A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I bought this last summer at the same time as picking up a few of their other shades.  I was so unimpressed with the gloopy formula that I found with Peacock (a teal shade), that it’s taken me until now to try one of the others!

Silly me eh?

Mouse is quite, quite lovely.  It’s a softened greige… I defy you to liken this to shit fingers you ‘orrible greige hating lot (you know who you are!)

Very sophisticated-looking (if I do say so myself) but it needs 3 coats.  The above photo shows two coats and I can see a bit of transparency on my ring finger that I didn’t spot until looking at the photo above.

Longevity is slightly less than average, tip wear was noticeable after a day so I’d steer clear if polish peels off your tips quicker than you can paint it on.

American Apparel nail polishes are available instore or online priced at £7 each.

Butter London have just announced a new nail polish shade to coincide with the Royal Wedding this year!

“No More Waity, Katie” will be a limited edition shade released late spring, named for the popular tabloid play on Kate Middleton’s perceived patience as she waited for Prince William to pop that all important question!

Described as a greyish/blue glitter infusion, I can’t waity (see what I did there? smooth…) to see how this looks in person.

More information on release dates and potential pre-orders at PowderRooms as and when I have it.

I’ll take any excuse for some new glitter-infused nail polish shades thankyouverymuch!

Ahhh, that catchy #105…

O.P.I-esque shade naming this ain’t!  But the sample they sent me is a raspberry fire cracker regardless!

The above ladies… is one coat.  Swoon, go on… I’ll catch you.

Intensely pigmented and glossy enough to do without a top coat… consider me impressed.

For some reason, #105 is listed on the website under “glitter polishes” which as you can see, this isn’t.  I’m wondering if perhaps the webmaster still has some re-jigging to do.  If you’re thinking of ordering, keep this in mind and perhaps email them for confirmation about that ‘glitter’ category.

Wear has been consistent with the majority of polishes I use… nothing major to report, although in all honesty I often wonder if it’s even worth me commenting on longevity because I just don’t seem to suffer the same chipping problems that lots of you do – sorry about that!

This would make a cracking pedicure shade… infact, I think it’ll be gracing my toes before the week is out!

Paese Cosmetics Nail Polishes retail at a bargainous £3.37 each.  I’ve already got my eye on #110 and #120 aswell as some of the treatments that seem to cover every nail problem known to man!

Available today while stocks last you can purchase 5 full size Nails Inc. products for only £10! (shipping £3.95)

Your Lucky Dip order will include:

~ 1 full size Chelsea Park Gardens polish (iridescent hot pink)
~ A top or base coat polish
~ 3 additional polish shades selected at random

Click the image below to go to the deal…

If you were to buy these items separately, they’d set you back £55 – quite a saving!  Also try promo code JAN20 for 20% off non-sale items.

But that’s not all… remember October’s 10 bottle mega deal?  Well… I’m spotting another one of those in the SALE section called The Red Carpet Colour Collection.  Different colours (bar one), same deal!  10 full-size bottles for a bargainous £25!

Shop, shop, shop, shop, shop…

I always protest that I don’t like pastels… and on paper, I don’t.  They’re insipid and make my hands look pudgy and blotchy.  I know that my fingers look far more slender with darker tips… but then I look down at my nails and get that happy feeling that only light and airy colours can bring.

Ciate Fun Fair is a cool toned cross between pink and lilac… the thing that strikes me most about it though is that it doesn’t look too stark.  Anything that leans towards pale AND cool does tend to start looking a little chalky and obvious.  Fun Fair just about keeps it’s dignity intact!

The formula was fine, one of those polishes that really come good on a 2nd or 3rd coat.  Don’t expect to be happy with this on it’s first coat.  I find that to be true of a lot of Ciate polishes.

Wear was good too… it lasted a full 3 days before tip wear became noticeable enough to make me want to remove it.

Ciate Fun Fair is priced at £9 and available to buy online from The Powder Rooms.

As well as being partial to a good red lipstick, I’m also partial to a good red nail polish.  The best for me are those slightly retro creams that command attention and make you feel just that little bit sexier everytime you spot them!

Butter London’s Come to Bed Red not only has an awesome name… but it’s an awesome red too!

It has an almost jelly-like finish which means that you’ll need an additional coat to ward off a visible nail line but on the flipside is it’s supreme shine and sweetie-like appearance.

Do you like your reds to be as bright as this?

Butter London Come to Bed Red is available to buy online priced from around £9.75

A galactic explosion of coloured glitter pieces in a glossy black base.  It’s a lovely polish apart from one failing… even after two top coats, the finish was still gritty.  It didn’t bother me hugely but I would have prefered to have a lovely non-bumpy surface.

Everything else was pretty spot on with this little number.  Very nice!

Eyeko Cosmic Nail Polish is available to buy online from PowderRooms priced at £3.50

I was given this by PR a few months ago and from first use, I wanted to jump on here and exclaim my love for it… but I didn’t.  I’ve spent good money on glass nail files before, fallen in love with them and then watched them become ineffective after a month or so.

Leighton Denny’s Crystal Nail File is different.  It’s made from lead crystal that’s been treated to create a filing surface that is literally guaranteed to last a lifetime (the guarantee is in the box!).

This is the 135mm ‘model’ that comes in an aluminium case and I really recommend getting one that comes protected like this.  Whilst the filing surface should last indefinitely, they’re still delicate tools and prone to breakage if dropped or carried around in handbags.

I finally felt the push to bite the bullet and upload this review for one particular reason…

I developed a horizontal split in my thumbnail after dropping something very heavy on it a month ago… it reaches very nearly halfway across the nail bed and I’ve been nursing it in the hope that I can keep the nail intact until it grows out.  With a fragile nail like this, I didn’t think I would be able to go near it with a nail file… but I was wrong.  The Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File is so gentle that I can carry on like nothing has happened.

The file glides, it never catches… it turns the nail to dust right before my eyes and I’d liken it to a hot knife slicing through butter.  It’s like kryptonite to the ragged edges of my nails.

At £12, it’s one of those purchases that you wouldn’t appreciate until you started using it.  I wouldn’t be without mine and when Leila got hold of it a couple of days ago, I panicked… turning into a jump negotiator as she waved the crystal wand around in her chubby little hands (perilously close to the table edge).

“Come to Mama lovely… want a chocolate?  No… don’t swing your arms baby… one more step… *grab*”

I’m completely in love with this Crystal Nail File and would happily rate it as a beauty must-have.

Leighton Denny’s Small Crystal Nail File is available online and instore at Boots (priced at an even more bargainous £11!)

What do you use to file your nails?

Oh noes! I don’t like it!

I can probably count on one hand the number of Butter London polishes I’ve tried and disliked.  This would fall into that sad category.  I had cuticle drag with this one… you can possibly see the remnants on the middle finger at the base (where it looks kinda streaky).  This meant that although in most places it was completely opaque after 2 coats… there were patches that demanded a third coat to finish off.

Everything else I was happy with… formula, drying time, glossiness… so it’s a shame I don’t really like the colour either.

Fash Pack is infused with the most delicious micro golden-sparkles… very similar to how China Glaze’s Ingrid looks in the bottle.  And in the same way, I think that this is what ruins it for me by making it too warm (yet grey at the same time).

Warm and Olive toned ladies, this might be a really great choice for you.  For me, it’s a boob.

You can buy Butter London Fash Pack online from PowderRooms

Butter London’s Tramp Stamp is a rich, dark chocolatey shade which leans toward the plum.  It’s a gorgeous Winter shade which would look lovely on tidy, short nails rather than my talons (which have since had an extreme trim!)

When a creme is done well, there’s nothing that can really beat it is there?  Look Ma, no top coat!  Glossy and luxurious looking, this is one brown that is anything but dull.

I found the formula, application and all that stuff to be fine… a touch of cuticle drag on the 2nd coat which needed a 3rd just to cover it up, though in fairness I was a litttle hasty in application and the 1st coat may not have been quite dry enough.

Butter London’s Tramp Stamp is available to buy online from PowderRooms priced at £9.75

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?

Blimey! It’s nail polish Sunday or somethink, sorry polish haters!

Some of you coo-ed over Butter London’s The Full Monty that I swatched earlier in the week… a true Xmassy gold that kept neutral enough to suit my cool skintone.  Well… what with it being December n’all, how could I not glitterize the crap out of it?

I mean c’mon… it’s CHRISTMASSSSSSSSSSS! (nearly).

I added two coats of Butter London West End Wonderland to get this disco on my nails.  It’s fabulous!  Glitter is freaking HARD to capture in a still image.  It lends itself to movement and light reflecting so what you can’t see is that West End Wonderland has a rather gorgeous red glitter scattered amongst the gold which sets it apart from my other gold glitters.

As always, it’s a bugger to remove… I love/hate glitter.  But this time of year?  Love wins out.

Butter London’s West End Wonderland is available to buy online from PowderRooms priced at £9.75