When in Hong Kong: Cher 2 in Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong has been one of my favorite destinations abroad. Aside from the various local brands that offer nail polish at very affordable prices, they also have Cher 2. 

Cher 2 is a shop that only sells stuff that has anything to do with nail polish. That includes base and top coats, treatments, files, lotions, etc. They currently have four branches around Hong Kong, but the one I've been to was their shop in TST.

This shop is not something you'd casually run into while walking around the streets of Hong Kong. It's located in the sixth floor of a building called Kowloon Centre in Ashley Road, which would be a familiar street if you know about the huge Esprit store right across Langham Place. A quick review of a map would lead you to the place, and I promise that inside that unassuming building is nail polish heaven.

The brands that they sell here are US names like OPI, Orly, China Glaze, etc. Now they are still not at par with the price in the US but considering what other stores and e-tailers charge per bottle, Cher 2 is actually affordable. Plus they are up to date with the latest collections/ Membership is free and you can sign up even if it's your first time in the store. Members get an additional 5% off the price and freebies depending on what their current promo is. The first time I went there I got a free bottle of OPI.

And now for the pictures. I'll quote the prices in PH peso minus the 5% discount. This is picture heavy!

OPI (Php 360)

Orly (Php 360)

Color Club (Php 310)

Color Club (Php 310), China Glaze (Php 310), Orly (Php 360) and Nubar (Php 413)

OPI (Php 360) and Jessica (Php 310)

Various Gel Nail Polish

Base coats, Top coats, Treatments, Lotions, Removers, Cuticle Oils

Decals, Stick-ons, brushes, Nail wheels

China Glaze (Php 310)

Essie (Php 360), Zoya (Php 413), Ruby Wing (Php 465)

Cat with more Ruby Wing and nail art pens

Cat speaks great English so it won't be a problem talking to her. She's very friendly and would even recommend her favorites and let you know which ones are from the latest collection. I've been back there three times this year so far, the first time in January and the last two on a recent trip last week and she remembers me! She's wearing China Glaze Texture in Itty, Bitty & Gritty and In The Rough.

So when you find yourself in Hong Kong wanting to get the latest collections from US brands, Cher 2 is the place to go. But don't forget to also check out the great selection offered by Asian brands.

For more information on their branches and their products, visit their website.

Essie Mojito Madness

The first ever alcoholic beverage I ordered for myself when I turned 18 was a mojito. I'd like to say that it has since become my go-to drink on nights out, but I developed a disliking to it the moment I first had a sip. I mean really, who likes to choke up on mint leaves while drinking alcohol? Not to mention how those battered pieces of leaves get stuck between the teeth.

Anyway.

Mojito Madness was part of the Essie Summer 2012 Bikini So Teeny collection. I applied three coats to reach full opacity.

ESSIE Mojito Madness

This polish might have to share my same distaste to its namesake. Pretty color, but I found the formula hard to work with. It applied thick and was not self-leveling. The color did dry darker on the nail than on the bottle so that should be considered when deciding to buy this.

Speaking of mojitos, I haven't had any alcohol in 4 months. Hurray?

xo Nicia

Zoya Stunning Collection

I love cremes. There's something about them that attracts me more than flashier options and that makes me reach out for them more when painting my nails. Zoya released two collections for this summer -- Stunning and Irresistible. I didn't pick up any of the Irresistible colors because hoarder as I am, I draw the line when I know I would never wear the color and foils happen to be my least favorite type of nail polish.

(L-R) Darcy, Josie, Micky, Rocky, Thandie, Yana

Today I am showing you the whole Stunning collection, composed of six cremes. All swatches are sandwiched between one coat of Orly Top 2 Bottom as base and another coat on top.

ZOYA Darcy 

Darcy is described as a sunny yellow cream and it's exactly that. Formula is a bit streaky but with careful application one can get away with two coats. I did three to cover up some bald patches.

ZOYA Josie

Josie is described as a grassy green cream. I love this color, I don't think I have anything similar to it. The color reminds me of the frosting used to pipe leaves in birthday cakes from my childhood. Very difficult to photograph and I had to edit the photo to show an accurate swatch. Formula is great and is fully opaque with two coats.

ZOYA Micky

Micky is described as a coral cream. There's very subtle shimmer in this one that isn't really visible once applied. Formula is on the thick side and is opaque with two coats.

ZOYA Rocky

Rocky is described as a serene blue cream. This one looks bright but is very wearable. It may be my favorite from the collection just because of the name (I have a brother named Rocky). Formula is great and is fully opaque with two coats.

ZOYA Thandie

Thandie is described as a citrus orange cream. It's not bright and certainly has a dusty quality to it. Like Micky it also has a subtle shimmer one wouldn't really notice if it weren't for the pooling of the shimmer particles in the bottle. Formula is great and is fully opaque with two coats.

ZOYA Yana

Yana is described as a Geranium pink cream. I would say that this is the least unique color from the collection. Formula is great and is fully opaque with two coats.

Overall this collection did not disappoint. My favorites are Josie, Rocky and Thandie. Darcy is a nice addition to any collection missing a bright yellow color that isn't too stark. The colors are all appropriate for the summer.

And with that I end my first collection review. I don't plan on doing this often because unless I really like all the colors I see from the promo pics and other swatches online, I rarely buy a whole collection. Hope you find this helpful when deciding what to purchase.

xo Nicia

China Glaze For Audrey

"You know those days when you get the mean reds?"

Well I've recently had a mean red day myself, and if for Holly Golightly that can only be remedied by a trip to Tiffany's, I've found solace in little bottles filled with colors.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen - I have decided to blog again.

I figured I have accumulated enough nail polish in the span of two years my index nail took to grow (Sorry about that, I really was not making excuses!) to resurrect this blog without running out of new swatches to show anytime soon.

Anyway.

Today I am showing one of my favorites - the famed China Glaze For Audrey.

China Glaze For Audrey

China Glaze released this in 2007 as the only color in the Something Blue collection. I remember people going crazy over this polish. I have only gotten a bottle for myself recently and I'm definitely regretting not giving in to the hype years ago. 

Light box

For Audrey is a light robin egg blue that is bright without being neon. It leans more blue than green but can quickly change depending on the lighting. I find it flattering despite being such a bright color.

Sunlight

The formula is a bit on the thick side and it's opaque enough to be a one-coater. I'm wearing two because the brush on mine was stiff and won't spread out, so I had to do a second coat to even everything out. 

It's such a classic color everyone should consider having in her collection. I'm sure Audrey would approve.

xo Nicia

My left index nail is taking forever to grow.

Ladida.

OPI The "It" Color (3/31)

I found folders of swatches created on August 30. Hooray for acting ahead!

OPI's The "It" Color was the second bottle of OPI that I ever purchased so it is special to me, as evidenced by the fact that it's about halfway empty. Or halfway full, whatever floats your boat. It's part of the Mod About Brights collection released in 2008.


I want them all. But living where I live, where nothing's ever readily available, you learn to make do with what is.

indoor lighting, no flash

This is surprisingly a very flattering and not at all hard to wear shade of yellow. Application was a bit streaky but can be evened out with a third (generous) coat. Creme finishes are my favorite kind of polish, since they come in just about any color. Plus they're great for wearing alone. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm not such a big fan of nail art. The simpler ones I'm fine with, but stamping and freehand manis are not for me.

indirect sunlight, no flash

Are you in love yet? Normally yellow is a tricky color to wear but you got to admit, this one's not too bad.

I wish Pantone makes their own brand of nail polish in all of their colors. That would be awesome.

xo Nicia

ORLY Chica Boom (2/31)

Thankfully I have a few swatches that I saved up exactly for times like this. The pictures are not of the greatest quality but I think they'd have to do. This blog is in desperate need of revival, as a blogger once told me that the key to a successful blog is to post everyday. Such a big impossibility for someone like me, so I opt to blog on a weekly basis. More, if I'm not lazy. And when my nail grows back. And when I get a keyboard that actually works.

Anyway.

Orly Chica Boom is part of the Carnivale collection that was released in 2009. It has a jelly finish meaning it required three coats (or more, but in this case just three) to be opaque. It's the usual Orly formula, kind of hard to apply but gorgeous on the nails.

indoor lighting, no flash

I love it. Reminds me of juicy oranges for some reason. I'm not such a big fan of jelly finishes but I think I'm slowly warming up to them.

indirect sunlight

It's so glossy and cheerful without having to be too bright. Bright colors tend to be picky when it comes to lighting. You think your mani looks great when you first have it on but once you step into the next room it just looks wrong. Don't you just hate that?

I'll try to look for more swatches that I haven't posted. I'm pretty sure they're among the massive amount of folders conveniently called New Folder under another New Folder under another New Folder. Great.

Just great.

xo Nicia

The One Where I Don't Make Up Excuses & Actually Tell The Truth

Okay, so two things!

One. My left index nail broke, right to the nail bed. I tried to salvage it for a little under two weeks by putting on a really thick manicure, which worked for a while, but washing my hair (and doing pretty much everything else) had proven to be such an ordeal that I really had no choice but to cut the whole thing off before things get too ugly. And since that left me with one nail looking like it belonged to my feet, I had to file down the rest of my nails. I guess I could still do swatches, but that one miniature nail really bothers the crap out of me. So I'm waiting to grow it out to an acceptable length (to me, there's really no standard, my nails just look better long)and then I'd even everything out and hope for the best. I swear I would throw a fit when I break another nail in the process. I should really invest in a nail strengthener asap.

Two. My keyboard is broken and I'm using an onscreen one, so imagine just how hard it would be to blog even with perfectly fine nails. Geez, that first point took me over twenty minutes to type. So excuse me if I end this now, but I'd be back to regularly updating this as soon as things get in order.

So that's it. Hope things are looking better for you guys.

xo Nicia

Kleancolor Blood

I attended an event last night for FADAL (Fashion Designers Alliance) MANILA at Seventh High with my friends from school. The dress code said to wear something red, which I rarely do, so I thought that I should just paint my nails red. Oddly enough, I only own one red nail polish. And not for very long as I've only bought it last weekend.

This is Kleancolor Blood

indirect sunlight

And I think I'm in love.

indoor lighting

Application was flawless, I used three thin coats for this. I'm not such a big fan of the color red, but this shade is just glorious. And such an appropriate name too, don't you think?

Kleancolor Blood, three coats

I can't stop looking at my nails!

This post also marks my attempt to do the 31-day nail challenge. I won't do it every day because I don't change my manis that often. But I'll try to update as much as I can.

Wish me luck!

xo Nicia

Weekend Haul!

I went to a bazaar this weekend and blew off my money on nail polish. Now I'm broke but that's okay, at least I have new colors to swatch!

Got some OPI,

OPI Serena Glam Slam

hoarded on Kleancolor,

Top L-R: Midnight Queen, Disco Purple, Iridescent Fuchsia, Blood, Neon Orange, Funky Yellow, Neon Yellow
Bottom L-R: Metallic Black, Neon Aqua, Chunky Holo Teal, Chunky Holo Purple, Chunky Holo Bluebell, Madly Matte

and new Orly!

L-R: Space cadet, Galaxy Girl, Witch's Blue, Midnight Star, Blushing Bud, Chica Boom, Green With Envy, Gumdrop

My cat Lucille who's always curious.

Anyway, I have Orly Blushing Bud on my nails right now. I still hate the brush that comes with most Orly bottles, but I really love the color of this one. Application was not easy as the formula was a bit on the thick side but this gets A for opaqueness. One coat was opaque enough but needed a second one to even it out. I used Orly Top 2 Bottom as my top coat.

indoor lighting, no flash

So I'm looking forward to swatching the rest! Til my next post.

xo Nicia

OPI Glitzerland + China Glaze Crushed Candy

I have a love-hate relationship with crackle nail polish. Some combinations are really cute especially when the colors are subtle, but oftentimes crackle manis just look.. dirty on the nails.

This is one of my favorite crackle combinations. I start with three coats of OPI Glitzerland.

Fine glitter goodness

Yep, it's pretty awesome by itself. But since I first swatched this around the same time I got the entire Crackle Glaze collection, I decided to try out China Glaze Crushed Candy with it.

one coat of Crushed Candy

I took so many pictures but not one accurately showed how pretty it is on the nails. It's pretty matte, too. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures of it with a matte coat.

Here is the mani again.

with flash

indoor lighting

xo Nicia

The (Mis)Adventures of Orly Green Apple

I've been eyeing Orly Green Apple for a long time because it's a color I don't see very often. I just got it yesterday (along with Cashmere Cardigan) and couldn't wait to swatch it. Boy was I disappointed.

First, the brush is thin. Application was not easy at all. It doesn't help that second, the formula is also thin and streaky. See for yourself.

One coat

Two coats

Three coats

At three coats there were still bald spots and I really didn't want to add another one because it was hard to even everything out with that thin brush. So I looked at my case for something that I can layer and saw an old polish from The Face Shop in GR501 which alone would take about 28 coats to be opaque but is ace at layering.

+ one coat of GR501 indoors

with flash

I was still not satisfied, it was too bright to my liking. So I took out Kleancolor Madly Matte which is not the best matte topcoat in the market but is good enough for saturating down the colors a bit. One coat of that (and the brush in this one is perfect, just one stroke for each of my nail) and I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

+ one coat of Madly Matte

Yep, satisfied at last.

Let me know what you think.

xo Nicia

Etude House - PP007

I've only discovered the Korean brand Etude House a week ago while I was strolling around the mall. I was instantly drawn to the colorful nail polish selection that they have. What I'm wearing right now is PP007.

with flash

indoor

PP007 is a purple polish with scattered holo glitter with a smooth and glossy finish. I put on three coats but could have gotten away with just two. Would you believe that I took these pictures FIVE days after I painted my nails, with no top coat! Pretty impressive, right? You can see very minimal tipwear, but that could have been avoided with a good top coat (which I am still yet to find, suggestions at the comment box please). This color is really hard to photograph as it looks really blue in some pictures. It's a muted mauve purple, not that bright and looks pink in under some lights.

Don't you just love how cute that bottle is? I have a few more nail polish from that brand to swatch when I get tired of this mani. I doubt that would be anytime soon, though. It is gorgeous!

xo Nicia