Water Marble Magic

My first water marble

Hi guys! For today I've got something different from usual: a water marble. My first one actually! Well.. the first one I didn't immediately want to wipe off ;). It's still not how I wanted it to look, and it's nothing compared to others', but I wanted to share anyway! If you're not familiar with this technique: water marbling is putting drops of nail polish into water, creating patterns with a stick and dipping your finger in it. There are many tutorials on this crafty business but definitely get inspired by Colette from My Simple Little Pleasures, because she's got super duper water marble skills!

The polishes I used were Nox Twilight Beauty Crush - a very bright pink - and It's You! by Misa - a duochrome-y dark shade! Not all polishes will work for water marbling but the well pigmented ones are usually fine. There are several ways to avoid getting those dirty fingers, taping and vaseline for example. Vaseline (or unpetroleum jelly in my case) worked really well for me, you apply it on your skin and cuticles and after you're done, you can wipe the polish off - just like that! I got this tip from Michelle from The Lacquer Files, thanks girl!

I hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for stopping by!
- With love, Michèle

Misa Winter Collection 2010/2011: Spark My Interest - swatches & review

Misa Spark My Interest

"Whether you’re hitting the clubs in South Beach or sipping martinis in a Manhattan high-rise, you’ll need nails that glimmer as bright as the surrounding lights. Misa Cosmetics’ latest collection, Spark My Interest, pays homage to the glitz and glamour of nightlife and romantic intrigue—because nighttime nails should never fade into the background. The six brilliant hues are saturated with shine, thanks to the thousands of glittering particles packed into each polish, guaranteeing that nails remain the center of attention all summer long."

Hi guys! Today I have a review for you on Misa's latest 6-piece collection for winter called Spark My Interest. With polish names including a lot of "spark", "bling" and "glitz", I suspected a lot of shimmer and glitter, but were my high expectations met? Read on to find out!

Date Nights to the Twilight

Let's kick this off with my favorite of the collection, I really do love purple and it's the least conventional color in this collection. Date Nights to the Twilight is a foily shimmery medium purple, not too blue, not too red, somewhere in the middle. Very pretty.

Red Pumps at the Nordstrom

A metallic red. My camera didn't really pick up the detail in this polish, because it's a lot more interesting in real life. I threw in a macro shot so you'll get the idea. I don't really like metallic reds, especially in this particular shade. According to the press release this would be a sparkly ruby red, and it isn't. I hate to say it.. but this one looks a bit.. cheap?

Wink, Blink, Let's get a Drink

Wink, Blink, Let's get a Drink is a very pretty dark berry, plum-y color that does remind me of a good wine. I love the shimmer in this one, it's not as flat looking, not as glowy as I wished it would be, but still pretty nice and very fit for a sophisticated look.

Glitz, Glamour, Smile for the Camera

Just like Date Nights to the Twilight, this is more of a foil than anything. The press release said glam glitter, but hmmmm. This one is a pretty fuchsia, quite a fun color, and probably flattering to a lot of skintones! Foils tend to have great application so that's a huge plus.

Spark My Heart, that's a Start

This isn't just a pink, Spark My Heart, That's a Start, is more of a coral pink with a pink flash. This one is where a foil meats the metallic finish I think. I'd say pretty interesting for a pink. Somehow I can't remember the name of this polish correctly, in my head I keep naming it "Kickstart My Heart" like the Mötley Crüe song, ha!

Pink Bling On My Ring

According to the press release Pink Bling On My Ring is a shocking hot-pink glitter. And again... it's not. It's not very shocking, definitely not a glitter either. I wish it was though, because this almost looks a bit frosty? Definitely a nice shade of pink though, not too boring.

Overall

This is a difficult review for me, I absolutely love Misa, I fell madly in love with their latest fall collection, Toxic Seduction is one of my all time favorites! I love their bottles and their awesome application. And all of these polishes are no exception to this rule, they're all top notch quality. ALL of these were near one-coaters. I applied two layers for the pictures though, but if you're careful enough you can get away with one. They apply so well. They glide on, dry fast and smooth, it's really bordering perfection.

