China Glaze Neon Gradient

0 comments

Happy Friday everybody! Oh... wait... it's only Wednesday... but since it's the last day this week I'll spend at work, it feels like Friday! The only thing left in order to have a perfect weekend is for the weather to clear up and the sun to come out.

In order to at least have some sunshine on my nails, I decided to try my hand at a neon gradient. I'm not know for being the best at gradients, I'm kinda hit or miss, but this turned out really well I think.


I used all China Glaze neon polishes, Surfin' for boys, Flip flop Fantasy and Sun Worshipper. The colors work really well together and it actually looks like a neon sunset on my nails.


I always make a mess when doing a sponge gradient like this, so to make clean up a little easier, I've tried all kinds of methods: scotch tape, lip balm, etc. but nothing works as well as applying a good amount of Vaseline to my cuticles and skin around the nail. After you let the polish dry, you can just take a brush and wipe away the excess. Easy peasy!


I love how sunny and bright this gradient is, I can't stop staring at my nails and I've had quite a few comments on it already. You can of course do this with every single color you'd like, the possibilities are endless!

Have you tried a sponged gradient and what is your favorite color combination?

X

Polish Alcoholic Summer 2014 swatches

2 comments

I've been following Sabrina's blog, The Polish Alcoholic, for a while now and when she asked me if I wanted to swatch and review a few polishes from her new upcoming Summer 2014 collection I was over the moon!

She send me 3 polishes and a cuticle oil and in the bottle they all looked stunning! I immediately took off my current mani and put one of these on to try.


Let's start with the oil, because, well, I have to admit I'm not a big fan of cuticle oils. I prefer a cream for my extremely dry and down right horrible cuticles, but this smelled so nice, I did give it a go.

I got the Coco Ice Cream scent (or is it flavor? I never know with these types of product...) with my polishes and it smells like a milky coconut. I love this smell and it does linger on my fingers for a nice long while, without being too overpowering. I've been using it for about a week now and my cuticles are nice and soft. The oil sinks into my skin very quickly and I had no issues with greasy fingers what so ever.

The polishes I received are Lexell, Kohoutex and Hale-Bobb. If you're wondering about the names, instead of giving them typical summery names, all polishes in this collection are named after famous comets!

As soon as I openend the package, my eyes were drawn to Lexell, a gorgeous grey with a blue and pink shimmer.


Isn't that just stunning? The shimmer is really noticeable in real life, but because it's such a delicate shimmer, it's extremely hard to photograph...

The second polish is Kohoutex, a teal shimmer polish with blue, purple and green small hex glitter.


Last, but certainly not least is Hale-Bobb. This is a flaky topcoat and I tried layering it over several colors, to see what the effect would be. The white... well... as you can see it's not the biggest success, lol, but I love it over the blue and black. The flakies look stunning and give depth and life to the base.


The formula for all these polishes was really nice, opaque in 2 - 3 coats, depending on how thick you make your coats, they dry really fast and the brush is heaven! 


I was expecting the standard, nothing special brush but this totally surprised me!  It's a little wide, but not too wide, I'd say the perfect middle between an OPI and a China Glaze brush, it handles really nicely and fans out perfectly on the nail. I'm a big fan!

Overal, I love this collection and I was pleasantly surprised by all three polishes. The bottles are a little smaller than average, with only 10ml, but you still get a decent amount of polish.

The Summer 2014 collection will be available on June 1st and consists of the 3 polishes I just showed and 3 other polishes:

McNaught: Red, green and blue flaky topcoat
Hyakutake: Bright blue with silver flecks
Lovejoy: Red holographic


Polish Alcoholic is available on her Etsy site, here and she shippes internationaly.
Each of the colors in this collection retail for € 7.50, except for Lovejoy, which is prized at € 8.50.

Sabrina kindly gave me a discount code to share with all of you: use the code 10%OFF and get 10% off your entire order!

I love them all, but if you make me pick a favorite, I'll have to go with Lexell. I absolutely love it and can't wait to put that back on! Which one is your favorite?

X



piCture pOlish Swagger

5 comments

Happy Monday everybody! Hope you had just as lovely a weekend as I did. The sun was out, I spend time with friends and hubby... bliss. This week is a short one for me, work wise. Thursday is a National Holiday and I have Friday off, so only 3 days for me.

