The Nail Buff

Barry M ~ Red Glitter

2012-01-28T09:26:00.001Z

I hope you all have had a wonderful start to the new year. I want to dedicate this post to those of you who cried when your tree got thrown out/put in the attic, and who thinks that a fan poster of Santa is the perfect accent piece for any room, at any time of the year. Personally I can’t wait for spring to get here, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a nice sparkly red when I see it!

As you may or may not have noticed, I’ve been absent for over a month now. I mentioned that I was not sure about the direction of the blog, and, well, I’m still not sure. So why am I here? Because I missed blogging, plain and simple. Maybe I’ll figure out the magic formula for the blog, but until then I will just go with whatever I fancy :) Maybe that IS the secret formula!

My nails are in an absolutely horrific shape just now. They are peeling and my cuticles can be used to scare little children. Because I love you all I won’t show you how they look just now, but instead show you some pictures that I took before evil faeries substituted my Lemony Flutter with quicklime.

Barry M Red Glitter is an ever so pretty (though pretty gritty) red glitter. I painted the glitter over a base of Barry M Grey. The surface is pretty bumpy and rough, but it’s not so bad that it bothers me. When I removed this polish I used the foil method for the first time, and all I can say is, why didn’t I try it earlier! It is a bit fiddly, but so so good.

Do you like how I made the last picture all artsy fartsy? Yeah, maybe I need to work on my creativity a bit.

Holiday Design with Cream and Red

2011-12-23T09:35:00.001Z

I started this design with one idea in mind and ended up with something completely different! It’s not quite as festive as I would like, but I like the outcome!

Step by Step

I started by applying two coats of a nude champagne shimmer (Nina Ultra Pro Satin Doll.)
Then I sponged on a gradient in red glitter (China Glaze Ruby Pumps.)
After this I added one coat of quick drying top coat to protect what I had done so far (Seche Vite)
Then I stamped the stars and arrows pattern from Bundle Monster BM20 (I had to place the pattern sideways on my thumbs and stamp it twice, since it’s quite small) in white.
After this I mattified the mani (ELF Matte Topcoat.)
Finally I added little bits of gold to the centres of the stars (GOSH Gold.)

Layering: OPI ~ Last Friday Night, over Bourjois ~ Bleu Asphalte

2011-12-19T15:03:00.001Z

I love my dark, sparkly layerings, and I was really happy with the outcome of this combination.

I have mentioned before how much I love Last Friday Night, despite its not-very-exciting appearance in the bottle. I think it worked perfectly over the dark smokiness of Bleu Asphalte.

GOSH ~ Green Hawaii

2011-12-19T14:43:00.001Z

Apologies for going AWOL for so long! I’m thinking a lot on which direction I want to take the blog, and this has created a blogging block for me. I am getting there though, and I hope that you will all find the blog a more interesting place to be in the future!

Thank you for sticking around, I appreciate it!

Today’s post is of an unusual green polish from GOSH called Green Hawaii. It’s a chunky holo glitter apple green polish, that is just divine in the bottle. I found the application a bit difficult, and ended up layering it over Nina Ultra Pro Emerald City. Green Hawaii is a bit too sheer to be a one coater, and when you add multiple coats it starts going a bit gloopy. I would really recommend layering it over a nice base first!

As pretty as this polish is – and come on, it’s green! – I’m still not that wow-ed by it.

Revlon ~ Revlon Red, with Stamping

2011-12-06T11:48:00.001Z

Revlon’s classic Revlon Red totally redeems the brand’s qualities in my eyes! I’m normally NOT a fan of their polishes, but this pin-up red is an absolute joy!

The shade is so feminine – not too blue, not too orange – and the formula is perfect. This polish is a one coater, and I simply can’t fault it in any way. With the holidays rapidly approaching, I thought some nice white stamping would look pretty with it. I used an image from Bundle Monster BM16 (old series), which worked really well since my nails are quite possibly the shortest nails in existence right now.

Zoya ~ Suvi

2011-11-30T07:55:00.001Z

Some of you may know how much I love green. In particular dark, mossy, bottle greens. So, it would come as no surprise that I love Suvi. She is beautifully deep and shimmery, but I have to say that the formula – although good – is not quite to my liking.

Two coats would have been enough, but I went for three, just because I felt like it.

Barry M ~ Raspberry

2011-11-29T14:19:00.001Z

My bottle actually spells this polish Rasberry, but when I went to Superdrug the other day I saw that the newer bottles have corrected this. I thought it was kinda cute, and I like my typo bottle :p

I think this polish is really lovely. I don’t suit berry shades generally, but this one goes well with my skin tone. The formula is what to be expected from Barry M – really smooth and buttery. Two coats and no top coat is what you see in the pictures.

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark with Stripes

2011-11-28T10:50:00.001Z

Lincoln Park After Dark is a blackened deep plum colour, that is impossible to photograph. It looks pure black, so you have to use your imagination and pretend to see the subtle purple-ness of this polish.

I think it’s a very classy and elegant, and softer, alternative to pure black. The formula is excellent, and covered evenly and smoothly in two coats. I’m not wearing top coat in the photos, so you can really see how glossy it is.

I found a new amazing nail artist on youtube called NailsKathy, and she did this totally cool striping thing that I just had to try. I striped my ring finger as a little accent with Wet n Wild Strawberry Shake. I let some stripes be a bit fatter, since I liked the contrast between slim and fat.

The process is quite simple:
1. Glob a bit of polish on a wipeable surface
2. Take a dotter or a similar tool (like a toothpick) and start stirring the polish
3. Keep checking the gloopiness of the polish by lifting your tool straight up to see if strings are forming
4. When strings are forming just move your tool over the nail to let the polish strings fall across your nail.

For an excellent tutorial check out NailsKathy’s video.

Barry M ~ Fuchsia

2011-11-26T09:37:00.001Z

This garishly bright pink is a polish I’m sure Joan Collins would be happy to sport. Fuchsia is the kind of shade cougars wore before there were cougars – I can just hear those middle aged vamps in the ‘80s firmly state that pink is indeed the new red.

Reason to wear this polish? If you feel that you can never be too rich, too thin, your men too young or your nails too long.

Or if you just really really like pink.

The formula of Fuchsia is flawless, it went on in two even, buttery smooth coats. Is that reason enough to get it? I’ll leave that up to you.

China Glaze ~ Pelican Gray

2011-11-23T17:12:00.001Z

Isn’t Pelican Gray pretty? I love the little microshimmer in this grey, which keeps it from looking to flat and dull.

The application was good, although the first coat had me worried. It looked really thin and streaky, but the second coat made it all nice and pretty :)

This polish is crying out for some nice nail art over it, don’t you think!

With a Cherry on Top!

2011-11-21T13:15:00.001Z

I saw a really cute cherry design on youtube, made by Cutepolish, and here is my take on it!

The polishes I used are Nina Ultra Pro French White, Revlon Revlon Red and Barry M Spring Green.

I applied three coats of white, and then painted my cherry blobs and my red tips with the red. I added the stems with a small hobby brush, and added the highlights on the cherries. Finally a layer of top coat, and done :)

If you want to try this design yourself I would suggest watching Cutepolish’s video, it’s really well made!

Barry M ~ Indigo

2011-11-19T13:19:00.001Z

Indigo is one of the few polishes I own where I actually get stopped by random people asking what I’m wearing on my nails. It may not seem that special at first, but there is just something so appealing about this velvety, dark, purpled blue, and it’s obvious that it’s not just me. This is one of my favourite Barry M polishes.

The application is great, as with most Barry M, and what you see is two coats. I would say this polish definitely benefits from a top coat, as it dries slightly less glossy than I think it should be.

George ~ Jester

2011-11-17T10:41:00.001Z

Another red! I don’t often wear red as you may have noticed, but with autumn here I feel like it’s such a nice warm colour to wear.

Jester is a nice “red” red with golden glass flecks. It’s very similar to the OPI polish Ali’s Big Break, and I will do a comparison for you if you want. My feeling is that it’s pretty much a spot on dupe, but I can’t confirm that for sure just yet.

I had some problems photographing this mani, so I have to apologise that the shade isn’t 100% accurate, but I would say it’s close enough. It it slightly cooler in real life, but the depth is true.

I’m wearing two coats, and the application was nice and easy.

GOSH ~ Purple Heart

2011-11-16T09:00:00.000Z

When I saw Purple Heart I just had to have it. In the bottle this polish is a gorgeous purple/green duochrome in a dark base.

In the bottle that is. On the nails I was sorely disappointed. I find this polish flat out boring. In some lights there is a flash of green or purple, but most of the time it just looks like a dark grey.

