OPI Burlesque Collection: Simmer & Shimmer!

Today I'm showing you my breast-cancer awareness manicure. I read on Delta Cephei's blog about a promotion Etos (a Dutch drugstore) is doing to raise awareness for Pink Ribbon. (www.pinkribbon.com) They ask women to paint their nails with one accent nail: a pink pinky. When you get questions about why your pinky is a different colour you can explain about Pink Ribbon and what people can do to support them. So, please take a moment to check out the links above for more information on Pink Ribbon.

I loved this idea so I decided to use Simmer & Shimmer to do a mani myself. I used Viva la Diva #71 on my pinky.

Compared to Absolutely Alice, Simmer & Shimmer is a bit more silver and it has multi-colored glitters instead of just blue and gold. There is fuschsia, orange, yellow, green and gold which make it feel like a party in a bottle. Contrairy to what you might expect after that statement it is not an "in-your-face" glitter. Somehow OPI manages to make glitter polishes seem subdued and demure. Apart from it being glitter of course. lol



This is the sort of glitter polish I'm pretty sure wouldn't have caused my late grandmother to throw a hissyfit and kick me out of the house while yelling at me I was the whore of Babylon and believe me, my grandmother wasn't easily satisfied. Just kidding! (No I'm not.)

Giant thumb!

Anyway, back to the polish! I did four coats of Simmer & Shimmer but honestly, that fourth coat was my paranoia kicking in. Macro setting and all.... I could see some of my bare nail through it if I looked closely but from a reasonable distance the glitter took care of that. On the pinky I used two coats of Simmer & Shimmer and two coats of Viva la Diva #71 because I wanted some of the blue glitter to shine through and pull the look together.

Drying time was short as can be expected from glitters. The surface was a little bumpy after the first coat of topcoat so I added a second one to make it smooth. 

Removal was normal for glitters. A pain if you try to do it the old fashioned way but with the foil method it was a breeze! I did find some stray glitters on my hands (and on my face, my hair, my couche, the floor, and on boyfriend etc. lol) but that is just the price we have to pay for wearing awesome glitters.

Thanks for looking!

Water Marble Magic

My first water marble

Hi guys! For today I've got something different from usual: a water marble. My first one actually! Well.. the first one I didn't immediately want to wipe off ;). It's still not how I wanted it to look, and it's nothing compared to others', but I wanted to share anyway! If you're not familiar with this technique: water marbling is putting drops of nail polish into water, creating patterns with a stick and dipping your finger in it. There are many tutorials on this crafty business but definitely get inspired by Colette from My Simple Little Pleasures, because she's got super duper water marble skills!

The polishes I used were Nox Twilight Beauty Crush - a very bright pink - and It's You! by Misa - a duochrome-y dark shade! Not all polishes will work for water marbling but the well pigmented ones are usually fine. There are several ways to avoid getting those dirty fingers, taping and vaseline for example. Vaseline (or unpetroleum jelly in my case) worked really well for me, you apply it on your skin and cuticles and after you're done, you can wipe the polish off - just like that! I got this tip from Michelle from The Lacquer Files, thanks girl!

I hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for stopping by!
- With love, Michèle

Misa Winter Collection 2010/2011: Spark My Interest - swatches & review

Misa Spark My Interest

"Whether you’re hitting the clubs in South Beach or sipping martinis in a Manhattan high-rise, you’ll need nails that glimmer as bright as the surrounding lights. Misa Cosmetics’ latest collection, Spark My Interest, pays homage to the glitz and glamour of nightlife and romantic intrigue—because nighttime nails should never fade into the background. The six brilliant hues are saturated with shine, thanks to the thousands of glittering particles packed into each polish, guaranteeing that nails remain the center of attention all summer long."

Hi guys! Today I have a review for you on Misa's latest 6-piece collection for winter called Spark My Interest. With polish names including a lot of "spark", "bling" and "glitz", I suspected a lot of shimmer and glitter, but were my high expectations met? Read on to find out!

Date Nights to the Twilight

Let's kick this off with my favorite of the collection, I really do love purple and it's the least conventional color in this collection. Date Nights to the Twilight is a foily shimmery medium purple, not too blue, not too red, somewhere in the middle. Very pretty.

Red Pumps at the Nordstrom

A metallic red. My camera didn't really pick up the detail in this polish, because it's a lot more interesting in real life. I threw in a macro shot so you'll get the idea. I don't really like metallic reds, especially in this particular shade. According to the press release this would be a sparkly ruby red, and it isn't. I hate to say it.. but this one looks a bit.. cheap?

