Reposting this because I had a major database problem and lost 3 days worth of posts >_< If you commented during that time it also unfortunately was lost 🙁 Feel free to comment again and sorry for the inconvenience!
Today is the last part of my Ulta 3 polish reviews ^_^
To recap:
Brand:Ulta3
From: Local chemists, don’t think you can get it online but I could be wrong. Generally sold in large discount bins.
Price: $2-3
Volume: 13.5ml
Bottle: Generic round bottle with a white top. Fairly cheap looking but who cares for $2 XD Only real problem I’ve found is that the glue holding the brush to the lid is a bit crap so often the lid comes off minus the brush. Easily fixed by removing any dried polish around the top of the bottle and closing/opening it again.
Brush: Average size, flexible.
Drying Time: Roughly the same for all of them. Fairly quick but nothing to write home about.
Colour Name: Bon Bon
Description: Pearly pink with a silver shimmer.
Thoughts:
So pretty. This is the perfect sweet base colour. It’s nice and natural but when it hits the light it’s really pretty and shiny.
Good for: -Natural work friendly manicures -Sweet cutesy designs, perfect for Hime and Lolita
Bad for: – Probably bad for konad as it’s not very opaque in one go.
Colour Name: Gold Digger
Description: Gold glitter in a clear base.
Thoughts: Stock standard gold glitter. Nothing special or ground breaking but it does what it promises and it’s good at it so it should be a staple of any polish collection. Much easier to work with than loose glitter too!
Good for: -Adding interest to a plain manicure. -Making more interesting french tips
Bad for: -Opacity (duh) -Getting a completely even coating of glitter as you would need a billion coats -Konad.
Colour Name: Precious
Description: Goldish brown polish with a silver shimmer.
Thoughts: Interesting colour combination, gold and silver in one polish makes it quite versatile. I don’t particularly like it as a base colour but it looks good as accents.
Good for: -Leopard/animal print nail art -Probably good for konad as it is nice and shiny while being opaque
Bad for: -Being subtle, it’s super shiny in the sun.
Colour Name: Silver Glitter
Description: Silver glitter in a clear base.
Thoughts: This is the sister colour to Gold Digger, though they were a little less creative with the naming here XD Again very basic but works very well and another staple of my collection.
Good for: (same as Gold Digger) -Adding interest to a plain manicure. -Making more interesting french tips
Bad for: -Opacity (duh) -Getting a completely even coating of glitter as you would need a billion coats -Konad.
Colour Name: Spring Blossom
Description: Milky pastel yellow.
Thoughts: I wasn’t sure on this one when I first bought it but the colour slowly grew on me after I saw how shiny and pretty the finish is. It’s a really Springish base colour (as the same obviously suggests) and it’s opaque enough for nail art too.
Good for: -Light fun spring manicures -Nature/flower themed manicures
Bad for: -Some skin tones as it’s a little odd shade of yellow.
Colour Name: Snazzle
Description: Intense silver polish with silver shimmer.
Thoughts: This is one of my all time favorite Ulta3 colours hands down. It is a shimmer silver that really smacks you in the face, super opaque and one of the most versatile polishes I own. Unfortunately I think it’s been discontinued because I can’t find it anywhere now and my bottle is almost finished ;_; As it turns out you can buy it online here: http://www.pulsepharmacy.com.au/Product/Ulta3-Nail-Colour-Snazzle.aspx Thanks to Sabrina for letting me know! Also BGDinosent me two bottles she found in Sydney 😀 Double thank you!!
Good for: -Adding bling to designs -Konad, works super well.
Bad for: -Umm. I can’t really fault this one! Maybe bad for not being blinding in the sun XD
And there you have it! That officially ends my Ulta 3 polish collection review… that is, until I get the bug again and see a bucket of it at a chemist again XD
The first time I bought BYS shimmer powder I was 13 years old and I didn’t buy it for make up… I bought it to use in art pieces XD Then when I started getting into make up I used the rest of the jar I had bought at 13 because as it turns out… its fricking awesome. So I spent years looking for it again with no luck until about a month ago when I found a whole new range of them at a junk store stand!
Brand: BYS
Product: Shimmer Powder
Price: $2.99
Available from: Places that stock BYS (usually junk stores)
They come is maybe 6-7 different colours, I bought pink and purple to start with. Previously the bottles had screw caps but in the new versions they have a twist top with little shaker holes. This is ok but it makes application more annoying. Previously you could just dip a cotton bud in and apply now you need to shake onto something then use the cotton bud to apply, it’s a little wasteful.
This is what it looks like straight out of the jar:
And rubbed in:
The photos really don’t do justice to the truly awesome amount of shimmer at these babies give so here’s a short video!
