Nails Inc in Bluebell for InStyle

Oh, I love free products so much! Thank you InStyle for this gorgeous gift!

Bluebell is beautiful pastel-ish blue with a tiny bit of purple undertones. Love it. I think it is lovely! The packaging is fine; with silver top, which is big and rounded – typical for nails inc products.

The nail polish is quite easy to apply; the texture is very creamy although on the thick side. Two coats is more than enough to achieve opaque finish. The brush is okay, it is not the best one I used but it is not the worst one either.

The finish is shiny and very smooth. It does not take ages to dry. It started chipping after 3 days, but remember I do chip my nails quite easily so you might get better result, especially with a top coat.

 Nails Inc in Bluebell (without flash)

Nails Inc in Bluebell (with flash)

InStyle costs £3.80 and Nails Inc in Bluebell was free with the June copy of the magazine. A.

L’Oreal Color Riche Nail in Ingenuous Rose

L'Oreal Ingenuous Rose (2 coats)

Ingenuous Rose is a sheer pastel dusty shade of pink. The packaging is quite cute, as it is small and handy. And I love the golden top I think it makes it look more elegant.

Ingenuous Rose is easy to apply, the texture is great and this shade is not streaky at all although it is quite sheer but it is very buildable so you can achieve an opaque finish with two or three coats depending on how much product you apply. The brush itself is great. It’s wide, nicely rounded and it fits the nails just perfect (meaning that you don’t have to put a lot of effort to apply to every corner of you nails).

The finish is very shiny and creamy although it took quite a while to dry completely (maybe because is gel based?). The lasting power is about 3 days with a topcoat but bare in mind I do chip my nails quite easily so some people might get better results.

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Illamasqua SS12 Human Fundamentalism Lipstick in Apocalips + Nail Varnish in Nomad

When I saw the advert for this collection it was absolutely love from the first sight, seriously. I wasn’t just blown away by the explosion of colours but their idea behind their collection. I mean, Illamasqua is known for pushing their boundaries but this collection is just amazing. Maybe it’s because they play around with my two favourite colours: purple and green? Anyway…

Illamasqua SS12 Human Fundamentalism Lipstick in Apocalips is a very deep teal shade with matte finish. It’s not a shade I would normally pick but that’s why it caught my eye. I like bold and statement colours, and I was keen to see how it looks like on lips.

The formula is very dry so the lipstick doesn’t glide as smoothly as a lip balm or a lipstick with satin or creamy finish. Once applied, it provides an opaque finish. It smells like a sweet candle wax when in the bullet but when applied the smell is undetectable. 

The lasting power is about 6 hours without the need to re-apply. It’s not moisturising but it’s not drying either but I wouldn’t say it’s comfortable to wear on its own. Also, Apocalips is great to mix with other lipsticks to get new, innovative shades (I mixed mine with L’oreal Color Riche in Pink Passion to get deep, lilac-y purple with blue undertones). Overall, very impressed and will definitely purchase more Illamasqua makeup products.

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Nomad is a bright, neon-y shade of green. It’s very similar to Barry M Nail Paint in Mint Green but brighter and slightly greener. It’s very long lasting (about a week with a top coat), has shiny finish and a great formula that require just one coat for opaque finish. Overall, I think both the lipstick and nail varnish are great products!

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Coral Fever + Rimmel Lasting Finish Fruities in Apricot Punch

I have a massive crush on anything that’s coral so I decided that Coral Fever and Apricot Punch are perfect products to satisfy my coral needs. Plus, they both smell fabulous!

Rimmel Lasting Finish Fruities in Apricot Punch (left) and Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Coral Fever (right)

Maybelline in Coral Fever is a coral shade lipstick with satin finish and creamy texture. It’s definitely not sheer but it isn’t as much pigmented as I expected, which I actually like (I’m normally a fan of bright lipsticks). It’s not totally to your face but it’s not too shy so if you want to experiment with some bold colours this spring but you are not a fan of really bright colours I think this shade would be ideal. It glides on very smoothly and it's comfortable to wear. The lasting power is about 3 – 4 hours so something between a lip balm and a high-end lipstick. Despite the creamy texture I found the formula to be slightly drying. But maybe it's just me. The smell is sugary – it’s nice - not too strong. The packaging is solid and I like the idea of red-tinted clear top. To some it might look cheap and plastic-y but I think it looks fashionable.

Overall, a nice shade to have in you makeup bag!

 Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Coral Fever - with flash

 Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Coral Fever - without flash

Rimmel Lasting Finish Fruities in Apricot Punch is just ideal shade of coral: not to orange-y, not too yellow-y – just perfect peachy coral. 

