Essence Colour & Go nail polish review and swatches - 172 Splash

Essence, a brand that has just landed in the UK much to the excitement of many beauty obsessed girls throughout the country. I myself can't wait to get hold of some of these well priced bargains. I was lucky enough to receive a nail polish, an eye liner, mascara and a lip gloss from Essence to review. So I've started with my favourite, nail polish!

172 Splash - £1.59*
When this polish arrived I fell in love with the colour! Although metallics can sometimes look a little childish I really liked this and couldn't wait to try it out. A great thing about these polishes is the brush. It is small but well-formed holding a widespread brush which coats a large section of your nails with ease. It's really easy to hold and manoeuvre over your nail, meaning you can stay in control and it makes it easier to stay on your nail.
The formula is great and glides on with ease. Even though I use a Seche Vite topcoat with this polish it stayed on marginally longer than normal polishes and didn't chip!
I'd definitely recommend these polishes as they are a great product at an amazing price. I'll have them all, please!

How to ensure your nails are stunning every time

I know that for some people doing your nails is something you dislike, its like a minefield. How do people get their fingernails so darn perfect? If you take some time out of your day to focus on your nails you can really ensure they are on point. - Make sure your nails are clean and maintained. I mean all polish off, any nasty bits of skin polished clean, cuticles pushed and cut back as well as your nails being filed to create a smooth edge. Just a tip - use a crystal nail file as they are much gentler on your nails (without loosing the grit). Although this is a bit harsh as an extra clean I rub my nails with a nail brush and a bit of exfoliating wash to ensure they are sparkling and smooth! This may be too far but it works, just ensure to moisturise after to keep your skin soft... -Invest in a good base coat. I always look for something that adds something to my nails (whether it help repair or strengthen my nails). It also has to be quite rubbery to help the nail polish stay on for longer. -Make sure you paint around the tips of your nails to ensure your polish doesn't chip (or it takes a bit longer for it to start!). If you do this with your polish and your topcoat it will seal the polish around the edges to help prevent chipping. -The biggest secret to amazing looking nails is clean up. Before I learnt this I always thought people were magicians with a nail brush never getting a drop around their nails. How wrong I was and how easy it is to look like you are amazing at painting your nails. Basically, you need a fine paintbrush (I use a nail art brush I got in a set from eBay) and some nail polish remover, preferably in a little pot, with some tissue to dab the brush when removing colour. Then just use it to clean up like you would paint around your nail. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Be careful with colours like red though as they are harder to get off! -Lastly, don't forget to moisturise! If you don't moisturise on a regular basis you could have dry hands which will ruin even the best nail paint job. Either use cuticle cream or good ol' hand cream just make sure to give your hands some TLC. Please note that I am self-taught at doing my nails and have not had any training. If my tips work for you then great and if not at least we tried! Best of luck on your mission to have brilliant nails!

Picture Polish - Aurora Swatches and Review

In my most recent Rainbow Connection order I decided it was finally time that I owned a Picture Polish nail polish. Everyone raves about Aurora so I popped this in my basket to see what all the fuss was about. If you haven't heard of Picture Polish, they are an Australian boutique nail polish brand who often do collaborations with bloggers. They have a selection of colours and types of nail polish including this gorgeous shimmering polish.

Well, Aurora certainly lived up to its hype! Two coats over OPI's Lady in Black produced the most gorgeous nail polish colour. As you move your hands through different light the colour of this polish switches from emerald green to a gorgeous shimmery purple. It is almost like the colours you'd find in a pool of petrol or oil changing as you look at it from different angles.

I'm so impressed with how the polish goes on with just the right consistency and with Seche Vite, it stayed on for almost a full week with no chipping. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone thinking of picking up a Picture Polish.

Dance Legend Colour Changing Thermal Nail Polish - Thermo no. 175

The majority of the time, when I buy indie nail polishes it is to find something that is not currently on the market with drug store brands. I crave something different and more exciting. This could be crazy glitter combinations, holos, exclusive collections or thermal. If you aren't into the indie nail polish scene you may not have seen one of these polishes so be prepared to be wowed!

When warm the colour is as the top photos, a bright pink! Then when your fingers are cold the polish goes an amazing purple colour (which is my fave). In the middle two pictures you can see the transition when I've been running my hands under the cold tap.

When I wear this polish I am pretty annoying. I keep asking my boyfriend or mum if I am hot or cold, cause I am weird like that. This specific polish is by Dance Legend, a Russian nail polish company that started in 2000, and the colour is Thermo no. 175. There selection of nail polish is amazing with so many different types including thermal, thermal trio (three colour thermal!), glitter, holo and sun shine (changes colour in the sun!).

Using Seche Vite with this polish I got around a week of wear from it with minimal chipping. The thermal effect doesn't wear off whilst you wearing it so you can run your hands under the tap to change the colour as many times as you like. I am completely fascinated by Dance Legend's polishes now and I need to get more in my life. Roll on next pay day!

Would you wear a thermal nail polish?

New Zoya polishes - Tickled and Bubbly Collection (Tilda and Jesy)

I love Zoya nail polishes. The bottles are so cute and sleek, whilst the formula is easy to work with and the colour selection is brilliant. I always see these as an American brand that I can't get my hands on so when I had the chance to try these out I was very excited! The colours I recieved were from the Spring/Summer 2014 collection. From the Zoya Tickled collection was Tilda (green) and the Zoya Bubbly collection was Jesy (orange).

Tilda is quite a murky green pastel colour with a great finish. I've used Seche Vite over my swatch but Tilda is more of a subtle finish, not too shiny. The colour stayed on well and would look great in nail art.

Jesy is an amazing glitter bomb that brushes on an almost gold colour with tonnes of holographic pieces of glitter. Although full of glitter this polish does not feel too rough to the touch and goes on well with two coats (as pictured). This would be great worn over polish or by itself.

I can't wait to try the rest of the collections!

Out of this world - Cling Film Nail Art

I've been a little lax with my nails recently. I think it is a combination of having my polishes upstairs out of the way and getting a new carpet (meaning I am more careful to spill anything). Having said that my nails needed some proper painting so I decided to use the old cling film technique to get this gorgeous effect.

I had planned on this looking a bit more like the world with green patches of land and blue sea but when I put the colours on I thought they looked a bit more space like. I've previously only used one colour in a cling film manicure but I thought I'd try two for a change which I think worked really well.

If you want to know how I did this, listen up. Paint your nails a base colour, I used OPI Eurso Euro. Get two pieces of cling film, crumple them up separately. The pieces don't have to be too big just big enough that they cover your nail when pressed flat. Paint some polish onto your cling film (I used Essie - trophy wife & fair game), dab it on some paper to take the excess off then start pressing it on your nails. Then do this with the other piece until you like the look of it on your nails. This will get messy around your nails so maybe use tape around the edges or you will have some major clean up.

I hope you like this manicure and that you will give it a go! It is super easy and creates a great look. Let me know if you try it!

Strawberry Lemonade Nails - Nail Art

I wanted to get back into nail art so I decided that I would ease myself in gently using a white nail art pen and some gorgeous spring colours. As you can see the nail art I've done is not hard to do, just dots and stripes, but I actually think they look really good.



The colours I used for this were OPI - I Just Can't Cope-acabana and Avon Speed Dry - Strawberry. Both are gorgeous colours seperatly but together they are brilliant and remind me of strawberry lemonade. I'm going to try and get a bit more creative this summer with my nail art and hopefully show you my creations!

Manicure Monday - Posh

Boots having 3 for 2 on nail polishes is deadly to me. I was desperate to get my hands on some of the Revlon Parfumarie Polishes and picked only four polishes, this meant I needed two more, you know to get the best deal. So I picked up Revlon Treat and Boost and this Revlon polish in Posh.

This green is lovely, light and creamy, not too dark as many of my green polishes are. The brush and consistency make this polish easy enough to apply and it looks great. I have Seche Vite over mine so they look super shiny and have great staying power. This means I can't comment on how long this polish lasts.

What you think? Is this a green you can wear?

Manicure Monday - Tara's Talons!

I was so pleased that Tara from The Tara's Emporium could attend my #BakerStMeet in Middlesbrough last month as I adore indie nail polish and the fact that she is UK based makes it all the better! When she came down she brought us all one of her gorgeous polishes but as some people didn't turn up we got more than one!

After my week of nail polish, the first polish I turned to was one of Tara's polishes. This one was my first pick and it is called Embankment. It is a gorgeous shimmery green filled with differently shaped glitter!

Tara's business recently turned one, so to celebrate she has brought out a birthday collection of nail polishes! As well as this Tara has recently expanded her business to include much more than nail polish. If you haven't already had a nosy at her shop then you must.

Manicure Monday - Naked Nails

I'm currently taking a week and a half off nail polish! It is particularly hard for me as I wear nail polish EVERYDAY. I'm hoping that this time off will make my nails a bit healthier and help to strengthen them. Although I never usually take time off nail polish I wanted to try as I've read about the benefits this can bring, and my nails really need the break!

