a-england – Incense Burner

Hello!!

I have a little post today of one of the 4 new a-england polishes. The new collection is called Rosetti's Goddess and every one of the polishes is so very gorgeous! To start with, I have 'Incense Burner'. This is the darkest of the bunch – perfect for the winter weather here in Auckland at the moment.

This is how 'Incense Burner' appears in most lighting conditions. It is such a beautiful red toned brown. I love this sort of blackened brown colour – I think it's so easy to wear and looks good on anyone and everyone. The red undertones gives this a real rich feeling.

Just to be perfectly clear, this shimmer is not always obvious, but at weird angles of light this polish comes alive!! The shimmer in this shifts from red right through to a golden olive green. It is marvellous when you happen to catch sight of it and such a surprise. What a beauty!


As always, this had the formula we have all come to expect and love from a-england. It was very close to needing only 1 coat, but I have done 2 in these photos to ensure I get the full rich opacity of colour.

a-england polishes can be purchased from a lot of places around the world. You can only order direct from them if you are in the UK, but be sure to check out their list of worldwide distributors to find a place close to where you live. You can also follow a-england on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest news from them.

This product was provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Colours by Llarowe - Pretty Woman Collection, Spring 2015 - Part 2 The Holos

Press Sample

Hi team!

I'm back with part 2 of the recently released collection by Colors by Llarowe for Spring 2015, inspired by the 25th anniversary of Pretty Woman. Make sure you check out part 1 (the shimmers) if you haven't already, This part of the collection is all holographic and I will start by saying that I love every single one of them (hardly surprising based on the fact I love most every holo I'm faced with).

As with the last post, I didn't have any problems with application - all were amazingly self-leveling and really easy to work with. I will just mention how many coats I used each time.

'Well Done! Woo! Woo! Woo!'

'Well Done! Woo! Woo! Woo!' is a gorgeous teal leaning mint green with scattered holo and gold shimmer and flakes. OOOoooooEEEeee it's quite a complex polish that simply can't be captured in a photograph - particularly the warm gold flash of the shimmer. This is one you'll just have to see in real life! I used 2 coats.

'A Lot More Help Sucking Up'

I think this is my favourite of the whole collection, though that was a tough decision. This is the most perfect denim blue, almost periwinkle holo polish. Such a sunny, happy colour. I've worn this multiple times in the short time I've had it. Only 2 coats required.

'Divot Dance'

'Divot Dance' is a deep teal and another favourite for me. To me this polish has an air of mystery – it reminds me of the night sky reflecting off the ocean. It really is beautiful. I used 2 coats.

'What's Your Dream?'

'What's Your Dream?' is a purple holo with deep red undertones. A beautifully rich colour that is quite sophisticated in my opinion. One thing to note with this polish is that I had a little bit of staining on my skin when I removed this, but it  didn't last long and wasn't too obvious. I would just recommend using lots of cotton pads so you're not rubbing the already removed polish on your next finger that you're removing (if that makes any sense). I used 2 coats again.

'Vivian+Edward'

This is another super happy, bright polish. 'Vivian+Edward' is a brilliant hot pink holo. It is so bright, without heading into neon category - it is definitely eye catching and fun to wear. This polish only required 1-2 coats depending on how thick you do them.

'Kit'

The slightly different polish of this post – 'Kit' is holographic AND is packed full of glitter (what's not to love?). The base is a very red-pink jelly that is full of various different glitters, including iridescent blue hexes. It is these blue glitters that make this polish so spectacular as they really pop against the base colour. Because of the slightly more sheer base (so that you can get the full impact of the glitter), this polish required 2-3 coats.

'Babe'

'Babe' is a deep raspberry pinky red. There seems to be red glow about this polish - one of those classic "glow from within" polishes. 'Babe' only required 1-2 coats for full opacity. Another quick note is that this one stained my skin and very slightly stained my nails. Again this staining didn't last too long (on my skin or my nails) and wasn't too obvious in real life.

'Pirates of Penzance'

Another firm favourite for me. A true red holo that is my perfect polish in every way. If I'm not sure what to wear, I wear red and I know this will become a go-to. This is more red than 'Babe' (less pink). 'Pirates of Penzance' is another polish that appears to glow beneath the surface. LOVE. Again, only 1-2 coats needed. And I didn't get any staining from this polish.


Overall, this part of the collection was spectacular. I loved the shimmers (seen in part one), but holos will always have my heart - especially when they are of such high quality. I love the formula of these polishes - super opaque and very forgiving with their unbeatable self-levelling ability. There was not a single polish in this part that I didn't love.


These polishes are all currently available on the Llarowe website and will be until mid June. After that, keep your eyes out because some of these beauties may be headed for the core line. These shimmers are all $10 each and can be shipped worldwide. Also keep an eye on the Colors by Llarowe Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  pages for updates.

This product was provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Colours by Llarowe - Pretty Woman Collection, Spring 2015 - part 1 The Shimmers

Press Sample

Hello!

I have just got home from a big old uni exam and I was about to start some more work for the next test on Friday. So before that, why not share some gorgeous polishes with you. These polishes are from the very recently released collection by Colors by Llarowe for Spring 2015, inspired by the 25th anniversary of Pretty Woman. I will break this collection up into 2 or 3 posts. First up, the shimmers...

First of all, the formula for all of these was similar in that all of these polishes were really easy to work with so I won't mention this individually.

'Slippery Little Suckers'

'Slippery Little Suckers' is a peachy pink with electric blue shimmer. I really like the softness of this polish, but the blue shimmer really brings it alive. I thought this polish was going to look terrible on me against my pale skin, but actually I quite liked it. 3 coats used.

'Big Mistake. Big. Huge.'

LOVE this polish. A lilac purple/pink base that is jam-packed with warm gold shimmer. The shimmer is so beautiful and prominent in 'Big Mistake. Big. Huge.'. An unexpected favourite. And only 2 coats needed.

'Barney'

'Barney' is a gorgeous pink-leaning purple polish with pink/purple shimmer. The shimmer appears a fairly similar colour to the polish and so it just acts to bring this polish to life a bit – making it catch the light perfectly. 2 coats needed for this one too.

'Blue Banana'

This blurple/indigo polish was such a pain in the butt to photograph. It was so tough to capture the beauty of 'Blue Banana' especially that purple shimmer. The shimmer is not quite as obvious on the nail as some of the other polishes, but it is still very visible. I used 2 coats.

'I Want the Fairytale'

An electric blue/turquoise polish with purple shimmer - another one that I loved, but did not love photographing (I think my camera just doesn't like blues). Well I finally got it close to colour accurate, but again the shimmer just isn't quite what it could be in these pictures. In bright light this polish is really eye-catching. This one is a little sheerer than the other, needing 4 coats, but totally worth the extra coat or 2. One thing to note is that there were a few little bits of unmixed pigment, but with a couple of coats these were really not visible.


Overall, I really liked these polishes, none of them disappointed. As I said, there were no problems application-wise.


These polishes are all currently available on the Llarowe website and will be until mid June. After that, keep your eyes out because some of these beauties may be headed for the core line. These shimmers are all $10 each and can be shipped worldwide. Also keep an eye on the Colors by Llarowe Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  pages for updates.

This product was provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

a-england – Fotheringhay Castle

Press Sample

Hello!

I'm carrying on with another a-england polish from the Elizabeth & Mary collection, even though 'Queen of Scots' is a hard act to follow. This polish, 'Fotheringhay Castle', has also been worn a LOT! Here's why...

Every time I have worn 'Fotheringhay Castle', I've had so many people ask what it is and where they can get it? Their response is always that it's an unexpected colour, but that they love it. I'm not surprised that I love it – a gold-leaning olive green with a blackened edge AND subtle scattered holo.


I feel like a bit of a broken record when I talk about a-england and their formula, but as usual this was super easy to work with. I used 2 coats, but 1 was basically enough. I did thin this polish out slightly at some point, but it's my personal preference to apply 2 thinner coats than 1 slightly thicker one.

a-england polishes can be purchased from a lot of places around the world. You can only order direct from them if you are in the UK, but be sure to check out their list of worldwide distributors to find a place close to where you live. You can also follow a-england on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest news from them.

This product was provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

a-england – Queen of Scots

Press Sample

Hello!

I have this morning a polish that I love so very much. I have been wearing this quite a lot since I got it. There's something about navy polish that just always draws me in and 'Queen of Scots' from a-england's Elizabeth and Mary Collection is even more perfect than most every other navy polish I own. See for yourself.

'Queen of Scots' is the epitome of a polish that glows from within. I always see that being written about polishes on blogs and I have polishes that I thought were glowy, but this one is really something else. It is polishes such as this that remind me why a-england is my favourite polish brand.


'Queen of Scots' has a perfect a-england formula. I used 2 coats, but the second was barely needed. This polish doesn't pull and it's good to note that visible brushstrokes were not an issue (as they can be in shimmery polishes such as this).

a-england polishes can be purchased from a lot of places around the world. You can only order direct from them if you are in the UK, but be sure to check out their list of worldwide distributors to find a place close to where you live. You can also follow a-england on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest news from them.

This product was provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Takko Lacquer – Dazed and Confused (i.e. I'm back baby!!)

Press Sample

Hi guys!

Good news, my wrist is heading towards being better. It still hurts a bit when I'm taking photos, but not enough to stop me anymore. So I'm back! It's going to take me a while to get back into the swing of things, but I'm looking forward to it. So to kick off again, I have a gorgeous multichrome polish from Takko Lacquer – 'Dazed and Confused'.

'Dazed and Confused' is a perfect multichrome. The colours are so rich, making this polish a definite favourite for me. The scattered holo adds that little extra wow and with the blackened colour at extreme angles this polish can appear like galaxy nails with no nail art skill required :) (see my pinky in the photo above).

The main colour of this polish in normal light is a royal purple with flashes of blue. I found it difficult to capture the rich purple under my lighting setup even though this was how 'Dazed and Confused' appeared more often than not.

The colour changes of this polish are not shy and there are many. It goes from purple and blue through to a rich rusty red, to cranberry and at extreme angles through to bright orange/copper. Need I say more as to why this is a must-have polish?


On to the formula… In true Takko Lacquer style, this polish was simple to apply. Depending on how thick your coats are, I would say 2-3 coats would suffice. This polish wore really well on me too, lasting a good 5 days or so.


Make sure you check out Sheryl's blog to find out about the inspiration behind her polishes, along with other updates. Also keep an eye on Takko Lacquer's twitter and instagram for info about restocks etc. Takko Lacquers are sold from their own shop, but only with US shipping. For us international ladies, Takko lacquers are stocked at Llarowe, Femme Fatale and Mei Mei's Signatures.

This product was provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

a-england - Crown of Thistles

Press Sample

Hello!!

It's a-england time again! I have another polish from the most recent a-england Elizabeth and Mary collection and I think this is my favourite from the collection and possibly one of my favourite a-englands of all. As some of you may know I don't gravitate towards purple polish, but this one is the perfect purple for me. This is a-england 'Crown of Thistles'.

I love how rich this purple is – such a regal colour. 'Crown of Thistles' is a gorgeous scattered holo. The holographic effect is not too subtle and is obvious in most light without taking away from the purple colour of the polish.


Short, sweet post today because my wrist is still a bit unhappy, but I will finish by saying that this polish has the a-england formula that we have all come to know and love. Super opaque (these photos show 2 coats) and wonderfully long wearing on me. All in all, 'Crown of Thistles' is an absolute must-have for everyone.

a-england polishes can be purchased from a lot of places around the world. Unfortunately, you can only order direct from them if you are in the UK, but be sure to check out their list of worldwide distributors to find a place close to where you live. You can also follow a-england on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest news from them.

This product was provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Takko Lacquer - Dark Paradise

Press Sample

Hi all!!

I hope everyone has had a lovely and safe Christmas and New Year! We are visiting my family in Wellington and it's so nice to be home. I haven't been able to paint my nails much lately as my wrist is still immobilised, but I let it out of my brace to take these pictures. Also please excuse the still slightly broken nails, it is taking me a while to get on top of it all. Anywho… this is the ridiculously gorgeous Llarowe-exclusive polish by Takko Lacquer – 'Dark Paradise'.

'Dark Paradise' has a beautiful deep, but very sheer, inky base and is packed full of multi chromatic flakie glitter. The flakes change from red to gold and blue to green, with all the shades in between. Pictured here is one coat over a-england 'Queen of Scots'. I actually wore this mani for New Years as it reminded me of fireworks.

In lower light, the more copper tones peek through the blackened blue base. In bright light and more extreme angles, this polish really comes alive – bright green and red glow from your nails. 'Dark Paradise' was stupidly difficult to capture (even after 100-odd photos) and so you will just have to take my word that you NEED this polish.


As I mentioned, this polish is jam-packed with flakes and so you can easily control how much you have on the nail. I think it would be relatively easy to build up. I didn't experience any dragging or anything, however one thing I noticed was that even after 2 coats of top coat, my nails were still slightly textured. I think a thicker top coat would be recommended.


Make sure you check out Sheryl's blog to find out about the inspiration behind her polishes, along with other updates. Also keep an eye on Takko Lacquer's twitter and instagram for info about restocks etc. Takko Lacquers are sold from their own shop, but only with US shipping. For us international ladies, Takko lacquers are stocked at Llarowe, Femme Fatale and Mei Mei's Signatures.

This product was provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.