a-england Promo: Tristam's 1st Birthday!

Stop press!

Before I post anything else, have you seen this amazing promo? 

Tristam is 1 on Monday! To celebrate, there is 30% off for 72 hours on a-england polishes! Free worldwide delivery is still on, so if you enjoyed reading Adina's interview or any of my reviews during a-england Week, this is your chance to get your hands on one of these gorgeous, top quality nail varnishes. You won't be disappointed!

Happy Birthday Tristam!

Nails Inc - Fenchurch Street

If you read this blog regularly, you are probably aware that I prefer dark colours. Autumn and Winter are therefore the seasons when my favourite collections come out. Today I will be sharing with you some photos I took a couple of weeks ago, before Spring was officially here.

Last year's Nails Inc set of four nail varnishes was named after London train stations. I managed to pick it up at a reasonable price towards the end of last month and was very pleased with the shades:

L to R: Charing Cross, Paddington, St Pancras & Fenchurch Street
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I will review the first one from right to left, Fenchurch Street. Not only is this my favourite colour of the set, the name also brings memories of my first few years in the capital, when I had to commute via that station.

This is a lovely orange/camel creme. It's not like any other colour I have, which makes it pretty special. It goes on smoothly, dries true to the bottle and has excellent coverage. I applied two coats but one might be enough.

I can see that this might not be everyone's cup of tea but I am a fan. Are you?

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Brand: Nails Inc

Collection: AW 2011

Name: Fenchurch Street

Type: Creme

Colour: Orange/Camel

Pantone equivalent: 1535

Make Up Alley rating: N/A

Potential dupes: Haven't found any online.

Buy the set from Look Fantastic £19.99

I used:

1 x OPI Natural Base Coat

2 x Nails Inc Fenchurch Street

1 x Save The Nail 45 Second Top Coat

Metadata:

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

China Glaze - For Audrey

What can I say about For Audrey that hasn't been said before? It's a modern classic, a great quality, self levelling polish that goes on smoothly, dries fast and flatters most skin tones. Feminine, elegant, glossy, delicate but still eye catching, this aqua has quickly become a favourite of mine.

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I wore it for my nephew's confirmation last Thursday, with accent fingers in OPI Servin' Up Sparkle. Here's a photo of my mani over my dress:

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I also decided to compare some of the blues I have. They are, from left to right, OPI Fly, a-england Galahad, China Glaze For Audrey and Mavala Lagoon, all two coats:

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As you can see, the pairs are similar but not enough to be called dupes. The formula on Fly and Lagoon  would benefit from a third coat, whereas you might be able to get away with just one coat when applying Galahad and For Audrey. Which of these four blues is your favourite?

Brand: China Glaze

Collection: Something Blue

Name: For Audrey

Type: Creme

Colour: Light Blue/Aqua

Pantone equivalent: 305

Make Up Alley rating: 4.4/5

Potential dupes: Many are close but I haven't found one that's a match.

Buy it from eBay £7.50 (Buy it now)

I used:

1 x Save The Nail Colour Extending Base Coat

2 x China Glaze For Audrey

1 x Save The Nail 45 Second Top Coat

Metadata:

Canon EOS 450D - 50 mm - f/1.8/2.2 - ISO 400 - indoors - no flash - daylight

Ciaté - Oil Slick

Everyone's talking about Ciaté at the moment, but before I can get my hands on their Caviar Manicures,  which I am itching for, I am bringing you my first product by this British brand: Oil Slick.

Chanel Peridot was quite possibly THE polish of 2011. I still can't bring myself to spend £17.50 of my hard-earned cash on one nail varnish, especially when it's not one of the vampy shades that I know I will get a lot of wear out of. So after mulling it for a while I decided to find a suitable alternative in the form of a dupe.

The first one I heard about was one by Sephora, but since buying it from the UK would have implied a high postage cost, there wasn't much of a point. Many others appeared, but none caught my eye until I saw Oil Slick.

I heard Ciaté was a decent, 5F (free of formaldehyde, toluene and DBP, formaldehyde resin and camphor) and cruelty-free brand. The name seemed apt: I've always been fascinated by the colours that you can spot when looking at fuel on the floor and their shifting nature, so this nail varnish was an easy choice for me.

I can't review a Ciaté product and not mention that cute little bottle. How delicate and feminine is it? It's one of those things you just want to stare at or display it on a dresser. Its shape can be awkward for storage purposes, but it is so pretty you just forgive that oversight. It's got a black bow! I thought the bow was tied around the bottleneck, but it's actually glued onto the bottle itself, so it doesn't get in the way at all. The brush was very good and easy to handle, too: slimmer than OPI's but flat nonetheless.

Application was smooth but needed three coats for optimum opacity. It wasn't streaky despite being metallic and it's so incredibly shiny your hands take centre stage. I suppose it did help that my nails were quite long when I tried it on.

I only got a couple of days' wear out of it, but it's pretty special, so a week would have probably been too long. I would recommend applying it over a ridge filler base coat, as it's not very forgiving.

This is one of those varnishes that draws a lot of attention: I could see people following my hands as I spoke (Italian genes!) and I got comments even from those who don't usually notice. Not only can you see its duochrome effect, it is also a little reflective. So eye catching, you need to carry it with matching confidence! Sunglasses might be advisable.

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Brand: Ciaté

Name: Oil Slick

Type: Duochrome

Colour: Gold

Pantone equivalent: N/A

Make Up Alley rating: N/A

Potential dupes: Chanel Peridot and all the rest....

Buy it from Ciaté £9

I used:

1 x OPI Natural Base Coat

3 x Ciaté Oil Slick

1 x Save The Nail 45 Second Top Coat

Metadata:

Canon EOS 450D - 50 mm - f/1.8 - ISO 400/200 - indoors/outdoors - no flash - daylight

Nail Art: Mini Mani

My daughter is two and a half years old and, like every other little girl I know, enjoys copying everything mummy does... so it's only natural she has developed an interest in nail varnish.

After months of umming and ahhing I gave up and started her on those very light pinks I am not a huge fan of myself but seem more appropriate for a toddler.

On Sunday I painted a few pink dots on her ring fingers and today I decided to take it up a notch. Below is the proof:

I painted:

• Five dots in OPI Dim Sum Plum, to form a ring
• One dot in the centre in China Glaze For Audrey

The model in action:

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Nail Art: Blur by Julian Opie

Today is Mother's Day here in the UK and, after many hints in the form of links, my lovely husband bought me a set of Nail Art brushes. This means I now have the tools to turn some of the crazy ideas in my head into works of (nail) art.

I've been thinking about this design for a few days. Blur are my favourite band and this artwork by Julian Opie (with an E at the end!) is iconic. I remember going to the National Portrait Gallery in London and falling in love al over again, just like I did when I first saw it in the album cover from 2000.

I would love to bore you all with stories of how much I adore Blur and their songs, all the memories that they bring and how amazing it was to see them live, but I have a feeling you'll be more interested in the pictures. This time I will be ignoring my usual format as describing the entire process would take far too long.

Be warned, there are many, many photos! Make sure you click on them to have a closer look.

 

This is my homage to the band that will be closing the London Olympic Games this year. I hope they like it!

If you want to see the artist's work, click on each name: Graham, Alex, Damon and Dave.

The materials:

• Bundle Monster Nail Art brush kit
• OPI Jade in the New Black
• OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui
• OPI You Don't Know Jacques!
• OPI Your Royal Shine-Ness
• OPI Black Onyx
• OPI Alpine Snow
• OPI Ski Teal We Drop
• Nubar Classic Camel
• Nails Inc Fenchurch Street
• Mavala Acid Yellow
• Mavala Poetic

Oh, and this is a little clip I recorded live in Manchester back in 2009, for your viewing and listening pleasure: Trimm Trabb, a song which was never realeased as a single but my husband and I like it so much we actually played it at our wedding.

Happy Mother's Day!

China Glaze - Tree Hugger

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone!

I started thinking green yesterday and tried to remember the happiest St Patrick's Day I had. My husband and I were in Milan, Italy, I was wearing a lot of green and after an afternoon shopping in Corso Buenos Aires we had a lovely meal in a small trattoria in the Navigli district. Bliss!

I had a look at the greens in my collection and found that China Glaze Tree Hugger was the same apple green as the T-shirt I was wearing that day, so I thought I'd give it a go. I have to say I love the name!

The formula was a tad runnier than I am used to and the brush picked up a lot of product, so my first coat was a little thick. It's a creme but has a subtle green/turquoise shimmer which you can hopefully see in the pictures below. It's true to the bottle and has a shiny finish. Drying time was average.

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As I am in the mood for experimenting, I decided to add some detail to my mani this morning. I used a hair grip to create some dots in a lighter green, using Mavala Pistache and some in a darker shade, using OPI Jade is the New Black, to create a pattern. Four leaf clovers would have been suitable, but I went a different route. Will you be wearing green today?

