Category Archives: Beauty

Nails of the week – blue with glitter flakes

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blue nails - Impala paparazzi and paz e amor - dani dutraFor my last manicure in Brazil, I chose blue. I am wearing two nail polishes from Impala: a lovely dark, slightly metallic navy blue called Paparazzi and a blue and green glitter flakes topcoat called Paz e Amor.

Alone, Paparazzi is a very pretty and shiny deep, dark navy blue. The topcoat effect is lovely and somewhat similar to the Andrea Fulerton Rain fall trio topcoat, the difference being the flakes on this polish change colour, whereas the ones on the Impala varnish are two different colours. The Impala polish also has a clearer base for the flakes.

This brand is very good; applications is always smooth and even, the finish is glossy and durability is great.

Today is my last post from Brazil – sadly, my holidays are over and I am heading to London tomorrow. This means I will go back to doing my own manicure again (you do get used to having them done!) and will start trying out my nail varnish haul, as well as some polishes I had bought before coming on holiday!

Nail polish haul

This is my Brazilian nail polish haul! I am taking home (from home!) a good selection of polishes, which will add around a kilo to my luggage!

nail polish haul- Brazil - Dani Dutra

I got some old time favourite brands, such as Colorama, Risqué and Impala but also bought some I hadn’t tried before, like Specialittá and Ana Hickmann.

From Colorama, I selected Luxo, 40 Graus and Tapete Vermelho, all classic reds, but decided to get different colours from the other brands.

I have Hermes (gold), Apolo (teal) and Atena (dark pink), which are great holographics, the duo chromes Marimoon Artsy (blue/purple/yellow) and Trendy (green/yellow) and Mica (metallic lilac) from Specialittá.

Ana Hickmann has a Star Collection with “special effects”, and I bought most of them : Trend (brown/gold/green) , Relux (forest green/purple), Reflex (purple/gold/green); all duo chrome and Glow (glitter flakes).

I chose Viúva Negra (black/red glitter), Besouro (green/purple) and Poção do Amor (metallic red, with a hint of golden fine glitter) from Risqué.

My choices from Impala were Paz e Amor (blue/ green glitter flakes), Na Mira 3D (dark holographic glitter) and Sex Appeal (red/orange duo chrome).

I also got a Nati metallic red called Confidente and a Big Universo Raio Gama glitter flakes topcoat.

On top of that, I got three base coats (two strenghtening ones), two extra shine topcoats and a clove oil to be applied before the base coat, to hydrate and strenghten the nail.

All nail polishes were priced between R$2,50 and R$7,99(£1 and £2.85). As I mentioned before, I find that Brazil has amazing value for good quality nail polish. It really amazes me!

I cannot wait to try them all – lots of exciting nails of the week posts coming soon!

Nails of the week – red with glitter flakes

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Happy new year everyone!

I have entered 2012 wearing red on my nails. On new year’s eve in Brazil, it is traditional to wear colours that correspond to things you wish for the year that will begin. Most people wear white, which means peace. I wore a gold dress (yellow/gold for money, but mainly because it’s pretty!), had white underwear, for peace, of course, and my nails were scarlet, for passion! Not a bad combo, eh?

Again, I am trying a brand never used before, Ana Hickmann nail polish in Balada and Glow topcoat with glittery flakes.

The red is bright, leaning towards orange. The topcoat is clear on its base, but laden with duochrome glitter flakes which are mainly golden, but change colour from copper to a greenish-yellow, just stunning!

It was applied by mine and my mum’s manicurist, Irma (a nail angel!), but the consistency was creamy and smooth, durability is also good as my nails still look  perfect!

Summer skin care: Nupill body oil

I am really obsessed with a golden, real tan. Don’t get me wrong, I have succumbed to fake tan way too many times, and living in London, it is sometimes my only option. After a while living in a cold country, my skin turned into a colour I never thought it could be, a weird off-colour yellow (yes, trust me, not attractive), a diluted, unhealthy looking version of my olive shade.

