CND Shellac Summer 2013 Summersplash Swatches

So I FINALLY got hold of the Shellac Summersplash collection from CND - they crept up on us with that one didn't they! My last post about the launch of these is proving to be quite popular on my little blog, so I thought it was well overdue that I brought you a swatch of them myself. 

 

The Summersplash launch was of 4 bright 'Summer' typical colours, named appropriately of course! And they bring the total number of launches this year so far to 9.

Here's a bit more of a close up so you can see them a more clearly and I'll run through a quick recap of the colours:

little finger - Water Park - a metallic 'sea' blue. This is quite metallic, think Hotski to Tchotchke or Iced Cappuccino. I don't tend to wear metallics that often so I would have preferred this to have been a creme, but hey ho, we can't be fussy, at least they've brought out a blue. Plus, I've found a new technique to rid the metallic sheen - mix in a little Cream Puff!

ring finger - Lobster Roll - a bright red-orange. I'd actually go as far as to call this a jelly which is different for Shellac because they don't do many! I absolutely LOVE this colour and I've had so many requests for it. It looks great on pale skin and a-maz-ing with a tan and without doubt will be my pedicure of choice for the Summer.

middle finger - Grape Gum - a rich 'grape' purple with slight shimmer. I like that they've launched two purples so far this year and completely different shades as well. I do love this colour and can't wait to do a full manicure in it (maybe with a little glitter fade...) but find three coats is necessary for a true opaque finish.

index finger - Pink Bikini - a bright creme pink. I was least excited about this one as I felt there was already enough in the pink spectrum with Hot Pop Pink, Gotcha and Tutti Frutti to name but a few. But this actually makes Gotcha look very bubblegum and Hot Pop Pink appear more of a blue-pink. This is the perfect go between and it's grown on me.

And cue obligatory solar-oil-hand-grasp....

So what do you think? In my opinion, if you haven't tried one of these yet, Shellac lovers you NEED to have at least one of these shades on your next appointment!

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!

CND Shellac Nail Art - Punky Pink Leopard Print

So Philippa loved her leopard print manicure from before (here) so much that she had to come back for more! Only this time, she went for the girly version - all pink and pretty.

I used only CND Shellac colours for this design and if you're looking for a little 'How to' for the leopard print then check out my previous post on this look here.

The base colour is two coats of Romantique, then the leopard print pattern is done in Blackpool and I added a pink accent to some of the design using Tutti Frutti.

What do you think? Punk pink enough for you?

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!

CND Shellac Nail Art - Princess Glitter Fade

Princess Glitter Fade. Well I just can't think of any other way to describe these lovelies, can you? The beautiful Carys (last seen here) requested these for her bridesmaid manicure and I have to say, I love her choice of glitters.

Carys went for the ever popular CND Shellac Grapefruit Sparkle as her base colour - a gorgeous sheer pink with a subtle silver glitter - as seen in a previous post here. I used two coats and then a silver glitter mix for the glitter fade. To make the silver glitter mix, I used CND Shellac Mother of Pearl and GOSH Nail Glitter in Silver. I mixed the two together in a ceramic palette and painted the glitter fade in two coats. I finished it off with CND Shellac Top Coat and there you have it, perfectly princess-y nails.

I particularly like the sheer base colour with the glitter fade over the top, it makes it look like the glitter is built into the gel and not just faded over the top.

Gosh Silver Nail Glitter is available from most Superdrug stores (although online I can only find the Gold one here).

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!

Essie Nice is Nice

Just a quickie swatch today - and shock horror! It's not Shellac for once!?!

I got this Essie polish in last month's Pearl Lowe themed GlossyBox and I absolutely love it. So much so that I couldn't not share its lilac loveliness.

The name of this colour is Nice is Nice and it falls under Essie's 'Plums' category of colours. Essie themselves describe it as a "whimsical light lavender" - to me though, this is the exact shade I think of when someone talks about a 'lilac'.

It's a polish at the end of the day, so longevity it does not have in comparison to Shellac, but I think I got about 4 days wear before it chipped too much to continue. As a little tip, I often wear normal nail polishes over a base of CND Shellac in Beau or Negligee - that way the polish dries quicker, lasts a little longer and the gel base provides a smooth nail bed for application.

You can purchase Essie in the UK in most Boots or Superdrug stores for £7.99

Disclaimer - I received this polish from a GlossyBox. A service that I pay for with my own dollar but this box was free - I redeemed some GlossyDots (or loyalty points to most people) that I'd been hoarding. If you want to get addicted to GlossyBoxes too then use this referral link to sign up today - and I can get some MORE points for free boxes :)

CND Shellac Naturally Nude Nails

There are three colours that I find most people tend to opt for when it comes to Shellac. Often paired with a white for a French manicure, or simply alone if they want something classic and chic but not too obvious. All three are great for anyone with short nails, as a block colour can draw attention to the fact that they are short. The Shellac will also give them strength to allow them to grow and helps to avoid the temptation to nibble for any biters wanting to grow out their little nubs.

Apart from the white shades I use for the French tip, these three subtle pinks are my most repurchased bottles. Let's take a closer look at Beau, Negligee and Grapefruit Sparkle...

CND Shellac Beau

CND Shellac Negligee

CND Shellac Grapefruit Sparkle

Beau - sheer peachy-pink with a hint of opalescence
Negligee - sheer opalescent baby pink
Grapefruit Sparkle - pale sheer soft pink with added silver glitter

When using the colours for a French manicure I tend to only use one coat, two often makes the base too 'pink' otherwise. Negligee is probably the only one I could use two coats of though if someone needs their base to smooth out any imperfections on the nail bed.

Out of the three, Beau tends to give the 'pinkest' look overall and has an obvious opalescent shimmer to it. Negligee is a great 'healthy' looking pink that has very little, if any, opalescent finish to it. If you look very carefully you can just pick out the shimmer in real life, but out of the two, Beau is much more opalescent than Negligee. And finally Grapefruit sparkle is quite pink like Beau, but with an added element of ultra-fine silver glitter.

The only one I haven't included here is Clearly Pink, mainly because no one ever asks for it. It is exactly like a clear coat but with a teeny hint of pink and when on the nails it looks as if it isn't there. Most people tend to prefer a slight hint of colour and those wanting a super subtle French mani even then still opt for Negligee.

Which one do you prefer?

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!

CND Shellac Nail art - Tropix Glitter Fade

You must start to recognise these fingers by now? Stacey fancied a bit more glitter following her last manicure (Freehand Geometric) and went for a good old glitter fade. Stacey's last Tropix glitter fade remains one of her favourite manicures she's ever had (here) so she decided to replicate it with a different coloured glitter.

This is two coats of CND Shellac in Tropix followed by a glitter fade in two coats. The glitter mix used for the fade is a glitter paste made up of CND Shellac in Mother of Pearl and GOSH Nail Glitter in Topaz Lavender. 

I love the colour clash!

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!

CND Shellac Spring 2013 Sweetdreams Swatches

It seems yonks ago since I told you about the CND Shellac Sweetreams collection release this Spring - here.

Kate (last seen here) went easy on me with the nail art requests this time and simply wanted a rainbow of pastels. So we picked out the four main colours from the Spring collection and went for a good ol' skittle mani. Now I did something different with the green so let me explain the colours:

little finger - Azure Wish - a gorgeous soft pale blue with the tiniest hint of shimmer. I love the fact that CND have brought out another blue, just keep them coming!

ring finger - Lilac Longing - a beautiful creme lilac. This expands the 'purple' Shellac selection quite nicely now and it looks great paired with the blue above in nail art.

middle finger - Cake Pop - a pale pink creme. Which when put next to the other pinks in the Shellac range, looks almost a very pale lilac.

index finger - Limeade  mixed with some Cream Puff - now the green is semi-sheer and has a sparkle finish (not to my taste or Kate's either) when worn alone. So a little trick I've discovered is to mix it with some white in a ceramic dish - it takes away the sparkle leaving it completely creme and now pastel-fied. I love it like this, but it did need three coats to make it opaque.

I don't know about anyone else, but I have found that with this collection (other than Grapefruit Sparkle not shown here) I get horrific shrinkage from the nail tip. I've tried everything and it still doesn't help. So I'm finding that these tend to need three coats as a minimum to get the required finish. Has anyone else had that issue?

Despite the application issues, I'm just so glad that Shellac finally dipped into the pastel market. Here's to many more... I hope!

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!