Is your nail polish tested on animals? About cruelty free nail polish brands — an overview

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Being a lover of animals I'm always trying to be conscious of the suffering animals go through, to "serve" us people.

Hundreds of thousands of animals are being poisoned, blinded and killed every year, in outdated product tests for cosmetics, personal care products, household cleaning products, etc. If there's one thing I cannot stand, it's the fact these innocent creatures have to suffer for the sake of something trivial as cosmetic products.

94% of animal testing is carried out to determine the safety of cosmetics and household products, leaving only 6% for medical research. Often these tests are performed on mice, rats, rabbits and guinea pigs.

The tests these companies conduct are absolutely horrifying. One of these tests, the so called Draize eye test, involves placing substances into the eyes of restrained rabbits, then recording the progressive deterioration. Some research labs also carry out the lethal dose test, forcing substances (such as oven cleaner or nail polish) down animals’ throats, pumping it into their stomachs through a tube, or injecting it into their bodies, until a percentage of the animals die. After these tests, the animals are killed, normally by asphyxiation, neck-breaking or decapitation. Think about this, is this something you're actually willing to contribute to, by buying these products?

Europe ban

Luckily, there is some good news. In 2013 all animal tested cosmetic and household products have been banned in Europe.
However, when a company is claiming that their products are cruelty free, they're actually referring to the finished end product. So, their statement isn't saying anything about the individual ingredients that have been used, so keep that in mind.

Mother companies & China

Some companies are owned by other companies: such as Essie who falls under the L'oreal umbrella. Back in the day, when Essie was independent, they used to be a cruelty free brand. Unfortunately, L'oreal is not. Since Essie is now owned by L'oreal, you could say they're no longer cruelty free.

A good indicator if a brand carries out animal tests, is the fact whether a brand is sold in China or not:

The Chinese government conducts mandatory animal tests on all cosmetic products imported into the country. The government may also conduct animal tests on items pulled from store shelves. Therefore, even if a company does not test their products or ingredients on animals, if they sell their products in China they cannot be considered cruelty free.

humanesociety.org

Sometimes a brand, that is owned by a larger company, actually is cruelty free and not sold in China. You could argue that these companies do fund animal testing indirectly, it's up to you how you feel about this.

Cruelty free list

After doing some research of my own I was happy to find out that a lot of great brands are actually cruelty free. But, the majority of the big, popular brands are not. You can find an overview listed below:

Brands that do test on animals

• #
• • & Other Stories
• A
• • (Giorgo) Armani (L'Oreal)
  • Artistry Makeup (Amway)
• B
• • Bourjois
• C
• • Chanel
  • Christian Dior
  • Clarins
  • Clinique (Estee Lauder)
  • Collistar
  • Coty
  • Cover Girl (Procter and Gamble)
• D
• • Dior
• E
• • Ellen Betrix
  • Essie (L'Oreal)
  • Estee Lauder
• G
• • Givenchy
• H
• • H&M Cosmetics
  • Helena Rubinstein (L'Oreal)
  • Huda Beauty
• I
• • Inglot
• K
• • Kiehls (L'Oreal)
• L
• • L'Oreal
  • Lancôme (L'Oreal)
• M
• • M.A.C. Cosmetics (Estee Lauder)
  • Max Factor (Coty)
    
  • Maybelline (L'Oreal)
  • Miss Sporty (Coty)
  • MNY (L'Oreal)
• N
• • Nars Cosmetics (Shiseido)
  • Neutrogena (Johnson & Johnson)
  • Nicole by OPI (Coty)
• O
• • OPI (Coty)
• R
• • Revlon
  • Rimmel (Coty)
• S
• • Sally Hansen (Coty)
  • Sephora by OPI (L'Oreal)
  • Sinful Colors (Revlon)
  • Shiseido Cosmetics
  • Shu Uemura (L'Oreal)
• W
• • Wet ‘n Wild
• Y
• • Yves Rocher

