NOTD: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Prickly Pear

This is the first Gelly nail polish I have bought from Barry M, and I really love it! 

I am pretty obsessed with purple and lilac nail colours, but this is the first blue shade of lilac that I have and it's such a great spring/summer shade.

The nail polish itself was really easy to apply, the first coat was very sheer so it needed the second coat to get this opaque colour, this finish is nice and glossy but I think you would still need to apply a top coat just to get extra a couple more days out of the wear.

Elaine 

NOTD: Urban Outfitters Birthday Glitter

I'm not normally one for glitter nail varnishes as I like the glitter look to be solid and I find with most glitter varnishes it's very hard to get this look and it takes loads of coats that never seem to dry! So when I saw this nail varnish in Urban Outfitters I wanted it straight away as the glitter payoff in one coat was brilliant and it dried very quickly, I think it's called Carnival. So I asked for it for my birthday, and I was lucky enough to receive it from my lovely sister!

I applied one coat of Barry M Berry Ice Cream (one of my favourite nail varnishes ever!), and 2 coats of the glitter varnish, I could have easily gotten away with only 1 coat but I wanted as much glitter as possible!

I really love this nail varnish! It's an absolute bargain at £6 (I know I shouldn't know how much birthday presents cost) I will definitely be trying out more nail varnishes from Urban Outfitters.

The photo below shows just how concentrated the glitter is.

Have you tried nail varnishes from Urban Outfitters?

Elaine

NOTD: Barry M Coral

I love my new nail varnish from Barry M, it's a really vibrant red/orange colour for summer,which is great as the sun has finally come out!! I wouldn't say that this was really a coral colour... but I still love it, is it just me but when it gets near summer it seems that any red/orange/pink colour suddenly is called coral.

I have applied two coats with no top coat in this picture. I have been wearing this for the past couple of days and I was really impressed with how it has lasted, it has worn a bit on the tips after 3 days but I think that is pretty good considering I didn't use a top coat. 

This is a bit random but I applied this to my toes and I don't think the colour worked, I'm not really sure why but Rachel agreed... I would put a photo up but I don't think anyone wants to see my feet!

Elaine

NOTD - Ciate Bon Bon Free with Marie Claire

I received this Ciate nail varnish free with last month’s Marie Claire. I initially wasn't going to buy it as I have loads of nail varnish and there were so many great magazine freebies last month...... however whilst on my way to work I was reading the Metro newspaper and noticed a voucher to buy the magazine for only £1 - so it would be rude not too (I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for more offers like this at the end of the month, as I saw one for Elle magazine too)

I've never tried this brand before but I’ve heard a lot about them so I was looking forward to trying it. This is the shade Bon Bon with two coats, it definitely needed two coats to stop it looking streaky but then I think all nail varnish needs two coats. It’s a lovely lilac colour with a hint of grey, I would say its slightly more purple than it shows in the images, however still lovely. Since wearing it I’ve had a lot of compliments – which is always nice.  The application went on easily but it took slightly longer than expected to dry, I then applied the Barry M top coat. The varnish wore relatively well 3 days without chipping however on the 4^th day it peeled! I mean  it wasn’t a huge problem as it was ready to be removed but I haven’t had a nail varnish peel in a long time. Perhaps it didn’t work well the Barry M top coat, I’m not sure, has anyone else had this problem with Ciate nail Varnish?

Rachel

NOTD: The ELLE Grey by Mavala

I got this nail varnish a couple of years ago as a freebie from Elle and I love the colour soo much, I think as the grey is quite light it's an all year round colour! The nail varnish had actually turned quite sticky which I was surpised about, I would have thought that a brand like Mavala would have a bit more longevity in the nail varnishes! I still love it even if it does show all the ridges in my nails... Has any one tried Essie's base coat that fills nail ridges? Is it any good?

And I think my cat Smudge loved it as much as me, I couldn't take a photo without her trying to get in the picture too!

Elaine

NOTD Essie It's Delicate

As previously mentioned I bought this in a set of three Essie polishes for the bargain price of £9.99 from TK Maxx. It's a delicate and lovely sheer light pink, In the photo above I have applied 3 coats however if its a sheer look your going for this was beautiful in just one coat. The colour is really close to the well blogged about Fiji - however that's a far more opaque and slight more pinkish in colour, it's delicate is well more delicate looking. On top of this I've been using Barry M top coat and I've found it lasts really, really well. 

So far I'm extremely impressed with Essie polishes and its clear to see why everyone raves about them.

Rachel

TK Maxx Nail Extravagansa

If you haven't already heard TK Maxx are really upping their game when it comes to beauty products we were just in there this morning and we found amazing cosmetic bargains from Stila, Pixi, Elizabeth Arden, Bourjois and more, there were also bargains from Garnier and Bedhead. Although I think bargain hunters had got there before us as there wasn't much left!

