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 Mini // 318 Resort Fling

Time for another quick swatch! I found this beautiful shade in TK Maxx for £1.99 so obviously I had to buy it. 

318 Resort Fling // Coral-Peach Crelly

Collection: Resort Fling

Release Date: March 2014

Coats: 3

This could be a wonderful peach jelly but alas; 'tis streaky. It does have a glass-like shine to it though and two coats is more than enough for full coverage. I found it very easy to apply, even though the formula is more on the liquid side. On the first coat it looks much darker than it is, but lights up on the second. I was worried when I first applied it because it was looking like it did not suit my skin tone, but that second coat sealed the deal; I love this shade. 

As long as you apply thin coats, this shade dries pretty quick. Normally I don't really care about drying times (or chipping times...if it chips that means an excuse to paint my nails again) but I did noticed how fast this one dried.

There are 3 other shades in this collection, an icy blue, a beige and a deep blue. For me this is easily the best in the collection but then again, I'm totally biased against peach/pink shades.

The Rainbow Nails Challenge September 2020: Plaid // Mustard Scarf Print Nail Art

Directly inspired by the legendary Cher from clueless, I bring you these scarf/plaid nails.

It's not an exact match but I was really happy with them. I didn't wear a great base coat though and became extremely aware of how long I had this design on for as Cantaloupe is an absolute arse for staining. I think I had this on for about twenty minutes and then I took it off. The edges near the end had already started to slightly turn yellow.... I need to do this design on false nails so I can wear it for longer.

I also need more scarf print stamping plates. That means I have a valid excuse to buy more stamping plates. Sure, I could've done this with acrylic paints but I just love stamping.

Polishes/Tools Used:
- H&M // Cantaloupe (mustard yellow), Witching Hour (dark green)
- Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // Black Forest (black)
- Ciate // White Heat (white)
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat

SWATCHES: Zoya Pixie Dust // Stevie, Tomoko, Cece & Beatrix

I really wish I had starting collecting the Pixie Dust shades earlier as some of them are becoming hard to get hold of (depending on how much you want to spend). I set up an alert on eBay for pixie dust shades and Stevie & Tomoko were going for £9 (along with Chita, I already have that one but another is welcome). I snapped them up straight away and decided to round up my other Pixie Dust polishes for a swatch post.

Stevie // Lilac matte glitter

Collection: Pixie Dust

Release Date: Summer 2013

Coats: 2

An oldie but a goldie! I'm so happy I got my hands on this shade as I desperately wanted a matte glitter in a pink/lilac shade after seeing one of Lieve91's latest posts. The first coat is amazing with a light frosted lilac look and the second adds more colour but you can still see your tips peeking through. I love this shade though!

Tomoko // Champagne matte glitter

Collection: Pixie Dust

Release Date: Fall 2013

Coats: 2

Another perfect pixie dust shade...I think it's impossible to have a bad pixie dust polish? This is also another shade I bought in the hopes of mimicking Lieve91's designs..

I also love how this is a cool gold. Brassy ones with yellow tones do not look good on me. As with Stevie, one coat is lovely but a bit sheer. The second produces a much darker gold that almost looks like foil from a distance.

Cece // Lime matte glitter

Collection: Seashells Pixie Dust

Release Date: Summer 2016

Coats: 2

I bought this one a while ago for around £5 off Nail Polish Direct but I haven't swatched it on here yet so it's been added to the post! This one has a base of a lime green with the standard silver shimmer pieces but it also has added chunky emerald glitter and smaller gold shimmer. This really does feel more like a summer shade than a winter Christmas green.

Beatrix // Orange matte glitter

Collection: Pixie Dust

Release Date: Summer 2013

Coats: 2

I bought this last October to do some Halloween looks with but it's just too summery for Halloween. Be warned though; this shade stains in about 20 minutes so make sure you're wearing a couple layers of a stain protecting base coat (though I'm not sure that will help).

// Verdict

By far my favourite thing about Pixie dust shades are that they are so easy to apply; I never have to do clean up. I wish I had all of them. I think the closest (and cheapest) to the range is the new Barry M Crystal Rock series. They're all pretty deep colours right now but when I see another 3 for 2 offer on I'm going to buy up the collection because these matte glitter shades make the best accent nails.

The Rainbow Nails Challenge September 2020: Leaves // Blue Hibiscus & Leaves Nail Art

I have no idea where this look came from. I just saw the stamp design of the floaty leaves and shimmery blue background in my head. The hibiscus came afterwards. These nails look like decals; I'm so impressed.

I also refuse to move into Autumn, summer just came and vanished...or rather I didn't make enough summer nail art because I'm lazy. Anway, Clairestelle8 is back as Alice.Claire.Nails after her account was hacked (honestly, what is wrong with the world??) and there are challenges again! I did a back to school look and today is the last day to get a leaf look done so here it is!

The base is Forest by Barry M and dries to a satin finish. I think the satin finish is ok but this polish is stunning with a glossy topcoat. I took photos without a top coat and it's a good thing I did because after I applied it, I spectacularly ruined my nails trying to open a chocolate bar...I never learn.

I also managed to get some MoYou polishes to behave and the hibiscus flowers turned out really well.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Barry M Silk // Forest (blue shimmer)
- MoYou London // Dream Holiday (blue), Deep Ocean (dark blue), Bora Bora (light teal), Mint Condition (light green mint), Snowflake (off-white)
- Nicole Diary Stamping Plate // ND-L14 (leaves)
- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Paradise 05 (hibiscus flowers)