Essence Advent Calendar swatches

Hi!
 Today I'm going to show (FINALLY) swatches of nail polishes that I got in Essence Advent Calender.  
I know it took me 3 months to finally show you the swatches, but they say better late than never, so I dedided to show the to you anyway.

03 My wish list

3 coats no top coat 


09 the night of magic and 04 north pole princess

2 coats od 09 and 2 coats of 04 over 09 ( the creal hexagonal glitter is almost invisible, I'm really not sure what's the point of this top coat. Any suggestions?) 


 08 my dear reindeer

2 coats no top coat 


 01snowflakes are kisses sent from heaven over 08 my dear reindeer

This top coat is quite interesting, although I'm not sure wether I like it or not. I used 2 coats of 08 and one coat of 01, both applied like butter.


 15 from me to you

A dusty raspberry colour, you can never go wrong with this one. Every girl/woman should have a shade like this in her collection (2 coats, no top coat, easy application) 


 15 from me to you and 01 see you in my dreams

One coat of 01 over 15. no top coat. I'll definitely use this top coat again, because it is perfect for spicing up a creamy nail polish.


06 sweet caramel sweets

2 coats, no top coat. This is one of the best nude nail polishes I own. Thank you Essence!
(The only thing that makes me really sad is that Essence nail polishes are pretty fast when it comes to chipping)


 05 meet me at the chimney

A satin finish dusty/pastel green. This shade is definitely the most interesting in the bunc, especially because this is a Christmas collection =). Application was great, and I really like the unique colour. Great base for nail art. See my post about BP-75.


 14 have a very pink-x-mas!

Another raspberry shade. I have a lot of similar shade. Definitely suitable for Christmas time. Great application 2 coats, no top coat.


02 made with love

Sheer milky white nail polish. After 4 coats nail line is still visible. I will definitely not use this one again.


 10 do you hear the jingle bells?

In real life it leans a bit toward pink, so it kinda reminded me on rose gold that is so trendy lately. I really like this shade, it is definitely something special and something I don't have in my collection. the downside of this polish is dry time. The last time I wore it, it just took ages to dry. I applied 2 coats, no top coat.


 07 winter wonderland

A pastel blue for Christmas? Why not, if there is a pastel green, there should be a blue too. Great base for nail art and stamping. I applied 2 coats, no top coat.


07 winter wonderland and 02 candy cane lemonade

This is literally the worst sheer top coat I tried. I already tossed it, because it made me too angry when I wanted to spice up a stamping with this one it only smudged my manicure to something unrecognisable, It melt my manicure.
I used 1 coat on pinkie, 2 on my index finger, 3 coats on my ring finger and 4 coats on my middle finger. It applied uneven and looked really horrible.


 12 berry-tale

A beautiful dark purple with lighter purple and magenta simmer. Too bad it chipped on my nails in less than a day. Good application, 2 coats used for swatches.


 04 what a grey-t night!

This one was on promo pictures and I really couldn't wait to get it in my calendar. I think I got it more towards the end. It is also pretty interesting, and I like it. Shimmer is really subtitle and I like it just the way it is. I used 2 coats, no top coat.


11 kiss under the mistletoe and 03 add on magic!

I played with this one in December. I used RockNail Star stencils and I really like how this manicure turned out. I have to use this stencils again. 
11 (2 coats) and 03 (1 coat). Both applied nicely, 03 dries to a matt finish.



 13 Rudolph's favourite and 01 message from the north pole

I really don't know how I managed to delete swatches of 13 Rudolph's favourite from my computer, but you can also see the colour in this picture (2 coats, great application). Over I applied one coat of 01 message from the north pole. This is also one of the best top coats, just look at that purple/gold shifting shimmer!


So, what do you think? Essence did a good job?
I was really pleased with the colours, but sadly Essence nail polishes don't last long on my nails (The used to, but it looks like that they changed their formula when they changed the bottles, because since that moment on, essence nail polishes chip too fast).



The struggle of finding a perfect yellow gold stamping polish is over!

Hi!

I'm not sure of you have this problem, but I have always wanted to find that perfect YELLOW GOLD stamping polish. I have quite a few gold polishes for stamping but none of them is not yellow, like real gold. ( It is actually funny how much I wanted a yellow gold polish, but I really hate wearing any king of gold jewellery). 
When looking at the Born Pretty Store stamping nail polish collection I noticed that #1 looked promising, but I did not expect much from it (because I've had a lot of gold polishes that were not good for stamping). It really surprised me when it arrived! It was that perfect yellow gold with great pigmentation that in my opinion every girl MUST have.
It cost's 8,42 $, (if you use my code you can get it for 7,58 $)

First I tried it over a red base. Red and gold combination is a classic for me. I used BP-L029 stamping plate and added some dots with dotting tool. The transfer of the desing was good (one flower is croocked because of my clumsines, not the polish)



Here I tested this stamping polish over black and white and you can see that it works over both bases, but it looks more yellowish when stamped over black. Again I used BP-L029 stamping plate.


