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 !

piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013 !

Good evening everyone, I have something very very VERY special for you all in today's post.. my contribution to the piCture pOlish 2013 Blog Fest ! I am so honoured to have been chosen to participate this year, as I have loved reading all the different posts that everyone else who has taken part has posted over the past couple of years ! Basically, loads of different bloggers from all around the world are chosen to participate and create some nail art with different piCture pOlish shades, all posting their creations on the same day !

Our challenge for this year's blog fest was to come up with a nail art design using the three piCture pOlish shades we were sent and provide a step-by-step tutorial for said design, to be in with the chance of being one of three bloggers to be chosen through the Blog Fest Awards, to collaborate with piCture pOlish and create a custom nail polish... that's a pretty amazing prize, right ?!

So I'll start off with swatches of all three shades that I was sent, and then we'll move on to the nail art and the tutorial.. enjoy !

Above sample photos courtesy of piCture pOlish

First up is Ocean, a collaboration shade with Kelly's Kolors, inspired by, you guessed it, the ocean ! This nail varnish is really just AMAZING, possibly one of my favourite polishes ever ! It's a beautiful teal/turquoise jelly filled with loads of scattered shredded silver holographic particles with deep blue reflections. I used three coats with no top coat for this swatch, and the formula was absolutely amazing as well, no clean up required at all !

Next up is Focus, the collaboration shade with Pointless Cafe, which is inspired by the colour of wine cups, a flower that grows in southern Texas. This nail varnish is a deep reddish-purple-pink shade, very difficult to describe, with a combination of red and magenta micro flakes and a touch of purple and pink shimmer throughout, super complex ! This swatch shows two coats of Focus without top coat, I found the formula to be slightly on the thick side but it was still very workable !

And last but not least, Atomic, Samarium's Swatches collaboration shade, inspired by the eponymous element samarium which has an incredible silver-white metallic colour and reflection. This polish has a definitely white-silver colour and a not-so-noticeable champagne pink tone to it in some lights, with tiny scattered silver holographic particles and silver shimmer running through it. I used three thin coats for this swatch, although you can easily get away two coats and no top coat. The finish of this polish isn't glossy like the other two piCture pOlish shades I've swatched, and the formula on this was great !

So that's it for all the swatches... now it's time for the nail art ! It took me a while to work out what I wanted to do for my nail art design, all sorts of ideas went through my mind but I was never happy with the end result. I tried needle dragging but that ended up looking too messy, then I tried painting the Australian flag as I had all the right colours for it, but it just didn't look right and the beauty of each shade was getting lost in the design ! In the end I settled with my favourite cartoon flowers, and I'm so glad I did as I really love the design !

So what do you all think of the design ? I loved the way that the flowers pop against the silvery background in the photos, but in real life the holographic particles are so much more visible than I was able to capture in my photos and the whole design is just sparklier in general ! You just have to believe me on this one !

Now, here's the tutorial, my first ever may I add ! I hope you all like it ! Don't forget to click on the photo to make it bigger so you can read the instructions !

So that's it for my post for this piCture pOlish blog fest, I hope you've all enjoyed this rather long post, but I've had great fun getting everything together for today !

All the different blogger's Blog Fest nail art will be posted on the piCture pOlish pinterest board and is open to public voting, so don't forget to go and look (and maybe even vote for me, if you deem me worthy) !

You can find piCture pOlish and their huge range of shades, as well as Ozotic polishes at their website, and the great news is that they ship worldwide ! Happy days ! You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube, so you can keep up to date with new releases and perhaps the odd giveaway !

Swatch : L'Oréal - Confetti

Good evening everyone ! I know it's been a while since I posted anything, I've been doing my nails but haven't had time to write any posts really, so that's why it's been a whole since my last post ! My exams went really well, and I managed to do all the work I had in time, now I've just got two exams left and I'll be back in France on Friday (with all of my nails varnish, of course) ! So today I've got a really cool swatch for you which I'm really excited about !

So this is L'Oréal Confetti over OPI Suzi's Hungary Again !, my first ever black and white glitter nail varnish ! It's the first time anything like this has really been available over here in the UK, so naturally, I was really excited when I saw it in Boots and I had to buy it ! I also found ANOTHER black and white glitter polish on another stand, but that'll be for another time !

For this swatch I used just one coat of Confetti, the formula was alright, nothing special and it tended to clog up so I had to shake it in between doing every few nails. There are three sizes of glitter in both colours, plus it's got a subtle blue shimmer running through it which you can only really see over dark colours.

So all in all I'm pretty pleased with this nail varnish, despite the fact that the formula wasn't that great, it's still a novelty for me at the moment and I think I might be incorporating it into more of my designs if I'm doing skittles or accent nails !

I'm off to bed now everyone, I'm really tired at the moment for some reason so I'm going to try to get an early night so that I can do plenty of revision tomorrow without getting too distracted ! See you all again soon, hopefully it'll be less than a week this time !

Swatch : Models Own - Pinky Brown

Good evening everyone ! I'm doing some manic writing up at the moment as I'm starting to prepare for my first exam next month and I've got a book on short loan which has to be back Monday morning, so I've not got very long to get as much information as possible from it ! Luckily I did this swatch earlier this week, so the photos are all ready and all I have to do it write the post for it !

So this is Models Own Pinky Brown from their 2011Beetlejuice collection. I was expecting the finish to be quite similar to Accessorize Pink Spice which I swatched for you the other day, but it was actually quite different ! Pinky Brown has a glass fleck finish of pink and orangey duochrome, accompanied by a sheer dark brownish/black base.

For this swatch I used 3 coats and a layer of Seche Vite on top. The formula was fine for me so no compaints there ! I was disappointed that the duochrominess of it wasn't as strong as I had anticipated, I found it quite hard to get a photo of the transition and it was really very obvious in person either ! Still, lovely colour though !

If you look hard enough you can see a bit of browny-oranginess towards the base of my nails, but nothing too obvious ! I still this that this nail varnish is really nice, although it is a shame that the duochrome effect isn't totally visible !

I'm going to go and get some more work done before I go to bed, I hope you enjoyed the swatch !

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 - Vant to Bite My Neck ?

Hey everyone ! So I had planned to do some nail art today, but I woke up this morning with really bad vertigo for some reason so I've been bed-ridden all day ! Couldn't even bare to sit down to concetrate on my nails, so instead I've been sitting sorting out the swatch photos I prepared last week, and that's what you'll be getting today I'm afraid ! Plus my Mum and sister are arriving here tomorrow so I'm afraid it's going to be scheduled swatch posts until I'm free to do my nails again on Thursday when they leave (can you believe I've STILL got GoldenEye on my nails ?) !

So today I've got a swatch of OPI Vant to Bite My Neck ? for you all, from OPI's new Euro Centrale collection for Spring 2013. Vant to Bite My Neck ? is a deep deep dark aubergine purple, that can go from being super bright and vivid in the sunlight, to really really dark in the shade.

For this swatch I used two coats, although if you're careful you can do it in just one (I think there's more depth to it with 2 though) ! I also used Seche Vite over this colour, as I had to go to lectures before it would have time to dry completely, but if I had the time I could have easily left it without, as it has an amazing hi-shine glossy finish to it.

I personally LOVE this colour, and I think it's going to come in really useful with future nail art designs and such, so I'm really looking forward to using it more ! I think it'd look great in a floral design with a few other colours.. we'll see !

I'm going to go to bed now and get some rest (even though I've been in bed all day), so tune in tomorrow for another swatch post that I'll sort before my family arrives in the morning (probably won't post until early evening though, so keep an eye out) ! Night night everyone !

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 !

Swatch : Shimmer Polish - Fanny

Good evening everybody ! So I've been super busy since my last post last week, but I promise I have very good reasons for my absence ! I got back to uni late last Saturday, and I didn't lift a finger work-wise the entire time I was home in France, so I've had lots of catching up to do, plus house hunting for somewhere to rent for next year ! See ? Told you I had a good reason ! So anyway, I still have an essay to finish, so this'll have to be a very quick swatch post for you all today !

So this beauty is Fanny by the wonderful Shimmer Polish ! There's a huge mix of different coloured glitter such as pink, red, gold, purple and a subtle green, in a light dusty pink tinted base. The mix of colours makes for a really interesting polish, which shines in all different colours in different lights !

For this swatch I used three coats of Shimmer Polish Fanny on my thumb, ring and index finger, then for the two accent nails I did a light gradient over OPI Casino Royale. I absolutely love this shade in both the plain glitter and the glitter gradient, I think I'll definitely be doing more gradients with this polish, it applied really well, and looks great !

The formula on this polish was great, as was Jasmine by Shimmer Polish which I swatched a while ago ! Three coats is definitely enough for this glitter by itself, and any visible nail line is pretty hard to spot !

You can buy Shimmer Polish either through the blog, or via the Etsy website, and there is also a Facebook page for you to keep up to date with news and giveaways !

So that's all for today folks, I'm off to write some more of this essay, oh joy ! Have a great evening everyone !

Swatch : OPI - The Living Daylights

Good evening everyone ! I had time to do my nails again today ! Happy times ! I've been feeling quite uninspired recently for some reason, plus the fact that I don't have all my nail varnishes with me seeing as I'm "on holiday" back at home because I won't be able to carry my whole stash back with me ! Hopefully I'll be inspired again once I get back to all my babies (my nail varnishes that is... I'm not ashamed) !

So today's swatch (and my current NOTD) is OPI The Living Daylights over OPI Skyfall, both from the most recent OPI collection in honour of 50 years of James Bond. I really really love all the nail varnishes in this collection, and I think that this glitter topper is really original ! This swatch shows about 1.5 coats of The Living Daylights, as I did quite a bit of blobbing to get the glitter where I wanted, but the formula and coverage was really good anyway !

I wasn't sure initially when I first looked at the different polishes in this collection, as to whether I'd like this glitter or not, but it's really grown on me since I've been wearing it ! From a distance it looks sort of like scales, which is really cool, and the colour combination is really cool, I love it over Skyfall (but that's a whole other story about another amazing colour) !

And that's it for today ! I will assume that you have all fully understood by now that I'm absolutely in love with this collection ! I can't wait to do even more nail art (once I have a wider choice of colours to use) and different combinations with the Skyfall collection ! Expect another Germany collection repeat, I LOVE IT !

I'll see you all again soon everyone, have a great evening !

Swatch : Butter London - Royal Navy

Good evening everybody ! I've just got a quick swatch post for you all today as I'm seriously tired for some reason, and need to do some work for my lectures tomorrow before I go to bed ! I didn't have much time for nails yesterday evening unfortunately as I spent most of the day (or weekend for that matter) on a German essay that was due in ! Needless to say I wasn't particularly inspired, hence the difficulty writing it out ! Anyway, on to the swatch !

So this polish is Butter London Royal Navy, my very first and only Butter London nail varnish, and I have to say, it really is amazing ! I had been looking for a plain creme dark navy polish for a really long time, and all the ones I found always seemed to have some sort of shimmer in them ! This nail varnish was expensive, but absolutely worth it, and I knew that I needed it as soon as I saw it !

As I said before, this is a deep navy blue creme polish, and this swatch shows 2 coats with top coat. The formula of this was SERIOUSLY so amazing, I've never had a nail varnish that just glides on this well, it's a deram to work with ! Drying time was also really good as well !

And that's it for today everyone ! I'm not looking forward to removing this colour, as I seem to think that last time I wore it, it stained my skin really badly ! Sad times, but I can put up with that for such a pretty colour !

I'll see you all again soon everyone ! Have a great evening !