Cult Nails Scandalous and an apology!

Hi everyone!

I'm soooooo sorry I didn't do a post yesterday! I know I said I would do one every other day while I'm here but I've just been so chilled out! Yesterday we had a nothing day, we like doing this on holiday! One day instead of laying in the sun or shopping/sightseeing, we stay in our room and watch movies. We watched Something Borrowed and Source Code and just relaxed in the room, then had a lovely dinner. I had planned to do a post after dinner but it was getting really late and I was super tired! I've been shopping all day in the sun, so I'm really excited for today's post, a really summery polish by Cult Nails!

Scandalous is a creamy orange jelly from the new Divas and Drama collection. Maria describes it as the colour of a Creamsicle, but I have no idea what that is, I'm guessing it's an American thing! It's the same colour as the washing tablets I use and I've always thought that was a pretty colour!

Application on this was okay, it was sheer but easily buildable, I used four coats for the photos below.

Natural light

Sunlight

Flash

This is definitely a shade I'll be wearing a lot this summer. Usually I don't go for oranges, but because this one is such a creamy shade I find it a lot more wearable, especially on toes. You can find this here at Cult Nails where it sells for $10. If you're shy about wearing oranges, this one is a good one to branch out with!

I'm trying to find some nice polishes over here in Malta without much success. They have Layla over here but so far I've only been able to find the magnetics. I already have a lot of magnetics at home from other brands, but I'd love to find some holos! I'll let you know if I manage to find any!

Models Own Disco Heaven

Hi guys,

So this is my first post from Malta! I'm so happy to be here, the weather is gorgeous, I've got a bit of a tan already so I'm really happy! It felt so strange not doing a post last night because I've been posting every day for so long, but it was nice to have a night off, we got in really late and just wandered into town to get some food...

Today I have a Models Own polish to show you. This is from their collaborative collection with HedKandi. I wasn't originally going to buy this polish, I only wanted the multicoloured glitter (Ibiza Mix) and maybe the bright blue (Balearic Cool) but when I saw this in the shop I needed it! I ended up buying this and Balearic Cool , but I'm still on the hunt for Ibiza Mix, it seems to be sold out in every Boots store I step foot into, so I think I'm going to buy it online when I get home...

Disco Heaven is a gold glitter with a twist. Originally I thought it was gong to be like Gold Finger, Models Own's standard gold glitter but this is so much more! It has turquoise and purple glitter in it too with the odd bit of holo glitter, so it really is totally different to every other gold glitter I've ever seen.

This polish goes on really well for a glitter. I left a few minutes between each coat until it was totally dry and I didn't get any dragging. One coat is enough to layer, but my photos show two, three and eventually four coats which gave me enough opacity.



Two coats

Three coats

Natural light

See the rest of the photos after the jump

Future GIVEAWAY and Cult Nails nail mail

Good evening everyone!

I've finished packing for Malta and boy was it a struggle! I just want to be there now! Today has been a really good blogging day though, I've gained two more followers on Twitter and four more on here!

If you follow me on Twitter you'll have seen I posted about a giveaway when I get to 30 followers. There will be one winner and the prize will be two 14ml nail polishes which will be revealed when I get to 30 followers! I thought I'd have to make sure the prize was in keeping with my personality, so the two polishes will be HOLOGRAPHIC! I'll say no more about it! The good news though is that I only have 11 followers to go...

Anyway onto the post! I got some nail mail yesterday and luckily it stopped raining for five minutes so I could take photos. My poor post lady must hate me. We've had so much rain recently and she has to patiently wait for me to find the door key to unlock the door to take my parcel off her! I don't think she cares how excited I am to get my parcels, especially where there's no customs dues to pay!!!

I bought three polishes in the $5 sale at Cult Nails a couple of weeks ago and couldn't wait to get them. I bought Let Me Fly, Enigmatic and Living Water, as well as a backup of Seduction. I love it and don't want to end up missing out once they stop selling it (I also have a backup of Toxic Seaweed - love the limited editions clearly!). Originally I wanted Hypnotise Me instead of Enigmatic but by the time I logged on (about an hour into the sale) it had sold out. Hopefully I can get it in the second backorder $5 sale, whenever that will be.

