ulta3 - Dark Romance Collection Swatches

Dark Romance is ulta3's Autumn/Winter collection for 2013. I picked these up about a week ago at Soul Pattinson Chemist in Pitt St Mall in Sydney. I always seem to find the new collections there so if you're in Sydney and looking for these try there first.

Lucky bamboo is a blackened green creme. The formula was nice and well pigmented. My colleague thought I was actually wearing black nail polish until he took a closer look. 

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: ulta3

Name: lucky bamboo

Coats For Opacity: 2

Colour: Green

Finish: Creme

Formula: Big 3 Free

Made In: PRC (China) 

Volume: 13ml | 0.44 fl oz

Price: $2.00 (AUD)

Where To Buy: 

Blooms The Chemist

Terry White Chemists

Soul Pattinson Chemist

Ulta3 Stocklist Locator (PC only)

Website |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Rustic red is a red jelly with a subtle shimmer that I couldn't capture in my light box. The formula was nice but I should have used three coats. You can see it looks a bit patchy near my cuticles. I didn't notice it until I looked at it in the sun the next day. 

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: ulta3

Name: rustic red

Coats For Opacity: 2

Colour: Red

Finish: Jelly

Formula: Big 3 Free

Made In: PRC (China) 

Volume: 13ml | 0.44 fl oz

Price: $2.00 (AUD)

Where To Buy: 

Blooms The Chemist

Terry White Chemists

Soul Pattinson Chemist

Ulta3 Stocklist Locator (PC only)

Website |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Lotsa fun is a purple creme so naturally I love it! The formula was nice and well pigmented.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: ulta3

Name: lotsa fun

Coats For Opacity: 2

Colour: Purple

Finish: Creme

Formula: Big 3 Free

Made In: PRC (China) 

Volume: 13ml | 0.44 fl oz

Price: $2.00 (AUD)

Where To Buy: 

Blooms The Chemist

Terry White Chemists

Soul Pattinson Chemist

Ulta3 Stocklist Locator (PC only)

Website |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Cherrylicious is a delicious looked cherry red creme. Looks like a could have used another coat in the swatch above, it's a little patchy near my cuticles. I didn't notice until I edited the photos.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: ulta3

Name: cherrylicious

Coats For Opacity: 2

Colour: Red

Finish: Creme

Formula: Big 3 Free

Made In: PRC (China) 

Volume: 13ml | 0.44 fl oz

Price: $2.00 (AUD)

Where To Buy: 

Blooms The Chemist

Terry White Chemists

Soul Pattinson Chemist

Ulta3 Stocklist Locator (PC only)

Website |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Get teal is teal creme polish. The formula was nice.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: ulta3

Name: get teal

Coats For Opacity: 2

Colour: Teal

Finish: Creme

Formula: Big 3 Free

Made In: PRC (China) 

Volume: 13ml | 0.44 fl oz

Price: $2.00 (AUD)

Where To Buy: 

Blooms The Chemist

Terry White Chemists

Soul Pattinson Chemist

Ulta3 Stocklist Locator (PC only)

Website |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Chinchilly is a light brown creme. The formula was a little thick but still manageable. I used two coats for the swatch above.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: ulta3

Name: chinchilly

Coats For Opacity: 2

Colour: Brown

Finish: Creme

Formula: Big 3 Free

Made In: PRC (China) 

Volume: 13ml | 0.44 fl oz

Price: $2.00 (AUD)

Where To Buy: 

Blooms The Chemist

Terry White Chemists

Soul Pattinson Chemist

Ulta3 Stocklist Locator (PC only)

Website |  Facebook  |  Twitter

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Artsy Wednesday: Easter

I really really love how this turned out! It easy to do but did take some time. I've got a tutorial below to show how i created it. If you don't have striping tape you can cut thin strips of regular tape. Make sure the white polish has time to dry before you add the matte top coat or you will smudge the white stripes. If you don't have a matte top coat you can use a regular top coat for a glossy version.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Polish Used:

ulta3 - lily white
ulta3 - corsican rose
ulta3 - soft hydrangea
ulta3 - lilac bloom

ulta3 - pale dahlia
ulta3 - lemon tart

Essie - Matte About You

Tools Needed:

