Periwinkly Konadicure

I'm a big fan of subtle stamped nails. One way of achieving a subtle result is using colours lying close to each other (duh!) like the combination above. 

This is three coats of China Glaze - Secret Peri-Wink-Le and I stamped with an image from Konad imageplate M64. The polish I used for stamping is China Glaze - 2NITE. That one is ah-ah-awesome for stamping! And awesome in every other way. ♥

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(Almost) Naked Nails

Although I like to wear all kinda crazy colours on my nails, I have to admit: sometimes I like to have my nails (almost) naked. Fresh and simple.. Today is one of those days. I did use a Nail Whitener from Etos (a Dutch drugstore brand), because my nails are a bit stained and it gives a shine. It's an old bottle, but it works like a charm! 

Don't be afraid, tomorrow I'll dive into my evergrowing pile of nail polishes and look for some crazy polish to wear and show you.. :O

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Essence Studio Nails - 12 Trust Me!

Today I tried something different on my nails. No nail polish, no! Nail stickers, from Essence. I like the idea of nail stickers, fun designs, no drying time: nice. I bought them quite a while ago and finally tried them. The design I used is called 12 Trust Me!.

Well, trust me, they suck! At least on my nails they do. The set contains 14 pieces so you can choose what size fits best on every nail. Sadly my nails are too small for most of the stickers, so I had to cut most of them. It says perfectly styled nails within seconds on the back. Hmm, I don't think so. When I finally got them on my nails I saw some tiny wrinkles and some other imperfections. Although I'm kinda perfectionistic I really wanted to give these stickers a chance. I started photographing my nails and noticed the sides of the stickers were curling up. That's it. Top innovation my *ss. That's not the 5 days lasting Essence promised... (not that I believe such promises in the first place ;) ).

Of course I dó have the result for you! Looks nice, huh? ^_^

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CND - Amethyst Sparkle

I thought it would be fun to use a CND Effects polish. My first time using one! I applied one layer of Amethyst Sparkle on top of Yasmeen from Zoya. Not that I thought Yasmeen wasn't nice on its own by the way :O

Amethyst Sparkle adds a lot of purple and pink sparkles to the manicure, gorgeous! It's a great way of bringing your manicure alive again and giving it a little extra oomph. I like it!

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Zoya - Yasmeen

Experiencing some Internet connection problems over here, that sucks big time! It's still not how it should be, so a quickie today, because uploading the pictures already took ages *wipes of forehead*.

This is Yasmeen from Zoya. Zoya's description of Yasmeen: "Dark blue-toned purple base with very strong red-toned medium purple shimmer and hints of gold duochrome. The ultimate complex purple for maximum drama".

I couldn't describe it better :D. The shimmer is awesome. In natural light the blue undertone is more visible (see pic below). And still that crazy rockin' shimmer, me likey! What's up with hidden shimmer in some polishes nowadays?! I want to see it. All the time. So YAY for Zoya! :D

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China Glaze - DV8

lamp light

I guess you guys have seen this one a gazillion times, this is DV8 from China Glaze. It's one of the polishes from the OMG collection, one of their best collections evah. I say: 'HOLO' (well, actually the correct term is prismatic, but you know wat I mean... ). I think the turquoise colour combines perfectly with the holo rainbows! The next time I will wear it on a sunny day though. 8)

Application was not so nice, but that's my fault. I already applied basecoat and that's a no-no with these kind of polishes (hello bald spots!). After two coats de result was nice and opaque though. I skipped the topcoat, because it can dull the prismatic effect and we wouldn't want that, do we? Polishes like these are great when you're in a hurry, just two thin layers on bare nails and you're ready to go. And it dries very fast! On some nail blogs I read that the OMG polishes chip easily, but my experience with the wear is good, still no chips. :D

Thank you so much for watching and following!

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.

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Orly - Lunar Eclipse (mattified)

sunlight

natural light

I was wondering what Lunar Eclipse (Orly) would look like matte. Well, it looks awesome! The result is so soft and intense... Actually it's more of a suede finish than really matte.

