Orly Tropical Pop

The second Orly I got at Cosmoprof - second, but not in beauty. I mean, look at it. Tropical Pop, from the old Baked LE.

A little neon gem, perfect for those first warm sunny days. Or to brighten the dark winter days. Perfect for everytime. Here it looks like a warm toned orange creme, but irl it's more of a unapologetically neon orange.
The quality of this polish is astounding. You know how they usually suggest to use a white base under neon polishes? Well, this doesn't need it, and it't almost a one coater.
Application doesn't present problems and the finish is demi-matte, like many neons. Here it's topped with Seche Vite.

I don't own many neons, and I immediately fell in love with this color.

Orly Lunar Eclipse

Here it comes the first one of the polishes I bought at Cosmoprof this year, Orly Lunar Eclipse. A total beauty. In the bottle it's a dark blue - blurple shimmer with a shift towards violet-purple.
On my nails the duochrome shift is visible only under artificial lights.
As other Orly shimmers I have tried, it's quite sheer and I had to apply three coats for full opacity - would probably look great on a black base.

The quality is really good, however. With Seche Vite it lasted 4, almost 5 days without chipping!
And it's really beautiful, I can never have enough blue polishes. And enough Orlys. I mean, who does?

Color Spotlight: Red

I thought I had already done this...but apparently I haven't! So here's red, the color of passion, danger, and many other things...

...like my Ikea Lack table.
These are my favourite reds. Overall, I don't own many red polishes at all. I have such a little amount of reds that I included a China Glaze polish that is a black base with red glitters. I did it because it's awesome.
From L to R: Orly Red Flare, Pupa 620 from the old China Doll LE, China Glaze Lubu Heels, H&M Super Red and Deborah Shine Tech 13.
Red Flare is a wonderful, classy red with cool undertones. If you're into reds, you can't miss this. Two coats of it makes you instantly flawless and fierce. Unless, of course, you prefere Pupa 620 which is still the best red polish on the planet. I have yet to find a polish that can top it, it makes me feel like a femme fatale and I love it. China Glaze Lubu Heels is an interesting polish, a sheer black base with red glitter. The glitter really pops out and is veeeery pretty. H&M Super Red is really... a super red. No, really. Almost a crelly, it shines like a gel polish and has a wonderful duration. Deborah Shine Tech 13 has more of a cool undertone, compared to Super Red, and it's another beautiful red creme.

And here's my favourite reds in terms of makeup.
The eyeshadow in the palette (Sleek Lagoon) is a pretty neon matte red, and I used it a lot as eyeliner. I also appreciate as eyeliner Neve Cosmetics Watermelon, a single eyeshadow that I love. I've used it on my lips too, but I prefer it as an eyeliner/eyeshadow.
And three red lipstick. The matte red is Catrice It's a Matt World, I haven't worn it for a while, since I'm currently in love with dark, violet/plum/berry shades, but daamn, it's a beautiful red and I should wear it more.
The same for Kiko Latex Like Lipstick in 04 Plastic Red. A pretty, shiny cyber red that guarantees you a stunning look. This was from the Dark Heroine LE and I am really glad I bought it because it's pretty awesome. The other red is Kiss of Life from Rimmel by Kate, another matte red, but softer tha It's a Matt World and a bit more lip drying.
And that's all for now! What are you favourites when it comes to red?

Orly Space Cadet

The last one of the Cosmoprof polishes! Very similar to NYC Empire Purple (EP is metallic, this one is a foil).

A beautiful duochrome from purple to bronze with greenish undertones, it would probably look far better on a black base, because it's extremely sheer. This is three coats, and the coverage still isn't perfect.

The color is super pretty, so I don't mind having to apply countless layers... at least while I have my trusty Seche Vite at my side. I can understand why it became famous, good duochromes aren't as easy to find as they should be. I can't say much for the duration so far, but it already has (3 days after) some tipwear.

Orly High on Hope

I've waited for a bit to post this, because I was working on an experiment. Usually I put a new nail polish on after 3, 4 days, it depends on how much my current mani has chipped (or how much I liked it, or how eager I am to try a new polish, and so on.)

With High on Hope, however, I decided to keep it on my nails for a few more days. I couldn't decide if I really liked the denim-like shade, and was a bit disappointed by the extreme sheerness (this is 3 coats).
It contains a golden-to-purple shimmer, like someone sprinkled Space Cadet on it.

And so I decided to wait. This is how it looks after a week, and I really can't deny that I am impressed!
(Ignore my cuticles, playing in the sand with my niece doesn't help) There is some minor tipwear, but no chipping... usually polish chips very easily on my index, seeing it still there after a week was really a surprise. Tonight I'll remove it to put my easter day mani on, but this incredible duration will make giving a vote to this polish quite hard. Overall it's a between A and B. I still can't decide if I like color, but I can forgive sheerness for such a good quality.

Orly Miss Conduct

Ah, there is something incredibly satisfying in removing a polish from the wishlist to the stash list. I've been wanting this one since I discovered its existence, and guys, am I happy I have it!
Basically, it's a fuchsia shimmery polish. But that shimmer! It's a holo shimmer! Under sunlight it's super eye-catching.

It looks like a "plain" silver and purple shimmer, but the particles are actually holographic, so put it under the light and enjoy the awesomeness. This is 2 coats of polish.
I am very thankful to the Orly booth at cosmoprof for selling polishes from old LEs (this comes from the Naughty or Nice 2012 Christmas one), because now I have this beauty.
Duration was ok, it chipped at day 4. Despite having been considered part of a winter LE, to me it screams spring/summer, mostly because you need sunlight to fully appreciate its beauty, because in the end I don't care about the season when it comes to polishes, what really matters is my mood.

My Cosmoprof Experience

We had set our priorities straight

My sister and me went to Cosmoprof together (the ticket was her birthday gift for me) for the first time, and despite the weather (rainy most of the time) we still managed to have good time and spend some money.
Trained by years of Lucca Comics & Games, I had brought enough food, water and supplies to survive a day in a war zone, but compared to LC&G it was a different experience: enough air to breathe, super big pavillions to explore everything without queues and people with giant cardboard swords blocking the view.

We started at the Nails pavillions, and I was super excited for it, lemme tell ya. The first booth we stopped at was Orly. It also turned out to be one of the best ones in terms of organization, courtesy, availability of products and prices. All polishes were half price, including the mini sizes, and there was a lot from old limited editions, including gift sets, single polishes and just pretty much everything Orly produced in the last years.
There were testers and nail wheels, but I had to find a specific polish... you know, the one in my wishlist. Miss Conduct. They had it. I almost trembled with excitement! And they also had the famous Space Cadet just how could I not get it? It wasn't even 10 am and I was already satisfied.
Clarissa Nails had China Glazes and a separate mini booth for Seche Vites. Seche Vite tcs were at 5.50 euros so we purchased some as gifts. I got China Glaze Lubu Heels and my sister two China Glaze. We also stopped at the OPI booth, they had only new polishes on sale, and the price was 12 euros (Insert "I don't think you even tried at all" image), really, for that price why not purchasing them at Sephora?

The nail pavillion was, surprise surprise, my favourite. Not only for the lots of stuff that you could see, also because you could, you know, buy something. Which wasn't possible in the national pavillions area and in the general make up area. I still cannot get over the fact that Nyx didn't sell anything. At Cosnova (Catrice/Essence) they gave at least beautiful bags (I got the Catrice one, a solid, almost water resistant one I plan to reuse). I could see some old LEs, gave a look at the products they don't sell in Italy and have a chat with an assistant, a very kind lady that was glad to hear our honest opinions on the brand. I also saw Catrice's Haute Future but apparently that was in an area reserved to personnel so I couldn't even try the eyeliner, sigh.

let's sob all together

oh look another Brazil inspired LE how original

Also a part of the make up area was reserved to professionals but it wasn't written anywhere, seriously the organization overall wasn't that great. Once you entered you couldn't leave, or you had to repurchase another ticket. (See also what Giuliana from Makeup Delight has to say about this here)
Even the simplest fair/concert/event has at least stamps or bracelets, why they couldn't use such a sistem is beyond my understanding.

As I examined some polishes in the makeup area, a sales attendant informed me that, no, they didn't sell anything at that booth, but I could go to area 34 where they had another booth.
After lunch we investigated area 34, which cheered us up. It was more like a local market, with booths selling bags, clothes and even chocolate. There were some interesting hair care products, and two surprises.
The Kryolan booth with everything at half the standard price. I got a gorgeous cream matte white eyeliner, in special occasions I could use it as base, but I'm willing to try it simply as an eyeliner, I've always been intrigued by the idea of a white eyeliner.

my hand and my sister's hand

Now, see my hand? the pink stain is a gloss by Kryolan that still stains my hand after having showered and washed the dishes. Also, the blue stain on the right is another eyeliner also by Kryolan. The brown stain on my sister's hand is the eyeliner she got, Sienna.
But was you can see, there's lots of other stains on my hand. Because we found the Manic Panic booth. I knew it was there, somewhere, but I hadn't planned so search for it, so it was a pleasant surpirse. There also was a moment when only a few people, behind or in front of the booth, didn't have weirdly colored hair. The salesladies were sooo pretty with their colorful hair, I feel so guilty for not having taken a photo! One of them even complimented my nails and my hair ( my hair are brown on the right and lime/acid green on the left).
I didn't get a hair dye (despite the temptation) but I got a lipgloss, called Cross Gloss in Underworld Amethyst, and a pressed powder, Vampire's Veil. The names! And the packaging was so lovely!
Between them and Orly, it's hard to decide my favourite booth!

The pressed powder came in the drawstring bag you can see, and they also gave us a small notebook each. They were really kind and friendly. The eyeshadows, especially the cyber palette, were super tempting, but I didn't get anything.

After a small break we were almost ready to leave. But first, let's go back to the nails pavillion! I wanted another Orly polish, since I couldn't get all the makeup I had wanted. I chose High On Hope form the old Hope and Freedom LE.
Oh, and the samples you can see in the background are makeup removing cotton pads that don't require anything else but water to clean your face, since they already contain cleansing product. First law of life, never say no to samples, especially the potentially useful one.

And I think I'm gonna leave you with this closeup of the polishes. That's all for today, folks! That was a long post so if you made it to the end I am grateful that someone out there reads my ramblings.

My Valentine's Day Manicure

A quick post with my Valentine's Day mani: I really wasn't in the mood for pink and hearts, but I still wanted something nice to wear for my evening out with my amazing boyfriend. I mattified Orly Red Flare and added a (non-matte) french line with Pupa Black.The contrast is scarcely visible here but far more irl. And I'm afraid that's all for now! Have fun, wheter you've got a parner or not!

Rainbow Challenge Day 3, Yellow Nails

Or "I had no idea leaves could be so hard to draw" nails. I wanted to do something different besides the usual bees and lemons that happen at day 3, but those falling leaves didn't come out as I expected. It's still a funny mani, imho.
The base is my favourite yellow, Essence's Little Miss Sunrise, now discontinued, and the red is Orly Red Flare. Why is Essence even discontinuing that color, it is so pretty.
Sorry for the short post, I just came back from a Krav Maga lesson and my wrists and arms hurt (along with many other body parts).

Corset Nails v2 and a gift from Argentina!

I redid my old corset nails! It went so much better than the other time... I used Essence's tip painter in black from the Tribal Summer LE. Those tip painters are damn useful, the design came out very precise this time.

My cousin went to Argentina for an art exhibition and brought me a nail polish! The shade is Are We There Yet?, a brick rose with gold/pink shimmer. I can't wait to try it! She said she chose it because it reminded her of the place (the color of the houses, and so on).

Orly Red Flare

I wanted to keep this for the beginning of the university lessons, especially since it's a serious, fall/winter color. But I could not resist, it's my first Orly after all!
I must say, there's a great difference from cheap Essence polishes. The formula is just great and has good coverage, almost an one coater. It's also very shiny.

The color is a bit darker irl, the bright daylight makes it look lighter. 
It requires, however, super smooth nails since it makes the nail "lines" very visible.
I'm very happy with this purchase, it's a beautiful shade of red with a retro, serious look.

Vote: A. If you're a person that wears mostly red and "adult" colors (no glittery, only nudes and dark colors...) you should consider purchasing this. I can't wait to see how long it lasts on my nails!

Kiko 372 is on my ring finger, and I'm going to use this as a base for nail art.

Back from the holidays..

I haven't had proper holidays in years, you know, the kind of days you spend visiting cities and monuments with friends trying to see a great number of things in a short time... so I ended up being pretty tired!
I still had time to buy a couple of polishes:

The Orly polish was on sale, and I always wanted to try that brand. The color is a bit darker irl.
The S-he polish is for my sister, but I'd still like to try it.
I will not do a full mani with Orly Red Flare right now, because I already have an idea for another nail art. Plus, Red Flare is a fall/winter color, imho.