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.

I'll tumble For Ya - Dollish Polish (+ Gradient)

Hello!!

I'm half way through my exams! WOOHOO. Today I have a little mani to show you that I wore for about the last week. I haven't worn a glitter for ages (I don't have time for the removal process), but I was really feeling like wearing one. So naturally I had to look in my Dollish Polish drawer in my helmer. I came out with 'I'll Tumble For Ya' and thought I might do a gradient inspired by the glitters like I did for some of my last few Dollish Polish posts (here, here and here). So here you go…

I love 'I'll Tumble For Ya' so much. There's something about white polish that is just so clean. The glitter colours in this polish are just so perfect together too. For the gradient I used Avon 'Strawberry', OPI 'No Room For the Blues' and OPI Greenwich Village'.


I used 3 coats of 'I'll Tumble For Ya'. As you can see in the bottle there are stars and bigger glitters, these didn't wanna come out and play too much and I couldn't be bothered fishing too much so I just made do with exactly what came out on my brush - I don't mind that it's slightly more subtle. The formula was really easy to work with though and really opaque too.


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)


Hope you are all doing well and I will see you on the other side of my exams next week :D

Nomad - Illamasqua

Hi all!

Hope you are all doing well. I'm so close to being able to have some evenings off and I can't wait! Just need to get through these next 2 weeks with my exams and then a tiny bit of freedom. Yahoo! Anywho, I have a couple of photos of a polish I wore recently. This is 'Nomad' by Illamasqua…

This is such a gorgeous polish that I've had for a while now but never photographed. The other day I just felt like wearing a nice crème polish and this one fit the bill. I used cling film with Illamasqua 'Rampage' and Barry M 'Gold Foil' for my accent finger.


'Nomad' has a really easy formula to work with. I only needed 2 coats for full opacity. I absolutely love how vibrant this shade of green is, it was exactly what I felt like.


Thanks for popping by!

Little Red Corvette - Colors by Llarowe

Hello!

How are you all? I am still stupidly busy - but what's new? I have an absolutely GORGEOUS polish to show you. This is 'Little Red Corvette' from Colors by Llarowe. This is my first experience with Leah Ann's creations and I am so impressed.

HELLO pretty polish!! We all know how I feel about red and how I feel about holos… Put 'em together and we have a winner. This polish is very holographic - it is not shy. This is a really striking shade of red - just enough pink and with quite blue undertones - that I think is really flattering.


'Little Red Corvette' was beautifully opaque, so 2 easy coats was plenty. This polish was just ever so slightly thick, but not in a bad way. It dried fast and didn't pull at the cuticle.


Colors by Llarowe polishes are available from Llarowe (obviously), but it is also available on Harlow & Co. These babies sell out seriously fast though! Luckily Leah Ann does pre-orders reasonably often though. Keep an eye on Llarowe's Twitter and Facebook pages for details on restocks etc.

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.

Beatrix - Zoya

Hi all!

So I am clearly still working on this whole blogging and life thing. Bear with me, I will eventually learn how to juggle this. Anywho, let me show you what I am wearing. Yet another PixieDust - these are just too perfect when I'm busy because of the awesome wear time.

This is 'Beatrix' and ooooooo Mama she is a stunner. I have had so many comments on this polish since wearing it! The shade of orange of 'Beatrix' is not just a regular orange. It's a soft orange in some ways, but the gold glitters make it such a vivid eye-catcher (I am fully aware that I don't make a lot of sense). Love it!

'Beatrix' was ever so slightly less opaque than a lot of the PixieDusts I have tried in the past, but 2-3 coats was still enough for full opacity. As usual, 'Beatrix' was a breeze to apply and is wearing very well.

Thanks for popping by!

Zoya – London

Hi!

Guess what… I have my graduation ceremony tomorrow! I'm so excited to get all dressed up and celebrate with my family and friends. The Boy graduated on Monday and I was so proud!

Anyway, I have another quick post on what I've been wearing for about the last week. This is Zoya 'London'.

More PixieDust love from me. What's new? So I'll keep it short. I love 'London' in all the ways. I love the shade of grey (hehe) of it. It reminds me of concrete - but with added sparkly goodness.


'London' was really easy to use, as with all the other Zoya PixieDusts I have tried so far. It was nicely opaque with only 2 coats needed for full opacity and to get a good texture.