A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Yano when you’re shopping… and it’s been an el-crappo experience… your money is burning a hole in your pocket but you just can’t find *anything* to commit to… everything is… for want of a better (or even actual) word… meh.

I had one of those days in town.. lots of nice money practically setting my pants alight and nothing that caught my eye enough to extinguish them.  Until I popped into Superdrug and sidled up to the Sleek stand.

I prodded at the blushers… meh.

I eyeballed the lipsticks…. meh meh.

Just as I was about to leave, frown intact – I cast my eyes downwards and caught sight of the nail polishes.  Nail polishes? I didn’t even know Sleek did nails?  Well, obviously I haven’t emerged from that rock of mine enough… cos there they were all lined up like beacons of salvation ready to save me from a shit shopping trip.

I picked up two shades: Royalty (Blackened Red Shimmer) and Poison Ivy (Blackened Green Shimmer) but got the guilts at the checkouts thinking of all those polishes sat at home still untouched and left Poison Ivy at the counter.

Anyway, how do I like Royalty?  I like it a lot!

It is absolutely packed with subtle shimmer – beautiful!

Application? It could be a one-coater if you were a little more careful with application than me.  The above photo shows two coats with no top coat (I’m so lazy about top coats).

It dries fast, perhaps a tiny bit too fast for slowcoaches like me… but as soon as I picked up the pace, I had no problems with application.

This is such a Christmassy shade, I can’t wait to check out the others available!

Nailed Nail Polish by Sleek is available from most Superdrugs.

I’m *nearly* over the whole matte top coat thing… a couple more mani’s then I’ll be able to move on.

This is Barielle’s Shades range in “Grape Escape” – It’s gorgeous.  It’s actually better glossy… but well, I’m a mattifying sheep.

Application is smooth – this is 2 coats.  No issues to speak of, perhaps a touch slow drying… but nothing a quick-dry top coat doesn’t fix.

Desperate to check out some more colours… looks like they have a lovely A/W collection out at the moment.  Let me introduce you…

Putt-E-On-Me – Classic clay

Blackened Bleu – Black with turquoise glitter

Lava Rock – Black with red pearl swirl

I don’t even like glitter and I’m salivating at the thought of the black/turquoise one!

L-R: Putt-E-On-Me, Blackened-Bleu, Lava Rock.

Check out the range at Barielle

Yeah, it’s green… I don’t “do” green, but when I was getting my hair cut I saw the salon were offering two bottles for £10 and I didn’t want any more reds/pinks.

After 4 coats (yes, 4) I surveyed my new fungal fingers and sighed.  I don’t “do” green.  It was time for bed, so I resigned myself to the fact that I’d be wearing it the next day (of which I spent the majority hiding my nails).

It’s a very yellow green, like a muted chartreuse…it applies nicely and dries fairly quickly.  As I noted, it takes 4 coats to achieve opacity and dries with a glossy semi-sparkly finish.

The following evening I didn’t have time for a full mani, so in the hope of toning it down a little, I applied a coat of Nail Tek Foundation II to give it a matte finish.  The photo shows the mani after mattifying.

Nail Tek Foundation II works really well as a matte top coat, although I find that it definitely needs a squirt of quick-dry spray ontop as I had difficulty keeping it smudge free.

Do you wear greens?  What are your favourites? And do you say “ohpee” or O.P.I? (I’m sure I’ve asked that before)

Continuing with the nail theme today…

My first Ciate!

I (like many others) am in love with the packaging…

Look at that gorgeous little bow, such a simple but instantly recognisable addition.  Whoever came up with that idea at Ciate deserves to be on far more money than everyone else.

However, one of my bows on another bottle has come undone and I CAN’T DO IT UP AGAIN!  This shouldn’t frustrate me.  At the age of 28, wife of 1, mother to 1 and regular tax filer I should be able to rise above this… BUT I CAN’T!

Someone with more dexterity than me come round my house and do my bow up for me please, it’s making the bottle look sad and ugly.

Anyway… look at this shade, a lovely metallic purple-blue combination – stunning!

Application was ok… not the best as it’s quite a thick formula and dries very quickly (both a blessing and a curse – are all Ciate’s like that?)

Once applied though (2 coats) – this stuff just lasts and lasts… I’m on day 5 now with minimal tip wear.  Very good!

Do you have any favourite Ciate shades?

Victoria is a perfect Autumn/Winter deep claret shade.  Application was fine, the above shows 2 coats.

I have a problem with this polish though.  Can you see where it’s semi-sheer in places?  Mainly visible near the cuticles.  Very frustrating.

A third coat would probably have fixed this… but for such a deep shade I wouldn’t have expected to have to apply so many!

Lovely colour, but I bet this shade is available from other brands with a better formula.

…my new Nails Inc. polishes!

I won these in LionLovingTiger‘s most fabulous giveaway

Look!

L-R: Victoria, Brook Street, Pelham Crescent, London Nights, Tate

5 new Nail Polishes… 5 nails… it had to be done!

L-R: Same order as the photo above…

I’ve had a rocky start with Nails Inc. polishes.  I think that freebie I received with Instyle was a shocking bad advertisement for the Nails Inc. brand and nearly put me off trying any more.  I’m so glad I persisted now, they’ve become one of my favourite ranges.

Are there any brands that gave you a bad initial impression… only for you to grow to love them?

Do you even give brands second and third chances to impress you?

Would an aspiring makeup snob venture into Asda on a Friday night on the hunt for a grey polish she saw whilst doing last weeks food shop? I think not… I’m slipping.

However, I’m pleased I did – because I’ve found a little gem!

This is a lovely pale grey aptly named “Raincloud” that is perhaps just a ‘teeny’ bit blue toned.  Application isn’t the smoothest, it dries VERY quickly… even as you’re applying.  I’d recommend not trying to be too precise with this.  Get a big blob on the brush and attempt to cover the nail in 3/4 strokes max, any more strokes than this and the polish will start dragging.  However, for some strange reason… the formula is *really* forgiving… many times I applied this unevenly and the formula seems to even itself out across the nail.  I also didn’t experience any bubbling as it dried which is a common problem for me with thicker polishes.

Drying time (as I said) is very quick – the above shows 3 coats, and I reckon I had the full manicure done and dry in about 25 minutes.  The finish is high gloss and I’ve had tons of positive comments about the shade.

I wore this mani up to London on Saturday for the Aussie Event and whilst in Space NK both SA’s were coo-ing over my hands… I couldn’t quite tell if they were horrified or delighted when I told them where I’d bought the polish.

The polishes are currently on offer at £1 for a 5ml bottle in Asda… yep, £1.

Here’s my other bargain purchase (picture taken with flash).. I don’t like this one so much, it’s more chalky and could have done with a top coat, but still a great buy if you like blues!

I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of BarryM’s polishes.  I know that some people find them not as long lasting as the likes of Nails Inc and O.P.I (out of curiousity, do YOU pronounce it Oh Pee Eye, or Ohpee?) but I simply get equal wear out of these polishes with a fantasticly smooth formula and I can’t argue with that.

I’m on a bit of a “grey” kick at the moment and picked 2 of these shades up in Boots this week:

This is a real true “concrete” grey which I thought would look hideous on my pale pink toned skin.  I was wrong! That never happens! (no it doesn’t).

The photo makes it look slightly darker than it appears in daylight (picture was taken under flash conditions) – but the tone is true to life.  It’s nice and glossy and I’m really enjoying catching some admiring glances at my fingertips whilst out and about.

I am desperate for BarryM to release some more shades!  Duotones anyone? Do you have a favourite BarryM shade?

BarryM is currently on a 3for2 in Boots and these polishes are priced at £2.89 ea or £2.95 from the BarryM website.

A cheapie I picked up from the clearance stand at Sallys (anyone else make a beeline for that little stand?)

Moon Over Mumbai was released as part of the OPI Indian Collection and was one of the first ultra light greys on the market.

It’s a very pale cold grey with a slight shimmer.  I’d call it a pale pearl grey… very lovely!

It’s unfortunately (for me) rather sheer.  The above shows 5 coats and it’s still not fully opaque, although close enough.  Longevity is VERY good though… 5 days and counting with no top coat! (I’m so lazy)

Are you a fan of greys?

