A Sad Announcement!

Hello followers!

I have a bit of a sad announcement for you today, as of this week, this blog will be going silent. When I started this blog in November I never imagined that it would grow in the way that it has, and I am so thankful for each and every one of the followers of this blog. Unfortunately I just don't have the time to commit to two blogs anymore, particularly seeing as I am going to be starting a job soon. This DOES NOT mean that I will be giving up my polish obsession, or creating Nail Art! It will just be posted on my Personal Blog instead. In fact I am hoping to start a fortnightly nail feature on my personal blog to satisfy my polish addiction! This blog will be left up so that you can go through all my old posts and Nail Art, but any future posts will be made here.

Thank you again for you support, and I hope that you will join me over on my personal blog for any future Nail Art posts!

Ask A British Nail Blogger #2: My Most Wanted Polishes!

via

I'm sure I have written about these polishes before somewhere on this blog. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to have them! These are the Equestria Collection by Rainbow Honey, and they are simply gorgeous. Incase you have no idea what 'Equestria' is, it's the name of the kingdom in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I'll admit I watch the show, I am a fan of everything rainbows and lollipops. The polishes above are based on the main characters of the show and I love each and every one of them! I actually managed to snap up Pinkie Promise in a blog sale but I have yet to buy any of the others. Next on my list is definitely A Little Kindness, which is based on my favourite character on the show (Fluttershy).

You can check out the Equestria collection here. Let me know in the comments what polishes you are lusting after!

Models Own: Fruit Pastel Collection! First Impressions!

Yesterday I was a very, VERY naughty girl yesterday and bought myself some nail polish! I've wanted this collection ever since I first saw it on the Model's Own Website. So when I saw them in Boots yesterday and had a sniff I couldn't resist... AND YES I SAID SNIFF!! These little beauties are scented! (Apologies for the horrible photo quality I am currently at home and only have my Blackberry with me!)

From Left to Right: Grape Juice, Banana Split, Blueberry Muffin, Apple Pie, Strawberry Tart, Aqua Violet

I managed to snap these up in a 3 for 2 offer at Boots, which made them eve more irresistible to me! I thought I'd do a quick post of my first impressions of the Fruit Pastel Collection! Here's what they look like on the nail:

From Thumb to Pinky: Apple Pie, Grape Juice, Banana Split, Strawberry Tart, Blueberry Muffin

I love these polishes! The colours are perfect for spring (and of course Easter!). They smell beautiful and ever since I painted them I've been sat here sniffing my fingernails like a weirdo! Some of them smell stronger than others, I think the Strawberry Tart is definitely the best one, not only is it a pretty pink colour but it smells really sweet. Also they have cute little scratch and sniff stickers on the top of each bottle so you can get a cheeky whiff before you apply.

These polishes were fairly difficult to apply, I would definitely recommend using a white base coat underneath them (which I will try next time). They went opaque in three coats but I found it a struggle to apply! I'm sure I'll get better with practice.

Anyway despite the trouble I had with the application I am certainly in love with these polishes and I think EVERYONE should own at least one of them.

The Indie Polishes That Just Didn't Make It...

I really didn't want to have to write a post like this, but I feel that I need to share this experience so that none of you guys get caught out like I did. I also hate to do this because I LOVE the polishes that this seller makes... but I feel that I have been treated unfairly so I guess I must share it. (WARNING: This post is very long)

Let's rewind back to before Christmas, I had not long started this blog and I was lusting over all the Indie Polishes imaginable! I decided that for Christmas I would order 6 mini bottles from GlitzologyBeauty Polish on Etsy. I would keep 4 for myself and give two to my sister. When they arrived I was seriously happy with them and I still am.

Fast forward to January a few days after my student loan came in, I decided that I wanted to order a few more Glitzology Polishes, this time in the full size. I also asked the seller if she could make me a custom polish for my 21st Birthday. We agreed on a package and got the ball rolling, at this time I also placed this order:

This is where the problems started... Firsty with my custom polish. I didn't hear from her for a few weeks so I messaged her asking what was going on, and I got this response:

'Hi Alyssia! I am SO sorry because it seems that you haven't been getting my responses. I have been having problems with my Internet connection lately. Some people are telling me that they are getting multiple copies of my messages and some aren't getting them at all! They are doing new construction across the street from my house and one of my neighbors told me she was having similar problems with her Internet and cable. I have spoken to the cable company repeatedly and they basically told me nothing is wrong. After a week of calling them over and over and even showing them copies of multiple people saying they aren't getting my messages, they still refused to do anything! I was so frustrated, I just cancelled my service and went to a new company. So things should be ok now, but I will send so message a couple times just to be sure you get it. I will also send your polish Priority mail (at no extra charge) which arrives much faster than regular First Class mail. 
(Details about the polish I wanted)
Again, I apologize for yet delay and I will do my best to get this in the mail ASAP!
Thanks!'

Obviously I was fairly happy with this response and had definite sympathy for her internet issues so I simply responded with specifications for my custom polish and thanked her for her reply. The same day I was sent these pictures of the preliminary mix for my custom:

I was fairly happy that my polish was coming along, and simply responded with the changes that I would like made to the original mix (Basically I wanted more pink than blue). Then I got this message:

'Sure that's no problem at all! I will work on it a bit more after work and send more pics this evening. So just more rose less blue? Is there any other aspect you would like me to change, add, take away? It's no trouble, I do this when I'm making a new color all the time.'

That was the last message I received about my Custom polish... Fast forward to February 9th (So she'd already missed getting my custom to me for my birthday). I contacted her saying I hadn't had my package yet (It had been almost a month since the original order date) she responded with this:

'Hi Alyssia! I took a look at your tracking info (which tracks the package through the US) and honestly I wouldn't expect it to have arrived yet. UK customs can take 2-4 weeks, depending on the customs office your package is processed through. Some seem to process items faster than others. I've actually heard rumors that some countries are becoming stricter with customs, but I don't know if that's true or not. 

Also, I wanted you to know that I ordered those glitters your described (the rose shreds) and I should get them in the next week. I planned to surprise you and just send you the custom polish (no charge of course), but then I realized I didn't know what name you wanted on it! So let me know what you'd like to call it and, when the glitter order arrives, I will finish your polish and you'll get a late birthday gift in the mail! Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. :)
Thanks!'

So I was pretty pleased to see that she hadn't actually forgotten about my custom and just thanked her for her response. 

Fast forward AGAIN to the 21st of February. Over a month since my order for 3 full bottles was shipped. I message her AGAIN, just letting her know I still haven't received my polishes, that I was worried about it, and could she let me know if she's heard anything. To which I received this response:

'Hi Alyssia! Yeah that worries me too. I have not received the package returned back to me which is normally what happens when items don't clear customs. I have heard a rumor that some countries are getting stricter with their customs regulations, but I have other customers in the UK who are getting their orders without any problem. I'm on my way to my regular job right now, but when I get home this evening, I will call the postal service customer support number and see if they have any information about your items. I'm very sorry for this delay. I know how much it sucks to be excited to get a package and all you see is an empty mailbox :( If worse comes to worse and they give me no info and the package still hasn't come when I have your new polish ready in a couple days, I will just resend the other items too. I will ship Priority so it gets there faster. But let's hope the postal service can give me more information. I will message you back this evening with what I've heard from them. 

Thanks!'

Shortly followed by this response:

'Hi! I spoke with a woman from the postal service customer support line. She said they would open a case to see if the package has been flagged for return to the US for any reason (I of course didn't tell her there was nail polish in the package). She said it normally takes about 2 business days for these cases, so I should hear back from them by Monday. If the package does arrive in the meantime, just let me know. If I do hear back that it is being returned or even if it has not been delivered by then, as I mentioned before, I will resend the polishes with your custom one. Again, I am very sorry for the shipping trouble! Hopefully we will be able to locate it and it makes it's way to you soon!
Thanks'

That was the last I ever heard from her. I messaged her on the 25th of Feb, the 28th of Feb, March 3rd, and March 17th. Still no reply. I even opened a new conversation thread with her a week ago hoping this would get through. Still no response. At this point I can safely say I am being ignored, and I now know why. I checked up on the Etsy claims policy and I can no longer file a claim. I could file a claim up to 45 days from the date of shipping and as of the beginning of March my 45 days were up. Obviously I didn't know this, and I'm pretty upset that there is nothing I can do about it. I love her polishes and was so excited about receiving them. I can only assume that they got destroyed due to the new harsher laws on shipping polish. So I am sharing this in the hopes that you guys don't get duped like I did. As for my custom polish, god knows what happened to that. I will continue to try and message the seller to see if there is anything she is willing to do about the situation, but I doubt very highly that I will get anything. So that's $20 down the drain, and I will certainly be thinking twice before ordering an Indie Polish ever again.

Please make sure you don't get caught out like I did!

Ask a British Nail Blogger #1: My Nailcare Routine

Hello all! It seems like forever since I last wrote a post for this blog, and for the British Nail Bloggers group! I've been super busy with Uni work, but I promise in a few months I'll be all yours again! First off I just want to address an important issue. I've heard that Google will be removing GFC, basically to encourage people to use (the rubbish) Google+. This means I will lose ALL my followers! I'd love for you guys to continue reading my blog, and one of the best ways to do that is through Bloglovin' (Find the link in my sidebar). I read all my favourite blogs via Bloglovin, it has a handy toolbar icon that shows you how many unread posts you have! So if you want to continue reading my blog then please follow me through that!

So us British Nail Bloggers are starting a new feature, helping you all to get to know us better! Today's topic is my nailcare routine. I'll admit I'm relatively new to the Nail Blog world, and I'll admit up until about a month ago, I didn't really understand the importance of Nail Care. Let's just say I've seen the error of my ways, and here is what I tend to do:

Sunday's are my 'spa day' and as such I always give myself a full manicure. I start by using a Nail Block kind of like this one. It has a side for filing, a side for smoothing, a side for buffing, and a side for polishing. So I work my way through the sides until I am happy with the shape and the look of my nails. Then I take my Superdrug hand and nail cream and place a small blob on each of my nails. Taking a cuticle stick (or orange stick) I spread the cream all over the nail, giving it a few seconds. Then I carefully push my cuticles back with the orange stick on each of my nails. Finally massaging the rest of the cream into my nails and hands. Then I take my OPI Matte Nail Envy (review coming soon), and put two coats on each nail. Then I either leave them like that or paint them whatever colour I fancy.

Every other day I remove all nail polish and add a new coat of OPI Nail Envy. Sometimes I also shape a few of the nails that have rough edges, or have managed to break themselves.

So there you have it, that is my basic routine! I have been seriously busy recently and have barely found the time to take care of my nails let alone paint them, but I managed to find a spare hour yesterday and this is how they turned out:

 From Left to Right: Sally Hansen in Navy Baby, OPI Matte Nail Envy, 2 True Glitterati in Shade 3

Apologies that the lighting kind of ruined the colours here. I couldn't find a good place to take the photos, and the sun coming through my window this morning was extremely bright! So this is one coat of Shade 3 over two coats of Navy Baby. The pictures above really don't do this glitter justice, it's so shimmery and beautiful. In fact it reminds me of shimmery fish scales, like the ones in a book I had as a child, I can't remember for the life of me what is was called!

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. I'm hoping to bring you the odd post over the next few weeks but I'm pretty busy until May when all of my uni work is due to be handed in! Then I will have LOTS of time to bring you all the posts that I've been neglecting! Check out the other British Nail Blogger's answers below:

Barry M Textured: Kingsland Road

I had my eye on the Barry M Textured Polishes from the minute they were released, but I've been trying to restrain myself. However when I went into Superdrug for some 'essentials' the other day, I couldn't help but pick one up. Of course I went for the pink, as it's the one I feel I will wear most often! (Says the girl with a gazillion untried polishes). Anyway onto the swatches!

These were taken after a day's hard wear of the polish! I spent the evening after painting these making clay pots for a friend for a drama performance. Which is why they may look a little messy. I think they survived pretty well though! I really like the texture of the polish, and I think the best thing about these polishes is that they've paired the hard texture of the polish with such dainty little colours. The results are beyond stunning. When I finally have more money I will hopefully be scooping up more of these polishes. Until then I will simply lust after them!

Have you tried the Barry M Textured Polishes?

Another Liebster Award!

I've been nominated by the lovely Jetti of Wood and Chocolate for yet another Liebster Award. I'm sure this is my 3rd nomination. I am truly flattered for each and every one. Check out my other award posts here and here.

I've already done the nomination part before in my original post, so I won't do that again. Mainly because I simply don't have the time to at the moment. But I will do the random facts and the questions!

11 Facts About Me:

1. I am currently dealing with a serious heartbreak
2. I'm a secret baking goddess
3. I eat far too much McDonalds
4. I am a MASSIVE fan of The Wanted
5. I dream about celebrities all the time
6. I want to work on the set of Doctor Who
7. Eastenders is one of my favourite TV shows
8. I love spending hours trawling the internet
9. My Xbox 360 is probably my most prized possession. (After my laptop)
10. I'm originally from Berkshire 
11. I have NO idea what I am going to do when I graduate.

The Questions Jette Asked me:

1. What do you do professionally and why?

I am currently a Student. Studying Film and TV. One day I would like to work in the media, but we'll see. I just enjoy creating films, from the planning all the way through to the finished product (even though it can be stressful!).

2. Are you happy?

Yeah I am at the moment

3. Is your life what you thought it would be and if so why?

I don't really know how to answer this as I am about to go through a major transitional period in my life. I can't really answer this yet.

4. Who do you turn to

My mum is the person I normally turn to, or my best mate Ellie. Both are really understanding and I feel I can talk to them about anything.

5. Have you ever done something to scare yourself and what was it

I've done plenty to scare myself. I don't think talking about it on my blog is a good idea though.

6. Best moment of your life

When I got engaged when I was 17. I don't regret it in any way, and I was so happy at the time.

7. Worst moment of your life

When my granddad Gilbert died. I was so close to him. It still hurts now when I think of all the things he is missing. I'm sure I'll cry on my graduation day because I know he would have loved to have been here.

8. Favourite food

Extra cheesey pizza!

9. 3 things to take to a desert island

The internet, a laptop, and unlimited cheesey pizza's

10. Dogs or cats?

Dogs. But I like cat's too!

11. What is your aim in life?

I just want to be happy, and to not have to struggle for the things that I want in life.

So there you go! Thanks again Jette for the nomination, I'm honoured that so many people like my blog!