The Lacquer Lab Haul & Swatches

I might have gone a little crazy in The Lacquer Lab sale...

After Christmas The Lacquer Lab was having a bit of a sale, so I bought some nail polishes. I bought the Nudes trio, the Spring Breakers collection and one nail polish from the Miami collection.

I've wanted to try this UK indie brand for quite some time, but for £9 per bottle I was a bit hesitant to try them.... so I just splurged in the sale! If I remember correctly this was all under £40 (including shipping).

I'll start with the Nude trio. This first colour is called The Wondrous, this is the whole reason for the order.. I love pinky toned nudes and this one did not disappoint.

It had such a creamy easy opaque formula. I used 2 coats for the swatch and no top coat.

The second nude is called Dita, this is a really popular nude from The Lacquer Lab and I'd seen it on instagram everywhere! Its a much more orange toned nude.

It again had a really creamy formula and I used 2 coats for the swatch no top coat.

The final nude is called Nude Maja. It's a much darker grey toned nude. I thought this would be my least favourite, but I'm actually so impressed with how it looked!

Again super easy creamy formula. 2 coats for the swatch no top coat.

The next collection I bought was the Spring Breakers collection. It's a really vibrant fun collection. This pink is called Kiss Me Quick. It's such a bright colour!

I used 2 smooth coats and no top coat.

I have seriously fallen in love with red polishes over the last couple of months. They're so beautiful and bright and always look so amazing! This colour was no different. It's called Cancun Hot and it's a super stunning red.

I used 2 coats and no top coat.

The next colour is this bright purple called Ultraviolet. I have a lot of purples, but most of them are lilacs or darks so this is a nice change. I can't wait until the summer so I can wear the crap out of this one!!

I used 2 coats no top coat.

The final colour from the Spring Breakers collection is Joy Ride. A beautiful minty green that's more green than blue. I love mints!

Again super easy creamy formula. 2 coats for the swatch no topcoat.

The last polish from my haul is Ocean Drive from the Miami collection. I definitely have a problem with pale blues... I just can't stop buying them!!

I used 2 coats and no top coat.


I am so impressed with The Lacquer Lab and I'm really happy with each and every colour. There wasn't one with a dodgy formula, everything was great! They are worth the £9 but let's be real, no one would just buy 1 right? And shipping on top.. it can get a bit much. Luckily they're no stranger to sales so I know I'll be keeping my eye on those!

What do you think of The Lacquer Lab? Have you tried any?

xx Elaine

Let It Glitter Spring Collection

Let It Glitter is a Dutch indie brand created by Suzanne. I've been following her on Instagram for a while and when I saw photos of her new Spring collection I needed them all. The collection consists of 3 cremes and 3 matching glitters.

First up is the lightest colour of the collection; Toasted Almond. Ahhhh look at that beauty! Toasted Almond is a gorgeous slightly pink toned nude. It's the perfect colour for my skin tone. I can't stop staring!!

I used two buttery smooth creamy amazing coats for full opacity and no top coat. If you're in a rush you could just do one coat. It applies really evenly but you will see a bit of nail line.

The matching glitter is Gold Shine. Oh my goodness. Do you see that amazingness??? I'm so sad that I started off with this combo because I honestly didn't want to take it off!!

Gold Shine is a stunning golden flakie type glitter. I used one coat for the swatch over Toasted Almond. It's such a subtle nude glitter effect and it would be great for any occasion.

In Love.

The next creme is Strawberry Ice a super pretty slightly muted medium pink. It does look very similar to the strawberry sorbet we serve at work!

I applied two creamy amazing coats and no top coat.

The matching glitter is called Springkles. How cute is that name!?? This is the nail polish I saw on Instagram and instantly fell in love with so had to buy the whole collection.

This consists of matte white glitter, holographic pink glitter and a tiny tiny golden flakie shimmer.  It's such a beautiful combo! The golden shimmer doesn't get lost in the polish as you can see in the swatch.

So beautiful!

The final creme is called Marsala. I honestly could not photograph this accurately for the life of me! The polish is the bottle is more true to colour than it shows up on my nails. It's a dusty plum type of colour. It's so beautiful in real life!

I used two easy peasy creamy buttery coats for the swatch. No topcoat.

The matching glitter... oh my goodness this is beautiful ... is called Cherry Topping. Again, the photo does not do the polish justice. Just look at the bottle shot! I need to retry this on a sunny day.

This glitter consists of matte back glitter, dark red glitter, pink glitter that reflects purple and orange and the same tiny golden shimmer as the previous glitter. It's so incredibly beautiful and unique.

