30. Juli 2012

Random Glitter

Umm... I don't even know what to say!! I was sitting and watching a movie, and there were a couple of glitter bottles and fan brushes lying around me. Since I already had base colour on, in 3 minutes I got THIS on my nails:

oriental nails arab arabic nail art

oriental nails arabic nail art

oriental nails arabic nail art
Used products: 
Base colour: Franken Scandalous Ballerina
Colours: Victoria Shu #16, China Glaze Midnight Kiss, Manhattan #77Z
Glitters: Milani Gold, Essence Troy, NYX Lights-Camera-Glitter
Nail Art Fan Brush

"Weird" is the softest word one can use to describe this mani. But since I promised to myself to post about my fail manicures, too - here it is ; ) Of course, I didn't wear it out. More out, than a garden I mean : )

oriental nails arab arabic nail art

oriental nails arab arabic nail art

You seriously don't have to comment on that! :)

28. Juli 2012

Yay! Holidays!

Dear girls!
Now that you are reading this post I am sitting in an airplane heading to....



THERE!

Believe me, I am super happy because I was waiting for such a holiday for a loooooooong time. No worries, I have some posts scheduled already :)

To make it more interesting, I won't tell you where I'm going. However, it's not that difficult to guess. And if you do guess, you'll have +10 entries in my next giveaway :DD If you name the country AND the place/city, you'll have +20. No kidding! First come - first serve, comments are valid today and tomorrow. And a hint: my next giveaway will be a cutie holo polish :)

26. Juli 2012

Iced Licorice + comparison

"Whaat, is she crazy? Such a gloomy shade in the middle of summer?" - you might think, seeing today's swatches. But I've been craving Nubar Iced Licorice for ages, and after I got it, I couldn't let it stay in untrieds for a long time. Moreover, a fellow bloggerin, TatiN (check her blog, she has very pretty swatches!), asked me to show it. So I am doing: 

Nubar Iced Licorice

Nubar Iced Licorice

Nubar Iced Licorice

Nubar Iced Licorice

Nubar Iced Licorice

Nubar Iced Licorice

And of course I was VERY curious to compare Licorice with my favourite Deborah Milano #60. They look pretty similar in the bottles, no?

Nubar Iced Licorice comparison

Although both polishes have purple base, the difference here is that Deborah is more cool-toned, and Licorice is slightly warmer.  Also, the golden shimmer is not the same: Nubar has mica-type flakies, and Deborah just usual small golden shimmer particles. Whereas Nubar has a more delicate shine, Deborah is more of a blingy-thingie. By formula, Nubar is thicker than the quite sheer Deborah, and covers in 2 coats vs. Deb's 3. 

Nubar Iced Licorice comparison

Nubar Iced Licorice comparison

Yeah, might be not that much of a difference on the photos, but there is more in real life, you see it. They are NOT dupes. And as for me, I ❤ them both! :)

22. Juli 2012

Manhattan Grad

Long time no sponging...right? : ) I honestly missed it. It's such a cool and easy technique, which gives amazing effects on nails, but I somehow ignored it lately. Well, now is the time to catch up! 

gradient nails

gradient nails

gradient nails

On the pics you see Manhattan 78J sponged with Amour Blue Glitter and some strokes of Wet'n'Wild Kaleidoscope. It actually took me 5 minutes to create all this : )

gradient nails

gradient nails

gradient nails

Of course, I'll show the base polish - Manhattan 78J - by itself too. Might be irrelevant, because it's from an old Manhattan&Buffalo LE, but the shade is very pretty. When I was buying it, I was sure it would be a neon blue. But no! It's a bright, "electric" blue summer colour, but not neon. Which is perfect for me. Actually, THIS is the colour I expected OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui to be, and not a boring teal. 

