NOTD Yellow to pink gradient

Before I get started, I just want to mention that I'm trying harder at Social Media. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram (both @steffalaa)!

I found this adorable knit cardigan while shopping the other day...

Isn't it cute? I loved the gradient so much that I wanted to do it on my nails as well.

The gradient is done on a base of Revlon Powderpuff which seems to be my go-to undies for so many things. The yellow is American Apparel Butter, the salmon Orly Pixy Stix and the pink Cult Nails Devious Nature.

I felt quite giddy having my nails match my clothes today. Usually, I don't give a second thought to being matchy-matchy unless it's for a formal occasion or special event.

NerdLacquer Hyperspace Bypass

Uhh... sorry for disappearing the past month. I am back from vacation now but not only has it been really hectic around here, but I also fried my laptop a couple weeks back :( The blog just hasn't been a priority.

So Hyperspace Bypass. This was the one I wanted most when I first found out about NerdLacquer and it didn't disappoint. It lived up to every one of the very high expectations I had for it.

Hyperspace Bypass is a bright yellow base filled with a couple different shades of gold plus black glitter as well as larger gold and holographic hexes.

I used two coats above and as you can see, it's pretty much at full coverage. An incredibly unique polish. The only other yellow-based glitter I have is Missha GGL01 and that is still nothing like this.

You can check out NerdLacquer on Etsy though Amanda has currently closed up shop so she can process orders. Be sure to keep an eye out for when she opens again!

A Few Recent NOTDs

Some of what's been on my nails for the past little bit....

A slight gradient mani. Ozotic 601 (the pink) with 624 (purple) sponged lightly on the tips. The effect reminded me of the pink to purple Claire's mood polish.

ChG Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. Three coats over one coat of Revlon Powder Puff. Streaky as hell but well worth the effort. Neon highlighter yellow!

RBL No More War. Two coats. The colour of baby poop. Love it.

Lynnderella Connect the Dots over ChG Kiwi Cool-ada. Love CtD so very much. It's amazing over pretty much everything - pastels, neons.... just amazing.

Black stamped with ChG High Def. Plate BM221. The image didn't come out very well but I think it looked really cool anyway. I copied this mani from my friend JiLoverz who did something similar a while back.


I've also updated my contact page with a small FAQ. Nothing exciting... but I thought I'd let you guys know anyway.

Past NOTD Spam

My nails are getting.... better. They should be all right after my next chop! Stupid peelies. In the mean time, here's some past NOTD spam.

China Glaze Lighthouse over Precision The Next It Girl. Sparkly yellow-gold glass fleck!

Here is The Next It Girl by itself...

Creamy egg-yolk yellow. Kind of seems like a blatant rip off of OPI The It Color. It is very nice nevertheless.

Anna Sui 300 over black. Anna Suis come in cute little rose bottles and smell like roses. Yummy! Plus, round glitter is surprisingly quite unusual.

BB Couture Bonnie. BBC glitter in a lush green, slightly jelly base. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Flomar U31. Deep, almost black base filled with duochrome flaky shimmer. It flashes predominantly purple to pink and ever so slightly golden at extreme angles. Thanks to Kristy and Erina for letting me know about this :)

China Glaze Something Sweet. I haven't seen myself wear pink for quite a while now. So many pinks just look off on me. I did like this one though!

Unnamed Sasatinnie over Australis Here Today Gone Tomorrow. I picked up the Sasatinnie really cheap while I was in Asia. It's got smaller silver, green and blue glitter with larger yellow (gold?) glitter. It's very nice layered.

And the Australis by itself...

How nice is this?! Erina tells me it's a dupe for Illamasqua Rampage. A beauty!

Australis Blue Tiger with China Glaze Cracked Concrete. I'm not too sure I'm so fond of this combo. I think it would have looked better with white crackle instead.

Precision Toxic-Wasting My Time. Reddish, caramel-y brown with lots and lots of gold shimmer. I really loved wearing this. I do so very much enjoy gold shimmer.... :)

LA Girl Glitter Addicts

So.. I really wanted to post a few Etudes that are freaking amazeballs but none of my swatches turned out right D: The pics are just so craptastic that I really can't bring myself to post them. Luckily for me, the mailman came to my rescue! He arrived with my lovely Cherry Culture order! And right after I read this post by Kaz as well. Talk about awesome timing!

