches on Temptalia (beach & surf) and Scrangie (beach & surf).

source: chicprofile

Orly Summer 2012: Feel the Vibe
Available: April 2012

More summer neons! Boy is that yellow bright! It looks like it's going to be one mega yellow highlighter - in polish form, of course. Interesting that they included the shimmery navy blue and pearl white though. They don't quite fit with the summer theme, do they?

Source: the nail files

Orly Dark Shadows
Available: May 2012

Ooo... dark yummy colors to go with the Tim Burton movie Dark Shadows! I haven't heard of Dark Shadows (possibly because of my fear of horror movies) but it seems to be very popular. Damn my scaredy-cat self! Anyway, I'm not entirely sure whether these colors are new shades but the blue-purple duochrome sure reminds me of Orly Royal Velvet. The brown with gold (?) shimmer looks interesting though.

Essie Poppy-Razzi Neons 2012
Available: 1 May 2012

Seems like bright coral, pink and orange are the summer shades this year! Really much too bright for my liking. Interesting name though... poppy-razzi... *sings* Pa-pa pa-parazzi~

Source: geeksaresexy

OPI The Amazing Spiderman 2012
Available (in salons): May 2012

More movie collections! I am not entirely convinced I need these colors. They look pretty but not quite unique. More shatter? Urm...I think I will pass that too. Wait, is that a Chanel Peridot dupe wannabe I spotted there?

OPI Minnie Mouse Summer 2012
Available: 1 June 2012

Ahhh.. my childhood cartoon! My sister and I used to fight over being Minnie. Of course, I always win. She was stuck with being Daisy Duck. ;p Anyway, although I am not a huge fan of pink, Jayo might like this collection - especially the heart glitter, Nothin' Mousie 'bout It. Hey, jayo!! Did you see this?!
[edit by jayo: YES OMG YOU KNOW ME SO WELL!?!?! and the shade is AWESOME too!!!!]

China Glaze Bohemian 2012
Available: ?

I've posted about this on facebook earlier but I should include these... DUOCHROMES! China Glaze, you've got my heart alright. Although nowhere in the league of Ozotic, they still look rather pretty. I'm especially eyeing Unpredictable and Deviantly Daring. For those who are still looking for Chanel Peridot dupes, you might be wanting some Rare and Radiant!

China Glaze Halloween 2012: Wicked
Available: ?

Can I declare my love for China Glaze again? Just look at this Halloween collection!! Wicked awesome!! I don't know about you but I am eyeing Glitter Goblin, Make A Spectacle (which looks suspiciously like Luxe and Lush from Colors from the Capitol) and Cast A Spell. Immortal looks pretty interesting too... I wonder how it will actually look like. Hmm...

Phew! That was quite a lot of lacquers to feast our eyes on! Are you drooling yet?

Which ones are you eyeing? Let us know in the comments below! :D

xoxo,
mich

China Glaze: Riveting

Good morning everybody!

Today, I will share with you a short story of how I fell in love with a color I never thought I would like...

*splutters* Isn't this one insanely gorgeous polish?! Bright red-orange with even brighter gold glass flecks that gives the color incredible depth. Super fiery. Definitely a head-turner. I'm not one to like super bright colors but this was love at first sight.
Need I say more?
... Really?
Fine, I will let the pictures do the talking.

One last one to push you over the edge...

o.m.g.

Application for Riveting was fantastic - pigmented and smooth formula. You can get away with one coat but I did two anyway because... well, I was too mesmerized by the color to know what I was doing. o"o You can't blame me, can you?

And that, is how I fell in love with an orange polish.
Are you smitten yet?

xoxo,
mich

p.s. I've started an account over at instagram! I've nearly forgotten how fun it can be! ;p Will be posting random pictures and NOTDs there so feel free to join me there @thepolishwell!

Guest Post: Zoya Jem + China Glaze Fairy Dust

Good morning!

