Special ManGlaze surprise B-day mani

My people! It has been a crazy month so far! Imagine hype at work, birthday, being sick, attending a dance festival and releasing a magazine crammed all in three weeks. Ah yes. Crrrazy. I haven't worn any nail polish for about a week, which is an absolute record of the past 3-4 years for me. 

To more important things - I had a birthday about two weeks ago. It was a lovely day I spent with my boyfriend - after we both finished with work, but nevertheless - a day of relaxation and sauna. Wonderful. We got home pretty late and I was chatting with my mum and I noticed a package for me (my folks don't even mention it anymore, because there is always a package for me on one of the tables) on the kitchen table. Surprisingly, I didn't expect any packages in that period of time and it didn't seem to belong to any of the retailers I usually order from. What the hell, right? I started opening it, and inside the box was a smaller box. A freaking nail polish. Now, I KNOW I remember when I order a new goodie for my collection. And as I am opening the smaller box I see it SAYS MANGLAZE ON IT! Man-fucking-glaze?!! In my home? For MOI??  And I realise one of my friends surprised me with one of my biggest lemmings, ManGlaze Mayonnaise. We talked about nail polish a couple of weeks before that and she decided to surprise me with it. Thanks, gurrl! :) :* 

Now, to explain my lovestory with ManGlaze. ManGlaze is one of my biggest lemming brand of all time, right up there with BB Couture. Their idea of witty names and incredibly awesome bottle designs is just fantastic. Not to mention their matte nail polish always looks sickening. Basically, I want them all, if not for uniqueness of the shade (although all of them are pretty unique, I think), then definitively for the design. Mayonnaise was number one on my list because it is supposed to be this perfect true white matte. Which I always wanted. Not the I-just-put-glue-on-my-nails white, but a nice, wearable white with a decent enough formula to apply (which was mission impossible to get a couple of years back). And now I have it.

Bunch of photos of the bottle!

See how awesome the bottle is? I am sure you already saw it million times before, but bear with me, I just got it! :D

And to make this polish and the present-giver justice, I needed to make this mani especially fabulous without destroying the Mayo. So I did accent mani, with black matte, glitter on top and then mattified it. Because. I. Can.

Besides my mani, I hate everything about these photos. Please take into consideration I have a new camera and no time to figure out how to work with it best. I promise, I will learn! The skin on my middle finger is an abomination, but it is that period of year when I can't do shit about it. 

But I really wanted to show you this beauty! It is not that obvious on my pictures, but Mayonnaise has this tiny tiny tiny shimmer that makes it slightly pearlescence. It is still matte, but not flat, chalk-matte and it gives the whiteness some depht. Gorgeous!

The application was a very nice surprise. I needed two to three coats to even it up, but they applied like a breeze for a matte nail polish. And for a white matte nail polish, that is pretty awesome. The only thing that you need to be careful about is  that it dries slowly comparing to other matte nail polish. I paid for that lesson dearly on my index finger, where you can notice a small dent. How I hate doing that to my fresh mani. 

On my index finger I have Rimmel Velvet Matte Matte-itude that I shall talk more about in one of the future posts. Glitter on top is Sally Hansen Luxe Lace Rochet, one coat, and then Konad Matte Topcoat on top. 

I am in love with this nail polish. Ridiculously love it. Needless to say, I want them ALL. And this little baby convinced me they are worth the money. Desiree, thanks, darling. :*

Do you have any ManGlaze nail polish? Do you like white nail polish (matte or glossy) or are you in "big no-no" camp? :)

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Connect the dots white sandwich

Hey people! How are you doing? I am just about to change the polish on my nails (I had a nasty fall at my BF's when we were leaving the house and trying to catch my balance I hit the wall very hard with my nails. Polish is quite damaged and I suspect nails are too) and I remembered this mani. I am still on the fence about it. In my mind it looked awesome. White nails, with Connect the dots and then another layer of white polish over it, creating this clean, icy look. Well ... I kind of felt like I did a bad painting job on a wall when I finished with polishing. And the next days of wearing it, I went from liking it to hating it, but never really loving it. I don't know, really ... what do you think?

This was two coats of Colorama French White, then a coat of Lynnderella Connect the dots, then another coat of French White and then, realising French White is too opaque, another layer of Connect the dots. Plus top coat. And I still think I dislike it more often than like it. 

Do you have any colour or combination you can't really decide whether you like it or not?

