Swatch: BarryM - Gelly Nail Paints (part 2)

Hi ladies! I'm back again after taking a day or two to revitalise after the 30 Day Challenge with 3 more of the BarryM Gelly Nail Paints released last month. I knew from the get go I wanted these three the most and I was going to venture into town on payday and snatch them up. Then, Mr BarryM decided to have a 20% off sale to celebrate the launch of the Gelly's on their website, so of course I knew I had to get them there and then.

As I mentioned in my previous post, BarryM Gellys are not to be confused with the squishy Jelly finish we see in some polishes, although originally that's what a lot of people thought they would be. In fact, they're supposed to be an easier way to get the 'wet look' Gel Nails give but without having to cure the polish under a UV light.  Marketed as 'One Coat, High Gloss' polishes, I must say these three do live up to that promise, depending on how heavily you apply the first coat. I generally like to do two thin coats, but to show their true potential, I did one thick coat for the photos below. I had no trouble with the formula or application of the polish, even when applying a thicker coat, everything went on smoothly and there was no pooling or flooding in the cuticles. All photos below have been taken indoors, without a top coat.

First up we have Blackberry. Blackberry is what I would describe as a deep Plum and is probably one of my favourites, it's a toss up between Pomegranate and this.

Next up we have Blue Plum. Blue Plum is a dark Blue with Green undertones. The colour of Blue Plum is more accurately pictured in the bottom photo.

And finally we have Watermelon. Watermelon is a Forest Green with hints of Blue undertones. This was probably one of the hardest to photo, just because for some bizarre reason, my camera HATES Green polishes and capturing their true colour. Again, Watermelon is more accurately pictured in the bottom photo.

Have you tried BarryM Gelly Nail Paints yet? If so which are your favourites from the collection? I'm seriously debating whether to purchase Blueberry and Blood Orange to complete my collection, although neither of them really appeal to me. If you haven't tried any Gelly Nail Paints yet, they retail for £3.99 and are available from to purchase worldwide from their website and if you're in the UK and don't want to spend on shipping, they're also available in Superdrug and Boots stores across the country.

Swatch: Catrice - Khaki Perry

Hi ladies! I have another Catrice polish to show you today from my recent swap with Rosa! I must admit, I wanted this polish for it's name, as an 'in the closet' Katy Perry fan, I thought it was cute. Khaki Perry itself is a strange colour, a metallic mixture of Golds, Greens & Greys, but not really 'Khaki' as the name suggests. As it's a metallic finish, the brush strokes are visible on the nail and I did find with Khaki Perry they are a lot more apparent than some other metallic finishes. Streaky with the first coat, to achieve full coverage and also to even out the streaks, I applied 3 coats for the photos below without a Base/Top coat.

Label Shot

Indoors, Natural Light

Natural Light

Direct Sunlight

Originally released with the Modern Muse Collection as a limited edition polish, Khaki Perry has since been added into the permanent line, so you'll have no troubles locating it! What are your thoughts on Khaki Perry? Do you see it on your wish list any time soon?

Swatch: OPI - Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow (Suede)

Hi ladies! I have another one of my OPI Suede polishes for you today, in the form of Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow. It seems to be a common theme amongst OPI Suede polishes looking nothing like their original counterparts and Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow is no exception to that rule. Originally released in the 'La Coleccion De España' of Autumn 2009 as an almost black, army green creme (which can be seen here); Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow (Suede) couldn't be any further away from it's original as a stunning Emerald Green matte packed with tiny, Silver, foil like shimmer.

Label Shot

Indoor, No Flash

Indoor, No Flash

Of course, like all my other Suede posts, I had to add a topcoat! Here it is with one coat of China Glaze - No Chip Topcoat.

Indoor, No Flash

Indoor, No Flash

Indoor, No Flash

How freaking amazing does it look with a Top Coat on?! It looks like it's almost radioactive, Superman thinks Kryptonite is his weakness...he clearly never came into contact with this stunner. I was so completely taken with this polish that it graced my nails for 4 whole days! Since I change up my nails daily, sometimes even multiple times a day (especially when swatching), this is an accomplishment. I even stopped my 'swatchfest' although I was only 3 polishes in.

What do you think to OPI's Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow (Suede)? I bet you've all gone and added this to your 'must have or I'll die' list, right?!

Swatch: Sinful Colors - Nail Junkie

Hi ladies! So yesterday I showed you Essie - Sew Psyched and told you that I had a lovely layering combo to show you, well here it is! This is one of the first Sinful Colors polishes I got, courtesy of Emily, in our previous swap. Nail Junkie is a sheer, teal base jelly packed with different sized gold, teal, green and silver with a hint of flakes too! I think it's absolutely stunning in the bottle and looks just as good on the nail. I'm yet to wear this alone, so I can't tell you how many coats it would take for full opacity, but I can tell you this is one coat over Sew Psyched!

Bottle Shot

Label Shot

Natural Lighting

Direct Sunlight

You can now purchase Sinful Colors in the UK! They retail for £2.99 and are available here the colours are limited, but you can always ask a US girl nicely if they can get the ones you want! What are your thoughts on Sinful Colors? Do you have any recommendations that I should try out? Let me know!

Swatch: Essie - Sew Psyched

Okay, so I have been seriously slacking in the swatching department lately, mainly because the weather in the UK has been awful and we've had nothing but rain! I do however, have a few swatches in my computer folder that I have post. I'm not too happy with them, but at the end of the day, I need to post them as I can't really reswatch in this weather.

Today I have for you Essie - Sew Psyched which I received in my swap box from Marisa. As always, excuse my sorry excuse of a clean up and the horrendous gash on my pointer! I had an accident with cuticle cutters >.<

Sew Psyched is a muted green-grey creme with subtle golden shimmer. It's so subtle that you can barely see it on the nail! The application was pretty easy and I only needed 2 coats for opacity. I'm a bit of an Essie noob as far as my collection goes, but I have to say I am in love with their colour range and the formula.

Natural Lighting (sorry for the orange tint)

Direct Sunlight

Sorry this post is so short, but there really weren't enough good photos for me to pack the post out with! I do however have a pretty layering combo with this polish coming up for you tomorrow, so stay tuned for that! What are your thoughts on Essie polishes? Do you have an all time favourite colour? Let me know in the comments!

Swatch: Finger Paints - Tough Art To Follow

Hi ladies, I have another Finger Paints polish for you today. I'm completely in love with Finger Paints polishes at the moment, the main reason being that they're completely new to me and I have been wanting to get my hands on some for so long now. The other reason being that they are amazing.

Tough Art To Follow is a dark, forest green creme. It can look almost black in some lighting and reminds me of OPI - Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow which I swatched here. I'll try and get a comparison post up on my Facebook page as soon as possible. As you can see in the second photo, when in direct sunlight, you can definitely see the green a lot more. I'm sorry this is such a short post today! I'm actually writing this at 2:30am and I am exhausted! 

I'd love to try even more Finger Paints polishes, so if you're able to get a hold of them, let me know in the comments or send me an e-mail at polishedcriminails@gmail.com and we can discuss a potential swap in the future!

Swatch: Color Club - New Bohemian

Hello! Me again ^.^ Now lets be honest, how many of you are surprised that I am STILL posting daily? I know I am. You may remember me saying a while ago that I wasn't going to buy any more polish until I have swatched at least a third of my collection...well as you can see from my haul posts (not including polishes I got from swaps) that hasn't really worked out too well. BUT I am determined to continuously swatch my stash until I feel I have the right tried to untried ratio. I'm also trying to cut back on buying polish until I have my Helmer (which I am still to order!) Anyway enough of the babble, lets get into the post.

New Bohemian comes from the Back to Boho collection released in Autumn of last year. It's a gorgeous bright, pastel turquoise creme that is opaque in 2/3 coats. When I first saw this polish I thought it was a dupe for China Glaze - For Audrey, but when paired together New Bohemian is a lot more greener than For Audrey. I'll try and get a comparison up on my Facebook page in the next couple of days, so keep an eye out for that! I was really surprised with Color Clubs formula, especially since it's one of the cheaper American brands (I believe). It's not thick but not watery either, it's 'just right' as Goldilocks once said. Have you tried any Color Club before? If so what is your favourite colour?