Cruelty free brands

Ⓥ = vegan

• B
• • Barry M
  • Black Dahlia Lacquer Ⓥ
  • Blu Ink Nail Lacquer Ⓥ
  • Buddha Beauty Ⓥ
  • Burt's Bees
  • Butter London
• C
• • Catrice
  • Cheeky Cosmetics Ⓥ
  • China Glaze
  • Claire's Ⓥ
  • Color Club
  • Colour Alike Ⓥ
  • Cuccio Colour
  • Cult Nails Ⓥ
• D
• • Deborah Lippman
  • Dimension Nails Ⓥ
  • Douglas (own label)
• E
• • E.L.F Cosmetics Ⓥ
  • Essence
  • ESN
  • Etos
  • Evil Shades
• G
• • Gosh Cosmetics
• H
• • Hard Candy
  • Hema/Miss Helen
  • Herôme Cosmetics
• I
• • IsaDora
• J
• • Joe Fresh Cosmetics
• K
• • Kure Bazaar
  • Koh Cosmetics
• L
• • L.A. Colors
  • Lacquester
  • Lime Crime Ⓥ
  • LUSH Cosmetics
• M
• • Make Up Store
  • ManGlaze
  • Milani Ⓥ
  • Misa Cosmetics LLC Ⓥ
  • Models Own
• N
• • Nubar Ⓥ
  • NYX Cosmetics
• O
• • Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Inc. Ⓥ
  • Orly International
  • OZN Ⓥ
  • Ozotic (Lumineye)
• P
• • Pacifica Ⓥ
  • Priti Polish Ⓥ
• R
• • RGB
• S
• • Safe’N’Beautiful Ⓥ
  • Seche
  • Smashbox Cosmetics (Estee Lauder, not sold in China)
  • SpaRitual Ⓥ
• T
• • The Body Shop (Natura Cosmeticos)
  • Trind Cosmetics
• U
• • Urban Decay (L'Oreal, not sold in China)
• Z
• • Zoya

Ⓥ = vegan

Find more cruelty free brands

Disclaimer

Please note that companies do change policies, owners etc. So, if you spot a brand that should be in the other list, please let me know!
Last edited on: june 15th, 2018

Lacquester — One night in Bangkok

Oh, hi ..!

I've been dormant for ages, and this probably won't a recurring thing, but this polish just needs a proper post. It really must have been years ago when I received a nail polish from Lacquester. Lacquester is a Dutch indie brand, run by Caroline from The Netherlands. What sets this brand apart are the very unique polishes. Lacquester creates all the stuff I like: holos, flakies, duochromes, the list juest goes on. It's safe to say I'm not as in touch with the nail polish trends as I used to be, but it seems like brands are not putting very surprising collections out there. Luckily, indie brands like this have taken off and they really do seem to know what us nail freaks like to see in polishes.

One night in Bangkok

So, when I was rummaging through some old photos I came across this swatch I never even knew I made. This is the color "One night in Bangkok". I've always been a sucker for color shifting, flakie polishes and this is no exception. The colors shift from orange to purple, to red, to violet, it just doesn't stop.

Formula

Application is awesome. It goes on smoothly, leaving no bumps as flakies always lay flat. You will need a decent base color before though, as I would categorize this more as a top coat. But it applied beautifully.

Not entirely unimportant: all Lacquester nail polishes are free from DBP, Formaldehyde, Formadehyde resin, Toluene and Camphor. I'm happy to say this brand is absolutely cruelty free as well🐰.

You can purchase this beauty directly from Lacquester, or via Color4Nails if you're in the US or Canada.

Zoya - Ivanka

Ivanka

If anyone knows how to do glass fleck, it's Zoya! They're not as brilliant with their nail polish naming though, as the name 'Ivanka' doesn't peak my interest at all... boring! However, Ivanka sure is pretty and that's what matters in the end.
This green glass flecked polish belongs to their Sparkle Collection that came out last summer. Ivanka is a grassy, almost forest green with flecks that show both green and gold. Green can be a difficult color to wear, but since Ivanka is cool toned it's a suitable color for lots of different skin tones. In the bottle you can definitely see some blue flecks as well, but sadly the blue flash doesn't translate well onto your nails at all.

Formula

Ivanka applied beautifully: the three coats went on smooth and even. With glass fleck you can have the fun that glitter brings, without having the difficult removal process after. I did notice Ivanka didn't dry that quickly, in conjunction with my Revlon quick drying top coat...

You can order Zoya nail polishes at Art of Beauty for 8 USD per 15ml.

