YSL – Rouge Pop Art

Ah, Red, the polish colour to end all polish colours. I have my newest, favourite red in the world EVER!!!!  This my lovey Reader is YSL Rouge Pop Art, a gift from my bestie who knows that I never have enough nail polish…..

Lets look at some pics.

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I seriously LOVE this.  Its pretty much a one coat wonder, but what you see above is two thin coats over a base of Nailtiques 2 and topped off with my Nails Inc Kensington Top Coat.  The formula is awesome.  Seriously awesome.  The brush is fabulous.  I’ve been converted.  This is my one and only YSL.  The colour pigmentation is great, it is slightly jelly is formula so in bright lights there is a bit of visible nail line.  But that detracts nothing from this.

Can you tell I love it?  If they were not so pricey, then I might have scooped up some more.  And maybe I will.  You know, if I happen to be passing through the airport… or something!

Let me know what you think in the comments.  If you have your own fave YSL polish, let me know what that is too!

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

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Essence The Gel Nail – Wear Test with Electriiiiiic

So I picked up two, well three in the end, of the new Essence Gel Nails range that has just been released.  You can see what the stands look like on this Spotted post.  And I’ve been giving them a test drive whilst visiting family over Easter.

First up are the top and base coat needed to make the Gel nail polish, Gel Nails…. these are £2.50 each. These are the two polishes I bought originally – one the left the Jelly is Bubble Gum and one the right, the blue shade is Electriiiiiic The instructions are quite clear, base coat, then gel nail polish and the finally the top coat.So following these instructions I put on the base coat.  It dries quickly to a waxy finish.  Even when its dry, it is slightly tacky to touch.  it is recommended that you wait until each layer is dry before doing the next one.  Then I applied one coat of Electriiiiiic.

Formula was good, similar to the regular Colour and Go polishes, it was not opaque with one coat.  I then waited until the first coat was dry, before adding a second which evened out the colour and provided better depth. After a few minutes drying, I applied the top coat.  This is quite gloopy and takes a bit of getting used to, I did flood my cuticles once and then didn’t apply enough on another occasion.  However, once on it does dry quite quickly and is touch proof in about 4 mins and rock hard within 10.

So, here we go, a long line of images showing you the polish at the point of application, 2 days later and then 5 days later.  I couldn’t manage more than 5 days as I was itching to change my polish!

First up, after the original application –  

Here is the polish after application on the way to work – you can see the glossy finish.

I found that the first small chips appeared quite quickly.  This may be because the sides of my nails are weaker and I have a little bit of splitting and peeling on one or two of them as well.

This is 2 days post application –

As you can see only a little bit of tip wear on my thumb.

Here you can see chips on the sides of several nails but overall, unless you inspected in great detail, I don’t think you could actually notice.  The glossy finish from the first day is still apparent.

Finally, 5 days post application

You can clearly see the chips on the sides of my nails now, they have gotten larger over time.  The shine is still evident despite having been on for five days.

First thoughts – I am quite impressed with the wear time of this polish. It will be interesting to see if this is repeated with other shades in the range (another review coming up in a week or so..)  What I do like about the range generally is the price point, £2.50 for the top and base coat and £1.60 for the polish, and the fact that the whole range has been done as The Gel Polish.  I didn’t try it on its own, but I would imagine it would be similar to a regular polish.

The top and base coats are a little bit smellier than regular polishes, so work in a ventilated area away from anyone who is sensitive to smells.  The finish is also quite impressive, it  is super shiny and remained so throughout my wear test.

I haven’t tried any other gel nail combo so I have nothing for comparison, but I would say for a weekend away, or a period of time when you know you will not be able to change your polish, this might be for you!

Have you tried other gel polishes?  Let me know what you think the comments, could you try the Essence Gel Nails?

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

Spotted! Free New Cid Nail Polish in Cosmoplitan (UK) May 2015 Edition

Quickly, I just saw this in my local supermarket – so when you are out buying your Easter Sunday dinners, you can pick this up too! 4 shades are available. Red, dark red, pink and a nude shade by New Cid. Have you heard of New Cid before?  Did you already pick one of these up?  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

Born Pretty Plate 55 with silver stamping

*Disclosure: This product was sent to me for review but this does not influence the opinions expressed in this blog which are entirely my own.

I wanted to quickly share this other Born Pretty Stamping plate I was kindly sent for review.  I’ve become slightly obsessed with these geometric/tribal designs for nails.  Firstly, they don’t need to be lined up in any particular way and secondly they are just awesome.  In fact, this plate is BP-55 and is called Awesome Petal Design plate and you can check it out on the BP website here.

I used the silver metallic stamping polish also sent to me for review (we’ve seen that here as well).  My previous experience of the plate and the polish holds up here again.  But to be clear – the plate is well etched and comes with a clear blue film.  Remove the film before use.  I always clean my plates with a quick sweep of acetone on a cotton pad (make sure its a good quality one or it will shed) and then consider them ready to go.

As for the stamping, I’ve been using my Creative Stamper a lot.  Its very easy to use and I find it gives great clear definition of the design when you transfer onto the nail.  Always important with the more delicate designs.  Do not use acetone on it or it will melt.  I remove unwanted polish with a wide roll of sticky tape.

The silver stamping polish is easy to work with and doesn’t dry too quickly.  This means if you have a big-ish design (like above) you can get two nails (usually my little finger and one other) done at the same time.  So that knocks a couple of minutes right off there.

If you are wondering what base colour I used, I was wearing Tapage by Chanel (bought by myself), something bright and bold now that we’ve had some sunny weather.  I think the silver works well over the top of this.

Born Pretty have provided me with a 10% off code for all my readers, so if you like the look of this, or any of the next few products I have to shared with you, please feel free to use it. The code is ULG10.  Let me know what you get 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

*Disclosure: This product was sent to me for review but this does not influence the opinions expressed in this blog which are entirely my own.

Sally Hansen – Chilli Flakes

Another one of my slightly naughty eBay purchase to share here.  I’d been eying this up on lot of US blogs, and I do love a shard glitter.  This is called Chilli Flakes and was part of the limited edition release of Complete Salon Manicure.  Its made up of lots of shards in red, pink, gold and some silver in a clear base.

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What you see here is one or two coats of the shard glitter over a base of Maybelline Color Show Greyze in Love, a fab slate grey which I think really helps make the colours of the shard pop.  The shards are red, pink, orange and pink… varying sizes and they do behave themselves and lie flat.  The effect does remind me of my beloved Revlon Moon candy polishes.

Love it love it love it!  Anyway, I think that Models Own have some glitter toppers that have shard like pieces in if you fancy something similar… let me know what you think and what you might have in your stash that is similar.

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

Sinful Colors – Standing Bloom Only

I may have been a bit naughty and ordered from nail polishes from the US via eBay. I fell in love once I saw the Sinful Colors Bloom Blast collection on Nouveau Cheap (I’m just gonna blame G really…) and I also scored a couple of other polishes from the other collections, although sadly not Shamrocking (and I also missed Love Sprinkles from the valentines collection)

Anyway, this is Standing Bloom Only a lovely juicy orange polish packed to the gills with orange and red glitter in all manner of sizes. It really couldn’t be more me if it tried, as soon as I say pictures, I was a goner.

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What you see above is two medium coats over a base of Essence Better Than Gel Nails base and topped off with a thick layer of Nails Inc 45 Second Top Coat. Formula is good and workable, I blobbed a fair bit on the nail before spreading it out in an attempt to get even glitter distribution. I needn’t have worried to be fair as this is packed with glitter and it glides onto the nail evenly.

As I mentioned, I picked this up from a seller on eBay who sells lots of drugstore items internationally, presumably to polish addicts like me and US nationals living abroad. I was good, I only got six in total, and lets be clear, it could have been a LOT WORSE!! Are you over glitter containing cremes? I thought I was, and then this collection has just done it for me!

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

Nella Milano – The Rubinator

*Disclosure: This product was sent to me for review but this does not influence the opinions expressed in this blog which are entirely my own.

Today I have the final Nella Milano shade to share with you.  The one has the BEST name.  Let me share with you, The Rubinator.  Here comes the pics.

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OK, I am smitten.  Look at that.  Two easy coats.  Easy. Peasy.  Wow.  Formula to die for.

Its the most perfect shade of red, I just love it.  LOVE IT!!!  So two coats, over a base of Nailtiques 2 and topped with Nails Inc Kensington 45 Second Top Coat.

Nella Milano were launched in early December 2014 at The Clothes Show Live.  In their own words ‘Made in France, Nella Milano nail lacquers are colour rich and long-lasting, making it very easy to keep your nails naturally chic at all times.  Nella Milano stands for effortlessly stylish, elegant and fashionable.  There is a Nella for any mood and personality and Nella Milano colours will perfect and complement any individual style.’

The website is now up and you can search by collection, there are eight sets and one set of top and base coat www.nellamilano.com.  You can also visit the brand on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook to keep up to date with releases and current shades.  The price point is £8.95.

I think this is my favourite of the bunch – what do you think?  Let me know in the comments!

Victoria, Victoria Beckham VVB for Nails Inc – Judo Red

I am a lucky lucky lady – my lovely sister bought me a nail polish that I never thought I would get my hands on.  This is Victoria, Victoria Beckham VVB for Nails Inc in Judo Red.

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OK, two things, firstly this ain’t cheap.  No no no.  Secondly, its not the most unique of colours.

However, it is a stunning easy to use polish.  The brush is excellent and two coats is perfection.  I love this.  The colour is an orange leaning red, a fab shade for many a skin tone.  I am NOT a fan of Nails Inc at all, I have some, they are OK and I have a couple I adore, but on the whole, I have avoided them.

Above is two coats, over a base of Nailtiques 2 (still have peeling nails but they are MUCH better) and topped with my brand new Nails Inc 45 Second Kensington Top Coat.  Colour me impressed with the top coat, it is fast.

This makes me change my mind.  Completely.  I know its not part of the their standard line.  Formula does have a slight smell to it, must be that Bamboo Extract, but it is not off putting or overpowering.

The bottle is heavy in the hand, Venetian Glass don’t you know!  And the peek-a-boo sides?? To die for.

OK, Nails Inc, you got me.  I’m smitten!  Let me know what you think in the comments, would you pay £25 for liquid perfection?

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

Enchanted Polish – July 2014

Hello!  Happy Monday!  Hope you had a good weekend?  I’m just going to share some older images to clear the backlog of posts.  This is the second Enchanted Polish I own – this is July 2014, one I bought a presale as July is my birthday month and I decided to treat myself.

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Enchanted Polishes are known for their holos, and man do they shine like stars.. This is two coats of July 2014 topped with G&G HK Girl (good for not dulling holos).

Anyway, if you want to get our hands on Enchanted Polishes, there is a big BIG resale market if you feel brave.  Otherwise you have to be lucky to score them on the Enchanted website or be around during one of the small presale windows.  The monthly polishes are all bought sight unseen, which means you don’t know what you get until you open that pretty pretty box.

Do you have any Enchanteds in your stash?  Are they worth all the hassle?  Let me know your thoughts 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

Christmas Nails with MoYou Nail Plates

I’ve been playing about with my MoYou Christmas plates, practicing with the plates and trying different colour combinations.  Its the Festive Plate 04.

This first one is Sally Hansen Insta Dri Redio Active stamped with Wet N Wild White and Insta Dri Presto Pewter. Its topped with my P2 holo glitter topper, for a wee bit of sparkle and sealed in with Essence Better Than Gel Nails top coat. This is the design on the top left of the plate.This second combination is a dark blue metallic Insta Dri (the name escapes me….) stamped with Wet N Wild White, topped with P2 Holo glitter and sealed in with Essence Better Than Gel Nails top coat.  This is the second image on the top left hand side.

I do love these plates, I have another one in the stash, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

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