A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I’m really sorry to do this to you but I’m about to feature a super-pretty polish that you can’t get anymore.  And when I say “sorry”, I mean, “not at all”.  You see, I would have featured this one earlier but I have a shoebox in my cupboard full of those naughty polish purchases that are usually made upon impulse and when the postman brings them to my door… I shove them in my shoebox until such a time that my shopping guilt has passed and I can go rummaging for treasures.

Well, I must have been very naughty because this one was bought back in February and I’ve only just pulled it out now.

It’s an absolute stinker of a polish and I’m sure I’ve contracted finger-cancer seven times over since applying it, god knows what it’s got in it… you see, it was an eBay purchase from Hong Kong, a brand I’ve never heard of… and I’m not exagerrating when I say that it stinks.  It could clear a room faster than a fire alarm.

But look!  LOOK!  It’s so sparkly and pretty!

The above photo shows ONE coat over a purple creme, the top photo shows three coats over a bare nail.  The formula is pretty horrible to be fair, thick and gloopy but it does spread evenly with a bit of patience.  It’s a very slow drier too, almost like a gluey resin on your nails – I was worried that I had infact, picked up a gel polish that would never dry without curing!  But it is just a regular polish…. albeit in dire need of a quick-dry solution painted ontop.

I think I paid around £2.50 or something for the polish, if you’re keen it might pay dividends to save a search on ebay for something like “glitter 189 polish” or simillar, I think that was how it was listed.

Do you like it?

I’m starting to wonder if and when Butter London are gonna run out of these cutesy “British” slang terms… I reckon that when inspiration is at its lowest ebb, someone in the office sticks an episode of Only Fools and Horses on the DVD player.  “Alright me old china?” <— Butter London Spring 2016 name right there.  Naturally, the polish would be an off-white cream, somewhat like a glaze.  Can I make money doing this?  Hands up if you’d give up EVERYTHING to name nail polishes for a living.

Butter London Shag from their Autumn/Winter 2012 collection is a clear nod to the season’s hues.  Reminiscent of fallen Autumn leaves (before they’ve turned mouldy), with a dazzling metallic finish that glimmers beautifully in the late afternoon light.  Well, what little we have of it.

The formula on this one was a dream and the above photo shows two coats – the polish applied smoothly and dried to a shiny finish, the above photo shows no top coat.  If you had the opportunity to conceive a Butter London polish, what would you call it and what would it look like?

Butter London Shag is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online at www.thepowderrooms.com

You know I’m a sucker for a pretty duochrome right?  And if you don’t… STOP READING THOSE OTHER BLOGS, FFS.  Anyway, I spotted these duochromes from Bad Apple Cosmetics last night and a little googling revealed that you’ve probably all known about them for some time – I’ve never been too quick on the old scoop front, or really, anything. at all.

I don’t know much about the brand behind the colours, other than they’re British, and they make somewhat pretty polishes and nail wraps (boo to fiddly nail wraps – has anyone got the hang of keeping those things on longer than 3 hours yet?)  The polishes are priced at £9.95 each on their website, apparently the usual price is £14.95 *insert raised eyebrow here*.

Slightly more tempting is the fact that there are a few available on their Amazon storefront for £8.99 each with free shipping.

Have you tried any of the polishes from the line?

Sometimes, things are worth putting in a little bit of effort to get a great result.  I stalked Mr. L online for about 9 months, and 12 years later – we’re still together… but despite this, trust me when I say that some thingsreallyare worth the effort. Bwuahahah! (just kidding Pauly!)

China Glaze Whirled Away is reminiscent of Lynnderella’s much sought-after Connect the Dots – since when did the big brands start duping the indies?!  It’s a mix of white and black hexagonal pieces suspended in a clear base with black bar glitter.  Frankly, there’s too much base and not enough glitter, which makes it a bit of a pain in the backside to apply – but did I mention that it was worth the effort?

After realising that I couldn’t get the glitter pieces to apply properly in the normal manner, I started simply dabbing them on and hoping for the best, praying to the gods of top coat that all would end well.  Thankfully, they answered my prayers and ever since, my nails have been receiving admiration left, right, and centre!

In the above photo, I’ve applied Whirled Away over another polish from the China Glaze Cirque du Soleil collection: Def Defying.  A slightly putrid, yellow-green that was opaque in two coats.  Perfect for Frankenstein nails, pretty much revolting to my sensibilities!

China Glaze Whirled Away is available priced at £6.95 from BeautyBay.com and www.thebeautypartnership.co.uk

* press sample

The moment I saw this Butter London beauty in the bottle, I was smitten.  I love copper polishes, I love smooth glitters, I love my polish with just a hint of eccentricity.  Meet Butter London Scuppered, a polish that simply ticks all the right boxes.

Whoever thought to throw a scattering of green micro-glitter into the mix of what is otherwise, a rather sensible (albeit beautiful) polish, is a diabolical mastermind.  In amongst all this coppery-green madness, there’s another component – a shift of pink and a lighter gold that gives this shade an almost duochrome feel in the right light.

The formula is also wonderful, the above shows three coats – each of which applied smoothly, dried quickly and behaved impeccably.  I think you could probably get away with two coats, but don’t quote me on that.

It’s Autumnal, it’s Christmassy, it’s fun – what’s not to like?

Butter London Scuppered is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online from powderrooms.com

* press sample

So, it’s the first of December…  Duhn, duhn, DUHN!

I would do pinch and a punch and all that crap but I’ll leave it for my tweets where you can unfollow me without it costing me ad revenue.

BUT, seeing as it IS the first day of the final month of the year… the month filled with fairy lights, gifts, booze, food, and tinsel – I’ve got one hell of a festive NOTD for you.  Infact, it’s SO festive that if you cross your eyes, turn off the overhead light and whistle the Colonel Bogey tune, you can make out the image of Baby Jesus on my pinkie.

Hallelujah!

China Glaze It’s A Trap-eze!* is a pretty cool (if not quite biblical) nail polish for the party season from the brand’s winter Cirque du Soleil collection.  It actually reminds me of speckled eggs… which in turn, reminds me of that speckled frogs song (…five little speckled frogs…), which in turn, reminds me of being a kid – and really, that’s no bad thing.  I know the world is going crazy for these glitters that play havoc with my OCD tendencies (…sat on a speckled log…) but have you ever tried to create symmetry with this polish genre?  It should have been one of Hercules 12 tasks.

The formula is pretty neat, the polish is packed with irregular-sized, multi-coloured glitter and the base colour – a very pale grey – is particularly runny yet doesn’t give me any pooling issues.  You can tell that this isn’t quite your standard formula (…eating some most delicious grubs *yum YUM!*…) and has been more or less engineered to compliment this particular polish format.  The above photo shows the coverage you achieve in three coats… it builds very quickly both in base pigment, and in the amount of glitter that accumulates on the nail bed.  I need two layers of top coat to stifle the cringy feeling I get from heavily glittered fingertips, or you could use something thicker like Gelous.

My OCD may not like it, but I do!

www.thebeautypartnership.co.uk

* press sample

You guys seemed to be quite taken with the trio of duochrome polishes I blogged about last week, so when I was in London, I picked up three of the Miss Sporty Metal Flip Duochromes to give away.  Ok, it’s not the most valuable competition I’ve ever held, but for those of you who can’t get your hands on these babies, well… it’s hopefully still enticing!

Aren’t they pretty?  They look like miniature galaxies swirling around the bottles!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck ladies!

T&C
1. Start date for this competition is 28th November 2012
2. Closing date for this competition is 5th December 2012
3. There is one prize to be won, a trio of Miss Sporty Metal Flip Duochrome Nail Polishes (worth £1.99 each). No cash alternatives.
4. Competition is open worldwide.
5. Lipglossiping.com is the sole promoter of this competition.
6. Only one entry per email address will be accepted.
7. Personal details will not be kept or forwarded and are only used in the context of this competition to inform the winner(s) of their prize status.
8. Three winners will be selected at random from all entries received.
9. Winners will be notified within 5 working days and will be expected to reply to an email sent to the address used to enter the competition within 5 working days or risk forfeiting the prize.

Lilac… Icicle… yeah, no I’m not sure what happened with my attempt at a post title either. The thing is, I love the combination of glitter tips and pastel nails – it’s probably my favourite nod to nail art, I only wish I could get a proper glitter gradient going, as opposed to just a splodge.  Having said that… doesn’t it look super wintery?  I feel a chill everytime I look at my fingers, and it’s got nothing to do with the hangnails looking back at me either!

The base colour is another Miss Sporty polish, Miss Sporty Lilac to be exact… look at me regressing back to my teens!  I’ll be loitering with intent in Claire’s Accessories next, eyeing up the Bieber head boppers.  Anyway, there’s not much to say about this polish other than the fact that it’s £1.99, has a nice brush, and is opaque in two coats.  It doesn’t give me a stress aneurism when I try to apply it.  Basically, it’s all good.

The glitter is courtesy of OPI’s Disco Ball Sparkle, an oldie from the Reflection Collection.

Do you wear pastel nails with glitter tips?  What are your favourite colour combinations?

Is it ever too early to start wearing holiday nail polishes?  The correct answer would be no.  Jack The Lad is from Butter London’s Holiday 2012 collection which features a range of pretty glitters.  Sitting in a forest-green base, suspended with a myriad of brighter sparkles that flash turquoise, gold and bright green, it’s a real stunner.

The swatch shot above shows three coats but you could get away with two if you’re in a hurry.  The finish is smooth to the touch but the shine is worth amping up with a top coat because it really brings out the Christmassy foil effect. Super pretty.

Butter London’s Jack The Lad is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online at www.powderrooms.com

* press sample

I found these Miss Sporty Metal Flip Nail Polish Duochromes in my local Boots store last week, they sure are pretty – and at £1.99 a-piece (aditionally on a buy-one-get-another-half-price offer), they’re also a flippin’ steal.  I can’t remember the last time I bought anything from Miss Sporty, infact, I thought you could only buy the brand in Superdrug?

Anyway… I’m pleased I had some time to kill for a proper “browse”, the kind of luxury I haven’t had in a while.

010 Beetle Wings (gilded green/brown combination)

030 Aurora Borealis (turquoise/lilac combination)

040 Fiery Blaze (purple/green/brown combination)

The Miss Sporty Metal Flip polishes aren’t the most groundbreaking duochromes in the world, simply because the colour combinations have been done many times over (don’t make me dig out my dupes!).  However, the formulas are really nicely done and each was opaque in two/three coats max.  Throw in a sub £2 price tags and these are such pretty little treats, thoroughly worthy of making it into your shopping basket.

Have you picked up any of these on your high street jaunts yet?  Which one is your favourite and will you be indulging?

Is it glitter season yet? Is it? Is it?

It is, isn’t it?

The lovely Sirvinya bought me this glitter-tastic Pure Ice nail polish in Cheatin‘ while she was on her travels to the U.S. last year and I’ve used it as a layering polish a couple of times – it looks absolutely beautiful, as I’m sure you can imagine, over both blue and purple shades… injecting that little bit of OHGODGLITTER into any manicure you desire.

The above swatch shows three, fairly thick coats – it’s not the best worn on it’s own and I’ll probably stick to layering with it but I thought you might appreciate a swatch while I’m slowly going through and re-organising my polishes.

Which reminds me, how do you organise yours?  By colour or brand?  Too. indecisive.

The sky outside is slowly darkening, the tea lady was last seen leaving with the Kit Kats well over an hour ago and is showing no signs of returning. You can’t remember whether you left enough food for the cat and you know that you forgot to set the Sky+ for Eastenders.  For the love of all things way-past-5pm, when is this meeting going to end?

There’s only one thing for it.

Heads slowly turn toward you as you sit there, nonchalantly filing your nails with a chainsaw… or a hunting knife… or maybe a machete…

“We’ll pick this up again on Monday shall we?” says the boss, darting from the room, pushing back her chair with such force that you’re genuinely surprised it didn’t make a cartoon hole in the wall.

Now, to find that tea lady…

‘Dangerous nail files’ are a range of high quality nail files made in the USA in the shape of weapons and tools, designed by Shelly Getzendanner from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  They come individually packaged at £7.95 each and will be available at The Conran Shop this month.