Shaka Stone Like Sky

I've been stalking the local OVS for the new Shaka polishes for a while, and finally, my patience was rewarded! I haven't seen the duochromes yet, only the Stone Like polishes which, as you can guess, have a liquid sand finish.
Quite frankly, this color is awesome. A peacock teal based polish with yellow, blue and lime microglitters that make it shine incredibly well - for the first time I felt the curiosity to wear it with a topcoat, but then I'd have to wear sunglasses all the time because damn, the shine!

Without flash

The color is really wonderful, and the drying time was wonderfully short. Definitely recommended! I can't wait to find more colors and other finishes of the new series...

Color Spotlight: White

Welcome to a new episode of the Color Spotlight series! I originally planned to do white and black together, but I have enough white products for a post on its own. Black will probably go with grey when it will be its turn.
There are my white polishes: Kiko Rock Top 615, if it were less sheer it would be awesome, Sinful Colors Snow Me White, my tipical white polish, China Glaze Texture There's Snow One Like You, potentially awesome but not long lasting enough, I need to experiment putting it on a different base, Shaka Sugary White, a very cute (a bit sheer) super shimmery white, and Kiko Cupcake 647, a white sand effect polish with red/green/blue micro particles.

My white makeup products! (not including white eyeshadows that are part of other palettes)
Manic Panic Goth White is a multi-purpose white cream, it can be used mixed with foundation, as concealer, as highlighter if you're really pale (on me it works nicely) and, my favorite use, as an eyeshadow base. I purchased it online after having used my other Manic Panic products long enough to be enthusiastic about them.
The Kryolan white eyeliner doesn't mess around, it would probably survive the apocalypse, along with cockroaches and Nokia 3310 phones. Super long lasting and awesome, I don't want to use it as a base because I don't want to waste it (and because it would probablu glue my eyelid still), but as an eyeliner it's pretty amazing.
I also added my Neve Cosmetics Ivory eye pencil, I don't use it that often but when I do, the effect is really nice, my E.L.F. matte white eyeshadow (it's always useful to have a matte white eyeshadow) and my Shaka white lipstick, that also happens to be a great base for lip pigments.

Tell me people, do you like white? Do you use it often? I think it's a wonderful, underrated color.

Green gradient and blue dots

I decided to give another try when it comes to gradients, and I learned something:

some polishes are too sheer and water-y for this. I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White as a base and Kiko 296 and E.L.F. Mint Cream as gradient colors. Well, Mint Cream's formula made everything turn out worse.
Not to mention that photos can make even the most decent nail art look awful. I'm still posting this because maybe someone can learn from my errors (and to prove you that I'm still alive and nail paintin' ).
I added Kiko 644 on top (from the Sugar Mat line) for a textured effect.

Dots on pink

Can you tell I'm in a dots mood? I used Essence Ben & Cherries as a base and added green dots with Essence L.O.L. I was tempted to stop there because the pastel pink and the acid green looked wonderful together. But I decided to add some dots, this time with a textured polish, Essence Hello Rosy. I didn't apply seche vite over the dots in order not to lose the liquid sand effect of the dots. I personally think it's a lovely color combination!

Orange triangles

Yes, it's triangles/stripes again! This time with Snow Me White by Sinful Colors as base (and what a great white base it makes!). I used Kiko 356 and 640 above it, the last one being a textured/sand effect polish. I love this simple, sunny color combination, it makes me think of fruit...

Kiko 647 Cupcake Nail Lacquer

Hello! I hope you had a nice (and sunny) Easter! I'm here to show you Kiko 647, my Easter day nail polish. These polishes are now 2,90 euros, so I absolutely had to get this one, and I did my best and managed not to buy almost all of them. They're so pretty! (I might get the light blue one ..)
Kiko 647 Jasmine is a liquid sand effect polish with a white base and teal and red particles. Drying time was good, application wasn't so perfect (the polish doesn't grasp on the brush greatly and getting the right amount of polish on it might be not easy) but overall I have no complaints. I might add some nail art details later, for now enjoy it alone!

