Be Yourself Australian Polish: Unnamed, possibly Kokomo and May GIVEAWAY!

Be Yourself Nail Polish Unnamed, possibly Kokomo (2-3 coats)

Ok, so I'm back! No no, there's no need to give me a standing ovation. What, you said you wanted to give me one? Well who am I to stop you?! I have another Australian brand to show you today (man, I've really been going through these slowly!) called Be Yourself. These and BYS polishes can be found here. There's no name on this one, but based on some Google investigating, I think it may be called Kokomo from this page. Anyway, isn't this an interesting green shimmer?! And when I say interesting, I don't mean ugly. It reminds me a little bit of the green from the new OPI Shrek Collection which I don't have yet. One thing different is that this one has shimmer in it which I like. Honestly, I don't remember how many coats this was, but I'm 95.51% sure it was 2 or 3. I'm pretty good at remembering abnormally high coat numbers or crappy application, which this polish had neither. 

Now on to the fun stuff! I am giving away 2 polishes this month. First up is a polish from Rimmel called Steel Grey. In the bottle it looks more mushroom colored than grey. The second polish is a BRIGHT orange from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Sun Kissed. In order to be eligible, you must be a follower of my blog. Sign up by sending an e-mail to rightonthenail@gmail.com with the words "May Giveaway" in the subject line.  Feel free to send me any message you'd like (although this isn't necessary; it's just nice to hear from other nail polish enthusiasts). This giveaway is available for ALL followers! It will be going through May 14, 2010 . At this time a winner will be chosen by random with a random number generator and an e-mail will be sent asking for an address. Good luck everyone!

Sorry!

Gah, I know I know. I fell asleep on the couch last night and didn't get a chance to post a new polish :-( Can you ever forgive me? Please? Pretty please? Even my husband called me this morning because he checked  my blog out and noticed I didn't post last night and thought something happened to me (by the way, my husband lives in North Carolina because he actually got a real job whereas I'm still in school....bleh...so when I sometimes say I'm in North Carolina, that's why). I promise that I'll be back tonight, and if you're good, I may even get to post a new giveaway since it's now almost May! Oh, and I need to post some comments for people since I've been slacking on that, too. I love comments!

Just like my cats, I was sleepy last night.

Chi: Hypnotized

Chi Hypnotized (2 coats)

I just remembered that I have another Chi nail polish I need to swatch and put up! Eek! This is going to be a quick post because my nails really need some TLC tonight (mostly some filing and pushing of cuticles). You may know about Chi from their line of hair tools that contain ceramic. Their nail polish follows along these lines and have ceramic in it. Isn't that cool?! Hypnotized looks a little more blue in my pictures than it does in real life, so definitely keep that in mind. It looks so nice and has that sort of frosty/pearl finish that is really unique for the color. Overall, 2 thumbs up! There were no application or formula issues and I think the skinny oval bottles are really cute.

Nfu Oh 51

Nfu Oh #51 (1 coat black creme 2 coats Nfu Oh)

Today is my last swatch of the Nfu Oh polishes I bought. I also heard that #51 was pretty sheer so I again layered it over a plain black creme polish. It looks really awesome, but I still want to do a swatch of this one without it being layered. Anyway, this one is a purple/blue jelly with flakes of purple, blue, green, and gold (and probably the rest of the rainbow!). I hope you all enjoyed my flakies! 

So fact #3 about me: my favorite food is my mom's homemade noodles. I've tried to make them, but they cannot compare to my mom's!

Nfu Oh 60

Nfu Oh #60 (1 coat black creme, 2 coats #60)

What a great rainbow of flakie goodness! Since I've heard #60 is a little sheer, I decided to put one coat of a plain black creme (I just used a mini polish I got from Color Club) under 2 coats of Nfu Oh #60. The flakes reflect many different colors such as red, orange, gold, yellow, and green. I just love it! The application was a bit runny, but overall not too bad.

In other nail news, I found out a few days ago that Essie was bought out by L'Oreal. Interesting. Is this going to be good or bad for consumers? Time will only tell. I noticed that over the past couple months Essie has cracked down on online retailers that sell their polishes at a lower price (I think the minimum price to pay now is $8). I honestly don't think I'll be getting many more Essie polishes at this price...not that I had many to begin with. Sure, I'll get the couple that are unique, but I'll pass on the other $8 polishes. What does everyone think about this? 

Hmm, what to tell you guys about myself today? I guess I'll make it nail related. So my thumb nails break off so that I have absolutely no free edge. This happens all the time. Stupid scientific manufacturing companies make microcentrifuge tubes that end up making the edges of my nails crack since I use my thumbs to open the tubes. Here is a picture of what I am talking about:

*thanks Fisher Scientific for the picture*

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the company Argos Scientific makes a new microcentrifuge tube that is much easier to open. Now if I could only be sponsored by Argos or convince my advisor I really need them....

