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Monday, December 9, 2013

a-England: The Ballerina Collection - Swatches and Review

Nothing to Disclose 
*These products are Cruelty Free 


a-England
The Ballerina Collection




Since a-England is one of my favorite brands, I could barely WAIT to get my hot lil paws on these. And once again, a-England didn't disappoint me. Their Burne-Jones Dream Collection is still probably my favorite collection of theirs but this collection is stunning as well.

Continued after the jump...




All four of these polishes had a fantastic, typically a-England formula. Perfectly self-leveling, creamy smooth application, great color saturation and that tightly scattered holo that I'm so in love with. In fact, 3 of the 4 are actually one-coaters if you so choose. Probably Encore Margot could be too if you took care. I chose to use two coats and no top coat for the photos just because that's what I normally do and how I will personally wear them.

As with all of Adina's collections, there's always fabulous inspiration behind her creations and this one is no different. I was more the gymnast type little girl than the ballerina but I was no stranger to great ballet performances I could watch late at night on "the 4th station" on my TV growing up. The grace with which the dancers moved kept me mesmerized. This collection was inspired by Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, probably the most famous and influential prima ballerina of our age. And her partnership with Rudolph Nureyev was probably the most famous partnership in the history of ballet. Much like I was mesmerized by the dancers as a child, I'm mesmerized by the beauty on my nails with this collection.

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Dancing with Nureyev is a blue, tightly scattered holographic polish. 




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Encore Margot is a pale, silvery-ice blue with a tightly scattered holo. In warm artificial lighting, a green hue is even visible. This is the only one I probably wouldn't wear with just one coat, but if you used a medium coat instead of a light one, you could still get away with one I think. 





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Fonteyn is a pale silvery lavender shade with a tightly scattered holo.





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Her Rose Adigio is a sandy, champagne shade with hints of faded rose in the tightly scattered holo.





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Compared side-by-side in a skittles mani in artificial lighting and indirect natural lighting...



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And of course I couldn't resist having a little fun with them - simple free-hand stripes...


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I really loved these! Encore Margot is probably a bit too light for my pale skin, but you know I'll still wear it! My favorites are Dancing with Nureyev and Her Rose Adagio. What do you think of the collection? Favorite?

Thanks to Royal Mail (BAH!) the US can't order directly from a-England anymore but thankfully there are great stocklists in the US who carry them. You can have a look at the a-England Stocklist page for e-tailers in your country/area, including Ninja PolishLlaroweOverall Beauty and Mei Mei's Signatures. 


You can check out a-England's social media here for more information and swatches: 

Website
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram


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11 comments :

  1. FANTASTIC post!!! I can probably skip Encore Margaret (for me) but I definitely want the other three!

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  2. So pretty and you put so much work in to the post!!

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  3. Glad to see these swatches! I wondered how lhey were different and now I know. Thanks

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  4. thanks as always for showing in indirect natural light as well Sheila :) these are very pretty!

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  5. All of these are lovely but I think Dancing with Nureyev is my fave :)

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  6. Got these beauties yesterday - and, no surprise, wearing them as a skittles mani today, too :) They are awesome - but then again, we expected no less from a-England. Fonteyn and Dancing with Nureyev are my favourites (and I am sure these two will be the most popular ones in this collection), but I love the whole collection - a great combo.

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  7. Dancing with Nureyev is the one that I want!

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  8. I'm loving Her Rose Adagio too, so delicate and soft and ethereal but still there's something... I don't know, something very cozy and comforting about it also. Adina's collections are always a wonder and a delight, aren't they?

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  9. I can't wait to get my hands on these (and the rest of the Burne-Jones collection, for that matter)! A-England is the one company in Indie-land that has never once been a miss for me, formula- or color-wise.

    Do you find that the two silvery polishes are very similar, or is it more obvious in person?

    And DAMN the Royal Mail-I LOVED ordering from Adina directly, as I know there was the least amount of work involved for her that way and the most profit. Plus, how fun was it to get packages from England? Lots of fun, that's how much!

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    1. On my pale skin, I find them very similar. I don't know if that would be different on darker skin or not. These photos were the most difference I could capture and it's not more obvious in person to me. And I'm right there with you on Royal Mail ARGHHH! ♥

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  10. These are lovely, but I don't find them personally exciting. I would admire them on someone else, but I don't feel the polish addict urge of "I must have it" (which I did have with St. George, Dragon, and Briar Rose).

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