All I can say is

Guest Post @ Ooohshinies

2011-11-15T10:26:00.001Z

The talented Bregje of Ooohshinies asked me if I would like to write a guest post for her blog. Naturally I said yes!

Why not head on over and have a little look :)

Nina Ultra Pro ~ Maple Syrup

2011-11-09T16:23:00.001Z

How classy and elegant is Maple Syrup! I love how deep this maroon shimmer is. I could be mistaken, but it seems pretty similar to China Glaze Side Saddle, I’m going to have to compare them and find out.

This is two coats, and the application was flawless.

I have to apologise for the state of my bottle in the pictures. I never realised how grubby it was until it was too late!

China Glaze ~ Hey Sailor

2011-11-05T13:26:00.001Z

Isn’t this polish the perfect pinup red crème? I love the formula of Hey Sailor, it’s a one coater believe it or not. In hindsight I feel I should have painted two coats though, because my nails are very ridged. If your nails are nice and smooth then this polish is a dream come true!

Sinful Colors ~ Nail Junkie

2011-11-01T20:35:00.001Z

My dear blogging friend Annabella from Skin Scrubs took the time to pick this gorgeous gorgeous polish up as a gift when she was in the US to – wait for it – get married! If that’s not thinking of others I don’t know what is!

Annabella thought that a polish called Nail Junkie would suit me. I’m sure I don’t know what she is talking about. *looks around and whistles*

Nail Junkie is a multi coloured glitter in an aqua jelly base. I thought it would look super pretty over black, but decided on the slightly softer ELF Dark Navy. I have two coats of Dark Navy and one coat of Nail Junkie in the pictures.

I have a good few polishes in my collection, and I have been painting my nails for a long time, so it takes a lot to really wow me, but this polish had me admiring my hands all day. “Look how pretty!”

Thank you so much Annabella for this lovely polish, and congratulations to both you and your James :)

China Glaze ~ Starboard, with Revlon ~ Beach

2011-11-01T20:16:00.001Z

I was sure that I had swatched all of Anchors Away by now, but it seems I was mistaken. And to boot the colour I haven’t swatched yet is a green.

I hang my head in shame. And proceed to give you pictures of one of the prettiest green crèmes ever. Ever.

I can only apologise for my very amateurish sponge application of Beach, that in my defence didn’t look quite that bad off camera. I thought the shimmery chartreuse would work well over Starboard, but I guess this will teach me not to tamper with perfection. Live and learn, eh?

Halloween: Zombie Hands

2011-10-28T14:59:00.001+01:00

I had this idea that I wanted to do a “manicure” with broken nails and dirt for Halloween, and so the “fresh from the grave” zombie design was born.

I have used a few polishes for this look, but mostly acrylic paint. It was so much fun to do, I hope you like it!

China Glaze ~ 108º layered

2011-10-26T17:34:00.001+01:00

When I got the China Glaze 2011 Summer Collection, I was both excited over the delicious colours, and disappointed that so many of them were super sheer. I’m starting to appreciate the possibilities of sheer polishes more, so rather than whining I decided to do some layering.

I wanted a base that was within the same colour family as 108º, so I settled for ELF Purple Pleaser, a purple/fuchsia crème. After two coats this polish was still a bit streaky, but as I was going to add the China Glaze on top I stopped there. I painted just one coat of 108º, and completely loved the result. All the glass flecks really sparkle, and the shades worked so well together!

Halloween: Cobwebs

2011-10-25T12:17:00.001+01:00

For this mani I started with three coats of OPI Flit A Bit, and then taped off a French with Barry M Block Orange.

The images I used for stamping are from the Bundle Monster plate BM13. Finally I added a small, orange rhine stone on the spider’s body.

Nails Inc ~ Barnsbury Road

2011-10-24T09:39:00.001+01:00

This polish has the same vinyl finish as Chester Terrace, so I had high hopes it would be nice. Sadly I have to say, I was disappointed. Barnsbury Road is a purply taupe, and as a shade it’s perfect, but I personally don’t think it works with this finish. The polish itself was fine, if a little bit hard to work with. It dries quickly like mattes tend to, but for some reason it doesn’t flatten out like most mattes I’ve tried. It feels a bit like trying to paint on wet cement – it’s really difficult to get an even result.

Bit of a fail in my book, but I guess these meh experiences let’s us appreciate the beauties all the better!

Layering With OPI

2011-10-21T12:52:00.001+01:00

Sometimes when I swatch a polish I just know it would look great layered over another one. One such polish was OPI DS Royal. It’s a pretty purple and blue duochrome, that just happens to be very sheer. When I picked up OPI Fresh Frog Of Bel Air I knew I had to try them together!

I started the mani with two coats of Nina Ultra Pro Black, and then one coat of DS Royal. Then I added Fresh Frog Of Bel Air in a gradient, with more glitter towards the tips. Finally I added one more coat of DS Royal.

Hope you like the combo as much as I do!

Comparing Navy Crèmes

2011-10-20T14:12:00.001+01:00

When I first bought China Glaze ‘First Mate’ I thought it looked very similar to another nautical polish I own – Nina Ultra Pro ‘Sailor’. In a side by side comparison you can see that there are definitely similarities, but they are far from dupes.

First Mate is a dustier navy, while Sailor is leaning more towards purple. They both have very nice formula, and cover in two coats. I don’t have a top coat on, so you can see that the finish is similar on both – nice and glossy.

My personal preference, if I had to choose, would be China Glaze First Mate. It’s just that little bit prettier in my opinion!

Barry M ~ Navy, with Silver

2011-10-18T17:28:00.001+01:00

There are a few absolutely ridiculously pretty polishes out there, and in my (sometimes humble, sometimes not) opinion Barry M Navy is one of them. The colour is totally to die for, and the formula perfect. I think this polish would make my top 10 if I ever made one.

I was of two minds whether or not I should stamp over it, but in the end I decided to do it. I think the result came out ok, but it does undoubtedly take away some of the beauty of Navy. If you want I would be happy to swatch the polish on its own, so you can see it, and either a) rejoice that you own it, b) cry because you don’t (and put it on your wish list) or – incredibly unlikely - c) find that you don’t like it all that much and can live without it (and what’s with all the parenthesis anyway!?)

The accent nail is painted with GOSH Silver – a really nice silver foil. I used two coats of each polish, and then stamped with the opposite.

The plate I used was Bundle Monster’s BM212, which is from the newer Bundle Monster set. These designs are so much bigger, and I think you can see that they cover my nails better. I thought this particular design was… ok. I don’t love it, but it’s passable. What do you think?

Stamping with Pinks from 17 and China Glaze

2011-10-17T15:44:00.001+01:00

I’m really sorry, but I don’t have a name for the base colour, which is a lovely, light, dusty, lavendery pink from 17, that’s pretty much a spot on dupe for OPI Panda-monium Pink. I received the polish after winning a little Facebook contest, so the little name sticker thing has been removed.

I really liked this polish a lot. So far I’m very impressed with the quality of these relatively inexpensive polishes from 17. The bottles are small, but that is the only “cut” I can discern compared with more expensive polishes. I painted three coats, but could have easily gotten away with two for everyday use (macro photography is so unforgiving!)

I stamped over the base with a pattern from Bundle Monster BM21. These old plates are really pretty I think, but the designs are much to small for my nails. The polish I used was China Glaze Purple Panic. I really need to work on my stamping, so you will probably be seeing more in the near future!

Barry M ~ Red Black

2011-10-15T09:06:00.001+01:00

Red Black is ofcourse Barry M’s plain English take on Chanel’s Rouge Noir. I have never tried Chanel, and doubt that I will, but I believe this to be a very close dupe. Maybe someone who owns the Chanel can confirm this?

The polish is one of those I’m-a-creme-but-want-to-be-a-jelly-when-I-grow-up type polishes, and its beautiful! I’ve had my bottle for a while, so I had to thin it ever so slightly, but after that application was really good. I needed three coats, but as you may have gathered by now, I prefer a few more, thinner coats over fewer thicker ones.

This polish was really difficult to photograph, because it is soooo glossy! As you can see there are reflections galore (on a very overcast day I might add).

China Glaze ~ Watermelon Rind, With French Tips

2011-10-11T17:31:00.001+01:00

China Glaze Watermelon Rind was one of those colours I had to have when I saw it. It’s a beautiful blue leaning green glitter (or is it a glass fleck. I’m totally undecided!)

The polish is definitely on the sheer side, but I predict Watermelon Rind to be lovely for layering. Stay tuned!

I wanted to do something more, so I added French tips using Barry M Racing Green, which is one of the nicest green polishes on the planet. Fact.

