August nail polish favorites

Oh boy, it's the end of August allready! This month just flew by! I just don't want summer to end, luckily I have a holiday coming up in September, so fingers crossed for nice weather!

This month I have been loving the last bit of summer and I took full advantage by painting my nails with summer polish like neons, brights and just really colorful polishes. But, of course, I have been rocking a few darker shades too. Especially at the end of the month, when the weather just hasn't been that nice here...

My favorites this month are:

OPI Alcatraz... Rocks (for review, click here)


Chanel Taboo (for review, click here)

Girly Bits Rogue (for review, click here)

China Glaze Surfin' for Boys (for review, click here)



Essie In the Cab-Ana (for review, click here)

OPI Solitaire (for review, click here)

Essie First Timer (review to come)

China Glaze Pelican Grey (for review, click here)

China Glaze Four leaf Clover (for review, click here)

And last, but certainly not least, OPI Vodka & Caviar (for review, click here)

What are your favorite polishes for August?

X

Read more »

Rimmel Apocalips

A while ago, I saw the Rimmel Apocalips in my local drugstore. Well, actually, I first saw them months ago and I wanted one immediately, because of the vibrant colors. I saw a lot of people on Youtube rave about these lip lacquers and I they just looked stunning!

But because I just bought about 15 lip products I didn't actually need, I couldn't justify bying these.
A few weeks ago, I finally caved and pick up the Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang, a bright red.

These lip lacquers have exploded all over the internet and I have read some mixed reviews about them. Most people tend to love them, but I have read some horror stories about the lacquer transfering to teeth and bleeding excessively.

 

Rimmel advertises the Apocalips as being a perfect mix between a lipstick and an lipgloss and I have to agree. The formula is perfect, wet like a lipgloss when first applied, but they dry to a shiny, non stickey finish that reminds me more of a lipstick.

The applicator is a sponge tipped wand with a little well in the middle, perfect for picking up product to make application on the lips easy and fast.

And now for the dreaded lip swatches...

  

Please be gentle, you should have seen the ones I rejected, lol. Trying to take a picture of my lips while driving is NOT a good idea

This lip lacquer stains your lips, which I like, because it makes it last a good while on the lips. I have worn it during my workday and only had to touch it up once, after eating my lunch and wiping my mouth a few times on a napkin.

Big Bang feels really soft and comfortable on the lips, but I have 2 big issues with this lip lacquer. The first one is that it transfer. It literally goes everywere! I can't kiss my husband, drink something or eat anything without leaving a big, red mark.
The other thing is that it settles in the fine lines around my mouth, which is not very flattering. This last problem is easily fixed though, by using a lip pencil. 

I really like this lip lacquer, but I don't always want to put up with the transfer issue.

Do you own any of the Apocolips lip lacquers (or Show Off as they are called in the States) and what do you think?

X

Read more »

Girly Bits Hot Toddy

The weather is slowly changing over here, fall is on it's way. I can see a couple of brown leaves on the trees and this made me crave a nice fall polish. Happy enough to still make the summer last a bit longer, but warm enough to make me look forward to fall and all the gorgeous colors nature gives us. I love spring and summer, but nothing beats a sunny fall day, when all the brown, red, copper and golden colors come out.

Girly Bits Hot Toddy hits all those marks. The perfect transistion color from summer to fall in my book. It's a warm red, with gold and red micro shimmer. The shimmer makes it look like the color of  leaves in fall. Warm, fiery red with a hint of brown. Although it's part of the Season of Sparkle Winter 2012 collection, I really like it in fall.

Girly Bits describes this as following:

"Reminiscent of sipping a hot toddy with cinnamon sticks

by the glowing embers of a fire on a cold winters night."

 

For those of you that don't know what a Hot Toddy is, it's a hot cocktail with whisky, click here for the recipe.

 

The formula is perfect, the brush handles like a dream and it's opaque on its own in just 2 coats. I really love Girly Bits polishes, it's one of my favorite indie brands. Just look at the perfection of this polish!
 

