grey - Lucy's Stash

Hello lovelies,

Fancy some more holographic polishes today? I've got one of the new China Glaze Hologlams here (more coming ;) glammed up with freehand white lace nail art. This post is quite picture heavy as it also includes review and swatches of the Galactic Gray alone so please click on the Read more link ;)

Lucy's Stash - China Glaze Galactic Gray lace nails

There's not really much to say about this look. I wanted to decorate the Galactic Gray polish and I thought I would try to paint some elegant lace :) I've used white acrylic paint and Viva La Nails brushes shown later in the post...

This picture was taken under artificial light. The holo effect is almost invisible and the polish looks very boring :(

These are the brushes I've used to paint the white lace. I've used the longer middle one for the mesh and the shorter one on the right for the arches and dots. They are nice to work with but the longest brush on the left is quite thick so I will be cutting off some of the bristles/hairs. These brushes are by Viva La Nails and can be purchased here. I'll show you more painting with these brushes in the future. *They were provided for review

Galactic Gray - dark grey base with holographic effect. As many of you, I was very excited that China Glaze is bringing back holographic collection (and the first sneak peak pics looked great!) this spring. Unfortunately the holo effect is not very strong even on the direct sunlight. Despite that I have picked up some of the Hologlam shades so I could review them.

The formula is better than with the OMG collection but it still has its weak points. It applies well until you go over the already painted place for the second time. It creates bald spots and streaks if you don't work fast enough because it dries quite fast. The pigmentation is slightly lower and I needed two thicker coats for good coverage.

Lucy's Stash - China Glaze Galactic Gray

Artificial light

Considering the low holo effect, formula and the higher price (as much as £16 as opposed to regular China Glaze polish that retails for £5-7) I wouldn't purchase again. I do have more Hologlam polishes though as I wanted to to show them to you and the swatches will be coming as soon as the sun decides to come out!

Hello lovelies,

I'd like to introduce you to a British brand called Bad Apple Cosmetics! I've discovered them just recently when I saw one of their pretty duochrome colours. I was fortunate enough to receive some samples for review so now I can show them to you!

Something about Bad Apple Cosmetics: 'The Bad Apple design was developed by Darren Woods who prides himself on being the sole designer of these exclusive colours. By drawing upon his extensive experience within the industry and from all the advice he has given to others about colours, he has finally been able to design and develop his own range of stunning nail varnishes. This Bad Apple range is based on 70s cars such as the TVR. Bad Apple nail varnishes are no drip, no chip and high gloss. Bad Apple Cosmetics do not contain Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP or Parabens.'

Come on, click on the Read more link, you know you want to see more!

3D Cape - grey shimmer base with pink and magenta duochrome shimmer. This polish is a part of the 3D collection full of duochrome shades. Although it doesn't look like it in the pictures, this polish has lovely duochrome effect. The colour changes from pinkish purple shimmer to olive green but it's not too strong. It applied very easily and I needed two coats for full coverage. I generally don't have any problem with this polish and I have used the Bad Apple Top & Base coat.

Lucy's Stash - Bad Apple Cosmetics 3D Cape

Alkmene - frosty cotton candy pink with glass fleck particles. This was my least favourite shade I must admit as the finish and the formula were not up to scratch. It was easy to apply but very streaky so I had to pay a lot of attention when painting nails. The pigmentation is slightly lower so I have applied three coats. There are small particles that look to me like glass flecks in the polish which cause the finish uneven and they look like imperfections. If this is intentional then I don't think it was a good choice.

Lucy's Stash - Bad Apple Cosmetics Alkmene

Bad Bad - classic black creme. This is a good black polish that has good formula. I was happy with the pigmentation as one thick coat provided full coverage. It applied very easily and dried quite fast. It dries slightly satin so topcoat is needed if you want glossy look.

Lucy's Stash - Bad Apple Cosmetics Bad Bad

Barn - bright pink base with fuchsia shimmer. This is a really lovely summer polish and it is much brighter in real life! Its pigmentation is excellent, it is almost one coater. I have applied two coats just to ensure full coverage. It applied very easily and dried fast.

Misty - dark blue-grey creme shade. It has really great formula that applies easily and dries fast. It is almost one-coater but I have applied second coat for perfect coverage. I've sealed the whole manicure with Bad Apple Top & Base Coat.

Lucy's Stash - Bad Apple Cosmetics Misty

I have applied Bad Apple Top & Base Coat under and over each polish. It has thin formula that flows well. I always compare everything to Seche Vite topcoat as you know. The BA Top & Base Coat dries slower than Seche yet sufficiently fast for me to use over swatches or nail art. I will be using this topcoat when I don't need extra fast drying and thick coat. It dries very glossy which I liked a lot.

I was curious about how the 3D Red Cape and Alkmene look over black so I have layered them over Bad Bad.

Each nail polish bottle is round shape and has 14ml and good wide brush. It is not as wide as OPI brush but it still provides good nail coverage.

I liked some of the shades a lot, especially 3D Cape and Misty and I am really thinking about getting some of the other 3D duochrome shades. I was quite disappointed that the formulas weren't consistent and they changed from polish to polish. I would really like to see well-pigmented consistent formula in the future as I quite like the concept of this brand. I will however give Bad Apple another chance! Support British brands I say :)

You can purchase Bad Apple polishes at the Cheap Smells website for really good prices or directly at the Bad Apple Cosmetics website. They also sell nail wraps so if you're into them check them out too!