Shimmer - Carmen

With the weather feeling decidedly autumnal today I thought I'd share with you Shimmer - Carmen, a burnt orangey glitter that reminds me of the beautiful hues we see during the fall (autumn) and Halloween. This is another dense glitter full of fine and larger hex pieces which if you decide to layer over a contrasting colour will need careful application. Remove excess glitter and use light strokes. I have to admit this polish didn't appeal to me at first but over black I LOVE it. It's a 'grown up' halloween mani :-)

If you're interested in buying this polish or want to check out other Shimmer polishes you can visit Cindy's Etsy shop. Each bottle retails for $12 USD.

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

Pale Green Pupa Holo + BM-306

Hey Hey

I love holos but I hate photographing them. My current lightning/equipment setup limits my ability to capture their true beauty and so I am always having to wait patiently for the sun which in the UK is a rare sight! This weekend though we were treated to some glorious weather so out came a holo, a pale green Pupa I picked up on my recent trip to Italy. At just under 5 euros for 5ml I wouldn't say it was my most frugal purchase but it's a holo so whatever.

The formula of this reminds me of the GOSH Holographic, a real pain. You have to be quite careful as this is prone to balding and dragging. I didn't use an aqua base this time round but I may do next time to see if it is easier to apply.

In terms of holo intensity I would say it's on par with the new GOSH Holographic Hero, it's holo but not blindingly holo. My camera flips out a little so these pics aren't the best representation.

After a couple of hours of staring at my nails I decided to stamp some flowers from BM plate - 306 in white. I like it but I don't love it.

Thoughts? Have you tried the Pupa Holo polishes?

Thanks for reading!

Recent additions to my stash

Hi guys I'm not sure about you but I love seeing hauls on other blogs. I don't usually post hauls because I don't really 'haul' but for the past few months I have added quite a few polishes to my ever growing stash so I thought I'd show you.

In August I went to Italy and could not resist picking up polishes left, right and centre to the dismay of my BF. I found some Pupa holos as well as OPI Spotted which I thought was a French exclusive! I also got myself quite a number of essence polishes from a department store called UPIM. They had loads of other polishes brands to offer too and were at a much cheaper than Douglas stores. I picked a few Kiko polishes including the holographic collection - Lavish Oriental, even though there are stores in London. At the airport I picked up a few Yes Love polishes (pic 3) which I'm not really sure about. They're sorbet-jelly-esque but smell funny and take forever to dry.

On home turf I got a few glitters in H&M and in Superdrug I bought the new GOSH Holographic Hero.
The following Brazilian polishes were a surprise from the lovely Barbara over at Barbvanth. I was totally gobsmacked when I got these and completely blown away by her pick of polishes and her incredible generosity. Thank you sweetie X

After work on Thursday I nipped to Westfield in Shepherds Bush for the Mirrorball collection. I've been looking forward to these since I saw them on the Models Own FB site. They're chunky glitters which may not me to everyone's liking. I've been toying with the idea of getting moo cards for a while but last week I finally took the plunge and ordered some. For 100 cards, holder and shipping it came to under £17. They're super cute and I'm thrilled with the quality. Not really sure who I'll be giving them to though haha!!

What have you bought recently? Thank for reading!! (I haven't forgotten about my giveaway. I'm still trawling through the entries and will pick a winner soon)

My first Jelly Sandwich (OPI Care to Danse + Shimmer Caroline)

Hey guys sorry for the lack of posts recently. I started my new job and unfortunately I can't wear nail polish :( At the moment I am only working weekdays but soon I'll be doing nights as well as weekends. While they're still free I'm hoping to use the weekends to swatch and create designs for scheduled posts so hopefully you won't miss me too much haha :-)

Today I want to show you my first attempt at creating a jelly sandwich. Using OPI Care to danse which I completely forgot I had I applied two coats as the base. This polish is very sheer with a lilac tint to it. It's very soft and feminine which was a look I wanted to keep so I used glitter which had smaller pieces, Shimmer Caroline. This glitter is jammed packed with a mix of glitter that belong to the purple family. As it is so dense I had to swipe the brush several times before applying a very fine layer over CTD. After that I then applied another two coats of CTD and a coat of Seche Vite.

Apologies for the rather orange looking fingers!

I'm a little in love with this look and can't stop looking at my nails. The glitter really helps to bring out the lilac of CTD, they're a perfect combo if a little safe. It reminds me of lavender. I'll definitely be rummaging in my helmer for more sheer/jelly polishes and finding combos to share with you.

Shimmer Caroline was provided for my honest, unbiased review. If you're interested in buying these polishes or want to check out other glitters available you can visit Cindy's Etsy shop. Each bottle retails for $12 USD.

Shimmer - Trisha and Vanessa

Hi everyone are you all having a good weekend? I'm a bit sad that it's Monday tomorrow which means work :(

Today I have another two Shimmer polishes to share with you created by the talented Cindy.

Vanessa contains a mix of black, silver, blue, green and red glitter of varying sizes which all blend together to create a charcoal grey/gunmetal finish. Coverage of this polish is fantastic since a lot of finer glitter has been used. This polish definitely appeals to my inner rock chick and one I'll be using a lot over the cooler month.

Here I have layer one coat over Barry M - Grey.

I showed this mani to my bf and asked him what it remined him of. His reply was a crime scene!

Trisha is a more subdued glitter compared to the likes of Jasmine and Alice. The mix of different coloured glitters instead of popping get a little lost within the dominant coppery red glitter. This may be a good or bad thing depending on personal preference. As the red hue is not really to my taste I decided to try this over a bright red base which is more me. I actually prefer it more layered like this as the colours really stand out and kind of remind me of New Year celebrations and fireworks.

What do you guys think of Shimmer polish so far? Have you treated yourself to any? If you're interested in buying these polishes 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.