NOTD: Expect the Unexpected

Hi Everyone,

It feels weird being back on Truly Polished, recently I've pretty much forgotten that I even have a blog! I've decided there will be no more reasons behind me not blogging, either I do it or I don't do it... At this point I'm just counting getting dressed in the mornings as a win! I'm 24 weeks pregnant today and getting round two of horrendous tiredness, plus my son is ill today so I've had the worst sleep, he came into bed with me at 4am and was so boiling hot hanging around my neck for cuddles that I didn't sleep well at all!

I was surprised, then, that when I woke up, I was itching to some nail art... When we got up this morning, my son was desperate to go to preschool, and seeing as his temperature didn't feel too high then and he seemed happy, I took him in and came home brimming with ideas!

A few weeks ago we found out we are expecting another boy, so I knew I wanted to incorporate blue into the theme, and I knew I didn't have the energy for anything but striping tape, so I set about raiding my stash and here's how it turned out...

Natural light

Flash

The polishes I used were:

Sally Hansen - Lavender Cloud, a very pale off-white purple

Models Own - Blueberry Muffin, a pale blue creme

Models Own - Champagne, a champagne gold foil

Models Own - Southern Lights, a blue toned holographic full coverage glitter in a slightly tinted purple base.

I used striping tape for all of the sections, and finished it with a coat of HK Girl top coat.

I'm really pleased with how this came out, it was very simple to do and was a great first foray back into nail art. The only thing I'd add would be a blue triangle on my middle finger nail just to balance the colours a bit better, I love he subtle difference between the blue and off-white so I'd have like to see more of that.

What do you guys think?

Picture Polish Altered State

Hi Guys,

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! Mine wasn't that interesting really, I did nothing on Saturday, yesterday was better though because I had a quick trip to the city... I had my first ever venture into Sally's for acetone, and then I took a trip to Hobbycraft for some yarn, but more on that later in the week! 

Today's post focuses on another of the Picture Polish limited editions! This time it's Altered State, a blue - purple - red multichrome with chunky holographic glass flecks. I have to say when I first got these I was the most excited for this one, but was a bit disappointed when I first put it on. That changed once I started moving my fingers and saw the different colours. I will say though that I think this is the most subtle of the collection.

For these swatches I used one coat over Cult Nails Nevermore with a coat of HK Girl top coat on top of it all.

Sunlight

Click "Read More to see the rest of the pictures.

Polished by KPT Kelvin Bleu

Hey Guys,

I hope you all had a great weekend! I've been so busy this week and having some really late nights that I just haven't had any time to blog! But here I am back on track with my Rainbow Connection haul!

Tonight's post is Kelvin Bleu, a cornflower blue scattered holo thermal polish that when warm turns to a pale silvery blue. I've wanted this for the longest time, so when I finally got it I was so happy.

My swatches show two coats with a coat of Seche Vite on top. Originally I had done swatches over a white base but I hated them so had to do them again.

Warm - Cold - Warm - Cold

This post is seriously pic heavy, so click Read More to see the rest!

What's In My Stash #3

Hi Everyone,

I'm so annoyed that this has been such a quiet week because I've got lots of post swatches prepared, but I've just been so busy! My fiance found out last minute that he was coming home on Monday night (I found out Monday morning) and this week we've just been pottering around and due to him being four hours ahead at work he's been really tired early so I've been in bed by 10 most nights - that's usually blog post time! Tonight is his birthday, so we've been out for a meal and now I have time do post!

Tonight I have another What's in My Stash post. I haven't done one for a while because I've been focused on posting swatches of my Rainbow Connection haul, so I thought it'd be nice to have a look at something I have stashed away and it's a good one!

My Private Jet by OPI is one of those iconic polishes that you never think you'll ever own. There is a long story behind it, one that is too long for me to write, but suffice to say there are a few versions of this, two of which are holographic. The version I have is the brown holo version. I bought this for an undisclosed sum on eBay back in August as a birthday present to me from me!

Here are some photos, I used two coats with topcoat....

Flash

Natural light

Sunlight

Isn't this beautiful? I feel so lucky that I've got this, even though I'm too scared to wear it all and use it up!

I'll hopefully be back tomorrow with the first of this year's Festive Fridays so see you then!

Polished by KPT Hot Like Wasabi

Hi Guys,

Well this week is dragging on... I can't believe today is only Wednesday... I think it's because my fiance has been away four weeks tomorrow so he should be coming home but we still don't know when it will be, so that's stressful! This week my task is to finish Christmas shopping. I did some today but I still have a bit left.

