Nail art : Dinosaurs

I recently entered a nail art competition with a free-hand design, and although I didn't win I still want to show you my entry, I had a great time making it and that's the important part :)

It might look like a silly theme for an "about you" theme, but I have a hard time describing myself in one design. I figured dinosaurs shows through a few hobbies of mine, and used them as the overall theme :) 

I'm all about dinosaurs; I love the Jurassic Park & Land Before Time movies, always have ♥ I also draw as you might've seen on my blog earlier this year, and drawing dinosaurs is certainly challenging yet still something I love doing when my muse allow me ;)

Dinosaur design

I am really satisfied with this design, especially the colours - I don't like too many colours on my nails at one time, I think it tends to look messy. Maybe I'm just boring, LOL, but this is a design / colour combo that is actually suitable for me to wear at work. I will definitely be using these colours again for nail art - next time I might add a funky colour for contrast, depending on the design. Time will tell :)

I used Gosh Groovy Grey as my base, Essence Stamp me! white & black and of course a detail brush. I finished it with Fast Forward as always. Would you like to see more free-hand designs in the future?


♥ Vetten

Swatch Party #1: Untried Gosh Lacquers

Gosh polishes were on sale recently - buy one get one free! I, of course, had to take advantage of the offer LOL. I realised I have so many Gosh polishes that I haven't even tried - most of them from previous sales. So, I decided to pull out a few and swatch!

From left to right: Lavender Love (LE), Flamingo, Pink Lady(DC) & Yellow Doll (LE).

Let's start with Lavender Love, a new colour released for Spring 2011. How this got onto the regular sales display already, I have no idea (neither did the sales staff), but I'm thrilled it did! It's a gorgeous periwinkle blue / purple - in my pictures it's way too blue, but it's impossible to picture correctly.

I used 1-1½ coat - that's right, it's a one coater if you're careful while applying (and undoubtedly if you have shorter nails)! Way to go, Gosh, the world needs more one coaters! This is the second colour I try from this collection, and both have been one coat, gorgeous looking wonders!

Gosh LE Lavender Love

Up next is Flamingo, a gorgeous soft pink. It's been a part of the regular collection for quite some time but it wasn't until this sale I decided to get it. I was afraid it would be very sheer, but I was so wrong! I want to say it's a jelly, because it really feels like one - but at the same time it's nearly opaque in two coats, so maybe it's a jelly creme? Regardless, I love it! It fits my skintone perfectly, and it feels like wearing jelly on your nails. A very pleasant surprise!

Wearing two coats in this picture. I couldn't really capture the jellyness, but trust me... It's worth a try if you want pink without the heavy feel most pink gives you!

Gosh Flamingo

Next is a dark reddish pink with purple shimmer - Pink Lady. I got this a while ago in a sale, I'm pretty sure it was reduced because it is discontinued. Let me be honest, I didn't think I would like this shade at all, because it has a red undertone and it's a dark pink... But I was wrong. I love it! It looks so incredible in the sun and once again, perfect formula. 

I used two coats and it was a dream to apply (in my opinion, shimmers are hard to find with a decent formula compared to cremes - or maybe I've just had bad luck).

Gosh Pink Lady

Now, this one deserves a picture taken outside as well! See how it becomes almost coral? If I ever find an extra bottle of this, I will be a happy camper!

Gosh Pink Lady - outside, direct sun

Last is my little problem child.. LOL! I guess not all could be perfect ;) Yellow doll was part of the 2010 Fall collection, 3 pastels that I'd rather believe is best suited for Spring. Yellow doll looks like a cool/cold yellow in the bottle, but my warmer looking fingers makes it look like a warm pastel yellow. It took me 3 coats to cover up my nail line to the fact that I would wear it, but it was still visible in some kinds of light. 

At least it's not a chalky, thick pastel ;) It is, however, a yellow creme I could see myself wearing - it doesn't turn my fingers into lobstery coloured monsters, lol. Yellow is just not a colour I wear that much.

