Team Dyan ‘manicure’

A friend of mine from our facebook group has a daughter, who had a medical emergency last year. She was unresponsive for some time, and is now (luckily!) slowly recovering. It was – obviously – very hard for my friend, and so some of us decided to lift up her spirits and also wish her daughter the best with her ongoing revocery. We decided on a manicure week, but I thought I’d rather give  the girl a manicure which she can keep for longer, and so I decided to make her a nail polish ring.

This is it! She likes blue, so I figured I’d make a polish ring with magnetic teal polish and “hide” the blue flakies in there, so there’s be a special surprise depending on the angle you look at it. As in, to show hidden beauty!

 

And since I was in the process of making nail polish rings and earrings, here are some other combinations I came up with. If you find them awesome or would like to have some, you can contact me through facebook, twitter or by email.

 

What do you think?

Worst polish of 2011.

I was trying to compile a list of polishes that have failed me in 2011. You can imagine I take it personally if I invest time, money and myself emotionally, and then the polish just isn’t what it promised to be in the beginning when we started dating. Yeah, polish can be like that!

So here is one polish I was particularly unhappy with: Sally Hansen Pumpkin Spice.
Why, you will ask – well, it’s simple. It is a brown jelly base with orange glitter. It is bitchy, doesn’t level well, looks horrible, drags and is just an unfortunate combination. I don’t get it why Sally Hansen would want to make a polish pendant of Pumpkin Spice (latte, or whatever) – you wouldn’t buy a polish that is calles “Sewer on 52nd Street” either, would you?

I actually have to admit that it looks better on my photos than it did in real life, which is surprising. Still, in my facebook group, there was at the time of its release such a hype for this polish, and I can’t tell you why, but it made everyone love this polish. Group pressure – we’re all prone to it, right?! Nevertheless, I have made up my mind, and I must say, this is the worst polish for me which was released in 2011. There is a second worst polish, but I keep that for another happy day! My only regret is that I received this polish in a swap from a friend and I hope she doesn’t take it the wrong way that I really don’t like Pumpkin Spice….

Your weekly dose of holo: KOH Metallic Green

Ahw. The beauty. I still have some regrets about the day my friend M. asked me if I could send her some of the KOH polishes. It was the day I spent a lot of money and lost my heart to KOH polishes. So today I would like to show you Metallic Green, which isn’t metallic but holographic – I showed you its’ sibbling, Platinum Silver earlier.

So here come some pictures of Metallic Green – first one in daylight, then the ones in artificial light -  2 coats. Get a napkin, because chances are you’re going to start drooling!

 

Happy?

Funky…. Donkey?!

Puuuuuuuuurple! Isn’t this a fun colour! Funky Donkey from OPI.
Funky – well, maybe for my grandmother. Donkey – no idea how purple relates to a donkey, nor the donkey from Shrek (this is, after all, a polish released in the OPI Shrek Collection).
Straight up medium purple creme. I like it on it’s own, but Funky Donkey could just as well be used for layering!

I only needed two thin coats for perfect application – the polish went on like butter. On one had, I expect all my polish to apply like that, but then there are enough polishes I own and keep that don’t apply that easily. So everytime the application goes smooth, I’m happy again, like one of those people in Alzheimer jokes.above: daylight, below: artificial light, no flash

 

P2 Black Deluxe Limited Edition

This LE came out a couple of weeks ago, but apparently it wasn’t perceived as worth buying, so you can find it in shops on sale now. I did like all the polishes in this LE (there were 3), so I just had to buy them – and while they weren’t the most awesome in the bottle, they are quite stunning on the nail.

I used 2 coats for each swatch, no topcoat. They were easy to apply and went on smoothly, so that was definitely a plus. Also, I find the shimmer in the polishes stunning! But have a look yourself.

p2 blue pearl. It’s blue, its full of shimmer and it’s a safe choice for a blue polish. It’s also a blue easily paired with your clothing, and one that is elegant yet not boring. Convinced me!

p2 red pearl. Well, obviously, it’s red. It is not too brown, not too pink, and not too orange – a very safe choice again, especially for a medium red. And don’t we all know how difficult it can be to find the red?

p2 black pearl. Now the name of the LE makes sense! It’s basically a black, but it is so packed with blue shimmer, it could pass as a very dark blue – an absolute stunner under artificial light, because then the purple/pink shimmer particles light up. The shimmer adds amazing depth to the polish, and I’ve worn this colour on and off throughout the last weeks.

