Tag Archives: cosmetics

OPI Suede Ink nail polish review

Posted on December 15, 2010 | 2 comments

So here’s the rub of falling in love with a nail polish (OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark Suede for those who’ve forgotten) – you feel compelled to buy the whole damn collection!

As soon as I’d fallen for the rich velvety finish and gorgeous glitter effect of Lincoln Park After Dark Suede, I found myself in Cher2 snapping up the rest of the set quicker than the varnish dries in the first place!

If Lincoln Park After Dark was the awesome amethyst in Suede’s crown, than Ink is the sparkling sapphire. If as a child you wondered exactly what indigo was and why this strange colour that was neither blue nor purple somehow deserved a place in the rainbow over pink, Ink is your answer. The exact in-between of those two colours (in a way that doesn’t quite come across in photos, where it looks much more blue), it’s practically the living definition of the shade.

A cloudy steel blue mixed with a deep royal purple, it’s another sophisticated yet stunning addition to the Suede collection. The muted metallic matte effect combined with the shot of shimmer makes it glitter with a grown-up glamour. Although I didn’t fall as instantly in love with it as I did with Lincoln Park, the interesting indigo shade subtly sucked me in over a few days of wear.

The same pros (quick-drying, great consistency, easy application) and the same cons (chips quicker than a Primark teacup) are still evident and, in common with many blues and indeed many glitters, it took a bit more elbow grease to remove.

As a more unusual colour, Ink may be a little difficult to match with other colours but you get your just rewards when it hits direct light. This mysterious murky indigo suddenly transforms into a sparkling night sky studded with silver stars and the results are dazzling. Twinkle, twinkle, indeed!

Looks great with: muted shades, tweed, glamour
Drying time: <1 mins
Coats required: 1
Chips: 1 day

OPI Suede Ink, Fall 2009 Suede Collection, $70, Cher2

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Zoya Brizia nail polish review

Posted on November 29, 2010 | 2 comments

‘It’s a full-on Monet… From far away, it’s OK, but up close, it’s a big old mess.’

The above quote is from Clueless, a film I have dedicated unhealthy amounts of my time to learning the script for. I have been dying to use this particular zinger in real-life for similarly unhealthy amounts of time and finally I get the chance to… on Zoya’s Brizia nail polish.

Why? Well if you can bear clicking the photos for enlargements of my battered hands, you’ll see that what, from far away, looks like a nicely neutral nail-elongating shade is actually, up close, a streaky ‘big old mess’.

Despite this, Brizia is a lovely nuanced colour that queens of neutral, Essie, would no doubt die to get their (perfectly-manicured) mitts on. It’s a soft cloudy coffee created way before the current vogue for putty and greige hues arrived. But there are also hints of pearly pink, cool lavender and subtle silver shimmer. Tilt it into the shadows and it’s muted taupe, under natural light it’s a silky mauve, let it hit the sun and it’s a lustrous seashell pink; it would also look great as an irridescent topcoat over other colours. [Pictured, top to bottom: pearly pink in bright sunlight, soft lavender in natural light, cloudy taupe in low lighting.] It’s a lush multi-tasking neutral that’s highly wearable and unobtrusively pretty. Yet it’s not for me.

Firstly, I think it’s just too close to my own skintone. Admittedly, I’d give the Cullens a run for their money in the pale skin stakes, but from some angles, this just seemed to blend in with my fingers. Not a good look.

Secondly, it’s the first and so far, only Zoya lacquer where I wasn’t impressed with the formula. Although application with Zoya’s ‘just right’ brush was a breeze as usual, it went on very sheer, requiring at least three coats to get some semblance of opacity. It was also very streaky, a problem I never managed to fix entirely, and I had particular problems getting an even colour at the tips of the nails, where it pooled oddly, leading to even more streaks. Hence why I’m branding Brizia a full-on Monet!

