A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

There are more silver holos on the market than there are old-enough-to-know-better 1D fans on twitter but Dodgy Barnett is different.  This particular holo-infused polish blurs the lines between silver and grey, leaning more to the understated sophistication of a cool-toned grey than the usual bling of a silver holo.

As you can see, it’s a pretty unassuming polish when worn indoors and in the shade but as with many holos, its true beauty comes alive when you get outside and find a patch of sunlight…

Dodgy Barnett sparkles a multitude of rainbow colours but ultimately keeps that wispy, pastelly grey thing going on… perfect if you’re looking for something sophisticated but with a little something different to show off about!

Butter London’s Dodgy Barnett is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online at PowderRooms.com who are offering 25% off all Butter London products with the code “butter”.  But hurry, today’s the last day to take advantage of the promotion.

* press sample

When I heard that Glitter Gal polishes had made it across to the UK last month, I immediately skipped over to the UK stockist and placed an order for the two polishes that I’d been wanting for a while.  I first tried a Glitter Gal polish a couple of years back, and very pretty it was too – since then, the line has expanded greatly and my heart was going pitter-patter for their holographic RED… but more on that one another time (i.e. when I’ve done the photos).

Light As A Feather is a subdued holo which compliments the soft, ethereal shade beautifully.  It looks plumpity and squishy on the nails with a little visible nail line peeping through despite three coats.  I think it actually suits the calm demeanor of this shade to be a little sheerer.  Sure, it’s not a wham-bam in your face holo but it feels like a demure, more grown up version of the trend – ideal for those of us looking for a work-appropriate bit of sparkle.

Once the light hits it (please excuse my dry hands and nails), the holographic particles spring forth and dance a little jig on your fingertips.  They’re linear in placement and sparkle rather than dazzle with their prettiness.  Jenni has a great swatch of it here.

Glitter Gal Light As A Feather is priced at £8.75 and available to buy online in the UK at Sjmwell Nail’s & Beauty

This striking pewter polish is from the Orly Birds of a Feather collection that was released for this Autumn/Winter.  It’s a beautiful grey with silver flecks that gives it a stunning metallic effect without the usual brushstroke issue that actual metallic polishes present.

Fully opaque in two coats with absolutely no application issues, this is a cracking polish for Autumn/Winter and one that I recommend you have in your collection.  Flawless.

Orly Sea Gurl is available to buy online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

* press sample

How late am I on this trend?  I’m like your Gran when she discovered the button for the interwebz.

OK, well I’m not really late… but I’ve only just got around to photographing a mani with the Boots 17 Magnetized Nail Polishes.  I’ve decided that my favourite way to wear them is with a matte top coat which decreases their lasting power by about five years… but I dunno, they just suit the whole matte finish thing quite well.

I get some real inconsistencies with these magnetic polishes, one hand will often come out perfect… or even just three fingers in a row.  Then I completely get a dud one, despite not doing anything different.  Does anyone else experience that?  So frustrating!

Also… as an aside, I’ve been re-organizing my nail polish collection, which, let me tell you, is far less fun than it sounds.  I originally had them arranged by colour but I’ve changed it to brand and it’s made me realise that Essie is a very under-represented brand in my stash.  Better get myself in check and start nail-blog hopping to find some gems to lust after!

Boots 17 Magnetized Nail Polish in Grey is priced at £5.99 and available online or instore at Boots.

Grey eyeliner, I’m a fan… grey mascara?  I knew I was gonna need some convincing…

Lancome’s Fall 2011 collection, which I’ve been previewing this week includes the popular Hypnose Drama mascara in a new shade: Gris Fatal.

They say…

In just one stroke, lash volume is magnified, customisable and offers women intenseley expressive eyes.  Hypnose Drama in Gris Fatal dresses lashes in this season’s it-shade, defining and sculpting lashes without looking hevaily “made-up”.

I’m a sucker for lashes.  Blessed with decent natural length and curl, I like my mascara to take things to the next level and always opt for the blackest of the black to tint them.  I have to say, the new shade doesn’t float my boat but it has opened my eyes (har har) to a previously untested formula!

Gris Fatal is a flat, darker than mid-toned grey that would suit anyone who finds that black mascara makes them look a bit ‘doll-i-fied’ (nice madeup word there).  Infact, my mother has stolen this from me and it looks fabulous on her.  For reference, she’s blond with sparse lashes, heavily hooded eyelids and piercing blue eyes, single-handedly – this shade has given her back an interest in cosmetics.  God help me.

So, while I won’t recommend this one for anyone who likes BIG lashes, it’s perfect for women (especially older women) who want a more natural, polished look.

And the formula?  Well, it’s lovely!  Nicely balanced, lengthening and volumising with zero clumps.  I do believe this is VexInTheCity‘s favourite mascara of all time (we were having a conflab about the merits of this vs. my newly beloved Benefit They’re Real just the other day!), so I will have to put my money where her big gob is and plump for it in black very soon!

Have you tried Lancome Hypnose Drama?  How about grey mascara – reckon you could rock it?

Lancome’s Hypnose Drama in Gris Fatal Mascara is priced at £20.50 and available at Lancome counters nationwide from 1st September 2011

* press sample

Estee Lauder’s Autumn 2011 collection goes by the name Modern Mercury and includes three limited edition Pure Color Liquid Eyeliners in a trio of metallic shades.

I’ve got one of the three shades here to show you: Graphite.  A sparkling charcoal with multi-coloured shimmer that makes such a lovely change from black.  I’m already a big fan of charcoal eyeliner, it provides a softer look that still carries a bit of impact.  Infact, I’m wearing my Lord & Berry in this post on another item from the Modern Mercury collection!

Long-handled, slender and well-designed with a flexible, soft nib for drawing precision lines, the Graphite liquid liner ticks most of the boxes.  I prefer this design to spindly brushes or chunky nibs as I find they offer the greatest compromise between control and precision.

The inky formula is well pigmented and opaque within two strokes.  It dries very quickly to a smudge-proof, water-proof finish providing a metallic gleam that manages to avoid the ‘wet-look’.

It’s all great so far huh?  Except, there is one problem… it flakes.  You’ll get to around 90% satisfaction before this bothers you but really?  It shouldn’t flake at all and it’s a bugbear for me.  It won’t stop me wearing it but it will stop me wearing it with complete confidence.  The above photo was taken about 5 hours into my day and you can see that it’s holding up pretty well but there is evidence of some flaking going on… a few specks around my eyes and a little caught in my eyelashes.

You can’t see in the above photo but the top edge of the line is no longer perfect, this is the first area to show signs of wear.  I’m being pernickity (as always) but when I’m reviewing an eyeliner that costs £19.00 – it’s only right that I am.

How about some comparisons?  I dug around in my eyeliner drawer (it’s only a little drawer, I’m not completely mad) and pulled out a few that seemed fairly close (ok, the last one is MILES off!):

1.  Barry M Metallic Liquid Eyeliner #1
2.  Chantecaille Luminous Eye Liner in Pianissimo
3.  Estee Lauder Pure Color Liquid Eyeliner in Graphite
4.  Lord & Berry Liquid Eyeliner in Slate
5.  Chantecaille Luminous Eye Liner in Allegro
6.  NARS Liquid Eyeliner in Bullitt

Most of these are now discontinued but luckily, the one that bears the closest resemblance isn’t!  Again, it’s Barry M that’s coming up to be the nearest in terms of shade duping so if you’re on a budget, check it out!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Liquid Eyeliner in Graphite (£19.00) is available on counter now and online at Estee Lauder.

Do you wear grey eyeliner?  What’s your favourite?

… an accidental case of perfect timing.

As the death knell sounds for the final issue of Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper The News of The World today, this newspaper manicure couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time.

China Glaze Pelican Gray provided the foundation for this one.

You can watch a tutorial on Newspaper nails below from Cutepolish, they’re SO easy!

Aside from being completely in love with the name, I’ve fallen pretty heavily for the polish too!

Ciate Velvet Tuxedo is a lovely gunmetal grey with some rather special multi-coloured micro shimmer!  Sadly, the shimmer is pretty much undetectable in my photo so you’ll have to trust me that it’s there if you look closely enough!

The formula on this one was a delight and practically opaque in a single coat.  I did two coats more out of habit than necessity.  So, it’s not a very Spring/Summer shade… but do keep this one in mind next Winter because I can’t see you  being disappointed by its performance!

Ciate Velvet Tuxedo is priced at £9.00 and available to buy online from PowderRooms.

Are you a gunmetal fan?

I mentioned last week a nail polish that had instantly hit all the right notes and soared into my top Winter favourites list.  Here it is:

Glam Metal by Precision Nails is a beautiful gunmetal polish with an array of multicoloured sparkle.  The sparkle is subtle, perhaps just a touch too subtle.  I would have been doing cartwheels had it been just a little more apparent.  As it stands, this is a stunning shade for a Winter manicure.  The finish makes the polish look almost chrome-like (in that slightly grungey way I love).  I’m not sure if you can make out from the swatch above… but the gunmetal isn’t an out-and-out grey.. it has the teeniest hint of purple/taupe to it.  You can see why I’m loving this can’t you?

