Polishtopia

Barbara Daly Makeup - Midnight

2012-01-29T14:32:00.003Z

Navy shimmer

Midnight is a blackened navy with a silvery blue shimmer

makeup is the cosmetics brand created for Tesco (a UK supermarket) by Barbara Daly, one of the first professional British makeup artists to be well known. Barbara Daly was certainly the first makeup artist I knew by name back in the late 70's. Yes I'm as old as that sounds!

This one is a mini-ish bottle, at 7ml it's quite generous for a mini!

Formula was good, it's nicely opaque and I didn't have any trouble with the small brush.

Swatch shown is 2 coats, no top coat. Apologies for the line on my ring finger, I have a silk patch holding a break together and it wasn't very well buffed or covered in this shot

Overall a nice polish, good colour although nothing unique. I do have a fair few navy shimmers but they call to me, like a siren!

The mini bottles retail for £3.

Max Factor - Fantasy Fire

2012-01-22T17:07:00.001Z

Gorgeous sheer purple/green duochrome and possible Clarins 230 dupe?

I'm sure most of you have heard of and seen Max Factor's Max Effect Fantasy Fire 45 by now. It's a newly released potential dupe to the elusive, HTF, Clarins 230 aka Unicorn Pee.

I have to say straight up that I don't have Clarins 230. I've toyed with those ebay auctions but always managed to talk myself down from paying £50+ for a single polish. So this won't be a comparison post, I'm just gonna bombard you with pics of Fantasy Fire because whether it's a dupe or not (and it's certainly similar) it's still totally gorgeous.

I picked up Fantasy Fire in in a tiny branch of Boots a couple of days ago. There were several new colours including some interesting metallics. This afternoon the sun came out long enough for me to grab the following pics. As the weather was pretty variable I didn't know how long the sunlight would stick around I just popped a couple of coats over my existing manicure, a-England's Elaine. As it turned out it was a pretty excellent base coat for FF. I'd already seen swatches of the polish alone on BeneBelles blog and knew it was super sheer and that layering was the way to go

So first up a couple of bottle shots

In the bottle it's predominantly a pinkish purple with lots of shimmer and a duochrome of blue and some green and maybe a hint of gold around the edges.

The bottle is tiny, just 5ml and they cost £3.99, pretty expensive for such a weeny amount of polish but in this case totally worth it!

All the following swatch shots are 2 coats of Fantasy Fire over my existing mani of a-England Elaine, a dusky purple. Looking at the swatches now I wished I'd added a topcoat to really make the shimmer sing but never mind....

With all of these pics you can click for bigger versions.

This was the only shot I got that just about showed all the different colours - I think 230 maybe more overtly duochrome.

Love how it looks like a gradient in this shot, just wish my ring finger had been at the same angle!

One of the few times you can see the green strongly in the bottle.

I hope you can see the range of the duochrome in these shots which starts as a sheer purple with a red shimmer and then switches between gold shimmer and a strong green with a green/gold shimmer.

Out of the sunlight the shimmer is much redder and there's no hint of the duochrome.

These are both under electric light and IRL the shimmer is redder still.

It is totally gorgeous and to be honest it's close enough to 230 for me!

There doesn't seem to be any information about the new colours on the Max Factor site, they still only have the old colours up so I can't tell you if this is part of a collection or just a new release of colours.

So, what do you think? Totally stunning or what?!

Ciaté - Sharp Tailoring

2012-01-18T09:42:00.000Z

Warm grey with secret shimmer

A blast from the past this one, I've shown a fair few of my Ciaté Paint Pots collection before but this one got missed for some reason

So here is Sharp Tailoring

Sharp Tailoring is a warm grey with a white gold secret shimmer.

It's an unusual colour/shimmer combination, at first I thought it might be similar to Zoya Harley but as you can see from the comparison...

...Sharp Tailoring is much warmer and the shimmer is less pronounced.

Swatch shown is 2 coats, with no topcoat.

Application, brush and formula were all good.

I'm a fan of grey polish anyhow but this is a clever twist on regular grey, being warmer, with perhaps even a nod to the 'greige' trend of old (that was probably current when this was released) and an unusual secret shimmer.

Overall, a complete win for me, what you you gals think?

George - Prairie Green

2012-01-12T07:30:00.000Z

Bright green creme

Prairie Green is a mid green creme, a classic grass green colour although I can't say I have a lot of grass green polishes in my collection!

Swatch shown is 2 coats, application and brush were fine, especially for such a cheap polish. And it's very shiny.

As I mentioned before George is a supermarket brand and this polish was priced at a very affordable £1.50!

Anyone else tried any George polishes?

Beyu 381

2012-01-10T07:30:00.000Z

Glittery mid blue

Beyu 381, despite it's rather dull name, is a gorgeous polish.

A slightly purple toned shimmery blue with a good amount of fine, smooth silver glitter.

Beyu bottles are pretty tiny, only 8ml, and have small brushes but I found application was fine with the small brush. **disclaimer - I have pretty small hands/nails, although as you can see in the last pic I still managed to get polish on my thumb - d'oh!

I picked up my Beyu on one of my many trips to Germany, in a high end drugstore IIRC. I just wish they were available in the UK.

Models Own - Raspberry Crush

2012-01-08T15:21:00.000Z

Bright pink jellyish creme

Something bright and cheery to belatedly kick of the New Year

Models Own Raspberry Crush is a bright jelly/creme. It's super shiny but probably could've done with another coat. I find the jelly always looks more pronounced in photos than on your nails.

I'd say it was a little more pink toned IRL.

Swatch shown is 2 coats, no top coat.

Happy New Year Blog Readers!

2012-01-04T10:24:00.000Z

Gawd, what happened to the rest of December, huh?

Mostly Christmas shopping and planning happened, and a couple of gigs and my bff injuring her back and being laid up for 2 weeks.

In summary stuff happened and I lost all my blogging time.

But, New Year, new start. My plan for this year is to be a slightly more frequent blogger, it's not like I don't have the polishes or photos, it's just the putting it out there that's missing!

So Happy New Year to all of my 473 readers and here's to a better 2012 for all of us. Unless your 2011 was perfect already, in which case, more of the same!

Nails Inc - Wyndham Place

2011-12-14T09:45:00.000Z

Deep raspberry with fine sparkle

Wyndham Place is another from QVC, from the 8 piece Runway Ready collection that was a TSV back in August.

Nails inc describe this as metallic purple but I think that's a bit misleading, I'd describe this as a deep raspberry/plum with lots of very fine pink and blue sparkle/fine glitter.

It's very pretty although not very unique.

Swatch shown is 3 coats, no top coat.

Nails Inc - Wardour Mews

2011-12-12T18:58:00.002Z

Purple/lilac foil with golden shimmer

Wardour Mews is part of a QVC collection I picked up a few months ago.

The collection of four polishes was called 'Midas Touch' and was billed as a collection of sparkly polishes.

To be fair some of the collection are less sparkly than others, IIRC there were two sparkly foils (like Wardour Mews) and two cremes with more subtle sparkly shimmery accents. I was quite happy with them but the reviews on QVC were pretty mixed due to the non-sparkliness!

Wardour Mews is a purple toned lilac with gold shimmer, so much shimmer it's pretty much a foil

Swatch shown is 3 coats, it was fairly sheer.

The finish is similar to the Orly Cosmic fx collection but I don't think there was a dupe of this colour?
From looking at swatch pictures it could be similar to OPI's It's My Year?

Zoya - Meryl

2011-12-06T13:23:00.001Z

Glossy red-toned brown creme

The second of my 'vintage' Zoyas is Meryl

Meryl is a deep, red-toned brown creme.

This swatch is 2 coats, with no top coat and again it's super shiny

Another win from Zoya, it's nice to see that these old bottles are in such great shape.

Zoya - Andrea

2011-12-05T13:06:00.001Z

Rust toned toffee creme

I picked up a small number of 'vintage' Zoya and Zoya family polishes on ebay.

The bottles and brushes are the same size and shape and the polish quality seems the same but as you can see the design/printing on the bottles is a little different to todays bottles.

Andrea is a red toned brown creme, a perfect autumnal colour. I know it's December now and a little past Autumn but bear with me, I took the pics in early November!

Andrea needed 3 coats, at 2 it was opaque but a little streaky. And look how shiny it is without a topcoat.

I really like the Zoya bottles and brushes (I have smaller than average nails) and this colour just screams autumn. A win.

Nails Inc - Prince Albert Road

2011-11-26T21:27:00.001Z

Purple toned Blue shimmer

Prince Albert Road was part of a QVC set called OMG! that I couldn't resist. OMG! is a small collection of 3 shimmery, almost foil finish polishes.

Application was great, this was 2 coats, but you could probably get away with 1 if you were careful.

The finish is very shimmery, almost a foil really. I love the finish and the colour, a win for me.

Models Own - Nude Beige

2011-11-14T09:30:00.000Z

Nude creme

Models Own Nude Beige is one of those 'does what it says on the bottle'. It's a lovely, easy to apply nude beige creme.

Swatches are 2 coats, no top coat and as you can see it's lovely and shiny.

I really like this one, as you know I'm a big fan of taupe/mushroom polishes and although this one is lighter than most it still has a hint of grey to stop it being BBB

Pop Nail Glam - Neons

2011-11-07T18:56:00.001Z

Pink and Purple Neon

Couple of Pop Nail Glam polishes that I picked up in the ASOS Sale. Actually they were part of a trio but I'm saving the other one for another day.

First up is Violetta

Violetta is a pink toned purple neon. Like most, or is it all? neons, it dries with a satin finish.

This swatch was 2 coats and now looking at the pics I should've done 3, at least!

The photos have pulled a little pinker and lighter than real life.

Next is Pinkest

This swatch is 3 coats and I can still see VNL in the pics although it wasn't so visible in real life.

Again it dries with a satin finish and the pics aren't colour accurate, the bottle pic at the top is closer to the real colour.

Hmmm, so unfortunately these polishes just prove that me and neon don't get on. I love the concept but I just don't like them on me. Which means these, and the unopened box of Color Club Scented Neons I have, need to go straight into the Blog Sale pile. If I get myselft organised I'm gonna try to do a blog sale before Christmas - famous last words!

What about you gals, are you fans of neon? And is there a polish you'd recommend to change my mind?

Boots 17 - Fury and a Peridot comparison

2011-11-05T07:30:00.000Z

Warm gold/green duochrome

**Heavy pic spam alert**

Fury is from the latest Boots 17 collection which I think is the Autumn collection.

Let's acknowledge the elephant in the room - it's not a Chanel Peridot dupe although they are kissing cousins!

So, onto the many swatch pics - hey it's a duochrome, 3 or 4 is the minimum, right?

Fury is a slightly copper toned gold with green duochrome. It is really gorgeous and even looks good with my skintone which I was a bit worried about. The gold is a rich warm gold and the green is warm too, I'd probably say olive toned. Overall I love it, it's stunning.

Swatch is 2 coats, it's a little brush-stroky but I'm gonna forgive it.

At the time I was slightly obsessed with all the Peridot pics but it seemed to be sold out everywhere and I don't have a close relationship with my local Chanel counter so I unless I stumped up the fearsome delivery charge and ordered it from the Harrods site, I had mostly resigned myself to not getting my sticky mitts on it!

But then, on *another* trip to Germany, I'm killing time in the airport and yay, they have it in stock and it's cheaper than the internet (about £14) and no delivery charge, so I succumbed. And spent a week in a hotel room twisting the bottle and admiring the gorgeousness.

So long story, here's the comparison...

Here's the comparison, in sunlight and indirect light. Peridot is index and ring finger, Fury is on middle and little fingers.

As you can see they're not dupes but are similar. Peridot is much cooler toned, both the gold and the green. And Peridot is much greener.

And if you want to see an amazing Peridot franken made from this polish then check out this Fab Fingertips post

Mavala - The ELLE Grey

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000Z

Mid grey creme

This was a recent covermount free gift with Elle Magazine. Elle isn't usually my choice of reading matter, too much expensive fashion for me, but who can resist a free polish?!

There were 3 colours available, this Grey, The ELLE Red and The ELLE Orange

Formula and application were great and for such a small bottle & brush I find the brush easy to work with. The swatch is 2 coats with no top coat. My only complaint is the polish wasn't very self-levelling.

Anyone else pick thse up?

GOSH - Blue Sapphire

2011-11-02T18:27:00.001Z

Blue shimmer with sparkles

Here's an old GOSH polish that I haven't shown the swatches for...

Blue Sapphire is a lovely mid blue shimmer which has lots of fine sparkles which nicely pop in the sunlight.

Swatch is 2 coats.

I really like this, there are a million dark blue sparkly shades but it's much rarer to find a mid blue.

Nails Inc - Basil St

2011-10-28T18:00:00.000+01:00

Pale neutral toffee creme

A classic nude from Nails Inc, Basil St. is an old shade that's only recently found it's way into my collection.

It looks slightly too pink in the bottle shot, the swatch pics are more colour accurate.

Basil St is a BBB shade. On me it's a little more brown toned than my skin but it's definitely a classic neutral that shouldn't offend anyone or any workplace.

It's a regular, well behaved nails inc creme, this was two coats with no top coat and it's wonderfully shiny.

Essence - Street Styler

2011-10-27T13:43:00.001+01:00

Tealish blue with shimmer and flakies

I picked up a couple of shades from the Essence Urban Messages collection on my recent Germany trip. First up is Street Styler.

Street Styler is a teal leaning mid blue with a fine blue secret shimmer and small silver flakies. This combination really works, the colour doesn't look flat and although the shimmer and flakes are fine they're visible and super pretty in the sunlight

Application and formula were good and the swatch is 2 coats, with no top coat.

I'm back!

2011-10-21T14:06:00.000+01:00

Gah, 3 weeks away from the blog. I have good reasons, I promise!

First week I was on holiday in Turkey with my beloved - fantastic, relaxing, blissful, just what we needed, seems like such a long time ago now.

Second week I was at a conference in Berlin for work - less blissful, not helped by catching horrible gastric flu mid week. Being ill when you're away from home and don't speak the language is crap. And then this week has been a continuation of the lurgy. I think I might finally be getting over it...

Of course it being a trip to Germany (again) I managed a bit of polish shopping, and even picked up a couple in Turkey!

Essence magnet, magnetics x2 and a a glitter top coat.

A couple of Essence top coats from a weird rotating display. 2 x Essence nudes.

4 x Misslyn. Haven't seen or tried this brand before, are they new?

2 x P2 (have loved all the ones I've tried before) and a P2 crackle. I'm not really a crackle fan but this one looked so pretty I couldn't resist.

Turkish polish! Alix Avien. They were about a pound each so I'm not expecting much!

And I succumbed to Peridot in Duty Free. I kept looking a pictures and swatches and trying to find anywhere in the UK I could buy it online for less than silly money and then there it was in Duty Free, reader, my willpower deserted me.

Swatches and reviews to follow.

Models Own - Bloo

2011-09-30T20:48:00.000+01:00

Pale blue creme

I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately the secret shimmer visible in the bottle wasn't visible at all on the nail.

I suppose you could argue that it adds a depth to the polish but I would really have preferred it to be a bit more in your face.

This was 2 coats, no top coat.

Apologies for the rather sporadic posting, work has been super hectic and then tomorrow I'm off to Turkey with my beloved for a week of R&R. Hooray! We need it....

Illamasqua - Raindrops

2011-09-18T16:07:00.000+01:00

Grey jelly with silvery blue flakies

Thought I'd give you a break from the Sephora Nails Inc and show you a recent bargain I picked up from the Illamasqua sale that turned out to be so pretty.

Raindrops was one of the winners of the Illamasqua competition from 2010 to design your dream colour.

I was nervous about this one, I knew it was going to be sheer and that some folk had found it streaky and too sheer and I'm not generally a sheer or a jelly fan.

But I loved it, I did 3 careful, thickish coats and it was fine. Better than fine, really pretty. Application was good, despite the sheerness.

Raindrops is a blue-toned grey jelly with mixed size pale silver flakies. They're not massively visible but they do add an extra dimension to the polish.

For me this polish was a welcome surprise and a great deal at £5 in the sale.

Nails Inc - Saville Row

2011-09-15T14:25:00.002+01:00

Deep plum creme

Here's number 9 of my Nails inc that are available from Sephora

Nails inc describe Saville Row as deep glossy plum which I'd say was pretty accurate.

Swatch is 2 coats, no top coat. Application was good, as always.

It's not a particularly exciting colour, but it's a good classic colour, done well.

In comparison with other, similar, nails inc colours, Victoria is much more of a dark red/plum and has jelly tendancies. I also thought it might be similar to Tower Bridge but that's much darker, almost black.

Nails Inc - Jermyn Street

2011-09-08T18:43:00.000+01:00

Classic Taupe creme

I can't quite believe I haven't already shown you Jermyn Street, it's not just one of my favourite nails inc colours, it's one of my favourite, most used nail colours of all time.

I like taupe so much our entire house is painted in a pale taupe although Dulux, in their wisdom, call it Expresso Delight.

This is often my choice when I need to do a fast, safe-ish (colourwise), reliable manicure.

Swatch is 2 coats, no top coat and application was wonderful.

Nails inc call it the perfect taupe and they won't get much argument from me. Comparing to other taupes this leans brown with hints of purple and grey.

I know there have been a gazillion variations of this colour but this is definitely one of the stars.

Anyone else been inspired to paint something by a nail polish colour?

Nails Inc - Foubert's Place

2011-09-07T18:16:00.000+01:00

Grey olive creme

I've actually shared this Limited Edition nails inc before but I wasn't entirely happy with the photos I look so as it's one of the polishes sold by selected Sephora I thought I'd grab the opportunity to take new pictures.

Foubert's Place is a slightly greyed olive green creme that looks different in different lights and is distinctly different on the nail to how it looks in the bottle.

Which is a long winded explanation of why there are 4 pictures of a polish I've already photographed!

Application was the usual perfection for a nails inc creme, this swatch is 2 coats with no top coat.

Despite the problems with capturing the polish I do really like it, but then I'm a fan of anything slightly greyed. And green to boot. And the pics are better this time. What do you think?

Nails Inc - Floral Street

2011-09-06T19:07:00.000+01:00

White creme

This is number 6 in my collection of nails inc that are now available at selected Sephora.

And it's a first for me, an opaque white, Floral Street

Nails inc describe Floral Street as brilliant white and I'd go along with that, it's definitely a pure white and I was a little aprehensive that this would apply and look like tippex, but I was pleasantly surprised; application was good and while it's definitely stark it doesn't look too much like the manicures I used to do as a 13 year old whilst bored in double psychics...

And although I don't have any other experience of white cremes I've read enough to think that 2 coats to non-streaky opaqueness isn't half bad.

Nails Inc - Belgrave Place

2011-09-04T16:34:00.001+01:00

Blurple creme

Another classic nails inc colour is Belgrave Place, a deep blue creme with a good dose of purple. This isn't a particularly unique colour, I've used this in a previous comparison post but still a great colour/polish.

Belgrave Place is a great blurple, though of course given the challenges of photographing purples this shows more blue in the photos than IRL (I have tweaked these pics to attempt to make them more colour accurate)

It's very opaque, swatch shown is 2 coats with no topcoat, I probably could've done 1 thick one... And it's super glossy.

And, before I forget, this is one of the nails inc colours available in the US from selected Sephora

Nails Inc - St John's Wood

2011-08-29T11:24:00.000+01:00

Periwinkle blue/purple creme

St John's Wood is defnitely one of my favourite Nails Inc polishes - it's a fantastic, pretty unique colour that's super opaque and easy to apply. It's not hard to find either, somehow I've ended up with six bottles from various nails inc offers (I really must find the time for a blog sale!)

Probably the only downside of St John's Wood is it isn't very shiny - it really needs a good coat of top coat to make it sing.

Swatches shown here are 2 coats, without top coat and application was darn near perfect. In reality it's a shade more purple than shown here...

Again this is one of the colours available from Sephora, although of course it'll come in the new style bottles rather than my 'vintage' style one shown here!

Nails Inc - Thames

2011-08-26T08:41:00.000+01:00

Mid to dark grey creme

Next up in my nails inc/Sephora collection is Thames.

Thames is a mid to dark slightly blue toned grey creme.

Nails inc describe it as a dark cement grey.

Swatch is 2 coats, no top coat.

This is another classic, well behaved nails inc creme, application & pigmentation are fantastic

Nails Inc - St James's

2011-08-21T19:35:00.000+01:00

Bright red creme

Next up in my Nails Inc Sephora collection is St James's

I love this polish, I've always been a red fan but kinda gave up on them because all the ones I'd tried seemed to take too many coats before they were opaque...

Not so St James's...

This swatch is 2 coats, and it's almost opaque in one.

St James's is a bright red creme, I don't think it's orange toned or pink toned, it seems like a straight up red.

It's actually not a plain creme, there is a small amount of shimmer, it's not massively visible but does add a bit more interest to this great red.

Application and formula were great. If you're looking for a fantasic red creme you could do a lot worse than St James's

Nails Inc - Brompton Place

2011-08-19T07:30:00.001+01:00

Bubblegum pink creme

Now that my favourite nail polish brand, nails inc, has launched in the US at Sephora it turned out to be a great encouragement for me to swatch some more of my, ahem, extensive collection. In particular those colours that are available from Sephora.

I've used the shade list available on the nails inc webite which also has details of which Sephora stores will carry the line.

So far I've swatched 14 of the colours and I think there are probably a couple I've already shared.

First up is Brompton Place

Nails Inc describe Brompton Place as a bubblegum pink creme.

I'm a huge nails inc fan and one of the reasons is the amazing formula, especially with the cremes.

Brompton Place is a great example, application was fantastic, especially for a bordering on pastel colour. It dried pretty quick and is lovely and shiny.

I know some people have trouble with the cap (it's not removable) but I honestly don't have any issues with it (and I've got tiny hands!)

Swatch shown is 2 coats and no top coat

Models Own Pro - Stormy Night

2011-08-18T07:11:00.001+01:00

Dark grey shimmer with hidden pink glitter

The second of the Models Own Pro range I picked up was Stormy Night.

In the bottle it's a promising grey shimmer with fine sparkly pink glittery pieces.

Unfortunately once on the nail the pink sparkles all but disappear

Now it just looks like a regular grey shimmer.

Application was great. Swatch is 2 coats with top coat to try and bring out the sparkles, in vain.

Overall this was a disappointment, you can't really see the pink at all, it just looks grey.

Thumbs down from me.

Models Own Pro - Green Envy

2011-08-17T07:43:00.002+01:00

Dark green shimmer with sparkles

Models Own have launched a new Pro range. I'm not entirely sure when it came out or where you can get hold of them, (useful I know!) - I spotted them in Boots in Reading at the weekend and I'm pretty sure they are exclusive to Boots.

As you can see the bottles are sqaure as opposed to Models Own usual round bottles and I think they may be bigger too.

They have quite a range of colours but I don't know if it was the lighting, the price (£8) or because I was rushed but only a few called out to me.

First up is Green Envy, a blackened fir green shimmer with tiny sparkly particles, which are blue and green - check out the close-up shot...

Application was a breeze and it dries super fast. Swatch is 2 coats with top coat.