But! I don't know if it's just me, this doesn't look much like winter. Have you noticed this line in the press release: "remain the center of attention all summer long.". All summer long? ....Mhmm. These do look pretty to me, especially Date Nights to the Twilight and Wink, Blink, Let's get a Drink, but they indeed look like fun, playful summer colors.
After Misa's fall collection - What I Like About You - everyone's expectations immediately sky rocketed. For winter I would have expected more drama, more glitter, more depth, more variety. Winter/Holiday collections are often the most extravagant show stoppers of the year. If colors like these are your thing, I'd definitely buy these, they're pure quality. But for me, this isn't really cutting it..

Boozyshop

The products in this post were provided to me for review by Boozyshop. Boozyshop is an awesome Dutch webshop, that sells a lot of great brands like Diamond Cosmetics, Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics, Misa, Color Club, Orly and a whole lot more! (makeup too). They carry the entire Misa line and they cost 6.95 EUR each for a bottle of 15ml. Boozyshop ships throughout most of Europe, if you're not sure they ship to your country, don't hesitate to contact the owner Maaike, because she's incredibly helpful! Misa is also available on eBay and other etailers like TD or Head2Toe.

Opposites attract! Guest blog on Grazia Daily

Guestblog over at Grazia Daily!

Hi guys! A while ago I was asked to write a little post for Grazia Daily. Lauren posts a lot of cool nail news this section called Grazia Daily Nail, including her own manicures. I'm extremely honored they have asked me! I made two manicures for them, which you can see in this post. If you want to know more about these please check out the blogpost over at Grazia Daily

Nox Twilight Beauty - Crush

Crush

Maybe you remember my post on Disco Darling by Nox Twilight Beauty? Today I'm showing you Crush. Crush is a perfect pink neon, kapoww!
Until recently neons didn't do much for me, but I'm really starting to digg them. They're fun, create an instant tan, and they sure attract a lot of conversation.

Application

Like a lot neons this one dries semi matte, so in order for you to get that high gloss I'd recommend using top coat. I'm really impressed by the quality of the polishes within this line, they're really easy to handle and the colors are quite cool! Crush needed 3 coats for complete opacity, not bad at all, after all, it is a neon!
Of course I still think the names could've been more Twilight-y, but I won't get into that every time.

You can order these at www.twilightbeauty.com for $6.99 each (for 17ml/0.58oz woohoo!) or the entire collection for $65 (12 shades!). If you don't live in The States you can check their UK distributor www.simplebeauty.co.uk to see if they ship to your country!

The products in this post were provided to me by Nox Twilight Beauty for consideration - for more information please read my disclaimer

Diamond Cosmetics - Sparkling Sherry

Hi guys! What's up? The weather here is incredibly hot and my laptop is burning my lap as well, so I'll keep this a short post. Today I'm showing you my what was actually my first encounter with the brand Diamond Cosmetics. (I know I've posted about Monarch Masquerade earlier, but I tried this one first). As always, trying out a new brand, I was a bit afraid in terms of the quality: will it be thick or goopy or streaky. Well, this polish was none of this stuff. I kinda fell in love with it actually. And let me tell you why! The color is really rich, a beautiful glowy and sexy deep magenta, with a really great foil finish. And, this was believe it or not a one coater. I don't come across many one coaters so I was thrilled. It went on very smoothly, I think this one might end up as one of my go to polishes when I'm in a hurry!

This polish was sent to me for review by Boozy Shop. Boozy Shop is a lovely Dutch webshop, that sells a lot of great brands like Diamond Cosmetics, Essie, Sinful Colors, Milani, Wet 'n Wild and they even carry the famous 88 palettes. They ship throughout most of Europe, if you aren't sure if they ship to your country, don't hesitate to contact the owner, because she's incredibly helpful!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
- Michèle

OPI DS Signature

Hi everyone! Is everyone enjoying the summer and celebrating the sunny weather with a fair share of holographics? I know I am! OPI Signature from the Designer Series is actually a polish I used up, yes, to the last drop! I got it back in 2008, paid full retail price of 20 euros and didn't even regret it. So I was pretty bummed when I used it up. I usually wore this on my toes, it's so much fun in summer! And yes I've posted about it before, but I figured it deserved somewhat better swatches.

Reunited again

Michelle from TheLacquerFiles was incredibly sweet to fill that OPI DS Signature void in my heart and gave me hers, since it wasn't her color. And guess what...

