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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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Londontown Nail Polish: Review and Swatches

August 13, 2018 by Taylor Leave a Comment

Londontown Review -  Espresso and Ambition

There’s something about a fresh manicure that makes you feel like you can conquer the world – that somehow, you’ve got your whole life together, even if in reality, you feel like a bit of a hot mess. It’s amazing how that one little thing can totally make your day; every time I see my freshly-painted nails I feel that much more on top of my life.

For the longest time, I’ve almost exclusively gotten my nails done at a nail salon, but since moving to  DC, I’ve really been trying to cut back on some of my more ‘frivolous’ spending – the cost of living is so much higher here, so anywhere that I can save money is fantastic. So when Londontown reached out to me about reviewing their polishes, I was all for the idea.

 

First Impressions

First of all, this nail polish brand is both vegan and cruelty-free. As someone who likes to be vegan whenever possible and is trying to switch all her products to cruelty-free ones, this was a huge plus for me. I love when brands realize that they can make great products without harming animals in the process.

 

Fortifying Ridge Filler

Y’all, not gonna lie, after having SNS nails for almost a year, I was genuinely terrified that I was going to try regular nail polish and my nails would immediately break. My nails were pretty weak right after I took the SNS off, and they’re quite long, making them a perfect target for breakage. Yet somehow… that never happened? And I 100% attribute that success to the ridge filler base coat, because my nails were paper thin beforehand, and after experimenting with these polishes, my nails are actually back to their natural thickness and completely sturdy. And yes, they even survived a full week of weightlifting workouts.

 

Polishes

Londontown sent me three colors to try: a bright pink (Fruit Tella), a pale pink (Peach Pop), and a shimmery purple-gray (Opal). Of the three, Opal is definitely my favorite – the blue sparkles in the polish are really cool, and it’s just a very unique color overall. Formula-wise, they’re pretty standard polishes. I was impressed with the pale pink in particular, because it was opaque after two coats, which is kind of rare with light-colored nail polish.

Here’s each of the three colors, swatched.

Londontown Review -  Espresso and Ambition
Fruit Tella, Matte
Londontown Review -  Espresso and Ambition
Peach Pop, Matte
Londontown Review -  Espresso and Ambition
Opal, Matte

Protective Matte Coat

I think matte nails are super cool, so I’ve loved using this topcoat. Another plus: it dries super quickly, meaning your hands aren’t completely useless for a whole hour after doing your nails. The one caveat I will add, however, is that the matte topcoat will very clearly highlight any mistakes you made while painting your nails – any ridges, uneven coats, etc. – so it’s definitely not an ideal choice for a beginner. You can see in my swatches above that my manicure is definitely a little less-than-perfect (I also, for some reason, chose to take all my swatch pics of my left hand, which is my dominant hand, meaning that y’all get to see the worse hand). But if you’ve got faith in your nail-painting ability, by all means, go for it.

 

I’ve adored trying out these products – if you’re interested in getting your hands (and nails) on them yourself, check out their website! I’ve been poking around there lately, and I’m particularly digging Skyline Reflect, Aces High, and Foglifter.

xo, Taylor

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
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