SWATCHES: Ciaté // Palm Springs, New England Fall, Dangerous Affair & Reign Supreme

So I was gonna make this big spiel about how long it's been since my last post but it was like 3 weeks ago 😂 So I guess not that long. It just feels like a long time because I've barely been painting my nails thanks to programming day and night. I'm just obsessed with trying to get better at my job right now and I've been burning the midnight oil and all my hobbies have fallen to the side.

Since logging back on though, one thing that is super annoying is the new Blogger interface......thanks, I hate it! They literally haven't changed it since 1999 but now they go and utterly ruin it. If I didn't detest Wordpress with a passion I'd totally swap.

But anyway, I saw these bottles in my local TK Maxx and holy hell, I almost started dancing in the store. I love it when they have Ciaté because they always sell them for £1.99 and the Gelology formula is one of my favourites.

Palm Springs // Deep Royal Blue Shimmer

Collection: Gelology

Coats: 2

This shade was the reason I purchased the 2019 Mini Mani Month and in a cruel twist of fate the calendars we're all marketed/printed incorrectly and they actually contained Pool Party. I mean it's still a nice shade but this is now my favourite blue. It's hard to imagine this looking terrible on anyone. With two coats, my nails looks like shimmering sapphires. The shade is so deep and rich; I can't stop staring at my hand. I honestly feel like I've stolen it by paying £1.99.

New England Fall // Deep Navy Crelly

Collection: Ciaté x Olivia Palermo

Coats: 2

This bottle is fancy as heck. It weighs more than the gelology bottles and it just feels more expensive but it isn't because it had leaked inside the lid. AFter opening it and cleaning it up, I then struggled again to get the top off. It seems to have dried inside the lid which is annoying. I'll have to find some cotton buds to clean it out. Anyway, the shade is amazing. I'd say it's more of a jelly creme than a true creme as it has that glass-like shine. It shines slightly purple in certain lighting and will make any outfit look 5 times classier.

Dangerous Affair // Oxblood Jelly

Collection: Gelology

Coats: 2

I swatched the Paint Pot version in Ciaté's 2018 advent calendar (over here). I love the shade but it's  a nightmare to apply; it stains the skin so easily. So, I eagerly picked up the Gelology version in the hopes that it was a more pleasant experience. Oh my word, was this a dream to apply. In my opinion, this is the perfect red shade. It's elegant, classy and will suit any skin tone. It's also a true Jelly with no streaks in sight so you can go for a more translucent look or layer it up for a glass shine.

Reign Supreme // Deep Aubergine Jelly

Collection: Gelology

Coats: 2

Another beautiful shade; Ciaté do jellies so well. This is very similar to Dangerous Affair but under bright light you can see the purple hue. This is a perfect winter shade. I have a velvet pant set in this colour and I'll just have to wear it round the house to a virtual christmas party this year.

SWATCHES: W7 // Stargazer & Blood Moon

Ah W7...it's been a while since I've purchased some of these OPI wannabe polishes, mainly because the last time I did I opened the bottle and felt my eyes melt; it contained formaldehyde.

Stargazer // Forest Green/Bronze Metallic Shift
Collection:??
Release Date:??
Coats: 1 with Black Base, 2 by itself

Now I don't have this polish with me (I'm still at my parents, our office doesn't seem to be re-opening any time soon...) but I have a Barry M shade also called Stargazer and they are exactly the same shade. I swear there is no difference. Only the ingredients in the Barry M one are less sketchy. These 2 do not smell great and the teeny tiny ingredients list is one of those multi-page peel ones. It took me a good 5 minutes to get the final layer which is where the actual polish stuff was (not just the colours used). These two are at least 3 free but I don't trust them.

This shade though is quite a green/brown earthy metallic duochrome. It's ok, it has some brush stokes and dries with a satin finish. The shift is more pronounce on a black base but it's not too bad by itself. The bronze tone is mainly dominant. I ended up adding some rose gold sparkles to the tips and it turned into quite a nice Christmas party look:

Blood Moon // Purple/Bronze Metallic Shift
Collection:??
Release Date:??
Coats: 1 with Black Base, 3 by itself

This is my favourite out of two; mainly because I do like a nice purple. This feels more like a November/December polish to me. On a black base it's mainly purple with the gold coming through at certain angles. I also like it on clear false nails as it has more of shimmery pink vibe and goes well with pink cremes. 

