The Millionaire's Giveaway - The Winners

Hi Goddesses

Ok, bear with me, cos this is going to get a tad complicated!


Firstly, thank you to EVERYONE who entered my enormous Giveaway, and thank you to all of the sponsors who so generously donated prizes.


Announcing the winners is going to be a piecemeal process.   Because some of the prizes are US only, some are UK only and some are International, I am only going to draw 5 winners at a time.


Those 5 winners will pick their prize (first come, first served), and then we'll move on.  If your name gets picked after all the prizes for your territory have gone, then sadly, you will not win a prize.  I am hoping if I do it slowly enough, I can avoid this situation, but it is tricky with multi-territory prizes.  Each group of winners has 48 hours only to get in touch and claim their prize.


Ok - here are the first 5 names :)  As the prizes get picked, I will update the list below xx



WINNERS
Emily Fletcher
Rebecca Eakin
Kacy Sloan
Lauren Suarez
Paulina Data

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Christine Young
Mette Vindfeld Deis Carlsson
Chrissie Richardson
Elizabeth Lefevre
Michelle Stean

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Sarah Louise Poulter
Cindi Overstreet did not reply
Stephanie Gillespie
Darlene Moreira-Alberts did not reply
Kelli Triplett

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BlitzMe MacGregor
Dawn Peacher
Stephanie Oblas
Karel Horn
Mollie Mills did not reply

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Victoria Pires
Malinda Rose
Marie-Luise Lubich
Nicky Nailslove
Judith MacFadyen

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Denise Houser-Hanuschak
Cari Rondello Welsh
Amanda Bowling
Marnie Wilson
Alexandra Ale
Megan Russell
Emma Thompson
Candace Woods
Nidia Martinez Doherty
Cynthia Decker
Tina Shirbroun
Tes Stobaugh

INTERNATIONAL PRIZES

Too Fancy Lacquer - $25 gift voucher to use in-store - chosen by NickyNailsLove
Messy Mansion - 4 Messy Mansion plates and 2 LilyAnna plates - chosen by Kacy Sloan
Darling Diva Polish - 6 polishes from the White Witch Collection - chosen by Emily Fletcher
Lilypad Lacquer - 4 polishes - the Soft Metals collex
Chirality - 4 polishes - chosen by Mette Vindfeld Deis Carlsson
Ruby White Tips - 4 polishes - chosen by Paulina Data
Cupcake Polishes- 3 polishes - chosen by Stephanie Gillespie
Indigo Bananas - 3 polishes - chosen by Michelle Steane
Literary Lacquers - 3 polishes - chosen by Elizabeth Lefevre
Philly Loves Lacquer - 2 polishes - chosen by Emma Thompson
Gothic Gala Lacquers - 2 polishes - chosen by Candace Woods
Treasures by Tan - 2 polishes and a $5 coupon code - chosen by Victoria Pires
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics - 2 polishes - chosen by Marie-Luise Lubich
Northern Star - 1 polish, 1 cuticle oil


UK ONLY PRIZES

Sally Magpies - set of Pretty Serious texture polishes - chosen by Sarah Louise Poulter
Celestial Lacquer - 3 polishes - chosen by Chrissie Richardson
Quirk - exclusive LE polish - chosen by Judith MacFadyen


US ONLY PRIZES

Aly's Dream Polish - $50 in store voucher - chosen by Karel Horn
Chaos & Crocodiles - 4 polishes - chosen by Lauren Suarez
Serum No 5 - 4 polishes chosen by Christine Young
Painted Sabotage - 3 polishes - chosen by Marnie Wilson
Love, Angeline - 3 polishes - chosen by Dawn Peacher
Pretty Bitch Polish - 3 polishes - chosen by Rebecca Eakin
Sweetheart Polish - 2 polishes - chosen by Stephanie Oblas
Ella Gee - 2 polishes - chosen by Cari Rondello Welsh
Pipe Dream Polish - 2 polishes - chosen by Cynthia Decker
Anne Kathleen - 2 polishes - chosen by Tes Stobaugh
You Polish - 2 polishes - Tina Shirbourn
Delush Polish - 2 polishes - chosen by Denise Houser-Hanuschak
My 10 Friends - 2 polishes - chosen by Kelli Triplett
Model City Polish - 1 bottle of polish, 1 cuticle oil and a glass nail file - chosen by Malinda Rose
Misfits on 8th - polish making kit - chosen by Blitz Me McGregor

ILNP - Grape Taffy Goes Steampunk! (And how a Vault is a good AND a bad idea)

Hi Goddesses

I want to explain a little bit today about how my whole "vault" situation arose, as this mani is a perfect example.


