Nails Inc Gel Effect - St James

True red  creme

OMG, March - how did that happen?  I was away twice in February (Lisbon and Venice) so I'm afraid blogging took a bit of a back seat.

My Venice trip was to celebrate my 50th birthday!  So this is officially my first blog post as a 50 something blogger.  I'm pretty sure there aren't many others out there but give me a shout if you are!

On to the nails....

St James is one of my favourite Nails Inc colours, a fabulous true blue red with a very secret shimmer.

This is a 'Gel Effect' version with plumping effect, so extra shiny.

Application was great, swatches are two coats, no top coat.

St James is a super old Nails Inc colour dating back to 2008 at least... obviously the Gel Effect version is much more recent.

Butter London - Lady Muck

Soft blue grey with flakie shimmer  

Lady Muck is a soft blue/grey  creme with visible fine silver flakie shimmer.

Butter London describe this as periwinkle blue but I really don't agree, periwinkle to me is a violet toned blue and this is blue/grey - hey ho!

Application was good, formula is a little sheer and these swatches are 3 coats with no top coat.

I picked this colour to match our weather here in the UK, it's very cloudy but also fairly warm and humid!

PostQuam - Intense Sky

Blue with secret shimmer  

Intense Sky is a mid to dark blue creme with a brighter blue secret shimmer.  The shimmer is just strong enough to be visible on the nail which is always a good thing.

Application was ok - I did find the brush pretty tricky.  Swatches are 2 coats, no top coat but this could probably be a one coat wonder if you were careful.

Despite the slight application issues I really like this, the shade and shimmer combination are unusual and unique in my collection.  And I was convinced it would stain and I'd end up with smurf fingers but it removed like a dream!

Another new brand to the blog, PostQuam, who as far as I can work out are a professional brand from Spain.  Most of the range is skincare, treatments and supplements but they also have a cosmetics line.  I picked up four polishes from a private sale site - unfortunately I don't think this brand is available in the UK.

Anyone spotted PostQuam around Europe?

Golden Rose - Rich Color - 118

Taupe with gold shimmer  

Another Golden Rose from my trip to Istanbul last year

118 is a lovely taupe creme shot through with a warm gold/copper fine shimmer.  The shimmer isn't super visible on the nail but definitely adds depth to the polish.

Application was fine despite the flaunted 'One Step Maxi Brush' which is never a positive for me!  Swatches are 2 coats, no top coat.

I've got quite a collection of taupe+shimmer polishes now - time for a comparison I think!

Vintage Valentines - Nails Inc - Chelsea

Lilac creme with secret shimmer  

So my last Vintage Valentine comes from my largest collection, Nails Inc.  I have over 550 unique Nails Inc colours and focus on collecting the older releases which all have the hands/fingers overprinting on the bottles.

Once I started collecting I realised there were nuances in the bottles and labelling.  The oldest bottles in my collection (about 12 of them) have the hands/fingers print but not the word London under the brand name and the address printed on the back is not the well known South Molton Street address of the first store, opened in 1999, but rather a mysterious Nottingham Freepost address.

From digging around on the internet I believe that Nottingham postcode to be for the Boots headquarters making me think, that certainly to start with, the Nails Inc polishes were manufactured by Boots.

Chelsea, yes the earliest polishes started with the London naming convention, is a gorgeous lilac/purple creme with a pink/blue secret shimmer that's just about strong enough to add depth to the colour.

Application was great (the reason I fell so hard for Nails Inc polishes) and swatches shown are 2 coats with no top coat.

Which brings our month of showcasing vintage polishes to a close.  I've really enjoyed digging out some of my oldest polishes and sharing the personal and brand stories behind them.

You can see all of my Vintage Valentine posts here and all of Lina's over on her blog Pretty Perfect Beauty

MeMeMe - Pin Up

Vibrant bright red    

Oooh, I like this one.  And a great name too for this kind of colour.

