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.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere – sample review

I’ve been using my favourite Dior Forever foundation for a couple of months now so I wanted to try something new and treat myself to a new foundation to beat any winter blues. I read about the new Chanel foundation last year and finally the samples are in shops so it seems like an ideal time to give it a go! As I absolutely love my Dior Forever I won’t give it up easily for something that isn’t absolutely perfect. And Chanel being Chanel I have quite high expectations. Not to mention the price.

So I picked (with an advise of Chanel consultant) shade 10 Beige and 12 Beige Rose. I have very fair skin so I know I am always the lightest shade or second from the lightest when it comes to any foundation. 

Here is a swatch of both shades and comparison to other two foundations I’ve been using lately (Dior Forever in 020 – Light Beige and Chanel Pro Lumiere in 010 - Nude) I can easily tell that shade 12 Beige Rose is too light and too pinky for my skin and shade 10 is slightly lighter than my favourite Dior but has the same base colour – yellow.

First impressions – it has a gorgeous smell and a slightly thicker formula than Dior Forever but thinner than Chanel Pro Lumiere. It has a light to medium coverage and a matte finish. It evens out my skintone beautifully and covers any blemishes very well and it is great for covering the pores as well. It can be layered easily to medium coverage. A small tab is more than enough to cover your whole face if you want to achieve a light coverage.

It lasted a good couple of hours (not the whole day tho) after about 6 hours it did wear off a little bit.

The downside is that it does make dry patches more visible – that's a bit of let down for me. I like a healthy dewy finish on my skin as well so the matte result doesn’t really work for me. I like it when my foundation looks more natural. So overall, it’s an okay product for me – but I am not sure I will be buying it in when it comes out. I might just stick to Dior for now and wait for the new BB Creams to try them out! 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.

Estee Lauder free gift alert!

Because red lips are so hot this season I decided to buy myself a lovely Pure Color Matte Lipstick in Red Velvet from Modern Mercury 2011 Collection. There are many red lipsticks out at the moment but I always tend to come back to lipsticks with a matte finish when it comes to winter months. :)

I’ve also had my eyes on crème eye shadows for a while now and decided that Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Shadow Crème in Café Au Lait (22) looks gorgeous enough to give it a go. 

Reviews for both lipstick and eye shadow to follow soon. And…

…you get one of these fabulous gifts at Debenhams when you buy two or more Estee Lauder products. Yaaay! Offer ends 1^st October. Your 7-piece gift includes:

 - A choice of moisturiser, repair serum, eye creme and cleanser (you can choose Resilience Lift SPF15 moisturiser, Resilience Lift Eye Creme, Perfectionist [CP+] Wrinkle Lifting Serum Corrector for Lines/Wrinkles/AgeSpots and Soft Clean Moisture Rich Foaming Cleanser OR DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Crème SPF 15, Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex, Advanced Night Repair Eye Recovery Complex and Perfectly Clean Splash Away Foaming Cleanser – that is what I chose)

 - Pure Color Quad Compact with applicator

 - Pure Color Long Lasting Lipstick in Candy

 - Sumptuous, Bold Volume Lifting Mascara in Black

 - Plus a lovely cosmetics bag

Can’t wait to try them out! Thank you Estee Lauder for this fabulous gift! I definitely recommend it! A.