Application was good, thinner rather than thicker and the above shows three coats.  Drying time is average and wear has been good with no chips to report.

Be still my beating heart.

It’s perfect.

To celebrate ELLE’s 25th anniversary, the magazine has collaborated with Mavala to bring us a unique Limited Edition nail shade and I’ve been sent a sample to show you.

I die…. I really can’t overestimate just HOW much I love this colour.  Grey meets Purple (Grurple!) in the perfect spot under the raincloud and they do a little dance as the sun goes down.

3 coats to achieve the above finish, although 2 will do for an opaque result.  The third coat covered over a couple of drag marks that developed at the base of the nail.  The finish is glossy and creamy… add a shiny top coat and you’ve got a beautiful glass-like cream that looks perfectly smooth (even on my slightly ridged thumbnail).

Tip wear sets in a little too quickly for my liking, but you know that I’m probably going to forgive it everything because of the shade.

Mavala’s ELLE (£3.95) launches today (1st September 2010) and is exclusive to John Lewis stores.

If you follow my tweets, then you may have ‘read” me this morning… urging my 15 month old to eat her porridge quicker, cursing my husband for being at work and turning the sky blue when confronted with a local traffic snarl up.

Everyday occurences, nothing unusual… except that they were happening on a day that I needed to be somewhere ASAP!  Where?  My local Chanel counter, that’s where!

Chanel Nail Polishes are notoriously fast sellers.  Infact, as I type this… I’m reminded of the fact (via twitter) that today, this particular nail polish sold out in Selfridges in 3 hours.  3 HOURS folks!  I can spend longer in the bath than that.

I haven’t been interested in any of the previous Chanel releases (tell a lie, I want Kaleidoscope) but, more recently?  Jade (blegh), Particuliere (meh), Nouvelle Vague (pass!).  But this… this one had me at “hello”.  Let me explain…

I love my grungey, murky, ugly colours.  I find them easy to wear and they make me feel grown up without feeling old.  They generally suit my cool skin tone without making my hands look like lobsters.  We were made for one another.

My absolute favouritest shades (that’s SO a word) generally throw a little purple into the mix.  Shall I name some names?  Channelesque, Who’s Wearing What, Surreal Violet, Bon Bon, Silver Purple.  So you see, Paradoxal turned my head from the first time I saw it.

And it’s still turning it…

Is it worth £16.50?  Probably not.  Do I love it very, very much and do I regret spending £16.50 on it?

Yes and No, not at all.

You’ll know immediately if this is your kinda colour… like McDonald’s gherkins.  You either love ’em or hate ’em.  I also happen to adore McDonald’s gherkins and would probably steal yours.

If you’re indifferent about gherkins, don’t go spending £16.50 on one just ‘cos everyone else is telling you how tasty it is.  That’s my free tip of the day.  What I’m saying is… don’t rush out, buy it and then moan ‘cos it’s a durgy colour.  OF COURSE IT BLOODY IS!

OK… that’s Paradoxal.  For me, it’s worth the hype.

I’m not even going to talk about longevity or application.  I’m not interested, everyone knows that Chanel polishes aren’t the best for those practical issues.  I bought Paradoxal for it’s colour and it’s Limited Edition status alone.  It could apply like tar and I still would have bought it.

If you want it and don’t have it, I suggest grabbing the Yellow Pages and phoning your local counters to see if they still have stock.  I’d also suggest trying ones that are more ‘out of the way’ – ‘cos this baby is selling fast!

I need to get my hands on more of these!  Especially Night Life and Hit That… but, they’re discontinued.  I’m stalking eBay… and I’m on a mission.

For now, I have this one to show you…

Rimmel Play Fast in Street Wear got picked up for obvious greige-y type reasons.  Please ignore the art stamp on my ring finger.  It’s where I got accosted at The Clothes Show by some bloke who didn’t know what he was doing and ruined my manicure with a shoddily applied topcoat and distinct lack of charm.  Dick.

Street Wear is a pale grey/beige which reminds me of Orly’s Country Club Khaki.  It’s a 3 coater and a little gloopy, possibly down to it’s age… I shall try adding a touch of thinner to the bottle before using it again.  It contains a subtle (but beautful) rose gold shimmer that picks up when the sunlight hits it.

Overall, it’s a nice addition to my collection… but ultimately not a must have.  Wear is good but once it sets in, the polish ages quickly and unevenly.

And that, my friends… is that!