Tea Cups Nails

Another green nail art for Green Wednesday :)

The base is By K Glacier, a wonderful minty green. Then I've stamped on a pattern from MoYou London Tourist Collection-05 using Essie Good As Gold.

If you look closely you can see that the patter consists of tea cups and tea pots but at a distance it actually looks as a type of croc pattern :D And gold and mint sure is a match made in heaven! <3

How do you like this manicure?

Summary of By K Summer Collection 2014

In case I've got a complete polish collection I usually do a summary of it - and now it's time to sum up the wonderful summer collection from By K! I've listed the nine polishes in the order how I like them. The first one is my favorite and so on.

I've got many questions on where to get hold of these amazing polishes and if you live in Denmark you can order them from By K at: www.by-k.dk/shop

If you live outside Denmark you can get them at: skinstyle.dk/by-k-neglelak-177 They ship all over Europe.

If you live outside Europe you can contact By K directly to see if they can help you. Go to: www.by-k.dk/en-shop

Ok, time for the list! And remember they are all certified cruelty free, vegan and not less than 5-free! Great for you and for the animals :)

By K Blue Lagoon

By K Waterfall

By K Limelight

By K Glacier

By K Lavender Blue

By K Camelia Rose

By K Copper Heart

By K Pretty Nude

By K Sugar Rush

How do you like this collection?

Do you agree on my order? :)

Vintage Roses Nails

It's Nail Art Sunday today and time for a stampicure! :)

The base is Picture Polish Chillax - so gorgeous I want to cry! ;) Then I've stamped on two different patterns from MoYou London plate Pro Collection-07. Yes, TWO patterns :) Please note that the ring finger is inverted ;) As stamping polish I've used By K Choco Mousse.

I call this manicure for vintage because I think the brown and the bright minty turquoise create a vintage feeling. I was very happy with this manicure! :D I think I like the inverted pattern best actually. What do you think?

How do you like my vintage roses nails?

By K Glacier - swatches and review

I'm still struggling with the most horrible cold and cough but I couldn't resist trying this fantastic minty green from By K's newly released summer collection. This is Glacier and the name couldn't be more perfect! Imagine the color of the icebergs floating in the sea, just where the ice cold water meets the ice. That is the color of this polish! Stunning!

Perfect formula as always with By K! And of course 5-free, certified cruelty free and vegan :) Today it's Green Wednesday and I'm joining! ;)

Pinky without top coat. Rest of fingers with top coat.

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Cream.

Number of coats: Two.

Formula: Very good! You're in total control and it's self leveling too!

Brush: Thin straight cut brush.

Top Coat: No. Like many minty and turquoise polishes a top coat brings out the yellow in the color. Look at the last picture where pinky has no top coat whilst the others have one. I tried four different top coats, all with the same result. However, Glacier dries fast and shiny so a top coat is not needed.

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 5/5

This is such a beautiful cool minty green! Perfect for summer! Great qualities and it always feels good to wear something cruelty free and vegan.

How do you like Glacier?

Picture Polish Chillax - swatches and review

Of course I had to try Chillax almost immediately when I got it ;) It's such a super bright minty turquoise! Perfect for summer and perfect for Green Wednesday!

This is also my post number 700!!! Jippieeee!! :D

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Cream.

Number of coats: Two.

Formula: A nice formula, not thin nor thick. Not as self leveling as Swagger though.

Brush: Medium straight cut brush. I love the rubbery cork too! So easy to grip!

Top Coat: Yes. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 5+/5

I love these bright minty shades! I'll definitely wear this again! My only concern is that it could have been more self leveling. I'm thinking this shade with Swagger's dream formula ;)

How do you like Chillax?

Ciaté Sweet Pea - swatches and review

The weeks are passing by so quickly! It's Green Wednesday again!

Today I've got a polish from Ciaté's new mini collection "Dolls House" (limited edition). This collection consists of five pale pastels with a, what Ciaté calls powdery textured finish. They all look pretty and I wanted to do a skittle manicure with all of them :) But here is the pale mint green one called Sweet Pea. The first two pics are with the original matte finish and the third one is with a top coat.

With a top coat

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Matte cream.

Number of coats: Two.

Formula: Hm, I will try not to write a novel here ;) This polish needs to be applied with an ultra light hand to avoid brush strokes and it easily gets bald spots. Sweet Pea gets matte instantly when applied. Literally within seconds! It doesn't dry instantly though but it sure dries quickly! It has good opacity even though it's so pale.

Brush: Medium straight cut and really soft for a mini brush.

Top Coat: No (only on third picture). 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: As matte 1/5, as shiny 3/5

To me the powdery textured finish means a matte cream and it was great fun to try it. However, I will not use it as matte but as shiny it's actually quite pretty :) I've also done a pretty nail art with Sweet Pea which I will show you soon ;)

How do you like Sweet Pea?
Do you like matte creams?

Barry M Gelly Greenberry - swatches and review

It's still summer so here is a wonderful summer-ish polish for you! This is a wonderful minty turquoise cream. It's not a jelly as the name indicates but it has the extreme glossiness as of a jelly though. A very fresh and bright polish!

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Cream.

Number of coats: Two.

Formula: Very good! A tiny bit thick but very self leveling.

Brush: Excellent! No complaints at all.

Top Coat: Yes, one coat. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 4/5

I really wish Barry M would be available here in Sweden. They make such great polishes to such great prizes! I paid £2.99 for each when I got mine in the UK and luckily I go there a lot ;)

I had to take my pictures in a poor evening light to be able to capture the right shade of this polish. That's why the quality of these pics aren't as high as usual. My apologizes, but I thought it was more important to show you the right color than super perfects photos.

How do you like Greenberry?

Luxury Wallpaper Nail Art - swatches

When you are reading this I'm on my way to become godmother to little Lilly, five months old! :) Luckily I can preset my posts! ;) And oh! You should see the match I managed to pull off with nails and dress for this occasion! :D I'll show you sometime!

So for this Nail Art Sunday I want to show you a stamped manicure I did a few weeks ago. This manicure reminds me of a luxury wall paper, hence the post name.

This is a pattern made with a Bunny Nail plate (it's not numbered) and Orly Luxe. If you look really close you can see birds in the pattern among the branches and leaves! The base polish is Color Club Blue-Ming. A full review of that polish along with more swatches can be found here.

Lastly a short reminder that Google Reader is canceling its services today. I find Bloglovin a good alternative. If you'd like to follow me there instead, just click on the Bloglovin button in the left column!

How do you like my wallpaper nails?

Can you spot the birds? :)

Color Club Blue-Ming - swatches and review

This Friday there'll be no holo polish. I haven't had the time to swatch any because I've been working like crazy this week. You see this week is the week when most students graduates from school. In Sweden we call it "studenten". As a florist that means tons of work for me. It's great fun but also hard work.

So today I'm showing you one of the brightest mint creams I've ever seen, Blue-Ming from Color Club! My pictures don't do it justice. It was extremely hard to capture! I had to set my camera on the settings for "beach" and take the pictures in the exact right angle. Sometimes it's hard work to be lacquer head ;)

This polish is not blue, as the name hints, but I guess Blue-Ming is a re-write for "Blooming" since it belongs to a collection called "Blossoming Collection" released last spring.

GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT BLUE-MING:

Type of polish: Cream.

Colour: A bright but vibrant pale minty green.

Collection: Color Club Blossoming Collection Spring 2012.

Opacity: Good. This is two coats.

Formula: Awful! Thick and streaky. No self leveling at all. A complete nightmare.

Brush: Very thin and awful.

Shine: Shiny on its own, but I have one coat of Seche Vite top coat in these pictures. A top coat is really necessary for this polish to even out the streaks.

Accurate colour, photo vs IRL: Fairly accurate but it's both minty-er and brighter irl. As I said, extremely hard to capture!

Grade: 2/5 :/

The color of this polish is really great! It's one of the brightest and most vibrant mints I know! But the formula is awful, really awful and the brush is ridiculously thin! I'm glad I've only borrowed this polish and not bought it. Sorry Goldie I know you love it ;)

How do you like Blue-Ming?

What is your favorite mint polish?

Minty Gradient Nail Art - swatches

Today it's Nail Art Sunday and the theme is "Gradients". I've done a minty gradient out of three mint green polishes. Enjoy! :)

I've used the following polishes: (from left to right)

Ciaté Pepperminty

H&M Bella's Choice

Misa Dirty Sexy Money

Do you like this type of tone-in-tone gradients?

Gold speckled minty green gradient - swatches

This is a fun minty green gradient finished off with OPI's 18 K gold top coat "The Man with the Golden Gun".
The gradient could have been better made, but I really like the finishing touch with the gold flakes :) I think gold goes very well with this minty turquoise green actually! :)
This is also my contribution to our new recurrent Green Wednesday :)

To make the gradient I've used the following polishes: (from left to right)

Ciaté Pepperminty

H&M Bella's Choice

Misa Dirty, Sexy, Money

Did you enjoy my golden minty gradient? ;)

What is your favourite colour to match with gold?

Ciaté Pepperminty - swatches and review

This is my first work free weekend since September!!! Jippie!!! :D So how do I celebrate and make the most out of it...? I'm at home having a very soar throat and cough :( Yay... Anyway, this doesn't stop me from doing my nails and showing them to you! :)

This is a great minty turquoise polish from Ciaté which Goldie has kindly lent to me! :D The formula is great and I don't think I've ever had so many compliment from customers as when I wore this yesterday at work!! :D I guess people are really longing for spring now here in snowy, freezing Sweden :)
Now! Let's eyeball this darling shall we? :)

GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT PEPPERMINTY:

Type of polish: Cream.

Colour: A minty pale green turquiose.

Opacity: Very good! This is two coats.

Drying time: Normal.

Formula: Very good! Very nice formula! It stays where you want it to.

Brush: Excellent! Thick, firm and very easy to work with! I love Ciaté's brushes! :D

Shine: Very shiny on its own. No top coat in these pictures.

Accurate colour, photo vs IRL: Quite accurate. The slightly more greenish picture is the most accurate.

Grade: 4+/5 :)

This is a great spring colour! It's so fresh and crispy that you can almost taste the peppermint in your mouth ;) The formula is great too! And this one actually suits my skintone in my point of view :) If it had been more bright and a one coater I'd have given it 5/5 ;) I'm getting spoiled with those one coaters now ;)

Do you like Pepperminty?