Striping Tape

Nail Art Brush

Visit the other Artsy Wednesday blogs for more easter manicures:

Michelle - Lab Muffin

Maria - Maria's Nail Art

Catrine - Unnaked Nails

Melanie - Nail & Polish

Jessica - Beauty Gnome

Emily  - An Accent Nail

Ameerah - Valiantly Varnished

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Orly - Mermaid Tale, Can't Be Tamed & Spazmatic

Mermaid Tale has a mix of large green holo hex and smaller green hex glitter in a clear base. I'm wearing three dabbled coats over Pretty Serious - VT100. This one was the easiest of the three to build up. If you're patient you could probably wear this on on it's own after 4-5 coats. 

The formula was great and it was easy to pick up glitter on the brush. 

I put this on yesterday not realising it was St Patrick's Day, it was a nice coincidence. The holo hexes really stand out! They were distracting me at work when the sun hit my nails.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: Orly

Name: Mermaid Tale

Number: 40478

Coats: 3 (over green)

Collection: Flash Glam

Year: 2012

Colour: Green

Finish: Gitter

Formula: 3 Free

Made In: USA

Volume: 18ml | .6 Fl Oz

Price: $18.95

Where To Buy: 

Orly Beauty

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Can't be tamed has a mix of purple hex glitter and smaller silver hex glitter in a clear base.  I wore 3 dabbled coats over China Glaze - Let's Groove in the swatch above. I loved this combination! 

The formula was great, and the glitter was easy to apply. 

I don't think you can build this one up on it's own. The glitter is too sparse but it's great for layering over other colours.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: Orly
Name: Can't Be Tamed
Number: 40472
Coats: 3 (over purple)

Collection: Flash Glam

Year: 2012
Colour: Purple and Silver
Finish: Gitter
Formula: 3 Free
Made In: USA
Volume: 18ml | .6 Fl Oz
Price: $18.95
Where To Buy: 
Orly Beauty

Website | Facebook | Twitter

 

Orly Spazmatic is a mix of blue hex glitter and blue to pink shifting micro flakes in a clear base. You definitely can't build this one up on its own so I layered it over China Glaze - Frostbite in the swatch above. This combination had a very icy feeling to it. 

The brush picked up a lot of the clear base so I tried to wipe as much of it off as I could without loosing the glitter from the brush. If I didn't wipe off some of the base the glitter wouldn't be as concentrated on the nail and each coat would be thick and take a long time to dry. 

It's a little hard to see the blue to pink shifting flakes in the swatch but you can see them in the macro photo.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: Orly
Name: Spazmatic
Number: 40475
Coats: 3 (over blue)

Collection: Flash Glam

Year: 2012
Colour: Blue
Finish: Gitter
Formula: 3 Free
Made In: USA
Volume: 18ml | .6 Fl Oz
Price: $18.95
Where To Buy: 
Orly Beauty

Website | Facebook | Twitter

The products in this post were provided for review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

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ulta3 - spring break, eighties fuchsia & mulberry

ulta3 spring break is a purple creme polish. It's bright but not quite neon enough to call it a neon. It looks similar to eighties fuchsia but they are not dupes. 

The formula was thick and gluey. I think this bottle must have been openened a few times in the shop for this to happen. I was still able to apply it ok. It dried slightly matte.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: ulta3

Name: spring break

Coats For Opacity: 2

Colour: Purple

Finish: Creme

Formula: Big 3 Free

Made In: PRC (China) 

Volume: 13ml | 0.44 fl oz

Price: $2.00 (AUD)

Where To Buy: 

Blooms The Chemist

Terry White Chemists

Soul Pattinson Chemist

Ulta3 Stocklist Locator (PC only)

Website |  Facebook  |  Twitter

ulta3 eighties fuchsia is a neon purple creme. This dried very fast and was slightly matte when dry. The formula was a little thick but managable. 

