Bourjois 1 Seconde Nail Polish in No 15

Hello all!

I hope you are all having a lovely summer. Here in the UK, the weather has been temperamental but it has been a nice day today :) So I am wanting to wear some summery colours for my nails. So I picked Bourjois 1 Seconde Nail Polish in No. 15. I received this from my boyfriend at Christmas time after I had picked out a load of nail varnishes I wanted from Fragrance Direct. Unfortunately for me, when I researched swatches of the colours for these, the wrong shades were being shown as Bourjois have released a newer 'gel' line of these products. Fortunately, the colours were nice that arrived and this was one of my favourites.

This polish is a 'Barbie' pink full of silver mirco glitter. This combination looks very pretty on the nails and is perfect for a summer time look for the beach. The only downside to this polish is that it can be a pain to take off because of all the little glitter particles. 

One of the best things about this polish is the brush. They claim it is an 'innovation' because of its wide brush and this is what the '1 Second' is referring to: one second to apply. I love wider brushes as application is easier which is why I don't own many Barry M.

The claims on the back of the polish say that it takes 50 seconds to dry. This is about right but this does mean touch dry rather than fully dry. Nevertheless, this polish has a quick 'fully dry' time than some other polishes.

Overall, I like this polish. Application is easy and the colour is pretty. Would I have paid full price for this? No. But for £1.50 from Fragrance Direct it was definitely worth it.

Do you like Bourjois polishes?

Essie 'Neo Whimsical'

This is another polish from the Fragrance Direct haul. I have noticed that so far on my blog, I have only really posted about O.P.I and Rimmel. Well I want to change that and hence I decided to put something different on my nails recently and try Essie's 'Neo Whimsical' which can be purchased for £1.99 online. Usually, I do not tend to wear nude colours as I get far more excited about bright colours. But as my Mum had bought this, I thought I would try it out.

In the bottle, it looks like a dingy, milky pink. I was not too excited about trying it. However, the swatches online looked a lot better. As you know, sometimes the colour in the bottle is not what always relays on the nail so I decided to give it a go.

Essie 'Neo Whimsical'

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I expected the formula to be really runny and thin but it was not. One coat was translucent and a bit streaky but after the second coat it became opaque and beautiful. The picture above is three coats. Application was smooth and evens out when it dries.

The colour of this is more pink/lilac than I expected. It certainly didn't look murky like it did in the bottle. This would be a good base for a French manicure. The best thing I can liken it to from my collection is Nails Inc Elizabeth Street but slightly more toned down. It is definitely worth buying this over Elizabeth Street!

I would certainly recommend this to others. It would be good for people in a professional working environment or those that want to try nail polishes that are not too 'daring'.

Do you own 'Neo Whimsical'? Do you think it is a great understated colour?

xxxx

Rimmel Metal Rush 'Gold Save the Queen'

Hey all,

Sorry I've not blogged for a while. I have been very busy this month trying to get myself sorted for a course next year. I've done tests and now need to sort a placement so I can do the course... it has been very hectic! And it doesn't seem like it will stop soon so I will blog when I've got time, honest :)

Anyway, the next polish I have purchased this week was Rimmel Metal Rush in 'Gold Save the Queen'. As you know, I have already reviewed 'Pearly Queen' from the same collection and did not get this until Thursday. Out of all four bottles of this collection, I would have placed this as my least favourite and would not have paid full price for this. However, I found this little gem in a reduced price make-up shop in a  place called 'Springfields' in Spalding, Lincolnshire. And what were they selling this for? 99p! I could not believe it. They are still selling this for £3.99 in Boots and Superdrug. So that is why I could not resist buying this.

Rimmel Metal Rush 'Gold Save the Queen'

This polish is a duo-chrome polish which has a base colour of gold. Other hues it contains is green, copper and even purple. The formula is smooth and easy to apply and the brush is short and fat for ease of application. This polish only needs two layers for it to be fully opaque although I am wearing three coats in the picture.

This nail polish really is more beautiful than I thought it would be. All the tones compliment each other perfectly. The benefit of this colour out of the whole collection is that it can be worn by all ages. For 99p, I might even buy another one so I don't miss it when I run out!

What do you think? Do you like 'Gold Save the Queen'?

xxxxx

OPI The Color of Minnie and OPI Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It

After receiving my package from Fragrance Direct (see previous post) I was desperate to try out the two nail polishes from O.P.I I had received in my order. They were Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It and The Color of Minnie. These complete my collection for the Vintage Minnie Mouse Collection from Summer 2012. This is the only whole O.P.I collection I have collected (mainly because I love all the colours of this one) and to buy the whole collection from Fragrance Direct would cost you £16 + P&P for full size bottles.

O.P.I 'The Color of Minnie'

First I painted my nails with 'The Color of Minnie'. This is a red polish with blue undertones. It has a slight shimmer to it so it is not a creme. The coverage of this is great. It is highly pigmented and in the above picture I am wearing two coats. The consistency is not too thick or runny and glides onto the nail with ease. This is a must-have red for any collection as it feels ultra feminine and very 'Minnie'!

O.P.I 'Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It' over 'The Color

of Minnie'

As I was desperate to try 'Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It', I decided to layer this over 'The Color of Minnie'. Now this was the controversial polish where a lot of people found it difficult to get the hearts on the brush. I found by following the advise I has seen online, turning the bottle upside down for a while really did the trick. Most times I did this I had about three on the brush! Every time I spotted a heart, I quickly dolloped it on my nail and brushed the polish on as normal.

'Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It' is a fine glitter polish with orange and purple flecks.This looked beautiful on top of 'The Color of Minnie' making it look hot pink from some angles. To me, the combination looks like 'I'm All Ears' which is possibly my favourite from the collection. This is a high maintenance nail polish if you want the little hearts on your nails. However, without the hearts it would purely be a top coat and would not have the same selling power as this does not look very impressive as a stand alone polish.

Do you like last years Minnie Mouse collection? What's your favourite of the collection?

xxxx

Fragrance Direct Haul!

Hello all! I apologise I've not posted anything for a few days. I have just been very busy and found it hard to get the time to come online. However, I have been looking forward to writing this post :)  (Do excuse the blurry photos)

This is what I have been excited for over a fortnight. My mum and I had ordered two lots of products between us. She placed the first order, then I made a second order. You may think this sounds odd but if you have been reading any of my perfume post, you will know my mum and I were organising party bags for someone's birthday. We wanted to put in each bag a nail varnish each. The cheapest place to purchase branded polish is Fragrance Direct (we do not have a pound shop near us :( ).

So we put in a big order! And this is what we got...

 Rimmel Nail Polishes
(L-R) Red Carpet,Fast and Fushia, Man Overboard (back, Dark Grey), Pink Punch, Euphoria, Star Kissed, Ethereal, Princess Pink, Celebrity Bash, Purple Addict & Magnetise.

Essie is 'Mojito Madness' & 'Neo Whimsical', Rimmel Glam Eyes Eyeliner

in 'Diamond Kiss' and 'Intense Plum'

The Essie 'Mojito Madness' and both Rimmel Eyeliners were what I purchased for myself while all the Rimmel nail polishes were for the party bags. My mum bought herself 'Neo Whimsicle' as she loves a nude polish :)

The reason we bought a second haul was because I had spotted Fragrance Direct had put more OPI polishes online and noticed they had 'Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It' available to buy. I have been seeking this one for ages but never seen it at the right price so I had to get it. And after my Mum had received more responses to the party invite, it meant she had to buy more polishes 

for each bag. So this is what we got...

The second haul.

(L-R) OPI: Nothing Mousey 'Bout It, The Color of Minnie, Rimmel: Magnetise, Grey Matter, 'Ready, Aim, Paint!', Sorbet So Good, Revlon Lip Gloss 'Shine City, Sally Hansen Salon Manicure 'Hidden Treasure', Rimmel 'Purple Addict'

A few bits for myself.

I got quite a few bits for myself. I bought:

• OPI 'Nothin' Mousey 'Bout It'
• Rimmel 'Sorbet So Good'
• Pretty Quick Nail Polish Remover pot
• W7 Eyeshadow Brush (04)
• Revlon Lip Gloss in 'Shine City'
• OPI Tiny Treats (Complete with mini Nail Envy, Chip Skip, Rapid Dry Top Coat and Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover)

My other OPI is the 'Colour of Minnie' which my Mum had seen before and love the colour.

Good news is, we over ordered accidentally so we got to keep a couple we liked for ourselves. I kept Rimmel 'Purple Addict', Sally Hansen 'Hidden Treasure', Rimmel 'Red Carpet' and Rimmel 'Grey Matter'.

I am so excited about all these products that I will share them with you soon. My favourite of the whole haul is the OPI Tiny Treats. I have heard a lot of good things about 'Nail Envy' that I cannot wait to try it out!

I'm a little disappointed in the colour of Essie's 'Mojito Madness' as it looked a little different that the photos I had seen. But you never know, I might be pleasantly surprised :)

Do any of you like Fragrance Direct? Do you tend to buy 'hauls' from there?

xxxx

Nails Inc 'Elizabeth Street'

Hello Beauty Fans!

I hope you are all having a fine day. I have decided to swatch something different to O.P.I. today (although I was very tempted) and try some Nails Inc which I had not worn for a while.  I got four Nails Inc polishes just before Christmas which came with the December issue of Glamour Magazine. This worked out about £2 a polish and the first one I grabbed was Elizabeth Street. Elizabeth Street is a very pale pink for those who like to play it safe or would like something for a French Manicure. It is also very sheer and is difficult to become completely opaque.

When I first used it I thought it was amazing. It felt like it look a while to chip and the application seemed very smooth and streak free. But how do I feel about it now?

Nails Inc. 'Elizabeth Street'

Well, it's not quite as beautiful and stress free as I remember. As you can see from the bottle in the picture, I have used a lot of the lacquer and therefore this may have made the formula gloopier. When painting my nails it felt as if each coat was thicker and streakier than the last. When dry, it feels quite plastic-y and has a very 'cheap' feel to it. I also noticed that it dented easier while drying and drying time took a looooong while. I am just not feeling this polish as much as I did at Christmas time.

I'm not sure whether this is because the polish just isn't that good, the length of time I've owned this has affected its formula or whether I'm being hard on Nails Inc because I have since found a love in O.P.I.

Buying this for £2 (including the magazine) made this worth buying. However, I would not buy this full price from the shop (£11 for poor quality after a few months? No thank you...). I would rather spend 50p more and buy superior O.P.I. quality.

What do you lot think of Nails Inc.? Have I just got a rubbish bottle of polish? Or do you think that Nails Inc. are overpriced?

xxxxx

P.S.: I promise I do not promote O.P.I. for a living :)

O.P.I. 'San Tan-tonio'

Hello all!

I hope you have all been enjoying the Bank Holiday Weekend (UK residents) :) This weekend I had some real retail therapy getting some great bargains from Debenhams and Sainsbury's (to name a couple). But this post is dedicated to a beautiful nail colour I own by OPI called 'San Tan-tonio'.

I acquired 'San Tan-tonio' very cheaply, actually. Glamour magazine had an offer on for three issues of the magazine with two OPI nail polishes all for £1. Now I know a lot of people on HotUKDeals went nuts for this promotion and anyone that loves nail polish really did miss out if they didn't snap up this deal! It was like they were giving them away.

Anyway, 'San Tan-tonio' was part of a Texas collection OPI released a couple of years ago. The best way to describe this colour is a milky brown or honey coloured. My boyfriend describes it as looking like 'milky tea' and thinks it looks great. I have had many compliments from wearing this colour.

O.P.I. San Tan-tonio

When I received this as my free gift from Glamour, I thought I would not like wearing the colour very much considering Brown is my least favourite colour ever. However, when I put it on I felt very grown-up and sophisticated wearing this and feel this would be inoffensive to wear in a work environment. In my personal opinion, I feel this colour will work best at Autumn time (for those across the globe, I mean 'Fall'). I did love wearing  this honey colour polish with my Navy wool coat as the two colours compliment each other perfectly.

This lacquer has a cream finish and the formula of this was perfect: great consistency and had heavily pigmented. The picture above has two coats of polish on. Longevity is also what you expect from O.P.I. with only slight tip wear after five days.

What do you think? Have you got this lacquer? Even better, did you get to claim the deal by Glamour?

xxxxx

OPI 'I have a Herring Problem'

Hello all!

My first review and swatch will be of OPI's 'I have a Herring Problem'. Now recently after hearing so much about how great OPI was, I had to get some! And after I saw on Fragrance Direct that they had bottles for £3.99 I knew I was claiming a bargain. So my mum and I decided to put in a joint order. One of the colours I received in my order was 'I have a Herring Problem'. Unfortunately for me this is one of the colours my mum had treated herself to but we tend to swap and change! This colour is blue that has a slight green hue to it. This is not a creme, it has a lovely silver shimmer to it.

OPI 'I have a Herring Problem'

I really loved this colour more than I thought would. At first I thought it would be a bit 'blue' for my skin tone (since I'm quite pale). However it seemed to suit me and I loved wearing it while wearing jeans as I felt very co-ordinated. This was quite a pigmented lacquer and only took two coats to be fully opaque. I also wore really well with only tip wear after 4 days. I did not wait for it to chip because I fancied wearing something different.

I'm really quite jealous that this one actually belongs to my mum!

What do you think? Do you love this nail polish as much as me?

xxxx