Now for some photos!

Nail Mail!

L-R Seduction, Let Me Fly, Living Water, Enigmatic

See individual photos after the jump...

Versatile Blogger Award!!!

Hi guys, hope you're all having a lovely day!

I've been so busy today, my baby is such a handful these days, he's so active and we're trying to pack for our holiday! We're going to Malta tomorrow so this is all very last minute!

Anyway, I've just received my second nomination for the Versatile Blogger Award! Crystal from Crys Loves Polish nominated me a couple of weeks ago, and now Apple from Apple Drops has nominated me! 

Thank you so much both of you! I started this blog as a way to get my passion out there and it means so much to me that people come to my page and read my blog! I really hope you guys enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoy writing it!

There are some rules for this award and they are as follows:

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers that are relatively new to blogging.

2. Let them know you have nominated them.

3. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

4. Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you.

5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.

Now, I don't read 15 new blogs, the majority of the ones I read are a lot more established than mine and have been going a lot longer. However, I do read some new blogs and I think they're all deserving of this award, so I award it to:

Antique Purple

Apple Drops

Back for Tea

Crys Loves Polish

LacquerCareFactor

oKayeAmy

Find my seven random facts after the jump!

Cult Nails Manipulative

Hi everyone,

Today I have my second polish form the Divas and Drama Collection! Manipulative is the one I was most looking forward to, I love this type of minty blue/green. I think it looks nice on my skin tone even though I'm olive skinned, and this one even has an iridescent shimmer to it which makes it even more of a winner in my books!

I used three coats for these photos. I found the formula really draggy which was a bit annoying, but I just used a really thick final coat to even it out, which did the trick. I thought this polish would be perfect to try out the Wicked Fast top coat that I got with my order. I absolutely love it! I'll still use Seche Vite for nail art because I love how it doesn't drag the pattern, but for normal nail polish, this could be my favourite top coat! It dries so quickly and really gives the polish a plasticky finish which I love because I don't get any scratches or dents!

Now for some photos!

Indoors in the shade

I got a bit pic heavy with this one, see the rest of the photos after the jump!

Up Colors Rosa Star

Hey guys,

Really late post today, one of my friends from uni came down to visit me! I haven't seen her in a few months because she was travelling around America, so a few episodes of Gossip Girl, a Nando's takeaway and a catch up were in order before I could do today's post!

I have one of my Llarowe polishes to show you tonight, Rosa Star from Up Colors. This is a rose pink holo polish. It does have a linear effect but if you're looking for a replacement for any of the HITS No Olimpo polishes you won't get that from Rosa Star! Despite that this is a really gorgeous polish with an amazing formula. I had full opacity in one (very easy to apply) coat, but I applied a second coat for the pictures as I think this increases the holo effect of any polish, so the photos below show two coats of Rosa Star. I didn't use topcoat because I think it dulls the effect.

Natural light

Flash

Direct artificial light

I had to get my boyfriend to help me with the artificial light photos! I used my phone torch and unfortunately I don't have three hands! I think that picture really shoes the holographic effect so it needed to be done! I think you'll agree this polish is beautiful!

If you love this polish as much as me, you can buy it here at Llarowe for $9. They also ship internationally, which is a bonus if you live in the UK like me!

Cult Nails Enticing

Hi guys,

Hope you've all had a great day! I really haven't been feeling well today so this post is a bit of a struggle, but worth it! 

The polish I have to show you today is my first offering from the Cult Nails Divas and Drama Collection. Enticing is a very sheer pink polish with a subtle shimmer. The formula on this was really good, it took four coats to get the coverage you can see in my photos and I still had a visible nail line, but that's what you get with such a sheer polish. 

The reason I reviewed this polish first is because I wasn't sure I'd like it but I actually LOVE it! It's so girly and the pale pink is really good for all occasions!

Now on to some photos! As I said before, all of these show 4 coats, I didn't use topcoat because just like all Cult Nails polishes, this dried super shiny!

Sunlight

Shade

Macro, look at that shimmer!

 I bought this polish during the pre-order period when I got the whole collection for $30 but now you can buy Enticing here for $10.

Cult Nails Nail Mail - Divas and Drama Collection and extras...

