First swap of the year...

... guess who's the other swapper? -.-°  :D

A bowl of nailpolishes!

Ok, now I can call these swaps a tradition: we gather bottles and makeup items, and every now and then we send parcels each other (I know, my turn now :P ); that's because I need some classic brands at low prices and awesome Polish colours, and she needs italians makeup products :^D
Sabbatha doesn't post about what she receives from me, maybe she's jealous of her new items? :•P

Aaaanyway, these are the colours:

Sorry for the ginormous image, I could've cut it better, but that's the best result I got with my humble camera...

Second part of row!

I didn't find any name or number on that mint Magic Visage, so I'm clueless about it.

If I remember correctly, this is a very cheap brand, but they seem to have a decent range of colours...

It's difficult to describe each one, and I don't think many of you would be that interested in descriptions, better looking at pictures!

So I took some closer shots, you can check finishes and reflects :>

Orly bottle is so tiny and cute :D

The mint in the back is a little greener in real life...

Savina "Purple Prince" is so awesome, a tad warmer than how it looks up above; if you want a preview, here it is - warning, it will make you want this nailpolish SO BAD!

Ebalay's from Whale, thank you dear!

I love these duochrome glassflecks, I have three in my WL! 

You can admire A02 here, and here's the complete selection *_*

Do I have to tell you how much I love "Arabian Night"? Take a look at some swatches, if you don't know it yet! (pic from Sabbatha :> )

Aaah, dulcis in fundo, blue group ♥

"Total Mystery" is an electric blurple (blue base, pink-violet glasshimmer - hey a new word! :D ); Flormar is a gorgeous electric blue-jelly-glasshimmered nailpolish, to be used over something else, because is sheer - but clearly I don't care :D

Bottle is soooo tall, but I've already shortened it with a little saw, so now it stands proud in my Helmer's drawer :D

In this picture you can see the beautiful reflects in the little Sensique; base colour is dustier in real life (periwinkle?), I really like it!

That's all for now, did you eye anything that caught your interest?

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)

BeYu - n. 381

Hi all :>

This is the first colour I wore in 2013, couldn't have been any other colour but a blue? :D

A GREAT blue, let me tell you; I showed it in this post some time ago.

First of all, my camera didn't capture the green-teal side, and I don't know why, since that it was there all the time.. Pity, if you see my bottle shots, that's how your nails will look most of the time :/

Anyway, this is a blue jelly base, with duochrome shimmer (blurple to teal) and silver glitters: just like a night in mountains :>

(daylight)

Pictures show the purply side, not the teal >.<

(direct sun)

It's very reflective and shiny, a great festive blue.

(daylight)

I tried many lighting conditions, but you have to trust me when I say you this is a must-have, and looks better in real life.

These are three coats, happy application, not so happy price: BeYu is priced more than €6 here :^(

But I think you can still find it, n. 381 isn't a limited edition shade.

(outdoor daylight)

Maybe you can see some teal in the pic above? 

Mh, not so much, but that was my last try :D

This is a complex blue, you won't surely get bored with it!

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)

Layla - Hologram Effect Flash Black

Last colour I've worn in 2012!

First I have to thank Stregalice for having found me this gem at a decent price - I would have liked to own more Layla holo shades, but they're too expensive for me, so when she told me she found some bottle for "cheap" (less than €10!), I chose the only one really worthy, the black :D

(artificial light - NO lightbox! Just the hanging lamp in my kitchen...)

Unfortunately, I don't have full sun pictures, because I only had the chance to take pictures in a mid-sunny day, but, hey, I think you can see how beautiful is this colour :>

Example: next pictures were taken in daylight, and rainbow is fully visible *_________*

(daylight)

Best best reflects, nothing more to say.

(daylight, a little washed out)

What about application?

Well, here's the deal: formula is runny and pretty impossible to work with :D

Some time ago, I bought the Essence Studio Nails 24/7 Nail Base, which was supposed to work well with holos; since that I don't have an aqua base, I tried this one.

It's actually a little sticking and gummy-looking, but first coat of "Flash Black" was a true disaster, patchy as all good holos are.

Every time I read about aqua bases, they're always effective with holos, so I guess this Essence base isn't really helpful :D

Second coat went better, but all dried mat, because this Essence base dries completely mat: almost no reflects at all!

So I applied top coat and applied a third coat, gif below shows the difference:

Left (or upper) nail is the result of two coats of "Flash Black"  + top coat = glossy with some reflects.

Right (or lower) nail is two coats of "Flash Black" + top coat + one third coat of "Flash Black" = BOOOM :D

I painted all my nails like that.

(demi-sun)

Anyway, I can't complain, if I will ever find an aqua base, I'm sure it will be a total pleasure :>

(artificial light)

Full hand shot: don't you think it's great? I'm not really a "pure black" nailpolish, this one is perfectly dark-looking and FUN at the same time!

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)

Last new buyings of 2012

Looong post today... better start NOW :D

Sinful Colors!
Don't know why, but SC finally decided to import more interesting shades here in Italy, here's my first two picks:

Left: "Kissy", right "Blue By You".

I made some quick cap swatches and a little comparison:

1) "Blue By You"; in these pics, bottle shots is true to life: it's an electric blue base with turquoise, mmh, flecks? Don't know how to call this kind of shimmer, it's grainy. Instant love.

2) Essence "Choose Me!", compared with 3) "Kissy": they're very similar, as you can see "Choose Me!" is sparklier, that's why it looks greener. Maybe Probably you don't need both :D

Next, it's a great Pupa shade from their Déco Christmas collection:

This is n. 811, the "green" one, but as yu can see, it's not only green ♥

Since that I'm a true professional swatcher, I've even made a gif :D

(on the nails, Q by Colour Alike n. 118)

Golden-sage green to purply-bronze, how much awesome is that? Too much.

(almost sun)

Sinful Colors again :D

This is the famous "San Francisco":

Honestly, this is simply GREAT :D

It's green, but it has also a strong blue side, look at the cap swatches.

Bottle appearance it's pure green in real life (like the left swatch), but pictures captured more of the blue you can actually see, don't know why :D

Anyway: COOL.

Ok, let's change brands.

A while ago, Shaka released a collection which you can surely recognize as inspired by something else well known...

Being Shaka distribution a true disaster, almost no-one saw them in real life, I only eyed  CH2 "Purple", and CH3 "Emerald", which I bought.

On the right, another Astra Holo, n. 708 ♥

They're both super-pigmented; "Emerald" isn't the most original green-teal-goldish reflects you can find on the market, but we're sick, and we buy things we like in multiples :D

Last two brands (with swatches!), Rimmel and Catrice.

"Rock Royalty" by Rimmel is darker and deeper, has some purple sides and a beautiful shimmer I can't define at this moment :D (looks pink...)

Actual awesomeness is the left Catrice shade, a new one: "Steel My Heart".

Nailpolish bottle cap says this colour has a "brushed metal effect", and you can see from the cap swatch that it's true: "Steel My Heart" is a mat bronze metal nailpolish, honestly I've never seen a finish like that and I like it very much!

Two coats on the cap without top coat.

Maybe it recalls the OPI suede finish? I don't know, I don't own any of them, but this is GREAT, you can notice the colours of shimmer, blue, purple, green, pink...

I bet it'll be stunning with top coat! 

BUY IT, if you can.

If I remember correctly, there's at least another "brushed metal effect", more on the blue side, but it was a little too grey for my tastes...

Last Catrice, a gold one, "Oh My Goldness!"

Yes, I bought a true gold, but, hey, this is molten gold in a nailpolish bottle.

Swatches show the shimmer, this varnish is a clear base with micro gold shimmers, VERY shiny, rich and precious.

Uff, what a marathon, if you read all this post, you really like me :D

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)

Mavala - Velvet + Essence - Viva La Green

Believe me or not, this is one of my favourite manis of 2012 °_°

That time I wanted a discreet colour, but I knew I would get bored quickly, so I thought adding a twist of colour, and I still had to try this new Essence...

