Zoya Luna

I recently adopted two beautiful kittens (which if you follow me on instagram have been popping up in tons of my pictures!) named Oreo and Luna. Of course I had to buy nail polishes with those names. I found Zoya Luna, a stunning silver glitter in a milky white base.

This isn't a colour I have heard anything about or seen anyone swatch before. I'm not sure what collection its from or when it came out...

I used 2 coats for the swatch. The first coat is very sheer and I thought I'd need at least three coats! The milky white base makes a huge difference though, it really builds opacity very quickly without losing any of the glitter. The end result looks stunning.

It is a top coat eater, I actually used two coats of top coat and it still wasn't smooth! Without any top coat it almost feels like a textured finish.

The photos don't do the polish justice, in England the weather has been very cloudy and dull so the full sparkle of the polish couldn't be captured. It's definitely a very sparkly polish and I can't wait to see this in the sun!

Luna! 

Zoya Luna

OPI I'm Not Really A Waitress

I received this beautiful nail polish for Christmas called I'm Not Really A Waitress by OPI. I'm currently working as a waitress and although I'm enjoying it, it's not something I want to do forever... so the perfect polish for me!

This is a deep shimmery red. I used 2 coats for full opacity and it looks so much better in real life than in the photos! I took these photos well over 24 hours of wear without topcoat, and there are no chips anywhere! Which is incredibly because nail polish chips on my super quickly.

The shimmer is very apparent, and although I normally don't go for these types of finishes (yes I 100% only wanted it for the name) I was surprised by how much I actually liked it!

Oreo approves!

It's definitely a Christmassy colour, and I'm not sure how often I'd wear it at other times of the year. I think it might be great in the summer too, seeing the shimmer in the sunlight would be incredible!

OPI 50 Shades Of Grey Collection Swatches & Comparison

I recently picked up 4 of the new 50 Shades Of Grey collection by OPI. The collection consists of 6 colours: 2 greys, 1 red, 1 almost black grey, a silver, and a dense silver and blue glitter.

I picked up Romantically Involved (red), Cement The Deal (light grey), Embrace The Gray (darker grey) and Dark Side Of The Mood (almost black grey).

They are all creme finishes. Dark Side Of The Mood need 2-3 coats and the others all just need 1-2 coats.

I'll start off with my favourite, Romantically Involved. OPI has been coming out with so many reds, especially with the recent Christmas collection! As soon as I saw it though I knew I wanted it. It's a much deeper red with hints of burgundy. Below I have compared it to two other reds where you can really see the colour.

I used 2 coats for the swatch with topcoat, and no top coat on my thumb. If you're careful you only need 1 coat. It does dry super glossy on its own, but I added top coat to all the polishes so wanted to stay consistent.

The second colour is Embrace The Gray, this is the darker of the 2 greys. Again the formula was great and you could easily get away with just one coat. For consistency, I used 2 coats and top coat and no topcoat on my thumb.

The two greys lean quite blue which makes them both really unique. There aren't many greys out there!

The next polish is Cement The Deal, the lighter of the greys. I am literally in love with this one and it's my second favourite from the collection. It's much lighter and looks much more flattering on my pale skin tone.

Again I used two coats and top coat, and no top coat on my thumb. Really easy formula and it could easily be a 1 coater.

This is again quite blue toned, but not quite as blue toned as Carey by Zoya. (comparison below).

Last up is Dark Side Of The Mood. I used two coats and topcoat for this swatch, again no top coat on my thumb. It was definitely a lot more sheer than the previous three polishes and needed the second coat. I have read a lot of reviews saying that they needed three coats.

It's a very dark almost black grey with a very subtle shimmer you can kind of see on the nail if you really look for it.

I think it's a really beautiful colour, especially if you don't feel comfortable going full on black. For me, I have to be in a certain mood to wear these types of colours, they definitely aren't for everyday!

What do you think of this collection? Will you be picking up any of the shades? 

Pipe Dream Polish - A Night In Vegas

Everyone has been going cray cray for the Pipe Dream Polish A Night In Vegas collection.... and with good reason! I managed to get my hands on these during the summer from http://meimeisignatures.com, and of course bought them to marble with. I actually water marbled with them before even swatching them!

The collection consists of 7 colours: On The List (pink), 110 Degrees (coral orange), Light Of Day (yellow), High Roller (green), Happy Hour (teal), All In (blue) and V.I.P. Pass (purple). If they weren't so great at marbling, I most definitely wouldn't have bought the whole set.

All of the polishes are gorgeous creams, although a few have some very subtle shimmer. They're easily opaque in 2 coats and no white base needed.