Just a quick note from me about the giveaway in case you've missed it on facebook:
Our 100 followers giveaway has officially ended!
The response has been overwhelming and we thank you for all your support! ♥
Please bear with us for a few days while we validate all the entries. We promise we will have the winners out by latest next week. So stay tuned!

Meanwhile, we'll leave you with another pretty mani by our friend, Cheryl. Enjoy~

xoxo,
mich

--------------------------------------------------------------

Hello girlies!

I am back with my second guest post here! It’s really nice of Mich and Jayo to be so encouraging about my blog-writing even though I’m really inexperienced at this! Today, I would like to share with you girls one of my latest haul items – Zoya’s Jem from its 2011 Smokes and Mirrors Collection. Do pardon the slightly duller photos for this post though! My brother has taken our camera away with him for a camp and I had to resort to using our trusty old compact camera for this post.

Here is Zoya’s Jem, shown layered with China Glaze’s Fairy Dust. Jem is a dark purple polish that is loaded with lots of pretty shimmer. It gives off a really sophisticated vibe when worn on its own. But, to make things more interesting, I topped it off with a thin layer of Fairy Dust. This holographic top coat is really amazing and easily breathes new life into old manicures. I have pretty much been using this when I get tired of my nail colours, but have no time to change them completely. Applying Fairy Dust over Jem just makes my nails look like some part of the cosmic universe. It’s really gorgeous!

The photos here don’t do the polish justice though! It’s really difficult to accurately capture the glitters in photo. Therefore, I have included an out of focus shot in addition to the regular photos to give an idea of how truly beautiful the glitters are in real life! Hope you girls will enjoy these swatches!

Cheryl

China Glaze: Stone Cold

Hello polished pretties!!

Ahhh.. it feels good to be doing a proper blog post!
I finally took some time off my assignments to do a quick swatch of the China Glaze Colors from the Capitol haul I received earlier last week just because... the movie is scheduled for release THIS WEEK!!
Gahhh how I wish I could watch it but I think I will have to wait until I finish my last assignment :(
Ok ok... let's not let that dampen our mood, shall we?

First up, we have Stone Cold from District 2 - Masonry! (Sounds like I'm hosting some beauty pageant haha!)

OOOhhh... such a gorgeous black matte with silver shimmer!
Please pardon me while I marvel at it a bit more. This is my very first matte polish and I am still very fascinated by it. I can't quite pin down the look and feel of it. I had expected it to give me chalkboard-ish nails (literally) but it came out looking surprisingly chic and sophisticated looking with just a hint of androgyneity. I likee!
Time for me to get a matte topcoat and... MATTIFY EVERYTHING! *waves bottle around in excitement*

The application caught me by surprise though. I've read that matte polishes dry fairly quickly but I didn't quite expect it to be that quick. The first brushstroke was already drying even before I finish painting that nail!! Being the matte noob that I am, I panicked a little and tried to do a second coat to smooth things out. Of course, I only made things worse. -_- lol! Thankfully, the polish smoothed itself out after a little while and I had my first set of perfect matte nails :D

And just because the silvery shimmers were begging me to let them shine... I added a top coat just to see how they will look:

Ahhh... shimmery dark beauty!! Wurrveeeee!

What do you think of Stone Cold? What are your favorite matte polishes?

Stay tuned for more Hunger Games polishes coming up this week! :D

xoxo,
mich

p.s. Remember to enter our giveaway to win polishes from the China Glaze Hunger Games, OPI Holland and Tony Moly Galaxy collections! Only one more day left!

Holy Haul!

Good morning!!

I'm just popping by for a quick haul post! I know I am a really bad blogger for not posting a single swatch for the whole week but the assignment deadlines are really tight. I have another assignment due tomorrow morning and another one due a week later! I probably sound repetitive but trust me, I'm really sick of assignments too. boo :(

So here's what I've received this week!

Let's have some close-ups, shall we?

