Friday 28 March 2014

A England - Order of the Garter

Hey guys!  So, I have to confess one of my deep dark secrets to you all.  I am a picker!  Now, I'm not talking about a nose picker, I'm talking about a polish picker.  If I have chips or indents or imperfections I tend to pick my nails.  I've come a LONG way as I can control myself most times, but I used to bite and pick my nails constantly.  Previously I was very much the sort to just "trim" my nails with my teeth.  Who needs a nail file, eh?

So I was wearing gel under my last mani and apparently I did a terrible job because I went too close to my skin with the gel in many areas and it was lifting.  And...so starts the obsessing.  I noticed myself starting to peel at it with my nails so I took a cuticle stick and peeled the gel off my nails.  Definitely not the best or smartest way to do it, but it was intensely satisfying.  I don't think I peeled any of my actual nail off, but I definitely shouldn't have done that without my peel off basecoat underneath.  So now that I've spilled my dirty little secret, on to the polish! 

Swatch Review A England Order of the Garter Glass Fleck HK Girl Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter A-Peel
A England Order of the Garter

 I actually put this on yesterday over the gel base, but it was thin, patchy and streaky even with three thin coats.  Let me tell you I was not impressed as the other A Englands I've worn in the past were super smooth and some of them one-coaters.  So, in the end I peeled off everything and decided I'd try again today.
Swatch Review A England Order of the Garter Glass Fleck HK Girl Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter A-Peel
A England Order of the Garter
This time I let the polish sit with the lid unscrewed but still on top of the bottle and let it thicken a bit overnight.  This is three coats of A England Order of the Garter and one coat of HK Girl topcoat over a base of Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter A-Peel.  I used one thin coat and two thicker coats to get the opacity here.

Swatch Review A England Order of the Garter Glass Fleck HK Girl Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter A-Peel
A England Order of the Garter
The first coat was very sheer and patchy and even though I waited for 15 minutes between the first and second coat this time there was still some dragging and with the third coat I ended up getting a few bubbles.  Even though the application was less than stellar, I'm glad I tried again because it's worth it for this gorgeous blue glass-fleck polish.  It's a stunning blue and I'm a sucker for anything that adds dimension to the polish like shimmer or glass-flecks.

Do you own any A England polishes?  A England polishes can be purchased online at my favourite Canadian e-tailer Nail Polish Canada, prices are around $13.50 regular price and shipping is currently free as of this blog post date.