(Sale spotted on Caitt's Nails via Twitter!)
18 July 2012
Spotted: a-england sale on 18th-22nd July!
Drop what you're doing and head over to the a-england site. Their Mythical collection polishes are on sale for £5 each, and the best part? Shipping is free to all countries. Tristram will finally be mine!
(Sale spotted on Caitt's Nails via Twitter!)
(Sale spotted on Caitt's Nails via Twitter!)
17 July 2012
Spotted: Maybelline on offer, 2 for £4
Maybelline nail polish, two for £4 at ASDA. Includes the Forever Strong Pro and Express Finish 40 Seconds ranges, ends 26th July. I picked these two:
Cosmic Flash - the glitters in this shift from green to blue to purple depending on the light. This really brightened my day, I keep tilting it this way and that to look at the colours.
Nude Rose - a creme finish light rose pink that should fill a gap in my collection.
They had a gorgeous turquoise shimmer, but I have two of those already. Most of the shades are in the pink - purple part of the spectrum but there were a few brighter colours if that's your thing. Sorry I didn't take a picture of them all, I'm feeling a bit exhausted and didn't think to snap them!
Cosmic Flash - the glitters in this shift from green to blue to purple depending on the light. This really brightened my day, I keep tilting it this way and that to look at the colours.
Nude Rose - a creme finish light rose pink that should fill a gap in my collection.
They had a gorgeous turquoise shimmer, but I have two of those already. Most of the shades are in the pink - purple part of the spectrum but there were a few brighter colours if that's your thing. Sorry I didn't take a picture of them all, I'm feeling a bit exhausted and didn't think to snap them!
NOTD - Red and more red
After I swatched Rimmel - Ready, Aim, Paint! yesterday, I wanted to make the most of having a red creme on and added my new W7 red glitter over the top.
I like that the glitter flashes pink-red or silver depending on how deep it is within the polish, but this didn't have quite the effect I was hoping for. It might be better in the middle of a jelly sandwich.
It's also a tricky glitter to apply - you need to sort of splodge it onto the nail and then flatten the polish out. I was rushing to get pictures before the light got too bad so these are taken without topcoat, and now I've added some Seche Vite the finish is a lot nicer. Lesson of the day: don't take pictures without topcoat!
I like that the glitter flashes pink-red or silver depending on how deep it is within the polish, but this didn't have quite the effect I was hoping for. It might be better in the middle of a jelly sandwich.
It's also a tricky glitter to apply - you need to sort of splodge it onto the nail and then flatten the polish out. I was rushing to get pictures before the light got too bad so these are taken without topcoat, and now I've added some Seche Vite the finish is a lot nicer. Lesson of the day: don't take pictures without topcoat!
16 July 2012
Rimmel - 315 Ready, Aim, Paint!
Sneaking off to the makeup aisle last time I was in ASDA, I spotted this polish and realised I didn't have a true red creme, non-shimmer polish - I know, it's a shocking absence of a fundamental shade - so I grabbed a bottle of Rimmel 60 Seconds - Ready, Aim, Paint! to fill the gap.
This is a lovely red creme which actually looks nice against my skintone. Coverage is good and it could be a one-coater but it's hard to work with. You have to be quick at doing each nail because it goes tacky and starts to drag in about 6 seconds, a side effect of its fast-dry formula. The brush is wide and easy to use, which helps a bit.
The application issues are probably my poor technique! For £2.48 I can put up with slightly trickier application but I know this would bug some people. Each coat dried within the 60 seconds advertised. All pictures are 2 coats, with Orly Bonder as a basecoat and no topcoat (I was adding glitter afterwards). Cleanup was a bit of a nightmare (pink cuticles, what joy) and I'm pretty sure this is a stainer, so basecoat those nails!
What do you think? Are you prepared to overlook trickier polishes if they cost less?
Charlotte
This is a lovely red creme which actually looks nice against my skintone. Coverage is good and it could be a one-coater but it's hard to work with. You have to be quick at doing each nail because it goes tacky and starts to drag in about 6 seconds, a side effect of its fast-dry formula. The brush is wide and easy to use, which helps a bit.
The application issues are probably my poor technique! For £2.48 I can put up with slightly trickier application but I know this would bug some people. Each coat dried within the 60 seconds advertised. All pictures are 2 coats, with Orly Bonder as a basecoat and no topcoat (I was adding glitter afterwards). Cleanup was a bit of a nightmare (pink cuticles, what joy) and I'm pretty sure this is a stainer, so basecoat those nails!
What do you think? Are you prepared to overlook trickier polishes if they cost less?
Charlotte
14 July 2012
OPI - I Have A Herring Problem
Swatch post! Later than expected but as promised, here are my pictures of OPI - I Have a Herring Problem, from the 2012 Holland collection. It turns out I forgot to clean the edges up before I took these but we can ignore those if we try, right?
I Have a Herring Problem is “a shimmery green-blue” but I felt that it was more of a dusty blue with hints of grey and green. The shimmer flashes gold, green or even pink depending on the light.
All pictures are with three coats. It applied well and you could probably get away with two coats in a hurry, or if you’re better at getting good coverage than I am!
You can see the pink in the shimmer above, a little.
It lasted well with only a bit of tip wear by the third day. Overall I was really pleased with this colour, it’s a lovely muted shade that I didn’t get bored of and only took off when it had got visibly chipped.
Charlotte
I Have a Herring Problem is “a shimmery green-blue” but I felt that it was more of a dusty blue with hints of grey and green. The shimmer flashes gold, green or even pink depending on the light.
All pictures are with three coats. It applied well and you could probably get away with two coats in a hurry, or if you’re better at getting good coverage than I am!
You can see the pink in the shimmer above, a little.
It lasted well with only a bit of tip wear by the third day. Overall I was really pleased with this colour, it’s a lovely muted shade that I didn’t get bored of and only took off when it had got visibly chipped.
Charlotte
Deborah Lippmann - Stairway To Heaven
Alright, first post! Today my latest polish order arrived and I'm not gonna lie, I actually made a little 'squee!' sound when I unwrapped them. The new additions are Nails Inc - Electric Lane (which I'll show you next time) and Deborah Lippmann - Stairway To Heaven, seen below:
This is packed with tiny square glitters that flash green/blue/purple and bigger hexagonal ones that flash yellow/orange/pink. It has a sheer cream base but there's very little colour when you apply it over plain nails. I'm wearing two coats here but I did have to rearrange the glitters a bit on each nail because they had a tendency to huddle together like cold penguins. Not that I mind the extra effort for a polish this pretty!
All pictures are with one coat. On future applications I think I'll try another coat or two and see how well the glitter stacks.
I'm still trying to get into good cuticle care habits because I'm relatively new at this so they're kind of atrocious. Sorry, people with nice cuticles who are wincing in horror.
I couldn't get a true sunshine shot because frankly the weather here in Leeds is dismal. Once the sun returns I'll hunt for a good spot to take these pictures in! I'm actually going south for the weekend to Cambridge so Electric Lane is coming with me in case it's sunnier there (normally we drive from rain into sunshine as we progress south so the odds are in our favour). Until then!
Charlotte
Edit: the best sun I could get that weekend, which wasn't great!
I couldn't get a true sunshine shot because frankly the weather here in Leeds is dismal. Once the sun returns I'll hunt for a good spot to take these pictures in! I'm actually going south for the weekend to Cambridge so Electric Lane is coming with me in case it's sunnier there (normally we drive from rain into sunshine as we progress south so the odds are in our favour). Until then!
Charlotte
Edit: the best sun I could get that weekend, which wasn't great!
Topcoat and basecoat
When I decided to start doing this manicure thing regularly, I figured a
proper basecoat and topcoat would be a good investment. After a lot of
reading around on various blogs, I went for Orly Bonder as a basecoat
and Seche Vite as a topcoat. I've been using them for a few weeks so here are my thoughts.
Orly Bonder is marketed as a rubberized basecoat that helps grip lacquer to its surface, making your manicure last longer. It goes on easily and it isn’t smooth to touch - it really does feel slightly rubbery. I've been using it for a few weeks now and I haven't had chips like I normally do, just a little tip wear. It's also prevented any staining.
Seche Vite has quite a strong smell but it applies well, dries quickly and has a good shine to it, so it’s already miles ahead of the non-branded topcoat I was using before! A daily coat of this has kept manicures going a little longer, but I have noticed pullback at the tips with non-creme polishes. This might just be my application but it's happened when I've wrapped colour over tips too. Overall, I'm open to trying other brands but I have no major problems with Seche.
In other news, my cuticles are marginally better but still a massive work in progress - it’s going to be a lot of intensive care until I get them sorted!
Orly Bonder is marketed as a rubberized basecoat that helps grip lacquer to its surface, making your manicure last longer. It goes on easily and it isn’t smooth to touch - it really does feel slightly rubbery. I've been using it for a few weeks now and I haven't had chips like I normally do, just a little tip wear. It's also prevented any staining.
Seche Vite has quite a strong smell but it applies well, dries quickly and has a good shine to it, so it’s already miles ahead of the non-branded topcoat I was using before! A daily coat of this has kept manicures going a little longer, but I have noticed pullback at the tips with non-creme polishes. This might just be my application but it's happened when I've wrapped colour over tips too. Overall, I'm open to trying other brands but I have no major problems with Seche.
In other news, my cuticles are marginally better but still a massive work in progress - it’s going to be a lot of intensive care until I get them sorted!
Saying Hello
My name is Charlotte, I am 25 and I have become a nail polish addict.
A girl has to have a vice, right? It's practically compulsory. It's
also great way to let my personality show even though I'm a bit of an
introvert, plus I have naturally strong nails that don't break often and
grow well (I know, I'm very lucky) so it would be a crime not to paint
them, and no-one likes to commit crimes, do they?
I'd been researching season trends for nail colours for the last couple of years and had picked up a few gems (like Chanel's Paradoxal or OPI's Just A Little Rösti At This) but I wasn't buying lots of polish until May 2012. I joined Tumblr, started browsing the #nailart tag one day and had to look up a load of brands I'd never heard of. It was only a matter of time, after that. Suddenly, I was taking a new one home every time I went shopping!
A few of the blogs I could probably attach some blame to and that you should certainly feast your eyes on:
Mr.Candiipants
Chalkboard Nails
Polish You Pretty
Chibi Nails
All Lacquered Up
The PolishAholic
Lacquerized
Polish Police
Polish or Perish
I'm going to start reviewing polishes I have that you could still obtain and all the new ones I acquire (this is the bit I'm super excited about). I might also link to some reviews by other bloggers if there's a shade I want but can't get!
Of course, I'll keep showing you what I've got on my nails because that's half the fun of it. Once a week I want to post my favourite nail art find because the things people can do with polish never cease to amaze me.
So. With the introductions out of the way, I guess I'd best get to work on choosing a polish to show you...
I'd been researching season trends for nail colours for the last couple of years and had picked up a few gems (like Chanel's Paradoxal or OPI's Just A Little Rösti At This) but I wasn't buying lots of polish until May 2012. I joined Tumblr, started browsing the #nailart tag one day and had to look up a load of brands I'd never heard of. It was only a matter of time, after that. Suddenly, I was taking a new one home every time I went shopping!
A few of the blogs I could probably attach some blame to and that you should certainly feast your eyes on:
Mr.Candiipants
Chalkboard Nails
Polish You Pretty
Chibi Nails
All Lacquered Up
The PolishAholic
Lacquerized
Polish Police
Polish or Perish
I'm going to start reviewing polishes I have that you could still obtain and all the new ones I acquire (this is the bit I'm super excited about). I might also link to some reviews by other bloggers if there's a shade I want but can't get!
Of course, I'll keep showing you what I've got on my nails because that's half the fun of it. Once a week I want to post my favourite nail art find because the things people can do with polish never cease to amaze me.
So. With the introductions out of the way, I guess I'd best get to work on choosing a polish to show you...
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