NOTD: Essie Bright Tights

Remember the Essie Turkey Best Combination Contest I was talking about a while ago? Well, I was one of the two winners =) Today I received five bottles of polish from Essie, handpicked by me. I actually wanted to wait for the Braziliant Collection to arrive, but then I changed my mind and picked these instead:

L-R: Wife Goes On, Bright Tights, Cantaloupe, Borrowed & Blue, Kisses & Bises

Do you remember me not wanting to get Kisses & Bises? This picture by Kari Anne totally changed my mind about it, and I was sure I needed it in my life. So glad I picked it, it really looks amazing over pastels and dark, murky colors =D
Today I have Essie Bright Tights on my nails. I thought it would be more opaque, but it's actually quite sheer. This is three coats over white. My white was quite streaky, and Bright Tights is quite streaky, too. The end result - a cuticle drag fest. Next time I'm going to try this over a better white. And believe me, Bright Tights needs a white polish underneath. If you don't use white, it will never be opaque. Been there =)

Essie Bright Tights, 3 coats over white

I also took some fancy pictures using my brother's blue LED, just to show you how intense the neon effect can be. Please proceed with caution, as the pictures may damage to your retinas permanently.

Essie Bright Tights, taken under blue LED

Doesn't it look like I'm holding something radioactive in my bare hands? It's so glowy.

Essie Bright Tights, taken under blue LED

This one makes me think of Warhol =)
I really want to wear this to a club now!

Hani Essie Turkey Kombinasyon Yarışması'ndan bahsetmiştim ya? Kazanan iki kişiden biri ben olmuşum =) Bugün Essie'nin hediyesi olan 100 TL değerinde ojelerim geldi. Anneler Günü indiriminden de yararlanarak 5 oje seçtim. Aslında Braziliant koleksiyonunun gelmesini bekleyecektim, fakat sonra karar değiştirdim ve resimde gördüğünüz ojeleri aldım.
Soldan Sağa: Wife Goes On, Bright Tights, Cantaloupe, Borrowed & Blue, Kisses & Bises.
Kisses & Bises benim tarzım bir oje değil, almayı düşünmedim demiştim, hatırlıyor musunuz bilmiyorum. Kari Anne'in bu resmi fikrimi tamamen değiştirdi ve kesin olarak almaya karar verdim. Birkaç oje üzerinde denedim şimdilik, pasteller ve koyu, kirli renkler üzerinde aynı derecede harika duruyor =)
Bugün tırnaklarımda Essie Bright Tights var. Ben şahsen bu ojenin biraz daha opak olacağını düşünmüştüm, fakat oldukça şeffaf yapıdaymış. Beyaz üzerine üç kat sürdüm. Beyaz ojemin yapısı çok kötüydü, sürükleniyordu. Bright Tights da aynı şekilde çabuk sürüklenen bir oje olduğu için, tırnak diplerinde çok fazla açıklık oluştu. Bu yüzden bir dahaki sefere daha düzgün bir beyaz oje üzerine süreceğim. Bu arada neon ojelerin altına, eğer bir de opak olmuyorsa, mutlaka beyaz oje sürmenizi tavsiye ederim. Hem renk patlayacak, hem de tırnak çizginiz belli olmayacaktır böylece.
Kardeşimin meşhur mavi LED'ini kullanarak bazı resimler çektim, neon etkisinin ne kadar güçlü olabileceğini göstermek için. Dikkat edin, retinalarınız kalıcı olarak yanabilir.
Sanki elimde radyoaktif birşey tutuyormuşum gibi gözükmüyor mu?
Son resim de bana biraz Warhol resimlerini hatırlattı =)
Sanırım hakkını vermek için bunu sürüp bir club'a falan gitmem gerekiyor =D
Bu arada Essie Turkey'e hediyeler için çok teşekkür ederim, çok cömertsiniz =)

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Review: Born Pretty Store Items

What's up guys? I'm still ill, today I barely moved in order to spare energy for tomorrow. I just spiked a fever, too. I really hope today's the worst day and I'll be able to go to work tomorrow.
In the afternoon I was feeling a bit better, so I tried the new items Jessica from Born Pretty Store sent me for review. I received a set of stamping plates, including the Hello Kitty one. I also received a rhinestone wheel (2 mm) and a matte polish which goes by the brand name BK.
I first tried the nail polish. On the bottom it says #10. The polish is really nice. I don't know anything about the ingredients because the label is written in Chinese, I applied 2 coats over a base coat, just to be safe. It's a bright pink but not neon. Dries to a smooth, satiny matte finish. And it's gorgeous with a topcoat, too.
First, the polish alone:


Mom really, really liked this look. She's supporting matte pink nails right now. She has olive skin and it looks amazing on her.



