NEW31DC Day 4 - Pink

Hi Goddesses

Today I am what you call a Chuffty.  Maybe even a Chuffty Cat.  That means I am very "chuffed" with today's mani - chuffed is a British word for "well pleased with meself".  Lol.

This is one of those lovely accidents that just *happened* with no planning or forethought.  The only thing I really decided on was that the pink I used should be an untried so Color Club Wing Fling, here we are.

I really liked the Color Club Take Wing Collex from last summer.  I feel it got way overshadowed by the kerpow from the CG Neons, but this was an amazing collection of summer brights with glass-flecked electrical sizzle.

Wing Fling though, has left me a little cold.  I admit, it looks sensational in these photos, everything a hot pink should be, but in real life, I just wasn't feeling it.  I think it was actually a little too electric for me and felt almost flourescent.  Shame.

So then I thought I'd do a pink splatter, with a bit of black in it to make it rock n roll and ..... OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH !!!

I honestly can't tell you how happy I am with how this turned out.  It's bright, it's zappy, and it's just got that little edge to it.  Awesome.

I used OPI Sparrow Me The Drama and Black Onyx and one of my favourite pinks, CG Traffic Jam ... and a very special tool.  I am now going to share with you why this came out with extra awesome in it.

You know how sometimes when you do a splatter mani, the polish lands too heavy ?  You get a great big fat dollop of polish that obliterates half the nail ?  Well, when that happened with THIS mani, I took a cotton bud, and gently lifted some of the excess off.  You can't really tell where I did it, but you can tell the texture is different in some areas, and I really like that.

Ok tomorrow is purple ... damn ... I don't know if I even HAVE a purple !!!  Lol.

Love xx

Born Pretty Product Review - Stamping Polishes

Hi Goddesses

As I'm sure a lot of you know, Born Pretty are an amazing online store that's like a sweet shop for nail art products!  They sell stamping goodies, rhinestones, glequins, striping tape - you name it, they have it!  When they asked me to review something for them, I was a little stuck as I'd just splurged LOADS on nail art goodies, but then a little fairy guided me to the stamping section, and as my good old Konad White was running a bit low, I decided to put their stamping polishes to the test.

The polishes come in a set of 5 x 5ml bottles for $6.93.  Compare that to Konad where 1 11ml bottle will usually cost you £5 / $10.   The colours are pretty standard - white, black, red, blue and yellow - making them an excellent starter kit.   

Over the last few weeks, I've used them in quite a bit of stamping, and my overall thoughts are -

- excellent price point

- fabulous beginners kit

- more reliable than using "normal" polishes

- cheaper than Konad.  The consistency of the polish is also a little bit thinner.  In an out and out comparison between the 2, I really don't think there's much in it

- the red isn't bright red, it's got a slightly faded quality to it.  That was absolutely fine for me, but it might not look right if you're hoping to do nothing but Santa stamping!

- the blue doesn't stamp as dark as the bottle and comes out in a petrol-type shade.  Again, not an issue, but it would be easy to assume it would look navy

And then there was the yellow.  I really struggled to get it to stamp BUT that was only because I was layering it over dark colours.  If you squint carefully at this photo, you can definitely see it on the index finger!    However, on white paper, it stamped fine, so, no issues with the polish, but yellow is clearly a colour that needs a pale base.

(you can see this mani in full on Jan 9th)

Stay tuned next week for a mani involving all 5 polishes - you can catch it on Monday when the Digit-al Dozen start Art Week.

These products were sent to me for review.  To see them on Born Pretty, use this link http://www.bornprettystore.com/specialize-nail-polish-image-stamp-varnish-paint-p-1323.html or search for item ID: 4158.

Even better, you can use the coupon code on the left hand side of the page for 10% off your order!  That's a LOT of art you can buy for a very reasonable price.

Love xx

NEW31DC Day 3 - Gold .... ah!

Hi Goddesses

Sorry, I can't say Gold without singing the Spandau Ballet song lol.  Good morning, and today it's Day 3 of the challenge.

Firstly, the photos.  These were taken whilst Beth had found the urine-toned setting, but because the polish is gold, it didn't annoy me so much.  Hopefully you'll briefly dig the olde fashioned sepia-tinged vibe it's giving the polish!

Yesterday was silver and the amazing Jade Psicodelica, and today it's gold and its twin, Mystic Gold.  This is one of THE most sensational polishes of the last year.  I mean, yes it's indecently holographic, but just look how deep that colour is too!

I absolutely love this polish and I'll be needing a back up soon. You've seen it in quite a few posts already.  Even if you're not a gold fan it's worth owning - it's quite extraordinary.

I stamped over this with BM-205 and Born Pretty red stamping polish.  The pattern looks a little leafier on the plate, but on the nail I thought it really looked like Poinsettias.

The matte of the stamping really contrasts with the holographic dazzle of the polish.

A simple, but effective combo.

Tomorrow?  We go PINK !!!  

Love xx :)

New Year, New Brand - Jacava London - Review

Hi Goddesses

A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by a British nail polish company to review their polish.  Interestingly, I had never heard of them before, but they are marketing themselves as a luxury brand.   And they're BRITISH !!!   So of course I want to get behind them ....  Let's have a little bit of background info first - 


- Opulent nail polish, by JACAVA London, is "free from the nasties" (DBP, Camphor, Formaldehyde & Toluene). 
- No Animal Testing.  
- A little treat, where nothing is denied, even the real gold printing on the glass adds subtle luxury.
- All JACAVA nail polish uses premium, high gloss and long-lasting formulations to keep your nails looking stunning for longer. 
- Designed in London and made in the UK, JACAVA is a quintessentially British nail polish brand (look at their logo !!)
 - the bottle is very unusual - as I will discuss  - with a very long wand
- the brush has been especially designed to just touch the base of the bottle, so that no polish goes to waste
- www.jacava.com  and is also available on Amazon
- Facebook - HERE


And here are the pretty colours -

The website also has a fabulous Colour Selector section - http://www.jacava.com/colour-selector.html


Now, I'll admit, part of my intrigue in reviewing this brand was their price point - £14.50 - that's roughly $20.  To put it into British perspective -

Barry M = £3 to £4
OPI = £10
Zoya = £11
China Glaze = £7ish


£14.50 starts to put this in with the high label polishes like the Chanels and the Diors, which is not the polish I usually buy!


I was delighted that Jacava offered so many Crumpety classics - City Heights, Blueberry Muffin - but decided to go in a different direction.  I chose Chillax and the lovely people also sent me Toffee Apple.

Chillax is described as a metallic turquoise.  I would slightly disagree, in that it doesn't have the abrasive qualities of a metallic.  This is super glossy, like a haute cuisine version of a metallic :)

Now, let me start by saying this has been one of THE hardest polishes I have ever tried to photograph.  The light in the room where I normally take my photos was too flat, and levelled this out to an oceanic blue, and that's not fair, because it's only half the story.

This polish has the most amazing electricity in it.  It literally does glow from within and this is partly what gives it such a luminous, glossy quality.   The colour leans much greener than the photos above, and the only place I could remotely capture the accurate colour of the polish was under some yucky lighting, so you'll have to excuse the peach coloured fingers lol!

This is an indecently intense turquoise.   I still wouldn't call it metallic, but it shimmers, it shimmies, it glows and it throws out light beams.  Seriously, it's like there's a fairy torch beneath the top layer, shining the light out!

As for Toffee Apple, this is pretty much the perfect red.  This is cherry red, not quite ruby and it's just delicious.

I'm not sure why it's called Toffee Apple, as that makes me think of something altogether browner, but it does very much remind me of a red apple.

This is a creme, pure and simple, but oh so perfect.  This is glossier than a mane of hair in a hair conditioner advert!  I swear I could almost see my reflection in it.  Truly, a perfect red, so rich and intense.  (Those last photos were taken with a new light set up I'm experimenting with).


So, IS IT WORTH £14.50 ??  Well, I have to say ... quite probably!  The polishes glide on effortlessly, honestly, "they corner like they're on wheels" lol.  The brush is narrower than an OPI brush, and even me, the messy Crumpet, found that virtually no clean up was required due to how they glide on.


The best thing for me though is that wand.  I know when I previewed the brand with a few friends, the wand was their first worry.  Hopeless Polishaholics, one and all, their first question was - "will it fit in my Helmer?" lol.  I don't know, but here's a comparison shot with some other brands.

But yes, the wand is a winner.  It is ergonomic perfection in terms of its design, and rests in the perfect position as you're applying your polish.  I think this was also one of the reasons for the beautiful application - it's like it's designed to make application as easy as possible.


As for the polishes - thumbs up all the way.  Utterly gorgeous and glorious.  One, super luminous, the other, a true pure glossy dream.  I can honestly assure you that I expected to be underwhelmed, but actually, quite the opposite, I would be willing to snap up some more.


The only thing I didn't test was the wear time.  As most of you know, I change my polish every day anyway, plus I have issues with keeping polish on, so I'm not a good advert for that anyway.


The true test for me is whether I want to keep the polishes I've been sent, and in this case, absolutely.  I've already used the red a couple more times since - look out for it on Day 12 of the 31 Day Challenge :)

These polishes were sent to me for an honest review.


Love xx :)