Sugar Coat - I want it NOW!

As mentioned in one of my recent posts, Sally Hansen's Fuzzy Coat is now in stores.  But I have also spotted another texture/tactile product on the interwebs - Sugar Coat.

I contacted Sally Hansen to ask when this range would be available in Australia, since it's already been out for ages in the Northern Hemisphere (favouritism much?), and they said "summer".  Summer's a little bit too far away for my liking, and so it got me thinking . . . how could I recreate the look using the polishes I have now?

And then it came to me (in my sleep, no less), Sally Hansen Gem Crush, underneath ANY CREME POLISH OF YOUR CHOOSING!  That might just work.

I only have Glitz Gal from the Gem Crush range, but I may need to invest in a couple of the others if this experiment works out . . .

Here is Glitz Gal in all it's glory:

 

 

Glitz Gal is a charcoal grey, gritty glitter polish with a bunch of holos chucked in for good measure.  Pretty enough on it's own, and, can I say, was ahead of the OPI Liquid Sand/BYS Glitter for Nails/Zoya Pixie Dust collections, and much cheaper.

 

The first step was two coats of Glitz Gal (to ensure super duper gritty-ness).  Luckily, Glitz Gal was extra quick to dry, so I could get to work on my experiment.

 

Next, I used one coat of the following polishes for the experiment:  L-R Australis - Aqua, Models Prefer - Little Black Dress, Australis - Knickers in a Knot, Face of Australia - Ocean Villa and on my thumb Sinful Colors - Snow Me White.  This is what the first coat looked like when still wet:



 

 

You can see that due to the lightness of Aqua, Glitz Gal is making it less opaque than the others.  Knickers in a Knot is also struggling with the opacity, but the others are coping fine.

 

Next, one more coat, and then wait for it . . .



Ta-da!!!!

So there it is!  My take on Sugar Coat nails.  The darker colours seemed to handle it better (the black and blue look spectacular), but I'm sure if I got a lighter Gem Crush colour, the others would work just as well.

I'm going to do a full set in just the one colour during this coming week and will be sure to post the results.

NN

My (bling) week in nails

I went a bit glitter-insane this week:

Monday

Models Prefer - Little Black Dress with Revlon - Celestial FX

Tuesday

OPI - Save Me

Wednesday

Savvy - Grey with Australis - Frisky Feathers

Thursday

 BYS - Blue Beat

Friday

Models Prefer - Teal Ya Later with BYS - Dazzling

That is all.

NN

Glitter Schmitter - Part 2

More glitz to show you . . .

Savvy - Splash and Dash (no base colour)



Australis - Carnavale Chaos (over Australis - Knickers in a Knot)

Australis - Rio Riot (over Australis - Indie)

Savvy - 100's & 1000's (over Savvy - Grey)

Revlon - Celestial FX (over Models Prefer - Little Black Dress)

Glitter polish can be the trickiest of all polishes to apply.  Glitter clumps in the same spot, leaves patches in others and is generally uncooperative.  All that is about to change!  I was going to prepare for you a diagram which demonstrates how best to apply a glitter polish, but the gem behind All Lacquered Up has done a super video which does it for me!  Click here to watch.

Like perfect polish application, applying glitter polish does take practice, but once you get the gist of how it works, you'll be away laughing!  And if you still have patches, you can just dab another small amount in the middle to even it out. 

You can also use this method for applying the new Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat polishes, as essentially, these are just matte bar glitter.  In fact, applying Fuzzy Coat using this method is how I got the hang of it!

Glitter polish can be for everyone, too.  I love this article which demonstrates different ways your can wear your bling - aside from the normal total glitter bling fest.  Click here to learn how.

It's hard to go back to wearing just normal creme polishes when the bling that's out there is so purty.  It's gonna take something quite spectacular to shake me out of my glitter state of mind!

NN

Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat - Part 2

And here are the rest of the swatches for the Fuzzy Coat collection:

300 - Peach Fuzz (on top of Models Prefer - Love to Shop)

100 - Wool Lite (on top of Models Prefer - Little Black Dress)

800 - Tweedy (on top of Australis - Indie)

 

I don't know if I can pick a singular stand out in this collection, but I can say that Wool Knot's formula was the least easiest to apply and also find a base colour for.  The rest I am absolutely delighted with and feel like I need to buy back-ups!

