venerdì 31 gennaio 2014

Taupe and red chevrons


The awesome thing of this kind of mani is that it doesn't take much time and no tape at all, it's a freehand design. Effective and great if you don't have the time or the energy for something more detailed.
And I had promised myself I would have used my Kiko 638, my first sugar mat polish ever a bit more, so here it is. It is definitely less rough, as a texture, compared to its other fellow of other brands. The other polish is Kiko 226.

martedì 28 gennaio 2014

Fantasy Fire over Elves Like Lilac

Now, the (in)famous Fantasy Fire by Max Factor hardly requires a presentation. Beautiful in the bottle, hard to picture on the nails and, since the small bottle, available only for layering.
I did another layering experiment, this time over Essence Elves Like Lilac, which already has some shimmer in it. Fantasy Fire adds a golden/orange shimmer to it, with warm undertones, that actually changes the polish a lot. It doesn't bring the best out of FF, but then again, which polish does? I still like the effect, it shines nicely. Do you own FF (and most importantly, do you like it)?
(sorry for the short posts, it's still exam time after all).

domenica 26 gennaio 2014

Catrice Bronze-Deco & Suspect

Yesterday I spend the morning with my mom, and we went shopping. At Coin we found two interesting Catrice polishes: Bronze-Deco, from the Arts Collection LE, and Suspect from the Thrilling Me Softly LE.
I bought the first one and mom the second one-she's starting to be really into nail polishes too, I've created a monster!
Anyway, to the polishes: Bronze-Deco is far more golden than bronze. The texture, not quite glitter not quite shimmery, reminded me of the Pupa polishes of last year's Art Deco themed LE.
The color is the most magnificent gold I've ever seen. Warm-toned (bronze toned, I agree, but this color is definitely not bronze), it's like gold foil. Coverage is also quite good for this kind of polish, here I used 2 coats but it was already opaque in one. It captures the light perfectly and, despite its simplicity, it's an impressive shade of gold. Definitely recommended.
I added Suspect on my middle and ring finger for a simple chevron nail art, reminiscent of art deco.
I needed more than 2 coats since I had to apply it over a rather strong and shiny polish, but the coverage is good, and the color is prettier than I had imagined. A soft, pearly grey-gold, it builds a nice contrast with its fellow.

Overall, I recommend them both! What do you think? Oh, and by the way, did you find the Art Deco palette of this LE? I never did, only the polish, and the display seemed to be made to host only two palettes and the AD wasn't amongst them... such a pity.

giovedì 23 gennaio 2014

H&M Foundation & Blush brush

Nail polish is Essence's Elves Like Lilac
I haven't written anything here for a while, I know, but exams take up a lot of time and I didn't even have the time to prepare some planned posts before.
I still want to review one of the latest brushes I bought, I've used it for more than a month now and I can tell you truly what I think.
I wanted to try a foundation brush, I was kinda tired of using my finger, I don't like having my finger dirty with foundation when I have to yet finish my makeup, and I wanted to get a better application.
Design-wise it's very nice, the handle is ivory-colored, and it has an overall cute feel.-
The foundation part is a typical cat's tongue foundation brush, I can get a good application and I have no complaints about it. The bristles are very dense but can be "stressed" (es to wash them) but they'll not lose their shape.
The blush part is so fluffy! I wanted to rub my cheeks with it for hours. It's a very good brush and it's perfect for powder brushes like the ones by Neve Cosmetics. I usually use it for the bronzer.

So far, I have no complaints... apart from one. It's annoying and hard to wash foundation away from a brush that is of a very similar color. I have a hard time trying to understand whetere it's actually clean.
Would I recommend it? It depends on your patience in cleaning it xD.

venerdì 17 gennaio 2014

NYC Bronze Metal

When I got Empire Purple I was tempted to buy the other duochrome in the display, and when I tried EP and realized how good it was, I came back next day to buy his fellow, Bronze Metal.




While I couldn't think of a better name for Empire Purple myself, the name of this one left me a bit perplexed, because it's really more than bronze, being a duochrome. "Mother Earth" would be a far better name for it, since it shifts from bronze to green, with golden hues.

The green part is, in fact far more prominent than the bronze one. The color is very unique and I'm definitely satisfied by it. The formula was ok, neither extremely good nor extremely bad, might be a bit streaky so I recommend a perfect smooth base. You'll need at least 2 coats for full coverage (or a white base).

Pretty color, good quality, cheap... no complaints, really! (Vote: A)

lunedì 13 gennaio 2014

Kiko 436 Strong Chocolate- Dark Heroine LE

Hello! I promised you a review of Kiko Strong Chocolate, so here it is!
The color is a dark chocolate creme with a subtle burgundy shimmer, visible only under direct light.
The formula is impressive, almost an one coater. Shown here is 2 coats topped with Seche Vite ( i can't live anymore without it!).
The quality is very good, I've been wearing this for 4 days and it hasn't chipped, there's only a minor sign of tipwear. It's a very office-friendly shade, and it is in fact co-owned by me and my mom.

I don't have much to say, besides that it's a really good polish, quality-wise, and if you're into browns you should totally get it!
Vote: A

venerdì 10 gennaio 2014

My picks from Kiko's Dark Heroine LE



Since it's sales time, I decided to do a small post about what I have ended up buying from the Dark Heroine LE-my favourite of this winter editions.
You've already seen the Laser Nail Lacquer, Venom Teal, and today I introduce you to his fellow, Strong Chocolate, bought today on sale and not yet tested. Seems very promising!
Surprise surprise, I got the Loud Night Bronzer! It's my very first bronzer, and I am very satisfied with it. I purchased the matte one, Silky Mat Tan. It's quite subtle and can be used satisfyingly even on pale skin, especially if blended with the "blush" part, the pink one. I can make some contouring experiments now!

The Latex Like Lipstick in 04 Plastic Red is quite gorgeous and insanely pigmented. It dries to a demi-matte finish (which I wasn't expecting, since when is latex matte?), but it's gorgeous so who cares. It's also nicely long lasting too, it almost survived the whole Christmas lunch...

The Velvet Stick Blush in 04 Cadillac Pink was purchased today, for little more than 3 euros. I didn't want to get it for the full price, but I'm glad I found it of the color I wanted and on full sale. Ah, shopping malls hide wonderful surprises. The shade I chose is matte and of a beautiful delicate pink. I'm glad I've got this because I needed a stick blush. I'm constantly on the move and stick blushes are practical (no brush, and far more practical than powder blushes).

And that's all! I would have liked to get the highlighting drops, since they were on sale, but there was only the pink drops left and I wanted the silver ones, so nope. Did you get anything? Are you waiting for something to have an even lower price?



giovedì 9 gennaio 2014

NYC Empire Purple


Don't ever try to convince me you never had a day in which you felt down and needed something to cheer you up, possibily a new nail polish. I cheered up myself with Empire Purple by New York Color, a brand I can find only in a small shop in my parent's town. It would have been stunning even if it wouldn't have been a duochrome, since the purple base is a gorgeous metallic purple, a bit funerary but not too gothic. Honestly, the definition of "Empire" suits it perfectly since it reminds me of the purple vests worn by byzantine emperors. According to the light, however, it gains wonderful bronze hues.

Under artificial light it seems to gain even orange reflections. Bronze and purple, very fitting for an empire!
The formula is quite good, great coverage in two coats and not too streaky (I still recommend some caution not to leave brush strokes), I have no complaints to make about it. Should you get it? It's cheap (less than 2 euros) and wonderful, so yes, definitely. You can never have enough duochromes ( I certainly don't).


Vote: A

sabato 4 gennaio 2014

Kiko 441 Illusion Green- Digital Emotion LE

I'm lucky I bought this before the sales, since I went to a Kiko shop today and the polishes of this line were almost finished...
This one in particular is a super shiny glitter polish. It contains small round and rectangular glitters that reflect the light in a wonderful way, all in a light green base. The intensity of the base is lower than the one of the blue polish of the same edition, and it requires at least 3 coats for opacity. Would look good as a layering polish. It's a really beautiful polish and if you find it in the sales, get it! It's so pretty and eye-catching!
(And, paired with the Seche Vite, even three coats dry pretty quickly).


Vote: A

giovedì 2 gennaio 2014

China Glaze There's Snow One Like You review

It saddens me to start the new year with a review of a polish that left me quite unsatisfied.
There's Snow One Like You is a polish that looks a lot like snow on your nails, a concept I love, thanks to the sand effect and the hex glitters in it. It's also, compared to the other sand effect polishes I own, much stronger: at the beginning it felt quite uncomfortable to have it on my nails, it's very rough.
But this is something I can forgive. I don't forgive the brush, that's very small and therefore a pain in the neck for this sort of polish, getting an even, precise application is quite hard.
And I don't forgive its overall quality: within the first 24 hours, most of it had been chipped off my index and middle finger. After 48 hours, nothing much remains (only on my thumbs it's still decent).
I've never encountered such a low quality compared with such a finish. My theory is that, being stronger, rougher and with bigger sand particles, it grasps on things you handle and chips away more easily. I would also like to try it on a base that is not mattifying like the Essence one I own, maybe it's hard for it to grasp on a matte base as it is for stamping. It can probably still be used for accent nails or details.
Do I recommend this? Ehm, no. If you really need a white sand effect polish, yes, otherwise you can find better. It's like a failed experiment.

Vote: A for the idea, C for the quality.