A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Love the name of this cheeky little number!  Butter London’s Frilly Knickers is a definite contender for a super-cool Christmas polish.  It’s a low maintenance sparkler with more bling than your Christmas lights.

Please excuse my yellow nails (yuk).  Over bare nails, it doesn’t look that incredible, although it’s still a pretty touch for those that prefer a sheer sparkle.  However…

Layer a single coat over a black or dark base and you’re cooking on turbo-powered gas!  A multi-hued, multi-faceted gem of a polish that magically saves shitty manicures with a single stroke.

I heart my Frilly Knickers.

Butter London Frilly Knickers is priced at £11.95 and available online from Powder Rooms.

You can’t polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter…

Ta-da!!

Well, it’s not exactly subtle is it?  A warm brown base colour with a whole heap of chunky holo glitter embedded like sparkly shrapnel.  It needs a top coat to get rid of the grittiness and three overall coats to achieve full opacity.

I like it, but not as much as I thought I was going to.  Apologies for the no natural daylight photo – colour is accurate but the holo is obviously looking a little underwhelming.  You need proper sun for that kind of bling and we’re just not getting any at the moment.

What do you think?

China Glaze Mahoganie is priced at £7.99 and available online from RadiantBabe-Beauty.

I’m usually fairly decisive about nail polish but I really can’t make up my mind whether or not I love or loathe this one from Leighton Denny’s Autumn/Winter Atmospheric collection.

Astronaughty is beautiful.  Let’s get that out of the way first… I’m not denying that it holds that special something to elevate it above the ordinary.  It’s described as an intense plum with sizzling red shimmer – and I have to say that I don’t ‘get’ that.  To my eye, it’s more complicated.

Firstly, it’s not intense.  The above shows three fairly thick coats and although not instantly apparent in the photo… there’s a whisper of sheerness that will remain for at least another coat.  Not that there’s anything wrong with this, but it gives a more smokey effect than the wham, bam intensity you’d expect from the description.

The red shimmer is also quite copper-y red which leans a touch yellow on my already yellowed nails — something that makes this polish really intriguing but ultimately not massively flattering on my nails.

I’ve experienced a bit of tip wear with this one but no chipping.  Ngggh, I just don’t know about this one!

Leighton Denny Astronaughty is available to buy online priced at £11.00

* press sample

No, my nails aren’t this long anymore – this was back in the day when I hadn’t abused them to within a millimetre of their poor, peeling lives.  Although looking at that length now, I think I’ve gone off it a bit… funny how our tastes change constantly isn’t it?

My tastes haven’t changed for Butter London’s beautiful Artful Dodger though.  When I was a little girl, I distinctly remember wanting to be the Artful Dodger… it’s not that I had a penchant for petty theft, I just thought it was a cool name.  Still do.

Artful Dodger is a super-pretty blue that feels a little different to my other squillion blues in my blue drawer.  Yes, I have a blue drawer.  What of it?  It manages to feel light, airy, a little frosty but somehow calming and mediterranean at the same time.  Plus, the beautiful BL cream formula is a dream to apply, something that of course, always helps.

Butter London Artful Dodger is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online at PowderRooms.

Another from Leighton’s Autumn collection is Meteor Match, possibly the most intriguing in the bottle but how does it translate onto the nails?

Meteor Match is an unusual silver-ed, icy blue with a hint of both purple and green.  Not quite strong enough to be described as a pure duochrome, though the tendencies are definitely clear to see.  As if those elements weren’t enough to be getting on with, Meteor Match also contains a pretty scattering of silver glitter that compliments the icy blue tones beautifully.

A little on the sheer side, I needed four coats (some fingers were ok with three) to achieve the opacity that you see above.  The formula was on the watery side, though not difficult to work with… just reminiscent of other pale duochromes that lean similarly sheer.

I’m not 100% sure how I ultimately feel about Meteor Match.  I think I’d class it as a “nearly awesome” shade.  For me, I’d love that purple duochrome to have been a hair more apparent on the nail and the formula, a little more opaque.  Either way, it’s still a very pretty, if non-commital shade and mega-props for being something a little different.

Leighton Denny Meteor Match is available to buy online priced at £11.00

* press sample

It’s undoubtedly their duochromes that set Nubar apart from the competition and I’ve got a very pretty one to show you today.  Indigo Illusion is a liac/blue/green/grey infusion of colour that dances on the nails depending on the amount of light hitting it and from what angle it strikes.

Three smooth coats will ensure a fully opaque finish from a brand that is fast becoming one of my favourites.  No top coat in the above image either.

Nubar Indigo Illusion is available to buy online from BeautyBay.com and is priced at £5.50 with free delivery.

If you invented your own duochrome polish, which colours would you include?

The third polish in my mini Zoya haul was Neeka from the Fall 2011 Smoke and Mirrors collection.

A pretty purple/grape polish with gold sparkle, this wasn’t as dusty as I hoped.  Not that there’s anything wrong with the base colour but I expected something a little greyer from Zoya’s description of the shade.  Never mind, I’m not adverse to any kind of purple on my nails!

The formula of this was very similar to Yara and I achieved excellent coverage with two coats.

Zoya Neeka is available to buy online from Beauty4Nails-Body priced at £7.99

It’s been a long time since I fell so heavily in love with a nail polish shade.  Zoya Caitlin isn’t even a sparkler.  It doesn’t shift colour and it doesn’t glow in the dark or create funny patterns with the help of a magnet.

Zoya Caitlin is just a beautiful creme that has enough edge to make it different to all my other cremes.  I’m smiling as I write this because I think that half of you are gonna be with me on this and the rest are gonna be like “uh what?”

I won’t build it up any more…

Zoya Caitlin is the duskiest blue I own.  I don’t know how it manages to look so soft yet still be so bold.  It looks like a breath of dusty serenity and I’m completely smitten.  It was released as part of their Spring 2011 Intimates Collection as one half of a duo “french-twist” manicure.  Everywhere I look, I see this described as a purple or a violet.  I just don’t see it.  On me, it’s an out and out cob-webby, deep cornflower.

Uniquely beautiful, I have nothing bad to say about this nail polish.

Zoya Caitlin is available in the UK online at Beauty4Nails-Body priced at £7.99 – I have no personal experience with this website, I bought my bottle from eBay U.S.

Leighton Denny’s Atmospheric Collection is out of this world.  There, I’ve said the line that has been plaguing me since I first saw the release for it back in the Summer.  It’s been like the elephant in the room and now I’ve shoo-ed it out the front door with a broom, I can get back to what I wanted to do… which was show you!

Purely Platonic is like molten lead on my nails.  It lacks the high shine of a silver or a chrome and it’s neither metallic nor rubberized.  It’s just… melty metal.  That makes better sense in my head than it does on paper the screen – I hope the swatch articulates itself with more clarity than I am able to.

There’s a slight river of frost running through the surface but I wouldn’t in a million years call this polish frosty.  It’s a beautifully edgy polish for Autumn/Winter and would coordinate with most outfits.

Wear was good, application even better – my only complaint is that my brush had a randomly long hair which I snipped.  I know, it’s no biggie but I like to moan about something.

Leighton Denny’s Atmospheric Collection is available to buy online priced at £11.00

* press sample

I went on a bit of a Zoya splurge a few weeks ago, admittedly… it was a small one.  Those lovely people at customs and excise weren’t gonna get me.  Not that I object to paying my duty, I just object to Royal Mail’s hostage handling fee.

Grumbles aside, I was pleased to receive my little Zoya beauties and I’m looking forward to showing them.  It’s an expensive brand to buy in the UK and not one too readily available from sellers I trust on eBay either.  Shipping was quite slow (about 3 weeks), I’ll keep looking for a supplier I like for these I think.  In the meantime, meet Yara from Zoya’s Fall Smoke & Mirrors Collection.

Ain’t she purdy?

Yara is an olive green with distinct leanings toward army greens.  The gold sparkles thankfully don’t get hidden too well in the depths of the murk and shine through beautifully!

I don’t wear too many greens but I’m delighted to include this one in my collection.  Texture was great on this, I was done in two coats.

Zoya Yara is available to buy online in the UK from NailCareClub and is priced at £9.98 not inc. postage of £3.50.  I paid £6.50 inc. postage from eBay U.S.  Yeah.  I’ll stick with eBay thanks.

EDIT: It’s also here for £7.99 w/free shipping.

When these polishes were first released, I saw so many positive reviews online and the thing that spoke to me more strongly than the words accompanying them, were the pictures.  I was reading all this good stuff about how amazing they were and all I kept thinking was “but your nails look really bad”.

Case in point…

MyFace Cosmetics Lil’ Bling* nail polish in Pink Champagne is an uber-metallic, high shine polish which benefits from a quick drying time and an opaque finish.  Despite such a pale colour, I was done in two swift coats.  On my hardy nails, wear was average with tip wear setting in on the 3rd day and no chips.

All good things from a high street nail polish that costs less than £6.00.

But the problem is, there just ain’t no denying that it makes my reasonably un-ridged nails look like McCoy’s Man Crisps.

On ridged nails (or my toenails) this could get a whole lot uglier.

MyFace Cosmetics Lil’ Bling polishes (£5.99) come in 16 different shades and are available online at MyFace Cosmetics or instore at Boots.

Do you have any polishes that are awesome in nearly every way bar the most important?

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P.S. see my perpetually peeling index fingernail?  Anyone got any awesome ideas to solve that problem?

* press sample

There’s nothing like an el-cheapo nail polish to quench that insatiable itch to buy something.  I was walking round town last week and felt the need to scratch.  Still recovering from the new lens purchase (it may be some time), I dived into Superdrug for something that wouldn’t break the bank and emerged triumphant with this little beauty…

…BeautyUK to be precise.  Voodoo – No. 55 (£1.99) is an absolute cracking shade for Autumn, a deep russet with a playful shimmer that glows in the right light.  Two coats to achieve opacity, I did get a tiny bit of bubbling on one nail which made me a little more careful with the application than I might normally be.

After admiring my manicure for half a day, I decided, beautiful though it is, I wanted moar Autumn.  I dug out my Inglot Flakie #205 and slapped on a coat…

Now we’re talking!  I see toffee apples, fallen leaves, crisp afternoons and misty mornings.  Brrr… c’mon Autumn, I’m ready for you!

Are you ready for Autumn?  Digging out your vampier shades yet?