Etude House x Minnie Mouse Nail Polish Collection

Disney collaborations with beauty houses are quite possibly this makeup junkie's biggest weakness! Over the past years, I've fallen hard for Paul and Joe's Alice in Wonderland collection, MAC's Venomous Villains collection, and more recently, Anna Sui's Minnie Mouse makeup and nail polish collection. Items that are high on my wish list are the Sephora Disney Princess Storybooks, but I refuse to sell a kidney to be able to buy them off eBay!

When I saw that Etude House has produced a Minnie Mouse collection featuring polishes, lashes, and an incredibly cute highlighter, the Disney fan inside me kicked into overtime! The polishes, in my opinion, are the most interesting part of the collection. Let's take a look at them! 

Models Own Velvet Goth Collection

Yippee! A new Models Own collection!

Honestly, I am becoming a serial Models Own hoarder. When a new collection is launched, I just can't seem to help myself; those bottles of prettiness just call my name (and my bank card!)

I received an e mail from Models Own today, and the details also went up on their Facebook page of their new collection: VELVET GOTH. Yep.

My first thought was 'how can a polish dry down to a velvet finish on its own?' On closer inspection, these aren't actually a velvet finish product, but matte glitters. Here's what Models Own have to say about their new collection:

'Five intensely inky pigmented colours each with an extraordinary 2D finish. Matte yet sparkly at the same time, each shade applies glossy and dries down giving a multi-faceted effect that can be seen but not felt. Quick-drying, and formulated with the finest glitter shapes and sizes, to achieve the ultra smooth sprinkling of sparkle and velvety finish. Topped off with funky limited edition, colour-matched fuzzy velvet caps!'

So the only velvet here is the bottle cap! Personally, I'm quite pleased about that. I love me a good glitter, and these polishes not only look super pretty in the pic above, but the jewel colours make them perfect for Autumn. 

The five polishes in the collection are (L-R):-

Valerian – A rich bottle blue

Amethyst – A royal purple

Obsidian – A deep charcoal grey

Sardonyx – A blood scarlet red

Absinthe – A burst of deep emerald green

The Velvet Goth collection will be released in the Models Own Bottleshops exclusively on August 24th, online on the Models Own website on September 2nd, then in Boots from September 4th. 

Which Velvet Goth polish do you have your eye on? What has been your favourite Models Own collection so far? 

Dollish Polish: The Many Shades of Mr. Grey

Yay, my first ever Dollish Polish review!

I managed to pick up The Many Shades of Mr. Grey from a blog sale recently. Its a glitter top coat comprising of silver hexagonal pieces, both large and small, small black hexagons and fine silver glitter, all suspended in a clear base. I layered Mr Grey on top of Sally Hansens Wet Cement (which I managed to pick up from my local Poundland!)

Mr Grey was very easy to work with, I had no trouble getting a nice even coverage of glitter on to the nail. I'm now scratching my head to think what else I can layer it on top of...

Any ideas? Let me know!

Polish Profile: Nicole by OPI She's Lily Something

Hey everyone!

About a month ago, I noticed that Superdrug had started to stock Nicole by OPI polishes. SCORE! It was last week when my nearest large Superdrug had its Nicole stand inserted, and I was all over it like a giddy child on Christmas morning.

There was a decent selection of colors available, and I was particularly pleased to see that the Modern Family collection; the most recent limited edition collection was also available.

I picked up She's Lily Something, which is a pink iridescent top coat with pink star glitter inside. I layered this over L'Oreal Acid Watermelon, a neon pink from the new Spring/Summer '13 collection. She's Lily Something was fairly easy to work with, as it applied smoothly and I was able to place the pink stars on my nail without having to resort to using a toothpick to fish them out! That said, I'm not a huge fan of the odd-shaped Nicole bottles- the brush only reaches halfway down the bottle! I can't imagine that this polish will be easy to work with once it's half empty!

So, here's the swatches! (all taken in direct sunlight)

Note:~ Acid Watermelon is so much more neon in real life- it freaks my camera out!!

The selection of polishes available in Boots and Superdrug now is absolutely sha-mazing! Both stores have Essie, Boots have Sally Hansen, Sinful Colors and Mavala; whereas Superdrug have Nicole by OPI, and GOSH and Accessorize which have some great polishes in their cosmetic range.

