Aussie Indies Presented by Femme Fatale Cosmetics

I'm starting to think I should really just hand over a chunk of my paycheque directly to Femme Fatale Cosmetics every time I get paid, to save myself the silly game of pretending that I'm not going to give it to them anyway. Every time I wander past their site "just for a look", I find more and more gorgeous things that I really absolutely must have. As well as their ever growing range of stunning eyeshadows (which are incidently on sale right now), Femme Fatale polish remains one of the most consistently amazing indie labels in the country. In case you have any cash left over once you've finished perusing the Femme Fatale goods, they also stock a wide range of other Aussie indie labels, like Love Thy Polish, Alanna Renee, Emily de Molly and Lilypad Lacquer. If you've STILL got money left after browsing all those (how!?) Femme Fatale Cosmetics also stock a huge array of hard to find international indies, like Takko Lacquer, HARE Polish, and Rainbow Honey.

The variety is kind of overwhelming, but lucky for you Femme Fatale Cosmetics were kind enough to send me a little sample pack to review this month, to help you narrow your choices at least a tiny bit. 

From left to right, we have; Love Thy Polish - Space Ghost Reloaded, Femme Fatale Cosmetics - Apothecary, Lilypad Lacquer - Seasong, and Rainbow Honey - Hellfire

My Favourite Undies: Why Wear Undies?

Just so no one is disappointed, I'm going to point out up front this is not going to be a series of posts about underwear, knickers, or as my English friends confusingly call them, pants. This is going to be all about the part of my nail polish collection that ISN'T glittery, holo, or otherwise spectacular - the humble, but essential undie polishes.

As I mentioned in my introductory series on indie nail polish, undies (in other words, polishes worn under the sparkly stuff) are an essential part of any polish addict's collection.

Firstly, they can help make indie polishes look their best. While putting an extra layer of polish on just for background colour might seem like a pain, it can give you spectacular results. The thing about glitter, is that it only sparkles when the fluid it's suspended in is at least a little bit transparent. And the thing about transparent fluid, is that you tend to be able to see your nail through it, unless you put an undercoat on. Think of it like painting - no serious painter would attempt a work of art without slathering the canvas in a good layer of gesso, to bring out the colours and textures of the paint to best advantage. For some polishes, this under layer is essential. For example, let's have a look at Femme Fatale's (now sadly discontinued) sparkly little gem, Star's Lament. Like a sheer gossamer gown, this looks amazing over black undies. But on it's own, you just look kind of, well, naked.

Left to right, this is two coats of Star's Lament over black, two coats alone, one coat alone, and one coat over black.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Presents: Aussie Indie Emporium

I've blogged here before about how awesome the Femme Fatale brand polishes themselves are, and also about the fantastic overseas indies they're now stocking. But did you know they're also stocking a wide range of our lovely Aussie indie polishes as well?

This might seem kind of redundant, until you take a look at just how much postage costs even with Australia. Australia Post, kind and generous souls that they are, charge a minimum of $7 per parcel, which doesn't seem like much until you start ordering from a couple of places at once. I, for example, being the Aussie indie junkie that I am, will often order from three different brands. I only pay 7-8 dollars postage to each one, but it adds up to nearly $25 all up just to get the damn polish to me. Femme Fatale, however, have come up with a solution to this annoying conundrum, by stocking a huge variety of popular Aussie indies all in the one place. This means you can throw them in with all the other lovelies from Femme Fatale, without incurring a chunk of postage for every bottle. I think it's a brilliant idea, and Femme Fatale were kind enough to provide me with some sample of the Aussie indies they're currently stocking.

Animation Celebration - Love Thy Polish review

Maybe it's just rose coloured nostalgia, but I really do feel that there was something special about the cartoons of the 80's. I have what some would consider an embarrassingly large collection of them at home - Duck Tales, Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men, Rainbow Brite, I've got them all. I can't even explain to you how excited I was to finally track down a cartoon I hadn't seen since I'd hit Primary School, with only the vague memory that it was some sort of Ulysses in space story with a really annoying robot and a character that looked like a pixie. (In case you're curious, the show in question was Ulysses 31) So needless to say when I saw Love Thy Polish was doing an Animation Celebration collection, I was ALL OVER IT.

Yes, alright, it took me a while to blog this. I'm a bad blogger.

Because unfortunately I can't afford to buy ALL the polish, I picked out the three I couldn't possibly pass up - East Australian Current (inspired by Finding Nemo), No Ordinary Teddy (inspired by Superted), and How Do You Spell F.B.I? (inspired by Toy Story)

Light It Up Blue - Charity Auction

You might remember my blue manicure for Autism Awareness Month a little while ago, and my brief mention of an upcoming charity polish auction. Well, I have some more details now, and this is looking like a HUGE DEAL.

If you head on over to Paint It Blue you can see all the details, but the basic premise of this deal is that a bunch of amazing indie polish makers have created custom, one of a kind blue polishes to be auctioned off. All the proceeds are going to ASPECT, who I also mentioned in my last post on Autism Awareness Month.

Seriously, anyone who is anyone is indie polish has gotten in on this project - here are a few swatches that have been shared so far just to get you all worked up.

Love Thy Polish - I Sure Do!

This blog has been very thinky this week, so I want to break it up with some pretty pictures before continuing my series.
Today I have yet another marvelous Australian indie polish maker to show you - I don't know what's in the water here, but we really do have some of the most talented creators! Love Thy Polish is run by Em, who blogs about polish over at Nails In The Desert, and she has a wonderful variety of different styles of polish in her Etsy shop - but you guys know me, I went straight for the glitters!

First up is a beautifully delicate white and purple glitter called Miss Bossy Pants - this immediately reminded me of my little sister, since she was the bossiest little child you could possibly imagine. She didn't seem to find this as funny as I did, so I think I'll have to get her a bottle for her birthday.
ANYWAY, the polish is gorgeous. It's quite transparent, so you could layer it over just about any colour you like. Em reccomends layering it over purple, so I put it over my trust Illamasqua Baptise.

Second up is one called Drained, a dark vampy red-black jelly with tons of red micro glitter packed in. Out of habit more than anything else, I layered it over black first.

I was really happy with these results, and spent the next two days wiggling my fingers under every available light source to make the red flecks spark in the deep, dark base. When I came back to it later, I thought I'd try a red base just for something different. And WOW, I just fell in love. I haven't loved a red polish this much since I first got OPI I'm Not Really A Waitress, which is incidentally what I layered Drained over this time.

 The dark pigments in the jelly base tone down the brightness of the red, making it a little bit more vampy, and the glitter just GLOWS in this combination. I'm just annoyed I only got a mini bottle of this one!

You can pick yourself up some Miss Bossy Pants, or Drained, or any of the other beautiful colours Love Thy Polish carry at their Etsy store.