Review: Aly’s Dream Polish Ballad of Serenity

[DISCLOSURE: The products featured in this post were provided for my objective and honest review.]

Let me start with a little backstory of how I came to have the opportunity to review this collection. Not very long ago, I stumbled upon Aly’s Dream Polish by chance. I saw a photo of her Macaron collection and was instantly attracted by the pretty and awesomely sweet pastel holo polish. I visited her site and was stunned that it was full of holo polish creations, which did not use Spectraflair as many other indies do. I was surprised I’d not heard about this brand before, given that there are so many holo junkies in the nail polish community!

Anyway, I immediately contacted Aly to find out about international shipping from her base in the US. I have to say that I was very impressed with the friendly and personal customer service. That same day, I ordered the whole Macaron collection, along with a few shades from her massive Euphoria collection of holo polish in every shade imaginable!

I became a fan right away. Not only does Aly make pretty holo polish, but the formula was a breeze to use. Granted, the holo effect is not blinding like FNUG and Color Club Halo Hues but I love their soft, sparkly effect just the same. After all, I’ve always loved variety among my polish.

When Aly announced that she had a new collection coming out and was looking for bloggers to review them, I immediately offered to help. I even gladly agreed to pay the international shipping fees for her to send the samples to me. After all, I didn’t volunteer because I wanted free products, but because I think she’s a lovely person, makes pretty polish, and I very much want to share this brand with more people.

It is my pleasure and honour to present to you Aly’s Dream Polish Ballad of Serenity! Please be prepared that this is a picture-heavy post.

Aly’s Dream Polish Ballad of Serenity

Review: Bondi New York Tavern On The

Hi all! I haven’t been posting as often recently as I’ve been really caught up with work. Even my weekends are not spared. While I still change my mani whenever I can, I may just post a photo on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and not do a full blog post on whatever new polish I’ve tried. I’ll still do my best to blog when I have something I really want to share properly.

I definitely have something special to share today. It is a polish sent to me for review by a new brand from the US – Bondi New York. I have a little back story at the end of the post regarding how I came to have the opportunity to review this polish.

The shade I chose to review is Tavern On The, a teal green. The name confused me as it seemed incomplete. I consulted my New Yorker friend, Marisa, who told me about a restaurant named Tavern on the Green. So, it seems that the name of the polish is ‘completed’ by the colour. I thought that was really clever naming! I’m now assuming that their blue polish named ‘NYPD’ is really ‘NYPD Blue’!

The bottle is square with a full square, matte cap. The design is very chic and similar to boutique brands like NARS and Illamasqua.

Bondi New York Tavern On The

Review: Rainbow Honey The Robot Collection

THE RAINBOW HONEY PRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS POST WERE SENT TO ME FOR REVIEW.

When I was first asked by Annette of Shoppe Eclecticco if I would like to review an upcoming collection from Rainbow Honey, I was expecting the signature glitters. Instead, I was surprised to see that the collection consisted of five shimmery metallics and a black-and-white glitter topper.

Here are the details from the press release on The Robot Collection:

Illustration by Mary Winkler for Rainbow Honey

A cute and futuristic collaboration between Rainbow Honey and illustrator Mary Winkler.

To create the collection, Rainbow Honey’s Chief Designer, Dee Maldonado, took inspiration from anime, video games, super cheesy B films, and the work of Mary Winkler, illustrator, jewelry and textile designer.

The Robot Collection features six new lacquers:

• Bitty Love Bot – Sparkling metallic aqua
• Femme Bot – Sparkling metallic peony
• Dusty Bot – Sparkling metallic lavender
• Lucky Bot – Sparkling metallic agave
• Skyward Bot – Sparkling metallic cerulean
• Yoshimi – A truly mod black & white combination of glitters sprinkled with a bit of iridescence

Rainbow Honey – The Robot Collection

To bring the robots to life, Dee collaborated with illustrator Mary Winkler. “I doodled out several designs with my little robot friend before settling on the final piece, knowing it was just right for Rainbow Honey,” says Mary. Dee and the Rainbow Honey Team are thrilled with the outcome and excited to feature her work for this collection. “It’s got stars, hearts, and the world’s cutest little robot: Bitty Love Bot,” explains Dee. “I couldn’t love it more!”

