EU Nails

Recently I went to Brussels with my friends, and during the trip I heard numerous comments like "Hey, you should have polished your nails blue and put some yellow stars!". Friends are friends :) They didn't know it was already in my mind, I just didn't have time before the trip! Well, now I do:

My freehand nail art [dis]abilities suck, that's why I resorted to stamping. Fast and easy. The polish used as a base is an awesome one-coater Essence Buddy Bear from LE I Love Berlin, I have already showed it. But just for fun, I'll post the swatches once again:

I love this polish and it's such a pity I don't have the whole I Love Berlin collection... just like Berlin itself :)

Why why why

these charming pinky salmon shades don't suit my skin tone?!? They are so pretty but every time I polish my nails with such shades this colour just makes my hands look dirty : ( In the beginning I thought it's a matter of tan (or its absence), but now that I got first touch of sun on my hands nothing changed much. I have to officially admit that these pretty shades like American Apparel Rose Bowl are not for me. *Sigh*.

Nonono, on the pics it looks okay. In reality everything is much worse. Very pity, because the application was rather fine (it's a one-coater, imagine?), the polish is thick but the owners of other AAs should have an idea how to treat it. 

And, to complete the sad picture, here is a kinda unsuccessful stamping effort:

Now I really wonder what I'm going to do with all these beautiful pinky salmon polishes I have... I guess I'll give them the last chance when my hands will be really tanned. 

My Australian Mates (part I)

Although my stash is not so huge, it includes polishes from many different countries: up to Scandinavia and ... down to Australia :) Yep, even from there. Recently I got two new maties from there, piCture pOlish Sparkle and Ozotic Pro 621:

piCture pOlish Sparkle consists of white/silver perlmut base and tiny multicolour glitter particles. Pretty unique shade I'd say, I haven't seen any similar polishes. The formula is nice, number of coats depends on one's taste: it looks nice already with 2 coats, but VNL haters should rather use 3. Drying time is alright, the brush is also convenient, at least for me.

What I love about this shade is that it's so subtle and interesting at the same time. I couldn't stop staring at my nails, constantly watching at these multicolour particles :)

In my opinion this polish looks extremely nice with light-blue jeans clothes:

I should say, so far I have only positive impressions from this brand. Of course, I'd like to try more piCture pOlishes, so as soon as I have a couple of spare euros, I'll definitely order a pair of other shades.

If you are interested, you can see the whole assortiment of the brand at piCture pOlish official site, they have a lot of interesting colours!

Do you have any polishes from Australia? Share your experience :)

*These polishes were kindly provided to me by piCture pOlish for free, however, this didn't influence my opinion.

What a weird name...

... is "Peppermint Fusion" for a blue shimmery polish!! Where is Peppermint and what kind of Fusion did they find here?? Even a banality like "Blue My Mind" would match it better. However, the polish itself is awesome which I was positively surprised with. It is my first H&M polish, sent to me with 2 others in a swap by Akuma Kanji. Look what a pretty thing it is:

And, while my nails are still short, I couldn't avoid doing some stamping :)

What do you think about H&M production? They do release interesting polishes from time to time, right?

200! Followers + Blogs Suggestion

My dearest readers!

I was soo glad to see the number "200" at my GFC counter. That is a lot and that means a lot for me as well.

I want to thank every of you for reading my blog, for your help in its development, for your comments and participation. During all these days of blogging you have been giving me support and inspiration, will to keep on and a lot of joy! Thanks a million!

When we will reach 222 (I just like this number :), I will prepare a little surprise for all of you :) I just need some time for that, I hope you understand me.. 

So far, I want to suggest you some nail blogs (most of these authors are my readers), which in my opinion should have more attention than they currently have. Just because they are great. Check them :)

Antallex

Cosmetic Fix

Bellos Manicures

Have You Met Miss Jones?

Ma Petite Nail Art Blog

KimsKie's Nails

Lendoxia

Like A Candy Shop

Miezziej's Beauty Polish Blog

So Nailed

The Lacquer Log

The World Is The Stage

Vique's Varnish

Wacky Laki

To avoid misunderstanding: these are the blogs that only have around 50 readers or less, that's why I'm posting them. I'm following and like to read a lot more!

Little tip for bloggers: ladies, you don't imagine how important it is to have GFC Followers Tool in your blog!!! When there is one, your readers can put your blog to their Google Readers just with one click, which makes it very convenient to follow and read your updates. I'd advise everyone to have it on the side. 

Swap №6

Yes, again :) 

If you see Andreia and Yes Love polishes, you might easily guess that this swap pack came from Portugal. Namely, from a lovely nail blogger Akuma Kanji, with whom I had already a pleasure to swap before :) Check her blog, she's doing great manis and she's currently having a giveaway!

Thank you so much, dear Akuma Kanji!!! I enjoy everything you sent me and I'll be posting the swatches in the nearest future! Starting today :)

Left to right:

Andreia 63

H&M Peppermint Fusion

H&M Daisy

H&M Hunt Me Down

Yes Love 39

For me most of these are rather autumn colours, but well, what to do if I like such shades.. :)

The first polish I tried was Andreia 63 because it looked really interesting in the bottle. Moreover I wanted to have it for a long time.

This is a cool and kinda unique shade. Does it remind you anything? I would say that one could get this tone if s/he mixed Essie Merino Cool and Essie Demure Vixen.

