Beauty ponders

My love for OPI is unconditional and goes way back... It's a brand which I'm very fond of because it applies so easily. The only downside is that they offer less neutral colours than let's say Essie. This dusty colour has been on my list for some time, but after purchasing it I never felt the urge to apply it, untill this week! I opened my neutrals box and was immediately drawn to this one.
Application goes like all OPI's, like a charm. I used 2 layers to get this desired effect. No streaks, but be sure to use small layers, it offers plenty of coverage with 2 small ones. Tipwear shows after 3 days, but no chips. The colour is a lovely dusty rose that can be worn all-year-round but suits fall/spring best in my opinion. I can definitely see why this is a popular colour and I'm sure I will get plenty of wear out of it (the right picture with flash is the most accurate colour)!
Which are your favourite OPI neutrals?

Todays NOTD is my Christmas polish, which wasn't traditional red - as red would not match my outfit - but nevertheless it was a festive polish infused with sparkles. Christmas & sparkles, great combination! As the name says it is a dark violet colour with golden particles in it. In the bottle it appears to be almost black but when held in the light, you clearly see it is violet. The particles show up nicely, even in the bottle - it is not one of those polishes where you have to search for the particles...
Then on my nails... I used 2 thin layers, as I mostly try to do, and it covers up nicely. One layer gives a bit seethrough and I don't like to use one thick layer, I prefer 2 thinner ones for optimal result. The polish goes on smooth and doesn't leave streaks. Like all Avon polishes I like the brush and it works easy. The colour is very dark and at first glance it appears to be black, but when the light hits in you see the violet - although it is a very dark deep violet. The golden particles are easily visible. These are pictures taken on day 3 of the polish on my nails and you can see a little bit of tipwear, but overall I'm impressed with how this dark polish holds up.
This is indeed a dark polish but suitable for this time of year. It's not my personal favourite, as I do enjoy lighter colours more... But I know a lot of people are crazy about them. I'm quite sure I will use this polish again on a certain occassion when suited, but I would not use it for everyday wear... You may have noticed that I have cut my nails a bit shorter: this is better when using a dark polish - if you have really long nails and use a dark polish on them it reminds me too much of a witch-effect and I don't want to look like one :)

A couple of weeks ago my Avon order came in, with which I ordered their newly summer polishes - a pastel purple and a soft yellow. I was a bit astonished when I opened the soft yellow and discovered it was actually a beige nude... As I love nudes, I don't mind but I can imagine people being put off by it!
Packaging and bristle is the same as other Avon polishes. Application goes easily, without any streaks. It's a bit sheer - I used 2 coats but for optimal coverage you could use 3. It's a very soft beige with a bit of yellow tone to it. It's definitely a wearable colour for all occasions. But does it belong in a summer collection? Probably not, it should have been more yellowtoned for that.
Nevertheless, it's a nice polish - just not what you might expect from it when you look at the commercial picture...!

Another nude polish I'm loving right now is this one called "Perfectly Flesh" by Avon. It's indeed -the perfect- nude. I bought it solely based on its name, as the Avon swatches in catalogues are just horrible and I'm glad it turned out to be exact what I had expected from it...
The bottle contains 12ml and costs around 4-5euros, depending on the promotion. I used 2 thin layers to get the coverage I wanted. 1 layer can also be sufficient. The polish goes on smooth, creamy and dries up without any streaks. The colour is a gorgeous nude rose and reminds me a lot of the colour in my banner picture. A tiny point of negative is the tipwear which shows up after 2 days, this isn't the case with other Avon polishes.
To sum it up: a gorgeous nude that I recommend, I will wear this colour quite often!

As I featured on Monday in my haul I got my first two Barry M polishes. I've been reading a lot about them, but they aren't easy available in Belgium. And as I was busy compiling my shopping cart on a Dutch webshop, I noticed they had Barry M stored. This colour appealed to me above all others. I don't have a lot of peachy polishes, so I was curious how it would suit me.

The bottle is straight and looks really cute, I like the thicker glass at the bottom - the golden lettering is a bit tacky in my eyes. The brush itself is tiny and reminds me a lot of Essie brushes. I used 2 coats as I do with most polishes and this provides enough coverage. Applying the polish goes well, but be a bit aware of streaking. The colour was insanely hard to capture on camera, in real life it's a mixture of the 2 photos. On the left it looks a bit paler/more nude and on the right it's too bright & orange due to the flash. But it is a lovely colour and I like it a lot, I'm an NC/NW15-20 for reference. If your skin tone is a lot darker than this, the polish probably won't be your thing as it appears too orange then.


