Tag Archives: nail lacquer

Beauty Spot: Butter London Wallis nail polish review

Posted on September 27, 2012 | 2 Comments

I’m never one for following the seasons with my nail polish (I mean… have you seen how often I wear glittery “holiday” colours?!), but if you’re looking for a perfect fall colour, you can’t go far wrong with Butter London Wallis.

This beauty made its way to me thanks to my lovely make-up mule Justine after many months of lusting – but it was definitely worth the wait. Generally, I don’t lose too many sleeps over Butter London’s limited (and stupidly expensive) availability in Hong Kong as their colours aren’t really that special (their British slang names which have been confusing American bloggers for years with hilarious consequences, are pretty priceless though), but Wallis is definitely one of their smash hits and unique enough to warrant pursuing across the oceans!

Named after Wallis Simpson, the scarlet woman who rocked the monarchy, this polish definitely has a rather regal touch. It’s a stunning dirty olive-gold (can I pull out the word chartreuse please?!) with a slightly blackened quality that still doesn’t stop it positively gleaming with awesomeness. The finish is similar to Chanel’s Graphite – not quite a glitter, not quite a foil, but some speckled shiny subtle in-between. A grown-up way of wearing metallic polishes with zero danger of brush strokes, this means it works equally well dressed up to the nines with a party frock as it does worn cool and casually adding an edge to some dirty denim cut-offs.

For those who haven’t used Butter London yet and before you go on a rant (like I did!) about annoying awkward rectangular shaped caps, don’t worry – the rectangular bit lifts off to reveal a smaller circular easy-grip lid. The brush is of a nice middling size and Wallis makes everything very easy, applying smoothly with a high quality flowing consistency. Trust me when I say this one is a TOTAL stunner in real-life and pictures do not really do it justice.

Wallis’ vampy metallic glow makes it a great colour for fall – but frankly, it’s a polish good enough for all seasons. I anoint thee Queen Wallis, ruler of my fingertips (shhh… don’t tell Liz)!

Looks good with: an LBD, dirty denim, a crown
Drying time: 7-10 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: 3 days

Butter London Wallis nail polish, Fall 2011 Collection

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Beauty Spot: Deborah Lippmann Just Dance nail polish review

Posted on August 31, 2012 | 1 Comment

Cometh summer, cometh turquoise. I’m actually obsessed with turquoise all of the time anyway (see here for proof), yet as soon as the sun starts shining, my world turns totally aqua – so Deborah Lippmann’s Just Dance, part of her Holiday 2011 Dance Music mini trio set, seemed perfect for my turquoise turn!

A mixture of small round teal glitter and larger cyan blue glitter in a very sheer blue jelly base (I think there will be quite a lot of searching for synonyms for the word turquoise in this post!), for me, this is one of the less special Lippmann polishes. There’s no doubting the sheer dazzling intensity of this much teal set at sparkles o’ clock, but the fact that there isn’t much difference in colour between the glitters makes it less interesting than your typical Lippmann glitter (which often contract the base shade with the glitters, or use a mix of different glitter colours).

I found Just Dance quite glue-y and not great to work with… and of course, it’s hell to clean off (do I need to even point that out in glitter polish reviews any more?!).

The end result is a solid multi-faceted wall of teal glitter that sparkles, spangles and shimmers from every angle – like an old-school Hollywood sequin sheath dress, just on the nail. It’s a bright bedazzling blingy mermaid’s tail but, in the main scheme of Lippmann polishes, falls that little bit short for me. But it’s turquoise, and for that reason, I still find it kind of irresistible!

Looks good with: party dresses, cocktail dresses, summer dresses… all dresses really!
Drying time: <1 min
Coats required: 3
Chips: 2-3 days

Deborah Lippmann, Just Dance, Holiday 2011 Dance Music Mini Trio, Joyce Beauty

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Beauty Spot: Deborah Lippmann On The Beach & Nars Koliary nail polish review

Posted on August 27, 2012 | 5 Comments

A Tale of Two Blues…

Yup, you’re getting two reviews for the price of one here! Now you know me… my usual philosophy is why write 100 words when 500 would do… but the reason behind this package deal is that NARS Koliary and Deborah Lippmann On The Beach are basically the same colour. Admittedly, a very gorgeous bright primary ocean blue, but the same colour nonetheless – and I imagine you’d enjoy reading two identical reviews as much as I’d enjoy writing them!

It’s a simple colour, but both brands execute it stunningly. Pure bright creamy mid-tone blue. No turquoise or green or purple hints hiding beneath the surface, no shimmer or glitter or special effects – just straight-up primary blue on a platter. It’s a delicious palate cleanser of a polish and one that always gets me compliments whenever I wear it.

There’s also very little to separate On The Beach and Koliary in terms of formula and wear either. They both boast beautiful buttery formulas that flow perfectly and make application as easy as an ocean breeze. They’re both wonderfully opaque, they both have gorgeously glossy finishes and they last for around a week without chipping. Aaaaah… If only all polishes could be this easy, huh?!

I genuinely can’t choose between them… but you definitely should, because polish collections don’t really need both. Although I find the Lippmann brush a tad easier to hold thanks to the smaller cap, I daresay the NARS had a formula that was just a smidgen better. In Hong Kong, they’re even priced the same. So you’ll have to make the decisions I’m afraid!

Either way, On The Beach or Koliary, this is an essential beautiful ocean blue. It’s summer in a bottle… but don’t mistake this for just a holiday fling – it brings a striking injection of summer any day of the year. I think I just blue myself!

Looks good with: summer, summer, summer!
Drying time: <3 mins
Coats required: 1-2
Chips: +5 days

Deborah Lippmann On The Beach nail polish, Spring 2012 Collection, $170, Joyce Beauty (I received this product for review on Sassy Hong Kong)

NARS Koliary nail polish, Summer 2012 Thakoon Collection, $170, Lane Crawford

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Beauty Spot: American Apparel Neon Orange nail polish review

Posted on July 9, 2012 | 5 Comments

This summer is all about neons. The other day on the train, I spotted two girls who looked like they’d got dressed with the sole purpose of glowing under UV lights at a rave – fluorescent yellow vest top, fluorescent pink bandage mini skirt, it literally was like they’d coloured themselves in with highlighter pens!

For those seeking a slightly more subtle take on the trend, a pop of neon nail polish is your best bet. China Glaze, Essie, OPI, Orly and even Deborah Lippmann have all jumped on the bandwagon with neon collections hitting the shelves in time for summer. However, American Apparel got there first with their neon collection last year – and luckily, I have a prime make-up mule Nunu to supply me with such fluro goodness from across the seas!

I already showed you Neon Coral (LOVE); this time, it’s American Apparel’s Neon Orange. You’d typically expect neon orange to be more similar in colour to that of Neon Coral (errr… I can see this is going to get confusing!), but this was an awesomely unexpected take on the shade.

Not a hint of ugly harsh highlighter orange here; instead Neon Orange was more an electrified tangerine, shocking sienna or amplified mango. It was like someone put pastel orange on acid – there’s still a gorgeous sense of a soft mellow melon sunset… but with the volume turned right up!

Unfortunately, whilst American Apparel’s version of neon orange might be the colour of your dreams, it boasts the formula of your nightmares (and I already commented here on how the bottle isn’t too much fun either). Yellows do have a reputation for being difficult in the polish world, so perhaps the high yellow quotient of this lacquer (as opposed to it leaning more red like Neon Coral) had something to do with it? Either way, I’m not going to make excuses for this tantrum-throwing toddler of a polish – thick, gluey (better after a few drops of thinner but still difficult), streaky, uneven application, non self-levelling, taking ages to dry, bizarrely bumpy once dry… Seriously, think of everything you could hate about a polish and Neon Orange had it in spades!

Does the cool colour – pretty unique in my extensive stash – make up for it? I’ll leave you to decide based on the photos. I don’t advise you to click for close-ups because they are genuinely pretty foul… but dammit, the colour is grrrrrrreat (emphasis on the grrrr!). It looks awesome set against other yellow, orange or red tones and as you can see, near enough glows in the dark (sending my camera into spasms whilst doing so).

So the question with Neon Orange is – would you still think a beautiful girl is beautiful even if she was a bitch? Probably. But would you want actually want to hang out with her? Probably not! For that reason, it might be a while before Neon Orange makes it back onto my nails… but you’ve got to admit, the colour’s still pretty cool, isn’t it?!

Looks good with: other colours from the red family, not looking up close
Drying time: 10 mins
Coats required: 3
Chips: 3-5 days

American Apparel Neon Orange nail polish, released Spring 2011

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Beauty Spot: Nars Kutki nail polish review

Posted on June 25, 2012 | 5 Comments

As my nail polish collection multiplies by the minute, some tough decisions need to get made. In make-up mental mode, I picked up all of Nars’ Thakoon nail polish collection (an stunning series of summer brights, for those that haven’t already seen it). But when I got home and applied Nars Kutki, I had to ask myself – do I really another pastel blue?! The answer, of course, is a resounding YES.

Unlike China Glaze’s Sea Spray, there is not a hint of dustiness to Kutki – it is a true powder blue. Unlike Chanel’s Coco Blue, there is no secret shimmer to it – it a dreamy creamy crème through and through. Unlike many inferior pastel blues, there is not a hint of chalkiness to it; Kutki is bright soft summer skies all the way. It is, in short, gorgeous.

My previous experience with Nars’ nail polish had been fine but nothing spectacular (see my review of Night Rider here). But the consistency and quality of the Thakoon polishes do really justify the price tag! Kutki has a pleasant, easy to apply formula that seems to glide onto the nail just so. The texture is creamy, buttery and opaque in two quick coats. It is a polish that applies as effortlessly an cleanly as its carefree summer colour implies. I just wish that Nars would consider having a smaller, easier to hold cap under its admittedly aesthetically pleasing, big square one (like Illamasqua or Butter London do).

I imagine it would be easy to find a dupe for Kutki… but for that special frisson of the Thakoon factor, I found it pretty irresistible. Combined with the simply gorgeous colour and the easy as pie formula, Kutki is a definite keeper. Sorry, no tough decisions today guys!

Looks good with: fluffy white clouds, summer sunshine, ice-creams
Drying time: <3 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: +5 days

NARS Kutki, Summer 2012 Thakoon Collection, $170, Lane Crawford

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Beauty Spot: Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Dream nail polish review

Posted on May 31, 2012 | 4 Comments

Over time, you may have learnt a couple of my nail polish weaknesses on this blog. Turquoise. Deborah Lippmann. Glitter. So imagine what would happen if all three got rolled into one… well, it did. Helloooo Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Dream!

Even from bottle shots, I knew this was going to be one of my favourite polishes ever. Mermaid tail nails has been a long-held obsession of mine and, well, this one even had it in the name. Mermaid in the name and mermaid in the bottle – it was always going to be a winner in my book!

Mermaid’s Dream is an enchantingly intoxicating mix of very very fine aqua, seafoam, silver and gold glitter in a clear base, with larger round pieces of ocean teal-blue glitter mixed in. It’s like the crest of a wave in fairy tales and it is all-out GORGEOUS.

It’s also not your typical Lippmann glitter. Usually, Lippmann glitters are big blingy pieces of glitter mixed with smaller ones in a coloured jelly base; Mermaid’s Dream is made up of this much finer fairy dust in a clear base, but with a stunning super-shimmery iridescent quality too. It is, needless to say, utterly unique.

The very fine dense glitter makes this rather easier to work with than your average Lippmann too, as it means you don’t get big flakes of glitter lodging themselves halfway off the tip of your nail, halfway onto your cuticle or settling at weird angles. The thin consistency of the polish also means it’s easy to apply neatly and flatly, and you get opaque coverage in a quick two coats.

The downside is that this is HELLISH to clean off. I think I was still picking off bits of it around a month later. The foil method (where you soak pieces of cotton in polish remover, wrap them round your nail, then wrap foil around them and wait for the varnish… and half of your skin… to dissolve) is the only solution; honestly, I wouldn’t even bother with any other attempts at scrubbing or rubbing this off, as it would require more elbow grease than a thousand Cinderellas and you’re probably more likely to draw blood before actually removing much.

But it is so SO worth it. This colour is absolute pure mermaid through and through. The gleaming gold glimmer really comes through in real-life, giving the whole thing a fairy-tale shimmer. The careful blend of glitters mixed together to create Mermaid’s Dream is truly mesmerising and just utterly irresistibly perfect. And the bigger pieces of blue glitter floating above it all are just the icing on the (fairy) cake.

It’s a long time since a nail polish this special came into my life and Mermaid’s Dream truly is a treasure from the deep, with a definite sprinkling of that Lippmann magic. If mermaid’s tails were really this beautiful, I find it impossible to believe that Ariel would ever have wanted to grow legs!

Looks good with: beaches, believing in magic, not wanting to grow legs
Drying time required: <2mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: 3-5 days

Deborah Lippmann, Mermaid’s Dream, Spring 2012 Collection, $190, JOYCE Beauty

This nail polish was provided for me to review for my day job at Sassy!

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Beauty Spot: American Apparel Neon Coral nail polish review

Posted on May 21, 2012 | 2 Comments

It is officially summer in the 852 (it must be: Sassy says so!), which means I get even more insane with my make-up than usual! Being my usual stupidly-prepared self, I bagged myself the hottest most searing neon nail polish money could buy around three months ago, thanks to Stateside make-up mule Nunu. First up to give my nails a dose of radioactive summer was American Apparel Neon Coral.

Well, it does what it says on the tin! It is neon. It is coral. BUT IT IS SO MUCH MORE.

In the words of Danny Zucko, ‘It’s electrifffffyin’!’. This is not the nasty orange highlighter colour of yore but a perfect red orange balance, neon-ed to the extreme. It’s electric coral, amplified salmon and peach on heat rolled into one. It is, of course, utterly amazing.

What isn’t amazing is American Apparel nail polish itself. It’s my first experience with AA nail polish and in the words of Shania Twain, ‘that don’t impress me much!’. The thin square bottles look very cool, the print on them is awesome and they look like little hipster bricks of E-number addled candy. But their being so thin means that using them is a precarious business, as one mis-aimed brush dunk results in them tipping over way too easily.

The brush was functional but not great and just served to remind me how much I take the likes of Zoya’s, China Glaze’s, Lippmann’s, Essie’s et al for granted as the way they splay just takes the hard work out of application. The formula of Neon Coral was fine (wait until you hear my horror stories for Neon Orange!), a streaky first coat that built up to opacity in two to three. Like most neons, it dries with a sort of demi-matte finish, though this was definitely still glossy and non-chalky looking enough for me not to consider top coat.

But back onto the colour itself, which is really something. Fabulously fluorescent, it of course caused my camera to have a seizure and never really capture it properly (too orange-leaning and nowhere near bright enough; bizarrely iPhone did a better job, so thank the fact I felt the need to tweet for the top two photos, which are pretty accurate).  As the picture above shows, it near enough glows in the dark.

Retina-searing, sunglasses required, Neon Coral practically enters the room before you. It’s a neon no-brainer. Start waving those glowsticks kids, because the summer of 2012 is set to be a fluorescent one!

Looks good with: colour-clashing, summer brights, beachwear
Drying time: 5 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: 2 days

American Apparel Neon Coral nail polish, released Spring 2011

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Beauty Spot: OPI Did It On ‘Em nail polish review

Posted on April 30, 2012 | 4 Comments

With summer well and truly ready to kick in over here, my body starts to crave brights – and my nails are no exception! So next up from the Nicki Minaj Collection is OPI’s Did It On ‘Em.

A lot of people commented on the similarity between Minaj’s collection and the Shrek one OPI put out a few years back – and Did It On ‘Em is basically the lovechild of Who The Shrek Are You (the Shrek green) and Fiercely Fiona (yellow). Basically, it’s a bright amped-up chartreuse… and my, how long I have been dying to use the world chartreuse!

If it was a cocktail, Did It On ‘Em would be equal parts lemon and lime. It’s pretty much the exact balance between the two, though it will lean almost totally lime under artificial yellow light or in the shade. Zingingly bright but creamy too, it kind of reminds me of 80s graffiti prints and I daresay it would look quite cool with an overall 80s throwback look; it also looks awesome clashed against other bright colours (very summer!) to shake things up. Probably the very definition of ‘ugly-pretty’ (oh God, I really do watch too much Next Top Model), it’s a colour that the more demure amongst you would deem “interesting”!

However, Did It On ‘Em was hell to apply. I don’t know if it’s because of the yellow in there (yellows in the polish world are renowned problem children) but it was streaky, chalky and uneven on. It requires at least three coats to get some semblance of opacity and even coverage; OPI’s usual magical self-levelling properties were much needed here! Yet eventually, I got the glossy vibrant chartreuse colour you see here… you can do it guys! Just errr… don’t look too close!

For me, Did It On ‘Em is the most Nicki Minaj colour of the entire collection – namely, you’ll love it or hate it. At the moment, I’m erring on the side of hate towards Minaj (I think turning up with a pretend Pope dressed as Red Riding Hood at an awards ceremony and thinking you’re cool or provocative for doing it has to be a new red carpet low) yet I think I ended up loving Did It On ‘Em. Purely because I got to use the word ‘chartreuse’ in a review, of course.

Looks good with: colour-clashing, 80s neons, touch of swagger
Drying time: 5 mins
Coats required: 3
Chips: +5 days

OPI Did It ‘On Em nail polish, Nicki Minaj Spring 2012 Collection, $70, Cher2

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Beauty Spot: OPI Pink Friday nail polish review

Posted on April 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

Over my many nail polish reviews, you may have noticed a slight disparaging tone whenever pink is mentioned. Suffice to say, “traditional” nail polish colours just do not do it for me… save them for my wedding day I say (though I’m still not guaranteeing I won’t waltz down the aisle sporting some blingy-holo-flakie goodness!). However, I recently picked up OPI Pink Friday as part of their Nicki Minaj Collection set of minis, and in the interests of fairness and not wasting my money, I’m willing to try any shade once!

I actually received quite a few compliments on Pink Friday and I have to admit, if you like pinks, this is a really cute fresh take on the colour. Debates raged about what exact shade of pink to call it… it’s not fluorescent enough to be bubblegum, definitely not peach-toned enough for salmon, not bright enough for flamingo, nowhere near milky enough to be a pastel and I swiftly discovered that everyone has a different idea of what Barbie pink is! Nevertheless, it’s pretty close to MY idea of Barbie pink, so that’s what I’m going to call it!

Formula-wise, it wasn’t one of OPI’s greatest hits, unlike Fly from the same collection, which was top of the pops (liking the music references?!). It seemed a little chalky and streaky and was initially difficult to get a smooth even finish with. But after two to three careful coats, like many OPI polishes, it proved to be a great self-leveller and settled down to the smooth glossy milky creamiscle colour you see here.

Judging by the compliments, perhaps I should wear pinks more often… but Pink Friday wasn’t enough of a Eureka moment to change my mind. That being said, it’s not too sickly, is totally wearable and is actually quite pretty, which is more than I’d hoped for. I definitely wouldn’t team it with flounces, lace  or cutesy pastels, as I’m pretty sure that would tip it firmly into Lolita-Little Bo Peep territory!

My final verdict on Pink Friday? More an album track than single material; a cute Skipper rather than a beautiful Barbie. But totally bonza if you love your pinks.

Looks good with: Ken
Drying time: 5-7 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: 5-7 days

OPI Pink Friday, Spring 2012 Nicki Minaj Collection, $70, Cher2

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Beauty Spot: Hunger Games mani and tutorial

Posted on April 10, 2012 | 8 Comments

Those of you who know me personally will know of a feverish obsession that has overtaken me the past month: THE HUNGER GAMES!!!

I read the books over a weekend and was unable to eat, sleep or shower until I had devoured every last page. I may have started crying and shaking when I got involved in a discussion about it. I even became gripped by a strange sort of Tourettes, whereby I would just randomly start shouting ‘HUNGER GAMES!’ to anyone on Twitter, Whatsapp and just passers-by on the street. Move over K.Mid, I’m all about J.Law now – KATNISS 4EVA!!!

Anyway, I managed to salvage something pretty out of the depths of my madness! In the books, Katniss is ‘The Girl On Fire’ and gets an appropriately fiery manicure to rock alongside a dress that bursts into flame. Inspired by this (and one of my fave beauty bloggers Eugenia from Ommorphia Beauty Bar), I decided to make one of my very first attempts at nail art in the name of THE HUNGER GAMES with my special Hunger Games manicure.

China Glaze’s Hunger Games Collection not being out in HK yet, I made do with whatever nail polish was in my stash to create my flame-encrusted look. I started with two coats of Becca’s Pasa Doble, from their new Balearic Love Collection. It’s meant to be a dark plum but at two coats, it’s a super-deep blackberry… and to all intents and purposes, total black! I’ve not tried Becca nail polishes before but the quality of this was great – opaque, glossy, quick-drying and long-lasting.

Next, I daubed on OPI’s Take The Stage (from their 2010 Burlesque Collection), a glowing gorgeous copper foil, onto the tips of my nails. The trick is to have as little polish as possible on the brush; swipe it heavily on the sides of your bottle to get rid of the excess and then lightly splodge it at the top of each nail; you’re aiming for an uneven fiery finish so no neat lines required!

I found a nice way to get an uneven finish was to carefully blot the polish with a thin tissue when it is still at that tacky stage of drying, giving the polish a sponged effect. Also, shake your usual polish routine firmly out your brain! Long flat strokes of the brush are simply not useful; I found the best way to stop my hands automatically doing this was to splay, splodge and dab the brush at the tips of my nails, rather than use that ‘painting’ motion.

Depending on how opaque you want your flames, you may want to repeat the process with a second coat of copper, applied in exactly the same way as the first.

Finally, find yourself a random gold glitter. Any will do and they are ten-a-penny; mine was a Jack Wills one that hasn’t seen the light of day since I trousered it (mainly for the cool Union Jack tin it came in) at their opening party. It’s best if you use one that is small glitter pieces suspended in a clear base (so the other colours of your mani show through), the less dense the better. Again, make sure you’re carrying as little polish on the brush as possible – hence why a less dense glitter is good, as you’ll have to swipe less off – and dab this on top of the copper. Concentrate on blurring the edge where the black and copper colours join; the random nature of how the glitter falls will make the line even more natural-looking and imprecise.

And there we have it! A fiery flame manicure that, even for a nail art novice like me, was pretty easy to achieve. I’m sure Katniss’ would have been more pro; mine are less defined flames and more the burning embers of the fire itself, but I’m still pretty happy with my efforts.

May the odds be ever in your favour!

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