// Verdict

I think it's safe to say I will not be purchasing anymore W7 shades in the future. The brushes were clumpy with bristles bent out and the formulas are awful. I paid £1.99 each but that was from an outlet store; they cost the same as Barry M or H&M normally! An absolute rip-off. I was lured in by how pretty they look in the bottle. Overall they're somewhat pretty but the ingredients are very sketchy.

SWATCHES: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // Pistachio, Sour Candy, Acai Smoothie, Raspberry Ripple & Grape Soda

So I recently lost the will to not buy nail polish and bought some more nail polish. Approximately 11 shades from Barry M. I won't do them all in one go but split them up. I bought 5 new Gelly shades because I'm obsessed with the formula and pastels are my thing. I wanted the grey and yellow shades that are new as well but I have to draw the line somewhere...I guess...there is always next month.

Pistachio // Pistachio Creme

Collection: Gelly Hi-Shine

Release Date: Spring 2020

Coats: 2

True to it's name, this is a pistachio polish. This is one of the most recent additions to the Gelly range and it's right up my street. It kind of reminds of a mix between Essie Mint Candy Apple and Chillato. The application is easy, the formula glides across the nail and you can almost get away with one coat but I recommend two. Like all Gelly shades it's super glossy by itself and really does look like gel with a top coat on (but I never wear top coat in swatches). 

Sour Candy // Baby Blue Creme

Collection: Gelly Hi-Shine

Release Date: Spring 2020

Coats: 2

If you mixed this with Pistachio you'd probably end up with Wild Mint which was released in their Winter Wildlife Gelly collection (swatched here). I bought this one because I don't have many blues with me right now and well it's just super cute and pastel. It looks a little bit darker on the nails but it's nice and summery. I think this would look good as part of a pool watermarble. I couldn't resist as well and stuck on a shimmer topper:

Raspberry Ripple // Pink Creme

Collection: Gelly Hi-Shine

Release Date: Spring 2020

Coats: 2

This is pinker than I was expecting. Not awful but not exactly what I was after. It's kind of similar to Dragon fruit but more on the coral side of pink. With a bit of tan this doesn't look that bad and reminds me of Pinking Out The Window by China Glaze (that I recently swatched here). 

Grape Soda // Lavender Creme

Collection: Gelly Hi-Shine

Release Date: Spring 2020

Coats: 2

It's odd that I have about a bajillion Lavender shades now but all of them are different. I can't even find one that is remotely similar to this. Which is a good thing...I get to buy more lavender shades 😂. I'd say this on the cooler side and I really love how this goes with my skintone. It gives me 90s sailor moon vibes. December Dawn from H&M is also the perfect topper for this shade:

Acai Smoothie // Dusty Magenta Jelly

Collection: Gelly Hi-Shine

Release Date: Spring 2016

Coats: 2

This one is an oldie but I love the shade. I've been meaning to buy it for a while now. I love these dusty mauve/pink shades as their perfect for doing cosy autumn nails. This one has a slighter thinner formula that the others and leaves no streaks so you could use one coat for a jelly effect instead.

// Verdict

I think the formula for the Gelly range is getting better with each season. For £3.99 I really can't fault the application and pigmentation. I also love how every shade in this range is self-levelling; it's really difficult to screw up using them. There are a few more shades I'm after but I'm trying to practice restraint...I will probably end up just getting them lol.

SWATCHES: OPI // Mexico City 2020 Mini Collection

OPI have released a new collection for spring 2020 full of bright pastel shades and I'm really late to the swatching party but I just wanted to paint my nails. I know bright and pastel don't really go together but the photos on OPI's website really do match that description:

I fell in love with the Coral-ing Your Spirit Animal shade because it's Peach...and I'm obsessed with Peach this year. NailPolishDirect had an offer on the mini set when I went to purchase it so I got that as well. When they arrived, I found that the shades are actually much darker than the photos and I'm a tad disappointed; especially with Mural Mural on the Wall. For example, on the bottle photo above Suzi's Slinging Mezcal looks like a shimmer pastel yellow; it's actually a dark gold metallic.

Let's get into some swatches. All are two coats with no top coat (unless states otherwise).

