Tag Archives: duochrome

Nails of the week – blue/pink duochrome

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This week I am a bit rushed off my feet – my office moved to  a brand new building and I am still a bit lost and until I get used to it, I think I will have this feeling of putting some extra effort into going to work – although, that can be easily explained by the fact I have probably paid a record number of visits to various high street shops in one day; office is near Oxford Street, in London, and the temptation is just too much!

I am  also going to Paris for a long weekend (yay), so that has also contributed to my lack of time…

However, I finally found a few minutes to show you my talons: this week I am wearing Andrea Fulerton’s Smile in a storm. Having used two or her duos in the past, and being very excited about those, I almost forgot I had this one; I bought it ages ago, so decided it was time to try it.

It consists of two polishes on a double ended brush; one is gunmetal grey, super sparkly and the other one is an iridescent topcoat. Together, they become a very pretty, although subtle, duochrome which varies from a light, grey-ish blue to darker blue and then to lilac and pink. Sometimes, depending on the light, you can get a glimpse of the grey, but maybe because I just used one coat of each. The reason for that is because the polish builds up quite thick. I had some problems with bubbles, when adding a third coat (second of topcoat), so removed it all and applied again, this time settling for less.

Apart from the bubbles, and the fact that the double ended brush makes it a bit clunky when applying, I am happy with it. Even with an extra shine topcoat, I noticed the finish is not too shiny, and someone even asked me if I had my matte topcoat on! Colour is fab and durability great!

Really like my new H&M ring, so decided to add it here too!

Rating:

Nails of the week – pink and copper duochrome

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click to enlarge

Another colour changing beauty is on my nails this week – a delightful pink and copper duochrome from Accessorize, called Pink Spice.

It is super sparkly and the colour changes beautifully – it is true you need light, as the shades are not that contrasting, so when I painted my nails, at night, I was a bit disappointed. However, in the morning, I could notice the subtle, but lovely transition between the reddish pink and brownish copper hues.

Just like Aztec, which I tried previously, this polish does not disappoint. One coat is indeed too thin, but you can achieve the effect with two. Application was ok, I still find their brush a bit too small, but didn’t affect application. It has a good consistency and spreads evenly. Durability is good, no chips in five days, so (non-chipped) thumbs up – worth noticing I always use a topcoat to improve durability anyway!

A lovely colour which I am happy with and generated compliments, but lacks a bit of oomph if you ask me… Do I love it madly? not quite… rather pleased to see reddish pink on my nails once again, but the effect, for me, is not impressive enough (certainly not as impressive as Aztec), don’t quite know why; maybe it lacks a bit of contrast, I think. Still, at £4, a great buy for a duochrome – pretty, and I am happy to recommend and perhaps, wear again!

Rating:

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Nails of the week – multicolour gold/green/blue

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This week I am wearing a nail polish I had been looking forward to trying on, as the colour is so vivid: Trendy, another Specialittá polish from the Marinoon Multigirl collection.

Now, one of the colours on this duochrome is definitely gold. The green part gets a bit complicated – I really loved the spectrum of colours on this: from the bright gold yellow, it changes to a subtle apple green, ending on a blue-ish, grey-ish green, with more or less variations depending on the lighting. Truly amazing colour! It is very shiny, the gold very yellow and intense.

The not so good bit is that application wasn’t that straight forward; although I just needed 2 coats (differently from the previous one from this range I tried, which was quite thin), I can still see the brush strokes marks, no matter how careful I was. Although to the untrained eye on a daily basis this is not noticeable, you can still notice in my pictures. This upsets me, I like my polish smooth and shiny, so a big let down. Drying time was slightly above standard but durability is very good!

Overall, love the colour, but a bit of trouble for what it is worth. The brush stroke marks are really bothering me, but a nice choice anyway.

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Nails of the week – green/purple duochrome

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Totally in love with this nail colour. This week I am wearing a mega pretty green and purple duochrome called Aztec, from Accessorize’s Illusion nail polish range. Not only the colour changes beautifully, and you can notice it under most lighting, but it is also very sparkly, almost glittery.

The green and purple seem to be a common combination for multi toned nail varnishes, but the green on this one is forest green, making the contrast stunning (most of the others are teal like), and it also has some hints of gold.

Application was ok, if anything the brush was on the small side. The first coat was very thin, and I was worried about the effect. But upon applying the second coat, the beautiful colour revealed itself, in full glory, as in the bottle. Durability is good, of course I am wearing a topcoat, but there have been no chips, four days after application. A good quality nail varnish.

Overall, a great buy, at £4 per bottle. I must admit I am very impressed with the Accessorize nail polish – to be honest, I didn’t think it was going to be good in any way.  I bought this late in 2011, but they still have it on the site, and probably in store. I also bought another shade from the same range, Pink Spice, and cannot wait to try that one too!

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Nails of the week – blue/dark pink duochrome

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Specialittá Marimoon, Artsy - dani dutraAfter a whole month of being spoiled by my manicurist Irma, in Brazil, I am sadly back to doing my own manicure. The nail polish I chose to kick off 2012 in London is part of my Brazil nail polish haul. It is from Specialittá, the same as the holographic I used a few weeks ago, but from a different line: Marimoon multigirl, in Artsy colour.

