Soigne Botanique Liqueur De Chocolat Collection

Brace yourselves, folks... Love nail polish? Love chocolate? Love rich, Autumnal colours? I've got a collection for you today that ticks all of those boxes! I've mentioned Soigne Botanique in the past, over on my vegan blog, but I thought it was high time they made their TLC debut. Soigne (pronounced Swahn-yay) are a gorgeous cruelty-free, vegan and eco-friendly nail polish brand, producing quality, pigmented polishes using plant-based ingredients and no carcinogenic chemical nasties.

The Soigne 'Liqueur De Chocolat collection is made up of shades inspired by, and named after, chocolate and liqueurs (errrr... SOLD!). The polishes are 100% cruelty-free and formulated using 85% plant-based ingredients, including wood pulp, cotton, potato, corn and manioc.

Left to Right: Vin Rouge, Absinthe, Parfait D'amour, Whisky, Champagne

All of these shades are absolutely perfect for the new Autumn/Winter season. Soigne really know how to team their collections and there isn't a single shade in this one that I don't wear. I'm absolutely in love with Absinthe; it's quite unlike any other shade in my collection. Vin Rouge is reminiscent of Nails Inc Victoria and Champagne is the prettiest, cool gold shade. Parfait D'Amour, strangely, appears much more blue in these photographs but, in reality, it's a deep purple. The polishes are very smooth to apply and highly pigmented. The swatches above consist of two coats with no top coat. They're glossy on their own but, when teamed with a coat of Seche Vite, they last over a week on me without chipping. 

Soigne Botanique polishes have that wonderful, luxurious quality to them throughout. The packaging is chic and the gift boxes housing the collections are beautifully presented. This one came wrapped in a gorgeous gold bow. It was almost a shame to unbox it! I don't really have anything bad to say at all about the polishes. If I had to pick a grumble, I did notice some staining on my nails after wearing Absinthe, despite using a base coat. 

Definitely one for your Christmas list (okay, I finally said the C-word). If chocolate liqueurs aren't your thing, Soigne have a a full shade range including creamy neutrals, pastels and brights, all with that same Parisienne feel to them. 

Browse the full range at
www.soignenails.com

Prices for boxed collections start at £38 and individual polishes are priced at £11 for 10ml

DIY Gel Nails With SensatioNail

For someone who adores nail polish as much as I do, it's pretty strange that I've never actually looked into gel manicures before now. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally sold on the idea and I can see how gel nail polishes might solve all manner of mani-related issues; chipping, smudges, drying time etc etc... I've just never had the spare cash to go out and invest in a fancy Shellac mani at a salon. Recently, I was asked if I'd like to give an at-home gel polish system by SensatioNail* a try and, while I'm definitely no professional when it comes to applying nail polish, I was intrigued to see if an at-home system could rival a costly trip to the manicurist.

SensatioNail is a high gloss, damage-proof polish that claims no lifting, chipping or cracking for up to two weeks, offering results that, previously, were only available with salon services. Their starter kit is designed to last for years and save money and contains enough for 10 complete manicures.

What's In The Kit?

• Gel Cleanser - Cleans the nail prior to application and removes the tacky moisture layer once the manicure is complete. 
• Gel Primer - Prepares the nail for polish.
• Gel Base/Top Coat
• Colour Gel Polish - The shade I got in my kit was Scarlet Red (although, ironically, this is the only shade I have that I haven't tried yet)
• Lint-free Wipes  - Self-explanatory really...
• Pro 3060 LED Lamp - Quickly hardens the gel polish and seals in colour. A mains adapter is also included. 
• Double Sided Nail Buffer
• Manicure Stick

 Application

As a total noob to gel polishes I was a bit terrified of this, but it was actually pretty quick and simple. The steps for application were very clearly laid out. I'm not the tidiest of nail painters but I quickly got used to the polish. After cleaning and priming the nail, apply a single layer of the base/top coat and cure under the LED lamp for 30 seconds. The lamp is on a timer so no need to count, it bleeps after 30 seconds and then times out after a minute. Once the base coat is cured, two layers of the gel colour polish are applied, with 60 seconds of curing after each. To finish off, apply a final layer of base/top coat and clean off the tacky moisture layer with the cleansing solution. I found the whole process fuss-free and it was completely hard and dry by the end. 