Swatch: GOSH - Golden Dragon

Hi ladies, I have another GOSH polish for you today. If you're in the UK you may have noticed GOSH clearance bins popping up in your local Superdrug filled with old seasoned make-up and nail polish. If you have yet to browse through one, I suggest you do so as I have heard people have found the elusive Holographic and Rainbow polishes in them! I am yet to be so lucky, but I have managed to find Golden Dragon, which I believe is discontinued and some other awesome finds for just £2 each! Please excuse the state of the bottle, there was a HUGE sticker over the label which has left a lot of residue *sadface*

Golden Dragon is a blue-toned green base packed with golden shimmer. I must admit, I was a little disappointed with how this looks on the nail, the polish when in the bottle looks amazing; almost like it's laced with gold. The application was okay, the polish was a little bit gloopy, but I imagine that is due to the way it was stored and it's age, as all the bottles are generally just thrown in the clearance bin. The swatch is 2 coats, please excuse my sorry excuse of a clean up! I'm currently waiting for my cuticle nippers to get rid of all the little skin stumps that my polish loves to cling to.

Swatch: BarryM - Mint Green

Natural Light - Shade

I have another polish for you from my swatch fest today! As the weather in the UK is slowly getting a little bit warmer, I thought it was time to get a couple Spring polishes up and what says 'Here comes the sun' better than BarryM - Mint Green.

Mint Green is a beautiful mint green pastel creme, when I first saw it on the shelves, I thought it looked similar to China Glaze - For Audrey, but when the bottles are together, For Audrey is definitely more blue.

Direct Sunlight

Like all BarryM polishes, Mint Green applied like a dream *ooh rhyme* it was a lot more opaque than I thought it would be and I only needed 2 thick coats for the swatch. Drying time can vary with BarryM polishes, sometimes they can dry super quick, others can take a little more time but as I was sitting getting a little bit of a tan at the same time, I didn't really mind it too much ^.^

What are your thoughts on BarryM polishes? Love them or Loathe them? Let me know in the comments!

OPI - Not Like The Movies

Today I have an absolutely amazing duo chrome polish for you in the form of OPI - Not Like The Movies from their Katy Perry collection.
I bought this polish from a blogsale on a whim, I hadn't actually seen any swatches of this polish when I bought it, I was just going off the look of the polish in the photos and I'm so glad I did!
This is probably one of the best duo chrome polishes I own, the shift is so apparent no matter what light you hold it in, there's always the presence of both the green and purple on the nail. As well as being a duo chrome, it also is packed with fine silver glitter, it reminds me of mermaids that you used to read about in fairy tales!


I then wanted to see what it looked like layered over black, so I took out Essie - Licorice and added two coats of Not Like The Movies on top. How beautiful is that?! Not Like The Movies is definitely my favourite duo chrome polish by far, as of this moment! What are your favourite duo chrome polishes? What would you recommend me giving a try, leave me a comment below!

Models Own - Peacock Green & Announcement!

It's currently 3:15am and I'm not in the slightest bit tired, so I thought I would do a little swatch post.
This is Models Own - Peacock Green, I've actually had this polish for absolutely ages and it's just been sitting in my stash ever since I first wore it almost a year ago. I forgot how gorgeous it actually is! Peacock Green is a pearlescent Emerald Green with Teal shimmer, but in certain lights it looks more Teal with Emerald Green shimmer. I would have had more swatches for you of this colour, but almost every picture I took, once uploaded was blurry....annoyed wasn't the word. The picture is 3 coats, but you can get away with applying two.
I've definitely fallen back in love with this colour, and will probably be wearing it again soon. What's your favourite Models Own polish?
Also, for you International Ladies who find it hard to get your hands on Models Own; I'm currently putting together a big order for some of my International friends who want some polishes. The more people who want polishes, the cheaper your order will be! There's also a 10% off discount at the moment for the website. I'm able to ship them to you a lot cheaper than it would be if you ordered directly from the site, if you're interested send me an email at polishedcriminails@gmail.com with the polishes you'd like and where you're from and I will email you with a total cost for your order.

Models Own - Grace Green

It is my mission over the next couple of days to clear all of the swatches in my vault, so you may see me with many different nail lengths over the next few days. Also, a lot of them were taken at night time, so the lighting will vary a lot too.
Today I have for you Models Own - Grace Green. I bought this a long time ago along with a couple other 'Autumn/Winter' shades, with the sole purpose to wear them throughout the colder months. However, it was around this time my addiction hit an all time high, so they were all shoved back in the back of my collection and sort of forgotten about *slaps hand*
Grace Green is a gorgeous dusty grey, khaki green creme, wow what a mouthful. The formula of this polish is on the thicker side, like most Models Own polishes I own, and it does smell pretty strong! The photo was with 3 coats of Grace Green, I think you could have gotten away with two, but because the formula is a bit on the heavy side, I applied 3 to make sure it was even. Besides that, I absolutely love the colour and think it's the perfect shade for Autumn/Winter. I wish I had gotten more wear out of this over the last couple months.

