With the release of Alice Through the Looking Glass, OPI are back with their second collection inspired by Alice and friends (the first one was released in early 2010!). This collection doubles as their Brights 2016 collection. I’m coming at you today with some nail art that I hope will make up for the lack of full swatches of all 8 core shades.
Watch the video below for full swatches of the Barry M Coconut Infusion Collection
Barry M’s Coconut Infusion Collection is a new range of 9 polishes ‘infused with Coconut Water and Coconut Oil’ which supposedly care for your nails while they look pretty too!
While I haven’t worn these consistently enough to report on whether they made a difference to my nail health, I do like the range of colours and think it’s a great release for Summer.
OPI’s Spring/Summer 2016 offering, the New Orleans Collection, has been on shelves for a little while now and the polishes have been sat in a box at home for a while waiting for me to swatch them. I fixed my ring light this weekend which really put me in the mood to film something, so I figured I’d try something I’ve never done before – a swatch video to show the colours in action. There’s no talking, no messing around, just 2 straight minutes of pretty colours and super-satisfying nail painting up close! I have also ‘properly’ swatched and photographed my favourites but I’m saving them to put up on Instagram (@thesammersaurus.)
When I posted a posted a shot of my Hello Kitty mani on Instagram last week, you guys got pretty excited. Seems Kitty White has a lot of fans out there!
So in case you didn’t know, OPI have teamed up with Hello Kitty for a range of nail polishes which was obviously met with a hot dose of buzz and anticipation. There are a total of 12 polishes in this collection, but 6 are salon exclusive shades. The 6 that I have are the ones that will be hitting shelves in stores: 5 Apples Tall, Let’s Be Friends, Look at my Bow!, Spoken From The Heart, Super Cute in Pink and Charmmy & Sugar. They’re all in the purple / pink / red range – so all quite, what I would call, girly shades.
A-England’s latest collection is dedicated to Emily Brontë, author of the world famous novel, Wuthering Heights. I’ve never read the book but have been picking up on references to Cathy and Heathcliff since I was little thanks to the Kate Bush song of the same name. We used to watch a lot of Top of the Pops 2 in my house!
I have swatches of the whole collection today and you will have already seen some of the shades popping up in my nail art recently. Of the five polishes, we have 2 bold holos (Let Me In and Spirit of the Moors), 2 creamy holos (Cathy and Wuthering Heights) and a multi-glitter in jelly (Heathcliff). All of them apply like a dream and are such regal colours which exactly what I’ve come to expect from A-England.
A-England have kindly donated the whole collection for one lucky to reader to win. Make sure to fill out the form at the end of this post to enter!
A-England are back with another jaw-dropping collection of inspired shades in the Rossetti’s Goddess collection. I have two polishes from the collection to share with you today: Proserpine and Incense Burner.
Two Coats + Top Coat
Proserpine is a rich, turquoise-y teal holographic polish. A-England really have a knack for taking deep shades like this and turning them in to perfect holographics. If you like this one, you also need to check out Saint George from ‘The Legend’ collection (see my swatch here)
Shop // Proserpine £9.00 rrp
Two Coats + Top Coat
Incense Burner is a shifter. In the shade, it looks like a scattered plum holo, but catch it under the right light and you’ll see hints of bronze and green. This is the kind of effect I’d expect to see with a flakie or duochrome topper (applied over a creme) but with Incense Burner, you get the same effect in just two coats.
Shop // Incense Burner £9.00 rrp
Once Upon A Time is the debut collection from Il Etait Un Vernis, the indie brand launched by two fabulous french nail bloggers – Vernis en Folie and De tout et de Rien. The brand launched in late 2014 and has gone from strength to strength with 2 further colour collections and a nail care range added to the roster since. What really draws me to this brand is the fascinating finishes and ‘something for everyone’ approach to each collection.
Every polish from Il Etait Un Vernis is 5-free and vegan. Designed in France and manufactured in Australia, I can safely say this is one of the most stunning collections I’ve ever seen. All 5 of these shades took my breath away when I first laid eyes on them. There are 4 scattered holographic polishes plus a sparkling gold (also holographic) glitter. The holos all have a jelly-like consistency which makes them incredibly glossy and smooth to apply while the glitter is dense enough to provide full coverage or perfect worn over another shade as a topper. Let’s take a closer look…
– 3 Coats + Top Coat
Let’s dive straight in with the show-stopper! Beyond Words is a devastatingly gorgeous fuchsia shade packed with holographic particles and bright pink flecks. The super-shine is strong with this one but I always add a top coat for durability. Straight up my favourite pink in a long time and my pick from the collection.
– 3 Coats + Top Coat
If you’re looking for a royal blue with a twist, look no further than Crush on Blue. Smooth application in 3 coats.
– 3 Coats + Top Coat
Light Box has a slightly thicker formula than the others but it was smooth enough to apply without any issues. There’s something very luxurious about a black holographic and the blue flecks are a genius touch.
– 3 Thin Coats Over Bare Nails + Top Coat
With three coats of Live, Love, Laugh on my naked nails, there are still a few spots where you can see through but only if you look very closely. With all that light bouncing around, the naked spots are invisible to the naked eye and it looks just like you dipped your nails in glitter!
– 3 Coats + Top Coat
No Comment is a very summery shade and one of those in-between shades that’s hard to describe so I’ll just let the pictures do most of the talking. I wouldn’t quite class this as a coral but perhaps a bright red with orange tendencies!
Once Upon a Time is available for a limited time from Il Etait Un Vernis Shop (in France) and their International Stockists (for everywhere else in the world). RRP €12.90 (~$14.25 / £9.50).