Nudey Dudeys

It's been so long since I've blogged that I feel I have forgotten how to do it. To ease myself gently back into it, I wanted to share with you my impressions on the second half of the neons and nudes set from Nails Inc. After being very disappointed with the opacity of the neon side, playing with the nudes was a walk in the park. Just two coats and the white line of my nail was appropriately hidden.




I hope you will excuse again the 'lazy' manicure. These bottles are so small (only 4ml of product in each of them) and you really feel the big dent in the bottle after 2 coats on each finger. Porchester is such a lovely colour. It was love first sight. If I listened to my heart, I'd go buy a full size bottle right now. I feel it compliments my skin tone quite nicely. I didn't get along with Cadogan Square at all. I can't put my finger in it, it just clashes with my skin tone. It feels a bit like trying to pull off a shade of blonde hair on someone designed to be a brunette.






No seche vite was used in this manicure. Holding a normal size bottle of nail polish made the photograph taking easier






The little cherry on the top in this set was the timeless classic Jermyn Street and it made me fall in love with it all over again. I could have sworn to have blogged about it before but a quick search on my blog made me realise that I was wrong.


Jermyn street is quite simply the best brown nail polishes out there. Some of you will call it taupe but to be honest, I don’t know much about colours to distinguish between taupe, brown, mushroom and all that. Since jermyn street, I have not touched at my Barry M mushroom which I find quite bland in comparison. Jermyn has just the perfect dosage of purple in there and I don’t think I could ever get bored of this colour. I would totally recommend it!

  







  

It’s time of the week again when I have a blogging date with Becky. Hop over to my friend Becky aka sirvinya and check out her post of the day

Read more ...

Neon Skittles

Everything beauty is just so Christmas focussed, I wanted to take a little step back, break from the mould and write about something a little different. I will embrace Christmas when I am ready but for now I want to write about something bright, something neon. Some of you will associate neon colours more with Summer. For me, neon is there anytime you want to brighten your mood and this is just what I need at the moment. Without wanting to throw my doom and gloom on you, I've spent most of the past week under the weather, mourning the loss of a close friend of mine. It's been quite cathartic to cry but now I feel the urge to shake myself out of it and inject some brightness into my life again.

 
Cue the Nails Inc 'Neons and Nude' boxset of mini polishes. I was lucky to win the boxset in a blog giveaway and the neon shades had to go on my nails first.
   
   





For you today, I have some swatches of the 3 neon shades: Westbourne Grove, Portobello and Notting Hill Gate.



The first shade which I felt compelled to try first was Westbourne Grove, the neon yellow-orange shade. I am not going to beat about the bush. I was very disappointed. Whilst I find the colour absolutely gorgeous, the application was laborious. The formula was smooth enough, but it was way too sheer. I paired it with my favourite nude polish underneath but even then it took 3 coats of polish to be able to appreciate the colour of Westbourne Grove. Then it's the finish I had trouble with. I do like matte polishes but when Westbourne dried on my nails, it looked decidedly dull.





Portobello and Notting Hill Gate were a little bit better in terms of coverage but they still required the application of a nude polish underneath, which defies the object of 'quick, let's just apply a bright ass nail polish to cheer myself up'. Enjoyment of the neon part of this box set takes time and patience.





There's something as well you should know. Bottles only contain 4 ml of product. Do not be fooled by the photos. 4ml is not much at all which explains why I only opted for a skittles manicure to show you how it looks when applied on the nails. The set is very cute but I find the price tag of £22 a little steep for sheer polishes. Maybe the other half will fare better in terms of opacity?  
   
   



If you like Westbourne Grove but feel slightly put off by its pigmentation pay off, I'd recommend BonBon by Beautyuk. You’ll have your bright orange/yellow fix quicker and with less effort. I moan, I moan but I am quite happy to be the owner of this set. It brightened my mood, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

   

I am once again eternally grateful to Sirvinya, without who this blog would be very bare at the moment. Take a moment to check out her blog, if you have a few minutes to spare. If we hadn't had this sunday blogging date going on, I am not quite sure I would have updated my blog at all these days

Read more ...

NailsInc BlueBell Nails courtesy of InStyle Magazine

Bluebell or wild hyacinth is the name of a flower, belonging to the lily family and which grows shed loads in Scotland. Also the name of a gorgeous creme finish nailsinc nail polish which came free in the June 2012 edition of the InStyle Magazine (full details of the operation and other free colours here) 





I vowed myself not to buy it, as I am not really into blue polishes to be honest (don't let me enumerate my exceptions because that would defeat the point that I've just made) but it was free with the magazine and Emma wanted to see what it looks like. That's it, I am just going to blame Emma for this acquisition.


NailsInc BlueBell was lovely to play with (applied very sloppily here though!) It does present the usual nailsinc quirk, i.e goes on a bit unevenly at first to dry to a smooth finish later, but I am cool with that. The coverage is exceptional. In one thick coat, it covered the not-so white of the white of my nails but you still want to apply a second coat to cover the ridges of the nail. The colour reminded me of a cross between Models Own Beth's Blue (what I actually wore on my nails the day I avatared myself) and Gosh Lavender Love. It is a beauty.








Do you need it in your collection?
If you are into purpley blue polishes, this is definitely one gorgeous limited edition item to own, wear with proud and enjoy. I am :)

Read more ...

Free NailsInc polishes in Instyle Mag. starts tomorrow

I reckon that my nail polish is so vast that I could have enough nail polish to paint the hands and toes of all the people at my workplace. But despite that, I am finding it hard to resist a free nail polish. It's not entirely free, mind you. You need to buy a magazine to get it.





Buy the June 2012 edition of InStyle magazine (£3.80) and leave with a free nails inc nail polish worth £11. There are three colours to choose from: Peach Sorbet, BlueBell and Power Pink. These colours were designed exclusively for the magazine, are limited edition, and will be available from tomorrow (Thursday, 3 May 2012) until stocks last.


I quite fancy checking out the ‘Bluebell’ in person and see what it’s like.
Will you be heading to your newsagent and check out the shades too?

Read more ...

Les petits poussins jaunes {nails}

When MUA released their love hearts collection, more than anything else it was their yellow polish which caught my lustful eye. I love  yellow polishes but there is one problem with yellow and pastel polishes in general: It's very difficult somehow to find a good new  one, whether you spend £20 (I am looking at you Chanel Mimosa) or a fiver. Yellow polishes tend to be hard to work with, patchy,  streaky and generally not worth the bother. I have found the yellow polish of my dreams but it is not quite the perfect shade of  yellow for me, and I couldn't wait to try 'You and Me' spelt U & Me from MUA to see if it could pass my fussy expectations.






After a love at first sight for the perfect 'Easter Chick' warm yellow, 'You and Me' didn't start on a good foot. First coat felt like  I was applying nail polish onto some cotton wool on purpose, with the nail polish trying to sit uncomfortably onto the nail bed. It  presented the typical woes I had with a nail polish: you're trying to apply nail polish in some place and while trying to even it out,  you're sheering that part out. At this stage, I asked myself whether it was worth continuing. Second coat was better but still a bit  laborious until the third coat where I finally cracked a smile.









Despite its decidedly budget brush, I really like this polish, and if I had to imagine my perfect shade of yellow, it would be just  that! It is never going to be the dreamy application of 'yellow peril' modelled here by one of my favourite bloggers ever but it is not hell on earth as Accessorize Sunny Days which has secured its firm spot in my top 10 worst  polishes.





If I was in a hurry, and wanted yellow nails, I would definitely choose to apply BeautyUK 'Yellow Peril' but if I had a little more time on my  hands, 'you and me' would be my preferred nail polish as the shade of yellow is just divine.

Despite a love at first sight, and some  disappointing 'first dates' the journey of 'you and me' has been a little bumpy adventure, but definitely one worth sticking with and  one which gave me a happy ending: lovely Easter chick nails, for the even lovelier price of £2.


Any yellow polish you like and would like to recommend?


What: Mua 'Love Hearts' U & Me Nail Polish
How much: £2 in selected superdrug stores and online
Disclosure: nail polish was bought by Myself & I

Read more ...

Biscuit Nails by Next Oh So… Cosmetics

To promote the (recent?) release  'Oh so...' their affordable range of Cosmetics, Next is offering four shades of nail polishes when you purchase of copy of Easy Living Magazine. I had no idea Next was doing makeup, so this operation is perfect for me, if only for one slighty detail...





There is a problem right away: the magazine costs £3.70 and the nail polish retails for just £2.50. Ooops. But it's worth it if the shade is stunning, right?


There are 4 shades on offer: biscuit (nude) shimmer (white with golden shimmer shining through it) blush (a delicate pink) and metal (dark metal grey).





My friend and I went half and half and bought 'biscuit'. I now wish we bought shimmer and biscuit doesn't suit her nor me. The shape of the bottle will remind you straight away of the bottle from Beautyuk, apart from the top of the bottle which less round than the bottle of the Beautyuk.










Biscuit applied beautifully, had a little bit of dragging but gave me perfect coverage in 2 coats. Drying time was fantastic. I am very impressed by the quality. Sadly this shade is not for my friend, nor for me, and reminds me a little bit of Caramel from Nails Inc, another magazine/bottle of coke freebie, but not as 'horrendous'.





If any of you bought 'shimmer' and fancy a swap let me know and let’s do business

Read more ...

Overglaze: the latest gossip

Can't get your hands on 'Rainbow', the gorgeous discontinued 'flakie' top coat from Gosh? Not a problem. Inspired by the main female characters (Blair, Lily and Serena) of the 'Gossip Girl' American TV series, Nails Inc have released 3 gorgeous collections of special effect nail polishes. Don't call them 'flakies', these are 'overglaze' top coats, dahling!

Using hand cut particles, overglaze top coats will give your nails a futuristic finish which is bang on trend for this season. Applied over a deep glossy nails inc polish, overglaze provides a unique and exciting look for your nails

Meet Blair, a Teal black Blair nail polish teamed with Privileged blue / green overglaze top coat

This is Lily, a Plum black Lily nail polish teamed with High Society red / green overglaze top coat.

and last but not least, meet Serena, a patent black Serena nail polish teamed with It Girl electric blue overglaze top coat

Now, I know what you're going to ask. Can you buy the overglaze top coat separate? No, as far as you know you can't and you need to buy the whole collection, which is £20 per 'character'. But if you don't mind spending £17.50 in Chanel polish, then £20 in a collection of 2 polishes, with limitless combinations brought with the fancy top coat shouldn't be too much a problem :P

Do the nail polish correspond to the personality and look of the characters of the series? I couldn't tell you, I need to confess that I've not watched the series, but boy these polishes are gorgeous and get me more excited than any magnetic polish could ever do!

What? Nails Inc Gossip Girl Special Effects Overglaze Polishes
How much? £20 for one set of 2x10ml bottles
Where? Nails Inc website.

Read more ...

Your Pulsating Majesty Nails {notd}

My introduction with Rimmel Polishes didn't start very well. I couldn't handle the 'nail tip' whitener and I  didn't get on well with Beige Babe. 




However when I first saw a friend of mine wearing Rimmel in Pulsating (619) I just couldn't sit still until I got my hands on it. Pulsating is the most gorgeous pink with a strong blue  iridescence. Just look at it and tell me in the eyes it's not gorgeous. You can't. It's just too beautiful for words. Yes, I am  aware that I already own 2 bright pink with also a strong flashing blue iridescence, Nails Inc Montrose Place,  and NYC Love Me Red Creme but none of the former sport the amazing wide 'Xpress Brush 1 Sec' brush.


I know for fact that this polish will become a little bit thick half way through the bottle: when I first painted  it on my nails, I borrowed my friend's nail polish, it was a little bit thicker than I would have liked. But it's  nowhere near as unusable as Gloope Vite (Seche Vite) or as Collection 2000 hot polishes who separate into oil, even if you  haven't opened the bottle!!


My photos show 2 coats of pulsating. A third coat would have made the tip a little bit more covered but with this  colour (incidentally as with the 2 other pinks I own) I didn't mind a little bit of tip showing. How many times  can you say 'a little bit' in a blog post? Because I think I have broken the record here.


PULSATING WITH FLASH







I hope you will also excuse the overdose abundance of photos. The colour is so gorgeous that it was impossible to  narrow my selection any further.


NATURAL SUNLIGHT
 


 





I have a few dark metallic / gunmetal grey polishes in my collection but I have never actually purchased a real  silver polish. I am more of a golden girl really. Not that you can't both like silver and gold, but I have always  preferred gold over silver. I find gold to be warmer and more complimentary to my skin tone. Rimmel, Your Majesty  (shade 239) is exactly what you would think of if you imagined a typical silver polish. In fact, they should have  just called it 'Silver' or 'Majestic Silver' as it is so representative of the silver colour, I doubt anyone will  be remembering its fancy name shade. Boring,  moi?


PHOTOS WITH FLASH:








Your Majesty didn't have a wide brush but its application was easy. I found the formula to be just perfect and I  was able to apply it very sloppily and still happy with the results. What I was most impressed about was its  drying time. I was scared the polish would be too brushstroky (i.e when you see all the brushstrokes, is the word for that ‘streaky’?) but ‘Her Majesty’ proved me wrong. Is the colour ‘me’ though? I sincerely don’t know. I think I like it under certain lightings. Fans of  silver would love this polish though and at only £2.99, I can't see why you should hold back: Get it!











Overall, I am super delighted about my Rimmel Purchases and would recommend these polishes in a (pulsating) heart  beat.






Names: Rimmel Pulsating 619 (Pink) £3.69 and Rimmel Your Makesty 239 (Silver) £2.99
Where to buy: Most Chemists, including Superdrug and Boots

Read more ...

Foxglove Nails

Never been a better time to do a little bit of shopping at Boots.

1. You can collect 10 Advantage Card points to spend in store for every £1 when you spend £15 or more in a single transaction. This offer is valid until Monday 30th May
2. 3 for 2 offers on facial skincare, bath, hand and body, self tan and hair removal products
3. The 'get a fiver off a no.7 product' vouchers are on.

Everytime a no.7 voucher is left unused, an angel weeps. What to get with your no.7 voucher? Well if you don't already own it, you could get this no.7 nail polish in foxglove for £2. It's a nice enough colour, application is ok, it could be worse, it could be better but overall it’s good enough value for money. Having said that, and for one penny less I'd buy a BeautyUK nail polish any day, without a shadow of a doubt.
Pictures time. Photos show 2 coats of Foxglove. Nails could have benefited with an extra coat and there are very noticeable lighter patches. Please try to ignore as best as you can the huge gap of bare nail on index finger and little finger x











Did I really put 2 coats on the middle finger? I am starting to doubt myself now…
Blogger won’t let you comment on this post? If you’re on twitter, you can tweet me any comments you have: @tsunimee.

Read more ...

Jewels, Peacocks and Mini Skirts Nails {notd}

In the fashion of the popular and frequent 3 for 2 offers on 17 Cosmetics, I would like to present to you 3 nail polishes from  the brand. I own many eye shadows from 17, and I am the first one to be shocked for not having purchased a  nail polish from 17 Cosmetics before.





Purple Jewel was the first one I tried and, put it bluntly I couldn't think of a more disappointing first  encounter of the brand. The photos show my 4th and final attempt at painting my nails. It is part of the 'fast  finish' range of 17 and my goodness they were not kidding about the fast finish feature. Strewth! It's so 'fast'  that you don't even have time to apply the polish on your nails. In the words of JLS, you only have one shot so  make it count.





