Thursday 31 May 2012

Misslyn - Atlantis


Grey blue with purple shimmer and tiny gold flecks

This was one of the 4 Misslyn polishes I picked up on one of my many trips to Germany last year






Swatch shown is 3 coats with no top coat.

It's a interesting finish, at first it appears to just be an airforce grey/blue shimmer but look closer and there's a hint of purple and some tiny gold flecks

I found the formula pretty gloopy to apply and it took forever to dry.
Any European gals have similar experience with Misslyn?

IIRC these weren't super cheap, around 6-8 Euros I think

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Nails Inc - Ibiza Orange

Jellyish Orange Creme

More orange goodness before the weather turns here in the UK.  We've had hot sunny weather for the past week or so but today it looks like it'll be warm but less sunny before cooling down for our long weekend  (we have 2 bank holidays next week to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee). Typical, huh?!



Swatch is 2 coats no top coat and there's slight vnl from the jellyness

I thought this one looked similar to another nails inc that a lot of the UK gals might have, Nails Inc Candy Orange which was a giveaway with InStyle magazine a couple of years ago so I did a quick comparison.






l-r Ibiza Orange, Candy Orange, Ibiza Orange, Candy Orange

Candy Orange is softer, slightly more coral toned and a shade more opaque.  Ibiza Orange is brighter, more vibrant, a slightly stronger orange.

But they're pretty similar aren't they, I'd say if you've got Candy Orange then you probably don't need Ibiza Orange.  Except if you're a Nails Inc obsessive like myself!


Friday 25 May 2012

Orly - Cherry Bomb

Bright reddish orange shimmer

Something bright for this sunny day here in Blighty!

Cherry Bomb from Orly is a bright, shimmery red toned orange.  

It's not cherry coloured at all to me; according to the interwebs Cherry Bombs are also fireworks, exhausts and a type of chilli, none of which are quite this colour either!







Swatch of Cherry Bomb is 2 coats, no top coat, it does look a little VNL in the pics but that wasn't visible IRL.

It's a fab colour, bright, shimmery and lit from within. And it's the first Orly I've shown on my blog - off to a good start for the brand I think!

And of course Orly bottles have those fab rubberised handles that I'm a fan of.  I'm also wearing a lot of Orly Bonder as a base coat at the moment and loving it. I does seem to keep polish in place very well.

Sunday 20 May 2012

Boots 17 - Glisten


Peach shimmer

And the last of the 17 Spring Collection I picked up is Glisten






Glisten is a peach shimmer packed with golden shimmer that gives it slight foil leanings and a hint of duochrome.

Swatch show is 3 coats with no top coat.

This is a really pretty colour and would look great on toes with a bit of a tan, if the sun ever comes back!

Saturday 19 May 2012

Boots 17 - Juicy


Light bright spring green with turquoise secret shimmer

Juicy is another from the Boots 17 Spring collection





Swatch is 4 coats! with no top coat.  And I still have subtle visible nail line.

Juicy is a pretty spring green with a turquoise secret shimmer which stops it looking too flat.

It's pastel, it's bright and springy, it's Easter bunny, is it opaque? heck no

Ah well, I do like it, it's an unusual green and pretty unique in my collection but 4 coats, really?!

Thursday 17 May 2012

Boots 17 - Mellow Yellow


Banana yellow shimmer

I'm back!  Sorry things have been a bit sparse around these parts but I wasn't back many days after Madrid before I headed off for a 2-day conference in Reading (glamorous huh?!) and then a long weekend in the sunny, warm and rather more fantastic climes of Rome with my beloved.

It was the first time for both of us and we loved it, as is often said Rome truly is an open-air museum.  We're planning to go back and see all the stuff we didn't have time for this time!  Then back to work this week to find myself on a last minute trip to Edinburgh for a customer meeting.  Phew.

And no time for nail polish shopping on any of those trips.....

So here's a polish I picked up a couple of months ago, Mellow Yellow from (Boots) 17






Mellow Yellow is a slightly frosty banana yellow shimmer

Swatch is 3 coats with no top coat and while it's a little brushstrokey, I can live with it!

The colour is so pretty and springlike in the bottle, but so not me on the nails!  I do struggle with the yellows.

So there you have a lovely springy yellow - perhaps it will help bring the spring to the UK?!

Friday 11 May 2012

Paul & Joe 23 aka Dress Up?


Sheer nude with holo glitter

The third of the trio is probably the only one I'll keep, for the uniqueness.



Dress Up is a sheer (sound familiar?!) nude with biggish holo glitter

Again, did I mention  it was sheer?! the swatch is 3 coats and of course I still have visible nail line.

Next time I will definitely layer this over a nude underwear coat.





As well as sheer it was also gloopy - joy.

So overall my first experience of Paul & Joe polish was not a winner.

Was I just unlucky?  Are all the other polishes super opaque and apply like butter?  Put me out of my misery!

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Paul & Joe 15 aka La Revue?


Coral/pink jelly with super secret shimmer

After the fail of Soleil I didn't hold out much hope for this one but it was a little better.


La Revue is a jelly coral/pink with super secret shimmer





Again it was runny but not quite as bad as Soleil and look how shiny it is.

Swatch shown is 3 coats with no top coat.  It's not fully opaque at 3 coats but it does look worse in the photos.

Oddly this polish also seemed to be scented - can anyone confirm that Paul & Joe do scented polish?

Monday 7 May 2012

Paul & Joe 30 aka Soleil


Tangerine jelly with scattered gold glitter

I'm back!  The new router is fab but unfortunately didn't work with the old network patch panel, so we have a temporary panel in place designed for a rack in a server room.  What's the problem with that? It has a built in fan that sounds like a small hovercraft!

So onto the polish....

Oh boy, this was a total fail for me.

I didn't have any Paul & Joe in my collection so picked up a threesome in the ASOS sale.  I'd read good things about the polish, the bottles are pretty and unique and it was, if not a bargain, then cheaper than usual.



Soleil is a tangerine jelly, emphasis on the jelly, with scattered gold glitter




I had a complete mare with this polish, it was very runny and very sheer.

This swatch is 4 coats and I still have VVNL!

This one has gone straight into the Blog Sale box in the unlikely event anyone else will want it!

Stay tuned this week to see if the rest of the trio were any better...