Grace-full Autumnal Pruglies Collection Part 2

This is part 2 of the Grace-full Autumnal Pruglies collection. You can view part 1 here. 

'Appily Ever After - described as "a tri thermal that is brown/deep red at it’s coldest, and a chartreuse green as its warm colour". 

I used 3 thin coats of this thermal creme. Inbetween the thermal changes are gorgeous shades apples usually comes in - notably blush to Indian red. A super fun and sensitive transition. 

Evergreen Envy - described as "a jelly teal coloured base with a smattering of holo flakes". 2 coats of this deep pine green jelly filled with silver holo flakies. Formula is smooth and easy as per usual, easy to apply and has a deep glow IRL that doesn't translate to camera. Does stain slightly so use a base coat.

Garnet Wine - "not a crème and not a jelly this falls somewhere in between. In a deep maroon, it’s a plain colour and very vampy and rich in colour". 

3 thin coats or 2 coats with a thicker second coat to float over the first. A dark, vampy garnet that builds up to a glossy chocolate-tone. If polish touches the sidewalls of your nails it is hard to remove due to how pigmented this polish is so be careful with application.  

Pumpkin or Another - described as "a dirty pumpkin colour creme". 

2 coats of this delicious orange squishy creme. Grace-full always does nice cremes and this is no exception - this is my favourite polish from this half of the collection. It's the perfect base for autumn / Halloween nail art or just to wear matte! 

The collection releases on 26th September at 8pm AEST. 

You can follow more updates and view more swatches in their Facebook fan group. 

Grace-full Autumnal Pruglies Collection Part 1

This is my first half of the Grace-full Autumn Collection that I collaborated on with Theresa when I won a fan group contest! You can view part 2 here.

I'm very excited to show you all my swatches. Unless otherwise mentioned all my swatches use one layer of Hit the Bottle's 'Varnish Without a Trace' top coat.


Autumn Prism - described as 'an aurora shimmer that moves through tones of red, green and gold'. I used 2 easy coats that built up easily with no patchiness. To me it's a 'rusty' take on the traditional red to green multichrome. In direct light it looks like a glowy brick red. 

Be-leaf in Magic - described as "a forest green crelly base with ultra chrome chameleon flakes in red/gold".

I applied this in 3 thin coats, letting each layer dry (which it did quickly) before applying the next, building up to a dark green shade with red / gold / green multichrome flakes that mimics the shades of autumn leaf shed. The polish was mostly smooth with 1 layer of top coat, though it was slightly textured in spots over larger flakes.

Finally on Taupe - "a taupe base with an orange aurora shimmer flash". 

A beautiful grey/greige/taupe crelly with orange shimmer that built up on 2 thin coats. At extreme angles the shimmer shifts green. Would suit a large variety, if not all, skintones.

Mustard the Courage - described as "a mustard colour linear holo". Last but not least, my favourite polish from this half of the collection. I had to put it next to some of my favourite yellow cushions from IKEA, which really helped to show what sets this polish apart in terms of shade. 

2 thin easy coats: first coat was a marigold yellow, thin but not streaky; second coat built to opacity. Result is a burnished, slightly brassier tone that leans more green/gold than orange in shade. In direct light a linear holo is visible. A very unique colour I'd love to see on other skin tones!

The collection releases on 26th September at 8pm AEST. 

You can follow more updates and view more swatches in their Facebook fan group. 

Emily de Molly August Collection (Part 2 of 2) - Swatch & Review

Part 2 of my swatch and review of the Emily de Molly August Collection. I have broken up the post into 2 parts because of the picture-heavy nature of swatches. This post contains the polishes Right of Passage, Subdued Delights, and The Maze and the Hightower.

Part 1 with Ashes From Flames, Dancing Through Sunday, Memories of Midnight, and Positive Contact can be viewed here. 

Emily de Molly August Collection (Part 1 of 2) - Swatch & Review

I was asked by the lovely Hayley of Emily de Molly to swatch the August 2018 7-piece collection.

The collection is a varied mix, with polishes ranging from thermals, magnetics, holos, and flakies... What they have in common is that they are all stunning, and as always, apply perfectly with a  2-coat formula.

I am breaking up the post into 2 parts because of the picture-heavy nature of swatches! This post will contain: Ashes From Flames, Dancing Through Sunday, Memories of Midnight, and Positive Contact.

Part 2 will cover Right of Passage, Subdued Delights, and The Maze and the Hightower. You can view it here. 

Polish Pickup August 2018 / 3 Words One Song from Emily de Molly - Swatch & Review

After the month of July off, the Polish Pickup is resuming in August with the theme of 'Musicals'. Emily de Molly have picked Disney's 'Frozen'. 3 Words, One Song is described as "a pale purple with strong turquoise overlay, iridescent flakes and silver holographic micro glitters."

Purchase information will be at the bottom of the post!

'3 Words, One Song' by Emily de Molly in natural shade / indirect sunlight

An image of a stage production of Disney's Frozen, which was the polish inspiration

Polish Pickup August 2018 / Agrabah from Femme Fatale - Swatch & Review

After the month of July off, the Polish Pickup is resuming in August with the theme of 'Musicals'. Femme Fatale have picked the classic Disney cartoon Aladdin! Agrabah is described as "yellow-toned warm terracotta with a strong pinkish glow and brilliant red iridescent shifting flakes."

Lots of photos of this polish, including it being used as a topper to follow. Purchase information will be at the bottom of the post!

