Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Distressed Denim

Posted on 03/07/2011 by emma

Hi!

Long time no update… I’ve been having major bubbling issues, as you can see in my previous post. Ever since my last update, EVERY nailpolish started bubbling on me. I’ve tried EVERYTHING. Seriously. Tell me something and I’ve tried it. I still don’t know what it is, but I’ve had enough of it. So today I decided to use a glitter nailpolish and a crackle topcoat as to minimize any bubbles. I think I do have bubbles in my polish, but you just can’t see them now :)
But the problem is still there of course… I don’t know what to do. Anyone have any tips or tricks?

Anyway, on to the nailpolish. I used a silver nailpolish as a base for the crackle topcoat. It’s just a Hema nailpolish, a brand only sold in The Netherlands and Belgium. But you’re not missing out on much; they don’t have spectacular colors.
As crackle coat, I used Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Distressed Denim. I bought this one at CVS Pharmacy in New York in May. I don’t know if it’s available in The Netherlands, but I don’t think so.
It’s a gorgeous indigo blue, and layered over the silver, it looks very pretty :)


Daylight


Flash

Hope you like it, and I hope my bubble problems will be over soon, so I can start wearing cremes again… *sigh*

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Catrice New Collection – Dirty Berry

Posted on 12/04/2011 by emma

Hi everyone!

Today I’m swatching Catrice’s Dirty Berry, one of their new colors. I bought this one a few days later than the other ones. Dirty Berry is a light purple/lavender color with holographic glitter. It’s a very interesting color and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. It’s not a total holo, but there’s definitely some holo going on.

Application was ok. On my left hand I didn’t have any bubbles, but on my right hand I did. So I’m beginning to think these bubbles have to do with the waiting time in between coats, although I can’t recall I’ve ever had to wait so long… But they’re still bothering me and I’m really frustrated.


With flash.


Natural daylight.


(Faint) sunlight.

Until next time!

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Catrice New Collection – 2 new swatches

Posted on 02/04/2011 by emma

Hi everyone,

The weather is soooo nice here today. The sun is shining and it’s like 20 degrees C here. So I felt like doing 2 more swatches. I swatched the green/yellow color (Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy!) and the army green/brown color (Sir! Yes, Sir!). Is it me or do they love their exclamation marks at Catrice? Well, anyway, here it goes:

Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy!

This one is a green/yellow color. Very bright, yet at the same time pastel. It reminds me of something I used to drink a lot when I was younger, Chaudfontaine Lemon. It has the same color. It’s now called Limondaine.

Application was, ehr, again not what I had hoped. I know, it’s a light color, so they’re always a bit watery and streaky. But I felt I had to apply really thick coats for it to become opaque. And that’s when the moon landscape appeared :( I’ve had this problem with 3 polishes form their new collection now. I’m not doing anything differently than normal. I’m not using a basecoat since it’s swatching, but it shouldn’t matter. In fact, it should help, because it’s one layer less. I waited extra long in between coats, 15 minutes, but it didn’t matter. I’m not sure if this is the polish or me. I’ve never really had any problems with bubbles, even when I applied thick coats… It seems as though there are even bubbles IN the polish itself, not appearing after application. I didn’t shake them and they had a good rest this night. I don’t know… but I’m disappointed.

The Eagle has landed?

Sir! Yes, Sir!

This is an army green/brown color, without shimmer. Application was much better thanthe previous 3. It’s more pigmented and less watery. You do need 2 coats, but there are not a lot of polishes that’re completely opaque with 1 coat. But again, bubbles! I just can’t figure out what the hell is wrong! I waited long enough, my nails were clean, I didn’t shake the bottle, etcetera etcetera.

Conclusion

So far, I’m not really impressed by the quality. I’m hoping to figure out why I’m getting all these bubbles and looking and asking around if it’s just me.

Till next time!

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Catrice New Collection Haul & 2 Swatches!

Posted on 01/04/2011 by emma

Hi everyone,

Today I hauled 7 bottles from the new Catrice collection. I had been keeping an eye on them for a while now, and it seemed to take forever for them to appear in stores. I decided to take another look right after work, when I saw they had finally arrived! I was in the drugstore by 5.45 and walked out of the store at 5.55 with 7 bottles of nailpolish, 1 eyeshadow quad and 1 gel liner, LOL :D I felt like a kid in a candy store.

These are the colors I hauled… so far:

Omg, aren’t they pwetty? I think Catrice nailed it, once again, with their color repertoire. Whether or not they nailed it quality wise, you’ll find out the next couple of days. I’m only swatching 2 at a time, because it’s a nightmare for cuticles and quite frankly, it costs too much time (o, the drying time…)

Today I swatched the light blue color, Am I Blue Or Green? and the peach color, Apropos Apricot.

Am I Blue Or Green?

Am I Blue Or Green? is, as the name implies, a light blue color that has a greenish sheen to it. I think it’s far more blue than green. It has a very slight white/silver shimmer, barely visible.

Application wise this is not a winner. This is practically always a problem with light colors. I applied 2 thick coats, but you could also go for 3 thin coats. My nails might have needed a third coat, so that means 4 thin coats. It bubbled like caaaaah-razy! But that’s because I was being impatient :)

Apropos Apricot

Apropos Apricot is an apricot/peach colored color. It’s lighter (more toned down/pastel) and yellower than the peach color they already have (or had?) in their collection (I Scream Peach). This one also has a slight white/silver shimmer.

