Nicole by OPI ~ Wear something Spar-Kylie

Nicole by OPI ~ Wear something Spar-Kylie

Pink glitter

Wear Something Spar-Kylie is from the Kardashian Kolor collection from holiday 2012. I think this is another really stupid name! As long as OPI keeps calling their polishes ridiculous and dumb-ass names, I will continue to mock them about it! ;)

Anyway – the formula is cool. It was really easy to spread the glitter out, and I didn’t experience any problems with bald spots or dragging or anything. Two coats is what it takes to make me happy. The polish dries up to a gritty surface, and I decided to show it like that, now that the textured polishes are so popular.

Two coats, no topcoat:

Being a texture lover myself, I must say that I really like this finish. It’s not a sand polish as such, but the surface definitely is grittier than smooth, haha!

This is not the tone of pink I wear the most. I’m usually into more shocking pinks, but I have to say that I actually like this on me. It’s not as bad as it could have been!

I didn’t quite know what to do with this. I ended up going for glitter on the glitter. I chose a polish from Foxy Paws that has been sitting in my box of untrieds for a while. “She’s got the looks” is from the 80s Collection, and is a clear based polish filled with neon stars in green, pink and purple and sparkled up with orange, yellow and blue microglitter and holographic shimmer. Quite an impressive mix!

I just applied a layer of that onto the pink glitter. I did have to fish for the stars and to arrange them on my nails, but it’s just the way it is with glitters like this, and it’s not a big deal for me.

Here’s another pic, also taken in the sunshine:

I do admit that the underlaying pink glitter isn’t the perfect base for the pretty microglitter with stars. But at least it got a bit of sunshine on it! :) Next time I’ll try it on something that doesn’t glitter itself!

Nicole by OPI ~ Follow me on Glitter

Nicole by OPI ~ Follow me on Glitter

charcoal glitter with a sparse splash of blue, green, yellow and pink

Follow me on Glitter is from the Kardashian Kolor collection from holiday 2012. I found it on special in a local discount store, just like its idiotically named sister “Listen to your Momager!”, which you can see here.

Application is easy. The glitter spreads out easily and evenly and it only takes two coats to make this opaque. Drying time is good between the coats, and the glitter dries up a little bit gritty, so a topcoat is necessary if you like your manis smooth!

Here’s what two coats and a layer of topcoat looks like:

I really like that it’s not just grey and silver; it’s really cool with the added accent glitters. It brings more life to the polish, if you ask me.

I stamped on it. I thought I was smart, and used a pink metallic polish from Kiko as the stamping polish. It’s Kiko #618 Orchid Pink, and I used a motif from stamping plate Mash-47. I applied another layer of topcoat, and here’s how my mani ended up looking like:

Perhaps it was a mistake to stamp with pink – I’m not sure the contrast is big enough. I just thought that the pink would compliment some of the pink glitter in the polish.

All in all I think this is OK. I do wish that the stamping had stood out more, but this isn’t so bad that I can’t live with it. What say you, girls?

  

Opacity: 8/10
Colour, prettiness: 6/10
Durability: 10/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 7/10
Buy again: Yes

Nicole by OPI ~ Listen to your Momager!

Nicole by OPI ~ Listen to your Momager!

Dark blue shimmer

The stupid name says it all: We’re now back at OPI’s polishes! Jeez, they should fire the dink-heads who make up their polish names! Anyway – Listen to your Momager! is from the Kardashian Kolor collection from holiday 2012. NOPIs aren’t easy to get here usually, but this collection was suddenly for sale in a local discount shop here. I wouldn’t have bought any if they had been full price (because polishes here are usually ridiculously expensive), but with a good discount? Yes please!

Listen to your Momager! has a good formula. The polish glides on easily and covers well in two coats. Drying time is pretty good too. I must admit that I looked at the bottle with suspicion – and I wondered why the heck I bought it. I mean, I have a ton of dark blue shimmers, and do I really need another one? But girls, once this was on I had no regrets. This is definitely one of the prettiest blue shimmers I have. It’s deep and the shimmers are so big that they’re almost flecks.

Enough talk – you’ve got to see it yourself! Here it is, two coats, no topcoat yet:

Look at that shine and that shimmer! Isn’t that just looking cool?

One last pic on its own:

Then I taped my nails with striping tape. I made a cross on each nail and then I applied two layers of Ulta “Indigo-go Girl”. That’s indigo hexagons and glitter in a slightly tinted base. I thought this would work on its own, but it doesn’t really, which is why I layer it over the NOPI! Anyway, I removed the striping tape before the polish had dried, and then applied a layer of Poshé topcoat. And here’s my final mani in the sunshine:

There’s so much shine in this that it’s hard to see the cross I made, isn’t it?

It’s like a blue disco ball on my nails. I dig this!!

Here’s one last shot in ordinary daylight. This was you can see where the striping tape was!

I love both these polishes. I was impressed with the shimmer of Listen to your Momager!, and a little bit disappointed that Indigo-go Girl isn’t a polish that works on its own. But yes, despite the pathetic naming convention, they’re both keepers!

Listen to your Momager! is a stainer. But for some weird reason it only stained the nails on my right hand, even though the two hands get the exact same treatment. Weird. 

Colors by Llarowe ~ Good Fortune

Colors by Llarowe ~ Good Fortune  

Sky blue linear holo

I know you must be fed up with holos by now, but I’ve gone holo mad! Sorry about that. I promise to post something else soon! :D

This is my third ‘Colors by Llarowe’ polish, and I was well impressed with the other two. So I decided to play a little bit with this third one: Good Fortune. It’s been a while since I did a gradient, and I thought I’d make a holo gradient today!

I started out with just a thin layer of my to-go silver holo from Urban Outfitters “Silver Holo”. Great name, eh? It’s basically a strong linear silver holo that I mainly use when I do silver holo nail art. It covers really well and the holo effect is amazing. After that had dried (which was really fast) I made my gradient. I had expected it to be done in one go, but I actually had to sponge this three times before I was satisfied with the intensity of the blue! But girls, it was totally worth the extra effort!

Take a look:

The pics are taken in direct sunlight, and Good Fortune definitely lives up to her holo sisters!

I had spectraflair pigments all over my fingers afterwards, and it was just impossible to get rid of them. It’s good that a girl needs a bit of glittery stuff in her life, right? ;)

I kept it like this, so here’s the final shot!

Once the sun is back, I need to play more with holo gradients. Perhaps gradients where only one of the polishes is a holo! Or have you got other suggestions? Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments below! :)

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

Lilypad Lacquer comparison post

Lilypad Lacquer comparison post   

between Aquadisiac & Nature Calling – both green linear holos

I looked into the box with Lilypad Lacquers, and my eyes fell on Aquadisiac and Nature Calling. I thought that they looked pretty similar, and decided to make a comparison in order to figure out if I should keep them both or let one of them go.

Here’s what the two polishes look like:

Aquadisiac – Nature Calling

They look pretty similar, don’t you think? I might as well reveal right now that they’re not dupes. They’re not even that similar once they’re on the nails! I applied two coats on each nail. I have Aquadisiac on my pinkie, my middle finger and  my thumb, and Nature Calling on ring finger and pointer. There’s no topcoat on yet!

Take a look:

 

Aquadisiac – Nature Calling - Aquadisiac – Nature Calling - Aquadisia

See? Aquadisiac has got more blue in it, and Nature Calling has yellow instead.

The holo effect seems a little bit more prominent in Aquadisiac too.

I think it’s amazing that they look so similar in the bottle, and then turn out to be so different on the nails!

I like them both, and wouldn’t know which one to let go, if that had been the conclusion!

I made a dot on the base of the nail with the opposite colour. Mostly to see how opaque they are, but also because I like that there’s at least something on my polish, haha! I applied a layer of topcoat before these pics were taken:

I wasn’t surprised to see that Nature Calling is the most opaque of the two. It is the darkest of the two colours after all.

Here’s another bottle shot. This picture shows the difference better than the first one in this post.

Nature Calling – Aquadisiac

I must admit that I thought that these two were closer than they turned out to be. Which one do you like best? And would you keep them both?

Lilipad Lacquer ~ Nature Calling & Aquadisiac  

Opacity: 8/10
Colour, prettiness: 7/10
Durability: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 8/10
Buy again: Yes, I think so!

You can buy Lilypad Lacquer at norwaynails.com.

Norway Nails have kindly offered my readers a 10% discount code. Just use the code RAINBOWIFYME10 at checkout, and you'll be getting 10% off your purchase.

Sweet Color ~ T001 & Ming Shan pink striper

Sweet Color ~ T001 & Ming Shan pink striper

T001 is a very pale yellow and not normally a colour I’d go for. It has a special kind of shimmer to it – the kind of shimmer that makes you think that this polish actually can “do” something – like glow in the dark,

that sort of thing. But it can’t though, sorry (and yes, I stood alone in the bathroom with the light off, in the dark, just to test it, especially for you).

Anyway, the formula is pretty good and so is the drying time. I used three coats for these swatches, and that’s at least what it takes if you don’t like visible nail line. The polish is “eco-friendly”. I am not quite sure what that means, perhaps it means that they didn’t add extra chemicals to take the

bad smell of the polish away. It smells really odd, like glue or something.

And here’s what it looks like; three coats, no topcoat:

And another one – please tell me what you think of this!

As you can see, my nail line is almost covered, but not 100%.

The verdict:

Pros:

The polish is easy to apply

Fast drying time

Sweet Colors has a huge range of colours

Eco Friendly

Cons:

Coverage isn’t that great

Smells weird

Not crazy about this colour, to be honest

I definitely wouldn’t buy this colour again, but I’m willing to give one of the other colours a go - good formula and fast drying time are big plusses after all!

The other thing I want to show you is a striper. I like making stripes on my nails – I think it’s an easy way to pep up a less interesting polish.

