A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

“But you said you were completely bored of shatter top coats?”

“I never said I was bored of silver ones.”

Out of all the 24 billion photos of seen of manicures done with shatter top coats this year, the silver ones always look the prettiest to me which is why I actually couldn’t quite restrain myself from adding this to a recent eBay polish haul.  I mean, it’s Color Club… it cost me less than a coffee.

I was too much of an impatient child to apply it over anything over than what I was already wearing so it jazzed up the Nails Inc. OMP! nicely.  It also reminded me how nice it was to have something to breathe new life into a tired looking mani without having to redo the whole thing.  Forty seconds later and I’m getting another 3 days wear from something that should have bitten the dust days ago.

I like it.  But I won’t buy anymore.  No, really.  I’m totally bored of them… unless someone brings out a holographic one…

Ok, we’re really done with this trend now yah?  Just one more? Nooooooo!

I first gave Ciate Starlet a blog outing in 2009 but it was in the depths of Winter and I couldn’t get the light to demonstrate the beautiful beetle-wings effect this lovely shade gives.

LOOK!

Pretty no?

Any excuse to show off a pretty polish (even the second time around) and I’m there!

Can we begin the weekend countdown now?

I know you shouldn’t love something for the packaging.  It’s shallow, meaningless and downright silly.  But I do love these SpaRitual polishes in particular for their packaging.  The rubberised handles with built-in grips, curvacious bottles that kinda remind me of ancient urns or something.

Inconsequential in the grand scheme of things but I guess it’s those little touches to a brand that set them apart from the rest.  That and the fact that these aren’t shatter top coats right? 😉

Pebble is a beautiful grey with just a hint of brown.  Not enough to make it a taupe… but enough to warm it up a touch.  The above swatch shows three coats but you could get away with two thicker coats as the coverage is more than acceptable as was the application.

L-R: Native Rock, Sacred Sands, Pebble, Moss, Driftwood, Twig

It’s a very laid-back Summer offering with no brights in sight but the Driftwood and Moss look particularly interesting.

I was also sent Native Rock from the new collection which I’ll show you later in the week. Are any of the shades from the new Summer collection catching your eye?

SpaRitual nail polishes (£8.50) are available to purchase directly from the SpaRitual website and spas/salons.

This is unexplored territory for me… white.  It’s one of those nail shades that suddenly become “bang on trend” and throw everyone into a fizz of polarised opinions on how great/terrible it looks!

Butter London’s Cream Tea isn’t a pure, stark white.  As the name might suggest, it’s a slightly creamy white that would work nicely for the tips in French manicures were it not so sheer.  The above shows three coats and there’s still a certain veil-like quality to the finish.

I’m on the fence… I think it’s one of those shades you appreciate more freely on someone else’s fingers than your own.

Butter London Cream Tea is available online from Powder Rooms priced at £11.95

What say you?  Do you ever wear white or off-white polishes?

Well, I’ve tried one and you still ain’t gonna convince me that I need scented nail polish.  Infact, if anything… the scent gave me a low-grade headache.  Me no like and I sniffed my fingers.  Once.  It made me feel like a pervert.

Scent-aside, Revlon’s Peach Smoothie is an adorable colour.  I can’t decide whether it makes me want to snuggle in a cable knitted jumper or go lick an ice-cream.  It transcends seasons with its peach loveliness.  Depending on your skintone you may also find this making a good nude shade.

It’s a little sheer and needs 3 full coats to avoid a VNL but I’ll forgive that because it’s a quick-dryer.  It contains a very pretty gold sparkle which isn’t quite as prominent as I would like.

Revlon Scented Nail Enamels are priced at £6.49 and available from Boots.com

* pr sample

I don’t do French Manicures.  I love how they look all polished and pretty but they’re a pain in the proverbial backside for someone as OCD as me to get right.

Having said that, I spent a couple of hours attempting one whilst rotting my brain watching Living +1 the other day.  It was in aid for a guest post on another site that never went ahead and rather than waste my hard work, here it is!

Apologies if it’s a bit “teaching your grandmother to suck eggs”, the brief was to share French Manicure tips and this is the best but least yawn-inducing one I know!

After many years, it’s time to accept that some things will remain forever out of reach. Those Boyzone tour tickets, a bit-part in Friends and that pair of Clarks Magic Steps.  Up until a few years ago I’d have swapped all of ’em for the ability to give myself a pretty French Manicure!

I’d attempted it before with those fiddly sticker guides but they always wound up stuck to everything except my nails and if I did manage to attach one, it was wonky.

