essie starry starry night
gorgeous. who doesn't love a jelly with suspended glitter. the layers are what make this color so remarkable. some pieces are blue and others silver. it's just kinda perfect.

rescue beauty lounge orbis non sufficit
Beautiful washed out forest green. Like an old army coat you find in a surplus store. The shoulders are faded and worn but the fit is just perfect. Sorry for the mediocre state of my manicure. I usually try to capture the fresh mani but this is from day 2.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Mismas
Man this is a beauty! Opaque in one smooth coat. I did 2 but I could have left it and been fine. This is a really nice color. While it's similar to other colors, I don't have a twin. It's a cool purple creme which is not common for some reason. It's almost teasing me with a blurple side but it most assuredly purple and not blue.

Illamasqua Verbal
So I finally swatched my entire UK Illamasqua haul. Verbal was the last one that needed to see the light of day...and I'll be honest, I put it off as long as possible. I bought it sight unseen from the Illamasqua website before Sephora started carrying the line. I was gambling it would be a dusty grey but I was wrong. It was not pretty in the bottle.
Turns out it isn't pretty IRL either.
I'm sure someone, somewhere can wear it beautifully. On me it looks like a bad concealer job. It reminds me of when I was in my late teens and I decided I would look better if i covered up my freckles. I bought the shade that matched them and applied an even coat of makeup. Took one look in the mirror and tossed the bottle and scrubbed my face. eeewww...never a good look going 4 shades darker then your skin.

Illamasqua Unnatural. Blood red. Dried blood to be exact. A bit more brown than Chanel rouge noir, essie wicked, or nails inc victoria.
This needed 2 thick coats. I think 3 thin would have been ideal but I have a policy against 3 coats. I'm still undecided on this color...it seems a bit more brown/warm then I prefer. I'll leave it in limbo for now.

boosh
baptiste
alarm
whack
lament
I'm scrolling through my photobucket trying to decide on a mani tonight. I just keep wanting to wear Illamasqua Boosh again. I've worn it 2x's already. I think it'll only get worse with the cooler weather.
I thought I'd take a second and post up my Illamasqua stash to date.

nubar caymen coral.
This summer I have been overwhelmed with a love of all things coral. It seems to have taken over my previous red creme addiction.
This is very close to RBL coral and barry m coral. Application was good but it could have used a 3rd coat to be fully opaque.
I do have to grumble on the wear, so far it's not great. I have wear on 1 nail and a small chip on another.

Sephora by OPI Dark Room is a greyed out green verging on blackened. It reminds me of when chalkboards were green. I actually really like it. I do wish my nails were shorter and the weather was cooler. I think this would be a great color on short nails with a grey sweater and my uggs. mmmm...cool weather can't get here soon enough.

Gorgeous tomato orange. I did have a few application issues with this one. The first time in my illamasqua tenure. I am sure this has a duplicate somewhere. I haven't found it yet though.

When I was lucky enough to score the QVC Perfect Handbag Nails inc set I was so excited. The promo pics looked enticing. I mean...the brown was questionable but the rest seemed worth the gamble.
Marco Polo House is described as a deep black-purple and that it is.

Queenstown Road is a classic deep red

Battersea Park green.

Battersea Power Station light brown.

So after looking at them all I know the gamble was worth it. The price was right and 3 out of 4 ain't bad. right?

Available at QVCUK

Obsessesion can be good. It can bring change, focus, and dedication. My obsession with nail lacquers from the UK is not.
case in point: Nails Inc.
I love them. I collect them. ebay. Friends. Bribery. I feel an overwhelming desire to own them all.
This blog is in part my ode to all nail varnish UK related and another part my notd journal. I won't be all about getting all the latest and greatest polishes but I will do my best to share what I do procure, here.