Thursday, September 29, 2011

Sasatinnie purple flakie - a cheap dupe of OPI Merry Midnight and Orly Fowl Play

Hi girls! Today I have for you a polish from Sasatinnie, a local cosmetics brand from Hong Kong.

Sasatinnie FCGL002 - one coat over Zoya Jana
Some of you would have heard or even owned this polish already, because I have been swapping quite a few of these with girls from all over the world. Like most Asian brands, this polish is only known by its code "FCGL002", and it is a dark purple jelly-like base packed with duochrome flakes and blue and silver micro shimmers.


This purple flakie is so gorgeous and complex, and although I haven't got my hands on Orly Fowl Play yet, I believe it is the perfect dupe. Both Sastinnie and Fowl Play are a shade darker than OPI Merry Midnight, and because Sasatinnie is quite sheer, it is best used as a layering polish (here in this mani I have layered one coat of Sasatinnie over Zoya Jana).



There is not much else I want to say about this polish, so let the swatches speak for themselves! For those of you who cannot get your hands on OPI MM or Orly Fowl Play, Sasatinnie is definitely the perfect substitution! Yay for local brand!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

A perfect Fall color - Zoya Jana

Finally, after months of sweating in the scorching heat, I can feel a hint of autumn breeze! With Fall being my favorite season, it is also a nice coincidence that I love Fall colors, namely dusky taupe shades!

Zoya Jana - two coats with base and top coat
Today I have for you Zoya Jana, a taupe creme with shades of brown, purple and grey. I don't know why, and my bf has said I have lost my mind, but for some bizarre reason, I think of chocolate mushroom when I see Jana on my nails. WTH is chocolate mushroom? Well I did a quick google search and came up with this:

So these looks nothing like Jana, but nevertheless they look yummy!
Anyway, back to Jana. Like I have come to expect from Zoya nowadays, the formula is perfect. You do not need to be a nail tech to have a flawless mani with Jana.



Jana may not be the most unique shade in the polish world (similar shades like China Glaze Below Deck, Essie Marino Cool comes to mind), but I can never get enough of these shades! I can totally see myself wearing Jana a lot in the next couple of months!

That's it from me for my dear readers, until next time!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Can you spot the difference? OPI DS Amethyst vs. OPI DS Original

I have a request to do a comparison between OPI DS Amethyst and DS Original, so here it is!
OPI DS Amethyst vs. OPI DS Original, both with two coats
In the above photo, one finger is painted with DS Original, while the rest are with DS Amethyst. Can you tell which one is which?

Here is the answer! The middle finger is painted with Original, and the rest are with Amethyst. As you can see, Original is a darker purple than Amethyst (which is more of a pinkish, lavender purple), but the holo effects are the same with both polishes.

A closer look at the comparison
On a side note, I have been wearing DS Amethyst for three days, and apart from minimal tip wear, my mani is still as good as new! I wish OPI would make more holos like these old DSs!


Enter my GIVEAWAY HERE if you have not done so already!

Also check out my BLOG SALE HERE!

Friday, September 23, 2011

NOTD: OPI DS Amethyst

OPI DS Amethyst - 2 coats with no base or top coat

Today I am wearing OPI DS Amethyst (thanks to Karin who included this polish in our recent swap!). As the name suggests, it is a light lavender purple polish with a very strong linear holo effect, even under normal lights!

The formula is surprisingly easy to deal with. A tiny bit on the runny side, but I get full opacity with two easy coats. I really don't have much else to say, so let the swatches speak for themselves!




Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't done so already! Also I am currently having a blog sale, feel free to wander over here and take a look!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Blog Sale!

Hi Girls! I have decided to part with some of my pretties, so please come here http://cacanails.blogspot.com/p/blog-sale.html and take a look! 

Monday, September 19, 2011

G'day Mate! Glitter Gal Marine Blue

G'day my lovely readers! Today I have for you a fellow Aussie polish, Marine Blue from Glitter Gal!
Glitter Gal Marine Blue - 2 coats with no top coat

I am very excited to try Glitter Gal holos, because I have been drooling quite a bit from all the swatches online! Marine Blue is a true blue polish with a very strong linear holographic effect. It is very 'refreshing' to have a medium blue holo amongst the sea of pink and purple holos out there!


As other bloggers have noted already, the formula of Glitter Gal is perfect. No bald spot whatsoever that is common with holo polishes, and application is a breeze with two easy coats. One thing I would like to point out though, is the bottle size of Glitter Gal. It is very tiny (9ml) compared to other brands like OPI or China Glaze (15ml), and that is because Glitter Gal uses top-of-the-line holo powder (to maximize the holo-awesomeness) which is quite expensive. It is definitely worth the price tag though, especially if you love holo polish as much as I do!



Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY if you have not done so already!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Too good to be true? Chanel Graphite vs. Revlon Carbonite (swatch comparison)

Chanel Graphite has always been a lemming of mine, but I never got around to get it because of its hefty price tag. However being a sucker for discount, I finally caved and bought it from the airport duty free shop where it is sold for $2 USD cheaper (yes, I know).

Chanel Graphite - 2 coats (no base or top coat)
Am I glad I caved! Graphite is a beautiful charcoal silver polish packed with tiny silver and gold sparkles. It has a metallic shimmery finish that gives this polish a very unique look. The formula is perfect, and it dries to a smooth finish very quickly. I think I am in love!

Chanel Graphite - check out the awesome gold and silver sparkles bouncing off the lights!

So now onto the exciting part of this post: the face-off. Much has been said about Revlon Carbonite, the drugstore version of Chanel Graphite. But just how much of a dupe is Carbonite?

Revlon Carbonite vs Chanel Graphite 
From the bottles, the two polishes are almost identical. If I have to be picky, I'd say Chanel Graphite appear to have more shimmery particles in it. So how do they compare on nails?

Swatch Comparison - Revlon Carbonite vs. Chanel Graphite (both 2 coats with no base or top coat)
At a quick glance, again they appear very similar to each other. However if you look more carefully, Graphite is a tad lighter than Carbonite, and it definitely has a glossier, shinier and smoother look. The shimmery particles in Graphite are stronger, whilst Carbonite has more of a semi-matte finish.

Here you could clearly see that Graphite has a more sparkly, shimmery look than Carbonite

All in all, I would say Carbonite is a good enough dupe of Graphite. If you cannot justify splurging on the Chanel at $25 a pop, then Carbonite is definitely the way to go!

Do you own either of these polishes? Which one do you like better?

Friday, September 16, 2011

September & 100 Followers Giveaway!

To celebrate my birthday month, and that I finally have more than 100 followers, I am hosting my first ever giveaway to thank you all for the support!

Since most of you lovelies are not from Asia, I have decided to include polishes that are hard to get outside of Asia, I hope you will like them all!

One lucky follower will take home the following polishes:



From left to right: Sweet Color Purple (suede), Sweet Color Purple Glitter, Sweet Color Blue Glitter, Color Club Sexy Siren, Essence Mystic Wish! (magnetics), Missha Blue Holo

Now a couple of close-up shots of the prizes:

L to R: Sweet Color Purple (suede), Sweet Color Purple Glitter, Sweet Color Blue Glitter

from L to R: Color Club Sexy Siren, Essence Mystic Wish! (magnetics), Missha Blue Holo
All polishes are brand new and bought by me.

GIVEAWAY CLOSES ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7TH 2011


THIS GIVEAWAY IS OPEN TO INTERNATIONALLY, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!


Any questions, please contact me at caca.polish@gmail.com

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Zoya Neeka

Hello all, I am back from my Australia trip, and the only exciting thing about being home is that I have a few nail mails waiting for me!
Zoya Neeka - 2 coats with SV base treatment and CND top coat

The Manicured Monkey has sent a few Zoyas from the Smokes and Mirrors Collection to me, and Neeka is the one I want as soon as I saw it. It is a gorgeous dark purple with a very strong blue base, packed with golden flecks that reminds me of fall leaves, perfect for this time of the year!


Formula is perfect as I have now come to expect from Zoya, and you could get away with just one coat if your application is careful, but here I did two coats out of habit anyway.

Amongst all the new Fall Collections, I must say Zoya is the only one that does not disappoint. Although none of the color is truly unique, the colors are very appropriate for Fall, and the collection is interesting and very pretty with a range of shimmers and cremes to choose from. I can't wait to swatch the others from this collection for you very soon!

Friday, September 2, 2011

A special treat to myself - Butter London Victorianna

Butter London Victorianna- two coats with topcoat and base treatment
Butter London Victorianna has always been a lemming of mine, and when the lovely Michele offered to get it for me from the US, I finally caved!


Victorianna is a lovely teal packed with gorgeous tiny silver flecks. It looks almost like a foil polish, but not quite. I have heard good things about BL polishes before, and the formula does not disappoint. Dry time is very quick, and the polish glides on the nails with ease. Two easy coats and I get full opacity, love it!


I cannot think of any dupe of Victorianna, making this polish that much more special. Now I hope the wear time is good, since I plan to wear this polish until the end of next week, as I would be flying to Sydney in two days time, yay!

Check out the cute logo on the cap!
Since I will be away for the next 2 weeks or so, my blog will take a mini hiatus. However I do have something exciting to announce upon my return, so watch this space girls!