NYC Lexington Yellow

Hello my lovelies! It's Friday! And the weekend means we can wear whatever we want on our nails. Since it's still summer and in fact the last day of August, I think yellow is a great choice. I'm very excited today because on Sunday I will be starting a nail art challenge along with a few lovely nail bloggers. There's also Polish Days  coming up on Tuesday and let's not forget about Monday Blues. So a lot of fun stuff will be coming your way in September. Stay tuned! But in the meantime let's see what today's nails are about. 

NYC 294 Lexington Yellow indoors, artificial light

New York Color is a brand that's quite new to me. I only have one other polish from them in my collection. I picked this up while I was in London because I just couldn't say no. The color just jumped at me from the display. Plus it was only 2 ₤. The range is called In a New York Color Minute and they are supposed to dry in less than 60 seconds. 

NYC 294 Lexington Yellow indoors, artificial light

Lexington Yellow is the most vivid and intense yellow creme I have. Well I guess that's easy because I don't have many yellows in my collection. It has the color of egg yolk and it looks even more yellow than my pictures show it (if you can imagine that). Here's the most accurate shot I have. 

NYC 294 Lexington Yellow indoors, artificial direct light

Like with all yellows, the formula is a little tricky. It's very creamy when you apply it and the medium flat brush makes it slide onto the nail. However the result is nothing but streaky. I did 3 coats and it still showed streaks. I put on top coat and it still showed them. I guess you have to accept that when you go for yellow on your nails. I didn't get to test the drying time because of the Seche Vite I immediately applied to level it out.

NYC 294 Lexington Yellow in the sun

Bottom line, even though the formula is not that great, I still like this polish. I might not reach very often for colors like this, but it's still nice to have a few in my collection. They are great for summer and actually for any season if you need a pick-me-up. 

Liebster Award questions part 1

Hi everybody! I think many of you have heard about this award or at least you've seen it on some other blogs. Basically, it's a way for small blogs to get support from other bloggers. I was overwhelmed by the love that came my way with this award. I have 7 bookmarks at the moment with the posts where I was tagged. I really want to thank everybody for thinking of me! And a special thank you to Julie of Turtlechick's Nails N Tales! She has been with me from the beginning of this blogging adventure and I was touched to see the kind words she wrote about me on her blog. That's why I'm going to answer her questions first. You really should check her little blog out. It full of amazing nail pictures, pet pictures and stories that make you feel at home. Honestly, she deserves millions of followers! 

I'm going to bend the rules a bit for this award. First I'm supposed to list 11 things about myself. I already did that here and here, so I'm not going to bore you again with that. I also have to tag 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and no tag backs. By now everybody in my list has received this award and since I can't tag back the people who gave it to me, this leaves me with nothing. I will instead answer all the questions I have received. And since they are so many, I will split them in two posts. Here are the first 4 sets of questions.

Julie's (Turtlechick's Nails N Tales) questions:

1. What first got you into nail polish?
I was watching beauty videos on Youtube and decided to try some of my mom's polishes (they were boring colors). Next thing I knew, I was buying a blue polish (Maybelline Electric Blue) and reading ALU. After that I just became more and more obsessed.
2. Do you have any pets?
Yes, I have a dog. His name is Freddy. I actually posted some photos ages ago in this post.
3. What is your favorite brand?
China Glaze, hands down.
4. Are you into the Indie polishes?
Not really. It's really hard for me to get them here and they are on the pricier side.
5. If you had unlimited funds what 3 polishes would you buy?
This one is hard. I guess Nails Inc Baker Street would be the first. Then Deborah Lippmann Across The Universe and the blue Layla holo. These came first to mind. It's really hard to limit myself to 3.
6. What is your favorite drink?
Another hard one. Coke is the one I drink most. Coffee would be second. Yes, I like caffeine!
7. If you never had to work again what would you spend time doing?
Probably some kind of art. But I would first have to find out what I'm good at. Oh and I would do a lot of reading.
8. What is your favorite finish?
Wow, this is impossible to answer. I will go with creme. It's the most versatile. Boring, I know.
9. What is your biggest lemming?
Nails Inc Baker Street. Yet I still couldn't bring myself to spend 11 ₤ on it while I was in London.
10. Why did you start blogging?
Back when I first started buying polish, I was looking for swatches of colors that are available in my area. I realized there are not many blogs that cover some of the less popular brands and I thought my swatches would be useful to somebody. Plus I wanted to have a diary of all my manicures.


Natalie's (Walk In My Eyeshadow) questions:


1. You have created a brand of nail polishes. What is the name of your brand and what is your signature colour? Describe it.
The name is Lacquer Buzz, of course. My signature color is a navy blue. Much like China Glaze First Mate, only very very pigmented. It would have to be opaque in one thin coat. I know it's not very creative, but it's my favorite color.
2. What is your favorite sweet treat?
Chocolate. Any kind!
3. If you were a drag queen, what would your stage name be?
I don't know what to answer to this question. I guess Lady something...
4. The one country you would most like to visit?
Argentina.
5. You have been left on a desert island, what are the three most stupid items you have with you?
Most stupid? My phone (useless on an island with no connection), my keys (what would they open?) and a pen (what would I write on?). These are all items I have in my purse usually.
6. Favorite animal?
I'm a dog person.
7. If reincarnation is real, what would you like to come back as? Why?
The dog of a really rich lady. I don't think I have to explain that.
8. What colour is the sky in your imagination?
Blue.. Does this mean I have no imagination?
9. Who would you turn gay for?
I don't really like any women in particular. Maybe Christina Hendricks from Mad Men.
10. If you could replace a character in a movie with yourself, which movie would you choose and which character?
Polly from Along Came Polly. I would love to be careless like her!
11. If you could create any gemstone anytime you wanted with your bare hands, what would it be and why?
A sapphire because I love blue.


Dayze's questions (Nail Craze with Dayze):


1. Name one thing that is on your bucket list and explain why?
I would love to visit a few countries in South America. I've always been fascinated by the culture and the people. My favorite writers are from Argentina and Columbia and I've heard plenty about the beauty of those places.
2. What is your greatest accomplishment?
I'm almost done with med school. Technically, it's not an accomplishment since I didn't finish. But I'm done with 5 out of 6 years.
3. Name something different about you.
I'm a lefty and that always makes people comment. For me it's not such a big deal but I guess it is for them.
4. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I'm a germophobe and also hate chipped nails.
5. What would you do with a million dollars?
Buy a lot of polish, a house and lots of cool gadgets.
6. What is your favorite Movie? why?
It's really hard for me to choose only one because it would be unfair to the other ones. Some of my favorites are Forest Gump, Love Actually, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Life Is Beautiful, Saturno Contro and Dirty Dancing.
7. Do you have a nail routine?
Well I just posted a nail care routine a few days ago. You can find it here.
8. Have you ever met a celebrity?
No, not really.
9. What is your favorite nail polish brand?
China Glaze
10. What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
Nothing comes to mind so I will say starting a nail polish blog.
11. Do you prefer fake nails or natural nails?
Natural nails. I hate the fake ones. I prefer short and healthy natural nails.


Emma's (Globe & Nail) questions:


1. Why did you decide to start blogging, and how long ago did you start?
Well I actually explained why above (first set of questions). I started almost 1 year ago.
2. Favourite polish finish? (Creme, glitter, holo, shimmer, ect.?)
Again, answered already. I chose creme.
3. Ever had an embarrassing manicure failure?
All the time. Especially with nail art. But that's how we learn.
4. What is your nail art/nail care pet peeve?
Chipped nails!
5. Biggest polish lemming?
Nails Inc Baker Street
6. What brand of polish do you own the most of?
China Glaze because it's my favorite brand.
7. What is your favourite movie?
Answered above. See question 6 from the last set.
8. Favourite book?
Again, very hard to choose. I will go with Ernesto Sabato's Before the End.
9. Any hobbies besides nail art and blogging?
Reading, if you can call that a hobby. Video games. And recently I'm into jewelry making.
10. Three material possessions you couldn't live a day without?
I really thought about this question and realized that I can live "a day" without most of my belongings. I guess my phone, my computer and nail polish are the things I use most.
11. Do you ever leave the house with naked nails?
Yes, sometimes. But it's mostly when I have a hard exam.

That's it for the first sets of questions. Thanks again to Julie, Natalie, Dayze and Emma for tagging me! The rest of the questions will be answered in another post. 

Sephora by OPI Skinny Jeans

Hello my lovelies! How are you today? There's not much time left till the weekend comes around, so I thought I should share a fun polish with you today. It's my first Sephora by OPI and it landed on my doorstep thanks to an amazing polish angel. Our Sephora doesn't carry this range of polishes and it makes me sad because now that I tried this one, I want more. Please ignore my cuticles in some of these shots. It was from before I left for my trip and I guess the preparations were a little rough on my hands. If you want to know how to not get cuticles like mine, check out this post from yesterday. 

Sephora by OPI Skinny Jeans indoors, artificial light

Isn't she a beauty? The Sephora website describes this as a "metallic aqua" and they could not be more wrong. First, I think it's more of a teal color but it's very hard to figure the base color because of the shimmer. The shimmer is slightly greener and lighter, making this so interesting. Seriously, it's not one of those boring teal shimmers that you can find everywhere. And it's definitely not metallic. Not even close. 

Sephora by OPI Skinny Jeans indoors, artificial light

The formula of Skinny Jeans is very good. For some reason I particularly liked the brush, which is just the right size for my nails. No wide brush going on here, like in the regular OPI bottles. I used 2 coats to reach opacity. You have to be a little careful though because the brush still holds plenty of product and you risk getting thicker coats. 

Sephora by OPI Skinny Jeans in the sun

This beauty really comes alive in the sun. All pictures are with top coat to make it extra shiny. But it does dry to a shine. I just decided after the Catrice Dirty Berry fiasco that I will always put top coat on to prevent chipping. 

So what do you think about this polish? Would you wear it? I must say I love these types of shades, especially for the summertime! 

My nail care routine

I've been meaning to write this post for a very long time, but I kept postponing it for various reasons. I think the ultimate reason is, I'm no expert. Most of the stuff I do is not that complicated. It's known by a lot of people and there are tons of articles online about it. However, I've been asked many times about certain aspects of my nail care routine and I recently realized that not everybody knows this stuff. For us nail bloggers this is just basic nail care, but for others my post could be useful. Most of the info I've gathered myself, from reading online articles and blog posts, and some of it is based on my personal experience too. You have to remember that not everything works for everybody. You have to try and experiment. And if something doesn't work for you, you have to look for something better. So this is basically what I do. It doesn't mean you have to do it and it doesn't mean it's the best way. If you are looking for expert advice, there are a lot of blogs out there that focus on nail care only. This is only my two cents about the subject.

Trimming and filing

The best method to shorten your nails is, of course, by filing them. I like to use this method when I don't have to take a lot from the length of the nail. It is ideal to do it about once a week, if your nails don't break, so they remain to a constant length.The best file to use is a glass file. I use one from Ebelin (pictured above). I know there are better ones out there but this one is readily available to me, it's cheap and it does the job. There are many advantages to using a glass file. It prevents splits and peels on you nails and it doesn't wear off like other files do. You can just run it under the water and it becomes rough again. I know that there's a rule that says you should only file in one direction. Well, I must confess I don't respect that one. It takes a lot less time if you do it in both directions and honestly, it's the same to me. 

Filing is also useful for shaping your nails. My favorite shape is oval because it makes my fingers look longer and thinner. I won't say a lot about what shape you should choose but I will say this. Try choosing a shape that suits your hands and the shape of your nail bed. Try to ignore the trends and do what's best for you. A nail shape might be in style but it might also look horrible on you. Experiment and find out what looks best on you, then stick with it! 

Whenever I have to take a lot from the length of my nails, like when one of them breaks and I have to take 2-3 mm off the other ones, I use nail clippers or nail scissors, because filing would take too long. I usually am not a fan of the clippers and I will tell you why. I have experienced a lot of splitting in my nails when clipping them. This might be because my clippers aren't sharp enough, I don't know. Truth is that I prefer nail scissors. These don't split my nails and the shape you cut is also more precise with them. 

Buffing

This is another controversial subject in the nail world. Some say you should, some say you shouldn't. I say, well, do whatever you feel best. I never used to buff my nails until I had some major staining from a polish (China Glaze Sunshine Pop to be more precise). I had to buff them to get rid of the stained layer and that's when I found out how smooth my nails can be without those nasty ridges. I've been buffing them ever since. But I only do it once every 1-2 weeks and I try to concentrate on the newly grown portion. Please don't buff the same area multiple times or you'll end up with no nail left at all. And please, if you have thin nails, don't do it at all. Ridges are not the worst thing and there are tons of ridge filling base coats out there. 

I also use a buffer to get rid of peels and splits. It's important to take care of these so they don't spread further down your nail. This is why it's very handy to have one of those buffers that has multiple sides with different roughness levels. Most of them have also some steps drawn on them so you know in what order and for what to use them. I mostly just ignore those and test out each one to see how it works for me and then just use them for whatever I need them. The buffer I use right now is from Claire's, but you can find these in any drugstore. You can also find sets of multiple roughness individual buffers, like the one pictured above, if you prefer those. 

Cuticle care

This is definitely the most important aspect in nail care and it's the one I get most questions about. So I'm sure I'm gonna ramble a lot about it. First things first, I will tell you that I don't trim my cuticles. In fact, it's the one thing I strongly disagree with. I will not have any sharp objects near my cuticles ever. And I do have reasons. You are practically cutting from your own flesh here and causing a wound is not uncommon. Wounds are the main gate for infection so I will not let you do that to yourself. And people who claim they are very good at it and never cut too deep are just acting stupid. I've seen girls with wounds after they have been given a manicure by a professional. So it can happen to anyone sooner or later. Plus the sight of trimmed cuticles is not even pretty. Usually they look like a part of your finger is missing or your nail had some kind of accident. It's just unnecessary to go through this.

Now that we got this out of the way, let's see what we can do with those cuticles. The key points of cuticle care are gentleness and moisturization. I do remove them but I'm very gentle with them. I first soften them up with a cuticle removal gel. I use one from Kallos but a lot of brands have one. Be careful though. Some of these are rougher than others. Mine is pretty gentle so I can leave it on without worrying that it might burn my cuticles like some others do. I then gently push them using the special plastic tool from my manicure kit. Some people like to use orange wood sticks but I think this one is a lot more gentle because it's soft and not that sharp. I push the cuticles gently with this tool until the part that is sticking to the nail lifts off. The dead skin usually breaks off by itself when I do this. Keep in mind though that if you are doing this for the first time and you have really thick cuticles, it won't work as easily. It took me some time and a few repeats of this process before I got them this way. Now the buildup I have is very thin and it can break off very easily. I only do this once a week. If you are new to this keep trying and your cuticles will improve over time. Just please don't push them more than 1 or 2 times a week or they might get too irritated.

Kallos cuticle removal gel and cuticle removal tool

After we've removed them, we have to moisturize! And moisturize, and moisturize and moisturize! Get it? This is the most important thing and if you slack off in this department, it will always show. You can even notice it in my pictures when I didn't do my moisturization properly. You can use all sorts of cuticle oils or balms. All brands have them and there's also olive oil, which can easily be found in your kitchen. I don't really like oil running down my fingers so I've found that vaseline works best for me. It's cheap, it's solid and it works wonders on your cuticles. Even so, I don't apply it unless they are very dry. That's how lazy I am. But my friend at all times is hand cream. I have a few hand creams and lotions and I apply them several times a day. The thinner ones are for when I have to touch stuff and don't want greasy fingers, the thicker ones are for when my hands are very dry. I always focus on the cuticles when I apply hand cream and rub them properly to make sure the cream is absorbed. I never go to bed without putting hand cream on first. It's the only ritual I have before closing my eyes at night and it has helped me a lot. But you don't have to be a freak like me and use more than one. One hand cream is enough if it suits you and gives good results. 

various creams and lotions I use

So to sum it up, here's my nail care routine: 

• Filing - about once a week
• Nail buffing - every other week
• Cuticle removal - once a week
• Moisturization - several times a day

That's it! I hope this post was useful and you learned something new from it! If you have any questions or suggestions, I would be happy to discuss them in the comment section. Please don't be afraid to comment! Thank you for reading and take care!

Monday Blues: China Glaze Man Hunt

Hello loves! I woke up this morning to rainy and cold weather. I guess nature doesn't like Mondays either. I hope that at least my blue polish will cheer people up. After all, it's a special one. It's an older purchase but I've been saving it up for a special occasion and also for the end of summer because it's a fall color after all. What better occasion for wearing this than my trip to London. This has been on my nails non-stop for a week! 

