NOTD: Essie Bikini So Teeny

I haven't done any 'NOTD' posts for quite a while, largely because my nails have been in a horrendous state (nail biting is a nervous habit of mine - disgusting I know), but I have been doing my hardest to try and make them nice again!

Bikini So Teeny is one of Essie's latest shades from their diffusion line in Superdrug and Boots (and definitely one of their most popular), and when I saw Lorraine from The Current Custom wearing it, I couldn't resist and knew I had to try it!

It is an undoubtedly beautiful colour in the bottle: sky/cornflower blue with the teeniest hint of lilac, which is also shot through with a very, very subtle silver shimmer, although this is more apparent in the bottle than on the nails.

In the photo below I have only applied two coats, and as you can see the colour has came out more baby blue than that in the bottle - maybe if I applied three coats I would achieve a shade that was more true to (bottle) colour...?

I also applied Rimmel's Disco Ball (500) on my ring finger as I felt the colour was a little flat without a little bit of added sparkle!

The Essie polishes are not the cheapest - £7.99 for 13.5ml - but they certainly aren't as expensive as OPI for example, and are comparible in price with highstreet brands such as Revlon.

I am really impressed with the diffusion line of polishes- the formula has definitely been improved, and the brushes are SO much better, as you can see from the photo below (L: Island Hopping from the old range, R: Bikini So Teeny). The new brushes are actually very similar to the Rimmel Pro nail polishes.

For your information, unfortuntely, just as OPI was bought by COTY, Essie were bought by L'Oreal at the start of the year, and as such whether or not they have remained cruelty free is unclear.

I find this hugely disappointing, and something I didn't realise until after I had bought this polish, as I had assumed Essie were cruelty free.

Do you have any cruelty free alternatives?



NOTD: OPI Steady As She Rose

I haven't done one of these NOTD posts in a while, largely because my nails haven't been in the best of states (been bitten for the most part!), but recently i've been treating myself to manicures and have been trying to be nicer to my poor talons (although my cuticles are still HORRENDOUS).

Recently Fragrance Direct were advertising Essie nailpolishes for £1.99 (yes, you read right!) on their Twitter, so of course I went straight on to their website, and while I was there I noticed they also offer a HUGE selection of OPI nail polishes, often at less than half the price of their RRP.

I've only ever tried OPI polishes when i've had a manicure in a salon, so when I spotted these I decided to buy a couple to add to my ever-expending nail polish collection (along with some Essie polishes - I couldn't pass them up!).

After much debating I bought the infamous 'Skull & Glossbones' from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection, and this little beauty, 'Steady as she Rose' for £6.25 each.

A muted rose pink with a hint of lilac, this makes for quite an usual, yet still incredibly feminine and pretty shade.

As you can see from the photos below, in comparison to my filofax (which is quite a strong lilac) it appears more baby pink, but then when compared to my softer-lilac dressing gown (of all things!) the lilac/blue tone is more apparent.

It can appear quite streaky on initial application, and I applied two coats for opacity, but the streaks disappear once the polish dries.

The brush thankfully is fairly standard in size and makes for easy application - unlike the earlier Essie polishes that had THE most frustratingly small brush!

So far i've had this on for almost 3 days with no chips and am really liking it - i'm SO tempted to order more from Fragrance Direct!

Do you have any OPI favourites you think i'd like?

NOTD: Avon Nailwear Pro in Dynamo

Another day, another nail polish!

I know it's not good for your nails to constantly wear nail varnish, and that you're meant to give them a break every now and then, but I don't have naturally nice nails, and always feel a lot better and more polished (no pun intended!) when i've got my nails done.

Moreover, because I used to bite my nails and therefore my actual nail beds are quite short, where my nails have started growing out means weak points that can bend and therefore cause polish to chip even easier - another excuse for constantly changing my nail polish!

I have quite a ridiculous collection of nail polishes, and am trying my best to work through what i've got and not buy any more in the mean time (although I'm desperate to get my hands on the China Glaze Hunger Games collection - yet to be released in the UK, but there seems to have been several bloggers given sneek previews, such as here and here.)

