Autumn Nail Polish Picks

 

  L-R: OPI - Bright Lights Big Color / Essie - Dressed to Kilt / Loreal - Parisian Rooftops / Essie - Madison Ave-Hue 

The weather is cooling down and with the clocks going back an hour this weekend, it finally feels like Autumn is here.  I definitely am someone who wears which ever colour I want at any given time (regardless of season) but I do find myself reaching more for darker colours as Winter approaches the same way I reach for brighter ones in Summer. I'm not quite ready to go to my super dark polishes just yet, so thought I would share with you what I have been enjoying to wear as we transition into Winter.. 

 

 

Essie - Dressed to Kilt /  This is a little deeper than your average red, so I think it works really well for this time of year. I love wearing red on my nails but like all reds, this was a little unforgiving. Any chip or scuff was very noticeable!

Essie - Madison Ave-Hue / I find the dustyness of this blue toned pink really tones the colour down, which makes me really enjoy it for this time of the year. It also has a silver shimmer which is very evident in the bottle but a little hard to spot on the nail.

Loreal - Parisian Rooftops / I have quite a few grey coloured polishes in my collection but this is definitely one of my favourties. I like how deep it is and that it is a little more blue toned than my others. It also lasted really well, didn't chip for days!

OPI - Bright Lights Big Color / This is one of my absolute favourite polishes so really I try to make it work all year round.. Something about the gorgeous shimmery orange just seems very autumnal to me though.  

What have you been wearing on your nails recently? I'd love to know!

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Binky London

I've been a pretty big Made In Chelsea fan over the years and when I heard Binky had released her own range of make up products, I was pretty excited to try a few of them out. 

L-R: Pout / Bloom

I chose two of the lipsticks in Pout and Bloom (although unfortunately, as you can see, Bloom is a little damaged) which are priced at £2.95* each. They're both soft, apply nicely and have a lot of pigmentation to them. Bloom has a little shimmer to it, so my favourite is definitely Pout; which is a more pinkish nude colour.

I was really excited to try out the mascara (priced again at £2.95*). The wand comes with a big brush, fiber bristles and the mascara has a rather wet formula. I personally like very natural looking, fluttery eye lashes and this is absolutely perfect to get that effect. You need to work with it a bit to build it up if you like thicker lashes but I really liked how this left mine looking. 

I also got two polishes in Cobalt and Purple. They are again £2.95* (although not everything in the Binky range is this price) and come with the wide brushes which I tend to really like on polish applicators. They are a pretty thick formula and both of these polishes are super opaque and I was really impressed with how they applied. Cobalt is an absolutely gorgeous bright pop of blue on your nails and will be perfect for summer! I'd be interested in trying out some other polishes in the range to see if they are all as good as these two.

The range is super affordable and I was really impressed with the packaging, which puts me in mind of the Rimmel London packaging and Models Own polish bottles. I love that she has also included the little flag too!

Have you tried anything from Binky London? 

You can check out more of the range on the Binky London website.

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Sally Hansen No More Mistakes Manicure Clean-Up Pen

Even after years of practice I can still be pretty useless at painting my nails neatly so when I saw this Sally Hansen Manicure Clean Up Pen I thought it would be perfect for me. It works by just erasing the polish where ever you rub it and comes with two extra tips. So, after I have painted my nails I grabbed it to clean them up and.. Nothing. Id did absolutely nothing because it was completely dried out. The package was sealed and the pen was shut so I have no idea what happened. I even tried dipping the tips into nail polish remover but it didn't work.

I thought I would make this post so that if you were thinking of buying this, to tell you to be aware that it might be dried out like mine was. It's a huge shame because I feel like if this worked, it could have been a very useful tool to have to help painting my nails easier.

What do you use to clean up yours nails? If you use a brush I would love to know which one you use because I can't seem to find one that I like to use for this purpose!

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Boxing Day Sale Shopping

Did you do any Boxing Day sale shopping? I don't usually venture out into that madness but I was really hoping to pick up a few things from the Lush 50% off sale and after the website meltdown that happened my sister, mum and I decided to take a little trip into Wimbledon so that we could go into the store instead and have a look around a few shops while we were there. I was a little disappointed that a lot of what was on sale on the Lush website wasn't also on sale in the store but I managed to pick up a few things still.

