WAMM With UK Indies - Flash Nails

Greetings All!

Another new week begins! WAMM (work appropriate manicure Monday) is definitely back on track, and this week I have a type of polish I love - work appropriate glitter. I think it's because when I think glitter, I think sparkle, but glitter doesn't have to be like that at all! It can be soft and subtle, but it still counts as glitter.

Flash Nails is a fairly new UK indie brand, and so far I have two of their lovely polishes. Today's glitter is called Bubble Bath. This is 2 coats over OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons (still my favourite nude polish, and it shows no sign of moving from that position!).

Pretty, pastel, satin circles and small white glitter. It's a simple combination, great for a subtle manicure, and perfect for Spring.  I actually wore this for two days, first shiny, then matte.

Such a lovely polish! You can buy Flash Nails polish here.

Happy Mother's Day

Greetings All!

I'm sneaking in a late post - I lost an hour's sleep last night with the clocks going forward, and my post work nap went on a little longer than usual!

Today I have some nails for my mum, as it is Mother's Day (here in the UK, at least. I know in the States it's in May, so don't panic!). She does read the blog, so I hope she'll see them!

My mum is very supportive and tolerant of my polish addiction, and she's very well trained, always keeping an eye out for polishes I might want! She even manages (tries) to join in with all the jargon. I think she probably knows more about polish that she ever thought she would. It's a weird little world we've carved out for ourselves as polish addicts, but she's happy to let me live in it, and does come and visit me in it! Today, for example, she even 'helped' my furbabies get a present for their mummy (and yes, it was polish. Gelous, in fact. See? Well trained!).

She's a fan of flowers, and I know she likes pink tulips, so these are for you, mum!

I did think about doing stamping decals, but after last time I just didn't have the confidence. Instead I stamped, then used jelly polishes to fill in the flowers. Good old jellies!

The stamp is from MoYou XL Pro Collection 12, and I've used white, Konad Black, OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-y, Y'all Come Back, Ya Hear, and Houston, We Have A Purple, China Glaze Heat Index and Keeping It Teal, and Zoya Frida. I love the effect from the pink jellies! It's been a while since they've been used, and the OPIs especially are just lovely. I need more green jellies though!





Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Still Crushing Hard On PUEEN

Greetings All!

As I've previously mentioned, I've been looking forward to using the latest set of PUEEN plates (I bought mine here). I started with the last plate, number 73, but instead of using some of the other plates, I keep coming back to it!

I spent a couple of hours last Saturday identifying most of the unnamed Color Clubs I have, and I'm fairly certain that this is Red-ical Gypsy, stamped with PUEEN73 and Barry M Gold Foil. The size of these images means that my thumb was easily covered, and I was able to use different areas on different nails, so that they match but don't look exactly the same.

UK Indies - TarasTalons And Pocket Money Polishes Collaborations!

Greetings All!

TarasTalons and Pocket Money Polishes are two of my favourite UK indie brands. Sadly, PMP closed earlier this year, which makes this collaboration extra special, because these are some of the very last PMPs available. Tara, on the other hand, will be celebrating a year of TarasTalons in April (I might have something planned to celebrate the occasion).

Each polish maker has designed one half of each polish duo, and the theme this time is Aladdin. It's one of my favourite Disney films (err...who doesn't want a pet tiger?!), and I bought two of the duos.


The first duo is made up of Three Wishes, a pink polish, and Magic Lamp, a gold holo topper. Below are 2 coats of Three Wishes, and 1 coat of Magic Lamp.

Three Wishes has quite a strong blue shimmer, which just looks silver in these photos. I actually liked it more than I thought I would (shimmer aversion!), and I think it looks lovely paired with the glitter topper (which I don't have much to say about. It's gold, holo, and has circles and stars. Of course I love it!).

The second duo is made up of Aladdin, a Cadbury purple with a soft shimmer, and Arabian Nights, it's glitter topper companion. Below are 3 coats of Aladdin, and 2 of Arabian Nights.

I did find Aladdin to be a little sheer (it was difficult to get it that perfect shade it is in the bottle), but it's still a nice colour. Arabian Nights is pretty awesome - stars and moons! Good colours too - purple and turquoise make a lovely combination!


There are still a couple of these duos left over at The Tara Emporium (specifically, here), where you can also find Tara's polishes, nail care items, jewellery, all sorts! As for Pocket Money Polishes, this is pretty much your last chance to grab one (aside from asking Charlie very nicely about custom orders).

WAMM - Crowstoes Milquetoast

Greetings All!

I bet you thought WAMM had died out, didn't you? Well, it's been a couple of weeks, but it's back! In fact I have several work appropriate manicures lined up. Work Appropriate Manicure Monday will live on!

I've said before that I struggle to wear 'plain' polish without feeling the need to add to it. There is of course one exception to that rule, which is indie polish. I don't really consider them to be 'plain' polishes, so I'm still happy to wear them unaltered. I used to be all about the bright, colourful polishes, and I still am, but now I also look out for pretty, subtle polishes that can be worn to work.

One of my favourite examples of that kind of polish is Crowstoes Milquetoast. This is 2 (perfect) coats, n undies.

This is a very beautiful polish The combination of the soft white base and the coppery glitter give this a very subtle, almost nude coloured look. Application is perfect, and you can almost get away with just one coat, even without undies. I love wearing this for work - no one will ever notice that I am in fact wearing glitter!

Black Cat Lacquer Swatch Spam!

Greetings All!

I hope the weekend is treating you well!

As a cat owner (a black cat owner!), and confirmed 'crazy cat lady', of course I can't resist Black Cat Lacquer, on the name alone! Fortunately the polishes are pretty gorgeous too. I've got a few swatches in the vault, so I though I'd combine them into one post.

