Crystal Healing // Pink Gradient with Purple Crystals

Look 2 of my self-imposed Mani & Lola challenge to do at least 5 looks using that months polish. On my little sheet, I simply scribbled down "Jessica & Razzle Dazzle Chrome". I was thinking chevrons but then when I was rooting through my plates I saw the Crystal plate and was like "oh yes." 

This didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to however I did manage to paint inside the lines for the most part when reverse stamping which is a first for me; I did really take my time though. The gradient turned out quite well and I was really shocked by the pigmentation of the Essence polishes. They only cost £1.69 each but every time I use them they surprise me; I'm definitely going to have to go get some more. 

How I did it:-

I started off with a base coat of Cheeky and then sponged on 2 layers of Cheeky, Rosewood Forest and Perfect Match. After a quick dry top coat I picked up the crystal designs with Razzle Dazzle and then filled them in with Fly Away whilst they were still on the stamper. As this takes a while, I applied a layer of top coat, waited about 40 seconds and then stamped them on. I double stamped the writing and then just used another design from the Crystal plate on my middle finger.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Jessica // Cheeky (pale pink)

- Essence The Gel Polish // Rosewood Forest (pink mauve)

- Essence The Gel Polish // Perfect Match (salmon pink)
- Barry M Liquid Chrome // Razzle Dazzle (metallic ice pink)
- Ciaté // Fly Away (purple)

- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat
- Revlon // Colorstay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Crystal 01

Five Hand Creams #3 // Wilko, Dr Organic, BalanceMe, Treacle Moon, Kueshi

Welcome back to another Five Hand Creams post! I go through hand cream like water so I here is where I document my experience with all the different ones I try out. I'm subscribed to a ridiculous amount of beauty boxes as well and I receive at least 1 every month through them so, when one is empty or close to empty I lump them all together for a "Five Hand Creams" post. Lets get into them shall we?

Wilko // "So Soft" Intense Hand Cream (75ml - £1)

I'm not quite sure why I bought this. I have a hand cream obsession and I like the smell of coconuts so that's why? In the tube this does smell quite nice but then you put it on your hands and start rubbing it in and the scent changes to musty clothes with a hint of coconut. I don't like it. I'm going to have to use it up because I not a big fan of wasting things but the scent on this one is so strange it's put me off buying any other Wilko branded hand creams.

Dr Organic // Manuka Honey Foot & Heel Cream (125ml - £6.75)

This cream on the other hand has become one of my all time favourites and I'm on my second tube. This is my go to foot cream. I received it in a Latest In Beauty box in August I think and that tube lasted me a good four months of everyday use. Full size is only £6.75 which is fantastic because this product actually works. I use about a walnut size on each foot at night, put on some thick socks and then go to sleep. My feet have never felt so soft or looked so good. Whilst using this, I've not suffered from any cracked heels or peeling. It has this really lovely honey scent as well and stops your feet from smelling throughout the day. This has become an essential for me. 

BalanceMe // Super Moisturising Hand Cream (50ml - £10)

I bought this at TK Maxx at the end of August for £3.99 as I was out all day and had forgotten to put hand cream in my bag. I've tried quite a few BalanceMe products and generally like the brand. I was initially put off by this cream as it has an extremely strong patchouli scent and I hate patchouli but the formula has well and truly won me over; this is a fantastic hand cream. It's rich and buttery smooth; leaving the skin soft and hydrated for hours. I would actually purchase this again despite the smell. £4 for it was a bargain because this is well worth the £10 price tag.

Treacle Moon // Marshmallow Hearts (75ml - £2) 

I featured the coconut flavour in the first 5 Hand Creams post and whereas this smells much nicer; it doesn't moisturise as well. Your hands will smell great but about 20 minutes after application it feels like you need to reapply again. For £2, it doesn't break the bank but clearly it's more for show than to be actually used. It does smell bloody good though and they offer shower gel in this scent as well so I may actually purchase that instead of more hand cream.

Kueshi // Foot Care Cream (40ml - £12 for 100ml)

And last is another foot cream I got with a Birchbox order in October. It was a free sample but seeing as how I was half way through the Dr Organic Foot Cream, I left it in my spares box until I ran out of that tube. I've been using this foot cream only for the past month til it ran out and I'm so glad it has because I couldn't wait to go back to the Dr Organic cream. It smells nice; like peppermint and tea tree. It reminds me of that scene from Mean Girls where Cady says all they've done is make Regina's face smell like a foot.

