Layering NOTD: Chanel – Illusion D’Or over China Glaze – Midnight Mission and a haul

If only every day would be like today. I had two packages with nail polishes in the mail from my last orders and oh my.. if they would have arrived on two days I would feel a little less guilty haha.
Before I show you which haulus maximus makes me blush a little I’d like to show you my current manicure.

The minute I’ve received Chanel’s Illusion D’Or in the mail I already thought of nail polishes I could layer it on top of. One of my very first thoughts was China Glaze’s Midnight Mission from their Vintage Vixen collection which I then picked a few days ago.

Now I am already wearing this layering since Sunday and I don’t want to remove it because it is so pretty.
Let’s take a look at why I can’t stop staring at my nails:

China Glaze – Midnight Mission, two coats
Chanel – Illusion’Dor, one coat

Tags: Chanel, China Glaze, layering
Posted in Hauls, Layering | 8 Comments »

(yummy) Layering NOTD: CND – Jade Sparkle over Zoya – Mimi

Hi everyone!

Today I’d like to show you the layering NOTD which I had to postpone due to the Chanel Paradoxal mail and dupe emergency: How CND’s Jade Sparkle looks over a purple nail polish.

One of my current favorite purple nail polishes is Zoya’s Mimi and after wearing it for a day or two I wanted to spice it up. Just a few days earlier I got three more Sparkle Effects in the mail with an order and because I love the contrast between purple and green I just had to pick Jade Sparkle and I am glad I did. The shimmery purple base paired with green/jade sparkles.. loves it!

Zoya – Mimi, three coats
CND – Jade Sparkle, one coat

Tags: CND, layering, purple, Zoya
Posted in Layering | 3 Comments »

Comparison: Chanel – Paradoxal (509) vs. Models Own – Purple Grey layered with CND – Amethyst Sparkle

Hi everyone!

It surely isn’t wrong to say that Chanel’s Paradoxal (509) nail polish from their Fall 2010 collection will be yet another hyped nail polish. Because Paradoxal is a really pretty color I would even dare to say that the hype is justified.

Chanel made beautiful nail polishes in the last time: Particulière, Nouvelle Vague and of course Jade (where I am still not over the fact that Jade wasn’t available in Germany).
However what bugs me is that not only nail polish loving customers are looking forward to the next big Chanel nail polish – no, also ebay sellers love them. And what they love the most is to buy them before the regular nail polish lover can and sell them on ebay for prices which are not only too high but also despicable.

With the help of a great fellow nail polish lover I was able to get my hands on a bottle of Paradoxal for me and my dear friend Susanne and when the envelope arrived it made my day! Paradoxal is gorgeous. It is a stunning color between gray and purple and the purple shimmer is the icing on the cake. But is it really unique?

Almost.
With Models Own’s Purple Grey there is a great alternative available and if you add a layer of a transparent nail polish with purple shimmer you will have a great and almost perfect dupe.

First let’s take a look at how Paradoxal compares to Purple Grey on its own:

Tags: Chanel, CND, dupe, layering, Models Own
Posted in Comparisons | 24 Comments »

Chanel Paradoxal (509) – paradoxically there is an almost perfect dupe available!

Hi everyone!

Today I wanted to post pictures of my Zoya’s Mimi layered with CND’s Amethyst Sparkle manicure but this is an emergency.
With the lovely help of Brittni (thank you so so much!) I got my paws on Chanel‘s next big hyped nail polish Paradoxal (509) today, yay! Paradoxal is as gorgeous as I hoped it would be and I am glad that I could get my hands on it. After a few minutes I thought.. wait.. doesn’t it look familiar? And then I remembered: ModelsOwn – Purple Grey.

Now there is a bummer: Purple Grey is a creme and doesn’t contain the purple shimmer but with the help of a layering nail polish it should be possible to create an almost perfect Paradoxal dupe.

Because it was already too dark outside when I came home and unwrapped the package (love the Chanel wrapping paper!) I only could take mediocre pictures but I will do daylight comparison pictures and swatches on my nails as soon as possible!

But now let’s take a look at why Paradoxal isn’t unique at all:

Crazy close, right? And a close-up:

Tags: Chanel, dupe, Models Own
Posted in Comparisons | 18 Comments »

Tired of taupe cremes? A layering experiment with CND’s Gold Sparkle, Jade Sparkle and Sugar Sparkle

Hi everyone!

I know, I know. Beeing tired of taupe cremes? Crazy talk!
But seriously. So many brands are releasing taupe/brown-gray/greige/indefinable nail polishes that at some point you could get a bit overwhelmed or even bored by them.
With Ingrid from their Vintage Vixen Fall 2010 collection China Glaze brought a breath of fresh air into the taupe hype with adding a bit of shimmer to the nail polish.

I am not tired of taupe cremes yet and I must admit: the more the merrier but after a few days of wearing American Apparel’s Mouse I got bored and wanted to remove it. Right in time an order with three CND Effects nail polishes arrived so I decided – inspired by Ingrid – to layer them on top of Mouse before I would remove it.

Let’s take a closer look at how CND’s Gold Sparkle, Jade Sparkle and Sugar Sparkle look over Mouse.

Edit alert! I added pictures of Crimson Sparkle and Amethyst Sparkle.

Tags: CND, layering, taupe
Posted in Layering | 22 Comments »