Nfu Oh 51 Revisited

Nfu Oh 51

Oh Nfu Oh 51.. If there's one polish that got me into nail polish big time, this is the one. I've written about it before, but there's no such thing as too much attention when we're talking Nfu Oh 51. Come on, just look at it! It's like magic on your nails.
A beautiful blurple base, glowiness, flakies, no wait, DUOCHROME flakies, Nfu Oh 51 has it all. No wonder it's always out of stock somewhere..

The awesomeness that's Nfu Oh 51, is hard to capture on camera though. Sometimes it's leaning more towards purple and at other times it's definitely more of a glowy red. Especially in low light you can see the duochrome flakies change color like a chameleon: from red to orange to green. For this manicure I layered it over Claire's Magic, a purple polish with lots of shimmer, an absolutely perfect candidate to team up with #51.

Application

You can use #51 on its own or you can layer it like I did. If you want to wear it on its own, you'll need about three coats. If you're going to layer it, just one layer will give you the effect you see in the photos. The formula is kinda jelly and squishy, so I'd suggest using a quickdrying top coat with this. One layer of top coat will smooth out the flakies and add more intensity to the color.

You can order Nfu Oh 51 ($9.90 for 17ml) at Viis Ilusalong or ($12.50 for 17ml) at Fabuloustreet.com (I suggest paying with paypal as there were some credit card troubles in the past..) or at Nail XL (currently out of stock).

CND Effects Sapphire Sparkle - Beetle Sparks

CND Colour & Effects

This may be one of the polishes I've used and loved the most, ever! It's not a regular polish, it's actually a top coat you can use for impressive layering.

Sapphire Sparkle is part of CND's Colour & Effects line and my most favorite of them all, just look at the dazzling duochrome finish: the color shifts from purple, pink to turquoise and blue. These colors just seem to compliment each other so well.
The great thing about these is that you have a multitude of options, you can pretty much layer your way to oblivion with these amazing top coats.

Sapphire Sparkle layered over Misa's 'A sin worth commiting'

Sapphire Sparkle particularly looks great on top of darker hues, like black, grey, taupe, green and blue. Of course you can try anything you'd like. This time I've decided on Misa's 'A sin worth comitting', a beautiful shimmer-y blue with flawless application. Doesn't this combination remind you of the Purple Coleoptera or Beetle?

Application

The application of these CND Effects does not disappoint: they apply smooth and easy. Because of their dense pigmentation, just one layer will suffice. They also dry extremely well and fast, which I find important, as I mostly use these to spice up an older manicure without adding another layer of top coat.

Since Sapphire Sparkle consists out of glass flecks, instead of glitter, you'll get an extremely smooth surface. And removal is super easy!

You can buy CND Colour & Effects polishes for $5.50 each, online at www.transdesign.com, or you can use the CND Store Locator.

Beetle picture via TrekNature

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.

Misa - What I Like About You! Swatches & Review

What I like about you

Hi guys! Today I have swatches of Misa's latest collection for you. I actually swatched all these polishes twice, I just wasn't happy with the photos, but it was really time to post them..
Misa has made one of my all time favorites "Toxic Seduction" and I'm never disappointed in their formula. For this fall Misa has created six new shades that are all shimmers, unlike previous collections which consisted mostly out of cremes. I absolutely love this theme and the title of the collection instantly reminded me of one my favorite songs by The Romantics, or Poison, ever!
So yeah, this collection is all about romance, let's explore my feelings for these polishes..

Misa - Spinning out of control

Spinning out of control is gorgeous. I own a lot of blueish purples, but this one is something else. It's very dark and glowy, with pink and blue shimmer. This is one hella classy purple.

Misa - It's you!

It's you! is one of my favorites from this collection, I don't have anything like it. It has a very subtle duochrome effect, it changes from a greenish gunmetal to a dark bronze. This is quite a mysterious color, mhmm.

Misa - Quirky smile

Quirky smile, what an odd name, is a really nice teal shimmer. I love how glowy this one is, and since teal is one of my favorite colors I'm very happy to have this one.

Misa - Perfect kiss

Perfect Kiss is much much much prettier in real life, but so hard to capture, trust me on this one. Perfect Kiss is a bright fuchsia/magenta with a lot of shimmer, not totally unique though.

Misa - When U say my name

Well now, I was surprised by this one! I'm not big on browns AT ALL but when I tried this one, I fell in love with it almost immediately. It really stole my heart. This is a perfect color for fall, and the warm copper shimmer takes brown to a whole new level.

Misa - Like it like that

Like it like that is a metallic frosty kinda green. It's quite vibrant, which makes it totally awesome. In the bottle it also flashes a bit of blue, but this won't show on your nails. I love this color but I don't like the visible brush strokes that much.

