Friday 30 December 2011

Lucy's Stash: The Best of 2011

Well that was fast! This year went really fast for me and I can't belive it's over again! I've moved twice, celebrated my first year anniversary with my hun and got a new job and a car! Also tried to improve my blog as much as I could and I hope you will stay my readers in 2012. What a year!

I've selected some manicures I liked the most this year, hope you'll enjoy the small window to the past :)

Checked Manicure - I've used China Glaze QT as a base holographic colour and then created different colour squares using a tape. The check colours are intentionally assymetric, I like it better :) The black squares are Color Club Black and silver ones are China Glaze Millennium.


White Shatter - cream white crackling polish. Colour has very good pigmentation so you don't have to worry about too thin layer. Polish starts to dry and crackle within about 5 seconds after application so work fast :) I've applied White Shatter over Spark de Triomphe.


SpaRitual Shooting Star - this shade comes from Twinkle 2011 Collection. It is beautiful purple full of gold flecks. The formula and the pigmentation of the polish is great. I applied two coats for a full coverage and one coat of Seche Vite topcoat. It dried reasonably fast.


Earth Matters - green and gold glittery particles in a green jelly. The green colour is nice and fresh, very nice shade.  I needed only two coats for a full coverage so the pigmentation is good. The formula is a bit runny but nothing too bad, just make sure you don't have nail polish dripping from the brush. The polish dries a bit gritty and matte but once you'll use a top coat, it will transform to this absolutely stunning green!

City Siren - beautiful cool tone red creme. One coat was almost enough for a full coverage and it's soo shiny! It applied very nicely and dried reasonably fast. This is a very nice shade of red I must say.



Traffic Jam - a raspberry creme colour. This is a beautiful shade that reminds me CHG Heli-Yum from Spring 2010. The formula is great - so smooth, not watery and shiny! The polish is opaque about 90% in one coat and it takes just second thin coat for perfection. I dried quite fast and became #1 of the whole collection for me!


Gradient manicure with Misa and SinfulColors - I've used two coats of Misa Wishing on a Star and then created gradient effect with Sinful Colors Call You Later.


Models Own Smash-Up Silver Crackle over China Glaze Ahoy!


GlossyBox manicure - I've used Leighton Denny in Baby Doll, Color Club Black and Konad White polish for bow highlights. This was very successful manicure and you all helped me to win a nail art competition with it! Thank you!!!


Gradient manicure with Cetuem and SpaRitual - I've used two coats of Cetuem duochrome #167 and then  painted the tips with SpaRitual Clarity pink glitter polish. There is no topcoat in the picture and I quite liked it for a change.



Christmas Manicure - I've used one coat of Ciate Talent Scout as a base colour. Then I've painted part of the nail with Blue Pumpkin polish which is blue jelly with round blue glitter and silver hexagon glitter. After everything dried properly I stamped silver snowflakes using China Glaze Millennium.


Night Sky Manicure - I've used one layer of Elf Golden Goddess over A England Tristam which created interesting night sky effect. Then I've mattified this manicure using Essie Matte About You.

Lady Of The Lake - cool-toned hologhraphic purple. The holographic particles are tiny and the rainbow effect is not over the to. The formula is really great! The pigmentation is good so I applied the first thicker coat and was really hesitant if I need to apply the second coat. I did so there are two coats in the pictures :) Polish dried quite fast and was easy to apply.


Divine Swine - purple and silver glitter in a clear base. The purple glitter is ordinary small glitter, the silver glitter is bigger hexagonal glitter. It dried fast which is always great. It really reminds me of polishes like Revlon Facets of Fuchsia and Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance.

Purple Blue - Purple duochrome changing to blue. This polish is a bit like foil finish, very shimmery and I find it very hard to describe :) The formula is quite nice - polish is easy to apply as it is not too watery. I applied two thicker coats so you might also do three thinner coats. Polish dried quite fast which I liked and didn't leave streaks.


Models Own Emerald Black from the new Beetlejuice Collection and CND Teal Sparkle from the Night Factory Duo and the result is amazing! It's like a mermaid manicure.. I've used two coats of Emerald Black and one layer of Teal Sparkle.

Aqua Violet - Aqua blue duochrome changing into cool-toned purple. The finish is pearlescent duochrome with a bit of shimmer. The formula was a bit watery and pigmentation was a bit weaker. I've used two really thick coats but if you use thinner layers you'll need three coats. The colour is streaky as with all pearlescent finishes so paint carefully! It dries quite fast and boy, the result! I think it's worth all the pain!


Pinky Brown - well it's not pinky at all. The colour is foil-like duochrome purple changing to burnt orange and brown. The shimmer is towards pink but I wouldn't call this polish pinky :) The formula is on the weaker side - I had to use two really thick coats for the full cover and the first coat looked terrible. It wasn't streaky but it dried a little longer.

