Red Carpet Manicure Gel Nail Polish Review.

For the past month and a bit, I have been loving wearing gel nail polish. You may have realised that I am not as into nail polish as I used to be. I don't feel the need to change my colour every day or own a million polishes. I wore gel polish for my wedding, and it lasted about 9 days chip free! I thought that was amazing!
I have a gel nail polish kit from Red Carpet Manicure to share with you today. Red Carpet Manicure is a brand of gel nail polish. Before I share any more, I will let you know that gel nails and gel nail polish are not the same thing! Gel nails are a nail enhancement, similar to acrylic nails. Gel nail polish is a nail polish that needs to be cured under either an UV, or LED lamp to dry. If applied and removed correctly, it should not damage your natural nails.
I have received Red Carpet Manicure's Gel Polish Pro Kit to share and review for you. In the Pro Kit, you receive:

• the Professional LED Light (to cure the polish)
• Prep (nail dehydrator/bonder)
• Structure (base coat)
• Brilliance (top coat)
• Revitalize (cuticle oil)
• Red Carpet Reddy (classic red gel nail polish colour)
• Purify (gel cleanser)
• Erase (gel polish remover)
• Instruction manual

I applied the red gel polish Red Carpet Reddy, on the 24th of April, following the instructions that they provided. I found the instructions to be very thorough and helpful.

The colour is a classic red, it sort of has that jelly-ish formula. 2 coats was fine, but a third would ensure 100% opacity. The manicure was definitely very shiny when I was finished, which was awesome. I did notice that while I was applying the top coat, the red colour did transfer onto the top coat brush a little. I made sure to wipe the brush off on a tissue before I put it back into the bottle.

I like the polish brush on the Red Carpet Manicure polishes, it was easy to control the polish so that it didn't get on my skin.

Here is what my manicure looked like right after I finished:

By day 3, I had experienced slight (very slight) tip wear on a few of my nails (you can't tell in the photo) which was a little disappointing.

By day 4, I had one or two small chips on a couple of my nails. However the manicure was still extremely shiny and looking nice. On that same day, I had a bad nail break and decided to cut all of my nails down very short - with the nail polish still on! To my amazement, I had no additional signs of wear after this. I wouldn't exactly recommend that you do that though, because for most people I would imagine that would make your manicure chip much faster. I just wanted to share my experience.
I removed the gel manicure on day 5 (sorry, I don't have a photo) because I wanted to change up the colour. The removal process was super easy. It is just like removing a glitter polish with the foil method (video tutorial here). I soaked my nails for 10 minutes and when I removed the foil, the polish flaked off of my nails very easily! I had a cuticle pusher ready to gently scrape at any bits of polish that needed it, but I barely needed to do that! The removal process was awesome.

I also received a second colour, Leading Lady, to review. I had an even better experience with this colour!

Leading Lady, is a creamy lavender pink colour. I used 3 (very thin) coats for this manicure. It had decent coverage at 2 coats, but I decided to go for 3. I think the consistency of this polish may have been slightly thinner than Red Carpet Reddy. This polish did not transfer at all onto the top coat brush.
I absolutely adore this colour, and I got a lot of compliments on it, too! :) My husband even commented on it! :P

Here is my Leading Lady manicure at day 3:

I was SUPER impressed by this colour. Because this colour lasted NINE DAYS, still looking as perfect as the day I applied it! I had no tip wear, no chips, no wear signs at all! It was still very shiny! The only thing that changed is that my nails grew out, so there is a gap at the cuticle. Because it lasted so long, I believe that the Red Carpet Reddy colour started showing signs of wear due to user error. I'm sure Leading Lady would have lasted even longer than 9 days if I had left it on, but I felt like changing up my colour.

(Sorry for the awful quality iPhone photo for this one. And I had a cut on my cuticle on my pointer finger, which is why I'm only showing 3 fingers in this picture.)

Another thing I really liked about Red Carpet Manicure gel polish that I haven't experienced before, is that this system comes with a LED curing lamp. I have only ever tried a UV lamp before, which takes almost double the time to cure a layer of polish! I loved that the LED lamp was so efficient, and it is also very small, whereas my UV lamp is ginormous and takes up a lot of room.
I am definitely in love with the Red Carpet Manicure system and hope to try more colours in the future! I 100% recommend it to anyone who wants to try out a gel polish system.
If you'd like to see an application tutorial for Red Carpet Manicure gel polish, you can check out their video here.
You can find Red Carpet Manicure polishes online, and at selected David Jones & Shaver Shop stores.
*Product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company or PR for my 100% honest review.  For more info please read my Disclosure Policy*

Love Month. Day 3: V-Day Polish Picks.