Now, I only use self tanning sprays at home when I need, but there was a phase I spent a lot of time in sunbeds, and developed what I thought was a tan, but in reality it was a dodgy dark orange shade…

For this reason, I really appreciate when I get a proper tan – a fact taken for granted all my life in tropical lands – and I love the colour I am at the moment, a real golden tone, and I am doing all I can to preserve it and develop into a darker shade.

I am now in Brazil, and my favourite pastime is sunbathing. To hang on to my tan, and keep a glowing skin, I find nothing better than (apart from proper sun cream application and patience to work on the tan) a lovely body oil, with almond and grape seed oils and collagen, called Nupill Gold Skin.

More like myself!

There are a few different brands that do the same mix, but this is my favourite smell. Sadly, it is only available here, and I paid a reasonable R$8,90 (just over £3) for 180ml.

It helps to prevent peeling by hydrating the skin and, on top of it all, it smells gorgeous! In the winter, it is very useful, as it helps with dry skin. Plus, it contains collagen, which aids skin elasticity!

I apply it just by the end of my shower and don’t rinse. It is not too thick an oil and it is absorbed by the skin very quickly, leaving it smooth and soft. By the time I put my moisturiser on, there is no trace of it on my skin.

Unfortunately, I haven’t found anything similar in the UK which is reasonably priced. I tried pure filtered almond oil before, but even after rinsing, it seems to stick and there was a lingering smell of stale oil afterward on my body, towel and clothes that really bothered me.

Do you use or know anything similar? It would be great to find out!!!

Nails of the week – holographic teal

I am thoroughly enjoying my holiday, this “white Christmas” thing is not really for me! With temperatures averaging 30°, I have developed a great tan; add the intense socialising, and my posts have been sparse an irregular! I will return in full power after mid January – I promise!

This week I am wearing a pretty holographic teal nail polish from a Brazilian brand I hadn’t tried before: Specialittá Hits, and the colour is Apolo, from their “No Olimpo” range.

The holo effect is not too strong; it is stunning in the sun, very sparkly and multi coloured, but indoors, it is just a pretty metallic teal! For this reason, on the 6th day of wearing it, I have painted over with the gorgeous topcoat from Andrea Fulerton’s Rain Fall trio, with green glitter flakes, to give it a bit of oomph!

Once again, I didn’t apply myself, but it seemed to glide well. Its durability is very impressive: seven days and not a chip!!!

The price is, of course, as every Brazilian polish, great, although above the average: around R$ 8,00 (just under £3)!!!

Nails of the week – Holographic and black

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I am now in Brazil for holidays, and while I am having a break from doing my own manicure, I am still trying new shades. It is so exciting to be able to rediscover Brazilian brands, and explore the new colours. Also, prepare yourselves for short posts, as I cannot wait to run to the pool and work on my much needed tan!

This week I am wearing something quite similar to the Nails Inc. Electric Lane holographic topcoat – it is called Na Mira 3D, from Impala, and it is part of their Sao Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW) line.

Although it has the same purpose of the Nails Inc one, this beauty has a slightly darker colour, with great depth and a lovely iridescent pink tint to it. As soon as I looked at it, I knew it would look great on black (my manicurist applied Impala 501, Preto). It dazzles beautifully in the scorching Brazilian sun, but it is very hard to photograph! I really struggled, and the pictures, disappointingly, don´t really represent its prettiness! I am not sure if it can be considered holographic;   it just looks that way when in directly light. Perhaps, I would probably say its a glittery duochrome most of the time.

I didn´t apply it myself, but I know that Impala nail varnishes are easy to apply, gliding nicely on the nails. The texture is smooth and the duration is great (it does help it was applied by a professional!). I have a coat of black, one of the holo/glittery duo and a topcoat.

I am very happy with this, and I even have it on my toe nails. A friend bought me a bottle before I arrived, and I bought another one for good measure. I find nail varnishes very inexpensive in Brazil, this one being R$ 5,00 (£1.78). Bearing in mind this is a special edition polish and the normal colours cost between R$ 2,50 (£0.89) and R$ 3,50 (£1.25), it is great value indeed!

