Jessica - Shock Me Red

You guys know I'm a total sucker for reds.  Preferably blue reds but I'm like an alcoholic in that any red is better than no red.  Or something like that.

This is an orange based red but, man, this so works for me.  It's just... so..... sexy.  I feel full on Hollywood siren in this.  I can feel myself channelling Joan Crawford, Bette David and, my personal favourite, Rita Hayworth.

And the formula is a dream to work with.  I haven't come across a bad Jessica yet and I hope I never will.  This is two coats, creamy like butter and dries to a high shine.

LOVE does not begin to describe....

Jessica - Bear Hug + Farewell to MeganChair

Yesterday, I was truly saddened when MeganChair announced she was closing down her blog (now deleted).  It would be easy to say that Megan was just another nail blogger, but she wasn't and isn't. Her tutorial of manicure cleanup is a benchmark and her ability to pick dupes out of nowhere is astounding.
  
She will be sorely missed in the blogging community.  I'm dedicating today's manicure to Megan because she's awesomesauce.

Edited to add: Emmajoy sums it up in the comments: 'She made shorties rock'.  She SO DID.

Another edit: Thanks to Piz in the comments for providing more info about this lacquer. 'This polish is from a collection put together for the BBC and £2.00 from every purchase went to the charity Children In Need. It isn't a new colour, its actually Midnight Moonlight from the Dark Side of the Moon Collection; there are 3 other colours available, which are: Bazaar, Pharaoh and Notorious - all in the cute teddy bottles. I think they are still available although some could be out of stock now. They are on the UK website www.justnails.co.uk.'

Yet another edit: Thanks to Jess, they are also available at www.beautyencounter.com 

I've tried to find out about this lacquer on Google with little success.  From what I can gather, it might be a limited edition lacquer for the BBC Children in Need Charity.  If anyone can help me out with the origin of this one, or where you can buy it, let me know in the comments.

Wherever it has come from, this is an amazing lacquer.  A stunning navy blue with light blue shimmer throughout.  The formula is marginally gluggy but not a deal breaker, and it was opaque in two coats.

I feel like disco dancing when I wear this. Yes indeed, I want to channel my inner Travolta.

Jessica - Perchance to Dream

I really like Jessica polishes but, unfortunately, I do not heart Perchance to Dream as much as the others.

It's another one of those lacquers that looks AMAZING in the bottle, but it just does not translate to the nail.

In the bottle, it is a soft, frosty pink.  On the nail, the pink all but disappears and you're left with a white frost that is... well..... underwhelming.

The formula is, as always with Jessica, sublime, quick to opaque and dries to a lovely shine.  But, yeah, the colour does not perform as it might.

Edited to add: I just realised how horribly maudlin this post is.  So, to keep things happy, my mum arrived from Europe yesterday and I have........ Chanel.

Jessica - Soak up the Sun

As you guys may have guessed, I'm bunny boiling pinks at the moment.  I can't get enough of them.

This is one of the most perfect pinks I've ever seen.  It glides on like a dream and just looks gorgeous on.  Given it's the middle of a very cold winter here in Australia (well, as cold as Australia gets), this is the perfect pick me up.

Given I'm lemming pinks like crazy at the moment, tell me your favourite pinks and/or pinks you would like to see me try in the comments.

Jessica - Enchante

So, today is my wedding anniversary. 9 beautiful years with the love of my life.  It's also the wedding anniversary of my late grandparents.  It was one of the nicest moments of my life to share our 'first dance' with them as, on that day, they themselves had been married 55 years.

So forgive me for being pathetically romantic today with my manicure.

I've come to the conclusion that Jessica lacquers just do not get enough love.

For a start, every formula I have tried has been superb.  This was two easy coats and it was opaque.

Secondly, the bottles are huge.  As in 14 mls huge.  I like big bottles of lacquer.  I always feel like I'm getting value for money.

And the colours are outstanding.  Truly outstanding.  This is a beautiful fuchsia that is just dazzling on the nail.

What do you guys think?  And, whilst I'm in the mood for romance, tell me your memorable wedding, engagement, first date stories.  Hit me with the sap.

Jessica - Eyes Wide Open + CG200 Layering Experiment

**For those of you waiting to hear about the winner of the May Giveaway, be patient just a day more!  It's taken me forever to go through all followers, validate all tweets and blog links etc.  I'm nearly there!!**

Jessica's Eyes Wide Open is from the Daydream Collection, released earlier this year.

I was so prepared to be meh about this lacquer, but this is like a shot of coffee direct to the heart.

As you can see, this is more a tangerine than a straight orange, which makes it infinitely wearable.  Normally, I find oranges are just a smidge too warm for my skin tone, but this baby is just right.

The formula on this is divine.  So smooth and creamy.  It needed two coats to get to opaque and dried to the high shine you see.

But wait!  There's more!  Remember the City Girl 2000 lacquer I trialled earlier in the week?  After the jump, I've layered it over Eyes Wide Open.  It's like a different lacquer.

Jessica - Venus Was Her Name

This is my first Jessica nail polish.  And, at this point, I'm kinda wondering why I held out for so long on this brand.

Venus Was Her Name is probably the most unique lacquer in my collection.  At last count, I have over 800 lacquers and there is not a single lacquer that even comes close to this little baby.

This is a gorgeous blue/purple/grey that looks almost dusty and muted on the nail.  Depending on the light you're in, though, it can look entirely different.  If ever there was a lacquer that is like a chameleon, this is certainly it.

Quality-wise, this is exquisite.  The swatch on the left is two coats with no top coat.  This is one of those wonderfully intuitive lacquers that just glide on easily, is neither too runny nor too thick, and dries beautifully.

I truly believe everyone should have this colour in their collection.  There is nothing like it out there.  I adore it.

(If you want to see other swatches of this, please see Scrangie and Daydream's swatches.  I warn you though, you may fall even more in love with this lacquer once you see their swatches).