Aqua Daisy - my first indie polishes

I have been resisting the urge to buy indie polishes - but then one day I stumbled across a look-alike to my biggest lemming "Connect the Dots" by Lynnderella...
So I am now the proud owner of 3 polishes from Aqua Daisy - Etsy shop
Jeg har været standhaftig og modstået fristelsen - men en dag snublede jeg over en look-alike til Lynnderella Connect the dots...
Så nu er jeg den stolte ejer af mine tre første indie polishes fra Aqua Daisy - Etsy shop 

Beauty School Dropout is a lovely pale baby pink. It needs 2-3 coats and dries quickly with a somewhat rough surface, it is shown without a top coat. It has holographic micro glitter and hexagons plus black and white. It doesn't show it's sparkle very willingly, more in glimpses...

Succulet is a mint, leaning towards turquoise with 2 sizes of purple glitter. It need two coats, and dries pretty smooth and matte, but a top coat brings extra life to it. Here shown as is.

 

Me Too - well as far as I can tell (not being the proud owner of Connect the Dots, sob, sob) it's not a dupe, it lacks the square black pieces of glitter and could have more bar glitter, but it's still very pretty...
It is shown over a 3 different colors, It dries surprisingly smooth and shiny, but I would definitely top coat it with Seche Vite.
And I guess I still have a lemming called Connect the Dots...

Passion for fashion flowers

 

 

The base color is Essence 87 passion for fashion, a stunning purple cream! The petal-like dots are two-colored, but it’s lost in the photos, and the yellow flowers I painted with acrylic colors, and I top coated with Seche Vite.

This was made June the first, and I have since then made more manis in this style.
See more freehand flowers in the top menu!

Grundfarven er Essence 87 passion for fashion, en smuk lille creme lak. De kronblad-lignende prikker er faktisk tofarvede, men det er svært at se, og de gule blomster er malet med akrylfarve, og toplakken er Seche Vite.

Denne mani er fra den første juni, og jeg har siden da lavet flere i samme stil.
Se flere frihånds blomster og anden nail art i top menuen...

Flowers under the city that never sleeps

 

 

The Essence Colour 3 series has among others a color called Midnight date, a dark midnight blue shimmer, and combined with that there is a blue jelly with glitter called City that never sleeps. So the base color is Midnight date, and I sponged a little Catherine Arley black holographic over it, not that it really shows at all. Then I painted the flowers with acrylic color and when dry I sandwiched them with City that never sleeps before I top coated with Seche Vite.

The blue jelly gave a tiny bit too much blue hue to the flowers IMO, actually the next morning I couldn’t wait to remove it, I felt it was too gloomy.

Grundfarven er en af Essence Colour 3 serien, kombineret af den mørke midnatsblå Midnight Date og en blå jelly med glitter, der hedder City that never sleeps. Bundfarven er Midnight Date, og så duppede jeg lidt Catherine Arley black holographic hen over midten, men det er nu svært at se. Dernæst malede jeg blomsterne og over dem lagde jeg City that never sleeps for at skabe en sandwich effekt. Toplakken er with Seche Vite.

Den blå jelly gav efter min mening blomsterne et lidt for stærkt blåt skær, så den næste morgen skyndte jeg mig at tage det af, det føltes lidt for dystert.

Ombre with "additions" - Artsy Wednesday!

I could have stopped here….

The theme this week of Artsy Wednesday is an ombre mani.

The truth is that I always found them to be a bit boring – but NOT any longer!

I chose to do a very shade/tone-coherent ombre within lighter blue colors going from light to darker, and I really think I achieved that…

Thumb-pinkie: Nubar Baby Blue, Nubar Blue Hydrangea, Nubar Faded jeans, China Glaze Bahamian Escape and Essie Lapis of Luxury

So, I could have stopped here – but didn’t (not much of a surprise for my regular readers ;) – should I have??

I went for a washed out look within the same color frame as the ombre, did it become too washed out...?

 

 

Check out what the other girls in Artsy Wednesday did in this weeks challenge: 
Michelle - Lab Muffin,  Alanna - Pretty Purple Polish, Holly - Hooked, Tif - Polished Genious, (not this week: Lyndsey - Nails by Ms. Lizard), Catrine - Unnakednails, Melanie - Nail & Polish, Jessica - Beauty Gnome, and the newest member of our group: Kamen - Kaka Beauty Blog, 

Choose Me for nail art

 

 

When I look at my polishes – they all shout: Choose Me – so I think it’s a brilliant name for a polish. Essence named this lovely teal green color with a lot of gold and teal shimmer Chose Me, and that is the base color. It applies easily and it was so stunning by itself, so I didn’t want to add too much nail art to it. I used only a little acrylic colors in copper and gold, a fine brush and a dotting tool – let my mind wander, and this is what I came up with. Finally I top coated.