Have you picked up any NIcole by OPI polishes yet?

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

At least my nails can be scorching haute, even if the weather outside is somewhat chilly.

Scorching Haute is one of the two polishes from the MAC Temperature Rising collection. I was a little bit underwhelmed by this collection, and for me personally, the polishes were its highlights. The Temperature Rising collection came out on the same day as the Fashion Sets, Art of the Eye, Baking Beauties, AND In Extra Definition collections. Compared to all these collections, the Temperature Rising collection just seemed a bit meh.

Scorching Haute however, is an absolute gem.

MAC Scorching Haute

Scorching Haute is a packed multi-sized magenta glitter suspended in a clear base. The applicationon this wasn't terrible, but wasn't the best either. On my nails it had a tendency to patch, so I had to manipulate the glitter somewhat. My swatch is three coats, and it needed all three to get fully opaque on the nail. 

All of my pictures are in natural sunlight, and you can see just how bright and sparkling Scorching Haute is. It is even more twinkly under artificial light. I was stood in my kitchen for a minute just admiring it!

MAC have decided to put the Temperature Rising collection in soft touch bronze packaging (see polish cap.) It's a nice touch, but I'm charged £1 extra for the luxury of it.  That said, I still think £11 is a decent price to pay for a premium nail polish. 

Did you buy any of the Temperature Rising collection? 

Calendar Nails!- Chinese New Year

Happy Year of the Snake!

For my Chinese New Year mani, I needed one thing and one thing only:- SNAKE PRINT!

I must admit, the skill level required to do this mani was pretty low. I used some snake print water decals that I ordered off ebay for my middle and ring finger. They are layered over MAC's Hangin' Loose to make the snake print stand out better. On my index finger I have layered a No7 Glitter top coat over MAC's Dangerously Fun. On my thumb is Hangin' Loose again, with '2013' drawn with Dangerously Fun. Both MAC polishes are from the Apres Chic collection.

I love the red with gold glitter combo!

FUN FACT: I was born in 1984, a Year of the Rat. Apparently traits of people born in a Year of the Rat are smart, but also selfish. Hmn.

Next calendar nails: Valentine's Day on February 14th!

New York Color (NYC) Expert Last Nail Polish

Woo woo! The budget beauty quest rolls on...

Today I have NYC's Expert Last Nail Polish to show you. After really enjoying wearing NYC's Rock Muse Smoky top coat, I was expecting good things from NYC's more expensive polish line. When I say expensive, I mean it's still only £2.49. Their Quick Dry color range is even cheaper at £1.79 a bottle, but more on that to come!

When browsing the Expert Last polishes in Superdrug, I really wanted the glitter top coat, named Gramercy Glitz. I then picked a soft nude pink polish which I could layer the top coat on to. Here's my combination:-

Base color: Oh SoHo Sweet

Glitter top coat: Gramercy Glitz

I never usually go for nudes, much less sheer nudes! That said, I love how squishy Oh SoHo Sweet looks on the nail. Here you see three coats, and there is still some VNL (visible nail line!) I could have applied a fourth layer, but I really don't mind seeing a little bit of nail line, and I didn't want to make the polish look thick/clumpy.

Gramercy Glitz is a fine multi colored glitter suspended in a transparent pink base. I loved how it looked delicate both in the bottle and on the nail, kinda like angel wings. I want to experiment further with Gramercy Glitz and maybe sandwich it with a chunkier glitter in a jelly sandwich mani. Oh yeah!

The formula on both of these was good. Considering how sheer Oh SoHo Sweet is, application was good. I didn't find it to streak, nor did it bald in places, which I sometimes find in sheer polishes. The polishes were also quick to dry which is always a bonus.

You know what? I may just be a nude convert. I had hella lots of compliments at work when wearing this mani today! I will also be checking out the other colors in NYC's Expert Last range. If I remember correctly, I'm sure I saw a pistachio green...

Budget Beauty: NYC Rock Muse Smoky Top Coat

After all the black glitter I've been rocking on my nails lately, you'd think I'd be bored of it. However, there's something about a particular type of nail polish that spins me out each and every time...

... the jelly finish. 

Oh yeah! NYC's Rock Muse top coat is a jelly all right! They describe it as a top coat which is how I've used it in these pictures. I chose to layer it over a dark grey No7 nail polish called Grey Matter. Have  a look at how gorgeous this polish is. 

 Rock Muse Smoky Top coat has small silver glitter particles and large

hexagonal silver particles suspended in a blackened jelly base.

I love how this polish looks, especially when I did a second coat, making the silver glitter particles in the coat underneath look all smoky due to the jelly finish of the polish. I would love to reswatch this, not as a topcoat, but as a standalone polish so I could really see layers of gorgeous cloudy glitter. 

And the price? £1.99. Yep, this little gem cost lest than a bus ticket in Birmingham! The next time you're in Superdrug, pick this little fella up. I swear, you won't regret it!

Swatch & Compare- Black Glitter Polishes: Part 1

Remember how in my last post on 17 Cosmetic's Dazzle the Night swatches, I said that I had a Rimmel nail polish similar to the Glimmer in the Night polish? Well, I thought I'd do a little Swatch & Compare!

And I was wrong about them being similar.Oh so very wrong....

On pinky and index finger: Glimmer in the Night

On MIDDLE finger only: Rimmel Precious Stones in Diamond Dust.

Yeah, that's right, only the middle finger is the Rimmel polish. As you can see, it is nothing like the 17 Cosmetics one. Diamond Dust is more of a grey colour, the silver glitter in it is much finer, and it has HOLOGRAPHIC particles in it. I like it a lot. So much in fact, that I had previously bought a China Glaze polish that was an EXACT dupe. 

Yep, silly old me. In all of the pictures in this post, on my wedding finger is China Glaze Some Like It Haute from the Eye Candy collection. 

Although these two are identical once dried on the nail, the formula of these two was dramatically different. Some Like It Haute was thin and runny and required three coats, whereas Diamond Dust was thick and required only the two coats. Both dry matte as you can see, so a top coat is essential for these thirsty polishes. I haven't applied top coat just so you can see that these two are dupes. 

What do you think of these polishes? Now I know that the 17 Cosmetics Glimmer in the Night polish is unique in my collection, I'm really kinda gutted that it is a LimEd. Boo. 

P.S Sorry for the dry cuticle situation in this post. My cuticle oil is playing hide and seek with me :/

17 Dazzle The Night Collection- Swatches and Review

Hey everybody,

I love the Boots' own brand 17 Cosmetics, ever since I first got into make up. I can always remember them doing glow in the dark nail varnish waaaay before anyone else came up with the idea! this is why I always pay particular attention to the new products that 17 brings out. Nostalgia mixed with the excitement of a new product will do that to any beauty junkie!

These nail varnishes known as the 'Dazzle the Night' collection were 17's Christmas offering. AND I LOVE THEM!!! Take a look:-

Glimmer in the Night

Close up shot

Wishing Star

Glimmer in the Night is a darkened slate grey with a mix of heavy and fine silver glitter. In the pictures I am wearing two coats, and its fully opaque at two. Its quite a thirsty polish, so I recommend two layers of top coat to smooth it over. Rimmel have brought out a range called Precious Stones in which there is a similar polish to this. I will review it to see if they are dupes, but at first glance, they are particularly similar. Therefore, I'm not too gutted that this 17 polish is a Limited Edition.

Wishing Star, however, I am going to buy some back up bottles of. Photos do not do it justice. In these pictures you can see that it is a gold iridescent polish, but in certain lights (especially under my light bulbs at home!) it has a yellowy-green glow. I would like to swatch this again, layered on top of another polish, to see if I can tease that green color out some more! Seriously, you need to try this polish.

These polishes are £2.99, and are available from Boots. But be quick, or I'll be snapping up all the Wishing Star!

Barry M Xmas Limited Edition Nail Paints

Hey y'all!

First of all, a super big apology for not blogging in a while. I've kinda made it my New Year resolution to dedicate more time to my little space of the internet!! So for my first post back, I have a real treat!

You may have spotted these four polishes in Boots and Superdrug over the festive period. Barry M were offering a free limited edition nail paint when you spent over £6 on Barry M make up. Easy done, right? Boots' two nail paints were a metallic gold and a metallic pink, whereas Superdrug's two were a metallic teal and a glitter topcoat. Let's take a look:-

Boots Limited Edition Nail Paint 2012-A

Boots Limited Edition Nail Paint 2012-B

Superdrug Limited Edition Nail Paint 2012-A and 2012-B

My favourite combination? Easily the Boots metallic gold with the Superdrug glitter top coat layered on top. That said, I loved all of these nail paints, and I'm gutted they're limited edition! I loved the metallic finish- if you click to enlarge the pictures, you'll see that they're not like the regular Barry M Metallic Foil nail paints. These have a gold fleck in them, making them look like sweet wrappers on the nail! 

The formula on the glitter top coat was fine, I used two coats of it on all of these manis. The metallic nail paints went on quite thick, so just use thin coats or you will experience bubbling. On a separate note, the blue and pink polishes were a pain to get and accurate picture of! Not entirely the polishes' fault, I hate how we in the UK are only getting about six hours of decent sunlight at the moment!

I'd love to read your thoughts on these, and how you painted your nails over New Years!

31 Day Challenge: Day 17- Glitter Nails

Yippee! I LOVE glitter nails, and when I saw that there was a glitter day to the challenge, I knew straight away which sparkler I wanted to feature! Behold...

Sea Lore's Ariel layered over China Glaze's Aquadelic.

 



Sea Lore is an indie polish company, headed by Jamie Lohr. There is only seven polishes by Sea Lore at the moment, forming the King Triton's Daughters collection. I wanted all seven polishes, but my bank account simply wouldn't stretch that far, so I picked Ariel. 'Cos y'know, The Little Mermaid was all about Ariel. Man alive, I loved that film! I can remember owning it on VHS and everything. I even wished I had long red hair exactly like Ariel's..

Anyway, childhood reminsicing aside, Ariel polish is a light aqua green jelly with small glass fleck shimmer. It has small circular green glitter, purple hexagonal glitter, and red square glitter. Thats a whole lotta glitter. I wanted to give the glitter a punchy base, so I picked my favourite China Glaze polish, Aquadelic as Ariel's base. They work really well together, as you can see!

And on a separate note, today was a very special day, as my little daughter had her first birthday! Today has been non-stop packed with fun, presents, balloons and cake, but now my sugar high is wearing off, and I'm writing this post with just one eye open. As a parting note, here is a picture of the birthday girl!

 

What a cutie pie!

(Outfit from Next)

31 Day Challenge: Day 9- Rainbow Nails

Sorry for the late publication of this post, but as the saying goes, better late than never! Let's hop right into today's challenge:-

 

How cute is this?!?!

 

 

I just love the silver glitter 'raindrops!'



Under artificial light.

 

I had great fun doing this mani, even if I was shattered from doing a busy 6am-3pm shift at work! I just kinda made the design up as I went along, and it was one of the instances where my gut instinct came up trumps!

 

Here's what I used:-

 

BASE: Chanel Le Vernis in Coco Blue

RAINDROPS: No7 Glitter Top Coat in Silver

RAINBOW AND CLOUDS: Rio Nail Art Pens

GLITTER SUN: Models Own in Hed Kandi Disco Heaven

 

The Model's Own polish was untried- I had to crack the cellophane off another polish! Tomorrow's challenge is Gradient Nails. I've never attempted these before so it should be rather interesting!!





NOTD: Barry M Foil Special Effects- Part 2

So here is my second and concluding part of the posts covering the Barry M trio of Foil Special Effects Nail Paints. Today's nail post is Lilac Foil, which is also a limited edition nail paint. (The gold and silver foils, I assume to be permanent).

 

Barry M Lilac Foil with Lavender glitter top coat.

Close up shot.

 

For some reason, the Lilac Foil applies better than the Gold and Silver foil nail paints. The formula doesn't seem as streaky. That said, it maybe isn't as foil-like as the other two paints, as this seems to have a very fine silver shimmer to it. You can see this in the close up shot.

 

The Lavender top coat is a clear base with micro fine silver glitter and lilac coloured square glitter particles. I absolutely freakin' love it. It looks great layered over black, but now that I've layered it over the Lilac Foil, this may now be my favourite combo with it! I didn't want it on all of my nails though- I still wanted to be able to see the beautiful foil paint. <3

 

Have you guys tried either of these? What is your favourite glitter polish of all time?