The two Rimmels and Sally Hansen Purple Pizzazz

Hey there :)

Wow, so tomorrow's New Years Eveand another year is over. Looking back at it, I'm glad it's over but I don't have many resolutions but a low-buy is surely in order because I bought way to many polishes (or things in general) and my untrieds-stash is growing bigger and bigger. I don't have much planed for NYE and I hope you'll have a great day tomorrow :)

 Back to polish:
As I showed you in the first post the comparison of the two Rimmels, I decided to layer it with Purple Pizzaz I got from my swap with the awesome Jackie.

I layered one coat over it and boy, it was mesmerizing. I couldn't stop staring at it and the shimmer from Blue me Away was peeking through at some angles. There are glass flecks in Purple Pizzaz which you can see up close.

 

Rimmel Blue me Away vs. Rimmel Blue my Mind or: Why do companies keep changing their formulas?

Hey there :)

Whew, quite a long topic title ^^. So today's post is a comparison post of a polish from the same company but with different colors, even finishes. There are actually quite a lot of dud-Doppelgängers i.e. with holo polishes (yeah, I'm looking at you, My Private Jet, but also Color Club's Revvvolution or Wild at Heart or Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm- the last one isn't sold at their site anymore because they are working on re-formulating it to get the good version back).
Back to topic: Rimmel sold Blue me Away is a gorgeous medium-toned purple with magenta shimmer. Whereas Blue my Mind (BMM) is a creme purple, leaning more towards blue. BMM has even jelly-like and needed 3 coats to be opaque, whereas BMA only needed 2.
My favourite is Blue me away, it has the great shimmer in it whereas Blue my Mind is just a more ordinary purple creme.

The shimmer in BMA is quite distintive,I've only paiunted Blue my Mind on my ring finger.

B.pretty Blue Glitter

Hey there :)

Hope you all had/have a great holiday :)
So today's post is about a polish from the brand B.pretty. B.pretty is an Austrian brand sold in a drug store called "Bipa" (They have their own cosmetic lines like Ulta has their polish(or cosmetics?) line). It is quite cheap compared to some other brands, tough their color-range isn't as big as I as others (you know, the usual reds, pinks, nudes,...). Blue Glitter was from an LE and now I regret not getting a backup bottle because it only holds 5ml :(. Color-wise it's a black base with packed blue glitter in it. The base isn't too opaque that the color of the glitter would drown but it is opaque enough that I only need two coats to reach full opacity. Some may think that this is similar to Milani's Halloween Collection from 2009, but it isn't beacuse there is even more glitter in it.
Sadly, there was no sun to catch the beauty of this polish, so here's the picture taken with flash. Another thing is that it chipped on the second day but I'm not sure if it's the polish itself or my basecoat-combo. (I used two coats and didn't had any issues with either the brush or the formula of the polish)

Merry Christmas

Hey there :)

I wanted to wish all my readers merry christmas and hope you'll enjoy it.

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

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe aka we need more Hex-glitter Polishes

Hey there :)

I love Hex-Glitters and when I first saw swatches/bottle pictures of this one, I knew I had to have this polish. Through a swap with the lovely mrs.sexy over at Canadia Nail Fanatic I got my bottle and a few other goodies.
Across the Universe is a dark blue base with blue and green hex-glitter. There are also smaller sized glitter in it and thanks to the jelly base the glitter still shows up and isn't fully covered by the opacity of the base.
I used 2 coats of this awesome polish.

Mac Ming Blue

Hey there =)

I'm finally done with some (semi-major) work for uni which means more time to blog- wohoo :)
So today I've got Mac's Ming Blue for you. It was released in the Nail Trend LE in fall. This is one of my first Mac polishes and I'm really impressed with it. I love blues and this one is right up my alley.
Ming Blue is a medium cobalt blue with blue and green shimmer. In the bottle the shimmer is more pronounced but on the nail it's more hidden but when the sun his it, it gets even more beautiful. I used two coats and it applied very well.
 (you can click on the pictures to see the shimmer in the last two pictures)

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 :) )

China Glaze Let's do it in 3D

Hey there :)

I was going through my folder with unpublished NOTD's and stumbled across this holo-polish. Let's do it in 3D is from China Glaze's Kaleidoscope Collection released a few years ago (not sure how long exactly, but I think it was from Spring 2008/9?). It is a stunning grey holo, with a scattered pattern. Let's do it in 3D looks best in direct sunlight and is truly mesmerizing.
I used two coats for full opacity and like all holos, I didn't had any problems with the formula or brush. And I didn't use a topcoat because some may dull the holo. The drying time was above average too which makes it even better.
You can click on the pictures to make them large to see more of the rainbow-effect :)
little warning: lot of pictures ahead

CND Urban Oasis

Hey there =)


So today's post is all about Urban Oasis by CND. CND currently released Urban Oasis together with Teal Sparkle in a set called Night Factory Duo. I believe this set is a Limited Edition, but don't quote me ;) . Urban Oasis is a dark forest green with no shimmer and a hint of blue in it. It is a one coat wonder* and I love the CND brush. My camera failed to pick up the hint of blue, so imagine it a tad more blue. It also looks like, it's darker on the nail than in the bottle, but that isn't the case in person.