Anyway, I need something to take my mind off everything, and this is just the thing!

Hot Like Wasabi is a yellowy-olive thermal polish with a slight holographic element from Polished by KPT. Out of all of her thermals, this is the one I have had my heart set on for the longest. I love colours like this, it's kind of ugly when it is cold, but so gorgeous at the same time! When warm, it changes to a very subtle sage green, amazing...

For someone who wears pretty much grey, black and nothing else clothing-wise, I like to have a statement colour on my nails and this is perfection!

The formula on this polish is thinner than the others I've tried in that it takes three coats to be opaque. I don't mind that though, I'd rather use three coats on its own than one or two over white. I used a coat of Seche Vite on top as well.

Warm - cool - warm - cool

This post is slighly pic heavy, so click "Read More" to see the rest!

Liquid Sky Lacquer Sugared Berries

Hello :)

I'm in a very good mood today... I GOT MCBUSTED TICKETS! After failing at getting them yesterday (and shedding a couple of tears... Shh...) I got my act together this morning and was determined! I couldn't get them for Bournemout BIC which is nearest to my babysitter aka my Mum so I decided to go for Manchester instead. My brother had been planning to come with me and he is at uni in Manchester so I'm going to have a break at my Mum's, then travel up from Hampshire to Manchester so May 10th next year my brother and I will be jumping up and down singing Sleeping With the Light On at the top of our voices!

Tonight's post isn't what I thought I'd be posting, but when I heard that Rainbow Connection were restocking this particular polish today I had to put it to the top of the list!

Sugared Berries is a pale lilac holographic polish. I never used to be into these lighter holos but when I saw this I had to have it. Now I have it I want more just like it!

The photos below show two coats with topcoat. This had a fantastic formula, no dragging, dried quickly in between coats, and the holo was great. I'm so glad we had a little bit of sun so I could swatch this! The sunny days are going to be much more few and far between from now on... 

Natural light 

Sunlight

Flash

 Isn't this gorgeous?! I love it, so beautiful!

You can get it now on Rainbow Connection here where it retails for £10.25.

Right, that's all from me tonight. Time to cook dinner! Have a great weekend and I'll see you guys back here on Monday. I have posts a-plenty, so you're going to be seeing a lot more of me! And hopefully if all goes well with my new blog layout, you might be seeing a different design after the weekend. Just a couple of things I need to figure out if I get time tomorrow or Sunday.

Rainbow Connection Haul

Hey Guys,

The time has finally come, I'm back to nail posts! I felt like I was in a bit of a blogging funk, and my no-buy was taking away from my love of nail polish... I'm an addict, I need more to keep me alive! Anyway, I've been home nearly a week and I've had a very productive 6 days, full of housework, cooking, crafts with my son and nails! I feel like I've made a transformation into the kind of person who gets things done! As well as this I've been starting my Christmas preparations (I know it's early but my boyfriend fiance has told me to get on with it while he's away) and working with a company on a feature which should be coming up over the next fortnight, and I've taken pictures for my new blog design that I've been rabbiting on about for months!

Like I said, I've been a busy bee!

This week I am dedicating Truly Polished to a company that I am in love with. Rainbow Connection is a newish indie stockist based in the UK - yes you really can hear the Hallelujahs - it's that amazing! I know that all this praise is probably over the top, and I'd like to make sure I state that they have had no involvement in this post, I just love them...

Anyway... Shortly after my no-buy was announced, Rainbow Connection came into my life. Obviously indies don't count on no-buys (didn't you hear? Those are definitely 100% the official rules...) so I couldn't help but pre-order some bits, and order some in-stock items over the course of about two weeks. The pre-orders took a while to come in and then I was a bit here there and everywhere with our trip to Iceland, then my fiance going away for work, then coming home from my Mum's, that I never got to do a haul post! So here it is...

Polished by KPT Plumeria - Hot Like Wasabi - Kelvin Bleu - Color Therapy

 I've wanted some Polished by KPT polishes for ages, but the shipping from America is costly so I got as many as I could in the presale. The print of the labels unfortunately came off when I grabbed the bottles with wet hands!

Wingdust Gilty Pleasures - Sleepless Summer Nights - Steel Town Girl

Note: There was a mix up with my order where I received Sleepless Summer Nights instead of Steel Town Girls. Rainbow Connection sent me a replacement Steel Town Girl the same day and let me keep Sleepless Summer Nights - great customer service!

