Koh - Blue Universe

Dazzle

Everything but boring. A good description for an extraordinary bottle of nail polish. Koh, a Dutch brand, happens to have some true stunners in their collection. And guess what? Blue Universe is no exception.

Blue Universe is a denim blue nail polish, enriched with duochrome flakies that flash from orange to green. That's just the beginning though, there's also plenty shimmer and glitter to feast your eyes upon. When I'm in the mood for a complex and distinctive polish, I can absolutely count on Blue Universe.

Application

Does it apply as beautifully as it looks? Yes, it does! Two quickdrying coats and you're good to go. It does need a final layer of top coat to give it that glossy look, because it does dry rather matte.
I do find the brushes of Koh polishes to be a bit thin, but nothing I can't work with. The two major letdowns of Koh polishes are their price and availability. I don't know about you, but I don't find €14,95 a bottle that cheap. If you're living outside The Netherlands, you might have trouble finding a place to purchase these Dutch gems.

In The Netherlands you can buy Koh polishes for 14,95 EUR each at Douglas, MOOI or Bijenkorf. If you're outside Holland you can try your luck over at their online shop.

Ps. these photos were taken with my compactcamera

Sneak Preview: China Glaze Tis The Season To be Naughty and Nice

China Glaze Holiday Collection

Hi guys! Today I received a friggin fantastic package from China Glaze! I couldn't believe it but they sent me their entire Holiday collection. This collection exists out of 16 colors, it's huge! Since I don't have much time today, have to work this wednesday and thursday, and a press event from Catrice to attend on friday, I think I won't be able to start swatching before this saturday :(. Therefore I decided to give you a little preview of what's to come! Please excuse the quality of these pictures, since it's dark and raining non stop in The Netherlands.

From left to right: Snow, Frosty, Cheers to You, Midnight Kiss, Jingle Bells, Peace on Earth, Jolly Holly, Mistletoe Kisses, Party Hearty and Mrs. Claus.

From left to right: Sugar Plums, Mommy Kissing Santa, Phat Santa, Ruby Deer, Party Hearty, Mistletoe Kisses, Jolly Holly and Peace on Earth.

From left to right: Ruby Deer, Phat Santa, Mommy Kissing Santa, Sugar Plums, Naughty and Nice and Little Drummer Boy.

First Impression

They look nice, don't they? Expect real swatches soon though! I think I already have some favorites in this collection, especially Mistletoe Kisses, Little Drummer Boy and Party Hearty call my name. They seem to apply quite nicely, but so far I've only tried them on a nail wheel. I'm really fond of the silver caps too. Swatches and review coming soon!

What's your first impression?

The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for review. For more information please read my disclaimer

Nox Twilight Beauty - Disco Darling

Nox Twilight Nail Polish

Nox Twilight nail polish is the newest edition of products from Twilight Beauty. Inspired by the powerful Cullen coven, this line of professional quality nail polish prominently features the enduring Cullen crest on the center of each bottle.

Hi guys! Today I'll be showing you a nail polish from a brand new line by Nox: Twilight Beauty. How pretty are these bottles? You may or may not like Twilight, but even if you don't, don't exit on me yet, these are really worth a look! Nox - Twilight Beauty released 12 colors, and today I'm showing you Disco Darling.

Sparkle sparkle

How pretty is that? Sparkly as Edward himself! I really love the holographic glitter in this one, it's quite dense and noticeable in almost every light. Yep, definitely one of, if not the, prettiest silver polishes I own! I'm sorry for the huge close up below, eek! But it does show how pretty the sparklies are.

Application

Application was fine, this polish is made out of glitter in a clear base, but after 3 coats you're good to go.
It does dry a little bit gritty though, but after 2 thin layers of Nubar Diamont everything was as smooth as glass..

I've got some other colors from this Nox Twilight Beauty collection too and these are far from boring. And those bottles! Just too cute. The only thing that could have been better, are the names. Names like Sugar Plum, Sangria, Poseidon and Citrus for example, don't really make me think, 'hey, Twilight!' Other than that I think these are really awesome and I can't wait to show you more!

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

Incoco - The New Revolution In Nail Polish?

INCOCO. The Revolution in Nail Polish.

The world of nail polish as you know it is about to change forever! Finally there's an answer to the spills and smears of messy nail polish bottles: Incoco Self-stick 100% Nail Polish strips.

