OPI Navy Shatter - Worst Polish EVER

I thought I'd try out OPI Shatter in Navy for a fun new manicure now we're coming into spring.  I'm in love with navy and couldn't wait to try out their navy shatter polish over a light pink Nails Inc shade called Elizabeth Street. Excuse my grotty and dirty pink Nails Inc bottle - this is one of my favourites and has had its fair share of applications.

SO here we have below the two polishes I thought would make the perfect Navy and Pale pink shatter effect:

I applied my under coat first of light pink and waited for it to completely dry.  I then undid the lid of the OPI shatter and saw OPIs classic creamy consistency polish and applied a light coat over my dried first pink coat, excited to see the shattering take place.

The first hand shattered the first 4 nails but not the thumb.  I waited and waited but nothing happened? I had redipped the OPI navy shatter polish in its bottle after my fourth finger and this seems to have deactivated the active shatter effect!?  On the nails it did shatter it was quite a nice effect, but the pail pink which was showing had a bit of a blue tinge and wasn't as crisp a pink coming through underneath as I had expected.

 Then, I went on to my second hand.  Not one nail 'shattered'.  Honestly, I was in shock, How can OPI one of the most respected nail polish brands have created a shatter polish which worked so badly!?  It was absolute rubbish and honestly, one of the worst polishes I have ever seen.

 Look at the results below.  I didn't even neaten up the edges before I took this picture as I knew I was going to head straight for the polish remover as there was no way I was heading out the house with one set of nails semi shattered, and the other not at all.  Very very disappointing OPI!!

How RUBBISH is this!??!?!

I mean SERIOUSLY what is that, coming from a polish that has a RRP of £11.00 from www.asos.com.  I bought the navy, but I had been contemplating at the time purchasing this beautiful Emerald Green (here) and the classic black. I thought I would see how I got on with the navy and thank god I saw how it doesn't work at all as now I definitely will not be purchasing another OPI shatter.  Considering how much I love their normal polishes, I have now been put off trying some other OPI special collections after these disappointing results.

Not cool OPI. Not cool.  Have you guys had similar results?!?! Let me know!!! xxxxx

Essie Meets Ciate Caviar Pearls!

I finished the most beautiful shade of Ciate ever - Cookies and Cream (you HAVE to try it) which came as a duo with the caviar pearls.

So after I finished the Cookies and Cream, I wondered if it had a special formula which made it specifically 'stick' to its caviar pearl twin.

As I was fresh out of Ciate, this was agreat time to experiment and sprinkled those little pearls all over some lilac Essie polish in "Under Where?" - a cool gray / lilac shade.

They actually did a fanatastic job of sticking, so I urge all you girls with Caviar Pearls to go out there and explore the different colour combinations you can come up with - see all the colour combos here!

I'm even tempted to try all my nails in different caviar shades....or even different polish AND caviar pearl shades...the possibilities are endless!!

A word to the wise - make sure you press down the pearls into the polish in order to keep that caviar pearl look - otherwise they will brush of easily when you put on you coat!

What do you guys think...tempted to try it???

xxxx fiocco bianco xxxx

Under Where? Nail Polish by Essie review

I am currently in love by the flirtatious new collection by Essie.  I've always been a long standing supporter of their solid monochromatic colours, but this Autumn, they've outdone themselves with a super fun collection full of lilacs, aqua azures, corals and adorable newbie greens.

Whilst in the Essie store and looking at the hundreds of shades I knew it would have to be from this collection as various bloggers had made me quite jealous.  I went for the lilac polish in a naughtily named 'under where?' as its not a colour I've tried before (available here).

Colour? 10/10 Drop dead gorgeous as purples go.  The lilac has a slightly gray tone to it giving your mani that high fashion edge.  It can be dressed up or down, for fun frivolous colourful outfits or as a sleek formal manicure.  This shade has absolutely wowed me and dare I say it, might be the favorite or my polish collections.

Application? 9/10 If you've ever tried Essie you'll know they've got a great shaped polish brush which is wide and narrow.  This gives  a smoother application than those normal brushes as it glides easily onto the nails leaving little to know streakiness.