(outdoor daylight, a little washed out...)

Characters: Mavala "Velvet", always liked this rosy-browny-nude, I think it looks good with my skintone (you can notice the usage level :D ) and Essence "Viva La Green", which is a bright pastel green, not fluo, but so so bright - the ideal partner for the calm "Velvet" :>

I must admit it took me a little patience to achieve this result, but I think I did a good job, since that I used two really different colours, don't you think?

I applied two (or three? Damn!) coats, then I started sponging the green on tips, just like a french manicure: I needed several steps, but in the end I succeded in melting the two colours.

(indoor, low daylight)

Look at the whole hands shot, don't know why, but I really really LOVED this combo!

(outdoor, daylight, again: washed out)

 

This time too I topped all with Essence Better Than Gel Nails top coat, it helps a lot mixing colours when you do gradients.

Argh, too many pics, I know, this is what happens when you like something :P

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)

Kiko - n. 291 + Sinful Colors - Nail Junkie + Mi-Ny - Top5 Violet

Ok, this is the experiment I told you in the previous post: a sponged-gradiented manicure :D

(daylight)

When I got one of these Mi-Ny Top5 I just couldn't resist trying it, so I tried a thing...

(daylight)

Base is Kiko n. 291, tips are sponged (and patted) with Sinful Colors "Nail Junkie" ( ♥ ), then I applied Top5 "Violet" to make a gradient...

INFINITE job :D

I applied it like this:

- 5 coats on my thumbs;

- 4 on my pointers;

- 3 on my middle fingers;

- 2 on my ring fingers;

- no Top5 on my pinkies.

Finished all with Essence Better Than Gel Nails top coat.

(upper: indoor, shade; lower: outdoor daylight)

Honestly, I was hoping in a better result, more visible, but I think these glassy coloured top coats are meant for lightest bases, in order to show well the gradient...

(artificial light)

If you look carefully, you'll notice that thumb is darker than the pinkie (check out below pic), but I really liked how Top5 transformed "Nail Junkie", look, is bluer and deeper :>

I loved the colours and the final result.

(semi-sun light?)

I guess next time I'll try it directly on glittery colours, or foils, I'll get interesting effects :>

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)

Kiko - n. 291

First post of 2013... with an old colour :D
And it's not even a blue!

This is a colour I wore around mid November, but right now I just applied a MAGNIFICENT blue I'll post in the next weeks, so you can trust me I started the new year with a "me" colour :>

Anyway, this is an "old" Kiko shade, but I think it's still available for sale.

(daylight)

Purple-magenta-who-knows-which-damn-hue-of-purple-this-is-called creme nailpolish :D

As always, Kiko cremes are the best you can get here in Italy in my opinion: easy and quick application, good to very good coverage, quick drying, extremely high shine.

(outdoor daylight)

These are two coats without top coat: told you about the shine :>

It changes a bit under different lighting conditions: I took a flash pic by chance, so I decided to include it as well to show the hue; lower part of pic shows the colour in shade, it becomes almost a berry purple!

This was the base for a little experiment I'll show you next time :>

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)

Q by Colour Alike - n. 118

Hi :>

Chistmas is coming and I'm here with a colour I wore weeks and weeks ago... Hence the sun :D

Being this a Polish colour, clearly this was sent me by my beloved Sabbatha <3

First of all, Colour Alike is an awesome brand which makes incredibly good colours at a very fair price: dear CA, why don't you sell your products in Italy too? 

This n. 118 is a scattered holo, between purple and brown, with purply-metallic reflects: unique!

Most of the pics where taken in direct sun, but I've managed to take one in shade too, in order to show you pinky reflects: in shade this nailpolish becomes like a dirty purple :>

(shade)

In the sun, BAM! Holo power, this one is really holo, much more than showed in my pictures <3

Honestly, I don't remember how many coats I've used, probably two, it's pretty pigmented and top coat doesn't ruin nothing :>

Easy and pretty, what more can you ask for?

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)

More new entries!