Pin Up is a bright red with a fairly subtle gold shimmer running through that gives the red depth and glow, fabulous!

Again swatches are 2 coats with no top coat.

Nails Inc November - Covent Garden Ballet

Soft warm grey with copper shimmer  

Covent Garden Ballet is a gorgeous soft grey with a nicely visible fine copper shimmer.

My swatch pictures look to be running a little warm, it's definitely not a super cool grey but maybe not as warm as it looks here.

This polish does run sheer - swatches are 3 coats with no top coat

Luckily this polish is still available from Nails Inc - it looks to have been relaunched as a 'Ballet Sheer'.   Originally this was part of the 'A Listers' collection of four polishes back in 2012.

Nails inc describe it as being an iridescent pearl, I suppose that's what makes it look soft....

Nails Inc November - Blenheim Terrace

Soft peach with secret-shimmer-glitter  

Blenheim Terrace is a peach creme with very fine silver micro glitter, it's got a bit of a jelly feel to it too and dries super shiny.

The swatch is 3 coats with no top coat and you can still see a little vnl but for some reason it doesn't bother me with this one...

This kind of colour can look a little dated but the sparkle adds interest.

Again this isn't a current Nails Inc colour so if you want to pick this up you can either take your chances on ebay or it's £6.95 on DiscountCosmeticsOnline  (no affiliate)

Blenheim Terrace was part of the 2013 Summer Must Haves collection - a box of 10 polishes for £20 back in June.  I don't think many of these were new shades, more likely overstock that Nails Inc could do a deal on!

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 - Sophisticated

Cool toned pink creme with blue secret shimmer

Close up to show the secret shimmer

Sophisticated is a slightly muted cool toned pink creme with a silvery blue secret shimmer.  The pink here almost leans lilac.

And according to the Leighton Denny site it's a pale purple creme


Swatch shown is 2 coats, with no top coat but the finish is v. shiny

Fantastic formula on this one.

Boots 17 - Revenge

Purple/taupe with purple/pink secret shimmer   

That description sound familiar? Yep, Revenge was one of the many polishes in 2011 that appeared to be inspired by or outright duping Chanel's infamous Paradoxal.

Now I don't have Paradoxal to compare but you'll have to take my word for it that they're not total dupes.  Although some folk actually prefer Revenge because the shimmer is a lot less hidden.

Take that Just In! with a pinch of salt - this was released in 2011!

Revenge is a purple toned dark brown with a good amount of pink/purple fine secret-shimmer.  But not so secret you can't see it!

Application was good, swatch shown is 2 coats, no top coat.

This will be my last post for a week  - I'm off to Disney World, Florida for a conference - I'm so excited to see the sun again, it feels like it's been grey and cold here in the UK forever - it's forecast to be high teens, early 20's while we're there - hooray!.  And hopefully I'll get some time for shopping/haulage - I've made myself a Google map with the nearest Ulta, CVS, Walmart and Walgreens on!

Butter London - Fash Pack

Grey toned brown creme  

Some more Butter London swatches from the Picasa archive!

Here is Butter London's Fash Pack

It's a deep/dark greige I suppose, but definitely more brown leaning than some and without a purple tinge.  I'd describe it as a slightly grey toned brown creme with some very secret gold shimmer that really isn't very visible at all - can you spot it?

Application was great and the swatch shown is 2 coats with no top coat.

I do like it, just wish the shimmer was a little more front and centre....

Alix Avien - 243 (Paradoxal dupe)

Purple/taupe with purple shimmer

I picked up this polish on hols in Turkey last year, from a quick google search I'm pretty sure it's a native Turkish brand which is cool.

Obviously it's not the most unique of colours, I'm sure it was created as a dupe for Chanel Paradoxal, but hey, it's a good dupe and was a lot cheaper than Chanel!

Swatch shown is 2 coats with no top coat.

Formula was gloopy and a little tricky to work with.  I wore this on holiday and it lasted well

It's pretty of course, just like the original!