Linda Johansen ~ Twilight Magenta & London Fog

Linda Johansen ~ Twilight Magenta & London Fog

Dark purple with shimmer & Dark grey crème

Today there’s only one week to Christmas, and I’m beginning to get really excited! If we take a look at what Norway Nails has in the Christmas calendar today, you might get excited too!

It’s Linda Johansen – a great quality Norwegian brand, one that I’ve become very fond of!

Let me show you the last two I bought: Twilight Magenta and London Fog. The formula is just great, nothing negative to report about that at all. It covers well, spreads out easily and dries pretty fast. I used two coats of each for this mani. I’m totally in love with Twilight Magenta, that dark purple shimmer just makes me sit and gaze at my nails. And man, can both these babies shine!

Take a look for yourself; here’s two coats of each, no topcoat:

See what I mean? And these two colours really work together! Here I’m holding both of the bottles:

London Fog is such a good grey. I like the coolness of this colour, and it’s really easy to apply, even for a crème ;)

Here’s a picture taken in my lightbox:

I put on a layer of China Glaze “Fairy Dust”, which is a hologlitter in a clear base. I’m going to stamp on it all in a minute, and I want some of that holo to shine through! Here’s what it looks like:

I actually prefer Twilight Magenta without the hologlitter, but I think it really adds to the grey! And now for the stamping! I used a Christmas sweater motif from Moyou London’s stamping plate Christmas Collection-04, and I stamped with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri “Whirlwind White”, which is a great white crème for stamping. I topped the entire thing off with a layer of Poshé topcoat, and here, dear ladies, is my final mani:

This stamping plate only has XL motifs on it, and they’re way too big for my relatively small nails. I’m using approximately one quarter of the motif on my nails here:

I am so pleased with how this mani came out. I love the two colours together, and I think this stamp is really cool. It is indeed time for warm sweaters!

You can buy Linda Johansen polishes from norwaynails.com, and they're on special today! You get 20% off if you buy them from Norway Nails - but only until the next offer is up, so hurry!! I can easily recommend this brand, they’re really great quality polishes.

You can find more info on NorwayNail’s Facebook page, link here. 

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. 

Linda Johansen ~ Tango

Found in a scratch 'n dent box from Norway Nails

Deep burgundy with various colours of shimmer

I’ve got a soft spot for grab bags! It’s like I can’t resist them. It is partly the curiosity of what’s inside them, but also the excitement when you open them – and the hope to get something really nice. I was always a sucker for a lucky dip! :)

I’ve been winking at Tango almost every time I’ve visited Norway Nails’ website, so I felt like I was seriously lucky to actually get it in a grab bag! Yes, they do occasionally sell scratch 'n dent boxes there! I’ll tell you more about that at the end of the post!

Onwards to the polish! The formula was really good, and the pigmentation was also good. Drying time, check, no problems in that department either. Two coats is what it takes to make this baby shine – although I have helped it a little bit with a layer of topcoat. Take a look at how pretty it is:

I can see at least blue, pink and golden shimmer in this baby. Not quite as much on my nails as in the bottle; perhaps I didn’t shake the bottle well enough before use.

The vampiness of this polish is right up my alley – and I obviously really like the shimmer. I definitely wouldn’t have liked the polish as much without the shimmer.

I stamped on it. I used two different stamping plates: Bundlemonster’s BM-311 for the ring finger and the thumb, and a no number or name stamping plate from Essence for the rest of the nails. I stamped with Kiko #618 Orchid Pink from the mirror collection. The entire collection is no less than fantastic for stamping!

I applied a layer of topcoat before taking these pictures:

I double stamped on the middle fingers, as you can see. I think that looks really cool.

I like these more “open designs” that doesn’t cover up too much of the original polish.

Like I said: I felt it was a real treat when I found this polish in a scratch 'n dent box. The boxes that Norway Nails are selling consist of minimum 5 polishes and/or treatments. The polishes are in scratch 'n dent boxes because of a bad label, a leakage from another package, an opened bottle, a bad brush or something like it; something that means they’re good, but they won’t be suitable to be sold in the shop.

My Tango had a ragged lid, and I obviously wouldn’t have paid full price for it. But in a grab bag it was just a gem.

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

Are you a sucker for scratch 'n dent boxes just like I am? If you are you should definitely go to Norway Nails' webshop and buy yourself one today. They're on special!! They're usually 299 NOK, and today they're only 199 NOK! I've already ordered another one! ;)The offer is valid until tomorrow's offer is up.

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.

Linda Johansen ~ Wienna Waltz

Linda Johansen ~ Wienna Waltz

Nude crelly

Today I’m going to show you something I’ve never shown on my blog before: A nude polish!

I don't mind being pushed out of my comfort zone for a little bit (I don’t, at all), but my nails are horribly stained after an affair with these polishes. I have tried all I could think of to get rid of the yellow and green staining, but all that helped was to wait for the nails to grow out. And to be honest I didn’t mind that so much, because I’m always wearing polish anyway, so I wasn’t flashing it or anything. But I couldn’t imagine to wear such a pale polish over it, and I am sure the stains would have shown through. Yuk!

So I had to do something about the staining fact, didn’t I? I read recently that cuticle remover could make a difference, so I tried that – but with absolutely no result. So that theory is shot down. I had previously tried lemon juice, baking soda, toothpaste, bleach and god knows what, and nothing really helped very much. So today I decided to do something I have never done before: To buff my nails!

After the buffing, my nails were almost back to normal colour, and I must admit I was happy with that.

I had no idea how many coats I should expect to apply, but in my head it was three, maybe even four. I applied my base coat, and started polishing. It didn’t take as long as expected though. Drying time is pretty good, and it actually only took two coats to build up opacity. There’s still a slight visible nail line, but I don’t think it’s a problem at all. I didn’t apply a topcoat.

Okay, I’ve talked enough already, let me show you – for the first time on my blog – a nude polish:

I’ll tell you what! It isn’t as bad as expected to wear a polish like that!

As you can see there’s still some VNL, but I’m actually impressed that it covers so well in two coats!

One last shot on its own:

As a tribute to my now ex-yellow/green stained nails, I sponged some green glitter on my tips. I used another polish I got from Norway Nails a long while ago, namely Picture Polish “Ariel’s Tale”, which I swatched in this post. The whole thing is sealed up with a layer of topcoat, and here’s my final mani:

Ha, I can see that a polish like this actually can be used as a base for other stuff. I’ll definitely keep that in mind!

I hope you enjoyed this post, because it was quite a struggle to make! ;)

Opacity: 5/10
Colour, prettiness: N/A/10
Durability: 10/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 6/10
Buy again: No (but that’s not the polish’s fault :) )

Norway Nails have got a special discount of 15% off Linda Johansen polishes at the moment. Use the code ballroom at checkout to get the discount.

Linda Johansen ~ Slow Fox

Linda Johansen ~ Slow Fox

Denim blue crème with a hint of dusty grey

Linda Johansen is a Norwegian polish brand-

The formula is no less than great. The polish applies easily and dries with a very nice shine. It took two easy coats to reach full opacity, and the drying time between coats was really good too. Exactly how I like it! I must admit that to start with I was a bit sceptical about the dusty tone that this polish has, but goshdarn, I must admit that I like this polish, and the way it looks on me!

Let me show you what I’m talking about! Two coats, no topcoat – and please note the shine!

This second picture shows more of the dusty side of the polish. I’m so lucky that I can wear whatever polish I want at work. But if “classical” was required I’d go for this, because it’s still got an edge even though it can be used as a formal work appropriate polish!

Don’t you think that the polish suits me? I’m impressed myself!

The pictures are all taken in the sunshine (an increasingly valuable commodity at this time of year).

  

I didn’t wear it like this, you must know that already. I dug up another bottle which I also got from Norway Nails for a review, namely Lynnderella’s “Aquamarine Calm”. I’ve already shown you that glitter – take a look here if you’ve forgotten. It’s a mix of various sizes and shapes of blue glitter. I made a glitter gradient by sponging the glitter on and sealed the whole thing up with a layer of Poshé topcoat. Now allow me to show you the final result:

The pictures are taken in full sun, so some of the glitters look as if they’re black. They’re not - it is their very positive reflective qualities that make them appear like that.