It could have just been a dodgy bottle, it could just be that I’m not as willing to look past Brizia’s Monet properties because I wasn’t sold on the colour, it could even be that I was too desperate to get to use that line from Clueless – either way, Brizia isn’t one of my must-have shades. But what I am certain of is that, with its subtle kaleidoscope of different looks, it will definitely be on plenty of other people’s hit lists. Indeed, I am reliably informed that it’s one of Cher2’s biggest sellers.

So if you’re after a versatile nude with more bang for your buck, or if you’re another Clueless fanatic dying to give the Monet line an airing, Brizia might just be the nail polish for you. Like… whatever! I’m outie!

Looks good with: office-wear, ladylike cool, the Impressionist movement
Drying time: 3 mins
Coats required: 3-4
Chips: +7 days

Zoya Brizia nail polish, Suede Collection, $80, Cher2

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Make-Up Miracles: Nail Tek Foundation II base coat review

Posted on November 25, 2010 | Leave a comment

Let’s get one thing straight – I am a total non-believer in nail polish upsells. Stuff to make it dry quicker, last longer, chip less, improve the finish – not interested. Why? Because I (naively) believe that given I’m buying supposed premium quality polish, the manufacturers should be trying to make the original product do all those things in the first place! However, there’s one concession I will make – base coat.

Just as I believe it’s vital to begin your make-up routine with a good base, such is the case for nails. Why? Well, you wouldn’t start building a house on unsound foundations, right? I’ve explained most of the benefits of a face primer here and many of the same qualities apply for your base coat. Firstly, since you’re slathering your face/nails in chemicals, having a protective layer in-between seems wise. Admittedly, your protective layer is also made of chemicals, but hopefully chemicals designed with your health more in mind than just a rabid desire to look good.

Secondly, a good base provides a better surface for your cosmetics to sit on. This ensures better coverage, a more even finish and a greater longevity for your make-up. Think of your base as the greaseproof paper between baking tin and cake – yes, the cake will cook fine without it, but with minimum effort, the greaseproof paper not only soaks up the bad stuff, but leaves you with less washing-up and an even better cake at the end. Result!

So, dodgy baking analogies aside, what’s the best nail polish base coat? It has to be Nail Tek Foundation II.

Once again, the lovely people at Cher2 came up trumps, with one girl whisperingly recommending that it was better than any of the bases made by more famous nail varnish brands. Nail Tek Foundation II comes packed to the hilt with conditioners, strengtheners, micro-fibers and natural fillers, meaning it not only fills ridges and smoothes uneven surfaces but also repairs damage and strengthens the nail in the long-run. The final result – somehow, my nails are miraculously in better condition after weeks of ever-changing lacquer than they were before!

It also gives a lovely smooth base for your nail polish to glide onto and makes it a hell of a lot easier to remove, with even the strongest pigments and most steadfast glitters bidding farewell with barely a strain in sight.

Frankly, it would make my life a whole lot easier if every nail varnish company could employ the same formula as Nail Tek. The brush is so easy to use and so obviously just the right size and shape that you barely even notice you’re finished! A few quick and effortless swipes and you’re done – no mess, no fuss, perfect coverage. The end result is a translucent matte milky colour that dries in seconds and strangely, isn’t smooth to the touch but is the obvious secret weapon behind getting super-smooth nails.

Have I sung its praises enough yet?! If you use nail polish, or even if you just want healthier nails, Nail Tek Foundation II is a no-brainer. This secret weapon just had its cover blown!

Drying time: <1 min
Coats required: 1-2 (depending on the health of your nails)
Chips: doesn’t!

Nail Tek Foundation II ridge-filling nail strengthener, $80, Cher2

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Zoya Charla nail polish review

Posted on November 24, 2010 | 1 comment

What could be better than a true turquoise nail varnish? Why, a sparkly turquoise nail varnish, of course!

Zoya’s Charla is an entirely different kettle of fish from Essie’s Turquoise & Caicos though. Whilst Turquoise & Caicos conjured up images of sun-kissed summer beaches enjoyed with an exotically-coloured cocktail in hand, Charla dazzles from the ocean’s depth. It’s pure mermaid’s tail, which has always been one of my ultimate favourite colours.

Sparklier than a star-strewn night sky, this is the definition of iridescence in a bottle. It’s the perfect balance between shimmering blue and glittering green, giving that exact shade of fantasy fish scales that’s straight out of fairy tales.

As ever with Zoya, the brush was a pleasure to work with, ensuring smooth even coverage with just a few strokes (so far, Zoya has a 100% hit rate in leaving no air bubbles). Glittery nail polishes tend to be quite sheer but it built to an intense opacity after three coats, or two wetter-than-normal ones. Similarly, although I find glittery nail polishes also tend to chip easier, Charla was in it for the long haul – staying put with as much longevity as Gaga on the charts. Normally, glitters reserve their non-budge properties for when you’re trying to remove them and although Charla did require a little more elbow grease, I was pleased that a colour as strong as this didn’t stain my nails or fingers afterwards.

This is definitely a colour for nights out, partying and bringing out your inner sparkle. However, I adore the mermaid shade Charla makes in the daytime so it would be criminal to waste it on the midnight hours alone (incidentally, it becomes much more of a forest green under artificial light, as I’ve tried to show with the photo on above – as always, click for enlargements).

Dazzling, enchanting and just that little bit magical, Charla is everything a glittery nail polish should be. Just don’t tell the mermaids you stole their mojo, Zoya!

Looks great with: bright colours, black, smile set to stun
Drying time: 3 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: +5 days

Zoya Charla nail polish, Summer 2010 Sparkle Collection, $80, Cher2

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China Glaze Midnight Kiss nail polish review

Posted on November 19, 2010 | 2 comments

As anyone who’s read any of my previous nail polish reviews will know, I have a habit of being Goldilocks-levels of exacting about colours. So like Turquoise & Caicos was the result of a quest for a true turquoise, Pamplona Purple the quest for a pink-based purple that popped and Bekka the quest for the exact shade of yellow that Pixie Lott wore in a music video (bloody hell, I really don’t make it easy for myself, do I?!), China Glaze’s Midnight Kiss was the end result of a quest for the perfect gold.

Metallic nail varnishes are ten-a-penny, glittery nail varnishes dozen-a-dime, but a good gold is hard to find. I didn’t want a simple shiny gold gloss or a lacquer that looked like a kindergarten’s craft cupboard had exploded in it but for it to seem as if I had coated my nails in gold leaf. Like the gilt edging you get on fancy encyclopaedia pages or the sheets of stuff that Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen was always advocating we apply to just about every hard surface on Changing Rooms, it had to be dense, shimmery and stunning. Midnight Kiss was spot on.

Did I also mention that I didn’t want it to be too yellow either? I wanted a champagne-infused sparkle rather than brassy Bet Lynch glare. Midnight Kiss delivered that too.

A pale buttercup foil that built to a glittery but not gaudy intensity, Midnight Kiss was pure tinselly brilliance (it is part of their Holiday Collection after all, hence the nice touch of the brushed silver lid). I’d experienced some problems with the finish of a previous China Glaze polish but had no such issues this time. It applied and dried super-smooth and super-fast. Although I find glittery polishes have a tendency to get streaky, China Glaze’s brush fanned out nicely to ensure a beautiful even finish, with two (or even one) coats proving sufficient.

What I loved was how evenly and densely-packed the sparkle was. None of this kiddie glitter-glue type effect but a pure hit of genuine gold. It might be a bit too full-on for traditionalists to consider it for everyday wear, but its mellow blonde qualities mean it isn’t overly flamboyant. And the great thing about gold is it goes with literally everything. This would look absolutely amazing with black, or even chocolate brown tips (if only I had the nail polish skillz to achieve such a look).

If Midnight Kiss were a Christmas bauble, it would be a proper posh M&S sparkler, rather than a cheap and cheerful Primark wonder. Midnight Kiss delivers a hefty dose of grown-up glamour for the nails, any time of the year.

Looks (especially) great with: black, chocolate brown, all-year round festive spirit
Drying time: <5 mins
Coats required: 1-2
Chips: 3 days

China Glaze Midnight Kiss nail polish, Winter 2010 Tis The Season To Be Naughty Or Nice Collection, $60, Cher2

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G. Field Lavender Hand Cream review

Posted on November 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

You’ve seen the upside of being minorly obsessed with the smell of lavender – striking upon a product as nice as this. So now here’s the downside – G. Field Lavender Hand Cream.

You might be used to supermarkets cramming the area by the checkouts with sweeties and chocolates, trying to entice you into a quickie impulse buy. This hand cream was the beauty junkie’s equivalent, located temptingly by the tills at Bonjour (HK’s one stop beauty-shop where it’s probably best not to ask how they manage to get their branded cosmetics so cheaply). At just $18, it was a case of buy now, regret it later – literally.

In Hong Kong, it’s pretty common to carry a tube of hand cream around in your handbag. Be it the drying effects of spending too much time under air-cons, finding a use for the Crabtree & Evelyn box sets that are invariably bandied about at Christmas or just pure vanity, who knows but ever since my hands fell apart after a year at kindergarten, I’ve found myself joining the hand cream crowd. These pocket-sized tubes seemed perfect for that very purpose and as soon as I saw the lavender scent, I was sold.

G Field also reckoned it was manufactured in France. I was optimistically crossing my fingers for a budget-style L’Occitane experience but sadly, this was pure bargain-bin, with the emphasis on ‘bin’, stuff.

The consistency of the lotion was watery, took a while to sink in and once it did, felt like it had never been applied in the first place. What’s more, the lavender scent was distinctly unpleasant. Artificial and pungent, I was getting comments about it all day – for the wrong reasons! The ingredients list maintained that real lavender oil was used in the formula, but it smelt like detergent that had seen better days. And my hands felt no less dry than they had to begin with.

Only $18? Alas, it’s only a bargain if you actually use it. My G. Field Lavender Hand Cream is now busy moisturising cockroaches in a landfill somewhere and, what with there being plenty of cheaper, more effective and more pleasantly scented lotions on the market, I’ll definitely be thinking twice before making my next checkout impulse grab. Unless there’s something lavender-scented, of course…

G. Field Lavender Hand Cream, $18 for 38ml, Bonjour

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Zoya Kelly nail polish review

Posted on November 16, 2010 | 1 comment

You may remember that my nail polish quest began with OPI’s Over The Taupe and the current craze for greiges. Since then, this trend has spread from muted minks into any shade vaguely reminiscent of fungus, mould or decay. Zoya’s Kelly is one such colour.

This, of course, makes it sound much yuckier than it is. There’s a reason Kelly has been picked up as a must-have shade by the likes of Vogue, Italian Elle and Daily Candy – it’s beautiful.

A unique blend of slate grey, pewter blue and smoky purple, it’s classically cool, wonderfully wearable and fantastically flattering. It’s the kind of colour I could imagine an aloof Hitchcock heroine wearing, fitted suit and all.

The formula is creamily consistent, richly pigmented and dries to a high-shine gloss. Two coats is pretty perfect and Zoya’s brush continues to do the business for me – somewhere between Essie’s too thin and OPI’s too fat, it’s just right.

I never thought that I’d be declaring grey a totally tempting colour choice for nails, but Kelly is just that. Clean, chic and minimalistic, it manages the trick of being sophisticated and edgy, whilst remaining absolutely alluring from any angle (sometimes pure charcoal, others almost navy blue).

Looks like Kelly lives up to its Hermes handbag namesake – an instant classic. Let the shameless knockoffs roll in!

Looks great with: smart/casual, tweed suits and just about everything else
Drying time: 5 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: +5 days

Zoya Kelly nail polish, Fall 2010 Wonderful Collection, $80, Cher2

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Essie Sexy Divide nail polish review

Posted on November 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

MAC Cosmetics recently produced a collection called Venomous Villains, inspired by Disney’s most notorious baddies… And sorry to say, this isn’t a review of any of those products!

Great idea for a collection, gorgeous packaging but sadly, I wasn’t impressed with the execution. By the time I fought my way to a MAC counter, most of the products had sold out. I tried a few that had impressed me from photos – the Mineralize duo eye shadows were murky and dull, the glittery duochrome nail varnishes gritty, grotty and way too sheer (though I’ve since picked up a newer release of Mean & Green and it’s pretty badass). Oh well, at least I left with my wallet untouched – sadly, never an issue I have at my beloved Cher2!

So following on from nail polishes inspired by a Pixie Lott music video and an accidental finger in a photo, here’s my latest lacquer inspiration:

Isn’t she magnificent?! It’s no coincidence that her actual name, Maleficent, is only one syllable out. The most fierce of all Disney villains, primarily because she was evil just for the sake of it. No tortured childhood, no ulterior incentives, she decided to wreak havoc just because she was pissed she didn’t get a party invite. Fabulous.

So, given that MAC’s interpretation of Maleficent’s make-up didn’t impress me, I set about to find my own. Enter Essie, Sexy Divide, stage right.

A deep dark mysterious purple, it’s the kind of colour I could totally envisage coating Mal’s claws. Consistency was great, pigmentation strong and it dried quickly to a smooth glossy finish. It also had a gorgeous iridescence from some angles, a golden pinky shimmer that showed in either strong natural sunlight or bright artificial light (as I’ve tried to show in the photo with flash, above left; normal natural light, above right; click for enlargement).

However, from other angles or in the wrong lighting, it looked a little dull and flat. So whilst it was fun to vamp about in for a while, it probably won’t enter the pantheon of my favourite polishes. But here’s an evil cackle just for good measure: mwahahaha!

Looks good with: dark colours, bad girl attitude, a raven
Drying time: <5 mins
Coats required: 1-2
Chips: +7 days

Essie Sexy Divide nail polish, Winter 2008 Collection, $60, Cher2

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OPI Suede Lincoln Park After Dark nail polish review

Posted on November 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

I’ve found ‘it’. The elusive colour you put on and know is you all over. Hello OPI Suede in Lincoln Park After Dark.

Given that I hunt down nail varnish colours from music videos and rogue snapshots from years gone by, you know I’m a picky one. But Lincoln Park In The Dark Suede was almost enough to turn me into a one-colour woman.

It’s from OPI’s range of nail lacquers with a matte finish that they’ve rebranded as ‘Suedes’ – which, let’s face it, is a much more appealing term than matte, which sounds like a dullard DIY word. Instead, suede conjures up images of rich velvety colours perfect for wintry walks in the park and the OPI range more than justifies such plush fantasies.

Lincoln Park After Dark in its normal maroon guise is the furthest you can get to black without being black. But in its Suede incarnation, it’s a luxurious muted plum, packed to the hilt with a dense silver glitter. And I know my hostile thoughts on glitter have been previously well-documented but this liberal scatter of silver turns the shade into an expensive metallic shimmer, stopping it becoming a flat energy-zapper, like many other mattes I’ve seen on the market. It’s also ridiculously versatile – like the village tart, it just goes with everything!

Unfortunately, OPI weren’t joking when they say in their literature that Suede ‘does not wear as long as original OPI lacquer’. Count yourself lucky if your talons last 24 hours. Given that I’m currently sans employment and my most strenuous activity is deciding which side of my bed to sleep on, this stuff really does chip without the slightest provocation! At least OPI’s fantastic self-levelling properties ensure you can tidy up the chips relatively unobtrusively, although it’s a near Sisyphean task keeping them pristine for any great period of time. OPI also sternly tell you not to use hand cream if you’re wearing Suede but since my hands are still ravaged by a year of dealing with snotty kids, adhesives and constant disinfecting, I couldn’t not use lotion and can’t say I noticed any ill effects.

