Hunger Games Movie Review

Hi guys!
Yesterday I went to see the Hunger Games movie, and I just had to type a movie review about it. I already reviewed the Hunger Games book some time ago *click*, and since I liked the book I had high hopes for the movie ;)
Here's what the movie is about: The story plays in the future, in a country called Panem, which is where now the United States of America are. It's parted into 12 districts, and they are all ruled by the rich people in the so-called Capitol. Every year in the country The Hunger Games take part, a kind of game the Capitol invented to remind all of the districts that they can't ever defeat the Capitol. That's the way this game works: out of every district a boy and a girl aged between 12 and 18 has to come to a certain arena, and there fight for their life. Only one of the teenagers can win, and that way only one can survive. The main character, a girl named Katniss, lives in District 12 and has to feed her family because they have no money. When the tributes for the annual games are being chosen, Katniss's little sister is selected, and because she loves her, Katniss goes instead of her. With her, a boy named Peeta is chosen, and he seems to have feelings for Katniss.
(and yes, I copied that from the book review ;) I'm a lazy person, sorry for that!)
Now, I'm sorry about it, but I gotta warn you: SPOILER ALERT!!
First of all, I liked the actors. They all seemed like good matches for the characters, and I'm especially a fan of Liam Hemsworth :D The only one who disappointed me was President Snow, he didn't look mean enough for my taste ;)
I loved the make-ups in the Capitol, they were awesome! All the colors, the creative designs, really really cool! Effie Trinket's nails and everything ;) The only thing is that they showed it, but they didn't mention it any further. Like in the book, they had these long parts of doing her make-up and everything, and I loved that. But in the movie it wasn't as much in detail. And, something that really disappointed me was that Katniss didn't wear Flame nails when she got into the arena. That's a detail they really could have included! I was sitting there in cinema, waiting for her to show similar nails like mine, and there was no polish on her nails! :P But that's something only a make-up addict would criticize ;)
They didn't have a ton of show effects in it, but I liked that. Sure, there were some "aaaah"-moments, but not too many, and it worked for the movie. It's not a movie you would watch for show effect, that's for sure.
I really liked that they showed the time in District 12 and in the Capitol in detail, that was great that they didn't rush through it. But that meant there was not as much time left for the arena. I would have liked that to be longer, too! In the woods it was less scary that I imagined it to be. While reading it, I always had this feeling of "the next moment there's someone gonna jump out of the woods and kill her". And I didn't have that with the movie.
The love story was nice, and they did show it, but what really was wrong with it is that they didn't mention Katniss is only playing it all and doesn't have real feelings for Peeta. In the book that is clear, but not in the movie. And that's just something you can't leave out!
The end, the last moments in the arena, were really brutal. It worked for the whole movie, but it definitely was a little scary and just seemed so cruel. And then it was already almost over, I found the end a little too rushing. Sure, it has to end, but it should have been extended a bit ;)
What I do think is that the movie is a little hard to fully understand if you didn't read the books. They could have explained a little more.
When a book is turned into a movie, you can't help but compare. And of course, a movie will never be as good as a book. But this one really didn't disappoint me! It's really a good movie, and I would watch it again. It's definitely better than the Twilight movies, but nowhere close to Harry Potter ;) That's as far as my personal ranking is concerned ;)
After all, I would definitely recommend it! Did anyone of you already see it?
xoxo, Misch

NOTD March 29th: Hunger Games Inspired Flame Nail Art

Hey there guys!
Today I want to show you the mani I'm wearing to see the Hunger Games movie tonight. I'm super excited to finally see it, and of course I'll also write a movie review :D
In the book they mention the nails Katniss wears when she gets into the arena, and I decided to do nails like these, too. The design is flames!

Now, let me tell you, I had a hard time doing these nails. At first it was simple, I painted my nails yellow (Essence - Sundancer) and then sponged on orange (China Glaze - Life Preserver) and red (China Glaze - Hey Sailor). But then I had to take black (p2 - eternal) and fill in every part that wasn't supposed to be part of the flames. I did it with a nail art brush by Kiko in the end, but it didn't work that well because I just couldn't create realistic flame shapes...but it doesn't matter, the thought counts :D And it works ;)

What do you think of these nails? And have you already seen the Hunger Games movie?
xoxo, Misch

OPI Germany Collection Preview!

Hey guys!
Just something quick today, I didn't have time to write a whole post, sorry!.
OPI just launched the promo pics for their Fall 2012 Collection, and its theme is Germany! Here *click* you can see the pictures. The colors all look nice, and I'm so excited about it since I am from Germany ;) The names and everything, it's just awesome :D :D
What do you think of it?
xoxo, Misch

NOTD March 27th: OPI - Houston We Have A Purple + Essence Party All Night Long Jelly-Flakie-Sandwich

Hey guys!
I told you yesterday that I had a layering idea for Essence's Shopping Trip In Soho (Party All Night Long), and here it is: a jelly flakie sandwich! The colored base of Party All Night Long is just a perfect match for OPI Houston We Have A Purple. And that combination is perfect for a sandwich!

For those of you who don't know, a sandwich is when you apply a coat or two of a jelly, and then a glitter/flakie polish, and on top again one coat of the jelly. That way the glitter/flakies are like in a sandwich, between the jelly coats.

For this mani I started off with 2 coats of Houston We Have A Purple, and then did one of Party All Night Long. I topped it off with one more coat of Houston We Have A Purple. It applied nicely, mainly because of the squishy consistency of both polishes.
Remember back in summer when I already wore Houston We Have A Purple? *Click*. Back then I didn't like it at all because I always had visible nail line and stuff. But now I'm in love with it, it's awesome! It looks so fun and juicy and with the hint of flakies in it, it's just gorgeous! The flakies aren't that apparent, but in direct lighting you can definitely tell them! My camera kinda swallowed the look of them, in real life it's even prettier :D

What do you think of this layering, and sandwiches in general?
xoxo, Misch

Swatches: Essence Color3 Nail Polish - Shopping Trip In Soho (Party All Night Long)

Hey there!
Today I have some swatches of another new Essence polish I got ;) It's like every time I go to the drugstore, I look at the Essence display and buy one of their Color3 polishes ;) They're all so pretty!

This polish is called Shopping Trip In Soho (Party All Night Long), and it's double-ended like all of the polishes from this line.

Shopping Trip In Soho is a bright blue-toned pink with a very slight pearly shimmer, really pretty and girly. Party All Night Long is a deep magenta base filled with pink, purple and blue shimmer/flakie particles. The polish itself is sheer and meant to be a topper.

On the nail wheel they applied great, Shopping Trip In Soho only needed 2 coats, and I did one of Party All Night Long on top. When you layer it, the topper darkens the color of Shopping Trip In Soho a little, but it's really pretty :)

What do you think of this polish? I really like it a lot! The pink is not that unique, but the topper is so gorgeous and I already have a layering idea for it!
See you soon,
xoxo, Misch

NOTD March 25th: Essence Crazy Good Times LE - Candyction

Hey guys!
I just lately went through my stash, looking for a polish I could wear, and I came back with this one. I bought it around the beginning of this year, when it was part of Essence's Crazy Good Times LE. Now I'm finally getting round to wearing Candyction!

Candyction is a bright vibrant orange with golden flakies. Really stunning, and also unique, especially among the drugstore colors. Too bad it was limited, it's a must-have for people who love color.

Application was great, it has a very squishy, jelly-like consistency. And it only needs 2 coats! When you look real close you can maybe tell a tiny hint of a visible nail line, but that doesn't matter. It's pure awesomeness!
Now, let me tell you, my camera hates this polish. It just wouldn't picture it right. The flakies are way more apparent in real life, and they look even more fun since they are in the polish, and when you do 2 coats they layer over each other and look almost like a jelly-flakie-sandwich! Does that make sense to you?

I really love this polish, it's so much fun! I normally don't really wear orange, but this one is just too beautiful. What do you say: yay or nay? Make sure you enlarge the pictures!
xoxo, Misch

Awards!

Hey everyone,
today I want to show you 2 awards I got lately, really awesome!
The first one is by Desert Rose, a lovely reader. She gave me the One Lovely Blog Award, thank you so much! Here *click* you can see her post on it.

For this award, you're supposed to share 7 random facts of yourself. But since I've already done that multiple times, and I really can't think of a lot more, here you have a few older links for Random Facts posts. I really hope you don't mind ;) *click* *click* *click* *click*

The other award I got is the So Sweet Blog Award, which I got from Pippasali. Here *click* she mentioned it in her blog post. Thank you so much! :)

This time I'm doing it differently: I'm giving away these both awards to all of you, my lovely readers! You can pick one, or both, and share them on your blog if you like to! You're all awesome, you all deserve to get an award, too, and that's why I do it this way :D Congrats to all of you! :D
I'll see you later,
xoxo, Misch

NOTD March 22nd: Catrice Million Styles LE - Return Of The Space Cowboys (layered over black)

Hey guys!
Today I want to show you the first polish from Catrice's Million Styles LE that I'm wearing. Here *click* you can find swatches of this LE.

Return Of The Space Cowboys is a teal shimmer polish that actually has a duo-chrome! The polish's shimmer changes from purple to teal, depending on the angle you look at it. And what I'm glad about: this duo-chrome is also visible on your nails, it really changes! But you do have to have a closer look at it to see that ;) So go ahead and enlarge the pictures!

Since it is a very sheer polish, I decided to layer it. I did 2 coats of p2 Eternal, a nice black creme, and then one of this shimmer polish. Application was great, the Catrice polish went on smoothly without any problems. The shimmer also spread nicely.

It looks really nice, and my best friend said it reminded her of the universe, and it does look a little like it with the glitter. It reminds me a little of the polishes from the Out Of Space LE *click*. There are no dupes as far as I know, but they kind of all fall into the same category.
What do you think of this polish?
xoxo, Misch

PS: A happy happy birthday to my sister! I love you sweetie :)

Another Preview for April

Hey there!
Time for another little preview for an Essence LE! They somehow seem to launch their promo pics not as regularly anymore, is that strategy? But anyway, here *click*, on Pinkmelon, you can find the pictures.
This LE, called Rebels, is supposed to be a spring mix of nude and neon. Well, whether that's really true is something we'll have to see at the store, but when I look at the promo pics doesn't fully seem like that ;) But that doesn't matter. I know I want to get the lip&cheek pot, that's something for me. And the topper polish looks fun with the glitter, I hope it's as cool in real life. Other than that, not the most interesting LE. Reminds me a bit of last year's You Rock! LE, especially because of the nail polish shape ;)
What do you think of this LE?
xoxo, Misch

NOTD March 20th: Essence Color3 - Kiss On Top Of The Rock (Dancing In The Streets)

Hello everyone,
now I'm finally wearing the polish I showed you a few days ago, Kiss On Top Of The Rock (Dancing In The Streets). It's a double-ended polish from the new Color3 line.

Kiss On Top Of The Rock is a red blue-toned creme, a little darker than a bright tomato red. It's really opaque and needs only 2 thin coats for full opacity.
Dancing In The Streets is the orange shimmer topper part of the polish. Its shimmer is warm-toned, with orange, golden and pink particles. Enlarge the pictures to see the shimmer better!
When you layer the orange polish over the red it makes the red look a little lighter and glow a lot. It reminds me a little of a strawberry on my nails, with the red and the shimmer ;) It's super pretty and glowy!

