the cat strikes again

I already showed you one peripera polish, but I didn’t want to withhold the other ones I have any longer!

This one has the beautiful sounding name P016. It is a light green that is interspersed with silver glitter particles, which one hand gives it a very metallic look but also a somewhat dusty look. All in all, not a very vibrant, but a very decent and beautiful green. I used two coats. 

peripera P026 is my favorite peripera. It is a barbie pink shimmer polish, with an intense gold shimmer that looks lime green in certain angles. It looks a bit like Zoya Happi – only P026 is the pimped version. I used two coats.

What’s your favorite peripera?

The malice frenzy

 

Today I quickly want to show you two Chanel polishes I bought within the last half year and don’t regret buying. I never really had Chanel polishes on my radar (even Chanel Jade seemed not that interesting to me) but with the introduction of Mimosa, I decided to follow Chanel polish releases. So slowly, my Chanel collection is growing!

Chanel Malice was released this winter. At least in Austria it was sold out in a heartbeat. 

It is a beautiful ruby red, including the shimmer that makes it look so deep. It’s a very sexy color, I can absolutely understand it was sold out so quickly. I used two coats.

Chanel Frenzy was released in summer or early fall I think – it slipped my mind. Frenzy is not really a color that lives up to its name if you ask me.
I didn’t know if I should buy it at first, but I saw it on a friend, and it looked so easy and simple on her, I figured I would try it too. I’m very happy with this purchase, especially because it is less pink than OPI My very first Knockwurst, so I can easily switch between the two. I used two coats.

Anything on your Chanel wish list?

Knockwurst Babes

(excuse the absolutely weird title, but my other option was Knockwurst Toyland, and that sounded so dirty.)

The other day I was wearing OPI My very first Knockwurst, which looks a bit like meat spread, if you ask me. I like to wear it every once in a while, because it is really simple and clean-looking. Somehow I thought I showed you this already, but I haven’t… I did wear this surprisingly often since I got it. 2 coats.

When I came home from work that day, my ILNP order arrived. I bought Babes in Toyland (and some other stuff, but that’s for later!), which I immediately had to put on my tips! You can buy ILNP here and follow on facebook. Babes in Toyland is a multi-glitter topcoat, that I absolutely loved. It consists of gold, pink, green, teal and purple glitters in different sizes and shapes. I used one coat.

For work, I decided that the sparkle was a bit too much, so I decided to make a jelly sandwich out of it. I picked OPI You callin’ me a lyre?, which is a super sheer jelly in a neutral pink (not that the color matters when it’s so sheer!). It is perfect for sandwiches! 

I used two coats over Babes in Toyland, and I love the outcome! Don’t you?

How I Wore It: a england Holy Grail

The least exciting about this post is the story how I got a england Holy Grail. I had thought about investing in a england polishes for some time, but they hadn’t fully convinced me yet – mainly the price of GBP 9,00 and the fact that most of them were so dark and unwearable for work had put me off. So when I realized that Holy Grail, the only one I knew I had to have, was discontinued, I decided to wait no longer and ordered it.  It is a bit of a historic moment, because it is the first time I ordered only one polish.

So here it is, how I wore the (old) Holy Grail! I didn’t like it much in the bottle, surprisingly, but on the nail it is amazing. I used two coats.

I look a bit stupid in most of these pictures, but it was so cold! I just quickly slipped off my jacket, but I was basically frozen in 30 seconds.

The dress is a bit too large by now, but I still like the design. I had it made after a sketch I drew. It has cap sleeves, but the cloth is very warm. The scarf is from Anokhi, and it has golden thingies (coins?) at the edge, so the blue and yellow gold combination fits!  I was wearing a nude lipgloss from tarte that day and the other regular make-up stuff I use: Inglot blush, foundation, eyebrow pencil and my beloved Chanel mascara. Nothing special but reliable basics!  This is my favorite aspect of Holy Grail: It’s an exact color match for my boots! How much of a coincidence is that?!

You can order a england polishes directly through their website!

Sunday SPAM: Nubar

In my list of most underrated nail polish brands, Nubar ranks no 3.  Number 1 is BB Couture. Number 2 is so underrated, even I forgot. I’m very sad to see a great brand not getting the attention it deserves – Nubar is almost unknown to Austrian nail polishers!

Anyhow. Nubar Iris Dust, a stunnig raspberry to gold duochrome – 1 coat over OPI The color of Minnie. I had the best success layering duochromes over polishes with a similar basecolor. I’m not such a lover of duochromes, especially the green to purple ones, but I do love this, as it is a bit more subtle!

