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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!

Swatch, Uncategorised

No7 Temptress

12th March 2011

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The time has come again when Boots are giving away a £5 No7 or Ruby and Millie voucher with any purchase of £5 or more in store. I had to buy hair dye yesterday so I grabbed my voucher and, as I always do, pelted over to the No7 counter to pick out a polish.

I picked up ‘Temptress’ which, in the bottle, looks like Brown with a hint of Red. When I put it on, I was kind of disappointed because it’s more of a Red with a hint of Brown. I’d call it burgundy.

Application wasn’t any prettier than the resulting colour. There was plenty of drag, I had to use 3 coats and the coverage is still patchy with some visible nail line.

I was super disappointed when I put this on yesterday but I’ve been wearing it since and it’s really grown on me. It’s very elegant but vampy at the same time. I don’t think this formula is worth the full price of £7 but if you have a voucher, it’s worth paying £2. However, there are plenty of other exquisite shades in the range that are more deserving of your attention.

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

Glitter, Swatch, Uncategorised

Barry M Blue Glitter

21st December 2010

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I’ve never really bothered with glitters before but when I used the Barry M Red Glitter for the first time last week for its insanely festive properties, I really thought I should explore some more glitters and decided to get the blue glitter too next time I was at the shops since I prefer blue to red anyway.

I’ve been in looove with this polish since I bought it last week. I don’t know why, but I just want to wear it all the time! It’s a practically impossible to remove with just NP remover and cotton pads, but I’ve been using the ‘foil’ method which makes the whole process so much easier. I also find that after wearing it for a while, it quite easily peels off. I wouldn’t recommend this as it’s really bad for your nails but I’m a picker – I pick at everything – so I find that I can’t help myself!

In these pictures, I’m wearing two coats of the Glitter over one coat of Barry M Cyan Blue.

And a close up…

And soft focus to see all the glimmery, glittery goodness…

I don’t think the colour underneath is absolutely necessary as two coats covers the nail with glitter quite well.

This is a gorgeous polish and is guaranteed to get your nails noticed, just make sure you’re committed to removing it after since it really is a nightmare without the foils.

Swatch, Uncategorised

No7 Poolside Blue

27th October 2010

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I always find No7 polishes a bit frustrating. They have some great colours but I hate the tall bottles and the brushes. It’s impossible to keep the rim of the bottle clean and the brushes don’t spread over the nail as you swipe so you have to swipe at least 3 times to cover the nail.

But, as I said, the colours are amazing and this one’s no exception. It’s the boldest blue I own and I love it.

Swatch, Uncategorised

Barry M Instant Nail Effects Swatch

20th October 2010

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When I was out shopping today, I remembered that someone had mentioned in my previous post about this new polish that they tried it on in the store. So instead of buying it, I sneakily painted on a layer while in Superdrug. I was wearing BYS Matte Grey at the time, which I realise isn’t the best colour to demonstrate a cracking black polish but it was very spur of the moment.

I have only ever tried one other crackling polish from BYS which is no where near as good as this. This one cracks within seconds of touching the nail and continues for a little while so you can actually watch it cracking which is great fun.

You can see that it hasn’t cracked as much on my pinky, but I think that’s because I painted a thinner coat.

I wouldn’t buy this polish myself, although I could be tempted if they were to release other colours, but it is a great effect polish that makes it so easy to get a different look especially if you don’t have much time to spend on your nails.

Swatch, Uncategorised

E.L.F Royal Purple

1st October 2010

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I really like this colour but not as much as the Purple Pleaser. The formula on this one is a bit dodgy. There were ‘bits’ in it. At first I thought it was air bubbles but they turned out to be lumps in the polish. If you enlarge, you will see one on my thumbnail. It’s very strange, but other than that, I love this polish!