And for all my friends in the US: Happy Memorial Day!

I wanted something fun, bright and weather appropriate today, so I went with the absolutely stunning Picture Polish Swagger and, looking at the blue skies, added a few fluffy clouds. This is another Urban Shade, just like Totes and Chillax I showed earlier. I love this colletion and am thinking about getting Bonkers after all.

Swagger is a vibrant cornflower blue cream. It's a soft color, but it still packs a punch on the nail. My bottle shot is a little on the blue side, but I still wanted to show it, because always love the quotes on the Picture Polish bottles.


The formula is like the rest of this collection, absolutely perfect! Almost opaque in 1 coat, but I always do 2, because I have a lot of ridges in my nails and they are just better camouflaged with 2 coats of polish. If you don't have ridges or extremely white tips, you can totally get away with just 1 coat and because this dries so fast, you'll be out the door in no time at all.


This color reminds me so much of the blue sky in Summer and the clouds go perfectly with it. I just dabbed on some OPI Boyfriend with a make up sponge to create this effect and I love how it turned out. Sometimes the best mani's are the easiest to do.


I already feel this is going to be another one of those mani's I just can't part with. I've been rocking it for 3 days straight and I'm still not ready to take it off. Luckily, I this polish lasts, so I don't have to take it off if I don't want to.

This will definitely be a staple for me in Spring and Summer.
What are your go to polishes this time of year?

X


Pretty & Polished Barefoot in Dixie

2 comments

A while ago, I saw that Pretty & Polished had a 30% off code on their Facebook page and since I had been eyeing a few of their polishes for a while, I took full advantage! Yesterday, my polishes finally arrived and as soon as I openend my package, I knew I wanted this on my nails!

Pretty & Polished Barefoot in Dixie is one of those weird color combination polishes. You either love it, or you hate it. This polish has a medium toned green milky cream base and is packed with green, purple, and pink small and medium sized hex glitter.


The formula is really nice. It glides on easily, needing only the tiniest bit of glitter placement. Just pushing a couple of glitters to a more open space on the nail was enough. I did 3 thin coats for full opacity, but if you do slightly thicker coats or have less of a free edge to your nail, you can totally get away with just 2 coats. It dried really fast and reasonably shiny, but you do need a good top coat to smooth it out.


Isn't that pretty? I immediately fell in love when I saw this on the P&P site, but it's even more stunning in real life. I happen to be a big fan of these types of polishes and I LOVE this one, it's totally unique to my collection.


This color is perfect for Spring and Summer, it reminds me a lot of fresh cut grass and that happens to be one of my favorite things in Spring, it just smells so nice.
Pretty & Polished is available on their website and on Etsy.

Do you like weird color/glitter combinations or are you more of a traditional polish kind of girl (or boy)?

X

Zoya Roxy

7 comments

Every now and again you see a swatch of an older polish and you know in your heart you HAVE to have it! This happened to me a long long time ago with the next polish. I saw it, fell in love and realized Zoya isn't sold here. Luckily, I knew of a couple of sites that did stock this gorgeous brand, but of course they didn't have this particular polish.

I searched and searched, checking all the sites from time to time, but never found it in stock. That is until a friend of mine let me know that nailpolishfashion.nl was having a 50% off sale and I was browsing through their polishes deciding which ones to pick. My mouth dropped when I saw this was not only listed but in stock! I ordered it within 5 seconds!
Of course after all that hunting, this has been standing in my stash, untried, for a few months... No more!

Zoya Roxy is a gorgeous deep magenta base with magenta glitter. In some lights it looks more raspberry and in other lights it looks more red, but it's always stunning!


The formula was absolutely perfect! As this is a jelly base, I was expecting to do multiple coats, but this was almost opaque in just 1. I did see some bald spots here and there, so I added the second coat to fix that and intensify the color. It dried really fast and shiny, just the way I like it.


This was a hard polish to capture, it's just so deep and intense in real life, I feel my pictures don't quite do it justice. The glitter makes it really come alive on the nail and the color... oh, the color... I just can't get enough! It's deep and vampy, with just enough of a hint of pink. I don't think it comes as a big surprise this made it's way into my top 10 with a bang!



I can keep staring at it all day. I'm over the moon to finally have this little beauty in my stash.
What is the polish you hunted down for a long time and was it worth it or a total disappointment?

