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Konad M51 - Zoya Happi 21 Dec 2010 10:33 PM (14 years ago)

Okay, another Konad today.   I swatched and reviewed Zoya's Happi before, you can see it here.
As you know, I can't leave a good polish alone, so I added a small and subtle Konad to it :)

Using Konad plate M51 and special polish in white, I stamped the flower design over the tip alone, leaving the beauty of Happi showing through.  It looks very pretty but was a little more bold that it looks in the pics.


A cute and very pretty design, always looks nice, though Happi is a stunning polish alone anyway.

This may be my last post before Christmas Day, so let me take this chance to wish you all a very happy holiday, I'll be back soon with more konads and polish swatches :o)

China Glaze - Ruby Pumps 15 Dec 2010 9:41 PM (14 years ago)

Today we have another CG polish, this time a popular old favourite and a fabulous one for Christmas!

Ruby Pumps have near legendary status in the polish world, and for good reason.  This is not your average red glitter polish.  It has amazing depth to its finish, it looks glassy, rich and sumptuous!

I used two coats and it applied very well, dried well and had a smoothish texture, but does benefit from a top coat, which only adds to its depth.


This is such a pretty polish, everyone should have this in their collection, its a classic for good reason, its lovely!

Konad M79 - Nubar Green Tea/Zoya Veruschuka 8 Dec 2010 9:50 PM (14 years ago)

A quick Konad for you today, using my two favourite greens, a matte and a regular polish :)

I used the base I showed you a few days ago, Nubar Green Tea, shown here............then I used Konad plate M79 and the polka dot design in Zoya Veruschuka, reviewed here.

These are both amazing greens, one is a creme the other a matte.  This gives the manicure a lovely quality as both polishes have such different finishes, it really adds interest to the nail. It is subtle and classy but cute too!




I love polka dot mani's and love greens so this is a fav of mine :)  Hope you like it to.....

Zoya - Dovima 6 Dec 2010 11:24 PM (14 years ago)

Today we have a Zoya for you, Dovima is a matte velvet polish and a stunner, love this one!

It has a wonderful, almost gunmetal quality to it, not metallic as such, but an almost charcoal black, filled with gunmetal shimmer, allowing it to sparkle and avoids that awful flat look some matte polishes can have.  It is not a full matte velvet finish is accurate as it has a slight glow to it, which I like.


I used only two coats of this as the coverage is great, very fast drying as most mattes are, but not so fast that you can't get a good finish.

Nubar - Green Tea 1 Dec 2010 9:34 PM (14 years ago)

 Well we have snow here in the UK this week, and the whole country seems to have ground to a halt!  It is absolutely freezing here, I have on so many layers and its hard to get out of my lovely warm bed each morning.
I thought I would post a nice bright green for you today, to make up for the lack of green in the UK at present, lol  ;o)

Nubar have done some amazing holo and duo-chrome polishes, but they also make some fabulous cremes, Green Tea is one such polish.

A very pretty pale green creme, this is one of my favourite shades from Nubar, I do have a weakness for greens :)
This is quite and opaque one, nice to apply, though a tad on the thick side.  I used two coats and it dried well.  Apologies for the bottle pics, should have mixed it more lol :)


This is such an unusual green,  very delicate but strong all at the same time.  It is as though it had double cream added as the green has this wonderful creamy tone to it, scrummy!

Konad M9 - Nails Inc Jermyn Street 25 Nov 2010 10:57 PM (14 years ago)

I showed you the freebie Nails Inc polishes from Glamour Mag, a while back.

I have a very quick and simple konad using Jermyn Street, a classic grey toned beige creme.

I used the buckle design from Konad plate M9 and stamped over each nail using konad black.


Very easy to do, a I think it looks classy and understated, perfect for the colour base.

Zoya - Veruschuka, the matte that rocks gloss! 22 Nov 2010 10:50 PM (14 years ago)

 I have one of my favourite polishes for you today.  From Zoya's fabulous range of matte/velvet finish polishes, this one is Veruschuka, a stunning rich, deep green.

I love these polishes, they apply wonderfully and dry super quick, great if you are in a rush.  I know some people have issues with them chipping quickly, seems to be an thing with mattes, but I tend to get three days from these, which I think is pretty great.  I use a base coat though, Orly Nail Armour is a fav of mine and seems to react well with my nails and all my polishes, including mattes.

