OPI - Black Onyx

I only bought Black Onyx last year. I used to wear a lot of black in my late teens and had moved away from the hardness that it provides in recent years, but decided I needed it in my life again. I trust OPI to produce a good quality product and this was no exception: perfect coverage in two even coats, glossy finish, good drying time, long wear, excellent brush... all the things I have come to expect from them.

As I was taking the photos below, I was wondering what to write about this nail varnish. What can you say about a black creme? Then I remembered that it's not all about Rock/Punk/Goth nails, there is so much you can do with black!

Black is great for Nail Art and also serves as a perfect base for some finishes such as duochromes and flakies. You can use it on French tips for a twist on the traditional white and it's a safe colour for pedis.

Even if you're not a black lover like I am, I think every woman should own one good quality black polish.

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Brand: OPI

Collection: Classics

Name: Black Onyx

Type: Creme

Colour: Black

Pantone equivalent: Black

Make Up Alley rating: 4.2/5

Potential dupes: Many!

Buy it from Demon's Beauty £7.16

I used:

1 x Save The Nail Colour Extending Base Coat

2 x OPI Black Onyx

Metadata:

Canon EOS 450D - 50 mm - f/1.8 - ISO 400 - indoors - no flash - daylight

Orly - Fowl Play

I remember seeing this polish last year and thinking it was so me I had to have it. Then I ordered it, tried it once and was a bit underwhelmed, so I put it in with the others and forgot about it until now.

Orly is a brand I am not very familiar with, despite having been around since the '70s. Their formula is free from DPB, Toluene and Formaldehyde; their full size bottles are slightly larger than average (18 ml) and they have a rubber "gripper" cap.

Fowl Play is a purple jelly base with different sized flakes that flash red, green, orange and gold. It also has blue glitter particles and silver micro shimmer, so it's full of goodies! The formula is a little thicker than I am used to and drying time is not its strongest point. It took me about three coats when I used it before, which implied long waits and hard work... for me at least.

This time around I wanted to see the effect without getting lost in the coats, so I used one coat of a-england Elaine as a base and only did two of Fowl Play. One would have probably been enough to show the best bits, so if you're ever in a hurry and want to sport some flakie goodness then bear this in mind.

After looking at the photos I took today, this polish does look gorgeous on and it's pretty special. So maybe the jelly consistency, which is in effect what puts me off, is worth it after all. Do give it a try.

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Brand: Orly

Collection: Birds of a Feather

Name: Fowl Play

Type: Flakie

Colour: Purple

Pantone equivalent: N/A

Make Up Alley rating: 4.5/5

Potential dupes: it's very close to OPI Merry Midnight.

Buy it from Amazon UK £7.95 (free delivery)

I used:

1 x Save The Nail Colour Extender Base Coat

1 x a-england Elaine

2 x Orly Fowl Play

1 x Save The Nail 45 Second Top Coat

Metadata:

Canon EOS 450D - 50 mm - f/1.8 - ISO 400 - indoors - no flash - daylight

Nail Art: Double French mani

If you follow me on Twitter you might have already seen what I am about to show you, but I was quite happy with the results so I thought mi mani deserved a quick post.

Double French using Instagram
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I started with a base of Illamasqua Whack and then did freehand French tips in OPI Alpine Snow using a Nail Art brush. To complete the look I added another layer of tips in OPI Black Onyx, revealing a little of the white underneath. I finished it off with top coat.

I loved this modern twist on the French mani and will definitely be attempting it again with different colour combinations. Are you a fan of the Double French?

Nail Art: Easter Eggs

It's the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and for many of us that means only one thing: time off work! Ever since I debuted with the Owl, I attempt a little bit of nail art whenever I have the time. Today I am sharing with you an original Easter Eggs design.

My materials: 

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From L to R:

• China Glaze For Audrey
• a-england Guinevere
• Illamasqua Milf
• Mavala Acid Yellow
• Mavala Poetic
• OPI Apline Snow

The process:

I painted things in the following order:

1. My nails with a coat of OPI Alpine Snow to have a white base
2. Two horizontal lines, the bottom colour on one finger was used as the top one on the next (from L to R), and so on
3. The top tip on one finger was the bottom on the next (from L to R), and so on
4. The bottom of one nail was the top on the next (from R to L), and so on
5. Triangles in the top and bottom colour in the middle of each nail
6. Dots in the top, using the colour from the bottom line and vice versa
7. Dots in the centre, using the colour that hadn't been used on that nail yet

There is probably a much easier way to do it! In case you were wondering, I spent about two hours doing both hands.

The outcome:

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Happy Easter everyone!

Nails Inc - Paddington

Our final stop on the AW 2011 set is Paddington, all change here! 

If I didn't know that these polishes' names come from train stations, I would have probably thought of the cute little bear of the same name.

This is a very dark grey creme, and since it dries a tad darker than the bottle it is almost black. It's not the most unique of colours, to be honest I am not sure how many blacks/near blacks one can have, but this is nice nonetheless. Formula was great, it's potentially a one-coater and looks even and glossy.

Paddington: Please look after this nail varnish.

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As this is the last one of the series, I thought it'd be nice to show you a mani I tried with Paddington and Charing Cross:

Brand: Nails Inc

Collection: AW 2011

Name: Paddington

Type: Creme

Colour: Grey

Pantone equivalent: 426

Make Up Alley rating: N/A

Potential dupes: It's very close to OPI Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees, but I haven't compared them yet.

Buy the set from Look Fantastic £19.99

I used:

1 x OPI Natural Base Coat

2 x Nails Inc Charing Cross

1 x Save The Nail 45 Second Top Coat

Metadata:

Canon EOS 450D - 50 mm - f/1.8 - ISO 400 - indoors - no flash - daylight