Happy New Year!

Hey everyone! Long time no see - nothing happened, I just work a lot. I don't feel like posting because I'm that busy, hopefully I'll start to regain my motivation soon. One thing I do want to do is to wish all my readers a great start of the new year.


Because this is a nail blog, bonus pic! I'm wearing Ciaté Golden Globe. What are you wearing this evening? Have you decided to go for something festive or something more toned down?

Right now I'm going back to the party. Everyone - be safe, watch your fingers and don't drink too much.

Happy New Year, make it a good one!
Michelle

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Scrangie

Hello everyone! Today I am going to show you a polish that is very wanted by a lot of polish fanatics all around. This polish is designed by Scrangie and is released in 2009. Some time after this one being released it sold out it popped up on eBay for ridiculous prizes and I decided this was something I wanted but not needed. When RBL decided to bring back Scrangie I had the opportunity of getting it and now it's mine. Ha!


Scrangie describes this polish as medium blue-based purple with green iridescence and green microshimmer. It's sparkly, duochrome and it has a very pretty glow to it.

I'm not sure about the application. I've applied this a couple of times and it seems to be different every time I try it. It doesn't suck to apply it, not at all, but sometimes it seems the polish is more droopy than it is on other days. Strange? Very! I needed three coats for Scrangie to become opaque which is good and the drying time is normal.


RBL Scrangie is still available on their website for $18.

What's your take on this pretty purple? Would you get it for $18 or is it just too much for you?

Take care and thanks for visiting!
Michelle

China Glaze and Konad

Hey guys! I have a green from China Glaze and it is absolutely gorgeous, everyone should own it and seriously I'm not joking! The gorgeous green I'm talking about is Gussied Up Green from the Rodeo Diva collection that was launched for fall 2008. This one is still available at most etailers. The point of my saying this is that when you're in the need of a dark green shimmer you should get this one because really it's too good not to buy.


Gussied Up Green is a gooooooooorgeous (sorry for using that word too much, it does fit the polish so I'm gonna use it this whole post) blackened green shimmer. When it hits the sunlight, as you can see above, the shimmer is so pretty (and gorgeous!).


I did some Konad over it, using 2030 and a Bundle Monster Plate (BM21) for the pattern. Now as I've mentioned before, 2030 is my kind of gold and I love it dearly. I really need to get myself a new bottle because mine is almost empty and I can't imagine ending up without a bottle of 2030.

2030 is part of the Khrome Collection and like all other polishes of this collection, 2030 is great for stamping. If you're looking for a decent stamping polish that isn't from Konad these are the best.


In case you're wondering why I'm all that cheery and happy, I'm receiving a package from the H&M today and I'm about to wet myself because the shoes I've ordered are amazing. This however doesn't affect my liking of Gussied Up Green, it's gorgeous. Really, it is!

What's your opinion of Gussied Up Green and the Khromes as stamping polishes?
Michelle

Two Pretties make a good Pair

Morning people! Today I want to show you two polishes from the new China Glaze Holiday Collection called 'Tis the Season to be Naughty and Nice. I really wanted Party Hearty from the beginning because I love these kinds of glitter but when I saw Jolly Holly I just couldn't say no. It's green and it's gorgeous, everyone would've said yes!


This is Jolly Holly, an amazing green shimmery polish. The shimmer is blue and gold and it's awesome! Application was really good and it was also opaque after one coat. ONE COAT!


Jolly Holly topped with one coat of Party Hearty, no top coat. Party Hearty is such a funky glitter! I can see small silver and gold glitter and they've also put larger red and green glitter in it, all in a clear base. Application wise it was good, I don't like to polish my nails with glitters but this one wasn't that uncontrollable.

The 2010 Holiday Collection from China Glaze also offers you some sweet gift sets that are available at Trans Design and will be at Enchantra. How do you feel about this new Holiday collection?

Thanks for stopping by!
Michelle

Mmmmorbid

Morning guys! I hope everyone's fine. Today will be a super quick post, even I am surprised about it because normally I like to blabber a lot, but I only want to show you my NOTD. :-)


Before I painted my nails I applied Nailtek II and my base colour is Wet n Wild Morbid. I got this one in a swap some time ago and it's definitely one of my favourite greens. It's a blackened shimmery green that never bores me. It needs two coats and it applies good, the only issue I have are the caps and short brush - but that's something personal.

After that I took out my Konad Imageplate M57 and picked out the lacy leopard design. I used China Glaze 2030 as my stamping polish, I need another bottle because this one is my all time favourite. After stamping everything was sealed with China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat.

