A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

My first Color Club polish!

Color Club are a cheapie US brand that don’t seem to be afraid to manufacture some truly fashion forward shades!  I picked Uptown Girl from the Spring 2010 collection ‘cos I’m a sucker for purples… and even more of a sucker for dusty purples!

The brush is neatly cut, but one of those older fashioned small round shaped ones that take 5748957894 strokes to cover your nail.  If I ruled the world… all nail brushes would be flat and wide.  Because of the brush it did mean that I had to be careful of streaking… 3 thin layers of polish ensured a smooth, even finish.

I’ll definitely be heading back to eBay to pick up some more Color Club shades, but there’s so many to choose from – I’m a little bit overwhelmed!

Do you have any CC favourites?

Eyeko Saucy polish, the other limited edition release alongside the new Rain polish.

Saucy is ONE HOT RED!

One of the thinnest formulas I’ve used in a long time, I was sure that it was gonna be a sheer streaky mess until I reached my third coat. I was wrong. Not only is it hot, but it’s a one-coater.

The above shows one coat.

This was gonna be a staple toenail colour for me, one coat means I only have to suck it in and stretch my self stupid for a single run through.

Thing is though, I said ‘was’. Saucy polish stains like a MoFo – and I’m not base coating my toenails.

Eyeko Saucy Polish is currently available as part of a set of three priced at £8.50

If you want to buy either Saucy polish or Rain polish individually, I’ve had confirmation that you will be able to do so from next week.

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.

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!

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!

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

WAH Nails are offering the ultimate world cup accessory (other than having Ronaldo on your arm). Actually, scratch that… does anyone ACTUALLY fancy Ronaldo? He’s far too high maintenance and no-chin for me.

I digress…

World Cup Nails…. yeah baby!

You can sport one (or more) of all 32 participating team’s designs on your tips and show your other half that you TOTALLY are supporting their love for all things football.

Head to WAH Nails in the Topshop basement (Oxford Street, London) to partake in a little world cup nail artistry.

The designs are available from the 11th June – 11h July, Flag designs from £30 and 10% off your home countries flag if you can show proof of your birthplace with a passport!
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Which design would you choose? I know it’s terribly unpatriotic (esp being an 80s child)… but I’m digging the Greek & Argentine flags!

Oh, I wasn’t expecting not to like you.

You’re a little bit greige gone wrong… too much grey or maybe too much brown… I’m all confused and can’t pinpoint what it is that I don’t like about your colour.  But you’re just not quite right for me.

You were a bit patchy too.  Though I totally admire you pouncing on the latest trends and bringing us great colours at affordable prices… you disappointed me with this one.

I’m sad.  Did I get a duff bottle?  Mine did apply a lot darker than the bottle colour suggested… everyone else seems to love it?!