A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Hmmm, I think I like this one even more than Happy Birthday, maybe.  I’m not sure… I like the idea that I can do glitter but still keep it looking a little sophistimacated you know?

My idea behind this one (ooh get me, *idea*) was to emulate (ooh get me, *emulate*) the rubbish Summer we’ve been having.  OK, it totally wasn’t…. it’s just reminded me of rain after the fact and I thought I’d try and sound a bit arty but I can’t even convince myself for half a second let alone anyone else.

But it does look like silver raindrops against a cloudy sky right?  Just nod.  It’s easier for everyone in the long run.

That’s one coat of Today Was A Fairytale* over American Apparel Factory Grey (also one coat).  Which makes the entire manicure a two coat wonder.  Looks like more right?  I’m suitably pleased!!

I’ve decided that I prefer a top coat over the Deborah Lippmann glitter polishes.  You don’t *need* one but if you do… just one coat renders the surface perfectly smooth like a normal manicure.

Deborah Lippmann Today Was A Fairytale is available to buy online and instore at House of Fraser priced at £16.00

* press sample

GLITTER THROW UP!

I hate glitter polishes.  I can’t apply them without thinking ahead about 4 days… the thought of removal makes me want to sharpen a meat cleaver in preparation.

I love glitter polishes.  I can’t apply them without smiling at their cheery playfulness.  I love how nothing else on earth makes Leila think her Mum is ridiculously cool like a big ol’ pile of glitter vom on my nails.

This is my difficulty.  I know, starving people all over the world think they’ve got problems?

Yeah, that’s super pretty right?

I defy you to look at Happy Birthday* and not feel the whimsy in the bottle.  It’s the polish that all 4 year olds dream of.  34 year olds dream of it too… they just don’t admit it so freely.

3 coats gives you a fair splattering over a bare nail.  It gave me enough coverage to not be concerned about my poor, yellow nail beds and that’s saying something!  It would actually layer over any shade exceptionally well… black would knock it outta the ball park no?

I had so many comments on my nails when I wore this for a few days… the glitter lies flat so it’s completely non-irritating but you might still want a top coat to smooth it further.  It’s really very lovely, though I did turn the air blue when removal time came.  I attempted one finger the usual way before going for the very successful tin-foil trick.  I’m so glad the cleaver stayed in the drawer.  This time.

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday is available to buy online and instore at House of Fraser priced at a nail-biting £16.00

* press sample

With our (very) mini heatwave in the UK, I propose that there’s never been a better Wednesday for whipping out the sunglasses and getting your Pimms at the ready for a look at the current limited edition China Glaze 2011 Summer collection, Island Escape*.

I wonder which isles the clever bods at CG were thinking of when devised this fruity collection, not the British ones… that’s for sure!

Papaya Punch: Crème based vivid orange.

A bold orange that commands attention, a little on the thick side but opaque in two coats as a result.  No top coat… amazing glossiness.

108 Degrees: Flirtatious berry pink with specks of micro glitter.

A juicy sparkler that looks great on cool skintones thanks to the violet undertones.  Photo taken on a very overcast day so the colour in the sparkles isn’t prominent… a mix of gold and violet.

Senorita Bonita: Passionate purple shimmer with pink micro glitter.

If you can only have one from the collection, you need to make it this one.  Senorita Bonita is the most impressive of the sparklers… hot pink sparkle against a red-toned purple?  MOAR.

Blue Iguana: Bold and daring sparkly blue.

My 2nd favourite from the collection, all the boom chicka wow wow of Senorita Bonita with a heap of gorgeous turquoise glass fleckiness.  However, it did give me mega smurf fingers upon removal and was the sheerest of the bunch.  4 coats – boo.

Cha Cha Cha: Vivacious shimmer green.

A gilded green that packs a punch!  This one practically glows… very beautiful and opaque in two coats.

Electric Pineapple: High intensity crème based lime green.

I’m not digging the colour but again, I have to admire the uber glossiness of the formula.  All of the swatches were photographed without a top coat.  Noice!

Buy China Glaze instore at Sallys or online from radiantbabe-beauty.co.uk

.

Got some favourites?  AND if you could escape to ANY island in the world, which one would it be?

* press samples

Everytime I head into town I can’t move for a sea of yellow nails (exaggerating? me?) and it’s a trend that I was happy to watch pass me by until I saw George at Asda getting in on the act.  C’mon, it was a quid, I know you understand!

Four coats and still a little patchy in places… it’s not a bad formula for a notoriously tricky shade to get right but I’m not in a hurry to repeat the experience.  It’s a little more custard than I’d like but I admire its outright boldness.  I think I’m just gonna pop it in the back of this drawer though… *slam*

Have you embrace the yellows this Summer yet?

The other polish I received from their Summer 2011 collection is this muted “grurple” called Native Rock, it’s somehow softer than any of the other shades of this type that I own.  It’s almost whimsical and ethereal, tres beautiful.

I think it may have a bit too much grey in it for some skintones to wear with success but I’m not complaining on mine!  The above photo shows two coats and although it looked like complete coverage… with hindsight, I think I could have gone for a third.  The photo shows it looking just a little thin in places.

Application was dreamy and longevity average.  Another solid release from SpaRitual.

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

“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?

Starting this Sunday, News of the World’s Fabulous magazine will be bringing a little sunshine to what is turning out to be a rained off Summer!

Cut out and keep three differently numbered tokens over the next four weeks starting this Sunday from inside your NOTW’s Fabulous Magazine to get your mitts on this vibrant duo from Nails Inc.

Atomic and OMP! (that’s Oh My Pink!) are a pair of vibrant Summer-loving shades, guaranteed to bring out the sunglasses!

Once you’ve collected your three tokens, simply take them along to any participating Tesco Extra or Tesco supermarket to claim your freebie nail polish duo anytime between July 3-11.

Will you be collecting your first coupon this Sunday?

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

My first Deborah Lippmann glitter polish.  It feels like every iconic DL polish comes with it’s own story firmly entrenched in popular culture.  Glitter in the Air was created by Deborah after she had watched Pink’s performance at the 2010 Grammy Awards (if you search on You Tube you can find it).

The most important thing you should note is that in the above swatch, I have LAYERED the Deborah Lippmann polish over Essie’s Sag Harbor.  The polish on my bare nail is VERY sheer… not a good look over yellow-stained tips.  I wanted you to be able to appreciate the glitter without the distractions from my ugly nails.

So again, I repeat… even with three coats… you will be able to see your own nail beneath Glitter in the Air unless you layer it over another colour.  Got that?  Right.

The overall effect of the mani reminds me of a baby’s birthday party… it’s ethereal, light, delicate and sunny.  A true feel-good polish for the playful amongst you.  It’s limited edition for Spring 2011 and has already disappeared from the website so if you want it?  Better get down to HoF fast!

£16 for 15ml at House of Fraser.  It’s undoubtedly pretty but has a hefty price tag to match.

* press sample