Other than that it doesn't do anything. My feet have definitely been a lot drier and I've seen a few cracks here and there through the last couple of months; I'm now back on the Manuka cream so hopefully soft feet will once again be mine. 

And that's it for this month! I have so many more hand creams to go through....I honestly think this will never end because I clearly have a problem when it comes to hand cream.

*none of the links in this post are affiliated, just ones I found off google

Serene Forest // Pink & Green Woodland Scene

I just received some new Born Pretty & Harunouta plates off eBay and one of the ones I chose was this woodland scene plate which has an assortment of forest trees and little creatures on it. Originally, I only started off with the pink to green gradient and was fully intent on using some rose gold geometric prints on top but something stirred in my imagination and persuaded me to go ahead and create a misty woodland scene.

I'm super happy with how this looks, the forest looks calm and peaceful with the light green (Lake) almost giving off this mist quality as the shade between the pink and bright green. 

How I did it:-

I started off with one coat of Cheeky and then sponged on a couple layers of Cheeky, Lake & Ness. After a layer of top coat, I then used Stone and the BP-L011 plate to create the trees and deer. Stone isn't the best stamping polish as it breaks up with intricate details, but I like how it wasn't completely opaque for this design. I then added a layer of top coat and then a layer of matte top coat (as the matte one always smears the design).

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Jessica // Cheeky (pale pink)

- Zoya // Lake (pale mint)

- Zoya // Ness (pastel apple green)
- Nailberry // Stone (grey)

- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat
- Revlon // Colorstay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat

- Born Pretty Stamping Plate // BP-L011

Three Nail Polish Removers #2 // Cutex & Sally Hansen

//Since becoming obsessed with doing my nails I'm reading more and more articles about caring for your nails. In the old days I just used to think polish remover was well polish remover and there wasn't any difference between them. I thought it smelled horrible and left my nails looking white and dry. However, since then I've learnt that removers differ vastly and I'm now on the search for the best remover.// 

Sally Hansen // Moisturising Nail Polish Remover (200ml - £1.98)

You know, I was really shocked to find out they still sold this because I legit bought this almost 10 years ago lol. This was my remover for when I sporadically did my nails. Before summer last year, I was quite the polish hoarder but I never did my nails that much, perhaps once every three months and then I would leave that polish on for a month (or longer) until it was chipped and scratty looking. Then I would use some of this to remove it. At the time, I just thought it was natural for your nails to look dry and streaky after removing polish; now I know differently. I've stopped using this now as it's pretty much useless at removing anything other than creme's and clean-up is a joke. The scent is just standard polish remover but there's nothing special about it.

Cutex // Ultra Powerful (200ml - £2.15)

So in last months Three Nail Polish Removers, I mentioned that I thought I had found the holy grail of removers; this is what I was referring to. However, then, I hadn't tried the moisture rich version, see more on that below. This ultra powerful remover completely blew my expectations away. I bought it on offer for £1 and the watermelon scent was the first thing I noticed. Seriously, this remover actually smells quite nice. It's very cold on the skin and can leave it a little white if you leave it on too long but it removes polish in a breeze. I can't comment on glitter effectiveness because I always wear a peel off base coat when wearing glitter (it's just easier) but clean-up is fantastic. This creates beautiful sharp lines and doesn't leave skin dry at all. It's also fantastic at cleaning up stamping plates and nail mats; this remover is worth every penny.

Cutex // Moisture-Rich (200ml - £2.15)

Ladies and Gentleman, roll up for the winner of nail polish removers; this baby can do it all. At the start of January, Superdrug had all the Cutex polish removers on sale (they have quite a few actually) and so I decided to give another one a go to see if the range was any good. I shouldn't have even worried. I was expecting this to be worse than the ultra-powerful so it was a surprise when it removed polish just as well without any dryness. In fact, if I use this on dry looking nails, they actually look healthier...and smell like Christmas cake.

This remover has a beautiful marzipan/almond scent that really lingers after the acetone dissapates; I can't get enough of it. It performs clean-up relatively well, although the lines aren't quite as sharp but it gets the job done. After the first use I went back out and bought another 5 while they were on sale.

I would say the only downside is that it seems to stain your nails and skin yellow after repeated use; and I use it a lot. It's not highly noticables but I have noticed that my tips are no longer as white as they used to be since I started using it. But other than that, I can't reccommend this remover enough.

//Conclusion

Overall, I'm not sure if I'll be doing another one of these posts now because the Cutex removers (used together) are really all I need. They do exactly what I want them to do and they smell great. I use the Moisture rich to remove any polish and clean my nails and then the ultra powerful to clean plates and do clean-up with. Since I've started using them, I've noticed that Cutex also do polishes and cuticle oils and I can't wait to give everything else a go because their products seem to be amazing quality for a fantastic price.

Now That's What I Call A Haul #2 // NPD Boxing Day Sale

Lord have mercy on my bank account; for I have sinned....LOOK AT ALL THAT POLISH!

Yeah so I may have gone a little crazy in the Nail Polish Direct boxing day sale, but it was 50% off so can you blame me really? I spent £54.58 in total but received 17 polishes so that's roughly around £3.20 a shade which is amazing considering the full prices of Morgan Taylor and Zoya (the Color Club polishes were actually £1 each though...).

I mainly wanted to increase my Morgan Taylor collection as I love the bottle design and they have some beautiful shades. I tried to make myself buy shades that I didn't have but couldn't resist throwing in some mauve's and a pastel mint. It's the glitter shades that got me though, I can't wait to do ALL the mermaid looks with those teal masterpieces. 

I was also extremely intrigued by the Color Club shades though as they're not only a jelly formula but they glow in the dark! I haven't yet tried a true jelly polish so I'm not sure what to expect but they're super neon and contains lots of lovely glittery chunks. The non-jelly shades really surprised me though and I can't get enough of that amazing pastel yellow. I can already see the grey and yellow chevron nail art.

Unfortunately the lovely orange Artistic shade did arrive completely dried up as it had leaked entirely into the cap (it took me so long to unscrew it). I sent some photos to Nail Polish Direct and they sent me out a new one the next day, so customer service was on point. And I'm so glad because that orange shade is stunning. 

I was thinking of swatching everything however, I'm not so sure now. A lot of these shades are from old collections, however, there aren't that many swatches of Morgan Taylor on the interweb....who knows. If I manage to catch up on my assignments, I may. 

Mani & Lola January 2019 // Nail Subscription Box

Finally, I'm here with the Mani & Lola January 2019 box! It's been a wild ride this month, with not one but two messed up nail polish orders this month. The first was from a haul and this package was the second. I knew something was up the moment the delivery guy handed me the parcel as I got a strong whiff of nail polish. As I opened the package, it got stronger and then I noticed the polish all inside the box :( 

It only took me around 20 minutes to clean up the other polishes but the Jessica bottle had smashed completely so there was no saving it. However, Mani & Lola sent me a replacement polish the next day. So thank you to them for excellent and swift customer service.

When I first saw this box, I wasn't that impressed as the colours just didn't seem to match each other. You've got these two lovely neutral "new year, new me" shades from Jessica and Barry M but then you've got these bright red and green shades practically screaming

But, my opinion changed pretty quickly as I started using them and I'm going to stick to my self-made Mani & Lola challenge that I made last year; to make at least 5 designs using these shades (I've already done two, go me!). Let's get into the box!

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Jessica // Cheeky (14.8ml - £4.95)

This shade caused me a few problems this month but in the end I'm happy to report that this is a fantastic shade to add to your collection. It's a beautiful pale pink creme that's ready in two coats. This shade and Razzle Dazzle pair really well together and produce wonderful Valentines-esque looks:

When researching this shade, I found that Nail Polish Direct sells it for £4.95, whereas it's £11 on the official Jessica website so if you're interested, make sure you get it from NPD (which, I found out this week, owns Mani & Lola).

Will it stamp? // Surprisingly it actually stamps quite well. It looks thin and runny on the plate but has good pigment. I think it may look a little washed out on darker colours, but it does well on light/pastel shades.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //
Barry M Liquid Chrome // Razzle Dazzle (10ml - £3.99)

I wasn't expecting much from this shade, but holy moly, I think it's become one of my favourite stamping shimmers. This is a stunning true icy pink shimmer and stamps as good as any dedicated stamping polish. There are three other shades in this range and I think I might have to go buy them if they all stamp this well. 

