China Glaze Jitterbug & holo glitter gradation

China Glaze - Jitterbug & holo glitter gradation, 2 coats

Party on my nails! Too bad we didn't get any sun so I only got to admire the pretty bling under supermarket lights (my camera is too large and clunky for any discreet photo sessions between the aisles, teehee). The gradation was done with a kitchen sponge (an unused one! :D) using Nubar Hologram Glitter, China Glaze Nova and Model's Own Silver Spangle - oh, and removal was a major PITA...

Beauties Factory nail art stamping swatches

 Beauties Factory nail art stamping swatches, left hand size reference

 Beauties Factory nail art stamping swatches, right hand detail reference

I recently ordered a bunch of nail art stamping plates from Beauties Factory. The price of each plate is a very affordable $2, shipping is essentially free (unless you want tracking) and my items arrived - with a free gift - a week after I had placed my order. They also accept PayPal which is a huge plus in my book since I don't wish to submit my CC info to just any random site. So, I rate the buying experience a solid 10.

Buuut....

...The designs are TINY, about half of what Konad's images are. They're very detailed but the details get smudged when they're stamped (I'm crap at stamping, though; someone with more experience could get clean, crisp images). The designs in my pics are from the following plates:

HB26 - Hand & footprints (the hand's right side is smudged in my pic, as are the feet)
HB28 - Halloween (the plate's two witches are just blotches when stamped, too small detailing)
HB34 - Insects, birds and other critters
HB35 - Xmas ornaments
HB37 - Pawprints

The reviewed items were bought at my own expense.

Milani La Vie En Rose & DICI 063

Milani - La Vie En Rose, 2 coats

Son, I am disappoint. La Vie En Rose is darker and more red on the nail than it is in the bottle - I was expecting a daintier and more blue leaning colour. The formula was runny (not thin, though) and the polish flooded the sides of my nails on several occasions.

Milani - La Vie En Rose & DICI - 063, 2 + 1 coats

I love this blingy pinky purple glitter on my toes, but on my nails it looks a bit too chunky. This needs to be patted on because the clear base is quite thick in consistency, and the larger hex bits have to be fished out of the bottle and placed on the nail one by one.

Maybelline Colorama Ruby Flare & Beams of Fire

Maybelline Colorama - Ruby Flare, 2 coats

I filed my nails down and was feeling brave enough to sport a red lacquer. Ruby Flare is a delicious poison apple red and lands somewhere between a jelly and a creme. The formula was wonderful and the polish was easy to apply despite of the usual splayed out brush that Coloramas tend to have.

Maybelline Colorama - Ruby Flare & Beams Of Fire, 2 +1 coats

This was a gorgeous combination - look at the third picture! - and I think I may have just killed a lemming for Barielle Elle's Spell. I think that these Colorama flakies lie flatter on the nail than Nfu-Oh's and thus don't require an extra/abnormally thick coat of TC to get a smooth surface.

Color Club Pucci-licious, China Glaze Electric Lilac & IsaDora Black Tag

Color Club - Pucci-licious, 2 coats

Um, just wow. The formula in this was WONDERFUL, probably the best I've come across so far. Color Club calls Pucci-licious a neon but most don't consider it as such. It dries slightly matte, though but it's not retina-searing like neons tend to be.

Color Club - Pucci-licious & China Glaze - Electric Lilac, 2 + 1 coats

Electric Lilac has been in my untrieds since last summer and I figured it'd go great with the similarly coloured Pucci-licious. It was a nice combo, sure, but not really earth-shatteringly gorgeous.

Color Club - Pucci-licious, China Glaze - Electric Lilac & IsaDora - Black Tag, 2 + 1 + 1 coats

... And of course I had to see what the black IsaDora crackle polish would look layered on top of these two. I guess it looks okay but this combination devours top coat like nobody's business. This is with three coats of TC and it still wasn't smooth.