Vampy Red Gradient with Nails Inc Victoria

I've been doing a lot of glitter mosaics lately and sometimes you have to do something a little different.  I've done some gradients in the past but never had too much luck, mostly because I thought I knew more better than the makeup sponge technique.  Turns out that it's the best for smooth gradients, I'm silly and should listen to the internet more.  Just as well I did because now I get amazing vampy red nails!

It seems that the trick to gradients is the base colour.  Light colours need white, dark colours need a dark base with a solid creme polish as the lighter colour.  Here, I started with two coats of Nails Inc Victoria, a beautiful deep, dark red jelly.  Once it was dry - seriously, let it dry otherwise you get dings like on my ring finger - I painted a stripe of Essie Fifth Avenue on a makeup sponge and laid a thinner stripe of Victoria next to it.  I then dabbed it on my nails, working up and down ever so slightly to get a nice blend.  I was having some difficulty building up the opacity in the red tip so I ended up just straight applying Fifth Avenue to the tips of my nails then blending it in with the gradient.  

The Verdict: I love this so much I can't really believe how well it came out.  It does take a while and a few layers of gradient-ing to get it smooth but it's so worth it in the end.  Mmm, vampy. 

Review: Nails Inc Cornwall

I was really excited about the Nails Inc Feathers collection.  Bar glitter that looks like feathers and isn't giant, meaning it's unlikely to stick up?  Yes please.  When I finally found two of them at Sephora, I couldn't find a way to use them.  I tried with several different base colours either the white or the blue blended in, meaning I lost a lot of the texture that made the polish so interesting.  Sifting through my colours, I found one that seemed to fit my requirements and away I went. 

My base colour, Urban Outfitters Blue Velvet, turns out to dry the exact same blue shade as Nails Inc Cornwall but I WILL NOT BE DISCOURAGED.  Blue Velvet is a gorgeous shade of periwinkle blue and after applying it, I felt compelled to try a taped pattern I saw on Reddit Laqueristas the other day.  So once Blue Velvet and the requisite coat of Seche Vite were dry, I went to work with my striping tape.  I've seen people do this pattern in three steps but I found that if you were careful and lined it up properly you could do it all in one go. OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls is opaque enough that one thick coat was enough too.  Then, on my remaining fingers, I did the usual glitter gradient technique of painting a thin coat 3/4 of the way down the nail, then 1/2, then 1/4.  Cornwall is actually really nice to work with, I'd love to see more of this small bar glitter.

The Verdict:  As surprisingly difficult Cornwall is to match with a base colour, it has an interesting texture and that's all I really ever want in a polish.  Just make it different, I'll be happy.  I also love the taped pattern, good job person that came up with it.  I'll find you!

Review: Nails Inc Ladbroke Grove and Noho

If I see an interesting nail polish, I'm prooobbabbbly going to buy it.  Using it is a completely different thing but I'm definitely going to buy it.  I picked up the pink Nails Inc Leather Effect polish Ladbroke Lane ages ago and I haven't really known what to do with it.  It wasn't until I caved and bought the black one, Noho, that I finally figured out what to do with them.  Leather chevrons!

I knew I wanted "stripes" of leather - because that's what I'd do with real leather - so I started off with two coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and topped it with a coat of Seche Vite to get it really dry.  I then laid out my strips of striping tape and used a smaller brush to paint my chevrons on, because I didn't want to risk getting it everywhere.  I was so surprised by how good the leather polish is!  It's opaque in one (thick) coat, dries fast and actually looks like leather.  The texture doesn't skeeve me out either, like the Liquid Sand polishes can sometimes.  I just really love how this came out.  I want to put the black on everything now...

The Verdict:  I really kinda love how this came out.  I just said that up there but I do!  If I was to be practical I'd say you don't really need more than one of these - even if the stripes look cool.  You super need the black though.  LOOK AT IT.  Can you imagine how awesome this would look contrasted against glitter?  Or just a matte polish?  Or anything?  I think this might be my new favourite :O

Screw it Day 2: Nails Inc Disco Lane with Holographic Studs! Woo!

So it's totally Day 2 of my Screw-it challenge - where I do what I want, as long as I post!  We'll just pretend for now that I posted yesterday, and didn't nap instead.  I love napping.  Anyway, I saw on Instagram a while back that holographic studs existed and once I'd resuscitated myself, I had to buy them.  I can't remember where now, just google it.  I tried them out once before but was kind of disappointed because they seemed all plasticky and not all that holographic!  Turns out, they have plastic over them.  Peel off and BAM most holo.  So let's take a closer look at these, shall we?

