NOTD: OPI I Don’t Give a Rotterdam!

20140209-131509.jpg

This color is a gorgeous greyed cool periwinkle with fine silver, pink, and lavender glitter. This is such an unusual color, I really love it. The glitter also runs pretty densely through the polish, which is surprising considering the pigment is rather sparse and it is a glitter, not a shimmer. It is very sheer, so it takes three coats to build it up, but it dries extraordinarily fast so that doesn’t really cause any problems. The formula is also rather brittle in a way (possibly from the density of shimmer?), which can lead to a shorter wear time. A good topcoat (like the fabulous NYC Grand Central Station) will take care of that. Honestly the quality of the polish isn’t stellar but the color is, and you can certainly work with it. It’s certainly worth it!

Product Smackdown: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure (Commander in Chic) vs. Essie Merino Cool

I love taupe colors for fall in all capacities- eyes, nails, and sometimes even lips! Nearly every single nail polish manufacturer on the planet has got a version out there. Here I have two very similar colors of taupe polish from two respected brands- Essie and Sally Hansen. Let’s see which one wins!!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 370 Commander in Chic: $6.59 (0.5 fl oz/14.7 mL)   at Target

Essie Nail Lacquer in 76 Merino Cool: $7.79 (0.46 fl oz/13.5 mL) at Target

http://www.target.com/p/sally-hansen-complete-salon-manicure-commander-in-chic/-/A-13332358

http://www.target.com/p/essie-nail-color-merino-cool/-/A-13249632?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C13249632&CPNG=Health+Beauty&kpid=13249632&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=13249632&gclid=CIvJoOb0kboCFZE7Mgod-ScApg

Essie Merino Cool vs. Sally Hansen Commander in Chic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sally Hansen Essie
Features (as found on brand websites) Base coat, strengthener, growth treatment, salon-inspired color, top coat, chip-resistance and a gel finish all in 1 bottleVita Care technology for advanced 10 day wear, more shine and nourishing care

1st place

Outstanding durability, a chip-resistant formula 

 

 

 

 

2nd place

Price 1st place 2nd place
Color (for me personally) Mid-tone purple-based taupe (lighter than Essie)1st place Dark-mid-tone purple-based taupe (darker than Sally Hansen)2nd place
Wear time (until first chip appears)   After 4-5 days, only minor tip wear , no base or top coat

1st place

 After 2-3 days, no base or topcoat

 

2nd place

Application Brush slightly larger, product less prone to gloopiness1st place Good brush, product prone to gloopiness2nd place
Dry Time 1st place  2nd place
Ingredients DBP, Toluene, and Formaldehyde freeContains parabens

2nd place

DBP, Toluene, and Formaldehyde free1st place
OVERALL RANK 1st place 2nd place

Overall, there is no disputing it: Commander in Chic outperformed Merino Cool in virtually every category. Honestly, the wear time for me was the most impressive; for me most things wear 2-3 days before starting to chip, like the Essie shade. For me to get that much wear out of it was absolutely mind blowing for me. The Complete Salon Manicure looks like an amazing formula, I think I will be picking up some more colors from the line in the future!

Lilla’s Box of Treasures (LBT): June 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since June is my birthday month, this month’s LBT is formed predominately of birthday gifts. Nails do feature prominently, as I got a crapload of pretty polishes, and I just wanted to try them all out!

The Nailpolish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The three nailpolishes which have been big this month are these three from OPI: Lucern-tainly Look Marvelous, Uh-oh Roll Down the Window, and Bogata Blackberry. Lucern-tainly Look Marvelous is a gunmetal grey with shimmer (see NOTD here), Uh-Oh Roll Down the window is a creamy army green, and Bogata Blackberry is a dark red with shimmer.

MAC Costa Chic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a gorgeous, gorgeous coral which I have been wearing unashamedly pretty much every day. Since I got it almost halfway through the month, most days I have just been wearing some eyeliner (more on that in a bit) and this dabbed onto my lips. It is a perfect color for summer and complements my long sleeved shirts wonderfully. Yes, you read that right, guys. It has been like October in Germany for the past couple of weeks!

The Body Shop Eye Definer in Black

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently I have been going for  a darker, more smokey look than I normally wear, and have been really loving it! Well, I hardly go smokey at all, so it isn’t that much. I love how I can get defined, made-up eyes using only this eyeliner and a cotton bud. If you are looking for a creamy, black-black eyeliner this definitely isn’t it. However, it works very well for the purpose I have just described to you. Because it is so hard and not creamy, I find that it is much quicker and easier to get the smokey, smudged out look I was going for. This was the one product out of this post that I did not get for my birthday!

The Ice Watch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This watch is the medium-sized watch (I believe). It is white with a graphite-colored face and a black Swarovski crystal on the windy bit that you use to change the time with. I was never a big watch-wearer, but I really love this watch! It is the perfect size for me, and I love the face and the crystal. I am a thoroughly happy bunny 🙂

The Bracelet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least I have a product that shouldn’t really be here because I have absolutely no clue where it is from , but I had to include it anyway because I have been wearing it everyday since I got it along with my watch. It is a really delicate gold chain, with bejewelled bobbles placed at intervals around it. It is so delicate and feminine, I really love it. It’s funny, because it is one of those cases where it is an item I would never have picked up myself (I normally go for huge, loud, in-yo-face jewellery, and rings mostly), but I really love it and how it looks on and basically everything about it.

NOTD: OPI Lucern-tainly Look Marvelous

Image

This is one of the polishes I got from my sister for my birthday, and I love it!! It is an amazing metallic gunmetal-gray color, the kind of polish the Black Widow might wear. Well, in my mind, anyway. Maybe I’m crazy but this polish makes me feel slightly badass…

Is there any polish that gives you confidence and/or makes you feel badass? Comment below!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Lilla xx