Nina Ultra Pro - Purple-xing

So, this was supposed to be my new year's eve manicure. I applied this purple glitter to my nails two days ago and I don't know why I expected it to last until today. Well, I almost succeeded, but then I took an arrow to the knee... Ooops, sorry. I meant to say it chipped off due to heavy duty dish washing and that means my nails will be naked for new year's eve. No problem, it's just another 'normal' day for me. =)

Here's a photo of Purple-xing with 1 coat of top coat.

Nina Ultra Pro, Purple-xing, 2 coats + Essence, Nail Art Sealing Top Coat, 3 coats

This polish is unbelieveable top coat thirsty. I think I'd need 4 or even more coats to get a completely smooth surface. It's definitely not for the gritty-surface-hating ladies, or for ones who wear stockings. I must add it's much warmer in real life. My camera tends to turn purples into blurples. It's also much prettier in real life. I just couldn't catch the glitter the way I see it with my own two eyes.

Thank you for sending me this beauty, Lisa! :*

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Weekly Sum-Up #17

One thing. There's one thing I'd (almost) kill for if I'd have to. Don't stand between me and my new favorite Choceur white chocolate... Just don't!

Posts of the week:

Looks like Valerie made another amazing make up look called Electrisches Blau. Gorgeous!

Whoa, I've seen so many 'best of' and 'top 10' posts in the last days. Here's Vique's Varnish and her favorites of 2011.

Jangsara recreated that awesome Emma Watson Black and Gold make up. Even better than original, if I may say.

Mari Moon collection by Hits is finally out! Don't know what I'm talking about? You simply MUST see the swatches of the Modern part of the collection by Them Pretty Colors. Amazing!

Essence Circus Circus. And I said I don't want anything. Like a Candy Shop made me change my mind when she posted her manicure with My Sparkling Acrobat.

And another thing you must see are the swatches of the Color Club Beyond the Mistletoe collection by Fashion Polish. Definitely the best swatches I've seen.


Music of the week:
I have this song on repeat. I love it! There's only one problem with it: she sings it better live, but not when it comes to the quality of singing. On another note: what the hell is going on with her upper lip? I really can't understand this duck trend... Too bad, she could be really pretty.




I like the original lyrics better, but I guess you can't use the word 'fu*k' in music nowadays. Forget you? Come on.

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Essence Stay All Day Long-Lasting Concealer in Soft Beige

''Put an end to tired eyes! The new long-lasting concealer with light-reflecting pigments is a true magician that makes dark circles under your eyes, redness and dark shadows disappear to give you a fresh, radiant look! Thanks to the creamy, soft texture, it is easy to apply evenly – giving you a smooth complexion that lasts for up to 16 hours.'' (Essence)

Based on the description above, this is the perfect product for me. My skin isn't a problematic one, but I do get occasional red spots and dark circles under my eyes. I don't use concealer very often (just like I don't use foundation on a daily basis), but I've still tried various different ones: those that come in a lipstick kind of shape, the creamy ones in the pans, liquidy ones with a brush applicator, and yet this is my first concealer with a doe foot applicator. And it works great!

Stay All Day Concealer comes in two different shades: 10 Natural Beige and 20 Soft Beige. I don't know if we can call them different shades - they do differ, but not that much in the lighter/darker kind of way. They're both kind of light. The first one is yellow toned and the second one has a pink-ish undertone - that's the one I bought.

Essence, Stay All Day Long-Lasting Concealer, 20 Soft Beige

I used Essence Stay All Day Concealer under my eyes and on the red spots beside my nose. You can see it did instantly brighten my skin and conceal the flaws. Now, that was a pleasant surprise. Not perfect, but if you're looking for perfect, you should use it along with a foundation.

This is my favorite concealer so far. It's not too creamy (like the ones in the lipstick form) and it doesn't give you that horrible cakey look. It's easy to apply and it's perfect for my skin tone. The price was also very nice - a little over 2€.I recommend!

EDIT: I suck. I completely forgot to tell you about the coverage. As you can see on the photos above, the coverage isn't full. I'd say it's light to medium, but definitely one of the best formulas I've tried so far.

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Nostalgia

nostalgia [nɒˈstældʒə -dʒɪə] n

1. a yearning for the return of past circumstances, events, etc.

2. the evocation of this emotion, as in a book, film, etc.

3. longing for home or family; homesickness
(Source)

This is a completely non-intended post. You know how you sometimes get nostalgic because of a certain item, situation ... or music video? That's what happened to me. I know it's overdone and I know it's been heard too many times before, but can watch this video and tell me it didn't remind you of someone?




