Stamping obsession, vol 1

Hello, friends!
I think I might be obsessed with stamping. I had 2 little Essence stamping plates and stampers, and didn't really like them: the images are too small, the stamp is too hard and I couldn't really transfer the image to my nail. So I caved, and ordered 2 stamping and a squishy stamper from Moyou London.  I got them in a week, and absolutely loved them, but then, of course, I realized my new stamper does not work. With a little help from ladies in nail polish group on FB, I managed to get it right, and haven't stop stamping since. :)
The thing is, squishy, or silicone stamper are a bit tricky, and you have to gently file the surface of the stamper until it'not shiny anymore to get the image perfectly transferred to the nail. (Use a nail file, but not to gritty, or even a stone foot scrubber)
This was my first attempt, the base is Essie's Jiggle hi, jiggle low, stamped with Essence stamping polish.

Do you love this design as much as I do? This is an image from Moyou London's Fashionista 08 plate,  all the designs are so elegant and pretty, and I think I will be using this one a lot.

As for the polishes, Jiggle hi, jiggle low is from Essie holiday collection (if you're from Croatia, find them at DM and Muller), and I is a very metal, shiny, silver/gold. This is artificial light vs daylight, 3 coats and top coat.

The stamping polish, however, I'm not happy with. It's matte, which can be solved with topcoat, but I think it's too thick and I had a problem with it peeling off the nail when I stamped with it. I think I have to find another black to stamp with.

That's it, my first stamping attempt. Hope you like it :)

xoxo


Hrvatski:
I tako, ljudi dragi, navukla sam se na stamping. Odnosno, štambiljanje, iako stamping, kad su nokti u pitanju, nekako bolje zvuči :)
Imam već neko vrijeme Essence pločice i njihov štambilj, ali nisam bila zadovoljna: uzorci su im mali, štambilj pretvrd, i nisam mogla dobro uzorak prenijeti na nokat. Pa sam odlučila naručiti pločice i štambilj Moyou London, jer sam čula divne stvari o njima.

Kad su došle, nakon tjedan dana, nisam se razočarala. Slike na pločicama su predivne! Sa štambiljom sam ipak imala problema, nije htio "uhvatit" sliku koliko god se ja trudila. Cure iz FB grupe u kojoj sam su mi dale nekoliko savjeta, malo sam prosurfala, i skužila da je problem u tome što se silikonski štambilji (takozvani, mekani štambilji) trebaju malo pripremiti prije upotrebe. Štos je u tome da rašpicom za nokte, ili kamenom za kožu na petama, treba isturpijati površinu štambilja dok više nije sjajna. Ipak, pazite da rašpica nije pregruba, jer će uništiti štambilj. Kad sam to napravila, sve je išlo super.

Podloga na fotkama gore je Essie Jiggle hi, jiggle low, štambiljala sam sa Essence lakom za štambiljanje, a pločica je Moyou London Fashionista 08. Jiggle hi, jiggle low je divan lak, srebrano zlatan je i vrlo sjajan, na fotki gore vidite razliku po danu i navečer, pod umjetnim svjetlom.

Essence lak za štambiljanje me razočarao: pregust je i odlljepljivao mi se s nokta kad bih micala štambilj. Nije mi se baš svidjelo što se suši u mat finiš, ali to se da riješiti stavljanjem nadlaka. Ipak, mislim da ću morati naći neki drugi crni lak za stamping avanturu.

Nadam se da vam se sviđa moj prvi pokušaj u stampingu. :)

Do sljedećeg puta,

xoxo

Another Parrot Polish - Colloid Stars

Hello, friends!

I owe you a little review of another Parrot Polish I got and it's called Colloid Stars. Sorry for being late, I had my wisdom tooth removed, so I wasn't feeling like writing, or doing my nails for that matter.
Anyway, let's get to business. :)
Colloid Stars is a silver topper with blue glitter. You could wear it alone, but you'd need at least 3 or 4 coats for opacity, so I tried it over black, and over white. I liked better how it turned out over white, it's reminds me of snow at night a little, all shiny and sparkly and silvery. These pics were taken in sunshine, one coat of white, and 3 coats of Colloid Stars.

