Recent nail roundup

He we go with another recent nail round up and I have been really lucky recently with some nice gifts and freebies.

Lets start off with a lovely gift brought back from the states by one of my best friends. I had asked him to pick up the new Hello Kitty palette from Sephora which I will be reviewing soon and he also picked up this cute Hello Kitty polish for me. The shade is called Blueberry and it kind of a periwinkle/forget me not blue and I love it. It is such a sift shade and suits my pale skin very well although I can imagine it wold look awesome with a tan.

The application was good and it was a fairly thick and pigmented polish so 2 coats is more than enough and it was a very easy to control brush.

The next is something I couldn't resist picking up and that is the new pirates of the Caribbean collection from OPI, this is mermaid tears with the silver shatter and the finish is beautiful. They have managed to make the shatter really sparkly so it is quite sheer this allows a lot of the base colour through.

Another freebie and this was part of the recent Nails Inc give away with Instyle. Whilst I love Nails Inc polishes I have only ever parted with cash for one and that was before they started giving them away. I feel the brand would do slightly better if they stopped giving them away and reduced their prices a little (£11 a polish is more expensive than OPI). Their polishes are lovely and their colours are always on trend but I am never compelled to part with my cash for them.

This is Candy Orange.

the last one is a bit of an experiment, it's OPI catch me in your net with the Barry M blue crackle over the top. Not sure I like this one it was very bumpy!

NOTD and one of my addictions

Nails of the day are Models Inc Pro - Black Grape. This looks stunning in the bottle dark purple base with pink purple and blue micro glitter. This is the first time I have used one if their polishes but I had hear good things. This however was a bit meh.

Application was a bit of a nightmare, it bubbled, I haven't had a polish bubble on me in ages. Also it wasn't shiny at all, I put a coat of good old Seche Vitte and that seemed to revive it and you could almost see the shimmer in the right light but when I woke up in the morning the polish had eaten the top coat and the nails were a little dull and rough. Not completely horrible but one of the worst I have tried in a long time. wah wah waaaaahh!

natural light

under a Halogen spot - you can almost see the shimmer.

Next up is my addiction and as you can see it's all things Cherry Blossom. I love them I love the smell, the look, the colour I'm just crazy about them.

Just a few of the Cherry Blossom themed stuff I have.

Top Row - Guerlain eyeshadow palette, Body Shop Body Butter, Guerlain blush.

Bottom Row - OPI D.C Cherry blossom, Mac Sakura blush, Shu Uemuera UV base, L'Occitane Lip Gloss.

FOTD and An Experiment

So lets start off with a very quick face of the day.

Products used

L'Oreal Collagen Eye Filler

No7 Protect & Perfect Day Cream

Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation in 100 (very light ivory)

Maybelline Pure Cover Mineral Concealer 01 (nude beige)

Bourjois Mineral Radiance Pressed Powder 02 (vanille)

Eyebrows - Natural Collection eyeshadow in Midnight

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Eyeshadow - Boy Crazy all over the lid, Azuki bean in crease and under lower lashes, Moshi Moshi to high light in the centre of the lid.

Cheeks - Mac Sakura Blush

Lips - Poppy King for No7 in Confidence

Mascara - Collection 200 Big Fake in 17 (ultra black)

Now on to the experiment!

I blogged a few days ago about the amazing staying power of the Integrate nail polish I had tried and how I was unsure if it was the polish or the Orly Bonder that cause the phenomenal wear. I decided to set up an experiment I gave myself a new manicure using a cheapy Polish (actually it was free with the big fake mascara) from Collection 2000, it's one of their new "hot looks" and the colour is 43 fruit salad.

The experiment is as follows, the left hand is Orly Bonder and the right hand is OPI Natural Nail Base Coat.

Right Hand - OPI

Left Hand - Orly

Pretty colour huh. Both were topped with my normal Seche Vitte, Let see the damage from Saturday morning to Tuesday night.

Right Hand - OPI

Left Hand - Orly

As you can see the thumb and the index finger on the OPI have chipped a little but but considering I am right handed thats not bad going.

Right thumb

Right index

I am a little bit bummed about this to honest I wanted the exceptional wear to be down to the Orly Bonder (I have decided there was no clear winner they both wore about the same) but it does seem to look like the Integrate is just a really really good polish. Is it crazy that I would consider flying back to Japan just to get my hands on some more bottles of this.

***100th post giveaway***

So here it is readers, I have been blogging for just over a year and this is my 100th post. It has been a rollercoaster year for me and this outlet, reading your comments and all the other blogs out there has really given me some great relief. As promised I have an epic give away for one lucky follower.

the products are

Nails

Incoco - Sinderella

Ciate - Roses nail stickers

17 - Fast finish Grapefruit

Carlo De Roma - Bright Pink

Urban Retreat - Metalic Polish Duo(princess/mysterious)

Barry M - 313 Dusky Mauve

OPI - Nail Envy

Makeup

Bare Minerals - Foundation Sample medium beige with brush

17 - waterproof mascara travel size

17 - Ultimate Volume lip gloss Pink Ice

Carlo De Roma - Diamond Pure lip gloss

Bourgois - Ombre Stretch eye shadow 11 infinite green

N07 - Moisture Drench lipstick 55 pink crush

Urban Decay - 24/7 eye pencil travel size in zero

Darphin - Vitalbalm Lipcare

Bourjois - little round pot 12 Bleu Magnetique

Others

Green People - aloe vera everyday organic condition (normal/dry)

No7 - cleansing sponges

L'Occitane - verbena body salt scrub

Mavala - smoothing foot scrub

phew - all you have to do is follow my blog, leave me a comment saying you want to enter and you email address and the lucky winner will be picked on the 12th of December.

Thank you for a great year and now I have posted this Giveaway I can get back to a normal posting schedule.

Spread the word x

Recent Nails

I have been really lazy, I have bought loads of stuff and done loads f nails but just not had the time or inclination to take pictures and blog it for you. I have been ill and work had been rough but I am excited to get started again so strap yourselves in because after this post with nails I did manage to take pics of the next post will be my 100th post give away. Then I can get to showing you hauls recent looks and discoveries.

This first colour is Passion from OPI, this is the colour I wore for my wedding and I love the way it makes my nails look. It is almost half way between a jelly and a cream and even with 3/4 coats its still slightly sheer. It just gives your nails that "perfect" false nail look and wears really well (on me it lasts about a week).

with flash

natural light

artificial light

The next is a new discovery for me, this is from the Andrea Fulerton range at Super drug and is in the shade Mischa. She is THE manicurist to the stars and because of this her core range of polishes are all names after celebs, I also picked up Kylie. She also has a great selection of nail effects, glitters, nail art, stickers and layering shades. I was super excited for this range and finally manage to track it down to the Superdrug on the Strand but haven't managed to find it anywhere else. The prices are mid range with normal polishes at £4.99 and effects at about £8. The Mischa shade is a grey jelly base with lilac silver and gold glitter and honestly the photos don't do it justice, it's beautiful. It applies really easily and lasts fairly well.

This you have probably seen swatched a million times across the blogosphere but I just love the colour. This is Diva of Geneva from the Swiss OPI range. I just managed to snap one shot of it before I forgot great colour with only minor tip wear after a few days.

Again another one you have seen a million times but I wanted to share with you my nail disaster. This is of course Chanel Paradoxal 509. I wore this while we were away fro bank holiday weekend at my parent and my mother was admiring my long natural nails which were far longer than I normally have them. Then what do you know the next day I broke one clean off and now I know why I keep them in check, it's funny but I am kinda grossed out looking at how long they are in the pictures even though they didn't seem that long in person. I defiantly prefer them shorter like in the OPI Passion pictures.

A quick word on the shade, I was expecting it me be my hoy grail colour but the "secret shimmer" is so secret you can hardly see it. Can't fault the formulation though it's amazing just glides on exactly where you intend to put it, it's like it's psychic or something :)

gah serves my right

boo hoo

other hand, too long and a bit nasty

secret shimmer?

This is one from Mavala called aquamarine, I love mavala for their quality and affordability. Don't get me wrong they are in no way value for money (per ml they work out quite pricey) but the quality is great, the longevity is great and the colours are good they tend to be a beat behind the big boys rather than a trend setter but they are getting quite fearless with the colours they release.

artificial light

with flash

We are finishing off with another disaster, this is one the Hello Kitty polishes from H&M can't remember what it is called, applied horribly had no shine to it at all even with a coat of Seche, they glitter was lumpy and it was runny and gloopy in equal measures. I guess they can't all be winners.

with flash

natural light

Recent nail roundup

Time for a run down on the colours I have been wearing the last couple of weeks and it has been quite a mixed bag.

Bourjois - 17 Noir de Chine

I have had this a couple of year it was a special edition I think with some reds that I also have, when I first got it it was lovely, as most bourjois polishes are but over time had dried out quite a bit which I find is another common problem with their ranges. A little OPI thinners made it just about fluid again to use but it was a struggle. Lovely shiny black though that is opaque in one coat.

Barry M - Berry Ice Cream

Ok so people have raved about this already so I won't go on about it too much but I can say I was dubious after the failure of Lucky Lucky Lavender, I am also not loving the light purple I have coming up later on. I am pleased to say I am pleasantly surprised with this though because whilst being a pastel shade it still has enough pop to it to compliment my skin tone. Application was fantastic and there was virtually no shrinkage from the Seche Vite. I lasted really well too which makes this an instant fave.

H&M - Goddess On Stage

Be still my beating heart, how much do I love this polish! If you can't bring yourself to splash out on Nars Purple Rain or Illamasqua Baptiste then this is the polish for you, deep and shimmery and very very Cadburys purple. The application was phenomenal for such a cheap polish (£3 I think) and it lasted and lasted this photo was taken on day 3 after lots of typing and generally bashing my nails off anything they came into contact with. Only problem is that it is more of a winter colour than a summer one and doesn't go with much that I am wearing right now but I can't wait for the right time to wear it again.

Nails Inc - London (free with diet coke)

Another free Nails Inc polish, I think it's an evil plan to get us all addicted to their product and I guess it is working as I like this one too. Yet another greige but you really can't go wrong with them on pale skin, I won't bore you with application and wear time because you know the drill, I will say this is very similar the the Mink given away by InStyle but up close the are quite different Mink is pinker and dark than London. The only bad thing about it was that it seemed to pick up some weird staining from somewhere no idea what that is all about.

OPI by Sephora - Metro Chic

Another cult greige, I have been after getting my clammy little paws on this for a while so when the lovely Jo from Music and Make up asked me if there was anything I wanted brought back from her trip stateside this was at the top of the list (along with the tokidoki make up which I will review at some point). Quite a dark one this one but man it is lovely, you can't see it from these photos but it is actually subtly purple. The shinkage you are seeing on the thumb is only because my Seche Vite was getting old and the coat went on too thick. I can see why people like this so much as it is very easy to apply and even easier to wear. I shall have to get a bundle box at some point so I can get some more of these polishes over from the states. Or you know Sephora could open a London store, just saying ;)

Nails Inc - Paris (free with diet coke)

Not really my kind of purple but once it was on I loved it, just as good as the other I have tried recently and I think this would look great with a bit of a tan or on toe nails. This one did suffer a bit of tip wear but still outstanding.

No7 - Decades Collection Mai Dress

Not like the swatch on the website at all. Another lilac that looks unfortunate on me with a lovely tippex like quality too it, it was also thick, gloopy, bubbly and an all round nightmare to apply. Some may love this I hated it the 70's obviously are not my decade and the whole thing was like one bad trip!

I haven't done nails for a while

So lets have a run down of the last couple of weeks.

Still experimenting with my OPI haul from Brand Alley, this one was a big departure for me as it is distinctly gold and I don't do gold in any way shape or form. I can't say I loved this either, objectively I can see it is really pretty of course as a metallic applied really well and dried super fast not keen on seeing brush strokes though and it just not feel comfortable on me.

With flash

Natural light

Next up is another OPI I think this is the first one I ever bought and I have actually repurchased this one. It is called Malaysian Mist and its one of my all time favourites I haven't worn this one in the longest time due to the staining on my nails. I don't think the staining would have shown through as it is more of a creme than a sheer but I still couldn't wait to put it on my newly whitened nails. This one also lasts forever on and I can easily get a good week out of this before it starts looking ropey which makes it an excellent holiday shade.

In sunlight

In the shade, this was right before I broke my nails :( look how nice they were

So it was back to the dark side again with surprise surprise another OPI, I always pick a vampy colour when my nails are short not sure why. This is Sapphire in the Snow from this years Holiday Wishes collection and I have to say I had high hopes for this. Looked beautiful in the bottle a rich purple creme but unfortunately the pay off did not live up to my expectations. The formulation was very gloopy and incredibly difficult to apply and the colour was much much darker than the bottle would suggest which was a shame, I may stick some thinner in this and give it another try but it won't be for a good long while yet.

Natural light

With flash

Bottle shot - see it was not quite what I was expecting

Yay for No7 till spits! this lovely is from the limited edition Decades range to celebrate 75 years of No7. If you haden't already guessed this is the 1940's shade called starlet stockings, it's a bright red which is far more orange toned than I would have expected for the 1940's but No7 were around then and I wasn't so what do I know! Anyhoos, it applied like an absolute dream glided on and was perfect in one coat (yes you heard me ONE COAT) but unfortunately this is another one that does not like the Seche Vite and I suffered from polish shrinkage and tip wear. I think if you had the time to wait for it to dry then this would provide an exceptionally beautiful mani but I couldn't stand the tips so took it off after only a day.

Natural light

With flash

Which brings us to what I am wearing right now, courtesy of InStyle Magazine. They Teamed up with Nails Inc (whats with all the Nails Inc promotions at the moment) to bring 3 exclusive colours and there was one free on the front of every copy. This is Mink and I love, love, love the colour even though it was like my worst nightmare to apply. Gloopy, Draggy and fairly streaky it took a good 3 coats to get this right but a coat of the old magic Seche Vite and it was stunning. So smooth and even someone actually asked me if my nails were real today. It is a darkish greige with slight purple tones and I hope it isn't too similar to the Diet Coke London I have coming up which looks more pink but I will do a comparison shot for you all to see.

Natural light

With flash

Phew! that was a bit of a whistle stop tour hope you enjoy.