2 coats of Toddy

Girly Bits is available on Llarowe, Harlow&Co and on the Girly Bits site.

Do you own any indie polishes and what's your favorite?

X



Read more »

OPI Alcatraz... Rocks

When I first saw the new OPI San Fransisco collection I got really excited! Beautiful colors, with a few little gems. I have to admit, there are also a few not so unique colors in this collection. The one polish that stands out in this collection for me, is the sparkly liquid sand.

OPI Alcatraz... Rocks is a very smoked out purple navy with a ton of multi colored glitter with the famous liquid sand finish. This baby is gorgeous and absolutely unique in my collection!

The formula is very good, it applies really smoothly and is completely opaque in 2 coats. The dry time is really fast and it completely hardened out in about 30 - 45 min.

2 coats Alcatraz... Rocks

I love the OPI liquid sands and I think this may very well be my favorite of all of them. It's just stunning and a real eyecatcher.

For those of you who have access to P2 nail polish (I know it's sold in Germany), there is a very simular polish on the market, P2 050 Confidential. For pictures on Google, click here. Although they aren't 100% dupes, they're very close and Confidential is a good, cheaper, alternative.

Do you own any of the liquid sands and what is your favorite?

X

Read more »

Chanel Taboo

When I first saw a swatch of this polish, I was in total and utter love! It's just gorgeous! But I immedialtely thought there is no way I'm ever going to pay that much for a polish! I held on to that firm believe for a few weeks, untill a friend of mine (or my enabler, which ever you prefer) send me a picture of it again and I gave up. I just had to have it!

And who can blame me? Chanel Taboo is just a perfect polish! It's a deep red-toned eggplant purple with blue micro shimmer. It has been called Galaxy in a bottle by many a blogger and they are totally right!

I can't begin to explain how much I love this polish! The brush is nice and thin and picks up the perfect amount of polish, it glides on the nail and to top all this goodness off, this is a 1 coater! Jup, you read that right, 1 coat! (but as always, 2 is better)

1 coat

Of course I did do 2 coats and topcoat, but I just wanted to show you how opaque this polish is. I took about a million photo's, but I have managed to keep it to just 4 for you, lol.

2 coats Taboo, 1 coat SV

Seriously, can you blame me for going a little overboard with the photo's? I just can't get enough! Most of the time it looks deep purple, but when the light hits it, it transforms to gorgeous brownish red with a hint of purple and, when  you look at it in direct sunlight... oh my... the blue glitter comes out to play! 

I just couldn't stop staring at my nails when I caught my first blue glitter. (little bit of advise: don't stare at your polish while driving, I almost hit the car in front of me because I was staring at my nails, oops!)

Not the best picture, but can you see the blue glitter?

The only problem with this polish is that it makes me want to go out and buy more Chanel polishes. I can  hear my wallet crying already... But really, I have a phonecover with Chanel Malice on it, but don't actually own that polish. That's just not right...

Do you own any Chanel polishes?

X



Read more »

Mani Monday: Dots

If you've read my nail art: big fat failure post, you're familiar with my outstanding nailart capabilities and know that I am quite possibly the worst nailarter in the world, lol.

So when I realized I had to get creative for this weeks Mani Monday's theme, I had a slight panic attack...

I contemplated just skipping this weeks theme, but that felt like cheating. All the girls always do their best to be creative and have a nice mani on Monday, so I figured I bite the bullit and just get started with dots.

I ordered a set of dotting tools from eBay, but ofcourse, they didn't arrive in time. I tried using toothpicks, but that was one big mess... Finally, I just made my own dotting tool, using a pin and a cork.

I was actually suprised at how well this worked! Jeeh me! I felt really good about myself and was confident I'd be able to create a stunning dotted nail art.

The first result however, was not impressive at all... I could have posted a nail art: big fat failure part 2, but decided to just give you a good chuckle in this post. Voila!