CrowsToes Chess, you dog! - Dollish Polish Expecto Patronum - Liquid Sky Lacquer Sugared Berries

I'll be posting swatches of these this week and next, I have 4 polishes swatched already and I'm hoping to get the rest done while my son is at preschool Wednesday and Thursday this week, as well as painting my nails in the evening and taking pictures during the day - old school, how I used to do it when I posted every day!

Have you bought anything from Rainbow Connection? Make sure you check out their site here!

What's In My Stash #1

Hi Everyone,

Today I thought I would introduce a new feature called What's In My Stash! 

I generally store my nail polish in my Helmer, or at least I intend to... I have the majority of my nail polishes in there, but I more than often have about 50 others laying around in other places like my living room, kitchen, on my dressing table. So the ones that are laying around are the ones I usually end up wearing because they catch my eye easier. 

Sometimes, however, I have a particular polish I want to wear, so I have to go into my Helmer. Every time I go in there I'm shocked at how many beauties I have in there, some that I haven't even worn!

So my first What's In My Stash polish is a real winner. It is Ozotic 532 and I bought this around July last year from Llarowe after it was announced that Ozotic was discontinuing a load of their range, including all of the Mish Mash polishes. I bought this one and 531... When they arrived they got lost in my house somewhere for ages, and then I found them after we moved and put them in my Helmer. Then one night about a week and a half ago I started panicking I'd lost them and had to go and find them immediately!

Ozotic 532 is a teal/blue/purple multichrome with a lot of holoness thrown it. It's beautiful, which is why I had to have it!

Onto the pictures. I used my lightbox for one of these photos and one lamp for the others. I would have loved to get sunlight pictures of this but the weather was terrible when I did these and it was about 1am!

I layered two coats of Ozotic 532 over Models Own Beth's Blue. It looks amazing over black but I wanted to try something different!

Look at that! Like liquid magic!

Lamp Light - Bright artificial light brings out the purple

Flash in Lightbox - The flash brings out the gorgeous teal!

I love this so much, I can't believe it was left unworn in my collection for so long!

What do you think of Ozotic 532? Do you have any of the now discontinued Ozotics?

Cult Nails I Got Distracted

Hi Guys,

I know what you're thinking... It's the last post of the month, where are the Five Favourites? Well, that should be today's post really, but seeing as my posts have been few and far between recently, I'm feeling like I want to post about nails! My Five Favourites March Edition will be up on on Monday or Tuesday. As will an Easter manicure. Honestly, Easter has crept up on me this year and I have bought far too many polishes, so I wanted to wear a few of them before doing an Easter mani!

That brings me on to tonight's post! I originally planned to post the Barry M Textured yellow tonight, but the swatches from my light box weren't great so I need to re-swatch it before posting. So in it's place is an something I bought recently! I'm currently wearing it so I wanted to share...

It's no secret that I love Cult Nails. Toxic Seaweed from them was my first post here on Truly Polished and they'll always have a special place in my heart! Their customer service is great and I really admire their mode of operation. Maria and John stay in contact with their customers all the time on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and I think that's great. Not to mention they make the best glowy shimmer polishes ever!

Tonight I don't have a glowy shimmer though, I have a deep blackened jelly base packed with green and holo glitters. This is I Got Distracted from Coco's Untamed Collection. I bought this along with a couple of other polishes recently.

The formula here was a breeze, nearly a one coater but I used two for the photos below. This is with three coats of topcoat, it was a bit of a topcoat eater, but all glitters are so I don't mind!

Natural light

Flash macro to show the holo glitter

Isn't this beautiful, I haven't worn such an amazing, unique polish in a long time. I'm so glad I bought this!

I didn't really want to post this to be honest tonight and this is for one reason and one reason only... It's sold out... However, I think it will be back because on the website it isn't listed as Limited Edition. Keep your eyes peeled HERE for when it comes back. It retails for $12. 

Be careful though if you're ordering here and you live in the UK, Royal Mail will get you, idiots... They charged me the tax, which I don't mind, but they charged me £8 handling fee, outrageous! I hate Royal Mail, not only have they destroyed a parcel I sent to a friend in America, but they charge stupid fees!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi Guys,

Long time no see? I know, I'm a terrible blogger! This week we have been doing lots of boring things around the house, but we're getting somewhere. My son's room is nearly finished. His blinds are cut to size and put up, his normal ceiling light has been taken down and there is a sun in it's place, and his room is coming together exactly how I wanted it to! I also organised my Helmer on Tuesday... There will be a post on that either tomorrow or next week, time depending...

