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As April winds down, I’m getting to try the last of these sprinkly/speckled polishes I own. I’ve finished the ones from Illamasqua, then Lippmann, and now this collection with Nails Inc. Topping Lane (Sprinkles) is a candy pink creme with fuchsia, purple and silvery-white small hex glitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. I’m so used to dealing with this sort of glitter-loaded creme formula by now that I have an easy time with it. Like the others I tried before it, this gave me full coverage in two coats, with some minor touching up in between. I can’t say that this immediately makes me think of cupcakes or ice cream, but what struck me when I first looked at the finished mani was how girly it is! The pink and purple together just makes me think of Barbie…like a Barbie-themed birthday cake! I paired this with Sally Hansen Night Hydrangea (Salon) on my toes.
<3sarah
This is definitely the polish that piqued my interest in this confection-like finish. I bought it last year but I’m finally trying it now. Nails Inc. Sweets Way (Sprinkles) is a milky white creme with bright sky blue, light pink, and white small hex glitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. On the first coat, the white base seemed like it would be really sheer, but it builds to opacity in three. It also applied smoothly, despite being loaded with glitter. I know all that glitter means it will be a pain to remove, but this is so pretty that it’s totally worth it! I love the combination of pink, blue and white; it looks really sweet and makes me think of cotton candy. I catch myself looking at my nails a lot. 
I’ve actually had this on since Sunday! Normally I would have changed my NOTD by today, but this is so hard wearing (I know I have a difficult removal ahead of me) and I like the look so much that I kept it on. I paired this with Essie Sweet Talker on my toes.
<3sarah
After trying Sugar House Lane from this collection back in March, I was really looking forward to wearing the rest. These came out last year, but it seems fitting that I’m only trying them this year, alongside all the new speckled/sprinkled polishes. Nails Inc. Pudding Lane (Sprinkles) is a bold sky blue creme with purple and chartreuse small hex glitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was really loaded with glitter so it applied thickly, but it did give me full coverage in two coats. The finish isn’t so rough, so one coat of topcoat leaves it reasonably smooth, but two will give it that glassy feel. For me, this color palette doesn’t really inspire thoughts of puddings, but I love the overall look. I don’t really think of purple and green as colors that go together with blue, but this all works! The sky blue creme base is lovely; it’s pretty and bold and bright (It actually does remind me of the type of color you’d see in cake frosting). The purple and chartreuse glitters complement each other nicely as well. I paired this with Illamasqua Radium on my toes.
<3sarah
I can’t even remember when I bought these polishes but I’m finally getting around to trying this unique finish. I’m saving the rest for April but this month I’ll start with Nails Inc. Sugar House Lane (Sprinkles), a beige creme base loaded with small black and pearly white hex glitter:
Picture taken in weak sunlight. The formula was nicely thick, and despite being a creme base saturated with glitter (you get a lot of it with each brushstroke), it applied pretty smoothly. I used just two coats for full coverage. It dries a bit flat on its own. I used just one coat of topcoat, but two would be needed to achieve a smoother feel. I love this finish! I haven’t worn anything like it before. I especially love the incorporation of the black glitter. This is a really fun twist on a “boring” neutral (I wouldn’t call it work-safe!) With the name and that cupcake sticker on the bottlecap, it has me thinking of bakery treats. I paired this with Sally Hansen Raven’s Wing (Salon) on my toes.
<3sarah
I’m wearing this polish to complete trying the set, but it turned out to be the perfect festive mani for the championship weekend of the Australian Open. After watching Victoria Azarenka prevail and defend her title and World No. 1 ranking on Saturday, this morning I watched Novak Djokovic win his third Australian Open championship in a row, and fourth overall, for a total of six grand slams so far. 
Nails Inc. Soho Street (The After Party Set) definitely reflects my celebratory mood. It’s a multicolored, different-sized hex glitter in a clear base. I was already wearing Disco Lane, and after two days I had virtually no tipwear, so I saved myself some time and just layered the glitter over it:
Picture taken in sunlight. I added two coats of Soho Street to my full mani of Disco Lane. It’s definitely a rough, glittery surface but I still just used one coat of topcoat. Two or more would be needed to smooth it out. I haven’t yet tried all of the “party glitters” I own, but this is definitely already one of my favorites. It’s actually pretty dense, so after two coats I got a nice, even spread of glitter all over the nail. I think the coverage is pretty impressive, because I don’t see the type of small, regular glitter that would fill in the spaces, only two sizes of hex glitter. I love the true multicolored-ness of it all. When I look at it, even from a distance, I see all the bright pops of color (especially against the black background.) This one definitely doesn’t look silver overall. There’s pink, blue, red, and green glitter, with just a bit of silver and gold. No one color dominates, so I don’t even know what category to put it under. This is definitely another one I can’t help but stare at; it’s just so pretty! It makes me think of those Australia Day fireworks. I paired this with OPI Festive Fuchsia on my toes.