Recycling Gosh Rebel Yell

2011-10-07T18:46:00.000+01:00

I really like recycling a mani, and I often play around before removing my polish. I had such visions of this combo, but it didn’t quite live up to what I imagined. I still think it’s kind of nice, so I wanted to share it with you :)

I sponged a gradient over GOSH Rebel Yell, using George Pink Glitz as my first layer, and then a layer just over the tips of OPI Gold Lang Syne.

I also have a couple of images from the upcoming limited edition China Glaze collections to show you.

Eye Candy

Can you say bling! I’m not a great fan of a whole mani in glitter, but I love sponging it on like I did in this post, and I definitely need to get some more nice glitters! The collection is supposedly inspired by Marilyn Monroe, and all polishes are “3D glitters”. Quite curious what they will look like!

· Love Marilyn: Vivacious Red with Shimmering Silver Particles

· Blonde Bombshell: Glistening Multidimensional Gold Flecks

· Lorelei’s Tiara: Sterling Silver Infused with Blue Sprinkles

· Material Girl: Posh pink with Holographic Bubblegum Glitter

· Some Like It Haute: Graphite Gray with Holographic Glitter

· Marry A Millionaire: Alluring Amethyst with Multi-tonal Fibers

Let It Snow

This is obviously the Holiday collection of 2011, and it looks nice. No real surprises, it’s all golds, greens, reds and silvers as can be expected for a Christmas themed collection. The one polish I will be sure to pick up is Holly-Day. Dang that green looks nice!

· Poinsettia – Ruby red crème inspired by the traditional holiday plant.

· Ring In The Red – No Holiday season would be exact without this glittering red polish for holiday gatherings.

· Winter Berry – Creamy, cranberry-red perfect for sipping hot cocoa by the fire.

· Velvet Bow – Rich red crème color inspired by your favorite red wine.

· Glittering Garland – A dazzling glittery green to match the holiday greens of pine trees, garland, and mistletoe.

· Holly-Day – Looking for a bold color without the glitz? Holly-Day is a rich hunter green without the sparkle.

· Champagne Bubbles – Sophisticated gold metallic with a golden shimmer.

· Twinkle Lights – A mix of glittery shades to emblemize twinkling tree lights.

· Snow Globe – Frosty white polish with flecks of snowy color.

· Icicle – Smooth silver shimmer with a hint of flash and ice.

· Tinsel Town – Bold silver, metallic glitter and the perfect match for sparkling night on the town.

· Blue Year’s Eve – Ring in the New Year with this lustrous, shimmering blue.

Nails Inc ~ Hays Mews, With Stamping

2011-10-06T13:02:00.001+01:00

I got the urge to do some stamping today, and I decided to make it a bit subtle. For my base I used Nails Inc Hays Mews, which is a lovely red suede (you know I love me some suedes!), and I stamped over it with OPI Tease-y Does It using Bundle Monster plate BM19, which is one of the older plates.

The beauty of Tease-y Does It was completely lost, but I still think the mani is kinda cute, even with my wonky stamping!

GOSH ~ Rebel Yell

2011-10-03T18:22:00.001+01:00

How gorgeous is this polish! Rebel Yell is a dusty, dark green teal that totally had my name written all over it.

I liked the formula, neither too runny nor too thick, and the GOSH brush is nice and skinny, just as I like ‘em :)

There is a teeny tiny micro shimmer in this polish, but it’s next to invisible unless you are looking for it. And let me tell you, I am always looking for it. You can’t escape me, tiny shimmer! Unfortunately my camera – as much as I adore it – refused to see it. Shame. You will just have to go buy Rebel Yell and see for yourself!

Nina Ultra Pro ~ Last Call

2011-10-03T18:15:00.001+01:00

What’s that? Another purple? As in another purple?

Why, yes, I do believe it is! And it’s pretty too! Last Call is a lovely, slightly muted purple that leans a bit brown in some lights, and it has a very nice, bronzy/mauve shimmer running through it. The formula is great – those of you who have been following my blog will know that I’m a big fan of the Nina Ultra Pro polishes as a rule, and this is no exception. In the pictures I’m wearing two coats.

Guest Blogging Over @ Skinscrubs

2011-09-29T09:29:00.001+01:00

I wrote a guest post for my lovely friend Annabella who is the beauty and the brains behind Skinscrubs. Why not pop on over and have a little look, and if you haven’t seen the Skinscrubs blog before, make sure to have a proper nosy about!

Collection 2000 ~ Siren

2011-09-24T12:03:00.001+01:00

I have to admit that I quite like the Collection 2000 polishes. When there are offers on they can be worth picking up I think. The full price is a bit much in my opinion, as the bottles are quite small, but the quality is really pretty decent, and the colours usually fun.

Siren caught my eye as it’s super bright, and that is a good thing in my book :) It applied easily, even though the brush is like a mini-me pro wide (i.e. too big).

China Glaze ~ Below Deck

2011-09-24T11:53:00.001+01:00

Are you up for more polishes from one of the bestest collections ever? China Glaze Below Deck is a super gorgeous purple taupe creme, with a perfect, flowing formula. I have to admit to picking this one up so often, dying to use it, but for some reason I had it in my mind that it’s an autumn colour, so it has been sitting in my Helmer for eeeever!

As it was officially the first day of autumn yesterday, I thought it high time to wipe away the finger prints and drool marks and get painting!

On a different note I discovered the day before yesterday that I have been shortlisted for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards! I am completely and utterly blown away by this, so I wanted to share my excitement with you all :)

I was nominated for the “New Beauty Blog” category, along with some truly amazing blogs. One of my all time faves Emily’s Nail Files is also nominated, as well as Make Up Savvy, which is another blog I regularly read :)

If you like to read blogs, why not pop on over and vote for the ones you like? I won’t presume to ask you to vote for me, as I believe there are better blogs than mine that are nominated, but I can just tell you how super happy I am to get recognition like that for the time I have put in, and I can only imagine how happy the (undoubtedly well deserved) winners will be!

George ~ Mysterious

2011-09-22T20:51:00.001+01:00

I’m not sure in what way this colour is mysterious, but who cares, it’s gorgeous! Funny how I repeatedly state that I’m not keen on purples, and then show one pretty purple after another that I love lol.

In the pictures Mysterious looks pretty brush=strokey, but in person you really can’t see it. It’s more of a shimmer than a frost, even though it shows up a bit like a frost in the pictures for some reason. This is two coats, and the formula applied beautifully.

I want to say thank you to everyone for your kind words on my last post, they meant a lot to me! <3

MUA ~ 23

2011-09-19T09:47:00.001+01:00

How boring a name is that? Shade 23. I feel sorry for the little polish, not loved enough to get a proper name. Like milk cows today, just a number.

“Shade 23” is a very pretty light olive or military green creme, and it’s the first MUA polish I have tried. I’ve passed them up before as the colours carried by my local Superdrug have been less than exciting. This one, however, caught my eye. Purdy!

The bottle is teeny tiny, but I guess you can’t expect much for £1. The brush is truly awful, almost as bad as the ELF brushes. It’s like painting my nails with a broom. A stiff broom. I think this is a shame, because the polish itself is actually very nice. Good formula and coverage – I only needed two coats.

Finally I want to apologise for being absent a lot this last week. I received some bad news (a close family member passed away), so my head has not been very much in a blogging mindset. I’m also busy just now starting up my business, so if posting is a bit sporadic I hope you will bear with me! I love reading all your comments, and even if I don’t respond right away I want you to know they mean a lot to me and I treasure every single one :)

China Glaze ~ Stella

2011-09-14T09:00:00.000+01:00

I have mentioned before that I’m not a huge fan of purple, but when I saw Stella on Sminkan’s blog I knew I had to have it. Stella is an absolutely gorgeous burgundy plummy shimmer with a perfect formula. The pictures show two coats.

This colour is so grownup and so sexy and classy! Who would have thought – a purple!

Nails Inc ~ Augustus Street

2011-09-13T09:00:00.000+01:00

When I realised that the somewhat boring looking Augustus Street was a suede I got super duper excited! I LOVE suede polishes!

This Nails Inc polish is a one coater. I wore it for two days, and it held up nicely for a suede! I will definitely use this one again, with some nice nail art on top.

The colour is really unique in my collection. It looks like a grey with silver glitter/shimmer, but somehow it seems to look mink on the nails. Beautiful.

China Glaze ~ Blue Iguana

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

I’m working my way through the China Glaze summer collection as the autumn rains are starting to hit us! Why not brighten up a dreek day with colourful nails :)

The formula of China Glaze Blue Iguana was a bit of a let down. It was easy enough to apply, but I needed three coats, and for this type of finish I don’t see why that should be necessary. The colour is stunning though!

Sparkly Teal Layering

2011-09-08T09:00:00.000+01:00

As much as I liked Nails Inc Chester Terrace I thought it could do with something else on top. Out comes OPI Catch Me In Your Net, a truly beautiful sparkly aqua and blue polish.

I painted one thin layer over my teal base, and I have to say that the result was super pretty – in my opinion. I hope you like it too!

Nails Inc ~ Chester Terrace

2011-09-07T13:05:00.001+01:00

Chester Terrace is described as a matte, but to me it looks more like a vinyl than a pure matte. The colour is a gorgeous, deep teal which I love!

Application was very good, and the polish dried quickly. I have two coats on in the pictures.

Polish Swirling

2011-09-04T09:34:00.001+01:00

I decided to try something completely new (for me) today. I took two pretty polishes, and mixed them together on the nail.

I think the result is pretty cool, what do you think?

I painted a layer of Nina Ultra Pro Royal Purple and followed up with a (generous) coat of GOSH Green Dragon, and used a dotter tool to just drag the colours around on the nails.

Color Club ~ Wicked Sweet

2011-08-31T15:45:00.001+01:00

After granny panties and grown up red I thought it would be nice with something fun and bright! I decided to give my Color Club polishes another go. I loved the colour of my last one – Yum Gum – but wasn’t totally impressed with the formula. I regret to say that it was the same case with Wicked Sweet. I’m not saying the formula is bad in any way, it just doesn’t seem to suit my way of painting. I find it “forces” me to paint thicker coats than I prefer doing. I’m considering thinning the polish ever so slightly to see if that would work better. I’m wearing two coats in the pictures.

This gorgeous blue shimmer smells absolutely ah-may-zing! I have seen it described as blueberry, and considering the colour I’m prepared to believe that’s what they were going for, but to me it’s some kind of yummy toffee/caramel scent. Love it!

Please pardon the extreme lobster-ness of my paws. It was the only way I could get the true vibrancy of the polish to show. (I’m still very much learning to work my camera)

OPI ~ Ali’s Big Break

2011-08-30T09:00:00.002+01:00

I don’t often wear red polish, even though I really love the look (at times). There is something so classically elegant about well polished red nails I think.
Ali’s Big Break is a nice glassflecked, neutral red. It’s far from unique, I’m in fact pretty sure I have a pretty much perfect dupe in an inexpensive George polish (I will have to do a side by side comparison!) called Jester. I needed three coats of Ali’s Big Break to get rid of VNL, but in all honesty I don’t really mind several layers of a glass fleck or glitter, as it just deepens the effect of the sparklies.

17 ~ Forever

2011-08-29T09:00:00.000+01:00

I actually got this polish in a goody bag I won on Facebook. I like 17 quite a bit, although the quality can be a hit or miss at times (they make my all time favourite mascara – Wild Curl – and the only lipsticks I ever use which is their mirror shine ones) as I have shown previously here on the blog. I won this polish and a very nice looking pastel pink one, which I will no doubt swatch for you all later on.

The finish of Forever is different from the two previously swatched. This is a “Lasting Fix” as opposed to the quick dry ones I tried earlier. I like this formula a LOT more. No cheesy stringiness at all, the formula was actually really really good. Nice flow and cover with no streaks. This is two coats. The finish is very nice and glossy, and the drying time was good (although I always use a quick drying top coat of one kind or another. In this case it’s China Glaze Fast Forward)

I like this type of shade, they are a nice, unassuming type of colour for when you have had too much bling or neons. It’s obviously also very office appropriate, or for those days when you simply have to match your nails to – to put it in the words of Chaosophia from One Inch Nails – “that kind of underwear I would never buy”

Today I’m also throwing in a bonus picture for you, in case nude, undie matching nails don’t quite do it for you.

I want to add a disclaimer to this last photo – The dog is never usually allowed on the bed other than on bed wash days. The cat does whatever she wants. All the time. Because she is a cat, so it’s allowed. Period.

Nina Ultra Pro ~ Burnished Bronze

2011-08-28T09:00:00.000+01:00

I don’t know why I keep buying polishes that I know won’t suit my skin tone. I’m a total magpie when it comes to a colour that looks pretty in the bottle. Burnished Bronze looks stunning in the bottle – in my opinion, but it’s the same situation as with the similar hued OPI Take The Stage – it just doesn’t look good on me.

The formula was good for this shimmer, two coats of easily applied polish was enough to give an even finish.

Barry M ~ Bright Purple and Holo

2011-08-27T13:14:00.001+01:00

Barry M Bright Purple was a real surprise! I was sure it was a plain Jane crème polish, but I can swear I see some jelly-ness in there. What do you think? The application was great, and you know I love the Barry M brush. Two coats was enough for a slight jelly-like transparency with good, even coverage.

I’m not the biggest purple fan, so I decided to whip out an oldie but goodie, another Barry M polish – well I use the term polish loosely – Hologram Hexograms. The writing on my bottle is a little weak, but I swear it does say Hexograms, not hexagrams. Then again Barry M spells raspberry rasberry, so this seems about right!

At the moment I’m playing around with Live Writer, trying to make my blog a bit more attractive, and make publishing easier. You may have noticed that the images are larger than usual. If you have any feedback for this please let me know in the comments! As always your input is very much appreciated my lovelies <3

Nail Polish Jewellery!

2011-08-25T19:39:00.000+01:00

Today I have a different kind of post for you lovely readers - nail polish jewellery!

The jewellery in this post was made by the very talented C from Kitty Pretty Fingers. C has an Etsy shop called workshop760 where she sells her beautiful pieces.

The jewellery came wrapped up beautifully in silver with the name of the polish used hand written on a tag.

The pendant is made with Zoya Charla, which is one of the prettiest polishes ever made. The ultimate mermaid! Look how cute the clasp is!

Gorgeous colourshiftingness :) Not a word? Well it is now.

The ring is adjustable, but happened to fit my ring finger perfectly. It's made with LA Splash Dolphin Smile, which is a gorgeous purple and green duochrome. Such an interesting statement ring for anyone, not just us polish fanatics :)

The jewellery is really well made and absolutely gorgeous! I get tons of compliments whenever I wear one of these pieces <3

Bourjois ~ Bleu Asphalte with China Glaze ~ Avalanche

2011-08-23T15:43:00.000+01:00

The other day I got my first Bourjois polishes. Have I been living under a rock I hear you ask! No, but in all honesty the Bourjois polishes have seemed a tad uninspiring to me. However, I had quite a large amount to spend in Boots, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try a couple out.

My first pick was Bleu Asphalte, which is a purple/blue based dark grey, which is simply awesome. Greys can be a bit boring at times (just my opinion), but this grey is far from. The formula was absolutely spot on - two coats for perfection - even if the brush was on the big side.

Since it has been a while ago I did my last sponging I dabbed on some China Glaze Avalanche on top. I have swatched Avalanche previously, and always thought it was such a shame that a gorgeous colour like that should sit unloved because of the icky frost formula. One lightbulb moment later my trusty makeup sponge is dabbing on some metallic purple-grey (grurple? Does that make grey-blue glue? I can never get the hang of these portmanteaus) and hey presto - no brush marks! Am I ingenious or what!

Color Club ~ Yum Gum

2011-08-21T16:48:00.001+01:00

I got my first Color Club polishes the other day after wanting to try them for ages. The first one I wanted to try is the super Barbie bright pink crème Yum Gum. It's scented really strongly and smells of bubble gum. This polish would make any 13 year old ecstatic!

The formula didn't quite work for me. It was a bit too thick and streaky. After 3 coats I stopped, but I think to get it perfect another coat would have been good.

It's a bit hard to photograph - it was a choice between having my hands look totally dead or showing the polish slightly washed out. Vanity won, so washed out polish it is!

For polish this beautifully adolescent I just had to add some glitter on top, and what is better than OPI Princesses Rule?

Overall I'm slightly underwhelmed by this polish, but I don't dislike it in any way. I'm looking forward to trying more of the Color Club polishes.

Nina Ultra Pro Molten Copper

2011-08-19T16:57:00.000+01:00

I may not be the biggest duo/multichrome fan out there, but I do like them occasionally. Nina Ultra Pro Molten Copper is a particularly nice one in my opinion.

I layered it over GOSH Chocaholic, as it is quite sheer. The formula was nice and even, and dried quickly.

This polish reminds me a bit of a beetle's shell!

China Glaze Emerald Sparkle

2011-08-18T19:56:00.000+01:00

China Glaze Emerald Sparkle is without a doubt one of the most beautiful polishes I own - if not the most beautiful. Words can not describe how much I love this.

The formula is amazing, I used three thin coats, but two would probably be enough for most.

Enough words - time for pictures.

China Glaze Pink Voltage

2011-08-16T18:01:00.000+01:00

How amazing is China Glaze Pink Voltage! Neon bright pink, with a slight blue/purple iridescent shimmer.

It's the colour Barbie only dreams of!

The application wasn't great in all honesty. I remembered this polish being quite sheer, so I started off with a coat of Barry M Shocking Pink, but still needed 3 sandwiched layers of Pink Voltage to get an even coverage. The polish is quite streaky, and I had a fair bit of cuticle drag. It also has that unattractive, neon finish that I really dislike, but I use a top coat for everything except mattes, so that's not an issue. Looking at it though all I can say is - 8 coats, so what! Totally worth it!

Would you ever wear nails this pink?

OPI Jade Is The New Black with Stamping

2011-08-13T15:58:00.000+01:00

I wore OPI Jade Is The New Black a couple of times when it came out, and I thought the formula was simply awful. Streaky and gummy, not what I like at all. After I used it the last time I took my thinner and thinned the life out of this sucker. And guess what, when I used it this time around it was p-e-r-f-e-c-t!

Two nice, even coats with no streaking and no drag. I'm so happy! The actual shade is so amazingly pretty that I was feeling very much bummed that the polish was so rubbish to paint.

Anyways, enough about that! I stamped over JITNB with GOSH Metallic Green and using Bundle Monster BM205.

Nina Ultra Pro Caribbean Blue

2011-08-12T12:35:00.000+01:00

I really think that Nina Ultra Pro is a brand that deserves more attention. I guess the problem is probably in availability - as far as I know it's only Sally's that sell them. A shame, because they are overall lovely polishes! Cruelty free, 3free and vegan, good brush and generally excellent formula.

I picked this one up the other day on a buy one get one half of offer, and thought it was gorgeous, and not like anything else in my collection. I went home and showed my boyfriend, and he goes "Yes, very nice. Another mermaid is it?"

*long face*

"Yes, er, I suppose it is".

Bummer!

Anyway, can you really have too many aqua/blue-green polishes? I think not! The formula on this iridescent frost was really good, not bad at all for a frost in particular. Not too brush-strokey, at least not from a little distance. I managed to put a dent in my ring finger, but I painted this late at night, and frankly couldn't be bothered to re-polish!

You may see that I have put up a little poll on the blog - I would really appreciate if you gave me your feedback! I'm very tempted to put up the occasional non-nail post on the blog, but I want to know what my lovely readers want to see!

I'm thinking along the lines of indie mineral swatches/reviews and home-made organic & vegan skincare.

Recycled First Mate

2011-08-11T19:41:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I like to extend my mani an extra day by painting over it in some way. For this mani I painted over First Mate with one coat of Revlon Strawberry Electric which is a really pretty hot pink iridescent polish, and one coat of OPI Last Friday Night. I have really come to love Last Friday Night! I love the different sized glitter pieces in lovely gold and blue.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out! Just a shame I did such a shoddy job of painting my layers lol.

China Glaze First Mate

2011-08-09T19:32:00.001+01:00

I have swatched quite a few polishes from the Anchors Away collection, and I love them all. China Glaze First Mate is no exception.

It's a lovely, ever so slightly dusty navy creme that was perfect in two coats. China Glaze is truly one of my favourite brands, the formula is usually spot on, and the brush is fab.

Cafe Latte With an Edge

2011-08-07T18:35:00.000+01:00

I bought Nina Ultra Pro Cafe Latte at the same time as Satin Doll, and thought they looked awfully similar in the bottle. When painting Cafe Latte it became obvious that they are very different - Satin Doll is a pearl, and Cafe Latte a microshimmer. The formula is fantastic! Two coats of smooth flowing formula resulted in an opaque finish.

I would call this polish near perfect mannequin shade for me.

To spice it up a bit I wrapped my tips with black for a bit of contrast.

And here it is on its own. Not sure what's going on with my hands, they look half mummified!

Gradient Glitter Tape Design

2011-08-06T16:43:00.001+01:00

Today's design is inspired by a lot of other designs I have seen online, but it's not an exact copy of a single idea (at least not to my knowledge!). I would still like to give credit to all of you lovelies who are so creative with your tape manicures for the inspiration :)

I put together a little step by step in case you want to give this a go (although there are better tape tutorials out there!)

For this design I started off with a coat of yellow (I used Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta) [1], and then added a band of orange (OPI Flit A Bit) in the middle, pink on the tip (Barry M Pink Flamingo) and more yellow at the bottom [2].

Then I went over with two glitter polishes - from the bottom up I used China Glaze Lighthouse, and from the top down I used Nina Ultra Pro Opal Elegance [3]. I covered my nails with Seche Vite after this, as they needed to be dry for the next step.

I cut out thin strips of sello tape, and put these randomly over my nails, and finally I painted over everything with black (Nina Ultra Pro Black) and removed the tape. Done!

Please excuse the colour difference in these last pictures! The first three were taken as I was painting, and since I have limited space I couldn't set my light up properly. The final picture is the most colour accurate, and you can see the pink in particular looks very different!

Meteorite

2011-08-05T20:39:00.000+01:00

Meteorite by George is by far the most different looking in the bottle and on the nails of all the polishes that I own. The pictures are very colour accurate, believe it or not. It's like it's not even the same polish!

Regardless, it's a very pretty green/teal creme that I like very much (green is always good!)

The formula was a bit of a letdown. I have found that some cheaper quick dry polishes are a bit difficult to work with. I usually take my time when I paint, so I don't have to do a clean up, but with this polish I found that it was starting to dry on the brush before I had finished my strokes. Not a big problem if you are reasonably fast - which I'm not!

The opacity is excellent, this polish is bordering on being a one coater.

Senorita Bonita

2011-08-02T19:39:00.000+01:00

China Glaze's Senorita Bonita is from their 2011 summer collection. It's a lovely vibrant purple with fuchsia glass flecks.

The application was ok, but in all honesty I was feeling pretty pants when I put this on, so the application was probably worse than it should have been. Nevertheless I did experience a little cuticle drag. Two coats (one thin, one thick-ish) is what you see in the pictures.

In real life you can't see the brush strokes the way they appear in the photo, but they are there to some degree (again, this could have been an application error).

Acid Yellow and Pink Crackle

2011-07-31T17:15:00.000+01:00

Do you ever wear polishes that you just love, but look awful on you? I would say that this eye watering combo falls under that category for me! I do think it would look really good on someone with a darker skin tone though! Or just one that wasn't so yellow.

I used Acid Yellow as the base colour, and Instant Nail Effects (Pink) for the crackle. Both are by Barry M. Acid Yellow took three coats, and was still not streak free, but the colour is so awesome I forgive it for being awkward!

Under The Sea

2011-07-28T22:06:00.000+01:00

Doesn't the name Under The Sea totally make you sing The Little Mermaid song? I can't not hear this name in any other voice than Sebastian's. Under The Sea is from the inexpensive George by ASDA brand.

The colour itself is a gorgeous greenish aqua, but sadly it's a less than attractive frost finish. My boyfriend commented that it looked "rough", and I agree with him! Lots of visible brush strokes and a "thin" finish. The polish was easy to work with and two coats was enough though.

My first George disappointment!

Fiercely Fiona and Whitecap

2011-07-26T19:36:00.000+01:00

Those of you who have been following my blog for a little while may know that I'm going through this yellow/orange phase at the moment. Add to that the amazing photos on Ritterbraten's blog Das Experiment and you can see why I just HAD to have yellow nails today :)

I picked Fiercely Fiona from OPI's Shreck collection, and added a coat of China Glaze's Whitecap on top.

Fiercely Fiona was a bit of a pain to work with. It took three coats to get to what you see in the pictures, and even then, if I hadn't decided on layering I would have had to paint a fourth. I know pale yellows are tricky, but for the price of an OPI polish I would expect better.

Whitecap on the other hand is absolutely gorgeous. It's a polish that looks pretty unassuming in the bottle, but transforms your nails into gold dusted goodness.

The conclusion is that Fiercely Fiona can happily march on to another owner, but Whitecap will stay put in my Helmer!

Tease-y Does It

2011-07-25T16:31:00.000+01:00

OPI's Tease-y Does It isn't really something I would wear in the summer normally, but I was dying to try it. It's a rich dark burgundy/maroon with red glass flecks. Sometimes the bottle catches the light and creates a lovely rainbow like effect, but sadly that's not something I've seen on my nails.

This is two coats, and the application was good (apart from the massive brush of course lol).

As pretty as I think it is, I doubt I would reach for it again, so it will go in my share drawer.

Layered Ultraviolet

2011-07-23T20:01:00.000+01:00

Today I'm showing you another blue polish. This lovely lovely duochrome is Ultraviolet from George by Asda. I've mentioned this brand a couple of times before, and I continue to be amazed at how nice the polishes are, especially considering the very low price tag.

Ultraviolet is sheer, and because of this I have layered it over BMX Bandit by Collection 2000. The mani you see is two coats of BMX Bandit and one coat of Ultraviolet.

Ultraviolet is a fairly subtle purple and blue duochrome with an almost frost like finish. I love it :)

Frostbite

2011-07-22T10:46:00.000+01:00

In my opinion China Glaze's Frostbite has to be a true nail polish classic!

I adore this bright blue shimmer, I dare you not to like it! The formula is good, what you see here is three coats, but if it wasn't for the camera macro I think I could have got away with two.

Steady As She Rose

2011-07-20T12:01:00.000+01:00

Very few polishes from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection caught my eye, but this OPI beauty did! Steady As She Rose is a lovely pale pinkish lavender creme.

Application was ok, three coats for an even, opaque finish.

I love this type of shade! OPI really does them so well.

Coral with Fimo

2011-07-18T20:09:00.000+01:00

This summery polish by Barry M is called Coral. It's a nice, orangey coral that's really hard to photograph!

The polish changes a lot with the light source - the first two are natural light and the third is artificial.

I applied two coats, but I think maybe three would have been better. There is a little hint of VNL with two. The formula is very nice.

I added a couple of pieces of fimo flowers as an accent on my ring finger. I have a lot to learn about fimo still! I haven't used it much at all, so I suspect you will be seeing more attempts from me soon :)

Dark Navy with Holographic Stamping

2011-07-16T16:42:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since I did some stamping! My original thought was to stamp over ELF's Dark Navy with gold stars, but, as it turns out, none of my golds work for stamping, so I'll save this for a freehand acrylic design instead.

As I already had my stamping stuff out I went with one of the old Bundle Monster designs instead (BM20), and used trusty old Holographic by GOSH for the stamping. I think it's such a shame they have discontinued this beautiful polish! Why do companies do this?

The ELF polish was really quite nice! The brush is awful (yes, I'm on repeat about their horrible brushes) but the formula is nice. Two coats went on evenly. This polish like my other ELF ones definitely needs a top coat though. It dries in a neon finish like way, sort of semi matte. I don't like that type of finish at all, but it may be to someone's taste.

Lincoln Square Lavender

2011-07-14T20:40:00.000+01:00

This is only my second ever encounter with a NYC polish. The first one I got was a black one that I ended up throwing out since it was super thin and streaky. I thought I would give NYC another chance, so I bought Lincoln Square Lavender, a polish I would call more pink than lavender, but pretty none the less (in a plane Jane kinda way)

Application was great and I really liked the brush. It's like the pro wide's smaller cousin - nice and flat without being ridiculously large (I'm looking at you, OPI!)

This is two coats.

Because the shade is on the boring side I spiced it up with glitter tips from my new fave budget polish brand George by ASDA in the shade Pink Glitz. Isn't it purdy! I love it :)

OPI ~ Take The Stage

2011-07-13T20:58:00.001+01:00

I own a few polishes that I think on the one hand are stunning, and on the other.. don't quite like.

Take the Stage is one of those. While I think this shimmery copper beauty is very pretty, I don't really like it. Maybe the old lady in the office again, maybe something else.

Am I the only person out there who is very underwhelmed by OPI? I think it's a nice brand with some nice colours, but I far from love it.

Lemon Ice Cream

2011-07-11T20:02:00.000+01:00

This lovely pastel yellow from Barry M is called Lemon Ice Cream.

The application is quite decent considering it's a light yellow - I had to paint three coats.

The first was a bit streaky, but not in a bad way, just "needs more coats" ya know?

I fancied doing something more, so I added a tip gradient with Yellow (no, I kid you not, that's the inspiring name!) also by Barry M, and stamped a zipper and filled it in with Bright Red (Barry M again).

What can I say? Can't win 'em all!

Cha Cha Cha and Press Release

2011-07-09T15:02:00.000+01:00

Be still my heart! This gorgeous gorgeous polish is Cha Cha Cha from the recent China Glaze Island Escape collection.

The funny thing is that I was in every day at my local Sally's, nagging them for when the collection would come in, and so far I've only tried two of the polishes. Like Garfield would say - it's not the having, it's the getting.

This polish went on so nicely, three smooth, even coats for glimmery golden green perfection :)

I also have a picture of the coming China Glaze limited edition Metro Collection

This is what China Glaze has to say about the shades:

Skyscraper: A sparkling, glitter blue reminiscent of the sky over the city.

CG in the City: Glittering dusty purple, bronze and silver multi-tonal glitter, perfect for a pop of edge from West side to East side.

Urban-Night: Exactly what you need for a night on the town – rich purple crème.

Traffic Jam: Stop traffic with a breathtaking, raspberry pink crème.

City Siren: The perfect deep, red crème to match any outfit.
Loft-y Ambitions: Burgundy shimmer and cocktail hour – nothing better.
Brownstone: Burnt terracotta crème mirrors the quaint townhouses of the city.
Midtown Magic: Burgundy base with flecks of gold shimmer captures the latest fashion trend.
Street Chic: This gorgeous beige crème is the perfect go to shade letting your clothes do the talking.
Concrete Catwalk: Steel grey crème is amazing for a chic mani.
Westside Warrior: For the trendsetting woman this camo green crème is to die for.
Trendsetter: Mustard yellow shimmer translates beautifully from hot dogs to nails.

What do you think of this collection? With very few exceptions I'm super excited about it! Loads of gorgeous autumn colours.

Ahoy!

2011-07-08T22:10:00.000+01:00

More Anchors Away! This time it's Ahoy!, a beautiful glass flecked fuchsia.

This is two coats, and like most China Glaze polishes it went on really nicely and evenly.

Not For the Faint of Heart - Peach Smoothie

2011-07-06T10:54:00.000+01:00

What's wrong I hear you ask? What's right more like!

Not only are my cuticles a disaster, but this polish is one of the worst I have ever tried. What am I talking about? Peach Smoothie scented polish by Revlon.

I seriously don't know what's going on here, but this polish is an absolute nightmare. I don't particularly like Revlon's polishes at the best of times, and trust me, this was not the best of times.

I can only assume that my bottle is somehow - off? I hope so anyway.

I really like the colour of this polish, it has that "I'm cheap in an expensive way" kinda look about it, and who doesn't like that! It's purely the formula I have problems with. I had to paint four, horrible, streaky, lumpy coats to get this opaque.

Don't look directly at it! It may bite!

Did I manage to put you off your dinner? Then my work here is done ;)

Confusion

2011-07-05T10:52:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I went on a little shopping "spree" at the ASDA. I commented previously that I had to pick up more George polishes after being so impressed with the two I was given, so I bought 8 more for the grand total of *drumroll please* £8!

Not exactly breaking the bank.

The colour selection is obviously limited, but the formula is really really nice, and so are the colours that are available.

This one is called Confusion, and it's a very pretty purple with micro glitter. The glitter/shimmer doesn't show up very well, but gives that nice subtle sparkle that stops the polish from looking flat. The last two pictures show it off quite well :)

What do you think? Would you ever go to the supermarket to pick up polish?

Giveaway Winner!

2011-07-04T16:28:00.001+01:00

The little leprechauns over at Random.org have had their say, and they have picked a winner!

Congratulations Lalica!

Don't forget to check out Lalica's fantastic blog :)

Thank you so much to all of you for the lovely comments and ideas you have written in your forms! It's been so much fun to look at new blogs and read all the nice things you have to say :)

Life Preserver

2011-07-03T18:24:00.000+01:00

I have to say I can't believe I didn't like the look of China Glaze's Anchors Away first of all! It's turning out to be one of my favourite collections.

I love love love Life Preserver! It's a burnt orange, light brick creme, that was very difficult to photograph! The colour in the bottle is more true than on my nails.

Do you like orange polishes? I seem to go through some orange/yellow craze just now :)

Today is the last day to enter my 100 follower giveaway, so if you haven't already - make sure you get a chance at winning :)

Bittersweet

2011-07-02T18:48:00.000+01:00

I'm undecided about Bittersweet by Nina Ultra Pro.

On the one hand I think it's a really pretty dusty rose coloured creme, but on the other it's a bit granny-ish.

The formula is spot on, this is two coats. I dotted on a few swirls and french lines with Zanna by Zoya to make it a bit more fun :)

Spring Green

2011-06-30T18:39:00.000+01:00

Barry M's Spring Green is such a happy, bright colour!

The formula of this creme is lovely as with almost all Barry M polishes. This is two coats.

I really feel like some nail art on top of this would be great, don't you agree?

Knotty

2011-06-28T12:24:00.000+01:00

I have to admit that I passed Knotty by several times before finally picking it up. I was worried it would be a bit "middle aged lady at the office", but I can promise it's not!

