Inspired by a Bracelet

Do you often get inspired by clothes or accessoires? I do, and I even picture the suitable manicure designs in my mind, it's just not that often that I implement them. However, I didn't even hesitate when I first unpacked and saw the bracelet I got from SammyDress store for review.

The bracelet is dark blue with gold, white and pink abstract patterns, it's very light and fits perfectly to my somewhat wide wrist. It clips easily and doesn't fall off during the day. I also like that it doesn't catch neither hair nor clothes when you wear it.

The bracelet retails at 4.43$ (!) at SammyDress store - here you can find the direct link to the item. There are also other colours and patterns, but I think you can never guess which one you get, hehe. I didn't mind about that because I liked all the colours and pattens they offer.

As for the manicure - it was very easy to create: I started with 2 coats of Layla Ceramic Effect #13 (swatch), applied rhinestones on my index and pinkie fingers, then added some drops of gold, white and pink polish and made some random movements with a needle. Easier to create than to describe :)

To be honest, I haven't done any nail design with a needle since high school, and I was happy to experiment with it again. And, what is good about abstract designs - you can never go wrong :)

Blue Willow

Okay okay, maybe it doesn't have much to do with the Blue Willow, but it does remind me of porcelain, and I simply love white and vivid blue combination. The manicure that I'm showing today was inspired by an upcoming (at that time, half a year ago) trip to Greece. White and blue, aren't those Greek colours? :) 

The workload on "creating" this manicure is minimal: it's just Debby ColorPlay (swatch) stamped over El Corazon Jelly #423/57 (swatch). The stamping plate is BM-314. Everyone can feel free to recreate at home :)

Isn't white + blue = gorgeousness? 

Step Right Up!

Today is a BIG day for me because I am starting to work for the BIG4. Those who know what it is about will also know that from now on my free time is gonna reduce drastically. Hopefully, it will not influence the blog, but if the posts will be rare or irregullar - I'm sorry in advance : {

Now, to signify such a day I will show you my "lucky" polish - OPI Step Right Up! Why lucky? Because I was wearing it for 2 job interviews and both times I got the job :D Last time I even jumped over one selection step (right up!), but hopefully that happened due to my brains and skills, not because of the polish :) 

Step Right Up is a light ivory jelly, quite difficult to deal with - to tell the whole truth. The formula is just weird, streaks and bold spots appear all over the place. This time I was lucky to layer it in 3 coats, whereas normally I apply 4. Sorry to say that this polish probably won't be any good for French manicures. Oh, the thing doesn't dry either. 

However, every time I tolerate it all because the end result is actually great. The nails have that "porcelain" effect - not quite nude, but still very elegant. 

Do you have "lucky" polishes? :)

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.

Wedding Crasher

*planned post; me partying at a wedding on Crete*

Honestly, I don't see how a nail polish could potentially crash a wedding, especially such a decent shade... Apparently the creators of Sally Hansen Wedding Crasher had some ideas in mind, while naming the polish this way :) Besides, I keep remembering the movie about the two guys, the Wedding Crashers or so... a funny one-time-see film :)

Wedding Crasher is a pink jelly packed with pink glitter, that turned out to be more dense than I expected when looking at the bottle. The coverage is reached in 2 thick(er) coats only. The surface is not gritty, so it only makes sense to cover it with a top coat if you need a bit of gloss and shine.

Actually, Wedding Crasher was a present form my aunt, and honestly speaking, I was not inspired by this shade until I painted my nails with it :) 

If you like this kind of colours, give it a try! I look forward to comparing it with Zoya Astra, I have a feeling that these two have a lot in common. 

Anyways, I hope that the big fat Greek wedding I'm partying at right now will never ever be crashed!! :) And I hope you are having fun this summer too :) 

Fashionista At The Party

Remember the first Fashionista polish that I was showing recently? I have another one, this time El Corazón Fashionista At The Party (orig. Модница на вечеринке). Bright, summery, eye-catching - a perfect combination for the warm summer days :) 

Just like its lilac sister, Fashionista At The Party is a bright, even neon-y jelly with white hexagonal and smaller-sized white "sand" glitter. It's just the base colour is barbie pink instead of lilac.

Believe me, you WILL be gathering looks (and questions) with this polish on :) I did! Mostly of my colleagues and people in the subway :) 

The application was very similar too: 2 easy coats, not so well-drying though, so you'll have to use a fast dry top coat. As I was writing already, using top coat also adds some glossy-glassy look, which I like so much in these polishes.

I have a weird skin tone colour on these photos, please disregard it! You probably know how hard it is to photograph the neon polishes... :) 

Usual close-up pics:

If you want to get your hands on any of El Corazon pretty things, you cam simply write them an e-mail listing your order - they ship worldwide! Also, you can browse through their collections on El Corazón web-site.

*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.

Aerial Nude

Today I am showing something you have NOT seen in this blog before: VNL pure. Visible nail line that is. Many times I wrote that I'm not any fan of it and I usually try to avoid it, layering as many coats of polish as it takes to cover it. But - rereading the name of my blog - I had to try it once :) The opportunity came together with a swap package from Zelinda - she sent me Cliché Areia as a nice extra.

You see, you see?? Here it is, the VNL! :) After 4 coats - this polish was never meant to be opaque actually, the name "areia" means.. NO, NOT AIR!!!

...but "sand". Oh well, I was confused till the last moment : ) The polish is a very light nude peachy jelly, very transparent as well, but I'd rather name it "air" than "sand". Application was quite easy but loooong, all these 4 coats + base + top, uff! At least all the coats dried fast. 

Honestly speaking, Areia looks much prettier on the photos than in reality. When I was wearing it, I couldn't decide if I liked the nail look or not. The VNL thing was still confusing, but I promised myself to try this polish in a glitter sandwich :) It's called "sand" after all, I just need to find the "wich" part :) 

After some days I added a BM-314 stamping pattern on top. I still wasn't sure if I liked the result, but it matched one of my T-shirts :) 

What's your attitude to VNL? Love it? Hate it? Tell me! :) 

Fashionista Goes Shopping

With pride and joy I am showing a nail polish of the Russian brand El Corazón, which became so heads-up with the latest nail polish creation trends. In a way they are trendsetters themselves actually! 

The polish I am posting about is a part of "Fashionista" collection, and its full name is El Corazón Fashionista Goes Shopping (orig. Модница на шоппинге). 

Fashionista Goes Shopping is a lilac jelly with white hexagonal and smaller-sized "sand" glitter. The lilac base colour is quite bright, but not neon or in-your-face bright shade. Noticeable bright, that is :)

I should say that I fell in love with how this polish looks in the bottle, with the bottles themselves being cute. All these white-black roses and the lilac contents with white dotties... so harmonic!

You probably wonder how this polish applies? Well, quite easily, and it covers in 2 coats. The texture is rather goopy though, and the layers you get are thick, so the whole thing dries a bit longer than normal. On the other hand, I do recommend using a top coat over this shade, as it creates a jellyish and glossy look and flatters the polish.

Generally, my opinion is that the polish is charming. Charming - that's the word, yep :) 

I'm telling you in advance, I have 2 more shades from this collections. Intrigued? ;)
*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.