OPI - Tease-y Does It

Hi dear readers !

Here's a polish from a recent OPI collection, Burlesque. This collection was released in the end of 2010 for the movie Burlesque with Chritina Aguilera and Cher. It contains 12 pretty shades, including 6 full of glitter ! I only got two of them, and today I'm going to show you a shimmer one, Tease-y Does It.

Tease-y Does It is a dark brown with a hint of purple and loads of red shimmer. It's very hard to capture it with artificial light, and you already know it's dark outside when I come back home :(
I tried to take different pics with and without flash, under different lights.

You can see the beautiful shimmer in those pics. It's really a gorgeous shade, easy to apply, quick drying, all those good things from OPI :p
In the pics below, you'll see it mattified with China Glaze Matte Magic. It was the first time I used this, and I love it, it's a pretty good matte top coat :)

Then I had some fun adding a french made with top coat (Catrice Quick Dry High Shine). It's easy and very discreet, a good way to change a little your "nails of the day" without too much work :p

What do you think of this polish ? I think I'll try it again during next summer to show you better pics :)
Oh, and did you see the movie ? I didn't, it's not really the kind of story I like ... What about you ? ;)

Dotted French

Hi dear readers !
I hope your weekend was fine. Mine was a bit busy like the whole week, but it's getting better :)

Today I'll show you a design I made on my nails last month (you'll see snow in the pics, but there's no more now ^^)
It's a classical dotted french mani, I've seen this many times on other blogs but didn't try it ... Now it's done :D

I used Blue my Mind by H&M for the french, and a white polish from H&M's summer pack for the dots.

Easy to make, but hard to get in picture, that blue isn't so flashy in real life :)

Wanna try this ? It's easy :)

Put a base polish. I use a clear nail whitener but you can use any pink or beige french base.
Apply your french in one or two coats, as needed. I used a thin paintbrush 'cause I prefer it to the polish brush, it's too thick for me to make a french line.
Draw a thin line, I used a silver liner from Stripe Rite*.
When the french is well dried, make white dots with a dotting tool.
You can also add a little bow (I used a Peggy Sage sticker) or a Konad design from your choice :)
Add top coat (Catrice Quick Dry High Shine for me) and you're done ! :D

Do you like it ?

*I bought my Stripe Rite liner in a Belgian beauty store some months ago. I paid 13€ (17$) for it, which is a "normal" price in our stores. I just discovered they were sold for around 3€ (4$) at Sally's ! I wanna go to the USA !!! :p

Essence Fashion Nail Stickers - Berlin Calling

Hi dear readers !

As I promised you, here's a review for Essence Fasion Nail Stickers ! I chose them in 02. Berlin Calling from the current I Love Berlin LE. Well, to be honest, the design didn't appeal me really. It's a black base with "I love Berlin" written in a bold gray font. Not that I don't like this city, but I never visited it, so  can't say :p
Anyway, except curious people and friends who know your love for nail design, who will read that, seriously ? :p

These came in a thin box containing 14 stickers in 7 different sizes. The most difficult step is to find yours :p
It was easy for me, the biggest matched my thumb, and the smallest matched my pinky. Then I had to play a little to find the best combo. You don't have to follow the sizes of the stickers from your thumb to your pinky; for example, the second smallest stickers matched my index !

Application is easy but you'll need a little time to center the stickers. Then comes an important thing !
I saw many girls who tried those and complained about many folds. I almost didn't have this issue, so here's how I did: I apply the stickers next to the cuticle, center it, then press it from left to right and back, from the cuticle to the tip, with a  rotating move like a massage. I think the folding problems come mainly from the size of the stickers on your nails, but if my tip can help, I'll be happy ^^

Finally, you just have to file what exceeds, the sticker will torn following your nail tip.
Let's go to the result !

As you can see, filing the stickers makes the color on it go, with that black design it's very unpretty :(
I think it can be OK with stickers that have a white or very clear base, but for darker shades you'll need to cover the borders with a similar polish shade to hide it.

The pic above shows the stickers with a very thin black polish border on tips, and top coat over all. Isn't it way better ? :p

This is to show you the little size problem I had with my thumb. It's base is square shaped, and all the stickers are round shaped, so there's a big blank between the cuticles and the sticker. That's not really ugly, but I think it made my thumb look like wearing a low quality falsie :p
I also had a size problem on my both middle fingers, I didn't find any right size, all were too large. I just cut a little and it was okay, but if you look closer you'll see an irregularity :)

Essence promises that the stickers last 5 days. The pic above shows my nails after the second day of wear including showers, typing work, some housekeeping (but nothing with water)
You can see some rests of the black polish but everything is almost gone, and the color of the stickers is chipping on the tips. At this point, the rest of the stickers is in a good state and they didn't start to peel off.

This is day 3, I didn't work that day but took showers and did some cleaning at home. The black on the thumb and index is even more gone, and some begin to peel off (especially the index and the sides of other stickers)

And this is when I decided to remove them ^^
Removal bothered me a bit, the center was still well stuck on my nails and I didn't like that feeling at all, it was like if I was pulling my nails ><
So I waited for the time to take a bath and let my nails soak in warm water before removng all. It was more easy then.

