Striped Nails for the #31DC2018Weekly

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I am almost caught up!  Today, I have my striped nails to share with you for Week 12 of my weekly version of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge.  I chose of calming colors and a little image of a succulent for this mani.  I have been obsessed with succulents over the past few years.  I am a brown thumb but my mother can make any plant thrive.  So, for Mother's Day this month, I got her a few succulents to start her rock garden off right.  Hopefully, I can watch her grow these beauties now!  My manicure today combines regular stamping with a little reverse stamping.  I think it all ties in well together!

Red Nails for the #31DC2018Weekly

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It's the first week of the #31DC2018Weekly and we are starting it off with Red Nails.  Since it is the very first challenge prompt, I feel like I took it easy.  My creative juices aren't flowing at top speed just yet.  But even easy nail art is fun, right?  I did a simple double accent nail manicure using some pretty water decals for Week 1.

Gradient Nails for the #31DC2017Weekly

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Just a few days late on my manicure for the weekly challenge, but hey, that's why the weekly version is great.  You have all week to complete it!  For the gradient prompt, I knew I wanted to try my hand at another scaled gradient but changed my mind at the last minute and did more of a reciprocal gradient.  If you want to know more about the different types or gradients, check out SimplyNailLogical's guide.  I am happy with how they turned out but I think the traditional scaled gradient with the colors going the same direction would have been better.  Oh well!  Still looks cool. :)

A England - Tennyson's Romance Collection

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Today, I am sharing with you a collection from a brand that I don't show enough on this blog.  I buy every single collection but never get around to doing a complete collection review for you all.  one of things I wanted to try and do with the blog this year was to blog about the things I actually buy and not just press samples.  That way you guys know what I truly love since I bought it with my own money.  A England is a favorite brand of mine.  Their polishes are consistently perfect, have amazing formulas and are always beautiful.  I don't even look at reviews or swatches of the collections when they come out.  I just buy them sight on seen and am never disappointed with the products.  I am pretty sure I have purchased all of my A England polishes through Color4Nails since they are a UK brand.  The newest collection available on the site is the Tennyson's Romance collection.  There are 5 beautiful holographic polishes to show you.  Each one is a stunner!

Inspired by the Supernatural for the #31DC2016Weekly

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I know I am a little late on this week's prompt, but at least I have it for you now!  Being out of town on the weekends really messes with my blogging schedule.  For this prompt, I went with a classic supernatural being, the mermaid.  Everyone loves mermaids.  Mermaid nails, mermaid hair, mermaid fin blankets and pool gear...we see them all.  Who doesn't love The Little Mermaid?  Nobody because it's an awesome Disney classic.  For my mermaid inspired nails, I decided to go with a teal mermaid tail design.

A-England's newest Heavenly Quotes polishes

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Press Sample

I have two of the newest a-England shades to share with you today!  I love a-England.  Like seriously love.  Every single one of their polishes is perfect.  Well, at least all of them that I have tried.  This indie brand out of the UK is known for their one coat holos and interesting shades.  I would purchase any new collection from a-England site on seen without looking at any swatches I and I have).  These two new shades are part of the Heavenly Quotes collection which is a continuously running collection that has singles or duos added to it throughout the year.  These are the two new ones and they are beautiful!

Click on through!

Born Pretty Store - Silver 3D Nail Stickers

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Press Sample Purchased by Me

I have some more easy nail art from Born Pretty Store to share with you tonight.  In my last post, I tried out nail stickers for the first time.  I was really happy with how those turned out.  For my second go around, I was again, pleasantly surprised.  The stickers were easy to apply, were not too thick and stuck to the nail well.  I like this mani so much that I wanted to do the same look on my other hand and were it.  But I didn't have enough of the same sticker to do all 10 nails.  So if you want to recreate this look, grab a second sheet!  There are plenty of other options to decorate all 10 nails with bows though.  And you don't have to use a sticker on every single nail for a manicure to look awesome.  You know I love a good skittlette mani!

For this look, I first painted my nails with a base color of "Queen of Scots" from A England's Elizabeth and Mary Collection.  This is a gorgeous deep, dark blue with an amazing metallic shimmer.  Almost a one coater!  I purchased this from my favorite place to buy all of my A England polishes, Color4Nails.  Next, I placed the lacy, silver half-moon stickers on each nail towards the base.  I had to trim the a little bit of edges off the pointer and pinkie nail stickers with cuticle nippers to make them fit.  Since the base color was much smoother, you can see the demarcation of the edge of the clear sticker backing a little more than in my previous post.  But it not look bad at all!  I actually preferred the first photo without a top coat.  In the second photo, I topped it off with KBShimmer's Clearly on Top and it drug a tiny bit of the silver off of the sticker.  You can see it on my thumb and ring finger.  But honestly, it is not that noticeable unless you are taking photos of your nails.  But the top coat will keep your manicure looking smooth and stay on longer than wearing it without one.

Do you dig it?  I dig it.  Again, pretty happy with these little sticker packets from Born Pretty Store.  They are simple to use and inexpensive.   This sheet (option #TY006) is only $1.75 and there are other designs to choose from.  You can get an even better deal on your Born Pretty Store order by using my discount code at checkout for 10% off - AVAW10.  The items are coming from China, so shipping may take a few weeks but the prices are great.  Make sure to tag me if you recreate this look!

 Have a great weekend!

- Amy McG (McPolish)

*nail stickers provided by the supplier for honest review, nail polish purchased by me*

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A England - Proserpine - OMD3

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Press SamplePurchased by Me 

There is a fun, international nail art challenge that starts today!  Have you heard of the 'Oh Mon Dieu' Challenge?  This is the third year of this 31 day challenge that is hosted by four nail bloggers from around the world.  I participated in some of it last year and wanted to try and get in as many of the prompts that I can this year.  I will be out of town for a little bit of July, so I don't think I will be able to do them all.  If you would like to participate a well, check out the rules here on Lindsay's page, Nail That Accent.

So...for Day 1, the prompt is TEAL!  I decided to use and untried polish of mine for this.  "Proserpine" is a lovely deep teal holographic polish from A England.  I adore A England polishes.  this is brand that I would buy any polish they release without seeing a swatch first.  Their polishes are consistently that awesome.  I used one coat here (yes, you heard that right. one coat!) along with a glossy top coat.  I did some glitter placement on the sides of my nails using diamond shaped glitter from Mr. Nail Art.

A England - Her Rose Adagio

Long live the Queen!

I adored this mani so much...I saved it just for you guys :)   Everything I used in this nail art look was from across the pond in the UK (which I didn't realize until I started writing this post).   A England is one of my favorite brands.  Almost every polish I have from them is a one coater.  I used two A England polishes for this look.  The base is "Her Rose Adagio" from the Ballerina Collection.  It is a muted rose colored holographic polish, so soft and pretty.  I took so many photos of this mani trying to capture the rainbow holo awesomeness...I hope I don't overload you!

The second polish is "Sleeping Palace" which is a deep purple holographic polish.  I used it to do a double accent nail with stamping.  The flowing stamp is from the Fairytale Plate 02 from MoYou London.  Yummy!

Don't you love those rainbows?!?!  I am hoping to share more nail art with you all.  I have been posting a lot of swatches.  Do you prefer nail art or swatches?

Here is where I purchased all these goodies:

A England available in the US from Color4Nails
MoYou London ships to the US

Thanks for stopping by!
-Amy McPolish

A-England Dorian Grey Quick Swatch!

Just a quick post today! This is the unique A-England Dorian Grey. This was the only polish I purchased from A-England's Gothic Beauties Collection. I'm not a huge fan of near-black colors, and most of the other colors in that collection were very dark.

