OPI Lost my bikini in Molokini

Oh hello, Friday, I've missed you! Only a few more hours at work to get through and then I'm off to enjoy my weekend. I caved and I'm going to watch 50 shades of Grey on Sunday, I just have to see for myself if it's any good. I'm not expecting much, but at least I get to enjoy some half naked Jamie Dornan on the big screen, always a plus in my book!

Today's polish is the other polish from the OPI Hawaii collection that I picked up. I loved the colors in this collection, but I thought they were too much like other polishes I already owned.
But I just couldn't resist Aloha from OPI and I since I don't own a lot of purple creams, I picked this one up too.

OPI Lost my bikini in Molokini is a medium purple cream. Nothing special to be honest, but I really love this color and didn't own anything like it yet.

The formula was really nice, easy to paint with just the right consistency, opaque in 2 thin coats and it dried really fast and shiny.

The color is, like I said, not too special, but it is really pretty and flattering on my skin tone. I don't own a lot of purple, because it's not a color I normally gravitate towards. Which is really strange, because I love a good purple and it's my husbands favorite color next to red. If I don't want a red nail, he always asks for purple.

Looking at my nails, I understand why. There's just something a about a purple nail. It makes me think of Summer, having a glass of wine while sitting in the garden, enjoying the nice weather.

What do you think about a purple nail? Is it a color you rock on a regular basis?

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Lacquester Dark Days Vamp

The thing I love most about the internet, is that you can find a lot of polish loving people on it! I love talking about polish and one of my favorite places to do just that is Instagram. I've gotten to know quite a few really nice ladies while browsing around, looking for polish inspiration. One of those awesome girls is Lori (Lacqueredlori).
When she tagged me in a swatch, because she knew I would love the polish, I just couldn't help myself and had to order it, especially because it was a polish from a Dutch indie brand!

Lacquester Darkest Days Vamp is a gorgeous deep burgundy shade. Lori knows me so well, because this polish has my name written all over it!

The formula is very nice, maybe just a little thicker than the average polish like a lot of indie polishes, but very easy to paint, fast drying and opaque in 2 coats. It dries shiny al on its own, but I would recommend adding a top coat to prolong your mani and add extra shine.

Do I even need to tell you how I feel about this color? It's so stunning and has so much depth to it, I just can't get enough of it. I love these vampy shades, especially the reddish kind, like this one.

Lacquester is an indie brand owned and created by Caroline, a Dutch nail polish lover. Her polishes are 5-free and not tested on animals. I ordered a couple more polishes and I love all of them. I would definitely recommend checking out this indie brand!

You can find Lacquester on her site, she ships internationally!

Do you like vampy colors, like me, or are you more a pastel kind of girl?

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My most worn polishes: main stream

When people hear I have a little bit of a nail polish addiction and I own more than 10 bottles of polish, the number one question they ask, is whether I actually wear them all or if there are some polishes that I wear more than others. Truth is, I have a lot of polish I've only worn once. Somehow I always end up wearing the same polishes.
Some I gravitate towards because they have a perfect formula and others I just absolutely love the color of.

Today I'm showing you my most worn polishes from main stream brands. I do have quite a few indie polishes I gravitate towards, but to not make this post about half a mile long, I decided to split them in two. I'll show you my indie most worn polishes next week.

So, let's get started!

I love Zoya and luckily, I now have access to this brand, because Color4Nails started stocking them. But the ones I wear the most, happen to both be Pixie Dusts. Carter on the left and Tomoko on the right. Easy, perfect formula's, no base or topcoat needed and they dry really fast.

Next up is Essie and I have to admit, none of these polishes have a particularly great formula, but I absolutely love the colors! From left to right: Cute as a button, Butler Please and Skirting the Issue. 

I have a lot of OPI's I wear a lot, but these are the ones that I have worn the most and keep wearing over and over. All have really nice formula's, are easy to paint and the colors are just stunning. From left to right you see Suzi ski's in the Pyrenees Suede finish, Lincoln Park after Dark, An affair in Red Square and Smitten with Mittens.

