China Glaze "Brownstone"

Today I'm wearing China Glaze "Brownstone". 
It's a brownish red & so lovely! IMO these kinds of reds are much more sexy than your usual red polish - browned reds are the colors of a vixen :-D 

The application was great, I used two coats to get complete opacity. The polish is very glossy, too - what's not to love?!


As Brownstone has such a strong 1940s femme fatale vibe (at least to me ;-)) I decided to wear it with a (somewhat) matching lipstick & went for MAC "Retro". (As I have pretty pigmented lips, it shows up on me much lighter than it actually is.)

Thanks for looking :-)

Happy Halloween!

I've to admit, I was too lazy to do a Halloween inspired nailart :-o 
Thankfully a welcome guest showed up to help me spice up my manicure (ChG "Starboard" which isn't as bilious green IRL), but please see for yourself:

*please click to enlarge*

Thanks for looking :-)

Orly "Oui"

Orly "Oui" is a lovely purple/gold foil polish. It's similar to OPI "It's My Year" but with a bluer base. It's pretty awesome if you love purple polishes with a twist, depending on the lighting it can look more purple-y blue or more plum:

You'll need two-three coats (I think I did three in these pics) to get the color completely opaque, but it's absolutely worth it. I think the color looks very festive & oh so sparkly.


Thanks for looking :-)

YSL "Black Bronze"

Today I'm showing you the last polish of the YSL "New Blacks" collection, "Black Bronze".
The shimmer in "Black Bronze" is a bit more obvious than in the other two polishes "Black Indigo" & "Black Lapis" you can even detect a hint of it in the shade:

*please click to enlarge*

The formula was as perfect as the one of the other two "New Blacks" polishes, you merely need two coats.

I really couldn't pick a favorite of the three polishes, I like them all equally much.

Thanks for looking :-)

YSL "Black Lapis"

Today I'm showing you the second polish of the YSL "New Blacks" collection, "Back Lapis". It's a blackened blue, wonderfully smooth & elegant looking. When the sun hits it, you can see the green shimmer particles which are invisible in the shade:

*please click to enlarge*

As with "Black Indigo" the formula was absolutely perfect, thick & easy to apply. I did two coats, but one thick coat would do, too.

Thanks for looking :-)

YSL "Black Indigo"

"Black Indigo" is part of YSL's "New Blacks" collection which also contains two other nail polishes, namely "Black Bronze" & "Black Lapiz" which I'll show you within the next few days.


From YSL: "Incandescent pearl blends with black to reveal the radiant colors that grow bolder on the nail with unexpected reflections of fake blacks."


"Black Indigo" is a blackened purple (rather than indigo - at least IMO- my BF insists it looks blue in the shade...) & therefore - as the name suggests - almost black, but still with the most delicate hint of purple & amazing sparkle when the sun hits it.
Last year I would have dismissed such shades as "boring", but this year I love them! Tastes change & that's a good thing in my book ;-) Otherwise I'd have missed this awesome collection.

It was so hard to capture the lovely sparkle, so please bear with me as my pic doesn't have the best quality:

*please click to enlarge*

YSL polishes have the best quality ever & they always look so elegant! 

Their formula is definitely on the thick side, but not thick as in "goopy", but rather as in "creamy & rich". Out of habit, I did two coats, but you really only need one. The polish glides on the nail & is simply a pleasure to apply.

Thanks for looking :-)

Illamasqua "Freak" Launch

The biggest launch in Illamasqua's history, our Debut fragance Freak today launches across www.illamasqua.com, across our Selfridges counters and Flagship store in the UK and an immediate roll out across Australia, Sephora, Croatia and Dubai in the coming weeks! Sephora.com will go live from 2nd week of November and Sephora stores from March!


To be the first to Freak visit http://www.illamasqua.com/shop/catalogue/category/freak-fragrance/products/freak-75ml-eau-de-parfum/355/ 

This exotic and unconventional scent is not alone...to accompany the launch of Freak, we have created a capsule collection of three Limited Edition products whose shades reflect the rare blooms that make up this concoction of dangerously exotic unconventional flowers.  