After 3 disastrous applications, I've learnt that applying the thickest coat ever (Load the  brush to the max baby) and then leave it alone works best. Then apply a second coat. Applying nail polish is  supposed to be a relaxing therapeutic experience but dealing with purple jewel left me all stressed out. Once  you've passed the brush on your nails once, that's it, you just cannot go over. Don’t even think about it! {Incidentally, is that what they call ‘dragging’, or is that spooling?} This one might have to  accidentally fall in the bin. Life is too short to put up with with a stressful nail polish.  Thank goodness it was only £2.99






I've been wanting to purchase Peacock for a while after seeing numerous posts about it. It was actually Rosalyn from  Primp and Preen and Emma from Imagination in Colour which finally made up my mind about Peacock and the next thing I knew, it fell into  my basket. Having just been disappointed with Purple Jewel, part of the Fast Finish range, I was very  apprehensive about the application of Peacock, also part of the Fast Finish range. Purple Jewel and Peacock couldn't be  any more different. The application of peacock felt like a walk in the park on a sunny day, like all polishes  should be. I could take all the time in the world and in 2 coats I achieved the opacity I wanted.






This is not a  unique colour by any stretch of imagination, probably most nail polish brand would have a shimmery turquoise  polish collection, but not many would have one at £2.99, opaque in 2 coats with an easy application. If you like  turquoise, and on a budget, you will need this polish in your collection. Sadly, it turns out that I am not  digging turquoise on my nails after all that, that I am not too keen on the high metallic finish to the great joy of my co worker who will  inherit my unloved peacock.





Last but certainly not least, this is Mini Skirt. I really didn't know what to expect from this one. If my memory  is correct, I've owned 4 white nail polishes in the past, (no.7 nail tip whitener, bourjois nail tip whitener,  maybelline or rimmel (i always get confused between the 2 brands) and a natural collection one) and all turned gloopy  in less time it takes to engulf a domino's pizza (I am not hungry, honest). So why would this nail polish be any different? Time will tell how long it will take to end up gloopy or if it will be gloopy at all, but for the  moment, I am truly, madly, deeply in love with mini skirt and this is actually my favourite from my 3 for 2 purchase. 


“Yes, but who wants tippex fingers”, I hear you say. Hear me out. I believe that using a white nail polish as a  base (a bit like using nyx jumbo pencil in milk underneath an eye shadow I guess) would make the polish on top to  appear brighter and more opaque or so they say anyway. So it was first and foremost for layering purposes that I  wanted to purchase a mini skirt.


Let's have a look at it on its own. The following photos, ladies and ... ladies are just 2 coats only. I was  absolutely astounded.







I expected a very troublesome application, with streaks and patchiness galore. Instead the  nail polish behaved just like a normal polish would. Now, sorry Chanel but if 17 Cosmetics can release a white  nail polish opaque in 2 coats, taking into account that white, yellow and other neon polishes are renowned to be  patchy, how the heck can you release a mimosa (is that £25?) which takes 4 coats  and the patience of an angel for an even finish? I rest my  case.







Below a quick test manicure and layering experiment. The hardest is to avoid a white gap when you layer your coloured polish on the top but if you take it your time (not like my shoddy attempt below then), it is totally worth it. I usually like to use a nudy colour to layer my gold polishes (as most of them are hopelessly too sheer) but from now on, I think I prefer to layer my gold polishes over white. Nails Inc In style Candy didn't work very well under white (opaque enough already on its own maybe?). However, NYC Love Me (I blogged about it on its own here) is absolutely gorgeous on white. I am sold. If it doesn't become too gloopy too quickly, I can see myself ‘wearing mini skirt’ quite often.






Now then, my dear readers, I'd love it if you could tell me which are your favourites nail polishes from 17 Cosmetics and which ones I should avoid. Let me know in the comments. As usual, feel free to leave me your (relevant) blog posts links x

Read more ...