Nubar Geisha Blaze, a blue-toned medium pink. It is very vivid. Quite a stunning color, and executed perfectly. This is two thin coats – the application was easy and flawlessly.

Nubar Honeysuckle seems to be a regular medium candy pink, and it is. So why should you choose this one? The formula is amazing, and it dries so glossy that you don’t even need a topcoat.

Nubar Tea Rose petal is another ‘regular’pink, but it is more blue toned than Honeysuckle. Again, it dries amazingly glossy. I also love this slight hint of a blue shimmer.

Nubar Star Dust is another amazing duochrome. It changes from a warm gold/bronye to a deep shimmery red. I layered this over OPI The color of Minnie, which is basically red (don’t stone me for only saying red…). I love this so much, I have to show you three pictures! This is only one coat.

Your weekly dose of Holo: Jade Mystic Gold

I’m very sorry that I kept all the holographic saturday post from you so long. There’s barely any sun inbetween the snowy Vienna January days, so I figured it would be a waste to wear holos. I must admit that I also didn’t realize that it would be possible to just make pictures with flash in my lightbox…. So when I received some Jade holographic polishes that I asked my friend B. to order for me I couldn’t wait any longer.

What you must know is that my taste in holographic polishes is pretty much the same as in all other polishes: they’re fine as long as they are green, yellow and, of course, pink. Today I will therefore show you Jade Mystic Gold!

To show the base color, this picture is taken in my lightbox with indirect light.

For the next pictures, I used flash. It is really a lot of fun to use flash in a lightbox because the flash lights up all the reflecting (aka holographic) particles, and for a second it looks as if the nails are struck by lightening.

Technicalities: I used two thin coats over a england Holy Grail (Old version). Perfect base color match! You can buy Jade nail polishes from Ninja Polish.

Diwali, Hellebore

One of the Chanel polishes I just knew I had to have lately was Diwali. Luckily one of my US friends agreed to send it to me, but it hasn’t arrived yet. This particular bottle of Diwali arrived at my doorstep from Chanel themselves, as a small gift to ease the sorrow that Chanel doesn’t want to work with me, only with ‘selected’ bloggers. Well. Their loss.  I’ll take this polish and be fine with it (for now!).

Diwali is not only a polish named after an awesome Indian festival or holiday, no, it also is sparkling gold, but in the great, elegant way. It applies flawlessly, easy and covers in two coats (one, if you’re not making pictures!). It has a mix of light gold and bronze color particles, which adds this amazing shine to it.

I absolutely loved wearing this, and I will have to make some How I Wore It pictures next time I put it on! Oh, and for those of you who think this may be streaky: it isn’t. Not even the least bit!

I couldn’t bring myself to remove this after two days, but the gap between polish and cuticles got visible, so I decided to gradient it. As my Cirque nail polish order had just arrived, I couldn’t resist putting on Hellebore.

To achieve this look, I just dabbed on some polish at the cuticle area and then used superficial brushstrokes to spread the polish a bit towards the middle of the nail. It is very easy, and I love the look! I’ll introduce you all to Hellebore in another post, but if you want to look at Cirque colors in the meantime, click here.

catrice NEONaturals LE

Today I’m showing you a collection from Catrice called NEONaturals. I have absolutely no idea what the thought was behind this collection; it seems random in time of the year and choice of color. Nevertheless, here it is.

be naturally crazy is a sheer white with a hint of blue micro glitter. It really is only a hint of blue in there; it doesn’t transfer on the nail that well. This is 3 coats! (hideous, if you ask me.)

makes me smile is a metallic polish between silver and gold. It covered very well, almost in one coat, and it is very shiny. No brushstroke issue here either – I liked this best. 2 coats.

bright brighter brightest is a creme pink. It’s pretty much the same pink essence and Catrice bring out every other LE, which is an action that would contradict it’s name, as it is the opposite of bright. But hey, we can’t have everything. 2 coats.

for bright guys is a creme egg yolk colored polish. I love yellow, but these warm yellows better stay far away from me! It dries to a somewhat satin finish, and I needed three coats to get this to look acceptable. I assume it’s because eggs are for eating, not to be worn on nails.  3 coats.