You can put 2 coats, but recently, I'm a 3 coat girl. :)
The formula is, as with Croatian Love, a very good one, smooth to apply, it has good brush and dries fast, although, the drying time does depend on your base white (or black, if you prefer).

Again, I recommend buying from Parrot Polish, their product is very good, and, as I recently discovered, customer service is the best ever. :) And a reminder, they have free international shipping, so be kind and order at least 2 so the kind owners of Parrot Polish can cover the cost of shipping.

Info: Parrot Polish web shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. 

xoxo

Hrvatski:

Ovo je drugi Parrot Polish koji sam dobila, zove se Colloid stars, i, kao i prvi, predivan je lak. Riječ je o takozvanom, topperu, odnosno, laku koji stavljate na neku baznu boju, srebrn je sa plavim šljokicama. Ja sam ga stavila preko jednog sloja bijeloj laka, i podsjeća me na snijeg po noći, sjajan i srebrnkast. Može ići i na crnu podlogu, i izgleda jednako lijepo.

Na podebljanim linkovima gore su informacije o Parrot Polish web shopu, FB stranici i ostalom, a ako namjeravate naručiti, molim vas da naručite barem dva, poštarina je besplatna, pa pomozite vlasnicima da pokriju troškove slanja vaših lakova. Usput budi rečeno, poštarina za slanje paketa iz SAD-a (u ovom slučaju, Floride) u Hrvatsku je oko 13 dolara, pa iskoristite priliku. :)

Do sljedećeg puta,

xoxo

Hrvatska ljubav aka Croatian Love by Parrot Polish

Hello, friends!

If you read my introduction post , you know the owners of Parrot Polish sent me two of their polishes after I gushed about Croatian Love in a polish FB group, just to make me smile.
And, o boy, did I smile when my postman brought the package.
(Fun fact, the name sticker on the photo above is the first sticker that says "Hrvatska ljubav" it was originally called "Hrvatski ljubav", which was changed after, apparently, EasyNailArt and I grammar nazi-ed the owner. :))
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the most beautiful polish I have, this dark beauty with holo particles that shifts color to purple and green, named after my country:

This is 3 coats with top coat, pictured in artificial light, at night.
I know you will think that the praise that's about to follow is because I got it for free, but I assure you it's not. This polish is everything I want a polish to be. It's pretty, the formula is just right, not to thin and not to thick and really smooth, and, it dries fast. It's opaque with 2 coats, but I loved applying it so much I added a 3rd coat. The packaging is also very nice, and the polishes come in a 15 ml bottle.  Here's some more pictures, this time with sunshine, and in natural daylight:

Can you believe this is one polish? It has so many shades I spent half the day staring at my nails. Here's another photo so you can see side by side how it looks inside and outside:

I really recommend buying Parrot Polish, and when you do, please buy a few, because they currently have free international shipping, so help them cover the cost. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Find them at: Parrot Polish shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter 

Next time: Colloid Stars, the second polish I got from Parrot Polish.
xoxo

Hrvatski:

Sjećate se mog uvodnog posta? Ako ste ga čitali, onda znate da sam dva Parrot Polish laka dobila na poklon od vlasnika branda, nakon što sam u FB grupi izrazila svoje oduševljenje lakom koji se zove Hrvatska ljubav odnosno Croatian love. Zapravo, zvao se Hrvatski ljubav, no to je ispravljeno jer smo blogerica EasyNailArt i ja, očito, bile vrlo uporne. :)

Pogledati ste fotke, da? E onda ste vidjeli kako je prekrasan ovaj lak. Taman je, ima holografske čestice koje se presijavaju u duginim bojama, a na suncu mijenja boju prema ljubičastoj i zelenoj.

Osim što je prekrasan, ima divnu formulu, nije ni pregusta, ni prerijetka, i vrlo se lako nanosi, te brzo suši. Na fotkama gore možete vidjeti kako izgleda pod umjetnom rasvjetom, po danu, i usporedbu fotke po danu i s umjetnom rasvjetom.