Seems like my haul posts are more successful than my normal posts, eh? :D

Ok, more goodies from, erm, October? November? Can't remember anymore.

Aaaahhh, precious gem on the right!

But let's start from left, as usual...

- Essence "Jacob's Protection", from the Twiliblabla TE; don't care about theme, really care about great BLUES!

- H&M "Antique Gold": looks darker and sparklier than in my pic, anyway, don't really know why I bought this one, it's just that I like old, aged gold... :D

- Astra Holo n. 703: these were free together with a women magazine (...), so I HAD to buy it, because this colour is sooo good and I've never seen these in Milan.

- lastly, THE gem, the nailpolish of the Year(s), The Masterpiece... call it whatever you want, this is Magnetic "Freakin' Violet"!

Looooooong story behind this bottle, many emails to several distributors, even pleading with other nailpolish freaks for buying with me this beauty to lower shipping costs a little, until I got it...

Look details!

"Freakin' Violet" has an electric dark purple jelly base, green shimmer and those electric blue flakies... Can't stand so much awesomeness :D

Check NailXchange swatches, if you don't know this yet!

(please also notice "Jacob's Protection"'s beautiful glitters °_° )

Next!

Obviously we nailpolish freaks called each other on Twitter for this "women-magazine-with-free-holos" promotion, and I took advantage of the kindness of the lovely MaiSenzaSmalto in order to get another nice holo, the dark teal one, n. 705:

Pictured together with the blue: what a lovely couple ♥♥ :D

NEW (for me) italian nailpolish brand!

Mi-Ny Cosmetics is fairly new in the italian beauty market, not the cheapest on the Earth, but I've seen some really interesting colours in the displays, so I grabbed some...

There are many many colours available, some new, some already seen, and some which, for my tastes, would have been waaaaaaayy better with or without that particular detail, i.e.: check Gnomagno's last post; n. 251, "I Love Seul" is a great colour, but contains also cheap-looking bar holo glitters, I think they ruined the final effect...

Anyway, my tastes, just remember swatches on the website aren't "real-life" accurate!

Onto my picks!

From top:

- Top5 "Top Violet": I really really wanted this to be a simil-TRUE-jelly nailpolish... No, it's not; I mean, when I bought it I knew it was one of those crystal coloured topcoaters for gradient manicures , but I thought it was pigmented enough... Mmmh, we'll see that in one of my next posts :>

- "Blue Sky": damn, never seen a sky as electric as this varnish!

- "Calla Lily" (lolwut name): I remember at least two or three other greens so similar to this one, I mean in the Mi-Ny store! One green was a little more acid, another one more olive toned, another one more... Well, I know one green lover (maybe two!) who would be so happy to see them in person :D

This one is a forest-dark emerald green, blue based, with an intense metal-shimmer (it makes sense!), bbbbeautiful.

- Holographic Touch "Brown", ahhh, first mistake: this is the same spitting holo nailpolish contained in Shaka bottles.

Didn't take a photo, but I've made my trusty cap comparison and they're literally 

indistinguishable

:D

Just a coincidence that colour chart of both brands (Mi-Ny and Shaka) is the same? Mmmh.

Price per ml is slightly higher for Mi-Ny, but only €0,10 about...

Details!

Anyway, great colours in general, they totally worth a visit (or two, or three :D), hope to return to store soon :>

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)

Bloom - Bianca

Hi all :>

This time, a colour I've always wanted in my collection, and finally got it :D

BUT, not quite the result I've expected °_°

(indoor, daylight)

I mean, it's beautiful, rich and deep, but its formula isn't the best on the planet: I applied three coats (or two with dabs here and there, can't remember) and you still can see some balder areas, which, by the way, aren't necessary all the lighter spots you can spot in pictures...

It's difficult to explain it, let's just say I expected a more pigmented base.

Anyway, I can surely appreciate the golden vein of "Bianca", shimmer is so fine that you'll obtain that glowin'-nails effect so so delightful!

Look by yourself, dark sides and rich shimmery in the center <3

Have to retry it!

Have a nice day/night/whatever and thanks for your attention ;¬)