Verdict: Super shimmery, lovely colours, blends very well and nice and cheap. DO WANT. Tempted to buy like 10 jars of each colour in case they stop making them again *_*
Today is the next part of my Ulta 3 polish reviews ^_^
To recap:
Brand: Ulta3
From: Local chemists, don’t think you can get it online but I could be wrong. Generally sold in large discount bins.
Price: $2-3
Volume: 13.5ml
Bottle: Generic round bottle with a white top. Fairly cheap looking but who cares for $2 XD Only real problem I’ve found is that the glue holding the brush to the lid is a bit crap so often the lid comes off minus the brush. Easily fixed by removing any dried polish around the top of the bottle and closing/opening it again.
Brush: Average size, flexible.
Drying Time: Roughly the same for all of them. Fairly quick but nothing to write home about.
Colour Name: Sweet Violet
Description: Grey-ish lilac with a silver shimmer.
Thoughts:Meh. In the bottle this one looks quite pretty but on it just feels like a big pile of meh. It’s less violet and more grey. The silver is quite over powering, I think I would like it a lot more if it had a blue tone through it. Either way it just looks a bit boring to me.
Good for: -Umm… Wintery themed nails? -Subtle manicures or plain things for work
Bad for: -Interesting manicures hahaha! Eye catching designs XD
Colour Name: Charmed
Description: Tiny green various sized glitter in a clear base.
Thoughts: This to me should be renamed “Green Tea” because that’s what it looks like on nails: really bright powdered matcha! I think the colour of the glitter is really pretty and bright and the different sizes of the tiny glitter make for a really interesting finish.
Good for: -Spring manicures -Layering over other colours -Layering over itself to make a really intese glitter.
Bad for: -One coat and you’re finished manicures. -Clean neat finishes, it kind of looks like you’ve been in the garden from a distance XD
Colour Name: Burgundy
Description: Dark burgundy. Nuff said.
Thoughts: This one looks a lot deeper in the bottle than on the nail. In the bottle the shimmer gives it a really interesting tone but on the nail it just looks like a straight up burgundy. Nice but nothing overly special.
Good for: -Dark vampy or vintage themed base colours. -One coat opaque, quick manicures. -Maybe good for konad as it’s very opaque.
Bad for: -Light fluffy designs
Colour Name: Spring Break
Description: Completely matt dark purple.
Thoughts:
Goes on like a dream and is a really interesting colour. It dries a lot darker than the bottle which is both good and bad. Definitely needs two coats for an even finish but looks fantastic when it’s done.
Good for: -Probably good for Konad because it’s quite opaque. -Looks great in manicures mixed with clear polished areas.
Bad for: – Glossy designs (unless you want to add a top coat then it’s awesome)
That’s all for now, tune in to the next nail polish post for the last of my Ulta3 collection ^_^
It apparently comes in a couple of shades but I couldn’t tell which one my samples were so I’ll just give my general review >_<
Each sample has enough for 2-3 applications, not having the whole bottle I couldn’t give you an idea of value for money but going by the numbers it seems about average for what we pay in Aus.
The coverage was medium, nothing wow but still good enough to replace a tinted moisturiser.
I had a really hard time being excited about this one and that probably had to do with the smell, it is very strongly scented 🙁 It’s one of those smells that you either love or hate and it smacks you in the face pretty hard so this cream is something you should really test out in store before buying!
Bare Skin:
With cream:
It didn’t pick up very well in the photos but this shade (whatever it was) was really orangeish on me. After I put it on I felt like the victim of a bad fake tan >_< Definitely for those with yellow undertones rather than pink.
VERDICT: Not for me. At all. May be good for those who have yellow tones and don’t mind the strong scent. Definitely one to try in store or get samples of before you buy ^_^ TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.
Time for some serious nail polish swatching! Today is my favorite brand of all time 😀
Brand: Ulta3
From: Local chemists, don’t think you can get it online but I could be wrong. Generally sold in large discount bins.
Price: $2-3
Volume: 13.5ml
Bottle: Generic round bottle with a white top. Fairly cheap looking but who cares for $2 XD Only real problem I’ve found is that the glue holding the brush to the lid is a bit crap so often the lid comes off minus the brush. Easily fixed by removing any dried polish around the top of the bottle and closing/opening it again.
Brush: Average size, flexible.
Drying Time: Roughly the same for all of them. Fairly quick but nothing to write home about.
Colour Name: Freesia
Description: Dark pink with silver shimmer.
Thoughts: One of my favorites in the Ulta3 range because it’s really lovely with purple nail art. It’s quite a dark pink so it’s definitely not drawing any Barbie comparisons but in the sun it really picks up the silver shimmer and looks quite spectacular.