Check all the other Nails of the Week posts.

Product review: New eyeliners head-to-head

Until a couple weeks ago, I had been lining my eyes in three different ways, depending on my mood, time and desired effect: by using eye shadow (MAC Carbon) or gel eyeliner (MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack) and a small angle brush or using an eyeliner (MAC Smoulder eye kohl).

Recently I came across a few products and decided to give them a go – and test which one delivered best results, in terms of ease of application, effect and durability.

Collection 2000 EXTREME 24 HOUR FELT TIP LINER - Dani DutraThe Collection 200o Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner in black really caught my attention – it is unassuming, looks like a normal felt tip and the idea is really good: a pen with which you can draw your eye liner.

Having 24-hour on the label made me a bit nervous – what if I messed up and it was stuck on my face for a whole day? So it took me a couple weeks after buying to try. I was pleasantly surprised with the results; my first application was easy, the pen glides nicely on the eye lid and it is really precise. You can create nice jet black thin lines with it, and a perfect flick.

Other times it was harder, the line wasn’t perfect, but it was easily fixable with a moist cotton bud. After it dries, it really sticks, and removal requires quite a bit of scrubbing! It lasted well, when I returned home after work, it was still present, my eyes looked well lined and it didn’t run, although it was bit faded. I can see it being very useful to fill out the line after applying false eye lashes!

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner 24hr - Dani DutraThe other product I tried- and loved – is the Maybelline EyeStudio Lasting Drama gel liner, in blackest black. I really like that it comes with a brush, and the combo works really well; the gel is smooth and glides nicely, the little brush is a great size for the make up bag and is hard enough to be good for thin and wider lines, and it really, really lasts. After a whole day at work, including a trip to the gym, the line still looked impeccable! I was very impressed!

ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen - Dani DutraThe third product I tried is quite similar to the first one: the Elf waterproof eyeliner pen. I felt that, although the tip was finer, thus enabling you to create extremely fine lines, there didn’t seem to be enough ink coming out, it was quite dry, I had to rub it really hard and go over the line again and again losing precision, and the final result was still faded. I took pictures, but re-touched with the Collection 2000 liner to make it proper. A shame, as the Elf product is only £1.50,was really expecting one of those “amazing finds” moments! I didn’t do an “after” shot, as I had another liner over it.

For the time being, I’ve laid off my old ways and I am alternating between two of the new discoveries. I am divided between the Maybelline and the Collection 2000. The first one has amazing staying power, and the second is so easy to apply it is almost ridiculous! However, the Collection 2000 might just edge the Maybelline (£7.99) one for its price: £2.99, which is unbelievable value for this product!

What about you? What is your favourite eye liner?

Nails of the week – magnetic blue

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17 Magnetic Nail polish in blue - Dani Dutra

Click to enlarge

I got over my disillusion with the Saturday’s magnetic nail varnish and decided to give the 17 Magnetized Nail polish a go. I  bought a few as gifts to friends in Brazil, and I intended to give them all away, but when I cast my eyes on the blue one, I found it so beautiful that I couldn’t let go.

Its colour is a pretty indigo blue and it differs from the other magnetic polishes because the dark colour that ripples has a little tinge of purple. This is very subtle and only visible sometimes. Still, I really liked it.

The brush is of satisfactory width and the polish has a good consistency, but can get a bit thick; you do need a generous second coat for the effect to look good.  Application was alright, not as good as the Nails Inc one, but not as bad as the Saturdays varnish – this really sums up this nail polish; something between the Nails Inc and the Fashionista one (although quite a way away from it, as the quality is much better!)

As per durability, it is quite good; it doesn’t chip easily, and this is a very important point for me.

Overall, I am quite happy with this; priced at £5.99 and coming with its own magnet, I believe it’s a good deal. And it is available in blue, purple, green and gunmetal. Pretty!