Wink, Blink, Let's get a Drink

Wink, Blink, Let's get a Drink is a very pretty dark berry, plum-y color that does remind me of a good wine. I love the shimmer in this one, it's not as flat looking, not as glowy as I wished it would be, but still pretty nice and very fit for a sophisticated look.

Glitz, Glamour, Smile for the Camera

Just like Date Nights to the Twilight, this is more of a foil than anything. The press release said glam glitter, but hmmmm. This one is a pretty fuchsia, quite a fun color, and probably flattering to a lot of skintones! Foils tend to have great application so that's a huge plus.

Spark My Heart, that's a Start

This isn't just a pink, Spark My Heart, That's a Start, is more of a coral pink with a pink flash. This one is where a foil meats the metallic finish I think. I'd say pretty interesting for a pink. Somehow I can't remember the name of this polish correctly, in my head I keep naming it "Kickstart My Heart" like the Mötley Crüe song, ha!

Pink Bling On My Ring

According to the press release Pink Bling On My Ring is a shocking hot-pink glitter. And again... it's not. It's not very shocking, definitely not a glitter either. I wish it was though, because this almost looks a bit frosty? Definitely a nice shade of pink though, not too boring.

Overall

This is a difficult review for me, I absolutely love Misa, I fell madly in love with their latest fall collection, Toxic Seduction is one of my all time favorites! I love their bottles and their awesome application. And all of these polishes are no exception to this rule, they're all top notch quality. ALL of these were near one-coaters. I applied two layers for the pictures though, but if you're careful enough you can get away with one. They apply so well. They glide on, dry fast and smooth, it's really bordering perfection.

But! I don't know if it's just me, this doesn't look much like winter. Have you noticed this line in the press release: "remain the center of attention all summer long.". All summer long? ....Mhmm. These do look pretty to me, especially Date Nights to the Twilight and Wink, Blink, Let's get a Drink, but they indeed look like fun, playful summer colors.
After Misa's fall collection - What I Like About You - everyone's expectations immediately sky rocketed. For winter I would have expected more drama, more glitter, more depth, more variety. Winter/Holiday collections are often the most extravagant show stoppers of the year. If colors like these are your thing, I'd definitely buy these, they're pure quality. But for me, this isn't really cutting it..

Boozyshop

The products in this post were provided to me for review by Boozyshop. Boozyshop is an awesome Dutch webshop, that sells a lot of great brands like Diamond Cosmetics, Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics, Misa, Color Club, Orly and a whole lot more! (makeup too). They carry the entire Misa line and they cost 6.95 EUR each for a bottle of 15ml. Boozyshop ships throughout most of Europe, if you're not sure they ship to your country, don't hesitate to contact the owner Maaike, because she's incredibly helpful! Misa is also available on eBay and other etailers like TD or Head2Toe.

Opposites attract! Guest blog on Grazia Daily

Guestblog over at Grazia Daily!

Hi guys! A while ago I was asked to write a little post for Grazia Daily. Lauren posts a lot of cool nail news this section called Grazia Daily Nail, including her own manicures. I'm extremely honored they have asked me! I made two manicures for them, which you can see in this post. If you want to know more about these please check out the blogpost over at Grazia Daily

Nox Twilight Beauty - Crush

Crush

Maybe you remember my post on Disco Darling by Nox Twilight Beauty? Today I'm showing you Crush. Crush is a perfect pink neon, kapoww!
Until recently neons didn't do much for me, but I'm really starting to digg them. They're fun, create an instant tan, and they sure attract a lot of conversation.

Application

Like a lot neons this one dries semi matte, so in order for you to get that high gloss I'd recommend using top coat. I'm really impressed by the quality of the polishes within this line, they're really easy to handle and the colors are quite cool! Crush needed 3 coats for complete opacity, not bad at all, after all, it is a neon!
Of course I still think the names could've been more Twilight-y, but I won't get into that every time.

You can order these at www.twilightbeauty.com for $6.99 each (for 17ml/0.58oz woohoo!) or the entire collection for $65 (12 shades!). If you don't live in The States you can check their UK distributor www.simplebeauty.co.uk to see if they ship to your country!

The products in this post were provided to me by Nox Twilight Beauty for consideration - for more information please read my disclaimer

Diamond Cosmetics - Sparkling Sherry

Hi guys! What's up? The weather here is incredibly hot and my laptop is burning my lap as well, so I'll keep this a short post. Today I'm showing you my what was actually my first encounter with the brand Diamond Cosmetics. (I know I've posted about Monarch Masquerade earlier, but I tried this one first). As always, trying out a new brand, I was a bit afraid in terms of the quality: will it be thick or goopy or streaky. Well, this polish was none of this stuff. I kinda fell in love with it actually. And let me tell you why! The color is really rich, a beautiful glowy and sexy deep magenta, with a really great foil finish. And, this was believe it or not a one coater. I don't come across many one coaters so I was thrilled. It went on very smoothly, I think this one might end up as one of my go to polishes when I'm in a hurry!

