Friday, January 31, 2014

Wet n Wild - Fergie ~ Various polishes



Wet n Wild - Fergie ~ Various polishes

Allow me to try and speed up a bit with my Fergie polishes. There are so many, so I decided to gather the last ones in this post.

Dutchess & Take the Stage
First half of the first pair up is Dutchess, which nearly made me swoon when I saw the first picture of it. It’s a blue jelly packed with blue microglitter, and with an accent of purple microglitter. Blue and purple together, I just love it. The other half of the pair is Take the Stage, which is a clear base with pink microglitter and silver hexagons. I wasn’t quite sure if this was a topper or not, but decided to try and make it opaque on its own.

Both polishes require three coats to look okay. Drying time is average, not slow and not fast, but just ok.

Let’s see if the magic transfers onto the nails, shall we?

Three coats of each, and two layers of topcoat:


I applied two layers of topcoat. Not because this dried up gritty, because it didn’t. But especially Dutchess loved the topcoat and I had to apply a second coat to make her really shine.


One last pic.


And the polishes:


Verdict:
The magic is gone, unfortunately. I like both of these polishes, but not enough to keep them. Sorry, Fergie!


Make them Boys go Loco & No Place like Home
Next pair is the reds. Make them Boys go Loco is a blackened base with red microglitter, red glitters and hexagons. No Place like Home is a pink jelly base with red microglitter and an accent of pink microglitters. Both are beautiful in the bottle.

Let us see how they build up, shall we? Make them Boys go Loco can be layered over black, but I wanted to see what it took on its own. The answer is three coats. No Place like Home was opaque after two coats, but I gave it a third, just to give it the best conditions. Drying time is average on both polishes.

Here’s what three coats of each look like:


There’s a layer of topcoat on too, I almost forgot to mention that.


And the pretty glitters:



Verdict:
I seem to have a soft spot for these red glitters. I’ve had Spoiled’s “Ants in my Pants” and NYX “Dark Glitter” – both similar polishes to Make them Boys go Loco. I’ve sold both the Spoiled and the NYX, and I’ll also sell this one.
No Place like Home surprised me positively. It actually looks much nicer on the nails than in the bottle, where it looks kind of “ordinary”. But I don’t love it enough to actually keep it.


Heels of Steel & Mermaid Curves
Next pair up is Heels of Steel, which is a charcoal polish packed with silver shimmer. It’s one of the more “ordinary” polishes of the line, but it’s got a huge advantage to some of the others: It’s a one coater! Drying time is average on this one.
Mermaids Curves is a seagreen jelly with matching and iridescent glitters.
Formula is good, but it takes three coats to reach the opacity you see on my pictures. The glitter spreads out without problems though. Drying time: Average.

So here’s one coat of Heels of Steel and three coats of Mermaid Curves – there’s a layer of topcoat on too:


I like them both!!


And here are the polishes on their own:


Verdict:
Heels of Steel is a great allround polish, that can be used as a base for many things. The fact that it’s a one coater only makes it better. So yes, that’s a keeper. 

Mermaid Curves is such a pretty glitter. I love the colour. But the fact that the glitter is in a very sheer jelly is a problem for me. Three coats were only just enough, and layering polishes aren’t rated high here at the moment. I love the name and considered keeping the polish just because of that, but I think the many layers are what tipped me over, and this’ll have to go.


Ferguson Crest Syrah
The last one of my Fergie polishes is Ferguson Crest Syrah. It’s a lovely burgundy packed with shimmer. The formula is very good, and behold! That is also a one coater! Drying time is average. I applied a layer of topcoat before taking the pictures.

Here’s one coat plus a layer of topcoat:


If you look at the bottle you can see that there’s a slight duochromatic effect, but that doesn’t transfer onto the nails at all. It’s a good thing for me, since the effect would have been golden, which I don’t like on me.


Verdict:
Ferguson Crest Syrah is a keeper. Dark, vampy, shimmery. I love it!


