china glaze frostbite (ski)

wow, this polish is old. frostbite comes from a holiday china glaze collection, ski, back in 2007.

frostbite is such an awesome polish that can never look as good in the pictures as in real life. a stunning, cobalt blue, with that crazy "lit from within" type of shimmer. so special and cool.

it is metalic, so visible brush strokes do occur, but nothing too annoying. i am very happy i have it.

natural light:

picture polish sky (light shades)

one of my rare 2017 purchases (for now) is actually an ancient picture polish shade, sky, from their light shades collection in 2007.

it is a really special light blue pastel, really resembles the sky but in its a bit murkier mood. the formula is nice, especially for an old pastel, but it needs three coats. nevertheless, they run smoothly so i don't see it as a bother.

nopi shoot for the maroon (2012)

i am showing one of my favourites today, shoot for the maroon from nopi's 2012 collection.

when you have a lot of polishes, it happens that you kind of neglect some of them, but then you rediscover them and fall in love. i wore shoot for the maroon so many times this winter and i'm still not bored of it.

and how could i be, just look at this perfection! such a rich burgundy/purple shade with perfectly matched golden shimmer. it's a dream. it looks stunning both in shade and in the sun.

formula is also nice, it applies smoothly and nicely. such a gem of a polish.

sun:

zoya hazel (irresistible)

gorgeous polish such as zoya's hazel from their spring irresistible collection is such an interesting polish that it's almost said that they described it so simply:  "full-coverage, blue green foil metallic".

hazel has everything i like: the base colour that is definitely unique, an icy, steely blue with goldish flakes that i would never think would go well with the base, but they fit perfectly.

the finish is both foil and metalic, but there's no problem with application or brushstrokes. i am really impressed with this polish, it looks a bit space-y.

picture polish altered state (limited edition)

one of my favourite picture polish polishes are limited edition shades.  it's time for altered state!

like in the cases of aurora and illusionist, i am wearing one coat over a black polish (dance legend melange 276). this one would maybe do better over dark blues, because the colour shift goes from deep, dark blue over violet-purple, even to coppery red at extreme angles, that i simply couldn't capture. add some holographic glitter to this, and you get the magic!

this one has the weakest multichrome effect out of all the other polishes from this collection, but don't let that make you think that the effect is small! again, prepare for the picture overload!

natural light:

ysl blanc arty (street art)

while ysl is still my favourite nail polish brand, i have to sadly admit that my dream of having all of their polishes is disappearing: i missed on vandal orange, for example, from spring 2017 collection street art. but, i did snatch blanc arty.

i do love a good white nail polish, and blanc arty definitely falls in this category. although they tend to have unfriendly consistency, are prone to streaking and difficult to apply, they still look awesome on the nails. blanc arty is one of the best, if not the best, formula-wise.

natural light:

essence time for romance (color and go 72)

well, essence time for romance from their original color and go collection, might just be the oldest polish i never swatched in my collection (but i am half afraid that something older may pop out).

i have no idea how this came to happen, because this time i basically used up all the last drops of polish. it appeared in their first color and go edition, somewhere back in 2011, but it made a reappearance in their revamped color and go collection in a new bottle.

it is a wine red jelly base with some rosy hexagonal and tiny glitter. it was well pigmented, the glitter didn't sink and you didn't need to chase it in the bottle. it was a bit gooey and prone to shrinking, as you can see from my tips. nevertheless, it was a very fun polish.

direct sun:

gosh ocean (540)

while i'm on the subject of polishes that are hard to capture, say hello to gosh's ocean, that i won on cayca's giveaway ages ago. i almost finished the polish but i'm just now showing it. 

it is one of the polishes that gets mentioned as a close enough dupe for chanel azure. gosh is a danish brand so not so easy to catch, therefore i don't have no idea if it is supposed to be more accessible than the chanel one.

it is a very pretty (mostly) turquoise duochrome, that shifts through many ranges of blue and green, depending on the light. it also has a touch of iridescent effect on it. brushstrokes are there, but not overwhelming. a perfect summer polish!

natural light:

opi i vant to be a lone star (texas)

i vant to be a-lone star is a completely unusual polish from opi's texas collection for spring/summer 2011. 

this polish is completely strange, and i love it. the color is a muted, dusted light blue that has this pastely feel to it, even though it has silver shimmer.opi describes it as "starry silvery-blue". i find it to be absolutely stunning and i love it.

even though it needs three coats for complete coverage and decrease of the brush strokes, i would still say that the formula is surprisingly good.