I really like this one, it's a great dark green that never looks black and the sparkles look great in the sunshine.

Maybelline - Atomic Violine

2011-08-15T07:09:00.000+01:00

Dusky purple with foilish shimmer

Maybelline- Atomic Violine

Atomic Violine from the Forever Strong range (with extra Iron!) is a slightly dusky purple with blue, pink and purple foilish glitter

Application was fine, swatch shown is 2 coats with no top coat

This was super difficult to remove for some reason, like it welded to my nails... Maybe I should do a wear test on this one.

LA Colors - Metallic Pink

2011-08-13T07:23:00.027+01:00

Metallic pink foil

I picked up a handful of LA Colors in a now defunct pound shop in Slough a few years back. At the time I'd never heard of the brand but £1 seemed like a good price to give them a try!

The first one I tried Purple Ice was pretty but too sheer, this one however was opaque in 2 coats.

Metallic Pink kinda does what it says, it's a pink foil!

Swatch shown is 2 coats, no top coat.

Catrice - Plum Play with Me

2011-08-11T07:35:00.002+01:00

Mid-purple creme

Plum Play with Me is a mid-dark purple creme

I found this one a bit tricky to work with, it dries fast and I couldn't seem to get the right amount on the brush

On the positive side it's a fab colour which reminds me of the Nubar purple collection and it's very shiny!

Swatch is 2 coats with no top coat

Maybelline - Colorama Cherry Sweet

2011-08-09T07:51:00.027+01:00

Raspberry jelly with fine glitter

I thought Cherry Sweet was going to be super sheer so I decided to avoid the pain of building it to opacity and go for the shortcut of layering it over 2 coats of Ciate Marilyn (a red creme). Since then I've seen Cherry Sweet on a couple of other blogs and it seems to only need 3 coats for opacity - my bad!

Cherry Sweet is a raspberry jelly with fine pink & silver glitter.

It's pretty and the glitter payoff is pretty good - I must try this again on its' own.

Catrice - Black Beauty

2011-08-08T07:28:00.000+01:00

Black packed with copper flakes

After yesterday's disaster I thought I'd redress the balance with a fab Catrice

This is a different type of Catrice polish, 60 Seconds Nail Couture in a taller, narrower bottle. Pretty sure this is the only one of this type I have.

Black Beauty is a gorgeous black (it looks more brown to me but given the name I'm assuming black!) with lots of sparkly copper coloured shimmery flakes. Easy to apply and dries smooth and glossy. Fabulous.

Swatch is 2 coats, with no top coat but look how shiny it is?! Definitely a winner

Catrice - Mirror, Mirror

2011-08-07T15:31:00.001+01:00

Silver chrome/frost

Oh dear, you can see from the mess I made of this swatch that me and this polish really didn't get along.

Brushstrokey, streaky and I even got a ding on my index finger - gawd.

These terrible swatches belong to Catrice Mirror, Mirror from the Glamourama Collection
I'd describe Mirror Mirror as a silver chrome with a dollop of frost

Swatch shown is 3 coats, no top coat.

Yuk...

Models Own - Blue Lagoon

2011-08-02T08:55:00.000+01:00

Mid blue with shimmer

Gah, been away too long, sorry gals. In my defence I was away a week on hols (Mallorca with the OH and the kids, good but not v. relaxing!)

So in an attempt to get back in the saddle here's a quick post featuring a summery Models Own.

Blue Lagoon from Models Own is a mid blue creme with fine silver shimmer.

Swatch is 2 coats with no top coat.

I really like this and it's not like anything else I have!

Catrice - Big Spender Wanted!

2011-07-16T09:27:00.000+01:00

Rose pink with fine gold shimmer

Weird name huh? And the feminist in me balks at the sentiment. Ah well, it's a pretty colour, slightly dusky pink with a pretty gold shimmer

Swatch is 2 coats, no top coat. Application, formula and brush were all good.

H&M - Sinful Señorita

2011-07-15T14:02:00.000+01:00

Pink holo

It's actually sunny on this Friday in England (yay) so I thought I'd celebrate by sharing a holo.

This is from a couple of years ago, 2009(?) H&M bought out a small range of holos, four I think - pink, purple, gold and silver.

Sinful Señorita is a pink holo, definitely not linear so does that mean it's scattered?

Swatch is 2 coats, no top coat. Application was fine and like most holos it dried super fast.

It's not the most holo of holos but it's very pretty in the sunlight...

GOSH - Lavender Love

2011-07-09T20:19:00.000+01:00

LE Periwinkle creme

The other Limited Edition GOSH polish I picked up was Lavender Love

Wowser!

This is a super pigmented one-coat-wonder!

Shown here with no top coat, but as you can see it's pretty shiny on its own.

My only slight grumble is the name, it's not lavender. To me it's a periwinkle blue creme and so pretty, I love this shade of blue. Application was fab.

It's not lavender but it sure is pretty....

GOSH - Groovy Grey

2011-07-08T13:19:00.008+01:00

LE Putty grey creme

Spotted these LE GOSH polishes in Superdrug a few months ago.

First up is Groovy Grey. An unusual colour, definitely not a straight grey. You might even call it a fugly colour.

I'd describe is a putty coloured grey - there's definitely some green/beige in there. It 's a pigmented creme and this swatch is 2 coats, no top coat. Application was a breeze.

And I love the cute stickers on the lids, remind me of the Bobby Pin collection I posted back in Jan

Mavala - Black Cherry

2011-07-07T13:14:00.000+01:00

Dark plum with secret shimmer

Jen's post earlier this week reminded me that I hadn't shared any Mavala love on this blog despite having reasonable collection, 20+ I think.

So here is an old swatch of Black Cherry

In most lights Black Cherry is a deep plum, dark but not black. But see it in the sunlight and the secret pinky shimmer is revealed.

This swatch is 2 coats with no top coat.

More about Mavala:
They're a Swiss company, they started out with nail hardener and now make a range of nail and feet treatment products as well as polish colours. All the colours in the mini 5ml bottles which are handy for travel. They also have some other beauty/cosmetic treatments.

In the UK I've usually found Mavala in independent chemists rather than Boots or Superdrug and I think usually retail for around £4-5

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Dead Calm

2011-07-04T13:42:00.000+01:00

Deep blue creme

Happy 4th July to all those who celebrate it!

I took a trawl through my folder of swatch pictures to find a US polish swatch to share today and stumbled across the very gorgeous Dead Calm from Rescue Beauty Lounge

What can I tell you about the perfection of this RBL? like most RBL's it was almost opaque in one coat, this swatch is 2 coats, with no top coat.

Of course it's gorgeous, the formula is amazing and it's very easy to apply.

Definitely the best of America to celebrate today!

Ciaté - Super Poke

2011-07-01T18:26:00.001+01:00

Bright yellow creme

Another old swatch, Super Poke from Ciaté.

Super Poke is a slightly milky, softened mid yellow creme.

Unfortunately like all yellows it wasn't the easiest to work with and this is 4 coats and I can still see a hint of VNL. But on the plus side it doesn't look *too bad* with my skintone.

Nails Inc - Motcomb Street

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

Deep blue creme

Sorry for the absence, work/life has been a little too hectic! And I currently have 4 broken nails that are broken low down on the side and requiring endless patching with nail glue and fabric - gawd.

So here's an old swatch of Nails Inc Motcomb Street

Motcomb Street is a lovely deep blue creme, it's very dark but just about retains a hint of blue rather than looking black.

Swatch is 2 coats, no top coat.

P2 Sun City - Copacabana

2011-06-18T09:03:00.001+01:00

Warm green shimmer

Copacabana is the last of the P2 Sun City collection I got and it's definitely my favourite.

It's a warm, slightly olive toned green with lots of yellowy shimmer and postively gorgeous - I love it!

Swatch shown is two coats, no top coat and look how shiny it is. Yummy. Ok it's a teeny bit brushstrokey but I can forgive it.

I can even forgive my incomplete cleanup and the bit of fluff on my middle finger....

P2 Sun City - Fifth Avenue

2011-06-17T18:02:00.001+01:00

red shimmer

Fifth Avenue is a glowy red shimmery pearl. Application was great and the swatch is 2 coats with no topcoat.

I know it's not very unique but it's nice and goes well with the other two colours I got, the best of which I saved till last....

And gotta love that branding - be stylish!

P2 Sun City - La Rambla

2011-06-15T12:45:00.000+01:00

Bright blue shimmer

Sun City is a summer collection from German brand P2. I picked up 3 of these and the first I have to share is La Rambla, a bright blue shimmer.

Swatch is 2 coats, no top coat.

Application was good and the colour is fantastically vibrant - not sure I have anything like this (think I might need to sort my Helmer by colour).

Stay tuned for more colours from this collection.

P2 Color Victim - Soulful

2011-06-13T14:40:00.000+01:00

Deep taupe creme

Soulful is a darkish taupe creme.

I am so drawn to colours like this, this one is a similar colour intensity to $OPI Metro Chic but I couldn't find my bottle for my usual comparison, d'oh.

Swatch is 2 coats and no top coat - the polish is very shiny without though. Application was great.

Catrice - Petit Four As Dessert

2011-06-11T14:34:00.000+01:00

pale taupe with secret shimmer

After a busy week at work with a couple of flights, (one of which I spent 2 hours on the plane @LHR waiting for BA to find a First Officer to help fly the plane) I'm getting started on swatching & reviewing my most recent haul from Germany.

First up is one from the Catrice Ultimate Nudes collection, generally this collection was a little too nude for me, if you know what I mean, but this one as a lightish taupe/mushroom shade stood out and the secret shimmer clinched the deal.

Petit Four As Dessert is a pale taupe creme with secret shimmer.
Swatch shown is 3 coats with no top coat.

It's more sheer than I'd like but pretty with the shimmer

Germany Polish Haul

2011-06-06T07:21:00.000+01:00

Yes, another one...

I work for a global IT company in Technical Sales and one or twice a year we get sent off on an enablement event, usually 3-5 days of 1-2 hour sessions to learn about new products, updates and strategy.

The region I'm part of is called North East and includes Germany and the Nordics so in the last 14 months I've been to the Stuttgart area of Germany 4 times! Don't get me wrong, I like Germany and the nail polish shopping is excellent as you'll see from my haul pics.

But the other main region in Europe is South West and their enablement event was in Barcelona - need I say more?!

Having been to this location before, and due to all the shops in Stuttgart city centre being closed on Sunday (remember when the UK used to be like that?!) I shopped at the same two stores in the small town we were located in, DM and Ihr Platz.

Anyhow, enough whingeing about free trips to Europe - on with the haul pics.

P2 Sun Collection (part of)

Essence @Holographics.com collection (no, they're not Holo but duochrome!)

P2 LE and Essence Paradoxal dupe?

Catrice

Catrice, look at that beauty in the middle!

Catrice - why am I suddenly drawn to Orange?

Essence toppers

Catrice

Yay 400 Followers!

2011-06-05T17:15:00.000+01:00

Oooh, just noticed I hit 400 followers.

Many, many thanks to everyone who follows me and sticks with my rather sporadic posting frequency - my IT sales job and renovation of not one, but two houses over the past 3 years very rarely lets me do daily posting or give me enough time to schedule posts in advance. But good news, we put the 2nd house on the letting market yesterday so, fingers crossed, I'll have more time from now on - famous last words!

So thanks again to all my fab followers and especially those who comment frequently (you know who you are!)

Nails Inc - Special Effects - Sloane Square

2011-05-31T21:15:00.000+01:00

Grey holo glitter

The last of the 3D Glitters from the Nails Inc Special Effects Collection is Sloane Square.

Again, the first swatch pictures show the polish as it dries, and then with lots of topcoat to give a glossy finish.

Closeup, blurry bottle shot to attempt to show the holo glitter.

Sloane Square is a sheer base with masses of darkish grey glitter and a scattering of larger holographic glitter.

Swatch is 2 coats.

Overall, for me the 3D glitters are interesting but not quite successful. The coverage is good but the matte and very gritty finish isn't great.

Nails Inc - Special Effects - Bloomsbury Square

2011-05-31T20:44:00.003+01:00

Purple & pink glitter

Here's the second of the Nails Inc Special Effects 3D Glitters, Bloomsbury Square

Again I've shown it as applied with a matte finish and then with top coat to shiny it up!

And a close up of the glitter in the bottle

Bloomsbury Square is a sheer base packed with fine purple glitter and smaller amounts of larger pink glitter.

Again the swatch is 2 coats.

It's a stunning colour and with top coat it's fabulous but I'm still disappointed with the matte finish.

Removal is as expected, break out the foil!

Nails Inc - Special Effects - Connaught Square

2011-05-20T18:04:00.001+01:00

Mega blue glitter

A few weeks ago Nails inc launched their Special Effects range which I think consisted of 3 crackle top coats and 3 '3D Glitter' polishes. The crackles didn't interest me much but the glitters looked interesting, so I ordered all 3!

All three polishes consist of a clear base (or if there is a tiny smidge of colour in there it's very sheer) and masses of glitter in two different sizes. Most of the glitter is very fine and gives the polish it's base colour as such and then there's a fairly generous sprinkling of larger glitter pieces in a different colour.

They have quite a pong to them, a real chemical whiff! And they dry matte which doesn't make the most of the glitteriness so I also added a couple of thick coats of Seche Vite.

Blimey what an explanation - how about I show you some pics, both with and without topcoat so you can see.

As usual click on the pics to make 'em bigger

No topcoat

No topcoat

2 coats topcoat

2 coats topcoat

2 coats topcoat

The swatches are 3 coats of polish and then topcoat.

The polish dries very gritty - perhaps that's the 3D aspect of them?!

And apologies for the state of the pics, the blue was the third one I swatched so my fingers and nail edges are covered in glitter and I'd had a very low break on my ring finger that I was trying to grow out a little before trimming so that nail is a bit wonked.

I'll try and post the other two tomorrow.

P2 Sun Love - Summer Heat

2011-05-20T08:53:00.000+01:00

Orange shimmer

And lastly the orange one!

I'd describe Summer Heat as a verging on pale orange shimmer.

This one was a bit sheer, much more so than the others in this collection. This swatch is 3 coats and looking at the pics now it probabaly needed four...

Given my cool skintone, orange and me don't usually get on but this doesn't look as awful as I thought, I wouldn't say it was flattering but it's not as bad as I thought. I wonder if it could be fab on toes, with a smidgen of fake tan?

P2 Sun Love - Summer Affair

2011-05-18T13:16:00.000+01:00

Red shimmer

The Red one...

Sun

Shade

So perhaps this one isn't madly unique but it is pretty and was so nearly a one-coat-wonder.

Summer Affair swatch shown is 2 coats with no top coat.

Tomorrow I'll show the final polish I have from this collection - the orange...

P2 Sun Love - Summer Party

2011-05-17T13:30:00.000+01:00

Pink toned Purple shimmer

More German polishes as I really have to get more of my collection posted before I head back there on Sunday and pick up more!

I have three polishes from the P2 Sun Love collection, unfortunately the most interesting colour (for me), a taupe with shimmer was sold out. There was also a turquoise shimmer.

The bottles are cute, different from the usual P2 squared off style.

First up is Summer Party

Summer Party is a yummy pink toned purple shimmer.

Great formula and application and this swatch is 2 coats, no top coat.

And these were super cheap - only €2 IIRC

IsaDora - Magic Green

2011-05-10T13:21:00.000+01:00

Bright green shimmer

Prompted by Jen's post on NailPolishUK I thought I'd share my tiny collection of teeny IsaDora's.

They also fit into my ongoing Germany theme as I picked these up from Douglas, a seemingly fancy chemist/drugstore in Sindelfingen IIRC.

So here is Magic Green (love that name, reminds me of the magic paddle incident in the Turkish GP last Sunday!)

I'd say Magic Green was a bright, apple green shimmer.

Swatch shown is 2 coats, application and formula were good.

The bottles I have are tiny, only 4ml.

I don't know much about IsaDora, am I right in thinking they're a Swedish brand?

Basic - 010

2011-05-08T14:37:00.003+01:00

Purple jellyish creme

The last of the weeny Basic polishes I got from Germany

010 is a lush mid purple creme. It's definitely got jelly leanings with a squishy feel.

Overall I was very impressed with these, the strange little worn bottles and low price set my expectations pretty low, but overall I was impressed. Application, formula, brush and opacity were all good.

Basic - 120

2011-05-07T14:06:00.002+01:00

nude creme

Another of those Basic mini's from the German drugstore.

This is 120, a nude beige creme

It's a bit 'mannequin hands' on me, but I do quite like it. Also this is the only bottle which has those palm trees on so I assume it was some kind of special edition

Basic - 489

2011-05-06T13:29:00.000+01:00

Teal frost

This is another from my German drugstore raiding - I've been to Germany 3 times in the past 15 months with work and heading off there again at the end of this month!

I picked these up from a chemist/drugstore in a very small town in Germany. The brand is Basic and they're mini bottles, only 5ml. Can't recall how much, but cheap, 2 Euros perhaps?

According to the bottle Basic is made by Interco Cosmetics

I'd say 489 was a Teal frost, or is it a pearl?

The formula and application were good and brushstrokes not too bad for a frost.

The swatch is 2 coats, no top coat.

I quite like it despite the frostiness.... What about you, is frost a finish you steer clear of or embrace?

Etos Effect Nails - 905 Blue Holo

2011-05-05T18:04:00.001+01:00

Blue holo

Not much time tonight as I need to go and vote! So remember that Dutch drugstore purple holo I showed a couple of weeks ago?

Well here's its blue sister!

Again application was good and this swatch is 2 coats with no topcoat.

Like the purple one the holo effect isn't OTT but it's pretty.

Nails Inc - Limited Edition Royal Collection - Part II

2011-04-28T17:45:00.001+01:00

So, with the Royal Wedding, just a day away, here's the second part of the Royal Collection from nails inc.

Windsor – a deep metallic navy

Again, swatch is 2 coats with no top coat and application was good.

It doesn't show in the pictures (of course) but there's definitely a hint of blurple in this polish.

Lastly in the collection is Westminster Abbey – a liquid gold shimmer

I'd say Westminster Abbey was a foil rather than a shimmer, either way it's pretty and I don't think I have anything like it.

And apologies, I don't know why my ring finger looks so lumpy

Overall I think this works as a collection, the colours seem to form a coherent group and definitely have a regal feel to them.

Nails Inc - Limited Edition Royal Collection - Part I

2011-04-27T18:06:00.000+01:00

Royal Wedding themed collection of four polishes

Oh blimey, two days to go and I still haven't posted this collection!

First up, let me say, I'm not a Royalist nor a particular fan of Wills and Kate, but I am a fan of extra Bank Holidays (yay) and a sucker for Limited Edition collections (foolish, I know) and hey the whole world has gone Royal Wedding crazy!!

So the Royal Collection is a set of "4 limited edition glossy nail polishes to nail the regal look" according to Nails inc.

They come in a gold tinged presentation box, all the polishes have appropriately royal names and more unusually they have gold coloured caps rather than the usual silver.

So onto the polishes...

First up is Balmoral – a delicate biscuit nude

Direct Sun

Indirect light

Swatch is 2 coats with no topcoat. Application was the usual nails inc goodness.

This is a nice neutral nude, very work appropriate.

The second polish is Sandringham – a glossy metallic red

Again application was great and swatch is 2 coats with no top coat.

Sandringham is a lovely shimmery red, it's definitely got that lit from within glow.

Tune in tomorrow for the other two polishes in this collection.

Zoya Valerie

2011-04-20T09:03:00.001+01:00

Plum shimmer/foil

A quick post to show you my current mani, Zoya Valerie, which I got in the last Zoya Exchange. Again thanks to my pal Carl (USA) and my frolleague Tim (UK) for enabling me with the Zoya Exchange as it's US only.

Valerie is a deep plum shimmer with a pink foil finish. In the bottle you can see a duochrome of bronzey gold but I can't see it all all on the nail although it can only be adding to the depth and gorgeousness of this polish.

As this is a full mani, pictures shown are 2 coats with topcoat (Revlon ColorStay).

Formula and application were great, it was pretty opaque in one coat, the second added depth. And of course the tiny Zoya brush works great with my tiny nails!

Beautiful colour and finish, I can't take my eyes off my nails...

Effect Nails - 010 Purple Holo

2011-04-18T18:31:00.000+01:00

Purple holo

I don't know much about this brand, I think I picked it up in Germany, although it may have been Amsterdam - Any readers know if this is Dutch or Deutsch?

It's a smallish bottle, somewhere between regular and mini, maybe 7 or 8ml?

The number on the bottom says 010 and I'd describe it as a mid lilac/purple holo

Application was fine, pretty fast drying like a lot of holos and this was 2 coats, with no top coat.

As you can see the holo effect isn't super intense but it's pretty. Unfortunately I can't remember how much it cost either, my guess is less than €5 as I grabbed at least 4 from this brand!

Alessandro 213

2011-04-13T20:41:00.000+01:00

dark burgundy shimmer

I picked this up in Germany and it's a bigger bottle (10ml) than I've bought before and it came in a box.

This is 3 coats with no topcoat. Application wasa bit tricky and the shimmer is not very visible.

Overall it's a classy colour just not very exciting.

Ciaté - Camilla

2011-04-06T07:54:00.000+01:00

Purple duochrome with gold shimmer

Gorgeous purple/mauve duochrome with gold shimmer

Swatch is 2 coats with no top coat. Application and formula were good.

I spotted what I presume are older Ciaté Paint Pot polishes on a cheap beauty/fragrance site, FrangranceDirect for a bargaintastic 99p.

When I opened the bottle I was worried it was going to be thin & sheer but not!

Now they may not have the cute and elegent be-ribboned bottles of current Ciatés but check out that duochrome! The current Ciaté range has some stunning cremes but they should definitely pull this one out of the vault!

All in all a complete win

George - Cloudless Sky

2011-04-05T16:30:00.000+01:00

Mid blue creme

This is George quick dry in cloudless sky, a gorgeous, pigmented mid blue creme.

Swatch is 2 coats and no top coat.

For a cheap polish, in fact for a regular price polish, application was great, good brush and formula and not so quick dry it was diffucult to work with.

And what a fab colour and name.

For non-UK gals, George is the brand used by Asda, a UK supermarket chain now owned by Walmart. The brand is named after George Davies who orginally headed up Next, a clothing and home store/catalogue.

I think it's fair to say Asda is a price sensitive supermarket, hence the George polishes are only £2.

I have a number of these to show you over the next week.

And just because I fancied it...

Here it is topped with 1 coat of old Body Shop mini (5ml) in shade 29 Flutter, a sheer turquoise with silver glitter.

BYS Voodoo Violet

2011-03-22T09:20:00.000Z

Purple glitterbomb

Bottle shot

This is one from BYSs' Glitterazzi range.

Voodoo Violet is a silvery purple with predominantly pale pink glitter and some holo glitter

This swatch is 3 coats and application was pretty gloopy but worth it!

Zoya - Piper

2011-03-20T19:15:00.005Z

Warm medium pink creme

I'd describe Piper as a warm, medium pink creme

Swatch shown is 3 coats with no topcoat.

It's a pretty, neutral colour. Ideal if you're limited with colours at work (is anyone?). I bought a few of Zoya nudes/pinks and was generally happy with them.

Zoya - Skye

2011-03-19T19:14:00.002Z

Nude pink creme

Zoya Skye is a dusky pink/nude creme, the swatch is shown with 3 coats, no topcoat.

Slightly troublesome application for me, in hindsight maybe I should've used Barielle Camo. On me it's almost a BBB but just doesn't quite suit my skintone.

MeMeMe - Demure

2011-03-18T10:37:00.005Z

Greige creme

MeMeMe Long Lasting Gloss in Demure (65)

Demure is one of those mushroom/greige/taupe colours that have been so popular over the past year or so. I must admit I'm a sucker for these colours even though I must have loads of dupes.

The swatch is shown with 2 coats and no topcoat.

This is the last of my new MeMeMe's so you won't have to read any more of my Maxi Brush Technology ranting. Suffice to say, this was equally bad. Yuk.

MeMeMe - Proud

2011-03-17T16:40:00.000Z

Dark olive creme

MeMeMe Long Lasting Gloss in Proud (83)

Proud is a dark olive green creme and the swatch shown is 2 coats with no topcoat. It's wonderfully glossy but as you can see the colour on the nail is darker than the bottle colour.

I really, really like this colour, but again with the stupendously awful brush. With this one it would almost be worth decanting this into another bottle because the colour is so rich and vibrant and fabulous.

MeMeMe - Chic

2011-03-16T17:36:00.003Z

Cool brown creme

MeMeMe Long Lasting Gloss in Chic (81)

I'd described this a slightly milky chocolate creme and the swatch shown is two coats with no topcoat.

MeMeMe is, as far as I know, a Superdrug exclusive brand as well as being available online from their website.

They've recently revamped the range and this is one of the new polishes. They have some nice colours, good size bottles and a good price (<£4 IIRC) and I picked these up on a 3 for 2.

So why am I not shouting these from the rooftops? In a word, the brush, it is truly, gobsmackingly awful. MeMeMe describe it as having 'Maxi Brush Technology', for me that meant a huge fat brush that was almost impossible to control, combined with a somewhat gloopy texture meant this was like trying to apply polish with a piece of limp pasta on a handle!

I had to do a whole heap of cleanup to get the swatch pictures looking halfway presentable.

Now to caveat my rant, I do have small hands with narrow, petite nails. Maybe this brush 'technology' will work better for others. For me, this (and the other 2 I bought - swatches to follow) are going straight in the donation/car boot sale box!

Nails Inc - Vine Street

2011-03-15T15:37:00.002Z

Deep vampy red creme

Vine Street is a dark reddish purple creme. Very opaque - this is two coats and application was good and it's super glossy.

This is one that I thought was similar to another Nails Inc that I'm sure most of you UK gals have in your collection, Victoria.

And in a bottle comparison they do look pretty similar, but on the nail they're very different.

l-r Vine Street, Victoria, Vine Street, Victoria. (2 coats of each).

Victoria is much lighter and more jellyish and more reddish/brown.

Accessorize - Pin-Up Take II

2011-03-13T11:33:00.001Z

the purple glittery one!

The puzzle is resolved, several months ago I showed you another polish called Pin-up by Accessorize that I bought online.

As Jaljen pointed out they were sending out the wrong polish for online orders. Poking around in Superdrug a couple of weeks ago I spotted this which looked very interesting. Turns out it is also called Pin-up (eh?) and this is what I thought I was ordering before (still following?!).

I can only assume the previous one was mis-labelled although I can't work out which name it should've had!

Either way, this one is stunning.

It's a deep vampy purple jelly with silver glitter/shimmer. Although the glitter looks pink on the nail when you remove the polish you can see it's actually silver but the jellyish polish makes it appear pink, too cool!

This swatch is 2 coats, the polish doesn't dry smooth so I topped it off with topcoat for a glossy finish. And of course it's the normal glitter polish removal challenge!

I'm so happy I stumbled across the 'real' Pin-up!

Barry M - Grey

2011-03-11T08:12:00.000Z

Mid grey crème

Shade

Sun

Grey swatch is shown with 2 coats, no topcoat.

Another great Barry M creme, I don't think I've had a duff one of these yet. Grey (does what it says on the tin!) is a mid grey creme, it's very pigmented, application was great and it's very shiny without a topcoat. What more could you want?

Nails Inc - Buckingham Street

2011-03-09T07:24:00.001Z

Pink glitterbomb

First checkout the pics of this amazing glitter polish...

Full sun

Buckingham Street is a purpley pink glitter in a clear base with some gold glitter.

The glitter is very fine and really packed into the clear base.

Swatches are 3 coats but I probably could've got away with 2 coats.

It didn't dry very shiny so added a big fat coat of Seche Vite which gave a great depth of shine and smoothed it off.

Sorry for so many pics I wanted to capture all its amazing sparkliness!

Nails inc - Crown Court

2011-03-07T17:33:00.000Z

Plum shimmer

Crown Court is a deep red leaning plum with pink & gold shimmer. Nails inc call it a shimmery dark purple, to me it's more burgundy or plum that purple but hey!

Swatch is 2 coats, no topcoat.

This is definitely a case of understated shimmer, the shimmer is there and very pretty but really mostly visible in the sun.

Nails Inc - Half Moon Street

2011-03-04T09:40:00.000Z

Raspberry pink shimmer

I adjusted the colour on this pink to make it more colour accurate.

Half Moon Street (I love that name, it's very evocative) is a raspberry shimmer.

As is normal for nails inc this was a great formula, pretty much opaque in one coat, although this is two, with no top coat

I also tried with Matte topcoat, although the pics have gone walkabout- it was nice, looked a bit like one of the zoya mattes...

Ciate - Superficial

2011-02-23T13:52:00.000Z

Dark Teal creme

One of the first Ciaté Paint Pots I got and it's a stunner. I don't think this is from a particular collection - I got it as part of a hat box deal.

Superficial is a gorgeous, deep teal creme. Application, brush and opacity were all great and of course the bottle is a cutie.

This is 2 coats, no top coat.

This colour, while stunning, is not particularly unique - check out my previous Teal comparison post for details. I should probably do another comparison with RBL Teal included too.

Zoya Crystal

2011-02-19T18:37:00.004Z

Silvery blue foil with gold flakes

We're off to a housewarming party at our good friends, Matt and Liz, tonight so I wanted to try one of my new Zoyas. The one that called to me was Crystal because the colour combination is so unusual and it's a suitably 'party' colour without being a complete in your face glitterbomb!

I'm planning to wear this with a navy dress which I think will work well.

Closeup of the finish

Crystal is a silvery blue foil with gorgeous flakes of gold, an unusual combination that really works. For my collection this colour is very unique and I love it.

Crystal is from the Zoya Flame collection from Winter 2010.

This is a full mani, so basecoat, 3 coats of polish and as Zoya doesn't play well with Seche Vite (or any fast drying topcoats) I topped with 2 coats of a random slow dry topocoat. Be interesting to see how it wears.

Haul Pics

2011-02-19T14:07:00.000Z

l-r Savita, Mimi, Julieanne, Crystal

l-r Valerie, Edyta, Shawn, Ivanka

Lovely Zoyas from the recent Zoya '3-free' promotion. Unfortunately those deals only run in the US so my lovely friend Carl who lives in New Hampshire acts as my delivery address and nail polish mule! So these come courtesy of Carl who got them as far as Orlando and then my Frolleague, Tim, who bought them back to the UK. Thanks guys!

I also picked up a few (ahem) of the Andrea Fulerton Trios from Superdrug just before Christmas when they were 3 for 2. Don't they look pretty all lined up!

Swatches of these coming up.

Butter London - Charles Dickens

2011-02-15T16:07:00.000Z

Burgundy creme

Burgundy/maroon creme. Swatch is 2 coats, no topcoat. Application and brush were fine.

It's nice but nothing exciting - I bought it in the ASOS sale as at the time I didn't have any butter Londons.

I think of this as a midpoint butter London bottle, ie the outer cap comes off to make it easier to paint with (like a Chanel bottle) but it doesn't have the butter London bird on the cap like the latest bottles.

Rimmel - Electric 397

2011-02-13T07:17:00.002Z

Dark blue with glitter

Yet another TJ Hughes bargain.

Electric is a Rimmel Wear Maxx, presumably a long wearing formula.

It's a dark/navy blue with lots of fine blue glitter and this is 2 coats, no topcoat.

It's pretty, who doesn't love a dark blue glitter, but I'm pretty certain I've got a few others like this.... One for the de-duping pile I think.

Pink - 103

2011-02-12T07:14:00.002Z

Cool brown shimmer

Speed Queen, another unknown brand is made by Pink Cosmetics London (a somewhat duffly named company based in Wilmslow, not London) is another TJ Hughes find.

103 is a very cool toned brown shimmer.

This was one coat wonder if you're careful. I have 2 coats on first and middle but only one coat on my ring and pinkie

The formula was very gloopy and the brush was fat with polish but somehow it still applied ok!

Kubiss - 63

2011-02-10T07:13:00.001Z

Spring green creme

The other Kubiss I picked up, purely because the colour caught my eye and I don't think I have anything quite like it!

63 is a spring green creme with a fine, mint green shimmer

This took 3 coats, partly to get opacity and partly because I kept dinting it and draping my hair through, so apologies for the not exactly pristine finish.

It's got a slightly squishy feel to it and overall I like it, it's definitely unusual...

Kubis - No 29

2011-02-08T20:28:00.000Z

Purple shimmer

I picked up a couple of these Kubiss nail polishes in TJ Hughes, I'd never seen or heard of them before. After a bit of digging it turns out they're made by Pascalle Ltd, a white label company. IIRC they were about £2.

This is 29 (grrggh no names), a pretty purple shimmer with fine pink glitter

It took 2-3 coats - there was some cuticle drag and it was a bit gloopy but nothing too awful.

Overall a pretty colour, although not terribly unique and not too terrible application. A somewhat cautious winner.

Accessorize - Bronze

2011-02-05T09:18:00.002Z

Gorgeous bronze duochrome

Stumbled across swatch pictures of another Accessorize polish that I didn't share.

And it's a beauty so forgive the number of pictures but I really wanted to capture the amazing duochrome of this polish

Bronze is a warm pinky bronze with greeny gold undertones- I'm not sure that's a very good description but hopefully the pictures speak for themselves.

2 coats - no topcoat.

This is another winner from Accessorize - I'm so pleased that a new cosmetics brand has come out with such an amazing selection of nail polishes across a number of finishes and colours. Let's hope they can continue in the same vein.

Nails Inc - Cashmere Collection Preview

2011-02-03T07:51:00.001Z

Single nail swatches showing the Cashmere Collection

It's fair to say I lose all willpower on the nails inc site. Last week I was placing an order for one of their one day specials when I spotted the Cashmere Collection, four muted soft colours - I was sold.

Here's the blurb

Hyde Park mews – mushroom brown

Cromwell Road – pink mink (how cute is that description?!)

Sydney Street – heather grey

Fulham Palace Road – iced coffee

I didn't have time to do full swatches but I was so excited I wanted to show you a quick single nail swatch of each of them - I wouldn't say these were totally colour accurate it was late in a very grey day so to me these look a little muted.

Fulham Palace Road - my second fave

Cromwell Road - you can't see it much here but this has lots of fine shimmer

Hyde Park Mews - browner than it looks here..

Sydney Street - hands down my favourite - a lovely dusky mauve with lots of fine shimmer

Nails Inc - Foubert's Place

2011-02-02T07:02:00.001Z

Limited Edition Khaki creme inspired by Fashion Week collections

When placing my order for the Fabulous Five earlier this week I spied this interesting Limited Edition colour, Foubert's Place.

According to Nails Inc, Khaki was all over Fashion Week and this colour is inspired by the collections at Elie Tahari, Kinder Aggugini, John Galliano and Yves Saint Laurent. I'm not a big follower of Fashion Week so I can't confirm that but it's certainly an unusual/interesting colour.

Here it is with 2 coats, though if you were careful you might get away with one, it's the usual highly pigmented creme I've come to expect and love from nails inc.

It looks a little darker on the nail than in the bottle and the light here was terrible today, very dull so my swatch appears darker than IRL. I'd say it was a mid to dark khaki (browny green) shade.

When I placed the order I thought it might be similar to another nails inc shade, Kew Gardens, that I got as a mini in some collection or another, but as you can see Kew Gardens is much lighter and browner. Neither would look out of place in a camouflague print but they're no dupes.

Del Sol - Rock Star

2011-02-01T18:31:00.001Z

Blue glitter that changes to teal with sunlight

The other Del Sol Colour Changing polish that Jasmine sent me was Rock Star

Before sun Rock Star is sheerish mid blue base with blue glitter.

After a minute or so the colour is developing greener tones

And after a couple of minutes exposure to sunlight it has developed into a deep greenish blue which makes me think of a deep mysterious pool with lots of swaying weeds.

Although slightly sheer it builds ok , this is 4 coats, again I wonder how it would work layered over a complimentary colour?

Application was good and removal wasn't bad for a glitter.

I really liked this polish, both variations are gorgeous colours but the sunlight version has hidden depths!

Updated to say that Del Sol Colour Changing polish is available in the UK for £7.95 from R8Beauty

Del Sol - Day Dreamer

2011-01-28T18:16:00.001Z

In my lovely package from OxfordJasmine I also had a couple of Del Sol Colour Changing polishes.

As I'm sure you know these polishes change colour when exposed to sunlight (direct only I think - I couldn't get them to work with sunlight through the window)

So here it is out of the sunlight

In shade

In sunlight (through the window)

It starts off as a pretty pale silvery lavender with a pink flash

After a couple of minutes of exposure to sunlight the purple tones strengthen and you get a stronger lilac colour and the pink flash is still visible.

Application was fine, the brush is a little narrow but didn't cause any problems. This is 3 coats and I still have some VNL - I wonder how this would work as a layering polish? Would the colour change still be visible?

I really like the polish, obviously the colour change only works when you have sunlight, which rules out most of the winter here in the UK! but even if there isn't any sunlight this polish is like having a little secret on your nails!

Glitter Gal

2011-01-27T19:10:00.001Z

Back in the Autumn the lovely Jasmine from YouTube and blogger fame asked me if I'd be interested in reviewing some nail polish, of course I jumped at the chance.

Unfortunately despite swatching the polishes fairly rapidly I haven't found time to post my swatches and review till now - bad blogger :-(

I can always find time to swatch a new polish, my unblogged swatch photo folder has over 2000 images in (which probably represents nearly 300 different polishes) but I have a real mental block with writing up the post to go with the pictures! I think I feel like it's always going to take longer than I have available. Anyone else have the same problem?

Anyhow onto the polish review.

First up is Suede from Glitter Gal

Suede is a greyed out brown with lots of holo sparkles - I'd say the holographic glitter was more of an accent to Suede rather than it being a full on holo polish.

The bottles are mid-sized at 9ml and the brush is quite dinky too but I had no problems with application from the brush or the polish.

As you may know I'm a big fan of these taupe/mushroom shades and this is no exception - with the added goodness of holographic sparkles.

Glitter Gal are an Australian company but I don't think they're widely available in other countries, yet.

Overall a very pretty polish - thanks Jasmine.

W7 Pewter

2011-01-23T20:41:00.000Z

The last of my small but very impressive collection of W7's

This is Pewter

Sun

Shade

Pewter is a mid grey shimmer with fine sparkles
Great application with this polish, it was almost a one-coat-wonder.
This is 2 coats + top coat

Overall I've been very impressed with my W7's - for a cheap polish you get a large amount of good quality polish - result!