I'm back + Essence Lady Mermaid

It's been a long time. It's almost hard to believe I haven't posted anything for more than two months, months that have been extremely demanding in terms of time and energy.
Now I would really love to go back at posting more regularly. I'm not promising anything, I don't wanna make promises I'm not sure I can't keep, but... I really missed this blog and the awesome beauty blogging community. I will do my best from now on.
I also want to post more about make up, not only nail polishes. I'd love to write a post about liquid-to-matte lipsticks, something I can never have enough of.

But now I want to show you something really pretty: Essence 30 Lady Mermaid, part of their standard special effect polishes range.

with flash

A gorgeous blue foil that really deserves the mermaid-related name. It's so shiny! In the bottle it has a duochrome effect from blue to violet, hard to capture in photographs (and much less visible on the nails, I have to say), but under artificial lights it can be seen and appreciated.
A bit sheer like a lot of foils, but it's not an issue for me. This is three coats.

 It was also quite long lasting, so I really appreciated it in a moment of my life when I didn't have much time to devote to my nails. Also, can you imagine how awesome will this look with something stamped on it?I must try it someday.
I definitely recommend this.

without flash

Essie Coat Couture

with flash

 I know I haven't posted for a while, I really miss blogging more frequently but the time for nail art has significantly reduced in my life. I could still create a series of posts of "rediscoveries" of old polishes, since it's pretty much what I've been doing.
But first, something new! Essie Coat Couture, a cashmere matte from the upcoming fall LE, bought at Cosmoprof. Not that hard to believe that this was the last bottle of this color left, am I right?

This color is a nice cold taupe with a blue shimmer, more visible under flash. Opaque in two coats. Drying time was good, no complaints. I can't wait to try to wear it with a shiny topcoat to see how it changes! For now I am quite satisfied, if you count that it's my first Essie!

without flash

Essence the Gel Polish 22 I love my blue jeans

Part of the Cosmoprof loot, this little gem is part of Essence's new gel polish range. I've been wanting to get this polish for ages when the same color was part of the regular range, but always hesitate and decided to get it at the sales, when of course I couldn't find it anymore. Therefore getting this for free was a pleasant surprise!

Essence 22 I <3 my blue jeans is a navy blue creme with a matte finish. I love, love Essence's big brushes. One swipe and the nail is done! It's soo much easier to use and requires zero cleanup.
Also this polish is greatly pigmented, it's pretty much a one coater (here's two coats, no topcoat).
The formula seems more dense than regular Essence polishes, but I don't mind it, since it dried quickly even without a topcoat.
Considering how cheap this polish is, the quality is astounding!
Vote: A

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?

Revlon Moonlit Woods

Another polish of the Revlon scented series. I can't help, I'm addicted to this series and I'm very sad that the Revlon brand store where I used to get these for a super discounted price is closing.
Let's put the sad away and talk about this polish. It was a gift from my mom: I really liked this color and I was a bit sad I had never got it when Kiko did the mirror series, so I was very happy to receive it.
Unlike its Kiko fellows, however, it is not a one coater: shown here are three coats, no topcoat. It's a bit sheer, but in the end I don't care, it doesn't leave many stripes and it has a very good drying time.
Oh and the smell. What are woods at night supposed to smell, you ask yourself, and it has been a long time since I've been in a moonlight wood but it certainly doesn't smell so sweet. It's not a sickly sweet scent, it's delicate but strong (if it makes sense) and the smell was perceivable for a couple of days after application.
Like its fellows it's quite long lasting, it started chipping only after 4 days.

I really liked this one, definitely recommended!

Sugarpill Heart Breaker palette review

Look, I'll understand if you think it's pointless to review a product that beauty bloggers allover the world own and love. But still, here's my 2 cents about this super-beautiful palette.

They win all possible packaging contest from here to eternity.
But packaging aside...

Colors are Acidberry (acid green with subtle shimmer), Velocity (electric matte blue with subtle shimmer), Mochi (ultra matte seafoam) and 2am, (matte purple with soft shimmer). In the swatches I've done they don't appear much pigmented but they're actually pretty great. Mochi ended up being a personal favorite, it's ridiculously good. With primer and a white base to help the colors stand out, these will last all day perfectly. They blend like a dream and are just ... super pretty.

My swatches don't do these pretties justice!
The Sugarpill website doesn't ship to Italy (huge surprise here) but you can get them through Cocktailscosmetics.
There are two other palettes like this, with different colors, if these aren't your cup of tea.
In my humble opinion everyone should try Sugarpill once in their lifetime.
(I also own the yellow eyeshadow, Buttercupcake, which is THE BEST.)

Neve Cosmetics Mistero Barocco eyeshadow palette

I have ten minutes to spare (I am a busy woman) and I miss regularly updating this blog. So here's a review of NC's Mistero Barocco eyeshadow palette. NC is seriously becoming my favourite brand.

