Closing Down Sale

UPDATE --- PRICES DROPPED - SEE BELOW!

Hello everyone.

I think the time has come for me to officially close down my blog. I have loved doing my blog and being part of the network, but unfortunately life is just too busy for me to carry on.

Therefore I am having a sale of some of the polishes I have loved (and not loved) to clear out a bit of room.

If you are interested in any of the polishes listed below then send me an email to matildasmanis@hotmail.co.uk. I would love to do this as a giveaway but due to the time of year, I just can't afford to.

So I am selling the following:

Essie
Loophole - about 90% left - £2
Wild Thing - used for about 2 manicures (hard to see exactly how much is left) - £3
Downtown Brown - same as above - £3

Avon
Star - quite a new shade, a pearly white - used for 2 manis - £2

Eyeko
Indigo Polish - used for 1 mani - £1.50

Gosh
Golden Brown - used for 2 manis - £2

NFU
#81 - hardly used - £2

BB Couture
Union Square - used once - £4


Orly
Space Cadet - brand new - £3
Rage - brand new - £3

I will post for 50p to the UK, £1 for Europe and £2 for rest of the world.

I have no idea how much I should be pricing these up at so if they don't go I will lower the price and update the post.

I'd like to say thank you to you all for welcoming me into the world of polish and for reading my little blog. I will keep it open as I use my blog roll regularly to read everyone's posts so expect to see me commenting from time to time.

Take care and have a great Christmas and New Year!

Tilly,
xx

Models Own Silver Fox & Some Glittery Layering

Well everyone I am really getting into the party season and was craving some glitter.

I chose Models Own Silver Fox.

First I did 1 coat of Essie Loophole and then layered 1 coat of Silver Fox. I LOVE this sooo much. It was subtle enough to wear for work but pretty enough for people to notice. The only down side is that it took 3 coats of Orly Sec 'n' Dry topcoat and it still was a tiny bit bumpy. Sec 'n' Dry is the thinnest topcoat I have ever used though. Does anyone else have a similar opinion?

So I got home and went absolutely crazy with my other Models Own Glitters and Color Club's Magic Attraction.


Thumb - Silver Fox & Magic Attraction, Index - Silver Fox & Magenta Divine & Emerald City & Gold Finger, Middle - Silver Fox & Magenta Divine, Ring - Silver Fox & Magenta Divine & Gold Finger, Little - Silver Fox & Gold Finger.

All of the above are topped with 1 coat of Magic Attraction to give it extra sparkly holoness :)

I think these could give some of the OPI Burlesque glitters a run for their money!

Now I've got to try and get these off. Does anyone have a chisel?!

Tilly, xx

Eyeko - Vampira Polish

Good evening everyone.

Well my week has been busy..."again?!" I hear you say. Yes, well...I got the job!!!! I am so, so happy as it is in a brilliant company and is a major step-up into the field I am interested in. I never dreamed of getting everything I wanted in a new job, but I feel very lucky as it seems this job has it all - pay rise, better hours, large office with professional and young staff, great future prospects and they pay for their staff to learn and get a qualification while at work! Hopefully things will settle down enough - now that I have taken care of the job front - that I can start blogging properly again.

Today I bring you Vampira Polish from Eyeko.


This is 3 coats of Vampira it needs a top coat to give it that extra sparkle and shine. I love it though. Black with red glitter.

I thought I would do a comparison of my black/red shades as I had a couple of people ask me about them.

L-R is BB Couture Napa Valley Red, Eyeko Vampira, Avon Wicked and Eyeko Vampira (without topcoat).

Wicked and Vampira are quite similar in colour, but it's when you look closely that you notice that Vampira is that little bit more special. Definitely worth £3.50.

Napa Valley Red is obviously gorge and not really at all like the others - I just thought I would throw it in for good measure!

See ya soon.

Tilly

Avon Golden Wine

Hello everyone :) I've missed you!

I'm sorry it's been so long. Life has been busy... job interviews, family crisis's, more family crisis's, not many daylight hours...knitting! Lol. Yes, I've taken up knitting as there's not much else to do when it's dark in the winter.

Here today I have the beautiful Avon Golden Wine.