Wow Factor? The Essie colour 'under where?' is glorious, but the wow factor for me is the consistency of this polish.  A number of times while applying it I was a little heavy handed and thought I would have to apply another coat to smooth out those areas, but literally as I was contemplating how to fix it, the polish somewhat magically evened out as it set, creating a perfectly smooth base.  I kid you not ladies.  This is some kind of miracle polish!

See 'Under Where?' and the rest of the dazzling Essie collection on their site  (Available here)

Illamasqua nail polish in Hemlock

Morning Ladies, 

So here's a review on my first ever Illamasqua nail polish Hemlock (link here) in a 'pale opal green irridescant'! Available for £14.50 at www.illamasqua.com

Colour 7/10

I chose the shade Hemlock as I was really drawn by it's almost indescribable colour! They describe it as pale opal green iridescent, however for me I'd say it's more of a sheer/ semi sheer polish in a mother of pearl shade - there's almost a pink beige base with flashes of yellow / pink / green tones which shine through in different lights.  It is a nice colour, but perhaps not my favorite, I'd have preferred it to have been just with green or pink tones as together I'm not sure they go perfectly.

Application 10/10- 

A dream.  This polish beats a lot of other high end polishes for its beautiful consistency and ease to apply.  There are no brush strokes and I love how it hasn't got that gloopy texture. It also dries quickly between strokes.  I hope the others in the range are just as good!

Staying power 10/10

I had absolutely no chips for 5 days, and got away with the polish for 9 with just minor chips at the end.  And that's after cleaning the over without gloves as well.  Amazing!!!!

Over all, Hemlock is  a beautiful nail polish in a fairly neutral shade that will go with most outfits because of its various tones and it's semi-sheer quality.  It also has great staying power without chipping for at least 5 days.  The only thing is, there are too many colours running through this polish for me, but that's just a matter of personal taste.  But, in terms of application and staying power, as far as polishes go, I would definitely recommend it above most others. 

Have you guys tried any of the Illamasqua nail polishes, what do you think of them??

Maybelline's Color Show range

Hello my beauties!

I was lucky enough to get my hands on some gorgeous summer nail polish from Maybelline's Color Show range.
Honestly, I hadn't tried a Maybelline polish before, as I'm normally a bit of a die-hard OPI fan, but I have to admit it well exceeded my expectations.

Ciao a tutti!

Sono stata molto fortunata perche' ho avuto l'opportunita di provare qualche smalti dal collezione nuova di Maybelline: ColorShow.

Sinceramente, prima, non avevo mai provato un smalto di Maybelline, perche di solito sono un tifoza di OPI, ma devo dire che Maybelline e' stato molto meglio che avevo previsto!

Their Color Show range all have a beautiful consistency giving a smooth coat even at just the first application.  For a highstreet brand it has a luxurious high-end feel where there's no streakyness which makes your application smooth and silky.

The collection is full of powerful and strong colours for those who aren't afraid to stand out from the crowd.  I particularly love the apptly named 'Bubblicious' which is a flirty bubblegum pink colours. Their strong colours are enhanced by the ultra high gloss finish which makes your nails look like they've just been painted.

Il collezione di Color Show hanno un consitenza molto leggera e liscio anche una applicazione sola. Per una marchio di highstreet economica, ho visto che sembrava una marca di lussa, non c'era le righe di smalto quando che rende l'applicazione liscia e setosa. 

E' una collezione rica con colori forti e vivace, fatto a posto per le personne che non hanno paura di stare fuori dalla folla.  A me piace 'Bublicious' che e' una fuscia vibrante.  Questi colori migliorano anche di piu, perche hann una  finitura ultra lucida che rende lunghie super vibrante e' sembrano appena smaltato.

The daring colours would look great paired with a black leather jacket and some killer heels which would really contrast to its vibrancy. I'm definitely looking forward to creating the look tonight.

Have any of you guys tried our the Maybelline Color Show polishes?

Credo che questi colori andrebbe bene con una giaccia di pelle e' un paio di tacchi alti che farebbe un contrasto con questi colori vibranti.  Non vedo l'ora di creare questa 'look' sta sera!

Avete mai provato i smalti di Maybelline Color Show?