This palette is no longer available on their website, but single eyeshadows are, and you could still find it in brick&mortar stores or other retailers.
The packaging is pretty awesome, white with the golden symbol, it's definitely going to rank high you your list of awesome packaging cosmetics.
It's not much different than a smaller regular palette (like the Duochrome, the Scurissimi and so on), it's in plastic and holds four shades: Crinoline (warm shimmery gold) Ember (pure matte red), Obscure (dark brown, matte with some really subtle shimmer) and Ornament (shimmery antique pink). No primer here, just swatched on bare skin.

Crinoline is very pretty, it's not just a warm gold, to me it has hints of orange and it's extremely beautiful. Highlight the inner corner of your eyes with this, or just use it as a regular eyeshadow. I know many gold eyeshadows but this one really is different.
Ember is a pure, simple matte red with cold/neutral undertones. I have used this as eyeshadow, eyeliner and blush. As blush I recommend caution because it's extremely pigmented. It doesn't look too much Heid-ish once you learn how to apply it.
Ornament is a personal favourite. Like, if you can only get one of these please get Ornament! It's not only a ridiculously beautiful eyeshadow (if you do neutrals this is your new best friend) but it's also a great blush! I used it more as a blush I believe, and it really looks wonderfully ... natural on me, the shimmer doesn't highlight the imperfections of my skin and it's extremely long lasting.
Obscure is a pretty beautiful brown, not that unique but still good and useful, you could use it in your brows as well if they're dark enough. NC suggested you to use it as bronzer as well, but it depends heavily on your skin color. On mine it would be way too dark, and would need a lot of work and blending. You can still use it as eyeshadow or eyeliner, the color is very pretty after all.

The pigmentation varies a bit, Obscure is much more buildable than the others, but that's a good thing in my eyes.
So, any of you got this or plan on getting it? Personally I am quite in love with it, it's extremely multitasking (you can do eyes, brows, face...)!

Shaka Hologram Sky

Could I leave this in the store when I saw it? Hint: the answer is no.
A legendary holo I craved for a while, when I saw it I knew I had to get it immediately.
Application was ok, no great issues, and the color is wonderful.
Of course when I decided to wear it we had no sun for days, and it's quite a pity to take a photo of a holo indoor with flash.
Under sunlight it would've been so much better.
But alas, here it is in all its glory.

Very pretty, isn't it?
And it's always good to have a good holo collection...

Revlon Ginger Melon

I was supposed to post about another polish, and I've got a review of the Neve Cosmetics Mistero Barocco palette coming soon. But this polish is so stunning I had to blog about it.
Basically, it's a Barbie pink perfectly opaque in two coats. I was afraid it might show some lines  but the color ended up perfectly, and with a good drying time (no seche vite here).
The smell isn't as strong as its companion Wintermint, but it's a delicious sweet smell that really makes me think of melon.
Yeah, it might seem like a summer color.. but there were 21 degrees here yesterday (Northern Italy, guys), so why not. A vibrant neon pink that doesn't require a white base to stand out? Yes, please!
The color is very reminiscent of the Eighties, so I'll probably do a nail art on it.
For now, i really love this color and I definitely recommend it!

My New Year's Eve Polish

Hello! And happy new year to all of you! I originally planned to post this on NYE but I got carried out in food preparation... So here it is, Barry M Gold Mine Glitter, brought to me by my cousin who is currently living in England.
I always wanted to try a Barry M polish, and this one was perfect for the holidays! Two coats and seche vite here. Gold glitter in a black base that is opaque enough to cover the nails in two coats, and with an averagely good glitter distribution, I'd say this is a good polish!
However I have to add  that, over my mom's Kiko base, it chipped really soon: yesterday evening while I was cooking... it's not the first time I wear a polish for NYE that ends up chipping on that very evening, it must be a curse!
I want to test it over my regular Essence base too. For now, i really like this polish and I think a better base would do it justice.
I hope we all have a nice 2015!

Revlon Wintermint

I always wanted to try those "scented" nail polishes by Revlon. And the cute bottles were a part, I'm going to admit it. However since I could never find them under 5 euros I always left them on the shelf with a sigh. After all, what if the quality isn't that great or the scent fades instantly?
But I found a Revlon store at the train station... who sold those for 2,90 euros. Now, that is what i call a good price.
I got only one because I wanted to test it, but I am probably getting more of them soon.
The one I got was Wintermint, a mint green (duh) with golden shimmer and blue microglitter. Even if it were scentless it would be nice in a collection, right?

I applied three thin coats of polish and no top coat, to see if the scent thing was real. Boy, it really was! My nails smelled of delicious mint and it was quite a strong scent! The thing I liked more was how relaxing the scent felt, it was really pleasing.
I've been wearing it for 3 days now, and not only it hasn't chipped, but if put my nails under my nose I can still smell the mint. Granted, it's not as strong as the first day, but it still feels nice.
Really satisfied about this, I can't wait to try some more, maybe Lime Basil.

