NOTD - CG Cracked Concrete

China Glaze Cracked Concrete is a mid toned grey crackle. I used it over Essie Nice is Nice, I like the combo of the pastel with the grey and I bought this particular polish with the intention of using it over the pastel shades that are everywhere this summer. I'm not sure that I like the way it has cracked, I think I need to use a thinner coat, I still haven't quite got the hang of this yet! I think I would like the look more if I could see more of the lavender showing through, it's not a look I will wear for long, I imagine I'll get bored after a day or so. 

xoxo

OPI Pirates Of The Caribbean Collection

OPI's most recent collection is a collaboration with the lastest Pirates Of The Caribbean film, On Stranger Tides. I first head about the pairing of the two back in February when OPI held a bloggers day in London and pictures started to pop up online later that day. I was beyond excited! I loved the shades of the collection and I adore the films! The film was released in the UK this week and so was the nail varnish collection.

The colours in the collection were not what we were expecting but I think they fit the theme perfectly. Murky dusky pastel colours I think are appropriate for the Caribbean Pirate theme. Having seen the film last night I think they fit in well with the scenery and images from the movie itself.

L-R Skull And Glossbones, Stranger Tides, Mermaids Tears, Planks A Lot, Sparrow Me The Drama.

Skull and Glossbones is a slightly green tinged grey. It looks like a mouldy skull that has been left below deck of the Black Pearl! I love the shade, the hint of green makes it stand out from other greys out there but it still looks classy and sophisticated. Two coats will do the job.

Stranger Tides carries the name of the film and is really gorgeous! An interesting shade its very unusual and it reminds me of an avocado! I can't explain it very well but this colour seems the fit the feel of the film perfectly. I have nothing like it it my stash and I just love it! 

Mermaids Tears is a soft dusky turquoise pastel. I think this will be the most popular colour from the collection and I completely understand why.... its gorgeous! Although similar in tone to other jadey greens, Mermaids Tears has a sort of cloudy effect. The mermaids in the film itself are no brightly coloured Disney mermaids, they are dark characters that live in the depths of the ocean, this colour is reflected in the their tails and is totally appropriate.

Planks A Lot is a foggy purple shade. With definite tones of lilac in the colour, its a very pretty shade. I am always drawn to these colours in the bottle but I find I don't wear them very often. I like this colour a lot and it fits in well with the pastel polishes that are massive this summer.

Sparrow Me The Drama is adorned with our favourite pirates name although I'm not sure this is a colour he would wear himself! It is a murky rose that feels very vintage, it's bright yet dusty. This is the colour I chose to wear when I saw the film and I really enjoyed wearing it. 

There are two more polishes that complete the set, Steady As She Rose and Silver Shatter. I felt the rose wasn't really my colour and I'm still only dabbling in a the crackle craze, although I have heard the silver is very sparkly and paired with the other colours in the collection.

As a collection I love the whole vibe of it, I feel the pastel hues are completely appropriate for the Pirates theme. As for the film itself? I loved it, it was such good fun and on par with the first film, I love the flirting between Jack Sparrow and Penelope Cruz's character Angelica! Go and see it!!

xoxo

Nails Inc Sunshine Collection

This five piece set features all of Nails Inc's newest colours for the summer all of which are bang on trend for this season. Featuring pastels and a bright coral I had to have this set!

L-R Albert Place, Hyde Park Gate, Sumner Place, Wellington Square and Blandford Street

Albert Place is a pastel cornflower blue, completely unique in my collection. I love this shade, it's a delightful colour to wear, it makes me smile! The formula on this one is great, it could be one coater if you are slow, the picture is two coats. 

Hyde Park Gate is a bright, well, green I suppose. I have found it very hard to find the right descriptive colour for this shade and again it's very unique in my collection. I really love it!!The picture is washed out, this lovely is extremely bright. There is no getting away from it, this is most definitely a three coater. The first coat is thin then the following coats can drag if you aren't careful. Pastel shades are notoriously difficult to work with. 

Sumner Place is a light primrose yellow. This polish has to be three coats, unfortunately it applies rather streaky however the polish is thin so if you are careful you could maybe pass with two. Yellows are known for being difficult anyway but make that a pastel yellow and you are making it twice as hard! This type of yellow shade suits my skintone and I love the hue. When I first received this polish I was convinced it was exactly the same as a polish I've recently posted about, Spitalfields.

Spitalfields came in a pastel collection from a couple of summers ago and I thought Nails Inc were being sneaky and re-releasing the colour under a new name. When I applied Spitalfields to my index finger, it's more chalky, Sumner Place is slightly more yellow.

Spitalfields is on the right of the picture. You can just make out the difference! There's no way you need both, but if you like the shade Sumner Place is extremely close. I prefer the colour of the new one but the application is so much better on it's predecessor.

Wellington Square is a girly subtle peach. I adore it! It's a very fresh colour and a shade I have never worn before. It almost blends in to my fingers but not quite. It is more peach than it is orange and therefore completely on its own in my vast collection! I have yet to purchase Illamasqa's Purity but I imagine they are similar. 

Blandford Street is a vivd coral. This polish is dazzling, it's so bright. Perfect for the summer and for tanned days. I have it on my toes now and its the perfect shade for summer holidays, I wish my toes were in the sand! Two coats give you the more intense colour but one would suffice. The colour itself I'm sure is not unique but it's the luminosity of the shade that makes it stand out.

I bought these polishes as a set from QVC for £25.75 which makes them amazing value as Nails Inc polishes sell for £11 each elsewhere. If you don't like the whole set these colours are available individually, I have seen Albert Place and Wellington Square at Boots, Sumner Place and Hyde Park Gate are available on the Nails Inc site and I believe Blandford Street will be released on the site soon.

xoxo

New Arm Candy!

I am a very lucky girl! My Dad treated me to a new handbag that I have lusted after for ages! I was saving up for it myself but I received a lovely text from him at the weekend telling me it was on its way!!

It arrived today!

It's from a brand I have loved for a while, Tabitha. I have a few of their handbags now and my most used bag is one of theirs, although I can't remember the name of it, I got it in a sale when they used to sell their £300 bags for £50!! They don't do this anymore I might add!

Anyway, it's a gorgeous colour and although some may feel the studs are a little over the top, I love them! I think it will contrast nicely with my more girly fashion style. I was hoping it was going to be a vibrant bright yellow but it's a little more muted but still more interesting to me than a black bag. Which incidentally this style does come in a classic black and grey. Fearne Cotton has been spotted toting the black version.

My Mum was also treated to a new bag which I am seriously coveting! She went for the Tabitha Studded Stardust.

It's so soft and the handles are amazingly comfortable, its not too big or heavy unlike mine which is quite heavy before I've even put anything in it!! I love the more subtle studs, complete opposite to my bold ones!

Since my Mum lives abroad she said I can use her bag until I see her in July! She may have to fight me for it!!

My bag came from spoiledbrat.co.uk and has now gone into the sale, and the green Stardust is from the Tabitha website.

xoxo

P.S Sorry if you follow me on Twitter, I know I've been banging on about this all weekend!! xx