Embracing the mysterious histories of their namesakes are hardwearing Nail Varnish in Hemlock (pale opal green iridescent), the nocturnal heart of Pure Pigment in Queen of the Night (blackened plum), and a sensual Sheer Lipgloss in Datura (neutral mauve).


The capsule collection is also included in a Limited Edition Gift set, comprising Freak, Nail varnish in Hemlock, Pure Pigment in Queen of the Night and the exclusive Sheer Lipgloss in Datura. The gift set is available for £80, offering a saving of £21 and makes the perfect Christmas gift - or a little indulgent treat for a make-up lover.

Nubar "Elegant Indigo"

Today I'd like to show you a duochrome glitter polish: Nubar "Elegant Indigo".

"Elegant Indigo" has a blackened blue base filled with blue & purple glitter particles. The duochrome is more prominent in the bottle than it is one the nails, but it's there if you look close:

*please click to enlarge*

I did three coats in these pics & had no problems whatsoever with the formula. The glitter is also very smooth, so you don't need more than one layer of TC.

Lately I'm such a sucker for all these dark moody colors, so "Elegant Indigo" fits in perfectly.

The glitter is rather subdued, so even people that usually aren't that much into glitter might like this one.


Thanks for looking :-)

Chanel "Pirate"

Chanel "Pirate" (as well as two other polishes, "Rose Caché" & "Rose Exubérant") accompanied Chanel's Rouge Allure Velvet lipstick release. First I didn't really care for "Pirate" - but then I found out it's a jelly! As I love jellies - especially red jellies - it was obvious that I needed to have this one in my stash :-D


It's a subdued, never too bright red & while it has a blue undertone, it should look gorgeous on a variety of skintones. Depending on the lighting, it can look a little darker, almost bordering on ruby or rather vivid & bold. It's incredibly shiny, too! 


As reds are notoriously hard to photograph, I can't guarantee you that my swatches are 100% true to life, but I did my best to show you "Pirate" as good as I can:

Even though "Pirate" has a jelly finish, it's pretty opaque & 2 thick coats should do. In these pics I did 3 thin ones & it dried very quickly. 
In my pics you might see a little VNL peeking through, but I assure you it's absolutely invisible IRL.
If you love red jellies as much as I do, I think you'll love this one.


Thanks for looking :-)

a-england "Tristam"

Today I'd like to show you a really gorgeous scattered holographic polish: a-england's "Tristam", a beautiful dark blue. The scattered holo can only be seen in the sun, but then it's glorious! It reminds me of a night sky with sparkling stars in various colors.

*please click to enlarge*

The formula is pretty thick, so you might get away with only one coat, but I did two anyway.
This might be the glossiest holo in my stash, you really don't need a top coat for this one, but I applied one coat of Poshe on top since I wasn't sure how long it would need to dry.


Thanks for looking :-)

SpaRitual "Sacred Ground"

Finally "Sacred Ground" is mine *yay* 
I was lemming it since several months & now it's here :-) I can't tell you how much I love this polish. It has a mix of a foil & a glassfleck finish with grey - or rather graphite -, gold & purple particles. Totally stunning!

*please click to enlarge*

The formula was also a dream to apply & even better: It's a 2 coater. 

Thanks for looking :-)

Glitter Gal "Lizard Belly"

Glitter Gal "Lizard Belly" is a blackened green, I wish it was a teensy bit lighter, but oh well, you can't have it all, I guess *lol*
It's a linear holographic polish which you can also see in the shade:

In the sun (or in this case: with flash) the stunning holo comes fully to life (please excuse my ghostly white hands, my flash always does this to me *sobs*):

*as always, please click to enlarge*

The formula is absolutely fantastic, you can get away with only one coat because the formula is on the thicker side.

If you like holos, this one is definitely worth getting!

Thanks for looking :-)

MAC "Coco Clay"

"Coco Clay" came out with the MAC Fall Color Collection 2011. MAC describes it as "warm chocolate" & while I don't think it's warm but rather neutral toned, the description "chocolate" is definitely spot on. It looks exactly like milk chocolate, totally drool worthy *lol*

The formula was pretty sheer, so 3 coats are needed to reach opacity. Otherwise the polish was really easy to apply, not streaky or anything like that.
If you like brown polishes, you might want to give this one a try.


I've a few other, non polish related pics for you. Today was a pretty sunny day & Dorian enjoyed the good weather standing on our porch:

I also saw several butterflies, among them a small tortoiseshell:

Thanks for looking :-)

Rescue Beauty Lounge "Fortissimo"

"Fortissimo" is a dark brown, bordering on black with a slightly green undertone. I think people who aren't into polish (= muggles) could easily mistake it as black, but when you take a closer look it becomes obvious that it's not really black, but clearly brown.

The formula is pretty much perfect. Two coats is all you need. There's not much more to say about this polish. It's dark & edgy, but not totally unique. As I wanted the whole collection, I'm happy I have it in my stash, though.


Now to something totally unrelated that I would like to share with you nevertheless. There are still sunflowers blooming in our garden & the tons of rain did them well *yay*
I took the pic below this afternoon:

Thanks for looking :-)

Rescue Beauty Lounge "Pizzicato"

"Pizzicato" might be my favorite color from the RBL "L'Oiseau de Feu" collection. It's a lavender with silver glitter & such a delicate color that I can't hardly stop staring at my nails.


Unfortunately, since two days it's raining nearly non-stop here in the northern part of Germany & I had a really hard time to take a halfway decent pic. Even though I have an OTT light, it didn't help much... I still have to figure out how to take good pics using my OTT light. To be honest I'm trying since quite a while without any success - everything comes out blurry *duh*


So please bear with me, this is the best photo I was able to take (as always, please click to enlarge):

I had some issues with streaking & it took 3 coats to even out everything & to get the polish opaque. But the color is defintely worth the hassle. Even though you might argue it looks too spring-y to wear in fall, I can assure you that it really lifted my spirits & helped me dealing better with all the rain.


Thanks for looking :-)

Rescue Beauty Lounge "Poco a Poco"

"Poco a Poco" is also part of the Rescue Beauty Lounge Pre-Fall "L'Oiseau de Feu" collection.
It's a muted pink with pink-orange micro-shimmer that really glows. Depending on the lighting, it can look either a lighter pink or more muted & it reminds me of a fresher version of Essie "Demure Vixen".
The shimmer becomes more visible in sunlight, but even in the shade you can still detect a hint of it.

Indirect sunlight:

Shade:

It took 3 coats to reach complete opacity. I didn't have any issues with the forumula, it was pretty much streak-free.
IMO this is an office-friendly color with a kick, I really like it!


Thanks for looking :-)

Rescue Beauty Lounge "Più Mosso"

RBL's "Più Mosso" is part of their L'Oiseau de Feu (= firebird) Pre-Fall 2011 collection.

It's a blackened indigo color with copper microshimmer. In daylight or indoors you can't see much of the shimmer, but in bright sun or artifical light the polish comes to life showing it's hidden shimmer which looks absolutely gorgeous.

Indoors:

Artificial light:

It's opaque with 2 coats & a dream to apply as it simply glides on the nails.

In case you'd like to amp up the shimmer, you could perhaps add a coat of CND "Copper Shimmer", but IMO  "Copper Shimmer" is too intense & would change the indigo base color too much. Maybe a mix of "Copper Shimmer" & clear polish would do the trick. I think I'll try it out soon!

Thanks for looking :-)

Alessandro "Be My Angel"

The polish I want to show you today is "Be My Angel" from the Alessandro collection "Love & Romance" which was released this spring & contains 4 pastel colored nail polishes.
The only one I got is "Be My Angel", a pearly white with a satin finish:

I added a layer of Poshe to make the finish more shiny. The formula was a bit streaky, but nothing you couldn't deal with. I did 3 coats - which are definitely needed if you want opacity.


Thanks for looking :-)

OPI "Swimsuit...Nailed It!"

"Swimsuit...Nailed It!" is a bright blue foil polish that looks like the water in a swimming pool. In the sun it's super sparkly. 
The formula is great, only two coats were needed to reach opacity. Nothing more to say about this color, so let's take a look at the pics, shall we?


