Review: Butter London 'Knackered'

Butter London has always been a brand that I have had my eye on, even back when it was only sold in the U.S and I envied the shades I saw featured in countless American NOTDs. So when I spied a Butter London stand in my local Boots, I couldn't resist picking up one of the most unique shades they have to offer. Knackered was the obvious first choice for me, as any iridescent, chameleon-like shade that surprises me with a different colour when the lighting changes has my name written all over it.

This choice definitely didn’t disappoint, with the colours visible ranging from silver to teal to lilac, always with pretty micro glitter running through. The only single negative to this is how difficult it was to photograph! However, the effect is beautiful and has a galaxy look about it, with the tiny glitter particles and metallic shine.

The application of this polish is a dream, with a chunky brush meaning effortless nail painting. The only slight drawback is that around 3 coats are needed for full opacity, however, because of the streak free application, this takes no time at all and is definitely worth it. To create a more dramatic look, Knackered can be used as an iridescent topcoat over darker polishes, however, for the summer months, I love the look of a sheer iridescent hue.

Do you own any Butter London polishes that I should add to my wish list?

Speckled Egg Nails

As soon as Illamasqua came out with these speckled nail polishes in their 'I'mperfection' collection last year, I fell in love with them and couldn't resist buying one.
Choosing one out of the collection of beautiful Spring candy colours was no easy task, but I eventually went for 'Scarce', which is a beautiful muted candy pink. Since Spring has sprung, I dug out this polish again to add a cute Easter touch to my nails.

In the bottle, I was worried that the pale shade may result in streaks galore, however the formulation is thankfully the usual Illamasqua quality, with two coats giving a completely opaque finish.
I always keep up (from a distance, given my student budget) with the Illamasqua collections, as the concepts behind them are always so interesting, and I love the focus of the idea of 'imperfection' in this one. When I wear this polish, I can't stop looking at my nails, but, be warned, as this can lead to a craving for mini eggs!

What's your favourite Spring nail polish?

NOTD: beginners nail art

Nail art has always been an aspect of beauty that I have steered clear of and just admired from a distance on Instagram accounts and other blogs, despite being an obsessive collector of nail polishes. However, this changed when I was recently lured in by a 'buy one get one half price' offer on the Barry M stand and decided to invest in a black and white nail art pen. For my first attempt I went for a simple black leopard print pattern on a neutral base (Essie's Chinchilly), with a bit of glitter (Nails Inc's Rainbow Street) added in the markings for good measure.

I found the Barry M pen to be very easy to use and would certainly recommend it for other beginners, as it resembles a thin nib permanent marker pen, meaning the application feels more like a doodle on the nails than fiddly artwork.The nib applies just the right amount of polish in the perfect thickness, and has excellent longevity; well outlasting the nail polishes underneath, so, overall a must have for those in awe of nail art designs.

I will report back when I have spent more 'should-be-revision-time' trying some more designs using the white pen too, and having probably made a wishlist of more nail arty bits!