Hot Pink Velvet Nails

I'm so excited about this trend so I had to make a blog post right away! :) Yes, velvet/fuzzy nails or whatever you want to call it... :L :L

 

Last week I got a package from Born Pretty Store and I couldn't wait to try this neon pink flocking powder. The container is huge, I expected it to be smaller but at least I won't run out of it anytime soon. :D

5 easy steps you need to follow to do fuzzy nails:

1st step (optional): Apply base coat.

2nd step: Apply similar base color.

3rd step: Sprinkle flocking powder on your nail when the polish is still wet.

4th step: Dab the powder gently with your finger.

5st step: Sweep away the excess with a brz.

D-o-n-e!! :i

I got tweezers, flocking powder in the the shade Hot Pink and that little brush, which I don't recommend, because it sheds like crazy. Use a fluffy brush you don't need, or those fan brushes you get in a nail art brush set. :) I used this brush but all the bristles ended in the flocking powder so I couldn't put it back to use it later. I really don't want them on my nails next time. xD

I wish you could touch them!! :D So funny!

 Nail Tek Foundation II

CH Nail #14 / 1 coat

Neon Pink Flocking Powder

FYI: This powder is neon pink and not so orange as it shows on my pictures. :) 

It's So Fluffy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xD

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Don't forget to use code J10X31 to get 10% off on your order. ;)


Xoxo,
Ivana :k


*Products in this post were sent to me by Born Pretty Store! For more information read my disclosure policy!

Beach Cruiser Make it Golden for 2O13

2O13 is here, can you believe that? :o I can't, time flies by way to fast as I'd want to. I had b-day on 28th December and I'm 24 now. Not that I feel old but...

...and that's who I am.

But what can we do. :i At least I got some pretty awesome gifts. :party

I didn't have to think twice what to wear for B-day. :L It was all about neon pink this year and I really started to love gold lately so here is a winning combination I'm still wearing. :)

OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

Orly - Beach Cruiser / 2 coats

Sponging: Essence - Make it Golden

Essence Better than gel nails Top Sealer

What do you think? :)

...and that's who I am.

Hope you are too! Healthy, happy and full of love 2O13! :h

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Video Tutorial: How I stamp my nails

I got a request to make a video tutorial about stamping. First I didn't know if I should really make one, because I can stamp my nails really bad sometimes, especially with some difficult patterns. But then I decided to film myself doing an easy zebra pattern. I love animal prints, because they're easy to stamps and mistakes are barely visible, so double win. :i

My hands look so bad on these pictures I took.  Manicure was so bright in person, because I decided to use Beach Cruiser from Orly. I'm in love with this polish, just like with Fancy Fuchsia. :L

Enjoy. :P

I put these infos in an info box on YouTube, but just in case you don't watch this video on YouTube and can't see the info bar.

Stamper ~ there's a few different versions of stampers like this one I'm using in this video or double sided. If your stamper doesn't pick the color well, try to file it a bit to make it a bit rough.

Scraper ~ I'm using my old plastic card as a stamper, because it works great and it doesn't scratch my plates like metal scraper I have. I would suggest a plastic scraper over metal, but even old credit card works just fine.

Stamping polish ~ I'm using stamping polish but sometimes you don't need them, because regular polish can work with stamping too... Especially metallics and one coaters, holos,... You need to experiment to see if they work or not.

Double stamping ~ I always have to double stamp my thumbs and other nails if they're long as in this video. Some patterns are really easy to line up and get a perfect stamp, like this zebra print I'm using in this video.

Top coat ~ Some top coats don't work great with stamping, because they smear the pattern. If you have those problems, be sure you gave a enough top coat on the brush. If the top coat still smudges the pattern, try another top coat.

Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

Orly - Beach Cruiser / 2 coats

Stamping: BPS black stamping polish & BM-223

Essence - High Shine Top coat

What do you think? :) I hope someone will find this video helpful. I'm not really super great with stamping, but I'm learning. :D

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely weekend!

Xoxo,
Ivana:k

Video Tutorial: Saran Wrap Nail Technique

If you follow me on instagram you would know I made my first video tutorial. :$ I spent hours on basic editing and almost gave up when my lap top died in the middle of saving. It also took so long to upload on YouTube and the video is less than 2 minutes long.

This is my first video tutorial so be nice. ^_^ I'm not super satisfied but for the first time I did more than great. Main problem I have with this video is the angle of filming but I didn't want to rotate it, so I just left it like that and played with editing. Next time, if there will be next time, I know how to film. :i

This is one easy tutorial of Saran Wrap Technique I tried the other day and of course there's tons of tutorials around. :i

Saran/Cling Wrap with Love's a Beach
Nail Tek Foundation 2

China Glaze - Love's a Beach / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

Piece of Saran/Cling Wrap & China Glaze - Snow

Essie - Good to Go

Enjoy! :$

Leave comments here or on YouTube, rate and subscribe if you would love to see more tutorials. I'd really love to hear your feedback. Is there a tutorial you would like to see? Please let me know and I'll do my best.:)

Thanks for watching and reading! :i

Xoxo, 

Ivana :k

Saran/Cling Wrap with Love's a Beach

I'm having problems with wrist again so I will probably post even less than before. Anyway August is almost over so I wanted to wear a neon again. :L

I already had this color on my toes and I loved it, so I knew I picked the perfect color. I'm talking about China Glaze's . Perfect name, perfect color. :i

It's part of China Glaze's Summer Neons 2012 collection and I'm so happy I own it with Hang-Ten Toes. It has really great formula, two easy coats and layer of top coat to make it shiny.  It looks way too orange as in person but this polish is pink.

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Nail Tek Foundation 2

China Glaze - Love's a Beach / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

I was a bit scared because I thought this polish is like a shimmer version of Pool Party and I'm really not a fan of PP but they look close when you compare the bottles but once applied PP is orangey and this one isn't. :e

I spent a day at pool and it started chipping so I decided to try Saran Wrap / Cling Wrap technique I saw around. I don't know who came up with this technique but it's such an easy technique and it gives a lovely result. 

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Nail Tek Foundation 2

China Glaze - Love's a Beach / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

Piece of Saran/Cling Wrap & China Glaze - Snow

Essie - Good to Go

You start with fully dry base color. Then you paint one coat of 2nd color over base color. When that layer is still wet, you take a piece of saran/cling wrap and tap it over that's how you get this effect. Now all you have to do is clean your cuticles and seal everything with coat of top coat and you're done. :)

Did you ever try Saran/Cling Wrap technique? :) Thanks for reading!

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Inspired by: Leopard Print by Chalkboard Nails

This time I was inspired by a fellow blogger Sarah at Chalkboard Nails, who definitely is one very talented lady. :h Her blog is just amazing and full of inspiration! I needed a quick manicure so I went with an easy Leopard print tutorial.

I'm not really a fan of freehand nail art, because I want everything to be perfect, so when I was done, I wasn't really liking it at first. :i

Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

CH Nail - #14 / 2 coats

Leopard Print: Dotting tool + China Glaze - Snow & BPS  black stamping polish 

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

 

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Here you can read Sarah's post. I added her tutorial below if you haven't seen it already:



Very simple version of Leopard print if you prefer freehand nail art, all you need is a dotting tool and 3 colors of your choice. :D

Let me know what do you think! Thanks for reading! :h

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Step by Step: Color Blocking Manicure

Color blocking became a huge trend so I decided to do something my way on this theme. :e

I decided to use my new polish I just got from Morgan (I'll show you what I got soon :L ). Beach Cruiser is part of Orly's Summer Feel the Vibe 2012 collection. As soon as I applied it, it became my 2nd favorite Orly, right after Fancy Fuchsia. <3 It's bright vibrant neon pink with great formula. If you're careful, you can get away with 2 coats, if there are still some bald spots, you add another thin coat. It has satin finish so for a glossy look add a layer of TC. :)

I decided to match it with Wanna Kiss? from Essence. First I wanted to use neon with nude, but since I don't have one, I chose muted pastel pink. :) And to play with my manicure a bit more, I reverse the colors on my other hand. ^_^

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I also did one quick tutorial how I did this manicure. Pictures in this post aren't the best, because the weather was really gloomy today. :/

Step 1: Add striping tape on fully dry base color.

Step 2: Paint the opposite color between tape.

Step 3: Carefully remove tape, while the color you just painted is still wet..

Step 4: Add a layer of top coat to smooth the surface.

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Essence - Wanna Kiss? / 2 coats

Orly - Beach Cruiser / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

I'm in love with Beach Cruiser <3 I definitely need a back up! :$ Do you like my take on color blocking nails? Do you find these kind of tutorials helpful?

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

How to capture neons on picture?

When I tried CH Nail #14 I wanted more neons like that so this time I got CH Nail #04. It looks like it's super pink but it's not, so don't let the pictures on their page fool you. It definitely has red undertones, so it's more like a pinkish red. Unfortunately my pictures aren't color accurate, it looks way to orange as in person, so I have only one picture for you.

It has great formula. almost one coater if you're careful. Remember, it's bright but red. :i It looks more pink in the bottle as on nails, maybe I should try it over white too.

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Es?sence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

CH Nail - #04 / 2 coats

Don't forget to use code J10X31 to get 10% off on your order if you're planning to order on Born Pretty Store . ;)

How do you take color acurrate photos of neons? Any tips and tricks?

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

*Product in this post was sent to me by Born Pretty Store! For more information read my disclosure policy!

Hang-Ten Toes

I told you I'm wearing bright colors almost all the time right now and this is one I wore for almost a whole week. I won it in giveaway at Canadian Nail Fanatic and I simply love it. I got so many compliments while wearing this beauty - always make me feel even better. :i

Hang-Ten Toes is part of China Glaze's Summer Neons collection. It's a blue based pink with shimmer. I wasn't really sure about shimmer but once it was applied, I was loving it. I'm wearing this color on my toes too, really compliments my tanned skin. :D

Formula is great, 2 easy coats and a layer of top coat. :L Pictures aren't fully glossy, because they're taken in front of bathroom window, which isn't clear. :)

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Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

China Glaze - Hang-Ten Toes / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

I'm in love with neon pink trend and I already had a top but I wanted neon jeans too. I wasn't really wearing colored jeans before but these were love at first sight. :i It's funny how my addiction to pink nail polish spreads to clothes and random stuff. I used to think pink just when it came to nail polish but now... ^_^ Oh well, I need pink things to match my pink nails more often, right? :D These jeans reminds me of my all time favorite polish Fancy Fuchsia. <3

 Tally Weijl Neon Pink Skinny Jeans

Do you like this super bright neon trend? Or are neons out of your comfort zone? :)

Thanks for reading! :h

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Gold Knockout Pout

My nails were naked for a whole week, because I wasn't really sure what to wear. But few days ago I finally decided. It was time for Essie's Knockout Pout. It's part of Essie's Summer 2010 collection. 

Really lovely pink with peach undertones and it has a satin finish when it dries, so it's probably a neon? :) The formula is a bit thick, but you can easily get away with 2 or 3 coats. I'm not really a fan of Essie's brush, I prefer big flat brush over Essie's. It's a bit hard to capture on photo, but it's such a lovely shade in person - sometimes more peach and sometimes more pink. :)

Then I added a coat of Essence's Make it Golden on half on my nails and over also Milani Jewel FX - Gold. Make it Golden is going to be discontinued this fall, so be sure you'll grab it before that, I need a back-up of this gorgeous polish. :L

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 OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthene

Essie - Knockout Pout / 2-3 coats

Essence -  Make it Golden / 1 coat

Milani Jewel FX - Gold / 1 coat

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

Extra photo... :i

What do you think? :i Have a lovely Friday and weekeend and thanks for reading!

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Sweet Thing Pacific Blue

Can you tell I'm absolutely in love with twocolored manicure? Well I'm wearing third combo in a row. :i I hope you're not already bored with them. :P

 

H&M Dress

New Yorker Bracelet

Yap, neon pink and royal blue. :L Both a bit hard to catch on picture, but you get an idea. ^_^ Do you remember I had an wrist operation in December? Thatt's why I'm havng a scar on my right hand. :$

OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

Sally Hansen - Pacific Blue / 2 coats

Ruby Kisses - Sweet Thing / 2 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

 Let me know what do you think! Thanks for reading! :)

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Aquadelic Fancy Fuchsia

Huh, can you read me now? xo This malware problem almost made me stop blogging. But it should be fine now. If you're still having problems please let me know. If you have this malware problem, try to remove your blogroll, ads, favicon,..., check Google Webmaster Tool and ask for another check from Google and it should be fixed in a day if you removed everything you should.. :) I also extended a BPS $18 Giftacard Giveaway for two days and added a Google form instead of Rafflecopter, because I'm not really sure how safe Rafflecopter is.

It's finally super hot here and because I love neons atm so much I decided to wear my new neon top. <3 I usually don't mach my nails with my outfit, that's why I decided to wear another fun combo with neon pink and turquoise. I think I finally found a way to wear turquoise and green shades more often :)

I played with taking pictures to catch my nails and my outfit in the background. :)

H&M Top

Tally Weijl Shorts

New Yorker Bracelet

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OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

Thumb, Ring finger: China Glaze - Aquadelic / 2 coats
Orly - Fancy Fuchsia / 2 coats 

What do you think? :) Do you like this combo?

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Neon Pink Houndstooth Nails

Let's continue with the goodies I got from Born Pretty Store. I already told you I'm into neons lately and I really need more of them in my life. So when they offered me to try some things from their store, I immediately knew what I want to try out this time. :D

CH Nail #14 is a part of their neon collection. I picked this one, because I wanted something bright and pink. ^_^ I didn't know what to expect but when I tried it, I fell in love with. It's highlighter neon pink. <3 I really like its brush, because it's more on a flatter side, which makes application even easier. Formula is great, you can easily get away with 2 coats. I didn't use a top coat on the picture below, so you can see it has some kind of this plastic finish.

Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

CH Nail - #14 / 2 coats

I'm really happy with this polish and I'll be definitely wearing this one through the whole summer. I have no idea if these are B3F, because the ingredients aren't listed on the bottle, but this one doesn't stink like polishes with Formaldehyde, DBP & Toluene. It's $4.99 per bottle and the bottle contains 15 ml (with a cuopon code you get a nice deal :i ).

And because I also got this Double Sided Stamper I had to try it out too. I tried this pink houndstooth dress in H&M months ago, which I really loved, but it looked horrible on me so I didn't get it. :D But I really loved that black & pink combination, so I decided to recreate it with this neon pink. :D

Essence Nail Art - Protecting Base Coat

CH Nail - #14 / 2 coats

Stamping: Wet n Wild - Black Créme & Konad m63

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

And I'm still wearing this manicure, because I love it so much! :L What do you think?

So I tried this double sided stamper for the first time and so far I'm loving it! It's much easier to hold it in hands and transfer the pattern from the plate to my nails. I also got the regular stamper from BPS and they're same size, the only difference is that the double stamper is smoother but it still picks the pattern perfectly as the normal one. Double stamper has a green smaller stamper for smaller patterns but I don't know if I'm ever going to use that one, because I'm really not a fan of smaller patterns. :D It comes with a metal scraper and I prefer credit cards more than metal scrapers, because they easily scratch my plates.

Don't forget to use code J10X31 to get 10% off on your order. ;)

Let me know if you already tried any of these! Do you like Houndstooth nails?

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

*Some of the products in this post were sent to me by Born Pretty Store! For more information read my disclosure policy!

Bright Pinks

Did you notice anything new? Yes? No? :D I changed a header and the background in case you didn't guess. I wanted something pink and cute and I like it but I'd love to hear your opinion too! :$

Bright pinks make me feel so good so I love to wear them especially when I feel my nails need to be "noticed". :) So I wore 3 different bright pinks this past week. The only problem is taking pics of them. My phone refuses to take color accurate pictures of some bright pinks so I wasn't really sure if I should post them. But here they are anyway, if I already took them. :)

First was Golden Rose (with protein nail lacquer) in #324. It's bright pink with very watery formula, so I needed 3 thick coats to get a decent opacity, VNL was still there it didn't bother me so much. :) I got this polish from Veri (she bought it in Bosnia), thank you sis. :h Because I had 3 thick coats on I decided to add a coat of G2G to speed up the drying process.

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OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

Golden Rose (with protein nail lacquer) - #324

Essie - Good to Go

Then I wasn't really sure what should be next, so I choose the polish I usually pick when I really don't know what to do with my nails. It's my all time favorite bright pink from Orly called Fancy Fuchsia from their Precious Spring 2011 collection. I love everything about this polish. :L I already wore it so many times and I'm happy I have a back up, because I'll definitely need one. It has my name on it. <3 Formula is more on a thick side but nothing you can't work with. 2 coats and you're done. It's so bright and so pink, it's so me! :)

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OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

Orly - Fancy Fuchsia / 2 coats

Essie - Good to Go

And today I got another bright super pretty pink from Tinchi - Ruby Kisses - Sweet Thing .She said she couldn't use it because it stinks so much and I just have to agree with her. It really stinks! :~ I checked the ingredients but it's formaldehyde, toluene and DBP free, so I'm not sure why it stinks so much. :/ Anyway, thick formula, 2 coats and it looks great. :D 

This one was hard to capture, it's really light highlighter neon pink in person, nothing orange-y like on the pictures below. :D

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 OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

Ruby Kisses - Sweet Thing / 2 coats

That's it! :D Three bright pinks that I love so much! I'm just not happy with my cuticles and nails atm, they're at that lenght that I really don't like them - I prefer them a bit shorter or a bit longer. xD Oh well... I can complain about everything - never happy! :D

Do you like wearing bright pink? Or are they a bit out of your comfort zone? What's your favorite pink? If I had to choose only one, that'd be Fancy Fuchsia and I think every pink addict should own a bottle! :)

Have a lovely weekend and thanks for reading! 

Xoxo,

Ivana :k

Depend #34

I'd like to start this post with saying Thanks to everyone who took a second and voted for me in BM's contest! I'm so happy to announce that I made it to Top 50! I couldn't believe my eyes, when I read some tweets when I woke up. I'm so happy and I wouldn't make it without you! :h

Now it's time for judging. :) They'll pick 25 winners, who'll get their new BM set. Competition is hard so I'm not expecting anything but I'm so happy I'm in Top50! :mj

I have to share this super bright neon pink with you!I went to my local drugstore DM few days ago to buy some polish, because I had a discount coupon. Sunny weather screams bright neon colors and because I really need more pink neons in my life, I decided to see if we have any. Of course, there wasn't a lot to choose from, I actually only spotted this one.. We have some of the Depend polishes for some time now and because I still didn't buy any, I decided to try this one out.

Depend #34 is a bright neon pink. I added 2 coats and even without TC it's shiny and not matte as neons usually are, but I added TC to make this polish last longer on me.

My phone refuses to take color accurate picture, so my swatches aren't real. I'm wondering why the bottle is color accurate but my nails aren't. :D You can see the difference between nails and the bottle I'm holding, so just imagine it pink as the bottle is.

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Sun

Nail Tek Foundation II

Depend - #34 / 2 coats

Nail Tek Intensive Therapy II

I love bright colors so I'm loving this one so much! <3 I'll definitely buy a back up, cause Depend bottles contains only 5ml and I'm sure I'll wear this color more often!

What's your favorite neon? I definitely need more of them in my life so give me suggestions of your favorites! :L

Xoxo,
Ivana :k

Neon French Cheetah Print

Months ago I was contacted by KKCenterHk and they offered me to pick one of their stamping plates. Because I'm not really a fan of plates with tiny images on, I decided to go with french manicure plate - B57. I have no idea what was I thinking when I chose it because you all know I'm having nubs most of the time, so I waited and waited and when I found out my nails won't be long anytime soon I decided to try it out on my longer shorties. :D

Image plate came in a little plastic bag and it's protected with a very thin clear film, which is really hard to notice at first but keep sliding your finger at the end (but carefully because you can easily cut yourself) and the film will start lifting.

B57 has 6 patterns for french manicure...

 

I decided to go with cheetah print and diagonal french tips, because my tips weren't long enough and it would look weird if I would stamp it horizontally. :D I must say I'm not happy with this color combination but here it is. :D

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The only reason I had neon polish on my nails was to check if Pool Party really looks better over white. :D I already had white nails from my last manicure, so I removed an accent nails and applied Pool Party without a white base to see the difference. It was obvious in person but I failed again with taking color accurate pictures of this neon. :D So Pool Party looks way to orange on this pictures, I think my phone just aren't smart enough to capture the real color. :P

I stamped the cheetah print from the image plate in diagonal way. The patterns came off really great so I had no problems with transfering the image from plate to stamper to nails. :)

Sun

OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener

China Glaze - Snow / 2 coats

China Glaze - Pool Party / 2 coats

Thumb & Ring Finger: China Glaze - Pool Party/ 3 coats

Beauty Secrets Top Coat Fast Finish Polish Dryer

What do you think? I really love diagonal tips, because I'm not really a fan of classic french manicures so I will definitely try another color combo soon. :D Would you wear a neon with cheetah tips? 

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day!

Xoxo,

Ivana :k 

*Product in this post was sent to me by KKCenterHk! For more information read my disclosure policy!

Really Shocking Pink!

When I got Pool Party and tried it for the first time I was very disappointed with all those orange tones in that neon pink. So I wanted something bright and pink so I got Shocking Pink. <3 

Application is horrible! I added 4 thin coats because after 3 it was still streaky. It dries in satin finish so I had to add a layer of top coat and I think it looked just perfect. 3 thick coats would also probably be enough or layering over white. Need to try this out soon!

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Nail Tek - Foundation 2

China Glaze - Shocking Pink / 4 coats

Beauty Secrets TC Fast Finish Polish Dryer

My phone went a bit crazy while taking the pics of it so it's not 100% color accurate. I'm sure you all know how pink neon markers look like, right? Well that's the right color of this polish. :D

From the moment I saw Kim's Hot Pink manicure I wanted a neon pink like she's wearing on the picture below and I think this pink is quite a match. :)

 http://www.stylebistro.com

I wanted to add a bottle comparison but the sunlight was way too yellow so you can't really see the difference on this photo below. But I really love how Bebo is smelling something in the background. :D

Pool Party, Shocking Pink (Neon)

Well I'm sorry I can't show you how this polish looks in real but if you want something neon pink and you have patience for a tricky application, you need this one. :D I need more neons like this in my life. <3 

What's your favorite neon polish? I just show you mine. :P

It's already 8th March here so Happy International Women's Day dear Ladies! :h

 http://weheartit.com/

Xoxo,

Ivana :k