CATRICE Nail Polish in Sand Francisco, Fred Said Red, No Snow Petrol and Am I Blue or Green review and swatches

Here is another round of Catrice nail polishes. This time, there are two discontinued (Sand Francisco, Am I Blue or Green?) shades and two regular shades (Fred Said Red and No Snow Petrol). I won’t talk much about the discontinued shades, but I will give a brief description.

Sand Francisco is a shimmery sandy gold. Two coats are necessary for complete opacity.

Fred Said Red is a jelly tomato red. Compared to Bloody Mary To Go, Fred Said Red is visibyl more orange. It is very pigmented and only one thin coat is necessary.

No Snow Petrol is a blueish green polish with a cerulean blue shimmer which is visible under a certain angle. One coat gives a full opacity.

Am I Blue or Green? is a creme turquoise. It reminds me of Chanel Riva. A minimum of two coats is necessary (as stated on the packaging).

I generally don’t comment the wear of the nail polish, because every nail polish on my nails (be it a high end or drugstore) lasts for about a day or two withot the base and top coat.

Ever since I’ve started using Eveline 8 in 1 as a base coat, every nail polish that I have lasts up to a week, with minimum tip wear. The nail polish even survives washing dishes.

I recommend Catrice nail polishes. They are very cheap (around $3.5) and offer a huge range of shades which is constantly updated.

When it comes to my favourites among these four shades, these are definitely Fred Said Red and No Snow Petrol. Which one is your favourite?

MAX FACTOR Max Effect Nail Polish in Ivory Swatch and Review

Max Factor Max Effect Nail polish comes in a small 6ml bottle and it retails for around $5.

It seems that this shade is quite popular, as I can think of several shades from the same family that were launched this summer.

The shade Ivory looks more golden-like. It is pale warm champagne with metallic shimmer. It reminds me of Illamasqua Swinger, Chanel Diwali or Revlon Gold Coin. Max Factor Ivory is the warmest of the bunch and not streaky at all.

The polish is not completely opaque, although it is possible to get away with only one coat. The consistency is slightly runny, but I can work with it.

I don’t comment on how long the nail polish wears since without the base and top coat on my nails every polish lasts for a day or two. Naturally, top and base coat can prolong the wear up to 5 days.

RIMMEL Lycra Pro #433 French Ivory Review and Swatch

Rimmel Lycra Pro nail polish in #433 French Ivory is a semi-transparent crème ivory colour. I suggest at least two coats, and even then the colour will not be opaque, but two coats will give the effect of groomed nails.

Rimmel nail polishes have a wide flat brush (just like a Dior nail polishes) which covers my nail with only one stroke.

There is a bit of unevenness in application – it leaves a streaks which aren’t normaly too obvious, but which can be seen if you look closely.

I don’t comment on how long the nail polish wears, because on my nails (without the top or base coat), every nail polish lasts for a day or two.

It is a nice natural-looking everyday polish.

My NAIL POLISH Collection

 

I have been away for several days, so to make it up, I have decided to show you my steadily growing nail polish collection (which should have been posted with my make-up collection a couple of months ago).

As I’ve caught myself many times wanting the polishes which are practically dupe of some other polish I have, I found some time and took photos of the polishes in my collection which I have sorted according to colour.

I can already see the benefits, as I have slowly composed the list of the shades I need to have.

I wanted to add the links to the polishes I’ve already swatches, but the computer I’m currently using is incredibly slow (and it is adsl). I can’t believe that my blog logs faster on dial-up connection.

 

So, here’s the collection (names are from left to right):

 

The first picture in the post contain some of my pinks:

Chanel Morning Rose, Inglot 343, Chanel Marilyn, Catrice Raspberry Fields Forever, YSL 19, Catrice Big Spender Wanted, YSL Rose Lunaire

 

 

White and berry

Inglot 202, Rimmel French Ivory, YSL 12; Catrice Let’s Talk About Barrie, YSL Rose Pourpre

 

Light Pink

Catrice Just Married, Sephora Pink Agate, YSL Perle Rose, Catrice Miss Piggy Reloaded, Bourjois 14, Chanel Rose Cache, Bourjois Beige Glamour

 

Oranges, Coral, Red

Catrice Salmon & Garfunkel, Catrice Pimp My Shrimp, Max Factor Diva Coral, Catrice Bloody Mary To Go, Golden Rose Classics (I don’t know the shade number)

 

Reds

Catrice Marilyn & Me, L.A. Girl Garnet, Catrice Caught on the Red Carpet, Max Factor Ruby Fruit

 

Purple

Catrice Let’s Mauve On, Catrice Plum Play With Me, Max Factor Fantasy Fire, Carla Cosmetics (I don’t know the shade name), Catrice Iron Mermaiden

 

Taupe and Black

Max Factor Cappuccino, Catrice Clay-Ton My Hero, Catrice Lost in Mud, Catrice Captain Sparrow’s Boat

 

Gold and Silver

Max Factor Ivory, Chanel Gold Shimmer, Catrice In The Bronx, Inglot 207, Look by Bipa Metallic Hologram, Golden Rose 69

 

Green

Catrice Sold Out Forever, Look by Bipa Green Changer, Catrice After Eight

 

Blue

Illamasqua Rain Drops, Deborah 56, Sephora Bleu Sapphire, Catrice (from one L.E, l don’t know the shade name).

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The following shades are on my wishlist:

dark blue (something like Chanel Blue Satin)

crème turquoise (like Chanel Riva or one of Max Factor minis)

non opaque jelly pastel yellow

black

medium dark grey

purple – like Chanel Paradoxal (or Rimmel dupe)

medium dark forrest green

bright orange (like that from Dior 2011 summer collection – I think it was named Aloha)

orange red (like Catrice Fred Said Red)

dark chocolate brown

lilac pink (like Chanel Lilac Sky or Rodeo Drive)

berry pink (like Chanel Gondola)

Thank you for reading

 

 

CATRICE Nail Polish in Salmon & Garfunkel Swatch and Review

I’m a huge fan of Catrice nail polishes, but this shade is a total fail.

The colour is excellent – a pastel cream light peach. However, the application and the consistency is horrible. The nail polish is very thich, much thicker than I’m used to.

One coat gives completely uneven, patchy and streaky application. Hovewer, on the bottle it says that you should use two coats, so I cannot take it as a fault. Still, the second coat doesn’t give full coverage. With three coats the nail polish looks decent.

My main issue is with consistency. It is impossible to apply thin coats. To get a decent-looking nails, with this shade you have to put three thick coats. I don’t mind the number of coats, but the fact that they are thick. Catrice have launched another shade which you had to apply in multiple coats (Lost In Mud), but you could apply this in thin coats.

I don’t comment on wear, as every nail polish lasts for a couple of days on my nails.

CATRICE Nail Polish in Pimp My Shrimp Review and Swatch

Here is another excellent nail polish from Catrice line: Pimp My Shrimp. At first I was afraid that it will be a bit too orange for me, but it has become my favourite.

Pimp my Shrimp is a dark peach/coral/orange. It has no shimmer – the finish is creme.

It is very opaque – one coat almost guarantees complete coverage, but I like to add another coat, just to be sure. The swatches in this post are made with 2 coats and no top coat. It applies easily, without streaks.

I never comment on the wear of the nail polish, as they all wear off after a couple of days if I don’t use top coat.

BOURJOIS So Laque in #27 Beige Glamour Review and Swatch

THe first time I swa this shade was on one of my colleague and I thought it was Chanel Rose Cache. Bourjois So Laque in Beige Glamour has some similarity to Chanel Rose Cache, but they are not dupes. Beige Glamour is much lighter.

Beige Glamour is a medium dark creme dirty pinkish beige shade. The polish is very pigmented – one coat is enough for opacity, but I prefer to use two. This is very elegant, understated shade.

I never comment wear, as everything wears off after a day or two on my nails without the top coat.

The polish has 10ml and retails for  $9.

 

 

 

MAX FACTOR Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Cappuccino Swatch and Review

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish retail for around $5 (I got it on sale for $4). The bottle doesn’t say how much of the product there is, but I suppose it contains around 6 ml.

Cappuccino is a light creamy  taupe shade which has a bit of lavender in it. To me it looks like a mixture of Chanel Le Vernis in Frenzy, although Frenzy is a bit less purple and ; and Chanel Le Vernis in Particuliere (the polish that started the taupe craze, a bit darker than Cappuccino and more brown).

The polish has a good coverage, but I prefer to use two coats, just to be on the safe side.

The polish isn’t streaky.

I do not comment on the wear, since all nail polishes last for a day or two on my nails without the top coat.

INGLOT NAil Enamel in #207 Review and Swatch

I have purchased this nail polish a couple of months ago when Inglot had 20% off sale. I think it’s retail price was $8. The bottle contains 8ml.

The shade #207 is a gold glitter suspended in a transparent base. However, depending on the angle, the gold glitter has a slightly holographic qualities – its colour flashes from yellowish orange to turquoise green.

The glitter is not very dense – one coat gives a speck of glitter here and there. In the swatch below I have applied 5 coats.

Also, like any other glitter nail polish, it is pain to remove. I usually remove it by soaking up a bit of cotton in the polish remover, putting it on the nail, wrapping it with aluminium foil and after a minute or two removing the foil together with the cotton and the nail polish.

I won’t comment on how long it lasts, because every nail polish on me lasts for a couple of days without the top coat.

There is also a silver version of this polish (#201), but Croaian girls wmay be interested in knowing that Smart Girls Get More have a similar nail polish (can be bought in DM drugstore).

BOURJOIS, DECLARE, EVELINE and MAX FACTOR Haul

Another bunch of items . Of course, nail polishes were not necessary, but I couldn’t resist them since they were on sale.

Sisley Foaming Exfoliator reminded me to another amazing product: Eveline Anti Cellulite Body Scrub/Shower Gel. I have used it a couple of years ago and I don’t realize why I have stopped it.

I also got myself a cellulose bathing spoonge. Currently I’m using a natural spoonge from the sea, but I have wanted something a bit harsher for a light exfoliation.

The nail polishes (from l to r):

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish Fantasy Fire

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish Cappuccino

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish Ivory

Max Factor Max Effect Mini nail polish Diva Coral

Bourjois So Laque in Beige Glamour.

Oh, and I have almost forgotten Declaré moisturizer (not on the photo). This brand has been available in Croatia for quite some time, but I have always ignored the counter. Several days ago I saw the package of one cream which reminded me of Sisley Sisleya creams. That was enogut for me to stop and study the brand a bit more. Basically, they are formulated for sensitive skin, not too expensive (the majority of the prices vary from $25-$50, although there are some more expensive products). I already have goten my eyes set on a pore minimizing serum (don’t remember the exact name)

Anyway, I caught the sight of several travel size moisturizers which come in small 15ml jars. This amount will be more than enough for me to test it.

For a start I have bought a travel size of Hydro Energy cream (costs around $8).The ingredients seem ok and I can’t wait to spend Bioderma to try this one instead.

Thank you for reading.

CATRICE Nail Polish in After Eight Review and Swatch

After Eight is a dark mossy green shade. One coat is pretty transparent, but two coats give enough opacity. The polish contains tiny microshimmers, and depending on the angle, it can go from looking almost black to shimmery dark green.

Catrice nail polishes retail for around $3,5 and they contain 10 ml. After Eight is older shade, so it doesn’t have the new, flattened brush (similar to the brush Dior and Rimmel nail polishes have).

I do not comment on the longevity of nail polish, as almost every nail polish lasts for a day or two on my nails without the top coat.

ILLAMASQUA Nail Varnish in Raindrops Swatch and Review

I’ve heard many great things about Illamasqua nail polish, but the shade Raindrops turned out to be a disappointment.

The bottle is huge – 15ml and it retails for around $20.

In the bottle it is a beautiful blueish-grey with silvery-white flakes. On the nail, it takes billion coats to make it completely opaque. The swatch on the two fingers is made with four coats, while on the little finger nail there is only one coat.

When you use enough coats, the effect is really stunning, but it takes patience.

I never comment on how long the nail wears, because everything wears foo after a day or two if I don’t use top coat.

As for the removing, it is surprising easy. Since there are flakes, I have expected that I’ll have to wrap my fingers into aluminium foil, like I have to when I use other flakies, but the nail polish removes without a problem with just a cotton soaked in polish remover.

CATRICE Nail Polish in Raspberry Fields Forever Review and Swatch

I am a huge fan of Catrice nail polishes – in general ,they have great shades, the consistency is good, they are pigmented and they are really cheap.

Thte shade Raspberry Fields Forever is a hot, bright pink, without shimmer (I’d say it’s jelly finish). I think it would compliment the lipstick in Kiss Kiss Hibiskiss pretty well.

The application is excellent. One coat is enough for completely opaque coverage.

I never comment on how long the nail polish wears, as absolutely every wears off of my nails in a day or two.

INGLOT Nail Enamel #304 Swatch and Review

Inglot Nail Enamel comes in a 15ml bottle and it retails for approximately $12 (In Croatia). It is cheaper in the US (like everything else, lol).

#304 is a medium dark warm bright pink with lots of gold shimmer. Under certain angles, it almost looks like it has pearl finish. Colour-wise, I’d say it is a close cousin of Chanel Le Vernis in Morning Rose, but Morning Rose has bigger shimmer and tiny flakes. Also, the base of Morning Rose is jelly like, while Inglot #304 is slightly pearlescent.

The nail polish formula is very thin, but surprisingly pigmented. However, I’d still use two coats for a full opacity. Since it has some pearlescent qualities, under a certain angles it might look a bit streaky, but if the sun falls down directly on the nail polish, the streakiness is not visible.

I never comment on how long the nail polish lasts on my nails, because absolutely every nail polish chips after a day or two (it must be because of my nails). Essence top coat manages to prolong my manicure to 5 days.

This is such a summery shade that invites the pictures of sun and sand and it will definitely be one of my staples this summer.

NOTD Chanel Rose Cache + Golden Rose #68

I have bought this beautiful Golden Rose nail polish just recently – at first it seemed like an ugly silver glitter, but then I have noticed that there are flecks of red, green and blue glitter. I couldn’t wait to try it, so I put it over my current nail polish: Chanel Le Vernis in Rose Cache.

The ingredients:

2 coats of Chanel Le Vernis Rose Cache

2 coats of Golden Rose #69

I wanted to put the glitter in gradients – so that there is less glitter close to the nail beds and a lot on the tips of the nails. I put one really thin layer of Golden Rose #69 polish over the nail. After it has dried, I’ve put a large drop of Golden Rose #69 polish on the tip of the nail. I’ve waited for 15 seconds and then spread the drop with the light swipe towards the nail bed. This way, the biggest concentration of glitter was on the nail tip.

YVES SAINT LAURENT La Laque in #12 Nacre Pure Review and Swatch

Yves Saint Laurent La Laque costs $20 and the bottle contains 10ml.

COLOUR DESCRIPTION

Nacre Pure is a champagne pearl in the bottle – on the nails it looks whiter. The colour is pretty pigmented, although I like to use two thin coats for full opacity.

The shade is very similar to Chanel Le Vernis in Pearl Drop, although YSL Nacre Pure is a bit whiter.

REVIEW

Nacre Pure is very elegant, timeless and understated. The colour would work on all skintones. If you apply two thicker coats, it might look a bit streaky.

I never comment on how longwearing the nail polish is because absolutely every nail polish (be it a drugstore or a high end) wears off after two days. If I use Essence Top Coat it will last up to five days.

The consistency of the polish is very thin, but pigmented enough.

I especially like the brush in all YSL nail polishes – the brush is long and thin – it makes it easy to apply the nail polish on my nails.

New Year resolution: LOW BUY

Yeah, it’s a bit late for New Year resolutions, but I couldn’t find time to post it earlier. I’m planning to start a low-buy. I’ve had similar projects before (Project 10 Pans) that were semi-successful – I did spend some products (you can see that some are missing in my Stash inventory), but I didn’t managed to curb my spending (the disadvantage of being a beauty blogger and a make-up addict:).

After contemplating how, I’ve devised a project which, I hope, has the greatest chance to succeed.

I have started to implement it at the beginning of the year – I was broke from Christmas so I didn’t have much chance (or means) to shop.

First I have created the following rules:

LOOK BY BIPA Special Effect Nail Polish Green Changer

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

The Special Effect Nail polish collection is a limited edition collection featuring 10 shades. The bottle contains 5 ml and it retails for around 2 euros ($2,5). It available only in Bipa drugstores.

—-

COLOUR DESCRIPTION

The colour Green Changer is a duochrome which goes from teal blueis green to antique gold. It looks like a very close Chanel Peridot dupe, but Peridot is more sheerer greenish gold.

Depending on the angle, Green Changer goes from true antique gold, to yellowish gold and green to teal blue-green.

—-

REVIEW

I won’t comment on how long it lasts on the nails, because without a top-coat, every nail polish chips on my nails after a day or two.

The shade itself is pigmented – I have swatched only one coat which gave the full coverage of the nail (Peridot is more transparent – I’ve tested it in the store and I needed 2 coats to get an opaque layer).

Green Changer is not 100% dupe – in the bottle they look very similar (Green Changer being a tad greener), but on the nail you can see the real difference. Peridot is less streaky and not as metallic as Green Changer. When you look at Peridot you see more shimmer, while Green Changer turns out as a pure metallic polish.

They are in the same colour family, but they are very distant cousins. However, if you like Peridot, but are not willing to spend $25+, you might find Green Changer a decent replacement.

Look by Bipa Haul

 

You surely remember Chanel’s fall collection and the three nail polishes (the most famous one was Peridot – greenish gold duochrome). I liked the polish, but not enough to buy full-sized bottle.

Bipa drugstore launched (under their store brand Look by Bipa) Special Effect nail polish collection which features shimmery, metallic and duochrome polishes.

I mention this because two of the polishes from their collection could pass as Chanel Peridot dupe. I have purchased the polish under the name Green Changer (green to gold duochrome), which is very similar to Peridot, but not 100% dupe. There is another polish in the collection: Gold Changer (I think I’ll purchase it, too) – which is also green to gold duochrome, but more on the golden side. This one is almost identical to Peridot. If I buy it, I’ll post the pictures quickly.

I have purchased also another shade: Metallic Hologram. This one has silvery green and dirty purpleish pink glitter – very pretty in the bottle, but sheer on the nails. I’d suggest it for layering.

For your information, these are the shades (only descriptions, I’m not 100% sure about the names):

- metallic violet

- metallic blue

- shimmery/glittery silver

- metallic silver

- glittery silver, but with matte finish

- Metallic Hologram

- Green Changer

- Gold Changer

- Bronze Changer (green to bronze duochrome)

The polish contains 5 ml and retails for less than 2 euros (around $2,5).

♥

MAKE-UP STASH INVENTORY (January 2012)

I think it’s high time for me to start to control my impulsive purchases and redirect the money I spend on cosmetics I don’t need on something else. I’ve had much more self-control before I started to get involved in beauty community. Before, I’d purchase something only when I would need it, but now I’ve been buying things only because they seem pretty or I think that I simply must have it (even though I’ll probably use it several times before the product is lost in my stash.

I don’t like feeling overwhelmed every morning when I’m doing my make-up with all of the products which I have. Sometimes it takes me literary 10 minutes only to decide which eyeshadow I should use. I’ve tried the concept of creating “looks” which would include several products and then wearing the look for the next week. It is a good concept, but this means that 90% of my stash sits there unused while I’m wearing the “look”.

I do not plan to use up all of my make-up. I’ll use eyeshadows only until I hit the pan (especially if it is a discontinued or LE product). The same goes with lipsticks. I always leave a millimetre or two of the lipstick in case I ever need to find a dupe. After that, I put the product in the original packaging and put it in my “finished products” drawer. I know this sounds a bit ridiculous, to keep the boxes after you have spent the product, but I have paid a lot for these products and I cannot imagine throwing the compact of, let’s say, Guerlain eyeshadow away.

I have taken a photo of all the items in my stash, for my reference (I’ll do the same the next year). Compared to the previous stash pictures, you can see that I have spent some items (yay! for me) and hit the pan on many others.