How about some spam?

Who doesn't like some nail spam? Well, I always enjoy looking through them and hope you'll enjoy it too :)

Ich mag es ab-und-zu, sogenannte "Nail Spam"- Beiträge (seis auf Blogs oder in Foren) durchzuschauen und hoffe, dass es euch gefällt :)

Catrice Be Pool, not an extradordinary color, so won't be that sad as it is a limited Edition (2 coats)
Catrice Be Pool, mMn keine sehr außergewöhnliche Farbe, also bin ich nicht sehr traurig drüber, da es eine limierte Farbe ist (auf dem Bild sinds 2 Schichten)

A "Frankenfail" it started crackling while it dried :( (as seen on my ringfinger). Used  a matte topcoat and a gorgeous cobalt blue pigment, I believe this was 2 coats
Ein missglückter Franken (selbsgemischter Lack). Er hat aufeinmal angefangen sich wie ein Crackle-Lack zu "teilen" (siehe Ringfinger). Hab dafür einen schönes Kobaltblaues Pigment in einem matten Überlack gemischt, sind glaub ich 2 Schichten.

Basic Bankok: a medium-toned green, a little bit more leaning towards blue in person, 1 coat
Basic Bankok: ein mittleres Grün, ist aber in echt ein wenig mehr blaustichig, 1 Schicht

Tetris Nails: I used Nail Art Pens in sharpie-form from Essence and P2 (the ones by P2 are discontinued by now :( ) and the green, yellow and red stamping polishes by Konad.
Tetris Nägel: Ich hab die Nail Art Pens von Essence und P2 benutzt (die von P2 wurden leider aus dem Sortiment genommen :( ) und die Konad Stampinglacke in Grün, Rot und Gelb.

Orly Gumdrop topped with Essence Circus Confetti and Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday on my ringfinger
Orly Gumdrop als Basislack mit Essence Circus Confetti und Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday am Ringfinger

And last but not least, a little sneack peak in form of nail polish bottles :)


Und zu guter Letzt, ein kleiner Vorgeschmack in Form von Nagellackflaschen :)

CLOSED Bloggin around the Christmas Tree- my giveaway

I told you about the blogger advent calendar before (in case you missed it, you can catch up here). And it's my turn to open the 15th door. So let's see what's behind my door:

Ich hab euch ja schon vom Blogger Adventkalender erzählt (den Beitrag könnts ihr hier nachlesen). Und nun ists Zeit, mein Türchen zu öffnen. Folgendes könnts ihr bei mir gewinnen:

from left to right: Look by BIPA in Green Changer (Chanel Peridot Dupe), Essence Back to the 50's lipstick, BeYu 209 (the good version, also known as Baby Unicorn Pee) and Essence Lipstain in True Love

The rules (please read them carefully, or else your entry is void!)

• only entries from people who live in Europe can enter (sorry international gals!)
• one entry per person
• you must be 18 years old or older, if you are under 18, I'll need the permission of your parents
• this giveaway is open for 24 hours which means it's open from Dec. 15th 00:00 CET(central european time)  till Dec. 15th 23:59 CET/ 11:59pm CET
• the winner is going to be anounced here on this blog and you'll have 4 days (96 hours) to respond to my email or else I'll draw another winner
• the winner will be chosen with random.org
• no legal recourse is permitted

Die Regeln (bitte genau durchlesen, sonst wird euer Eintrag nicht gezählt!)