I grabbed my remover and, feeling a lot less happy with myself, I tried again. This time, I decided NOT to get overconfident and just stick to 1 accent nail. 

I have to admit, I quite like my little creation and am looking forward to testing my actual dotting tools out when they finally get here.

For this mani, I used all blue polishes

Splish Splash, Butler Please, Blu Iguana and In the Cab-Ana

I decided to paint the non dotted nails with one of my favorite neon polishes, China glaze Splish Splash. This is a vibrant blue neon, with a shimmer in it. The formula is a little thin, but it is opaque in 2 - 3 coats. It dries really fast and the finish is matte, but because of the shimmer, it still looks shiny. I love it!

Dotted nail: 2 coats In the cab-ana and dots
Rest of the nails: 2 coats of Splish Splas

I can't wait to see how the rest of you did with this weeks theme, for all the creations, please check out the Mani Monday's Facebook Page!

X 

Read more »

Essence long lasting lipstick

No polish today, I have something different for you. A couple of days ago, I did a little shopping and I spotted the new Essence collection. I am a sucker for lipsticks and when I saw and swatches the new Essence long lasting lipstick, I was impressed.

I decided to try them out and picked up 3 of the 10 available colors.

Wear Berries, On the Catwalk and Dare to wear

The packaging is very nice, the lipstick comes in a matte black tube, with a color ring in the middle that actually comes very close to the lipstick color. It has the logo on the cap and on the lipstick. I think it looks very classy and modern, I love this new packaging.

The lipstick feels very creamy and glides on my lips. It doesn't dry out my lips and last for about 3 hours. You do need to touch up the color after that and when you have a drink or eat something, the lipstick dissappears.

Wear Berries, On the Catwalk and Dare to Wear

I love all 3 colors, but my favorite is the one I picked up because it's a color I don't own yet, Wear Berries. I thought it wouldn't look great on me, but I actually really love it.

Wear Berries, On the Catwalk and Dare to Wear

Wear Berries is not actually a berry color, but it's a gorgeous midtoned purple with a cool undertone. I love it in the tube, but thought I wouldn't like it on me, but since I don't own a color like this, I thought I give it a go. I actually really love it and have worn it several times allready.

On the Catwalk is a muted pink color, with a hint of taupe. A perfect fall color. It showes up a little more pink on my lips than it looks in the tube.

Dare to Wear is a bright red with blue undertones in the tube, a nice cool color. On my lips and on my swatch, it looks a lot more pink. I think it's a shame it's more pink on me, but I still really love it on my lips and it's still obviously red. 

Overall, I'm really impressed with these lipsticks. I like the packaging, how they feel and wear on my lips and I love the large color range. With 10 colors to choose from, there is a color for everybody. 

But the best thing about these lipsticks is the price. They are available for only € 2.89!

I am actually thinking of picking up a couple of more colors.

Do you own any of these gorgeous lipsticks?

X

Read more »

Big fat failure: base coat

I was always under the impression that it didn't really matter what kind of base coat I would use, as long as I made sure to use something to protect my nails. I have tried a lot of different base coats and they were all fine where it comes to durability of my manicure. ( discoloration is a whole nother story though).

I have used my trusty Sticky Base Coat from CND for a long time and decided it was time to switch things up a bit. I read a lot of reviews on internet and decided to try Color Club Stuck on You base coat.

When first applied, I really liked it. The formula is really nice and it dries quickly but the best thing about this base, is the smell. I love it! It smells kind of sweet and just jummy!

The first time I used it, I painted my nails in the evening (as I usually do). 1 coat base, 2 coats color, 1 coat glitter and 1 coat SV, nothing special (it was the mani monday glitter, click here to read).

Now, there is something you need to know about me before I continue, so you will fully understand my opinion about this base coat: polish sticks to my nails like nobody's business! I can rock the same polish for 2 weeks straight, with just a minimum amount of tipwear. I don't get chips... ever!

