Rimmel Cocktail Colours Nail Polish in 'Apple Berry Smoothie'

Hello lovelies!

It is time for a nail polish post which I have not seemed to have done in ages! And this polish I am going to review really is very fabulous indeed.

Back in the Spring time, Rimmel launched a new range of nail polishes to go along side there base products (60 seconds, Lasting Finish etc.). These were the 'Cocktail Colours' range which at that point in time, I thought there were only three colours: Shirley Temple (orange), Hawaiian Punch (pink/red) and Baby Bellini (purple). All these shades were gorgeous and extremely sparkly (without the grittiness of being an actual glitter polish) and I knew I really wanted them. After doing my research online, I realised that these weren't the only colours Rimmel had produced in this line. In Europe, they had realised Apple Berry Smoothie (blue) and Cutie Colada (lime green). I was actually rather gutted that Rimmel hadn't released these shades in the UK and had settled to thinking that I would never get hold of these polishes.

That is until a recent visit to my local discount cosmetics shop. While browsing their many shelves of nail polish, I spotted a couple of sparkly Rimmel polishes at the back. And to my surprise, the colours were Apple Berry Smoothie and Cutie Colada. Being the last ones on the shelf, I quickly snapped them up into my basket. Even better though, these were being sold for £1.50 rather than the usual retail price of £3.99. So that day, I was a very happy chappy.

Anyway, back to talking about the polish...

First things first (and I know I always say this), but I really do love this polish. Before I picked up this polish, I had not had a blue quite like this so this was a shade welcome into my collection. With this being quite sparkly too, I was very happy to wear this.

I can really understand why Rimmel released the 'Cocktail Colours' collection in the spring/summer because of its shine. We have had a couple of really sunny days this week and while walking to the train station from university I could not help but be mesmerised by this polish as it glistened in the sun. It makes me want to get the entire collection!

Another positive about this polish is its longevity. The pictures you see here are from four days of wear. The only signs of wear my nails have currently is some slight tip wear on my right thumbnail but I think this is because I have a bad habit of opening blister packs with this nail. I have no doubt that this polish could last up to a week if looked after.

If I'm honest, I cannot really think of many negatives for this polish. If I wrack my brain, the only downside of this nail polish is how sheer it is. This needed three coats the be relatively opaque which although is not unreasonable, I still quite like a polish that is fully opaque in two coats.

Overall, I really like this polish. Rimmel have maintained a standard of quality without the price tag. Additionally, the colours of this collection are FANTASTIC!

Do you like Rimmel Cocktail Colours?

Bourjois Round Pot Blusher in Rose D'Or (34) Review

Hello my lovelies!

After my post expressing my lust for certain blusher products yesterday, I thought I would write a review on my favourite blusher of my make-up bag currently.

That is Bourjois Round Pot Blusher in Rose D'Or (which translates into 'Golden Rose') which I picked up for £2 from Boots after hearing that they were on the website for much less than their usual £7.99 price-tag. I was desperate for a new blusher after deciding I was bored of my usual lip stain knowing I wanted a powder blush - so this came in perfect timing! Wondering if this great deal was in-store, I trundled along to Boots and asked if they scanned at £2 - no. So the lady from Boots explained to me she could order some in free of charge, which I jumped at! Unfortunately, I was put on the spot and this particular Boots did not have a huge selection I could look at swatches of. Out of the ones I liked, only one was available. So I ordered 3 of them as it was 3 for 2!

When I received them, I was very excited! It had the limited edition packaging that looked oh so pretty and is much more exciting than their regular pots. I really could not wait to try this baby out!

As you can see, Rose D'or is a deep pink blush with fine gold shimmer particles. I know a lot of people much prefer matte blushers rather than ones with a shimmer but I rather like them.I love something that gives me an effortless glow without having to add highlighter to my routine.

If you are looking for a pigmented blusher, the Bourjois Round Pot Blushers are not for you! They have very little colour pay off and do not create a lot of excess. To me, this is a positive. This blush makes it easy to prevent going overboard with the blusher on your cheeks and you can build this colour up gradually to get the depth of colour you want.