Damn, this takes me back. I kind of fell in love with the whole long haired men thing all over again. Well, who am I kidding - I never fell out of love with it. =)

I guess even always has it's ending. <3

Best of 2011

It's been an interesting year, right? Here's a little nihrida sum-up for you.

Blues. That's the first thing I can say about 2011. I don't think I've ever bought so many blue nail polishes like I did in the past 12 months. There are still some that would have to be mentioned, but I haven't worn them yet. Yes, I'm talking about you, Essence in Blue Addicted. Worry not, I'll show them to you in the following days/weeks, but until then - here are the most memorable blues of this year.

#1 - a England Galahad (THE teal of the year, IMO)
#2 - a England Tristam (Thanks for this gem of a polish, Adina!)
#3 - Essence Multi Dimension Cool and the Gang (boo at Essence for discontinuing the Multi Dimension line)
#4 - Essence Colour & Go Hard to Resist (Essence redeeming for the MD line? hee hee)
#5 - Essence I'm a Marine Girl (50's Girls Reloaded TE)
#6 - Essence Into the Dark (Vampire's Love TE)
#7 - Essence Let's Get Lost (beatiful summery one coater)
#8 - Essence Forget Me Not (Blossoms etc... TE)
#9 - Essence Colour & Go Just Rock It & Glisten Up
#10 - Guppy Sanding Fruit Extract #13 (gritty matte glitter, stinky but awesome as hell)
#11 - Hits Biquini (opaque brazilian goodness)
#12 - Sancion Angel Luna (my favorite blue holographic polish of the year, along with Tristam)

Yeah, I've been buying a lot of Essence polishes. The quality of their formula got soooooo much better and they had also released some great trend editions. I can forgive them for discontinuing the Multi Dimension line and I hope to see more great additions to their line. On another note: I know the mentioned holographic polishes aren't the most effective when it comes to their finish, but they are really special to me.

I stayed true to myself and got me some great 'my cup of tea' shades.

#1 - a England Camelot (one coater black creme, a classic)
#2 - Essence Nail Art Twins Blair (best clear base glitter of 2011)
#3 - Essence Colour & Go Galactic Black (black creme with a 'galactic' twist)
#4 - Essence Multi Dimension Must Have (another long gone beauty, a true must have)
#5 - Essence You're a Heart Breaker (50's Girls Reloaded TE)
#6 - Guppy Sanding Fruit Extract #12 (most edgy polish of the year)
#7 - Kleancolor Concrete Gray (amazing blue-ish gray)
#8 - S-he Stylezone #345 (silver and gold glitter in black base, awesomesauce)

And another gems worth mentioning I wore this year:

#1 - a England Lady of the Lake (Tristam's purple sister)
#2 - Essence Waking Up in Vegas (Dance TC, Re-Mix Your Style TE)
#3 - Color Club Wild at Heart
#4 - Depend Cracked Effect #5011 (Depend made the best crackle polishes of the year, IMO)
#5 - Essence Gold Old Buffy (Vampire's Love TE)
#6 - Etude Mystic Purple (definitely my most mysterious polish of 2011)
#7 - Essence Just Can't Get Enough (Pop TC, Re-Mix Your Style TE)
#8 - Illamasqua Throb (best red creme, one coater)
#9 - Kleancolor Bite Me (best red shimmer)
#10 - Milani Dot Com (3 coater, but it's amazing)
#11 - Savvy Ultra Violet (makes a WOW layering polish)
#12 - Essence Crack Me! Black (finally learned how to use it, hee hee)

To not talk only about nail polish, here are some of my favorite products I purchased/tried in 2011.

#1 - Balea Urea Body Lotion (my favorite body lotion ever!)
#2 - Beauty UK Pearl Eyeliners (want a shiny and bold eyeliner that doesn't smudge?)
#3 - ELF Eyelid Primer (almost as good as the UDPP for a LOT less money)
#4 - Essence Eyeshadow in Mystic Lemon (great as a highlighter)
#5 - Essence Lipstain in Your Pink is On Fire (You Rock TE)
#6 - The Mooncup (THE buy of the year, every woman should get one)
#7 - NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (multi-tasking and just great)
#8 - Sigma Make Me Up Collection (I like it more and more each day)
#9 - Skin79 Super Plus BB in Hot Pink (favorite foundation ever)
#10 - Sleek I-Divine Palette in Bad Girl
#11 - Vollare Quatro Eyeshadow Palette (cheap but great)
#12 - Wet n Wild Creme Eyeliner in Black

Ebay was big this year. At least for me. I got myself some great things...