Check all the “Nails of the week” posts and find out the star rating for this and other polishes.

Nails of the week – purple/gold

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Kiko nail polish - Dani Dutra

This hasn’t been a good week for my nails; two days after doing my manicure, I broke a nail and had to cut them all short :(. Luckily, I had already taken the pictures for this week’s post!

I am trying a new brand this week, the Milanese brand Kiko. The have this quite impressive shop in Westfield Stratford City, with lovely make up and a huge range of varnishes.

Everytime I am there, I go in to take a look – I just cannot resist – and this time I picked up this varnish from a new range, Hologram Nail Lacquer. I chose number 354, a purple leaning towards dark mauve with very pretty gold and golden green shimmer. This polish is a duochrome, and although not as spectacular as the one I wore last week,  it is rather nice, and however subtle, you can definitely notice the colour variation.

It shimmers big time when it catches light, it is extremely glittery, but no flakes, so it has a smooth and shiny finish. Application was alright; the brush is  wide enough and the polish has a good consistency. However, it is rather sheer, one coat doesn’t do much, two is kinda ok but I needed three to realise its full potential – a little bit too much for me. It lasts well and doesn’t chip easily, and that’s a big plus for me.

Overall, I am not dazzled but pleased with my purchase, which wasn’t the cheapest around, at £5.90 a bottle (their other polishes, not from the Hologram line,  are priced at £4.90), but the quality is good and the shade pretty, and I must say I am looking forward to maybe trying make up items from Kiko Make up Milano!

Kino nail varnish - Dani Dutra

Product review – 17 BB cream

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After hearing wonders about BB creams, I decided I needed to get hold of one. Who doesn’t want to sport skin as they promise? I mean, who wouldn’t kill  “to reveal the magic of flawless skin with this all-in-one foundation plus skincare wonder product”?

This cream claims to give full coverage which conceals imperfections and helps control oil;  even skins tone for a flawless finish and protect your skin with SPF 25 and hydrating formula. Great, eh? So I bought the 17 Blemish Balm, for a reasonable £5.99, on offer (normal price £6.99) from Boots.  I originally wanted the Garnier one, but the branch I visited didn’t stock it, so I decided to give this one a go.

It is worth pointing out that I have sensitive combination skin, with a sometimes oily t-zone and the eventual drier patches. I suffered from severe acne in the past and although it’s all  gone, I have breakouts from time to time. I don’t have an uneven skin tone, but have some mild acne scars on my cheeks, slightly enlarged pores (not too bad) and occasionally, some redness from irritation.

Bearing that in mind, this is my opinion and experience with the product:

The first thing I noticed was the colours limitation: two to be precise –  light and medium. Now, what do darker skins do? Not sure. I went for medium, as I have olive skin. The colour is not a good match for me, as it is medium for pink based skin tones. As I have yellow tones in my skin, none of the colours are ideal.

Second, I thought about posting a picture and decided against; there was no difference, it feels like a thin tinted moisturiser, it hid some minor blemishes, but didn’t offer good coverage. Needless to say, I am mortified to be photographed without make up, *twice* would be an insult.

Having said that, some reviews mentioned it could be ok to use as a primer, but  I don’t think it particularly fixes make up – I tried and it didn’t do it for me.

However, the absolute killer was the way the product made my skin feel very greasy, clogged, as if it couldn’t breathe. Minutes after applying, I felt I should wash my face. I had some break outs, and I am not, in any way, blaming the product for them, but now I haven’t used the product for a week or so, they have cleared – just saying.

I must mention, as explained above, that I don’t have flawless skin (if I had, I probably wouldn’t feel so tempted to buy the product in the first place), but my current foundation, which has a medium/sheer coverage, mixed with a little moisturiser offers much better coverage – without the greasy feeling.

Concluding, I can’t really see any of its magic, I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t buy it again or recommend and this is not really for me.

I do hope others had a better experience with this! Have you tried this or another BB brand? What did you think?