Hello Kitty Violet Salome and graphic nail-art

Ok, so it seems I still have vampy dark polishes in store, and since I just chopped down my nails (after a very ill-advised tutorial on filing, I have to stop thinking my way of doing things is not good!), I'm emptying my archives before showing you my new pretties!

Today I'm showing you a polish from the Hello Kitty brand that can be found in France (different from the one found in US Sephoras) and the nail-art I did with it. You know I'm weak with violets and I'd been eyeing this one for a while, until I gave in. In the bottle, it looks like a shimmery violet but on the nail, it's closer to a foil. Application is easy, you see it here in two coats.

Then, using the scotch-tape technique so dear to my friend Pshiiit, I took out my Essie Matte About You and Accessorize Ruby Sparkle for a graphic different-textured nail-art.

Best of 2011 in The Purple Fairy Book

Here it is, my final pick for 2011. I chose to present only polishes that had been featured on the blog and released in 2011, and even with those limitations, I could only narrow it down to 20. Here's the complete list, in no particular order:

OPI Play the Peonies

I waited long to grab this shade and it was no disappointment, it's a sweet shimmery pink that flatters every hands and makes a nice break from vampy shades from time to time.

China Glaze Below Deck

My only pick from CG's Spring Collection, it has become a classic cream colour known as "grurple", the shades that made darker polishes fashionable and I never get weary of it!

Models Own Pinky Brown

Part of the much talked about Beetlejuice collection, it's the darker brother of the famous Bad Fairy from MAC and a perfect fall shade.

H&M Peppermint Fusion

I got this colour in a mistake and I loved it all through Spring and Summer, it's instant cheer in a bottle!

A-england Avalon

Among the several "purple to blue through pink" multichromes that were released this year in various forms (foil with OPI Grape Set Match, glitter with OPI DS Temptation...), I had to pick Avalon, a polish that still amazes me by its quality but mostly by its fantastic colour and brightness!

Zoya Shay

This year, Zoya has focused on neutral shades, firstly with the Touch Collection, and in it, Zoya Shay became my mannequin-hand shade with beautiful shimmer to add a sophisticated touch.

OPI Pros & Bronze

I already said it, but the Glam Slam Collection was without doubt the best for 2011 in my opinion, and Pros & Bronze is one of the big surprise. I never expected to like this orange-coppery shade, but it's so complex and rich that I couldn't help it and wore this more than once on my hands and toes!

OPI Rally Pretty Pink

Still in the Glam Slam Collection, Rally Pretty Pink was the first version of those "pink/mauve shades packed with golden shimmer" that we saw a lot this year: Zoya Faye, OPI It's My Year Orly Rock the World... Though it's a stainer, it's really beautiful and full of surprises.

LM Cosmetic Arthur
Of course, Brocéliande had to be my favourite LM Cosmetic Collection for 2011 and I chose Arthur to feature in this because it's a colour I would never have thought I'd like and I ended loving it so much that I bought several clothing items to match and wore it regularly during the fall season!

Orly Sweet Peacock
Another very good surprise, a beautiful blue so bright that it'll make your nails glow in the shade. Completely mesmerizing.

Essie Topless & Barefoot
Pinky beige with Essie's perfect formula, what else? I'm already well into my second bottle...

Accessorize Pink Spice
I couldn't have Bad Fairy, so I'll be grateful to Accessorize for this beautiful dupe, I have a stupid smile on my face each time I take my bottle out :p

OPI I Brake for Manicure
The perfect fall colour in my book, neither purple nor brown, just edgy enough to be interesting without being black, with a perfect formula.

Color Club Sugar Plum Fairy
Told you this one would be in the list. It's mauve, it's glitter, it's holo, nothing more to say!

A-england Elaine
I cannot grow weary of edgy purples, and this one is as perfect as only A-england knows how to make them.

China Glaze CG in the City
Another glitter that was part of my end-of-year glitter feast, and I've just realised that it's pretty much the glitter version of OPI I Brake for Manicure...

OPI Designer de Better
I will reswatch this one soon because my original post is just terrible... In spite of having high hopes for the Muppets collection, only this one ended up in the list, because it seems to be quite classic (a champagne foil) but it's completely unique and will be flattering on everyone!

Zoya Megan
Another Zoya cream, part of the lovely Feel collection. I chose this one because it's mauve, and well, you know how I like this colour!!

H&M Bambi Pink Skies
I've searched long for it and never expected to find it at H&M: the perfect baby pink cream...

OPI Be a Dahl-ia Won't You?
And to finish, the counterpart from Play the Peonies, a bright and gorgeous summery shimmery pink. I would never have thought I could wear such colours, but this one is a total winner!

October.. is it Pink or Green?? Accessorize Bronze

I cannot really tell if today's colour is a pink or a yellowish green, but October is the perfect occasion to show this beauty, Bronze from Accessorize. I've already shown you a couple of Accessorize nail polishes, this is my second to last. Accessorize is firstly a brand of... accessories, yes, thank you Cpt Obvious, but it's less known that they do make-up and nail polishes as well. I haven't tested the make-up, but I'm quite enthusiastic about the nail polishes: 4£ for a bottle with super quality and beautiful colours, and all this can be found online. Bronze is a pink/pale gold/greenish multichrome and as far as I know, it's quite a unique colour (check out HERE for some comparisons). You see it here in two coats with Seche Vite.

October is Pink! Accessorize Pink Spice

Last week, I showed you Space Cadet and Galaxy Girl from Orly's Cosmic FX Collection. Besides from being very popular polishes in themselves, they also were famous as dupes of two of the three polishes from MAC Venomous Villains collection, Formidable! and Mean & Green.

As a result, the third one, Bad Fairy, became even more of a collecitble because there was no dupe to be found. The Venomous Villains collection was sold out on Mac's website within hours of its launch, so needless to say that the only way to find Bad Fairy was to fork some 30$ on Ebay, which was  never an option. And then, Accessorize came along with Pink Spice to make a lot of nail-addicts very happy!! I chose this as the second pink star for October. Here is Pink Spice in two coats, no top-coat.

 

I have to work on Minnie's Beauty Minute, sorry for the delay, buuuuut, the big news of the day: the OPI Muppets collection is out. I was shocked to see it as Sephora's this morning: it's impressive to see that since OPI was bought by Coty, release dates are the same in the US and France. Of course, I didn't buy any (13,9 euros for a bottle, hello???), but ordered six them online as soon as I was back home. See you soon to behold those beauties!

Week 1 Debriefing

So, I figured I would write an update of "my life as a blogger" after a week or so. Taming of Minnie's super camera is underway, and search for the best spot in terms of light is continuing.

In terms of health, my hands are almost back to normal, hopefully there'll be no eczema crisis for a while. My pinkies are still stuck in nubbin state but they should start growing out soon (it'll make things easier to take pictures!!). For the other fingers, I have a couple of old marks to grow out, they're in the free edge now so that's be another problem solved within a few weeks. I'm also trying out different shapes for my nails, right now they are square, I'll see how I'll like it :)
To be honest, the perfectionist in me would have waited for all this to be over before starting this blog, but the woman of action in me got the upper hand since I knew I would have many things to improve anyway. This way at least I know why this blog is not as nice as I would have it yet!!

I have some articles in advance, so you'll have to bear with less than perfect pictures and irregular nails for some days yet, but it won't last, I promise.

I also had my first Blogger bug on Sunday, I guess it's part of the baptism...

And just so that this post is not only talk, here's my NOTD: Accessorize Ruby Sparkle. This polish is quite hard to build up, so I first put one coat of OPI Pamplona Purple, before two coats of Ruby Sparkle.

 Accessorize Ruby Sparkle over OPI Pamplona Purple. It's less blue in real life, the magenta glitter is really present.