But what excited us most was their stand of Nails Inc, Essie, Andrea Fullerton and Leighton Denny nail varnishes!!!

They had a whole section of Nails Inc gift sets ranging from £9.99 to £24.99, with a mix of old season colours such as glitter, darks and summer brights. 

The above set caught our eye the most it would be a great present for any nail varnish addict, unfortunately we are both skint so couldn't justify buying the set when we have hundreds of nail varnishes already.

They also had ESSIE nail varnishes in sets of three for a bargain price of £9.99... we absolutely squealed with delight as we had been dying to try them out, they were all classic pink/red/manicure colours. This is the set that Rachel bought.

We also sneakily hand picked the nicest spring colours to make a set for a giveaway!

We definitely will be making more trips to TK Maxx for bargains!

Elaine & Rachel

Magazine Freebies! Glamour, Instyle, Marie Claire & Red...

July must be the month for amazing freebies on magazines! All magazines are out NOW so hurry if you want your freebies... especially Glamour (that sells out quick!).

Glamour

Eva Longoria and Fearne Cotton are also on this month's Glamour covers.

Glamour are giving away sample/travel sizes of Benefit favourites Porefessional, That Gal and Bad Gal mascara, I have already been out and bought a few glamour magazines to get the Porefessional and That Gal (the shop assistant did look at me like I was crazy but I don't mind). Glamour is only £2 so it's well worth stocking up!

Instyle

 Instyle have free full sized mascara and black or navy eyeliner from the Body Shop, I was tempted to get the mascara but I have tried body shop mascara before and wasn't impressed, and I have enough eyeliner to last me a lifetime!

Marie Claire

Marie Claire are offering free Ciate nail polish in three shades, I have only seen two so far a lilac and nice beige shade, both colours I have loads of so decided to give this a miss too.

Red

Red are offering free full sized Jemma Kidd Makeup School volumising mascara or eyeliner, I was really looking forward to this offer, so I got the mascara, I tried it out last night and it was actually quite good but with too many coats it can get a bit clumpy but well worth it at only 

£3.90. Red have been brilliant with their giveaways the past couple of months!

This is a great month for freebies! I love this time of year!!

Elaine

NOTD Maxfactor Fantasy Fire and Navy Barry M

I've had the infamous Maxfactor fantasy fire varnish for a while and although I loved it, I found it slightly annoying how many coats you needed to get a solid colour, you can see the NOTD here. So I thought I'd try it out with different base coats.

I used one coat of Barry M's 292 Navy and then 2 coats of fantasy fire, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, I think it gives a nice petrol look! I will definitely be trying fantasy fire on top of other colour base coats in the future. 

Elaine 

NOTD Nails Inc InStyle Bluebell Free Nail Polish

Elaine and I both chose the same free InStyle nail varnish, Bluebell. It's unlike any other colour I have and to be honest I wouldn't normally choose it as I'm not a huge blue/lilac fan - but I like it, it's perfect for spring and I think it's flattering for my skin tone. In daylight I would say it's more lilac/ lavender that it appears in these pictures,

What do you guys think? Did you get any of the free InStyle colours?

Rachel

Free Nail's Inc polishes with Instyle

Buy the June edition of InStyle magazine (£3.80 with Eva Green on the front) and you'll get a free Nail's Inc varnish!

The varnish is full size (10ml), and comes in pale pink, light purple and light blue. These colours are designed specifically for Instyle. Nails Inc varnishes usually retail at around £11.

It is available from Thursday 3 May, until stocks last. I love these sort of freebies!

Elaine

H&M Goodies & NOTD Miss Stone Heart

Thanks to a £5 promotion I received from H&M I bought all these goodies for a measly £5.95. I've had my eye on the blue polish (Blue My Mind usually £2.99) for awhile, its a soft purpleish blue and it's a colour which has been huge on the high street recently (Primark have shoes in this colour - but not ever in my size it seems) I also fell in love with a shirt this colour from the H&M gold label section but unfortunately again they didn't have my size :-( so this nail varnish will have to fill my lust for now.

The grey polish (Miss Stone Heart usually £2.99) is a really beautiful light grey with a lilac undertone and looks great in just one coat, perfect for rush jobs.

The brushes were a random pick up as I'm pretty lazy at washing my brushes so I was needing some back ups. The eye brush (£1.99) is lovely and soft although after trying the angled brush (usually £2.99) I'v found its a bit scratchy on my face, but it will do as a back up. So these brushes are okay but the quality is definitely reflected in the price - nothing to write home about. 

Rachel     

NOTD: Matte Antique Coral

Antique Coral

I love this colour, I have had it for years but found it at the bottom of my nail polish box the other day and remembered how much I loved it especially when it only cost £1.89! It has a hint of shimmer flecks in the colour which is really pretty and quite similar to 17's new spring nail polishes. I have used my Rimmel matte top coat on top though, as you might of guessed we are both obsessed with the matte finish, I really think it adds an extra edge to any polish.

