Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Orly Nailtrition


Hey everyone! Sorry for the week long hiatus. With just over four weeks left until the wedding, I'm running around like crazy trying to finalise all the outstanding bits and pieces. I am feeling a little stressed and tired, but I'm sure it will all come together nicely on the day!

For today, I have a review of Orly Nailtrition, which I have been using on my nails for the past three weeks. With the added stress of the wedding, I have noticed that my nails are suffering a little, so I was curious to see what this product would do for them.

According to Orly, Nailtrition works to relieve severely damaged, weak and slow-growing nails by stimulating the natural, healthy growth process. Nailtrition is infused with strength-promoting collagen, bamboo extract, protein and keratin which helps prevent and repair peeling, splitting, cracking and chipping. Orly recommends the product be applied daily for two weeks to reveal beautiful, longer and stronger nails.

As I said before, my nails were in pretty bad shape when I got this product. I normally hate extra large photos, but you need to see that they were honestly wrecked! Huge chunks of nail would peel off without any encouragement at all leaving a wafer thin piece of nail which subsequently would split and crack. This meant eternal nubbins and many tears. Check out the carnage below.

 
As instructed, I applied Nailtrition to my nails on a daily basis. Because it has a pink hue and a subtle shimmer in it, most times I wore it all on its own, but I also used it as a base under other polishes.

After two weeks, I definitely noticed a significant improvement in my nails. My nails felt stronger and the peeling had subsided considerably. I was pretty impressed, but I felt the product could do even more with a little more time, so I extended the trial to a third week. I think the results speak for themselves! The two photos below were taken three weeks after starting the treatment. The first one shows what the polish looks like on the nails, and the second is of my naked nails in all their glory.



You can see how my nails have grown considerably, and the new nail at the base looks pink and healthy! The tips still look a little unattractive, but there is little you can do for a nail at that point, except for file it down and wait for the healthy nail to grow out with the help of Nailtrition!

My verdict? Despite using OPI's Nail Envy for years, I am seriously considering converting to Orly Nailtrition. I'm not going to lie, I was a little skeptical as to whether this product could stop peeling and splitting in my nails, but it seems to have made a real difference to the health of my nails. 

Unfortunately, because I have the coordination of a newborn colt, I broke one of my nails last week in a run in with my car door, so I'm back to nubbins again! However, the peeling and splitting is definitely subsiding and my nails are looking healthier every day! Hopefully with continued use, they will be in tip top shape for my wedding!







The items featured in this post were provided for review. For further information on GildedNails' Disclosure Policy, please click here.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Illamasqua Fern

Hey everyone! Just a quick post today featuring my new favourite blue polish, Illamasqua Fern! I got this gorgeous polish when I went to the Illamasqua Nails Masterclass back in May and I can't believe it has taken me this long to wear it because it is freakin' awesome!

Fern is a vivid blue cream packed with blue and silver microglitter. The formula was amazing. Two easy, perfect coats! I honestly do not have one complaint about this polish. Bible. 



Simply stunning. I can't stop staring at my nails. Illamasqua FTW! 




Monday, July 18, 2011

OPI Pink Ribbon Shatter 2011 Press Release

OPI Pink Ribbon Limited Edition Lacquer: A Shattering Pink Ribbon Partnership!




"Showing your support for breast cancer during the month of October has become a fashion statement; OPI wishes to celebrate their partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation with their limited edition Pink Ribbon Shatter texturing treatment product, the new fashion statement in nail art.

During the month of September and October, OPI joins forces with the National Breast Cancer Foundation, for our 7th year as silver sponsors, where 100% of profits from the sale of the limited edition Pink Shatter will be donated to the Foundation.

The revolutionary new Pink Ribbon Shatter is a texturing treatment formula that transforms as it dries on your nails. When applied, OPI’s Pink Shatter begins to shatter and disappear, leaving behind a shattered effect in matte within minutes of it being applied onto an OPI lacquer shade. For a high gloss finish, seal the shatter effect by applying another coat of OPI top coat.

OPI’s Pink Shatter offers a new dimension to nail design, the cracked pattern effect, similar to a pink leopard print, offers another form of fashion statement in nails.

OPI aims to raise another $25,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation and assist in their funding of research programs into the prevention and cure of breast cancer, which affects 1 in 9 Australian women.