Når jeg kigger på mine lakker – råber de alle: Vælg mig (Choose me), så jeg synes det er et glimrende navn til en lak. Jeg taler naturligvis on Essence Choose Me, der er en smuk teal farve med masser af guld og teal shimmer, og den valgte jeg som min grundfarve. Den er let at lægge og er smuk i sig selv, så jeg ville ikke lave for meget nail art på den. Jeg malede kun lidt med akrylfarver i kobber og guld, og jeg brugte en tynd pensel og et dotting tool – jeg lod tankerne vandre, og dette er hvad jeg endte op med. Til slut top coatede jeg med Seche Vite.

A Maui Fizz for the blues brothers

 

In my untried stash I had P2 010 Maui Fizz from the Mission: Summer Look collection that I bought to bring myself out of my comfort zone – and because polishes in Germany are ridiculous cheap compared with Denmark (not with the US though LOL). I knew I would hate it against my skin tone, so it just sat there. But next to it stood P2 Color Victim 532 Blue’s brothers that I had looked forward to trying. Then I got the bright idea to try to layer them, so here you have 2 coats of Blue’s Brothers with a sideswipe of Maui Fizz (on coat). For the flowers I chose colors within the same range to create the clearly visible but subdued effect. The top coat is as usual Seche Vite.

Blandt mine uprøvede lakker havde jeg P2 010 Maui Fizz fra Mission: Summer Look kollektionen. Jeg købte den for at bringe mig ud af min komfortzone (og fordi det er billigt at købe neglelak i Tyskland), men den bare stod of stod… Men den stod ved siden af P2 Color Victim 532 Blue’s brothers, som jeg havde glædet mig til at prøve, og jeg fik lyst til at bruge dem sammen.

Så her har du 2 lag af BB med et sidestrøg af Maui Fizz (et lag). Blomsterne valgte jeg at holde i samme farver med formålet at male dem, så de tydeligt fremstod, men på en afdæmpet måde. Toplakken er Seche Vite.

Danish midsummer “St. John’s Eve” - “Sankt Hans”

 

The longest day of the year – summer solstice – is June 21 and June 24 is Sankt Hans dag – but in the evening of June 23 we celebrate Sankt Hans evening with huge bonfires, speeches, the midsummer song and being with friends. We also say that on this evening the witches fly on their broomsticks to Brocken in Harzen in Germany to meet. And this was the super short version of a tradition that has been developed through centuries…

We celebrate it with our neighbors (living in the countryside that basically are a lot of people from the neighborhood) – and naturally my nails had to reflect what evening it was…

All the used polishes are from China Glaze; the base is Sea Spray, the blue is Blue Years Eve and the fiery orange is Riveting. The rest is painted with acrylic colors, and the top coat is Seche Vite.

I går fejrede vi som sædvanligt Sankt hans sammen med vores naboer, og i ved jo alle hvilke traditioner vi har her i landet, og at heksene flyver til Bloksbjerg.

Derfor vil jeg nøjes med at fortælle at de brugte lakker alle er fra China Glaze grundfarven er Sea Spray, den mørkeblå er Blue Years Eve og den orange er Riveting. Resten er malet med akrylfarve, og til slut lagde jeg Seche Vite som toplak.

P2 HonoluluJuicer swatches with flowers

 

 

The second post today is a semi fail, not terribly so – but you can take it as a swatch for the base color: P2 040 Honolulu Juicer from the ”Mission Summer Look” collection.  

It's metallic bronze/orange, slightly prone to brush strokes. Dry time is within the "OK range". I don’t really feel it’s a good color for me, and secondly I forgot that this particular green acrylic color that I used for the stripes is prone to crackling when it dries – but IRL it wasn’t noticeable. The top coat is Seche Vite.

Det andet indlæg i dag er en halvvejs mislykket mani, ikke en katastrofe, men tag det som swatches af grundfarven P2 040 Honolulu Juicer fra ”Mission Summer Look” kollektionen.

Det er en mtallic orange/bronze der let efterlader mærker af penslen, og tørretiden er indenfor det rimelige. Jeg føler ikke rigtigt at farven er god til mig, og for det andet havde jeg glemt at lige denne grønne akrylfarve, som jeg brugte til striberne, revner, når den tørrer, men i virkeligheden var det nu ikke at se. Toplakken er Seche Vite.

BK Fashion Nail Color Navy Blue Silver Shimmer #04 swatches & review

 

It's always interesting to see shimmer and glitter polishes in matte, so for this last photo I used Essie Matte About You top coat.

When Born Pretty Store asked if I would be interested in reviewing any of their products I said yes. And I have added a banner in the sidebar that gives you 10% off any purchase, so please feel to use it - or go right now and use the code G10X31!
I chose BK Fashion Nail Color Navy Blue Silver Shimmer #04 - item ID 1043 because it reminded of blue jeans. 
In my opinion it's not navy blue shimmer (with a heavy load of shimmer), it has so much more going on with shades of teal and grey.
The application is is easy, and it's almost opaque in one coat, but this is two without a top coat. Dry time is normal. It dries semi matte and a little gritty, but nothing that is disturbing - still I recommend a top coat.
All in all I have nothing negative to say about this one!
What do you think?
 Later today I have another swatch with flowers post...

