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Home » Makeup » A-England polishes : Takes some Merlin magic to turn this into the Holy Grail

A-England polishes : Takes some Merlin magic to turn this into the Holy Grail

January 4, 2012 Paris B 34 Comments

I love the Arthurian legends. I grew up convinced I could pull a sword from a stone… provided I could find one, and that pale arms will appear from the middle of a lake if I threw a sword into it. I wanted a sword named Excalibur and I wanted to be a Knight of the Round Table, and have a wizard called Merlin.

It never once crossed my mind that they didn’t exist. Why shouldn’t it? 😀

Perhaps that’s why I went to England – to see if King Arthur does exist and if there are any modern day Knights of the Round Table (Answer: No and No 😛 )

a-england holy grail merlin

Anyway, a reader Yin Huei wrote me one day and told me to check out a-England nail polishes. They are a little outfit from the UK and the minute I hopped to the store, I knew I was sold. Every single polish in the store is named after an Arthurian character. Gah! I wanted every single one! Nevermind that I don’t use polish – I’d learn goshdarnit!

I picked up a couple just for testing purposes (there are a couple of sets available for a limited period only), and today I bring you my New Year manicure in a blingy golden silver haze of Holy Grail and Merlin.

I made the mistake of not taking photos of the polish on their own so you can see how they look – please excuse this n00b. I’ll get better, I promise 😛 I’ll do another post another time with the shades. So today, its just what I did with 2 of the polishes.

a-england holy grail merlin

The base is Holy Grail – a metallic warm gold shade that I wasn’t terribly enchanted with on its own. For some reason, it looked a bit warm against my skin tone. All that changed with a touch of magic from Merlin – silver glitter.

I used just 1 coat of Merlin over Holy Grail. The glitter is fairly dense, so if I went with 2 layers, it’d cover the base. I did find that the glitter wasn’t quite well distributed as I swiped the brush over the nail, so some parts have more glitter than others.  If you are a perfectionist, it may bug, but since I’m not, it doesn’t bug me. But it also means some nails are more silvery than others which I find absolutely fascinating.

Merlin is a gorgeous straight silver glitter that I believe works well enough on its own – I’ll try it soon and let you know. Application is fairly easy even for this newbie, without being streaky.Longevity is fairly good but I do have a top coat on.

In a nutshell

A new brand of nail polishes from England, that will appeal to those who love Arthurian legends and myths. Texture and application is quite easy and the colours that I have are quite nice. Holy Grail is a warm metallic gold that isn’t brassy nor bronzey. Merlin is dense silver glitter that is pretty when layered over another colour or I’m assured, worn on its own.

Pros: Nice interesting polish textures, Metallics and shimmer polishes are very nice, Application was easy without streaking

Cons: Only available online, A little pricey, Limited colours for now

A-England polishes are new and I think they are adding more colours to their stable soon, which I’d love of course. I’m just getting back into nail polishes again, and it is very opportune to discover these now, because I love the names, colour and texture and I plan to own them all one day. The formula is also Three-Free and for now, there’s free shipping until further notice.

a-england holy grail merlin swatch

And you have to admit that this is a pretty decent manicure to greet the Lunar Year of the Dragon later this month too! 😀 In fact, this will be my Holy Grail of glittery polish looks for any occasion. Win!

Have you come across A-England nail polishes before? Do you enjoy the King Arthur legend and myths surrounding them? 😀

Paris B

A-England nail polish Price: £9 each Availability: a-england.co.uk Shipping: Free until further notice

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About Paris B

Paris B is a 40-something beauty and skincare enthusiast with a practical and very critical view of beauty products and the world of beauty. Her mission on My Women Stuff is to deliver clear, honest reviews and facilitate discussions about beauty trends and life, tempered with a healthy dose of humour. Let the buyer's remorse be ours not yours! When not testing the newest skincare creams and lotions, or playing with makeup, find her testing her culinary skills in the kitchen at Chez PB. Read more about us here or leave a comment below or connect with us on social media at Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

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34 comments ... Read or JOIN THE DISCUSSION

  1. peach_ says

    January 4, 2012 at 9:33 am

    Love gold! 😀 Perfect CNY mani! This combination reminds me of a bling-ier version of China Glaze Champagne Bubbles. How wonderful they provide free worldwide shipping for the time being — wish more companies would!

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 10:30 am

      I have to agree! If more companies would offer free shipping, I would be more willing to buy from them 😀 And thank you I do think I”ll be sporting this at CNY 😀

      Reply
  2. Nikki says

    January 4, 2012 at 9:55 am

    Another pretty and unique shade..so NOT you ..again! hahahaha 🙂 But it works! That’s the most important! Happy New Year!

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 10:31 am

      Teehee so what sort of shades do you think are me then? Bold red? 😉

      Reply
      • Nikki says

        January 4, 2012 at 10:33 am

        OF COURSE! NOTHING ELSE!
        Do we even need to state that? 😛

        Reply
        • Paris B says

          January 4, 2012 at 10:34 am

          HAHA I’ve found that bold red works amazingly on lips but on my hands I look like I’ve been ripping babies apart >.<

          Reply
  3. xin says

    January 4, 2012 at 10:30 am

    i think it is quite a nice little gold, but i am surprised that it actually looks sheer-er in person than in photo!