More pretty lynnderellas!
These were actually bought quite a long time ago but I've only received it from my friend recently. Gotta love them all!!

P.S. The Glitter Tamer isn't supposed to be this blue... I guess I just got a special bottle! lol!

My picks from the China Glaze Colors from the Capitol collection! *does a little fan girl jiggle*
From left: Stone Cold, Smoke and Ashes, Fast Track and Riveting
I had wanted to get other colors such as Harvest Moon and Agro but decided against it since I hardly wear metallics. The same goes for bright orange polishes *cough*Riveting*cough* but it just screams Girl on Fire! You know what I mean right?! There was no way I could pass it up!

These are the other random buys of the month.
From left: Orly Au Champagne and Zoya Skylar
Dang! I realized I had forgotten to take a picture of Misa Grey Matters! Susan had kindly helped us grab some polishes from the BeautyAsia fair in February (Thank you Susan!). Skylar and Grey Matters were the polishes I got. There were many more on my shopping list but, unfortunately, they weren't available at the fair :(

Phew, that was quite a lot of polishes that I've gotten this week!
Can't wait to try them on after I finish this assignment!! Which ones should I try first? :D

xoxo,
mich

More Blog Awards!

Good morning everyone!

I hope you're having a great week so far! I'm almost chronically sleep deprived because of my assignments. @_@ I'm really sorry I am not able to find time for swatching, nail art or even just painting my nails! They have been bare since the weekends. It's truly a strange sensation indeed. I wouldn't have minded as much if they weren't this stained. Ah well... what to do?

That aside, we're happy and honored to receive more blog awards from the lovely Samantha at Asa Nisi Masa Nail Spot! Thank you Samantha!
If you haven't been following her blog, you should definitely pop over to have a look. She has some cute and interesting nail ideas too :)

Although we are not entirely sure about the origins of these awards, we thought that it would be fun to share a little bit about ourselves and know more about the other bloggers :)

The rules are:

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers. 
2. Inform the bloggers of their nomination.
3. Share 7 random facts about yourself.
4. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your blog post.

Since we have already received the Versatile Blogger Award and shared seven random facts about ourselves previously, you can refer to them here.

The rules are:

1. Link back to the person you got it from 
2. Tell seven things about yourself
3. Give the award to ten bloggers

Another seven things? Here we go:

Jayo:

1. I don't like fast food (though if everyone decides to go there I won't starve myself), but I love KFC!! KFC breakfast is awesome, KFC Chicken is awesome, KFC coleslaw is awesome, KFC mashed potato is awesome.. *goes on-and-on*
2. I cannot stand long hair. It never really got past the elbow, as far as I can recall.
3. I like savoury food: spicy and salty. Have cravings for them every now and then. For today's dinner, I ate an entire raw chili padi and experienced temporary deafness and suffered a throbbing head (for about 15 minutes). Super shiok (definition)!!
4. I believe that playing Draw Something will enable me to do better nail art =D
5. I have 3 guitars and a flute! =D [looking for a reasonably priced keyboard, anyone?]
6. I love Starbucks!! @_@ Dark Mocha anytime anyday.
7. At a playground, I would gravitate towards the swings =D

Mich:

1. I have a weakness for dark-colored polishes.
2. I'm always too lazy to paint my toes or change the nail color as often as I paint my fingernails. Although I can stare at my hands the whole day, it's a little strange to peer at my toes all the time right? =\
3. I am guilty of neglecting hand care. I really ought to slather that hand cream and lemony flutter more often. *self slap*
4. Since this nail hobby of mine is relatively new, I'm still busy playing catch up with the older collections. Hate that I've missed out on so much!
5. I've just recently chopped of my beautiful long hair and yes, I'm regretting it :(
6. I really like reading manga (Japanese comics). I used to get my manga fix from my friend's collection but I've stopped reading them after we went into different faculties for uni. I could read them online but I prefer to have the book in my hand!
7. I'm a Hunger Games fan! Who's with me? :D Can't wait for the movie!!