Hi guys! For the third day of Love Month, I thought I'd share my favourite polishes for Valentine's Day with you. I have quite a few to share, so I'll get right into it!
Pink and red are obviously the most popular colours for Valentine's Day, and I think OPI does pinks and reds the best.

Three of my favourite light pinks from OPI are Mod About You - a very pale, opaque baby pink, Pink Friday - a classic lighter Barbie pink, and Chic From Ears to Tail - another pastel pink, but with a subtle silver shimmer (I only have a mini - I need the full size!).

If you're into a more sheer pink, my favourite is I Theodora You, also from OPI.

If you're into textured polishes, OPI's Liquid Sand in Magazine Cover Mouse is a pretty red with a gold shimmer.
A classic hot pink that I love is Kiss Me On My Tulips. Or if you're more of a lavender girl, you can't go past Lucky Lucky Lavender.

Another beautiful hot pink, with a purple undertone is Flirt by piCture pOlish (appropriate name for V-Day! ;)). This one also has a flawless formula. You can get away with just one coat!

February is summer time here in Aussieland, so I had to include a nice neon pink. My favourite is Bottoms Up by China Glaze. The formula on this one is less than perfect, so it will take a bit of patience, but the end result is awesome.

A classic bright red option is Ever Reddy by Covergirl, from the Outlast Stay Brilliant line. This one is available pretty much everywhere. It has a jelly-ish sort of finish.

For the glitter gals! Ulta3 Disco Fever is a great red glitter that's pretty easy to find, and only $2! It would look cute over any of the light pink polishes I mentioned above, or a red.

Haley Good Lookin' is a pretty rosy pink glitter from Nicole by OPI. NOPI is now available at most Target and Woolworths stores here in Australia, so it's fairly easy to get your hands on, if you come across a well stocked stand! This would go well over any colour, really. It has great coverage with just one coat, also.

If you prefer a purple look, China Glaze's Put a Bow On It from the 2013 Holiday collection is a nice full coverage glitter.

Last but not least, some indie glitter options!
Hearts Aflutter is a cute glitter mix that Gloss n Sparkle released for Valentine's Day last year. It's an assortment of pink, lilac and silver glitters in a clear base. It includes cute shapes like hearts and butterflies also. Ruby Soho by Emily de Molly is a nice red glitter in different sizes that would look pretty over a baby pink. And for the hot pink lovers, Blossom by Love Thy Polish is a great mix of hot pink holographic glitters.
I hope this post helped you decide what polish you might wear for Valentine's Day, or just gave you some new polishes to add to your wish list. ;)
What are your favourites for V-Day?! Let me know in a comment. :)

Pretty Serious Bloody Bride

In October, Pretty Serious Cosmetics released the Till Death Do Us Party collection for Halloween, which was created for Kaz & Ben's horror theme wedding! ♥ I purchased the special Wedding Edition set a couple months back. It's still available now so I definitely recommend you go grab it {along with the new They Came From Beyond Space II collection which features textured glitters!}.
I can't believe it took me this long, but today I have one of the polishes to share with you!

{ Please excuse any fuzzes or dust in my photos... Oops hehe }

This is Bloody Bride, and it is the polish that Kaz wore on her wedding day! :) Definitely fitting for a horror theme wedding! It's a deep red jelly base with red and purple glitters, including some holographic ones. The formula was a bit thicker than I'm used to seeing from Pretty Serious, so I'll be adding a couple drops of thinner before I use it again. I used 2 coats + 2 coats of top coat to smooth out the glitter.

This polish actually kills my want for Essie's Toggle to the Top. Don't get me wrong - they are not dupes {the Essie is just a red glitter in a dark red base} but from swatches I've seen, it's similar enough for me to not need both. :)

1Q32 Instant Gellish {Swatch & Review}

I have a gel polish from a brand called 1Q32 Instant Gellish from their Christmas line to show you today!

1Q32 is a gel polish that cures under either a UV or LED lamp. This means that it will not dry until you put your nail under a UV or LED lamp. {I use a 36W UV lamp.}

They claim that you do not need a base or top coat with this polish. All you need is the colour! I think that's really cool because applying gel polish can be extremely time consuming with all the coats you have to put on {base, colour and top coat}, and the cure time. But with 1Q32, all you need is one polish!