Stamping and gradient over Essence 182 Hello Rosy

The gradient is barely visible here, but under sunlight the yellow/gold particles of Kiko 640 really pop out! I stamped a nice geometrical pattern with Kiko 328 and it kinda looks aztec/pre-colombian to me, it reminds me of The Road to El Dorado. It's the first time I stamp over a sand effect polish and I am not disappointed at all, it was easy. The only downside is that you cannot fix your design with topcoat.
I love this pattern, the only problem I have is that the design on the plate is much bigger than my nail (not only longer, it's wider too) and it's hard to restamp always the same portion of the design. Ah well, it's still a nice mani so I wont complain.

Essence 182 Hello Rosy (Sparkle Sand Effect) review

When I saw the Essence display with all the new products, I had a moment of "I want this and that and that" but since Cosmoprof is near, I decided to limit myself to this polish that I really, really wanted. Like, since it appeared in the preview. It looks like a strawberry smoothie and I love it! This is two coats of polish.
It's as awesome as I imagined, with a pink base and darker glitter that distribute themselves quite eavenly. I love this shade of pink, it's a bit darker than Kiko 375.
The texture is the standard Essence liquid sand one-not too gritty ( less than the new Kiko ones) but more than the very first Kiko sand polishes.
Drying time was good, and I had absolutely no application issues, the big brush is perfect for my nails.
Overall vote is A, but I still can't say anything about duration.
What do you say, have you already bought anything new from Essence? 

Kiko Cupcake Nail Lacquer 648 & 656

New LE nail polishes from Kiko! As they did with the mirror and the liquid sand last year, this season we have glitter toppers (nothing groundbreaking imho) and those new liquid sand polishes. It was love at first sight when I saw swatches.

They're supposed to look like cupcake frosting. The bottle with the white cap is really cute, and those polishes have an interesting finish.
Matte, they have a base color and particles of other colors in them. Formula-wise I have no complaints, they require two coats for full opacity but dry quickly.
648 is supposed to look like ananas frosting: it's pastel yellow with orange(more) and brown(less) particles.
656 is supposed to look like pistachio frosting: it's pastel green with dark green(more) and orange(less) particles.
Now, the only problem I have with these is that they don't remind me of cupcake frosting at all.
648 reminded me of a potato soup at first, then of rice with saffron and mushrooms, and 656 of a vegetables soup... if it's pistachio why should it have orange particles? I am confused..
Probably they would look more "soft" if layered on a white base, maybe with just one coat. The problem is that the colored particles don't distribute evenly with one coat, sometimes even with two... as you can see from my pinky.

Final Verdict:

Do I like them? Yes, the effect is quite unique and I have nothing like them, and I'd love to try new colors, probably the pink/violet/orange ones will look more like cupcake frosting? yet, the one that intrigues me mostly is 647, Jasmine...

Catrice Crushed Crystals 04 Oyster & Champagne and small haul

Aka: I swear I only went there to buy the nail base..

The backstory is kinda funny, because I stopped at Coin before an university lesson to buy the nail base that I had finished, but as soon as I saw the new Catrice products I freaked out a little and investigated everything, neglecting the Essence display. So I forgot to buy the base.
I did get, however, a sand polish, Oyster and Champagne of the Crushed Crystals (sand effect) line and a lip polish. The eyebrow lifter was intriguing and so one of the new palettes, but I decided to stick to these 2 for the moment.
You'll find the review of the Catrice polish at the end of the post, for the moment let me tell you that the lip polish (in Megan Fuchsia) is amazing. It really stays a lot, not 8 hours if you eat a main meal, but after lunch I still have a pleasant fuchsia stain on my lips, so the effect doesn't completely go away. It's not lip drying at all, it's soft as a lip gloss (but not sticky) and extremely pigmented. Recommended!

Today I went to OVS to get the nail base. They didn't have any new stuff, but Essence products were on sale and sadly there weren't any pigments left. I still got the base (yay!) and another sand effect polish, this time Essence 165 Here's My Number, which was on sale.

Catrice 04 Oyster and Champagne is a really pretty golden-rose liquid sand effect polish. It contains hex rose microglitter; it looks as if the base was soft gold and rose micro- and standard sized glitters have been added to it. It's very pretty, and discreet too. It shines beautifully under the light, so of course this morning was cloudy when I wanted to take the photos. I can't tell you anything about duration yet, but application was easy (I recommend 3 coats or a rose base) and it dried quickly, so no complaints!
It reminds me of the gold and pink polish of the Maybelline Brocades LE, the colors seem very similar, but since I couldn't find the Maybelline one anywhere, well, at least I have this.