China Glaze Man Hunt indoors, artificial light

So you guys know I love blue, right? Well my favorite polish of all time is China Glaze First Mate. When Man Hunt first came out, I was sure they would be pretty much the same. I ordered it anyway because I couldn't resist, and to my surprise they are different. This difference would probably not be evident for someone who is not obsessed with nail polish, but for us "connoisseurs" they definitely are two different polishes. I won't go into details because hopefully I will be making a comparison with these two, but Man Hunt is deeper and First Mate is dustier. 

China Glaze Man Hunt indoors, artificial direct light

What is very special about this navy dream of a polish is the finish. Some have called it a jelly but I think it's too opaque for that. Given the squishy finish I would call it a crelly (although many people hate that word). It's opaque in 2 easy coats and dries to such a shiny finish, that you definitely don't need top coat. I had to add some because I was going to wear this a lot, so some of my pictures are with top coat and some are without it. But I can assure you I have no idea which is which! 

China Glaze Man Hunt in the sun

Now wearing a manicure for one week is a big thing for me. However I didn't get bored of this at all. Of course my weak right index nail had to chip after 2 days of wear. I will blame that on the thinness of the nail. It wasn't even that noticeable so I left it on. On the other fingers it behaved well and only showed minor tip wear after almost a week of wear. 

China Glaze Man Hunt in the sun

I would say that this is a great polish to have in your collection. Everything about it, including formula and durability, is amazing. You probably won't need this if you have First Mate, unless you are obsessed like me. 

Please don't forget to check out what the other Monday Blues ladies have come up with today: 

Gosia from Life in Color!

Mandy from Chameleon Stampede

Marisa from Polish Obsession
Joanna from The Treasure Chest

Have a great week!

Catrice Dirty Berry

Hello my lovelies and happy Sunday! I'm still a little tired from my trip and I'm also a bit sick. The London weather hasn't been gentle with me at all. I have some swatches from before I left so I'll show you those before I start posting my London purchases. Today's polish is my first Catrice ever. We don't have this brand here so I got this thanks to Joanna from The Treasure Chest. 

Catrice Dirty Berry indoors, artificial light

Dirty Berry is one of Catrice's most famous polishes, but until recently I thought it was only a purple shimmer. A few months ago I found out that it was actually a holo, so I had to get it. The holo is a scattered one and is pretty evident in the sun. I think this polish qualifies as a "subtle holo" but I still love these types of polishes and the color is so beautiful! 

Catrice Dirty Berry in the sun

I have only heard good things about Catrice polishes, but I didn't like the formula of this one at all. It's very thin and goes on streaky. The first coat I did was a thin one and I had a lot of dragging and bald spots. I did a thicker second coat and it leveled out though. This is actually the older formula and brush. Catrice changed the brush on the newer bottles and maybe the formula is a little better, though I'm not sure. 

Catrice Dirty Berry in the sun

I had to do a lot of cleanup with this one because of the runny consistency. It dried fast to a shiny finish, so I didn't put a top coat over it to not mess with the holo effect. Unfortunately it chipped after one day, so I guess wearing polish without top coat is not for me. I will try adding some next time to see how it acts. 

I'm back! London pictures and haul

Hello my lovelies! I'm back from my trip! I've missed blogging and I've missed you all, but London has been great. It's such an amazing city and there's so much to see. I've been to many places and there was still a whole lot to visit. One week is certainly not enough but it was enough to make me very very tired. I also met the beautiful Esther from Fab Fingertips and we had a great time together. She's such a sweetheart! I want to thank her for being so kind to me and helping me with something while I was there. I also want to "publicly" invite her to Romania to pay me a visit. 

Here are a few of the photos we took while we were there. Some of them are by my sister, xSenselessAddiction, and the others are by me. Since this post has a lot of pictures, I inserted a jump so it doesn't clog my homepage. Please make sure you click on "Read more" to see all the pictures.

Tower Bridge as seen from the Tower of London

H&M Urban Spirit

Hello my lovelies! I'm still in London so this is a scheduled post. I will be showing you an H&M polish that I wore a few weeks ago, so that's why my nails are shorter in these photos. I got this as a gift from a friend who returned from Italy and I was very excited because it looked great in the bottle. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that great on the nails. 

