Tag Archives: make-up

Zoya Pinta nail polish review

Posted on February 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

Oh Zoya. We’ve come this far and you’ve never disappointed me but I suppose it’s inevitable we’d have a falling out eventually. Well, I’m afraid the time has come. The reason? Pinta.

Your website says Pinta is a dark purple creme. The bottle is a dark purple creme. And yet when I apply it, I just see dark navy inky blue.

Lots of bloggers also seem to think it’s the perfect ‘blurple’ shade (have they heard of the word ‘indigo’? Because I’m fairly sure that’s the colour ‘blurple’ is meant to be!) but I could rarely catch the deep grape colour that everyone else seemed to see. Sometimes, when the sun was shining hard, my nails were angled just right and all the planets were aligned, I could just about catch it, but mostly it was like an eternal midnight on my nails.

Desperately seeking purple: Take 1 (regular lighting)

OK, I’m overdoing this a bit because even when Zoya nail polishes aren’t exactly what I had in mind, they’re still better than most other polishes on a good day. The formula was fantastic, opaque in just one coat, although it could have been a little glossier and dried a little quicker in my opinion. As ever, I find Zoya’s brushes by far the easiest to work with and although it’s such a strongly pigmented colour, it came off easily and without staining. And if you wanted a deep dark inky blue, then this would be great. But I didn’t – I wanted blurple. I mean indigo.

What I really wanted was the bottle colour that had drawn me in the first place, a soft creamy indigo that you could get lost in. Dark? Yes, but still definitely visibly purple. But once on the nails, at times it even seemed closer to jet than purple! And it’s also worth noting that it looks WAY more purple on all my photos than it ever did in real life!

Desperately seeking purple: Take 2 (strong sunlight)

After Edyta, another ultra-dark Zoya shade that I liked but didn’t love, I think I’ve worked out that I’m not really a fan of these really dark hues. I guess I save that stuff for my eyeliner.

I’m afraid Pinta just isn’t for me, Zoya, but I’m sure we’ll patch things up soon!

Looks good with: the knowledge that it really isn’t that purple
Drying time: 10 mins
Coats required: 1-2
Chips: 3-5 days

Zoya Pinta nail polish, Fall 2009 Dare Collection, $80, Cher2

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OPI Suede You Don’t Know Jacques nail polish review

Posted on February 11, 2011 | 1 comment

The only problem with OPI’s Suede Collection? Once you wear one, you’ll never want to take it off. And such was the case with You Don’t Know Jacques.

A soft velvety take on mink with that trademark matte micro-glitter finish, You Don’t Know Jacques in Suede is yet another winner from the collection. C’mon OPI – this 100% hit rate is getting boring! It’s a tawny taupe transformed into a muted muddied copper thanks to that dense shimmer effect, and it’s the perfect matte take on the whole greige trend. I absolutely adore it.

This is the third Suede I’ve reviewed now (following the stunning Lincoln Park After Dark and Ink) and all the pros and cons are still exactly the same. Super speedy drying, excellent coverage from just one coat, a fat brush that is impossible to use on my pinkie and more chips than you’ll find in the deep-fat fryer at McDonalds. Seriously, it’s ridiculous. 12 hours spent lying flat in bed and you’ll probably still have some chips to show for your efforts.

Of all the drawbacks to have, chipping quicker than an Olympics 100m race is a pretty big one, but somehow OPI Suedes still have me coming back for more. You Don’t Know Jacques is no different – it’s a really subtle soft but sophisticated shade, highly versatile and a contender for a different take on work-wear nails. It looks really dreamy matched with pastel pinks, greys and creams yet also looks ultra-haute against black. I’m going goo-goo eyed even thinking about it.

There’s just something about that suede finish that is, as my good friend Alex Perry would say (with strong Aussie accent for best effect), ‘expensive’. You Don’t Know Jacques might just be the most expensive of the lot.