These polishes don't have names, but they do have numbers. The colour I have to show you is called #QB26. It is a gorgeous red, with lots of little silver glitters throughout. The red base gives the glitters more of a red/pink look, though. A perfect sparkly Christmas red. Although Christmas is over, I would wear a colour like this any time. I wore it on Christmas Eve, and I paired it with OPI's My Favourite Ornament on my ring finger.

To apply, start with bare nails. Push back your cuticles and you can give your nails a slight buff too. Wipe them with pure acetone, or rubbing alcohol with a lint free wipe of some sort, to remove all dirt and oils from the nails and make sure they are totally dry and clean.

Apply one very thin coat of the 1Q32 to your nails making sure you don't get any polish on your cuticles or skin because it will harden and cause the polish to peel {make sure to lightly cap the tip of the nail also!}, and cure under the UV lamp for 60-120 seconds {30-60 seconds with a LED lamp}. Once your nails come out of the lamp the polish should be totally rock solid, and 1Q32 has no sticky residue after curing like some brands do. Then apply a second coat of polish and cure again. Once cured, you're ready to go! :) They say that the polish should last 15-20 days depending on how well your application was.

1Q32 says that the removal of their polish is easy, with no damage to the natural nail. And I do believe that there should be no damage to the nails if you apply and remove the polish correctly. To remove, soak a cotton piece in pure acetone, place on the nail and cover the fingertip with aluminium foil. Leave soaking for 10 minutes. Squeeze the foil and slide it off your nail. The polish should be mostly gone. Any little bits left over can be very gently scraped off with an orange stick or cuticle pusher. {This is the same method I use to remove glitter polish sometimes - I have a video tutorial here.} I found that this polish removed MUCH easier than any other gel polish I've worn. That may be because it's only 2 coats, whereas with another gel it would be 4 coats {including top & base coat} but it was still amazing. I wore it for 2 and a half days and I had no signs of wear by then. I'm sure it would have lasted at least a few more days with no signs of wear.

I really like that 1Q32 is all in one step. This would be great for when you need a quick manicure because it would really only take about 15 minutes for the full manicure, and once cured it's instantly dry. {I know I always have the problem of having to wait for my nails to dry when I'm in a hurry!}

The formula on 1Q32 is quite thick and pigmented. I was a little concerned that the polish may dry bumpy because of the glitter pieces in it, but it dried perfectly smooth which was really nice.

1Q32 can be purchased at 1q32.com.
Each polish is $24(AUD) for a 7mL polish, which is honestly a bit steep; but when you think about the fact that you don't need a base or top coat with it, it's not so bad. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a long lasting, shiny manicure that doesn't take ages to do right at home.

Thanks for visiting ♥

B Squared Lacquer Christmas & New Years Set {Swatches & Review}

Hi guys! I have some swatches to share with you today from a new to me indie brand from the US! B Squared Lacquer is owned by the lovely Mia {@miadillpicklenails on Instagram}. She has a fantastic range of polishes in her store so I definitely recommend you check them out.

I have 8 polishes from B Squared to share with you today, from the Christmas & New Years set.

This post is going to be majorly pic heavy so please click the Continue Reading button below to see the swatches. :)

Rudolph Nail Art featuring B Squared Lacquer

I've been so busy lately, but I had to make some time to do some more Christmas nail art before the season is over. I have lots of ideas and lots of Christmastime polishes to use so I have to get a wriggle on!

Today I have a very quick & easy Christmas manicure to share with you, also featuring a new indie polish.

On all the nails except my ring finger, the base colour is Rimmel's Acid House which is one of the new-ish Kate Moss shades. It's a beautiful shimmery dark green.

Over the Rimmel shade I've used B Squared Lacquer's Glitzy which is a beautiful gold glitter! It has a whole bunch of different sizes and shapes of holographic gold glitter including stars. {I actually used one of the stars in this for the tree in my Christmas Cuties nail art.} I have more polishes from B Squared Lacquer to share with you very soon so keep your eye out for that! :D

For my little Rudolph, I used Rubi Taupe, Essence Red Ahead, China Glaze Winter Berry and Ulta3 Black Satin.

Let me know if you might be interested in a quick video tutorial for my Rudolph buddy. :) It's super easy but maybe somebody would like it.

I hope to show you the rest of the Christmas & New Years polishes from B Squared Lacquer before the end of this week! :) Stay tuned for that.

