Colourpop fun :)

So I was wandering aimlessly in my New Look shop a few days ago and stumbled on a new range of fun and colourful makeup called 'Colourpop' where every item is sold at £1.99. Of course, I had to take some pictures and share them with you, I do love a bargain! I have bought 2 items from the collection, do you want to guess which ones?

So they had lipsticks in the cutest packaging





lipglosses, eyeliners and nail polishes







and eyeshadows



You've guessed it already. I came home with 2 nail polishes.







The yellow one is just called err.. ‘yellow’ and the green called ‘pistachio’. You know already that a nail polish doesn't need to be expensive to have great coverage but good pastel and neon polishes, whatever the brand and price are notoriously hard to find. So how did these 2 little £1.99 bright things fare? Admirably well. What you see is only 2 coats of polish. Arguably, the yellow could do with a little extra coat but in real life, I really don't mind it like that. The brush on one of the polish had 2 little stray hair but it was nothing that a small of scissors couldn't quickly fix.









No streaks, no bubbles, no patchiness, just a pop of colour as the name suggests. The yellow is just my perfect shade of 'easter chick' nails and applied even better than the MUA 'lovehearts' yellow. The green is a lovely pastel and neon shade at the same time. I don't own anything like it and I am absolutely in love with it. The formula is lovely, thick and creamy and would also work brilliantly for accents of colours in a nail art pattern.







I must warn you that these nail polish stain the nail though. I tried the green one very quickly on my thumb which didn't have a base coat on and it left me with a darker nail after removal. So I decided to apply the nail polish over 2 coats of my favourite base coat (more on that in another post) just to be on the safe side and my nails were suitably protected and no staining happened.



I am delighted with my little bargain purchases. Thank you Newlook. ^_^



disclosure: bought by me
note: please excuse the quality of the pictures. compression rate set itself to 45 without my knowledge :/

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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

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Spring has arrived at 17 Cosmetics

Many are excited by Valentine's Day and Pancake Day. For me, the main event after Christmas which I always look forward to is the arrival of warmer weather and double figures in temperatures. Today was lovely, temperature in my little neck of the wood has reached 10 degrees and it has been giving hope that the worst of winter, might be over. The cherry on my cake today was to discover a new collection at the 17 Cosmetics 'Counter'.

*cue improvised ghetto press release*





To complement the relatively recent release of their amazing coverage bb cream, 17 Cosmetics has just released a range of bright and summery nail polishes at the usual bargain price of £2.99. The colours are absolutely gorgeous. Two in particular have grabbed my attention: Glisten, a golden peach polish, and Juicy, a happy, bright lime shade.








Temptation to indulge in the polishes is going to be incredibly difficult, especially since there is a 3 for 2 offer on...




Edit: 21:49
Resistance is futile. No point even trying, is there? :P

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Tiggress Trio from Max Factor

Back in September, when Boots was doing an amazing 3 for 2 offer for a whole month, this little trio eyeshadow from Max Factor ended up in my basket. This is tiggress eyeshadow trio, which can be used dry or wet.

I need to confess I have never used an eyeshadow wet, I am scared of ruining it. I was hoping this would be the perfect opportunity to pop my 'wet eyeshadow cherry' but I just can't do it. I am scared I won't be able to blend the wet texture once on my eyes.

So what does it perform applied dry? It's ok. Definitely nothing to shout home about. The yellow is a nice shade but overall I was hoping the whole trio would deliver more pigmentation. I want my eyeshadow to have more punch, and sadly this screams more 'pussy cat' than 'tiggress'.


Before I fall asleep writing this review, a little picture on how it applies on the eyes.

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Sunny Days Nails: The good, the bad and the laborious

Do you sometimes buy a makeup product despite a big warning issued about it? When I read Lydia's adventures (from Lyd's Blonde Thoughts) with Sunny Days from Accessorize Nail Polish, I didn't want to believe in the problems she had with the application. I was convinced that I would not have the same experience, as I was lured by the perfect dreamy shade of yellow offered by Sunny Days.


It is indeed perfect. Such a soft shade of yellow, which reminds me of a Easter chick. The colour is too irresistible, and is even more gorgeous than BeautyUK Yellow Peril, my favourite yellow polish to date. If I was asked to draw a shade of yellow, this is how I would picture yellow in my head, perfect mix of yellow and orange, soft, in between pastel and bright, absolutely gorgeous.






This is where the dream ends and the harsh reality kicks in. Do not be fooled by the pretty colour. I hate to be so brusque but the application was, in a search for a better word, absolutely shambolic: it's streaky, lumpy, bumpy, gappy, patchy, sticky. The soft focus of my kind camera makes it look better than what it is but believe me, in real life, you'd wonder if that was the first time I was attempting to polish my nails. Let’s have a look at the first coat, shall we? I kid you not, I was totally sober when I applied the polish.






Lumps, bumps, streaks and patchiness eventually even themselves after the third coat but, what a palaver. Do I regret having buying this polish? Heck no. I couldn’t help myself looking at my nails when I wore this polish. If it hadn’t been any other shade, I would have probably chucked it in the bin with frustration, but this colour looks so gorgeous on my nails, that I honestly can’t wait to wear it again.

Maybe this is how Cheryl Cole felt when she welcomed back her cheating husband in her life?










I can’t feel 100% confident when wearing Sunny Days, I’d hate if someone would look too closely at my nails and go ‘and you call yourself a nail blogger’, it is now in my top 5 most laborious nail polishes to apply, but boy, the colour has me totally in love and I hate myself for it.  






The search for an exact dupe (minus the application woes) has started.


I nearly forgot. Click HERE if you want see it ‘quaked’ with the most
gorgeous purple crackle polish ever made.

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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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Crackle Polishes go technicolor: Blessing or overdose? Radioactive Lizard NOTD

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Apparently crackle polishes first started their appearance years ago and what we noticed in England, when Barry M released their record breaking 'paint effects' black top coat last October was a revival of the trend. Revival or not, it took the blogosphere by a storm, and I was one of many who didn't even such a effect could be achieved with a nail polish. I have no idea how the contraction works and makes the polish, snap, pop and crackle (to reuse dottie k's expression) but I have to confess it's quite fascinating watching it doing its thing.






When I first wore 'Barry M' paint effects at work, the first thing my colleagues asked was if 'they' did it in other colours. Well, now 'they' do. Models Owen firmly embraced the trend with both arms and are about to unleash their 'Smash up' range, 8 colour additions to the crackle trend, with also a black version thrown in for good measure. The range is very enticing: bright colours, funky bottle lid design and cool name.









You'll be able to get your talons on them, at £6 each from April 6th online at http://www.modelsownit.com/ (thank you Drew692 for info on release date) and in selected Boots Stores later on in the month of April.


The polishes not being available yet, I obviously couldn't try them on. So here's a little manicure done with beautyuk yellow peril (see it worn on its own here) with a thick coat of Barry M paint effects on top. I prefer my crackle to be big and chunky so I like to apply a generous coat of it.










Have you joined the crackle bangwagon yet? Will you be 'smashing it'?


credit: big kiss to debbie aka @drew692 and her cool tumbrl beautyblog for letting me use her pictures.

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Let the nail see the polish … Péril Jaune Manicure

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It's Saturday evening and I like to indulge shamelessly in 2 little guilty pleasures: painting my nails and watching the show 'Take me Out'. For non UK residents, Take me out is a dating show, like a modern version of 'Blind Date' but with a twist. Each week, four brave bachelor men take their turn and try to bag themselves a date amongst 30 single women. Charismatic Presenter Paddy MacGuinness comes out every week with cheeky banter and very cheesy lines: As he introduces each bachelor to the panel of women, he says: ‘'Let the butter, see the crumpet', or, 'Let the tomato, see the sauce'. The title of this post tries to mimick his style.


Today, the weather is a bit miserable: it's been dark all day, it's cold and it's been raining pretty much non stop. Perfect time to show the weather your middle finger and your 9 others painted with a bright bright shade of yellow. This shade is called 'Yellow Peril' (BeautyUK) and costs £1.99.







I was very impressed with the coverage and achieved total opacity with 2 coats. I love the colour. I don't see myself wearing it for work (although my colleagues loved my lime green from 2true) but I can see myself wearing this on a week end to brighten up a dull outfit.









Too yellow for you? I've paired it with Barry M paint effects and the result is quite stunning, click here if you want to see it.






Predictable but I can't help asking you: likey or no likey?

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What happens when you don’t wear a base coat on your nails: before and after and my attempts at nail brightening

How many of you scrupulously wear a base coat before painting your nails. I think this is one of these things you learn with experience and unless you're not bitten / stung you'll never learn. It was time I learnt and I wanted to share with you the results of my carelessness.

About 2 or 3 days ago roughly, I applied a gorgeous dark blue nail polish from Asda without applying a base coat. It was the first time I was testing this nail polish and I applied it on my 'photo hand' my left hand. Right hand stayed bare. 24 hours after, when I removed the nail polish, I noticed the carnage of my carelessness: my nails got really badly stained.

On the photo below, the "before" side shows the hand where I didn't apply evil nail polish. After picture shows the results of my carelessness, where I applied the nail polish without a base coat.





Now if this is not encouragement enough to always wear a base coat, I don't know what is, especially when my nails were decent colour before.
I am not going to lie, I got a bit depressed by it. Most of all, I was a bit embarrassed at work. How embarrassing for someone to blog about nails in their spare time to end up with such badly stained nails like that.


In an attempt to reduce the stains and regain the natural colour of my nails, I googled for some homemade remedies. Results yielded to resorting a homemade mixture of bicarbonate of soda and fresh lemon juice to apply to nails every day for a period of 6 weeks. 6 weeks? I just had to find another solution and I wanted to try the 'denture whitening tablets' method.
So I went to Boots and bought a 'extra strength' tube of Steradent at £1.62. I was very happy to read that the first ingredients listed was sodium bicarbonate and citric acid. The stuff is probably a bit too harsh for nails but I really wanted to have a go. Poured some hot water on a fizzy tablet in a small glass and left my left hand soaking there for a while.

 
Results? I was very happy. My hand was super dry the following morning when I woke up (which was this morning) but nothing that a hand cream couldn't cure. There is still some staining, but I feel it has lightened a lot! I am happy :)





Nail base coat are like condoms, god knows what happens to you if you don’t wear one :P

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