Essie Turquoise and Caicos

Hello everyone! :)

I'm on a nail polish bender, as you will probably already have noticed! Two days ago, I received Essie's Turquoise and Caicos, which was from the 2010 collection and I purchased it on BeautyBay. This is my first Essie nail polish, I was so excited!!! And since my MAC Mischievous Mint fiasco (I really hate the color, I'm afraid), I was quite scared about turquoise-minty colors and how they'd look on me. 

So... What did I think about it?

For starters, I love the color, but I always expect extra brightness, and this doesn't mean the nail polish is dull, but if you aren't under the sunlight, you might not even notice the vibrant summery turquoise.

On the other hand, this needs a LOT of coats to look opaque, like 4 or so, or 3 thick ones. The first coat looks like a sheer watery blue that is completely see through, but I admit I even liked it sheer, so that's an option too! (See how I transform a con into a pro? Let's be optimistic, guys!)

1 coat

With a second, thicker coat. 

 3-4 coats (3 thick or 4 thin coats)

(Direct sunlight) 

 (Direct sunlight)

As much as I love it, I'll try to use it up and then CONSIDER if I liked it that much and if it's worth to repurchase. If not, I already have an eye on "Slapper" by Butter London, which I'll probably buy anyway, (just to let you know). 

Have you tried this Essie nail polish? Have you got any bright nail polish recommendations from this brand or any other? 

Love,

Maria.

KIKO City Summer collection nail polish

Hello everyone! :)
It's been some time since I posted anything new, I'm really sorry, but I'm starting to have a lot of exams, and my finals are just around the corner. I'm quite stressed at the moment!

But I didn't want to completely forget about my blog, because even when I stress, I buy beauty products, and I can show them to you!

This friday, I went into a money-spending craze, and spent around 70-80€, on some bright green shorts and a really beautiful embroidered top from Zara (both items), a black classic bag from Misako, and two nail polishes from the new KIKO summer collection.

ONTO NAIL POLISHES...

Initially, I thought one of them (polish number 395) was a dupe of Chanel's Péridot and Ciaté's Oil Slick (which I will get eventually, when I save a little more), but I was wrong :(. It's a duochrome nail polish too, and in the bottle, it really looks very similar to Péridot and Oil Slick, but apparently, instead of a gold base, this KIKO nail polish has a coppery/antique gold base.

395, looks like a clone of Péridot right?

It looks gold too.

Until...

Flash shows us its true color! 

(396 on the left, 395 on the right)

And as you can see, it's an orangey, tarnished gold, kind-of-coppery color, depending on the light. 

My ring finger has a layer of 396 (the green polish) over it, as an accent. 

I really love the combo!

I also bought a second nail polish from the collection (number 396), another duochrome, but the base is a bright green and it turns blue with light. I think this probably is a dupe of OPI's "Just Spotted the Lizard" nail polish that has just come out, but I can't assure it, because I don't think I'll purchase that one in a near future.

Under the sun, or flash, this polish looks sea-foamish, which is nice, but I really think it doesn't suit me too well. Maybe someone with a cool skin tone will be able to appreciate it more, but I personally think 396 (green) doesn't look too good on me, whereas 395 (copper) looks really nice and compliments my skin beautifully.

So, taking that into account:

If I were to choose, I'd pick 395 over 396, anytime. But, if you're into blues, and you think this light greenish (under direct light) color will be perfect for you, then go ahead! My tip, though, is mixing both together to achieve a cooler copper, or a warmer green. I think the mix of both would be perfect!

Two coats were used to achieve this opacity, and since its duochrome, you can see the streaks, which is something I don't love, to be honest.

I'd give these a B+.
Nice formula, nice colors even if the color doesn't change like in the bottle.
Price: 4,90€ (a little overpriced for my liking)
These are LIMITED edition.


Have you tried any of KIKO's nail polishes and any of their City Summer Collection products? 


Love,
Maria.

The ugly truth

Hello everyone! :)

I'm sorry if you were expecting a beauty post, but right now, I just wanted to thank you guys, who visit me, leave comments, and generally make me want to post (every now and then, I know)!

I also wanted to make amends, because I know I always say I have a tutorial on its way, and I have actually filmed more than five, but the editing stage just makes me want to cry, and also, you might laugh about this... But I'm so obsessed about my accent being too funny for you guys!