Anyway, today is Valentine's Day, not that you would know it in my house! Let's just say we aren't all pink hearts and love songs here!

Nevertheless, this is Valentine's Day and I wanted to mark it with a pretty pink manicure. This is the first manicure that I have photographed in my new lightbox. I got it on Monday, and while I was playing with it I knocked over one of the lamps and the bulbs went. So I bought new bulbs and replaced both, so I hope you like the new photos!

Here's the mani:

Let me just say, it felt really good to do a little bit of nail art, even if it was just a little bit!

The polishes I used were: 

17 Simply Pink - three coats (pale pink)

Revlon Sparkling - one coat (glitter)

Orly Miss Conduct - two coats (cranberry scattered holo)

I freehanded the heart as best as I could with the brush from the bottle, and then at the left hand side I used my opposite thumb nail to create the line. Then I filled the gap with Simply Pink with a striping brush.

I love how this looks, it's the first thing like this I've done in absolutely ages!

What do you think of the lightbox photos? I'm really happy with them, the bulbs give off the perfect level of light. The only thing I must say is that I didn't use a matte top coat. This was glossy (I used the Models Own topcoat) but the diffused light takes the glossiness away. I don't mind how it looks, but it's worth a mention!

If you want to know more about my lightbox and lamps, then check back next week because I'll hopefully have a post up about it!

Happy Valentine's Day. Whether you're single, in a relationship, or "it's complicated" I hope you're having a great day!

A England Tristam

Hi Everyone,

Today I've got a gorgeous polish to show you. I bought this a while ago when A England had their deal on for the Mythicals Collection. You could, for a limited time, buy the polishes for £5 each. Honestly, the Legends Collection is my favourite of the two, but there are some real beauties in the Mythicals. I did have a few more in mind but I decided on Tristam and Lady of the Lake as my two purchases. 

Tristam is the one I have to show you today!

This is a very dark blue scattered holographic polish with such an amazing shine that you really don't need topcoat. The formula for this was exactly what I have come to expect from A England, smooth and buttery. One coat would have been enough for full opacity but I used two coats for the photos below.

Natural light

Sunlight

Isn't this so pretty? It looks almost as pretty in natural light as it does in the sunlight, and the base colour is perfect for autumn/winter!

You can get this polish here where it retails for £9. Keep your eye out for sales on the A England website, this is the second time I've bought things from A England and both times it has been during sales, so check their site often!

I have some amazing posts in mind for the near future and I really want to show some new nail art, the only problem is having time to do it, so stay tuned for some really interesting stuff! Right now though, my focus is spending as much time as possible with my boyfriend while he's home, and my son of course! And also........ learning to drive. It's going well, but more on that soon!

See you tomorrow!

NOTD!!! GOSH Holographic 549 - And my first video

Hi everyone, 

I hope you're all having a lovely week! My son is on the mend, and although that means he's less sleepy and awake more, I'm not worrying about him all the time! 

Today I have an "OMG I can't believe I'm posting this" post to show you. I've been saying for ages I've needed a sunny day for something amazing and finally my prayers were answered!

I got GOSH HOLOGRAPHIC!!!! 

This has been my most wanted nail polish for ages, I've traipsed through so many Superdrug GOSH discontinued bins trying to find it, to no avail. There are rumours that GOSH will be re-releasing Holographic... I tweeted them to ask, and they replied with a cryptic but promising message, here it is:

Anyway, I was hoping that a new one in the pipeline would stop me from wanting this, but it turns out it did the opposite. The thought of a new one just made me need the original! So I went onto eBay and the rest is history! I got a good price, don't worry!

I was worried about the application would be a nightmare, but I used two coats of Nubar Ridge Filler as my base coat and three coats of Holographic went on quite easily. I did have to make sure I didn't go over the same spot twice, but I think that goes for any base coat.

Now onto some photos! This is three coats with no topcoat. I've included a photo in the shade so you can see, it looks a bit blah in the shade but in the sun it's amazing!

Sunlight

Shade

My favourite part of the holographic colours!

I've also included my first ever video! The backing track is Farewell to the Fairground by White Lies in case you were wondering!

Isn't Holographic amazing?!

Don't worry if you can't get hold of 549 Holographic, because I'm pretty sure they will be releasing a holo (or hopefully a few!) later on in the year!

I'm planning on stamping on top of this, not sure what to choose though! I'm reluctant to cover any of the beauty but some irrational part of my brain thinks stamping over it might make it last longer...

