Holiday Mani No. 2: Avon Flakie (Opal) Polish

Hello everyone! My second instalment in the Holiday Mani series is another simple one, but I think a rather pretty one too... My mum bought me this Avon flakie polish a while back when it was on sale and I hadn't got around to trying it until today. Avon was a little late to the party as far as Flakie's go but it is one that is well worth having in your collection. I find a lot of the flakies have quite large pieces in and I have slender nail beds so they can look a bit manky on me lol... this one though has perfectly sized pieces for me and definitly had no curling going on which I did find with my Models Own flakie :(

I did two coats of the "watermelon" and "tiffany" on alternating nails and then once dry added two coats of the Opal topcoat. Like all flakies, it had a little texture to it so to smooth this out I finished with a topcoat. I used my Color Club one as frankly, it's my favourite!

MissLanage x

Holiday Mani No.1: Avon Nail Tip Decals

Hello to all from sunny Spain! Loving the sunshine, sea and sand here in Alicante! I've got pretty impressive white bits already LOL!!

So today's mani was just a quick and simple one. I started with a two coat white base before I even knew what it was I was going to do! I then looked through all the little bits I had brought with me and decided to try the Avon nail tip decals my mum sent me a little while ago... The decal itself is white, with pink and black leopard print. They were super easy to apply using tweezers and required no trimming... good things... but they were a little flimsy and so in turn tore easily... not ideal. Overall though, having previously had a nightmare with even getting these kind of decals to stick without a tacky topcoat, they performed ok and have stayed put. I did pop a topcoat over the top knowing that I would be in and out of the pool and there was no curling or movement of any sort :)

Models Own - Snow White, Avon - Nail Tip Decals, Color Club - Topcoat.

MissLanage x

Swatch & Review: Nelly Polish "Bodmin"

Morrrrrniiiiing! I'm getting the final bits of my packing done before flying out to Spain this afternoon, how hard is it to decide which polishes to take when you go away?!... I've changed my mind sooo many times and I definitly can't drag them all along! Agggh!

So, my going away mani is a simple yet gorgeous one using the stunning "Bodmin" from Nelly Polish; a deep blue gelly base with gold hexes and glitter pieces. I fell in love with this one as soon as I saw it and my other half says it's the nicest polish in my VAST collection. In my eyes it conjures up night skies and sparkling oceans :) Heavenly, and perfect for my travels! Make sure you check out the Etsy Store to feast your eyes on this and all the other beauties hiding there! And don't forget this is available in the bottle as you see here but also in the first ever dehydrated formula for any of you who are not in the UK, on a budget or like me, someone who loves a DIY job! Lol!

Gorgeous isn't it?! Just like the "Beeny", it has such depth and appears to be so many different shades in all different lights. No matter what light you're in though, the gold hexes and glitter really pop! This was a simple three coats of the Bodmin followed by a topcoat. Another wonderful thing with these polishes is just how fast they dry, I think I failed to mention that in the first review but it really is a quality to note with these!!

Nelly Polish - Bodmin, Color Club - Topcoat.

MissLanage x

*this product was sent to me for honest review*

Pocket Money Polishes: September Release Swatches

Hi my lovelies! I've had a crazy, crazy week which is why I've been AWOL... My other half dislocated and fractured some bones in his hand and had to go in for last minute surgery :( poor love. He's been dead cheerful and brave despite the pin in his hand and we are still going ahead with our holiday tomorrow... Which means I will be the one doing the driving in Spain... Aghhh! It also means I'll have plenty of time to paint my nails in the sunshine and as long as my internet connection is good, I will be bringing you some exciting holiday nails!

On to today's post though, I have two of the September Sparkle Collection polishes from Pocket Money Polishes to show you (available to order 6pm 1st Sept). Just a couple of quick swatches as I have sooo much to do before flying out tomorrow... I now have an awesome collection of 12 of these polishes now... can you tell I'm a fan?! And on that note, when you have bought 10 polishes from PMP you receive an 11th one of your choice absolutely free!!! How amaze is that?! I'm a sucker for a reward system LOL!

First up, This Is The Life, full of purple glitter and hexes along with some blue/holo sparkles. I love this one heaps, it reminds me of oceans and swimming pools! I used two coats over two coats of the Barry M Gelly polish.

Barry M - Blueberry, PMP - This Is The Life.

Second and last up is California Dreaming! This screams summer; full of red bar pieces, orange glitter, small yellow hexes and large matte red/pink hexes. I paired it with another Barry M Gelly but think the colour was a little wrong to show this polish off at it's best (at least in the pics)... Sorry Charlie :( but I promise you it is a beaut! Again it was two coats of the PMP over two coats of the Gelly.

Barry M - Grapefruit, PMP - California Dreaming.

I have another stunning polish from Nelly Polish to show you tomorrow before I fly off!

MissLanage x

Swatch & Review: Nail Lacquer UK "Grape Juice"

So... as promised, a swatch and review of the gorgeous "Grape Juice" from Nail Lacquer UK. I was already a fan of this fab indie brand since buying Don't Stay Up Too Late and Bring Me Love from the Happy Birthday Collection so was super happy when I was sent a couple of the lovely mini's to review! Tonight, as mentioned is the turn of Grape Juice, a super glossy, bright purple, gelly polish with little pink sequin discs and large silver ones. I love it! Definitly one to go in my suitcase for my upcoming holiday!! 

Even in this mini size the brush length is so good that it was super easy to apply and it can reach right down to the bottom of the bottle. I used three coats to achieve total opacity and then added a topcoat to seal. It's so glossy I can't even tell you but I think the pictures did manage to capture it's candy apple sheen! It can go from a deep purple, to a bright purple to a deep pink depending on the light, just scrummy!

This beauty is available in the mini size shown here for a mere £3.50 and a larger sized special addition shimmer finish for £6.50. There are of course a host of pretties to ogle the Nail Lacquer UK Etsy Store and I myself have another to show you next week!! 

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I decided to add a little extra sparkle to this mani this afternoon with some cute diamante bow charms simply placed into a second top coat. BLING! Hehehe :)

Nail Lacquer UK - Grape Juice, Color Club - Topcoat, Allura Nail Charms (Poundland).

Hope you've all had a good weekend!

MissLanage x

*this product was sent to me for honest review*

Swatch & Review: Nelly Polish "Beeny"

Firstly a quick apology for my absence! I had soooo much nail mail this week and so many plans but unfortunately it all went to pot! Driving home from work on Tuesday, excited about my day off the next day and alllll the posts I was going to get to do when BANG!... Some idiot changes lane on the dual carriageway without even seeing me directly next to her!!! So my week was then pretty stressful and arduous and my nails went out the window :( BUT I'm back now and have loads to share with you!!

Tonight I have something very exciting indeed... My first ever polishes actually sent to me for review! I felt uber excited at the prospect and wasn't disappointed when they arrived so a big Thank You to Nelly Polish for making me feel special and for giving me another indie brand to spend my pennies on ;) 

The one I'm showing to you tonight is Beeny; it has a gorgeous duck egg blue base with matte orange hexes thrown in in just the right amount! So elegant and sophisticated. My other half said it had "depth" and "quality". Praise indeed!! 

How beautiful is this?! Just a simple three coats finished with a topcoat. Love! It looks different in every different light, as my man said, it has depth. On application at coat one you may think "mmmm?", by coat two it's "ooh that built up quick, promising" and on coat three the magic happens!

This amazing 3 free polish is available in the bottle as you see here for £6.50 or comes in the FIRST EVER dry nail polish formula for just £4.00! It means it can be shipped anywhere in the world without fear of restriction as well as being cheaper than shipping conventional polish... And my favourite part is you get to make up the mixture yourself at home and feel like a chemist/wizard for a few minutes! I am definitly going to be trying a couple of those for the pure novelty and fun of it!! Check out the Etsy Store for more pretties!!!

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I added a little extra the next day by painting on some silver tips and finishing up with a pretty flower/diamante on the thumb, made me fancy a day at the races!

Color Club - Topcoat, Barry M - Silver Foil, Nelly Polish - Beeny, Cheeky Nail Art Decorations.

Another special post to bring you tomorrow, reviewing a polish from the awesome Nail Lacquer UK!

MissLanage x

*this product was sent to me for honest review*

Deborah Lippmann Love: Sparkly Tips!

My other half treated me to a lil trip to TK Maxx on Wednesday, I picked up some clothes for my holiday and of course some nail polish! There wasn't a lot to choose from that day unfortunately, but I did spy some Deborah Lippmann pretties in a lil trio bag. £14.99 was the price, good value considering the usual £12-£15/ea price online and in-store. Very happy with my trio of Boom Boom Pow, Call Me Irresponsible and Razzle Dazzle too, there isn't one I wasn't keen on as sometimes happens with these put-together jobs in TK Maxx. 

For today's mani I chose to use the purple and gold polishes... I started with three coats of the Call Me Irresponsible as it's really quite sheer and thin in consistency; it did have a lovely shine and dried super fast though so it balanced out. I next took the Boom Boom Pow to the tips, this again was three coats to get the opacity seen here. When that was all dry I finished off with a topcoat and added a gold stud to each nail.

Deborah Lippmann - Call Me Irresponsible, Boom Boom Pow, Barry M - 3 in 1, Cheeky Nail Art Studs.

MissLanage x

Another British Indie by Nail Lacquer UK: Don't Stay Up Too Late!

Here is the second beauty I have to show you from Nail Lacquer UK. Don't Stay Up Too Late is a lovely pastel blue creme polish with little lilac, pink and white hexes. I just love it, it reminds me of bubblegum... Bubblegum icecream to be exact! So that is where the inspiration for today's mani came from... I started with three coats of the indie lovely on all but the ring finger as I did yesterday; I then painted my nude nail with one coat of the light brown and used a striper brush to paint on the dark brown criss-cross lines to create the cone; like yesterday, just over the lower half of the nail. Next I used two dabbed coats of the Don't Stay Up Too Late to top my cone and complete my icecream and finished with a topcoat. If you want to check out these polishes for yourself, head on over to the Etsy Store!

Nail Lacquer UK - Don't Stay Up Too Late, Barry M - Mushroom, Cappucino, 3 in 1, Avon Dual Nail Tool.

Just like the Bring Me Love, I think Don't Stay Up Too Late deserved a close up...

Toodles!

MissLanage x

British Indie by Nail Lacquer UK: Bring Me Love!

*Squeal* Loving this new British Indie Polish Maker! Nail Lacquer is based in the Great North East of England and you can visit her Etsy Store to pick yourself up one of these pretties! They each come with a cute hand-made charm, which is a touch I just love!!! They are also 3 free and, well... gorgeous!

My inspiration for today's mani was the charm and the fact that I thought this polish looked like delicious icing so we have a lil cupcake thang going on! I did three coats of the Bring Me Love on all but the ring finger; it's a lovely smooth pink creme polish filled with different pastel pink, blue and green and white hexes and white strands. I then did two coats of Blue Moon on the one naked nail and left to dry before adding some white stripes from the half-way point down to the tip. Next I dabbed two coats of the Bring Me Love to the top of the blue, allowing it to drip slightly to give the impression of icing. I finished off the mani with a top-coat and a rhinestone cherry for my cake!

Nail Lacquer UK - Bring Me Love, Barry M - Blue Moon, 3 in 1, LA Colors - White Striper, Nail Art Rhinestones (Poundland).

 Here is a close up of the indie itself, how cute is that?!

MissLanage x

Icy Cool Summer Nails!

Oh my gosh! It was soooo hot yesterday, must have reached well into 33 degrees or more! The only problem with that sort of temperature here in the UK is the humidity, it's god awful sticky! I decided to cool it down for today's manicure and went with icy cool polishes from my Models Own stash. 

I started with two coats of the Snow White and let it dry thoroughly. Next I used the Northern and Southern Lights to do a sort of gradient glitter look. I set a large blob of polish at the cuticle and then spread 2/3 of the way down the nail with a dabbing motion. When that was done I took the now almost dry brush and pulled down some of the glitter to give a rougher edge; I also added a few dots of sparkle to the tips by gently dabbing the dry brush on to the nail and immediately dabbing any excess off with the tip of my finger. I reaaally like this one and it even managed a retweet from Models Own this morning :)

Tried out another bottle shot today and had a play with a different style watermark!

Models Own - Southern Lights, Snow White, Northern Lights.

MissLanage x

piCture pOlish: Blogfest Rehash!

What a glorious afternoon!! 30 degrees and sun, sun, sun here in London! I have spent my time relaxing and painting my nails; and today the weather decided that I would re-use the three summery polishes sent to me by piCture pOlish for the blogfest. They are such gorgeous shades and I was keen to take another look at the polish itself. I love the thick, quick-dry formula these polishes have; they have such a smooth and shiny finish too... And I never actually noticed any sort of smell at all! A*!

So for this mani I decided to keep it simple; I started with two coats of the Tiffany (it is exactly the colour of those lil blue boxes we all know and love). I then taped off half the nail and did just one coat of the Watermelon, coverage was great and the flat/squared brushes made neatening a couple of the edges easy peasy. Finally I added some polka dots using the Antique and a large dotting tool. Love it!

I even managed a photo with the bottle today, my first ever... may continue with it! What d'ya think?

piCture pOlish - Tiffany, Watermelon, Antique, Masking Tape, Large Dotting Tool.

MissLanage x