Will you be cheering for the Netherlands today?

We're still there! Yay!

I know most of you think: 

*football :-(*

*Netherlands :-/*

But a mani is a mani right?

And luckily the colors of our flag are red, white and blue which makes mani's like these also usable for 4th of July ;-D

What's there?

I started with a white base on all nails.

Two nails got a diagonal gradient of red, white and blue and are topped with white nail tattoos:

Arts Queen Professional Nail - Nail Tattoo BW009

The other two nails have red and blue splatter over the white base.

I used a cut drinking straw to blow the polish on the nails.

Polishes used:

- Essence Hup Holland Hup 01 Topscores

- Essence Hup Holland Hup 02 Hattrick!

- Essence Hup Holland Hup 03 Wilhelmus van Nassouwe

Peacock nails

Today just a quick post of my nail art.

It's a free hand design with acrylics and colored in with polishes.

It looked better in sunlight.

But of course when I came to take the pictures it was raining :(

Swatches, review and nail art Jior Couture Summer Collection 2014 #JiorNailsAndDrink (part 3)

This is part 3, the last part about #JiorNailsAndDrink which is the summer collection 2014 by +Jior Couture.

Part 1 can be found here.

Part 2 can be found here.

Part 3 is all about Mango Lassi.
Release date: June 28
And of course again inspired by the drink:

Source: http://parulmehra.blogspot.nl/2011/05/mango-lassi.html

Review

This time I start with the review as I think it's important to get my information first before seeing the swatches.

Mango Lassi looks like a very sheer light orange pearly polish with pinkish shimmer in it.

Applied on the nail it's more like a clear polish filled with gold and orange/pinkish shimmer.

This lacquer is meant to be used as a topcoat.

Mango Lassi is a Photochromic topcoat. It changes color/gets darker in sunlight.

I never had any experiences with this and was really looking forward to getting it to work.

I've tried it on many colors but I wasn't really able to see a darker color in the sun.
Just a slight difference appeared when looking at the pictures I took.
I asked Sacha (owner Jior Couture) about it and she said that indeed it just gets a hint darker.
Now, to get it a hint darker it's best to use light colors such as whites, nudes, pastels etc.
But OMG...here comes the best part about this lacquer.
When you apply it on whatever color,
the shimmer hits you right in the face when you're having sunlight.
The shimmer changes color with movements similar to duo chromes & multi chromes.
The LE collection by Picture Polish (Aurora, Gravity etc.) or Color Club's Pearl-Spective work similar but have bigger (and more colors) glitters, shimmers or flakies.
This is more subtle.
The consistency of the polish is like a jelly.
I used 2 coats for my swatches but more coats means more shimmers so perhaps the effect builds up too.
I didn't use a topcoat for the swatches.

Swatches

Really hard to catch the shimmers on camera with a macro shot.

This is Mango Lassi layered over Maybelline 250 Deep Violet.

This is Mango Lassi layered over Color Club-Holy Chic!
Picture taken in the shade.
The shimmers look more like silver shimmers in the shade (or inside the house).

Again Mango Lassi layered over Color Club-Holy Chic!

But this time a picture taken in the sun.

Which brings us to a comparison picture to show the effect of a hint darker (photochromic):

This is Mango Lassi layered over China Glaze-Liquid Leather.

Picture taken in the shade.

Again Mango Lassi layered over China Glaze-Liquid Leather.

Pictures taken in the sun.

I'm not so sure about the photochromic part or what it really stands for...

But this lacquer is worth buying for the shimmers and color shifts.

Nail art

It's so hard as a blogger to find the right way to (indie) brands and being able to swatch/review for them.

But it is what makes this blogging thing more nice.

I want to thank Sacha for giving me this opportunity and as a special thank you I made a Jior Couture nail art inspired by this image:

Here are some links to +Jior Couture:

- Webshop

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Instagram

- Wordpress

Swatches, review and nail art Jior Couture Summer Collection 2014 #JiorNailsAndDrink (part 2)

This is part 2 of #JiorNailsAndDrink which is the Summer Collection 2014 by +Jior Couture.
Release date: June 28

Part 1 can be found here.

Part 2 is all about Raspberry Lemon Slush.
Inspired by the drink:

Source: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/06/excuse-us-while-we-play-in-the-sprinklers.html

Swatches

Picture taken in the shade

Picture taken in the shade

Picture taken in the shade

Review

This is color I would definitely not have picked out myself (because of personal taste).

I have just a few oranges and reds in my collection but I only use them for nail art.

Raspberry Lemon Slush is a dark orange/reddish color and the closest comparison I can make is with red brick.
Oh, and the drink of course! Isn't it a perfect match?!

The polish applies like a jelly and I used 2-3 coats. You can still see the tipline but I'm not sure if more coats will make a difference.

This dries to a semi matte/suede like finish.

I didn't use a topcoat for the swatches.

This color really grew on me. The more time I had it on the more I liked it!

I'm actually very glad now that I've received this color because it's nothing I have yet.

And best thing about this polish is: it's a glow in the dark as well!

I'm still a bit sceptic when it comes to glow in the dark's as I remember my first experiences with lacquers that claimed to be glow in the dark and didn't glow at all, or the lacquers that you first have to charge under a lamp...

I can tell you...this lacquer doesn't require a lamp and it glows bright!

Nail art

The deep orange color is a very earthy color.

It reminds me of populations that paint their body/faces with earthy pigments.

I then thought of the sun because it's the summer collection and ended up with a sun design that could easily fit within the Tribal Art/Tattoo art.

I used a detail brush and black acrylic.

This picture is taken in the shade and is with topcoat.

The sun design was actually pretty clear in the dark as well but my camera however failed to capture its true beauty :(

Want to know more about the new summer collection and/or +Jior Couture?

Here are some links to their media:

- Webshop

- Facebook

-Twitter

- Instagram

- Wordpress

Swatches, review and nail art Jior Couture Summer Collection 2014 #JiorNailsAndDrink (part 1)

Recently I received 3 lacquers from the new summer collection by Jior Couture for review.

If I put it all together it will be a huge post so I decided to divide it into 3 parts.

+Jior Couture is an Indie brand located in the US.

Besides the beautiful collections they are bringing, they also provide the service of making your own custom nail lacquer with desired color, bottle size, finish and name!

The new summer collection 2014, which will be released on June 28, is called #JiorNailsAndDrink.

The collection will consist of Photochromic (changes color/gets darker in sunlight), shimmer, fluorescent, and glow in the dark lacquers.

There will be 6 colors/flavors:

1) Orange - Mango

2) Purple - Mixed Berry

3) Red - Raspberry

4) Yellow - Pineapple

5) Green - Green Apple

6) Blue - Blueberry

Each color/flavor will have 4 drink inspired lacquers and a flavor scented topcoat. For example Mango scented topcoat, Mixed Berry scented topcoat etc.

The 15 ml bottles will come with a recipe card for its inspired drink!

Jior Couture also decided to offer you 9 ml bottles for full collection (30 pieces) or color/flavor group collection (5 pieces).

The 3 lacquers I received are:

- Blueberry-Ade

Source: http://www.ec21.com/product-details/Blueberry-Ade--7672514.html

- Raspberry Lemon Slush

Source: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/06/excuse-us-while-we-play-in-the-sprinklers.html

- Mango Lassi

Source: http://parulmehra.blogspot.nl/2011/05/mango-lassi.html

Part 1 will be all about Blueberry-Ade.

Blueberry-Ade belongs to the blue color/flavor group.

Swatches

Picture taken in the sun

Picture taken in the shade

Picture taken in the sun

Picture taken in the shade

Review

Blueberry-Ade is a gorgeous blue shimmer that reaches opaqueness in 2-3 coats.

The polish is syrupy like a jelly and a bit streaky but workable though.
It dries to a semi matte/satin like finish.

I didn't use any topcoat in the swatch pictures as I want to show you the polish how it is.

I did find some black speckles in there as well. I'm not sure if they were meant to be in there (it could also be some pigment joined together) but it reminded me of small fruit seeds :D

In the shade and inside the house the polish looks like a medium blue metallic but outside or when it hits the light the gorgeous shimmer shows its true beauty!

Nail art

I had some more to swatch so I decided to keep it simple.

The color reminds me of water. 

I love water (for drinking, for swimming, for ice skating, for bathing).

I went for bubbles.

I used a nail art brush and white acrylic to paint the bubbles.

Starting with a completely white circle and then used the same brush with water to thin the inner part of the circle.

Picture is in the shade and with topcoat.

Want to keep up to date on what +Jior Couture is bringing?

You can follow them here:

- Webshop

- Facebook

- Instagram

- Twitter

- Wordpress

Dutch nails for World Cup 2014 Brasil

Within less than hour the Netherlands will play their second match in the World Cup tournament.

Let's hope these nails will bring some luck :D

Index and ring finger shows a sponged red, white and blue gradient.

Middle and pinky show red, white and blue spun sugar over a golden base color.

Polishes used:

- Essence Hup Holland Hup! 01 Topscorers

- Essence Hup Holland Hup! 02 Hattrick!

- Essence Hup Holland Hup! 03 Wilhelmus van Nassouwe

- Maybelline 820 Winner takes it all!

Good luck Holland!!!

Neon water spotted nails

The hot weather has been gone for a while now and I'm really looking forward to some more heat and sun again.

I can't change the weather but I can bring some brightness with my nails :D

I wanted neons and decided to go with the water spotted technique.

For those who are new to it...here is a great tutorial by +cutepolish 

Polishes used:

- Essence Hup Holland Hup 02 Hattrick! (white)

- Models Own Luis Lemon (yellow)

- Models Own Toxic Apple (green)

- Models Own Bubblegum (pink)

- Orly Baked Hot Tropics (purple)

- Bourjois Blue no blues (blue)

I used perfume for spraying and have bright scented nails now :D

Swatches, review and nail art Catrice Limited Edition Carnival of Colours

I was really looking forward to this colorful limited edition.

When I saw it in stores I just had to grab them :D

This limited edition comes with 7 nail lacquers.

I only got 6 of them because C07 Black For Gold is just a plain black and I have enough blacks for the moment.

Here are the lacquers I got:

From left to right:

- C01 Team Blue

- C02 Viva Brasil

- C03 Burning Down The Arena

- C04 When I Say Li, You Say Lac

- C05 Go Yellow, Go!

- C06 Feel The SpiRED

Swatches

All the pictures are taken outside in the shade as this shows the colors most truly.

C01 Team Blue

Team Blue is a deep blue.

Very pigmented as it only took 1 coat for good coverage.

C02 Viva Brasil

Viva Brasil is the kind of green from the Brazilian flag.

This is another 1 coater.

C03 Burning Down The Arena

What can I say...Burning Down The Arena is the perfect orange for all the Holland supporters :D

I'll definitely use this for my next Dutch nails.

I used 2 coats for this swatch.

C04 When I Say Li, You Say Lac

The name of this polish When I Say Li, You Say Lac isn't really suited for this polish.

Definitely not a lilac. 

It's a deep purple. Not vampy, but dark.

This is 1 coat.

C05 Go Yellow, Go!

Go Yellow, Go! is another hit with the Brazilian flag.

Quite dark again.

This is 2 coats.

C06 Feel The SpiRED

Feel The SpiRED is the kind of red that I want to see when I buy a red.

I have bought so many supposed to be red polishes that turned out to be orangy or pinkish.

This is a true sexy red.

This was the only polish that had a watery look.

I used 3 coats but you can still see the tip line.

This one would be great for a sandwich/stampwich nail art.

Review

Let's start with all the good points: 

- The pigmentation is great! They all took about 1-2 coats for good coverage.

- Fast drying.

- Glossy finish.

- I love how this edition is linked to the World Cup Brasil.

What I didn't like and/or what didn't meet with my expectations:

- The colors. I expected them to be more bright but they are all kinda dark.

- The addition of the black??? Catrice already has a great black (Black to the Routes) in their collection. Which is cheaper and it doesn't really suit the Carnival of Colours...

- The brush! Now, I love a wide, round brush but what shape is this?

The best comparison I can make is with this sign:

Did I miss something?? Is this the future?

Now, if the hairs were in a smooth line I could live with it but even that isn't the case.

It almost looks hand cut. I even checked if all the brushes had it.

It's not dramatic in use but I hope they'll improve it!

Nail art

I used the promo as inspiration and tried to hand paint the pineapples as good as I could.

Each limited edition comes with a Catrice nail design which you can find on YouTube.

This time it's a more simple version of the pineapple. Tutorial can be found here.

Here is my version:

World Cup nails (Holland!!)

The Father's Day nails had to leave because Holland had its first match today in the World Cup 2014.

There are a few events in Holland which colors our country orange and red/white/blue (flag) and this is one of them :D

I'm not a huge football/soccer fan but you can't skip the World Cup right?

Surprisingly we won so I guess I have to keep these nails for the next few weeks ;-P

These are the polishes I used:

From left to right:

- Rimmel Cocktail Colour 120 Shirley Temple

- Essence Hup Holland Hup 01 Topscorers

- Essence Hup Holland Hup 02 Hattrick!

