Nails of the week – magnetic

In sunlight

*Lots* of excitement with this week’s nail polish. After battling with my common sense about paying £13 for a bottle of varnish, I made a trip to Nails Inc. and bought myself the Magnetic Effect Nail Polish in Houses of Parliament – a lovely purple with some grey undertones.

Had never used Nails Inc. before and I am very impressed and quite happy to have paid the steep £13 for the bottle. I also like that they name all their polishes after London streets or landmarks. Cute.

Although magnetic nail polishes are nothing new in the market, this seems to be causing a buzz at the moment. Nails Inc. have the magnetic polish in three colours (purple, gunmetal and gold), and the attendant recommended the purple or gunmetal, as the effect is more striking. Call me impressionable, but I instantly fell in love with it when I saw the attendant trying it on for me to see – nothing quite like seeing the pattern “magically” appear, in 10 seconds,transforming an ordinary colour into and exciting design.

Indoors

Application was easy; the polish is of a good consistency, the brush offers even application, and it dries quickly and thinly. I had the impression it would look quite thick or uneven, but it dries smooth and glossy. The bottle has two caps – one with the magnet on top and the second one with the brush. After a base coat, I applied a coat on all ten fingers, and the colour was a greyish purple. Then, for the second coat, you do finger by finger applying the polish and holding the magnet above the nail for 10-15 seconds, and voilá! I did touch the magnet on two nails, even though they have a clever little “stand” to aid you, so had to remove and re-apply, but you stop doing it once you get used to it.

The final result is exquisite; the wave-like pattern reacts to light very well, the shadowing shifting slightly when you move, it has great depth – it reminds me of an almost kaleidoscopic action. The purple that shows through is much nicer than what you see before , and the darker parts of the pattern are very close to black.

I am in love with this. I also found out that a more affordable version is available at Boots, on their 17 cosmetics range, and the price is £4.99 (usually £5.99) and it comes in four colours.

The effect is really unbelievable for the effort it takes (close to none) and it really looks like the nails have been done professionally. I think this is the beginning of a long attraction to magnetic nail varnishes!

I also succumbed to another super exciting shade when at the Nails Inc. shop, but, as usual, you will have to wait and see!

21Oct2011

Product review: YSL Volume Effet Faux-Cils mascara

Posted in Beauty, Make Up by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

I have been using Maybelline mascaras for quite sometime now, and I find them so good that it was love at first brushing – I forgot all about my long-standing affair with the Lancome ones.

When faced with the opportunity to get the Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effet Faux-Cils mascara, I did so almost reluctantly, as I was very happy with my Falsies.

It had been sitting in my make up drawer for months, unopened and unused, so I decided it was high time to crack it open, and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

It does indeed give you volume, good separation and length; even though the brush is quite bushy, it doesn’t clump. It has a surprisingly nice smell (had never seen a mascara with a slight fragrance!) and the tub is lush (although I keep confusing it with my Touche Eclat!)

Even after rubbing my watery eyes for most of the day (the computer screen is really irritating them, as I left my glasses at home) the mascara seems to hold well, and best of all, I didn’t turn into a panda. This means it has good staying power, and even after a long day at work, simply washing your face with a good face wash won’t do, so an efficient eye make up remover is a must.

eyes with and without YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils mascara

I really like this mascara, but will this be enough for me to leave my beloved Maybelline Falsies behind? Probably not, as value for money is greater with the Falsies (£8.19) and the difference in results is little or none, but this YSL (£22.00) definitely has a deserving place in my heart – and my make up bag!

17Oct2011

Why do women wear painful heels?

Posted in Shoes by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Shoe God

According to Christian Louboutin, it is because wearing heels makes you (feel) more desirable – it is all about seduction in various levels – and the price paid (discomfort) is small when put against the benefits.

Well, quite. I certainly feel that way, and have for years, actually mentioning it many times, obviously never worth of publishing as I am not famous OR an spectacular shoe designer – but I have feet, and wear high heels – it is good to see my point validated!