For my water marble nails, I used all 7 colours. They all spread out so smoothly and are easy to play around with on the waters surface. Of course I applied a white base to start off with to really make the colours pop.

I'm literally in love with the result. It's super summery and neon and just gorgeous.

Getting hold of these polishes is pretty tricky, they are VERY popular and always sell out within minutes. Check out http://pipedreampolish.com for their restock info!

Ms Sparkle Burlesque Glossary Swatch & Review

Today I have two polishes to show you from the Burlesque Glossary Collection from Ms Sparkle. Ms Sparkle is a Dutch 5 free, cruelty free, vegan and EU certified indie nail polish brand. Cruelty free make-up and nail polish has become a very current issue, and I completely agree that animals should not be harmed for the beauty of women.

Ms Sparkle is run by Simone who hand blends all of her nail polishes from scratch creating unique combinations. I'm Dutch, so being able to review these Dutch nail polishes is really exciting for me.

The Burlesque Glossary Collection consists of 6 different duo and multi chrome polishes. I have Tassels and Merkin.

First up is Tassels. When I opened the parcel I wasn't 100% sure about this colour. In the bottle it looks like a strange mix of green, gold and orangey salmon.

I applied the polish over a black base, as shown on Simone's Instagram page. It completely transformed the colour. It went from this strange combination to the most beautiful green and blue duo chrome goodness.

I applied one coat of Models Own Liquorish All Sorts and then two coats of Tassels. The formula was really easy to work with. Even though it's a shimmery formula, you don't see any brush strokes. It applied evenly and dried very quickly. Although you don't need a second coat, I found adding a second coat enhanced the duo chrome effect even more.

When you're looking directly at your nails, they look like a bright green shimmer - like my pinky in the photo to the left. When you tilt your nails into different directions however it changes into a gorgeous aqua. The change was harder to capture on camera than it was in real life.

Like I mentioned before, the colour completely changes once it's applied over a black base. I wanted to show the difference so my thumb made a very rare appearance! On my thumb I applied three coats of the polish straight onto my nail. Isn't it a huge difference??

Although the colour is nice on its own, I definitely recommend a black base. Not only did it transform the colour, it also made it pop so much more!

The second nail polish from the Burlesque Glossary collection is Merkin. The multi chrome effect on this one is much more apparent. It changes from this bright fuchsia pink to a warm toned golden orange. It also flashes purple at some angles.

I applied 3 thin coats over black to get the full effect. Merkin is more of a microglitter type of nail polish, where Tassels is a micro shimmer. Because it was glittery it was harder to get fully opaque and cover all the black polish underneath.

That being said I really like the effect it creates.

The photo to the right shows the various different colours: pink, purple, red and orange.

This colour is much closer to how it looks in the bottle, but of course I had to test it out without a black base.

Again, the black base completely alters the colour. Without the base it's very orangey and doesn't have much of a multi chrome effect. The black base gives it this amazing fuchsia glow that transforms into a warm golden shine.

I'm really impressed by Tassels and Merkin from the Burlesque Glossary collection from Ms Sparkle. From the two I probably prefer Tassels, I like that it has a shimmery finish and the transformation in incredible! If this wasn't day 1 of my no buy month, I would definitely buy the rest of the collection!

Check out Ms Sparkles Etsy store for more info and other gorgeous nail polishes. She ships worldwide!

xx Elaine

Top 10 Nail Polish for Autumn

The weather is getting cooler and the leaves have started changing colour... it's time for Autumn! I love everything about Autumn, especially how it used to be back when I lived in New Jersey. There would be crisp blue skies and brightly coloured red, orange, green, yellow trees. I also love the fragrances that come out around autumn, the vanilla's, spices and pumpkin scents are so cozy and warm. Aaaand of course I love the Autumn nail polish colours. This is the time of year I get to wear one of my all time favourite OPI's: Just A Little Rösti At This. I've picked out my top 10 colours. Most of them are cremes, but I did pick out two shimmers.

I'll start with a nice refreshing pop of colour. This is OPI...Eurso Euro. It's very similar to OPI's Do You Have This Color In Stockholm from the new Nordic Collection, but this is a little more blue toned. 

This is a great transition colour from the summer neons as it's still very bright but not quite as in your face. 

I used 2 coats and no top coat. 

The second colour is another popular shade this season, OPI's Thanks A Windmillion from the Holland collection a few years ago. This is a lot more muted than My Dogsled Is A Hybrid from this years Nordic Collection by OPI. Barry M has also come out with a shade very similar to this one in their winter collection which could be a cheaper alternative. 

I like how this is a bit more muted and neutral and thus a lot more wearable. 

I used 2 coats and no top coat. 