How to: find your 'borrowed' photos with Google Image Search

Play by the rules

Do you see the picture above this paragraph? It took some effort to get that photo there: I had to remove my old nail polish and repaint them with Mimosa by Chanel. After that I have to get my camera, take some photo's, sometimes more than a hundred before the lighting is good enough etc. I then have to transfer the pics onto my computer, import them in Photoshop, do some cropping, resizing and maybe even a little rotating. Which takes ages on my tantalizingly slow laptop. Finally: they're ready to upload! Sounds like a bit of work, doesn't it?

Well, it is! So with that in mind, you can imagine how frustrating it can be, when others just take your photos and repost them without even a hint of credit. Or worse: place their watermark on top of your photo. I normally don't mind, when I see my photos on the net, I love the web, it's open. It's different when the photos are used for commercially goals, like uploading them to a webshop.

This isn't the kind of post I'd normally post, but I've written blogposts for fellow bloggers before, so I thought this article possibly may be of interest to some. With the new and improved Image search by Google, it's now extremely simple to track down your own photos. Let's have a look:

1. Go to https://images.google.com

2. Drag a photo from your hard drive directly into the search field

3. Hit the search button

4. Et voila: an overview of your photos!

Of course it's up to you, what to do next. If you want your content to be removed, have a look at this article.

Nfu Oh 51 Revisited

Nfu Oh 51

Oh Nfu Oh 51.. If there's one polish that got me into nail polish big time, this is the one. I've written about it before, but there's no such thing as too much attention when we're talking Nfu Oh 51. Come on, just look at it! It's like magic on your nails.
A beautiful blurple base, glowiness, flakies, no wait, DUOCHROME flakies, Nfu Oh 51 has it all. No wonder it's always out of stock somewhere..

The awesomeness that's Nfu Oh 51, is hard to capture on camera though. Sometimes it's leaning more towards purple and at other times it's definitely more of a glowy red. Especially in low light you can see the duochrome flakies change color like a chameleon: from red to orange to green. For this manicure I layered it over Claire's Magic, a purple polish with lots of shimmer, an absolutely perfect candidate to team up with #51.

Application

You can use #51 on its own or you can layer it like I did. If you want to wear it on its own, you'll need about three coats. If you're going to layer it, just one layer will give you the effect you see in the photos. The formula is kinda jelly and squishy, so I'd suggest using a quickdrying top coat with this. One layer of top coat will smooth out the flakies and add more intensity to the color.

You can order Nfu Oh 51 ($9.90 for 17ml) at Viis Ilusalong or ($12.50 for 17ml) or at Nail XL (currently out of stock).

Koh - Blue Universe

Dazzle

Everything but boring. A good description for an extraordinary bottle of nail polish. Koh, a Dutch brand, happens to have some true stunners in their collection. And guess what? Blue Universe is no exception.

Blue Universe is a denim blue nail polish, enriched with duochrome flakies that flash from orange to green. That's just the beginning though, there's also plenty shimmer and glitter to feast your eyes upon. When I'm in the mood for a complex and distinctive polish, I can absolutely count on Blue Universe.

Application

Does it apply as beautifully as it looks? Yes, it does! Two quickdrying coats and you're good to go. It does need a final layer of top coat to give it that glossy look, because it does dry rather matte.
I do find the brushes of Koh polishes to be a bit thin, but nothing I can't work with. The two major letdowns of Koh polishes are their price and availability. I don't know about you, but I don't find €14,95 a bottle that cheap. If you're living outside The Netherlands, you might have trouble finding a place to purchase these Dutch gems.

In The Netherlands you can buy Koh polishes for 14,95 EUR each at Douglas, MOOI or Bijenkorf. If you're outside Holland you can try your luck over at their online shop.

H&M - Peppermint Fusion

Fresh!

Peppermint Fusion is fresh. The perfect color to cool off by on hot summer days. Not that we have many of those here in the Netherlands, but this polish will put you in the right mood regardless!
Peppermint Fusion's base has a dusty periwinkle or lavender blue color, with very fine, turquoise flashing shimmer. This finish actually reminds me a bit of some Chanel polishes, like Paradoxal or Riva, but luckily H&M polishes go for only a fraction of their price!

Formula & Application

Peppermint Fusion is not only a stunner to look at, in addition it also has a great formula. This lacquer applies very pliantly and easily, and only two coats will give you a pretty decent result. However, looking at the photos I took, it probably could have used a third coat. I didn't have any problems during application, Peppermint Fusion truly is a nice polish. But, ...there's always a but, after three days it did start chipping. Oh well, that just makes the perfect excuse to change your nail polish, right?

On another note

This post is probably on of the last posts you'll see where the pictures were taken with my old and trusted Sony CyberShot w120. Yes, there's a new love in my life and it goes by the name of Canon EOS 1100D. I can't wait to shoot my snapshots with this magnificent camera from now on!

You can buy H&M polishes for 3.95 EUR each at your local H&M store, and a selection of colors can be found in their online shop at www.hm.com.

CND Effects Sapphire Sparkle - Beetle Sparks

CND Colour & Effects

This may be one of the polishes I've used and loved the most, ever! It's not a regular polish, it's actually a top coat you can use for impressive layering.

Sapphire Sparkle is part of CND's Colour & Effects line and my most favorite of them all, just look at the dazzling duochrome finish: the color shifts from purple, pink to turquoise and blue. These colors just seem to compliment each other so well.
The great thing about these is that you have a multitude of options, you can pretty much layer your way to oblivion with these amazing top coats.

Sapphire Sparkle layered over Misa's 'A sin worth commiting'

Sapphire Sparkle particularly looks great on top of darker hues, like black, grey, taupe, green and blue. Of course you can try anything you'd like. This time I've decided on Misa's 'A sin worth comitting', a beautiful shimmer-y blue with flawless application. Doesn't this combination remind you of the Purple Coleoptera or Beetle?

Application

The application of these CND Effects does not disappoint: they apply smooth and easy. Because of their dense pigmentation, just one layer will suffice. They also dry extremely well and fast, which I find important, as I mostly use these to spice up an older manicure without adding another layer of top coat.

Since Sapphire Sparkle consists out of glass flecks, instead of glitter, you'll get an extremely smooth surface. And removal is super easy!

You can buy CND Colour & Effects polishes for $5.50 each, online at www.transdesign.com, or you can use the CND Store Locator.

Beetle picture via TrekNature

Review: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat

Top coat overload

I know, there is a plethora of quick drying top coats out there, it's hard to choose! I've tried a few: Seche Vite, Out the Door, Poshe, OPI RapiDry, China Glaze Fast Forward, Nubar Diamont, you name it. They all have one thing in common: there's something about them I just don't like. Serious shrinkage, lack of shine and luster, toxic, horrible smell, lousy formula etc etc.

The last couple of months I have been using a top coat that isn't getting that much love yet: the Revlon Quick Dry top coat. It claims to set in 60 seconds to a 'hard lustrous finish' and to protect polish from nicks and chips. And what a great find it is!

Formula

One of the best aspects of this top coat is the formula. It's not thick, rather thin actually, but this allows smooth application, without brush strokes or dragging the colour around. There is NO shrinkage like we get with Seche Vite, but it does have Seche Vite's awesome shininess. The drying time is a fraction slower than Seche's, but the polish still dries within a minute to the touch. Not rock hard in 60 seconds as it claims, but it's still fast enough for me. Revlon Quick Dry top coat doesn't get goopy quickly either.

My polish doesn't chip that much at it used to and Revlon is doing a pretty good job to keep it that way!

Cruelty Free & non-toxic

Revlon is cruelty free and non-toxic, which is all good in my book! I've received my initial bottle for review purposes, but as I'm on my 3rd bottle as we speak, consider me hooked!

UPDATE: Unfortunately Revlon is no longer considered a cruelty free brand. Please check this list for further reference.

Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat costs 8.95 EUR or appr. 5.75 USD for 14.7ml/0.5 Fl.Oz. Available at your local drugstore (DA Drogist in The Netherlands) or online at www.revlon.com

Essence - (S)Lime up!

Weird

I like them, weird colors. Unusual colors never seem to bore me, and they're sure something else amidst the usual pinks and reds. But there are times when weird just isn't flattering anymore. At least, that's how I feel about this lime creme by Essence called Lime Up! They sure love exclamation marks over at Cosnova.