X

China Glaze Wait n' Sea

6 comments

Another Monday, another weekend over. We had some glorious weather this weekend, the temperatures rose to a very nice 23 degrees and I enjoyed every bit of it! I relaxed in my garden with a book and a nice glass of chilled white wine and on Saturday night I practiced my water marbling. Oh, the glamorous life I lead, lol.

For the main color of my mani, I choose the gorgeous China Glaze Wait n' Sea. This is a teal crelly and it's part of the recently released Off Shore Summer 2014 collection. I thought this was supposed to be a neon collection, but this is nothing like it. It's fun and colorful, but it's not that bright and definitely not a neon!


The formula is, thank God, nothing like a neon too. It flows on the nail with ease and it's easily opaque in 2 thin coats. It dries reasonably fast and super shiny, but I always add my fast drying topcoat. This is one of those really hard to capture colors (like four leaf clover... don't even get me started on how many times I tried...), but my swatch pictures are fairly accurate, it's a bit brighter irl.


I absolutely love how this mani turned out. This color is amazing and I actually really like my water marble design. You should see my other hand though, not so pretty... I keep having issues with water drops ruining my design. If anybody has a great tip to avoid that, please let me know in the comments!


Did you pick up any of the new Off Shore colors and if so, which ones?

X

OPI My boyfriend scales walls

2 comments

Every nail polish lover would agree with me that every stash needs the basics: a good black polish and a good white polish. These colors can be used as a base for a glitter, in nail art or to make a sheer or hard to deal with polish pop on your nails. I've tried a lot of different black and white polishes, but I always go back to the same two. I already showed my favorite black, China Glaze Liquid Leather and today I have my favorite white for you.

OPI My boyfriend scales walls is an off white cream. Yes, my favorite white polish isn't white at all. This is just a bit softer than a true white, which I found to be better for my skin tone. As you can see, my bottle is well loved and I'll probably need to get another one soon.


The formula is what makes this my favorite. It's a little streaky on the first coat, but nothing I can't handle and it's completely opaque in just 2 coats. It dries fast and has a very glossy finish.


I love this polish and use it for all my nail art, but I also like this on its own. Especially in Spring and Summer, I like a plain white mani and this one really suits my skin tone. It was first released in 2012 in the Spiderman collection, but has since been added to the core collection. This truly is my favorite white and it will always be a part of my collection.


What is your favorite white polish?

X

Zoya Stevie

0 comments

I think it's save to say that the Zoya Pixie Dusts are my favorite textured polishes. I love them so much because the texture is so fine, no big chunks and my hair doesn't get stuck on my nails if I run my fingers through it. This particular Pixie Dust has been standing in my stash for a while, not unloved mind you, but I just felt it was more appropriate for Spring and some nice weather. Since Spring is definitely here, I decided it was time to try it.

Zoya Stevie is a lilac base with tiny silver shimmer. Since it's a Pixie Dust, it dries to a textured finish.


The formual is really nice, on the first coat you think it's never going to be opaque, but somehow the second coat covers so well, you don't need the third. The dry time is a bit on the slow side, but once it's dry this baby doesn't move!


I absolutely love it. I was afraid this might be a bit to... pastel... for me, but luckily it's not. It works rather well with my skin tone, it's the perfect spring texture.


I've seen a lot of nail art with this polish and I can't wait to try some of the cool designs. Some people really don't like nail art with a texture, but I don't  mind it.
What do you think? Yay or Nay for textured nail art?

X

Dollish Polish Cold winds are rising

8 comments

After all the bright, light and fun polishes, I felt it was time for just a bit of DarknTwisty on my nails. I'm so happy the weather is changing and the sun is coming out, but even in mid Summer, I crave a dark nail every now and then. This polish is perfect, as it is a little dark and dreary, but with a perfect glitter surprise.

Dollish Polish Cold winds are rising is a dark grey crelly base with icy blue small glitter. I picked this polish out of my stash, because it's inspired by Game of Thrones and I just started watching this show. Yes, I know, I'm a little (well... a lot actually) behind, but I finally started and now I can't get enough!


