POLISHED: Fanchromatic Nails Nail Polishes

wahoo!! it's been a crazy week and i have some fantastic news that i wanted to share with everybody:
1) i have reached 100 followers on my blog (January 16)!! thank you so much to all my lovely readers. i felt like there was a curse of the 99 or something since i was stuck for a week or so. you are all amazing!

2) happy 7 years to my lovely boyfriend. i less than three you!
3) i'm starting a new job next week. things are changing and i am very excited (and scared at the same time, but excited nonetheless)!
4) i picked up the camera i ordered on Boxing Day so here's to better pictures in the future.

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after i received a number of nail polishes from my Cyber Monday haul, i had a bit of trouble deciding which ones to use first. i was also extra excited since these were my first indie nail polish purchase ever!

i picked a color from Fanchromatic Nails' Seven Kingdoms Collection: "Dire Wolf". i got this polish partly because of the name (i am very excited for Game of Thrones Season 3!). the glitters in the polish are also very gorgeous. i see a mix of black, white, gray and maroon glitters of different shapes and sizes in a light gray base. the polish was reformulated and re-released on November the 23rd and is now slightly sheerer than before.

next, i decided to wear "Wowsville" which is from the Quality Cafe Collection that is inspired by Ghost World. i had no idea what that was but a quick Google search tells me that it's a comic book that became a movie. "Wowsville" looks like a peachy pink with plenty of white and pink micro-glitters and some larger dark purple glitters. this was also released on November 23rd last year.

i really liked the base colors of these glitter polishes so i tried to find a similar color to wear underneath. for "Dire Wolf", the closest one i could find in my collection was Rimmel's "805 Grey Matter" (love the brush for this - one sweep provides great coverage of the entire nail). with "Wowsville", i chose Essie's "Eternal Optimist" (which i actually reviewed and swatched here). 

here is 1 coat of Rimmel's "Grey Matter" and 3 coats of Fanchromatic Nails' "Dire Wolf":

there was no need to fish for any glitters with "Dire Wolf". i really love the different shapes and the maroon glitters.

and here's 1 coat of Essie's "Eternal Optimist" and 3 coats of Fanchromatic Nails' "Wowsville":

with flash

the larger purple glitters are not as common so when there's just one on my nail it sort of looks like a mole. haha still i really like this. the formula was slightly thicker than "Dire Wolf".

here's the two side-by-side:

and now let me show you what the polishes look like on their own - busting out some nail wheels!

there were no issues with the application for either polishes. you can tell how big of a difference there is between 1 and 3 coats of each polish. removing the polish did take some time though - i really need to try the glue method!

both bottles are mini sizes - they each hold 5 mL. i am actually afraid of running out of these since i love them so much!

i purchased 3 minis for $10.80 US and shipping was $4.50. a full size polish (15 mL) is $8.25 US. Lynae is actually having a flash sale right now (until midnight PST Sunday) and you can get 10% off your entire purchase with the code "JANFLASH".

you can purchase Fanchromatic Nails nail polish from her Etsy shop here (the listing for "Wowsville" can be found here but it seems that "Dire Wolf" is sold out at the moment). you can also see all of her nail polishes and swatches on her Facebook page.

SPOTLIGHT: Cyber Monday Haul - MUA, Sea Lore, Fanchromatic Nails, Miss KL

since i am always curious about a company's shipping times and how they pack their shipments, i decided to do a Cyber Monday Shopping Part II to inform others. see the original post here.

MUA (MAKEUP ACADEMY)

date ordered: November 23

delivery estimate: in the email, it says it may take them up to 3 days to pack (website says they aim for 48 hours - business days). a package is deemed "Lost" only if it has been missing 25 or 35 days (for Canada). this is confusing because i found two different links to the shipping information page - one says 25 and the other says 35.

date delivered: December 17 or 18 (sorry i didn't check my mailbox on the 17th so i can't confirm the exact date).

# of days in between date ordered and delivered: 24 or 25

shipping method: Royal Mail

shipped from: Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England

packaging: large yellow bubble-wrapped mailer envelope. eyeshadow, pressed powder and nail polishes were bubble-wrapped. the eyeliner, cover stick, lipgloss and lipsticks were not. marked as "Commercial sample".

this was the first order i've ever made and i was a little scared that it wouldn't make it over here. the lack of tracking info as well as numerous people on their FB saying that it has been X amount of days and asking MUA where there package is also scared me a bit. so i was glad when i finally got my hands on it - three weeks later. before you submit your order, make sure you are prepared to be patient. i was surprised that nothing arrived broken since it seemed like the products were just tossed into an over-sized bag (i can't say for sure about the lipsticks yet actually). but look at all these goodies! 

cover up stick, lip gloss, eyeshadow, eyeliner, nail polishes, pressed powder, lipsticks

there's so much more on my MUA shopping list i was saving for the 50% off sale and free shipping MUA was going to have when they reach 50,000 likes on FB. but they have taken this picture down and it looks like they are changing their offers so this might not be the case anymore.

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SEA LORE

date ordered: November 26

delivery estimate: none stated

date shipped: November 29 - received email notification and date stamped on envelope

date delivered: December 6

# of days in between date ordered and delivered: 10

shipping method: USPS (United States Postal Service) - can i just say that i've been shopping online for years and this was the first time i made the connection?? this face is necessary: -.-;;

shipped from: Ontario, Canada

packaging: yellow bubble-wrapped mailer envelope. everything was individually bubble-wrapped with some tissue (with stickers and glitter), candy and foam peanuts (haha! i had to google this to find out the proper term).  marked as "Gift".

the polishes look amazing!! i am very excited to use these (Ariel was a gift to my sister - she's her favorite Disney princess). i was surprised to get this rather quickly. i like the extra touch Jamie put into the packaging... who doesn't like candy?? 

when ordering on the website, you are given a shipping estimate - mine was $3.90 and i can see the seller paid $3.75 so that is pretty accurate.

Attina (7.5 mL), Ariel (15 mL), Beluga Blizzard (7.5 mL)

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FANCHROMATIC NAILS

date ordered: November 26

delivery estimate: 3-7 business days before ship

date shipped: December 6 - according to date stamped on box

date delivered: December 19

# of days in between date ordered and delivered: 23

shipping method: USPS

shipped from: San Francisco, California, United States

packaging: small cardboard box packed full of pink foam peanuts. polishes were individually bubble-wrapped. labelled as "Gift". 

ahh so excited to use these polishes! i was especially excited because 3 of these are from Lynae's Take My Sky Collection (inspired by Firefly) or Seven Kingdoms Collection (Game of Thrones). lastly, i bought Wowsville just because it looked pretty (Quality Cafe Collection; Ghost World).

Layer Cake (15 mL), Blue Sun (5 mL), Dire Wolf (5 mL), Wowsville (5 mL)

i was charged $4.75 for shipping and the seller paid $3.90 - so yes, there is a discrepancy but it is less than a $1. 

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MISS KL

date ordered: November 26

delivery estimate: all it says on the website is "5-8 days"

dates shipped: November 29 - as per tracking info

date delivered: December 11

# of days in between date ordered and delivered: 15

shipping method: DHL - eep! i was scared when i found out about this but it worked out in the end. no extra costs (probably because the order only came up to $11.26. i got a tracking number too. you'd think it'd be here faster than 15 days with DHL.

shipped from: Des Plaines, Illinois, United States

packaging: large white plastic bag

the plastic bag it arrived in was so much bigger than the product itself. upon opening the package, i find that the bodysuit i ordered is from "Leg Avenue". so if it says "Intimates Boutique" on Miss KL (or Karmaloop), know that it could mean various brands. 

so on the picture of the package, the bodysuit looks like a 70s or 80s leotard - the one that cuts really high near your hips. looks really scary - i hope the above picture doesn't offend anybody! but i tried it on and it doesn't sit that high at all. phew! i am planning to wear this with skirts since i'd like to keep my shirt tucked in.

a couple of issues i have with this bodysuit though is that it is opaque until you put it on and the fabric stretches. it's still not bad but you can definitely see the seams and any bra other than a nude-colored one. also, it is rather tight - very form-fitting. i must wear high-waisted skirts with this one :)

outside of the shoulder area; turned inside out to show you the seams

ahhh the metal snap buttons are so difficult!! it's hard to press them together and to take them apart! i have to insert my nail right in between to peel them apart because any other way and the fabric just stretches and looks like it will tear.

beware that when Miss KL offers "free shipping" that it means just that - you will have to pay for handling. you can also always do a search for promo codes and rep codes online. 

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so i hope that this gives you an idea of the shipping and whatnot if you choose to order from any of the companies i mentioned above. i will be posting separate reviews for MUA, Sea Lore and Fanchromatic Nails so stay tuned!

also i'm 25 and very late into the vampire game, but i'm going to admit to you that i've watched about 11 episodes of Vampire Diaries with my sister in the last 3 days. i've never watched Twilight or True Blood, but i must say that i am ... hooked. anyone else? :)