 Results

I'd just like to stress again that I'm no pro when it comes to applying my nail polish, but I get by. It took me a couple of attempts to refine my application technique but, once applied and cured, the finished result is glossy, shiny and extremely durable. I did find, with the paler shades, that a third coat of the colour polish was required for it to be truly opaque, but the colours I was given are lovely. I love a pale pastel/neutral for summer. I wore Taupe Tulips to my graduation ceremony and got lots of compliments. I must get my hands on more colours! 

The Verdict? 

I like! As promised, the polish didn't budge for over a week (See above - I never quite managed to test it for the full two weeks because I like to switch up my colours more often than that). It's pretty easy to remove by soaking in an acetone nail polish remover for a few minutes, then lifted off with the manicure stick. I'll admit to peeling it off once or twice, although this was purely a result of me being clumsy with application and it lifting a little at the sides, but I wouldn't recommend it. I'll do as I'm told in future. I'm not sure I'd wear gel polish constantly as I feel like I need to let my nails breathe in between.

The starter kit I've been testing retails for £60. That translates as £6 per manicure, plus you've got your own LED lamp to keep forever. For me, that's a much better option than forking out £20 plus for each mani at a salon, making it a great budget option. As I've never indulged in salon gel nails, or other brands of gel polish, I can't truly comment on how SensatioNail compares but, compared to regular nail polish, there was no smudging, chipping or ferret-related accidents (seriously, the lil furballs seem to sense when I'm painting my nails and jump in to sabotage me). The biggest plus for me is the reduced drying time. The only time I ever feel truly helpless is when I have wet nails. 

For more info about Sensationail and browse their gorgeous range of shades, visit
www.sensationail.co.uk 

Are you a fan of gel nails? Do you prefer DIY or do you leave it to the professionals?
 

The Month In Manicures - July/August 2014

Hello beauty seekers! First off, apologies that the quality of the photos for this post may be slightly under par. I'm hurrying to try and schedule a couple of posts for while I'm away next week and this was a last minute addition with photos snapped on my phone. I haven't done a Month in Manicures post in AGES because my nails have been going through a bit of a difficult phase, but they've started to improve now so over the latter part of July and beginning of this month I've been painting them with pride once again. So this is a kind of mid-month edition. As always, these polishes are featured in chronological order with oldest first...

1) Nails Inc 'Sheraton Street'

You've all seen this one before on this blog and you know how much I adore it. It's my dream pale blue polish so, of course, it was my first choice when the time came to start painting my nails again after a little break. I got this as part of their In The Nude colour collection at the beginning of this year and I've been getting use out of all the shades, but this one is my secret favourite. 

2) Barry M Limited Edition Nail Paint (no shade name)

I have such a love/hate relationship with this polish. I picked it up as a freebie last summer as part of a Superdrug promotion and was instantly sold on the acidic, neon green. As beautiful as the shade is, it's a BUGGER to apply and stains quite badly, even with basecoat. For some reason though, I still can't resist it when the weather is as glorious as it has been recently. Neons are mandatory at this time of year!

3) Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine 'Dragonfruit'

I hardly ever go for pink on my nails. Not sure why, but it's just not my favourite shade to paint them any more. I think I spent so much time as a teenager painting my nails nothing but pink that I just went off it. However, I felt like something different last week and plumped for Dragonfruit, finished off with Barry M's new matte topcoat. 

4) Mavala 'Bamako'*

Another summer favourite from last year brings us bang up to date. Also a continuation of the summery green theme, but entirely different from the Barry M polish above. This shade is a deeper take on the aqua green polish trend (Barry M Greenberry and suchlike) and is almost earthy whilst retaining just the right amount of bright for summer. I've fallen in love with it all over again!

*****

It feels brilliant to be out of my nail-painting slump! My nails are such that they stay long and strong and gorgeous for so long, then after a period they all seem to break at the same time and go through a sad phase. I think I'm over the worst now and praying they will be back in all their former glory in time for Autumn so that I can bust out all of my berry and neutral shades once more. 