I really liked the way eighties fuchsia looked on me. I think I'll use it for a pedicure next time I do one.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: ulta3

Name: eighties fuchsia

Coats For Opacity: 2

Colour: Purple

Finish: Neon Creme

Formula: Big 3 Free

Made In: PRC (China) 

Volume: 13ml | 0.44 fl oz

Price: $2.00 (AUD)

Where To Buy: 

Blooms The Chemist

Terry White Chemists

Soul Pattinson Chemist

Ulta3 Stocklist Locator (PC only)

Website |  Facebook  |  Twitter

ulta3 mulberry is a berry creme colour. I haven't worn a berry coloured polish for a long time and i'd forgotten how much I like them. 

The formula was nice and it had an even coverage after two coats. The bottle I have is one that was made in Australia so the made in PRC bottles could have a different formula. You can probably still find a few made in Australia bottles if you dig through the ulta3 bins long enough.

               NAIL POLISH INFO 

Brand: ulta3

Name: mulberry

Coats For Opacity: 2

Colour: Berry

Finish: Creme

Formula: Big 3 Free

Made In: PRC (China) 

Volume: 13ml | 0.44 fl oz

Price: $2.00 (AUD)

Where To Buy: 

Blooms The Chemist

Terry White Chemists

Soul Pattinson Chemist

Ulta3 Stocklist Locator (PC only)

Website |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Read More

Lust Have It Subscription Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Shaina! You've won my 3 month Lust Have It subscription. Please respond to my email within 48 hours or I will have to choose another winner. Thank you to everyone who entered.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Gradient Nail Art With The Natural Source Camouflage Colours + Giveaway!

The Natural Source have kindly given me a set of 8 Camoflage Colour Nail Lacquers to review. These polishes come in a metal tin. They look so nice together in the tin so I'll probably keep them in it. I will swatch each colour another time because today I'm showing you an easy gradient nail art using a few of the colours. Gradient nail art works on both long and short nails. If you have long nails you can use add in more colours, if you have short nails (like me) then stick to 2-3 colours. I decided to choose earthy autumn colours. 

The Natural Source also sent me a Daintree Sandpaper Creme (hand and foot exfoliator). I don't think I've used a exfoliator creme for a long time, I'd forgotten how soft they make your skin feel afterwards.

               NAIL ART INFO 

Polish Used:

The Natural Source - Ivy

The Natural Source - Blackened Brown
The Natural Source - Brown Plum

Tools Needed:

Cosmetic Sponge

Where To Buy: 

The Natural Source

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Use the code lhi for 25% off and free delivery on any Natural Source nail lacquer in their range. Normally $9.95 + delivery, now $7.50 + free delivery. Free tin if you purchase 8 or more!

Lust Have It! is a monthly beauty box subscription service in Australia. This month's Lust Have It! box includes a Natural Source polish and Lust Have It! has provided me with a 3 month subscription to give away to one of my Australian readers:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can use the code PURPLE to get $5 off your first box. Valid from today till the 31st March.

The products in this post were provided for review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

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February 2013 Haul

I Can Be Really Impulsive, It Just Takes Me A While...

V

Good News Everybody! 

Loki's Lacquer had a sale so I picked up a few I'd been eyeing off. I love the mini bottles, they are so cute!

Glinting Lodestone

Gilded Rose

Abyssal Reflections

Femme Fatale also had a sale, 27% Off! So I picked these three up. I couldn't really afford them but I couldn't resist 27% off! Could you?

I Like Pina Coladas

Baby One More Time

My brother bought stuff online and it included free polish. As much as he wanted to keep them for himself he gifted them to me. Thanks bro!

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