OPI - Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow

I finally bit the bullet today and gave my nails a little trim. Not only were they getting so long they they ran the risk of being torn off any minute, but they were starting to curl inwards too. Not to mention cutting them down a bit helps my completely torn off middle nail not look so odd next to the rest of them. So I'm pretty content with the length they're at now. I think I may just have to keep them this way!

Today I have for you OPI - Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow from their Coleccion De España released in Fall 2009, this is the only polish I own from the España collection, but there are others from the collection that I have been eyeing up for a long time now.
I was feeling in the mood for something dark and vampy, but I didn't want to paint my nails black. So I chose the nearest thing I have to a black but still with some colour and depth, this is also a new polish too so by wearing/posting this, I'm killing two birds with one stone.

GOSH - Ocean & BarryM - Croc Effects

First of all, excuse the lighting, I took these less than an hour ago whilst my boyfriend banned me from using the net whilst he played his game...So I thought it would be a good time to get some swatching done.
I have another GOSH polish for you today in the form of Ocean. When I saw this in the shop I couldn't help myself but buy it, it's absolutely stunning.
Ocean is a mermaid green/blue/turquoise metallic shimmer polish, it can look 100% metallic indoors, but outdoors you can really see the shimmer sparkling away.
I thought this would be a great base colour to try with my new BarryM Croc Effects polish, and boy was I right.

Beautiful, isn't it. I was feeling a bit impatient when I did the Croc Effects, you're supposed to wait 3 minutes before the design starts to appear, but I couldn't wait that long. So a quick blast with the hairdryer soon sorted that little problem out, which is probably why it's so broken around the edges of my nails but I think it looks good anyway. I used 2 coats of Ocean and when the polish was touch-dry, I added a thin layer of Croc Effects over the top.

Has anyone else tried the new BarryM Croc Effects polish yet? What are your thoughts on it? Like or Loathe, let me know!

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Westside Warrior & Starboard

My Autumn Nail Trends for today are by China Glaze. Here we have Westside Warrior from the new Metro collection and Starboard from the Anchors Away collection. Both of which I think are perfect for Autumn.
Westside Warrior is an olive green creme with yellow undertones. It's one of those colours that looks a really solid green colour on it's own, but when paired next to another olive green, the yellow becomes very apparent. The lacquer itself is extremely pigmented and therefore only needs 1 coat, 2 at most.

• Application: 8/10
• Pigmentation: 10/10
• Coats: 1/2

Starboard is a soft grassy green colour that again leans more towards yellow undertones than it does to blue. Very creamy finish and has that soft, cloudy marshmallow-ish look like the rest of the colours in this collection have. In true china glaze style the polish is very pigmented and needs 3 coats max.

• Application: 8/10
• Pigmentation: 9/10
• Coats: 2/3

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Peacock Green & Slate Green

Todays Nail Trend is brought to you by Models Own. Models Own is a UK brand mainly based online at www.modelsownit.com or various online stores, such as River Island, Motel Rocks etc. It can also be found in local boots stores all over the country. They retail for £5 each, but they have a 3 for £12 or 5 for £18 offers on their website.
The colours I have chosen are Peacock Green and Slate Green. Both of which I think are good for the Autumn months, as they're not pastels and they're not brights. Perfecto.
Peacock Green is a gorgeous bluey greeny shimmer polish with tiny flecks of green/gold running throughout. I absolutely love this colour, I fell in love with it the second I saw it. It does need 3 coats to get full opacity, but you won't be disappointed!

• Application: 7/10
• Pigmentation: 6/10
• Coats: 3

Slate Green is a greyed out green polish with a blueish undertone. The swatch here makes it look like a turqouise blue, but I assure you it isn't. I found the formula to this polish a little bit runny, but not so bad that it's impossible to work with. It does apply quite sheer so you need a couple coats just to bring it out more.

• Application: 6/10
• Pigmentation: 7/10
• Coats: 2/3

What are your thoughts on these colours? Do you own them, or are you simply lusting after them? Let me know in the comments below :)!