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 :)

Is the glass half full or half empty

Hello my dears,

People say you are either an opimist or a pessimist. I don't believe in that and think we are both. It all really depends on our mood and the people we are friends with.

Do optimism and pessimism have their corresponding colors? I don't think so and don't know how Essie came up with such a silly name. Eternal optimist...they could have done much better for such a pretty polish.
This typically is a color I would have steered away from a while back, and I don't know what is getting in to me these days but I'm becoming attracted to colors I used to flee. Must be the rain, my mood or an overdose of Coptic texts.

Enough rambling. Aside from the silly name, this polish couldn't get any better. It's opaque in 2 coats, fast-drying, self-leveling and super shiny without a topcoat. What more could you ask for?

Do you ever go through phases where you tend to gravitate towards polishes that you used to think were just blah and boring?

Thanks for reading

Dreaming of the tropics

Aloha,

Do you ever close your eyes and imagine you are on a beach, drenched in monoï oil, holding a mojito, a hibiscus flower in your hair, the waves tickling your toes? That's the mood I'm in right now.
Unfortunately there is no beach around here and this mani is the closest I'll get to the tropics in a while.

What am I wearing? Well a bathing suit of course! Just kidding! Actually Essie is on the beach with me, reading a book named "Nice is Nice, but Turquoise & Caicos is even better".

3 coats of each, no topcoat.

Gotta go, scuba diving can't wait!

A fresh new year

Hi there,

Wow I haven't posted in ten days as I've been very busy with work and my man's return home after a six week dig in Egypt. I'm so glad he's finally back and am really proud of him. His mission went really well and he discovered many interesting things, that I can't really tell you about until everything has been published...I wish I could though.

Anyways, it's my birthday today (I'm officially 32, unless my parents lied to me!) and I felt like wearing something clean and fresh. My choice? Essie's Marshmallow, a semi-opaque white. The first two layers were a little bit streaky (nothing too bad) but the third one evened everything out nicely.

I really like the end result, super glossy and feminine without being too stark and noticeable. What do you think of this?

Thanks for reading :)

Emilie

Something bright to fight this cold weather and gloomy sky

Hello my dears,

It's still freezing cold here and the city is a mess due to the snowy blizzardy weather.

Iwas in desperate need to see something bright on my nails so I applied a juicy orange polish: Essie's Tart Deco.

It's the first time I wear this. It was hiding in my stash in between two other bottles of untried beauties.

Two coats were enough to reach opacity and the formula was very good, self leveling, no bubbles or streaks. Oh Essie, you really have become my preferred polish.

All 4 pictures were taken indoors in artificial lighting...to cold to go outside, sorry ladies!

How about you - Do you have a preferred nail polish brand?

Freezing cold kisses!

Greetings from Winterfell

Hello my dears,

It's freezing cold here and the wind has been howling like crazy for the past few days. If you've seen European weather forecasts you will know what I mean.

I haven't been out in 2 days and feel like I'm trapped in Winterfell! Ahh this cold! I envy my boyfriend who has sunny weather and 23°C in Luxor, but not the mosquito bites he's suffering daily!

The positive side is I have plenty of time not only to prepare my final Coptic examen that's planned for the 14th but also to write my dissertation on Egyptian magic and magicians.

To keep focused on my research I decided to wear a polish that wouldn't distract me too much; well I thought it wouldn't distract me when I chose it but it's so gorgeous that I catch myself staring at my nails in between 2 papyri!

Enough blabbering and on to the polish. I'm wearing 2 coats of Essie's Master plan. You surely know this polish already but I felt like sharing it with you anyway.
The formula was great; nothing negative to say about it. I think this is going to be one of my favorites.

Pictures taken in daylight and -13°C!

Indoor pictures taken in artificial lighting and 18°C!

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 :)

Minaj gone matte

Hi,

Quick post today as I'm exhausted. We had a birthday party for my boyfriend last night and the last guests left at 4:30 AM. Great evening!

I had Essie's Sew Psyched on my nails for the party but it started chipping as I was doing the post-party cleanup. Being to lazy to change my polish, I added two thin layers of OPI's Metallic 4 life over Sew Psyched, then mattified the whole using Essie's Matte about you.

I'm pretty happy with the end result! How about you?

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!

Essie's Bobbling for Baubles

Hi there,

Here's another of the Essie polishes I picked up last month: Bobbing for Baubles (Cocktail bling collection).

As you might have noticed, I'm a huge fan of dusty polishes, dark ones as well, so this one is perfect for me!

Bobbing for Baubles is a navy polish with a hint of grey in it which makes it way murkier than your regular navy lacquer. Thanks Essie for this beauty!

The formula was perfect and could even be a one-coater. Nevertheless I chose to apply 2 thin coats followed by Revlon's Fast Drying topcoat.

Do you have a preferred polish from the Cocktail Bling collection?

Thanks for reading.

All pictures were taken in artificial lighting, without flash.

Essie's Absolutely Shore

Hi,

Happy New Near to you all! I wish you all the best for 2012 and hope that this new year started out well for you.

As I am away for a few days, I scheduled this post before leaving, so excuse me if I don't reply to your comments immediately. I'll be back shortly, with a tan and full of energy. Oh sun and ocean, what would I do without you!

Today I have a minty green polish to show you: Absolutely Shore.

I really like this color and will surely be wearing it often because I find creamy greens/turquoises and light teals flatter my skintone.

I know many of you use Essie's Mint Candy Apple but I wanted something a little dustier but not quite as toned down as OPI's Stranger Tides when I wore this mani.

Absolutely Shore applied very well and it's formula was great: 2 easy coats followed by Revlon's Fast Drying Topcoat.

What is your preferred light green polish?

Thanks for reading.

Essie's Brooch the subject & China Glaze Golden enchantment

Hello lacquer lovers,

Quick post today: a nice sparkly nude mani using Essie's Brooch the Subject & China Glaze's Golden Enchantment.

Brooch the Subject is a slightly pink based nude creme polish that applies very nicely and is gives an opaque coverage in 2 thin coats.

I really like nude mani's but like them even more topped with some glitter or a flakie polish, so I decided to spice Brooch the Subject up with Golden Enchantment which is a gold rainbow glitter polish in a clear base. It's the golden equivalent as Fairy Dust that many of you use.

Brooch the Subject (alone).

Brooch the Subject & Golden Enchantment.

All pictures were taken in artificial lighting (natural light lightbulb) without flash.

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!