NOTD - Aquamarine by Mavala

My nail polish today is a light green colour from Mavala.  Mavala is not a brand I would normally buy but I found this one in the clearance racks in Boots.  It was in a set of two and was £5 for them both.  Never one to miss out on nail polish for £2.50 each I thought I would try it.

The colour in the bottle is slightly shimmery, it seems to have a silvery blue shimmer to it.  Unfortunately this does not really translate to your nails.  I also had to apply three coats so you couldn't see my nails through it and even then I still can slightly.

Not sure this will pursuade me to buy any more Mavala polishes but its not the worst polish I have ever tried.

Next up is Aubergine from Marks and Spencer.  I haven't worn this one before so I am quite excited to try it!

Until then,
Lealea x

NOTD - Apricot Punch by Rimmel

Todays nail polish is one of the Fruities range from Rimmel.  This means that the nail polish has a slight fruity smell - this one as you can probably tell from the name of the polish is supposed to smell of Apricots.  Not sure about that but it does have a slight fruity smell if you care to sniff your nails!

The polish is not quite bright orange - its like a muted orange colour.  I normally like the formula of Rimmel nail polishes but this one is quite streaky to apply. The first coat was very patchy, the second coat evened it out but I still found that even with two coats its not very opaque and you can see the whites of my nails underneath.  Despite being a Lasting Finish polish it is already wearing of the tips of my nails after 24 hours.

Not my most favourite polish I must admit.

The next up is Aquamarine from Mavala.

See you soon
Lealea x

NOTD - Angel Wings by Sally Hansen

I went to a Christening today so was glad that the next nail polish in my collection was Angel Wings by Sally Hansen which is a muted pearly white.  It seemed to go much better with the occasion than the bright red I was wearing before!

This nail polish is very sheer, more like a wash of pearly colour rather than being fully opaque.  It is not a colour I would normally wear or buy but this one came in a set of two with Mudslide by Sally Hansen, a lovely muddy pink colour. 

In this photo I actually have three coats of polish on as well as an undercoat (Boots No. 7 in Clear) and topcoat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.  Even with three coats on you can clearly see my nails underneath (which actually were a bit yellow-y when I took the All Fired Up off).  I think this is more of a nice occasion nail polish rather than a statement polish.

Sally Hansen nail polishes are great to apply.  They have a very wide angled brush which makes application easy - especially on your little finger which you can do with one swipe of the brush.  The formulation is also great.  I would give this an A for its easy application but this particular one a C for colour as its so sheer.

Next up on my list is Apricot Punch by Rimmel (one of the Fruities Collection).

Later,
Lealea x

Colour wheels

So after getting organised I thought I would buy some of those nail colour wheels so I could see exactly how many polishes of each colour I have.  I bought them for £5.99 from ebay (10 wheels, 18 "nails" on each wheel).  I decided to separate each colour spectrum onto a wheel.  Good in theory but in practice I had 12 different colour spectrums so I had to put all the greys/blacks in with the glitters and shatter polishes and the reds with the oranges.  As all the reds and oranges take up all 18 places on the wheel I guess that means I can't buy any more red/orange polishes again!

Here are all 10 laid out - don't they look pretty?

In close up...


Oranges/Reds

Medium Pinks

Light pinks

Dark pinks

Greens

Purples

Whites/Yellows/Nudes

Metallics

Glitters/Shatters/Greys/Blacks

Blues

I had so much fun painting these, putting them all in order of light to dark, labelling them (yep I am that sad!).  I can't wait to wear all of these this year now!  I love them all!

New polish on tonight so I will do another NOTD tomorrow,

Until then,
Lealea x

Getting organised!

After deciding to carry out this little project I decided it was time to organise my nail polishes so it was easy to find everything.  Rather than stash them all in a large make up bag (which I couldn't even close!) I decided to store them all in boxes so that they were all easy to see.  I figure it might stop me from buying yet another pink polish when I can clearly see that I have about 30 sitting in a box!

I didn't want to spend too much on this organisation so a quick trip to WH Smith in the sales sorted me out, I found some cute stripy storage boxes for £1 each (told you I liked a bargain).  So now my polishes are all neatly stored.  Love it!

Oh and for your amusement - this is what my living room carpet looked like before I boxed everything up...

If only everything else in my house was as easy to organise...

Take care,
Lealea x

NOTD - All Fired Up by Revlon

The next nail polish in my collection is a beautiful classic red colour.  What I see as a true Hollywood red.  I bought this for £1 from Poundland - bargain!  One thing you'll learn about me - I do love a good bargain!

I put this on last night and as you might be able to see from the photo I took today it has slightly worn on the edges of my nails already. 

Undercoat = No. 7 Clear
2 coats of All Fired Up
Top Coat = Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.

I found that two coats did not give fully opaque coverage - I can see the tips of my nails slightly through the polish but I think thats something only I would notice.  The polish was smooth and easy to apply.  I would give it an A- just because of the way it is wearing off the tips of my nails even though it hasn't even been on for 24 hours.

Next on my list is Angel Wings by Sally Hansen.

Until next time,

Lealea x

NOTD - Admire by China Glaze

Happy New Year everyone!  Here's hoping 2012 is a great year!

I was going to wait until New Years Day to apply my first nail polish of the year but as I chipped the polish I was wearing on New Years Eve I thought I would get a head start.

My first polish is Admire by China Glaze.  Its a beautiful metallic pinky purple colour.  The polish itself applies really easily but as its metallic it is very difficult to apply without it going streaky.  In fact I ruined two nails as the streaks were really obvious and they had to be re-done.  As you can see the colour is really stunning, its the kind of colour that would look great with a tan (no chance on me then!!).

Sorry for the bad lighting, I didn't get a chance to take a photo in the daylight today.

This is undercoat  of Boots No. 7 Clear, two coats of Admire and top coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.  So far after 24 hours it is showing small signs of wear on the ends of my nails but nothing noticeable.

I would give this an A+ for colour and it would be an A for ease of appliance but because of how streaky the colour goes I would only give it a B.

The next colour I will be wearing is is All Fired Up by Revlon.  Until then, take care

Lealea x