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.