A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

…and because that name isn’t quite daft enough, I’m also christening it “the polish for women who don’t dig polish”.  Do you think it’ll catch on?

In the same way that I wouldn’t linger about ripping a bandaid off your arm hairs, I’ll also let you know that this bottle will set you back 20 of your British pounds.  Did you catch that?  £20.  For a nail polish.  Not even 15ml of nail polish.  10ml.

Which might go some way to explaining the name that I’ve given this polish.  Forget your Pink Pongs… this is a polish for women who don’t dig polish and I’ll tell you why:

1). It practically applies itself.
2). It doesn’t need a top coat.
3). It was opaque in one coat.
4). It may well survive nuclear war.

It’s the perfect polish for ladies who don’t normally ‘do’ nails but suddenly find themselves with the need for a nail polish that isn’t going to fail them in any way, shape or form.  ByTerry Terrybly Nail Laque in Pink Pong is a practically perfect polish.

But as a chick who digs nail polish and digs applying nail polish… I’d personally rather spend £20 on 3 bottles that give me a bit of trouble when applying, need a top coat but come in a shade that make me go ‘ooooh’!

Quite frankly, I’d feel sick at myself for spending £20 on one nail polish… though perversely, I’m ok with spending £39 on a blush.  Maybe I should just shut up because I’m suffering from a clear case of double-standards.

Terrybly Nail Laque By Terry* is available instore at SpaceNK or online, priced at £20

* press sample

I’m generally quite sold on Eyeko polishes… and for the money, since the reformulation last year they’ve been a good bet.  I’m particularly a fan of  their pastels which can often be hit or miss from all brands thanks to streakiness, thickness of formula to overcompensate or just downright chalkiness.

Eyeko Pastel polish is a pale blue that isn’t chalky!  It’s almost creamy infact…

Not only that but the formula is easily spreadable.  The only area this polish fails a little for me is patchiness.  Whilst not horrific, you can see that after two thick coats… it could do with a third.  There is uneveness and a bit of streakiness going on here.

The pale blue has a gorgeous vivid flash of metallic blue pearl which stops it from looking flat.  If you’re willing to go with three coats on this shade, it’s a total winner in my book.

Eyeko Pastel Polish is available to buy online priced at £3.50  from PowderRooms or £4 direct from Eyeko.

I’m spending the day in Windsor today (official home to the Queen) so I thought that Butter London’s No More Waity Katie would be a very fitting shade for my nails!

A dirty mauve packed with lavender glitter… looks absolutely nothing like it’s promo picture!

The mauve base is awfully sheer… and this polish doesn’t make for a pretty sheer.  In my opinion it ‘needs’ building up and for me, that meant 3 coats on most fingers and an extra one on two of them that still appeared patchy.

The glitter is well… it’s just glitter.  Yes, it’s a nice colour combo and you know I love my dirgy shades but I think I was hoping for something more spectacular… imagine a dirgy version of All Hail McQueen with it’s super fine glitter… yeah, that.

The finish is rough and will need more than one application of top coat to remove the grittiness.  It’s a more understated glitter than most and one that I’d even go so far as to class work appropriate!

Overall, it’s not as regal as I’d hoped… but regardless, it’s already a sell out!

And if you want to get your hands on this limited edition shade, Powder Rooms still has stock!

I buy many polishes online from the U.S. simply because it’s cheaper that way but that doesn’t stop me getting the urge for some instant nail polish gratification when I’m halfway through an innocent shopping trip.

Which is why I’m pretty keen to see these new ORLY Mani Minis that will be launching into Boots next month!

With no less than 48 shades to choose from including cremes and glitters and priced at only £5 each… I’m pretty excited!

Weighing in at 5.3ml a bottle (a smidge more than a Mavala), these represent decent value for money for what is, essentially, a professional brand.

The ORLY Mani Minis will be available online from 8th March and will arrive in 54 Boots stores nationwide from 9th March 2011.

I’m not ashamed to admit that Estee Lauder had me at Hello with the release of Surreal Violet last year and I’ve been keeping a close eye on new nail polish releases ever since.

Due on counter at the end of the month, the new Pure Color Collection features a total of 16 shades… 8 of which are permanent and 8, limited edition.

Oyster Cult* is a metallic silver with one hell of a shine.  It’s a blinding, blinging shade but not hugely original – it applies well and lasts a good 3/4 days before showing much wear but at £14 a bottle I’m just not sure that there’s enough here to warrant a recommendation over and above any other silver in my collection.

Sizzling Taupe* on the other hand is fairly unique to most other taupes on the market… apart from one.  Zoya Pasha sprung to mind as soon as I applied.  They both have that slightly cool toned edge thanks to the silvery frost that runs through the finish like delicate threads.

I thought I’d do a swatch comparison between the two…

You can see that we’re not really very close to dupe territory when swatched side-by-side.

Estee Lauder’s Sizzling Taupe is darker, more opaque in two coats and doesn’t have the slight violet hue that Zoya Pasha displays.

If you’re a fan of taupes or perhaps just want a beautifully shade that’s safe for work but has a slight ‘edge’ to it then I’d thoroughly recommend Estee Lauder’s new Sizzling Taupe.

Are any of the new Estee Lauder shades catching your eye?

*Press Samples

This has become my go-to ‘quick mani’ as it doesn’t seem to matter how shoddily I slap it on, it always comes up looking pretty neat and polished!

The above shows three coats but it’s the kind of polish that you can wear sheerly to good effect.  It has a slight ethereal quality in the sunlight thanks to the pale hue and subtle silver shimmer.  It’s a very pretty polish with good wear and one I’m pleased to have in my collection.

Pelican Gray is from the China Glaze Spring 2011 Anchors Away collection.

Do you like grey polish for Spring?

A few of you asked what nail polish I was wearing in this post, so I thought I’d put up a proper NOTD post to show it properly.

Following conversations with some of you U.S. girls, I’m thinking that this particular line of L’oreal polishes might not be available over the pond.

Maroon Sorbet is such an odd name for something so dark and vampy… sorbet always makes me think of summer!  The shade itself is a blackened purple with ‘hidden’ shimmer.  You may be able to make out a speck of the shimmer on my middle fingernail but it’s really quite subtle which is a shame as a little more visibility would have given this shade the lift it needs.

No complaints here about wear or application – it’s a solid high street polish that won’t break the bank!

L’oreal Resist & Shine Titanium Nail Polish in Maroon Sorbet is priced at around £6 and available at most L’Oreal stockists including Boots.

How much do we hate it when we look down at our fresh manicures to realise that yet again, we’ve managed to daub more polish on our fingers than we got on our nails?

Well, worry no more ‘cos Butter London set the scene at Vena Cava yesterday for a forward-thinking, fabulous faux pas that’s achievable for anyone with a nail brush (and an unsteady hand!)

image stolen borrowed from Nonie Creme’s twitstream here

Check out the finger bands painted by Nonie with some of the bestselling Butter London shades!  Such a fun touch, much cheaper than hunting down the latest high-street jewellery and at around 24hours, probably longer-lasting too 😉

Wanna see my late-night take on the trend?

Shades used: Marrow, Scoundrel and Come to Bed Red!

If you give it a go, make sure you play safe and only use Big 3 Free polishes in the creation of your finger art masterpieces.

I love anything in beauty and fashion that doesn’t take itself too seriously and this daftness reminds me of being at school and tippexing the crap out of myself in an ‘artful’ manner…  and anything that reminds me of those playful days is a win in my book.

What do you think of Butter London’s Vena Cava Finger Bands?

A pretty mixture of bold brights and pretty pastels make up the new Leighton Denny Spring/Summer collection.

I was sent Berry Nice and Sundae Girl…

Sundae Girl is a mod-pink with blue undertones that pops nicely against my skintone without looking stark or particularly harsh.

The formula was thick yet a little sheer, a slightly strange combination and for a perfect finish it could have done with three coats which I didn’t want to give it because of the thick formula.  Nothing worse than a nail polish that looks like it’s been applied with a trowel.

Having said that, it lasted fantastically well.. 4 solid days before starting to show signs of getting a bit tired and no chipping whatsoever.

Berry Nice is a muted fuchsia and a one-coat wonder!  The down side to only applying one coat would be the visible nail ridges but that’s easily sorted with a quality base coat.

This is a great summer shade for tips or toes and anything that delivers great, glossy creme coverage in a single coat has to be a Summer holiday essential.  Wear was average but probably pretty good considering the single coat – it needed replacing on the 3rd day.

Leighton Denny Expert Nails colours are priced at £11.00 each and available online or instore at  John Lewis & selected Selfridges stores.

Are you liking the look of any of the shades from the Leighton Denny Spring/Summer Gelato Collection?

I would love to tell you about this shade, but I’ve drunk 3/4 bottle of really cheap, crap merlot and it’s taken me a good 5 minutes to make this sentence readable.

What’s that Mr. L?  Vogue are onthe phone?  They want to employ me?  Tell them that I charge double for posts this shiteous.

Right, let me put a bit of effort into stopping these letters dancing around the monitor.

Pearly Queen reminds me of everything I wanted OPI Moon over Mumbai to be… but in less coats.  3 coats gives the elegant finish shown above (though 2 will do if you don’t mind a slight VNL)… and it really is elegant and elongating with a pretty satin finish.  My nails feel proper lady-like without being frou frou or bridal.

Pearly Queen is available to buy online from PowderRooms, priced at £9.75

I do love these retro reds… they always make me feel a little ‘pin up’… it doesn’t matter how much the rest of my body lets me down on that score, a quick peep at my tips is enough to convince me I am Bettie Page personified!

Is it the ratio of orange to red that does it?  It’s something that this shade, Eyeko Saucy and Models own Red Alert all seem to have in common.  I should do a swatch comparison to see if they’re as simillar in the flesh as they are in my head.

Anyway, rambling aside… All Fired Up is a neat-o shade.  It applies a little more sheerly than I anticipated and took three coats to remove all traces of VNL (two if I’d layered it on with a trowel).  It dries fairly slowly so would always use a quick dry top coat… I do anyway, so this isn’t really an issue for me.  It scores big points for long-wear, it lasted a full 3 days before tip wear became noticeable.

I really haven’t checked out many Revlon polishes, I kinda jumped straight from not digging polish into my OPIs and Essies… infact, I’m sure there’s some sick part of me that just loves the chase of a good product.

Giving this some wear over IMATS weekend has convinced me that I need to delve into the lower shelves of my nearest Revlon stand to investigate further, I like the bottle design and the brush which was a pleasure to use.

Revlon All Fired Up is priced at £6.29 and exclusive to Boots.

Butter London say: Straight from the Fashion Week runways, the butter LONDON Spring/Summer 2011 Collection was inspired by the many colourful “impressionist” style prints that graced catwalks from New York to Paris. Designed by Founding Creative Director Nonie Creme, the new collection is reminiscent of Monet’s palettes, with the inclusion of an opal overcoat that lends ethereal beauty to any shade.

BLAGGER
Colour: Striking cobalt blue.
Definition: A person with a silver tongue; a charlatan.

HEN PARTY
Colour: Sheer opal lacquer that is neutral and stunning alone and on-trend as an edgy overcoat on top of any shade.
Definition: British term for a bachelorette party.

LADY MUCK
Colour: Powdery periwinkle blue, slightly on the grey side and infused with pearl pigment for a soft, sexy sheen.
Definition: A term for an arrogant, conceited woman; a snob.

DOSH
Colour: A molten apple green shot through with metallic gold.
Definition: British slang for money or cash. “Can have a bit of dosh, love?”

TEDDY GIRL
Colour: A pale retro bubblegum pink, featured on the catwalk of a top Brit designer for S/S 2011.
Definition: “Teddy Boys & Girls” was a youth culture movement in Britain typified by teens fighting, drinking, shagging, and fighting some more.

The collection launches around the 1st March and will be available to purchase online from ThePowderRooms and instore at Harvey Nichols.