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Orly Hope and Freedom Fest for Spring 2013.

Lose yourself in an environment high on hope: Where positive vibes abound. Optimism comes alive. And music and spontaneity define the mood—giving rise to Hope and Freedom Fest, the new Spring 2013 color collection from Orly.
Join hands to celebrate social change, a suit yourself spirit, and festival inspired style. Experience color come to life through communal unity meets personal expression.

Orly Hope and Freedom

I must say, while I’m not into glitter usually, the look of Peaceful Opposition does intrigue me.  I also like the look of High on Hope but other than that I may skip the rest of this collection.

Much love!No idea when these will come out but I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something!

China Glaze Tranzitions swatches and video!

From left to right:  Split Perso-nail-ity, Modify Me, Duplicity, Altered Reality, Metallic Metamorphosis and Shape Shifter

 You’ve heard of these before no doubt, they’re the new Tranzitions, 6 new highly pigmented colors, by China Glaze. Polishes that have a little secret! They are said to change into a darker polish when you apply topcoat, now how cool is that? I have to be honest here, I was a bit skeptical at first because I have a similar set by Essence that do the same thing and I just totally didn’t like those. Not at all. The difference to me was so minimal that I just don’t want to mess around with those any longer because they felt like a huge let down and a waste of time. My interest in this type of polish was awakened again though when I found out that China Glaze was going to release a similar set. This brand hasn’t let me down yet so I wanted to find out more for sure.

On the product picture you see quite a big difference between colors, but how will these look in real life?

Luckily the graceful Linda, owner of populair Dutch Webshop Enchantra was sending me a little swatch wheel of this collection so I could see exactly what these would look like with and without topcoat. It was a bit hard to capture, but hang in there with me, because I was pleasantly surprised by this little set!

As you can see, on the right is the little set, WITH topcoat, on the left are the polishes without. There is quite a difference that is hard to capture on camera but I found the polishes without topcoat, especially the crèmes, fairly muted, soft, almost pastel like. And the metallics were pretty but were kind of lacking depth. Once topcoated the crèmes turn vibrant, and the Metallics turn a lot darker and clearly more get depth, as if they were hiding color almost, very very pretty! I can’t wait to get some of these and play with them myself someday. I totally want the Blue crème called Modify Me and possible the one called Shape Shifter as it seems to go from a slightly purple tinged slate grey when left alone to a deep metallic purple once topcoated, and you know I love my purples!

There’s only one reason I can think of why you wouldn’t buy these. doubt that these would keep long on your nail without topcoat. Well let me tell you about a little secret, you can totally do two layers of polish with a topcoat layer in between to fortify your manicure a little and still have the same muted look. It’s what I do with matte polishes already and I’m sure you could apply that little trick to this collection as well! Yay, problem solved right?

China Glaze has also recorded a little video where you can see how big the difference really is when topcoating these beauties!

Have you tried the Essence set and were you unimpressed like I was, and will you be trying these?

Butter London by Gwyneth Paltrow for Goop and the Sweetie Shop Lacquer Collection.

How about these three beauties? Gwyneth Paltrow designed them for Goop, her own online Lifestyle magazine. Each week, Goop premieres one exclusive limited edition collaboration. Whether it’s a wardrobe staple, a home accessory, or a beauty must, they believe these are the curated essentials for you, your wardrobe and your home.  Gwyneth started Goop in the fall of 2008 to share all of life’s positives. From creating a delicious recipe to finding a perfect dress for spring, she began curating the best of lifestyle to help her readers save time, simplify and feel inspired.  Enough about Goop and on to the pretty polishes! Let me introduce you to the ”Trifecta of bespoke lacquers”, from left to right in the top three rows of pictures: Hampstead Heath which offers a mossy, green and gold shine, great for a holiday occasion. Abso-bloody-lutley which is the ultimate deep cherry opaque red and Bread & Butter pudding which is a sheer ivory cream. The latter one doesn’t really make me want to run out and buy it but man, that green and even that deep cherry red are delicious! If it wasn’t for the price I’d buy them I think.  You can pick up the Goop and Butter London nail polish set for $36 at Goop.com.

Butter London also recently unveiled its Sweetie Shop Lacquer Collection, which will be available from January 2013. The new collection includes six shades influenced by the pastels of sweets such as cotton candy milkshakes and macaroons. Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? But will it look good in the bottle and on the nail? Well let’s have a look at these colors and find out!

The shades are from left to right:

  • Jasper – A nice mellow yellow.
  • Kerfuffle – A lovely shade of sherbet.
  • Fiver – An icy mint color.
  • Fruit Machine – A sweet bubblegum pink.
  • Molly Coddled – A wonderful bright violet.
  • Cuppa – A perfect tea with milk color, it doesn’t get more British than that.

The Sweetie Shop Lacquer Collection will be available from Boots, Harvey Nichols and butter LONDON’s website priced at £12 each. www.butterlondon.com

Which of these collections speaks to you? Or are they both not your thing?

Limited Edition “Siberian Call” by CATRICE

“Ice wide open! Beautiful scenery full of contrasts surrounds the Limited Edition “Siberian Call” by CATRICE: silent snowy landscapes, bluish icy vegetation and imposing, vast steppes in brown and green – the territory of wolves, bears and tigers. The impressions of this world have already conquered the international catwalks. The symbiosis of the ice age and naturally warm elements is reflected in the current crossover couture: glamorous fur effects, soft tweed, urban knits and sparkling highlights with an ice-flower appearance. Deep shades of grey and silver shades unite with warm beige, pink and coral to become the trend colors of this edition, which will be available from December 2012 to January 2013.

The ice crème de la crème: five new nail polishes in Nearly Black, Grey, Ice Silver, Mauve and Coral with various wow-effects. Whether glitter and gloss, a pearly shine or minimalistic and plain, your nails are sure to stand out with a cool yet always individual ice-princess look.”

From left to right:

  • The Calm Call
  • I’m A Graydreamer
  • Sky And Snow
  • Rest In The Forest
  • Coral -al -al -al

Because the NEONnatural collection will be out in December/January here in the Netherlands as well I doubt we’ll see this collection here, sadly, because I do like the look of that first polish a lot!

What do you think of this little set?

NEONaturals by Catrice, combining brights with nudes for a cheery winter.

The new Limited Edition “NEONaturals” by Catrice invites you to use bright colors to cheer up the winter months!

This collection brings the trend colors of international designers to your nails: six neons and six nudes for endless combinations and looks.

You can use these individually or as a color duo for a beautiful halfmoon manicure which you can easily make with the new nailart brush that will include 30 tip guide stickers!

I’m loving these brights and I will probably buy On The Bright Side Of Life at least once but probably twice so I will have a back up for it once I run out. I also like the look of Little Miss Sunshine (which incidentally is also one of my favorite movies, next to Amelie and Fightclub) and may buy that one too. The nudes I will have to see in person to be able to judge if they’ll go with my pale yet pinkish skintone. I do like the look of several of them though.

NEONaturals by Catrice will be available halfway December 2012 until halfway January 2013 in the Netherlands and Belgium.

China Glaze releases the Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away collection.

I’ve known about this collection for a few months now but was asked to not speak about these just yet as China Glaze was keeping these under wraps for just a little longer…, and boy was it hard to keep these to myself because man, aren’t they interesting? To me the larger glitters look like something a lot of polish lovers have been buying from the Indie Polish makers and now China Glaze is bringing this amazing look to the general public as well, I love it!

There are 12 colors in this collection as you can see in the collage I made of them up here, and these are their names:

I’ll be curious to see what the swatches of this collection will be like and what everyone’s favorites will be.

What are your thoughts of this little set? Is this a must have or a must pass for you?

For those interested in buying these, Transdesign has the collection up already!

Sneak Peek at Mariah Carey for O.P.I. – or is it a fake?

I found this picture earlier and I am really not sure how I feel about this set just yet… and honestly I’m wondering if this picture is real I mean 3 VERY similar browns (in this picture at least, which doesn’t seem to make much sense anyway as this collection is said to have 8 colors, I count 9 if you include the glitter which is pretty much Rainbow Connection from the Muppets collection that they released earlier this year… It’s true, look at THIS picture of that polish and the one up here… it’s the same picture! People are also saying that the other colors look like the ones from the Touring America collection… the plot thickens!), two fuchsias and what looks like a blackened purple, a grey and an orange and a glitter topcoat. It’s a bit… boring for a star who is known for her love of bling, you know what I mean? Mariah, I just expected so much more of you. You have studied cosmetology in case singing didn’t work for you and I thought you’d pick something a bit more unique for this collection… IF it is real that is…

That said, I do like browns and purples and fuchsias so I may just get a few of these… but I guess I’m underwhelmed by what I thought would be an amazing collection. So really, I do hope it’s fake!

In any case, her new collection will be out January 13th 2013 and later that year there will be a second collection, so hopefully she’ll redeem herself with that one, again… if this one is even real.

How do you feel about these colors?

Edited to add: LOOK these are the REAL polishes and swatches, thank goodness, this is what I expected of her, not those in the picture up there! *RELIEF*

Source

Chanel Fashion Night Out 2012 le vernis colors.

Just a quick post introducing the three gorgeous colors Chanel will be releasing to celebrate fashion’s most exceptional evening. Fashion’s Night Out is being held on September 6th in New York City and  is celebrated in other cities all over the world.

Each year Chanel creates a set of colors for this special occasion and last year they spoiled us with the lovely Les Jeans colors, and this year they are giving us three warm colors that will look stunning on the runways complimenting the fall shades.

  • Délicatesse – This elegant shade of beige offers a stroke of sophistication for nails in a long-wearing, high-shine lacquer.
  • Infidèle – An intense, energetic pink dresses the fingertips in brilliantly bold color for an effortlessly feminine effect.
  • Provocation - A deep, rich plum offers an elegant accent for a refined, resolutely stylish nail look.
And man, Provocation is absolutely stunning I think! You know I love my purples and hey, who doesn’t need a nice plum in their collection?
Now, before I go and leave you alone with these beauties I must add this; along with these delicious polishes Chanel is releasing matching lipsticks, hence the name Les Twin-Sets de Chanel!
 available for pre-order at the US Chanel site

I’d totally rock the provocation lipstick as well, but since I rarely wear lipsticks I don’t think I’ll get this one. Provocation the polish though, I will totally get!

Do you buy Chanel polishes or are they a bit above your budget or just not what you are into?

A Fifty Shades of Grey themed collection you say?

Many have read the books, myself included, and many have fallen for Christian Grey. Duri, the makers of Rejuvacote, my favorite nail hardener EVER, have noticed the  world wide obsession with Christian Grey and his Ana and are releasing a 50 Shades of Grey themed collection called 12 shades of Desire.

I’ve emailed Duri for more information but so far I have nothing to share sadly than this one page advertisement, because I would have loved to show you more pictures of this collection!

As you can see there are 12 colors in this and I just LOVE the names for it!

  • Bedroom Talk – Taupe
  • You belong to me – Teal
  • Behind Closed Doors – Purple
  • Oh, My! – Coral
  • Undisclosed Desires – Cherry Red
  • Blinding Obsession – Warm orange
  • Laters Baby! – Fuchsia
  • Pure Vanilla – Baby Pink
  • Kinky Pleasures – Blue
  • Provocatively Innocent – Red tinted Purple
  • Absolute Intimacy – Purple
  • Indulge My Whim – A silvery glitter

I think Duri did everything they could to leave out any reference to the color grey but that’s okay because I am loving the colors they did pick for this and I think I’d proudly rock any of them.

What do you think of this collection, would you buy it? And have you read the books?

Hollywood’s fabulous 40s by Catrice

Inspired by the legendary film and style icons like  Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergmann and Marlene Dietrich the Limited Edition  ”Hollywood’s FABULOUS 40s” by Catrice takes you away into the glamourous times of the 1940′s.

Catrice picks up the 40′s trends as a tribute to the self-confident woman, the elegance and incomparable beauty of Hollywood divas and skillfully combines  feminine, warm red tones such as rose, rosewood, and cherry red with delicate nude-, beige and brown nuances and modern purple. For a stylish look à la Hollywood…

For this Limited Edition Catrice has picked warm trendy colors with a glossy finish and without any shimmer to celebrate the classic 40′s style.

  • Red Butler
  • Holly Rose Wood
  • Marlene’s Favorite
  • The Nude Scene
  • Doris’ Darling

Hollywood’s FABULOUS 40s” by Catrice will be available from September to October 2012.

If this set comes to the Netherlands I will probably only pick up the purple, but who knows, they may be prettier in person, though since they are advertised to be creme colors with no shimmer. In this case  that means ‘what you see is what you get’ with these product pictures.

What do you think of this little set? I know there are some pink lovers out there that read my blog that will probably go for this, am I right?

 

Source

Orly is getting fired up for fall 2012!

 

The weather here has been slowly changing, the days have been getting shorter, fall will be here again soon and so will the new fall polish collections.

Orly is coming out with a set of 6 beautiful warm tinted high gloss polishes to set the tone for this fall:

  • Rapture as you can see is a lovely brown with a hint of purple it looks like.
  • Smolder is a yummy burgundy shimmer, burgundy is one of THE colors to wear this fall by the way!
  • Ignite is a delicious cherry red créme.
  • Flicker is a red shimmer with hits of copper, giving your nails the look of a glowing ember.
  • Flare has a beautiful golden shimmer to it.
  • And last but not least, Glow. Which is  a color that seems the odd one out in this set but as you can see in the publicity picture where the model is wearing a top in this color and has Flicker over Smolder on her nails, it really matches well with the warmth of the other colors.

Looking at these samples on the left I have to say that I may need one or two of these, I have not decided yet.

To me the bottle shots look less appealing to me though for some reason, don’t you hate it when that happens? Though of course it will make my wallet quite happy if I decide to skip this for that reason.

This collection is an Limited Edition and is set to be released September 2012.

What do you think of these colors? Is there a must have color for you in this collection or will you skip this one?

 

Nail of the day – Acrylic ink extravaganza.

 

Today I’d like to share with you the nails I’ve been rocking for almost week now.

I love them so much that I made a little step by step collage on how I created them, using a nailwheel, 3 colors of nail polish, a little piece of make up sponge (not pictured) a fountain pen and acrylic ink.

  1. These are the nail polishes I used. Apart from a base and topcoat of course. From left to right are: Essence  - Via Airmail!, China Glaze – Beach Cruise-R and China Glaze – Sweet Hook.
  2. This is the pen and the inks I used for this little step by step.
  3. First, paint your nail a base color and let it dry.
  4. Create a gradient on a little make up sponge by putting a stripe of all three colors on it and dabbing it onto the nail like so.
  5. Once the nail polish has dried you can start drawing on it using acrylic ink and a fountain pen.
  6. Make the pattern as large or small as you want, I nearly stopped at this point liking this design very much already but deciding to push for more as I have a weakness for full nail designs.
  7. This is the nail once I was finished drawing with white.
  8. I’ve added some blue details to it to make it look extra special.
  9. After all has dried I’ve topcoated my nail and hey presto, you have your very own portable piece of art at your fingertip!

Tomorrow I’ll show you a little video on how it all works, so don’t forget to come check it out!

Essie releases the Yogaga collection.

Now before I talk about these I need to say that I know I’m late writing about these but there were not any official pictures around. But here they finally are!

Essie, quickly becoming one of my favorite brands due to their fabulous colors and nice wide brush, has recently released a new collection called Yogaga. It’s already being spotted all over in the USA. But it’s only recently that they’ve added this collection to the site.