<3sarah
After trying Covent Garden Market and loving it so much, I definitely wasn’t gonna let too much time pass before trying the rest of the set. Nails Inc. Disco Lane (The After Party Set) is a black with holographic glitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well; I used two coats for full coverage. I normally use topcoat anyway, but this polish definitely needs it for appearance’s sake. On its own it dries to a very dull, flat finish. The topcoat illuminates all that holographic glitter. If you prefer a glassy smooth-feeling surface, more than one coat of topcoat would be needed, because with just a single coat it’s still rough. I still like this polish, but am a bit disappointed that it didn’t quite turn out as cool as it looks in the bottle. I knew from the start that this was only a holographic glitter and not a linear holo (as it appears in the bottle, somehow). What I was expecting was it to be more glittery, because it seems absolutely loaded with the stuff. I think perhaps the creamy black base is too opaque. It’s great that I only had to do two coats, but I don’t think it lets the holographic glitter really shine through, and that’s why it looks bumpy. All things said, this is still a lovely polish, when viewed in the light. The different colors of holographic glitter really look great when they catch the light, and especially against the black background. I paired this with Nails Inc. Trafalgar Square on my toes.
<3sarah
I may have tried another red glitter just a couple of manis ago, but this is a different animal. My last glitterbomb of the year is a sure stunner. Nails Inc. Covent Garden Market (The After Party Set) is a bright ruby red glitter packed in a clear base:
Picture taken in sunlight. (I actually did this mani yesterday but it’d have been a shame to not photograph this without decent light.) There’s a sticker on the bottle cap that says this is a full coverage glitter, and that claim is definitely accurate! I got full coverage in two coats. While still wet, the glitter tends to get pushed to the nail tip with a normal brush stroke, so I filled in bald spots between coats with a dabbing motion instead. I also painted and did cleanup on each nail one by one, since wet glitter is much easier to manipulate. The formula was good, though it did thicken up as I continued to use it, as is typical of this kind of glitter. It does dry flat on its own, but even a single coat of topcoat will bring out its lovely depth. (More coats of topcoat would be needed to achieve a glassy smooth surface.) This is probably the best clear-based glitter I’ve ever tried! Not only does it achieve full coverage in only two coats, but both the color and finish are gorgeous! This shade of red is not just bright, but very vibrant. It has this glow that I don’t typically see in glitterbomb finishes. Obviously it sparkles beautifully under bright light, but it still looks so dimensional even in low light. It’s not obvious on the finished mani, but there are different sizes of glitter in there. It may only be small and smaller sizes, but this subtle difference goes a long way in making the overall finish more interesting. This polish looks so glamorous and sexy; it’s definitely distracting because I find myself staring at my nails too often. I paired this with China Glaze Little Drummer Boy on my toes.
<3sarah
I was planning to wear this polish over the final weekend of the Championships, watching Novak Djokovic play to defend his crown in the title match. Sadly, I did not get the result I was hoping for in the semifinals, but in the spirit of all things British, I’ll wear the polish anyway. Nails Inc. Baker Street is a electric royal blue creme:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well in two coats. It can be prone to cuticle drag, but it’s still highly pigmented. I love this color! I think it may be my favorite true-blue creme, along with Illamasqua Force. The color looks perfectly rich and saturated, plus I didn’t expect it to be this bright! It’s more than just bright; it’s not exactly a neon, but it has this electric vibrancy to it, similar to what I saw in Illamasqua Jo’Mina. When I bought this polish I just knew I would end up using it during Wimbledon; I can’t think of anything else but the Union Jack when I look at it (I know the blue in that flag is closer to a navy, but I just automatically made that association with this color). I paired this with Essie Limited Addiction on my toes.
