Alter Ego - Make it Work (Polish Pick Up November 2017)

Press Sample/Review

Hi everyone! I have the November Polish Pick Up Exclusive from Alter Ego for you today! 

This month's Polish Pick Up theme is Fandoms. Cynthia chose something a little outside the box and went for a Tim Gunn/Project Runway inspired polish! One of his catchphrases is 'make it work' and this is the name of this polish.

Cynthia chose to create a grey inspired by Tim Gunn's hair with some shifting shimmers. The polish appears mostly grey but has a hint of shift towards pink/lavender and blue/green. 

Alter Ego - Make It Work (November 2017 Polish Pick Up - Fandoms)

Alter Ego - Make It Work (November 2017 Polish Pick Up - Fandoms)

I used 3 thin coats of Make It Work and finished with a coat of topcoat. I love the subtle shift of the shimmers in this and it makes it unique in my collection. I'm definitely going to test how this looks in one coat over a base colour too. The shimmer was quite hard to capture and I think it's a touch more obvious in real life and depending on the lighting. I've never seen Project Runway but I do like this polish! 

Alter Ego - Make It Work (November 2017 Polish Pick Up - Fandoms)

What do you think of it? Are you a Project Runway fan? I might just have to check it out! 

Make it Work will be available from November 3rd-6th along with polishes from other brands with the 'fandom' theme!

Polish Pickup:
Store
Facebook

Alter Ego:
Store
Facebook 
Instagram

The products in this post were provided for my honest review

Chaos & Crocodiles Cupcake Pirate & Stamping

Hi everyone! I'm back again with another catch up post for a mani I wore a while back with a new-to-me brand, Chaos & Crocodiles. 

I had heard of Chaos & Crocodiles and admired a good few polishes from the brand for a while before I saw the post for Cupcake Pirate launching. I immediately had to buy it and it didn't disappoint. I'm not sure how it took me so long to actually blog it because I love this colour.

Chaos & Crocodiles - Cupcake Pirate & Essie Good as Gold stamping

Cupcake Pirate is a bright pink with gold shimmer. I love a good bright pink and it's a go to colour for me when I want bright nails. I used 2 coats and the formula was good, no issues to report. Since purchasing, my bottle has developed a touch of 'ugly bottle syndrome' which you can see a little in the photo below. As always, this doesn't affect the colour at all, it's just the white pigment clinging to the bottle.

I decided to add a little bit of delicate stamping in gold to co-ordinate with the shimmer in Cupcake Pirate. When I do gold stamping, my favourite polish to use is Essie Good as Gold. It works perfectly! I used an image from the Moyou Enchanted 16 plate and love how it looked over the base colour. I think it adds to it without covering too much. As always, I finished with topcoat. 

Chaos & Crocodiles - Cupcake Pirate & Essie Good as Gold stamping

What do you think? Do you have any Chaos & Crocodiles polishes? This is my only one but I love it and love to know what your favourites are! 

Where to Buy :
Chaos & Crocodiles 
Essie - Various retailers
MoYou

Chaos & Crocodiles on Social Media: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
Essie on Social Media: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
MoYou on Social Media: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter

Classic Leopard

Hi everyone! How are you? I'm getting back into the swing of posts and hoping to share a good mix of art and swatches for you in upcoming posts.

Today I have another catch-up post for a mani I wore a while ago but really loved. I'm not generally a leopard print fan but I do like it on nails sometimes even if I don't do it often on myself. 

Classic Leopard

When I tried out OPI Pale to the Chief, I thought leopard would be fun to add for a neutral yet fun nail art. I used Paint Box Polish (now STELLA CHROMA) Bacio (unfortunately discontinued) and A England Camelot and a large dotting tool to make the design and finished with a coat of topcoat as always. 

Classic Leopard

Classic Leopard

I love how these colours work together in the design and thought they were fun to wear! What do you think of them? 

Where to Buy:
OPI - Various retailers
A England (UK shipping only) and various retailers (see list here)
STELLA CHROMA (Bacio has been discontinued sorry but you can check out the other pretties and use code THEMANICAFE for 15% off!)

OPI on Social Media: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
A England on Social Media: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
STELLA CHROMA on Social Media: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter

Girly Bits Happy Valenbirthaversary (February 2016 Pipe Down This Love Is Bliss)

Hi everyone! Today I have a simple swatch post for you but of an absolutely stunning polish. 