Well, that's it for today. Take care and thanks for stopping by!
Michelle

China Glaze Awakening Collection

Hey everyone! Sweet Karrie got me the China Glaze Awakening set, their collection for Halloween 2010. I'm a little late to the party but I still want to show you guys because overall I think it's a fun collection. Besides, we have one month to go before it's Halloween! :-) This Halloween, China Glaze brings us three 'ghoulish glitters' and this set also includes the China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat. All swatches are three coats and topped off with the Fast Forward top coat.


Mummy May I, fuchsia glitter in a dark purple jelly base. It reminded me of Wet n Wild Night Prowl but that base is black. Mummy May I's base looks black but it really is a little softer. It's not unique but it's definitely fun to have!


I immediately knew I would love Zombie Zest. It's a swampy green jelly with gold, blue and green glitter. The glitter is very fine and dense, creating a great effect when you're wearing this pretty. This is a dupe for one of my favourite polishes of all time, SpaRitual Optical Illusion, and Orly It's Not Rocket Science.


This is Ick-A-Bod-Y, a dark green jelly packed with loads of orange glitter. I was really excited for this shade because of the combination - green base with orange glitter - and even though my expectations weren't reached, I'm definitely not disappointed! You can see the green base peeking through the glitters - awesome! - but I'd love to see a little more base. I'm too picky, sorry.

Application wasn't great, the polishes were a little droopy and Ick-A-Bod-Y was too thick for my taste. It isn't unmanageable but you want to be in a 'zen' mode when applying. Zombie Zest is the only one with finer glitter, for the other ones I'd really use a thicker top coat. Speaking of top coat, I am very satisfied with the Fast Forward. It gives me a smooth finish and dries fast, very nice!

Do you own these and how do you feel about them?
Michelle

Milani - Hi-Tech

Hi guys! Today is the start of a new week and it's a strange start for me. It's not only my birthday, I'm also visiting the cremation today and it really gives me a double feel. It's le strange! However, being strange and all, I'm glad I'm a part of it and happy that I got to say goodbye my way yesterday. Like I said in yesterday's blogpost; being positive, even in shit times, helps a lot. Keep that as your mantra! ;-) Now let's go to the polish I am falling deeply and madly in love with.


This is Milani Hi-Tech, also a polish my parents gave to me for my birthday. I'm really liking this one, it's a bright green holo with a strong yellow tone in it. I've never seen a green holo like this and that's why I'm loving it! The holo effect is scattered and it doesn't translate that good in my pictures but it's definitely there.

Application was good, I applied this one over Nailtek Foundation II and I had no issues at all with polish dragging or bald spots. I'm wearing three coats of Hi-Tech, no top coat.


This one is available at the Dutch web shop Boozyshop. The owner of the shop is really friendly and ships internationally so if you want to order something, don't hesitate to contact her! The whole Milani 3D line is available there for €5,95 and I'll be buying some more because this one hasn't disappointed me at all.

How do you feel about the Milani holo's?
Michelle

Sally Hansen - Hidden Treasure

Hi all! It's Saturday, time to relax and enjoy the first day of the weekend. Yesterday I received my first (early) birthday present from my parents, they gave me a bunch of new polishes and I'm hoping I can show you one tomorrow because I know I can't resist playing with them today!

For today I want to show you a polish that I own for a little while and got it in a swap. I was very happy when this one arrived because it really was a 'hidden treasure' for some of us!


This is Hidden Treasure over Diamond Cosmetics I'm Raven About You. I used two coats of Hidden Treasure because I wanted this to look really in your face and I think that is a succes! ;-) Hidden Treasure is a clear base with orange, gold and green duochrome flakies. Application is okay, I really don't know how to feel about the brush because it's big and wide. Working with it isn't hard but it looks so... strange? Probably some kind of pet peeve.

I love it, the colours give me a really great autumn feel. It's great how the flakies shift colours! I've also mattified it and this is how it looks:


Pretty neat eh! Looks a bit like burning coals and even better, the duochrome effect isn't gone! Hidden Treasure is very pretty and if you can't find this one, there are plenty of other polishes that are dupes or really darn close, f.e. Gosh Rainbow, Nubar 2010 and Kinetics Daisies and Paislies.

How do you feel about these kind of flakies? Like or not?
Michelle

Urban Decay - Bruise

Hey everyone! Seasons change, fall has kicked in and even though I always love to wear dark colours, it's really noticeable I'm picking out the darkest colours from my stash to wear.


This is Bruise by Urban Decay, one of the polishes I love to wear this period. It's a dark eggplant with green shimmer - giving this polish an awesome blueish duochrome effect.

It applies good and the brush is easy to work with but to be completely honest, this polish is so pretty I'd wear it even if it would apply like crap. I'm wearing three coats in the picture, without top coat. I bought this one on eBay for €6 - shipping costs included - so you can imagine how happy I was finding it. There are more Bruises on eBay looking for a home so don't hesitate when you stumble upon one, it's definitely a fantastic addition to your stash. There's only one thing I need to do now... Going on a hunt for more old Urban Decay polishes!

How do you feel about Bruise and other old Urban Decay polishes?
Michelle

Nfu.Oh #51

Morning guys! Today I want to show you a polish that is widely praised, Nfu.Oh #51.


Nfu.Oh #51 is a purple based polish filled with pretty flakies. This polish has many faces: the flakies change from red to green to blue to gold and so on. You can see a little bit of this action in the bottle - and a teeny tiny bit on my nails.

On it's own #51 is a brighter purple. I like it but I think it looks better when layered over a darker polish. I've layered #51 over Collistar Viola Glitter, awesome combination! I used two coats of Viola Glitter and one coat of #51 (wish I did two, the pictures are a little mwehhh when it comes to the gorgeousness of the polish).


Now, the fun part. My birthday is coming up and I love Nfu.Oh as a brand so I want to share some of the fun with you guys! :-) I'm giving away one brand new bottle of Nfu.Oh #51. If you want to win this, here are the rules:
- You have to be a follower of my blog (I check)
- Fill in the form below!

This giveaway is closed!

Good luck everyone and thanks for visiting! :-)
Michelle

U.M.A. - Arctic Blue

Morning guys! When this post goes up I'll be working for the first day in a long while and I hope I enjoy haha.

U.M.A. stands for United Makeup Artists and is a brand we stumbled upon during one of our German shopping trips. We've never heard of the brand but looking at the bottles (cute!) we decided to buy a few. Unfortunately I can't remember the price but I believe it was pretty fair, otherwise I'd never buy a mini size polish. I think it has the same size as the OPI mini's, which is 3.75ml but U.M.A. doesn't have it listed so I'm really not sure. U.M.A. polishes are B3F, huge plus for me! I never understand why companies still use those crap chemicals because in my mind it isn't necessary to use them at all.


I've layered Arctic Blue over China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le. Arctic Blue is very sheer and I didn't see why I should try to build it so I didn't. I already used three coats over Secret Peri-Wink-Le, so go figure haha.

Arctic Blue is, despite being super sheer, quite pretty. It has a sheer lavender base that is stuffed with greenish and blueish golden glitters, giving this polish a gorgeous depth in the bottle. On the nails it translates to gold glitters and giving Secret Peri-Wink-Le a lavender sheen. It's pretty but dang, I want this polish to be opaque!

For more information about U.M.A. you can check out their website. They also offer nail art pens, stamping kits and nail art supplies such as beads and stickers, very fun. I do remember though I found these nail art stuff a little too expensive, I can't remember prices though. I believe this brand is only available in Germany but if that isn't so, please let me know!

Thanks for visiting and enjoy your Tuesday!
Michelle

Nfu.Oh #66

Hey all! Exciting news, I finally have a new laptop and a new job! Today I want to show you another Nfu. Oh holo, this time it's a light green one. It's very pretty and the green is so subtle it almost appears silver in my pictures but really, it's a GREEN. ;-)


This is Nfu.Oh #66 in the full sun. It's fantastic and it might not look as holographic as the first Nfu.Oh holo I posted, it really is! In real life it's a little more intense than the picture is showing, it's awesome!


In the shade, #66 looks more silver than green but that is not bad, the green is still noticeable. I'm wearing one coat of Nfu.Oh Aqua Base and two coats of #66. The special base really helps with the coverage, without the Aqua Base I needed four coats.


BAM! See, it's still very holo. My photo taking skills weren't that good yesterday. :-)

What is your favourite brand when it comes to holographic polishes?
Thanks for stopping by!
Michelle

Borghese - Stellar Notte

Hey everyone! Today I want to show you a polish I really really wanted for a long time and finally received it a while back in the great swap I did with Karrie from Beautopia.


Oeeeeeeh! Pretty! Stellar Notte has a dark grey base and is packed with loads of different shimmer: purple, pink and green. It's so awesome! It gives you dark green shimmery nails with a purple flash, sometimes with a little pink shimmer peeping through.

I needed three coats for this one to get opaque and it wasn't without a struggle! The brush is wide and flat, not like an OPI brush, it was flat and wide in a suckier way. I like OPI brushes but this one didn't work for me. The brush is rough too so I needed to be very zen before applying this one - otherwise I'd make a huge mess.


It stayed on for two days. Now I don't mind that because I change my nail colour a lot but I can imagine this would disappoint people. Besides all this, I think it's too gorgeous not to use. I absolutely adore the colour and Karrie rocks for sending me this one, so sweet!

Thank you all for visiting! :-)
Michelle

Hard Candy - Envy

Hi all! You probably know the Hard Candy polishes If not: they are very easy to spot because they all have a cap with a cute ring - it actually reminds me of being five years old and pulling surprise balls out of a machine. Do I make sense? I really hope so. Not only is Hard Candy a brand with nice polish bottles, they are also B3F!


As you can see above, it's super glossy. I had troubles taking pictures with this one in the shade, the gloss gave me a lot of reflections. I'm not wearing top coat because that wasn't necessary at all.

Envy is a blackened green that is packed with green shimmer. In the shade it gives you a nice, dark, vague shimmery look (and reflections!) but wait till you see it in the sun..


BAM! The shimmers jumps out and it is amazing. I'm a huge fan of blackened polishes and greens so this one couldn't go wrong on me. It's absolutely stunning.

Application was good. The formula was really easy to handle and Envy was opaque after two coats, also something I really like. Hard Candy is available at Walmart for $5.00 a bottle (10.3 ml). If you want to know what more Hard Candy offers you can check out the Hard Candy website.

What are your Hard Candy musthaves?
Michelle

The product in this post is provided by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration.
For more information please read my disclaimer.

Kiko - Sparkle Touch #270

Hey all! A few days ago I showed you a polish from Kiko and besides pretty polishes they also have special polishes. These are all called Sparkle Touch (and have a number) and like the others you have to look on the Kiko website to find out what they're called. Sparkle Touch #270 is called Aqua Paillettes and I think this description is quite fitting.

I call them special polishes because the ones I've seen are all perfect for toppers, giving your nail polish that little bit of extra.


I've layered Aqua Paillettes over black only to show you how the glitters come out. I love to layer polishes like this over colours, giving that extra kick, but sometimes you can't see the glitters like I want you to see it so Diamond Cosmetics I'm Raven About You is the polish for this task.

Aqua Paillettes has a clear base and is stuffed with hexagram glitter and microglitter. The glitter shows blue and green.


It's really an awesome effect and so simple. There are tons of toppers like this around and they can really spice up an old manicure or a boring polish. I'm liking #270 very much but I'll show you the one I like the most very soon.

What is your favourite glitter topper?
Thanks for stopping by!
Michelle

Nfu.Oh #52

Hi guys! One of my favourite brands is Nfu.Oh, not only because of the polishes they offer and the application, but also because of the adorable bottles. The ones that get the most attention are the flakies and the holo's but there are definitely more polishes that are also great - I will show you some in the future. Today's post is about one of the flakies, #52.


As you can see Nfu.Oh #52 is a gorgeous deep blue base that is packed with green flakies. I've layered #52 over Orly Royal Navy because these colours seem to match very well, #52 is slightly darker.

I'm showing you Nfu.Oh #52 in the shade. The flakies don't sparkle that much as they do in the sun but they create this amazing depth and I can't keep my eyes off it! I really like the flakies and I love to layer with them so I'll be definitely trying other polish to layer this one. I have used two coats of Orly's Royal Navy and one coat of #52. In the picture it shows my nail line but that isn't showing in real life.

Application wise this also was very easily to apply. The one thing I do look out for is that all the flakies are evenly applied on my nail, but that's more because I'm a neat freak. One tip for removing these: don't swipe the cotton pad towards your cuticle because flakies will get stuck there and you'll find some of them one week after you removed the polish.

I bought my #52 over at NailXL, a Dutch webshop, but there are plenty of shops around that sell Nfu.Oh such as Viis and Fabuloustreet. When you're planning to buy at Fabuloustreet, please read this first. Not to cause any panic but it's always good to know about these things. :-)

What's your favourite Nfu.Oh polish?
Michelle

Diamond Cosmetics - Never So Ever Green

Hey everyone! You probably know I looooove greens and today I want to show you one of my favourites. This is not only one of my favourite greens but this polish also hits the top 10 list high!