I had to use three coats of the coral colour and one of the matte top coat as my nails are full of ridges so not all my nails had an even coverage, but it dried really quickly so it wasn't a hassle.

Natural Collection in Boots are currently on 3 for £5! Bargain!

UPDATE: Just a quick warning I took this off today and it had stained my nails yellow so you might want to use a base coat or just risk it!

Elaine

NOTD: Rimmel Beige Style & Matte Finish Topcoat

Since buying the Rimmel Lycra Pro Matte Finish Topcoat sometime last year I've been addicted, I know matte nails aren't as huge/on trend as they were last year but I still can't stop using it. I personally think it looks best on dark colours or natural shades like the one I'm wearing today - Rimmel Lycra Pro 365 Beige Style. 

These are two of my all time favourite nails varnishes and to be honest it wasn't until today I realised they were the same brand and make, I love the wide yet easy to use brushes and I find they only need two coats (only one of the top coat), dry fast and last really well.

PS. I've been wearing this all week and I was really shocked to see Elaine had blogged and was wearing her matte nails this week too - great minds and all that!

Rachel

NOTD: Matte Rimmel Blue My Mind

Please excuse the state of my nails!

I originally bought this because it looked like a really vibrant royal blue with a hint of purple, but when you apply it it's actually an in between of royal blue and navy... oh well I still love it. I have used my Rimmel Matte Top coat as well, I love matte nail varnish I use it as often as possible, it can give an ordinary nail varnish a really great edge! 

NOTD: 17 Woo Me

Ignore the 'just in' sticker I've had it for a year!

I love this blue/grey lilac colour, I think it is just the right colour for this time of year!

I wouldn't say this has any extra lasting power though, I only put this on yesterday but I will definitely need to touch up the ends of my nails before I go out tomorrow night.

But I do really love this colour!

NOTD: Maxfactor Fantasy Fire

I managed to get my hands on this for my night out on Friday, luckily there was plenty in my local Boots. 

The colour is actually much more of a vibrant bright purple than I expected, which hasn't really been picked up in this picture. The nail polish is also very opaque so it takes a few coats to get the above coverage I actually lost count I think it was 5/6, luckily it dries quickly!

I really like this nail varnish but I think I might try this over a navy or a dark purple to save me applying loads of coats and to try and make the vibrant purple a bit more subtle. I will see how it goes and try to do an updated NOTD soon.

Elaine

NOTD: Peach Melba and Peach Me Softly

 It must be spring as both Rachel and I have just bought peach nail varnishes!

Barry M 318 Peach Melba
I wasn't sure when I first put this on as I don't think the colour really compliments my skin tone, but meh I've grown to like it. Like any other Barry M nail varnishes it goes on well, dries quickly and normally takes two coats, Perfect! Sorry it looks a bit messy I had my neon yellow Illamasqua nail varnish on before and I don't think I took it off too well around my nails.

Rachel

H&M Peach Me Softly
I bought this on Thursday when everyone was going crazy over the Marni launch, I think I was the only one to not buy Marni that morning!
I'm impressed with how well this nail varnish goes on, as my nails are full of ridges and these sort of colours normally show them quite badly. This is a bit too much of an orangey peach for me, but I think I will be definitely trying H&M nail varnishes again especially at £2.99!

Elaine

Haul... Part 2!

Me and Rachel had a bit of a shopping day today, there wasn't really anything from Marni at H&M that was me so got a few other things!

Cargo, Fearne and Front Cover make up are all 75% off, so I got this liquid blusher for only £4.60 originally £18.50!! Bargain!

Topshop lipstick in Innocent for £8, this is a really nice bright pink which was surprising as I thought it would be more of a nude colour, but I love it.

Top from Topshop for £36, I can't wait to wear this with a long black vest top and dark jeans!

H&M nail varnish in peach me softly for £2.99.

These great wedges from Primark for £16.

 Oversized zebra scarf from Primark for £4.

Elaine

SS12 Trends - Gold Leaf

I've been watching the AW12/13 shows eagerly and after watching the Topshop Unique show I had a look through the SS12 shows to remind myself of some of the trends for Summer and felt I had to blog about how much I loved the use of gold leaf in the shows. The above images are from the Topshop Unique and Fendi (by make-up artist Peter Phillips) shows. Although I adore the look I think it might be a tiny bit OTT for my usual look so I think I will stick to a safer version of this trend using gold eyeshadows and nail varnish. Topshop's make up range have some great eye crayons (£7.50) I would love to try to give a deep gold colour. I also love Topshop's nail varnish range, they have a wide range of unusual colours which are always spot on trend, to get a gold leaf effect I think it would look great to layer the crackle topcoat in Gold Digger (£6.00) over a silver colour or the crackle topcoat in Frosty (£6.00) would look equally amazing. Will let you know how it goes when I get around to trying this!