Application was nice, the formula of these polishes is great. In the pictures I'm wearing 2 coats of the red and 1 of the topper on top. It's of course a little awkward to hold, since it's double-ended, but you can make it work :)
I really love this combo, and I'm really sure this is something I'd wear again. And that is really something considering my stash ;)
What do you think of it?
xoxo, Misch

Polish Finish Series: Frost

Hi guys!
Today's episode of Polish Finish Series is abouth the finish Frost.
A Frost polish has a very fine and cool-toned, most of the time silver, shimmer. This shimmer is so fine that is shows every brush stroke and is therefore very obvious.
The obvious brushstrokes don't make this finish very popular, because it is not nice to apply and doesn't look even. That's why Frosts are losing popularity and you find them rather with older polishes. By today brands are able to spread their shimmer better ;)
The decreasing availability of this finish is one of the reasons why I don't have many Frosts. The other reason is that I'm not really a fan of it ;)
Here you have one, 10 by Chresy. It's a dark reddish pink with the typical silver frost. It needs 2 coats for full opacity.

I don't have any other true frosts, it's not really my type of finish.
What do you think of frosts?
xoxo, Misch

Swatches: Essence Color3 Polish in Kiss On Top Of The Rock (Dancing In The Streets)

Hey guys!
Today I want to show you swatches of another new Essence polish I picked up, from their Color3 line. It's new in the permanent line and available since the beginning of March.

The polish is a double-ended polish called Kiss On Top Of The Rock (Dancing In The Streets). Kiss On Top Of The Rock is a blue-toned red, a tad darker than bright red. It's a creme, and needs 2 thin coats for full opacity. Dancing In The Streets is a sheer orange polish, with shimmer in it. The shimmer is orange, gold and pink, and therefore warm-toned.

Layered over each other the orange shimmer makes the red look a little lighter and glow really. It's super duper stunning, I love it! Make sure you enlarge the pictures to see the full prettiness :)

And just for fun, I layered the orange topper part over black. It is a little opaque, you can definitely tell the orange part and not only the shimmer. It looks super pretty, too, doesn't it?

I can't wait to wear this combo, and I'm so glad I picked this polish up! It's so gorgeous!
What do you think of it?
xoxo, Misch

Book Review: Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella

Hi there!
In my February Favorites I mentioned that I've been reading the whole Shopaholic Series, and now I want to review it for you guys. I know it's super popular and stuff, but I'm sure some of you will still enjoy a review of the full series ;)
I'm gonna try and not focus too much on the story, but let me summarize it all for you a little first:
Book #1: The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic - Becky Bloomwood, who is a financial journalist, gives other people advice on how to spend their money while she herself is in total dept because she loves to shop.
Book #2: Shopaholic Abroad - Becky goes to New York with her boyfriend Luke and has to face all kinds of difficulties, from shopping again to her boyfriend's Mom.
Book #3 Shopaholic Ties The Knot - Luke proposes to Becky, and she wants to have the perfect wedding. But there are huge plans being made about the ceremony and she gets in real trouble.
Book #4: Shopaholic & Sister - Becky finds out she has a long-lost sister and wants to share everything with her. But they couldn't be more different.
Book #5: Shopaholic & Baby - Becky finds out she's pregnant, and she's super happy about it. But it's all more difficult than she thinks, especially with her obstetrician who turns out to be Luke's ex girlfriend.
Book #6: Mini Shopaholic - Becky's little daughter is super stubborn and in addition to dealing with her, she wants to throw a surprise party for her husband.
Super duper short summary of every book, and it's really just the main part. There are of course more things happening, but that would be too much to mention that here. You can read about all of the stories on the book cover pictures I'm putting here, too. I only don't have one of the first book, sorry about that. Make sure you enlarge the pictures to read them!

Now, the thing with the main character, Becky, is that she ALWAYS gets herself in trouble. It's like, nothing can happen right, there's always a glitch. You would think that this fact makes it a bit repetitive, and it is from time to time, but it's so funny all the time that I don't have a problem with it. It's like, every book starts with "OK. Don't panic. Everything's gonna be fine." or something in that direction, and it's really hilarious! And even though she does the craziest things, it all seems totally likely to happen and makes all of the books appear very "real". And since the main character has a few flaws, us people can relate better to it since we're not perfect, either. Sounds lame, but it is like that ;)
The stories of all of the books is very fun and original, and even though it's "just" a chick-lit, I think it's quite creative, too. Sophie Kinsella writes in a light, easy-to-read way and that makes it a great pleasure read. Very enjoyable, and nice to just read on at night. I do find, though, that I always want to know how the story goes on and I can't put the book away ;) I already reviewed other Sophie Kinsella books, Remember Me? *click* and Can You Keep A Secret? *click*, and those were just as much fun.
I also really like the fact that after a few chapters there are always letters and stuff that just show the thoughts and proceeding of the story a little! :)
The only thing is that the topics of the series are all used up after a while, and I found the last book, Mini Shopaholic, to be a little disappointing. But all of the others were great!
I don't want to do any spoilers in this review, so all I'm still gonna say is that I really recommend this series, it's great to read and if you look for something for the beach or just to relax, you could definitely go for this one!
Mini Shopaholic is the last book in the series, but I think that the end is open enough for a sequel. Maybe one day there'll be a new book in the series? The first part of the series was also turned into a movie, but I haven't seen that one yet.
Do you like Sophie Kinsella books, especially the Shopaholic ones?
xoxo, Misch

NOTD March 16th: Essence Color3 - A Walk In The Park (Stop For An Ice Cream)

Hey there!
Today I want to show you a polish I'm currently wearing. It's A Walk In The Park (Stop For An Ice Cream) by Essence, and it's part of their new Color3 series which is part of the permanent line. It's a double-ended polish.

A Walk In The Park is a green polish with a slight shimmer, and Stop For An Ice Cream is a bluish silver opal splitter topper. The green polish is really opaque, it needs just 2 coats. The topper is really sheer, but it's also not meant to cover, you're supposed to apply it over something else.

Application was nice, considering the fact that you have a double-ended polish and it's therefore a little awkward to hold. But apart from that it all worked nicely, the polishes glided on smoothly.
As much as I like both colors, I think there are better combinations out there. I already wore the topper over a light polish once *click*, and I liked that look a lot better. So, I guess the next time I'll rather wear the green on its own and the topper some other time. Make sure to enlarge the pictures!

I still like it, though, and since I don't even wear green that often, that has to say something! And it's nice for the upcoming St. Patty's Day!
See you soon,
xoxo, Misch

Spotted: Catrice Million Styles LE

Hi guys!
Today I have a Spotted post for you guys, I finally saw Catrice's Million Styles LE at my local drugstore. They had this display put up in the middle of the store, and on it there were some regular polishes and these limited ones.
The LE contains 8 nail polishes, which are all effect topper polishes. Here *click* you can find promo pics on Pinkmelon.
All of the toppers are really special: there are flakies, glitter, shimmer, all different kinds of things. They cost 2,95 Euros each, so they are a little more expensive than regular Catrice polishes. I bought two of them, the ones that looked best to me. One is called C05 Return Of Space Cowboys, and it's a slightly grey tinted base with turquoise big shimmer particles that change to purple. When applied on its own, it's super duper sheer, but that's not what it's meant for. Over black you can mainly tell the teal shimmer, and it's super sparkly and stunning.

 

The other polish I bought is called C07 Holo Qué Tal?!, and it's a slightly milky base with a fine purple/pink shimmer that looks a little green in some lights. But it's mainly a pinky purple shimmer. It's really sheer on its own again, but that doesn't matter because it's gorgeous layered over black.

 

You really need to enlarge the pictures to see the full beauty of these polishes!
After all, I really like all of it! If I had more money I'd buy more polishes, but I told myself I don't need them all ;) The effects are all great, and I'm sure a lot of you can find some effect they like.
What do you think of this LE?
xoxo, Misch