I'm back from my vacation on the Djerba island in Tunisia. My first time out of Europe and my first time in Africa. SPF 50+ didn't help much. I won't ramble, 'cause I'm still pretty tired, but you can expect regular posts in the next few days. Until then, here are some photos from Djerba.
Is is just me or are days going by really fast? Maybe I should be doing monthly instead of weekly sum-ups... Anyways, I got a comment from one of my readers which said she would love to get an update on my newest family member Lisa. Here you have it - Lisa is doing great. She's eating a lot, sleeping and being a regular feline devil. Aishila likes her a lot, Jimi plays with her from time to time, but Arya is still afraid of her. Our neighbor's cat is the same color/pattern as Lisa and whenever he comes he picks on Arya. I know it sounds weird, but she's really scared of Lisa and I think that's why. I have no idea what to do.
Jimi doesn't like to pose, but I got her the other day: all regal with her 'I don't give a rat's ass' look. Yep, she's a queen. Warrior queen.
I only wore two nail polish shades this week... well, three - but the last one doesn't count because I had to remove it prematurely (Cirque Fascination Street). The first one was Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue. I love this shade! It's pretty much the same as H&M Blue My Mind (see my comparison post here) and I own both. Yes, that's how much I like it. Believe me, you need it in your life too.
The other shade was Cirque Epoch. I wrote a review on it a couple of days ago and if you read it, you know I was quite surprised by the opacity of it. And the subtle scent of violets.
My latest beauty buy: Palmolive Aroma Therapy Sensual Shower Gel (I love this one!), Dusch Das Invisible Clear Deodorant, Essence Kiss Care Love Lipbalm (don't know why I bought this exactly), two rings from a local crap-holding store and Manhattan Lotus Effect Nail Polish in 65W.
I also got myself a new EDT. I was completely crazy about the Naomi Campbell Mystery fragrance but it got discontinued. Of course, my luck. None of the other NC scents were any good for me, until I sniffed this one in the store last week - Naomi Cambpell At Night. Love at first sniff. Now all they gotta do is to discontinue this one as well...
Photo of the week: I like animals, but flies aren't my favorite. That much I can say. When this particular fly landed on my knee, I had a camera in my hands. That's probably the only reason I let her rest on my leg.
Feline from Alizarine's Claws introduced us to the new Orly Fired Up Collection for Fall 2012. I already picked my favorite (Smolder) and you? I think Feline likes it too. Smolder was her first pick for a full manicure. Yes, it is all that. And more.
Wanna see swatches and read the review of the new Essie Stylenomics Collection for Fall 2012? Ommorphia Beauty Bar is the right address.
Brazilian ladies get all the best holographic polishes. Sarah from Rainbow Obsession swatched Jade Holographics. Now excuse me while I pick my jaw from the floor.
Chelsea from The Nail Network posted some of the Milani nail polish swatches. Here's Part I and Part II.
''A vibrant indigo polish with a rainbow holographic finish.'' (Cirque)
Cirque, Fascination Street, 3 coats
Purple holographic goodness. Yeah, it needs 3 coats, but how gorgeous is this?! The application was super easy, the brush was awesome and the drying time was short. I think I'll try to layer it over purple creme next time...
This last photo was taken on sunlight. It doesn't really show the holographic effect like it looks in real life, but you get the point.
You can buy Fascination Street on Cirque website for $16.00.
''A duochrome/color-shifting polish that is predominately turquoise then changes to blue and purple at different angle.'' (Cirque)
Cirque, Epoch, 2 coats
Yep, it's a duochrome alright. I wore it for a couple of days this week and it looked dark teal on me most of the time. Dark teal with purple flashes. I didn't get a lot of the turquoise, but it's there. I'm absolutely thrilled with the fact this duochrome is a 2-coater, so there's no need to layer it over black or some other dark shade. Another thing I liked was the application. Cirque brushes are great although they're round (my favorite type of brush is a small flat one) and I love the scent of this polish. I don't know how Annie achieved this: the scent is quite subtle, but I could still smell it a couple of days later. It reminds me of violets. Very pleasant.