Its colour is amazing, it is duo-chrome, but each one of the predominant colours change into others, so I would really call it a poli-chrome. It is primarily a deep blue, changing into purple and then into a deep reddish-pink which turns into  a warm copper-gold. Absolutely gorgeous – it has been a while since I got this impressed with the colour changing effects of a nail varnish – in fact, since using Petrol in water.

This polish has an amazing finish, it is very shiny and the durability is ace – no scratches or chips. Application was a bit bumpy as the polish is quite thin; the first coat was pathetic and I thought I was going to be bitterly disappointed. It will only deliver its full potential on the third coat.  However, as it is super glossy, there was no need for a top coat, so I am accepting of this three-coat varnish.

Overall very happy, and I cannot wait to try the other bottle of the same line I bought.  I am seriously considering buying the whole line and having them shipped to my family in Brazil, so they can ship it over to London… at R$8 a bottle, I think it is good value, as I can buy all six I don’t have for £20, with postage to Brazil… Should’ve done it while there!

Specialittá Marimoon, Artsy - dani dutra

 

 

 

 

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Nails of the week – red with glitter flakes

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Happy new year everyone!

I have entered 2012 wearing red on my nails. On new year’s eve in Brazil, it is traditional to wear colours that correspond to things you wish for the year that will begin. Most people wear white, which means peace. I wore a gold dress (yellow/gold for money, but mainly because it’s pretty!), had white underwear, for peace, of course, and my nails were scarlet, for passion! Not a bad combo, eh?

Again, I am trying a brand never used before, Ana Hickmann nail polish in Balada and Glow topcoat with glittery flakes.

The red is bright, leaning towards orange. The topcoat is clear on its base, but laden with duochrome glitter flakes which are mainly golden, but change colour from copper to a greenish-yellow, just stunning!

It was applied by mine and my mum’s manicurist, Irma (a nail angel!), but the consistency was creamy and smooth, durability is also good as my nails still look  perfect!

Nails of the week – purple/gold

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Kiko nail polish - Dani Dutra

This hasn’t been a good week for my nails; two days after doing my manicure, I broke a nail and had to cut them all short :(. Luckily, I had already taken the pictures for this week’s post!

I am trying a new brand this week, the Milanese brand Kiko. The have this quite impressive shop in Westfield Stratford City, with lovely make up and a huge range of varnishes.

Everytime I am there, I go in to take a look – I just cannot resist – and this time I picked up this varnish from a new range, Hologram Nail Lacquer. I chose number 354, a purple leaning towards dark mauve with very pretty gold and golden green shimmer. This polish is a duochrome, and although not as spectacular as the one I wore last week,  it is rather nice, and however subtle, you can definitely notice the colour variation.

It shimmers big time when it catches light, it is extremely glittery, but no flakes, so it has a smooth and shiny finish. Application was alright; the brush is  wide enough and the polish has a good consistency. However, it is rather sheer, one coat doesn’t do much, two is kinda ok but I needed three to realise its full potential – a little bit too much for me. It lasts well and doesn’t chip easily, and that’s a big plus for me.

Overall, I am not dazzled but pleased with my purchase, which wasn’t the cheapest around, at £5.90 a bottle (their other polishes, not from the Hologram line,  are priced at £4.90), but the quality is good and the shade pretty, and I must say I am looking forward to maybe trying make up items from Kiko Make up Milano!

Kino nail varnish - Dani Dutra

Nails of the week – teal/purple duochrome

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Petrol in water - Andrea Fulerton - Dani DutraPetrol in the water. Weird name, eh? Well, it is, but I can guarantee there is nothing weird about this nail colour.

After being very impressed with the durability of the Andrea Fulerton Trio nail varnish I wore a few weeks back (it didn’t chip, it survived the potato peeler and after seven days, it still looked so beautiful I felt bad to be removing it!), I decided to go crazy and bought three (!!!) other combinations.

I am, or course, wearing the aptly named Petrol in Water, and I cannot even describe how pretty it looks – three people, in one evening asked me what it was. It consists of a double ended polish with a dark metallic brown shade and an iridescent top coat.

I am truly in love – it will be very hard for any polish to beat this colour. The pictures don’t really do it any justice; with flash, the colour comes out as a dirty green-ish blue, but as the nails catch natural and  indoors light, they come alive and really remind me of that one drop of petrol in the water that triggers a multitude of shades…

This teal/purple duochrome with subtle green undertones looks stunning,  and depending on the light, it will be anything from peacock green/teal/indigo blue to purple. It has the most amazing colours, and it is very sparkly, without having glitter on it, so no rough texture.

Petrol in water by Andrea Fulerton - Dani Dutra

Now, I wasn’t that keen on the application, as this was a similar experience to that with my other trio, Rainfall – still find the double ended brush a bit clunky, not wide enough, the darker colour is a bit thin, so coverage is not great and the drying time was a bit too long. Normally, this would put me off right away, but for this shade it was well worth it!

I really cannot wait to try the other two, but I think it will be very hard for a polish to top this one… Beautiful!

Another weekend and another nail varnish binge – I acquired another three… now have them, together with another good half a dozen, lined up for the next weeks. I really must organise myself, as I am going away for a month over Christmas, will have to take the fabulous shades to be applied while on holidays!