Binky London Crystal Pink and Enchanted Green - swatch and review

I have two new shades from Binky London; this brand launched at the end of last year with some great classic shades I reviewed here, here and here. I was really impressed with the formula of the first polishes, and the shape of the brush, which makes application super-easy, so I was excited to receive new colours from the brand to try out.

Let's start with Pink Crystal. This is a rose pink texture glitter, easy to apply and super pretty.

Binky London Crystal Pink

I used just two coats for this mani, no basecoat (and no topcoat, but I don't need to say that!) so really quick to do. Although it's textured, the polish isn't too thick, so it's quite easy to handle, and the big, round ended brush makes it easy to get a neat edge. I didn't do any kind of clean up for this mani! I would say that some people might find the big brush a bit unusual at first, especially with the textured polish, but do persevere because the results are well worth it once you get used to it.

The polish also makes a great base for stamping! Here's a preview of a new stamping polish I've been trying, with Binky Crystal Pink as the base:

Binky London Crystal Pink with stamping

More info on the MoYou stamping polish in my next post!

The other Binky polish I was sent to review is a fabulous bright emerald creme, Enchanted Green. My pictures just don't capture how stunning this colour is, but I absolutely loved wearing this. The formula surprised me though - based on the Binky polishes I've reviewed already I was expecting this to be smooth and easy to apply, but it wasn't. It was thick and a bit sticky, and made worse by the big brush, which seemed make it go on rather streaky. At two coats it looked lumpy, but trusty Seche Vite topcoat smoothed it out a treat and I like the colour so much I can forgive a slightly tricky application. It was a hot day when I used this polish; that might have affected the consistency too. 

Binky London Enchanted Green

 This is two coats with Seche Vite Quick Dry topcooat.

Binky London Enchanted Green

Products in this post were provided for review. Binky London polishes are available from Retail Beauty.

Chocolate Sprinkles Nails....... L'Oreal Peach Splash and Lola Camel Brown

 L'Oreal Peach Splash and Lola Camel Brown

Here's a simple tasty mani I put together with a couple of polishes from the high street.  The base is Lola Camel Brown; this is a new range at M&S - here's their facebook page. This shade caught my eye;  it's darker than a nude and warmer than most of the taupes I have so I think it might be unique in my collection!

Lola Camel Brown

Lola Camel Brown

Application of this is good - I used two coats here with Seche Vite. The bottle and brush are good to handle, it has one of those pop-off square caps like Chanel, BL, Illamasqua etc and the actual handle inside is a nice shape to hold.  I wore Lola Camel Brown plain just like this for a day when I needed sober nails (for a meeting that didn't end up happening, lol). The colour reminds me of  chocolate ice-cream :)

Lola Camel Brown

Then I added a layer of L'Oreal Peach Splash, a pretty glitter comprising lemon and peach coloured matte hexagonal glitters in a clear base. Much as I love our UK indies, it is nice just to be able to buy a glitter topper in Boots on impulse sometimes without having to wait for it to arrive (not to mention postage costs). This is one coat of L'Oreal Peach Splash - the glitters are quite generous - topped with more Seche Vite.

 L'Oreal Peach Splash and Lola Camel Brown

I purchased Lola Camel Brown from M&S and L'Oreal Peach Splash from Boots.

Nail of the Day! Barry M Gelly - Coconut

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint - Coconut

This was intended just as a base for something else - but I love it so much it became my NOTD and I think it's worth sharing in its own right. Every now and then there's a must-have polish released that should be in any collection, and I think this is one of them! I've no vested interest in saying this - Barry M don't send me their products to review, I bought this myself.

Although I love pastel shades, I don't actually like WHITE polish (other than for nail art of course) - I find it too stark. But I'm always fascinated by the near-white shades.... OPI My Vampire Is Buff, Zoya Jacqueline and American Aparrel Cotton are all firm favourites of mine and I'm adding this to the list! Barry M Coconut is a slightly warm (but not yellowish) just off white shade. This is two coats with Seche Vite quick dry topcoat. Application was fantastic for such a pale shade.

Coconut is one of the new Barry M Gelly shades this summer - I purchased this from Superdrug along with Olive and Almond on a three-for-two offer.

Seventeen In The Surf

Seventeen In The Surf over John Lewis Brick

I just *happened* on this shade in Boots two or three weeks ago! I love pastel, matte glitters so it was a real surprise to see this - and great to see one of the lower end high street brands dipping their toe into this kind of thing. Go Boots!

Seventeen In The Surf over John Lewis Brick

The polish is a mix of light blue, light green and pastel pink matte hexes in various sizes and some larger peach hexes too. Application was easy - this is one coat and no fishing for glitter required at all. I finished the mani off with a coat each of Gelous and Seche Vite.