This polish was sent to me for review by Boozy Shop. Boozy Shop is a lovely Dutch webshop, that sells a lot of great brands like Diamond Cosmetics, Essie, Sinful Colors, Milani, Wet 'n Wild and they even carry the famous 88 palettes. They ship throughout most of Europe, if you aren't sure if they ship to your country, don't hesitate to contact the owner, because she's incredibly helpful!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
- Michèle

OPI DS Signature

Hi everyone! Is everyone enjoying the summer and celebrating the sunny weather with a fair share of holographics? I know I am! OPI Signature from the Designer Series is actually a polish I used up, yes, to the last drop! I got it back in 2008, paid full retail price of 20 euros and didn't even regret it. So I was pretty bummed when I used it up. I usually wore this on my toes, it's so much fun in summer! And yes I've posted about it before, but I figured it deserved somewhat better swatches.

Reunited again

Michelle from TheLacquerFiles was incredibly sweet to fill that OPI DS Signature void in my heart and gave me hers, since it wasn't her color. And guess what...

...I still love it! The formula of this polish is perfect, it glides on smoothly without being runny. It does need 3 coats, but they dry fast and you can easily apply thin ones. I didn't even use a top coat, see how shiny it is on its own. The mauve/pinkish color is a bit conservative maybe, but the holo effect gives a nice twist to a decent color.

This holo is more of the scattered type, and in the shade it looks like in the picture below. The holographic effect is definitely toned down but it left a pretty depth anyway.

Well dear readers, this was it for today! Thanks for stopping by and have the best weekend!
- Michèle

Catrice Swatches!

Als eerste een reminder om je in te schrijven voor mijn Surprise Puppy Giveaway om negen Catrice lakjes van jouw keuze te winnen!

Ik heb een klein beetje zon gehad en daar heb ik gebruik van gemaakt om een aantal shimmers uit de nieuwe Lente/Zomer collectie van Catrice te swatchen. Daarna liet de zon me in de steek dus de rest volgt nog maar daarvoor moet ik mijn lightbox uit de kast trekken.

First a reminder to enter my Surprise Puppy Giveaway to win nine Catrice polishes of your choice!

I had a little sunlight today so I used that to swatch a couple of shimmers from the new Spring/Summer Collection by Catrice. After that the sun failed me but the rest will follow, I just have to get out my light box for those.



Ik moet mijn eerdere opmerkingen over de formule van deze collectie terugnemen. Blijkbaar zijn de problemen die ik had met Poison Me, Poison You beperkt tot die ene lak want met de rest van de collectie heb ik geen problemen gehad. Alleen Sold Out For Ever was iets moeilijker maar dat is ook een pastel en die staan erom bekend.

Alle swatches zijn twee laagjes zonder basecoat of topcoat tenzij anders vermeld.

I have to retract my previous comments on the formula of this collection. I guess the problems I had with Poison Me, Poison You were limited to that polish alone because the rest of the collection gave me no trouble. Only Sold Out For Ever was a bit harder but that is a pastel and they are notorious for it.

All swatches are two coats without basecoat or topcoat unless otherwise stated.



Laat me je voorstellen aan Clay-ton, My Hero. Een greige (grijs/beige) met gouden shimmer en in sommig licht zelfs een zeegroene tint. Deze is zo mooi en delicaat!

Meet Clay-ton, My Hero. A greige (grey/beige) with gold shimmer and in some light it even has a sea-green tint. This one is so pretty and delicate!



De volgende is Blue's Brother, een staalblauwe shimmer. Deze heeft zoveel shimmer dat ze grenst aan een foil. Niet helemaal mijn smaak maar het is wel een vrolijk zomerkleurtje dat ik me wel met leuke sandalen en een rokje zie dragen.

Next up is Blue's Brother, a steelblue shimmer. This has so much shimmer it borders on a foil. Not exactly my taste but it is a fun summer colour and I can see myself wearing it with cute sandals and a skirt.



Big Spender Wanted! Roze met gouden shimmer. Deze doet me denken aan China Glaze Strawberry Fields maar deze is koeler van kleur en heeft minder rood. Mooi, meisjesachtig en zomerig maar niet erg interessant vind ik. Als je nog niet zoiets hebt is deze de moeite waard om te kopen maar het is geen absolute must have.

