There is no end to my obsession with rings – and they (the rings and the obsession!) are definitely growing in size… there are no limits anymore!!!
For someone who didn’t wear rings until a bit more than a year ago, this compulsion is quite disturbing…. There are so many out there, the designs are beautiful!
Just wanted to share my latest purchases… sorry, pictures are from Instagram!
I finally succumbed and paid an outrageous amount of money for a bottle of nail polish. Don’t get me wrong – it is worth it, but I did feel a bit sick afterwards, especially as you see the total with postage being taken from your account for one little bottle.
Price aside, I was extremely happy with my purchase. To start, the bottle is oh-so-pretty. My God, so cute! And it is HUGE! Definitely the biggest polish bottle I have.
I applied Nfu Oh’s Number 51 on a Barry M black base (just one coat) and it looked beautiful. I could definitely notice the plethora of tones, ranging from a deep burgundy to a dark forest green, with gold at some points. The glitter flakes just make the effect even more stunning, giving it depth and texture without actually being bumpy.
Application was smooth, not dodgy flakes poking out at the nail tip. Durability was outstanding, after 7 days, I really didn’t want to remove it, as it still looked pretty perfect!
So yes, I paid the price and I do not regret. And I will try it again on a purple base, as I didn’t see much of its lovely purple tones.
Rating:
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!
Click to enlarge
I got over my disillusion with the Saturday’s magnetic nail varnish and decided to give the 17 Magnetized Nail polish a go. I bought a few as gifts to friends in Brazil, and I intended to give them all away, but when I cast my eyes on the blue one, I found it so beautiful that I couldn’t let go.
Its colour is a pretty indigo blue and it differs from the other magnetic polishes because the dark colour that ripples has a little tinge of purple. This is very subtle and only visible sometimes. Still, I really liked it.
The brush is of satisfactory width and the polish has a good consistency, but can get a bit thick; you do need a generous second coat for the effect to look good. Application was alright, not as good as the Nails Inc one, but not as bad as the Saturdays varnish – this really sums up this nail polish; something between the Nails Inc and the Fashionista one (although quite a way away from it, as the quality is much better!)
As per durability, it is quite good; it doesn’t chip easily, and this is a very important point for me.
Overall, I am quite happy with this; priced at £5.99 and coming with its own magnet, I believe it’s a good deal. And it is available in blue, purple, green and gunmetal. Pretty!
Check all the “Nails of the week” posts and find out the star rating for this and other polishes.
I haven’t posted the “nails of the week” for a while (about ten days since I should’ve); but the clue is in the name and I apologise.
The delay is justified (well, these are my excuses, anyway!): I wore the purple nail polish for a record ten days as I was on holidays – it HAD to last – and considering my two trips to the spa and a few nibbles from a very nervous girlfriend waiting for her injured boyfriend to complete a marathon, I must say it held off really well! Also, I decided to let my nails breathe and went varnish free for three days, clearly another record for me.
The red nails in action
This week, the situation dictated my nail colour: I had a circus themed birthday party and by my costume demand, the only colour to go for was red, which is no sacrifice for a big fan of scarlet talons like myself.
I relied on a good old Colorama mix: super bright red 40 Graus with light metallic and slightly darker red Vermelho Ardente on top. This is an old favourite combo, which a manicurist used on my nails a few years back in Brazil and I loved so much that I bought the colours to replicate at home!
My “nail schedule” is now restored to normality and I will have a manicure in a few days. For the first time, I have already decided, in advance, what colour to wear, and I am *very* excited about it! To be honest, I cannot wait… but you are going to have to, until my next post!!!
This week I am wearing another oldie: Framboesa (raspberry), from Colorama.
I really enjoy the berry shade, which keeps me on the reds, but the burgundy shade makes it a bit more autumnal.
Having used the Miss Sporty nail polishes in the past weeks, I found this one quite thin to apply, so had to do three coats!
Still, looks good – very shiny and goes perfectly with my Diva MAC lipstick!