My base for this mani is John Lewis nail polish in Brick - another surprise find on the same day. I'd no idea John Lewis even had a polish range, but there are a few rather nice colours (I bought this and one other, which I've not worn yet). Formula of Brick is good, I like the colour, and I like the whole ethos of John Lewis shops (quality products, fair prices, good working conditions for the employees (who are the owners of the company) and no external shareholders), so I'll be keeping my eyes open for other colours they bring out in the future.

Seventeen In The Surf over John Lewis Brick

I purchased Seventeen In The Surf at Boots and John Lewis Brick at John Lewis.  

This is the last of the pointy nails for a while - I enjoyed them this shape the last couple of times I had them like this but I'm not really feeling them this time round, so I've decided to go back to square. I'm off to get my nail file now!

NOTD - Nails Inc St Martins Lane with Barry M Lychee Dots ...

Nails Inc St Martins Lane with Barry M Lychee Dots

If you only ever do nail art once - do some big dots with Barry M Lychee! This is becoming a nail art standby for me - so easy and I love the effect.

Nails Inc St Martins Lane with Barry M Lychee Dots

My base colour, Nails Inc St Martins Lane is a red-leaning magenta which is quite sheer and almost 'glows' in full sun. In the shade and in indoor lighting it looks quite a bit darker, but is still a beautiful and quite unusual shade. This is three coats.

Nails Inc St Martins Lane with Barry M Lychee Dots

Models Own Speckled Eggs - MAGPIE

Models Own Speckled Eggs - Magpie 

Models Own Speckled Eggs are a set of pretty pastel cremes packed with black glitter in various sizes. Yes, they are very like the Illamasqua I'mPerfection speckled polishes which were a limited edition released at the beginning of last year - some of the colours are similar, some are different.... the biggest difference is the price! I only bought one of the Illa speckles but I will get around to doing a comparison sometime. For now though, here is what I think is probably my favourite Models Own Speckled Egg - Magpie. That might change as I try others, but for the moment I'm very taken by this shade. It's a gorgeous turquoise shade.

Models Own Speckled Eggs - Magpie 

Application needs a bit of care, the formula is a bit thick and gloppy; I used three thin coats for this mani, with a layer of Seche Vite between the second and third coats and then another coat of SV at the end. The polish also seemed to be a bit on the slow side to dry, although to me this is pretty much irrelevant as I always use Seche Vite. I like the effect enough to completely  forgive the slightly tricky formula.

Models Own Speckled Eggs - Magpie 

I purchased Models Own Magpie from my local Superdrug. Models Own polishes are £5, currently 3 for 2 - so working out at £3.33 these are a bargain compared to the £14.50 Illamasqua speckles (although most of the Illa ones are gone now anyway).

Models Own Speckled Eggs - Magpie 

Finally, I added a matte topcoat for the last day I wore this mani - when matte this really does look like a birds egg!

Models Own Speckled Eggs - Magpie (with matte topcoat)

Flash Nails Sticks and Stones over Barry M Rose Hip

Flash Nails Sticks and Stones over Barry M Rose Hip

I think Flash Nails is going to be a brand to watch over the next few months! This is Sticks and Stones, a glitter topper in a clear base with mixed shapes of matte black, white and various shades of pink. I'm a great fan of black and white glitter specifically, and matte glitters generally (I'm hardly ever attracted to the super-sparkly glitters these days), so this one is right up my street!

I ordered a couple of polishes from Nicola when she first opened up shop a few weeks ago (here's my post about the lovely Jagged) and she very kindly included a mini of Sticks and Stones as an extra!

Flash Nails Sticks and Stones over Barry M Rose Hip

My base for this mani is Barry M Gelly Polish in Rose Hip - one of the new pastel Spring Gelly shades. There have been a few reviews of this polish already; I like it, but like any very pale shade it needs a bit of care and patience with the application. I used three coats here, and topped with Seche Vite to even it out fully before I applied the glitter. I used just one coat of Sticks and Stones in this mani as I wanted to keep the glitter looking quite sparse - Sticks and Stones is very easy to apply, even from the mini bottle.

Flash Nails Sticks and Stones over Barry M Rose Hip

I purchased Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Rosehip at my local Tesco; Flash Nails Sticks and Stones was a sample sent along with a couple of polishes I purchased from the Flash Nails Etsy shop. I like the Flash Nails polishes so much I placed another order last night :)

EDIT
I added a stamped pattern to this mani today using American Apparel Hassid and MoYou Artist Collection plate 03.......