Elevation Polish – Limestone

Happy Bank Holiday to my UK readers!!! I have a polish I’ve been lusting over for a while to share with you today – perfect for sunny days and crisp manicures.  This is the gorgeous Limestone from Elevation Polish.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As you can see, Limestone is an off white shade with flecks of copper running through it.  Its blinking gorgeous.  What you see here is two coats over a base of Nailtiques 2 and topped off with Nails Inc Kensington Top Coat.  Formula is very good, good consistency and easy to work with.

Gosh, I love this,  the copper detail is just perfect, its really unusual and unlike anything else I have in the stash.

Limestone is still available from Elevation, costing $8.50 and she does provide international shipping so no reason way you can’t treat yourself!

Don’t forget that you can follow this blog via Bloglovin’, either by clicking the icon to the right or by clicking here. I can also be found on Twitter @BakingNails

Advertisement

Manhattan- Green & Bronx

I have mentioned I was away last week and as usual I was fortunate to have some time to pop into local drug stores and check out all the polishes.  There were a lot of polishes…. a lot, but I was very good.  I was quite drawn to this range by Manhattan which is called Bloggers Choice – a range of polishes designed with bloggers.  Great idea, the range was excellent and had something for everyone.  This on really caught my eye and is called Green & Bronx.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Green & Bronx is quite an unusual colour (I seem to be saying that a lot recently…) its an brown olive green with gold and copper micro glitter in.  Now on the nail there isn’t tonnes of glitter that comes out, but you know what, that is the best thing about it.

This is two coats over a base of Nailtiques 2 and topped off with G&G HK Girl.  Wear was excellent, three days before a chip showed as I was too busy to change my polish.  The glitter is all the same size too and being that bit smaller means to gets onto your nails and doesn’t stick up and get all clumpy.  Does remind me of many polishes before we all went glitter crazy!

Anyway, I do like this and I’m excited to try the other Manhattan polishes I picked up, so keep popping by for those.  I have seen some of these in the pound shop – the bottle is quite distinctive – and I will admit that I have looked over these as it wasn’t a brand I was familiar with.  I shall rectify that next time I am in a poundshop let me assure you! (having gone through the Manhattan website I am of the opinion that it is basically Rimmel but with some differences, they have the new Argon Oil mascara and something very similar to the Apocolips)

Don’t forget that you can follow this blog via Bloglovin’, either by clicking the icon to the right or by clicking here. I can also be found on Twitter @BakingNails

 

 

 

 

 

Maybelline Color Show Crystallize – Red Excess

So after all the excitement of finding yet ANOTHER limited edition range from Maybelline Color Show Nail Polish, I snapped up all four in a buy one get one half price deal (seems rude not to!) and I shared my new findings on Twitter.  You may have noticed, I popped up on Nouveau Cheap (exciting!) and so have picked up a few new readers – so hello if you are new to my blog and welcome to my world!

This was the one from the range that had me smitten first, and I knew I would have it on my nails before the night was out.  And I did!  This is Red Excess.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Right, I know what you are thinking – that looks just like Countess from Barry M or Stay the Night Liquid Sand.  I did initially too!  However, this is a dark brown with COPPER glitter accents.  Not red as in Stay the Night or in the same shade as the base colour in Countess.  No no.  This is just GORGEOUS!  No idea why they have used Red in the title because frankly its a bit misleading.  Towards the end of the slideshow you will see comparisons with a nail stick with Countess on.  It has a different base colour, so its not a dupe, but it is close than any others I have found.

Anyway, formula was good.  Drying time was longer than some other textured shades I have – care needed if you do two coats close together as you can ding the underlying layer.  Occupational hazard however. Once dry, its a bit like cooled sugar.  Slightly rough to the touch, but not exceptionally bumpy.  Bit of a pain to remove as that copper glitter welds itself onto your nail bed.

What do you think of the Crystallize Polish range – are you over texture yet because I am so not! Let me know what you think in the comments

Don’t forget that you can follow this blog via Bloglovin’, either by clicking the icon to the right or by clicking here. I can also be found on Twitter @BakingNails

EDIT – I did some Googling, these are other shades in the range according the Maybelline French website here, other shades include Silver Touch (pale lavender silver akin to P2 Strict) and Green Depth (looks a lot like L’Oreal Hidden Gems or a glittered up Rimmel Space Dust in  Total Eclipse).

Image from http://www.escapadadulce.es

Sally Hansen Insta Dri – Chop Chop Copper

So, I think this the penultimate polish from the US Haul from November.  We have one more coming up.  This one is one that I had my eye on when I saw the first swatches of the Fall 2013 Insta Dri line (as well as the red one but I’ve not found that one yet).

This is Chop Chop Copper

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This formula is quite sheer, so what you see above is four thin coats over a base of G&G Stuck on Blu! Formula did build up, its quite a complex shade so its a shame its not a bit more explicit.  There is a real mix of pink and green when you really look at this polish or its under intense light.

I might try a thin layer of this over other dark polishes, could be quite interesting.

I know that here in the UK a lot of Insta Dri polishes can be found in Poundland or other pound shops.  You can also pick them up on some online cosmetic discounters.  I got a whole bunch in my local Pound World and they are great for stamping!

What are your fave Sally Hansen polishes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revlon Parfumerie – Autumn Spice

So, quickly, here is the first of my US purchases that have graced my nails – high on the wish list was this polish, Revlon Parfumerie Autumn Spice.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Look at the cute bottle,  Look at the lovely label.  Look at the stunning colour.  *sigh*

This is super lovely.  The bottle is akin to a mini perfume bottle – hence the name – and they also have a subtle scent, based on the name.  From what I have read on other blogs, these are permanent additions to the Revlon line, currently only available in the US.  Fingers crossed for a transatlantic cross over.

Autumn Spice is a lovely rich brown with copper glitter hints.  Its very shiney and sparkly.  The scent is like autumn leaves and as it dries the scent becomes more apparent.  What you see in the pictures above is two coats over G&G Stuck on Blu topped with a layer of G&G HK Girl.  The top coat really brings out the glitter sparkle.

Formula is excellent, its easy to work with and coats well on the first coat.  Two coats just provides a consistent coverage level.  Drying time is average and as mentioned the above the scent does get stronger as it dries.  Its really easy to use the bottle once you get used to the sphere shaped cap.

I love this and its one of two I picked up.  What do you think?  Do you want to see this in the UK/Europe?  Let me know in the comments!

Don’t forget that you can follow this blog via Bloglovin’, either by clicking the icon to the right or by clicking here. I can also be found on Twitter @BakingNails

UPDATE – I tweeted @RevlonUK to see if these were coming to the UK.  They are and they land in Boots on March 19th!  Yay!

KBShimmer – Quantum Leaf

Man, I got a lovely polish for you today.  You may remember my love for KBShimmer, I have a few, that I either had sent to me from US buddies or was fortunate enough to get them through a restock at Harlow&Co.

This is Quantum Leaf  is from the Fall 2012 collection, but you may have guessed this from the colours. This is a rusty orange/yellow base with glitter in red, orange, copper and gold.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

And it is delightful.  Really perfect for Autumn.  However, when my dear friend sent it to me from the US, I had to wear it straight away.  I just love it and it was on my wanted list since its release.

Three coats provided great, opaque coverage.  First coat tends to end up with all the glitter at the end of the nail unless you make an effort to address that.  The next two coats really bring the glitter colour spectrum to life.  I based with G & G Stuck on Blu! and the topped with a good layer of G & G HK Girl.  Love it.

What do you think?  Do you have any autumn or fall favourites you are looking forward to getting out?

Sally Hansen Lustre Shine – Copperhead

Blimey, I found these images squirreled away on my laptop, so I thought for a quick post I’d get them up for you to see.  This is another Sally Hansen Lustre Shine polish I picked up in the US, its called Copperhead.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I know I probably used my Essie Millionails (now discontinued) or Seche Clear as a base and then, based on when I took these images, probably Seche Vite as a top coat.  Like the other Lustre Shine polish I showed you, it takes at least two coats to get good even coverage.

Its not as red as Lava, its a lovely rich copper with a hint of a green that is sadly more obvious in the bottle.  But nice all the same.  Did any of you manage to get any of the Lustre Shine shades?

L’Oreal – Brit Invasion

Clearing out a bit of a backlog with something from the vault.  I have had these images for a while and thought it was about time to get them out into the public domain.

This is Brit Invasion from the Fall 2012 London Collection by L’Oreal.  I understand that these were all limited edition shades but they do pop up on blog sales now and then.  Nouveau Cheap had the scoop when they were first stopped Stateside.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Its a really unusual colour, depending on the light it looks more brown or more purple.  Its quite a complex one to describe, it is like a browned lavender.  Anyway, formula was great, three thin coats and you get great coverage.  I used Essie Millionails as a base with a good coat of Seche Vite on top.  After a day I pepped it up a bit with Kleancolor Firework, a glitter bomb of a polish with teal/blue, orangey gold and red in it.

What do you think?  I like the clashing colour combo although the Kleancolor is a bit smelly…..

KBShimmer – Band Geek

For todays post is a wonderful KBShimmer polish called Band Geek.  Its an black tinted base with gold, silver and copper glitter suspended within it.  Its pretty awesome!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What you see is three thin coats.  I was super pleased with the coverage of this, I was worried it was going to be a bit transluscent, but I needn’t have worried.  Colour built up well and the glitter distribution remained even. It dried well between coats and was nowhere near as bumpy as it could be.  It was very smooth.  A layer of Seche Vite Top Coat soon solved any residual bumpiness.

I just love the glitter placement, it works so well and looks so lovely.  In the sunlight the glitter catches in all sorts of way and it reallt is unlike anything else I own.  I just adore it.

You can order from the website (US Only), order from the etsy site (US only) or order from Harlow&Co (International).  I ordered from Harlow&Co and was delighted with the speedy shipping. I now have my eye on a couple from the Fall collection, wow, am just smitten with these lovelies.

 

Sinful Colors – Cinderella

Now who doesn’t love a good shimmer polish?  Today, I have a real beauty to show you.  I received this in a swap from a lovely woman in the US and I was delighted to receive it as I’d been eying it up for a while.

This is from a range called Sinful Colors, they have lots of lovely colours, glitters, cremes, shimmers, everything a polish fiend could as for.  This one is Cinderella.  A pale blue with a  copper tinted shimmer that provides a lovely contrast and takes this beyond a pale blue creme.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I had seen on other US based blogs that this one was a bit sheer and needed several coats (ie more than 5) to achieve opactiy. I really wanted to a blue summery nail look and so decided to layer this over the only blue in a similar colour palette that I own, Chanel Coco Blue. The Chanel itself is a bit of an odd ball, the formula is not great and there can be significant nail drag if you go over spots when painting. I did two layers of Coco Blue, trying not to go over any areas more than once each paint run. Then I did two layers of Cinderella on the top. It is very thin and so I tried to do thicker coats than I would ordinarily. Plus a good thick coat of Seche Vite.

You may not be able to see this in the pictures above, but the copper shimmer was quite pronounced in person. In the sun, it was blindingly obvious. I’m delighted with this mani combi, its worth all the formula craziness, I think its really pretty and fulfilled my Summer Blue Polish need perfectly. I cannot wait to rock this one again

Do you have Cinderella? How do you wear yours?