Watercolour (aquarelle) butterflies nail art

Hello lovelies,

I was experimenting with watercolours again and I've attempted to paint colourful butterflies. It certainly doesn't look like I've imagined but practice makes perfect :D

Color Club Miss Bliss - Review and swatches of the Halo Hue gorgeousness

Hello lovelies,

this polish is so gorgeous that I've made many, many pictures! Click on the Read more button to see one of the most beautiful holographic polishes out there!

Lace Nails Foils and how to apply them plus review of Rio Beauty Lace Nail Foils set

Hello lovelies,

this post will be all about lace nail foils and a Rio Beauty set I got for review. The following tutorial can be applied to any nail foil as the steps are exactly the same.

Firstly let's have a look at the Lace Nail Foils set... it includes six different lace foils (red, black, white, pink, gold and silver), application stick, adhesive, 2-in-1 varnish and red nail polish. It all comes in a sturdy black case. The set can be purchased at Rio Beauty website for £29.99

Secondly let's learn how to work with the nail foils:

Foil application

1. Cut the nail foil into small pieces that will fit the nail. It's always better to cut slightly bigger pieces in case you need to re-apply the foil
2. Paint your nails with chosen nail polish and let it dry properly. If the polish is not dry enough it might stick to the nail foil piece and it might come off the nail
3. Apply thin layer of adhesive/foil glue and let it dry. The drying time depends on what kind of adhesive you use. The adhesive in this kit takes about 8 minutes to dry. You'll know the adhesive is dry when it goes completely transparent. It stays tacky though so don't touch anything!
4. Place previously cut piece of nail foil on the first nail. Use hoof stick or your finger wrapped in tissue and start pressing and rubbing the foil on the nail so it sticks properly
5. Carefully remove the foil. If the design is perfect just seal the design with topcoat. It might however miss some parts of design ocassionally. In that case re-apply glue, wait for it to dry and apply foil again.

Lace nail foils can be very tricky as the lace might not stick on the whole nail properly everytime. I can't tell you how frustrated it got me sometimes. Sometimes it can be fixed by re-applying glue and foil, sometimes I have to re-do whole nail but the result is great.

I've done a video tutorial as well for you :)

 
If you are new to nail foils you might consider this set as it comes with everything you'll need and I'm sure you already have nail polishes to apply the foil over. I consider the set being very good. The only issue I have is with the 2-in-1 varnish. I have used it over the lace foils and it made the finish slightly cloudy as you can see on the read & black and silver & black manicures. I have tried other topcoats (Seche Vite, Poshe, barielle etc.) and they stay clear but crinkle the foil. So I personally don't have a perfect topcoat for foils.


If you'd like to ask me a question about nail foils and their application, please leave a comment.

I Love Nail Polish glitters - review and swatches of gorgeous glitter topcoats

Hello lovelies,

I have hurried with this review because there's still time to snatch an amazing discount on these polishes and I don't want you to miss it. What I'm talking about? I'm talking about I Love Nail Polish, new indie brand that offers a really nice polishes! Let's have a look at them:

Since they have arrived I fell in love. Look at the box - all details have been thought of from a cut out heart to stickers on the boxes with the shade name. I love that they come in boxes, it adds this expensive look & feel to it.

Then I opened the box....a cute bottle with see-through sticker came out. There is also a branded sticker with a shade name at the bottom of the bottle. Very cute. But let's not forget the cap! It's black, it's matte and it's rubberized so you can open it much easier! LOVE IT! Each bottle has 12ml which is slightly less than usual but let's be honest - have you ever finished a bottle of glitter topcoat? :D

The brush is a good width and flat. The one thing I didn't like is the strong smell. I suspect it's the suspension base for the glitters. And since I have few more untried indie glitters I started to sniff them all if they stink too and they do :-/ The base is not thick at all, it is easy to work with. I've got five polishes to show you and the first up is...



Babes in Toyland - a colourful mixture of green, fuschia, blue, and gold glitters. Some glitters are square, some hexagonal and some round and also have different sizes. This polish is a part of the Winter collection. I have applied it over Lime Crime Lavendairy. This glitter nicely stands out over pastel shades but it would look pretty over some dark colour too.

Christmas In Bordeaux - mix of green, gold and red glitter in a clear base. This is another polish from the Winter collection and it looks really festive, nice Christmas colours. It is again a mixture of different shapes and size that makes the polish look quite dynamic (at least in my eyes). I have applied one coat over OPI Alpine Snow.

