Peripera - Metallic Green

If Kaz says you need a polish, you need it. That's right, you nééd it. Kaz has a massive nail polish stash, so I trust her. :O So when I saw this fabulous shade on her blog I immediately ran to ebay and bought it. I'm talking about Metallic Green, a gorgeous green duochrome from the brand Peripera. This nail polish is made of pure awesome, I don't know what else to say... just look at the pictures!

In sunlight it looks even prettier...

Metallic Green is easy to apply and very pigmented, you could get away with one coat, but out of habit I did two. It'll be great for stamping, don't you think? Some things you need to know about this nail polish: 1. it has a BIG flat brush, 2. visible brush strokes on the nail are inevitable with this nail polish finish. I'm not a big fan of brushstroke-y nail polishes, but with Metallic Green I don't care, 'cause it's too FABULOUS.

Peripera is a Korean brand with the cutest packaging, the brush handle of this nail polish is shaped like a cat!

source

Thanks for watching! :h

Striped Chuck

Last week I showed you guys a way to get crisp lines on the nail: with striping tape! Yesterday I wanted to try out another design, because it's fun ánd easy to do. I applied one layer of Millennium from China Glaze on my ring finger nails, placed a couple of pieces of striping tape on top and applied one coat of Essence - Chuck (have I mentioned how amazing that polish is? ♥) on all nails. Then I removed the striping tape from the ring finger nails and applied a topcoat. I really like how it came out, but hey.. in my book you can't go wrong with a blue/silver combination. :)

Thanks for watching!

Rubik's Cube Cake + Nail Art

I want to show you guys another cake I made, an edible Rubik's Cube this time. I made this cake for my brother's birthday (in case you're wondering, I have three brothers, I'm the only girl :) ). This was the hardest cake I've made so far, it costed me blood, sweat and tears, but the end result made me forget all of that. I filled the cake with lemon curd and lemon cheesecake bavarois, it was scrumptiously delicious!

Needless to say, this cake inspired me to do some nail art: fun times! (If you want to see more cake inspired nail art posts you can click here). I used tape and free handed a bit. I started with the different coloured blocks (colour blocking to the max I say!), I waited for them to dry a little and added a layer of topcoat. Then I applied the black lines. After doing some touch-ups with acetone and a small nail art brush to create crisper lines I added another layer of topcoat. Doing one nail took me quite some time, luckily I'm a big fan of accent nails. ;) On the rest of my nails I applied Jade Is The New Black from OPI.

Thanks for watching!

The nail polishes I used:

jade green: OPI - Jade Is The New Black, blue: Barry M - Cobalt Blue, red: Zoya - Kristi, orange: Essence - Andy, You're A Star, yellow: Catrice - Don't Feed The Birds, white: La Femme Beauty - White, black: Essence - Fatal.

a england - Tristam

It's unique, mysterious and reminds me of a starry sky. This is Tristam, a dark blue prismatic nail polish from the young brand a england. Dear readers, dark blue and prismatic, do I need to say more..? I. Love. It.

Not only the looks are great, the formula is just how I want it to be. I applied two silky smooth coats, no topcoat.

Finally, I want to share a few beautiful lines from the a england website:

"a england celebrates:

glamour on nails and the creation of new classics

beautiful, unique shades as the ultimate personal accessory

nail polish as alluring and rewarding: you can watch it on yourself all the time and enjoy it!

a passion for england: its light, utterly romantic weather, somehow gothic charm and glory"

Thanks for watching!

Colour Block Inspired Nails 2

A while ago I posted a colour block inspired mani and I loved it. I thought it would be fun to do a remake with different colours, so last night I threw all my creme nail polishes (a lot more than I thought! *whew*) on my bed to see what colour combinations would be cool and this is the result. As you can see I also practiced my taping skills. :) I like it. What about you?

The nail polishes I used:

dusty turquoise-green: Catrice - I Sea You!

smoky purply grey: Zoya - Caitlin

bright pink: Barry M - Shocking Pink

purply blue: Catrice - Pool Party At Night 

Thanks for watching!