Dorian Grey is absolutely unique in my collection, it's sort of a metallic steel shimmer. It really looks like old un-polished metal, but with a blackened glowy look it it. Somehow the silver does lean a tiny bit yellow, and it wasn't very complimentary on my skintone, but I love it anyway. Something about the liquid metal nails look I'm really loving.

Do you like metallic shades? Do you have Dorian Grey?

Antique Silver Studded

This is a first for me, my first studded mani. When I received some silver studs in my Cult Nails grab-bag I was really excited to try them out. I'm usually a plain sort of girl, I mostly wear shimmers and cremes and don't even do accent nails when I'm out and about, so studs are definitely new to me and something I probably wouldn't have purchased myself.

I started with a A-England Dorian Grey, a gorgeous blackened pewter shimmer that really reminds me of something antique and luxurious (it seemed like a great choice to pair with these sliver studs). I used top coat, then added the square studs with the corners going end to end while the top coat was still wet. They aren't quite straight/even.. but I think it's okay for my first attempt. I finished it with another layer of top coat although the studs still stuck out on the sides since they are flat and my nails are very curvy.

Here are the other studs I received from my Cult Nails grab bag:

I can't tell you how much I loved this. I never thought I would be able to stand something so big and "obnoxious" on my nails but it looked so pretty and the metallic studs caught the light like polish never can.

*Cult Nails nail art supplies can be purchased here and silver studs retail for $2.00 USD.

Metallic Red Comparison

Soulstice Napa is a fantastic metallic red that I reviewed yesterday. Today I have some comparisons to show you!

First comparison is Soulstice Napa with A-England Perceval.

Napa is on the pointer and ring finger, Perceval middle and pinky. The difference here is slight, the shimmer in Perceval is a bit more silver in color than the shimmer in Napa. They both have extremely similar base colors and I'd wear these two together without blinking. My opinion: dupes.

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Second comparison is Soulstice Napa with Zoya Elisa.

Clear difference here, with Napa on the pointer and ring finger, Elisa on the middle finger, and Perceval still on the pinky. Elisa has a much brighter more cherry-red base than either Perceval or Napa.

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In conclusion: Napa is an excellent alternative to A-England Perceval, which is a bit more expensive. I prefer the formula of Perceval to that of Napa, but the Soulstice brush is more firm (which I prefer). Both of these had excellent wear time so if you have one you probably don't need the other!

From other comparisons I've seen Zoya Elisa and OPI Danke Shiny Red (from the fall 2012 Germany collection) are dupes of each other, but more of a bright, cherry-red than Napa or Perceval. I'm interested to see how the reds from OPI's Skyfall collection compare!

Do you have any of these reds? What do you think?

Holo Stripes

First of all, a bit of business. My 300 follower giveaway has ended! The winner has been emailed and she has 24-30 hours to respond to my email. If she does not respond a new winner will be chosen. 

Second, this is my 200th post! Woot!! I can't believe I've made it so far!! Thank you everyone for reading my blog and looking at my pictures. :D I love you all.

Now on to today's post, stripes! I started with a base coat of A-England Saint George (just one coat since Saint George is amazing like that) then using a striping brush I added stripes diagonally across half my nail from both directions. From the right I used Jade Delirio Rosa and from the left I used Jade Fascino Violeta. It's not quite as stripe-like as I wanted, but it still looks cool. What do you think?

Stripes with A-England Saint George, and two Jade Holographics

The holo is a bit visible here

Holo Stripes!

A-England Tristam

Today I have the gorgeous A-England Tristam. To me this color is sort of a navy denim because of the holographic glitter interspersed in the dark blue base. It really reminds me of dark wash jeans, only much prettier! The holo is difficult to see (most visible in the last photo), it is subtle but present, really giving the polish a lot of depth.

A-England is one of those fantastic brands where I've never gotten a polish with a bad formula. This one was almost an easy one-coater, but I added a second coat to cover the edges where I got the polish a little thinner.

