beautysofly x showmeyourclaws #1 - hollandaise

OPI - I Don't Give A Rotterdam!

Hi everyone. First off sooo sorry for the late post. I swear I typed this post out a while ago but for some reason I cannot find it. So I'm re-writing this post. Okay anyways enough depressing news.

I was really excited to try out I Don't Give A Rotterdam! from OPI's Spring Holland Collection! Thank you BeautySoFly ;-) This collection came in two parts - cremes and what seemed like glass-fleck shimmer. I Don't Give A Rotterdam! was part of the glass-fleck half. (Everyone knows I don't like cremes... They just disappoint too much.)

I Don't Give A Rotterdam! is a grayish-blue jellyish-creme (ikr....no other way to describe it) polish, which contains medium-density silvery and slightly copper-toned glass-fleck shimmer bits which distribute themselves nicely in the bottle. The shade of blue is truly interesting - it's like 50% Columbia blue and 50% Air Force blue (thanks Wikipedia). It has a similar shade to Columbia blue but is darker and definitely more dusty and gray-tinged like Air Force blue. Okay this is the exciting part: I Have A Herring Problem - the sister blue shade to I Don't Give A Rotterdam! in the Holland Collection - has something like 60% and 40% of the above-mentioned colours respectively. Why would OPI release two such similar colours? Well I guess the tone of the polish base and the hue of the flecks add to or take away from the suitability of the polish with your skin tone... We'll see how that turns out when I swatch I Don't Give A Rotterdam! side-by-side with I Have A Herring Problem.

Swinging back into focus, I Don't Give A Rotterdam! actually really surprised me by how flattering it looked with my skin-tone! I remember debating which blue hue to purchase back in March: I Have A Herring Problem or I Don't Give A Rotterdam!. Before the launch of the OPI's Spring collection, I'd already heard raves about I Don't Give A Rotterdam!, about how it was going to be the star of the collection. I eventually settled for the former, though. Its base was just a shade darker and a little murkier - like it had a drop of swamp water. There was a hint of teal, too. Most importantly its glass-fleck shimmer was coppery-gold, which I felt would allow the overall hue of the polish to look much more flattering against my Asian skin tone.

Anyhow, I Don't Give A Rotterdam! looked surprisingly great and reminded me very much of Spring, with its pastel-like shade. I don't even know how to describe it. It was like... marshmallows. Marshmallows in Spring. You know, like how legit pastel colours look, but not too chalky? Marshmallow is the only way I can describe it! Like dusty marshmallows... Sleepy yet cheerful. It makes me think of the soft sunshine fanning across a vast field as dawn tip-toes over the flowers and the occasional tree. And baby bunnies waking up in a basket of gray blankets... but okay that was so irrelevant.

Application was wonderful too. Awful after just the first coat though, it's too sheer (hence my view of it having some jelly qualities); you'd really have to paint two slightly thicker coats or three thin coats. What I have is the latter pictured, without Seche topcoat (isn't it shiny!?), which I'd admittedly only left to sit for 5 minutes. I think it looks wonderfully glossy without topcoat too, I think this is another characteristic of this polish which leads me to think it's half jelly. It's got the fullness of colour of a creme, slicks on like butter and looks glossy. Like cream cheese with melted butter glazed on top! Omg do the Dutch make cheese? No clue lol but anyways

The dry time isn't too bad as well. However I do stress the base is really quite creme-y, if you dent the surface before the polish fully dries, it WILL leave ugly dents and there's no way you can hide them. The glass-fleck shimmer kind of serves as something to better match a variety of skin tones - cremes may sometimes look rather stark especially on skin tones which don't match the tone of the colour - and I think the glass-fleck shimmer really softened the starkness of such a light tone against my skin. Also the glass-fleck shimmer is another way OPI can keep up nail polish sales (''Newest nail look! Get it today!'') ... you get it don't you.

But it's not a bad hybrid, really. In fact it's pretty good! It's so in-between everything (cremes/jellies/shimmer/glass-fleck) that I really think it's good for all seasons. It's good for everyday use, if you're a fan of blues! The dusty look also makes it easy to wear. I still will never be able to pull off Mint green or straight out Baby blue nails... so I really love this colour. I definitely would put more care in applying this one like I do when I apply cremes, but trust me - this one's a keeper.

You may order this polish at BeautySoFly.com, there's still room for their 17th Spree!

On a sidenote: OH MY GOD... THERE'S A NEW OPI VINTAGE MINNIE MOUSE COLLECTION??!!?!! I just saw it on BeautySoFly. Why am I unaware of this until now... I'm still waiting for my Chanel dupes from the OPI Amazing Spiderman Collection!!! Holey moleyyy so many colours, so few finger nails... But fret not, I'll bring only the best ;-)

Okay back to reality: I'll try to swatch I Have A Herring Problem after this Burlesque manicure chips (it's chipping already :''(...) and since my camera was M.I.A., I had my friend snap a couple of shots for me with her DSLR, so I'll post the pics when she sends them over!

Well ciao for now, I'm sooo sleepy. Once again, thanks BSF ;-)

x, Ish

get ready for a comeback

Hi girls!

