Thursday 11 August 2011

An expensive addiction...

Right, as one of my first posts I thought I would share my ever growing collection of nail varnish. Now, before Christmas, I went a bit mental buying Nails Inc varnish, and as my collection grew, I passed on my (rather small) collection of cheaper nail varnish to my sister, as I was only really using my Nails Inc ones. So you will notice that the vast majority of my nail varnishes are Nails Inc, and I really, really love them. They are so easy to apply, they last as well as any nail varnish can on my nails, and their colours are always bang on trend. I really and truly cannot fault their polishes, they're just fab. In saying that however, I have recently started to buy some cheaper nail varnishes alongside my Nails Inc collection, mainly in colours that are "in fashion" but that I am not too sure I'll like or wear that often, and I must admit that I have found some gems. 

Another thing I will add before revealing my stash, is that some people may notice the lack of crackle polishes in my collection. I simply just am not sold on this trend, I'm not all that keen on the effect, not my cup of tea! Sorry to all you crackle fans out there!!! 

Right, so here we have it, my ever-growing nail varnish stash...

 First up are the browns, blacks and greys...
L-R: Nails Inc Hyde Park Mews, Maple Street, and Mount Street          
L-R: Nails Inc Duke of Wellington Place, Black Taxi and The Thames
 Neutral Colours (I have a lot of these, I'm a big fan of the neutral nail)
L-R: Nails Inc Jermyn Street, Cromwell Road, London(Diet Coke Promo), Fashion Fawn (InStyle magazine), Fulham Palace Road

L-R: Palace Garden Terrace, Basil Street, Cadogan Square, Hampstead
 The pinks, peaches, oranges and the yellow! I never had myself down as a pink person, but after seeing just how many pink nail varnishes I own I think perhaps I am!!
L-R: Nails Inc Shoreditch, South Molton Lane, Old Church Street, Kew Bridge, Monmouth Street, Walton Place

L-R: Models Own Pastel Pink, Boots 17 Pink Lemonade, and Rimmel Rose Libertine

L-R: Nails Inc Brook Street, Wellington Square and Chancery Lane

L-R: Nails Inc Westferry Circus, Barry M Peach Melba, Boots 17 Orange Soda, Nails Inc Sumner Place
 The Gold, Silver and Glitters...
L-R: Nails Inc Park Crescent, Lanesborough Place, Glastonbury and Chelsea Embankment
 The "Special" Topcoats...
L-R: Boots 17 Matte Topcoat, Nails Inc Glitter Caviar Topcoat (x2) and Konad Glitter Topcoat
 Reds...
L-R: Nails Inc Greenwich Market, Hampstead Heath, Strawberry Vale, Holly Bush Vale

L-R: Nails Inc Heath Street, Westbourne Terrace, Tate and Victoria
 Topcoats and Basecoats...
L-R: Sally Hensen Mega Shine Extended Wear Topcoat, Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Topcoat and Albert Bridge Topcoat

L-R: Sally Hensen Miracle Cure Problem |Nail Strengthener, Nails Inc Hyde Park Basecoat, Kensington Caviar Basecoat and A&E Advanced Treatment
 French Manicure...
Nails Inc South Molton Street, Elizabeth Street and Leighton Denny Stunning

L-R: Leighton Denny Pure White and Natural Collection Nail Tip Whitener
 Greens and Turquoises...
L-R: Nails Inc Warwick Way, Apple Tree Yard and Duke of York Square

L-R: Nails Inc Stables Market, Boots 17 Catwalk Couture and Holding Hands
 Purples and Lilacs...
L-R: Nail Inc Cambridge Circus, Buckingham Palace, Lowndes Square and Sydney Street

L-R: Boots 17 Parma Violet, Nails Inc Queensgate Mews, Suffolk Street, Belgrave Place and Marylebone Lane
 And finally, blues...
L-R: Nails Inc Tudor Way, Denim (Diet Coke Promo) and The Southbank

L-R: Nails Inc Ebury Bridge, Holbien Place and Queensgate Terrace
Phew! So there you have it, my nail varnish stash. I'd like to say that a lot of these I buy in sets, as you can usually get 4 in a set for £25, whilst a single Nails Inc polish is usually £11. So whilst it looks like an expensive stash, and to an extent it is, its not as bad as it initially looks haha! I love how most of the Nails Inc varnishes are named after places in London as well...I'm a sucker for a polish with a nice name!

I am looking to branch out in the brands I use, next on my list is Topshop, and now that butter:LONDON finally have "No More Waity Katie" on their UK site I'm looking to invest in some of their polishes soon! I know a lot of pictures aren't great, I'm that good a photographer and my camera isn't the best, but if you want a better photo of a polish and/or a swatch just leave me a comment :)

Hope you enjoyed reading (if anyone is??) Bye for now!

Monday 25 July 2011

Bonjour!

Well, this is my first post on my own blog! I have been following a few beauty blogs religiously for a while, and I get so excited when I discover a new one, so I thought I would get myself out there and join in! So this is going to be my place that I can go to, to talk about make up, nail art, fashion, health and whatever else takes my fancy!

I chose the name Lashes and Lacquer because these are my two beauty essentials. I am one of those people who are constantly on the lookout for the ultimate mascara, one that will curl, lengthen AND volumise all at once, without breaking the bank. So that's the Lashes part...and Lacquer (which is a word I will probably never use but I wanted something alliterative!) is because I am obsessed with all things nail related! I love love love painting my nails (and do so almost every other day!) and messing around with nail art, although it is something I need to practice as I'm not all that skilled at it at the present!

And talking of skills, I'd just like to say from the offset that I am not an expert in anything! I don't know much about make up, or nail varnish, or fashion, it's just something that I am interested in. I love reading other people's blogs and would just like to have somewhere to talk about what I like, what I don't, what I've tried, what I haven't, what I would like to try! And it would be nice to think that somebody might actually read this someday and be interested, unlike my boyfriend, who gets a little sick of me reviewing my latest mascara find to him!!

So, I don't really have much to say or show in this first post, other than this quick introduction! If anyone is reading, hope you've enjoyed and stay tuned for more fun and frolics in the future!