One thing that I dislike about this polish is its tipwear... After 1,5days I noticed I already had tipwearing on a few nails. Usually with my other polishes I get tipwear after 4-5days. I always use the same base and topcoat so it really is the polish. And this will probably prevent me from ordering more Barry M in the future... sadly!

When Catrice released their Wonderland collection (with the lovely butterflies on the packaging), I picked up a few of their goodies, including this nail polish. If there's a pastel/nude polish to be found, I'm all over it...

These bottles are a bit smaller: 8ml in comparison to 10ml in their regular collection - pricing is the same at 2,49euros but it's still very budgetproof. I used 2 coats of this polish but 1 coat already provides decent coverage. The polish goes on smooth without any streaks. It's a gorgeous purple pastel and I'm fond of it. This is a perfect polish for summer.

Another Catrice polish for you today, I'm on a roll with these ones and I'm really loving their Ultimate Nudes collection, this is the 3rd polish I've tried so far and all 3 are to my likings... including this one!

When I first heard about Catrice launching a nude line I couldn't help myself and was super excited. I love nudes, so I didn't hesitate and bought them all after their release... And off course, from time to time, I like to share one with you all.

Todays one is a very special polish. It's a beige colour that has tiny golden microshimmers in it. It's only visible in certain lighting, look closely at the bottle and you'll see what I mean... Putting this on my nails was easy, I used 2 light layers and I was surprised at the amount of coverage the polish provided. Looking at the bottle I had expected a more watery version, but this one is quite creamy and doesn't leave any streaks. The colour on my nails is as lovely as in the bottle: a gorgeous beige with lots of microshimmers in it, mostly visible in sunlight. After a few days a tiny tipwear shows up, as always.

In the beginning of the week I showed you my latest polish purchases and today one of them is already on my nails... I wasn't too sure about this Essie polish from their 2011 Resort collection, but I'm glad I ordered it - 'cause this one will surely be one of my summer favourites!

The polish is a rose pink with very subtle shimmer, easily visible in the bottle but hardly detectable on your nails. However, the shimmer leaves a nice sheen, very lovely. The pink is an old-rose-pink, perfect for spring and it isn't childish at all. You can wear this polish at any occasion. My boyfriend also commented on it saying it embodies spring. But what I'm most surprised at was the coverage of this polish, I'm only wearing one coat here and as you can see - it's gorgeous. There are no streaks, it applies easily. This is how I want my nude polishes to be...

For me, this is a must-have-polish this summer. I love this colour and will often wear it!

Since I bought a lot of Catrice polishes, it's all I've been wearing lately. If I get a new polish I want to try it as soon as possible off course and enjoy it. This week I was in the mood for a bit of colour and chose this special one that isn't green or blue but is both...

I used 2 layers of this polish, as described on the top and it has a nice coverage. You don't need to layer it on very thick, two small/regular coats are enough. It has a nice creme finish and doesn't streak. As all Catrice polishes it shows tipwear after a day or 2 but nothing serious.

Not too long ago I told you about my ELF hauling and I was also curious to their polishes, especially since they are priced at 1euros - yes I love. I bought only one, to check it out and got this new nude colour called "Innocent".

I used 2 coats here, the first coat was a bit sheer but the second provides enough coverage. The brush reminds me a lot of an Essie brush, it's also quite small / tiny. Applying goes easily and it doesn't leave any streaks. Afterwards I used a top coat, drying time was as usual. The colour is a gorgeous nude that I will definitely wear quite often, especially now in spring when I tend to grab my nudes all the time, it's a bit darker than my OPI nudes - it's more Essie-style.

After 2-3 days I began noticing a little tipwear and I also had a few tiny chips. The lasting time of this polish is less than more high end brands such as OPI, which lasts me a week easily. But nevertheless, for its price you can paint your nails 2 times a week :). This won't be my last ELF polish, it's worth ordering a few if you're planning an order as it's only available online.

Last week I bought all the new Ultimate Nude Catrice polishes with a good discount and off course, I just had to try one of them. I chose Moulin Rouge Light, because this colour looks quite intense in the bottle, like it would provide a decent coverage.

I used 2 layers of the polish, one is a bit sheer and 2 is perfect (on the back of the bottle it also recommends 2 for coverage). I put Catrice's own topcoat over it which explains the tiny bumps you can spot, I'm going to give the topcoat a few more chances before I put down my review on it - but for now not impressed.

The colour is a peachy pink and I really like it. It's a perfect spring colour that suits any outfit and any occasion. After a few days the polish starts showing a little tipwear but not as much as my other Catrice polishes, maybe they changed the formula a bit, I don't mind. If you like nudes, get this one, it's lovely!!

Have you already tried one of their new polishes, which one?

Sometimes I'm not in the mood in polish and other times I can't get enough of it... does that make any sense? I don't know whether it's the sun, the good weather, but I'm definitely becoming all spring and summery - along with the brighter and shinier polishes. Recently I bought this Essence polish for only 0,99euros - it was from a limited collection so if you're still after it you should get it now when it's still available.

Whilst shopping the colour in the bottle just had its magical effect on me and I hopped over to the counter to pay for it, I'm glad I did. I've used 2 coats of this polish and it goes on easily, the brush is a bit small (OPI, you've spoiled me with your bigger brushes) and it has a thick texture, so be carefull. It applies without any streaks and has a good coverage. The lasting time has me impressed, so far no tipwear and it's been 3 days. The colour is a gorgeous pinkpeach that has more and brighter (neon)pink in it then is visible on the pictures. I consider it a must-have for the summer and will be wearing this quite often...

While browsing my polishes I came across this one and noticed I hadn't put it up yet, even though I bought it months ago. Honestly, I haven't worn it a lot, because it's the kind of colour you tend to forget you have - or at least I do. It's a basic gorgeous gray shade that is very subtle...

As with most Catrice polishes I apply 2 coats of this, it goes on easy and leaves a cremefinish without streaking, anyone can apply this. Afterwards I put on a topcoat. After a few days (pictures are day 3) you can see some minor tip wearing but mostly I leave it on for a week or so. The colour is a gray that is quite lovely combined with blue and more specifically jeans. The colour resembles the above picture the most. This is a safe colour choice and perfect for every occasion...

Yesterday in the haul and yet already on my nails. Actually I got the haul last week but hadn't been able to make decent pictures of it, stupid dark wintery weather. And as always with new nail polishes I can't wait to try them!! I chose for the pink colour 'cause the bottle was just screaming "hello christmas" to me... Onto the result girls. :)

This is 1,5 layers of polish, I know, weird amount. When I'd put it on my first nail I immediately spotted how pigmented the polish was and it was already providing enough coverage. I used another light layer to make sure it would last me long enough - which is a week for me. When using just one layer the polish chips easier and shows earlier tipwear. But if you like to switch a lot during the week from polish to polish, one layer of this is sufficient enough.

The polish applies easily but be carefull for showing streaks, especially when applying a top coat. After a few days the polish shows tipwear, more than I have with OPI but still managable and wearable. The colour is a special pinkred that is once again hard to capture on camera, the first picture represents it best in natural light. Some people commented that this polish looks a lot like OPI Take the Stage from the Burlesque collection and it does resemble it a lot on pictures but I don't know how much alike they are in reallife. Overall this is a great polish for the christmas holiday season, I like it a lot. Polish available from Avon, costed 4-5euros.

Nudes and pinks are defintely most present in my nail polish stash, along with them being OPI, I love OPI and their brushes. I also have some shimmer polishes and this is one of them. Initially when ordering it, I expected it to be very heavy shimmer and highly pigmented but this isn't true and because of that this polish is quite wearable for everyday.

The polish applies very easy and dries very fast, I'm used to cremes so this is breathtaking. I used 3 layers here to get enough coverage. One layer is just a poor shimmer layer and hardly shows any pink. This is also a great polish to use over another polish to give it a little extra sparkling touch. In real life the colour is a mixture of these two pictures, but I can safely say it's not too much. A highly recommended polish for pink lovers - I've already used it quite a lot!

Nail polish and me are good friends... as you all know and noticed in my giveaway, I'm really happy you all enjoy it! Some time ago I bought new polishes from Catrice - this was one of them, they released a few new colours and I had to have this, it basically had my name written all over it. It's a lovely creme fall greyish colour that will suit everyone...

Application went smooth like all Catrice polishes and dries quite fast. I used 2 layers here. The only downside I experience with Catrice is its lasting time, as I mentioned before. After 2-3 days the tips wear off, which is not the case with OPI for instance. I just file my nails a bit to solve this problem fast. It is a budget brand, so I don't expect it to last me as long as a Chanel polish.