14 Days Of Achtung Baby: So Cruel

Hello lovelies! Happy Friday! :)

So Cruel

"I'm only hanging on to watch you go down"

So Cruel, one of the most twisted and complex songs in U2's repertoire. I think this is the first truly dark song on the album. It's wrong in all the right ways, poetic and messed up and a painfully honest portrayal of a twisted love. One of my very favourite songs and I definitely recommend listening to it.

My main inspiration here came from the lines "her skin pale like god's only dove", "heaven, heaven, fingers in the mire", "oh love, like a screaming flower, love dying every hour" and "the night is bleeding like a cut". I was running out of time when I did this mani and I'd originally planned it a bit differently, but considering I only had about fifteen minutes for this I think it turned out okay.

Products I used:
Top Shop Sketch
China Glaze Westside Warrior
p2 lust
Catrice London Weather Forecast
China Glaze Liquid Leather
China Glaze City Siren
Essie Case Study
Top Shop Listen To Me
+ artist brushes, white striper polish and top coat

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

Hello lovelies! Apologies for how late I'm posting this. I hope you guys aren't tired of this series yet...

Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

"you're an accident waiting to happen"

Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, the song that means nothing and everything whenever I listen to it. I honestly don't know what this song signifies for me. It's beautiful, though, and I can only recommend giving it a listen to hear for yourself.

This one gave me the most trouble so far inspiration-wise. In the end I decided to take my inspiration from the lines "you're a piece of glass left there on the beach", "the hunter will sin for your ivory skin" and "who's gonna drown in your blue sea?". I quite like the end result: simple, but meaningful. :)

Products I used:
BB Couture for Men Hades
Essie Sand Tropez
China Glaze Sea Spray
China Glaze Golden Enchantment
Essence Time For Romance
Essence Matt Topcoat
+ artist brushes and white striper polish

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: One

Hello lovelies! How are you all doing? I hope the weather isn't getting you down! Personally, I love the cold, but all I want to do is eat and sleep these days... I'm really a squirrel haha! Anyway. On to day three of Achtung Baby nail art...

One

"we're one, but we're not the same"

One... The song that was the "pivot point of Achtung Baby" as the band recently called it in the documentary From The Sky Down. I've heard people say that it doesn't fit with the rest of the album, that it's in a completely different vein than all the other songs, but it really isn't. At a time when U2 was very close to calling it a day, disconnected and unable to find any common ground, they wrote a song about unity. Now that? That is irony at its finest.

It's not my favourite song on the album, not by a long shot, but here's the thing: we all feel alone sometimes. We're not the same, and we aren't always capable of understanding what others go through. But we are one, and we do get to carry each other.

I could go on about how I totally mucked up the entire nail art here, but really? I kinda dig it. It's imperfect and a little messed up and I think it suits the song perfectly. It's about being one, not being whole.

Products I used:
Illamasqua Load
China Glaze Liquid Leather
China Glaze City Siren
+eyeliner brush (don't ask) and topcoat

Hope your week has been good so far! :)

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: Even Better Than The Real Thing

Happy Monday, lovelies! Today is day two of my Achtung Baby project...

Even Better Than The Real Thing

"my heart is where it's always been, my head is somewhere in between"

Even Better Than The Real Thing is the second song on Achtung Baby and, if you ask me, beats Mysterious Ways in terms of sexiness any day. Or maybe not. It's cheaper, and dirtier than Mysterious Ways, which is exactly why I love it.

My main inspiration for this mani was the fact that the title is something of a pun on the 90's Coca Cola ad proclaiming it "the real thing" (as opposed to Pepsi and the like). I was thinking dirty billboards, grimy, faded neon signs, telling us to buy things we don't really need and can't afford.

Products I used:
Barry M crackle polish in black
p2 drama
Barry M Tangerine
Rimmel Ultra Violet
Rimmel Green Grass
Barry M Cobalt Blue
Eyeko Punk Polish
Dior Rock Coat
+artist brushes and regular topcoat

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: Zoo Station

Ahem. So I disappeared from blogging for a while there, for various reasons really. I haven't been very motivated lately (it's been a tough few weeks), so I figured I should come up with something to make me want to blog again. Instead of getting into the details of my life and why it kept me from blogging, let's just jump straight into my little project, alright? :)

As you've probably noticed by now, I'm a huge U2 fan. Now, two weeks from today, 20 years ago, they released their album Achtung Baby. It's arguably one of their most influential, if not best, albums. It's the album that made me fall in love with them, and the one that shaped the U2 that inspired me.

I wanted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my favourite album of all time, and I love nail polish... You see where this is going, don't you?

Over the course of the next two weeks I will (attempt) to post nail art inspired by the album, following the tracklisting - one manicure for each song, plus two bonus manis. I'm terrible at nail art and I've been meaning to improve my skills for ages, I'm hoping combining two of my obsessions might help. Even if you're not a U2 fan and have never listened to the album (though I can only recommend checking it out - early 90's music at its finest!) I would love to hear your thoughts on this! :)

Without further ado, here's the first mani!

Zoo Station

"time is a train, makes the future the past"

Zoo Station, the first song on Achtung Baby, the one that starts and makes you wonder if maybe your CD got scratched or something, the one that jerks you out of whatever headspace you're in. Zoo Station is also the name of a tube station in Berlin. What this song makes me think of is trains, train stations, how fast paced our lives are and how much of them we spend in transit.

I have one particularly vivid memory of being on the London Underground in that stretch of time where you're not sure whether it's still New Year's Eve or already New Year's Day. The billboards were dirty and way too bright for my somewhat fuzzy brain. There was glitter floating through the air. My dad struck up the most random conversation with a drunk guy sitting on the floor. Someone had puked on the tiles. Trains filled with people where whizzing past.

I'm not sure if I really managed to convey what this song evokes in me with my mani, but I did my best. The stars were inspired by the live performance of the song on the ZooTV tour.

Products I used:
MAC Spirit Of Truth
p2 hug me
p2 drama
Sally Hansen Crackle Vintage Violet
Essense Dance Topcoat
Dior Rock Coat
+ artist brushes and regular topcoat

Work Mani: Essie Sand Tropez

Hello lovelies! Happy Monday!

This will post when I'm at work, which is quite fitting...

I work for a company that is very strict about personal appearance: amongst other things, we're not allowed to wear colourful makeup or nail polish. This has been quite tough for me, because I'm usually all for bold colour statements, but needs must. I took it as an opportunity to break out all my nude and subtle polish.

Since Monday is the beginning of yet another work week for most of us, I'll be posting my work manis on Mondays. Not sure how frequently, as I don't have an unlimited supply of work appropriate polish, but we'll see. I always have a hard time finding work appropriate polish as I can never really find proper swatches online - no wonder, it's mostly boring polish. I hope this helps some of you who, like me, can't wear fun polish to work. :)

Essie Sand Tropez is a very light, grey-toned beige creme. This is two coats plus topcoat. It's a very opaque polish, but as with most colours as light as this, the formula isn't perfect. It's quite thick and runny at the same time - a tricky combination. Application is alright, not perfect but not terrible.

What do you guys think? A polish you'd wear to work? What's your favourite work appropriate polish? I need suggestions! :)

A England Galahad

Hello lovelies!

Today I have another beautiful A England polish to show you. This was the first one I ever wore - it just spoke to me. So much that I reached for it before any of the holos or shimmers or other stunning colours. And let me tell you, there was a reason.

Galahad is a gorgeous turquoise creme. I'm not sure what it is about this polish, but I think it might be my favourite A England polish yet. I adore the way this looks with my complexion (my skin always looks darker than it is in pictures, so you can't really tell here, but this looks stunning against pale skin).

This is two easy coats, but if I hadn't been taking pictures I would have gone with just one coat. While a little on the thick side, it is super easy to apply. It's honestly one of the best cremes I've ever used.

What do you guys think about this polish? Do you own any A England polishes? Which is your favourite?

American Apparel California Trooper

Hello lovelies!

I know, I've been failing with the Pink Wednesdays. :( I promise next week I'll wear pink, so I can sit with you. <3

Today I have an American Apparel polish for you. California Trooper is a beige creme; nothing fancy, but I really like it. And it does have a sort of "dirty" look to it. I'm not sure whether this is two or three coats, but I remember application being a little tricky. The polish is rather thick and streaky and the brush isn't exactly the best, but I've had worse.

That's it from me for today. What do you guys think? Do you own any American Apparel polishes?

Swatches & Review: MAC Scorcher

(Another reminder that I'm still on vacation until the 18th.)

I feel kinda bad about posting this polish, because it was a limited edition one. Then again, it's also one I love very much and you see HTFs posted all over the place, so why not? :P

Scorcher is a crazy bright coral, it's almost bordering on neon. And it totally freaked out my camera. It's much brighter than it looks here. I used three coats for full opacity, but might have gotten away with two. The formula was good, but I've not been loving the MAC brushes lately. I don't know why, but they give me some trouble.

Other than that, it's a great polish. It's probably not unique, but I don't own anything quite like it.

On a different note, I'm currently probably fangirling over seeing U2 for the second day in a row. :D Hope you're all doing great!

Swatches & Review: Catrice Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy + bonus nail fail

(Just another reminder: I'm still on vacation until the 18th.)

Today's polish is Catrice Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy, which is probably best described as a pale lime. I want to call it a neon pastel, but that's crazy. :P Also, please note how spectacularly I failed at spicing up my mani. THIS IS WHY I STICK WITH GLITTER.

This is three fairly thick coats plus topcoat. The formula was thick, but not unmanageable. However, this took forever to dry. Not so great.

Honestly, I'm not impressed with this polish. It's a cool colour, but I'm kinda meh about it. *shrugs*

Swatches & Review: Barry M Mint Green

(Just a reminder, I am still on vacation until the 18th.)

Today's polish is Barry M Mint Green, which I bought earlier this year when I was in England. I don't know why I haven't posted about it before, because I really love it!

Mint Green is, as the name suggests, a mint green creme. What sets this apart from all the other mint greens out there is that it's not a proper pastel. It doesn't have nearly as much white in it as, say, Essie Mint Candy Apple, so it doesn't look chalky at all and there's no streaking either.

I needed three coats for it to level out (there was a bit of cuticle dragging going on, but that could be prevented if you're not impatient like me and let your coats dry more). Application was easy and I love how squishy this looks.

This is definitely my favourite mint green polish out there. What's yours?

Essie Big Bag Theory

Hello lovelies!

It's gonna be another short post from me today, because I have to get up at 5am tomorrow and should at least pretend to sleep for a few hours. D:

Today's polish is Essie Big Bag Theory. I'm wearing two coats + topcoat in the pictures. Application was a breeze. Whatever you may say, Essie have the best reds and pinks, formula wise.

I love reds like this. It's got a lot of pink in it, but to me it's still more of a corally red than anything else. But whatever it is, it's a lovely colour. <3

That's it from me. I hope you're all going to have a great weekend. I might not be around, but I hope to get some more posts up before I leave for vacation next week.

On a completely different note, who else wishes they were at Glasto right now?

Anny Let's Dance

Hello lovelies!

Today's polish is one I fell head over heels with. Anny seriously know how to do their dirty, greyed out cremes. <3 Let me say straight away, the picture does not do it justice.

(Sorry about the crappy cleanup, I was hurrying to take pics before the sun was gone.)

Let's Dance PUT ON YOUR RED SHOES AND DANCE THE BLUES is a sort of burnt terracotta orange. It's muted and to me there seems to be quite a bit of grey in it. It also has a distinct coral undertone. Pretty unique colour, if you ask me. It's darker and less bright than it looks here. I've been really loving colours like this lately, I think they look great with pale complexions. I used two coats here, application was flawless.

I am in love with this polish. I didn't expect to love it quite so much, but I've already put it on for a second time and I only got it on Tuesday (something that doesn't happen...err....ever). Gorgeous colour, amazing application and, as if I needed any more reasons to love this, it makes me sing Bowie at the top of my lungs. :D

What's not to love?! (Except for my horrible singing voice, obviously.)

Pink Wednesday: more glitter layering!

Hello lovelies!

All my Pink Wednesday manis seem to be some variation of glitter over pink polish. Meh. I just suck at nail art and I don't own very many pinks, so I usually resort to spicing them up with glitters so I can pull them out again to use in another combo should I run out of new pinks. Not very exciting, but there you go.

Anyhow. I ended up really liking this mani, so I hope you'll enjoy it too despite its lack of originality. <3

Doesn't the blurriness make it look even more awesome?

I cannot stop looking at my nails. I'm absolutely fascinated and amazed by what happened. I was all OH LET'S SLAP SOME GLITTER ON THIS and then this happened. I am in love. <3

For this mani I used one coat of China Glaze Snow Globe (UH-MAY-ZING) over two coats of MAC Steamy (I admit it, I snorted at the name). I really wasn't expecting anything remotely mind-blowing, but boy did this mani turn out pretty. :) The pictures really aren't doing it justice. It looks like my nails are jewel encrusted. And on fire. And possibly tripping on LSD.

Ahem. Yes, I am currently having a love affair with my nails. :D

What are you guys wearing on your nails today?

NOTD: orange glitter sandwich!

Hello beauties!

Today's post was heavily inspired by the manis I've seen the lovely Kirsten do lately. I've been loving all the gorgeous glitter sandwiches she's been posting and decided to try and make my own. I'm quite pleased with the result and cannot wait to try other combinations! (This also reminded me just why I am lemming basically every Nfu Oh polish ever made.)

For this I used an awesome orange jelly by Anny called Sunrise. It's fairly sheer, though, and not quite the orange I wanted, so I started out with two coats of Paris Memories 217 (which is a medium/dark orange creme with shimmer) as my base colour. Then I applied two coats of Sunrise, a generous coat of China Glaze Techno (which I love love love) and topped it off with another coat of Sunrise and Sally Hansen Insta Dry.

What do you lovelies think? Did I do a good job for a first glitter sandwich? Any colour combos you can recommend or would like to see me do? :)

Pink Wednesday: Essence Roy's Red + Color Club Starry Temptress Topcoat

Hello lovelies!

I apologize for the lack of posting, but I've been feeling a bit low lately. I had a bad migraine today, so the Pink Wednesday post is late. Apologies. <3

For this I used two coats of Essence Roy's Red and two coats of Color Club's Starry Temptress topcoat on my ring fingers. Simple, but I like it. :)

[inside and under artificial light. my skin looks seriously weird in this one.]

[outside and in the last bit of fading light. This is much more colour accurate but still not quite it.]

[blurry pic to show the sparkles. Didn't turn out as planned, but I still like it lol.]

Roy's Red simply would not photograph colour accurately. Imagine it as a slightly lighter and somewhat brighter version of Catrice Raspberry Fields Forever. Which probably doesn't help you much either, because that one didn't photograph properly either. -__-

Anyway. That's it from me for today. Short and sweet for a change!

Did you wear pink today?

NOTD: She Stylezone 300 + Essence Edward

Happy Saturday, lovelies!

Today I'll be showing you a case of "this polish was a mess so I put some glitter on top" :D

I started out with She Stylezone 300 (ugh. I hate when polishes only have numbers and no names...even if this one makes me want to yell THIS. IS. SPARTA! Um, yes. ANYWAY.) which is an egg yolk yellow creme. It does have that Essie-esque squishy texture, though. Unfortunately this was a complete and utter mess on my nails. The brush was floppy but the bristles would not freaking budge, so it was really hard to create a nice line along my cuticles. After three coats I gave up; there were bald patches all over the place and the polish was already super thick. I like this colour A LOT, but it's not super unique so I don't really see myself putting up with the crappy application again.

When it became apparent that this mani was not turning out so well I figured I'd add some glitter and see if it would save my nails. I chose Essence Edward, which I've been wanting to try for a while now. Edward is teeny tiny silver holo glitter, slightly larger turquoise glitter and large square turquoise glitter in a clear base. It looks really green with the yellow, but in the bottle it's definitely more turquoise/aqua. I love this glitter. <3 It is a little tricky to place the square pieces of glitter, but not too bad.

Surprisingly I ended up liking this mani. I'm still wearing it and not sick of it yet. I love when I turn horrible manis into something pretty by accident. :)

Do you ever end up turning a fail mani into something you like by accident?

NOTD: Paris Memories 250 over OPI Stranger Tides

Happy Monday, lovelies!

I have been trying (and failing) to catch up with all your blogs. Being away for a week means a lot of beautiful nails to dig through! :D Anyway, today's post is a short one as I'm still completely wiped and feeling lazy. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. <3

(I apologize for my cuticles. And my weirdly coloured hands. I'm not sure what's going on there.)

Two coats of Stranger Tides, one coat of 250 (which was a bit of a pain to apply because of the glitter strips) and a coat of Seche Vite.

Can I just say that I'm in love with this mani? Paris Memories 250 is one of the most gorgeous glitters I own. <3

Hope you're all well and having a good day (if that's possible on a Monday)!

Pink Wednesday: Catrice Miss Piggy Reloaded

Happy Wednesday, lovelies! I hope your week has been good thus far. <3

This week's Pink Wednesday is yet another Catrice polish. I recently bought this one and that's probably the only reason I used it instead of one of the older pinks from my stash.

Miss Piggy Reloaded is a cotton candy pink pastel that I like surprisingly much on me. There's some pretty sparkle in there and small flakies! Mmmm, flakies. <3 I know they're not very visible in these pictures or even in the bottle, but on the nail they show up pretty well. Maybe if you enlarge the first picture you might be able to see them.

I did need three thick coats to get this nice and even, but the formula was still decent. I like how squishy this looks. Yum.

I really like this one. It's not a polish I'd reach for very often, but the flakies make it awesome. :D

Are you rocking your pink today?

Swatches & Review: Essie Tart Deco

Hello lovelies!

Today's post is Essie Tart Deco which is a polish from their Art Nouveau (was it called that?!) collection from a while ago.

Tart Deco is a pastel orange-y peach creme, but it's a bright pastel. Does that make sense? It's pretty in-your-face, but still definitely a pastel.

I used three coats for the pictures and it definitely needed them. This was runny, streaky on the first coat and there was quite a bit of dragging going on after that. However, I really dig the colour so I'm willing to put up with the mediocre application.

Have a lovely day! <3