Overall

This is one pretty collection. I really liked the formula on these: they're b3f and all of these were two coaters except It's You and Perfect Kiss - they needed three coats. Misa polishes always apply well for me, they've got exactly the right thickness, not too thick, not too thin. And this collection is no exception. They're easy to apply and control, I don't need much cleanup when I paint my nails with them.
I've worn three of these as a full manicure, and the wear is absolutely perfect. I know wear depends on a lot of things and can be different for everyone, but "It's You" lasted 6 six days without chips or tip wear, call me impressed, I just had to mention it. And who knows how long it could've lasted, I had to take it off so I could swatch all of these.
The first time I wore one of these colors I used Nubar Diamont as a top coat and it just wouldn't dry. Nubar Diamont is acting really strange lately so I decided to give it a shot with some other top coats. Drying time was great when I used OPI RapiDry and China Glaze Fast Forward, so I definitely think it's Nubar to blame!

You can order these at www.misacosmetics.com (by phone) or at etailers like Head2Toe Beauty. Also: SOON available at Boozyshop!

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.

Les Contrastes de Chanel: Paradoxal

Crush Maybe you remember my review on Chanel's previous hit: Nouvelle Vague? I was a bit disappointed to be honest... and then this beauty strolled along. Trust me, I was reluctant. But then the swatches started to haunt me and I knew I just needed to have it. I think I now know what it's like to have a nail polish crush. It won't be out here for a while, but a big sweetheart CP'ed it for me, thank you so much Brittni!!

Secret shimmer

And you know what? I'm happy to have it! This polish belongs to the Les Contrastes de Chanel fall 2010 collection. Paradoxal is a deep purple-y taupe, I really love this color. In brighter or sun light there's this pretty pink/blue-ish shimmer, it's stunning. The shimmer is barely noticeable in normal lighting though, but sometimes the purple sheen will catch your eye. I'm pretty sure I will be wearing this color a lot this fall!

Application

I normally don't use the phrase "it applies like butter", I save it for very very special occasions, and this is one of them. I've used two coats and they just glided on. A lot of people experienced major chip city within a few days, but for me it stayed on for five days with only one chip at my thumb (and that was on the 5th day AFTER I cleaned the house). I used Orly Bonder and Nubar Diamont and it held up really well!

Dupes?

If you're looking for a less expensive alternative you can look into Purple Grey by Models Own, it doesn't have shimmer but the base color is really close!

You can get Chanel Paradoxal online at www.chanel.com for $23.00 or at your local Chanel counter. It probably won't be for sale in The Netherlands until appr. October.

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Scrangie

the yearning Please meet one of the prettiest purples ever! As you might already know, Rescue Beauty Lounge released a blogger collection back in 2009. Bloggin queen Scrangie came up with this gorgeous color what she describes as a medium blue-based purple with green iridescence and green microshimmer. Of course it sold out. Of course I wanted it. Wait, wanted? I needed it! After watching some go on eBay for ridiculous prices, I just gave up. But then! RBL decided to bring it back. Lucky me!

I need buckets of this stuff

In all honesty I think they changed the formula a bit in the second round, because I've ever heard a bad thing about this polish before. Could it be? I tried it on as soon as I got it, *with shakey hands from excitement*, and it just wouldn't dry and it started bubbling pretty bad. But, since it was a very hot and humid day, I decided to give it another go some other time.

Since we had some gloomy days around here, I figured it be a perfect time to cover my nails in this sauce of awesomeness again. Three layers later, it still bubbled a bit. But thankfully it dried and pretty quick at that! So, it may not be application heaven, I don't really care! The color is just too perfect, I'd paint EVERYTHING this color if I had gallons of the stuff. It stayed on 4 days without chipping, so that wasn't bad either.

RBL polishes cost 18 USD for 12ml and Scrangie is still available at the RBL website!

Well dear reader, this was it for today, thanks for stopping by and be safe!
- Michèle

ARTDECO - 275 - Sparkling Lilac

ARTDECO Crikey. Monday already. Everybody ready for a brand new week? Today I'm showing you another German gem I couldn't resist picking up: Sparkling Lilac (275) by ARTDECO. ARTDECO is a German brand but is sold throughout Europe and even Brazil and other exotic and faraway countries. In The Netherlands you can find this brand at Douglas stores. This exceptional sparkly thing belongs to Glamour Noblesse Makeup Collection, ARTDECO's collection for last winter. In the bottle it's quite duochrome-y and this definitely shows up on the nail in certain lights. This is a glass flecked polish, not glitter, so no bumpy finish! I think it's super cool. The finish is actually reminding me a lot of those smashing new Zoyas.

Formula

What about 275's application? Less spectacular than its looks. The formula is a bit on the viscous side, but nothing unmanageable (yay for thinner). I applied 3 coats, 2 was almost enough though! Since I accidentally threw out my receipts that day, I'm not sure what the price tag is, but if I remember correctly ARTDECO polishes cost 5-7 EUR, which is not very cheap for 6ml.

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

Essence - Rock it baby!