I also tried the Hello Kitty plate and the new rhinestones. The images on my index and middle nails are from my Essence plate. Hello Kitty, flower and the heart pattern all come from the Born Pretty Store fauxnad plates. The rhinestones I used might look like clear ones, but they actually have a rainbow effect, which reminds me of Swarovski Aurora Borealis.
I like the items a lot, especially the Hello Kitty plate, the BK matte pink polish and the rhinestones =)

*The items were sent for review.

Sevgili okuyucularım, nasılsınız?Ben hala hastayım, bugün resmen enerji tasarrufu modundaydım, sürekli hareketsiz durmaya çalıştım çünkü yarın işe gitmem gerekiyor mutlaka. Bu arada akşamüstü ateşim de çıktı. Tek umudum bugünün en kötü gün olması ve yarın sabah biraz daha iyi kalkmak.
Öğlen biraz daha iyi hissediyordum, bu yüzden Born Pretty Store'dan Jessica'nın göndermiş olduğu ürünleri denemeye karar verdim. Yolladıkları arasında diskler (Hello Kitty diski de aralarında), içinde 2 mm'lik taşlar bulunan bir çember ve BK marka mat bir oje var.
Öncelikle ojeyi denedim. Şişenin altında #10 yazıyor. Oje çok hoşuma gitti, sürümü ve fırçası çok güzel, rengi de öyle. İçeriği hakkında hiçbir fikrim yok çünkü etiketinde çince yazıyor. Ne olur ne olmaz diye alta baz sürün böyle içeriğinden emin olamadığınız ojelerde. Ben baz üzerine 2 kat sürdüm. Rengi tarif etmek gerekirse sıcak tonlu, parlak bir pembe; ancak neon değil. Kuruduğunda yüzeyi düzgün, saten gibi mat bir hal aldı. Ben bir de üzerine cila sürdüm sonra, inanılmaz hoşuma gitti o hali de =)
İlk resimde ojenin mat halini görüyorsunuz. Annem bu rengi çok beğendi, şu anda mat haliyle tırnaklarında. O bana kıyasla daha buğday tenli, ve onun tenine çok yakıştı mat pembe oje.
Ben daha sonra Hello Kitty diskini ve taşları denedim. İşaret ve orta parmağımdaki desenler, Essence diskinden. Geri kalan desenlerin hepsi yeni gelen Fauxnad disklerinden. Kullandığım taşlar şeffaf gibi dursa da, aslında hafif bir gökkuşağı etkisi var. Daha önce denk gelmemişti böyle taş, Swarovski Aurora Borealis taşlarına benziyor. Merak ediyorsanız Google'da aratın, daha iyi anlayacaksınız =) Diğer taşlar ise normal renklerde.
Ürünleri çok beğendim, özellikle Hello Kitty diski, BK mat oje ve taşları =)

*Ürünler denemem için gönderilmiştir.

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Review: Alix Avien Nail Deco Black & Blue

Today I'm going to review two of the Alix Avien Nail Deco polishes, which crackle when layered on top of another polish. I've got two colors, black and blue. There is also a white and a pink one, but white somehow looked too chalky for my taste, and I thought it was pretty limited what I can do with a pink crackle polish. Maybe I'll go and get them sometime.


These polishes retail for about $3.5, and they don't really "crackle", they more of "shatter" like OPI Black Shatter or Barry M Instant Nail Effect. If you apply a very thin coat, the pattern will look finer, with smaller individual pieces; and as the coat you apply gets thicker, you will have deeper cracks and bigger pieces on your nail. I prefer to apply a moderately thick coat.