• Es können nur TeilnehmerInnen aus Europa mitmachen
• Nur eine Teilnahme pro Person
• Ihr müsst schon 18 Jahre alt sein, seit ihr jünger, brauche ich die Erlaubniss von euren Eltern
• Man kann nur 24 Stunden teilnehmen, d.h. nur Teilnahmen vom 15.12 00:00 MET (mitteleuropäische Zeit) bis 15.12. 23:59 MET werden gezählt
• Der/Die GewinnerIn wird hier auf den Blog namentlich erwähnt und hat 4(vier) Tage (96 Stunden) Zeit, auf meine email zu antworten, sonst wird noch einmal ausgelost
• Der/Die GewinnerIn wird mit random.org ausgelost
• Der Rechtsweg ist ausgeschlossen

The next giveaway is hosted by Tiffy from schön und günstig

Das nächste Türchen öffnet sich bei Tiffy von schön und günstig

Happy Birthday vs. Circus Confetti

I've already shown you Happy Birthday in my last post. And when I spotted the new Essence display, I also bought one of their new Nail Art Special Effect Topper, which has multicolored hex-glitters in it. So here's a quick swatch on a nailwheel to compare these two:

Circus Confetti on the left, Happy Birthday on the right

Now, to the differences:
Circus Confetti

• the brush of CC is wider and "thicker" which makes it a tad harder to apply because the hex-glitter gets caught between the brush bristles
• formula-wise it's thicker than its (expensive) sibling
• there's less glitter in CC and the little sized glitter is smaller and sparser than HB
• "middle" sized hex glitter- there are few, sparse glitter which are neither as big as the big hex-glitter, nor as big as the small sized one
• there is more magenta hex- glitter but less silver

Happy Birthday

• there's more square-sized glitter

To be honest, I really like both but if you are in one of the many countries which carry Essence, I would probably pass on the Lippmann because it's 10 times the price (~2€ compared to 20€, that's how much the Lippmann cost here).

Look what I found

The picture explains everything, right? :)

The new Catrice display, an Essence LE and a blast from the past

I found the new Catrice display today and was really excited to see the new things they've released. They've re-arranged their whole display and to me it looks more well arranged than it was.

I heard that there were different versions of their polish called Run Forest Run!, so I found these two

Yeah, the two different versions of RFR!- on the left, the old version, the new one on the right. I get it that some batches might have very slight differences, but turning a dark green into a light green (which now looks a lot like Sold Out Forever now)
And while I was at the store who also has the bigger Essence display, I saw their new LE

I only got the blue/blurple polish and the lighter color changing lipgloss, the rest was kinda meh to me.
They also had part of the new nail-art-stickers

And lastly, here's a little blast from the past. While I was cleaning out my stash  for my blog sale (btw. there's still plenty left ;)) I found this:

These are the "silk" wraps before they've actually released the ones made out of fabric. The nail repair pads are made out of plastic and have a lot in common with clear labelling stickers. I'm not sure when exactly I got them, it was around 2006, but I'm not completly sure.

The instructions

I can still remember trying 3 or 4 of these and thinking that these were a complete waste of money because they are wrinkle-city and can be peeled off in a few hours after applying them.
And here's the actuall wraps- it's hard to photograph, but I think you get the idea.

Layering fun with Glisten Up and Manhattan

First up, Glisten Up. This one is going to be discontinued this last month, so grab a (backup) bottle if you haven't already (maybe it's going to be available a bit longer in the US because it may take a little longer till the new things are going to be displayed). I used layered one coat over a random black creme. In the bottle it is a sheer blue with blue flakies but layered over a black base, it transforms into a green.

Next up, Manhattan AG1401 (what a lovely name *rolls eyes*)
It looks like a dull nude color with a light duochrome effect. layered over a black creme, it transforms into a foil-ish middletoned blue. You can see it'll be a bit brushstrok-y.