 

 

Did you get any of those p2 polishes? Can you understand why p2 has grown on me so much? I think it might be my favourite drugstore brand – awesome quality and surprising colours.

Surprise!

So, this is a guessing game for my Austrian readers. Guess what the pink picture on top means! I’ll give you another hint:

Okay, I’ll tell you. This is the GLOSSYBOX, the Austrian version of a birchbox. I was sent one (thank you!) for free, to test it out. Last months’ GLOSSYBOX contained a nail polish, so I didn’t say no to the offer. Let’s see what this months’ GLOSSYBOX held in store for me – it’s the Valentines’ version after all!

In this GLOSSYBOX there was no nail polish for me and also no other decorative cosmetics (only a mascara, but that’s not decorative, that’s necessary!). Anyhow, I was really happy to get 5 products to try that I had never used before.

As I am not a beauty blogger, I will have to try my best to explain those products to you – cut me some slack, please, as this is difficult for me!

So far my favourite is the Clinique Mascara calles High Impact Mascara. It’s not waterproof and jet black, which is wonderful, and also it adds length to the lashes without sticking them together. Pretty much everything I want from a Mascara, and also, it doesn’t dry up and makes you have black spots under your eye after a few hours. I’m very willing to buy this full-sized.

I also already tried the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15. I am VERY VERY picky when it comes to face lotion as I have very dry and oversensitive skin, so I had to get over my issues and try this one. So far my face has not turned red or started to look as if I was 80 years old, and also I did not get a rash. When they put “for all skin types” on there, they obviously knew what they were talking about. It smells good, and my face feels moisturized – so I’m pretty happy about that one too. If my face survives another week, I’ll get a refill.

Then there are two things I don’t have any usage for: the Shu Uemura Art of Hair Full Shimmer Shampoo. I don’t have coloured hair, so I guess it won’t revive my hair colour – I gave it to my mum, and since she’s absolutely not into expensive cosmetics, I thought I’d let her say something about it. We’ll come back to that. The other thing I won’t use is the Lancome Génefique Concentrate, as I am not old enough to use that. Maybe you’ll disagree, but for my own integrity, I’ll wait a couple of years before I use anti-aging stuff. Even though I’ve heard people say you can’t start too early to use anti-aging lotions, I refuse to give in.

An then there is the Styx natural cosmetics aroma therapy body milk, scented in tangerine and orange. It smells nice and feels soft, but as stated above, I have super-dry skin, so I use body butter. For anyone who is looking for a new body lotion with a fresh scent, this would be an option.

I really enjoyed this box. For 12€ including sending you receive 5 samples of cosmetic products, and even though some might not be exactly what you want, it is always fun to try something new. Also, the whole shabang with the box and the nice packaging is awesome. I mean come on, which girl wouldn’t be convinced by a pink box?!

What do you think about the GLOSSYBOX? Did you order one? Are you going to order one in the future?

 

 

Pink Wednesday: Sancion Angel Alice

I don’t know in how far you all follow nail polish gossip, but recently there was a huge uproar that Sancion Angel sold essence magnets, put a sticker over the essence logo and pretended it was their product. Very, very uncool (apart from the fact it isn’t legal)! Nevertheless, I wanted to show you something else, and ask you: Is this a holo polish??above: daylight, below: artificial light
What do you think? It is Sancion Angel Alice, supposedly a pink holo. I mean, I do see some holo particles in there, but the polish is not nearly as nice as the one Sancion Angel sent to Scrangie. She took her initial post down after it was brought to her attention that she just received different polishes.

So, while this polish is a nice pink in my opinion, it is not what it was supposed to be. And worse, the company behind it is not one of the good kind.

 

bourjois spam!

Recently, bourjois was on sale because they won’t be sold in BIPA (Austrian drug store) anymore. So I finally bought some at 10€ a piece they were a little too expensive for a drugstore polish, which is why I passed on them previously.

bourjois advertises a special brush on their bottles which looks like this:

Oh the HORROR! An angled brush! I use an angled brush for my make-up, not for polishing my nails – apparently it’s a “touch-up” brush which makes it easier to adapt your nail polish in case you have any chips or bumps. Funnily enough the brush is used in a polish which also advertises “10 days wearing – no chips”. So … make up your mind about that yourself.

Well. Here’s the first one I picked, 10 days no chips blablablabla no 19. They don’t have names, only numbers. I like the colour, it’s a pretty pink, some shimmer, but not too much. I did have some difficulties with the angled brush, but I managed after a couple of trial (and errors).above: daylight, below: flash

I decided to layer my one and only depend crackle over it, “crackle 5010″ in lime green. I kinda like the combination!

Well. Then I picked out a blue 10daysnochipsblabla polish, no 18. I liked the shimmer in it, and also that it’s not a bright blue, but a more dulled out one. I thought I’d send one to my friend M. too – it seems very nice for layering!above: daylight, below: flash

I also picked two polishes from the other line bourjois offers, which does not promise a 10daynochip wear, but is called So lacque!. It promises to only last 7 days. Well, luckily I have enough polish to wear so I don’t have to wear it for 7 days, but if anyone tries to wear it a week, let me know how it worked!

This is Violine Chic. No idea what that means, but it’s a nice dark berry purple – 2 coats, easy to apply, and very very shiny. Although this isn’t my colour, I was content with my purchase.

And this is Bleu Model. Which means blue mannequin, which in turn doesn’t mean anything because 1.) this is not a smurf reference and 2.) it isn’t really blue. It’s minty, or a light turquoise, but not technically blue – maybe a member of the blue colour familybut that’s all. Again, two coats for perfect application, so on that grounds it is a winner.

I’m sorry I only have daylight pictures of the last two polishes, but my camera was displaying diva-like behaviour when I swatched these and didn’t want to take pictures with flash – but I hope you can forgive me

Let me know what you think about those bourjois polishes! Yay or nay?!

Instant Love

It’s alive!

And I love it! It’s green, gold, glittery, jelly-y, and awesome. China Glaze really, really did it for me with this polish. Instead of purchasing polishes from the current Electropop collection, I think I’ll track down backups of this beauty!

I used 3 thin coats for full coverage, and two coats of nails inc 45 second caviar topcoat – it was a little gritty after only one coat of the topcoat, and I want my polish to be totally smooth, so I applied another one. I wore this for days, which is something I don’t regularly do, so it shows just how much I love this polish. A must-have in every polish collectors’ stash!

above: daylight. below: artificial light, no flashbelow: flash

Wow. I’m really, really happy I own this It’s alive!.

What do you think?

essence legends of the sky Trend Edition

Another essence Trend Edition that can best be remembered for its’ horrible names. This Legends of the Sky collection consists of 6 very warm and earthly shades. Which also brings me to the question, why 6 polishes ranging from brown to green to red are being released in January? Sometimes I wonder if essence (cosonova to be exact) just bought some receipes of polishes which are safe to use until a certain date and if they haven’t been used until then, they need to be given back or thrown away or what do I know.

Anyhow. I used 2 coats for all of those polishes. They are all cremes, application was reasonable, the polishes weren’t to fluid nor to thick. Basically, there’s nothing special to mention.

Take my red away – sorry for the spelling mistake in the jpeg file. I must say in light of various tragic flight accidents, maybe “take my read (as in, book, magazine, smart phone) away” is not that absurd. Wasn’t there a plane crash a couple of years back where it was rumored that there was a flight attendant in the cockpit? doing stuff? Maybe inspirational for a ManGlaze polish…. Oh sorry. I trailed off. This is Take my red away. It is a red creme. Period.

Flying Higher. Higher than what? Prometeus? This is a nude beige creme. A nude tending towards yellow, not one of those tending towards pink. It is maybe a good substitute for one of the current Zoya nudes, but I don’t like wearing those. So it didn’t get my polish heart to fly, let alone fly higher.

I am a Viator. That reminds me of “I am a Violator” or “I am a specific type of dinosaur called Viator”. The worst name in polish history I think. Definitely one for stupidnailpolishnames.blogspot.com. This is a medium brown creme. I don’t even want to say what it reminds me of, but for people looking for good brown cremes, go for it. It’s just not for me….

Well, I guess they tried. I wear my flying goggles at night. Sounds like a five year old trying to make a reference to a cool song. Like, I’ll take you to the car shop. Just as amusing. Nevertheless, this polish actually appealed to me – greyish green dusty creme. Nice colour.

This is the greener version of I wear my flying goggles at night. It is called Like Leo’s Pilot Jacket. I have no idea what this is about. Aviator? The movie? Well, if so, not the best reference. If you like army greens though, go for it and peel off the sticker, so you won’t have to read the name anymore.

No better way to sky. Well. Grammar, anyone?! This is orange. Not like a neon orange, more of a duller orange, but still orange. And we know what I think of orange cremes, right?

Did you get any of those polishes? Do you also think they should’ve been released in fall?