A couple weeks ago, I bought a few nail colours from Miss Sporty – a classic red, an iridescent purple, a hot pink to replace and oldie and… I floated towards my very first new season nail colour, a dark mettalic gray. I am very sure I will be wearing it soon and it will feature on the “nails of the week” – have applied it, just to try it on, and it looks fab!
I haven’t really seen that much in terms of nail colour tendencies so far on the web, apart from a mention on Vogue, but by digging a bit I think my bet is on a multitude of ash tones, especially graphite, charcoal and matte greys. Midnight and cobalt blue, pearlised deep mocha, greige and metallic/iridescent green also seem to be popping up. I would also count on deeper reds – berry, burgundy and even maroon.
Chanel‘s Black Pearl, Blue Satin, Graphite and Particuliere, as well as Dior‘s Underground, New Label and Perfecto and Illamasqua‘s Bacterium, Viridian, Propaganda and Phallic(!) really fit the bill (all pictured on the right). I will be definitely looking for more affordable options to test!
I have to confess I am a little bit sad that the super brights are getting a rest for the colder months and although it does make sense, I remain a big fan of glowing nail colour – I shall miss the flaboyance of summer in that sense. I do prefer warm colour on my talons – but I suppose red will always be there to comfort me!
Red. My nail colour passion really lies with reds. It is, hands down, the colour you are most likely to see on my nails throughout the year. It’s sexy, it’s classic and it goes with everything.
There is no hue discrimination – they can be orange-reds, pinkish-reds, deep red, burgundy red, blood-red, purplish reds, metallic reds, you get the idea – I just love them all.
This week, I am wearing, for the first time, a red from Miss Sporty‘s lasting colour pro-brush line, which promises a “shock proof, chip and scratch-resistant formula which delivers 7 days durable colour with a high-shine finish”, apparently. The high-shine I can definitely see, still to trial the action men properties of this nail varnish in the next 7 days.
I found it a bit thick to apply, but the “pro-brush” is good – its shape really aids application. It is great value, at the moment, two bottles for £2.99 at Superdrug.
And of course, it is red – a vivacious tone of red, which I am really enjoying seeing on my nails after cheating on the scarlets with more trendy colours in the past weeks!
Please don't break my heart!
Coco’s Tea Party has introduced me to my very first A/W crush this year: these more than lovely, gorgeous, to-die-for “Mushnick” feather trim velvet shoes. As I laid my eyes on them, I immediately imagined at least 3 outfits combinations!
I know I have been moaning about the fact all the shops I ever bought from online keep sending me emails with the new collections, and even though I am very excited about what I am going to be wearing in a few months, I am not making any significant purchases – I haven’t given up summer yet. But just have to have them!
Also, at £47, they are practically begging to be bought – please be available at Very soon!!!
Obsessed!
For many years of my life, my lip companion had been the lipgloss – my glossy addiction spanned for more than a decade, from completely clear to reddish hues, dabbling into the glittery ones.
My first encounter with a lipstick was when I was a child, not only would I wear it, on the lip and all over my face, but would also eat it, to my aunt’s despair.
Just as I remember!
Growing up, the thing to have back in the early 90’s was this green lipstick which would change colour to a weird translucent, dark red when applied. This would also stain your lips (and everywhere else you applied it to) for around 24 hours. And it was true, it did stick. The packaging was bright green with golden butterfiles embossed on it.
That was my last memory of wearing lipsticks. All my clubbing life, lipgloss was the thing to wear on your lips (apart from boys’ lips). There was always one in the handbag, and one in the car. Just in case.
Pinks, oranges and reds: my lippy collection
As a big fan of striking eye make up, I always thought lipsticks weren’t for me. The discretion of the gloss was the best companion for my smokey eyes. It was only in 2008 that I decided to venture back in the world of lipsticks, as I started to pay more attention to the shades available – and I fell in love.
And I have, since then, favoured the lipsticks over lipgloss, maybe it is just fashion, but I feel, that, just like me, my make up style has grown, developed, and I feel much more confident to wear whatever, whenever.
So Many Lovely Things 