If  you don't believe me or think I'm exagerating, check out this picture of China Glaze Ruby Pumps on my nails. This is me wearing it for the 8th day:

Day 8, just a little tipwear

So you can imaging my surprise when I found a major chip at 10 am on day 1 after using this base for the first time. I looked at my nails in horror and couldn't believe what I was seeing... a real chip!!!
During that day, more chips joined the first one and by the end of the day, my manicure was completely ruined.

I didn't even blame the base, because everybody can have a chip now and then, right? When I got home, I took my polish off and put on a fresh manicure. Again, I painted my nails at night, 1 coat base, 1 coat polish, 1 coat of glitter (Rogue this time, read here) and 1 coat SV. The next morning the same thing happened: a big fat chip! And they kept on coming!

By then I started to suspect my base was the problem, as it was the only thing different to my mani. I have worn both before and they have lasted me for at least 4 days and I didn't have chips by then, just tipwear.

But if this wasn't bad enough, I decided to give it one more chance and painted my nails with another glitter polish, Water you waiting for.
I think by now, Stuck on you was trying to prove a point of being the all time worst base coat! Trust me, it succeeded!

I painted it the day before yesterday and I had major chipping yesterday morning. I hate chipping, I can't handle chipped polish on my nails, but what happened yesterday evening is the reason (combined with the major chipping issue) that I'm throwing this base out!

They always say a picture says more than a thousand words and as this has become a fairly long post allready...

You can see the chip om my ring finger and the vanished polish on my middle finger
(It's a bad picture, because the lighting is just awfull at night)

And here is where the polish went... a perfectly nailshaped piece of dry polish

My polish came off in big chunks! Nothing I could do to keep it on my nails. I now am the proud owner of several nailshaped pieces of dried up polish. I didn't pick at my polish, I just reached out to grab my glass and it fell off... It took about half an hour for me to lose all my polish. I was left with just the polish on my thumbs. Not a good look on me, trust me!

Half an hour later and I have several pieces of dry polish...

I really can't say anything nice about this polish, except that it smells really good. But that is not a major quality I'm looking for in a base coat. I love a lot of Color Club polishes, but I absolutely hate this base coat and will not ever use it again!

Did you ever have a bad experience with a particular base coat?

X

Read more »

China Glaze Water you waiting for

This is one of those polishes everybody kept telling me to get, because it's gorgeous. I wasn't convinced, I put this in my cart every time I ordered polishes, but I also took it out every time. Untill I decided to finally just give in and get it.

It stood in my stash for a couple of months, untried and unloved, untill I pulled it out yesterday and just made myself paint my nails with this polish.

China Glaze Water you waiting for is a blue and green glitter in a slightly blue base. It's part of the Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away collection, released in 2012, the same collection as Running in Circles, which I showed you earlier in this post.

The formula of this polish is... well.. awful comes to mind...
It's thick, goopy and the glitter clumps on my nail, which makes it really hard to get an even coat. I gave up on the thin coats completely, because it just wasn't possible. I will add a few drops of thinner next time and hopefully that will help a bit, but I doubt that it will fix the problem. It's so densely packed with glitter, that the brusk gets so loaded and thick, it's hard to control.

2 coats Water, 1 coat SV

The dry time is very good, but it does dry a little on the matte side, so a topcoat is needed to really get it sparkling. It's also a little rough to the touch with all the glitter, but with just 1 coat of SV I think it's smooth enough.

2 coats Water, 1 coat SV

I do like it on the nail and the fact that it's opaque in just 2 coats helps a lot, but when I look at my nails, I don't see the beautiful polish, I just see all the problems this polish gave me when applying. I must admit, not a big hit in my book...

There is a pretty good dupe out there for this polish, Kendall on the Katwalk by Nicole by OPI. They are not 100% dupes, but close enough so you don't need both. The only difference is that Kendall also has purple glitter and Water has just the blue and green. I don't own Kendall, because I don't have access to NBO, so I can't tell you anything about the formula of that polish, but hopefully it's better than Water!

Do you own this polish? What do you think about this formula?

X

Read more »