Gosh - LE Yellow Doll

That's all I have for you today... What do you think about the lacquers? Which is your favourite of the four I've showed you?

Most important of all: would you like posts like this in the future? Granted, it's not going to be swatches of the newest collections - first of all, I can't compete (nor do I want) with all the amazing lacquerheads out there showing us the newest trends, I don't get my hands on them until they've been out for a while anyway, LOL!, and second of all, I don't buy complete collections unless they all appeal to me (which is rare with collections consisting of 6 or more). It would be random untrieds from my stash instead, some still available, some not. Let me know in the comments! :)

I admit I had quite a lot of fun with these, especially with two of them being much better than I thought! Trying colours for fun will help me use them in the future ;)

♥ Vetten

Gosh : Groovy Grey (meet my new love!)

Today I'll be showing one of my latest purchases! 

I've been eagerly waiting for Gosh to get a Spring/Summer display up, and last week my nearest drugstore had the new laqcuers in! They don't have a display, though, which I find a bit odd, they were tucked in with the regular display. It is incredibly hard to find anything about this collection, so I don't have much to tell about it. I found a picture on Google and I assume it's a stock photo, but if you took it, LMK so I can credit you or remove as you please

Image found on Google

The new collection consists of four shades:

# Neon Baby

# Lavender Love

# Misty Mauve

# Groovy Grey

I recently bought Lavender Love which I'll be showing in a swatch party post in a few days ( swatching is fun, though editing takes time, lol), and Groovy Grey - while the two pinks looked sweet and fresh, as of now I don't feel the need to buy them (these are approx. 12$ each!). Maybe next time they are BOGO! :)

So, today is all about Groovy Grey. This is, to me, the star of the collection - as soon as I saw it, I thought about buying a back-up, LOL. It's a greige kind of colour - and I know you will immediately think of a certain dupe when seeing it, so stay tuned for a comparison!

I used my basecoat, NailTek II, and - make sure you see this - ONE average to thick coat of Groovy Grey - yes, it's a one-coater! Light will shine through your tip at this stage, so if you want it completely opaque, no light what-so-ever to shine through, two coats are needed, but I rarely build to that opaque level. I don't flash my nails directly on top of bright lamps, LOL! As long as my nail line isn't visible, I'm happy.

I decided to take two pictures and combine, since this polish can look warm and cold, depending on the light. In real life, it's closest to the picture on the left, but it was very hard to photograph IMO.

Gosh Groovy Grey - flash (left) & shade (right)

Isn't it beautiful? This is, without doubt, a perfect neutral colour ♥ I can see myself wearing this a lot! It'll be perfect for when I need a break from fancy, bright colours and darks ♥

Now, if you made it this far without thinking of Lippmann - Waking Up In Vegas, huge applause, LOL! I decided to do a comparison since I bet a few of you are interested.. Or so I hope, anyway ;) I also included another favourite of mine, H&M's Happy Grey. This one contains shimmer, so it's not a dupe, but colourwise, I was interested in seeing them side by side.

The three lacquers side by side..

Lippmann Vegas, Gosh Groovy Grey, H&M Happy Grey

And swatches on my nailwheel:

Lippmann Vegas, Gosh Groovy Grey, H&M Happy Grey

Close, yet so different! I think the small differences make a huge difference comparing to one's skin tone. Don't mind the stripes in the nails, it's the lightbox + flash that created them. As much as I love Lippmann's, I think Groovy Grey won me over for Spring.. It feels a little less thick/heavy on the nails, so to say, and the colour is a bit warmer too. Happy Grey is a pearl in my collection as well, since the shimmer is incredibly cute. All in all I'm a huge fan of these :)

What do you think about Gosh's new collection? Do you own either of the above mentioned greige polishes? If you own similar colours, let me know as well since I want more of these neutrals! :D

♥ Vetten

Gosh : Holographic

Gosh is one of few Danish make up companies. For as long as I can remember, I've been drooling over their stands in drugstores, always looking at their nail polish. They've always carried exciting, different colours, far away from safe reds and nude pinks. Before I realized I was becoming a nail polish addict, I had a few of their polishes - and it was amongst my favourites. Before this turns into a patriotic post sounding like a commercial, LOL, let focus on what this post is really about - my point being that Gosh is a widely known brand within the nail polish community... And much of it is because of one of their most adored polishes. If there's one polish Gosh is known for, it's Holographic.

In the bottle, Holographic looks like a silver polish - and that's what I thought it was until I looked up swatches when I started getting into nail polish. Then I had an OMG moment and rushed to the stores the day after, LOL! 

Now, it will be a bit of a problem child if you're cheap and don't invest in a good base coat - I conveniently bought the Fix Base Coat from Gosh when their lacquers where 40% off. Gosh even added a sticker to Holographic advising people to use the right base coat. And no, it really isn't just a sales trick trying to get you to invest more money in their products - it will save you many tears and even coats of Holographic.

Fix Base Coat is slow drying, but it's worth it. It dries with what I'd say is a "good-gripping" feel to it. I failed while swatching this; apparently I didn't even out the layer on my ring finger, so the weird blob you can see on my pictures is because of that. I recommend thin coats ;) I used two coats of Holographic, and no topcoat - it dries really fast.

I had a few issues photographing this wonder - in my lightbox, the flash washes out the holo effect, and without, it's back to looking plain silver. I therefore went outside, and although there's a lot of better pictures out there, I think I got a few decent shots (it will be a quest of mine to photograph this properly one day), at least it's better than a post without pictures, right?

Gosh Holographic - direct sunlight

Gosh Holographic - direct sunlight

Isn't it amazing? The only downside is the dullness inside - which is the reason I'm not wearing this more often. I'm looking forward to be using this in the Summer, being outside most of the day blogging in the shadow.. I'm sure this will keep me good company those days ♥

I contacted Gosh through their danish website, and the rumour is true.. It's discontinued. I'm proud to say, almost a bit embarrassed even, that I emptied all the shops around me while they were on sale. Can you blame me for wanting back-ups? :)

Oh, while I were contacting them, I asked them if they were planning to release new holographic polishes, but sadly, there's no plans about this right now. I'm in the mood to start a petition, LOL! Wouldn't it be amazing to see a dark blue, purple, even green holographic polish? While I accept the effect will be lessened when you add colour to the mix, it would be worth it!

♥ Vetten

Gosh - New Age

Today I have an old discontinued colour to show you. I'm sure a lot of us looks for polishes on sale at any time possible. While visiting my local Matas (drugstore) a little while back, I decided to look for discontinued Gosh polishes which are sold at half price. It's almost always the same boring polishes, but every once in a while a new old polish find it's way to the bin in some magic way, lol.

This time I got lucky and found a grubby bottle in their old design. It's called New Age and is a dark green shimmer/pearl polish - even though I don't like pearl finish at all, I decided to give it a chance at half the original price ;) I took it home, cleaned the bottle with acetone (it was full of old, sticky makeup, yuck!) and it ended up looking rather good!

I suspected it to be very sheer (the brush being visible even dripping with polish), so I used a green creme as base for my manicure. I decided to use Don't Mess With Opi, a green creme from the Texas collection earlier this year. One coat was sufficient enough to cover my nails although I would use two if I was going for a manicure with this polish (don't mess, that is) on its own.

I then added a coat of New Age, and even though I believe I skipped the top coat for these pictures, I used it later on to protect the manicure. It was slow drying, lol. Also, I should mention  it was a bit brush-stroke-y, and I realised I should've used another coat of New Age as it showed bald spots in some types of light.