I'm seriously madly in love with this collection. I don't think I've ever liked an indie collection as much as this. The cremes are just the most incredible formula and the glitters are so unique! I can't wait until spring!


What do you think of Let It Glitter?
xx Elaine

Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Swatches & Review

Barry M is coming out with a few new nail polishes to add to their range. They are launching three new gelly's and a whole new line called the Speedy Quick Dry range. They are set to launch this week in Superdrug, but for some reason my local Boots was selling them early... I'm not complaining!

I picked up 1 new gelly called Coconut which I'll swatch and review later and I picked up 4 of the new Speedy nail polishes.

The Speedy Quick Dry polishes consist of 9 beautiful spring colours. I'll give you a little hint... I'll definitely be picking up more!!

First up is Pole Position. This is a pastel pistachio green. There are two greens in the collection: this one and a mint. This is definitely much warmer toned.

The brush is incredible. It's a very flat wide brush which means I only needed 1 or maybe 2 swipes to cover my entire nail. Not only is it a quick drying formula, but the application is also very speedy.

I used two coats for the swatch and no top coat. The first coat was quite streaky but nothing a second coat couldn't cover up.

The second colour is Eat My Dust. This is a very light pastel slightly grey toned blue. I'm a sucker for any pastels so only buying 4 is pretty impressive for me!

Again I used 2 coats for the swatch and no top coat.

The polish does dry very quick. I don't like waiting for my nails to dry so always use a quick dry top coat. I didn't use a top coat for these nail polishes and right after I applied this colour I started cooking dinner. I didn't get any scratches, dents or smudges! They dry much quicker than the gelly range because I always scratch those...

The third colour is In A Heart Beat and it's a beautiful warm toned pink. This was a pleasant surprise on my nails. Obviously I liked the colour in the bottle, but once I applied it it looked amazing!

I used 2 coats and no top coat for the swatch.

The last colour I picked up and my favourite is Pit Stop. I love all neutrals and pastels ... and neons .... well ... I pretty much like everything.... Anyway I love neutral polishes because I think they fit any occasion and any season. Greys have been pretty popular so far this year thanks to 50 Shades Of Grey, but I do have to admit I much prefer this one over the greys from the OPI collection. This is an almost taupe-y grey that leans slightly lavender purple-y. In some lights it looked grey, and other times it definitely looked a little purple. I love it. It's a much softer shade than those that came out in the OPI 50 Shades of Grey collection.

Again, I used 2 coats and no top coat.

What do you think of the Speedy Quick Dry line from Barry M? Will you be picking up any of their colours? They retails for £3.99 so the same price as the Gelly range. 

xx Elaine 

Barry M Winter Collection

This winter Barry M released 3 new nail paints. Ballerina, Vintage Violet and Nightshade. I started getting into nail polish when Barry M released their Gelly range and therefore never really looked at the regular nail paints before. What a mistake.... their nail paints are just as amazing, creamy and pigmented as the gelly range. They only cost £2.99 so super affordable and Barry M is ALWAYS on sale either in Boots or Superdrug.

First up is Ballerina. This is a dusty nude leaning pink.. if that makes sense? I think it's a great shade for the winter. It's still a pop of colour but nothing too in your face.

The swatch is only 1 coat. ONE COAT! Pretty impressive for this type of shade. No topcoat.

The second colour is Vintage Violet, it's a very dusty grey toned yet vibrant purple. I don't own anything like this! I have a few dusty grey toned purples, but this was is still quite warm at the same time.

I used 2 coats and no top coat. It's almost as glossy as the gelly range!

The final colour is Nightshade. This is a super super dark purple. So dark that it's pretty much just a straight up black.

Again I used 2 coats for the swatch and no top coat. It's so glossy! The gloss does fade very quickly so I would recommend using a top coat anyway.


What do you think of the new colours? I'm pleasantly surprised and will definitely pay more attention to the regular nail paints from now on!

xx Elaine

Zoya Dream

Zoya Dream, Aurora and Storm are probably the most talked about Zoya nail polishes. Everyone is always recommending them so I finally decided to purchase all three... :)

The hype around these nail polishes is totally worth it. They're amazing!!

Zoya Dream is a blue jelly polish packed with scattered holographic glitter. In the sun (or with a flash) the holographic glitter pops off the nails and it looks incredible!

On a cloudy day Dream is equally beautiful. It looks like a blue squishy galaxy. The glitters look silver and the polish looks like it has so much depth because of the jelly consistency.

One of the best things (apart from the colour, holo and jelly) is the fact that it dries completely glossy. For the photos I didn't add a top coat! Most glitter polishes have a very gritty textured finish and require 2 or 3 coats of top coat to smooth it all out. This isn't like that at all!

And because it doesn't have that gritty texture, it is also very easy to remove! If only every glitter nail polish could be like this...

OPI Hawaii Spring/Summer 2015 Collection Swatches & Review

This years OPI spring/summer collection had a lot to live up to. I was in love with the Brazil collection and it's actually the first and only collection where I own all of the nail polishes! Well.... the Hawaii collection did not disappoint! Apart from one nail polish, but we'll get to that later! This post will cover swatches, a quick review and a comparison! 

I picked up 7 of the 12 colours. I'll start off with the nude of the collection: Do You Take Lei Away. I'm a sucker for nudes so there was no doubt in my mind to get this one. It's just the right kind of nude for my skin tone, very light and slightly pink toned. 

The formula was very easy to work with and I only needed 2 coats for the swatch. I didn't use a top coat. 

I compared it to three other OPI colours: My Very First Knockwurst, Pretzel My Buttons and Don't Bossa Nova Me Around. Knockwurst is definitely more pink, and Bossa Nova is way lighter. Don't Pretzel My Buttons is very similar, and most people probably won't be able to see a difference. It's slightly less pink toned and a tint lighter than Do You Take Lei Away. 

The next colour is this amazing pistachio green called That's Hula-rious. Although a lot of people call it a mint, I think it's much more of a warm toned pastel green. 

The formula is incredible! It's super opaque and easy to work with. I used 2 coats for the swatch and no top coat. 

The first colour I thought of was Gargantuan Green Grape. I don't have it to compare but I did own it about a year ago... swatched it on all of 2 fingers. I found the formula of GGG so watery and sheer! I hated it so immediately got rid of it. 

I do have some other colours to compare it to Essie Mint Candy Apple and Kester Black Bubblegum. Both colours are much more of a true mint as they contain a lot more blue. 

Another perfect spring colour is Suzi Shops and Island Hops. A gorgeous bright pastel pink. 

I used 2 coats for the swatch and no top coat. Again amazing easy formula. 

Well... this is a little disappointing...  Suzi Shops and Island Hops is a 99% exact dupe of Pink Friday from the Nicki Minaj Collection. One of my all time favourite pinks is Pink Friday so if you missed out on that one, definitely get this one. You don't need both. 

I'm obsessed with this next one. This is Aloha from OPI and it's this stunning super bright coral. 

2 easy coats and no top coat. I'm currently wearing this on my toes! 

I thought this was going to be identical to Live.Love.Carnival from last years Brazil collection... I couldn't be more wrong! Live.Love.Carnival is much more pink toned and not nearly as bright. 

Red Lights Ahead...Where? From the Holland collection is very similar, but it's more of a true red, whereas Aloha from OPI is more coral toned. 

The darkest shade in the collection is Hello Hawaii Ya? This is a very dusty grey toned purple. 

This could easily be a 1 coater, but for the sake of consistency I used 2. No topcoat. 

I thought this was going to be very similar to Planks A Lot from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection... it's not! Planks A Lot is much lighter and slightly warmer toned. Kester Black French Lavender is also much lighter. 

This colour has been named the grandma colour that everyone actually really likes. This is Just Lanai-ing Around. It's another darker dusty colour from those who don't like spring pastels. It's a rosy toned pink. In the bottle you can see some silver shimmer, but they didn't show up on my nails whatsoever. 

Again, amazing formula. You could easily get away with just 1 coat, but for consistency I used 2. No Topcoat.

The only colour I thought that would be similar was Kester Black Peony, but that's much lighter. 

The final colour I purchased is This Color's Making Waves. This is a beautiful blue shimmer polish with very very subtle shimmery coppery specks. They are very difficult to see, however sometimes if the light hits it right, you'll see a very warm glow. 

I used 2 coats no top coat. 

I compared it to Barry M Pacific... they're pretty much identical. Pacific doesn't have the coppery specks, but let's be real... you can't really see those anyway! 

That's everything I picked up from the OPI Hawaii collection! There are 5 more colours, an orange (identical to Where Did Suzi's Man-Go), a red with golden shimmer, a bright shimmery green, a bright blurple (similar to Eurso Euro and Do You Have This Color In Stock-holm), and a really really really horrible golden metallic with multicoloured glitter. Ew. 

Have you picked up any of the OPI Hawaii collection? What did you think of the collection, does it compare to last years Brazil collection? 

xx Elaine