A gorgeous deep red jam-packed with gold shimmer. It's just stunning. This is 3 coats.

And look how it looks with flash too...

I am still without a decent camera but will hopefully have this solved soon. I have a second interview on Tuesday for a great company that I would love to work for. So wish me luck!

Until next time.

xx

Orly Cosmic FX Covered in Diamonds

Hello everyone,

Today I have for you another gem from the Cosmic FX Collection - Galaxy Girl.

I actually think this is my favourite one in the collection. It is a deep red-toned purple with green shimmer fx.

This is full coverage in 2 coats. Such an interesting colour and I think it has unfairly been overlooked a little due to the hype of Space Cadet. This picture is after 3 days of wear so it's pretty hardy.

I decided to layer it with Color Club's Covered in Diamonds.

I think this look is awesome! This does dry a bit bumpy but with a thick layer or 2 of top coat will be fine. Sorry that the picture is blurry, I'm still getting my camera sorted!

I hope you've all had great weekends.

Tilly, xx

Nails Inc - Cambridge Circus

Happy Monday everyone!

Mine's been surprisingly good! I am looking for a new job at the moment and have decided that being optimistic is the way forward and this has put me in a good "I-can-do-anything" mood :)

This is 2 coats of Cambridge Circus.


This is a beautiful medium lavender creme. I love it. Very pretty and girly after indulging in some of the cosmic fx's which I have on again now - will try to post pics tomorrow if I can get some good ones.

While you're here I just want to say thank you for sticking with me while I've been useless. I've not blogged through the Autumn/Winter yet I am finding it really difficult finding time in the daylight to take pics. I leave for work at 7am - it's dark. I get home at 6pm - it's pretty dusky and will soon be dark! I'm sure I will figure something out that works for me in the mean time I appreciate you reading :)

Tilly, xx

Hello!! A Catch-up.

Hello everyone.

I'm soo soo sorry I've been MIA. I've been on holiday and then since then it's been a whirlwind! I won't bore you to death with the details so...

Here are my latest purchases:


Avon: Golden Wine, Vintage Blue and Green With Envy. American Apparel: Poppy and Summer Peach.
Eyeko: Rain, Vampira, Military, Cosmic, Indigo and Lilac. Nails inc: Cambridge Circus.

A nice varied selection I'm sure you'll admint. Can't wait to wear Golden Wine and Cosmic Polish!

So here's what I'm currently rocking.

That's right it's Space Cadet (at last!) I don't need to babble on about it because you've seen it a gazillion times. All I have to say is that this is 4 coats and I have vnl!

Oh god these pictures are terrible. Not only am I taking pictures on my phone because my camera is still broken, but I have lost my base coat and run out of top coat - so my manis are just the polish on their own! It's a bit troublesome, I'll be honest.

Now I really need some advice from any of you lovely ladies (or guys) that have OPI Rapidry. I recently purchased a "new" bottle off ebay, but it absolutely reeks of nail polish remover. When I used it my polish came off slightly on the tips of the bristles. It dried pretty quickly but actually dulled down the finish and wasn't shiney at all. Is this the same with all Rapidry's or has this person just topped it up with remover?? Please help because I want justice if this is the case!!!!! Thanks guys :)

Love, Tilly.

Eyeko - Military Polish (for Brave Nails)

Hi everyone,

Today I have my first Eyeko polish and the newest addition to the site - Military Polish for Brave Nails.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!!! It applied great and had full coverage in 2 coats. It's perfect and smooth and really saturated. This is a very dark khaki green. Quite flattering with my skin tone and I think looks pretty darn chic.

I did quickly swatch my other Eyeko's and some seemed a bit watery but covered well in 2 coats. I ordered Cosmic, Vampira, Indigo, Lilac, Military and got Rain free because I spent over £10! Free delivery was super quick - I ordered Wednesday and got them yesterday.

I'm very impressed with these and will probably be ordering some more when I get back from holiday. Oh by the way I have decided on colours - Travelling in Orly Ole, then taking Eyeko Lilac Polish and Orly Luxe. Think I will even do toes to match!

Hope you have a good rest of the evening.

Tilly, xx

Orly - It's Not Rocket Science

Hello everyone!

