This month there's a fab amount of freebies to be had in the main fashion/beauty magazines! A bit of skincare and quite a few nail polishes.
My favourite freebie by far and the one I'm most excited about is the free Jessica nail polishes with this month's Red Magazine August 2015 issue. Here I have a beautiful coral shade called 'Confident Coral' but there are 3 other shades to chose from - a summer red, a hot pink and a pretty nude. All worth £10.50 each!
I personally feel like this is a great free gift as Jessica really is a high quality brand that you would normally see being used in salons. I'm not very temped to pick up 2 of the other shades available!
Above is two coats of 'Confident Coral' without a top coat and so far it's lasted 4 days chip-free! Just a little tip wear, but that's to be expected. All in all I'm so pleased with this as a freebie! Plus I do enjoy reading Red magazine.
Which magazine freebie have caught your eye this month?
Fee xo.
So far this summer blue nails have been my staple go-to nail polish shade. Maybe blue is just a summery hue or it could be the fact I've been procrastination on Pinterest looking at the beautiful blue and white building of Greece as of late! Either way I'm loving all shades blue - from milky pastel tones to vibrant cobalt blues and every shade in between.
I also think blue nail polishes whether light or dark stand out against any skin tone and darker more vivid tones work especially well on the toes. So here are just 6 nail polishes I've picked out from my collection that I truly love.
Left to right
& Other Stories "Indienne Sky" £5.00 online store here
W7 "Sheer Blue" £4.50 eBay here
Model Own "Blue Skies" £5.00 Nail Polish Direct here or Boots
Bourjois "Blue no blues" £5.99 Feel Unique here or Boots
Leighton Denny "Get Your Cote" £11.00 Nail Polish Direct here
Essence "Electriiiiiic" £1.60 Wilko in-store
Light Pastel Blues
Two favourites here, both new and old. My newest blue is this lovely sky blue shade from & Other Stories which applies lovely in 2 coats... though this does remind me of a shade from Collection and in a very similar style bottle... hmmm. But pretty and summery none the less! I'm also a huge fan of W7 Sheer Blue which isn't sheer at all but a lovely opaque baby blue shade that is ideal for sunny days. Trust me, never overlook W7 nail polishes, they are amazing!
Mid-tone Sea Blues
On to more mid-tone blues with a classic blue from Models Own in Blue Skies. This is a shade to suit all skin tones and can be worn on both the fingers and toes and looks great! A staple blue for me. Another gorgeous shade is the Bourjois Blue no blues 1 Seconde nail polish which I actually got complimented on by a sales assistant only last week. This is a truly happy/sunny shade that is also a dream to apply (love the brush)... plus you can get away with applying just a single coat if you're in a rush!
Deeper Vivid Blues
Deeper blues for me also make me happy and again I think they suit both pale and tanned skin well. I also love to wear vivid blue nail polish when wearing white - them Greek vibes again! Leighton Denny's Get Your Cote although not the cheapest of nail polish is another classic blue that can be worn anytime of the year and has such a perfect formula. I've also owned this for quite some time now and it's yet to go gloopy! Lastly a stunning colbalt blue with Essence Electriiiic. Annoying shade name aside, this is an amazing nail polish for the price and is that extra bit shiny being a 'gel' like nail polish. Essence always impress me, but this is a true winner of a shade.
I've sadly realised I've only included creme nail polishes here... no pretty duo-chromes or shimmery shades but clearly creme shades are floating my boat right now. Plus I kind of think shimmery blue shades are a bit ageing. But hopefully you have discovered some new shades none the less!
You can also find my top 5 green nail polishes for summer here!
What nail polish colour should I write a blog post on next?
Fee xo.
For months and months I've been eyeing up the Sally Hansen Real Nail Polish Strips and finally I ordered some in a Fragrance Direct order. I bought them mainly because I was intrigued by them and wanted to see how they fared compared to nail wraps - I can report so much better! But these were also my glitzy NYE nails!
The idea behind these is that they offer the neatness and longevity of nail wraps but without the sometimes difficult application and peeling at the edges that they can also bring. As you can see I went the glitter design - "Frock Star" but there are so different designs that you just couldn't achieve with stamping or even nail art. You can find them at Fragrance Direct for only £1.15 here or eBay for £2.45 here. There really as some beautiful ones.
Before trying these out I really couldn't imagine what these were like and how they compared to standard nail wraps which I'd had zero luck with. But let me tell you these differ so much! Think much thinner than nail wraps and stretchy - yes, this wasn't something I expected either. The stretchiness of these actually helps them stretch and fit over the nail perfectly and to be pulled over the nail tip to be easily filed off.
A Rough How-to...
The process includes selecting the correct sized strips for each nail, peeling off the protective cover, pulling off the end tab, peeling off the back to reveal the ultra sticky side, placing down over the nail, pulling the tip whilst pressing down the strip, using the cuticle stick to tear off the excess and then filing the tip down slightly for a totally neat edge. It's as simply as that! No air bubbles to remove, no creasing and no filling down your nails too much as you file off the excess.
All in all the process is fairly easy though slightly messy as the strips are so sticky the excess piece can stick to your finger tips. But that can be overlooked as the stickiness really is what keeps them on for however long you want to wear them for without peeling at all! Finally no ultra annoying pulling at strands of hair as I wash my hair unlike with nail wraps. As for removal (which was after 5 days - they still looked perfect) I sadly gave up on nail polish remover as it wasn't budging them but luckily I chipped them off quite easily without damaging my nails. Hopefully this is down to the fact these are glitter ones but can't say for certain as I'm yet to try out the other opaque designs.
Overall I was really pleased with these and 100% be taking a few designs on holiday with me as the no liquid aspect and the fact they last so long is very appealing.
If you love the look of nail wraps but find they aren't practical then you seriously need to give these a go!
Fee xo.
Today I have for you another wonderful set from Ciate. Ciate have to be the most original brand when it comes to gift set packaging and I for one adore their range of seasonal houses. Haute House is Ciate's third seasonal house of 2014 and contains 5 deep shades perfect to both autumn and winter.
The full set costs £22 and includes - Can Can (deep burgundy), For the thrill of it (molten gold), Sass pot (deep purple), Knee highs (royal blue) and Tickle my fancy (rich emerald). All the shades are standard mini size and of course will last you a long time... in fact I think I prefer mini bottles especially as Ciate nail polishes retail for £9.00 each!
This set is incredibly good if you love deep rich shades on your nails come this time of year, as you have a perfection selection of deep metallic, duo chromes and rich tones here. I personally love the rich metallic red and the royal blue but all the shades are very wearable.
The only let down with this set is Ciate do state these are one-stroke wonders however the molten gold really does require a few coats as does the metallic red. But other than that this set is really lovely if you are wanting a new selection of good quality nail polishes to try out or of course as a gift. I think most nail polish lover would love this, also the little house looks great as a display on a shelf or desk.
You can find the Haute House set at Boots here or Selfridges here (who I've just realised offer a free click & collection service - got to love avoiding paying delivery costs!)
Also Ciate have just released their last house of the year; a Candy Cane House for Christmas?! This can be found on Asos here for £25.00.
Fee xo.
Essie is up there as one of my favourite nail polish brands. The reason for this is their great shade range and their kind of runny formula that makes application a breeze for me (also I'm sure it means they don't go gloopy as fast).
However at £8-11 full price they are a little pricey for my liking but thankfully I've never paid that - ever! With the likes of Fragrance Direct and eBay I've never paid over £5 for a single Essie nail polish - pretty good right?
So with now quite the Essie collection I thought I'd select my top 5 that I feel are perfect for autumn/winter!
Leading Lady
£2.49 dupe shade - Fragrance Direct here
First up my total festive favourite! Leading Lady is the most beautiful cranberry glitter and with a slick of top coat transforms into something magical on the nails. It also only requires two coats which is pretty impressive if you ask me. Plus it's a spot on dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Razzle Dazzle. Leading Lady has been sadly discontinued and now hard to find online but Toggle To The Top is virtually the same just a touch darker. You can find it on Fragrance Direct here for £2.49.
Russian Roulette
£6.95 - eBay here
Russian Roulette is my go-to red. With it's cherry red tone it's bright and cheerful but chic at the same time. Also it stunningly glossy and looks great on both fingers and toes! An all year round red here.
Hors D'Oeuvres
£2.49 - Fragrance Direct here
This is my latest acquired Essie polish and I don't think I could be any more in love with it. I love glitter nail polishes in general but when they come with a glided base and a duo tone it's love! In some lights it looks gold, then silver and then when the light really hits it a beautiful platinum shade that's so so stunning. If you are looking for a Christmas glitter then I fully recommend this! (Also requires only 2-3 coats).
Bahama Mama
£4.44 - Amazon here
A stunning deep plum shade here that is ideal for both autumn and winter. This will look great on all skin tones and definitely doesn't need a top coat. Also this is my favourite shade for painting white nail art onto as the contrast is really there and it just makes for a great base colour. You may think there are shades out there that are similar but this is the cream of the crop as far as rich plum polishes are concerned.
Bikini So Teeny
£7.50 - eBay here
Yes, you would instantly think Bikini So Teeny is a summer shade, and well it is, but come cold weather and snow(?!) this looks great again! Sadly my swatches make this lighter than it actually is, but the softness and smoothness is spot on to how it is in real life. As you can see from the bottle image BST contains very subtle shimmer that can be hardly seen unless the sun catches it. Much like Russian Roulette another great all round nail polish that works well for spring, summer and winter.
What do you think of Essie nail polishes? Have you tried them? If so, what are your favourite shades to wear from the brand in autumn/winter?
Fee xo.
Long gone seem the days where I use to posts NOTD's and love a simple nail post. But for no real reason other than I'm been busying blogging about other things. So today with a new treasure of a nail polish shade I thought I would get back to my roots and write a good ol' fashioned nail post.
Recently Barry M have been one of the main brands for me when it came to new Autumn/Winter releases, releasing some amazing nail polish shades in their Gelly Hi-Shine range. The shade that instantly caught my attention was Paprika - think crisp burnt orange leaves. Much like all the shades in the Gelly range this applies a dream, only requires 1-2 coats and looks perfectly glossy on the nails.
As I'd had a week of wearing this on my nails and loving it I thought I'd re-apply and add a little nail art to see how Paprika looked as a base nail colour. So out came a dotting tool and my favourite opaque white nail polish from Avon - French White from an Avon French Manicure duo set and of course my NYC Clear Top Coat; the glossiest thing you can find on the high street for under £2.
How-to: Neat Polka Dot Nails
After a quick coat of Barry M Paprika (yes, that is only a single coat) I decided I'd give myself simply polka dots! If you are curious as to how to get a neat polka dots pattern instead of just going for it with a dotting tool then simply start with a vertical row of dots down the middle of the nail. Then generally 2 more lines either side inbetween the spaces of the initial dots. This creates an equal pattern and a much neater look that changes your nails from quickly done dots to pro polka dots!
I really like how these nails turned out and will be definitely trying more nail art out over this autumnal base colour.
Paprika, Mustard and Chilli are all shades I'd highly recommend from the new Barry M shades that will give instant autumnal nails!
Fee xo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)