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Posts tagged Lilac
NOTD: Primark Spotty Nail Polish
3
7 years
by Naomi in Nails
I’ve been wanting Illamasqua’s Speckled nail polishes ever since they were released, but at £14.50 each I just couldn’t justify buying them. Then, whilst queueing in Primark at the weekend, I spotted this Spotty nail polish, which is a dupe of Illamasqua’s Speckle – their discontinued speckled lilac shade. And the best part? Primark’s Spotty was discounted from £2 to just £1!
The polish has a creme base, and is crammed full of black glitter and micro glitter, which in the right light has a beautiful holographic sheen. The overall finish reminds me of a Cadbury Mini Egg, which is perfect for Spring and the run up to Easter! The polish has a smooth consistency and applies evenly, giving opaque coverage in two coats, but it takes a while to dry. Not ideal, but not really a problem if you’re not in a rush.
My only issue with the polish is that, when I first used it, lots of little air bubbles got trapped underneath (as you can see above), so it looked and felt a bit lumpy. It could’ve been due to the base coat I used though, so next time I’ll give it a miss to see if it makes a difference.
In terms of staying power, I wore this for three days before removing it, and by that point it had barely chipped at all. I imagine it would last for almost a week before starting to look scruffy.
Overall, this is a lovely, pretty polish, and I’m so pleased I finally have a speckled polish in my collection. I just wish I’d picked up the other shades too!
What do you think of my bargain find?
Naomi x
NOTD: Jacava London Blueberry Muffin
4
7 years
by Naomi in Nails
Nail varnish is one of my favourite things to review, so when London brand Jacava gave me the opportunity to choose a colour from their collection to write about, I just couldn’t say no. After much deliberation I settled for Blueberry Muffin, that I received along with a Top Coat with UV Inhibitor which I wasn’t expecting, so that was a nice surprise.
Jacava are a 100% British brand who are vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, and never test on animals. They also boast the first 8-free polishes in the world (yes, that’s right, EIGHT-free), as they don’t contain Formaldehyde, Camphor, Toluene, DBP, Cellophane, Phthalates, Parabens or animal ingredients. So, right from word go, they’re a brand I’m happy to support, and luckily their products match up to their good name!
Top Coat with UV Inhibitors and Blueberry Muffin
Jacava’s packaging is simple but sleek, and the long, slim lids that their polishes come with are easy to grip which makes application effortless.
The polish itself has a silky smooth formula which gives surprisingly opaque coverage in one coat, but I like to apply two coats for a bolder, more intense colour. Perhaps the most stand-out aspect of Jacava’s polishes for me is how quickly it dries. It’s literally dry to the touch within a minute, and after five minutes it’s good to go. I even got my two pet rats out to play just after painting my nails, and they didn’t smudge at all. Just one word of advice. In my experience the top coat isn’t suitable as a base coat, and will make the polish peel off extremely easily. It stays put for a long time without a base coat, though, and looks gorgeously glossy with the top coat for an all round perfect manicure. Jacava’s website also states that the top coat’s UV Inhibitors keep white nail polish white for longer, which is a nice feature that I’ve never seen before, so worth investing in if you regularly wear pale shades.
Blueberry Muffin has a lovely creme finish, but is more of a pinky purple than a blue purple. Sort of a soft and dusky dark lilac. It’s an absolutely beautiful shade which reminds me of spring flowers and lightning skies all at once. I love it.
Click image for a closer look!
Jacava’s range features eighteen beautiful shades and several different finishes, including creme, metallic, shimmer and glitter. Every polish contains 22-carat gold for a nourishing, luxurious formula, and they cost just £14.50 each. I personally have my eye on Blackberry Fool, Marrakesh Nights, Midnight’s Secrets and Chillax! To view the full Jacava range click here, or find them on Feel Unique.
Which shade do you like best?
Naomi x
*These two nail polishes were sent to me by Jacava London for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Layla Hologram Effect Nail Polish in Ultra Violet
9
8 years
by Naomi in Nails
On my birthday I got quite a few bottles of nail varnish, and the one I chose to wear on the day was this one from my mum – Layla Hologram Effect in Ultra Violet. I’ve always liked the look of hologram nail varnishes but have never got round to buying one myself, so I was very pleased to see this in my pile of presents, especially as it’s my favourite colour. Thanks mum!
Layla isn’t a brand that I’m familiar with, but according to their website they are based in Milan, Italy, and sell a wide range of make up as well as nail products.
This varnish has a fairly thick consistency, but it comes with a decent brush so applies easily and evenly, and despite the glittery look dries smooth to the touch. However, it does take a little while to dry, and if you attempt to apply the second coat whilst the first is still sticky it can cause some streaking, so it’s best to be patient with application if you want to achieve neat coverage! It only takes two coats to create an opaque finish, which is always my test of a good quality varnish, and this one passes.
In the bottle, Ultra Violet looks a dusky purple colour with an undertone of grey, but on the nails it looks slightly paler. However, once you’re in the right light the hologram effect really comes alive, and it’s impressively strong! The hologram looks 3D and shines a rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink and purple in both natural and indoor light, and at the same time the glitter shimmers beautifully underneath. It’s difficult to put into words just how stunning this varnish is, so here are a few pictures of it in different lights to give you an idea…
No hologram effect.
Hologram effect without flash.
(It actually looks a lot more colourful than this in reality but it was difficult to capture on camera.)
Hologram effect with flash.