China Glaze 'Just Be-Claws' + Bundle Monster Stamping ♥

Christmas is only just over 2 weeks away, and I have my first Christmas nail art for the year to share with you today, using a polish from China Glaze's Happy HoliGlaze collection for the Holiday season this year. I bought this set of 4 'mini' polishes from the collection. {Though they are definitely not your typical minis. They are 9.6mL each and most mini polishes, eg. OPI minis, are around 3mL!} I had to try one of them out right away. :D

Just Be-Claws by China Glaze is a super shimmery red foil. It has a little bit of a pink look to it sometimes too. It applied super opaque and smooth. I used 2 coats.

I stamped over Just Be-Claws with a plate from the new Bundle Monster Holiday set! The plate is BM-H01. I used a snowflake image on my pointer and pinky, and a full nail image on my ring finger. My stamping definitely needs some work so please forgive me haha. I am rubbish at stamping full nail images. The image is so pretty, though, so I will definitely be using it again. :) The polish I used to stamp is China Glaze's Passion which is just a nice metallic gold.

Thanks for visiting. :)

Fat Lacquers - Dollar Menu Collection {Swatches & Review}

Hi friends! I have a new indie brand to show you today. Fat Lacquers is a US brand that just released for pre-order. I have swatches of their 4 piece Dollar Menu collection for you.

This collection is inspired by fast food; so unique! The labels are adorable, and check out these Nutrition Facts labels on the back! So cute!

30oz Sweet Tea is a very shimmery golden brown.
I found the formula on this one was quite thick, so I did add a couple of drops of polish thinner to it before I swatched it, as it was just a tad too thick for my taste.
2 coats {no top coat}.

Daddy Chicken Patty is a clear base with gold, copper, brown, white, black and green glitters.
This one also has a thick formula.
1 coat over 30oz Sweet Tea.

Soft Serve is a shimmery bright white.
This one had pretty much the same formula as 30oz Sweet Tea, so I also added polish thinner to it.
2 coats {no top coat}.

Two All Beef Patties is a clear base with brown, gold, black, copper, green, lime green and red glitters.
Again, another thick polish but that does help a bit to give a good coverage of glitter.
1 coat over Soft Serve.

By the way, when I say that these polishes have a thick formula; don't get me wrong. It's not an awful thick formula, they aren't gloopy and unusable. But for my taste they are a tad too thick and would benefit from a couple drops of thinner.

This collection is now available for pre-order, from Fat Lacquers' BigCartel store.

Fat Lacquers

Store | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

*Product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company or PR for my 100% honest review. For more info please read my Disclosure Policy*

Cyrene Lovette Lacquers {Swatches & Review}

Cyrene Lovette Lacquers is a new indie brand in the US, being manufactured by The Juice Box Lacquer. I have 6 polishes from their line to show you.

Cyrene is a coral red. The formula on this colour was quite thick which threw me off a bit but it wasn't so bad. I would probably add a couple drops of thinner before I use it again, though. Thankfully it dried pretty fast. It also dried to a satin-y finish.
I used 2 coats + 1 coat of top coat.

Grace is a vibrant {but deep - is that possible?} purple jelly. As it's a jelly formula, it was quite sheer on the first coat but the second one built up nicely. The formula on this one was nice, it was a bit thick still but not as thick as Cyrene.
I used 2 coats + 1 coat of top coat.

Jewel is a cobalt blue jelly. The formula on this was pretty much the same as Grace.
I used 2 coats + 1 coat of top coat.

June is a yellow toned nude jelly. Again, the formula was pretty much the same as Jewel and Grace.
I used 2 coats + 1 coat of top coat.

Lovette is a standard black. It had a similar formula to the other jellies, but a bit thicker. It was pretty much opaque in one coat, so that's all I did! {Under the bright lights it might look a bit patchy but in normal daylight, it looked opaque.
{This was so shiny I could actually see my reflection in it, haha!}
I used 1 coat + 1 coat of top coat.

Taja is an olive green with gold shimmers. This one was similar in formula to Cyrene. It's pretty thick, but that makes it basically opaque in one coat. But for me, I wouldn't wear this again without putting some thinner in it. But it is a really pretty colour!
I used 1 coat + 1 coat of top coat.

These polishes are all available to pre-order from the CLL website. They are offering worldwide shipping {excluding Italy}.

Cyrene Lovette Lacquers

Store | Twitter | Instagram

*Product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company or PR for my 100% honest review. For more info please read my Disclosure Policy*