Parrot Polish trenutno nudi besplatnu poštarinu, (rijetkost s američkim proizvođačima), pa iskoristite to. Međutim, kupite ih više, tako ćete pomoći vlasnicima ove male tvrtke da im ta besplatna poštarina bude barem koliko toliko isplativa, a vi nećete požaliti.

Imam još jedan njihov lak za isprobati, o njemu u sljedećem postu.

xoxo

Ghost Lights and Gilded Greenwich by Pahlish

Hello, peeps! :)

As promised, I have two more Pahlish nail polishes to show you. The mint one is called Ghost Lights, and the dark one is Gilded Greenwich.
First, I have to tell you, I'm a big fan of all shades of blue, especially turquoise and minty shades, so when I was picking the polishes from Pahlish web shop, this was a natural choice for me.

As with An Caisteal Ruadh, this is a very nice formula of polish, it goes smoothly, although, you will need at least two coats for full opacity. This is 3 coats with top coat:

As you can see, the mint base has some very nice blue flakes in it, and they are visible even more in the sun. I know mint is usually spring/summer colour, but it will brighten your gloomy foggy days. :)

Next up is Gilded Greenwich, a dark charcoal grey with gold flakes. This is an unusual colour, and, since I'm a big fan of dark polishes, I had to have it. According to Pahlish, it was inspired by the black and gold plate armor of Henry VIII. Three coats with top coat:

In conclusion, i think Pahlish has some really nice polishes and will be checking their website for new shades. Here are some photos of both polishes in daylight

:



You can find them at: Pahlish web shop, Facebook, Instagram

xoxo

Hrvatski:

Kao što sam obećala, još dva laka proizvođača Pahlish, su tu :)
Nadam se da vam se sviđaju fotke.
Tirkizni, odnosno mint, se zove Ghost Lights, i prekrasan je lak za proljeće/ljeto, iako ja, budući obožavam sve plave nijanse, a osobito tirkiznu, ponekad tu boju nosim i u jeseni ili zimi, da mi razveseli maglovite dane.
Tamni lak se zove Gilded Greenwich, tamno sivi je sa zlatnim šljokicama.
Proizvođač navodi da je njegova izrada inspirirana crno-zlatnim štitom kralja Henrija VIII.
Kao što sam već rekla u prethodnom postu, formula Pahlish lakova je dobra, lijepo se nanose, iako će vam za potpuno prekrivanje trebati najmanje dva sloja. Na svim slikama nosim tri sloja laka, plus prozirni nadlak.

Pahlish možete naći na gore navedenim linkovima.

Do sljedećeg puta,

xoxo

First swatch post - An Caisteal Ruadh by Pahlish

Hello, friends!

For my first actual nail polish post, I am swatching my first ever indies. I've spent a great amount of time researching, and finally decided on Pahlish. I have to admit, my decision was influenced by price of the polish, and shipping possibilities and price, but mostly, I loved the names of polishes I ordered, and, husband decided to get them for me as a gift. :) 

First up is An Caisteal Ruadh. Here's a collage, 3 coats with top coat: 

I have to tell you, I'm not a fan of red, all red polishes I own (3, I think) are dark red and I only wear them at Christmas. This one, I fell in love with. 

The description from Pahlish: "An oxblod red helly with a mix of gold and silver flakes and copper shimmer. An Caisteal Ruadh (Redcastle in Scottish Gaelic) was once a beautiful red medieval castle on the Black Isle in northern Scotland. This polish was inspired by its deep red brick!"

The formula is very good, although the opacity comes with second coat, but I decided to polish the 3rd to even it out. The best thing, besides the beauty and that subtle sparkle, is that it dries really fast. 

It costs $9, and comes in a 15 ml bottle. 

