A-England Tristam

Today I have some polishes that are well worth the wait - for overseas shipping that is! A-England polishes take about 3 weeks to get to me but I'm slowly and surely growing my collection. They are seriously some of the best polishes I own. They don't shrink under Seche Vite, they're a breeze to clean up and wear like iron. No kidding guys, when these pics were taken this mani was 5 DAYS OLD. (and I'm a sysadmin, I don't go easy on my hands!)

This is Tristam. Adina, the maker of A-England polishes, describes it as "night blue sky with starlight glimmer and glow." It certainly is...it's a dark purplish blue with a light scattered holo. Here are some pictures of 2 coats, plus a blurry picture so you guys can see the sparkles!

I left this alone for a few days then decided I had enjoyed it enough on its own :) I had something I wanted to show you guys. When I stamp I like to make cleanup as easy as possible. I have one of those grabby things that I put on a cottonball before I start, to clean my plate. For my stamper and cleanup brush, I made a acetone spongy tub. For this, you buy a nail polish remover tub with the sponge inside (make sure the mouth is large enough for your stamper, if you have an XL), dump out the crappy remover inside and fill with pure acetone. You can use this to dip your cottonball and cleanup brush into, and the sponge cleans your stamper between nails.

For my stamping design I used my trusty DRK-A plate and A-England Princess Tears, which is also a light scattered holo in a pinky/lavender base. I chose a Celtic knot design because it just seemed appropriate :)

These polishes stamp like a dream! The effect is a little subtle but soooo sparkly. To finish up I used Konad Top Coat, I know everyone says you don't need it but...I don't get smears when I use it! So worth it.

A-England polishes can be purchased from their website, there's free international shipping and if you follow her on Facebook you will be in the loop for any promos! The DRK-A plate can be purchased from Ninja Polish.

Thanks for reading!

K x

NOTD: Zoya Daul + DRK-A

My Zoya BOGO order came yesterday; first order of business? Wear Daul. (I also got Gaia, Ray, Bijou, Reece, Pheobe, Frida and Cheryl.)

I'd heard some assorted complaints about it being flat, or not covering very well, etc. etc. but happily I didn't experience any of those things. I did three coats because I was stamping black over it. Unfortunately, I chose INM Out The Door topcoat and this might be strike three- it dries slowly and dulls whatever I put it over. Back to my SV.

From the DRK-A jumbo stamping plate (I got this from Llarowe a while back, Ninja Polish has it currently) I chose the leopard print, I don't normally like leopard print but for some reason it was appealing to me today. I used Konad special polish in black, I know everyone says you don't need to use the Konad polish but I get better results. YMMV.

This looks so much better in real life. It WOULD NOT photograph. Plus I accidentally brushed my hand against something while the Out The Door was still wet, because it sucks and it won't dry. Your bad, OTD. So please ignore both the streaking on my ring/index finger and my crappy stamping ability :)

Thanks for reading, lovelies! 

K x