Models Own Purple Ash swatch

Another untried for you today. Now this is embarrassing to admit, but I've had this polish for 4 years! 4 YEARS! I had this even before I started blogging and for some reason I've never shared it, even though it's so lovely. So finally, here it is.....Models Own Purple Ash.

What can I say; this is a great winter weather polish, it applies like a dream and always get me a compliment when I slosh it on:) 

Over and out peeps:)

Models Own Purple Haze swatch

Sparkle alert! Sparkle alert! Sparkle alert! 

OMG, it's like having a Quality Street wrapper decorating my nails! Amazing:)

This is three coats over Imperial Purple, another Models Own lovely. I'm not sure it would become opaque on its own, I'm wondering what it might look like over some other colours, pink or orange maybe? 

Now, as much as I love this colour, there is one massive downfall. The removal is the BIGGEST pain in the bottom ever! This made me really wish I'd tried the glue method. Oh, how I wish I used the glue method.....

Claires Holographic over my first franken-polish:)

To make you forget the horror of my previous post, here is a real stunner:)

Now, I know there are lots of talented people out there making very unique nail polishes. And there are those who have the ability to make some amazing frankens. And then...........there is me! 

Behold.............grey!

Lol. A bit too much of a build up? Yes, but I do love this grey. I've found that Barry M Matt White goes gloopy faster than most of my other polishes and so, rather than chuck it again, I mixed a

bit of some random black polish with it and made my first franken. Not exactly hard, but somewhat satisfying to be able to make exactly the shade you need (I needed a particular shade as part of an ombre mani) or want. 

Anyway, I knew this would be the perfect base coat for a newbie of mine, Claire's Silver holographic. It's soooooooooooooooo pretty, I couldn't stop looking at my nails when this was on, it's just lush. Just look at it! 

Droooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool. 

In bright light the holographic doesn't seem that amazing, but in daylight.....wow! 

The great thing about this polish is that you could wear it over most colours - this is three coats and you can still the base coat. The possibilities with this holo are endless:) 

Ciate Pocket Money swatch

Good God, have you ever tried a polish and been unable to find ANYTHING nice about it? If not, you've clearly never tried Caite Pocket Money, or as like to call it, Ciate Vomit. I tried this as part of my clearing the untrieds and just hated it. 

Where to start with this review? The vomit like colour? The terrible application that meant it dried in a sticky, bumpy mess? The brush which was poorly shaped and moulted hairs over my nails? Eurgh, disgusting. The only good thing about this is  that it was free with a magazine. But I have to be honest, if this is what other Ciate polishes are like, count me out! Why would you send out a free copy of something so bad? 

The only way I could wear this was as a base for a nice colour, Nail Pop Bling. But even then I knew it was underneath, lurking.......shudder. 

So, I think Ciate Pocket Money is heading to the bin.................:( 

Betty Jackson Aubergine (using up the untrieds!)

So, last week I re-sorted and re-organised my stash. I found nmuerous more untrieds (how? Where do they hide???) including this little baby. I've had this for almost two years, it must have been deliberately hiding from me!

So, this was part of a pack by Betty Jackson; this one is Aubergine, a very deep purple, perfect for this winter weather. It's very vampy (especially on the long nails I was rocking), so I decided to pretty it up with glitter! 

Hmmmm, well it applies well, dries nicely, looks good, but I can see why it had managed to hide at the back so successfully; it's meh. Not bad, not good, just meh. Even when covered with the awesomeness that it Revlon Hearts of Gold (btw, how cute it Hearts of Gold? So adorable!). 

Barry M Crush swatch

Is it just me, or have the Barry M elves clearly been working over-over-time? They seem to be sending out new collections every week. Amazing!

Now, I have to be honest, the Matte collection isn't really for me; I prefer my polishes shiny, shiny, shiny! Basically, I like to see my face in my nails lol:) But my friend popped round with this and let me try it out, just to be sure. Btw, disclaimer; she came round late at night and we consumed wine. Lots of wine. Hence the total lack of clean up. I apologise, but it didn't seem important after a vat of Sauv Blanc:)

So, has it changed my mind? Well, this polish dries quickly and has a lush suede-like finish, which I liked more than I thought. The bottle the colour is totally stunning, but if I'm honest it doesn't quite translate to the nail. This has certainly turned my head, but it hasn't made me want to rush out and buy the collection, but that's very much a personal thing to me; I think if you like matte, you'll love this (and probably the rest of the collection). 

Btw, if you're wondering what this looks like with a shine, et viola! Here it is topped with Boots Stay Perfect (the best topcoat I can afford lol). Much more 'me'. 

Wayhay - I won the Models Own/Dogs Trust giveaway!

