Tuesday 30 September 2014

Above the Curve Slitheen

Today's polish is gorgeous! When I first saw this one I just had to have it.
This summer Above the Curve brought out a range of polishes inspired by Doctor Who and when I saw swatches Slitheen was the one I absolutely had to have. Obviously there are others too, as they are all gorgeous but this one is so utterly unique in my collection. Although I have a lot of greens, I have nothing else remotely similar: I did think maybe A England Beauty Never Fails, or OPI Live and Let Die, - they are my darkest greens but neither are holo or actually that close when you look. I'll do a comparison post when I take this off and link it in.
I bought this from Sally Magpies who has recently started stocking Above the Curve polishes and when I last checked it was still in stock.
Slitheen, inspired by flatulent green aliens (!), is a stunning dark foresty green with scattered holo. As I may have mentioned before, blues and greens are my most favourite shades for nails, the darker the better so this is just perfect. It has a lovely golden warmth to it, and it is a perfect autumnal polish although being this beautiful I would happily wear it all year round. Although it is dark, it's not so dark that it looks black, the colour and tone is just spot on. I love it!!!
It painted on well, good coverage in 2 coats, and pictures are taken with a layer of top coat which did not dull the holo at all.
Unfortunately the weather has not been the best, so I haven't had a lot of sunshine and my pictures are a bit disappointing as I haven't captured the holo at all. This is such a shame because I really want everyone to see just how special this polish is! You should at least be able to see that this has a gorgeous shimmer, and that it is the most beautiful colour.
Above the Curve Slitheen
Above the Curve Slitheen
 Above the Curve Slitheen
Above the Curve Slitheen
 Above the Curve Slitheen
Above the Curve Slitheen
 Above the Curve Slitheen
Above the Curve Slitheen

Sunday 28 September 2014

Shimmer Jasmine

Today I'd like to show you another very pretty Shimmer polish that I bought quite recently. It has sat on my desk begging to be used and I decided that yesterday's gradient would make an ideal base to try this polish. I had been trying to decide what to put over my gradient, and had considered trying stamping again, but since the gradient had taken so long to do, I wasn't prepared to risk it with my amateur efforts. Painting on glitter would be much safer!
Shimmer Jasmine is an extremely pretty collection of teal, gold, copper, blue, red and silver glitter in a clear base. The predominant colour is teal which is why I thought it would be great over my gradient, as Avon Peppermint is actually quite tealy, and teal always goes well with purple.
I did one coat of Jasmine. It applied well, with good distribution and dried quickly with a nice smooth finish. As with Shimmer Wendy, I think you'd get up to full coverage pretty quickly with this polish as the glitter mix is so dense.
As a result of the density of this mix I did think my mani looked a bit busy with all those pretty sparkles over the teal and lavender, so I applied a matte top coat. Instantly it looked perfect to me, the whole mani just seemed to work so well, the glitters appeared more distinct against the gradient.
I really like the way the glitter further softened the gradient but also extended the teal element right to the end of the nail.
I do look forward to trying Jasmine again over a plain dark base, but I am delighted with the way this mani turned out.
Shimmer Jasmine
Shimmer Jasmine
  Shimmer Jasmine
 Shimmer Jasmine
 Shimmer Jasmine
 Shimmer Jasmine

Saturday 27 September 2014

Gradient with Avon Peppermint and Avon Luxe Lavender

Well, I finally plucked up the courage to try a gradient. I have admired these on others for quite some time but been a bit too nervous to try. However, this week I found myself with some time on my hands, and whilst idly surfing I came across these wonderful tutorials by Debbie from The Crumpet, so I watched the tutorial for a gradient a couple of times and decided to give it a go.
I painted my nails with a pale base colour, and then followed the instructions.
I chose the 2 Avon shades because I love green and purple together and I thought it would be good to see how well they merged. I love both these shades although I would rarely wear them alone, they are great as a base for indies, or underneath a glitter, excellent quality, good coverage with 2 coats and they dry well. I've had these for years, way before my nail varnish interest really started but they are still an important part of my collection. I will admit, I did chose my Avons as they are older and less precious than some of my other brands, as I feared this was going to be a real waste of polish!
I have to say, the instructions on the tutorial are great. I was very impressed with how this mani turned out, but clean up took forever! I did take the precaution of painting my fingers with PVA glue, but I don't think I used enough as it did not peel off easily.
Anyway, here is the finished result. I think for a first attempt, I am very proud of this! I do think the colours go well together, and I am truly amazed at what can be achieved with a couple of polishes and a bit of sponge. I will certainly be trying this again!
Gradient with Avon Peppermint and Avon Luxe Lavender
Avon Peppermint and Avon Luxe Lavender
 Gradient with Avon Peppermint and Avon Luxe Lavender
 Gradient with Avon Peppermint and Avon Luxe Lavender
 Gradient with Avon Peppermint and Avon Luxe Lavender

Thursday 25 September 2014

Above The Curve The Midnight Blues

Today's mani is not quite as impactful as I'd intended. Having gone for something relatively subtle, it's actually too subtle really to see. It is pretty but not quite what I'd hoped.
Once upon a time, while trying to sort out a glitter gradient that went wrong, I repainted the base of my nail and rather liked the look. I later discovered that, done properly, this is a ruffian mani, and I've been meaning to try it again for ages.
I was still wearing Above The Curve Suspense and it struck me that today's polish might go rather well.
The Midnight Blues is a very dark blue black holo, and seemed to have definite hints of teal in it. It is beautiful, and holo is pretty strong, apparent in almost all levels of light. This painted on really nicely, and covered the base colour well with one coat, but I added a 2nd coat, to ensure a perfect finish and I was trying to get a neat line at the base. The Midnight Blues is a lovely polish, yet another I was able to pick up from one of the sales pages; my ATC collection is doing rather well from the sales pages at the moment.
I will certainly be leaving this one out to wear again soon, but I enjoyed wearing it with Suspense - it won't win any nail art awards but I am pleased with the finished look.
Above The Curve The Midnight Blues
Above The Curve The Midnight Blues
(with ATC Suspense)
  Above The Curve The Midnight Blues
Above The Curve The Midnight Blues
 Above The Curve The Midnight Blues


Wednesday 24 September 2014

Above The Curve Suspense

Today's polish is just perfect! Although I wear a lot more colours than I used to, and am prepared to try new things, there is nothing better than wearing what I call a "me" polish. As a lover of dark blues and greens, what could be better than a deep, dark teal? Oh yes, a deep, dark teal with a subtle holo finish, made by my favourite brand, Above The Curve.
This is Suspense, and it is the most deep intense blue teal, with a bit of holo. It is absolutely gorgeous, love at first sight!
Apparently this polish was sent out in mystery grab bags some time ago, so it is probably limited edition, and Google couldn't find me any swatches! I did manage to get a swatch eventually, having seen this one for sale on one of the facebook pages so I snapped it up, and I am utterly delighted with it.
It painted on really nicely, almost full coverage with one coat although I did do 2. The colour is just perfect, and the holo is very pretty. I work with a bright white light shining over my laptop, and it just keeps catching the holo. The holo is lovely out in the sun although pretty evasive when I tried to capture it. Interestingly, although this is clearly a bluey teal in daylight and white light, under normal incandescent bulbs it leans more green.
Well, I have taken quite a lot of pictures, can't really bear to leave many out, so here it is. No teal knitwear but I actually really love this with the grey.
Above The Curve Suspense
Above The Curve Suspense 
 Above The Curve Suspense
Above The Curve Suspense
 Above The Curve Suspense
 Above The Curve Suspense
 Above The Curve Suspense
 Above The Curve Suspense
 Above The Curve Suspense

Sunday 21 September 2014

Shimmer Wendy

Well there I was having a quick break from work, with a cup of tea, surfing the sales pages when I spotted this for sale, along with a couple of other Shimmers. I have seen so many swatches of Shimmer polishes, but didn't actually own any, so when I saw 3 for sale at a great price, I had to have them, didn't I :)
When they arrived they were just so pretty! but this one particularly attracted me - in the bottle the initial impression is of purple but a closer look reveals teal, copper, and silver as well. I was desperate to try it immediately! I wouldn't normally try a glitter over a shimmery holo polish, preferring a nice creme background but in this case the base is Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply, because the shimmer is quite subtle, the colour is gorgeous and I didn't want to take it off, and I was too impatient anyway!!
Wendy has a clear base, and then a whole host of glitters in different sizes, squares and hexes, in pink, purple, copper, gold, silver and teal. The polish applied well, with good glitter distribution and I wore one coat with top coat for a couple of days. Then I added a 2nd coat, and a matte top coat and it is just stunning. It does not quite give full coverage with 2 coats, I think it probably would with a 3rd coat. I really love this with the matte finish, as you can really see the glitters so clearly.
I think the colours worked well over the mauve base, the teal and copper are particularly striking. I have seen swatches over a darker purple and I think I'll try that next as I think this polish would do a great glitter gradient with a good dark base to contrast the beautiful glitters.
So, I have a mix of photos, some are one coat with glossy top coat and some are 2 coats with matte top coat. I am so pleased with this polish, I love the combination of colours and I can't wait to try it with other bases, as well as trying the other 2 polishes I bought. Shimmer is another brand to add to my list of those to look out for.
Shimmer Wendy
Shimmer Wendy - matte finish
Shimmer Wendy
Shimmer Wendy - with topcoat
Shimmer Wendy
Shimmer Wendy
Shimmer Wendy
Shimmer Wendy
 Shimmer Wendy
 Shimmer Wendy