A-England Tristam

A-England Tristam

A-England Tristam

For those of you who are wondering I should be done validating entries for my giveaway and will  announce the winner tonight (EST). There were approximately 800 entries, and Polish Etc. blog followers tripled! Welcome new readers!!

A-England Perceval and Avalon

Perceval was one of the first two A-England polishes I purchased, and it is still one of the most beautiful reds in my collection. It's a dark red with killer shimmer and that glowing look that we all love. The formula is fantastic, I can sometimes get away with using one coat, but I used two here. Every time I wear this color I get tons of compliments!

A-England Perceval

A-England Perceval

A-England Avalon is relatively new to my collection, but it goes very nicely with Perceval since they share the same amazing shimmer (but in different colors). Avalon is a vivid glowing purple, and very hard to capture in photos. If you have seen Avalon in person you will understand what I mean. I almost didn't buy this color since I already have so many dark purple shimmers in my collection, but I was wrong, Avalon is utterly unique! It's a gorgeous and mysterious color, warm dark purple with flashes of fuchsia, and that shimmery smooth finish. The formula is fantastic, but that doesn't surprise me since every A-England polish I have tried has a flawless formula, this is two coats.

A-England Avalon

A-England Avalon

A-England polishes can be purchased online from A-England for £9.00 (about $14 USD) with free international shipping. A-England is also available from Llarowe for $12 and Ninja Polish for $10.50. 

Interestingly enough, I've ordered my few A-England from a combination of the three! (Ninja Polish has the fastest shipping times, but the worst availability. Llarowe is pretty reliable to have stock of A-Englind and reasonably fast shipping. A-England is the slowest shipping to the U.S. but has the best availability.)

A-England Saint George Swatch

I know I've posted swatches for A-England's Saint George before, but this is definitely one of my favorite polishes. Saint George is a dark teal with scattered holo.

It's such a pretty color, and amazing in the respect that it only requires one coat. I love one coat polishes becuase some days I spend so long trying to decide what color to wear that I run out of time and have to try to finish my nails quickly. Trying to decide on a color usually involves all preping 10 nails with base coat,painting two coats of color, and finishing with top coat (or several layers of top coat with a glitter). If the weather is nice I'll take a picture of the polish, and within the our decide I don't wan to wear that particular shade, so I pull out the remover and do it all over again. When time is running out I grab a one coat polish and get out the door, sometimes sacrificing base coat along the way (but never top coat because seche vite makes the manicure so much faster). I always make a mental note of "one-coat-wonders" as I call them in my head, maybe one day I'll make a one-coat-wonder list.

Indoor sunlight:

Outdoor direct sunlight:

Outdoor indirect sunlight:

It's just so pretty!

So what about you, do you have go-to polishes for when you're in a hurry?

Holo Stamping Adventures

Last night I did some stamping with my holographic polishes and Sunday turns out to be a cloudy dreary day. :(

Well it's still a pretty mani.

This is A-England Saint George as a base coat, and Color Club Worth the Risque stamped with Konad Plate #m73. I'm usually not a huge fan of stamping, but I really like this combination. This also might be my first 100% successful stamped manicure. There's no bare patches or crooked stamps. :)

If you click the pictures you can see a tiny bit of holo, but nothing like it looks with bright sun.

The pattern on this is so fun!

A-England Saint George (Photo Heavy)

A-England Saint George came out with The Legend collection this January. This is the only polish I picked out from the collection after seeing swatches and I couldn't be happier!

Sadly I didn't get any photos in the sun because I volunteered for our local green garden the next morning and spent several hours happily digging in the dirt without gloves. The polish lasted remarkably well in the garden, but it was too scuffed up to take any pictures (not to mention how incredibly dirty my hands were!)

I just can't get enough of this polish, I must have taken 50 pictures trying to capture just how beautiful it is. Saint George is a dark teal with a very subtle holo, it also has blue and green shimmery micro-glitter.

Brightest flash:

Medium flash:

No flash:

Subtle holo from my thumbnail.

I can't express how much I love this polish!