Proof!

I know, right? I'm spanish, so I have to have an accent, but after attending a british school for my whole life, and reading books in english, watching TV series in english, and doing EVERYTHING in english, even blogging... I admit I haven't talked to someone in english for A LONG TIME (1 yr or so), so I'm losing the capacity of fluid speech, and I'm so embarrassed when I see my self blabbing to my computer camera (which isn't as good as HD cameras, I know, I'm sorry about that too!)

So... mainly I wanted to tell you more or less about these little issues I have encountered with the whole tutorial thingy. Hopefully, I will be able to overcome my embarrassment, and post a couple (of the ones I have already filmed) on YouTube, and if there's positive feedback, there'll be more!

(This embarrassment was not diminished when a friend of mine found my first video, and started laughing at me... You know guys, they don't know the first thing about lipstick, and they find it really funny. Poor guy.) Even so, I deleted the video, because I thought the quality was really poor, and I wanted to post nice videos from the start, so I'll re-do that video later on.

Hopefully you'll understand, and won't judge me for not keeping my promises at the moment.

Love,

Maria.

Healthy Mix Serum & Healthy Mix Concealer

Hello everyone! :)
I finally got my hands on Bourjois' Healthy Mix Serum, and I also bought the concealer, because I had run out of my NARS foundation and my YSL Touché Eclat, which I will surely repurchase, but I needed a quick fix.

So I'm going to tell you what my initial impressions are of both of these products!

HEALTHY MIX SERUM (FOUNDATION)


The first thing I must say about this foundation is that I was terribly disappointed about the range of colors available. There were literally FOUR colors available at my Bourjois counter. I am guessing they think all spanish people have the same coloring? The darkest wouldn't have suited my mother's skin, and the palest, which is the one I got, is a bit darker than my skin. This color will definitely suit me in summer, but not now, when my skin is very very pale still. But a good buffing will do the trick, and as it doesn't look too orangey, it looks quite nice and even.

The shade I picked up was 53 Light beige. 52 would have suited me way better.

It has a fruity scent, which doesn't bother me at all, but if you have sensitive skin, this might cause irritations, and break outs, but I really like it!

It didn't look very oily on me, and it definitely has some staying power, even if I didn't set it with any powder. It doesn't have the BEST coverage, and as I did have a couple of blemishes, this didn't cover them completely. On the other hand, it is very lightweight, so it doesn't feel cakey AT ALL, and I definitely love the texture, which they promote as gel-like, but I think it it like a normal liquid foundation (in my opinion, at least.)

I definitely like this product, for a day in which your skin hasn't too many blemishes and you don't want full coverage!

Healthy Mix concealer in shade 51; Healthy Mix Serum in 53

HEALTHY MIX CONCEALER

Even if it looks way too light in the swatches, this means that a little goes a long way, and a little blob will work for both my under-eyes, and will cover ANY blueness, or redness I have, making my eyes look very awake and bright. This has definitely been a discovery, and I'm in love.

THE VEREDICT:

I love both of these products. Even if the shades weren't the best, that's my own fault, but even then, I was able to work with both of them, achieving a bronzey glow (not orange, I assure you) and a soft brightness under the eyes (not white either).

Do take into account, however, if you're looking for a full coverage foundation, the H.M. Serum is NOT going to meet your expectations! 

I still have to test the staying power of the serum (foundation), but I will keep you posted tonight on that, as I am wearing it to a party, and this HAS to stay on (at least) a good 6-7 hour period for me to REALLY like it!




Love,
Maria.

New lip combo!

Hello everyone! :)
No luck with the YSL Glossy Stains, I'm afraid. I found a couple of them, but they didn't let me take any pictures of the swatches, and I didn't like any of the five colors that were shown on the YSL stand, but I'll try another day, I promise!

However, I have the most amazing discovery to show you guys. Actually, no. It's not a discovery at all, because I have created a lip combo with products I already owned, but despised and didn't use at all. As much as I love my NARS Lip Velvet Matte pencils, I own "Damned" and I'm afraid this color is too vampy to work on me, and made me look really dull and corpse-like. (It's way too brown for me, and I was about to give it to my mother!)

On the other hand, I have one of those Josie Maran's lip stains which has the appearance of a marker, and I find it doesn't work at all, because it doesn't apply evenly on my lips. Any kind of marker will do, but I really don't like this one because of it's crappy application, and I bought this product when I was in New York. It's a hot pink/red kind of color, and as much as I love the color, I can't bring myself to use this one at all.

I have heard that the Josie Maran apply well, on the internet. But I don't know if mine had already dried out before my purchase, or whatever, but it applies quite patchy on my lips. So if you find you really love this one, then, forget my mini-review on this product!

I think mine is the third starting from the right, if I'm not very mistaken.

The thing is, this morning, I wanted to look out for old products I don't use, and see if there's any way to use them up.

And this combo jumped out of nowhere. Since the "Damned" NARS pencil is quite dull, and the Josie Maran lip stain is bright but patchy, I decided to use first "Damned" on my lips, which looks quite brown-plum on my lips, but with the pink pop in the middle of my lips, and a little bit of vaseline on top (or clear gloss), this just looks like the MOST AMAZING burgundy red lips but still very bright, which is something I need to make my skin not look dead-like.

So, today's little tip is: guys, try to make any old dull lip color with a brighter one that matches it more or less, and see how the color DRASTICALLY improves and makes you look really lively and beautiful. Add the clear gloss/Vaseline to achieve that fruity and kissable look on your lips, or go matte if you are a matte-girl at heart.

Love,
Maria.

New on my wishlist: YSL Glossy Stain

Hello everyone! :)
If you've been browsing through the blogosphere, and reading different beauty blogs, you might've read something about the new YSL Glossy Stain products, which are a kind of mix between a gloss, a lipstick and a stain, according to the brand itself. As a stain lover, I couldn't skip the chance of trying it out, or wanting it desperately at least.

This afternoon, I'm heading to the YSL counter. I actually don't know if it has been released yet in Spain (very professional of me, but I really think it has, because of all of the ads everywhere), but I always love looking at pretty expensive and beautiful things, so I will go on my trip anyways!

Just in case you have been living under a rock for the past month, I will take some pictures for you guys this afternoon, and some swatches too! For now, I will show you a little sneak peek into the product itself:

If I actually purchase any of these, I will go for any of the brighter colors, in the middle or first column, probably. The thing with the YSL Glossy Stains is that they change over time, like the kind of oxidization process that occurs with some foundations, so the color changes and can become deeper. This is something to take into account before purchasing a really dark color, I think, because it can end up looking really vampy!

I have heard a lot about #11 Rouge Gauche, a true red, but I really wanted a hot pink or fuchsia, so I will swatch them all and decide if I buy a couple of them! (They are 25€, so I will have to pick really well!)

I hope you are as excited as I am, because I wouldn't spend 25€ on any other lip product, I assure you! They better be as exceptional as they sound like. I will tell you everything about them this same afternoon, I hope you have a great day! 

Love,

Maria

Nails Inc 'Baker Street': a love story

Hello everyone :)!

I remember telling you guys that I had finally ordered Nails Inc 'Baker Street' on BeautyBay. It arrived some days ago, but I wanted to try it out first to tell you how well it has performed and how much I like it (or not, I want to keep the mystery). 

This is my beautiful friend, 'Baker Street'. Now, I don't remember the street, from when I visited London, but the nail polish is definitely something to remember! 

This cobalt blue is a TRUE BLUE, dark but still very bright, intense but still very wearable, and I think this color will suit absolutely anybody, even if you're the palest (like me) or have the darkest skin! 

The tip wear has been minimal in 4 days of use, but I consider that no chipping after the 3rd day means that this polish is very good quality. The top and bottom coat (I use the same product for both: KIKO's Shine Top&Bottom Coat) is a very important step which helps maintain the quality of the color and shine, as well as the time of wear, but I think the product itself always has a say in it too.

The veredict?

I am in love. If you love blues, then why don't you have this already? If you don't normally wear bright colors but are tempted anyway, why don't you have this already? I can't stress enough how much I adore this nail polish, and I'm really glad I bought it! It looks good with ANY nude or black or white clothing (which is mostly what I like to wear), and it can be pulled off quite amazingly with bright colors too.

Are you trying to decide if you should buy it or not? Is it worth it or not?

IT IS, GO BUY IT! RIGHT NOW!

[I don't work for Nails Inc or anything, it's just an amazing color and I just want everybody to know about it! It's a hidden affair I want to make public!]

Love,
Maria.