A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Looking for an amazing holo with more sparkle than should be legal?

Look no further…

Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm is an awesome display of holographic loveliness set in a dark charcoal base.  Think OPI My Private Jet but kick the holo up a notch and lower the price by about £5.

Application was fabulous, 2 coats will work very well, but I did three for a flawless finish.  Despite being full of sparkle, the polish is smooth to the touch and has a beautiful glossy finish without need for a top coat.  If this weren’t enough, longevity is a little bit mind blowing.  I’m on the 5th day and I have barely noticeable tip wear.

Seriously, just buy this polish.

Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm is available in the UK from FlashyNails and will set you back a measly £3.00

The lovely liloo is in search of a potential nail polish delight.  She’s looking for a wearable (ie. not too bright or shocking) blue-based pink.  Think MAC Snob in a bottle.

I’ve been through my collection and can’t find anything suitable.  This was the nearest.

I picked Mavala Miami up when I raided the Debenhams sale last summer, it is blue based… perhaps not strongly enough to fit in the ‘Snob’ category, but it’s getting there.

As for my polish requirements.  I LOVE it. It’s pink and girly, but stops short of being sugary thanks to it’s definite brightness.  I feel all summery wearing it and I may even have to reapply before moving on to another shade (high praise indeed!).

Application was tremendous.  3 easy, easy coats achieved a perfect finish, but as with a lot of Mavala’s, it doesn’t quite have the high-gloss finish I love, so I added a top-coat to get that glass-like sheen.  Longevity is average, a bit of tip wear towards the end of the 2nd day, but it’s not too noticeable thanks to the forgiving shade.

I’m really pleased I picked this Mavala Miami shade up and I may have to start dragging myself into some more spring/summer-like shades!

Anyone have any nail polish “Snob” suggestions for Liloo?

I don’t own anything else like this shade.  Nails Inc. Battersea Park is a true hybrid.  It’s a cross between army greens and olive, and it really does apply differently on the nails to how it looks in the bottle (I prefer it applied).

1st coat is very nearly opaque, but if you hold your hand to the light, it looks a little uneven in patches… so for me, is a firm 2-coater.  Application is smooth with no dragging at the cuticles.  I do love these slightly murky creme finishes, they don’t feel very spring-like (I’m still craving some Barielle’s for that. HURRY UP BARIELLE!) but I’m loving them nonetheless.

What are your favourite greens?  Forest? Olive? Shimmer? Pea Soup? Emerald? – Come on, spill… I need some more green in my life.

So, Diamond Cosmetics nail polishes have had rave reviews across the pond, and I thought it was high time I picked up a couple for myself!

The first one I’ve tried is Decadence.  The picture below was taken with sunlight streaming through the window, so looks a bit warmer here than real life.

A neutral toned brown shimmer that goes nicely with a cool skintone.  The shimmer is strong as you can see and I love it.  I suppose it’s more of a cool bronze than a plain ol’ brown because of the sparkles.  Note, this isn’t glitter – just shimmer.

I had no issues with application and applied 3 coats to achieve opacity (I apply fairly thin coats, so it may only take 2 coats for you).  The finish is smooth and glossy.  After 3 days (the photo was taken on the 1st full day) I have no chips, but tip wear is quite extensive on a couple of fingers.  We’re talking 2mm easy.

Still, the polishes are priced at £3 each, so I was still pleasently surprised by the quality of the formula and finish.

Have you checked out Diamond Cosmetics polishes yet?

Application was smooth enough on this 4-coater, but the formula was a little thinner than I’d have liked.  It has an almost semi-jelly finish with a undoubtedly glossy sheen.  Red Alert is an orange-based red that somehow manages to look ok on my skintone.  It reminds me of a 1950s pin-up red and I’m a definite fan of the shade.

I have an issue with longevity, suffering a chip within 24hrs of application is not a way to win me over, but strangely enough tip wear was non-existent even after a full 48hrs.  If you’re looking for a hot red with retro leanings for your tips or toes, definitely consider Red Alert by Models Own.  But maybe employ a good top coat.

Available from the Models Own website, priced at £5

Who’s Wearing What is a discontinued China Glaze shade that I picked up on eBay.  I do like my greyed out purples and this fit the bill perfectly:

It reminds me of a more muted version of OPI’s ever popular Done out in Deco.  I love my durgy colours and this one fits nicely into my ever-growing collection.

It’s a 3-coater to look it’s best and unfortunately it’s a slow-drier, definitely needing a coat of Seche Vite to finish off.  The creme finish is gorgeous, very glossy and smooth.  I’m pleased to have picked up this shade while it’s still available!

It’s stronger and less pastelly than Orly’s Bon Bon, so may suit you well if you’re darker toned too!

If you like your purples, get ready to put a padlock on your purse.

NARS Purple Rain is such a beautiful, beautiful colour.  A warm-toned purple that has that ethereal ‘lit from within’ quality with it’s blackened edges and glowing centres.  Packed full of grown up shimmer (I can see red and blue in there).  2 coats for full opacity with no formula issues at all.  I’m deducting one point for the handle.  I had to do some major q-tip clean up because I found that huge chunky square handle a nightmare to wield with any accuracy.

Longevity is great so far… 3 days with barely any tip wear and not a chip in sight.  I guess I should be going for some lighter more spring-like shades now…. too bad I still have loads of dark polishes I haven’t played with yet!

So, Tsunimee and I were bitching on twitter that we didn’t really like metallic finishes to our polishes, and of course… that same day one of THE MOST BEAUTIFUL metallic nail polishes EVER showed up in my little ASOS haul.

It has that Quality Street wrapper quality doesn’t it?

Of course I had to apply it immediately…

I love it. And this photo… does not do it justice.  In real life, it looks like someone has foiled my nails with this glorious jeweled ruby red.  It’s perfect.  It looks like there are brush strokes in the image… which is hugely unfair, because I’m squinting at my fingertips now and I just can’t see any.

You pop off the clunky square ‘lid’ with a sharp tug and it reveals an altogether easier to manipulate round handle for application purposes.  Unfortunately, the brush is a STUPID thin thing, like in my Orly polishes… but other than meaning it needed about 5 strokes to cover the nail bed, it didn’t cause me any issues.

Application was *nearly* spot on.  Opaque in the first coat, I needed to go back in for a second just to tidy it up…. however, I did experience a couple of bubbles on 2 nails, which sucked especially as I know I wasn’t applying it too thickly.  Still, it’s so beautiful I don’t really care.  Plus, when the polish had dried (very quickly I might add) I could barely see these two bubbles… but I needed to mention it as bubbling isn’t something I usually experience with polishes.  Longevity is amazing for a metallic, I’m on my 3rd day (with no top coat) and it looks as good as new.

This was my first Butter London and I’m smitten.  They’re not cheap at around £10 each, but I want more…

What are your Butter London favs?

This is another from Mavala’s recently released Mystic Collection that I was sent last month.

Mavala Black Velvet is a dark purple-black with a very subtle shimmer which unfortunately is more apparent in the bottle than on the nail.

There is a great swatch of it over at HeijastusPinta

I’m in two minds about this collection.  So far, I like how they look individually… but now my nails are getting a bit longer, I think they’re a touch vampy for me.  If you have short, well-groomed nails, this would be a great collection for you.

I have two more to show you and I’m gonna hurry them the hell up, because Spring is nearly upon us… and if you give a fig about staying on trend, you might not want to see them ’till next Winter!

You can buy Black Velvet online at Mistrys Pharmacy – £3.95 a bottle.

A few of you eagle-eyed ladies spotted the manicure I was sporting in my NARS post!  *Looks at Kim, Danielle, Rae and Dee*

It’s the bomb! The Glitterbomb!  I originally had an Orly taupe shade on my nails that was looking a little tired… so I played at “How much glitter can I put on my nails in one go”.

The Miners Extreme Nail Colour is now discontinued I’m afraid, but it’s surely easily dupable?  I paid 99p for it a few months ago from their website. I think they may be sold at Claire’s (or at least they used to be).

I applied 2 coats of the Miners over my gnarly taupe polish and then finished off with a “top coat” of Inglot’s flakes.  A cheaper and more accessible version of the flakes would be GOSH Rainbow. (I can’t find it in my local Superdrug).

Ta-da!

I don’t even bother with cotton pads for removal of these glitter-fests.  I just fill the lid of my nail polish remover with the solution and dip for about 3/4 mins per nail.  That dissolves enough polish for one firm swipe of a cotton pad to do the job.

Have you been indulging your inner 4yr old lately?  Is glitter even remotely on-trend?  Do we even care?

A lovely greyed-out lavender.  It’s one of them dirty colours… I love me a bit of grunge.

This is my first Orly polish and I’m torn.  I found the formula easy to work with… a little thin, but I don’t mind thin polishes as long as they dry quickly and evenly, which this did.  The above shows 4 coats… 1 more than I would have preferred… but it’s ok.

However, I dislike the brush intensly.  It’s super thin and bendy.  Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the OPI Wide Brush that covers a nail in 3 clean strokes… this took about 6/7.  I think I can live with it, but only because of the thin formula.  Painting thicker polish with a brush that weedy would be a nightmare.  Are most Orly polishes fairly thin?

Longevity has been fine… medium amount if tip wear, but no chips.

What do you think of the shade? Are you a fan of grungey colours?

It is love.

I was hugely excited to find OPI – Absolutely Alice in my latest parcel of goodies, although I can’t pretend I’d forgotten I’d ordered it… I have been pacing like an expectant father ever since handing over my Visa deets!

Absolutely Alice is amazing, a true blue and the sparkles? Oh my… the sparkles are breathtaking.  I couldn’t stop twirling the bottle in the light, watching the glitter dance and flash blue and silver.  Fantastic.

Photographed in daylight..

Photographed in artificial light.

Photography doesn’t really capture the sparkle that emanates from this polish, but the hue is true to life and you can see how great the coverage is from 3 coats.  The glitter is suspended in a sheer jelly base, so I’m pleasantly surprised at the opacity I was able to achieve.

Dear god, I’m not looking forward to removal.

Do you like it? I’m trying to stop myself from buying OPI – Mad as a Hatter, but  I know I’m gonna cave when I see you UK girls start swatching it…

Screw it, I’ve just ordered it.  Man I’m a good enabler!

EDIT: Rhamnousia reminded me, I forgot to say… This definitely needs a couple of coats of top coat to make it bearable to touch!  Gritty glitter!

EDIT EDIT(!): You can purchase this online in the UK from Lena White

EDIT EDIT EDIT(!!): How many edits can I get on a post?

Ok… shouldn’t really add this but before you think I’ve gone completely mad.  Let me explain something about focus.

You focus to achieve optimum sharpness within an image.  That is a given right?  If your focal plane is off, you will achieve blurriness, but a pleasant side effect of blurriness is a little something called ‘bokeh’.  Bokeh is the technical term for the out of focus areas in a photograph and a very pleasing aspect of Bokeh are the discs of light that appear at the source of any highlights in an image…. it could be true light sources or reflections that cause this kind of bokeh.

Are you with me?

See the discs?  Every reflect from the sparkle on my nails are causing those… so you can see that from tip to base it’s sparkle-rama *admires nails*

But yanowot?  I don’t feel like a child in this polish.  And we all know that I suffer ‘hand-hiding’ syndrome if I feel at all silly in a polish.  But this shade and sparkle makes me feel amazing.  High praise indeed, but I realised it was true this afternoon, before this edit.  I simply couldn’t shop showing off my fingers when I was in the supermarket.  I was rocking it!