Pupa Made To Last Foundation Review

Yes, yes, I know this is a nail polish blog. But make up matters too, so here's a few words about the new foundation by Pupa. I purchased it using the coupon, so it was just 10 euros instead of almost 20.
Surprise surprise, I got the lightest shade, 010, which really is light enough for me. A miracle, right?
Not only the shade is nearly identical to my skin color, but I have good things to say about this foundation as well. I am used to the idea of applying some setting powder afterwards to get some opacity and make everything last longer. If I didn't do this with the Maybelline Fit Me foundation, it didn't take much for my face to get, well, oily.
With this foundation, however, I can almost forget about it. I mean, immediately after applying it my face already looks mattified and in a natural way. The coverage is, I'd say, medium, and it does very well on the small imperfections of my skin.

It's also as long lasting as they promise, and it feels very lightweight, I almost forget I have anything on my face with it.
It can be applied with your fingers but I prefer to use a brush, like this.
What else can I say? It looks natural, it feels nice, it's the right color... I really have no complaints for now!

Catrice Viennart LE 04 ARTful Red

blurry, but you can see the color nicely

This is the first nail polish review that I write in my new room! It feels weird and nice...
And today I show you ARTful Red, the result of a shopping afternoon and the lucky finding of an untouched Catrice display.
The color is a wonderful red (rosso mattone, diremmo noi), a brownish red with cold undertones. An extremely elegant color. It's a shimmery polish opaque in 2 coats, but here you can see three of them.

 

 As you can see, it would be a perfect color for Christmas (and a perfect gift too - it's what I call a mom friendly polish) and I think I will use it again for a Christmas mani.
The polish lasted a good 4 days without chipping, and it chipped because of something I did so if you're a bit more careful it'll last longer.
It's very shiny even without the Seche Vite.
So, do I recommend it? Yes, it's quite an unique color, I don't have many reds but this was quite a pleasant surprise and I'm very satisfied of my purchase.
Did you find this LE? Got anything?

Review: Kiko Nail Polish Remover Travel Wipes

Hi! So, I am more or less settled in terms of housing, but I have a problem in terms of uploading pictures because my new laptop doesn't read my old camera's memory card and I need to get an adapter. Until I get it, no pics, sorry.
But I still wanted to tell you about Kiko's travel wipes...

And yes, the pic is from Kiko's website. Sorry.

I never realized how useful they could be, until I was on the move. Before settling in this house I stayed at some friends' for almost a week, then a few days at a B&B, and with a great amount of luggage already, I didn't want to buy acetone or something similar. Not to mention the "what if it opens in the bag" panic and so on. But I still wanted to get rid of an old, chipped nail polish on my nails and use one of the few polishes I had brought. It's not exactly hard to explain why, despite being super busy and anxious about the room to find and whatnot I still wanted to have perfect nails, right?
Feeling ready makes me feel better, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
So I decided to get these travel wipes, and here's my impressions:

• They come in a tiny round box that's really small. Less than half of a Sleek palette, to give you an idea. You will be able to stick it in any beauty case.
• Being acetone-free, they're rather oily. Consider that, I know that some people dislike it.
• The smell is delicious!
• They're really small. In the Kiko pic they look like those powder puffs, but they're nothing like it, they're more similar to a make up remover wipe. Being small, I noticed I needed at least two to remove nail polish from both my hands. It may depend from the color/amount of coats/topcoat but I doubt you could remove your nail polish from both hands with just one of those.

That being said, do I recommend them? Yes, because they can be awfully practical. If you're going on holiday or are in a situation similar to mine, they could prove very useful. Just make sure you've a way to wash your hands afterwards for the oily effect (as in, I wouldn't recommend to use them on a train and whatnot). Just keep them for extreme situations,

Neve Cosmetics Bio Primer (Mattifying) review

I've always wanted to try a face primer, but the ingredients discouraged me a bit and I didn't want to put liquid plastic on my face. Plus, who cares if people can see my pores? I'm a human being! What is this, some robot uprising and we have to blend in with the androids?
A primer that promises to make your base more long lasting would've interested me more. When Neve Cosmetics came out with the primers (there's a brightening one too) I knew I had to try one. Since I have combinated skin I went for the mattifying one, after having tried both at a bio makeup store.
At first I was a bit worried. Because they're dark, and I'm super duper pale.