#1 - Angel Wings Ring
#2 - Cicada Necklace
#3 - Fake MAC Eyeshadows
#4 - The Thing
#5 - Lucky Swallow Necklace
#6 - Rocket Dop Rampup Boots
#7 - Octopussy
#8 - Snake Bite Ring
#9 - Studded Bracelet
#10 - Swallow Necklace
#11 - Tiger Pattern Ring
#12 - Pearl Swallow Necklace

I know I probably left out some of the products/nail polish shades - like Illamasqua Scorn for example. Keep in mind these are just some of my favorites.  

What's your favorite Nihrida post from the year 2011?

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Millenium with Blair

Not that it needed this extra bling bling, but here it is...

China Glaze, Millenium, 2 coats + Essence, Blair, 1 coat

It's funny how bright Blair looks over black and how dark it looks over Millenium. Like a completely different polish. I dig it either way. Blair is cool.

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Revisited: Silver Chrome Nail Polish

Special polishes deserve special posts. I'm not sure when this chrome nail polish rave began, but I think it was because of the Minx manicures we could see on celebrities like Beyonce, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. How to achieve that 'mirror' look without spending a fortune on Minx nails or using falsies? The answer is simple - chrome nail polish.

OK, so the result isn't exactly the same and mirror-like, but it comes pretty close. I purchased my first chrome nail polish on Ebay in the beggining of 2009. It was Stargazer in shade #232. Later I managed to get my hands on the Maybelline Mirror Image polish. I wrote a comparison post on Stargazer and Maybelline chrome polish, which happens to be the most popular post I wrote and is also a reason for the post you're reading right now. China Glaze (which was my favorite brand for a long time) didn't need much time to come up with their own Khrome collection for Fall/Winter 2009. FYI: I don't count their Romantiques collection as a chrome one.

Chrome nail polishes are awesome, but they're also a pain in the rear. Why, you ask?
*Chrome nail polish will emphasise every little ridge on your nails. You can use a ridge filling base underneath your chrome polish, but that takes us to the next 'pain in the ass' part:
*It's almost impossible to apply chrome nail polish over your regular base coat. You're gonna need some practice and a lot of patience. And to top it all:
*Chrome nail polish chips super easily.

If you're willing to go through the PITA moments, then I suggest you this chrome polish - China Glaze Millenium. It's practically the same as Stargazer and Maybelline one. I'm wearing both ChG and Stargazer chrome nail polish on all of these photos and there's no difference between them. I'd add a Maybelline one as well, but I don't have it anymore.

What are your thoughts on chrome nail polish?

Thanks for looking and commenting!

China Glaze - Emerald Sparkle

I've had it for ages and I haven't really worn it until this X-mas.

China Glaze, Emerald Sparkle, 2 coats

It didn't want to apply as I would like. I should probably use three thin layers, but instead I wanted to get away with only two. And the result is ... well, it is what it is. It's pretty, but I don't think I'll be wearing it again soon. Maybe next Christmas.

What was on your nails on the 25th of December?

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Ebay Buy: Black Butterfly Earrings

Here's my latest Ebay buy. I don't wear earrings that often, but I imagined these would look really cool when my hair is up in a ponytail.

One of the rings arrived damaged and can't be worn, but that's OK - I'll ask my sister to turn it into a necklace. I bet it will look great.

Two of these would be too much for my taste and ''style'' anyway... Imagine a little side ponytail and a huge earring on the other side. I approve.

You can get your butterfly earrings on Ebay by searching for 'long black butterfly earrings'. I got these for $1.68 (buy it now, free shipping).

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Weekly Sum-Up #16

I figured it would be nice to show up, say hello and wish you all a very merry Christmas. I hope you're having a better time than I am. Oh, and thank you so much for all the nice wishes on my previous post! :*** I got this beautiful Christmas Flower aka Poinsettia (China Glaze, anyone?) from my mother and it's so very pretty, but it's doomed. Most of my plants die sooner or later. Any tips on how to keep it alive for as long as possible?

It's so nice to get a beautifully wrapped gift, but it sucks at the same time. If you wanna know what's inside, you gotta unwrap it and then it's all ruined. My sister gave me this present for my B-day and I just wanted to show you how simple and beautiful it looked. For a very short time.

I have a good news for the Slovenian ladies who like Essence Black Mania mascara. It was almost impossible to find it after it was discontinued, but now it's back - in limited quantity though. I saw a whole bunch of these in Drogerija Tuš for only €1.44 a piece. Get yours while you still can.

No, I haven't been buying nail polish lately. I did get two bottles of Priti NYC polish for review and I'm gonna show you the swatches in the next days. Color drops will have to do for now.

Arya. An orange bag of fluffy trouble. My socks aren't paired anymore, I can't keep my cables where I used to keep them, I get bitten in the nose a lot and she likes to grab on to my leg when I walk. And she bites it, of course. On the bright side - she's so freaking cute when she sleeps.