That said I'm a little disappointed at the state of this polish. It looks like it's been pre-owned and thrown around quite a bit. The cap is all scratched with chips and the barcode label looks like it was dipped in water as half the information on it is missing. It looks like I picked it up from a carboot sale for 50p. 

Other than that, this is a solid shade. It only needs one coat and I just love the Barry M brushes as they fan perfectly across the nail. I rarely have to do cleanup when I use a BM shade. 

Will it stamp? // Yes! And perfectly so.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //
Nailberry // Pop My Berry (15ml - £14.50)

My God, there's red and then there's RED. This shade reminds me heavily of Ciaté's Boudior (you can see a swatch here) and it's quite strange that they both have bedroom themed names....

Names aside, I wouldn't wear this by itself as I've never been a bright red person. I prefer darker crimsons and oxblood-esque shades but I was impressed with the application. The brush is similar to the Barry M ones and I found it easy to apply with minimum mess. I'm wearing two coats but that's only because I could slightly see my nail tips peaking through. One coat is definitely wearable though as there is no streaking in sight. I could see some nice Valentines look being created with this and the Jessica shade.

Will it stamp? // Yes, but it looks much darker and is no where near as bright or vivid. But it handles detail well .

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Zoya // Ness (15ml - £6.95)

I won't lie, I saw this shade in the reveal post and hated it the most. However, now I'm wearing it....I really like it. It's a different kind of green to what I was expecting. Apparently this is from the Zoya 2016 Summer Sunsets collection and I can totally see that. It's kind of one those pastel-ly 80/90's vibes shades that you would see on a Miami Vice poster. It's muted and subdued and kinda perfect for the upcoming spring months.

Also, I've seen a few comments saying that a lot don't really enjoy Zoya, and I know what they mean as often they're thin and streaky, with at least 3-4 layers needed. But this one is much thicker and you can almost get away with one coat. I'm really impressed. 

Will it stamp? // Yes, actually. I know I'm shocked. It's a little translucent in some places but the pattern doesn't break on intricate details and it holds up pretty well against bright/darker colours.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //
Orly // Won't Chip Top Coat (9ml - £5.95)

Like the Jessica shade, this is being sold cheaper from NPD than on Orly's website so I've linked the cheapest. I was looking forward to using this, however, this is not the best top coat I've ever used. I don't think anything can replace my Revlon Colorstay Diamond top coat but this tried. Even with a big drop on the top, it still caused stamping designs to smear and in some just removed the stamping completely. It also doesn't give that great a shine. I may use this on top of swatches on my swatch wheels but I won't be rushing out to replace it.

Price of Box - £22.95

Number of Items - 6 

Estimated Worth - £36.34

When I first got this box I wasn't all that happy. There seemed to be no theme to the polishes, other than they're all vegan, and it kind of annoyed me that they seemed out of place with each other. However, after trying them all out I've grown to really like the shades; even the bright red one. The estimated worth isn't that high again, however, if I were to buy these all separately, I'd practically be getting the Nailberry polish for free which is ok I guess (I just love the design of those bottles). 

I'm hoping that the shades next month kind of match each other a little more and we get some more nail tools. This month the extra item was a nail buffer/file but I'd love to see some stamping plates or decals; something different. 

Looks I've done using these shades:-

- Serene Forest // Pink & Green Woodland Scene
- Crystal Healing // Pink Gradient with Purple Crystals

Clean Beauty // Look Fantastic January 2019 Beauty Box Nails

The Look Fantastic January box is finally here! It's quite funny, last years LF January box was also spectacularly late with many on social media getting a bit 'angry' shall we say. Back then I still had my beauty blog and dubbed it "LF January Gate". However, this year I wasn't particularly bothered as I don't have the blog anymore and I actually really love this months contents as just about everything will get used. Well perhaps not the baking powder as I don't really wear make-up anymore but I can give it go!

On to the nails though! For this months I decided when I first saw the box design that I would attempt my very first reciprocal gradient....yep we're going into 'real' nail art territory here. If you're not familiar with a reciprocal gradient (I wasn't a few months ago), it's a gradient design with striping tape applied on top and then the same gradient sponged in the other direction so when you peel off the tape you get this neat effect.

