Review: Madam Glam gel nail polish

I received these a while back, but had to buy all the equipment associated with doing gel nails at home, like an LED lamp etc. I'm also quite new to gel nails, and definitely a novice for an at home session so I gave these a few trials before I wanted to write this review up.

I received the shades:
* Quicksilver (soak off gel polish) ~ glittery white silver
* Plum Addict (soak off gel polish) ~ a rich plum
* Dancing in the Moonlight (colour chameleon gel polish) ~ glitter pink when warm, glitter purple when cold
* A La Mode (colour chameleon gel polish) ~ warm bubblegum pink when warm, dark purple when cold

Quicksilver

Quicksilver

Plum Addict

Plum Addict

Dancing In The Moonlight

A La Mode

First Impressions:
I am especially taken with the colour changing "chameleon" gels. I love anything "gimmicky", glittery and fun like that, so these are right up my alley! My fave shade out of all 4 I received is definitely Dancing in the Moonlight.
I applied a thin layer, cured for 2 minutes, another thin layer, another 2 minutes and repeat again. Both Quicksilver and Dancing in the Moodlight applied thicker, due to being a heavier, glitter base, but I was able to get thin layers quite easily.
All 4 brushes aren't too thin, and definitely not as wide as a lot of polish brushes are. They move easily and feel very controlled when applying the polish. I personally found there was a tendency to go "outside the lines", but I'm not especially careful when applying nail polish. I'll happily scrape/ clean up the residue with my other nails. However, if you do that too, I'd recommend cleaning up before curing, as it's much tougher to clean up. Or you could find a bottle of that latex product that people seem to be using more frequently. 
The nail application goes on smooth without too much fuss and cure evenly too. 

Again, with the 2 glittery shades, Quicksilver and Dancing in the Moonlight, being thicker, they were opaque by 2 coats, both Plum Addict and A La Mode were opaque with 3 coats, all of which you do want to be thin so curing is quicker and you get a more even, smooth finish. 

Being the novice that I am, especially when it comes to gels, these are easy to use and complete novices, and of course, pros, won't have an issue using them. 
On my second "real" go, it took me maybe 25 minutes to do both hands and feet. They're fantastic, as once cured, there's no drying time, so you're good to go without having to be cautious about wrecking your polish job. 

They smell plasticky, and do smell compared to other nail polishes. I'd advise doing them in a decent space with good air flow, which you should be doing anyway. 

Easy to remove? On my fingers, a few nails peeled off (with assistance), and I just picked the rest off (naughty naughty!). On my toes, I just used a non acetone nailpolish remover, it did take a fair effort and time, so I would advise buying an actual soak off remover to make the process easier and quicker. 


After a month:
I don't know what it is, but I cannot keep these on my fingernails, but my toe nails? These last forever!
Fingers: I believe that it was completely my non prep as to why these polishes didn't work on my finger nails: (a list for total transparency)
* My finger nails were too smooth (I buffed and shined my nails before use).
* I didn't use a base coat, so the polish didn't stick as it should.
* I'm pretty hard on my nails (yes, I use my nails for everything like opening cans etc, which you "shouldn't" do... They are tools to me lol).
* I used just a normal OPI top coat afterwards.
So maybe this review is flawed as I didn't do everything, or really, anything, to get the best performance out of these polishes. On my fingernails, they lasted just under 2 weeks.

Toe nails:  All of the shades lasted well over a month, until I took them off to put another shade on. I didn't buff my toe nails and I don't do anything crazy, or strenuous with my toes haha. So I'm going to say it was these 2 main reasons that my fingers didn't last as long. Each colour remained opaque and chip free from application. You could see my nail grow out before application was altered in any way.


The colour change polishes didn't faulter in any way, from application to removal, they kept changing colour from warm/ hot to cold, and under water.


Would I purchase?:
After my personal shittiness with my fingers, I would still say yes. These work very well on my toes and last longer and don't chip like normal polish. There are a TON of amazing colours from neutrals, through to neons and glitters and my personal faves, colour change chameleons. You can also buy everything you need like base/ top coats, starter kits etc on the website. I bought my LED lamp on Ebay for like $5.


Available: madamglam.com
RRP: from $19.95USD

Madam Glam ships worldwide


All Madam Glam items sent to me for consideration, as always, thoughts and opinions are my own.

My Favourite nail polishes

I'm lazy when it comes to my nails. I love them looking pretty, but I don't always have time to go get acrylics put on and I hate how nail polish chips so easily. Regardless, I still love having colour on my nails. When I do use nail polish, these are my faves!!
PS. I ALWAYS have my toe nails painted, is it just me or does it look wrong with naked toe nails??


Chi Chi Just Chillaxin'
All aboard the greige train! Ummm this colour is amazing. This is a perfect all year 'round shade as its not too warm or too cool. I have been wearing this shade the most over the past 6 odd months that I've had it. LOVE!! Can I also say that the price for this is amazing. Like $5 for a bottle. Yes it's a little smaller than most, but it's great value for money and you're more likely to finish a bottle up. 