 

But, yet again, there is the mystery of the missing polish from the collection - Fuzzy Fantasy! Sally Hansen, why? I called a few Priceline stores in the Sydney CBD and asked whether they had Fuzzy Fantasy, only to be told that it wasn't even part of the kit they had been sent. So it begs the question, are we being sold leftover products that didn't sell in the Americas and the UK/Europe? And why release some polishes in some countries, but not the full collection? Infuriating. Ah helooooo nail polish companies - we have the Internet and can see what you're releasing overseas, duh!

Picture Source Credit:  beautygeeks

All in all, I am extremely happy with these polishes. They're funky, on trend, and something completely new to dress your nails in.

NN

Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat - Part 1

Fuzzy. Coat. Has. Landed!

For a while I have been admiring various swatches of Nails Inc Feathers polishes, but that's all I could do as the brand doesn't sell in Australia (unless you buy it online).  Slowly, new swatches started accompanying the Nails Inc ones, and my hopes started to rise . . .

After seeing their Fuzzy Coat swatches, I even went to the extent of contacting Sally Hansen on Facebook to enquire when Fuzzy Coat would be available in Australia, and was told "soon".  I thought that meant 6 months . . . but, unlike Channel Nine's ad campaigns for TV their shows (Underbelly - Squizzy/Big Brother/The Great Australian Bakeoff/Arrow), they are actually here now!

Spotted (and snatched up) in Priceline this week - introducing:

200 - All Yarned Up (on top of Essence - Absolutely Blue)

500 - Fuzz-Sea (on top of Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Chartreuse Chase)

700 - Wool Knot (on top of Savvy - Candy Pink)

400 - Tight Knight (on top of Savvy - Watermelon Crush)

NN

Glitter Schmitter - Part 1

Glitter polish seems to be at a high point in the nail polish consciousness at the moment - it's everywhere!  And, just between you and I, I don't mind, not even a little bit.

I am so loving the black and white polishes that are starting to filter through, initially from Missha, and now from Models Prefer.  I'm also a fan of the new colour combos of large glitters.  Here are a few  of my recent creations:

 

Base:  Sinful Colors - Snow Me White; Left Stripes:  Savvy - Grey; Middle Stripes:  Kleancolor - Black; Right Stripes:  Rimmel - Grey Matter; Glitter:  Models Prefer - Star Dust

 

Base:  Savvy - Grey; Glitter:  Models Prefer - Explosive

Base:  Models Prefer - Teal Ya Later; Glitter: Models Prefer - Explosive

Base: Australis - Sky's the Limit; Glitter:  Models Prefer - Star Dust

Base:  Face of Australia - Ocean Villa; Glitter:  OPI - Lights of Emerald City

And finally, the best way to remove glitter polish?  With a soaked cotton ball wrapped around your nail, covered with aluminium foil. Looks like I have astronaut fingers, or that they're being treated for hypothermia!

 

In Part 2 of this post, I'll share a couple of new glitters from Australis and Savvy, and a topcoat glitter from Revlon.

 

I'll also let you in on how to apply glitter polish to maximise coverage over your nail.

 

NN



Happy Blogiversary, Baby!

Well, we made it!  Novice Nails turns one today (cue the music, cake and candle). 

When I started this "project", I never imagined that it would take me all the way through the many diverse shades, textures, trends and innovations associated with decorating nails.  All the way through to a year later!  And just when I think that there couldn't possibly be anything new to show you, the companies behind the magic offer up something new.

Speaking of which, I have been promised there are a few new things on the horizon by a couple of companies, but like me, you will just need to be patient!

It's true, I have slowed down on my posts recently.  This is partly because my polish collection really doesn't need any more (*gasps*) so I haven't been buying at the rate I once was, and partly because I am running out of room to store them all.  I am also very aware that there is a fairly short lifespan for a bottle of polish, and at this stage, I couldn't possibly use every bottle I have fully before they each go off. 

Therein lies the dilemma - to enable me to increase my posts on this blog, should I try to get through my current stash, or should I start giving some of them away (only the ones I can part with, of course)?  I'm still undecided, so until then, I am really only picking up things that I are new to the market/unique.

I will keep sharing the different stamping combos I come up with, though, because I think the more of those pictures, the better.  I know that searching the interwebs to see what others are doing always helps inspire me, and so I like to pay it back.

That's it from me for now - many thanks to the one or two of you who pop in every so often.  I hope you've enjoyed my nail adventures over the past year.  And with a bit of luck, there might be a few more adventures yet left to have!


NN