This time I decided for a dark forest green. I actually didn’t buy it for me, but the lady in the shop was nice enough to let me swatch it from the tester on one hand! So here is KOH Play Daily!, a 2 coat green with a nice shimmer to it. And I didn’t use topcoat, just so you know – it is incredibly glossy. Looks almost like there’s a layer of glass on top!

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

For practise purposes I decided to stamp over Play Daily!. I like the look so much that I now need to recreate that design. I used a metallic green sally hansen pen for stamping.

What do you think? Do you like the dark green?

Nevertheless, I present to you today: Melon of Troy. I like the name, that’s already a plus point (you know how picky I am when it comes to names!), and I like the colour. It is not in fashion, it is also super streaky, but I still like it.

The colour is peachy, but not too brown. It is lively, but not too bright. And it has somewhat of a retro look about it. I used two coats, which was sufficient – you’ll never get rid of the streaks anyways, so there’s no point in trying.

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

If you wanted to know if this is a unique colour, let me answer: no. Even though this polish is rather old, colours like this will be released every once in a while – not everyone is brave&bold enough to wear blue, green and yellow! You can just have look for yourself: Orly Peachy Parrot comes very close to Melon of Troy. Other colours I found to be close are: essence “What do you think?” and OPI “Are we there yet?”.

Do you hate or love colours like Melon of Troy? It really either loving or hating  those colours, right?!

Basically, Dior never had any polishes that looked exciting to me; the colours weren’t unique, the bottles don’t appeal to me and the price tag (23€!) didn’t justify another pink polish.  Somehow I decided to give Nirvana a try and from then onwards I was convinced. I even bought the scented Waterlily polish from this spring collection at full prize. I am amazed by how easily the polish glides on, dries and looks when dry. Nirvana is a medium teal creme polish, and I didn’t own a teal like that, so I thought I’d give it a try.

So here is 2 coats of Dior Nirvana! above: daylight. below: artificial light, no flashbelow: flash

Here in Vienna the weather is getting a little nicer – more sun and warmer temperatures! I’m really happy about that because my poor skin suffers from cold and dry weather, and my hands are rough and my cuticles look horrible. Luckily, I made those pictures after a night of excessive moisterizing (I love those gloves I can wear during sleeping), so no horrible pictures for you.

I wore flormar U31, one of their supershine miracle polishes (that’s how they call it, not my idea!). It’s basically a glassfleck duochrome nail polish. U31 doesn’t need any underwear, it is opaque in 2 coats.

As always, duochromes look the best in daylight. That’s when the colour shift is most apparent (see pic above for proof!).

I decided to pair U31 with a scarf I brought back from India; it is one of my favourite scarfs. I just love the pattern, and the Indian blockprint is beautiful. If you visit India, you should go by one of the Anokhi stores. I love their home furnishing ideas, the clothes, the scarfs… 

(that sweater is actually dark blue, but the artificial light makes it look purple….)

After a day I was bored so I added some crackle polish over U31. I’m so not over crackle polish, especially if I want to add something but not remove the nail polish. I used 2 different crackles, both from bpretty, which is the in-house brand from the Austrian drugstore chain bipa. The purple one is called “pure lilcac” and the green one is called “shiny grass”.

Do you like flormar polishes? And are you over the crackle trend yet?

I hope I don’t disappoint anyone, but this post is not about nail polish, but lipstick! I was tagged by my friend Mirela from Coral and Mauve.

I have a fair share of lipsticks I think, but nowhere as many as nail polishes – obviously, as nail polish is where my priorities lie. I do love lipsticks though, but I think I have a very clear “hunting scheme” when it comes to the color choice. But see for yourself!

These are my actual lipsticks. The golden one is Estee Lauder in Rich Berry, the ones on the left are both from Chanel (Rouge Coco Byzantin 28 and Rouge Allure Romantic), but they were unused testers, so I got them really cheap. On top is a lipstick from Lanvin for H&M inRed , and the other two are YSL (rouge Personelle in 11 and 13).

One of my favourite brands for lipsticks is tarte. From left to right Lip Surgence in: perky, dazzled, flashy, lucky, glitzy. Next is a lipliner from Bourjois (24 Glam Sage), which I use as a lipstick; the same goes for the lipliner from P2 (Inspiring Indonesia). And then there are those two lipsticks which look like pens. They’re from essence (You rock it! LE – one is missing the label and the other one is called Let me in rose.), and I love them especially because the colour stays on forever!

On to lipglosses! From left to right: Revlon Lip Glide in Vibrant Violet , Catrice Let me seduce you (from the Welcome to Las Vegas LE), Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Belladonna, Astor Perfect Stay in Berry Pink, Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Move, Catrice Welcome to Glitz and Glamour (from the Welcome to Las Vegas LE), Lip Tar in Pageant, Catrice Lovely Sinner (from the Welcome to Las Vegas LE).

More lipglosses! From left to right: Korres Cherry Lipgloss, MAC Dazzleglass – the first one is missing the label, and the others are Money, Honey and Funtabulous. And last a Sephora lipgloss, which is also missing the label. It looks black, but really it just darkens any colour you wear under it and adds sparkle. A LOT of sparkle.My Inglot palette! The colours are (from left to right): 29, 16, 69, 32, 71.

So, what do you think of my lipstick collection? Mediocre compared to the nail polishes, right

It is the one silver holo that makes holo lovers hearts beat; it is very linear, it is a rainbow on your nails, it is everything you wish for.
I used 2 coats, and don’t forget to let holographic polishes dry inbetween coats. Also, don’t use a topcoat! I recently heard that buffing a holo after it dried enhances the holographic effect, but I didn’t try it yet. I’ll let you know once I tried!

This is what it looks like on a dull winter day:

and this is what it looks like once the light hits it:
I feel the need to mention that this polish isn’t mine, but belongs to my friend B. She kindly let me borrow it to swatch it and show you! Thanks, B.!

So, what do we think?

It amuses me that they misspelled New Delhi. The “h” belongs after the “l” – maybe it’s an old german way of spelling it? I don’t know. I only know New Delhi, and not New Dehli.

The colour is gorgeous though. It is a deep, glossy red, easy to apply and great in regards to longevity. What I originally bought for the name only quickly turned into one of my favourite reds!
2 coats for full coverage.

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

Do you know Mavala? Am I the only one buying certain products for the name only?

What I had forgotten was that Waterlily is a scented nail polish, and it smells like rose perfume when it is dry. I absolutely hate that. I don’t like the artificial rose smell at all. I put a topcoat over it so the smell would subside, but it was still rather strong. Luckily, after a day, it finally vanished.

Waterlily is a pastell green with a subtle but great silver shimmer. The Spring collection from Dior (I think it is called Garden Collection) is limited edition. The other colour they released is a pastell lavender creme, and totally not my cup of tea.

Waterlily has good coverage, and I needed only two coats. The application was ok, but not as good as it was on other Dior polishes I tried. It is rather thick, but it equals out, and I think I’m going to add some polish thinner to it next time I wear it. I don’t have anything like it in my stash, but that may be because I only recently started adding greens!

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

Did you buy any of the Dior spring polishes? What do you think about scented polishes?

Today I chose essie big spender. It’s a strong pink from essie, and so glossy one could think it’s a jelly, even though it is a creme polish.I used 2 coats for full coverage, and had no issues with the application – it worked out perfectly!

I like statement pinks like this, and I also think they (or shades of pinks like this) can be worn by almost everyone.

above: daylight. below: artificial light, no flash

Of course this is not the most unique shade of pink, so there are some other polishes that come quite close. I compared my swatch-sticks for you!

from left to right: Catrice Wrapped around my finger, essie big spender, Ulta3 footloose fuchsia, China Glaze Traffic Jam, Zoya Drew, OPI Houston we have a purple, Nicole by OPI I’ve got the power.

I think that China Glaze Traffic Jam is the closest to big spender, but the others (except for the NOPI) are pretty close too. Which one do you like the best?

So, today, I would like to introduce you to a brand from Sweden, ISADORA. They make all kinds of decorative cosmetics, and some pretty nice nail polishes too! Also, their nail polishes are 3-free and free from animal testing. In Austria, you can buy them at douglas, and they retail for 9,95€.

The one I bought first is beetle green. It is a beautiful forest green shimmer, and reminds me of fir trees somehow… Well, I used 2 coats for full coverage, there are no brush strokes. I like how deep the green looks, and it almost looks like a duochrome if you squint your eyes a little.

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

What do you think? Do you own any ISADORA nail polishes?