There are still plenty of pros. This is by far the quickest drying OPI polish I’ve come across, one coat provides excellent coverage and for once, I found the brush easy to work with, ensuring a solidly smooth finish (although it’s worth noticing that it can feel a little gritty to the touch, if that bothers you). And the colour really is beautiful – a grown-up metallic amethyst that’s totally striking without being attention-hogging. It also looks fantastic under different lighting (I’ve shown it with flash here to try and capture how under artificial light, it really looks like you’ve dipped your fingers into some mauve mercury) and, as I’ve mentioned, with any colour, any pattern, any time, anywhere.

The highest recommendation I can give to Lincoln Park After Dark Suede is that as soon as I’d applied it, I rushed out to buy the rest of the range. Apologies to your bank balance in advance… but one try and you may well find yourself doing the same!

Looks great with: possibly easier to say what it doesn’t look great with. In which case, let me know once you’ve found something!
Drying time: <1 min
Coats required: 1-2
Chips: 1 day

OPI Suede Lincoln Park After Dark nail polish, Fall 2009 Suede Collection, $70, Cher2

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Avalon Organics Lavender Daily Moisturiser review

Posted on November 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

Having well and truly exhausted my stocks of trusty Aldi moisturiser and finished my fabulous Bliss Triple O one, it was time to try a new product in my daily routine. Step forward Avalon Organics Lavender Daily Moisturiser.

Never mind the supposed organics credentials (it’s without artificial colours, synthetic fragrances or parabens and boasts bucketfuls of lovely natural ingredients), I was most attracted by the lavender smell. If you’re like me and love lavender scent, this is the range for you. It smells beautifully natural, not at all artificial, and turns putting on your daily slather of moisturiser into something you almost look forward to!

Now for the science bit (skip this if you aren’t interested in long words). It contains Organic Turmeric, Arnica and Calendula to soothe redness, Hyaluronic Acid and Organic Sunflower Oil to give ‘weightless hydration with a velvety finish’, Lipo-Filling Complex to enhance luminosity, clarity and tone and Organic Lavender and Grape Seed Polyphenols to reduce redness and defend against free radicals (however much I read on those little beggars, I still don’t totally understand what they do other than they’re bad!). There’s also chamomile, liquorice root, white tea and willow bark chucked in for good measure. Oh well, a little liquorice root never hurts, right?!

But all this bamboozlement with long words mean nothing if it doesn’t equal results… and I have to say, I’m really pleased with this moisturiser. It feels rich but still light, smoothes on and sinks in easily and acts as the perfect base for make-up. My face felt plumped and hydrated for the whole day and I don’t care how much of a hippy this makes me sound, but that heady lavender fragrance really does seem to have a soothing calming effect! It also handles sensitive skin really well, but without feeling oily. The packaging is pleasant (lots of purple, unsurprisingly), looks more expensive than it is and, at the current rate, I’d estimate that one tub will last at least 6 months with everyday use.

As for the organics stuff… I’ll have to confess that I’m not too bothered. Good thing too as Avalon Organics true organics credentials are a little cloudy, since describing something as ‘organic’ in the cosmetics world still seems to be a bit of a grey area. I guess you just have to put your faith in make-up brands and believe that the chemicals they’re making us put on our face are the good guys, and let the results speak for themselves. And in this case, the results are great. My skin feels softer, looks brighter and it really soothes the odd sensitive patches I get.

For a supermarket-bought reasonably-priced moisturiser, chalk me up as pretty impressed.

Avalon Organics Lavender Daily Moisturiser, $99.90, available from larger branches of Park N Shop/Taste/International

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