*to me, a one coat wonder is a polish, which is opaque in one coat

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)

Giveaway Winners

Hey there :)

I just drew the two winners of my Birthday Giveaway. I was really overhelmed by the kind comments you left :)
For the drawing I used the Hat Programme. Let's look at the result for the first Prize:

Congrats BelleJoie- she runs the blog  J'adoreLacquer.

Now, the winner of the second Prize:

Wohoo- Congratulations Cris!

BelleJoie and Cris- please respond to my email within 72 hours.

If you're sad that you haven't won, I'll do another one (hopefully) soon :)

Giveaway- enter if you haven't

If you haven't enter my giveaway, you still have about 3 1/2 hours to enter :)

Click here to enter.

Some recent displays and a paradoxal fever

Hey there :)

I recently spotted a few new or new to me displays and tought that I'd share them with you.

First up, the new Alessandro crackle polishes called "Royal Crash". Yeah, you've seen right, Alessandro jumped on the Crackle-wagon and I somehow have the feeling there are a lot of companies out there who got those. The set contains a base color (gold or silver, a black crackle and a topcoat, all for ~15€)

Next up, two other Alessandro displays, one from their new Dark Secret LE  and an (maybe) older one called Hypnotic (looks like a Chanel Particulière dupe to me ;) )

Last, but not least, two Artdeco displays- a huge one called Color Masterpiece and one containing another (Chanel) dupe (called Mystery Collection).

I really liked #123 and #127 but having a lot of blues and purples I might have dupes or similar shades (plus I didn't want to spend that much if I have something similar in my stash already).

I mentioned the "paradoxal fever" in my title- let's take a closer look to Artdeco #145 of their Mystery Collection:

I took the Chanel Paradoxal testerbottle and compared it to Artdeco #145. I couldn't tell a difference between the two.

Quick Post: LCN Paparazzi

Hey there :)

Just a quick post today. LCN Paparazzi is from their Paparazzi Collection from this fall. When I first saw the promo pictures, I knew, I *needed* to have the blue& green one. I finally found them at this etailer. Sylvia, the owner is really friendly, ships promptly and adds sweet extras from time to time :)
Anywho, Paparazzi is a blurple polish. It was opaque in two coats and I didn't had issues with either the formula or the brush.
I don't get a lot of sun-pictures anymore because the weather here wasn't that great and/or is really orange-y during dusk&dawn (which is/was the only time I got decent sunlight in my appartment during summer).

PS: You've got until Sunday to enter my giveaway, enter, if you haven't entered yet.

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.

Playing around with magnetic polishes

Hey there :)

The other day I was playing around with my magnetic polishes. I bought my (sadly only) bottle of the L'oreal Star Magnets years ago(7?8?) before I got into nail polish. I got the agnes b. one from the sweet Kesha over at Nail Polish Obsession. And if you follow me on Twitter, you might read that I stumbled across the magnetic ones from Alessandro.

All of them are opaque in one coat and you have to work quickly because the pattern might not show up as you hoped (i.e. the contrast is not as strong as you wished,...). Another thing is that you should be carefull with the magnet. You can see in the pictures later, that you'll get polish on the magnet and it'll ruin your manicure.
To avoid this, I'd suggest to place the magnet in a horizontal angle.
About the magnets: I liked the one from Alessandro best- you can adjust the height (or what do you call that?, the picture below shows it) of the magent. The other two are quite the same- but I wish the pattern of the one from L'oreal would be a tad bigger. My other complaint about the magnet is, that the one from L'oreal is that it is fixed and you can't detach it to make it easier to make the pattern.
I know Essence is comming out with some magnetic polishes next month too but I haven't seen/bought them.

from left to right: Alessandro Blue Chip, Agnes B. Cuivre Rose, L'oreal Star Magnet Magnetic Prune
Now to the swatches:

from left to right: Magnetic Prune, Blue Chip and Cuivre Rose
Alessandro's Blue Chip (BC) has a purple shimmer wich you can best see in the promo picture and you can see it in the darker stripes of it  at some angles. Magnetic Prune is as the name implides, a prune color. Cuivre Rose (CR) is a warm copper shade.
And lastly, I played around with CR and BC and the other two magnets.

As you can see, it works with different magnets too and somehow I think that the one from Alessandro has the most magnetic particals (or the substance that causes the effect). It may only be that the darker color pops out more.