Barry M Black Multi-Glitter

Even when I bought this, I knew it would disappoint me. I was standing in Boots having an internal monologue about the fact that all that lovely swirly glitter would weld itself like glue to the bottle and not appear on my nail. I knew I wouldn't like it, and yet with a sense of grim inevitability, I bought it anyway. Have you ever found a black polish with holo glitter that didn't look blah on? I have not, and this is probably my third.

I think this was two coats, and it has great coverage. But, as predicted, all that lovely holo micro glitter hides itself away and instead looks like half-arsed silver flecks. It does look a little bit multi-sparkly if you stand in the sun, stick your hand at the right angle and squint. A little.

That said, my vampy loving colleague really liked it, so I snagged her a bottle on my next foray into Boots. Maybe I am immune to its charms, having set myself up for disappointment, and am being too harsh on it? What do you ladies think?

OPI Tomorrow Never Dies

Perfection, thy name is shiny violet nail polish!

I can never resist snagging glowy colours for Autumn (Illamasqua Scarab and Viridian being two of my favourites) and so this was instantly on my 'need' list from the Skyfall collection. It really didn't disappoint - like those two, it glows from within with this incredible understated sheen. Beyond gorgeous. The colour is a very inky purple - it's a blurple, really, but a blurple by virtue of the fact that it's purple with a dark blue base. It looks like a deep indigo and some lights, and a screaming purple in others. It's also completely reminded me of my violet obsession - it's probably my favourite colour, but one that doesn't really suit my colouring, so I try to keep it away from my face -  on nails it's perfect.

The only problem I had was that it was a bit tricky to apply. I think it didn't like my base coat (the Illamasqua bog standard one) because the first two coats were sliding everywhere and dragging streaks and gaps. Fortunately the third coat sorted that out, but I'd recommend a grippy ridge filling base coat since I reckon you could probably get away with two coats that way.

I should also apologise for the scraggy cuticles and lack of clean-up - I'm powering away on the PhD at the moment and that, plus teaching, is sucking up all my time. So I'm nearly always applying my polish late at night before work (in this case, at 12.30am in front of the second Harry Potter film) when I can't see what I'm doing. I always intend to clean up up the next morning but when the alarm goes I'm too frazzled to remember! The tribulations of being an academic and a nail blogger... :)

Essie Pound Cake

I was totally OBSESSED with this polish after seeing it on Piff and K2K. OBSESSED. I stalked ebay for several months before finally snagging it. I really like it, but perhaps slightly less than I hoped I might - I found it a smidge streaky. I think an extra coat on top of the three I did would probably nix that issue, but I ran out of time. Still, it was really handy for the work meeting I needed it for. I do enjoy an opportunity to scrub up and wear a suit, since they don't crop up that often in academia! This polish definitely falls into that category: understated and neat.

Sorry for the absence! Orly Gogo and Illamasqua Harsh

OK...sorry that I've been MIA. Things have been insanely busy (I had a day off on Friday, where I did nothing, for the first time in three and a half weeks) and I've not had much time to a) do my nails and b) take pictures. On the plus side I LOVE my new job so working my socks off doesn't seem like much of a chore, but I am finding less time for, well, anything else.

BUT! I'm hoping that now that teaching has started and I'm more in the swing of things I can start posting more regularly. Fortunately the other ladies on POP have been so awesome that I'm sure you've barely noticed I was gone ;)

I think this was three of four coats of Gogo (streaky hell fest) plus glitter to make it look a bit more even. I did think this was quite pretty but I don't think I'll be reaching for Gogo again for a while.

Models Own Bronze Rage

As I believe I may have mentioned, I am a total sucker for a good metallic bronze. This one is pretty similar to Harvest Moon but has a smoother finish and thus looks a bit more duochrome and less sparkly. It's also got a slightly nuttier hue. (Yeah, I am totally trying to justify keeping two very similar polishes...). It was a little sheer so it took three coats to build but it's worth the effort.

I think this is going to be in heavy rotation for Autumn!

Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas

This was sent to me by a very kind POP reader who didn't wear it. I always dig these kinds of colours so I was so delighted to be able to try this - Lippmanns are crazy expensive here (about £15) and I am not disappointed, the quality on this is great. I think this was one coat! A real superstar polish for me - this will be tucked in my bag for conferences every time. It also matches one of my favourite suits.

I wore this for luck to a job interview back in June as a part-time lecturer while I finish my PhD. Today is my first day :)

Illamasqua Prism and GOSH glitter

I've had an obsession with ethereal shades lately. Summer has finally turned up but even so we've had storms and drizzle and my usual sunny neons haven't felt quite right. I'd been wanting Prism for ages and when it came up in the sale along with Harsh, Scorch (also shades I'd earmarked) and a base coat for £15 I had to have it.

Really pleased I snagged it - isn't it pretty? I think this was two coats with a sandwich of GOSH glitter (562, Magic Star) which is a transparent prismatic glitter. Reminds me of tinsel/ I've seen people swatch Prism with four coats to make the duochrome more obvious, so I'll definitely try that next time.

Kiko 277 Blueberry Glitter

I don't normally like pink. But I picked this one up on a whim in Spain and HOLY WOW IT IS AMAZING. It's a raspberry pink glass fleck with a slight red-pink colour shift in bright light. Very easy application, I think this was two coats and I quite like the brush for a cheapie nail polish - it's kind of the lovechild of Essie and OPI brushes.

OPI Hot & Spicy

I keep thinking that I MUST have posted this, I wear it so often. But I don't think I have, at least not on its own (if I recall, my first post here was this underneath white crackle, which is still a favourite combo of mine). It's a colour I gravitate towards when I'm not sure what to wear, and I keep picking accidentally up dupes of it when I'm having an idle browse, so clearly this is a colour deep rooted in my subconscious somewhere.

This is a aoftened orangey red with a slight terracotta undertone. It's very summery, makes a lovely colour for toes, and goes with everything. It was released with the Hong Kong collection and while I have no idea whether it embodies that inspiration, I really like it, especially with gold or white accents.

Terrible olympic nail art

I was expecting to be a total humbug about the Olympics (I think every British taxpayer has spent the last year wincing every time the word is mentioned) but I've actually really enjoyed it. It has happily coincided with two weeks off work for medical reasons where I've been stuck on the sofa, so it's been nice to watch all the sports, and in my home city. So I succumbed to the inevitable and donned some flags.

I am crap at nail art at the best of times. I am even worse at nail art when Small Naughty Cat has stolen both my clean-up and striper brushes (I tuck them into rolls of cotton wool, which she then abducts from the bathroom and hides around the house). Nonetheless, I had a go with an orange stick and regular nail polish brushes. The colours are Kiko 266 (which I got for the princely sum of £1.50), Ciate mistress and Illamasqua Scorch.

Are you all enjoying the Olympics? What's your favourite sport?

Ulta 3 Mojito

This one comes courtesy of Labmuffin's giant parcel of joy. We didn't really give too many hints about what we liked, which as it turns out was a good thing, because she still managed to put together a package of exactly the kind of goodies I would buy for myself. Top of the list was this one - a really bright green with a slighty blue undertone, like Mint Candy Apple's more kick-ass sibling. Three coats, and it took some building up, but it was totally worth it.

Kiko 274

Hola chicas!

After getting back from Spain I haven't really been in the mood for nail polish much - as predicted I massacred my nails while abroad (I ripped one of my right nails off at the nail bed which was every bit as unpleasant as it sounds, although I was trying on a pair of heavily discounted Zara shorts at the time, so I think that may be karma coming to get me). Since I got back I've been repainting the kitchen, so it hasn't really seemed worth it to do my nails.

Nonetheless, here is a colour I wore while away. My boyfriend found a Kiko store near the apartment we stayed in. He did mention that he thought pointing it out to me might be a big mistake, and so it proved. Nail polishes were €2.50 each, so I went predictably ballistic. I got so many that he had to put them in his case so that I wasn't over baggage allowance. True love, ladies.

This is Kiko - a sheer platinum comprised of gold and silver foil particles. It's much more sparkly in the flesh. Sorry for the subpar photography - this was in an alleyway in southern spain!

China Glaze Harvest Moon

This polish ticks my boxes. I love bronzey colours (I find them a great neutral), I love foils, and I loved the inspiration behind the Capitol Colors collection. Indeed, when this goes live, I very much hope I'll be by a pool reading the Hunger Games books...and hopefully not covered in sunburn and insect bites, as usually happens when I go away.

That said, this sat in my polish box for ages before I reached for it. I kept meaning to, but because I knew I'd like it, it seemed like the 'safe' choice. So eventually I picked it up last night and threw it on, and I don't just like it, I love it. The flecks are very slightly different colours (a bit like LA girl Copper Alloy, which I will get better swatches of one day....) so it sparkles orange and gold in the sun. It's pretty.

A jelly sandwich

It's been raining endlessly in the UK. I've scheduled this in advance since I'll be away for a fortnight in July toasting myself in Spain, from which I'll likely return with ravaged nails and freckles so I am trying to schedule as many posts as I can for that time.

Still, imagine this as being weather appropriate to drizzly England, not sunny Spain. This is Illamasqua raindrops sandwiched between OPI Last Friday Night which I got in a swap on MUA and am a little bit obsessed with. It is super sheer so I'm thinking of layering it over one of my other blues, maybe Illamasqua Caress or CG Frostbite. It would look amazing over a blue jelly, but I don't think I have any.

Having a go at gradients

This is my first go at a gradient manicure. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to pick a colour - marine green/bright teal - that doesn't photograph well. So you'll have to imagine this 'tip' colour as much more saturated and awesome and therefore the gradient as much more visible and contrasty.

I used the nailsaurus' tutorial (if you don't read her blog, you should, it's awesome) and a piece of kitchen sponge. In future I'd use a better/less hole-y sponge because I think the texture is a bit too obvious. I used Ilamasqua Nudge as the base with Nails Inc Warwick Way for the gradient. I only used two coats of Nudge for the base when really, it needed three (I assumed the sponging would cover up any gaps, but it didn't really). Overall I was pleased and I'll definitely try it again - although it does use quite a lot of polish so I think I'll stick with shades I don't mind using up!

OPI Dim Sum Plum

This one was my mother's choice. I do like it, but I rarely reach for pinks, so it was a nice surprise to have this selected for me. My mum was recently staying with me to fetch and carry while I recovered from some minor surgery - I'm fine, but being stuck on the sofa with lingering anaesthetic in my system drives me BONKERS so it's a good job I had her around. <3 my mum!

After I'd worked my way through an entire Flight of the Conchords boxset I was feeling rather fidgety so she picked this out of my polish case and instructed me to paint my nails ('and SIT DOWN!') since I'd had to go bare nailed for my hospital trip. She chose this because it made her feel bright and cheery. I concur - it is rather nice!

It's a very easy two coater and it dries quickly. I'd describe it as a plummy fuchsia (it's also a very close cousin of Illamasqua Grab). This is also a good 'un because it features seche vite. I invested in a gigantic bottle of seche restore and went to work combining three dried up bottles, one of which was *so* dried up that it had congealed vertically up the side of the bottle. Lovely, I know. Anyway, the seche restore fixed them all right up! Hurray!

China Glaze For Audrey

Ah, the famous For Audrey! This reminds me of swimming pools, which is apt, since I've recently taken up swimming again. It's minced my manicures of late (seriously, nothing lasts after two hours in a pool!) but I'm really enjoying it. This was two easy coats and it looked perfect, or at least it did until I bumped my thumb (using a new top coat, still not used to the fact that it's not as fast as SV, keep trying to make tea with wet nails).

I really like the finished product, although I have to say I'm not quite down with it as a cult polish. Apart from the box and the film, I don't think this is *that* special.