Happy New Year! (from the missing blogger, kittytokaren)

Hello PoP readers!

If you are a new-ish reader, you will have no idea who I am. If you have been around longer, you may not remember me! Hi, I'm kittytokaren, aka k2k. I love simple, elegant manicures, Essie polish, and colours most would consider 'boring'. I gravitate to nudes and darks, and generally fear colour and glitter (with a few exceptions...). I rock short nails, and am constantly looking for better ways to keep my cuticles and hands from drying out.

I disappeared these last couple years in to the vortex of cancer and academia. As I'm sure many of you will understand, it is maybe not the healthiest thing in the world to ditch ones hobbies in the face of a mountain of stress, but it happens.

Now, at the end of 2014, it all came together. I was declared (almost - pending one more check-up!) CANCER-FREE, I finally (and surprisingly...interesting story) graduated with my PhD in Genetics & Molecular Biology, and life is going to be VERY different in 2015! I'm both scared for and excited about the future.

I wanted to share my NYE manicure with all of you, to ring out the wild and wonderful year that was 2014, and to say hello to 2015. I thought of you all when I applied it - I combined an old favourite, Essie Jazz (reviewed in this post with my favourite title of all time), with a gold glitter gradient using the classic Essie Golden Nuggets (also seen here and here) and newly released Essie Rock At the Top.

I don't know what my career is going to look like, I don't know where in the world I'm going to end up, but I do know that I want to take better care of myself in 2015. That includes indulging in the hobbies that I love, like writing on PoP, interacting with all of you, and sharing the polish love! I may not keep up with new collections as much as I used to, but I want to share my manicures and my passion.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I sincerely hope that each and every one of you have an amazing 2015.

Much love xx,
k2k

White/Teal/Turquoise Nail Art :)

I did this particular manicure for a contest held by cutepolish on YouTube back in December. I'm really happy with how it turned out :)

Polishes used:
China Glaze For Audrey
Elevation Polish Jengish Chokusu
Sephora by OPI Read my Palm
Zoya Wednesday
Pahlish Colder Than a Wave (the glitter on the ring finger)

As for the giveaway, I think it'll be of polishes I currently own. I haven't picked the polishes yet, but it'll be at least 10-15 polishes and possibly a gift certificate. I'm still figuring out, I'm sure I'll be more inspired in the following days as it is finals time :) At least 1 prize, up towards 3. It may be a long running contest, though, as it may take me a while to decide on which polishes to part with!

Belated Easter Mani: Happy Hands Motherboy jelly sandwich and a return?

Hey guys and gals! so I'm trying something new! I downloaded the blogger app so that I can make posts away from a computer, lol. 

So today's post is about my Easter manicure. It is a jelly Sandwich with OPI Don't Touch my Tutu with Happy Hands Motherboy. One coat of the OPI below the glitter and 2 over, to make the pastel glitter a bit more pastel :) It was really delicate and cute. Happy Hands has sadly shut down but a dupe to Motherboy can be found at Rainbow Polish, named Taffy.

 

Hope there is some interest in this blog still! I'm considering doing a return to blogging giveaway,  comment to let me know if it would be worth doing!  Til next time~

Girly Bits Jini Goes Indie!

I'm not usually a huge fan of multicoloured glitterbombs, but I couldn't resist trying out the matte cheerfulness of Girly Bits Jini Goes Indie! I tried to tone it down a bit by using Hello Darling Sage Advice (dark olive) and Essie Da Bush (light olive) for the base.

Verdict? I like it! I wouldn't say I *love* it - the irregular glitters didn't like lying down flat on my nails, and a lot of top coat was required to flatten it out. But it's gone in my "use again soon" drawer.

Shades of Phoenix We're All Mad Here

Here's a polish I knew I had to buy the moment I saw it - Shades of Phoenix's We're All Mad Here, inspired by the colours of the Cheshire Cat from the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland.

I've always loved Lewis Carroll - Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are such timeless books. I've been re-reading them since I was about 7. They never get old.

This polish is not quite opaque enough for me to wear on its own - I've layered 2 coats of this over ulta3 Flirty Bikini. I really like the contrast between the orange/yellow hexes, and the subtlety of the furry little purple bars!

Tony Moly Shooting Star

Here's one I love but haven't posted - Tony Moly Shooting Star. It's one of their Revlon Whimsical-looking line - a purple creme base with rainbow glitters. I used this combo in one of my first jelly sandwich manicures, so it was nice to finally pick it up in one-pot form from the Tony Moly stall in Sydney's Market City.