Racing Green Meets Flakey Goodness

You guys know by now how much I like to sponge my nail tips with a sparkly polish, but there's another great way to spice up a mani: add flakies! So I layered two coats of the yummy Nfu Oh #54 over Barry M - Racing Green. This is a match made in heaven, I keep staring at my nails. The flakies, flashing from green to turquoise to blue, really stand out on the dark green base. I love Nfu Oh, they sure know how to make great nail polishes! The only downside of their beautiful flakey polishes (at least the ones I have) is the drying time. They take forever to dry, even with a fast drying topcoat on top, boo. :|

This reminds me of my beloved Caribbean Sea, hmmm...

Thanks for watching and have a great weekend!

Catrice - From Dusk To Dawn (version I & II)

Yesterday I went to the nearest drugstore to see if I could get my hands on some products from the new limited editions from Catrice and Essence when I discovered a new version of a Catrice nail polish named From Dusk To Dawn. It seems like Catrice is 'updating' some of their nail polishes, this is not the first new shade with an old name and number. I don't get easily annoyed, but I find this somewhat annoying. I mean, come on.. how hard is it to give a new polish a new name?

The new version of From Dusk To Dawn is a(nother) Chanel - Paradoxal look-alike. I think it's waaay prettier than the old version, the blue and pink shimmer makes the dusty taupe/purple/mauve base glow, beau-ti-ful! The formula was a little on the thick side, like most polishes from Catrice, but the application was smooth. I used two coats and a layer of topcoat.

Thanks for watching!

Glamorous Chuck

I don't like to spend a lot of money on a nail polish, but I made an exception for one: OPI DS Glamour. I will never regret buying it, because it's a bottle full of awesomesauce. This morning I was applying Chuck from Essence, a gorgeous blurple creme, and you know what? It's the perfect 'underwear' for Glamour! Now I don't have to apply three coats of Glamour every time I want to wear it and see my bottle getting emptier and emptier...

The formula of Chuck is amazing, I applied two coats and one coat of Glamour, no topcoat.

Thanks for watching!

p.s. A lot of people entered my giveaway, which is really amazing, but it takes some time to go through all the entries. :) I'll announce the winner asap!

Essence Nail Art Twins - Bella & Edward

Today I'm showing you one of the Nail Art Twins from Essence, a cheery blue toned green set with a creme polish (Bella) and a glitter topper (Edward). My camera had some trouble picking up the right colour, in real life it looks greener and brighter. Applying Bella was a dream, the formula is very smooth and pigmented. I used two coats, but you can certainly get away with one coat. Edward contains different types of glitter, really fun to look at. I love this set from Essence! The base colour is gorgeous and the glitter polish really adds a nice touch.

The only thing I don't get is why Essence named this set after the head characters from the Twilight series. For a set called Bella & Edward a blood red creme and a gold glitter polish (resembling Edward's skin in sunlight, lol) would've been a better choice, right? Or is it just me..? :O

Thanks for watching!

Colour Block Inspired Nails

Colour blocking (combining blocks/areas of different solid colours) is one of the trends for spring / summer 2011. I've seen a lot of pictures from fashion shows with the most beautiful colour combinations. That must look awesome on nails too, so I decided to make colour block inspired nails. You can keep it simple and make skittles (painting each nail in a different colour), but for some real colour blocking you can use different colours on one nail, for example by making funky french tips. I'm not sure what to think of the french tips I did, doesn't it look a bit too ehh.. funky? :i The fun part is that you can use whatever colours you want, but don't be shy, the bigger the contrast the better!

