venerdì 31 maggio 2013

Quick post: Kiko haul

It's no mystery that Kiko polishes are now on sale for 2.50 euros..
But now the polishes from the Mirror and Sugar Mat LE are on sale! What a pity, said no polish addicted ever.





My picks: 640 Poppy Red ( I can't wait to try this one!) and Sky Blue 624, for my stamping needs!
They also look nice together...

giovedì 30 maggio 2013

Nail care: Lush Lemony Flutter/Morbidissima

No nail art today, also because the Deborah polish I'm wearing now is proving itself really longlasting, i applied it sunday evening and it's still there, only with minor tipwear signs...and no topcoat!

I'm going to talk about a product I've been using for months: Lush Lemony Flutter, known in Italy as Morbidissima. It really does remind me of butter, and the lemon scent is delicious!



This great cuticle butter is for me an essential: I apply it after having used acetone, and every evening before going to bed, since it's a bit oily... And the morning after, my cuticles are already in a better shape. I would need this even if I wasn't a nail polish junkie, I've always had dry cuticles and hand skin.
 I also keep some of in a tiny Lush jar that used to contain a lip balm and bring it everywhere with me, so i can moisturize my cuticles whenever I feel the need.


I have already used lots of it. It costs around 9 euros, a reasonable price for a 50g jar of product: if you use it only on your cuticles, it's gonna last a lifetime!


Vote: A

lunedì 27 maggio 2013

Deborah Shine Tech Magnetic 78

I went out for a walk with my boyfriend last saturday, and he brought me to a Deborah store he had found... that was really nice of him!
 I had never been to a Deborah one brand store so it was an interesting opportunity. I found a foundation that seems exactly my skin colour ( it's a miracle!), but I didn't buy it. I bought a couple of polishes that were in a monthly sale basket: a matte polish for 1 euro and a magnetic one for 3. That's some really good prices, considering the quality!
Today I'm showing your the magnetic one...


I picked up this because it seemed amazing in the bottle: not the standard magnetic =metallic polish, but rather a grey with green/light blue shimmer. It would be gorgeous to use even without the magnetic effect!
It's a bit sheer, but it does its job really well, and due to the green shimmer it's like having dragon scales on my nails!

Vote: A

venerdì 24 maggio 2013

The Great Nailsby

Another thing I should specify on my personal info: I have a horrible sense of humor.
Anyway, I'm going  to see the Great Gatsby this evening, so i recreated an old Art Deco nail art I did last winter...with an addition.


Glitter! 'Cause there's no party like a Gatbsy party. Until people die and everybody is disillusioned with the jazz age as a whole, you know.

The gold base is Catrice's Genius in the Bottle, a dupe of Chanel Peridot. Sort of a duochrome, with not much visible green/light blue hues. Still gorgeous. Other polishes: Essence Stamp Me! Black and Kiko 617.
The glitters are OPI's The Living Daylights.

mercoledì 22 maggio 2013

Sephora Arty Pois goes fluo


So, are you ready for a jump into the '80s?

Coral: Catrice Pimp my Shrimp; Light blue: Pupa 41 (disc.); fluo yellow: YSNY, white base by Kiko.
Over them, Sephora Arty Pois.
Even Sephora jumped in the nail art mania bandwagon... and i'm happy of this, 'cause I love this topcoat.
Apparently a dupe of OPI Black Spotted (and of the Layla topcoats of the same kind), but definitely cheaper. Yeah, despite my past not so good experience with Sephora polishes (great colors, bad formula) I decided to try this.. and wow, am I happy! Just remember, the more topcoat you use, the less spots will leave, so I recommend you to clean the brush a bit before using it on your nail if you want the basecolor to pop out. And don't forget a layer of topcoat afterwards to protect the design.

Vote: A

lunedì 20 maggio 2013

Catrice Iron Mermaiden


So, a discontinued beauty: Catrice Iron Mermaiden (the name is absolutely brilliant).
In the bottle it's mostly grey, purple and green, like a mermaid (or a pidgeon's neck, if you're feeling less poetic), but on the nail it's the purple that stands out, and at first it seems just like a metallic purple... artificial light makes the grey/green stand out a bit more.
Even if it's really sheer (this is 3 coats), I don't get why they discontinued it, 'cause it's really pretty!

giovedì 16 maggio 2013

Holo and red

Phew, it's exam time at the uni and I have lots of stuff to study! But that's not going to take my nail art time away, just to reduce it, I guess.
I just needed an excuse to wear Deborah Shine Tech 13 again, such a gorgeous red.



I added kiko 400 on the tips. Holos and cremes really match, I wish I had bought the other two kiko holos that were in that LE. Those are supposed to be sunlight pics, but there isn't much sunlight since it's raining, sigh.


domenica 12 maggio 2013

Max Factor Dazzling Blue



Now, this is a polish that deserves a fame, and way more than Fantasy Fire. I just don't get the title, they could have found something nicer, like "mermaid's tail" or something to render this beautiful multi-duochrome that goes from light blue to sea green, according to light. I could swear it has some golden hues under artificial light.

It's a bit sheer, this is three coats. It will start chipping after two days without topcoat. Overall I think it's a beautiful shade you shouldn't miss.

Vote: A-

sabato 11 maggio 2013

Copper on copper

An experiment: Kiko 629 stamped over Pupa 810




And yes, I do think that this Kiko polish is slightly worse at stamping compared, for example, to the golden one.
I really like this effect, mostly because the Pupa polish I used as base is so gorgeous... overall it is all a bit too autumn-ish, perhaps, but surely eye catching.



lunedì 6 maggio 2013

Very Cherry


Although I've been into nail polish for years, I've started buying Essence & Catrice products only later, and I wasn't interested in limited editions. My mistake. Now that I look at the 2012 Fruity LE I find it so beautiful I would buy all its polishes! So maybe it is good, you know, for my money, that it's an old LE.
But this weekend I was shopping with my boyfriend, and there was some old Essence stuff on sale-old bottles of polishes, mostly, so I gave a look at it. And I found this one! I was so happy! My boyfriend told me that "You made the face I make when I see a classic car", and that's probably true.
You probably don't need a review, since it's an old LE and there's plenty of reviews out there, but let me say that this gorgeous pink with miny purple glitters really looks like a fruit smoothie!
It's a bit sheer, so i applied three coats. I love this polish, I was really lucky, since this and the kiwi green one were my favourites of that LE.

domenica 5 maggio 2013

Printed Circuit Nails


To celebrate the fact that I've finally red Neuromancer, I did some printed circuit-inspired nail art.
The green is Essence's A Walk in the Park and the silver is Kiko 617. I struggled for a few days to find a nice cyber pattern to do, and then my boyfriend had the right idea suggesting me this pattern that was on a stamping plate from the galscosmetics set.
Perhaps I should have added more details, such as red dots, and some of the squares colored in black and copper... but I preferred to keep it simple.

giovedì 2 maggio 2013

Stamping with Kiko 629


A photo taken a few days ago, I made an experiment and stamped with Kiko 629- the copper-colored mirror polish by kiko! The polish was a gift from my sister, after I helped her with some polish-buying advice. I stamped this over the max factor/essence mani.

The result is nice, even though I found it slightly harder than the other polishes to stamp with, but I still want to experiment more with it to judge. Overall, it works and the effect on the whole mani isn't that bad!
Stamping or not, this Kiko polish is really good. Kiko did a great work with the Mirror collection!