Anyway, to cut a long story short, instead of reaching for my usual Revlon, Essie or No7 shades, I opted for one of the two Avon polishes I own: Dynamo from the Nailwear Pro range, which cost £6.00 for 12ml (although I received mine as a present).

Gives you the look of a professional manicure. Shine lasts up to 10 days* The advanced formula contains diamond dust and acrylic known for its strengthening, and protection properties giving your nails a high-gloss finish

A colour I can only describe as a burgandy-wine shade, shot through with very finely-milled silver/medium pink/hot pink glitter, this polish gives a very pretty slightly dusky foil effect, whilst being easy to remove (unlike traditional glitter polishes). I would say however that the glitter/shimmer/foil effect seems to be its downfall in the sense it can make the polish somewhat brittle on the nail - i.e. not very flexible and therefore likely to break off in chunks.

The polish applies well using the standard-size brush (always I plus-point - I hate the tiny thin brushes in the Essie polishes!), although is quite thick in formula so you have to be careful not to overload the nail.

I went for two fairly thin coats, followed by my Sally Hansen Insta Dri.

Like i've mentioned, it is a very pretty polish, but for some reason I find it just a bit 'meh', and dare I say, mumsy?! I don't know why i've taken an aversion to it, especially since I love all things foiled and sparkly, but the shade isn't appealing to me, nor is the staying power - it's the morning after application and already I have a chip!

However the general verdict for this shade and the Nailwear Pro range in general on the internet seem to be positive ones, so maybe i'm just being picky!

I would like to try out some other shades in the range, but only if I could get them in the Avon sale or elsewhere online, and in the meantime I think I might give this one to my mum!

Have you tried any of the Avon polishes?

NOTW: Essie Island Hopping and Barry M glitter polish

This post is unbelieveably late/overdue (so much so that i've since changed my nail polish) due to Blogger having a bit of a fit and not letting me create/edit posts since Tuesday, but it was such a pretty nail combination I thought i'd share it with you.



I'm going through a bit of a glitter polish obsession at the moment (such a magpie), and it was all I could do not to coat all 10 of my nails in glittery sparkly lovliness, but I managed to just go for the one 'Lady GaGa' nail that seems to be so popular at the moment (although I am loving Karris' slightly different take on it where she's painted her index finger nail instead).

Island Hopping is only my second Essie nailpolish, and one which I got a while ago from a blog sale.

When I received it I wasn't too keen on it for some reason (goodness knows why) and it has been languishing in my nailpolish box for some time.

However in a bid to get through some of my nailpolishes (and reduce the ridiculous amount I have), I decided to whack this shade on, and I have been LOVING it.

It's the perfect 'inbetweeny' shade (i.e. between Winter and Spring when the weather is still a bit naff): a lilac/mauve/grey/burghandy combo which I can only be described as very sophisticated!

I then of course had to bring out the glitter...

You can buy Island Hopping from the likes of Ebay, and despite the prices of Essie being around £9 (and the brush, which I find too small/thin), I am really tempted to buy more as the formula is excellent and really hardwearing.

Do you recommend any Essie polishes?

NOTD: W7 Metallic Mars

I'm actually cheating with this one a little, as it's not so much a Nail Of The Day, but of the week (i.e. I put it on like last Wednesday and have only just got round to doing this post!)

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that a couple of weeks ago I tweeted about buying 5 nail polishes from Savers for only £1.99 each:

 

L-R: Metallic Saturn, Metallic Neptune,Metallic Jupiter, Metallic Mercury and Metallic Mars

The picture doesn't do these little beauties justice; they are all metallic shades (with Mercury and Jupiter having very finely milled metallic particles through them for extra pazazz), and are stunning, stunning colours - I got so excited when I saw them (and the fact they are all named after planets in the solar system. ahem). I also think the bottles are very similar in size/design to that of OPI polishes.

This week I have been wearing Metallic Mars, a kind of deep wine/burgandy/bronze shade:

(Please excuse the horendous state of my nails, but this pic shows how the colour changes in different light: my ring finger looks bronze whulst the middle and index fingers are more wine-ish).

