Models Own Sterling Silver

I originally did this to include in my December month of all things glitzy and glamorous but I ran out of space, so it’s being shown now. Nothing wrong with a bit of bling in January, is there?

Can you believe I don’t have many silver polishes? I should do really – all my jewellery is silver, I love silver make-up and Illamasqua’s Phenomena Liquid Metal is one of my favourite things ever. Yet I only have a few silver polishes.

Generally, silvers fall into one of two camps. Thin jellies that take forever to build, or harsh frosts that are just a mess of brush strokes. Sterling Silver is neither, as it is a foil.

As such, there is zero margin for error as every dent or inconsistency is highlighted with foil polishes. The other slightly irritating thing about it was that despite rolling it between my hands to mix it up, it still contained blobs of undissolved metallic pieces.

Sadly, these didn’t disperse when I brushed it over my nail, so basically, this manicure looked awesome from a distance, but not that brilliant close-up. A bit lumpy and texturised maybe. Perhaps I got an off bottle? Either which way, it looks great from a distance, but it doesn’t have that smooth finish that perfectionists love.

It dried in seconds and this was only two coats.

However, like most foils, on the second day it didn’t chip exactly, but kind of splits vertically and cracks on the nail. It looked more and more like antique silver by the hour!

So, I’m still hunting for the perfect silver. Do you have any recommendations for me?

Mavala Cedar Green

As Helen recently blogged on Mavala with Black Velvet, I’ve been asked to try Cedar Green, a vampishly dark forest green with a subtle sparkle.

I have known of Mavala for years, having seen it for sale in my local chemist when I would peruse their make-up section as a school girl but I avoided Mavala’s steep prices for such tiny bottles.  Nothing has changed there for the Swiss brand but perhaps it’s a good idea to produce small bottles on the basis of consumption.  I mean, we would all happily pay up to three times the amount of larger bottles and possibly not finish using them.

If you disregard the messiness, it’s a very pretty and classy shade.  The girl at Inglot noticed my nails and said she’d never seen a shade like this.  Mind you, Cedar Green strangely reminds me of OPI’s Here Today…Aragon Tomorrow except OPI isn’t sparkly at all.  Application is also so easy and smooth; I agree with Helen that it’s one of the best. 

Mavala polishes cost £3.66 for 5ml and can be purchased here, or you can call 01732 459 412 for your local stockists.

Molton Brown’s Heavenly Gingerlily moisture bath & shower

February has got to be the most depressing and pointless month in the calendar.  It’s also the month which (miserable) singletons like myself dread with Valentine’s Day in the middle.

Well if you’re going to participate in the annual event and you’re stuck for ideas about what to get for your loved one or to woo the one you want, luxury beauty brand Molton Brown have got a few things up their sleeves for inspiration.  With a touch of class of course.  Come on, it’s Molton Brown!

For the ladies, there is their Heavenly Gingerlily collection, which includes a candle (or a ‘candela’), a shimmer oil, a shimmer fragrance and their classic bath and shower gel.  For the fellas, it’s the scent of black pepper.

I was kindly sent the bath and shower version to try.  My absolute favourite Molton Brown scent is the Warming Eucalyptus Bath & Shower Gel because  it has such a powerful smell that wakes you up.  However, it’s not particularly a turn-on to smell like a Vicks Vapour Rub.

Heavenly Gingerlily is, as you can imagine, something a little more subtle and sensual, with the aromas of gingerlily, turberose and cardamom to create a soft, feminine fragrance.

And as expected with Molton Brown, it doesn’t disappoint.  Very little is needed and you emerge from the bath, smelling gloriously delicious.  Just a pity there is no one to sniff me.

Molton Brown’s Heavenly Gingerlily Moisture Bath & Shower gel retails at £17 for 300ml in stores or online.  Happy Valentine’s Day, my sweets!

The Animals Went In Two By Two…

This is a completely non-nail varnish related post but I wanted to put down my thoughts about what  I saw on Saturday night.

