ysl dore orfevre (core)

 dore orfevre is a really special polish from ysl 2013 core collection. 

i am not a gold girl, and i have never been. dore orferve is such an anomaly in my world, because i find it to be simply stunning and gorgeous. it is gold metallic polish with a somewhat unreal finish, like it is made of an actual golden foil. it looks amazing in all the lights.

metalic polishes are always a bit ruthless, they emphasize every little ridge on the nail, but i don't think this is a big minus. formula is great, so no issues there.

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chanel alchimie (superstition)

2013 autumn chanel collection is called superstition, and has three polishes: elixir, mysterious (that i also bought) and today's star, alchimie.

the official descriptions can be problematic, but this time, i think it captured the essence correctly: "a golden khaki". promo photos scared me that it would be really close to peridot (don't get me wrong, i'm a huge peridot fan), but the new one is much less shimmery and golden.

i mentioned already that i'm a huuuge fan of olive color (funny enough, i hate olives), so this one is not an exception. with these shades, you either love them or hate them. although it is a metallic polish, application is easy enough. there is a brushstroke here and there, but nothing really visible in real life.

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a england beauty never fails (heavenly quotes)

today i am showing another a england polish, beauty never fails from the heavenly quotes collection.

having an a england polish on always feel like a special treat, and this one is no different. i am always a fan of a blackened base colour (here, it's dark, dark green) filled with fine bronze/gold glass flecks.

formula is as impeccable as always, one thing you can count on with a england brand.

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ysl broze pyrite (spring 2013)

 bronze pyrite was paired with jade imperiale to complete ysl's 2013 spring collection.

i do love metallic polishes, so it's no wonder i really wanted this one. the color is a combination of many different shades, with the pewter being the most dominant, followed by gold and olive green. 

since it is a true metallic polish, it can leave some brushstrokes, but nothing too messy. once again, i cannot praise the formula and brush enough, they are so amazing.

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china glaze angel wings (holiday joy)

we are nowhere near the winter or holiday season, but polish from china glaze holiday joy collection always seems to be a good choice, so i picked angel wings.

angel wings is basically a gold version of glistening snow. this polish is gold all over: gold glitter, gold holo particles, all jumbled in a clear base. it dries really quickly in a gritty, textured finish. i don't add top coat to these types of polishes, they are usually a tc eaters and in the end i end up preferring them in their intended way.

formula is good,  drying time is great and i find it to be a perfect holiday polish!

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a england princess sabra (the legends)

today, i am again going with a polish that i swatched ages ago but never got around to posting about it. the polish in question is princess sabra, from a england's fantastic the legend collection.

for this polish, i can definitely say i have nothing like it in my gigantic collection. it is a strange shade, somewhere between olive green and gold, with not to crazy holo effect. it is much more yellow in the bottle than on the nail.

it is definitely a unique shade that i guess doesn't appeal to everyone, but i really like it. it is strange and delicate at the same time, not to gold and flashy. and, of course with the signature a england amazing formula.

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opi love.angel.music.baby (gwen stefani)

today i am showing love.angel.music.baby (lamb) from opi's gwen stefani collection for 2014. i already showed 4 in the morning from the same collection.

i have to admit, lamb totally surprised me. the shade is a pale, muted gold, with a satin finish. it is shimmering gorgeously, and it is not at all kitschy or over the top. 

formula is also awesome, self leveling and, since it is supposed to be worn without a top coat, it is drying quickly.

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chanel peridot (illusions d'ombres)

i think it's about time to show the gorgeous chanel peridot, from the 2011 fall collection illusions d'ombres.

when it comes to peridot, i have a story. i admit i am a latecomer when it comes to high end polishes, but peridot was the first polish of this kind that i heard of. there was an article in one serbian newspaper, that was about this collection and mentioned that in many countries, there's a waiting list for peridot. this honestly shocked me, so i was interested to see how this polish looked like, and was surprised that i immediately fell in love with it!

and it sure is one of the shades i feel most comfortable with, although i can understand that it can be too much for some people. i also understand that the first association to it is not the stone of the same name, but the common fly. nevertheless, this combination of greenish gold duochrome (green more dominant in the shade, while gold wins in direct light), with my love for metallic finishes, makes it obvious to me why so many companies tried to make the dupe for it.

it is metallic, therefore brushstrokey, but the formula is impeccable.

