a england polovetsian dances (russian soul)

i am showing you another a england beauty from their russian soul collection, and this time is polovetsian dances. so far, we saw waltz of the flowers and natasha's dance.

i love this polish. love it! it is a blackened purple with a hint of blurple. unfortunately, a bit more blurple in my photos than in real life. the holo effect is just perfect, just as in the rest of the collection.

formula is, as usual, flawless. i highly recommend this polish.

natural light:

opi have you seen my limo (holiday in hollywood)

before i started this post, i was completely unaware that opi's have you seen my limo is such an old polish! the collection it was in, holiday in hollywood, was released for holidays 2007.

i have no idea how opi managed to mess up the promo picture like this, because it's not even similar to what it looks in real life. it is supposed to be slightly duochrome as well, but i definitely can't see it. nevertheless, i adore this polish, and i think it's easy to see why.

limo is a purple-eggplant type of shade with awesome subtle green and subtle shimmer that my camera just can't seem to catch. this is such a pity because it is what gives this polish that extra special touch. it is so rich and pretty!

natural light:

dior samba 794 (birds of paradise)

for the summer 2013, dior came up with two sets of polishes in the birds of paradise collection. while i had no interest in getting bahia, the other set called samba consists of colors that i know i'll love even without seeing them in real life. today, it's time for samba 794.

samba 794 is described as "metallic peacock green", but it is more of a teal going on blue. it really is gorgeous and pictures don't do it justice. the shimmer is amazing and gives it a bit of a glow, and the duochrome effect can make it look even goldish.

the bottle is smaller than for the regular dior polish (7 ml). the brush is a bit different too, it has the same width, but it is flat, so this is a plus for those of you who don't like the regularly cut dior brush (i actually love the standard one). it is a bit sheer with one coat, but the second one gives complete coverage. there are some visible brush strokes, but they are subtle. i love this polish and i think it's great for the summer!

direct sun:

china glaze heart of africa (pop top)

pop top was china glaze collection back in 2014, that had all the toppers and two base colours. the bases were the iconic white on white and today's star, heart of africa.

heart of africa is one of those burgundy shimmers that everyone has to have. it is a classic for a reason. china glaze people described it poetically: "deep thinkers glam it up in black cherry red that's ready to shimmy in the shimmers."

it is in my collection for so many years, and the formula is still great. a real, a little overlooked, gem of a polish.

chanel mediterranee (mediterranee)

chanel gave us four polishes in their 2015 summer collection, mediterranee. i was circling around lavanda and terrana, but took only mediterranee. i might be regretting taking only one.

these tealish-blue shades are my soft spot. they are hard to photograph, and look different in different lighting, so all of these pictures are both accurate and inaccurate. it is a really pretty muted blue. looks not to flashy, but still amazing on the nails. i really am a fan!

natural light:

picture polish fantasy (collaboration shade)

fantasy is yet another in my huge collaboration shade collection from picture polish. fantasy was created in 2018, with the now defunct simpy polish blog.

fantasy is decribed as a dark berry plum, with a scattering holo effect. as other polishes of this type, it is a nicely saturated jelly, with good coverage with two coats. it is gorgeous and a bit vampy, but with a twist.

nopi kendall on the catwalk (kardashian kolors collection)

kendall on the catwalk is one of my oldest polishes. it was a part of the kardashian kolors collection for nicole by opi back in 2011.

kendall on the catwalk is a really fun polish. blue, purple and green glitter are suspended in a blue jelly base. i love the glitter combination, it really pops out. good news, two coats are enough. it dries a bit dull so it requires a top coat, but one layer is enough. 

natural light, top coat:

layla emerald divine (holographic effect)

i got my first and so far the only layla polish during my  last trip to italy in 2015. of course, i opted for one from the crazy holographic effect collection, emerald divine.

it is a really crazy holo, just the way i like it. the shade is medium green, with the really stunning linear holo effect.

i was abroad when i tried it the first time, so i was struggling a bit with the regular base coat, so the second time, i wore it on bare nails with no problems at all. 

direct sunlight:

opi yoga-ta get this blue (idia)

yoga-ta get this blue appeared in opi's 2008 india collection, but proved to be so popular, it was included in the permanent range.

yoga-ta get this blue is one of my favourite blue shades. it is a navy blue with the amount of shimmer that doesn't make it overwhelming. (don't get me wrong, i loveeee to be overwhelmed by shimmer, just, sometimes it's not bad to have a more subdued polish). when the light hits it, it has this amazong glow, and it is never too dark to look black.

the formula is still great, and i really have to wear this polish more!

natural light:

china glaze bff (omg)

even 13 years later, i am still a sucker for the china glaze's original omg collection. after fyi, i am showing bff.

like all the other polishes in the collection, bff is also a linear holo. the shade is a soft magenta, very pretty but far from basic.

this, as well as the other polishes from the collection, are on the thin side, and work better with an aqua base. i sometimes forget about that and use a regular base coat, so it is not unworkable. i seriously still wish i had all of them!

natural light:

ysl ambre gingembre (spicy)

i think that my favourite ysl collection was limited edition  spicy for spring 2014, and my choice  for today is 42 ambre gingembre. i already showed feuille d'or and eau de rose.

i have to admit, this collection is not for everyone. while i don't see why is it aimed for spring because, for me, it's so autumny, i simply adore the colours.

ambre gingembre is just the type of orange i was waiting for. i really wanted a kind of warm, dark orange shade, close to those brick-type colours, but still a bit darker. of course, it is a perfect-formula creme, as it can be expected from ysl. i am so glad i finally own it!

natural light:

a england fated prince (burne-jones dream)

after briarwood, sleeping palace, rose bower and briar rose,  i'm adding fated prince to the collection of a england burne-jones dream collection swatches.

i do love a england's holos, they really are a thing of beauty. for me, charcoal grey is a great option for a holographic polish, it really gives a twist to dark shades.

a england's idea was for it to resemble "the tempered steel of a hero's blade". the holographic effect is not muted even in shade, but at sunlight it really becomes alive. formula is great, as usual for their polishes.

natural light:

picture polish dragonfly (collaboration shade)

today i am showing dragonfly, that was made in the picture polish collaboration with lucy's stash.

it didn't take more than one look at my nails to start calling this polish one of my favourites. it is a beautiful tealish green, with amazing tiny but dense holo particles. it is truly magical, no matter if you are indoors or outdoors.

formula is great, and it dries smoothly. seriously, get one!

natural light:

chanel rouge moire (rouge allure moiré)

rouge moire is a part of chanel's mini autumn 2013 collection, rouge allure moiré. i only got this one, because rose moire is not my cup of tea.

to be completely honest, this polish is pretty, but i would survive without it. i don't regret buying it, it's just that these shades don't really make my heart beat faster.

the shade is best described as pearly red. it is a cool, berry red with a pinkish shimmer that goes over it like a thin coat, and really pops out in the sun. it has a slight metallic feel to it. the formula and opacity are ok, there is a little bit of visible brushstrokes, but nothing too crazy. bear in mind, i forgot to put the top coat, so they could've been evened out by it.

natural light:

opi galleria vittorio violet (muse of milan)

galleria vittorio violet was one of my two picks from opi's last year's muse of milan collection (with leonardo's model color).

it is far from a secret that i have a soft spot for iridescent shimmer, so galleria vittorio violet didn't have to do anything special to find its way into my collection. but, don't get me wrong, it is special! opi people describe it as a "glamorous, rich violet nail polish that  translates effortlessly from daytime look to nighttime glamor".

it is a very pretty lilac shade, that works so well with the iridescent sheen. formula is great as well, good coverage and application.

china glaze winter holly (holiday joy)

i am perfectly aware that being in the middle of a heatwave is not the best time to post winter holiday polishes, but here we are! so, today i am china glaze's  winter holly from their holiday joy back from 2012.

i can see why this one is perfect for winter holidays, it really has a sort of festive look about it. the tiny forest green glitter is really densely suspended in a clear base, with some gold holographic glitter that really makes it sparkle.

even though the first coat is a bit thin, it builds up nicely. i added a bit thicker second coat and thought i had a perfect coverage, but you can see some visible nail line in the pics, although it's minimal in real life. so, for longer nails, i reccomend either three coats or maybe a green polish as a base.

on its own, it has a matte, textury finish (liquid sand-type), so i didn't use a top coat with it.

natural light:

a england waltz of the flowers (russian soul)

after natasha's dance, i am showing another little gem from a england's russian soul collection, waltz of the flowers.

even though i own many a england polishes at this point, painting my nails in their polishes feels like a treat every time, and waltz is not an exeption. it is advertised as " a light blue purple multichrome with hints of lilac and a dazzling hologram effect " and there is little to argue about there.

waltz is super pretty, with a strong holo and in a strange way, silver-looking purple shade that has sort of a metallic feel to it. formula is, as usual, flawless.

natural light:

picture polish ultra violence (collaboration shade)

i seriously can't believe that this polish came out in 2013, but here we are. today, i am showing ultra violence from picture polish collaboration shade range.

ultra violence was created by lab muffin. it has an amazing purple base, with magenta hexagonal glitter and purple shimmer. 

it is very pretty and i like the idea, just wish it was slighlty more pigmented. you get the full coverage with two coats, but it feels like a bit more would be perfect.

natural light:

ysl bleu celadon (bleus lumiere 2014)

as a huge fan of blue polishes and ysl, i was very excited that ysl's summer collection for 2014, blues lumiere, is a blue duo. today i'm showing bleu celadon, after already featuring bleu cyclades.

i don't even know where to start in praising this polish. the color is amazing, somewhere between kind of porcelain turquoise and aqua blue, so soft and pretty. formula is a perfect creme, self leveling with no issues whatsoever, even though it looks like a polish that would be a torture to apply.

apparently, it is really close to the illusive chanel nouvelle vague.

sunlight:

opi espresso your style (kick up your heels)

well, if this isn't a blast from the past, i don't know what is. espresso your style comes from opi's kick up your heels collection for (audible gasp) 2006 holidays.

this is such a werid shade. it would never ever cross my mind to put this kind of shimmer in brown polish. the base colour is a red-toned brown, infused with gorgeous golden shimmer. it is not a shade i usually go for, brown has never been my colour, but the shimmer completely sold it to me.

even though it's absolutely ancient, the formula is pretty solid: great coverage in two coats and no issues with application.

china glaze fyi (omg)

omg, china glaze's collection from 2009, was the first collection i fell in love with, and the first time i saw a linear holo. i am starting off showing the couple of polishes i own with fyi.

if i had an opportunity, i would definitely snatch all of the omg polishes. yes, they might be outdated, yes, there are more modern collections, but this one hold a special place in my heart.

fyi is the most neutral polish in the collection. it is beige, tan-like and definitely not to flashy. i like to think it goes well with my skin colour. as all the polishes of omg, it is a linear holo, with a slightly thin formula. as the majority of these old school holos, it works better with an aqua based base coat.

natural light:

zoya vespa (pixie dust winter)

i love textured polishes, and zoya's pixie dust collection is one of the best. vespa was part of their winter range for 2013.

from all types of textured polishes, zoya's pixie dust is my favorite. i showed chyna before. vespa is the first one i tried, and they describe it as "mint kiss with a sugared sparkle". the shade is pastel, light sage green, with fine silver sugary glitter. the finish is so refined and the color looks vintage and, bottom line, i'm in love! 

it is a bit shear, so after a normal first layer, i added a thicker second. i tried a third one on one nail on my right hand, but it looked pretty much the same so i decided to finish with two. even though they recommend skipping the base coat, i have it on. after some years, the texture finish became less prominent, resulting in slower drying, so now i wear it only when i have enough time to wait for it to dry properly.

frankenpolish: long gone day by shine eye

 it's time for another of my concontions, and i named this one long gone day.

unsurprisingly, my frankens tend to go either in the teal or eggplanty direction. long gone day is one of the latter combos, a very deep purple, with suble holo particles that were basically looking like simple glitter on this cloudy day. i believe that these photos will get updated at some point.

this polish was named after one of my favourite songs, the yt link will be at the bottom of the page.

picture polish fake tan (neon shades)

fake tan is one of the oldest picture polish shades i own. it came out in 2009 and falls in the neon shades collection.

can you believe i took these photos at the end of last summer, and it somehow remained unpublished. i am hyping myself for the summer, so this looked like a great timing. fake tan has a very funny description:  "watch out because fake tan nail polish is coming in hot with its blazing neon orange nail polish colour! but unlike unfortunate self-tanner disasters (we’ve been there) there’s no question that this one’s meant to be orange. and believe it or not, fake tan nail polish appears even more vibrant in person. so when you wear this nail polish, get ready for a mani so bright it almost glows in the dark!"

and yes, it really delivers. it is a perfect shade of orange and it screams summer days by the water. formula is also quite decent.

a england briarwood (burne-jones dream)

the polish of the day is the gorgeousness that is briarwood from a england burne-jones dream collection!

i have to say, i liked this polish just from looking at the bottle, but i was so amazed when i actually had it on my nails! it is described as "burgundy base colour, filled with ultra-fine prismatic particles that reflect every facet of light". i already had sleeping palace, rose bower, and briar rose on.

the base color is amazing on it's own, and even though i love crazy holos, the subtleness of the holo shimmer is what gives this polish the wow effect. it looks like the mist raising from the nails. i could go on for a long time describing how much in love i am, but i'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

formula is standard a england perfection, nothing to complain about.

natural light: