Monday, 31 December 2012

New Year...New Blog



2012 had it's ups and downs for me in terms of blogging - some months I blogged frequently and others, not so much. A lot of the time it was due to being unmotivated and uninspired and sometimes it was because I felt as though my photos weren't up to par. However, this year I plan to change all of that - I have set myself a schedule which I'm going to do my best to stick to, along with ideas for posts I could do to add dimension and content to my blog.

My schedule: I plan to post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I also plan on setting a running theme for those days, but since I will be starting a challenge on Wednesday, those themes are yet to be determined.

Since this is the start of something new, I thought I would include some goals I hope to achieve by the end of 2013....


  • Reach 4,000 GFC followers and 3,500 Likes on Facebook.
  • Have published at least 300 blog posts.
  • Interact more with my readers on all social media platforms.
  • Become more active on social media networks, especially Tumblr & Twitter
  • Improve the quality of my photos and find a lighting set up I am comfortable with.
  • Learn how to best use both of my cameras.
  • Start doing tutorials and improve my line work in Nail Art.
  • Do more 'Favourites' posts, as well as 'Bargain Buys' and Comparisons.
  • Master Water marbling and Tape Manis.
  • Use the majority, if not all, of my Untrieds.
  • Be more creative with both Stamping and Nail Art
  • Be more adventurous with Colour Combinations.
  • Improve Blog content
  • Improve my Macro shots, both on the Nail and in the Bottle.

So there you have my goals for 2013 and also a little snippet of information about what to expect from Polished Criminails this upcoming year. I hope you'll all stick around and join me on my little adventure! 
See you soon for the first instalment of the ABC challenge!!

Saturday, 29 December 2012

Eye Candy London Magnetic Giveaway Winners!

Hi ladies! I know this giveaway ended a few days ago now, and if truth be told, it had completely slipped my mind, but hey...better late than never right!? I'd like to say a huge thank you to Eye Candy London for giving me another opportunity to share their products with you all.
I won't ramble on since you're all probably dying to know who the winners are, so without further ado....







Congratulations to the winners! I will be sending each of you an e-mail, so if you think that this could be you, be sure to check both your inbox and spam folders! You have 24 hours to respond to the e-mail before another winner is announced. Thank you to everyone who entered into the giveaway and I hope you will all be sure to stick around for Polished Criminails re-launch at the beginning of next month! I have some new and exciting things planned for my little space on the interwebs....Until next time!

Thursday, 20 December 2012

EPIC INDIE 2,000 FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!!!

Hi ladies! Today is the day you have all been waiting for....the day I announce the 3 lucky receipients who will each win a mystery grab bag, filled with amazing Indie polishes! I just want to say another HUGE thank you to all the amazing sellers who donated polishes for the purpose of my 2,000 follower giveaway, this wouldn't have been possible without your kind donations!








EUROPEAN WINNER

LUCIE HANUSKOVA!

US/CANADA WINNER

STEPHANIE LOCKWOOD!

REST OF THE WORLD WINNER

SANIA AKBAR!


Congratulations to the winners! I will be sending you all an e-mail within the next hour confirming your win. Thank you to everyone who entered, I wish I could give one to all of you! In the mean time, why not try your chances at my eye CANDY London giveaway! Click the image in the sidebar to take you there!

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

EYE CANDY LONDON MAGNETICS GIVEAWAY!!!

Hi ladies! I know I said I would be gone until the New Year, but I was contacted by eye CANDY London asking whether I would like to host another giveaway for them and of course I said yes! If you're new to my biog and haven't heard of eye CANDY London, they are a relatively new UK brand which can be found in Sainsburys (both online and in stores), Amazon.co.uk and recently selected Tesco stores. Speaking of Sainsburys, all eye CANDY London polishes are currently running a 33% off promo in stores for one month from today! You can find out more about eye CANDY and see swatches for a few polishes from their range here.

The Prizes


Click the photo to enlarge

The Important Bits


  • The giveaway is open internationally, with the exception of Italy & New Zealand due to custom restrictions.
  • Winners can pick one colour from the Quilt capped and one from the Wave capped.
  • The giveaway will be open for 14 days and will end on December 26th 2012.
  • Once the giveaway is over, I will contact the winners within 48 hours, if those emails are not answered within 24 hours from them being sent, a new winner will be picked.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Products in this post have been provided to me by the companies PR team for the purpose of this giveaway.

Monday, 10 December 2012

Just a little update.

Hi ladies! It's been a long time since I last checked in with you all, so I thought an update on what has been happening would be appropriate.

Lately, I haven't had the motivation nor the mind set for blogging, a lot of it has to do with the fact I am unhappy with my current set up with regards to lighting, my camera and just the general look to my photos. I know everyone cannot just pick up a camera and be amazing at taking photos, I know it takes hard work and a lot of reading about the camera and it's capabilities before you can expect to see the results. I started this blog in October of last year because I wanted to share my passion for polish with like-minded others who just so happen to stumble across my little blog, I never expected it to grow as much as it has in a short space of time, not that I'm not grateful, but I feel as though I need to step up my game a little in order to make my subscribers proud and actually want to read what I have to say, not just because I have a giveaway. But in order for this to happen, I need to improve the quality of Polished Criminails, in terms of regular posts, being more interactive with my readers who take the time to comment (I do read every ones comments, I just SUCK at replying to them) and just generally make my blog more appealing.

What do I plan to do? Well, I think I will continue my little blogging hiatus over the Holiday season in order to set myself up a blogging schedule, in which I will plan to set aside time for swatching, uploading, editing and creating posts each week for the whole week and also just get more comfortable with the lighting set up, camera settings and which angles work best for myself. It's going to be a long process, but in the long run I believe it will help me with my 'blogging anxeity' and hopefully keep you, my readers, coming back to see more and who knows maybe bringing in some new people to the fold.

I also plan to bring you more in terms of nail design, whether it's stamping, freehand or even some 'Nail Care' tips and tricks. However, since you guys are my audience, your feedback is of the up most importance to me, so I'd love to hear about what you'd like to see on Polished Criminails, it can be anything nail/nail care related and I will try and put something together for you all.

Hopefully, I haven't bored you all to death with my ramblings and you're all still with me, it's pretty late, but I just wanted to fill you all in about why I'm not around as much & what the future holds for Polished Criminails. In the mean time, my 2,000 follower giveaway is still on going, so be sure to check out the amazing Indie brands you could be winning!


I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday season and a fantastic New Year. See you all in 2013!!...if 2012 doesn't happen, of course ;)

Wednesday, 28 November 2012

Swatch: China Glaze - Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away Collection

Hi ladies! I have an exciting post for you today featuring the brand new China Glaze collection! Before I get into the swatches, I have a little bit of information on the Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away Collection taken from China Glazes' Press Release;

China Glaze and Ardell Introduce Exclusive Collections Inspired by Paramount Pictures’ new 3D Film, “Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away”

"China Glaze and Ardell announced today their partnership with Paramount Pictures to offer exclusive collections of nail polishes and eyelashes inspired by the upcoming 3D film, "Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away" in theaters December 21st.

From the big top to the big screen, visionary filmmaker James Cameron and writer/director Andrew Adamson invite you on an all new 3D adventure: "Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away." A young couple who is separated must journey through the astonishing and dreamlike worlds of Cirque du Soleil to find each other as audiences experience the immersive 3D technology that will allow them to leap, soar, swim and dance with the performers.

The new China Glaze and Ardell "Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away" inspired nail polish and eyelash collections will bring to life the wonderfully exotic artistry that is presented throughout the film. The China Glaze nail polish collection combines rich crèmes, soft shimmers and bold glitters to create 12 limited edition shades."



I just want to say also, that the weather in the UK has been dreadful lately, there's been NO sunshine whatsoever, just thick, black rain clouds. Which means all of the photos you see in this post have been taken inside a light box, resulting in some of the polishes being 'dulled down' due to the lack of natural lighting. I'm still trying to figure out the best settings to use with the light box too but I have tried to make them all as colour accurate as I can!

Since this is going to be a very picture heavy post, swatches are after the jump!

Monday, 26 November 2012

Shimmer Swatch Series: Karen

Hi ladies! You may notice something a little different about my blog? I spent the day trying to give it a new look, I'm somewhat happy with it, but it still needs a few adjustments. Unfortunately, I am a complete spaz when it comes to HTML/Web design, so it is only one of the pre-made layouts, but hey! No one's perfect right!? So, if you were one of the people who came to my blog at some point today and had a little panic that it was suddenly set to private, that would be why!
Continuing on with my Shimmer Swatch Series, I have Karen to show you this time around. As with all Shimmer polishes, Karen is a full blown glitter bomb. Described by Cindy, the creator, as a "Lavender pink with a hint a plum Glitter Polish" but as you can see, there's a lot more going on in this little bottle of happiness. Karen is also packed with Holographic squared & hex glitters in a clear base. As with all of my previous Shimmer swatches, one coat of Karen has been layered over Jessica - Midnight Affair. The things I love most about Shimmer are how dense the glitters are and easy they apply and also that every bottle is consistent with the previous. Cindy is truly a master of her art!








Shimmer Polish is now back in business after taking a short haitus for some serious R&R, so if you want to have your own bottle of Karen head on over to Etsy to snag one for yourself at just $12 each! Whilst you're there, take a look at the other amazing polishes Shimmer has to offer, you won't be disappointed! As always, remember to keep checking Shimmer Polish Facebook page for the latest information and swatches!

Wednesday, 21 November 2012

Shimmer Swatch Series: Alice

Hi ladies! I'm back with another instalment of my Shimmer Swatch Series, this time I want to show you the gorgeous Alice. 
Before I get into the swatches, I just want to apologise for my absence recently, truth be told, I have been SO unmotivated to swatch or blog about anything lately, I have no idea what has brought this on, but something is seriously up. So I will try and get as many old swatches up as I can and in the meantime, try and get my blogging mojo back! I just hope you'll all still be around when I return full force!

Alice is packed full of various sized Silver Holographic glitters in a clear base. I was actually a little giddy to discover Alice also has Silver star glitters inside too! Unfortunately, it's been nothing but rainy and miserable in the UK lately, so I was unable to capture the Holographic glitters properly on my nails, however as you'll see below, in a bottle macro I took a while back, they are very prominent. I layered 1 thick coat of Alice over 2 coats of Models Own - Grey Day for the photos below.








Although Cindy is currently on vacation and is closed until November 26th, Shimmer retails at $12 for 15ml and you can even create your own custom polish for $15! You can find everything you need to know about the latest offers, releases and swatches for Shimmer polish via her Etsy, Facebook and Blog.

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

Swatch: Dandy Nails - Fakes & Fibbers

Hi ladies! I have another one of my Dandy Nails custom polishes to show you today! This time it's one that is currently up for grabs as part of my 2,000 follower giveaway! Now, I'd love to take credit for the name and colours for this polish, but it was actually the idea of a friend of mine, Harry David. Fakes & Fibbers is actually the name of one of his songs, and he wanted the polish to be Black & Gold. So I put the idea to Sandy of Dandy Nails and this is what she came up with! For those of you who like Acoustic, catchy music, you should definitely check out Harry, you can listen to a selection of his songs on his Soundcloud and if you like what you hear, give him a little like on Facebook & Twitter and let him know I sent you over there! 
Fakes & Fibbers is a clear base packed with micro Silver & Black glitter, with larger Black & Gold hex glitter. I layered one medium coat over Jessica - Wedding Gown without a base or top coat for the photos below.








What do you think to Fakes & Fibbers? Remember this polish could be yours just go to my giveaway at the side of my page and enter for your chance to win! Although this has solely been made for the giveaway and my personal use, it's not available at Dandy Nails, however you can purchase even more awesome polishes from Dandy Nails directly from her Etsy shop, which will be having a full restock on 16th November, for $8 each!

Monday, 12 November 2012

Swatch: Dandy Nails - Your Guardian Angel

Hi ladies! I have a very special polish to show you today, which I have been debating on whether I should actually show it, since it's such a personal polish - but it's just TOO pretty to hide away. A couple of years ago now, I lost my best friend in a car accident, it was probably the most difficult time of my life, I didn't want to go out or do anything remotely fun because I wasn't able to share it with the person which meant most to me in my life. It was a really dark time in my life, but there was one song, which was actually one of our favourite songs, that somehow managed to pull me from my spiralling depression and get back out into the world, that song was The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Your Guardian Angel. Yes, the song itself is actually rather sad/depressing, but you've gotta love irony, right?
Since I already have a tattoo in remembrance of her (which is actually a part of the song on my foot *apologies if you don't like feet*) I thought I would get a polish for her too, as we went together to purchase our first ever bottles! So Sandy of Dandy Nails was kind enough to design a custom polish for me when I approached her to make Fakes & Fibbers and This Charming Man for the giveaway. I gave her the rough idea of what I wanted - a pure White glitter polish and she worked her creative genius and created a bottle of nail polish which exceeded ALL of my expectations. Want to see what it looks like?






Your Guardian Angel is a Clear base packed with various sized White hex glitters, White bar glitters and tiny Silver glitters. The pictures don't do this polish the justice it deserves, the added Silver glitters just brings the whole polish together and adds that little bit of sparkle when it catches the light. I'm honestly in love and haven't taken this mani off in DAYS. I layered one coat (I did a thicker coat for my Ring & Pinkie fingers to show the density) of Your Guardian Angel over 2 coats of W7 - Black without a base/top coat for the photos above.

I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to Sandy for creating this beautiful polish for me, even if I was a pain in the ass at times! Although Sandy isn't currently offering customs in her store, her Limited Edition Halloween polishes are still available for purchase via her Etsy shop and she will also be having a full restock soon! You can purchase a Dandy Nails polish of your own for just $8 each! Completely worth it for the quality of her polishes - that woman is a GOD I tell you! You can also keep up with her latest releases and restocks by liking Dandy Nails Facebook page!

Thursday, 8 November 2012

Swatch: Lacquistry - Polished Criminails

Hi ladies! I seem to be doing 'giveaway' themed posts recently, so I thought I may as well carry on by showing you a custom I had made by Lacquistry! I always wanted a 'Polished Criminails' polish made, because quite frankly I'm proud of my little baby's success. Never in a million years did I think my little corner of the interwebs would have as many followers as I do, especially after a year of blogging, I hope I can continue making posts which are of interest to you all!
So, back to the post! I wanted a polish that reflected the name, so I went for the classic 'criminal' image, Orange and Black & White, based off of Orange Jumpsuits and the classic 'Robber' attire, and Jenna absolutely nailed it.
Polished Criminails is a clear base packed with various sized and shades of matte Orange hex glitters and Black & White bar glitters. For the photos below I layered 2 coats of Polished Criminails over 2 coats of Essence - Movie Star, without a base or top coat.








There are only two bottles of Polished Criminails in the world! My own, and the one I am giving away in my 2,000 follower giveaway, so be sure to enter that if you want to win a bottle of your very own! Just click the '2,000' photo on the right side of my blog!

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Swatch: Tough As Nails - Spacing Out

Hi ladies! I have the last of my Tough As Nails polishes to show you today, all of which can be found in my 2,000 follower giveaway!! I've shown you Teal Me About It and It's All Over Now, so here is Spacing Out!
Spacing Out is a Black Jelly base packed with various sized Teal & Holographic hex glitters. Spacing Out can be worn alone or over a dark base colour, for the photos below I layered one coat of Spacing Out over W7 - Black, without a base or top coat.






