Swatch: eye CANDY - Peppermint Dream

Hi ladies! I'm back with another eye CANDY polish for you today. Peppermint Dream is a Turquoise Blue creme with undertones of Mint Green. The photos below are two coats of Peppermint Dream without a base/top coat. The application was good, I did have a little issue with my middle finger, but I think that was due to the fact I applied it a little thicker on that particular nail. Other than that, I had no other issues with any of the eye CANDY polishes I have tried so far! 

Label Shot

Natural Light

Direct Sunlight

Peppermint Dream is definitely keeping in with the Spring/Summer trends this year. I actually wore this on my nails for a couple of days, which is VERY unlike me. As mentioned before, you can purchase eye CANDY Core Colours at 408 Sainsburys stores nationwide for £5 each. Unfortunately, they're only available in the UK, but FEAR NOT ladies! Click HERE to be taken to my eye CANDY giveaway, where one lucky winner will win 2 eye CANDY Magnetic Quilt polishes in Peacock & Arctic AND a Colour Flip polish in Green With Envy!!!

Swatch: The Ultimate Purple/Green Duochrome Dupe Post! (PIC HEAVY)

Hi ladies! I have something very different for you today. I have actually been planning this for a while, but I needed a few 'foreign' brands so I had enough variations. After some asking around and purchasing, I finally have enough variants for the post! I won't bore you with a huge intro, since there are going to be a lot of photos to show you, but I have tried to balance higher-end brands with lower end brands so no matter your price limit, there will be something for you! First I'll show you the Duochrome with 'Sparkles' followed by the plain Duochromes.

Click the jump to see the swatches!

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NPR: 99 Things

NOT POLISH RELATED but I saw this on Geeky Owls blog, and since I am too sunburnt to even attempt writing a coherent post, I thought I would do a little filler post! If you have/are going to do this, then leave a link in the comments to your post! I'd love to see what you've been up to!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightening storm 
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping 
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language 
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke 
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 
46. Been transported in an ambulance 
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain 
53. Played in the mud 
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper 
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox 
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone 
99. Been stung by a bee

So I got a total of 41! Pretty good considering I'm only 20. I wonder if I'll be able to complete the remaining 58 before I die, I reckon so. How well did you do?

Swatch: eye CANDY - Naughty But Nice

Hi ladies! I thought I would stop by and do a little post whilst I cool down from sitting in the BEAUTIFUL British weather we've had over the weekend and give you a little swatch post. As you all may know if you follow me on Facebook, I have been raving about eye CANDY nail polishes lately. Everything about them is top quality, from the packaging to the formula, everything except the price that is! eye CANDY nail polishes are available from 408 Sainsburys stores nationwide for between £5 - £10. I have a polish to show you from their Core line, in the shade 'Naughty But Nice'.
Naughty But Nice is a gorgeous, Grey-toned, pastel Lilac creme. It applied well with minimal streaking on the first coat, I used 2 coats for the photos below. As with all eye CANDY Nail Polishes I have tried, the formula is amazing, it honestly is up there with the greats such as OPI/China Glaze. The finish is smooth and extremely glossy, the photos don't quite do it justice.

Label Shot

Natural Light

Direct Sunlight

As I mentioned, you can find eye CANDY products in 408 Sainsburys stores nationwide. Their Core Colours range retails for £5 each and come in 12 different shades. Unfortunately for my international readers, eye CANDY Nail Polishes are solely available from Sainsburys, but I am told they will eventually be expanding to selected online retailers in the future! To make sure you don't miss out on the latest news, be sure to add eye CANDY to Facebook (here & here) and also follow them on Twitter! Stay tuned for some more of eye CANDY Core Colours coming soon!

Nail Mail!

Hi ladies, I haven't got any swatches for you today, but I do have a little Nail Mail post all of which I have bought/received over the past couple of days. Let's take a look shall we?

MUA, NYC, BarryM, BeautyUK, Miss Sporty & Barbara Daly.

First of all we have this beautiful array of drugstore nail polish! This is probably one of the most excessive 'polish spree' I have ever been on, but they're all for an upcoming post about UK drugstore polishes, which should be posted at the beginning of next week, if not sooner! So keep a look out for that!

515, Sparkling Waters & 533

Next up we have an order I placed through Kim, from Harlow & Co. As some of you may have heard, Ozotic are discontinuing all of their '500' line, which contains their Holographic, Elytra & Duochrome polishes, due to a ingredient shortage. Since I had been wanting some Ozotic holos for a while, I thought now is a good a time as any to purchase a couple before the prices skyrocket on eBay! I also picked up one of Harlow & Co's own polishes in Sparkling Waters!

Naughty But Nice, Peppermint Dream & Tickle Your Fancy*

I was kindly sent these eye CANDY polishes by the company for my upcoming post! If you've been reading my blog lately, you'd have seen some eye CANDY polishes featured already. These are shaping up to be one of my favourite brands, their formula rivals that of some of the top polish brands! The best thing? eye CANDY polishes retail between £5-£10.

Lesbihonest, Frantic Romantic & Knackered

The lovely Marnie offered to swap me for these beauties. She was originally holding Frantic Romantic for me but as shipping sometimes isn't worth it for one polish, we agreed to swap for Lesbihonest & Knackered too! I've been wanting to try ManGlaze for a while now, ever since they blew up in the blogging community and what better way to start than with Lesbihonest!

MY FIRST LYNNDERELLA! Now I've never really been on the Lynnderella hype, but I have wanted to give at least one polish a try before I made judgement. I wasn't, however, going to pay the extortionate prices on eBay for one! So when Leah Ann announced she was listing her extra Lynn's on Llarowe, I knew I had to get one at their retail price! I wish I had picked another polish, but with the mad panic I bought the first one I clicked on.

So that concludes my little Nail mail post! I'm currently in the process of writing/scheduling some posts for the next week or so, so you'll all be seeing some new polishes/content on my blog soon! Take care!!

Swatch: Revlon - Whimsical

Hi ladies! So yesterday I showed you Sea Spray by China Glaze and said that this was amazing underwear for a certain polish, well this is the polish! I know Sinful Colors - Cinderella has been raved about being the perfect base for Whimsical, although I do own Cinderella, I wanted to be different. I received my Whimsical in a swap I did with Nicole from Let Me See Your Peacock since it's unavailable in the UK as far as I know, surprise surprise! Whimsical has been dubbed the Deborah Lippmann - Glitter In The Air dupe and as far as I can see, it's definitely worthy of it's title. Whimsical is a light blue and pink hex glitter with smaller blue glitter in a sheer, light blue jelly base. As common amongst glitters, it was hard to get an even amount of glitter on the nail and required some dipping and dabbing to get the glitter where I wanted it. The photos below are 2 coats of Whimsical over Sea Spray without a Top Coat.

Label Shot

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors, Indirect Sunlight

Indoors, Natural Light

Overall I can see why there is such hype around Whimsical, the polish is beautiful, of course it helps that Revlon is only a fraction the price of Deborah Lippmann polishes! What do you think about Whimsical?

Swatch: China Glaze - Sea Spray

Hi ladies! I have another China Glaze polish to show you today, which is also going to be an amazing underwear colour for tomorrows post! Sea Spray was originally released as part of China Glaze 'Anchors Away' collection last Spring and is a gorgeous, greyed out light Blue with the tiniest hints of Pearl shimmer. The shimmer doesn't really translate onto the nail, but that being said, it is still one of my favourite China Glaze shades. It's a perfect pastel shade without being 'too' pastel (totally makes sense, right?!) and will definitely be a perfect shade to spruce up a plain outfit. The application was perfect, as with most China Glaze polishes I have come across, it applied like butter and I only needed 2/3 coats for opacity.

Label Shot

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors, Natural Light

As I mentioned, this is a perfect underwear shade for tomorrows post, any guesses at what it might be? You can still find Sea Spray on eBay for around £5 if you're in the UK, if you're from the US, I believe they are still available in certain stores.

Swatch: GOSH - Sweet Rose

Hi ladies! I have a GOSH swatch for you today in the form of Sweet Rose. Sweet Rose was actually released with their Autumn line either last year, or the year before and is a gorgeous dusty rose Pink creme. The application was good, it applied well and didn't streak or flood the cuticles. Although this was released as part of their Autumn line, I think it's a perfect colour for Spring! The photos below are 3 coats of Sweet Rose without a Top Coat.

Label Shot

Indoors, Natural Light

Direct Sunlight

I do believe this was a limited edition shade, but they can still be found floating around eBay for a reasonable price. GOSH Cosmetics are available to buy in the UK from Superdrug stores for around £5 each. What are your thoughts on Sweet Rose? For a person who isn't a huge fan of Pinks, I really liked this colour!

Swatch: China Glaze - For Audrey

Hi ladies! Today I have one of China Glaze most infamous polish 'For Audrey'. For Audrey was one of the very first China Glaze polishes I purchased when I started hoarding collecting Nail Polish, I'd seen so much hype and posts about For Audrey, I just had to see for myself. I must admit, although I LOVED this polish when I first got it in the mail, it has since been lost in my ever growing collection. I honestly forgot how much I actually do love this polish until I busted it out for swatching. For Audrey is an almost perfect match for the famous Tiffany Blue, a little more blue than green it is the perfect balance between the two and will compliment most skin tones. This is THE most perfect colour for Spring/Summer and one I will definitely be wearing for more than 10 minutes during a swatch fest. But don't take my word for it, take a look for yourself!

Bottle Shot

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors,  Indirect Sunlight

Man, I forgot how much I love this colour. The application is a dream, it applies like butter and you only need 2 coats max, you could probably get away with one coat. As I mentioned, this is definitely going to be one of my 'go to' shades for Spring and Summer, I even have a gorgeous pair of sandals this would look AMAZING with. What are your thoughts on For Audrey? Do you think it's overrated or do you think it's hype is deserved?

Swatch: Collection 2000: Fruit Salad

Hi ladies, me again! I have a Collection 2000 polish to show you today, I haven't featured anything by Collection 2000 since way back when my blog was brand spanking new! So again, that needs to be changed and to kick things off (again) is Fruit Salad! Fruit Salad has to be one of THE most annoying polishes to photograph, in some photos it looks like a muted, pinkie Coral, but in others it appears to be almost neon. So just take the photos below with a pinch of salt and picture something in between the two. As I've mentioned in my previous Collection 2000 post, the brushes are a bit TOO wide for my liking, but since my nail painting 'skill' has developed over my blogging lifetime, it has become a bit easier to work with. The photos below are 2 coats of Fruit Salad without a Top Coat. The formula itself is okay, I do find it to be a bit thick and it floods in some areas, but it is manageable IF you have the patience. The drying time is what gives the 'Hot Looks' range an edge, as they do dry pretty quickly (especially for a drugstore brand)

Indoors, Natural Light

Direct Sunlight

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors, With Flash

Collection 2000 Hot Looks polishes are available in the UK from Boots and Superdrug stores for £1.79, they usually are on a 2 for £3 offer (as they currently are in Boots) but at the moment in Superdrug, they are on 3 for 2. I have a few more Collection 2000 posts lined up for you, so if you'd like to see those then stay tuned!

Swatch: China Glaze - IDK (Happy Holo Day!!)

Hi ladies! So I have a cool little post for you today! A couple of the girls in a Facebook group I'm in, decided to create a 'Holo Day', where each of us participating will post a swatch of, well, a holo polish! Now I don't really own THAT many holo polishes, and any I do own are all featured already on the blog. HOWEVER, I did find a folder of China Glaze - IDK photos which I didn't publish, unfortunately this polish is no longer with me so you'll have to forgive the photos as it was a cold, miserable, sunless day. I decided I wanted in last minute so I haven't been able to create something amazing like the other ladies since there was no sunshine today for me to bust my holos out (and I wanted to do it with proper sunlight, not flash) so you'll just have to make do with my boring, one coloured nails!
If I remember rightly, I used 2 coats of IDK without a top coat, I did find the formula a little gloopy but perhaps that's just because it is getting old. For those of you who don't know, IDK comes from the OMG collection by China Glaze released in Spring 2008 and it's a gorgeous, linear lilac holographic polish! As I mentioned, the photos were taken on a VERY dull day, so I had to use a flash to capture the 'holoness'.

Dull, overcast weather, no flash

Dull, overcast weather, with flash

Dull, overcast weather, with flash

Isn't it stunning? Looking at these photos makes me regret ever selling my OMG holos, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Polish CAN be replaceable if you're willing to spend the pennies! Do you own any of the China Glaze holos? If so which ones?

Make sure you check out some of the other AMAZING bloggers partaking in Holo Day!

Swatch: China Glaze - Stella

Hi ladies! Recently I realised that I hardly ever post China Glaze swatches on here, which is complete insanity as China Glaze is the reason I fell in love with Nail Polish to begin with and is the brand which I own the most of! So to kick start bringing China Glaze back as a regular is Stella. Released in Autumn/Fall of 2009 as part of the Retro Diva collection, Stella is a deep Magenta with Purple and Pink micro shimmer. I LOVE this polish, the application is amazing and applies perfectly with 2 coats, I can't believe I waited so long to pick it up!

Label Shot

Indoors, Natural Lighting

Direct Sunlight

Indoors, With Flash

How beautiful is Stella?! Now I don't know if it's just me, but whenever I see the name of this polish this song comes into my head instantly, I even showed my boyfriend the name and asked what it reminded him of, he said exactly the same thing as I did. What are your thoughts on Stella? Do you have this in your collection or are you lusting after it?

Swatch: eye CANDY - Magnetic Quilt 'Bordeaux'

Hi ladies, me again! Are you getting sick of seeing me yet? I promise you, this is the last post for today! Carrying on with the eye CANDY theme of today, I have one of their new 'Quilted' magnetic polishes in Bordeaux. I'm sure you're all aware by now that eye CANDY has a brand new polish line out in 408 Sainsburys stores Nationwide and are 3 free, 100% British and use the same world class formula as OPI for a fraction of the price!
Now, this is the first time I have EVER used a Magnetic polish as they've never really interested me, so you'll have to excuse the mess, but I do think I did a reasonably good job for my first try, right!? Bordeaux itself is a deep, Ruby Red base packed with Silver shimmer - I'd actually wear this polish without using the magnet!
If you're like me and are a complete noob when it comes to Magnetic polishes, I thought I would give you a quick insight to what I did;

1. Place a thin layer of the polish on each finger and leave until 'almost' dry
2. Apply a thick layer of polish on one finger and quickly place the magnet 'ridge' at the base of the cuticle.
3. Hold for 15-20 seconds
4. Repeat step 2 & 3 on remaining nails.

After following those steps, you should end up with something like this, if not better; Note; In the following photos, a Top Coat was used.

Bottle Shot

Brush Shot

Detachable Magnetic Lid.

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors, Natural Light

I also wanted to see how it would look matted, as you can see, matting the polish does seem to effect the opacity of the magnetic pattern as well as highlighting more how noob I really am at this. I used one coat of ELF - Matte Finisher Top Coat for the photos below.

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors, Natural Light

I was impressed by the strength of the magnet but unfortunately, this polish hasn't changed my opinion of Magnetic polishes. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of them but they just don't 'wow' me. As I mentioned, I would definitely wear this colour without the use of the Magnet, I think it's beautiful and I don't own anything quite like it.

For those of you who DO like Magnetic polishes, eye CANDY currently has 2 types of magnet designs, the one you see above and also waves (which were pictured in the Press Release post), they will also be launching two new designs in the near future; a star design and diagonal lines! The Magnetic range are available for purchase at most large Sainsburys stores for £10 each (10ml) and come in three different colours; Espresso (coffee metallic), Artic (silver metallic) and of course Bordeaux.

To keep up with the latest news from eye CANDY be sure to check out their website and also add them to Facebook & Twitter

Swatch: eye CANDY - What A Steal

Hi ladies! As promised, here is the second eye CANDY polish I have to show you 'What A Steal'. As mentioned in my first post eye CANDY polishes are all 3 free as well as being sourced, created, designed and manufactured in the UK and use the same world class formula as OPI for a fraction of the price!
What A Steal is a limited edition, Graphite Grey packed with densely packed Gold, Silver and Green micro glitter to give it that metallic Graphite feel. Like Liquid Gold the application was easy, I needed two coats for the photos below, there were some bald spots when applying my first coat, but that was easily rectified with the second application. The polish also dries completely smooth, which was a complete shock to me as when looking at the bottle I got the impression it would dry a little gritty. Overall I'm very impressed with the two polishes I have tried so far, but enough with the ramble, lets get on to the swatches!

Bottle Shot (please excuse the Red tinge from my camera)

Brush Shot

Label Shot

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors, Natural Light

Indoors, Natural Light

Direct Sunlight

Direct Sunlight

To me, this looks very similar to Chanel - Graphite, but as I don't own any Chanel polishes, I can't do a comparison for you. eye CANDY What A Steal is available for purchase at most larger Sainsburys stores for  £8 (12ml) each. What are your thoughts on 'What A Steal', do you see yourself going to purchase it in attempt to kill the Chanel craving? Let me know in the comments!
To keep up with the latest news from eye CANDY be sure to check out their website and also add them to Facebook & Twitter

Also, stay tuned for the last eye CANDY post where I show you my first attempt at using a Magnetic polish!