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  • Emily de Molly

    No Love Lost
  • High Elbow

    Crummock Water
  • Dots!

  • Pocket Money Polishes - I Want Candy

  • Pocket Money Polishes Magic

    Gradient: Chanel Paradoxal and Dior Waterlily
  • Emily de Molly - Serenity

  • Fellrunning

    Dryburn Moor
  • Elevation Polish - Opal

  • Darling Diva Polish - Serendipity

  • Derwentwater

  • Pocket Money Polishes - Summertime

  • Nail Lacquer UK

    Eat My Cake
  • Scofflaw - Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

  • Hodge

  • Chanel - Taboo and Peridot

  • Chanel - Bel-Argus and Azure


Showing posts with label Gradient. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gradient. Show all posts

Wednesday, 16 July 2014

Pink Gradient with dots...

Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song gradient with Barry M Lychee dots
Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song gradient with Barry M Lychee dots
A bit of jolly nail art for my newly rounded nails! I chose a couple of blue-leaning pinks for the gradient (Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song), then added nude dots with Barry M Lychee. I put the dots on straight away, so no pictures of the gradient on its own, sorry! The gradient was done with my usual method of a fine, damp makeup sponge; I painted one coat of the lighter pink (Go Ginza) to give the gradient a base. DJ Play That Song is rather jellyish, but the formula blended well with the other Essie polish for the gradient and I love how the pale pink base of Go Ginza really makes the colour pop.


Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song gradient with Barry M Lychee dots


I really enjoyed this combination of colours, and I'm getting used to the new shape now - I was sad when I finally had to remove this mani the other day because there was too much growth around my cuticles.

Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song gradient with Barry M Lychee dots

Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song gradient with Barry M Lychee dots

Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song gradient with Barry M Lychee dots

Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song gradient with Barry M Lychee dots
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Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song gradient with Barry M Lychee dots
Essie Go Ginza and DJ Play That Song gradient with Barry M Lychee dots
All polishes in this post are from my personal collection. Barry M Lychee is one of my favourite nudes, especially for nail art - the formula is so rich and dense it works fabulously well for dots, striping and stamping.

Friday, 30 May 2014

Nails Inc Perfect Nudes


Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace
Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace


I happened upon these quite by chance in Boots last week - I'd no idea that they'd been released and I hadn't seen anybody else's swatches. But I love neutral shades and I was very intrigued by the packaging (lame I know) - they look like little bottles of foundation or maybe concealer.

There are four shades in the collection, but Nails Inc is pretty high end, and I have lots of neutral shades, so I was selective and chose just two. Had it been a cheaper brand I would have bought the full collection. I chose the darkest one (Draycott Avenue) and the warmer, less pinky shade of the paler ones (Eaton Terrace).

Here's Draycott Terrace - it's a fab colour and reminds me of chocolate milk, chocolate ice-cream and Ambrosia chocolate custard. Ambrosia chocolate custard is one of my ultra-running superfoods, easy to eat and very tasty... and after 40 miles or so when I really, really fancy something chocolately it's just perfect. So I'm looking at my nails now and wanting to eat them, lol!


Nails Inc Perfect Nude - Draycott Avenue

Nails Inc Perfect Nude - Draycott Avenue
Nails Inc Perfect Nude - Draycott Avenue 

I wasn't as impressed with the application of this as I'd expected - it was a bit thick and at two coats, even with topcoat, it looked a bit rough and streaky. I added a third coat and then another coat of Seche Vite and finally the finish was good!

Nails Inc Perfect Nude - Draycott Avenue

Nails Inc Perfect Nude - Draycott Avenue
Nails Inc Perfect Nude - Draycott Avenue 


This is my second pick - Eaton Terrace. Three coats and Seche Vite; formula on this was much more workable and fluid but I wouldn't expect a colour this light to be opaque at two coats, so I went straight onto the third. 

Nails Inc Perfect Nude -  Eaton Terrace


Nails Inc Perfect Nude -  Eaton Terrace

Nails Inc Perfect Nude -  Eaton Terrace
Nails Inc Perfect Nude -  Eaton Terrace

I think these are good, classic shades, very wearable and totally work appropriate. Of course, I couldn't resist putting them together somehow..... so first of all a sponge gradient. The pigments are fine and the formula seems just about perfect for gradients - this gradient was very easy to produce.

Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace


Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace



Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace

Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace

Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace
Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace

I loved the gradient, and I wore it like this for a couple of days. Then I felt the need to fiddle, and started adding dots. I should have left it just with dots of the darker shade near my nail tips, but I kept on, and I think I spoilt it with too much fussing. But all good fun!

Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace

Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace

Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace

Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace

Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace
Nails Inc Perfect Nudes - Draycott Avenue & Eaton Terrace

I purchased Nails Inc Draycott Avenue and Eaton Terrace from my local Boots.

Friday, 28 February 2014

Flash Nails Jagged

Flash Nails Jagged over Illamasqua Jo'mina and NARS 15 Minutes

I've been sad to see a few of the UK Indie brands (including some of my favourites) shutting up shop recently, so it's great to see new ones coming in to the market! Here's a brand new UK Indie, Flash Nails, who just opened her Etsy shop last week.

This polish is called 'Jagged' and it's a mix of multicoloured shard glitter. I have a fascination with the irregular shapes in shard glitter polishes, so I love this!

Flash Nails Jagged over Illamasqua Jo'mina and NARS 15 Minutes

Flash Nails Jagged over Illamasqua Jo'mina and NARS 15 Minutes


I used two thin coats of Flash Nails Jagged here; the polish is easy to apply with plenty of glitter - no need to fish them out or do any special placement on the nails. The base of the polish is quite thick, but easy to handle. I found the glitters lay nice and flat on my nails; I added one coat of Gelous to smooth the mani out and a coat of Seche Vite quick drying top coat.

The gradient base is NARS 15 Minutes and Illamasqua Jo'Mina, a couple of favourite spring bright shades of mine.


Flash Nails Jagged over Illamasqua Jo'mina and NARS 15 Minutes

Flash Nails Jagged over Illamasqua Jo'mina and NARS 15 Minutes


Flash Nails Jagged over Illamasqua Jo'mina and NARS 15 Minutes

Flash Nails Jagged over Illamasqua Jo'mina and NARS 15 Minutes

I purchased Jagged from Flash Nails Etsy Shop. Actually I purchased more than one; there are lots of pretty glitters here - so watch out for more from this brand here soon. The NARS and Illamasqua polishes are old favourites from my collection.

Friday, 21 February 2014

Gradient with Mentality Duchess and Manglaze Lesbihonest




Mentality Duchess and Manglaze Lesbihonest
Mentality Duchess and Manglaze Lesbihonest

Just a bit of fun today! I love pinks......and gradients, and mattes............ so here's a combination of a lovely new pink matte I bought recently (Mentality Duchess) and an old favourite (Manglaze Lesbihonest). I love how this worked out - and it's great to know that the Mentality Mattes (which I've just discovered recently) work well in gradients with my collection of Manglaze shades.


Mentality Duchess and Manglaze Lesbihonest
Mentality Duchess and Manglaze Lesbihonest
To create the effect I used one coat of Duchess all over my nails, then added the gradient using both colours painted onto a slightly damp makeup sponge. I like matte gradients - matte polishes seem to blend nicely together and the sponging gives a nice finish too.

Mentality Duchess and Manglaze Lesbihonest
Mentality Duchess and Manglaze Lesbihonest
I purchased Mentality Duchess from Sally Magpies and Manglaze Lesbihonest is an old favourite from my collection. Manglaze polishes used to be a bit tricky to get hold of in the UK but Sally started stocking this brand too recently - which great news for UK matte polish fans.

Friday, 14 February 2014

Valentines mani - including reviews of Models Own Hypergels and FakeTattoos nail tattoos

Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo


Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo
Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo



Pink and hearts for Valentines Day, how predictable! I wasn't really planning this, but a review pack of Models Own Hypergel Polishes landed on my doorstep yesterday, including two super pinks......... so why not!

And, at last, it gives me something I can post in Missy's Nail Art A Go Go challenge......... HEARTS!!!



