NOTD - Gargantuan Play Date!

Essie's Play Date is a bright pastel purple that is a huge colour in fashion for this spring and summer. Essie have captured the most amazing colour here as it is super bright for a pastel shade. I teamed it with an accent nail in OPI's Gargantuan Green Grape a pastel minty green shade. I love the colours together and I will wear this again but I think I will do polka dots on the accent nail in the Essie colour, I think that'll be really fun for the summer. 

Essie's Play Date applies smoothly and perfect in two coats, OPI's Gargantuan Green Grape is a monster to apply. It's thin, watery and streaky which is probably why I've never worn it as a full manicure which is a shame as its such a pretty colour. I only had the patience for two accent nails this time!

xoxo

NOTD - OPI Bring On The Bling

OPI's Bring On The Bling from last years Burlesque collection has been on my wanted list for a long time. I finally found it at a stand at The Clothes Show at the beginning of December as soon as I saw it I grabbed it!

With flash

Without flash

I have included both pictures, however the colour is truer in the picture without the flash although the previous picture shows of all the different colours in the glitter. I was surprised at the amount of green and red glitter in the polish as I was always sure it was mostly gold. In reality it is a mix of gold, silver, green and red and its gorgeous! I used it over Orly Luxe as Bring On The Bling is not opaque and would need three or four coats to get that look.

Wear time was poor unfortunately, I only had this manicure for about 12 hours as the polish literally popped off my nails sometime in the afternoon! Despite the poor wear on my fingers, on my toes it lasted weeks! I can forgive the polish for jumping off my nails as glitter is notoriously brittle and prone to this action anyway.

I'm so pleased I have this one in my collection, I feel like it's a bit of a collectors one after all the buzz around it last Christmas, it was the Rainbow Connection of 2010!

xoxo

Make A Rainbow Connection

If any of you follow me on Twitter you will know I was banging on about this combo all last week! I loved it so much last week I'm wearing it again! OPI Rainbow Connection from the new Muppets collection over OPI Black Onyx is an over the top sparkly glitterfest! I just love it over the black, it makes the glitter look extra shiny and sparkly! Photo's are impossible to capture the beauty of the glitter so I urge you to have a look at this one in reality! I'm so pleased I purchased this polish, I nearly skipped it as I thought it was too much but I've had loads of compliments!

Have you bought Rainbow Connection? Do you love it?

xoxo

NOTD - Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

Gettin' Miss Piggy With It is one of the amazing glitters from the OPI Muppets collection. I've used it over OPI Comet Loves Cupid as the glitter itself is in a sheer base. 

It has three types of glitter in it, small red glitter, large red hexagonal glitter and the more obvious large silver hexagonal glitter. I thought I would be bothered by the silver glitter but actually I really don't mind it, I kind of wish it was more prominent in a way as I had to fish out a few more of the pieces because occasionally I would only get one on the brush and that really did look random! To place the glitter down I dabbed rather than painted, that allowed me to almost choose where the silver glitter was placed however it is still really quite random!

The glitter is very sparkly and looks gorgeous and of course very festive!

xoxo

NOTD - Designer De Better

Designer De Better from the OPI Muppets collection, is my most recent purchase, only yesterday in fact! I applied it first thing this morning!

With the flash

Without the flash

The colour is gorgeous but so difficult to photograph! I'm showing both pictures because they both represent the colour! It's very sparkly and so pretty! It's a champagne coloured base with goldy orange shimmer within it. I feel like it will make a fabulous "winter white" for the upcoming season. I initially bypassed this colour online however the fab Rachel or Cupcakesandscissors on You Tube convinced me to buy it her most recent haul video along with actually seeing it in John Lewis yesterday, it literally shone on the shelf and stood out amongst all the others!

I really can't compare it to anything else I have in my stash, it's completely unique and I love it!

I have bought some more from the Muppets collection and I'm loving them all so far!

Have you bought this one yet?!

xoxo

What I Wore This Week!

This week I was certainly on a cool toned polish theme!

