BUK nail enamel in Nr. 168 and 169. Cute names, huh? lol

Finally I manged to put my fingernails on this post which was sitting in my drafts for several months. :)

Remember me taking about this great "no-name" brand of nail polish?

This time I present you 2 pretty much alike nail polishes with very cute names 168 and 169. lol

From L to R: 168, 169

Natural light, flash

Nr. 168 on my left hand

Natural light, flash

Nr. 168 on my left hand

Natural light

The picture is crappy (it's from those winter days with bad lighting and horribly dry hands), but at least it shows the orange "glow"

Nr. 169 on my right hand

Natural light, flash

Nr. 169 on my right hand

Natural light

The picture is crappy (it's from those winter days with bad lighting and horribly dry hands), but at least it shows the pink "glow" with golden glass flecks

Note: I took these pictures after 3-4 days of wear. As you can see the tip wear is not yet that visible. Definitely a plus in my book.  And, yes, I wore two different nail polishes on different hands just to check if it's worth it to have two very similar polishes. lol

9 ml, exp. date: 24 months after opening, made in EU for Coop Bergerac NC France.

Colour: Nr. 168 pale milky orange with fine golden glass flecks. Nr. 169 pale milky pink with fine golden glass flecks. These shades are so versatile! Nr. 169 reminds me of my all-time-favourite shade of nail polish Wet'n'Wild Rock Solid Nail lacquer in Pink Sapphire. Unfortunately, 169 doesn't provide the same optical illusion "tip whitening" effect.

Finish: creme-jelly with fine glass flecks.

Application: pretty smooth application , but very sheer. I usually apply 3-4 coats for a full coverage, but as you can see from these pictures - the white nail line is still visible, especially on my right hand with Nr. 169 on.

Retail price: ranges between 0,5-0,7 EUR. How cool is that? :)

Pros: versatile shade, unique finish, nice brush, pretty bottle, comparably long lasting, dirty cheap.
Cons: sheer, smelly (!), no list of ingredients, no info about the brand, limited availability, no names - boring!

PS Wear these shades anywhere and anytime! They also make a perfect base for a French mani!

BUK nail polishes. International Women's Day.

I had this post waiting for me in the draft section since January. The time has come! Finally. :)

BUK was the first brand of nail polish I tried back to 1994! And it is still on the market! At least on the Lithuanian market. The only visible difference I noticed over all these years - bottle shape. It has changed only once as far as I remember. The first bottles used to be "rounded squares", the latest (since around 2000) are as pictured below. Since 2008 (?) BUK changed its logo. Check Nr 16 (old version) and the rest (new appearance). 

Nr 16 is the only nail polish I had ever repurchased! Two times! This is my third bottle, and as you can see it's a little bit neglected. Can you guess why? lol

I honestly have no idea what's the origin of this brand. It says "Made in EU. Coop Bergerac NC France". Strangely enough it doesn't have any website. I used to think it's a Lithuanian brand because of the name. BUK (Būk) means "Be" in Lithuanian, but now I don't know what to think.

What's still the same: 

The good:

• HUGE range of colours and finishes (cremes, glitters, shimmers, glass flecks, etc). And it seems BUK constantly releases new collections (these collections are not specified though). I was very surprised to see holographic polishes back to 2008 when I wasn't yet that much into nail polishes.
• Price. These polishes are freaking cheap! They retail for around 0,5 - 0,7 EUR for 9 ml. Can you beat that? :)
• Pretty bottle, nice brush.
• Decent application. Some require more than 2 coats, some are opaque in just 1.

The bad:

• No list of ingredients. I guess these nail polishes are not Big 3 Free.
• They have a pretty strong nail polish scent. I really hope it's not highly toxic and dangerous. But for less than 1 euro, who knows?! 
• No names, just numbers! Why on Earth a brand with such a long history and such a huge variety of colours couldn't come up with names? Mystery! :)

So, here is my little collection of BUK. I bought 8 of these colours in summer 2009. Quite trendy colours for "no name" brand, what do you think?

  

From L to R: 112, 168, 169, 4C, 16

Natural light, flash

From L to R: 112, 168, 169, 4C, 16

Natural light

From L to R: 101, 189, 188, 191, 145

Natural light, flash

From L to R: 101, 189, 188, 191, 145

Natural light

Have you ever heard of this brand? The bottle shape looks like S-he nail polish from the first sight, but you can see the clear difference when you look closer. So, nope, it's not the same polish just under the different name.

PS I have NOTD pictures with some of these polishes. Will post some day. :)

Today is the International Women's Day. :)

HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY! WISH YOU OCEAN OF LOVE, SMILES AND FLOWERS! *hugs*

 

A present from my friend. Thank you! :) I LOVE these flowers SO MUCH! :) *dreaming of an ocean of these flowers*