NOTD: China Glaze "Gussied Up Green"

I am going to Gardening Scotland show tomorrow, so of course I needed a green manicure :) I decided to do "Gussied Up Green" as it's one of my old-time faves!

This is 3 thin coats with Seche Vite top coat, and in full evening sunshine! I will try and get a nice one in the morning light too just to show you how much like expensive green velvet this looks :) Totally 70s. I love the whole 'Rodeo Diva' collection that China Glaze did, but I've not got them all and I am still lemming-ing some of the shades! It does still almost look black in certain lights which will always annoy me but I can live with it!

NOTD: Hot n' Tropical

Occasionally I get inspired and come up with cool nail art ideas, today was kind of one of those occasions. However it's not come out as abstract as it was when I first painted it on; the glitter has hidden the squiggly lines too much! I named it Hot n' Tropical because it is - it's summery brights with a slick of gold running through it. Like a pina colada on a tropical golden beach at sundown...

I used TopShop "Summit" for the vintage yellow, Collection Hot Looks "Swizzles" for the fuchsia and then a band of OPI "Goldeneye" and Sephora "Gold Fever".

I love layering intense fine glitters with these chunky glitters, you can definitely achieve a nice glitter gradient!

AND... VampyVarnish has some awesome swatches of the OPI Coca Cola polishes here. I cannot wait to get my hands on "Green on the runway" and "Orange You Fantastic" seems pretty unique too!

I've not been doing my nails much lately because I've been busy in the garden... I finally have a nice big raised bed and it's now almost fully seeded!!

NOTD: OPI "Absolutely Alice"

I love the glitter power of this polish from the Alice in Wonderland collection from OPI :) It's kinda Swedish as well, with it's gold glitter among the blue glitter. You can hardly see it in these photos but it is there! This is actually day 3 of this polish as I was so busy I forgot to photograph and post!!

This is 2 tricky coats with some Seche Vite over the top. I'd forgotten just how awful the formula is on this polish - thick / runny at the same time and while it dries fast this means the brush starts to get clumpy before finishing 5 fingers!! AAARGHHH!! I refuse to acknowledge at this point in time how long it's going to take to soak off this glitter...

But it's kinda worth it for the sparkle! :)

NOTD: L'Oreal JetSet "752"

I had a bit of a rummage and found this old polish from goodness-knows-when, probably early 2000's or something. I can definitely tell that this is old and chemical-laden as it is smelly but butter-smooth. I had to try and photograph this is early morning light as the synthetic light coupled with my camera just made all photos look washed out. I did 2 coats here with a slick of Seche Vite on top. Such a great summery colour! Do you have any really old polishes hiding in your stash that deserves to be aired again??

NOTD: Pink and orange ombre manicure

I've had an idea for this for a while but finally decided to go for it. I used 2 coats of Rimmel LycraPRO "Urban Princess" for the pink base, the sponged on Misa "Speed of Life" then Rimmel 60sec "Sunshine" for the gradual 'sunset' look. I think it turned out quite well! :)

I have another mini review for you today again - Garnier Ultimate Blends The Marvellous Transformer shampoo and conditioner. I must admit it hasn't really done much for my tresses... My hair is still kinda frizzy, dry and dull. I suppose you should also use the hair oil in the same series with the shampoo + conditoner but that's a tenner I am not inclined to spend now that I've tried these... But I like the smell of this, not too overpowering but it lingers nicely! It's just another cheap-ish drugstore shampoo+conditioner combo for me, and I think I will return to my Tresemme Keratin Smooth 7 Day System soon instead. Which reminds me that I still have to post that review :)

OPI announced their Coca Cola collaboration on Facebook today, and there aren't an awful lot of swatches out there yet (their PR department needs to work a bit harder!) but I am already completely in love with "Green on the Runway" - it looks like it could be a grass-green version of China Glaze "All Gussied Up"!!! Can't wait til this collection launches in June.

NOTD: KBShimmer "Oh Splat!™"

I really wanted something really happy today and this was just the ticket! :) It's one of my few 'indie' polishes I have. It has a few copies but none look just like this! This is 2 coats and a slick of Seche Vite, the formula is trickier than I remember but works when you get into it.

I also have a mini review for you as well, Piz Buin Ultra Light Dry Touch Face Fluid. It's a suncream but with a fancy new formula. I have been wearing this every day this week and it looks and behaves great under makeup AND it hasn't given me spots :) It is 'dry touch' indeed and looks a bit matte. I chose the higher factor as I will likely be outside a lot during this summer for work so I need to make sure I am protected. This is also on offer in Boots just now for a bargain £6!