Product Review: Diva Essential - Oh Those Nails!

By Cynthia Lee (Guest Blogger)

Product: Nail Polish
Available at: Nail Fiesta

At the mention of Nail Fiesta, who is still unaware of this wonderful, colourful website that dominates the local blogshop scenes with pretty painted nails. With brands like Zoya, OPI, Orly and NuBar to name a few, you are spoilt for choices with the exxxxxxtensive range of colors!

Are you familiar with these images?

Just between you and me, I have never been a fan of nail polish. Why? Because I am never good at painting it, despite being in a job that requires me to play with colors daily! And I am seriously dead lazy in even cutting nails at times =P

I had gotten some range of nail polishes for this review from Nail Fiesta. Please pardon my lesser than artistic nail painting technique. I must admit after much trial and error, nail painting seems like some fun thing to do! ;)

Zoya, Nubar, OPI and Orly from Nail Fiesta!

It is amazing how nail polishes nowadays are so advanced in technology that nail polish manufacturers no longer only produces the reds and the blacks and the whites, but the pastel and the glitters and the crackling ones too!

As I am merely an amateur nail polish wearer, I find it hard to dabble with slightly diluted varnish. The OPI Banana Bandanna was tad too diluted for my liking and till now I still wonder how did they manage to create this glossy yet solid surface which I so fancy!

The outcome as displayed in Nail Fiesta. Oh so Banana!!

My attempt herewith - the single layer of yellow looking frail -__-

And thence, with much perseverance and blog stalking and tutorials and Facebook advise, I attempted again. And voila! I got the creamy banana hue on my nails! Awwh.. it isn't that hard after all. All it needed was some practise and patience. The tip to handling these slightly diluted varnish is to put a coat and let dry completely. Not partially dry. But really dried. Then only do you layer again with another coat. Perhaps, everyone does the same method, and I am merely not aware of that =P

The much better attempt ;)

OPI - Banana Bandanna from the BRIGHTS collection - RM33

This cement colored varnish from Nubar is my favourite of all. The Nubar varnish come slightly thick and is easy to apply for first timer like me. It claims to be Formaldehyde, Phthalate & Toluene free (of which Toluene is similar to paint thinner). So if anyone of you are sensitive towards these chemical substance, you are safe from it! However, do heed advice first because, I am not sure if each bottle is free from these substance or only a certain collection :) I particularly like the texture of the Nubar varnish and the almost-matte appearance it gives after dry.

Nubar - Citadel (NF 275) which is from the Fortress collection - RM29

Can you see how clean is the surface of the grey varnish? Great for amateur!

(on flash)

The Zoya varnish in Dusty Rose (most probably it is not called Dusty Rose, I simply gave the name as it reminds me of dusty roses! =P ) is so pretty and I can imagine wearing floral dresses and licking lollipop to compliment this hue. Perfect shades for those who likes their fingers to look as glossy as their lip balm ;)

Despite being slighty diluted, this is also easily applied without creating uneven textures. A single coat for those who wants a sheer luminance and not so visible to eye appearance. Add on another coat for more intensity. The sparkling particles in the varnish enhances the gloss after drying. In fact I notice most of the Zoya range have got these sparkling particles that makes it shimmery at all times :)

Love the creamy texture yet glossy!

The last bottle of varnish I had was from Orly in Margharita. I would assume most of us are familiar at the mention of the brand Orly which has been in the market for some very long time. It has the thickest texture of all that I have tried. Thick is normally good as it means you need not re-coat for multiple time to achieve the solid surface :)

However, it is slightly too thick in my opinion as I am not as fast when it comes to applying it. Hence it tend to get dried up before I can coat half the nail. But there is no denying the color is intense and it gives a layer of luxurious sheen to it ;)

The Orly range is also slightly pricier (from RM29 to RM39) than the above, considering that it does give you a 'luxurios sheen' ;) Totally fit for the diva community =P

Orly - in Margharita

These are just a handful of colors and brands available in Nail Fiesta.

Head on to Nail Galore to get some inspiration on all the pretty color swatches. And when you think you are ready, direct yourself immediately to Nail Fiesta and be prepared to spend at least 2 hours clicking through shades and shades of pretty pastel, funky retro hues, elegant shades and many more fanciful colors awaiting you.

Note: The above review are merely the depiction from someone who is new to the world of mani-pedi. The results may vary depending on your choice of collection and your skills obviously ;)

Advise: While it is fun to play with nail polish, it is adviseable not to be too adventurous and try to smell every bottle you own. I just did and it is not pleasant. Extremely hazardous O.o

Happy Shopping!

Cynthia a.k.a. Guest Blogger for YSK

Edited by YourShoppingKaki