OPI’s Pink Ribbon Shatter will be available from September through to October at selected beauty salons, spas, and David Jones nationally, $19.95 RRP incl. GST. For your nearest OPI stockists contact 1800 358 999 or visit www.opi.net.au."

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Chanel Mimosa Comparison

Hey everyone! Today I have a comparison post for you featuring Chanel Mimosa vs. Rescue Beauty Lounge Yellow Fever and Revlon Top Speed Electric.

For someone who doesn't like yellow nail polish, I really have quite a few of them! You will see from the photos, the reason I don't like them is because they just don't suit my wintery white skin tone. However, I'm holding out for summer when I have a tan, in the hope that they will look better on me then! 

I probably have about 10 yellow nail polishes in my collection but I have chosen to show you the two that I thought were closest to Mimosa. The others, like Barielle's Soul-er Powered, aren't even close, so there was no point in doing a comparison.

First up is Rescue Beauty Lounge Yellow Fever and Chanel Mimosa.


As you can see from the photo, Yellow Fever is a lot brighter than Mimosa and has silvery white microshimmer where as Mimosa has gold microshimmer. The other major difference is the application. While I have never found a yellow polish that applies well, Yellow Fever definitely applies easier than Mimosa. I used two coats of Yellow Fever and three coats of Mimosa for the photo. Mimosa was a streaky hot mess! 

The final point of difference is the price. Chanel polishes retail for $25USD ($39AUD), while Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes can be picked up for $18USD (approx $17AUD) on their website. If I had to chose between the two, I would take Yellow Fever without a doubt!

(click on the photo to take a better look)


The second comparison is between Revlon Top Speed Electric (#305) and Chanel Mimosa


Electric and Mimosa are a lot closer in terms of colour, with Electric being just a little lighter. The shimmer in Electric is also the same colour as the shimmer in Mimosa. Application wise, unfortunately both were streaky and required three coats for even coverage. However, I can forgive Electric for being a little streaky when it only costs $5.99USD ($15.95AUD) compared to the $25USD ($39AUD) for the Chanel.

If I had to pick between the two, I would definitely reach for Electric, not Mimosa!

(click on the photo to take a better look)


As far as I am concerned, if I am going to pay $39AUD for a polish, I want it to glide on my nails and look perfect after two thin coats. Unfortunately, Mimosa just doesn't live up to those expectations, so my recommendation would be to grab Yellow Fever or Electric over the Chanel. Your wallet will thank you and you can still get your fix of yellow nail polish! For those of you that missed out on Mimosa, don't be sad! You are much better off grabbing one of these other polishes!


Saturday, July 16, 2011

Cult Nails Hypnotic Collection Pre-Sale

Hey everyone! I wouldn't normally post twice in one day, but I had to let you guys all know that the Cult Nails Hypnotic collection for Fall 2011 is now available for pre-sale here.


Here is a little bit of information about each shade, taken from the Hypnotic collection press release.

"In a Trance was created and finalized long ago, and I knew it was the shade I’d imagined the moment I saw it. Reminiscent of an aged skeleton key, this color shifts from olive green to muted gold with an enchanting shimmer that brings it to life and draws you in.

"Enigmatic, at first glance, seems so simple. Indoors, the purple base takes on a brown hue and lets the silver shimmer steal the show; but, with a deeper look and a step into the sunlight, it draws flashes of red, blue, pink and purple sparkle and lures you into the wonderful mystery that is Enigmatic.

Each of our collections has a necessary basic: for the Inaugural Collection it was Quench; for A Day at the Races it was Devious Nature; and for the Hypnotic Collection, I give you, Awakening. A muted or dusty teal that has a rich crème finish, dries to that amazing Cult Nails shine, and lends itself to every skin tone in any age group.

The final color is the most mesmerizing and versatile of the collection. Hypnotize Me, a sheer green jelly with vibrant blue and green glitter, looks marvelous over Enigmatic, stunning over In a Trance, and simply breath-taking over Awakening. Hypnotize Me can also be layered for a shade, finish, and effect that is quite hypnotic all on its own. I look forward to seeing our convert’s creations using this spellbinding shade.

Cult Nails™ lacquers are available for sale online at www.cultnails.com. Each 0.5 fl. oz. bottle sells for $10 USD. During the pre-sale event, the Hypnotic Collection will be sold only as a set for $30 USD, a savings of 25% off the regular price. Cult Nails™ lacquers are DBP, Formaldehyde, Toluene, and Camphor free and are not tested on animals."