As you can see from my swatch, it is not very pigmented when I swiped my finger over it. If you cannot already tell, I have swatched it with one swipe under the much more obvious swatch (which I had built up). As you can see, the gold is rather flattering even for pale skin tones such as my own. Although I don't seem to notice too much sparkle on my face which leaves me with a subtle and natural look.

Would I recommend this? YES! I love this blush so much I want more for my collection (see my Blush Crushes here). I think I will only repurchase though when they are on offer because I do not think they are worth £7.99.

Currently, a lot of colours are being offered on Amazon for £5.33 or some colours are being offered on ASOS for £.5.50 and they ship internationally! And for all you Bourjois fans out there, they have 30% off a lot of the other products and 10% off if you enter the code 742F59ECD87E by 15th August.

Do you love the Bourjois blushers? What are your favourite colours?

OPI Elephantastic Pink

Hello lovelies,

Last week was quite a warm week and I wanted a nail polish to reflect my then summery mood. For summer I strongly associate coral colours to the beach and hot days so I rummaged through my collection to pick on of my much beloved OPI's of my collection.

My pick was Elephantastic Pink which is a pink-coral rather than an orangey-coral. As I had been in a pink mood recently, I chose to wear this over a more true coral like 'I Mainly Eat Lobster'. This I had picked up from Fragrance Direct for £3.99 which (as I have mentioned before) is a bargain for OPI and their quality. I expected nothing less than long lasting nail colour when I applied this.

First things first, the thing I love most about this particular polish is its high-shine finish. I have seen many people rave about Barry M's high shine 'gelly' polishes and this is equal in shine. I was so impressed with its shiny finish I could not stop looking at it! It is certainly one of the more gel-like polishes OPI have released.

The one side I have found with this polish is it did not wear as well as other OPI polishes I have used before. As you can see in the picture (after two days wear), you can see some tip wear and even some small chips in the polish. I was a little annoyed by this but I am not sure how much of this is own to me not buffing my nails before hand (silly me!).

Overall, I am split with my opinion of this polish. I LOVE the colour and I think the gel finish is absolutely fantastic. It looks very gorgeous on and I think it would be ideal for hot holidays and times at the beach. However, the lasting power is disappointing as it chips quicker than most of my other OPI polishes. This would probably be a bottle for short wear only.

Do you own this colour? What do you think to this shade?

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?

Accessorize Baked Duo Eye Shadow in Thalia (13)

Hello you lovely lot,

I feel like I have been a bit mad with the sales recently. Everywhere I look there seems to be some kind of sale on and after my driving theory test (which I passed by the way, yay!) I nipped into Accessorize after being lured in by their '50% off' signs. Usually, I don't expect much as the small print usually says 'up to *50% off*' and all I tend to find are things with a pound or two knocked off but this was really a sale!

On my first trip I bought a Pashmina (RRP £19, Sale £13) and a Baked Eye Shadow Trio (RRP £6, Sale £1.80). One my next trip though to Kings Lynn, I couldn't resist buying an eye shadow called 'Thalia'. I had not yet tried Accessorize's eye shadows (as I picked up the last one by mistake thinking it was a blusher) but as these were the kind of 'safe' earth tones I like for day-to-day wear, I purchased this for £2. I also love shimmery eyeshadows so this was right up my street.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get very good pictures of the swatches but hopefully you can see what they look like. The accurate representation of colouring is shown in the middle picture.

This eye shadow far exceeded my expectations.The dark brown in particular is highly pigmented and just the shade I wanted. The 'marbled' side of the eye shadow is a little less daring and great for a subtle look. This is less pigmented but still has a lot of shimmer! Neither of these shadows budge during the hoot weather either which is a bonus.

Another great thing about this eye shadow is the packaging! Yes, I know you shouldn't pick a product for the packaging but I cannot help but adore the little butterflies on the lid. This compact seals up tightly so there is a smaller chance of it opening in your handbag.

One of the disadvantages of this is probably its tendency to break. Mine has not broken, but when I had a look around Nottingham's sale make-up section a couple had broken a little inside. This was probably from careless customers dropping them but it is still an indication that unless you care careful, this product can be easily damaged.

Overall, I am very happy with this product. For the price, the pigmentation is fantastic. My only regret is not purchasing some other colours!

Have you tried Accessorize cosmetics? Do you think they're good?

Rimmel Metal Rush in 'Royal Blue'

Hello lovelies,

As you may have seen, I have had a small haul from ASOS of some Rimmel goods. So I am excited to try out one of the polishes I received!

Since the world rejoiced the news of the Royal Prince of Cambridge being born yesterday, in his honour I thought I would wear one of these 'royal' colours. Since it was a little boy that was born, I chose to wear first 'Royal Blue'.

As with all the Rimmel 'Metal Rush' polishes, this is a duo-chrome. This has a base colour of blue which flips to look purple. There are also hints of green to this polish but only in certain angles. This polish in particular reminds me of peacocks and petroleum.

The biggest plus of this polish is the colour. That sounds silly, I know but the colour is absolutely fascinating. Each angle gives a different shade and each colour is equally as gorgeous. I can understand why these polishes have not been discontinued yet and I've not owned duo-chromes like it.

This has a couple of downsides. One of which is because it is very sheer. These pictures took three coats and there is still a bit of visible nail line. However, that is if you look as closely as I do. You could turn this negative into a positive though as you can layer this on top of other polishes to create entirely different looks.

This polish also takes a long time to dry. As you can see from the photos, I knicked my middle fingernail which was a bit annoying. I do prefer a polish that dries quickly but I now know that I will need spare time if I want this finish to be perfect.

Overall, I would recommend these polishes to anyone as the colours are so lovely. This is the perfect peacock blue and ideal for Autumn/Winter.

Do you like these polishes? Would you purchase this?

OPI I'm All Ears

Hello lovelies,

I hope you are all having a lovely summer! The weather is very hot here in Britain to a point where I have the fan on almost constantly :P

So recently, I have been wearing an OPI shade they released last summer as part of the Vintage Minnie Mouse collection (as opposed to the 'chic' collection they have released this summer). It is a gorgeous shade called I'm All Ears and is easily my favourite out of the collection.

I'm All Ears is the hot pink of the collection. It has a jelly-like finish with flecks of pink and blue glitter. This can be quite underwhelming when you first put it on as it is a jelly finish and the nail line can sometimes be visible. However, this polish comes to life in the sunlight where the glitter flecks absolutely dazzle you. I first noticed how gorgeous it was while walking around in the sunshine and I could not help but notice how interesting this was.

This nail polish wears pretty well. This usually lasts me about five days before I take it off. This is the same quality as most OPI polishes. As this is a jelly, this polish is slightly on the thinner side but still manageable.

As I have said, this polish really is the best of OPI's Minnie Mouse 2012 collection. It is unusual, not a pain and can be used on its own (unlike 'Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It). This is a must have for anyone who loves pink polishes or like girly make-up.

This is currently sold by Fragrance Direct for £3.99.

What do you think to this pink polish? It is too bright for you or do you love how girly it is?

Essie 'Bikini So Teeny'

Hello all,


I'm sorry I have not posted for such a long time, I have been a very busy lady! I have been revising for my driving theory tomorrow (eek!) so I have not had a lot of time to put any posts up, unfortunately.

So this week, I have been mostly wearing: Essie 'Bikini So Teeny'. I fancied a really different summery change this week and decided to wear this blue I was gifted this Christmas (thank you lovely boyfriend!).When I asked for this from my boyfriend, I was absolutely desperate for it. I had seen this bottle in the shops but it was far too pricey for my budget range. So when I saw it on Fragrance Direct, I knew I had to have it! I loved the shimmer it had in the bottle and hoped this would be relayed when applying the polish.

When I tried this in the winter, I was disappointed. There were bald spots, no shimmer and it wasn't an appropriate shade for the winter. Afraid I would never wear this polish again, I promised myself I would wear this when the good whether came as it would match shorts and light colours.