- Essence Hup Holland Hup 03 Wilhelmus van Nassouwe

- L'Oréal 926 Independence Day

And I added some free hand accents with acrylics.

And a close up of the World Cup Trophy

Good luck all!!

Father's Day nails

Sunday will be Father's Day.

There is another contest at Nailpolis: Museum of Nail Art which you can still enter.

Two winners will be selected by their official judges.

The winners will each receive a Nailpolis trophy and $100 worth of nail polish including Essie, OPI and China Glaze!!!

 

We are lucky that we are blessed with 4 healthy and adorable (read: most of the times) kids.

Two boys and two girls.

 

On my nails 4 different father-child interactions which I think show the love between a father and child best.

I chose for acrylic silhouettes because I still fail at painting humans :D

The base colors are:

- Color Club 1040 Holy Chic!

- Maybelline Bleached Neons 244 Chic Chartreuse

 

Happy Father's Day!

 

 Don't forget to enter the Father's Day Nail Art Contest!
 

Neon feather nail art

Now that I have a blacklight I just had to play around with stuff I already own.

 

I started by painting a not so intriguing feather nail art design using the following polishes:

- China Glaze Liquid Leather (background)

- Models Own Luis Lemon

- Models Own Toxic Apple

- Models Own Bubblegum

- Orly Baked Tropical Pop

- Orly Baked Ablaze

There really is no point in making it too detailed as the lamp doesnt give a complete clear image.

For the ring finger and pinky I used my neon glitters.

 

Are you ready for the blacklight picture?

 

 

 

 The blacklight makes it even more fun to use neon products.

I'm already loving the brights but when it starts to glow...

"I feel like a kid in a fairy world" :D

 

Orly Baked 2014 Swatches, review and nail art

Today I bring you the Orly Baked Summer 2014 collection.

When I saw the promo above I immediately fell in love with the bright colors.

The name "Baked" and the shown eyeshadow pigments had me wondering what the lacquers would be like.

It took me quite some time to decide if I wanted to get the whole collection.

I've been pushing my decision forward until I saw several swatches and finally I decided to get the mini pack instead of the full size complete collection (best arguments: money and the mini pack holds the best 4 polishes from this collection in my opinion).

From left to right:

- Orly Baked Tropical Pop

- Orly Baked Ablaze

- Orly Baked Hot Tropics

- Orly Baked Saturated

The other two lacquers are:

- Orly Baked Neon Heat: a bright neon pink

- Orly Baked Lush: a sheer lemony neon base filled with small and bar glitter

Swatches

Orly Baked Tropical Pop:

Tropical Pop is a neon yellow toned orange.

Comparable with the the color of a sunflower but more neon/vibrant.

This color definitely popped.

I used 3 coats to get it completely opaque (without tip see through).

Tropical Pop dries semi matte.

Orly Baked Ablaze:

Ablaze is a coral neon with golden shimmer/glitter.

It dries with a very very subtle texture due to the shimmer/glitter.

This is 2 coats.

Macro shot Ablaze:

Where the polish catches the light the gold is best shown (ablaze).

Orly Baked Hot Tropics:

Hot Tropics is a fuchsia neon with silver shimmer.

I used two coats.

This dried more glossy than the Ablaze.

Macro shot Hot Tropics:

Orly Baked Saturated:

Saturated is a dark purple.

Indoors it looked like a vampy purple, black toned.

But outside it was a saturated purple.

This is 2 coats.

It dries semi matte.

Review

I'm very much in love with this collection!

It's bright and perfect for Summer.

I can't even pick a favorite but if I have to I would say the Ablaze just because it's bright, it has that gorgeous golden glow and application was perfect.

The semi mattes were a bit harder to apply: a bit streaky and very quick drying. Taking some more polish on the brush did the trick for a smooth application. Perhaps a topcoat could work as well.

And OMG who doesn't love a good neon?!

Nail art

I started with a gradient of the neons: Tropical Pop, Ablaze and Hot Tropics using the sponging technique.

I didn't even want to put anything on top of it.

These are definitely going to be my holiday nails for this Summer :D

Then I took a detail brush (Kolinsky 5/0) and Saturated and free handed the Summer (beach) designs:

Picture taken in the sun

Picture taken in the shade

And whoop whoop...I finally got a blacklight bulb to show you the gorgeous neon (need some more practice though)...time to get to the club :D