I started the mani out with a sort of ombre using Models Own Pink Veneer (the sugary baby pink) on my index finger, a gradient of Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine (a fab hot pink - one of my favourite nail shades) on my middle finger and Cerise shine alone on my ring finger. I painted my little finger black - there isn't a black in the Models Own Hypergel range but I had something specific in mind for my mani that needed a black nail.

Here's the ombre before I started adding the hearts and dots:

Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine
Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine


Application of the Hypergels is good - Cerise Shimmer is almost a one coater (I did two more out of habit than because I really needed to) and the consistency and flow was just about perfect. This is a polish I'm sure to use a lot in future. Pink Veneer is a little trickier, but you'd expect this with any pale pink like this. The first coat looked streaky, but it was fine after the second coat.

As you can see, the colours gradient together wonderfully - I painted one coat of Pink Veneer as a base, then applied the gradient with a fine, slightly dampened makeup sponge.

Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine



Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine

Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine
Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine


For the nail art, I received a couple of packs of nail tattoos to try out from FakeTattoos, a company based in Sweden, last week. These included a sheet of hearts, mostly black but a few pink and other pastel colours. 


Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo
Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo


I used four of the black heart tattoos on my ring finger nails and a single one on my index finger. The tattoos look pretty good once finished, but they are a bit fiddly to apply. You cut out the tattoo you want from the sheet - they have a plastic cover sheet on the front and paper backing. Once you have the tattoo cut out, peel off the plastic and stick the tattoo, sticky side down onto your nail. Then you need to hold a pad of damp paper (I used cotton wool actually) over the paper to soak it, until the paper slides away. Wait a few minutes for the tatto to dry, then apply top coat. They had a bit of an edge around them, so I used a coat of Gelous to smooth the nails out before adding Seche Vite. 

I had intended to use the light pink tattoos on my black nail, but unfortunately these didn't show up at all on the black - I guess they must be transparent; probably would be good over white or a very pale background shade. 

So I decided on dots instead - I wanted to see how the Hypergel shades stood up as dots over black - and they do so very well! I think these two Hypergel shades have lots of potential for nail art!


Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo

Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo


Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo


The FakeTattoos pack said the products were also suitable for application to the skin, so I added a heart to the outside of my little finger. It looked convincing last night, but it had mostly rubbed off by mid morning...... maybe they would last longer on a less exposed part of the body!


Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo
Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo

I did the same gradient on my thumb as on my middle finger, and added a freehand heart in Cerise Shine near my cuticle with a dotting tool. then dotted over the heart with Pink Veneer. This was easy to do and I like the way it turned out!


And finally, a close up of a couple of the nails

Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo
Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer and Cerise Shine with FakeTattoos heart nail tattoo


Models Own Hypergels are available on their website now and will be in Boots and Superdrug later this month. The colours used here were sent for review. You can buy FakeTattoos nail tattoos at their website here (they also have some interesting looking bigger fake body tattoos). 


Saturday, 8 February 2014

Monochrome matte gradient - Barry M meets Manglaze!

Barry M Silk Nail Paints Pearl and Manglaze Matte is Murder
Barry M Silk Nail Paints Pearl and Manglaze Matte is Murder 


Well this was intended as the base for a lovely glitter I have to review, but once I'd made the gradient I liked it so much I decided I'd wear it alone for a bit and add the glitter tomorrow! Manyana, lol!


Barry M Silk Nail Paints Pearl and Manglaze Matte is Murder
Barry M Silk Nail Paints Pearl and Manglaze Matte is Murder 


I started out trying to apply the black gradient (Manglaze Matte is Murder) directly to my bare nails but that didn't want to work so I painted a thin coat of Barry M Nail Silk Paints in Pearl as the base. With hindsight I could have used a matte topcoat for the uncoloured part I wanted, but I'm happy with how it turned out in any case. I added a bit of Manglaze Santorum on my sponge to warm up the transition between black and white.


Barry M Silk Nail Paints Pearl and Manglaze Matte is Murder

Barry M Silk Nail Paints Pearl and Manglaze Matte is Murder
Barry M Silk Nail Paints Pearl and Manglaze Matte is Murder 


I purchased Barry M Silk Nail Paints in Pearl from Tesco; I've had the Manglazes in my collection for a long time (I had a friend in the US send them for me, but now you can buy them at Sally Magpies in the UK.