Purple Heaven – Sirvinya Sunday #1

I am on a Rimmel phase at the moment. The same day I purchased 'Pearly Queen', I also came home with Purple Reign nail polish. Purple Reign might not be as duo chrome as the rest of the Rimmel Metal Rush collection but it remains a stunning multi dimensional purple, with vivid flashes of blue shimmer.

  





Did I need yet another purple polish in my collection? No I didn't but if if I have an urge for purple, it's Purple Reign that I would want to reach first as the application was a doddle. The wide and flat brush should win an award and makes my life so much easier.





The smooth formula had the perfect consistency and allowed me to take all the time I need to guide the polish along the nail. Coverage is flawless and gave me the opacity you see on the photos in 2 fast drying coats. The finish is fantastic. No hint of streaks in sight, it almost reminded me of a foil effect nail polish.

   







They should have called it purple heaven.


   

  





Don’t ask me to choose my favourite rimmel polish. I can’t decide. What I do know is that there is only one which has let me down of all the ones I have tried: beige babe. Below, if you have a few minutes to kill, a summary of all the rimmel polishes I have reviewed to date on my blog.


   

 

 

what: Purple Reign nail polish from the Rimmel Metal Rush Collection
how much: £3.99
where: Boots and Superdrug
bought with my own pennies

Last but not least, I wanted to finish this post by giving a special shout to Sirvinya. We decided to go on a blogging date every Sunday at 8pm. I don’t know for how long I will be able to keep this up but for now I am enjoying the challenge and it’s a lot of fun.

  
Never visited her blog before? I would recommend her tutorial on how to make an eyeliner with any shadow of your choice.

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Crackle me madly notdees

If you're tired of the crackle nail polish trend, you might want to turn away now. If you still enjoy playing with crackle polishes, these might interest you. When 17 cosmetics released their gold crackle, I was only midly interested. It was not bright and in-your-face gold enough for my liking and I happily skipped it. A little bit more recently 17 cosmetics came back with 2 new additions to their crackle family and released these 2 babies: a vibrant purple crackle and a really original crackle: a mixture of gold, glitter and black crackle.






I think I've already found my perfect purple crackle. It's BROKEN ARROW from MUA Cosmetics and it's perfect on every aspect. I like Broken Arrow so much that not only it's my favourite purple crackle but it might be my favourite crackle polish of all. So I didn't have much hope for the Boots 17 purple crackle to impress me.

I decided to use GAMMA from Illamasqua as a base  for my first play and I was really taken by surprise. The vibrancy of the purple is absolutely amazing. It is not as metallic intense as Broken Arrow (but this is turn makes it easier to photograph) but it has the most gorgeous blue undertone which comes to life when a powerful light hit it.




I love the way the crackle created this x shape on my middle finger





Application was easy, even though I have found the formula a bit thick. I like my crackle to be quite chunky so I had to make a point to load the brush to the max before applying the crackle polish onto my nails.

I have yet to ascertain if using a nail polish thinner would alter the crackle formulation or whether it would still crackle? Does anyone of you know?

I was quite excited to try the gold/black/and glitter polish. I decided to use a nude polish underneath: NUDE CHAMPAGNE by Gosh which I am absolutely obsessed with at the moment. This crackle is very unique. In fact, it's so different from any crackle polish that I've known that I would like NOT to call it crackle. Whilst the finished effect is gorgeous and give you ultimate party nails in an instant, the crackle effect is much more subtle. It doesn't crackle as much as 'normal crackles'. Could it be because of the chunky glitter inside it?







I couldn't stop looking at my nails whilst I was wearing this combo but I kept on wishing the glitter had been more fine. Removal as expected was quite laborious because of the chunky glitter. This polish presents the usual glitter dilemma for me. Is it gorgeous enough for me to put up with the removal process.

If you're expecting this polish to be a true crackle, you'll be disappointed. If you're in a rush, and have 2 minutes to jazz up your chipped nude nails before a party: you'll be in love with this and all eyes will be on you too.

I am lucky. I didn’t have to buy these 2 polishes as my friend from work bought them 2 days ago. Me thinks she should leave them in the office all the time :)

As far as I know, these crackle polishes don't have a name.
How would you call them?

What? 17 Cosmetics Nail Extras Crackle Top Coat
How much? £3.99
Where: any boots, even the 'crap' little ones :)

Related posts:
Mua Cosmetics Purple Crackle Nail Polish (Broken Arrow).
Gosh ohmygosh Nude Champagne Nail Polish.
Illamasqua Gamma Nail Polish.

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Un petit papillon inspired makeup look

I have gazillions of things to write about and how do I decide to spend my Friday night on? Faffing about with makeup! The day I wore my pink look at work, I asked a friend/colleague of mine to pick a colour combination for me to wear for the following day. 'How about something with purple and orange, you know a bit like a butterfly' she instantly came up with. I do love a makeup challenge but after looking for inspiration, and having a first practice, it was clear that I was never going to have the guts to wear something so colourful in the office.






So I chickened out. I actually wore no make up at work on that day (yesterday) but I still wanted to try to make an orange/yellow and purple butterfly inspired makeup look. It has been a while since I had attempted a dramatic cut crease so this is what I came up with.








On my eyes, for the main colours I have used:

- Purple from Sleek Makeup Acid Palette
- Purple from Sleek Makeup Bohemian Palette
- Black from Sleek Makeup Acid Palette
- NYX Mellow Yellow Eyeshadow
- Orange (my favourite orange in the whole while world) from the 120 palette.




Incidentally the next picture will show you an example of the smoothing effect of my camera. The picture below is my real skin with all its crap showing. Massive difference hey? It is worth noting that while it smoothes my skin, it does not change the blending on the eyes so much





I won't bore you with my highlight colour and lower lashline action.
My lashes are a combination of cheaptastic shiny lashes from eBay on top of Eylure Girls Aloud Nadine (Original) Lashes.  On my lips, Mac Velvet Teddy and Sally Hansen Lip Inflation Extreme Lip Gloss.







Eyebrows are a bit of a fail, they were meant to be purpley but maybe that's a good thing, as otherwise there would have been too much purple?
I had lots of fun creating this look. It reminded me of my first cut crease look (well,the  first one I was happy with) with also some butterfly action, which you may have seen somewhere ... 

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I predict a riot for ...

... the release of the new MUA Professional Range. When do I know about this? Today, after I went to a decent size Superdrug shop housing the brand on Saturday, and taking the train especially for that purpose! The range is huge and I am very excited to dip my big fat fingers into the shop testers and cover my whole arm with it.  



 


Pigmentation of the native range eyeshadows (every item at £1) was spectacular so no doubt the professional range will be as good or even better. I am particularly excited to try these below.
What are the chances for a £4 primer to impress me when so many other brands have released pricier primers and failed to wow me? You just never know.





I might have too many purple eyeshadows as it is, but I just can't help being attracted by the purple trio in the middle.






Tired of the crackle trend? Things are just starting for me, as more affordable brands are getting on the bandwagon and this purple is looking amazingly bright and metallic and is begging to land on my nails.





Anything catching your radar?

The MUA pro range is available online on the Superdrug website and in selected Superdrug Stores (ring to check availability before travelling!) Fantastic pictures of most products (this is where I pinched mine) are available on the MUA Facebook Page. MUA aka @MUAcosmetics has only just landed on twitter and wants to make new friends.

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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

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Pearl Eyeliners From BeautyUk – The whole collection swatched

Ever since I saw sneak peek(tures) of 3 shades of the Beautyuk pearl eyeliners on their facebook page, I've been really impatient to see all the 8 shade . I am a great fan of colour liquid eyeliner. My very first product swatches post on my blog was about glitter eyeliners, and I probably own pretty much everything Collection 2000 has done in terms of metallic and glitter eyeliners. If Gosh Cosmetics liquid eyeliners had been cheaper, I would have probably indulged and collect them all (and then I wonder how I got myself into debt)


*I am rambling already* Anyway, when Beautyuk  finally released their eyeliners, you bet I was very excited but I was very apprehensive too. My favourite type of eyeliner would ideally be really pigmented, not runny, not too thick, have a soft felt pen type of brush/applicator, long lasting and would not be a pain to remove. The very day of the release, I had to get myself down there to Superdrug. After checking their polishes, I just had to open one eyeliner and check out the brush, tester or no tester provider, I just had to see it for myself. Well, they did it: my ideal type of brush was in there, the only thing which was not so perfect with my beloved Gosh and Collection 2000 eyeliners.


Let's have a look at some swatches, shall we?

 







Photos show 2 coats of eyeliners. My instant favourite was purple haze, which I would personally call 'electric purple'. Application on hand was very easy, and dried fast. Once it's there, it's there and it won't budge.







Removal was easy. None of the shades stained my skin and it wasn't as hard work as the extreme art liners from Gosh to remove. I've come to think that the Gosh ones are too long lasting for their own good, and that I need to remove them with baby oil and lots of scrubbing.



So on the hand it's awesome, but how is it on the eye?







The felt tip applicator made a world of a difference. I was able to be so much in control. I had however to apply 3 coats to achieve the opacity I wanted. The first coat was more about tracing the shape, and the 2 others about filling that shape and tapping the product on rather than dragging it along. No baby oil was needed to remove the eyeliner. I used my simple eye makeup remover to moisten it, then I was able to peel off the product off my eyes.


In a an ideal world, this eyeliner would have given a opaque result in 2 coats, but with a brush like that, I am more than happy to compromise.



where to buy: superdrug, internationale or online.
price: £3.49
disclaimer: I purchased the product myself

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Bargain NOTDs: Love me, Big Money & Purple Pizzazz from NYC

What a better time to try for the first time NYC nail polishes than now: Superdrug have slashed a selection of NYC nail polishes from £1.99 to £0.99. Naturally, I had to get in there and bring some home. I hadn't tried any nail products from the brand before so I was very curious to see how they perform.





First off, we have Purple Pizzazz Frost which is a gorgeous purple with strong flashing iridescence of blue. As with most of my purple polishes I found it quite hard to photograph but I hope these photos will give you an idea. I've found this another of these polishes where you can't form an opinion on before the 3rd coat. The application is a bit uneven (sometimes it feels the blue hasn't been mixed with the purple very well) but the final result is very pretty and is definitely worth your time and even more worth your money: £0.99 for 13.3 ml of product. Lovely shade! I hope the product won't go gloopy too quickly.












It looks like I am into my greens at the moment. I saw Big Money Frost and I just had to have it. The shade in the bottle reminded me of my favourite green eyeshadow, some cheapy natural collection (green glimmer). I was a bit apprehensive to purchase this one as it looked very frosty in the bottle. I chose to ignore the name (it's called big money FROST after all) and gave it a whirl: 'It's only £1 I thought.

Well it's definitely worth £1 but not more. The formula is very very very thin, it takes 4 coats to reach a decent opacity and you can see all the brushstrokes which is one of my pet peeve. The colour is nice enough but for me, it's not worth the trouble and I am sure I can find better. I feel this is also going to go straight to my 'pea in the pod' friend who is getting all my green cast-offs at the moment LOL.





 



Last but certainly not least, my favourite of the lot which I am definitely keeping: Love me red Creme. I have no idea why they called this red, nor creme, but at least they got the 'love me' right, as I am totally in love with this polish. The blue shimmer in this reddish bright pink polish is to die for. This reminded me straight away of my nails inc Montrose Place, although it's a bit more reddish, less neon, and more wearable perhaps. I found the application very easy, but it did take 3 coats to achieve the result you see on the photos. You can still see my nail line peeking through but with this polish I really really don't mind. I also prefer the packaging of this polish, the logo is different.












Perhaps  the NYC polishes are on special offer because they are in the middle of rebranding? Whatever the reason, go check them out in store (the website doesn’t have all the shades) before the £0.99 offer runs out, a little unexpected bargain might just well be waiting for you :)

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