Pretty in Poundland Part Deux!

Hi loves!

After I posted about the cute feather polish and new nail bar I found at one of my local Poundland stores here, I was contacted by Pretty who asked if I would like to try some more! I was really pleased with the ones I bought, considering how on-trend they were and the £1 price point, so I jumped at the chance! They sent me three polishes and a quick dry spray to try, and colour me impressed! The polishes they sent were a yellow gold glitter, from their Polka Dot range, a red and blue glitter in a milky base, from their Scatter Effect range, and a blue creme polish with a pot of loose glitter.

First up, the polka dot glitter. I used this over Collection Dramatic, making a reverse gradient with a full accent nail on ring finger and thumb. This was a great glitter polish, with just the right amount of glitter for a topper - I used one coat and it wasn't too thick that it covered the base too much, but I wasn't fishing for glitter either. The finish is nice and smooth and just one coat of topcoat kept it smooth and glossy.

Next, I tried the scatter effect. I'm a big fan of glitter in these milky bases and I could tell immediately this would be sheer. I used two coats on its own on my ring finger and two coats over white on the rest. As you can see although the milky base is sheer, it isn't streaky and this would make it fabulous for layering over any thing your heart desires! I actually really like it sheer - it's a sort of funky French with a twist. Again, there's just the right amount of glitter and it's not rough or bumpy.

Finally the blue polish with loose glitter. You get a smaller bottle of polish this time, but the glitter is quite a large container and I barely made a dent in it for this manicure. The instructions say to paint one coat of polish, then another one nail at a time and sprinkle the glitter on, but I chose to dip! Just the tips, and then a full nail accent. It worked really well, and a good layer of topcoat (use one you don't mind getting a bit of glitter in!) kept it in place and made it super sparkly.

The quick dry spray is a nice touch. I've never tried an aerosol one before, preferring to use a quick dry topcoat but I've found this really helpful, especially when I've used those indie-type glitters with a thick suspension base that take forever to dry. It's not greasy and has really nice, baby powder smell which on its own is a bonus!

All in all, I am so impressed with these polishes. They're right up there with what you find in high street beauty stores and the quality is comparable - even better in some cases! The range is literally huge too - they have leather effect, concrete effect, grafitti effect, feather effect, neons, scented, glow in the dark, caviar, velvet, magnetic, metallic, heart glitter, denim effect, matte effect, and gel effect, as well as nail art pens and accessories and nail care. All you could want, for just £1! Another thing worth mentioning about these polishes is that they don't have "the smell" I would normally associate with cheap nail polish (I'm looking at you, Kleancolor). Of course, it's nail polish, it's gonna smell. But I don't feel the need to wear a heavy duty gas mask and evacuate the guinea pigs before I start polishing.

You can find Pretty products in Poundland stores, funnily enough for just £1! The clue's in the name ;) Have a look here to see what takes your fancy, and follow their Facebook page to keep up to date! I might have picked up a few more already...

Hx

The product featured was a PR sample provided to me for free for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own and 100% honest. Please see my disclaimer in the tab above for further details.

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Meet the Almonds!

Hello!

So, I did it! After um-ing and ah-ing for over a week, with one thumbnail almond shaped and lonely I bit the bullet and shaped all of my nails into almonds! I've wanted to try the shape for a while, but I never thought I'd be able to get my natural nails long and strong enough to handle it. But, thanks to Duri Rejuvacote, here they are! I think I was putting it off because I know it's a weaker shape, and more prone to breaks and tears, but I know that if I do have a bad break and I have to cut them all down, I'm confident that they wont take long to get back to their former glory, thanks to Duri. The shape isn't perfect, but I'm hoping it's something that I'll perfect over the next few weeks as I get used to them. So far, I'm in love! I think they look elegant and cute, and they make my podgy fingers look less sausage-esque. And that's got to be a good thing.

I kept my first manicure simple, so I could revel in the shape a little for a while! I used 2 coats of Rimmel Salon Pro in Beige Babe and the accent finger is 2 coats of a Pretty (from Poundand) leather polish - which is a lot more sparkly and a little bit greener than my pictures show. I know I say this a lot but I am in love! With this manicure, and my nails, at long last!

My final 33 day challenge post goes live tomorrow, with my old nail shape as I wanted to finish the challenge before I filed them, but after that it's almonds all the way! What do you think, I hope you like them! Any particular nail art you'd like to see on them? Of course, there are some Christmas manis coming your way soon too!

Hx

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Pretty in Poundland

Hello!

I popped into my local Poundland store recently, to pick up some sweets ect. for potential trick or treaters, and was greeted by some pretties that I had to share! I have to admit, pound stores or discount places are not shops I like to frequent - not because I'm a snob (seriously, I'm anything but) but because I usually have two small children in tow that want everything in sight and then whine for the rest of the day when whatever they buy inevitably breaks after half an hour, but they are sometimes worth a look for bargain nail polish and accessories. Sorry, that turned a bit ranty didn't it? Anyway, onto what I found...

Instead of the usual jumble-sale feel of the beauty section there was a stand devoted completely to nails and nail art, dubbed the Nail Bar. I was surprised to see some of the latest trends in the nail world, by what seems to be Poundland's own brand, Pretty. There were feather polishes, graffiti polishes, mattes, magnetics and lots of glitters. As well as the polish there were nail art stripers, rhinestones, charms, nail wraps, caviar beads and loose glitter embellishments as well as files, buffers and removers. All for just £1. I think I was most impressed with the graffiti and feather effect polishes, as these are so on trend and fairly new to the market - it's obvious they've been copied from high end brands but I'm not complaining. Personally, I'm not big on the feather effect, as I can't stand my nails looking 'hairy' or glitter sticking out from the end of my nails but for £1 (rather than £11ish for one high end brand) I can just about stomach it!

I picked up two of the feather polishes, and the graffiti effect one that they had in my store, and really they're quite pretty (hence the name?). The quality is surprisingly good too - I expected them to be thick and gloopy, and stink to high heaven but they didn't. They're thin enough to wear as topcoats, but with a decent amount of glitter so that you could build up to relative opacity fairly easily. The nail-wheel swatches below show 1 and two coats. The only gripe I have is that the shades are not named, but it's not a deal breaker!

I thought while I was at it, I'd show you some of the other things I've picked up in poundland, pound world and the 99p store etc. They're good places to check if you're after some cheap embellishments, and it's the only place I can find pure acetone locally to me without paying an arm and a leg for it. They've even had stamping plates, with a stamper and scraper in my local store before. I prefer my glass nail files now, but you can pick up basic files and buffers for pence too.

They also have branded items available sometimes - the most notable one recently being OPI shatters, with an RRP of £10.50 at just £1. Ok, so shatters aren't to everyone's taste, and seem to have gone out of vogue (I still love a quick shatter mani) but OPI for £1? Who can resist? I also regularly see Sally Hansen, Rimmel, Collection 2000, Revlon, W7 and Maybelline. Last seasons shades perhaps, but still good quality items. You take pot luck as to what you'll find, but it is worth a nose, even with children in tow!

Hx

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