I did a sloppy job at stamping here, but I just wanted to show you how it looks over different bases.


Here I used it also as a freehand nail art polish and because it is pigmented it worked great!


Which one is your perfect gold stamping polish? 

My opinion:

It is a great stamping polish (way better than Konad gold), it is not the cheapest out there, but for the quality and quantity (15 mL) you get it I think it is worth the money! It transfers great, but I did notice that it has a funky smell ( I got used to it, so now it does not bother me anymore). I will defenitely get myself some more (when I earn some money, since I'm broke at the moment).

You can use my code (COLLX31) at the checkout for 10 % discount.

This product was sent to me for a review.



Born Pretty stamping plates with fathers

Hi!

Today I have a review post on a stamping plate from a well known Born Pretty Store. Here is a link to their nail art department where they have tons of nail art related items: stamping plates, nail decals, glitters, rhinestones, dotting tools, brushes, foils and many other items.

In this post I'm going to show you 2 manicures I created with BP-75 stamping plate from Born Pretty Store. You can find it here, it costs 2,99 $, but is currently cheaper and you can get it for only 1,99 $.  



Size: 
all over designs: 
lenght 2,2 cm
width 1,5 cm

smaller designs:
lenght 1 - 1,8 cm
width 0,8 - 1 cm

My opinion:

I really like the designs on this plate, you can create different looks with them. If I compare them to larger square plates from Born Pretty Store these designs are a bit more shallow, but they still transfer wonderfully without any bald spots. They also have a paper backing that will prevent any cuts when handling the plate. After stamping you can simply store it in a cardboard pocket. In my opinion this plate is worth the money, but after trying out bigger square stamping plates from Born Pretty Store I do think the bigger ones are better, because they look classier and are a bit better engraved. (also the cardboard pockets are prettier).

Here are 2 different manicures I created with this plate:

Essence: meet me at the chimney 
Born Pretty Store BP-75 and Peripera Metallic Green


Essie: licorice and garden variety
Born Pretty Store BP-75 and their special gold stamping polish 



You can use my code (COLLX31) at the checkout for 10 % discount.


This product was sent to me for a review.



Aztec stamping Plate from Born Pretty Store

Hi!


Today I have another review post on a stamping plate from a well known Born Pretty Store. Here is a link to their nail art department where they have tons of nail art related items: stamping plates, nail decals, glitters, rhinestones, dotting tools, brushes, foils and many other items.

BP-L010 stamping plate
You can find this plate here, it costs 5,99 $, but it is currently out of stock.

This plate has :
14 all over designs (sized 2 cm x 1,4 cm) and
7 smaller designs
a plastic backing preventing cuts
super cute paper pocket for storing


 My opinion

As the Christmas plate, also this one has well engraved patterns and all the designs transfer perfectly. I really like the paper pocket for storing, and the way it looks (pretty expensive and classy). But in the end the most important for me is transfer quality and design size ( I have a lot of plates, but some of them I can only use on short nails). For these designs to be to small I have to grow my free edge for more 8 mm, which will probably never happen, this is why I can use this designs at any length =). 
The designs are something I would probably not chose ( I constantly put on lace or floral patterns), but when I played around with it, I'm really happy that I have this one in my collection, since it has some amazing designs on it. 
My favourites are: from left to right top row: 3, 4, 5 and bottom row: 1, 3 and 6. 

Here are some manicures I created with this plate






You can use my code (COLLX31) at the checkout for 10 % discount.


This product was sent to me for a review.



Mont Bleu from Prague - paradise for nail fanatic

A while ago I recieved a big package from Mont Bleu company from Prague. 

About the company
The company was born in 2002 in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2007 the company started to make and decorate crystal glass nail files and after that they became more popular among nail fanatics. In 2010 the company expanded its assortment and started decorating and making beauty products, gifts and jewellery and they keep extending their offer and surprise us with new goodies and gift possibilities.

In the package they included a lovely postcard from Praha, which I have yet to visit someday...

 Bubble wrap is their best friend!