The photos above were shot in my lightbox and the two photos below are shot in natural lighting.
You can buy Epoch and other Cirque nail polish shades on Cirque website for
$12.00 per bottle.
I recently got to try 7 shades from the BYS Colour Change nail polish range. Wanna see the swatches and find out what I think of them? Keep reading then.
All the shades I got to try together. From left to right, top to bottom: Blue, Bright Pink, Bright Purple, Glitter Blue, Glitter Purple, Royal Blue and Salmon. See all shades on BYS website.
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Blue
I'm not sure why is this shade called blue, when it's actually more green than anything else. Better yet, turquoise. It does get a bit more blue-ish in it's 'cool mode', but it's still a turquoise. Without a doubt.
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Blue (dipped in ice water)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Bright Pink
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Bright Pink (dipped in ice water)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Bright Purple
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Bright Purple (dipped in ice water)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Bright Purple (warming up)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Glitter Blue
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Glitter Blue (dipped in ice water)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Glitter Purple
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Glitter Purple (dipped in ice water)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Glitter Purple (warming up)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Glitter Purple (warming up)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Royal Blue
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Royal Blue (dipped in ice water)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Salmon
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Salmon (dipped in ice water)
BYS, Colour Change Nail Enamel, Salmon (warming up)
I must say I was ''a little'' disappointed with these polishes. I expected a much bigger color change (something in the range of Claire's Mood polishes) and it just didn't happen. Even when I dipped my fingertips into ice water. Well, you could see that for yourself on the photos above. The application of these polishes was OK and nothing more than that. Most of them are 3 coaters, but I forgot exactly how many coats I used for each of these shades. Too much for my liking, that much I can say. I did everything to try and make this color change happen. I even prepared two cups of water side by side: one with ice water and the other with hot water. I painted my nails and dipped my middle finger in the 'hot' cup and my index finger in the 'ice' cup. I photographed the results immediately ...
From L to R, top to bottom: Blue, Bright Pink, Bright Purple, Glitter Blue, Glitter Purple, Royal Blue, Salmon.
Salmon is definitely the best in the bunch when it comes to changing color, followed by Bright Purple. Royal Blue changed the least, followed by Bright Pink. If you're looking for a drastic color change, these aren't for you, but if you like the color... try it out - you might like it more than I did.
Let's start this Weekly Sum-Up with polish - Essence Passion for Fashion. A gorgeous purple creme which is perfect for me, but there is such a thing as having too much polish. You know how it goes. I swatched it before but haven't really worn it until this week.
Passion for Fashion held on pretty well, so I just slapped some Max Factor Fantasy Fire over it. Good enough for another two days.
Katy Perry. Sporting a jin jang manicure on a cover of Elle magazine. She's so 2009. ;)
Here's my take on Jin Jang Manicure (from 2009). And this is my crappy tutorial for it, if you're interested.
My new spike through earring arrived! My obsession with spikes is never-ending.
Some bling-bling for my sister. Via Ebay of course.
Flower of the week: Gladiolus
Man candy of the week: Elijah, the new sheriff of Area 5. Those eyes. His ''real'' name is Keram Malicki-Sanchez. 38 years old, of Polish and Ecuadorian origin, quadrilingual.
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Posts of the week:
Nail Stories let Lava Flow over her perfect nails. Now I want it too!
I have to admit I don't have too much patience when it comes to nail art. One more reason to admire The Nailasaurus and her Frankencherry manicure.
Hey, everybody! The Polish Addict is BACK! This time for real. So she says.
Bruno from Acetone and Old Lacquer did the best glitter gradation manicure ever. Too bad my nails are so short...
AmyGrace from The Polished Perfectionist certainly picked the right name for her blog. She keeps posting one perfect manicure after another. This time it was the green gradient manicure that blew my mind.
