A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

When I saw the Butter London Jelly Collection on sale at ASOS, I made a dive for my handbag and had my order confirmation sat in my inbox in record time!

The trio of polishes were a Spring 2010 release.  3 shimmery sheer jelly shades that promise some layering gorgeousness.  They didn’t disappoint.

The image shows 2 coats of each applied over a black base.

Stroppy transforms into a blackened purple sparkle fest that reminds me of a vampier version of NARS Purple Rain.

Twee completely changes the hue to a slightly dusky purple with a more subtle sparkle.

Chuffed glitters all over the place… just beautful.

I can’t pick a favourite from the three, I thought I’d be able to… but they’re each quite different and totally mesmerizing in their own right.  I can’t wait to try these over other shades… they apply like a dream, dry smoothly and rapidly with a glossy finish (no top coats in the above image).

You can also wear these shades sheer if you prefer, Kelly over at Vampy Varnish has some great nail swatches to show how they look applied alone.  They’re a great option for sprucing up a tired looking manicure when you simply can’t be arsed to redo the whole lot… patch up any chips, grab one of these… 2 coats… brand new mani!

Tempted?  If so… grab ’em while they’re still a fiver each – free delivery at ASOS! *siren/temptress dance*

Free on the cover of next month’s copy of InStyle magazine (£3.60)…

Choose between three shades of this season’s must have polish colours created exclusively for InStyle by popular nail brand Nails Inc.  Worth £10.50 each!

And as if that weren’t enough of an incentive… readers will also be entitled to 20% off all Nails Inc. online purchases, plus 20% off manicures and pedicures.

The June issue of InStyle is on sale from today (28th April).

A word to the wise, these sell out pretty quickly!  No prizes for guessing which one I’m nabbing tomorrow!

Will you be picking one up?  Which shade will you be going for?

I couldn’t resist posting this press release that landed in my inbox yesterday… check it out…

The London College of Beauty Therapy are undertaking a Guiness World Record on Thursday 13th May and in order to achieve it, they need YOUR help!

They’re hoping to break The Guinness World Record for the highest number of File and Varnishes to be carried out in eight hours!  That means over 2000 files and polishes!

The London College of Beauty Therapy is staging the event to support the charity Wellbeing of Women which funds medical research into all women’s health issues.

Men and Women are invited to come along on the day to receive a free file and varnish (or file and buff) performed by a highly trained therapist.

Speaking about the reasons behind the event, Eileen Cavalier, OBE, Founder and CEO of London College of Beauty Therapy said: “This is a fun way of helping to raise concerns about women’s health issues. Although we plan to carry out at least two thousand nail treatments, a daunting challenge, we are, nevertheless, confident that each recipient will receive an excellent and enjoyable treatment.”

The Guinness World Record File and Varnish event will take place between 11am and 7pm on Thursday May 13th at London College of Beauty Therapy, 47 Great Marlborough Street, London W1. The college is located close to Oxford Circus Underground Station.

If you’d like to volunteer your tips for a good cause, email the bods behind the challenge to book your slot at helpusnailit@lcbt.co.uk

I’m such a dumbass, it took me ages to get the Oh Tiff reference!

Oh Tiff! is a beautiful “Tiffany Blue”… at least as close as you can get to it without infringing their colour trademark (yes, really!)

For me, it’s a 3 coater… 2 just doesn’t quite give that smooth clean finish that you need to achieve with creme polishes.  It applies well with only a touch of drag and wears even better! 3 days before I even noticed tip wear, that’s impressive.

I buy my Diamond Cosmetics polishes from Flashy Nails and they range in price from £2 to £3.50 depending on whether or not they’re in the sale.  If you’re interested in buying any shades, don’t delay too long as I heard that Jenny (the owner) may be thinking of shutting up shop soon to have her baby!

Do you like this one?

Shade 1…. catchy…

Naming them must have ran the risk of breaking the budget for this new £1 line of makeup from Superdrug

Ok, enough sarcasm…

Shade 1 is a blackened blue.  The best way to describe it is opalescent… a darker-than-navy base with royal blue glitter particles.  The glitter isn’t chunky and a top coat isn’t necessary to smooth the finish.  I had to go and stand in direct sunlight to capture the sparkles for the photo which is why you can see my conservatory roof reflected in my tips!

For a £1 polish it’s a good looking finish.  Formula isn’t the best… it dragged at the cuticles and if I look carefully there’s still a couple of streaks visible after two coats.  However, it’s not horribly gloopy or difficult to actually paint with which is an irritation I often experience with high street polishes.  Yes, I’m a nail polish snob I know (bar Asda!) *hangs head*

Ohh that’s a good comparison actually…. I’ve tried two from the MUA line so far and quality isn’t as good as the George formula.  The MUA polishes that I’ve tried have a denser, thicker formula, but they are fairly quick-drying.

Tip wear is a little worse than average, not by too much though and I haven’t experienced any chipping after 2 days, so I’m very pleased with that.

I think I’ve covered most things… for a £1, you know you’re not gonna get OPI quality… but I think this is a stonking shade and if you like your blues, definitely check it out next time you’re passing Superdrug!  Alternatively, the entire range is now available to purchase from the website.

Do you like it?

Boots No7 Summer 2010 collection will be hitting counters nationwide next month I believe and here’s what it should look like!

MizzWorthy and BeautyJunkieLondon have got sneak peeks of the collection, so go check them out!

I’m definitely gonna be checking out the silvery looking nail polish, the eye shadow quad and the bronzer.  I really like the look of the shadow quad, gold and silver are a lovely pairing to spice up those two neutrals.  I’m still useless with bronzers, always look like I’ve gone and rubbed my face on the garden.

The rest I probably won’t bother with… gloss in a pot?  Hate getting anything under my nails…  down with pots.  The other nail colour looks a bit of a snore too no?

Anything take your fancy?

I know some of you don’t dig the grey/beige thing, but every greige polish I’ve picked up thus far has suited my complexion beautifully, so I’m hooked.

This is Nails Inc’s latest offering: Lennox Gardens (£15)… and I’m in lurrrrrve.  Well I would be… if they took the stupid ‘crystals’ off and lowered the price by a fiver.

Sludgey poo in a bottle or the epitome of understated elegance, what d’ya reckon?

Marian Newman is an acclaimed session manicurist of many years standing and has worked with a ton of legendary photographers, models and celebrities.  She was the first UK nail technician to work on the top level fashion shows and her work continued in this year’s London Fashion Week when she demonstrated some on trend looks with Ruby & Millie as her polish of choice.

I’m loving these custom polish mixes for the catwalks and ‘Black Tulip’ is no exception:

The Look:
Black Tulip is for strong, confident ‘grown up’ women.  Longer and perfectly oval glamorous nails matching a strong  lip.  The deepest purple; reading black but with a glimmer of luscious purple in the light.

Ruby & Millie Nail Color:
Mix Nail Color Blue 620C and Nail Color Purple 550C – Price: £9.50 each

Marian’s Top Tip:
“The Black Tulip is a deep ‘midnight’ with just a hint of purple. The purple only appears in certain lights.  The key to this looking so fabulous is a smooth nail, smooth finish and a super glossy top coat. It should look almost PVC.”

I can totally imagine this for AW/10… purples are usually hot anyway but it’s lovely to see such a vampy colour wearing well on longer nails.

Problem is, I’m far too lazy to franken polishes… so Ruby & Millie need to get their bums in gear and just make sure it’s released at Boots in time for my Christmas Dinner.

…is CND’s Solar Oil!

Recommended to me by the rather lovely Jamilla from MakeupForProfessionalAsianWomen as her salon uses it to nourish her cuticles.  I’m always on the lookout for cuticle softeners (it makes nail painting SO much easier if your cuticles are in good shape) I couldn’t resist picking up a bottle to try.

Almonds, marzipan… gawd I could drink this stuff.  Though I don’t recommend it.

They say:

A synergistic blend of naturally light oils and Vitamin E, designed to deeply penetrate and protect skin and nails.

Jojoba Oil carries Vitamin E deeply into skin to help reduce visible signs of aging. Naturally light oils keep skin soft and supple. Keeps natural nails, nail color and nail enhancements tough and flexible. Repeated use drives oils deeper into natural nail.

It’s been 3 days and I’ve swiped the brush around my cuticles about 9 times maybe and I’m starting to see a huge improvement.

The thing I like most about the CND Solar Oil is how well it absorbs… taking just a few minutes of massaging into the surrounding skin before I can get on with whatever I was doing previously.  By contrast, my LUSH Lemony Flutter takes a good 10 minutes, by which time I’ve usually grabbed a tissue and wiped most of it off.

Time will tell if it’s as effective as my usual methods… but I’m already fairly condident that it’s outperforming.

I’ve got the 0.25oz size which you can pick up from RadiantBabe.co.uk for £5.99

What do you use to nourish your nails?

A very beautiful pale greige that I was sent a while ago by the lovely Liloo.

Shown here is 2 coats, and I think it probably needs 3… looked fine indoors but a touch patchy in direct sunlight.  Country Club Khaki is a gorgeously sophisticate creamy greige and definitely in my top 5.  If you’re into the trend, you need this polish in your life!

I find Orly’s brushes a touch on the narrow side, but the formula was completely forgiving and I didn’t have any issues to speak of.

Are you a fan of the trend? I personally love it.  There’s a great looking new Nails Inc shade aswell that I need to tell you about soon!

£6.99 from Beauty4Nails-Body.

“What a snore!” I proclaimed, looking at Illamasqua’s latest collection, Body Electrics.

It’s not that it’s a bad looking collection… it’s just… not me.

I don’t really do bronzers…. I don’t want liquid metals (regardless of how lovely they look in their pans)… I don’t go anywhere to warrant slathering myself in sparkly body oils and I’m a bit blued and purpled out in the nail polish world too.

I actually really quite like the theory behind the collection…. the dynamics of movement and light reflecting… all great stuff, but I just felt disappointed seeing the theory put into practice.

I received a parcel from Illamasqua containing a couple of pieces from the new collection and to be blunt, I was expecting to give the products a “these are nice but ultimately dull” review based on how uninspiring I’d found them thus far.

I was wrong.

Initially, when I opened the parcel… my spirits weren’t lifted when I pulled out one of the new Nail Polishes in shade Prism.

“Oh… it’s not the purple” thought I… sounding far too much like a spoilt child to admi… oh

I twirled the bottle in my hands, watching the iridescence and blue flashes catch the light…. yeah, it’s pretty… but I kept thinking about my yellow stained nails and how ugly they’d look combined with this blatantly sheer polish I was holding.

Wanna see?

Admitedly, this is 4 coats… 1 coat was as horrible as I’d envisaged.  But this is beautiful.  After a year of solid, opaque polishes to cover up stains and dodgy ridged nails… this is delicate.  It’s like a veil…. it shrouds all the imperfections, but leaves a hint of nail tip and blue irridescence that simply says…. feminine.

Not only that, but the formula is stunning.  This is my first Illamasqua polish… drying time blew me away.  I was able to apply and finish 4 coats in 25 minutes.  Hand on heart, this is probably the greatest formula I’ve used so far.  Whether or not other Illamasqua polishes are the same, I don’t know.

Prism is perfect for weddings, french manicures… it’s one of those polishes for people that don’t like polishes.  If you don’t paint your nails often but want something for those times when you need to up your game… get this polish.  I imagine it would also look rather lovely layered over a dark base too… I shall have to experiment!

Thanks ever so much lovely Illamasqua makeup fairies, a genuinely lovely surprise that simply made a makeup addict’s week!

Available from counters nationwide or online at Illamasqua priced at £13.00

If I said I didn’t like this polish very much… I’d be being kind.

I actually don’t usually dislike polishes, I can make most formulas work for me with a bit of adjustment in how I paint… either that or the colour is so lovely that it redeems itself once on my nails.

I’ve fallen out with this Eyeko Purple polish and no amount of chocolates or flowers is gonna smooth over the cracks in our relationship.  So what’s wrong with it?

It drags at the cuticles quite heavily… it’s painfully slow drying… it’s gloopy gloop city… it bubbled on the second coat and after all that, the colour is blah and easily dupable in a better formula.

Actually, this feels like Eyeko polishes of old… if I were you, I’d stick to the pastels.