What do I mean by that? 
They use bubble wrap a lot, because this was the best secured/protected package I ever received and I really shop on-line a lot. Each file was firstly placed in a handy package than it was wrapped in bubble wrap, than placed in a cardboard box ( if there was another item placed in the box there was literally no free space because of all the bubble wrap). The cardboard box was then placed in another cardboard box which was also filled with bubble wrap. The cardboard box was sealed with duct tape to make sure that the package will come to the buyer in any weather in perfect shape. 

What did I received?
I received (picture below from top to bottom):
cuticle pusher
foot file
large nail file and
mini nail file with Swarovski crystals

I received these files for a review and I was really surprised that I received a set in blue, I mean how did they know that I LOVE blue colour? =)

The products

When looking at their wholesale and store site there is so many products that literally everyone can find something for itself. 
Here is a few products you will definitely love:


This file is meant to remove old skin from feet and I must say that for me it worked wonders. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to removing my dead skin, partially I blame all the products I tried so far, because they did not deliver what I wanted. With this file the story is completely different. I used it for wet filing and it removed my skin really fast, but did not damage it's surface. My skin was soft as a baby's butt
It has 2 different grits on each side one so you can pick the one you like more. It is 16,1 cm long, 3,5 cm wide and 0,8 cm thick so there is literally no way that you can break it . It is also quite heavy. It also comes with a clear plastic pocket to store it.
 This is definitely the product that surprised me the most and in a way it changed my life forever =).

This nail file is from their CLASSIC line. They offer 2 different sizes (big and travel size) an two or three colour combinations. The one below is a classic big nail file it is 13,5 cm long, 1,15 cm wide and 0,2 cm thick. 
I've been using this nail file for 2 weeks now and I must say that I love it! Before this one I was using plastic nail files for quite a long time(I kept on breaking them sometimes 2 a month and it became to expensive for me). It is not to rough but it still takes down the length quite easy and effortless. 


This nail file is a part of their MINI line. It has the same qualities as the nail file above, but it has 2 advantages. It is smaller so it can easily fit in your wallet or purse, and it less likely to break. This one also includes 9 Swarovski crystals wich make it really unique. I already got tons of questions where I got this one. 
Size: Lenght 9 cm. width 1 cm and thickness 2 mm.



This is also a products that surprised me with it's uniqueness. It has a nail file like surface near both ends so when you remove your excess cuticle you can file it away. It can be washed and reused many times so on a long term this is way cheaper than wood sticks.


Why I like Mont Bleu?

High quality nail files (they offer LIFETIME warranty!) 
Innovations and big assortment (Did you know that you can choose your design?)
Beautiful designs
Secure shipping
Cheap shipping (3€)

Because I'm really into nail art I wanted to do a manicure that would match Mont Bleu and the blue set I received. Here is what I created:

I know that the pictures are really bad, but since I already removed this manicure I can not take any other pictures.



Are you as excited as I am?
You can find Mont Bleu on:

This is their official store and here you can find wholesale information.

They were also kind to offer 20% discount code for my readers. Use BLOG at the checkout for your discount

Tribal water decals from Born Pretty

Hi!

I'm really sorry I've been missing in action lately. I will try to make it up to you my dear readers


Today I have another review post on water decals from a well known Born Pretty Store. Here is a link to their nail art department where they have tons of nail art related items: stamping plates, nail decals, glitters, rhinestones, dotting tools, brushes, foils and many other items. 
Pay them a visit, you won't regret it, nether will your wallet since their assortment is relatively cheap and they also offered a special coupon code (see below)!

In this post I'm going to present you BP-W26 water decals that I received from Born Pretty Store. Currently they are on sale and cost only 1.50 $!


 What do you get for that money?

-2 square decals (5,8 cm x 5,8 cm) in 2 different colour (grey and black).
-You can make 2 manicures when using decals on all of your nails or. you can get at least 10 different looks when using a decal only on accent nail. (in the first picture I used it as an accent nail and in my last manicure as nail art on all of my nails)
For that price it is definitely worth the money!

Decals are super easy to use! 
You just cut them out, remove plastic foil, put them in water and slide them off the paper. Just place the decal on the nail and use brush dipped in acetone to remove overlapping decal on your cuticle. Add top coat and you're done!


These decals are cheap and easy to use, but they do have a downside. I tried the grey decal over darker base, but the base was too dark and the pattern wasn't visible. So when using decals you should always use a lighter base colour!

Now off to manicures I created with these tribal decals:

For the first I used:
BarryM Gold foil
Essie licorice and
BP-W26 water decals



For the second manicure I used:
Essence White Hype and
BP-W26 water decals



And remember! Use my code COLLX31 for 10% discount!

This product was sent to me for a review.