This particular polish is rather thin in consistancy, and on the first coat it hardly shows up on your nail - it actually took 3 coats of polish to get it this opaque - but it is very fast drying.

Length of wear isn't that amazing - about 3 days before chips appear (and that's with a top coat) - but the colours are so lovely and perfect for this time of year that I don't really care!

I'm not sure where officiall stockists of W7 are, but like I say I got mine in Savers and i've noted that TK Maxx are selling sets of them now, so it's worth having a look about.

What do you think?

Melanie x



NOTD: Rimmel Lycra Pro - 420 Aqua Cool

Another day, another nail polish, this time the turn of Aqua Cool from the Rimmel Lycra Pro collection.

This is THE most stunningly beautiful pastel shade of cornflower blue, and one I keep catching myself admiring on my nails ever so often!

This is actually the second shade I've purchased from the Rimmel Lycra Pro range (the other being a french manicure nude shade which i've yet to feature in a NOTD post - watch this space!), and I really quite like these polishes: good consistency (not quite as thick as the Barry M polishes) and staying power, beautiful range of colours, practical brush shape (I HATE square-tipped brushes!) and reasonable price - RRP £4.59 for 12ml (although I got mine from savers for £3.59).

If you're looking for the perfect fresh, funky and eyecatching shade, then I thoroughly recommend this little beauty (and don't listen to what your parents might say - my mum said I looked like I had bad circulation!!)

Melanie x

NOTD: Barry M 318 Peach Melba

(Please excuse the horrendous state of my cuticles - nail appointment has been made!)

Peach Melba seems to be the 'must-have' Barry M shade of the moment, therefore when I saw one solitary bottle of it in my local Superdrug for the bargainous price of £2.99 I decided to snap it up.

Like the name, this particular shade is a really pretty peach pastel (bit of alliteration for you there), but it does need a couple of coats to avoid streaks and get a uniform colour.

The problem with this (as with most Barry M nail paints), given that the polishes have quite a thick consistency to begin with anyway, is that the more coats you apply, the thicker the finish of your polish, and thus the greater liklihood of it peeling off!

I also find that Barry M polishes usually need a top coat in order to achieve a high-shine finish, but other than these minor points, I really like the range of paints available for a really affordable price.

Melanie x

NOTD: Shellac Masquerade

Morning folks (don't think I've ever blogged this early before!),

just a quick NOTD post for you before I shoot off to work, this time it's Shellac's Masquerade:

This shade is exactly what I think Masquerade would be as a nail polish: suave, sophisticated and a little bit sultry!

What do you think?

melanie x

NOTD: A Shellac Hybrid!

I'm chanelling my inner Wizard of Oz/Emerald City vibe this week with my choice of nail colour:

There is no name for this particular shade, as it's actually a combination of two Shellac polishes: Black Pool (a jet black) with Iced Coral (a coral shade with a slight green dimension to it).

I couldn't get my head round how combining black with coral could equal amazing glittery emerald green, but apparently Iced Coral can be layered with a multitude of different Shellac shades to produce amazing colours (it must be the magic UV-lamp effect!)

Can't wait for my next appointment to try a different colour!

Melanie x

NOTD: Shellac Strawberry Smoothie

As you might have guessed, I am a big fan of Shellac (you can see my original review from away back in November here), and, given that I treat myself to a new "coating" of it every 2-3 weeks, I've tried a fair few colours in the range so far.

This week's choice is a shade also worn by Kylie Minogue on her Aphrodite tour (random fact for you: Strawberry Smoothie

As the name suggests, this particular shade is a very pretty baby/bubblegum pink with a metallic effect to it, making for the perfect summer shade.

Have you tried Shellac?

Melanie x

NOTD: Shellac Hot Pop Pink

Evening lovely folks,

thought i'd quickly share with you the colour which is currently gracing my nails: Shellac (read all about it here if you've never heard of it before) Hot Pop Pink.