Collage of Agrabah by Femme Fatale / Polish Pickup Aug 18

Femme Fatale's inspiration screencap from Aladdin of the city of Agrabah

Femme Fatale July 2018 COTM and FOTM - Swatch & Review

Today I have two very gorgeous polishes from Femme Fatale to show you. They are the Colour of the Month (COTM) and Fiend of the Month (FOTM) for July 2018. The Fiend of the Month is named for Femme Fatale's Facebook fan group, Femme Fatale Fiends, and is exclusive to group members.

I have details on pricing and how to purchase at the end of the post.

Collage of bottle shots of Autumn Aspens, Femme Fatale FOTM July 2018

Collage of bottle shots of Coniferae, Femme Fatale COTM July 2018

Fancy Gloss 'Pocketful of Pansies' (Thermal)

A couple of weeks ago I placed a small order with Fancy Gloss, a US indie polish brand known for their amazing thermals and formula. They have monthly restocks and new releases and there was a sale on so I had to nab some polishes I had been eyeing for a while.

I picked up 3 thermals; images here are swatches from Jackie, Fancy Gloss' owner & creator. They were what was used on the website listing.

From L-R: A Pocketful of Pansies, Seraphinite, and Black Thermal Top Coat

Today I have some pictures of A Pocketful of Pansies with some nail art! This polish is sooo beautifully squishy, and I used just 2 thin coats in these photos. You do have to work fast as the polish dries quickly to get a smooth, even coat. No overworking here!

Transitioning state of 'A Pocketful of Pansies' from Fancy Gloss.

Return to Blogging / MckFresh June Polish Pickup

Unfortunately my health has been very up and down these last few months, along with some family commitments so I haven't been present on this blog. I'm going to get back into the swing of things with MckFresh Nail Attire's Polish Pickup exclusive shade for June 2018!

NAIL ART / REVIEW - Sinful Colors Hypnotic Transforming Top Coat

Not too long ago, I stumbled upon the #fluidnailart on Instagram and found myself mesmerised by the hypnotising patterns created seemingly by magic. I believe they were mostly created by utilising silicon spray with nail polish - I am unsure of the exact logistics but were so stunning! I couldn't see myself adding to the nail polish fumes so I filed the idea away in the 'live vicariously' brain folder...

Then this range of polishes came out. The Sinful Colors Punk Yourself collection is a mix of 5 'regular' shades and 5 shades of transforming top coats. The following description is from the SC site:

Get Punked Up! A unique, edgy & liquefied look in a single brush stroke! Punk style is all about celebrating self-expression with a customized, one-of-a-kind look. Applied over wet polish, Hypnotic Transforming Top Coat instantly creates a melted, dissolved or dyed effect. The results are totally unique with each use! 

I bought the entire transforming range. The colours are (below image, clockwise from top left): Redrum (bright primary red), Punk the Town (fuschia-leaning purple), Rebel Rebel (navy / tardis blue), Purpunk (dusty pastel violet), and Concrete Jungle (slate grey).

Image taken under indirect sunlight

I could only find these polishes internationally on eBay from ebay seller 'onelasttouch'. You can view the listing here. I paid a total of $31.04 AUD for 6 polishes (I bought a double up of Purpunk) and $20.30 AUD for postage. The seller messaged me after to let me know she kindly covered postal insurance for me out of her own pocket so the shipping cost might be different. It worked out to an average of ~$8.60 AUD each, which is fairly reasonable for the number of polishes and the HTF factor. For the record, Sinful Colors polishes stocked in store here for between $4.95 - $6.95 AUD depending on the line. I highly doubt the line is going to make it over here from the US as it is only being sold in Walgreens there, but if is I will definitely be purchasing back ups!

Image taken under indirect sunlight

The transforming top coats had a formula similar to regular cremes. They are recommended for use 'over wet polish'. I decided to use a variety of techniques I had seen done from Kyong (@kyong.lee.92), Eugenia (@laqvid) and Linda (@_nail_ninja) and layered some regular polishes with 1-2 shades of the transforming top coat on my silicone mat. These ones were done mostly by swirling the polish with squishy rubber stamp, but I did fold the mat on some designs to spread them out. The decals were a lot thinner than most I usually make, and I found this helped it to adhere to the nail much better.

After I carefully peeled the decals off and cut them up, I stuck them to my nail with my Emily de Molly's basecoat. It becomes tacky approximately 20-30 seconds after applying, which is the perfect time to apply the decal. I then sealed the edges with acetone and topped it with Seche Vite. 

Right (non-swatching) hand, hence the nub

Left (normal swatching) hand

The full left hand with thumb

I love the mix of colours. To me it looks like a cool tie-dye. In future I will definitely try to stick to one colour palette when selecting decal portions so they look less random. You can see in my left hand that I tried to pack all the cool parts in, but then I realised how it looked a bit disjointed and my right hand matched a lot better. I am also going to try to stick to 3-4 colours per fluid nail design. I just get so dang excited I tend to try to include ALL OF THE COLOURS (ditto watermarble) but.I think the effect is most striking when not having to compete with the colour distraction.

Close up of left pointer finger

Close up of left thumb

Close up of right middle and ring finger

You can use the #sinfulcolorspunkyourself, #scpunk, #hypnotictransformingtopcoat, to have a look at how other people have used them. I will be playing with these more (I already have since taking these photos). Let me know if you try them!