Hey everybody,

When I got home last night, I had a Royal Mail slip saying they couldn't deliver a parcel to me. When I looked at the slip it wasn't my normal attempted delivery slip, the thing said I couldn't get my parcel delivered because I had a customs charge to pay, which was £14! I thought... Okay that's quite a lot, then I noticed the asterisk said *includes £8 handling fee!!! EIGHT POUNDS HANDLING FEE????? I don't know where Royal Mail get off charging that! I was (and still am) really annoyed! I don't mind paying customs dues, that's just life, but I hate ridiculous charges...

Nevertheless I finally have my Divas and Drama Collection and my bottles of Wicked Fast and Mind Control, so I'm very pleased!

Here they are in all their glory, even got a bit of sunshine today in their honour!

Nail mail!

Lovely little burritos!

L-R : Wicked Fast, Mind Control, Manipulative, Scandalous, Enticing, Seduction

 I'm so happy with the whole collection, I was a bit meh about Scandalous (the orange) and Enticing (the pink) but Scandalous is a lot more of a creamy orange than I expected and Enticing is so gorgeous on the nail with its subtle shimmer!

I've swatched Enticing already and I love it, I'll have that coming up either later on today after I've been to the supermarket and had dinner, or tomorrow, it's all down to the timing!

Hope you've had a great day!

W.I.C. by Herome Bogota

Hey guys,

So... I ended up coming home today from visiting my boyfriend's family. We were meant to stay until Tuesday but we had to come home to change our holiday plans. We were supposed to be going away on Thursday for 10 days but might need to change it to go sooner because my boyfriend will probably get called away for work soon after, and we need to go on holiday!!!

Anyway, I have another  one of my Dutch polishes to show you today! This one is so gorgeous and one I can't wait to wear again! It's from World Inspired Colours (W.I.C.) by Herome and the shade is called Bogota. The polish is a greyed out lavender with a gold shimmer that looks like it could have a colour shift. You can't really see it through the base colour though so I'm not sure if I'm imagining it!

I'd love to say the formula on this was amazing, but it wasn't, it was so sheer. Despite this, it was okay to apply if I left a minute or so between coats. I used four coats (yes, four!) for the photos below. It looks like I'm wearing Seche Vite on top but I'm not! This polish is super glossy!!!

Shade

See the rest of the photos after the jump!

Douglas Absolute Nails be balanced

Hey everybody,

FINALLY I've got one of my polishes from my trip to the Netherlands to show you. It seems like ages since I got back from there but I've just had too much irresistible nail mail to swatch so I haven't had any time to swatch these! 

Today was a really bad day for taking photos because the weather has been so awful! Really miserable and rainy, typical English weather!

This polish is called be balanced. I can't even explain how much I hate non-capialisation with things like this! It's like nails inc, whether they like it or not I call them Nails Inc and I won't stop!

Be Balanced is a green foil (or chrome effect as Douglas call it) polish. The application on this was actually really good, the formula was great and it covered my nail easily with two coats. However, once the polish was on the nail it went downhill from there. It had a bit of frostiness to the foil which made the brushstrokes really visible. I waited for it to dry completely before taking the photos but unfortunately they were still there! 

The photos below show two coats with no topcoat.

Shade

The closest thing to sunlight I could get!

Flash - look at those brushtrokes!

I was really looking forward to this polish, but I don't think I like it... I was expecting it to be like a green version of my beloved Models Own Champagne, but this just doesn't look good on, so I think it'll be reserved for stamping!

I got it in Douglas for €4.95.

Barry M Bright Pink

Hi guys,

If you follow me on Twitter you'll know what's coming in this post! I really wanted to post a Nerd Lacquer polish today but the weather has been so bad and I think it deserved some sun! I need some sunshine and then I can do all of the swatching I need to do in one day to last me a little while!

Anyway, I had some photos already taken of one of my new Barry M Nail Paints so I thought I'd post that today. The only thing is, it's ANOTHER PINK! I seem to be buying and blogging about so much pink recently but this is the last one for a while, I promise, at least for ten days!

I'm normally drawn to blues and greens all year round but for some reason this spring I've been loving pinks, and even though originally I didn't want to post another pink, I loved this one all over again once I saw my photos!

I got this polish the other day in Superdrug because they had a save £1 when you bought two polishes deal, which obviously I couldn't resist! I bought Blue Moon, Cyan Blue and Bright Pink and Bright Pink is what I have to show you today. See the rest of that haul here.

Bright Pink is a bright(ish) bubblegum pink creme. It's the kind of pink that I don't usually wear but I was drawn to it for some reason. Normally I wear more blue based pinks so it's nice to have a little bit of a change!

The formula on this was really good, I got perfect coverage in two coats and it was really glossy so I didn't use topcoat for the photos below. I think if I wore this for longer I'd definitely wear a topcoat, but that's mainly because I find Barry M polishes chip after a few days on me.

Natural daylight

See the rest of my photos and review by clicking "Read More"

OPI Thanks a WindMillion

Hi Everybody! 

I've been editing photos for this post on the four hour drive to see my boyfriend's family and I've got Thanks a WindMillion to show you as promised!

This polish is from the OPI Spring Summer 2012 Holland collection and I've wanted it for months so I was really pleased to find it so cheaply on eBay and when it arrived I wanted to wear it as soon as possible.

Thanks a WindMillion is what I would describe as a more muted, greyed out version of Mermaid's Tears from the Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides Collection from last year. It's kind of a seafoamy green that looked so pretty in swatches I'd seen online. The only problem in my eyes is that on my olive skin it pulls really khaki green. I think the grey in it shows up much more on me which is such a shame. Don't get me wrong, I still love this colour, but I wish my skin was a bit whiter so I could get the colour I've seen in blogger swatches!

I used two coats of Thanks a WindMillion for the photos below with a coat of Seche Vite.

Shade

Sunlight

I love this colour even though it doesn't look the same on me as it would on someone else with a different skin tone! I bought Stranger Tides from the Pirates collection but I think I'm going to have to get Mermaid's Tears as well so I can have my dusty seafoam green!

I can't remember the seller's name on eBay were I got this from, but I'll try and have a look as soon as possible and let you all know. I still have a few polishes to review that I bought from them, I'm sure they were only about £4!

Nail mail, and beautiful swaps! Oh, and a little haul...

Hi guys,

Today is a super late post because I've been at the gym! I ended up going with one hand polished and one hand naked nails because I was going to swatch one of my new polishes to show you tonight but I really wanted it to be in the sunlight and I didn't have my camera with me when it was sunny because I was at the supermarket!

I got this nail mail on Thursday afternoon after an infamous attempted delivery slip arrived at my house on Wednesday, story of my life! I was just expecting the one parcel because I only got one slip but I had two packages secured onto a box with elastic bands! So almost everything I was waiting for! One online order and two of my three remaining swaps.

Here they are!

See individual pictures of each polish by group after the jump!

Models Own Blooming Pink

Hey everyone, 

Today I have one of the Models Own SS12 Kaleidescope collection to show you. I was in Boots the other day buying a few polishes and when I got to the till the cashier told me they were part of the 3 for 2 offer so I could get another free. I ran to the stand and quickly picked one in a rush because I knew I was holding up the queue. There were a few I wanted but this one was in my eye line. When I got home I realised it was actually one of the new shades!

Blooming Pink is a bright pink polish with a magenta shimmer. The pink is actually really red leaning so the colour is really summery! I'm not sold on the name... Blooming Pink suggests more of a light spring pink to me and this colour has summer written all over it!

The application for this was okay, nothing to rave about. I had to use three coats because two didn't give me as much pigmentation as I wanted but once it was on, I loved it! 

The photos below show three coats of Blooming Pink with one coat of Nº7 Stay Perfect Fast Dry top coat. 

Inside in the natural light

Click "Read More" to see the rest of my photos and a comparison to a couple of other polishes!

A England Princess Sabra (Tristam Eyes)

Hi guys,

Just a quick post today while I'm getting ready for a party! It's my boyfriend's sister's 30th birthday party tonight and it's a 20s theme fancy dress so I have my outfit all laid out on the bed ready to go in an hour.

