Estee Lauder Jewelled Ruby

Roses are red, well not this one, this has to be the most ridiculously colored fuchsia, ever. Wanted a red rose with my bright red fingernails today, but the only red rose we have is very sad, it wasn't fresh to start with and today all the outer leaves have shrivelled up.



I love the name it really is very suggestive and in this case also true. The jewel being the tiny mesmerizing gold shimmer that this nail polish is full of. The bottle looks so pretty and the coloring is perfect. The cap and the Estee Lauder Logo being both the same gold as the golden shimmer mixed in with the red. The consistency of the polish is lovely, I contemplated to leave it at one single coat, it is so opaque. I could still see the nail line just a little bit. Very easy to apply really nice brush and did not use a top coat to dry it. It was completely set in 10 minutes.

Estee Lauder Jewelled Ruby 2 coats


The gold got me, I had to add some more in the form of a simple nail art, half moon painted on with a very fine brush using a gold from a nail art pen. I have never used the nail art pen brushes, they are a little thick and long, I am not very good with bold big strokes and find that the smallest brushes are easier to control.

Peek a Boo with OPI You Don't Know Jacque Suede

I love this polish, or to be more exact I love all the Jacques by Opi. I haven't tried the original, just plain you don't know Jacques yet. And there is the matte version and finally this one. I thought, before I got to the end of stamping and finally applying the top coat, that I will like the shiny version the most. I wish I could just take off the shiny top coat, because I really prefer the matte suede look with the brown pattern stamped over it.

Opi You Don't Know Jacques Suede stamped with brown konad special polish



Opi You Don't Know Jacques Suede stamped with brown konad special polish and topped with Poshe top coat


Opi You Don't Know Jacques Suede 2 coats



Konad Image Plate m63

Collistar Nero Lurex

My climbing naked men pencil from Italy, they also had other designs, you know like birds, cute little animals, but I had to have this one. This is a little silver statue attached to a pencil, when I use up all the pencil the statue can be re-attached somehow to a new pencil, at least that is the plan.



And here is something else from Italy, Collistar a very popular brand, I have not seen it before yesterday in this country. The display had the usual suspects of pinks reds and sheers. This one, I thought is a beauty with the holographic glitter. The formula is a little thin, I used 3 coats in the photo below. The glitter is slightly gritty to the touch, but one coat of Seche Vite was enough to smooth things over.

Collistar Nero Lurex 3 coats

Lancome New Spring Color BB Sand

Silver and gold hexagonal glitter in a clear base. Two coats in the photo below over two coats of Diorlisse ridge filling base coat. Despite the small size, the glitter is not smooth to the touch. I am not really impressed with this, at least not by itself, tried layering it over a dark color and did not like that either.


Lancome BB sand 2 coats

Essie Wedding Collection

Essie Wedding Collection will be available from April 1st (is that a good day to launch anything?)







Source Lushious Babe

Trind Black & White

I am totally in love with this white nail polish from Trind. Yesterday I used it as the base of the geometric nail art and today I used it again, I have to figure out another nail art for tomorrow, so I can keep on wearing it. Seriously, I have quite a few white nail polishes and not one of them looks like this after 2 coats. I suppose I do not need to buy anymore white nail polish, this is the one, at least until the next best thing, my product loyalty is fickle.

Here is some info from Trind, I am new to this company, this is the only product I have so far, but may try the care line as well.


"Trind Cosmetics is a Dutch company which develops unique products in the field of hand and nail care. Trind products are distinguished from other hand and nail care products, as they are based on the natural consistency of the nail, cuticle and hands. Trind products make the nails stronger and beautiful, without disturbing the structure of the nail while nourishing the cuticles and hands. This is the basis for the success of Trind. Highly effective active products uniquely formulated! Trind’s products are not designed to mask, hide or provide a quick fix to problem nails cuticle or hand issues. Using Trind products will develop a synergistic nail, cuticle and hand therapy maintenance program for a lifetime of beauty!

Since 1988, the worldwide operating cosmetics company Trind Cosmetics has been active in Europe. Since 1992, Trind has also been active in the United States, where the Trind products are sold in the famous Bliss Spa and department stores like Dillard’s, Saks on 5th Avenue, Lazarus and Hecht’s / Macy’s. In Europe, Trind is the market leader in the hand- and nail care segment. This has also been realised by the fact that Trind distinguishes herself by innovations and by offering solutions for hand- and nail care problems. The basis for this success is the Trind Perfect System, a set which contains only 6 products for a perfect manicure. TheTrind Perfect System Set develops beautiful results in only two weeks! A perfect hand and nail maintenance system for beautiful strong nails, perfect cuticles and hands."

