NOTD Butter London Teddy Girl & An Attempt At Some Nail Art

A quick post on one of the shades I mentioned in a recent pink polish post, Butter London's Teddy Girl. I've been really into pink nail colours lately and Teddy Girl, which is a milky, opaque pink has been one of my favourites. 

It's not the easiest of shades to apply and I find it takes three coats of colour to get an even finish. I think it's worth it though, as it's a pretty shade.  

I actually painted my nails with Teddy Girl on Saturday and came across a watercolour nail art post on Makeup Savvy on Sunday, which I decided to try. I'm normally quite rubbish at any sort of nail art, but the tutorial and instructions looked easy enough, so I got out a few more Butter London shades and gave it a go. 

The whole sandwich bag/smooshing process was easy enough, but the end result wasn't quite as pretty as results posted in the tutorial.....

I'm not really sure where I went wrong, but the effect doesn't look half as good the result in the tutorial (it does look a bit better from a distance). Maybe I need to use less polish next time, or practice my smooshing technique? Anyway, although my attempt didn't look quite pretty as I was hoping, I have to say, I'm quite liking the whole watercolour effect, and will definitely be giving it another go/practicing with some different colour combinations.

Also, I just wanted to say that the Clarins Lipstick giveaway is now closed. The winner will chosen using random.org tomorrow, and the original post will be updated with the winners name. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Butter London Sweetie Shop Swatches: Cuppa, Jasper & Fruit Machine

Another post on some more of the shades I picked up recently from Butter London's Spring 2013 Sweetie Shop collection. I've already posted about some of the colours (Molly Coddled, Kerfuffle and Fiver) here, and managed to photograph the other three pretty pastels from the collection over the weekend.

Butter London: Cuppa, Jasper & Fruit Machine

In my last post, I mentioned that some of the colours from Butters Spring collection have been a bit difficult to apply and that I've had a few problems getting used to the stubbier and slightly wider than I'm used to brush. I did have a few problems with a couple of these shades too, but as I've already said, these are still some of the best pastels I've tried in terms of application and finish, and I'm really quite pleased with how well Butter's formula wears.

Butter London Cuppa

Cuppa - A clean, light beige nude creme. I found Cuppa the easiest to apply out of the six shades from the collection. I had some slight streaks going on with the first coat, but managed to get an even, streak finish with a second coat of colour.

Butter London Jasper

Jasper - A bright, buttercup yellow. Jasper is actually the first yellow polish I've tried. I've heard that yellows can be a bit difficult to apply evenly and I did have a few issues with this one. The first and second coats left me with some streaks, so I added a third coat of colour and topped it off with a coat of Seche to even everything out.

Butter London Fruit Machine

Fruit Machine - A bright and punchy baby pink creme. Like a few of the other shades from the collection, I found Fruit Machine to be on the thick side. I applied 2 coats of colour, but found I still had a few streaks, so added a third. 

Butter London Sweetie Shop Collection. Photo taken outdoors in shade

Overall, I really am pleased with all of the shades from the collection, despite the few application issues I've had with some of the colours. They're all very pretty, cheerful shades and I'd definitely recommend checking them out if pastels are your thing. I've been sporting Jasper and Cuppa on my nails over the past couple of weeks and I imagine I'll be reaching for the other chirpy colours a lot over the coming months.

Butter London Sweetie Shop Swatches: Molly Coddled, Kerfuffle & Fiver

I picked up the shades from Butter London's Spring 2013 Sweetie Shop collection a couple of weeks ago, but have been waiting to swatch them for a couple of different reasons. The first is that the weather's been cold, dreary and miserable lately and not very Spring-like, and the second is, I'm still getting to grips with Butter's formulation, which is slightly thicker than I'm used to.

Butter London Molly Coddled, Kerfuffle & Fiver

I've been favouring Leighton Denny nail colours lately, which are much thinner than the Butter shades I picked up and easier to work with. The Butter brush has also taken a bit of getting used to, as it's stubbier and slightly wider than the Leighton Denny brush, and I find it a little bit more difficult to control. Anyway, some swatches of three of the shades from the collection...

