Gaga For Green

Hey hey! Not that I've been planning this post for St. Patricks, but rather it was the only happy green in my swatched folder, hehe. And it's for sure the happiest green of my stash, too. And the name is so cool. And the colour is so yummy! :) These are the thoughts caused in me by China Glaze Gaga For Green:

Gaga For Green is young grass green crelly, bright and warmish, as it has a yellow undertone. Once you apply the first coat, you'll probably freak out after looking at your nails, hehe :) They'll look like you just dipped them into some yellowish squish. But after you apply the 2d coat, everything will even out and look bright and cool :)

According to my Excel notes, the application was easy in 2 coats, only you have to be careful not to reveal the bald spots. And after wearing it for the 3rd time (yes!) I have a feeling that the polish became a little goopy, so I'll probably add thinner next time.

Generally, I like this shade a lot, it's a pure colour therapy for me every time I have it on my nails, and I will never understand Antallex, who could so generously part from this beauty in order to send it to me :) Thank you so so so much! ;) 

Happy Patrick's Day to all! Wear green and be happy :) 

Khaki Squared

Always wanted to try studs in my manicures, but I never could choose which sizes and colours appeal to me more.. A chance turned up recently, when KKCenterHK offered me to post a review on their studs, allowing me to choose whichever I wish to try out. Only then I figured out that I want something middle-sized and silver/gold. Let's start with the gold ones.. :)

...right after I shortly introduce you the base colour - Cliché Khaki. What's so special about it? It killed one of my lemmings which I would probably never own anyways: Chanel Khaki Vert. I know it's not a dupe, and probably H&M Hunt Me Down resembles Chanel even more, but it was this polish that killed my desire for Chanel. And saved me some 200€ lol.

Cliché Khaki is also a... khaki semi-jelly, cold-shaded. Application was great and I only needed 2 coats. The formula is on the runny side, but everything dries fast.

Overall, it's a great shade, and I showed it once already - that was some years ago. By showing it again I'm just trying to show how much I like it :)

And this is how the studs arrived: great packaging idea in my opinion, this little jar is so convenient to work with! The studs themselves are shiny, coloured in gold and 3,5mm in size.

So, after stamping the square pattern with BM-322 and CG 2030, I quickly applied the studs and covered everything with the top coat - this is how I got the "look" :) 

Summarising here.. what you should know about these studs is:
+ they are easy to use and to glue on just one drop of clear polish (top coat);
+ they last pretty long without falling off (esp. with a top coat);
+ you can reuse them (yes yes!!);
- it's was a bit hard to pick them before application lol - or I haven't figured out how to do it yet :D
Overall I'm more than satisfied!

Lastly, I'm sharing a 10% discount code for KKCenterHk online store with you: just enter "ritterbraten" before paying! Check their shop, they really have interesting stuff for nail art and other beauty supplies : )
*The studs were kindly provided by KKCenterHk PR team for my consideration. In this post I expressed my honest and unbiased opinion about the product.

Is It Blue or Green?

Right after the baby pink follows the baby blue! Or wait, is it? Maybe rather mint? I'm confused actually... :) The source of my confusion is El Corazón #423/58, from the "Jelly" collection. Some posts ago I showed the white shade from this collection, and now comes this one below! 

El Corazon Jelly #423/58 is aa... em. I have difficulties here. Let's say - a very pale baby blue creme shade with a touch of mint. How does that sound, credible I hope? :) 

Oh, and that was not a mistake - it's a creme, not a jelly. Crelly if you wish. Its white brother was a jelly, but this one is too opaque for that, although the texture is generous on bald spots, that's why I needed 3 coats, but it's possible to get away with 2, I guess. Dries quickly, and overall the application process was pleasant.

The pictures are taken under the natural day light, but I have to make a footnote here that my hands are very tanned - swatches were shot right after the summer beach holidays.

Ok, let's say we figured out that the texture is not a jelly, but how about the shade? For the purpose of defining the mysterious sub-colour, I am posting pictures both with the blue...

...and with the greenish. It conforms, doesn't it??

What do you see? Rather green or blue? Let me know! :)
*The nail polish was kindly provided by El Corazón company for my consideration. In this post I expressed my honest and unbiased opinion about the product.

Sea Breeze

*planned post; me sailing to Crete*

Sea breeze... this is probably exactly what I am sensing while you are reading this post! :) So is the name of one of the Avon polishes I got back in January from the Avon fairy - Antallex :) Herewith I invite you to have a look at a nice piece of turquoise - Avon Sea Breeze.