The nail polishes I used (the 1st picture is the most colour accurate btw):

green: OPI - Jade Is The New Black

berry: Catrice - Just Berried!

blue: Catrice - Blue Cara Ciao

orange: Essence - Andy, You're A Star

Thanks for watching and hey.. a big welcome to all my new followers! :D

Sparkly Blue Curaçao

Today I'm showing you another brand new Catrice nail polish, Blue Cara Ciao. That name totally reminds me of Blue Curaçao, a blue coloured liqueur from the caribbean island Curaçao, yum! Aah, that brings back so much memories.. I lived on Curaçao for thirteen years and I still miss it everyday. I don't know if I want to live there again, but the island will always have a special place in my heart. Oh no, am I getting a bit emotional now? :$

Uhm yeah, the nails. I used two coats of Blue Cara Ciao, a fabulous medium blue, almost azure coloured, creme nail polish. In real life the colour looks more intense with a drop of yellow in it. Colours like these can be very difficult to photograph. If you ever tried photographing Custom Kicks from China Glaze, you know exactly what I mean, hehe. It's an awesome nail polish, per-fect for summer! I see myself wearing this a lot. The formula is nice and pigmented, this is two coats. Then I grabbed a sponge and my bottle of Charla (Zoya) to sponge the tips. Isn't this hot and beachy? I dedicate this mani to Curaçao! 8)

Thanks for watching!

p.s. Have you already entered my giveaway?

Catrice - Dirty Berry

I don't know what's so berry about this polish, but this is Dirty Berry from Catrice. I would describe the colour as a muted bleuish lavender (in normal daylight the colour looks a bit more muted than the above pictures show). Dirty Berry contains a lot of tiny silver glitters with a little surprise, because in bright light they show a very, very weak scattered prismatic effect (if you're looking for a full on rainbow, skip this one). I love the colour and I actually like the subtle prismatic look it has in the sunlight, those little pops of colour made me smile! I can't believe I said that, maybe I have to go on a hunt for one of the Tronica polishes from China Glaze then. :O

Dirty Berry applied well, two easy coats, no topcoat.

Thanks for watching!

Teeez - Cool

A couple of weeks ago the lovely Miranda showed swatches of some Teeez nail polishes. I was immediately intrigued! I don't know what it is with me and prismatic polishes... *sigh* So, I went searching for Teeez. About the brand:

"TEEEZ trendy cosmetics is a Dutch-based hip and fashionable cosmetics company.

TEEEZ trendy cosmetics offers makeup for eyes, lips, nails and body.

Have Fun, Get Noticed, Be TEEEZED... "  

 Yay! It's Dutch. :) When I was looking for places where I could buy their products it turned out a shop right around the corner of my house sells them without me knowing it. How is that for a surprise! But onto one of the polishes I bought, this is Teeez - Cool 02.

And it's certainly pretty cool, I would describe it as an azure coloured polish with a scattered prismatic effect. Blue + prismatic glitter = a total win in my book! The only thing I don't like about the polish are the flowery stickers on the bottle, it looks a bit cheap, but the polish itself is really awesome. The application was good, I used three thin coats, but you could get away with two thicker coats. The brush is somewhat flat, nice to work with. 

Teeez polishes cost €4,50 (10 ml), but they were 50% off, lucky me. :O

Now I'm off to the kitchen, today is bake day! Thanks for watching.

Spring! Nail Art Inspired By a Cake

Remember the cherry blossom and ladybug posts I posted a while ago? Well, today I have another cake inspired mani for you! A month ago my grandma asked me if I could make a big cake for her birthday and of course I said yes. :) She loved the result and it tasted like heaven, yum! The cake inspired me to do some nail art. I used two coats of China Glaze - Caribbean Blue as the base colour. I created 'grass' with an image from plate M73 (but you can also place some random stripes with a small brush) and Konad Special Polish in Apple Green. For the dotted flowers I used a random white nail polish and Don't Feed The Birds from Catrice for the dots in the flowers. A nice layer of topcoat over it and it's done! Doesn't it scream Spring? :D

Thanks for watching!

Comparison: OPI - Glacier Bay Blues & China Glaze - Rodeo Fanatic

Yesterday I made a quick comparison with China Glaze - Rodeo Fanatic and OPI - Glacier Bay Blues. When you hold the bottles next to each other they both show more than one colour; in both is a blue green visible and also a beautiful purple. So I was wondering how they would look next to each other on the nail. And why not share my findings? :) 

Glacier Bay Blues is a true duochrome (look at the bottle in the 2nd picture, wow!), showing different colours at different angles. It's a dark blue polish that can look dark green sometimes and does show the blurple and purple you see in the bottle, whereas Rodeo Fanatic shows blue green most of the time with a hint of dark blue at some angles, but definitely no purple. GBB is obviously darker and more frosty than shimmery; you can see subtle brushstrokes after applying it. So.. different polishes for different moments I'd say. :O

I applied three coats of both and a topcoat. Rodeo Fanatic dries way faster, I always experience drying problems when I use GBB (bummer, cause it's a stunning polish!).

Thanks for watching!

Rodeo Fanatic + Konad

Today I pimped Rodeo Fanatic a bit with some stamping. I used China Glaze - Adore as the stamping polish and a beautiful flower image from imageplate M20. Then I added some half pearls which I received from Born Pretty Store, I think they're cute!

Thanks for watching!

*The product(s) in this post was/were sent to me for reviewing purposes. 

For more information, check out my Disclosure Policy.

China Glaze - Rodeo Fanatic

Today I have another beautiful polish to show you, Rodeo Fanatic from China Glaze. Rodeo Fanatic is one of the polishes from the Rodeo Diva Collection, one of my favourite collections from China Glaze (Branding Iron, Cowgirl Up, Gussied-Up Green, Wagon Trail.. need I say more? *drools*).

Rodeo Fanatic is a shimmery, almost frosty polish with different faces. I wouldn't call it a true duochrome, but there's definitely more than one colour there, making it one of those polishes that are hard to photograph. Most of the time you'll see a gorgeous blue green (best visible in the 2nd picture, which is the most colour accurate picture by the way), but at some angles you'll also see dark blue on the sides of the nail (1st picture). In the bottle there's purple visible, sadly it doesn't show up on the nail. But still.. what an awesome polish! 

The pictures are taken after two days of wear, fantastic right? The application was good, the polish was a little on the thin side, but nothing I can't handle. ;) This is three coats with topcoat.

Thanks for watching!

Comparison: Catherine Arley #674 & Milani - Cyberspace

Here we have the comparison I promised with #674 from Catherine Arley and Cyberspace from Milani. I applied three coats (no topcoat) and the picture is taken in normal daylight.

First the similarities: they're both baby blue polishes with prismatic particles. The application is very nice, they dry rather quickly and removing them is easy.

The differences: Cyberspace is a bit darker and more opaque; the Catherine Arley one seems to have a tini tiny bit more yellow in it. The prismatic particles in Cyberspace are chunkier and they give a scattered prismatic effect (best seen under bright light), whereas #674's prismatic particles are more delicate and they show off a nice rainbow even in low light.

I prefer the opaqueness of Cyberspace, but I love the rainbow effect of #674. What can I say? I'm happy owning both. :O

Thanks for watching!

Catherine Arley #674

#674 it is for today.. One of the Catherine Arley polishes I am most excited about (did I say that about the others too? They're all so great *sigh*). Look at it! Isn't that delicious and amazing? #674 is a light, baby blue prismatic polish. In the sunlight it's so freakin' awesome I couldn't believe my eyes. And indoors it doesn't dissapoint either (3rd picture), my nails look so soft and glassy, like little gems. I don't want to take it off. Never. I know I have to eventually, but you know what I mean, right? :) This baby blue polish made me think of Cyberspace from Milani, a comparison is coming up. I think the biggest difference lies in the prismatic effect, but we'll see!

There is one little downside: this polish is one of the not so pigmented CA's, after applying the first coat I was a bit worried. I ended up doing three, no topcoat added. As you can see it's beautiful on its own, but I think it's going to be great for layering experiments too!

Did I already mention I adore this one? :L

Thanks for watching!

Happy New Year!

I'm actually not a chunky-glitter-polish person, but for today (well, actually tonight) I made an exception.. The beginning of the year 2011 is a once in a lifetime experience after all!! :O

I used one layer of Barry M - Cobalt Blue and two coats of China Glaze - Dorothy Who? on top of it. For me it's definitely firework on the nails!


Now I'm moving to the kitchen to bake a lot of yummy 'oliebollen' (free translation: oil balls, hmm, that actually sounds very very bad, ha-ha) for tonight!

I wish you all a ...

  

       HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :party