NOTD: New York Color "Spring Street"

Finally managed to do my nails for the first time in over a week! Please excuse the dark streaks - Nubar Nu Nail is not a good base coat, it creates streaks in ALL polishes I've ever worn over it. However, as I am cat sitting at the moment and it's all I've got, it will have to do! :)

This is 2 coats of "Spring Street", a nice reddish orange from bargainstastic brand NYC. I slapped on some MegaShine and got some free micro-glitter particles from last time it was used... Oh well :)

I sat outside knitting for some of the afternoon enjoying a rare day of sunshine and hot weather. I also did loads of sewing today as well so I've got a sore back, so I am off to have a nice sooting bubblebath. The cat is in a huff with me however as I wouldn't let her jump up in my lap while I was sewing, so best give her some of that crunch cat food before I go off! See ya soon!

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NOTDs During My Absence

Top to bottom: Rimmel Posh Trash; Rimmel Movie Star; Rimmel Zeitgeist and today it's Chelsea Kiwi Sparkle!

Hello all! I am back, and after several weeks, I thought I'd show you my recent NOTDs all in one post! You'd be forgiven asking why so few, but it's simply cause I've been redecorating so haven't been wearing nail polish! Excuse the unwitting Rimmel extravaganza, I just really love all my Rimmels! Especially "Zeitgeist" it's the dark goddess of duo-chrome shifting shamelessly between puple and green! :)

Excluded is L'Oreal Jet-Set 752, I forgot to take pics of it while I was wearing it and it was already scubby when I remembered! I will wear it again to show it for you all, it's a lovely orangey sparkle!

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NOTD: Nails Inc "Hanover Street"

When I wore this last time I didn't take a photo of it, strangely enough. Its a metallic deep blue, with a slight hint of green. It just borders on a teal. This is one of the polishes I bought in London in October. It has that fantastic Nails Inc formula that makes the brand so good - opaque in 2 thin coats and a fantastic depth. This is 2 thin coats over Nailtek Foundation II and Poshe top coat.

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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NOTD: Sinful "San Francisco"

This absolute stunner is a long-time lemming for me, satisfied through a swap! I've had some ups and downs the last couple of days as I am being made redundant in my job, and I really really needed something green and serene... Sinful SF is just what the doctor ordered - Dr Frankenpolish that is :P

This is Nailtek II Foundation, 3 coats of the polish and Poshe top coat. It seems to have a slight blue shimmer hiding in the depths, and was really hard to photograph.

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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NOTD: Color Club "Revvvolution"

This is an awesome nail polish! It's a proper black holographic lacquer, blowing the old OPI My Private Jet clean out of the water :) This is 2 coats over Seche Clear, no top coat, as that tends to scatter some of the holographic effect. It dries really quickly and a little matte like most holos.

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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NOTD: China Glaze "Orange Marmalade"

I was DYING to put on Color Club "Revvvolution" but I have to go and visit the grandmother-in-law tomorrow so thought something less black was in order :) I chose long and hard between my recent acquisitions and it was "Orange Marmalade" that came up trumps. Its juicy sunshiney sparkle is just what I need right now, as I am suffering from my fractured foot, my fibromyalgia and a very sore conjunctivitis at the same time as trying to bid on a new house and organise our finances. Nothing better than a really sparkly nail polish to cheer one up :)

This polish collection DOES NOT work with my Nailtek II ridge filling foundation... It goes ultra-goopy, streaky and bubbly. But with Seche Clear, the application is ultra smooth and dries fast. This is 3 coats over Seche Clear with Seche Vite on top.

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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HTF NOTD: GOSH "Wild Lilac"

I was going for Maybelline Banana Puddin' today but destroyed it by being impatient and so went to my last planned HTF mani of the week, GOSH "Wild Lilac". A dusty lilac that was a bit of a problem child to apply, I think GOSH may have changed their formula.. It was goopy and streaky in the first coat but evened out in 2 coats. With Seche Vite on top it evened out even more. Also, don't use this with Nailtek II Foundation ridge filler, it needs a smooth glossy base coat to be able to go on smoothly.

Thank goodness this is my last HTF mani, I am dying to try my new polishes I've got this week :)

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HTF NOTD: Nails Inc "Friendly Selfridges"

This nail polish was found in a dusty display in Selfridges department store in London in October 2008. I think it might be a Selfridges exclusive. This is can be considered HTF cause it's a) Nails Inc and b) a limited edition/store exclusive colour.

In the bottle it looks like a gilded metallic red, but on the nail its a glimmering deep, rich, glowy bronze. Like autumn leaves. It's very lovely, and it's a shame it's been untried for so long! It has the nice Nails Inc formula that goes on smooth and is opaque in 2 coats. This is with Nailtek II Foundation base coat and Poshe top coat.

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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NOTD: Kolor "Astro"

This is a hard-to-find polish that was discontinued about 4yrs ago. I think this bottle may be about 7-8yrs old but still applies beautifully. Its a true blue with silver sparkles. If anyone can suggest a dupe for this that would be most appreciated :D

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NOTD: Urban Decay "ID" over Rimmel 60sec "Silver Bullet"

I once tried "Silver Bullet" on it's own and I hated it. It's really stark white metallic, and it just didn't go with my skintone. So last night after discovering that my precious "Jo" was peeling off the nail that peels (grrrrr.....) I decided I was going to put on one of my all-time favourite polishes, Urban Decay "ID". And once again I will lament the passing of this nail polish line. Why??..

Anyway, I digress. I slapped on Nailtek Foundation II, 2 coats of "Silver Bullet" then followed by 3 coats of "ID". The end result was so beautiful it almost made me cry :) The bright white metallic base seems to bring out a sparkle that you won't get with "ID" alone, the gold shimmers like a thousand little pieces of gold. It's simply awesome, and I think that this combo will probably make it's way to my toes tonight :)

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NOTD: Zoya "Jo"

"Jo" is part of Zoya's Spring collection Twist. It's blue lies somewhere between cornflower and periwinkle with a muted tone. There are no dupes to this colour in my nail polish stash, none come even close to the dainty blue of "Jo". It is lusciously shimmery in the sunlight and more subtle glowing in artificial light. It is hard to photograph this colour, my camera doesn't seem to handle the colour of this polish very well. This is the best photo of many.

Unfortunately this polish suffers from 3-free syndrome in being gloopy and thick but runny at the same time. This is 3 coats and Poshe top coat. It requires patience to apply but the end result is totally worth it!

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NOTD: Valentine's Manicure

I have been planning to do a proper Valentine's Day mani's all week but I remembered I had client meetings today so I decided something more traditional was needed (if you can call "Stop traffic" traditional...). I don't do Valentine's Day, so here is the idea I got for my own Valentine's manicure; it's Valentine's Day with an edge :) However, this mani will probably make way for Moonpool at the weekend, if it ever arrives!

Base coat is NailTek Foundation II. The red is my fave red ever, Nails Inc "Aspen", and the black is Rimmel 60 sec "Blackout", on the black is a single red heart-shaped rhinestone. Slapped on a lot of Seche Vite on the rhinestones, it needs it to seal them in if they are >3mm in size.

Please excuse the dry scaly cuticles :( We've had really cold snowy weather lately and my skin has dried up like a desert. and my cuticles are cracking...

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NOTD: ♥ ♥ Rimmel 60sec "810 Stop Traffic" ♥ ♥

This colour is blazing hot and truly deserves it's name! It is bright neon pink which has a depth and shimmer you don't often see in cheap nail polish, almost slightly duochromey with lilac-blue. I has China Glaze "Adore" in mind for today, but I chose this colour because reading Scrangie's post rekindled my love for Rimmel polishes. I have so many, but this is one of my all time favourite ones. "Stop traffic" has to be at least 7 yrs old or so, and it's getting really stringy and goopy. It smells strongly of chemicals; this is so not 3-free! :) This time, I needed to thin it with Seche Restore before I used it, and after that it was as perfect as ever. It is a true pick-me-up colour! :)

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NOTD: Nails Inc "Ascot"

How gorgeous is this green?! It's couple of years old now, so becoming harder to find.. I might need to get a backup bottle for this while there is time.

It's the same super-opaque Nails Inc formula, superb to apply and has a nice deep shimmer and dries quickly to a high shine.

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OOH WHAT'S THIS... : Karpati Dito Nail Polish

I was just surfing the internet one night when I stumbled across this innovation! Apparently, its a 3 Free nail polish in a bottle you put between your fingers to keep it handy when you paint your nails. Clever! No reviews of this on MUA. I immediately saw an opening to be the first to review this brand.

Colour I got was called "Crispy Apple", apparently part of the Refract collection described as "a shimmering, glittering range of colours". The colour selection is pretty good, but sadly, no greens. I avoided the blues cause I have a load of them already, but then again I got about a million reds :P This colour is gold-shimmering bright red, very summery and looks fresh, like a nice Red Delicious apple :)

I have to say, the bottle is ok, it's the "bottle top" and the brush that's the problem. Only one word for it, awkward. My boyfriend snapped a pic of me applying it, as you can see. It's not easier than a normal bottle, quite the opposite. But the formula is great. Flows on smoothly and opaque in 2 coats, and dries lightning fast. Dries nice and glossy but I am addicted to my Poshe quick dry T/C :P

Overall a great polish in an awkward bottle. Suppose any sales quip is needed nowadays to stand out on the market, but the label should go to normal bottles and just sell it that way as it has a a fantastic formula and a great colour selection, the photo doesn't do this colour justice, it just glimmers :)

Read more here:
http://www.beautyexpert.co.uk/src/google2urbandecay/shop-karpati/

http://www.look.co.uk/news/details.cfm?articleid=af37693981ce4a63b70fff4e3d2d1993%26pageref=beauty

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NOTD: Rimmel 60 Sec "Funtime Fuschia" with Konad

My SO got me the M64 image plate from Konad for my birthday :) Yippie, he's a lovely man indeed! I was dying to try it last night but my green franken was still looking good so I resisted the temptation. However, today the green is showing tipwear so off it came, and on went Rimmel 60 Sec "Funtime Fuschia" with an adornment of Konad from plate m64 made with GOSH "Holographic". Colours are cool but the Konad isn't so successful, I think I needed to be much quicker with the scrape/stamp than I was. Also haven't cleaned up the cuticles yet, so please excuse the excess polish :)

I've been turned onto the pinks again by various recent entries on the nail blogs recently. This pink polish was my very first blog entry and you can see it here as a funky French mani I did when I had longer nails. I love this polish because it's applies beautifully, dries fast and it's also bright, pink and superglossy to boot! :)

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NOTD: Franken Bottle Green Creme + Pedi

This is my 2nd Frankenpolish attempt at dark green and it has come out AWESOME!! First attempt ended up in a greyish mess :( This is opaque in 2 coats, please excuse the messy application, the brush on the empty polish bottles is quite stubby and collects heaps of polish. The photo makes it look brighter green than it is cause my camera is stupid. But it's not a "nearly black" dark green like NARS Zulu, it's more like RBL Recycle (but without the $18 price tag!). It applies shiny but I put on a coat of Poshe anyway for maximum shine and wear. BC is Nailtek Foundation II.

Holy s***, I love this colour!! :D

This is the recipe, with rough percentages:

• 50% Rimmel I Love Lasting Finish "Sunshine" (yellow creme)
• 40% Nails Inc "Hanover Square" (a very dark navy creme)
• 5% Barry M "Lime Green 137" (lime green creme)
• 5% Viva La Diva "56" (dark green jelly-finish creme)

And to complement, I painted my toes (yay no more broken toenail!); a lovely layering of 2 coats OPI "Can you dig it"? with a coat of Zoya "Juicy". BC is Seche Clear and TC is Seche Vite. That's my feet on my hot water bottle, you need it when doing your pedi in wintertime in the UK!

Juice-a-licious, what else can I say?? :)

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NOTD: Zoya "Richelle" with Nfu-Oh #49

This was very pretty and glowy - more polished copper than gold. I would call it "Sunburst" if it was an actual polish. This is basecoat, 2 coats of Richelle then 2 coats of #49, 1 thick coat of Seche Vite. This mani was lovely, until I tried to remove it. OMG!!! Felt and acetone and 15mins of rubbing trying to get it off... Nice colour though :)

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NOTD: Nubar "Pink Flame"

I'm getting weary of winter and starting to covet bright summer days (although to be fair we don't get many of those in Scotland...) Hence I am needing something cheerful to remind myself that summer IS still coming and soon little snowdrops and daffodils will be peeking through the old leaves and the birds will sing again. I sound like Frodo on the Mountain of Doom, actually :( anyway onto my NOTD. It's the stunningly fiery "Pink Flame", a duochrome from Nubar. The formula was quite sheer and runny, so this is 3 coats, but could've done with 4. Poshe top coat over it. Dries fairly quickly, mainly because it's formula is so thin. Very hard to capture in a photo, Scrangie has an awesome photo of this colour in her October pinks blog entry.

Bottom line: I love this colour. It's cheerful, yet mysterious. Its a pinkier version of my beloved Sally Hansen Nail Prisms "Amber Ruby".

Also if you are feeling the pre-spring blues and crave some hope for summer, check out the AWESOME new China Glaze collection for summer, Summer Days, at All Lacquered Up now!

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NOTD - VirginVie "Bijou Onyx"

I bought this at one of those ghastly makeup parties, used the box (with polishes still inside!) as a stand for my PSP games and forgot all about it. Until today, when I was digging out papers for my mortgage appointment! This little box of jewels contains five mini polishes, a bright metallic purple (Amethyst), a metallic magenta (Tourmaline), a sparkly sheer white (Diamonds), a shimmering red (Ruby) and this gem, Onyx; a black with multicoloured glitter particles. It says on the box "One sweep with these exclusive shades and you guarantee yourself a VIP pass". One sweep?.. As hardened nail fanatic, I scoffed in disbelief and unscrewed the cap. I was amazed. One sweep and I did indeed have glorious multiglitter black goodness.. :) I seriously like! It requires two thick of Seche Vite, this polish literally eats the top coat :( Aside from that, I love this colour, and I wonder what the other colours are like now, Tourmaline catches my eye everytime I open the box with it's magenta shine. Anyway, enough rambling, here's also a pic of the bottle, a tiny 5ml...


I really like this polish, and I am hoping that the rest are just as good :) I vaguely remember buying this gift box about a year ago or more, and have completely forgotten about them, what a crime!! :)

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