Frozen tips manicure - I've used two coats of Pepe's Purple Passion and a bit of Gone Gonzo! glitter for the tips. Then sealed it with thick coat of Seche Vite topcoat.



Gradient manicure - I've applied two coats of Animal-istic and then decorated the tips with Gettin' Miss Piggy With It. One coat of Seche Vite and done!


Dress inspired manicure - I've used China Glaze Grape Pop and Millennium. Firstly I painted one coat of Millennium and when it dried I've applied different size stripes to the nail and painted it over with Grape Pop.


Barielle Lust- red jelly with Elle's Spell over it creates this amazing combo! Elle's Spell by itself is not very opaque so it's better layered over another polish. I've used two coats of Lust and one coat of Elle's Spell. There's not as many flakies in Elle's Spell as in Nfu Oh 59 but it still creates a beautiful effect. I haven't used topcoat and it's really shiny even without it.


I've decorated Barielle Glammed Out Garnet with OPI Excuse Moi!. Excuse Moi! is perfect for gradient manicures as it contains small and bigger glitters. That always makes the best details.


Cetuem 194 - purple shimmery duochrome changing into olive green shade. The pigmentation was decent, I've used two thicker coats for a full coverage. Polish is streaky so I had to be a little careful with the second coat. Drying time was average and removal was without problem.

Snowflake mani - For this manicure I've used two coats of OPI Roadhouse Blues, then I painted gradient tips with Revlon Star glitter. When everything dried I started to paint the snowflake.


A England Merlin over Perceval - rectangular silver glitter. Now this was a surprise! I was expecting round or square glitter (just classic one) but I couldn't be more wrong. It is rectangular glitter, very unusal. It creates different effect than classic shaped glitters. It applied easily - mainly because the polish is packed with glitter so there is no need for dipping your brush twice. It dried fast and it removed difficult as usuall glitter. No topcoat here.


Rainbow Connection - different size and colour glitters in a clear base. This is a great layering polish. I don't like it by itself, it looks like circus on the nails or confetti, just too much. But like this over white it looks quite nice :)


Mermaid manicure - I've layered Nfu Oh 52 over Dr.'s Remedy NOBLE Navy. For this mani I've used one coat of NOBLE Navy and one coat of Nfu Oh 52. No topcoat. I really like the mermaid-like duochrome colour and the gorgeous flakies in it!

Gone Gonzo! - small light blue hexagonal glitter mixed with large silver hexagonal glitter in a clear base. It has exactly the same formula as other glitters in this collection - dries fast, it's tough to remove and applies good.


Fresh Frog of Bel Air - small green hexagonal glitter mixed with large silver hexagonal glitter in a clear base. I've applied one coat of glitter and one coats of topcoat. There's not much more to say about this glitter, only that it dries fast and looks good :)


Dr.'sRemedy RESOLUTION Red Glitter - pink and silver glitter. I don't know where this name came from, I really don't :) IT IS NOT A RED GLITTER :D The finish is again foil-like, very sparkly and almost metallic. I needed two coats for a full coverage and then one layer of topcoat to smooth it out. Drying was time average and removal very difficult. Soak, soak, soak!

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all the best in 2012!

14 comments:

  1. ALL so gorgeous! Happy New Year to you too!!!

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  2. nice choice!
    I didn't know Cetuem 194 but it's really beautiful!
    mmm...I think I have a crush on nearly all your manis your presented here!

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  3. these are all so lovely but my favourite is the glossybox nail design!! xoxo

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  4. the first gradiente is my favourite! But all your nails are amazing, congratulations =)

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  5. Wow these mani are to die for I love them all!

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  6. I'm not kidding when I say I love them ALL!!!! You do awesome manis!!

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  7. Loooove your Muppets gradients, and I'm still mad about the purple Christmas manicure. Great job!

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  8. These are all absolutely amazing! It's hard to pick favourites. A happy new year to you! Looking forward to your wonderful manicures for 2012. :) x

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  9. Everything's so preeeeettttyyyy and dazzzliiiinnngggg!!

    Hope I could apply polish like that. Haha!
    Thanks for all your posts :)

    <3
    http://smizingmica.blogspot.com/

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  10. I super love the GlossBox Manicure!!! :D

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  11. Gorgeous! I can't pick a favorite because they are all perfect!

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  12. I also can't pick my top five out of your photos above because they are all stunning

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  13. I thought I had a favourite with your first featured one (checked mani with QT), but then scrolling through the others I just had to add to my list. I LOVE the pink and black checked with bow too... you are really good!! The gradient manis with glitter are also awesome. I really love coming to your blog to see what you've come up with. They're all winners in my book!!

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  14. SOOOOO MUCH TO CHOOSE
    ELLE,SHOOTING STAR, TRAFFIC JAM AND CITY SIREN ARE MY FA

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