I love the pastel prettiness, and the cheerful multicoloured glitter! I think I'd prefer a slightly bluer purple though.

I've been really impressed with all the Korean polishes I have so far, which makes me think I should really buy more - they're affordable, and have lovely formulas!

Lab Muffin's Top 13 Polishes of 2013 Part 2: Indies

A few days ago I posted my favourite mainstream and boutique polishes that I discovered last year. I'm back now with my favourite indies! The indie market grew exponentially in 2013, especially in Australia. In 2012, I'd only heard of about 4 Aussie indie brands - now, according to the Lacquerheads of Oz Indie Directory there are almost 30! So it's no surprise that the indies crowded the mainstream polishes out of my top 13, and I had to split hairs and move the boutique polishes to the mainstream section because it looked too lonely.

Now, I realise most of the Polish or Perish audience aren't Australian, and you therefore thought your wallet would be safe - think again! International stockists now have a metric shitton of Australian indie brands (I know, I've seen photos of some of the makers' shipments). For specifics of where to get what you can look at the Lacquerheads of Oz Indie Directory, but some of the stockists that ship overseas and have a few brands include Femme Fatale Cosmetics, Color4Nails, Harlow & Co, Norway Nails, Llarowe, Mei Mei's Signatures and Ninja Polish.


So here are my top 8 indies of 2013...

Gloss 'n Sparkle The Huntress is a new find of mine - I've always been a sucker for deep, complex jellies, and this is in one of my favourite polish colours, green. It's also included in my 2nd anniversary giveaway.

Alanna Renee Reptar is an incredibly cool, unique shade. I love these out-of-left-field shades - they're so satisfyingly interesting even without nail art.

Celestial Highgarden was my favourite from the Game of Thrones-themed collaboration between Color4Nails and Celestial. I love a special effects shade, and this has both holo and thermal colour change effects! This shade inspired me to write this sciencey article on how thermochromic colour change pigments work.

Brown and green is such a pretty colour combination in my books, but so few polishes contain this colour combination. Sayuri Mori has this rare foresty look, and is lovely over a golden base.

Arcane Lacquer Erudite Dreams is a pretty blurple creme with pinkish gold shimmer. I really love Arcane's elegant but pretty polishes - very work-safe and wearable for all occasions, without being plain.

Powder Perfect Decorate a Palm Tree is a very shimmery dense microglitter in a fetching shade of grass green. I especially love how the green jelly base means that the glitter in the lower layers are a deeper colour.

I posted Loki's Lacquer Omicron Persei 8 here in April, but it deserves revisiting! It's the most amazingly unexpected smorgasbord of sparkles, and jaw-droppingly stunning in the sun.

This one's a bit of a copout - I'm nominating the entire Mckfresh Sunnydale Collection as my #13! The Buffy-inspired vampy collection just looks so good together. But if I had to pick one polish, it would probably be Xander (top right hand corner) - the blue-green duochrome is so pretty, even though Xander is a bloody irritating character.

There you have it - the best indies I tried this year! I'm sure there are some glaring omissions I'll kick myself for a bit later, but I've agonised over this list long enough that I really just needed to hit the "post" button and walk the hell away. 

I realise that this list is ridiculously biased towards Australian indies, and that's simply because I had enough to try within Australia that I didn't feel the need to pay premium shipping prices for overseas polishes! I will endeavour to try out more overseas brands in 2014, but to be honest, given how the Australian indie market is growing, I think I already have my nails full.

Lab Muffin's Top 13 Polishes of 2013 Part 1: Mainstream and Boutique Brands

2013 was a big year of swatching for me, and it was the year where I think Australian indie polishes really blossomed. It was very difficult to pick just 13 polishes that I loved, but I certainly tried! I limited myself to one polish per brand only, and to polishes that I discovered in 2013 (though they weren't necessarily released last year). Here we go, with the mainstream and boutique (i.e. small company but not hand-mixed) picks...

First, I obviously have to mention my collaboration shade, piCture pOlish Ultra Violence. The literary amongst you will know that the name is inspired by Anthony Burgess's book A Clockwork Orange. I love the holo iridescent glitter against the rich purple! I've included a bottle of Ultra Violence in my 2nd blogiversary giveaway here.

I blogged about the stunningly pretty Pretty Serious BSOD here earlier. What happened next was that while wearing it, my laptop did actually have a heart-stopping BSOD moment, in the middle of thesis-writing! Luckily I didn't lose anything, but Kaz was too sweet, and in her usual above-and-beyond customer service style, she sent me a few polishes to dull the pain.

