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.