Friday, 17 August 2012

Candy Crazy

The world of cakes & confectionery seem to have unleashed the  creativity of nail companies in a big way, this year. We have seen  NailsInc released their sprinkle collection, MUA won the heart of the  nation with their loveheart collection and now it's the turn of  Beautyuk to have been inspired to release a candy collection: a range of candy coloured nail polishes at the sweet price of £1.99 each.


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The first 'candy' I couldn't wait to sample with was Bonbon, a  gorgeous shade of sunflower yellow. I am a big fan of yellow nail  polishes. My favourite yellow nail polish is actually another polish  from Beautyuk, called yellow peril which is absolutely flawless and  opaque in 2 coats. So I was a bit nervous to wear Bonbon in case it  wouldn't be as good as yellow peril.


Bonbon applied very well, with  absolutely no sign of streaks or patchiness, the common problems which  you usually encounter with yellow polishes. My photos (please forgive me for the state of the awfully short nail of my index finger) show 2 coats of  bonbon applied very hastily. Three coats would have been better to  conceal the 'white line' perfectly, but I am quite content with the  coverage that 2 coats provided me.

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Dolly Mixture is a bright, luminous {and almost neon in certain lightings} shade of coral mango orange and it's just utterly gorgeous.  Again, only 2 very easy coats were applied on my nails. A little bit  of white edge can be seen on the ring finger but it doesn't bother me  too much.




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Lollilop excited me a lot. The opacity is fantastic, this is a true 2  coater, like the nail polishes Beautyuk used to do up to the release  of their urban jungle collection. If you were to buy a beautyuk nail  polish, I would still prefer it if you chose to purchase the set their paint for life set, the set they released in support of Cancer  Research but if you wanted just one shade of pink, lollilop would be a  great option.  



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The pieces de resistance of this collection, in my opinion are the  last two shades which feature Beautyuk's new matte finish technology.  I wouldn't define the finish as pure matte and my photos still show  quite a bit of shine but in real life, the finish reminded me a little  bit of the rubber finish from Illamasqua's Theatre of the Nameless  Collection mixed with a glazed cherry appearance. The cherry on the  top is the coverage: they are both opaque in one coat.



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When I apply a nail polish, my first coat is usually the sloppiest and  the second coat is there to even everything out, especially the edges.  So if I had known that Jelly Bean (the bright purple) was going to be  opaque in one coat, I would have definitely tried to be neater the  first time round. So even though, the 'white line' was totally  concealed, I felt the need to apply a second coat, just to even out  the edges and even out my sloppy mess.


So when the time came to play with Gobstopper, the semi matte  turquoise, I felt I was more ready to apply it properly and tried to be as neat as I could in just one coat. Gobstopper is a stunner, so much  so that I had to give it more exposure (3 photos instead of 2) and I  can't believe this is only £1.99.


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A candy collection wouldn't be complete without its very own skittle manicure, right? So please allow me :)



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And what the heck, I have added some 'smarties' dots on top.



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what: Beautyuk Candy Collection of nail polishes
how much: £1.99 each
where: Beautyuk online and Superdrug stores nationwide
disclosure: polishes were offered for review purposes

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Friday, 12 August 2011

My favourite reads

I've always considered myself more as blog reader than an actual blogger. Blog reading is a big deal to me, and checking for new content for my 300+ blogs subscriptions have become part of my daily routine. More than 300 blogs is a lot and I follow each one of them for a unique reason.


There's probably no one quite like Jangsara to blow me away with her make up skills, MakeupbyKaty for her eyebrow transformations, You've got Nail for her amazing photographs and reviews of nails polishes and I could go and on and on.

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But if I had to narrow it down to just 2 beauty blogs which wow me on every aspect, without the shadow of a doubt, I would say that LIPGLOSSIPING and COSMETIC-CANDY are my ultimate favourite beauty blogs. As if blogging every day was not impressive enough, their posts have an unique style of writing: witty, friendly, humourous, and with a little bit of sarcasm. Their humour is not forced , they are just naturally funny people and it makes it more even more captivating to follow their beauty adventures. And to top it all, they have amazing photography skills.



Outside their blogs, they are a joy to follow on twitter and keep me entertained. I will never forget the day when I first posted about nail polish (I was so shy, I only painted my thumbnail then) and when Lipglossiping.com supported me and commented on my blog. I wanted to frame that comment as the encouragement and boost it gave me has been truly uplifting. I am beyond grateful to the time they spend blogging: it makes me happy.


Outside the realm of beauty blogging, I've been following LUVANDHAT has me in hysteric fits of laughter pretty much every time they post. Luv(e) and Hat(e) follows a very simple yet genius concept. It is a hilarious match of opinions on everyday topics between (mostly) Stuart and Robyn. I am not quite sure when they find the time to blog outside their busy jobs but I am so glad they do as they keep entertained from daily humdrum. If you're new to Luv and Hat, oh boy you're in for a treat. You could start by reading their post on the 'Post Office' and 'Google +'.


For its second year running, Cosmopolitan Magazine wants to celebrate the best of British Blogs and are running their Blog Awards. They are inviting blog readers to nominate their favourite blogs. If you had a minute, I would be so grateful if you could help me support my favourite reads and nominate them to the Cosmo Blog Awards 2011. To do so, it's very easy, go to: http://bit.ly/cosmopoliblog and paste their blog address:

Cosmetic-Candy: http://www.cosmetic-candy.com/ (Established Beauty Blog Category)
Lipglossiping: http://www.lipglossiping.com/ (Established Beauty Blog Category)
LuvandHat:  http://luvandhat.tumblr.com/ (Lifestyle Category)



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Saturday, 6 August 2011

My heart is beating for … Cotton Candy Cream Puff

I am deliriously excited to tell you about this product. I am not sure if you know but I am not a lip person at all. I think what I don't like about lipsticks and lipglosses is the sticky feeling. I can cope with it on a special occasion but on a day to day basic, I'd rather avoid it to be honest because I don't find uncomfortable. Since I saw London Beauty Queen's post on the Collection 2000 Cream Puffs, I have been dying to try them.


Cream Puffs by Collection 2000 are designed to give you a moisturised and matte colour on your lip.
Why would you want matte lips? I couldn't explain it better than Jenni from UK Nail Polish.
The one I bought is called  'Cotton Candy' .


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I used the testers from the shop and swatched the 3 other shades available. I am sorry I don’t remember their names. I wish they came out in more colours. Four is not enough!


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Cotton Candy has a luscious smell, moisturising but not greasy or sticky. It delivers the perfect amount of rosy, delicate, hint of colour on my lips, it is ultra wearable and I can't get enough of it.


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Want to see Cotton Candy as part of a whole look? Click here to see it incorporated in my ‘Wrapped up Gateau’ Look. (link available in a few minutes)


What: Collection 2000
How much: £2.99 (look out for offers)
Where: Boots and Superdrug
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Monday, 11 July 2011

Are BB creams for you? My week in BB creams

If you're anything like me you will have just recently heard about BB creams or actually not heard about it all. Well, it's totally normal. The BB creams phenomenon has yet to hit the UK and only the beauty obsessed educated will have had an awareness of their existence. With this is mind, I was extremely excited when little ol' me was offered some mini samples of BB Creams by Cosmetic Candy herself, with a chance to try them out *and* share my honest thoughts about them on her blog.


So, today, I would like to invite you to pop along to Cosmetic Candy Blog to read my review on BB creams. If you have a minute, and enjoy what you read, I would love you for ever if you leave a little comment. Thank you :) xx



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Thursday, 5 May 2011

Freebie Fursday {notd}

I am not liking my nails at the moment. They are too short, the nail shape of my index is doing its own thing again but today was a special occasion. Today was Freebie (Th)Fursdaaaay :) The orange fanatic in me found it hard to resist buying a copy in Instyle Magazine this month. Instyle did again one of their popular collaboration with nails inc and promised their readers 3 shades of polishes this month. 5pm couldn't come soon enough for me to get my hands on candy orange.


At the same time, I've been reflecting on my recent purchases of nail polishes and realised that the most I'd been spending lately on nail polishes had been £2.99 (Instyle Magazine costing £3.70!) So I really wanted to have a good look at the bottle and make a final decision then. The polish was much brighter than I expected but since I only had one orange polish in my collection (Gosh Orange Drops) I decided to give it a whirl.



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Well maybe I shouldn't have bought it after all. I have found candy orange not very easy to apply. I found the formula to be quite thick, verging on gloopy. It has a nice glossy finish but it's one of these polishes that until it's a bit dry, it looks a bit messy to be honest. But if the colour and the result is nice, it's all that matters right?

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Well, I do love orange but this is bit too on the neon side for my liking. Photos show 2 coats but ideally this manicure needs 3 coats. Overall, I am not very impressed by this shade and it will no doubt come up in some sort of blog sale. What a shame, I had great hopes for this little orange number. Maybe my expectations were too high. I should have bought the brown instead *sigh*



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Candy Orange? I would prefer to call this more Fanta Orange, as it also comes free with plenty of bubbles unfortunately.