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Brand: China Glaze

Collection: ECOllection

Name: Tree Hugger

Type: Creme

Colour: Green

Pantone equivalent: 360

Make Up Alley rating: 4/5

Potential dupes: It's close to China Glaze Entourage but not enough to be dupes

Buy it from Raven Cosmetics £6.50

I used:

1 x Save The Nail Colour Extending Base Coat

2 x China Glaze Tree Hugger

1 x Save The Nail 45 Second Top Coat

Metadata:

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

Illamasqua - Whack

Spring is only around the corner so I thought I'd show you one of the brightest polishes I own.

Illamasqua describe Whack as a vivid tangerine orange and they are spot on. It's almost neon! The name is fitting, too. I've seen some photos online in which it looks red but I can assure you this is orange.

My experience with this brand has been limited but excellent so far. The brush is good, the formula is great and the finish is smooth and glossy. I've worn this shade only for a day or two and that was long enough as I kept staring at my hands.

Not one for the faint of heart or the conservative office environment, save this colour for a day when you're full of confidence. This product will certainly lift any outfit!

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Brand: Illamasqua

Name: Whack

Type: Creme

Colour: Orange

Pantone equivalent: 485

Make Up Alley rating: N/A

Potential dupes: Haven't found any online.

Buy it from Illamasqua £13.50

I used:

1 x OPI Natural Base Coat

2 x Illamasqua Whack

1 x Save The Nail 45 Second Top Coat

Metadata:

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

Max Factor - Fantasy Fire

I first heard of this nail varnish when one of my Twitter friends sent me a link saying it was only available in the UK. I called every Boots and Superdrug in Liverpool to ask if they had it but I was too late... until Sammy tweeted that she'd found some bottles and I finally got mine. Thanks again to my fellow blogger!

So what makes this polish so special and sought after? I heard it's a Clarins 230 dupe, but can't confirm as I haven't got that one. It's got some of the magic that Nfu.Oh 51 has, minus the flakes, but I can't compare it either.

I will write from my own experience then. This is a sheer, purple base with tiny duochrome particles. I tried it on the naked nail and over a few options before I decided which look I liked best. I ended up going for a-england Elaine as a base. If I had a few spare bottles I'd probably try four or more coats to achieve full opacity, but this bottle is so tiny I don't want to run out!

The name is quite apt, as the red particles have a shimmer which light this product from within. It did remind me of Earth, Wind & Fire's song Fantasy for obvious reasons, but when I described it to my husband I used the words "red, gold and green" and then the song, like the colours, shifted to Karma Chameleon. Now I can't get it out of my head, but that's another story.

Enough with the words, are you ready for some photos? Beware, there are many!

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This nail varnish has become flavour of the month on many blogs. Do you think it's worth the hype?

Brand: Max Factor

Name: Fantsay Fire

Type: Duochrome/Shimmer

Colour: Purple

Pantone equivalent: N/A

Make Up Alley rating: 4/5

Potential dupes: Clarins 230 (allegedly!)

Buy it from wherever you can!

It's very hard to find at the moment but I read somewhere that Max Factor are due to release another batch soon, so it might be worth holding off until then.

I used:

1 x OPI Natural Base Coat

2 x a-england Elaine

2 x Max Factor Fantasy Fire

1 x Save The Nail 45 Second Top Coat

Metadata:

Canon EOS 450D - 50 mm - f/1.8 - ISO 400/200 - indoors/outdoors - no flash - sunshine

Nail Art: Mondo Guerra

Project Runway All Stars is almost coming to an end and one of my favourite all-time designers is in the final. So I thought I'd challenge myself and do a Mondo inspired Nail Art design.

Mondo has a talent for mixing prints, so it was only natural I combined his most famous pattern with the man himself.

After 10 years of silence about it, Mondo revealed his HIV+ status during season 8 of Project Runway and won a challenge using his own design on the fabric. He did not win that time around, but he certainly is an All Star and a deserving champion. 

My inspiration:

Positive Trousers
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Mondo by Maryellen Skulski
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The materials:

The colours, described below

I also used some toothpicks.

The process:

This time I didn't have time to create a fancy animation, but have included some photos below:

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I painted things in the following order:

• My nails, using Mavala Acid Yellow
• I cut some strips of adhesive tape and created a pattern
• My nails again, using OPI Dim Sum Plum
• I removed the tape, revealing the yellow underneath
• The positive signs, using the striper brush on Andrea Fulerton Dot & Flick Nail Art Judy

I did all my nails in this pattern, except for my ring finger, which I painted as follows:

• My nail, using OPI Alpine Snow
• The contour of the face, using the fine nib on Andrea Fulerton Dot & Flick Nail Art Judy
• I then painted the outside of the face using OPI Fly and a toothpick
• The detail on the face, using the fine nib on Andrea Fulerton Dot & Flick Nail Art Judy
• The mouth using OPI Bullish on OPI

I completed both designs with two coats of top coat.

