A England ~ Crown of Thistles

A England ~ Crown of Thistles

Bright purple with scattered holo effect

It’s time for a beautiful A England polish: Crown of Thistles. It’s from the Elisabeth & Mary collection.

The formula is fantastic! I used one single coat for my mani, and the polish dried fast.

Look at how pretty one coat is:

I adore this colour! And the best thing? It’s beautiful in low lights too!

I made some random dottiness on the tips of my nails. I used A England’s Rosebower and Joss’ Flash Diamond for that purpose. Here’s my final mani, including a layer of topcoat:

Mmmm… simple and yet pretty.

I like this a lot!

Number of coats: 
Drying time: Fast

Finish: Scattered holo

Overall impression: Adorable polish, I love it!

Buy again: Yes

Joss Affinite ~ Your Mum wouldn’t like it & Crystal Holo Ocean Depths

Joss Affinite ~ Your Mum wouldn’t like it & Crystal Holo Ocean Depths

Magenta with holo shimmer and glitter & Bright blue with holo shimmer and flecks

Here’s another couple of Joss polishes that are right up my alley.

First one up is Your Mum wouldn’t like it. When I saw it first I was thinking pink, but I can see that other girls describe it as purple. Let’s make a compromise and call it magenta, shall we?

Anyway, the formula is good and easy to work with. It takes two coats to make this look great, and the drying time between the coats is average. And girl, can this polish shimmer and shine – I can assure you it can! I applied a layer of Poshé topcoat before taking my pictures.

Here’s two coats plus a layer of Poshé.

Look at the glittery prettiness here!

I took a Brazillion pictures, but I’ll try not to overload you girls too much, so here’s just two more:

And the last one:

I like this polish a lot. I was in a hurry the morning I put it on, so I actually wore it like this! And even though it felt a little bit weird to wear “just one polish”,  really liked it! The only thing that puzzles me about this polish is the name: “Your mum wouldn’t like it”. This is a pretty conservative colour, and I’d expect a more edgy polish for a name like that. But hey, it’s not about the name is it – it’s all about the prettiness!

So yes, polished thumbs up from me!

♥

Next one up is Crystal Holo Ocean Depths, a beautiful blue packed with holo shimmer. The formula is great and so is the pigmentation; I used two coats for full opacity. Drying time is pretty average on this polish as well.

Here’s what two coats and no topcoat looks like – the first couple of pictures are taken with flash:

And from a different angle:

Here’s what the polish looks like in lower lights. No rainbows, but the colour is still cool.

I didn’t quite know what to do with it so I ended up painting little pluses on it. I used a very dark blue polish from Ellagee called Rainbows All Over Your Blues. I painted the pluses with a nail art brush and I topped my mani with a layer of Ellagee’s topcoat “Glass”.

Here’s the final mani – this picture is taken with flash:

And here’s a picture taken without flash:

The pretty polishes and the topcoat:

The short version of the verdict: Chrystal Holo Ocean Depths lives up to my high expectations. It’s beautiful and easy to work with and definitely a winner!

Both polishes:

Number of coats: 2
Drying time: Average

Finish: Flecks and holo glitter in beautiful harmony

Overall impression: Really cool polish!

Buy again: Yes

Joss Affinite ~ In a Mermaid’s Dream

Joss Affinite ~ In a Mermaid’s Dream

Aqua blue/green packed with pink flecks

I’ve got a couple of Joss polishes to show you girls. They’re all from the Affinite series, and I’ll start out with In a Mermaid’s Dream. I’ve seen it described as a holographic, but that’s not the entire truth. It has got holo glitter scattered throughout but what makes this polish amazing is the pink flecks.

The formula is good, the polish glides on effortlessly and it takes two easy coats to make it opaque. Drying time between coats is average. And you know I like shiny things, don’t you? Well, this baby is seriously shiny!

Here’s two coats, no topcoat:

If I flick my fingers a little bit, the pink shimmer shows up, and it’s making this polish spectacular!

The blue isn’t always just blue – in certain angles it turns to green.

I paired it up with a deep magenta holo from Hits called Atena. There are two versions of this polish, and this is the newer version. I taped my nails and painted one third of my nails with Atena. I made three dots in various sizes too. I topped it all with a layer of Poshé topcoat, and here’s my final mani:

I think Atena really works with In a Mermaid’s Dream because the pink shimmer looks great next to the magenta.

Here are the two polishes side by side.

I’m not sure I’ve done Atena quite the justice she deserves by using her like this. She definitely needs a mani of her own where she can really flash her rainbows. But the Joss polish is amazing, clearly a winner in my book! :)

Number of coats: 2
Drying time: Average

Finish: Flecks and holo glitter in an amazing mixture

Overall impression: Great polish in all levels. I love the colour shift and all the amazing flecks, it’s a winner!

Buy again: Yes sir!

Joss ~ Exotic

Joss ~ Exotic

Turquoise shimmer

It’s the 12^th of December, and since we’re halfway to Christmas now, I want to show you a Joss Nail Lacquer I bought a very long time ago. I feel sad for this pretty polish to have sat in my box of untrieds for so long, but never mind. Norway Nails has Joss polishes on special today, so I thought it would be perfect to show the polish today! :)

This is the only Joss polish I have that isn’t a holo. It’s one of these polishes that look extremely thin when you apply the first layer – and then it steps up and looks perfect after layer number two. It’s funny how that happens! Drying time is somewhat on the slow side, but that’s nothing that a fast drying topcoat can’t fix, haha!

Here’s what two coats and no topcoat looks like:

Isn’t that just a gorgeous colour?

I must say that this kind of blue sneaks up fast on my list of favourite nail polish colours!

See how it shimmers and shines!

I went for something really simple today, so the nail art wouldn’t over and out shine this prettiness. I found some Hello Kitty stickers that I got from a sweet friend of mine a while ago now. I placed a sticker on each of the nails, by the base of the nails. I didn’t topcoat it, and here’s how my mani ended up looking:

Damn, those stickers were really tricky to place. You want to make sure that they are *exactly* where you want them before you press them down on the nails. Several of them ended in my lap or on the floor before we were done, grrr! :D

You can buy Joss Nail Lacquers from norwaynails.com. This one is sold out but they have some really cool holos, and also holo glitter toppers, both in gold and silver! And they are on special today – you get them 25% off if you buy them from Norway Nails today. You might not want to wait for too long – the offer is only valid until the next offer is up.

You can find more info on NorwayNail’s Facebook page, link here.

Norway Nails have kindly offered my readers a 10% discount code. Just use the code RAINBOWIFYME10 at checkout, and you'll be getting 10% off your purchase.

Glitter Gal ~ Hot Chili (Limited Edition)

Glitter Gal ~ Hot Chili (Limited Edition)

Warm red linear holographic

As a holo lover, I must say that Glitter Gal is speaking directly to my heart. Their holos are gorgeous. I bought the two newest limited edition holos recently, Hot Chili and Transfusion. If the sun shines again tomorrow I will show you Transfusion. If not, you’ll have to wait until it does.  ;)

Today it’s time for Hot Chili!

I have nothing to say against the formula at all. It glides on easily, it dries pretty fast and the polish doesn’t require an aqua basecoat to “work”. And

two coats is what it takes to make me smile. Ain’t life grand! And man, the colour is gorgeous. Have a look at two coats, and no topcoat:

Rainbows in red, I love it!

 All the pictures are taken in direct sunlight, and whoa, I just love what I see. It’s so pretty!

I guess it’s pretty obvious why this is called Hot Chili, isn’t it? It does remind me of red hot chilli peppers for sure!

I decided to do a bit of discrete stamping on it. I used my XL stamping plate B and stamped with Joss “Caribbean Holiday” which is a lovely sky blue linear holo. “Blood red and sky blue”, you might say, “does that work?”. And yes, preciousies, it does. Take a look for yourself if you don’t believe me:

I love it!

Stamping with holographic polish on a holo is a great idea, in my opinion. It works for me anyway :)

Here is the pretty couple:

However - there’s two things I don’t understand. Why does this pretty polish only come in a 10ml bottle, and why is it a limited edition? If you want to make it limited, then fine, but why the smaller bottle? I don’t understand that. It just doesn’t make any sense. Another marketing exercise consisting entirely of shooting themselves in the foot.

Anyway – I love this polish! I’m glad I got it before it was too late!

Opacity: 8/10
Colour, prettiness: 10/10
Durability: 8/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Buy again: Yes

Lilypad Lacquer ~ Deep Blue Lagoon

Lilypad Lacquer ~ Deep Blue Lagoon  

Deep blue linear holographic 

Lilypad Lacquer is a new Australian brand that I’ve been wanting to try since I saw the first swatch of them. Their holos look amazing. I actually did a little snoopy dance when I saw the polish! Deep Blue Lagoon is from the "Colour my World" collection.

I just used my regular basecoat, and the formula was fantastic. This baby doesn’t require a special aqua basecoat, that’s for sure. The polish dries pretty fast, and it only took two easy coats to achieve desired opacity.

And here’s what the polish looks like in the sun; two coats, no topcoat:

“Deep Blue Lagoon” is the perfect name for this polish. I’m dreaming of bathing in a sleepy lagoon with water this colour!

The rainbows are not shy – they sparkle in the sun!