I ended up choosing two pictures to show you - one in my lightbox, showing how it looks like most of the time, and one in sunlight to show you how it comes alive with a few rays of sun. :)

Lightbox:


Gosh - New Age - lightbox


Sunlight:


Gosh - New Age - sunlight

 Do you like it? I think it's pretty neat for an old polish - I don't know exactly how old, but I'd guess at least 3 years or so. I wish I knew when Gosh changed into the new bottles... These are easier to use because of the handles (and they look bigger! lol). When did you last find something old but still neat on a polish hunt? :)

Vetten

Simple manicure: Gosh - Gypsy Blue, CG DV8 & Essence Image Plate

Gypsy Blue is by far the prettiest and easiest creme I've tried from Gosh. It's easy to work with, has a great formula, very opaque meaning you can get away with one thick or two thin coats, oh, and the colour itself is gorgeous.

This is my go-to colour when I want to make an easy, painless manicure or just feeling like a popping blue on my nails. The colour really pops - it's the perfect basic blue IMO ♥ Looking at this colour throughout the day really cheers me up!

For this manicure I wanted a little bit of sparkle as well as some stamping. I recently organised my plates, meaning they're easier to reach and choose from, so I think I'll be using more patterns from now on.

China Glaze's DV8 came to mind as well as my favourite random pattern, circles from an Essence image plate I have. I think the result is a fun little extra on that beautiful blue I love so much, and I put on some dots of DV8 with my dotting tool to make the pattern more complete :)

Gosh Gypsy Blue, CG DV8 & Essence Image Plate

Gosh Gypsy Blue, CG DV8 & Essence Image Plate- no flash for extra visible holo

Here's what I used:

Besides my base coat, NailTek II, I used two coats of Gypsy Blue.

Then I stamped and dotted DV8 randomly on the nails, and finished with a coat of Seche Vite :)

♥ Vettelicious

Glittering stripes - a blue/purple manicure

I was experimenting... LOL.

I started out trying a new purple from Germany - when I got home I realised I have way too few warm purples.This is on my list for next year! :)

Essence - Break Through

This is one coat of Essence Break Through. As you can see, one coat isn't enough, but I didn't want more coats when I had plans for lots of layering. I think another coat would cover up any bald spots nicely.

It's funny; when I bought the polish, I didn't see the shimmer - but it's visible when you use the flash and on the nail as well. Very subtle, but it adds a little sparkle. It was a nice surprise :)

I ended up finding Gosh, Kiko and Catrice polishes I thought would look lovely together with this and I started doing layer upon layer...

This is the result. If you want the name of one or more of the glitters, LMK and I'll try to remember which I used :)

Glitter upon glitter upon... you get the picture.

~ Vettelicious

NOTD - can't wait for Teenage Dream from OPI!

Today I decided to try out a nail polish my mom gave me this weekend - it was in a nail gift set with two other polishes, a nail file and top coat. It was really sweet of her to think of me when she saw it, and as soon as she gave it to me I knew why ♥ She knows I love glitter! Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the gift set so that will have to wait until I try out another one of the three. But here is todays nail polish! I am sorry for the crappy yellowed pics today, but I've been in bed with the nastiest migraine from the moment I was off work. If I have the time tomorrow before work, I might snap a few with better light.

I call it "Want to be a Teenage Dream" - isn't it lovely?

And this is the polish I thought of as soon as I saw it... Teenage Dream from the upcoming Katy Perry collection from OPI! ♥

Teenage Dream - pic snatched from OPI press release video on Youtube

I could see that it (my new polish, not the real TD) was really sheer and not the buildable kind, so I decided to find a sweet pink base and use it as a layering polish. And I am glad I did! It took me two coats to build the glitter you see on the pictures... And I was tempted to put on even more! I used 2 coats of GOSHs Sweet Rose as base.

natural bathroom light

flash

blurryfied for added sparkles!

My opinion? A beautiful glitter, perfect for layering - but I was hoping it would make me content until Teenage Dream is released. But no, now I'm waiting even more excited for the real deal!

~ Vettelicious

Recent Ebay and shopping haul!

My "Happy Grey" konadicure is still looking great (the first time my mani has lasted 3 days, wow!), so I decided to wait until tomorrow to make a new mani. Until then, I figured I could show you what I've gotten in the mail and bought on my shopping trip the past week!

First, OPI Ebay haul ~ from the new Burlesque collection!

Show It & Glow It, Shimmer & Shimmer, Sparkle-iscious & Teasey Does It

I also ordered this green beauty ~

Here Today.. Aragon Tomorrow (suede)

And this glitter I have been lemming for quite a while! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

OPI Mad As A Hatter ♥

Close-up of the sparkly goodness that is truly mad as the hatter! ♥

And here is a comparison shot to Sparkle-iscious. MAAH is more grey/silvery with more colours in it, whereas Sparkle is more golden.

OPI Mad As A Hatter and Sparkle-iscious comparison

On my shopping trip I found the following polishes ~

Cheap no-name polish in beautiful colours!

The dark blue looks sheer.. Can't wait to try 'em out!

Who says anonymous polishes aren't gorgeous!

Two polishes from H&M and a cheap brand called Trend ~

No Mambo Jambo, Happy Grey & noname Trend polish

No Mambo Jambo deserves a close-up to show it's shimmer!

No Mambo Jambo

I also found GOSH polishes on sale!

Rainbow goodness! All were reduced to half price, I think they're discontinued

And last, I was pretty excited to find the brand Pieces in some amazing colours!

Ms. Jagger Green, Kryptonite, Soul Petrol & Plum Gum (ew on the name, LOL)

I've wanted colours like Kryptonite, Soul Petrol and Plum Gum for ages! And I never turn down a creme turquoise, LOL!

Sorry if I drowned you in pictures! Kudos if you made it to the end ;)

♥ Vettelicious

Give-away when I hit 25 followers!

I really appreciate those who follow my blog, a big thank you for reading my posts, watching my manicures, and for your comments ♥ That is why I have decided I will make a give-away when I hit 50 25 followers! (if I reach 50 followers within the timeframe of the give-away, I have a very neat 2nd prize ready).

It wouldn't be much of a post without showing you the prizes I've found so far, would it? ;)

I want to share one of my favourite polishes of all time - which is also the one that got me to admit that polishing my nails were more than just a regular habit, LOL! That nail polish also happens to be a gorgeous flake polish - and said to be much like Nfu-Oh's famous polishes!

GOSH Rainbow! And along with it, I stumbled upon a black effect polish, which is not being sold in the stores anymore. They make a cute couple, I think ♥

GOSH Bright Passion and Rainbow

Here's swatches over blank and black bases ~

GOSH Bright Passion and Rainbow

I might add more prizes along the way!

That's all for now!

~ Vettelicious

NOTD + Sparkle-iscious swatch

Hey! I hope you're having a great weekend! I have had an okay one myself, unfortunately with a silly headache keeping me from doing anything out of the ordinary - but I have been playing with nail polish and drawing, so I consider it a nice relaxing weekend anyways. :) Having as many migraines as I do, you quickly learn to appreciate days without and live with regular headaches.

First, I want to show you one of OPIs new glitters from the Burlesque set - Sparkle-iscious. I think it looked awsome lined up together with Tease-y Does It, and decided to try it with Tease-y as a base colour. No topcoat, as this was only a test. I prefer glitters layered over colours for extra depth.

Here's the result! I think it looks great but a similar shade would be adequate, as you don't get to enjoy the sparkle of Tease-y with this much glitter on it.