The outcome:

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I've been itching to do this design for a few days and, after a quick attempt last night, I am quite pleased with the way it's turned out. The little face was a hit at work: one of my colleagues even said I was insane... and I had to agree!

Photo credits: craftstylish.com and lovemondotrasho.com

Nail Art: Russian Doll

Russian Dolls are quite a popular Nail Art design, I can only imagine this has something to do with their pear shape and the fact that you can do many colour cobinations and personalise it.

I first thought about doing one about a week ago when I used this lovely perfume and, after looking at several photos online, decided to create my own version of it.

My materials:

The colours, described below

I still haven't bought any brushes, so I used an orange stick and four toothpicks.

The process:

This time I remembered to take photos and even created a little animation!

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I painted things in the following order:

1. My nails with the base colour, Nubar Classic Camel
2. A circle in a-england Galahad for the head scarf, using the orange stick
3. A triangle in OPI Jade Is The New Black for the dress, using a toothpick
4. The hair, using Nails Inc Fenchurch Street and a toothpick
5. The lips, using Nails Inc Charing Cross and a toothpick
6. The eyes, using OPI Black Onyx and a toothpick
7. The larger parts of the cape, using OPI Dim Sum Plum and the orange stick
1. I then did the edges in the same colour, using a toothpick
8. Some random detail in the dress, using Nails Inc Charing Cross and the toothpick
9. Some white dots on her scarf, using OPI Alpine Snow and the toothpick
10. Two coats of top coat to be safe!

The outcome:

I decided that Nubar Classic Camel was too light and I needed a colour that was more in-keeping with the design, so I painted the other nails in OPI Dim Sum Plum.

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My husband liked it, my little girl loved it... the only problem I have is that I finished it at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning, which means I won't be doing any other swatches this weekend! I need to at least wait until after I've been to work on Monday to remove it.

a-england Week: Adina's England

Favourite place in England: Stonehenge, where magic, myth and reality meet 

Favourite place in London: London is my beloved city on Earth but I feel especially empowered and inspired by the majestic, almost fairytale-like, Albert Bridge in Chelsea 

Favourite English designer: Dame Vivienne Westwood, of course; the most iconic british designer of all time

Most stylish person in England: the extraordinary, totally original and unique Vivienne Westwood 

Stonehenge

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It's been a lot of fun doing this feature week, I hope you have enjoyed reading my posts as much as I have loved writing about these fantastic polishes. Thank you for stopping by, please feel free to leave me your comments or thoughts below.

Thanks again to Adina and Tristam for their warmth, I can't wait to see what the new collection will bring!

a-england Week: Day 7 - Ascalon

I saved Ascalon for last because it's one of my new favourites.

On first impressions, it reminded me of all the things I like about OPI's Not Like The Movies, a grey/green/purple duochrome. Ascalon's duochrome is less noticeable, but it is also a holo. I just couldn't believe how lucky I was to have found such a wonderful nail varnish, packed with all the things I like. I kept saying to my husband: "you've got to see this!", it was love at first sight.

The formula is so smooth, it slides on your nails. Two coats are enough for full opacity and they dry quickly. I wore it for a good few days and it remained as gorgeous as when I first put it on.

Adina loves jewellery and, like many Italians I know, has great taste. This is reflected in her holos: they are decorative without being ostentatious; they are a statement piece by themselves and lift any outfit.

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Below are some photos in sunlight, to appreciate the delicate, yet present, scattered holo effect:

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A photo in which I tried to capture the duochrome effect, with little success:

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And last, but by no means least, another reason why I saved this review until the end of my a-england Week:

My left hand and Adina's right hand, both wearing Ascalon
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Brand: a-england

Collection: The Legend

Name: Ascalon

Type: Duochrome/(Scattered) Holographic

Colour: Silver 

Pantone equivalent: N/A

Make Up Alley rating: N/A

Potential dupes: Haven't found any yet!

Buy it directly from a-england, £9 with free worldwide shipping

I used:

1 x OPI Natural Base Coat

2 x a-england Ascalon

1 x Save The Nail 45 Second Top Coat

Metadata:

Canon EOS 450D - 50 mm - f/1.8 - ISO 400/200 - indoors - no flash - daylight/sunlight