Rosa Fenicottero

Last week I experienced something which I would describe as KIKOphoria - I was wearing 4 KIKO shades in a row. Out of four that I own. No idea what I would do if I had 20 KIKO polishes, but since I started the topic, I decided to show you one more colour - Kiko #288.

Kiko Rosa Fenicottero (beautiful name, no?) is a fuchsia creme with a glossy finish. Equally I would describe the colour as "Barbie pink", but apparently the perception of Barbie pink varies from person to person. Easy application on 2 coats (hooray to KIKO cremes), no top coat needed. 

The colour is nice, but not so easy to catch on the photos. It strongly depends on the light and its type: the polish by itself has a strong blue (i.e. cold) undertone, but it looks a bit warmer under the sun and under the lamps indoors.

Thinking what to do with this nice base for nail art I firstly wanted to stamp over it, but I realised I did it last time - you can check my old swatches by the way :) So this time I just layered a fun glitter on top - Dance Legend Flossy #146.

Those Flossy tops are fun to play with! Here you can see #144 over red, grey and beige, just for example. Recently Dance Legend has launched the new Rio tops - can't wait to get them! 

 

Oh, and the next post will be also about KIKO. Hehe. 

More Flossy Tops! (#144 and #146)

After showing one of my Dance Legend Flossy Tops in the last post, I cannot but show the other 2 that I own. Just to remind you: I bought the Dance Legend Flossy Tops at Nevskiye Berega 2013 Beauty Expo, and I chose just 3 shades (although it was damn difficult!) out of 14 existing. Firstly, here is a group photo of my Flossy picks:

You have already seen #151 here already, and the one below is Dance Legend Flossy Top #146 - a combination of larger pink hexagonal glitter, smaller white hex. particles, and even smaller black "sand" glitterinis. The base is transparent, so I layered this top over 2 coats of OPI Malaga Wine.

Some more colour combination possibilities:

The last but not the least is Dance Legend Flossy Top #144 - is just 2 colours: red larger hexagonal particles and same lil black sand glitter like in #146. Clear base as well, on the pics you see it layered over Revlon Pink Ice.

Now is the time when I wanted to say a couple of words about the application: you do need some attention while layering all these glitter particles over your nails, but it's not rocket science. Drying time is ok (I read complaints that these tops dry slowly!), I was not using any top coat.

Reminds me of strawberry something... don't know what! :)

And two more colour combinations on a nail wheel.. any other background ideas? You girls were so helpful last time!! :)

Dance Legend Flossy Tops are fun, I reckon, you can think of and create a lot of cool colour combinations, these tops are great for layering fantasy development :) Usually I call these tops "the life of microbs" :) What do you think? Do you like Flossy tops? Do you have any?

Below Deck + Flossy Top

In my stash there are certain polishes which I know I will immediately repurchase once (if ever) they finish. China Glaze Below Deck is one of such shades, and I like it so much that I hope that it either never comes to an end, or it will be forever available at the stores!

China Glaze Below Deck is a dusty mixture of purple and grey. Greige? Taupe? Mauve already? Go figure. Besides, on the background of various skin tones, and under different types of light it will look differently. I am just showing how it looks on my hands, and I kindly ask you not to perceive these swatches as an ultimately true colour representation.

By the way, here is the comparison with some other popular taupe/mauve shades, I hope you'll find it useful! 

A couple of words about the formula: it's awesome!!! One-coater (!), applies like butter, dries fast. Tipwear can be disturbing, but not for those who change their polishes once per 2-3 days - like I do ; )

After wearing CG Below Deck for a day, I decided to decorate it somehow - instead of removing it :) Last time I did the golden net stamping (warning: old pics!!!), now I opted for glitter. For a very cool glitter, I should say - Depend Flossy Top #151.  

Depend Flossy Top #151 consists of a clear base and middle-sized hexagonal glitter of 4 colours: pink, red, green and blue. Simple combination, yet looking so cool!