This first one might surprise you, as I haven't even talked about it on my blog. Even though it's a pink glitter, I wore this a LOT! My bottle is almost gone and the polish has gotten so thick, it's almost impossible to paint. But I still wear it, mostly as an accent though, because it's just too much hassle to do all 10 nails. OPI Excuse moi, Dim Sum Plum, Russian Navy, My boyfriends scales walls and My favorite ornament.

China Glaze is probably one of my favorite main stream brands. I love the brush and the colors, but their formula differs quite a bit from one polish to the next. This is Ruby Pumps, Phat Santa ( I keep wanting to call this Bad Santa...), Vermillion and Lubu Heels. yup, all reds, but hey, I just can't live without red nails!

And since China Glaze does make polish in a different color, here are the other ones I rock a lot. It just occured to me, that I totally forgot to include Grass is lime greener... I love that polish and it didn't come of my nails last spring and summer. So just picture it next to Zombie Zest, Splish Splash, Riveting and 108 Degrees.

And lastly, we have some miscellaneous brands. I love all these brands, but I don't own as much of them. But that doesn't mean I don't wear them, these are some of my favorite polishes! We have Orly Melt your popsicle and Angel Eyes, Misa Party in the Masquerade, Color Club Holiday Splendor and Sally Hansen Pacific Blue (original formula).

There your have it, my most worn polishes. I do love every single one and I even have a back up for a few of them. 

What's your most worn polish and why do you pick that one over your other polishes?

X

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piCture pOlish Douceur

When I first saw today's polish, I absolutely loved it, but also doubted whether this would look good with my skin tone. I went back and forth about ordering it, but when my dear friend Fleur decided to visit Australia and asked if I'd like to order some Picture Polishes for her to bring back, this was one of the first to make the cut.

Picture Polish Douceur is one of the collaboration shades and it was created in 2013 with Ophelie from the blog and YouTube channel Tartofraises. I wasn't familiar with her blog before picking this polish up, because her blog and channel are in French and although I do speak a little of that gorgeous language, I just don't speak enough to follow everything. But she does some amazing nail art!

Douceur is French for sweetness and the inspiration for this polish came from her love of all things sweet and jelly. It's a very light pink nude looking base with small pink glitter and a scattering of holo micro shimmers.

The formula is just amazing! I was ready for 3 coats at least, in fact, I even texted this to a friend of mine, just before painting my nails with this polish. I was very happily surprised to find out it was completely opaque in just 2 thin coats! It dries really fast and reasonably shiny, but I would suggest adding a nice top coat to make it really shine and smooth out the slightly bumpy finish.

I'm over the moon this polish turned out to look really nice on me. I love how soft and sweet this looks. This is the perfect soft spring polish for me, especially with the pop of bright pink glitter.

What do you think about an almost nude base with a bright glitter in it? Do you love those types of polish as much as I do or you avoid them?

X

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OPI Aloha from OPI

When the OPI Hawaii collection came out, I told myself I wasn't going to get any of them. Not because I didn't like the colors, but because the ones that I liked the most, didn't look unique to my collection. So I sat on my hands and didn't order any *proud moment*

And then swatched kept coming, polishes kept looking awesome and my polish hoarder instinct came out and ordered a couple.Yes, just a couple, but come on, one's a gorgeous reddish polish, how was I supposed to resist?

OPI Aloha form OPI is a fun and bright coral tinted red cream. This is a hard color to describe, because sometimes it looks red, other times it's coral and it even looks a bit orange on occasion.

The formula is so so nice! It flows on the nail with ease, is opaque in 2 thin coats and dries fast and super shiny. It is a little on the thin side, so be careful not to overload your brush to avoid flooding your cuticles.

Don't even get me started on this color, I love it so much! I already am a big fan of everything red, but this turned out to be such a unique color to my collection. It's red, coral and orange, all in one polish. Love, love, LOVE it!

This is the perfect sping and summer red(dish) polish for me and I can't wait to wear it again. Actually, I might just put it on, right now!

Did you pick up any of the Hawaii collection and if so, which one is your favorite?