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Born Pretty Store: Stamping Polish in White

Heya people! How about that, I come back with a stamping mani! Yay for me! Actually, I received another package from Born Pretty Store and this time I decided to try stamping polish. I am still surprised by the fact how much simpler it is to do a mani with a good stamping polish. Before I did them with regular polish (that I knew had good coverage, but still) and lots of times I had to re-do the pattern, or it was barely visible. This time making of the pattern was swift and easy. Now I get it! The stamping hype! I am about 5-7 years late to the party, I'd say, but hey, better late than never. ;) 

But to the product and the BPS. As you all know, Born Pretty Store holds everything possible you would wish for in relation to nail art. They have it all, and at a very affordable prices. So far I had not have a single bad or unpleasant experience with them. BTW; my code for 10% discount is still valid: SSL91.

 In this package two stamping polishes were hidden, in black and white (ID code for the set: 1381), plus a royal blue 'fur' for the nails (I can't wait to play with that either!). Today's mani is done with the white one, I was curious about how the white one will held up, so I tried it first. Observations:

• The bottle is small, 3 ml. Consequently it is cheap. 3.41$ for the set, 1.70$ for the bottle. 
• The brush is wide and big enough so there are no troubles with quick application to the plate.
• Formula is thicker, obviously that makes it very nicely opaque and easy to work with. The pattern got on the nails easily, where I noticed mistakes it was due to me pressing the stamp too hard on the nail (still haven't lost the habit).
• The pattern does not smudge when top coat is applied! Praise the nail polish fairy, this was my biggest issue when stamping before and now it is gone! 

All in all I love it. I can see how it would be too small of a quantity for a regular stampler, but I personally do not mind small bottles, since I do not stamp often. Plus it is a very good stamping polish, I guess you can buy more when you run out of it anyway. 

I noticed this is by far my most used pattern ever. I love it. And you probably noticed my nails are here still not in the best shape, let alone my cuticles. That is why they are shiny, I put some cuticle oil on them, to make them look nicer. I loved this manicure, how it turned out. Fun. I at least have to have spring on my nails, if the weather decided to ignore it.

What do you think? Have you tried Born Pretty Store stamping polish in any other colours too?

Thank you for reading! 

*Product sent for reviewing purposes, you can read my disclosure here.

Bunny is connecting the snow dots

Heya folks! I'm trying quite desperately to find stuff to do in order to avoid college work. I've done a make up look with MUA (btw, love the eyeshadows and the powder blusher, it suits me perfectly), I went for a coffee with a friend, I went for a walk, cooked lunch, made tea, edited photos ...I just might do a bit of exercise and dancing after I finish with this post. You know ... to get the blood flowing and they I'll really go to work! Yeah ... actually, I really do need to work, so I better stop making excuses. But I miss dancing, I just might give it half an hour. And now I'm seriously rambling, aren't I?

Revlon Snow Bunny is a perfect polish for snowy winter. It matches the snow rather well. It's a beautiful white foil, I think I fell in love with white foil when I saw it on Das Experiment blog. Then again, everything looks perfect on her gorgeous nails. :) Snow Bunny is a bit sheer, I needed 4 coats for full opacity, but I really love the finished look. I put Lynnderella's Connect the Dots on top, and they look pretty awesome together.

 This is actually how white Snow Bunny is! A bit shaky picture, but it's the best I could get to actually capture the whiteness.

When I started applying Connect the Dots I grabbed the biggest hexagonal ever! See it on my pinky? I did not know hexs that size are even in the polish. It is crazy big. :D I love Connect the Dots, really, it's such a perfect layering polish, it saves just about every possible colour I put it on so far. Revlon Snow Bunny is a very awesome shade as well. Plus it's very easy to work with, if you have the patience to apply 4 coats for full opacity. I do, so it's not really a problem, the brush and the formula are very nice.

Do you like white foils? Which one is your favourite?

Btw, this is probably the song of 2012 for me, I've been listening to it whole day long, might as well put it on the blog. I cannot get sick of it.When I first heard it I actually got that feeling, you know, when you hear a song and it's like a whole new world of music just opened for you and you know this song is going to be like a drug for you, just constantly listening to it, and enjoying every second of it? That is how my love for Agalloch was born, yes.



Thank you for reading!

Penélope's Lotus with Zoya's Lotus

Evening my dear people! How are you doing? I trust you USA gals are having a wonderful holiday! I'm feeling a bit under the weather. My ear is starting to ache and I dread the pain, because I had earache very often as a child and I loathe it. I think that is one of the worst type of pain a person can get. Hopefully it is nothing serious and it will pass soon. 