I have to admit that I took quite a lot of pictures of this baby!

The polish looks a completely different colour in the shade. Instead of this deep blue, it looks like a very darkened teal. It’s so nice to have polishes that have a great effect in the sun, but that also look cool in the shadows. I appreciate that a lot!

Seriously, I just couldn't stop!

I ended up doing a bit of dottery on it. I used a silver holo from Joss called Flash Diamond, and made a cross-like design. I chose this particular polish because I wanted another holo for the dots.

Here’s the final design – still without a topcoat:

And a last shot where the rainbows still show off: :D

The holo sisters!

I am extremely pleased with this polish. It’s pretty both in and out of the sun, and the darkness of it makes it perfect to wear when the summer leaves the northern hemisphere and the troll-filled darkness descends once more, and again we hear the Wolves howling throughout the long, cold nights. Right?? ;)

Opacity: 8/10
Colour, prettiness: 9/10
Durability: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Buy again: Yes

Darling Diva ~ Oh no!! She didn’t!!!

Darling Diva ~ Oh no!! She didn’t!!!

Blue linear holo with silver glitter

It’s cool to try out new brands now and again, and I am pleased to try out a couple of Darling Divas. First one up is “Oh no!! She didn’t!!!”, which is a lovely blue holo with silver glitter. It’s pretty sheer, and I wasn’t in the mood to sit still and apply layer after layer, so I used underwear for it. I used Golden Rose Matte Velvet #104, which is a fantastic blue suede polish. It’s a one coater and it dries really fast, so I thought it would be perfect for this purpose.

Here’s what one coat looks like in the sunshine:

Isn’t that just a fabulous polish?! I love suede polishes with shimmer!

Then I applied one coat of “Oh no!! She didn’t!!!”. The formula is great, the polish spreads out evenly and drying time is pretty average. The holo isn’t the strongest in the pack, but it’s there and it’s pretty.

Here’s one coat over Golden Rose Matte Velvet #104:

One coat

I wanted more holo effect though, so I applied a second layer of ONSD, and look at this:

Two coats

That’s much better! The pictures are all taken in direct sunlight.

Then I made a thin line of dots down the side of each nail, and a little heart on my little finger. I used Joss “Flash Diamond”, which is a silver holo. And here’s the final result – there’s no topcoat over this:

The last picture is the one that shows the holographic effect the most. The holo was hard to catch on pictures even though it was there in real life, just not the strongest I’ve seen.

I like this polish though; I’ll definitely try and layer it over other colours too, just to try that out. I’m not disappointed in my first Darling Diva, even though I had wished for a holo I didn’t have to layer :)

What do you think, girls? This is a keeper, right?

Opacity: 10/10
Colour, prettiness: 4/10
Durability: 10/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Buy again: Yes

I’ve bought this polish on norwaynails.com.

If you want to order something there too, you can get 10% off your purchase. Just use the code RAINBOWIFYME10 at checkout.

Joss ~ Sudden Impulse

Joss ~ Sudden Impulse

Crimson linear holo

Here’s one more of my Joss holos, this time it’s Sudden Impulse. It’s a crimson, very strong linear holo, and it’s just as cool as the other ones I’ve got.

Again: I just used my regular base coat, and the polish doesn’t streak or pull. It’s almost a one coater – but I applied two anyway, to give this beauty good conditions to impress!

Here is a picture of two coats, no top coat, in low lights:

Mmm… I love when my holos flash rainbows even in low lights!

The sun went up, and I caught a bit of it:

Now the polish flashes both pink, red and orange – I just love that colour mix!!

More pictures, just because this is a wild holo:

Rainbows! On my nails! Yay!

Isn’t this impressive?

Here’s a bottle shot. At this point I just couldn’t stop taking pictures, haha!!

Then I made some dots on it. At first I used China Glaze’s Galactic Grey from their newest Hologlam collection. Here’s what that looked like:

It looks alright in the sun, but I must admit that I found it a bit boring because the contrast between the two colours isn’t big enough. I took my Kiko Sugar Matte #646 Starry Black and dotted over the Galactic Grey, and I liked that result much better!

There’s not much difference on the two pics I’ve taken, but I can assure you that there’s a huge difference in real life! I’m glad that I changed the dots!

So – are you also going crazy in holo polishes when the sun shines, or are you totally over the holo hysteria?

Opacity: 8/10
Colour, prettiness: 7/10
Durability: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Buy again: Yes

I bought this polish myself, and it can be bought from norwaynails.com.

Norway Nails have kindly offered my readers a 10% discount code. Just use the code RAINBOWIFYME10 at checkout, and you'll be getting 10% off your purchase. You should do it today, where the sales start!!