Swap: Brazilian Babies!!

Hello!!

Guess what guess what guess what!! I got the very bestest kind of nail mail the other day--a swap from my friend Janaina in Brazil!

Ages ago we decided to do a themed swap based on the current season...The idea was that we'd put together a three-photo mosaic representing what we love about the season to guide the other person in the swap, and we'd exchange some polishes and one non-polish item. Initially that was going to be a fall/spring swap (fall in my half of the world, spring in hers). But then my world got a bit complicated, what with dogs showing up and my house getting foreclosed on. So I dropped the ball a bit, and the swap had to shift to a winter/summer swap, and even then only got completed after the target seasons were over.

However, that doesn't change how much fun it was, or how awesome Janaina's package was. :)

Here is the photo collage I put together to show what I love about Winter:

And here is a group shot of the polishes Janaina picked based on this:

From left to right, these polishes are:

Risque Niasi Azulcrination, a shimmery jelly
Colorama Mesquita Azul, a very deep ink blue crelly
Risque Niasi Cobertura Encantada, an orange and yellow flakie (eeeeeee!!!!)
Impala Na Mira 3D, a gorgeous silver/charcoal/rainbow amazing holo
Realce Cobra Verde, a shimmery forest green jelly
Risque Niasi Maca Do Amor, a shimmery blood red jelly


And in the below picture, you can see the extra non-polish item she sent--a hand-made manicure towel, cross-stitched with my name:

Every time I look at this, I'm just speechless. I also cross-stitch, so I know how much work it is, and this is incredibly special. All I can say is...wow. This will never go anywhere near nail polish, no way no how. But I will use it for routine-care manicures where I know none of the substances can ruin it, lol.

Here are some individual bottle shots, and for each one, I'll share Janaina's explanation of why she picked each polish, based on the photo collage. First, Colorama Mesquita Azul and Risque Niasi Azulcrination:

Colorama Mesquita Azul

Risque Niasi Azulcrination

Janaina said "Azulcrination and Mesquita Azul are in this pack to represent the deep blue sky you showed in your mosaic. In my opinion, Mesquita Azul (Blue Mosque) is the most beautiful and will really stand up on your nails."

I happen to be wearing Mesquita Azul right now, and I couldn't agree more. It's a deep inky blue that's almost black, and looks like an infinite starless night sky. :)

Next is Realce Cobra Verde:

Realce Cobra Verde

"Cobra Verde (green snake) is representing Charlie Brown's X-mas Tree. Heh heh!"

In the bottle, this looks like a tealish green, but on the nail, it is a stunningly perfect Christmas-tree green shimmering jelly. Sublime!


Next, Risque Niasi Maca Do Amor:

Risque Niasi Maca Do Amor

"Maca Do Amor (toffee apple) Is here to bring you some warmth". I also think this is the perfect representation of the warm tones in the place setting in the mosaic, and of course, it's red, so yeah. 'Nuff said.

Finally, my two favorites...(I can't stop squealing when I look at these), Impala Na Mira 3D and Risque Niasi Coberatura Encantada: 

Impala Na Mira 3D

Omgomgomgomg. There are not words.

Risque Niasi Cobertura Encantada

"Na Mira 3D (on the target/aim) and Cobertura Encantada (charmed coat) are bringing you some light, both from stars and the candles we have during the festive times."

I couldn't have picked two better polishes to represent the lights in the collage--Cobertura Encantada practically jumps directly out from the candle light in the one picture, while Na Mira 3D captures the magic of the Christmas lights against the peaceful night background in the other picture.

Not only am I incredibly impressed at how well her choices matched up with my pictures--my choices for her mosaic were much more fluid and intuitive, not nearly as on-spot as her choices were--I am amazed at how perfect her choices were for my collection. I have several flakies, but none of them are orange/yellow, and I've been wanting one. And of course I have a number of holos, but Na Mira 3D is not only not like any I have, it's not like any I've even seen before. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous, and I'm darn glad to own it.

While those were my definite two favorites, I assure you that the other follow closely behind. Beautiful jewel tones are my absolute favorites, and I have nothing like these with finishes like this. I continue to be amazed at how beautiful Brazilian polishes are. Sigh...:)

I'll be showing swatches of these polishes over the next few days/weeks; I couldn't wait to show the awesome swap asap, though. :) And I had to post a thank-you to Janaina for sending me such an awesome, touching package! Girl, you ROCK ROCK SUPERROCK from start to finish. :)

Thanks everyone for looking!

Big Hugs,
M.

NOTD Before & After: Risque Niasi Besouro

Hello!!!

Today I have a very simple before & after for you, showcasing another of the amazing Brazilian polishes I got in my swap. Today I have the unique and stunning Risque Niasi Besouro.

Janaina tells me that 'Besouro' translates to 'Beetle', and that's a perfect name for this polish. If you've ever seen one of those black scarab-type beetles that has the dark purple-black color with the rainbow sheen at the edges, you'll be able to see that in this polish. It's a silver-black-purple that flashes a more true purple and a soft teal. This is a more subtle duochrome than Hit's Dreamer was; the color flashes are less pronounced and play off of the steelish-black, but are no less beautiful because of it. The duochrome shows more in indirect light, but it does show in the sunlight more than you see here (I'm starting with the sunlight pictures first so I can show the least duochrome-y shots at the start). Also, there are flecks of teal and purple in the polish that show through in all lights:

Risque Besouro in the sunlight

Risque Besouro: Check out those little flecks of teal and purple

Risque Besouro in the shade: flecks and slight duochrome

Risque Besouro: Note the soft purple and teal duochromes

Risque Besouro: Pretty duochrome makes me happy

Rique Besouro: Note the subtle color shift within the purple and teal

Risque Besouro: To show you it isn't just one position that give the effect :)

I was not able to take this off for several days, I loved it that much. Finally because I was going up to the Napa wine country, I decided to do a subtle stamp on it in the wine theme. But, purple would have been too easy, so I played up the teal instead, by stamping it with Color Club's Pure Energy, using Bundle Monster plate BM05:

Risque Besouro stamped with Color Club's Pure Energy

As I was picking my jewelry for the trip, I tried it on with this ring, and fell in love with how well they went together; you can't see the range in this picture, but the abalone insert flashes the same shades of purple and teal as the polish much of the time:

Risque Besouro: How perfectly does it go with that ring?!

Another shot because I loved it so much I couldn't just choose one.

I can't say enough good things about this polish. All total, I ended up wearing it for about 4 days, and only the last day did I have any chipping. And that was through two trips in a jacuzzi! So it also wears pretty well.

If you can get your hands on this through a swap or another way, I highly recommend it. Why wear a regular steel-black when you can wear this stunner???!!

Hope you enjoyed seeing it; thanks for reading. :)

M.

NAIL MAIL!: My first swap (or, OMG, OMG, OMG, such pretty polishes!!!!!)

Hello everyone!

I never do haul posts, mostly because my hauls are not that interesting. However, today I got my very first swap package in the mail!! Of all the wonderful things that have come out of this blog, I never expected to meet so many cool people, and the coolest by far is Janaina; after we found a number of things in common, she suggested we do a polish swap. I've never done a polish swap before, and I didn't know quite what to do or expect. I got my package today, and I have to say, before anything else...I'm sorry Janaina, the package I sent to you is nowhere near as cool as the one you sent to me! You really did an incredible job, and I'm going to have to make it up to you next time!!

I am so excited by these, I just had to share them here. I told her that I love jewel-toned polishes the best, and adore duochromes and flakies. Look at the amazing goodness she sent to me:

Swap Haul!!! Holla!!

Ana Hickmann: Escandalo!

She knows I don't like pink, but she took a chance on this one, because it's a pink she loves. Believe me, if I didn't like it I would say it--but the truth is, I absolutely love it. I own ONE item of clothing that has pink in it--only ONE--and it's *this* exact pink. It's rich enough and close enough to red that I adore it. Janaina--get outta mah head!!!

Hits: Can Can

OMG, a flakie. A flakie a flakie a flakie!!! And not just a flakie, but a freakin' gorgeous multichrome green-blue-purple flakie. When I hold this, I can't help but stroke it like Golem with his One Ring...my...precioussssss...

Hits Multigirl: Dreamer

Hits duochrome!!! I've been lusting after this for ages. It's amazing and it's awesome and it makes me do the happy duochrome dance. In case you didn't know, it's sort of like the lambada, but with jazz hands that flash around your nail polish for everyone to see.

PanVel Make Up Stars: Cleopatra

How incredible is that metallic purple! I bet that it would be great for stamping but I'll never know 'cause I am not going to waste a drop on anything but pure base color. The color is actually even prettier in person (you know how that problem-child purple is to photograph) than it is here if you can believe it. Another absolute home-run.

Risque Niasi: Besouro

And last alphabetically, but certainly not least, Risque Niasi Besouro! This didn't pick up well in the bottle, so I'll have to swatch it for you soon. I've never seen anything like this, ever. It's like a silver-black duochrome that flashes a jewel-toned rainbow at the edges, primarily purple, but with some blue and green and yellow. This is the most unique polish I've ever seen, and I can't believe I get to own it. I didn't find anything anywhere close to as unique as this for her so I owe her big, big, big. All I can say about this polish is...WOW.

For any of you out there who have been thinking about a swap, as you can see, I highly recommend it! I was warned it is like Christmas for adults who love polish, and it really is. I haven't been so excited to open a package in...I don't know how long. :)

Thanks so much, Janaina. I cannot express how much you rock! And now I must go put on some of these polishes, I can't wait another second!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

M.