Bamboo Manicure

I've got a MoYou London plate with a bunch of different bamboo patterns and I used one of them on top of the gorgeous duo chrome Electric Apple NYC from Takko Lacquer. The result was a fairly tone in tone look in the sun and strong lighting but in the shade there was a bigger contrast. Pictures of both examples can be found below. I like the tone in tone version best :)

The plate is called Suki Collection-06 and I stamped with Essence Gold Digger.

How do you like this bamboo manicure?

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…? ;)

Rain and Umbrella Manicure

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that the theme for today's Nail Art Sunday was "Rain"! I've had a rain manicure in my archive for months! :D

The base is Bourjois Modéle Taupe and then I've stamped on the patterns with a black polish (Misa I Will Survive) and MoYou plate Tourist Collection-05. That is the London plate. Which else plate would have umbrellas and rain on it…? ;)

Not the brightest manicure but neither is a rainy day ;)

How do you like this manicure?

Can you see the umbrellas...? ;)

Takko Lacquer Electric Apple NYC - swatches and review

I was so happy when I managed to snap three Takko polishes last autumn and it's a pure shame I haven't tried them yet! But here is one of them - the slightly duo chrome Electric Apple NYC! As you can see in the pictures this polish has many faces depending on the lighting.

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Shimmer/duochrome.

Number of coats: Two.

Formula: Excellent formula and so easy to apply! Surprisingly weak brush strokes.

Brush: Fairly wide straight cut brush.

Top Coat: Yes. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 4+/5

This polish is unique in my collection and I love the glow of it! However, it's not very colorful so it's a 4+ from me :)

How do you like Electric Apple NYC?

Bourjois Modéle Taupe - swatches and review

I'm not really a taupe person but sometimes it's nice to get a break from all brights and glitters and rest your eyes on a calm natural color. This is such a color :) Great alone but also as base for nail art.

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Cream.

Number of coats: Two.

Formula: A bit thin so beware of cuticle flooding. Apply with light hand and firm strokes.

Brush: Medium straight cut.

Top Coat: Yes. 

Color accuracy in pictures: Accurate. 

Grade: 3/5

I used this polish as a base for a fun stampicure with a very British theme ;) I will show it in a near future so stay tuned ;)

How do you like Modéle Taupe?

Borat Bathing Suit Nails :)

This is the last theme of the "Step Into Summer" Challenge and it's called "Inspired by a Bathing Suit". I didn't find any fun or beautiful pattern of a "normal" bathing suit so I decided to do something fun instead :) And you sure need a lot of humor to appreciate this manicure ;)

I'm not a Borat fan really. Sometimes he's funny but mostly just embarrassing. Sorry all Borat fans out there ;) However I admire his courage to do all his crazy things and this bathing suit is one of them. It takes a lot of guts to wear this bathing suit in public.

I hope you have enjoyed all my manicures in this challenge! I'll probably do a summary of them soon to refresh your memory ;)

Essence Plant the Planet and Essie Mink Muffs

How do you like my Borat Nails?

What are your opinions on Borat?

Orly Prince Charming - swatches and review

This was one of the first brand polishes I bought. It's at least three years old but the formula is still like new :D

In atrificial light

In artificial light

In artificial light

In artificial light

In halogen light

In halogen light

Did you know that taupe is French for mole? Recognize the colour? ;)

GOOD TO KNOW:

Type of polish: Cream.

Colour: A medium taupe/brown. It reminds me of melted milk chocolate :)

Collection: Orly Once Upon a Time Fall 2009.

Opacity: Great! This is two fairly thick coats. ;)

Drying time: Normal.

Formula: Very good! Not thin nor thick. Perfect! Stays where you want it to. And bare in mind ladies, that I opened and used this bottle for the first time in 2009....! The formula hasn't changed at all! That is what I call quality! :D

Brush: Nice and thick! And the cork is lovely to grab when applying! :D

Shine: Very shiny on its own, but I have one coat of Seche Vite in these pictures.

Accurate colour, photo vs IRL: Quite accurate. Best picture is the nail colour in the bottle picture. The halogen light pictures are a bit too dark brown looking.

Grade: 3+/5 :)

This polish has a lovely formula and a nice tone of taupe/brown. When I bought it in 2009 this type of colour was very hot. It's still nice today, but a bit boring to me ;) That's why I only gave it 3+. But as I said, if you are in to this type of colour this one has a great formula!!

Do you like taupe polishes?

What is your favourite taupe polish?

Misa Coffee pick me up + Orly Luxe

Funderade länge på vad de här naglarna påminde om och nu kom jag nyss på det - Kexchoklad! :)

I alla fall ;) grunden i den här manikyren är Misas fina "Coffee pick me up. Den är inte brun som man kanske kan tro, både pga namnet och med tanke på hur den ser ut på fotot här, utan den är en taupe med en aning lila i. Jättefin och en fantastisk formula! Ett lager hade räckt men på bilden har jag två lager.

Rutmönstret är konat (stämplat) med Orlys "Luxe", ett superfint foillack i guld. Tyvärr gjorde det guldiga rutmönstret att de lila tonerna i Misalacket försvann :( Det är finare ensamt, jag lovar! :)

Betyg: 8/10

Little Miss Impatiens kommentar: "Riktigt fint, men inte så där in-your-face som du brukar ha. Not soooo you med andra ord ;)"

Mr Tickles kommentar: "Snygga! Hur länge har de öppet på Ica? Jag vill ha Kexchoklad! :)"

English: The base in this manicure is Misa's "Coffee pick me up", a taupe with a purple twist. Lovely formula, one coat is enough but I have two in the photo. The Misa polish is better looking on it's own, I promise :)