OPI Keeping Suzi At Bay is a gorgeous blue creme that is both interesting and elegant. It may be my favourite creme shade ever. I think dark blue is actually quite work safe, but definitely not boring.

ulta3 Triple Threat was a big surprise for me. This is a complex holo glitter jelly that's indie-worthy, but comes at the ridiculously budget-friendly price of $2.

Orly Digital Glitter is one of my top 5 Orly polishes, ever. I usually think of Orly as a brand which does salon-friendly classic polishes well, but whenever they come out with something a bit different it's usually ridiculously cool (Fowl Play! Space Cadet!). I love the unlikely brown/purple/red combination - it's a bit steampunk in my opinion, and makes me think of Neal Stephenson novels. To top it off, the purple shimmer is duochrome.

I will be back soon with some of my indie picks of 2013 - hold onto your wallets!

Beach nail art and a sunscreen PSA

Sorry for the unexpected absence! I don't really have any excuse apart from laziness unfortunately. So all I have is a beach themed mani, with Maybelline Seaquins.

If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, don't forget to put on the sunscreen this summer - here's a handy infographic on how much to use and when:

Silver glitter gradient over nude nails

Sorry for the absence! Hope I can make up for it with this, one of the prettiest manis I've worn in ages, and a contender for favourite bridal design:

It's a gradient of Maybelline Color Show Silver Gleam over OPI Malaysian Mist, which I did using my cotton bud glitter gradient method - it's so much easier and more precise than sponging for me! It was hard to get a gradient up the nail with such a dense glitter, so I literally dotted polish with the tip of the bud up my nail, like a big woolly dotting tool.

I wore this to Spa and Beauty Expo, and it lasted me almost a week - the glitter tips are great at keeping tipwear at bay!

OCC: Grandma + Gloss 'n Sparkle: Quote Unquote

Coral is always excellent, not just for summer. It just happened to be summer when I wore this manicure combination, as I'm not one to follow convention on what colors are appropriate for which season anyway :)

I received OCC: Grandma as a gift and I loved it at first sight. I've always wanted OCC polishes but never managed to pull the trigger on them, although I do have a few of their lip tars! Which I love. But I digress.

I saw Gloss 'n Sparkle on sale at Llarowe and I loved the the color scheme. So I got it (I frequently check the sale/clearance section of Llarowe to see if there are any good deals to be had).

Onto pictures!

It's hard to capture the color of Grandma but the formula was great. Quote Unquote was also one of the easiest glitter polishes I've worked with recently. 2 coats, didn't even have to dab or manually place glitters.

Information: Gloss 'n Sparkle Website // Facebook

Ulta: Celebutante + Rainbow Honey: Magic Cake

The moment I saw the glitter polish by Rainbow Honey, I wanted it. I held off for a while, though, but finally purchased it a while ago.

The formula leaves something to be desired, but I know that's something that comes with the territory of big glitter. Of course, that means another chunky manicure. But it looked really good!

Magic Cake consists of different neon glitters, big pink hexes and square, neon blue and lime green. There's also a shimmer. It's a really fun glitter combination and with some more careful application, could look less "thick" :) I think I did one coat of Magic Cake and then started manually placing glitter afterwards.

Information: Facebook // Website

Funky green! Essie Pretty Edgy + Salon Perfect Zapped + Pahlish Legra; 1956 + Girly Bits Street Magic

For some odd reason, I wanted a green manicure. With a deeper green. I dug out Essie: Pretty Edgy and actually wore it on its own for a few days. When I saw some tipwear, I decided to add some glitter on top.

I love matte glitters, and got my hands on all of the Salon Perfect matte glitters. I layered Zapped over my nails to create a gradient. It looked really cool, other than the downside that the mani looked thick on a few fingers.

I then received Pahlish: Legra; 1956 in the mail from a little haul and figured it would look cool over the whole mani, and it did. The neon green satin hex glitters and the gold circle glitters added a different dimension.

Then I added another layer of Girly Bits: Street Magic over it just for some additional sparkle.

It ended up being a lot of layers. But I love it :)

It looks pretty radioactive! It's going to be a pain to take off, though...

Different Dimension: Black Dahlia

I haven't worn that many holos this summer, considering that it's summer. This may have been the only holo I've worn so far, which is odd... I have a good number of them.

There isn't much to say about this ABSOLUTELY AMAZING polish. It's Black Dahlia by Different Dimension. It's a black leaning greyish purple scattered holographic polish with micro iridescent glitters. Hard to capture the glitters on camera but in person this polish was awesome. This is 3 coats on its own.

Love love love. This makes me want to wear more holos. Have you worn any this summer?