In the shade:

In direct sunlight:

Thanks for looking :-)

Layla Magneffect "Turquoise Wave"

Today I'd like to show you a magnetic polish from the Italian brand "Layla Cosmetics". It's called "Turquoise Wave" & is blue-ish green polish with a metallic finish. But fear not, even though it's metallic (& therefore dries a teensy bit brushstroke-y), it looks absolutely gorgeous. 
The clue is the magnet that will form a striped pattern. It's integrated in the bottle cap (which I think is a clever solution because this way, you won't loose it). 
The polish is on the thick side, so one coat is all you need. After you painted one nail, you'd want to hold the magnet over it immediately, because once the polish's dried, the magic won't work anymore. 
You would want to hold the magnet as close to the nail as possible for ~ 5 seconds, then the stripes will show up.
The polish contains iron particles that react to the magnet & form the following pattern:

Illamasqua "Freak" Eau de Parfum review

The British brand Illamasqua is about to release their first fragrance, called "Freak".

TOP NOTES

Black Davana, Opium Flower and Belladonna bewitch the senses into uncontrollable  lust and passion.

HEART NOTES

Poison Hemlock, Datura and Queen of the Night blossom, caress and kiss.

BASE NOTES

Aromas of Frankincense, Oud and Myrrh, addictively mesmerises and captures the senses.

Yesterday I had a lovely black package in the mail which contained a small bottle of "Freak":

This is how the press release describes the fragrance:

The rich and daringly provocative opening notes of Black Davana cast a magical spell of desire across the senses to celebrate the night. This compelling burnt orange bloom base is highly prized the world over for its ability to enhance the wearer's natural perfume. The subtle mustiness of Posion Hemlock haunts the background tone of Freak, adding alluring depths of mystery.

Datura, the Moonflower, an intoxicating scent that has long been used as a heady aphrodisiac.

The exquisitely rare Queen of the Night blooms fleetingly for a single night each year, and completes this daringly provocative concoction with its warm, soft floral scent touched with sweetness.

With the help of Master Perfumer, Azzi Glasser, Illamasqua has created a powerfully addictive potion.

I've been wearing "Freak" since I received the package & I've to say that I'm really smitten with this fragrance.

It starts out fairly strong & it stays that way. It's a heady fragrance, so if you prefer light fresh scents, you should look elsewhere. 

The top notes are slightly sweet & floral, but you'll already notice that there's something darker laying just under the surface. The Davana is quite prominent with it sweet balsamic smell. Davana is known for its soothing, strengthening qualities.

Then the spicy notes kick in & they stay until the drydown. The spices & floral notes mix perfectly creating a scent unlike anything else I've smelt before. It's dark, but also soothing & I'd say it's absolutely unisex. I spritzed some on my BF & it smelled great on him, too. His skin emphasizes the spicy notes, making the whole compostion smell even darker.

"Freak" slightly reminds me of the Ormonde Jayne perfumes, mainly "Ormonde Woman", in case you're familiar with them.

Mind you, they smell nothing alike, but maybe it's the use of Hemlock that made me draw this comparison. The resinous note of Hemlock has a really unique smell, it's spicy, a bit musty (but in a very compelling way) & sultry - all in all simply stunning. Hemlock is a type of spruce, also known as Mountain Hemlock.

If you like dark, heady fragrances, you should really try this one. It's perfectly suited for fall & winter. But I could also imagine that it'll be polarizing love or hate fragrance. IMO it goes very well with the brand's image.


"Freak" will be available in one size - 75 ml EdP - that will retail for 59 GBP.
You can pre-order it from tomorrow, Octobrer 3rd, at illamasqua.com.


With the release of "Freak", Illamasqua will also bring out a nail varnish in "Hemlock" (pale opal green iridescent), a pure pigment in "Queen of the Night" (blackened plum) & a sheer lipgloss in "Datura" (neutral mauve).

