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.

NOTD from the OPI Euro Centrale Collection

Le sigh, the weather has taken a turn for the worse again here in the UK, but I suppose we did get the standard annual week of nice weather, I should be used to it by now. With this dip in the weather I didn't feel like sporting pretty spring and summer shades, cue OPI's Euro Centrale collection.

2 coats of OPI 'I saw...U saw...We saw...Warsaw'

'I saw...U saw...We saw...Warsaw' is a dark, cool toned navy polish, very inky and pretty. Formula was pretty good, 2 coats for opacity and it dried to a pretty shiny finish. This shade will probably get a lot of love from me in autumn and winter. What I would say is definitely wear a good base coat because this colour is so rich and pigmented that I can imagine it really staining the nails without one.

Accent nail has 2 coats of OPI 'Polka.com' glitter

I wanted to add something fun so I did a glitter accent nail using 'Polka.com' which is also from the OPI Euro Centrale collection. Very unique, at least in my collection, and the perfect little pop of colour. This is 2 coats over 'I saw...U saw...We saw...Warsaw' because this is in no way a full coverage glitter, I can imagine it taking 4 or 5 coats to get full nail coverage with this one.

(L-R) OPI 'I saw...U saw...We saw...Warsaw'; OPI 'Polka.com'

All in all, I like this manicure a lot. My uni exams are all done and dusted now so I'm going to be getting back into posting much more again, hooray!

My Top 10 Spring Nail Picks

I’m Back! Things have been fairly crazy for the past few months and I just haven’t been able to find the time to post. Now that the uni year is winding down and summer is fast approaching I hope to be able to start to posting much more again. I’m jumping back in with some of my spring favourites for this year. This year I’ve been thoroughly sucked in by conventionally spring-y pastel shades, but i've been mixing in a few of my brights that have been thoroughly neglected over the cold months.

Revlon 'Sheer Sunburst'

I do have to admit that this polish takes a fair amount of work, and I didn't actually see the word sheer in the title before I purchased it, I just saw it and thought DUPE FOR CHANEL HOLIDAY! MUST BUY! As far as the colour goes it is actually fairly close to Holiday but it has a different finish because this polish is obviously much more sheer. It takes three careful coats but if you’re patient enough then this does give a really beautiful finish, quite squishy looking.

Butter London 'Trout Pout'

This is the perfect light pinky coral shade and I love it, I already know that it will be on my nails a lot throughout spring and summer. A bonus is the lovely butter London formula, it applies like a dream and dries to a lovely glossy finish, this is probably my fave polish for spring and summer and I can’t see anything taking its place any time soon. I have a post on this from last summer that you can read here.

Essie 'Ballet Slippers'

I wear this on rare days when I want my nails to look neat and polished but I don’t really want them to be a noticeable colour. This is just the most beautiful very light, milky pink that applies to the nails very sheerly and just leaves them looking very clean and sophisticated, I know a lot of people like to use this as the base for an at-home French manicure. I never really had too much of a problem with the thin Essie brush but for this polish I definitely prefer the thicker brush that's on the polishes in the Boots/Superdrug diffusion line, gives a much smoother and cleaner finish.

Butter London 'Fiver'

This polish has replaced Essie’s mint candy apple as my favourite light minty greeny blue!  (I’m just fabulous at descriptions, aren’t I?). This is a little lighter than mint candy apple, and with a tiny bit less green, I just find that this looks a little bit more chic on the nails, like a more grown up approach to a seafoam nail polish. Again, this has an awesome formula that's opaque and ready to go in 2 coats.

OPI 'If You Moust, You Moust'

This came out last year in the vintage Minnie Mouse collection and to be honest I bought it, used it once and then it kind of just got lost in the shuffle and shoved to the back of a drawer until I was re-organizing my collection about a month ago and came across it. Lovely bright pastel pink with blue undertones, I find that it can be more forgiving then pinks with more yellowy undertones which can sometimes make pale skin look a bit funny.

Bourjois 'Adore-Bleu'; 2 coats of 'Adore-Bleu' in direct sunlight

This is the prettiest pastel blue that I’ve found as yet and the formula is pretty nice. I loved ‘Bikini so teeny’ from Essie’s summer collection last year, which was a similar shade of blue but I found the formula to be quite streaky and hard to work with so I’m glad to have found an alternative. This is what i've got on my nails right now for some of the first really sunny days here in the UK and I just love the way it looks.

Sinful Colours 'Boom Boom!'