Coral-ing Your Spirit Animal // peach/coral creme

We'll start with my favourite shade. Even though it's darker than I was expecting, it's still a beautiful shade that is a cross between peach and coral. The first coat is very streaky and the second kind of does the trick if you don't look to closely but there are still brush strokes. I'd recommend three coats for it to be fully opaque. I wish more brands would do peaches in their spring collections.

Telenovela Me About It // rose pink shimmer jelly

When will OPI start putting names on their mini bottles?? It's so annoying. I have to keep everything in the boxes or create stickers. I almost thought this was a creme but then I saw the slight pink shimmer. What is it with OPI and putting pink shimmer in what could be just lovely creme polishes? I hated half the ones I got in their 2018 advent calendar because they all had this random bright pink shimmer in them. 

Formula-wise; it's not the greatest. Even though it's a sheer jelly it applies in a thick gloopy mess and it's quite difficult to get a nice even spread; you always end up disturbing other bits of the polish and leaving brush strokes. It is super shiny by itself but it's not my shade of pink; I prefer more muted ones. Two coats is still a bit streaky with this one.

Mural Mural On The Wall // coral jelly with gold flakies

I bought this mini set because I really wanted to see if this polish was worth buying full size and I'm disappointed to report that is it not worth buying. It's an interesting polish thanks to the flakes but it's just too dark for my liking and doesn't match my skin tone. It's a shame because you don't often see jelly flakies in mainstream polish brands.

This one is much easier to apply than the previous jelly and each coat is even with no brush strokes. There is also an even distribution of gold flakes which starts to look really nice when you build up the layers. It looks better in the sun so perhaps this is a polish to take on holiday with you....if we can ever go on holiday again...

Mexico City Move-Mint // pastel blue creme

Oh I do love me some pastel shades and this is no exception. This is very similar to Barry M's Berry Sorbet so there is your £3.99 dupe. The first coat is very streaky, the second coat kind of fixes it up, three is probably needed. The problem with this polish is that it dries very quickly and if your brush isn't loaded up it causes serious drag marks. Even though it's a nice polish it's deceptively tricky to apply. I'd say go for the Barry M one.

Suzi's Slinging Mezcal // gold foil

This one really surprised me (especially given how on the website it looks like a pastel yellow). I was unenthusiastic about it; I saw it and was like "not another gold shade" but then I put it on and I LOVE IT. Many have spoken about the brush strokes but if applied slowly and in thin layers they're not really that noticeable. I also love the formula; it applies like a dream. The shade itself is also on the cool side so it's not brassy. I normally hate gold polishes; I'm in shock.

// Verdict

There are 12 shades in the collection but I after swatching I don't feel the need to go out and buy them. I have a strange relationship with OPI as more often than not I really hate the formulas of their polishes. I heartily recommend Coral-ing Your Spirit Animal and maybe even Suzi's Slinging Mezcal now I've tried it but there are many similar shades from cheaper brands.

MATCH THAT MANI // Hollister Blackcurrant & Vanilla Body Wash Nails

Brace yourselves, it hit 18 DEGREES today...in a pandemic. I'm back home at my beach town and I can't go out and enjoy icecream on the beach because Resident Evil decided to become reality. So instead, I brought summer indoors and matched my mani to this glorious exfoliating body wash I bought from Hollister in the Autumn. Every time I used it I wanted to recreate that gradient and the entire mani just turned out better than I thought it would.

Brace yourselves again though because *drumroll* there is a video!

A real video with the whole process filmed. I really need to invest in a desk tripod for my DSLR because at the moment it feels like it's five light years away and I have to keep propping my hand up with boxes so you can actually see my hand.

I took 250 photos of this look; that's how much I loved it. When I saw the design in my head I honestly didn't think it would turn out this well. There are some rough edges (I'm not a pro) but practice makes perfect!

I think this is one of the best gradients I've ever done...that said I tend to say that about every gradient I do. I'm just surprised at how well I managed to match the colors given 75% of my collection is trapped in quarantine at the house share I live in. 

This was my test decal that I did and I must be getting better at drawing because I did not expect the lines to turn out so neat. To achieve this I got the logo off google, resized it in PhotoShop and then traced it off my monitor onto white paper. I then placed the paper underneath a clear nail art mat and traced again but with polish! I then applied some top coat; let it dry and peeled it off. Now I know this works the possibilities are endless!