I wanted a black polish to go with my silver studs and Nails Inc Disco Lane is a good match.  Cos sparklies.  I first tried just using the wet polish to stick the studs on but nail glue works so much better, once you've un-stuck your fingers from each other, and peeled the tweezers off your hand.   So, after applying three coats of Disco Lane - topped off with Seche Vite - I applied a little nail glue in the shape of a triangle, then stuck my studs on with tweezers.  I splashed out an bought proper nail glue, believe me it's worth it because it dries fast and is super glue-y.  Just be careful not to get it pooled in your cuticles because that will not come off easily.  Once the studs were dry I peeled the plastic coating and BAM shiny.  And hard to photograph.

The Verdict:  Yay Day 2!  I love these studs, because what's not to like.  Holo, ffs.  I <3 it.  And Disco Lane is a good polish too.  Like lots of little rainbows stars.  So win all round!

Review: Nails Inc Queen Victoria Street with Not At All Subtle Fruit Accents

I'm really good at making sweeping statements and declarations about, say, posting everyday.  Problem is I'm terrible at following up on it.  What I am doing ok at is trying to actually use all the misc stuff I buy on the internet.  I've had these fruit fimo canes for ages and just haven't worked out a way to use them.  I've been playing with sculpey lately so I at least have the tools to slice canes thinly.  So then, considering I also have very strong nail glue, I thought I'd take the decidedly unsubtle route and just bung a bunch on.  Turns out that's actually an ok strategy!

First up, I applied two coats of Nails Inc Queen Victoria Street and topped it off with a coat of Seche Vite.  Queen Victoria Street is actually a really great green.  Nice and opaque from the first coat, on top of being a super nice colour.  So that's good.  Once that was all dry I just covered my nail in nail glue - being careful not to let it pool in my cuticles - then just stuck the slices on.  They feel really weird on, I couldn't stop touching them.  With a proper nail glue, there's no chance of them falling off so even if they do catch on things, they aren't going anywhere.  The only problem I had was trying to get them off!  Just don't pull them off, trust me.  It WILL take a little bit of nail with it and you don't want that.  I do like how ridiculous this is.  Very satisfying.

The Verdict:  Love Queen Vic St, and am happy that I finally got to use my fimo canes.  If you use a razor blade instead of a knife, you can get slices thin enough that they'll curve to fit your nail.  And they're fruity.  If you get fruit canes.  Otherwise they're other things.  Yay fruit!

Review: Nails Inc Baker Street with Rainbow Bar Glitter!

Ok so I love blue polish the mostest but never got around to getting Nails Inc Baker Street until Friday.  That's silly of me cos it's the most perfect cobalt blue that my camera doesn't even know what to do with it.  *I* know what to do though!  Bar glitter stripes!  I heard you like stripes so I put stripes in your stripes, etc.  

What I love about this isn't just that it's sparkly, but if you keep the bar glitter away from the edges of your nails, it actually doesn't stick up and catch on things.  I did the usual - two coats of Baker Street - then went to work with very thin layers of top coat.  You have to be careful with this kind of narrow glitter.  It's very easy for it to sink in and not be even.  Add your top coat and you're done.  This didn't even take that long.  I found I could do half a nail in each application of top coat.  Yeah rainbows!

The Verdict: Bar glitter is always one of those things that looks awesome but is a complete pain in the ass other wise.  So yay it wasn't a pain! And is rainbow and sparky!  Woo! Oh and yay Baker Street, totally worth it, even though Urban Outfitters Blue Velvet is close.  Yeah!

Do-It-Yourself Duochrome Nails with Nails Inc Baker Street and Gold Glitter

I tell you, I can't remember the last time I did back-to-back posts.  The combination of having a job that requires a real commute instead of a five minute walk, said job being rather intense, then having my mum visit and going on vacation as well as managing The Sparkly Shop makes it difficult to manage.  I'm also old and get sleepy.  I'm not going to make sweeping statements about how I'm going to post every day from now on because that's not realistic but I just might be able to manage doing more.  You should follow me on Instagram though, that I do keep updated.  Anyway, on to the glittery duochrome-ness! 

You'd have to be blind not to realise how in to holo glitter I am.  It's awesome and sparkly and all that is good in the world.  However, once in a while mixing things up with metallic glitter can be nifty, especially when you accidently create a mani that could almost pass for a duochrome.  I started this off with two coats of Nails Inc Baker Street - that wonderful cobalt blue creme.  I then did my usual dealio with top coat and my gold circle glitter.  Just pay attention at the start with your spacing and you'll make things a lot easier for yourself.  I topped it all off with my gel top coat from the Nailene kit I've been using lately. 

The Verdict: I absolutely love how this came out.  Close up you get all the reflections and shinies and from a distance you get a proper duochrome effect - a colour that's both blue and gold, both at the same time.  It's spangly and I like it.