Will you be taking advantage of the pre-sale?? The pre-sale will run through to 31 July 2011 and will ship late August/early September. 

Considering how much I loved the A Day At The Races collection, I will definitely be trying all four of the Hypnotic colours!



1500 Follower Giveaway Winner!

Hey everyone! Hope you are all enjoying the start of your weekend! It is raining and cold here in Sydney, but I have a pretty relaxed weekend ahead of me, so I don't mind. I'm also looking after my sister's adorable (but very cheeky!) staffy this weekend, so it will be nice to have a dog running around the backyard again....

Anyway, on to the giveaway winners!! Today I am announcing the three winners of my 1500 Follower Giveaway! Thank you so much to everyone who entered! There were over 2000 individual entries and you all wrote such lovely comments about my blog! As you may have noticed, I finished with about 2600 followers by the time the giveaway ended. A little part of me thought that maybe you had all just followed for the giveaway and would disappear once it was done! But in the weeks since the giveaway has ended I have actually gained over another 100 followers! So I'm going to take that as a sign that you are all here for the nails and not for the giveaways! 

If I could give every single one of you a prize, I would, because you all mean so much to me! I have been blogging for just under a year (my one year blogiversary is on the 26 July 2011) and in that time I have met the most wonderful people! I appreciate every single follower and each and every comment you leave on my posts. Seeing how much you love my pictures and my reviews makes all the hard work worthwhile! <3

So without further ado, the winners of my 1500 follower giveaway are:



Congratulations MsMidnightBlue! You have won the complete China Glaze OMG set!


Congratulations Alyssa! you have won a complete set of the BYS Color Change polishes!


Congratulations NailsByDesire! You have won a complete set of the Face of Australia Molten Metallics collection!


Please send me an email with your postal address in the next 24 hours! If I don't hear from you within that time frame, I will have to draw another winner, and I would rather not do that!

Congratulations again to the winners, and thank you again to everyone who entered! 




Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Revlon #405 Peachy



Hey everyone! A couple weeks ago, the lovely Diana from the girl with a bow kindly sent me a bunch of the new Revlon Top Speed polishes that I had been lemming and today I'll be showing you swatches of one of the colours, #405 Peachy.

Peachy is a orange leaning light coral cream. I had to use three coats to get even coverage because it was still patchy after the second coat. Naturally, it dried quickly being a Top Speed!



 I can't even express how much I love this polish! It is such a fantastic shade of coral! This is going to sound crazy, but my nails look almost good enough to eat with this polish on! Don't ask me why, but they just do! (I promise I don't make a habit of eating nail polish! ha!).

One thing that really impressed me was the fact that Peachy actually had a pretty glossy finish when it dried, unlike other quick drying polishes I have tried before (including Revlon's Top Speed in Royal) which have dried to a satin, rubbery finish, kind of like the Orly Plastix polishes. I'm not a fan of satin finish polishes, so its great that Peachy doesn't do this.

Peachy also reminds me a little of Essie's Tart Deco. What do you guys think? If I remember, I'll try and do a comparison so we can see how close they are.

Thank you Diana for sending these to me! I love all of them and can't wait to try the others!







P.S Guess what. I am finally announcing the winners of my 1500 follower giveaway in my next post. No joke! <3

Monday, July 11, 2011

OPI Serena Williams Glam Slam! England - Part 2


Hey Everyone! Today I have swatches of the second set from the Serena Williams Glam Slam! England collection which features Your Royal Shine-ness and Servin' Up Sparkle.

When I first saw the press releases for this set, I was a little disappointed to be honest. I thought it was just another metallic silver with the same glitter top coat as the other set.

Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by Your Royal Shine-ness (YRS) once I applied it! Unlike the other silver metallics/foils in my collection, YRS has fine gold glitter in it which brings a little warmth to the polish and gives it a kind of "old world" look, like expensive polished silver. It applied very easily, with minimal brush stroke marks and dried very fast. This was two coats, without a topcoat.



I then added two coats of Servin' Up Sparkle, which is a clear "topcoat" polish with silvery holographic glitter and holo hexagonal sequins. In bright lighting, this combo definitely sparkles, however, I think I would have liked a different coloured glitter top coat in this set, so there was a bit of contrast between the base colour and the top coat. It is still a really gorgeous combo, but I feel like Servin' Up Sparkle gets a little lost on top of YRS.



