Polished London - "Big Ben"

Hi everyone, how are you? Yay for Friday's! I have taken a break from exam study to bring you a new post :) The second of my Polished London collection, Big Ben. This is a beautiful, rich bluey/teal colour. I thought it was quite similar to Essie's Mint Candy Apple. I think it is slightly darker...I shall have to do a dupe post to compare them! Anyway, this was a great polish to apply. It was a little patchy on the first coat and the second there was some bald patches near the cuticle (don't you hate them!) but it was perfectly self levelling and I was ecstatic with the end result. 

Big Ben. I have seen quite a few blue polishes around (well lots!) but I am still a sucker for them. You may or may not be able to see the bald patches, I don't think I can in this photo which is good! This was 2 coats with a top coat and taken with a flash. So bright and fun!

Without flash but with the dining room lights on lol. A perfect teal colour, it sort makes me think this is what the sky may look around London, don't know why lol. I am so happy with my application too, getting better and better! My hands are also not as dry and my cuticles not as bad, thanks to my KORA Organics Hand Cream! Wonderful product, can do a review on request :)

Really happy with my Polished London purchases. I like that they are so affordable here too, finally a great polish that I don't feel bad forking out money for! :P This had a great brush too. Quite similar to Essie's older, thinner brushes which is great, I was able to paint really close to the edges of my nails with no pooling or smudging! 

Final photo, I think Big Ben looks most like Mint Candy Apple in this shot. The lighting definitely changes it, some lights it looks quite dark, others it is shining! 

Of course to continue with my London theme, here is a shot of the exquisite Big Ben. I really hope to see these landmarks one day soon! 

Well there is part 2 of my Polished London haul! I can't wait to show you my other two colours, I am so tempted to buy more of them to swatch and wear they are that fantastic! Check them out, just google Polished London and if they don't ship to you, I am sure there is a link of stockists on their site, its where I found mine! :D

Have a beautiful weekend and keep polishing! Em x 

Polished London - "London Eye"

Hi everyone! Hope you had a fantastic weekend! I was working the most part and had exam revision to do, first of three exams tomorrow, eek! Today I have a wonderfully bright polish for you. This is one of four (yes four) Polished London colours I bought online. I was so happy I could actually get these! London Eye is an orange creme colour and it is so bright and lovely! At first I wasn't sure about this colour, it looked slightly darker in the bottle but on the nail I think it has come out great! All the colours I got are inspired by places in London, I hit the jackpot with them! Will show you the others soon :) In the meantime, swatches of London Eye below! 

London Eye. Such a bold colour, I love it! Excuse the dodgy application and looking at the photos I only just realised I nicked my pinky, bugger! This was 2 easy coats with no top coat! So shiny! Taken in natural light without a flash. Looks so much nicer in the natural light than it did with the flash. Glad the sun is partially shining today!

Bottle shot. Love the label on the bottle! Application was great, the polish was slightly thin I found but it was fine to apply, better than trying to work with thick, goopy polish! I thought it would need quite a few coats to become opaque but 2 was perfect. First coat there was a slight visible nail line, my nails are so white and show through anything lol. Again, a perfect size brush for my nails :P

I couldn't believe how shiny this was without a top coat, amazing! You only get 10ml in the bottle but I think this is a great amount, I have never used a polish up and would rather have a small amount than heaps and not use it all!

Had to throw in a shot of the iconic London Eye :) Has anyone ever been on it? 

So there you have it. Polished London's "London Eye". A great orange in my opinion, nice and bright and I didn't think it gave me lobster hands either :P I went onto their website to purchase these but they don't ship to Australia so I followed a series of links until I found a place that did! They were about $7 where I got them from which I think was pretty good! I can't wait to show you the others I got...coming soon! 

Have a great Monday, Em x 

Liebster Blog Award!

Morning everyone! (Well morning here in Aus :P). The beautiful Caitlin from The Perfectly Polished Life has kindly nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award! Thank you so much honeybun! 

Here are the rules: 

Answer the questions from the blogger who nominated you
Post 11 facts about yourself
Choose 11 new bloggers to nominate
Create 11 new questions for the nominees
Let the bloggers know they've been nominated!

Here goes! 