I have been wearing Ultra Violet for three days now, with a top coat, and it has lasted really well. The ends have started to chip today so I will probably remove the varnish soon, but other than that the coverage still looks neat and vibrant.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Layla Hologram Effect Nail Polish as it is excellent quality and the hologram effect is powerful and very, very pretty. A lot better than the Boots 17 hologram varnish I’ve seen in reviews! The colour is a bit more interesting than the typical silver hologram too. If you’d like to try this range for yourself, it may be difficult to locate in shops, but Ultra Violet is available on Amazon here, and you can find other shades here.
Do you like the look of this varnish?
Naomi x
Marie Claire Freebie: Ciaté Paint Pot in ‘Purple Sherbet’
12
Thursday was an exciting day in the world of the beauty fanatic as it was the day that July’s women’s glossies hit the shops! There were some great freebies this month but being the pauper that I am I couldn’t have them all, so I went for two – Glamour with the free Benefit Bad Gal Mascara sample (which I’ll be reviewing tomorrow… I may also pick up another copy for the Porefessional), and Marie Claire with a free full size Ciaté Paint Pot! I have been wanting to try Ciaté nail varnish for AGES so I was sooo excited when I spotted this. The freebie comes in three shades – a beigey pink colour, a bright pink called ‘Jelly Bean’, and the lovely lilac ‘Purple Sherbet’ that I went for.
Out of all the nail varnishes I own I think this Ciaté Paint Pot is my favourite in terms of looks. The large curved bottle, tall slim lid, Ciaté logo and cute black bow are really elegant and would look lovely on any nail varnish display! I’m also really impressed with the amount of product you get in each bottle. Most of the full size varnishes that I own contain somewhere between 7ml and 12ml of product, but the paint pots are all a whopping 13.5ml.
When I applied the Ciaté paint the first thing I noticed was that it didn’t smell horrible! As I’m sure you know, a lot of nail varnishes smell very strong, but Ciaté’s are all 3-free so there are no nasty chemicals to stink the room out and make your eyes water. They’re also not tested on animals which endears me to them even more!
Now, the application itself was absolutely beautiful. The paint is very creamy and the perfect consistency so there’s no running or glooping. I usually find that pastel nail colours need three or four coats to create an opaque look, but with this I only needed two, which is great as it means the bottle will last me even longer! The brush is quite wide so it applied easily with no streaking, and it dried fantastically quickly. It has a jelly finish too which is my all time favourite finish 
The above picture was taken a day after I applied it, and I’m not wearing a top coat. It still hasn’t chipped or peeled either which suggests amazing lasting power!!
I’m also really impressed with the shade of this ‘Purple Sherbet’. I’ve tried pastel lilac colours before and they’ve had a grey or blue tinge, making them look a bit dull, but Ciaté’s has a gorgeous pink hue so it looks nicely girly. My mum is in love with the colour too and wants some for herself! I better hide it I think.
We all know really that companies give products away with magazines as advertising, and this time it has worked on me – I am now a complete Ciaté convert! I know I’m going to have to buy some more at some point. Ciaté Paint Pots usually retail for £9 each, so they are DEFINITELY worth the £3.70 that you pay for the magazine… Oh and there is also a 25% off Ciaté voucher code printed in the magazine as an extra bonus, but you might as well just buy a few copies of Marie Claire if you want more than one colour!
Which glossy mags did you buy this month for the freebies?
Naomi xx
17 Magnetized Nail Polish in Lilac
0
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
Since the end of last year when I first heard about magnetized nail varnish, I have been searching for an affordable magentized product. Most of the magnetic nail varnishes I could find were all over £15, a lot more than I wanted to spend, and they didn’t always come with the magnet which would have been extra expense. I had almost given up my search, when I spotted this post by the lovely Nocturnal Beauty. Magnetized nail polish WITH magnet for just £5.99? It seemed too good to be true! But yesterday I went to Boots with some of my birthday money and there it was! I purchased the 17 Magnetized Nail Polish in Lilac (which is actually a deeper shade of plum than it is lilac). There are three other shades available in the new range, Gun Metal, Blue and Teal, but as you can probably tell by now I am a purple fanatic so it seemed only natural to try the Lilac.
I had heard mixed reviews about this range, with some of my Twitter followers telling me that it chips quite easily, but I wanted to see for myself so as soon as I got home I removed my red Nails Inc. birthday nails and applied the Magnetized Nail Polish.
Since the magnet needs to be used when the varnish is still wet, I applied a fairly thick coat of varnish and it went on very evenly without any trouble. The magnetic lid (which comes away from the applicator for ease of use) needs to be hovered over the wet varnish straight away for at least 15 seconds so the effect can develop. As you can see, there is a ridge on the lid which indicates how far away the magnet needs to be, which is very useful.
I found that the varnish dries very quickly and if the magnet is held close enough the effect is stunning, as is obvious in the picture above. However, holding the magnet so close means that you need a very steady hand. On my right hand, the magnet slipped a couple of times and smudged the varnish, so I held it slightly further away. As a result, the rippled, almost tie dye look is less apparent on my right hand but is still present.
I know it has only been a day since I applied the varnish, but so far I have not experienced any chipping, probably because I’ve used a good quality, reliable clear top coat over the top.
Overall I am very impressed by the 17 Magnetized Nail Polish in Lilac. The colour is absolutely beautiful and really catches the light, both inside and outside of the house. For £5.99 this is a brilliant bargain and I will definitely be adding more shades to my collection very soon.
What do you think of the new magnetic nail varnish trend?
Thanks for reading,
Naomi x
