Daisy Nails for Midsummer

For this Nail Art Sunday I want to show you my Midsummer manicure. I wanted to do something summerish and with the Swedish colors blue and yellow. However, it's really hard to balance blue and yellow so I decided to add some white too. It all ended up with a blooming stampicure in the shape of daisies which are a real midsummer flowers to me.

The base is the amazing Baker Street from Nails Inc. Then I used a white Depend Stamping polish (#6700) and MoYou London stamping plate Pro Collection XL-06. The final touch was to do yellow dots with Barry M Lemon Ice Cream in all the flowers.

The result was very good! They feel summerish and midsummerish ;) I got many comments at work which is always fun! Even though I felt that most customers didn't' believe me when I said that I've done them myself… Why are people so suspicious….?

How do you like my Daisy nails?

Holothon: Darling Diva Anna - swatches and review

It's Friday and it's time for Holothon again! Today I'm showing you a scattered holo from Darling Diva called Anna. My pictures don't do it justice! It's simply stunning live!

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Holographic.

Number of coats: Three, but two coats could be enough.

Formula: Very good formula! Not thick nor gluey. Nice flow of glitters.

Brush: Medium straight cut.

Top Coat: Yes. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. Much more glittery live of course :)

Grade: 5/5

How do you like Anna?

An InLinkz Link-up

New arrivals!

I'm really, really busy at the moment so today I just want to show you the content of a parcel I got yesterday!

Dance Legend The Knight, Glisten & Glow HK Girl Top Coat
Arcane Lacquer Residuum, Dance Legend It's Hot Here

Soooooo glad to finally got hold of Dance Legend The Knight! It sure looks stunning in the bottle :)

Dance Legend It's Hot Here has been a completely must since I saw it on my dear friend Christine's blog Polished Marvels. Will wear sunglasses while swatching that 8)

Will finally try the hyped top coat HK Girl from Glisten & Glow. Will be interesting.

The Arcane Lacquer was a pure impulse buy. It just begged me to take it home with me and who am I to refuse such a calling? ;)

I tried one of these polishes immediately! Guess which one…? ;)

Models Own Pink Punch - swatches and review

Sorry, no green polish today… Today it's neon time!! :D
It's also payday for many of us!! Yey! :D

This is such an amazing color!! Typical neon qualities though… sheer and dries matte.

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Neon.

Number of coats: Three coats on top of a white base which is a must for this polish.

Formula: Apart from the sheerness, it's a nice formula. Easy to control and self leveling.

Brush: Wide straight cut brush.

Top Coat: Yes. Dries matte and needs a bit of help to dry all the layers. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate, which makes me wonder about the name… This polish is not pink, it's orange!

Grade: 3+/5

I love the color of this polish!! It's so bright and vivid! However, it takes so many layers (7 in total with base and top coat) so a 3+ from me.

How do you like Pink Punch?

Swallow Nails

The theme for today's Nail Art Sunday is "Summer" and here in Sweden there is a saying going something like "one swallow does not make it summer" which means that an indication of something does not make it definitely. Anyhow, today I've got some swallow nails to show you! :)

The base is the stunning OPI Give Me The Moon! and the swallows are made with Misa I Will Survive and MoYou plate Mother Nature Collection-03.

I'm quite happy with the result. Grey/silver and black are always pretty and swallows are such delicate and gracile birds!

How do you like my swallow nails?

What is your favorite saying?

Holothon: Jade Mystic Gold - swatches and review

This summer I'm joining last years success Holothon hosted by the lovely Francine at The Beauty Case. It starts June 21st and goes on for 14 weeks. I'm so happy Francine invited me! Grazie mille cara! <3

Here in Sweden we celebrate Midsummer today with dancing, singing and eating with friends and family. So today I've got a real sunshine polish for you, Jade Mystic Gold!

Gold/yellow is not a great shade for my skin tone but this polish gives you amazing rainbows in the sun! Even in some artificial lighting actually and even weak ones in indoors.

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Holographic.

Number of coats: Three.

Formula: Excellent formula! You're in full control and no bald spots.

Brush: Thin straight cut brush.

Top Coat: No. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 3+/5

How do you like Mystic Gold?

Happy Midsummer everyone!