Caitlin's Questions:
1. Favourite Nail Polish?
Ooh such a tough question... OPI You Don't Know Jacques, Essie Bond With Whomever, the list goes on...and on...and on lol
2. Favourite current fashion trend?
It probably isn't a trend but I love all the different boots around for winter. I got my wedge boots on sale, yay!
3. Beauty product you can't live without?
KORA Organics products. They have saved my skin and I can't say enough positive things about them. I will do a review of the products I use if anyone is interested :)
4. A destination you hope to travel to?
LONDON. Enough said. 
5. Favourite store?
Hmmmm....anywhere that sells nail polish...and books :P
6. Which colour of nail polish do you have the most of?
Probably purple at the moment.
7. Favourite nail polish brand?
Wow, I can't pick one favourite but I love Essie, Butter London, OPI etc etc 
8. Favourite quote?
AWL - Aren't we lucky! (Therese Kerr)
9. Favourite food?
Chocolate :D
10. Favourite type of nail art?
I love the look different stamping plates give. I have never tried it but really want to ! 
11. Most hated nail are trend?
I don't hate any but one I think is kind of odd is the nails with spikes and things like that on them...uncomfortable? Lol

11 Facts About Me:
I have climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge twice and it is one of the most amazing and surreal experiences I have ever had.
I am in my last year of uni, finally!
I own way way way too many books
I have met several of the actors on Home and Away :D
I would love to live and work in London one day
I prefer Winter way more than Summer, I hate being hot!!!
I have never been a nail biter
Niall Horan is my favourite One Direction member
I love watching rain
I don't own a foundation. I hate putting it on my skin and when I go out I only wear eye makeup and maybe some concealer
My mum is my absolute hero and has helped me so much throughout my life. She is my biggest support, especially when I go through my anxiety issues! (Have had anxiety for about 5 years now!)

Blogs I have nominated
Lacquer Reverie
London Varnish
I Heart Pretty Polish
Lanes Lacquers
The Sequined Nail
Perfectly Painted
The Polish Playground

My Questions for the Nominees:
1. Do you have any pets?
2. What moisturiser do you use?
3. What is the weather like where you are?
4. Have you got a car?
5. Do you read the newspaper?
6. Favourite colour?
7. Best nail art you have seen?
8. Are you a member of any Facebook nail groups?
9. Are you in your dream job at the moment? If not, what is your dream job?
10. Favourite celebrity?
11. Are you as excited as me for the birth of the Royal Baby? :D :D :D 

Thank you again to Caitlin for nominating me and I hope you all enjoy having a read of this! New post coming soon (if I don't get called in to work today...) 

Enjoy this day! Em x 

Chick Nail Polish - "Raven's Egg"

Hi you guys! I have a somewhat disappointing post for you today. I tried out my second Chick Nail Polish, Raven's Egg. This is a gorgeous royal blue colour that seems to shimmer in certain lights. I have mixed views about this polish. See more in the swatches below!

So, here it is. Raven's Egg. In natural lighting without a flash. This is one coat, yes one coat! Which is why the edges of my nails are a little wonky lol. I was going to do 2 coats but after one I thought, why not leave this, so I did! The opacity of this was devine, however the application, not so much.  

Indoors, natural light, no flash. Now, the application of this was a lot to be desired. Mine was thick, goopy and had an almost stick texture, if you could call it that. I'm sure this could be fixed with a little polish thinner but I have not been able to find any here and no one seems to know what it is (one girl asked if I was looking for nail polish remover...I groaned inside lol). It was easy to work with and I could apply it easily but after my first experience with Chick, I thought this one would be a lot nicer than it was...

I do love the colour of this. A beautiful royal blue that really is fantastic. There is a slight shimmer in there that makes it even more special. I liked that it wasn't too dark either. Some blue polishes are almost black and you can't tell the difference! Another big downside to this polish was the staining. Oh boy, the staining. I had this on for about 15 minutes, took photos, decided I wasn't completely happy with it and took it off. Almost. My nails and the skin around them are all blue, I went over them twice with remover once the polish was actually off and they are still tinged. I was going to show you one of my new Polished London colours (I got 4 in the mail today, yay!) but that is not going to happen anytime soon. Not until I get my nails back. They look like they've been stained with food colouring :(

I got an outdoor shot for you. One coat of Raven's Egg - such a fitting name - with no top coat! Looking at this, I just can't understand how I have come to dislike this polish! I mean, that colour is sensational! The formula and staining however, have not helped. I know the staining is probably to be expected with dark polishes but I have worn darker polishes for A LOT longer and they have not left a splotch of colour.

There you have it, my somewhat disappointing polish. I think this is the first one I have not raved about and loved as much as I normally do. I wanted to love it, I really did, but just can't. Maybe I will try it again in a few weeks time and see what happens. I got this colour off Etsy if I remember correctly :) Definitely give Chick Nail Polishes a try, they are fabulous (from my previous experience)! Have you tried Raven's Egg and had the same or completely the opposite experience with it? Let me know! I will be back soon with my new Polished London colours when I get rid of my blue tinged nubs LOL :P

Have a great rest of the day, Em x  

Treasures By Tan - "Amazon Dreams"