I forgot to mention that I used a base before applying the stickers. I used a ridge filler because I wanted my nails to be smooth so the stickers would adhere well, and I'm glad I did 'cause id avoided to peel the surface of my nails during the removal ! So, you SHOULD use a base coat with these, ridge filler or not :p

And to close this review, here are my thought about Essence Fashion Nail Stickers:
- designs are pretty with a good quality, but the color at the ends chips easilly
- easy to put on, no drying time except for that small polish line you'll use to hide the filing result
- a bit hard to peel off, too bad for sensitive nails
- doesn't stay 5 days as it is supposed to do

I think these are perfect for a one day event, a party, but definitely not to wear during the week instead of polishing your nails.
It's also good if you want an original design and can't do it by yourself, and/or can't go to a pro stylist.
I'll wear these again for sure, as they only cost 1,59€ (about 2$), which is not too much for a special manicure ;)

How do you feel about these stickers ? Have you tried them yet ?

OPI - No Spain, No Gain

Hi dear readers !
I'm really sorry for the lack of posts this week, but my boyfriend went to the hospital for some health problems so blogging and having my nails polished was the last of my worries. He's OK and safe now, so I can take some time to write again ! I also have a lot of pictures to sort and resize, unfortunately most of them were taken inside because of the weather, and are not as pretty as I want :(

For today I have a quick post with another gorgeous purple from OPI. I love purples, and I love OPI's quality, what to ask more :)

It's No Spain, No Gain from the España collection (fall 2009). I don't really know how to describe that shade, but I would say it's a berry purple as it contains more red than other purples I own.
At least it didn't turn blue in my pics, which are nearly accurate.

 It's very pretty and glossy, easy to apply and quick drying ... How not to love him ? :)
It's a bit darker in the pics than in reality :(

Sorry for the lack of cleaning in that last pic, but it's the most color accurate so I still wanted to show you it.

Do you like this shade ? :)
Next week, I'll be wearing Essence Fashion Stickers for the first time. I want to take a picture each day to show you how it stays on the nails :) I hope you'll like it (and I hope it will work for me lol)

Claire's 3 in 1 Nail Polish

Hi dear readers !
Today I have apolish that I was very curious about when I saw it in the shop: Claire's 3 in 1 polish !
This one comes in a bottle with 3 different layers: very light lavender, purple and dark purple. There are other combos at Claire's but I chose the less eccentric for a first try, you can get them in whit/blue/red, green/yellow/blue ...

First, I didn't really know how to use that thing. It was said on the bottle not to shake it, at least that point was okay for me (well, why would I buy something layered if it needed to be shaken in one colour ? :p )
So, I just dipped the brush and apply ... Here's the result !

So, the result is a very light lavender base with some purple strokes. While I was making some tests to find the best way to apply it, I found that you get more strokes if you bend the bottle a bit when dipping the brush. Doing that, you avoid to screw the cap on the bottle each time you need some darker shade.

It needed two coats to be totally opaque. As the only interest of this polish is the strokes, I'd advise you to use a random white or light lavender polish as a base before using that Claire's :)

So, what to think about that ?
- It's fun to use. Not easy to apply, but funny ^^
- It need a little practise to have a nice result
- It's not really spectacular (at least with this combo), from far it just looks like a lavender polish.

I want to try another shade of this collection, just to know if it blends as much as this one :) Perhaps the black/fushia ... I'll let you know when I try it ;)

Have you ever tried that kind of polish ?

OPI - The Color to Watch

Hi dear readers !

Today I have some OPI for you, from their winter 2010 collection: Swiss. I only got one shade from this collection, the others didn't appeal me so much as I already have some really similar colors.

So I chose The Color to Watch, a light purple shimmer with blue reflects.

Well, I'm not really sure if I like this one or not. First, it's very sheer, but I knew that before buying, that kind of shade is always sheer ... I also didn't like that the brush stroke showed a lot, that's a flaw I don't like in shimmer polishes :(

On the other side, it has a good quality and it dried fast, which made me forget about the 3-4 coats needed :p
The color is also very pretty, though my pics don't do it justice ;)

What do you think ? Did you get some shades from the Swiss Collection ?

China Glaze Anchors Away - Promo Pics

Hi dear readers !
Let me wish you all a happy New Year :D I hope the year to come will bring you the best (and perhaps a lot of polish, if you want lol ^^)

Here's what I got in my mailbox tonight ! Press info and pics about China Glaze's Spring 2011 collection, Anchors Away !

ALL HANDS ON DECK

China Glaze Introduces 12 New Glitters And Crèmes For Spring 2011

Los Angeles, CA – (October 2010): Sail away this spring in 12 nautically-inspired colors from China Glaze. These bold and confident brights are reminiscent of a carefree natural getaway, with soft ethereal hues that inspire leisurely thoughts of sand and sea. Colors in this collection include:

·        Life Preserver: Highly pigmented and luxurious poppy crème.  

·        Hey Sailor: Vibrant crème red.  

·        Ahoy!: Delightfully intense pink that flashes with reflective glass speck.

·        First Mate: Sophisticated and rich navy crème.

·        Starboard: Hip and playful green crème.  

·        Lighthouse: Multi-dimensional, bright yellow glass speck.

·        White Cap: Whimsical and sparkling multi-dimensional white.

·        Pelican Gray: High shine, cool toned grey crème.  

·        Sea Spray: Calming pale blue crème.  

·        Below Deck: A flirty mix of taupe and violet.

·        Sunset Sail: Delightful peachy pink high shine crème.  

·        Knotty: Micro-particle beige shimmer.

This spring, take a relaxing trip to the shore and sail away with China Glaze. Stop and smell the sea breeze!

The China Glaze Anchors Away collection will be available in two 6 piece acetates, a 12 piece display, a 36 piece rack, and as open stock colors.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.

China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit:www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries

For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women.  Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks,  Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s,  and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.

Sooo, what do you think about this collection ? I first thought they were a bit too "classical", but now there are some swatches on the web and some look very, very pretty ! I'm especially needing Sea Spray, the light blue in the pics above.

Which one(s) will you get ?