Sea Breeze is a light turquoise crelly (although I don't like this word). Still the truth is the truth, and I cannot call the texture a pure creme - due to this it doesn't look flat either. The shade seems to be cold, but it's a tad warmer in comparison to similar turquoise polishes, you can see it here, for example. What I liked a lot is the natural gloss, Avon is generally good at it :)

Application was close to perfection, 2 easy coats, all dried fast and, as I wrote previously, glossy. Nice job of Avon on this one. Oh, and I'm sorry for the dry hands and ridiculously looong nails, these swatches were done in winter. Good blogger, I know, I know *sigh*

So, that was number 8 out of 9 shades that I own. I will show the last one soon and then maybe I'll post a wrap-up :) We'll see :) 

Surprise Pack from Belarus!

Back in December (great blogger I am, I know *sigh*) I got a parcel that was both a giveaway win and a surprise pack at the same time. One of the nail bloggers that I follow for a long time, Tatiana, decided to organise a spontaneous giveaway and just award two followers who comment the most. I happened to be one of the lucky girls, and some weeks later I received a pack - and I had no idea about its content! :)

See, Tatiana lives in Belarus, and she decided to send a full box of local Belarusian goodies! I mean, how amazing is the concept of showing other bloggers the best of the local products!! Here I totally bow down to her idea :) 

In the parcel I got 2 face masks: Belita algae-based, and BelKosmex moisturising with hyaluronic acid and vitamins; a cuticle eraser (a soft cuticle remover) and a nail polish from the brand Viteks (orig. Вiтекс).  

I have to say that I totally loved the face masks and the cuticle treatment, and - who would doubt - I adore the nail polish! The only Belarusian creation in my stash and quite a bright shade - Viteks Passion Dance (orig. Biтекс Танец Страсти) has gained my sympathy from the first stroke!

Viteks Passion Dance is a cold-hued red/crimson semi-jelly meaning that it's more liquid than creme and way more glossy. Application did not cause any problems: 2 coats and a great thin brush attached. I did have a feeling that it dries longer than expected, but I was in a hurry anyways and could have an inadequate perception of time. Top coat application eliminated that concern :) 

I liked the bright crimson shade a lot, and I had nothing similar in my stash as I normally grab darker red tones. Amazingly, this one suited me well, and it also works great for pedicure! :) 

Oh, how I love surprise packs!! :) One more time I'd like to thank Tatiana - check her nice blog by the way! - for sending me all these wonderful things!

Yay for nail polish international community! :D

Fluffy Nails

Yes, I finally joined the club of fluffy-nailed people : ) When this trend just appeared, I wasn't sure what to think of it, but in the end my experimental spirit won. Besides, winter is the best time to wear flocks anyways, they give a warm cosy feeling every time you look at them.   

Underneath, as a base colour, I'm wearing Debby ColorPlay #125, the one I bought in Hamburg together with the mysterious Miss Cop polishes. Debby ColorPlay #125 is a deep navy blue semi-jelly with some scarce shimmer (which I honestly wouldn't like to be there), great in application and opaque in 2 coats. 

And the dark blue flocks made their way from the famous Born Pretty Store! In a set, there was a huge jar of flocking powder, tweezers to apply the flocks, and a wide brush to sweep off the excess powder. 

The application process was easy and fun:

- firstly I applied the base coat and the base colour polish;

- then I prepared a newspaper to prevent the mess on the table; 

- and then I applied the top coat on one of my nails, waited 20-30 seconds and plunged the nail into the container with flocks, slightly pressing against the powder. If there were still bold spots without flocks, I applied some powder with the tweezers on top of the nail, and dabbed slightly (with fingers or tweezers);

- having repeated that for all nails - remember, you have to work one by one! - I cleaned off the excess powder with a brush.

Voila, fluffy nails : )

I'm totally excited about the flocking powder: it took so little work and time to create such a fun effect! I'm planning to try more flock colours in the future! Whatever you call it: "fluffy nails", "velvet nails", "sweater nails" or "furry nails" - it's a cool thing to wear sometimes! Especially if you have a matching velvet/mohair scarf or pullover, I think your friends will be intrigued : ) 

And finally, here's a coupon for 10% discount at Born Pretty Store. Check their site, apart from flocks they have a whole huge variety of different decorations, nail art tools and supplements and other nice stuff for nails! 

What do you think about fluffy velvet nails? Is this something you like or rather ew, you'd never wear it?

*The flocking powder set was kindly provided by Born Pretty Store PR team for my consideration. In this post I expressed my honest and unbiased opinion about the product.

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!!! :)))