Tuesday, June 12, 2012

A bit o' stamping with a-england and Cult Nails...

So I know I hardly ever do nail art on here and really I'd love to do more, but I'm just not so good at it! I know, I know practice makes perfect, so after exams I'm going to try my hand (lol sorry!) at a bunch of different techniques.

Anyway on to the post... What better way to procrastinate from studying than to do some stamping. I'm quite a rookie so this is quite a scary endeavor! And as I show you guys my dominant hand (my right one), it's particularly scary. You all see the work of my VERY unco left hand in my pics :)


Elaine, a-england, The Mythicals, swatch
I started off with the fabulous 'Elaine' from a-england's The Mythicals collection. 'Elaine' is a gorgeous dark purple that is one of the glorious darks that never becomes too dark so as to appear black. It keeps it's purple tones perfectly!



Elaine, a-england, The Mythicals, swatch
'Elaine' is a sort of aubergine purple. These two photos show 'Elaine' with no top coat! Yes, she is naturally this shiny. LOVE!



Elaine, Princess Tears a-england, BM04, swatch
Next up I used another of a-england's beauties 'Princess Tears' to stamp an image from Bundle Monster's plate BM04. I've seen a few people using 'Princess Tears' for stamping recently and I loved the subtle beauty of it, so I thought I'd give it a go. It was very easy to stamp with, giving me no problems at all!



Elaine, Princess Tears a-england, BM04, swatch
I love how the holo in 'Princess Tears' still manages to shimmer away. So pretty. By the way, if you want to see 'Princess Tears' on her own, have a look here.



Elaine, Princess Tears a-england, BM04, swatch
A bit of a close up on the design. I've never used this design on myself before, but I tried it out on my Mum back at christmas time when I first got the stamping plates.



Elaine, Princess Tears a-england, Seduction, Cult Nails, BM04, swatch
Seeing as how I apparently can't leave well enough alone, I just had to apply this beauty that arrived in my mail box that morning...



Elaine, Princess Tears a-england, Seduction, Cult Nails, BM04, swatch
This is Cult Nails 'Seduction' and it's my first taste of the Cult!! I got Cult Nails base and top coats (more about them at the end) and I couldn't resist getting this too. I think there are going to be MANY more Cult Nails polishes joining my stash in the not so distant future. Anyway... 'Seduction' has a purpley-blue jelly base with a whole lot of gorgeous flakies. They shine so many different colours! Red, orange, copper...



Elaine, Princess Tears a-england, Seduction, Cult Nails, BM04, swatch
... Green, yellow, blue...



Elaine, Princess Tears a-england, Seduction, Cult Nails, BM04, swatch
And all at the same time! I love 'Seduction'! It's got just enough pieces to give good coverage without over-powering. I just want to mention that I'm almost entirely blaming loving Marta of Chit Chat Nails who has made me want Cult Nails polishes for a long time and finally I couldn't stand seeing her amazing swatches of them for another moment without trying them for myself. So thanks Marta!



Right, to the formulas... 'Elaine' was nothing short of perfection. Almost opaque at one coat so that the second coat provided perfect coverage and HIGH shine! 'Seduction' was also a pleasure. I used one simple coat and it was easy to get enough flakies and they spread really easily too. I used the other newbies to my stash for this too. I used Cult Nails 'Get It On' base coat and 'Wicked Fast' top coat. I've seen so much hype about these online lately and so I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about. Well let me just say that I took this manicure off this afternoon (about an hour ago) and it had been on for 7 days! I had no chips and barely any tip-wear! I have to say this is probably partly due to the AMAZING wear time that a-england polishes have, but I have given my nails a bit of a thrashing this past week too! I have since put on my next mani with Cult Nails base and top coats and we'll see how it goes this time, but after this first go... I can see why all the raving!


a-england polishes are available for £9 with free worldwide shipping from their website and Cult Nails polishes are available from their website for $10USD. Both are also available from a bunch of e-tailers.

10 comments :

  1. ooohhh very pretty nail art!! I really want Elaine but then I think, "don't i already have something similar?" Hmmm, maybe when I'm richer :)

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    1. Oh thanks! You should definitely think about getting Elaine! It's got such a nice formula and with free worldwide shipping you can't go wrong! haha I sound like a salesman, but seriously! :)

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  2. Anneke! This post is incredible! For a "novice" stamper you did FANTASTIC and I can only imagine what lovely looks you will create when you are done studying ;)
    I don't mind the blame for Seduction ;) I genuinely love this brand and as you said, the flakies are packed and spread easily. They were a GENIOUS addition to this look :)

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    1. Oh thanks Marta! And actually when I think about it, I can put a fair amount of my inspiration to do more stamping onto you too!!! :)

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  3. Amazing! I kept thinking "this is gorgeous", and then when I scrolled down, you kept making it even prettier! :)

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    1. Oh thank you! You're so sweet! I love every single one of these polishes! :)

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  4. Wow, absolutely stunning! I like how you applied the flakie polish after stamping, I never thought of that! :)

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    1. Thanks Steffie! I'm not very good with layering and things usually, but having just received 'Seduction' it was screaming to be put on no matter what was underneath :)

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