The collection consists of 6 brand new colors and they them like this:

  • Boxer Shorts – A winning blue
  • Gym Dandy – A motivated Greige Brown
  • Marathin – A fit Rosy Pink
  • Pilates Hottie – A Zen light lilac
  • Spinning Again – A driven brick red
  • Yogaga – A peachful sandy beige

I have to say, I like most of these, all but the red and the pink but that’s not because those colors suck, no those colors just suck on me. In general they are all beautiful though, and they are the kind of color you slap on when you want your nails painted but don’t feel like making a big statement. They are nice and creamy seem to cover without having to fuss with putting on multiple layers, which sounds good and zen enough to me! ;)

There was a bit of a discussion on a nail forum I’m on about Pilates Honey being a possible dupe of OPI’s Planks a lot from their pirates of the caribean collection, but after comparing them on a swatchwheel we came to the conclusion that Pilates Honey has more blue or in the correct terms; is a blurple.

I hope these come to the Netherlands so I can pick up a few!

Butter London releasing 3 Fall Macy exclusive shades!

Butter London is releasing 3 lovely shades that are exclusive to Macy’s in the USA, which means, because they sadly do not ship polish overseas, that most of us will just have to daydream about these. But I can’t help but share these with you because I have fallen head over heels with the purple one… Of course.

  • Squatter is an opaque, lime green crème. The term used for someone who is staying (but not paying!) in a vacated location.
  • Brummie is an opaque, bright purple crème. A colloquial term for the people, accent, and dialect of Birmingham, England.
  • Cake Hole is an opaque, nearly neon hot pink. 1960′s Brit slang referring to ones mouth. It’s now mostly used as a juvenile colloquialism – “shut your cake-hole or I’m telling mum!”

Man I want it so badly I can taste it, I love both the green and the purple, and I love the pink for the name, it reminds me of Supernatural, something Dean would totally say to Sam… Yep, I’m a dork I can’t help it…

Pointless Café has done swatches of all three of these and I suggest you hurry over to see because they really are yummy!

Do you have any Butter London polishes yet? If so, which one? I’d love to know!

Nail of the day – You know you make me wanna scream.

The text on the image already says it all. The Facebook group I’m a member of called Adventures in Stamping had a little challenge for this Sunday where we had to use our favorite image.

I chose this one because I’m really into art and Edvard Munch‘s painting the Scream has always been one of my favorites. The utter desperation and fear in the main character is just so intense and heartbreaking it’s a difficult painting to forget.  Maybe that’s why the mask became so popular in the Scream movies ;) you just do not forget a villain with a face like that.

So back to the manicure. When I got my image plates a long time ago and I found this image on them I loved it instantly and so I had to use it for the challenge today.

For the base color I used China Glaze’s Sweet Hook, a very soft lilac color that would compliment the darker purple I was stamping over it perfectly. The dark purple is my favorite polish of all time that I rarely use for that reason; another China Glaze called Flying Dragon. There are apparently several versions of it, so I should clarify that this one has multi colored micro glittery bits in it. And I wish I could just have ten bottles of this because it’s just my favorite color ever.

Now, what do your nails look like right now? Tell me in the comments, I’d love to know!

Summer challenge – Sea Shells

Recently I’ve joined a group on facebook that has a fabulous summer challenge where they have a list of manicures you do on a certain day if you choose to join in on the fun. And yesterday the theme was Sea Shells.

Due to my internet being down most of the day yesterday and this morning I wasn’t able to post this in time but here it is today!

People came up with the most amazing ideas, some used actual crushed seashells on their nails, others painted them on with acrylic paint. I love seeing this kind of creativity! My favorite set were the ones done by a good friend of mine, Laurie of Dressed up Digits who recreated the look of Abalone on her nails using a glitter gradient and stamping. You can see her nails here.

For this manicure I decided to stamp. I of course started with my Duri Rejuvacote to which I owe these long nails (for me this is long, I’ve never had them this length before) I first painted my nails using China Glaze’s Lavender Lingo (which isn’t a Lavender at all but a very soft baby pink) and topcoated them with Seche Vite. I always do this before I stamp because it will help you fix any stamping mistakes a lot easier as carefully wiping off your stamp with acetone will not ruin the basecolor right away but will give you a second chance to stamp. I picked pink because it reminds me of the pink inside some shells have and because it looks really classy with gold I think.

