My love of manicures is not compatible with my chosen profession – nail polish is a no-no in the hospital. Sadly, this hasn’t stopped me from buying polish altogether but I do try to limit my purchases to what I really want.
L-R: ZOYA Pandora, Faye, Rica & Adina
These beauties were the result of boredom/procrasination during study break, but I had had my eye on Faye, Rica and Adina for quite a while. Pandora is a new release from the Touch Collection. So far, I have worn Faye once, Rica twice and Adina twice. I haven’t been able to wear Pandora at all since it is now my mum’s favourite polish! These were all purchased on eBay, but you can buy them online in Australia at Art of Beauty. Beware: visiting this site may be injurious to your bank balance!
ZOYA Adina (two coats without topcoat)
I cannot get over how gorgeous this colour is!!! With every movement of my hand, the green duochrome flashes through the purple. I honestly can’t look away when I’m wearing this. It looks as awesome on the nail as it does in the bottle. This colour totally reminds me of the musical Wicked because of the green, and also because Adina is so close to ‘Idina’ Menzel.
From the same shopping spree, I also purchased essie Super Bossa Nova, which I reviewed separately here.
Speaking of essie…
L-R: essie Knockout Pout, Pretty Edgy, Pink Parka, Vermillionaire, Lollipop
I picked these up at Ozsale for $7.99 each. So far, I’ve worn Knockout Pout (isn’t that a great name for a hot pink polish?) on my toes and Lollipop on my fingers. I didn’t realise how bright both Knockout Pout and Pink Parka were going to be. They look similar in the photos but Pink Parka is much more blue-toned than Knockout Pout. Lollipop is now my favourite red for the warmer months!
essie polishes are available at Myer, but I prefer to buy online.
The FACE SHOP FACEit Crackle Polish in black over essie Lollipop
The FACE SHOP is a Korean company that makes great skincare products. I especially love their cotton face masks – very soothing and luxurious. There is a FACE SHOP outlet in Perth (Piccadilly Arcade, Perth City). This is the first polish of theirs I’ve tried and I am very impressed. The FACEit polish cracked extremely quickly and was completely dry in 3 minutes. It dries to a matte finish which did cut down the wear time significantly.
Skin Food is another great Korean skincare brand. Unfortunately it hasn’t come to Perth yet, but it is available in Singapore and Malaysia if you happen to be heading that way during the holidays. I strongly encourage you to check them out!
L-R: Skin Food Pedicure Sparkle polish no.9, Nail Vita polish BL513, Nail Vita polish PK216, Party Tox polish no. 7 Pearl Party
L-R: Skin Food Milk Creamy Nail polish in Peach Milk, Melon Milk, Berry Milk and Mint Milk
These got a bit gunky from being in the pressurised baggage hold of the airplane. But before I say anymore, HOW ADORABLE ARE THOSE BOTTLES!!!!? Pastel shades in bottles shaped like baby milk bottles!!!
I am totally in love with the colours from this company. If you go to their website, you will be in nail heaven – they have soooo many to choose from! The Pedicure Sparkle and Nail Vita colours have great payoff. I haven’t had a chance to try the Party Tox polish yet, but it has chunky holographic glitter in the bottle so I am very excited!!
As for the Milk Creamy Nail polishes – so far, I have only used Peach Milk. You can see a swatch of it in my ‘Peaches and Lace’ Manicure post. The polish was streaky and hard to work with, and it tended to pool around my cuticles. I had to apply three coats before I got full opacity.
I got some fimo foam nail appliques off eBay as well. These were dirt cheap – each packet was $1.50 including shipping. I haven’t had much opportunity to use these yet. I got fruit, flowers and bow appliques. These come in a plastic wheel with a clear cover and separate wells for each design. Each packet comes with approximately 10 x 12 appliques.
Close up of the fruits!
Lastly, I have a couple of non-nail related products that also come from Korea! Both are quite an overload of cuteness.
This is a lip balm by Skin Food in the shape of a honey pot!! It comes with a little wooden applicator. I was expecting the balm to be quite sticky but it is surprisingly smooth and applies very nicely, and feels hydrating. It is just too adorable for words.
Lastly, this little cutie is by a Korean company called Etude. I thought it was another lip balm at first, but it’s actually an eyeshadow duo! The container is made of metal and shaped like a cupcake covered with sprinkles. The two shades are a shimmery lilac and black with red and purple glitter. They swatch quite sheer but can be built up quite well. This is a great little thing to carry around if you need a makeup look on the go – probably the smallest compact I have!
Phew! That was a lot of hauling! The Korean merch was kindly given to me by my boyfriend’s sister – thank you soooo much for the amazing Christmas presents! The other stuff was impulse purchasing…but there are no regrets!
As you’re reading this, I’m sitting in a plane heading off to India for a three-week long vacation. Stay tuned for more posts on my travels (including a wedding, lots of food and maybe a tiger or two…).
Happy holidays!
x