A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

…my new Nails Inc. polishes!

I won these in LionLovingTiger‘s most fabulous giveaway

Look!

L-R: Victoria, Brook Street, Pelham Crescent, London Nights, Tate

5 new Nail Polishes… 5 nails… it had to be done!

L-R: Same order as the photo above…

I’ve had a rocky start with Nails Inc. polishes.  I think that freebie I received with Instyle was a shocking bad advertisement for the Nails Inc. brand and nearly put me off trying any more.  I’m so glad I persisted now, they’ve become one of my favourite ranges.

Are there any brands that gave you a bad initial impression… only for you to grow to love them?

Do you even give brands second and third chances to impress you?

Would an aspiring makeup snob venture into Asda on a Friday night on the hunt for a grey polish she saw whilst doing last weeks food shop? I think not… I’m slipping.

However, I’m pleased I did – because I’ve found a little gem!

This is a lovely pale grey aptly named “Raincloud” that is perhaps just a ‘teeny’ bit blue toned.  Application isn’t the smoothest, it dries VERY quickly… even as you’re applying.  I’d recommend not trying to be too precise with this.  Get a big blob on the brush and attempt to cover the nail in 3/4 strokes max, any more strokes than this and the polish will start dragging.  However, for some strange reason… the formula is *really* forgiving… many times I applied this unevenly and the formula seems to even itself out across the nail.  I also didn’t experience any bubbling as it dried which is a common problem for me with thicker polishes.

Drying time (as I said) is very quick – the above shows 3 coats, and I reckon I had the full manicure done and dry in about 25 minutes.  The finish is high gloss and I’ve had tons of positive comments about the shade.

I wore this mani up to London on Saturday for the Aussie Event and whilst in Space NK both SA’s were coo-ing over my hands… I couldn’t quite tell if they were horrified or delighted when I told them where I’d bought the polish.

The polishes are currently on offer at £1 for a 5ml bottle in Asda… yep, £1.

Here’s my other bargain purchase (picture taken with flash).. I don’t like this one so much, it’s more chalky and could have done with a top coat, but still a great buy if you like blues!

Exclusive ASOS Paints by Ciate are now available on the ASOS website and I am beyond excited to see them!

Look, they’re cutesy Ciate but with an edgy twist!

Available in 10 ultra glossy celebrity-inspired shades, see below:

ASOS Say:

Paris (Hilton) – Super girly and, like, totally hot!
Chloe (Sevigny) – Avant garde and oh-so-cool
Daisy (Lowe) – Cooler than cool grungy-glam
Gwen (Stefani) – Racy and made to get noticed
Sienna (Miller) – A natural beauty with an earthy edge
Alexa (Chung) – Off-beat, quirky cool
Cheryl (Cole) – Everyone’s favourite – cheerful and (colour) pop-tastic
Katy (Perry) – Flirty forties glamour with a retro vibe
Kate (Moss) – Classic and always on-trend
Victoria (Beckham) – Sexy and vampy with a glossy finish

Sienna, Chloe & Kate are on my must have list!

Available at £6 each from ASOS.

Will you be trying any of these? Which shades are on your list?

I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of BarryM’s polishes.  I know that some people find them not as long lasting as the likes of Nails Inc and O.P.I (out of curiousity, do YOU pronounce it Oh Pee Eye, or Ohpee?) but I simply get equal wear out of these polishes with a fantasticly smooth formula and I can’t argue with that.

I’m on a bit of a “grey” kick at the moment and picked 2 of these shades up in Boots this week:

This is a real true “concrete” grey which I thought would look hideous on my pale pink toned skin.  I was wrong! That never happens! (no it doesn’t).

The photo makes it look slightly darker than it appears in daylight (picture was taken under flash conditions) – but the tone is true to life.  It’s nice and glossy and I’m really enjoying catching some admiring glances at my fingertips whilst out and about.

I am desperate for BarryM to release some more shades!  Duotones anyone? Do you have a favourite BarryM shade?

BarryM is currently on a 3for2 in Boots and these polishes are priced at £2.89 ea or £2.95 from the BarryM website.

A cheapie I picked up from the clearance stand at Sallys (anyone else make a beeline for that little stand?)

Moon Over Mumbai was released as part of the OPI Indian Collection and was one of the first ultra light greys on the market.

It’s a very pale cold grey with a slight shimmer.  I’d call it a pale pearl grey… very lovely!

It’s unfortunately (for me) rather sheer.  The above shows 5 coats and it’s still not fully opaque, although close enough.  Longevity is VERY good though… 5 days and counting with no top coat! (I’m so lazy)

Are you a fan of greys?

I didn’t appreciate this colour fully until I was out in the sunlight the day after painting. Wowee, vivid blue flashes… just stunning!

Application was not bad, formula a little thicker than I like but not too gloopy.  2 coats.  This one is chipping a little more quickly than I find acceptable but it’s such a lovely colour… I don’t care.

This is a shade that was sent as a freebie (for joining the newsletter I believe) back when I took advantage of the Nails Inc. offer a couple of weeks ago.

It’s a hot, hot jelly shade! I would describe it simply as 50% red 50% orange.  I can’t commit exclusively to either camp for descriptive purposes!

It applies VERY sheer for what appears to be such a bold, solid colour.  The above photo took 5 coats and it’s still not fully opaque.  But yanowot?  This is my favourite Nails Inc. application yet!  Woohoo!  It’s thin but very quick drying.  Love it!  The result is a gorgeously smooth, bubble-free jelly-like finish.  There wasn’t quite enough shine for me, so I added a quick-drying top coat.  I think this would make the most awesome pedicure shade – it makes me very sorry to see the last of summer (well, not that we had one.. but I know you know what I mean.)

I can’t find this shade on their website, so if you wanna get your hands on it… make sure that you sign up to their newsletter next time you make an order!

I’ve said it before, but having to apply lots of coats really doesn’t bother me as long as the application is smooth and forgiving.  I’m usually doing my nails whilst watching telly or surfing t’internet so if it takes a couple of hours from start to finish – I don’t care.  I find it quite therapeutic!

How about you?… do you enjoy doing your nails or do you find it all a bit of a chore?

You already know by now that I’m a big fan of Mavala polishes and further to my post a few weeks ago on Mavala’s “Ruby” polish, I was sent the remaining 2 colours of Mavala’s Autumn/Winter collection for review. 

The collection is called Viva La Colour!  – a brave slap in the face to the usual Autumn/Winter collections showing up around now.

The first shade I want to show you is “Liberty”, an elegant soft nude.

This is a sheer, but it builds up opacity quite nicely thanks to Mavala’s reliable formula which never fails to please me.  The above is a total of 4 thin coats, a little more than I would prefer to apply – but it’s not a chore thanks to the smooth application.  If you did want to wear this sheer, it would be a lovely shade to compliment a french manicure… as for me, I don’t do sheers – so I’m glad I was able to build up the opacity, especially on such a lovely work-appropriate nude.  Work-appropriate nude? An oxymoron if ever I heard one!

Before I continue, I have to tell you that  “Viva La Colour!” is a collection of mattes.  Which probably goes some way to explain why I wasn’t delighted with the finish of the Ruby shade I tried earlier this month.

To be blunt, I don’t regard this collection as matte.  We’ve all seen the mattes on offer this season from the likes of O.P.I, Zoya and Nubar… I’m not a fan, but regardless of my personal taste, these ‘matte’ offerings from Mavala just aren’t… well, matte.  Semi-matte perhaps, but they’re definitely still fairly glossy.  This might be the ideal compromise for you if you’re a little too conservative to rush headlong into the new trend.

For me, this finish just misses – I get a non-commital vibe from the collection which is a shame, but as I’m about to demonstrate… easily remedied by a swipe of your favourite top coat.

Introducing Tokyo, the final shade in the trio.  It’s a beautiful deep dark blue with more than just a hint of purple on display.  Lovely colour, shame about that finish.

But wait… 1 top coat later…

Oh my!… Hello lover!  You’re beautiful in all your ultra glossy loveliness.  You remind me of Cadbury’s chocolate wrappers.  You make me feel all dark, mysterious and sophisticated – quite an achievement!

So, to sum up… if you’re into your mattes, I’d steer clear of this collection.

If you just want some gorgeous Autumn/Winter nail styling that’s bang on trend, a dream to apply and beautifully finished (with a top coat – ahem) – then look no further.

The collection is available from Greenhands and priced @ £3.75 each

Now, if you’ll excuse me… I’m off to stuff my face on Dairy Milk.

[starreview tpl=14]

Right now the generous people over at Nails Inc are offering 6 fabulous Nails Inc. products for just £10.  Offer is valid for today only (21/08/2009) so be quick!

The lucky dip includes:

Fast Dry Spray (worth £8)
A treatment top coat / base coat (worth £11)
3 glossy nails inc polishes (worth £31.50)
Cuticle oil (worth £8)

A total saving of £48.50!

Shipping is £3.99 but if you use the MarieClaire code MCNI20 you get 20% off your order.

Whatchu waitin’ for?

Further to my post on the Debenhams sale, I nabbed a few colours.

Hello lovelies!  There’s 4 absolute stand out shades for me in this little lot, namely:

Sweety (Bubblegum Pink)
Velvet (Warm Taupe)
Lyric (Off-White v.pale coffee shade)
Miami (Dusky pink with lilac flashes)

Hmm, I think you can probably expect some NOTD posts coming up!

So, my Nails Inc. freebie arrived (I bet Nails Inc. HQ was positively buzzing with nail polish elves fulfilling orders last week).

I ordered Jermyn Street, a beautiful deep mushroom colour with a slight lavender hint.  It’s certainly unusual and sophisticated enough to wear any time you see fit.

It has a stunningly beautiful high gloss finish (no top coat used in the photo) and longevity seems pretty decent aswell with only minor tip wear after two days.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know my rocky history with Nails Inc.  I just don’t love the formula of the polishes I’ve tried thus far.  I’d love to say that this is the polish to change my mind… but it’s not.  I don’t know if you can see… but on the outside edge of the little finger is what I’m talking about.  It goes on a little too thick and starts to dry a little too quickly for me to get a lovely smooth application.  Honestly though, for this shade… I’m happy to overlook my problems with the polish.

Courtesy of Jen @ MizzWorthy, I received this lovely polish.  It applied beautifully, the above shows 3 coats (although it only needs 2).  Barry M’s Pink Flamingo is such a gorgeous  coral summery colour.  The name describes the shade perfectly!

I’m on my 2nd full day, and it’s not displaying any tip wear yet – incredible.  The only negative is that I’m unsure how well this colour suits my cool skintone, I think it would look amazing on warmer toned people.  Regardless, I’m showing off my tips with my pride, this is one stonking shade!