Historically, think about corsets that squeezed the life out of you or Elizabethan era hair dye that had side effects including nose bleeds, to name just a couple – which were common practice, all done in the name of being perceived and feeling more desirable.

Less to do with being more seductive (but not excluding the possibility), my decision on wearing a pair of shoes has a lot to do with the way it makes me feel – could be sexy, but also serious, powerful, playful or dare I say, tarty – not only portraying the person I am, exposing my personality, but also the person I want to be, in general or on that particular occasion. Needless to say, this applies to other aspects of my life, but it is more pronounced on my shoe choices.

However extreme it may sound, I am not afraid of painful feet (especially when you have bunions like mine!) if I feel fabulous. Having said all that, I do consider myself to be very good with heels, I usually have no problems dancing for many hours on 4in+ shoes.

Admittedly, I have drastically reduced the frequency with which I wear high heels in the past 18 months, as my knee is not great (and even though I don’t see a direct correlation between my knee pain and wearing heels, I decided to lay off them a bit as a preventative measure), and I avoid walking too much on them (if I get public transport, and walk to/from stations, I do so in flats, carrying my heels).

Some of Mr Louboutin’s very interesting statements on the subject, including my favourite about the shoe playing with women’s inner characters, can be found on Vogue. Obvioulsy, when he mentions “this little act of discomfort”, I take that Mr Louboutin never wore his own Rolandos for the very first time to try to break into them. Ouch!

17Oct2011

Nails of the week – gold foil

Posted in Beauty by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Super excited about my nail colour this week. Bought almost two weeks ago, I’ve been burning to try it on, so I am very happy that I finally gave the Barry M Instant Nail effect – Foil varnish a go. Being sceptical about the “true metal” look offered by many nail polishes, I wasn’t disappointed. Plus, I found it to be good value, at £3.99 from Superdrug.

I am now sporting “foiled” gold talons. I didn’t have a great experience with several gold nail polish in the past (they were either glittery or just metallic with no real golden pigment), and this one, even though it is not as if you applied liquid metal to you nails, it has got the shine of the inside of a foil sheet, slightly muted. It reflects light well, and it looks great! I think they got it right calling it “foil”, as I could relate the colour with the inside of foil sheets (if you ever encountered gold foil in your life, that is).

Gold nails

Still, I am very pleased with the result, as it is quite rare to find metallics that have such a good coverage. Application was, and I am not going to lie, not that easy. It was ok, but the polish is a bit thick, it kind of requires that you apply quite a bit for a uniform coverage and even though I was super careful, taking probably double the time it usually takes me to apply nail varnish, I can see slight brush marks and tiny bubbles on one nail.

Despite of the fact that the way it sets is not perfect (I am quite pedantic with the finish of my manicure, I HATE marks, bubbles, bumps, even if of microscopical proportion), I might re-apply for next weekend, as it would go great with the outfit I am planning for a big night out.

I also bought some nail foils, which I have never worn before, and I am really looking forward to trying them on! I have been on a very experimental mood lately, so watch this space!

13Oct2011

Clothes swap party

Posted in Dresses, Fashion, Shoes by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

One of the items I bagged - love it!

I am very excited to say that, for the very first time, I did something I had wanted to do for ages: attend a clothes swap party. It was organised by a friend who, after having so much fun at one in the past, decided to host her own.

For me it was the perfect excuse to perform my biannual wardrobe season change – this is when, for pure lack of space (or as my boyfriend seems to suggest, too many items – crazy – you can’t have too many, right?!), I put all the bygone season clothes in suitcases and shove them in the loft. They then come out around six months later, and the cycle is complete! I often use the opportunity to review my collection and get rid of clothes that made in and out of the loft a couple of times and haven’t been worn. Usually, they end up in the charity shop, but this time they had a different destination.

Armed with some nibbles, I pulled a small suitcase packed with a mix of clothes (some I really liked and had worn a fair bit, others a bought and didn’t sit well or were simply not my style) all the way to my friend’s house, where I was met by around eight other girls holding glasses of bubbly. Promising!

