Ruby Kisses – African Violet review

Hello ladies! It’s been such a long time since I last published anything, the reason being is that I’m so preoccupied. It wasn’t as if I wanted to quit blogging or anything like that, I knew I would get back to it eventually, just didn’t know when. What pushed me to do it now (though in the midst of a crazy busier-than-ever period) is that I got chosen to be one of the ambassadors of the month for Slovenian internet drugstore Click2Chic, they sent me this beautiful Ruby Kisses polish in shade “African Violet” for review.

Pozdravljene! Tokratna objava je tudi v slovenščini, saj sem kot ambasadorka spletne drogerije Click2Chic za mesec september prejela v testiranje čudovit lakec Ruby Kisses v odtenku “African Violet”. Od zadnje objave je preteklo že kar nekaj časa, razlog je moja prezaposlenost, to, da sem bila izbrana za eno od ambasadork meseca, pa me je vzpodbudilo, da sem se ponovno vrnila k blogganju. =)

I love pink polishes and this one is no exception. I don’t know how the HD “high definition” polish is supposed to be different than polishes without this designation, I do know however that I was truly amazed that this baby applied like a dream. The brush is flat and not too wide, easy to work with. The formula is great, it evens itself out perfectly, but what’s even better – it required only one layer of polish, that’s how opaque it is! In regard to color it’s a chameleon, it’s so dependent on lighting, sometimes it’s bright pink, sometimes purple, under the yellow light it might look even red. Based on the non watery formula I was suspecting it can be used as a stamping polish as well and I was right, it’s thick enough so I’m sure I’ll be using it with my stamping plates.

Obožujem roza lake in tudi ta lakec ni izjema. Ne vem, v čem naj bi se HD laki razlikovali od ostalih brez te navedbe, vem pa, da sem bila popolnoma navdušena nad tem, kako lepo se je nanašal na nohte. Čopič je ploščat in ne preširok, ravno pravšnji. Formula je popolna, saj se lak ob nanosu čudovito izravna na nohtu, najboljše pa je to, da je prekriven že s prvim slojem! Kar se barve tiče, je pravi kameleon, barva je odvisna od svetlobe – včasih izgleda živo roza, včasih škrlatno, pod rumeno svetlobo lahko lak izgleda celo rdeč. Glede na gostoto (v smislu ne-vodenosti) sem sklepala, da bi se ga dalo uporabiti tudi za štempljanje, in imela sem prav, čudovito se obnese tudi v tej vlogi.

There is a downside to it though – it dries slower than the polishes I’ve been using so far. It looked so pretty and shiny, I didn’t want to use any top coat, but I had to use a fast drying one, otherwise my manicure would have been smudged. Since Essence BTGN is discontinued I’ve started using Essie’s Good to go, I’m not sure yet if I like it as much for that price though.

Kljub vsej hvali ima lak tudi pomanjkljivost – suši se počasneje v primerjavi z ostalimi laki, ki jih uporabljam. Sam po sebi ima čudovit lesk, zato nisem imela namena nanašati nadlaka, če pa ne bi uporabila hitrosušečega, bi imela uničeno manikuro. Essencovega BTGN laka žal ni več na voljo v trgovinah, zato sem začela uporabljati Essijevega “Good to go”, vendar zaenkrat nisem pretirano navdušena nad njim, sploh glede na visoko ceno.

Let me show you some more photos of African Violet, these were taken right after application and are without topcoat. This is the color you see in the sunshine (photographed under the artificial light though):

Naj vam pokažem še nekaj slik African Violet laka, te so bile slikane takoj po nanosu, na nohtih ni nadlaka. Tako izgleda lakec na soncu (slikano je sicer pod umetno svetlobo):

 
 
 
 
Mind that the next two photos are with a clear top coat but were taken 4 days later so my nails were not top notch anymore. During those 4 days that I’ve had it on I’ve seen the color being dependent on lighting so I had to try to photograph the different hues. I managed to take a photo of this polish looking red (it’s not the camera not being able to capture the “right” color):

Na naslednjih dveh fotografijah imam na nohtih tudi nadlak, ker pa sta bili slikani po štirih dnevih od nanosa, nohti niso bili več najlepši. V teh štirih dneh sem namreč opazovala, kako je dojemanje barve odvisno od svetlobe, zato sem želela to prikazati tudi na fotografijah. Bolj ali manj mi je uspelo poslikati, kako lahko izgleda lak tudi rdečkast:

I also had to take a photo of the predominant hue I’ve been seeing on my nails, I’d say this is what it looks like in shade or just not under direct sunlight – as I’ve tried taking the photos in those conditions, my camera stopped cooperating and showed a completely different color. That’s why all the photos are taken under artificial light – but the color is right.

Želela sem slikati tudi barvo, ki sem jo sicer najpogosteje videvala v živo, to je v senci oziroma ne pod močno svetlobo, vendar ko sem skušala fotografirati v teh pogojih, moj fotoaparat ni videl istih barv. Pod umetno svetlobo mi je uspelo ujeti prave odtenke.
  
Slovenian readers can find this product here. I would recommend this polish, it lasted on me without chipping for 8 days before I removed it, the tips were worn off though but that doesn’t bother me. The slow drying time can be helped with the use of fast drying top coat. Do you own any HD Ruby Kisses polish, and if you do, do you like it?

Slovenske bralke lahko najdejo izdelek tule. Lak bi priporočala, saj je na meni zdržal brez krušenja 8 dni dokler ga nisem odstranila, samo konice so bile obrabljene, kar pa mene ne moti. Pri počasnem sušenju pomaga uporaba hitrosušečega nadlaka. Ali ima tudi katera od vas HD Ruby Kisses lak? Vam je všeč?

By the way, in the time I was absent, my blog had a 1st blogoversary, yaaay me! =))) I have been planning a giveaway for half a year now, I just can’t promise when I’ll be able to do it – it’s not putting the blog post on, what concerns me is the defining the rules and eliminating the cheaters and Rafflecopter and stuff I know nothing about… I’ll have to get educated on that beforehand. But thank you so much all of you that stick to my blog, knowing that someone is reading what you took time to pour out is really meaningful and valuable. THANK YOU! =)