Takko Lacquer - Cheshire Cat

Press Sample

Hello!!

I am still here, broken nails galore and all! Silly nails are making me pay for not looking after them when I was so busy. Every nail on my right hand that I photograph has now broken in the past couple of weeks and it's starting to drive me crazy! Anywho enough about that, I have another Takko Lacquer for you and this is another BEAUTY – this is 'Cheshire Cat'…

Funny story, I forgot this was a thermal polish and I put it on thinking I was applying a purple polish, looked back at my hand and saw that it was pink and I thought I'd gone crazy :D

I love 'Cheshire Cat' and especially how perfect this polish is suited to its name. 'Cheshire Cat' is really sensitive and so it changes really readily between the colours. The purple colour at the top is how it appears when cold and then in warmer temperatures, it turns pink. I love how much gold shimmer is packed into this polish - so eye catching.


'Cheshire Cat' was really easy to apply and opaque in 2-3 coats depending on how thick you apply your coats.


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.

Takko Lacquer - Babycakes

Press Sample

I'm back baby!!!

I have handed in my dissertation and it feels oh so good to be done! So I am now going to try and give this poor little blog some serious loving and get it back up and running. It's going to be baby steps because I'm pretty out of practice photographing my nails etc, so be gentle with me :)

Anywho, what better way to get back into blogging than with one of my absolute favourite brands, Takko Lacquer. This is 'Babycakes' which was released earlier this year.

'Babycakes' is a really pretty antique rose polish with a slightly scattered, but linear, holo effect (Yes, I'm right back to making not much sense!). 'Babycakes' also has this gold shimmer that catches the light and makes this polish that bit more complex (one of the many things I love about all my Takkitos). This is one of those polishes that is really inoffensive and could be worn to any occasion, but the holo and gold flash just amps it up enough to keep it interesting.


'Babycakes' had a really easy formula to work with. I used 2 coats for these photos and that was plenty - no pulling or dragging or any of that silliness at the cuticles. Also, this polish is wearing really well. I have had this on for 4 days so far without the slightest sign of tip wear and I haven't been particularly gentle with my hands this week either.


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.

piCture pOlish Blog/Insta Fest 2014!!

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I'm so excited to be part of piCture pOlish Blog/Insta Fest 2014! This year Blog/Insta Fest is made up of 2 parts so let's get started with part 1…

First up I have a gorgeous shade to show you that was made in collaboration with Sassy Shelly called 'Badass'. We all know how much I adore holos and so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I really like this polish. 'Badass' is a beautiful scattered holo with a black base - I love how black the base is without hiding the holo effect too much at all. To make matters better, the formula is great too. As is the usual story with piCture pOlish polishes, this had great opacity with 2 coats being perfect.

The next part of Blog/Insta Fest is to celebrate not only some more wonderful piCture pOlish shades, but also Nail Vinyls that have just started being stocked there.

This is the look I came up with using piCture pOlish 'Hot Lips' and 'Honeydew' along with the chevron design from Nail Vinyls. I have a quick step by step of how I made this look.

Starting with a white base, I placed the nail vinyls where I wanted them with one small area and one large area on each nail. I painted 'Honeydew' just in the small section and immediately peeled up the vinyls. Next, I top coated to speed up the drying time of everything.

Next up I placed the vinyls right on top of the green and painted 'Hot Lips' on the large area of my nails and peeled up the vinyls immediately again. I actually repeated that step again to make the pink a bit more opaque. Again, wait for everything to dry completely and place some vinyls on top of the pink right against the green. Place another vinyl to leave a really thin gap and then another after a slightly larger gap (see the bottom pic there). Paint these bits white and then once dry place vinyls either side of the larger white stripe and paint with 'Honeydew'.

Et voilà. Top coat to seal everything in and you're done. I really love how this turned out - these colours go so perfectly together and they take me right back to the fashion of my childhood (does anyone else remember slouch socks and hair scrunchies?). It does require a little patience while each layer dries but it's totally worth it in my opinion.

A couple of tips for working with the vinyls - from my experience it is absolutely best to peel them off while the polish is still wet, also I found that if I stuck them down too hard they would leave a slight gluey residue (they are plenty sticky so you don't need to press them hard). Overall, these vinyls are a nail art must have! They make nail art so easy and you can make some really striking nails with relatively little effort.

Now to the important details - where can you get your hands on all these things? piCture pOlish is available from a lot of places all around the world and of course from them direct from Australia. Pop over to their network page to find where is closest to you. piCture pOlish always has really great deals which you can see on their Every Day Deal page too.

Nail Vinyls are available from them direct with international shipping and of course from piCture pOlish too. piCture pOlish will be selling a special exclusive pack that includes Chevrons, Mini Chevrons, Straight and Right Angles which you'll be seeing used inBlog/Insta Fest this year :)

Make sure you follow Nail Vinyls and piCture pOlish to keep up with all their latest news and info.

piCture pOlish - Facebook and Instagram

Nail Vinyls - Facebook and Instagram

An InLinkz Link-up

Aca-Awkward! - Dollish Polish

Hi!!

I have a gorgeous polish to show you today that I absolutely adore. One trouble is that it was limited edition and so isn't easily available anymore - but you never know where it might pop up and if it does GRAB IT! This is Dollish Polish 'Aca-Awkward!'.

I wore this polish a few times in a row because I just loved it so much. It is so pretty but the brightness of the colour and the subtle holo make it so much fun to wear. For this mani, I stamped my middle and ring fingers using Bundle Monster plate BM-423 and Colours by Llarowe 'Refresh…ing'.


'Aca-Awkward!' was surprisingly opaque and 2 coats was more than enough for full opacity. It was also super easy to apply and didn't pull at the cuticles or anything silly like that.


As I mentioned, this polish is not currently available on the Dollish Polish website as it was a limited edition polish. But, keep your eyes out for Dolly's other LE polishes each month and grab them so you don't miss out on polishes like this one! Make sure you follow Dollish Polish on her various social media sites to keep up with updates (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Hurt No Living Thing – a-england

Press Sample

Hello hello!

I have a gorgeous new a-england polish to show you today. 'Hurt No Living Thing' is inspired by the poem written by Christina Georgina Rossetti and it is the new addition to a-england's 'Heavenly Quotes' collection.

'Hurt No Living Thing' is a soft grey with slight purple undertones to it. There is also the most beautiful flash of pinky purple - sort of mallow flower or mauve coloured. It's really quite stunning, being vivid but soft at the same time (again with the not making sense - apologies!).So of course the mauve flash is obvious and I thought that was the end of the story - but then I put it on and noticed this little orange flash (which you can see peeking from the bottom of the bottle above) - so off I went to capture it on camera…

So much love! Look at the orangey/bronze shift. It's really gorgeous and I love how it just catches your eye when the light hits your nails at an extreme angle. There are few things that I love more than when something surprises me and exceeds expectation :)


'Hurt No Living Thing' is sheer and is made to be worn as a topper, though it is absolutely buildable and so can also be worn alone. 'Hurt No Living Thing' is so versatile, I tried it over so many of my wonderful a-england polishes and it transformed them all into beautifully unique polishes. My favourites were 'Saint George', 'Dorian Gray', 'Guinevere' and 'Lady of the Lake'. Another combo that I loved was 'Hurt No Living Thing' over 'Bridal Veil' which I have shown you here - this is 1 coat of 'Bridal Veil' topped with 2 coats of 'Hurt No Living Thing'. On my pinky, I also did a little accent nail of 'Hurt No Living Thing' alone (4 coats - though 3 was enough on my non-photographed hand).

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.

Polished by KPT - Don't Be Ranunculus & Camellia

Press Sample

Hey hey!!

So I'm just going to jump straight into this post because I have 2 of the most delicious polishes I own to show you today! These are the next 2 polishes in my Polished by KPT series. 'Don't Be Ranunculus' which is the last of the recent 'March Into Spring' collection, and 'Camellia'. Warning… this post is picture heavy!

'Don't Be Ranunculus'

Starting with the transition of 'Don't Be Ranunculus'.  LOOK AT THIS POLISH! I love how it almost looks as though there are 3 different colour changes. The perfect mix of colours in my opinion, the wine colour with the concrete grey and that shimmer…

Seriously, the shimmer. The iridescent micro flakes and shimmer catches the light and gives the most beautiful rainbow effect. They often shine gold which gives this polish a real elegance in my opinion. The gold plays perfectly against both the red and grey.

Here is 'Don't Be Ranunculus' when hot at the top, through to cold in the bottom photo. I should also note that this polish is very sensitive to temperature and changed readily throughout the day.

'Camellia'

This is the gorgeous jelly, 'Camellia', and I have to say I didn't expect to love this one as much as I do. The 2 polishes in this post are not only my favourite Polished by KPT polishes, but 2 of my overall favourites in my entire collection. These photos show 'Camellia' from hot at the top through to cold at the bottom. I didn't get a photo of the in between colour on its own, but often my nails would be entirely bright pink (like the bottom of my pinky in the middle photo).

This is the transition of 'Camellia'. I love how very different the colours are. From the very sheer, dainty wash of colour when hot, to the vivd red when cold. Again, this polish appears almost to have 3 different colours, rather than 2. This is also the most sensitive thermal I have tried. Every time I looked at my nails, they were different. Often each of my nails was different to the others, usually with some showing the most beautiful gradient.


Yes this is a gushy post, but I truly can't say enough good things about these 2 polishes! The quality absolutely matches the beauty of them, with each applying like a dream. Even though the hot colour of 'Camellia' is sheer, it is meant to be and I think that's part of the appeal. I used 2 coats for 'Don't Be Ranunculus' and these photos show 3 coats of 'Camellia' (though I wore it with only 2 coats on my left hand and that was plenty).


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 - Blossoming & Love In Bloom

Press Sample

Hello!

How are you all? Some lovely polishes arrived at my house a week or so ago and I am very excited to share them, so let's just get started with 2 of the thermal polishes from the recent 'March Into Spring' collection from Polished by KPT - this is 'Blossoming' and 'Love In Bloom'…

Blossoming

First up is 'Blossoming'. Starting from the top is the colour when hot through to cold. This is absolutely gorgeous with the flakes in there that just peek through the gold micro-flake type particles. This is so spring/summer-y to me. It makes me sad that we're heading quickly towards Winter (even though I don't mind Winter at all really). The cold colour especially makes the gold stand out so well.

Check out how packed in those particles are and the way they seem to shift in colour from pink to gold depending on how the light is catching them. 

Love In Bloom

'Love In Bloom' is similar to 'Blossoming' in the style of the small flakey particles and the gorgeous way in which they catch the light, appearing to shift in colour. Again, the photo at the top is the hot colour for this polish with the dark purple appearing in cold.

Both of these polishes have a jelly-like base that is a little sheer, but builds really easily. I wore three coats when I wore both of these and that was plenty for me (though I think for photos, I have used 4 coats of 'Blossoming').These polishes are slightly on the thick side, but not at all in a bad way. It has been very muggy here and these 2 polishes didn't change colour very readily while I was wearing them unfortunately (I had to use iced water to take pictures of the cold colours), I will have to wear them again when the weather is a bit less humid and warm as usually my Polished by KPT thermals change all the time throughout the day.

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.

Make sure you stay tuned for the next couple of polishes from the 'March Into Spring' collection as the one I'm wearing as I type this up is AMAZING!!

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

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Her Rose Adagio - a-england

Press Sample

Hello!

I have another of the new a-england polishes to show you tonight that is from the very recent Ballerina Collection. Tonight, I am showing you 'Her Rose Adagio'. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen how I wore this polish, but more about that later…

This is yet another beauty and it is so fitting for this collection in my opinion. This gorgeous rose colour is so perfectly reminiscent of ballet to me - the shoes, the grace and beauty. It's a funny thing, but 'Her Rose Adagio' makes me miss doing ballet every day.

So here's how I first wore this polish. On the 18th of December, a lovely friend, who you have seen mentioned on here so many times, got married and a group of us did manicures in her honour. So this mani, was for Mimi of Makeup Withdrawal and her new husband. Be sure to check out the other talented ladies who did manis for Mimi too (they are all listed in this instagram image). On top of 'Her Rose Adagio' I stamped the images using MoYou plate 06 from the Pro Collection and Color Club 'Beyond'. On my ring finger is a glitter gradient using CrowsToes 'Triple Black Diamond'.


Yes, as usual with a-england polishes, the formula was easy to use. 'Her Rose Adagio' was slightly thick, though not in a bad way at all, and requires just 2 coats for full opacity. One thing to be careful of, make sure you don't do too many strokes in one place with the first coat as it can drag ever so slightly.

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.

NOTD - Enchanted Polish 'Disco Barbie' & MoYou stamping

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone had a lovely restful break. I spent mine at home with my family which was lovely. It's so nice being at home, other than the fact that it feels like Winter here! I just have a quick mani to show you today that I wore earlier in December when my MoYou stamping plates arrived and I had to test them ASAP.

I used Enchanted Polish 'Disco Barbie' for the base and then stamped on top of it using Color Club 'Beyond' and MoYou plate 11 from the Artist Collection. I used the area around her hair for both of these images.


First up I need to mention how impressed I am with my MoYou plates. Not only are the full sized images incredibly beautiful, but they are easier than I expected to use - as far as getting the part of the image I wanted onto my nails etc. 'Disco Barbie' was also really great. I barely needed the second coat I used, as it was so opaque.


I am really keen to get some more MoYou plates, especially some full sized images, so please let me know any that you recommend! If you haven't seen them, make sure you have a look at their website - fair warning though, you may want to buy EVERYTHING!

Polished by KPT - Naughty & Nice, Blood As Thick As Gold, Harvest Moon

Press Sample

Hi Hi!!

I was so lucky to receive a parcel from Katherine, the brains behind Polished by KPT. I am a big fan of Katherine's polishes, in particular her thermal polishes that change colour with temperature. I have 3 thermal polishes to show you today - 2 from the Fall 2013 collection and 1 Holiday 2013 polish.
Note - Polished by KPT are restocking on the 1st of December at noon PST. All 3 of these polishes are included in the restock along with a few others. 'Naughty & Nice' is being sold as part of a collaboration trio that also includes a polish made by Serum No. 5 and one by Lacquer Lust.

'Naughty & Nice'

'Naughty & Nice' transitions from a beautiful berry red/purple when cold, to a pale candy pink when hot. It is packed with irregular gold micro glitter pieces and there is iridescent blue shimmer in there too.

I love how the shimmer appears so different in the hot and cold looks of 'Naughty & Nice'. In the darker cold colour, the blue really pops and the gold shimmer is a bit more showy. In the hot colour though, the shimmer appears to give the pink colour a more delicate and ethereal look. Love it.

'Blood As Thick As Gold'

'Blood As Thick As Gold' changes from a gorgeous deep claret colour when cold to a nude when hot. It is full of gold flakes and also pink shimmer. The nude colour leans very yellow toned on me - in fact it is almost exactly my skin colour - truly nude.

The flakes in 'Blood As Thick As Gold' make it appear so luxurious to me. The look of it reminds me a lot of brocade. So gorgeous.

'Harvest Moon'

On to my favourite of all so far, 'Harvest Moon'. I absolutely love everything about this polish. The cold colour is so beautiful and autumnal, just slightly burnt, but still bright. The hot colour is what really makes this polish for me, a stunning icy nude. The holo is reasonably strong in this polish, but very fine.

This is 'Harvest Moon' transitioning - apparently this is the pattern that my fingers heat up in. These 2 colours are so complimentary. This is a real must-have polish in my opinion.


I am coming to learn that a good formula is the norm with Polished by KPT polishes. These 3 were all easy to work with, if slightly on the thick side (though not in a bad way at all). All were opaque in 2-3 coats depending on how thick I made the coats. These were all very sensitive to temperature change and changed colour fairly readily.


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.