Starting with Lush, who had a 50% off sale on their Christmas stuff (and more on the website) I picked up a few bath bombs (Northern Lights, So white, Luxury Pud & Shoot for the Stars) but now thinking on it, I wish I had picked up more! I also picked up the smaller bottle of Happy Happy Joy Joy conditioner. I wanted a few Sugar Scrubs and the Squeaky Clean shampoo bar but those weren't on sale in store.. I will grab them another time. 

We popped into Next and I found this simple grey jumper for only £7 down from £18 and then in Boots I picked up a No7 polish in 'Moon Shimmer' which wasn't on sale but I had a £3 off voucher so only paid £4

Finally I grabbed one of the No7 Illuminated Make-up Mirrors which I have been wanting for a while now but never actually got. It was £19.99 down from £49.99 but are they ever actually sold for £49.99?!

So, as you can see I didn't get too much but I was really pleased with what I did get and was glad I managed to make it to the Lush sale since the site was down until early in the evening. 

I'd love to hear what you picked up if you've been to the sales!

You can click here if you'd like to see what I got for Christmas!

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Festive NOTD: Essie Jag-U-Are & Maybelline's Knitted Gold

I thought, since there are now only 6 days until Christmas, that it was time to do something a little more festive. I've been really enjoying scrolling through Instagram looking at all the amazing Christmas nail art but unfortunately I don't have the patience or skill to create anything like that so I just went with the more simple option.

To me Essie's Jag-U-Are screams Christmas with its red shimmer and I decided to add some sparkle with Maybelline's Kntted Gold which is a chunky glitter. Essie polishes are always great but I do find that reds always seem to chip quicker than other colours and this is no exception. As for Knitted Gold, it took me three coats to get it as opaque as I wanted it but it's pretty vibrant gold which catches the light beautifully.

How are you showing your festive side on your nails? 

Merry Christmas! 

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Summer Brights - Polish Picks

Summer is finally here and I've been digging around in my nail polish collection to sort out my more brighter shades to wear now that the sun is finally shining and over the course of the summer months..

Sally Hansen Caribbean Coral - I'm not the biggest wearer of coral nail colours but this one leans more on the red side and the slight shimmer, although harder to see on the nail than in the bottle, just give it that extra something for me.

Sally Hansen Bubblegum Pink - I'm a sucka for blue-toned pinks and Bubblegum Pink is just that with a subtle silver shimmer to it.

I love the Xtreme Wear line from Sally Hansen, the brushes are longer than most polish brushes which makes for an easy application, they apply nice and smoothly and I find that these are some of the most chip resistant polishes that own. 

OPI Bright Lights Big Colour - One of my all time favourite polish colours and perfect for summer! It has a pretty golden shimmer to it which translates well on the nails

Maybelline MNY 261 - This is the darkest of the shades I've chosen to include but I think the strong blue tone in this one makes it that little more bright and summery!

Barry M Blueberry - As you can see, this one dries a teeny bit streaky which is a shame and unusual for Barry M who are usually always pretty good but for me, the gorgeous blue colour makes up for it and I can forgive the odd streak

Primark (no name) - Trust me when I say that the picture does not do this polish any justice in terms of how bright it is - my camera just couldn't seem to handle the brightness of it and this was the best I could do. If you're looking for a neon pink then this will be it and although it doesn't have a name, if you go looking for this polish in Primark you will be able to spot exactly which one it is. The brush is unfortunately wonky which makes it a pain to apply but for just £1 and for the amazing colour that this is, I'm not going to complain too much.. This is definitely going to be my go to shade for summer!

What colours will you be wearing through the summer? I'd love to know!

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NOTD: Seventeen - Bijoux Baby

Hey guys! Today is another polish that I feel is a lot prettier in real life than how it comes across in pictures. I'm not usually ever a fan of the textured polishes that I see pictures of on-line because they always look too grainy and not something I personally like. While this one from Seventeen is grainy, it's not quite as obvious as how it looks in the pictures and from far away, I don't think you'd be able to easily tell that it doesn't have a smooth finish.

Bijoux baby applies really nicely and evenly and dries to leave a super sparkly blush/pink colour on your nails. It feels rough to the touch like textured polished usually tend to do but I found that it chips like crazy and in huge chunks.. I've found after wearing it for just over one full day, it's chipped more than enough to make me want to take it off which is a shame.

Do you like textured polishes? Have you tried any of this range from Seventeen? They're £3.99 in Boots.

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Spring Time Pastels

OPI - You're Such a Budapest, OPI - Pink Friday, Essie - Pink A Boo 

The sun is shining and my favourite flowers are in bloom, so even though we have officially been in spring for a while now, it's finally starting to feel like spring too. I definitely reach for pastels and bright colours when the weather warms up but I can never go too long without reverting back to a dark purple or maroon colour on my nails, even in the middle of summer. I do enjoy digging through my collection to find the lighter or brighter shades I wouldn't normally wear during the winter though and always look forward to see which pastel shades nail polish brands bring out each year!

What are you favourite colours to wear when the sun is shining?

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NOTD: Barry M - Birthday Superdrug

Hey guys! Well I'm sure you have heard that it is Superdrug's 50th birthday and to celebrate Barry M have joined up with them and created this new polish.

I first saw pictures of this polish a couple of weeks ago and to be honest, I wasn't very keen on it but I decided I would still pick it up in order to not face disappointment later wishing that I had since it's a special edition. On first application (last night) I still wasn't very impressed - it applied pretty sheer and the glitters/sequins were a pain to get even on my nail but once I had applied the second coat, it all started to come together. The glitters were more evenly spaced and it didn't look at all sheer. Then in the daylight today, I noticed what a pretty deep pink colour the base colour is and that the polishe catches the light beautifully. I just constantly kept looking down at my nails all day!

So I've come to the conclusion that this is one of those polishes that just doesn't photograph very well and that you need to see for yourself on your own nails to see how pretty it really is. I'm glad I decided to pick this up and it was only £2.99!

Have you/will you be grabbing yourself a bottle of this polish too?

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Empties!

Hey lovelies! So I filled up yet another bag of empties and thought I would share the products I have recently used up with you.

Physicians Formula Organic Wear Mascara - I did a post a while back on this mascara and if you happened to have read that then you know I really liked it. I like more natural looking lashes which, when applying just a little of this mascara, is what you get. I did find that it smudged a little bit on me though. 

Snow Fairy by Lush - This was my first time using Snow Fairy so I just went with the smaller bottle to see if I liked it but let me say, when it comes out again this year, I will definitely be picking up the larger bottle. Like most people, I loved it! 

Accessorize mini nail polish in Purple - I find the nail polishes in the Accessorize line to be pretty hit or miss - some I really like and apply nicely while some are just disappointing. I didn't get much use out of this one, even though I know it's just a mini bottle because it went gloopy pretty quick. I'm also not sure of the exact name because the mini bottles don't come with them.

Herbal Essences Coconut Hydrating Hair Mask - When I picked this up I didn't realise it was coconut scented and if I had realised, I wouldn't have bought it since I don't like coconut scents but I was pleasantly surprised by this and ended up really liking it. It leaves your hair feeling super soft.

Parma Violets Lip Balm - I saw this in Primark and decided to give it a go because I love the parma violet sweets and although this smelt nothing like the sweets, it was a pretty decent lip balm which I enjoyed using.

Maybelline Babylips - What can I say? I LOVE these lip balms but I find, since they are so soft, that I get through them really quickly. 

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish - I'm not the biggest fan of cream type make up removers and tend to just remove my make up when I wash my face (with the acceptance of any stubborn mascara or eye shadow) but when my sister offered me her bottle of Cleanse and Polish which she didn't want, I decided to give it a go because I had heard so much about it. I ended up really liking this product and felt like it removed my make up really well. It's even gone through my mind to repurchase another bottle of it!

Not Your Mothers Shampoo - This shampoo smells amazing and I did really enjoy using it but I like a shampoo that lathers and this doesn't since it is a more natural product. 

Neutrogena Clear Pore Toner -  I'm pretty sure they're just a rebranded version of this Neutrogena toner you can pick up in Boots (which is currently my favourite toner) but these ones were bought in America so they're in a different looking bottle. This toner leaves your face feeling smooth and clean.