Cracked Steel Me

You might remember this post, where I've swatched (almost) the whole collection on nail tips. Steel Me was the one which appealed to me most so I finally painted it on my nails. I used the alessandro magnet to "make" the pattern but it didn't turn out very well, probably because my nails are quite curved. Another thing is that I was underwhelmed (probably because of the almost non-excisting patterns).
I painted an accent nail with L'oreals Star Magnet in Magnetic Prune- I used one coat each and because I didn't like it as much as I tought I would, I decided to take out Isadora's Spraycan Blue, the blue crackle polish.

and here it is with a thick coat of Spraycan Blue

and the glossy version with a topcoat

Some of you might've noticed it, but I've made a facebook page but always forgot to mention it here-
Click me :)

Two LE displays and a little haul

Hey there :)

I found those two displays recently before New Years Eve but didn't got around posting it. Essence's Blaock and White Limited Edition is all about black and white. The things didn't wow me that much and I doubted that the high-anticipated "holo-topcoat" was really one . And it really wasn't a holo-topcoat, more of a layering duo-chrome.

 Next up is Catrice's Urban Baroque Limited Edition. The colors didn't wow me so I didn't  buy anything. I was tempted to buy the Illuminating powder but only buying it because of the packaging isn't that good.

And a little haul- I found some of the new Essence Image Plates (which will replace the old ones). One individual one and one which was in the stampy set. Oh and a Minnie-Mouse polish (I would love if they'd do some with Daisy or Donald Duck because I love them) There was pink/nude-ish color too but my stash storage is about to explode so I only bought the red one.

 And a close-up of the image plates:

Essence All Access and China Glaze Emerald Sparkle

Hey there :)

You might have wondered- I've changed my commenting system because there were some issues with it. Also I've successfully transfered all the previous comments and they are still available :D

Now, onto polish. Essence's All Access is a dark emerald green with a "glowing shimmer" if you look closely at the bottle. Sadly, it is discontinued but was lucky and managed to get the last bottle off the shelve. I used two coats and it glided on- had a great formula and a average brush. The "glowing shimmer" didn't tranlate on the nail and when I finished it with my topcoat, I didn't like it as much as I though I would so I toped it with one of my most favourite green polishes, Emerald Sparkle by China Glaze.

All Access alone:

And here with a coat of Emerald Sparkle

Essence Choose Me vs. Zoya Charla

Hey there :)

I know, you might have seen a lot of comparisons of these, but I did them quite a while ago and didn't have time to post them earlier.
Essence Choose Me was released this October due to the display change they do every spring&fall. I love that Essence has matching handles, makes it easier to locate the bottle in my drawer ;).
The formula & brush was good, but it took me 4 coats to be opaque. Zoya's Charla, on the other hand was opaque with ony two coats and looks a tad bluer in my eyes but a non-polish addict won't spot the difference. I didn't have a problem with Zoya's brush or fomula either. Somehow this polish looks mostly more green on me, a lot of other swatches show the blue-side of it.
A little waning: these two polishes will stain your nails, so don't forget a proper basecoat/ nail whitener.

My verdict: I really like both but due to the sheerness of Choose Me, I prefer Charla a bit more. I think I might franken with Choose Me, but have no idea yet (if you have suggestions, you can write them in the comments :) )

Essence Just Rock It with a glitter topcoat by Etos

Hey there :)

Essence Just Rock It(JRI) is one of the new shades Essence introduced this fall. It's a blurple creme, and looks a bit jelly-ish in the bottle. JRI was opaque in two coats and it was a bit boring for my taste. So I added a coat of the blue Etos Effect Nails which I got in a swap from Marte of Girly Addictions. The glitter-topcoat has silver holo hex-glitter in it and some regular sized silver glitter in a colored base.

As all/most purples/blurples, it looks like a simple blue, but it's not :(

First up, a swatch of Just Rock It on its own.

and some pictures with Etos Effect nails
(first one with flash, second one in direct sunlight)

Essence Metallics Nail Polishes and playing around with them

Hey there :)

Essence recently came out with magnetic polishes and there are currently 4 in their Metallics LE. The LE was released this month and some places were sold out soon (or at least the stores I visited). I am not sure if it will be released in the US, but let's hope for the best.


I feature the polishes in my giveaway where the winner of the 2nd price gets to pick one of them.

