Gelish Forever Fabulous Collection - Review + Swatches Part 2

Before I start, I just wanted to say that I am aware that this blogpost is very very delayed, but I do have a genuine reason. Just before Christmas I was in a car crash and I've had really bad whiplash ever since, which has meant that I can't paint my nails for more than an hour or two at a time before I'm in too much pain to carry on. So it's been a very slow process trying to get these swatched! Sorry if this is a bit too delayed, but I hope you like my swatches anyway. 

This is the second part of my review of the Gelish - Forever Fabulous collection*, the first part can be found here. The second half of the collection is full of colours that I would definitely associate with Marilyn Munroe, read on for all my thoughts. 

Essie Winter 2017 Collection review + swatches

I feel like an idiot, this post has been sat fully written in my drafts for more than two months, and I was under the impression that I'd posted it! It's a bit delayed, but it's such a beautiful collection I wanted to post it anyway. So here's my review of the Essie Winter 2017 Collection*. 

Sparkly Burgundy Paisley

Hey everyone! Welcome to my first post of 2018, happy new year! Can you believe we're already more than a week into 2018? Which means one thing and one thing only... it's less than a week until my birthday! It also means that it's probably about time that I wrote a blog post, especially as one of my new years resolutions is to blog more. Today's nails were done using the All That Jazz - Opulance Collection*.  This was the first time that I've painted paisley in ages, so I did them as a bit of a challenge to myself.  I realised after one nail that they were going to take forever so I turned them into accent nails instead... so much for a challenge! I also hadn't done dry brush nails in forever, so I combined the two and I loved the end result

Meebox Nov '17 - Through The Looking Glass, Review + Nail Art

So it finally happened, the cold/flu that everyone has had recently has caught up with me, and I'm regretting all the time that I was well and didn't appreciate it (you know the feeling I mean). Before I slip into a deep sleep (... I wish) I want to show you the latest Meebox*. This month's theme was Through The Looking Glass*. I was asked to review it because 'it has my name written all over it' but it really does, and I find it hard to turn down anything Alice in Wonderland related! This month box is worth a whopping £54.22, so you're definitely getting value for money. It includes:

Zoya - Saint* (£13)

iZ Beauty London - Front Row* (£6)

iZ Beauty London - Wonderland Inspired Decals* (£2)

Sally Hansen - Sleigh All Day + Miracle Gel Topcoat* (£14.99)

MoYou London - Alice 04 Stamping Plate* (£5.99)

Clear Jelly Crystal Clear Stamper* (£7.24)

I wanted to try and use everything from the box but in the end I used everything except the Sally Hansen polishes, which wasn't too bad going. 

Marc Jacobs Geometry

Hey everyone! I'm so pleased to show you these nails as I was looking enough to have had a chance to try out the new Marc Jacobs* nail polishes. I've never used the brand before so I was really excited to see what they were like, and I must say I am soooo impressed. I often wonder whether brands with big price tags are so expensive just because of the name of the brand, but it turns out they really do have the quality to reflect the price. I was sent two shades to try from the latest Fashion collection: Trax* (Burgundy) and Ladies Night* (Beige). Both polishes glide on to the nail so well, and they're super shiny. Call me a price tag convert! 

Gold Leaf Marble

I can't believe it's already Autumn, I know it's so typical as a Brit to talk about the weather, but it really doesn't feel like we had much of a summer. I must admit though that Autumn is one of my favourite seasons, I love any excuse to wear something from my extensive jumper collection, and I love cosying up under a blanket on an evening with some candles lit. 

I do have a tendency to regress back into summer colours in my nail art however, so I tried my hand at doing something a little more autumnal this time around. Can you believe I've never used gold foil before? I've had a little pot of gold flakes that was given to me by my good friend Very Emily years and years ago, and I'd totally forgotten I owned it. However, I've seen so many designs on Instagram recently using gold foil that I just couldn't resist doing some myself, and I remembered that little pot hiding away in my drawer and decided to give it a go. 

Essie Glitter Leaves

Hi All! Hope you're having a good December so far. I'm trying to get into the Christmas spirit, I'm feeling a lot better than I have been so I've even been able to sing along to a few Christmas songs. It's good to know that I haven't turned into a complete Scrooge! But whilst I might be getting into the Christmas spirit, it's still Autumn on my nails, with the gorgeous Essie Winter 2016 collection*. These were just a quick design I did to try and get myself back into the swing of things but I ended up wearing them for nearly 2 weeks, which wasn't exactly the plan! But it's a testament to how long-lasting these polishes are. 

Morgan Taylor Floral Crowns

Hey everyone! I did hope my last post would motivate me to start posting regularly again, but unfortunately since my last post things got a lot worse in my personal life and I had to take some time for myself. I'm still not sure I'm ready to come back completely, I really hate not posting and I miss posting multiple times a week but for the moment I need to concentrate on making myself a bit happier again. I'll try and get back to posting regularly in the next couple of weeks because I'm really excited to start doing Christmas nails and I hope I can find the motivation.

I wanted to get something out there though, I've had a few posts sat in my drafts but I've had writers block when it comes to actually typing them out. These nails were inspired by the wonderful lbebeauty on Instagram. She always does such gorgeous designs with Gelish, and when I was sent the Sweetheart Squadron collection by Morgan Taylor, which is a dupe of the Gelish - Sweetheart Squadron collection, I knew I had to recreate one of her designs.

All That Jazz - Homecoming Collection Review + Swatches

Hey everyone! I'm baaaaackk. I know two weeks isn't a super long time, but for me it's been ages, this is probably the longest I've not posted. I've always said I'd never take an unannounced break but unfortunately sometimes life gets in the way, and it's got in the way big time recently. I've not even painted my nails for 3 weeks, nevermind had the energy to post. But as I've said before, my blog is my escape and I need to make time for it and make time for me, so here I am. It's taken me 2 days to write this blogpost but I'm forcing myself to type it now before I go to sleep, and hopefully now I'll be motivated to be posting again. 

Unfortunately due to my unscheduled break I am slightly behind with posts, so today I've got a review of the stunning All That Jazz - The Homecoming Collection*. The collection is one of five different wedding inspired collections created to celebrate Jazz (the namesake of the brand) getting married. Each collection is named after a part of the wedding process, so there's The Proposal, The Bridal Party, The Honeymoon, The Homecoming and Happily Ever After. All the shades in the collections are perfect dupes for Gelish shades in nail lacquer form. I've already reviewed The Proposal here, and you can also see some nail art with The Bridal Party here. The Homecoming* has some stunning shades which are absolutely perfect for autumn. Full review after the jump

Gelish Sweetheart Squadron Collection [Partial] Review + Swatches

Hey everyone! I've been getting used to being back at work after a nice relaxing week off work, so I'm feeling pretty exhausted today. Luckily I have a 4 day weekend coming up so I only have one more day of work before more relaxation! 

Today I have a couple of the shades from the new Gelish Sweetheart Squadron collection to show you. The whole collection is gorgeous but I have Looking For A Wingman* and Up In The Air-Heart*  reviewed for you today. It's such a great collection for autumn, and there's a shade for everyone in there. Full review after the jump.

Burgundy Geometric Stripes Nail Art

Hey everyone! Whilst you're reading this I'm hopefully sunning myself or in a pool right now, so I'm sure you can understand why I'm not quite willing to accept that Summer is pretty much over and it's almost Autumn. So when I received the new OPI - Washington DC Collection for Autumn I couldn't face doing a full review just yet, not until after my holiday at least. Instead, I compromised and decided to create some nail art using the collection. I was inspired by these nails on Pinterest. I'm super into Pinterest at the moment, only about 3 years too late. I never really got into the initial hype, but recently I've been using it a lot for work and decided to give it a try again for my blog, and I've ended up finding loads of inspiration. If you want to check out my pins you can see them here.

OPI - Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection Review + Swatches

Hey everyone! I'm so annoyed with myself because when I was getting ready to leave for work the other day I managed to cut my middle finger with my house keys. The cut is about an inch long and goes from my cuticle up my finger, which of course means it's going to be vet painful to use acetone for a while. It also means I'll likely have to photoshop it out as it's rather unsightly. I was halfway swatching a collection, but luckily it wasn't this one so I can at least post this for you today. 

OPI's Alice Through The Looking Glass collection* contains some really gorgeous shades. I must admit I really love how this collection looks together, I think the polishes work really well alongside each other. I also think they fit quite well with the film, although I'd have loved to see something a bit more unusual and bright in there to fit in with the Hatter's crazy style. I really liked the film itself, I actually think I preferred it to the first film, so if you haven't seen it yet I'd recommend it. From the collection my favourite is probably The I's Have It* (baby blue) although it should probably be my namesake: Fearlessly Alice*. My least favourite is A Mirror Escape*, but more on that after the jump. 

A England - To Emily Bronte Collection Swatches + Review

 Hey everyone! I feel so frustrated with myself, I had intended to post every day this week to catch up on reviews but I've come down with an infection and I just feel awful. It's also making me really emotional for some reason, like I've cried at my own nails at least twice, so I decided to have a few days break. I'm still not feeling great but I can't deal with the not-posting guilt so I wanted to post this gorgeous A-England collection.

A England is a brand that I've wanted to try for a very very long time, their polishes are always awe-inspiring and unique, and the collections always intrigue me. I was lucky enough to be approached by Adina to review for A-England recently, and I absolutely jumped at the chance. I was sent this collection, (the To Emily Bronte Collection*), and a duo that I'll be showing you in the next few days. All of the polishes are gorgeous, but I feel a special affinity to this collection because they're all inspired by Wuthering Heights which is such a brilliant book. I used to be such a bookworm before uni and work took over my life and Wuthering Heights was definitely one of my favourites. 

I felt a lot of pressure to get my review of these perfect, not just because I want to impress Adina and my readers, but also because I want to do these beautiful polishes justice. I decided to use my new camera for my 'other' shots and my usual lightbox camera for my five finger shots. Unfortunately I wasn't very happy with the five finger shots, I didn't think they did the polishes justice, but I don't have it in me to break tradition and not have five finger shots. And anyway, it gives a perception of what the polishes look like inside and outside, but it also definitely highlights how much I need to get a lightbox set up for my new camera because the quality is 100x better!

Stamping with Gelish

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a lovely week so far, today I've been super stressed trying to sort out bills etc. for our new house, who knew moving was so stressful eh? Anyway, today's nail art is something a little different. I was sent a couple of polishes by Gelish last week, and I knew straight away I wanted to create some nail art with them. I wasn't really sure where I was going to take the design, but then it hit me that I've never tried stamping with gels, and it was SO much easier. I'm not claiming these are anywhere near perfect, but they're a lot better than I can normally manage, and that's because Gelish makes it easy to sort out any mistakes. 

I also decided to experiment a bit with a different camera and natural light, I've included the images after the jump so you can compare the difference. I love how clear they are, but at the same time I don't think I'm able to make a jump to using natural light because I do so many designs at night. But I'd like to see I can set the new camera up with my lightbox to see how they look then. But I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new images!

Barry M Autumn/Winter 2015 Speedy Quick Dry Swatches and Review

Hey everyone! Day two of my week of reviews, so far so good with posting but we'll see how it continues. Today is the Autumn/Winter Barry M Speedy Dry Collection*. Just like with yesterday's post I've actually had these sitting on my laptop since October but I've just had writers block when it comes to typing up the post. I've struggled to even start writing it tonight but I'm forcing myself. I think I just need to get over the hump I've created in my head for reviews and then I'll be fine. 

These four polishes were added to the Speedy Quick Dry collection, whilst they are indeed autumnal, I can see them being used into summer. Especially the red, Dead Heat*. They, like the rest of the collection, use a wider brush than Barry M's original designs did, which makes for easy application. As they do indeed dry quickly, this wide brush helps to prevent smears. I've been really impressed with the Speedy polishes so far and these are no exception. 

Burgundy Barry M Swirls

Hey everyone! I've spent all day Christmas shopping and I'm absolutely exhausted. I always forget how tiring shopping is but I cant wait to fall asleep after 8+ hours of wandering around. And I've still not got everything I need. I'm trying to be organised this year and also avoid the crowds, so I think I'll be doing the rest online. Anyway, today's nails are quite Christmassy, burgundy and gold is always a favourite of mine at this time of year. I was in the process of reviewing the Barry M Autumn/Winter 2015 Speedy Quick Dry collection* (review soon - just need to edit the photos!) and I couldn't help but create some nail art with Sprint Finish*

Simple Red Carpet Nail Art

Hey everyone! Incase you hadn't heard, the Golden Globes are tonight, so I thought I'd do some quick and simple red carpet nails in collaboration with Avon to show you that you don't need to do a complicated design to be red carpet ready. Sometimes less is more! All you need is a dotting tool (or even just a hairgrip) to create these. 

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Alice

Graffiti Nails - Swatches Part 3

Hey everyone, sorry for not posting for a few days, I was working all weekend and now I'm having a few personal issues, and so I'm not going to promise that the schedule is going to get any better at the moment, but I'll do my best! I'm really sorry if not. This post alone has taken me more than 48 hours to pluck up the courage to write. But today I have the final part of my Graffiti Nails review, and I know you've all been looking forward to it so I couldn't put it off. The colours today are Jet, Ice White, Mellow, Deep Red and Morning Mist, and you can get them all on the Graffiti Nails website for £3.99 if you're in the UK, and if you buy 3 then postage is free!

Barry M Autumn/Winter 2013 Classic Matte Nail Polish Collection

Hey everyone! Today I have one of Barry M's exciting new collections to show you, the Classic Matte collection. I'll be posting the Royal Glitter collection and the other new polishes within the next week. They are due for release on the 25th September in Superdrug and October 2nd in Boots. I'm really impressed with this whole collection, and with what I've seen of the other collections. Barry M has really pulled it out of the bag this time!

I'll put the rest of the post after the jump otherwise it may end up being too long

Half and half

Hey everyone! Just a quick post today, I did these a couple of weeks ago before my old laptop broke and then I completely forgot about them. If you follow me on instagram (@onenailtorulethemall) then you will have seen these partly already, but here's the full thing!

I can't remember the base colour and I'm in a different county to it at the moment so I cant check, but the white is acrylic paint, the blue is Barry M - Blueberry and the green is Sally Hansen - Spring Green, topped off with Seche Vite

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Alice