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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Kiko #332 Dark Violet

Today I have Kiko #332 - Dark Violet. Well, it's listed as "Dark Violet" on their website, but I'm not sure that's what I would call it. It's more like a periwinkle/violet to me. It's a creme and I used 2 coats for full opacity. The formula and application were great, as in all the other Kikos I've tried so far. I really like this brand!

I found it difficult to get a color-accurate photo. These are fairly accurate, though. The last photo - the one with the orange hands? That's pretty color-accurate for indoors in artificial lighting.



Kiko #332 Dark Violet - indirect natural lighting

Kiko #332 Dark Violet - indirect natural lighting

Kiko #332 Dark Violet - indirect natural lighting

Kiko #332 Dark Violet - in the shade

Kiko #332 Dark Violet


What do you think of this one?

Unfortunately, I don't know of anywhere to get these in the US. I have a friend in the UK and one in France who get them for me.



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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-UrbervillesLady of Shalott, OpheliaDorian 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 PolishMeiMei'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 FacebookOverall 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-UrbervillesLady of ShalottDorian 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 PolishMeiMei'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 FacebookOverall 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

Hebridean Sprite Beauty - Loch Ness Monster

As promised, I'm back with more from Hebridean Sprite Beauty!

Before I show you, though, here's what Krista, the owner, had to say when I asked her to tell me a little about her company:
I was actually inspired by all the chunky glitters and I kept thinking to myself, I could make something more unique and sophisticated. I have had ideas on my own cosmetics line for over a year, just keeping a list of names I'd like to do something based on and colour combos, but I decided to finally do it this summer after I graduated. I had had a very stressful last couple semesters and wanted to do something fun and creative but still something with a point or purpose. I researched my butt off and asked a bunch of people for help and decided I wanted to do a nail polish line first. Plus as I'm Scottish through both my parents and I love Celtic mythology I wanted the main polish line to be named after Scottish and Irish folklore. This then expanded into other mythological stories (like Phoenix and Centaurs) but the celtic theme has always been something that meant a lot to me, which is why my blog and now my little itty bitty company is named Hebridean Sprite Beauty because I've always felt amazed and awed when I'm in Scotland and when I visited the Scottish Hebrides, they felt truly magical.

Now for something on the company itself. We're 100% cruelty-free and vegan. I only buy cruelty-free cosmetics and I think cosmetics isn't something that needs animal testing- animals shouldn't have to suffer for a person to look good. There aren't any animal by-products in any of my ingredients either. I triple check my ingredients to make sure there aren't anything like Carmine, Silk, guanine, etc. I wanted to make the line vegan because I know that it can be difficult to find vegan options for people so inclined and seeing as there are so many other options available now I've strived to learn to formulate without animal by-products. On top of that I've included all my ingredients for each product individually on the product page- not a may contain or one single ingredient listing for everything. My polishes are big three free as well and only use Stainless Steel BB balls and specifically solvent-resistant glitters.
Each polish includes a little card that includes an image of the mythological creature the polish was inspired by, a bit of history about the myth and a summary of my inspiration for the polish colour.

They are $10 USD each on storenvy- http://spritebeauty.storenvy.com
I have a two polish minimum order at the moment (due to shipping from Canada issues). 



Over the next few days, THESE are the polishes I will be showing you:  Loch Ness Monster - NOW, Brownie Helper and Banshee Scream. Please see Underhill here if you missed it!












Loch Ness Monster  is a light blue-green shimmer polish with small turquoise holographic glitter as well as lime holo and sapphire holo glitter and it reminded me a lot of Deborah Lippmann's Mermaid's Dream in the bottle but on the nail, there's less glitter, which I actually prefer. This went on well and I had no issues - other than I messed up my ring finger without realizing it. What you see in the photos is NOT application problems but rather user clumsiness. Three coats, no top coat.


Hebridean Sprite Beauty Loch Ness Monster

Hebridean Sprite Beauty Loch Ness Monster

Hebridean Sprite Beauty Loch Ness Monster

Hebridean Sprite Beauty Loch Ness Monster

Hebridean Sprite Beauty Loch Ness Monster

Hebridean Sprite Beauty Loch Ness Monster

Hebridean Sprite Beauty Loch Ness Monster

Hebridean Sprite Beauty Loch Ness Monster

Hebridean Sprite Beauty Loch Ness Monster




What do you think of this one?

She launched her brand on October 1, 2012! Cruelty-Free and Vegan!

You can purchase this one, and the others in her new line, at her StoreEnvy Store here for $10 for a full-sized 15 ml bottle. Also follow her Facebook Pageher blog here and her Pinterest here.




*PR Samples provided for my honest review

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