And I decided to experiment with other background colours for Dance Legend #151. Forgot the light green base, argh! Maybe you have some other combination ideas?.. : ) 

Dance Legend Malta #89

As I am now on a business trip to Russia, I thought it would be a good idea to show some local specialities, i.e. Russian nail polish brands. Dance Legend is one of the most famous ones, and lately they are really progressing with enormous steps. DL's latest collections were simply mind blowing: sand polishes, glitters swimming in milky bases, mood polishes, sun-changing colours and what not! 

The Malta Collection was released some time ago (you can see all the swatches here, for example), and it attracted my attention for two reasons: 1) all the shades contain my beloved golden shimmer; and 2) I like Malta a lot as a country, so it increases my warm feelings about the collection even more :) So today I'm showing one of Malta shades - Dance Legend #89.

This is a light teal shade enriched (yes, that's exactly the word I want to use) with the abundant golden shimmer. Application was smooth and pleasant in 2 coats, and even the presence of wide DL brush couldn't spoil it this time, although I still get shivers when I think back of applying Dance Legend #170 : )

The cross is real Maltese by the way, I brought it from a trip to this wonderful sunny country many years ago :)

And a close-up to let you see the gorgeous golden shimmer.. : )

Oh, and a giant thanks goes to Antallex, who kindly sent me this amazing shade, somehow she knows for sure how to please me :)

Now a question to non-Russian readers: have you heard of Dance Legend brand? I'm just curious how far in the world it is known, if at all : )

Dance Legend #170 Thermo

What is in common between

                               this polish...                                                               and this polish?

Well, a lot, since it's ONE polish - Dance Legend #170. 

As you could guess, it's one of those supercreative inventions - a polish that changes colour depending on the temperature. I absolutely love this type of polishes, and in case of Dance Legend #170, I also love the drastic change and the colour range - from red to dark aubergine.

So, when the hands are warm, the shade looks like this:

And when the hands are cold, it becomes like this:

But the most fun are the colour transitions!

And my favourite state is when the nail tips are dark, and the rest is red. Looks like a fancy gradient.

The formula of the polish is tricky though. The polish is goopy and  you have to take care of layering it without bald spots. But the biggest draw is the brush: too thick and harsh for my taste, it just doesn't allow to draw a nice cuticle line. The finish is somewhat satin, which I don't really like, so you'll need a top coat for the gloss - but hey, for this kind of special polish I'm ready to tolerate whatever tricks to layer it properly : ) On all photos you see 2 coats of polish + top coat.

Despite the speciality and the original beauty of the polish, I decided to go further and stamped in with dark aubergine colour Yes Love #504 and Cheeky Plates CH44.

Dance Legend #170 is definitely one of the most "interactive" polishes in my stash, and by far the favourite one of my bf, who couldn't stop playing with the colour change : )
Special thanks to Antallex for sending me this beauty : ) 

Surprise Pack!

Some days ago I got my first "surprise pack" from a fellow blogger Antallex, who has wonderful nails and manages to create flawless manicures I can't stop adoring :) I knew that she was so kind to send me something, but I had no idea what was inside, moreover I was just expecting a small envelope. But when I went to the post to collect the pack, it turned out to be a huge box full of polishes :) 

Несколько дней назад я получила посылку-сюрприз от замечательной девушки Antallex, которая тоже ведет блог и показывает в нем изумительной красоты ногти и маникюры, которыми я не перестаю восхищаться :) Я знала, что ко мне от нее что-то едет, но понятия не имела, что внутри, и вообще я ждала небольшой конвертик, а ко мне приехала целая коробка всяких богатств :) 

Inside there were a whole lot of Avon polishes, 3 Dance Legend bottles - the brands I would otherwise never try - and a pretty apple green China Glaze I wanted to have but I was afraid that the colour won't suit me.

В посылке было много-много Эйвонов и три лака Dance Legend - бренды, которые бы я иначе никогда наверное не попробовала бы - и симпатичный яблочно-зелененький Чайна, на который я засматривалась, но всё боялась, что мне не подойдет цвет. 

After unboxing: // Без коробочек:

 Dance Legend #191 (changes shade on the sun); Dance Legend #89; Dance Legend #170 (changes shade with the temperature)

 Avon Pastel Pink, China Glaze Gaga For Green, Avon Aqua Fantasy

 Avon Sea Breeze, Avon Coral Reef, Avon Lemon Sugar, Avon Viva Pink

Avon Real Red, Avon Modern Mauve, Avon Strawberry

Traditionally, I'm showing the swatches of one of the newly arrived beauties. It was VERY hard to pick the first one, but Avon Modern Mauve looked so attractive with its misterious shimmer tints, that I couldn't resist :)

По традиции показываю свотчи одного из новоприбывших сокровищ. Было ОЧЕНЬ трудно выбрать, какой лак опробовать первым, но Avon Modern Mauve так интересно смотрелся в бутылочке со своими загадочными переливами лилового шиммера, что я не смогла устоять :)

I personally find the name Modern Mauve very suitable to the shade, because it is pure mauve colour in my perception, and "modern".. well, modern because it has such a cool iridescent shimmer :) It's a semi-jelly by texture, quite opaque to cover in 2 coats though.

Мне лично название Modern Mauve кажется очень подходящим к цвету лака, потому что это чистый маув согласно моему цветовосприятию, ну а "современный" он наверное потому, что в нем так много прикольного шиммера :) По текстуре лак полужеле, но перекрывает улыбку уже в 2 слоя.

I totally enjoyed the first experience with Avon polishes. I loved the brush: it's just of the right width for me, and quite resilient, which makes painting a very easy process. As Antallex says about such cases, "one can easily polish the nails in the dark with eyes closed" :) Just like the bottle indicates, the polish is "speeddry", but sometimes so speed that you have to be quick to spread the polish over your nail before it dries.

У меня остались очень даже положительные впечатления от первого опыта с лаками Avon. Особенно по душе мне пришлась  кисть: как раз оптимальной ширины и достаточно упругая, что так облегчило процесс покраски. Как говорит в таких случаях сама Antallex, "этим лаком можно красить в темноте с закрытыми глазами" :) В точности как написано на бутылочке - "speeddry", этот лак очень быстро сохнет, но иногда так быстро, что надо поторопиться распределить его по ногтю, пока он не начал застывать. 

By the way, Antallex also has this polish and she showed it in her blog too. It looks a bit different on her nails because of the skin undertone, but I really like both versions :)

Кстати, Antallex тоже показывала этот лак у себя в блоге. На ней он смотрится немного по-другому из-за подтона кожи, но мне очень нравятся оба варианта :) 

One last note: only when I was editing the swatches, I noticed a sign on the bottle saying "Made in Germany", and it was a real surprise. Then, if you look closer at the pics you will also see "Made in Italy", "Made in UK" etc. on the bottles. Only after I googled it up, I found that there is a representation of Avon in these and other countries, otherwise I never saw this brand here and generally was sure that it stems from America.

И последнее примечание: только когда я обрабатывала фото, я заметила надпись на бутылочке "сделано в Германии", чему я очень даже удивилась. А если присмотреться, то на других бутылочках можно заметить "сделано в Великобритании", "сделано в Италии" итд. Только после того, как я погуглила на эту тему, я узнала, что у Эйвон есть представительства в этих и других странах, до этого я почему-то думала, что это американский бренд, и уж точно никогда не встречала его здесь в Германии. 

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I'm very grateful to Antallex for this surprise pack and making me feel like a kid unpacking Xmas presents : ) I can't wait to try all other beauties, and be sure you'll be seeing large numbers of Avon swatches in the nearest future : )  Thank you soooo much, Natasha!!! :)))

Я очень благодарна Antallex за эту посылку-сюрприз, я прям почувствовала себя ребенком, вскрывающим новогодние подарки :) Очень хочется попробовать все остальные лаки, и будьте готовы к миллиону тыщ свотчей Эйвон в моем блоге. Огромное спасибо тебе, Наташа!!! :)))