NAILS | A England Symphony in Blue and Silver...and Cats

The summer A England Collection is HERE! I know there are a number of companies that do holographic polishes now, but there is always something incredibly classy about the way A England does it and no, it's not because I'm saying it in my head with a British accent! I find that the collections are never repetitive and though holos make up a large number of their releases, there have been cremes, glitters and duochromes as well. The collections are always smaller which I appreciate because how many times have you seen a nail polish release with 8-12 "new" shades. There are only so many ways to do a nude or red so nothing ever really feels new except for the combination of colours. Never the case with A England!

This summer's A Sargent's Vision Collection is named after the American painter John Singer Sargent who specialized in the Edwardian era. I will be working my way through the collection of four polishes over the next week or two, but for today we will start with the first polish that caught my eye - Symphony in Blue and Silver* ($15.50 CDN) which is a powder blue holo with shimmers of green and silver.

NAILS | BCD NAIL ART CHALLENGE WEEK 19 "Penguin NAILS"

I don't know what the hell happened to my BCD Nail Art Challenge, but after the detail-intense Plant Cell Border Nails (here) from September, I kind of got caught up with other things, but like I have said before, I feel like these challenges to create or the only real time I feel like I am in my element. I'm not the best nail artist out there, but I love trying things that entertain both you and me and hope that I can relay how much fun nail art can be! I was a girl that never painted her nails or could even grow them out as recently as 2011 so to be able to have claws like this now is kind of an achievement!

Picking up where we left off, Week 19 was "Penguin Nails" which fittingly goes with Christmas so even though I did do penguins at coincidentally the same time last year (here), I didn't do them with HOLO polish! 

NAILS | Holographic Icicles with A-England Angel Grace #ManiMonday

I had hoped it would have been even just a little sunny this weekend for me to photograph A-England's Angel Grace*, but alas the day I had some time was probably one of the rainiest most dreary days I had seen in awhile so as much as I hate flash, t'is the only way to see the rainbow of a scattered holographic polish!

NAILS | A-England Shall Be My Queen Swatch and Tiny Bit of Nail Art #ManiMonday

I love a good holo polish and when I first started my journey through the rabbit hole of nail polish, getting my hands on A-England polishes was a dream come true. I purchased my very FIRST A-England polish from Nail Polish Canada back in 2012 (Tristam) and to this day, this brand has some of my favourite holos. I only wish I had better lights and/or sunshine in Vancouver to showcase how pretty Shall Be My Queen* is! 

Top 12 Nail Polishes of 2012!

Although the idea isn’t anything particularly new, I’ve never done one of these posts before. I figure, if I’m sitting here reflecting on notable events of 2012 I should mention the nail polishes that have made an impression on me. To some, it may sound superficial how much nail polish is a part of my life, but I consider nail art to be a true hobby of mine and every artist needs a medium and canvas. Nail polish and nails are mine and for many of you. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that nail polish is not only fun and fashionable, but therapeutic in its uses as well. I should add that not all of the nail polishes chosen were released in 2012, so here’s to my favourites of 2012!   

Day 5–Blue Chevron Nails

I had no real ideas for what to do, but I knew it had to include A-England’s Order of the Garter which is a beautiful slightly glass-flecked blue. I started with two coats of Order of the Garter, SH Xtremewear in Celeb City for the silver and finished off with another round of Order of the Garter for the tips. I added silver dots because the design reminded me of a jacket with silver buttons. No idea why…

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Holo-Day with a-england’s Princess Sabra!

Happy Friday and long weekend to those of you in BC! I have been determined to wear every holographic polish I have this summer and a-england – Princess Sabra has been in my possession unswatched for FAR too long! Formula was pleasant to work with and this is two coats with OTD topcoat. The colour reminds me of pea soup - if it were to be holographic! I never get tired seeing how alive a holo gets once sunlight hits it!

Have a good weekend everyone!

a-england - Tristam AKA “The Prettiest Navy Blue Holo of Them All”

Happy Friday!

May I introduce you to a-england’s Tristam! The colour and formula are an absolute dream! You NEED this colour in your life! It’s a gorgeous navy blue scattered holo that has such a richness to it. Get it. All I needed was two coats with my new Out The Door Topcoat and I was done! I even had some sunshine available so you could see how awesome it looks in the sun!

As a side note, I think OTD is now going to replace Seche Vite for me. There is no polish shrinkage and most importantly no toluene! The finish is still nice and shiny and the drying time was about the same as Seche.