Do you enjoy reading empties posts? I'm not sure whether to make this my last one of not!

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NOTD: Barry M Mushroom / Sally Hansen Time To Shine

Lately I have been a bit (more than a bit) obsessed with Instagram and in particular looking at the #NOTD tag on there and from doing so I noticed all the different ways girls are painting their nails now. Instead of just an accent nail painted a different colour which has been a trend as of late, I noticed girls painting two 'accent' nails or even including their thumb nail into the mix aswell and decided I wanted to try that out myself. 

L-R: Barry M in Mushroom and Sally Hansen in Time To Shine

I realise my thumb is out of the picture but I chose to stick to just two nails in a different colour and painted my thumb nail in Mushroom too. I'm not really sure how much I like this combo and as you can see from the picture Mushroom dries a lot darker on the nail than what it appears in the bottle (pictured is after I applied two coats) which I always find a bit disappointing. On a more positive note though, three days into wearing these neither of them have really chipped. 

I absolutely love all the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish I've tried and wish they were easier to get hold of in the UK!

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Sparkly NOTD!

Hey guys! Let me first apologise that I wasn't able to take this picture in natural day light, it's not even 3pm here but it's been dark and dreary all day.. Is it crazy windy where you are? It sure is here!

I don't wear sparkle or glitter on my nails too often but tonight the family and I are going out for a meal to celebrate my nephew's pre-birthday (his actual birthday is on Christmas Day, so we like to do something a couple of days before as well) and due to that and the fact that it is Christmas time, I wanted to do something more festive and sparkly with my nails. I know that red is the typical colour for Christmas but I'm saving to that to wear on Christmas day itself and instead went with Models Own Utopia with NYC's Gramercy Glitz on top. I put on two coats of each but definitely thicker coats of the NYC polish because I wanted to it be extra glitzy! 

I probably won't be posting again until after Christmas, so Merry Christmas everyone!

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Nails Of The Week #NOTW

Hey guys! I'm doing something a little different today and instead of a NOTD post showing you the single nail polish I'm wearing, I thought I would share with you the polishes that wore over the course of the week!

First is Essie's 'Miss Fancy Pants' which as you can see is a grey/taupe colour. I love the Essie polishes that come with the wider brush because they make applying the polish so much easier and neater (I find). I'm not sure how in love I am with the colour of this one though, I don't really find myself looking down at my nails an loving it whenever I have it on. 

Then was 'Lychee' from the Barry M Hi-Shine Gelly collection. I don't know about you but I find milky/pastel colours like this hard and streaky to apply and usually don't like how they look around the edges of the fingernail but overall I thought this one dried pretty smoothly. I'm not sure how shiny I would say this is though, definitely no more shiny than any of my other polishes.

Then was 'Jamaica Me Crazy' by Essie. I really like this polish (not sure I can say the picture does it much justice). It's a deep magenta/purple colour with a pretty shimmer running through it. Click here for another look at this polish.

Finally is OPI's 'Tickle My France-y' which is a new polish in my collection but one I can already tell is going to be one of my go to colours which I reach for when I want something on my nails but can't decide what. As you can tell from the picture it dries darker on the nail (I have two coats on) than it looks in the bottle, I kind of wish it didn't and stayed more true to the colour you see but I still really like it either way.

Seems like I had a thing for nudes this time around but what have you been wearing this week?

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NOTD: Sally Hansen - Bubblegum Pink

Bubblegum Pink is just that - a bright pink colour but this one is a blue toned pink with a very subtle shimmer to it. I really love this nail polish, I love the colour, it applied really nicely, was completely opaque in two coats and I was also pretty impressed with its longevity too. It's also a perfect colour for spring and summer.

I wish the Xtreme range was more readily avialable in the UK!

Have you tried any of the polishes from this range?

Haul and an exciting find!

I recently picked up a few beauty items and managed to get a couple of complete bargains! Bic Soleil razors are some of my favourites at the moment and while I was in Savers (which is somewhere I don't tend to shop), I spotted this one with six heads for only £1.99 so I grabbed one along with a little bottle of 100% pure tea tree oil for £1. Then In Boots I picked up a little mini bottle of the Moroccan Argan conditioner to try and a Clean and Clear cream facial wash. I'm having trouble finding my favourite Garnier face wash at the moment so I'm on the look out for a new face what that I like.

L-R: Cinderella, Forget Now & Winterberry

While I was in Boots I spotted that they had a stand of Sinful Color polishes. I already own a couple of these which I bought whilst in America but recently I've been wishing we sold them in the UK because not only do they have a really nice colour range but in the states they are really affordable  So I was rather excited when I spotted these! To top it all off these are only £1.99 in Boots and to make it even better after paying I realised they were on a 3 for 2 offer! 

Have you picked up any bargains lately?

NOTD: Natural collection - Burgundy

Ignore the horrible state of my nails at the moment, I recently had a gel manicure done and ever since having it done and then removing it, my nails and cuticles have been in pretty bad condition. Hence why this definitely isn't the prettiest NODT post in the world! I still wanted to share this colour with you though because of how pretty I think it is. For someone reason in the picture Burgundy looks almost metallic which it isn't, instead it has a duochrome finish of a deep red and a gold/bronze colour. 

I'm a fan of the Natural Collection polishes, I think they have some really pretty and interesting colours and for £1.79 you really can't go wrong!

Do you have any favourites?

NOTD: Andrea Fulerton 'Joanna'

Joanna is really pretty deep pink colour with an overall glittery finish to it. However, in certain lights the polish has a range of colours to it making it ones of the prettiest polishes I own. 

You can buy this polish at Superdrug for £3.99

Do you own polishes from Andrea Fulerton?

NOTD: Barry M - Lilac foil

I mentioned in a previous post that I'm not really a fan of metallic polishes but I have a bit of a soft spot for Lilac foil because of the colour. It's a still a bit streaky, like I find with most metallic polishes, but the silver micro-shimmer in this one from far away makes it look like a pale icy lilac colour which I think is really pretty and perfect for these cold winter months!

Do you like metallic polishes, which are your favouites??

NOTD: Essie - School of hard rocks

Since I now have quite a collection of nail polish, I have started to look at swatches of the colours before I decide to buy them to make sure I don't already have anything like it. When I looked online at the swatches of School of hard rocks, I took it to be a very dark teal colour. As as you can see from my picture above though, it looks like a deep forest green colour (which might just be due to the shoddy light/weather right now). 

As it stands, I'm not too sure how much I like this colour but we will see how I go.

Would you wear it?

Essie's Ridge Filler

I’ve been wanting to try OPI’s ‘Nail Envy’ for a while now but while I was recently looking at the £1.99 Essie polishes on Fragrance Direct, I came across Essie’s ‘Ridge Filler’ which was only £2.50 (RRP £10.50). I’ve always had pretty strong nails, which grow fast and that I’ve been happy with but ever since I started to wear nail polish on a regular basis, I’ve started to notice that when I take it off with nail polish remover, my nails sometimes peel a little bit and have also noticed a couple of ridges on my one finger nail, so the ridge filler sounded perfect!

Due to wearing so many different colours on my nails, they have become really stained and the first thing I love about the this product is that after the first time I used it and removed it when I was ready to repaint, I already noticed a difference in the staining of my nails. It doesn’t claim to remove stains but I definitely saw a difference. The second thing is the way it looks on the nail; I would definitely be okay with having just the ridge filler on if for some reason I didn’t get the chance to go ahead and paint them. It makes your nails look whiter and all around just healthier. It also dries incredibly quickly which I something I really like. The product itself is white and depending on how much you apply, depends on how opaque of a base you are left with, which I feel acts in the same way as if you were to paint your nails with an actual white polish to make your nail polish colour ‘pop’.

The only complaint I have with this product is that it is pretty unforgiving on the cuticle area or if you don’t happen to have the best/smoothest skin around your nails. I’m someone who can’t seem to stomach pushing my cuticles back and the thought turns my stomach upside down, so I just leave mine how they are and I’ve noticed this product emphasises any imperfections in this area. This is easily managed though by not painting it too close to the cuticle. Also, I have to mention if you were to buy this hoping for it fix any ridges you have in your nails then I think you might be disappointed since it didn't really seem to make no difference to mine.

Have you used this or OPI's nail envy?