Pinky to index: Black over Essie Lilacism (left matte), Blue over Orly Mint Mojito (left matte), Black over Essie Flirt (applied topcoat) and Blue over China Glaze Sun Worshipper (applied topcoat). I personally prefer the look matte, but when left like that, the crackled parts seem to peel easily. The overall effect looks pretty nice when glossy, too. If you only need it matte, maybe you can run over it with a glossy topcoat first, then again with a matte one.
I like blue over greens, yellows and oranges; and black over everything, from reds to purples to gold and silver.
I think everyone needs at least one crackle polish, and I prefer black. It looks really nice and rock'n roll on short nails with silver chrome polish on! =) It's also a great alternative if you're really bored of your manicure and don't have time to change it. Crackle is the new black! =)

Bugün Alix Avien Nail Deco ojelerinden mavi ve siyah olanlarını göstereceğim. Bildiğiniz gibi bu ojeler, başka bir ojenin üzerine sürüldüğü zaman kırılmaya başlıyorlar. Dört renk olarak piyasaya sürüldüler, ancak bende şu an iki tanesi var, siyah ve mavi. Beyaz ve pembesi de var, ama beyaz bana biraz kireç gibi geldi, pembeyle ise yapılabilecek renk kombinasyonlarının biraz sınırlı olduğunu düşündüm. Onları da artık daha sonra alırım.
Bu ojelerin satış fiyatı 4,95 TL. Almak istiyorsanız şu an için Taksim Erkul Kozmetik'de bulabilirsiniz. Bence bu ojeler "çatlamaktan" ziyada "kırılıyor", yani OPI Black Shatter ya da Barry M Instant Nail Effect gibi. Çok ince bir kat sürünce desen de ince yapılı, küçük ve bol parçalı oluyor; sürdüğünüz kat kalınlaştıkça ise daha büyük parçalı, daha az kırıkları olan bir desen oluşuyor. Ben orta kalınlıkta bir kat uygulamayı tercih ediyorum.
Serçe parmaktan işaret parmağa doğru: Siyah Nail Deco Essie Lilacism üzerine (mat bıraktım), Mavi Nail Deco Orly Mint Mojito üzerine (mat bıraktım), Siyah Nail Deco Essie Flirt üzerine (cila sürdüm) ve Mavi Nail Deco China Glaze Sun Worshipper üzerine (cila sürdüm). Doğal sürülmüş hali mat olarak kuruyor, ben de bu görünümü seviyorum. Ama bu şekilde bırakınca kırılan parçalar biraz çabuk soyuluyor. Genel olarak cila sürülünce de güzel duruyor ama illa ki mat olsun istiyorsanız, önce korumak için normal cila sürüp sonra mat cila sürmeyi deneyebilirsiniz.
Mavi olanı sarı, yeşil turuncu gibi renklerin üzerinde beğeniyorum; siyah olan ise her renkle yakışıyor, özellikle kırmızı, mor, gümüş, altın gibi renklerle.
Bence herkesin en azından bir tane kırılan ojesi olmalı, tek bir tane alayım diyorsanız siyah alın. Kısa, gümüş rengi tırnağın üzerine siyah sürünce Rock'n Roll bir görünüm oluşuyor =) Ayrıca ojenizden sıkıldıysanız ve silmeye vakit yoksa üzerine bir kat sürüp görünümü tamamen değiştirebilirsiniz. =)

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NOTD: Denim Nails

NOTE: You can find the matte version of this manicure at the bottom =)

I got this polish by Selene a few days ago. Selene is made by Golden Rose, and the polishes come in teeny tiny 5 ml (0.17 fl.oz.) bottles. I had to have this shade because it reminded me of denim liquidized. It's a muted blue frost, definitely less bright than the pictures show, and it has blue and silver shimmer, which gives it a foil-like finish. The drying time is incredibly slow, like all Golden Rose shimmers. I used 3 coats for this manicure, but I could have gone with 2 if I was more careful.
Then I decided to konad over it. I used plates m16 and m22, with button and flower images. I love the flowers on m22, they look like they were cut from one fabric and stitched on another. I thought they would go perfect with the denim look. Finally I used dark blue rhinestones for some bling factor. The stamping polishes are random opaque ones, konad pastel purple and my lime konad franken.



Right hand:



I guess I should have added some matte topcoat over them to complete the look. Well, maybe tomorrow =)

ETA: With Matte topcoat.

