Care for some Liquid Sand? Oh yes please

A few months ago when I first saw the Mariah Carey by OPI collection I was really intrigued by the 4 unusual, gritty yet glittery and sparkly polishes baptised Liquid Sand by OPI.
After a couple of unpublished late summer swatches of them I was conquered! I'm not a fan of Mariah's music but I was blown away by the polishes created for and with her.

What a crazy idea to create textured polishes when we are all trying to even out the surface of our lacquers, using and abusing thick jelly like topcoats. But this novelty really works and is mesmerizing.
I actually can't stop looking and and touching my nails when I have one of these on.

Black/red:           Stay The Night

Blue:         Get Your Number

Red:          The Impossible

Purple:      Can't Let Go

The first one I tried was Can't Let Go, the purple one. I wore it as a full manicure at a conference I gave. Sorry for the crappy picture, it's the only one I had.

Recently I wore the blue one, Get Your Number and I must admit it's my preferred one!

I tried adding a topcoat but clearly preferred it without.

Yesterday I was once more in a Liquid Sand mood so I decided to wear Stay The Night. In the bottle I wasn't crazy about it the first time I saw it but on the nails it's a completely different story. See for yourself:

The only one I haven't worn as a full manicure yet is The Impossible but I'm not a huge red/pink fan (don't be fooled by my screen name!) so I might reserve it for those days when I'm in a Barbie mood.

Now you are probably imagining that these polishes are a huge pain in the a... to remove. They are unless you use the foil method:

So what are your thoughts on the Liquid Sand polishes? Have you tried any yet or do you already have a preferred color? 

Have a great Sunday :)

Emilie

Colorblock nails

Hello there,

I'm still sort of stuck in a glitter sandwich manicure phase, but I thought I'd take a break and do colorblock nails.

Here's what I came up with:

 

The blue is Bleu Fabuleux by Bourgeois and the orange is Orange it's obvious by Essie.

On the second day of this manicure, I felt like some change and replaced my orange index by a green one using OPI's Did it on'em.

Do you like to mix and match your polish or is sticking to one color at a time more your thing?

Thanks for reading :)

Dusty Dior

Hello my dears,

How have you all been doing?

Today I have a stunning dusty turquoise polish to show you: Dior's Saint Tropez.

This polish just came out and I jumped on it as soon as I saw it. It's dusty quality is just so special and very different from those über bright turquoise lacquers I'm used to seeing. I'm in love with a polish....yet again!

The formula was great: opaque in two coats, fast drying, self leveling and very shiny. I didn't even use a topcoat.

(pictures taken in daylight)

To spice things up on the third day, I added some sparkle: OPI's Pirouette my whistle (from the New York Ballet collection).

This glitter is great because it isn't too sparkly and looks almost as if you added a sheer polish over top in a very glitter sandwich-esque fashion.

(pictures taken in artificial lighting)

So, what do you think of this beauty?

Thanks for reading!

Inspired by the weather

Hi there,

The weather has been pretty weird here for the past few days. The sun will shine for a few hours then rain will be pouring down like crazy, then the sun comes back. Weird and wardrobe confusing. I thought this mani represented it pretty well and was really happy when I came up with the idea to do it and post it on my blog, but then it dawned on me that it could just as well be in an Ikea catalogue...
What do you think?

I used Chanel's Blue Boy (Jeans de Chanel collection) and Jaune Trendy by Bourjois ( a company owned by Chanel). No topcoat.

Blue Boy's color is great but I don't really like the jelly finish (too sheer) that required 3 coats. There was some pretty massive tipwear as well...unusual for Chanel, even when you don't use a topcoat.

This is the first Bourjois polish I try and am pretty impressed. Self-leveling, shiny, quick-drying and no tip wear.

Thanks for reading :)

Spring is right around the corner

Hi!

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, Spring is coming!

What better way to celebrate than wearing a fresh pastel polish?

I chose a new color from Essence's Color & Go line: Absolutely blue (#97). Surpisingly, the shade shows up really well in the pictures so I don't even need to try to describe it.

The formula was very good: opaque in 2 thin coats, fast-drying and very shiny on it's own. I did use a topcoat though because I applied the polish before bed and didn't want to risk having sheet marks. Gosh I hate sheet marks, they drive me crazy!

On to the photos:

All pictures were taken in artificial lighting.

What's the weather like on your side of the planet and what polish are you wearing now?

Thanks for reading!

The sun is out and I feel like eating fruit

Hi there,

I know, I know, I haven't posted in quite a few days. Got stuck with a huge amount of work to do. I spend all my time in my books and writing and I'm fed up of being glued to my desk. That doesn't mean I neglect my nails, although my cuticles feel a bit left out (Loodie will surely kill me if she sees them!).