This beauty is Girly Bits Happy Valenbirthaversary. I'll apologise in advance as this polish is 'old' and was a box exclusive for the February 2016 Pipe Down This Love is Bliss box. I know it's a shame to share older polishes in a way but there's always a chance of finding them for sale in Facebook groups etc if really you would like to get a hold of it. Also it's just too pretty not to share... 

Girly Bits Happy Valenbirthaversary - Pipe Down This Love is Bliss February 2016

Girly Bits Happy Valenbirthaversary - Pipe Down This Love is Bliss February 2016

This polish is everything I love, rich, vibrant purple and glitter and a red flash which really adds interest. I used two perfect coats and topcoat. Although very sparkly, I didn't get a gritty finish at all with this one. Formula and application were awesome. 

Girly Bits Happy Valenbirthaversary - Pipe Down This Love is Bliss February 2016

Girly Bits Happy Valenbirthaversary - Pipe Down This Love is Bliss February 2016

What do you think of this one? 

Where to Buy:
Girly Bits Cosmetics - This polish is no longer available but lots of other pretties!

Girly Bits on Social Media: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter - Pinterest - Google+

Alter Ego Exclusives for The Indie Shop - San Antonio October 2017

Press Sample/Review

Hi everyone! I'm pleased to be back with you sharing some beautiful exclusives from Alter Ego for October's Indie Shop in San Antonio. 

There are two exclusives from Cynthia for the event called It'll Only Hurt For a Moment or Two and History Prefers Legends to Men. 

These shades were inspired by the film Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and are very fitting with a vampire theme, 

It'll Hurt For Only a Moment or Two is a deep red creme inspired by the blood red drips on the credit scene. I used 3 thin coats (because of my stubborn ridges on one nail) but I think you could definitely use 2 coats for full coverage as well. This will be a great go-to for me. I love a good vampy red! 

Alter Ego - It'll Only Hurt For a Moment or Two - The Indie Shop San Antonio

Alter Ego - It'll Only Hurt For a Moment or Two - The Indie Shop San Antonio

Photos are without topcoat and look how shiny it is! No issues whatsoever with formula or application. This is the bag exclusive and only available at The Indie Shop event on October 13th.

History Prefers Legends to Men is a clear base full of silver micro shreds based on Lincoln's silver axe in the movie. Another great fit with the vampire/silver bullets/silver axe theme.

I used one coat over It'll Hurt For Only a Moment or Two plus topcoat to finish. The shreds are quite dense as you can see over the dark base. I love it, lots of sparkle and I think I will enjoy using this as a topper over various colours and gradients too. 

Alter Ego - History Prefers Legends to Men - The Indie Shop San Antonio

And this is how it looks alone, in 3 coats plus topcoat. 

Alter Ego - History Prefers Legends to Men - The Indie Shop San Antonio

History Prefers Legends to Men will be available online in the Alter Ego store on October 13th to coincide with the event. Be sure to pick it up if you want it as it is LE!

Where to Buy:
Alter Ego

Alter Ego on Social Media:
Facebook 
Instagram

The products in this post were provided for my honest review

Alter Ego Polish Pickup Exclusive - Greta Gremlin - Swatches & Review

Press Sample/Review

Hi everyone! Today I have the exclusive from Alter Ego for this month's Polish Pick Up to show you! 

The October Polish Pickup theme is 'monsters and mythological creatures' and Cynthia took her inspiration from the Gremlins movies! I think this is a fun and unique take on the theme.

Greta Gremlin is of course based on the character from the films and is a lizard green base with yellow undertones packed with gold flakies as well as blue and red microglitter inspired by her makeup! 

Alter Ego - Greta Gremlin - October 2017 Polish Pickup Exclusive

I used 2 coats plus topcoat. The formula and application were great and I really love this mix of colours. I feel like this is a great shade for autumn as well. 

Alter Ego - Greta Gremlin - October 2017 Polish Pickup Exclusive

Greta Gremlin will be available from October 6th-9th along with polishes from other brands with the 'monsters and mythological creatures' theme!

Polish Pickup:
Store
Facebook

Alter Ego:
Store
Facebook 
Instagram

The products in this post were provided for my honest review