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.

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.

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.

a-england - Gloriana

Press Sample

Hello!

I have an absolutely gorgeous polish to show you today. The recently released Elizabeth & Mary collection from a-england landed at my house on the weekend and I had to try one straight away because every single polish in this collection is so beautiful. A lucky dip decided that a-england 'Gloriana' was going to be first, so here she is…

'Gloriana' is so eye-catching. We all know how I feel about red polish, so this was already a winner there, but it's the gold shimmer particles that really amp this polish up. In low light, it appears as though it is just a pretty red shimmery polish, but when the light hits it, you see a flame of gold flash through. 'Gloriana' has a foil finish, but for some reason it appears softer and more wearable than most foils. Love!


For the best part, this is a seriously opaque polish and one coat can give full coverage! Easy application,  with no dragging or anything.

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.

Girly Bits - Into The Night

I have an oldie but a goodie to show you tonight. A polish that I've had for a long time now, I think this was one of my earlier indies, this is Girly Bits 'Into The Night'…

This is such a beauty. I have 2 coats of 'Into The Night' over top of a-england 'Perceval'. This polish is often put over various dark colours and it looks wonderful, but this is my most favourite combination. It makes the most beautiful blackened red, and then with those holographic particles… MMMMMmmmmm. Such a seductive combo - can I even say that about 2 nail polishes and have it make sense?


As I mentioned, I used this polish as a topper using 2 very thin coats which is how I like to use it. The blackened base is fairly sheer though just giving a black cast to whatever it is layered over if thin coats are used. It can be built up to full coverage with more coats. The holographic glitters are packed in to the polish and so apply really easily to the nail.


Girly Bits polishes are available through a number of websites so make sure you check out this list of distributors to see which ship to your location. You can follow Girly Bits on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to keep up with the latest news and swatches etc and of course the Girly Bits blog too. 'Into The Night' is currently in stock on the Girly Bits website at the time of writing this post so hop over there and grab it.

a-england - Excalibur Renaissance

Press Sample

Hi!!

I've finished exams! YAHOOO. Although I am not having a break, it is nice to be back in the lab and be able to come home in the evening and relax a bit (and do my nails). I have an a-england to show you today which will most likely be a bit of an old friendly face despite this being a new release. Excalibur was originally retired and revamped (you can see that version here), but recently 'Excalibur Renaissance' was released.

'Excalibur Renaissance' is a gorgeous platinum/silver metallic foil polish. This is quite a striking polish when worn as a full mani. It seriously catches the light in the most eye-catching way. Gorgeous. This is very similar to the original 'Excalibur', but to my eye the shimmer is a little finer. I think that makes this polish a little smoother and less brush strokey than the original.

My favourite way to use 'Excalibur' has always been as a stamping polish as it's so darn opaque. 'Excalibur Renaissance' lived perfectly up to my expectations and stamped just as easily as its predecessor. Here, I have stamped using 'Excalibur Renaissance' and MoYou plate 01 from the Artist Collection - underneath is OPI 'Manicurist of Seville'.


Overall, this polish was up to the usual high a-england standard as far as formula goes. Opacity is ridiculously good with one coat being super opaque. The only thing is that a little care needs to be taken  to minimise brush strokes, but it's not too bad.

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.

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.

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…

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?

A Special Mani for a Special Man

Hi all!

Another quick post today. This is a mani I did last weekend for our quick trip to Wellington. Without getting into too much detail, this mani was done to honour someone incredibly special to me…

As the base for this mani, I used Enchanted Polish 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' and I then stamped on top using MoYou plate 11 from the Artist Collection with a-england 'Perceval' and Color Club 'Beyond'.


Thanks for stopping by x

2 Year Blogiversary Mani

Hi hi!

As you know (if you saw my last post), my 2 year blogiversary has just been. I posted that day, but I hadn't had time to do anything particular on my nails at that point. I wanted to do a little 2 year anny mani for it, so that's what I am posting today. First up though, I just want to thank all you lovely people again for reading my blog, and commenting etc, and also thanks to the truly wonderful friends that I've made along the way. This blog is my little escape from studies and work and all those things and it is made just that much better by the interaction that I have with fantastic people from all over the world.

I really love how this mani came out. It is using a whole lot of products that I love which is perfect for this 2 year anny mani :) On my index and pinky fingers I used 1 coat of a-england 'Camelot' followed by 2 coats of Emily de Molly 'Dark Forces'. On my middle and ring fingers, I used 2 coats of Cult Nails 'Fetish'. My ring finger has a stud design using studs from Born Pretty Store. My middle finger is stamped with a-england 'Encore Margot' from the Ballerina collection and MoYou plate 05 from the Pro collection.

I won't get into formulas etc as most of these polishes have been reviewed previously on my blog - long story short, all of these polishes are wonderfully opaque, easy to use and they also wear remarkably well (even without top coat on 2 of my fingers).

Make sure you check out all the links to the stores of everything I used as they all make brilliant polish, plates and accessories!

Thanks again lovely readers xx

Fonteyn - a-england (with Bundle Monster Stamping & a Blog Birthday!)

HI!! Guess what? It's my little blog's birthday today. I can't believe I've been doing this for 2 years already. Time has certainly flown by. Thanks so much to those of you who stick by and read it! I want to do a mani for this occasion, but I haven't had time. I think though, that it is appropriate that I am sharing the last polish from a-england's Ballerina Collection tonight. a-england is by far one of my most favourite brands of polish. Not only is the polish fantastic quality, but the inspiration and passion that the incredibly lovely Adina (and Tristam) put into the polishes make them that much more wonderful. So… on this 2 year anniversary, here is a-england 'Fonteyn' - yet another reminder why a-england is such a favourite.

'Fonteyn' is another polish that fits just so perfectly in this collection. A beautiful subtle lavender hued polish that catches the light so strikingly with the slightly scattered, yet linear holo. Look at that rainbow against the lavender on my index finger in this 2nd picture!

As with the other polishes ('Encore Margot', 'Dancing With Nureyev' and 'Her Rose Adagio'), I wore 'Fonteyn' as a little stamping mani. I used Color Club 'Beyond' and Bundle Monster plate BM-406 for this mani. I then added some Born Pretty Store 1.5mm round studs to finish it all off. I really love how this turned out.


Once again, the formula was really easy to work with. 2 coats for full opacity and again, this one didn't pull or anything. 'Fonteyn' is slightly thick, but in a good, manageable way.

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.

Encore Margot - a-england (& MoYou stamping)

Good evening! I have another a-england to show you tonight. This is another new beauty from the Ballerina Collection released recently - 'Encore Margot'.

This is a beautiful polish. It's a silver holo, yes, but it seems somehow more wearable than other silver polishes I own, somehow more delicate? It is quite a pure, white-ish silver, but it picks up all the beautiful colours in the holo effect.

As with the other 2 polishes from this collection I have shown you ('Her Rose Adagio' and 'Dancing With Nureyev'), I did a little stamping on it. It is very hard to tell, but I used both the previously mentioned polishes to make a subtle saran wrap mani underneath the stamping. It was a little more obvious in real life, but mainly just gave just slight changes in hue to the base colour in little patches. For the stamp I used MoYou plate 01 from the Artist Collection and my trusty bottle of a-england 'Camelot'.


The formula of 'Encore Margot' was, as usual, easy peasy to work with. I barely needed a second coat for full opacity and this one didn't pull at all or anything like that. Fast drying too.

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.

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.

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.

Perceval - a-england

Hi!

Apparently I'm making a bit of a habit of posting at stupid o'clock in the morning? It's a nice little wind-down, I find. Anywho, I am currently wearing one of my most favourite polishes in my entire collection (which is seriously saying something) and one that I always go back to over again. I can't believe it has taken me this long to give an entire post to this polish. You have seen this in various posts at Christmas time last year (here and here) and in some other water marbles, and most recently when I used it to stamp with, here, but it's about time I showed you a-england's 'Perceval', from 'The Mythicals' collection, all on its own.

BEAUTIFUL! Everything about this polish is perfect. Such a rich, saturated, ruby red. 'Perceval' is the most incredibly gorgeous jewel toned red. It's so elegant and makes me feel so good when I wear it. I don't even know if that makes sense. but it's just such a feel-good polish.

MMMmmmm look it! This is 'Perceval' in lower light. The blackened edges give this polish an extraordinary depth and mystery. This is the epitome of a glowing-from-within polish.


In true a-england style, 'Perceval' has a wonderful formula, just to top everything off. One coat gives perfect opacity and is all that is needed (though by now you know the drill - I did 2 coats because my first is never neat enough).


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.

Excalibur - Version 2.0 - a-england

Hello!

I have the final polish from a-england's most recent releases to show you this evening. Tonight's polish is 'Excalibur' (version 2.0)...

'Excalibur' (2.0) is a silver foil, but there is certainly a lot of complexity. 'Excalibur' is packed full of bronzey gold particles to give it an almost gilded look. It gives it a slight antique look to me. These photos show 'Excalibur' without top coat.

I decided to do a bit of stamping over 'Excalibur' and this is the final product. I kept the stamping in the family, so to speak, and used a-england 'Bridal Veil' and 'Perceval' to stamp with and LeaLac XL-B stamping plate. Just to finish everything off, I added a couple of studs to each finger.


'Excalibur' was really easy to apply. I used 2 coats here for full opacity. As mentioned, the top photos show 'Excalibur' without top coat and if you were wearing it on its own, I'd certainly recommend top coat (as usual). I really enjoyed the final look and it got a fair few mentions, though people kept asking me if they were stickers ;)

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.

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

For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Briar Rose - a-england

HI!

I have the final polish from a-england's Burne-Jones Dream collection. I said the other day on Twitter that this collection has made me remember what I love about nail polish and in particular a-england. Every single one has been absolutely stand-out and this last one is no different. Today's polish is 'Briar Rose - Sleeping Beauty'.

'Briar Rose' is such a beautiful cranberry-leaning rose colour. It has fairly purple undertones and in my opinion is just down-right flattering. The holo in 'Briar Rose' is not at all shy, but at the same time it's not totally outrageous. That good old scattered linear effect that I love.

When it catches the light, 'Briar Rose' gives off the most glorious glow. It is so beautiful and so elegant with the holo just giving it that little bit of edge!


As has been a running theme throughout this collection, the formula was spectacular. How does Adina do it? This was yet another 1 coater (though yes, you are seeing 2 coats entirely because I cannot do a neat first coat).

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.

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

For more information, see my disclosure policy.