OPI Tease-y Does It + OPI Sparkle-iscious - natural light

OPI Tease-y Does It + OPI Sparkle-iscious - shade

OPI Tease-y Does It + OPI Sparkle-iscious - flash

Next is today's Konadicure. I recently received new plates, and along them were one of my most anticipated - M79! Full of dots and clouds, I'm going to use these patterns a lot! ♥

I used NailTek Foundation II as basecoat, Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme as base colour, GOSH Gypsy Blue for the dots and Seche Vite for topcoat.

I haven't used NailTek moe than twice so I'm still not sure what to think about it. It dries quickly and leaves a matte surface, that much I can tell you.

Wet 'n' Wild is a great AND cheap black creme! I paid about 2$ for it, which is cheap in Denmark :) It dries to a very shiny finish, and is easy to apply.

GOSH Gypsy Blue is my favourite basic blue out there.. Admitted, I don't have many, but it's got something I can't quite put my fingers on - just that teeny tiny colour twist that makes it so special. A gorgeous, easy to apply creme, but not recommended for stamping unless you want a subtle, more see-through result. Until I find a darker blue with a hint of teal in it, it works fine ;)

Seche Vite is the best top coat I've tried. It dries so amazingly quick, and it very easy to apply - and with two coats it leaves your nail with a glossy, almost gel-kind of surface ♥ The only negative thing to say about Seche Vite is that is contains Toluene, one of the three chemicals wisely to avoid in nail polishes. I can't live without it - wearing new colours almost daily I don't want to spend 2 hours with my fingers in the air each evening LOL!

Natural light

Flash

Indoors

Indoors - evening

Fake light

That's all for today! I think I will have take some shots of my collection in the very near future :) It has grown so much since I started this blog!

~ Vettelicious

Weekend, yay!

You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this weekend! I need a few days under a blanket with hot chocoa and a good movie after a week of migraines between work.

First, I'd like to show you yesterday/todays manicure. I wanted to try out GOSH Vanilla Ice on top of black, and I was NOT disappointed about the outcome! Sadly, I don't have a picture of Vanilla Ice, but it's an effect polish. Very sheer. Here's the result on my nails ~

1 coat Black base and 1 coat GOSH Vanilla Ice

And with flash for extra bling!

1 coat Black base and 1 coat GOSH Vanilla Ice

I'm sorry about the horrible chip in my index finger, that's how my nails look after a day of work. I took these pics right before I made a new manicure, so it's not like I walk around with chips all over my nails. :)

My fiancé texted me while I was at work today, saying that a package from the UK had arrived... It's my ASOS Beauty Sale haul, yay!! I was SO excited when I found out they had reduced most of the nail polishes I had been eyeing last time I ordered, but decided against. Check out what I got!

ASOS Beauty Sale haul

The most exciting was OPI Absolutely Alice ~ 50 dkr (about 5£), OMG!! To bad they didn't have Mad as a Hatter, but at least I got the one I wanted the most! ♥ ♥ ♥ And I was pretty lucky to get it, since it sold out really quickly. It's my first OPI polish, but I have more on the way :)

Of course I had to try out Absolutely Alice right away... I decided to go with a blue base, so I didn't have to use as many layers of AA (it's a pain to remove, and I want the bottle to last longer LOL).

I used GOSH Gypsy Blue as base (a colour too beautiful to use as a base, but I lack blues in this colour), here's a picture ~

1 coat GOSH Gypsy Blue

And with Absolutely Alice on top ~

1 coat GOSH Gypsy Blue and 1 coat OPI Absolutely Alice

And a few extra shots because this colour is so beautiful ~

Natural light, no flash or direct sunlight

Flash. It makes the glitter more see-through

Close-up of nail, no direct sunlight

What can I say about this polish? I love it! ♥ I would wear it all the time if it weren't for all the other gorgeous nail polishes out there ;) I think 1 coat base and 1 coat glitter is enough for coverage, but if you check out the picture with flash it is see-through. I think it's because the flash washes out a lot of the glitter. Nothing you see in real life!

Gotta run, wanna watch a movie and enjoy my weekend! Have fun girls ♥

~ Vettelicious