A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I didn’t appreciate this colour fully until I was out in the sunlight the day after painting. Wowee, vivid blue flashes… just stunning!

Application was not bad, formula a little thicker than I like but not too gloopy.  2 coats.  This one is chipping a little more quickly than I find acceptable but it’s such a lovely colour… I don’t care.

This is a shade that was sent as a freebie (for joining the newsletter I believe) back when I took advantage of the Nails Inc. offer a couple of weeks ago.

It’s a hot, hot jelly shade! I would describe it simply as 50% red 50% orange.  I can’t commit exclusively to either camp for descriptive purposes!

It applies VERY sheer for what appears to be such a bold, solid colour.  The above photo took 5 coats and it’s still not fully opaque.  But yanowot?  This is my favourite Nails Inc. application yet!  Woohoo!  It’s thin but very quick drying.  Love it!  The result is a gorgeously smooth, bubble-free jelly-like finish.  There wasn’t quite enough shine for me, so I added a quick-drying top coat.  I think this would make the most awesome pedicure shade – it makes me very sorry to see the last of summer (well, not that we had one.. but I know you know what I mean.)

I can’t find this shade on their website, so if you wanna get your hands on it… make sure that you sign up to their newsletter next time you make an order!

I’ve said it before, but having to apply lots of coats really doesn’t bother me as long as the application is smooth and forgiving.  I’m usually doing my nails whilst watching telly or surfing t’internet so if it takes a couple of hours from start to finish – I don’t care.  I find it quite therapeutic!

How about you?… do you enjoy doing your nails or do you find it all a bit of a chore?

You already know by now that I’m a big fan of Mavala polishes and further to my post a few weeks ago on Mavala’s “Ruby” polish, I was sent the remaining 2 colours of Mavala’s Autumn/Winter collection for review. 

The collection is called Viva La Colour!  – a brave slap in the face to the usual Autumn/Winter collections showing up around now.

The first shade I want to show you is “Liberty”, an elegant soft nude.

This is a sheer, but it builds up opacity quite nicely thanks to Mavala’s reliable formula which never fails to please me.  The above is a total of 4 thin coats, a little more than I would prefer to apply – but it’s not a chore thanks to the smooth application.  If you did want to wear this sheer, it would be a lovely shade to compliment a french manicure… as for me, I don’t do sheers – so I’m glad I was able to build up the opacity, especially on such a lovely work-appropriate nude.  Work-appropriate nude? An oxymoron if ever I heard one!

Before I continue, I have to tell you that  “Viva La Colour!” is a collection of mattes.  Which probably goes some way to explain why I wasn’t delighted with the finish of the Ruby shade I tried earlier this month.

To be blunt, I don’t regard this collection as matte.  We’ve all seen the mattes on offer this season from the likes of O.P.I, Zoya and Nubar… I’m not a fan, but regardless of my personal taste, these ‘matte’ offerings from Mavala just aren’t… well, matte.  Semi-matte perhaps, but they’re definitely still fairly glossy.  This might be the ideal compromise for you if you’re a little too conservative to rush headlong into the new trend.

For me, this finish just misses – I get a non-commital vibe from the collection which is a shame, but as I’m about to demonstrate… easily remedied by a swipe of your favourite top coat.

Introducing Tokyo, the final shade in the trio.  It’s a beautiful deep dark blue with more than just a hint of purple on display.  Lovely colour, shame about that finish.

But wait… 1 top coat later…

Oh my!… Hello lover!  You’re beautiful in all your ultra glossy loveliness.  You remind me of Cadbury’s chocolate wrappers.  You make me feel all dark, mysterious and sophisticated – quite an achievement!

So, to sum up… if you’re into your mattes, I’d steer clear of this collection.

If you just want some gorgeous Autumn/Winter nail styling that’s bang on trend, a dream to apply and beautifully finished (with a top coat – ahem) – then look no further.

The collection is available from Greenhands and priced @ £3.75 each

Now, if you’ll excuse me… I’m off to stuff my face on Dairy Milk.

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Courtesy of Jen @ MizzWorthy, I received this lovely polish.  It applied beautifully, the above shows 3 coats (although it only needs 2).  Barry M’s Pink Flamingo is such a gorgeous  coral summery colour.  The name describes the shade perfectly!

I’m on my 2nd full day, and it’s not displaying any tip wear yet – incredible.  The only negative is that I’m unsure how well this colour suits my cool skintone, I think it would look amazing on warmer toned people.  Regardless, I’m showing off my tips with my pride, this is one stonking shade!

Another Mavala NOTD, and my favourite shade so far… Magnolia

Of course, the connotations of Magnolia are dull, dull, dull but I love how gentle this is, perhaps it’s a little ‘safe’ for most – but I think it’s feminine, soft and sophisticated with it’s satin finish.

As with the other Mavala shades I’ve tried, this applies beautifully.  1 coat and this would make a lovely french manicure application, 2 or more to build up on opacity.  I think this was 3 coats.  A nice smooth fairly thin formula (which I love) and quick drying (but not so quick that I can’t go over with a couple of strokes to tidy up my application).