Big Spender Wanted! Pink with a golden shimmer. This one reminds me of China Glaze Strawberry Fields but it's cooler toned and has less red. Pretty, girly and summery but not very interesting in my opinion. If you don't have something like it, it is worth buying but to me it's not a must have.



Be My Millionaire. Een mooie koele, antiek-uitziende gouden shimmer. Ik ben er vrijwel zeker van dat Catrice heeft geprobeerd Chanel Kaleidoscope te dupen met deze. Ik heb geen idee hoe goed ze hierin geslaagd zijn omdat ik niets vergelijkbaars heb maar van wat ik kan zien heeft Kaleidoscope grotere shimmerdeeltjes. De kleur lijkt echter wel in de buurt te komen.

Meer van deze collectie (inclusief mijn persoonlijke favorieten) volgen later!

Be My Millionaire. A pretty cool-toned antique-looking gold shimmer. I'm pretty sure Catrice tried to come close to Chanel Kaleidoscope with this one. I have no idea how close they came because I have nothing like it but from what I can see Kaleidoscope has bigger shimmer particles. The colour seems pretty close though.

More of this collection (including my personal favourites) later!

H&M New colors for spring + swatches

Last week I was doing some quick shopping and luckily I stumbled upon 4 new colors by H&M! I think they're quite new because two weeks ago they weren't there. H&M always manages to surprise me, because they add new colors to their selection often!

I love that these are happy bright colors, which is kinda refreshing after all the pastels we've been seeing lately (not that I don't love those ;-) ). It may look like these are all cremes, but in reality they're all shimmery polishes. Personally I would've liked them better as cremes, but still, I think they're pretty cute!

U Are Smokin Hot - I'm not really a orangy type a person, but I love this one! I applied 2 coats and this one had the best application out of the four. I love that it's such a happy color. I don't really care for the names H&M came up with, but hey, at least they're trying! ;-)

Aquatini - This name I didn't mind that much. Aquatini is a turquoise shimmery polish, although the shimmer doesn't feel like showing up on photos. I applied 2 coats, but I think it needs 3. Thing is, the formula of this polish was rather goopy, so 3 coats would have left me with a very wobbly surface, so I decided against it. Normally I would thin it, but I'm all out of thinner! :-O

Material Girl - It's pretty, if you love pink. It has a blueish flash which I adore. On the downside, there are a gazillion polishes like this. It does pop, so it's still a very entertaining color. Again, I applied 2 rather goopy coats.

Just a Fling - A pretty medium violet/purple, with some red undertones. Like Aquatini, it needs 3 coats, but I only applied 2. Very delicate shimmer.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with the colors H&M came up with, but in the end, I found the formula of all of these a bit disappointing. Not that it's that bad, but I guess I was expecting a lot more from these, since all of my other H&M polishes apply like a dream! What do you think of the new colors?

With that said, I'm wishing you a good night! Thanks for stopping by and till next time :-)

And the winners are ..... *drumroll*

So finally! My giveaway has ended and I'm about to announce 2 lucky winners. First of all: boy I need to thank you all so much for participating and following me! I've had 299 comments, worth of 404 entries! This was definitely beyond my expectations, overwhelming to say the least. Needless to say I've had a lot of work sorting everything out, haha!
While I was on this I caught some cheaters too, I'm not as dumb as you might have thought, ha ha (I did think it was pretty lame though).

Well with no further ado, I present to you the two winners:

Set 1:

Set 2:

I used www.random.org to determine the winners, and kept everyone's preference in mind.

Congratulations ladies! I will be e-mailing you shortly.

Of course I feel the need to add some nail spam, so here is Sinful Senorita by H&M, a gorgeous pink with great application. And you might not think it is, but it's definitely a holo in better lighting.

Take care and till next time!

Pink Holo!

Het heeft hier weer de hele dag gesneeuwt. Heerlijk! Ik had dus mooi de tijd om wat swatches te doen. Dit is Art de Lautrec #13B. Een mooie roze met subtiel holo effect.

It has been snowing here all day. Great! This gave me the perfect opportunity to do some swatches. This is Art de Laurtec #13B. A nice pink with a subtle holo effect.



Dit is drie laagjes zonder topcoat omdat topcoat vaak het holo effect verminderd. De formule is een beetje vergelijkbaar met de China Glaze Kaleidoscope holo's maar iets minder korrelig.

This is three coats without a topcoat because topcoat can effect the holo. The formula is comparable to the China Glaze Kaleidoscopes but a little less gritty.


Art de Lautrec is in Nederland te koop bij Alice And Jo's Havesentials.

Thanks for looking!