Hi everyone! As you might have noticed I made some minor changes to the blog! I had to make myself stop because I can seriously spend hours and hours searching for plugins and change this color and that font.. I've also added a 'reply to comment' feature, because replying in a text file was driving me bonkers, haha! Ok ok, enough of this talk! Essence Rock it Baby! Rock It Baby belongs to the Colour & Go line, which consists out of tiny bottles in pretty colors. These polishes have the reputation of being one of the cheapest on the block, but a bottle only contains 5ml, for a price of €1.25. Still no biggy of course, just sayin'. This color is awesome, a blurple with tiny pink and turquoise shimmer, that shows especially well in sunlight. Application was pretty good, considering it's Essence. It wasn't thick, and it didn't bubble, so consider 2 of my most common Essence problems tackled! I applied 3 coats, just for camera, 2 could work as well. Another funny thing worth mentioning: the bottle claims "1 second per nail", so this mani was done in only 10 seconds, yay! Haha, riiiiight. Still head over heels with this color though, it's almost kicking my beloved All Access to the curb! That's all for today, Thanks so much for stopping by! - Michèle

Diamond Cosmetics - Monarch Masquerade

Hi guys! Things have been a little hectic lately.. As you might have noticed I've got some hosting problems, my bandwidth just keeps going to shreds. I figured something out though, but this means I'll have to edit each and every post, so a lot of pics are still inaccesible, I'm working on it!

For today I have this gorgeous purple to show you: Monarch Masquerade by Diamond Cosmetics. This was actually the first polish I've ever tried by Diamond Cosmetics and I have to say: I'm impressed. Thinking this had to be too good to be true, I tried another one, and another one, and...

...I'm still impressed. The application of this polish is pretty much perfect. I brushed on 2 coats, and it all went on smooth and evenly. No streakyness, no bubbling. And the color.. wow. This isn't just any purple, the color is so rich and full with glow and sparkle, this became one of my fave purples instantly!

Oh I almost forgot! Diamond Cosmetics nail polishes cost practically nothing! Depending on where you buy them, they'll cost around 4 euro! And the bottles contain 12.6ml, so pretty good deal for so much quality, I'd say!

This polish was sent to me for review by Boozy Shop. Boozy Shop is a lovely 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 whole Europe.

Models Own - Lilac Dream

Hi guys! What's up? I've had a nice and relaxed weekend, I even managed to ignore my inbox and blog, sometimes I just have to, to keep things fun. But I promise you I'll be back with full force this week ;-). And if you emailed me, replies will follow soon, so keep an eye on your inboxes!

I wasn't planning on posting tonight but the fact I hadn't posted in a while was gnawing at me, haha. It is in the middle of the night so I'll get to the point: You're looking at Lilac Dream by Models Own. I love their huge selection of great colors and this pretty lilac is no exception. I was planning on doing a comparison with Lilac Dream, but as it turns out, I don't have anything like it!

Application was alright, only 2 thin coats are needed for full coverage. I did find the formula on the thick side, so it could stand some thinner.
I actually somewhat tested the wear of this polish and after 3 days it was looking as good as it was on day one! It didn't make it to a 4th day, but let's blame my obsessive compulsive need to change polish for that!
I'm not big on cremes, they usually bore me pretty quickly, but I'm really enjoying this color.

What do you think of cremes? Please let me know: Beautiful or boring?

Models Own products can be purchased at www.modelsownit.com.

China Glaze - LOL

Hi everyone! It's friday again! I'm really looking forward to this weekend, it's Easter! Do you have any plans? Perhaps you've noticed: I filed my nails down a bit. It wasn't really on purpose though! Haha. They will grow. When I showed you China Glaze's DV8 the other day I mentioned LOL too. LOL is a gorgeous purple holographic polish, from the same collection as DV8: the OMG collection. I don't wear this one as often as I'd like, because of my issues with its application. Applying LOL is really something I loathe, they should've called this one PITA, nothing to LOL about I'd say. Major cuticle drag. I find I don't have this issue when I skip base coat, not really an option for me but it may work for others! It is totally opaque in 2 coats though, and the color IS stunning, I'll give 'm that. It is one of those holographics that look really dull in normal lighting, I don't need my holos to be in your face, but a subtle rainbow makes me happy any day. So if you really like your holo to be holo, LOL is not for you. So what do you think of this polish? If you happen to own it too, please share your opinions with me?

OPI - DS Original

Hello dear reader! How is everyone doing? I had the most awesome day yesterday, Daphne from Nailswatches, Michelle from TheLacquerFiles and myself went nail polish hunting. It was so much fun! We visited a wholesale with lots of ChinaGlaze, and within expectations we all kinda went crazy ha! Anyway, for today I have another purple holo to show you! This is Original from the Designer Series by OPI, I don't think the color is as jaw-droppingly gorgeous as Color Club's Wild At Heart, which I showed you last week, but it's still pretty steamy, and definitely more holographic as well. The holographic effect is a bit scattered, not as dense as the Nfu Oh holos for example, and that's just how I like it. Application was alright, nothing outstanding, 3 coats quickly dried to a perfectly smooth surface. What I like about these holos by OPI, it that they're quite shiny, so you can easily wear them without a top coat. Actually, they say these polishes from the Designer Series are infused with Diamond Dust. This is supposed to "reflect light in an explosion of brilliance", well I don't know if it's the diamond dust, but it's pretty sparkly. And diamonds are a girl's best friend, right? Thanks for stopping by!