Overall, I'm really diggin' all three of the polishes in the Serena Williams Glam Slam! England collection, but I think the Grape... Set... Match duo is my favourite out of the two.

Which one do you like better?

Glam Slam! England is available in leading salons and David Jones stores nationally July 11th, $19.95RRP. For your nearest OPI stockists contact 1800 358 999 or visit www.opi.net.au


The items featured in this post were provided for review. For further information on GildedNails' Disclosure Policy, please click here.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

OPI Serena Williams Glam Slam! England - Part 1



Hey everyone! Today I have swatches of one of the new OPI Serena Glam Slam! England sets featuring Grape... Set... Match and Servin' Up Sparkle.

This duo is part of the third installment of Serena's collection of laquers in collaboration with OPI and I have to say it is my favourite one so far! While I liked the base colours of the French sets and Black Shatter from the Australian set, I'm honestly all crackled out now! So a shimmery purple and a blingy holo glitter is a really nice change of pace!

Grape... Set... Match is a red toned purple, jam packed with purple, blue and pink microglitter. This polish has a kind of duochrome effect as well and you can see the flash of fuchsia in the pic below. I used three coats for these photos but you could easily get away with two. Grape... Set... Match reminds me a little of OPI Ink, so I will try and do a comparison for you over the weekend.





The second polish in the set, Servin' Up Sparkle, is a clear polish packed with tons of silvery holographic glitter and holo hexagonal sequins. This polish is meant as a layering polish so I haven't done a swatch of it on its own. But as you can see, over Grape... Set... Match it is ridiculously blingy! This is two coats of Servin' Up Sparkle.



You can really see how sparkly this polish is in the blurry photo below.



I honestly couldn't fault Grape... Set... Match, but I did have a little gripe with Servin' Up Sparkle in that there weren't as many larger hex sequins as I would have liked. This meant that they applied unevenly on each nail. You can see in the photos above that I ended up with a ton of them on my ring finger but not that many on my middle finger. But I think with a little care when applying the polish, this wouldn't be a problem at all.

OPI must have realised how awesome Servin' Up Sparkle is because they also teamed it up with the silver foil Your Royal Shine-ness, in the other duo pack which I will be showing you in the next post.

What do you guys think of this set? Do you like the glitter top coat? Or do you prefer the Shatter top coats that were included in the other sets?

Glam Slam! England is available in leading salons and David Jones stores nationally July 11th, $19.95RRP. For your nearest OPI stockists contact 1800 358 999 or visit www.opi.net.au.









The items featured in this post were provided for review. For further information on GildedNails' Disclosure Policy, please click here.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Aussie Beauty Blogger Link Love

Hey everyone! Just a quick post to let you all know that the lovely Lara (aka swatchgirl.com) has recently put together a fantastic list of Aussie Beauty Bloggers which I really want to share with you.


Please click on the link above and show these Aussie Beauty Bloggers some love!  While you are there, check out and follow swatchgirl.com as well! Her photos are fantastic and I honestly blame her for my excessive lip product purchases because she makes every colour look amazing (case in point, look at her photos of Illamasqua Fable!! To die for!)



Monday, July 4, 2011

OPI Serena Williams Glam Slam! US Open Sneak Peek




Grandstand Finale!

Serena’s Glam Slam! U.S.
 
The final game-set-match in the winning partnership between Serena Williams and OPI, Glam Slam! U.S. features a duo-pack with two high-shine shades in shimmering red and glittering bronze.
 
OPI and tennis superstar Serena Williams announces the two final lacquers in the 2011 Glam Slam! Collection timed in conjunction with the fourth Grand Slam Tournament – the U.S. Open. Glam Slam! U.S. features a duo-pack with two high-shine shades: shimmering red, Love is a Racket, and glittering bronze, Pros & Bronze.
 
OPI and Serena return for the final launch with these two bright, feminine lacquers, packed with red and gold micas for intense luster, the Glam Slam! series finishes with two classic, glamorous colours.
 
Whether worn alone or with Pros & Bronze layered over Love is a Racket for a golden glow, these two shades have rich hues that are perfect for transitioning from summer to autumn.
 
Glam Slam! U.S is available in leading salons and David Jones stores nationally in August, $19.95RRP. 

For your nearest OPI stockists contact 1800 358 999 or visit www.opi.net.au


Pros & Bronze 


Love is a Racket