When that was dry I used my Fab Ur Nails Gold stamping polish and Dashica Beauty Shops Big SdP-L stamping plate which has these beautiful shells on there for the image over it.

Over that I put another layer of topcoat and here we are, a sea shells inspired manicure :)

Are you in any challenge groups for nails or make up?



Essie Fall 2012 Stylenomics collection.

I just ran into this while reading one of my nail magazines and I couldn’t wait to share!

These will by out August 1st 2012 in the United States.

You can buy these individually but there is also a 4 pack of mini’s coming out containing the following colors:

  • Skirting the Issue
  • Stylenomics
  • Don’t Sweater it
  • Head Mistress.

I personally like all but Head Mistress so I might just get this. (Unless I just buy the full sized bottles of Skirting the Issue and Stylenomics…)

Do you have any Essies and what is your favorite color?

Coming soon: Catrice Cucuba!

The range of nail colors in this collection is influenced by the colors of Cuba: warm shades such as bright yellow and two different browns are complemented by coral and mint green. These colors underline your summer style and are an ideal match for the other products in this Limited Edition. The new extrabroad brush guarantees an even more professional color application across your entire nail with just one stroke of the brush.

  • Sunny Side - A lovely shimmery yellow
  • Reggeaton - A beautiful shimmery brown
  • Salsa Cubana - A soft peachy polish
  • Havana Drum - A light nude-ish brown
  • Take it Mint - A wonderful innocent mint

I do think I’ll be picking up the lovely mint color, and I will have to see the yellow and brown in real life as it looks like the yellow has micro flakies and the brown has some holographic pigment in there on the product pictures. But other than that I think I’ll let this collection pass. Unless of course they impress me the moment I see them for myself in the shop when they are released halfway this August.

How about you, what do you think of this set?

Monochrome Monday

Yesterday was Monochrome Monday, something a group of friends and I challenged each other to do a few days ago. I love seeing how everyone interpreted it differently and gave their nails a whole different spin on this topic. You’ll see what they created in the links below, but first on to what I did and used for my nails and of course what they look like right now.

First a little explanation of the word:

mon·o·chrome [ˈmɒnəˌkrəʊm] noun.
1. a. A picture, especially a painting, done in different shades of a single color.
b. The art or technique of executing such a picture.
2. The state of being in a single color.
3. A black-and-white image, as in photography or on television.

Now on to my nails and the inspiration I used. I decided to free hand this challenge. Don’t get me wrong, I love stamping, but I do it all the time and I just wanted to do something unique this time.

A little while ago I decorated some smooth pebbles with a little pen and acrylic ink and a lot of people liked them. My mom keeps the ones I made for her in a little glass bell on her patio table.

From left to right, on the picture on the right, you see Rejuvacote which I always use as a base, next to that is my Seche Vite topcoat. The bigger white bottle is my white acrylic ink. Next to that a beautiful small bottle of BK’s black holo and in the back on the right is Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees. The pen I used is laying in the foreground. It’s just a simple fountain pen that comes without cartridges and that you have to dip in ink to work. The ink I bought at an artist supply store a while ago, along with the other three basic colors yellow magenta and blue, and of course black, that way I can mix almost any color I would like.

After I had painted my nails with Suzi Skis and my ring fingers with the BK holographic polish and they were completely dry I started to draw on my nails like I had on the pebbles, just kind of going with the flow. Not having planned any pattern beforehand I came to this end result and I hope you like it! It did prove to be a bit of a challenge to draw with my left hand onto my right fingernails but I think they came out really well. I’m slightly ambidextrous and did not know it I guess!

I hope you all enjoyed this post and will become inspired to give something like this a go yourself sometime!



Color Club’s Fall 2012 Collection, Rule the Runway preview.

No words, just pictures, may I present to you the new Color Club fall collection called “Rule the Runway”

There seem to be cremes and duochromes, and I love it!

I have to admit… I love all of them (apart from the reds, I just do not do red on my nails :S) and I want them! And look, yet ANOTHER Peridot dupe!

What do you think of these pretties? And do you own any Color Clubs yet?


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