Trind Cosmetics

Trind CC 103 2 coats and black triangles (Chanel Black Satin)


Trind CC103 2 coats

Nailart Geometric color blocking

For the white base I used 2 coats of Trind cc103, this is a really nice white not too chalky, no frost and absolutely no streaking, the brush could have been better, but this is drugstore brand so can't have everything. I drew the shapes with a pen first then filled the colors in with a very fine nail art brush. For the black Chanel Black Satin, for the purple BB Couture Joker.

Winter frost and Orly

I took this photo yesterday, frozen frost on the trees, didn't last very long as soon as the sun was up it all just fell to the ground. The rest of the snow is not so pretty anymore, horrible grey winter slush. It is melting during the day and freezing in the night. I do not want to go anywhere and hope to spend the weekend on the sofa watching the Olympics!



My favorite winter sport is ice skating. I love the dresses really, no the skating is wonderful, I wish I could skate well, the only thing I can do, is to stay in the upright position and help my little girl who is learning. There is no fancy turning or changing position or going backwards. I am extremely pleased if I manage a session without falling on my ass. The couple below, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto make it look so easy, I watched them this morning and thought haven't seen a couple dancing so gracefully and so in tune with one another since the famous British skaters Torvill and Dean.

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto


Orly Starry Eyed, a winter frost if there ever was one, I thought the color was supposed to be pale ice blue, but after applying two coats I can see no color. Very fine silver glitter in a completely frosty white base.

Orly Starry Eyed 2 coats


Wasn't too happy with the frosty color and changed to this instead, much better. The glitter is extremely fine fuchsia suspended in the dark wine red jelly base. The consistency is a little thin and still transparent after the first two coats, 3 coats in the photo below. Gorgeous. The glitter is slightly gritty to the touch but a single coat of any top coat would take care of that. I loved the brush, it was so easy to use and managed to apply the color more or less on my nails instead of my cuticles, which is what I always do with a red, a red klutz.

Orly On the List 3 coats

Chanel Inattendu & Dior Silver Pearl

Pale peach, just a little peach, because it still looks good with my skin tone. If you do not like nude, but still like a neutral subtle nail polish than this is a very pretty choice. I did not expect to like it at all, that is why I stamped it with konad. Now I have finished with the Chanel Spring colors and I am pleasantly surprised with the pale colors. They cover very well, only two coats and the colors are likeable. I am not crazy about them, but at least they do not need 3 or even more coats to opaque coverage.

Chanel Inattendu 2 coats


I love this so much, I tried just about everything to give me a grey metallic color to stamp with and nothing worked. I thought, no there is no way this will work either, but what the hell let's just try it.


Chanel Inattendu 2 coats stamped with Dior Silver Pearl


Konad Image Plate m73

Chanel Particuliere nail polish compared to essie Mink Muffs, OPI You Don't know Jacques Matte & CND Brunette

These are the color alternatives I could find in my collection. Even if they are not exact matches they are all wonderful colors. I was really surprised with CND Brunette, this would be an exact match if it was a tiny bit darker. CND Brunette is no longer available, although with some luck it is still lurking on ebay, where I bought mine about six month ago. I knew it was a sold out sought after color, and looking at the photo I understand the attraction. It is also surprising that Chanel's color is not the first, I don't know exactly when Brunette was available, but probably quite a long time ago. Today I also saw and bought some really ancient OPIs one in particular looked very similar: Charmed by a Snake.

From left to right:

Essie Mink Muffs, Chanel Particuliere, CND Brunette, OPI You Don't Know Jacques Matte



Another comparison, with Dior Silver Pearl, not one of them match.

From left to right:

Dior Silver Pearl, Chanel Kaleidoscope, Zoya Trixie and Silver Pearl again

Dior Silver Pearl New Spring Color

Silver is a strong color trend for fall, beside black every collection had grey. They come in all shapes and sizes, from dark to light with every finish imaginable. Tweed, wool, cotton, silk, taffeta and chiffon.... and that's the end of my fabric vocabulary, from shiny to matte. A selection of grey from the Runways shown in New York. Just as well, I have plenty of grey and silver nail polish already, but here is another that will be perfect for Fall.

Marc Jacobs Fall Winter 2010 RTW


Marc Jacobs Fall Winter 2010 RTW


Marc Jacobs Fall Winter 2010 RTW


Marc Jacobs Fall Winter 2010 RTW


Dianne Von Furstenberg Fall Winter 2010 RTW

photos (style.com)

There is nothing like retail therapy, had an unpleasant meeting this morning after which I needed cheering up. Half wandered into Douglas not really expecting any of the new collections there, hello Lancome where are thou? And behold, the Dior spring collection has arrived. Forgot about the meeting in 0.5 seconds, oh I love cosmetics! The second color was a very sheer, no color to see on the nails pink, so there was no reason to get it, I forgot to check the name, but seriously nothing missed. As I was browsing around shop, did check Chanel, there was no sign of restocked Particuliere and Tendresse, Inattendu was sitting, quite lonely, on the display all by itself.

