Illamasqua Nail Varnish 'Haul' with Swatches

So remember I said I wasn't going to buy any more nail varnishes until I completed my nail varnish challenge?  Well, I lied.  It was an offer I couldn't resist!!

 

In case you hadn't noticed, over the Easter Weekend, Illamasqua carried out an 'Easter Hunt' game on their website where each day certain colours would be up to 50% off.  I really wanted them to do blushers but unfortunately they only did eyeshadows, nail varnish, pure pigments and lipsticks.  I took advantage of the nail varnish and pigment offers getting Hemlock (shown above) and Beguile.  I also really wanted (full price of course!) Pink Raindrops so I stuck that in the basket too!  Luckily I get student discount so I didn't pay full price for any items and paid just over £25 for the 3 bits - with free delivery.

I've never tried nail varnishes from Illamasqua before so I wasn't sure what they would be like.  I still haven't tried them on my nails yet but below are swatches of them both on a nail wheel.  I was a bit disappointed by Pink Raindrops to be honest, but maybe the sparkles will come to life with a top coat.  Hemlock is really pretty but obviously very sheer - I used two coats for each colour.  After first use I decided I hate the packaging!!  When I tighten up the square lids, they don't sit on straight and it makes me irrationally angry!  I love the Butter London packaging cos the lid comes off and there's a separate one underneath so the square lid always sits neatly - I think Illamasqua should consider that idea!

Just for fun I picked out a few colours I thought might look good with Hemlock on top, and I also put it over some of the ones which were already on the wheel so have a look below for those:

Nail Varnishes used in the first post were:

Nails Inc - The Southbank
Topshop - Hidden Treasure
Barry M - Silvery Lilac
Ciate - Skinny Jeans
Nails Inc - Haymarket

The other colours are from the neon Clubworks set I got for christmas.

I think it looks nice over the Ciate one, and the greens, orange and pink neon colours!  It adds an extra depth to the colour.

<3

NOTD: Back To Blue

I have been trying to give my nails a bit of a rest, they've been peeling and breaking something awful recently.  I think it's been almost 2 months now without nail varnish!  Apart from the odd random finger painted with a tester haha!

So for my first manicure in agesss I decided to go with this really pretty blue which is Skinny Jeans by Ciaté.  I got this item in the only Glossybox I ever purchased, which was last summer I believe!  I'm not 100% sure about the cruelty-free status of this brand, I had a look on their website and it says: "Ciate is a 5 FREE brand completely free of formaldehyde, toluene and DBP (dibutyl phthalate), formaldehyde resin, camphor and is even cruelty free (never tested on animals)."  I have emailed them anyway to see what they say about ingredients, suppliers and suchlike.

Even though I have had this for almost a year I have never actually used it, and I found the brush a bit weird!  They have a sort of wide, flat brush, which is quite good in general but I found it difficult for getting a nice shape at the base of the nail - as you can see from the pictures - but maybe it will just take some getting used to!

I used two coats of that and then applied one coat of Models Own's Bluebelle on my ring fingers as an accent.

<3