A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

A new limited edition polish release from Eyeko…

Rain Polish is a rather delicate smoky blue/grey amalgamation.  It’s instantly clear that a lot of thought has been put into the colour selection by the addition of a subtle amount of shimmer that really lifts the shade and stops it falling into the familiar pale blue trap of looking flat and chalky.

Application was a touch tricky, the formula felt fine…. nicely balanced, but on application it dragged a bit unless I was super quick.  The best way I found to prevent this was by applying thicker coats than I would normally… which then has the knock on effect of taking longer to dry, so I probably wouldn’t wear this without the addition of a quick dry top coat.

It reminds me of Essie’s Sag Harbor from last year’s North Fork collection but with less shimmer.

Do you like it?

Looking on the Eyeko website, I’m only seeing it available as part of a set of 3 (priced at £8.50).  Hopefully they’ll make it available as an invidual shade ‘cos it’s a fairly unique one.

Last year, they were everywhere and they divided opinion.  Some loved ’em, some hated ’em.

What am I talking about?  Matte Nails of course!

17 Nails Xtras Matte Top Coat Polish 8ml (£3.99) from Boots is due to be released in September and I’ve got a sneaky peek for you!

Well… finally!  A really, thoroughly decent matte top coat with great availability and a price tag to match!

It may a little late to the mass market to be considered the height of fashion, but this budget matte top coat from 17 Cosmetics is gonna be a hugely popular seller in my humble opinion.

It applies a true matte finish, none of this satin semi-matte nonsense.  So far, I haven’t noticed it accentuating any ridges or imperfections in the polish application underneath and it dries fully in minutes.  Actually, that’s my one caveat… you need to apply the top coat quickly as it will dry rapidly.  Once you realise this, it’s not a problem as the polish glides on smoothly anyway.

After wearing for a couple of days, the matte finish does get slightly shinier… more satiny.  But I haven’t noticed an increase in chipping or tip wear as a result of topping up my standard manicure with this little gem.

£3.99?  You’ll want to get this!  Hurry up September!

My final polish from the Urban Decay Summer of Love Nail Set.  I don’t know what took me so long to give this one a spin… look how beautiful it is!

It’s golden without being brassy… bronze without being orange.  It’s quite hard to describe.  A metallic finish that looks beautifully smooth on the nail.  I wasn’t expecting this to suit me, but it suits me very well.

3 coats to achieve a full, opaque finish.  I think this may be my favourite from the set.  I’m truly surprised by how much I love this one!  Longevity on this was also the best… 5 days before I even saw tip wear.  That’s pretty amazing no?

Ugh, I die when I look at that picture… it captures it well… how can it be so metallic and bronzed yet understated.  If I could buy this in a large size bottle, I would.

I’ve attached links to the other polishes from the set including the overview… if you haven’t seen them already – check ’em out!

Urban Decay Summer of Love Nail Kit – Overview
Aquarius NOTD
Magic Bus NOTD
Hashbury NOTD
Woodstock NOTD
Love Love Light NOTD
Psychedelic Sister NOTD
Shine On NOTD

Soleil indeed…

Paul & Joe‘s Soleil is a juicy tangerine shade from Spring 2009 (though still available online).  It’s a shimmery jelly shade with a few golden sparkles thrown in for good measure.  Oh… and let’s not forget the typically beautiful Paul & Joe packaging *swoon*

I was on the hunt for a juicy but non-neon orange and this fits the bill perfectly.  The above shows 4 coats with a topper of Seche Vite.  I think it could probably do with a few more bits of sparkle, as you can see it’s only really my middle finger that managed to attract any gold specks.

Is orange a shade that you’re into at the moment?  It’s not a favourite on my skin tone, but nothing screams Summer quite like it!

Maybe this will change your minds…

ARGH!  Stop!  Must. not. buy. more. polish!

But yano…. if you wanted to, here’s the link

Beautiful shade, great looking finish, 2 easy-to-apply coats and truly, truly inexpensive at £1.50 a bottle.

Which is why the terrible wear breaks my heart.

This is how it looked at the beginning of the 2nd day.  It didn’t look much better halfway through the first day either (I just didn’t have my camera with me).

*sigh* what an unadulterated shame.

Love Light…

Totally a layering shade, so I thought I’d just see how many coats it needed to achieve opacity.

I got to 4 and I’m just about there…

One of the best applicators of the Summer of Love set, this glides on the nail and dries quickly.  Once opaque, it’s a beautiful pale gold shade with a lot of sparkle.

It’s feminine without being too floaty.  I like it more than I thought I would on initial inspection.

Sadly it has chipped in two places along the cuticle edge which is rather odd, I think it may have more to do with a heavy handed application of top coat though… which renders that last statement rather useless.

I’ve got one more shade to show from the Summer of Love kit.. I know it’s practically old news now, but I’m determined to get them all blogged for swatch purposes!

I need to get my hands on more of these!  Especially Night Life and Hit That… but, they’re discontinued.  I’m stalking eBay… and I’m on a mission.

For now, I have this one to show you…

Rimmel Play Fast in Street Wear got picked up for obvious greige-y type reasons.  Please ignore the art stamp on my ring finger.  It’s where I got accosted at The Clothes Show by some bloke who didn’t know what he was doing and ruined my manicure with a shoddily applied topcoat and distinct lack of charm.  Dick.

Street Wear is a pale grey/beige which reminds me of Orly’s Country Club Khaki.  It’s a 3 coater and a little gloopy, possibly down to it’s age… I shall try adding a touch of thinner to the bottle before using it again.  It contains a subtle (but beautful) rose gold shimmer that picks up when the sunlight hits it.

Overall, it’s a nice addition to my collection… but ultimately not a must have.  Wear is good but once it sets in, the polish ages quickly and unevenly.

And that, my friends… is that!

You like?

I love.

That’s all.

Ok… you wish…  Not even close.

Is this pastelly?  I swore off pastels in January and now feel silly ‘cos I’ve been loving them ever since!  I don’t *really* wear neon summer shades, but adore Summer blues so this is right up my street!

I’m perhaps a little bored of that Stanhope Gardens type colour (though I appreciate many can’t get enough of those minty blue shades).

The Limited Edition Nails Inc. Sorbet Collection (cute name) is out now and priced at £25 for the set.

Is it teal?  Is it blue?  Argh… can’t decide…

Petrol blue, that’s what I’m gonna call it.

Barielle’s A Bouquet for Ava is a stunning creme polish.  Opaque in 2 coats (as pictured), the formula is a beauty… smooth and thin but heavily pigmented.

I dislike the semi-matte finish once dried and was sure to top off with a coat of Seche Vite for the ultra-glossy look I love.  I’m on my 2nd full day of wear and I’ve no chips and only minimal tip wear, so far so good!

Barielle’s A Bouquet for Ava is available online from Barielle and priced at £8 (though they’re still currently offering BOGOF)

EDIT: Still love it, but you need to know… a base coat IS. A. MUST.  Trust me, this stains like a bitch.

Signed… Smurf Nails.

I’m having a bizarre relationship with this nail polish from the Urban Decay Summer of Love nail set… When I first saw Hashbury, I was a little bit in awe.  In the bottle, it looks ah-mazing.  Cadbury purple with masses of micro-shimmer…

Then I swatched it on one nail and couldn’t have been more disappointed.  It was watery, sheer and jelly-like.  It still is two of those things.  After 3 coats, I can get a pretty opaque finish, though it still looks more jelly than cream.  Nothing wrong with a jelly, but if you’re anticipating a nice opaque purple shimmer…. the effect is lessened with a jelly-ish finish.  I like it more than I did, but still not as much as that initial WOW factor.

Final verdict – Could have, should have been great but isn’t.

I know I’m being a tad harsh, it’s still a rather lovely purple… and although the formula is terribly thin, 3 coats isn’t bad and it has the most beautiful high gloss finish.

Anyway, I’m all up in the air about this shade… I can’t decide.  What do you ladies think?

Check out my other swatches from the collection:

Aquarius
Woodstock
The Whole Kit
Psychedelic Sister
Magic Bus

Another from the Urban Decay Summer of Love nail kit (£17.50)

Magic Bus is a hot, firey orange creme.

3 coats… but for such a vibrant, bright colour… I’m a little disappointed that I can still make out my nail line… I think it could do with being a touch more opaque.  Despite this, in all other aspects… the formula was pleasing and easy to use.  Drying time was average and tip wear/chipping minimal.

A true summer shade that my fingernails will see again before Autumn descends.

Check out my other swatches from the collection:

Aquarius
Woodstock
The Whole Kit
Psychedelic Sister