Butter London Molly Coddled

Molly Coddled - A creamy lavender. This is one of the shades from the collection that I found to be slightly thick. I got the best, most even application when I applied two, thin coats of coats of colour. 

Butter London Kerfuffle

Kerfuffle - A soft creamy peachy/pale coral. Again, I found the formula to be on the thick side and did find Kerfuffle slightly difficult to apply, but I did get an even, opaque finish with two coats of carefully applied colour. 

Butter London Fiver

Fiver -  An icy mint green. I managed to get an opaque coverage with two coats, but the finish wasn't as smooth as I'd have liked, so i added a third after taking the photo above. I do absolutely love the colour, though!

While I've had a few application issues with some of the shades, I'm still completely in love with all of the colours from the Sweetie Shop collection. I'd been lusting after a minty green polish for quite a while, so Fiver is definitely my favourite of the bunch. They're all very pretty, though. 

I think the formula/brush problems I've been having are maybe more down to me than the formulation, as I'm used to other brand's formulas that I find slightly easier to apply. Overall, I've not had any major problems with any of the shades, and I have to say, they're probably the best pastels I've tried in terms of application and finish. The shades I've done full manicures with seem to wear/last well too. I got a good 4 days of wear with Fiver and Cuppa with Orly's Bonder used as a base and Seche as a top coat, which isn't bad at all. 

I did attempt to swatch the other three shades at the same time (Cuppa, Jasper & Fruit machine) so I could put them all in the same post, but the sun decided to disappear half way through swatching, so I'll post some photos of those in the next couple of days.

All Set For Spring With Butter London's Sweetie Shop Collection

Butter London Sweetie Shop Collection

For Spring, Butter London have released a collection of 6 soft, creamy pastel nail shades inspired by the 50s. I have to say, I've never really been a big fan of pastel shades (application issues), but Butter's collection really took my fancy, and seeing as I had no similar shades in my stash, I nabbed the set of pretty colours.

Butter London Sweetie Shop Collection

The Butter London description: Flaunt your femininity with our new, bespoke collection of pastel nail lacquers. Inspired by the 50s, these soft shades will conjure up images of cotton candy, milkshakes and macarons. So go ahead, show off your sweet side! 
 

Butter London Molly Coddled, Kerfuffle & Fiver

Molly Coddled - A pretty, creamy lavender. I find the formula slightly thick, but did get a nice opaque finish with 2 coats.

Kerfuffle - A soft creamy peachy/pale coral. I had a few application issues with this one and find I get the best results with 3, thin coats of colour.

Fiver - An icy mint green shade. Possibly my favourite of the bunch colour and application wise. I got a smooth, opaque finish with 2 coats.

Butter London Cuppa, Jasper & Fruit Machine

Cuppa - A clean, light beige nude creme. I managed to get a streak free, even application with 2 coats.

Jasper - A bright, buttercup yellow. I also find I get the best results with this shade when I apply three, thin coats.

Fruit Machine - Bright and punchy baby pink creme. No application issues with this one. I get a smooth, shiny, streak free finish with 2 coats of colour.

Butter London Cuppa, Kerfuffle, Fruit Machine, Molly Coddled, Fiver & Jasper

All 2 coats of colour in the nail wheel swatches apart from Kerfuffle and Jasper, which are 3. I managed to completely nubbinize my nails recently (a reshaping session that went horribly wrong), so decided to leave the nail swatches for today, I'll post some photos of what the shades look like applied in the next few days, though.

The shades from the Sweetie Shop collection are the first colours I've actually tried from Butter. I'd heard lots of great things about the brand, but wasn't sure what to expect with the formula. I must admit, I do find application to be a tricky and the formula a tiny bit thick with a couple of the shades, but overall, I am quite impressed. All of the colours dry to an incredibly glossy finish, and the two shades I've done a full manicure with (Fiver and Cuppa) both wore really well. I personally love all of the colours from the collection, and the names actually, and I imagine I'll be reaching for the shades a lot over the coming months.