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.

Peach & Bows

Yesterday, a few of the Instagram nail girls had a nail meet in London. It was so nice to just sit and chat about nails over coffee, without the other person's eyes glazing over with boredom. Which is what usually happens when I talk with my non-nail friends who have no interest whatsoever in having a full blown conversation about the latest OPI collection or how I achieved a gradient look!

I wore something very simple. Mainly because I was very busy to do anything elaborate but also because I've been loving these simpler looks recently. Although it's still freezing here at the moment, I'm starting to love pastels as spring is just around the corner.

I used Collection 2000 Fruit Loop which is a very pretty pastel peach but the formula was a nightmare to work with. It's extremely streaky, requires three coats and doesn't even itself out! The accent finger is Milani Jewel FX Silver over a coat of Zoya Trixie and I added the cutest little bows from the Born Pretty Store. A pack of 10 bows is $2.98 and they come in various colours. Use discount code VA7J61 for 10% off.

*Some of the products in this post were provided to me for review

Soft and Full of Sparkle

It's just one of those days! I changed my polish three times today and just wasn't happy with anything I put on! So when I got home from running some errands, I decided on a very soft colour with a glitter gradient after seeing so many beautiful ones on Instagram.

I used 2 coats of Kiko 209 as a base colour and then painted some New York Summer Vegas Silver which is silver micro glitter and holo bar glitter, onto half the nails. I wanted some larger pieces of glitter in there too so I added a few strokes of Essence Blair. I really like how soft and sparkly it looks. I may do quite a few glitter gradients like this in the near future.

Chromed and Bejeweled

Happy New Year everyone! Bring on 2013, I hope it's going to be a good one! We didn't really party this new year's eve but did go to a friend's house for some dinner and drinks. I still had to do some sort of celebratory mani to ring in the new year. Plus, this polish completely matched the metallic silver pumps I wore.

I chose a simple mani, mainly because I didn't have a lot of time to do my nails. I enjoyed wearing this colour on it's own so much (I had only ever used it for nail art before), that I still have it on today! I just love how metallic silver looks irl, which is strange for me because metallic is usually my least favourite type of polish.

2 coats of Stargazer Chrome Silver 232 and two coats of Milani Jewel FX in Silver on the ring fingers.

Misa Indescribable & Reverse Silver Glitter Gradient

Christmas is almost upon us and although I haven't particularly worn any Christmas manis this year, I have been wearing plenty of glitters, greens, reds and colours that generally remind me of the holiday season.

For the last couple of days I have been wearing a mani that reminds me of ice/ snow, although it hasn't even snowed in London as of yet!

This is 3 coats of Misa Indescribable. It's an off white with hints of pink and sometimes even has a grey tinge too, depending on lighting. I'm really loving soft colours like this at the moment but this polish was somewhat of a pain to apply. It's very streaky and doesn't even out. Drying time was tedious too, I had to redo two nails because I kept nicking them expecting them to have dried to the touch.

I then added a reverse gradient of silver glitter with New York Summer Las Vegas. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind but the whole look does remind me somewhat of snow and glittery white garland.

It's not even that cold in the UK at the moment but I still can't leave the house with my trusty gloves. I love fingerless gloves. My husband thinks they are ridiculous but they show my mani whilst keeping the rest of my hand warm! Win-win! Lol!

Thanks for reading :)

The Pinky And The Brain

I've been wearing such dark colours lately and the weather is so dreary at the moment that I just had to opt for something really bright and fun. This is Catrice The Pinky And The Brain, a hot, deep raspberry pink, with Milani Jewel FX in Silver. The Catrice photographed quite reddish on me for some reason but it's much more pink and bright irl.

I loved the formula (opaque in 2 even coats) but it was the first time I've used the new Catrice wide brush and I hated it. From what I gathered they were meant to introduce a new wide and flat brush but instead it's uneven and bushy.

Popular and Belle Kind Of Week

This week I've been in the mood for really soft, girly colours so here are a couple of polishes I wore.

Revlon Popular (a.k.a Starry Pink). Two coats over a coat of a baby pink creme polish as I didn't want any vnl. The silver micro and hex glitters add such a nice touch to the rose tinted milky base.

For the last couple of days, I've been wearing Belle by The Hungry Asian. Belle is a white jelly based polish with pink micro glitter and brown hex glitter. I thought the brown glitters were so different and unique. This is 3 coats over a coat of Nails Inc Elizabeth Street. I also placed some extra loose brown glitters to the accent.  You can find The Hungry Asian polishes on Etsy.

Erre Due - Neon Fluo 01 & Blair

Today I have another Erre Due polish to show you. It's a neon so I'm trying to wear them the most I can before summer is officially over but to be honest, I am over them a little. I have already shown you a couple of their neons here which I was generally happy with and this vivid orange with red undertones doesn't disappoint either.