I started the week with one of my favourite Nails Inc polishes, Albert Place. Its a fresh pale cornflower blue. I absolutely love it, I got it in a five piece set in the summer, I wore it for three days! It looks fab with white.

Then I wanted to wear a grey polish as I was wearing grey and white for work, I couldn't decide between a darker shade or lighter but plumped for OPI Skull And Glossbones. I only wore it for the one day but I enjoyed it, it has a slight green undertone and looks quite nude toned on the nail.

Then on Friday I chose to go with H&M's Spending Cash With Carl to go with my new Zara cardi and my rust dress. I bloomin' love this one! It has an amazing shimmer in the polish without being glittery, it apples wonderfully with no streaks. I have to admit to getting a bit bored of the shade after two days but I couldn't stop looking at my nails for those 48 hours! I urge you to get this one if you see it in your H&M, it's in the older style packaging so I'm not sure how available it is. I will certainly be reaching for this one again this winter, it looked amazing against the rust dress.

I caught up with Keeping Up With The Kardashians Bora Bora episodes last night, the girls were all rocking bright, neon shades and I was totally envious so expect to see something of that nature next week, they looked ah-mazing!!

xoxo

What I Wore This Week!

I thought I'd share the polishes I'd picked out to wear this week since I don't always get the chance to do a NOTD and I'm sure they'd get a bit boring! 

I seem to average about three polish changes a week and I try to mix it up a bit in terms of colour, I want people to notice that I made the effort to change my nail varnish!

My first choice this week was a classic red, you can't beat it for feeling classy and polished! My favourite is this bright tone from OPI, Comet Loves Cupid.

Mid week I chose one of my newest additions, Topshop Miss Marmelade. I loved it for a couple of days then grew bored of it and it had started to show signs of wear, no chips but it kind of cracked a bit from using my hands at work!

Then this weekend I went with OPI Cuckoo For This Colour. A fave from last winter I haven't worn it since then and I had a sudden NEED, yes it was that strong, to wear it! I have had the most compliments for this colour this weekend, normally nobody at work bothers but I had three today and two yesterday! I just adore it, but it wears badly on the tips which is not a look I like.

I'm just pondering my next polish choice for the start of the week, maybe I'll do this again next Sunday?!

xoxo

Chanel Graphite Dupe-ish!

Ok so this isn't really a dupe but more inspired by!

OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous from last years Swiss collection is a gorgeous gunmetal grey packed with shimmer. I have to admit this isn't my own bottle, it's my Mums hence no swatch as she has taken it back to her house and she lives abroad! I did borrow it while she was here and it looked stunning, very shimmery and clearly grey not black. 

I also don't have Chanel's Graphite to show you a comparison as I went to buy it earlier this week and it was already sold out! I have seen the polish and person, it has more of a gold tone to it along with the silver, hence not a direct dupe. If it doesn't come back into stock I'll get my own bottle of Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous!

Do you guys have either of these?

xoxo

NOTD - Purple Leopard

I thought I'd try out another different coloured leopard print nail this time, I saw this combo in a Look magazine a couple of weeks ago and the loved the colours.

I used Nails Inc Cambridge Circus for the main colour, OPI Shorts Story for the dots and my trusty WAH Models Own black nail art pen!

If I do this again I think I'd use a lighter purple or a lilac, I don't think there is enough contrast between the base colour and the pink dots! Anyway it looks really cool with my lipstick today which is Candy Yum Yum and it totally matches the pink of Shorts Story!

xoxo

The Trilogy! OOTD, FOTD, NOTD!!

I've had a wonderful day today, the sun is shining, it's very warm and I think I may be wearing my favourite summer items today!!

I love everything I'm wearing today, clothes,  makeup and nail varnish so I thought I'd break the norm and bust out all three "OTD's"!

I'm wearing,

♥ Top from Laura Ashley, bought last week to go with a pair of white linen trousers that I also bought but it 

matches some of the flowers in the skirt.

♥ Skirt from Monsoon, I love this skirt now! When I first bought it I felt a bit "Granny" in it but it all depends what you wear it with! This is my maxi skirt for the summer as most maxi's are too long for me!