Hi again! I am back today with a gorgeous polish to show you. I was browsing Etsy, as us polish addicts do, and came across Amazon Dreams by Treasures By Tan. I was so excited to get this polish. I browsed Tan's shop and this one stood out the most to me and when I got it in the mail I could barely contain my excitement :P Amazon Dreams is such a hard colour to describe. It is an orangey/pinky/peachy holographic which shimmers green and yellow and changes in different lights. This is the colour I would use exactly to describe the Amazon River! The Amazon River is a lot dirtier but it just makes sense to me :) It actually reminded me of the beautiful Amazon or Pink River Dolphin, whichever name you may know it by. These dolphins are incredibly beautiful and extremely endangered. I would love to work to help the species one day! Here is a picture, had to show you :) Slightly picture heavy post too but I know you won't mind :P

They have the most unique colouring and Amazon Dreams just brought forward many thoughts of these dolphins and cruising down the river :) Now, onto the swatches!!!

Stunning. Just stunning. This was a beauty to photograph, the holographic effect is so visible and shows up beautifully. I am just in awe!!! It dried very fast too! 

Look!!! Lol. This was slightly blurred to show holoness and it does not disappoint. Green and yellow show through incredibly well. I took these photos in natural lighting with a flash. The only thing that I was disappointed about was the opacity on this polish. I expected it to be quite thick and strong in colour however the first coat was incredibly thin. This is 3 coats, no top coat and in real life there is still the sightest VNL. Only downside here. 

Bottle shot. I love the gorgeous little labels! I have a tattoo with butterflies in it so really love them :) You get a very decent amount of polish which is good as I can see myself wearing this A LOT in the future! The brush was perfect too, I know, I know, I have a small obsession with brushes LOL but when they are the best size for my nails, you have to know! I see blue holo in this, even more in awe! 

I just can't stop with the photos. No description needed here!

This was taken without the flash. You can see the sheerness a lot more in this photo but now I am really not fussed about that. It is too beautiful haha. Slight VNL on index finger, nothing too obvious :)

For those who knew I was debating about phones, here it is! I decided to go with the Samsung Galaxy Express :D It had too many good comments on here and I got the last white one, I was so excited! It goes quite well with the polish too if I don't say so myself :P I am so glad I went with this one, I can't stop playing on it and testing the features. Next mission - take a polish shot and see how it turns out! 

Outdoor shot. Decided to grab one before the rain sets in for the day :P Orange really shines in this photo and remember, no top coat!!!

Well there you have this picture heavy post. I am so glad I came across Tan's shop on esty and whilst linking you that, I have seen two more of her polishes I want, dammit! LOL. I got this for $10 AUD plus shipping which I was ecstatic with! If you are looking for a unique holographic polish, you must check out Treasures By Tan. She has done the most incredible job on all of her shades and I know I will be buying more soon...next payday in fact... :D I hope you like my swatches, I was really happy with these! 

Have a beautiful weekend, Em x  

Completely Random Post Nothing To Do With Nail Polish

Hi everyone! Ok so I figured I value all your opinions and love all you guys so wanted to ask you to help me decide which mobile phone to get LOL :D This is my blog and I can post what I want so why not ask you all! Ok I only get prepaid phones and can't choose between four...yes four...models 

Nokia Lumia 620
Nokia Lumia 820
Samsung Galaxy Express
Motorola Razr M

If you feel like commenting let me know which phone you think is best, I am completely useless at making decisions and need some help with this! So enjoy this completely random post and I will have some more swatches up tonight/tomorrow :)

Have a great day, Em x x x 

Colour Club - "Wild At Heart"

Hi everyone! I feel so bad not posting for nearly a week! My how work and uni annoys me sometimes!!! Ok short and sweet post today (well I'll try :P). Here is Colour Club Wild At Heart. I got this off ebay for about $6 I think it was and wow. Just wow. It is a holographic purple. I thought it would be nearly a dupe for a-England's Lady of the Lake but nope! They are close however I found WAH to have a stronger holographic finish. Yes I said it. Something slightly superior to a-England in something. I know. This was a one coater, really. I nearly left it at one coat but my habit got the better of me and I did two. Swatches below! 

Absolutely beautiful colour. I must admit I bought this for the name at first as I already have a holo purple lol but so glad I did! This was 2 coats, which applied like butter I might add, topped off with my trusty Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat. 

Look at that. Orange, red, blue, pink, green shimmer, the list goes on. I looked at this under strong light and my nails were purple and orange with the strength of the shimmer, like fire. Of course I couldn't catch this in a photo! 

I can't stop looking at my nails. This is a colour that looks much better on the nails that in the bottle. You can't see a lot of the holographic goodness in the bottle but on the nail, wow! 

Ok, so this photo shows heaps of the holographic colour in the bottle lol. The brush was perfect for my little nails, I was so pleased. You get a decent size bottle too which is nice although I've never used up a bottle of polish before...

There you have it! Wild At Heart is a stunning colour, I really like it. I don't know if I like it more than Lady of the Lake though...they're both divine! I really need to try a few more Colour Club polishes now :D I hope you had a good weekend, wherever you are and I will try not leave it so long between posts again!

Love Em x 

Sunshine Award Nomination!

Hi all! I am so lucky to have such beautiful friends in the blogging world. The fabulous Jem from London Varnish, Mel from Lacquer Reverie and Clare from Perfectly Painted kindly nominated me for the Sunshine Award. Thank you so much girls! 

The Rules of the Sunshine Award:

Thank the blogger who nominated you - of course!

Post the award logo on your blog

Nominate 5 blogs that you love

Share 7 facts about yourself

Here we go!

7 Facts About Myself

1. I am currently studying a Bachelor of Science at University and hope this takes me into the animal world. I would love to work at Australia or Taronga Zoo or even somewhere overseas, it has always been my dream to work with animals!

2. I spend most of my time in my pj's. Ok not really, but when I am home from uni, get home from being out or don't have to be anywhere I always throw my pj pants on. 

3. I have mentioned this before but I am a complete bookworm. I can't name my favourite book, I have wayyy too many and had to buy extra shelving from IKEA just to house my ever growing collection.

4. Going to London has been a dream of mine since I was 5. I remember in class when we were about that age we had to draw our timeline. I added London in there somewhere, of course I had never been but I knew I wanted to! :P

5. I always add Raw Cacao Powder to my cereal. I don't know why, it is bitter and tastes kind of funny but it is very good for you and I like it, strange, I know. 

6. Criminal Minds is one of my favourite TV shows EVER! I have always loved it and hate that we are behind other countries episode wise, it is so frustrating! For those who know what I am talking about, the most recent episode we was was when Reed was going to meet his mystery girl but thought he saw her stalker and turned her away. There is a new episode on tonight, yay!

7. I went to an agricultural high school and one of our lessons was spent learning to drive a tractor. Completely random, I know, but so much fun. I haven't driven one since. Lol!

My Sunshine Award Nominees:

Caitlin from The Perfectly Polished Life

Crystal from CD Designs 92

Clare from Perfectly Painted

Katie from Katie Does Nails

Jayna from The Sequined Nail

I hope you all enjoyed reading these facts about me! Thank you again girls for nominating me :) 

Have a great day, Em x  

OPI - "You Don't Know Jacques" Swatches

Hello again! It has been too long since my last post! I missed painting my nails, damn work! Speaking of work, I was looking at random swatches in my break, as you do, and came across You Don't Know Jacques. This was released as part of OPI's Fall 2008 Collection and is still in their permanent range (Mum wouldn't have found it otherwise, hallelujah!) I knew immediately I just had to have it and Mum happened to be in town the same day. I rang her and said if you happen to be near any OPI stands (hint hint) can you get this for me? :D I wasn't hopeful as we have a very limited and expensive ($20 a bottle for OPI) range here but when I got home there was a little bag on the table and she found it! What better way to celebrate finishing work for the day than with a new polish. You Don't Know Jacques is a slightly dark brown colour - a little like milk chocolate - that has the most fabulous application ever. I have quite a few pictures for you all! 

I had heard lots about this polish and how fantastic it was and I am so glad I have experienced that for myself. This was 2 coats of lacquer with my trusty Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat. To be honest, it was just as shiny without the top coat (Yes!), I just added that for lasting power. 

Mum was slightly horrified at this colour before I applied it. She said she asked the lady for it and when she brought it out mum thought ugh why does she want that colour, it looks like dirt. Haha! Well once I showed it to her on my nails it was a completely different story! She now wants to steal it for her toes :P

Lots of photos but I can't get enough of this shade. I love it on the nails and in the bottle, it transfers exactly the same colour onto the nail by the way. I think you could funk it up or leave it how it is for a more sophisticated look. It seems "nude" enough that it could be an office colour as well, so many uses! 

I had been looking for a nice milk chocolate brown for a while and the few I found had almost a black base. I wasn't even looking at this for the chocolately colour but it looks quite like milk chocolate to me! Yum!

OPI have bigger brushes than Essie and other brands but this one just seemed to like me. I had such a great time applying this, I didn't have to do any clean up! Yay! It was like painting melted chocolate onto the nail. I must stop looking at my nails now, it makes me want chocolate every-time.

I know there are probably hundreds of swatches of You Don't Know Jacques but what do you think? If my swatches can tempt you into buying this polish then I have succeeded. I would have such a larger OPI collection if they weren't so incredibly expensive here. This is the first one I have owned for a couple of years and I am not disappointed in the least. I could wear this over and over it is that delicious. Hope you enjoyed this post, now off you go, go and eat some chocolate, you know you want to :D Thanks Mum for doing the groundwork and snapping this up for me!  

Have a wonderful weekend, Em x