Bu ojeyi birkaç gün önce Selene'den aldım. Selene Golden Rose'un yan ürünü, ve ojeler minicik 5 ml'lik şişelerde satılıyorlar. Bu rengi çok beğenerek aldım çünkü şişenin içinde jean kumaşı gibi duruyordu. Solgun, sedefli bir mavi, resimde gözüktüğünden daha bile soluk hatta, ve içinde mavi ve gümüş sedefler var. Bu yapıda ojeleri çok seviyorum, tırnakta metal gibi duruyor. Kuruma zamanı oldukça uzun, tıpkı Golden Rose'un diğer sedefli ojeleri gibi. Bu manikürde üç kat kullandım, ama dikkatli olsaydım iki kat bile yeterli olurdu.
Sonra üzerine konad uygulamaya karar verdim. M16 ve m22 disklerindeki desenleri kullandım. M22'deki çiçek desenini çok seviyorum, sanki kumaştan kesilmiş gibi bir görüntüsü var. Jean görünümündeki tırnakların üzerinde güzel duracaklarını düşündüm. Son olarak da koyu mavi süsleme taşları kullandım. Damga yaparken çeşitli pastel tonda ojeler kullandım.
Ekleme: İçimde kalmıştı, son olarak mat cila çekilmiş halini görebilirsiniz.

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From The Vault: Grape Pop's Darker Sister

I dig so-called "fall colors" in spring and summer, and "summer colors" all winter. I'm weird like that... I guess the "season-coordinated colors" idea is not really my thing...
Just discovered this creme polish and brought it home, thinking it would be almost identical to China Glaze Grape Pop, but it's significantly darker. It's called Flor Mar Supermatte #120. It looked lighter under the store lights, and I thought it was only a tad darker, but it's definitely a different color. It's also leaning a bit warmer, that's why it's not blue in front of the camera.
I did a very simple konad using plate m64 and silver metallic polish.



Same polish, different day, with Inglot #202 and China Glaze Matte Magic on top.



More fun manicures to come!

Ben de bir tuhafım yani, kışın yaz renkleri diye geçen renkleri sürmeyi seviyorum, yazın ise koyu renklere gidiyor aklım. Sanırım mevsimlere göre oje sürmek pek bana göre değil.
Bu ojeyi çok beğenerek aldım, Flor Mar Supermatte #120. Ben China Glaze Grape Pop'a çok benzediğini düşünmüştüm, ama eve gelince aynı rengin biraz daha koyusu olduğu ortaya çıktı. Ayrıca biraz daha sıcak tonlu olduğu söylenebilir. Ben de üzerine m64 diski ve gümüş rengi kullanarak desen yaptım.
Diğer resimde, üzerine Inglot #202 ve China Glaze Matte Magic sürülmüş olarak görebilirsiniz.
Yakında daha eğlenceli manikürlerle buradayım =)

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From The Vault: Textured Nails

We have a cosmetics company called Sevil, which can be compared to Douglas or Sephora. Sevil means "be loved" in Turkish, and it's also a girl's name. Some time ago Sevil decided to come up with their own cosmetics brand, which they called "Sevilla". (Pun intended.) They keep saying it's a new Italian brand they've recently started importing, but I mean, am I blind? =D
Anyway, Sevilla has some nice polishes. And recently they started duping famous polishes and selling them for a lower price. I'm going to show one of those polishes very soon. But today I have their matte black for you, which is my first matte polish. I always prefer matte topcoats, because the possibilities are endless, but it was a nice change to try on a true matte polish once in a while.




Then I did this design using a dotting tool and a regular black polish:


I hope you guys enjoyed =)
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NOTD: Blue Velvet & Lace

Hello everyone =) First of all, thank you everyone for the tags & awards! I've been lazy to update my "Tags" page... *hangs head in shame* I promise that I'll do that soon, and thank you again for all the nice awards you honor me =)
Today's nails were very simple in the beginning, I just applied 2 coats of dark blue shimmery polish, and a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic on top. I love the velvety look of this one. <3

But then hours had passed and I just felt the urge to do some konad on top! I tried to stamp with konad special polish in pastel violet, but it didn't work well with matte, so I applied a glossy top coat on top, and then stamped the lacey design from plate m79 randomly. The pastel violet looks like a light grey on top of the navy, I like it very much =)





Oh, before I forget to mention: The blue polish from yesterday stained my nails really badly, so I recommend the winner to use a trusty base coat underneath! I had smurf nails for the first time in my life! =D
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NOTD: Ruffian Inspired

I saw this manicure on CND's Fashion Week blog, and I fell in love with it! The idea is superb. I decided to recreate it using all China Glaze polishes. It's basically like a french mani, but upside down =D Take a look:


I first thought of doing the manicure using konad plate m19, but it quickly proved that it was almost impossible. You gotta be really, really skilled to stamp with m19, and it's extremely difficult with this manicure, that it's more prone to failure because of the placement.
So I started painting my nails with China Glaze 2030. Then I put on a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat (you will see why). Then I applied China Glaze Midnight Ride on top, 2 coats, leaving the gold gap in the bottom, and I used my flat brush dipped in acetone to correct the line, with a very light hand. Insta-Dri helped a great deal while correcting, because it didn't allow the underlying polish to be ruined. Finally I put on China Glaze Matte Magic over Midnight Ride, and I was done =) Midnight Ride is a gorgeous dark eggplant with subtle purple shimmer, but the shimmer was completely gone when mattified.