This may be the most colour correct picture. I absolutely think this works!

One last shot, just because I’m impressed myself, haha!

That was another Linda Johansen polish for you. I know I am impressed, and that says a lot when we’re talking about a crème polish! This has the potential to be used as a base for lots of very cool nail art!

What say you? :)

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

You can find more info about Linda Johansen on NorwayNail’s Facebook page, link here.

Norway Nails have got a special discount of 15% off Linda Johansen polishes at the moment. Use the code ballroom at checkout to get the discount.

Linda Johansen ~ Razzle Dazzle

Linda Johansen ~ Razzle Dazzle

Deep purple with scattered holo

This is my second Linda Johansen polish. I was well impressed with the first one, even though it was grey :D You can see it here if you are interested!

Anyway, when I saw Razzle Dazzle I just knew I had to have it! It’s purple; it’s got holographic effect – what is there not to love?! I bought it on the spot!

The formula is great! It applies very easily, it dries fast and it’s basically just a great quality polish! It’s a jelly and I applied two coats and was satisfied with it, but when I look at the pictures I can see that I should have applied three. Anyway, two will have to do for this time. Here is a picture of two coats, no topcoat. The picture is taken in the sun:

The holo is gorgeous, I absolutely love it! And it even works in low light – here’s a picture taken in my lightbox:

Can you see how it looks as if it glows from within? I really love that! 

I went for some dots to make it come more alive. I used a bright turquoise polish from Ma.nish.ma. called “Bolts of Blue” and made four dots on each nail. I sealed it all up with a new top coat I’ve bought in a blog sale: H. K. Girl. I’ve heard so many good things about it and have been dying to try it myself, so I was happy to finally get my hands on it.

Here’s the final mani in the sun:

And in my lightbox:

The polish still glows underneath the dots! :)

  

I can’t tell you how glad I am to have this polish in my stash. Linda Johansen is a Norwegian brand, and it deserves much more credit than it actually gets. Lacquered thumbs up from me!

 

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

I bought this polish from 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.

Linda Johansen ~ Warm Grey

Linda Johansen ~ Warm Grey

Warm grey crème – or dark beige

When I started applying this baby it was obvious to me that this is definitely a quality polish. One of those polishes that are easy to apply, and that cover well without any hassle.

“Warm Grey” is a one coater! I was amazed. I thought I was going to apply coat after coat to make it opaque, but that was certainly not the case here. I applied two coats for the camera, but believe me, one coat would have done! One coat of Catrice Quick Dry & High Shine top coat, and here’s what that looks like:

The polish has a really nice shine to it, and depth:

I think that it shows on the pictures that this polish is of really good quality, and a class product.

Here’s what Linda Johansen wrote about this particular polish:
A timeless warm grey color that's a little bit more "edgy" than the classic Mannequin. Chic and elegant for those who want a discreet look and dare a little more. Not shimmer and a neutral undertone.

I don’t think I’ll go as far as to call this polish “edgy”, but that’s probably just me :) I’ll show you what else this classy polish can do: Stamp!

I removed the grey from my ring finger and my thumb and applied one coat of Miss Sporty #313 – a lovely rich shimmery purple. 

Then I stamped using the opposite colours – I used a design from Mash’s stamping plate Mash-30. I sealed it all up with one coat of Poshé top coat, and behold – Warm Grey works as a great stamping polish:

Here’s one last shot of it, just to show you the Miss Sporty polish as well!

I am quite pleased to enrol this polish in my stash, knowing that it’s great both as a base colour and as a stamping polish. I appreciate quality when I have it, and it was a revelation how well this took to both stamping and being stamped on. So yes – this ended up as a winner in my book! I told you it ended well! :)

Opacity: 10/10
Colour, prettiness: 4/10
Durability: 10/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Buy again: Yes