I am in such a hurry to get this post out, did not check, but Silver Pearl reminds me very much of Chanel Kaleidoscope only the finish, the color is slightly different. It is also a better silver metallic than Chanel Kaleidoscope, which is very streaky. Applying silver pearl was a pleasure, no brush marks at all, and needed only one coat. This is a silver foil finish, the color is quite dark, like cement.

Dior Silver Pearl 1 coat

Nail art with Chanel Particuliere

Flowers

Hope you had a wonderful loving Valentine's day! I was surprised with another beautiful orchid, a deep fuchsia color.

My younger daughter loves flowers so much, that each time we go shopping we have to buy some. First I resisted, but now I just adore her choices, so of course, for Valentine's day we got a big bunch of roses. There will be lots of flower photos I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! The first one, I do not really know what it is, I thought it was a Camellia, but it doesn't quite look like a Camellia. The stem doesn't have thorns, hmm I don't know. If you do, please let me know!




I wish winter was over and the flowers were out, well not yet. I am not sure that this design is a particularly spring-like look, has to do with the brown shade I guess, but it is a nice color combination. I recently bought this Japanese konad plate m66 and wanted to use the cherry blossom print in some way. Also wanted something different with Chanel's spring, sold out already, color Particuliere. Used the white special polish from konad to print the image.



I could not believe that this color sold out within two days, I literally had to bribe someone to get it. And no, I was not willing to pay for ebay, just yet. Nobody had any idea when the color will be back in stock, heard various estimates from two weeks to 2 months and anything in between. The good news is that this is not a limited edition color, it will be a permanent color. In some countries it may already be back in stock. I call this chocolate cow, or hot coco if that sounds better. When I first saw the promo images, I thought it was a little more khaki, but no, it is the color of hot chocolate although not the consistency of hot chocolate, if we stay with chocolate it would be something like a chocolate fountain. Rich yummy cream.....



It is very pigmented, one coat in the photo below.

Chanel Particuliere 1 coat + Seche Vite top coat


Konad image plate m66

Valentine's with Red Lips and Red Nails

Classic looks for makeup and nails. I love the makeup trend from Dior strong red lips with almost nothing else, at least on the first model Karlie Kloss. This look is not really new, further down are some images that were taken more than 10 years ago From Kevin Aucoin's book, Making Faces. We could go even further, Movie icons from a long time ago and recently have all been photograhped with the classic clean makeup. I call it the clean makeup, because there is no color on the eyes just the lips and only a hint of blush.

The bright red lipstick on the models below is Dior Rouge Replenishing lipstick in Celebrity Red.

Karlie Kloss Christian Dior Ready To Wear Spring 2010 Runway Look (Style.com)


R'el Dade Christian Dior Ready To Wear Spring 2010 Runway Look (Style.com)


This nail polish is stunning, unfortunately it is somewhat of a collectors' item, no longer available. A jelly with red shimmer, slightly transparent. Beautiful vibrant red with depth, this is the color I am wearing tomorrow, or would be wearing tomorrow, if I went on a date!

CND Winterfire 3 coats


Chanel Dragon, I raved about this before, a wonderful chinese lacquer red color, the best bit is, that it is still in the shops. Get it while you can, one classic red that will never go out of fashion! Despite the steep price, nail polish never really goes bad and if you use 1 coat, as you can see below, then it will probably last a lifetime.

Chanel Dragon 1 coat


Classic look from a Beauty Icon Gena Rowlands, just black liner and mascara on the eyes.


Gena Rowlands in Making Faces by Kevin Aucoin


Here there is a sweep sheer translucent white on the eyes.

Alpana in Making Faces by Kevin Aucoin


A sweep of yellow

Masako in Making Faces by Kevin Aucoin


The epitome of less is more, it is hard to believe, but in the photo below there is no foundation at all, mascara, red lipstick, subtle highlight on the brow bone and concealer were the only products the author used.

Chandra North in Making Faces by Kevin Aucoin

Essence & Custom Pastels Giveaway

The winning number is 69, Bethnaf! Congratulations!

Thank you for entering my giveaway and leaving your lovely comments!


I am giving away all of these, the first photo is the Essence colors and the second photo is the custom colors I made using all the darker shades. The pastels shades were all made with just adding a few drops of the dark colors to a sheer white nail polish also from Essence. The pastels are very easy to make all you need to do is choose a darker shade and drop by drop add them to a white nail polish. The more pigmented the darker color the less you need to color the white base. The essence white nail polish I used here is very sheer and almost all the shades required about 8 drops of the darker color. The contest is open to all, please leave a comment below with your e-mail address. The contest is now closed and the winner is Bethnaf!

Chanel 2010 Summer Collection, Mistral, Riviera and Nouvelle Vague

Chanel 2010 Summer Mistral


Chanel 2010 Summer Riviera


Chanel 2010 Summer Nouvelle Vague



Source: Lushious Babe