Never So Ever Green is a gorgeous mossy green with gold shimmer. It's not only gorgeous, it's also easy to apply and opaque in two coats. Definitely a polish I grab when I haven't got enough time for a full mani.


See the sparkle? It's sooo pretty! There's nothing to add more to be honest, except that I think this is an addition for everyone's stash.

The polishes from Diamond Cosmetics are available on their website but can also be bought on the Dutch webshop Boozyshop. Boozyshop ships internationally so if you are interested in buying there you can always contact the owner.

Thanks for stopping by! :-)
Michelle

Nail Art Tutorial: Striped!

Hi everyone! As promised the nail art tutorial of my striped manicure. :-)


First of all, pick the colours you want to use. If you do this while working on this manicure (and you are terribly clumsy) you will have a chance of ruining your manicure and we don't want that to happen! I have used: Essie Pretty Edgy, OPI Green-wich Village, OPI Damone Roberts 1968, Zoya Ivanka and Zoya Veruschka. I'm someone who wants their colours to match otherwise I'll start to annoy myself but do whatever you like! :-)

The other thing you need for this manicure is a striper. You can use a small brush for this or a striper brush. Striper brushes can be bought apart or in a nail art brush set. Mine has gone to heaven a while back so I cleaned out a striper polish I never used and I took that striper brush.


Make sure you clean it right after you've used it, otherwise you'll mix up polishes. You can use a cotton pad soaked in polish remover for this.

Now, on to the manicure. After you have applied your base coat, apply your base colour. I chose OPI Green-wich Village as my base colour, a very fresh green. You can wait for it to dry but I'm always kind of impatient so I continue right away with the next step.

Before you start keep in mind you don't want too much polish on your striper. If so, than can turn runny and become a droopy mess on your nail. Is your line too sheer? Wait a minute and pull another line on top of the first.

1. Take a polish and dip your striper in it. Pull a vertical line from the bottom of your nail to the top. I've created one stripe on the left side of my nail with Zoya Veruschka.

2. Repeat step 1. I created two lines on both sides of my nail with OPI Damone Roberts 1968.

3. Again, repeat step 1. I created one line on the right side of my nail with Essie Pretty Edgy.

4. And for the last time, repeat step 1. I created two lines on both sides with Zoya Ivanka. After that you seal it with a top coat.

If you don't like to read, here's picture material. You can click on these for an enlargement:



And the result:


Done! Easy nail art that everyone can create. If your hand isn't that steady make sure your wrist rests on something, like a table. This way your hand doesn't shake that much. I hope this was helpful for you!

Have a great day!
Michelle

Green Zebra

Hey everyone! How are you all doing today on this Monday? Hopefully the week started good for you. I haven't got a lot to show or tell you today so I think it's better to have a look at the manicure I'm wearing now. :-)


Remember the holographic zebra I did a while back? This is also a holographic zebra but with a different holo. I'm wearing Nfu.Oh #569 as my base colour and Nfu.Oh #66 as my holo. The zebra design is from Konad Imageplate M57.

I have to say I am liking to stamp with holo's more and more every time I use them so really, try it once for yourself! Oh and before I forget: the stamping polish database has grown a lot and you all have given me lots of additions for the list. Thank you very much! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!
Michelle

Crushed Shells

Hello everyone! I’m about to bore you with a little story about crushed shells so I’m warning you – if you’re not interested, scroll down to see the pictures.

A few months ago I ordered ice chips at Dollar Nail Art. They looked gorgeous and would be amazingly great on a manicure if only I knew what to do with it. When receiving my samples package from Viva la Nails I found out that there were crushed shells in it. Crushed shells, you ask? Yes, crushed shells. Tiny bits of coloured shells.

And that is when my brain started to get crazy. If I can’t work with ice chips, I can’t work with crushed shells! After trying to create a manicure with ice chips and completely failing with it I didn’t see that much of future for the crushed shells. But I tried and this is the kind of – weird – result.

My crushed shells are the colour lime, super funky if you ask me. My base colour is OPI Gargantuan Green Grape and I’ve stamped with China Glaze 2030 and Konad plate M57. I only stamped half of my nail (exception is the ring finger) and placed the crushed shells under the stamped part. I don’t know why I also used the crushed shells on my ring finger but I did and I don’t like it haha.

The crushed shells DO have a nice effect. Check out my pinky in detail:

Funny right? It’s constantly showing this glance. Please note that Viva La Nails says you can’t use the crushed shells on natural nails (only in gel or acrylic techniques or on nail extensions). I don’t know why this is because these stayed on fine and nothing happened. If you know why, please explain!

Thanks for stopping by!