Pick and Mix - Week 2

Hiiii!

Well I had this fantastic idea, but as per usual it involved something I am no good at - chevrons!

Practice will make perfect I hope! Anyway, this week one of the prompts is pink. I used two coats of Sinful Colors - Timbleberry, and one coat of Sinful Colors - Pinky Glitter for most of my nails.

My accent is 3 coats of China Glaze - Glistening Snow with some fairly wonky chevrons of Nails Inc - New York Noir.  I cut strips of Scotch tape and laid them over my accent nail before adding a layer of polish, but for some reason even though I removed straight away, the tape broke in two places so I had to go all surgery on them with a pair of tweezers to try and salvage it.

What do you think? If anyone has any tips for chevrons then I would love to hear them!

Rachael xxx

An InLinkz Link-up

Pick and Mix - 52 Week Challenge - Week 1

Good morning! Long time no see, I thought I would try and get myself back into the swing of things with a challenge. This one is Crumpet's Nail Tarts 52 Week Pick and Mix Challenge.

Every week there are a choice of prompts. You can choose to do just 1 prompt, both prompts seperately or a combination of the two. This week is Teal or 2-colour gradient.

I chose to combine the prompts - I did actually do this in advance, but then being a complete tool I forgot to photograph my nails, and I had to remove for work. I was gutted and so annoyed at myself! They were much better gradient wise than these, as I had the expert help from Becca (Kittys Painted Claws). I just can't do gradients! Maybe in another 2-3 years haha!

Anyway, I digress as per usual! The base for my nails is Zoya Wednesday and Sally Hansen Fairy Teal. I then used Nails Inc New York Noir and freehanded a sort of tribal pattern. 

And I'm going to be honest, I stuffed up my ring finger twice so if in doubt, cover it all in China Glaze - Glittering Snow.

Ta da!

What do you think?

Rachael xxx

An InLinkz Link-up

BNB Colour Me Crazy - Pink

Hey everyone!

I am going on holiday tomorrow for a week, so I thought it was a perfect time to do my pink nails!

Even though I am not a great fan of pink, I have 57 shades. It wows even me!

My favourite shades of pink are definitely neons, so I thought I would use my latest addition - China Glaze Pool Party as part of my manicure.

The other polishes I used were my trusty Models Own Hypergel - White Light, and Kate Spade for Nails Inc - New York Noir.

I freehanded the design on my middle and ring fingers over two coats of White Light using a nail art brush from Born Pretty Store. I have no idea how many coats of Pool Party I used - it is very streaky, but at least dries matte and very fast so it didnt really bother me that there were as many coats. Everything of course has a generous coat of Seche Vite on.. can't be dealing with nasty matte. Not for me!

Somehow I feel something is missing, so I may need to add some glitter somewhere before I fly tomorrow. Maybe its just how bad my freehand is.. but nevermind, they look okay from afar I think.

What do you think?

Rachael xxx

An InLinkz Link-up

BNB Colour Me Crazy - Yellow

Good morning!

Today I have my yellow nails to show you! (My red and orange are on route, I promise!) I was really expecting to hate these, but I super love them! I love splatter nails, theyre just really easy, lazy nail art which I love doing!

I used Models Own HyperGel -White Light as a base, and Nails Inc Notting Hill Carnival and New York Noir for this mani.

Hope you like them - what do you think? Do you like splatter nails? Are you a yellow fan?

Rachael xxx

P.S dont forget to check out everyone else's yellow nails this week! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Untried Friday #5 - Nails Inc Battersea

Hey all!

Can't believe this is the fifth untried Friday already! Thank goodness for being on a low buy, or i'd probably have bought more polish than used up!

Today is yet another Nails Inc - they make up the majority of my mainstream untrieds. Infact, they probably make up the majority of all of my untrieds!

This one is Battersea. I'm not sure why I haven't tried this before now as I really drooled over this when it first came out, but I just couldnt justify £11 for one polish!

What do you think?

Rachael xxx

Untried Friday #3 - Nails Inc Portobello

Hey all!

Can't believe we're here again - how are we all?

I was certain that I had tried this - but turns out I have a similar shade which is also Nails Inc. Once on the nail I was just wowed by this polish, it was just what I needed to cheer me up during this dreary January!

Portobello has a wonderful jelly formula, I just love it! It is pigmented enough for full coverage in one coat, but if you don't like a visible nail line, you will need 2 or 3. I used 2, but at certain angles you could still glimpse the VNL. I actually quite like it.  

I am so glad I tried this polish - it was destined for my swaps box as I didnt like the colour in the bottle (I got it in a lucky dip) but I truly love it now. 

What do you think? 

Rachael xxx

Inspired by... Kitty's Painted Claws

Hey all!

So we're at my second inspired by day already! I chose someone close to home today. My best friend Becca from Kitty's Painted Claws.

I loved these when she did them. I even sat and watched her as she did them (I am not a stalker.. promise!). Here is her original post for them. Just divine!

We have both recently got stamping - Becca before me, and I have ogled her stamped nails ever since! I didn't have the exact plate that she used, so I perused my (now scarily vast!) collection and picked out BM-406 for a swirly design. Couldn't find similar studs either (god only knows where the safe place is that I have stashed them!) so I chose some new ones I got.

The polishes/studs I used were:

Sinful Colors - Secret Admirer

Kate Spade by Nails Inc - Soho Silver

3.5mm Silver Shells (which I was bought as a present but I believe are from She Sells Seashells )

Really love this mani - I heard that the Nails Inc doesnt stamp, but it worked just fine for me. Well chuffed!

What do you think? 

Rachael xxx

Fridays are Untried Days! Untried Friday #1 - Kate Spade by Nails Inc - Soho Silver

Hey all!

As you will know, I wrote a bucket list for 2014 - things I wanted to achieve in nail blogging. One thing for me is to reduce (if not eliminate) my untried stash. I have so many untrieds, I honestly couldnt give you a certain number or even a realistic estimate. So I started today swatching some of them, so I hope you will check out the posts over the coming weeks.

Today is a freebie from a magazine - Kate Spade by Nails Inc - Soho Silver. I searched high and low for this silver, and it was only thanks to Rachel over at Monkey Nail Art who kindly found it and posted it to me that I ended up with it!

I don't think I have ever worn silver alone. This wasn't a nice experience to apply either. I had read that it was pretty watery - mine wasnt - mine was really quite thick formula wise. The first coat was however very sheer, but the second and third although they built up the opaqueness did not level nicely. 

Once dry, I did like the shine - it was blinding! I will definitely try this again and see if I can apply more carefully for a smoother finish. I did also try it for stamping and found it stamps quite well! You'll see it used for stamping next week sometime!

What do you think? Do you have it? Do you prefer another silver? 

Rachael xxx

Tuesdays in 2014 will be 'Inspired by..' days

Hey all!

I have seen some fantastic manis over the last year. Too many to count, but loads that I would love to recreate. So starting today and hopefully continuing throughout 2014, I will be doing an 'Inspired by..' feature where I show off some of my favourite manis from other bloggers and show you a look I have done that is either a copy or my own take on it.

I am not the most creative blogger on the planet, but I don't claim to be either - I take lots of inspiration from other bloggers I follow through various social media, and its them that keep me inspired to keep blogging and painting my nails. 

Here is the first - I actually only saw this posted on Facebook a few days ago. It's really stunning and you can't beat a bit of animal print. I loved it so much that I went for a pretty much full on copy of it on my nails.

Here is Kristine from Pink and Polished's mani:

You can see her full post here. Stunning!

And here is my attempt at it! I hope I did it justice!

The polishes I used were:

Kate Spade by Nails Inc - Soho Silver (thanks to Rachel from Monkey Nail Art for getting me this!)

The Nail Junkie - Tea

Sinful Colors - Black to Black

What do you think? I had so many comments on these nails, even the OH liked them! Shocker!

Rachael xxx

What shades are you wearing for summer? Orange comparisons

Hi all!

I have something a little bit different for you today - (I think) my first comparison post.

These are not in any way dupes, but I am sure like many others out there, you may be sick of the comment 'you've got loads of [insert colour here] polishes'. My other half just does not understand that there are so many different shades of a colour! So I thought I would show you some of my oranges (one of my favourite colours) - my 'summer' oranges as I would call them.

I included a range of shades, prices, brands and finishes, and all are two coats over 1 coat of OPI Nail Envy Matte, no top coat.

The polishes I used are:

Maybelline Color Show - Orange Attack (suggested retail is £3.99)

Nails Inc - Portobello (retails at £11)

Nails Inc - Porchester Place (retails at £11)

Illamasqua - Gamma (suggested retail is £14.50)

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine - Mango (retails at £3.99)

As you can see - not one of these shades are the same. Yet I love them all! There are pros and cons for all of them, which I will detail as we go through.

The first is Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Mango - on my pinky nail. This medium bright orange has a thicker formula than the other polishes, but with careful application could definitely be a one coater. It dries to a beautiful gel like, glossy finish and levels beautifully. It is also a bargain at only £3.99.

On my accent nail is Nails Inc in Portobello. This leans much more yellow than the others and is one of their newer neon shades. The formula is very thin and sheer and needs a good shake as it splits pretty easily. It levels nicely, dries in good time and has pretty nice coverage - but would need a third coat to cover the VNL. Dries to a rubbery finish. Price at £11 - bit steep.

Middle finger is Nails Inc - Porchester Place, which I showed you a few posts ago. You can really see how it leans pinky / peachy in this comparison. This gorgeous creme was a one coater (did 2 for comparison purposes) and levels beautifully. Bit more feminine, less in your face than the other oranges, dried quickly and to a glossy finish. Gorgeous. Only downside is the price - if you want only this, it will set you back £11. Definitely worth waiting for a sale code though!

On my index is Illamasqua - Gamma. This is the priciest polish - retailing at around £14.50 - this was originally from Fenwicks for £13.50 though (and i've just found out its half price at Illamasqua.com at the moment - £7.50). This is definitely what I would call neon orange. Coverage is lovely, but my god it took AGES to dry, and didnt level as well in 2 coats as the others - definitely a 3 coater I think, or possibly two if you are more careful with your application than I am. Once it finally dries, it dries to a beautiful glossy finish though.

And last but not least is Maybelline Color Show in Orange Attack. The darkest of the 5 colours I picked, this was a surprise favourite of mine. This is a gorgeous jelly-like finish, which leaves a VNL. Application however was flawless - formula is perfect, not too thick or runny and just glided onto my nail. Best part - these are only £2 in Asda. Definitely a winner in my eyes!

Which is your favourite? Do you even like orange? What sort of finish do you prefer? What affects you buying a polish - price, finish, shade, occasion? 

Rachael xxx

Nails Inc Lucky Dip - Part 2

Good morning :)

Here I am with the 2nd half of my lucky dip!

The colours I have today are:

Bruton Mews

Hammersmith

Seymour Walk

and Park Lane

I was pretty pleased with the range of colours I got this month, but some were definitely not summer colours! The first I have today is Bruton Mews. It's a really dark, grungy green colour, which shows almost black in some lights. 

I am honestly unsure of this one. I spied it only a couple of days ago at the Nails Inc counter in Debenhams, and in the bottle, it definitely looks more green. So I think overall I was disappointed with this one.. but at the same time, I feel like I have to hold on to it to try again at a later date. I am annoyingly on the fence about it. 

The second polish is part of the same picture - Hammersmith. From the bottle, this reminded me of Nail Junkie by Sinful Colors. The different sizes of glitter and the consistency are very similar. But I definitely feel I made a fail thinking I could pair this with Bruton Mews - I think I was thinking Nail Junkie which is more green, whereas Hammersmith is more blue and silvery and therefore not at all a good choice for Bruton Mews. Really do not know what I was thinking! But the polish itself is really quite pretty - very dense - only 1 coat over the base colour. What do you think?

The next is Seymour Walk. This reminds me of L'Oréal - Opulent Pink. The formula for this is nicer though - thicker, creamier and possibly a tad lighter? Not sure though. There's nothing all too special about it, it doesn't really wow me in any shape or form.. but it is a nice summer colour.

And last, the most surprising of the bunch for me - Park Lane. As soon as I saw this, I definitely thought oh no, another version of Amethyst Nail Jewellery (which was a massive disappointment for me). But once I got this on, I was literally shocked at how much I loved it. I generally hate purple. It does nothing for me and its purple. End of. 

Park Lane is made up of one size of glitter - lots of small violet ones. The consistency is nice - I used two coats and had a near full coverage, but enough for me to be happy with it. No dabbing required either which was great. I added a topcoat for this one, but in all honesty my nails weren't very rough without it, it just levelled it out a little better. 

So what do you think of these? Do you have any / want any? 

Nails Inc Lucky Dip - Part 1

Hi all,

Got some Nails Inc swatches for you today!

I have been quiet again, but I have still been amassing more polish. MORE POLISH!!

The ones I want to show you today are some of the ones I got in my latest lucky dip from Nails Inc. I really do love Nails Inc polishes - the formulas for their different polishes are generally really nice, but I have to say the price tag of £11 a polish is definitely out of my price range if I'm wanting more than one colour. 

So of course I love the idea of their lucky dips - only £18 (really just under £22 with postage) for 7 polishes. It is of course hit and miss, as you don't know what you will get - but so far I have been pleased with the majority of polishes I have gotten. This month was a pretty good one!

This month I got:

Dovehouse Street

Farringdon Crackle Topcoat

Porchester Place

Bruton Mews

Seymour Walk

Hammersmith

Park Lane

I have the first three to show you in this post, but just a few notes first. All polishes I used were 2 coats, apart from the crackle which was one over another colour. One coat of OPI Nail Envy Matte as base, but no topcoat on any.

The first is Dovehouse Street. I was reticent about this at first - it looks very thin and sheer, very girly, sparkly, and generally not something I would pick out for myself.

 It was pleasantly surprising on my nails - not completely clear, with enough coverage to 'dim' the nail line. VNL's are really growing on me - but it has to be the right colour to do it. This does - the pinky gold shimmer also adds to how pretty it is - really simple, but elegant on my nails. Definitely going in my keeps pile.

The second I have is the Farringdon Crackle Topcoat. I think I remember being a crackle fan around the age of 15 / 16, but I definitely think its done its course. But the formula looked quite nice in the bottle, so I thought I would give it a go over Dovehouse Street, as I'm thoroughly bored of all crackle colours with black.

 My final thoughts - definitely going in my nieces donation bag - she's 9, so she'll probably still appreciate it!

The last polish I have to show you is Porchester Place. This almost went in my sell pile without even a swatch, but I'm so glad it didn't! I absolutely LOVE IT! 

It's a beautiful creme polish, fully opaque in two coats. I would describe it as a peachy orange colour, not sure if you would agree. All I know is I will be getting full wear out of this stunning colour this summer :)

So what do you think of these? Do you own any of these, or did you get a lucky dip this time and get anything different?

Rachael xxx

Small Blog Sale now up!

Feel free to check out my little blog sale - time to let some of my pretties go to new homes! UK Only

Blog Sale

See anything you like - email me at rachosnl@gmail.com

Rachael

xxx

Swatched - Nails Inc Franklins Row

Hi all! 

Today I wanted to show you a swatch of a polish I picked up in the latest Nails Inc Lucky Dip. I love Nails Inc polishes and despite not being a purple fan, I fell in love with this polish when I got it in my nails!

Its beautiful blue / purple duochromey glittery goodness, all smushed inside a bottle. I really love it. Formula was gorgeous, this is two coats and 1 coat of SV.

What do you think?

ER31DC - Day 8 - Metallic Nails

Hi all! Guess what? Yeah, I'm still not on time!

Today is my metallic nails for the Extra Relaxed 31 Day Challenge. I am not a massive fan of metallics, but I did pick up a few in my latest Nails Inc Lucky dip.

The two metallics I got were Roland Gardens (a beautiful red) and Great Tichfield Street (a pinky gold). GTS is more of a foil, but I still like it none the less.

I decided I was going to try and conquer one of my fears today - tape. Becca from Kittys Painted Claws normally helps me if I need to do anything tape related, so I'm sure she will be very proud that I tried these out myself!

As you can see, I still need some practice - some parts are not perfect but I was pretty pleased after my previous attempts!

What do you think?

Rachael xxx

Check out the other metallic nails (which were done on time!)

Nails Inc polishes - Its Red Babez, Totes Pink and Youre a Peach - Swatch and Review

Hi all!

Most of you will probably have read somewhere, or seen that Instyle have teamed up again with Nails Inc this year to include a range of free polishes with their magazine. The colours this year are:

- Totes Pink

- It's Red, Babez

- You're a Peach

I'm sure you can guess what colours these are from their names, but the colours are below for you to have a look at. Personally, I think the photo is a bit misleading - both the pink and the peach are brighter in person and the red is more coral.

(Image Source: Instyle.co.uk)

I love Nails Inc, and its not every day you get to pick them up cheap, as they usually retail for £11 each from the website. These three shades have been designed specifically for Instyle and therefore I believe this is why they do not follow their normal naming ritual of naming after roads. I am slightly disappointed with the names, but I picked up all three colours anyway. Instyle magazine retails for £3.90, so less than £4 for a good magazine and a polish as well - can't go wrong at all.

The first colour I tried is Totes Pink - mainly because I know it doesn't suit my skin tone and to get it out of the way. My first thoughts (or rather, my friends thoughts) were that its a dupe of Elizabeth Street, but it is marginally lighter in the bottle, much more opaque and more pink, whereas Elizabeth Street is a tiny bit more nude-ish I think. Swatches are 3 coats, with 1 coat of Seche Clear as base, and 1 of Seche Vite as top coat. Like I thought, it doesn't suit my skin tone, but is a nice spring / summery shade of pink for anyone with a lighter tone than I have. I will probably keep it for nail art anyway as it applies nicely for a creme polish. I didn't realise at the time, but lighting was not as great as I thought.. so nails do look just like the Instyle bottle shot - well done me :/

The second is You're a Peach. I definitely think this is close to Wellington Square or to Peach Sorbet, which was the peach polish free with Instyle last year. I don't have Peach Sorbet, but I do have Wellington Square so I will do a comparison of the two. I think Wellington Square may be a tad darker.

The formula for this was just like Totes Pink - it applied well but needed 3 coats to level out. I like this more than the pink, but again I don't think its great for pinker skin tones. It really reminds me of summer though and despite it not doing much for me, I'll defo still be wearing it!

The third was my favourite - Its Red, Babez. Despite the more than tacky name, this is a beautiful coral red polish. I wore three coats, which still showed a VNL, but if you are happy with a more visible nail line, you could go for two - it was smooth in the first coat and was dreamy to apply. Dried, it has a lovely glossy finish, but obviously if you want to prolong your mani then top coat is the way to go - I really am just anal about top coat - even if my mani is only on for 5 minutes I'll add one! These photos were taken in artificial light, as the sun was gone by the time I got to the last bottle.

Which is your favourite? Did you pick any up? I like all three shades but Its Red, Babez was by far the winner for me.

Rachael x