It was to be expected I wouldn't be gung-ho on this color, since I couldn't embrace OPI's 'Who The Shrek Are You?' either. As you probably already know, these two colors are very much alike. They're not dupes though: Lime Up! is a bit on the lighter and less muted side than its more expensive semi twin. This color probably is a lot more flattering on those with darker skin than mine. I believe Lime Up! came out last fall and is now part of the core Colour & Go collection by Essence.

Application

The application was actually pretty good though, definitely not as bad as some other Essence polishes I've tried. I applied three coats and experienced no problems like bubbling or streakiness whatsoever. I've worn this color for four days without any signs of chipping or even tipwear. Quite impressive for a budget brand, I'd say! But four days of wearing this slimy color were more than enough, if you ask me.

Essence Colour & Go polishes cost 1.25 EUR or 0.99 USD for 5ml.

Chanel Mimosa

Les Fleurs d'été

Yesterday I finally managed to pick up Mimosa, Chanel's trophy polish for this summer. I haven't been watching the newest nail polish collections closely the last couple of months, however I did have my eye on this yellow show stopper.

Mimosa is part of Chanel's summer collection called 'Les Fleurs d'été' and is limited edition. Mimosa, named after the champagne drink, is a very bright, bold yellow that really does manage to remind me of sun, flowers and summer. There's no way around it, yellow is hot this season.

As we're used to by now, Mimosa has that secret shimmer you'll only notice in bright lighting or sunny weather. It doesn't really bother me, but it's something to keep in mind if you happen to be fond of this finish.

Application

Chanel polishes are truly hit or miss when it comes to application. Yellow polishes are infamous for this as it is, and Mimosa is no exception to this rule. After three sheer, streaky coats it finally looked somewhat even. I'm not sure what's causing these very different formulations; Paradoxal and the Khaki's applied like a dream, but Nouvelle Vague, Riva and Mimosa were a little disappointing. Especially considering their price!

I can't say much about the wear, since I haven't been wearing it long enough.

Chanel Mimosa costs 22 EUR or 25 USD and is available online at Chanel.com

Hiya / OPI DS Glamour

Hi!

Long time no see! I'm excited to make this post, it's been a while. I finally graduated and got my bachelor of Communication & Multimedia Design, so I can finally spend a little bit of my time on the more trivial things in life, like blogging about nail polish ;-).

I'd also like to thank everyone who has been so supportive, even during my break! Thanks so much for all the e-mails, comments and visits to this blog.

Unfortunately I haven't been swatching like I used to, so for today you'll have to put up with some old material. These pictures were taken during my vacation last year, which I actually spent with two nail polish bloggers. Great fun.

OPI DS Glamour

This is probably the last post on OPI products ever, since they're now owned by Coty, but I needed to share this particular polish. OPI DS Glamour is old, hard to find and probably way too expensive on Ebay nowadays. But hey, it's pretty. It's a blue holographic, not as holographic as some other OPI holo's from the same line, like DS Signature or DS Original, but still damn pretty.

Since summer just kicked in, I thought it was fitting to start off with something holo. What I like about these holo's are their application, it's super easy, and they hardly chip on me. Even without a top coat, which they don't even need because they're super shiny worn alone. Two coats and you're done. Too bad I can't buy new OPI anymore, right?

Out of the loop

I have to admit, I'm hardly aware of the latest nail polish collections, so I disabled my 'upcoming collections' widget for now. If they're are any super hot collections I *need* to know about, please let me know in the comments! My wallet and I will be super grateful.

My favorite drink during the summer

Quick Update

Sooo. I think I need to make a little update on my whereabouts. It all started out with my MacBook charger dying on me, so I was "offline" for over a month. I have to admit, during this time I actually enjoyed being offline and it put a lot of things in perspective really. I'm not one to write a dramatic post about how I'm quitting my blog, and then start blogging again. So I won't.

The thing is... I didn't really know what to do with this blog. So I put off writing this post for ages - sorry about that! There are some things that make me question my joy for blogging and they've got to do with the major changes the blogging community is going through. In The Netherlands we have several pro-bloggers, meaning they make their living off their blogs. That's great, but they also set up a bunch of rules a good or professional blogger should follow. Especially my Dutch readers picked up on that. But also in general, readers are getting more demanding as the blogging community grows bigger and more influental than ever before. Eventhough you're not a pro-blogger, people will have the same expectations.