An InLinkz Link-up

Throwback Thursday: China Glaze Purple Panic Neon - swatches and review

I'm doing another Throwback Thursday today! This is an old time favorite of mine which I haven't worn for years! Don't know why because it's drop dead gorgeous!!

So put on your sunglasses! This is China Glaze Purple Panic Neon! :) Released in 2005 with the Nervy Neons Collection.

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Neon/shimmer.

Number of coats: Two.

Formula: Ok formula. Easy to control but visible brushstrokes. This could however be due to that this polish is at least four years old and was opened four years ago too.

Brush: Thin straight cut brush.

Top Coat: Yes. Dries matte otherwise.

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 5++/5

I really should wear this polish more often! It's bright, vivid and glowing and makes you smile! Perfect for summer!

How do you like Purple Panic Neon?

Acorn Nails

It's Green Wednesday again and today I'm showing a green nail art :)

The base is a show-stopper-beautiful textured polish from Kiko called #643 Spring Green. Then I've used MoYou plate Mother Nature Collection-03 and Essie Good As Gold to stamp the acorns.

I love acorns! They are so beautifully shaped and they make me think of squirrels who are so cute!

However, stamping on a textured polish makes the pattern a bit blurry. It's best to use really bold patterns and not as delicate as this one. You can only see they are acorns if you look closely. I still think it looks alright though and bright green and gold is a fun color combination.

How do you like my acorn nails?

Bourjois Perle Illusion - swatches and review

This post is for my fantastic friend Goldie who is totally nude-crazy ;) and of course for all you other nude polish addicts out there! :)

I got this polish in London a few months ago and so far Bourjois has never disappointed me, neither did it this time. I then used this as a base for my beautiful Wisteria Nails.

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Shimmer.

Number of coats: Two, but one coat is enough for short nails.

Formula: Excellent formula! You are in total control of every drop and every stroke! Due to this I can even live with the visible brushstrokes ;)

Brush: Very wide rounded fan brush.

Top Coat: Yes. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 3+/5

The shimmer in this polish makes this nudie glow! Beautiful! Excellent qualities too! However, I'm not a crazy nude polish fan like my friend Goldie ;) so a 3+ from me.

How do you like Perle Illusion?

Floral Nails

For today's Nail Art Sunday I've got a beautiful floral manicure for you! White on turquoise is so summer-ish! Makes me think of Greece with white houses and turquoise water.

The base is a beautiful Danish polish from Moss Copenhagen called Envy. I got it from my amazing friend Goldie and we call it Tyrkis ;) which I believe is Turquoise in Danish :)

I used a white stamping polish from Swedish Depend with the sexy name #6700 ;) The print is from MoYou plate Artist Collection-05. (A full plate pattern Lela ;))

I'm so happy with the result! I love the colors and as a florist I love, love, loooooove floral patterns! I almost didn't want to remove this manicure but as they say: Upwards and onwards! ;) Hope you like it too!

How do you like this floral manicure?

Holo Friday: Dance Legend #2 Spacecraft - swatches and review

It's been a while since I joined Holo Friday but today I'm in! This is a wonderful black holo polish from Dance Legend - Spacecraft!

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Holographic.

Number of coats: Two, but the second coat made no difference, so one coat is enough :)

Formula: Very nice formula! No bald spots. Has a strange chemical smell though.

Brush: Quite wide straight cut brush. Did not spread normally, but maybe just my copy?

Top Coat: No. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 4+/5

This polish gives you amazing rainbows! However, I can't give it a 5 due to the chemical smell and the weird brush. A huge plus for the fantastic formula though!

How do you like Spacecraft?

Throwback Thursday: OPI Red Lights Ahead…Where? - swatches and review

I'm a fan of sometimes bringing forward older polishes. So today I'm having a throwback Thursday! This is one of my absolute favorite red leaning to orange polishes! It's so bright and juicy!

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Cream.

Number of coats: Two. For long nails I think three coats would be better.

Formula: A nice formula. I wish it could be a bit more self leveling though.

Brush: Wide straight cut brush.

Top Coat: Yes. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 5/5

I've got loads of new untried polishes but I still want to wear this one from time to time. That's how much I love it :)

How do you like Red Lights?
Do you have a polish you always return to?

Kiko Sugar Mat #643 Spring Green - swatches and review

Today I've got an amazing textured polish to show you! Totally unique in my collection with its super bright green glittery texture! I love it and almost didn't want to remove it ;) Perfect for Green Wednesday!