What colours are you wearing on your nails lately??

NEW Models Own Speckled Eggs Collection SS14

How excited am I about this post?!?! I am super super lucky to know a lovely lady called Nara who just happens to work at the Models Own Bottleshop at Westfield White City. Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last month, you'll probably be aware that the Models Own Speckled Eggs collection went on sale this week. As soon as I spotted them on Instagram I just knew I had to have them and i begged Nara to pick up a set for me. THANK YOU NARA!! I've been playing with them all afternoon and I thought I'd pop up a post IMMEDIATELY and share them with you. 

This collection is made up of 5 adorable pastel polishes containing miniscule black confettis that give the look of a Cadbury Mini Egg when applied. As a Vegan, the chocolate variety is off limits to me so I'm glad I can still appreciate the effect whilst remaining dairy free haha. These polishes are totally animal friendly! 

The Shades are as Follows...

Swan - Dreamy Lilac

Magpie - Mint Green

Goose - Mellow Yellow

Dove - Cheeky Pink

Duck - Cornflower Blue

It's easy to immediately draw a comparison between these and the Illamasqua speckled polishes from their 2013 Im-perfection collection. Yes, the concept is the same, but the Models Own versions are definitely more affordable and the formula really does hold up against its higher end contenders. 

These polishes really were a pleasure to swatch! I'd thought they might be a little bit wishy washy but two coats worked a treat. The speckles are really generously distributed through the polish so I didn't have to fiddle around 'arranging' them like you have to with some confetti/glitter polishes. I'm not the tidiest nail painter by any means but I didn't make much of a mess at all with these. All round thumbs up from me! Favourite shade?? It's a toss up between Swan and Dove at the moment but I also love Duck... and Goose... and Magpie... Oh, okay I can't choose. I love them all!

The Models Own Speckled Egg polishes retail at £5 each for 14ml. They're currently running a 6 for £20 mix'n'match offer online and from the Bottleshops so you can pick up all of these shades and them some! Well worth investing in. These colours really are perfect for Easter and for Spring. 

Shop now at

 modelsownit.com 

Do you love Models Own polishes?? What are your favourite shades?? What nail colours do you love for Easter??

Nail Colours of Spring: Pastel Pink

Seems I've picked the darkest, murkiest day of the last fortnight to come up with this post haha. I'm getting in the mood for SPRING just lately and, having painted my nails this morning in a gorgeous, dusky, nude, pastel pink shade I realised that I have several such shades in my collection. Do I really need all of them? My mum thinks I'm bonkers when I declare that I NEED a certain shade of nail polish and then totally reject 5 or 6 shades fitting the description because they're just not 'right'. So I've decided to pull out my Top 5 of the pale pink shades in my collection and have a little swatch-fest.

Here are the shades under scrutiny today (L-R)

OPI 'Steady as She Rose' 

Nails Inc Gel Effect 'Mayfair Lane'*

Essie 'Fiji'

Nails Inc 'George Street'

and

Look Beauty Nail Pop 'Petticoat'

I wouldn't say that any of these shades are the same. A pink nail polish is rarely just a pink nail polish anymore (especially for a beauty blogger). Some are cool, some are warm, some are nude, some are.. you get the point. And a lot of them look completely different on the nails to how they look in the bottle. 

When you look at the shades side by side on the nail wheel it turns out that this is really a collection within a collection. No doubt I will wear all of these at some point over the coming warmer months. All of these shades are really wearable and look amazing with a bit of a tan. Fiji is the palest of the bunch while George Street is the deepest and also the most opaque. Favourites?? It's got to be a toss up between Steady as She Rose and Mayfair Lane but for completely different reasons. I love the grey tones in Steady as She Rose while Mayfair Lane is the perfect peachy pale pink. The Nude Award of the bunch has to go to Petticoat. This polish works on its own and also as a base for pink glitter polishes. So, basically, there is definite justification for me having all of them... HURRAH! 