This is not really a conventional spring colour, but the weather is heating up and I think it looks really nice in the warmer weather. It’s a darker bright pink that has some purple in it, very pretty and very flattering, think it would probably look great on all skin tones as well. I was ecited to see that they had started to sell sinful colours in boots, and for only £1.99 a bottle, I may have squealed a little. I’m very impressed with the formula as well, over all I’m a very happy camper!

Chanel 'Fracas'; Look at the subtle but beautiful shimmer when the light hits it!

As a very pale person, this is about as bright as I can go without the colour making my hands look dirty. I’ve worn this quite a bit already (although I think I’ll wear it the most during summer, I’m thinking it’ll be an almost permanent fixture on my toes!) and just find it to be the most lovely bright but not too bright pink with a tiny bit of a sheen. Good formula too, which I’m glad of considering the high price point!

Bourjois 'Amande défilé'

This is the only colour that I really have like this in my collection, I have so many light minty greens that have quite a bit of blue in them but this is my only pastel green that's more yellow based. I liked it a lot, I like this new Bourjois formula too, this isn’t quite as easy to handle as the blue but its not too hard, especially considering pastel crème polishes can be notoriously difficult. This looks very fresh on my nails.

Essie 'Cute as a Button'

I got this polish towards the end of last summer so I didn’t really get a chance to wear it much before I started wearing darker, more vampy colours for autumn and winter. A friend was looking through my stash and re-discovered it and I’m so glad that she did! This is a lovely darker pinky coral that happens to be really flattering on my skin tone (or at least I think it is) and just makes me think of warmer months. The formula isn’t the best that I’ve ever come across as it can be a little streaky but if you’re careful then it should be fine.

OPI 'Absolutely Alice'

OPI 'Absolutely Alice' is a beautiful blue glitter polish with some gold glitter in it. I think the gold is what makes this polish so pretty to me, I have quite a few blue glitter polishes but the gold really sets this one apart and gives it some depth. I'm so glad that I managed to get my hands on this polish when it first came out because it became so hard to find.

2 coats of 'Absolutely Alice' with 1 coat of Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Because the blue colour in this polish is a little deeper it suits a lot of skin tones and I wear it all year round. It's really hard to photograph it properly because it is so incredibly sparkly, under all types of lighting, but my camera just didn't want to pick that up unfortunately. You get the best idea of the amount of sparkle in the bottom photo of just the bottle, it is just so eye catching and beautiful, i'm not surprised this was a sell out polish.

'Absolutely Alice' under natural lighting

I used 2 coats of 'Absolutely Alice' in the photos above which I think is pretty good for a glitter polish. I didn't use a base colour which was a welcome change and used only one (thick) coat of top coat, although I think 2 would have achieved a smoother finish. I think this may be one of my favourite OPI polishes ever, its sparkly and very eye-catching, in a flattering colour that happens to particularly suit my skin tone and it's associated with Alice in Wonderland....what more could I ask?

You can see a bit more of the tiny sparkle in this shot

I wouldn't have thought that this would be a unique colour in my stash but it turns out it is which is always nice, but only one of many reasons that I love this polish. I like that the glitter is fairly small and not too chunky because sometimes I just feel like having the sparkle factor but without having chunky glitter flakes on my nails.

Sorry about the lack of focus, it was the best way to capture the individual glitter flakes for this polish

I'm really not looking foward to taking this off my nails because of the mess that is glitter polish removal so maybe i'll leave it off for a little while....or perhaps i'll just bite the bullet and remove it so I can try something new and fabulous (OPI Skyfall collection anyone???), probably the latter. *confessions of a nail polish addict*

See how sparkly it is in the bottle?.....Swoon!

Did any of you manage to get your hands on this polish when it came out way back in 2010?

OPI 'Mrs O'Leary's BBQ'

How ironic is it that one of my favourite polishes for the autumn time happens to have quite a summery name? I really want to talk to you all about a polish that i've had for a good while now and really love. It's OPI 'Mrs O'Leary's BBQ'; a deep burgundy shade that isn't so dark that it looks black on the nail.

2 coats of OPI 'Mrs O'Leary's BBQ' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

I'd say that the photo above is very true to how the polish actually looks on the nail, it really does look kind of like i've dipped my fingers in a rich, sticky barbeque sauce. Wow, i'm making myself long for summer, sigh. I think the thing I love most is how rich this colour is, and in sunlight you can see more of the red undertones that this polish has.

2 coats of OPI 'Mrs O'Leary's BBQ' in dim lighting

The formulation of this one is pretty nice, used 2 coats for the photo's included and both coats were necessary. The first coat applied quite unevenly and looked a little streaky but the second coat managed to magically even it all out and give a nice, even, glossy finish. I like this polish because it's vampy (which seems to be the 'in thing' this season) but can still be quite elegant.

2 coats of OPI 'Mrs O'Leary's BBQ' in natural lighting

When trying to think of a dupe, the first thing I thought of was Essie 'Bahama Mama' but when I actually held up those bottles next to each other 'Bahama Mama' had much more purple in it whereas "Mrs O'Learys BBQ' is brown based. I then thought of Revlon 'Vixen' which is similar but the red undertone is much more pronounced making it more of a true burgundy colour.

Close up of OPI 'Mrs O'Leary's BBQ'

What do you think of the vampy nail polish trend? Are you rocking vampy or nude shades this autumn?

top 10 nail polish picks for autumn - part 2!

My top 10 nail polish picks for autumn!

I already talked about how much I love autumn and autumn colours in part 1 so I won't bore you too much by going on again. Theres some really great nail polish options out there that fit the season and some great collections have been released for autumn and winter (I can't wait to pick up a few colours from the Jessica 'Spicy Dream' collection!) So without further ado, lets dive into the second half of my favourite polishes for autumn!

(left-right) Chanel 'Rouge noir', Deborah Lippmann 'Ruby red slippers', Barry M 'Navy', OPI 'Designer de-better', Deborah Lippmann 'Diamonds and pearls'

2 coats of Chanel 'Rouge noir'

'Rouge noir' was very raved about a few years back, but the hype seems to have died down in the wake of other polishes such as 'Peridot' and 'Paradoxal'. Oh well, I don't care if its hyped about or not, I still love the colour. Its an extremely blackened red creme that in some lighting comes off as flat black. I love this for when I want to have a fairly neutral (odd calling this colour a neutral, but it does seem to go with everything), dark and moody polish. I don't wear flat black nail polish as it can seem a bit harsh against my pale complexion, especially in the winter months, so this polish is a nice alternative.

3 coats of Deborah Lippmann 'Ruby red slippers'

I got this polish rather a long time ago back at the start of spring and just haven't had a chance to wear it throughout spring and summer. Alas, autumn is upon us and I can now don my 'Ruby red slippers'. This is a black jelly base with red hexagonal chunky glitter and small red shimmer particles running throughout. I think i'll wear this one a lot more closer to christmas time actually but it certainly won't go unworn throughout autumn. The sheerness of the black base is a bit of a bummer if i'm honest but the colours pretty, so I will spend the time, it just probably won't be worn as much as shades the require 1-2 coats.

2 coats of Barry M 'Navy'

I wasn't expecting to like this colour half as much as I actually do, I bought it because I thought it looked like a pretty close dupe for Chanel 'Blue Satin' and thought it would be great if I could find a much cheaper alternative. The truth is I like this polish better than the Chanel one, which i'm surprised by. I find Barry M nail paints to be a bit of a hit or miss but with this one the quality is definitely there. Compared to the Chanel this one is a little less blackened; 'Blue satin' can read as black in dim lighting but this is definitely a metallic navy, which is what I was looking for. I feel it's just the right balance of being dark and rich in colour without being too blackened. I may do a separate comparison post on these two as there's much more to say.

2 coats of OPI 'Designer de-better'

When I first thought of including this polish I wasn't sure whether to include this or the oh so hyped about Orly 'Rage' but I included this one because I like the formula better. 'Designer de-better' is a pretty old OPI shade that came out with the Muppets collection. Its a metallic rose gold shade with tonnes of micro-shimmer. I don't know why but shades like these just seem to suit my skin-tone better in the cooler months, plus I generally prefer metallics and shimmery polishes once summer closes in because they make up for the lack of sun and make me happy.

1 coat of Deborah Lippmann 'Diamonds and pearls' over 2 coats of Essie 'Sand tropez'

This isn't really an autumn colour as much as I wear it all the time so i'm sure that it will be on my nails alot during autumn. In the summer time when i'm a tad less pale I can wear 'Sand tropez' on its own but in the autumn and winter I need something to give it a bit of a lift so that its not completely nude and doesn't make my hands look dead. 'Diamonds and pearls' is a light, shimmery warm-toned polish that is very sheer and best worn over another colour. I think this will look good as a jazzier neutral when the weather starts to close in; plus the shimmer will make me happy when the sun goes away.

So there you have it, my top 10 nail polish picks for autumn 2012, i'm excited for the leaves to start falling so I can jump in a big pile of crunchy leafy goodness :D

Top 10 nail polish picks for autumn - part 1!

My top 10 nail polish picks for the autumn!

Autumn is by far one of my favourite seasons, it starts to get chilly but isn't as deeply cold as winter, the clothes are adorable, and the colours associated with it are some of my favourites. i just love taking a walk in the crisp, chilly air bundled up in a nice warm jumper taking in the falling leaves in various shades of red, orange, burgundy and yellow. But enough about my love of the autumn and onto the first half of my top 10 autumn nail polishes!

(left- right) Butter London 'No more waity, Katie', OPI '20 candles on my cake', Deborah Lippmann 'Good girl gone bad', Essie 'Chinchilly', Butter London 'Shag'

The above nail polishes on the nail.

2 coats of Butter London 'Shag'

Butter London ' Shag' is one of the colours from their new A/W 12 collection and the most autumnal looking of the bunch, to me anyway. I was immediately attracted to this when I saw the first press photos of the collection, it just screams autumn to me. Its a deep orange colour with a hint of copper, it has a metallic finish with lots of micro-shimmer running throughout.

3 thing coats of Essie 'Chinchilly'

Essie's 'Chinchilly' is a dark, muted greige creme with a hint of purple. This colour is my favourite neutral for autumn or winter because it  literally goes with everything and it doesn't make my pale skin look too odd as neutral colours sometimes can. In some ways this isn't specifically an autumn colour for me because I do wear it all year round but I get the most wear out of it in autumn.

2 coats of 'Good girl gone bad'

Deborah Lippmann 'Good girl gone bad' is a polish that I bought specifically with autumn in mind. Burgundy is my favourite colour for this time of the year, and to me, shimmery polishes are more suited to the colder weather. I really love this because it is just so shimmery and I didn't really have anything like it in my collection, I had plenty of shimmery reds but nothing a little darker. Its a great way to add a glitzy touch to a more neutral autumn outfit.

2 coats of OPI '20 candles on my cake'

I really don't like to wear pinks as much in autumn and winter and this is as close as I get. '20 candles on my cake' is a red based raspberry creme. I like this shade for the transition between summer and autumn because its still bright enough to look great for those last summer days but its not so bright that it would look silly on a duller day. The finish on this one is really great and it really does provide a bright pop of colour when you wear it with a darker outfit. Its really quite an unusual mix of pink and red that I can't think of any dupes for.

3 coats of Butter London 'No more waity, Katie'

This is a really interesting colour to me, I usually favour darker shades for autumn and winter but this one really appealed to me. It has serious bottle appeal and I really love it on the nail too, its a dirty purpley grey base with pretty lilac shimmer in it.I like that the base has a bit of a dirty quality to it, makes it much more interesting than if it was a lilac base to match the shimmer. I'm not sure this is something that everyone would love but I really enjoy it. It's the only cooler toned polish that i've really chosen, I feel like its the perfect mix of pretty and edgy. A lot of people talk about the horrible formula of this but I didn't find it that bad, it's a 3-coater but that doesn't bother me too much.

My picks from the OPI Germany collection

When I first saw photos of OPI's Germany collection i'll have to admit that I was slightly underwhelmed. I mean, there are definitely pretty shades but they were all highly dupeable, or so I thought. When I actually saw the collection in store, my opinion changed somewhat.

The nude colours were nice and the kind of thing that appeals to me but they all very closely resembled polishes that I already have in my collection. Despite owning similar polishes I slightly regret not getting 'Berlin there, done that' which is a greige creme polish. Its similar to Essie's 'Chinchilly' which is  one of my favourite autumn nail polishes, only the Essie polish is a tad greyer. But now onto my two purchases from the 

collection.

2 coats of OPI's 'Every month is Oktoberfest'

'Every month is Oktoberfest' is an ideal autumnal shade. Its a metallic purple with a hint of red and some red micro-shimmer. It was quite hard to photograph this polish true to how it appears on the nail. In darker lights this looks almost black but in sunlight the shimmer is really beautiful. This kind of colour just screams autumn to me, the purple and red duochrome kind of reminds me of the changing colour of leaves. When I saw the original images of the collection this was the one that really stood out to me that I knew I had to get. I know that Jessica has some very similar colours in the autumn 'Spicy Dream' collection but I haven't actually seen this in UK stores yet.

1 coat of 'Deutsch you want me baby?'

'Deutsch you want me baby?' is a deep orange colour with some micro-shimmer and a metallic finish. I really love this colour, it seems to me like its a autumn/winter version of my favourite summer orange; 'Holiday' by Chanel. This polish seemed like a bit of a miracle actually, in 1 coat it dried to an opaque, streak free and glossy finish - I was amazed and a very happy bunny. The colour isn't as red as it looks in the above photo, in person it is a true deep orange in all lighting situations.