♥ Wedges from Monsoon, I love the espadrille wedge. I bought these about three years ago but have never worn them!

♥ Bag from Tabitha, the colour compliments all of the colours in my skirt and I love the studs against a feminine skirt.

♥ Jewellery from Etsy and bangle from John Lewis a couple of years ago.

I would also wear this with flat gold sandals as the wedges are a little high and not suitable for all terrains!!

I'm wearing,

♥ Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation in Biege

♥ MAC Blushcreme in Ladyblush

♥ MAC MSF Natural

♥ MAC Retrospeck and Mulch eyeshadow

♥ MAC Superslick Eyeliner in On The Hunt

♥ YSL Faux Cils in Black

♥ MAC Everhip Lipstick

I quite sure this will be my go to face for the summer! I picked up an awesome tip from BrushingOnBeauty last night, she said to put creme blush on top of foundation and under your powder. I tried it today and it gives a lovely glow and helps the blush last longer!

OPI Stranger Tides, I know you've seen this but I've worn this for a couple of days now and I love it!! I got lots of compliments at work which surprised me as I didn't think it would be a colour most people would like! I love how fresh the colour feels and it feels like it's a new shade in the colour palette for polish! It still feels feminine despite being a murky colour. Coincidentally this colour is in my skirt too!

In a not normally seen toes of the day, I painted on my favourite summer colour, China Glaze For Audrey, I adore the colour with tan and it's yet another colour in my skirt!!

Well there we go an unnecessarily in depth look at what I'm wearing today! I have thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reaching for this combo again!

xoxo

OPI Pirates Of The Caribbean Collection

OPI's most recent collection is a collaboration with the lastest Pirates Of The Caribbean film, On Stranger Tides. I first head about the pairing of the two back in February when OPI held a bloggers day in London and pictures started to pop up online later that day. I was beyond excited! I loved the shades of the collection and I adore the films! The film was released in the UK this week and so was the nail varnish collection.

The colours in the collection were not what we were expecting but I think they fit the theme perfectly. Murky dusky pastel colours I think are appropriate for the Caribbean Pirate theme. Having seen the film last night I think they fit in well with the scenery and images from the movie itself.

L-R Skull And Glossbones, Stranger Tides, Mermaids Tears, Planks A Lot, Sparrow Me The Drama.

Skull and Glossbones is a slightly green tinged grey. It looks like a mouldy skull that has been left below deck of the Black Pearl! I love the shade, the hint of green makes it stand out from other greys out there but it still looks classy and sophisticated. Two coats will do the job.

Stranger Tides carries the name of the film and is really gorgeous! An interesting shade its very unusual and it reminds me of an avocado! I can't explain it very well but this colour seems the fit the feel of the film perfectly. I have nothing like it it my stash and I just love it! 

Mermaids Tears is a soft dusky turquoise pastel. I think this will be the most popular colour from the collection and I completely understand why.... its gorgeous! Although similar in tone to other jadey greens, Mermaids Tears has a sort of cloudy effect. The mermaids in the film itself are no brightly coloured Disney mermaids, they are dark characters that live in the depths of the ocean, this colour is reflected in the their tails and is totally appropriate.

Planks A Lot is a foggy purple shade. With definite tones of lilac in the colour, its a very pretty shade. I am always drawn to these colours in the bottle but I find I don't wear them very often. I like this colour a lot and it fits in well with the pastel polishes that are massive this summer.

Sparrow Me The Drama is adorned with our favourite pirates name although I'm not sure this is a colour he would wear himself! It is a murky rose that feels very vintage, it's bright yet dusty. This is the colour I chose to wear when I saw the film and I really enjoyed wearing it. 

There are two more polishes that complete the set, Steady As She Rose and Silver Shatter. I felt the rose wasn't really my colour and I'm still only dabbling in a the crackle craze, although I have heard the silver is very sparkly and paired with the other colours in the collection.

As a collection I love the whole vibe of it, I feel the pastel hues are completely appropriate for the Pirates theme. As for the film itself? I loved it, it was such good fun and on par with the first film, I love the flirting between Jack Sparrow and Penelope Cruz's character Angelica! Go and see it!!

xoxo

Spring Swatches

Alongside the clothing spring collections the make-up and nail varnishes are creeping into the shops to complete your spring wardrobe!

