Color Club: Wicked Sweet (Part III: green) + Kleancolor - Chunky Holo Teal

I have one polish from Color Club's Wicked Sweet collection left to show you, a green neon called The Lime Starts Here. The finish of this one is something between a jelly and a creme. I can certainly appreciate a good green neon on my nails and this one is hot (and looks much brighter in real life)! After trying the lemon scented highlighter yellow from the same collection I was afraid I wouldn't like the scent, but it's not bad at all. *phew* :)

The formula was great, I had no trouble with applying this one. The only downside is the sheerness, this is how it looks after applying three coats. 

Overall, I think this is a fun collection from Color Club: summery colours, different finishes and for me the scents really add something (the sour ones weren't my favourite, but that's taste related). Some of the polishes aren't the easiest to apply and you have to keep in mind most are sheer and require at least three coats.

I wanted to use one of the Chunky Holo's from Kleancolor, so I applied one coat of Chunky Holo Teal over the vibrant green. It would probably look better layered over a darker colour, but I really like the little pops of colour on top of The Lime Starts Here. Don't get me started on the scent though, the fruity scent of the Color Club polish mixed with the beloved Kleancolor smell: not good! ;)

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.

Layering: Holo Chrome over Grape Pop

After two awful rainy days the sun is back, yay! I wanted something on my nails that would look stunning in sunlight, so I spiced up the colour I was wearing, China Glaze - Grape Pop, with Holo Chrome from Kleancolor. Purple and multicoloured sparkles, awesome combination! The drying time of Holo Chrome was longer than average, but the biggest downside of this beautiful polish is definitely the smell. Boy oh boy, this ain't good. I can't say I wasn't warned by other nail bloggers, though. ;)

Thanks for watching! 

Cult Nails - Captivated

Captivated. A well chosen name for this nail polish, glittery goodness! I saw the first swatch of it and I wás captivated. Which was kinda surprising to me, because I'm not a big fan of chunky glitter polishes. But this one... oh, I nééded it. Captivated is part of a collection called A Day at the Races, a beautiful range of nail polishes designed by fellow blogger Maria! Creating your own nail polish line, isn't that the dream of every nail polish lover..? *sigh*

Maria describes Captivated as 'a coral based jelly polish packed with gold and coral glitter'. I have nothing to add to that description. It's extremely pretty, so sparkly, like a summer party on my nails! It'll be awesome for a pedi too, so applying it on my toenails will be the next thing I'm doing. The formula on this one was quite goopy, so the application wasn't the easiest. I hope some thinner will solve that, 'cause I want to wear this beauty all summer long! I used three coats and one layer of topcoat. On the pictures it may look a little see-through, especially on the pic taken in sunlight (3rd), but in real life it's more opaque. And more sparkly too! The nail surface feels slightly bumpy after applying Captivated, but that can be solved with a good layer (or two) of topcoat.

Thanks for watching!

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!

Comparison: Color Club - Alias and Orly - Out Of This World

Yesterday I showed you the stunning nail polish Alias from Color Club. When I was taking pictures of it, it reminded me very much of one of the nail polishes from the Cosmic FX Collection from Orly, Out Of This World. So I compared it with Alias, and I also used Space Cadet (also from Orly) on one nail.. just because I can, lol. If you hold the bottles next to each other Alias and OOTW look quite similar, but on the nail I see more differences. Alias contains smaller particles and has a denser look - OOTW looks a little deceiving in the bottle, denser than when it's applied on the nail. Alias is also lighter, has a stronger duochromatic/multichromatic effect and is less pigmented than the Orly one. I used four coats for Alias and three coats for OOTW, no topcoat.

It's obvious that Space Cadet and Alias show an other range of colours, but they both have the same multichromatic look and the density of the particles/glitter is not that different. I love these kind of polishes!

Well.. I hope this was helpful for some of you. :)

Thanks for watching and have a nice weekend!

Color Club - Alias

This is a-ma-zing. I mean, creme polishes become totally boring next to a polish like this one. I'm showing you Alias from the Keep It Undercover part of the Alter Ego Spring 2011 Collection from Color Club (woah, that are a lot of names in one sentence). When I saw the first swatches of Alias I knew I had to have it. And you need it too, if you want an unbelievably stunning polish that is. ;) In sunlight Alias shows a nice sparkle (first picture), but indoors it shows his (her?) true colours. It looks like multicoloured molten metal on my nails... *sigh* Pure love!

Now that I told you how amazing Alias is, I have to bring the sad news: it's very sheer. I had to apply four coats (me no likey!), but the layers dried quickly. If you don't want to apply so many coats you can easily layer Alias over a dark purple for example and that's what I'm going to do the next time, 'cause I need to wear this one more than once!

Thanks for watching!

Essence: Romeo and Circus Confetti

Yesterday I went to the nearest Kruidvat (a Dutch drugstore) to see if they added the new Catrice and Essence products. And yay, the new shelfs were fi-nal-ly there! The Catrice shelf looked like a tornado had passed though, all the fun stuff was already gone *sigh*. But I got myself some new Essence nail polishes, so I wasn't too sad about it. The first polish I tried out was one half of the Essence Nail Art Twins, Romeo, a grey creme (nice formula, two coats). I guess Essence made a new version of Romeo, because the swatches I find on the web show a silver metallic polish. The other half of the set, Romeo's beloved Julia, was missing, so I decided to cheer him up with one of the new special effect toppers from Essence, Circus Confetti (one coat). 

I have to state first that I háte chunky glitter polishes, so buying this one is a true milestone for me.. And I have to say: Love. It. What a fun look, Circus Confetti is really awesome. I can't wait to try it on top of other nail polishes, the possibilities are endless. Imagine how it'll look on a red creme, or a turquoise, an orange one! The only downside is that the clear base is a tad yellowish, so it can change the base colour a little. 

Thanks for watching!

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!

Comparison: Teeez - Femme Fatale & China Glaze - Ruby Pumps

I told you earlier I was wondering how Teeez - Femme Fatale would look like next to one of the masterpieces from China Glaze, Ruby Pumps. First I want to point out that both colours look darker, deeper and more blue toned  in real life, with the first picture being the most colour accurate of the two.

Ok, let's compare these pretty reds: the base colour is very much alike, they apply well and are opaque in three coats. The biggest difference is what's floating in the base. Ruby Pumps is packed with rounded silver and red glitter, whereas Femme Fatale has little irregular shaped multicoloured flecks/flakes in it. What I really like about Femme Fatale is the violet flecks, they add a nice touch to the polish. But Ruby Pumps is more sparkly, love that too! 

What can I say..? It's nice to find a nail polish that can compete with Ruby Pumps, I'm happy to have both. :)

I also want to use this post to thank my readers, all those sweet comments and emails give me a warm feeling and make me really happy. I can't believe I have so much followers, where do you all come from? :O How about a thank you giveaway when I hit the 500 mark..? Stay tuned!

Oh, and I added a FAQ page, check it out if you want. 

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!

Sparkly Fruity Forest

Yeah, that title... don't ask. :i Yesterday I showed you Orly - Enchanted Forest and today I have a spiced up version for you. I sponged half the nail with China Glaze - Emerald Sparkle and the nail tip with Ivanka from Zoya. I love the contrast of the creme base and the sparklies on the tip! Then I added a slice of a lemon fimo cane. You know, for funsies. :D I think the fimo is fun to play around with, cute designs and all, but the thing is: I wish I could slice them thinner. It's so bumpy on the nail and that makes me want to peel it off all the time. If you want to try the fimo canes yourself, you can find them at the Born Pretty Store.

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.

Goodies from Born Pretty Store

I guess most of you heard of the webshop Born Pretty Store. This webshop offers a lot (and with that I mean: a lot!) of lovely nail art products like rhinestones, stickers, dotting tools and striping tape, but they also have makeup brushes, false eyelashes and even contact lenses. Jessica from Born Pretty Store asked me if I would like to review some products.. Well, of course! I love to try out new nail products. :) She was kind enough to send me two polishes, a wheel with coloured half pearls and a lot of fimo canes. I'm so excited about those fimo canes, aren't they cute? I can't wait to try them, especially the fruit designs! 

But first I want to show you swatches of the two glitter polishes I got ($3,51 for 8 ml). The brand name is BO Nail Lacquer (the font on the bottle has a striking resemblance to the font on OPI bottles, don't know what to think about that). When I was looking for a name or a number I found a strange sticker at the bottom of the bottle which says Original Nail Envy. I doubt that these bottles contain OPI's Nail Envy, so what's up with that? Ah well.. No names or numbers then. EDIT: the sticker of the left one says B34 and the right one would be B02, but they don't look the same as the corresponding numbers on the website. So I don't know if the stickers on my bottles are right. 