I finally have a weekend to myself so can actually do a post for you!
These last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic - last Thursday was my boyfriends graduation which kinda went on til Sunday, and we're going on holiday Wednesday so I've been busy getting ready for that. The graduation was really fun and I was so proud of him when he collected his degree :) ...the after party was quite crazy and we ended up somehow smashing the lense of my camera so for the moment I am taking pictures on my phone! Sorry in advance.

Anyway, today I have the pleasure of showing you Orly's It's Not Rocket Science.

3 easily appliable coats.

This is a mesmerizing colour - olivey/swampy green base with green gold shimer fx.

I find it hard to find words to describe the polishes in this collection they are just so gorgeous.

I need real help deciding what polishes to take away with me. I'd like to go in BB Couture Sea of Cortez, then I'm thinking to take Luxe and I just invested in some Eyeko's and love the look of Lilac. But then I kinda want a coral so would like to take Essie Peach Daqiuri and then I wonder if I might want something vampy...but I'm only going for a week!!! Lol. What have you taken on holiday this year??

Tilly, x

Apology!!! and Lunar Eclipse...

Firstly, I am sooooo sorry that I have been MIA for a week! For some reason life has just been pretty hectic. I'm just doing this now before I go to bed and then I'm off to the boy's for the weekend as he graduates tomorrow.

This is the most stunning blue I have ever seen! The colour is just electrifying!
I did 3 coats and have slight vnl but I really don't care when I get colour like this. You can see in the bottle the pink duochromeness although this doesn't show up as much on the nail but then I was only taking pics in direct sunlight. I just can't wait to wear this on my next night out - it's a real party colour!

I won't be back til Monday, so I hope you all have nice weekends.

Tilly, xx

Nails Inc - Garrick Street and Some New Additions...

Hiya!
Today is a re-swatch of the first polish I posted about. It is a stunningly beautiful purple/blue metallic shimmer with a hint of duochrome!!
I urge you to try and get your mitts on this one. I tried hard, but just couldn't quite capture it's beauty. Application as with most Nails Inc's was good - 3 coats with this to ensure opacity.
And...my Cosmic FX Collection arrived today :) I'm sooo happy!!

(not in the Cosmic FX Collection!) Color Club - Covered in Diamonds

l-r: It's Not Rocket Science, Space Cadet and Halleys Comet

l-r: Lunar Eclipse, Out Of This World, Galaxy Girl.

These are all so amazing I cannot describe it! I will be doing manis and reviews very soon for all of them.

Soooo glad I got 2 of Space Cadet as it's now sold out on Head2Toe Beauty. I also got another Covered in Diamonds and a little something else that I'm planning all to into my next giveaway :)

So the question is - which one do I start with?

Pink and Green Pastel Mani

Hello everyone.

I wanted something fun for the bank holiday weekend so I did this Saturday...

This is 2 coats of each polish - Nails Inc, Oxford Circus and China Glaze, Re-fresh Mint. The pink was a PITA to apply - very streaky and hard to work with, but I guess it's just what you have to live with when using pastels. Then I put 2 coats of Orly's Prisma Gloss in gold over the top to make it sparkly. I love this top coat. You have to really shake it to spread the glitter out as it all sinks to the bottom of the bottle, but it's so worth it. The sparkles are quite fine and because they're holo they catch the light perfectly.

I didn't realise how long I've let my nails get until I saw this photo. They are all nicely filed down now and my little stump is doing well :)

Have you all had a nice long weekend?

Barbara Daly for Tesco - Glamour & Award!

Hello! Today I have for you a little polish I brought from Tesco's! It is a Barabara Daly one and is called Glamour.

with flash to show the shimmer

This is a great vampy purple and in the sun you can see a really vivid violet shot through it. This is 2 coats. The brush isn't that great as it's a bit narrow. The polish is actually a bit on the thick side - but I have had this knocking around for probably 2 years now so I can't really judge on that. Oh my poor nail :(

It is still a lovely colour though and I don't have a purple as dark as this in my collection.

Do you have any of the Barbara Daly polishes and what do you think of them?