For my first attempt; I'm quite happy as it turned out much better than I thought it would. However, I used a stamping polish as one of the shades and it dried far too quickly and when I was removing the tape, the lines became a little jagged. Also, to save time I did two fingers at a time which gave the polish to much time to dry. You really do need to remove the tape as soon as you've finished stamping or the lines don't blend into each other well.

Also, when adding the silver detail; I messed up big time. It kind of makes me cringe a little, but the show must go on. I'd definitely attempt this again though as it was quite fun. I kept going back and forth between this and my programming assignment so I wasn't just waiting around for everything to dry. In the end, it took me a good two hours and that was just one hand....people who do both are actually crazy.

But anyway, here's a nice gradient* shot to finish.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Ciaté // Ferris Wheel (pale light blue)

- MoYou London // Snowflake (off white)

- Artistic Colour Revolution // Heart of Chrome (metallic silver shimmer)

- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Tropical 09 & Typography 04

*I learnt through researching how to do this that blending colours together is actually called a gradient and an ombre is block colours on each nail but from the same colour family....I'll be a pro one day...

OPI The Nutcracker & the Four Realms Advent Calendar 2018 // Days 22-25

Day 22 - Ginger's Revenge // Dark Red Creme

Nutcracker Collection Shade

Now these are the type of red shades I can get on board with. This is classic crimson and super shiny to boot. I was going to wear just one coat, but the second really adds depth. This is they type of shade I would wear all winter. It looks like we're off to a good start with the final week.

Day 23 - Bogota Blackberry // Red shimmer

Oh be still my beating heart; this shade is beautiful. It reminds me of this velvet two piece I bought from Missguided a couple of years ago. The shade itself is classic and screams opulence. I don't think I could just wear this to the office; it's definitely more for special occasions. I'm wearing one coat and frankly that's all you need.

Day 24 - Black to Reality // Black with red shimmer

Nutcracker Collection Shade
This is a nice shade with a lovely red shine that appears when the light hits it just right. I'm wearing two coats as the second once again gives it hella depth. In normal light shade looks black however, under lighting that red almost cat-eye like shimmer comes out. 

Day 25 - Black Cherry Chutney // Black with purple shimmer

And we end the calendar with what is basically the exact same shade as the last. This shade is ok but can you see a difference? I think because of the shimmer this would go nice with flaky polishes (especially with a matte top coat) but I'm a little disappointed that we didn't go out on a bang; just like the Ciaté calendar. I'm wearing two coats in the swatch and whereas it's darker and slightly more purple I think the previous shade was a much nicer black shimmer.

//Verdict

And we're done! It's finally done...or well I still have the Ciaté 2013 calendar to finish but at least the 2018 ones are out of the way. I'm actually quite glad I bought this calendar though as it's made me realise that OPI isn't really that great and there are much better and cheaper polish brands out there. For example, Cuccio, A-England and Morgan Taylor have impressed me way more than OPI polishes. The formulas have been quite thick and hard to apply and this calendar just didn't excite me the way the Ciaté one did. I think I'll pass on the OPI 2019 calendar now.

// Days 1 - 7
// Days 8 - 14
// Days 15 - 21

Shake Your Poms Poms // Birchbox January 2019 Nails

Kicking off my first beauty box of 2019 is this colourful offering from Birchbox. I'm actually really happy with the contents as it contained quite a few full sizes but the design isn't really my thing this month. I tried my best but I just don't think this looks good on nails. Maybe it's too colourful and not pastel enough for my liking. 

How I did it:-

I started off with two layers of Blanc and then used Holy Shapes 20 to stamp the circles on. I then used a dotting tool with Snowflake and Gold to create the dots and topped it off with a matte top coat. 

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Essie // Blanc (white)
- MoYou London // Little Pickle (bright lime)

- MoYou London // Surf's Up (ocean blue)
- MoYou London // Teenage Blush (coral pink)
- MoYou London // Snowflake (off white)
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat (used second to last, before gold dots were added)

- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat

- Revlon // Colorstay Diamond Top Coat
- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Holy Shapes 20

Saved by The Grey // Cuccio & MoYou London

Inspiration comes in the strangest of places and the other day I saw this mug for sale in New Look and whereas I managed to restrain myself and not purchase it; I did think it would look great on my nails and here we are.