The format was pretty straight forward: you went in the middle of the room, opened your case, showed each item and the ladies interested asked to try them on. If there were no takers, the garment would join a pile on the floor, for later perusal or disposal. If two or more parts were interested, they would all try the disputed item and sometimes this alone would solve it, otherwise, negotiations would commence – all very friendly, flattering but honestly on how the other part looked to decide who the item was better suited for, with all the girls giving opinions! I pretty much got everything I wanted, and I have the feeling everyone was satisfied with their new acquisitions. I certainly took more items with me to the party than I brought home, and this was my intention from the offset!

The vast majority of my items were tried on by more than one girl (it feels nice when other people like your taste!), and two lovely dresses went to a good home – they were sexy numbers, and I am sure she will do them justice!

I ended up with a flower print full skirt dress, which I wore to work the day after, a pair of high heel grey boots, a wool wrap mini skirt, a pencil skirt with leather panels on the side, a skirt suit, a bright pink lipstick, a hair volumising spray and the best of all, three MAC brushes (227,212 and 275)!!!

A great experience altogether, I would certainly do it again. It worked very well and I loved it, plus, it makes so much sense – I cannot see a better way of recycling and exploring styles that you might not necessarily go for, as well as making new friends and most of all, having a LOT of fun. And the clothes which ended up unclaimed, were gathered by the hosts to be taken to the nearest charity shop. Nice!

Nails of the week

I haven’t posted the “nails of the week” for a while (about ten days since I should’ve); but the clue is in the name and I apologise.

The delay is justified (well, these are my excuses, anyway!): I wore the purple nail polish for a record ten days as I was on holidays – it HAD to last – and considering my two trips to the spa and a few nibbles from a very nervous girlfriend waiting for her injured boyfriend to complete a marathon, I must say it held off really well! Also, I decided to let my nails breathe and went varnish free for three days, clearly another record for me.

The red nails in action

This week, the situation dictated my nail colour: I had a circus themed birthday party and by my costume demand, the only colour to go for was red, which is no sacrifice for a big fan of scarlet talons like myself.

I relied on a good old Colorama mix: super bright red 40 Graus with light metallic and slightly darker red Vermelho Ardente on top. This is an old favourite combo, which a manicurist used on my nails a few years back in Brazil and I loved so much that I bought the colours to replicate at home!

My “nail schedule” is now restored to normality and I will have a manicure in a few days. For the first time, I have already decided, in advance, what colour to wear, and I am *very* excited about it! To be honest, I cannot wait… but you are going to have to, until my next post!!!

6Oct2011

A feast of very exotic shoes

Posted in Shoes by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Oh, Popeye!

I recently came across the Virtual Shoe Museum website, after receiving an email with lots of shoes from the designer Kobi Levi.

Showcasing material about art and design of shoes, the site has footwear craft and creativity abundantly splashed around.

With designs ranging from “different” to “completely insane”, the site contains heaps of information on designers, description of most concepts, and simply TONS of shoes (fear not, to wade through the vast amount of items, you can narrow your search by colour material, style and plenty more) and I have to say, the photos are the best part of it, with many angles shown for many of the fantastic shoes. Well worth spending some time browsing through.

Most of shoes displayed are real works of art, so push wearability, comfort and common sense aside, this is a true feast for the eyes of a shoe lover like myself.

Here are the Kobi Levi’s adorable pictures I received:

28Sep2011

London Fashion Week – my picks

Posted in Fashion by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

A gown by Julien Macdonald

London is where my heart is, and it was so exciting to see the British S/S 12 lines, set in the beautiful Somerset House and other amazing venues around the capital.

I really like what I saw in London, and under the absolutely stunning category I am going to put Julien Macdonald‘s collection. The short dresses were so fierce and wearable – I would happily don most of the designs presented. The long, flowing gowns were dreamy: the embroidery married with transparency was delicate and sexy at the same time. The metallics are muted, elegant and in details, which gives all the pieces a very noble, glamorous feel.

Vivienne Westwood‘s Red Label collection dresses at the end of the show really appealed to me, but what really caught my attention was the metallic hair, exquisite MAC make up with amazing eyes and multicoloured nails in shades of greens and blues. Love it.

