Update: Nail Pop Polish News

Hello readers,
I must apologise for the length of time since I wrote a blog here but with moving home and working, I've found myself very restricted in having time to do so.  Well today I am able to type and I figure this seems as good a time as any to talk some more about my indie brand Nail Pop Polish and some news I have in regards to it!
I'm excited to announce that as of August I will be selling my brand at a local shop that is dedicated to makers of all different items.  I cannot wait to be a part of this new chapter with Nail Pop Polish and I have a busy two weeks ahead in preparation of stock.  I am also looking into changing my logo and sticker design on my bottles to enhance their aesthetics (this was on the cards anyway, I just need to speed it up now!).

If you are a follower of me on Instagram (if not, why not?!) I have been posting lots of sneaky macro shots and #pourn vids of my upcoming new range.  I'm going to share some pictures and information on my new collection with you today so that this post doesn't turn into a wall of text.  The next theme is......

The Egyptian Collection 
This is a collection of 8 new polishes inspired by Egypt and Egyptian history.  It's my first glitter heavy collection too and after some trial and error with working out the best ingredients, I hope you will all be as excited as I am to try these out when I release them at the end of the month.

Jewel Of The Nile is a blue micro glitter holo.  I've tried my hand with this collection at making solid glitter polishes and I'm excited to see what everyone thinks.

Gift To The Gods is a chunkier orange holo glitter in a clear base.  This is the first polish I made for this collection as I fell in love with this glitter when I got my supplies through.

Valley Of The Blings is a silver and blue glitter packed concoction.  I just love the flecks of blue standing out on this one to make it different. 

Oasis is a hard one to describe and an even harder polish to capture in it's true light!  It's a bit like Champagne's sister as it has that golden holo feel but this one is packed with a green shimmer that reflects in the light.

Last one I have to share a picture of with you is Sahara Sunset.  This polish really is like the setting sun trapped in a bottle.  Holo with a strong red shimmer as the light hits it.

The other three polishes in the collection are Mummy's Delight, Pharaoh's Gold and Arabic Nights.  I've sent my samples out to swatchers so I'm sure you will be seeing plenty of shots coming soon on social media!

I'm really excited to see how well this collection is received, not only online but in store too as this is such an exciting prospect for me. This is my first glitter heavy collection too so I hope everyone likes what I have made.

I have also opened up international shipping so if you are outside the UK and would like my polishes, please send me a private message either on Etsy or Instagram for a quote.

Thanks for reading and I hope you are as excited about Nail Pop Polish as I am!

Lyn

 

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Unboxing Meebox 011 : Splash!

Hello!
You all know by now that the end of month means back to back blogs talking about the nail boxes I'm subscribed to and today we have Meebox June.  This months theme was Splash and let me just say that the girls at Meebox HQ did not fail to impress!

June's box contained three polishes, nail vinyls, two packets of decals and mess no more.  The vinyls came from a website I had not heard of before Nail-Mail and I've taken a look and like what I see on their webpage. (Adds to the growing list of sites I want to buy from)
Also for nail art items there was 10 silver starfish and 10 gold seashells which came from SheSellsSeashells.  I've bought quite a lot of stencils from here in the past and I would recommend them.  Last item was the mess no more liquid latex.  I've done a first impressions/first use video for this product so watch out for that coming soon!

Now let's get into the polish.  All three come from A England and I just want to take a second to say how thought out these polishes, and the entire box for that matter, was.  The colours compliment each other, the nail art items stick with the theme and the liquid latex was like the icing on the cake as you just know people are going to do some sponging nail art using those vinyls!

Now everyone should know by now that I am a sucker for a purple and this is right up my street.  We have A England The Blessed Damozel and this took just one coat.  It was quite hard to capture the true justice of this polish.

The pigmentation in this polish was amazing.  You got the true deep purple colour in just one coat and the macro shows off the violet flecks that are scattered through the polish.

Polish two is Gloriana.  This one took two coats to be fully opaque and it a reddish-bronze.  Again the formula was good on this one and I had considered leaving it at just one coat but did the second to deepen the colour as I had a slight nail line visible.

At first I thought this contained gold glitter but as you can see from the macro it's actually scattered with gold flakies.  I think I'm really starting to like A England polishes as once again I loved the formula.

I've saved the best until last (in my opinion).  This is Whispering Waves and O.M.G I am in love with it.  Looking at it in the bottle doesn't give you the full effect of this polish which once again was so pigmented I did just one coat.

Just look at this macro of it!  It almost wants to try and be a holo and it's a very stunning colour.  Hands down my favourite of the box (if you couldn't tell)

So there we have June's Meebox contents which had the theme splash.  What did you all think?  I think the girls at Meebox HQ are going from strength to strength.  Each month they up the game and keep on surprising me with the thought and effort they put into each of our boxes.  Yes it costs £20 a month and some might say that is a steep price for a monthly box but I would disagree.  Not only are you paying for the contents, you are paying for the time and effort these three ladies take to make up these themes each month and pack each of the boxes.  I certainly can't wait until next months box.

Thanks for reading!
Lyn
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

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Unboxing: Nailbox June (Festival Fever)

Hello hello!

Month end is almost here again (eeek!) but that does mean it's time to receive my subscription boxes.  Today I'm going to share with you June's Nailbox goodies which had the theme Festival Fever.

The overview of this months haul.  Four polishes and one nail art item.  The nail art item this month comes from elegant touch and is actually striping tape but this is pre-cut and on a sheet.  I've never seen it like this before, only ever on rolls.  Plus side is, no hunting for that pesky end of the roll!  They are really nice metallic colours also.

First polish is a glitter topper by Essie called Jazzy Jubilant.  I wanted to test out how dense the coverage was, hence the two nails with no base colour.  I did two layers of glitter and as you can see the glitter is quite sparse.  I think this is one that might be better sponged on.

It looks much better over a base colour but it was still tricky to apply with even coverage.  You can see over the blue base the blank patch of no glitter.  I expected this with the type of polish it is but these aren't my favourite types.

Now polish two was super pretty. It took me ages to eventually find the name hidden with the other writing on the back!  This is Bourjois Paris Turquoise Block.  The bottle has an unusually long neck and is quite strange to work with.  The bristles of the brush are dense but this actually works in favour with the curved shape to neatly go around the cuticle area.

I really like this shade!  You have to be careful of polish strokes with this one but it did smooth out a lot with top coat.  I want to use this soon in some nail art.

Polish three is Rimmel London and the shade is Cheeky Chap.   This is a matte finish and I did find this one a little tricky to apply. It did dry quickly after each coat (I did two) and went very rapidly to that chalky-matte finish.

 My brush strokes are noticeable with this one even with the application of a matte top coat.  I have to say that matte isn't really my thing and I would quite happily wear this with a gloss top coat instead.

Last polish comes from OPI and is called Is Mai Tai Crooked?  I actually just recently purchased this one so now I have two!  I've always been a fan of OPI and this one doesn't disappoint.

Normally I would have thought this shade too pale for my skin tone but it has just enough orange in it that I find it is warm enough.

There we have the contents of June's Nailbox.  If you would like to check them out for yourself, you can visit their WEBSITE 

Keep an eye on my YouTube Channel for my unboxing and live swatch videos.  Thanks for reading and until next time,
Lyn

 

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New Review Items: bornprettystore

Hello readers,
once again quite a bit of time has passed since my last blog.  Been busy with extra hours at work and I'm also getting ready to move house at the end of the month so I think I can be forgiven :)

In today's blog I am going to share with you the most recent items I got sent for review by Bornprettystore.  I always love trying out their products as I've yet to find anything bad from them and enjoying using their items.  They also sell items for a really good price and who doesn't love a bargain?