I used the matte topcoat from Diamond Cosmetics. The application was smooth, I used two thin coats. If you want a super-matte result from a topcoat, maybe this isn't the one for you. Luckily there is quite a bunch of matte topcoats available at te moment :)

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Orly - Lunar Eclipse & China Glaze - Grape Pop

When I got my bottle of Lunar Eclipse from the Orly Cosmic FX collection I was so happy with the duochrome I saw in it. In the bottle you can see a really vibrant indigo with blue and pink particles and a purple flash. I read on other nail blogs that the purple didn't show up on the nail that well.. That's often (if not always) the case with duochromes; in the bottle they're so colourful and gorgeous, but when you put it on your nails it's always a little bit disappointing. I can't believe I did it again! ..buying a duochrome polish because it looks sooo nice in the bottle.. xo

Anyway, I was warned about the disappearing purple. So I thought layering Lunar Eclipse on top of a purple could help the purple of LE to come out better. First I applied China Glaze - Grape Pop, then I added two layers of Lunar Eclipse on top of that. The result is stunning!  Most cameras have trouble capturing purple, so has mine. It took me some effort (and a couple of hundred photo's ;)) to get the purple on the pics. In real life it's even more visible! 

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Ulta3 Old Charmed

Hey look what I found.  I don't know if this is just an old bottle, or if it has been labelled incorrectly.  But the label say's 'charmed'.  Now any serious Ulta3 polish gal knows that 'charmed' is the rather crappy green glitter polish.  Well look at this.

I think it must be an old colour not wrongly labelled, because I can't find a matching colour in the rest of the range.  It's a coral pinky red with a fine gold shimmer.  Me likey!!  Anyone else found this little beauty?

Ulta3 Frog Prince

Ribbit... Yep, there's definitely 'frog' in this one, not so sure about the 'prince' though.  Seriously, would anyone actually wear this colour on a normal day. 

I actually think the time of it's release is pretty good, coming up to Christmas and all.  I think would make some awesome Christmas manis.  In previous years I've done the alternating red and green polish on each finger (with a couple of coats of glitter).  In fact I think I will have to do that for my work Christmas party, maybe 'pepper pot' with 'red glitter' and 'frog prince' with 'charmed' glitter.  Cool.

Anyway, more about Frog prince. This polish didn't dry matte, but it didn't dry with a nice shiny gloss either.  This was two coats and you can still see a nail line. Formula was good.

Here it is in a comparison with NYC (found in the same ulta3 bins) 'jelly'.  This photo was take two weeks after the above photo (and is a rather shitful swatch).  I did it in a rush (to try and catch the sun - which I didn't) and got cat hair stuck in the index nail (which I then dragged out and tried to cover with another coat, which bubbled - fail)

Jelly is lighter and more fluro (obviously).  It is also much sheerer.  I'm actually diggin' this alternate green shade look, I'd keep it on if I hadn't done such a crappy job at application.

Barry M - Dusky Mauve

natural light

lamp light

Today I have a polish from Barry M for you to look at. It's called Dusky Mauve (I like that name!), a dark taupe with violet shimmer. The shimmer isn't that visible in low light actually, but under bright light it's clearly visible and gorgeous. Of course the sun was shy when I was ready to photograph my nails, but let me say that this polish will surprise you on a sunny day! :O

The application was very nice, two coats were enough for an opaque finish. 

Thanks for watching!

Ulta3 Earl Grey

Hello again, I've been up in sunny (and wet) Brisbane/Gold Coast for the last week and only had a couple of opportunities to jump on my hubby's laptop. But now I'm back home and can show you the last two of the new colours.

Earl grey.  I love this colour, I think it will be the most popular in the range.  It's a beautiful neutral taupe brown/grey.  A perfectly work appropriate polish. Silky smooth and totally opaque in two coats.  This was without a top coat.

No comparison swatches this time.  Why?  Becuase there really isn't any other colour in the Ulta3 range that was even close enough to compare to.

Ulta3 Purple pumps

Let's all say it together 'oooohhhhhhh'.  It reminds me of hubba bubba bubble gum in grape flavour.  This was two coats and a top coat of ulta3 non-chip.  It really needed the top coat cause it dried with some flat (not quite matte) patches.

Comparisons... Purple pumps on index and pinky, Purple passion on the middle finger, Spring break on the ring finger.

There is nothing like it in the ulta3 range.  Soooo cool, what a great creme colour.