So these Glitter Addicts... they are BOSS. Holy crap. LA Girl really outdid themselves. I pretty much ran back to the CC website and ordered a whole lot more the second I opened up my parcel.

Here are the ones I got..

I love LA Girl bottles. The thick layer of glass at the base makes them really bottom heavy. They're really nice to hold. And on an even more superficial note than that... how incredibly awesome is the font on these? LOVE!

The whole line consists of small and large hex glitter in varying colours suspended in a clear base. They're probably dense enough to use on their own in 3-4 coats but I like them layered.


All swatches are one coat over a base

Animate over The Face Shop BL605. I can't stand how pretty this is! Possibly the least unique - Diamond Cosmetics Chunky Red Glitter and Wet n Wild Prancer look dupey. Also, even though it's different, Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers (one of my all time favourites!) really comes to mind.

Jostle over Bloom Montreal. Jostle is a really nice dark blue glitter. I love the way the glitter looks when it hits the light. It's like it's glowing! I didn't do a good job picking out a base colour for this one though. I think it'd look much better over a light blue.

Eutopia over China Glaze Happy Go Lucky. Eutopia is a little less blue than my pictures are showing here though it still definitely leans on the blue side of purple. I love this over yellow!

Uninhibited over Ulta3 Allure. Saved the best till last! HOLY CRAP BLACK GLITTER! ... AN AWESOME BLACK GLITTER! *coughFunkyChunkycough* It has soothed my lemming for Revlon Streetwear Black Widow a little bit. I love this over Allure. I totally stole the idea off a lovely lady who posted her mani of Black Widow over a nude. It's just too awesome. I can't even... *dies*

Missha Glitters

What a boring name for a post full of awesome.

Missha are a Korean brand... and they make awesome polish. HGR01 has been getting a lot of attention lately. I'm really glad that Missha are becoming more popular! I feel like their brand has been so overlooked and unappreciated. Their colours are awesome, and they come in the cutest bottles ever. HEARTS! HOMG! So adorable!

The three I have to show you today are GVL01 (the fuchsia), GGL01 (yellow) and GBL01 (blue).

Click for more detail

These three all seem to have the same sort of glitter and finish. Don't they look like they belong in a collection together? I think there's also a couple of other colours with the same finish but I'm not sure.

I got a couple of questions last time I posted a Missha on where I got these so in case anyone's wondering, I get most of my Missha at the Box Hill store in Melbourne, Australia. If you're in the Melbourne area and you want to see the polishes in person, then the store in located in Box Hill Central between the train station and Sweet As (chocolates!). Also, since the store doesn't carry the complete range, I've also got some off eBay from this seller. Actually, I've got one coming now thanks to Kaz :D


First up, the fuchsia - GVL01

The actual colour is a little less purple than my swatches. It's closer to the bottle picture. GVL01 is a fuchsia/violet/purple with loads of silver and pink glitter. I was able to take a more detailed close up so you guys can better see what it looks like IRL. Be sure to click for lots more detail.

Can you see the different shaped glitters? Small squares and hexagons. It gives the polish much more interest than just a straight, single glitter. I love it! Lots of depth!


This is GBL01..

This one is a mix of blue and silver glitter in a blue base. It reminds me of a crystal or something - very icy looking. Insanely sparkly.


GGL01. The formula was patchy and horrible and it doesn't look so hot against my skin tone. But still, this is possibly my favourite... Why? BECAUSE IT'S ALMOST A GOD DAMN YELLOW GLITTER.

I don't think I've ever seen a true yellow glitter that is dense, opaque (not jelly with sparse glitters) and most importantly, yellow. This isn't technically yellow but it comes so close. It's a warm yellow base that has a mix of both silver and gold glitters. I think the gold retains the yellow-ness of the base but the silver stops it from overwhelming the polish and making it look too gold.

The overall look is a yellow glitter. Insanity! If you love glitter, yellow or unique colours, then in all seriousness - YOU NEED THIS. fo'real.


Wow.. that was an extremely long, rambling post. Props to you if you read it all :D