This is love, what shade shall I go for next?!

As an aside, you may notice that my cuticles are looking a little dry (well, you probably won’t notice – but they are!) Any recommendations for something I don’t have to apply a 100 times a day to keep them moisturised?

Not loving this one quite as much as Glasgow a few days ago… but it’s definitely worth a spot on here as I consider this to be a slightly unusual colour.  It doesn’t look as though it would be deserving of the description ‘unusual’ but it is.  Ruby by Mavala is a shade that upon first glance, seems to be your standard warm toned dark pink in the bottle.  However, it shows up far more red toned with a warm brown hint on my nails.

It’s particularly worth a mention as I would class this as a ‘work safe’ red, it doesn’t scream for attention and sits quite demurely on the end of my fingers simply looking polished and pretty.  It’s also not a super high gloss finish, the above photo was taken after 2 coats.  Personally, I prefer a more glossy finish but that can be remedied with a couple of swipes of your favourite top coat.

Definitely one for the collection.

I’m loving these Mavala Minis (5ml), so great for impatient types like me who never see the bottom of a standard sized bottle before it’s gotten too thick and unuseable.

This is Glasgow #29 a fab silvery lavender metallic shade.  It’s a little streaky (as with most metallics) but not enough to bother me in the slightest.  It applied as easily as a creme with no dragging at all.  This was 3 thin coats.  Drying time was decent aswell.  I’m very, very impressed with this range and will be checking out some other colours!

These Mavala Minis are on offer at £3.19 a bottle at Richard John at the moment (although they do that annoying p&p thing where they think it’s a good idea to charge you higher p&p the more money you spend with them *sigh*)

This is my first experience with the Mavala brand, anyone else tried their products?  What are your thoughts?

The beauty blogosphere is buzzing right now with nail junkies across the UK enjoying Collection 2000’s “Hot Looks” range of polishes.

There are some fab 80s inspired shades and seeing as Button Moon was one of my fav shows as a tot, I had to pick up it’s nail polish counterpart!

Button Moon is a mint green creme that randomly reminds me of Rennie Soft Chews.  It’s a fun colour and fairly chalky in appearance.  Application wise, it achieves opacity in one coat, but needs two coats to even out the streakiness it suffers thanks to it’s pretty crappy brush.

The “Hot Looks” range claims to be fast drying, a claim I would take slight issue with.  Yes, the surface doesn’t stay tacky for very long at all… but the risk of smudging remains for a good half hour after application – not one to apply 15 minutes before bed unless you want lovely imprints from your bed sheets on your tips!

The picture shows the streaking fairly well, but I believe the culprit of this is the brush rather than the formula, so can easily be remedied by using another brush instead.  I should also note that the picture was taken without a top coat applied.

At £1.75 a bottle (they come in a super fab mini 8ml size) and despite the faults I’ve noted, I still think the range is a bit of a steal – ideal for trying out some funky colours.  They’re also currently on offer in Superdrug at the moment (2 for £2.99) – get ’em while they’re hot!  *snigger* Hot, “Hot Looks”, gerrit?

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Love.

Longwearing, 1-2 coat opacity, smooth application, quick drying, non-staining, cool-toned suiting, hot & striking.

Only thing I don’t love is the application brushes, which I find a little on the thin side, requiring up to 8 strokes to cover the nail evenly and smoothly – but thankfully it’s not SO quick drying that it starts to drag if you go over it a few times.

Another thing I love is the price!  £2.89 each or 2 for £4.99 at the moment in Superdrug.

Nails Inc still isn’t a favourite brand of mine.  I find the formula a little too thick – great for achieving opacity in 2 coats or less, but not so good for clumsy types like me.

Belgrave Place is a beautiful inky blue and although I love the colour, this polish isn’t a keeper for me.  Despite use of a base coat (I’m obviously not using one good enough), this stained my nails quite nastily upon removal.

Will I ever find a Nails Inc. polish I’m in love with?  The search continues – recommendations very welcome!

Sorry for so many NOTD posts, it feels like a bit of a lazy cop out as they’re much easier to do than full on reviews.  I have some MMU haul posts as well which I really need to be doing and I have a HG to share with you all – ‘citing!

A lovely, lovely nude that’s a dream to apply.  I enjoy being able to get away with keeping nudes on my nails a bit longer, especially this one which only suffers minimal and even tip wear.

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A gorgeous, vibrant shade shot through with a sophisticated glitter.

This polish is fantastic and would easily make it into my top 10 list. 

It’s a lush cherry red that I can’t stop looking at!  It goes on smoothly and evenly.  The texture feels a little gritty thanks to the glitter, but it’s nothing that a sweep of top coat wouldn’t fix. 

The above image shows 1 coat(!) after 4 days of wear.  There is very minimal and even tip wear.  This is my first experience with China Glaze polishes and I’m so impressed by the formula of this one, I’m looking for more!  Anyone care to share their favourite CG polishes?