natural light, with some overcast:

dior exquis (holiday 2011)

my polish of choice for this occasion is one of my first high end polishes, gorgeous exquis from dior's holiday 2011 collection. other polishes here were or divin, mervielle and apparat (that i wish i owned).

exquis is a very rich and complex shade. it is somewhere between olive green and brown, with a lot of gold shimmer running around. it's one of those edgy but classy polishes.

formula is great, but unfortunately, i got a weirdly cut brush. still workable, though, just making life more difficult.

natural light:

nopi listen to you mom-ager (kardashian kolors)

kardashian kolors was nicole by opi's holiday collection back in 2011. i got a couple of polishes then, but just now got to showing listen to your mom-ager.

i love this polish. it is a royal blue jelly packed with blue, almost foil-like shimmer. even though it is quite old at this point, formula is still spot on. unfortunately, it is a stainer, even though i still get surprised by that when i wear it.

i am sure there are many dupes by now, but i don't have anything like this in my stash (yet!)

overcast:

color club fashion addict (spring 2009)

wow, i have this nail polish for so long, and i have no idea how come i never properly swatched it, so here it goes: fashion addict from color club's spring 2009 collection.

fashion addict is a very cute polish. it is this soft shade of lavender/light purple, with an awesome linear holo effect. it is on the verge of being a crazy holo, bot not quite there. it looks cute in shade as well.

it is nicely saturated polish, doesn't need a water base and i recently started wearing it quite often.

natural light:

picture polish sizzle (collaboration shade)

sizzle is yet another picture polish collaboration shade, this time with cosmetic sanctuary.

if there was one thing  to be sure of, is that i would not wear a pink polish. least of all, an almost neon one. but yet, i found myself looking at the swatches of this one so often, completely shocked that i like it so much. so, i decided to cut my out of my misery and finally get it.

i believe i made the right decision! it is bright, really sizzling crelly, with tiny silver holo paricles that gives it even more depth. it is absolutely gorgeous!

natural light:

dance legend velvet mini 6

i love dance legend, especially  their holos, but the velvet mini collection was also pretty awesome. i showed number 10 a while ago, and now it's time for number 6.

the shade is an awesome, vivid turquoise blue, a tad more green in real life than in the photos. the finish is satin-type of matte, due to the interesting, tiny silver shimmer. 

even though it's matte, the formula is awesome and it dries very quickly.

natural light:

ysl peace green (boho stone)

peace green is this heaven of a polish from last year's ysl boho stone collection.

i am crazy for polishes with iridescent shimmer. they catch my eye from a mile away, doesn't matter which shade. i don't know what is it about them that i find so mesmerizing, but i do. and peace green isn't just iridescent, it is, indeed, green.

well, to be more accurate, it is a light, aqua-type green, and the shimmer appears pink around the edges under appropriate light. for me it is a must-have must-have. formula is a bit on the thin side, but easy to work with.

natural light:

opi unripened (go goth)

today i am showing my favourite from the four polishes in opi's go goth collection from 2010, unripened.

unripened is a polish that i regret not having in a big bottle. it is gorgeous, rich black base with teal shimmer. the shimmer is also duochrome, although the shift to pink is much more pronounced in the bottle and almost impossible to capture on nails.

can't really talk about formula, since i have the mini version and the brush always annoys me, but it is an exceptionally pretty polish, i am sad that my bottle is done now.

direct sun:

picture polish free (special edition)

today i am showing you a special edition picture polish, free, that is so far my favourite polish of 2017.

if you live in australia, you get this polish for free (hence the name) with your purchase. luckily, us non-australians can still buy it regularly. and this polish is truly divine! it has a duochrome effect, shifting from teal to blue, with awesome holo shimmer. 

the formula is awesome, it simply flows. i couldn't stop looking at my nails, so i am posting a bit more photos than usual, because it is truly a chameleon. i took pictures under direct sunlight, slight overcast and in shade, and it is stunning in every condition.

illamasqua nomad (human fundamentalism)

it is about time i showed illamasqua's nomad from their 2012. human fundamentalism collection.

llamasqua is known for their bold collections and advertisement. unfortunately, they became available to me as i was leaving my previous country, so i didn't really get the chance to explore them too much. nevertheless, nomad was my first choice since it really was an unique shade in my collection.

to me, this polish is completely illogical. the shade is a tad too green to be really mint. they describe it as "bright jade" and i have to agree. it is a creme, but somehow pastel and glossy at the same. i'm sure there are dupes (picture polish jade looks similar enough to me), but i'm kind of hooked on this one. also, it is waaay more vivid than in the promo picture.

natural light:

opi i have a herring problem (holland)

only when i started writing this post, i realized that i have a herring problem is my only polish from opi's last spring's holland collection. there are definitely a few more on my wishlist (dutch ya, rotterdam and gouda). 

actually, it is only appropriate that herring is my first, considering for how long i had a dilemma, herring or rotterdam. i am happy i opted for the former, but i'm pretty sure i'll get rotterdam at some point.

the promo picture says: "what’s that you say? i need to “sea” this shimmery green-blue?"

i see it as a dusty, gloomy grey toned-blue with dense silver shimmer that borders on being glass-flecked.  i find it to be perfect for winter, or those rainy days in spring. formula is good, a bit sheer after the first coat but completely opaque after second.

natural light:

a england dragon (the legend)

this is dragon, from a england the legend collection, and it may just  be the most amazing polish ever!

my love for a england polishes is well known. dragon was probably the first swatch of a england i saw, and it blew me away. i thought that there can't be a polish that would be soo much like everything i ever wanted. once i had an opportunity to get it, it was out of stock and opted for saint george.

they like to describe the polishes in a bit poetic fashion, and this is the idea of dragon: "like sunlight glinting off his iridescent mossy green scales, the fearsome dragon lays basking arrogantly, awaiting his due!"

it is such a beautiful, medium green scattered holo with duochrome gold - copper shimmer. formula is standardly amazing, i can't get enough of these polishes, they are so well made!

natural light:

zoya saint (enchanted)

today i am showing  the stunning zoya saint from their holiday collection called enchanted. zoya describes it as "whimsical color-flip metallic with a periwinkle base and magenta shift.".

saint was a love at first promo picture for me. it is such a complex and unusual polish. the base color is a rather sheer periwinkle, with iridescent magenta/pink shimmer. it changes a lot in different types of light. 

the first coat was sheer, but it had a decent coverage after the second one with no need for a third. it is so unusual and somehow soft.

natural light:

picture polish mossy (collaboration shade)

picture polish mossy is one of the newer collaboration shades, this one with russian instagram blogger  @sasshhaaaa.

mossy is definitely my type of shade: a deep (mossy :)) green crelly, with very dense gold holographic flecks. it is such a stunner, so excuse the overwhelming amount of photos, it's just that it looks awesome both in direct sunlight and in shade.

formula is flawless, so definitely thumbs up from me. 

direct sunlight:

china glaze but of corpse (apocalypse of color)

it seems like forever since i bought a china glaze polish, but from the first available picture, i knew that but of corpse has to be a part of my collection. this gem is from this year's haloween collection, apocalypse of color.

i've never seen anything quite like this polish. the base colour is light green, with gold shimmer and black, grain-like glitter. it has a textured, matte finish that fits so well that i didn't even want to try to add a top coat. it even dries surprisingly fastly.

the formula is a bit difficult, since it is slightly thicker than your usual polish, but it's not that hard to work with. i am so obsessed with it, that i will probably buy it's reddish counterpart, i love your guts. i just love those naimes!

natural light:

ysl blue majorelle (18)

bleu majorelle was the first polish to get my attention from the revamped ysl polish line, which is probably not that surprising, since it really is a perfect blue!

it got it's name after jardin majorelle, a garden in morocco, named after french painter of the same surname that created it. yves saint laurent was so enchanted by them, that his ashes are scattered there. you can find out more about the garden here.

this shade of blue is a perfect match to the garden interior, and is so vibrant it's almost electric. it's probably the most unusual and edgy color in ysl core line. i love everything about it, from perfect, creamy formula to brush.

natural light:

essie naughtly nautical (summer 2013)

another title of this post, where i'm showing essie naughty nautical from their summer 2013 collection, could be "if you have this option, run and buy this polish as fast as you can"!

i'm not really mad about essie. i don't know what really puts me off this brand, but i never look into new collections and drool over them. luckily, i saw swatches of this one, and i immediately fell in love.

essie describes it as "shimmering, brilliant blue-green nail polish". it bears resemblance to my other love, essence mojito green, only this one's slightly bluer and the silver glass-flecked shimmer is larger. it's somewhere between being blue and teal, which makes it hard to capture, and i think you ought to imagine it just slightly greener than the in the images. the shimmer is amazing, always visible but not in your face. 

the formula is amazing, the polish basically applies itself. i can see myself wearing this one quite often, so, if you have the chance, i advise you not to pass on it, since i think it goes well with various skintones.

natural light: