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Showing posts with label a England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a England. Show all posts

Monday, November 3, 2014

a England: Elizabeth and Mary Collection - Swatches, Review and Nail Art

Press Sample 
*These products are Cruelty Free 

♥

Today I have the latest collection from  a England, the Elizabeth and Mary Collection, to show you! I can't tell you how I stalked the mailman for these. "Giddy anticipation" is understating it a bit.

a England
Elizabeth and Mary



Continued after the jump...


Monday, October 20, 2014

Winter Berries - Nail Art from the Vault

Nothing to Disclose
*This product is Cruelty Free

♥

Today I'm busy swatching like a mad fool but I did this Winter Berries Mani a while back and decided to take this quick opportunity to share with you guys quickly because it's raining and on the chilly side (for here anyway) so I thought it was appropriate.

Winter Berries Nail Art



For this mani I used all a-England polishes. The base is Fonteyn with a Fated Prince gradient on the tips. The branches are Fated Prince and the berries are Rose Bower.

Quick and easy enough for both hands!

I'll be back soon with more swatches of pretty polish!


 ♥



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Saturday, November 3, 2012

a-England Holy Grail (Re-Vamped Version) - Swatches and Review


a-England recently re-vamped Holy Grail from the Mythicals Collection. Which really works out well for me because I think it's one of the only a-England polishes I don't have. It was too yellow for my pale skin. This one, however...this one works for me! I got this one and the new Beauty Never Fails, which is the first polish in Adina's new Heavenly Quotes Collection. To see my swatches and review of that one, click here.

The new version of Holy Grail is now a great tarnished gold polish with copper, gold, bronze and even some green shimmer. The formula, like the other a-England polishes I have, is great. Two coats for full opacity. Smooth and easy. No issues at all. I used one coat of Poshe top coat in all the photos.



a-England New Holy Grail

a-England New Holy Grail

a-England New Holy Grail

a-England New Holy Grail

a-England New Holy Grail

a-England New Holy Grail



This one really has several personalities, depending on how the light hits it. Another winner in my book!

A-England polishes are available on their website, and they offer free international delivery. You can also order through Ninja Polish, MeiMei's Signatures, Overall Beauty and Llarowe. And of course, you can always stay up to date on their latest release by following a-England on Facebook and Twitter!  Also follow Ninja Polish on Facebook, Overall Beauty on Facebook and Llarowe on Facebook and MeiMei's Signatures on Facebook for more updates, availability and re-stock information. 




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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

a-England Jane Eyre - Swatches and Review

a-England has recently released five new polishes called the Gothic Beauties Collection. a-England is one of my all-time favorite brands so I knew I had to have them even if swatches were indicating that they would all read black on me. So I pre-ordered them directly from Adina as soon as I could. The formula is absolutely amazing, as always - on all five of them. The Gothic Beauties Collection was inspired by and named for characters in well-known gothic literature. Literature, especially of this genre, is a passion of mine, so I was thrilled to see them!

These are all (except Dorian Gray) in a blackened base and meant to be dark and mysterious. Jane Eyre, of course was inspired by
Charlotte Brontë's central character in her book by the same name. Jane Eyre is a blackened base with a brownish-red, bordeaux shimmer. Two coats for full opacity, same fantastic formula as the others. Perfectly self-leveling and creamy smooth. Shown with one coat of Nails Inc. Caviar Top Coat in all photos.



a-England Jane Eyre

a-England Jane Eyre

a-England Jane Eyre

a-England Jane Eyre

a-England Jane Eyre


And this is what it looks like in most lighting...


a-England Jane Eyre



What do you think of this one? You can see the others in the Gothic Beauties Collection by clicking on the name. Tess d-Urbervilles, Lady of Shalott, Ophelia, Dorian Gray and Dorian Gray vs a-England King Arthur.

A-England has just put the Gothic Beauties Collection on their website and they offer free international delivery. You can also order through Ninja Polish, MeiMei's Signatures,  Overall Beauty and Llarowe. And of course, you can always stay up to date on their latest release by following a-England on Facebook and Twitter!  Also follow Ninja Polish on Facebook, Overall Beauty on Facebook and Llarowe on Facebook and MeiMei's Signatures on Facebook for more updates, availability and re-stock information.






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a-England Ophelia - Swatches and Review

a-England has recently released five new polishes called the Gothic Beauties Collection. a-England is one of my all-time favorite brands so I knew I had to have them even if swatches were indicating that they would all read black on me. So I pre-ordered them directly from Adina as soon as I could. The formula is absolutely amazing, as always - on all five of them. The Gothic Beauties Collection was inspired by and named for characters in well-known gothic literature. Literature, especially of this genre, is a passion of mine, so I was thrilled to see them!

These are all (except Dorian Gray) in a blackened base and meant to be dark and mysterious. Ophelia has a purple shimmer deep in its inky base, glowing from within. Of course this one was inspired by Ophelia, the young woman in love with Hamlet who eventually descends into madness and drowns herself in Shakespeare's Hamlet. I used two coats of this one, although if you used a thicker coat, it could be a one-coater like the rest. And, like the rest, the formula was perfection, smooth, easy and self-leveling. Two coats with one coat of Nails Inc. Caviar Top Coat.




a-England Ophelia

a-England Ophelia

a-England Ophelia

a-England Ophelia



What do you think of this one? You can see the others in the Gothic Beauties Collection that I've swatched so far by clicking on the name. Tess d-Urbervilles, Lady of Shalott, Dorian Gray and Dorian Gray vs a-England King Arthur.


A-England has just put the Gothic Beauties Collection on their website and they offer free international delivery. You can also order through Ninja Polish, MeiMei's Signatures,  Overall Beauty and Llarowe. And of course, you can always stay up to date on their latest release by following a-England on Facebook and Twitter!  Also follow Ninja Polish on Facebook, Overall Beauty on Facebook and Llarowe on Facebook and MeiMei's Signatures on Facebook for more updates, availability and re-stock information.





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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

a-England Lady of Shalott - Swatches and Review

a-England has recently released five new polishes called the Gothic Beauties Collection. a-England is one of my all-time favorite brands so I knew I had to have them even if swatches were indicating that they would all read black on me. So I pre-ordered them directly from Adina as soon as I could. The formula is absolutely amazing, as always - on all five of them. The Gothic Beauties Collection was inspired by and named for characters in well-known gothic literature. Literature, especially of this genre, is a passion of mine, so I was thrilled to see them!

These are all (except Dorian Gray) in a blackened base and meant to be dark and mysterious. Lady of Shalott is a blue shimmer in a blackened base with micro-particles of blue and pink/purple, giving it a wonderful depth. Inspired by the poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in which the Lady of Shalott, put away in a tower, is forced to view Camelot through a mirror as gazing upon it directly would result in bringing about a terrible curse. But when Lancelot rides by, she can't help herself and gazes upon him directly, bringing about the curse. To save everyone else from the curse, she leaves the tower and takes a boat on the river. She dies along the way and Lancelot comes upon her and is stunned by her beauty, even in death.

I only used one coat of this one for full opacity. Perfect formula and perfect coverage. One coat of Nails Inc. Caviar Top Coat. The first 3 photos are in strong lighting and the last is showing you how it will look about 99% of the time and in most lighting.




a-England Lady of Shalott

a-England Lady of Shalott

a-England Lady of Shalott


And below is how it will look most of the time. Sort of like sexy, midnight blue lingerie...hidden but waiting to show itself off.



a-England Lady of Shalott


What do you think of this one? You can see the others in the Gothic Beauties Collection that I've swatched so far by clicking on the name. Tess d-Urbervilles, Dorian Gray and Dorian Gray vs a-England King Arthur.


A-England has just put the Gothic Beauties Collection on their website and they offer free international delivery. You can also order through Ninja Polish, MeiMei's Signatures,  Overall Beauty and Llarowe. And of course, you can always stay up to date on their latest release by following a-England on Facebook and Twitter!  Also follow Ninja Polish on Facebook, Overall Beauty on Facebook and Llarowe on Facebook and MeiMei's Signatures on Facebook for more updates, availability and re-stock information.



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Thursday, May 24, 2012

a England Lady of the Lake and a Holo Water Marble!

I tried water marbling again! Glutton for punishment. That's me!



a England Lady of the Lake is one of my favorite polishes (previously reviewed here) and I wear it quite often, even though I have way too many "untrieds." Sometimes you just want to put on something you love that makes you feel good and Lady of the Lake is one of my "comfort polishes."


a England Lady of the Lake

a England Lady of the Lake

a England Lady of the Lake



Well last night I was feeling adventurous and decided to try another water marble. Jeanie at Midnight Manicures sponsored a nail art contest (which I didn't win LOL) for Lyme Disease Awareness and one of her winners, Patricia at Southern Sister Polish, inspired the "new-to-me" way of water marbling! It sounded much easier than the method at which I'd been failing so miserably. In a nutshell, the base color should be one you want to show and then use CLEAR POLISH and another color for the water marble part. I had no idea you could use clear! Well let me tell you, I didn't have to re-do one single nail! It's not perfect by any stretch, but it's so much better than my previous attempts that I am just thrilled. I should have done better clean up before taking photos, but...

Another great thing about this method is that you can tape into your base polish a little so there's less clean up! WIN!

I used a England's Lady of the Lake, a tightly scattered holo, that I was already wearing with Color Club Clear polish and Nubar Reclaim, a linear holo.  And this is what I got!


a England Lady of the Lake, Nubar Reclaim and Color Club Clear
HOLO Water Marble!

a England Lady of the Lake, Nubar Reclaim and Color Club Clear
HOLO Water Marble!

a England Lady of the Lake, Nubar Reclaim and Color Club Clear
HOLO Water Marble!

a England Lady of the Lake, Nubar Reclaim and Color Club Clear
HOLO Water Marble!

a England Lady of the Lake, Nubar Reclaim and Color Club Clear
HOLO Water Marble!


And see there? I DO have two hands! Actually my right (dominant) hand turned out better than my left did this time!

Do you water marble? I'd love for you to show me your favorite water marbles on my Facebook Page!


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Sunday, January 29, 2012

a England The Legends Collection - Swatches and Review (PIC HEAVY)

a England The Legends


Well, I've been sick and let me tell you, these Legends sure upped the cheer-factor in MY house this week. Exponentially! I didn't think Adina could ever top, or even MATCH, the magnificence of Tristam and Lady of the Lake. But she's at least matched them. This entire collection surpassed my expectations.

The Legends Collection consists of seven polishes that were named after the tale of Saint George and the Dragon. I could cut and paste from Wiki here, but I won't. Most of you have heard the story and if not, well, you know how to find Wiki. I know you're just here for the photos anyhow!

Here are the names:

Saint George - teal holo
Dragon - green holo
Princess Sabra - golden holo
Order of the Garter - royal blue glass fleck
Princess Tears - light grey/lilac holo
Bridal Veil - black holo
Ascalon - medium grey holo


I started to just order a few of them and I'm so happy I didn't because the ones I wouldn't have ordered may just be my favorites!

First up, and rightfully so, is Saint George (who is, just FYI, the Patron Saint of England.) This is a magnificent deep teal leaning toward a blue teal, but depending on how the light hits it, the green also plays a huge role - highly pigmented and creamy with so many shimmers, it's hard to pick out exactly what they are. The holographic properties are *almost* a straight linear but not quite. I'm going to call it a tightly scattered holo. Very tightly. It goes on smoothly and is self-leveling. I used two coats and no top coat for the photos. Sorry there are so many, but I tried very hard to get shots of how the light reflects off of it. (Pro Tip #1: I didn't put on a base coat for these swatches and I highly recommend you use one, especially with this good ol' Saint George.)

a England The Legends
a England Saint George

a England The Legends
a England Saint George

a England The Legends
a England Saint George

a England The Legends
a England Saint George

a England The Legends
a England Saint George

a England The Legends
a England Saint George

a England The Legends
a England Saint George


Next up is Saint George's co-star, Dragon. Dragon is a lush green and with the holographic shimmers seems to have the iridescence that a real life dragon scale might have! As with Saint George, the scattered holo is so tight it's *almost* a linear. Creamy, smooth, self-leveling, highly pigmented.  Again, lots of photos as I've tried to capture how it looks, which is very difficult, especially for someone like me who's not a photographer. It flashes light green, dark green, gold, blue and well, you get the idea.  Have a look...

a England The Legends
a England Dragon

a England The Legends
a England Dragon

a England The Legends
a England Dragon

a England The Legends
a England Dragon

a England The Legends
a England Dragon

a England The Legends
a England Dragon

a England The Legends
a England Dragon


Since Princess Sabra is the princess Saint George saved, she's up next. Princess Sabra is a rich gold with olive undertones and has the same tightly scattered holo. More pigmented than I expected for a lighter shade. Very rich and creamy like the others. When I applied the first coat I just knew it would be a 3 or 4 coater, but I wasn't sad for long when the second coat worked its magic. Totally opaque and even with 2 coats!

a England The Legends
a England Princess Sabra

a England The Legends
a England Princess Sabra

a England The Legends
a England Princess Sabra

a England The Legends
a England Princess Sabra

a England The Legends
a England Princess Sabra

a England The Legends
a England Princess Sabra

a England The Legends
a England Princess Sabra

a England The Legends
a England Princess Sabra


Next is Order of the Garter. This one is the "odd man out" in this collection as it doesn't have the holographic properties of the other six. The Order of the Garter is the highest order of chivalry or knighthood existing in England. It's the richest of royal blues and just chock full of glass flecks and shimmers and sparkles in the light like nobody's business. But once dry, I think you will need a top coat with this to show it to its best advantage. I had the most difficulty with the application of this one. It still went on smoothly and in two coats, but wasn't quite as creamy and smooth as the others. I may have tried to apply the second coat too thickly, but all in all, it wasn't bad. I might try to do 3 very thin coats next time. Upon close inspection, I think there is even some pink shimmer with the glass flecks.

a England The Legends
a England Order of the Garter

a England The Legends
a England Order of the Garter

a England The Legends
a England Order of the Garter

a England The Legends
a England Order of the Garter

a England The Legends
a England Order of the Garter

a England The Legends
a England Order of the Garter


Next is Princess Tears. It's a light grey/silver with lavender, lilac, pink and blue flashes and tons of tightly scattered holographic shimmer. Like Dragon, Saint George and Princess Sabra, it's creamy, smooth and well pigmented. Goes on like a dream and is opaque in two coats. (This is another one I had doubts about after the first coat, but the 2nd coat was magic.)

a England The Legends
a England Princess Tears

a England The Legends
a England Princess Tears

a England The Legends
a England Princess Tears

a England The Legends
a England Princess Tears

a England The Legends
a England Princess Tears

a England The Legends
a England Princess Tears


Next is Bridal Veil. This is what I call a black holo. But that doesn't even begin to describe it. It's another scattered holographic shimmer polish - not quite as tightly scattered as the others, but still gorgeous with the prismatic flashes. Creamy, smooth, highly pigmented and probably a one-coater, though I used two coats on all 7 Legends.

a England The Legends
a England Bridal Veil

a England The Legends
a England Bridal Veil

a England The Legends
a England Bridal Veil

a England The Legends
a England Bridal Veil

a England The Legends
a England Bridal Veil


Finally we come to Ascalon. Saint George's trusty sword. This is definitely a unique polish (as if the others weren't?) in that it has a strong duochrome quality along with the holo. It reminded me of something you might have if Orly Space Cadet and Nfu-Oh 61 had a baby. Except BETTER. It's a medium steel grey and is another tightly scattered holo. The formula on this is most like Dragon, Saint George and Princess Sabra...creamy, smooth, self-leveling. Goes on like a dream.

a England The Legends
a England Ascalon

a England The Legends
a England Ascalon

a England The Legends
a England Ascalon

a England The Legends
a England Ascalon

a England The Legends
a England Ascalon

a England The Legends
a England Ascalon

a England The Legends
a England Ascalon

a England The Legends
a England Ascalon


Wow, that was a LOT! In summary, I really liked all seven of The Legends. The only issues I had were that a couple of the brushes had a stray bristle that needed cutting off, which took all of 3 seconds, so really not much of an issue. I do love the brushes as they are cut well and hold the perfect amount of polish for each nail with out "re-dipping." I did have a little application problem with Order of the Garter - a little thicker than the others, but nothing major. The other six were pure perfection. (Pro Tip #2: These polishes go on easily and in very few strokes. If you like to go over and over and over your nail with the polish, you'll need to do it differently with these.)

A-England polishes are available on their website, and they offer free international delivery. You can also order through Ninja Polish, MeiMei's Signatures, Overall Beauty and Llarowe. And of course, you can always stay up to date on their latest release by following a-England on Facebook and Twitter!  Also follow Ninja Polish on Facebook, Overall Beauty on Facebook and Llarowe on Facebook and MeiMei's Signatures on Facebook for more updates, availability and re-stock information. 

My favorite? I don't think I can pick! The one that surprised me the most was Princess Sabra. I almost didn't order that one and that would have been tragic. It's definitely in my top three. The other two are Saint George and Dragon with Ascalon pulling up in 4th position.

Which are your favorites?



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