So I've been away forever. Here's the good news: I'm going to be back! But before that, here's some even better news:

I've been working with BeautySoFly (previously beautysofly.livejournal.com & flyapparel.livejournal.com) for quite some time now, and hence am especially excited to be in support of their brand new site - BeautySoFly.com (Just click it already... This link, I mean, because I'm too much of a tech noob to know how to hyperlink the damn image.)

The three girls behind this online store - Grace, Elizabeth G. and Elizabeth T. - are really wonderful and sweet people and I can't even start on how hard they have worked to create a one-stop shop for their customers to purchase beauty products and apparel in a single cart. (Thank you, really!)

What's more... BeautySoFly wants to work with me to present you swatches of the hottest colours from any OPI, China Glaze or Essie Collection which I think you should see. Don't forget that you may purchase any colours from the stated brands from BeautySoFly.com, which imports these genuine beauty products directly from a supplier in the US.

Speaking of which, I really need to do a post on how to check out if your products - especially OPI, because it's the most established brand - are genuine or not. After you girls take this chill pill, you can be assured that BeautySoFly is nothing but awesome.

Are you excited? Don't forget to for the first Showmeyourclaws x BeautySoFly post and each subsequent week for new colours that aren't worth missing out on.

And don't worry, I'll still be bringing in other awesome-sauce labels (think Ozotic, Butter London, Deborah Lippmann - whichhh may convince the BSF girls to bring them in??? Hehehe OKAY that's just wishful thinking but who knows ;-)) so STAY TUNED~~

Sigh, I really miss this space.

x, Ish

hiatus

Dear girls, do forgive the lack of updates! Promise to be back asap. ;-)

outer space

Orly - Out of This World

So I guess you guys know that I am absolutely in love with Orly's Mineral FX Collection. And yes I do have the whole set. Today I'll feature Out of This World.

Out of This World is a deep violet jelly-based polish, dense with mini duochrome flakies (or glass flecks, I can't decide) whose colours shift from purple to gold.

Well okay I'm not too sure about the colours of the flakies, they do confuse me. Pictured is 3 thin coats of Out of This World on my nails (sorry for the mess on the ring finger, I was in a rush!) And the duochrome reveals mostly purple shimmer. I'm looking at my nails right now and I honestly cannot detect any obvious gold shimmer, only slivers of it in indirect sunlight. I'm pretty sure the flakes are duochrome, though I considered the possibility that it's just gold mini flakies whose sheen got drowned out by the deep purple base.

Either way, I still felt cheated that from the bottle, Out of This World looked so amazing - just check out the picture of the bottle I've included below. See all that gold shimmer shining through the side of the bottle? Beautiful isn't it! Now compare that to the pictures of my nails. Tell me - just where the hell is that gold shimmer!? :-(

I guess I can see it. If your nails are really curved you would see them along the sides of your nails. But I do wish it was more obvious anyways. Perhaps it seems this way because I didn't apply my Seche topcoat like I usually do. But anyhow, I think the lack of gold impact really steals away from the whole galaxy theme Orly was aiming for. It just loses its oomph. Perhaps I should try this colour on with Seche Vite next time.

Anyways besides the confusion with the shimmer, I realised that 3 coats is ideal for application because of the jelly base which runs slightly thin, like jelly bases usually do. But the surprising thing is that the reflectiveness from the crazy amount of shimmer flecks actually give the illusion of opacity at 2 coats, which is nice.

Anyways though I was pretty disappointed by this polish (I was expecting to be blown away, like the rest of the colours did for me. ESPECIALLY Galaxy Girl!!!!) but, its being less flashy does qualify it a very wearable polish, like the kind of polish which will be your one and only, most cherished polish. So purple lovers, this will be your baby! :-)

Well, Out of This World's vampy look (it actually looks like a vampy OPI Ink) does flatter me! I look good in dark, vampy shades. I guess this one's a keeper for me.

I also realised that this polish looks very similar to OPI DS Mystery, and hence will do a comparison between these two sometime. :-)

Till next time!

x, Ish

showstopper

OPI – The Show Must Go On!

How often does one come across vintage polishes!?

Okay I consider this ‘‘vintage’’ because Burlesque polishes have literally vanished off the face of the consumer market. But guess what I saw sitting on a shelf at the pharmacy while I was in LA…... :-) :-) :-)

Obviously I grabbed it! Didn’t even have to think twice. But upon closer inspection, The Show Must Go On! proved to be something more than just a red shimmer polish.

The Show Must Go On! is a red shimmer polish with a coral-red tinted base, and filled with red and gold shimmer. When the light hits it, you’ll also notice a red-goldish-pink duochrome. (The pictures show a little glimmer of duochrome! It shifts from red near my cuticles to orangey-gold and then pinkish near the tips!)

I think the name is so apt for the situation in which I used it! If you read my previous post, you’d have known that I was aiming for Barbie pink nails but failed because of darned Wet Paint Nail Glaze System. The end result wasn’t satisfactory so I removed it immediately after application, but I just couldn’t go with bare nails for the night. I was almost freaking out because I am quite anal about my nails being painted and at that point I didn’t even care that the colour didn’t match the outfit, then I spotted something red on my nail shelf. Anddd The Show Must Go On! saved my night, matching my outfit and all :-) I know it sounds corny and everything but, admit it – it is apt isn’t it!

