Holo Month Day 12/Polish Days: Polish Geometry

This month's Polish Days theme is...

...Polish Geometry and since I'm in the midst of Holo Month, I thought "Why not combine the two to do a geometric holo manicure?"

I initially wanted to do a tape mani but that was a bad idea (I learnt it the hard way). The linear holographic polishes I used were notorious for chipping extremely quickly so I have no idea what possessed me to try sticking tape on top of them. Obviously, it didn't dawn upon me that the polish would peel right off, along with the tape when I removed it.

After my first failed nail, I threw caution into the wind and simply opted to do the manicure freehand and this was what I managed to cook up!

For my index finger, I painted three thin coats of MUS Greta, followed by China Glaze FYI and GR8 to get a gold gradient.

For my pink gradient, I used MUS Greta, China Glaze TTYL and TMI. Sadly, TMI wasn't as holo as the rest of the polishes used.

For my purple ring finger nail, I painted three coats of MUS Greta and topped that with Layla Retro Pink and Ultra Violet. This nail turned out to be the most holographic of the bunch. That's how much holo punch the Layla Hologram Effects pack!

Last but not least, I did a blue holo gradient with MUS Greta, China Glaze DV8 and 2NITE. This was the most holo China Glaze combination and I love how the linear rainbow flows so smoothly across the three colours! <3

Here's one last picture for the road! I really had fun doing this mani and the upside of these holo polishes is that they dry so quickly so took me only half an hour inclusive of clean up!

Don't forget to check out all the other Polish Geometry posts! Here's the list of...

Holo Month Day 1: Layla Mercury Twilight (and comparison)

As you may know, I hauled the first eight of the Layla Holograms in March and I haven't exactly gone down to swatching these GORGEOUS holographics polishes properly so here's a start!

Today we have Layla Mercury Twilight, a silver holographic polish that will just bling you out of your mind. If you don't own a silver linear holo baby, get this one. It's probably easier to get than GOSH Holographic, China Glaze OMG, Nfu Oh #61 or Make Up Store Greta.

This is three coats, without any base or top coat. I did buff my nails to a shine though, because that's what's recommended on the Layla site.







KAPOW! All these pictures were taken under artificial lighting and they're already so holographic. I can only imagine how they'd look under sunlight (which sadly, I'm not getting in Singapore because of the on-again-off-again rain we've been experiencing).



I didn't bother digging my Helmer for Glitter Gal Silver, Color Club Worth the Risque and order less-smooth silver holographic polishes, since I have Nfu Oh #61 and Make Up Store Greta. They would make a better comparison against Mercury Twilight anyway! :)

This is three coats of Mercury Twilight, two coats of #61 and three coats of Greta.





My bottle of #61 is the newer formulation so it's less holo than the older version and as you can see, #61 just pales in comparison to Mercury Twilight. Greta has a slightly smoother finish than Mercury Twilight and I think that's why the different colours in Greta's holo rainbow blend together more and is less vibrant. You can't really see it in my swatches but this post captures the differences better! The last couple of times I swatches Greta, it chipped like mad (it chipped while I was sleeping o.O) so I'm hoping Mercury Twilight will wear a little better on my nails!

Swatches of Coral Glam will be next so stay tuned! :)

Linear Holographic Madness!

I received an awesome nail mail just the other day and it was my Nfu Ohs!!! I got #51, #61 and their aqua base and today, I'm showing you #61!

There's been rumours floating around that they made a new #61 that is less holographic than the original one and there are even pictures to prove it. Sadly, I seem to always be late to the holo party and end up getting the dud versions (that right, MPJ, Worth the Risque and Revvvolution, I'm talking about you three!) so the #61 I got was the newly formulated one.

So first, let's talk about the aqua base. I didn't notice a difference in terms of application of the holographic polishes. I still had to use 2 coats of Make Up Store Greta and 3 coats for Nfu Oh #61. The aqua base didn't really help in terms of bringing out the holographic effect more either. So really, unless it helps the polish last, I don't see why you need to buy the aqua base. At $20 a bottle, you can really spend the money on something more worthwhile. I must mention though, if you're gonna skip the aqua base, then just paint the holos in your base nails. Don't use any base coat because it will make the nail too smooth and application will be hard, with quite a few bald spots. I have heard though, that using Orly bonder as a base coat helps, so perhaps you can try "sticky" base coats.