Good for: -Office appropriate manicures that still pack a punch
-Matching with purple nail art
Colour Name: Lagoon
Description: Acid green with a very slight silver shimmer.
Thoughts: Whoever came up with the name should have picked something else. The only thing that I think that this colour has to do with a lagoon is disgusting poisonous alge XD That said the colour itself is actually really nice and layers well, perfect for Spring manicures 😀
Good for: -Spring themed nail art
-Flowers etc
Bad for: -Konad, too sheer.
Colour Name: Sizzling Red
Description: Very fire engine red, can’t see it when it’s on but there is a little violet through it too.
Thoughts: This one packs a punch 😀 Bright and shiny and very pigmented. You really can get away with one coat as you can see below:
Good for: -Vampy manicures
-Looks great paired with white tips.
Colour Name: Seduction
Description: Bright pink with a slight gold shimmer.
Thoughts: This is your serious Barbie pink ^_^ There is no way to un-cuten this colour hahaha! I think the photos and the fact that I’ve used 3/4 of the bottle probably speak for themselves.
Good for: -Sweet styles
-Lolita/Hime Gyaru styles
Bad for: -Konad, too sheer
Colour Name: Silver Grey
Description: Name says it all 😉
Thoughts: Quite pigmented which makes it fantastic for nail art and making little accents on already done designs. It’s not my favorite silver that Ulta 3 have done (that’s Snazzle) but it’s still a really nice colour in its own right.
Good for: -Nail art in general or using for small accents.
-Probably good for konad because it’s decently pigmented.
Colour Name: Little Boy Blue
Description: Sheer light blue with a lot of silver shimmer.
Thoughts: This is probably my favorite of all the Ulta 3 colours. It can be used to layer really effectively over other polishes like I did a while ago with that snow manicure or layered by itself for a really deep glitter. By itself it the shimmer becomes so deep it almost looks like glitter. Needs about 3 coats to be opaque
Good for: -Layering over other polishes
-Making an interesting base coat alone.
Bad for:
-Konad, too sheer.
That’s part one in the ridiculous number of Ulta3 polishes I have! This is going to be a long series because they are so cheap I tend to amass them XD
Next on the list of BB Cream review pile is Pure Blossom Shimmering from The Face Shop.
Before I get into the review, a lot of people asked what BB Cream actually was last time. Well basically it’s cream that has been very popular in Asian countries for a while now which is generally worn underneath (or instead of) foundation. It’s supposed to be miracle cream because it evens out skin tone like a foundation but also usually has ingredients that are supposed to make your skin better and actually improve over time. This is of course debatable and results differ for everyone. The other difference to foundation (again this is debatable) is that it’s not sold in shades, the ingredients *aparently* change colour to suit your skin colour creating flawlessness no matter what tone you are.
I find that last bit to be a stretch, and while a lot of the BB Creams that suit me also suit much darker tones on my friends it’s certainly not fool proof or magic, lots of them are still too dark or too grey for me so I always suggest sampling before you buy. Personally after a year of using various creams I haven’t seen any change in my skin tone of texture but some girls swear by it. I like to use it by itself on days that I want something light and casual or under foundation as a way to keep moisturised and create absolutely flawless skin and protect from the sun (most of them have SPF ratings).
So on to the review!
Pure Blossom Shimmering
Available from: The Face Shop (I couldn’t find it on the website though, I bought mine around 8 months ago)
Price: AU$25-ish from what I remember
Supposed Benefits:
Shimmery effect
SPF 15
When I bought this is was the cheapest of the ones offered at The Face Shop and the only one light enough for me, I think they rotate their ranges quite often though and stock depends on the shop. I bought it out at Eastlands and haven’t seen it in the city store.
The texture is very light, wet and creamy. It takes a little while to dry and is fine to be applied with fingers or sponges (for better coverage). I found it was a bit wet to apply with a brush but that was just personal preference. It feels more like moisturiser than foundation on.
Plain skin:
As you can see from the photo below it only offers light coverage, not enough to get rid of freckles but enough to make a difference. The slight shimmer gives a really dewy effect rather than just being shiny which I love! Until very recently when I started testing others I’ve been wearing this cream almost every day since I got it and the tube is still about half full, to me that’s pretty good value.
The packaging is ok, better than a bottle because you can be precise about how much to get out but I still prefer pumps. Pretty none the less ^_^
With a layer of the cream applied very hastily with fingers (sponge looks nicer with better coverage):
VERDICT: Decent price, good if you’re looking for light coverage. Shimmer doesn’t look over the top even in the sun. Takes a while to dry which can be annoying but other than that pretty good. Suits light skin tones. DO WANT.
Illustrator. Strong tea, knitting, watercolours, and making a video game called Moonlight in Garland. Living with her adorable husband Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
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