I think I might stretch this post out into a series as I also covet mint greens and duck egg blues during the Spring/Summer months and none of the shades I have will be going unloved this year. So expect more swatching in posts to come!

What are your top Spring nail colours?? Must you have ALL OF THE PINKS?? Do you have a favourite shade of pink??

NEW: Nails Inc Gel Effect Shades for SS14

What can I say other than I know.... I'm completely obsessed. Nails Inc are my not-so-guilty pleasure in life. And I'm not sorry at all, I tell you! As a brand, they're also some of the loveliest people ever and I've got some MORE brand new Spring/Summer releases to show you today in the form of their Gel Effect polishes in 5 on-trend seasonal shades. 

Nails Inc Gel Effect Polishes* (L-R)

Mayfair Lane - Dusky Pale Pink

Downtown - Gel Effect Pink

Kensington Passage - Gel Effect Coral

Soho Place - Gel Effect Aqua

Mercer Street - Gel Effect Blue

I recently reviewed Nails Inc's new 'In The Nude' Colour Collection for SS14 (Post Here) and admired it for the soft nudes and pastels. Well, these shades couldn't be more opposite, except for Mayfair Lane which is the most perfect, soft petal pink I've ever seen! These shades are bright, in your face and perfect for Summer. I love the packaging on the Gel polishes as well. A bit different from your regular Nails Inc bottle. These are some seriously posh polishes!

The Nails Inc Gel formula is seriously plump with no UV required. I used only a single coat for these swatches and just look how glossy they are! I'm still trying to figure out my favourites. At the moment it's between Mercer Street and Mayfair Lane but I just know my preferences will change as the weather heats up and I start pulling all my Summer brights out of my wardrobe. Any of these shades could also be used to jazz up a plain black or white outfit. 

All of these shades are available to order NOW from nailsinc.com and cost £14 for 8ml.

Are you a Nails Inc obsessive?? What shades have got you excited for Spring/Summer?? Do you love a Gel formula??

Really Easy Valentine's Day Nail Art

Check me out with another nail art post! I usually do a nail post to mark Valentine's Day, even though I couldn't actually give two hoots about it really. I'm just a sucker for a themed post so every time it comes round I try and think up something romantic I can do with my nails. This year I've taken my inspiration from Nara once again with a variation on one of her favourite designs from 2013 (and using a polish that she actually gave me - thanks Nara). This cute heart-tipped design is really different, can be done with all kinds of colours and is SERIOUSLY easy to do. It works best, in my opinion, on almond pointed nail shapes. 

The shades I used were...

OPI 'So Many Clowns, So Little Time*' as a base

and

OPI 'La Paz-itively Hot' for the tips

I love this look done on a nude base. It makes the tip colour really pop out. You could also do this with a black or a white base colour but I like the softer contrast of a nude. 'So Many Clowns' is a really sheer polish so really just adds a touch of creamy gloss to your natural nail colour. Nara used a red in her original post but I decided to go for this bright, slightly pearlescent pink by OPI just to be a bit different and because it's really not a colour I'd usually wear. 

I barely needed any special equipment to do this mani. I just did a single coat of the base shade (on top of my usual OPI Nail Envy basecoat) then painted the heart shapes on using the nail polish brush itself, going from the outside into the middle of the tip, before perfecting the shape with a thin nail art brush. You could probably get away with not doing the last step if you're a bit less shaky than me though haha. I decided to go over the tips twice to make sure the pink was truly opaque and smooth before finishing off with my Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Top Coat. 

I think this is a brilliant design for beginners or if you're short on time. It's really simple, yet really cute and 'romantic' (bleurgh). 

What colours will you be using on your nails this Valentine's Day?? What themed nail art designs did you come up with this year??

NEW Nails Inc 'In The Nude' Colour Collection

I'm so excited for this post! Remember how excited I was when posting about the Nails Inc Autumn/Winter 2013 Collection? Well, amplify that by 10 and you get an idea. I first stumbled across the NEW Nails Inc 'In The Nude' Colour Collection at their Spring/Summer'14 preview in December. It was held at the May Fair Hotel and I got to have a good old nosey through all their upcoming new releases for the new year. There are a couple more posts in the pipeline on all of the gorgeousness I witnessed that night but today I want to focus on my favourite of this season's Nails Inc bounty.... 

'In The Nude' Colour Collection RRP £25 - Released January 2014

I was sold on this 4-piece collection the second I clapped eyes on it. It had to be mine. So much so that, as soon as I spotted on their Facebook page that it had been released, I ordered it IMMEDIATELY. This collection consists of two of their current Best Selling shades as well as two brand new neutrals. Colours are as follows...

George Street - Mink Pink

Sheraton Street - Pale Blue

NEW Kensington Gore - Rich Nude

NEW Hyde Park Place - Soft Grey

These shades are seriously creamy and give amazing opacity after even a single coat. The swatches above are two coats with no top coat so you can get an idea of finish (but, seriously, who doesn't use a top coat)? These collections are my favourite way to buy Nails Inc polishes. As a student I can't always afford to by more than one at a time at £11 a bottle but here you are getting four gorgeous, full size, bang on trend for Spring polishes for £25! 

My favourite of this bunch has got to be Sheraton Street. You may have spotted it in yesterday's 'Month in Manicures' post. I'm such a sucker for a pale blue polish and this one is the most perfect I've found. It has a touch of grey about it that makes it the perfect duck-egg shade and it seems to work well on most skin tones. I admired it on my manicurist at the event so much that I asked her to use it on me. 

The only shade that has made it onto my nails so far this year is George Street. If, like me, you liked OPI 'Steady as She Rose' (from the Pirates of the Caribbean Collection) then you'll love this, slightly greyed, dusky rose pink. It's the kind of polish you could wear to any occasion and at any time of the year, as are all of the polishes in this Collection. You'd get plenty of wear out of all four. What's not to love about a good nude, eh? 

You can purchase this collection from Nails Inc Stores, department store concessions/counters and online at 

nailsinc.co.uk

(It's also worth mentioning that George Street and Sheraton Street are also available to buy as individual polishes at £11 each).

Nails Inc are currently offering a new discount code every day for the whole of January so be sure to check out their Twitter and Facebook first should you decide to make a purchase!

What nail colours are catching your eye for 2014?? Do you go for nude shades or do you prefer a bolder, brighter look?? Which new product releases are you most excited about??

Christmas NOTD 2013: Essie Toggle To The Top

Thought I'd squeeze one last post in before the big day! In honesty, I did have another Last Minute Gift post I wanted to do but I ended up having a bit of a mad 'here, there and everywhere' kind of weekend so never got chance to post it. Anyhoo, it's Christmas Eve now and I'm performing my last minute beauty rituals so I thought I'd show you my fresh Christmas Manicure courtesy of the Essie Winter Collection...

Jeez, I am so messy with dark polishes aren't I haha. The photos haven't turned out amazing either due to my parents having the DARKEST house in the world and the weather being so ghastly. 

Toggle to The Top came as part of my Essie Winter 2013 Mini-Collection (see my post Here) and I just knew it would be my first choice for Christmas Day. Essie describe it as Sparkling, Crushed Garnet Red and that's pretty much spot on really. I love that it's a little bit more grown up that your average 'Dorothy' inspired red glitter polishes. 

Here I've done two coats topped off with a layer of Seche Vite. It's certainly a beautiful polish. Only slight grumble is that it seems to be coming away at the tips already. Or maybe I'm just noticing it more because it's a darker colour. Either way it's not the end of the world. No doubt they'll be changing again by New Years Eve. 

What colour will you be wearing on your nails tomorrow?? Do you go for sparkle??

NEW: Bourjois Halloween Nail Effects

Good afternoon beauty lovers!

I make no secret of the fact that I love Halloween. It's my perfect excuse to watch every gory movie I own and eat lots of sweets. It's also a very well known fact that I ADORE Bourjois nail colours and, when I was told that they had come up with three new shades in honour of this ghoulish holiday, I almost burst with joy! They have indeed come up with a haunting gel-effect 1 Seconde polish as well as two devilishly glam topcoats which work over almost any other shade. 

The Shades Are...

Ghost Lovers - A Devilishly Delightful Metallic Silver Topcoat

Dangerous Wish - A Ghoulishly Gorgeous jet black polish with holographic gold/yellow glitters running through it

and

Enchanting Potion - A Spine-tinglingly Sparkly Gold Glitter Topcoat

I was lucky enough to receive Dangerous Wish* at a recent event and gave it it's first test run last week! Sadly I do not have swatches for the two topcoats but they are easily Google-able or you can pop into your nearest stockist. 

If I'm honest, I don't think these photos do this polish any justice at all. The sheer SPARKLE of it really is so pretty and hard to capture on camera. The glitters vary in size and are predominently a slightly yellow/green shade of gold but has a brilliant holographic, multicoloured sparkle to it. 

In  this photo I'm wearing two coats of Dangerous Wish with a layer of Seche Vite topcoat. The polish was much easier to apply than some other glitter shades that I own, the brush is a really great shape and the glitter is very evenly distributed through the black. I didn't have to keep going back and filling in gaps. The other thing I would like to say is that this polish lasts for AGES! I've had it on for an entire week and it honestly hasn't budged or chipped. The 1-Seconde Gel formula really is fantastic and so durable, expecially when teamed with the mighty Seche Vite. This polish is sure to endure through whatever horrors you run into this Halloween. 

As I'm still wearing it I can't really comment as yet on whether it's a nightmare to remove or not but, to be honest, it's kind of a given with glitter polishes isn't it. The upside with this polish is that you get a good long run of it before undertaking such a task. 

These polishes launched this month and are available from all Bourjois stockists as well as online.

RRP £5.99 for 9ml

What murderous shades will you be painting your nails this Halloween?? Do you love Bourjois Polishes?? Will you be picking up these colours??

Nails Inc Limited Edition Autumn/Winter Collection 2013

Second post for this evening! 

I couldn't save it until tomorrow as I've been so excited about these badboys. I've been itching to get my hands on the Nails Inc Autumn/Winter Collection* ever since they first revealed it and now HERE IT IS! Eeeeeep! 

This collection consists of 4 polishes:

Old Bond Street - A brilliant blue/violet shade

Oxford Street - A chocolatey mid-brown (The colour of the Bakerloo line!)

Regent Street - A deep wine red

and

St Martin's Lane - A gorgeous darkened blackberry/grape shade which really reminds me of Ribena (see my recent 'Month in Manicures' post).

I haven't had chance to play properly with all the shades yet. The only one that has made it onto my nails thus far is St Martin's Lane and I loved it so much (and it's lasted so long) that I'm still wearing it and have yet to swap it for one of the other shades. Here's where the trusty nail wheel comes in....

I just love how Nails Inc can produce such vibrant, pigmented shades whilst still keeping them subtle and on-trend for the Autumn/Winter season. These wheel swatches (aside from Old Bond Street which needed a little more building up) were only a single coat and the finish is so glossy. Nails Inc really are my Holy Grail of nail polish brands and I have so much love for them. They can do little wrong in my eyes. 

I'm going to dare to mention the C-word again now..... This set is a perfect treat for any polish lover this Christmas! It's also AMAZING value at £25 (a single Nails Inc polish will usually set you back £12 on it's own and here you're getting 4 - a total saving of £19) so could even be a sneaky present to yourself. 

These shades are Limited Edition and can be found in all Nails Inc stores and department store concessions as well as online at

 nailsinc.com

Do you go potty for Nails Inc?? Are you embracing Autumn/Winter nail colours?? Which shades are your favourite??

My Month in Manicures: Sept'13

Hello again!

Remember when I used to do 'Monday Manicure' posts? Also remember that it got to the point when I was so crazily busy I kept forgetting it was Monday? Well I've come up with a solution. I've decided that I'm going to be bringing you all my manicures in one monthly nail polish post. I always snap a photo of my manicures for Instagram so I will now be compiling them into one monthly post with a bit of info on all the products I've used and what I think of them. As we're coming to the end of September I thought this would be the perfect time to start and you'll probably notice that I've wasted no time in embracing seasonal colours. Products are featured in chronological order starting with the first mani of the month....

