The Nail File

MAC Glitter and Ice…

- is MAC’s Christmas 2011 collection, with 34 pieces including Paint Pots, Mineralize Eye Shadows, Lipsticks, Dazzleglasses, Beauty Powders, Technakohl Eye Liners (LOVE the silver) and, of course,  Nail Lacquers. This is pretty big collection.

- is on counters already, and some pieces have sold out already (including some of the lacquers being sold out online!)

- is a little bit different from the usual MAC look because the packaging is WHITE instead of black. Very clean and minimalist. Tres chic.

- has three polishes; two cremes and a glitter. Get Noticed! is a gorgeous bold red creme that has a slight undertone of pink (that would be because it’s blue-based).

LOADS more pictures after the jump…

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It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights…

This post has been a long time coming for two reasons. One, swatching glitter nail polish is a bitch. Some of these polishes are so hard to get off that you’re better off just cutting off your fingers and hoping new ones grow back. Two, I had been so excited about this collection, and built it up for so long, that I reluctantly admit I was mildly disappointed. I swatched 6 of the 12 polishes, and I’ll tell you what I think as we go (which is usually how blog posts work, no? Well done, me)

Designer De Better is a metallic champagne with flecks of bronze through it. Probably the most suitable for everyday wear, this paints on really well, two coats gives perfect coverage, and it’s nice and smooth. Dynamite.

Taken in sunlight

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As promised, here is the rest of the Essie Spring 2011 French Affair Collection, which is on shelves now.

It’s a really beautiful departure from the crazy glitter, metallic, duochrome , bright, bright, bright we have been inundated with. These are delicious creams that you could sink your teeth into, like little bits of fudgey goodness.

The collection namesake, French Affair, is a chalky pastel pink that errs on the side of lilac. Very pretty and utterly delicious.

Taken in daylight

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When I say coming soon, I mean early next year. Like…February. But it’s always good to know what’s coming so you can start saving your pennies (my birthday is February, so this is my wishlist taken care of!)

The Dutch Collection is OPI’s Spring 2012 offering. It’s a biggun’, with 12 colours. By the looks of it, they are all cremes or cremes with metallic finishes, although there could be a couple of sorbets in there.

More than anything, I LOVE the names. Did You Hear About Van Gogh? Gouda Gouda Two Shoes. Kiss Me On My Tulips. Genius!! Putting it out there – my dream job is naming OPI nail polishes.

As soon as I have more details I’ll let you know, but they will be the usual $19.95 from David Jones.

How much are you prepared to pay for nail polish? Right now Estee Lauder and Chanel are the upper benchmark for polish in Australia at $38 and $39 respectively. Tom Ford Beauty Cosmetics Collection is launching next month with a range of 132 skin care and cosmetic pieces, and amongst them is 16 polishes. Each bottle is 12ml and will retail for $45.

That is a huge price point.

Having not tried the polish myself I can’t comment on the quality, but I have tried a couple of the beauty products from the range and they are beautiful. The packaging is ultra-luxe and you feel decadent using it. I’m just not sure that $45 is justifiable decadence. What do you think?

The range hits counters on November 13 and will be stocked exclusively in David Jones Elizabeth St, Sydney and Bourke St, Melbourne.

Will you be splashing out?

Considering the amount of new nail polishes that slide across my desk every week, it takes a lot to surprise me. I’ll tell you what though, consider my tiara blown off by the Miss Universe collection from OPI. Three of these colours are in my top ten polishes of the year, for sure.

I showed you Crown Me Already! last week, which is an insane silver glitter with chunks in three different sizes. Total bitch to get off, but bitchin’ on. The other three colours are just as good, with equally amusing names…

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Sure, dark nail polish is a total pain in the ass to get off, but sometimes it’s worth it. These dark Mecca polishes are definitely worth it.

I spent ages obsessively photographing these polishes to show you exactly what they look like and I still didn’t do them justice. Each of them has a micro glitter that catches the light in a way that is magical – it’s a flash and a shimmer and then you move and it’s gone.

Taken in artificial light

Essie. Essie Essie Essie. Why do you torture your antipodean fans with tantalising images of your new collections, when we won’t get them for another 6 months? It’s torture!

The newest collection from Essie, Carry On, is out now for (American) Fall 2011. The inspiration is handbags, and all the glorious hues of those beautiful accessories we cart around every day.

Do you have a favourite? I’m looking forward to Very Structured and Glamour Purse. They will be $18.95 each and available at Myer.

Images courtesy of Essie

I’m so excited about this collection. So excited. When I finally got my mitts on this set last week, I practically ran home to start swatching them. Did I mention I was excited?

I talked about the OPI Nice Stems collection a couple of months ago, but now we’re much closer to the release we can get an up close look at the four very different shades of pink. This quartet hits shelves in September and not only can you get all four full sized, but you can also get all four in a mini set. And you know I love me some mini sets!

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Those clever clogs over at Glitter Gal have produced a capsule collection of 6 polishes for Wanted Shoes. There’s a red, pink, purple, baby pink, taupe-y pink and orange – pretty much every colour you need to have a solid nail polish library (although maybe throw in a black or navy blue for good measure).

They’re $15.95 for 15ml and available in all Wanted stores and on the Wanted website. I haven’t tried these polishes personally, but the  formula for Glitter Gal polishes is excellent. Definitely worth picking one of these babies up to match your new shoes.