Now a couple of weeks ago the lovely KarenD from Frazzle and Aniploish tagged me with an award and I have finally got round to doing it! Thank you Karen for tagging me :) :)

The rules:
1. Post who gave you this award
2. State 10 things you like
3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment

1. Nail polish - duh!!
2. Picnics
3. Baking
4. Reading anything
5. Our little kitty cats and bun buns
6. Cocktails!
7. Camping with friends
8. Selling things on Ebay
9. Devon
10. Spending time with my family

Now I really don't know who has already been tagged to do this so I tag the following:

1. nailpolishuk
2. Shiny Little Nails
3. Oooh, Shinies!
4. happyberrynaiad
5. My Nailz
6. Spread a little happiness
7. Candy Coated Tips
8. AllYouDesire
9. Concrete and Nail Polish
10. Enamored Enamel

So sorry you girlies if you have already been tagged but I love all your blogs! :)

Color Club - Fashion Addict

Hii everyone.

I'm so sorry I haven't been blogging much. It is raining soo much at the moment so there's zero natural light and I hate my pics in unnatural lighting. Oh well...I had to do it - hopefully you won't find it too terrible!

This is 3 coats of the very pretty Fashion Addict. This was on of Color Club's Catwalk Queen collection. It is a light silvery holo lilac. It is really stunning and unfortunately I couldn't show off just how holo it really is :( I will wear this again when the sun FINALLY comes back!! The formula was pretty good. I had a couple of bald spots with the first coat, but after the 2nd it was fine - I did the 3rd to doubley make sure it was opaque.

This polish was a really bad omen for me! On the first day of wearing it I managed to chip my thumb corner, make my index nail all jaggedy and of course the catastrophe that you can see in the picture. My nail ripped like half way down (maybe that's an exaggeration!) and I just couldn't bring myself to tear it all the way off. However, today I felt I could no longer live with this bright blue plaster on, so I removed it and then quickly tore the poor hanging tip off :( I'm quite depressed, but have noticed that my nails are growing really quickly at the moment, so it shouldn't be too traumatic.

I will post pics tomorrow of my new mani and this little odd nail - poor thing.

Essie - Downtown Brown

Hi everyone. Today I went for one of my untrieds - Essie's Downtown Brown. Above is 3(!!) coats and I still have bald and streaky patches. I think it probably could do with another 2 to even it all out however, it is a yummy red-toned brown colour though. I think this is an old Essie as even with a quick dry top coat it took ages to dry completely. Overall, it's a nice colour, but not unique and you can definately get something closer with a much better formula. My recommendation would be to go for something like the Ciate I posted a couple of months ago here.

Sorry for being a bit quiet this weekend, something happened within my family that was a bit out of the blue and kinda disrupted things.

I hope you all had a nice weekend - did you do anything good?

BB Couture - Napa Valley Red

Oooooh. I heart this!


This is 2 coats of sparkly jelly goodness. Sooo amazing! I could have done with another coat because as you can see it is a bit light around the edges. The formula is pretty good, I had to be careful with cuticle drag, but this could just be me.

I'm afraid my picture doesn't do this polish justice, but you've seen other swatches.

Now I have a question, I was lusting after Eyeko's Vampira Polish for a while - do you think this is close to that?

Also, when I was on Eyeko's website I decided to become an ambassador! So if any of you have any orders enter code E10650 where it says ambassador code and you receive a free gift!! How cool is that? And if you spend over £10 then you can qualify for their free polish of the week - and delivery is free in the UK!!!

Think I will put my order in now :)

Winner!!!!

Helloooo everyone,

The winner of my giveaway is..........

RIA!

Well done girl :)

So it turns out I didn't make myself clear enough when I launched the giveaway - I meant that it was only open to my existing 50 followers, but as I had quite a few new followers enter (and when I re-read the original post, realised I wasn't that clear about the first 50 followers thing) I thought it only fair to enter all of you.

But, I gave my first guys an extra entry. Random.org gave me....


If you don't get how this meant Ria won, then email me and I will happily explain - i just don't want to babble on about it on here and bore everyone to death!

So there it is, my first giveaway is over and thanks you guys for all the great suggestions of polish. I'm going to investigate tomorrow night and update my need list soon :)

Thanks again to everyone who entered.

Nails Inc - Montrose Place

I was watching Leighton Denny on QVC last night (we had it recorded on the v box) and he showed a gorgeous hot pink polish with a blue flash and I thought..."ooo, I have something similar to that". So off I trotted to my stash and grabbed this little girl.

This is 2 coats of Nails Inc Montrose Place. A hot (almost neon) fuschia with blue undertones. I love it. Really bright and girly.

And I had my worst haul ever today. At the weekend I emailed Head2Toe Beauty to find out when they were putting the Cosmic FX collection online and I had a reply today saying that they are on there now!! I only bought the whole collection and a back-up bottle of Space Cadet! And a couple of other colours while I was at it for my next giveaway. Spent almost $50 and am now wating for the shipping bill to come through. Uh-oh! I will probably go on a no-spend for the rest of August and September! Dear oh dear. But on the other hand, I am SOOOOO excited. They are normally pretty quick at delivering considering they come from America, so I might get them next week or beginning of the week after.

Are there any other girlies out there waiting for their delivery for Cosmic FX?

Tilly, xx

BB Couture - Union Square

Hello everyone,

Today I am showcasing for you Union Square...

inside

outside (overcast)

This is 2 coats with base and top. It is a light chocolatey/dark taupe foil with silver micro glitter. From other swatches I've seen I was expecting to be blown away, but unfortunately it turned out to be nothing special - maybe it's just my skin tone because it looks gorgeous on other people! Now, don't get me wrong I don't dislike it, I was just expecting more...

The application was perfect, no streaks and dry time was good too.

Does anyone else have this polish? I'd be interested to hear your opinions on it.

Tilly, xx

Misa - Runway Diva

Hello everyone.

Today I have a lovely polish that I won in nailpolishUK's giveaway the other month.

It is Misa - Runway Diva...
This is 2 coats. It is a really pretty dusty medium pink. This reminds me of the Eyeko Tea Rose Polish, and I do actually feel all refined in it and would love to drink a cup of tea out of a teacup like this while sticking my pinky finger in the air...

So adorable! I'm going to keep my eye out for a dainty tea cup now :)

My BB Babies and Funky French

As I told you on Thursday I received my very first BB Couture polishes, so here they are...

l-r Napa Valley Red, Sea of Cortez and Union Square

I can't believe I waited so long to order these! I ordered them from the lovely Kim at Overall Beauty. I love BB's range - their colours are so unique and beautiful and I think for my first 3 I picked some real good'uns. These cost me £25 including postage, and paying through Paypal meant I was charged just under £2 for the privilege of buying something in dollars!

I've already worn Napa Valley Red (forgot to take pictures but will definately be wearing again soon) and although it's kinda sad, I am planning on wearing Sea of Cortez when I go on holiday in September - obviously I will be taking another polish, but this one I want to travel in! Lol.

I also picked up this Models Own the other day - Green Flash. I've not tried it out yet but will obviously post pics when I do.

For my mani today I took (alot) of inspiration from Shiny Little Nails - I hope she doesn't mind, but I bought some nail guides the other week and really wanted to try them out.

I did the tips with Essie Peach Daiquri - 2 coats - and I don't have a dotting tool, so I used the pin of an earring to do the dots on the pinky. I'm really not digging the dots too much because they look a bit messy, but think I will invest in a dotting tool.

I also found using the guides a bit tricky but I think with practice they will be quite good.

Do you have any BB's? If so which ones do recommend that aren't already on my wishlist?

OPI Dulce De Leche

Good morning - it is so miserable here today :( Rain, rain go away!!!

The first picture is in the sunlight and the second is in shade.
This is 2 coats of Dulce de Leche with top and base coat. A perfect pink-toned nude. There's not really much to say about this, except that I really, really like it. It's so clean looking and I feel well-groomed when I'm wearing it! I got this off ebay a while ago for about £4 so it was a nice little bargain too!

I got some BB's in the post yesterday :) :) :) :) :) They are AMAZING! I will be showing you pics soon!

I'm Having A Giveaway!!!!

Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to my 50 followers :) I love you so much. I honestly didn't think my blog would be that much of a success and was quite reluctant to start it. I'm so happy I did though, you are all such lovely girls and I love that I am part of this network!
To celebrate I am haivng a small giveaway...

