Essie – Huckle Buckle

To me, this is a jaw-droppingly beautiful specimen. I wish I’d managed to do a better clean-up job on it, so sorry about that.

Check out this photo. I have no idea how I got my hand to do this, and it looks sprt of gross but at the same time I like it. More interesting than the usual bottle shot, anyway.

I have had Huckle Buckle for months and I can’t believe I have only just got around to reviewing it. I can’t put my finger on what, but the colours and sheen remind me of something from my childhood. I have no idea what though. Isn’t that weird? I just find it oddly comforting.

Shame it’s got such a stoopid name. What is a Huckle Buckle? I’ve just looked it up on Urban Dictionary and got this (not work safe) result. Hahahaha – I don’t think Essie meant this. Or did she?? Essie did bring us the godawful “Meet Balls” after all.

It’s quite similar to that Revlon blueberry scented polish (which I do have, unblogged about as yet), but is a million times more interesting. Huckle Buckle is a hybrid of blue, silver, pink and purple and is so gauzy and shimmery, without having a speck of glitter in sight.

The top sheen of it makes me think of the porcelain style glaze on the likes of the much coveted Chanel Jade. Super shiny and like it has been fired in a kiln.

It’s amazing – a lavender blue that is lit in the centre with a beautiful pinky-lilac. Soooo pretty.

Now, if only I could work out what it reminded me of from way back when. In recent times though it makes me think of my good friend Mary as we both have a mutual appreciation for this polish – I’m certain it is in her top ten, and she inspired me to buy it. And I’m go glad she did!

OPI Siberian Nights

I’d forgotten how much of an old friend Siberian Nights was until I took it out of the stash to review this week.

I wore this constantly last winter, as I could tell from the bottle – slightly gungy and in need of some thinner. But a couple of drops of OPI thinner and it was all good to go again.

Siberian Nights is obviously from OPI’s Russian Collection. I love it. The deepest, darkest purple creme, it is another of those almost-black shades. Not overly unique perhaps but absolutely perfect for this time of year.

Isn’t it weird that this one looks lighter in the bottle than it does on the nail? No trickery, I promise, and only two coats. At the right consistency (ie brand new) this applies like a dream, and a coat of Seche Vite sees it dry in a few minutes.

Siberian Nights is a perfect wintery polish. Dark, vampy, glossy, it co-ordinates with everything and I still love it a year after buying it.

On a separate Siberian note, has anyone else seen the film TransSiberian? It’s a proper, scary thriller. Watch it for the amazing scenery, acting and storyline, but for goodness’ sake, don’t watch it alone.

*****Six days left to enter our giveaway*****

OPI Done Out In Deco

I love Done Out in Deco – for me this was the absolute stand-out shade of OPI’s South Beach collection from Spring this year.

I wore this over Easter last year and that must be why it makes me so happy – it reminds me of Bank Holidays and chocolate (two really good things).

This has one of the best applications out of all the OPIs I own. Thick, creamy and just the right consistency, it could be opaque in one coat, but I did two to even it all up. It Although I just swatched this one (onAndrea’s request) it was pretty much dry by the time I’d finished taking the photos. I wore this earlier in the year to a three-day industry exhibition at Earls Court and had no chipping by the end of it.

And I still wasn’t bored of the colour by the fourth day.

I think this would be beautiful with some purple and silver glitter over the top and I think I’ll be trying that out soon.

In terms of duplicates, there aren’t any. It is a gorgeous pastel purple /periwinkle style colour, a million times lighter and bluer than Parlez-Vous OPI or Metro Chic. Do You Lilac It (which I also have but not blogged about yet)  is close-ish but is more of a vivid purple. I really think this would suit any skintone as well.

Much as I love Christmas, I am very much looking forward to wearing this again next Spring. And heck, if I have any readers on the other side of the world (Hi Nixxy!) then it’s coming up to summer there. And you need this one!

*****Don’t forget you have one week left to enter our giveaway*****

China Glaze Wagon Trail

Oh, well, hello. Is this the stand-out shade of the Rodeo Diva collection?

On The Fence About…No7 Opulence Highlighter

I had a little bit of birthday money to spend today and so headed straight for Boots today. After all, it is possible to get a bit tired of London (when it is a couple of hours away on the train and I go there a lot).

This caught my eye. £13.00 later and it was bagged.

Orgasm Cosmetics – Hard Day’s Night

Ick. The name of this brand seems to be one of those blatant ploys for attention. I mean really, Orgasm Cosmetics? It reminds me of those people who start articles or CVs with “Sex! See Brad Pitt Naked!….OK, now we’ve got your attention, on to the matter in hand…”

Models Own Lilac Dream

Lovely, lovely Models Own. I swear, I am never disappointed.

My turn for some nice things!

I will make this quick as a) I had a spinning class tonight and b) Helen’s twisted my arm to re-join Twitter and I’m trying to acquaint myself with how it works!

Any hoo…I came home to find a package waiting for me.  I couldn’t think what it could be since I haven’t bought anything online.  Well I opened the jiffy bag and to my absolute delight, some little delights from fellow blogger Nicole (http://nivipa.blogspot.com/) spilled out: a tube of Smash Box Photo Finish foundation primer that I’ve been dying to get my mitts on and a palette of eyeshadows from Kat Von D.  *screams*  Thank you, Nicole!  You’re a star and I hope you receive my package soon.  I really don’t want customs intervening on that one!

Nicole was sweet enough to throw in a Kit Kit bar that I shall resist till after my next spinning class.

Smash Box have recently announced they will be selling their products in department store Debenhams in the UK but the Kat Von D stuff is only supplied by Sephora which was shut down in the UK a few years ago.  Boo hoo hoo!  By the way Helen tells me how envious she is of the Kat Von D make-up.  She tells me Kat is the girlfriend of Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue.

Right, that’s enough babbling from me.  I will be trying the primer and the eyeshadows this weekend and hopefully I will show you the results!

By the way, I’m www.twitter.com/sheenieshaikh.

Follow Me! (please…)

OK so I’ve succumbed to the peer pressure and have started a Twitter account. 

I’m HelenNiceThings. Of course.

I have no idea how it works as I am a total novice but I understand that having followers is a good thing. So, come on, my disciples, get snooping!

 

Hard Candy – Mr Wrong

I had planned to do some firework themed nail art for you today, but to be honest, it turned out a bit kack so I didn’t bother in the end! Maybe next year!

A quick history lesson for those of you who may be unfamiliar with British culture. In 1605, a chap called Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellars beneath the Houses of Parliament with a shed-load of gunpowder, in an attempt to blow up the King and anyone else who happened to be there at the time. He was caught before anything happened, and along with his fellow conspirators, was hung, drawn and quartered (the worst punishment of the age).

So ever since then, it has been a British tradition for children to make a full sized “Guy” - basically a dummy wearing old clothes and stuffed with newspaper. The children would then wheel the Guy through the streets, asking passers by for a “penny for the Guy”. You don’t see so much of this these days as it seems to be a dying tradition. In the evening, the Guy would be placed right on top of a massive bonfire and set alight. Nice eh?

These days we have less of a “Wicker Man” mentality and more of a love of a good firework. During this week, you can hear fireworks going off all over the place, and most towns and villages have some form of an organised display. The ritual is meant to serve as a reminder that Guy Fawkes failed in his mission to blow up the Houses of Parliament, but it’s generally a good excuse to stand in a field, eat hot dogs, drink beer, and oooh and ahhhh over some pretty fireworks. We’re going to a massive display on Saturday and I can’t wait. A firework display, that is, not a burning effigy. I hope.

So, onto some varnish. Hard Candy’s Mr Wrong, in fact. This is one of the polishes I got in my swap with Beauty Judy and I could not wait to try it out. I never had any Hard Candy things when it was trendy a few years ago. No idea why – I was more into Bourjois and Urban Decay, I think.

There was a flurry of excitement when Hard Candy returned to the polish world last month. And I can see why. I am devastated that this range is destined to be a Wal-Mart exclusive, at $5.00 a bottle. Wal-Mart may be one of the biggest retail outlets in the US but we don’t have them in the UK, so I am planning on bombarding Hard Candy with emails til they give in and start selling it here.

Because it is beautiful. This is an unbelievably amazing Precioussss Slink polish. I haven’t stopped looking at it since I put it on, and it has done four days with no chips or tipwear. Perfect.

A foily silver, this also has gold and purple shimmer meshed into it, and flashes all different shades depending on the angle and the light. Application was absolutely perfect and this was two coats. It dried fast and wasn’t gritty at all. I adore it and it is hands-down the best polish I have used in the last few months. Straight into the top five favourites of all time! I need back-ups!! So if any US readers happen to spot this in Wal-Mart and are feeling generous enough to send it my way, I will be eternally grateful. 13ml is  not going to last me long!

In fact, it is so cool that even Adam from Illamasqua (MUA to the PussyCat Dolls, no less) ran over to ask me what polish I was wearing when I was visiting the counter last week. Fabulous!