Enough about the bottles, let's talk about the polishes! I received two glitter polishes, one sheer pink with silver mini glitter and one sheer lilac/mauve with the same silver glitter. They are very very sparkly, love that! They contain so much glitter, the effect is almost metallic. The application was good, but these polishes are both very sheer. Even after applying three coats the smile line of my nail is still visible. I think I'll try layering them in the future.

Sparkly, right? :D I'm happy to tell you I received a code you guys can use to get a 10% discount at www.bornprettystore.com. The code is AMYGK31 and you can use it till March 31st.

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 - Stroll

Today I'm showing you guys China Glaze - Stroll, a burgundy jelly/sheer polish. And what else did China Glaze put in the bottle? A whole bucket of awesomesauce: golden glitter or actually some kind of golden mini flakes. It's so gorgeous and yummy, my nails look like mashed cherries (that sounds crazy, I know :$). I like it so much, I just removed Napa Valley Red (BB Couture) from my wishlist. I'm aware of them not being dupes or something, but Stroll definitely killed one of my lemmings*! And I'm mad at myself for not using it earlier.

The application was something else. I tried it on a nail wheel first so I knew it would be sheer, but it wouldn't apply evenly on the nail (frustrating!). I was done with it after the 3rd coat and thankfully it looks ok, even on camera. :)

Thanks for watching!

*lemming: 

    1. refers to a purchase/wished-for-item which results from reading an enthusiastic post about a (new) fabulous product. Overcome by compulsion, readers follow like lemmings diving off a cliff.  
   2. A small, short-tailed rodent which lives in the tundra. It is said that large groups of these animals come together every so often to jump off of a cliff. On the contrary, they fall off quite by accident. (source)

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

Catrice - Hip Queens Wear Blue Jeans!

I love Catrice! And how they keep making fantastic polishes. This is Hip Queens Wear Blue Jeans! How cool is that name..? 8) The name already gave you an idea, HQWBJ is a dark blue, denim coloured polish. At first I thought it would be a creme, but surprise surprise, there are some subtle light blue glitters in there! 

The formula was nice. My experience with the polishes from Catrice is that they're always a bit thick, but very pigmented. This is two coats plus topcoat.

Thanks for watching and following!! :h

Nubar - Prize

Today I was in the mood for a party polish :D So I have a very glittery one for you to look at today, Nubar - Prize from the Prisms Collection. The colour is fab! An intense juicy raspberry colour with chunky prismatic glitter in it. Lots of chunky glitter. That's why I wanted to take this polish off as soon as possible. The result is sooo gritty, I kept applying layers of topcoat, but as soon as the topcoat was dry all I could see was a bumpy surface. Bummer! I want a glossy even result *stamps feet* (but hey, that's me... :i).

The application was very very nice though, this is three coats.

Thanks for watching!

Zoya - Valerie

indoors

sunlight

Yes, there she is: Zoya - Valerie. When I saw a swatch of this one it made my heart beat a little faster. A beautiful and lushious dark plummy purple. And like Sarah, from the same collection (Fire & Ice or Flame, whatever you like.. ^^), it has a lot of foily glitter in it, very sparkly. So mesmerizing in sunlight and also fabulous in low light. The pictures are clickable so you can see the sparkles in all their glory. As I mentioned in a previous post I'm not a big fan of golden/coppery colours. Although there is a lot of copper microglitter visible in the bottle, on the nail it's still there, but not so heavy and only at certain angles. Yay!

Well, it's a true beauty! I'm loving Zoya polishes, not only because of the colours, but the formula is good and their bottles are gorgeous. I applied two coats and a topcoat.

Thanks for watching!

Zoya - Sarah

indoors

Today I painted my nails with Zoya - Sarah. It's one of the polishes from the Winter 2010 Fire and Ice collection (although the collection is renamed as 'Flame' on Zoya's website, don't know what that's about.. :brow , but let's talk about the polish!).

Sarah is a pinkish red packed with foily glitter, very sparkly and hot! In the bottle you can see coppery glitter (second bottle from the left), but the copper didn't show up that heavily on the nail (lucky me... as I'm not a big fan of coppery colours). I wonder how Zoya - Valerie will end up on the nail, that one has even more copper glitter in it, hmm.. we'll see!

from left to right: Valerie, Sarah, Yasmeen & Shawn

The application was nice; Sarah is very pigmented, I needed two coats for full coverage.

Thanks for watching! :h