Veruschuka has a lovely velvet finish, not flat matte, but still has a slight sheen.  The green is intense and really wonderful and dark, but still green.  This is so pretty.......but it gets even better.........

Adding a top coat makes this polish INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!   Seriously, I know its nuts to make a matte polish glossy, but it is totally worth doing with this one. It shows so much sparkle its crazy!  I use Nubar Diamont TC for Zoyas, as I find my usual Seche Vite shrinks Zoyas badly, the Nubar works the same, dries fast and never shrinks!  Love it!


See how pretty this looks?
It just comes alive with some shine......amazing.  See how it picks up the sparkles?

Konad M79 - China Glaze Agent Lavender/Harmony 18 Nov 2010 9:48 PM (14 years ago)

Hi Girls :)

Today I have a Konad design for you.   I used CG  Agent Lavender for the base, which I swatched here. This proved to be a popular polish, one everyone seems to love.  It also happens to be a perfect base for a Konad, so here is one to try :)

I used plate M79 and the crossed lace design.  I used the lovely chrome polish, CG Harmony for the design as these work so well for Konads.


This is one of my favourite looks, as the creme base with metallic design always makes a great combination.  I urge you to get as many of the CH chrome type polishes for Konading with, as they are amazing.

China Glaze - Agent Lavender 15 Nov 2010 10:55 PM (14 years ago)

Here is another China Glaze swatch for you today, this time we have Agent Lavender,  a wonderful light lilac creme polish.

I love this colour, it is one that just always looks great, it also makes a wonderful base for konad designs.  It is a lighter lilac shade, leaning more towards a grey lavender.  Good to apply, was a tad streaky on the first coat, but most cremes can be, second coat evened things up but it may have benefited from a third one.  Average drying time.


Normally I would reserve lilacs for spring/summer, but as this has a definite grey tone it works equally well in the colder months too, so that is a huge plus.

Konad M78 - Nails Inc Hamstead Heath 11 Nov 2010 10:09 PM (14 years ago)

After swatching the Nails Inc freebies on Monday, review here,  I decided to konad a couple of them, one I will post now......

First up is Hampstead Heath, that lovely rich, slightly raspberry toned red.

I used Konad plate M78 and stamped the design in Konad white.  Very quick and easy, as most Konads are.  Looks kinda cute, if a little busy. I usually go for something a tad more simple, but its fun to go mad once in a while ;)


This really reminds me of a bandana, it has that same colouring and design feel LOL

Free Nails Inc polish with Glamour Mag! 8 Nov 2010 2:34 AM (14 years ago)

HI Girls!

Glamour magazine in the UK is giving away a free Nails Inc polish in their December issue.  They are worth £11 each but you can get them for the cover price of the mag, only £2. Bargain!

This seems to be an offer they run once a year and this time there is a choice of four really nice colours.  There is nearly always a hot pink and a bright red in each giveaway, but this year the hot pink is gone and the red is a more wearable deeper tone.  I have to say, all four colours are really pretty and worth hunting down.  Luckily my Hubby went shopping on Saturday and brought me home all four!  He is very good and always keeps an eye out for freebie offers on mags for me, he even made sure he got all four, bless him!

Okay, here are some swatches......












I really liked all of these colours, so it is worth hunting them down.  The mag only came out Thursday last week, so there should still be plenty around, but find them quick as these are always popular giveaways!

Konad M54 - China Glaze Stella 4 Nov 2010 10:55 PM (14 years ago)

As you know,  I swatched CG's Stella a few days ago, you can see that post here.

I was not that impressed with it on my nails, wasn't sure the shade suited me, so, of course, out came the Konad!!

I used Konad plate M54 and the white special polish to do the design.  A quick stamp top and bottom of each nail, and we were good to go!


This really helped to tone down the ageing magenta of this polish and I liked it a lot more Konaded than bare. What do you think?

China Glaze - Stella 1 Nov 2010 10:57 PM (14 years ago)

This is one of my more recent polish buys, love purples......love CG......

This is a lovely polish, nice and opaque, good to go in two coats, smooth application and fairly quick drying time.

It is a rich magenta purple, with flashes of an almost copper glow, not obvious, but there all the same.  It is very pretty but extremely similar to Cowgirl Up, so if you have one, you really do not need the other one.



Loved the polish in the bottle, not so much on my nails, I felt it made my hands look older, a very mature shade, think it may be the pink tone to the purple that causes that.  Just my quirk I guess, many will probably love it.........me, I'll go with a Konad over the top to tone it down, that coming soon........