...I still love it! The formula of this polish is perfect, it glides on smoothly without being runny. It does need 3 coats, but they dry fast and you can easily apply thin ones. I didn't even use a top coat, see how shiny it is on its own. The mauve/pinkish color is a bit conservative maybe, but the holo effect gives a nice twist to a decent color.

This holo is more of the scattered type, and in the shade it looks like in the picture below. The holographic effect is definitely toned down but it left a pretty depth anyway.

Well dear readers, this was it for today! Thanks for stopping by and have the best weekend!
- Michèle

H&M New colors for spring + swatches

Last week I was doing some quick shopping and luckily I stumbled upon 4 new colors by H&M! I think they're quite new because two weeks ago they weren't there. H&M always manages to surprise me, because they add new colors to their selection often!

I love that these are happy bright colors, which is kinda refreshing after all the pastels we've been seeing lately (not that I don't love those ;-) ). It may look like these are all cremes, but in reality they're all shimmery polishes. Personally I would've liked them better as cremes, but still, I think they're pretty cute!

U Are Smokin Hot - I'm not really a orangy type a person, but I love this one! I applied 2 coats and this one had the best application out of the four. I love that it's such a happy color. I don't really care for the names H&M came up with, but hey, at least they're trying! ;-)

Aquatini - This name I didn't mind that much. Aquatini is a turquoise shimmery polish, although the shimmer doesn't feel like showing up on photos. I applied 2 coats, but I think it needs 3. Thing is, the formula of this polish was rather goopy, so 3 coats would have left me with a very wobbly surface, so I decided against it. Normally I would thin it, but I'm all out of thinner! :-O

Material Girl - It's pretty, if you love pink. It has a blueish flash which I adore. On the downside, there are a gazillion polishes like this. It does pop, so it's still a very entertaining color. Again, I applied 2 rather goopy coats.

Just a Fling - A pretty medium violet/purple, with some red undertones. Like Aquatini, it needs 3 coats, but I only applied 2. Very delicate shimmer.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with the colors H&M came up with, but in the end, I found the formula of all of these a bit disappointing. Not that it's that bad, but I guess I was expecting a lot more from these, since all of my other H&M polishes apply like a dream! What do you think of the new colors?

With that said, I'm wishing you a good night! Thanks for stopping by and till next time :-)

And the winners are ..... *drumroll*

So finally! My giveaway has ended and I'm about to announce 2 lucky winners. First of all: boy I need to thank you all so much for participating and following me! I've had 299 comments, worth of 404 entries! This was definitely beyond my expectations, overwhelming to say the least. Needless to say I've had a lot of work sorting everything out, haha!
While I was on this I caught some cheaters too, I'm not as dumb as you might have thought, ha ha (I did think it was pretty lame though).

Well with no further ado, I present to you the two winners:

Set 1:

Set 2:

I used www.random.org to determine the winners, and kept everyone's preference in mind.

Congratulations ladies! I will be e-mailing you shortly.

Of course I feel the need to add some nail spam, so here is Sinful Senorita by H&M, a gorgeous pink with great application. And you might not think it is, but it's definitely a holo in better lighting.

Take care and till next time!

OPI - La Paz-itively Hot! Matte

Hi guys! How's everyone doing? Today is such a grey day, it's raining for hours now. And what do we do in sucky weather? Right! Wear bright and happy nail polish.
I decided to go with one of the mattes by OPI that I actually like. Don't get me wrong, I love the suedes, but most of their mattes are really not that great. This one, however, is.

It's La Paz-itively Hot and I'm enjoying this bright, almost neon, pink color a lot. It also has a slight shimmer which adds that little bit of depth I need. Unfortunately it's a 3 coater, but it dries super fast, so I don't really mind! What colors do you love to wear when you want to cheer yourself up?

OPI - DS Signature

Hi everyone! Since I took out one my favorites the other day, I thought I'd share this other favorite with you too. It's Signature from OPI and it belongs to the Designer Series that came out in 2008, I believe. I really like the fact that it's holographic and still pretty shiny. You can't really tell I didn't apply a top coat. It also dries pretty fast, I applied 3 coats, wet on wet, without my fast drying top coat and after 15 minutes it was pretty much dry.

I've actually worn this so often that the bottle is about empty! :-(. Do you ever finish a bottle or do you own so many bottles it's nearly impossible?