Maybelline Color Show Polkadots: 'Shooting Stars'

I finally got round to trying this polish! I picked up two shades of the Polkadots polishes back in June (post can be found Here) and, until this month, had only got round to playing with the pink shade. Well, I got bored one night and decided I fancied a Galaxy mani. What you see here is two coats of 'Shooting Stars' with a sweep of my Loreal Confetti topcoat over the top to add a little extra dimension. I love the result! As you can see I'm a little clumsy with darker coloured nail polishes (this photo was taken before I'd had chance to clean it up) but I'm getting better now. As I recall this mani was a bit of a pain to remove but it was loads of fun and lasted ages!

Essie: 'Playa del Platinum'

You'll be starting to notice by now that I ADORE Autumn and have taken great joy in pulling out all my neutral nail shades in preparation for the season. Playa del Platinum is a particular favourite grey-nude of mine that I picked up at last year's Olympia Beauty show. It goes with just about anything. It's extra shiny in this photo as I added a big dollop of Seche Vite on top of it. 

 

OPI: 'Barefoot in Barcelona'

This has been a previous all-time favourite of mine for Autumn/Winter and it still ranks extremely highly. It's a warm, muted terracotta kind of shade that looks particularly amazing when teamed with gold rings or bracelets. My OPI shades have been a bit neglected of late, in favour of Nails Inc (my ultimate HG polish brand) but the shades I have always seem to get more use in the cooler months. Everyone should have this in their collection in my opinion. 

Nails Inc A/W Collection: 'St Martin's Lane'*

This polish brings us bang up to date (I'm currently wearing this). I finally got my mitts on the new Nails Inc shades for Autumn/Winter this week. I actually did a little SQUEE when I opened the parcel. Look out for a full post on the whole collection very shortly but I just had to show you this polish a little early. If Ribena were a nail polish it would be this one. It's a gorgeous deep purple, blackcurrant sort of shade and fits perfectly with this season's berry colour trend. I adore berry/wine shades for Winter, in fashion as well as nails. Raspberry is a particular favourite. Again, this isn't the tidiest of manicures but I am getting better with darker colours, honest!!

So that was my September in nail colours. Guess I averaged one mani a week this month. Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less. I find that, with Seche Vite, my nail polish lasts for ages and it sometimes seems a shame to remove it when it still looks so immaculate. I will confess to you that there is ONE mani missing from this post, but only because it will feature in my NEXT post (which is actually a very exciting one so keep your eyes peeled). 

So,until next month..... HAPPY NAIL PAINTING!

What are your favourite nail shades for Autumn?? Do you love a particular brand of polish?? Do you change up your manicure weekly or more often??

My Top 5: Summer Nail Colours

 God I've missed you lot! I vowed that I would not complain about this GLORIOUS hot weather we're having lately but MAN does this sticky kind of heat zap my brain! As an ME sufferer my body and brain become so sluggish when the weather gets like this and I just haven't managed to get my brain in gear to write anything for the last week and a half . Seems every blog post I write recently has begun with an excuse for my absence. Not good at all. However, I am here TODAY to show you a handful of nail polishes that I have been loving the most so far this Summer. I've been wearing all kinds of colours recently but these 5 seem to be my most loved of the season so I thought I'd tell you WHY I love each one. Featured in no particular order....

 I just seem to have developed a thing for blue nails this season. It's odd because, of all the colours, blue has always tended to be my least favourite. I suspect it may be the influence of a certain Mrs Kidston and her pastels that inspired this particular purchase. I've been looking for the perfect pastel blue shade and I think this Bourjois offering might just be it. It's just the loveliest powdery baby blue. The So Laque Glossy formula is a pleasure to apply and lasts really well with a good dollop of Seche Vite on top. I need a durable polish in my line of work and this polish takes my bar cleaning duties in its stride!