I'm pretty nonconformistic, so I like to do the things my way. My blog started out for fun, to share a passion. And truth to be told, that's the way I prefer to blog. Becoming a professional blogger is not on my agenda. I don't like the pressure. That being said, I probably will update again, on my own terms and my own pace. Since I'm busy with work and finally getting my Bachelors degree at the same time, it won't happen as frequently as before. I'm asking you: please respect that, and don't give me a hard time about not updating frequently enough. Because honestly? There's more to life than blogging about nail polish.

I also like to grab this opportunity to say that there's no way I can know absolutely everything. For example: if you're wondering what the shipping will be from Canada to Germany, please just go through the checkout process to find out. I'd love to help everyone, but I simply don't have the time. I also have a FAQ, so please check it out before sending me an email. And for the people who are always trying to find and point out my flaws: I'm human, therefore not perfect. Deal with it.

So, this is what I had to get off my chest. I hope I didn't offend anyone, I just can't please everyone (even though I always try to). It was really heartwarming to see how many people messaged me wondering what was up. Thank you for that!

See you soon!

Zoya Flame Collection - Crystal - swatches & comparison

Zoya Flame Collection

Zoya's latest collection brings us six new metallic colors. You might have heard of the Zoya Fire & Ice collection, well, this is the same thing! They changed it into the Flame collection, rumor has it that it's because of Revlon, who trademarked the Fire & Ice phrase ages ago. Anyway, today I'll be showing you one of the prettiest polishes in this collection: Crystal, a frosty blue sparkling metallic.

Crystal

I'm not sure what to think of polishes who get named after women's names. I think it's lacking originality and it's a bit too easy as well. Thankfully, it's just a name. Crystal is a gorgeous cold, medium blue frosty polish with a bunch of golden flecks to spice it up.

As you can see the golden sparks in Crystal really compliment the icy, snowy blue color. For me this is the ultimate winter color. This may sound ridiculous to you, but this polish reminds me of winter fairies with golden locks. I know, right?

Application

Most Zoya polishes don't dry that well one me. Crystal does dry rather quickly, so yay for that. The formula was spot on, not too thick or thin, and completely opaque in three coats. Two coats would be quite okay already though.

Crystal versus Reflecting Pool

From the moment the first promoshots rolled in, I knew it had to be similar to OPI's Reflecting Pool. Reflecting Pool is quite hard to get since it was exclusively sold in certain European countries. Nowadays you'll usually find it on eBay for ridiculous prices.

Well, I did suspect both colors would be similar, but I was surprised to see they're dead on dupes! The formulas are very alike as well, so if you couldn't get your hands on Reflecting Pool, this is your chance!

Where to buy

You can get Zoya nail lacquers from their website: www.zoya.com and eBay. Zoya Crystal costs $7 for 15ml.

NOTD - OPI - Fiercely Fiona

From the Vault

Hi everyone! Just a quick update from me, I've kinda started working fulltime so I hardly have time to blog, I'm typing this during my lunch break! For today I have one of the Shrek Forever After colors by OPI: Fiercely Fiona. While I'm not a big fan of Shrek and this collection has been out for ages, I still think the colors are pretty cool. Fiercely Fiona is one of my favorites from Shrek Forever After. It's an odd color and that's why I like it so much. By now I have so many polishes and only a few are really something else. It's a green yellow, or a yellow green, you pick! It tends to look different on different skin tones, but on me I definitely see the green! I don't think I've seen anything like it so far!

Application

Unfortunately, this odd color doesn't apply very well. Fiercely Fiona is way too streaky: it's pretty much opaque in two coats, but you'll need three to even it out. Bummer. Other than that, if you're looking for a funky color, definitely check it out.

What do you think of weird colors?

Where to buy?

You can get OPI products at authorized OPI sellers, eBay, TD or other etailers.

Updated: Another OPI collaboration: OPI teams up with Katy Perry!

Hi guys! I promised to update this post when new info reaches the surface, so here we go! I've added some better pictures and additional information :). Still no news about they're Coty or L'Oreal adventure though..

OPI teams up with Katy Perry!

OPI isn't exactly sitting still when it comes to collaborations. Only recently I posted about their upcoming "Glam Slam" collection, which is a collab with tennis star Serena Williams. Right now I'm even more excited because word on the street is: they're also releasing a collection in collaboration with Katy Perry!