As with most of my indies these days, I bought all three of these at Rainbow Connection. Between shipping costs, postal restrictions, and my slightly panicky disposition, I prefer to shop at RC, rather than ordering from abroad!

First up is Skin Of The Night. This is 2 coats over a Pretty purple.

Polish Me Silly Mermaid Tears (Thermal!)

Greetings All!

Apologies for the lack of posts this week - I was on holiday from work, so I did mean to post. My internet's been very patchy for the last couple of days (well either my internet or my computer, but it'll know I'm talking about it...). In the end I gave up trying!

Today I have yet another thermal polish. Now that the weather is a bit better (and my hands aren't automatically cold all the time!), I'm finding myself reaching for them more often than not. I just...love them. So much!

Today's offering is by Polish Me Silly (formerly Lush Lacquer). Another Rainbow Connection indulgence. It helpfully has a whole thermal section that I like to peruse often (thankfully many are sold out, or I would be in big trouble!). This is 3 thick coats of Mermaid Tears.

This was a little bit of a pain to apply. It was very sheer, and if I'd used thin coats...I might be still polishing it now! It was also a bit goopy and thick, even for a jelly. However all this was forgiven when it began to change colour! It goes from deep teal to bright lime green. It's very sheer when warm, but personally I don't mind that. It also lets the glitters from the first coat peek out.

I'd buy more of these. I did initially find the application a little bit off-putting, but I think it's worth it for the result you get!

You can buy Polish Me Silly at Rainbow Connection, or from their Etsy site.

St. Patrick's Day Polishes, With Wing Dust And The Lady Varnishes

Greetings All!

I just happened to have in the vault two polishes that would make perfect St. Patrick's Day manicures, because they are both green and gold (and gorgeous!). Thinking about it, I do have more green/gold combos (I love both those colours!). If only I had planned ahead a bit better...

This is Wing Dust Honest Puck. I actually got it in the sale section of Rainbow Connection (always a good place to find a hidden beauty/get rid of all your money!), so I'm doubly happy with it! I've used three thin coats here.

I love the rich, rainforest-y green, and it looks lovely and murky over the plentiful glitters.

Next is Mr Darcy, from The Lady Varnishes. This was actually a gift from my lovely friend Charlie (of Pocket Money Polishes fame), and it occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that I never took any pictures of it (I only actually photograph about half my manicures)! Very bad of me I know. This is also three coats.

I love this. It's like gold coins have been dropped in a swamp, and are slowly sinking out of sight.

Have a happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day With Velvet And Studs

Greetings All!

I never really need an excuse to wear green polish, because I love it, but here's a great excuse anyway! In fact I'm so keen on green polish, that I have a post now with some nail art, and then a few suitably festive swatches coming up later (spoiler alert - green and gold!).

I recently bought a few Ciate kits cheap from Fragrance Direct, because I can never resist a bargain - a couple of feather sets, their chalkboard kit, and an emerald collection. This set contains velvet, sequins and caviar beads, and a lovely emerald polish (Ditch The Heels). I decided to bust out the velvet, as I do love velvet nails, but I've only worn them three or four times. Hopefully this isn't a trend that is completely over, because I want more fuzzy nails!

They've come out a little turquoise/teal in these pictures - I actually prefer this colour to the colour they really are, which is emerald green. I was very happy with the kit I used - the velvet comes in a neat little pot, ready to sprinkle on, and it also has a tray and a little brush to help tidy up! It still got everywhere though.

The main problem with these nails is that they just do not last - it hasn't been 24 hours, and most of my nails are balding quite badly. Ah well. I guess I should change my polish then!

I Finally Figured Out Red Roses On Black

Greetings All!

Yes, more black and red roses. These are ever so slightly different though, I promise! When it comes to stamping, normally the reds I have just don't give me the effect I want over black. I have to do red roses freehand, or cave in ans stamp black over red.  That is, until I noticed a particular stamp that would give me the effect I wanted - red roses, black background.

I started off with OPI The Spy Who Loved Me, a gorgeous red with gold sparkle that I really don't use enough. This should be my go-to red, because it's just beautiful. I then stamped with Konad Black and MoYou Pro XL 07. This plate has two rose images - one that lets you 'stamp the roses', and the other lets you 'stamp the background', if that makes sense. Basically between the two of them you can have any colour combination. Needless to say, the thought of infinite rose manicures makes me very happy! I promise to use them for more than just black and red!

2true Pro Sequins - Naomi

Greetings All!

I hope you're all having a good weekend. I'm very much enjoying the fact that I don't have to work tomorrow, and I can enjoy a full weekend!

Today I have a polish that I didn't plan on taking pictures of. I was just 'trying it on', but I was so taken with how pretty it looked I took a few pics. The Sequins range are textured, sparkly polishes similar to OPI, Zoya, and all the other textured polishes we've been seeing! When I bought this, they were half price in Superdrug (this offer has since ended, apologies), so I thought I'd give them a go (I tend to favour the 'duller' textures).

This is 2 coats of Naomi, no cleanup as it would have been a nightmare!

Lovely stuff. My nails look like some sort of space rock! It's a nice, cold purple with lots of silver, and lots of sparkle. It's also very textured - I did contemplate topcoating to see what it would look like, but that seemed too much like hard work!

The 2true Pro range cost £4 each in Superdrug. The Metallica polishes are fantastic for stamping, and these Sequins are very pretty. I'll have to try their gel effect polishes next! I'm also a big fan of their 'regular' range (3 for £5!), they have lots of rich, opaque creams and some really stunning glitters.