A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Pudsey is an iconic figure associated with BBC’s Children in Need and Jessica Nails have released a limited edition collection of bear-shaped bottles timed to appear alongside this year’s campaign.

Each bottle sold will raise £2 for the BBC Children in Need Appeal.

The ultra-cute bear shaped bottles are available in 4 colours:

~ Bazaar – A delectable deep cherry red
~ Midnight Moonlight – A deep midnight blue with a subtle shimmer
~ Pharaoh – A stunning hot pink
~ Notorious – Decadent chocolate brown with a hint of shimmer

I’m partial to a bit of “midnight blue shimmer” and if I can indulge whilst supporting a very worthwhile cause, even better!

These retail at £8.95 each and can be purchased online from LookFantastic

You can also follow Jessica Nails on Twitter

I’m *nearly* over the whole matte top coat thing… a couple more mani’s then I’ll be able to move on.

This is Barielle’s Shades range in “Grape Escape” – It’s gorgeous.  It’s actually better glossy… but well, I’m a mattifying sheep.

Application is smooth – this is 2 coats.  No issues to speak of, perhaps a touch slow drying… but nothing a quick-dry top coat doesn’t fix.

Desperate to check out some more colours… looks like they have a lovely A/W collection out at the moment.  Let me introduce you…

Putt-E-On-Me – Classic clay

Blackened Bleu – Black with turquoise glitter

Lava Rock – Black with red pearl swirl

I don’t even like glitter and I’m salivating at the thought of the black/turquoise one!

L-R: Putt-E-On-Me, Blackened-Bleu, Lava Rock.

Check out the range at Barielle

Yeah, it’s green… I don’t “do” green, but when I was getting my hair cut I saw the salon were offering two bottles for £10 and I didn’t want any more reds/pinks.

After 4 coats (yes, 4) I surveyed my new fungal fingers and sighed.  I don’t “do” green.  It was time for bed, so I resigned myself to the fact that I’d be wearing it the next day (of which I spent the majority hiding my nails).

It’s a very yellow green, like a muted chartreuse…it applies nicely and dries fairly quickly.  As I noted, it takes 4 coats to achieve opacity and dries with a glossy semi-sparkly finish.

The following evening I didn’t have time for a full mani, so in the hope of toning it down a little, I applied a coat of Nail Tek Foundation II to give it a matte finish.  The photo shows the mani after mattifying.

Nail Tek Foundation II works really well as a matte top coat, although I find that it definitely needs a squirt of quick-dry spray ontop as I had difficulty keeping it smudge free.

Do you wear greens?  What are your favourites? And do you say “ohpee” or O.P.I? (I’m sure I’ve asked that before)

Continuing with the nail theme today…

My first Ciate!

I (like many others) am in love with the packaging…

Look at that gorgeous little bow, such a simple but instantly recognisable addition.  Whoever came up with that idea at Ciate deserves to be on far more money than everyone else.

However, one of my bows on another bottle has come undone and I CAN’T DO IT UP AGAIN!  This shouldn’t frustrate me.  At the age of 28, wife of 1, mother to 1 and regular tax filer I should be able to rise above this… BUT I CAN’T!

Someone with more dexterity than me come round my house and do my bow up for me please, it’s making the bottle look sad and ugly.

Anyway… look at this shade, a lovely metallic purple-blue combination – stunning!

Application was ok… not the best as it’s quite a thick formula and dries very quickly (both a blessing and a curse – are all Ciate’s like that?)

Once applied though (2 coats) – this stuff just lasts and lasts… I’m on day 5 now with minimal tip wear.  Very good!

Do you have any favourite Ciate shades?

Now that I have discovered a complete adoration for grey nail polishes, I’ve got my beady eye on Mavala’s upcoming release.

The City Greys Collection is a great trio of no-fuss cool toned greys.

From L-R: Berlin, New York and Minsk

I’m thinking edgy, I’m thinking sophisticated… I’m thinking possible first attempt at Ombre Nails.

Hope they’re lovely and glossy and not semi-matte like the last collection.

After a bit of googling, I came up with this image – pretty no?

They’re due to be released early November so not long to wait!  Any upcoming polish collections setting your heart a-flutter?

Victoria is a perfect Autumn/Winter deep claret shade.  Application was fine, the above shows 2 coats.

I have a problem with this polish though.  Can you see where it’s semi-sheer in places?  Mainly visible near the cuticles.  Very frustrating.

A third coat would probably have fixed this… but for such a deep shade I wouldn’t have expected to have to apply so many!

Lovely colour, but I bet this shade is available from other brands with a better formula.

A quick heads up. This has just landed in my inbox…

Click the image to be taken to the offer!

There’s some really nice colours included no?  I’m loving Savoy Court!

I took advantage of the last offer and am hoping to get my hands on some HQHair goodies today, so will be grudgingly resisting the latest Nails Inc. temptation!

How about you?

Would an aspiring makeup snob venture into Asda on a Friday night on the hunt for a grey polish she saw whilst doing last weeks food shop? I think not… I’m slipping.

However, I’m pleased I did – because I’ve found a little gem!

This is a lovely pale grey aptly named “Raincloud” that is perhaps just a ‘teeny’ bit blue toned.  Application isn’t the smoothest, it dries VERY quickly… even as you’re applying.  I’d recommend not trying to be too precise with this.  Get a big blob on the brush and attempt to cover the nail in 3/4 strokes max, any more strokes than this and the polish will start dragging.  However, for some strange reason… the formula is *really* forgiving… many times I applied this unevenly and the formula seems to even itself out across the nail.  I also didn’t experience any bubbling as it dried which is a common problem for me with thicker polishes.

Drying time (as I said) is very quick – the above shows 3 coats, and I reckon I had the full manicure done and dry in about 25 minutes.  The finish is high gloss and I’ve had tons of positive comments about the shade.

I wore this mani up to London on Saturday for the Aussie Event and whilst in Space NK both SA’s were coo-ing over my hands… I couldn’t quite tell if they were horrified or delighted when I told them where I’d bought the polish.

The polishes are currently on offer at £1 for a 5ml bottle in Asda… yep, £1.

Here’s my other bargain purchase (picture taken with flash).. I don’t like this one so much, it’s more chalky and could have done with a top coat, but still a great buy if you like blues!

Exclusive ASOS Paints by Ciate are now available on the ASOS website and I am beyond excited to see them!

Look, they’re cutesy Ciate but with an edgy twist!

Available in 10 ultra glossy celebrity-inspired shades, see below:

ASOS Say:

Paris (Hilton) – Super girly and, like, totally hot!
Chloe (Sevigny) – Avant garde and oh-so-cool
Daisy (Lowe) – Cooler than cool grungy-glam
Gwen (Stefani) – Racy and made to get noticed
Sienna (Miller) – A natural beauty with an earthy edge
Alexa (Chung) – Off-beat, quirky cool
Cheryl (Cole) – Everyone’s favourite – cheerful and (colour) pop-tastic
Katy (Perry) – Flirty forties glamour with a retro vibe
Kate (Moss) – Classic and always on-trend
Victoria (Beckham) – Sexy and vampy with a glossy finish

Sienna, Chloe & Kate are on my must have list!

Available at £6 each from ASOS.

Will you be trying any of these? Which shades are on your list?

I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of BarryM’s polishes.  I know that some people find them not as long lasting as the likes of Nails Inc and O.P.I (out of curiousity, do YOU pronounce it Oh Pee Eye, or Ohpee?) but I simply get equal wear out of these polishes with a fantasticly smooth formula and I can’t argue with that.

I’m on a bit of a “grey” kick at the moment and picked 2 of these shades up in Boots this week:

This is a real true “concrete” grey which I thought would look hideous on my pale pink toned skin.  I was wrong! That never happens! (no it doesn’t).

The photo makes it look slightly darker than it appears in daylight (picture was taken under flash conditions) – but the tone is true to life.  It’s nice and glossy and I’m really enjoying catching some admiring glances at my fingertips whilst out and about.

I am desperate for BarryM to release some more shades!  Duotones anyone? Do you have a favourite BarryM shade?

BarryM is currently on a 3for2 in Boots and these polishes are priced at £2.89 ea or £2.95 from the BarryM website.

A cheapie I picked up from the clearance stand at Sallys (anyone else make a beeline for that little stand?)

Moon Over Mumbai was released as part of the OPI Indian Collection and was one of the first ultra light greys on the market.

It’s a very pale cold grey with a slight shimmer.  I’d call it a pale pearl grey… very lovely!

It’s unfortunately (for me) rather sheer.  The above shows 5 coats and it’s still not fully opaque, although close enough.  Longevity is VERY good though… 5 days and counting with no top coat! (I’m so lazy)

Are you a fan of greys?

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.