Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game

Deborah Lippmann polishes aren't widely available in the UK and they're pretty pricey. Until recently, the only polish I had from this brand was Razzle Dazzle, which came in a GlossyBox last year. However, I saw some nice swatches of Wicked Game online recently and it looked like my sort of colour, so I took the plunge and bought it. At £14, it now has the distinction of being the most I have ever paid for one bottle of nail polish!

Wicked Game is a purple/green/grey duochrome that is often described as looking like an oil slick. Application wasn't great. It dries to a chrome finish so it shows every imperfection. It also bubbled like crazy. Sad. Anyway, photo time:

Despite the application issues, I like it. It has a very strong duochrome effect, and I love the colours it shifts to (even the green!). There are various similar, if not identical, polishes out there though - so if you're not willing to splurge on this brand, I believe Wet n Wild Anatomy, Essence Where's the Party?, OPI Not Like the Movies and Nubar Purple Beach are all quite close.

Nails Inc Chalk Farm

I thought I'd share one of my favourite Nails Inc polishes with you today: Chalk Farm. It's a gorgeous light cornflower blue that is close to being a one-coater, although I used two coats for the photos below. Application is a breeze and it dries super shiny. I don't have a lot else to say about it, except that I loooove it!

Models Own Sophie's Pink

I have a confession to make: I only bought Models Own Sophie's Pink because we share the same name. That is literally the only reason. I know Zoya has a polish called Sophie, but that brand isn't widely available in the UK - and it's a reddish terracotta colour that's even less me than Sophie's Pink, which is a hot pink creme. The formula of Sophie's Pink was good; I used three coats in the photos below, but this was more out of habit than because it really needed the third. So without further ado, here is My Pink:

I had to use artificial light due to a distinct lack of sun, so the photos aren't very colour accurate, I'm afraid. It's not remotely coral like you see here; it's definitely hot pink. I actually think I like the colour more in my photos than in real life!

Have any of you ever bought a nail polish because of its name? Do you have a Zoya polish named after you?

W7 Metallic Jupiter

Sometimes you come across a nail polish that just looks so much cooler in the bottle than it does on the nail. I hate to say it, but I think W7 Metallic Jupiter is one of those polishes. I picked it up in a set of three W7 colours from TK Maxx for some ridiculously cheap price, lured in by the rainbow in the bottle:

On the nail, the red/gold disappears and you're left with what is essentially a blackened purple/blue duochrome. It's really pretty, and it makes a nice change from all the pastels and neons I've been wearing recently. But I hate that it held so much more promise in the bottle!

If you are less picky than me and love a good duochrome, W7 Metallic Jupiter is priced at £1.95 to buy online - what a bargain!

China Glaze Gothic Lolita & Topshop Razzmatazz

By now you've probably seen a million and one swatches of China Glaze Gothic Lolita, so I thought I'd show you what I layered over it instead. Gothic Lolita is a light/medium purple with a subtle blue shimmer. As for Topshop Razzmatazz - which consists of fine and medium holographic glitter in a sheer lilac base - it's been sitting on my desk for several weeks while I decided what to layer it over. I sat there stroking my (not literal!) beard, pondering what would work...

Image credit

...when it came to me like a lightning bolt from Zeus that Razzmatazz and Gothic Lolita were made for each other.

Obviously the lilac base in Razzmatazz doesn't show up against the purple of Gothic Lolita, but it's still a very nice combination. The formula on Gothic Lolita was great, no problems there. Razzmatazz was a little thick and the medium glitter wasn't as prevalent as I would've liked, but I'm still happy with this combination.

Urban Outfitters Twinkie

Just a quick(ish) post to show you what I layered over yesterday's manicure, Color Club Revealed. I had no idea Urban Outfitters sold nail polish, but I stumbled upon this interesting one the other day. It's little holographic glitter and turquoise and pink star glitter (!!) in a clear base. I've never seen a polish like this before, so naturally it had to come home with me. XD The stars were a pain in the arse to get out of the bottle and I ended up using an orange stick to place them on my nails, but I was expecting this so I wasn't too bothered. Anyway, here is Urban Outfitters Twinkie over CC Revealed:

Eugh, horrible blurry photos. Sorry! And these were the best ones. *hangs head in shame*

Peachy Keen

I love the expressions 'I'm peachy' and 'peachy keen'. I don't know why. Clearly I am just very easily amused!

Anyway, today I'm showing you one of the two peach polishes I own (the other being Barry M Peach Melba, used here and here). I got this polish in a Color Club set that calls itself one half of spring 2011's collection, but some Googling has proved there are a couple of usurpers in there. Oh well, with seven polishes for £7.99 I can't complain too much, can I?! This polish, Color Club Revealed, is definitely from last year's spring collection though. It's a warm peach with a red shimmer, but disappointingly the shimmer didn't show up in my photos at all. I did three coats of polish, which made it completely opaque. I don't have many Color Clubs, but considering how cheap they are I'm always very impressed with the formula.

The rubbish weather meant I only had artificial light for these photos. Dear Mother Nature, let's make a deal: I won't complain about the rain every 0.5 seconds if you actually give me sun when I want to photograph my nails, okay?