Pages

Saturday, 26 October 2013

Drool Britannia - ALL The UK Indies

Hi Goddesses



For a long, long time, being an indie maker was a no-go if you lived in the UK.  The price of materials was prohibitive, and my dreams of being the next Nikole / Dolly / Amanda had to go on hold.


Recently though, there has been an utter EXPLOSION of UK indies, and I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the ladies who are changing the UK polish world.    This may not be all of them - there's a new talented lady popping up every week lol - but this should give you a good overview of who and what is out there.  Each lady has been hyperlinked to her Facebook page.  In no particular order -


Quirk - Kerrie

quirk_logo_final.png
I started Quirk to embrace my love of polish and pop culture. My polishes are all inspired by things that I really admire, be it Books, Music ,TV, Movies or even just a quote that has stuck in my head. I wanted to create a  brand of polish that embraces the Quirky side of life yet still remains of the highest quality. I have always been a really creative person and starting my own brand was the next step for me.  
My first collection is called “Blame It On The Boom Boom” and is inspired by an American rock band called Black Stone Cherry. There is a polish called “Peace Is Free” within that collection which is proving to be a big hit with the fans. Honestly I can’t pick one polish above the others as my all time favourite though, maybe once a few more collections have come out I could choose! 
UV.jpg
My plans for the future are to keep expanding and strengthening my brand. I have lots of fun collections planned for the future as well as a hand and nail care line. I also have some other exciting things in the works but it would ruin the fun of it if I told you it all straight away wouldn’t it? 
You can check out my review of Quirk polishes HERE.


Nail Lacquer UK - AJ



 I never actually started the brand... it just pretty much grew from my love towards nail polish, nail art and the constant need to do something new and exciting and to share it all with others. I still see myself more as a blogger than indie polish maker, it was initially meant to be just a small part of my blog where readers can buy my polishes but somehow it grew fast and within 2 short months I have sold over 100 polishes. Getting good reviews have been extremely encouraging and the negative feedback have been helpful to grow as a polish maker. 


IMGP4713.jpg


 Most of my best selling polishes have circle glitter in, I think it is "in" these days hence the popularity... Also, people tend to love the cute charms I add to my polishes. Some of the charms are handmade by me (the small cake slices for example). I see more circle glitter polishes coming in the next few months and with the Christmas approaching fast there will be lots of red, green and golden polishes available in my shop. I also have a soft spot for pastels so that is something you'll be spoiled with. 


Midnight Prince small img (1).jpg



My plan is to offer unique and one of a kind nail polishes with adorable charms and great customer service for as long as there are people who love and support hand made nail polish.



Pocket Money Polishes - Charlie

Avatar.jpg

I started the brand after a lot of encouragement from a friend (and indie maker) when I really wanted to make my own glitter topper. It grew from a 4 bottle collection into a new collection every month, singles and greatest hits – my theme has become music with every polish being named after and inspired by a song. 


neonmix.png

My favourite polish… well… not really a favourite but the very first one would be Starry Starry Night but my best-selling polish is I Want Candy closely followed by Ice Ice Baby (as seen in nail art by SoYouBeauty) 

char-talia-tribute.jpg


Keep making different toppers, maybe expand into colours. As long as it’s fun and my customers are happy then I intend to keep going. Always lots of new glitters out there and many many combos to explore. We will be having another US pop up store after the success of our way in September.

Magic Goose - Emma




Having blogged about nails since 2011 it felt to me like the High Street nail polishes just weren't exciting me any more. As soon as a trend comes along every brand will follow suit. Whereas with handmade polishes there is a lot more individuality; a bit of something for everyone. It's long been a dream of mine to create my own polish, and when I finally realised that I too could do it, I didn't waste any time in creating Magic Goose!



My best-selling polish so far is Electra, a glitter topcoat with purple and holo lilac hexes and turquoise holo stars. It's also my personal favourite, it makes me think of fireworks :) 


Hairy Legs London - Sanita

logo.jpg


I started the brand because I have always been into vintage polishes, especially vintage glitters! I still am, but I think it's nice to be able to replicate some of those HTFs or create something that looks as cool as one of those oldies. Which brings me to the second point - I love to create and play with colours. I get inspired by the most random things (trolls, trainers, songs and all sorts of odd bits), and after that I try to translate them into nail polish! :)



Best selling definitely is Tainted Love, and I don't have a favourite per se. I do have to say I'm quite proud of Rainbow Troll because it really does look like its hair!!!


Future plans - Total world domination through nail polish :D In all seriousness though, I really hope to be doing this as long as people like my stuff, or I ran out of ideas! I'd love to be able to turn the attention of British muggles to our small but growing indie scene   :)

You can check out my review of Hairy Legs London HERE.


So, who's tickled your fancy?  What polishes would you like to see?  Do you think the UK can handle an indie scene as big as the US?  I'd love to know your thoughts xx