December 2012 Haul

Each month I underestimate the amount of polish I have accumulated. It's not until I photograph them for my haul post that I realise I've accumulated quite a lot! This month I didn't actually buy all the polish you see pictured below as most of them were presents.

Left to right: Golden Ticket, Seasonal Sunset, Santa's Sunburn, Blue Gums On Boxing Day, Party By The Pool, Twinkling  Lights, Hot Summer Nights

Purchased from Pretty Serious.

I can't stop buying Pretty Serious nail polish. Kaz keeps coming out with some great shades and this time I was lucky enough to win a limited edition polish!

From left to right: Bali Mist, Let's Talk, Cinderella, Mint Apple

SinfulColors is now available in selected Target and Priceline stores I picked up four polishes. Cinderella and Mint Apple were on my wish list so I was able to cross those off. I got Bali Mist mostly for the name because I love Bali.

From left to right: O.P.I Yokohama Twilight, Chins Glaze Mummy May I, China Glaze Rainstorm, China Glaze Snow Globe, Hare Amethystos

I organised a Secret Santa for the Aussie Nails Facebook Group and this is what I received from Anthea of Nailed Obsession. She crossed most of these off my wish list and I still can't believe she found Mummy May I! I also got some nail stickers and a Rainbow Honey Sakura Matsuri scented cuticle balm stick, it smells awesome! All the polishes came with cute little bows which I'm going to leave on. Thanks so much Anthea!

My best friend Mardi got me these Ulta3 polishes and Scandal Purple Sparkle for Christmas. Check out the old school Ulta3 Bottle Green! I got in trouble for not keeping my stash list updated and she had to return all the Ulta3's that she had originally bought for me, sorry Mardi! That reminds me, I better go update my stash list after I finish this post. I'm looking forward to swatching all those pretty purples and pinks. Thanks Mardi!

My mum bought me these unnamed Beindulged polishes for Christmas. They came in a tube of 10 polishes, there was also a top coat but I haven't included that in the photo. I think these came from Kmart but I'm not sure if they were only available around Christmas time. These shades are some of my favourite colours, thanks Mum!

Lynnderella Connect the Dots was a gift from Cathy from More Nail Polish for guest posting on her blog! It also came with a personalised card that had a screen shot of my guest post. Thanks so much Cathy! I really didn't need a gift, it was a pleasure to guest post on your blog. 

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PVA Glue Base Coat Questions and Wear Test

I received a lot of questions regarding the PVA base coat so I thought I'd put the answers together in a post. A lot of you were concerned that it would be harmful for use on your nails so I hope these answers will put you at ease.

What is PVA glue?

PVA stands for Polyvinyl acetate. It's a widely used type of glue. You may know it as wood glue, white glue, craft glue or Elmers glue (especially if you're from the US). Michelle over at Lab Muffin has a great break down of the ingredients in her post.

Is PVA glue bad for your nails?

PVA glue is non toxic. I'm not an expert but based on the safety information for Selleys interior and exterior PVA glue (the brand I used) I'd say this product seems to be safe for use on nails as long as it doesn't irritate your skin. Perhaps you could to a patch test to see if you have a reaction. The information may be different between products so always check the label.

I remember myself and other kids in primary school putting PVA glue all over our hands just so we could peel it off when it dried. I don't remember anyone having bad reactions. Also one reader commented saying she had used PVA glue every day for years to make mosaics. The glue had no affect on her nails.

Is PVA glue more toxic than using acetone for removal?

As I said above PVA glue is non toxic. The amount of PVA needed for the base coat it less than the amount of acetone needed for the foil removal method. Also PVA won't dry out your cuticles.

Does the glue peel off with the polish?

Yes, the glue and polish peel off together. If you're careful you can peel the whole thing off in one chunk.

Does peeling it off damage your nails?

There was no damage to my nails from peeling it off. It doesn't stick to your nails like polish does. It creates a kind of seal and then once the seal is broken it comes off easily. I wouldn't recommend using a metal tool to scrape the polish off as that may damage your nails. I used an orange wood stick.

5 Day Wear Test:

I also received questions about how long it lasted, especially under wet conditions such as hand washing, showering and washing dishes. I did a 5 day wear test during which I washed my hands, showered daily and I washed the dishes twice, without gloves.

I decided to put the PVA glue base coat on my left hand and a regular base coat on my right hand to compare how each one lasted. I also tried the combination of regular base coat then PVA base coat on my thumb.

Left hand:

PVA Base Coat (1 medium coat)

Revlon - Purple Potion (3 coats)

Lynderella - Love Potion no.99 (2 coats)

Seche Vite (1 coat)

Right hand:

Nail Tek II (1 coat)

Revlon - Purple Potion (3 coats)

Lynderella - Love Potion no.99 (2 coats)

Seche Vite (1 coat)

Left Thumb:

Nail Tek II (1 coat)

PVA Base Coat (1 medium coat)

Revlon - Purple Potion (3 coats)

Lynderella - Love Potion no.99 (2 coats)

Seche Vite (1 coat) 

The wear on each hand was about the same. I thought once the PVA base coat started chipping the whole thing would come off but it didn't. It also held up during the hand washing, showering and washing up. I'm sure I could have kept it on for longer than five days but I usually change my polish daily so I was itching to change it. The removal after five days was fine.

Here's how the removal went on my thumb where I had a coat of Nail Tek II base coat under the PVA glue. I could still scrape it off but there were some areas where the base coat wouldn't come off. I didn't want to risk damaging my nail so I stopped and used nail polish remover to remove the rest of it.

So I think PVA glue is a great to use under glitter polish, the removal is so easy, it lasts just as long as a regular base coat and it's cheap. I hope this post help to answer some of your questions.

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Lynnderella - Love Potion No. 99

I hope you all had a happy and safe Easter yesterday. Sorry I've had no posts this weekend. I took photos before I went away but didn't have time to edit them and schedule posts. But, I've got a pretty Lynnderella polish to show you, I hope that makes up for it!

I went to Canberra for the Easter long weekend and met up with one of my favorite bloggers Cathy from More Nail Polish. It was so fun talking about nail polish with someone who didn't think I was nuts! She very kindly gave me Lynnderella - Love Potion No. 99. Thank you so much Cathy! I kept looking at in in the car on the way home, it's so pretty! I couldn't wait to swatch it.

I never thought that I would ever own a Lynnderella polish. If I was able to buy Lynnderella polishes this would have been the first one I'd choose.

Lynnderella - Love Potion No. 99

1 coat over Ulta3 - Orchid

Love Potion No. 99 has a mixture of glitter in a purple jelly base. I can see square purple glitter, purple hex glitter, smaller holographic glitter, also the occasional pink square and hex glitter. They don't show up in the photo but they are there if you see this in person. This is so pretty! Perfect for a purple lover like me.

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