Katy Perry, an American singer-songwriter, is already becoming a nail icon for many. Just like her style, this polish line will be a versatile array of bright, fun colors and finishes! Inspired by Katy Perry's latest album - Teenage Dream - The Katy Perry Collection by OPI will contain four daring, bright colors.

Click to enlarge

• Last Friday Night (a fierce glittery blue)
• Not Like the Movies (a sultry silver)
• The One That Got Away (an amazing deep berry)
• Teenage Dream (a dreamy pink glitter)
• Black Shatter (crackle top coat)

Black Shatter

To compliment these four colors, OPI threw in Black Shatter as well. "Black Shatter" is a top coat that gives nails a cracked/leopardy look. So cool. The effect is extremely similar to Barry M's Instant Nail Effects in Black Magic, don't you think? This collection will be released in january, just like Serena's Glam Slam collection, so if you're feeling this, better save some money!

Curious to see how these look on the nail? Check out this vid!

The Katy Perry Collection by OPI will be available starting January 2011, at ULTA stores (www.ulta.com), for $9 per color. Also available in The Netherlands at authorized OPI Sellers for 13.95 EUR each (ouch..).

Chanel - Côte d'Azur Collection - Le Vernis Riva - Swatches & Review

Back from my break!

Hello everyone! Long time no see! As you might have noticed I took some time off from blogging, but I'm back. And with a long awaited review on Chanel newest nail polish: Riva.

There is already quite a buzz going around concerning this baby blue polish. I've heard it will cost $39 a bottle and apparently it is already sold out before even hitting the stores. Well, this is not true! With all these rumors going around, I'm almost expecting it to get at least half as famous as its big sister Jade.

Chanel's latest nail polish releases really knew how to grab me, I absolutely loved the Khakis and Paradoxal made it to one of my favorite polishes of the moment. But, will Riva have the same impact as these OR Jade? Let's see.

Secret Shimmer

After the promo photos had been posted, quite a few people were hoping Riva would be a light blue version of Jade. The promo shots showed us a marvelous shimmer, the same kind of shimmer that made Jade beyond famous. Unfortunately, this shimmer doesn't translate really well onto the nail. You'll need to get out your magnifying glass to make sure it's there. Other than that, I really love the color. Le Vernis Riva is part of the Côte d'Azur Collection and it does give me that relaxing, but joyful vibe. I have to admit though, without the shimmer this polish is nowhere unique. Chanel is a brand that usually sets the trends, but I don't think that's the case here..

Chanel Riva catching some sunbeams, almost no shimmer..

Formula

The first Chanel polish I ever bought was Nouvelle Vague. I loved everything about it, except the formula. After that I managed to get my hands on Particuliere, Les Khakis and Paradoxal. They proved me that Chanel is capable of making fantastic polishes when it comes to application. But, I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed in Riva. Riva's texture is a bit thick and streaky, which can lead to some bubbling. I have to say though, I was expecting Riva to be very sheer, but luckily it builds up to an opaque finish in three coats. I can't comment on the wear yet, since I only just got it..

Comparison

A lot of people were expecting Riva to look rather similar to Nouvelle Vague. As you can see, Riva is much blueer than Nouvelle Vague. And a whole lot lighter as well. I went through my stash to see if I had something similar, and while I don't own a lot of baby blue, I thought China Glaze's Moody Blue is quite close! A little bit more saturated than Riva, but still. Unfortuanely, you won't find Moody Blue that easily anymore, since it's pretty old..

Overall

Riva is absolutely beautiful, there's no denying that. Awfully unique? No, I personally don't think so. The formula doesn't really make up for that either, but it's nothing a drop of thinner can't fix. I am quite fond of this color, but I can understand if people don't want to pay $27 for something rather dupeable... So, what do you think of Riva?

Exclusively available in CHANEL Fashion Boutiques starting December 1st 2010. The price will be 25 EUR or 27 USD for 13 ml. I'm expecting these will be sold online as well starting the 15th of November. If you're in the US and you want to pre order, you might want to check out this link.

