opi surf naked (make the rules)

after a long break, i am back with opi's surf naked, from their summer 2023 make the rules collection.

opi's tagline for this polish is "play truth or bare in this sky blue pearl nail polish", and they pretty much nailed it (yup yup, i went there).  it immediately caught my eye, and i convinced myself that i don't own any pearly light blues because it was just so cute.

i went with two coats, and only now in pictures i see that a third one would've been a smart move. there are sume visible brushstrokes, but they don't bother me. overall, a polish i see myself wearing a lot.

dior lagoon (summer mix)

dior  lagoon is a part of the beautiful dior summer collection, summer mix 2012. the other polish i own from this collection is the equally gorgeous acapulco.

all the four polishes are branded as a "sorbet-like color" with "brilliance gloss", but lagoon is pretty much a creme.

dior describes this color as "curacao blue". i see it as a true blue with a hint of teal. it takes two coats for full coverage, formula is amazing, and the brush is perfect for my taste. i'm completely in love with this polish.

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a england dancing with nureyev (ballerina)

after encore margot and fonteyn, i am showing  dancing with nureyev, from a england's ballerina collection that consists of soft, but highly effective linear holo polishes.

nureyev was margot fonteyn's partner, and i know this even though i am not a big ballet follower. these two polishes are really matching in a way, which is really symbolic, and it seems like adina from a england feels the same, sice she describes the polish as "a violet-blue shade that merges beautifully with its prismatic nature, a most sublime partnership".

i am really impressed by this collection. just like encore margot, this one has a strong holo effect so you are aware of it even indoors. the formula is astonishing, as usual. on to the pictures:

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catrice cloud nine (pastel please)

my nail polish-buying has reached the  bare minimum in the last couple of years, as i do believe that i have more or less every shade under the sun, but sometimes i like to indulge and buy a polish i know i would wear a lot. catrice's pastel please collection immediately caught my eye, and i decided to start with cloud nine.

i think it's obvious why this polish had to be mine. it is a gorgeous periwinkle-type of blue shade, saturated with this sugar-like shimmer, the signature of this collection. it is essentially a pastel shade, meaning, the colour really changes whether you wear it on a sunny or a rainy day, and i did both. 

the formula is solid, builds up nicely and it definitely convinced me to get at least one more. 

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opi yodel me on my cell (swiss)

my pick of the day is the gorgeous yodel me on my cell from opi's swiss collection back in fall 2010. another gem from that collection is ski teal we drop.

i have a feeling that yodel me on my cell is such an overlooked polish. somehow it's drowned in the sea of blue polishes, but i think that it's quite a catch.

the base colour is turquoise-leaning blue, combined with lighter shimmer and kind of iridescent small flakies that gives the polish that "glow from the inside" kind of look. i was surprised at how good it looks. formula is also decent and to me, this polish is a winner!

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picture polish chillax (urban shades)

today i am showing a polish that i wear a lot in the summer: chillax from picture polish urban shades collection.

this shade is pure awesomeness! it is a bright, vivid minty blue with a tad more green tone than in my photos. it seems to be one of those shades that look differently on different skin tones, but this is how it looks on mine.

it is a perfect, milky creme with perfect application. it simply screams spring and sun!

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china glaze liquid crystal (prismatic)

prismatic collection by china glaze back in 2012 was a very interesting collection of duochrome glitters, and liquid crystal was my pick.

liquid crystal is a really interesting polish and the "blue" one of the collection.  the main shade is a soft blue, filled with multicolored glitter. really, you can find everything here: silver, green, purple, orange, you name it. it dries almost textured but not too gritty!

the colour shift is not that strong but it's still visible. it could probably look better layered over something, but i keep forgeting to do that.

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china glaze 2nite (omg)

it has been 14 years (wow, time flies!), but china glaze's omg collection still feels fresh and current. after fyi and bff, i am showing arguably the biggest star, 2nite.

this polish is a true blue perfection. the holo effect is linear and one of the prettiest i ever saw. it looks a bit dull in the shade, but the second it gets a spark of light, it turns to magic. i included some pictures from the archive, just because i love it!

application is perfect, but i always use the aqua base for my linear holo polishes, so i don't know how it behaves with a regular base.

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picture polish lagoon (collaboration shade)

lagoon was one of my first picture polishes, it was a part of my second ever order. i knew i wanted one of quite a few blues, but it was so hard to choose one. in the end, lagoon was the one that looked the most interesting to me.

lagoon is creation of sam from great blog called fashion polish. their desription: "lagoon is a turquoise jelly holo (scattered) with a subtle smattering of ariel green glitter."

i am completely in love with this shade. the base color is amazing, the scattered holo particles give it a bling, but what i love the most is the turquoise hex glitter that looks buried in the bottom layer. even though it's jelly, the opacity is amazing. what's weird, i think i love it even more in the shade.

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a england spirit of the moors (to emily bronte)

to emily bronte is such an amazing a england collection, and after cathy, let me in and wuthering heights, it's time for the gorgeous spirit of the moors.

i am simply in love with this polish. it's a well pigmented cobalt blue, with super fine holo particles. it looks awesome both in the shade, and in the light.

i always imagined british moors as gloomy (especially in emily bronte's wuthering heights), and i assure you that this polish is everything but. formula is, as a england has accustomed us to, impeccable.

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ysl night escape (savage escape)

it's about time i posted about night escape from ysl's savage escape collection for summer 2016.

i am a big fan of the texture finish, and i am completely in love with this polish. night escape is a deep blue polish that very quickly dries to a textured finish. i was lazy this time to wait for it, so i have a topcoat, but i am going to update the photos once i do.

it is rich with this amazing sparkly glitter, it reminds me of a starry night. it is somehow both elegant and edgy. i am very happy i haven't missed out on it.

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ysl bleu cobalt (core)

bleu cobalt is one of my favourite ysl polishes, that was part of their core collection back in 2009.

i adore the shades of the "rich, inky blue" types, especially when they are paired with amazing shimmer as this one. it never looks just black-dark, and has a real depth about it, although it's a bit too dark to be called cobalt. 

formula and brush are perfect, as usual, and that's what i find to be the thing that amazes me the most about ysl.

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dior bleuette (glowing gardens)

this year's spring collection from dior, glowing gardens, had a couple of interesting polishes. one of them is bleuette. garden can be found here.

bleuette is a stunner. a gorgeous blue creme, bordering on being pastel.it is a baby blue with a hint of green in it, just enough to make it (completely) different from 2015's porcelaine. i don't know if i like it more in the sun or in the shade.

it has a magnificent formula, totally untypical for these sort of shades. i am really impressed by dior polishes since they got reformulated.

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china glaze blue bells ring (holiday joy)

blue bells ring is one of my favourite polishes from the amazing china glaze collection holiday joy. winter holly, angel wings, cranberry splash and glistening snow were already featured here. 

i've been drooling over bbr swatches ever since first pictures of holiday joy emerged, but when i finally got the bottle, i was utterly underwhelmed. it looked too silvery with only a hint of blue, nothing like the swatches. but, when i put it on my nails, i was amazed!

china glaze really knows how to make blue polishes with a twist. this one falls in the amazing category, together with blue iguana and frostbite. it is electric blue packed with silver foil shimmer, giving it a metallic look. it looks so amazing, the pictures don't do it credit! it is definitely a one coater, i added the second but it really wasn't necessary. the formula is on the thicker side, but it is easy to work with .

the only problem is removal. it doesn't stain the nail itself, but when you remove the polish, firstly the entire blue part goes away, leaving the silver foil. blue part stains the skin around the nails, but it disappears after you wash your hands a couple of times.

it looks the best on a cloudy day:

catrice aqua man-icure (iconails 117)

it's been a while since a catrice polish made an appearance in my stash. this is going to change in 2023, as i finally re-discover their iconails range, and my first pick was aqua man-icure.

as i started writing this post, i realized that i actually already have an iconails tag. apparently, i wrote about one of the early additions to the range, mermaid my day, and after frantically searching for it, i remembered that i actually finished the bottle in a year. 

catrice was the brand that got me into nailpolishes quite some time ago, but after they changed the brush into a complete mess, i started to completely ignore it. after i discovered that i brought just one polish to a trip, i decided to take a look at catrice once again, and this one immediately caught my eye. aqua man-icure is a gorgeous light blue. the brush is amazing again, and even though the shade suggests that the formula may be difficult, it was actually quite the opposite. it's no wonder i got two more polishes during the year, and i am sure i will pick up more.

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china glaze skyscraper (metro)

i feel like i've been neglecting my china glaze glitters, so i decided to wear skysraper from the metro collection for autumn 2011.

skysraper consists of a denim blue jelly base packed with dense silver glitter. since the base is jelly, for shorter nails two coats would be enough for perfect opacity, but you have to add a third one because of the vnl.

i chose to wear it in one coat over china glaze blue iguana, since it is much easier, but there are picture of it on its own at the end of the post.

overall, i love this polish, as many other cg glitters! it's not in the permanent range, but it's not that difficult to find.

picture polish freya's cats (collaboration shade with nihrida)

i love picture polish collaboration shade, and today is the time for freya's cats made together with nihrida back in 2013.

i can't have enough of blue holos, so i couldn't resist freya's cats. they describe it as an electric blue nail polish that also features dazzling holo flakes.

the blue in this one is almost electric, and even though it's jelly, it has good coverage with two coats. the holo particles are of the scattered type, dense and give a really good effect.

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picture polish tiffany (light shades)

 tiffany is a very old picture polish shade from back in 2009 and it belongs to their light shades collection, together with sky.

it feels like the entire world went crazy over this type of shades, myself included. back in the days, pp people were very wordy with their descriptions, and i am giving you the all of it: "Diamonds with breakfast? Yes, please! In fact, we’ll take diamonds with any meal! Inspired by the iconic movie we all know and love, Tiffany nail polish is an eggshell blue nail polish. As a soft and bright tone of lighter blue, Tiffany nail polish is an elegant colour with a dash of fun. Wear Tiffany nail polish to release your inner movie star, and you’ll be ready for the red carpet!"

it is a beautiful, pastel creme, of this undescribable, tuquoise, sea weed shade. the formula is quite solid for such an old polish. it is one of those striking, very eye-catching but not insanely out there shades.

opi fantasy (designer series 22)

the polish of the day is fantasy from opi's designer series collection of fall 2008.

opi's designer series has a lot of real gems, and fantasy is among them. it is a deep, royal blue with fine silvery particles that give the scattered holo effect. formula is easy to work with, definitely a recommendation from me.

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china glaze hanging in the balance (cirque du soleil worlds away)

cirque du soleil worlds away was the last china glaze collection that i really loved and bought more than one polish. today i'm showing hanging in the balance, after running in circles and water you waiting for.

hanging in the balance is a really beautiful, vibrant medium blue creme. one of these shades that i really can't get enough of and wear them quite often. while everything about it is nice, it is a bit of a stainer so be sure you wear  a base coat.

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