A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Are you ready? No, really… are you? I thought I’d save a particularly special one for Christmas Eve because in some ways, Christmas Eve is better than the big day right? All that anticipation… *shivers*

LOOK!

Ain’t she gorgeous? W7’s Metallic Jupiter is a delight… a true delight and brings me proper, proper joy when I look down at my fingernails.  It shifts from purple to blue in a whirlwind of psychedelic glory.

God damn do I ever love a good duochrome. If I had one wish for Christmas (aside from world peace, eternal happiness for Leila and an everlasting can of diet coke) it would be for more duochrome nail polishes in 2012.

I purchased W7 Metallic Jupiter online from www.nailpolishdirect.co.uk, priced at £1.95 – I believe that it’s a discontinued shade so don’t hang around if you fancy adding it to your collection!

What’s your Christmas wish? Both frivolous and meaningful..

Have magnetic polishes become the new crackle top coats yet? Are we bored of them? Nails Inc. hope not because they’ve just released their newest shade: Whitehall.

Whitehall is a teal green/blue that offers complete coverage in a single coat. Not, almost complete – fully complete. This was one of the quickest manicures I’ve done in ages, quick drying too – it literally took me around 10 minutes tops from start to finish.

I’m not sure if you can make out from the above photo but this one dried to a fairly matte finish compared to some of the other magnetic polishes I’ve tried in the past.  It’s a striking combination on the nails and I didn’t encounter any magnet mishaps – the results were pretty consistent from nail to nail.

Ultimately, this is one of the better magnetic polishes I’ve tried – I’m not sure if this shade is available cheaper from the other brands (17, FashionistA etc) but I haven’t got any moans about the Nails Inc. version!

Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish in Whitehall is available to buy online from Nails Inc. priced at £13.00 (ouch).

* press sample

I’m back with another W7 cheapie for you!

Today’s is Metallic Saturn, one of those green/gold combos that come out all mossy/gold and beautifully patina’ed on the nail.

You’ll be pleased to hear that this one is a glorious 2-coater with smooth application and heaps of shine.  I haven’t used a top coat in the above photo, it just didn’t really need it!  I’m finding these W7 polishes quick-drying but very solvent-y and recommend ensuring you’re in a well-ventilated room when using them!

I purchased W7 Metallic Mars online from www.nailpolishdirect.co.uk, priced at £1.95 – I believe that it’s a discontinued shade so don’t hang around if you fancy adding it to your collection!

Orly Rock It is a sparkling sherry from the Mineral FX Collection that appeared earlier this year. It’s an impressive concoction that is packed full of dimension and light-play as the flecks dance on your fingertips.

In some ways, Orly Rock It reminds me of a flakie with it’s subtle golden duochrome and packed shimmer but without actually containing flakes… I know that makes better sense in my head than it does on the blog but hopefully the picture demonstrates a little of what I’m talking about.

You should also know that the picture makes it look less dimensional than it really is because of the flash lighting.  It’s December, sigh… it’s the best I can do when it gets dark so early!

Orly Rock It is available to buy online from BeautyBay.com, priced at £7.50

* press sample

Another humdinger of a polish today with W7’s duochrome delight that is Metallic Venus. A gorgeous purple/blue combination that sings on the nail and doesn’t do to badly in the bottle either!

This one is less sheer than the Metallic Mars I showed you last week, fully opaque in three coats with no application issues.  Again, I paid £1.95 for this shade, bargain of the year I reckon.

W7 Metallic Venus is available to buy online from www.nailpolishdirect.co.uk, priced at £1.95 – I believe that you may also be able to get these in Savers? (thanks Nargis)

This striking pewter polish is from the Orly Birds of a Feather collection that was released for this Autumn/Winter.  It’s a beautiful grey with silver flecks that gives it a stunning metallic effect without the usual brushstroke issue that actual metallic polishes present.

Fully opaque in two coats with absolutely no application issues, this is a cracking polish for Autumn/Winter and one that I recommend you have in your collection.  Flawless.

Orly Sea Gurl is available to buy online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

* press sample

I love a good bargain and this W7 polish, purchased for the princely sum of £1.95 is a very good cheapie indeed!  Sure, it’s sheer (4 coats minimum) and it stinks so badly that I was worried my husband would phone NHS Direct for advice on solvent abuse.  But look, for less than £2 – it’s a pretty, pretty subtle duochrome.

Wear was great, I often find this with sheerer polishes… perhaps a side effect of those multiple thin coats?  Either way, I have no complaints on chipping or any of that nonsense.

I purchased W7 Metallic Mars online from www.nailpolishdirect.co.uk, priced at £1.95 – I believe that it’s a discontinued shade so don’t hang around if you fancy adding it to your collection!

Regardless of what your birth certificate says, Christmas is the one time of year we can wear an unadulterated amount of glitter on our nails and not feel even slightly embarrassed of ourselves.

Avon Nailwear Pro in Violetta Sparkle is a festively-themed combination of purple and gold – it also conveys flashes of red when under the right lighting – but it’s mostly about the gold.

Application was fine and the above shows three coats.  I found the brush a touch long and thick but what you sacrifice in precision, you make up for in speed of application.  It also dried quickly despite the three coats.  It’s a hair grainy thanks to the glitter but a single coat of topper smoothes that out nicely and gives a needed boost to the shine that really brings out the sparkle within.

I’ve only had this on for two days, but so far no chips and considering the vampy colour, only very minimal tip wear (the above photo was taken just now).

Currently priced at only £3.00 on the Avon website, it’s making me want to explore the other sparkly shades in the Nailwear Pro Sparkle & Shine lineup!

* press sample

Nubar, your duochromes make my world a prettier place.  Nubar Wildlife is beautifully named as it twinkles between an earthy brown and foresty green depending on which way the light catches it.

The formula builds nicely after the first coat and the above photo shows that two coats were needed for an opaque finish, really impressive stuff.  I did get a teeny chip on my thumbnail after a day, which is unusual for me – but when a polish is as pretty as this one, you can forgive it nearly anything.

You can keep your Models Own Beetle(notveryjuicy)Juice polishes, these Nubars are still where it’s at.

Buy Nubar Wildlife online at BeautyBay.com, priced at a bargainous £5.50

There’s a new nail brand on the scene and they’re devoted to the classics.

NIYOT are headed up by designer and beauty expert Toyin Badiru who spent many years working as a nail technician in the industry before deciding to go it alone with her own range of 4-free (formaldehyde, toluene, DBP and parabens) nail polishes.

The inaugural three shades from the UK-based company hark back to the classic red, my favourite shade for intstant polish (pardon the pun).

CEO Blood (powerful vampy deep red)
Lost Red (classic but difficult to find pillar box red)
Fire Red (vibrant bright red)

Which red would you go for?

The range is available exclusively online at at www.niyot.com and shades retail at £8 each.

How late am I on this trend?  I’m like your Gran when she discovered the button for the interwebz.

OK, well I’m not really late… but I’ve only just got around to photographing a mani with the Boots 17 Magnetized Nail Polishes.  I’ve decided that my favourite way to wear them is with a matte top coat which decreases their lasting power by about five years… but I dunno, they just suit the whole matte finish thing quite well.

I get some real inconsistencies with these magnetic polishes, one hand will often come out perfect… or even just three fingers in a row.  Then I completely get a dud one, despite not doing anything different.  Does anyone else experience that?  So frustrating!

Also… as an aside, I’ve been re-organizing my nail polish collection, which, let me tell you, is far less fun than it sounds.  I originally had them arranged by colour but I’ve changed it to brand and it’s made me realise that Essie is a very under-represented brand in my stash.  Better get myself in check and start nail-blog hopping to find some gems to lust after!

Boots 17 Magnetized Nail Polish in Grey is priced at £5.99 and available online or instore at Boots.

Love the name of this cheeky little number!  Butter London’s Frilly Knickers is a definite contender for a super-cool Christmas polish.  It’s a low maintenance sparkler with more bling than your Christmas lights.

Please excuse my yellow nails (yuk).  Over bare nails, it doesn’t look that incredible, although it’s still a pretty touch for those that prefer a sheer sparkle.  However…

Layer a single coat over a black or dark base and you’re cooking on turbo-powered gas!  A multi-hued, multi-faceted gem of a polish that magically saves shitty manicures with a single stroke.

I heart my Frilly Knickers.

Butter London Frilly Knickers is priced at £11.95 and available online from Powder Rooms.