Morgan Taylor - Under the Stars and New York State of Mind swatches

Olympia beauty is back and yesterday along with a couple of non-bloggin friends we fought with the crowds to grab the best bargains on offer.

I went along armed with my small list of things I definitely wanted to get and a few brands I just wanted to check out and get whatever took my fancy. One of those brands was Morgan Taylor. Hailing from the makers of Gelish I had seen a few swatches and heard raves about the quality of their formulas so was eager to try. Like a magpie I was drawn to two glittery and sparkly bottles.

The first one I saw was Under the Stars a dark navy blue jelly infused with silver holographic glitter. I spent a long time looking at this trying to decide if I had anything similar and I couldn't come up with any dupes, so I had to have it. The first coat went on sheer but by the second coat the opacity built up nicely but not too much as to cover the holo pieces. The formula was good but a little thick for my liking. It dried a bit gritty due to the glitter so if you want a smooth finish a thick layer of top coat is a must.

Here I have on two coats and a layer of top coat

This polish looks much more stunning in real life.

The second polish I got was New York State of Mind. This gorgeous pink, blue, purple and gold glitter in a black base is lovely for autumn, but now seeing it swatched I can't help thinking I have seen this colour combo somewhere before. I can't think of any dupes off the top of my head but I'll have a rummage through my stash later. This was another two coat wonder that needs a top coat if you want a super shiny finish.

Overall I'm pleased to add some Morgan Taylor polishes to my stash, the formulas were fab and dried really fast.

I'm not sure where these polishes are available but at Olympia Beauty they were selling them for £4.95 each.

Born Pretty Store Pretty Purple Holo #11

Today I have on an awesome purple holographic nail polish from Born Pretty Store. Not one to tire of holos I was eager to give this polish a try and I was definitely not disappointed.

The polish itself was quite sheer and required 3 coats for full coverage, however there was no dragging or any weirdness that happens with some holos we're more familiar with (GOSH) so if you don't have an aqua base in your stash you'll still find this easy to apply. The purple colour is strong and doesn't look too silvery when not in direct light.

I photographed under fluorescent daylight bulbs and you can see the holo effect is very obvious. In sunlight the effect is even stronger.

I later decided to spruce up the mani by stamping some feathers from a nail art plate I previously showed you guys and dabbing 'Freckles' by Lush Lacquer over them. What do you guys think?

This 6ml bottle of holo glitter is currently USD $5.59 and is available directly from the Born Pretty Store website along with loads of other nail art essentials.

They offer free international shipping so why not have a browse!

*This polish was provided for review

Lush Lavender and Shimmer - Julie

Hiya, hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. Yesterday my bf and I, along with a friend decided to take a cycle trip to our nearest lavender farm. The journey there was pretty much all up hill and we had to make several pit stops (mainly because of me). After a couple of hours and more than a few wrong turns we made it to the farm. You could smell the lavender on approach which made me feel instantly more relaxed.

Mayfield Lavender Farm, Banstead, UK.

After the visit I decided to wear OPI's Planks A Lot with Julie by Shimmer Polish layered on top. I think the combination is very pretty and reminds me of my time at the farm. Julie is a mix of aqua, green, silver, gold, magenta, red and orange glitter. It's a complex blend with no one colour jumping out.

I only needed 2 coats to achieve an evenly distributed coverage.

Shimmer Polish is a glittery polish line created by Cindy and can be purchased from here.

Thanks for stopping by.
*Polish sent for review

Neon Kitty Kat

Hello ladies!

I love cats so it's no surprise this cute cat design nail art stamp template from Born Pretty Store caught my eye when I was browsing their online store.

The cat face in the middle of the plate is my favourite. There are so many nail art designs you could incorporate this cute face into and I'm sure I'll be using it in future manicures. To test out how well the design transferred I opted to do a very simple mani. Using Zoya Jacqueline as the base I stamped neon kitty faces on top. There's a lot of intricate detail but it all transferred perfectly.

Simple and cute.

Although I haven't used any of the other designs I tested out how well they stamped and I can say there was no issue. The plate comes covered with a protective plastic film on the front and back. The lack of a proper backing means the edges are a little sharp.

Image taken from Instagram.

I have another Born Pretty Store plate to try out but I'm beyond impressed with the quality of them.
What do you think of this mani? Have you tried Born Pretty Store plates before and are there any you would recommend?

You can get this adorable plate here for $1.99

*Product sent for my honest review*

Swatch - Chanel Taboo

Does this need any introduction?

My photos do no justice! Too gorgeous.

Oh Chanel why do you create such stunning polishes?

2 coats plus a coat of topcoat.

JUST BUY IT!