Please also take a look at the great "Freak" video:

*Sample sent for review*

Orly "Royal Navy"

"Royal Navy" is - like the name already suggests - a royal blue jelly loaded with  tiny turquoise glitter particles.


I already did a jelly sandwich mani with it here (please scroll down to the 5th photo), but I think it deserves another post to show it in all its beauty.


Unfortunately, the glitter in this polish tends to sink to the bottom of the bottle, so you'd want to give it a whole lot of shaking before using it or even turn it on its head for a while. 
This is what I did anyway to get the glitter to show up well. These pictures show 3 coats, but you can also get away with only two.


*Please click to enlarge*

Orly "Androgynie"

So I've heard lots of bad things about this polish & guess what: They're all true!
"Androgynie" looks stunning in the bottle. It's a black jelly with fine gold glitter, multicolored prismatic glitter particles as well as large multicolored hex glitter.
Doesn't that sound in fab...(at least in theory)?! 
So far, so good :-D


Well, now the bad news: 
The hex glitter particles don't make it out of the bottle! *duh* I'm not sure why that is. There are lots of them & they don't even sit at the bottom of the bottle or anything like that. Still they seem to be really shy & prefer to stay in the safety of their familiar bottle-home *lol*
I read thinning would help, but as the formula is already a bit on the runny side, I haven't tried it, yet. 
Instead I decided to layer "Androgynie" over a black base. As basecolor, I chose my favorite black of all time, Illamasqua "Boosh". It's opaque with one coat & simply the shiniest black I've ever seen.


Then I layered one coat of Orly "Androgynie" on top. The gold glitter shows up pretty well, but to get more of the lovely hex glitter particles to show up, I used a toothpick to apply a few more to my nails. It was a bit of work, but manageable.


*Please click to enlarge*

Even though I wish the formula was easier to work with & no "glitter-toothpick-ing" would be necessary, I've to say that I still like the polish. I don't have anything like it in my collection, so IMO it's worth the hassle.

YSL "Wintergreen" spiced up!

Last week I was so excited to finally get YSL "Wintergreen", a polish I was lemming since quite a while. It's my first YSL polish!
But to be honest: it left me a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it's a really nice polish with an awesome formula (one thick coat is all you need), but it's not all that unique. 
It's quite a bit darker than it looks on most online swatches that I saw & the shimmer doesn't show up at all - unless you're holding your hands under bright artificial light. In the sun, you can detect a teensy hint of shimmer - but only because you already know it's supposed to be there *lol*
It's a dark blue-tinged green, boardering on teal with a very subtle teal shimmer. Even though the shimmer looks almost goldish teal in the bottle, there's not the slightest bit of gold once it's on the nail.


Wanna take a look? Here we go (as always: *please click to enlarge*):

If only it looked as awesome as it does in the bottle:

So I decided it needed to be spiced up :-D To do so, I used one coat of Nubar "Supernatural Gold" & one coat of CND Effect "Teal Sparkle":

While I like the result, I think you could easily achieve a similar look using a less expensive teal as a base. Something like e.g. CND "Urban Oasis" should do the trick as well.
Unless you're a huge YSL fan, I'd strongly recommend sampling it in store (if you have the chance to do so) before committing to purchase.

Cult Nails "Quench" Jelly Sandwich

Hi guys :-)


Today I'm wearing a jelly sandwich manicure with Cult Nails "Quench", a beautiful blood red jelly which I just got in a swap with a very sweet lady.
"Quench" has the perfect jelly formula: It's opaque with 2 coats! That rarely happens with jellies & is such a nice surprise.
Cult Nails is a small polish company owned by the blogger R3 Daily & she really has an awesome range of colors in her store.
Apparently the name "Quench" was inspired by her favorite TV series "True Blood".


Even though the color is very pretty on its own, I decided to spice it up by doing a jelly sandwich which means you apply one coat of glitter polish between the jelly polish coats. 
For the sandwich filling I used L.A. Girl "Animate", which has a clear base with differently sized red hex glitter particles. 
I did one coat of "Quench", then layered one coat of "Animate" on top of this &  finished with another coat of "Quench".
I really like how this turned out, but please see for yourself:

Thanks for looking :-)