China Glaze - Sea Spray (Anchors Away Collection, Spring 2011)

Having a no-buy policy makes me dive into the archives and find all kind of undiscovered gems! That is how I unearthed China Glaze Sea Spray, from the lovely Anchors Away Collection of 2011.
Sea Spray is a grey blue, blue leaning grey, grey leaning blue with a subtle hint of pearly shimmer. The shimmer is apparent in the bottle but on the nail it gives the polish more of a deepening effect preventing it to be a creme. The grey/blue was very light "reactive", in some lights it appears more of a light grey and in some it is more a greyish blue!

This is two layers with base and top coat:

China Glaze - Sea Spray

Essie - Cocoa Karma dotticure (Suite Retreat, Resort Collection 2015)

A dotticure again, this time with the complete Resort Collection 2015 from Essie.
The base is Cocoa Karma with dots of Suite Retreat (filled in with Cocoa Karma) and Stones 'n Roses filled with Time for Me Time. The result is a bit bumpy because of the dots-in-dots, the pink in pink dots look a bit like *zits* in retrospect.....but.....all in all I really like dots :-)

Essie Cocoa Karma with dots of Suite Retreat, Stones 'n Roses & Time for Me Time

Essie - Truth or Flare *european version* dotticure (Hide & Go Chic Collection, Spring 2014)

A bit of nailart can be so fun to do!
Here I started with a base of Essie Truth or Flare with dots of Essie Vices Versa, Lovie Dovie and I'm Addicted and then I put some smaller dots of Truth or Flare within the coloured dots.
I was a bit late with taking these pictures so there is some tip wear.......

Essie Truth or Flare with dots of Essie Vices Versa, Lovie Dovie and I'm Addicted

Happy New Year with Essie - Starry Starry Night (Retro Revival Collection 2016)

Happy New Year to all of you nail enthusiasts!!

For New Years Eve I wore Essie Starry Starry Night!
How could I not really: it is blue, there is glitter, it's an old polish that is re-introduced (so it is new)....very symbolic and all, plus it was the perfect colour to go with my outfit ;-)
This is two layers of starry happiness, two gluelike layers that is. The formula was not topnotch: I ended up thinning it with at least 5 drops in the tiny mini bottle. But the colour is wonderful and the glitters swimming in the navy blue jelly are to die for! I was very fortunate with my buy: I usually buy my Essie polishes on Ebay and the day after I bought my mini "cube" (that is no cube anymore) they more than doubled it in price. I paid €11,00 and now you have to pay €23,00...ridiculous, not to mention the prices you (still) have to pay for a normal size bottle!

Essie - Starry Starry Night

NICOLE by OPI - Blue-Berry Sweet on You (Gumdrops, 2013)

Ahhh, liquid sand....or gumdrops in this case: I still like these gritty polishes!

Today I have Nicole bij OPI Blue-Berry Sweet on You. It is a jeans blue, slightly metallic sand with a hint of purple flash hidden somewhere inside. It is hard to describe but in certain lights it is definitely showing a purple hue!

BBSoY is fairly transparent, so you need two thick layers or three normal ones to have a opaque result on your nails.

Nicole bij OPI - Blue-Berry Sweet on You

OPI - Umpires Come Out At Night (MLB Collection 2014)

OPI Umpires Come Out At Night is a lovely navy blue that stays navy in almost all lights.
The formula is a but runny but workable and it covers in two coats.
The smell of this one is a bit strange though, although some blue polishes have this problem or so I'm told...
It is very, very shiny!!

OPI - Umpires Come Out At Night

Chanel Le Vernis- 665 Vibrato (Blue Rhythm Collection 2015)

The Blue Rhythm Collection, which is inspired by the spirit of jazz and celebrates the boldness of blue as Chanel states. 665 Vibrato is indeed a very bold (yet classy) and crisp blue creme: I love it!
This is three buttery coats of Vibrato and that is because I was wearing it for three or four days already (Zoya Anchor and Armor) so there was some slight tip wear.....and I had not taken any pictures of this gorgeous blue yet.....
So I slapped on an extra coat, topped it off with Hema fast drying top coat and there you go: crazy glossy!
Nothing more to say about this one, it's utter perfection <3

Chanel - Vibrato

p.s. In the bottle Chanel Vibrato is very, very close to Cirque NYFW from the Metropolis Collection...but I haven't compared them on the nails yet.

Hare Polish - Two Forty-Five am (LE: a late night lab accident)

Hare Polish Two Forty-Five am is a lavender blue/lilac indie polish with tiny pearly white square glitter, green-blue multi chrome flakies and a healthy dusting of fine copper flakies.
This is two very easy coats of Two Forty-Five am, which has a lovely buttery formula!
Ever since I use Zoya Anchor and Armor with Hare Polish my polish does not chip or get any tip wear what so ever for days on end: they are the perfect base and top coat for Hare Polish.
I love this flakie and glitter combination that is so typically Hare: it is interesting and special (and not too much bling).

Hare Polish - Two Forty-Five am

OPI Give Me Space (Holiday Starlight Collection 2015)

Well, it has been a while......
Life got the better of me: we adopted a puppy named Echo (a Portuguese Podengo mix found in a trashcan), I started a serious study (Law), the summer holidays, helping the kids with school etc. etc.

Echo, 12 weeks

So I am now trying to find a way to fit blogging into this picture: it needs to be quick and easy, so the next few weeks I am going to figure out how to make this happen! But it's going to be less pictures, less text and just once a week on monday.

Here we go!

OPI Give Me Space

OPI Give Me Space, from the Starlight Holiday Collection 2015.
This is one coat over one coat of Essie After School Boy Blazer: I wanted it to be less jelly blue and more midnight sky.
And LOOK: Give Me Space is a scattered holo >ieks< !!!!!
It is a sister of Zoya Dream, but that one is more blue and the holo is more fleck-like (read: bigger).

Comparison Essie No More Film, Style Cartel & After School Boy Blazer and a Cirque gradient

To stay a bit with my last post and Essie Style Cartel.....I did a comparison between Essie No More Film, Style Cartel and After School Boy Blazer.

Essie After School Boy Blazer, Style Cartel & No More Film

As you can see ASBB is the darkest of the three, this one appears black in most cases. No More Film has more of a grey-purple thing going on, it is still dark but definately more blue than ASBB. And Style Cartel is most blue of the trio and it stays blue in most lights! They are all beautiful and no dupes for sure (I need them all!).

Then I had some tipp wear...
So I did a gradient with Cirque Fascination Street and Ophelia!

Gradient Essie Style Cartel, Cirque Fascination Street & Ophelia

The holo in Fascination Street really lifts up the whole colour, it adds light and sparkle. Ophelia drifts happily along in the holoness of Fascination Street and melts into the colour at times and in some lights it pops up and gives it a nice hydrangea twist!
In hindsight I might have added a microglitter to this gradient, like China Glaze All Wrapped Up or Feeling Twinkly, just to give it a bit more sparkle in low light.

Essie - Style Cartel (Dress To Kilt Collection, autumn 2014)

Man, I needed a deep blue in my life! And I had my eye on Essie Style Cartel for a while already. Once I ordered it I received a mail that the last bottle the seller had was leaking and that they couldn't send it to me.
So back to Ebay and reorder somewhere else, weeks later I finally was the proud owner of this fabulous blue polish called Style Cartel.
It is a very deep blue, but not so dark that it becomes black, it stays blue (on the teal side of blue).
I used two easy coats here and it shines like crazy!

Essie - Style Cartel

It did not stain my nails BUT I got smurf fingers when I removed it! Oh well, never mind I love this blue anyway!!!