No other product can provide base coat, color coat and top coat in a single dry self=stick nail polish strip. In minutes, you can have a professional manicure that lasts up to 14 days

Incoco offers strips in many different colors and finishes and today I'm showing you Ruby Shoes, pretty, isn't it!?

How it's done

Incoco has really nice instructions up on their website, so if you're interested in this technique please check it out here. It can be tricky at first, but after you're done with a few nails you'll get the hang of it. You start off with a clean, buffed nail (ridges will show) and select the size that best fits your nail. Each strip actually has 2 sizes, one at each end. After that you just remove the top clear film, and peel the color strip from the backing paper. All you have to do is place the color strip on your nail against the cuticles. Smoothen up any wrinkles it might have, pull it over the tip of your nail and tear the excess off. If needed you can use the included file to smoothen up the edges.

If you're worried these might stain your nails, each color strips consist out of base coat, color and a top coat, I experienced no staining after wearing these for a full week. They're also b3f, which is a huge plus.

Wear

Yes a full week, no chipping, almost no tip wear, no scratches, dents whatever. I'm really impressed, I'm pretty sure I could've worn them for another week, but I had some new growth so I took it off. You can remove these with the special Polish Removal Cloth that's included. This is actually a piece of felt with Acetone based remover. I haven't tried it on any other color besides Ruby Shoes, but removal was okay, not as bad as I thought it would be considered the glitter! I've also tried using my regular non acetone remover and that worked fine as well.

Conclusion

I really like these! The thing that really appeals to me is the wear, Im thinking I'll be wearing these when I go on vacation, no worries about chipped nail polish, yay! Other advantages are: easily and quickly done, no smell, no drying time and an immaculate looking manicure. It can be a bit challenging to find all the right sizes for your nails. For me the biggest disadvantage is the price. The Ruby Shoes costs $7.99 for 2 strips (= 1 manicure), a bit much when you compare this to a bottle of nail polish. But, if you're looking for a manicure that lasts a long time, with little effort, these are awesome.

Visit the Incoco Website

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

Deborah Lippmann - Ruby Red Slippers

Celebrating!

Hi guys! What's up? Today may not really be the time for vampy colors, since it's an excruciatingly hot summer day, but today is the day I've been blogging for six months so I wanted something festive! Only six months, it seems so long already!

Glitter

I think this polish is just fabulous! Red Ruby Slippers by Deborah Lippmann is a black jelly base with a mix of small and big hexadecimal hexagonal red glitter. Absolutely divine. It's like China Glaze's Lubu Heels on steroids!

Application

Polishes like these are never the easiest to apply though. You really have to be careful when it comes to the placement of the glitter, it can be all over the place! I actually had to use a stick to immediately push the glitter back in, away from the cuticle, while it was still wet. Normally I like to layer wet over wet, but this one needs a little bit of drying time between layers. But it's so stunning to look at, that I'm gladly taking this for granted!
You can wear this at two coats, but I applied 3. It does dry bumpy and not so glossy, so you definitely want to bring out the top coat. I applied 3 layers of Nubar Diamont to create a smooth glossy surface.

Deborah Lippmann polishes cost between $16-$20 for 15ml each. You can order them online at deborahlippmann.com

Thanks so much for stopping by and see you next time!
- Michèle

Green spring mani!

Hola dear readers! I hope everyone had a great weekend, the weather in Holland was amazing, spring at its best! The weather was so good, I felt like bustin out another spring mani. I even dug up this nail art carousel by Essence. You all know I'm such a wuss when it comes to nailart, so it was still unpacked, covered by a layer of dust haha. I used Sephora's Picnic at the Park as base color, I'm planning on doing a comparison with it soon, so I'm not really going to get into that right now.But if you're planning on using it: it stains like crazy. Be warned.

I topped this with a layer of Nfu Oh 50, a really pretty lilac base with duochrome flakies. The flakies weren't as dense as I hoped so I applied a 2nd layer.

I must have gotten a sunstroke because after that I took my Essence Nail Art Glitter Mix, called Glam it up and chose some pretty duochrome flower glitters. These glitters flash seagreen and purple depending on the light, really cool! I applied them when a toothpick in the still wet layer of Nfu Oh. These glitters are quite thick and definitely not bendable. I think this is a really pretty nail art kit, the other glitters look really cool too. There are 2 kinds of flowers, 2 kinds of circle thingies and 2 kinds of teardrops.

