Swatch: piCture pOlish - Wisteria

Hi ladies! I'm back, or at least I think I am. I've got quite a collection of un-posted swatches in the vault and I thought it was about time they see the light of day. Some of them are recent-ish, where as others have been hiding in the maze that is my computer folders for a looong time so expect to see variations in nail length over the next coming weeks.

Kick-starting my blogging heart beat is the gorgeous Wisteria from piCture pOlish. You'll have seen from last months haul post, I've been on a bit of a piCture pOlish hype, so it's only fitting I start with them. Let's take a little look at it in action!

Wisteria is a gorgeous Lavender creme that's a just few shades shy of being a pastel. This is definitely an eye-catching shade and is guaranteed to get you some compliments! As with all piCture pOlish shades I've tried, Wisteria is super pigmented and applies flawlessly and dries to a high shine finish. This is 2 coats of Wisteria without a top coat.

piCture pOlish can be purchased directly from picturepolish.com.au, or you can click on their international network to find the nearest stockist for your country! In the UK, piCture pOlish is available at Sally Magpies.

To keep up with the latest releases and all things piCture pOlish, make sure to follow them via Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Swatch: A England - She Walks In Beauty

Hi ladies! I have an old A England swatch I found whilst browsing through my swatch folders that has yet to be published so I thought I would give it it's time in the Spotlight. I don't really have much to say here, so let's get straight into it!

She Walks In Beauty is part of the Heavenly Quotes collection and is a mix of large and small Rose coloured hexagonal glitter in a shimmering Golden base. The Golden shimmer shifts as it hits different lighting, which adds to it's unique-ness. I did need to do a little glitter placement with some of the larger hexagonal glitters, but nothing too major. I layered one coat of She Walks In Beauty over Killer Colours - Twisted Silk* without a top coat.  

A England polishes can be purchased directly from their website for £9 each if you're in the UK. Due to the new Royal Mail restrictions, A England no longer ships internationally. But never fear! International readers can purchase A England polishes from these retailers; Ninja Polish, Llarowe, Mei Mei Signatures and Nail Polish Canada! 

Swatch Spam: ILNP

Hi ladies! It's been a while since I posted some swatches, or even posted at all! I've really been unmotivated in the swatching/writing department lately, so when inspiration hits, or should I say motivation, I grab it by the horns. Since the sun is shining today, I thought I would share the new ILNP holo's I bought recently, along with some of their glitter toppers for good measure!

So let's talk formula and application; The holo's were amazing in both areas, they glided on without any issues of patching/smudging and dried fairly quick too. They're super pigmented and show the holo effect a bit more than seen in the photos. I thought I'd take photos of them both inside the light box and outside in the sunshine so you're able to see the full effect.

As for the glitters; I always seem to have a bit of trouble applying them. I find that the base is slightly thicker than some of the indies I've tried and because of this struggle to get the 'perfect' application. But a little perseverance and patience (and a thick coat of top coat) does make a difference.

Nevertheless, I'm in love with the ILNP brand, just the colour combinations Barbra, the creator behind the brand, comes up with are truly gorgeous. Not to mention the packaging, they're the cutest most high-end looking indie polishes I have ever come across and their customer service is second to none. All purchase information and social media links will be at the bottom of the post!

So for now, let's enjoy the swatches!

Swatch: I ♥ NP - Valentines Collection

Hi ladies! I have the Valentines Collection from indie brand I ♥ NP for you this afternoon. For those of you who are unaware of I ♥ NP let me tell you a bit about the brand;

I ♥ NP is created by a lovely lady named Barbra and is based out of Las Vegas, NV in the US. Barbra first opened shop in August 2012 and has since taken the Nail Community by storm. Housed in a sleek, branded box I ♥ NP displays traits usually found in high end brands such as Illamasqua, Chanel, Dior etc, with 12ml of product in a tall, slim bottle complete with a matte Black rubberised cap for easy grip and a wide brush for easy application. Everything about this brand screams high end and mass produced, when in reality it's just an indie brand of which is hand created by just one mind. All I ♥ NP polish are all created using a 3-free suspension base.

The only downside to this brand is the smell, which to me, smells like the Gloss you use to paint wood. So if you are sensitive to smell, this probably isn't the brand for you.

Formula wise I found them to vary slightly polish to polish, some I was able to apply easily with minimal effort where as others I found needed lot more manipulation and control for a smoother, more even coverage. 

Since this is a Valentines themed collection, I wanted to stick to softer shades for underwear, so without further ado let's see the swatches! Of course, this post is going to be picture heavy, so I have included a jump break.

Press Release: KBShimmer Spring 2013 Releases

KBSHIMMER ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF NINE NEW POLISHES

KBShimmer Spring Polish Line Set For Release February 15th.

KBShimmer is excited to announce the addition of 9 new colors to their 3-Free glitter polish line. Owner Christy Rose says "With Easter, warmer weather, and Spring Break fast approaching February is the ideal time to introduce softer pastels to our lineup, but also to add a splash of bold color." 

The spring lineup includes three glitter top coats, two bold jellies, and four creamy pastels, one of which is scented. "Our new line was created to play off the softer palette of spring, but also to accent unique glitters like small black dots and spring 2013 Pantone colors like the color of the year, Emerald Green. We are also excited to debut this collection in our new printed bottles. With the printed bottles, and our glitter grabbing flat brush, we feel our polish is a solid addition to any collection" says Rose. 

KBSHIMMER - SPRING 2013 COLLECTION

♥ A Dot Mess - Fuchsia and black dots, hexes, and micro slices in a clear base - Top Coat

♥ Pastel Me More - Pastel colored glitters in a rainbow of colors and range of sizes - Top Coat

♥ Squared Away - Square glitters in a variety of sizes, colors and finishes including metallic and holographic in a clear base - Top Coat

♥ Spring Training - Soft green crelly full of pink, purple, blue and green floral toned glitters, scented with a floral freesia note - Full coverage in 2-3 coats

♥ Where My Peeps At - Soft yellow crelly with circle and tiny hex glitter in fun jelly bean like shades - Full coverage in 2-3 coats

♥ Lottie Dottie - Turquoise and fuchsia dots and coordinating glitters micro slices in a soft white base - Full coverage in 2-3 coats

♥ Iris My Case - Violet pastel crelly with glitters in purple, pink, silver and blue - Full coverage in 2-3 coats

♥ Get Clover It - Emerald green jelly with micro shimmer and circle glitter in shades of green, gold and turquoise- Best in 3 coats or layered over coordinating polish to cover nail line

♥ I Got A Crush On Blue - Royal blue jelly with holographic silver glitters ranging from micro to extra large- Best in 3 coats or layered over coordinating polish to cover nail line.

Shipping February 15, 2013

KBShimmer products can be found at http://www.KBShimmer.com. For sales outside of the US visit http://www.HarlowandCo.org.

KBShimmer was founded in 2008 by the husband and wife team of Jason and Christy Rose. KBShimmer offers unique and colorful nail glitter nail polishes that are Big 3 Free, with all glitter formulas being completely free of chemicals such as toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). KBShimmer glitter polishes feature a flat glitter grabbing brush for easy application. KBShimmer also offers a 2-free quick dry polish top coat, olive oil lotion, sugar scrubs, lip balms, cold process soaps and other skin care products.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!