Not everyone knows what Christmas is all about. That's when Kristen steps in...



Thanks for looking and commenting!

Birthday and Nail Polish Database Update

I've been a good girl - I finally updated my Nail Polish Database. Yay! Hope you find it useful.

***

On another note: it's my B-day! I stopped counting my years on this planet a couple of birthdays ago, so please, don't ask me which one it is. XD

Essence - Stairway to Heaven (Re-Mix Your Style Trend Edition)

There was no Weekly Sum-Up this week, I know that and you know that. I just don't have anything to show or tell you. Sometimes life (or having no life at all) gets in the way. This week it was my BF's computer with the Bejeweled game...

... and his new passive 3D HD television. Oh boy, it's SO much better than the active 3D. I recommend! P.S.: Despicable me is even better in 3D.

Here's a nail polish from the Re-Mix Your Style Trend Edition called Stairway to Heaven. Now I just need a shade called Highway to Hell and I'm good. Hee hee

As you can see, Stairway to Heaven is a dark blue - almost black - shade. It's easy to work with and I like it a lot. It's right up my alley.

Essence, Re-Mix Your Style TE, Stairway to Heaven, 2 coats

I decided to participate in the Makeup Bee's Holiday Party Look Competition. I know I don't have a lot of chances of winning - the winners will be the ones with the most ''likes'', but still. If you have time and wanna help me out, here's a link to my Stairway to Heaven look on Makeup Bee where you can like my entry. 

Thank you! :***

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Essence Replay + Make It Golden

Here's a little update on my Essence Replay manicure. I couldn't leave it alone, like usual.

Essence, Replay, 2 coats + Essence, Make It Golden, 1 coat

I know this look is soooo 'couple of seasons' ago and not winter-y looking, but I like the combination. I should have thought of this in the summer. Make it Golden is very easy to apply (like most of the Essence glitter polishes) but a bit harder to remove. It's still pretty and worth the trouble.

Natural photo ... Well, natural lighting, to say it better.

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Ebay Buy: Studded Boots

My stinky ugly-cool boots from the last week's sum up. Why are all the things I buy on Ebay lately so stinky? Is it because I like cheap products? Is it just the fake leather smell we all know, or something worse? I have no idea. Hopefully it's nothing harmful, 'cause that's what I like to think.

They remind me of something the witches and wizards from Harry Potter would wear. I still can't decide if I really like them or don't like them at all. It doesn't matter. They are studded. Period.

As I said, these were purchased via Ebay. They come in black (like mine, not totally black but rather dark gray), light gray and brown and cost £9.99 (buy it now). I also payed £7.99 for shipping to Slovenia. For a total of £18, they're not bad at all.

Do you ever buy cheap shoes? And I mean ... not expensive shoes?

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Swatches: Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Palette in Lust

Time for some eye make up, don't you think?

Not only did I use my new eyeshadow palette for this look, I also used my new mascara, which I bought months ago, but haven't tried it yet. I should be ashamed.

I got this Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Palette in Lust in a swap all the way from the US and it didn't arrive in the best condition. You can see the grey eyeshadow is broken, but that's the curse of sending eyeshadow via post. It can get damaged so fast.

Here are the eyeshadows swatched on the back of my hand. If I remember correctly, I used Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy as a base. All the colors are nicely pigmented and good to work with.

Here's a look I did with the Lust palette.

Products used:
* Urban Decay Primer Potion
* Wet n Wild Color Icon Palette in Lust
* NYX Doll Eye Mascara Long Lash

Yep, I only used three products for this eye make up. This was my first time using the NYX Doll Eye mascara and I like it, but I'll have to use it some more to give you a better opinion on it. The Lust palette is really nice, but you have to be careful when applying matte eyeshadow over primer. The first time I used it, I went straight for the purple shadow, but it looked really patchy. The next time I applied one of the lighter shades all over my eyelid and the purple matte eyeshadow over it and it blended easily. I also tried my new Essence Smokey brush for this look (mainly for the crease area) and it works great. For the €1.49, I can say nothing else but to recommend it.

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Essence - Replay

I really miss the old Essence Multi Dimension polishes. I know I didn't give them enough attention when they were available, but I want them back.

I was lucky enough to find this green beauty in the discontinued stand. *sigh* Perfect color, good application and 8 mL of polish for less than 2€. That's the dream. I know it now. On another note: don't mind me being so dramatic. I'm very fragile these days. I can start crying for no reason. ;) Yeah, it comes and goes.

Essence, Multi Dimension, Replay, 2 coats

Thanks for looking and commenting!