OPI Autumn/Winter 2016 - Washington DC

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The latest collection by OPI is Washington DC, featuring 12 new shades for Autumn/Winter 2016. This collection is a collaboration with actress Kerry Washington, who recently became OPI's first ever Creative Ambassador and has worked closely with the brand to develop the polishes. I have all 12 shades to show you today, guaranteed to get you in the mood for Autumn!

Colors by Llarowe Winter 2015

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I'm back today with the Winter 2015 collection from Colors by Llarowe. I have all 12 shades to show you and it's an explosion of holographic, shimmery festiveness. You're definitely going to need a few of these!

Models Own Twilight HyperGel Swatches

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Models Own have released a further 13 shades into their popular HyperGel range for Autumn/Winter 2015, titled the Twilight collection (no relation to the films, thankfully) consisting of sultry red/berry shades and dusky greys, greens and browns. I have 4 from the collection to show you today.

A-England Rossetti's Goddess Collection Swatches and Review

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Today I have the brand new Rossetti's Goddess collection from a-england to share with you! We've been treated to 4 captivating new shades inspired by artwork by pre-raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Barry M Sunset Collection Swatches and Review

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Today I've got swatches of the brand new Sunset Daylight Curing collection from Barry M to share with you! Find out what on earth that means with my FAQ ahead!

Shimmer Polish Jasmine Swatches

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Hi! I know it's been pretty quiet around here lately. I had a really busy period of time where I just couldn't sit down to blog, and then after that I got sick with a horrible stomach bug right after my last post which I have still barely recovered from! Everything happens at once doesn't it!? I'm going to push ahead this week and catch up on reviews!

Today I have latest in my Shimmer Polish series - Jasmine, a beautiful polish made up of predominantly aquamarine and blue glitter, interspersed with gold, green and red. I've used 2 coats plus top coat, over China Glaze Custom Kicks, a teal green creme. This is another winner from Shimmer Polish! Wonderfully easy application and not at all top coat hungry.

Availability

You can purchase Shimmer Polish via their Etsy store or their website. International shipping is available!

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Barry M Matte Collection Summer 2014 Swatches and Review

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Hi! Today I'm showing you the new summer Matte collection from Barry M. You probably remember the Autumn/Winter Matte collection from 2013 (which I loved so very much!) and now we have six new bright shades to add to the range.

WingDust Collections After The Storm Swatches

Every now and again a polish will come along that I just want to wear forever, and with After The Storm it really is true love. Sigh!

Fancy Fish Tail

I just love fish tail nail art! I kind of prefer to call it braided nail art though because I don't like saying "fish tail"... it sounds gross. I think everybody knows it as that though, so I'm conforming! 

I've never actually got round to trying this style before now, so this is my first one. I took a peek at the tutorial on Lucy's Stash first to make sure I got it right! I used Barry M Guava Gelly as my base colour, and for the braiding I used Barry M Plum Gelly and Silver Foil Effects. 

I deliberated for a while on whether to use nail art brushes or the bottle brushes, in the end I went with the bottle brushes because Barry M ones are quite thin anyway. If your nails are small though you might be better off using a nail art brush.

I was surprised at how easy it was, can't wait to try another one with different colours!

Party Accent

Sometimes (ok, most of the time!) I really can't be bothered to make every single nail in to a glitterbomb, especially if I'm short on time. At these lazy times, I do what I refer to as a party accent, and just plaster glitter all over one nail on each hand. I think I prefer this look!

I used Barry M Watermelon, and the glitter is OPI Rainbow Connection. I painted on 3 layers and then filled in the gaps by just dabbing it on with the brush. I smoothed it out with 2 coats of NYC top coat.

Glitter macro - 

I should also point out that I used PVA glue as a base coat for the glitter. No scrubbing at removal time!

Illamasqua Muse - Swatches

I don't know what's wrong with my camera lately, but the quality of my close up pictures has gone right down and I can't figure out why. Extremely annoying. Sorry if my pictures look bad. :(

This is Muse from Illamasqua. This is described on the Illamasqua website as deep teal blue, which is pretty accurate, though I'd say more blue than teal? 

It has a very glossy, creme finish. Application was smooth, but maybe a touch thicker than other Illamasqua I've tried and it seemed to dry very quickly. It's highly pigmented though and is opaque in 2 coats, maybe even 1 if you have skills (which I do not!)

Click to enlarge

See what I mean about the quality of the close ups? :( 

It's a really gorgeous colour and I was happy to get this in a sale for £7!