I am giving away: some pretty 3D nail stickers, Barry M in Gold and Lemon Ice Cream, Sally Hansen Star Opal Nail Glazes in Fire Opal and Rose Gold Opal, Models Own in Purple Haze and Pink Fizz and a glass nail file.

I know it's not too much and I didn't properly prepare for this, it's just a spur-of-the-moment thing. Maybe if I reach another significant milestone it will be a lot bigger and will include some more expensive stuff.

All of the polishes have been used once, except the Sally Hansen's which have just been used on like one nail - they are really pretty, I just never got round to using them properly! The stickers and file are new :)

I have a little rule for this giveaway. I love my followers and I don't really want to encourage people to become a follower for the sake of entering the giveaway when they don't actually read my blog. So...

The rules:

1) You must already be a follower through Google Friend Connect to enter. This might seem harsh and I'm really sorry, but this is a Thank You to my existing followers.

2) To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me your email addy and your favourite polish of all time (totally selfish - I want to expand my wishlist and know you lot have good taste!) .

3) The last date for entry is Wednesday 18th at midnight GMT.

4) I will choose the winner using a random number generator and will let the lucky person know by email on Thursday 19th. If I don't hear anything back by the evening of Sunday 22nd I will pick another number - so remember to check your email or tell me if you will be away!

5) This is open to international followers.

I think that's everything, if I have left anything out let me know. This is my first giveaway, so chances are that I probably have!

Good luck and THANK YOU!!

17 - Seabreeze & Konad

Hello everyone,

Something sad happened today, I have had to send my nails to rehab. Their problem was stained tips and peeliness :( It's a sad time but I'm sure they will get through it and be back to normal again in a couple of weeks.

I have something nice and summery today after yesterday's grungy look.

Above is 2 coats of Seabreeze. It photographed almost neon-like, but irl it is just a normal medium blue creme - very pretty. The first coat was streaky but all was fine with the 2nd.

I wanted to Summer it up a bit more though...


For the design I used Konad white. I'm not very good at konading, but I really like the way this turned out. I like how the butterflies look like they are flying towards each other on the ring and middle finger.

I only have 2 of the basic image plates that I got with my Konad kit. I would love to get a plate with full nail designs on, do you guys have any recommendations on any particularly good ones?

Orly - Iron Butterfly

Today I am showcasing you my only matte in my collection - Orly's Iron Butterfly. It is amazing! This is 2 coats with base coat. The makers of matte polishes say you shouldn't use a base coat, but I've heard from other bloggers that you will get staining if you don't. I love this colour - it is a charcoal black with silver shimmer. It dries pretty quickly so you have to work quickly when applying. This picture was taken this morning, but after I spent the morning (and afternoon) shopping I noticed that the matteness had started to become a bit more satiny rather than a real non-shine matte. This was slightly dissapointing as I had to reapply another coat to matte it up again!

Of course - I couldn't resist putting a high shine top coat on this afternoon...

...again, quite lovely!

I know the matte look is a bit like marmite - but what do you guys think about it?

Tilly, xx

Avon Nailwear Pro - Wicked

I will let the pictures speak for themselves with this one...

Outside in shade

Outside with flash

Inside at dusk with ceiling lighting

I apologise that the last picture isn't too clear, but this is what the polish looks like most of the time. Wicked is definately up there in my top 10 favourite polishes of all time. Everything about it I love - the colour, the subtle but stunning shimmer, the bottle, the brush, the formula...I could go on. It is a vampy brown/black creme but with this sexy cherry/brown shimmer running through it. I love that it looks black, but when you get close it's like "whoa". This line of polishes from Avon is much better than the one I showed you on Monday. The nailwear pro's are much more professional, bigger, more user friendly bottles, perfect brush and formula. This is 2 coats with top and base and I think it looks really expensive.

I've just had a look on the Avon site and have found that their Nailwear Pros are half price - so only £3 a bottle!!! They have some really stunning colours too (loving the look of Vintage Blue and Green With Envy), although I can't see this one so maybe they've discontinued it?

Have a look if you fancy snapping up a bargain by clicking.......here!

Sorry for the ramblings, but I'm quite in love with this one <3>