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.





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.







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.











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.  










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.









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.












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






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







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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Gagalectrified nails

You know what's a little off putting? When you receive unsolicited advice about the quality of your photography and when you start developing a complex about your white balance. I have never pretended to be a professional photographer and nor will I ever become one. I am in awe when I see amazing photographic work. It's a skill that I would love to become better at but so is cooking, swimming, learning on how to contour/highlight/apply blusher on your face properly and millions of others things I would love to become better at.


If you can bear with my white balance and assorted photography crimes, here are some VERY quick snaps of a gorgeous nail polish from European brand Essence, which I have acquired from a dear Spanish friend in a makeup swap. This nail polish is called 'Gagalectric', one of the 5 polishes released in the not so very cleverly named 'Holographics' limited edition Collection of Essence, released some time ago.







There is nothing holographic about Gagalectric but if you can go past the annoyance of the name, you will be able to enjoy the delights of a gorgeous duochrome nail polish. Life is too short to apply 5 coats of polish to achieve full opacity so I chose to treat my Gagalectric as a topcoat and wear it over 1 thin coat of Boots no.7 Lucky Lilac. My photos show 1 coat of Boots no.7 Lucky Lilac (see worn on its own here) and 2 coats of Gagalectric.








About to be stuck in a train for a long journey, got minutes of a meeting to type up, this polish will keep you entertained for hours as you will not be able to help yourself admiring the colour changes as you move your fingers. Despite the noticeable brushstroke marks, Gagalectric is simply mesmerising and I get all excited thinking of all the colour combinations of I could achieve with different layering options.




Oh I wish England sold Essence polishes.

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Pirouette my Summer by No.7

It's tipping it down outside, blowing gale and I have my thickest winter coat welded onto my body. But Boots has decided it was summer and went all out to celebrate its arrival. There are plenty of offers throughout the store to help you bare your body for cheaper and there is a new seasonal no.7 make up range whose name never fails to wind me up. This year, it's called 'Summer?In your dreams  in my head it's summer 'Summer of Dreams'.





Annoyance of the name aside, there are 2 gems I couldn't wait to try: The glitter top coats.  Would you believe (and this has never happened to me) they had an official tester of the silver top coat today and naturally I had to try!





My quick snap below shows one coat (applied in a patting motion) on one coat of no.7 lucky lilac. Not bad for one coat, hey? This glitter top coat reminds me of the 'Pirouette my whistle' from OPI, the only colour which I fancy from the recent 'New York Ballet Collection'. It's so pretty!





To complement the collection, Boots released 2 lipglosses, 1 bronzer and 4 eyeshadow crayons.







Not sure if I am happy to fork out the £8 requested to purchase a glitter polish but with a no.7 voucher (are they going to have some time round?) it's going to be very hard to resist.

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The wait is over. Nail Pops are here :)

Can there be anything more exciting than a 4-day long week end? Yes, there can. A 4-day long week end with the launch of Look Beauty online store. You've heard it from the brand themselves on twitter. I heard it from my friend Loulou who like me has been waiting for this moment for months on end.


This brand is nothing new but getting hold of their products is easy as getting products which are only sold ... outside the United Kingdom. Right from the very beginning, Look Beauty has suffered from a very poor presence in physical Superdrug shops. It's not their fault. Had it been up to them, they would have been in every Superdrug shop in the UK


What's so special about Look Beauty? In my eyes, a huge range of makeup products designed for people on a small budget, and (don't laugh) a cute font. I am ashamed to say that I am irresistibly drawn to the font and the packaging of the products. Most importantly, I have been obsessed with the brand since I've known that they created the most affordable dupe of Peridot nail polish, to date, in the shape of 'Kimono'.

As luck would have it, the very day I receive my bottle of Kimono from my friend Nicola, who kindly sold it to me, Look Beauty finally opens a web store *rolls eyes*

Anyway, the range of makeup products offered by Look Beauty is huge, very aesthetically and purse pleasing, postage and packing is low (£2.95) and they accept paypal.


Today I wanted to show you the whole range of Look Beauty Nail Pop nail polishes available, at £5 a pop. The watermarked flower will give you a clue on my favourites and I am hoping to play with Kimono as soon as I can.

What are your favourites?

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I am lusting over ...

... The utter gorgeousness of Forever 21 nail polishes. While googling for nail polishes swatches, I stumbled on the American website of Forever 21 and got totally lost lusting for their massive nail polishes collection, and browsing among over 200 polishes at only $2.80 (that's £1.76 at current exchange rate). You know what's coming next. Yep, the (excruciatingly slow to load) British Forever 21 webstore doesn't hold any polishes. But if they did, this is what I would happily splurge on.

The range of chunky glitters is absolutely phenomenal (see gratuitous small selection below) Who needs OPI Nicky Minaj or Deborah Lippman glitters when you can those at a fraction of a price, if you live in the USA that is..





Any of you have had the chance to try some Forever 21 nail polishes?

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Here come the gems…

Look at them, standing next to each other, like angels with a halo over their tops. I am happy to present to you the Gemstone Collection, the latest Special Effects Nail Polishes from BeautyUK. To complement the foils of the Olympics, BeautyUK launched 6 delicate pastel shades, all with a metalized pearl finish to give you glorious and shimmery nails. From left to right, these are Amethyst, Elfstone, Moonstone, Silmaril, Topaz and Sunstone.





Where are my swatches, will you ask? Like their Olympics sisters, the Gemstone polishes are extremely light reflecting. Capture them with the flash of a standard point and shoot camera, and they will wash away. Capture them indoor with no flash, and you lose the depth of the glittery effect. I need the sun basically, and I have been needing it last Thursday, when I stole all its rays to capture Olympic Bronze. These polishes are so stunning that I refuse to do a half hearted slap dash job in the confines of my poorly lit poxy flat.








So please bear with me, as for now, my hands are tied and I am only able show you these 'teaser' pictures. Like the Olympic Collection, the Special Effects Gemstone Posh Polishes are available from the website, at the bargain price of £3.49 and are soon to be released in your local Superdrug. 

    

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The power of pictures

The power of pictures. We see them everywhere: on billboards, in magazines, on bus placards. Pretty makeup pictures makes us to buy everything in sight, others will make us want to forget that the makeup collection promoted ever existed. What is seen cannot been unseen.     


Have you ever been in a dodgy toilet, where, at some point, an unfortunate person might have found themselves running short of loo paper? I have and the walls and every surface around are not a pretty sight. Now have a look at this beautiful picture promoting the 'By Request Collection'...






Anyway, if you’re not put off, you can find out about the By Request Collection and Concept on here.
I think I might just give it a miss…

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Olympic Foils - BeautyUk Nail Polishes Collection {notds}

Inspired by the Olympics Games, BeautyUK Cosmetics has created a beautiful collection of 'Special Effects' nail polishes. Like the medals you get at the Olympics, the polishes come out in 3 shades: gold, silver and bronze. The finish is absolutely incredible: a stunning highly metallic/foil finish with almost a chrome effect to them.





Olympic Silver (the one in the middle) is the first shade I was dying to show you. I just couldn't believe the coverage. My pictures show just one coat of polish. I was expecting streaks galore and my nail imperfections and ridges to be on the foreground. Instead I see an almost minx foil effect to my nail. The polish contains so much drama that it looks pretty in dark lighting situation, gorgeous when there's a bit more light and just out of this world when the sun hits it.









Olympic Bronze is the shade that I tried next and which earned me the most compliments at work. Again, I only needed one coat. My colleagues loved the delicate pink tone to it and found it subtle. I am not quite sure how a highly metallic polish can be subtle but there you go.











Last but not least, is Olympic Gold. Sadly, I was not able to capture its beauty under the sun rays, but I hope you will be able to get the idea. Whilst the coverage was as impressive as the silver and bronze, I just played too much with the polish whilst I was applying it and felt I needed to apply a second coat to even the mess I did.







I am not sure when the release date for these polishes and the exact price. Being a 'special effect' polish, I would imagine these will be retailing at £2.99 (or £3.99 at the absolute most). All three polishes are gorgeous but the winning shade for me? The silver! By 400 meters, easily  



Any shades from this collection which have won your heart?

Disclosure: The polishes were kindly sent to me for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own.

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My heart is beating for ... an Illamasquian Cleopatra

It's gorgeous, it's breath taking, it's a celebration of colour at its most magnificent and it's a new collection from Illamasqua unveiled yesterday in London. I wasn't present at the blogging event, nor was my presence solicited but it doesn't matter. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you will have noticed that not getting press releases doesn't stop me from expressing myself and talk about beauty products which excite me. And boy, this is an exciting collection.




The colour themes and the looks created for promotional pictures (The modern Cleopatra one is my favourite!) are absolutely divine. I'm itching to recreate the stunning jade and purple cut crease and play with my face paint in an attempt to create the arty white eyeliner.

“Human Fundamentalism is an explosion of your alter ego. It’s becoming who you are and not who you’re told to be. Beauty isn’t conformity, but the fundamental human desire to express your inner self on the outside. To rise above mainstream limitations and exist in a world where individuality is received with celebration not derision, and breaking the mould is a sign of strength not instability.  

We stand for freedom of expression, embracing our glorious imperfections and showing the world we’re not ordinary but extraordinary, even if society refuses to accept it. We’re beyond conformity. Beyond control. Beyond hiding who we really are. We are not a religion, but the singular opposite. We are Illamasqua.
Get ready for a startling celebration of humanity’s connection with colour. Introducing the Human Fundamentalism collection, where blinding flashes of pigment provide a sharp contrast to neutral tones, creating a saturated palette that catapults your alter ego to new levels of self-expression. Mix contrasting textures to express your true self, spiraling from rich metallic to pale matt shades. This is nonconformity at its most fundamental. At its unpredictable best.”

  



 



Products wise, if money flowed a little bit easily these days, and if could select my favourites, I would have loved to indulge in pivot, the stunning lime green eyeshadow (£15.50), the white eyeliner of course (Precision Ink in Scribe, £15.50) and the sealing gel (£10.50) to go with it.





Anything from the collection which makes your heart beat?
Do you think Katy Perry has her eyes on 'Apocalips'?
If you were creating an eyeshadow called 'sex' would you make it white?

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