I didn’t appreciate this colour fully until I was out in the sunlight the day after painting. Wowee, vivid blue flashes… just stunning!

Application was not bad, formula a little thicker than I like but not too gloopy.  2 coats.  This one is chipping a little more quickly than I find acceptable but it’s such a lovely colour… I don’t care.

This is a shade that was sent as a freebie (for joining the newsletter I believe) back when I took advantage of the Nails Inc. offer a couple of weeks ago.

It’s a hot, hot jelly shade! I would describe it simply as 50% red 50% orange.  I can’t commit exclusively to either camp for descriptive purposes!

It applies VERY sheer for what appears to be such a bold, solid colour.  The above photo took 5 coats and it’s still not fully opaque.  But yanowot?  This is my favourite Nails Inc. application yet!  Woohoo!  It’s thin but very quick drying.  Love it!  The result is a gorgeously smooth, bubble-free jelly-like finish.  There wasn’t quite enough shine for me, so I added a quick-drying top coat.  I think this would make the most awesome pedicure shade – it makes me very sorry to see the last of summer (well, not that we had one.. but I know you know what I mean.)

I can’t find this shade on their website, so if you wanna get your hands on it… make sure that you sign up to their newsletter next time you make an order!

I’ve said it before, but having to apply lots of coats really doesn’t bother me as long as the application is smooth and forgiving.  I’m usually doing my nails whilst watching telly or surfing t’internet so if it takes a couple of hours from start to finish – I don’t care.  I find it quite therapeutic!

How about you?… do you enjoy doing your nails or do you find it all a bit of a chore?

You already know by now that I’m a big fan of Mavala polishes and further to my post a few weeks ago on Mavala’s “Ruby” polish, I was sent the remaining 2 colours of Mavala’s Autumn/Winter collection for review. 

The collection is called Viva La Colour!  – a brave slap in the face to the usual Autumn/Winter collections showing up around now.

The first shade I want to show you is “Liberty”, an elegant soft nude.

This is a sheer, but it builds up opacity quite nicely thanks to Mavala’s reliable formula which never fails to please me.  The above is a total of 4 thin coats, a little more than I would prefer to apply – but it’s not a chore thanks to the smooth application.  If you did want to wear this sheer, it would be a lovely shade to compliment a french manicure… as for me, I don’t do sheers – so I’m glad I was able to build up the opacity, especially on such a lovely work-appropriate nude.  Work-appropriate nude? An oxymoron if ever I heard one!

Before I continue, I have to tell you that  “Viva La Colour!” is a collection of mattes.  Which probably goes some way to explain why I wasn’t delighted with the finish of the Ruby shade I tried earlier this month.

To be blunt, I don’t regard this collection as matte.  We’ve all seen the mattes on offer this season from the likes of O.P.I, Zoya and Nubar… I’m not a fan, but regardless of my personal taste, these ‘matte’ offerings from Mavala just aren’t… well, matte.  Semi-matte perhaps, but they’re definitely still fairly glossy.  This might be the ideal compromise for you if you’re a little too conservative to rush headlong into the new trend.

For me, this finish just misses – I get a non-commital vibe from the collection which is a shame, but as I’m about to demonstrate… easily remedied by a swipe of your favourite top coat.

Introducing Tokyo, the final shade in the trio.  It’s a beautiful deep dark blue with more than just a hint of purple on display.  Lovely colour, shame about that finish.

But wait… 1 top coat later…

Oh my!… Hello lover!  You’re beautiful in all your ultra glossy loveliness.  You remind me of Cadbury’s chocolate wrappers.  You make me feel all dark, mysterious and sophisticated – quite an achievement!

So, to sum up… if you’re into your mattes, I’d steer clear of this collection.

If you just want some gorgeous Autumn/Winter nail styling that’s bang on trend, a dream to apply and beautifully finished (with a top coat – ahem) – then look no further.

The collection is available from Greenhands and priced @ £3.75 each

Now, if you’ll excuse me… I’m off to stuff my face on Dairy Milk.

[starreview tpl=14]