Today I have my first A England polish to show you. I bought two from them a little while ago when they had a 30% sale, I couldn't resist! I bought Princess Sabra and Ascalon, and it's Princess Sabra that I'm wearing today. It's an olive green polish with a really pretty scattered holographic. The colour is an almost perfect match for Adina's cat Tristam, so you'll find "Tristam Eyes" written above the polish name. I think this is a really nice personal touch! The holo effect is actually really strong on this, so strong that it looks linear at times!

The formula on this is really sheer, so I used three coats for the photos below with Seche Vite on top.

Direct sunlight 

Shade

Flash

Macro

I am so in love with this polish!!!! It's so beautifully subtle! You can buy it here for £9 with free domestic and international delivery. They also sell it at Llarowe.

GOSH Sweet Peach 551

Hey everyone,

Today I have a GOSH polish to show you. I picked this up a couple of weeks ago at Superdrug when I was looking in the discontinued bin in the hopes of finding Holographic!!!

This polish is mustard yellow and has a shimmer to it with small pieces of iridescent glitter and is (very strangely) named Sweet Peach. There is nothing peachy about this polish at all!

Sweet Peach was very much on the thick side but it was still pretty easy to work with. The photos show two coats of Sweet Peach with one coat of Seche Vite. One thing worth mentioning is that this was very topcoat hungry. Even with SV it still had a gritty finish!

Here it is in the shade

Sunlight

Macro

All in all I'm pleased I got this polish because I've been after a mustard yellow for a while. However, I really don't think it looks nice against my skin. I don't think that'll stop me from wearing it again though, I think it'll look nice on my toes come summer (if we ever get some sun!)

Seeing as this was in the discontinued bin, I'm taking it that Sweet Peach has been discontinued! You could still check your local Superdrug though, I got this for £2.49!

Essie Tour de Finance

Hi everybody,

Just a quick post before I go out for dinner! I'm going to Chiquito's with my boyfriend, my brother and his fiancee then we're all going to watch Titanic in 3D! Not my first choice of film (I'm DYING to see The Hunger Games) but still...

I have an Essie polish to show you today that I got in one of my swaps. Tour de Finance is from the Spring 2012 Navigate Her collection.

This polish is a glowy bright pink and has a blue shimmer which is absolutely GORGEOUS! The application was amazing, it was opaque with the first coat but I added a second coat just to be sure.

The photos below show two coats with no topcoat. I really liked the glossiness on this but I think if I wanted to wear it for a few days, I'd definitely use a topcoat to make it last longer. 

Natural light - it even glowed indoors!

Sunlight

Here's a closer look

I love this polish! It could potentially be my favourite pink ever!!! I have a few bright pinks but I love the blue shimmer in this and that really sets it apart in my eyes!

Enjoy your evenings!

Haul Time!

Hi guys,

Today I have a haul post for you! I did have some pictures ready for a post but once I got them onto the computer my polish looked all dented! 

These are the polishes I've acquired in the last few days. The Models Own ones I bought on Monday and the rest were bought today. The Rimmel Rapid Ruby is a back up for the one I have now which has gone a bit gloopy! I think I'll use the old one for stamping now and the new one for polishing, it's my favourite (and still only) red! 

The A England polishes came as a surprising bit of nail mail after my shopping trip. I ordered them when I was on holiday in the 30% off sale to celebrate Adina's cat Tristam's birthday and only got the shipping notice yesterday!

You might notice I have stickers on top of some of the bottles, this is so I know what I've swatched. It makes life SO much easier when I look in my nail polish box to find something to post about!

Click "Read More" to see close up photos of these polishes by brand!

Barry M Indigo and a little surprise!

Hi everyone,

Another really late post! At the moment I seem to be so busy during the day that I only have time to post really late in the evenings!

Today I have a Barry M polish to show you. I used to really love Barry M and had a few polishes by them which I have now lost... This is the first one I've bought recently. I've seen it on a few blogs and really liked the look of it so I picked it up on my most recent trip to Superdrug. 

Indigo is a blue leaning purple creme. It was so easy to apply and went on with two coats. I thought for a minute it would be a one coater and it might have been if I was more careful but I was running out of daylight so I wasn't paying enough attention to my nails!

The pictures below show two coats of Indigo with no topcoat, this polish is super shiny!

Sunlight

Shade, so glossy!

See a couple more pics and something a bit special after the jump!