Essie 'Bikini So Teeny': Freshly applied

Essie 'Bikini So Teeny': 6 days old, no topcoat

So I decided to take the plunge and wear it this week. Since Christmas, I have learned how to properly prep my nails (buffing, basecoat etc) and so my experience of this polish is been far more positive than before.

The consistency of this polish is thin, but not runny. This makes it ideal to apply and each coat dries really quickly. This time, there were no bald spots. In fact, one coat of this polish was opaque and there was no need for more but I decided to paint three coats as I wanted longevity. As usual, this bottle came with Essie's classic wide brush which made application as easy as usual.

I was very impressed with how long this lasted. Yes, I am guilty of being a bit lazy this week and forgot to put a topcoat on which did cause a little bit of fading with the colour. Despite that though, this polish lasted 6 days! I had taken it off today and there was still no chips. It even withstood my nail breaking as it did not look messy after it broke.

(Note: I did use OPI Chip Skip and OPI Nail Envy as my basecoat)

The one this that was the same though was the lack of shimmer relayed on the nail. I have noticed this complaint with a few other Essie polishes (e.g. 'To Buy Or Not To Buy) and it is cheeky to be that misleading. However, the colour is still beautiful and wonderful for the summer.

Would I recommend this? Yes, for £1.99 from Fragrance Direct you can not go wrong. Essie is a fantastic brand with some amazing colours on the market.

Do you like Bikini So Teeny? What are your other favourite Essie colours?

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?

Rimmel 60 Seconds 'Grey Matter' (805)

Hello all,

This is just a small one from my Fragrance Direct haul at the beginning of this month.

For ages I had been looking for a grey polish to add to my collection. Grey was a hot colour in the autumn/winter season last year looking good with winter clothing and tones. My idea shade would have been a light, soft grey that is feminine and not too 'punky'.

'Grey Matter' fit the bill for me. After seeing swatches online, I knew for ages that this was a polish I would like to own. So when I saw it on Fragrance Direct for 99p, I popped it in my basket.

Rimmel 60 Seconds 'Grey Matter' (805)

In the bottle, it looked like a light grey - perfect. On the nail, it dried a bit darker. Yes, I was a little disappointed but it was not unsightly. I feel this sort of grey is definitely a autumn/winter colour and is not too versatile for spring or summer. However with the current British weather, it's not too out of place!

The formula itself is OK - good, but not perfect. It seems to have a slightly thicker consistency to the polish, but it is nothing unmanageable. This polish self levels itself OK but some of the streaks are still visible.

However, the staying power has been relatively marvellous. Currently, I only have a tiny chip on my right index finger and I have had it on since Monday. 

Would I recommend this? Only if you like the colour. For Rimmel, this is an average polish. If you like super smooth nail varnish, you may not like this too much. If longevity is more important, I cannot recommend highly enough.

Are you a fan of grey nail polish?

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

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 

O.P.I Thanks a Windmillion

After having bare nails this weekend (my nails are thanking me for it), I have decided to put on some O.P.I from my haul that I received from Fragrance Direct a couple of months ago. They are still selling O.P.I for £3.99 each which is such a steal that in my recent order I popped one in my basket that I had desired for ages (Nothing Mousie 'Bout It).

Anyway, the shade I decided to wear today was 'Thanks a Windmillion'. This is from the Holland collection released in Spring last year. I had seen this colour before in swatches and absolutely fell in love with it. Not willing to pay full price though I nearly spent over the odds bidding on this shade on Ebay. Fortunately, I lost the bid and picked this up much cheaper :)

'Thanks a Windmillion' is certainly an unusual colour. It is a creme dark teal-green colour. In my opinion, I do not think this shade is everyone's cup of tea. It is not the most feminine of colours and is not really a versatile colour if one likes their nails to compliment their outfit. I see this colour as more of an Autumn shade that could also be worn in the Spring too.

O.P.I Thanks a Windmillion

Although this takes three thin coats of polish to make this opaque, it is surprisingly thin on the nail. It does not seem to apply gloopy and is very fast drying between coats. As with most O.P.I I have tried, this does not chip easily with tip wear appearing after four to five days.

Do you like this shade? Do you disagree that it's not versatile?

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

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