Choi's nails

Essie's Haute as hello polka dots

When I first started out nail blogging there were a few nail polishes I purchased that ended up being pushed aside because it was the first time meeting those sheer, streaky or runny formulas and Essie's Haute as hello is one of them. I feel guilty for not wearing this properly even once during the two to three years I've had it or even attempting to fight it out with the formula.

Essie's Haute as hello + polka dots. Light box photo.

Essie's HAH is one I've always confused with Essie's Van D'go because I never gave it a proper look to realise they're actually really different. HAH is a bright peachy coral with a tricky formula, it's thin and runny which makes it hard to apply. It ends up a little streaky and the brush tends to drag the polish so it needs a minimum of three coats. I went ahead and put on a fourth to cover up some bits and bob but even so I had no problem with the polish thickness. The formula is so thin that it actually felt like there were only two coats. It has a semi matte finish with fast drying time between each layer.

It held up very well during my four hour shift at work but I came home thinking I wanted to add a little more to it. I didn't quite remember the last time I did a full polka dot manicure so polka dots it was. My hands look a little tanned with HAH on but it usually is with shades like this. I really like this shade; it really fitted the weather at the time.

Essie's Haute as hello. No top coat. Light box photo.

No top coat. Indoor photo.

No top coat. Outdoor photo.

With top coat. Light box photo.

With top coat. Indoor photo.

Do you have any polishes that you've neglected because of the formula? What do you think of Essie's Haute as hello?

Tuesday, August 20, 2013
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China Glaze's Urban night striping tape mani

China Glaze

Even though fall hasn't arrived yet I'm starting to look forward to the polishes I'm going to bring back out and one of the first few colours I always think of would be those eggplant shades. I have a thing for them; they're just great to wear whenever fall comes around.

This is China Glaze's Urban night from their Fall metro collection 2011. It's a very straightforward eggplant purple. It’s a little dark, a little vampy and lovely.

Here in the photos I have three coats. The first like a lot of polishes was streaky; it would have been fine on the second coat except some parts looked a little patchy from the brush dragging the polish. You have to be careful with that especially near the cuticle area so I applied a third coat to make things look even. Dry time was good and clean-up was very easy.

This manicure was actually one night old and without top coat before I started taking any photos. I fell asleep before attempting to try out the simple design I had in mind and when I did it didn't even come out half right for me to take any photographs. Luckily I snapped a few right after applying the striping tape and before applying any polish.

Sunday, August 18, 2013
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Essie's Blanc with Barry M's Jewel Brittania

Barry M

Going to keep this post short and sweet.

After wearing Barry M's Jewel Brittania for the first time last year for the Olympics, I knew I'd want to wear it over Essie's Blanc again but as a full manicure unlike the first time.

BM’s JB is a mix of different sized blue, red and silver hex glitters with small round silver ones floating in a pink base which is why the Essie Blanc I applied it over doesn’t look so crisp white. I used two coats of Essie's Blanc layered with two coats of JB on top because there wasn't enough glitters for my liking on the first.

I think I'll need to invest in a new white polish real soon, my Blanc is getting pretty thick and applies streakier than it usually is. I even had to redo my ring finger after smudging that one badly but everything turned out cool in the end.

Here's to remind you of the first time I wore BM's Jewel Brittania. You could even see how my photos have improved a little from the straight watermark to the blurry photos.