X

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China Glaze Glitter Goblin

Over the weekend, I was browsing around my stash and reality hit me. I have so many polishes and I just keep buying more, but not wearing them. I have so many untried polishes, it's getting ridiculous! So I've decided not to buy any more for at least a month, maybe longer if I can contain myself. After that I'm only going to buy the polishes I really love and are unique to my collection. I need to stop spending so much money on polishes I don't really need or have 3 dupes for already. Sounds easy enough, but trust me, for a true addict like myself, it's going to be rough!

I had a good look at my stash and picked out 25 untried polishes that I'm going to be wearing for the next couple of months. And I don't mean just swatch, but actually wear for 1 or more days. Today I have the first one to show you.

China Glaze Glitter Goblin is a clear base, filled with small orange, silver and holographic hex glitter. This polish was part of the Halloween Wicked 2012 collection and is a little hard to find, but I have seen it on sites like nailsupplies, trandesign and eBay.

The formula is really nice. Sometimes with these micro glitters, the brush gets really wide and the polish is hard to get even on the nail, but I had no issues with this one. You can definitely get this opaque on its own in about 3 coats, but I like it better layered over an orange base to make it really pop, like I did in my swatches.

It's such a fun polish, I really like this! The holo glitter make it sparkle in the sun and the orange makes this a really warm glitter. This is perfect for fall and spring, but I say wear it whenever you want!

I know orange is not a color a lot of people wear on their nails, but I love it. Are you an orange polish kind of girl or do you stay clear of this bright color?

X

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OPI Shine for me

So, no post from me on Wednesday... I've been out sick all week and am still not a 100%. This flu is kicking my butt! I'm coughing so bad, I really thought my lungs would come out at one point. Not a nice feeling, I can tell you... Anyway, on to nicer things!

OPI Shine for me is one of the polishes from the 50 Shades of Grey collection and whether you're a fan or not (I'm not), this is a gorgeous polish. It's a clear base, packed with micro silver glitter and blue and turquoise  small hex glitter.

The formula is a lot nicer than I was expecting from a clear based glitter. When I first saw this, I was expecting a topper, but this is completely opaque on its own in 2 - 3 coats. It's easy to paint and it dries fast and shiny.

I have to say, I was surprised by how much I love this polish! I picked it up, because it looked really unique to me, even though I wasn't sure if I even liked it or not. I think it looks stunning in the bottle and on the nail.

I don't think I have anything like this in my collection, so well done OPI! If you love 50 shades or if you just like silvery glitter, you need this in  your life! The only thing I'm not quite sure off is if I like this on me...

What do you think? Yay or nay on my skintone?

X

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China Glaze More to explore

I'm so over this cold and nasty weather, it's time for spring! Unfortunately, we still have to muddle through February and March before it's anywhere near spring, but that doesn't mean I can't bring spring to my nails!

China Glaze More to explore is a coral cream with a lot of peach tones. It's part of the new spring 2015 Road Trip collection that has just been released.

The formula is nice, but a little patchy. Nothing too bad, but I did have to do 3 coats to completely even it out. It dries really fast and shiny though, so 3 coats wasn't a big problem for me.

I absolutely love this color, when I first saw it, it reminded me of Flip Flop Fantasy and they are similar, but FFF is a pastel neon and although this is a really bright polish, it's nowhere near a neon,

Because it's such a peachy shade, I was afraid it wouldn't look good on me, because pastel polishes just don't work with my skintone, but it's just bright enough for me to pull off. I was hoping this would be FFF, only with a better formula, but even though it's a lot easier to work with and I'm happy I own both, I still like FFF a little better. What can I say? I just like my neons!

Have you picked up any of the China Glaze Road Trip collection?

X

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Pretty & Polished Tears of Dionysus

For the polish I'm showing you today, I kept looking at the nametag on the bottle, because I just can't seem to remember how to spell it... That's what happens when you name your polish after the Greek god of intoxication!

Pretty & Polished Tears of Dionysus (you see, impossible!) is a deep, dark purple jelly base, packed with blue and purple hex glitter. I've seen a few versions of this polish, with just blue glitter, just purple glitter and mine, with both blue and purple glitter. On the Pretty & Polished website it's listed with just purple glitter, but mine definitely has blue in it.

