Ford Retail "Glam It Up a Gear" with Models Own - Fiesta Nail Polish Collection

Hello everybody ! So today I've got some swatches of the new nail polish shades that Models Own have released in partnership with Ford Retail for Autumn/Winter 2013, available only during the month of September. The three shades in this collection have been fashioned to compliment their corresponding Ford Fiesta counterparts, and with just a few simple steps they can be yours as well !

Both Models Own and Ford Retail have teamed up with Glam It Up a Gear so that you can get your hands on these bespoke nail varnishes. All you need to do is fill out the form on the Glam It Up a Gear website to request a Ford Fiesta test drive. Once you've done that then just head off to your chosen car showroom at a Ford Retail dealership and your nail varnishes will be posted off to you (if you haven't got your driving license yet then you could always ask your parents) !

Now, on to the swatches (all of these are two coats, no top coat) !

Models Own - Hot Magenta

First up is Hot Magenta, a deep wine/burgundy shade with a pinky reflection brought through by a fine purple, pink and red shimmer. This is what I would call a typical Autumn shade, one you see around with many variations but along the same line. The formula on this polish was a little on the thick side but wasn't a real problem to work with !

Models Own - Candy Blue

Next up is Candy Blue, probably my favourite shade from this collection ! It's not a colour that I would usually go for, but wearing it just proves me completely wrong ! This is a seriously bright blue with LOADS of silvery shimmer running through it which makes it really reflective. The application for this polish was a dream and was very nice to work with, and there was no clean-up needed !

Finally we have Fashionista, an almost duochrome golden shade, which sometimes can lean towards an olive-y green colour when you look at it from an angle. This formula for this was a little on the thin side, but the second coat got everything to the right opacity. The only complaint I'd have about this one is the visible brushstrokes, but on the other hand I've been wearing this colour all day with some top coat on and you really can't notice the brushstrokes anymore unless you look really closely !

So those are all of the polishes, you know what you've got to do to get hold of them ! They're definitely must-have colours for the coming seasons, particularly for the party-season which will be coming up soon, Candy Blue would be a spectacular shade to wear out !

I hope you've enjoyed these swatches, I'll see you back here again tomorrow evening ! Ta ta !

NOTD : Happy Birthday to Me !

Yaaaaaaaay ! It's my brithday !!!!!! My nails ended up being rather last minute as I ran out of time after doing designs to post while I'm away, but they're birthday nails nonetheless ! I've been wondering for ages now trying to think of a design I could do for today and seeing as I won't be getting my birthday nail varnishes for a couple of week,s I couldn't do anything with those !

I thought of maybe doing some candless... but then I didn't want to do that ! And then I was going to use some silver foil... but that didn't look right ! So I settled on using two of my favourite nail polishes with one that I've not used before and I'm pretty happy with how it looks !

I used OPI Tomorrow Never Dies and then OPI The Man With the Golden Gun on all except two nails. The little 2-0 was painted with OPI Moonraker which I haven't used before now, and it's actually really good for this sort of nail art, just not so much as a colour by itself !

I really love all that 18 karat goodness on top of my blurple shimmer polish.... soooo gooooood ! I'm going to go to bed now so I can get up and get stuff done tomorrow - I've still got absolutely loads of stuff to do before I leave on Tuesday and that means I've only got 3 full days left ! Scary ! See you again tomorrow hopefully !

Swatch : Accessorize - Pink Spice

Hello again everybody ! So I must apologise for my lack of posting this week, I completely forgot to post anything on Thursday evening (I ended up in bed watching Harry Potter again by 9 o'clock), and yesterday I was away visiting my Grandma so I couldn't post anything ! But, I'm back again today, this time with a swatch of an absolutely amazing nail varnish ! You won't be disappointed !

So this is Pink Spice by Accessorize, a polish I picked up quite a while ago but never got round to swatching until now ! This nail varnish is made up of a deep pink jelly base, with duochrome shimmer and micro-glitter that shines bright pink, and at certain angles a really bright coppery orange colour... super pretty !

For this swatch I used two coats of Pink Spice, and then a coat of Seche Vite. I've been wearing this colour for a whole week now and there's no sign of any chips or peeling, just a bit of tip wear at the end of my nails - result ! I could maybe have done with doing a third coat of this nail polish, but I felt that the coverage was even enough at 2 coats so I just left it there !