Since the sun has been shining quite a bit the past few days and I haven't really had a chance to be outside and take advantage of this nice weather, I decided I was in desperate need of a bright and shiny polish. My choice: China Glaze's Watermelon rind.

Gosh I love this polish in all of it's shimmery green-blue splendor. I'm wearing two coats of it in the pictures.

Check it out, it's gorgeous:

The first two pictures were taken indoors.

Picture taken outdoors, in the shade.

No Pantone reference for this one as it's too shimmery... sorry :)

What's on your nails now?

Thanks for reading.

Tuesday blues

Hello my dears,

I'm a bit sad today. My boyfriend left this morning for his work in Egypt. He's an archaeologist/egyptologist and went on a dig near the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. As usual, he'll be working in the funerary temple of Amenhotep III (Akhenaten's father and Tutankhamen's grandfather). He'll be away for almost two months. It's not that long when you think of it but it seems like an eternity when you are in love.

I'll be home alone for the next few weeks and I guess I'll go all polish crazy, hauling and applying like a maniac, night and day, well I hope not too much for the sake of my digits (bank and nail related!).

Anyways, I wanted to share with you a gorgeous polish he bought me before leaving: Essie's Sweet Talker.
Not much to say about this beauty...it's gorgeousness speaks for itself.

2 easy coats of a great formula filled with discreet shimmer.

Voilà:

Do you have a preferred color that you wear when you are sad?

Thanks for reading :)

Essie's Borrowed and blue + Kreative Blogger Award

Hello lacquer lovers,

To show off my slight tan I thought I'd wear a bright pastel polish and chose Essie's Borrowed and Blue, a light creamy baby blue.

I got this one a while back but was waiting to get some color on my skin before showing it to you.

The formula was great, not chalky, streaky or bubbly whatsoever. I applied three coats but you could easily get away with 2. For my topcoat I used Sèche Vite and am glad to say there was absolutely no shrinkage in sight.

I really like this blue. Have any of you guys tried it?

I will take advantage of this post to thank the gorgeous Ami of Pistols and Cobras for giving me the Kreative Blogger Award. Thanks so much for thinking of me my dear!

The rules for this award are pretty simple:

• Link back to the person who gave you this award
• Complete the questions below (and 7 random facts)
• Award this to 10 other bloggers

1. Name your favorite song:     I don't even know where to begin, there are too many so I'll pass this question

2. Name your favorite dessert:    Chocolate mousse, chocolate cake and fruit (passion fruit, mangoes, papayas, pomegranate..)

3. What ticks me off:    People who aren't respectful of others, animals and Nature

4. When I'm upset I:    It really depends what I'm upset about. I usually try to talk it out with the person that made me upset or my boyfriend, friends or family but I might also keep it to myself and do stuff that changes my mood, like paint my nails, watch a movie, go for a walk...

5. What's your favorite pet:   cats, dogs

6. Black or White:   white (I wore too much black as a teen in my goth phase and am sick of it. I replaced it with navy years ago)

7. Biggest Fear:    being attacked by somebody with a knife

8. Everyday attitude:   I try to be positive everyday but it's not always that easy, it really depends on my mood.

9. What is perfection:   Something that doesn't exist but that everybody tries in vain to reach.

10. Guilty pleasure:    Spending way too much on nail polish!!!

7 Random Facts: 

• I'm a leftie but was forced to use my right hand when I was learning to write...I still use my left though when I'm cutting stuff.
• I love books and own many but never read any novels. 
• I'm a history and science freak.
• I love learning and teaching what I know.
• I'm a bit lazy and when I have time I can spend days watching series and movies.
• I'm half American half Swiss and spent my first years between Connecticut and NY
• I'm an Aries and my rising is in Scorpio

Here are the 10 bloggers I'd like to pass this award on to:

1. Lindsay at Yacking about Lacquer
2. Rose at Whale's Nails
3. Sammy at Nailasaurus
4. Noelie at Noelie's Nails
5. Alana at Something Polished
6. Short and Sweet Nails
7. Rebecca at Rebecca Likes Nails
8. Lizard Lady at Nailed.
9. Anne T. at Grape Fizz Nails
10. Amy at I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous

Congrats ladies and thanks again Ami for this award!

Thanks for reading!

Isadora Moroccan Blue

Hello ladies and gents,

As I am still in my dusty polish phase I thought I'd show you this gorgeous blue Isadora polish I got the other day: Moroccan blue.

Not much to say about this beauty apart from the fact that it's formula is great and I really like it's color, a muted dusty teal-ish blue.

I applied two coats and no topcoat.