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 10:33 am

      Yep in the sun though, it can be blinding LOL! 😀

      Reply
  4. lyn says

    January 4, 2012 at 10:38 am

    Oooh, I saw your nails on Sunday and really like it! I was planning to order a few polishes and your review has me convinced! As a teen, I used to read many Arthurian books / lit and one of my favourites is a trilogy by Bernard Cornwell. I’d definitely recommend his books 🙂

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 10:41 am

      *makes mental note to check out Bernard Cornwell* I think I may have read one of the books – Book 2 or something silly because it was on sale hehe… I’m planning to order a couple more too – I’m wearing Tristam today. Its OMGImInLove 😀

      Reply
  5. plue says

    January 4, 2012 at 10:51 am

    was this the one you wore during our gathering the other day? if it is, it looks more subtle than it appears in your picture tee hee

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 1:46 pm

      Yep I wore this and its more muted in the shade but very bling in the sun. I like my bling 🙂

      Reply
  6. Issa says

    January 4, 2012 at 11:00 am

    Love the yellow gold color! Perfect to start the year! 🙂

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 1:47 pm

      Yes! Lots of gold on the fingers and in the pocket! 😀

      Reply
  7. Lily says

    January 4, 2012 at 11:08 am

    Oooo, very pretty. How about drawing some red on this gold? I personally can’t do it, so I seek professional help 😉
    One thing about glitter nail polish though, is that it’s a b*%ch to remove. Ugh!

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 1:49 pm

      Its all I could do to paint my nails – drawing would have been way too advanced! LOL I actually found this surprisingly easy to remove – just left the cotton pad on and in a few minutes, wiped it all off. Not sure if it’d be that easy once I go all out Merlin on my nails 😀

      Reply
  8. beetrice says

    January 4, 2012 at 11:40 am

    I love the gold shade but not particularly taken by the silver glitter – although now I’m tempted to suggest a gold base with red glitter! 😛

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 1:50 pm

      Hmm that would be very CNY 😛 I’m not familiar with red glitter but I’m planning to go straight silver glitter soon! I wear silver well 😉

      Reply
      • beetrice says

        January 4, 2012 at 4:57 pm

        That you definitely do! 😀 Was egged on to the website by LeGeeque, and now I want to mix Galahad and Morgan Le Fay…yikes! 😛

        Reply
        • Paris B says

          January 6, 2012 at 12:57 pm

          That is a lovely combination! 😀

          Reply
  9. sleepdeprived91 says

    January 4, 2012 at 12:15 pm

    i am in love with holy grail! but! but! but! but! so so so so pricey!

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 1:53 pm

      I did think the majority will find it pricey, after conversion although I personally didn’t think it all THAT pricey. Shipping is free after all 😉

      Reply
  10. LeGeeque says

    January 4, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    Alaaa.. you feeding my nail polish addiction laaaa… 😀 I’m too impatient with glittery polishes but your gold polish is a great twist. (Buy while AUD is still up, hahahahah!)

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 2:41 pm

      I’m just starting so its ok to feed addictions hehe… 😉 I don’t know what the fuss is about glittery polish to be honest – I always thought they were just a) pretty and b) easy to apply 😀

      Reply
  11. LeGeeque says

    January 4, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    Also, I did some conversion of currency for the benefit of those who claimed this is pricey. Converted, it’s about RM39 which is way cheaper than OPI if you buy them from brick-and-mortar stores. OPIs were retailing for RM59 many years back when I bought them; factor in CPI, etc, A-Englands are very affordable.

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 2:42 pm

      I wouldn’t call them very affordable, but I don’t think they are terribly pricey either. Maybe its because I like lesser known brands hence you don’t see much of if any OPI or MAC on my blog 😀

      Reply
  12. LeGeeque says

    January 4, 2012 at 1:25 pm

    OK, I just shot myself in the foot re: prices. Apologies. Guess I need to understand the economics of nail polish in Malaysia. Thanks to Bee for enlightening me. Having said that, I’m still buying Avalon because there’s an airport in Geelong, Victoria that I’m curious about named Avalon. 😛

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 2:42 pm

      That’s a gorgeous colour! I’m eyeing that and Lady of the Lake and Perceval >.<

      Reply
  13. espenine says

    January 4, 2012 at 2:41 pm

    Your nails are small and cute 🙂

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 4, 2012 at 2:44 pm

      LOL!! I’m taking that as a compliment 😀 I just can’t grow my nails and I look awful with talons 😛

      Reply
  14. gio says

    January 4, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    What a nice combo! That gold shade is really pretty!

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 6, 2012 at 12:56 pm

      AWw thank you Gio – I’m sure it can easily be replicated with any similar shades 😀

      Reply
  15. Marina(Makeup4All) says

    January 4, 2012 at 7:34 pm

    I seriously can’t wait to try these nail polishes. They have a red shade to die for!

    Reply
    • Paris B says

      January 6, 2012 at 1:08 pm

      Perceval! I can’t wait to get it in the mail 😀

      Reply

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My Women Stuff by Paris B

Welcome to My Women Stuff, a beauty blog based in Malaysia, written by veteran blogger, Paris B. What you can expect is honesty, critical views & a healthy dose of shared life lessons sprinkled amongst beauty product reviews. What you shouldn't expect is a page filled with unnecessary narcissistic photos. MWS is a blog for those who love to read, because we love to write! Read More about MWS and Paris B

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