2011 collections: My favourites

In this post I want to show you the polishes that came out in 2011 and that I fell in love with. That means that I had them on several times, which made them really special to me. Here they are in no specific order:

MISA BLUSH HOUR

This is not a colour I normally wear. However a few months ago I was looking for a new job and this was just perfect for such an occasion. I also had it on the interview to my current job which is the best job ever! That is the reason why this polish is so special for me. 

ZOYA MARLEY

This is my second favourite worksafe polish of this year. The whole spring collection from Zoya was amazing and this was my favourite. I love the hint of purple in it.

NICOLE BY OPI GIVE ME THE FIRST DANCE

In terms of colour this is not special at all. I have about five other silver foils such as this one. The reason why I love this one is that it covers very well in two coats and I love the brush. Whenever I want a silver foil I always reach for this one.

ORLY FANCY FUCHSIA

This is like no other pink I own. It is so bright and so pink! I had this so many times during the summer. It is also a great pedi colour. Really loving this polish from Orly!

ZOYA RICA

Rica is like the sunshine. It is shiny and looks so positive. Again a polish I wore a lot during the summer. 

CHINA GLAZE RING IN THE RED

This is my top polish for December...I had it on like for five times! And wore it on Christmas Eve. This red glitter is just perfect and I can´t get enough of it.

ILLAMASQUA GAMMA

This polish changed me. It made me love orange! I like this colour all year long. You will not find a better orange out there, it is bright, has great formula and perfect coverage in two coats.

OPI PLANKS A LOT

Noticed how little purple I have here? I love a lot of purple polishes but only two made it into this top choice of mine for the year 2011. This one from OPI is special, it is a dusty creme purple and I love wearing different CND Effects polishes over it. 

ILLAMASQUA FAUX PAS

This was my favourite from the latest Illamasqua collection. Not only is it purple but it also has great coverage in only one coat. This is my polish which I use when I am in a rush. It dries faster than regular polishes due to its rubberised finish.

COLOR CLUB COLD METAL

There were more blues close to this that I like but this one is the best for me. It does not stain and is very easy to work with.

NICOLE BY OPI MY LIFESAVER

Another one that is not so unique. Despite that I had it on a lot of times mostly during spring. It works well with my skin tone and always gets a lot of compliments from other people. 

CHANEL PERIDOT

My most expensive polish of 2011. I do not regret it. It is speacial and I still think it is beautiful. I don´t mind the slight brushstrokes. Another polish that always received a lot of attention!

So this is my personal choice of my favourite polishes from 2011 collections. As I said these might not be the most unique in terms of colour but they are the ones that I love and I had them on my nails so many times. What do you think...would you wear these, would you choose different colours? Of course I also have other favourite polishes from older collections but I will show these to you some other time.

Illamasqua Midnight Bite Duo

Guess what I had under the christmas tree? I put there a little gift for myself:

This cute little set from Illamasqua contains two full size products - a gloss and a lipstick. I bought it on ASOS for 9.5 pounds! Yes, just for this little and I am always happy to get such a deal. Sadly this product is already out of stock.

First is the lipstick in Sangers which is a true red. It is not blue, not orange, it is just perfect. It matches my skin tone perfectly and I finally found a red lipstick I feel good in. Illamasqua lipsticks are not very creamy, but I don´t mind because that makes them stay on longer and that is what is most important for me. I already had this on for a dinner and it lasted very well!

Since the lipstick is matte you can add a clear gloss to make your lips look even better. That is the reason why Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss in Brilliant is also a part of the set. The gloss has a very nice scent, not too strong and also stays for a long time. It is not very watery, rather on the thick side.

And here are the swatches. On the left is Sangers alone and on the right it is with a small amount of Brilliant. 

How do you like this set and the price I bought it for? Did you find any Illamasqua under the christmas tree? Would love to know!

OPI DS Temptation

Well what to say...this is something truly special for a purple lover like me. I love it...it is not a holo like the previous OPI DS used to be but it is still pretty. This is two coats, it has great coverage.

I also wanted to write you one more thing. As you might have noticed I don´t post that often lately. I am having some problems with my back but I also feel like all the fun from blogging disappeared and it became only something I HAVE to do. It also costs me a lot of money. I do get all the collections for free, yes. But I have to pay the shipping to Europe for some brands since they don´t ship to my country. And it is starting to be quite expensive. I don´t want to quit, I just feel I need to change a bit. I have to think through this :) just don´t give up on me. LOVE YOU!

Color Club Backstage Pass

Big chunky glitter in a clear base. You have to have patience with this polish but I like the way it looks over a plain black creme (btw Color Club Black is still my favourite black creme polish - a perfect one coater). Might use something like this on New Year´s Eve :)

NOTD

I am totally in the Christmas mood. This year I like to keep it simple and don´t use any konad and such. This is what I am wearing today. I really like it. I have two coats of Nicole By OPI OMB! and one coat of China Glaze Ring in the Red, which has become my favourite red glitter for now. I absolutely love it.

Fashionable Manicure 2012. Celebrities Choice

If you deсided to add a bit glam and shining to your style, watch how celebrities are doing it.
Dark Blue Steel from Kim Kardashian

Half-moon from Megan Fox. This manicure is very stylish and festive.

Claret from Amanda Michelle Seyfried. Long nails are not popular any more. Very short manicure is in fashion.

 Color mix from Whitney Port. Use two different colors in one manicure. Whitney Port took gold and silver tints.

Christmas red from Katy Perry.

I wore green!

Ok, right now I should be swatching like crazy. But I forgot to buy my nail polish remover so it will have to wait until the weekend. Instead I will show you my NOTD. It is special because it is green and you know what I think about green nail polish. Christmas is coming fast so I painted my nails with my favourite green of all time China Glaze Emerald Sparkle. To make it even better, I used one coat of Nfu Oh 52 on top. I love it!

I am also playing with my new camera, so excuse the picture. I am still learning :)

Essence 24h Hand Protection Balm

Winter can be a real enemy for your hands. Today I want to show you my little help. I bought this a few days ago and I became addicted to using it. For me it is a perfect everyday hand cream. It is not greasy, it just leaves a very soft film on your hands. I have it at work and whenever I feel I have dry hands I use it. I like how it smells and I will definitely buy more of these because they are super cheap (CZK 34.9 which is about two dollars for 75ml). The balm contains coconut oil and shea butter. If you have very very dry hands this might not be the right product for you but I like it a lot. The quality you get for the low price is very good.

Finger Paints Fun-Fetti v Color Club Wish Upon a Rock-Star v OPI Rainbow Connection v Nicole By OPI Rainbow In The S-Kylie

Lately we have seen so many polishes like these. I just don´t get the point why each nail polish brand  has to have its own. I don´t have all the possible varieties but I have four so I thought it might be helpful if I make a comparison...I know you love them. So I have here Finger Paints Fun-Fetti (F), Color Club Wish Upon A Rock-Star (WUAR), OPI Rainbow Connection (RC) and Nicole By OPI Rainbow In The S-Kylie (RITS).
These are not dupes but they are so close that it is hard to tell a difference. I used one coat over a dark purple creme.

Finger Paints Merry & Bright Collection Holiday 2011 - Swatches and Review

I love swatching all these holiday collections. Although I have so little time to blog I so much enjoy doing this. Today I want to show you the holiday collection from Finger Paints which is called Merry & Bright. It has six polishes and here they are:

FROSTY NIGHT

Frosty Night is silver glitter in a clear base. I does not cover very well and I didn´t like to put 5+ coats for full coverage. So I played around a bit and used it on one of my favourite Finger Paints polishes called Icy Iris. Pretty combination, don´t you think?

WINTER SKY

Turquoise in a holiday collection? Why not, I love turquoise polishes. I already had this as a full mani and loved it. However I have to warn you, this stains like crazy :( So sad about that. Two coats.

YULE BE MERRY

This is such a pretty colour, also a bit unusual for holiday. Two coats. Looks like it needs three for full coverage. 

COMET´S COLLAR

Green is a holiday must. This one is a bit different, it is a light green with gold. Two coats. 

SANTA KISSES

I love red glitter and I love the name of this. I think I might do a red glitter comparison. This is one coat over Yule Be Merry. I love this!

DRUMMER BOY

Here is another glitter of the collection. I used again one coat over Winter Sky. 

This collection is a bit different. It has something so typical for Christmas like red glitter but also a turquoise. I had no application problems on most of these. Frosty Night was a bit thick but it was ok to use one coat. However if you would want to use more coats I think it would be one big mess. The second thing I didn´t like is how much Winter Sky stained my nails and fingers :( Too bad, it is such a pretty colour. The winners for me? I love Santa Kisses and Yule Be Merry. 

How do you like these?

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company

Misa Surreal Escape Collection 2011 - Swatches and Review

I fell in love with this collection when I saw the promo pictures and was very curious about how these look on nails. Now I have them finally at home and can share my swatches and thoughts with you.

GREY MATTERS

Lighter grey with small dark grey particles. This reminds me of a rainy day. It covered well in two coats.

SPACED OUT

This is similar to the previous but is much warmer with a hint of brown. Two coats again.

BEYOND INFINITY

Blue based grey shimmer. Two coats.

PHAZERS ON STUNNING

Very pretty golden green. I have only two coats on these pictures, although it is a bit sheer.

SHIELDS UP

This was the one that I had most application problems with. It is a bit thick and sheer at the same time. So I had to use three coats for this swatch.

THE GREAT GREEN WHATSIT

This is my favourite. I love it. Although you might not like the brush strokes I don´t mind with this one. Two coats.

I think the last three polishes have a great potential to be used for layering so I wanted to show you. Here they are over a simple black creme. All of them look stunning, don´t you think? I used one coat of each.

I really like how these polishes look together. They make a very nice collection. The first three greys have great formula and coverage. The rest of the collection is a bit tricky. You might feel a bit sad that what you get on the nail is not all the gorgeousness that is in the bottle. You might try to do more coats with these or have some fun with layering them. I showed them to you over black but I can imagine The Great Green Whatsit looking amazing over a turquoise or purple for example. 

What do you think about these? Let me know...

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company