Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts

Squirrels & Acorns: Autumn with the polish party

Hi everyone! Today I bring you my first manicure of the Polish Party collaboration. A group of us got chatting on Twitter and decided to start up our own monthly nail art challenge, and the first theme is 'Autumn'. I wanted to do something a little bit different, so I settled on a mix-and-match red squirrel and acorn design, which I'm still trying to decide if I like or not. I also got to use some of my newest Sinful Colors purchases in this manicure - this brand never ceases to amaze me! Each polish is only £1.99, and although you tend to need around 3 coats for opacity, the quality is definitely fantastic for the price. Plus there's a huuuuuge range of colours, so if you happen to pass a bigger Boots store in the future, make sure you pop in and check out the Sinful Colors stand!

The equipment:

Sinful Colors 'Snow Me White'
Sinful Colors 'Courtney Orange'
Sinful Colors 'Pistache'
Sinful Colors 'Nirvana'
Sinful Colors 'Black On Black'
Models Own 'Fashionista'
Models Own 'Bare Beauty'
No. 7 'Totally Teal'
Essie 'Good To Go'
Fine nail art paint brush
To create the acorns, I used Models Own 'Fashionista'. If you read my previous review of the Models Own & Ford Fiesta 'Glam It Up A Gear' collection, you'll know that I am NOT a fan of this greeny-gold shade. However, it seemed the perfect choice for acorns, and the shiny metallic finish adds a nice 3D effect. I used two coats, then applied Sinful Colors 'Nirvana' to mimic the shell, and added extra details using black and a fine paint brush.
The squirrels were not so simple to achieve. I used Sinful Colors 'Snow Me White' as a base, and then the beautiful 'Courtney Orange' for the heads. This is the perfect autumnal shade - it's rich and very pigmented, and adds a real pop of colour to the manicure. For the face I used 'Bare Beauty', then applied black and white details using my paint brush. At first my squirrel looked a bit too much like a fox, so I added some little teeth to make them look more 'rodenty'.
The squirrels seemed a little lonely on their white bases, so I added more acorns and some leaves using 'Pistache' and 'Totally Teal'. Finally, I topped everything off with my beloved Essie 'Good To Go'. What do you think? 

Fancy seeing what the rest of the Polish Party girlies have done for their Autumn manis? Check them out!

Askruk46

Barry M Autumn/Winter 2013 Classic Matte Nail Polish Collection

Hey everyone! Today I have one of Barry M's exciting new collections to show you, the Classic Matte collection. I'll be posting the Royal Glitter collection and the other new polishes within the next week. They are due for release on the 25th September in Superdrug and October 2nd in Boots. I'm really impressed with this whole collection, and with what I've seen of the other collections. Barry M has really pulled it out of the bag this time!

I'll put the rest of the post after the jump otherwise it may end up being too long


First up we have Caramel*, which is certainly true to its name in colour. This was 2 easy coats. I wore this for 2 days (a long time for me) and there was absolutely no wear.



Next up is Crush*, a gorgeous deep red. I own absolutely nothing like this and I love it! This was 2 thin and easy coats. I thought this was going to be absolute pain to remove but I had absolutely no problems at all, which is definitely a bonus



Thirdly is Espresso*, as black as the name would suggest. I've seen on the Barry M Facebook page that this seems to be the colour that most are excited about, I know matte black is a favourite amongst many, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. This was 2 coats again, although the polish was slightly thicker that the others



Then we have Mocha*, a lovely coffee brown. This was 2 slightly thick coats. Whilst the colour isn't exactly unique, I love the effect that the matte creates for this colour. 



Finally, we have my personal favourite of the collection: Vanilla*. This is a very unique colour and it's difficult to describe, it's similar to Models Own Utopia, but with a more brown tint to it, and it is of course matte unlike Utopia. I used 2 coats for these photos but I could probably have got away with one



Overall I'm seriously impressed with this collection. They dry quickly and all only needed 2 coats for opacity. Additionally, they are also all definitely autumnal! I would definitely recommend getting these when they're released. These will retail for £3.99, will be released on the 25th September in Superdrug and October 2nd in Boots. Hopefully the next step from Barry M will be a matte topcoat!

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
Alice

*products in this post were provided to me for review, all opinions are entirely my own and were not influenced in any way

Askruk46

Spellbound Nails Fall Polishes 2013

Hey everyone! I'm so excited to tell you about 6 new fall polishes being released Monday (that's September 9th!).


This release will include a duo, Falling for You (seen top and bottom in the middle), sold only in mini bottles. The supplies for one of these polishes would have made it either a very limited limited edition or greatly increased the price to sell (to about $10-$12 a bottle + shipping). It was decided pairing it with a less costly to make polish and selling them together would give everyone the best possible price. :)

In addition to the duo you'll find Under the Harvest Moon and Mocha for Two, two very lovely glittery bases. As well as Autumn Vixen and Fall in Love, both sparkly glitter toppers.

Visit Paint Those Piggies to see these beauties in action. Seriously, you don't want to miss this post!!

* Reading her review you will find that Forever Green was too sheer to be used how I wanted and had to be reformulated. I leave you with these two pictures of the since updated polish.


This is 3 coats of Forever Green, with top coat, in the sun. I use thicker coats and could have worn this with 2 coats, but 3 is optimal if you are a weirdo and somehow manage to use thinner coats. ;)


This is 3 coats, with top coat, in my lightbox. If you look closely at this one you can really see the flecks of purple and green shimmery glitter.

Can I just end with how much I hate sun pictures? I have my lightbox and my camera all set up for the perfect skin tone and 'blurring' capabilities ... and the sun hides nothing! :p

Askruk46

Autumn Nails Tutorial

Hi everyone! So last week I created this tutorial exclusively for DIYfashion.com click here to head on over there and see what I did, hope you like it!


Alice

Askruk46

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