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 Silly lipstick

Just a quick post today, as I seemingly have a million and one things to do today!

MAC Silly is a matte medium bright pink lipstick. It is similar to Pink Pigeon, but unfortunately I can't locate my tube of Pink Pigeon to do a compare for y'all. When I find it, I will swatch them side by side.

I can see myself rocking Silly all summer long! It is a tiny bit brighter than what it looks like on my lips above, but the sun was so frickin' bright today that I couldn't quite get a perfect shot of it on my lips.

Silly wears like usual MAC matte lipsticks- I get four to six hours wear, and even though they can and will look dry on your lips if you don't pre-moisturize, I didn't find Silly to be the most drying MAC matte lipstick I've ever tried.

Again, Silly was part of the Fashion Sets collection which came out on the same day as about a gazillion other collections! Naughty MAC!

How's everyone's Tuesday going?

MAC Pistachio Creme nail lacquer

As I mentioned yesterday, MAC were very naughty a few weeks ago, and released five new collections on the same day. The Baking Beauties was one of them, and from this collection I picked up a lipstick and a nail lacquer. Although I could have bought more. Easily. But then I would have been eating Ramen for weeks thereafter!

Pistachio Creme is a light mint color, leaning towards a pastel teal color. The application on this was okay, but it did need three coats to smooth out all the streakiness of the polish.

MAC Pistachio Creme

Pistachio Creme is a lovely colour, however I know i have quite a few polishes that are very similar to it. I wasn't in the mood for simple creme, singular colour manicure today, so I jazzed Pistachio Creme up with Model's Own Hed Kandi polish in Ibiza Mix. A little bit of glitter to brighten up my day!

Did you get any of the MAC Baking Beauties collection? Let me know!

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? 

Marvellous Cadbury Creations!

I love chocolate. Who doesn't?

That said, I do have a particular fondness for Cadbury chocolate. I don't know whether this is because I live exceptionally close to Cadbury World in Bournville, or because I find a certain comfort when I see Cadbury chocolate for sale in shops when I am travelling abroad!

You see, I was travelling around Russia, and one day I visited the local town Kremlin. Whilst perusing the gift shop for Matryoshki, I spotted that familiar purple wrapping! Yeah! My Russian even extended to recognise 'Cadbury' in Cyrillic...

MAC Art of the Eye Collection: Hajar Karim and Parrot eyeshadow

MAC have done it again, and released an irresistible collection to covet!

Introducing MAC Art of the Eye collection...

"M∙A∙C unveils a luxurious colour collection where eyes are the fascinating focus. From exotic smoky looks to grand statements. Two Eye Shadow X 4 palettes blend beautifully while Eye Shadow singles add vibrant highlights. Lining is legendary - dramatic Kohl Power Eye Pencil sweeps into a wide wing, while Fluidline Brow Gelcreme creates an elegant arch."

Yeah, it was the "vibrant" eyeshadow singles that caught this beauty buzzard's eye! I mean, look at the collection's graphic:

That's what I call COLOUR! I have been looking forward for MAC to do a collection like this for a while now. Personally, I have been buying some great lip products from MAC's collections this year, but hardly any eye products. I'm not going to lie, I bought all five single eyeshadows from this collection.

Here are Parrot and Hajar Karim, for your viewing pleasure!

Parrot- a deep aqua blue frost with blue shimmer.

Hajar Karim- a bright green with yellow undertones.

Man, these eyeshadows are bright, despite the sunny day that you can see in my pictures! 

The formula on both eyeshadows was very good. Both were nice and soft texture wise, and built up well. I did need to pack on Hajar Karim a little bit, but that's mainly because I wanted a really bold look!

Here is the look I created with these shadows:

Other products used:- Katy Perry by Eylure Color Pop Lashes in Ka-Ching, Urban Decay eyeliner in Zero, and Barry M Metallic Liquid Eyeliner in shade 3.

Have you tried any of the MAC Art of the Eye collection? Let me know!

Neal's Yard Remedies Bee Lovely Hand Cream (A real good free-bee!)

Hey guys!

Yippee! Its the time of year when magazines and cosmetic companies start doing freebies and gift with purchases again, after the cruel, penny pinching months of January and February.

This month's issue of Marie-Claire magazine is offering a particularly lovely Neal's Yard Remedies Hand Cream, from their Bee Lovely range.

 

Now I'm usually very picky about what hand creams I use, mainly because I can't stand the sticky tackiness of a moisturiser that wont sink in, especially on my hands. I'm a busy working mom and I need it to sink in fast, so I can carry on with things! (Normally picking up after my tornado of a daughter!)

Thankfully, the Bee Lovely Hand Cream was pretty quick to absorb into my skin. It had a nice, if unexpected citrus* scent. I expected to smell more milky and sweet, like honey. It does have honey extract in there, but it also has orange peel, which would explain the scent.

After using this hand cream for a couple of days I visited a Neal's Yard Remedies shop for the first time. Marie-Claire have a 20% voucher inside the magazine, so I thought I'd go and check out the whole range of products.

I wasn't disappointed. The smell as I walked into the Solihull branch was divine. I was greeted warmly and was given quite a bit of literature on the company, and their Save the Bees project, which is what the Bee Lovely range is trying to raise awareness about. I did purchase some products, but those will be saved for another post. I was also given the sweetest pack of samples (see above.) I particularly cannot wait to try the Rose cleansing balm!

Have you tried any NYR products? Tell me what your favourites are!

* I have just seen 'energising orange essential oil' on the front of the tube. What a donut I am!