Nfu Oh 53

Nfu Oh #53 (4 coats)

I can't even describe how beautiful these flakies look in real life. Sure, they look cool in pictures, but to see the different colors in different lights is really something. Today I have #53 to show you which is a blue jelly color with flakes that reflect pink, purple, gold, and green (At least I think that's it! There are just so many colors that pop up!). The pictures shown are of 2 different light sources (the last 2 pictures are with completely artificial light and no light box). As you can see, the artificial light actually brings out the colors even more in the flakes which is the complete opposite of how holos usually work. Since I work in a lab all day long, the fact that it looks better inside is a big plus for me. 

Also, I just looked at Quirius' website and they are back up now! You can still buy their polishes at $3 each, or make your own set of 6 polishes for only $15! What a steal. Don't forget, their Quirius 010 Prime Top Coat is probably my favorite topcoat ever and only costs $3 (and can also be a part of your 6 polish set).

I thought tonight I'd let everyone know a little more about myself (if you don't care, I completely understand...just ignore this). Once in awhile I will post something random that I like or dislike. Today I will let you guys know that I don't like when my foods touch. To combat this problem I absolutely adore these section plates that can be found at Target:

*what I am talking about is the plate on the top right* Sure, it sort of reminds me of school, but the designs are cute and I don't have my peas sitting in my mashed potatoes. So there you go, now you know something new about me!

Nfu Oh 59

Nfu Oh 59 (3 coats)

My small collection of flakies from FabulouStreet arrived!! Up first is #59. Ugh, why can't they have fun names since their polishes are so unique? Really? #59 for this one? Unacceptable. Anyway, it is a striking red jelly base with tons of flakes of glitter throughout. The color of the flakes really depend on the lighting type and the angle which you are looking. I have shown two different lighting sources for this one so hopefully you can see the difference in colors. The flakes are often gold/yellow, green or blue. The application was slightly thin, but the coverage was pretty good compared to most of the other flakies I have. I did not use a base color on these and this was 3 coats overall. I am so excited about these!

Sephora by OPI: Just a Fairy-Tail

Sephora by OPI Just a Fairy-Tail (3 coats)

I just wanted to show you a second Sephora by OPI color I received 2 weeks ago. I obviously got it at Sephora, and it was on sale (I don't know if it still is or not). Just a Fairy-Tail is a silver foil that has a ton of silver and blue shimmer. The only problem with the polish is that is really sheer and needed at least 3 coats to be opaque. Also, it was quite a runny polish, but I didn't have too big of a problem with the application. 

Sorry this is so short, but I am watching the finale of Project Runway! Yay!

Sephora by OPI: Ms. Can't Be Wrong

Sephora by OPI Ms. Can't Be Wrong (2 coats)

My very kind friend Ashley bought this polish for my birthday (you may remember her for her guest blogging on here). Ms. Can't Be Wrong is in the core collection of the Sephora by OPI polish. I just love this one! It's a purple color that leans toward berry. Upon first glance you may think this is a creme, but hopefully you can see the slight shimmer throughout the polish from the bottom photos. The shimmer doesn't exactly match the polish, but it doesn't really stand out too much. Either way, it's awesome. Thanks again, Ashley! It was very pigmented and only needed 2 coats and the formula was just fine.

Zoya Polish Exchange

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give you a heads up that Zoya is having their polish exchange again this year and it starts TODAY (Earth Day)! Details can be found here.

Also, if you bring in an empty skincare bottle to Origins today, you will get a full sized choice between 2 of their bestselling facial cleansers! This is in their stores and counters in department stores. I went in today and got mine at 10:15 AM (but I think this is until supplies last...so who knows).

Finger Paints Heavenly Miracles Collection: Oh My Stars

Finger Paints Oh My Stars (4 coats)

So yeah, I'm slightly disappointed with this one. This isn't to say that it is completely the polish's fault. Oh, and please ignore the ugly yellow of my nails. Oh My Stars (LOVE the name!) is a silver glitter polish that would probably be best used over another polish. As  you can see from the pictures, you can definitely still see my nails even after 4 coats of polish. Otherwise the application was just fine.

Finger Paints Heavenly Miracles Collection: Add & Abstract

Finger Paints Add & Abstract (3 coats)

I am in love with Add & Abstract and I don't care who knows it! Seriously, how beautiful is this one? It sort of has that seaside feel to it since it has both blue and green in it. Add & Abstract is a medium blue polish with lots of green shimmer in it. My brother really chose well with this one. Thanks, Shawn! Application and formula were just awesome. I am so impressed with Finger Paints right now! Don't worry, I have one more from the collection to show you tomorrow. Until then, stay classy.

