Nails Inc - Instyle - The Tide is High

Pale blue creme  

The sun has been making an appearance here today so I thought I'd go with this lovely spring pastel from Nails Inc.

The Tide is High is a minty pale blue creme.

Application was ok, as it common with these pastel shades it was a little streaky and swatches are 2 coats which isn't bad.

The Tide is High is a freebie from a recent-ish Instyle covermount, well July 2015 if truth be told so not that recent!

The theme of the four choices was 80's Anthems, other shades were Love Will Tear Us Apart, Boys Of Summer and When Doves Cry.

Although these shades were only available with a magazine nearly a year ago you can usually pick up most magazine covermounts from ebay - I presume from all the leftover mags?  At the moment you can get all four shades for £4 plus p&p at the moment - steal!

MeMeMe - Lapis

Frosty pale blue  

Oh dear, this, the last of the vintage MeMeMe's is not so much of a win.

Lapis is a metallic/frost pale blue that looks almost silver in direct sun.

Swatches are 2 coats with a lot of brush marks.  Perhaps top coat would've helped with this one?

Leighton Denny - Honey Trap

Milky mushroom creme  

Ah, you know I love a taupe - or mushroom in this case.  I think mushroom is more pinky and taupe is more purple leaning - agree?

Anyhow, I spotted this and liked the look of it so then it was a case of stalking it on ebay till one popped up for a reasonable price.

To me Honey Trap is a pale, creamy mushroom/taupe creme.  Leighton's site describes it as a warm clay,  I'm not sure I would've got to this colour from that description.  They also have a bottle shot that doesn't look much like the colour either!

Application was good, LD's almost always are and as you can see it's lovely and shiny without top coat.

Swatches shown are 2 coats.

Models Own - Utopia

Greyed pale pink/lilac creme  

I really thought I'd blogged this one years ago, but couldn't find it anywhere so here it is (maybe again!)

Utopia is a pretty unusual colour that totally works.  I'd say it was a pale pink leaning lilac that definitely has a hint of grey in there that stops it looking too 'standard' if you know what I mean.

Application was ok, although it did take 3 coats and I needed to add topcoat to smooth it all out, but it looks fab after all that!

And could this be the closest polish name to my blog name?!

Alessandro - Pale Blue Lagoon

Pale blue creme  

The sun is shining and everything is sprouting green, it feels like Spring is finally here so he's a lovely springy pastel shade.

Pale Blue Lagoon is, like the name indicates, a pale blue creme.

It's a mini bottle of only 5ml but let's face it, I'm pretty unlikely run out!

Alessandro are a German brand of nail polish and nail care - their hand creams are fabulous.  I did pick up a few on business trips to Germany but most have come from flash sales on Vente-Privee.  When not buying from cheap sale sites I think they're at least mid-range, in Germany I saw them in department stores and higher end pharmacies rather than drug-store equivalents.

Application was pretty good for a pastel, swatch shown is 3 coats and as usual, the mini bottle/brush didn't cause me and my tiny nails any issues!

This colour is a little changeable depending on the light, looking cooler & starker in indirect light and slightly more turquoise in full sun

Nails Inc November - Sloane Mews

Sheer pink with subtle sparkles  

After yesterdays sparkle-fest, the nail polish equivalent of a palate cleanser....

Close-up - can you see the fine gold shimmer?

Flash pic to show the sparkles

Sloane Mews is a very sheer pale pink with fine gold sparkles

Swatch shown is 2 coats, no top coat.

This polish is totally not my kind of thing but if you like the subtle look or you're restricted for work then this could be perfect for you.

Sloane Mews isn't a current Nails Inc colour but pops up pretty often on ebay for a couple of quid.
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Leighton Denny - Inside Scoop

Pale green creme  

Super summery, Inside Scoop isfrom 20ll's Gelato collection.

Inside Scoop is a pale apple green pastel creme. Leighton describes it as cool mint green which is probably true too, it's one of those colours that looks cooler/warmer depending on the light.

Swatch shown is 2 coats with no top coat.  Application was good for a pastel creme and Leighton Denny's always seem to dry with a good shine.

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Nubar - Mod Aqua

pale dusty turquoise/duck egg blue  

Sorry for the absence folks, work has been so busy, but this is a bank holiday weekend in the UK so managed to grab some time before making tea for the kids to add a quick post.

And it features a new brand, well new to my blog!

Obviously Nubar has been around for a long time but I think because the brand isn't too easy to come by in the UK, I don't have a very big collection and haven't featured them before

I've titled this post 'Mod Aqua' because I'm pretty sure that's the real name but my bottle is labelled 'Mod Agua'.  I've seen other blogs with the same labelling issue.

Mod Aqua is a dusky green leaning turquoise is from the Fall 2011 collection.

Swatch show is 2 coats with no top coat.

Application was pretty streaky on first coat but evened out on the second.  This is one of those Tiffany-esque colours that can look very different depending on the lighting.

Models Own - Bloo

Pale blue creme

I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately the secret shimmer visible in the bottle wasn't visible at all on the nail.

I suppose you could argue that it adds a depth to the polish but I would really have preferred it to be a bit more in your face.

This was 2 coats, no top coat.

Apologies for the rather sporadic posting, work has been super hectic and then tomorrow I'm off to Turkey with my beloved for a week of R&R. Hooray! We need it....