Then I tried to pose like Ruffian models, lol =D



I hope you like this manicure as much as I do!!! =)
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NOTD: Butterflies, again

Yesterday I found a silver chrome polish, which made me really happy. I can stamp with it, and I thought it was impossible with Turkish brands. Although it's not as opaque as Romantiques or Khromes, it's a good substitute, and clearly visible on the nail. Anyway, I used the silver as a base, it was opaque in one coat, but I did two. Then I stamped using image plate m41 and special polish in black. The topcoat is bubbly, I know, it indicates that I need a new one =) I mattified the whole thing using China Glaze Matte Magic. There is a rhinestone sitting on my middle nail, because I nicked it right after I finished putting the topcoat on.




If you can feel the uncreativity these days, it's normal =) I sleep through the day and study through the night, I'm moody, bemused, cranky the whole time. I hope it's over soon, and I hope I'll survive the stress!
Oh, I keep forgetting about my Blog Award. Shame on me. I'll make up for it, I promise =(
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NOTD: Starry Winter Night

Edit: I've passed the 50 followers mark this week, thanks to anyone who takes time and reads my blog =) I truly appreciate your fellowship!

It seems I couldn't keep my word =) I tried to mattify the Khrome manicure yesterday, which turned out to be a big no-no. Mattified Khrome looked dirty and unappealing on me, so I took it off. Today, I put on a local blue jelly polish with tiny silver and blue glitter. It reminds me of Essie's Starry Starry Night, only less black-ish and with smaller glitter. In my opinion, this one could be a nice substitute. I personally like this polish very much, it's very unique for my country's standards, but unfortunately this one is discontinued and I could only grab two bottles =/
Afterwards, I stamped snowflakes on the nails using plate m59 and konad special polish in medium blue with a purplish pearl, whose name I don't know. I would say "sky pearl", but on the pictures, sky pearl looks more visible on darker colors, and mine is quite subtle. After stamping, I did matte french tips with China Glaze Matte Magic, and the ring fingers are matte with glossy tips. Ring fingers also have teardrop shaped rhinestones.



With Flash:

I hope you enjoy this mani as much as I do =) It reminds me of a very cold and dark winter night =)
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NOTD: Bubbly Butterflies

How girly is this name for a manicure? =) OK, after the last manicure, I decided to create something better. So I picked OPI Bubble Bath as the base color, and after 3 coats, I applied 2 coats of China Glaze Snow Globe. Then I stamped the nails using the butterfly design from palette m50 and Konad Special Polish in black. Finally I sealed using quick dry top coat and a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic. Phew!




W/ Flash:


I can't possibly describe how awesome mattified glitter looks. It's like looking at gems through thick ice or frosted glass. So wonderful and magical. Matte glitter is the new glitter!
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NOTD: Confused Fall Manicure

I did it. Because I had to do it.
For the first time in three months, I went short with my nails. I feel terrible. Today I realized after taking off my nail polish, that my right pinky was torn on the side. I tried to buff it so that the crack would sink in, but using my recessive hand caused a disaster, my nail tore from side to side, in a matter of a milisecond. It was painful, and I was frustrated! Then I decided to chop my nails, because it makes no sense to run around with long nails when one or two nails are just little nubbins. So I grabbed the toenail clipper and... You know the rest.
Don't get me wrong, I love short nails on other people and they don't bother me at all, but after all the effort for growing them longer, it's frustrating to have them break just like so. I wonder if I ever have even nails at one time. I swear, before I became obsessed with my nails, everything was smoother...
So today's mani is the offspring of my depression. I just slapped some polish and layered it, and this came out.


This is Inglot #202 (green/pink flakies) over regular black creme polish, topped at first with China Glaze Matte Magic, then the underside with shiny topcoat. So those thick lines are not intended to be french tips =) When using a matte top coat, I recommend using it over regular top coat, because even when matte top coats dry quickly, they are not like quick-dry top coats, and they dent.


Look how short they are! I only didn't shorten my left pinky, because pinkies are such a pain in the butt to grow.
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