A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

A bright, strong… vivid blue creme.  Perfect for tips or toes this Summer!

A solid two-coater, a great all rounder with average wear of 2/3 days before the tips start looking a bit ragged.  No chips but as I’ve said many times… I don’t generally suffer from poor nail wear.

It feels like a very clean colour that is somehow almost sensible enough to wear in the office.  Of course, being BLUE it isn’t.  But it just gives an impression of formality.  That makes more sense in my head than it does on this page.

But the thing is… surely it’s incredibly dupable?  And at £11.95, you’d hope it might be…

I went and bought BarryM‘s Cobalt Blue to compare because I figured it would probably be the nearest match (off the top of my head):

In the above photo, I’m wearing Cobalt Blue on the little and middle fingers whilst I’m sporting Blagger on my index and ring fingers.  They’re similar but Blagger has a teal edge to it and isn’t quite so “primary” blue after all.

What do you think?  Is the difference worth £8.96?

You can purchase Butter London Blagger online from PowderRooms priced at £11.95

If pastel pinks are your thing, you’re in for a treat!

Now… I don’t wanna get too cultural about things (says the lady with the degree in Cultural Studies) but DUDE! What’s with calling a Mod Pink “Teddy Girl”… tsk.

Names aside, Teddy Girl is a very striking pepto-bismol pink creme that needs a few coats to rescue it from streaksville.  This isn’t uncommon with these ‘white-out’ shades but it is irritating nonetheless when you get pretty good cover from the first coat.

Once any patches have been evened out, wear is perfectly adequate and the shade is super-striking.  I love combining it with a black outfit to really make my nails POP!

Butter London – Teddy Girl is is available to buy online now from PowderRooms priced at £11.95

Have no real use for your retinas?  Good… read on then…

Eyeko Punk Polish is a searingly obvious fluoro-pink!  If you want people to comment on your tips (I said tips), opt for a shade as blisteringly bright as this one!

As a mega Clash fan, I’m a little partial to the shade that proclaims on its website: “Pink is the only true rock n roll colour” Paul Simonon.

It’s quite thick and needs speedy work to get it to apply nicely… but if you can persevere with the less-than-perfect application, the results are worth it!

Two coats to achieve opacity and perfectly fine wear make this a great Summer choice.  Do combine with a top coat for a glossy finish though, as with most neon or near-neon shades, this has a tendency to dry a little matte.

Eyeko Punk Polish is available to buy online from Eyeko or at the original (pre price-hike price) from PowderRooms.

Ok, so these aren’t necessarily ‘moody’ but I didn’t know how to describe them.  I love blue polishes and wanted to do a comparison post showing some of the blues in my collection that are a little different to the norm.  A little greyer… a little more… stroppy.

Some of you were also keen for me to elaborate on potential dupes for Butter London’s new Lady Muck polish.  I’m afraid I came up empty handed on that score!

1. Essie – Sag Harbor
2. Eyeko – Rain
3. Butter London – Lady Muck
4. Butter London – Victoriana
5. Barielle – June Bug

A close up so that you can see the finish of each polish.  You can see that the HTF Essie Sag Harbor and Eyeko Rain are definitely quite close in appearance.

Yesterday I was also asked about the differences between BL Lady Muck and Victoriana.  Hopefully you can see that they’re worlds apart.  Barielle June Bug?  Well that’s just a fun odd ball!  Incidentally, I wonder what’s happened to Barielle’s Spring/Summer collection… anyone know if there is one?

.

What are your favourite ‘odd’ blues to wear?

I told you I had some rather special Butter Londons to show you – how about this one from the new Spring/Summer collection?

Lady Muck is described as a powdery periwinkle blue, slightly on the grey side and infused with pearl pigment for a soft, sexy sheen.

It’s a gorgeous alternative shade for those of us who don’t go for the screaming brights and Easter Egg pastels that are on offer.  Yes, it’s quite a toned-down shade that wouldn’t look out of place in a Winter collection but the silver pearl really lifts the dustiness and gives it a more floaty, ethereal look.

No complaints with either application or wear… there’s something about these greyed-out shades that seem to give me ridiculously good wear.  Very strange but always welcome!

Butter London’s Lady Muck is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online from PowderRooms

Ahhh, now wouldn’t we all like a little more dosh to see us through this Spring/Summer?

Described by Butter London as a molten apple green shot through with metallic gold, I’m happy with that description.  On my skintone, it’s not as vulgar as OPI’s Sit Under The Apple Tree which still gives me nightmares when I think back to it.

DOSH is a far crisper, punkier and more vibrant affair.  The metallic shimmer is micro and v. pretty in a gentle non-chunky way.  No chips but a bit of tip wear by the third day and the above photo shows two coats.

If you’re a fan of greens, you’ll probably want to add this to your collection… if not?  Hold out for a peek of some of the others because there’s some surprising stunners.

Butter London DOSH is available to buy online now from PowderRooms priced at £11.95

The final item I received in my goody bag from the recent Illamasqua Blogger Event was this nail polish…

Don’t be fooled by its demure-sounding name, Purity* is about as vivid as a peach can get!  Not entirely suited to my skintone, I can see this looking freakin’ amazing on dark-skinned sisters.  It’s creamy, opaque and glossy.

The formula was great and the above image shows two coats… longevity has been impressive as I’m on day four of wear and can only see a tiny nick on the tip of one of my fingers…. not even a proper chip and barely any tip wear at all!