OPI - La Paz-itively Hot! Matte

Hi guys! How's everyone doing? Today is such a grey day, it's raining for hours now. And what do we do in sucky weather? Right! Wear bright and happy nail polish.
I decided to go with one of the mattes by OPI that I actually like. Don't get me wrong, I love the suedes, but most of their mattes are really not that great. This one, however, is.

It's La Paz-itively Hot and I'm enjoying this bright, almost neon, pink color a lot. It also has a slight shimmer which adds that little bit of depth I need. Unfortunately it's a 3 coater, but it dries super fast, so I don't really mind! What colors do you love to wear when you want to cheer yourself up?

New Collection: Catrice Nude Sensation

Ik zag deze vanmorgen en ik kon ze niet laten liggen omdat ik geen enkele nude nagellak bezit.
Ik moet zeggen dat ik een beetje teleurgesteld ben door deze collectie. Catrice heeft normaal gesproken aardig goede nagellakken maar deze waren veel te doorzichtig en streperig.

English: I saw these this morning and I had to pick them up because I don't own any nude polishes.
I must say I was a bit dissapointed by this collection. Catrice usually has some pretty good polishes but there were way to sheer and streaky.



01 Nude Cream. Een melkwitte jelly. Ik heb vier laagjes gedaan en er zijn nog steeds kale plekken maar ik weiger meer dan vier laagjes te lakken van welke lak dan ook.

English: 01 Nude Cream. A milky white jelly. I did four coats and I still have bald spots but I refuse to do more than 4 coats with any polish.



02 Soft Coral. Een doorzichtige babyroze. Ik vind de kleur wel mooi ondanks dat het niet iets is dat ik normaal gesproken draag. Ook nu had ik weer vier laagjes nodig en ze zou nog wel een of twee laagjes kunnen gebruiken.

English: 02 Soft Coral. A sheer baby pink. I like the colour on this one even though it's not something I would normally wear. Again I needed four coats and it could have used one or two more to cover streaks and bald spots.



03 Coral Pink. Dit is inderdaad een koraalroze! Ik weet niet wie besloten heeft dat koraal een goede nude zou zijn maar als iets op mijn lichaam deze kleur had zou ik me ernstig zorgen maken... Eerlijk gezegd vind ik deze echt afschuwelijk bij mijn huidskleur.
Deze had drie laagjes nodig en was wat makkelijker te lakken dan de andere twee. Misschien omdat ze meer pigment heeft?

English: 03 Coral Pink. Oh it's coral alright! I don't know who decided coral would make a good nude but I would be seriously concerned if anything on my body had this colour... Honestly I think this one looks hideous on me.
This is three coats and this one applied a lot better. Maybe this has more pigment?




04 Nude Beige. De naam zegt het al. Ze hebben het beste voor het laatst bewaard bij deze collectie. Deze vind ik erg mooi! Dit is drie laagjes. De applicatie was wederom een stuk beter dan de eerste twee. Mooi gelijkmatige laagjes en niet zo streperig.

Ik had wel een vergelijking willen doen met al deze lakjes maar ik heb alleen iets in mijn collectie dat een beetje op Nude Beige lijkt.

English: 04 Nude Beige. The name says it all. They saved the best for last with this collection. I really like this one! This is three coats. Application was a lot better than the first two. Nice even coats with minimal streaking.

I would have done a comparison of all colours in this collection if I had any but I only had something simmilar to Nude Beige in my collection.



Nude Beige op wijsvinger en ringvinger, Orly Country Club Khaki op middelvinger en pink.
Vergeleken met Nude Beige lijkt de Orly echt een grijs terwijl dat helemaal niet het geval is als je haar op zichzelf ziet.

English: Nude Beige on index and ring finger, Orly Country Club Khaki on middle finger and pinky.
Compared to Nude Beige the Orly looks positively grey which isn't the case at all if you see it on it's own.

Samenvattend: deze kleuren zijn niets voor mij en ik ben blij dat ik daar achter ben gekomen met nagellak van €1,99 in plaats van Essies van €14,-. Ach, ik kan ze altijd nog frankenen.

Bovendien is het best raar dat ze een kleur als koraalroze er wél in stoppen maar dat er geen nude voor donkere mensen in zit. Niemand is koraalroze Catrice! Maar meer dan de helft van deze wereld heeft een andere kleur dan deze lichte kleuren.
Dus ja, baggercollectie.

English: All in all, these colours are not for me and I'm glad I found that out with €1,99 polishes instead of €14,- Essies. I guess I could always franken the lot.

To top that off it's pretty strange that they do add a colour like coral but not a nude for dark-skinned people. Nobody's skin is coral Catrice! But more than half the population of this world has a different colour that these pasty polishes.
So yeah, sucky collection.