Tag Archives: nail varnish

MAC Screaming Bright nail polish review

Posted on January 31, 2013 | Leave a comment

Metallic polishes are ten a penny and dime a dozen these days (phrases which would both make for decent metallic nail polish names actually!), so it takes something pretty special for me to sit up and take notice of one. And with a name like Screaming Bright – and a colour that lives up to it – MAC have achieved just that!

MAC’s Screaming Bright is part of their recent permanent collection of polishes – a pale yellow gold that is SO bright, it almost starts to look silver… if that even makes sense! This is some seriously SHINY shizzle.

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OPI Warm & Fozzie nail polish review

Posted on January 28, 2013 | 3 comments

Sometimes you just see a nail polish and know it’s going to be a classic. Such was the case with OPI’s Warm & Fozzie.

Part of OPI’s 2011 Muppets Holiday Collection, Warm & Fozzie was part of the first wave of mainstream interesting foil-metallic-shimmer-duochrome-awesomesauce finishes, that in my world at least was kick-started with Chanel’s Graphite (possibly my most referenced nail polish ever – I just can’t get enough of it!). Since then, we’ve seen loads of polishes with a similar finish in the same metallic colour family (including Butter London’s Wallis and Estee Lauder’s Nouveau Riche) but I still hold a soft spot for one of the originals!

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Tagged Beauty, best bronze nail polishes, best copper nail polishes, bronze, copper, cosmetics, make-up, metallic, Muppets Collection, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, O.P.I, OPI, review, swatch, Warm & Fozzie, Warm And Fozzie

MAC Endless Night nail polish review

Posted on November 2, 2012 | 2 comments

Sometimes I fall in love with a polish because of the colour. Sometimes I fall in love with it because of the name. And sometimes, it’s a little bit of both in just the right amount – and such is the case with MAC’s Endless Night. It originally came out with Daphne Guinness’ rather underwhelming collection earlier in the year, but as since been re-released in MAC’s holiday Glamour Daze Collection – making it the perfect opportunity for me to pull out a polish that has been haunting me for months with its soft intriguingly understated beauty.

Endless Night is a beautiful work-safe neutral – a pink/lilac leaning greige that’s the perfect palette cleanser (yes even I need one once in a while!). But this is not just your average boring beige… oh no! This stunner has the tiniest flash of pretty pink shimmer hiding beneath its deceptively calm exterior. Of course, it’s an absolute bugger to photograph, so you can see it more in the bottle than you can on my nails in the pictures, but trust me – it’s there in real life and it is awesome.

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Tagged Beauty, beige, cosmetics, Daphne Guinness Collection, Endless Night, Glamour Daze Collection, greige, Mac, MAC cosmetics, make-up, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, neutral, nude, review, swatch

Mac Mean & Green nail polish review

Posted on October 18, 2012 | 4 comments

DUOCHROME ALERT! DUOCHROME ALERT!

Today, I have one of the most beautiful nail polishes ever to show you – MAC’s Mean & Green. Originally released with their Disney Venomous Villains Collection, and promptly selling out quicker than you can say ‘Mirror mirror on the wall’, this beauty was one of MAC’s most highly coveted polishes, much-duped and much swindled for on eBay after it was consigned to the deep dark depths of the MAC vault.

But rejoice! MAC have just launched a permanent nail polish line of thirty lacquers, bringing back many of their much-loved favourites to sit on the stands full-time… and Mean & Green is one of them! That’s right, this iconic duochrome is now available permanently for your purchasing pleasure (a pleasant change from cosmetics companies discontinuing items for them never to see the light of day again) – so suck on that, eBay hawkers!

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Tagged Beauty, cosmetics, Disney Venomous Villains Collection, duochrome, M.A.C, Mac, MAC nail polish, make-up, Mean & Green, Mean And Green, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, review, swatch

Estée Lauder Nouveau Riche nail polish review

Posted on October 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

Nail polish by non-nail polish specialists (other than Chanel, of course!) is rarely worth bothering with. Easily dupe-able colours but at insane prices means that the big brand lacquers are usually worth bypassing… but then in comes Estée Lauder, ready to destroy my theory!

For Fall 2012, Estée’s creative make-up director Tom Pecheux has unleashed an awesome array of new nail varnishes inspired by Paris’ classy but dazzling night lights. The result? Annoyingly unmissable nail polishes that are a hell of a lot more expensive than the ones procured during my Cher2 trips!

Nouveau Riche is an absolutely stunning bronze-gold, with a duochrome shift that takes it to rosy pink, champagne gold and even a hint of olive-green thrown in there too! Again, it has that awesome glowing metallic finish made up of lots of teeny-tiny glittering gold flecks and flakes but that is resolutely not a glitter (think Chanel Graphite or Butter London Wallis); seriously, this finish is totally rocking my world right now, it’s just the perfect look for a really refined sophisticated metallic, but which still has enough complex shimmer to shake a sock at.

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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!

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Tagged Beauty, Butter London, cosmetics, gold, make-up, metallic, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, review, swatch, Wallis

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!

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Tagged Beauty, cosmetics, Dance Music mini trio, Deborah Lippmann, glitter, Holiday 2011 Collection, Just Dance, make-up, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, review, swatch, turquoise

Deborah Lippmann On The Beach & NARS Koliary nail polish review – a tale of two blues

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.

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Tagged Beauty, best blue nail polishes, blue, cosmetics, Deborah Lippmann, Koliary, make-up, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, Nars, Nars Thakoon collection, On The Beach, review, swatch

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.

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Tagged American Apparel, Beauty, cosmetics, make-up, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, neon, Neon Orange, review, swatch

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.