See you tomorrow!

Dollish Polish - Heart of Glass

Hi guys,

Wow, I'm so achy today! I did an exercise class this morning that I could take my son to, in his pram. It was such hard work, I don't think I've ever done so many squats in my life! But no pain, no gain!

Anyway, I promised you something really pretty for today so here it is! I did have another idea for today but the weather wasn't nice enough to take photos so I chose this instead.

Heart of Glass is a clear based nail polish with lots of spectraflair, as well as some holographic shards and bar glitter. I've been after this for AGES and I actually had 2 in my basket when I bought this, but I removed it to give someone else the chance to enjoy it!

The formula on this was amazing, as I've come to expect from all Dollish Polishes. The photos below show one coat of Heart of Glass layered over one coat of Cult Nails Nevermore.

Bottle shot - I had some settling issues but jut left the bottle upside down for a  bit and it was fine!

The rest of my photos are after the jump!

Giveaway Polishes!

Hi guys,

I've had such a busy day today, we had to go and get my son a new car seat, and I had to change a couple of tops, so of course that turned into a full shopping session! We went to IKEA as well, which takes a day in itself!

I announced my 30 follower giveaway yesterday and promised I'd have swatches of the polishes up tonight, so here they are! 

Catherine Arley 673

Catherine Arley 805

Hedys Ma.Nish.Ma Blaster and Way Out Fucsia

My full mani of these polishes

The holos are Catherine Arley 673 and 805. 673 is a gorgeous grape purple with a scattered holo effect and 805 is a black with scattered holo. The holo effect in these is very similar to in A England polishes, where sometimes it looks almost linear. The formula on both was really smooth, I used two coats for the black and three for the purple. 

The glass fleck polishes are Hedys Ma.Nish.Ma Blaster and Way Out Fuscia (their spelling, not mine...). Blaster is a purple/blue duochrome and Way Out Fuscia is a pink polish with a shift to blue, with orange at extreme angles. My photos show one coat of each layered over black. My index and ring fingers show Blaster, and I have Way Out Fuscia on my middle and little fingers. My thumb shows half and half.

I decided yesterday that seeing as I layered these polishes, that the prize would be incomplete without a black. So I will be adding a black to the prize! 

These means that the winner of this giveaway will win all four of the polishes shown above, with a black creme as well. It's worth mentioning that the polishes I swatched are my own, you'll be winning new, unused polishes!

It's definitely worth joining to win this prize! As I mentioned yesterday the draw will be on Sunday 10th June at 12pm GMT.

Home Sweet Home and 30 Follower Giveaway!!!!

Hello!

I'm so sorry I missed a day of posting without warning last night. My boyfriend got "the call" that he had to go away and work, so we had to pack up all our things and come home last night. We left the house at around 7.30, then stopped off at my friend's house on the way, and we didn't get home until 1am! So I had no time to write a post!

After such a long trip I was so glad to get home, there's nothing like coming home and getting into your own bed.

Anyway, I don't have a polish to show you tonight, but this is the official announcement of my 30 follower giveaway! I promised I'd do one and the prize got bigger and bigger while I was waiting, and this morning I gained follower number thirty and so the giveaway is going ahead.

Tomorrow I will be revealing the four polishes that make up the prize. There are two gorgeous scattered holos and two glass fleck duochrome top coats. I'll be swatching them tomorrow and then the photos will be up tomorrow evening. 

I've decided to throw another polish into the prize. The two holos can obviously be worn as they are. but the top coats need to be layered, so I'll be throwing in a black creme too! I'm too generous for my own good, but I'm so appreciative for the support you've given me that I want to give back! I'm giving myself a couple of extra days to make sure I've got the prize together

Here are some things you need to know:

1. There will be ONE winner who will win all five polishes

2. This giveaway is only open to those who follow via GFC. If you're already a follower on there you've done enough, but if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram then follow via GFC to be eligible to win.

3. This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY, but I can't be held responsible if your prize doesn't arrive in one piece, or at all. Customs is out of my hands...

4. The draw will be done by a random list by random.org and I'll post a screenshot of the results.

5. The draw will be on Sunday 10th of June at 12pm GMT.

6. When I post the results, the winner will have 72 hours to respond or I'll pick a new winner.

Any other questions, drop me an email at trulypolishedblog@gmail.com and I'll try my best to answer them.

All that's left to say is that I can't wait to do this giveaway! Stay tuned tomorrow to see what the prize contains!