Does good weather influence your manicure as well?

Essence Nail Art Glitter Mix - 01 - Glam it Up!

Eyeko - Vampira polish

Hi guys! Long time no see! My absence was caused by my crappy laptop's decision to call it a day. My hard drive completely froze and never really recovered, so all of my pre-made swatches are gone, down the drain :-(.

Luckily I do have this one for you today: Vampira polish by Eyeko. Eyeko has just released five new trendy shades including a taupe, pastel pink, coral and this black and red glitter polish. The packaging is very cool. Every shade has their own designed label, absolutely adorable.

Vampira Polish (for gothic nails) is the star of the collection, hands down.
I *love* this black base filled with bright red glitter. I think it's pretty hot, I could totally picture Elena from The Vampire Diaries wearing this. Not Bella though: "I've been tortured, Alice painted my toenails!". Aaaanyway, Eyeko sure knows how to please a vampire infatuated girl like me.

The application was alright, definitely the best out of all the Eyeko polishes I've tried so far. It only needs 2 coats for complete opacity. It is a bit on the thick side though, so I would recommend adding some thinner for easier application. The finish is rather dull as well, you'll absolutely need a top coat to make it lust-worthy glossy.

Eyeko polishes cost £3.50 (€4.- or $5.40) for 8.5ml, which I don't find to be that cheap actually. However, for a unique color like this I wouldn't mind making an exception. On the other hand: their shipping is extremely cheap: either free (if you're in the UK or Europe) or $5.40 for all international orders.

This was it for today, thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

- Michèle

EDIT: I compared this polish with China Glaze - Lubu Heels (14ml for $2.99) this weekend, and they're are really similar, the glitter in Vampira Polish is brighter though.

This polish was sent to me for review by Eyeko

OPI - Absolutely Alice

Hi guys! For today I have one of OPI's masterpieces to show you. You've probably seen it around by now, but I was saving it for a special occasion: seeing Alice in Wonderland! Yesterday I finally got to see the movie I was so excited about. Naturally I just had to wear Absolutely Alice!

This gorgeous medium blue glitter with its golden particles is really something else. My picture isn't doing any justice to it at all, trust me. Application was alright, I applied 'only' 2 coats, since a 3rd caused my nails to look lumpy, and we don't want that do we ;-). The finish is kinda rough, so I applied two layers of David top coat. It's so shiny and sparkly, for me this is the star of the Alice in Wonderland collection.

So, my nails and I were ready for the movie. Even though I liked it, I was rather disappointed. This movie was a stunner to look at, but gorgeous visuals aren't enough in my book: the characters were lacking some serious depth. And skills for that matter. Even Johnny Depp didn't sweep me off my feet this time. Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen was just perfect though, I adore her.

I'm a huge Tim Burton fan, but this movie is hopelessly bland. Have you seen it? What do you think?

China Glaze - Ruby Pumps - & Upcoming Giveaway!

Hi guys! Today I only have time for a short post, so here it goes! This probably is one of the prettiest nail polishes made! You all know her by now, but Ruby Pumps by China Glaze deserves all the attention she can get. I snatched this one from my moms Helmer, it's a beauty! Definitely a must have, so I'll have to get me one too! The formula was amazing, after 3 coats you'll have the most gorgeous red sparkly nails ever.

I also wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone so much for reading, commenting and supporting my blog, you've all made this blog a very warm and welcoming place to be for me. I've passed 200 followers last week, which I've never expected, not even in my wildest dreams! To thank you guys I'll do a giveaway when I hit the 250 mark. Think H&M nail polish! And probably some other stuff on which I haven't decided yet! Maybe OPI's Reflecting Pool since it's not that easy to find overseas? So please stay tuned for updates about this :-).

Take care and till next time!

OPI - Mad as a Hatter - Hype or Hit?

Hey there! Today I'm going to show you another well known hysterical glitter: Mad As a Hatter by OPI. Everyone probably knows about the Alice in Wonderland collection by now, so I'm not going to get into that, unless somebody wants me to of course! It's supposed to hit stores on the 11th of March in the Netherlands, but the entire collection can be ordered online already :-).

From this collection I only got Absolutely Alice and this one. I was expecting to loooove Mad As a Hatter, but as turns out, I think Absolutely Alice is way prettier! MAAH just looks, I don't know, weird. Well, on me! This was 3 coats and the formula was great though.

This polish contains about a zillion colors, which makes it a lot of fun to watch. However, personally, I think it's bordering on too much hysteria.

What do you think about this polish? Hype or Hit?

Models Own - Disco Mix

It's friday, it's weekend: that means party colors! And this one sure looks like a party. This is Disco Mix by Models Own. I placed an order there last friday but it hasn't arrived yet, but I do have this one already to show you! This one I picked up at River Island, I just couldn't resist it..

It's blue, it's purple, it's fuchsia, hell I don't know, what I do know is that I like it very much! The glitter is so dense, you're looking at only 2 coats, yes, it's that great. This finish wasn't that bumpy either after applying one thick layer of top coat.

What do you think about hysteric nail polishes like this one?

Gosh - Blue Monday

Hi everyone! It's thursday already, only one more day till the weekend! I've been quite busy and since I work from 9 to 18h, I rarely get to see daylight this time of year. I'm feeling quite the vampire. But Edward is nowhere to be found, alas. Anyway! This was trying to tell you the reason why today's pictures have been produced in our little ministudio :-D.

This is another jelly based shimmer/glitter polish by Gosh. Blue Monday is a medium blue and the formula was pretty much the same as Gasoline, very smooth, but it requires at least 3 coats and a topcoat to create that rich sparkly look. I like it! What do you think?

PS. Another Dutchie, with thepretty name Michelle ;-), started a blog a few days ago. Please don't forget to take a look at her Lacquerfiles!

Koh - Black Stars

Hi! Is everyone enjoying their weekend? I hope so! Yesterday I decided I wanted to spend a gift voucher I got for Christmas. Normally I really don't like spending a lot of money on nail polish, but gift certificates kinda take that guilty feeling away :-D. I got 2 nail polishes by Koh, a Dutch brand that many actually don't like. And this is probably due to the higher price (14 euros a bottle) and the weird formula. I didn't like it at first either but I learned that I need to use a different top coat and all is well. They do have an amazing color selection, so it's getting harder for me not to like them ;-).

Today I'm wearing Black Stars, which reminds me a bit of the $OPI 212, but I think Koh's version is more vivid. The black base is a jelly and consists out of multi colored glitter and some duochrome flakies! I think you probably either love or hate this polish, it's definitely a bit weird :-D. It's so festive and hysterical, I wish I had this last New Year's eve!

Oh btw, my dearest stepdad made us a lightbox, since the weather wasn't playing along, so I had to try it out and change pictures! The normal closeup macro's didn't turn out that great, I think the lights may be too bright or the camera isn't cooperating, but pics from further away were kinda nice!

More Nfu Oh love - #51

Good morning! Is everyone enjoying their sunday? I hope so! I had a bad nail polish experience today already! I wore a turquoise color by the brand 2b, which I never heard of before, and as I thought the color was only so so, I wanted to remove this little bugger. And I have to say this is hands down the worst nail polish I've ever bought! The staining is ridiculous, my nails and fingers were blue. I never throw out nail polish, because that just seems so blasphemous, but this might be a solid candidate, ugh.

So after some soaking in pure acetone I decided I should give my nails something nice to wear after all the horror they went through. And when I say something nice, of course we're talking Nfu Oh's #51. This is probably the prettiest nail polish I'll ever own! Too bad it's half empty, so I really cherish it. I layered it over the most perfect purple ever: Viola Glitter by Collistar (will post about that one soon), and it's good to go!

What's your most favorite nail polish?

BeYu - #381 - Glitter & Duochrome combined!

Today I'm sporting another Christmas present... there's no better gift in my book! ;-) Isn't she pretty? Meet BeYu #381, a blue-based duochrome. It's not a very obvious duochrome like the Nubars, but it is definitely there! It flashes purple and turquoise. The glitter could've been more chunky, but hey, duochrome AND glitter in one bottle? You don't hear me complain..

I believe BeYu is a German brand which is only available in Europe. They have a nice color selection and the formula is quite alright actually! The downside is: they're quite pricy. A bottle contains only 8ml and costs around 5.95 euro (around USD 8,60), so yeah, not so nice.

My nails are finally getting longer and at one length again :-D. A while ago I broke two of them and it took forever to grow them out, especially when you're telling them to grow every minute of the day :'). Well.. that's it for today, see you soon!