A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

We’re familiar with the idea of matching our nails to our outfits, our lipsticks, and even our jewellery… but to our technology?  That’s a new one on me!

It would be fair to say that many of us go through life permanently attached to our smart phones and other gadgetry, you only need to spend five-minutes in a coffee shop to realise just how big a part of our lives our technological devices have become.  Hell, I get the shakes if I haven’t checked my Twitter feed in a few hours… so perhaps it makes sense to pay more attention to ensure that we’re fashionably at one with our smart-phones?!

Nail brand Orly has teamed up with technological giants Samsung to create a range of polishes that perfectly complement the new Galaxy Gear.  The four bespoke shades: Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Oatmeal Beige and Wild Orange will safeguard you against the soon-to-be-common fashion faux-pas of clashing with your smart device!

The shades are a complimentary treat when purchasing the Galaxy Gear from the Samsung Experience Store (in Westfield Stratford).  Failing that, if you’ve fallen in love, they’re currently available online from graftonsbeauty.co.uk priced at £10.25 each, while stocks last.

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I’m sorry but I just can’t deal with nail polishes that set my teeth on edge.

Orly Black Pixel nail polish.  I just don’t know whether to top-coat it or paint some white lines down the middle and drive my car over it.  I mean, look at it, that’s not nailed polish. That’s… that’s… asphalt.

Of course, I should make it quite clear that my personal hatred for textured nail polishes bears no relation to the performance abilities of this one from Orly.  It’s only fair to lay bare my prejudices and leave you under no illusions about the fact that I’d still hate this polish had it been hand-delivered by Robert Downey, Jr. himself.

Painted over a nail wheel stick thingy, it took three-coats to achieve a full-textured opacity and drying time between coats was pretty good.  I’d imagine that the thickness of the polish and the obvious lack of top coat would mean that overall drying time is pretty slow though.

Honestly, most nail polish “trends” leave me cold and this one doesn’t change my opinion.  Call me a bore but I’m a bit of a puritan when it comes to polish.

Having said that, you should totes be aware that Orly Black Pixel Nail Polish is currently on offer at graftonsbeauty.co.uk, priced at only £5.40 for 18ml

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Four new shades from Orly that echo Electronica’s past.  The campaign ad is a distinctly 80s affair with a touch of post-apocolyptic punk thrown in for good measure.  The shades seem to span the seasons from a summery hot pink shimmer to the more wintry slate grey.

Shades are as listed below:

Decoded: Slate grey creme
Preamp: Girly pink with gold shimmer
Shockwave: Royal blue creme
Synchro: Duochrome pink/gold (but all the swatches I’ve seen show a rose-toned polish with blue reflects – go figure!)

All shades are available to purchase online now from BeautyBay, where they’re currently priced at £7.50 each.

Are any of these on your Summer wishlist?

Not 3-for-2, or 2-for-1, but BOGOF at Cheap Smells on these Orly Mani Mini polishes priced at £3.95 each.  That’s buy one get one free (I said, you buy one, you get one… sorry) – which is pretty incredible when you remember that these polishes sell for £5 each in Boots.

The only catch is that you can’t choose the colour of your “free” one, so my advice is to go on the website, look for the most disgusting colour you can find and simply resign yourself to the fact that that’s the one Sandra in the packing department will chuckle over as she packs your polishes on Tuesday morning.

The deal ends today, so get your bum in gear and use the code OrlyFree at checkout if you want to take advantage – don’t forget there’s free shipping.  One per customer, which seems pretty fair considering you’re practically stealing them.

Pray, tell me, which colour would you be pissed at receiving as your freebie? Mine would be “naughty” – can we say BORING?

p.s. incase you’re interested – I’ve bought Goth, you?

p.p.s. if you’re a fan of D&G Rose The One, check on the site tomorrow because a little birdy (ok, CheapSmells) told me that they’ll be selling priced from £21.50 Up To 40% Off RRP.  A cracking fragrance for Mother’s Day.

I really loved the softness on display in this year’s Orly’s spring Cool Romance collection (click here if you haven’t seen it yet) but sometimes, a girl needs to do what a girl needs to do.  What does a girl need to do?  Add a crap-ton of glitter to the proceedings.

Hello fluffy and delightfully squishy mushroom nails.  You’re all chic and sophistimacated, I could totally wear you to the office if I had one.  But I only have a desk, in a dark corner.  I don’t even have a water cooler or a filing cabinet.  Well, I lie… ‘cos I do have a filing cabinet but I keep it topped up with expired MOT test certificates, the instructions to my brother’s betamax and the menu from the Chinese takeaway from where we used to live two houses ago.  You never know when these things might come in handy.

So, you see… as much as I will always adore your demure but edgy… er… edge.  I can totally wear what I want on my nails at work.  Don’t believe me?  Watch, I can do THIS.

…and no one would blink an eye.  No dodgy looks or stark reminders about dress codes, I can just sit happily staring at my disco fingers while I type.  Sometimes I’m very happy in my little dark corner all by myself.

If you want to do this too, you’ll need Orly Faint of Heart* and POP Twinkle* (that’s one coat btw).

Glitter or no glitter – what say you?

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Orly’s Spring 2012 Collection is out and pays homage to some of the gentlest pastels around.  We’re not talking sweet-shop pastels here, these are the slightly edgier, grungier cousins of the pastel world.  Just about.

I don’t generally go much on pastels, so Cool Romance’s dirtier take on the trend is right up my street.  Infact, I love the look of all of them except Steel Your Heart, the non pastel that gives me the “Geez, it’s Spring not Autumn/Winter!” feeling.

Prelude to a Kiss* is a pretty pale pink creme with a hint of peach.  It feels like it should be opaque in two coats but needed a third to even out a little bit of streakiness.  It’s a little bit thick in formula, like many pastels, but applies without too many frustrations.  I love these shades for lazy weeks when I can get away with a whole heap of tip wear!

Orly Cool Romance Collection is available to buy in two sizes: 18ml are £6.95 each from www.beautybay.com and the mini 5.3ml are £5 each at www.boots.com

Do you have a favourite from the collection?

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Orly Rock It is a sparkling sherry from the Mineral FX Collection that appeared earlier this year. It’s an impressive concoction that is packed full of dimension and light-play as the flecks dance on your fingertips.

In some ways, Orly Rock It reminds me of a flakie with it’s subtle golden duochrome and packed shimmer but without actually containing flakes… I know that makes better sense in my head than it does on the blog but hopefully the picture demonstrates a little of what I’m talking about.

You should also know that the picture makes it look less dimensional than it really is because of the flash lighting.  It’s December, sigh… it’s the best I can do when it gets dark so early!

Orly Rock It is available to buy online from BeautyBay.com, priced at £7.50

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This striking pewter polish is from the Orly Birds of a Feather collection that was released for this Autumn/Winter.  It’s a beautiful grey with silver flecks that gives it a stunning metallic effect without the usual brushstroke issue that actual metallic polishes present.

Fully opaque in two coats with absolutely no application issues, this is a cracking polish for Autumn/Winter and one that I recommend you have in your collection.  Flawless.

Orly Sea Gurl is available to buy online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

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I’m not generally a fan of jelly nail polishes… they have to be quite special to turn my head. I like a nod to a jelly finish, infact, one of my favourite Butter London polishes has a slight jelly edge (Come to Bed Red) but in general, I’ll take a creme finish any day.

Orly Fowl Play from the Autumn/Winter Birds of a Feather collection contains a myriad of multi-colour flake, glitter and sparkle in a purple jelly base.  I love the razz but am just not digging that base which always looks kinda… unfinished to my eye.

The simple answer is to layer it over a cream polish, which is exactly what I’ve been doing… just one coat over a black looks incredible but for the sake of swatching, I’m showing it to you in it’s 3-coat glory over a bare nail.

Orly Fowl Play is available to buy online from BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

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Barbara Cartland is wearing this shade on her toes up in Heaven.

As flashy as a silver tiara and as pink as a poodle dipped in a vat of candyfloss.  Orly’s Flirty* is unashamedly girly and a sparkling pink for Summer.

The above swatch shows two coats finished with a quick dry because it was a touch slow-drying.

You can buy Orly online at BeautyBay.com but they’re currently out of this shade, so try somewhere like Beauty4Nails instead.

Are you a PINK girl?

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I buy many polishes online from the U.S. simply because it’s cheaper that way but that doesn’t stop me getting the urge for some instant nail polish gratification when I’m halfway through an innocent shopping trip.

Which is why I’m pretty keen to see these new ORLY Mani Minis that will be launching into Boots next month!

With no less than 48 shades to choose from including cremes and glitters and priced at only £5 each… I’m pretty excited!

Weighing in at 5.3ml a bottle (a smidge more than a Mavala), these represent decent value for money for what is, essentially, a professional brand.

The ORLY Mani Minis will be available online from 8th March and will arrive in 54 Boots stores nationwide from 9th March 2011.

From Left to Right: Pure Porcelain, Gilded Coral, Fancy Fuchsia, Ancient Jade, Sapphire Silk and Royal Velvet.

Are any of these calling to you?

Spring polish shades are my least favourite.  Though, I say that every year and by March I’m rocking the lilacs and pale greens with the best of them… short memory you see.

I like the look of Pure Porcelain… the rest just don’t excite me.  Royal Velvet doesn’t even look very spring-like and reminds me of SpaRitual’s Health, Wealth and Happiness too much to be worth owning both.

The Orly Precious collection will be available from January 2011 priced at £8.75 each from www.orlybeauty.co.uk and www.spicebeauty.co.uk

What do you ladies think?  Picked out a favourite yet?