Bobbi Brown

The plan was to find a new foundation as I'm disliking my MAC one at the moment,  I find that it makes me look darker (cousin A said it was because it oxidises). I wasn't too sure what brand I wanted but my cousin A was on hand and suggested a few. I tried on the Chanel Mat Lumiere which I found too heavy and caked on, though to be fair the sales assistant layered it on far too much. I then tried on Nars Sheer Glow, I wasn't impressed with the sales assistant's way of applying the foundation to my face. She just used her fingers (I didn't see her wash or sanitise her hands!). As you can guess I wasn't taken by Nars but it could be that she didn't wipe off the Chanel foundation properly so again my face with rather cakey! Also she cousin A said she wasn't really selling the product, her mind was on something else!

The last foundation was Bobbi Brown. This time I was impressed with the way the sales assistant prepared my skin! She wiped off all the foundation(s) and followed it by hydrating my skin with moisturiser and serum. The foundation was Skin Foundation SP15 in shade 3.5. It went on very smoothly and it's extremely light, it felt fluid, like water, probably because it is water base! The effect you achieve with this foundation is more natural glow, so there is a little shine which I'm not used to so I asked for a little powder! Anyway I thought you had to put on powder afterwards to set the foundation?

I also got a corrector which I desperately needed for my horrid under eye bags. This is the problem when I have really early rises and late nights!

Below Deck and Mint Cream

China Glaze Below Deck with a coat of Color Club Femme Fatale on top.

Color Club Femme Fatale

Elf Mint Cream

Required 4 coats here to achieve complete opacity. Was incredibly streaky and a general pain in the butt to apply. If I didn't love the colour so much I would throw this in the trash.

The Chop

My nails are shorter, they had to go after I broke one playing rounders on Saturday :-( I can't stand having different length nails.

NOTD: Pelican Grey from the Anchors Away Collection. Love this because it's got silvery micro shimmers (just about see on the index finger) which gives it more dimension and doesn't look flat on the nail. I even got a compliment.

Tea, cake and croquet

Providing the weather holds tomorrow I'll be attending an Alice in Wonderland style tea party/picnic dressed as a flamingo. To match my bright pink outfit I have painted my nails using Rimmel's I love fruities Lasting Finish in Cranberry Zest 066. Application was quick with the wide brush and only two coats were required for an opaque finish. As the name suggests there is a fruity smells once the polish dries, a bit gimmicky but whatever the colour is nice.

For base I used Collection 2000 Nail Care 2 in 1 Base Coat and Ridge filler with Keratin. No top coat was used as I'm not planning to keep this mani on for more than 2 days!

He's Going In Circles

Holographic nail polish, you either love them or hate them but there's no denying the effect is very eye catching. Today I'm wearing a seafoam holo by China Glaze called He's going in Circles. It was part of their Kaleidoscope collection that came out in 2007. I had a look around on the web and it seems these holos are quite popular and difficult to find now (unless you go on eBay), which makes me want to find the others in the collection! I love a challenge...


I had to apply about 4 coats for good coverage so be aware of that if you get this. My picture really doesn't do this polish any justice whatsoever and please excuse the messy application.

If you're in the UK you can still get this shade without going on eBay.

Weekend Nails

This weekend I have been sporting a couple of polishes from the Anchors Away collection by China Glaze. I like this collection a lot especially the more muted/pastel colours. I still have 4 others which I haven't worn yet!

China Glaze Sunset Sail (Peach with silver micro shimmer)

China Glaze Sea Spray (Blue/gray with silver micro shimmer)

China Glaze is available from Sally stores in the UK.

NOTD - Boots No. 7 Poolside Blue

Yes another nail related post for you! Today I'm wearing Boots No. 7 Speed Dry in Poolside Blue. I love this blue because it's not too dark or too light and very much fits the nautical theme/trend.

Two coats were required for complete opacity though you could get away with one. I've noticed with the No. 7 polishes the lacquer thickens on the brush quite quickly so it can get a bit annoying having to recap and shake after 2 nails. This one is speed dry but it definitely happens on the stay perfect ones too. The tall bottle is a bit of a design faux pas as well.

(Update: Slight tip wear and chip after one day of not doing much :-( )

RRP £7 (£7.50 if you're in Central London, what?!?!?!) luckily had a £5 off No. 7 voucher!

Barry M Instant Nail Effects

I know it's been done to death but here's my contribution to the whole shatter, crackle (whatever it's called) trend. I'm trying to learn how to edit videos and didn't fancy scaring everyone with a make-up tutorial so instead here's me painting my nails with Barry M's Instant Nail Effects over OPI's Austin-tatious turquiose.

A close up of the final result. I'm still undecided about whether I actually like this effect.

Because I don't have any other polishes that create this effect I can't really make a comparison on the quality. One thing that I would say is the brush isn't the greatest. You can see in the video how hard it is to get into the corners.

What do you think of this effect?

Available from Boots and Superdrug
£3.99

Here comes the science bit

If you want to know a bit more about the chemicals that go into your products check out: http://colinsbeautypages.co.uk/

OPI Austin-tatious turquoise

The sun is out and I'm feeling super summery. I've been holed up in a dark room for quite some time but thankfully I have until June to top-up on my Vitamin D and to have pretty nails before I have to return!!

Today I've chosen a lovely shimmery turquoise from OPI's Texas collection (Spring/Summer 2011) called Austin-tatious turquoise. In darker lighting you can see the purple duochrome. (I used a base, x3 generous coats of polish because it is super sheer and a top coat)

OPI is available in the UK from John Lewis, Lookfantastic and Lena White