The rules are:

1. Link back to the person who gave you the award
2. Answer the following questions
3. Award to other bloggers and let them know

Here are the questions and our answers:

What is your favorite song?

jayo: I have too many to name!! If you ask me, favourite song of the day, then.. It Girl, by Jason Derulo ;) oh oh oh ohoh oh ohoh oh oh~~ *whistles*
mich: This is tough... I don't have a favorite song per se. I listen to a range of songs - Chinese, English, pop, rap, ballad, etc. The songs I listen to will vary depending on my mood :)

What is your favorite dessert?
jayo: I'm not a big fan of sweet food, but I guess I could be dragged to eat ice cream of flavours that I have not tried before.
mich: hmmm... I love all sorts of food! But I suppose you can always tempt me with an oreo cheesecake! ;D

What is your favorite pet?

jayo: I wasn't allowed to keep pets (except guppies. Do they count?!) so I wouldn't know, but I would really love to have a kitten!! I love the way they go round and round your legs and press their heads against them. Absolutely love it!!
mich: I'm definitely a dog person. I've tried keeping rabbits, hamsters, fishes but the dogs have my heart. I had a puppy once but had to give her up to my uncle. I cried for days but school work was eating up my life and I couldn't selfishly cling onto her. I still miss the way she always curl up under my feet when I do my homework. :(


Black or White?

jayo: C'mon, they go well together. BOTH!
mich: Love them both! I like my clothes black and my other accessories (like phone, headphones) tend to be white.


What is your biggest fear?

jayo: I used to think I'm quite fearless and love to try everything there is. Just discovered that I'm extremely afraid of teeth extraction. Had to extract one tiny wisdom tooth (without surgery) and I was visibly shaking from head to toe. My hands could not hold the X-ray film that the dentist passed to me and I had trouble getting onto the seat after the X-ray. Embarrassing!!
mich: I'm a huge scaredy cat. I'm terribly afraid of the supernatural, insects, heights, etc. But I guess the one that really gets to me more often is my fear of insects and other creepy crawlies since they are almost always flying around. You should see me run when I see them near me. I think I might just break the record for sprinting. *shrugs*


What is your best feature?

jayo: I'd like to think I'm trustworthy, because I kinda expect that of others as well. So, as the saying goes, do unto others as you would have them do to you?
mich: Hmmm... I like to think I am humorous? =\ Well, at least I like to try and make the people around me smile whenever I can :)


What is your everyday attitude?

jayo: Happy until something goes wrong hahaha.
mich: I think this pretty much sums up how I feel everyday, at least on the weekdays ;p

It used to be my iPhone wallpaper! ;D

What is perfection?
jayo: Something that you can aim for but often not achieve. If you think you have achieved it, you are, more often than not, wrong.
mich: Knowing that that is the best that you can offer

What is your guilty pleasure?
jayo: Spend the whole day cooking and preparing meals. OMG.
mich: "is" - only one?! I have sooo many guilty pleasures! Eating, lazing around, watching dramas, etc. So yea, shoot me! ;)

And now... for the blogger nominations! *note to self: remember to let them know*
Here are some blogs that I stalk love at the moment (in alphabetical order):

Anutka @ Wacky Laki
Elsa @ Like A Candy Shop
Kelsie @ Kelsie's Nail Files
Maria @ Nails Made Simple
Marisa @ Polish Obsession
Pauline @ omgnoodles
Rachel @ Top Coat It
Sandra @ My World
Xun-Lin & Magdelene @ Legally Nailed
Yvonne @ The Broad Stroke

There are many other blogs that we enjoy but we will have to save them for another day! We are considering having a blogpost round up every week but I think that will have to wait until we finish our assignments. :(

Meanwhile, stay polished and happy!

xoxo,
mich & jayo