I’ve been taking these Djokovic-Nadal finals for granted, since that’s what we’ve had in the last four slams. But instead of No. 1 and No. 2 on Sunday, we’ll see No. 3, Roger Federer, vs. No. 4, Andy Murray. This is the first time that neither Djokovic nor Nadal have been in a slam final since the 2010 Australian Open, which was contested by none other than Federer and Murray. I remember that was a pretty embarrassing loss for Andy but I’m hoping that he can stop being so passive and actually beat Fed this time. I’m not a fan of Murray (since I’ve conditioned myself to root against him when he and Djokovic were closer in the rankings), but now I’m forced to root for him (side note: I feel weird saying “root for/against” ever since I found out what “root” means in Aussie slang) because I don’t want Federer to win and take back the No. 1 ranking. So on Sunday I’ll be hoping that Andy Murray can help preserve Novak Djokovic’s spot at the top! Oh, and also that he can win his first major so the press can finally stop talking about how he’s yet to win one. After Sunday it’s goodbye to Wimbledon, but not for long, since we’ll be seeing these courts again during the Olympics.
<3sarah
This polish seems out of place with all the brights I’ve been trying lately, but this is actually one of the few Nails Inc. polishes I have left untried! I thought I would end up using this during the London Olympics, but I have many other metallics to try in that time, so I just moved this up to wear during Wimbledon, through the semifinals. Nails Inc. Trafalgar Square (Magnetic Polish) is a gunmetal metallic shimmer:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, although it was not as pigmented as I remember the other two I’ve tried being. After applying the first coat, there were some bald spots left behind so I did some touch-ups to cover those up to ensure I would get opacity by the second coat (the one I would be holding the magnet over.) The finish is a little brushstroke-y but overall not too bad. The original color is a lighter gunmetal, then the magnet brings out a dark gunmetal, providing a great contrast. I bought this, Houses of Parliament and Whitehall in the same set (the box that comes with only one magnet) but strangely, my usual technique of holding the magnet in one place over the nail only managed to magnetize a portion of each nail. (I don’t like rocking the magnet from side to side because it doesn’t create as crisp of a pattern and sometimes I just end up touching the nail with the magnet.) I had to completely redo some nails and do some experimentation. The technique that seemed to work best was painting only one half of the nail, magnetizing it, then repeating on the other half, so I could get the magnetic effect over the whole nail. I stress again to let this dry a little before applying topcoat, because the pattern can be smeared. There’s no doubt that the magnetic effect looks very cool, when you can get it just right, but after only having done this three times, I find the process hassling. I didn’t like doing the cleanup work on a nail, only having to do it over just because the magnetic pattern didn’t turn out nicely. I do love the way it looks, but not enough that I’m jumping to buy more magnetic polishes (and there have been a lot that have come out just this year, from China Glaze Color Club to Orly, and even more Nails Inc. ones.) There are more colors and pretty patterns on offer but I’d sooner take a solid creme or a sparkly microglitter. I paired this with Essie Great Expectations on my toes.
<3sarah
For the 4th of July tomorrow, I wanted to wear a red polish, and I picked one that’s still in line with my Brit theme, as Wimbeldon progresses through the quarterfinals. Nails Inc. St. James is a bright candy apple red with subtle shimmer:
Picture taken in sunlight. (This actually looks a little more bright-red in real life.) This applied well and was quite pigmented, but for some reason I still needed three coats for full, even coverage (just to cover up very slight bald spots.) Doing three coats was no problem, though, because the formula was smooth. When I first saw this I assumed it was a creme so of course I went for it. It was only after I gave it a closer inspection that I saw it was full of very subtle shimmer. You can kind of see it in the photo, but it is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. The shimmer may be subtle, but it’s not one of those polishes that I would call a creme for all intents and purposes. Normally when I see solidly pigmented polishes with subtle shimmers, I say that the shimmer gives a slight sheen to the finish, but in this case, the shimmer gives the finish a sort of glowy appearance. This is best viewed in direct light; not only does it bring out the pretty shimmer, but it brings out the true brightness of the color. I love this shade, it’s a quintessential pin-up red. It’s bright and warm, but not too orange. Doing three coats gives a very high level of pigmentation, which just makes it look so red. It totally makes me think of the Red Apple flavor of Jelly Belly jellybeans, the one that’s bright red and opaque. I paired this with Essie Mesmerize on my toes.
<3sarah
