L'Oreal 304 Spicy Orange

My sister was here for the holidays so I tried one of her polishes, I had never tried a L'Oreal polish before.
I must say, my experience was nor great nor bad, only.. meh. The formula doesn't cover that much, if I hadn't attempted a half-moon cleaning it would have looked even worse. True, it is shiny, but if I have to buy a shiny red I am going to use my trusty H&M one that is shiny and has great nail coverage.
The color isn't that bad, but nothing worth searching for, imho, but that's maybe just me, I'm not that much into reds. And when I buy a red, it has to be a special one..

Vote: B- (But maybe it's not just my cup of tea...)

Catrice 01 Cotton Candy (Nail Sugar Pearls) - Candy Shock LE

And as the first signs of tipwear started to appear... I made some experiments with the white nail art pearls

Yesterday evening I tried on the ring finger first, and as you can see, after a night of sleep most of the nail pearls are still there! So I tried on another finger too, I couldn't resist.
I also would like to try those pearls on a more contrasting color. I am satisfied that with a thick coat of polish and after having firmly pressed them down they can stay on your nail a lot longer.

If you can still find them, I recommend those pearls. They're cheap and guarantee a stunning effect.

Catrice 02 Play It Blue- Candy Shock LE

Here, meet Play it blue! The website said that the light blue and the orange one would have a "chalky matt powder effect". I don't know what they were exactly aiming for, but surely it is matte.

Luckily it has a big brush, so the chances of leaving brush strokes are diminished, but it's still not the easiest polish on the planet to apply, I still recommend care. In some reviews I've read that it "floods the cuticles", honestly, I don't think it does it at all, it was overall easy to apply with some minimum care.
I used three thick coats, since I didn't want to ruin the finish with topcoat. The first signs of tipwear are already showing, but I had waited because I wanted to take pics in daylight. It's also fast drying.
I really love the color, a very soft pastel blue, I have nothing like it.

Vote: A-
Would I recommend it? Yes! The cuteness overpowers the small application problems.

Quick post: Catrice Candy Shock is in town!

Just a quick post before I go to bed: the Catrice LE I was so intensely waiting for... finally arrived!
I almost couldn't believe it, I usually don't go crazy over pastels but this LE is just perfect for me.

I immediately picked what I knew I wanted: the white pearls and the light blue polish... then I remembered I had seen enthusiastic reviews of the highlighter, so I tried it and, wow, it works perfectly on my skin! I can't wait to use it more, it's a "your skin but better" kind of product. You can use it with your finger or a brush to highlight the standard places (browbone, etc) or put it all over your face for a subtle glow. I love it!
(Perhaps I could post swatches when I try the polishes, mmh..)

Ancient Greece nail art

... or fail art, as I should say. The idea is great, the result not so much. I am starting to think this nail art is cursed: yesterday evening, in applying the black base I did a mistake and, trying to correct it with a cotton pad I messed up all the other nails because that cotton pad, of a brand I never tried, was horrible, it had a lot of, how do you say, loose cotton hair? Anyway the cotton got caught up in the other nails. Oh, and I dropped some black nail polish on my pajama trousers and, in an attempt to clean it I created even larger stains because, despite my care, my newly painted nails touched the fabric, thus ruining both things at once!

And honestly, I don't know what to blame for this stamping fail:  I already suspected that the Kiko 629 polish was not as good at the other of this series, and essence stamping plates are of a lower quality, but come on... I had to redo each single nail countless times, and I lost my patience at the snake nail, essence stamp me black was proving itself really bad so I gave up and used Pupa 209, my black base.

I don't know for how much I will keep this on my nails, but I still wanted to show it to you, if only as a source of inspiration.. plus, you can learn by my mistakes: never paint your nails when you're too tired, never use Quandoé cotton pads (this is for the Italians maily, you'd find it at Acqua e Sapone).

Side note: I really dislike the brushes on Pupa polishes. They're too small for me, and may work well for detailed nail art but when it comes to applying polish on the whole nail, they never work right for me. I definitely prefer the big essence brushes that everyone seems to hate: one stroke and you're done!

Stamping with Kiko 624

Meet the last member of my mirror polish family: Kiko 624 Sky Blue

As its other fellows, it stamps nicely! I've chosen this pattern because the tropical blue flowers on white base combo made me think of a beautiful t-shirt my sister once had, but now that I look at it, it does also remind me of porcelain teacups. Imagine it used together with a darker blue....

The base is Shaka Sugary White. No topcoat, I didn't have the time yet...

Vote: A, of course! Those mirror polishes are a safe buy, really. I've never been disappointed. The gold is the one with the better formula at all, stamps in a such divine way that you'll hear choirs of angels when putting it on your nail. The other mirrors are of the same great quality, and this Sky Blue is no exception!

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