I won the Models Own/Dogs Trust nail polish giveaway! Whoop whoop!

Ok, massively excited about this because I NEVER WIN ANYTHING. I know everyone says that, but I really mean it. I never win anything, so this was beyond exciting. The giveaway was hosted by Emma at the wonderful emslittlecorner. She actually sent the polish a week or two ago, but I've had trouble getting to the Post Office as I've had tummy bugs, colds etc recently. But today I felt well enough and I skipped to the PO and picked up this bad boy (and the yummy Parma Violets she'd kindly enclosed, what a sweet touch!).

I can't wait to swatch this, it's a stunning colour, a deep yellow gold. And look at that cap, the paw prints are so adorable! I'll post pictures asap. I hope the giveaway has also made people think a bit more about Dogs Trust. I think they're amazing - they do so much to look after dogs who've had a rough start and also work hard to educate people about what dogs need. If you think you want to donate or sponsor a dog, check them out here Dogs Trust, you won't regret it.

Btw, you may have noticed that my blog updates are sporadic to say the least. This is for several reasons, including house hunting, general work, illness etc. I've decided to stop beating myself up about it and just post when I can, I hope you guys will stick with me even if I'm not a regular poster:)

Ciao for now x x x

Models Own Pukka Purple

Shameful.....I've had this on file since the summer and I've not posted it - *shaking head in shock* - so here it is; Models Own Pukka Purple, part of the stunning neon collection Models Own treated us with last summer. 

This is the perfect purple - it goes on beautifully (if you're careful then this can be a one coater) and dries quickly with a matt finish, but a touch of top coat and et voila! Perfection. How have I not posted this sooner............deary me! 

Barry M Red Black - a blast from the past...............

Ah, another untried down! This is Barry M Red Black, which is 18 months old! Good lord!

I wasn't expecting to like this polish - in the bottle it doesn't look anything special. But it struck me that it was ideal for a cold wintery day, so I sloshed it on and I'm BLOOMING pleased I did. I was overcome with the most amazing deja vu........

I really got into nail polish in the mid to late nineties, while I was in secondary school. Nail art was popular; I remember wearing chequerboard nails to school, buying nail stickers, using matt polish for the first time.........

It was also the time of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - I loved BTVS, and watched it every week, wishing my school life was as exciting, or that I has Sarah Michelle Geller's amazing highlights and wardrobe. It also featured a vampire called Drusilla, who, one week, wore what I considered to be the manicure to end all manicures; a reddish brown colour with white tips. I loved it and knew I must copy it, so rushed out to buy a reddy-brown nail polish.

Barry M Red Black is the EXACT same colour. The application is better, bear in mind I had a small budget (i.e. my pocket money) in the 90's, but it's the same colour. And blimey, am I gutted that I haven't been wearing it everyday since I bought it! Shame, shame on me!

I would say this is a jelly and you could make a very yummy sandwich with this! This is 3 coats, all of which went on beautifully. The coverage doesn't look perfect in the photos but IRL there's no problem. Finally, Drusilla nails will be mine after all these years............

Whittling down the untrieds - New Look Gold Giles Salute

It has occurred to me the other day that many of my untried have actually been tried once but didn't 'make the grade' - that is, something made me stop painting, take the polish off and use another one. This is certainly the case with today's polish, Salute by Gold Giles (sold in New Look). The application is dreadful - gloopy, sticky and smelly, with a drying time that makes it impossible to do anything for an hour. Oh, and it bubbles. Can't think why I haven't used it earlier......

It's a shame, as the colour is actually quite nice. Not great, but nice. It's a military style green, a sort of army green. But as you can see, despite waiting a while for each layer to dry, it still bubbled:(  

Given the green, I had to try this nail art out - camouflage! I added studs cos I was scared that my nails would just blend into the background otherwise lol. Thinking about it, gold studs would have been better, but still, I kind of like this manicure. I would try a darker brown if I did this again; for this I used Models Own Prey and an unnamed green also by New Look. Still, not bad.

I think I might have to try this design in neon - something is calling me to rock neon camouflage! 

Black and gold skittle

Ahhh, there are times when  you need leopard print and glitter - I needed it to get me through a tough week last week, so I created this little beauty.

I love it - the black is Betty Jackson black, lovely and glossy, like tar..........or marmite. Let's go with marmite, sounds more delicious:) The gold is Models Own Gold Rush and the glitter is Models Own Ibiza Mix - a total stunner, gold and blue and green glitter mixed together to form actual happiness in a bottle:) 

Have a good evening peeps, I'm off to eat home made chow mein in a late attempt to celebrate Chinese New Year! Nommmmmmmmmy:)