Saturday, March 29, 2014

Godiva - Zoya

Hello!

I have another quick Zoya Pixie Dust post today. This time, it's Zoya 'Godiva'


Godiva, Zoya Pixie Dust, swatch
'Godiva' is a gorgeous nude Pixie Dust. It is pulling ever so slightly too yellow in this photo. It is reasonably close to my skin colour in real life, but the texture and the micro glitter in it stop my hands from looking too mannequin-y.


'Godiva' was a little bit sheer at first but it built up well. I used 3 thick-ish coats for full opacity.


As usual, thanks for popping by :)

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Zoya - Sunshine

Hello.

I got an amazing package from an amazing friend (thanks so much Mimi!) and I'm very happy to finally have a few more Zoya Pixie Dusts in my possession. Naturally, I had to try one straight away, so here is Zoya 'Sunshine'.



Zoya, Sunshine, swatch

Zoya, Sunshine, swatch

Look at this baby! I love it and I can't wait to try the others now too. This is such a beautiful navy blue, not too dark as to appear black and beautifully saturated. The texture is not overly rough and a bit finer than I expected. I love the added dimension that the silver micro-glitter adds to 'Sunshine'.


'Sunshine' was reasonably easy to apply, but was quite thick. I ended up having to thin it out a little. It's also very opaque and a second coat was barely needed (though the second coat improves the look of the texture).


Thanks for stopping by! Let me know, what are your favourite Pixie Dusts?

Sunday, March 16, 2014

a-england Stamped Gradient

Hi!

Again, apologies. I have been good and sick and spending any time at home in bed. Anywho, I am on the mend and hopefully I have a bit more energy to paint my nails and to blog. So this is a mani I did a couple of weeks ago featuring a-england polishes…



a-england, Briarwood, Rose Bower, Her Rose Adagio, gradient, Lealac stamping, Konad

a-england, Briarwood, Rose Bower, Her Rose Adagio, gradient, Lealac stamping, Konad
For this look, I first did a gradient using all a-england polishes - 'Briarwood', 'Rose Bower' and 'Her Rose Adagio'. I then stamped using Konad Special White and LeaLaC XL-B plate. I love how this turned out and I ended up wearing this mani for quite a while. I really like doing gradients with holos like these, as they seem to blend much more easily.


a-england polishes are available from many places around the world. Have a look at a-england's website if you are in the UK, or have a look at their Where To Buy page for worldwide shipping options. The LeaLac stamping plate is from Llarowe.


What are your favourite polishes or colours to use for gradients?

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Blue Ombré - Featuring piCture pOlish, Color Club and OPI

HI!!!

I'm still here! Apologies for the extended hiatus, I have just had my first week of uni and it has been crazy busy, albeit pretty freaking cool! It's so great to be in a lab doing real things! Anywho, I will try and get some posts lined up in the weekend in the future so that I don't go so long with nothing.

I tried an ombré mani for the first time last week. My first thought was blue, followed very closely by HOLO! So that's just what I went with…



picture polish Cosmos, Ocean, color club over the moon, OPI DS sapphire, Ombre

picture polish Cosmos, Ocean, color club over the moon, OPI DS sapphire, Ombre
I kinda love this mani! It makes me want to do more ombré manis and also makes me wonder why I've never done one before! I used piCture pOlish 'Cosmos' and 'Ocean' on my pinky and ring fingers, then Color Club 'Over The Moon' and OPI 'DS Sapphire' on my middle and index fingers.


I won't go much into formula etc, other than to say that these polishes are all pretty great formula-wise (other than the fact the the OPI is slightly sheer and oh-so-stinky).


What are your favourite colours for ombré manis?