Up until yesterday I was using my trusty Sony Ericsson phone to take all the pictures posted on my blog. Alas my phone died and I got an iphone 4 to replace it but I'm not too happy about the pictures it takes: too dark and not color accurate... I need to find a better solution.


Thanks for reading and have a nice day :)

Natural light lightbulb, no flash.

Natural light lightbulb, with flash.

Natural light lightbulb, no flash.

Natural light lightbulb, no flash.

Essence's Sure Azure (#74)

Happy Monday everybody!

I hope you all started your week well.

Here's just a quick post on a great Essence polish I got recently: Sure Azure, a beautiful light blue with very discreet silvery-white shimmer. You can't really notice the shimmers in the pictures; you just need to imagine that they are there!

As it is the case with most Essence polishes, Sure Azure could be a one coater if you apply it carefully. The formula was rather on the thick side but it didn't need any thinner. The two coats I put on dried super quickly to a shiny (but not high gloss) finish. No bubbles, streaks or bald patches in sight.

I didn't use a topcoat.

Thanks for reading and have a nice week!

All pictures were taken in artificial lighting, without flash.

Calvin Klein's Indigo blue

Hi!

Here's just a quick post on a great Calvin Klein polish I found recently in a clearance sale. It came in a set with 4 other polishes for a bargain price.

I had never seen CK lacquers before and have to admit I wasn't sure the quality was going to be good. Well I was in for an excellent surprise. These polishes are great. Grab'em if you find any! I mean the colors are gorgeous and the formula was perfection.

Indigo blue is the polish I'm showing you today (I'll swatch the others soon). It's extremely pigmented and you could use only 1 coat, but as usual, I chose to apply 2.

What do you think of this electric blue? I'm in love with it!

Thanks for reading and have a nice Friday.

Essie's Smooth Sailing (#756)

Hi!

For my NOTD I used Essie's Smooth Sailing, a periwinkle blue with light silver, blue and magenta micro shimmer.
The silver shimmer is the most obvious but isn't very visible on the photos, whereas the electric blue and magenta shimmers are barely noticeable as they are so fine. You need to look really close in order to see them, so get your magnifying glasses out!

Shimmers apart, this color is very similar to China Glaze's Secrect Peri-wink-Le as you can judge by the photo.

The formula was a bit streaky and left some bald patches for the first 2 layers so I applied a third coat followed by Sèche Vite to even the polish out.

Thanks for reading!

All photos were taken in natural daylight (late PM).

China Glaze's Rodeo Fanatic (#666) + Atlantis (#813) on ring finger

Hi!

I'm back from Paris! Had a great time but am really tired from the non stop walking and drinking in all the culture I could. 

Summer is starting to fade over here and work starts again tomorrow. I'm happy to see my students and colleagues but would love to still be on vacation a bit longer!! Teachers get long holidays and a lot of people are envious of that, but that time is not all fun and sun; we need those extra weeks off to prepare our classes, read, perfect our knowledge etc. My summer was really productive. I needed to prepare for two new classes I'm going to teach. In addition to my chemistry and biology classes, one of the new courses I'm going to teach is science to 5th and 6th graders. I usually only work with High school students so this is going to be very new to me!

For my back to school mani, I chose something a bit dark but needed to get my nails used to Autumn! I used two China Glaze polishes: Rodeo Fanatic and Atlantis.

Rodeo Fanatic is a shimmery metallic dark blue with teal undertones. I love this color. It seems extremely dark from some angles but is in no way one of those almost black polishes. The blue shimmer lightens this color up and makes it incredibly shiny and almost metallic. I used this color as the base polish on all of my nails then added Atlantis on my ring fingers.

Rodeo Fanatic's formula was good. It wasn't streaky or goopy and went on smoothly. The two coats I applied dried quickly to a very shiny finish. 

Atlantis is a sheer teal polish with silver holo glitter. It's very very sheer. You would need at least four coats for an opaque coverage. I prefer more opaque glitter polishes (I'm thinking OPI's Teenage Dream, Spark de Triomphe etc.) but do not detest the sheerer ones that look nice layered over an opaque base color. You cannot see Atlantis' color over Rodeo Fanatic. I just looks as though I had applied a clear holo glitter polish over top. 

The topcoat I used (China Glaze's Fast Forward topcoat) is new to me and I'm pretty happy with it. It wasn't too thick, applied evenly, didn't cause any polish shrinkage and dried quickly to a high gloss finish.

What is your back to school/work mani?

Photo 1:   Artificial lighting, no flash.

Photo 2:   Daylight (early PM), no flash.

Photo 3:   Daylight (early PM), no flash.

Photo 4:   Artificial lighting, no flash.

Photo 5:   Artificial lighting, no flash.