The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for review. For more information please read my disclaimer

Crank it up with Crackle: Barry M Instant Nail Effects - Black Magic

Hi Guys! As you might have noticed Crackle is huge these days: Crackle is back! There are quite some brands releasing crackle top coats at the moment, IsaDora, BYS, P2, OPI, Barry M and I think I'm still forgetting a bunch. Last year I ordered a Krackpolish from TransDesign and it did Jack. So don't order that one! But today I'll be showing you a crackling top coat that actually works: Instant Nail Effects by Barry M! There is a reason I'm posting this today, it's Halloween! And don't you think this polish makes you look like someone who just crawled out of their coffin? Muahaha.

Be quick

What I like about this matte black top coat is the fact you can see it work, it dries and crackles FAST. In fact, it starts cracking while you apply it, so you'll have to be rather quick. There is no need or time to apply it perfectly, just slap it on and you'll be fine. You'll only need one thin layer and make sure you don't overlap, because it messes with the crackle. It doesn't really work well will all kinds of top coats though. I found it works best if you apply your base color, use a quick drying top coat, let it dry and then apply the Crackle. And that way the matte effect stays intact!

Barry M Instant Nail Effects applied over 4 colors by Catrice: Clayton My Hero, Sold Out Forever, I Scream Peach! and London's Weather Forecast.

Play with Color!

As you can see the crackle comes in big chunks, almost making it look like the print of a giraffe. Seems like the new crackle is more like this, Black Shatter by OPI has a very similar effect, but if you like the dense crackle from back in the day I suggest looking into the one by BYS!
I applied Instant Nail Effects on top of several colors, and it looks very hot against a contrasting color, but I like the more subtle effect it gives on a closer color as well! I've seen this Barry M top coat applied over gold, and it looked smoking hot.

Overall

If you really like this Crackle effect I'd definitely recommend this top coat. It applies alright, but you do have to be quick. I love the fact it dries matte, it definitely adds to the deconstructed look! The price is alright too, depending on where you buy it, it will cost you around £3.99 / $6.40 / €4.60 for 10ml.

Where to buy

I noticed it's out of stock everywhere, but as soon as they'll restock you can buy Barry M Instant Nail Effects directly from their website or from Alice and Jo's Havesentials.
ETA: If you're Dutch you can check out this shop: www.beautyfocus.nl

Low Budget (Euro) Matte Top Coats Compared!

Euro - Brick & Mortar

Hi everyone! It's saturday, woohoo! Finally a little time to spend on the blog. For today I have something that will mostly interest Europeans since these brands are not (that easily) available elsewhere, so sorry about that!

I know there are a gazillion matte top coats out there, but I know a lot of people don't like to buy online, so for the people who can get their mitts on these brands I decided to compare three low budget matte top coats!

What top coats?

The top coats in question, are made by Hema, Essence and Catrice. I'll be mainly focusing on their mattifying abilities and their price, and not so much the wear as this is different for everyone.

Likes / Dislikes

As you can see there is one top coat that noticeably falls behind: the Hema matte top coat. It applies very nicely, but it's more satin looking. If this is your thing, I'd say check it out, if you're more into true mattes: skip it! I have reviewed this product before, saying it was not streaky, but today it definitely was! Not so cool. The other two are pretty much identical. They're both made by Cosnova, applied the same way, so I was wondering if these might be the same product in different bottles? Unfortunately I couldn't find ingredients anywhere - which is a major letdown - I think all products should have their ingredients attached to their back.
What I didn't like about the Essence and Catrice top coats was the fact the brushes pick up color. You don't want your top coat to change color, so don't forget to clean up the brush if it got dirty.

Cheap, Cheaper, Cheapest

The Essence Matt top coat costs €1.75 / 8ml, the one by Catrice is €1.99 / 12ml and the Hema will cost you €2.50 / 11ml. As you can see the one by Hema is the most expensive, but the least matte looking. If you want to go for a true matte, I'd suggest you look into the ones by Essence and Catrice. The Essence looks the cheapest, with its price of only €1.75, but is it REALLLLY? A little breakdown:

	Hema Top Coat Matt	Catrice Matt Top Coat	Essence Matt Top Coat
Price in €	2.50	1.99	1.75
Per ml	11	12	8
Price per 100ml	22.73	16.58	21.86

So, if you're looking for a decent, true matte top coat, for the smallest price, the one by Catrice wins hands down!

One product in this post was provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for review. For more information please read my disclaimer