Finger Paints Heavenly Miracles Collection: Blissfully Blue

Finger Paints Blissfully Blue (2 coats)

Up next are 3 polishes from the new Finger Paints Heavenly Miracles Collection. I want to preface this with the fact that my brother personally picked out all three polishes for my birthday! Everyone will have to let me know how he did in choosing these! Up first is Blissfully Blue which is a great name for this polish! It is such a beautiful sky/light blue creme polish. For some reason these are my first polishes from this brand, so I didn't know what to expect when it came to application, formula and brush. First off, the formula was wonderful for a creme! You guys know how I feel about applying cremes (they are much harder than shimmers!) but I had no issues here. I was also really happy with the brushes on them. I'm not 100% happy with the tapered caps, but I think I can let that slide when I like everything else :-) This is a great start to the collection.

Essence: Pool Party

Essence Pool Party (2 coats)

I can't even tell you how many times I've typed poop instead of pool! Ugh. Anyway, I am really digging these $1 polishes from Essence. Sure, they aren't full size, but who needs that? As long as the brush doesn't suck I'm all for it (and the brush is just fine on these...especially those of you with smaller nail beds who hate OPI brushes). Pool Party is a bright blue polish with lots of silver shimmer throughout. I'm also really impressed with the pigment of these for only a buck. Even 1 coat was fairly opaque, and 2 was plenty. You can't go wrong with these little guys! 

Sportsgirl: Minty Delight

Sportsgirl Minty Delight (2 coats)

Welcome to another installment of Australian nail polishes I have never tried! Today we have Sportsgirl called Minty Delight. I was looking at the Sportsgirl website and they have some really fun clothes! With the exchange rate the clothes are really affordable. Probably not as affordable as say H&M (which I'm sad to say is not close to me at all) but still pretty cheap. Anyway, the polish was so awesome! I have about a million mint cremes, but most of them seem a little different, and I just love them! I think this one has a nice mix of both blue and green. The application was slightly thick, but nothing too difficult. Now I just need to find myself another way to get back to Australia....

Thanks again to my swapper!

Ulta: Envy

Ulta Envy (2 coats)

The last Ulta brand nail polish I have to show you is called Envy. It's a nice green shimmer with lots of blue to it. I think this may have been my favorite of the three I've shown the last couple of days. It was very pigmented and only needed 2 coats for full coverage which is great. I keep thinking I have a color somewhat similar to this, but I could be wrong. For a second I thought it looked like Rule Breaker from Color Club's Wild at Heart collection, but that one is more of a frost than a shimmer and had even more blue in it. Man, I really need to spend a week doing comparisons.

Ulta: Alter Ego

Ulta Alter Ego (2 coats)

Today I have another new Ulta polish called Alter Ego. It is a blue metallic with a slight hint of foil. The foil is definitely not as pronounced as the Orly Foil FX collection, and that is a shame. I sort of wanted it to be a little more shazam! Still, it's a nice blue polish and had great application with only 2 coats. Now that I think about it I regret not getting any of the Orly Foils. Maybe I'll add a couple to my next online order. As always, you can find the Ulta polishes at their stores or online.

Ulta: Cool Melon

Ulta Cool Melon (2 coats)

Today I have a polish from Ulta called Cool Melon. For some reason I am really drawn to colors like this, but they always look like crap on me! Cool Melon is indeed a melon color with a slight shimmer with a frosty finish (from the bottom picture you can see how you can see brushstrokes). I don't know if it is the color or the finish, but it just really isn't my favorite. And just so you know, I think the polish looks better in the picture than it does in real life. Oh well, they all can't be winners.

BYS Dark Teal

BYS Dark Teal (4 coats)

Today I have another Australian company to show you called BYS. They have been around for about 6 years and you can find some of the polishes here. Yes, they have a wide range of polishes and they are coming out with a Cracked polish effect. Does anyone else remember Covergirl having these?! I loved them! Anyway, Dark Teal is indeed a blue/green jelly polish. Unfortunately, it is sooooooo sheer. That being said, I absolutely love the color and I look forward to layering this one! Application was fine, but could have used at least 6 coats since the 4 here still has a lot of visible nail line. 

Is anyone else excited to watch Glee tonight?

Pure Ice Purple Reign

Pure Ice Purple Reign (2 coats)

Congratulations to Tammy for winning our April Giveaway! Just so you know I sent you an e-mail asking your your address. Since it is my birthday, I wanted to show a polish I really love. I've accepted the fact that I love dusty colored polishes. Give me a dusty teal, purple, etc. and I am in heaven! I just realized that this is the first Pure Ice polish I've blogged. Purple Reign is a dusty plum color with lots of gold/bronze shimmer throughout. It's just so beautiful! Application was absolutely flawless and for $2 you can't beat it!