totally joining the cult

Cult Nails - Clairvoyant

OPI - OPI Ink

This has got to be my favourite polish, ever!!! (Possibly until I finally wear Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe... I do love my glitters. Especially Deborah Lippmann's signature style of glitters suspended in jelly bases.) Okay anyhoos...

Clairvoyant (aka Unicorn Puke) consists of rainbow-coloured flakies suspended in a very sheer purple jelly base, designed to be used as a layering polish. I saw Swatchandlearn's swatch which featured Clairvoyant layered over OPI Ink, and was immediately head over heels in love with the combination of the flakies and the deep and shimmering purple. I think that the shimmer peeks out so nicely from between the varying sizes of flakies and are sort of ''muses'' to ''back up'' the real stars of the show - the multi-coloured flakies!!! Do you get what I mean!?? Like the muses singing back-up vocals in the Disney version of Hercules:



Hehe I love the muses!!!

Anyways back to Clairvoyant. The coverage on the OPI Ink base was excellent. As comparisons from various renowned nail bloggers have revealed, Clairvoyant is the most jammed packed with rainbow-coloured flakes out of all the ones offered by other various brands, namely Picture Polish's Festival, Finger Paints' Twisted, etc. (Oh I'm not sure about Ludurana though... I've not tried them but they have a wonderful collection of flakies which btw is going to be discontinued, as reminded by the sweet girls over at Inky Polisholicious; do proceed to their blog to find out how you may purchase Ludurana polishes!)

However, I am a little bothered by the purple-tinted base of Clairvoyant, because this limits the kind of base colour shades to be paired with the flakies. For instance any hopes of pairing it with a light colour would be tarnished (not destroyed, at least) by the altered look of the base after the application of Clairvoyant. In their defence, though, flakies are best shown off on a dark base as a dark shade can create a sharp contrast between flakes and base and hence, draw one's eye's immediately to the shiny flakes! The tinted Clairvoyant wouldn't cause any (or much, if there is) any changes to the colour of the base polish.

On a side note, the flakies in Clairvoyant look like fish food:



Oh my gosh, isn't that hilarious!?

Okay anyways to wrap up this review: dry time was excellent (it is a little fast though, considering we have to even out the flakies), OPI Ink was of course gorgeous even on its own, and the look is amazing. However, because the flakies aren't evenly shaped and sized, some flakies are thicker and hence do not permit a perfectly smooth surface to the touch after drying - unlike what I had expected. This did not bother me much though, Seche Vite always saves the day. ;-)

If you are interested in purchasing Clairvoyant, it can be purchased directly from Cult Nails' website, but only after it's been re-stocked!!! It sold out in an instant (despite being produced in larger quantities unlike its debut as Unicorn Puke where only something like 285 bottles were produced?) so I suggest you keep your eyes peeled for that coveted polish!!! ;-)

Oh Clairvoyant, thou art beautiful :'')

x, Ish

goldie-locked tips

Deborah Lippman - Boom Boom Pow

OPI - Up Front and Personal

This is what I wore for Christmas! I basically painted all my aunts' and girl-cousins' nails on Christmas eve. (Damn, I should've snapped a picture.)

Boom Boom Pow is very sheer - it's a clear (or slightly yellow/gold-tinted, I can't really tell) base with micro-mini gold bits (like teeny weeny gold flakies) - which I suppose is the ''24k gold'' part of the polish? - with small and medium gold hexagonal glitter suspended in it.

It's way too sheer to be worn fully opaque, but when worn alone it will appear like gold glitter suspended on your nails. Check out Scrangie's swatch to see it flying solo but personally I would prefer to layer it over another polish. What I have layered 2 coats of Boom Boom Pow over is 1 coat of Up Front and Personal - a very delicate-looking (seems sheer but fully opaque in two coats) champagne-gold polish with tons of shimmer. I love Up Front and Personal, by the way. It's so so pretty and so glad Mom purchased it!

I think the shimmer and the gold hex glitter complement each other very well and creates a very festive look! Layering also helps conserve the very costly Deborah Lippmann shade too, as compared to wearing 4 full coats. I can't really remember the exact figures but I paid around $20+ (USD) for it at Nordstrom to pacify my need for Deborah Lippmann polishes, since Across the Universe wasn't available then. (Damn! I found it the next day, on a 30% sale at a beauty supply store at 3rd Street Promenade.) Perhaps this is why I'm so particular about it needing to be close to perfection.

Of course I managed to find ways to nit-pick at this polish... Haha. In bullet points:
1. Dries too slowly. I suffered so much just waiting for 2 coats to dry... I cannot imagine enduring the dry-time of 4 (or possibly more).
2. Not terribly buildable, in my humble opinion.

3. Looks (well it is) thick and goopy especially where the large glitter pile up as well as near the tips.

4. Dry time... Ugh so long it deserves a second (bad) mention.
5. So damn expensive for the chore it proved to be! The ''24k gold'' is just a marketing fluke. I doesn't deserve to be priced higher than the regular DL shades.

I can't really remember how removal was like; I think it was alright though. Not easy but not too difficult as well. Then again it could be due to the layering... Need to do more research on that. Overall, I was largely contented with some bling on my nails at all. It did add to the festive cheer! :-) Sigh, me and my glitter.

x, Ish

Ps, On a sidenote... I think Seche shrunk Boom Boom Pow... (wrt to picture; look around my cuticles!)

Pss, Why can't the first 2 pictures of each post be enlarged? :-/ pffffttttt Solved!

the first time i sported red nails

Sally Hansen - Red Carpet

This is the first time I ever wore red!!! :-) I was so excited, and yet worried at the same time that my untrimmed claws would make my hands look witchy. I can't really decide if my hands do or don't though, Red Carpet blew my mind!

Red Carpet has a pure red jelly base jammed packed with red micro glitter which sparkles like crazy in the sun!

Somehow I thought I would have chosen a slightly vampy shade because I was always too afraid to try red. I guess that's because my mom always told me ''that's too womanly for you'' and there was just something about the way she said ''womanly''. It carried with it a heavy tone of judgment.

Anyhow, I'm sooo glad I scored this darling, at <$5 (USD)! Thank you Sally Hansen. It dried quickly (I completed my manicure in under fifteen minutes complete with Seche topcoat) and wasn't that much of a pain to remove despite the glitter in it. No staining too, as I'd expected with a red colour.

Also, while in the US, I stopped by Sephora and checked out CND effects polishes. (I truly cannot remember the name of the collection right now... I will update this post once I remember it/manage to find it through Google!) The flakies were so hyped about but when I tried them I was rather disappointed. For the quality of flakies and the price of the sets - purchasing Nubar 2010, Essie Luxe Effects Shine of the Times or Cult Nails Clairvoyant (aka Unicorn Puke) is a way better option because they're all $10 (USD) or under.

x, Ish