My friend Yv, mijnkleinegeheimpjes, calls this polish "vloeibare Anc" which means Liquid Anc, because it's dark and twisty, just like me :')

When you look at her swatches, you'll see her polish only has blue glitter, no purple to be seen...

We both double checked our labels and they both definitely say Tears of Dionysus.

Although they're both absolutely stunning, they are definitely different!

The formula is nice, but a little on the sheer side because of the jelly base. You'll need at least 3 coats to get this opaque on its own and I still had some spots  you could see my nail through it. As I like my polish to be really opaque, I decided to layer it over OPI Viking in a Vinter Vonderland and the swatches I'm showing is just 1 coat over this base.

This polish is named after an old story about the gem Amethyst:

"The legend of the origin of amethyst comes to us from Greek myth. Dionysius, the god of intoxication, was angered one day by an insult from a human and swore revenge on the next mortal that crossed his path. Violent tigers should carry out his wish. Amethyst, a beautiful young maiden on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana was to become the victim. Diana turned Amethyst into a stature of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the brutal claws. Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse for his action at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god's tears stained the  quartz purple, creating the famous gem."

Reading this story, you'd definitely expect this polish to be purple, not blue, but I'm kinda glad I have the blue glitters mixed in. It give this polish extra depth and complexity and I absolutely love how this looks on my nails!

Pretty & Polished is available on their website and they do ship internationally, lucky for everybody outside the USA!

Which version do you like better, just blue glitter or blue and purple combined?

X

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Dollish Polish What an excellent day for an exorcism

A few days ago, I was in the mood for something bright, but not quit neon, or so bright it blinded people. Well, that plan failed miserably, but I did end up with a gorgeous, in your face, mani.

Dollish Polish What an excellent day for an exorcism was part of the 2013 Halloween Frights collection. All polishes in this collection were based on horror movies and since I'm a huge horror movie fan, I had to pick up a few of them.

This polish is of course based on The Exorcist, one of my personal favorite horror movies. If you've watched this movie, you know which scene this color is based on... (and if you've never seen this movie, go watch it! ) Finally, a polish that truly deserves the description my friend Yv always gives a murky green polish!

 

Exorcism is a murky, pea green base with green squares, black shreds, holographic silver spots, black bar glitter and micro green glitters. The formula is very sheer, but you can get it opaque on its own in about 3 - 4 coats. I like it on its own, but I love it over China Glaze Grass is lime greener (any excuse to wear that polish... ). This is just one coat over Grass.

This is probably not a color for everybody, but I happen to like pretty/ugly colors like this and the name just makes it even better for me. I've gotten so many compliments on this mani and I even had to write down the name and website for a girl that stopped me in the supermarket to ask about my nails.

Dollish Polish is available on her website, but since this is an older polish, it's not available anymore. Just keep checking her Etsy store, it might turn up there :D

Do you love murky green on your nails like me or do you think the movie still is perfectly appropriate for these kinds of colors?

X

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piCture pOlish Badass

Hi all, did you have a nice weekend? I'm still stuffed from all the sushi I ate on Saturday, but I had so much fun! Thanks girls, you made my weekend!

The polish I have today, I basically bought for the name. I thought it was pretty, but nothing special in the bottle. Boy, was I wrong...

Picture Polish Badass is a black base, filled with a lot of teeny tiny holo glitter. On the nail, it looks more like a charcoal grey polish, because of all the glitter in it. This is one of the collaboration shades and it's created with Sassy Shelly.

The formula for this polish is... well... fan-freaking-tastic!!! It's really easy to paint, dries really fast and shiny, but what you see in my swatches, is 1 coat! Yup, this baby is a true one coater! Not a thick or even slightly thicker coat, just one, easy, smooth and thin coat!

Dark, twisty, glitter, one coat... do I even need to tell you how much I love this polish? I just can't get over it. Well done Picture Polish and Sassy Shelly, well done!

The text on the bottle fits me perfectly: nice nails, naughty girl. This is me in a bottle!

Picture Polish is available on their website and they have several international stockist, all listed here.
I highly recommend picking this polish up!

Did you ever pick up a polish, not expecting much and have it blow you away?

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