Swatch: Jacava London - Chillax

Press Sample

Hi ladies! Next up from the vault we have a relatively new British Brand on the block - Jacava London. Before we get into the swatches, here's a little information about Jacava!

"Opulent nail polish, by JACAVA London, is the world's first '8-free' nail varnish. That's free from DBP, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Toluene, Cellophane, Parabens, Phthalates and Animal Ingredients.  No Animal Testing. A little treat, where nothing is denied, even the real 22 carat gold printing on the glass bottle adds subtle luxury.

All JACAVA nail polish use premium, high gloss and long-lasting formulations to helps to keep your nails stay stronger and grow longer . Designed in London and made in the UK, JACAVA is a quintessentially British nail polish brand."

The bottle isn't like those you'd see in other nail polish brands, with its long gold cap and real 22 carat gold lettering it screams luxury. You may not be able to see from the photos, but the bottle itself is a kind of rounded oval shape and the brush is quite long & thin, think a slightly more extended China Glaze brush. Sounds pretty glam, wouldn't you agree, ladies? So let's take a look at this luxury British brand in action!

Chillax is a gorgeous deep metallic Turquoise with a subtle, yet effective, Green/Blue shift micro-shimmer. It kind of reminds me of the way a pool glistens in the summer sun. There's less of a duo-chromatic shift than I originally thought after seeing the press release, but nonetheless it's still a beautiful shade! I found the formula easy to work with and extremely fast drying. The pigmentation is very high and if carefully applied, you can get away with just one coat. In order to cover up some slight streaking I applied 2 coats. I would also advise wearing a base coat with this particular shade, as it does slightly stain the nail - which I learnt the hard way!

A little on the pricier side, Jacava London retails for £14.50 and I personally wouldn't spend that much on just one bottle of Nail Polish - unless it was a HTF. Jacava, however, do run some 3 for 2 offers, so if you'd want to get a little more bang for your buck, I'd wait until then. Another tiny downside, is that due to the bottles long capped nature, it won't fit in your Helmer upright, which if you're like me, laying a polish down just doesn't flow right. Price and size aside, Jacava polishes are good quality, have good staying power AND they're completely toxin free. 

A full look at the shades Jacava have to offer can be found here! Also, to stay up to date with the latest offers and shades, follow Jacava via their Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest accounts!

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: Bondi New York - Uptown Girl

Hi ladies! I have a new brand to introduce you to today, Bondi New York. As always, before we get into the swatches, let's find out a little about the brand!

Bondi New York is a collection of 20 fashion forward colours which will be launched twice a year as well as four limited edition collections! All Bondi New York nail polishes are 5-free, which means they are free from formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, DBP and toluene and are currently available via select on line retail partners, as well as bondinewyork.com. The best part? 100% of the net profit (after costs) is donated to our non-profit which makes grants to organisations like Food Bank for New York City. So not only can you buy yourself a pretty new nail polish or two...you can actually feel good about doing so because you're in turn helping out people in need!

Housed in a similar bottle to Nars, Bondi New York has a rubberised top for easy grip, that I recently found out is detachable, like those of Butter London caps if you're struggling with the size. The formula of the polish was also incredible, it applied effortlessly and is extremely pigmented, especially being such a pastel shade. The polish I am wearing is two coats of Uptown Girl - a gorgeous medium toned Lilac creme, without a top coat. As you can see, even without the application of a top coat, Bondi New York polishes dry to a high-gloss finish.

I was originally told Bondi New York polishes were only to be available in the US directly from Bondi New York, but I am pleased to announce international retailer, Harlow & Co. are now stocking all 20 shades of Bondi New York which are priced at $15 for 15ml of product, a little bit steep in price but worth it for the sheer quality of these polishes! Make sure you stay up to date with Bondi New York by following them on both Facebook and Twitter! Also, if you enter code Blog5 at the checkout on bondinewyork.com you will receive $5 off of your order!

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: 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!

Shimmer Swatch Series: Trisha

Hi ladies! I'm back with another Shimmer polish, this time it's Trisha! This is going to be a super quick post, so let's jump straight into the swatches!

Trisha is clear base packed with square Orange glitters as the main focus, with added Blue, Purple and Gold hex glitters in various sizes and micro Silver glitter. As I mentioned before, Shimmer polishes are so dense they only need one coat when over a base colour, or 2/3 coats for full coverage over a naked nail. I layered one coat of Trisha over Finger Paints Cordur-Orange without a base or top coat.

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.

Shimmer Swatch Series: Kim

Hi ladies! I have another 'Swatch Series' for you, this time featuring various polishes from Indie brand Shimmer. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be posting various polishes from Shimmer, these won't be daily but I shall try my best to make them as frequent as possible! Shimmer Polish, created by a lovely lady named Cindy, was created earlier this year and has since been popping up on various blogs ever since. I must say, Cindy is a master of glitter combos with a mixture of shades to suit any ones preferences, she's definitely at the top of her game.
I want to show you one of my favourite polishes from Shimmer, which was created by Kim at Overall Beauty, which of course, is the reason it's called Kim.

Kim is a mixture of large and small hexagonal Purple and Blue glitters, as well as squared glitters and a small sprinkling of various sized Silver glitter for good measure. Since the polishes are so glitter packed, you'd think that they'd be a nightmare to apply, but you'd be wrong! The polish applies perfectly without any clumping or patching and even dries smooth without having to use a top coat. I layered 2 coats of Kim over BarryM - Blue Plum for the photos above, which have all been taken inside my light box, without a base or top coat.

I hope you've enjoyed the swatches of Kim and you can except more beauties to come during my Shimmer Swatch Series! In the meantime, why don't you check out my previous Shimmer post, where I featured 6 polishes during my 30 Day Challenge!

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: Girly Bits - Wet Bikini

Hi ladies! I thought I would show you a swatch of a Girly Bits polish I bought recently during Harlow & Co.'s 15% off offer on their website whilst I was supposed to be on a no-buy...whoops. I did only stick to one polish though, so that counts right?! I've also recently bought a light box and am currently in the process of learning the best way to use it and get the most results, I only have one lamp at the moment, which I think does take away slightly from the overall effect, but that aside it means I can now swatch at night, not just during the day; in your face dark Winter nights! The photos you will see below have all been taken inside my light box using two different cameras, the slightly Yellowy tinted ones have been taken on my bridge camera, whilst the others have been taken on my compact camera. I'm so annoyed at my bridge camera because it comes out so Yellow, but it takes a lot clearer photos of glitter than my compact, which kind of outweighs it's flaws.

Enough Rambling, let's take a look at Wet Bikini!

Wet Bikini is a mixture of Aqua, Blue and Opalescent various sized Square and Hex glitters in a Clear base. I had no trouble with the application of Wet Bikini, it went on smoothly and spread evenly without any major clumps. Wet Bikini is more colour accurate in the 3rd and 4th photo, whilst the last two photos show the glitter more clearly. I layered 2 coats of Girly Bits - Wet Bikini over Finger Paints - Late Night Rendezvous without a base or top coat.

So there you have my light box debut! I obviously need a bit of a mess around with my bridge camera to get the white balance correct, but it can only get better from here right?! Hopefully you can expect more frequent postings now I am able to swatch at night, if there's anything in particular you'd like to see, let me know!
You can purchase Girly Bits polishes directly from Pam, the mastermind behind Girly Bits, on her Bigcartel for $10 each as well as various on line retailers such as Harlow & Co. and Llarowe for $11/12 each. To keep up with the latest Girly Bits news and releases, be sure to like them on Facebook!

Swatch: Purple Professional Spam

Hi ladies! I have another little 'collection' post for you from the brand Purple Professional, a Portuguese brand. I first heard of Purple Professional through my good friend Betty Nails posts and I was a little disappointed when I learnt they're only available in Portugal, but thanks to a swap with Rosa of The Nail Polish & The Blog, I was able to try my first Purple polishes. Since then, I have also been chosen as one of the International bloggers to sample some of Purple Professionals line as they are currently making plans to expand throughout Europe and possibly Worldwide too!
Today's post consists of just over half of my Purple collection, I've also done a few posts previous to this featuring some Purple polishes too, to see the collective posts, click here. The main reason why I love Purple Professional, is their formula, it's pigmented - you only need 2 coats for the majority, it's the right consistency - it's neither too thick nor too runny and the best of all...it's fast drying with a high gloss finish. Since there's a few photo's in this post, I have included a jump break.

SWATCHES AFTER THE JUMP!

Swatch: Killer Colours - Belladonna & Firewater

Hi ladies! Wow, September really is my blogging month! I hope you're not sick to death of me yet. As you may know, I'm a huge supporter of British brands so today I have a new British brand to show you, Killer Colours. Killer Colours officially launched their collection at the beginning of this month with their range consisting of 5 fashion ready shades. Before I get into the swatches, I want to give you a bit of background into the Killer Colours brand.

"Like the best ideas, our brand story is simple: Killer Colours collaborates with fashion insiders and trend forecasters to bring you what's hot this month...this week...this very minute. The 5 Killer Colours are today's absolute 'must haves' and every one is a limited edition so when stock is gone, it's really gone - Killer Colours is already on to the next micro-trend. 

The Killer Colours professional formula contains intense pigments for rich, deep colour payoff. A blend of 4 plasticisers provides the ideal 'flex' on the nail to prevent chipping, flaking or peeling. It is big 3-free and was proudly created and made in the UK"

The thing that interests yet confuses me at the same time about Killer Colours, is the fact that all of their shades will be limited edition, I've never seen that in a brand before. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, sure it's a good thing that they will constantly be bringing out new and exciting shades to match the seasons fashion trends, but a bad thing because you'll never be able to buy a certain shade again once it's gone. I guess it's a matter of preference as to which category you're in.

Let's get into the swatches shall we?! All swatches below are taken indoors in natural light without a base or top coat.

Image from Killer Colours.com

What I say; Belladonna is a super pigmented Indigo Blue creme. Although it applies streaky on the first coat, it evens out with the second. I applied 3 coats of Belladonna overall for full opacity. I had no issues with the formula in terms of thickness or being too thin, it applied smoothly and dried within minutes. I did notice that there was slight bubbling in the polish, but that may have been due to me applying near an open window.

What Killer Colours say; "Designed as the soulmate of Chanel's blue crystal eyebrow - this blue will electrify your fingertips"

Where Killer Colours saw it;

• CRYSTAL BLUE BROWS AT CHANEL
• ELECTRIC BLUE FINGERNAILS AT ERDEM
• BRILLIANT BLUE LASHES AND SKATER DRESSES AT STELLA MCCARTNEY

Image from Killer Colours.com

What I say; Firewater is a deep Berry Red with an almost Jelly like finish. As pigmented as it is shiny, Firewater, although not as streaky as Belladonna, still has some slight patching with the first coat but it evens out nicely with the second. I applied 3 coats of Firewater for the photos above. Again, I had no trouble with the formula in terms of it being too thick or too thin and the drying time was spot on.

What Killer Colours say; "Because it's all about being 'matchy matchy' this autumn we decided to provide you with one half of this season's perfect couple - the red wine nail...to go with the burgundy lip of course!"

Where Killer Colours saw it;

• BADGLEY MISCHKA LIPS (& ON THE EYES TOO)
• WINE STAINED LIPS AT NICOLE FARHI
• GOTHIC LIPS AT GUCCI

Overall, I'm impressed with Killer Colours nail polishes and I can't wait to see what they come out with in the future. Killer Colours are available for purchase on their website at £9 each for 10ml of product and come in 5 shades; Twisted Silk, Gunmetal, Quicksand and of course Belladonna & Firewater. There's also FREE UK DELIVERY on all orders also if you enter the code RK01 at the checkout, you will receive 15% off of your order!!! As I said before, these are all Limited Edition shades, so grab them whilst you still can! To make sure you don't miss out on announcements and new collections, be sure to follow Killer Colours on Facebook & Twitter.

Swatch: BarryM - Gelly Nail Paints

Hi ladies! You may remember last week I posted the Press Release for the new BarryM Gelly Nail Paints, well today I have 4 of those to show you! When BarryM announced they are releasing these new polishes, I thought they were going to be Jelly finishes, but they are actually a 'tribute' to Gel Nails with their high gloss finish and one coat application but do not need to be cured under a UV light in order to achieve such shine.
Like with most BarryM polishes I have tried, I had no trouble with the formula or application, they are super pigmented and are dry by the time you have applied the first coat on one hand. Just as Gel Nails intended, the Gelly Nail Paints dry to a 'wet look' finish, by which I mean that they look as if they are freshly painted & are still in the process of drying. As some of you may have noticed, BarryM has also stepped away from their usual Matte Black caps and replaced them with these gorgeous shiny Silver caps too! This may just be to separate the Gellys from the regular line, but I really like them.

All the photos below have been taken indoors in Natural lighting without a Base or Top coat.

CLICK THE JUMP TO SEE SWATCHES

Swatch: Purple Professional - 36

Hi ladies! Before I get into the post, I just wanted to announce that I have finally purchased my own domain name! Which means my blog is now polishedcriminails.com instead of polishedcriminails.blogspot.com! How exciting is that!? I've been wanting my own domain for the longest time, but never got around to doing so until last night, so it's still in transition mode at the moment, so if certain features of my blog isn't working, that will be why!
I have another Purple Professional polish to show you today, if you haven't seen my previous Purple Professional posts, you can click HERE to be taken to those! Purple Professional is a Portuguese brand which is currently in the process of expanding their line to various other countries, which is exciting news! I thought I would show you Shade 36; a dark Lilac creme. The photos below are 3 coats of 36 without a top/base coat taken Indoors in Natural Light (sunshine, where are you?!?)

Sorry for the short post! But a short one is better than none right? What do you think to Purple Professional? Have you tried any of their products yet, if so which ones?! Purple Professional polishes retail for around €3 and can be ordered through any authorised retailers listed here or directly through their Facebook page. They are also currently looking for distributors! So if you think you'd be interested in stocking Purple Professional products in your shop, please e-mail paula.purpleprofessional@sapo.pt

Swatch: BarryM - Magnetics

Hi ladies! I have the new Magnetic releases from BarryM to show you today! BarryM has always been the one staple brand in both my polish and make-up collection for the past 7/8 years, simply because I find their products amazing AND you don't have to sell a kidney in order to buy them. However, I'm not going to lie, had I not been sent these polishes to review, I wouldn't have purposely gone out and bought them because of my opinion on magnetic polishes; I've always found them to be hard to work with and very time consuming if you don't get it right the first time. Although, after trying out the Magnetic polishes from BarryM, I think my opinion on them has drastically changed. All but one of the polishes/magnets below were super easy to work with, there was no formula issues, they dried reasonably fast..but not so fast that you couldn't get the pattern and the magnets themselves were really strong. I also noticed, that the 'name' of the polish on the website is different to what we see on the bottom of the bottle, which is disappointing seeing as the polish names on the website are a lot more interesting than those on the bottle!
All swatches below are 2 coats of polish without a base/top coat.

CLICK THE JUMP FOR SWATCHES

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?