Nail Polish

Here is my new favourite sky blue – it’s well in the running for top spot (currently held by Barry M Blue Moon) for all time favourite blue! Barielle isn’t really available to us in the UK but I managed to find a pack of 5 blues in TK Maxx so it’s worth keeping an eye out!

Pretty! This shade is really unique to my collection – it’s not quite a pure blue. In certain lights it seems to pull grey-toned or yellow-toned, making it slightly turquoise. I can’t quite figure it out but I know I love it! Ever so delicate and pretty. I find that pure blues often look too stark against my skin (e.g. GOSH Gypsy Blue/Balloon or Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream), so this one fits the bill nicely. I love that it’s such a beautiful creme, sometimes I feel I need a good palate-cleanser after so much glitter.

Application:

Swizzle Stix (what a cool name!) is opaque in 2-3 coats. The polish is a little thick and drags slightly, but I find that it levels itself out into a perfect finish as it dries so it’s not really a problem – just be sure not to go over the same spot too many times in a single coat. It applies evenly (no streaky-ness), which is always a nice surprise with a pastel. I found that the polish dries relatively quickly, but stays touch-dry for a good couple of hours (meaning it can still be dented or get sheet-marks). It does dry to a high shine, and I also noticed that this polish just will not leave your nails! I wore it for 4 days straight, without topcoat, and had no chips or tipwear whatsoever! So in terms of longevity this is the best polish I have ever worn.

The pity of it is that it’s pretty much unseen in the UK, and most eBay sellers charge a whopping £8-9 for it. Mine came as a pack of five for £9.99 so I am more than reluctant to shell out for one what I could pay for five. So TK Maxx seems to be your best bet… sorry ladies! For those of you to whom it’s more accessible, I completely 100% recommend it to you!

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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.

Remember when I showed you the gorgeous lilac-nude-duochrome-holo that was A England Princess Tears? Well today I have for you an equally gorgeous teal-green-holo! This is another one which has zoomed right up into my top favourite ever polishes. I was lucky enough to be able to capture this one in the sun, which is where the holo is most apparent.

 Green-lovers and holo-addicts unite – this one’s AMAZING. I feel I should stress that the holographic effect of this polish isn’t always visible – I found it looked almost like a teal with silver shimmer in some lower lights. The holo effect isn’t nearly as strong as in GOSH Holographic. The sun really does make this polish come to life though, and I almost love it more for its hidden holographic quality.

Application:

The polish was opaque at 2 coats, as shown in the photos. It dried to a high shine, so no topcoat necessary (although topcoat seems to intensify the holographic effect!). Saint George dried relatively quickly too. I did find the brush was a little tricky to control in that it’s quite round, which made getting into the corners of my nails neatly quite a task! But I really can’t fault it. When I removed the polish, my fingers did go very green but that was easily removed with polish remover.

What do you think of Saint George? It’s easily a winner in my books. EASILY. The depth of the polish makes me think of mythical sea creatures and dragons… polish heaven!

A England Saint George is available from A-England.co.uk  for £9. A England offer free delivery worldwide! As it’s an indie brand I am more than happy to splash out the extra cash for it, and I really think this one earns its price and more.

I am currently lusting after pretty much ALL of their polishes. Which is your favourite?

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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.

Barry M have brought out yet another set of lovely polishes – this time they are all glitters! The five are: Pink Silver Glitter, Silver Multi Glitter, Aqua Glitter, Magenta Glitter (Superdrug exclusive) and Gold Glitter.

 Pink Silver Glitter is a lovely mixture of (predominantly) a rose-gold-silvery microglitter, and a smaller amount of salmon pink microglitter. I love the mix, it’s not hugely noticeable in person unless you are looking up close but it gives a lovely overall effect. The formula and glitter size is the same as that of Barry M Silver Multi Glitter – almost foil-esque in appearance but a little more 3D and sparkly. Pink Silver Glitter reminded me of both Max Factor Angel Nails and Orly Rage – two beautiful rose gold foils, but the glitter and the two-toned quality of Pink Silver Glitter is what makes it unique. I think it’s ever so flattering and is one of those shades that will look amazing on any skin tone. It’s flattering enough to make it all-age-appropriate and sparkly enough to make it eye-catching enough for special occasions. I love it!

Application:

Pink Silver Glitter was too dense to be used as a topcoat, yet required 3 coats for opacity (as shown in the photos). It applies really smoothly as I think there is a high ratio of clear polish to glitter – however, it dries to the usual gritty glitter finish so you may want a topcoat. The polish dries relatively quickly. It does take a fair bit of scrubbing for removal but there are various ways in which you can make glitter removal easier.

Personally I really love this – it gives rose gold a sparkly silvery edge, and is pretty unique in the UK polish market. What do you think?

Barry M Pink Silver Glitter is available in Boots, Superdrug and on superdrug.com, for £2.99.

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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.

Last Winter, 2True brought out four new Crystal polishes. The Crystal polish range are essentially a set of glassfleck shimmer polishes, all very pretty. 2True have now brought out two more Crystal polishes, in shades 5 and 6. These are more summery – and Shade 6 has an exceptional duochrome!

 Now, I know what you’re thinking. A MAC Bad Fairy/Accessorize Pink Spice dupe… no. They have the same concept – pink with orange duochrome, but Bad Fairy and Pink Spice share a much deeper cranberry pink tone, while Shade 6 is a lovely peachy pink colour with a hot orange duochrome. There’s even a little purple duochrome in there too, which makes this polish unique. I LOVE IT.

Application:

The photos all show 3 coats. The polish appears very sheer on the first coat but don’t be put off – it builds very quickly. The polish did bubble a little, but I promise promise this wasn’t visible in person, I literally had to run my fingers over my nail surface to find any. I do find the Crystal brushes to be a little on the thick side, making a thin application a little challenging but for this polish it didn’t matter. The polish dried to a fairly high shine, but you may want a topcoat for extra shiny-ness and added longevity. Shade 6 dried relatively quickly, too.

It’s a really interesting colour, the salmony-peachy tone makes it really unique, and the duochrome effect saves it from being a ‘Grandma shade’. What do you think of this? Would you like me to do a side-by-side comparison with Accessorize Pink Spice?

2True cosmetics are sold in Superdrug – everything in their range is £1.99, or you can buy 3 items for £4.99.

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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.

I did a little bit of simple nail art this weekend using the new Barry M glitter polishes!

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