Fauxnad T29 - Halloween Scream mani! 28 Oct 2010 9:45 PM (14 years ago)

A final Halloween manicure for you today, just in time too!

For this one I used Zoya Dovima, a wonderful matte polish, as the base. I will be reviewing this one for you in a separate post in the near future.
I then used the Scream face design from Chez Delaney plate T29, using Konad Special polish in white.



I love this one, really simple but cute and humerous too, love those Scream films !

Fauxnad T32 - Halloween Mani 25 Oct 2010 9:45 PM (14 years ago)

 I have another Halloween mani for you today.......

I used CG Ruby Pumps as the base, with Zoya Dovima on the ring finger.  I then used a Chez Delaney plate T32 and the sexy vixen design.  I used CH Emotion for the design, a pretty metallic pink, these CG metallics are just great for konads!



Very quick, easy and simple to do, cute with a bit of bling factor!


I will be reviewing both CG Ruby Pumps and Zoya Dovima in some posts in the near future.
Another Halloween design coming later in the week.......

Konad and Some Halloween Goodies 21 Oct 2010 9:13 PM (14 years ago)

Okay, today we have a bit of a mixed post for you.

I was sent last years OPI Halloween set, plus a Konad M13 Halloween plate a few weeks ago so thought I would save it for some seasonal konads.  So today we have swatches of the set and a quick konad for you :)  So lots of pics.......

The set is made up of four mini polishes and a fake tattoo set.
The polishes are good basic Halloween shades, a white, a black an orange and a fab sheer blue, which is in fact a glow in the dark polish.......



The white creme is called I Love Mummy, nothing amazing a regular white creme.



The black creme is, Witch Arm?  Again a regular black creme.



The Orange creme is quite a bright vibrant one, called Tattoo You Want Candy?


The blue is  Glow Ink the Dark and is very sheer,  I am guessing it is deliberately so, as then it can be used over the top of other polishes without changing the colour too much but getting the glow in the dark effect to them.  I used it here on its own and layered it to give a more solid feel, it took five coats to get this, nice but not worth the effort alone, use it over others instead.  I tried to take pics of the glow effect but my camera just wouldn't capture it well, but it does glow in the dark.



Now for the Konad.......

I used China Glaze Fortune Teller on my nails then put OPI Tattoo You Want Candy on the ring finger.  I then used M19 and konad black to add the cartoony skull design to the orange nail.  Quick and simple.




You can get the OPI Halloween set and Konad M13 plate from Radiant Babe Beauty in the UK, while stocks last!   Thanks for sending me these to look at :)
China Glaze Fortune Teller was in my collection anyway and I purchased that myself :)

Hope you liked it!  Some more Halloween mani's coming in the next week.......

Sleek Palette - Storm 19 Oct 2010 12:11 AM (14 years ago)

Here is another of my Sleek Palette swatches/reviews. This week we have the Storm palette, I think this was one of the permanent range so you may be able to source one somewhere or find it on ebay.

My previous Sleek palette swatches can be seen here: Bohemian, Safari and Graphite.


I knew I had to get this one as it is stacked full of neutrals and makes a great staple for any cosmetic collection. Great for days when you are not feeling so brave, or just want to look more natural.

This palette has a mix of matte and shimmery, though more shimmery shades this time, nine out of the twelve. It is full of browns, beiges, with a few deeper shades of green, blue and grey for good measure.


Colours inside:

1. Beige Gold metallic
2. Buttermilk metallic
3. Beige matte
4. Gold metallic
5. Pink metallic
6. Deep red rust metallic
7. Brown metallic
8. Dark grey metallic
9. Deep moss green metallic
10. Dark navy metallic
11. Mid brown matte
12. Black matte


This is a great palette for more natural looks, though very heavy on shimmer and metallics so not as subtle as your average neutral.

Konad M69 - Zoya Deidra 15 Oct 2010 2:23 AM (14 years ago)

Hi everyone !!

Okay, Konad day again...... today I am konading over Zoya Deidra, swatched last week, you can see that  here.

I used plate M69 and the design that looks like knitting.  I placed it over the base of each nail and used Konad Princess in Chocolate for the print, to compliment Deidra's beige undertone.


I really loved this, it looked really unusual and I got loads of compliments while wearing it.  Very different and almost snuggly and warm  :)  Perfect for the colder weather.
  