Sorry for the overly pale skin on this photo, but it shows off the duochrome-iness of this colour really well ! The shimmer really does look great in the sunlight, but it still glows even in the shade ! The consistency of this nail varnish was really good as well, I didn't have any trouble with application !

So that'll be all for today everyone, I'm off to bed because I'm tired from the travelling I've been doing ! I'll see you again tomorrow, hopefully with a Saint Patrick's Day manicure !

Swatch : OPI - Live and Let Die

Evening everybody ! So I'm reeeeeeally sorry I didn't get to post last night, or the night before for that matter ! I've been busy socialising with my family while they've been over so I haven't had time to post anything really before having to go to bed ! I promise I will make a concerted effort though to post for the rest of the week for you all, as much as I can manage anyway !

So today I'm showing you OPI Live and Let Die, a goooorgeous deep forest green colour with loads of scattered gold and greenish shimmer running through it. This polish is from the OPI Skyfall collection for Christmas 2012, but I reckon it can be worn any time of the year ! It's such a pretty shade, and it really glows in the sun !

I used two coats for this swatch, although it was already really pretty opaque on the first, but the second coat really adds depth to the polish, and much better shimmer coverage ! The formula was great on this, really easy to apply, and I also used a coat of Seche Vite which really added to the glossiness of the nail varnish !

And that's all for today folks, I'm off to bed as I've got an early start (again) tomorrow morning ! Hopefully the weather is going to start brightening up a bit more now here, I've had enough of this cold weather ! Perhaps I'll do some floral nail art tomorrow, we'll see !

Swatch : OPI - The World is Not Enough

Hey there everyone ! So I'm super tired today, suffering the effects of the drowsy medicine I had to take yesterday and I've been walking most of the day today seeing as my family is over, lots of shopping ! But anyway, I'm doing a quick post for you before I head off to bed, seeing as I said I would yesterday and all !

Today I'll be showing you OPI The World is Not Enough, from the OPI Skyfall collection for Christmas 2012. This nail polish is a light-ish brown silvery shimmer colour, with great rosey pink undertones (which actually show up really well in the above photo for some reason), super super pretty !

The formula for this nail varnish was quite thin an sheer, so I used 3 coats for this swatch, plus Seche Vite, but the consistency of the polish was really great so I didn't have any problems with the application ! The colour of this nail varnish was really hard to capture properly for some reason, but I reckon the first photo is probably the most acurate, but then again, it's one of those polishes that looks different from every angle and every light !

The shimmeriness of this nail varnish really is impressive, and all the different ways you can see its colour is truly amazing !

So yeah, that's all for today really ! I'm super tired now and I've got an early start in the morning with lectures so I'd better go off and get ready for bedtime ! Night night everyone, I'll try and post again tomorrow !

Swatch : OPI - GoldenEye

Hey there everybody ! Sorry for the lack of posts these past couple of days, I've been seriously tired and therefore catching up on lots of sleep since Saturday night (only got 4 hours sleep, ugh, long story), and so I've been feeling too lazy to do my nails and post ! Anyway, I got plenty of sleep last night and so I've been swatching again for you today, and here I am with another OPI !

So today I have OPI GoldenEye to show you all, another polish from the OPI Skyfall collection from Winter 2012, and it's soooooooooo pretty ! I had a hard time taking photos that actually showed the colour as opposed to just reflecting the light, but I still managed to find a couple that showed it up okay ! This polish is a yellowy/orangey gold glassfleck polish that's packed with glitter flecks, I love the colour !

For this swatch I used 3 coats to reach opacity, it looked very sheer(ish) at first and didn't cover much of the nail, but as soon as I did the second coat it built up really well, and the third coat was just to hide any nail line you could still see under the polish. The formula for this nail varnish was really good, as with all OPIs, although it didn't dry as quickly as I'm used to, so I've used Seche Vite just to fix it all up quickly !

And that's all I've got for tonight everyone, I hope you like this polish as much as I do ! Do you usually wear gold polishes ? Or do you tend to avoid them ? I only ever really wear gold polish for a special occasion or whatever, but after swatching this one I might have to start wearing it more often !

I'm off to watch some TV now and then I'm off to bed ! See you all tomorrow folks !

Swatch : OPI - You Only Live Twice

Hey there everyone ! So I've decided I may as well post something for you all tonight, seeing as I'm on a roll swatching loads of nail varnishes (in preparation for some scheduled posts for when my Mum and sister come to visit at the end of next week) ! I've got a particularly pretty swatch for today's post, and as a matter of fact I'm currently wearing it because it's such a great colour !

So this is OPI You Only Live Twice from the OPI Skyfall collection for Winter 2012, and it's basically a seeeeeeriously beautiful raspberry pink red glassfleck shimmer polish. The shimmer in this polish is great, making it practically GLOW magenta even in the shade ! I'm in love, and I can't believe I haven't worn it until now, even though my Mum wore it on her nails while I was still in France at Christmas !

I used two coats for this swatch, the formula was great (as with pretty much EVERY nail varnish by OPI) and it made everything come together on the second coat ! I also used Seche Vite on top of the swatch, just to make the shimmer in it really pop !

I seriously can't stop staring at my nails, I think this seems to be a common side effect with most of the nail polishes from the OPI Skyfall collection, it certainly was with Tomorrow Never Dies (need to find some more uses for that colour other than just swatches), not that I'm complaining or anything, I can't wait to have more polishes with the same effect !

So that'll be all for today everyone, stay tuned for most probably another post tomorrow evening ! See you all then !

Swatch : OPI - Tomorrow Never Dies

Evening all ! I said in yesterday's post that I would post something again today, even though I've left it right until the last minute when I should already be in bed, I've got a super pretty swatch for you all today ! As I've said before, I got the OPI Skyfall collection for Christmas, and I've been dying to try some of them out, specifically the ones I haven't managed to use in any nail art yet, so here you go, today's swatch !

Every time I show the Skyfall collection to anyone, they always point towards this colour, so I figured it ought to be this one to swatch first, and I'm so glad I did ! OPI Tomorrow Never Dies is pretty much what I would call the "definition of blurple", there's just the right balance of both blue and purple, which makes for a really great nail varnish ! The shimmer in this colour is AMAZING, very blue-toned and far more noticeable in person (in fact it looks 10 times better in person than in my photos, believe me) !

The formula of this nail polish was great as well, and I needed just two coats for the opacity in these swatches... in fact I only ever really do two coats, works great every time with most OPIs ! I used Seche Vite on top for these swatches, but honestly it doesn't really need it, maybe for longevity, but it's just as shiny without top coat as it is with !

So what do you all think of Tomorrow Never Dies ? I think I'm actually in love with it, it's just so perfect ! I'm definitely going to start thinking up ways of incorporating this nail polish into some nail art, and I think I might have to start wearing more polishes by themself, I have so many pretty polishes that I really need to wear more often !

Anyway, I'm off to bed for now, but I'll most probably be back tomorrow with another post, aren't you lucky ! See you all then everyone !

Advent Calendar : Christmas Houndstooth

Hello again everyone ! I've got another Christmas-themed design for you all today, and I really hope you like it as much as I do, as I think this is one of my best freehand designs I've done ! Also I won't be able to post again until at least Sunday, because I'm travelling back to France for the holidays, so my mother is arriving tomorrow, then I actaully get back home where I'll be able to do nails on Sunday, so hopefully then ! Anyway, on to today's nails !

I'm seriously obsessed with houndstooth at the moment for some reason, and I'm glad I obsessed over it enough to do these nails today, I'm so pleased with how they've turned out, and they actually look a lot like nail wraps !

For this design I used exactly the same nail varnishes as I did for my snowflake nails from the other day, that being Orly On the List, with the houndstooth detailing done with my Models Own Wah Nails nail art pen in white. The only thing I'd change about this manicure would be my index finger, as I'm not happy about not having left enough space and blobbing two of the white bits together ! I might just have to re-do that nail !

And so that'll be it until Sunday you guys ! I'm glad I've done a design I really like to last me until then, you know that awful feeling you get when you know you won't be able to change your design for a few days and you really don't like what you've got on ? Yeah, hopefully I'll be avoiding that one this time !

See you all then everyone ! I'll miss you !

Advent Calendar : Snowflakes

Good evening everyone ! So I'm back once again with another Christmas-themed manicure, I'm seriously enjoying these festive nail designs, so much fun and it's stuff you can't really do during the rest of the year ! So I'm going to use every excuse possible to do as many Christmas nails as possible this year !

I've never actually painted anything remotely ressembling a snowflake before, I remember last year I used the Konad M59 plate to do plain snowflake stamps over red glittery polish, so I'm glad I did this by hand this year ! I think the pattern looks like it could be like a wrapping paper design or something, I love it !

So for this design, the base colour I used was Orly On The List, a little mini bottle I got in Boots last year ! I used two coats for this design as it was the perfect red colour for what I wanted, but I think if you do a third coat the colour gets a lot darker ! I drew on the snowflakes with my Models Own Wah Nails nail art pen in white.

And that's it for today's Advent Calendar design, I'm already so excited for Christmas (mainly because I get to go home and see my family), and soon I won't have any work to do here at uni and I can just rest ! Exciting stuff ! Anyway I hope you like today's design, and I'll be back soon with another !

See you soon everyone !

Swatch : H&M - No Mambo Jambo

Hi there everyone ! This is just going to be a relatively quick post this evening for a polish I swatched yesterday (knowing that I wouldn't have time to do my nails today), seeing as it's already quite late and I'm reaaaaally super tired today ! Tuesday is my busy day lecture-wise as I go non-stop from 9:00 until 5:00 with just one hour at lunch, so me being tired is completely understandable (justifying my one bad day per week) !

H&M No Mambo Jambo is the first polish I ever owned that was anything other than a creme finish, which makes it pretty special ! The colour is seriously pretty, and the formula and everything was such great quality, considering it's a mainstream brand that isn't necessarily known for it's nail varnish ! Some H&M polishes are better than others, I have 6 different H&M colours altogether and the formula on some of them is really awful, but the good ones are great !

So this polish is a pretty bright turquoise shimmer colour, that glides on easily in just two coats. In these photos I haven't used any topcoat, and you can see that it's really shiny even without it ! The shimmer in this colour shines through as small blue and green particles (you can especially notice the green in the bottle), but also looks quite silvery in certain lights.

All in all I think that No Mambo Jambo is a great Spring/Summer colour, but there's still no excuse not to wear it in winter as well ! I'm totally in love with the colour, and would seriously love to own it in just a plain creme colour.. does anyone have any suggestions as to what polish already exists that would be a great creme alternative ?

So that's all for today everyone, I'll see you all again tomorrow evening ! Have a great day !

Swatch : OPI - Suzi & the 7 Düsseldorfs

Helloooooo everybody ! So another day, another swatch until I'm ready with another NOTD for you tomorrow evening (got lots of work to do, as well as nails of course) ! So this is another polish from the OPI Germany collection (as mentioned yesterday), all of which are absolutely beautiful, but I'll be saving the rest for another occasion !

OPI Suzi & the 7 Düsseldorfs is a gorgeous purple shimmer polish, kinda red-toned polish. It's exactly the colour I need in my collection in a creme version, but alas, I'll have to cope with the shimmer (not that I'm complaining, it's such an amazing colour) !

I never thought I would love the Germany collection quite as much as I actually do, and I never really picked up shimmer polishes and thought of nail art, but this release has proven my prejudices about these types of polish to be completely wrong (as you may have seen from the amount I've been using them all in my manicures over the past 6 weeks or so !

And that's going to be it for tonight guys ! Be sure to see me back here at the usual time tomorrow with some great nails (I hope, if I'm feeling inspired), and I hope you've all liked the swatches over the last couple of days !

Have a great day everyone !

Swatch : OPI - Deutsch You Want Me Baby ?

Hey there everybody ! So like I mentioned yesterday, I've got a couple of swatches for you all today and tomorrow, seeing as I'm away and won't be able to do my nails again until Sunday ! Both of the swatches were done yesterday before I'd cut my nails down, so there's still plenty of canvas in the photos for these amazing colours I'm going to be showing you !

Today's polish is part of the OPI Fall/Winter Germany collection, and as I've already mentioned tonnes of times before, this collection is seriously amazing in my books ! All the colours go so well together, and you mzy have noticed, I've been able to do quite a lot of nail art with just the polishes from the collection, it's just so versatile (and the colours are perfect for the season, obviously) !

OPI Deutsch You Want Me Baby is the perfect Autumn shade : a burned-rusty orange colour with a gorgeous shimmer and slightly red-leaning in certain lights. It can become quite yellow in bright lights, but I couldn't capture that shade in a decent photo to show you !

Now if I'm perfectly honest with you, I usually hate orange colours on my nails, but I was so surprised by this colour, and how it actually suits me ! Total amazement ! Oh, and I almost forgot to say, this swatch is two coats without any top coat (but believe me when I say that top coat enhances the already superb shimmer).

And that's it for today, tune in tomorrow for another gorgeous polish from the Germany collection !