Have a good day is a grey creme polish – it has some shimmer in the bottle, but that also stays there. I used two coats, it is a very decent grey, if you don’t have one yet, and this is easily accessible to you, it’s worth the money (but not more than that). I prefer KIKO greys, but you can’t buy KIKO everywhere! 2 coats.

little miss sunshine is a sheer patchy yellow with yellow flakes in there that add some sparkle. It had, as is the tradition with yellows, the worst application. Also, it looks very different in different light. It’s a fun polish, but I’m spoiled by yellows with better formulas, so it’s not really a winner in my books. 3 coats.


mr. brightsight is a coral creme polish, it had the most visible satin finish. I am not fond of corals in combination with my skin tone, but this is a great nail polish for toes in the summer. 2 coats.

it’s partner, mrs. brightsight, is the most neon of the bunch. It is a color somewhere between pink and red, and it is very vivid. Somehow it was a bit more sheer than the other creme polishes, and I ended up using 2 and a half coats. It had the best application though.

on the bright side of life is a vivid aubergine purple. It looks a bit lighter in the bottle than it is on the nail. It is a great color for autumn and winter, I think. 2 coats.

essence hugs & kisses TE

Today I want to show you the newest essence Trend Edition, Hugs & Kisses. Most anticipated were the glitters in this collection – were you excited for them too?

I’ll start with the cremes to build up anticipation! Love it or leave it was by far my favorite. It’s a green creme, whereas the green leans a bit lime. So, for the sake of over-describing, this would be a chartreuse lime creme polish. It covered well in two coats, but I own similar greens with better formula. It was a bit annoying when it comes to leveling out, so I used a generous second coat to prevent a third one. Worked alright.

The biggest surprise of this collection was the red creme, Save your kisses for me. I have never seen essence produce a red creme. So unique. N-O-T. 2 coats.

Sugar Baby Love is your rather standard pink creme polish. I have very little to add to that: 2 coats.

With X’s and O’s is a lavender pastel creme, which was surprisingly pretty. I prefer lavender cremes to be a bit on the dirty side, not straight up lavender, but it is pretty nonetheless. Very fitting for spring! 2 coats.

Now, onto the glitters! Crazy in Love (shown here over Givenchy Acoustic Purple) is a purple with holographic hearts glitter topper. It is very dense, and one doesn’t have to fish the hearts. I used one coat.

Dreams for sale (shown here over Deborah Lippmann Let’s hear it for the boy) is a mix of differently sized iridiscent glitters in a clear base. I love iridiscent glitters, but the formula was gooey and it all ran towards my tips, so it looked like a big drip of clear nail polish on my tips. Euh.

More than words (shown here over essence with X’s and O’s) is the sister of Dreams for Sale – it has iridiscent and pale rosé glitters of different sizes mixed in a clear base. This one was the most annoying to apply, it was super thick and goopy. I didn’t like this much.

Sunshine and red roses (shown here over essence Skyscraper) consists of red and holographic mini-glitters mixed with red hearts in a clear base. I generally like the hearts, but these wouldn’t lie flat on the nail. I liked the idea of this glitter topper better than it looked in reality.       

What’s your verdict?

so glittery, so green – deal with it!

In the nail polish world, most questions are black and white, as a counterpart to all the nail polish colors. One of the black and white questions is, are you a Cultie, or are you not. I myself do love some Cult Nails polishes, but I can’t really picture myself as a Cultie of any kind of Cult. I much prefer to say that I am a fan of Cult Nails nailpolishes, and especially this one. deal with it. (pun intended)

I actually ordered this polish from Cult Nails and also received it in a swap from my friend M., who knows my weakness for a pretty green, especially with a golden shimmer. I’m wearing this polish on my toes, constantly, without tipwear, for over a month now (I should change it, I know, but my feet are just so far away…!).

It is, by far, the most amazing green I own.  That’s actually not true. Let me rephrase. It is the most amazing green of this tone of green that I own. Deal with it is almost neon, that’s how vibrant it is. Application wise was this the best Cult Nails polish I have. The first coat is disappointingly sheer, but the second coat reassures you, that this is a great polish.  The shimmer transfers very well from the bottle to the nail, maybe Chanel should take some lessons in polish making from Maria (the owner of Cult Nails)? 

As I wore this on the weekend, I was free to add as many glitters as I felt like. I recently re-discovered my love for glitter gradients, so I decided to go for that.  I just loosely painted over Deal with it, starting from the cuticle area, and dabbing on more glitter closer to the cuticle area, fading out towards the middle of the nail. I used Cult Nails Happy Ending, a shredded glitter (there’s a dupe from ICING, which bled like crazy!), China Glaze Marry a Millionaire (bar glitter) and China Glaze Snowglobe, which is iridiscent glitter, so I put it on last. 

I love the look of it – it reminds me of an overly happy flowerbed on a super green lawn. What do you think?