NOTW: Cows are exotic too!

Hello my lovelies!

Today I bring you a themed, stamped mani - I matched my design with the base colour, China Glaze Exotic Encounters! I was of two minds about this mani to begin with, as you'll see below... but let me show you my initial attempt at awesome before we get onto that:

I know what you're thinking - BUSY! Somehow this design looked very different in my head to on my nails. This is GALS Fairy plates GA32 (leopard print) and GA46 (cow print accent nail - it's a cow print, right?) stamped in Barry M Silver Foil. I'd sort of expected to see more of the base colour through the leopard stamp, and was kind of going for a contrasting stamp effect, but it didn't really work out. I was umming and ahhing over the mani but eventually had to save it, since I hated what I'd ended up with so far... So I reached for my acetone and a Q-tip and very gently swiped off my stamping, just leaving the accent nail untouched. I then top-coated my mani again and this was the result:

Better :-)

COWS ARE EXOTIC TOO!!! I obsessed about having cow print nails this week and I think the print looks much better alone ^^ However, I ended up taking the mani off within about a day; I just wasn't feeling all these cool colours somehow!

Finally, as always, here's the base colour in all its glory - China Glaze Exotic Encounters:

EE is a deep, dusky teal which leans green. This is my first CG polish and I have to confess that I'm not overly impressed formula-wise; I got a bit of cuticle flooding, since the polish is quite runny, but I do love the colour. One amazingly positive point about this polish, though: I didn't get ANY staining (ZOMG)! This is probably thanks to my own foresight, however; I applied my base coat (Essie Feed Me) and then I applied one coat of Miss Sporty It's Too Latte (a nice nude) over the top as an extra barrier against the evil that is all teal polish! Evidently, this worked!


My favourite teals are green-leaning teals, but I'm not that big a fan of animal prints. Cow print may be a strange exception! I think I tend to prefer more abstract patterns, or perhaps flowers/dots/stars. What are your fav patterns for your nails? Let me know in the comments!

'Til next time, curlettes :-)

- Skye x

WAUF... Nails by Kayla Shevonne?

Why Aren't You Following... ? was conceived by Curly Polish as an attempt to help polishaholics put a face to the nails! Sometimes in our FB polish groups we don’t really connect those beautiful talons with the person behind them – often one who blogs! It is hoped that this series of posts will help polishaholics get to know new blogs and rediscover old ones by means of twelve succinct questions. Most of all, this series is designed to give a shout out to all the bloggers I admire the most – both big-time and small fry :-)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to the latest edition of WAUF! This week, after skipping last week for sheer busyness, I speak to Kayla from Nails by Kayla Shevonne! Let’s get down to business :-)


Name: Kayla Shevonne

Blog: Nails by Kayla Shevonne

Since: June 2010

GFC followers (at time of writing): 4,985

Signature bloggism: Hmm this is a tough one! I don’t think I necessarily have a signature bloggism, but I do think that anything to do with peacock feathers has become relatable to both me, and subsequently, my blog.

Fav brand: Another tough question! If I absolutely HAD to pick one brand, it would be China Glaze. But I also love OPI, Zoya, Orly and Illamasqua, just to name a few.

Fav colour: Turquoise (mine too!).

Fav nail art technique: Freehand.

Fav blog: Who do you admire? All of these questions are so hard! Hahaha. You’d probably assume that I would pick a nail art blog for this question, but I’m instead going to go with a primarily swatching blog – The Polishaholic. Honestly, I think it’s obvious that Jen works really hard at her site, she almost always has swatches out before anyone else and her photos are awesome. Plus, something that’s important to me is that I see her personality come through each of her posts. Some sites tend to have a more strict, professional vibe, but I prefer ones where I can relate to the personality of the author.

Would still like to try: In terms of a polish brand, I’m dying to try both butter LONDON and ManGlaze.

One fact we may not know about you/your blog: They haven’t found the bodies yet…

LOL I’m kidding. One thing you may not know about me (although hopefully now you do know) is that I’m a joker. I love to laugh and love to make others laugh.

When not painting my nails you’ll find me... : When not painting my nails you’ll find me: Blogging, editing pictures, trying to find better ways to organize my nail room and of course, spending time with my lovely fiancée David. I also have a list of television shows that I watch every week and I can sometimes be found playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 on XBOX.

Why I follow her: Kayla is AWESOME at nail art. Just look at the mani she chose for this post. It's epic. She also loves turquoise and purple, and she likes peacock feathers. I do too, so she's a natural point of convergence for all my favourite things in the nail world! I love how creative she is and think she pretty much has everything down pat. I'd be surprised if you weren't following her, she's such a nailverse celebrity but if not...

So tell me... why aren't you following Nails by Kayla Shevonne?!

How to follow Kayla:

Blog: www.kaylashevonne.com

FB: www.facebook.com/nailsbykaylashevonne
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kaylashevonne
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kaylashevonne

YouTube: www.youtube.com/kaylashevonnenails

Thanks for reading this week’s WAUF! This 'episode' was the last of the second series, but WAUF will be back in a month or two with more blogger introductions :-)

‘Til next time :-)

- Skye x

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

***Disclaimer*** 
These are not the only ladies I follow, or the only people whose blogs/nails I love. I don’t prefer any one of these blogs over the other because I like them all for different reasons. If you haven’t been contacted (yet), it doesn’t mean I don’t love you! Also: if you don’t have a blog but you have lovely nails, I may be in touch at some point, but I don’t know how to make an entire post about a non-blog right now :-) Finally, please remember that my preferences may be different to yours. This is meant to be a fun series! I adhere to the Thumper principle: if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. Keep smiling guys and girls :-) 

NOTW: WORLD EXCLUSIVE Nelly Polish Review!!!

Well helloooooooooo, curlettes! :D

I have something VERY speial for you today: I bring you a WORLD EXCLUSIVE in the polish world: dried nail varnish from Nelly Polish!!!*

Nelly Polish is a BRAND NEW *shiny shiny* British indie polish brand created by Hilary Tunley, a woman on a mission not to let the British Royal Mail's postal restrictions hamper her fledgling indie polish business! Her 'dried' nail polish can be sent from anywhere, to anywhere, and in any volume, without fear of being snatched by the postman.

'How can this be?' I hear you ask. Here's Hilary to explain: 

"I provide the custom ingredients (which are all completely safe and completely legal to transport worldwide) and the bottle to make the polish (if you like). You provide the clear nail polish - any old brand - I've tested lots and they all work fine, and a bit of good old-fashioned elbow-grease (aka shaking ability). The Nelly Mixture contains the 'magic' ingredients to create a lovely jelly/glitter polish which will stay lovely and glittery (no sinking glitter) you just need to mutter 'abracadabra' and shake."

Genius, no? In one fell swoop, Hilary has changed the face of the UK polish industry forever - she, at least, will never have to worry about packages for international customers being swiped. But are the polishes any good at all? Let's take a look :D


I have two dehydrated polishes to share with you today, both of which are from Hilary's first collection, 'The Fungooms', named for the characters on her husband Ned's games website for toddlers. Each character is named after a real place in Cornwall, South-West England, a beautiful part of our country famed for its sun, sea and surf, as well as brilliant ice cream... and now the birthplace of an incredible nail polish innovation!


Let's look at the first polish I was sent for review - Looe:

Trialling my bottle shot -  isn't the bottle label cute?!
Sorry about the Lemony Flutter!

It matches my garden :) Runner beans and miniature sunflowers are the perfect complement to Looe :D

Looe is a lovely polish which Hilary describes as 'a spring green jelly with hot pink and marigold matte glitter'. If I'm honest, the hot pink glitter looks more like red glitter to me, but I think that this makes the polish truly unique; I have absolutely nothing like it in my collection - and the green is the PERFECT green! I think it would suit everyone, but especially those with an olive complexion like me! On the first coat, this polish looks like it will not be pigmented enough to wear on its own, and seems very sheer. However, by the the second coat, all my concerns evaporated; this polish builds brilliantly and you can reach full opacity in three thick coats. If I had to name one downside, I think it would be that you have to fish a little for some of the larger glitters (probably because the polish is a jelly), but a good shake solves this problem instantly - and all the glitters lie perfectly flat, which totally makes up for this. All in all, I'm thrilled to have added this one to my collection, and I actually delayed this review post by a few days, just so that I could enjoy the mani a little longer ;-)


The second polish I was sent to review was Polperro, which was actually my first choice of Hilary's six debut polishes - gotta love autumnal oranges and coppers! Let's take a look:

In direct sunlight - WOW those tiny
specks of glitter really make this polish!

Indirect light - what a unique shade :-)

When I saw this polish for the first time, I was really struck by what an beautiful and unusual shade the base colour was. Hilary describes it as a 'corally-orange jelly with gold and copper glitter', and I have to agree with her description. It's not burnt orange (that's darker), but it's heading that way, with a lovely dusky hue. In the sun, it glows a really 'true' orange, and the light picks out all of the gorgeous yet tiny golden specks of glitter in the base. This is just stunning. Just like Looe, this polish applied beautifully. This polish was also packed with glitter, much more so than Looe, and I didn't have to dab at all. I did, however, need an extra coat to avoid a VNL. I could probably have got away with three. Again, I can see this suiting pretty much all skin tones, and I'll definitely be breaking it out again in the autumn for some nail art.

Some general points about both polishes:

• Excellent formulas - jellies with glitter
• Sheer but buildable
• Self-levelling and no curling glitter (glitter lies beyond flat)
• Satin finish
  (Hilary claims that all of her polishes dry satin/matte, and therefore need a top coat to bring out their true beauty. I actually found that come the third coat, the polish looked very glassy, and I only applied a layer of top coat to protect the mani. Case in point: the second pic of Looe is without a top coat ;-) )
• Only one thin coat of top coat required for a completely smooth and glossy finish
• No unsavoury smells

You can find Nelly Polish on Etsy, where you can buy a Nelly mixture for £4; a mixture plus an empty bottle for £5; or a made-up bottle for £6.50 :-) Hilary is also planning to launch a FB page for her nail polishes very soon, so keep your eyes peeled!


So: the nail polish world has been changed FOREVER! I, personally, can't wait to see Hilary's next collection!

Hilary sent me these two polishes ready-made, but was kind enough to suggest that she could send me a sachet of Nelly Mixture to mix myself, if I were curious about the process. If you'd like me to review the mixing process for you, gimme a shout in the comments and I'll let Hilary know! :D

'Til next time, curlettes! :-)

- Skye x


*Both nail polishes provided for honest review.