Now, on to the main event, pictures! I have on the aqua base, 3 coats of #61 and Seche Vite on my index; aqua base, 2 coats of Greta and SV on my middle finger; no aqua base, 3 coats of #61 and no SV on my ring finger; and lastly no aqua base, 2 coats of Greta and no SV on my pinkie for all the pictures.





















All the pictures above were taken indoors, under my table lamp and the holographic effect seem to be more obvious under the lamp than in the sunlight, as you can see in the next two pictures.







This last picture was taken under my table lamp, with flash.

So here's my weigh in on #61 and Greta.

Firstly, top coat seem to not really affect their holo goodness and since holos have a very bad reputation of not wearing that well without any topcoat, I'd suggest applying a top coat on top. SV did dull the holo effect just a little but I'd rather get longer wear then just a tiny tiny bit more holo, especially considering how pricey most holo polishes are.

Secondly, Greta is definitely mush much more holo than #61. That's not to say that #61 isn't holo but if I had to choose, I'd pick Greta. Now if I didn't already own Greta, I'd still be very much impressed by how holo #61 is but next to Greta, #61 just doesn't shine as much.

Thirdly, cost wise, #61 is DEFINITELY much more worthwhile to buy. I paid $20 for 17ml of #61 and $22 for 8ml of Greta. If I calculate the cost per ml, Greta actually costs more than all my polishes, including Chanel! It's actually the most expensive polish I own per ml. If cost is a concern, then I'd suggest getting #61 because it's still pretty holo and it's a linear holo, unlike the  scattered holo of the dud Worth the Risque.
Forthly, the holo particles in Greta seem to be just a little bit finer than those in #61. I'm not really sure if it makes a difference in terms of holoness.

Fifth, the base colour of #61 seems more obvious. It kinda looks like Millenium (which also incidentally makes me curious what would happen if I add some spectraflair powder into Millenium, or any silver foil polish) whereas I can't really see the base colour of Greta. I'm not sure of I'm making any sense but Greta just seems more "cohesive". This means that in low lighting, #61 tends to appear more silvery than Greta would.

Lastly, with regards to wear time, SV definitely helped. I have a bad experience with Greta and the worst thing that happened once was that the polish chipped off when I was sleeping. I went to bad with nicely polished nails and when I woke up, there was this huge chip! I don't see how much more violent or rough I can be when I'm sleeping. In fact, I'm probably more tough on my nails when I'm awake. and it isn't just me. When I was with my friend at Make Up Store, my friend swatched Siw (the blue version of Greta) on her nails and by the time she got home, there was already chipping! So, the main point is, wear a topcoat!
Oh, and since we're already talking about holographic polishes, I might as well show you some swatches of China Glaze 2nite and DV8, which I by some miracle, managed to buy second hand (but totally new) from a fellow polish-aholic from Singapore. I saw someone in HK selling LOL but I resisted because I know I wouldn't really wear it. With holos, they're more trophies I keep in my helmer than something I'd wear out. DV8 is the teal one and 2nite is the cornflower one!







2 coats each under my table lamp.



This one was taken in sunlight, and that's Glamazon (my holo franken) on my index finger!

As you can see, I'm currently very much into the whole holo craze. I really really really want to buy some spectraflaire and I'm wondering if anyone's interested too? We can save on shipping because shipping's a flat rate!

You can check out how spectraflair works by clicking here, here, here and here. Let me know if you're interested!!! :D

More Holographic Goodness

Dropped by Nailvibe after work today and I spotted OPI DS Sapphire! Grabbed it immediately and didn't let go. I've been on the look out for DS Original and DS Galmour but DS Sapphire will suffice for now! Honestly, I prefer holos to the whole crackle/shatter/fracture phenomenon. As much as I think the crackle look is cool, I'd choose holographic nails. I think I speak for all nail polish addicts when I say this: Dear OPI, China Glaze, Zoya, Orly, Color Club, etc, PLEASE MAKE MORE HOLO POLISHES. Especially you, China Glaze! You've made gorgeous holo collections like the OMG Collection and the Kaleidoscope Collection! What's with the whole Tronica Collection and the fake, unimpressive holo?

Okay, on to DS Sapphire, here's a bottle shot of it, along with the other holos I picked up recently! L-R: TFS BK901, OPI DS Sapphire, Make Up Shop Greta



I know Greta doesn't look very holographapic in the bottle but trust me, it's the most holographic out of the bunch. It's a VERY linear holo, whereas Sapphire and BK901 seems a little more scattered.

I have Greta on my index, DS Sapphire on my middle finger and TFS BK901 on my index. 2 coats each with no base or top coat. I'll just let the pictures do the talking! All these were taken under my table lamp (as it's friggin night time so I don't have the sun on my side) so I would say the holo effect would be more apparent under sunlight!















Took this last picture with flash and it really helps bring out the holographic effect in the polishes! And if you noticed, I experienced really crazy tip wear with Greta. I took this picture a day after the rest of the pictures above. Before I went to bed, Greta was still intact and when I woke up, MAJOR TIP WEAR! I don't understand how I could get such bad tip wear from sleeping. Clearly it wasn't me because the other 2 polishes were as good as new! And to think Greta was the most expensive out of the bunch!



Anyway, I noticed that Greta seems to dry matte while BK901 dries quite glossy! DS Sapphire is somewhere in the middle. You can go without a top coat but it'll definitely shine more with a top coat on. I've heard that normal top coats kinda kills the holo effect abit and OPI has a DS top coat but I'm not gonna bother buying special holo top coats or aqua bases!

Also, I swear, DS Sapphire is as holo as BK901 although it doesn't seem like it in my pictures! It's really full of sparkly holo goodness! (: Maybe it's just less obvious due to its silvery, light blue base colour?

I'm really hoping by some stroke of a miracle that China Glaze would relaunch their OMG Collection! I'm just dying for holos right now. Oh, and Nfu Oh has some great holos as well but at $40 a pop? No way am I paying that kind of money! It's even more expensive than Chanel! I have tweeted the sidewalks and requested for Nfu Oh flakies though, so if she manages to bring flakies over, holos should not be a problem right?

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the pictures! (:

Hola Holo!

Met my friend after work on Wednesday and we headed down to Raffles City just to visit Make Up Store! No points for guessing what I bought there! After seeing so many amazing spazz-worthy swatches of Greta online, I decided it was time to get myself a bottle of some holo goodness.

For the swatches ahead, I have Greta on my middle finger and pinkie, and Color Club Worth the Risque on my index and ring fingers. I ran around the house trying to take as many good shots as I could that would show off Greta's linear holo, much like the holos in China Glaze's OMG and Kaleidoscope Collections!





Here's some bottle shots. I know the polish doesn't exactly look impressive in the bottle but just wait for the swatches!







The first 3 pictures (of the swatches) were taken under my table lamp with no flash!



This one was taken in indirect sunlight.



You can see my Helmer in the background, just behind the fan!!



Again, in indirect sunlight.





These 2 were taken with flash! Amazing how the flash kinda brings out the holo even more!







These last 3 were taken in indirect sunlight!

I actually tried taking some picture under full on sunlight but the holo didn't seem to shine through. What a shame. I had 3 coats of both polish on my nails and I still had some bald spots but I couldn't bare to use more coats. No top or base coats cuz I have no aqua base and apparently topcoats kill the holo effect.
Obviously, I prefer Greta to Worth the Risque (WTR) but Greta's price tag ($22) is so much steeper than WTR's ($8.50) plus there's only 8ml of Greta compared to 15ml of WTR.

I'd call Greta a linear holo while WTR is more of a scattered holo. I'm pretty sure WTR used to be more awesome and was previously a linear holo too, before CC changed their formula, much like how OPI screwed up My Private Jet.

There's also a blue-based holo, Siw, and a dusty pink / nude holo Madeleine from Make Up Store and I'm thinking of getting Siw just cuz Greta was so awesome. Hurry up and get them though before the SA at Make Up Store told me once that some of the holos they have are already not in production and once this batch sells out, there'll be no new batch! :(