That's it - the Fergie polishes no longer live in my box of untrieds! ^_^

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Wet n Wild - Fergie ~ Blue Eyed Soul & Kaleidoschope Eyes



Wet n Wild - Fergie ~ Blue Eyed Soul & Kaleidoschope Eyes
Denim blue foil & Blue and golden hexagons in a clear base

Do you remember late last year when it was announced that Wet n Wild would do a cosmetics line with Fergie? I remember it, because I was thrilled over many of the polishes in that collection. The problem when they came out was that they weren’t available here, and I couldn’t find anyplace online that would ship them to Denmark. So I swapped my way to the ones I have got. Hooray for the many sweet girls abroad that think it is a great idea to swap with us non-US girls!

But! I must admit that I’m kind of embarrassed over the fact that they have all been sitting in my stash of untrieds ever since! They have been sitting there for so long, that most of the polishes are now available in Denmark. Haha, I find that really ironic! So I decided to let it be their turn to get on my nails, and if I don’t like them as much as I thought I would, then I will pass them on to somebody else. Sounds like a good idea, right?

So today I have tried two of them. I started out with Blue Eyed Soul, which is a lovely blue packed with so much silver shimmer, that it appears to be a foil. Application was really easy, and girls! This is a one coater!!! Drying time is good, no problems there either.

Do you want to see how pretty it is? Here it is, one coat, no topcoat:


I am totally in love with this kind of blue.


I think you have guessed my verdict already: Blue Eyed Soul is a keeper!


Let’s move on to the next polish: Kaleidoscope Eyes. It is a clear base with blue and golden hexagons. I think it would take the entire bottle to make this opaque; it’s definitely a topper. So I dapped some of that onto my nails, and as usual it’s one dip in the bottle per nail. And here’s how that looks like:


Here’s a different angle that shows the golden glitter more:


A final shot:


The polishes in their natural environment: 


Verdict:
I like the two polishes together, they are definitely a match. I like the glitter but I don’t love it. I think it’s mainly because of the gold: I am definitely more of a silver girl than a golden girl. So Blue Eyed Soul gets to stay, but Kaleidoscope Eyes will be moved on.

Tomorrow I’ll work my way through the rest of them and separate the keepers from the gonners. Stay put!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Mentality stamping testing



Mentality ~ Sly, Wily & Miny
Pink, baby pink and duochrome blue/purple stamping polish with holo effect

I’m always on the lookout for interesting stamping polishes, so I have been interested in trying the stamping polishes from Mentality. I chose three different ones: Sly, a shocking pink, Wily, a soft pink, and Miny, a duochromatic purple/blue.

I tested them over black to see how opaque they are. I mean, any polish can stamp over white or a nude, but a black can be a challenge. So let’s see how that went, shall we?

I applied one layer of Essence “Black is Back”; which is my to go black crème. I used an all nail star design from Moyou’s stamping plate Princess Collection-14. I used the same design on all the nails.

Here’s the first impression:

Sly on pinkie and ring finger, Wily on middle finger, Miny on index finger and thumb

As you can see they all work as stamping polishes, they all show up effortlessly on black. Sly, the shocking pink, works really great!  Wily, which I’m holding on this picture, actually shows up as a silvery blue.


Miny, which is the duochromatic polish, that I’m wearing on my index and my thumb, shows that it’s a colour shifter. On this picture it shows itself as pink. And if you look at my thumb, it looks just as pink as Sly on my pinkie and my ring finger.


I’m holding Miny on this picture, but I didn’t get it to show its blue sides on the nails at all.


One last picture. The only one of the three that actually shows its true colours on the nails, is Sly, the shocking pink.


Here are the four polishes I used for this test:


Verdict: 
The most impressive one of them is Sly, mainly because it stays the colour it is in the bottle. Wily will be a good all rounder, when silver is too contrasty. Miny is probably the one I’d leave behind if I had to give up one of them.
But for now I’m going to keep them all, and also use them on different base colours. I might even try and use them as regular polishes too!

Icing ~ Daisy Dukes, Jean’ie in a Bottle, Galaxy



Icing ~ Daisy Dukes, Jean’ie in a Bottle, Galaxy
Two denim blues and a glitter

I bought these three Icing polishes in an Icing shop in New York. It looks as if Icing is changing their bottles to square ones. I actually like square bottles, but I must admit that I don’t like the concept of removing the outer cap first and then being left with a tiny ridged cap to hold on to while I paint my nails. Yes I’m also looking at you, Butter London! Make it as hard as you can, why don’t you?

Anyway, back to the three polishes of the day.

Daisy Dukes is a dark denim blue, and Jean’ie in a Bottle is a light denim blue, and they both dry op semi matte. The formula is great! And both of the polishes are one coaters! Isn’t that just great! :) Drying time is good too, no problems whatsoever with these two polishes. I alternated to two colours on my nails.

So dear ladies, here is one coat of each polish – the bottle I’m holding is Daisy Dukes:


And here’s a pic where I’m holding Jean’ie in a Bottle:


I thought I’d try stamping with them too, since they’re both easy one coaters. For the design I chose a MoYou stamping plate called Princess Collection-13. The plate looks like this, and I used the bottom right design with skulls and stars. I love both skulls and stars, you see! ;)


I stamped my ring finger, my middle finger and my thumb with the opposite colours, and added a layer of Galaxy on my pinkie and my pointer. Both the denims stamped really well, I am so impressed with these polishes!
I sealed it all up with a layer of Poshé topcoat, and here’s my final mani:


Galaxy is a clear base with blue and white glitters and shreds in various sizes. It fits the two denims perfectly, both the dark blue and the light blue.


The design is just supercute! The skulls with bows and the stars, oh yeah, they’re so me!


Here are the three polishes lined up:


Verdict:
It can’t be a secret that I love one coaters, and I love them even more if they stamp! The polishes are really pretty – I wasn’t quite sure about the light blue when I bought them, but on the other hand: I knew the three polishes would go together, so I couldn’t just leave it. And now I am really happy that I bought all three of them.

The MoYou stampingplate is also a winner. The designs are so cool and cute, and they stamp really well. I haven’t bought my last MoYou plate, that’s for sure!


Icing:
Opacity: 10/10
Colour, prettiness: 9/10
Durability: 9/10
Value for money: 10/10
Overall: 9.5/10
Buy again: Yes

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

OPI ~ Underneath the Mistletoe



OPI ~ Underneath the Mistletoe
Red jelly base with glitter

I’ve been buying way more OPI polishes than I thought I would recently. My regular readers will know that I am not that big a fan, but I’m sometimes attracted to the pretty polishes they make anyway. And I have to admit that I have been pretty lucky with the ones I have bought too! None of the recent ones have let me down formula-wise! Yay!!

Underneath the Mistletoe is from OPI’s Mariah Carey Holiday Collection from 2013. It’s the kind of red that I cannot resist: The bright red and the shiny glitter. Something goes off in my head: I need to buy it!

The application was easy, I had no problems whatsoever. Coverage was good too, even for a jelly. I applied two coats before I was happy with it. Drying time is actually pretty good too! – I am not used to getting all positive vibes out of my OPIs, so I am beginning to suspect that I accidentally bought a fake OPI, haha!!

I applied a layer of Poshé topcoat, and then I was ready to take the following pictures:


See that glitter ’n shimmer? I absolutely love it!


I have several polishes that are red and with glitter. I believe that Underneath the Mistletoe is a bit darker than the rest of its fellow sisters!


I decided to stamp on it. When I ordered my MoYou stamping plates, I ordered a plate with the cutest sweater designs on it: Christmas Collection-04. I tried to photograph the plate, so you can get an idea of how fantastic these designs are:


Cute, yes? Anyway, I stamped with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri “Whirlwind White”, sealed the whole thing up with Poshé topcoat, and here’s my final mani:


I think the sweater designs are totally awesome!