Today I have two gorgeous colours for you. I'm sure you all know Zoya Lotus, from Zoya True collection for Spring 2012. It is a lovely, smoky purple with pinkish shimmer. Of course it turns a bit too blue on my photos. I'm starting to see the pattern with these types of purples and my camera. It is a lovely polish, I love it.

I decided Lotus would be a great base for another Lotus. Penélope Luz is, as far as I understand, a Brazilian indie brand. And oh, Lord of the Rings, are those babies gorgeous!!! Lotus caught my eye the moment I unwrapped it. It is such an amazing glitter. It consist of black, white and pink round glitter, and there is a very generous amount of it in the clear base. I think you could easily built up Lotus with three or four coats. Here is how it looks like in two coats over Zoya Lotus.

And the best colour accurate photos I got of Zoya Lotus:

Penélope Luz Lotus looks even more stunning IRL. I love it. Plus the base is a bit less blue so it compliments the glitter more than on these lightbox pictures. Penélope Luz has a Facebook page and you can buy it of Loja BBF page. Fair warning: after seeing pictures on the FB page I built up a wish list of Penélope Luz wonderful creations (just check Ocean Jewel, Wicca, Geisha, Wedding Dress and Gitana out!). If they are half as amazing as Lotus is, I need to get them somehow. Remember them on Brazilian swapping! I can only thank Eveline for surprising me with it, Lotus is amazing, dear, thank you!!

Do you know Penélope Luz brand, have any of her nail polish?

Thank you for reading!

Essence Open Water Dive or "Challenge accepted!"

Hey everybody! How are you doing? I'm having my cup of tea that I spoke of yesterday so I decided this is the perfect excuse to write little something here too. :) A week or two ago I wore this mani with Essence Open Water Dive and as it rekindled my obsession with the 'completely the same mani as it is in my head', I have to give it the special attention.

The thing is, in the beginning of my nail polish discovering I had so much energy, patience (and time, as it seems), that I was able to do infinite amount of coats for a mani I wanted, or even change one polish up to three times a day, because I got fed up with the colour I was wearing. Naturally, that didn't happen often, but it did happen. It seems so weird now, hehe. The phase luckily passed and I enjoy polish on a normal scale now. ;) Thus enters Open Water Dive. This is an oldie, Essence Into the Ocean LE came out in 2009 and I got it from a friend,  not even trying it on. It was always on my 'give away' pile and few weeks ago, when I did a large selection of polish in my stash, this little thing got the number again. As I watched the swatches though, Nail Junkie had such an amazing swatch of it, I decided to put it on. I love it over black polish but I really wanted to have its real bottle colour on my nails. Knowing Open Water Dive is sheer as hell (you can see that just by turning the bottle in your hand) I prepared for massive coat number, but Lyra's beautiful swatch convinced me it could be done. 

After putting 4 coats on my nails and still having very clear VNL on my short nails, I went back to the post and actually read it. Of course Lyra layered it over white and wrote that that clearly too. Facepalm for Ulmiel, yes. But here's when I got stubborn. I wanted the mani to look like that on my nails too! So I removed the 4 effing coats, put 2 coats of H&M White and two coats of Essence Open Water Dive and was a happy hobbit. 

Naturally it was a bitch to photograph. It is in fact a very complex shimmer, creating this soft minty-seafoamy colour, appearing to have only silver particles, but contains also green and purple specks of glassflecks, that are acutally visible to the naked eye, especially in the artificial light. And I needed all together 56 pictures taken, before I could semi-capture that on the 50th picture. Ho-ly crap! So here it is, set of my best pictures, plus a video to show how sparkly this is.

 This is direct sunlight, my camera barley handled all the sparkle.

The only picture where I actually captured the colours of sparkles. You may need to enlarge it. The artificial light makes my skin really yellow, but it's the best one to show all the sparkles.

Naturally I loved the result. It's an amazing shade, I love it. White with a twist, I guess (or, as my BF calls them, water-pipes-in-hospitals colour), I really like the greenish hue it has. And the glassflecks really make a difference. So yes, worth the troubles, at least for me. It also stayed on my nails for quite a few days. Next layering will be over dark blue, I think, Biba's mani looks amazing!

What is your 'Challenge Accepted' varnish/finish/colour? :)

Thank you for reading!

Black&white challenge inspired mani

Heya darlings! How are you doing? I'm just about to work with colour and eggs, yes, we're late again, as every year. :) Still, it's a fun tradition we have at home. Hope you're having nice holidays, if you celebrate them!

You probably noticed (or not), that I'm trying at least once a month to do a mani I saw on blogs and loved it. To push my nail art trying a bit on the move. This time I was inspired by many manicures, all hidden in the Black and White Challenge some girls did. I was kindly invited to the challenge too, but had to say no, as my lack of time isn't getting any better. These girls really showed me black and white can work as a combination. In general I dislike it, it's one of my least favourite combinations with black. But this time, after seeing some really amazing work at Nail Crazy, My Little Vanities, Taya and Nail Buff, to name a few, I said, hey, let's try this.

I had a Hema Metallic in my untrieds, I've already shown you the blue and the green one, and this one was standing there for way too  long. As I did stripes with the other two, I did stripes with black one too. 

Hema Metallic black (it doesn't have a name, just a bunch of numbers) is more of a silverish foil, as it turns out, but I liked it still, I love foil finish. :) I did scotch tape stripes with H&M White and that was it. Two easy coats of each. Still ... black&white isn't really up my alley so I removed this the next day. I like the pattern, so I must try something similar with black&red ... or green. Or blue. Or orange ... yeah, you get it. :)

What do you think? Do you like themed challenges? 

Thank you for reading & have a lovely Sunday!

Suzi and Lynn are connecting the dots

Hello my dear people! How are you doing? I'm tired as hell but happy! I passed a bitch of an exam today and I'm so relieved! I have a few minutes before I run to my dance classes (after two whole weeks!) so  I decided I'll show you another beauty. Well, two of them. This is a mani I wore to my three days of fun times with Tolkien society back in the beginning of March and it was a mani i didn't get sick of, until it chipped off my nails. 

Lynnderella Connect the Dots was a wonderful birthday present from my swap buddy. In case any of you still don't know who she is, My Lucid Bubble is her blog and she's awesome. It's a fact, just like gravity.

O.P.I. Suzi Says Feng Shui is probably my favourite O.P.I. to wear. At least ATM and for a few months. I've worn it several times now and that happens so rarely with all my untrieds, it's really saying something. It's a perfect blue for me right now. 

So naturally I put them together for a few days away from everything nail polish related. I don't know if it's just me, but I always dread being stuck in a place without anything to change my polish and being so sick of what's on my nails it makes me want to scratch it off. Ever get that feeling? So I always search for something awesome and this certainly was an awesome combination.

When I love a mani as much as I loved this one I always feel I don't do it justice with the photos. Connect the Dots is without a doubt the most unique glitter I've ever seen and wore in my life. It's incredible. The pictures are with two coats of CtD, except on my little finger where there's only one. This is insane. All the different sized glitter, hexs, little stripes ... and the tiniest shimmer, visible to naked eye even if very gently. It's amazing. I loved it so so much. I can't wait to layer it over green, muahaha!

Two pictures of Suzi Says Feng Shui alone

This one is a part of O.P.I. Hong Kong Collection for Spring 2010 and it was a lemming of mine. A smaller one, but still. The big wish from this collection was Jade is the new black, of course. And although I freakishly adore that one too Suzi says Feng Shui kinda stole the crown from it. Blue over green, Ulmiel, really?!?! I actually wouldn't mind having both orange colours from this collection either ... all in all a great one done by O.P.I. This dusty blue is a stunner for sure. I'm not sure about my photos, my camera kills the dustiness a bit and forgive me for the reflection, but it's the most colour accurate I could get them. Two really easy coats, the formula is perfect.

A win win mani for me. I didn't grow tired of it. At all. Thanks, Kris! For both of them, actually! :) 

Do you have any Lynnderellas? Do you get the hype around them or are you not as impressed by them? Oh, what's your favourite blue? :)

Thank you for reading!

Nail polish blogger Challenge day 2

Hello people! So the only pink week on Did Someone Say Nail Polish? has begun successfully. :) I hope you like my base colour! Today we continue with day 2. This idea isn't my best. I rather disliked it and it actually looked better IRL than on pictures. The inspiration I got from a certain Fashion Polish post, when she layered white crackle and blue polish and so created the image of clouds on the nails. It was totally gorgeous and fantastic and I said it should be the same with pink, no? Well, the problem was, I think, that Give Pink A Chance is a bit too well pigmented. Yes, it needs three coats, but not because it's sheer, it's because it won't even up on the nail. So the whiteness of the Crackle Glaze Lightning Bolt was completely covered, it only brightened the pink a bit. And added a funky texture, that was more prominent IRL on the nail. But let's see the pictures anway.

And the first, or rather the second step - one coat of Crackle Glaze over two coats of Give Pink A Chance.

It's an interesting mani, but I think it would look even better if the pink was a bit more sheer. With polish more sheer this is an awesome thing to do!

Thank you for reading and don't forget to check other ladies too! 

• Beauteous Blog
• Emerald Sparkled
• Gejba and Maestra of Parokeets
• Good Lack, Nail!
• Lucky Lacquers
• Nail Polish Art Addiction
• PolishSis
• Rebecca likes nails

Kiko: 278, 319, 205

Hey darlings! And welcome new people! Glad you can join us! I had the most amazing vacation ever, 6 wonderful days with great people on a great place in the middle of nowhere and it was just ... perfect, really. It's where and when I recharge my batteries for the whole year. Even my BF showed up for a day, it was the most beautiful surprise ever (I really didn't expect him to show up at all). So all in all a great week. I should be studying my ass of right now, naturally, but as you already probably know, I can't stay away for long. Forgive me for not replying to your comments, I read and appreciate them all, I just don't have the time to reply them. Sorry! And thank you!

I have another three Kikos for you today. I have three or two left in my untrieds, so I guess another set will be in order. I have *so* many things to show you, I have no idea when will I do that. So you can expect more combined posts.

 278. This type of purple and finish are all over the place. Sadly I get fed up of it fast for that reason, but it's still a beautiful one. It's lighter purple than the rest I have in this area too. A lovely colour, but it doesn't photograph well, you should imagine it tons cooler. I hate my pictures of it. :(

 319. I bet you didn't see this one coming! This was a gift from my cousin, who is the exact opposite of me when it comes to nails. She loves french manicure and the wildest she goes with the colours is this Kiko. So basically a major boredom for me. That's why I was shocked at myself when I realized I love 319. Pardon my arrogance, but it made my nails and hands look so beautiful. I got bored of it in a day, of course, but it's my favourite safe colour now.

A bottle comparsion with China Glaze Below Deck:

205 over 319. It's what I did the next day of wearing 319. Tevta got me 205 because it looks very much like China Glaze White Cap that was at that point completely sold out. Otherwise it has the "french manicure" sticker on the handle. Tell you the truth, if this is how White Cap looks like on the nails for real, I'm disappointed. 205 whitens the base colour way too much for my taste. Still, the golden sparkles are lovely.

278 needs three to four coats to be completely opaque. Not something I love about a polish, but the result is worth it. It looks like a brighter sister of Orly Out Of This World, but with less duochrome. It dries really fast, I didn't need TC for this one.

319 needs two coats only and it's really easy to work with, a very well behaved polish. 

205 is the one I'm not sure about. I don't like the milky bonus it adds to the base colour. The White Cap owners, tell me, does White Cap whiten the base colour too? 

The brush is fantastic and the application a bliss. Kiko rocks, seriously.

What do you think of these? I already have some comparison prepared, if you want to see the Below deck one on the nails too, let me know!

Thank you for reading!

Crackle Glaze Lightning Bolt over Depend 225 = fail

Hey darlings! How are you doing? I'm in the middle of my preparations for today's night out, so I'm in a hurry a bit. But I promised you this combination yesterday and here it is. Why fail? Because I didn't let Depend 225 dry completely and Lightning Bolt cracked with ugly weird cracks and kinda dragged Depend and made it look wrinkly. I do like the colour combination tho so I'll try it again sometimes.

Yes, three pictures only, you probably noticed already I do that when I don't like my mani, don't wish to trouble your eyes more than necessary. ;) I hate the cracks on this one. Index has the coat too thin, middle is just one giant crack down the middle, ring finger is ... well, look at it, where do I begin, and pinky is just plain weird. So moral to this story is, put crackle on dry polish only! Other info - I've already talked about Depend 225, it's two to three coats, one coat of Crackle Glaze Lightning Bolt on top, no TC, because I removed it right away. 

Like I said, I like the colour combination, but I hate the cracks on this one. Sorry about the failed manicure, I know it's not pretty, but I wanted to show you anyway. :) What do you think about it? You can tell me, I hate it too. ;)

Thanks for reading, have a great Saturday night!