I'm a big fan of Shellac, and usually go for a more neutral/pale colour which allows me to paint over them if I want to, but this time I thought i'd opt for something summary and very Barbie! It's actually very similar to Barry M's Bright Pink.

Melanie x

NOTD: Revlon 044 Blue Lagoon

Hello chicas, happy saturday :)

I never thought blue nails would appeal to me, but after seeing a beautiful baby blue gracing the nails of Lisa Eldridge, i decided to take the plunge (pardon the pun) and buy Blue Lagoon by Revlon.

Like Sunshine Sparkle there is a faint sparkle to it when looked at close up (i've since discovered "sparkle" nail polishes are a NIGHTMARE to remove!) but it actually looks quite matt-ish on its own (I have Seche Vite over the top).

Another fab summary colour to add to the collection!

Melanie x

NOTD: Revlon 042 Sunshine Sparkle

Hurrah for summer slowly getting here at last, and it being reflected in the new products for this season.

Revlon have released some FABULOUS nailpolishes, my favourite being Mad about Mango, Sunshine Sparkle (below) and Blue Lagoon.

Sunshine Sparkle is a beautiful lemon colour, with a slight sparkle (as the name suggests) through it (which i've tried to show in the above pic but failed!)
It does go on slightly streaky, and I had to put on 3 coats to get the desired effect, but the colour pay off is stunning and it definitely helps cheer me up!
Boots are doing a 3 for 2 across all their ranges at the moment so get down there and nab some for yourself!

Melanie x

NOTD - Revlon "Scented" Nail polish in 355 Mad About Mango

As it's such a lovely summary day today I thought I'd change my nail colour to reflect it!

Today it is the turn of the newly-purchased 355 Mad About Mango by Revlon, from a limited edition "scented" nail polish range.
Now, I don't know about you, but i'm not so fussed if my nails smell nice (who actually goes about smelling their nails?!), but I have to admit it is quite pleasant once the polish has dried.
I don't expect the smell to last very long however (after hand washing etc), but the scent and the cheery colour make me feel summary and happy!

It's not too dissimilar to the Shellac in Tropix I had put on a while ago...

These nail polishes retail at around £6.95 in boots, but they're currently doing a 3 for 2, so I picked up 044 Blue Lagoon (a stunning baby blue colour) and 042 Sunshine Sparkle (pastel yellow) as well.

I told you I was becoming nail-polish obsessed...!

Melanie x

NOTD - No7 Stay Perfect Nail Polish in Milan

Evening Bloggers and Bloggees, I said i'd be back and here I am!

Another NOTD post for you this evening, this time in the form of the b-e-a-u-tiful No7 Stay Perfect nail polish in Milan, a stunning metallic pink infused with tiny pink and silver glitter flakes.

(2 coats with Seche Vite top coat on top)

In my opinion it isn't dissimilar to the shade "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry for OPI, just a little more intense, and more fine-milled in the glitter stakes!

I got this lovely shade as part of a No7 gift set received for my birthday last week - NOTD featuring the rest of the shades to come soon!



Melanie x

NOTD - No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour - 105 Damson Dream

Happy Sunday Campers,

I am yet again trying to distract myself from spending money, and have so far today:

• Updated my ipod with a gazillion songs
• Cleared out my "friends" list on Facebook (believe it or not I now only have 69. But at least I can say I know every single one of them and chat to them on a regular basis!)
• Painted my nails (as per the post!)
• Tidied out my room and changed my bedcovers
• Wrapped Ebay items
• Watched CSI: NY episodes
• Taken pictures for upcoming posts (then my camera packed in. again)

And I am also hoping to get some YouTubes videos filmed...I feel like a smoker trying to give up cigarettes - I am DESPERATE to go to my nearest Primark/Next outlook shop! Nevertheless I keep telling myself i'll feel better once I get my overdraft paid off (whenever that may be...!)

Anyhoo, back to the matter in hand. Damson Dream is an absolutely beautiful burgandy-red metallic colour, and looks really classic and chic on the nails. I love dark nails, but this is a more summary/wearable colour than black etc which can be a bit wintery.
No7 have some fab shades in their nail colour range and I plan on buying more to add to my collection (when the bank balance allows of course!).