Ulta3 Party Shoes

Let's put on our party shoes and go! Does anyone have shoes this colour?  It's such a great lolly pop or barbie pink creme.  Again two coats, not top coats.  Still a little sheer as you can see a slight nail line.

And now for the colour comparisons to other ulta3 polishes.  Party Shoes on the index and pinky. Silver pink on the index fiinger and poppy on the ring finger.

There isn't actually a dupe of this colour in the ulta3 range, which I think is great, given there are so many pinks.  Silver pink is a very similar in colour, but it has a very obvious pink shimmer. Poppy is kinda similar, but is very frosty in comparison.

OPI - DS Glamour

No words...

Ok, a couple. I cried. A Little.

Flawless application by the way :)

Thanks for watching!

Ulta3 Cocoa bean

Today I show you Cocoa bean.  I really love this polish.  There is something to be said for a nice smooth cream polish, and I think this is a flattering colour for most people.  This was two coats, no top coat. Great colour pigment and not streaky at all.

The only down side for me is that is it is very similar on the nail to ulta3 Neutral.  Here is a comparison to show.  Index and pinky have Cocoa bean, middle finger has neutral and the ring finger has Earth.

Clearly Earth isn't even close to Cocoa bean or Neutral, but it was another brownish colour so I wanted to include it in the comparison.  Colour wise, Cocoa bean and Neutral are almost identical.  The only differnce is that Neutral has a very fine gold shimmer base, and for me personally I prefer the fine gold shimmer of Neutral. 

Essence - Glisten Up

When I caught myself staring (again!) at the ombre nails I did yesterday I got the idea to spice them up a bit. Therefore I used Essence Glisten Up, what a masterpiece! Flakies and glitter, you can't go wrong with those. :tup for Essence! I hope they keep making polishes like this one... 

Glisten Up is very sheer, so I recommend layering it. As you can see it shows best on top of a dark(er) polish, like P2-Dangerous on my pinkie.

And a close-up for more flakey and glittery gorgeousness.. *drools*

Thanks for watching!

Ulta3 Carrot Top

Now for the swatches. Carrot top. Went on great and had good opacity.  It's a really nice bright orange-red.  This was two coats, no top coat. Good glossy finish. (Wow, four months off swatching and you start to loose your technique, sorry about the messy application and dry cuticles)

And now some quick comparisons to other similar ulta3 colours. This swatch shows Carrot top on the index and pinky, Fire on the middle finger and Tahiti on the ring finger.

Tahiti is definitly more orange and fluro and you can clearly see the difference.  The difference between Fire and Carrot top however is almost impossible to see.  Colour wise I think they are dupes when on the nail, although Carrot top does look a tiny bit more orange in the bottle.  The main difference for me was the opacity.  Carrot top had better pigment, but only just marginally.

Ombre Manicure

Last night I couldn't sleep and when I can't sleep my thoughts go everywhere, 'what am I going to wear tomorrow', 'what shall I put on my nails'.. Yeah, big worries, I know. :O 

I decided to make an ombre manicure. That was a big trend like a year ago, I'm thát slow in picking up trends, hehe. I can try to describe how to do it, but showing a picture is waaay easier!

The polishes I used (from thumb to pinkie): China Glaze-For Audrey, Catrice-I Sea You!, Catrice-Sea Of Green, Diamond Cosmetics-Don't Teal My Heart Away and P2-Dangerous.

Although it isn't the most ombre-like mani, I really like the result! It's also very fun to do; looking and testing what polishes would be nice together. If you're slow in picking up trends like me and haven't tried this mani yet, you should! :i

Thanks for watching!

New Utla3 colours

Where have I been?  Not that I think anyone actually cares (I know the reason your here, and it's to see nail polish swatches) I'll be quick...  We'll I'm now just over seven months pregnant, and the truth is that the idea and smell of nail polish and polish remover has just made me feel like vomiting.  Weird hey!!  Its not effecting me as much anymore, and nothing makes me want to wear polish more than spotting six new Ulta3 colours in the polish bin at my local chemist!!

I'm about a month late in showing you the new ulta3 colours, but here they all are:

Carrot top, Party shoes, Frog prince, Purple pumps, Cocoa bean and Earl Grey.

Some are cool new colours, others are almost dupes of existing Ulta3 colours. 

Swatches coming with comparisons were relevant (and they will be added to my colour guide soon).