It looked quite watery as soon as I opened the bottle but it's opaque and even in two coats. So far I've been really impressed with Erre Due's latest collections.

I'm planning to wear this mani for at least a couple of days (planning being the key word) so I layered 1 coat of Essence Blair over it. I was going for a jelly sandwich but didn't want to mute out the "neonness".

About the company:

Erre Due are part of Aromca Cosmetics and were one of the brands first launched under the group is 1984. Erre Due products are available in Greece and Cyprus.. They have an extensive range of make up and nail polish, you can check out their colour charts here. Their Facebook page features up to date information on their latest products.

*Part of these products were sent to me for review by the company.

Flip Flop Fantasy gets Crowned Already!

Today I have another mani from the vault to show you. I posted this one on Instagram back in July (it's inspired by Lisa Beth who I follow on IG) but as I was literally on my way to the airport, I didn't have time to write a blog post about it.

Usually summer holiday mani equals neons for me. And what better neon than China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy to relax at the beach and pool with! This is two coats (such a pain to photograph) with two coats of OPI Crown Me Already on the accent finger. I also added some loose silver hex glitter to each of the half moons and quite a bit to the accent finger to make Crown Me Already pop a little more.

Two Long Lost Manis

I was clearing out my external drive yesterday and came across a whole bunch of manis which for some reason I never posted. I was wondering where some of those had gotten to?! There were seriously at least ten different manis in there so here are a couple.

First up is a bright and fun mani I did using Essence Wake Up! and sponged NYX Carnival onto the top half of the nail. My nails were so ridiculously long here that I remember a few people asking me if they were fake.

I really love this glitter. It's a dupe for Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, Milani Gems, Wet N' Wild Party of Five Glitters, OPI Rainbow Connection, NOPI Rainbow in The S-Kylie and all those other hex multi-coloured glitters, so we have quite a few options there. It only cost $2.25 from Beauty Joint.

Secondly is a glitter v-gap mani I did using Impala Lover sent to me by Bia! This is such a gorgeous foil type pink packed with gold and silver shimmer. This is just one coat so I thought it covered quite well. I used loose pieces of holographic hex glitter to fill the nude v-gaps.

Bejeweled For Audrey

I've been wearing this mani for nearly two days now and although it's quite simple, I've received a few compliments on it. I guess people like the look of manis that they would easily be able to recreate themselves, even if they don't have a lot of practise with nail art.

The base colour is the famous China Glaze For Audrey which I only acquired in a swap recently. I can see why so many people love this turquoise cream.

I then sponged some China Glaze I'm Not Lion from the On Safari collection, to the top half of the nail. I'm in love with this glitter and so glad I purchased it even when I hadn't yet seen any swatches. To add a little bit more sparkle, I randomly placed individual hex glitter pieces.

New Barry M Chameleon Pink

Yesterday in Superdrug I spotted three Barry M "Chameleon"shades, right next to the crackles and the magnetics so I gathered that was a new concept they were trying to launch (well, No.7 did have Miracle Plum).

These polishes are dubbed Chameleon because they apply one colour and as soon as a clear polish is added to it, they change to another colour, in this case from a frosty pink to purple. They also had blue (which turns to burgundy) and lilac (which turns to blue).

Right from the outset, I have to say, although I love Barry M to no end and it's my favourite British drugstore brand, I don't like this trend/ concept. This is just my opinion and I can see why a lot of people might actually like these.

I just about got into Magnetic and Crackle polishes when they were first released (I called them my lazy nail art) but this Chameleon one goes over my head. I mean, if I wanted my pink polish to have purple dots/ lines etc, I would just add an actual purple polish to it instead of adding a clear polish! And still be able to finish with a top coat to add longevity.

I would have much preferred if these colour-morphed like mood polishes instead!

The only good thing I can say about this polish is that's it's a true one-coater and it will probably make a good polish for stamping as it's extremely pigmented.
One of the many reasons I don't like this polish is because you cannot finish your mani off with a top coat for obvious reasons. I also tried a matte top coat and of course, it still ignites the change because even matte polish is wet upon touching the nail. I was so tired of this polish by the time I finished swatching my left hand that I couldn't even be bothered to do my other hand.

Definitely not for me, but seeing as it's only £3.99, you might want to give it a go yourself!

Silver Glitter French Mani & Born Pretty M71 Plate Review

Today I have a review for you. The lovely ladies from the Born Pretty store offered me the chance to review their M71 stamping plate, which is most popular for the Hello Kitty image. However, for this reason I wanted to give one of the other images a go first and decided on one of the flowers and a simple french.

I used Kiko 209 for the nude pink'ish base, China Glaze Polarized for the slanted french tips and Barry M Silver Foil to stamp with.

Other than the plate, they sent me a stamper and scraper as well which can all be bought HERE for $3.49 (free shipping). The M71 plate has 9 small images consisting of various flowers/ plants, fruit, cat, dolphin, butterflies and the famous Hello Kitty.

As you can see in the picture below, the stamper is shorter than my Konad one but the diameter is only the slightest bit smaller, which shouldn't cause any issues when stamping.
The silicone bit is somewhat firmer than Konad which meant I had to apply a lot more pressure on it. I used it on a couple of nails but had to switch back to my Konad stamper because of this. I had no problems at all picking up the image, the firmness of the silicone just made it difficult to transfer onto the nail.

The scraper is also slightly smaller than the Konad one but the blades are the same. They both do damage to the plate which is the reason I often use a old credit card. 

Born Pretty plates in general, are a very good alternative to Konad as they are of good quality and at a fraction of the price.The store has an array of different plates to chose from and a whole lot of other nail art equipment and decorations. You can get 7% off if you use the discount code on my sidebar - VA7J61.

60's Red Polka Dot French

A nude and cherry red polka dot French. That's what I wanted to show you guys today! I thought it was very retro and 60's looking, hence the post title :)

Since I've been back, I've been so busy that my nails have been naked for a few days! I managed to finally paint my nails last night with a Speciallita polish I recently received in a swap and I will post that as soon as I've posted these last few manis I did before I went on holiday!

For this mani I used Nails Inc Elizabeth Street, a creamy nude shade with the slightest hint of rose. I use this polish very often as a base for funky Frenches! The tips and polka dots are Nails Inc Victoria, a dark cherry red which is much darker than what you can see in these pictures but as I just applied one coat over the tips, it looks lighter.

Thanks for reading and commenting :)

Electric Beat & Shredded Silver Micro Glitter

I know you guys have probably seen a million and one swatches of China Glaze Electric Beat but as CG is one of my favourite brands of polish (and quite pricey in the UK), I just couldn't pass up a post on it.

Electric Beat is the only polish I got from the Electropop collection. Although I loved nearly all the shades in that collection, this one was my favourite. I've got a couple of cornflower blues similar to this but this one is just so fresh and interesting. In the swatches I saw, it looked quite bright but irl it's not so much.  It's a dusty blue, muted looking compared to the rest of the collection. The formula is quite thick but applies well, two coats is all you need for opacity.

I don't have GC Techno which was re-launched for the Electropop collection so I had a look through my stash and came across this limited edition Barry M Silver Glitter which I bought a couple of months back.


I can only assume this glitter is limited edition because I haven't seen it since and it's not like their regular silver glitter. It's not hex or round, it's literally tiny irregular shredded pieces. To be honest, I only picked it up after glancing at the lid which is holographic, so for some reason I thought the glitter was holo too. Obviously there isn't anything holo about it but I still like the irregularity of the glitter pieces.

Glittery Tips On A Bed Of Roses

Orly Artificial Sweetener is such a pretty and soft colour which means I probably shouldn't have added anything to it but I couldn't help it. As the colour reminds me very much of roses, I thought that would be a good place to start.

I stamped with BM14 and Konad White Polish. The french tips are China Glaze Polarized from the Prismatic Chrome Glitters collection (I'm not ready to give up on this polish yet)! This glitter is so dense that it makes a perfect one coater for tape manis and french tips!

Pour Me Something Tall and Strong Jelly Sandwich

I don't usually do many jelly sandwiches, mainly because I wasn't a massive fan of jelly polishes. However, that has recently changed and I'm totally hooked on these. I like the look of suspended glitter and of the depth these create as it makes a change from just having glitter sitting on top of the nail!

I did this blue jelly sandwich a couple of weeks ago when my nails were much shorter. This is Misa Pour Me Something Tall And Strong (3 coats)! I have to be honest here, I only bought this polish because of the name! I think it's so cool :) The glitter is Essence Blair (2 coats).

China Glaze Prism - Prismatic Chroma Glitters Collection Spring 2012

I was going through my untrieds stash yesterday afternoon and realised that I hadn't yet showed you Prism from the China Glaze Prismatic Chroma Glitters Collection! I have now been wearing it for just over 24 hours and can safely say... I'm disappointed!

Although this collection was nothing like I thought it would be, Polarized was starting to grow on me. It's not a holo but it's a very pretty dense silver glitter. Then it all went downhill with Prism.

Prism is supposed to be the purple glitter of the bunch but have a look at the pics and tell me how much purple you see in it? I only see the slightest bit towards the sides of the nails where it reflects! The first thing I thought when I put it on was how similar the same it is to Polarized. Why did I need both?!

Here is a pic of Prism and Polarized side by side. See what I mean?? Arrgg! I'm annoyed now!

Then, just a couple of hours ago, this happens! Yep, that is a large chunk of polish that just lifted right off my nail! I wasn't expecting this dense glitter to come off that easily so I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing! I have a feeling that this happened because I applied base coat. This kind of polish would probably stick much better to the nail without a base coat.