NailNerdChallenge July 2021 // Nautical Nails

Mermaids are considered to fall under the "nautical" category right?? Well they do now because I love this look I did. 

It came about whilst I swatching some China Glaze shades and I couldn't help but stick a load of glittery toppers on Too Yacht to Handle. Negative stamps are also the best because I can only imagine a stamping polish like that would cost a fortune.

For these nails I started out with 2 coats of Too Yacht To Handle followed by a layer of Diamond Glitter, then Will-'O-The-Wisp and dry brushed on alternate strokes of Crystal Blue and Pink Luxe. I then used born pretty stamping plate on my middle finger and Moyou on the rest. 

Polishes/Tools Used:

Nails:

- China Glaze // Too Yacht To Handle (teal)

- Barry M Nail Paint // Diamond Glitter (scattered holo)

- H&M // Will-'O-The-Wisp (green duochrome shimmer topper)

- Barry M Molten Metal // Crystal Blue, Pink Luxe

Stamping:

- What's Up Nails // Blanc My Mind (white)

- Born Pretty Stamping Plate // BP-109 (middle finger)

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Sailor 04 (rest of fingers)

SWATCHES: Nails Inc // Don't Stop Be-leafing Duo

I found these beautiful jungle shades in TK Maxx this weekend for £6.99....Well I actually found them last week and convinced myself that I didn't need anymore nail polish. Well, we know that's a lie so I bought them this weekend. At £3.50 a shade; it's a bargain.

Conjuring up images of water droplets dripping off monstera leaves and the squawk of an exotic bird somewhere in the background; this duo also manages to remind me of Christmas with the deep rich shades.

Palms In The Air // hunter green creme

Collection: Don't Stop Be-Leafing

Release: Summer 2020

Coats: 1

This wonderful self-levelling creme is ready in just one coat and is an absolute dream to apply. I think this was one of the fastest applications I've ever done. It has a shiny finish but definitely needs a top coat. My favourite thing about this shade is that it's a dark green but you can still tell it's green; most of them just look black when applied. Make sure you put on your best stain-resistant base coat though because rich green shades like this will cause some pretty hefty yellow stains.

It also doubles as a pretty good stamping polish due to how opaque it is. 

Grow Your Eco // bronze shimmer

Collection: Don't Stop Be-Leafing

Release: Summer 2020

Coats: 2

I'm not usually one for bronze shades but this one gets a pass. I think it matches the green extremely well and together they make either the perfect elf christmas look or summer jungle look. For a shimmer is surprisingly opaque as well with little bits of red and green pieces thrown in with the bronze mix. Under direct lighting it has a completely different look.

// Verdict

A solid duo from Nails Inc. I'm in LOVE with the wooden caps, I wish more polishes had them. There's also a set of four called "Nude in the Tropics" which features the same box print but has some nice beige/pink shades...I may have to buy them now because I love the box print. I wish they would make the polishes easier to get out though as I ripped the box :( 

Also, this is my first post in like 6 months....I took a break from doing anything really but that doesn't mean I stopped buying nail polish; that could never happen.

A Woman's Deer-ivative // Quick Nail Art Looks

 

A super quick nail art look today! This wintery/christmas feeling look came about whilst I was swatching some OPI shades and in my head I was like "this is the perfect background for the super detailed images on that Fall In Love plate I bought last year". Inspiration comes from anywhere.

I even decided to leave the horns on as I couldn't bring myself to remove them; it just looked cute if very impractical. I was going to do more stamps on each nail but I thought it would overwhelm it.

As I said, this one is super easy; just 3 coats of A Woman's Prague-ative, then I picked up the deer image with Lumberjack and filled in the image with Café au Lait. I applied a layer of quick dry top coat to the chosen nail, let it go tacky and then stamped away.

Polishes/Tools Used:

- OPI // A Woman's Prague-ative (orange shimmer)

- MoYou London // Lumberjack (brown), Café au Lait (cream)

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Fall In Love 01

SWATCHES: OPI // Feeling Frisco, Sweet Carmel Sunday & A Woman's Prague-ative

In a previous OPI swatch post I mentioned wanting to get Feeling Frisco and Sweet Carmel Sunday as they were the last two I wanted out of the California Dreaming collection and shortly afterwards I managed to pick them up on eBay for £4 each. Meant to be (even if I am disappointed with them).

Feeling Frisco // Cream Bisque Creme

Collection: California Dreaming Infinite Shine

Release Date: 2017

Coats: 3

Beautiful shade, shame about the formula. This is a streaky, brush stroke filled mess and it's the infinite shine version. I don't even want to imagine what the regular one is like. I would use this as a base for a look because I'm not happy with how it looks by itself.