And this is my failed attempt to show how I was wearing it :)

So far, I adore the polishes I have from Portugal. You know why? They have a very special texture, something like half-jelly, it makes them look volumetric (oh what a word! :) and highlights the beauty of the shades! You guys in Portugal are lucky because I'd say this is a feature that Essence polishes lack sometimes..

Do you have any experience with Andreia/Yes Love/Risque/Cliche or other "Southern" polishes? I'm sure some of you do - please share your opinion!

GeoPink

Please meet my first American Apparel polish! It's name is Coney Island, it's baby pink and it made the whole way from US to me, sent in a swap with Carolina together with it's 2 AA sisters and others. 

Unlike many girls/bloggers I know, I don't mind wearing pink. Especially such a muted pastel shade, I love it. The texture however was weird!! It's thick, covering in 2 coats, but sometimes bumpy, you have to be careful when applying the polish. What is a really helpful tip - use topcoat with AAs, it makes the polish look ideally flat and it lasts long. 

Since I cut my nails, I can now do some stamping :) Which I couldn't miss!

Used products:

American Apparel Coney Island x 2 coats

Konad m64 plate

Stargazer Chrome - Silver

Do you like pinks/baby pinks? 

Swap №5

Buongiorno! Guess what, I swapped again :) I'm becoming a lil obsessed with it, but it's such a fun! I just can't  resist.. 

The person I swapped with this time is lovely Carolina from Colores de Carol, I'm sure there's no need to introduce her as I guess most of you have seen her fantastic blog and you know that she's a real queen of cool manis and stamping! If you don't - check her page asap! :) 

What can I say.. this swap is the biggest one I've done so far. Carolina (thank you so much!) sent me soooo many amazing goodies, I was very surprised and happy while unpacking. So, wanna see the content? :)

Nail polish part:

- Zoya Mitzi

- Zoya Jo

- Zoya Pasha

- Zoya Happi

- Zoya Phoebe

- American Apparel L'Esprit

- American Apparel Malibu Green

- American Apparel Coney Island

- Piggy Polish Mystic

- Revlon Cotton Candy (scented!)

- Revlon Violet

- Rush Nail Lacquer

- Carlo di Roma 122

- Orly Out Of This World

- Wet'n'Wild Kaleidoscope

Cosmetic part:

- OPI huckleberry body and hand lotion 

- 5 (!) x Wet'n'wild lipsticks - enough for the whole life lol

- Physicians Formula Blush

- Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Stickers - never tried any of these, but I was always curious

- Ulta Mani Correction Pen - I also never had any, but always wanted to :)

And the traditional sweet part:

OMG Coconut M&M's!! Have you ever seen those? I haven't!

Seriously, I don't know how to express my gratitude and pleasure from the swap. Can't wait to try all these awesome things. Thanks a million, Carolina!!!

Some Autumn Nails

OPI Malaga Wine was one of those polishes I wasn't really planning to buy, but suddenly hit a good price on ebay (3 or 5 euros with shipping!), and after trying it I still can't really decide if I'm happy having it or not. The colour is wonderful, wine red and glass glossy finish, but the rest... Application was pain in the ass, it was my first OPI and now after trying a few more I can state: I HATE THE BRUSH. Let all OPI fans forgive me, but hey, how can you control it?? I would never call my nails small or narrow, but this brush is huge for them! Grrr. Another thing - Malaga Wine chips easily. 

Okay, firstly just some swatches of the polish: 

And now something more interesting: Malaga Wine topped with Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure! 

Besides the burning flame, Hidden Treasure on red is associated with autumn leavesin my mind. Impossible not to like this combination. I got many questions and many compliments from my friends :)

What do you think about these polishes with "mica effect"? Do you own any?

Boyfriend's Choice!

If you ever happen to be together at home with your bf/husband/friend and you are bored at some point, I have a good suggestion for you. Show them your nail polish stash and ask to choose 5 bottles. Believe me, it's gonna be fun :)

Look which ones were picked in my case: 

Left to right:

??? - read below

Essie Limited Addiction

OPI Malaga Wine

Zoya Andi

Depend 221

My reaction -> SURPRISE, because:

1) Not all 5 out of 5 are red. Seriously, I don't know what's the issue about men and red colour, but mine is a frantic fan of red.

2) No fuchsia/magenta colour? He likes them so much. I thought.

3) Green?? "It's not green, it's turquoise" was the answer. "And you have a swimming suit in a similar shade". That's true. Alles klar. 

4) Blue? Dark blue???? "Do you imagine this colour on my nails??!" - I asked. "Not really, that's why I've chosen it". 

This polish is actually the most mysterious in my stash. I got it as an extra from Ange's blog sale, it's in a CND brand bottle and has no signs on it, except for "matte". And as it's not any matte, so I just assume it's some kinda franken.

Oh well. Men's logic. Go figure...

After these 5 was chosen, I immediately painted my nails with OPI Malaga Wine, and firstly I wanted to show you the swatches in this post, but as they were so many, i decided to post them separately tomorrow. 

Now, ladies: have you ever done anything similar with your sweethearties? What do they prefer? :)

P.S. This is a planned post, I'm being on a trip in Belgium, but be sure I'll post, read and answer your comments when I'm back!