Crumpet's Polishes of the Year 2013 - Red

Hi Goddesses

Today I've got my favourite red polishes of the year for you.  For a colour that is so one-dimensional, we've seen a great variety of new finishes and exciting combos.  So, excluding my Big 4 brands, here are my Top 7 Reds of the Year.

(To go to the post, just click the polish name).

Bondi - Strawberry Fields



Ah, Bondi.  Let's not even go there, but this not-red, not-pink, not-coral polish was a lovely Spring hit for me.


Emily de Molly - Ruby Slippers



In my book, there is NOTHING as good as a sexy red holo, and EdM (and Lilypad) both hit that ball right out of the park this year.  This is a nice deep red - not pinky and pretty - to give you the bloodied depth you need.


HITS - So Unique



This duochrome does things to me! A purple to ruby bend ?  Yikes, it doesn't get more Crumpet-y than that.  (At the time of writing, I own, but haven't yet worn, Crows Toes Indian Summer).


Mentality Nail Polish - Tempest

Now this is how to do a red!  Matte or glossy, this stunner is The Bomb!  Deep and darkly passionate, this is a red full of violence.  It literally glows, it's that hot.


Ninja Polish - Ambrosia



I love polishes on the red/orange cusp, and this tomato-hued stunner was divine.  Laden with gold shimmer, this just screams joy and happiness.


piCture pOlish - O'Hara



Another red holo, this is on the bright side of the spectrum.   Subtle as a brick, but just perfect.  A mani for one of those days when you need to put the world to rights.


Pretty Serious - Viscous Vampire



Oh lala.   Shimmery red gorgeousness sprinkled with pink glitters.  Ah, this is just sexiness on a stick!  Gorgeous, glorious and totally thrilling.

Crumpet Reviews - Ninja Polish - Divinity and Ambrosia

Hi Goddesses

Somehow, somewhen, amidst all the sinuses and all the challenges, I have forgotten to post what was going to be MARCH’S (sheeesh) Polish of the Month, and her sister. So finally, somehow, some slack, here are the awesome twins – Divinity and Ambrosia from Ninja Polish.

If you haven’t checked them out recently, Ninja Polish, who started as “just” an e-tailer, have branched out into their own potions and glitterbomb-explosions over the last few months.  Initially this led to almost more Floam varieties than the world could reasonably handle, but recently, it’s led to some amazing polishes with JUST the right amount of magical, duo-ey chrome-y shimmer.

Do you remember last year, when everyone was obsessed with Max Factor Fantasy Fire?  For those who remember, it was a teeny tiny bottle of purple looking magic, which had to be layered over another colour (usually purple).  It then added a shimmer of fire which also turned witchily to green.   

Well Divinity is the supreme evolution of that polish.  A decent sized bottle, all the duochrome you could ask for, and …. are you ready ….. OPAQUE.  Yup, opaque.  2 to 3 coats.  OPAQUE.   From one bottle, not 2.  No layering. OPAQUE!!!

This is what I love about polish FANS making polishes.  This couldn’t be more perfect, but could only have been created by someone disappointed in Fantasy Fire.

I absolutely love this.  You may have seen it on other blogs over the last couple of months, but it just doesn’t get old.  This is a fab “grab a polish with a bit of something ooh lala as I run out the door” for your stash.

And yet Divinity isn’t the polish I lost my heart to.  Uh uh.  Nope.   I lost my heart to my secret Kryptonite – orange-red-shimmer love child!  Behold, Ambrosia.

Ah, Ambrosia, let me count the waaaaaaaaaaays!  Agh, just too gorgeous, too lovely, too happy for words.  This is pure heart shaped tomato-ey love in a bottle for me.   This colour is my weakness as it lifts my mood, and siiiiiiigh, Ambrosia and I are going to be very happy together.

Will you look at the light in that polish?  Look, look!  Look how she holds and hugs the light like the cutest gossamer duvet, and then channels it into electric shimmer. 

I likes this one.  A LOT.   So yes, Ambrosia was supposed to be my polish of the month for March and actually for April, and now it’s May and damn she’s got some competition.  Whooops.   Maybe she’ll have to settle for Polish of The Year.  

These polishes were sent to me for an honest review.  Enjoy xx

Floral Week - When Manis Go Wrong

Hi Goddesses

Quick recap - did 2 manis for Floral Week and hated them.  Decided to put them in the bin.  Did 3 cool manis.  Hurrah!  Only 2 left to do!  Broke nail to beyond nubbin length on nail art hand.  Profanities.  Dragged bad manis back out of bin.  Bummer.

So, today's post features the 2 manis I didn't want to post, because I thought they were sub-standard.  Neither of them are BAD bad, but they just don't work in the way I wanted them to.  Last year, they would have definitely appeared on the blog, but this year I'm trying to be better, which is why I culled them.  However, I know you love it when my manis go wrong, so here goes :)

The first one makes me sad.  This is Ambrosia, a sensational polish from Ninja Polish (which I'll be posting very soon), and I stamped over it in gold with GALS GA36.

This actually looked lovely - the Chinese combination of colours was particularly striking, and the stamp itself is quite quirky and unusual.

However, my camera had accidentally twiddled itself to the wrong setting, hence the less than spectacular photos.   I broke my cardinal rule of never taking a mani off before I had checked the photos - and this is why I have this rule!   So deep sadness at a nice mani ruined by bad photos.

The second .... it sounded so good in my head, but I just don't think it works.   This may look a little familiar to you, as it appeared (without the stamping) in one of my Literary Lacquers posts.

This is Barry M Lime Green, layered with Literary Lacquers My Secret Garden (a matte pastel glitterbomb), and then stamped with white and Cheeky CH44.

I'm still not quite sure where this fails, but for me, it just doesn't live up to what was in my head.  Maybe that particular flower stamp was the wrong choice - I don't know.

So there you go - another trip to my less than perfect world!  Ha ha.  Enjoy xx

Missy at Gnarly Gnails

Emma at Manicurity

Kerrie at Pish Posh & Polish

Ashley at Smashley Sparkles