A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

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?!

I suspected it from the moment I twirled the bottle between my fingers…

…Stargazer #155 (£2) is a very nice match for the cult O.P.I shade I’m Not Really A Waitress (£9.95)

INRAW was the first OPI I bought back in the day and is probably the only bottle of polish I’m even close to finishing.

If I look *really* closely, I’d say that Stargazer #155 is the teeniest bit more cherry toned than INRAW, but there’s barely anything in it.

#155 is opaque in two coats and applies smoothly with a decent brush… not too thin and no straggly long bits.  Quick drying but affording just enough time to work the polish to the edges of the nail bed.  It benefits from a glossy top coat to bring out the sparkle within the polish.

And a comparison with the OPI…

I prefer the Stargazer.  I’ve always had an issue with tip wear with this particular OPI (see my review from last May) and the Stargazer is outperforming INRAW in this instance by a huge amount.  No tip wear at all until the 3rd day.

Did I find a good dupe?  I’m usually pretty crappy at dupe hunting, so I’m kinda chuffed with myself!  Simple things and all that…

Slowly making my way through the Urban Decay Summer of Love nail kit (£17.50) and I’m currently sporting Psychedelic Sister!

Described as a bright coral, but it isn’t.  It’s far too red to qualify as coral.  However, it’s a beautiful shade of red meets salmon pink.  It shouldn’t work, but it does!

3 coats (as most of these seem to need) for a good finish, my one complaint is that I’ve got more tip wear than normal AND a chip *sharp intake of breath* on only my first full day of wear.  Can’t count, that’s two complaints… oh well.  You can see the chip on my index fingernail and the tip wear on the middle.

I don’t usually get chips, soooooooo it’s something that is noticeable when I do.

See my other swatches from the collection:

Aquarius
Woodstock
The Whole Kit

Some of you ladies have your Summer of Love nail kits now, how are you liking them?  Have you spotted them in Debenhams yet or is it only some Boots that have put them up?

Here’s another Eyeko I was sent recently…

…don’t like it (said in the style of Lou & Andy).

Eyeko’s Petite Polish (£3.50) is a pale girly pink, and there’s nothing wrong with that…. infact, the idea appeals and I’m not sure I have anything similar.  However, it just didn’t work that well for me.  It took 4 coats to achieve opacity (so probably great if you’re looking for a sheer!) and once finished it just looked kinda “thick” and not very feminine at all.

Is it supposed to be a sheer?  I dunno… I guess maybe it’s a French Manicure polish, in which case I’m being a bit harsh… but I want an opaque baby pink that looks all delicate, and this isn’t it.

Can anyone recommend some nice baby pinks that are all feminine and floaty and stuff?

A stand out from the collection, Aquarius is a beautiful metallic mermaid teal that screams summer!

Application was sadly a bit of a PITA, you need at least 3 coats to achieve a good-looking finish owing to a slightly patchy formula that seems to apply extra-thinly in some areas despite care and concentration!

However, once applied… it’s a beautiful hybrid finish with just as much shimmer as metallic.  I doubt it’s a hugely unique shade, but I imagine it will be the jewel in the collection for many.

See my other swatches from the collection here and the Urban Decay Summer of Love Nail Kit as a whole, here.

This is in proper “I can’t stop looking at how hot my nails are” territory.  A neon pink creme that lends itself fabulously to slightly cooler toned ladies.  This is three coats.  Application was fine if a little bit patchy.  I couldn’t have gotten away with less than three coats despite it’s apparent opaqueness.  You would also be wise to pair this with a topcoat as it dries somewhat matte.

All in all, there’s a few niggles… but it didn’t make me want to tear my hair out with frustration or anything extreme like that… and the colour… OH the colour.  I lurve.

Woodstock is from the Urban Decay Summer of Love collection which is supposed to be released on the 7th June in the UK, but I’ve heard a few people say that it’s already available in Boots and Debenhams.

See my other swatches from the collection here and the Urban Decay Summer of Love Nail Kit as a whole, here.

Now that Models Own have expanded into Boots stores nationwide, their legendary polishes are a whole lot easier to get your hands on!

The range is simply quite mind boggling, with a shade for every occassion.  They also sell other cosmetics including eye and lip products and I have a particularly lovely neon pink lip product to show you very soon!

I was sent this Models Own shade in Fuzzy Peach and it’s a touch more neon in real life than my photo shows… the colour is pretty spot on, but it’s a little more vibrant in person.  Application was….interesting.

First 2 coats were streaksville.  Worse than Eyeko’s streakiness…. I laid down the first coat… waited 10 minutes and despite feeling pretty dry to the touch, I got some crappy cuticle drag on the second coat.  Thankfully the third coat evened everything out enough for me to be satisfied with the finish but I made sure to top everything off with a quick dry top coat.

Put it this way, I was a bit disappointed with the formula.

However, there’s no denying it’s one helluva colour for summer!  Someone with a tan and warmer skin would knock ’em dead with this on their tips.

Models Own Fuzzy Peach is £5 and available online and instore at Boots.

I’d heard that Berry Ice Cream was a hard colour to track down, so I was really delighted to be able to waltz into my local Superdrug and whisk this and Mushroom off the shelves without any problems at all!  And I only paid a fiver for both!

Berry Ice Cream is a bright lilac pastel.  It’s not pastelly enough to be soft and floaty (if that makes sense!).  It has a bit o brightness to it that would endear it to most skintones.  Sometimes, lilacs can make darker skintones look kinda dead… zombie hands.  I can’t imagine you’d have the same issues with this one, it has enough punch to it!

Application was fair… 3 coats to cover any imperfections or patches from a small amount of cuticle drag.  Dried speedily and as with most BarryM shades I’ve tried, it has an impressive glossy finish.

Many people have issues with BarryM polishes chipping on them, but I never do… so although I can safely state that in 2 full days of wear I had no chipping, that doesn’t necessarily mean much.

If you’re looking for a colour to take you from Spring into Summer… this is a great choice.  However, I’m totally lagging in the ‘what’s hot’ stakes so this shade is probably already SO LAST SEASON.

Whatever bitches, I was rocking an Autumn colour last weekend… my fingers transcend fashion.

BarryM Nail polishes are still on a 2 for £5 offer in Superdrug, so get ’em while they’re hot! (or not).

The other evening, after painting my nails in Essie’s Wrapped im Rubies… it ddn’t take me long to decide that it was a dull, dull colour…

…but I’ve changed my mind.  It’s not dull, it’s just not Summery.

Application was a teeny bit awkward, it seemed to remain sheer in certain places on the nail and I experienced a tiny bit of bubbling on my thumb.  To be fair though, I was in more of a hurry than usual… so it could well be down to my application skills (or lack of them on this occassion).

I’m on my 2nd full day of wear and tip wear is barely noticeable.  I did dent one nail despite my quick dry top coat, so it seems to be a slow dryer… deffo crack open the seche or alternative.  Essie Wrapped in Rubies is a beautiful bronzed-red with flecks of gold from the Winter 2007 collection… perfect for Autumn.

Shame it’s May!

One word sums this Eyeko Coral polish up… SUMMER!

No wait, I’ve got another one.  Longevity.  6 days, no chipping and minimal tip wear.

Application is ok… it’s the same as all the other Eyeko polishes, on the thick and gloopy side but not unworkable with a fairly slow drying time.  Top coat recommended.

The colour is lovely though, on my short nails it really ‘pops’ and makes my fingertips look like sweeties!  Or maybe I’m just hungry.

Either way, I like this one lots!  The new formulation is definitely an approvement on the old version.

£3.50 from Eyeko online with free UK delivery and cheap international shipping.

I swear… I will stop doing “greige” soon… when HELL FREEZES OVER! Bwuhahahhaha!

Bored of reviewing Eyeko now…. are you bored of seeing ’em?  Thing is though… they’ve got some rather fashionable polish shades out now and this is one of them.

Also, this one’s got a formula comparable to that lilac that I liked, which means that I owe it to people who don’t like the thicker Eyeko formula to let them know that Eyeko Posh Polish might be a good’un for them!

Opaque in two coats and not only that… but this mani is lasting and lasting… I’m actually on my 4th day (at the time of writing this) and um… I don’t have any tip wear.  I don’t usually get much chipping with any polishes but as a chronic keyboard user… tip wear IS something that I usually suffer with.

Again… £3.50 from the Eyeko website, free UK shipping… cheap international shipping… yada yada yada…

Do you wanna see the rest of the shades (I’ve got a coral, tea rose and a pink sheer left) or are us bloggers doing Eyeko polishes to death now?  Be honest… I don’t mind and whilst it’s nice to feature new product releases, I don’t want you coming here rolling your eyes at reading your 16th Eyeko NOTD yano?

Channelesque is a discontinued China Glaze shade… it’s still available on eBay at the standard price so I thought I’d it share anyway.

It’s a dusky mauve with more than just a hint of grey.  Quite frankly, it’s gorgeous and one of my favourite China Glaze shades.  I *would* liken it to Sephora by OPI’s Metro Chic… but as I don’t have it to compare, I won’t 😉

My bottle is getting a bit old now and could do with thinning… despite this, application was still pretty dreamy.  Two coats to achieve a solid, glossy finish.

For those of you hatin’ on my beloved taupes 😉  Is this a bit less concrete for ya?! x