Lets talk base and top coat...

I am a devoted reader of many different nail polish and beauty blogs and websites and yet I have never come across a post or article about base and top coat. I know this isn’t the most interesting nail-related topic but it is an important one nonetheless. In the time I’ve been wearing nail varnish I’ve always worn a base coat because my mum always stressed the importance of it so I didn’t stain my nails. I’ve tried quite a few, including Sally Hansen and Revlon which were ok but my favourite has to be the OPI ridge filler. I’ve used this time after time for quite a few years now and it creates a perfect base for my nail varnish and keeps my nails underneath stain free, I definitely consider this an essential for both my finger and toe nails and have re-purchased it a number of times.

Top coat is a pretty big essential for me too, not as much as base coat/ ridge filler but almost. I'm a bit shine obsessed, I like my nails to be super shiny so they never really feel done until I've got top coat on, not to mention it makes my nail polish last way longer. I've tried many and I've had to say my biggest disappointment was OPI, I don't think it made my polish last any longer and just didn't give me the shine I wanted. My 2 favourites are Sally Hansen diamond shine and seche vite fast dry top coat. I like them about the same but I do like that the Sally Hansen is about half the price of the seche vite. Having said that I like how fast the seche vite drys, it cuts drying time in half which is more convenient, especially if you're as fidgety as I am. If normal drying time is fine for you then I would reccommend the Sally Hansen because it's cheaper and achieves the same ultra glossy finish.

So there you have it, perhaps a bit of a boring post but about something that I think is quite important to having nice looking, healthy nails.

Deborah Lippman 'Across the Universe'

I finally got it! I'm so excited, I looked for so long for this polish in actual stores rather than online because I wanted to make sure I loved it as much as I thought I would before shelling out the cash (£16 in House of Fraser in Edinburgh). Just as I thought I would I really love this polish, despite its sheer base colour. 

It's a navy blue jelly base with small turquoise glitter and larger glitter particles in various shades of green and blue. I think this polish looks really magical, like the bottom of the ocean or something like that. Application with this one was a little tricky, but i'm more than willing to put up with that. In the photos i've used 3 coats which is what I needed to get this polish looking opaque.

I wholeheartedly recommend this one - don't get me wrong, it is an expensive polish but I can honestly say that I have nothing else like this...and I have about 200 bottles of nail polish. The fact is that with a lot of more expensive polishes you can find a dupe or something similar for less money if you look hard enough but with this one I've never seen anything like it and because of that it's worth it to me.

Even in the bottle this polish is so beautiful! I'm not saying its a must have by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're looking for a beautiful and unique blue then I would definitely consider checking this out despite the high price tag.

Essie 'Fiji'

A polish that's girly and soft looking without a smattering of glitter or shimmer? Yes please!

Essie Fiji is an extremely light pink, so light that in some lights it looks kind of white. I found it very difficult to photograph this polish without it looking white unless I had a white backdrop. (side note: sorry for the poor picture quality, I've been very busy recently and took these photos on the go on my phone). Below you can see how unless I placed my hand against a white background the polish did look completely white because it is such a creamy light, light pink shade.

This polish is like the more opaque counterpart to essie's mademoiselle. I used 2 coats with a base coat and top coat (OPI ridge filler and seche vite fast dry top coat). It made my hands look tanned which is basically a miracle, not sure that I'd attempt this one in winter when my hands are so pale that they're actually purple but I like it for summer.

Application was fairly easy, first coat was a bit streaky but the second covered it up nicely. I got this polish from the essie diffusion line that you can find in selected boots and Superdrug stores. If you're looking for a nice feminine neutral that will go with everything then this is a colour that you may just like, but be aware of how truly light this colour is!

OPI 'Austin-tacious Turquoise'

I love it! I love it! I love it! This is probably my favourite summer polish of all time, I love it for my fingers and my toes. It's bright and lovely but not too bright to give my pale hands the dirty appearance that most neons do. 

Application is basically perfect, it's quite sheer but not at all streaky, if you wanted to have a lighter looking, sheer blue then you could use just one coat. I choose to use 3 because I love the intensity of turquoise that it gives. 

This polish is metallic but doesn't look frosty or have the brush strokes that lots of metallic polishes can get. This is my go to in summer, especially if I'm wearing a white dress to add a nice pop of colour. Hate to be repetitive but I do really love it!

Essie's 'Fear & Desire'

Why, hello there summer! Nice to meet you eventually! I think in celebration of your emergence I'll get a nice shiny new nail colour!

Joking aside the weather has been utterly fantastic recently and because of this my nails have been enjoying all sorts of brightness. The colour I want to talk about today is essie's fear & desire from their 'bikini so teeny' collection. It's super bright and I'm in love with it! 

This summer oranges and corals have been my go to colours and I think this is the perfect warm and sunny colour to match the weather. Application was fairly good with this one, I used 3 coats to make the colour slightly more vibrant but I could have gotten away with 2 coats and it still would have looked pretty good. 

This is from the diffusion line that's available in boots and Suprdrug (for £7.99) and has the wider (and better, in my oh so humble opinion) brush which makes application easier, for me anyway. All in all I'd say this polish was a winner, hooray!

Essie's 'Dive Bar'

Essie's 'Dive Bar' is a blackened teal with turquoise and teal micro shimmer running through it. The colour it applies to your nail is very different than the colour it appears in the bottle, on the nail its much darker and moodier which I personally didn't mind at all because I like dark and murky nail colours.

This picture isn't the greatest because of the flash but I had a hard time capturing the true colour of this nail polish and I feel like this is the closest that I managed to get. As you can see the shimmer is visible but its so small that it just gives the polish a nice effect rather than being a full-on glitter nail polish.

Application was good with this one, better than alot of other Essie polishes that i've tried which tend to be streaky. This wasn't streaky and was fully opaque in 2 coats which i liked, it dried quickly too which is always a bonus. I managed to wear this polish for 3 days before any chipping occurred which is fairly standard for me.

I got this polish from the Essie diffusion line that can be found in Boots and Superdrug and it set me back £7.99 which isn't all too bad when you consider that i've almost bought it for £11 on more than one occasion. I think i'll definitely be wearing this much more come A/W 12!

My all time favourite Red nail polish

Let me start this post with a statement : I am entirely addicted to red nail polish! To me it is way more classic and versatile than a nude and I just love all variations of it but this one has to be my all time favourite! The shade i'm talking about is OPI's 'Red my Fortune Cookie' - a bright, true red creme.

The formula of this polish is insanely good, the pictures were taken with 2 coats but to be honest I think I could have gotten away with just one. this polish is very opaque without feeling too thick and hard to work with and I love the shine that you can get with it, you could get away with not wearing any top coat really but to keep it looking good for longer I still used a layer of my trusty Seche Vite.

As you can see from the above image the polish dries to a very bright tomato red colour which I think is so great in the summer but it works for winter too. There are very few polishes that I really tend to wear year round but this is one of them - it just makes me feel very glamourous, like a star from Old Hollywood.

I know lots of people love 'Cajun Shrimp' by OPI but for me, nothing can top 'Red my Fortune Cookie'. 

My very first blog sale

Hi! Welcome to my very first blog sale, i'm trying to clear out my makeup stash to make it a more comfortable size, getting rid of alot of brand new items that I don't need or have been given as gifts, all items and 100% genuine. Leave all enquiries in the comments section and i'll get back to you. this is an international sale, buyers within the UK will pay £2.50 for the first item and 50p per additional item. International buyers should email me and I will get back to them about shipping costs depending on location. Paypal payment only please (gifted). Enjoy!

BN Mac Cremesheen glass in 'Astral' from the Heavenly Creature collection - £9.00, rrp £17.00

Mac lipstick in 'Creme Cup', swatched 1x on my hand, £7, rrp £13.50

BN Chanel Joues Contraste blush in "Rose Explosion' with brush and velvet pouch, £17.50, rrp £31

Benefit 'Sun Beam', used 3-4 times so 90%+ remaining, £8.50, rrp £18.50

BN Chanel Glossimer lipgloss in shade 168 'Desir', £12.50, rrp £21

Nars eyeshadow duo in 'Kalahari', used 1-2 times, £14, rrp £24

Revlon matte lipstick in 'Smoked Peach', swatched 1x on my hand, £2.50

Revlon lip butter in 'Berry Smoothie', used once, £2.50

BN Mac Viva Glam 'Nicki' lipstick, swatched 1x on my hand, £7, rrp £13.50

BN Revlon Colourburst lipgloss in 'Peony', £4

BN Revlon Colourburst lipgloss in 'Crystal Lilac', £4

Nars lipgloss in 'Chiuaua', swatched 1x on my hand, £10, rrp £17.50

Thanks for checking out my sale! :D