Zoya Happi 11 Oct 2010 10:45 PM (14 years ago)

HI Girls :o)

Okay, today I am showing you Zoya's Happi, a really pretty polish, bright, cheerful and oh so girly!

It is a wonderful sugar pink, with an almost duochrome effect - it kind of looks like oil on water, where it flashes a deep yellow/golden hue as the light catches it.  This is one amazing polish, I love it!


Application was good, nice and smooth to apply.  This was three coats, though two was pretty good as well.


This is definitely a new favourite of mine, it really did make me feel happy!  ;)

Konad M65 - Gosh Black Passion/ChG Awaken 6 Oct 2010 1:48 AM (14 years ago)

Another simple Konad for you today. I am konading over Gosh Black Passion, a polish I swatched and reviewed here, a great polish this one, love it!

I decided to work with the slightly metallic look this can have in certain lights, but wanted a more subtle look too.  I used ChG Awaken, a dark gunmetal chrome and Konad plate M65, going for a Gothic Rose look.


I really do like the subtly of this combination.  You can't tell the design is there from a distance and it just catches the light as you move your hands, so pretty!

Zoya Deidra 3 Oct 2010 10:25 PM (14 years ago)

Another Zoya today, this time we have Deidra, a wonderful dusky mauve shade.

Beautiful to apply, very smooth and easy to work with.  Good in two coats though I tend to do three anyway.

This is a very pretty polish, very unique.  I love the deep mauve shade, but it has a surprising beige tone to it as well.  It changes constantly with the light, looking almost lilac at times while a deep rich beige in other lights, stunning!

Fauxnad BM20 - Monochrome Madness! 1 Oct 2010 4:33 AM (14 years ago)

I decided to have a go at a mad monochrome manicure, just for a change.

I used five different bases, one for each nail:
Thumb - Misa Heaven White
Index - Orly Mirror Mirror
Middle  China Glaze Recycle
Ring - Barry M Grey
Pinky - Nails Inc Elgin Avenue


I then taped half of each nail off and painted the remaining part of the nail with China Glaze Millenium.
Finally stamping over the top of that half with Konad black and the stripe design from BM 20.




It does look different, not sure if it works or not?  I think not, I actually preferred it before I added the stripes LOL, ah well, never mind.
But I did love how one side looked grey and the other all striped, cool!

OPI - You Don't Know Jacques Suede 27 Sep 2010 10:41 PM (14 years ago)

It's been a while since I posted an OPI suede, so thought it was time to put that right.....so, today I am going to show you You Don't Know Jacques suede.

I love suede and matte polishes, but my fav's are the ones that have some texture to them, you know the ones that are not one base colour but have that speckled granite look.....this is one of those.  YDKJ is a lovely brown shade, textured with a beige fleck to add interest.  The finish is just lovely, very interesting and not at all flat, as some mattes can look.


Application is not bad, you have to work quickly as they dry super fast, so it can get a bit thick if you are slower than the polish ;o)  Two coats give perfect depth and finish, drying amazingly fast.


A great polish and one I will be wearing again.   Looks just as fab with a shiny top coat as well, this really does pick up the textured finish and inner sparkle.

Fauxnad BM10 - ChG Sunset Glow 23 Sep 2010 10:30 PM (14 years ago)

Another fauxnad today, a very simple one, quick and easy to do.

I used ChG Sunset Glow, an odd but lovely polish I swatched and reviewed here.

I then stamped over the top using the tiny flowers from Bundle Monster, plate BM10, I used ChG 2030 for the design.


This gives a very simple, clean look with the delicate scattered flowers over the nail. As the base polish has a matte finish I decided to seal it using Nubar V for men, its own matte top coat, this mattified the whole look , allowing the flowers to be seen more easily.  The design is still very subtle one though, an understated look I really like.

OPI - Suzi & the Lifeguard 20 Sep 2010 11:03 PM (14 years ago)

Another swatch for you all today!  This time we have an OPI, makes a nice change from my CG and Zoya's ;o)

This is a bit on the sheer side, but it a very pretty delicate pink shade, love pinks!  This is very shimmery, almost verging on frosty in finish.  This was four coats, three was okay, but I went for four to see if it would be more opaque, can't say it was much better, so stick with three, as four was just too thick as you can see from the pics. Application was fine, nice and smooth, no gloopyness.


This is a great subtle Summery shade, nice and clean looking, fresh even.