And one last shot, because I love my mani:


I am really glad that I added Underneath the Mistletoe to my collection, and I am so glad that I got some Moyou stamping plates to play with.


Opacity: 8/10
Colour, prettiness: 10/10
Durability: 8/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Buy again: Yes

Monday, January 27, 2014

Pahlish ~ Slow Fade of Love



Pahlish ~ Slow Fade of Love
Deep purple base with pink, purple, and holographic microglitter

I’ve always told myself that I put on colours that match my mood and not the time of year. Apparently my mood reflects the season this year, because I’ve been finding myself reaching for the darker colours recently, and my bright and chirpy neons seem to hibernate at the moment.

Slow Fade of Love is deep purple and very vampy. The formula is a bit tricky; it’s so thick that it’s really hard to apply thin coats. Fortunately the polish dries fast, so it isn’t really a problem with the thicker coats. I applied two coats and was well impressed with coverage! I applied a layer of Poshé topcoat for the pictures.

Here’s two coats of Slow Fade of Love + one layer of topcoat:


I love the colour, and I love the glitter that makes this baby glow:


The polish is just as pretty on the nails as it is in the bottle:

  
I stamped on it. I wanted to try some of the designs on my MoYou stamping plates. I used four different designs, all from the Biker Collection-02. It’s such a cool plate, I love all the designs on it! I used Essie’s “Nothing Else Metals” as my stamping polish, and when I was done stamping I sealed the whole thing up with another layer of Poshé topcoat.

Here’s the final mani:


I was not happy with my stamping today. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I just couldn’t seem to make it look right. The nail that looked the best was my thumb:


If you like deep purple jellies with glitter, then you should consider getting yourself a bottle of Slow Fade of Love. And the stamping plates from MoYou are highly recommendable – I love all the ones I’ve got. The designs are SO cool!


Opacity: 8/10
Colour, prettiness: 8/10
Durability: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Buy again: Yes

I bought this polish on Edgy Polish.
You can find more info on Edgy Polish’s Facebook page, link here.

Nicole by OPI Gumdrops ~ Cherry Amour



Nicole by OPI Gumdrops ~ Cherry Amour
Cherry red texture with pink and holo sparkle

Cherry Amour is from the Gumdrop collection, of which I bought a couple when I was in New York. Yes, New York was a great place to shop polishes! I found a lot of goodies!
  
The formula is good, the polish spreads out easily, and covers well. I applied two coats and then I was satisfied. Drying time is on the slow side, but I tried to be patient, and only dented one of the nails a little. And fortunately not on my photo hand, haha! The glitter dries up gritty without being like sandpaper. I like the brush, which is wide, just like I prefer it!

Take a look at two coats, no topcoat:


I love this colour against my skintone. I think it’s a very flattering colour for me.


You can probably tell from these pictures that Cherry Amour doesn’t dry up super gritty, but “just” textured.


I made some dots on it with Flormar 392, which is a silver holo glitter. I decided to seal it all up with a layer of Poshé topcoat, because I wanted to see the glitter come more to life. Take a look at what that ended up looking like:


I love Cherry Amour with topcoat on! The Holographic sparkle shows itself much more under a layer of topcoat!


Last shot – I think these two polishes look fantastic together!


Here they are in their bottles:


I am glad that I bought this Cherry Amour. The colour suits me perfectly, I really like this kind of red. I do prefer it with a topcoat. The holo glitter doesn’t make a big deal of itself on its own – and a layer of topcoat makes it pop beautifully! 

The Flormar is a treasure too. I have used that a couple of times now – you can actually see the usage on the bottle pic! :D

 
Opacity: 8/10
Colour, prettiness: 10/10
Durability: 9/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 9/10
Buy again: Yes