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Textured with glitter.

Number of coats: Two. One coat is probably enough because second coat made no difference.

Formula: Perfect formula! So easy to control and dries fast.

Brush: A super nice wide straight cut brush!

Top Coat: No. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. Third pic most accurate. I love taking pics on underground tube stations! The light is amazing for showing off nail polish colors! I get many strange looks though… haha!

Grade: 5+++++++++++/5

This is my favorite textured polish so far ever! Great color! Great glitter effect! Great formula! I will wear this many times! Kiko is nowadays delivering to Sweden and many other countries.

How do you like Spring Green?
Are you tired of the textured trend yet?

Bamboo Leaves in the Rain Manicure

The theme on today's Nail Art Sunday is "Motivation" and there are so many fantastic nail art ladies out there that motivate me! Recently I've got to know Ruth on Instagram who does fantastic nail art manicures! She is marvelous at doing layering stamping and her beautiful double stamp manicures were the motivation for me to try that myself. Ruth is called @firefly5 on Instagram - check her out!

I was a bit of a chicken though with this first attempt of doing double stamping. The first layer is a very close to the base color but if you look really closely you can see the raindrops behind the bamboo leaves ;) I'll try and be more brave the next time :)

The base is the magical Butter London Disco Biscuit. The raindrops are from a MoYou plate called Tourist Collection-05 (the London plate). Polish used is By K Pink Dahlia. Second layer of stamping is from another MoYou plate, Suki Collection-06 and Essie Nothing Else Metals.

I like the result. The double stamping gives the manicure a sort of 3D-effect. I will definitely do layering stamping manicures again!

How do you like this manicure?

Have you tried double stamping?

Happy Hands Tropical Storm - swatches and review

It's such a shame Happy Hands don't make polishes anymore. I've been lucky to snatch up a few bottles of this brand though. This is one of them, the gorgeous Tropical Storm! In my head it's called Tropical Sea though ;) I think it looks exactly like a tropical sea full of colorful fish!

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Glitter in a jelly base.

Number of coats: Three.

Formula: A nice formula. No glitter fishing needed at all. They all spread out evenly.

Brush: Fairly wide straight cut brush.

Top Coat: Yes. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 4/5

This is a fun and beautiful glitter polish! If the base color had been a tad more bright I would have given it a 5 :)

How do you like Tropical Storm?

H&M Stop Sign - swatches and review

The name of this polish had me a bit confused at first. It's called stop sign and it's a super bright orange leaning to red. Here in Sweden the stop signs are pure red so I didn't really get the name. After a quick google I found out that in several countries the stop signs are actually this orange-red. So no more confusion :)

A lovely polish! Fairly new. Very good value for money!

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Cream.

Number of coats: Two. If you are super fussy, do three coats ;)

Formula: Very nice formula! Easy to control and self leveling.

Brush: Wide and rounded. Very nice to apply with!

Top Coat: Yes.

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 4+/5

This is a perfect polish for summer! Both for lazy days on the beach or for long party nights :) If it had been a one coater I would have given it a 5 ;)

How do you like Stop Sign?

Illamasqua Rampage - swatches and review

For this Green Wednesday I've got a stunning crelly for you made by the lovely Illamasqua. This is Rampage which means to rush forward. Something I definitely not did with this one ;) I've had it untried for at least a year which I deeply regret now.

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Crelly.

Number of coats: Two.

Formula: After a streaky first coat all was forgiven after the second coat. Two coats give perfect coverage and this is the most self leveling polish I've ever tried so far!

Brush: Very thin and straight cut.

Top Coat: No, it's super glossy on its own! 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 5/5

I love blackened colors and this is no exception. It's glossiness is amazing! The only downside is the very thin brush because I like my brushes wiiiiide :)

How do you like Rampage?

Blue Butterfly Wing Nails

Here is another butterfly wing manicure! This time they are blue glitter wings and they turned out so pretty! Perfect for Nail Art Sunday! :D

The base is Viva la Diva's Moonlight Lady which gives them such depth and life! I've stamped the wing pattern with MoYou London plate Pro Collection-07 and Essie No Place Like Chrome. Then I just dotted on some white dots with Barry M Matte White.

How do you like my butterfly wing nails?