I passed my placement! And my case study got a distinction, woohoo! I’m now free to wear nail polish til my heart’s content. I was wondering in Superdrug feeling chuffed that I’d  completed and passed my placement, and spotted a handful of new Revlon polishes. I don’t know whether these are from the 80th Anniversary collection coming out this year, but I certainly recall seeing Dreamer somewhere to do with the collection. Anyways, behold the beauty 🙂

You’ll have to excuse the bad quality of these photos, I couldn’t get a good pull on the colour unless it was in low lighting. Sorry 🙁 My camera always struggles with blues for some reason.

This is such a pretty blue, I can’t even describe 🙂 It’s a lovely dusky cornflower blue. It leans ever so slightly purple. It definitely has a lot of grey in it. I really didn’t think I’d love it as much as I do but there’s something about cornflower blues that always draws me in.

Application:

Dreamer took 2 coats to be fully opaque. It has a slightly jelly-esque formula, which is super duper because it stops the polish being chalky and gives it a lovely shine. I did find that it doesn’t level itself out very well and that you do need to load up the brush a fair bit to get decent coverage. On a few nails I went over the same spot twice and ended up with ridges but I think that was more user-error than anything else. Nothing a slosh of topcoat can’t remedy! It definitely gets a thumbs up from me for the finish.

As I was umming and ahhing over whether to get Dreamer, I did get a little niggle of worry that it was similar to Essie Lapis of Luxury (I should really re-do those swatches!). I really hate buying dupes as I feel it’s a waste of what little money I have. Thankfully, Dreamer is NOT a dupe for Lapis of Luxury. They are definitely in the same colour family though. Index and ring fingers are Dreamer, middle and pinkie fingers are Lapis of Luxury :

Somehow with Lapis of Luxury in the pic it helped my camera get Dreamer colour accurate with good lighting :s!

Lapis of Luxury leans a lot more purple while Dreamer is more blue. These swatches are at 2 coats of both polishes – you may notice that there is still visible nail line with Lapis of Luxury, while Dreamer is very definitely opaque at 2 coats. I guess it comes down to your skin tone and colour/opacity preference. Also, for us UK ladies, the Revlon is definitely more accessible and much cheaper than the Essie.

There’s an offer on Revlon polishes in Superdrug at the moment: 2 for £9.99, while Lapis of Luxury will set you back a good £9.95, and that’s if you get free shipping.

Oh and I don’t think the new Revlons are available in Boots yet, only Superdrug 🙂 Superdrug also have some pretty cool new scented polishes from Revlon, I bought Watermelon Fizz and it’s divine!

What do you guys think of Dreamer? Would you get it over the famed Lapis of Luxury?

x

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this blog post was either bought by myself with my own money, or given to me as a gift from friends/relatives. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Okay so here are my New Years nails… only about a month and a half late! I’ve been so busy, it just hasn’t happened. I’m sorry.

This is two coats of OPI Divine Swine followed by one coat of Barry M Once Upon a Time

I love this combo as it’s very much pink but the holographic bar glitter of Once Upon a Time really jumps out. The glitters both dry relatively quickly. Once Upon a Time takes longer as it’s largely clear nail polish with the bar glitter suspended in it. Also it’s worth mentioning you need to shake the bottle first in order to get the bar glitter to come out! I’m not even going to talk about removing it…!

What do you guys think?

Nearly finished my placement, I’ve handed in my case study and performed my presentation so there’s nothing to stop me blogging any more 😀

x

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this blog post was either bought by myself with my own money, or given to me as a gift from friends/relatives. All opinions expressed here are my own.

It’s been forever and a day since I posted on here! I’m really sorry… life has been so hectic on placement, I’ve been leaving at 6.30am and getting home at 6.30pm, and with everything going on I’ve been needing more sleep than ever so that has left me with about 4hrs each night to see my man, have dinner, shower and get ready for the next day. I have about a week and a half left which will include my case study and presentation, eek! Anyways, since I’ve been on placement my nails have been totally bare. Suffice to say they are looking nice and natural again, I can almost say there isn’t a stain in sight! It’s a good feeling, although I prefer to have at least a slick of clear polish on just to make them look a little nicer. At least sheers will look nice on me again 😀 yay.

Anyways, last time I posted I think I mentioned something about a new years manicure. I’m posting the base of the mani now as a reference point. Divine Swine was the final of the 3 OPI Muppets polishes I bought from asos. The pictures show 2 coats.

Yet again, I really can’t see why everyone hated these polishes for being quite sparse with the glitter. As far as I can see, the density is just right for layering over other polishes, as well as being just right for building up to a full on glitter fest!

I loove all the Muppets glitters and I am gutted I didn’t get Gone Gonzo! while it was still being sold. Now I can’t really afford it from le eBay.

I may be very alone in my love for Divine Swine at 2 coats, as there is definitely natural nail on show. But I really like it that way. Don’t ask me why. The polish is essentially fuchsia-pink glitter and silver hexagonal glitter suspended in a clear base.

Application:

Divine Swine dries quickly and doesn’t drag, which is good. As you can see, there are still baldy bits at 2 coats so I reckon 3-4 would give you full coverage. It’s definitely a fab one for layering!

I like the fact that there’s an even spread of the silver hexagons across the nail, and that you don’t have to go fishing in the bottle to get a similar number of hexagons on each nail.

What’s your verdict guys? I am definitely a fan. Look out for my New Years combo which will hopefully be up soon.

By the way, how are you all? I’ve missed you and I’ve missed my blog. This January I’ve been practically buried in some amazing books. My crime-fiction addiction has definitely gone into overdrive this year. Placement-wise I am really enjoying the confidence I can feel emerging in myself. I used to be the shyest thing ever. It’s been a very slow progression but with the help of a very loving Andy and a degree which is doing the most wonderful things to my personality I am really starting to feel my confidence blooming. Enough waffling now. Hope you are all good! Let me know what’s going on with you 😀

x

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this blog post was either bought by myself with my own money, or given to me as a gift from friends/relatives. All opinions expressed here are my own.

So guys, how come when the old crackle nail polish came around everyone went so crazy about it, despite it’s flaws (dried matte, too lumpy, a bit tatty etc.) and now when this lovely croc effects (i.e. improved crackle) comes out, no-ones talking about it?

I layered it over Barbara Daly Starlight.

For me, this hands-down wins over all the shatter/crackle polishes we’ve been seeing lately. As far as I can think of, you can break it down into these points:

• Glossy – doesn’t need a topcoat
• Looks amazing with a light/bright colour underneath, particularly one which sparkles
• Takes a long time to dry – about 10 mins
• If you smudge it you can go over it and it won’t make much of a difference
• The polish underneath has to be touch-dry, not totally dry or it wont work (the best thing I found for this when my polish underneath was already dry was to use a quick-drying topcoat, and applying it over that)
• The black is quite thick, hence the little mess in my cuticles
• £3.99 at Superdrug
• It’s very similar to Kelier Crackle

To me, this is a little bit of a hassle as I only ever use crackle polish to brighten up an existing manicure without spending time on it. However, this gives a rather more sophisticated, I’ve-tried-hard kind of look and will garner many compliments! The polish is much more pleasing to the eye. Bonus points for still being glossy!

My lovely Mum gave me this for Christmas. 🙂

What do you think of it? Have you bought it? Let me know in the comments!

x

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this blog post was either bought by myself with my own money, or given to me as a gift from friends/relatives. All opinions expressed here are my own.

My new favourite brand. This polish, particularly, is one of my new favourite polishes of all time – alongside colour and quality, this is largely due to the cruelty-free nature of the product. It’s BUAV Approved so I know it’s cruelty-free. I’m sure you all know now how I feel about cosmetic animal testing, so this brand is welcomed by me with arms wide open. Add in to the mix the fact that the polish is toluene, phthalate and formaldehyde free and has a fabulous formula and you have me right there.

This polish was kindly given to me by my mum for Christmas… what can I say, she chose well! I was a little underwhelmed when I first saw the bottle, but when I applied it to my nails, well, I’ll leave you to see for yourselves!

How stunning is this polish?! I was pretty much sold on Barry M Lilac Foil Effects but Heather Mist wins hands down. In comparison, Heather Mist is a lot lighter, more pink-toned and more shimmer-pearl in finish, while Lilac Foil is darker, much more blue toned and has a much more chromey-pearl finish. Heather Mist is so much more airy, delicate and feminine, I’m thinking unicorns, while Lilac Foil by comparison is heavy and solid, and puts me in mind of heavy machinery. I find Heather Mist to be far more flattering to my skintone. (Though of course I still love Lilac Foil!)

Perfect name for it too, Heather Mist is very delightfully misty and whimsical. I love it!

Application:

Heather Mist dries super fast and is opaque in two coats. What more could be better? Due to the shimmery nature of the polish, brush-strokes are avoidable. You need to be careful to paint straight from edge to edge, and if you do end up with brush-strokes don’t be tempted to go over it again… leave it for the second or third coat when the previous coat is dry.

My only flaw with this polish is availability. I really don’t know anywhere that stocks it, other than Boswells in Oxford. However, they do sell at the online BWC Shop, which I haven’t yet used myself. You can also read a bit about the company’s history and policies on animal testing and ingredients on the website. The polishes retail at £7.99 but let me tell you, this one is SO worth it.

What do you guys think? I am so in love with this polish it’s unreal. It’s overwhelmingly pretty and dainty and goes with my chameleon skin-tone whatever the weather decides to do! Even lobster hands can get away with this one. Can it get better? 😛

x

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this blog post was either bought by myself with my own money, or given to me as a gift from friends/relatives. All opinions expressed here are my own.