Blue China

Sort of?  You know, like those ubiquitous blue and white Chinese vases you see anyplace anyone wants to add a touch of “Asian fusion influence”?  Or maybe Wedgewood, another type of blue and white china (English-made, that one.)  Hmm, or perhaps a cross between the two.  Basically, I don’t know what I’m looking at here.

Except for some pretty fly floral nails!  I’m so pleased with how this manicure turned out, particularly as I only used three polishes, a neutral beige base, a dusty pale blue, and that stupendous indigo creme, Londontown‘s Lakur polish in Iconic.  I’ve mentioned in the past that I don’t find nail polish to be the easiest artistic medium to work with – it wants to dry out so quickly, I never feel like I have enough time to putter about, mix up my paints, try new techniques.  But I’ve been attempting to use my nail polish more like acrylic paints these days, and that’s how these lovely nails came about.  I particularly love the sweet little variegated petals on the roses, which were the result of dipping my detail brush first into the pale blue polish and then into the dark blue polish, before brushing the whole pretty, swirly mess onto my nails.  Feels a little more undone than my usual, and a lot more natural, too (you know, if blue roses existed outside of a giant plastic bucket filled with three dozen white roses and a metric ton of blue food colouring!)

Vengeance Will Be Mine!

And beautifully manicured nails will also be mine, thanks to a quartet of gorgeous lakur polishes from Londontown that arrived on my doorstep just in time for those first frosty Fall evenings.  I love these lakur polishes – they apply well, dry quickly and wear like the dickens, to say nothing of that megawatt, gel-like shine.  It’s the rare lacquer (and lakur) that handles nail art applications just as well as it does everyday wear.  And as always, these polishes are vegan-friendly and five (actually nine) free.

Londontown very kindly sent me these polishes – hues from Back With a Vengeance, their Fall 2018 collection – for my perusal and use, and so let’s do just that then, shall we?

First up, we have the showstopper of the Back With a Vengeance Collection, indigo blue creme Iconic.  I adore this colour; it’s so rich, vibrant and lush.  Also the exact hue of Dory the blue tang from the Finding Nemo movies. 😉  For this manicure I used two light coats of Iconic, though I probably could have gotten away with one.  It’s also worth noting that all four polishes brushed on smoothly, self-leveled nicely and stayed put – you don’t realize how important a feature that is in a nail polish until you’ve tried to clean up polish-saturated cuticles with a teeny little detail brush.  So three cheers for a polish that knows its place – on your nails and not your skin!

Londontown does pale purples very well, and grey-tinged Jane Austen is no exception.  By all rights, this creme polish should make you look like a cadaver, but somehow, it’s flattering, and so, so delicate.  I can almost picture Elizabeth Bennet wearing a devastatingly cleavage-y dress in this exact hue (rolling her eyes whilst being forced into an afternoon of needlepoint and pianoforte, but of course!)  For this manicure I used three coats of Jane Austen and, like all of the swatches shown here, I forwent the topcoat – no need when the base polish is this shiny and well behaved.

Next up we have the lone shimmer of the bunch, metallic Kissed by Rose Gold.  I really like these kinds of shimmers, the ones that look almost textured and a bit furry, but I think the name here might be a tad off – this polish is less rose gold and more rose platinum; as against my ultra pale skin tone, it definitely reads more silver than gold.  Here I’ve shown three light coats of Kissed by Rose Gold.

Saving the best for last, we have cherry red Vendetta!  This deep, almost blood red crimson creme is outstanding – a solid two-coater, and another one that really knew its place (vital when you’re dealing with stainy reds, which come to think of it, Vendetta was not.  Neither was Iconic, and typically nothing stains like a dark blue.  Huh.)  I just love a wickedly vampy red, and Vendetta is one of the better ones.

I’ve been so impressed with Londontown’s products, and here’s another handful of great polishes to join their already quite extensive lakur line – looking forward to seeing what they come out with next. 🙂  If you’d like to check out these polishes for yourself – heck, Londontown’s entire line of lacquers – you can find them here.  Happy polishing!

Londontown Looks

Closing out the week, as promised, with a couple of easy nail art looks using three of the polishes I received from Londontown, nude Cheerio, hyacinth Briolette and shimmery grey Opal.  These polishes are all so delicate-looking, I didn’t want to mess about with any design that felt too done.  As such, these manicures are very much not my usual!  But I actually love to sport the less-is-less look every now and then; it makes such a lovely change from my usual “It needs more cowbell” approach to nail art (and, indeed, life.)

Included in my nice little package of polishes and other nail care goodies was, in addition to some intoxicating-smelling cuticle oil, a bottle of Londontown’s kur protective topcoat.  I’m quite picky when it comes to my to my choice of topcoat – it’s pretty well Seche Vite or nothing (literally; I’m not sure I ever would have continued on with my first awful nail art efforts had it not been for Seche’s smoothing and soothing influence.)  But Londontown’s topcoat performed beautifully, drying quickly to a hard, glossy shine that didn’t drag on the delicate designs.  A worthy challenger to Seche for my nail art affections, absolutely, and another great product from Londontown.

Take Me to Londontown

Here’s a bit of excitement in this nail blogger’s world – I was recently sent this lovely package of polishes and nail care items from Londontown, an American company with a mind for natural, botanical beauty.  Featuring a gorgeous collection of vegan, 5-free polishes (“5-free” meaning the formula is free from the five major toxins you’ll commonly find in nail polish – toluene, formaldehyde, DBF, camphor and formaldehyde resin, in case you were curious) and essential oil-infused nail care products, Londontown’s got the natural, ethically-minded mani for you.

And for me!  Times four, as I tested out a quartet of Londontown’s lakur polishes (including two new shades from their summer 2018 collection) and an assortment of wonderfully-scented nail care items.  Later on in the week I’ll have some nail art for you featuring these lovely polishes, but until then, let’s take a closer look at this unexpected manna from the manicure heavens. 🙂

Every good mani requires a healthy start and a strong finish, and Londontown has seen to that as well with their kur line of vegan, gluten-free and cruelty-free nail care products.  I haven’t had much of a chance to live with the nail hardener & base coat or the protective top coat (those will both see a lot more work when I begin putting these polishes through their nail art paces) but I’ve been using the heck out of the nourishing cuticle oil, because it’s light, non-greasy and it smells fan-freakin-tastic – like an herb garden, heavy on the flowering lavender and thyme, warm from the sun.  Infused with what Londontown calls their Florium Complex, a proprietary blend of extracts and oils and other good-for-your-nails stuff, I’d purchase this great cuticle oil in a heartbeat.

And now, on to the pretty colours!  Up first at bat we have Cheerio, a delicate, pale wash of a hue that provides tons of shine while enhancing your natural nail colour – it’s your nails, only tidier!  She don’t look like much, but these kinds of non-colour colours always prove themselves quite useful, in applications ranging from clean, chic manicures to glittery jelly sandwich nail art.  I used three coats of Cheerio for this manicure, and like all of the swatches shown here, it’s presented au naturel – no topcoat to mess up all that lovely natural gloss.

Next up we have Briolette, one of the summer 2018 additions to the lakur polish line.  Briolette (a briolette is apparently a type of gemstone cut, like an elongated pear) is a beautiful pale lilac creme dusted with purple shimmer.  The purple shimmer is not super apparent on the nail, but it does lend Briolette a lovely sort of corona that makes this polish look like it’s glowing from within.  This is two and a smidge coats (the smidge coat representing one obstinate nail on which I always experience polish drag, and it really is such a drag.) 😉

Next we have Opal, the second of the summer 2018 polishes.  True to its name, this pale grey creme shines with ultra fine purple, pink and blue shimmer.  Opal is just a beautiful, beautiful polish, and so flattering.  The shimmer is most apparent out in the sun, but in lower lighting, that added bit of visual interest makes this polish look like stucco or plaster or some other hideously expensive wall treatment.  It also applied really well, in two light coats.

Sparkle and shine!

Finally, we have my favourite of the four polishes, juicy, popsicle red Guilty Pleasure.  This is the perfect summertime colour – lush, bright and so, so shiny!  I’ve been wearing Guilty Pleasure for three days now – a total rarity for me, but I’m carrying out some renovations to my apartment; little time to switch out my manis when I’m wrist-deep in floor leveler – and even without a base coat or a top coat, it’s holding up admirably well, with just the barest bit of wear.  Very nice.

As stated off the top, and because we have to do these sorts of things now, lest the Internet police come for all that sweet, sweet bloggin’ money I keep hearing so much about, Londontown very kindly sent me these items, presumably for my review and enjoyment, although they made no requests that I do either (“WE DEMAND THAT YOU LOVE THESE POLISHES!”)  So nobody’s holding a nail file to my kidneys to get me to say that I really liked these polishes, and I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase more.  Looking forward to seeing what this quartet can do in the nail art arena very soon.

If you’d like more information on Londontown – their business practices, their backstory – or to peruse their large collection of lakur polishes and kur nail care products, click here and tell ’em Finger Candy sent you!