So I decided to paint a few stripes on each nail – to see if I could achieve the peppermint hard candy look. I sealed it up with a layer of topcoat, and here’s what it all ended up looking like:

On this next picture you can see the metallic sheen better:

Verdict:
I only have positive words for the striper. I love the colour and the effect. The brush is easy to work with and it dries fast. So yes – both thumbs up from me!

Ninja Polish ~ Hydra

Orly ~ Beautiful Disaster  

Magenta shimmer

&

Ninja Polish ~ Hydra

Pink/teal/green/golden multichromatic glitter

I started my mani out today with ‘Beautiful Disaster’ from Orly’s Mash Up collection, summer 2013. It’s magenta with a beautiful shimmer, and the formula is really good. It took two easy and fast drying coats to achieve the desired opacity. Orly was one of the first polishes I really fell in love with (Color Club was actually the first, but Orly was a close follow up), and that love affair hasn’t died yet. I have only been disappointed in a few of their polishes; most of the ones I’ve bought are still here in my stash!

Enough talk; here’s what Beautiful Disaster looks like. Two coats, one layer of Poshé topcoat:

Orly: Beautiful Disaster

Look at that shimmer, isn’t it just pretty?

Orly: Beautiful Disaster

I decided to pair it up with a colour shifting glitter from Ninja Polish: Hydra. Hydra is from the Dragon collection, also from summer 2013. It’s a copy of Hits Moonbow, but much denser!

I taped my nails down the middle and applied two coats of Hydra. After removing the tape, I made a line of dots where the two polishes meet. I used Star Gazer #304, which is a lovely teal/green shimmer, which fits the teal side of Hydra perfectly. I finished the mani with another thin layer of Poshé topcoat, and here’s the final result:

The cool thing about this combo is the colours that fit perfectly together. The teal side of Hydra fits Star Gazer 304.

And the pink side of Hydra fits Beautiful Disaster.

I think I’ve said it before: I love polishes that “do” something, and I’m really fascinated by colour shifting polishes.

Here are the three polishes:

And a close up of Hydra. It’s sold out from Ninja Polish at the moment, so I’m glad to have this bottle!  

What do you think? Was it a good idea to pair these three polishes up, or what?  

La Bella Vernice ~ Sugar Plum Fairy

La Bella Vernice ~ Sugar Plum Fairy

Deep plum purple linear scattered holo

I’ve showed you both “Feeling Shameless” and “Rachel” – and today it’s time to show you the last of the three La Bella Vernice polishes I have, namely “Sugar Plum Fairy”. It’s from the recent “Pucker up Santa” collection.

The maker, Roni, describes it as a deep plum purple, with both linear and scattered holo effects. It’s as if it’s got a special shimmer to it too – and that shimmer makes it look fairy-ish to me! So Sugar Plum Fairy seems like the perfect name for this polish!

The formula was just great – I had no problems with application at all. It covered on the first coat! I applied a second coat to make sure to give it the best conditions to shine, but I’m not sure that it made any difference at all.

I applied a layer of Poshé topcoat before I took the pictures for this post.

Here it is, two coats and one layer of Poshé topcoat:

These pictures are taken in my lightbox. I like the dreamy, soft look this polish has got – even though I usually prefer more ‘in yer face’ polishes. I must admit that this is a very pleasant and calming polish.

I also think that it actually fits my skintone!

Here’s a picture taken under a light bulb. I don’t have any sun available, and I want to show you the holo!

Nice, isn’t it?

I made some simple stripes on it with a hot pink shimmer before I called it a day and concluded my mani was done:

And one final shot:

Verdict:

I really like purple polishes, and holos especially. I can’t wait to see this baby shine when the sun finally comes out to play! So yes, even though the colour is “calmer” than I’d normally pick, then I stick my thumbs up for this polish as well. The formula, the pigmentation and the drying time are all ticked in the “yes” box!

Opacity: 9/10
Colour, prettiness: 7/10
Durability: 8/10
Value for money: 10/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Buy again: Yes

La Bella Vernice ~ Rachel

La Bella Vernice ~ Rachel

Hot pink with holo microglitter

Alrighty then, so here’s my second polish from La Bella Vernice.

The formula is really good, and the pigmentation is just great! It covers beautifully in one single coat!! But I couldn’t help myself – I applied two coats out of habit, and just because I like doing it. Drying time is very good, no problems to report with that either. All the good boxes ticked!

And seriously: I love this shade of ‘in yer face’ pink. The added holo glitter is a bonus, and a really nice one too!

Take a look at two coats and a layer of Poshé topcoat:

Isn’t that just pretty!

These pictures are taken with flash, so you can actually see the holo glitter.

Here’s a picture taken in my lightbox. It gets a more dreamy look in that light. I really fancy this picture!!

I stamped on it, using a stamping plate from Moyou London called Princess Collection-14. I stamped with a dark red Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish called Wined up.

Here’s my final mani:

Oh yes, I dig this baby!

Verdict:

I’m impressed! Roni, the maker of La Bella Vernice, has definitely taken a huge step up the indie ladder! I love pretty much everything about this polish: The colour, the formula, the pigmentation and the drying time. Both thumbs are pointing up from me. Sweet as!

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