China Glaze Peachy Keen. Great Disappointment!

 Sunshine, flash

Sunshine
The closest to what you see irl

 Sunshine
It might look lighter under the bright light, but it's darker irl!

Note: I added a transparent top coat (so it doesn't affect the shade at all) with very  fine shimmer just to make the whole thing look more wearable. :)

14 ml (0,5 oz), exp. date: 36 months after opening, made in USA.

From Up & Away Collection, 2010.

Nail lacquer with hardeners (Kaolin/China clay).
3 Big free (but contains Formaldehyde resin).

Colour: pastel peachy orange. No hint of pink. And here comes my greatest disappointment - the shade! For some reason I thought it would be a really pretty soft wearable peach. I was wrong! I didn't expect it to be this bright and this orange. It just looks ridiculous on my skin tone. Reminds me of scary dolls. lol FAIL! Btw, it looks lighter in the bottle than on my nails.

Finish: creme, I would call it milky.

Application: a little bit tricky application because the nail polish is on the thick side, 2 coats are enough for a full coverage though. Take your time and work slowly if you don't want to end up with a gloopy mess on your nails. But I made it a gloopy mess with my Poshe fast drying top coat, which suddenly decided to thicken that day. Check that ugly dent on my index finger and imagine how bad it was before I tried to save it with a Maybelline glossy nail color in shade Nr 46 Sugar Crystals. And check what a giant tip wear I've got after only 2-3 days of wear! I mainly blame Poshe for this! Yep, ladies, with all the constant hand washing and house work I usually manage to rock one certain look for around one week! :)

Retail price: 2,5 USD - 10 EUR.

Pros: pretty good coverage, pretty bottle, big 3 free, almost no brush strokes.
Cons: wrong shade! strong smell, the fact that it's so expensive here!

PS I bet it'll look amazing on darker skin tones. Suitable for hot summer days only. :) Not office friendly for sure! IMO though. lol

BUK nail enamel in Nr. 168 and 169. Cute names, huh? lol

Finally I manged to put my fingernails on this post which was sitting in my drafts for several months. :)

Remember me taking about this great "no-name" brand of nail polish?

This time I present you 2 pretty much alike nail polishes with very cute names 168 and 169. lol

From L to R: 168, 169

Natural light, flash

Nr. 168 on my left hand

Natural light, flash

Nr. 168 on my left hand

Natural light

The picture is crappy (it's from those winter days with bad lighting and horribly dry hands), but at least it shows the orange "glow"

Nr. 169 on my right hand

Natural light, flash

Nr. 169 on my right hand

Natural light

The picture is crappy (it's from those winter days with bad lighting and horribly dry hands), but at least it shows the pink "glow" with golden glass flecks

Note: I took these pictures after 3-4 days of wear. As you can see the tip wear is not yet that visible. Definitely a plus in my book.  And, yes, I wore two different nail polishes on different hands just to check if it's worth it to have two very similar polishes. lol

9 ml, exp. date: 24 months after opening, made in EU for Coop Bergerac NC France.

Colour: Nr. 168 pale milky orange with fine golden glass flecks. Nr. 169 pale milky pink with fine golden glass flecks. These shades are so versatile! Nr. 169 reminds me of my all-time-favourite shade of nail polish Wet'n'Wild Rock Solid Nail lacquer in Pink Sapphire. Unfortunately, 169 doesn't provide the same optical illusion "tip whitening" effect.

Finish: creme-jelly with fine glass flecks.

Application: pretty smooth application , but very sheer. I usually apply 3-4 coats for a full coverage, but as you can see from these pictures - the white nail line is still visible, especially on my right hand with Nr. 169 on.

Retail price: ranges between 0,5-0,7 EUR. How cool is that? :)

Pros: versatile shade, unique finish, nice brush, pretty bottle, comparably long lasting, dirty cheap.
Cons: sheer, smelly (!), no list of ingredients, no info about the brand, limited availability, no names - boring!