Information: Etsy // Facebook // Llarowe

Pahlish August Duo: Slow like Honey + Heavy With Mood

Hello!!!! I know I've been very remiss in making posts but finals for summer school came around, then a paper due, then I had a long week of moving. After that I was settling into my new place (aka, my parent's place, haha), school started up shortly thereafter. But anyway, I survived my last first week of law school! Yay!!

As a result of moving, I haven't been doing my nails as much. I kind of like settling into a routine for where my manicure stuff is and everything was everywhere and I was too... tired to try to set things up as I like them. Also, my picture taking setup is going to be a bit different and I had to figure that out. But I finally got around to it and now will do manicures on a more regular basis :)

This post is VERY late. It's the August duo from Pahlish, available until August 31. So, my apologies if this is the first you've seen of it.

The duo consists of two polishes, a creme with some hidden-esque shimmer and a glitter topper. I have to say, it's my favorite duo so far from the ones she has released. The nude creme is beautiful and very clean looking on my nails, and the small amount of shimmer adds a little bit of something. The glitter topper is gorgeous, consisting of gold/copper, green and black glitter in varying shapes and sizes.

full sunlight

in the shade

full sunlight, mattified

in the shade, mattified

 The color for the creme is more true in the sunlight pics.

The August Pahlish duo is available until August 31!

Information: Facebook // Etsy // Llarowe

BYS Glitter Blue and final thesis hand-in, hurray!

Sorry I've been a bit slack here! I've been posting so many nail things on my own blog that Polish or Perish has been quite neglected, not to mention that I've recently handed in my final, hard-bound emended thesis, so I'll hopefully be in the November graduation round and I'll be Dr Muffin. Hurrah!

So now I get to enter the existential crevasse that is post-doctoral career crisis. I know what I don't want to do, but I have no idea what I actually want to do.. at least my nails are pretty!

Here's BYS Glitter Blue, a pretty silver glitter in a pale blue base that's more refined and elegant than anything else I've seen from BYS. I received it from a lovely fellow Aussie nail addict in a Christmas in July swap. It's sheer, so I layered it over Duri Summer in the City.

I was expecting it to be a thermal polish (the blue sticker on the lid usually indicates that a BYS is a colour change polish) but unfortunately I think they just made a mistake. Boo! It's still very pretty though.

piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013

By now you've probably seen all the nail art tutorials flooding the internet for piCture pOlish's annual Blog Fest, which this year included over 130 bloggers, including me! Here's the mani I did, using the shades Hope, Dorothy and Ruby Blou:

Hop on over to my blog to see the full tutorial - it's pretty basic nail art, but I loved this mani!

Crowstoes: Shoot the Butterfly

This polish caught my attention when I first saw it. I know the colors are kind of Halloween-y, but looking at it, it definitely reminded me of a Monarch butterfly's color scheme.

This is Crowstoes: Shoot the Butterfly. It's a black jelly with copper hexes, small white glitters and holo microglitters. I did one coat over a base coat of black polish with 2 coats on my ring finger. The glitter is definitely not hard to get out of the bottle. I liked the sparse look better, hence layering one layer over black for the majority of my fingers.

I find it whimsical, despite it being black based, haha. The sparkle that the holo microglitter adds really adds depth, along with the base being black so the white glitters are at different depths.

Do you like the look of one layer or two?

Information: Llarowe // Overall Beauty

The Polish Bar: Shiny Pebbles

I'm not quite sure where I saw this polish but when I saw it, I knew that I must have it. So I purchased immediately. The mix of colors drew me in, I couldn't resist.

It's The Polish Bar: Shiny Pebbles. I love the mix of colors, different glitters and just the execution. It's a mix of various sizes of dark brown, cooper, orange and aqua hex glitters and small aqua square glitters in a white crelly base. 

This is three coats on its own -- I think I might try one coat it over a white jelly base sometime for a less busy look. I love the pop of the aqua glitters against the orange/copper and brown! Brown glitter!!!

Information: Facebook // Etsy

OPI Polka.com black jelly sandwich

I recently scored Camouflage Colour Black in a Lust Have It! sample box - at first I was disappointed, since it's just a plain black, but then I swatched it and discovered that it was extremely sheer. Hurray! Jelly sandwich!

I started with a couple of layers of Black, then dabbed OPI Polka.com, a pink/blue/purple glitter (see my original swatches of it here), and finished with an extra layer of Black.

The result reminded me of some of the indies in jelly bases floating around - I'm in love! It's made me want to collect jellies in all the colours (so 2012, I know).