Luckily, however, it blends nicely and becomes invisible really easily. It does make my skin look more, well, matte, and since it adapts nicely to your skin color (more than some of those "adapting bbcreams") you can use it as a colored cream when you're not in the mood for foundation.
I love using it with my Manic Panic compact foundation, but it works nicely with a liquid foundation (Maybelline Fit Me) too.
I've noticed that it makes my face makeup last longer and it gives me a healthy look without looking like a doll. It truly has a mattifying effect. It feels nicely, it's fresh, and it doubles as an extra skin protection during winter.
Have you tried it? Because I'd definitely recommend it! Neve Cosmetics is quickly becoming my fave brand out there...

I'm back (with an old gem)

Thanks for bearing with me, gals (and guys). I survived a tour de force consisting of: 1) the Translation Slam at Lucca Comics 2) a saturday in Lucca Comics (coming back home was a disaster, we had to queue for 4 hours just to reach the train station...) 3) my graduation! I've obtained my Laurea Magistrale! (110 e lode, ragazze, non ci posso credere!)
Now I can finally go back to blogging regularly. I'll do my best, because I have a new laptop and it doesn't read my memory card, but I still will post some stuff this week. I also have a review of Neve Cosmetics's primer coming down the pipeline!
For now I want to show you a little gem, an old discontinued Kiko polish, 382.

A shimmery gunmetal grey that reminds me of the Pupa matt cream eyeshadows (review of one of those soon too!) in terms of color, but it has a shimmer finish. Here it's not topped with seche vite, because, uh, I got distracted playing Payday 2 (new laptop = more videogames!), but it's really beautiful. It's quite old, I had recently started to be into nail polishes when I got this but I absolutely love it, it's extremely elegant also because it's not 100% black.
A personal favorite, if I had to say. I hadn't worn it in a lifetime so I am happy to show it to you!

P.s. here's what I got at Lucca Comics!

I would've gotten more if I had had more time and if there had been less of a crowd. But hey, I've got 3rd issue of Saga, the second volume of the Elric of Melnibone comic, a mug with Eevee and the eeveelutions (sounds like a band name...) and a Sailor Moon set containing a small purse where I'll keep my lipsticks, a small mirror and a hair band. There were sooo many SM goodies, I didn't know where to start!
That's all for today, tomorrow I'll post the first review!

Essence Hello Autumn LE 02 & 03 Nail Polishes

I have a confession to make: I have yet to learn how to take pics of thermo polishes properly.
I still want to show you 02 Meet My Pumpkin and 03 Charlie Seen in Green, because they're two beautiful polishes with a great autumn feel.
02 is my personal favorite: in the bottle it looks like a cool dark chocolate brown (exemplified by my ring finger, but it can get even colder and darker than that), exposed to warmness it becomes a brick/rusty orange that is absolutely perfect for the season. You can see it better on my index. The quality is also great, it needs 2 coats for full opacity but it's almost a crelly, veeery shiny. A pleasure to wear.
03 goes from cool pistachio green (a bit like OPI Don't Talk Bach to Me) from warm pastel yellow. And it was very very hard to capture for my camera. I am sorry that you can barely see it.

 This is very blurry but at least it captures the orange nicely but, as you can see, 02 has a far more visible and bigger chromatic change compared to 03. Which is still a beautiful polish, since it's a warm light green that could look great with autumn themed nail arts.. If you can pick only one of them and want to see a strong thermo effect, go for 02.
Some people complained about the thermo effect for the polish from the Road Trip LE to be too subtle, and 02 will leave even those people satisfied (but 03 probably wont).
Ultimately, it's up to you: to me they are both beautiful and purchase-worth.
Also, my mom got the 01 Beauti-FALL red for herself and I will review it soon.
It will be a month filled with thermo polishes! I also got the colour adapting blush from this LE: I mistook it for a highlighter at first, but I tried it and damn, it works really nicely. Reviews soon!

Enigma/Blue eye pencil by Neve Cosmetics

Look, guys, a post! I am still alive!
And today I want to show you Neve Cosmetics' new eye pencil in Enigma/Blue. Quite frankly I am in love with the idea of a sci-fi themed collection, and I sort of end up collecting matte blue eye colors, so hey, who was I not to give it a try. Especially since the good price, you know.
The color is a matte bright blue. I have a comparison image here:
From L to R: Sephora eye pencil in Azur Blue, Maybelline Master Drama Kohl in electric blue, Kiko eyeliner 107, and Neve Cosmetics Enigma.

The only one that is similar here is Sephora's eye pencil, but the color is less intense and slightly more indigo-ish, so they are not identical.
I have read many comments about this pencil (and the others of the set), and I don't agree with some of them. First, yes, they are soft. It's not a bad thing. UD eye pencils are soft too, and I haven't seen anybody criticize them.
Second, for this reason, they're impossible to work with and stain your eyelid. Duuude, no. With a good primer they last as a standard eye pencil (well, unless you rub your eyes), and I experienced minimal to no lid stain.
So, is it a good pencil? Yes, and I recommend it. At least try it for yourself if you can find a brick and mortar store that has NC.

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...