You can purchase Teal Me About It, It's All Over Now and Spacing Out, along with a selection of other polishes, directly from Tough As Nails etsy store for $9 for a 15ml bottle or $5.50 for a 7ml bottle. Unfortunately, Tough As Nails isn't currently available for purchase outside of the US and Canada, but be sure to keep an eye out on her Facebook and Twitter for updates on possible international shipping!


Tuesday, 6 November 2012

Swatch: Tough As Nail - It's All Over Now

Hi ladies! I have another Tough As Nails polish to show you today, which I am currently giving away the full sized version in my 2,000 follower giveaway!!
I won't bore you with a HUGE intro, so let's jump straight into the swatch!

It's All Over Now is a mixture of Purple, Lavender, Aqua, White and Iridescent glitters in a milky Grey base. This polish can be layered up to be worn alone or you can layer it over a base, which is what I did for the swatches below, this is 2 coats of It's All Over Now over OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls without a base or top coat.






You can purchase It's All Over Now, along with a selection of other polishes, directly from Tough As Nails etsy store for $9 for a 15ml bottle or $5.50 for a 7ml bottle. Unfortunately, Tough As Nails isn't currently available for purchase outside of the US and Canada, but be sure to keep an eye out on her Facebook and Twitter for updates on possible international shipping!

Monday, 5 November 2012

POLISHED CRIMINAILS 2,000 FOLLOWERS & 1 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY INDIE GIVEAWAY!!


Hi ladies! As you may have seen, Polished Criminails recently hit 2,000 followers, which is a HUGE achievement in my opinion, as well as that my little blog also turned 1 years old on October 3rd. In anticipation for both of these milestones, I have been gathering up as many indie polishes as I can from various brands and online retailers as I can. Each of the polishes you will see below, have been kindly donated for this giveaway by either the creator themselves, or a stockist of those particular polishes. So I want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who is a part of this collaborative indie giveaway!

THE RULES & IMPORTANT INFORMATION;

As always, before I show you the prizes, there's a few rules and bits of information you should know;

  • There will be 3 winners; 1 from Europe (including the UK), 1 International winner (except US/Canada) and 1 winner from US/Canada.
  • You will see there are 3 options on the giveaway regarding the country you live in, you MUST ONLY ENTER THE ONE WHICH APPLIES TO YOU. I will be checking each winners entries before they are announced, if there has been more than one entered, you will be disqualified.
  • The giveaway is going to be a MYSTERY GRAB BAG, this means that you WILL NOT know which polishes you have until you receive the prizes.
  • If you are a chosen winner and there are any polishes in the giveaway you already have, please let me know in the returning e-mail.
  • The giveaway will be open for 45 days, and will end on Thursday 20th December 2012

THE PRIZES!!; IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER



Glitteriest Of Them All, Fins For Feet, Arose From A Sleep, Not A Prize To Be Won, Book Smart Beauty, Be Home By Midnight 



Penny Pincher, Armed Forces Vet, Beachcomber




Pre Party, Blackhole, Enchant



Customs!; Fakes & Fibbers, This Charming Man



Girly Bits; Candy Corn, Fright Night. Enchanted Polish; Vampire's Dessert





Custom Made; Polished Criminails




Salt n Peppa



SueSa - S19, Sparkles By Julie - Milky Way, Daring Digits - Hunger Games, Lex Cosmetic - Love Me More




Zultanite, Color Changing Garmet, Alexandrite



Jem, The Brain, The Basketcase, Like Lovin' The Dead








The Captain



Andrina, Aquata




3 x Jennifer




Spacing Out, Teal Me About It, It's All Over Now


PHEW! You've now seen all the goodies which could be yours! Now onto the Rafflecopter form!!



a Rafflecopter giveaway