This photo was taken in direct sunlight and I added some letters; they definitely need some work as they're not as neat as I wanted but I didn't change brushes. So I'm blaming it on the too-thick brush.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- MoYou London // Orchid Chic (purple), Mint Condition (blue)
- OPI Infinite Shine // Rice Rice Baby (dark pink)
- Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // Tropical Pink (pink)
- H&M // Space Race (silver holo)

Spell on You // MoYou London Halloween Plate 01

My very first Halloween look...finally! I've been wanting to recreate the sleeve of the new MoYou London Halloween plates since I got it earlier this month because it's just so freaking adorable. As of writing this though, they only have 2 plates left from the collection (including this one) and I'm annoyed I didn't buy them earlier as one of them was proper gothic-y with super detailed designs and I loved it but I didn't grab it in time. MoYou also no longer re-stock plates so they really pressure you to buy it straight away. I'm happy with this plate though and I picked up a really cute tarot plate from Maniology so it's not too bad.

This plate though could seriously work all year round with its collection of stars, moons and crystals. It's super versatile and also includes a snake, moon phases and mushrooms. I'm surprised this one hasn't sold out as well as I think this and 05 were the best ones (and the only ones I wanted). I'm thinking what I should do next though as I bought so many Halloween plates from Born Pretty and Nicole Diary at the beginning of September but they've only just arrived now...thank god my peel off base coat only lasts around 6 hours because I'm gonna have to be doing 2 looks a day at this rate.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Essence Shine last & Go // Black is Black (...black)
- MoYou London // First Kiss (pastel pink), Orchid Chic (purple), Surf's Up (blue), Turquoise Mint (mint)

- Born Pretty // #2 (silver)
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat
- MoYou London Plate // Halloween 01

MoYou London 

Halloween Collection (£6.99 each)

Black Forest Gateaux-y // Purple Drag Marble Nails

So I've been obsessing over this video from the Russian nail artist extraordinaire; Sveta Sanders, and been wondering if I could possibly re-create it. She makes it look so easy; it's not fair.

This was my first time trying this though and for a first attempt I don't think it turned out all that shabby. In fact I really like it and I'll be trying it again. It was much easier than watermarbling or smooshing. The cleanup was quicker and I didn't need to use any liquid latex. I think with practice you could use this technique for instant space/geode nails.

I took 93 images of this look; that's how much I couldn't stop staring at my nails. The holo though...I forgot how much I love that Barry M holo topper. 

As you can see, the lines in my attempt are no where near as clean as Sveta's but the glittery shine from the A-England shades make this a straight up galaxy look.

The index finger was the one I did first and that's why it looks so...awful compared to the others. You also need a thick yet runny white polish to drop the other shades into. I stupidly used a quick dry one the first time. I need to buy some more 'throw-away' white polish as you can go through quite a bit doing a look like this.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Collection 7 Day Wear // White Out (white)
- A-England // Mustardseed A Fairy (strawberry holo), Maxim (purple holo), Camelot (black)
- Barry M // Diamond Glitter

- Avon Mark. // Gel Shine Top Coat

Spread Your Wings // Birchbox May 2019 Nails

I think this was one of the first Birchboxes in a while that I wasn't desperate to recreate. There's just something about butterflies...I don't think I'm a butterfly person. The contents weren't the greatest as well. I've received the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer 5 times now and I've not even used up the first tube I got. It's just such a pain to use. The best item by far is the Mimitika sunscreen. It's SPF50 with no grease, not even a hint; it actually mattifies my makeup. It also doesn't have that sunscreen smell or leave any white cast/flashback. It was the item I wanted to receive the least and ended up being the best. I'll be buying this full size for sure.

But onto the nails; again not my favourite.

The grass was hand-painted and not the best but I am really enjoying using acrylic paint, who knows, maybe I'll become the next Bob Ross but for nails.....I won't hold my breath.

How I did it:

I started off with a white base coat and then painted on the leaves. I used the overprint stamps from the Harunouta plate for the butterflies and then used a dotting tool to add some extra detail.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Essie // Blanc (white)
- MoYou London // One and Only (pastel peach), Orchid Chic (magenta)

- Born Pretty Polish // #379 (pale yellow)
- Sally Hansen Hard as Nails // Jam Sesh (lavender)

- Barry M Liquid Chrome // Bright Lights (gold)

- Crafts 4 All Acrylic Paint // 105 Titanium White, 605 Green Pale, 615 Emerald Green, 753 Black

- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy // Diamond Top Coat
- Harunouta Plate // L071