Fenechka

Introducing you a nice Russian word "fenechka", which stands for a handmade bracelet which you give to a close person as a symbol of friendship. "Friendship bracelet" it's called, isn't it? In any case, both of those words sound better that "Freundschaftsband" lol Now why I am saying all that is because El Corazón has a collection called "Fenechka" and today I'll show one of the polishes from this collection - El Corazón #423/130.

El Corazón #423/130 is a periwinkle crelly base with black and white hexagonal glitter swimming in it. The idea is nice, so is the implementation: the polish is pleasant to deal with, 2 easy coats and you have bright periwinkle nails :) I'd recommend to use the top coat for smoothness and gloss.

Generally I like the combination of black and white glitter + colourful base in polishes, so I got pretty excited about the Fenechka collection - you can see the other colours here, for example. I'm thinking of getting a couple of other shades from this collection actually :)

Once again I am reminding you that ordering El Corazón polishes is very easy: just write an email listing your order and you'll get a response containing prices and shipping details. El Corazón ships worldwide.

*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.

Rouge Fatal

A special post on a special day: today I am celebrating 4 (!!) years together with my boyfriend. Seems like forever, but smth tells me that there are still some years ahead :) So, during these 4 years Mr. Boyfriend presented me 2 polishes: a Chuxuan and a Chanel. Chuxuan got lost unfortunately, so today I am showing the poshy one, Chanel Rouge Fatal.

Chanel Rouge Fatal is a burgundy creme, i.e. deep red with a drop of brown. The shade is very opaque, in fact it's a 1-coater! The application was great, for me it was comparable with Butter London polishes. I did like Chanel's brush - thin and easy to operate. The only downside of this polish is that it chips extremely fast, in less than a day.

Now I have to honestly tell you that it is my one and only Chanel, but also one and only Chanel that I wanted to have so much. Apart from Jade *mwahhaha* I'm not against high end brands or anything, it's just I'm not in the right financial situation to purchase those. Or, rather, I can't justify spending 20+€ for a polish. Hopefully one day I will :)

The one who got me this polish will surely not be reading this post, but I still would like to thank him ;) 

Do you often get polishes as presents from your boys? :) Or once per 2 years, just like me hehe? :)

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.

Oh Baby Pink

Who's up for a good old pink creme? I mean, what can be simpler than that..? A baby pink is a shade that every girl has, if she at all has polishes. However, this is not "a" baby pink, it's Oh Baby Pink by Nubar :) Lovely name, isn't it?

Application is not that lovely though, 3 coats are definitely needed to cover all those endless bald spots.. The positive aspects are the texture (not goopy, not runny) and the drying time. You better use top coat to even out the surface or in case you have built up that damn "step" next to the cuticles.

The photos are taken in the natural light (no sun) and my hands are tanned, yeeeey! Summer, I miss you already :{

As for upgrading the manicure, I had a lot of ideas for such a clean pink base palette, but unfortunately not so much time. So I just quickly glitterised it :) 

Index and pinkie have OPI Pirouette My Whistle on top, and middle and ring fingers - BK Deluxe polish. Very weird animal, the latter one. You can see the bottle in my hand on the pic above. I only can say that I once bought it in C&A (!) for 2EUR once, and it's actually pretty, but stinks like a sulphur swamp.

A kind of ballerina manicure I got in the end, right? Still looks pretty to me though :)

Aqua Fantasy

Another post from the vault, and probably the last one from the series "omg were my nails really THAT long?!" :) The pictures were taken this January, and since them I keep my nails half the length you see below :) I just figured out how to cut them quickly and easily - with the tips for false nail. Yeah, I'm a monster, I know :P The shade I am showing below - Avon Aqua Fantasy - looks great even on my long nails, at least this is my opinion :) 

Aqua Fantasy is a mint/turquoise shade with silver nanoshimmer, almost not visible but creating a slight pearly effect. Application was easy-peasy, 2 quick coats and you are done. Dries quite well.

My question has been if Aqua Fantasy is a nice polish to have or just one of many turquoise shades out there... Well, even if it's not extremely unique, the silver nanoshimmer and the glossy finish make it more voluminous. At least that is special!

How not to apply a stamping pattern over such a pretty base colour? I added the floral tips using BM-318 plate and American Apparel Peacock as a stamping polish (great 1-coater!).

Fuf, finally, 9 out of my 9 Avon polishes are swatched and published. In some posts I'll show all 9 together, and it's gonna be my first and biggest monobrand post :) 

Hopping&Sponging

For some unknown reason this manicure was lingering in the drafts for years... you can see it by the length of my nails - I do not wear them so long any more :D Anyways, it's never too late to show a classical sponging mani in even more classic colours: mauve+gold.

Base colour is 2 coats of Essie Island Hopping - a nice mauve that I get bored of very easily. After applying it I sponged Andreia #93, gold glitter in a transparent base, on top. Ready.

Finally I think I've chosen the right time to show this manicure - autumn/spring. Probably this is why it was always a draft - there was no right moment for it in summer or spring :) 

Do you like sponged tips? I think it's one of the coolest and easiest designs for all times, no? :)

White Jelly

Let's talk about white jellies. I seriously don't know how it is possible not to fall for them. If you ask me what I consider chic on nails, I'll say this - white jellies. Whatever looks like ballerina's tutu. That's why I was so happy when El Corazón released the whole collection of jellies. And when I saw the white one - 423/57 - I got hooked. Here it is: 

Application was ok, 3 coats are enough to eliminate the VNL. On the other hand, even if you layer it in 2 coats, it will create the "treated hands" look, you can see the example here. Drying time is about average, I prefer to put top coat over any 3+ coats :) 

This polish might be one of the most elegant ones in my collection. If I wanted to wear a polish that would look "expensive" on my nails, a white jelly would be my choice :) 

Do you have you favourite "chicy" polishes? :)
*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.