Enjoy the rest of your day!
Melanie x

NOTD - Essie Nail Lacquer 610 Island Hopping

I know, shock horror - i'm wearing nail polish for once that isn't Barry M!

I got this in the post from a blog sale the other day, and was eager to try it out, so off came the Barry M Indigo (I didn't even have time to do a NOTD for this!) and on went the Essie "Island Hopping", which is a sort of purpley "griege" colour.

It looks very violet/purple here, but it's actually a lot more grey-toned in real life - my silly point-and-shoot camera wasn't picking the true colour up properly (can't wait to get my hands on an SLR!). It's slightly more true to colour in the picture below.



I'd say this was in the same family as Barry M's Dusky Mauve, or possibly even Mushroom: brown/grey toned colours which are very "in" right now.

This is my second bottle of Essie nail polish, and as much as I do like the two bottles I now have, i'm completely bewildered by the brush which is very skinny in comparison to other polishes, meaning the actual painting process takes a fair bit longer and can lead to streaks (i've got 3 coats of this particular colour on).

Essie nail polishes are available from a number of outlets, including ASOS.com (where a 15ml bottle costs an average of £9.95) but I got mine (as with many of my products!) from Ebay for around £3-4.

Melanie x

NOTD - Barry M Nailpaint 313 Dusky Mauve

What would a OOTD post be without the NOTD to go with it?!

Today's choice is a polish I bought yesterday as part of the Boots 2 for £5 deal on Barry M nail paints: 313 Dusky Mauve (I also bought the very popular Indigo shade).

It is absolutely beautiful and the photos really don't do it justice: a gorgeous kind of brown shade (not dissimilar to Mushroom) with a stunning subtle metallic purple running through it, giving it a kind of "petrol" effect!

(The slight shimmer can  be see in the top right of the bottle here)

(Terrible out of focus shot but with the flash the metallic purple effect is illustrated better!)

Looks quite dark in this picture but it's slightly lighter on the nail. Perfect!

**Update 15th March** Whilst reading through Best of Beaute's blog, I realised that Barry M have produced another Chanel dupe with this particular nail polish, this time for the 509 Paradoxal shade. As you will see from Best of Beaute's post here, the two are practically identical!        

                                            Melanie x

NOTD and my nail polish collection

Evening all, second post of the day for you (aren't I on a roll?!)

Today's NOTD is the fabulous shade 262, "Bright Red" by Barry M, which is a (funnily enough) gorgeous bright, tomato red which looks really timeless and classic on the nails, especially with a glossy top coat over over the top (Seche Vite in my case).

I might have mentioned before, but i'm a really big fan of the Nail Paints by Barry M, as you can get some stunning colours for excellent prices. Boots are also currently doing a 2 for £5 deal on these nail polishes.

Also as an extra I thought i'd give you a quick peek of my current nail polish collection. Recently i've been buying polishes like they're going out of fashion, although sometimes I worry they'll go off before I get to use them properly! My collection is fairly small compared to those of others i've seen on blogs/YouTube, but if my polish-buying habit continues i'll be joining their ranks in no time!

Top row, L-R:

• Seche Vite top coat
• Barbara Daley nail polish - Lustre
• Barry M nail paint - 310 Mushroom
• Avon Nailwear pro - Romance (a metallic pinky-purple - the flash is right on it!)
• Essie - 705 Lilacism
• Orly nail lacquer - 40729 Lollipop

Bottom row, L-R

• Barry M nail paint - 279 Bright Pink
• BYS nail enamel - N85 pink panic
• Barry M nail paint - 262 Bright Red
• China Glaze nail lacquer - 634 Frostbite (love love love!)
• Avon matte nailwear - Violetta
• Avon nailwear pro - Dynamo
• No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour - 105 Damson Dream
• No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour - 110 Betty Blues
• Maybelline Express Finish Lacquer - 809L Onyx Black

Any recommendations for what I should add to my collection next?