When I first discovered that professionals painted the tips ‘freehand’, I was filled with both a mixture of admiration and disappointment as I realised that I’d never own a steady-enough hand for that kind of artistry. But then I learned the secret…

Paint the ‘smile line’ (that’s the proper expression for the tip) with a white polish of your choice, trying to follow the natural line the best you can… then (and here’s the clever bit), cheat!

Take an old lip or eyeliner brush dipped in some nail polish remover and making tiny circular strokes, craft the perfect crescent! The remover will dissolve those tell-tale wobbles that give away your amateur skills! Who says cheats never prosper?

How’s your French Manicure skillz?  Do you bother with them?

An oldie because my nails haven’t been this long for nearly a year but they do show off this gorgeous shade quite well (even if I do vainly say so myself!)

Butter London Scoundrel is a muted, warm lilac which sits nicely against cool skin tones like mine.  It’s one of my favourites from the brand and applies well without issues.

Look out next week because I’ve got a special interview with Butter London’s Founding Creative Director Nonie Creme and some Autumn/Winter 2011 previews for you!

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend party people! xx

The second shade that I was fortunate enough to preview from the upcoming OPI Touring America collection is this olive green number called Uh Oh Roll Down the Window.

Autumn/Fall’s OPI Touring America collection is set for release in the UK this August and sees an eclectic mixture of Summer brights and Autumnal earthy shades making the cut.

Uh Oh Roll Down the Window is an olive green creme with more than enough grey to keep it muted and work-appropriate.  The above photo shows two coats in hindsight, I should have given it a third for a perfect finish.  Wear has been solid and without issue as I’d expect from the professional nail brand.

The shade bears more than a passing resemblance to Nails Inc. Battersea Park which isn’t available to buy anymore but after receiving a few enquiries about it last year, you might be pleased to hear that you can get your hands on something similar..

O.P.I – Uh Oh Roll Down the Window will be available on our shores this August from LenaWhite.

I’ve been wanting this discontinued China Glaze polish for the longest time and when I saw it on the ‘Bay, I had to jump on it!

Unfortunately, my swatch is pretty darn naff but just look at the bottle to see the gorgeousness that exists within those glass walls.  It’s like looking into a gilded nebula of awesomeness.  Or something.

I wore China Glaze Wagon Trail to destruction, literally.  I’ve just spent 14 days at the inlaws and it was still on my fingernails 12 days into the trip – ok, it looked pretty horrendous on most of my fingers by that time but to give you an idea of longevity, the above photo was taken on day 4 of wear (with my usual top coat).

It’s a two coater with a smooth, fluid consistency… a really great polish that I’m happy to cheat on my Spring/Summer shades with.

From their Spring 2011 Collection, this is SpaRitual: Circle of Life

A very bright, blue creme which benefits from a top coat to boost the gloss factor.  Applies beautifully with no nail staining either (woohoo!)

I do wish SpaRitual polishes were a little easier to come by because they makes some beautiful shades.

As it is, you can purchase this online from their website priced at £8.50 for a 15ml bottle.

So, this is how I imagine the conversation went one day at Eyeko HQ…

“So guysssssss, how about it?”

“How about what?”

“Bile polish, you know… polish, that looks like Bile!”

“???”

“C’mon!  If Chanel can do Shit fingers, we can handle a bit o’ Bile!”

Eyeko Bile Military Polish is a murky brown/green mix that probably triggers equal amounts of joy/repulsion.  I’m… ok with it until the sunlight hits it and the slightly yellow-hued green shows through *gag*.

It’s a two coater with a fairly thick formula, it’s quite glossy on its own but the above photo shows it combined with a quick-dry top coat.  Wear was fine on this, 3 days before tip wear became enough of an issue to warrant removal.

So, it’s not my favourite shade in the world but I’ll tell you something…

Slick this on your toes before your Summer holibobs and you won’t need to put a towel out on the sunbed at 4am.  You’ll be clearing the poolside faster than you can say “fungal infection”.

Eyeko Military Polish is available to buy online from PowderRooms priced at £3.50

Hold on to your retinas, this one’s a scorcher!  SpaRitual Knowledge is Power is a stunner.

Not only is it a stunner but I think it has special powers.  I wore this the other day at the gym and even though I was HALFWAY through a 5 minute run, looking down at this shade on my tips cheered me up.  Magic.

Very nearly neon but not quite.  This one needs a top coat to bring back the shine as it does dry semi-matte, something not uncommon with shades as bright as this.

Mr. L hates this shade on me but I love it.  I feel just like Barbie, minus the boobs.  Ok, with the boobs, minus the waist.

If you wanna play Barbie too, you can buy it online from SpaRitual priced at £8.50