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Review

Dupe?, Stamping, Swatch, Uncategorised

BK Matte Smoky Grey Black

18th April 2011

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Jessica from Born Pretty Store got in contact with me recently to tell me about some new polishes that she had in stock. They’re Matte so I immediately jumped at the chance to review them. I have a long standing love affair with matte nails though I don’t actually own many polishes that are matte, I always just use a matte top coat to get ‘the look’. The name on the bottle is BK, which I’ve never heard of before.

I was pleasantly surprised at the high quality and finish of this polish, especially since it’s such a low price. The brush is narrow and flat which made it really easy to apply the polish neatly. It was opaque in two coats but, as I do with all dark colours, I added another for maximum colour intensity. I love that it’s full of tiny silver flecks which give a great depth to the polish, as opposed to it being a flat old grey.

Manglaze Fuggen Ugly came to mind when I saw this polish on my nails. I don’t own Fuggen Ugly myself but I looked at a few swatches and to my eyes it seems like a really close match.

I added the bluebell design from Konad M54 using GOSH Metallic Purple and finished it off with a top coat of NYC. I definitely prefer this polish matte. The silver speckle is really muted with a glossy top coat.

You can buy this shade from Born Pretty Store here. Shipping is free worldwide! How amazing is that? And all the products are so cheap. I actually just ordered a few of the Konad copies which are only $1.55 each at the moment because I really want to see how they compare to real Konad plates.

I have to add one thing about Born Pretty which is that the website is kind of a nuisance to navigate and can be hard to understand in some places (example) but I think this is just down to some bad translation. For the prices of the stuff, I’m not really going to complain!

Dupe?, Stamping, Uncategorised

Do You Think I’m Tex-y Too?

30th March 2011

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It’s just a quick one today. I did spend quite a while writing about how I think this shade is similar to OPI’s Do You Think I’m Tex-y then realised it didn’t really make any sense! I blame it on the cold I’ve been suffering with since the weekend, my head is all stuffed up and I’m just too tired to make real sentences.

Konad Plate: M57

Base Colour: NYC Glossies 235

Konad Colour: Stargazer White

Top Coat of NYC

Freehand, Review, Uncategorised

Born Pretty Store and my First Freehand Nail Art

27th February 2011

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I received a few items from Born Pretty Store a few weeks ago to review. You’ve already seen some of the Bullion put to use and I’ll cracking out the rest of the amazing nail art supplies in good time. Here are the goodies that I got….

I’ve wanted some of these tiny brushes for ages. I did buy a pack of nail art brushes on eBay but there are very few that are suitably teeny for painting designs like this on your nails and I’m actually using one of them to apply my eyeliner!!

This pack of 4 brushes is perfect for drawing anything you can imagine on your nails. They’re small but easy to grip and each one is a different size so you can use the smallest ones for lining and the larger ones for filling in colours.

I decided to try my hand at roses, which are heavily inspired by (read: copied from) Marina at Forever The Ugly Duckling who does some really cute and imaginative, yet simple, freehand nail art which is what actually inspired me to have a go myself.

I started out drawing the outlines of the flowers then filling them in with the blue. Then I went over the outlines again to emphasise them since the blue kind of covered them over. Then I decided to add the leaves by doing the same thing – outline, colour, outline again!

I’m really pleased with how it turned out and I’ll definitely be doing more freehand nail art in the future if I can come up with any ideas! If that’s something you guys would like to see?

I used:

Brushes from Born Pretty Store

Barry M Berry Ice Cream as a the base colour

Rimmel Black Satin to outline the flowers

Beauty UK Neon Blue to fill the flowers

BYS Fern for the leaves

Top coat of NYC

Disclaimer: The nail art brushes were sent to me by Born Pretty Store for review. Everything you read here is my honest opinion.

Dupe?, Stamping, Swatch, Uncategorised

Barry M Dusky Mauve

4th January 2011

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Here are a few pictures of Barry M Dusky Mauve. This is rumoured to be a dupe for Chanel’s Paradoxal. I can’t give you a solid opinion on that claim but judging from swatches I’ve seen of the Chanel, I’d say it is pretty darn close!

I wore this on New Years Eve and lots of my friends commented on it. My bestie (who has never bought a polish in her life!) even said she’s going to get some to wear at work because it looks so sophisticated.