I've been wanting to use my new Cuccio polishes so badly as well. These two beautiful grey hues are from their 2018 Wanderlust collection (of which I bought in the NPD black friday sale along with the Tapestry collection...) I also want to practice my striping tape skills and I did much better this time; only messing up slightly on the thumb. But with a nice thick layer of top coat you can barely see. 

How I did it:-

I started off with two coats of I Wonder Where and then placed some striping tape across my nails. I applied one thick coat of Explorateur. Using a small dotting tool I placed some random dots on each side. On the Explorateur side I used Night Sail and I Wonder Where and Explorateur and White on the other side. I then topped it off with the squiggly 90s pattern from the Holy Shapes 20 plate. 

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Cuccio Colour // I Wonder Where (pale grey)
- Cuccio Colour // Explorateur (speckled grey shimmer)

- MoYou London // Teenage Blush (coral pink)
- MoYou London // Night Sail (dark grey)
- Born Pretty // #4 (white)

- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat

- Revlon // Colorstay Diamond Top Coat
- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Holy Shapes 20

OPI The Nutcracker & the Four Realms Advent Calendar 2018 // Days 15-21

Day 15 - Envy The Adventure // Dark Green Creme

Nutcracker Collection Shade

I was not expecting myself to like this but I do. It's a shade of green I don't have in my collection either and is perfect for forest looks. I'm wearing one coat and that's all you need which is a welcome change from these polishes.

Day 16 - Tinker, Thinker, Winker? // Linear Holo

Nutcracker Collection Shade

This is my favourite shade out of the entire collection and I can't stop moving my fingers back and forth in the light to bring out the spectacular holo flame that appears down the middle. I'm wearing three coats with no base and it appears as a light silver however this is the first silver holographic shade that doesn't contain silver glitter; this is all holo. Layered on top of darker colours the flame really comes to life and one layer is just translucent enough to enhance any shade. I'll be buying this full size for sure.

Day 17 - Dreams Need Clara-fication // Sky Blue Creme

Nutcracker Collection Shade

So, this was the shade that made me take notice of the Nutcracker collection, as OPI made it look stunning  on their insta. Now I'm wearing it; I'm just like "meh." It's a nice blue shade but requires at least three coats due to streaky-ness and I could achieve the same look with something much cheaper like Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Blueberry. At £3.99 they're practically identical.

Day 18 - Less is Norse // Dark Denim Blue Creme

When I was applying this I got hit by deja vu because it is a dead ringer for Ciaté Total Eclipsedwhich I just swatched for Day 15 of the Ciaté Mini Mani Month. However that is a shiny one coat dream and this is watered down version. I used two coats but it doesn't apply as nicely as the Ciaté version. The shade is a nice dark denim blue; just like Total Eclipse, so I don't hate it but if I had to choose between the two, I'd go for Ciaté.

Day 19 - Suzi & The Arctic Fox // Inky Black Creme with Purple tinge

The name of this colour makes absolutely no sense to me. I googled an Arctic Fox and they are pure white...The box also describes it as "bring out the fox in you with this purple kissed hue"...purple? I think this should've been named; Suzi & The Squid Ink because this is an inky black creme with a tinge of purple. I'm wearing two coats, which you definitely need because the first was extremely streaky. The strange name aside; I do like the shade as the purple hint gives it a little more depth than your average creme.

Day 20 - March in Uniform // Dark Navy Blue

Nutcracker Collection Shade

This is actually a shade of blue I've been looking for as it's dark but you can still tell it's blue. Most dark blues I have look almost black but this will be perfect for night skies and galaxy looks. I'm wearing two coats in the swatch.

Day 21 - Candied Kingdom // Dark Red Creme

Nutcracker Collection Shade

For those of you that have been reading this blog you may know I'm not the biggest fan of bright red shades; however I may make an exception for this one because for once it doesn't clash with my skin tone. It's slightly darker with a cool undertone and I could actually see myself wearing this on it's own. It applied beautifully as well (I'm wearing one coat) and clean up was relatively easy with little staining (which is nice for a red shade). A surprising end to the week. 

//Verdict

I'm almost done!! Just four more shades to go and then I have the Ciaté Mini Mani month from 2013 to finish. This week was actually quite a surprise and probably my favourite so far as the colours are more usable to me. I'm still not as wowed at the Ciaté 2018 calendar but I've found some good shades.

// Days 1 - 7
// Days 8 - 14