OPI Super Bass Shatter (Nicki Minaj Collection)

Hello lovelies,

I have to apologise for my absence from blogging the past few days but things have not been swell at home and I have not had to time to read everyone else's lovely blog posts and not had the time to write my own, until now! :)

Two weeks ago, I was in a small town called Wisbech where my Grandma lives. During my visits there, I love visiting Poundland to raid their cosmetics section as they have loads of known brands. So when I went in there I was shocked to see they were stocking OPI Shatter nail polish! Usually retailing at £11.50, I was able to pick up a nice big bottle of shatter for only £1 - bargain! Out of all the colours they had available, I chose a lovely purple because I knew it would go well with pinks (and I have a lot of them!).

When I got home, I was surprised to see it was from the Nicki Minaj collection and named 'Super Base Shatter'. I love the song, but I have never been overly keen on Minaj's style. However, seeing the other polishes in the collection, I can understand why this polish would make a great topper for the bright colours she released.

This polish is a deep purple colour with a slight shimmer. As with most shatter polishes, these can be worn alone as a normal polish or apply it to completely dry nail polish to see it shatter. This is the second shatter polish I own as I have previously purchased Rimmel's 'Crack your Colour' in Silver Clash. I had higher hopes for OPI's shatter as it is a higher end brand than Rimmel and I was a little disappointed in 'Crack your Colour's' translucent formula.

OPI Super Bass Shatter over Rimmel's Lycra 

Pro Nail Polish in 'Sorbet So Good'

Top: Flash, Bottom: No Flash

I have to apologise for my dodgy application to my little finger, but proves a point for anyone that may want to use shatter polishes. It is very important not to go over polish twice once you have painted an area. If you do, the shatter pattern is not very effective while drying.

I was rather impressed by this polish. It is opaque and if applied correctly, the shatter effect looks really good. When I first painted it on, it crossed my mind that it was going to look terrible. It started to look as if I had coated my nails in a thin layer of poster paint! However, when left the cracks started to appear and looked surprisingly good. I was very happy with it :)

The formula is quite thin to start with but after a few applications it became a bit gloopier at the top. This isn't a problem now as it's a new bottle but I'm worried after a few months it may become unusable. This also dries to a 'matte' finish. I am not too keen on this so in my photos above, I have applied a top coat.

This may seem random but I really like the texture this gives to my nails. It feels almost reptile and could not stop stroking them!

I also found the polish very good at maintaining my manicure. Rimmel's 'Sorbet So Good' is not very long lasting (despite the claims) but this as a topper made the whole look last a week. In fact, the pictures above show my nails after one week of wear.

Would I repurchase this? Yes, only if it was £1 though. For a shatter polish (which are currently making it's way out of fashion) £11.50 is too much. I have even seen this polish on 'Cheap Smells' for £9.95 which is a rip off! This is fully worth purchasing from Poundland if you can find it. It can prolong a manicure and actually doesn't look too bad.

Do you like OPI Shatter polishes? Would you purchase this for £1?

Rimmel Metal Rush in 'Pearly Queen'

This polish for me has a story behind it, a silly one but a story all the same. Last Autumn when I needed a new pressed powder and eyeliner, I could purchase another product as Superdrug had '3 for 2' on Rimmel cosmetics at the time. Now I was stuck in the dilemma of being sensible (and buying another pressed powder as I get through powder so quickly) or taking the the frivolous option after I had spotted Rimmel's new (at the time) collection called Metal Rush and 'Pearly Queen' was my favourite of the collection.Silly me, resisted my urges and chose the sensible option but soon regretted not getting it. This resulted in me buying it a few weeks later at full price.

Rimmel Metal Rush in 'Pearly Queen' is part of a collection of four duo chrome polishes which Rimmel released late last year. Others in the collection are 'Purple Reign' (which I did own), Gold Save the Queen and Royal Blue. My favourite of the collection was 'Pearly Queen' by far as the colour looked soft and its lilac and green tones really attracted me.

Rimmel Metal Rush Nail Polish in 'Pearly' Queen'

As you can see, this is a very sheer polish even with three coats (shown above). Despite this, I'm still in love with it because only in some lights can you see the nail line but others it looks like a normal polish. This is a very nice polish for layering over others. It gives a different dimension to any colour you want to spruce up.

This bottle of nail polish is very easy to use. The lacquer is a good consistency and the application brush is perfect for my needs. I love that Rimmel use flat wide brushes as it makes painting my nails a lot easier and gives me a lot more control. This also last surprisingly well for a cheaper polish lasting about three days minimum.

As I have said, I previously owned 'Purple Reign' from this collection but this did not live up to expectation. I bought it in February and by April (the third time I had used it) it had gone thick and gloopy which made smooth application almost impossible. I was gutted because I loved the colour so much. However, I contacted Coty (who own Rimmel) who were very kind and asked me to send it back to them so I could have my money back from the purchase and delivery.

All in all, I would recommend Pearly Queen to those thinking of getting it. It is so versatile as it can be worn alone or as a top coat. I love this so much I'm tempted to get another bottle before they discontinue it :)

Do you love the Metal Rush Collection? What's your favourite colour?

xxxx 

Models Own 'Grape Juice'

Hello all,

After what I felt was a disaster yesterday wearing Nails Inc. 'Elizabeth Street', I decided to scrub it off and try a polish I bought around Easter time when Boots had a 3 for 2 on everything in the cosmetics section. Since I heard so many good things about the brand, I decided to buy two with my third selection being a lip felt tip (essentially). This particular colour was my 'wildcard'. I knew I wanted a glitter (Models Own 'Southern Lights') and after 45 minutes (yes, I took THAT long) I decided to go with 'Grape Juice' - one of the brands new lines they had brought in for the spring.

Their selling point was that they were 'scented' and all had the theme of fruit. The others were Apple Pie (green), Blueberry Muffin (blue), Banana Split (yellow) and Strawberry Tart (pink). I chose the 'Grape Juice' one because a) I love the artificial smell of grapes and b) the pastel lilac was unusual yet still very feminine.

I was very excited to try this at the time as I had heard many good things about this brand. So what did I think when I tried it on again today?

Models Own 'Grape Juice'

Well, I did feel quite disappointed in the results. The brushes of this brand are not to my taste. I much prefer a wider brush that covers the nail in one stroke (like Essie, Rimmel, Bourjois etc) rather than having to do lots of little strokes. Having to apply the polish this way seems to make application streaky and produces a lot of bald spots. However, in the picture above I have only applied two layers as I had little patience with the dragging.

It also seemed to take forever to dry completely. Even after ten minutes of application it smudged very easily to the point that I was fed up and have taken it off.

It is a shame as the polish does have some very good points. It does smell great. It does smell of artificial grapes (like the scented pens I used as a kid). I think it lasts a long time too (from what I remember when I first wore it). Another plus point for it is you do get 14ml for £5. This is relatively cheap for a bigger bottle of varnish.

For those of you that have the patience to work with thinner brushes and a thicker formula, I would give it ago. If you are like me and prefer the stress free application of a wider brush and thinner formula, give this a miss.

Am I the only one who finds this product hard to work with? Or are there any tips I could be given to get the best out of this varnish?

Let me know :)

xxxxx