I very much like Henry Holland, and when looking at his collection, fresh was the word that sprung to mind, with the pastels and playful pieces. And then, all of a sudden, it got fierce, with leathers, animal print and netting.

Meadham Kirchhoff

The textures on Holly Fulton‘s collection was superb – the embroidery mixed with zebra(!!!) print, patterns with feathers and jewelled collars , the sea theme – I like it all, quite a few pieces I would wear.

Jaeger comes very ladylike – the hats were fabulous (even though I don’t really wear hats, I don’t think they suit me!) and I really enjoyed seeing Sass & Bide‘s vibrant colours and sheen details at the Royal Opera House, the venue I consider to be the most stunning.

A feast for the eyes was Meadham Kirchhoff‘s collection. Dazzling the senses with an explosion of colours, the designs and the styling were pure fun – think circus meets pantomime in a fantasy world. Mary Kantrazou also showcased a colourful and exquisite collection, a delightful prints galore.

I also like the fringed, flapper-ish and the feathered dresses from Issa, the vinyl and structured, almost futuristic pieces from Richard Nicoll (some of them reminded me of The Jetsons), the colours and textures in Matthew Williamson‘s collection and the metallics and feathers on Giles‘ “Black Swan inspired” line.

I can bet on metallics for next summer, as well as prints and patterns (I love ALL animal prints – last season’s leopard was king, now giving way to snake for A/W11-12, maybe it is zebra time for s/s12?) and pastel colours.

Overall, in my opinion, New York faded in comparison to the flamboyance of London. Even though I fell in love with quite a few stunning collections showcased in NY, everything seemed more edgy, daring and innovative in the British version, and perhaps easier and more fun to translate from the catwalk to the streets.

27Sep2011

Nails of the week

Posted in Beauty by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Venturing into blue last week was great, but somehow spoiled this week’s choice a little, as I expected to be blown away by every new colour (I know, too high expectations…) and this wasn’t the case this week. Don’t get me wrong, this metallic purple is lovely, but that blue had oomph – and lots of it.

This week I am wearing Purple Rain, another nail polish from Collection 2000’s Lasting Colour line. I found it a bit thin, the first coat was really see through, but the colour really showed on the second coat. I wore the blue one for eight days last week, and it looked great until the end (I did apply an extra coat six days after my manicure just to give it a refresh), and the overall durability was great, it didn’t lose shine!

Differently from the previous purple I wore, this one is darker and it is not as glittery as the Colorama one I have. It also has some iridescence about it, a blue undertone that comes up best in sunlight. Apart from the blue-ish undertone, the colour is rather similar to a MAC lipstick I bought recently, Odyssey. Overall good, but it is no blue, or green!

Might have to go back to them soon!

23Sep2011

Happy birthday Shoe Galleries!

Posted in Fashion, Shoes by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Selfridge's Shoe Galleries

Last night I attended one of the events celebrating the first anniversary of the biggest shoe department in the world, the Selfridges Shoe Galleries. Situated on the second floor of the London store, the gallery is home to 55,000 shoes at any one time and 4,000 shoes on display, from over 150 brands. It is a fantastic place, on one hand, my dream, for obvious reasons, but also my nightmare, because I want to buy them all!

Upon arrival, I was lured to the area surrounding a small catwalk by the music of a live band. Not long after I found a seat, extremely good looking waiters brought little bottles of Pommery POP champagne for the dozens of ladies waiting, and Grazia’s fashion editor, Sophie Ferguson Jones, opened the event by talking about shoes and handbags trends for this season. Soon enough, the more than F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S Miss J Alexander, from America’s Next Top Model, started running the show and picked girls from the audience to strut their stuff on the catwalk, giving them tips on how to improve their walk.

Beautiful ballerinas also made an appearance and there were other activities going on around the whole floor, such as foot mapping (like palm reading, but for the feet!), several prize draws and customisation.

I really love this type of event, overall it was a like a big party with lovely atmosphere, Miss J provided endless laughter and the champagne flowed enough to keep me happy – all surrounded by the most amazing shoes in the world!