Read on for my swatches and review of the polish!

Review: Maya Cosmetics Like a Boss; Sugar Rush; Treme

Shoppe Eclecticco started to carry a new line, Maya Cosmetics, recently. Annette asked me to review three shades and I gladly agreed since I was curious about this new line.

She passed me samples of Like a Boss, Sugar Rush, and Treme, which all looked really pretty in the bottle!

A little about Maya Cosmetics first. It is line of big-three free, hand-blended polish by husband-and-wife team, John and Katherine from the United States. They have a range of glitter and shimmer shades. You can find them at their online shop, Facebook, and Twitter. For polish fans in Asia and the region, you can also get them from Shoppe Eclecticco.

All the photos were taken in sunlight.

The first polish I have is Like a Boss. This is a slightly peachy nude crelly with subtle scattered holo. As the bottle I have is a mini, I had slight difficulty in getting the brush to spread out nicely, hence a little bumpiness in the polish. As the polish was sheer, I used three coats for opaque coverage. Of course, if you prefer a more delicate look, you could always stop at two coats. I added Cult Nails Wicked Fast top coat.

Maya Cosmetics Like a Boss

Workwear Wednesday: SpaRitual Calm & Clear and Quietness

It’s time for Workwear Wednesday again. Today, I have SpaRitual Calm & Clear and Quietness from their Spring 2013 Meditate collection. I’ve posted the swatches of the other two shades in the mini set in my post of the SpaRitual event I attended.

The first shade is SpaRitual Calm & Clear. It is a sheer pink creme. I’m reluctant to call it a jelly because it doesn’t quite have the high gloss and squishy finish of a jelly polish. Yet, it doesn’t have the opacity and thickness of a creme polish. It is, simply, a sheer polish, the kind suitable for a French mani.

The first time I tried this polish, it applied ok. The second time, it started getting thicker. That and the relatively smaller brush of the mini bottle did present a bit of a challenge. I can’t remember if I did three or four coats of this so that the colour was stronger for the purpose of photography. I added top coat.

SpaRitual Calm & Clear

SpaRitual New Product Showcase [Jan 2013]

Over a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend a SpaRitual Singapore media event to showcase some new products. While last year’s event to launch the Water collection was held in a cafe, this year’s event was held in a nail spa, specifically the LadyFinger branch in Tiong Bahru Plaza.

The event was a relatively small-scale and intimate one. We were not there for just a regular show-and-tell; we were each treated to a pampering session with three of their new spa products, as well as offered a manicure with the newest shades.

First, let me share a bit about the SpaRitual brand for those of you new to it. It was started by Shel Pink, under the mentorship of her father-in-law, Jeff Pink, the founder of Orly.

SpaRitual has always positioned itself as an eco-conscious company. Their nail polish is vegan and Big Three Free, and comes in bottles made of 50% recycled glass.

Given that many companies are now also getting more eco-conscious, SpaRitual is seeking to further distinguish themselves by moving on to something more spiritual – the concept of Slow Beauty. This new focus encourages us to slow down, reflect, and take stock of life, and not let ourselves get too caught up in the crazy race against time. To further share the concept, Shel Pink has founded a site, Slow Beauty, which shares articles from various people on how they seek to incorporate slow living in their lives.

At the event I attended, we were introduced to the Spring and Summer 2013 nail polish collections, which have themes that tie in with the concept of Slow Beauty.

The Spring 2013 collection is named ‘Meditate’. I find all six shades to be very soothing. According to SpaRitual, the polish is infused with bamboo, which apparently helps balance the oil and water on our nails to keep them strong and healthy.

SpaRitual Spring 2013 Meditate Collection