Estée Lauder is a cosmetics company founded in 1946 which now acts as an umbrella brand empire housing many other well-known brands such as MAC, Smashbox, and Bobbi Brown. We were super excited to receive two of their classic shades to review - Ballerina Pink and Pure Red. Every woman's nail polish collection needs both of these shades, and we are super excited to share them with you! The Estée Lauder bottle is gorgeous and could definitely be a display item on your vanity. On to the swatches...

First up is Ballerina Pink, which is a sheer baby pink jelly - perfect for a french manicure or demure, clean polish look. This swatch is three coats, a departure from our usual two, just so we could see how opaque it could get. We are pretty impressed with the coverage, and this polish was a dream to work with! Streak free application, and a beautiful shade make this polish a go-to for us!

Next up is Pure Red - an accurate name. This red is super bright and juicy looking, and we totally love it. This swatch is two coats, and the application is also amazing. Let us know if you have tried any Estée Lauder polishes and been impressed with the application as well! If you need a go-to red, this is your polish! This is the definition of a classic polish colour.

Overall, we were totally impressed with these shades and definitely hope to try out some more Estée Lauder polishes in the future - these are a definite recommend for anyone looking to splurge on a classic shade!

Disclaimer: Some or all of the products used in this post may have been provided by the company/PR in exchange for our honest consideration and review.

The Gwen Stefani for OPI signature shade was released in a kit including some Swarovski elements and as hard as we tried to resist making a joke about it being bananas - this kit is bananas. The shade is the perfect Gwen red (as to be expected) and the nail art supplies have a rock and roll twist that would mesh with any of the polishes in the collection.

The box is beautiful on its own, we can't ever get enough red.

The kit comes in a large box which includes the shade Over & Over A-Gwen, along with a tiny nail art glue, and 5 different Swarovski elements. Also included is a little nail art guide which contains suggestions for art using the whole collection of Gwen for OPI polishes. The contents of the box are pictured below!

The Nail Art Glue, Swarovski elements, and Nail Art Idea book!

Over & Over A-Gwen

 Finally, after much anticipation and a little drooling, we got to work. The Over & Over A-Gwen polish is a gorgeous orange-y red that leans to a jelly finish. It is ultra-shiny (the look is topcoat-free with two coats) however there is a tiny bit of visible nail underneath. We used the tiny gold buttons and larger diamond studs and we love how it turned out.

Our finished nail look ft. OPI Over & Over A-Gwen and Swarovski elements.

Disclaimer: These products were provided by the company/PR in exchange for our honest opinions and review.

If you didn't know, Valentine's day is coming up. Shocked? Us too. We've been the culprit of the done to death heart nail art many times, but this time we decided to go for a fresh take on Valentine's day nails - red roses! Thanks to Butter London's 25% off Reds Sale, we picked up some classic reds including Blowing Raspberries, Knees Up, Pillar Box Red, and the classic Union Jack Black.

Close up of the middle and ring finger

We have been feeling like a full hand nail art was in store - go big or go home, right? - and so we painted each nail to look like a bouquet of red roses. We started (post base-coat) with Knees Up, which is a gorgeous metallic red which catches the light behind the roses. We then used a nail art brush to make swirl patterns (making up a circle) of Blowing Raspberries and Pillar Box Red covering most of the nail in circles, or 'roses-in-progress', to create depth. We then used a steady hand and a super-thin nail art brush to paint the shadows of the roses in Union Jack Black. Finish with topcoat, and voila - a wilt-proof red rose bouquet!

Full Red Rose Nails

If you're feeling like the full hand is too much for you, we also love this look on the accent nail, with a full hand of Blowing Raspberries (which may just be our new go-to berry shade) to contrast the metallic. What mani will you be rocking on Valentine's day?

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 With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we think it's the right time to get in the spirit and embrace the heart-filled nail art craze. To keep this mani fun and fresh, we used an OPI Liquid Sand Shade on the thumb and ring finger, and used a bold red with black and white accents on the remaining fingers. We love the results, and the added texture from OPI Liquid Sand makes this mani even more interesting to look at! If you can't get your hands on OPIs Liquid Sand collection, we recommend a glitter accent nail in a coordinating shade.

What you need:

• Red nail polish (we used Nails Inc. St. James, available here)
• White nail polish (we used China Glaze White on White, available here)
• Red Liquid Sand nail polish/Glitter nail polish (we used OPI Liquid Sand The Impossible, available here)
• Black nail polish (we used Essie Licorice, available here)
• Nail art brush (available, as a set including a dotter, here)
• Base coat and top coat (we used Essie First Base, available here, and Seche Vite top coat, available here)

What to do:

1. Paint all nails with a base coat.
2. Paint your accent nails (thumb and ring finger) with the red liquid sand (or glitter) polish, and all other fingers with a red polish. Do 2-3 coats as required.
3. Pinky: Use black polish on half of the nail, and paint the top half of 'LOVE' using a nail art brush. After that dries, use the (clean) nail art brush and white polish to connect the bottom half of 'LOVE'.
4. Middle Finger: Using the nail art brush and black polish, starting at the centre of the nail, make two dots and then drag the dots together, making a small heart. Repeat this until the nail is covered. Then, using a clean nail art brush, put white polish inside one of the hearts as an accent heart.
5. Pointer Finger: Using white nail polish and a nail art brush, draw many xo's all over the nail, and then draw a larger white heart in the centre of the nail (following the procedure in step 4). Then, using a clean nail art brush, fill in the white heart with black  polish.
6. Allow all to dry, and paint with a top coat! Note: for OPI Liquid Sand, do not topcoat, as the matte 'sand' effect will be lost.

Completed Valentine's Day Nails

Nautical Heart Nails

Completed Nautical Heart Nails.

Why we love them:

We love the look of these striped heart nails! If you like the look of striped nails why not play with it and add this fun little heart in the corner? :)

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set here)
• White (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
• Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• Red (we used Nails Inc. The Hurlingham, buy it here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails white. Two coats may be required.
3. With the nail art brush, paint two or three thick black lines depending on how long your nail is. Two coats may be required.
4. With the Dotter Pen, dot and shape a red heart on the bottom corner of your nail, left or right is up to you (opposite on either hand looks nice).
5. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry, and allow to dry!

Single Nautical Heart Nail.

Strawberry Nails

The completed Strawberry Nails.

Why we love them:

We love art inspired by nature - and also, we love strawberries! These nails are summertime fresh and look good enough to eat. These nails also look good in reverse (with the green near your cuticles! Try them out and let us know how they turn out!

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush and Dotter Pen (buy it in a set here)
• White (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
• Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• Red (we used Nails Inc. The Hurlingham, buy it here)
• Green (we used China Glaze Starboard, view it here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails with your red colour. Two coats may be required.
3. With the Nail Art brush, paint green zig zag edge on the tips of your nail. Use triangles of different sizes in order to look more like the leaves on top of a strawberry.
4. With the smaller end of your Dotter Pen, randomly dot small white dots in the leftover red space of your nails. Allow this to dry fully before starting the next step.
5. With the smaller end of your Dotter Pen again, tilt your Dotter Pen so that you have a smaller dot surface (so some white will still show through) and dot on top of every white dot on your nails.
6. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry so there is no runs in your polish, and allow to dry!

Close-up on Strawberry Nail.

Burberry Nails

Full Burberry tape nails.

Why we love these nails:

These nails mirror the iconic pattern that is burberry. These nails look great as an accent nail or a full set, and are classy enough to wear everyday, or out at night! These are definitely a knailart favourite!

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set here)
• White (we used M.A.C. Vestral White, no longer sold)
• Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• Nude (we used Nails Inc. Basil Street, buy it here)
• Maroon (we used Chanel 18 Rouge Noir, view it here)
• Scotch Tape (available at craft stores or dollar stores)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails nude. Two coats may be required. Allow to dry.
3. Paint nail polish onto long strips of tape.
4. Cut the tape into the desired widths.
5. Apply white strips, then black, and then red to all nails. Cut off the ends that stick out past the nail. Feel free to change where the whites meet to change up each nail a little bit!
6. Touch anything up with your nail art brush (although the lines should be pretty straight).
7. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry and the tape is completely stuck, and allow to dry!

The completed look.

The close-up Burberry Nail.