Clinique - A Different Nail Enamel for Sensitive Skins - Swatches & Review

Until very recently I wasn't aware that Clinique were bringing out a range of nail polishes! They did have nail polish in the past but I don't remember it ever being anything to shout home about.
Indeed the fragrance free brand has launched a new line of twelve core colours and nine limited edition Summer 2013 shades (see UK website for more details).

This nail enamel claims to be "different" as per the name and why is that you ask? Well, according to Clinique it was specifically formulated to minimise skin and eye sensitivity. They are also 5-free, but I thought established 5-free polishes were already kinder to skin? Check out Lipglossiping blog for more information on the formula and what the Clinique PR team had to say about it.

Today I'll be showing you 6 different shades. A mixture of some core line shades as well as some limited edition ones. You'll notice I have also filed down my nails quite a bit, it's much easier to swatch with shorter nails. All swatches are two coats although I would recommend three coats for the jellies.

Happy is my favourite from the bunch. A hot coral creme with pinkish-red undertones which is quite hard to capture on camera.

70o and Sunny (LE) is a bright sunflower yellow creme. Most yellows are streaky and this one is no exception. However, the formula was quite good to work with and therefore quite easy to minimise streakiness.

Black Honey is deep blackened cherry red jelly which is perfect for fall. The fact it's a jelly means that it doesn't apply so dark on the nail that it looks completely black as some of these polishes often do.

Hot Date (LE). An interesting purple jelly. With only two coats, you can see the magenta undertones in there that for some reason my camera picked up. It's slightly darker and more true to bottle colour in person.

Party Red is a classic fire engine red creme. As with the other cremes in this collection, opacity was great.

Juiced Up (LE) is an orangey coral jelly. Not as bright as Happy but still a must have for summer if you don't feel like wearing an in-your-face neon.

The bottle shape isn't my favourite (they remind me of Nails Inc bottles only thinner), but the embossed chrome metal caps are quite sleek and do keep with the Clinique image. The whole bottle is very clean (no writing whatsoever) with only a small sticker at the bottom showing the polish name. For a list of ingredients, you must refer to to outer paper packaging the bottles come in.

Although I was impressed with the formula on these, including the jellies; each 9ml bottle comes with a price tag of £12 which I know is a lot more than what a lot of people would pay for polish, myself included. People with sensitive skin prone to allergies and irritation should give this polish a go and see how it compares to their regular polish.

These are now available online at www.clinique.co.uk and at Clinique counters from 31st May 2013.

*The product featured  in this post was sent to me for review.

Studded Chevron Blues - with Born Pretty BK Polish

Today I will be showing you a gorgeous blue polish by the Born Pretty Store. These dainty 8ml bottles cost $2.95 and come in 42 different shades. You can purchase them directly from the Born Pretty website and get 10% off by using discount codeVA7J61.

This deep sky blue (BK #31) actually surprised me in terms of formula and coverage! Opaque in two coats and not streaky at all.

I used scotch tape for the black triangles and the square studs are also from the Born Pretty Store. You can find a link directly to them here.

*The product featured  in this post was sent to me for review.

Cuccio Colour - I Left My Heart In San Francisco

Last year at the Olympia Beauty Show, I came across a stand of Cuccio products. I had never heard of the brand before that, as we don't see a lot of their polishes floating around the blogosphere. I've done some research into it and other than a few bottles for sale on Amazon, it seems to be sold for trade only. That's such a shame because I absolutely adored the formula and they have the most gorgeous range of shades and cool names to match.

Cuccio describe their polish as:
"Cuccio Colour™ Professional Nail Lacquer is formulated with Triple Pigmentation Technology for rich coverage in one coat and true coverage in two coats. For the Love of Colour™. Contains no DBP or toluene."

I'm not sure what "Triple Pigmentation Technology" is but I'm happy about the fact that it contains no DBP or Toluene.

I fell in love with this pale pink milky shade called "I Left My Heart In San Francisco". It's appropriate for every occasion and such a great palatte cleanser. Another reason I'm really happy with this polish is durability. It was like wearing gel polish. It stayed put for literally 11 days, no chipping. There was already substantial nail growth and the polish was still intact. I was very impressed. I'm glad I picked up four different shades to try. On my ring finger I have OPI Crown Me Already.

If anyone knows where I can buy this brand, please do let me know.

Spring Swallow with Fake Nail Tattoos

Hi Everyone!

I know it's been a very long time since I've posted anything! Life happens and I won't bore you with the details. I still won't be able to post as regularly as I'd like but I really missed doing my nails and wanted to show you the mani I did with these nail decals/ tattoos sent to me by "Fake Tattoos".

Fake Tattoos is a Scandinavian company that specialises in temporary body and nail tattoos. The tattoos come in sheets of paper backed by plastic. They apply a lot like water decals other than they don't have to be dipped in water prior to applying. You just peel the plastic backing off, apply the image to the nail and press or carefully rub with a damp paper towel. The tattoo will transfer onto the nail and voila!

I created a mix and match mani using the swallow image. I used one of my favourite greens for spring - Essie Navigate Her as well as China Glaze Polarized on the ring finger to add a bit of sparkle. For the thumb, I opted for various sized polka dots in pink and white.

You can order Fake Tattoos directly from their website. They offer free worldwide shipping!

*The product featured  in this post was sent to me for review.