I also have Models Own Purple Grey in my collection which you can see here. This polish is a good match for the colour of Dusky Mauve but doesn’t have the shimmer – it’s just a plain creme.

And of course – I had to put a Konad over it and matte it up.

Konad Plate: M57

Base Colour: Barry M – Dusky Mauve

Konad Colour: Collection 2000 – Moonlight Shine

Top Coat of Essie Matte About You

Review, Uncategorised

NYC In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry Polish Review

2nd January 2011

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I have to start by saying this is the best damn top coat I have ever used in my life!

You may have noticed the line after all my manis that normally says ‘Top Coat of NYC’. Well, this is the polish I mean….

New York Color Quick Dry Top Coat
(website)

This top coat dries to the touch in one minute – just like it says on the bottle. Within 15 minutes, it will be completely hard and you can go back to your business without worrying about getting any dinks or scratches in your polish. You could even go to bed and sleep peacefully knowing that you won’t wake up up with duvet dents pressed in to your mani.

I think it’s also important to mention that this top coat won’t smudge your Nail Art/Konad designs like some other top coats I’ve tried.

I can’t comment on the lasting power of this top coat because I never really wear a manicure for more than a few days. When I do keep a mani for a little while, this top coat holds up pretty good. Sometimes it does chip slightly around the tips after about 2 days.

The only downside with this top coat is that when you get about two thirds through the bottle it starts to get really gloopy and tricky to apply but I think it’s the same with most top coats and polishes in general right?

I can’t really compare this to any of the other well known top coats that are out there on the market such as ‘Seche Vite’ and ‘Essie Good to Go’ because I’ve never used them. I’ve never had the need to try them because this one is so freakin’ awesome and at only £2.59 a bottle, it beats the other brands hands down for value.

So if you’re looking for a top coat that’s going to dry your mani fast and keep your polish hard and strong, this is the perfect budget top coat for you.

In the UK, you can find the NYC range in most larger Superdrug stores. Click here to see stockists in the US.

Review, Uncategorised

E.L.F Matte Finisher Review

13th October 2010

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Here are a few pictures of E.L.F.’s Matte Finisher which recently became available in the UK online store.

I haven’t seen any matte top coats in stores here, but when I took place in a swap with another nail blogger in Canada, I got hold of Essie’s Matte About You.

So… when I saw that E.L.F.’s Matte Finisher was now available in the UK I had to buy it!

I have tested this out this a few times before now, so I can tell you guys my thoughts on day-to-day wear. But first, the pictures…

This colour is Barbara Daly Cardinal – a slightly metallic, fuchsia pink. I chose to swatch with this colour because the change from glossy to matte is nice and obvious.

And here it is with E.L.F’s Matte Finisher.

Please note that I used Essie Matte About You on my thumb nail for comparison.

As you can see – the resulting matte finish is great.

Click here for a gif animation of the two pictures.

My Verdict

I think this is a great polish for the price – considering the prices of other similar top coats that are out there.

If you’re wearing this for more than a day, you may need to add a fresh coat each day as it begins to go more glossy with wear. It’s almost as if it gets buffed back to a shine.

The results are not always consistent – when I wore this finisher over E.L.F’s Innocence last week, it did not ‘mattify’ every nail. You can see below that my forefinger is still sort of glossy.

AND, it has cracked on my little finger which has also happened again since. I think it’s just because was a new bottle at the time because it seems to be working fine now.

So if you are looking for a Matte Top Coat on a budget – this is for you.

It gives a good matte finish and compares well next to Essie Matte About You. Just be sure to shake the bottle well and give it a chance to warm up before you give up on it for cracking or not doing it’s job properly!

Comparison, Swatch, Uncategorised

Brown Comparison – E.L.F Smoky Brown vs. Barry M Mushroom

19th August 2010

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When I got home with my haul a few days ago which included Barry M Mushroom, I realised that it’s really similar to E.L.F. Smoky Brown Which I already have! Darn it, I could have bought Blueberry Ice Cream which I’ve been drooling over for aaages!

So here is my first comparison post! There’s not much to compare though, since the two are practically exactly the same, the Barry M is just slightly more creamy coloured.

They are great dupes for each other so if you are looking for a shade like this, I suppose it just depends which brand you prefer.

I personally prefer the E.L.F because the brush is wider and flatter, making application easier in my opinion. But if you like your brushes round and slim, go for the Barry M.