Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy Nail Polish - Review & Swatches

Hi Everyone!

Today I applied Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy nail polish from the Navigate Her collection for Spring 2012. This polish is a beautiful lilac colour that has a purple shimmer to it in the bottle but not so much on the nail which is a little disappointing. To add some extra dimension I added a layer of China Glaze Snow Globe from their Christmas 2011 collection which is described as a sheer colour base with a multi coloured glitter in gold, aqua, green, blue and purple.

China Glaze Snow Globe

I began by applying 2 coats of OPI Original Nail Envy as my base followed by 2 coats of Essie's To Buy Or Not To Buy. This polish applies smoothly and evenly and dries quickly. It's almost opaque after the second coat but there is a little bit of visible nail line. I then added one coat of China Glaze Snow Globe followed by a layer of Seche Vite Top Coat.

I love this polish and think that the colour is beautiful and perfect for a summer. The fact that the purple shimmer that you see in the bottle does not appear to transfer to the nail is a little disappointing but I thought that the addition of Snow Globe made up for it!

You can purchase Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy from John and Ginger for £9.95

You can purchase China Glaze Snow Globe from Effortless Me for £6.95

Maz x

China Glaze Exotic Encounters & I Herd That Nail Polishes - Review & Swatches

Hi Everyone!

I picked up a couple of the new nail polishes from the new China Glaze On Safari collection for 2012. I chose 'Exotic Encounters' which is a medium green- teal colour and 'I Herd That' which is a copper, orange and holographic glitter mix.

I began by applying 2 coats of OPI Matte Nail Envy as my base followed by 2 coats of China Glaze's Exotic Encounters. This is a lovely opaque lacquer with a cream finish. It was smooth and easy to apply and fully opaque after the first coat. I then added 2 coats of I Herd That to my ring fingers as an accent nail (using China Glaze's Fast Track as a base). I then finished off with a layer of Seche Vite Top Coat.

You can purchase these polishes from Beauty Bay for £6.95 each.

Have you purchased any of the polishes from the collection? If so, let me know what you think of them in the comments section below.

Maz x

China Glaze Wicked Style - Review & Swatches

Hi Everyone!

We are experiencing some seriously good weather at the moment here in the UK so I wanted to go for a bright pink nail polish to keep up with the summery theme! I chose China Glaze Wicked Style from the Electro Pop collection for Spring 2012. Wicked Style is described as a 'party tropical punch' and is a bright watermelon pink colour.

I began by applying 2 coats of OPI Matte Nail Envy as my base followed by 2 coats of Wicked Style. This polish has a lovely, smooth, creme application and was fully opaque after the first coat. I finished off with 1 coat of Seche Vite Top Coat.

I love this colour so much and it is definitely one of my top nail polish picks for this summer! (Click here to read my Top 10 Spring/ Summer Nail Polishes post).

You can purchase this polish from Effortless Nails for £7.95

Maz x

Top Spring/ Summer Nail Polishes

Hi Everyone!

I thought that it would be fun to write a post about my pick of nail polishes for this Spring and Summer, as I did last year (click here to read that post). I went with brights and pastels, so let's get started!

(In no particular order)

1. Essie Van D'Go: This is the perfect peachy shade and was in my pick of polishes for last year. Click here to read my full review

2. Essie She's Picture Perfect: Beautiful lilac shade with an iridescent sheen.

3. Essie Borrowed and Blue: Pale, pastel blue. Click here to read my review.

4. Essie Mint Candy Apple: Gorgeous pastel mint shade.

5. OPI Do You Lilac It? This polish also featured in last year's pick of Spring and Summer nail polishes. It is a perfect lilac shade and is one of my all time favourites from OPI.

6. Nails Inc Portobello: This is a bright, neon orange shade. Click here to read my full review.

7. China Glaze Wicked Style: Bright, watermelon pink shade from the Electropop collection for 2012.

8. Nails Inc Baker Street: This is a bright blue shade that became a bestseller for  Nails Inc after it was seen on Beyonce. Click here to read my review.

9. Zoya Kimber: This is a coral-red shade with a golden shimmer and is from the 2012 Surf collection.

10. Essie Pansy: This is one of my all time favourite polishes and was featured on last year's list. It is a hot pink shade. Click here to read my full review of this polish.

11. OPI Flashbulb Fuchsia: This is a really sophisticated pink shade. Click here to read my full review.

12. Orly Passion Fruit: This is a bright, almost neon matte pink shade.

SWATCHES:

(L to R) Van D'Go, She's Picture Perfect, Borrowed and Blue, Mint Candy Apple, Do You Lilac It?

(L to R) Portobello, Wicked Style, Baker Street, Kimber, Pansy, Flashbulb Fuchsia, Passion Fruit

I hope that you enjoyed reading this post! Please feel free to share your favourite nail polishes for Spring and Summer with me in the comments section below!

Maz x

China Glaze Fast Track Nail Polish - Review & Swatch

Hi Everyone!

Today I applied another one of the nail polishes from the recent China Glaze Hunger Games Capitol Colours Collection in the colour Fast Track which is a creamy beige colour packed full of tiny golden shimmer.

I began by applying a coat of OPI Top Coat to my nails followed by 2 coats of Fast Track. The first coat of the polish was a little bit sheer but is around 95% opaque after the second. It applied fairly evenly and dried quickly. I then finished off with a coat of Seche Vite Top Coat.

This polish isn't my usual choice of colour but I do like it is a change. The golden shimmer really adds that extra bit of something but the polish overall is pretty wearable and would also make a great polish to wear to work.

I purchased my polish from Amazon for £6.95

Maz x

China Glaze Smoke & Ashes with Luxe & Lush

Hi Everyone!

China Glaze have recently released a new nail polish collection to celebrate The Hunger Games movie called 'Capitol Colours'. I have picked up a couple of the colours from the collection including 'Smoke and Ashes' and 'Luxe and Lush' which I have applied today.

Smoke and Ashes

Smoke and Ashes is a black based polish with blue and green micro glitter. This polish doesn't look anything special in pictures but when you see it up close, either in the bottle or on the nail you release how pretty it is!

Luxe and Lush

Luxe and Lush: This is a flakie polish which is really popular at the moment. The flakes show up different colours depending on what colour polish it has been applied over and on how the light is hitting it.

I began by applying 2 coats of OPI Matte Nail Envy as my base followed by 1 coat of Smoke and Ashes. This polish is really opaque after the first coat but is quite thick and gloopy to apply and isn't the quickest to dry. I then added 1 coat of Luxe and Lush over the top. The flakey pieces distribute really easily and evenly over the nail and lie flat which is great.I finished off by applying 1 coat of Seche Vite Top Coat.

I love both of these polishes individually and together! The make such a unique and interesting pairing!

I purchased these polishes from Amazon for £6.95 each.

Maz x

China Glaze Sweet Hook & Aquadelic - Review & Swatches

Hi Everyone!

I recently purchased 2 nail polishes from the new China Glaze Electropop Collection for Spring 2011. I picked up Sweet Hook which is a lovely pale purple/lavender creme and Aquadelic which is a gorgeous aqua creme.

Sweet Hook

Aquadelic

I thought that it'd be useful to add some comparisons between these 2 polishes and others in my collection so I picked out the polishes that I had that I thought were pretty similar to see how they compare:

(L to R) OPI Steady as she Rose, China Glaze Sweet Hook, OPI Do you Lilac it?

These 3 colours are pretty different to one another even though you can call them all lilacs. As you can see Steady as She Rose is a more pinky toned lilac Do You Lilac it is a much deeper purple than Sweet Hook.

(L to R) China Glaze For Audrey, China Glaze Aquadelic, Jesse's Girl Mermaid's Lagoon

I had heard online that Aquadelic was a close dupe for the famous For Audrey, as you can see in the picture above they are similar but Aquadelic is a more peppermint green than For Audrey. Mermaid's Lagoon is more of a turquoise shade.

Have you purchased any of the polishes from the Electropop collection? If so, let me know what you think!

I purchased my polishes from Beauty Chamber for £8.99 each.

Maz

Red Christmas Sparkle Nails!

Nails Inc Villiers Street

Hi Everyone!

I decided to go for some sparkly red nails for Christmas! I went for a stunning metallic red nail polish from Nails Inc called Villiers Street which is unfortunately a discontinued shade but I am sure that you can still find it in selected stores and online! I also added a glittery accent nail and for this I used Love Marylin from China Glaze's Eye Kandy Collection.

China Glaze Love Marylin

I began by applying 2 coats of OPI Matte Nail Envy as my base coat followed by 2 coats of Villiers Street to each nail. This polish is fully opaque after 1 coat but I always like to apply 2. I have had problems with the application of some metallic shades in the past as they often have a rather streaky finish but this one is great and applies really smoothly and evenly! I then added 2 coats of Love Marylin to my ring fingers of each hand. This is a beautiful glitter polish with a red base and red and white glitter pieces. I then finished off with a coat of Seche Vite Top Coat.

I really love this nail polish look and I think that it is perfect for Christmas time! Please feel free to share your Christmas nail polish picks in the comments section below!

I purchased my bottle of China Glaze Love Marylin from eBay for around £7

Maz x

China Glaze Snow Globe Nail Polish - Review & Swatch

Hi Everyone!

I am feeling very festive at the moment so decided to go for a nice glittery polish today! I chose Snow Globe from China Glaze's Let it Snow Collection for Holiday 2011. Snow Globe is described as a 'white base with flecks of snowy colour'. I always like to layer glitter polishes over a solid base colour as it find that it prevents the glitter polish from peeling/ falling off the nail. Today I decided to use OPI Russian Navy.

OPI Russian Navy

I began by applying 2 coats of OPI Matte Nail Ency as my base followed by 2 coats of Russian Navy which is a beautiful navy colour. I then layered 2 coats of Snow Globe over the top. China Glaze describe the polish as having a white base but it looked pretty clear to me! It is packed full of small and large sized, round glitter pieces. The polish is truly amazing! The glitter pieces seem to pick up a different colour depending on how the light hits it, I have seen blue, green, orange and yellow. I think that it looks perfect over the dark navy colour as it gives it a really wintry, icy affect.

I purchased my China Glaze polish from eBay and I purchased my OPI polish from my local beauty supplies store.

To read my review of the other polishes that I own from the collection please click here.

Maz x

China Glaze Eye Candy Collection - Review & Swatches

Hi Everyone!

We really have been spoilt for choice this year with the range of glitter polishes available! China Glaze have recently released their Eye Candy Collection for Christmas 2011 which contains 6 3-D glitter polishes that are inspired by Marilyn Monroe and they all look amazing. I have picked up 3 of them so far:

Love Marilyn: Vivacious red with shimmering red particles.
Lorelei's Tiara: Sterling silver infused with blue sprinkles.
Some Like It Haute: Graphite grey with holographic glitter

Here are the names and descriptions of the other 3 polishes in the collection:

Blonde Bombshell: Glistening multi-dimensional gold flecks.
Material Girl: Posh pink with holographic bubblegum glitter.
Marry a Millionaire: Alluring amethyst with multi-tonal fibres.

Here are the swatches of the 3 polishes that I have purchased, I applied 3 coats of each colour. (Apologies for the swatching on plastic nails, busy week at college this week and not allowed to wear nail polish unfortunately!)

(L to R) Lorelei's Tiara, Love Marilyn, Some Like it Haute

Here are swatches of the colours over a black nail polish base (OPI's Lady in Black)

(L to R) Lorelei's Tiara, Love Marilyn, Some Like it Haute

(L to R) Lorelei's Tiara, Love Marilyn, Some Like it Haute

I purchased my polishes from eBay. Have you bought any of the polishes from the Eye Candy collection? Please let me know what you think of them in the comments section below. I think I may have to pick up Material Girl too!

Maz x

November Favourites

Hi Everyone!

It's the end of the month so that means it's time for my favourites post where I share my most used and loved products from the last month. It's less than a month until Christmas now so you'll see some rather festive items creeping in! So let's get started!

Benefit Bella Bamba Blush:

I have quite a few blushes in my collection and this is the only one from Benefit. It is a lovely pink watermelon colour with a slight gold shimmer. It is similar to NARS Orgasm but is pinkier in my opinion. It has a lovely brightening effect on your face and looks great all year round.

ELF High Definition Powder:

I have been using this powder for a couple of months now and I really like it. It is is a very fine powder that is designed to create a 'soft focus' to the skin and masks fine lines and imperfections. I find that it is also great for reducing the amount of shine on my face. I use the applicator that came with it and apply it to my forehead, nose and chin in a patting motion.

MAC Technikohl Liner in Smooth Manoeuvre:

I was talked in to buying this liner from a MAC artist on a recent shopping trip, it is one of the new, limited edition liners from their Glitter and Ice Christmas Collection. Smooth Manoeuvre is described as 'a black with pearl'. I mainly purchased this to use on my waterlines in place of my usual Feline or Smoulder pencils and I love it! It's glides on much easier and seems to set into place and lasts much longer.

MAC Lipstick in Pink Plaid:

I am a big fan of pink lipsticks and purchased this after seeing one of my favourite YouTube beauty guru's Grace aka Cosmetic Couturier used it in a recent video (click here to visit her channel). MAC describe this as 'Dirty Blue- Pink' and it is fast becoming one of my favourite lipsticks, it looks great paired with a smokey purple eye and is really wearable.

Stila Lip Glaze in Kitten:

I recently purchased the Stila Lip Glaze Christmas gift set (click here to read my review and to see swatches) and Kitten is my favourite so far. It's a beautiful shimmery champagne colour and looks great when worn alone or layered over a lipstick.

(L to R) Inglot 352, Make up Forever 9, Make up Forever 92

Make-up Forever Eyeshadows in numbers 9 and 92:

I do not own many Make-up Forever eyeshadows but I really love the ones that I do! Purple is my favourite colour so I had to pick up the famous 92 shadow which is a very bright, matte purple shade. I like to wear it all over the lid with a dark purple in the crease such as MAC's Sketch or Shadowy Lady and Make-up Forever's number 9 which is a matte lavender colour. I wore this combination on a recent shopping trip in Manchester and got so many comments! So many people asked me where I got my eyeshadows from!

Inglot Eyeshadow in number 352 Matte:

I am big into Inglot products at the moment and especially their eyeshadows! 352 is a pale pinky- cream colour and might look like quite a boring choice for this post when compared to some of their more, eye catching, brighter colours but this shade is amazing, it is such a great highlight colour and is so smooth and creamy to apply. It also does a great job at blending out any harsh lines and is a most have for any Inglot eyeshadow palette!

Emporio Armani Diamonds Perfume:

Diamonds has been a favourite perfume of mine for quite a while now and I have been wearing it quite a lot recently. It is a great fresh, feminine, floral scent and works well during the day and at night. I would definitely recommend checking this fragrance out if you are looking for a perfume to buy for someone over Christmas as I haven't come across anyone who doesn't like it!

Glitter Nail Polishes:

I had to end with glittery nail polishes! I really love them and we have been spoilt for choice with this years Christmas collections from OPI, China Glaze and Zoya in particular. My picks so far have to be China Glaze's Snow Globe from their Let it Snow Collection and Lorelei's Tiara from their Eye Candy Collection. OPI's The Muppet's Collection is also fantastic, especially Rainbow Connection, Divine Swine and Excuse Moi. I really like the look of Zoya's Gem's and Jewels Collection too! So many fab glitter polishes, so little time!

Here some swatches of a few of the items mentioned above:

(L to R) Inglot 352, Make up Forever 9, Make up Forever 92

 

(L to R) Benefit Bella Bamba, MAC Pink Plaid, Stila Kitten, MAC Smooth Manoeuvre

Thanks for reading my post and I hope that you have enjoyed it. Please feel free to share your favourite products with me in the comments section below.

Maz x

Top 10 Autumn/ Fall & Winter Nail Polishes

Hi Everyone!

I thought that it would be fun to compile a list of my top 10 nail polishes for Autumn/ Fall and winter. I put a similar list together for Spring and Summer (click to read it) earlier on in the year too. So let's get started with the pictures and swatches!

(L to R) Essie Cocktail Bling, China Glaze Below Deck, Essie Mink Muffs, OPI Black Cherry Chutney, OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

(L to R) China Glaze Ruby Pumps, OPI Diva of Geneva, Zoya Rea, Essie Sexy Divide, Orly Fowl Play

10. Essie Mink Muffs

Just making my top 10 list is Mink Muffs by Essie! It is described as 'smokey plush taupe'. I am not a big fan of this type of colour of polish but I do like this one and it makes a change from the normal colours that I wear!

9. China Glaze Below Deck

China Glaze's Below Deck is a fairly recent addition to my nail polish collection and I really like it. Click here to read my review about this polish.

8. China Glaze Ruby Pumps

As you can see, Ruby Pumps is a red glitter colour and is one of China Glaze's most famous and best selling shades. I think that it is gorgeous and the perfect festive colour for Christmas day!

7. Zoya Rea

Rea is a beautiful, metallic colour that Zoya describe as 'a silvery taupe-kissed, mauve-purple. I think that this polish is my top pick for a new years eve party!

6. Orly Fowl Play

Fowl Play is another fairly recent addition to my collection and it is a stunning and quite unusual polish. Please click here to read my full review.

5. OPI Black Cherry Chutney

Black Cherry Chutney is a classic, deep wine shade that is ideal for this time of year. I recently reviewed this polish so click here to read my blog post.

4. Essie Cocktail Bling

I really love Cocktail Bling as it is a beautiful, icy winter colour that would look great paired up with a glitter top coat for even more bling! Please click here to read my full review of the polish.

3. OPI Diva of Geneva

Diva of Geneva is a rosy, shimmery magenta colour that reminds me of gem stones! It is one of my favourite polishes overall to wear any time of the year and great for a festive party.

2. Essie Sexy Divide

If, like me, your favourite colour is purple then you will absolutely love Sexy Divide from Essie. It is a dark purple but manages to stay a true purple colour without crossing over into the black category!

1. OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

OK so this one may be a little predictable! Lincoln Park After Dark is a very dark purple colour and is one of OPI's best selling shades. This has been my number 1 polish for many years now and I have repurchased it several times.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading about my top 10 Autumn/ Winter nail polishes. Please feel free to share your top polishes with me in the comments section below!

Maz x