a-england Polish Review

a-england created by Adina Bodana was launched in January of this year.  I was reading an article about Adina and her new brand in one of my professional publications and was intrigued to read that her dream stemmed from being a little girl who loved to paint her nails with water colours.  This passion for beautiful things led into a fantastic fashion career working with some of the leaders in fashion.   Adina, who originates from Italy made England her home some years ago and her fascination with English history grew from there.  The collection, called The Mythicals, has brought together her two passions; polish and England.

The collection so far consists of 15 colour polishes, a base and top coat.  All the polish names are inspired by English mythology, hence the collection's name.

Of course, I would love to buy all the polishes simply from seeing the pictures on Adina's website and some of those posted by a number of beauty bloggers.  However, I managed, after much deliberation, to narrow it down to 3; a light cream, a dark cream and one with a gorgeous sparkle to it.  I do find the best way to test a brand is to go for a light, dark and a textured polish as you can hopefully see how the polish will perform across the board (in my opinion).

Formula - in 2 words, LOVED IT!  As a nail technician, and fan of quality polishes, I have tried quite a few different brands and I can say that this is a hit with me.  All 3 colours went on beautifully; smooth, great coverage, good level of pigmentation and the gloss finish is amazing (especially on Lancelot).  What I particularly liked about this formula was the kind of self-levelling ability it had making application look flawless in 3 strokes.  The pigmentation was so good in all 3 colours that you could get away with one coat.  However, as I always say, to get the best coverage and longer lasting wear, apply 2 thin coats making sure you use a base and top coat to sandwich it all together.  I didn't get the chance to try the base and topcoat from the range, but if the polishes are anything to go by then I would invest in these to try them out as a full manicure/pedicure treatment.

Bottle & brush - I love the look of these polishes, they are simple and classic.  The 13ml bottle size and square shape sits nicely in the palm of my hand when polishing nails in the salon.  The brush is round and just the right length to get good coverage in 2-3 strokes across the nail.  It fans out nicely in a controlled manner with the bristles staying neat on the nail. I also like the length and width of the cap as it gives me better control. A quality, well thought out, bottle and brush.

OK, so what did I go for. 
[The pictures taken below were all in natural indoor light and the polish was applied in 2 coats of colour with a base coat to start.  I left the top coat off so you could see just how glossy they are.]

Guinevere - a light, dusky lilac with grey undertones (a-england's description - beautiful elegant antique pale mauve the newest neutral shade already a classic).  This is my kind of colour as I am a bit of a purple/lilac/mauve fan.  This is a lovely shade that is indeed very elegant to wear.  The grey undertone gives it that sophisticated look, as lilac and purple can be a bit in your face for some, but not this one.  If I'm honest the picture below still looks a little more towards the lilac than it actually is.  It has more warmth than it truly shows here.  I can see myself wearing this all year round.

Guinevere

Tristam - one word 'WOW'.  A denim blue which is shot through with tiny silver glitter particles enabling this gorgeous look without a rough finish (a-england's description - night blue sky with starlight glimmer and glow).   I saw this on the website and couldn't choose between Lady of the Lake and Tristam, but my fascination with blue polish (although I love purple, which Lady of the lake is with the same sparkle as Tristam) took over and I decided Tristam needed to be mine.  It applies like a dream and 1 coat covers amazingly well.  This will look fantastic on toes, especially when the sun hits the glitter within it.  A must-buy!

Tristam

Lancelot - don't be fooled this is not black.  This is a black, plum/red colour (a-england's description - intriguing mysterious black red garnet).  I can see this being a go-to dark polish for those chic dinner dates and that office-to-party look that so many of us need on a Friday (I say us, I mean you as my young son has a better social life than me!).  The gloss is phenomenal on this one, even without a top coat and as mentioned above, the formula made it a breeze to apply.  I would probably keep this for the Fall/Winter, but it does make me wish away the summer months so I can start wearing this!

Lancelot

Overall - This polish range is going places.  This easily competes with the bigger, more well established brands, if not blows some out the water.  You can tell Adina has put a lot of thought and effort into the formula and colour selections for this collection, which will hopefully see her brand sky rocket.  I look forward to trying some more of the beautiful colours in the coming months, along with the base and top coat (and hopefully adding this to my existing brands in the salon and, maybe with permission, to my up and coming web shop too).  Well done to Adina and all the best for the future!

Product descriptions taken from the a-england website www.a-england.co.uk
Polishes are 13ml and retail at £9.00 each in the UK.


[All reviews are based on my own opinion and trials in my salon in North Wales, UK.  No other third party companies have been involved at any stage.]

CND Jason Wu Collection

I thought I would share with you a collection I have been looking forward to trying, which is the collaboration between Jason Wu and Creative Nail Design (CND).

CND already have a fantastic line of polishes called Colour & Effects, which has 50 creme colours and 15 effects ranging from pearls to sparkles.  You can create over 800 different looks with these (one of my favourites being Sapphire Sparkle over Blackjack - gives a starry night a run for it's money!). The formula is fantastic with a good level of pigmentation. The application is made easy with the flat brush, which is just the right size to do 3 even strokes over the nail plate. The coverage is brilliant in just one coat, but I always recommend 2 thin coats over a base coat and finish with top coat. It also doesn't dry so quickly that you can't adjust the coverage to get that perfect finish. 

So, on to the Jason Wu collection. This has 3 creme colours, 1 creme colour with a subtle sheen and 1 effect polish that gives a textured matte finish. These kind of textured effects are getting more and more popular and as Fall approaches, we will see this out and about on the fashionistas long after the novelty of crackle has worn off. Don't get me wrong crackle has it's place, but I have to be in a fun quirky mood to pull a crackle off.

The colour swatches
All swatches have been applied with 1 coat of base coat, then 2 coats of colour - no top coat applied.

Miss Wu - a soft & warm, light grey with a subtle silver sheen running through it (CND's description - Jason's signature grey). It dries to a matte finish, but you can gloss it up by adding a top coat if you wish.  This is a beautiful year-round colour that is a great addition to your neutral nail wardrobe.

Brigette - a warm, pinky taupe (CND's description - lingerie-nude, flushed-cheek tone).  This is extremely wearable. This fits nicely into the greige category of polishes that have been on the market since late summer last year (first time I saw it anyway).  This a beautiful neutral, and fast becoming a favourite of mine.  I can see this being a repeat purchase and a client must-have.

Sophia - a warm mocha with grey undertones (CND's description - voluptuous cappuccino, warm, smooth milk-chocolate tone).  This a darker neutral which goes with everything. This kind of colour, along with Brigette, are my go-to colours if I'm just not sure what to wear, or if I need that sophisticated polished to perfection look - great for work!

Veronica - a warm, dark, berry red (CND's description - wanton garnet, precious pomegranate-seed tone).  This is not for the faint hearted. However, this is a very chic red, which has a dramatic effect when on the nail. The gloss on this one is amazing. Expect lots of compliments. Purrrr!

And finally...

Anna - this is the effect within the range and is described as adding a 'featherised' matted effect to any colour. CND says 'The superfine particles add a glint of texture for a tastefully tweeded effect'. I added the effect over the 4 cremes, and did a close up of one nail, so you can see how this effect looks.

Without Anna Effect              With Anna Effect

The effect takes some getting used to as it is so different from the gloss and other mattes we have become accustomed to.  But over the last few days I have grown to rather like this unique little number.

Close up of Sophia with Anna Effect

I just wanted to add that the pictures don't quite do the polishes justice, as the poor lighting has made them seem darker than they really are.  But as this is my first picture blog I will work on it to bring you as true to life swatches as I possibly can (a bit more like some of the seasoned bloggers I follow, e.g. the Swatchaholic - love her work!). 

Overall, I think this collection is an absolute hit. The 4 colours are a wonderful mix of chic hues to suit different occasions, with a sophisticated nod to fashion.  I don't doubt that these will see us right through the seasons and hopefully into the core Colour & Effects range.  Well done CND and Jason Wu.

The collection retails at £49.50  in the UK and comes boxed with an information booklet.

Introduction - My first blog!

Hello and welcome to my new blog site dedicated to sharing news, reviews and updates relating to all things hands, feet and nails.

I trained as a nail technician after years of working in HR Management and have now created my own salon and soon to be online store with all my favourite brands.  The website also has advice and tips on how to get the best from the products and with detailed pictures and videos of how to apply them you can't go wrong.  My aim is to help everyone get the hands, feet and nails they desire!

I love talking about, reading about, testing and wearing nail polishes in every colour and texture.  I love sharing photos of my work and raving about others so expect lots of pictures as I am literally addicted! 

My new vice is nail art, there are some amazing artists out there, which really inspired me to have a go.  I tend to cheat and use the Konad nail art materials.  It's so easy and really effective.  I will create some videos soon using the Konad system so you can see how easy it really is.  The products will be available on the website too!  I am hoping to graduate to freehand designs as soon as I can get some more practise time in.

Please do leave me comments about the posts as I like to know what you think and if you have any requests for things you would like to see on the blog, drop me a line.

Bye for now x