I made an order with Transdesign for some polishes from the latest collections from OPI, Essie and China Glaze.

I really love colours that are coming out this season. Pastels, different shades of blues and greys and juicy bold colours.

First up, OPI's Texas collection! Inspired by the American state where I hear bigger is better! It's a mixed collection with some bold colours and a new sorbet formula in juicy colours.

San Tan-tonio.

A beautiful caramel tan colour. This colour really flatters my skin tone, it's not too yellow against my pinky skin. I loved wearing this one, I felt very grown up and sophisticated! I think it will look lovely with my new blue blouse I posted about previously!

Suzi Loves Cowboys.

A delicious chocolate brown! I guess the colour is similar to a horses saddle! You all know I love these shades! I did enjoy wearing this one but I felt it falls a little flat after a day or so, I still prefer Sephora Brownie for my chocolate fix!

Don't Mess With OPI.

Amazing! A fabulous shade of grassy green. I really love this yellow based green it will look amazing in the summer with a white top and gold accessories!

I am pleased with these three, they were the most obvious shades that I would be drawn to in the collection. I haven't seen many swatches around of the whole collection yet and I like the look of some of the sorbet finishes.

Next up Essie French Affair.

Nice is Nice.

A gentle lavender. Very pretty, not sure that it works with my skin tone. I'm not sure on this one yet! Application was lots better than its sister shade OPI's Rumple's Wiggin.

Coat Azure.

Oh my! I just adore this one! A shimmery pale blue that reminds me of the sun glistening off the ocean in the South of France! Such a romantic image! The iridescent glimmer in the polish is quite stunning and really makes this one stand out in the collection.

Essie are on a roll at the moment and have given us another beautiful collection. There are two more from this collection that I would like to get, Barefoot and Topless, a creamy nude and French Affair, a pastel pink.

Finally China Glaze Anchors Away a nautical inspired collection!

First Mate.

I am so into this shade right now! I love it! It's a dusky navy blue, and a true blue too! No black looking blues here! Can't wait to wear this with my new spring wardrobe!

Pelican Grey.

A light grey with shimmer. At first I was disappointed with this one as I felt I had other polishes in the same vain. However on closer inspection it contains a subtle shimmer that really stands out in sunlight and make this particular shade different from the rest.

Sea Spray.

I gambled on this one and it payed off, I love it! It's a blue based grey and at first look looks similar to Pelican Grey. As with the previous colour it is laced with a multicoloured shimmer that really sets this colour apart. Such an unusual colour too, I suppose it's getting more and more difficult to develop new shades. 

To show you that it is more blue than grey here are the two bottles together,

This is Sea Spray swatched on the nail holding the Pelican Grey bottle,

You can see here how blue Sea Spray is in comparison. 

Overall I am very happy with my choices, my favourites have to be, San Tan-tonio, Don't Mess With OPI, Coat Azure, First Mate and Sea Spray! Definite must haves!

Have you managed to get anything from these collections?

xoxo

You Nearly Got Me YSL!

Whilst buying a new YSL Faux Cils in John Lewis yesterday I was captivated by their new Spring 2011 collection. Although the whole collection is beautiful I quickly became obsessed with the nail varnish duo that is featured in the collection. I love this new concept that YSL first launched in the past summer. The idea is that the nail varnishes come in a duo of two complimentary but contrasting colours so you can do a French tip with one of the colours. The brushes are shaped to make this a little easier.

I went away considering going back to buy the set but at £24 I was convinced I could dupe it at home!

Surprise surprise I could....... 

Twice!!

First up are a Nails Inc twosome, a permanent colour Jermyn Street and my recently purchased Denim,

Secondly I have OPI Over The Taupe and Suzi Says Feng Shui .

Ok, I know they aren't quite the same but think they are near enough for me! In fact I think the OPI Over The Taupe and the Nails Inc Denim are the most similar to the YSL version. I think I'll wait until YSL bring out a duo I don't already own!

Do you like this colour combo? What do you think of the French tip twist?

xoxo

Haul - The Nail Polish Kind!

I splurged a bit on polish over the last few weeks and here are the spoils!

Chop-sticking To My Story is a warm pumpkin orange hue from the Hong Kong collection. Very autumnal, its a little darker than the picture I'm not really sure what colours I'll wear it with yet!

Funkey Dunkey from the Shrek collection. I'm sorry about the quality of the picture but any picture taken with a flash gave a very false view of the colour, this is much more true to life.

I saw Mary J Blige wearing this colour on the MTV VMA's a few weeks ago and it jumped out of the tv at me, a little research online and I found out it was this little beauty. I have nothing like it in my collection.

Just A Little Rosti At This is a gorgeous medium dark red from the Swiss collection. It falls between those classic bright reds and the vampy dark ones. I really enjoyed wearing this one, it's similar to Malaga Wine but maybe a little more towards the red. This one really needs three coats to get it even, you can get little patches that need a bit of filling in.

William Tell Me About OPI also from the Swiss collection is a dark aubergine. The lighter friend of Lincoln Park After Dark. You can see more purple than black in this one. A great staple colour for winter. Again I would do three coats of this one as before it can be a little patchy near the cuticle.

Tease-y Does It is a stunner from their newest range the Burlesque collection. It has an amazing sparkle to it thanks to the pinky, goldy glitter within a beautiful burgundy base colour. Gorge!

Black Onyx is a patent black it has a lovely shine to it. 

Essie Sew Psyched is a greyed green from their Fall collection. I really like it, its so different from anything else in my collection and it feels like a very fashionable colour. 

I bought all of these from Transdesign.com.

Sooo, I guess that should do me for a bit. Althoughhh have you seen Essie latest collection, prettttty nice!

xoxo

Nail Polish Haul!

OPI have recently released their newest polishes with the Swiss collection.I loved this collection from when I first saw the promo pictures months ago!

Anyway, as soon as it went up on Transdesign I put my order in along with a couple of others I had my eye on! Here's what I bought!

My most anticipated colour, Ski Teal We Drop. I love it! Its a fairly dark colour but you know its teal, I hate it when they look black! 

I have a couple of polishes in my collection that are similar if you can't get hold of this. 

Not much difference in this picture, in person Nails Inc Portland Place is more green but No7 Totally Teal is almost identical apart from maybe being a teeny bit lighter and needing three coats instead of two.

In the bottle you can see more of a difference.

Diva Of Geneva. A colour I didn't expect to buy, but after seeing swatches on the big polish sites I loved the jewel colour of this. Seriously its stunning when its on. I would have passed it by if I had only seen it in the bottle you need to wear it to get the true colour. It's amazing outdoors in the sunlight too.

Cuckoo For This Color. Again another I didn't expect to purchase. I'm not a huge fan of frosted metallic polishes, not sure why but I prefer creams. Like Diva Of Geneva it really comes into its own when you wear it. The shimmer in the polish is very noticeable and eye catching, I loved the shade of green it reminds me of a peacocks feather!

Color So Hot It Berns is a very bright tomato red. It's really bright! I love these colours but it is very, very similar to Comet Loves Cupid that OPI brought out at Christmas. You don't need both.

Really the same, to my eye Comet Loves Cupid is the tinyest bit darker.

The same I'm sure!

Not from the Swiss collection but a polish I had wanted for a long time, Over The Taupe. In my insatiable thirst for nude, browns and taupes I had to add it to my collection! I do love it but it is identical to Essie Mink Muffs.

I can hardly see a difference other than Mink Muffs, in person, is a fraction darker but no-one would ever notice if you wore both on one hand!

As with all from the collection and as standard with OPI flawless application and formula and I expect it to wear very well.

Finally not to be forgotten, China Glaze Recycle. I have eyed this colour up for a long time, I thought it would be a good one for this winter. I really like it on, it'll be lovely in the winter with red and I though it would look quite classy with black for work.

Well, those should see me through! 

Yeah right!!

xoxo