Manhattan Nagellack nail polish

Manhattan Nagellack nail polish

Manhattan Nagellack nail polish

Manhattan Nagellack nail polish

One more last thing.. I cut one of my fingers really badly, and originally these swatches included a big bloody wound as well, lol. But thanks heaven, with our modern apps&tools it was quite easy to erase it in 2 clicks. I'm just curious.. can you see anything? Which finger did I cut? :) :)

19. Juli 2012

Jeansy Nails

Each and every nail polish fanatic has a "jeans denim colour" in her stash, right? : )
I also do, and although the polish is not really "well known" one, but the colour is just fantastic - Debby ColorPlay #188. My polish buying-wearing-swatching-posting becomes really international: I bought this one in Italy, wore it in Russia, and I'm posting it now from cold Germany. Funny : )

Debby ColorPlay 188 smalto vernis nail polish

Debby ColorPlay 188 smalto vernis nail polish

Debby ColorPlay 188 smalto vernis nail polish

Debby ColorPlay 188 smalto vernis nail polish

As you see, it's a darker blue foil, very pretty and unproblematic in application - it's very opaque and not stripy, 1 or 2 coats on the photos. I think I even didn't use the top coat. My love for foils will never go away, I guess :)
Debby is generally a nice brand in my opinion, and if you pass by Italy, you should pay attention to these little bottles - they have some win shades inside.

Debby ColorPlay 188 smalto vernis nail polish

Debby ColorPlay 188 smalto vernis nail polish

Debby ColorPlay 188 smalto vernis nail polish

The last swatch looks so "not me", and rather Scrangie-style : ) That was not my intention, I just wanted to capture the texture in the poor Russian northern light. Gotta work on my macro-shooting still : )

17. Juli 2012

Maria Bonita + Monsters

Aaand my very first experience with new Bundle Monster plates! I can tell you it was VERY exciting :) 
I didn't expect: 1) that the images will be so big; 2) that they will be of such a good quality for the price (no sharp edges, well engraved tiny details etc.); and 3) that they will stamp so well! See yourself!

Bundle Moster new plates BM-314 stamping

Bundle Moster new plates BM-314 stamping

Bundle Moster new plates BM-314 stamping

What you see on the pictures is randomly picked pattern from BM-314, and the pretty base colour is Inocos Maria Bonita from a cool collection (I like the concept!) Marias de Portugal. I got this beauty from my last swap with Akuma Kanji. The colour is soooo pretty - dusty lavender with a touch of periwinkle - that there's no way I won't show the swatches : )

Inocos Maria Bonita

Inocos Maria Bonita

Inocos Maria Bonita

Inocos Maria Bonita

Well, what can I say.. The new Bundle Monster plates are just pure delight, and Maria Bonita polish - muito bonita, indeed! : )

15. Juli 2012

Monsters!

Finally!
They are HERE!
I'm so so so happy : ) My inner creative part too.

Bundle Monster stamping plates 2012

Bundle Monster stamping plates 2012

Bundle Monster stamping plates 2012

Bought here
For 10% off, enter "Nail2012" Bundle Monster coupon code : )
Overall opinion is that they ship pretty fast, in my case it was normal US-DE waiting time.

And yes, the images are quite big and work well! Totally recommend!

13. Juli 2012

Flying Dragon

One more extremely interesting polish. Not so special and dear for me as the previous one, but in terms of colour.. just WOW. As much as I like unusual polishes, I think that China Glaze Flying Dragon could easily apply for the role of one of the best creations of this brand in this regard. 

China Glaze Flying Dragon

Flying Dragon is a violet base with blue and pink glitter particles swimming all around. If you see it in a bottle, it looks enchanting and I'm sure you will want to buy it, BUT! Beware. Once you apply the first layer on your nails, you will see a dark matte piece of sh..omething!! I was prepared, because I read some reviews before I bought it. So now you also know that all you have to do is to put a layer of top coat on top. Then you will see the beauty : )

China Glaze Flying Dragon

China Glaze Flying Dragon

 The sun doesn't add much beauty, by the way. Just makes the colour a bit brighter.

China Glaze Flying Dragon

And I tried to shoot some macros, because Flying Dragon deserves it, but because I was travelling my hands were all dry and bah. Sorry for that.

China Glaze Flying Dragon

China Glaze Flying Dragon

China Glaze Flying Dragon

Hm, I think it's the first time that I regreted about buying a mini bottle instead of full-size. If it finishes (half a bottle is away already), I promised myself to get a big one. We'll see : )