The formula on this ran a little thinner than I’d expected. Seeing that it’s a shimmer polish, I’d expected a quicker-than-usual dry time (because from past experiences, shimmer shades tend to behave that way). However I took a little more time for it to be dry to the touch, and even then it was a little prone to denting. I’d majorly messed up my left index finger after snapping a few shots of my manicure, leaving a couple of obvious crescent-shaped dents.

Here’s the amazing bit: I just tried to smoothen out the dents my pressing it smooth, and a few hours later, the nail looked flawless. I’m dead serious, I asked a couple of people and they echoed the same response, ‘‘Nothing’s wrong, it’s perfect.’’ THIS is why I swear by shimmers and glitters!!!

On top of that, the duochrome is just lovely. I don’t think I even have to touch on how amazing it is in sunlight – all duochromes are beautiful in sunlight. The interesting part is when it’s night-time. The red-gold-pinkish mix creates a warm, orangey glow which is especially noticeable under shade or in the dark. It’s truly fascinating. I’m sorry I didn’t include a picture of such a phenomenon but wow you have to see it for yourself to be wowed. Come to think of it, the look actually it reminds me of Take The Stage, a burnt copper-orange foil-ish kind of shade. It’s also from the Burlesque family. I am going to have that swatched next! :-)

Well until next time, guys. :-)

x, Ish

mattel

Wet Paint Nail Glaze System – Inspire

Essie – Matte About You

This was my vision: Barbie-pink nails with the texture of plastic. I had it all planned out already and even swatched out different shades of pink to achieve that ultimate Barbie look.

Pictured here is about 3 to 4 coats of Inspire and 2 coats (this was a big mistake) of Matte About You. (Sorry for the little mess around the cuticles! I was quite annoyed...) Affection is a Barbie-ish Hot pink crème shade. It’s really rich, but borders on thick. Which really isn’t a good thing. Matte About You looks like a translucent milky formula in the bottle and applies slightly translucent, and dries matte to the touch. It may alter the colour of the base very slightly, but for Inspire it was barely noticeable.

Application was disgusting. The brushes aren’t even cut straight at the bristles. Though I managed it at a weird angle, 2 minutes later the surface would become uneven – BUBBLES. Fml. It’s probably the brush - it just incorporates air into the layer being applied onto the nail - but it was so annoying.

Pictured here is 3 (or was it 4?) layers of Inspire and application was an excruciating process. It’s like slowly sawing your arm off and then, letting you bleed to death. I’m sorry for the bad image but that was really how I felt.

So I decided to go on to the mattifying part. I was pretty excited about it, because I’ve heard many good things about Matte About You. I still remember a customer’s response to me when I offered her Matte About You to satiate her desires for a matte topcoat. ‘‘Essie? Eee, Essie is not matte leh, it’s more suede lor! I think Nubar V or China Glaze one better!’’

For one, Suede shades are matte shades. (OPI has a Suede line of shades.) I think the texture differs slightly (some softer and others, harder) due to chemical composition. Furthermore, Nubar V for Men is the most disappointing matte topcoat I’ve seen in pictures. It completely mattes the life and soul out of the base colour and makes our nails looks very flat, unsophisticated and extremely amateur. That’s how I would describe Nubar V for Men. I’ve not checked out China Glaze’s Matte Magic (I've heard it's pretty alright) but I would like to talk about Essie.

Matte About You is brilliant. I was quite annoyed when I tried it on a few nails because it made the base colour look sooo flat. It looked so dead. But I re-read the instructions on the box: Apply one thin coat. Well guilty as charged, I did apply a thick blob of Matte About You. So I tried again, and this time it was amazing. The colour changed slowly and had a very very very light frosted glass finish to it. I describe it as frosted glass because you know how at Christmas time, the warm glow of the fireplace through a frosted glass window witnessed from outside has that sort of luminesce effect. That’s how it seemed like to me – soft and subdued colour, not deadened.

The texture is so nice, too. Why would you want a flat out dead matte texture when you could have a softer look and texture? And to that random customer, why don’t you like the soft-matte texture of OPI Suede, or Matte About You!? It’s the one of the nicest kinds of matte you can get. I don’t understand you!

Anyways as the pictures show, I did manage to achieve the Barbie look. However a couple of minutes after pictures, white flecks appeared on the nail and I knew the bubbles would all surface given the extremely prolonged dry time. The whole manicure was extremely thick as well so I decided to scrap the whole look.

Perhaps next time I’ll try this one out again, after I thin Inspire out or use a different shade of pink! I am totally dying to use Matte About You again :-)

x, Ish

announcements

1) Head to my Facebook for some Deborah Lippmann goodness!
2) New email: Showmeyourclaws@gmail.com
3) New formspring: http://www.formspring.me/Showmeyourclaws

Tonight:
New posts! :-)

Keep your eyes glueddd!

x, Ish