Blue and White Paisley - BM-315

I love how detailed this image is and how well it transfers.

Kiko 336 electric blue and essence white stampy polish

Easy Glitter removal - peeling base (PVA glue)

Whoever came up with using PVA glue as a base for glitter polishes is a genius.

1 coat of PVA, 2 coats of CG Optical Illusion and a coat of Seche Vite. After 6 hours I could not resist peeling the glitter off which was super easy to peel.

Shimmer Polish - Jasmine

Hi ladies today I want to show you some more glittery goodness from Shimmer polish. This is Jasmine a turquoise glitter accented with silver, orange and red.

I find turquoise on alone a little bit much for me, as in I don't think it suits me and although there are other colours mixed in which does break up the turquoise I still decided to layer 2 coats over a very vibrant cobalt blue (Layla 208). I think the contrast between the blue and the turquoise works really well in this case to show off the glitter without it being too overwhelming for me.

This combination almost has a flakie look to it, gorgeous right?

Like the two previous Shimmer polishes I have reviewed this polish is dense. It is also no different formula wise, thick but fast drying. If you're interested in buying this polish or want to check out other glitters available you can visit Cindy's Etsy shop. Each bottle retails for $12 USD.

*These polishes was provided for my honest, unbiased review.

Hits Dreamer

Here is another beauty from the Hits Mari Moon collection, Dreamer.

Ah just perfect.

Hits Cutie Pie

There is absolutely no denying that Brazilian brand Speciallità create some of the most stunning polishes ever to grace my nails. I've previously shown you the Hits Phenomena Collection which were multichromatic glitters similar to Ozotic Elytra. Today I want to share the first of eight multichromatic shimmers polishes from the Hits Mari Moon collection.

This is Cutie Pie.

2 coats over a black base with no top coat

All the Mari Moon polishes need to be seen in person as I have made no attempt to capture all the different colours the polishes shift through, however, what you see in the bottles is pretty much translated onto the nail. The main colours which you will see in Cutie Pie is teal and magenta. I had no issue with the formula, it went on smoothly and dried fast between coats.

Do you guys love these polishes as much as I do? Which ones do you have?
Thanks for reading!
*These polishes were generously gifted to me by the wonderful Barbara. Check out her blog for swatches of other wonderful Brazilian polishes.

Shimmer Polish - Tracy and Alice

Hello there! Today I have a couple of gorgeous GORGEOUS indie polishes to share with you. You may have already heard about or seen 'Shimmer' polishes but if not I can guarantee they'll be popping up on a blogs left right and centre. The brains behind the brand is Cindy who very kindly sent me a number of polishes to share with you ladies. Are you ready for some glittery goodness?

Ok, first up is Alice a super sparkly silver glitter containing a mix of fine glitter to large holo hex pieces. This over black looks to me like crushed diamonds, there's sparkle and there is depth. I've got silver glitter polishes in my stash and this is just in a league of it's own. An absolute stunner and so attention seeking.

1 coat over black with a coat of gelous.

Next is Tracy a slightly more complex glitter. Containing large to small gold hex pieces as well as holo bar glitter which gives it its overriding colour there is also very fine red, blue and orange bits. There's probably more but the mix of colours and base glitters is what sets it apart from a gold glitter from the high street. I've layered 2 coats over essence toffee to go which is a nude and again applied 1 coat of gelous top coat which really helps these glitters to pop.

The formula was a little thicker than I am used to but they were still very easy to apply. They're pretty dense which meant I didn't really have to do much dabbing like I usually do with glitters. I layered mine over a base colour, however, if you don't want to do that 3 coats will give you good coverage. Another thing to mention is that they are very fast drying even though a little thick. I would recommend using a top coat too to amp up the sparkle.

This is my first try of indie polishes and I'm completely blown away. If the standard of indie polishes are this high I'm definitely going to pay more attention.

I've got a few more Shimmer Polishes to share with you guys soon, however, if you can't wait or want to treat yourself you can visit Cindy's Etsy shop. There are so many to choose from and each bottle retails for $12 USD.

What do you guys think?

*These polishes was provided for my honest, unbiased review.

Delicate Flower Pots - BM-308

Ooops I went a little AWOL this week! Actually I was sunning myself in Italy, but as it was a last minute booking I didn't really have time to schedule posts >_<. So apologises for that and my lack of commenting but hopefully this mani makes up for it.

For this mani I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls as the base and Barry M Cobalt Blue to stamp. It kind of reminds me of Chinese blue and white porcelain. Delicate. Happy weekend and thanks for reading!

Neon stamping on black - quick pic-tutorial

*created on my phone so apologises for the poor resolution.

The key thing is to have everything ready as you have to work fast. Unscrew all the polishes and line them up in the order to want, have everything prepared. After scraping the white blob the neons quickly otherwise the white will dry! Clean the plate between scrapes. Sorry it's short. Feel a bit poo at the mo, think I have a cold coming on :-(

W7 Lava Flow and Salt n Pepper

Are you guys ready for some swatches? Let me present W7 Lava Flow and Salt n Pepper which I'm calling the 'alternative sprinkles'!

Lava Flow - Red and Black Glitter in an off white base

Salt n Pepper - Black Glitter in an off white base

Apart from the glitter these polishes formula-wise are pretty much the same. They're opaque enough to only require 2 coats for complete coverage but some strategic dabbing may be required to fill areas were the glitter is a bit sparse. They dried pretty quickly and required 2 coats of top coat to get that smooth glossy finish. Overall I've loving these W7 Sprinkles and glad they branched out a little and didn't completely copy Nails Inc. The more glittery varieties the better I say.

Neon tribal - BM-315

At the risk of looking like a one trick pony I have yet another neon mani for you lovely readers. I've totally gone off my posting schedule so if you're waiting to see swatches of W7 Salt n Pepper or Lava Flow I apologise but I'm on a mini roll with the stamping!

Base: Barry M - Peach Melba. Stamping: White Konad Special polish as base then CC - Edie, Almost Famous and Wham! Pow! Pixi - Summer Pink

To get the neons to stamp I used the technique outlined in my previous post but instead of one colour I put blobs of the colours I wanted to use in a line and then scraped over the white. Does that make sense? I'm not particularly good at explaining things so if anyone wants a step-by-step tutorial give us a shout.

What do ya think?  I think it's up there in my top 3 stamped mani but I wish I had a proper neon yellow instead of yellow.

(And finally I just wanted to know from ladies in Italy what brands/polishes I should look out for and what shops I should check out when I visit?)

Ana Hickmann Reflex BM-318

Hiya! I had planned to post swatches of the other W7 'Sprinkles' (Salt n Pepper and Lava Flow) but I'm in the mood for some stamping. I hope you guys are too! Firstly let's take a closer look at the base colour I used. This lovely duochrome is called 'Reflex' by Ana Hickmann.

It came all the way from Brazil from the lovely Barbara so I'm guessing it is a Brazilian polish but I may be wrong. The formula is a dream to work with, smooth, fast drying and full coverage in 2 coats. The aubergine purple to green shift is not unique, however, compared to GOSH Purple Heart which is the closest dupe I have, Reflex is much more deeper and glowy.
Now for a little stamping. Using China Glaze LOL I stamped the hibiscus image from BM-318. It took me ages to decide what colour to use, but I'm pleased with my final choice as I got the subtle effect I was after.

Here the holo is more obvious under a spot light!

Thank you for reading x

W7 - Mosaic vs Nails Inc - Pudding Lane

Can you tell which is which?

Stamping Neons on black - more neon rays! BM-319

A little bit obsessed with neon rays...

Base: Orly Androgynie

My trick to stamping with neons: I'm a cheap skate and refuse to fork out for neon stamping polishes so I've figured out a way to stamp with normal neon polishes. If you try stamping with neons straight up on black it usually looks a bit rubbish, however, if you scrap some white first then quickly scrap a neon layer over the white it's like a miracle, the neon stamps wonderfully! Thanks for reading x

Revlon Colorstay - Rain Forest

Hey! Can you believe it is already Wednesday, it's really depressing how quickly time is flying and how much closer I am to my first day at work in just under 3 weeks. Sigh!
Anyway I was in Cardiff on Monday and I came across a jam packed Revlon stand in Boots. They had the new Colorstay range which took me by surprise when I saw them as I didn't realise they were coming out over here.

Well lookie here!

I could have easily picked 10 polishes to add to my stash but Revlon polishes are a bit pricey for a drugstore brand in my opinion so I allowed myself one as I had a £2 off voucher. It was a difficult choice but I came away with a gorgeous forest green laced with glass-fleck like shimmer that shows some multi-chrome characteristics in the bottle. Unfortunately the shift is not really noticeable on the nail but if you look hard the green flecks do look aqua coloured at certain angles. Still this polish is stunning and if you're a green lover like me I think you'll agree!

Here is Rain Forest.

Can you see the shimmer at the bottom of the bottle

I'm glad my local Boots doesn't have a Revlon stand like this because if this is the quality we are dealing with then I'd be bankrupt. Thank you for reading! x