This has got to be one of the weirdest polishes I ever painted on my nails. The formula was nice, it flowed on my nails with ease, the glitter came out easily and it dried really fast.
The brush however was not so nice. One side was sticking out, making it really wide at the bottom and I had a problem with runaway hairs. I had to trim it down, otherwise I would end up with polish all over my cuticles and that's a first for me. I think I just got a wonky one, because I have several other Dolish polishes and those brushes are all fine.


What makes this polish really weird though, is the opacity. I did 1 coat and sighed, thinking this was never going to be opaque on its own, because I just saw glitter on my nail. That is until I looked at my tips and didn't really see a visible nail line... ok... weird...
I added a second coat and saw no visible nail line at all, but I did feel like it wasn't opaque at my cuticles. It was the weirdest thing ever. I debated if I was going to add the third coat, but decided that I needed it to get a more even finish.


With all the problems with the brush and the weird opacity, you'd think I would come out and say I don't like this polish, but I actually do. It's a nice and calm color, with a glitter surprise. This is a totally work appropriate color with a nice twist. I just wish mine would have a better brush...

Dollish Polish is available on her website, Llarowe and MeiMeiSignatures, but I'm not sure if this is still available as it is an older polish. If not, she has a lot of other gorgeous polishes, definitely worth checking out!

Have you ever had a weird experience with a polish like this?

X

China Glaze Kiwi Cool-ada

2 comments

After a few really nice days, the weather decided to spice it up this weekend and give us pouring rain, thunderstorms and freezing cold. Jeeh mother nature...
So I wanted something to cheer me up on my nails and this polish is bright enough to do just that!

China Glaze Kiwi Cool-ada is a neon green polish. This was part of the 2010 Pool Side collection, so it's an older polish, but it's still widely available. This polish is so bright, I absolutely love it and I just can't feel bummed out about the rain with this on my nails.


The formula... well.. it sucks, big time! It's streaky and patchy and just a pain to deal with, but if you do as few strokes as possible and don't go over the same spot twice, it's manageable. This dries extremely fast and normally that is a good thing, but with these neons, it's a little annoying as that is what's giving me problems. This was opaque in 2 coats, but I needed the third to even it out. As most neons tend to do, this does dry a little matte, so a shiny top coat is a must, although I do like the matte finish too.


But you know what? I complete forget about the doggy formula once this is on my nails. I'm just in love with this color! It's not for the faint at heart, but if you like your nails to make a statement, this is definitely a polish I'd suggest you pick up!


Every time I look at me nails, I keep singing "If you like Kiwi Cool-ada's, getting caught in the rain"  I just can't help myself. I can't imagine anybody not knowing the Pina Colada song, but if you don't, you can listen to it here.

What's your favorite neon?

X

piCture pOlish Chillax (with a cherry on top!)

4 comments

Yesterday, I was having the same dilemma lot's of polish hoarders like me face several times a week: what will I paint on my nails today? I stared at my stash for a while, pulled out several polishes and put them back again. I wanted them all on my nails and none of them at the same time. I know, I have issues...

So I did what anybody would do, I asked a friend of mine who is just as much of a polish addict (if not bigger) as I am and who knows my stash pretty well. Her answer: one of your new Picture Polishes! So that's what went on my nails, with a little nail art I was dying to try.

Picture Polish Chillax is a cream, best described by my husband, when he walked in mid-paint: "Wow, that's bright, in your face mint green!" This polish is part of the Urban Shades, just like Totes I showed earlier.


The formula is absolutely perfect. It flows on the nail with ease, is opaque in just 2 thin coats and it dries really fast. Although this is glossy enough on its own, I did add a coat of Seche Vite to prolong my mani. I was using Poshe for a while, but this kept giving me bubbles, so I switch back to SV and I totally remember why I love it so much, but that smell... oh boy, just opening the bottle made me high.


As for my cute nail art, I was watching Janelle (Ellandish) on Youtube and she did a picnic mani with these cherries. As soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to do a mani with them, because they were just the cutest thing ever! I think mine turned out really well and I just love them with the gorgeous Chillax.


Do you know that feeling when you just can't get enough of your mani? You keep staring at it with stars in your eyes and just won't take it of, even if it starts to look a little rough around the edges? Well... this mani gives me that feeling. I love everything about it! The color is stunning and the cherries are just so darn cute. This is going to be on my nails for a while!

What mani gave you that feeling?

X