A England Crown of Thistles

When swatches of the A England Elizabeth & Mary collection started popping up, I really wanted the entire collection, since all the polishes are so unique and stunning as I've come to expect from that brand.  Unfortunately I couldn't afford the entire collection, but there was one polish I knew I had to have: Crown of Thistles.  

This polish is the most amazingly vibrant rich orchid with a smooth holo, and it covered in one perfectly smooth coat.  I absolutely love this!  

Have you picked up any polishes from the newest A England Collection yet?  Did you fall for this beauty like I did?  :) 

Christmas Day Mani

Hello!  I hope that everyone who celebrated had a great Christmas!  My day was alright; it was my first year not being able to spend Christmas with my family, so it was a bit sad.  We did have a get-together with a few friends which was nice, but it just isn't the same as being at home.  However, those of you who follow me on IG (@emmaclarem) will know that I adopted my first-ever pet just over a week ago, which has definitely been keeping my spirits and excitement up.  I got a little 11-month-old boy tuxedo cat; he's such a cutie, and a total lap cat!  I love him to bits!  Anywho, let's get on to what you came here for - the nails!

I was a bit short on time (as always these days) so I decided to re-make my favourite Christmas mani from last year, with a couple little changes. 

My index and thumb started with a base of OPI Live and Let Die, and the rest have a base of Picture Polish Moscow.  My pinky got a coat of WingDust Collections Gilt-y Pleasure, while my thumb (forgot a picture - oops!) got two gold studs.  I added dots in Essie Good as Gold on my index finger, and then stamped with that same gold in the snowflake pattern from BM-323 on the remaining two nails.  All nails are topped off with a coat of Seche Vite.  

I really love the mix of patterns and finishes here; what do you think?  Do you have a favourite nail from this skittlette?  :)  

Winter Floral

Hello!  Just dropping in with a mani that I did a couple weeks ago, inspired by the pattern on one of my Fossil iPhone cases. 

I started off with a base of LaCC 1974, and then added the flowers in colours I had that best matched the original design.  The polishes I used for the dots are A England Crown of Thistles (purple, swatch coming soon), LaCC 1941 (red), LaCC 1966 (teal), and LaCC 1981 (nude). 

After painting the random dots after the pattern on my case, I decided to turn them into little abstract flowers.  To do that, I just used a dotting tool to add three little dots in Essie Good As Gold in the middle of each blob.  It's all topped off with a coat of LaCC 2013 top coat.  

Although I didn't have polishes to match al the colours to the case exactly, I was still pretty happy with how this turned out.  I got quite a few compliments on the little abstract flowers, and they were super quick to do as well!  What do you think?  :)

Yule Light Up My Life

Just a quick swatch post today with one of my favourite holiday looks to wear pre-December, since it's festive but doesn't absolutely scream Christmas.  Take a look!

This is one coat of Serum No.5 Yule Light Up My Life over one coat of OPI Live and Let Die.  Amazingly smooth and even application on the glitter (yay!), and it's topped with a coat of Seche Vite.  

This glow-in-the-dark glitter topper was part of last year's holiday trio set from Serum No.5, Lacquer Lust, and Polished by KPT, so unfortunately I believe it's no longer available.  Were you able to snatch up this beauty last year?  :)  It's definitely one of my favourite Christmas glitters!