NOTD: Chaos Colour

For the past few months my NOTD posts have mainly focused on individual shades, so I thought it was about time I brought back my themed and quaintly named attempts at nail art like I used to do.  Have you missed them? Have ya? No?  Okay then.

Anyhoo, here is something I've been wanting to try for a while after I saw this post (scroll down before you get confused by the black) as I thought it looked cute, colourful and most importantly, fairly easy.  The colours in the above post were mostly pastels, so I thought I'd try some brighter shades.

The shades I used are:

Nails Inc St James's* (bright red)

OPI Get Your Glamour On (coral pink)

Nails Inc Notting Hill Gate* (neon pink)

OPI Need Sunglasses? (yellow) 

Nails Inc Holland Park* (neon purple)

Avon Arctic Waters* (bright sea blue)

All these were applied over a base of Nails Inc Floral Street*.  I kinda like these, although I'm not sure on the colour choices as the merging of the blue, yellow and red has all gone a bit too primary colours for my liking.

This is very easy to do and it's just a case of applying your base shade (Floral Street needed two coats to stop any streaking), let the base dry for ten minutes or so and then literally just layer each colour one stripe at a time.  Once you've worked your way through all the colours, start again, then work out what colours are under-represented (I'm nothing if not an equal opportunities nail painter) and add a bit more of them.

I like the fact that these are the antithesis of winter nails; they're bright, colourful and fun and that's what I'm craving at the moment so in that regard it works well.  I have to say, I'm mostly leaning towards loving these but I think the fact that they're so chaotic - something I'm not usually a fan of with nail art - is leaving me a little non-committal.  If I try this look again I think I'll allow a bit more of the white to show through and I'll also use thinner strokes as, ironically, the streakier the finish, the better it looks.

So what do you think? 

Are they bright and fabulous or garish and unkempt or all of the above?! 

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NOTD: Nails Inc Concrete in Stonehenge and London Wall

I've been meaning to try these new Nails Inc Concrete varnishes for a while, but to be honest I kept putting them off as I wasn't sure I'd like them! The two colours I have are Stonehenge* (blue) and London Wall* (grey-tinged nude).

I've spoken to a few people who have the Concrete polishes in their collection and the general census has been that the whole "anti-smooth" finish of them is rather off-putting.  My main fear was that nails would look like you've painted them and then not been careful afterwards, resulting in lots of pulls and smudges.

I actually really like the shade of London Wall even though it isn't a colour I'd normally seek out.  The reason I chose it was because I figured it was the one that looked most like the colour of concrete...if you're going to do something different you may as well do it properly.

Sadly, even though I like London Wall as a colour, it doesn't really suit my skin tone and tends to bring out ruddiness on my hands that I wasn't aware I had. I think this is a shade that'd really suit olive or dark skin tones.

Stonehenge is pretty much a Concrete version of Baker Street; a brilliant, bright blue that manages to stay slightly shy of neon; it's an all-round flattering shade that I would say would suit most skin tones.

In all pictures there's just one coat; I wasn't sure if additional coats would spoil the effect so I thought I'd better err on the side of caution.  I'm still very undecided on these Concrete textures as I quite like them, but I'm not completely taken with them.  They do look interesting and thankfully they don't look like a botched paint job, but I think out of all the upcoming Nails Inc textures these are probably my least favourite.

Available now in four different shades priced at £12 a pop at Nails Inc.

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FOTD: Barely There Make-Up with Pixi Early Bird Palette

I reviewed the Pixi Early Bird palette* a while ago and mentioned how fabulously wearable the shades included were.  If you're a fan of the "no make-up make-up" look then the Early Bird is such a fantastic investment, containing a wealth of easy going nudes for eyes and gentle, natural tones for the face, making it an absolute steal at just £16.

This FOTD makes full use of the natural shades and I've made a point of just adding a bit of colour where needed.  On the face I'm wearing Erno Laszlo Absolute Finish Foundation* (I'll be reviewing this in full soon), followed by Clinique Continuous Coverage on spots and scars.  On the under eye area I've used Giorgio Armani Master Corrector followed by Maestro Eraser.  I finished the base with a generous dusting of Clinique Stay Matte Sheer Pressed Powder buffed in well so it doesn't look cakey.

Now onto the palette, I've used the main two bronzing shades for contouring the cheekbones, forehead and chin and used the highlighter to bring light to the bridge of the nose, cheekbones and centre of the face.  I then used the pinkest blush shade (middle shade) as a blusher.

For the eyes I used the two shades on the right hand side, second from top.  I used the lighter shade all over the lid and followed with the darker shade as a contour. I then used the lighter shade under my eye mixed in with the darker shade on the outer corner.  Before applying any of the eyeshadows, I used the eye base second from the top.  For more highlight on the eye, I used the shade second from left on the left hand column.

The focus of this look was to keep things as natural looking as possible, so I didn't use any eyeliner or dark colours and instead only really focussed on shades within my own complexion territory.  I finished with one coat of Benefit They're Real but I was careful with the application and only focused it on the roots with a tiny bit on the tips.

Lastly I used lip balm to keep my lips looking dewy, but I think a pretty pink lip would work really well with this look.  The Pixi Early Bird Palette is the ideal palette to experiment with and create nude daytime looks that are incredibly flattering.  I'm such a fan of barely there make-up so this palette is getting plenty of daily use.

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NOTD: Pink Sparkle featuring Seche Precious and Models Own Show Stopper

As promised, here's a NOTD featuring the new Seche nail lacquer in Precious* as well as an accent using Models Own Show Stopper*, which is a Clothes Show Live exclusive, so if you're heading to the event over the next couple of days then it's definitely worth picking up as you won't be able to get it anywhere else for the time being.

The Seche nail lacquers have strong pros and cons, although it's noteworthy that I've only used one shade so far so I'm basing this review on only using Precious.  The colour and the finish is absolutely beautiful; it's a pale, salmon pink with the tiniest bit of blue-toned shimmer.  The shimmer is virtually undetectable unless you're really looking for it, but it stops the colour looking flat and gives it a little extra dimension.

I did struggle a bit with the formula as I found it a tad gloopy.  This NOTD uses 2 coats of the lacquer plus a base coat (Essie) and a top coat (Nails Inc).  Because the formula is rather thick, it went quite streaky and I probably could've done with another coat to even it all out, but that might just be me being fussy.

I think my eagerness to straighten out the streaks paired with the thick formula might have caused an issue with the drying time as a couple of hours after application the nails still weren't dry and I managed to mark them which was a bit annoying.  I'm reserving judgement until I try the other shade as pale shades can be a bit prone to streaking, so I'll update in the next shade review.

The Models Own Show Stopper is a different story.  I've tried it a couple of times over the last few days and I'm so impressed by the formula and the glitter payoff.  I've used two coats, each applied in quick succession, and I love the multi-dimensional finish that includes various shades of glitter suspended in a translucent, barely-there lilac shade.  The drying time is impressive and this is just as good as the Nails Inc Nail Jewellery line, yet much cheaper at £5 a pop.

So in summary I have mixed feelings about the new Seche nail lacquers as I do like the shade range, I think they're reasonably priced at £9.95 and the super skinny brush means the lacquer can be used for nail art too, but the thick formula is a bit tricky to work with. I'll try Opulent - which is the other shade I was sent - and let you know more then.

Available now from Nails by Mail for £9.95.

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NOTD: HJ Manicure Pink Metallic

I was seriously excited when I was contacted by HJ Manicure and offered the chance to try some of their nail polishes as the range is absolutely amazing and brings something different to the market, an achievement that is pretty hard in the already saturated nail polish arena. I'm not confident my shoddy application "skills" have done this shade any justice, but I've included plenty of pictures anyway!

For me, the two main appeals of HJ Manicures are the shades and the sizes available.  The majority of the shades are interesting, fairly unique and really fashionable; there are so many shades on the site that I would love to try and I can happily spend quite a bit of time nosing through the online catalogue.

You can buy two sizes - 5ml and 15ml - the 5ml bottles are £4.50 and the 15ml bottles are £9.50.  I like the fact that all the shades are available in minis as they allow you to try more shades without the commitment of investing in large bottles.

There's also gift packaging available which is a black box containing a foam insert that can fit 2, 3 or 4 bottles of varnish, so something from HJ Manicure would make an ideal Christmas gift...certainly for me anyway!

Out of the shades I was sent, the one that immediately jumped out at me was Pink Metallic*; before I even had it on my nails I showed the bottle to my mum who agreed it was a "wow" shade, and this is a woman who has absolutely no interest in nail varnish whatsoever.

Pink Metallic is a beautiful shade that I absolutely love and have received many compliments on.  It's not a typical pink as it's heavily blue-toned, in fact it's almost purple in finish.  In these pics I have two coats plus a base and top coat.  The finish is the tiniest, teeniest bit streaky but you do have to search hard for the streaks.  Having tried quite a few metallic shades, this is the best formula I've tried so far.

I took this right under a bright light so you could see the shimmer finish. 

I'm writing this having had the varnish on for over five days, so it's safe to say I'm impressed with the formula as much as I am with the colours.  All-in-all I highly recommend checking out HJ Manicure if you're a nail fan as you'll find a lot of shades that you won't see elsewhere for a very reasonable price point.

HJ Manicure Metallic Pink is available for £4.50 for a 5ml bottle and £9.50 for the 15ml bottle.

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NOTD: Rubies and Diamonds

I'm still absolutely loving vampy, berry red shades and this weeks NOTD is a brighter take on this look using Marks and Spencer Limited Collection Quick Dry Nail Polish in Ruby and for the accent I've used Nails Inc Bling It On in Rocks.

I've cut my nails short recently (so I can actually play guitar again...it won't last long as there's a constant struggle between having nice nails and playing nice songs) and I do think that dark colours work really well on shorter nails.

In this NOTD, I've used two coats of Ruby on every nail.  This is a serious bargain of a varnish; as the name implies, it dries really quickly and goes on smoothly.  The brush is also the perfect size allowing precise application. There's the slightest hint of sparkle in Ruby, but not as much as shown in the pictures as I used the same top coat over all nails which resulted in a bit of transfer.

I won't go into too much detail about the Bling It On kit as I'll be doing a separate review next week where I use both the glitter shades in the kit.  What I will say is that the kit includes the shade Black Taxi and I do think it's a good idea to try and use a shade as close to the glitter colour as possible if you're a bit clumsy like me, as unless you get the glitter right up to the edges, the colour of the varnish underneath shows through which ruins the impact.

I'm wholeheartedly embracing the winter trend of berry shades at the moment, and this Ruby shade is absolutely perfect if you fancy getting involved but don't want to go too dark.

Ruby available from M&S here priced at £3.50 and Bling It on is usually available at NailsInc here priced at £20, although it's currently out of stock.  

Disclosure: PR samples.  

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NOTD: Avon Arctic Goddess

Another Arctic Goddess post today, but this time focusing on the nails.  Whilst I'm not really one for wearing blue tones on my eyes (other than the occasional flirtation with navy) I am most definitely a fan of blue nails, which is why I couldn't wait to try out Avon's Arctic Goddess nail varnishes.

The two I used were Arctic Waters on the majority of the nails and Chilling Teal as an accent on each hand. I was seriously excited when I saw Arctic Waters as I've been lusting after a strong, turquoise/blue shade ever since Bobbi Brown launched her Turquoise varnish and I thought Arctic Waters might make a good contender.

In the bottle, Arctic Waters looks like it's laced with a slight shimmer or possibly polychromatic which doesn't really translate when on the nails.  I personally was happy with this result as I wanted a strong punchy blue that didn't have to compete with other shades for attention.

Chilling Teal is an interesting shade as it's a bit wishy washy, but still very pretty and gives quite a metallic finish without looking too glittery and there are definitely hints of both blue and green in the mix.

I like both shades but it's absolute love for Arctic Waters and annoyingly this would make the most beautiful, bright, summery shade that I would've loved admiring under the Spanish sun during my last holiday....oh well, next year!

When I first applied Arctic Waters it streaked like you wouldn't believe and of course my heart immediately sank, but it evened out very quickly and the finish was lovely; definitely just as good as any of the higher priced brands.  In this NOTD I used two coats of Arctic Waters and three coats of Chilling Teal.

Wear is pretty good; I'm about 4 days in and the edges are just starting to look a big raggedy, but there's definitely a couple more days left in them yet.

All-in-all, some beautiful shades with easy application and great wear at the bargainous price of £6 a pop and the full Arctic Goddess collection launches in November.  Have a look at my introduction the range here and my EOTD using the lead palette from the collection here.

*PR samples

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EOTD: Arctic Goddess Smoky Eye

I recently mentioned that I attended Avon's Arctic Goddess event to find out more about the new collection. In this collection is the main eye palette, also called Arctic Goddess, which I had hoped to show you in more detail in this post, however, I've lost the lead to my camera which means I'll have to wait for the new one to arrive so I can lose that too, but hopefully download the pictures beforehand...

I have blue eyes which don't really go too well with blue toned eye shades, therefore I tend to avoid them, but I really wanted to find a way to use this palette, so I decided to try and create a smoky eye.  In the palette there are four variants of blue (the picture below is taken from the original post about the event) so the top two shades from left to right are 1 and 2 and the bottom two are 3 and 4 for the purpose of this EOTD.

Quite simply, I used 2 all over the eye up to the socket, then I used a wet brush on 3 and blended it into the middle of the eye so that it joined with the original shade, but still showed a pop of colour.  I then used 4 on the socket and outer corner and under the lower lash line.  I used 1 as a highlighter which I took all the way up to the brow.  I finished with a line of L'Oreal Perfect Slim, 1 coat of Benefit They're Real and Rimmel Kohl in Black on the waterline.

I think the key to this look is build it up slowly and blend! This is definitely a look I really like and the textures of the eyeshadows are fantastic, making blending an absolute breeze.  The Avon Arctic Goddess palette will be available from Avon in November, priced at £8.50.

*Palette was a PR sample, liners and mascara were purchased by me.  

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EOTD: Organza Eyes

Not very original; I named this EOTD after the name of the eyeshadow palette I used....

This was a seriously quick EOTD as the textures of the No7 Organza palette are like silk, meaning I can blend with ease and as the colours are all complimentary, they merge together really well.

In the palette there are three shades; a silvery lilac, a true lilac and an ice blue and all the finishes are metallic.

For this EOTD I used the silvery lilac all over the upper eyelid up to the socket and all the way under the lower lid too.

I then used the true lilac on the socket and outer corner followed by the blue on the inner corners of both the upper and lower lids.

I finished with a skinny line of L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim and one coat of Benefit They're Real.

Due to the blendability and metallic finish, this whole look took a few minutes and I think the results are really pretty and gentle.  To turn this into a night look, I'd make the lash liner thicker and add black kohl on the waterline.

Disclosure: palette from a goody bag, the rest purchased by me.  

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