Friday 19 September 2014

Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply

I first heard about Above The Curve in February of this year when I bought a few polishes from one of the sales pages and I just fell in love.
Above the Curve is an American brand and at the time I had no idea what the brand was all about. The "Curve" refers to curvature of the spine, Scoliosis, and for every bottle sold, the creators Shawn and Angel donate $1 to the Shriners Children's Hospital. Angel actually suffers from this condition and it is their mission to raise awareness for the hospital and Scoliosis.
I haven't tried an ATC polish yet that I don't like and just recently I have been really lucky to pick up a few more from the sales pages.
Truly Madly Deeply is one of my latest finds and it is a very beautiful pinky purple shimmery polish with a subtle holo. This one does have a slightly metallic finish, but not that brush stroke appearance you sometimes get with these types of polishes - I found the application and finish to be perfect.
The colour is gorgeous, I think this is what I would call mauve, somewhere between pink and purple and that varied depending on the light. As you can see from the pictures, the colour did vary, looking more pink in the sunlight. Because the holo is quite subtle I did struggle to capture it, and did resort to a couple of indoor pics to pick the holo up.
As ever, on polishes I really love but struggle to capture, there are quite a few pics - no apologies!!
Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply
Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply 
 Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply
 Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply
  Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply
 Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply
 Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply
 Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply
 Above The Curve Truly Madly Deeply

Wednesday 17 September 2014

Stamping again! Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries and Nails Inc Uptown Glamour

Well, here we go again, second attempt at stamping! I think I have the contrast better this time. I was wearing the utterly delicious Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries, and after taking some suggestions from my lovely facebook friends I have stamped using Nails Inc Uptown Glamour, the Kate Spade freebie from last year.
The plate I have used is Moyou London's Mother Nature Collection, number 07, which is a collection of leaf images, perfect for Autumn! I can think of many ways I want to try using this, as I practice stamping :)
I haven't really gone for any design as such, just wanted to test out the image, so basically one leaf on each nail, practicing placing the image, cleaning the stamp before transferring to the nail so I don't get half of another leaf too. Placing the image seems a bit tricky, and cleaning is a challenge, trying to do it quickly enough before the varnish is too dry to stamp, but I am still encouraged to continue, so not all bad!!
I love the images on this plate, and that some are solid, some just line images and delighted to see that, placement and tidiness aside, they transferred well, the detail is amazing!!
 
 
 

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries

Today's polish is seriously intensely fruity and absolutely gorgeous!!! Frozen Berries really does that have look of a really yummy berry fruit sorbet. It is a deep dark red / purple with the most wonderful holo, which gives it a lovely shimmer in the shade and a whole explosion of colour in the sunshine.
I bought this from Rainbow Connection quite recently. It's a limited edition but it looks like it has sold out, what a shame as it is so beautiful.
This applied well, dried nicely with excellent coverage in 2 coats, and I absolutely adore it. The colour is just so vibrant, fantastic quality and I am really not sure why I haven't heard more about these lovely polishes. I bought another Fancy Gloss at the same time, and initial swatches show it to be as good as this one, I also have 2 of their thermals reviewed here and here, and they are fabulous too!
This is a fantastic Autumn / Winter polish and I am in love!! Apologies for my inability to get this down to 4 or 5 pictures, I just love this one so much, and you obviously need to see sunshine and shade pics.
Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries
Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries
 Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries
 Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries
Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries
 Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries
 Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries
Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries
 Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries