Color Club Sugar Plum Fairy over No.7 Lucky Lilac

Hi Everyone!

Here's another one from my vault of the unposted. I really ought to have shared this one sooner, it was such a pleasing manicure!

After how pleased I was with using my Color Club Candy Cane over a solid base colour, I wanted to try it with my lusted polish, Color Club's Sugar Plum Fairy . Words can not describe how much I loved this combination - the lilac base really brings out the best of Sugar Plum Fairy. I kept this on for three whole days. That is unheard of for me. Three days?!

Words might not describe my adoration well enough, but they do say that a picture says a thousand words...

I guess that's 10,000 words for you!

Happy polishing - let me know if there are any other combinations that make you go squee!

Love Charlotte x

Color Club Candy Cane over Rimmel Icing Sugar

Hi Everyone - Again!

I thought I would show you a quick update. Instead of removing the Icing Sugar polish from my nails, I added the Color Club Candy Cane pink glitter. You may remember from this post that I wanted to try it over a solid base, and so I gave it a go.

I love this combination! I had really hated how Icing Sugar looked on it's own, but with the pink glitter, it looks pretty, sparkly and girly!

Much better! Now my nails are properly done! And I found a way to bring new life to an old and tired polish!

Love Charlotte x

Nail Polish Archeology - Rimmel Icing Sugar

Hi Everyone!

If you follow me on Instagram (charnailsntales) or Twitter (@charnailsntales) you will know about my horrible break up. Yes, my nail break up. (The marriage is still rock solid just in case anyone had concerns - I won't be turning into the crazy cat lady anytime soon!)

The nails. They are short. It makes me sad. It feels like they got everything in the split. So whilst I wait for them to grow, I am posting older posts that never got around to seeing the other side of the tinterwebs! So, there may be random, and there may be odd. But still, there will be nails that don't look quite so terrifying first thing in the morning! Well, except for these...

            I've been digging again! I have another abandoned polish today, again one I can not remember purchasing at all. This time it's a Rimmel polish called Icing Sugar.

Its a very pale frost, borderline white with the slightest amount of pink. Very not me. In fact, I only took the one photo to remind myself not to wear this on it's own again. It's a nice enough polish if you like frosts and like very pale nails - or perhaps something wedding or work appropriate. I just find this shade to be a bit dated for my liking. It might need to be reburied in the stash as this Icing Sugar is overly saccharine and sweet for me.

I'm sure it will find it's purpose one day!.....

Love Charlotte x

Another Trip to Sally's...

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would share a couple of new polishes with you today - some more China Glaze to be exact. I had myself a little mini-trip into Sally's whilst Beth came to visit. I only purchased three polishes, and one of those wasn't even for me!!

The ones I did pick up were from the Metro Collection from 2011, and as it's an older collection, they had been reduced. I already have a few from this collection, and I certainly couldn't say no to a few more. They were half price, could you resist?

First up, we have Urban-Night. How did you guess, a purple! I know, I'm getting predictable!

This is a gorgeous grapey, wine toned purple cream polish, which dries to a rich and glossy finish. It has the slightest hint of pink to it, which helps it lean towards a more feminine side, without being too overly vampy! I do love a good purple, and I am very pleased with myself for picking this up!

Next is Street Chic. This is one of those taupey griegey colours which are really easy to wear - what do you think?

This is what I would call a smokey brown. Very wearable and versatile - I think that this is easy to wear all year round. I found myself needing this in my collection more so than Urban-Night, I don't have enough natural or nude colours. At least, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!

What do you think? What are your favourites from this collection?

Love Charlotte x

You Never Forget Your First... OPI

Hi Everyone!

Did you all think it was going to be that kind of post? Noooo, I am no where near drunk enough for those kinds of posts, as you can see from the lack of typos and written slurring.

I'm writing about my first ever OPI polish. And what a first.

Designer Series Coronation.

I received a mini bottle in a Glossybox - the first Glossybox if I remember correctly.

It's beautiful. It is silver shimmery micro-fine glitter, and is packed with very subtle holographic particles. It looks beautiful on. Just stunning.The holographic effect is scattered, rather than being in your face like my Layla polishes. It's elegant and ladylike. Beautiful.

I mean, look.

This polish is partly to blame for my serious addiction to polish. I've always liked it, but this is the one that made my inner polisholic scream 'MOAR'!!

The only thing that makes me sad is that it's £18 for a full-size bottle, and difficult to find in full size. I bought myself another mini bottle, just in case. I don't wear it often, as it is a bit special to me. I wish it dried a bit quicker, and that it didn't require four coats for opacity.

But still, it is pretty amazing.

For the sake of scientific curiosity, I did compare it to my other scattered holo polish - the Claire's Accessories one from here. My index and middle finger has the Claire's holo, and my ring finger and pinky have the OPI. Have a look for yourself...

You can see that the OPI is obviously a lot finer - whilst they both dry smooth, the Claire's looks gritty in comparison. You can see why the OPI is more expensive, it's far more luxurious a polish. Under the light, they both have a beautiful holo effect, but in normal light conditions, it's the OPI that steals the show.

So, what do you think? Would you hunt down a full size Coronation, or make do with the much cheaper and readily available Claire's Accessories polish?

This is a tough one if you ask me - but I know which my favourite is!

Love Charlotte x

Cherry Blossom Nails

Hi Everyone,

Today I'm going to share with you a mani that I have been dying to do for ages. You see, I have a slight obsession with cherry blossoms. I can't explain it, I have always loved seeing blossoms on trees. When I saw some of the fantastic art work surrounding Japanese Sakura, I became a bit more obsessed. Especially some of the tattoos, and of course nail art you can see floating about on the interwebs.

Now I don't consider myself to be a great nail-artist. I'm OK, I guess - I do it for the love of it more than anything. Trust me, some of the nails out there blow my mind. I always put off doing cherry blossoms because I always knew I would fuck it up and be completely depressed I couldn't do it properly.

Then, as I often do,  one day I woke up with a brain worm that I had to just try it. I had to get it out of my system before I started work at 8 am that morning. So you know, setting self up to fail, etc. God only knows what I had been dreaming about that night, but anyway - here is my first ever attempt.

As you can see, I have gone with some creative rotating for these pictures. I do not have crazy bendy hands and wrists, or extreme photography skills. Have you tried making these poses upside down and taking a picture? Haha!

I'll be honest, most of this got slapped together as I assumed I was going to hate my results and take it off. And of course, it had to be done quickly, as I have other things to do before work other than just paint my nails.

I used a basic white base, with a jelly-ish blue slapped on in a gradient-esque manner. I blended this using a quick dry top coat. Then, I used my Claire's black nail art pen to draw in the branches. I used the brush to create the uneven and random lines. I figured that branches are often uneven and random in nature, so why not on my nails?

I then mixed together splodges of China Glaze's Flip Flop Fantasy and Purple Panic to create a bright pink. I slapped this on using a toothpick, in what were supposed to be little dots, but I started to run out of time - hence the mess. I added a dot of white, some quick dry top coat, and ran out of the door!

You know what? I'm actually quite pleased with this. For my first go, I think it looks awesome. And I have gained a bit of confidence that I could do it better next time - especially if I give myself more time! And, one of my customers told me that she loved my nails. Inner squeal whilst at work!!

The moral of this story? Try it, you might just like it!!

Love Charlotte x

Nail Polish Archeology - Natural Collection Black Cherry

Hi Everyone!

I have been digging around in my stash of polish. I have a purpose. I have been telling myself that I should stop buying polish when I haven't worn some of my collection for years. As in, I can't even remember where they came from years. So, in the essence of trying to be good, here we are with a historic polish.

My first past polish pick is a Natural Collection polish named Black Cherry.

I am ashamed to admit that I really like this polish, and I can't believe its been sat there waiting for attention for so long. I am a bad person!

This is two coats of this beautiful shimmery red. It's a pink toned red, with lots of teensy gold shimmer packed in for good measure. It applied really nicely - a pleasure to put on in fact. My only niggle was that I hadn't picked this up a few months ago, as this isn't your typical Summer red - hence the addition of some glitter at the tips. I used Accessorize's Molten Copper for this!

I can't remember how long I have had this in my collection for. Certainly long before polish became my addiction and I started hoarding it, so at least a couple of years. I'm not even sure if this is still available to buy!

Either way, this was much nicer than expected, and I can't wait to root through the rest of my forgotten stash now!

Love Charlotte x

Playing Around With Neons!

Hi Everyone!

Well, the weather may me miserable up here, but I'm not letting it get me too down. If Summer won't come to me, I'll have my own pretend Summer haha!! Hence - NEONS!!

After publishing this post,I found myself wanting to wear some neons again. I don't know what it is, I don't think they really suit me, but... NEONS. Writing neons in capital letters is the only explanation I have.

I know, I'm not exactly normal, am I?

I must first apologise that these photo's are a bit rubbish. Trying to capture the true colour of a neon is hard. Trying to capture the colour of two on the same nail? Good luck! It wasn't easy - at all, so I'm spamming a few pictures instead so you get the general idea. In digital form, they may not look great, on the nail - they sizzled! Oh yeah!! Trust me, it is so worth a go. The sunshine might be non-existent now, but we can still rock some bright nails!

I used a base of Flip Flop Fantasy, and added a sponged dabbing of China Glaze's Purple Panic. Then I sponged on some black tips. I used a glossy top coat to help seal the gradient together.

Pictures. Not so wow. Real life effect? WOW! If you have these colours, or anything similar in your collection, give it a go. This is so one for sizzling summer nights. It makes me think of blazing sunsets, or something burning! Give it a go - I hope you like it as much as I do!

Love Charlotte x

More Summer Neons

Hi Everyone!

As the sun is currently shining, I'm going to be optimistic and post something summery from the archives!  Cos, well, with the UK, you have to have your Summer in the space of five minutes or not at all. 7am on a Tuesday? No problem!

The polish I'm going to show you today is another Summer must have.  Alas, pale skinned beauties might not agree, but with a tan, this is divine.

All hail China Glaze's Flip Flop Fantasy. Unless of course, you have skin of pure porcelain. Sorry!

(Note: This came into my collection via Beth (again!) who in fact has very beautiful, but very pale skin. I would normally feel bad, but she does have amazing skin and I would like to remind people that you shouldn't have it all! Its not fair!)

This polish is not for the faint-hearted. It is bold and bright, very much a highlighter pink. In natural lighting, it looks as though it is a mix of a salmon pink with a hint of coral to it. Its only once you introduce the flash that you see the brighter, more orangey colour.

This took two coats and dried to a matte finish, which is typical of neons. You can of course add a glossy top coat if you prefer to really dazzle people with your nails! I found it to be a little bit streaky, so do be aware with your own application.

I for one, will be praying to the Sun Gods, so that I might be blessed with an enviable tan, so that this can be on my toes all Summer long. Which in the UK, is about 3 days ;)

Hope you like it,

Love Charlotte x

Accessorize Molten Copper

Hi Everyone!

I have to say, I wish these Accessorize polishes were more accessible. None of my local stores sell them, so I have to pick them up when I go into a city. Which is an absolute shame as for £3 - £4 a bottle, they have some amazing shades.

I also love their cute little bottles - they are so pretty I feel as though they have been designed to be on display, which is nice for those of us who have many many polishes.

Anyway, this is Molten Copper. I took these photo's a while back, intending to wait and post when the sunshine came back. I am far too impatient to wait that long. Anyway, for me, this is a perfect Summer glitter polish, as I feel it is complimentary to my skin tone as it is now, and I expect this would improve with a tan. You hear that sunshine? Get a move on!!

 

This might be called Molten Copper, but don't expect your nails to turn out like a shiny penny. This is a soft looking glitter, which I think has a hint of rose gold to it. Just enough pink in it to make it sweet and feminine, rather than overly brassy.

