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.

Take A Chill Pill - Dollish Polish (with a splash of stamping and a gradient)

Hi!

I have a quick post with some nails that I did a while ago now. I quite like how it came out though so I figured it's about time I posted it. This look is mainly featuring Dollish Polish 'Take A Chill Pill' from her 'That's So 80's' collection.

'Take A Chill Pill' is a polish that I really like, but I'm slightly confused because looking back at pics from when this was released it was bright blue… As you can see my bottle has a very sheer blue-grey jelly base, packed full of all sorts of glitter. Strange - I will investigate further. Oh well, like I said, I love it.
On my ring finger I did a gradient using Color Club 'Wicked Sweet' and China Glaze 'Sun-Kissed' and then stamped on top using Bundle Monster plate BM-422 and Color Club 'Beyond'.

Unfortunately this polish is not currently available, but head on over to Dolly's Big Cartel shop because there is bound to be some other beauties that you'll want instead. Make sure you follow Dollish Polish on her various social media sites to keep up with updates (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Star Kin - Sunny Day Rain & Terracotta Army

How is everyone? Been enjoying the World Cup? We have certainly been. Today I have a post more for my kiwi readers, but of course you others can still enjoy some pretty polish pictures too. This is a brand new to my blog, Star Kin, that is the baby of Ami (from Every Sensory) and her mum, Annette. I'm really proud to support this kiwi team and they really do make absolutely beautiful polishes! Today I have 2, 'Sunny Day Rain' and 'Terracotta Army'…

This is 'Sunny Day Rain'. I have been trying to be on a low-buy for a good while now, but as soon as I saw this on Lani Loves, I knew I'd have to get it (thanks Lani <3). I love the mix of blue glitters in this and against the grey jelly base - perfect. The best part is that this polish is brimming with glitter, absolutely no fishing is necessary. The base is a bit sheer, but 3 coats was plenty for opacity.

For this skittlette mani (see ChitChatNails) I used Zoya 'London' on my pinky and stamped with Revlon 'Royal' and Bundle Monster BM-418. On my ring finger is a gradient using OPI 'Skull & Glossbones', OPI 'No Room for the Blues' and Revlon 'Royal'.

Next up is one of my favourites - 'Terracotta Army'. This is my perfect kind of polish. A most wonderfully saturated, burnt orange holo - what's not to love? I adore the colour of this polish. And to make things even better, this is really easy to apply and opaque - I think I used 2 coats for these photos.

Here's the kicker - NZ Post is really strict when it comes to sending polish out of the country (learnt the hard way here) so these polishes are only available to kiwis at this point. But for all you kiwis, head over to Star Kin on Etsy and show them some love.

The Angels Have The Phone Box - Dollish Polish

HI!!

How are we all? I have a really lovely polish to show you this evening that was recently released as part of the Dollish Polish Ultimate Fandom Collection. This is 'The Angels Have The Phone Box'…

'The Angels Have The Phone Box' caught my eye straight away and I expected to receive a nice blue holo in the mail. This polish is much more than a nice blue holo. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised when I put this on my nails. The shade of blue is really unique in my collection. It's such a perfect blue and the holo - well let's just leave it there because we all know how I feel about holo.


What would make this better… a perfect formula of course! One coat was fully opaque for me, but as usual I did 2 for photos. No dragging, no bald spots, all-in-all pretty foolproof application.


Head on over to Dolly's Big Cartel shop because I've just checked and this polish is in stock right now. Make sure you follow Dollish Polish on her various social media sites to keep up with updates (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram)

Polished by KPT - Permanganate & Dichromate

Press Sample

Hi everyone!!

I have my last Polished by KPT post for you today. This post is of another 2 thermals, 'Permanganate' and 'Dichromate', both from the Transition Elements collection. No surprises, these are another 2 that are GORGEOUS!!

Permanganate

This is 'Permanganate' which is a thermal & chrome polish. The transition is from a beautiful icy blue when warm, to a rich purple leaning blue, almost indigo, when cold.

These pictures show 'Permanganate' transitioning from hot at the top through to cold in the bottom photo. I absolutely adore the finish of this polish, the slight chrome affect catches the light so beautifully giving it a real x-factor in my opinion (and perfect with these colours in particular).

Dichromate

'Dichromate' is an equally beautiful thermal chrome polish. This one is just perfect for the autumn weather we are having at the moment. I absolutely love this fiery polish. The gold, coarse shimmer again gives this polish that little extra something.

Again, the top photo shows Dichromate in cold temperatures and the bottom photo is cold (look at the shimmery goodness against the orange!).


Both of these polishes were lovely to work with. Easy to apply and nicely opaque – 2-3 coats was plenty for me. Both of these were very sensitive to temperature changes and were constantly changing and often seen to be the most wonderful gradient between the 2.


Polished By KPT polishes are available direct from Katherine's Big Cartel shop if you're in the USA. For those international people, check out this 'where to buy' tab. You can also keep an eye out for restocks etc by following on Facebook,Instagram, Tumblr or Pinterest.  All polishes are 3-free and not tested on animals.

These products were provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Polished by KPT - Hyacinth & Let's Get Peachy!

Press Sample

Hello hello

How is everyone? I am still crazily trying to work out how to manage being so busy, but hopefully I will continue to find my groove at uni etc. Meanwhile it has been a joy to be wearing the latest thermals from Polished by KPT's 'March Into Spring' collection. I have 2 more to show you today - 'Hyacinth' and 'Let's Get Peachy!'.

This is the polish I was telling you that I was wearing at the end of the last post. This is a beauty and a half! I absolutely love love love it.

Starting at the top 'Hyacinth', when cold, is the most gloriously rich blue/purple/indigo (I can't decide which) colour. The middle mid colour show the beautiful periwinkle leaning colour that 'Hyacinth' becomes. In hot temperatures, 'Hyacinth' becomes almost cornflower blue. Also, can we just take a moment to look at the shimmer and flakes in this baby. The shimmer in this is a pinky colour and it seems to just play against the blues so perfectly. The flakes also catch the light and play so beautifully against the colour of the polish. The best part? This is so sensitive to temperature changes, it seemed to be different every time I looked at it. Katherine, you are a wizard putting so many things I love into one bottle of brilliance <3

This is 'Let's Get Peachy!', the most subtle of the Spring collection. I love how different this polish is to anything in my stash. The top photo is 'Let's Get Peachy!' in cold temperatures, next hot, and then transitioning. In my photos it is a bit hard to see the transition and though it's subtle it's a bit more obvious in real life.


Both of these were easy to apply. I used 3 coats of 'Hyacinth' and the same of 'Let's Get Peachy!' (which is slightly sheerer, though perfectly buildable).


Polished By KPT polishes are available direct from Katherine's Big Cartel shop if you're in the USA. For those international people, check out this 'where to buy' tab. You can also keep an eye out for restocks etc by following on Facebook,Instagram, Tumblr or Pinterest.  All polishes are 3-free and not tested on animals.

These products were provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

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'.

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?

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…

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?

Dancing With Nureyev - a-england (with MoYou Stamping)

Press Sample

Happy new year lovely people! Hope you all had a fun and safe celebration. We've been so busy while visiting at home. Has been lovely to spend lots of time with family. Anywho, there hasn't been a lot of time for nails and I have been wearing my new a-englands basically the whole time. The new Ballerina Collection is just so beautiful. I have to say that this collection also has an extra special place in my heart because I trained to be a professional dancer. I was so excited when I saw the theme of this collection announced. To start off, I am showing you 'Dancing With Nureyev'.

I knew from the moment I saw these, this one would be my absolute favourite and let's just say I was not wrong. It is just the most beautiful shade of purpley-blue. I'm not sure how to describe the shade of purple (or is it blue?), but just trust me when I tell you that it is perfect and you NEED this polish! The holo is fairly strong and just makes this polish that little bit more amazing.

I did a little stamping on top using a-england 'Camelot' and MoYou plate 06 from the Pro Collection. I quite like how this all turned out and the black seems to play perfectly against the base colour of 'Dancing With Nureyev'.


As for the formula, I'm sure no one is surprised that it was super easy to apply. I used 2 coats, but the second was barely needed. This polish is really nicely opaque and a steady hand may mean that 1 coat is all that is needed.

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.

KBShimmer - Shade Shifter & Rollin' With The Chromies

Press Sample

Hi Hi!

Sorry for the absence. Long story short, I accidentally ate something I'm quite severely intolerant to and as such have spent the last few days in a very sorry state in bed. In fact I'm still in bed while I write this to try and rest up for work tonight.

Anyway, enough about that, today I have the last 2 multichromes that were recently released in the Winter 2013 collection by KBShimmer (see my previous 2 posts here and here). The last 2 that I am showing you are 'Shade Shifter' & 'Rollin' With The Chromies'.

'Shade Shifter'

'Shade Shifter' is gorgeous, it goes mainly between electric blue and purple, but every now and then a cranberry red colour appears in the mix and then at extreme angles a beautiful copper/gold comes out. As with the other 2 non-holo multichromes that I've shown you ('Pigment Of My Imagination' and 'Urban Camo') the shift is very strong and seems to look different every time I look at my nails.

'Rollin' With The Chromies'

This is the holo sister to 'Shade Shifter' aka 'Rollin' With The Chromies'. It has similar shifts to 'Shade Shifter' but the shifts are a little bit subtler and there is added holo goodness. I love this polish - are you surprised? Holo and multichrome… Mmmmmm.


The formula of these was simlar to the previous ones, both were very easy to apply. 'Rollin' With The Chromies' is shown with 3 coats, but you may or may not be able to get away with 2 if you use thicker coats. 'Shade Shifter' on the other hand is fairly sheer. I used 5 coats, but I would have left it at 4 coats if not for the lighting. If you use thicker coats, of course you could use less coats or on the other hand you could use 1 or 2 coats of this over black to get a similar result.

KBShimmer is available from a number of places in the USA, have a look at the Locations page for a shop or event near you. For us international ladies, check out Harlow & Co (free shipping on international orders over $75!).

These products were provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Polished By KPT - Nightcrawler, La Catrina & Hot Like Wasabi

Press Sample

Hello!

I have three more Polished by KPT thermal polishes (that change colour with temperature) to show you today and they are just more of the same - in other words more incredibly beautiful and unique polishes (you can check out my last thermal post here). What's not to love? The three polishes I have to show you today are 'Nightcrawler', 'La Catrina' and 'Hot Like Wasabi'. With all of these polishes, I will show photos going from cold then transitioning through to how they appear when hot.

Nightcrawler

'Nightcrawler' was always going to be a favourite. Right from when I first saw swatches of this polish appear, I absolutely loved it and in real life it did not disappoint, in fact it was even better than I expected. The duochrome is so strong - you can see that gorgeous shift from pink/purple to electric blue. The shift is a bit more obvious in the darker cold colour of this polish. When this is transitioning it is so stunning. I'm going to have to say that this is one of my favourite polishes I own I think, yup you ALL need it!

La Catrina

'La Catrina' is so unique! It goes from a dusty green through to a taupe. The shimmer in this shines gold and pink in different light. It's really interesting and I really like it.

Hot Like Wasabi

'Hot Like Wasabi' was a surprise favourite for me. I love these interesting coloured polishes but I had no idea just how incredibly gorgeous this would be in real life. I just want to keep putting this polish back on every time I change my nails. I got a good few mentions and questions about this polish too. 'Hot Like Wasabi' changes from a chartreuse to a hot colour that is really hard to describe - sort of green leaning grey leaning mustard... Just take my word that this is a breathtakingly beautiful polish and the holo in this just makes it perfect in my holo hoarding life.


As usual, the formula on these was great. 'La Catrina' appears slightly sheer in my photos but was ok in real life. I used 3 coats for all of these photos but as usual, depending on the thickness of your coats, some of these may only require 2 coats. The thermal effect of all of these was really sensitive and so changed readily throughout the day.


I'm sure I don't need to spell it out any clearer, but I am so impressed with Polished by KPT polishes. They are unique and easy to apply and they have all worn well without chipping on me too.


Polished By KPT polishes are available direct from Katherine's Big Cartel shop if you're in the USA. For those international people, check out this 'where to buy' tab. All polishes are 3-free and not tested on animals.

These products were provided for review. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

For more information, see my disclosure policy.