PS Wear these shades anywhere and anytime! They also make a perfect base for a French mani!

Wet'n'Wild Rock Solid Nail lacquer in Pretty In Pink Diamonds

Natural "light", flash

Natural "light"

Note: Sorry for a "slightly used" look. I blame intensive hand washing and cold weather for this! :)

10 ml (0,33 oz), exp. date: 18 month after opening, "made in PRC" (i.e. The People's Republic of China)

I guess it's Toluen and Phthalate Free (contains Formaldehyde Resin!) like it's "sister" Pink Sapphire from the same collection. For some reason the list of ingredients is missing on this one, so I can't be sure. :/

Claims: "Infused with micro fine diamond flecks for rock solid strength and platinum performance."

Colour: pale orange with very fine golden shimmer-flecks. Have no idea how Wet'n'Wild guys came up with Pink Diamonds name! :)  It's not pink at all!

Finish: shimmer.

Application: pretty smooth application , but quite sheer. I usually apply 3 coats for a full coverage.

Retail price: 3,95 EUR (quite often Wet'n'Wild products are on "Buy 3 pay for 2" offer).

Pros: wearable shade, nice brush, pretty bottle (with a "diamond" on top!), good application.
Cons: sheer, list of ingredients is missing, smelly (!).

PS Can't wait for spring/summer? Put this shade on and pretend spring/summer is here! :)
PPS This polish is one of hubby's faves! :) Does that ring a bell? lol

What's your favourite orange nail polish?

Maybelline Express finish diamonds "Coral Diamonds" + Gosh "Rainbow"

Layering: Maybelline Express finish diamonds in Nr. 510 Coral Diamonds and Gosh nail lacquer in Nr. 546 Rainbow (2 coats of Maybelline, 1 coat of Gosh, no top coat)

Note: don't pay attention to dents on my index and pinkie fingers - it's me trying to check if "60 sec" thing works. lol The flakes are better visible in the bottle than on my nails. These are still my first attempts (this spring) to take decent pictures of my nails, this is why everything seems so weird... :)

1. Maybelline Express finish diamonds in Nr. 510 Coral Diamonds (2 coats)

Claims: Dries in 60 seconds.

10 ml, exp. date: no info, made in France.

Seems to be 3 Big free (at least these are not mentioned in the list of ingredients :) ).

Colour: coral orange with golden shimmer.

Finish: shimmer-frost.

Application: smooth application , 2 coats is enough for a full coverage. Unfortunately, it doesn't dry in 60 seconds. Dries in 60 (or even more) minutes would sound fair enough. lol Brush strokes are almost invisible.

Retail price: around 8 EUR.

Pros: beautiful colour, good coverage, long lasting, big 3 free.
Cons: the brush is quite small and long (!) for my liking, shape of the bottle is not very comfortable when it comes to rotating (not shaking!) it before the application, pricey, 60 seconds = FAIL!

PS The nail polish itself is perfect, but the marketing thingy (bottle and brush design, slogan) is not that good...

2. Gosh nail lacquer in Nr. 546 Rainbow (1 coat)

8 ml (0,3 oz), exp. date: 24 months after opening, made in Denmark.

Seems to be 3 Big free (at least these are not mentioned in the list of ingredients :) ).

Colour: rainbow!:) although I can spot only orange and green... lol

Finish: light reflecting flakes!

Application: it's very sheer, but buildable if you want to have more flakes on your tips. Keep in mind that the removal process is a bit tricky. Nope, this polish won't scratch your nails, but those flakes will get everywhere! :) I would recommend using it as a top coat only.

Retail price: around 8-9 EUR.

Pros: fun, long lasting, big 3 free.
Cons: the brush is quite small and the handle (not the cap!) is short (only half of the bottle!), pricey, tricky removal.

PS I wouldn't call it a rainbow, nice effect though. :)