A perfect peach of a polish that is guaranteed to turn heads all Summer.

Illamasqua’s polishes may be a little pricey at £13.50, but they back it up with quality formulas and exciting shades.

Illamasqua Purity Nail Polish is available now to buy on counter, instore or online.

* press sample

The crackle craze started in the UK last Autumn with a certain black top coat from BarryM that cracked and shattered to create interesting effects and nail art for the unartistic.

Then the BIG guns got involved with OPI and even Dior getting in on the act!

Now Models Own have jumped squarely on the crackle bandwagon and are doing it in style with their new collection SMASH-UP

Available from April, Models Own will be introducing an entire rainbow of crackle shades to glam up your nails for the Summer!

Priced at £6.00 each, you’ll be able to get your hands on them in Boots and online at www.modelsownit.com

If there’s one thing I associate with the Czech Republic (other than beer), it’s the country’s long and distinguished history of working with glass.  Czech glass is world renowned for it’s quality and craftsmanship.

I took delivery of a sample nail file a few weeks ago from Mont Bleu, a company based on the outskirts of Prague who produce tempered glass nail files by hand.

It arrived in a substantial leatherette mock-croc gifting box.

The nail file itself is tucked inside, housed in a velvet pouch and arrived with an authenticity card.  All these little extra touches really single a product out as being gift-worthy!

I received the Red Medium Nail File with Swarovski Crystals in a ‘marbles’ design which you can view online here.

It’s a well-made product as one might expect and is comparable to my Leighton Denny file in both size and quality.  I’ve used it daily to give it a thorough wear test and so far, the surface has remained as pristine as the day it arrived.

My one distinction in the quality between them would be that the Mont Bleu file feels ever so slightly “grittier” when filing than the Leighton Denny.  I’m not 100% sure on this and have been wavering and asking everyone who visits to weigh in with an opinion.  It’s divided everyone!

The Mont Bleu files are available in a variety of designs and can be bought online in the UK through their distributor BestCrystalNailFiles.

Priced at £10.99 for a medium size, it’s a lovely gift choice for Mothers everywhere this Mother’s Day.

…and because that name isn’t quite daft enough, I’m also christening it “the polish for women who don’t dig polish”.  Do you think it’ll catch on?

In the same way that I wouldn’t linger about ripping a bandaid off your arm hairs, I’ll also let you know that this bottle will set you back 20 of your British pounds.  Did you catch that?  £20.  For a nail polish.  Not even 15ml of nail polish.  10ml.

Which might go some way to explaining the name that I’ve given this polish.  Forget your Pink Pongs… this is a polish for women who don’t dig polish and I’ll tell you why:

1). It practically applies itself.
2). It doesn’t need a top coat.
3). It was opaque in one coat.
4). It may well survive nuclear war.

It’s the perfect polish for ladies who don’t normally ‘do’ nails but suddenly find themselves with the need for a nail polish that isn’t going to fail them in any way, shape or form.  ByTerry Terrybly Nail Laque in Pink Pong is a practically perfect polish.

But as a chick who digs nail polish and digs applying nail polish… I’d personally rather spend £20 on 3 bottles that give me a bit of trouble when applying, need a top coat but come in a shade that make me go ‘ooooh’!

Quite frankly, I’d feel sick at myself for spending £20 on one nail polish… though perversely, I’m ok with spending £39 on a blush.  Maybe I should just shut up because I’m suffering from a clear case of double-standards.

Terrybly Nail Laque By Terry* is available instore at SpaceNK or online, priced at £20

* press sample

I’m generally quite sold on Eyeko polishes… and for the money, since the reformulation last year they’ve been a good bet.  I’m particularly a fan of  their pastels which can often be hit or miss from all brands thanks to streakiness, thickness of formula to overcompensate or just downright chalkiness.

Eyeko Pastel polish is a pale blue that isn’t chalky!  It’s almost creamy infact…

Not only that but the formula is easily spreadable.  The only area this polish fails a little for me is patchiness.  Whilst not horrific, you can see that after two thick coats… it could do with a third.  There is uneveness and a bit of streakiness going on here.

The pale blue has a gorgeous vivid flash of metallic blue pearl which stops it from looking flat.  If you’re willing to go with three coats on this shade, it’s a total winner in my book.

Eyeko Pastel Polish is available to buy online priced at £3.50  from PowderRooms or £4 direct from Eyeko.

I’m spending the day in Windsor today (official home to the Queen) so I thought that Butter London’s No More Waity Katie would be a very fitting shade for my nails!

A dirty mauve packed with lavender glitter… looks absolutely nothing like it’s promo picture!

The mauve base is awfully sheer… and this polish doesn’t make for a pretty sheer.  In my opinion it ‘needs’ building up and for me, that meant 3 coats on most fingers and an extra one on two of them that still appeared patchy.

The glitter is well… it’s just glitter.  Yes, it’s a nice colour combo and you know I love my dirgy shades but I think I was hoping for something more spectacular… imagine a dirgy version of All Hail McQueen with it’s super fine glitter… yeah, that.

The finish is rough and will need more than one application of top coat to remove the grittiness.  It’s a more understated glitter than most and one that I’d even go so far as to class work appropriate!

Overall, it’s not as regal as I’d hoped… but regardless, it’s already a sell out!

And if you want to get your hands on this limited edition shade, Powder Rooms still has stock!