OPI Black Onyx
I love black nails, what can I say, I'm a goth at heart. Black always looks good, and in my opinion, the only colour you can "get away" with it being chipped, for that "grungy look" (if you're feeling lazy!). This shade is permanent and a staple in any collection.

OPI Baby It's Coal Outside
A gunmetal shade with silver micro glitter. I think the whole world knows about my current love affair with all things gunmetal. This shade was a limited edition from quite a few xmas's ago (2008 "Holiday in Toyland". Had to look it up, can't believe its 7 years old!!). 




China Glaze Nova
I absolutely love this glitter. I've used it so much theres basically nothing left and it's gone a little gunky, but I just can't bare to part with it. I need to find a suitable replacement. This type of polish is my fave for an accent nail. 





OPI Gaining Mole-mentum
I recently purchased this and it is the BEST gold flake glitter I've come across. It's more of a coppery gold vs a yellow gold, which most gold glitters are, (and I'm not so keen on. I'm picky when it comes to golds). This is another perfect accent nail glitter. You do need to layer it 3 times to get a good covering as it is gold flakes suspended in a clear base.



Essie Mint Candy Apple
Finally! A bit of colour haha. This one is an oldie but a goodie. I'm sure there's very few people/ ladies who haven't heard of this shade. It's such a pretty mint green. 



OPI What's With The Cattitude?
This shade was released with the "Shrek" collection in 2010. The perfect pastel blue. It's a creme that screams spring to me. 





OPI Flit a Bit
Another limited edition (which I guess most shades are these days)(it's from "Summer Flutter" 2010). My fave shade to wear in the summer and looks awesome with a tan. In my Back Pocket is very similar (which I also have haha. Love my oranges!!), although this has a slight shimmer to it vs IMBP being a creme. 



OPI Don't Toy With Me
Another xmas one, This one is also from the Holiday in Toyland collection alongside Baby, It's Coal Outside. It's a blue based red with fine micro silver glitter/ shimmer. My absolutely fave red!! This is a fave shade for my toes. 





As you can clearly see, I do love my OPI's. They have such an extensive range and soooooo many colours. I have a lot of nailpolishes (over 50 shades and finishes).


What's your favourite shade?

Review: Jamberry nail wraps

I got sent these to try out, and I think they're such a nifty idea, especially for those who like having pretty nails but either their salon doesn't do creative/ decorative nails or are short on time and like to get them on and go (much quicker than polish drying times).

Jamberry nails are set to launch in Australia and New Zealand on the 1st of October, and they're pretty comparable to the U.S (especially with the exchange rate right now). 

Jamberry Nails are... 

Can be used on artificial nails

No dry time

Won't damage natural nails

Formaldehyde, gluten and latex free

Last up to 2 weeks on fingers (longer for toes!)

No harmful chemicals

No chipping or smudging

Safe to use during pregnancy 

Never animal tested

Over 300 designs

Before now, I'd never tried the nail wraps, I always thought they were too fiddly and just not my kind of thing. They've been around for a while but I'm more of a polish girl. The above is what I got sent. I believe you get 2 of these sets for the $15USD. I already cut these as you can see. 

First Impression:
Wow! These are so cool. I was immediately impressed with how easy these are to use. Not fiddly at all and pretty quick to apply. My only con thus far, I have pretty small fingernails (small fingers) so the sizing is a bit off, either too big or too small. I'm not a fan of having gaps in-between my nail edge and wraps/ polish etc.

After applying a full set:
It was pretty time consuming, it took me 40 mins from start to finish doing both hands, so not super quick, although I'm sure you could cut that time down the more you use them. 
They are definitely easy to use. 

After 1 week

After a week:
I have only 2 remaining on my right hand, but the full set on my left (I'm right handed). I believe its due to not taking enough time on my right hand, with heat and buffing in prep. Only 1 on my left hand started to peel, but I just filed my nail down and it was fine. No matter how much you get them wet, moisturise (with hand cream etc), they don't come off. 

Would I purchase:
Yes. There are plenty of awesome designs and can be much cheaper than getting fancy art work on your nails done at a salon. They are easy to use once you get the hang of them, and prep is pretty important. 


Tips:
* They say to file your nails (shaped) when you prep your nails. My suggestion is to wait until afterwards when you're filing off the excess. 
* These would be best for short nails, or very strong longer nails.
* I had to cut mine to make them fit my nails, so use very sharp scissors otherwise it can get jagged very easily.
* The glitter ones need more work and heat as they are thicker than the transparent and patterned ones.
* If you use your nails to peel things or pick at things, these may not work for you. I use my nails for work and such, and my dominant hand, pointer finger came off easily due to that.
* Don't cut these right to the edges of your nail, they will come off easier, do leave a slight gap for best results. 

Available: Jamberry.com/au

RRP: $22 for Australia/ New Zealand, $15USD per sheet or, Buy 3 get 1 free.