Wild orchids on Mellow Yellow

 

 

 

It was in the end of May, and I woke during the night with the vision of flowers painted like this :) The base color is Essence 51 Mellow Yellow, and before painting the flowers in acrylic color I sponged the tips with Nubar Reclaim. They made me think of a protected wild orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata) called Gøgeurt in Danish, comes in a few sub species.
I must admit: I was pretty pleased about this one!!
Fun fact: Raggio de Luna doesn't really like yellow, but immediately when she saw my swatches of this color she wrote: "you ARE going to put some tiny little flowers on it, yes?" - and since every flower is very tiny, I had to ask her if she had access to my computer LOL - so these are kind of for you Tanja!

Det var I slutningen af maj, og jeg vågnede en nat med ideen til at lave blomster som disse :)

Grundfarven er Essence 51 Mellow Yellow, og før jeeg malede blomsterne med akrylfarve duppede jeg spidsen af neglene med Nubar Reclaim. Blomsterne fik mig til at tænke på den vilde orkide Gøgeurt (Dactylorhiza maculata), som vi har i området, og som findes i forskellige underarter.

Bright summer flowers

 

 

 

The base color is Catrice 400 Blue Cara Ciao and I sponged random areas with Catrice 520 Apropos Apricot. I painted the bright coral/salmon flowers with acrylic paint over the sponged areas, making it look a bit like they are on clouds. Finally I top coated with Seche Vite.

I wore this mani 2 days – it’s a real smurf nail blue, I’m happy I use base coat, should have used 2 coats.

Grundfarven er Catrice 400 Blue Cara Ciao og jeg duppede tilfældige områder med Catrice 520 Apropos Apricot. Jeg malede de koral/laksefarvede blomster med akrylfarve hen over de spongede områder, så de fik virkning som skyer. Til sidst lagde jeg min toplak, Seche Vite.

Jeg havde denne mani på i to dage – og denne blå giver virkelig smølfeblå negle på trods af base coat.

Inspired by nature - Artsy Wednesday

This week’s theme in Artsy Wednesday is inspired by nature. Ha, I bet you think – oh nooooesss – more flowers, but this IS a flower free post!
Originally  wanted to do different kinds of trees, but after several days without sun it looked like it would break through, so I could take well lit photos. Therefore I took the easy path - and the sun did come out, 3 minutes or so just before I top coated :(

Denne uges tema i Artsy Wednesday er inspireret af natur. Ha, du tænker allerede – åhhh neeeej, flere blomster, men det ER en blomsterfri manicure!
Oprindeligt ville jeg have lavet forskellige slag træer, men efter flere dage uden sol, så det ud som om den ville bryde igenne, så jeg skyndte mig med tanke på velbelyste billeder. Derfor valgte jeg ens træer - og solen var fremme i ca. 3 minutter lige før jeg top coatede :(

 

 

The base color is Nubar Blue Hydrangea, and I sponged grass with Nubar Reclaim and sea with China Glaze Blue Years Eve + Frosty + OPI Alpine Snow, the clouds with the latter two. The rest I painted with acrylic colors and I top coated with Seche Vite.

If you can see someone waving to you on the island, it’s me – a pile of good books, fresh fruit and cold, clean water, a fishing rod in the sea for catching dinner ;)

Check out what the other girls in Artsy Wednesday did in this weeks challenge: 
Michelle Lab Muffin,  Alanna Pretty Purple Polish, Holly Hooked, Tif Polished Genious, Lyndsey Nails by Ms. Lizard, Catrine Unnakednails, (not this week: Melanie Nail & Polish,) Jessica Beauty Gnome, We have an open space here, maybe for your and your blog?

Grundfarven er Nubar Blue Hydrangea, og jeg duppede græsset med Nubar Reclaim og havet med China Glaze Blue Years Eve + Frosty + OPI Alpine Snow, og de to sidste brugte jeg også til skyerne. Læste du dette på dansk eller engelsk. Resten malede jeg med akrylfarve og toplakken er Seche Vite. 

Hvis du kan se nogen vinke til dig fra øen, så er det mig, en stor stak gode bøger, frisk frugt, rent kildevand og en fiskestang til at fange aftensmaden med ;)

Catrice 800 Heavy Metallilac swatches with daisies

 

 

The second post of today is a swatch with a few simple daisies, because I still wanted to show the gorgeous one coater metallic purple, Catrice 800 Heavy Metallilac. So I went for something simple, first I painted two thin gold stripes meeting in a kind of a “short-legged X”. Then I painted the flowers and finally the vines that crawl around the gold. Top coat is – of course LOL – Seche Vite :)
Se many more flower mani's in the top menu!

Dagens andet indlæg er delvis lette marguet´ritter og delvis en swatch for at vise den smukke et-lags metalliske lilla, Catrice 800 Heavy Metallilac. Derfor holdt jeg mig til noget enkelt, først malede jeg to tynde guldstriber, dernst blomsterne og til slut ranken der snor sig om guld X-et. Toplakken er naturligvis Seche Vite.
Se mange flere blomster manicurer i top menuen!