The polish itself is relatively thin, but easily pliable so you can move it around on the nail if you need to. These pictures show three coats - I could have done with one more, but I think next time, I will layer it over the Primark Bronze shown here just to give it a more complete coverage look.

Looking at these pictures, I am thinking that this is not just great for Summer, as this colour will transition nicely through to Autumn too. Multi-functional? Awesome!

Next time you get a chance, check out the Accessorize polish range!

Love Charlotte x

Accessorize Colorado - Covent Garden Ballet Dupe?

Hi Everyone,

Today's post is something of a victory for me. Well, kinda...

You see, my friend Beth - you know, my fairy glam-mother, has also become addicted to polish. Which is awesome! She now buys a LOT more polish, and has a tendency to buy more for me too! <3

Anyway, she text me one night, asking if I knew of any dupes for a Nails Inc polish, called Covent Garden Ballet. Oooh, I said. Haven't seen much of that one!

So off I googled for a swatch. It's a beautiful soft grey (I do love grey) with a pink shimmer running through it.  My heart sank as I realised I was falling in love lust with this polish. My heart sank further when I realised that this was only available as part of a set - the A-Listers Collection. I hate paying full price for one Nails Inc polish, so buying an extra three I don't want? Sacrilege!

I googled and I googled. I was very sad to report that I had not found a dupe. Very sad. As this particular polish was stuck in my brain now. STUCK!

Covent Garden Ballet

Let's fast forward to last Bank Holiday weekend, when Beth came to stay! Weeeeee!

A montage of words describing said weekend: Pimms, noms, shopping and lounging. Awesome.

On one of our various shopping trips, we stumbled into my local Debenhams store to peruse the beauty counters. It has had a bit of a face-lift, so everything was moved about. We finally found a Nails Inc counter and spent a few minutes checking out the range. There was a special little stand dedicated to the A-Listers Collection. So Beth grabbed the tester and gave it a swatch.

Very pretty. Looked like a good formula too, I'd say two coats for opacity. I cried a little inside.

Beth confessed, she had ordered the set on ASOS as they had it on offer with free delivery.

/Sigh.

We wandered around the shops, with me sighing and mumbling about how surely some other brands will bring something similar out soon. Or how I should just try experimenting with pale greys and sheer pink shimmers. You know, convincing myself NOT to order one too!

Into Superdrug we go, land of more bargainous beauty! We're about to go charging through the aisles, and I stop at the Accessorize stand. I quite like a few of their polishes, as you may remember if you read my blog regularly. The prices had changed slightly. The polishes were normally £4 each. Now a lot of them were just £2.95. (You can almost imagine me rubbing my hands together with glee, can't you?!) And, they had 3 for 2 on. There was definitely a squeal of approval.

There are a couple of colours I really like, but didn't buy as I already have similar shades. 3 for 2 cancelled out any sensible ideals I may have had, and Soft Jade went straight into the basket. As I was perusing, I spotted this. It looked familiar...

A soft grey - check. Pink shimmer - check.

I yelled for Beth, managed no further intelligent words and shoved one at her! Sorry Beth :)

We shared a look that said one thing. We found our Holy Grail. A dupe. A CHEAP dupe at £2.95. We both bought one.

Now for the important stuff. I hate to admit it, but the formula isn't particularly good on this one. It's ok, but the Nails Inc one looked better. My swatches showed three coats for opacity, with a top coat to finish and remove any streaks. The shimmer is there, but not as evident as the CGB. Despite all of this, I would still buy the Accessorize over the Nails Inc. I hate being forced to buy three polishes I don't want. I might have been convinced to fork out the £11 for one, but £25? Nah.

Take a look for yourself. And yes, I have some blurred photos - they caught the pink shimmer better!!

So what do you think? A worthy dupe, or will you be buying the Nails Inc version instead?

I think I'll be going back to Superdrug for a back-up!

Happy polishing,

Love Charlotte x