May'd In Britain: Models Own

Hi ladies! We're back today with another instalment of May'd In Britain, this time featuring some Models Own polishes. Now you will notice that my nails are significantly longer in this post, that's because I'd already made a start on some swatches for this month before my catastrophic nail break. That teaches me to be organised right? I used to have SO many Models Own nail polishes, but over the past year or so I've gradually gotten rid of them and haven't really purchased any more. I find most of Models Own polishes apply really well on the first few uses when they're brand new but once they've been used more than a handful of times or even just used once and left for a while they tend to go really thick gloopy, I've also found they take a while to dry when compared to other drugstore brands. So overall I'm not a big fan of Models Own, to top it all off their regular line is NOT 3-free, they contain Formaldehyde resin, Camphor and Toluene which is why they have a strong smell, however their Pro Range IS 3-free, so if you're all about 3-free I suggest purchasing from their Pro line, although they are more expensive and not as wide a colour choice.

Below are a selection of Models Own nail polishes I own, all purchase information will be listed at the bottom of the post!

Beth's Blue* is a light Cornflower Blue creme. Since this was the first time opening and using the bottle, the application wasn't so bad. It applied well with only a couple minor streaking issues and needed 2 coats for full opacity.

Lilac Dream* is a pastel Lilac creme. Like Beth's Blue, this was a newly opened bottle so the application was manageable. I applied 2 coats of Lilac Dream for full opacity.

Pink Blush* is what only can be described as a bright Barbie Pink creme. Again, this was a newly opened bottle so there were no major issues with application. I applied 2 coats of Pink Blush for the photos.

Fuzzy Peach is a bright Peach creme. I've had this bottle for quite a while and did have some trouble applying the polish for a smooth finish. The polish had turned a bit thick and did need more control than the others but after 2 thin coats and a thicker third coat, I was able to smooth the polish out.

Hot Stuff is a predominantly Pink glitter with Pink shards and holographic Diamonds in a clear base. Now THIS is a thick polish, one of the main reasons I got rid of the other colours in this collection was due to them being SO unmanageable. But I thought I would bite the bullet and attempt to swatch my last remaining Mirrorball polish. I found the easiest and least messy way of applying this was to do a thin coat of polish then fish for the larger glitter shards. This is 1 coat of Hot Stuff over Pink Blush.

Purchase Information

Models Own nail polishes can be purchased from various retailers around the UK, here's a little selection of stores/websites you can find them on;

• Models Own website - Priced at £5.00 each or 5 for £20. UK Standard delivery is charged at £2.95 for 1-4 Nail Polishes or free for 5+ Nail Polishes. 
• Littlewoods - Priced at £6.00 each. Free UK Standard delivery with no minimum spend.
• ASOS - Priced at £5 each. Free UK Standard delivery with no minimum spend
• Nail Polish Direct - Priced at £4.75 each. Free UK Standard delivery with no minimum spend.
• Boots - Available both in store and on line priced at £5 each. UK Standard delivery is charged at £2.95 with free shipping over £45 when ordered on line.

Products in this post marked with an (*) have been sent to me by Littlewoods for my honest review. 

Challenge: Day 20 - Water Marble

Hi ladies! We're at the most dreaded part of the whole challenge, for me anyway and I know for a lot of other bloggers too. I've always avoided doing water marble mani's because quite frankly, it looks HARD. But since there was no way I could avoid it during the challenge, I have been practising and practising to try and get a half decent mani. Every time I did a water marble, it came out as mush on my nails, until I thought I would try using luke-warm water. So I added some bottled water into the kettle and boiled it slightly, I then added the water into a glass and let it cool a little. Whilst the water was cooling, I painted my nails with a base of OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls, once the water was at the desired temperature, I added in Models Own - Peach Puff, Essie - Lilacism, Nails Inc - Power Pink and Essie - Cute As A Button. The polishes didn't separate as much as I'd hoped they would, but I went along with it anyways. This is how it turned out, Oh and I added a coat of MASH Nails - Matte Top Coat* to take out the shine;

As you can see, it didn't turn out amazing especially my middle finger, but it was the best water marble I did out of all the practise runs I had and of course, they wouldn't be my nails if I didn't manage to smudge/dint them somehow, which I did to my index and ring finger on the side of the glass *sigh*. Remember, those of you wanting to add the inlinkz to your own posts, click here to be taken to the google doc with everything you'll need for the next 30 days!

Untrieds Used;

Essie - Lilacism

Essie - Cute As A Button

Nails Inc - Power Pink

Challenge: Day 17 - Glitter

Hi ladies I have a big one for you today *that's what he said*. Since it's glitter day, and I have a mountain of Shimmer polishes that have yet to be swatched and shown, I thought I may as well kill 2 birds with one stone, so to speak. Now this is going to be a pic heavy post, so I have taken the liberty to add a jump instead of the post completely lagging *I'm so gamer* out your computers/laptops/devices. Instead of posting the full 12 polishes now, I will post the first half for glitter day and the remainder as an extra to the challenge.

All of the swatches shown below were taken indoors in natural light and without a base or top coat (with the exception of coloured underwear). I've also tried to include photos from both my new (NC) and old (OC) cameras, as I haven't actually used my new camera for blogging yet since I'm still getting the hang of it, but I will mention which camera was used underneath the photos and if you could give me some feedback on which one you prefer, that would be awesome.

CLICK THE JUMP TO SEE THE SWATCHES & MY FELLOW CHALLENGERS POSTS FOR GLITTER DAY!

Nail Art: Lovely Jub-ilee

Hi ladies! As some of you may be aware, this weekend in the UK will be filled with celebrations as the Queen celebrates 60 years on the throne, otherwise known as the Diamond Jubilee. In order to commemorate such an event, a group of bloggers and I have come together again (as we did in the Holo-day post) for an 'All Things British' collaboration. The theme for the post was to ONLY use UK brands to either create some Nail Art or just general one colour nails. Now since last time I sort of flaked out on the amazing Nail Art that could have been done with my holos, I decided to go all out this time around! Being British, this was an easy post for me to do since I have access to every UK brand there is, not to mention I felt a little Patriotic doing so too. So without further ado, let's have a look at my little creation shall we?

These took me forever and a day to complete, which surprised me, as I usually give up or get bored after a while. The outcome isn't quite what I wanted it to be, mainly because I had made the white diagonal lines a little too thin to add a red line through the middle, but hey! I still think it looks good! I even patted myself on the back after finishing them! LAME. I can do a little tutorial post on this if some of you would like to see how I achieved this semi-decent mani. Just let me know in the comments and I will see what I can do!

 The polishes I used for this mani were;

GOSH: Lambada (Red) - Yes, I later realised that GOSH is actually a Danish brand, but it was too late to change it now. But you can get them in UK drugstores, so that counts, right?!

Models Own: Snow White (White)

BarryM: Cobalt Blue (Blue)

If you're in the UK, what are you doing this weekend to celebrate the Jubilee? I'm going to a street party Saturday and also having a family BBQ on Monday! If you're not in the UK, what are your plans for this weekend? I'd love to hear them! In the meantime, remember to check out the other ladies Jubilee nails!

Swatch: Models Own - Edamame, Naked Shimmer & Peaches & Cream

Hi ladies, you may have seen I did a post on Models Own new Spring/Summer collection 'Freshen Up' (seen here) a couple days ago. Well today I'm here to show you three of the five polishes from the collection. This will be a longer, pic heavy post so I won't ramble aimlessly in the intro, lets get straight into it!

Label Shot - The polish is mislabelled with an 'N'

Indoors, Natural Lighting

Indoors, Natural Lighting

First from the 'Freshen Up' collection we have Edamame described as 'a fresh, shimmering green'. I'd personally describe it as more of a pastel, lime green (if that's possible) with hints of silver shimmer. I was a little disappointed with this polish, mainly because the shimmer is so subtle on the nail it's barely visible and also because it's one of those polishes that can make you look as though you have 'lobster hands'. Other than that it applied well, a little streaky with the first two coats, but evened out nicely with the third.
Note: I have noticed that the bottle is labelled as 'Endamame' but is spelt 'Edamame' on the Models Own website. Apparently, this is the case with most Edamame bottles.

Label Shot

Indoors, Overcast sunlight

Indoors, Natural Light

Next up I have Naked Shimmer which is described as 'A glistening gold-tinted stark beige'. Naked Shimmer to me has the same problem as Edamame, there's a gorgeous golden shimmer in the bottle, but doesn't translate well at all onto the nail resulting in Naked Shimmer being an almost exact dupe for Nude Beige, another Models Own polish. The only difference between these two polishes on the nail is that Naked Shimmer has a slightly pinker undertone, I will do a comparison post for you as soon as the weather cheers up! The application, again, was streaky in the first two coats but evened out with the third.

Label Shot.

Indoors, Natural Lighting

Indoors, Natural Lighting

Last but not least, I have Peaches & Cream described as 'a light sherbet peach'. This is probably my favourite out of the three polishes and I'm not that much of an orange fan, mainly because it doesn't compliment my skintone, but I actually think this compliments it well. Peaches & Cream is a vibrant, orange-toned peach which applied well with two coats. Again, Peaches & Cream is very similar to Fuzzy Peach - another Models Own polish (swatch comparison coming soon).

I will, at some point, be picking up the remaining two polishes from the 'Freshen Up' as well as their Summer releases to show you, so keep your eyes peeled for those! What do you think to Edamame, Naked Shimmer & Peaches & Cream? Does one shade in particular stand out to you? Let me know in the comments!

Models Own nail polishes are available to buy at www.modelsownit.com for £5 each. Models Own also has an offer where if you buy 3 of their polishes you save £3 or if you buy 5 polish you save £7!

Press Release: Models Own - Freshen Up Collection

#FRESHEN UP

A collection of Spring pretty sherbet pastels

Models Own, the destination for of-the-moment colours are going back to their roots. Known and famed for brilliantly creative colour, Models Own is causing a storm with their latest Spring Summer offerings.

Launching online at www.modelsownit.com from March, the Freshen Up collection consists of five pretty pastel shades, each designed to give a gorgeous natural colour.

Naked Shimmer; A glistening gold-tinted stark beige

Soda Pop Pink; A subtle pastel blush

Edamame; A fresh shimmering green

Bare Beauty; A pretty barely-there nude

Peaches & Cream; A light sherbet peach

Designed to compliment any outfit, Models Own's latest collection is the perfect accessory, offering unique colour combinations that are ultra-wearable and bang on trend.

Passionate about fashion, Models Own aren't shy when it comes to innovative colour. In fact, they're famously loved for their fast moving, constantly evolving cosmetic collection.

Models Own Freshen Up collection is now available from www.modelsownit.com for £5 each or £18 for the whole collection. To keep up with the latest Models Own news be sure to follow Models Own on Twitter @modelsown and become their Facebook Fan.

*Information and photo's provided by PR

Swatch: Models Own - Foxy Fuchsia

Hi ladies! Another swatch for you today! I'm totally nailing my swatch vault right now, woohoo. 

Here we have Models Own - Foxy Fuchsia, another polish I bought for a swap last year but decided to keep for myself after it didn't go ahead.

Foxy Fuchsia is definitely a Summer colour, it's a bright, hot pink creme and is opaque in 1/2 coats! The pictures don't do it as much justice as in real life, but they come pretty close. I'm not the biggest fan of pinks on my nails, but I loove the way this one looks against my skin. 

If you don't have this in your collection yet, I suggest you get to it! You won't be disappointed, I promise you. This will more than likely be a staple colour in my 'Summer Nail Wardrobe'.

You can buy Models Own from their website or most Boots stores in the UK for £5 each. For you international ladies, check out Harlow & Co to get your Models Own fix at $10 each!

Models Own - Dream Stream

I have a brand new Models Own polish for you today from their Spring/Summer collection. I haven't actually seen any swatches of this in the blogesphere yet, so I hope I can give you a good review!
I actually received this for free as it was sent wrong with my Models Own Group Order. I ordered Blue Lagoon but was sent this instead and when I contacted Models Own about this, they told me to keep this polish and they will send out the correct one. How awesome is that?
Dream Stream is a gorgeous Cyan Blue polish with Light Blue micro shimmer, it reminds me of the ocean (not the kind you see in Britain, that's for sure) or pool water. I actually don't have anything like this in my collection, so I'm over the moon that it was wrongly sent to me!
This isn't actually on the Models Own Website yet, but I know it's available from ASOS.com. The swatch was 3 coats, the nail line was still slightly visible so 4 is possibly preferred.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Models Own Spring/Summer Collection 2012

Hey guys, so I have a HUGE exclusive for you. Today Models Own announced on their facebook that on Monday they would be making a big announcement. Now being a polish addict, I prayed it will be some new polishes and after accidentally stumbling among their big secret I can now tell you that they are releasing 10 new polish shades! They are:

Models Own - Aqua Violet

Today I have for you Models Own - Aqua Violet from their recent Beetlejuice collection. The collection was released on November 1st and consists of 5 shades; Aqua Violet, Purple Blue, Emerald Black, Pinky Brown and Golden Green.
Aqua Violet is an Ocean Blue/Lavender Purple duochrome with hints of Green shimmer. It's by far my favourite colour from the collection and takes on a different colour in different lighting. I used three coats for the photo, but you can get away with using two. I've seen many people layer this polish over black, but I am yet to try this myself.

Guest Blogger: My Top 5 Models Own Polishes

Hey, I'm Dara and my blog is Musings and Reviews :)

I'd like to thank Rachel for choosing me as one of her guest bloggers while she is away. Unfortunately I won't be continuing with the 31 day challenge, as I don't really do nail art, but Rachel will be posting her design for today in another post :)

So, on to my top 5 Models Own polishes.

1. Purple Poppy

This is my absolute favourite MO polish. It's the most amazing bright purple colour which is eye catching, but not too in your face. It applies amazingly and dries really quickly too :)

2. Smash-Up polish in gold

This is the most recent of the MO 'Smash-up' polishes. In this photo I have used it on top of purple poppy, which is my favourite combination. I think these colours look great together, and this polish has a really professional look to it, even tho it only takes a few seconds to do.

3. Champagne

This is such a beautiful colour! It's like gold, silver and copper all mixed together, maybe like a platinum colour? It has a gorgeous metallic finish and is extremely chip resistant. I think it looks very elegant :)

4. Magenta Pearl

I have a thing for dark pinky/burgundy nail colours and this one is just perfect. It has the most amazing metallic finish and there's something very grown-up about it. As much as I'm in love with this colour, I always seem to smudge my nails when I've used this. I don't know if thats just me or if this polish doesn't dry as quickly as the others?

5. Pinky Brown

This is pinky brown from the highly anticipated new Beetlejuice collection. This photo doesn't really show the colour properly, but you can see that is has a lovely sparkly finish. It's primarily pinky, but turns to more of a brown in certain lights. It's a lovely rustic colour, perfect for autumn :)

If you liked my post don't forget to visit my blog here.

Thanks again to Rachel! x

Day 13: Animal Print

Hi! I'm Juliet and I blog over at ever so juliet.

I was really pleased to be picked as a guest blogger - thanks so much Rachel-Karina! I'm going to continue the 31 Day Challenge, and show you my take on animal print...

Leopard print is one of the EASIEST nail art effects to do - it's really quick and easy to do, you can use any colours that you have, and you don't have to be really neat for it to look good!  Here's how you do it.

Step 1. Paint your nails a base colour. I've gone for a light yellow (so the leopard print effect will really stand out). I'm using Models Own lemon meringue which I really like, it goes on smoothly and doesn't need too many coats.

Step 2. Once your base is dry you can start adding the little splodges that make up the spots! I've gone for a lilac colour (so used two coats on each dot) and place these randomly around each nail. Try to leave space between each dot (better to have only a few than too many!), and put them in a slightly different position on each nail.

Step 3. Try to wait until these spots are totally dry (shouldn't take too long) then get your nail pen, kirby grip or cocktail stick (all are brilliant for this!) to draw little circles, c-shapes and dots around each of your splodges. Don't worry about being neat - this looks best when each nail is different and a little uneven.

Once you've drawn round all of your splodges, fill in any gaps with little black dots or c-shapes.

& that's it! It takes about 15 minutes (if that) and most of the time is spend waiting on the different layers to dry.


Juliet x

Models Own Haul & Swatches.

As you all may know, I recently did the Nail Trends for Autumn. In doing so it made me realise that I don't really have many nude/pink shades. So whilst browsing the Models Own website I thought it would be as good a time as any to pick a couple more up! As they do the special deals where if you buy 3 polishes you get them for £12 (£3 off) or if you buy 5 you get them for £18 (£7 off). So as you can see, I got 5. I was going to stop there, but I've been craving the Models Own Nail Art Pen for AGES now, so I thought whilst I'm treating myself I may as well get that too. This brought the total to £24, and you qualify for free standard shipping for orders of £25, unfortunately there's nothing on the website for £1, the cheapest thing I saw was £2.50...so that's the reason for the two Nail Buffers!

Anyway! On to the colours; (Apologies for the swatches! Blame the dull English weather)

Peach Puff: A dark peach pastel colour with brown undertones.
Nude Beige: I expected this to be a neutral beige colour with a tiny hint of brown, However the colour itself is more of a dark brown with a pinky/purple undertone than a beige.

Vintage Pink: I have been lusting over this colour for absolutely ages, and I could never seem to find it on the website, booo. Until now! Vintage Pink is a pinky mauve colour with a sort purple/blue undertone. The swatch above makes it look a bit darker than it is, but that's due to the 'lovely' English weather. I will re-swatch IF the sun comes out.

Purple Ash: This looks veryyy similar to Vintage Pink in the bottle (so much so I had to double check I didn't have the same polish twice!) and is a dusky Rose colour. It has hints of brownish undertones too. It's REALLY hard to describe, so I apologise, but yes. I love it! (Again swatch seems darker)

Grace Green: A gorgeous khaki/olive creme polish. This is the sort of colour I think of when I think of Autumn. Love it.

If you'd like, I will give a more in depth review/comparison in individual posts, just let me know in the comments if you want to see those! What are your favourite colours from Models Own?