Third up is Just A Little Rösti At This by OPI. Oh how I love this colour!! I bought it in Melbourne last year and it's been my favourite deep red ever since. It's a classic Autumn colour that'll transition perfectly into winter. 

I used 2 coats and no top coat, you can easily get away with just one coat though! 

Next is another OPI, let's get all these out of the way first. This is Steady As She Rose from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection a while back. As well as the deep dark rich colours, I love wearing something a little more neutral and light. This is a beautiful rosy colour that's wearable all year round. 

I used 2 coats and no top coat. 

This OPI is new to my collection but I know I'll be wearing it all Autumn.... this is Muir Muir on the Wall from the San Francisco collection. It's a shimmery duocrome in a very dark plum base. The shimmers reflect from this beautiful bright pink, to a golden shine. 

It kind of reminds me of Every Month Is Oktoberfest by OPI, but that's much more purple. 

I used 2 coats and no top coat. 

The final OPI is one of my very first OPIs... The World Is Not Enough from the Skyfall collection. This is a shimmery silver brown base with pink coppery shimmers. This is so beautiful in real life and just glows in the sun! 

The formula is a little sheer so I used three coats and no top coat. 

My first non OPI had to be a Kester Black. This is Deep Violet, and it's a dark plum colour. Even though it's very dark, it's definitely purple in every light and doesn't come off as black. This is another popular colour this winter. There are many alternatives you can buy such as Barry M Plum, Mavala Tokyo, OPI Vant To Bite My Neck. 

I used 2 coats and no top coat, although you could easily get away with just 1 coat. 

Next up is Mecca cosmetic Ophelia, a very bright red. I have recently been getting back into plain red nails, and although it's another shade that can be worn year round. I think it works great especially in summer and autumn. Every single brand in the whole world has a red like this, so it definitely isn't unique, but I love the formula of all Mecca Cosmetica polishes. 

I used 2 coats and no top coat, although you could easily get away with just 1. 

I wanted include a very simple neutral nail polish and Honey Trap by Leighton Denny is my go-to nude. This is a much more beige toned neutral shade that looks elegant, sophisticated and very natural. It's something everyone can pull off. 

I used 2 coats and no top coat. 

Finally my last Autumn shade is probably the most typical shade.. a burnt orange! I chose Barry M Paprika. This is the meaning of Autumn. It's the colour of the fallen leaves and pumpkins and reminds me of warm Autumn days. The whole autumn/winter Gelly collection by Barry M this year is fantastic. 

I used 2 coats and no top coat. 

What do you think of my top 10 Autumn picks? Are they similar to your favourites around this time of year? 

xx Elaine 

Claire's Fabulous

After being so impressed with my haul from Claires a little while ago, I went back and bought this beautiful glittery polish called Fabulous. It definitely is fabulous, especially as a glitter gradient!

Fabulous consists of tiny micro glitter in gold and red, larger pink hex glitter and golden square glitter. All in a clear base.

I used OPI Steady As She Rose as the base, and I love the colour combo! It's so girly and festive, yet elegant, even though it's a glitter combo!

Gradients are my favourite type of nail art, both with cremes and glitters. it's so easy to do!

Although I didn't put a coat of the polish straight onto my nail, I know there are no problems with glitter placement. For the gradient I brush one stroke onto a sponge and just dab it up and down. I didn't have to fish any specific glitters out, it was really dense and there was a ton of glitter on my sponge.

What do you think of the Claire's nail polishes? Will you by trying them out?
xx Elaine

Nautical Mani Swap

I did a maniswap with the super talented and nautical nail art genius @xnailsbymiri on Instagram. I'm a huge fan of her nail art, and this design really caught my eye!

She decided to recreate my aztec chevron nail art design.

I used OPI Alpine Snow, I Saw.... Warsaw, Red Lights Ahead... Where?, caviar beads I received free in a magazine, nail striping tape and a matte top coat.

I started off painting my pinky and index finger white, my ring finger blue and my middle finger red. When the blue polish was still wet I applied the caviar beads into the shape of an anchor. I used tweezer to apply the beads.

Once I finished with the anchor I applied nail striping tape to my index and pinky and painted the blue. I then removed the tape and reapplied clean tape. I finished them off with a matte top coat.

For my middle finger I used regular tape to cover up the bottom of the nail and used striping tape for the top bit of my nail. I painted over it with white. I carefully removed all the tape, and then applied new striping tape in the shape of the triangle.

Does that even all make sense?? Sometimes it's more difficult to write about how I create it..

Anyway, I'm really happy with how they turned out, but they definitely aren't anywhere near as amazing as the original!

xx Elaine