Had to get a bright one in there!! Nails Inc are my Holy Grail of polish brands and I have a major sweet spot for their products. I just really really respect their constant ability to innovate and be ahead of the game, coming out with new and different shades and textures with every passing season. Their Neons range (out of which I also own Kensington Park Road) had me suckered in immediately for the Summer months and Notting Hill Gate has quickly become my go-to Summer pink. It's like a bright, neon raspberry shade that sets off a tan perfectly. 

I couldn't not feature the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine range in this post because I'm really LOVING them lately. I own 4 of the shades but I think Greenberry is most definitely my favourite out of the bunch. I own quite a few minty green/blue shades but this one just POPS out that little bit more and is much more fun for sunshiney days. I'm not always a fan of Barry M polishes and have had hits and misses with them over the years but the formula of the Gelly polishes really is fantastic and gives an opaque glossy finish even after just one coat. They also last longer than the regular Barry M Nail Paint which is a big bonus for me. 

OPI, for me, has taken a major back seat since I discovered my infatuation with Nails Inc, but there are a couple of their shades that my collection would be nothing without. One of those shades is Steady as She Rose from their Pirates of the Caribbean collection a couple of years back. I just think it's a really unique kind of pale, dusky pink/grey. The only other polish I have that is similar is Essie Fiji (which nearly made the cut for this post) but I love that it's so cool in tone and can look really rosy in some lights and more muted and grey in others. Plus anything with a pirate theme is a winner in my book!

I'm actually a little surprised that this polish has made it into my Top 5! I remember stating implicitly that I preferred the Nails Inc Concrete effect polishes to the Barry M Texture range. However, I find myself reaching for this way more often than I thought I would. I have other peachy polishes in my collection but I like this one for the gritty, matte finish and BOY does it last ages!! Peach shades are my ultimate Summer shades (same with my blush and lipstick choices) and I find they really compliment my skin tone. They also really bring out a tan. 

So those are my Top 5 Summer nail shades. These are not the ONLY polishes I will be reaching for this Summer by any means. I've also been LOVING the Mavala Chilli and Spice Collection (Blog post Here) and my Nails Inc Feather polishes (Blog post Here). I just thought I'd chatter on a bit about why I choose the shades I do when the sun comes out to play and what works best for me. 

Hope you're all enjoying the Sunshine!!

What are your favourite Summer shades?? Do you favour a particular brand of polish??

Monday Manicure: Sweeter With Sprinkles

Haven't done a Monday Mani post in FOREVER! Since I finished my University course and stopped getting the train to Derbyshire every Sunday (which became a regular nail painting occasion), my Manicures have started happening on other days of the week instead. This week, it just so happens that I have acquired a few new nail polishes in the last week during an unscheduled dash to Superdrug to buy conditioner.... It just kinda happened, okay? Soooooo I thought I'd showcase two of them at once and kick-start the Monday nail fun once again....

The two polishes I've used today are both Barry M creations. The base colour being their Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Dragonfruit and the candy-sprinkle top layer being their newly released Confetti Nail Effects in Sour Apple. I'm a huge fan of the Gelly range and have picked up at least 4 of the polishes so far. I just love how glossy and opaque they are, even after a single coat. The Confetti Nail Effects intrigued me in the same way as their Textured polishes did: I basically wanted to see if they lived up to the Nails Inc Feather versions (my post on these can be found Here). Barry M were also offering a free LE Neon polish with a £6 spend so I had to pick up a couple just for that!

It just so happens that these two polishes work PERFECTLY together! Here I've done two coats of Dragonfruit followed by a single coating of Sour Apple. I really like the proportion of confetti to polish here. One coat gave a good amount of confetti without the need to fill in too many gaps, nor did it obscure the base shade. I find the Nails Inc Feather polish to be more dense. Sour Apple is pretty much a dupe of Nails Inc Brighton (also teal and yellow) but Barry M have included a beautiful gold shimmer version which is pretty unique to switch it up a bit. I'd definitely recommend these as a budget option for those who couldn't justify the Nails Inc versions. 

I love this effect! Very Summery and looks just like candy! You can pick up both of these polishes from your regular Barry M stockist for £3.99 each.

Do you love Candy colours for Summer?? What nail effects are you loving this season?? Did you pick up any of the new Confetti Nail Effects??