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Monday, 25 April 2011

Inglot Candy Nails

I was not planning to wear nail polish for a while. I was planning even less to post any pictures of my nails!  I had to cut them right down to the base (very bad tear) and I much prefer doing nail posts when my nails are a little bit longer. I feel that they showcase a nail polish better but hey ho, short nails deserve to be loved too right?


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Today, I am wearing a little freebie from a magazine. It's an oldie but a goodie: It was given away in 'In Style' Magazine and it's called 'Candy'. Candy a lovely shade of lilac pink. It's very girly, very pink but the lilac tones prevents it from being too 'barbie' girl and too cutesy. Application was easy, although I find this polish a little bit on the thick side. If you're a rush, you could get away with one coat as the coverage is pretty impressive but 2 coats will give you immaculate and even coverage. 


And now for the obligatory photo with flash (I much prefer taking my nail photos with flash!)


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And now powered with natural sunlight :)


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I am not into 'creme' finishes really. I find 'creme' finishes to be a little flat, unless they are nude mannequin shades or greige. But this one I like. And I like it better because it came free with a magazine!


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In the occasions, when I miss my shimmer drama, I like to pair Instyle candy with the most gorgeous top coat ever: Inglot 017, one of my very few purchases from Imats (January 2011)


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This very sheer polish will just 'prettify' any polish you have and will add some kind of duochrome pink/bluey glow to your nails. If you wear it on its own (about 4 coats though) it will just make your nails so pretty and elegant.


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I've worn on its own a few times (very hard to photograph) and they look like very clean, fresh rosy glow nails and I always get compliments. It would be the kind of shade Men scared of nail polishes would like, something pretty safe you would want to wear when you meet his parents too ;)


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Talking of freebies, and if you're in the UK, keep your eyes opened for some other magazines offers: Fee from Makeup Savvy and Grace from London Makeup Girl  have found some offers for us, starting in just a few days time. Weee! :) Ooo I like a magazine freebie! Which one is the best one you’ve collected so far?
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Sunday, 17 April 2011

Cotton Candy, Frozen Kingdom & Gunmetal - NOTDs

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Today has been another amazing day of sunshine: not at as warm as last week end, but the lighting has absolutely phenomenal and I just couldn’t wait to play with my new nail polishes from BeautyUK and pap away. Now don’t get used to it, as this was very exceptional and I will continue to take most of my nail photos in artificial lighting. 


Beautyuk has released 6 gorgeous shades about a week ago. Today, I would like to show you part 2 with Cotton Candy, Gunmetal and Frozen Kingdom.


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One of the most popular shades of nail polishes at BeautyUK is ‘smokey lilac’. If you like smokey lilac, chances are you’re going to like this one too. This is COTTON CANDY, a lovely frosty lilac. I usually prefer shimmery finishes over frosty ones but this one took me by surprise. I was expecting a very messy application with very apparent brushstrokes marks.


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Instead I had a very easy application, minimal brushstrokes marks and a perfect opacity achieved in 2 coats. I took about a million pictures today, indoor and outdoor, which made the task of shortlisting pictures even more than difficult. So please excuse the ‘tsunami’ of photos.


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Next, we have GUNMETAL,which is well … a dark gunmetal metallic grey shade really. The name might be a little bit unimaginative but it does exactly what you’re expecting for and doesn’t disappoint. This little ‘rock chic’ baby is a gorgeous one coater, and dries fast. At £1.99 you need this in your collection.


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And finally,my favourite polish from this batch, is FROZEN KINGDOM. I didn’t know what to expect from it when I first saw it on the website. It looked very white to me and I was expecting Tippex-style fingers. I was very apprehensive of the application too, as bright shades like these are usually renowned to be very patchy. Frozen Kingdom is the most gorgeous shade of white with a gold shimmer through it.


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As for the application, I was again really pleasantly surprised: the polish took a little more work than usual: 3 coats instead of 2 but the result is worth it and I absolutely love it. Is that a typical Spring shade and name? Definitely not, but who cares? I, for one, refuse to be dictated by seasons to choose the shade of polish I want to wear.

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Patches? what patches? :) yay!

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All in all, I’d say that my absolute favourites from the beautyuk spring collection are Frozen Kingdom and Voodoo (click here to see part 1 – Voodoo, Golden Chestnut and Aztec)


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Which one is your favourite? xx


How much? £1.99
Where? Superdrug and http://www.beautyukcosmetics.com/ (Ask @beautyuktweets on twitter for your 20% discount voucher code, valid until 15 June)
Disclaimer: I bought these polishes myself.
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