Sweet Carmel Sunday // Copper Shimmer

Collection: California Dreaming Infinite Shine

Release Date: 2017

Coats: 2

I was surprised by this because I was expecting a chrome finish with brush strokes but it actually has a very thin formula which allows you to build up the copper shimmer with no fear of dragging/streaking. I also wasn't expecting the subtle holo and I mean subtle. It really brings the shade alive in direct light/sun light though as otherwise it's quite dull looking.

A Woman's Prague-ative // Chunky Orange Shimmer

Collection: Euro Centrale

Release Date: 2013

Coats: 3

This is a wonderful burnt orange chunky shimmer suspended in a raspberry red jelly. The first coat is a bit thin but by the third coat your nails will look like expensive wrapping paper. I absolutely love this shade; it's my favourite out of the three and is perfect for autumn and winter.

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.

QUICK SWATCH: Essie Gel Couture // Jade To Measure

Another TK Maxx buy. I'm not the biggest Essie fan; I find the formula sub-par for how much it costs and I don't really like the bottles either but this shade caught my eye.

Jade To Measure // Metallic Emerald Duochrome (sapphire undertones)

Collection: Gel Couture Holiday

Release Date: 2017

Coats: 2

This is a really special polish; it's beautiful and the formula is just on point. It leaves slight brush strokes however for once, you can't actually tell because the strokes aren't darker than the polish. It's incredibly shiny and all the shimmery bits give it so much depth. When the light hits it, it feels like when the sunlight hits the sea.

This would be perfect for St Patrick's day.

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: H&M // Dawn Song, Haute Heat, Will-O'-The-Wisp, Colour Therapy & Wild Lilac

So I thought I'd bought all nine shades in this 'limited edition' collection. A day after ordering this lot, they put up three more shades....clearly they know that I am a ho for nail polish cause I bought those three new shades as well lol. I also had a 20% discount code so I may have ordered a few other shades....I have a problem.

Dawn Song // Chunky Duochrome Gold to Pink Glitter

This looks beautiful on the website and even more mesmorising in person but it's kind of a lie. If this was a gold to pink foil then they would've cracked it. But it's a chunky glitter suspended in a slightly orange tinted base. It's not flip-the-table-in-anger bad, in fact the more I use it the more I like it but damn if it was a foil...Anyway, this is like Barely Peach from the last post but so much better. The shift really saves it as it's this beautiful soft dusky pink. One coat is ok, but two coats is where the magic happens. I love how this is glitzy enough for special occasions but soft enough for spring and summer day outfits. This is one of those shades where you will constantly be moving you hand about in the light to see the shift; it's amazing.

If you layer it over black, the pink really comes to life as well but it looks naff on top of white. Either dark shades or bare nails are the way to go.

Will it stamp? Lol no. I mean, I tried to and the shape was there thanks to all the glitter but it really only shows up on dark shades and even then it's not great. I wouldn't stamp with this.

Haute Heat // Dark Yellow Shimmer

This is not what I was expecting from the photos on H&M. There it looks like a rustic gold shimmer but on the nails it's more rustic yellow mustard...It is a darker yellow shade but I'm not sure what to make of it. It reminds me of shimmery daffodils. It is nice and glossy and you could get away with one coat but I'm wearing two just to cover up some slight patches. I don't hate this shade mainly because it actually suits my skin tone but it is a weird shade.

Will it Stamp? It does and some of the colour and shimmer is still there but it's translucent. It would probably look the best on top of black or pastels. Not the greatest.

Will-O'-The-Wisp // Green to Pink Glitter in clear base

This was definitely my least favourite of the collection and if it weren't because I'm a weirdo who needs things in sets I probably wouldn't have bought it. It looks beautiful in the bottle; like sparkly unicorn dream with a pink/green/silver shift. On the nails it's a clear base with green and pink shifting glitter. It looks nice under light but other than that it doesn't look like you're wearing anything. I guess this is more of a top coat to make anything a mermaid mani. On top of black the green really comes out and it almost looks like a green glitter polish. It does look quite cool in the dark when the light hits it. I imagine this would look great at a proper 90's rave.

Will it stamp? Absolutely not.

Colour Therapy // Dark Pink Shimmer with Lavender shift

Holy moly. This looks amazing in the bottle  and amazing on the nails. This is the shade that Berry Fairy Fun from OPI wants to be. I feel like H&M were heavily inspired by OPI's latest Tokyo collection for this shade as it's strikingly similar to Samurai Breaks a Nail but this is way more pink. I do love the formula though, it glides across the nail. I'm wearing two coats.

