Have no real use for your retinas? Good… read on then…
Eyeko Punk Polish is a searingly obvious fluoro-pink! If you want people to comment on your tips (I said tips), opt for a shade as blisteringly bright as this one!
As a mega Clash fan, I’m a little partial to the shade that proclaims on its website: “Pink is the only true rock n roll colour” Paul Simonon.
It’s quite thick and needs speedy work to get it to apply nicely… but if you can persevere with the less-than-perfect application, the results are worth it!
Two coats to achieve opacity and perfectly fine wear make this a great Summer choice. Do combine with a top coat for a glossy finish though, as with most neon or near-neon shades, this has a tendency to dry a little matte.
Eyeko Punk Polish is available to buy online from Eyeko or at the original (pre price-hike price) from PowderRooms.
Ok, so these aren’t necessarily ‘moody’ but I didn’t know how to describe them. I love blue polishes and wanted to do a comparison post showing some of the blues in my collection that are a little different to the norm. A little greyer… a little more… stroppy.
Some of you were also keen for me to elaborate on potential dupes for Butter London’s new Lady Muck polish. I’m afraid I came up empty handed on that score!
A close up so that you can see the finish of each polish. You can see that the HTF Essie Sag Harbor and Eyeko Rain are definitely quite close in appearance.
Yesterday I was also asked about the differences between BL Lady Muck and Victoriana. Hopefully you can see that they’re worlds apart. Barielle June Bug? Well that’s just a fun odd ball! Incidentally, I wonder what’s happened to Barielle’s Spring/Summer collection… anyone know if there is one?
I told you I had some rather special Butter Londons to show you – how about this one from the new Spring/Summer collection?
Lady Muck is described as a powdery periwinkle blue, slightly on the grey side and infused with pearl pigment for a soft, sexy sheen.
It’s a gorgeous alternative shade for those of us who don’t go for the screaming brights and Easter Egg pastels that are on offer. Yes, it’s quite a toned-down shade that wouldn’t look out of place in a Winter collection but the silver pearl really lifts the dustiness and gives it a more floaty, ethereal look.
No complaints with either application or wear… there’s something about these greyed-out shades that seem to give me ridiculously good wear. Very strange but always welcome!
Butter London’s Lady Muck is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online from PowderRooms
The final item I received in my goody bag from the recent Illamasqua Blogger Event was this nail polish…
Don’t be fooled by its demure-sounding name, Purity* is about as vivid as a peach can get! Not entirely suited to my skintone, I can see this looking freakin’ amazing on dark-skinned sisters. It’s creamy, opaque and glossy.
The formula was great and the above image shows two coats… longevity has been impressive as I’m on day four of wear and can only see a tiny nick on the tip of one of my fingers…. not even a proper chip and barely any tip wear at all!
A perfect peach of a polish that is guaranteed to turn heads all Summer.
Illamasqua’s polishes may be a little pricey at £13.50, but they back it up with quality formulas and exciting shades.
The crackle craze started in the UK last Autumn with a certain black top coat from BarryM that cracked and shattered to create interesting effects and nail art for the unartistic.
Then the BIG guns got involved with OPI and even Dior getting in on the act!
Now Models Own have jumped squarely on the crackle bandwagon and are doing it in style with their new collection SMASH-UP
Available from April, Models Own will be introducing an entire rainbow of crackle shades to glam up your nails for the Summer!
Priced at £6.00 each, you’ll be able to get your hands on them in Boots and online at www.modelsownit.com
…and because that name isn’t quite daft enough, I’m also christening it “the polish for women who don’t dig polish”. Do you think it’ll catch on?
In the same way that I wouldn’t linger about ripping a bandaid off your arm hairs, I’ll also let you know that this bottle will set you back 20 of your British pounds. Did you catch that? £20. For a nail polish. Not even 15ml of nail polish. 10ml.
Which might go some way to explaining the name that I’ve given this polish. Forget your Pink Pongs… this is a polish for women who don’t dig polish and I’ll tell you why:
1). It practically applies itself.
2). It doesn’t need a top coat.
3). It was opaque in one coat.
4). It may well survive nuclear war.
It’s the perfect polish for ladies who don’t normally ‘do’ nails but suddenly find themselves with the need for a nail polish that isn’t going to fail them in any way, shape or form. ByTerry Terrybly Nail Laque in Pink Pong is a practically perfect polish.
But as a chick who digs nail polish and digs applying nail polish… I’d personally rather spend £20 on 3 bottles that give me a bit of trouble when applying, need a top coat but come in a shade that make me go ‘ooooh’!
Quite frankly, I’d feel sick at myself for spending £20 on one nail polish… though perversely, I’m ok with spending £39 on a blush. Maybe I should just shut up because I’m suffering from a clear case of double-standards.
Terrybly Nail Laque By Terry* is available instore at SpaceNK or online, priced at £20
I’m generally quite sold on Eyeko polishes… and for the money, since the reformulation last year they’ve been a good bet. I’m particularly a fan of their pastels which can often be hit or miss from all brands thanks to streakiness, thickness of formula to overcompensate or just downright chalkiness.
Eyeko Pastel polish is a pale blue that isn’t chalky! It’s almost creamy infact…
Not only that but the formula is easily spreadable. The only area this polish fails a little for me is patchiness. Whilst not horrific, you can see that after two thick coats… it could do with a third. There is uneveness and a bit of streakiness going on here.
The pale blue has a gorgeous vivid flash of metallic blue pearl which stops it from looking flat. If you’re willing to go with three coats on this shade, it’s a total winner in my book.
Eyeko Pastel Polish is available to buy online priced at £3.50 from PowderRooms or £4 direct from Eyeko.
My last attempt at nail wraps (using Rebel Nails) wasn’t exactly a fail but I really struggled with how they felt on my nails… continuously ‘catching’ them on things despite careful filing and I wondered if these wraps from Nail Rock would be any different!
Check out the cute polka dots!
The first thing I noticed is that these are much thicker than the Rebel Nails wraps which are more foil-like. These feel more like vinyl stickers! Initially, I thought it was a bad thing… until it came to application.
The Nail Rock wraps were much easier to apply than Rebel Nails and less prone to random creasing. This meant that they simply looked more professionally applied once I’d finished.
I still had to trim each ‘nail’ down by a substantial amount to make them fit my narrow nail beds but this wasn’t really a problem.
Due to the thickness of the wraps, I found them a little trickier to ‘warm up’ with my hairdryer… it just seemed to take longer to get the heat to have much effect on the adhesive and I risked scorching my fingertips a few times.
Once on and filed, well they looked pretty amazing (even if I do say so myself!).
Wanna see?
Cute huh?!
But what about the wear? Well… unfortunately, I experienced the same problems as ever with nail wraps. They just irritate the crap out of me. Having a 21 month old means that you’re forever picking things up, putting things down, playing catch, picking crumbs out of hair… etc… etc…
Nail Wraps clearly aren’t for me or my lifestyle. Despite careful filing to round off the edges, they snag and catch. It doesn’t hurt but it does risk ‘lifting’ the free edge of the wrap. I lasted about a day with these on before I had to remove them.
Perfect for a night out? Most definitely… but for longer wear? I’m out.
Nail Rock wraps are available to buy online in a variety of styles, priced at around £6.65 a pack*
* you get 24 wraps per pack (for people with 12 fingers obviously) so you can get two manicures from one pack.
I buy many polishes online from the U.S. simply because it’s cheaper that way but that doesn’t stop me getting the urge for some instant nail polish gratification when I’m halfway through an innocent shopping trip.
Which is why I’m pretty keen to see these new ORLY Mani Minis that will be launching into Boots next month!
With no less than 48 shades to choose from including cremes and glitters and priced at only £5 each… I’m pretty excited!
Weighing in at 5.3ml a bottle (a smidge more than a Mavala), these represent decent value for money for what is, essentially, a professional brand.
The ORLY Mani Minis will be available online from 8th March and will arrive in 54 Boots stores nationwide from 9th March 2011.
I’m not ashamed to admit that Estee Lauder had me at Hello with the release of Surreal Violet last year and I’ve been keeping a close eye on new nail polish releases ever since.
Due on counter at the end of the month, the new Pure Color Collection features a total of 16 shades… 8 of which are permanent and 8, limited edition.
Oyster Cult* is a metallic silver with one hell of a shine. It’s a blinding, blinging shade but not hugely original – it applies well and lasts a good 3/4 days before showing much wear but at £14 a bottle I’m just not sure that there’s enough here to warrant a recommendation over and above any other silver in my collection.
Sizzling Taupe* on the other hand is fairly unique to most other taupes on the market… apart from one. Zoya Pasha sprung to mind as soon as I applied. They both have that slightly cool toned edge thanks to the silvery frost that runs through the finish like delicate threads.
I thought I’d do a swatch comparison between the two…
You can see that we’re not really very close to dupe territory when swatched side-by-side.
Estee Lauder’s Sizzling Taupe is darker, more opaque in two coats and doesn’t have the slight violet hue that Zoya Pasha displays.
If you’re a fan of taupes or perhaps just want a beautifully shade that’s safe for work but has a slight ‘edge’ to it then I’d thoroughly recommend Estee Lauder’s new Sizzling Taupe.
Are any of the new Estee Lauder shades catching your eye?
This has become my go-to ‘quick mani’ as it doesn’t seem to matter how shoddily I slap it on, it always comes up looking pretty neat and polished!
The above shows three coats but it’s the kind of polish that you can wear sheerly to good effect. It has a slight ethereal quality in the sunlight thanks to the pale hue and subtle silver shimmer. It’s a very pretty polish with good wear and one I’m pleased to have in my collection.
Pelican Gray is from the China Glaze Spring 2011 Anchors Away collection.
A few of you asked what nail polish I was wearing in this post, so I thought I’d put up a proper NOTD post to show it properly.
Following conversations with some of you U.S. girls, I’m thinking that this particular line of L’oreal polishes might not be available over the pond.
Maroon Sorbet is such an odd name for something so dark and vampy… sorbet always makes me think of summer! The shade itself is a blackened purple with ‘hidden’ shimmer. You may be able to make out a speck of the shimmer on my middle fingernail but it’s really quite subtle which is a shame as a little more visibility would have given this shade the lift it needs.
No complaints here about wear or application – it’s a solid high street polish that won’t break the bank!
