picture polish peacock (opulence shades)

the polish of the day is peacock from picture polish opulence collection, because i simply couldn't resist a polish with such a name!

the base color is dark purple jelly, filled with emerald green mostly hexagonal glitter. because of the base colour, it looks like the glitter is actually multicoloured. i will eventually layer it over some purple creme, to see what colour pops out. to me, it looks like an emerald version of china glaze skyscraper.

when it comes to formula and the opacity, it's one of those polishes that, after the first coat, you think it could never get opaque, but with the second thicker one, everything looks good. bottom line, i like it and i don't regret getting it.

natural light:

ysl love pink (boho stone)

love pink was the partner of one of my favourite polishes of all time, peace green, as a part of ysl's boho stone collection back in 2017.

like peace grean, love pink has the same gorgeous iridescent finish. as those polishes tend to do, in a really, really direct sunlight, it looks a bit washed up and it's real beauty comes when it's in shade, so i will lead with those images for a change.

it is a medium pink, and the shimmer seems to change and shift with the light type and the position of the nail. it is a bit on the sheer side, so i would reccomend three coats, even though i went with two here.

shade:

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.

new in and empties: 2024

it's been too long, but let's just get on with the program, and the traditional first post of the year: new in and empties. it was another good year, with only two new purchases!

first, the empties:

1. china glaze outta bounds (ski)  
2. china glaze jamaican out (core)
3. china glaze awaken (romantique)  
4. illamasqua kink (the theatre of the nameless) 
5. catrice beleive in jade (iconails) 
6. china glaze cranberry splash (holiday joy) - no idea what i did with the bottle

new in:

catrice iced matcha latte

catrice deep dive

picture polish autumn (collaboraton shade)

today i am showing another picture polish collaboration shade, autumn.

autumn was created with alena behind the polishing life blog. the shade is something i wished for a long time: a medium orange with scattered holo particles.

even though it is jelly, the formula is rich and consistent. it is vibrant, but not crazy. definitely a perfect polish for me!

natural light:

ysl nuit noire (désir de jour)

today's star is nuit noire, from ysl's spring collection for 2015, désir de jour.

i tried to summon all the imagination i have to see how these two polishes could be considered spring-y, but all i see is winter holidays. (remember spicy, a spring collection, soooo perfect for autumn? :)). nevertheless, there was no way i would miss this duo.

nuit noire  consists of a black, rather sheer base with silvery round glitter. it takes two thicker coats to make it fully opaque. it dries rather dull (but not in a texture way) so it needs a top coat. overall, it is a nice, cute polish, but not superawesome. (adding nuit blanche makes it that way, but that's a story for another day).

natural light:

chanel intemporel (l'intemporel de chanel )

intemporel is the only polish in chanel's spring collection, l'intemporel de chanel.

i could've easily skipped this one. it's not like my collection is lacking metallic silvers, but i couldn't resist it.

i really  like metallic silvers. for me, they are perfect party polishes (especially since i wear black most of the time, and need some extra sparkle). this one is no more difficult (nor easier) to use than the most of them, but with thin enough coats and quick hands, you can avoid a lot of brushstrokes. that being said, you have to be blind not to notice them, but, for me, they somehow even add to the charms, so i gave up trying to make it look as polished (pun kind of intended) as possible.

natural light:

picture polish camo (light shades)

camo is one of rare picture polish cremes that i own, and it was initially launched as a part of light shades collection in 2009, like tiffany and sky.

the initial decription was "a khaki best worn as camouflage", to which they added "dark and earthy, camo nail polish has a creme formula that goes on smoothly for opaque coverage." 

khaki is one of my favourite shades, so there was no skipping this one. it is earthy and muted in just the perfect amount. the coverage was also great, it is really one of my go-tos.

natural light:

opi pamplona purple (espana)

these swatches are in my unpublished folder for a while, so it was about time to show them. it is the beautiful pamplona purple for opi's espana collection back in autumn 2009.

there i not really much to say about this polish. it is a beautiful, red toned purple, one of these shades is a must have in everyone's collection.

formula is rich and flawless, so i definitely recommend this one.  

natural light:

ysl opulente cannelle (spicy)

spicy was a very interesting collection from ysl back in spring 2014. opulente cannelle is one of the six polishes from this collection, and i've already shown safran sultan, piment d'ailleurs , feuille d'or and eau de rose.

opulente cannelle is very difficult shade to describe. i learned that cannelle actually means cinnamon in french, and it makes sense, it doeas have this cinnamony look.

the shade is somewhere between medium brown and those dusty rose colours. i find it strangley pretty, but i agree that it depends a lot on the skin tone. formula is impeccable.

natural light:

china glaze four leaf clover (up and away)

it's been a while since i had china glaze on the blog, so i am going with four leaf clover from an ancient up and away collection from 2010, the same one as grape pop (rip).

four leaf clover is a definite must have for green lovers. it is one of the hardest shades to capture: it either turns out like  a forest green (which it is not quite accurate) or more teal than it should. nevertheless, it is a vibrant, awesome medium green.

formula is decent even after all these years. there is one strange thing though: it changes the shade a bit after you put the top coat on. the only one i ever experienced this with. i am adding old photos without a top coat, so you can clearly see the difference.

natural light:

dior delice (sparkling shine)

sparkling shine from dior was such a beautiful collection, so after spring ball, i am showing delice.

delice was my first jump into the coral shades. while spring ball leans toward the peachy part of the coral spectrum, delice goes to the orange. it's a very vibrant color, with pink, peach and silver shimmer. it's a perfect shade for those sunny summer days.

formula was top notch,  no problems with the application and it's practically a one-coater.  

natural light:

picture polish nemesis (vampy chameleons)

 nemesis was my only pick from a truly gorgeous picture polish collection, vampy chameleons.

since i am not a huge red fan, i decided to pick only one polish from this collection, and nemesis somehow caught my eye.

the base colour is burgundy, with a slight duochrome effect as it gets goldish in the edges. add to that scattered holo and some shimmer, and you get a true gem. application is flawless. it is one of those that gets a completely new life when in shade, so i had to double the amount of photos.

natural light:

opi german-icure (germany)

i always loved opi's germany collection. after nein! nein! nein! ok fine! and  every month is oktoberfest, it's time for germanicure!

german-icure and  every month is oktoberfest have been lumped together from the start, as kind of sister polishes. while oktoberfest leans to purple, this one is more of a burnt orange-red. they described it like this: "it proves that burgundy is the new black, inspired by the vibrant street art in berlin."

it is gorgeous and vampy, and the shimmer even gives it a bit of a metallic look. the first coat is a bit sheer, but it builds up nicely after two coats.

natural light:

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.

natural light:

ysl rouge dada (core)

it's time for another classic shade, ysl rouge dada from the core collection.

this polish's colour is really strange. in the shade it's one of those bloody reds, while it looks almost like a fuchsia in the light. this is also visible in the pictures: the pinky is always furthest from the light in this position, and it looks darker even though all the nails look the same in real life  (had this polish on many times already, and always had the same effect on pictures).

formula is really good, but it is more of a crelly than a creme, so it needs three coats for opacity.

natural light:

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:

natural light:

opi ink (night brights)

opi ink is from the legendary 2007 collection, night brights, that gave us my private jet, and a later suede version.

this polish was kind of iconic when it first appeared, and it feel so strange that this was 17 years ago! damn, the time did pass quickly. it is a blurple shade, dark but fun. the shimmer is subtle but not drowned.

even though it's ridiculously old, the formula is still great!

natural light

picture polish alive (collaboration)

(a)live is a part of picture polish collaboration shades collection back in 2015.

(a)live is a very unique and interested shade, a combo of a dirty pink/muted fuchsia, with magenta hexagonal glitter and holo shimmer. it was created by french blogger, sois polish, and the inspiration was the pearl jam song.

i like that it's not a strong pink, but a nice shade suitable for every season. it has a solid coverage and application.

natural light:

dior gris montaigne (gris city)

gris montaigne is a really gorgeous grey from dior's old 2011 collection, gris city.

gris montaigne is so so gorgeous. whenever i took pictures of it, it turned out to look darker than it really is, but again, it does dry darker than what it looks like in the bottle. also, it is one of the truest grey shades i have, with almost no blue undertone, but i gave up on trying to get it right.

the colour is very saturated, and even though it's old, formula is dreamy.

natural light: