NOTD - Sally Hansen 'Arm Candy' and OPI 'Which Witch?'

So, as i said in my recent post on Nicole by OPI's 'Do Good...Feel Good', here in the UK at the moment, we're kind of getting all four seasons in one day most of the time. I wanted to create a  manicure that could go with whatever I wanted to wear and not look silly with whatever the weather was doing.

My jazzed up neutral nail look, using Sally Hansen 'Arm Candy' and OPI 'Which Witch?'

I decided that a light milky pink was probably the way to go for a nice, neutral nail look, but I wanted to make it a little more interesting by adding some kind of glitter. Looking through my stash, I came across 'Which Witch?' from the recent OPI Oz The Great and Powerful collection. This is the only glitter of the 3 within the collection that I actually liked, small silver glitter with some bigger round pieces of holo glitter, perhaps not too unique but very pretty all the same.

Close up of the pretty holo glitter in 'Which Witch?'

 So theres my manicure, I quite like the way that it turned out, perhaps more girly and sweet than i'd usually go for, but I think that it can be nice to change things up every now and again. It was certainly more interesting than just wearing just another neutral nail shade on its own.

(Left-Right) OPI 'Which Witch?' and Sally Hansen 'Arm Candy'

I actually got quite a few compliments of my nails on the day when I wore this, which very rarely happens, I suppose everybody loves a jazzed up neutral look.

Illamasqua 'Raindrops'

This nail purchase was entirely motivated by Christine at Temptalia, who has really raved about this polish, and I have to say that after trying it, I really do understand why.This is my first try of Illamasqua polish and I found the formula to be quite good, although from what I've heard, that might not be consistent throughout their whole nail range.

Illamasqua 'Raindrops'

Illamasqua describes raindrops as a sheer light grey which I think is a pretty accurate description although I think I'd class it as bluey grey rather than just grey. Its a really pretty polish that I think gives the nails a kind of faded look which is really nice and surprisingly versatile because its not bright and doesn't make too much of a statement.

Illamasqua 'Raindrops' under bright light where you can see the subtle sparkle

I think that this is a much more sophisticated take on a blue polish, more so than a pastel blue or turquoise kind of shade. I'm more likely to wear this kind of shade in the autumn and winter than spring and summer because it is that little bit more muted which I tend to favour when the sun isn't shining as much.

3 thin coats of Illamasqua 'Raindrops'

I find the formula to be quite nice, as I said earlier. The polish does apply very sheerly but it is marketed as a sheer polish and this sheerness gives it a lightness that makes it look very fresh and pretty. Having said that, I did have to use 3 very thin coats to get the desired effect but because the coats were so thin they dried really quickly anyway. I also really liked that despite having to use 3 coats, the subtle sparkle wasn't entirely eaten up by the base colour.

 Close up of 'Raindrops' where you can see a tiny bit of the subtle sparkle

I really do love this polish and know that i'll be getting a lot of wear out of it when the weather starts to cool down a little. Have you tried 'Raindrops' or any of Illamasqua's other polishes?

Essie 'Tart Deco'

Hello there summer, nice to see you again, your visits are always far too fleeting, stay a little longer this time, won't you? It's finally hot here in the UK, keeping my fingers crossed that it stays like this for a little while longer. One of my go-to warm weather polishes is Essie's Tart Deco - a bright pastel peachy pink.

Essie 'Tart Deco'

In the bottle this looks very similar to Barry M Peach Melba but applies to the nails much, much brighter. This polish looks very different under different lights, it's definitely more orange based than pink based and in some lights it just looks like a pure light, creamy orange.

2 coats of Essie 'Tart Deco' with OPI 'Rapidry Top Coat'

I'm not gonna lie, the formula isn't fantastic, the first coat can look quite streaky and to make it opaque and vibrant, I find 3 coats to be the best way forward. This is a polish that requires  quite a bit of patience, but if this is the kind of colour that you love and you have the time, it does look really quite striking on the nails.

'Tart Deco' under natural light

I feel like this colour would look good on quite a few different skintones, bright colours tend to make my hands look a bit dirty or dead, but this one didn't actually do that too much. I think this polish would definitely look great on quite dark skintones. This polish really doesn't get enough love from me, but when you live somewhere where it rains as much it does here, neon pastel peach isn't always the best way foward.

'Tart Deco' under bright light

What are summer of your favourite polish colours for spring and summer?

Nicole by OPI 'Do Good...Feel Good'

Firstly, let me just start this post by saying how excited I am that Superdrug now stocks Nicole by OPI; it's a brand that i've tried before when i've been in the states but until now it's been fairly hard to locate within the UK. I may have gone a little (read: a LOT) crazy because of pure excitement and i'm just starting to try out some of the little beauties that I picked up...first up 'Do Good...Feel Good'.

Nicole by OPI 'Do Good...Feel Good'

'Do Good...Feel Good' is a very light, milky pink that seems to compliment every look I try and put it with. It's almost jelly like in its finish which gives it a lovely soft look. This slight sheerness also stops it from being too stark on the fingernails which I think makes it very sophisticated and more versatile than something like Essie's 'Fiji' which is more opaque.

4 thin coats of 'Do Good...Feel Good' topped with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Like I said, the formula of this polish is quite sheer, and as with other sheer baby pink polishes, this one has a tendency to streak a little bit, especially with the first coat, after a few coats though it was fine. To get the look that I have in these pictures, I used 4 thin coats which was a bit of a pain, but on the upside it dried pretty darn quickly and seems to be holding up quite well without chipping or wear.

'Do Good...Feel Good' under bright light

I feel like this is the perfect kind of shade for the crazy weather we're having in the UK right now; it's cloudy,  it's sunny, it's windy, it's cold, it's warm.....and that's all within the space of an hour. I just feel like this is the perfect go with anything nail, I think it's a great colour for those who want to rock neutral nails but just can't seem to make beige-y nudes (Essie 'Sand Tropez'....i'm looking at you) work for them.

What do you think? Are you guys excited to hit up the Nicole by OPI stand at Superdrug?