Tried anything new from Catrice/ Essence? Bought anything on sale?

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.

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.

Textured Triangles

Hello everybody! I have discovered I love OPI's Don't Talk Bach To Me everyday a little more. It's the perfect formula, the perfect finish, the perfect shade of pistachio/acid green. It's a perfect fall/winter shade.
I paired it with another personal fave, a Wjcon sand effect polish, n. 804. It has green/blue reflections so it's perfect! The silver line is Kiko 617.
A bit of texture play is always fun.

Essence Sparkle Sand Effect nail polish 163- Hey Nude!

When the OPI Bond Girls collection came out I fell in love with many of its polishes, mainly Pussy Galore and Jinx. So when I found a Kiko polish that was Jinx's dupe, it became mine! (It was Kiko 640).
A dupe of Pussy Galore didn't seem to exist. Until Essence came out with this.
Now, let's be honest, it's not a perfect dupe: Pussy Galore is pinker, Hey Nude is more nude-ish (as you could guess). PG is pearly and has no big glitters, HN does.
However, it's exactly what I wanted: a pink/nude shiny sand effect polish. The glitters are quite big, but it's still an office-friendly shade imho. I love how they reflect the light!
I applied three coats for full coverage. If you want less coats, you might want to use a base, and I wonder how it looks on a pinker base, since it can be quite sheer.
Drying time, as most sand effect polishes, was pretty good.
Side note: if you have very long nails the white part of the nail might still be visible under this polish.

I'm still going to give it an A, well done again, Essence.

Wjcon Sugar Effect 804

One thing has to be said about Wjcon: they took the sand effect trend very seriously. They sand-ified everything, from glittery to neon colors. The one that caught my eye is this black/gunmetal with light blue microglitter. In the bottle the glitters shifted from blue form purple, but sadly the purple is almost invisible on the nail (under artificial light is slightly more visible).
It's a really great color, I've never seen anything like this before. Three coats and very fast drying.
Very stunning, the effect is gritty and urban-like. The blue glitters are very visible.
I can't stop staring at my nails!

Vote: A- (if it had had duochrome glitters as in the bottle it would have been epic.)

Kiko Sugar Mat 644 Sea Blue

A blue that seems indigo under artificial lights, Kiko 644 was one of the Sugar Mat polishes that were in my wishlist. And for 1.50 euros, well, I couldn't resist it. To be honest, I am a bit disappointed. I was expecting something like Poppy Red, super shiny and glittery and impossible to ignore. Although this is indeed shimmery, there's nothing that makes you go woah. I applied two coats and on the third day it was already chipped on both indexes, so I recommend more coats. The color is nice but not a must have.I don't regret the purchase, I was just expecting something else. Now, let's think if I need something else from Kiko...

Vote: B

Review: Kiko 640

Now that's a pretty polish! A gorgeous orange/mandarin color (why is it even called poppy red in english, poppies are darker..) with a shiny shimmer finish paired perfectly with the liquid sand effect.
It brightens a summer day, but can be perfect in autumn and in every other season, it's such a great color!
It was the first time for me to wear a liquid sand polish on all my nails, I thought it would have felt weird... but it doesn't.

Considering that this polish (along with his Sugar Mat fellows and the Mirror ones) is now on sale, I think it's almost a must have!

Vote: A

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...

Kiko 638 Sugar Mat Nail Lacquer

Pretty much every blogger in a country where Kiko shops can be found has been interested in Kiko's last polish news, the Mirror and the Sugar Mat series, also because of the 20% promo. At the beginning I was only interested in Sugar Mat polishes, then I also bought a Mirror one, for stamping reasons.

I would have loved a grey Sugar Mat polish, since the great concrete-like effect, so I bought the closest color to it: taupe. I tried the black one but didn't like the little glitters, so onwards with taupe!
You can see it on my ring finger.
Personally, I don't think that the sand effect is annoying to touch at all, I kinda spent the whole day touching my nail, it feels nicely.

I apologize for the conditions of my cuticles, it doesn't matter how much I moisturize my skin, winter still hates me.

The other polishes are Nude Dude by H&M and Money Maker by Sephora.