Here is my pick of items.  I got some gold heartbeat and V shaped stickers, colourful feather water decals, a pot of glitter and full nail water decals.  If you would like to see the items in closer detail then feel free to watch my video showing you everything:

I have been working my way through using the items and I am actually just about to record one using the glitter so stayed tuned for that popping up soon!  I already filmed a tutorial on using the full nail water decals and you can check that out here:

These were really easy to use and I liked the design choice.  It's a quick and easy way to cute nails.  If you do want to buy anything on the website you can feel free to use my 10% off code AIJW10 (I don't earn anything for you using it, just in case you wondered)

A short blog this time but as I said I've got lots to do and not enough time to do it in!  Thank you all for reading and I will see you in the next one.

Lyn

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Unboxing: May's Nailbox (Tutti Fruitti)

Hello hello!

Hope you are all enjoying the nice weather that we've been having recently.  I have been so busy with work recently that I am very late to getting this blog done for May's Nailbox goodies so let's just get into it.

This months theme was tutti frutti and the box contained three polishes and two nail items.  The first item was a wavy nail file by stylfile that has a furry leopard print side and then the file on the other.  Due to having square nails, this file isn't really of any use to me but I can see the benefit of this for someone who has rounded nails.  I'm going to gift this to my mum so it gets used.  The second nail item was an elegant Touch treatment, this time being a nail growth treatment.  I'm making quite the collection of Elegant Touch goods thanks to Nailbox!

Let us move onto the polishes for May's box.  First up is this vibrant deep pink by Essie and is called Haute In The Heat.  This is a really pretty colour and I just adore the shape of the Essie brushes.  They are rounded and allow for perfect application around the cuticle.

This was so pigmented it only took one coat to get the colour shown here.  Pink is a close second to purple when it comes to my top choices of polish colour and this one is just amazing.  Essie never fails to impress me.

Polish two is my first ever Orly polish and is called Orange Punch.  An apt name for a vibrant, slightly neon-esque shade.  This once again had so much pigment it only took one coat for full coverage! 

This macro shot isn't a true representation of the colour but it does show you just how opaque it is with one coat.  I didn't use any top coat either for these swatches as I like to let you see the true effect of the polish.

Polish three is a favourite of mine as it is a pastel shade.  This is Mint condition by Cuccio and I love it.  I'm starting to build up a little collection of Cuccio now (I actually just put an amazing glitter polish by them on my toes the other day!) and I'm always happy with the polishes they produce.

As is common with pastel shades, this one was streaky on the first coat but smoothed out perfectly on the second to give this finish you see here.  Personally I have no issue with polishes that take two coats of colour as to me that is standard, I'm not so keen when a polish takes three.

So there we have May's (late) Nailbox blog!  I have also uploaded a couple of videos to my Youtube you can feel free to check out too.  I have the unboxing video here:

and if you would like to watch me live swatching these three polishes then you can check that out here:

Thank you all for reading and see you in the next blog!

Lyn


 
 
 
 
 

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Unboxing: Meebox 010 (Ririmee)

Hi hi!
I feel like I've been neglecting this blog a bit recently but I've been busy with work and looking for a new home so I think I can be forgiven....right?  To make it up to you today I have my thoughts and pictures to share with you on May's Meebox goodies.

This months box was jam packed with nail stuff!  The box contained four polishes and two nail art items.  Now it wouldn't be a Rihanna inspired box without some silver spikes and cuticle tattoos would it?! I've never tried cuticle tattoos before so I'm going to be using these in the future for taking my swatches.  The little silver spikes have come from Sparkly Nails which sell lots of cool nail art goodies if you want to treat yourself.  The mini OPI is a nail envy strengthening treatment; not something I need to use myself but still a nice addition to the box.

Now let's get onto the polish.  My first ever Zoya, this is Leah and is from the Satin finish range.  With the trends nowadays a nude is a must have for your collection and I was happy to receive this.  

 
Just how pretty is this?  It was almost a one coater and I think if you have smaller nails you could get away with one coat.  I did two for complete opacity and didn't use any top coat.  Not sure what kind of top coat you would use on this anyway as a glossy one would take away from the satin finish.  I think it's one where you are not suppose to need a top coat but I have to always top coat as I just love that glossy finish so much!

This is two coats of polish and no top coat so that you can see the satin finish effect.

Polish two is a striking red.  Just how good is this theme?  It ticks all the boxes for things Rihanna would wear.  Now I don't normally wear reds as I feel it doesn't suit me but this one was really nice.  It seemed to be just the right shade to compliment my skintone.

Made by Wah London Nails this is called Love My Team.  A first time for me trying out this brand and let me tell you I'm impressed.  This is just one coat of colour and no top coat, perfect coverage.  Looking forward to trying more of this brand in the future.

 Sparkly holo goodness!!  I am a sucker for a holo polish and what makes this one so much better is that it comes from a fellow indie polish maker called Hayley.  I had my eye on this polish on her Etsy store and was close to buying it when it turned up in my Meebox.  I love to see companies supporting the indie makers.  It makes me love your box even more.

Higitis Figitis comes from Danglefoot Nail Polish and you can find Hayley's store on Etsy.  This is just one coat too!  I posted a live video of this polish in action on my Instagram so feel free to check it out.

There we go, May's Meebox which was Rihanna inspired.  What do I think?  Amazing.  Each month I am continually impressed with the theme and content that the girls put into each of the boxes.  Meebox costs £20 per month and has always contained items worth this price and more.  I look forward to the end of the month knowing that my new box will be arriving!  

You can check out my unboxing video here:

and my live swatches of these polishes will be up tomorrow (2/6/16).

thanks so much for reading!

Lyn
 
 


 

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Trying Something New...

Hello readers :)

I feel like I have been so busy lately and just not had time to write this blog that I wanted to do at least a week ago now.  I'm always looking for new ways to work with my nail passion and share it with all my followers on social media.  When I was sending out my sample polishes to be swatched, I sent some to Elaine who along with taking pictures also did live swatches.  What is that you ask?  Basically you record yourself painting your nails with the polish, showing how it applies and recording a voice over to chat about your opinions on it.  Then of course you take lots of pretty pictures to add in too and share on other social media.

Why do this?  I have been wanting to expand the content of my youtube for a while now and this is one way to do it.  Currently I have my weekly Friday 10am nail art upload and my sporadic review videos that come in as and when I have products to review.  I'd really like to be able to upload  two videos a week.  Now being honest, that won't be found with my live swatch series.  These will only go up when I've purchased new polishes or have some new collections from my indie range to share.  I'd really like to stop being lazy and do a gel or acrylic tutorial each week also, perhaps uploading those on a Tuesday.

Less talking about it and more doing it then!   Well this also comes with more stress on my part in coming up with designs.  There are some weeks I struggle to come up with a new nail art design and I get so frustrated with myself.  I have mountains of nail art goodies and quite often my mind just goes blank staring at them.  So that is a downside to adding a new weekly video to my schedule.  

What about the upsides though?  I think I would expand my viewer base on youtube and help grow my channel through broadening my content.  Some people might not like doing designs in regular polish as a lot of people struggle with the durability of it (though I would say most of my designs can easily be replicated in gel).  There are also some designs that can only really be done with gel or acrylic such as 3D work.

I've so far filmed and uploaded one live swatch video which was the polish that came in April's Nailbox and I am going to film a small OPI haul I bought recently today so that will be coming soon.  

What are your thoughts on seeing gel/acrylic/live swatch vids?  I'd love to know what you think or if you have a suggestion for something else I could do to share with you all I would love to hear it.  If you made it this far through my wall-o-text thank you!  Here is the link to my first Live Swatch video also so you can take a look at what I would like to do more often.

Until next time,
Lyn

 

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