Will it stamp? Yes and it's quite delicate but in a nice way. Or maybe it's just the new botanical plate I used. Either way it looks good on light shades and you get the added benefit of all the shimmery bits. It isn't fully opaque though.

Wild Lilac // Pastel Lilac Creme

This is perfect lilac creme for spring. It needs at least two coats as the first is super patchy. So much for H&M and their claim on the website that all the polishes are perfect in one coat. I think this would like nice in a smooshing design with white.

Will it Stamp? Yes, but as you can see it's very faint and smudges easily when stamping.

// Verdict
The shimmers are no where near as nice as their creme formula but I'm not angry this time. I really love how Colour Therapy looks when stamped and I'll have to do something else with that one. And Dawn Song is winning me over; it really is pretty even if it isn't what I expected. That one I wholeheartedly recommend.

SWATCHES: China Glaze // Shades of Paradise 2018 Mini Collection

I first saw this collection and thought my dreams had come true; a beautiful collection of bright summery cremes to create leaf/palm print looks with. What I got was 1 creme, 1 shimmer and 4 mattes; not what I was expecting. There are 12 shades in the entire collection but I feel like this micro set contained the 6 worst. 

Cabana Fever // Matte White

At first I thought it was just my swatch wheel that made this dry matte as polishes can have a weird finish on them sometimes but this a matte polish and I don't like it. If I want it matte, I just use a matte top coat. The shade dries with a ridiculous amount of brush strokes in it and is riddled with streaks. The fact that it then dries matte highlights these flaws even more. It does dry super fast and you can sometimes see it hardening as your applying it if a thin enough layer is used but this just creates a lumpy, streaky texture. I'm wearing 3 coats and that just about covers patches but I just hate the effect; it's bumpy, uneven and amateur looking. It is a little annoying though that on camera, it doesn't look that bad.

Don't Be Sea Salty // Neon Pink Jelly with Shimmer

A sheer neon jelly silk shimmer? There's a polish description I never thought I'd say...or write. I've done two coats and it does have amazing pigment however it dries with a silk finish. Again I would've preferred a creme with the ability to become matte with a top coat. The shade itself though is kinda like a cheap highlighter felt tip...guess I am being sea salty. I much prefer this with a nice shiny top coat applied as it then becomes a nice flamingo-esque shade and the shimmery pieces stand out more.

All Sun & Games // Neon Pastel Orange Jelly with Shimmer

This is the same formula as Don't Be Sea Salty and again, it's got that same felt tip highlighter feel to it. It dries with a silk finish which once again highlights the imperfections and streaks. So far all of these shades have dried within 60 seconds which is honestly the only good thing about them. For this swatch I'm wearing 2 coats.

Boujee Board // Sheer Silk Plum

When I first applied this I thought I'd finally found a nice creme, but no! It's another matte polish. The shade itself isn't as bad as the other three and wheres it's sheer; it's not streaky.  I'm wearing two coats. With a nice glossy top coat, I think it's a nice fun shade but nothing special. I had difficulty photographing this one though as the photos kept coming out as pale lilac...very strange. 

Mer-Made For Bluer Waters // Sheer Sea Blue Shimmer

Finally! A nice shiny polish. This is much weaker than I was expecting though. I thought this would be a pigmented ocean blue metallic, instead it's sheer shimmer. I'm wearing three coats and it's not a terrible shade but there are many basic blue shimmers just like this. It is lovely and summery though and reminds me of a deep pool with light reflecting off the surface. 

Water-Falling In Love // Sheer Baby Blue Creme

A creme! A real creme finish! It's a miracle. After the weirdness and inconsistency in formulas it's nice to be back in familiar territory. The first coat goes on quite streaky but the second evens everything out. Because it's a sheer polish you could go for a third coat but I think two is acceptable. This is my favourite shade out the set mainly because this is what I signed up for. If the other shades had been this formula I'd be singing a different song.

//Verdict

Er yeah, not great. I wish I had done some research on the set before I hastily bought it as the I don't think I'm going to use these shades again. I'm not quite sure what China Glaze were thinking with all the strange finishes. I can see why you'd have a white polish to help with the neons but why make it a matte? I don't have many polishes that dry matte for good reason; they look weird.

I've learnt my lesson though. Between this and the OMG collection, I feel like I've kinda been turned of China Glaze. I thought the Merry Whatever shade I got in the December Mani & Lola was amazing but I think I'll stick to my Cuccio and Barry M for the time being. 

China Glaze // Shades of Paradise Mini Collection 2018