China Glaze On Safari Native Collection for Fall 2012: Jungle Queen and Exotic Encounters

And so we end this series with the last two of the set that I was quite happy to get. These were the other two colors, apart from Man Hunt, that I was eying. Now, before I got sucked down the rabbit hole that is nail polish hoarding collecting, I missed quite a lot of those kick @$$ colors that they just don't do anymore. One of the oldie but goodies that I've been drooling over was Chanel Paradoxal. Sadly, I also missed out on the Revlon dupe called Perplex so it was a happy day when it was re-released as part of the core collection and renamed Naughty. Sure, it was nice, but the formula wasn't the best. So when I heard of another possible China Glaze dupe from the On Safari collection, getting the Native set became a no-brainer.

Ending the series with a bang: a pretty teal and a Paradoxal dupe (?).

Nail Art Wednesday: Playing with Born Pretty Store Silver Holographic Rhombus Loose Glitter

Some time ago, I won a giveaway at Chit Chat Nails and managed to snag some of these fantastic loose glitters from the Born Pretty Store. I grabbed a couple of the usual hexagon shaped ones (and you've seen the gold one in action in my effervescent nails here) but just couldn't resist the pull of these holographic gold and silver rhombus shaped glitter. They came in a set of one each and were surprisingly cheaper than the hexagonal ones. I can't pass up a great deal either so they made their way into my checkout basket. Now, I've been waiting for the temperatures to drop a bit so I can finally wear my darker shades. When it finally did, I happily pulled out OPI DS Extravagance (I luckily have two bottles, both gifts from two of favorite nail buddies, Marisa from Polish Obsession, and Mary from Swatch and Learn) and knew exactly what would be perfect to jazz it up some:

Not that it needed more bling.

China Glaze On Safari, Native Collection for Fall 2012: Elephant Walk and Prey Tell

The thing about getting sets is that sometimes, you end up with nail polish colors that you probably don't want. But the lure of a cheaper price per bottle can be too good to pass up that more often than not, purchasing a set comes out as the better deal. Now, if you're lucky, these 'unwanted' shades will only be one out of, say, six. That's decent odds right there. But if you're luckier, these initially iffy shades turn out to be surprise loves, after all. Continuing part two of our China Glaze Fall 2012 collection series, here are two such colors that I wasn't really excited to get. But all things considered, these two turned out to be a happy addition to my ever-growing nail polish family.

On the deck today: Prey Tell and Elephant Walk

Nail Art Wednesday: A China Glaze On Safari Take On Neo-Noir Nails from the Phillip Lim 3.1 F/W'12 Runway

Whilst browsing the latest nail trends for F/W'12, I chanced upon a how-to of these fantastic looking nails from the Phillip Lim 3.1 show on one of my favorite beauty blogs, Beauty Editor. Essie Weingarten (the celebrity manicurist behind the brand of the same name, Essie) is credited with creating this look. She says of this design, “This graphic nail design is dramatic yet incredibly wearable. Women of any age can wear this look to make a super-modern statement that is still totally chic.”

(Image Credits)

The inspiration: neo-noir, comic-inspired nails.

I can't agree more! But instead of the black, grey and white that was originally used, I wanted to put my own spin on things and challenge myself by using only colors from the China Glaze On Safari Native set. So here's my take on these modern statement nails:

My surprisingly stylish (if you don't mind me saying) version.

China Glaze On Safari, Native Collection for Fall 2012: Man Hunt and Purr-fect Plum

There's no point denying the inevitable. The leaves are changing and the temperatures are dropping. While fall isn't official for a few more days, I've resigned myself to the fact that my neons and brights just aren't as appealing as they were in the hotter months. For the next little while, they'll be relegated to the back of the drawer (much like the flimsy tops and summer dresses) while the vampy, darker shades get their share of the limelight (along with the cardigans, sweater dresses and wool coats). Embracing change, here's a look at one of the first fall collections that trickled in as early as July (!).

When word of the China Glaze On Safari collection got out, I knew the blue one had to be mine. Promo photos portrayed it as a gorgeous medium blue creme that I've been looking for. Thankfully, I've got some of the most awesome nail polish buddies ever and with the help of Mary from Swatch and Learn, I managed to snag the Native 6-piece set for a steal (thanks again, Mary!). I also had my eye on what looked like a Chanel Paradoxal dupe (in hopes the formula would be better than the Revlon one) and the dusty teal one, so it made more sense to get the set. All the others made for a nice bonus. I've decided to bend the rules again, and do a review of two shades per post (just so we don't take forever to get through all six!), much like how I reviewed the Hunger Games-inspired Capitol Colors Collection from earlier this year. We'll jump start the series with a Monday blue and pretty plum:

On the deck today: Purr-fect Plum and Man Hunt.

Polished Indulgence is turning 1! [GIVEAWAY!]

Can you believe it? I know I can't! It only seems like a few weeks ago when we claimed our tiny bit of the interwebs to write about our burgeoning passion for all things nail polish (among other things, of course). Back then, we thought, okay, I thought it would only be a phase that would last a few months, tops. Fast forward some 365 days later and we're still going strong! Better yet, we've gotten to know so many lovely people from all walks of life that are brought together by a common love for nail polish. We've been lucky enough that we can count you as friends (and real life friends, even!). Apart from that, we've learned a whole bunch of stuff (hey, you never really stop learning) and stretched our creativity muscles (excuse the iffy metaphor) in a bid to keep up with our Nail Art Wednesday promise. All in all, it's been a great year where we have so much to be thankful for, most especially for all you dear readers. Every comment, weird search words that make us giggle, Facebook like, Twitter follow, pin on Pinterest and GFC/Bloglovin'/Networked Blogs/RSS subscription is cherished. Truthfully, just knowing someone out there is actually reading the posts that we've put a lot of thought and effort into writing is enough to make our day. So, in essence, YOU make our day. And in a bid to express our gratitude, we're having a giveaway! (Woot!)

(Image Credits)

We're calling this the Dupe Giveaway. Let me explain why: Polished Indulgence started under the premise that indulgence and luxury doesn't have to come with a high price tag. If you can get the same look for a lower price, why not? If a cheaper alternative outperforms a luxury brand, isn't that all the better for our wallets? We've tried to put a premium on value vs. price so in the same vein, we'd like our first blog anniversary giveaway to promote that same principle. We're not made of money ourselves (none of these items are sponsored), so we've rounded up a host of little luxuries to aid your indulging:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And as infomercials would say: But WAIT, there's MORE! As an additional thank you to my fellow Canadians, we've decided to up your chances by adding another set of prizes just for you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once again, thank you for sticking it out with us. We hope to see you around in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest. We cannot stress this enough: YOU ARE AWESOME.

Nail Art Wednesday: Silly Octopus Nails

Sometimes, in the middle of a palette cleanse (typically for food you use 'palate' but I prefer to use 'palette' to denote its association with color), I get bored. I'll most likely be sporting a neutral toned creme but after a day or two, I'm itching for embellishment. So I end up reaching for my nail art supplies and play around a bit with ideas that I haven't quite done yet, mostly to see how they translate on the nail. Sometimes, they turn out great and I end up wearing the mani throughout the weekend. Other times, well, let's just say that's between me and my nail polish remover. But there are instances when it's so bad that it's good, if you get what I mean. Here's a great example of that:

To this day I can't help but giggle a little when I see photos of this design.

Indulgent Intermission: (Mis)Adventures in Stain Removal and OrigiNails Bubble White

Since it's a rare day that you'll find my nails unpolished, I've never really bothered much with the staining that frequent polishing leaves behind. Sure, I faithfully use base coat. I even double up for colors that I know for certain will leave unwanted traces behind. But I've learned the hard way that not all base coats are created equal. My favorite still remains the Nail Tek Foundation II Ridge Filling base coat. I've gotten absolutely no staining at all when I was using it. The only problem is that it's not exactly cheap, nor is it readily available (as of this writing, you can only get it from the Shopping Channel or, with a lot of luck, at Winners). In a bid to find cheaper and easily sourced alternatives, I turned to Orly Bonder. Let's just say that didn't quite go well. Heck, I got massive staining after using it under another Orly - Orly Sweet Tart, to be exact! My nails have never been quite the same since. If you really think about it, it has become a vicious, seemingly never-ending cycle: use nail polish - get stained nails - use nail polish to cover stained nails. So in an effort to end said cycle and proudly sport my nekkid nails, I picked up this packet when I last hit up my local Sally Beauty at Carolina's suggestion.

As I was trying it for the first time, I went for the smaller 11g packet.

Julep Maven + Trina Turk Boho Glam September 2012

When the exciting news of a Trina Turk and Julep collaboration for the September box broke, I have to admit, I was pretty excited myself. Ms. Turk is well-known for her bold prints and bright colors that evoke the SoCal design aesthetic. She has built a niche for her brand since opening her first retail store in 2002. More recently, the Californian designer has certainly made the rounds this year, earlier with a partnership with clothing brand Banana Republic for Summer 2012 that boasted of fun, destination-inspired prints that most certainly screamed summer. Shortly after, she did a second collaboration, this time with Threadless (who make fantastically designed tees that comprise about 70-80% of all the tees in Mr. J and my total tee count), an art-based community, via a contest to create a pattern for her Fall 2013 line. The contest ended last August, but for the curious, you can view the submissions here. As a Mashable article noted, it does seem a lot like the Trina Turk brand is in a "brand-building mode" and 'collaborations like these are helping her build brand awareness among new consumer groups'. This Julep + Trina Turk collection comes as no surprise, then. I did a bit of googling and found out that this is not a first-time partnership. Back in November 2010, Ms. Turk visited the Julep Nail Parlor in Seattle whilst in the city for business. Jane (the mastermind behind all things Julep) was a long-time fan and invited Trina to choose a color from the fall palette to be named "Trina". She ended up choosing a deep aubergine shimmer that was also used on the models for the Holiday 2010 shoot and as a perk during a Thanksgiving Day 2010 promo where you get a bottle with any order! Anyway, now we get a full Trina Turk collection, Julep style. I was so torn between two different styles that I ended up flipping a coin to pick (no, honest). Let's see how I fared this month:

Oh look, it's a smaller than usual box.

Nail Art Wednesday: Mountain Dew, Effervescence and Loose Glitter

Nail art is usually a spontaneous event for me. I rarely think too hard about it because I have a bad knack for over-thinking to the point of paralysis. That holds especially true for when I'm coming up with my own take on various designs. I prefer the easiest methodology with the best results. The bad thing about this is that it's a very hit or miss sort of process. But the good thing is that in the event of a miss, it's perfectly okay. It's not like you spent the better part of the day doing it anyway, so a do over is perfectly acceptable. But sometimes, ambivalence kicks in and I can't quite make out how exactly I feel about a certain design. Today's featured nail art fits that to a T. Mr. J speculates that this particular design might have come about through subliminal messages I might have gotten from The Big Bang Theory marathon we did over the long weekend and the one-too-many cappuccinos I had (against my better judgement). Either way, I was eager to play with the loose glitter I got from the Born Pretty Store that I had won from a contest over at Chit Chat Nails (thanks again, Marta!!). Here's the result of all those factors combined:

A certain pop + frothy bubbles = this.