Tag Archives: manicure

Nails of the week – blue/pink duochrome

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This week I am a bit rushed off my feet – my office moved to  a brand new building and I am still a bit lost and until I get used to it, I think I will have this feeling of putting some extra effort into going to work – although, that can be easily explained by the fact I have probably paid a record number of visits to various high street shops in one day; office is near Oxford Street, in London, and the temptation is just too much!

I am  also going to Paris for a long weekend (yay), so that has also contributed to my lack of time…

However, I finally found a few minutes to show you my talons: this week I am wearing Andrea Fulerton’s Smile in a storm. Having used two or her duos in the past, and being very excited about those, I almost forgot I had this one; I bought it ages ago, so decided it was time to try it.

It consists of two polishes on a double ended brush; one is gunmetal grey, super sparkly and the other one is an iridescent topcoat. Together, they become a very pretty, although subtle, duochrome which varies from a light, grey-ish blue to darker blue and then to lilac and pink. Sometimes, depending on the light, you can get a glimpse of the grey, but maybe because I just used one coat of each. The reason for that is because the polish builds up quite thick. I had some problems with bubbles, when adding a third coat (second of topcoat), so removed it all and applied again, this time settling for less.

Apart from the bubbles, and the fact that the double ended brush makes it a bit clunky when applying, I am happy with it. Even with an extra shine topcoat, I noticed the finish is not too shiny, and someone even asked me if I had my matte topcoat on! Colour is fab and durability great!

Really like my new H&M ring, so decided to add it here too!

Rating:

Nails of the week – blue with glitter flakes

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Blue, I am obsessed with blue at the moment (again)!

This week I am wearing a metallic cobalt blue with a pretty glitter flakes topcoat.

The metallic blue (Blue me away) is from Collection 2000, and the fact that I wore it before on its own proves it is great, only one coat provides great coverage. The topcoat is from a Brazilian brand I didn’t know: Big Universo, and this one is called Raio Gama;  its flakes are transparent with a laser type effect; a lilac/purple/blueish sheen. The polish is laden with flakes and its base, although translucent, has a bit of the flakes colour too. The effect is really pretty and although it didn’t come out well in the pictures, there is a subtle colour change on the nail surface and the flakes, from light to deep blue to purple…

Application was great; the Collection 2000 blue provided a great base, and then I added two coats of the Big Universo on top. Durability is also great, no chips in sight after five days.

I am very pleased with this combination, I really think the beauty of it lies with the subtlety of the colour and how, in a way, the topcoat softens and adds dimension to the base polish. In fact, I like it so much that decided against trying my nail stamps for the first time, but I shall be doing that soon!

Rating:

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Nails of the week – green/purple duochrome

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Totally in love with this nail colour. This week I am wearing a mega pretty green and purple duochrome called Aztec, from Accessorize’s Illusion nail polish range. Not only the colour changes beautifully, and you can notice it under most lighting, but it is also very sparkly, almost glittery.

The green and purple seem to be a common combination for multi toned nail varnishes, but the green on this one is forest green, making the contrast stunning (most of the others are teal like), and it also has some hints of gold.

Application was ok, if anything the brush was on the small side. The first coat was very thin, and I was worried about the effect. But upon applying the second coat, the beautiful colour revealed itself, in full glory, as in the bottle. Durability is good, of course I am wearing a topcoat, but there have been no chips, four days after application. A good quality nail varnish.

Overall, a great buy, at £4 per bottle. I must admit I am very impressed with the Accessorize nail polish – to be honest, I didn’t think it was going to be good in any way.  I bought this late in 2011, but they still have it on the site, and probably in store. I also bought another shade from the same range, Pink Spice, and cannot wait to try that one too!

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Nails of the week – gold foil

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gold nailsSuper 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!

Nails of the week (08/08/2011)

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Red nails

Red. My nail colour passion really lies with reds. It is, hands down, the colour you are most likely to see on my nails throughout the year. It’s sexy, it’s classic and it goes with everything.

There is no hue discrimination – they can be orange-reds, pinkish-reds, deep red, burgundy red, blood-red, purplish reds, metallic reds, you get the idea – I just love them all.

This week, I am wearing, for the first time, a red from Miss Sporty‘s  lasting colour pro-brush line, which promises a “shock proof, chip and scratch-resistant formula which delivers 7 days durable colour with a high-shine finish”, apparently. The high-shine I can definitely see, still to trial the action men properties of this nail varnish in the next 7 days.

I found it a bit thick to apply, but the “pro-brush” is good – its shape really aids application. It is great value, at the moment, two bottles for £2.99 at Superdrug.

And of course, it is red – a vivacious tone of red, which I am really enjoying seeing on my nails after cheating on the scarlets with more trendy colours in the past weeks!