Applying nail polish regularly and not allowing your nails time to breath can dry them out. This then leads to weak nails that are prone to breaking. Giving them time as well as supplying them with some useful products can improve their condition. I'm using OPI's original Nail Envy which is created to help dry and weakened nails. OPI have now developed their Nail Envy range to include solutions for other common problems such as dry & brittle nails and sensitive & peeling nails.

As well as using special products such as this it is always wise to make sure you are moisturising your hands and nails on a regular basis to keep your nails hydrated. I religiously moisturise my hands when I am off to work and before I go to bed but I am not so good at focusing on my nails. When I do get chance to focus on my nails I use Lush's Lemony Flutter cuticle butter. This is such a thick luxurious butter that sinks in to your cuticles and nails leaving them soft and hydrated.

I'm really looking forward to seeing whether this week off makes a difference to the condition of my nails. When I am in my new house I can't wait to paint my nails loads and loads but still have a few nail polish holidays every so often!

Healthy Nails - Crystal Nail File Review

I'm obsessed with keeping my nails in tip top condition. There is barely a day goes by when my nails aren't painted. When I take my polish off I have to prep my nails again for the next coat of polish and this is when I cut my nails, file them and get rid of any excess cuticle. I've been using a rather coarse nail file from Salon Services for a while but when Healthy Nails offered to let me try their Crystal nail file I was interested to see how it matched up.

Healthy Nails - Crystal Nail File - £12.99*

The Crystal nail file is the first product from Healthy Nails, a company planning to introduce a small number of carefully selected products to help keep nails healthy. The nail file is made in the Czech Republic from flat glass using acid etching to make the glass coarse.

On receiving this nail file from Amazon I was surprised how well this product was presented. Inside the packet was a cute little sleeve which held the nail file in it's case. The silver case, which is really handy for carrying this product in your bag, pulls apart to reveal the crystal nail file inside.

The nail file is sleek, small and very attractive to use with a shiny end to hold whilst you file. To the touch, the glass feels like really fine, flat sandpaper. When I used this I was really impressed with how well it matched up to my other nail files, although not much to the touch when I started filing my nails I could see how fast it was making an impression. When using other nail files I find that I am left with rough edges to my nails with parts that could snag clothes but what I was amazed at with this is that it doesn't drag along your nails but rather 'turns the edges of my nails to dust' as stated on the website.

What I also find impressive about this product is that it claims to last forever! The special glass they use along with the acid etching means the product will never wear down and give a great finish as long as you own it.

I was really apprehensive to try a crystal nail file but I am so glad that Healthy Nails gave me the opportunity to try one as I now really appreciate how great they are! For £12.99 they may seem steep now but years on when you still have the same one you will realise what great value they are. They also come in two more colours - pink or purple - so you can choose a girlie version, or stick with plain black!

On Healthy Nails' website, I found some great tips for keeping your nails in great shape such as filing tips, ways to stop biting your nails and also how base coat helps. Even if you are a nail pro these are really interesting reads!

Manicure Monday - Brazilian Orange

Brazil, a gorgeously sunny country that will host the World Cup and the Olympics in the coming years. To commemorate this OPI have brought out a bright selection of colours ready for Summer. I picked up this orange - Where did Suzi's Man-Go - from Look Fantastic with 15% off!

Against my pale hands this beautiful colour is not looking as great as it could, add a little tan and this colour would pop. I do love the pale creamy colour of this orange as it isn't as garish as some oranges you can pick up. Although it is bright it is definitely a wearable colour that applies just as well as every other OPI polish. As with pale colours you have to be careful and apply quite a bit to ensure you get full coverage with no transparent sections.

I picked up another colour from the collection called Amazon-Amazoff which is a lovely teal green. I will try and wear it soon so I can get it up for a Manicure Monday.

Manicure Monday - So Fluffy I'm Gonna Die!

Today I wanted to try out one of my indie polishes by Glam Polish. Glam Polish is an Australian indie nail polish brand that create a host of gorgeous mixes. They came up with a collection inspired by Despicable Me which included this polish called 'So Fluffy I Wanna Die!'

I've applied this polish after two coats of OPI - Alpine Snow, my go to white nail varnish. The polish is basically a pink and yellow glitter which applies lovely. The look of this polish is so pretty, it is like having lots of little sprinkles on your nails.

I love the look of all Glam Polish products and would definitely buy more in the future! Glam Polish can be ordered in the UK from Rainbow Connection.