There are 5 shades in but the 5th one isn't magnetic and I already have a lot of similar colors that I already own so I didn't buy it. Here some bottle pictures:

And I held a (kitchen) magnet onto the bottle and you can see this pattern:

 And some nail tip swatches (I used the essence magnet):

As you can see the second pattern doesn't see very flattering, to me it looks more like ugly ridges on your nail. And I swatched them in the same order like the bottles above. Then I played around with some kitchen magnets (I used Steel me on all 3 nail tips).

You can see that the round magnets are more different than the flat magnet on the left.

Here are some tips that might help you with these polishes:

• Shake the bottle before painting each nail if you really want to be sure that you'll get a pattern on your nails. I know it may cause bubbling but most of these polishes have quite a thick formula and are opaque in one coat.
• Place the magnet really close to you nail but not too close so you'll smudge your manicure.
• Paint each nail at the time because once the polish is dry, the magnetic effect doesn't appear.
• Do thicker coats if the pattern doesn't appear.
• If you have a stronger magnet, and don't know what kind of pattern it "does", hold it onto the bottle and you'll see it.
•  For funsies, play around with different magnets, you may even have one that does a star pattern.

Birthday Giveaway! CLOSED

EDIT 29.11: This giveaway is closed, thanks everyone who entered :) I'll announce the winners soon.

Hey there :)

So today is my Birthday and what other way to celebrate it, than a giveaway?
The rules are simple:

•  be a visible follower and fill out the form at the end of the post. 
• You don't have to write the entering details in the comments (i.e. I follow via...&my email adress is...). 
• This giveaway ends  November 28th, 23:59 CET/GMT+1)
• The winners will be drawn at random using "The Hat"- program
• The winners have 72 hours to respond to claim their prize.
• My current 300 followers earn one extra entry because you're awesome :)
• Feel free to use the three pictures in this post.
• If you have any questions, leave a comment or you can email me.

Now, the prizes:

There will be two winners, here's the first price:

from left to right: Essence Nail Art Mini Glas file

Catrice Sold Out Forever (Chanel Jade Dupe)

H&M Cha Cha

Glam Nails Rainbow

P2 Energetic Blue from their Flower Hour LE

Alessandro Go Magic! Twist in Blue Chip

and P2 Crackling Top Coat in Silver Blast (not pictured)

And here's the second prize:

Catrice Lost in Mud (Chanel Particuliere Dupe)

Essence Glisten Up!

Glam Nails Rainbow

Essence Sun Downer (from their Retunr to Paradise LE)

Alessandro Pro White Original, a nail whitener which I love

some Nail decals from Essence 

P2 Crackling Topcoat in Silver Blast (not pictured)

and one of the Magnetic polishes by Essence from their Metallic LE+ the magnet

The winner of this prize can choose between these four shades

( Edit: This giveaway is open internationally and please only enter ONCE.
Disclaimer: All the products in this giveaway were purchased by myself)

An amazing swap and a breathtaking Nfu.Oh

Hey there :)

Some time ago I did another swap with Jackie from Candy Coated Tips and she got me these goodies:

 OPI Blue Moon Langoon, Sally Hansen Purple Pizzazz, Milani Dot com, Sinful Colors Let's Talk and Wet'n'Wild Blue Moon

 Orly La Playa, China Glaze Mummy May I and China Glaze Ghoulish Glow, their Glow in the Dark polish/topcoat

some sweets and a beautiful card :D
Thanks again Jackie for this wonderful swap, you rock!

My recent army of Nfu.Oh's left you all drooling, so here's the first one I used: number 52. I used Essence's Midnight Rocker as a base but the pictures turned out to be really bad, so I'll reswatch it. Midnight Rocker is one of Essence's new shades and is an almost black purple. It needed two coats to be opaque and I layered one coat of Nfu.Oh 52 over it. The Nfu.Oh flakies are stunning and I couldn't stop staring at my nails when I was wearing it.
I used different angles to show the different colors the flakies.