Goldie Boo... Boo! - brown, orange, gold, and grey glitters. This polish comes from the Halloween collection and it is a cute pumpkin-coloured glitter. The brush picks up a nice amount of glitter and it applies easily. I have applied one coat over Lime Crime Milky Ways.

Her Highness - gold, fuchsia and brown glitter in a clear base. This is quite simple glitter mix and I must say I really miss the tiny glitters that are in other mixes. I have applied one coat over Lime Crime Parfait Day.

Teal Me Please - mix of round and square teal glitter in a clear base. I really like this glitter despite it being just one colour. It reminds me of snow and it would look gorgeous over white, black or pastel blue as well. I have applied it over HJ Ice, silver metallic polish.

Final verdict: I LOVE THEM! Lol just to prove you that I'm not lying and I really love these polishes I can tell you that yesterday I have made and order on my own of another 5 polishes and I can't wait till they arrive!

All polishes have the same clear base that is not too thick and it applies well. I haven't used a topcoat over the swatches and I almost didn't need it. Of course if you'd like to have a completely smooth surface I would recommend a topcoat. 

I Love Nail Polish can be purchased at Etsy Shop or website. International shipping is also very reasonable. 

PS: Sorry for the not very good macro shots, there hasn't been a bright day for ages so the lightbox had to do..

*These were provided for a review

Zoya Ornate collection for Holiday 2012 - Review and swatches (pic heavy)

Hello lovelies,

I'm a bit late with this review as it took a bit longer to get to me. Anyway I'm really happy it's here and I can show you all these beauties! Let me introduce you to Zoya Ornate collection for Holiday 2012:

From the press release: The new Zoya Ornate Collection is the perfect to decorate your nails with stunning jewel tone colors and special effect pigments this season. Featuring six stunning, glittering, crystal shades in our new Power Pigment Full Coverage Formula. Superior coverage and dynamic color in one. All in the long-wearing, toxin free (BIG5FREE) formula you love... Each one is as beautiful as the next.

Logan - forest green foil with gold shimmer particles. Zoya does these foil-like colours so well, just check out Apple, Charla, Mimi and others.  This green is a prefect shade for Christmas yet I don't have any dupes in my polish stash. The colour is very rich and vivid and the polish itself is well pigmented. I've used two slightly thicker coats for a full coverage. It dried fast and shiny so I didn't even use a topcoat for these swatches.

Ziv - warm gold foil with burnt orange/copper mini flakes. I like gold polishes and I've got few but none like this. Same as the Zoya Logan, this shade is unique to my stash. I like it's a proper festive colour I can wear on Christmas. It's very shiny so I'm not wearing topcoat. I've applied two coats which were fully opaque.

Electra - Holographic bar glitter top coat. This is not a typical polish you would find in a holiday collection but somehow it reminds me those strappy silver tinfoil strings we used to put on our Christmas tree when I was a kid. The polish is jam-packed with the glitter so you'll get more than enough on your nail. Sometimes I got even too much. The glitter is holographic so it's absolutely stunning in the sun or in the artificial light. Unfortunately camera does not quite show it. The layer of glitter dried little bit satin So I had to use topcoat.

Blaze - Raspberry half-jelly base with scattered holographic particles. Well look at that! The essence of awesomeness in the bottle! I absolutely LOVE this polish! It's jelly-ish, it has scattered holo particles in it, it's shiny by itself, it's well pigmented and it has the best rich raspberry colour! I've applied two coats that were enough for the full coverage. I was very surprised that also the first coat was very well pigmented.

Aurora - plum jelly base with scattered holographic particles. Another stunning shade that is very unusual for Holiday collection. The holo particles stand out beautifully against the dark purple base, I love it! The formula is good application-wise but the pigmentation is little lower. I guess it's because it's because of the jelly-ish formula. I'm wearing two thick coats but I think I would be better off with three thin coats. It has very glossy finish so I did not apply a topcoat.

Storm - black half cream half jelly with scattered holographic particles. Storm looks to me like a night sky or a deep space with millions of stars. It applied very easily and despite the holographic particles it dries glossy and smooth. I'm wearing two coats and the pigmentation was really good.

The Ornate collection is certainly very special and I'm grateful to Zoya I got the opportunity to try it. There's no Holiday red as I would have expected (and Zoya does great red polishes) or silver. Despite that I can honestly say I absolutely love this collection, especially the three holographic shades that have such a great formula. All polishes have applied very nicely and dried fast. The only two negatives I can think of is a bit lower pigmentation of the Aurora jelly base and a bit harder removal of Electra, Storm, Aurora and Blaze.

What do you think of Zoya Ornate collection?

*These products have been provided for a review