Pretty much, for the last 2 years, I've been obsessed with building a vault of manis I could fall back on, if for any reason I couldn't post for a month.  Often, this meant doing a swatch, and then arting over it, so that 2 posts were created every time I did my nails.  Also, as some of you know, I paint both hands differently each day, so that could often make 4 manis in each "round" of painting.  And some days, I could get 6 rounds done.  Yes, maths you do now mmmm.

As you can imagine, this resulted in a lot of quantity, but not so high on the quality.  When you challenge yourself to "quickly plop some stamping on top", you're never going to end up with a nuanced or imaginative mani.

So for 2 years, this is how the vault grew.  It also meant that most things inside it stagnated.  They weren't sensational enough to be dragged out to play, so often they could languish there for months (and some even managed a year!)

Also, the pressure of the vault meant that new manis were never posted as quickly as I wanted, and I ended up in this horrible twilight between the 2.   So ultimately my salvation became a prison, and in an act of rebellion and spontaneity, that's why it's being emptied, so I am only tied to the now and the future.

And today's mani is LOVELY.  I really really liked it, and it hasn't deserved to sit in the Vault since 16th August lol.   This has ILNP Grape Taffy on base, with this brilliant stamp from Cheeky 33 on top, courtesy of Essie Penny Talk, and a lick of matte top coat.

ILNP Week - Grape Taffy and Sniffany - Disappointed

Hi Goddesses

Every once in a while, a brand you love drops a clanger. Whether it's a beauty brand, or an actor choosing a bad role, or an author penning a lazy book, it's always a disappointment, but sometimes your love for that brand allows you some forgiveness, and that's where we are today.

So again we have 2 polishes I bought back in the summer, and whilst both are gorgeous cremes, I hope the first thing you will notice is how neither of them look like the colour in the bottle.

This is one of the things that is guaranteed to piss me off when I buy a polish or a lipstick.   If it looks ruby red, I don't expect it to come out baby pink, and sadly, that's what happened with both these polishes.

Sniffany is a gorgeous pale mint green, with slight echoes of Tiffany.  It looks lovely on the nail, but looks nothing like the contents of the bottle.

Grape Taffy, again, lovely colour - but wow, HOW MANY clicks darker is it on the nail?  A click or 2 (as you get with ALL Zoyas) I can live with, but not half a spectrum.

I also noticed that the bottles had started to puddle (within 3 months of buying them).   It's hard to see in the photos, but there are distinct swathes of white in the bottle, where the colour has detached from the base.  This is often par for the course with older polishes (especially OPIs), but I have never seen it with young 'uns before.

I mentioned this to Barbra, who with good grace offered me a refund.  She felt the base should have been tested longer, which I would have to agree with BUT ... when you're a major brand (like ILNP is; they have one of THE best indie brandings of all), I expect more.  I expect this kind of obvious kink to have been worked out BEFORE sale, not after.


For the record, I've "sat" on this post for over 6 months.  I am not here to be negative or to diss or damage a brand, but I think ILNP is big enough to withstand a few (hopefully balanced) words from me :)

So, disappointed, yes.  Will it stop me buying more of Barbra's polishes?  No.    These are the only 2 disappointments out of at least 20, so maybe I'll just avoid the cremes for a while.

ILNP Week - Army Surplus and Amanda Hugginkiss

Hi Goddesses

2 beautiful yet contrasting swatches for you today from the lovely holoey goodness of ILNP.

Army Surplus is a lovely dusty green, perfect camo colour.  You know I struggle with green, but there was something about this shade I really liked.

Whilst the base is quite dark and dead in tone, the holo adds a delcious layer of golden fire - it's a great combo.

Just for fun, I stamped a peacock over it, but it didn't look as good as I hoped - the gold fought with the holo too much.

And then we have Amanda Hugginkiss, a lovely purple holo.   The bend in this is great, but it's not the best purple holo I own.  Nothing wrong with it, but I know I own brighter and better.  Still if you have bought / do buy this, it will serve you well.

Work Wear Wednesday - KIKO 319 Light Dove

Hi Goddesses

A fabulous greige for you today, and from one of my favourite brands, KIKO.

This is 319 lol aka Light Dove and it's a beautiful pale taupe with grey leanings.

The best thing about it is the fabulously glossy KIKO formula, giving it a glassy shine which works beatifully with the colour.

If you're looking for a taupe or a greige, you really don't need to look any further.

Enjoy xx :)