I had a fantastic weekend visiting my friends in Manchester, and we ended up in this bar which is basically the stomping ground of various C-list celebrities (think Coronation Street and Hollyoaks actors) and girls blatantly on the lookout for a hookup. I hasten to add that we were only there to observe this phenomenon, not to partake.

So, expensive drink in hand, we set up camp by the door, to watch. It was like a catwalk. Girls coming down the stairs in pairs, all the better to make a massive entrance. It would appear that unless you are wearing massive gladiator style sandals or boots, with the teeniest sequinned dress available, you w0uldn’t be allowed into this bar after 10pm.

I swear, I’ve never seen anything like it. Pairs of girls in tiny outfits, just parading around, flicking their peroxide curls around and clasping the handle of an “it bag” that would contain my entire make-up collection, let alone a few choice items for a night out.

How they walked in those stacked heels was beyond me. I did have the occasional giggle to myself watching them stagger down the stairs, grasping onto the handrail and each other to try and steady themselves. Once in the bar, it was fine as all they had to do was slooooow and careful circuits of the room so that everyone got a good chance to look at them. Pity the “fat” friend who was permanently a few steps behind the skinny one, struggling to pull her dress down with one hand whilst using the other hand to balance a bag the size of her head and a champagne cocktail.

No-one sat down. You have to walk round and round and round the room for hours at a time, so that you were seen. Good exercise, if nothing else. Even though none of these girls looked like the type to need to atone for a kebab or a burger on the way home.

The men were hilarious. Standing in corners and basically perving for all they were worth. A lot of them were ancient, probably having a night off from the wife and being quite happy at buying champagne for these crazy young girls, in a vain attempt to feel young and attractive themselves.

For me, going out on the town means wearing a slightly skinnier pair of jeans with a spangly top and some shoes that I know I can stand up in all night. For these girls, it means pouring yourself into the kind of bodycon outfit that a hooker would feel exposed in, and liberally dousing yourself with fake tan. Apply several layers of false lashes, decide not to bother with tit-tape, add in more clip-in peroxide extensions, slap on a bit more fake tan, and then add the obligatory concealer-lip.

Don’t get me wrong, some of these girls looked phenomenal. But I couldn’t tell the difference between  many of them, or even between them and the transvestites that were also doing the rounds. Maybe it’s something that comes with age, but I can’t quite work out why looking like everyone else is a good thing. Maybe I’m just bitter that I couldn’t go out in a bum-skimming leopard print vest and not a lot else. Outfits that I might dare to wear for a formal function like a wedding or a ball appeared to be de rigour for these girls on your average February Saturday night. Madness.

And like I said to my friends at the time, it is genuinely the only place I have ever been to where the queue to get to the mirror was longer than the queue for the toilet.

So, what do you think? Am I old? Is living in a small town where all you ask of a night out is a seat somewhere, and maybe a log fire if it’s cold starting to get to me? Have I been hiding under a rock for too long? Is this kind of weird behaviour and attire seen as normal by other people? Answers on a postcard please……..

Essie Mint Candy Apple

OK so maybe I shouldn’t be reviewing a Christmas collection in February. But to me, there’s not a lot about this trio of Essie polishes that screams Christmas so I reckon I can get away with it!

As it stands, the mint green trend doesn’t seem to be going away. I know we went mad for MAC’s Peppermint Patti last year, prompting a run on Barry M’s Mint Green alternative, and I saw bottles of Chanel’s Jade going for about $300 on eBay. Yes, really.

So, the Sweet Time Of Year collection was RAOK’d to me by my wonderful friend Mary. She knew I was worrying about an impending polish drought and was kind enough to send these my way. Thankyou Mary – I am eternally grateful as I don’t have many Essies and I really liked the look of this little trio.

So what do I think? I struggled a bit with the application of this one. I’d read other bloggers’ reviews of this saying that the first coat was a big streaky mess, and they weren’t wrong. In fact, it took three and a layer of Seche Vite before this even resembled what you see in the photos *wipes forehead*

So, what do you think? I love seeing shades like this on other people but it doesn’t gel brilliantly with me. I am prone to red hands, especially in the winter, and Mint Candy Apple didn’t do my skintone any favours at all. So be warned – this will only really suit those of you with cooler skintones, or perhaps with a really good tan in the summer.

For me, I’m extremely grateful that Mary sent this my way as I was very excited about getting on the mint green bandwagon and seeing how this one worked out for me. There’s no doubting that it’s a trendy shade, and one that’s going to be around for a while. So – what do you think? Will you be rocking the mint green shades this Spring?

Introducing…Inglot

Inglot is a Polish cosmetics brand with stores in various key cities around the world.  Its only UK store is in Westfield shopping centre in London and since Westfield opened its doors at the end of 2008, I’ve walked past this shop many times, occasionally gone in to have a look at their nail polishes and walked back out again empty handed.  However it’s always been niggling in the back of my mind and this weekend I decided to give it more attention.

Just a few feet away from the MAC shop which is guarded by a velvet rope (I can’t tell you how tedious it is to wait your turn before your’e allowed into the Westfield branch), Inglot isn’t brimming with shoppers but only make-up enthusiasts.  I was drawn to the eye shadows (somebody slap my wrist!) when a pretty sales assistant joined me and proceeded to point out which ones would look good on me.  After a few minutes, I couldn’t see the colour of my skin on my hands as they were a multi-coloured mix of shimmery and sparkly patches.

I wish I could have taken a photo of how the shades were laid out on a grand table…put it this way, I was salivating because they all looked so delicious!  But what really made my eyes pop out of their sockets was when the sales assistant explained that I could pick any five colours to go in a palette for the irresistable price of £15.  Pick’n'Mix eye shadows!  How awesome!  How come nobody else has come up with such a novel idea?  You just pick up a magnetic tray and pick up the sample shades on display before a sales assistant disappears to make up your palette.

How many times have you bought a palette to find there is one or two shades you aren’t keen on or that you never use, possibly because it’s not suited to your skin tone.  You won’t have this problem with Inglot.  The eye shadows are of course refillable at £3.50 each but it’s cheaper to buy the palette.  The eye shadows are extremely pigmented and Inglot sell loose pots as well.  The prices are very reasonable although the nail lacquers aren’t (between £7 to £10).

I caved into two palettes (plus one nail polish) and yes, I probably do have these colours already but do I care?  Obviously not!  Let me tell you something, it was jolly hard to narrow down my choice of colours and I’m sure the sales assistant rolled her eyes a few times when I switched from pinks and purples to corals.  If I end up loving these, I will be back for more!

Illamasqua’s Trollop, Puzzle and Virus

(L-R: Virus, Trollop and Puzzle)

I mentioned recently that I’d bought my first batch of Illamasqua products at last week’s IMATS in London and how as a result I was given a boost with some lovely gifts from Illamasqua.  I honed in on the eyeshadows as they are my absolute favourite things but also because I was curious to give matte eye shadows a try.

As a veteran of shimmery and sparkly eye shadows, it’s all about vibrancy and boldness so when I swept these matte eye shadows across my lids, the outcome was very subtle and soft.

These are beautiful shades and I am so pleased with the results that I am keen to add more matte eye shadows to my heaving collection.  There was no creasing, nor did the eye shadows fade throughout the day.  I was even complimented on the colours by a sales assistant yesterday.  I can see why matte eye shadows are favoured by wedding make-up artists because they come out beautifully in photos.

Apologies for the unimaginative appearance and my stubborn lashes which refuse to curl.  Looking at these photos, I could have done something more elaborate and whacky.  Watch out for me, Illamasqua – I’ll be the one hovering suspiciously around your counter.

Mavala Black Velvet

I was recently contacted by the people behind the Mavala nail care line to see if Sheenie and I wanted to try out some of their polishes. What do you think?

I’m enjoying 2010 so far because as well as trying the usual brands such as OPI and China Glaze, I’ve been able to try out some new brands and colours that I’d not heard of previously. Mavala is such a brand. It is a Swiss company that has been going for over 40 years, pioneering different types of nail treatments, strengtheners and colours.

Black Velvet is one of the polishes from Mavala’s new range, the Winter Mystic collection. All of the shades in this release are perfect for those of you seeking vampy winter shades on a budget.

Well, actually, that’s not strictly true. The varnishes retail at £3.66 for 5ml, so actually, pound for pound they work out more expensive than an OPI or China Glaze. However, the application is up there among the best I’ve ever used. The manicure you see in these photos is one coat…yes, one coat.

Given the fact that this was one coat, 5ml is probably a good size. Mavala also promises that the polish won’t get gloopy or dry out before you get to the bottom.

The only thing I’m not so keen on is the fact that the bottles have stickers on, rather than having the brand name and information printed on them. A small gripe, maybe, but it’s my personal preference. I also found, with my mega nails and long fingers, that the handlt/lid was a little bit fiddly.

Other than that, it’s a hit. One coat that spreads like butter, and a gorgeous rich vampy shade. It does look black indoors, but get it into the right light and it flashes subtle but pretty dark purple shimmer, giving it more dimension than your average dark jelly. It’s effectively like a more glitzy version of OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark.

The rest of Mavala’s Winter Mystic collection consists of similar dark tones, with hints of green, blue, brown and red. We have a couple more to bring you shortly,  but in the meantime, what do you think?

Mavala polishes cost £3.66 for 5ml and can be purchased here, or you can call 01732 459 412 for your local stockists.

Models Own Purple Rain

I am guessing this musically titled colour is in homage to the little fella.  This is my first time with a Models Own nail polish and Prince has popped my cherry.  Ahem.

I bought this (along with half a dozen other shades and some eyeshadow pots) in Models Own recent half-price offer weekend so to bag a bottle of this for £2.50 instead of £5 was a great coup for me and many others.  Models Own were inundated and there were some technical problems with their website due to the demand but thankfully, I managed to place my order once things were back up and running.

Models Own is available in a very limited range in branches of River Island but all I’ve seen is a handful of red and pink nail polishes and nothing more so by going online, it’s been a gamble of a kind as I’m not quite sure what to expect from identifying the swatches on their website.  Perhaps River Island are understimating Models Own for if they cleared the sweets stands and put a Models Own one instead, they’d shift a lot of lacquers instead of gobstoppers.  I’m sorry but why would I want to buy lollipops in a clothes shop?  I am going off the point, I know…

Purple Rain, as you can see, is a deeply dark purple/blue shade.  To my surprise application was fast and it was opaque in one coat though I added a second one (force of habit, you know) before finishing off with a top coat of Nubar’s Diamont Seal & Shine Topcoat for extra glossiness.  It’s a creme like consistency which probably will explain its opacity in one go.  I’m a lover of dark colours and this one is no exception.

For the first bottle, I’m very impressed and for a fiver, it won’t break the beauty budget either.  I’m liking what you have, Models Own…

Nubar Greener

Holy Moly!  Where have you been all my life?  Nubar, this is gorgeous!  But what’s this I hear about you discontinuing your Going Green collection?  Are you crazy?  I’m going to have to stock up on these babies before they’re gone forever.  Why must everything I fall in love with be taken away from me?  Jam doughnuts, half of M&S’s food hall and now this.

Greener is the finest green from Nubar’s collection, yes finer than Reclaim and Wildlife (which I’m ashamed to admit I’ve yet to blog about and I bought that months ago…oops).  I believe Oxford Jasmine is in love with this too.

Two glossy coats of this vibrant, green colour and I’m away with the fairies quite frankly.  I wore it for three days without any chipping until the knife I was using to chop vegetables one evening cut the enamel off the forefinger and then I thought, ‘Oh sod it, I’ll just remove the whole thing and paint a different colour on instead’.  I did want to keep it on for IMATS, girls but the kitchen knife had other ideas.

So there we have it.  If the rumours are true, I suggest you snap this little darling up before it’s too late.