A beautiful color

It's summer and we love to use vibrant colors on our nails.
But no need to spend a fortune to buy new nail polish colors !

Here's a trick I saw on youtube, I don't remember exactly where.

You only have to put a first layer of white.
Then you can put the color you want.

I would suggest the LA Colors white which costs about $ 2 at Jean Coutu or the essence white at Pharmaprix for about the same price.
The bottle of LA Colors is a bit bigger.

Since we won't see the white, no need to spend a lot on it :-)

 

 

I do not know if you can see the difference between the two fingers, but the left one is more pimpant.

I do not think the picture does justice to the colors.

 

Obviously, once you have completed your manicure, you will not see any white around.
As I did this as a test, I have not put much effort into it.

 

This technique works well with colors that are already vibrant but for which you want even more sparkle!

 

I used SpaRitual Dreamsicle color

 

 

Who could see your manicure from the dark side anyway ?

As you may know by now, OPI crossed to the dark side. If you missed the train, click here for more info!


Please don't cry, there are so may cruelty free nail polish brands out there!

So you can compare, know that a OPI bottle costs 8,95$ on nailpolishcanada.com

So here is some good options!

The bottles are not to size or in a preference order.

less than 5$

L.A. Girls - L.A. Colors - essence - elf - wet n wild - manic panic - Hard Candy - NYX

between 5$ and 10$

GOSH - Soulstice Spa - China Glaze - Zoya - Milani - Lime Crime - Nubar - Orly - Crabtree&Evelyn

between 10$ and 15$

SpaRitual - A England - Inglot - Gabriel Cosmetics

more than 15$

Suncoat - NARS - butter london - deborah lippman - illamasqua






So ? There's enough options ? :-)

nubar ain't on PETA's good list no more

Do you remember? I told you about nubar in the beginning of January.
If you wanna read the article, you may click here.

The brand didn't tell PETA they were expanding to China. (Oh Surprise!)

I decided to repair the mistake and advised PETA myself.
They told me they would verify the information.

Well, it is official now, nubar is off PETA's cruelty free list now.




nubar would normally appear under NovAurora

This is the reason why I respect PETA so much. They verify the information. They make sure they have the right info.

It is obvious they cannot be aware of everything.
The brands won't brag about not being cruelty free anymore. They try to keep it secret as long as possible.

That's why you must tell PETA when you know a brand has changed its politics about animal testing.
(and please, tell me too!)

We can help animals!!And NEVER close our eyes!!

The fight goes on.

Soulstice Spa + GIVEAWAY TIME!!

I came across a nail polish brand I did not know, and I have to say I love it!


I bought a Soulstice Spa bottle for $8,50 on nailpolishcanada.com
The color I chose is Odessa.

First thing, the color is gorgeous and it is pigmented.
Two coats are enough to cover your nails.

It gives a nice pearl finish.


Regarding drying time, it is very acceptable.
There are polishes that dry faster, but the difference of time isn't that much.


Second, durability.

This polish does not chip.
Even without a topcoat.


After a whole week, it stays gorgeous!


What's wonderful is, that besides being a good quality product, it is a vegan one and obviously it ain't tested on animals.
(PETA approved)

In other words, no animals were victims of tests and no ingredient comes from them.

No impact on our furry friends:-)
You can have a clear conscience.

I only have good words for Soulstice Spa.


I like it so much, I decided I'd share that with you.

There is a giveaway for the blog members.
If you are not a member yet, don't worry. You may join now and the contest will be opened to you as well.

You can participate here.


Good luck!

GIVEAWAY!!

After the bad news I gave you about OPI and nubar, I thought you might like to know about
Soulstice Spa brand.

1 lucky winner will get 5 nail polishes

vegan

cruelty free

excellent quality

one of my favorite brands
more than 40$ value

The giveaway is opened to this blog's subscribers and it's all over the world.

All you have to do is to subscribe to Small Rabbit Hops!

And use the Rafflecopter section.

Good Luck !

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nubar - another one in China!

I'm so fed up of all the brands that decide to go to China.

They do it knowing that it's mandatory to test on animals in order to sell their products in that country.

Many brands decided to give up their ''against animal testing'' policies so they can get more money.

I visited nubar's website today.
I wanted to know something, when I saw their international section and decided to click on it.

What a bad surprise...

You may see that they are apparently available in China. Like OPI...
Here is the link if you want to see it directly on nubar's site.



Despite that, nubar still uses PETA 's logo as you can see in the next picture.
The bunny is at the bottom, on the right side.




I suppose they forgot to tell PETA they're now available in China...
They're still on the don't test list today :

That's why I'm sending nubar an email and I'll inform PETA.

If you wanna help to put an end to the horrible tests on animals, I invite you to write to nubar (be polite) to tell them what you think about all of this.


Here is their email address : info@bynubar.com

Illamasqua : Take 2 !

I told you about Illamasqua few days ago.
The polish chipped on the first day, and 3 days later the polish was chipped on all fingers.

However, I did not put a topcoat on it - I know, shame on me!

That's why I decided to give a second try to the brand.
And you know, I gave 18$ to Sephora for the little bottle...

Also, the color is really beautiful + the varnish applies easily.
It was worth another try.




Illamasqua - Color : Serenity

I applied it again WITH a GOSH topcoat. (I adore that last brand by the way!)


The result :
No chipping before the 3rd day...
A little chip on one finger only.
Better than having one on the first day! But still...

If I compare to some other polish brands, I find the Illamasqua's one to be to expensive.

Even with no topcoat on my first try, a 18$ polish should not chip on the first day.
As simple as that.

Spa Ritual doesn't have to fear to lose my heart's first place.

Talking about that last brand, I will post pretty soon about it.

Mavala & their animal testing policy

When a brand says they don't do animal testing, you have to be careful.
Brands do know how to make you understand what they want.

I saw someone ask Mavala if they use animals for their tests.
The answer that person received would make you believe the brand is cruelty free.
The thing is that the answer wasn't complete.

So I decided to ask Mavala for the missing information.

Here is the email I sent to Mavala

Hello !

I'd like to know if your products, and the ingredients and formulations are tested on animals either by you or a third party ?
Do you make sure your suppliers aren't testing on animals (ingredient, formulations and finished product) themselves or by a third party?
Also, do you sell your products in countries that mandate animal testing? 

Thank you and have a nice day !

Manuela

And their answer

In yellow, you will see a disturbing information : they do not test on their finished products...



Dear Mrs Manuela Lima,

We thank you for your e-mail and for your interest in MAVALA products.

We have been aware of ethical issues concerning animal experimentation for a number of years. Therefore, our policy for a long time has been very clear and we can assure you that we do not perform any animal tests (nor us neither a third party). And we chose our suppliers which comply with European Legislation that prohibits animal testing on ingredients.

This policy is valid for all countries in which Mavala is commercialised.

Please note that even if we do not test our finished products on animals, the mention "not tested on animals" does not appear on our products, because it is a European legal requirement for all cosmetic manufacturers since 2004.

We hope to have answered you satisfactorily.

Kind regards.

MAVALA S.A.

When you get an answer that ain't so easy to understand, and that talks about the laws, 
think again...

Usually, a brand that doesn't do any animal testing don't hide behind long and non-understandable answers... 

I do not believe they are cruelty free and hope you don't!

My first product from Illamasqua!

For my very first incursion into Illamasqua's world, I decided to try a nail polish.


I chose a color named Serenity.

I was surprised to see it was a matte finish.
But it's a good surprise.
(If you prefer a shining finish, I suggest you choose a top coat accordingly.)

+ + + : this polish dries quickly, so you don't need to use drying drops .

Two coats are enough since the color is bright. Also, the polish applies easily.

But it is a little bit expensive. We are talking about 18$ at Sephora, for a 15 ml bottle.
Added to the fact that it started to chip on day 2.
I thought it could happen.
But within 3 days, the polish on all my nails chipped...
:-(

It's unacceptable to me.
I have to admit I haven't use any topcoat.
Still, it's 18$...

Because the color is so gorgeous, I'm going to give it another try WITH a good topcoat.
I plan to use GOSH topcoat, I'll give you some news in a week.


Sephora is the only store I know you can find Illamasqua.

The brand is on My Beauty Bunny's cruelty free list.

I don't like to wait!

New Info on Dec 25th,2012 : OPI is not on the cruelty free list anymore






You know how easy it is to ruin a manicure.

We think the polish is dry, we decide to do something banal, and voila! a big ugly mark on our nails.  >: (

Even worse, we manage to avoid disaster, we go to bed happy & the next morning,  vision of horror! The sheets are printed all over our nails ...

All these efforts for nothing!

I heard of drops used to dry the polish faster.

But still, I told myself '' Well, do your nails in the morning!''

But there's always a cosmic force that gets in the way and prevents me from doing that.

I  always do my nails after work and hey, same shit happens.

Isn't it a sign of madness to always do the same thing and expect a different result ?



Since I'm not crazy (I like to think I'm not), I resigned. I tried the Drying Drops from Nicole by O.P.I.

Promises...

The promise on the packaging is that in 60 seconds, you can touch the varnish and it is perfectly dry in 5 minutes.
Great promise ... fulfilled!

Operation is simple:

1 - We apply our polish + topcoat as usual.
2 - We wait for 60 seconds.
3 - We put one or two drops of the product per nail.

Since it is as liquid as water, the product runs by itself. No effort required.

Verdict

The promise is kept, the nails are really dry in 5 minutes. No ''sheet design'' on our nails the next morning!

This is a 15 ml bottle which cost me $ 10.99 at Jean Coutu.
And since we only need a small amount of product, it may take a long time to empty the bottle.
According to the packaging, the product is good for 2 years.

I think the investment is worth it.
The color of the varnish is not affected by the drying drops and we can relax & be sure the manicure is safe from ugly marks .