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china glaze cast a spell (wicked)

i know that there were many interesting polishes in china glaze's wicked collection released in autumn 2012, but cast a spell is the one i really really wanted. actually, this polish hadto be one of my favorites of that entire year!

oh, are there even words to describe how amazing this polish is, and even the pictures don't do it enough justice. it is a dark green going to black base with green and gold shimmer, but if you look really closely in the bottle, you can see that it is also packed with multicolored tiny shimmery particles. if you ask me, it is a one coater. i went with two after all, but i couldn't see the difference. 

the formula is beyond amazing. even though it is super pigmented, it is not thick and is really easy to work with.

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a england excalibur revamped (the mythicals)

today, i am showing the swatches of the gorgeous excalibur (the new version) from the a england's the mythicals collection.

i love wearing polishes with foil finish in the winter and autumn. i can see the reason behind the name from the official description: "a steely grey hue filled with multi-dimensional shimmer, creating a unique fusion of silver and gold - a shade to match a hero's blade".

the colour is so hard to describe,  because it's both silver and gold, with grainy, irregular golden flakes. it has that old gold covered with patina feel. it's gorgeous, rich, with no brushstrokes and excellent opacity.

china glaze i'm not lion (on safari)

i jokingly call i'm not lion, from china glaze's on safari collection back in 2012, my favourite polish when i am not sure if i want gold or silver bling.

the base is clear, and it is filled with antique gold and silver glitter, giving it a somewhat champagne look. it might be that it looks different in different environments. because it is a true glitter, it dries to a texture, but it is not gritty because the glitter particles are not chunky enough. 

i prefer it on an overcast day to a full-blown sun, because it truly stands out in that environment. i love my textured polishes, so i never put top coat on them. 

opi what wizardry is this (oz the great and powerful)

i usually pass on opi's soft shades collections, but the one back in 2013, oz the great and powerful, surprisingly included a darker shade, and a textured one! behold the stunning what wizardry is this.

this polish is unbelievable. opi lazily described this gem as "rich taupe" and boy, oh boy, is there more to this polish than that.

wwit is a stunning brown/olive textured polish, with abundant gold shimmer. it's finish is not super gritty, more like fine grains. of course it dries matte, but due to the shimmer, it doesn't look dull and sparkles all over!

it dried reasonably quickly, and it looked like it's not a chipper (i usually change my polish daily, so...). it is beyond awesome!

opi honey ryder (bond girls)

i am still on board of the textured polishes bandwagon, and i really love opi's honey ryder from their bond girls collection.

honey ryder, named after the epitomic bond girl played by ursula andress, is a champagne gold shade. it has gold glitter in it, dries superfast and is a definite one coater. i would call it a festive shade, but i love to wear it when i'm in a (typical) all black outfit. 

overcast day:

barry m moon dust (magnetic effects)

i am changing up a bit, and showing moon dust, from barry m magnetic effect collection back in 2012.

my only magnetic polish experience was dior mystic magnetic. moon dust was a goodbye present from an acquaintance that was leaving the county, and it seemed only logical for me to get a couple of her polishes.

i really like moon dust. it a shade between dark gold and copper, with goldish particles. the pattern is stripy, revealing beigey-silvery stripes. the magnet is incorporated in the lid and very easy to work with. two coats were more than enough for good coverage.

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catrice oh my goldness (core 2012)

i fell in love with catrice 910 oh my goldness! from their 2012 core collection  the moment i saw the bottle.

in the bottle, it looks like a golden going on bronze shimmery polish, but when you start to apply it, you realize it is actually really fine golden glitter in the clear base  instead of shimmer. it is opaque enough, though, and you get uniform coverage from two layers. when you apply the first coat, it looks too shear, and i was afraid that it was one of the polishes that will need three layers to look good, but the second layer surprisingly gave it depth and there was no need for the third one.

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