Looks great with: soft pastels and neutrals, workwear, luxury
Drying time: <1 min
Coats required: 1
Chips: <24 hours

OPI You Don’t Know Jacques nail polish, Fall 2009 Suede Collection, $70, Cher2

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Gosh Gasoline nail polish review

Posted on February 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

After the various trials and tribulations involved in getting my mitts on Gosh’s Gasoline nail polish, it didn’t have much choice other than to be bloody brilliant. Thankfully, it was.

An amazing glittering true purple that manages to be bright but deep at the same time, I can honestly say it’s become one of my favourites. Partly because purple is lucky enough to be my favourite colour full-stop, but mostly on the grounds of Gasoline’s merits alone.

However, in addition to the hard slog that was getting the nail polish itself, application wasn’t exactly a breeze either. As a girl used to salon-quality nail varnish in the forms of OPI, Essie, China Glaze and Zoya, the ridiculously sheer first coat was a bit of a shock. On seeing the initial pale watery fuchsia colour, I wondered if I’d be building up coats quicker than mattresses in The Princess & The Pea in order to get the bottle colour. It took four coats and a long fraught drying time of tackiness, but I finally got there – and it was totally worth it.

Chock-a-block with flecks of multi-coloured glitter, Gasoline is a hypnotising mesmerising shade of purple that was just about everything I wanted but failed to get from Essie’s Sexy Divide. It’s that pitch-perfect purple smack bang in the middle of the spectrum between pastel and midnight. Neither too pink nor too blue, it’s basically the colour I’d conjure up in my head if you asked me to envisage my ideal purple. Eye-catching and still obviously purple in all types of lighting, it especially comes alive against black.

What with the vivid purple colour and the glittery sparkliness, it’s the kind of nail varnish I’d imagine my all-time favourite cosmetics company, Urban Decay, coming out with. In fact, it’s pretty much the polish equivalent of their brilliant shimmering 24/7 eyeliner in Lust. [Gasoline is such an Urban Decay name too.] Then again, it’s also the polish equivalent of the Purple One in a box of Quality Streets too.

A rocky vibrant shade with a gleaming cosmic depth provided by those swirls of glitter, Gasoline had me utterly spellbound. Thank God Treg’s Luck didn’t strike again!

Looks good with: black, love of purple, Urban Decay make-up
Drying time: +10 mins
Coats required: 3-4
Chips: +7 days

Gosh Gasoline nail polish, $78, selected Watsons

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Zoya Edyta nail polish review

Posted on January 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

Seems someone at Zoya is a Dancing With The Stars fan… they managed to sneakily name their entire Wicked Collection after its dancers – and even one judge! Edyta, a rich mix of blackened moss green and olive gold, is one such shade.

It’s an elusive colour that pictures don’t really do justice to. On first sight, it reminded me of the rainbow of shimmering golds, blacks and greens in an oil slick. On first application, this changed to a nugget of fool’s gold (posh name: pyrite) I had when I was little – a muted murky shade of blackened burnished gold. Finally, in daylight, it becomes a luxuriously dazzling pine green, shot through with ripples of metallic glittering gunmetal (the colour I managed to capture for the photo below).

Edyta is fascinatingly complex and really rather unique. I did have some problems with the formula, finding it pooled in strange places and that the threads of glitter streaked in funny ways, and it’s extremely stubborn to remove but the pay-off is intense and intoxicating. Although I’m not really one to abide by seasonal rules for nail polish colours, I’d say this is definitely one shade too dark and rich for spring or summer, and indeed for daytime in general. Forget pastels and primroses, this is definitely one to vamp up too!

Somehow, it wouldn’t quite have the same level of exotic mystery if it was named after our own Arlene Philips, would it?!

Looks good with: dark colours, cloaks, the witching hour
Drying time: 10 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: +7 days

Zoya Edyta nail polish, Fall 2009 Wicked Collection, $80, Cher2

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Make-Up Miracles: Atorrege AD+ Medicated Acne Spots Treatment review

Posted on January 27, 2011 | 3 comments

‘I had got so used to anti-blemish products drying out and tightening up my skin that I’d assumed it was the only way; Clinique proffered a gentler, kinder path that actually produced results.’

That was what I wrote about my last make-up miracle, Clinique’s Anti-Blemish Foaming Cleanser. Well, it seems that good spot treatments are like buses, as after a long dissatisfying wait, another amazing anti-blemish solution turned up as well! The next inductee into my make-up miracles hall of fame: Atorrege AD+ Medicated Acne Spots.

Yes, the English name makes no sense (it’s from Japan). But I promise that once you use it, everything will become crystal-clear. It’s unmitigatedly absolutely brilliant.

As opposed to Clinique’s cleanser, which is as much a preventative for acne-ridden skin as it is a cure, Atoregge’s treatment is best used for neutralising hostile takeovers from the little blighters. It comes in a highly professional looking glass bottle, complete with a glass dropper to dispense the serum-like essence. Basically, this stuff means business.

Atorrege’s translation skills aren’t perfect but given how few Japanese products get translated here (it seems to be a badge of honour for Japanese and Korean stuff to remain unintelligible), we should be thankful we’re getting a translation at all. It promises to eliminate inflammation, prevent acne, inhibit bacteria and lighten blemishes, by way of ingredients like witch hazel, lavender oil, chamomile, soy bean and bark extract from a tree traditionally used in Chinese medicine, huang bo (黄柏 or 黄檗, known as the Amur Cork tree in English).

This seems a fairly ambitious mission statement but Atorrege completely make good on their claims. The essence is a light transparent serum (somewhere between gel and liquid) that glides on and sinks in easily, with application extra-easy thanks to the super-hygienic dropper. Once you feel that familiar tingle signalling a spot invasion, simply rub in a few drops of the essence to the affected area. Unlike so many other treatments designed to zap away acne, it’s completely non-astringent, non-drying and non-stinging, making it absolutely perfect for sensitive skin.

Also unlike so many other treatments designed to zap away acne, it actually works! Your spot will be gone before you know it. It’s not allowed to ferment and become a raging angry red mountain or yellow-headed monster, instead fading away with barely a sigh of resignation. If you’re really lucky, said spot might even wave a white flag and retreat without even making a proper appearance!

My only proviso would be to apply sparingly – only a couple of drops really is enough. The essence includes a whitening ingredient, meaning that if you go overboard on an area that doesn’t need it, you can get a bit of strange pale patch on your skin (don’t worry too much if this does happen, it quickly goes away!). Since you only need so little (and depending on how often you get spots), one teeny 10ml bottle can even last out a year!

Quite simply, it’s the most effectively method at beating the little blighters I’ve met yet, but with none of the trauma of the evil old ways. And who can argue with that?

Atorrege AD+ Medicated Acne Spots, $220 for 10ml, available from selected Watsons

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China Glaze IDK nail polish review

Posted on January 25, 2011 | 2 comments

One of the more unexpected nail trends to emerge for Spring 2011 is the unstoppable rise of glitters. It seems nail varnish companies have (finally!) locked onto the fact that their most bling-tastic of polishes go down a treat all year round, as opposed to just with lashings of festive spirit. In China Glaze’s case, this has meant producing a twelve-strong collection of glittering gleaming finishes for their 2011 Tronica Collection… a task that probably didn’t require too much work as it basically entailed reproducing one of their much-loved and lusted-after sets, the OMG Collection.

Alas, as with most awesome things, the OMG Collection is now preceded by the word ‘discontinued’. Like your favourite ever lipstick shade, your favourite ever childhood chocolate bar or your favourite ever Disney movie, brands seem to just love stashing away the good stuff to cause much stamping of feet and gnashing of teeth all-round. I don’t think I’ve visited a nail varnish blog where the OMG Collection isn’t talked about with a reverence more befitting of the Holy Grail. And bizarrely, I lucked out on finding two such mystical polishes kicking around in the bargain bin at a little toiletries shop down a side-street in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Having now checked out OMG in its entirety online, I have come to the conclusion that I found the obvious best shades (!) – IDK and 2Nite (the worst thing about the set was that they were all named in txtspeak).

Strong sunlight vs shadows (click to enlarge)

IDK is a lovely dusty lavender, a colour I’d love even if it wasn’t for OMG’s special ingredient – a holographic finish. This basically means it shimmers and glimmers in a whole rainbow of colours, like those shiny silvery stickers you used to collect when you were a kid. You know, they had a whole special page in your sticker book and they were the most prized possessions for trading with friends. [So, given the barter value of holographic nail polishes, not much has changed!]

IDK was a joy to apply, even in its two year-old, mouldering on a lonely shelf state (note: not actually mouldering, merely separated pigments and an air of being unloved). Despite having read you shouldn’t apply it with a base coat, my Nail Tek II and I are never parted and I had no problems. Initially, it looked like it was going to streak and pool in strange formations, yet it dried rapidly to a beautiful smooth and even finish with just the one coat. I applied another coat for luck and we were good to go!

Before I wax lyrical about IDK’s many other magical properties, I’ll mention the only downsides. Like many other holographic nail polishes, it chips easily and without warning. Secondly, the formula feels very thin, meaning when it does chip, it flakes away with abandon, peeling off like thin parchment. But even with these negatives, IDK is SO worth it.

It’s an absolute dreamboat of a colour, reminiscent of how you imagined butterflies to be when you were little – actually glittering, a light pretty lilac, flashed through with rainbow sparkles in the sunlight. In short, it’s a total ‘wow’. And whilst some might say it’s flat and dull without the holographic effect (which really does only show up angled against natural light), I even love in its plain old alter-ego as a pale dusty purple. An unusual subtle shade that I’ve not managed to find sans glitter, it’s right up my street.

Think of me as Rio Pacheco, torn between love for both flashy glamorous Jem and more grown-up Jerrica on favourite-ever cartoon Jem & The Holograms – alas, also now discontinued. Sob.

Looks good with: florals, childhood wonder, definitely not just Christmas
Drying time: 1 min
Coats required: 1-2
Chips: 2 days

China Glaze IDK nail polish, Spring 2008 OMG Collection, $80

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Essie Rock Star Skinny nail polish review

Posted on January 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

Having finally cleared my Christmas backlog, here’s one from…  Autumn. Oops.

Essie’s Rock Star Skinny is a deep dark red, almost brown, with the merest sliver of silver shimmer. At the time (Winter 2008), the name proved a little controversial but I totally understand the vibe that Essie were going for – a sexy vampy colour, best worn with rock star attitude, guitar turned up to eleven, leopard skin skinnies optional – and it’s bang on.

What does it say about me that all the best words I can use to describe this shade are alcoholic beverages?! Rock Star Skinny is a burnished burgundy, claret or sherry, which looks more crimson or brick brown depending on the angle and lighting. What it very rarely looks, however, is shimmery. The silvery glimmer is really noticeable in the bottle yet barely shows once it’s on the nails, only visible under very strong artificial lighting (which I’ve tried to show in the picture with the flash, below).

This was a shame as the hint of shimmer was one of the main reasons I opted for Rock Star Skinny in the first place. It gave it a bit of edge that set it apart from the countless other deep blood reds out there, so I was disappointed when it didn’t really come through. In fact, from certain angles, it looked decidedly dull and flat (see above). So I decided to rectify things myself by trying a few glittery topcoats – Zoya’s Gloria turns it into a gorgeous glowing russet (below left) whilst Zoya’s Allegra made it a hypnotic shade of magenta (below right). I loved how much richer, deeper and multi-faceted it became once a shimmer was added and it’s a shame Essie couldn’t find a way to make the silver threads show up more themselves.

That being said, I did find Rock Star Skinny to be a bit of a grower. I found myself liking it more with each passing day as it’s a mature, less showy take on red that works well with most colours and styles. It would be a decent alternative for those that want a change from black and could just about work for everyday working life.

Formula-wise, it felt a little thin and required three coats to get an even opaque colour, with the first coat a lot more obviously crimson than the third.

Rock Star Skinny does live up to its name, but it could have been so much more. Think of it as a very good first single with bags of potential… before Essie knock our socks off with an even more stellar album to come!

Looks good with: guitars, sunglasses worn indoors, bad gal attitude
Drying time: <5 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: 3 days

Essie Rock Star Skinny nail polish, 2008 Winter Collection, $60, Cher2

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Essie Silken Cord nail polish review

Posted on January 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

My final festive Beauty Spot belongs to Essie’s Silken Cord (the other three were China Glaze’s Midnight Kiss, Zoya’s Gloria and Essie’s Mint Candy Apple). I’d previously avoided red nail varnishes as I thought they were a bit obvious, a bit overdone, a bit old-fashioned yet along came Silken Cord and swept me away.

Silken Cord was actually the colour I sported through Christmas itself, as I just fell head over heels for its super-glossy finish and tangy crimson colour. It’s a bright bold red, with a hint of coral to it from some angles (see above, in softer lighting). It looks absolutely amazing with black (it couldn’t pop anymore without actually sitting up and smacking you in the face), gold and against pale skin – what I’m calling a very Snow White kind of colour combination, with skin white as snow, hair black as ebony, lips (or in this, case nails) red as the rose and all that. As such, it was exceptionally flattering to my colouring and my usual taste in clothing – and doesn’t it look just darling with my black fingerless gloves!

As with many Essie varnishes, the first coat is all kinds of thin and streaky. This beefs up to the beautiful bottle colour by the second or third coat but something about the formula still felt quite thin to me, a feeling vindicated by the fact this polish chipped much quicker than all the other Essies I’ve tried thus far.

But the pay-off is the intensity of the colour, a stark striking shade of scarlet, and the intense glossiness of the finish. In nail polish jargon, it’s almost a jelly finish, so shiny and reflective that it’s almost glassy. It’s just brilliant in every sense of the word. (I was also really impressed that a red this vibrant didn’t stain my nails afterwards!)

I was seriously smitten with Silken Cord. It’s such an eye-catching attention-grabbing shade that made me feel like a 50s film siren but without being too vampy for the everyday. Definitely enough to make me shake off my red polish inhibitions – but with a red this beautiful, do I even need any others in my collection?!

Looks good with: skin white as snow, hair black as ebony… and just about everything else too!
Drying time: 5 mins
Coats required: 2-3 (definitely better with 3 though)
Chips: 3 days

Essie Silken Cord nail polish, 2010 Winter Collection, $60, Cher2

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Essie Mint Candy Apple nail polish review

Posted on January 13, 2011 | 3 comments

I’m hoping you’re all of the opinion better late than never… because I’m only now getting round to showing you the rest of my nail polish picks for Christmas. I’ve already given you the lowdown on China Glaze’s Midnight Kiss and Zoya’s Gloria so now it’s time for a more unusual festive colour – Essie’s Mint Candy Apple.

Pastel mint may not be everyone’s idea of a typical Christmassy colour yet it was released as part of Essie’s 2009 Sweet Time Of Year Holiday Collection and fast became one of its bestsellers and most talked-about products. I’ll admit I was slightly dubious too but once it’s on your nails, you’re sold. It’s an absolutely gorgeous creamy crème de menthe mint; cool but chic and yes, strangely festive (though it would work a treat for spring and summer too).

Why? Perhaps it’s because the cool pastel colour seems to perfectly suit the frosty climate. Or perhaps it’s because these pale shades that pop have emerged as a popular choice for more contemporary Christmas decorations (maybe because it looks amazing against silver, a great look for frost-dipped tips for your nails). Or perhaps it’s because it’s instantly reminiscent of those lip-smackingly scrumptious after-dinner mints that you’ll no doubt be porking out on over the festive period. Who knows! But somehow, Mint Candy Apple just does work. End of.

First application is worrying streaky and sheer but it becomes easily opaque within three coats, drying to a creamy dreamy finish. It’s a super-smooth, hard-wearing polish that I wore for at least a week without it showing even the slightest signs of wanting to chip – and the longer it stays, the more obsessed you become. By the seventh day, my boyfriend was beginning to tire of me waggling my fingers in his face and cooing ‘Aren’t they pretty?!’

Colour-wise, I just adored it. It reminded my boyfriend of Formica tables from 50s diners, me of spearmint toothpaste. Not the nicest descriptions I know, but they nail this fresh breezy colour completely. For a cuter comparison, it’s a mint choc chip ice-cream kind of colour, the kind of pastel you could imagine a My Little Pony being produced in. I was initially worried that it would be too similar to Essie’s Turquoise & Caicos to warrant purchase but whilst that was without doubt a true turquoise, this is just as easily the exact shade your mind’s eye conjures up when asked to think of the most delicious mint green. In short, it’s unique and it’s essential.

Mint Candy Apple is now riding yet another wave of popularity, owing to its similarity to the retro candy-coloured polish Beyonce sports in her Why Don’t You Love Me video. But it shouldn’t take a pop star, a seasonal trend, or even a special occasion like Christmas to convince you that Mint Candy Apple is something special. It manages that all on its own.

Looks great with: Christmas, spring, summer… whenever
Drying time: <5 mins
Coats required: 3
Chips: +7 days

Essie Mint Candy Apple nail polish, Winter 2009 Sweet Time Of Year Collection, $60, Cher2

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Zoya Gloria nail polish review

Posted on January 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

OK, so it might be a bit late for festive nail polish, but Zoya’s Gloria would work just as in May as it would under the mistletoe.

Zoya winningly describes it as ‘a delicate winter rose’, a description so accurate it practically renders the rest of my review pointless. Many metallic pink glitters tend towards the very bright or the very cool, but Gloria has a lovely warmth to its rosy foil effect. This might be down to its inviting crimson base or its beautiful gold-flecked glimmer, but either way, it’s a highly enticing mix.

I’m a huge fan of Zoya’s glitter polishes. They generally steer clear of using huge particles and instead give you a solid shimmer with a flashy foil-like finish. It’s a mature, grown-up way of wearing glitters, and I approve wholeheartedly.

As with most of Zoya’s varnishes, Gloria applies easily, with a reassuringly consistent formula (strange streaking is a general occupational hazard of glitters) and became smoothly opaque within two to three coats. But Gloria is sheer enough to layer over other polishes with just one coat – pictured is it transforming into a beautiful burnished copper over Essie’s Rock Star Skinny – whilst also being uniquely gorgeous in its own right (a translucent frosty rose since you asked). It also changes in different lights – at night or under artificial lighting, Gloria easily passes as a pink-based scarlet but by day, it’s more obviously a glimmering gold-kissed blush. (Shown above: natural light, artificial light; below: strong direct sunlight; click for enlargements)

Either way, it’s a really rather ravishing shade, with enough to distinguish it from that perennial Christmas favourite, a simple red glitter. But with a colour this pretty, Gloria is a winner any time of year.

Looks great with: gold, glitter, all year-round festive spirit
Drying time: 3-5 mins
Coats required: 2-3 (for opacity)
Chips: 3-5 days

Zoya Gloria nail polish, Winter 2010 Flame Collection, $80, Cher2

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