Application was a disaster. When I applied the first coat, it looked more like a nude french manicure color. It’s very watery and streaky. I decided to do 3 thin layers. Unfortunately, I can still see streaks and some VNL. The pigmentation is just crappy and I hate it because I really like this color :(

 

 

Conclusion

I had really high hopes, but the pigmentation really let me down. But I’m really stubborn and I’m going to wear them anyway, how many layers it might take me! Ha!

Till next time :)

 

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NOTD: Catrice – From Dusk To Dawn with Konad sticker

Posted on 18/03/2011 by emma

I’m running behind with my pictures. This next mani was from last week. I had a terrible cold this and last week, so I wasn’t in the mood for updating, but here goes!

I’ve had this color for a while. I really like the color and I think it goes with nearly everything. It’s similar in color to Chanel’s Particuliere. It’s a brown/grey color with a hint of red/pink and looks very sophisticated. I added a flower sticker I got with one of my orders from Enchantra to make it a little bit more exciting. I had never used them, so I decided to give them a try. They’re from Konad. They do tend to get loose at the sides (my nails are quite curved in both directions). I fixed it with a double layer of topcoat, just on the sticker area.

Enough with the talk. Pics!


With flash.


Close-up of sticker without flash in lamplight.

Another update soon :)

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Color Club – Pucci-Licious

Posted on 07/03/2011 by emma

Today a post about one of my new colors I got for my birthday: Color Club Pucci-Licious. This gorgeous color is surely going to get you noticed. I received a few compliments on my nails today.
It’s a “plastic” like color, looks very artificial. Of course, all nailpolish colors are, but I don’t know any other way to describe it. It even looks like plastic when it’s dry, because it dries to a somewhat satin finish. I only took pictures of the end result, so it’s not visible on my pictures.
With flash.


Daylight.

Application was ok and it’s opaque with 2 thick coats.

Hope you like it! I sure do :)

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Orly – Wandering Vine

Posted on 06/03/2011 by emma

Hi,

A quick update, have to go to bed real soon. Got this one for my birthday. I really wanted a dark green creme and this one is a very nice, forest green color. A few days before I got this one, I bought Catrice Run, Forest, Run and they are VERY much alike, if not dupes. Will post a comparison soon.

I forgot to take a picture right after I applied it, so it doesn’t look that nice anymore (this is the next day).

I really like it! Application was good. The brush is quite thin and long, but it flows on easily.

I now have Color Club Pucci-Licious on my nails. Already made pics, so I will post them tomorrow. Gorgeous color as well, but totally different!

Bye!

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Gosh – Purple Heart (Duochrome)

Posted on 28/02/2011 by emma

Hi!

Last week I bought Gosh Purple Heart and I really wanted to try it… And it’s a perfect color for this crappy weather we have here right now…
I had this one on my nails last week.
It’s a darkgrey base with duochrome shimmer (purple and darkgreen/greyish). In the bottle the duochrome shows more than on the nail (see the pic on the right)

 

This is what it looks like on the nail:

With flash (looks a bit boring):

In daylight you can see the duochrome effect:

That’s it! :)

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China Glaze – Secret Peri-Wink-Le

Posted on 23/02/2011 by emma

Hi!

Long time no update. I’ve just been a bit busy the last week.
Anyway, it was my birthday the 16th of February and of course I asked for nail polish. I made a list of the colors and brands I desperately wanted. I didn’t own any China Glaze and I was really curious, so I asked for a few of those. And one color from Orly and one from Color Club.
So they ordered them for me from Enchantra.eu, a great webshop for nailpolish, at least in The Netherlands. They always send a little present with your order :)

These are the colors I got:

  • China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le (a cornflower blue with a hint of purple; LOVE it)
  • China Glaze Lemon Fizz (a pastel lemon yellow color)
  • Orly Wandering Vine (a forest green)
  • Color Club Pucci-licious (a bright purple)

 

Of course I will show them to you, but I haven’t really had time to try them out yet, so for now you’ll have to do with China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le. Unfortunately I only have one pic, because I was away for the weekend and did my nails there. So I just shot a few pics without really paying attention and this is the only one that’s good enough.

This is 2 coats applied over Nfu Oh Aqua Base, topped with INM Out The Door (and some Lush Lemony Flutter :P ).

Stay tuned for the other colors!

 

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Essence Choose Me!

Posted on 13/02/2011 by emma

Hi,

Just a quick update because I have to go to bed real soon, tomorrow it’s rise&shine at 6.30 again :(

Did a mani with Essence Choose Me! (from the Colour&Go collection). I’ve had it for quite a while, but it was just sitting in my drawer, despite its name. It’s a perfect dupe for Zoya Charla, Orly Halley’s Comet and OPI Catch Me In Your Net (I don’t own any of them, but I’ve seen pictures of comparisons).

It’s a blue/green jelly filled with gold, blue and green glitter. Just gorgeous. With flashlight, you will see VNL (visible nail line) when you apply 2 coats. You could go for 3 coats, but since I was in a hurry, I didn’t.

Anyway, pics!


With flash, notice the VNL.


Without flash in lamplight.


Close-up. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

That’s all. Good night and till next time.

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