I love it that is smells of apricots once it’s dry. It’s a nice, delicate smell that you can’t detect unless you put your nails near your nose. And, surprisingly the scent last quite a time: about 12-14 hours but I still could just smell it the next day after more than 24 hours! Nice! Only one coat is needed to get opaque finish. It last for about 3 days before it needs re-applying. It’s a good value for money and I would definitely re-purchase in the future. A.

DIOR Spring 2012 Garden Party 5 Colours in Garden Pastels and Dior Vernis in Forget Me Not (Limited Edition)

Another spring 2012 collection that looks and smells fabulous! 

 Dior Garden Party 5 Colours in Garden Pastels (Limited Edition) and Dior Vernis in Forget Me Not (Limited Edition)

The packaging looks and feels very solid like it would definitely survive a fall from the table. The eyeshadows are placed inside THAT famous Dior blue holographic packaging. Inside, there are 5 beautiful pastel shades with two double-sided applicators on both sides. And the roses embossed on the eyeshadows look so pretty and so arty! Honestly, I couldn't take my eyes off it when I bought it.

I wouldn’t wear the shades all together but I like the combination of green + gold/yellow or turquoise + silver. I would normally use the pink shade in the middle as a base colour.
The effect is very soft and luminous - perfect look for spring. The eye shadows are very intense and shimmery and last about 9 – 10 hours on my (oily) skin with primer. I think the colours are so hot for spring/summer season and definitely worth purchasing!

  Dior Vernis in Forget Me Not (Limited Edition)

 without flash

with flash

Dior Vernis in Forget Me Not is a lovely, deep shade of purple. I so love the fact that it smells of roses once it's dry. The scent lasts about 3-4 hours. The end result is very shiny and I only needed to apply one coat to my nails for completely opaque finish! Like all Dior nail varnishes, Forget Me Not have a very thick, rounded brush and only one good stroke is enough to cover your nail completely!

Overall, I love it - I would give it 9/10! Definitely worth having :) A.

Barry M Nail Paint Croc Effects

Nail varnish, again, I know… I treat myself to a new nail varnish way too often lol. Anyway, I really liked Barry M Cracking Nail Effects so I thought I might want to try Croc Effects to see if it is any different to the one mentioned above. I don’t think it made such exciting coming as the cracking and magnetized nail varnishes but it is definitely still worth giving it a go. And I thought: how can it be different from the cracking one?

Well, after quite a few attempts – most of them failures (the nail varnish that I used as a base colour was probably dry and it supposed to be slightly wet) I managed to get a considerably nice effect of croc skin on my nails.

First, I applied a thin layer of a clear base coat, waited for my nails to be dry and applied two thin coats of Bourjois So Laque! in Lime Catwalk to my nails. I wanted something bright so the effect would be more visible. Then, I waited for about 2 minutes for my nails to be dry but not 100% dry. That's when the croc effect will look the best. Then I applied a THICK coat of Barry M Croc Effect, not thin like it says on the bottle. And I waited and waited… (yes, you have to be patient) and after a while (about 3-5 minutes) the effect started to appear. Yeey! And finally, I finished off with a top coat.

I can easily tell that it looks different from the cracking one but is it worth it? You decide ;) A.

Barry M Nail Paint in Mint Green and Ice cream Berry plus free Limited Edition in Silver Glitter

Yesterday I bought two pastel shades of Barry M nail paints from Boots and got one free (when you buy any 2 products from Barry M you get a free limited edition nail varnish). And I decided to experiment with all three of them. I wanted to create a new spring ‘do’ on my nails. I’ve been using glittery and very sparkly nail varnishes for the last couple of weeks and I need a change.

At the moment I love new Dior make up collection, especially their nail polishes and that inspired me to so something that does have a spring feel.

I applied two coats of Berry Ice Cream first and let it dry. In the meantime I (carefully!) cut out the nail guide strips out of a self-adhesive sheet and placed them across my nails to divide the tips from the rest of the nails. Make sure the guide strips are pressed firmly to the nails. Then I applied two coats of Mint Green on my tips above the guide strips and let it dry (allow at least 15 minutes). After it dried thoroughly I gently lifted the tape from the nails. Finally I applied one coat of Limited Edition in Silver Glitter (I know, glitter again – but it isn’t as glittery as the previous ones I had). 

Final effect – very pretty nails ready for spring. I love it! :-) A.

Paul & Joe Ornamental Nail Enamel Collection in O Holy Night and Merrily On High

O Holy Night (left) and Merrily On High (right)

Paul & Joe is my guilty pleasure when it comes to make up. Very sophisticated colours and lovely vintage looking packaging make it impossible to resist. And the gorgeous smell is so addictive… I absolutely adore every make up range they create. As I am self-confessed addict to nail varnishes I decided to buy two shades from their latest ‘The Ornamental Collection’.

The formula of the nail polishes is fine; it spreads on nails quickly and evenly. The massive downer is that it takes ages to dry and even putting a clear coat on the top doesn’t help to speed it up. I think it’s got to do with the fact that the formula is quite jelly and gluey, which I guess is used to hold the glitter together (although I have Paul & Joe nail polish that is not glittery and the formula is jelly like and it takes ages to dry, too). It is hard to remove it from the nails as well but on the plus side it stays on forever once dry.

O Holy Night is a deep turquoise shimmery shade with three different colours of glitter in it: silver, blue and turquoise. It is a bright and vivid colour that is easily noticeable. 

Paul & Joe Nail Polish in O Holy Night

Merrily On High is a pale shimmery purple shade that is less opaque than the turquoise one and you need to put at least two coats on to cover your nails completely. It is a nice pastel and pearly shade of purple. As I prefer vibrant and dominant colours the first shade is definitely my favourite out of these two.

Paul & Joe Nail Polish in Merrily On High

Overall, I think they are very pretty Christmas-y shades and they would make a great prezzie. The price is very acceptable (£10.50 for 10ml) especially if you compare it to other high-end brands. Plus, no one makes such a pretty packaging as Paul & Joe. ;) A.

Review: 17 Magnetized Nail Polish in Lilac

Description: What is 17 Magnetized Nail Polish...The polish contains very fine metal particles, when you have applied the polish and its still wet, hover the magnet (which is part of the cap) over your nail and watch the effect appear! (source: boots.com)

17 Magnetized Nail Polish in Lilac is one of four shades to choose from, the other shades include: Gun Metal, Blue and Teal. I was very excited about these nail polishes, as I read about them a couple of moths ago on boots website. I loved cracking nail polishes (well, I still do), so I was pretty sure this time it will be the same with the magnetizing ones. I couldn’t decide which shade I wanted (all of them looked fabulous) so I quickly grabbed the purple one and left the shop just in case I would want to buy them all.

What you have to do to get your nails magnetized: apply the nail polish to one of your nails and whilst still wet, take the magnet located on the top of the cap and move it towards your nail (remember, don't let the magnet touch your nail) and wait for a few seconds. You should see the ‘wave’ effect appear before your eyes. It takes a bit of practice to get it right and you can also try to place the magnet in different directions to get different effects. I was quite pleased with mine.

The formula is nice and thick, not too watery and easy to apply. The brush spreads the nail polish evenly. It stays on for ages as well. I think the finished look is fantastic and it is well worth the money (£5.99 from Boots). Definitely recommend it. :-) A.

Review: DIOR Nail Polish in Tuxedo

Dior Nail Polish in Tuxedo is one of the two nail polishes released as a part of Fall 2011 collection. (the other one is called Blue Denim) I absolutely adore Dior nail polishes as the texture is just fantastic and they stay on forever as well. It is no different with Tuxedo.

Tuxedo is a deep and intense shimmery blue, which is a bit darker than I expected. It looks like metallic colour but when I put it on nails, it looses a lot of shimmer – it’s not as glittery as in the packaging. I had to have a close look to notice any. But still, with the right lighting you can see it’s not just a plain colour. I think it’s a nice shade for evening parties and nights out with friends.

The formula is great, the nail varnish spreads on nails evenly and you only need one coat to cover your nails completely. The brush is thick and only one stroke is needed to cover the whole nail. Although I find it a little bit too thick but I will probably get used to it. Overall, I totally recommend this nail varnish, I wish I could purchase them both :P A.

Review: CHANEL Nail Polish in Peridot (531)

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour in Peridot is one of three colours released by Chanel as a part of Autumn/Winter collection (the colours in the collection include: Peridot, Graphite and Quartz). I picked Peridot because I think it stands out the most out of all three. Although the other two nail varnishes look beautiful as well, this one is the one that I liked the most. It might seem odd, but the colour also reminds me of Christmas…

Peridot looks like metallic green-ish shade of gold if that makes sense. The colour has a sparkly – shimmery gold base with a hint of green. It looks very festive and elegant and it’s very pleasing to the eye. It’s very shiny and the formula is better than usual. (I bought Chanel Nail Polish in Mimosa from S/S collection and I swore to myself I’d never buy Chanel’s Nail Polishes again – more to follow) It spreads evenly and it covers the nails well. I put two coats on my nails for a better coverage.

I’ve had it on my nails for a few days and it still look great! Normally a nail varnish lasts about 1.5 day on my nails before it starts chipping so a couple of days is quite good!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this nail varnish; although it’s expensive (£17.50 each) it’s definitely worth the money!