It's a beautiful sparkly glass flecked toffee nude that catches the light in the most spectacular way! I loved the application, it was nice and flowing just as I like it :)

This is two coats, but three would have been better.

Suzi Says Feng Shui

2011-06-26T13:52:00.000+01:00

OPI's Suzi Says Feng Shui is a very pretty, dusty blue creme.

I loved this polish in the bottle, but I'm not sure it really suits me all that well. I was a bit disappointed when I had it on.

I decided to add a couple of coats of I Juggle...Men by the same brand, but again, I was left a bit long in the face! I was expecting duochrome glittery goodness, but I could hardly even see it. It just made my nails look a bit dirty.

I have to try this top coat with another polish underneath and see if it looks better.

All in all a pretty meh manicure, but I suppose we need them in order to appreciate the fab ones!

Base Coat Experiment Update

2011-06-25T10:54:00.000+01:00

As promised before I went on holiday I have taken pictures of my nails to see if there is any difference in the wear depending on the base coat used.

I have to say I'm pretty impressed overall how well the polish actually held up! I could have kept it on longer, but as beautiful as Zombie Zest is, I was absolutely dying to put something else on after almost a week!

NT, ChG, NT, ChG

As you can see on the third day pictures above the wear is most noticeable on my middle finger. This is a Strong Adhesion finger. It's not as obvious, but there is also some wear and a tiny chip on my index finger, which is wearing Nail Tek. The chip is because of a weakness in the nail more than anything.

Not much has happened since the previous day. Still very wearable in my opinion, although to someone who is polish mad even this amount of wear feels a bit scruffy! The little chip on my index finger is more noticeable in this picture.

Left hand

Right hand

I was out and about and never took a picture on the fifth day, so above is a picture of how my nails looked just before I removed my mani on the sixth day. I have included a picture of my right (dominant) hand as well, so you can see the wear on all fingers.

There really is very little difference between the two base coats. Bit of an anti climax maybe, but I think it's safe to say that both base coats are very good!

Back From Holiday and Awards!

2011-06-24T15:42:00.001+01:00

I came back from a lovely holiday to find that I have been tagged for several fantastic awards! Thank you so much! I'm constantly amazed that so many of you read my blog and like it <3

I know that the rules state that 10 blogs should be tagged for the awards, but I'm cheating and nominating 3 for each award, I hope there will be no hard feelings!

Top 10 Award

I was tagged for this award by Opinionated Little Finger, So Nailed and Varnish Me. Thank you so much ladies!

The rules for this award includes listing your top 10 cosmetics, and for me my must have products are:

Seche Vite. No explanation needed, right?
Cuticle Butter - home made or Lemony Flutter from Lush
Cuticle remover - I use Blue Cross (Bought from Tiffany Nail Supply)
Lucy Minerals Mineral Foundation, custom blended. I love this stuff, it's the only foundation I use. Plus Annie who owns the company and makes the makeup is so nice.
Natural Lip Balm. I'm a total lip balm addict, and my substance of choice is natural and preferably organic. I love Badger Balm, Crazy Rumors and Honeybee Gardens. I buy them all from Supersmoocher.
Mineral Blush from The All Natural Face. Super cheap and amazing (amazing!) colours that suit my difficult pale skin tone so well. I love Every Day Is a Good Day in particular.
Mirror Shine Lip Stick by 17. I'm not a lip stick gal at all, so this sheer, glossy lip stick is perfection for me!
Wild Curl Mascara also by 17. My all time fave. Easily rivals L'Oreal Voluminous, and unlike L'Oreal it's cruelty free.
Laura Geller Baked Cake Eyeliner. This is a super pigmented baked eyeliner that I use either dry or wet with an angled brush. It's my all time fave eyeliner for the upper lash line.
Last but not least, the most obvious one - Nail Polish!

I'm tagging:

Mini Nail Blog - What this girl can't make in acrylics isn't worth making!
Addicted To Polish - Beautiful nails and fun colour choices.
Acetone and Old Lacquer - There seems to be something in the water in Finland, making some of the ladies there super talented? This is no exception!

Then I got tagged for no less than four awards by the talented Minnie from Mini Nail Blog

Sunshine Award

“The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and

creativity inspire others in the blogging world.

The Sunshine Award is given by bloggers to bloggers

as a way to spread the bloggy love.”

I'm tagging some bloggers who are really creative with their photos and nails, and make me smile:

Painted Lady Fingers - Creative nails and beautiful photos.

Wacky Laki - Wonderful photos and perfectly maintained and painted nails.

Das Experiment - Amazing nails, amazing photos.

Inspiration Award

"given for blogs that inspire hope, love and joy in daily life!"

These tagged ladies all have some serious nail art skills:

Fab Ur Nails - No idea how she does it! I'm in awe.

Art Of Nail - Another amazing nail artist with super long natural nails.

Pieni Kynsiblogi - She doesn't update all that often, but the posts are well worth waiting for!

Best Blog Award

Best Blog Award is

passed along to other bloggers who you think have the best blog.

Some truly inspirational nails:

ANOTHER Bottle Of Polish - The queen of frankens, with some of the most beautiful nails I have seen.

The Polished Perfectionist - Her nails are perfect AND she is a wicked cake maker.

All You Desire - Another girl with perfect nails.

Blogger Luxury Award

For this award you are supposed to share 7 random facts about yourself, and fill in a form.
I have already shared 10 random facts with you all, so I'll go straight to the form :)

1. Name your favourite colour

Green

2. Name your favourite song

I really can't pick just one, but I love just about everything by Kent and Three Days Grace.

3. Name your fav dessert

Fruit salad

4. What makes you mad?

Animal cruelty and people who just don't give a sh*t

5. When you're upset, you...

Mope

6. Your favourite pet

I love both my animals, and all animals from days past.

7. Black or White?

Black if I have to pick.

8. Your biggest fear is...

Losing those I love

9. Your best feature is...

According to others my eyes, so I'll go with that.

10. Everyday attitude

The future looks bright

11. What is perfection?

When nothing else can be removed

12. Guilty pleasure

Watching make over shows

I'm tagging:

The Nail Addict - I hope this doesn't sound patronising, but the fact that this super talented blogger is only 16 completely blows me away! Her nails are master pieces!
Beauty By Kayla Shevonne - A lovely mix of things, but above all really fun and pretty nails.
Oooh, Shinies! - I love how pretty and neat, yet creative her nails are!

In The Lime Light

2011-06-23T00:00:00.000+01:00

This China Glaze polish is SO bright! I love it! In The Lime Light really is a highlighter green, but the beautiful microshimmer/glass flecks prevents it from looking too prepubescent.

I added some stamping on top, but it was pretty much a fail, although my boyfriend liked it. He commented that my nails looked "alien green with crop circles". I don't know about you, but I can live with that!

Skull and Glossbones

2011-06-21T00:00:00.000+01:00

I completely fell in love with Skull and Glossbones when I saw it swatched, and it did not disappoint on the nails! I love this beige/green grey so much! I have no other colours like it, and I haven't seen many out there that are.

Application was good, if a little bit on the thick side for me. This is two coats.

Tree Hugger and Flowers

2011-06-18T00:00:00.000+01:00

I absolutely adore Tree Hugger by China Glaze. It's such a pretty, sparkly grass green that can't but help putting you in a good mood :)

I couldn't stop looking at my nails when I wore this, and almost drove my boyfriend to tears with my incessant "look, look, aren't they pretty!"

This colour just totally lends itself to something nature-y, so off I went and dotted on some childish flowers! More colourful than precise, but a bit of fun none the less, right?

Zombie Zest and an Experiment!

2011-06-16T22:51:00.000+01:00

As you may know I'm away on holiday tomorrow, and as promised I will do a little test while away!

I have chosen China Glaze's Zombie Zest for my going away mani, and since this polish is friggen awesome I want it to last as long as possible for once!

So, what I have decided to do is test out two different popular base coats, and see if they have any impact on how long the polish will last!

These are the two contenders in this little test - Nail Tek Foundation II and China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat.

I have made a proper zombie sandwich on my nails!

I started with one coat of base coat, starting with China Glaze on my left thumb, and doing alternate nails on both hands (so my right hand's thumb has Nail Tek).

Then I painted two coats of Zombie Zest, one coat of Seche Vite, one coat of Zombie Zest, and finally one coat of Seche Vite.

There was no difference in application over the two base coats. Nail Tek dries very matte, whereas the China Glaze is more like a "normal" base coat, but both of them gripped the polish well, and they both dried nice and quick.

The plan is to photograph my nails each day I wear this manicure, and see if there is any discernible difference in the wear.

Left to right: ChG, NT, ChG, NT.

TNB is going on holiday!

2011-06-15T06:54:00.000+01:00

On Friday I will be going away for a week's holiday with my boyfriend, can't wait! I have prepared a few posts to publish automatically while I'm away, but it won't be as many as usual.

As I was thinking of what to bring, I thought it would be fun to share with you what I find essential to bring on a trip.

Now this will obviously depend on what kind of holiday you are going on - we are going camping, so I am packing for a bit of Glamping!

This is what I decided on bringing:

Cuticle Balm

Always. I love my Lemony Flutter. Would not travel without it!

Multi-way Nail Buffer

I chose this little compact version as it fits in my rather small bag. I am not planning on doing any hard core filing when away, so it will be a case of smoothing out possible snags and nothing else.

Cuticle Clipper

I always have one with me, because I have the worst cuticles in the world. I used to be a big cuticle picker, so this travels everywhere. If I see a tiny little piece of cuticle sticking out and tempting me to pull or pick, I'll gently snip it. Please note though that I don't cut my cuticles as part of my manicures! Think hangnail rather than cuticle for this.

Orangewood Stick

Good for keeping the nails clean and for tidying up polish when painting my nails (if I'm messy!)

Top Coat

Seche Vite. I never use anything else. I love this stuff. Seche, you may slowly be killing me with your toxins, but I still adore you.

Base Coat

I will bring China Glaze's Strong Adhesion, but I don't exclusively use this base coat. I have a little experiment planned for you, that I will do while away :)

Nail Polishes

My criteria for picking polishes were:

Easy application - meaning max two coats
Tolerant to tip wear - no colours that are too dark, and no polishes that start to show wear after a day.
Easy to remove - no glitter, no smurf fingers!
No super expensive, discontinued, HTF polishes!
Colours I would be happy to see more than one day :)

I picked two of my favourite colours - Satin Doll (you can never go wrong with an opaque nude imo!) and Emerald (because it's GREEN!). I also decided to bring a black crackle, because it's such an easy quick way to renew your mani (and as my friend said - hide a multitude of sins!)

And also, not pictured:

Polish Remover

I bought a small bottle of Superdrugs own brand stuff - the one with an acetone formula. That's the remover I normally use anyway. I will of course also bring some cotton pads for removing the polish with. This will go in my wash bag.

And that's it! I plan on not bringing too much of anything, and be *gasp* low maintenance!

Comparing Taupes

2011-06-14T09:07:00.000+01:00

Time for another comparison! This time around I have picked four taupe polishes to compare.

I love this type of colour, and even though they are a bit "last year", I still find myself drawn to them.

From left to right the polishes are: Barry M Mushroom, ELF Smoky Brown, OPI Over The Taupe and OPI You Don't Know Jacques.

One coat of each, artificial light.

Two coats of each, artificial light.

Three coats.

Three coats, indirect sunlight

Three coats, artificial light.

All polishes are applied with one layer of base coat and no top coat.

Mushroom has a fantastic formula. As you can see from the pictures it's pretty much opaque in one coat, and it's really nice and glossy. Have I mentioned before how much I love Barry M?

This shade is the most yellow out of the four, it almost looks a bit like mud, or chocolate.

Smoky Brown is very close to Over The Taupe colour wise. I would almost say that the application is easier with this ELF polish than the OPI. It has by far the least appealing finish, but a top coat would take care of that. This is perhaps the truest "brown" out of the four.

Over The Taupe was one of those polishes that when I saw it swatched I had to have it. I love the colour, but the application isn't great. This polish is the reason I decided on three coats for the comparison, as it was still pretty streaky after two. This polish leans a little towards pink.

You Don't Know Jacques is the darkest out of them all, and the coolest toned. It almost leans a bit purple. It's the second easiest to apply alongside Mushroom. I like this polish a lot!

Rockin in Rubies

2011-06-13T12:24:00.000+01:00

I don't own may reds, and I don't own many Wet n Wilds, so this polish is actually pretty unusual for me!

It's not really particularly unique, but Rockin in Rubies is still stash worthy in my opinion!

The formula is good, no streaking and pretty opaque in two coats. There is a hint of VNL, but not so much as to bother me.

Isn't the gold shimmer just lovely!

I'm normally not a fan of gaudy packaging, but the "diamond" on the top of the lid is just too cute!

I have seen so many beautiful mattified shimmers, so I decided to try it with this one. I deem it a partial success! I think it looks nice, but not amazing in any way. I used the ELF mattifying top coat.

I didn't stop there, oh no! I added a french tip with Barry M Red Glitter.

Pale Purple

2011-06-11T08:16:00.000+01:00

Yes, I have nubbins! On Thursday night after work I got home and just chopped! Chop chop.

I was alternating between being horrified and thinking "oh they look cute".

I think I have settled for thinking they are quite cute. I got fed up with my nails being in less than perfect condition, so it felt like time to take them down a bit. I have now also cut away the tear that I repaired with a tea bag.

My nails grow quickly anyway, so it's not like it's permanent.

The first polish to grace my shorties is one of my favourite pastels - Barry M Pale Purple. I do believe that since buying this polish it has changed name to Blueberry Ice Cream.

Edited to add: Thank you Clare for setting me straight on the names. Pale Purple (308) is now called Berry Ice Cream, whereas Blueberry Ice Cream (306) is the pale blue from the same collection.

Application was faultless - this is two coats.

I would love to hear what you think of the new, short nails! Do you prefer longer nails, or do short ones look the best to you?

Hot & Spicy!

2011-06-10T20:16:00.000+01:00

I picked up this OPI polish on a whim. I have mentioned before that I seem to be going through some kind of orange craze at the moment. Well, it extends to corals too!

Hot & Spicy is a very orange coral creme that I personally think suits my skin tone better than I expected it to. I even got told my hands looked a bit tanned! Now I wouldn't put too much stock in that, but hey, it was kinda nice to hear :p

Application was good, the polish was pretty opaque after two coats, but better with three. The polish was very tricky to photograph! The pictures are slightly off, but not by a great deal. The way the polish looks in the bottle is probably closest to the truth.

Sea Spray

2011-06-09T20:32:00.000+01:00

I actually didn’t pick up any of the polishes from the China Glaze Anchors Away collection until very recently. There wasn’t much that stood out for me, but eventually I did get most of them.

I’m particularly happy I picked up Sea Spray! It’s such a unique colour in my collection, a lovely storm grey with a subtle micro shimmer that prevents the polish from looking like putty.

This is two coats and the application was perfect.

Purple X-ing!

2011-06-07T17:27:00.000+01:00

As promised yesterday I have a purple mani for you today.
This overly bling-y polish is Purple X-ing by Nina Ultra Pro. This polish is packed full of glitter in your regular jelly base. The glitter is different shapes and colours, with some big holo pieces.

I actually found this polish too glittery, too chunky, just too much!.

I thought I would see how it looked with a sheer polish on top, so I added a thin coat of Significant Other Color by OPI. I like how this lovely duochrome tones down a bit of the bumpiness.

Happy birthday mum <3

National Day of Sweden

2011-06-06T16:03:00.000+01:00

As some of you may know I'm Swedish (but live in the UK), so in order to celebrate the country that gave you IKEA, Abba, Swedish meatballs, The Nobel Prize - and The Nail Buff - I created a Swedish flag mani.

The Swedish flag is pretty simple, so I decided not to overdo it, but keep the whole design fairly plain.
I feel so patriotic when I look down on my hands now :p

The polishes I used are all from Barry M; Cyan, Yellow and Instant Nail Effects Blue.
I created the flag by masking off a cross with sellotape on a yellow base and painting over with blue.

Today is also my mum's birthday, and as I mentioned in my Mani for Mum post her favourite colour is purple. I will post a purple mani for you all tomorrow :)

Black Swirl

2011-06-05T16:07:00.000+01:00

Today's polish was a gift from the beautiful Fee of Makeup Savvy. Thank you for the lovely polish!

Black Swirl is actually my first ever Models Own, and I was not disappointed. I know little of the brand, but I understand they quite often do dupes of Chanel polishes? I remember seeing their "Car Key" collection as an answer to Chanel's "Khaki".

Black Swirl appears to be a dupe of Chanel's Black Pearl that came out earlier this year. I don't own the Chanel polish, so I can't do a comparison, but they seem pretty close, although it appears that Chanel is a bit more grey? Perhaps someone can set me straight on this!

The formula of this polish was very good, two coats gave a perfect application. The pearlised finish meant that there were some visible brush marks, but nothing too bad.

One reader commented that she would like to see more stickers and transfers, and I thought this polish lent itself perfectly to a small accent. I chose a little rhinestone flower for my ring finger, and nothing else.