H&M Urban Spirit indoors, artificial light

Urban Spirit is a medium purple jelly packed with tiny purple shimmer. I was very excited when I examined the bottle under a lamp. I saw some magenta shimmers and even a few light blue ones in there. Sadly, this isn't too evident on the nail, and was impossible to capture in photos. Here's a thumb macro where you can see a hint of what I'm talking about. 

I worked so hard to capture this better. But in the majority of the photos, the polish just falls flat on the nails. The sun pictures make it look like a foil, but I assure you that's not the case. You would probably need a macro lens to catch the tiny particles in this polish and my camera is not that sophisticated. 

H&M Urban Spirit in the sun

What I absolutely hated about this polish was the formula. It's actually pretty sheer and needed 3 thick coats to be opaque. Even so, there was still a hint of visible nail line. Now with 3 thick coats, I absolutely needed to add Seche Vite to make it dry. After that, it shrunk so bad that I almost wanted to remove it. I'm not sure if it was a reaction to Seche Vite. I've never had a polish shrink that bad before and I even wrapped the tips. But even with fast dry top coat, it was still dentable after a few hours. 

H&M Urban Spirit indoors, artificial direct light

I also tried to layer this on top of some cremes, and while that does help with opacity, it doesn't bring out the shimmers in it compared to these pictures. H&M polishes remain a hit or miss for me which makes me sad because the prices are pretty low and the colors are usually gorgeous. I will be returning from my holiday tomorrow so this is the last scheduled post. Stay tuned to see what polishes I brought back from London!

Light blue comparison

Hello my lovelies! After I got Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream, I was really worried that I could have a dupe in my collection. So I gathered my light blue polishes and did a little comparison for you. Some of these polishes might look similar to the untrained eye, but to us polish lovers they are very different. Let's take a look at what we are comparing! 

I wrote the names of the polishes on the pictures so you wouldn't be confused. I always hate it when I have to scroll down to read the names of polishes in a comparison photo. I used just a base coat and no top coat for these swatches. Clicking on the names of the polishes takes you to each individual post.

• Golden Rose 132 has a lot more grey in it and it also has a subtle, yet perceptible shimmer (especially in the sun picture). It is more of a steel blue and though it may look similar to the Barry M, it is not as bright. It's also very thin and sheer. This is 3 coats and there is still some visible nail line. 
• Flormar 423 is a lot lighter compared to the others. Looking on a color chart, I would say it's a pale turquoise. It has a great formula and is opaque in two coats, although some visible nail line might be present.
• Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream is very bright and it's the perfect combination between the Flormar and the OPI. It's the only one that is a true sky blue from here. 2 coats are all it needs for a vibrant and shiny result. 
• OPI No Room For The Blues is one of my favorite blues. I has an amazing formula that makes it almost opaque in one coat. That's why I find myself using it more and more for nail art and as a base. It's darker than a sky blue and according to Wikipedia it's a shade called "dodger blue". 

in the sun

As a conclusion, these are all beautiful shades and I'm happy I have no dupes. The OPI has definitely the best formula, with the Barry M as a close second. They all dry to a shiny finish and they are all pretty durable. I hope you liked this comparison and please give me suggestions of other comparisons I could do for you! 

Monday Blues: Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream

Hello loves! I'm still on vacation so today's Monday Blues post is a scheduled one. I really hope everything goes well with these because I've had issues before with scheduled posts. Since I'm in London I definitely need to show you another British polish today. This is the last of the Barry M's i got a few weeks ago and I picked it up because it was on sale for like 2₤. I sure didn't regret it! 

Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream indoors, artificial light

Blueberry Ice Cream is a beautiful sky blue creme. The name isn't very appropriate in my opinion because blueberries are a lot darker. The best thing about this polish is how vivid the color is. The pictures make it look like it's popping out of the screen and I love that! I was curious to know if I had any dupes in my collection, so I did a little comparison that will be on the blog tomorrow. The final verdict is no dupes! Yay! 

Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream indoors, artificial light

The formula is good, like in all Barry M polishes. It's on the thicker side so you have to be careful while polishing, or you could just use a few drops of thinner. The pigmentation is great! You could even get away with one coat if your nails are on the short side. I had some visible nail line with one coat, so I did 2. I also added one coat of Seche Vite to make it dry super fast! 

Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream in the sun

I think this is a great color that everyone should have in their collection. It's the perfect summer shade and with Barry M's great formula and low prices, you can never go wrong!

Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream in the sun

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow to see this polish compared with other light blues. And please check out the other Monday Blues posts by these ladies: 

Gosia from Life in Color!

Mandy from Chameleon Stampede

Marisa from Polish Obsession
Joanna from The Treasure Chest

Have a great week!

a-england Guinevere

Hello lovelies! As you are reading this I'm already in London, so this is the first of my scheduled posts. Fingers crossed everything works and they show up when they should. I will not be around for a week starting today, so all comments will be answered after I return. Hopefully I will still post on twitter and Instagram from my phone so you can follow me there if you want updates about my trip. My username is lacquerbuzz on both. 

Today's post is another British beauty. I just can't get enough of British polish and I'm sure I will return with a lot more from London so brace yourselves! This one is another gorgeous creme from a-england. 

a-england Guinevere indoors, artificial light

Guinevere is a very interesting and complex shade. It is described on the a-england website as a "beautiful elegant antique pale mauve" and I think there's no better description. It's beautiful indeed and looks antique since it's dusty and has a lot of grey in it. But I assure you it's not grey. I've seen the swatches online and some make it seem a lot more grey than it is. Some even made me think it would be similar to Essie Cocktail Bling, but in fact they are very very different. 

a-england Guinevere indoors, artificial direct light

Se essentially the shade looks like a light mauve in artificial light, while in natural light it turns to a pale lavender. It's very interesting, but impossible to photograph accurately . This is one of those polishes you have to see for yourself to understand fully. Unfortunately, I had no sun that day so my pictures are more like shade pictures. 

a-england Guinevere in natural light

The formula of this polish is very creamy and pigmented. One coat was pretty opaque but there were still bald spots so I did a second one. It was a little streaky and I added a coat of top coat to level it out. Otherwise, it still dries fast and to a high shine so maybe with a more careful application you wouldn't even need top coat. 

a-england Guinevere in natural light

I picked up this polish because I love elegant, dusty shades and I knew I would love it. It's the perfect twist to a boring neutral polish and I would definitely use this when in need of a work-appropriate manicure. 

China Glaze Hang-Ten Toes and Hello Kitty stamping

Hello my lovelies! Hope your week is going great! It suddenly got a lot colder here and I'm freezing. It's really weird that it's the middle of August and I'm wearing a fleece jacket as I type this. I'm leaving for vacation in two days and I'm going to London! So I'm pretty stressed out about packing and organizing everything. But don't worry, I've scheduled a few posts for when I'm away so you can check back every few days to see new stuff on the blog! Today's post is the last of the China Glaze Summer Neons I got. I'm not a fan of pink but everyone needs a neon pink in their collection so here's mine. 

China Glaze Hang-Ten Toes indoors, artificial light

Hang-Ten Toes is a hot pink neon with a purple-ish shimmer. I was kinda puzzled by this name and I kept looking at the bottle to see if I got it right. But then I remembered that the China Glaze names are mostly puns so I googled it to see if it made any sense. Turns out Hang Ten or Hanging Ten is actually a surfing maneuver. Am I the only one who didn't know what it meant? 

China Glaze Hang-Ten Toes in the sun

I'm not sure this polish is a proper neon, but it's very very bright. Compared to my Essie Tour De Finance, this is a lot brighter and it actually makes the Essie look muted. What can I say? I don't have a lot of bright pinks and fuchsias so these are the only comparisons I can do. The formula on this one is kind of on the thick side. It's pigmented but still pretty sheer so you will need 3 coats to make it fully opaque. It doesn't dry completely matte but still to a rubbery finish, so top coat is needed to make it shiny. 

China Glaze Hang-Ten Toes indoors, artificial direct light

This color needed something really fun and girly on top so I picked my favorite stamp from the Fab Ur Nails FUN 2 plate. Seriously, I don't even like Hello Kitty but I somehow can't get enough of this image. I stamped with China Glaze Liquid Leather and here's the result. 

What do you think? I'm not a very girly girl myself but sometimes I like something cute on my nails for a change. I'm really glad I have this polish in my collection because it's perfect for summer! I just realized that today is Wednesday so I guess this counts for Pink Wednesday as well!