A-England Nail Polish

More swatch 'n' squee, because the natural light is glorious at the moment, and how often does a Londoner get to say that?

A while back I tried A-England polishes and was blown away by their buttery, one-coat-perfect formula and elegant holographics -- yeah, you heard right: Elegant. Holos. (So elegant, they're eunuchs.... not an issue for me as they shake up just fine in their nice hefty bottles.)

They had a 'free worldwide shipping and any Mythicals polish for £5' offer last week, and of course I pounced on a few more shades. They landed, each bottle individually bubblewrapped, and slipped together in a reasonably-sized [see, it's really not that hard, asos et al] jiffy bag on my door four working days later. Which, considering my recent woeful month-long terrible CS saga with Butter London, a much bigger company, earns them extra brownie points.

The current state of the stash:

No doubt due to expand in future, because the formula on the cream (Guinevere) is as faultless as on the holos, and the sparkly topcoat Morgan Le Fay is exquisitely complex in real life and is inspiring me to...like, do gradients and actual stuff with my nails. The wily minx. Anyway, drying time and wear time are both excellent, and none of these really need a topcoat to shine.

Swatches!
All are one coat, except Morgan Le Fay (two)

The holo is most manifest in Lady of the Lake, and subtlest in St. George, which makes a deal of sense if you think about it, as dragon-slaying aside, he always seemed a fairly lumpen unmagical figure to me. Guinevere is likewise appropriately demure, while Tristam sits on a pitch-perfect good-boy blue base. Morgan Le Fay is a delicate but complex mix of rainbow flecks that flash predominantly blue, green and opal-pink; I love its flickering changeability in contrast to the more solidly 'worked' silver of A-E's other topcoat, Merlin.

In greater detail [i.e. picspam]

Comparisons

OPI Done Out In Deco // Guinevere // Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant

Rescue Beauty Lounge Catherine H. // Tristam // Lady of the Lake

Catrice Absolute Eye Colour Mono Swatchathon

These delicious drugstore eyeshadow singles are my newest addiction (apologies to darling Laura) and this post will be the swatch'n'squee portion; comparisons to other shades will eventually follow and they'll show up in future looks too.

Packaging: sturdy clear plastic, like old Shu Uemura, but heftier. The snug magnetic closure makes them more mani-friendly than Shu too.
Texture: in general on the pigmented and soft but slightly powdery side, highly reminiscent of old-school Stila.
Finish: varies -- see notes to swatches.
Shade-range: fantastic and fashion-conscious but shades get released and discontinued at lightning speed -- think of this brand as the Zara of makeup.

German retail is €2.49 for 2g; the shades I own are all made in Germany, Poland or France. (Catrice is also sold in many continental European countries as well as the Republic of Ireland.)

All swatches made with sponge applicators and built up to show colour. I'll note how pigmented each shade is from sheer (4-5 swipes) to very pigmented (1 swipe). 

Neutrals (ish)

Names (brace for cutesy) // finish // pigmentation:

1. Grey's Philosophy // matte // medium
2. Starlight Espresso // matte // pigmented
3. Oh, It's Toffee-ful // sheen // medium
4. My First Copperware Party // shimmer // pigmented
5. Heidi Plum (OLD) // shimmer // pigmented
6. Heidi Plum (NEW) // matte // sheer/patchy/chalky :(
7. Don't Lie, Lac // sheen // medium
8. The Noble Knights // sparkle and shimmer // pigmented
9. C'Mon Chamelon // shimmery duochrome // pigmented [a far, far better version of MAC Club -- it's smoother, more pigmented and the duochrome shows up clearly without a base]

Colours

Names // finish // pigmentation:

1. John Lemon // sparse shimmer // sheer-medium
2. Pink Rock Super Star // silver sparkle on a satin base // pigmented
3. Dalai Drama // sheen // medium
4. Kiwi Wonder // sheen // medium
5. Bonnie & Cloud // matte // medium
6. In Love With Hulk // sheen // sheer
7. Vanessa's Paradise // shimmer // medium plus
8. Petrol Keeps Me Running // sparse shimmer // pigmented
9. Hip Hop On the Tree Top // matte // very pigmented [one of the best mattes I've ever tried. Ever.]
10. Top of the Cops // silver sparkle on a matte base // sheer-medium, slightly prone to fallout