Here are some more pics I managed to take during the day: 

I have two more Pahlish polishes, Gilded Greenwich and Ghost Lights, to swatch, so see you soon :)

Hrvatski:
Za prvi pravi blog post, odlučila sam vam pokazati jedan od tri laka koja sam nedavno naručila od indie proizvođača iz SAD-a, po imenu Pahlish. Bitno je napomenuti da su lakovi poklon od mog dragog muža koji, čini mi se, više nije mogao slušati moje pričanje o indie lakovima i koliko su prekrasni. :)

Za one koji ne znaju, indie lakovi su indepedent (nezavisno) napravljeni lakovi, odnosno lakovi koje rade ljudi koji često imaju takozvani "dnevni" posao, a lakove miksaju iz ljubavi, hobija, i kao izvor dodatne zarade. Neki su postali toliko popularni da njihovi proizvođači mogu živjeti od izrade lakova, a u posljednje vrijeme sve ih je više i više, pa i tzv. mainstream proizvođači (O.P.I., Essie, Sally Hansen, Orly, i tako dalje) prate trendove koje oni postave. Indie lakovi su redom prekrasni, ali i skuplji od ostalih (jer se uglavnom miksaju ručno, u malim količinama, nisu testirani na životinjama i ne sadrže štetne tvari koje neke od glavnih prozvođača stavljaju u svoje lakove), i mogu se kupiti jedino online, što ih, u našem slučaju, još više poskupljuje zbog cijene dostave.

Vratimo se mi mojim novim lakovima.
Prvi na redu je lak koji se zove Al Caisteal Ruadh. Riječ je o tamno crvenom jelly laku sa srebrnim, zlatnim i bakrenim sitnim šljokicama. Vlasnica Pahlisha-a za njegovu izradu je bila inspirirana tamno crvenom ciglom od koje je izrađen dvorac u sjevernoj Škotskoj, pa mu je i dala ime Al Caisteal Ruadh, što na škotskom galskom jeziku znači crveni dvorac.

Formula ovog laka za nokte je vrlo dobra, lako se nanosi, četkica je odlična, a za potpuno prekrivanje trebaju 2 sloja laka, iako sam ja stavila i treći jer mi se učinilo da ga nisam u potpunosti ravnomjerno nanjela na nokat. Jako se brzo suši, pa će lakiranje, čak i s tri sloja, biti brzo gotovo. Mislim da je ovaj lak super rješenje za predstojeće božićne blagdane, osobito ako, kao ja, niste ljubitelj jarko crvene boje.

Cijena laka je 9 dolara, što je oko 55 kuna, i stvarno nije malo, ali mislim da se isplati: lak dolazi u bočici od 15 ml, i stvarno je prekrasan.
Sve lakove možete kupiti u web shopu Pahlish, (60tak kuna), i stići će vam za otprilike 3 tjedna, iako i to ovisi o količini narudžbi koje proizvođač ima.

Imam još dva laka za isprobati, Gilded Greenwich i Ghost Lights, no o njima u sljedećim postovima.  :)

A few things to get started

A few things lead to creation of this blog. So, maybe I should start from the beginning?

I've been building my nail polish collection since, I think, high school. I blame my Mom for that, she always said that a woman should always have her nails done, no matter how little time or will to do them she has. She used to say that by a woman's nails you can see how much she cares about herself, and if you don't care enough about yourself, why should anyone else. So, I've always had my nails painted, sometimes I would paint hers too, and it was kind of our thing. 

And then, in August this year, my Mom suddenly died. I coped, and am still coping, by taking the nail polish and nail art obsession to new levels. I browsed around you tube for tutorials, I searched for blogs with new polish swatches. I learned about indie makers, which was a news for me, I bought brushes, dotting tools, sponges, glass files, cuticle oil, and of course, polishes. I joined a group on Facebook, Polish-aholics anonymous, and found a world with people who like nail polish, do amazing nail art, and are always there to give advice if you need it, or compliment you on your newest manicure. 

Then one day, I found this nail polish I loved so much, from an indie maker called Parrot Polish, and it was named Croatian love,  and I voiced my delight with it in PAA group. One thing lead to another, and the makers contacted me and said they would like to send me the polish, just because. I was so overwhelmed with that kindness, that a stranger I've never talked with offered to send me a polish just because he liked my post, and because he was once in a similar situation as me, I started thinking that, maybe, I could use this hobby of mine as an outlet, that maybe I could share the stuff I do with my nails at night, when I can't sleep, and maybe, some girl out there who is struggling with loss, and sadness, and the way your life turns upside down when you lose a parent, would see it, and maybe feel a little better, maybe find an outlet for herself, a way to make the grief a little more bearable. 

Yesterday, my husband assembled a table for me, so now I don't have to bend my back over the coffee table, and spill polish remover over my laptop, or knock a bottle of polish on the floor (which happened, twice, actually). 

So now, I have a table, I have the tools, I have gorgeous nail polishes coming my way, (Parrot Polish, go check it out) I've ordered myself some nail vinyls (go check that out too, I hear they are great, NailVinyls), and I have a blog. 

I have to tell you, you won't see those perfect swatch pictures here, I don't have the equipment, or the time to photo-shop it all out. I have my phone, an my hands. 

So, let the therapy begin. Or, maybe, continue :)

Nekoliko stvari je vodilo kreiranju ovog bloga. Možda bih trebala početi od početka. :)
Lakove skupljam negdje od srednje škole. Za to je zaslužna moja mama, koja je govorila da žena uvijek mora imati sređene nokte, neovisno o tome koliko ima, ili nema, vremena da ih uredi, i koliko joj se da ili ne da. Govorila je da se na ženinim noktima vidi koliko joj je stalo do nje same, a ako njoj nije stalo do nje, zašto bi nekome drugome bilo stalo. I tako sam uvijek lakirala nokte, a ponekad bih sredila i njene. To je bilo to nešto naše, ja lakiram nokte, ona ocjenjuje koliko joj se sviđa lak.
I onda je, ovog kolovoza, naglo umrla. Svatko od nas ima neke svoje načine tugovanja, i svoje načine kako se nositi s tugom, gubitkom, i potpunom zbunjenošću koje nastaju kad izgubiš roditelja. Za mene je to bilo, i još uvijek je, bavljenje noktima, iako sam to, prije 3 mjeseca, prenijela na neke nove nivoe. Pregledavala sam you tube tutoriale, čitala blogove, učila o tehnikama nail arta o kojima nisam imala pojma, istraživala indie brendove, učila o spužvama, točkalicama, ulju za zanoktice, i učlanila se u grupu na Facebooku Poslih-aholics Anonymous. Tamo sam našla cijeli jedan novi svijet, ljude, uglavnom cure, koje isto, ako ne i više, vole nail art, imaju hrpe lakove za nokte, koje dijele fotke svojih manikura, daju komplimente, i uvijek su tu ako vam treba savjet.
I onda sam, jednog dana, našla taj savršeni lak. Proizvođač, Parrot Polish, mala indie tvrtka, a naziv laka: Croatian Love odnosno, kako se tad zvao "Hrvatski ljubav". Istog sam trena svoje oduševljenje podijela s ekipom u PAA grupi, (uz ispravku naziva, ipak sam grammar nazi), jedna je stvar vodila drugoj, i uskoro mi se javio proizvođač laka. Napisao je da mu se svidio moj post, da je bio u mojoj situaciji, i da bi me rado razveselio tako da mi pošalje lak ili dva. Nisam mogla vjerovati, netko s kim nikad nisam razgovarala, želi mi poslati lak ili dva, samo tako. Iz ljubaznosti. Jer može.
Pa sam pomislila, da možda, negdje, postoji još cura, djevojaka, žena, koje su nekog izgubile, i koje će možda, ako podijelim ovo sa svijetom, naći način da se opuste i nose s tugom sređujući nokte. Ili će, barem, znati, da postoji još netko tko prolazi kroz to, pa će im biti lakše.Jučer mi je muž složio stol za manikuru, tako da se ne moram saginjati ispred stolića u dnevnom boravku i razlijevati aceton po laptopu, a lak po parketu.
Dakle, imam stol, imam točkalice i kistove, imam krasne lakove koji su na putu, imam još neke stvari koje stižu (predloške za nail art, Nail Vinyls , čekirajte), i imam blog.
Nemojte očekivati da ćete vidjeti savršeno sređene fotke, nemam ni vremena ni opreme za fotošopiranje. Imam mobitel s dobrim fotićem, i imam ruke, s noktima na kojima mogu zahvaliti mami i njenim genima. :)
Pa, neka terapija počne. Ili, bolje reći, nek se terapija nastavi. :)