Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Paint
NOTD: GOSH ‘Frosted Plum’
5
8 years
by Naomi in Nails
You may remember that at the beginning of January I swatched and reviewed a gorgeous glitter varnish from GOSH’s Frosted Sand collection, called ‘Frosted Purple‘. Well, it officially became one of my favourite varnishes of all time, and I couldn’t wait to add more frosted shades to my collection. In particular I was trying to get hold of ‘Frosted Plum’, but the only bottle in my local Superdrug for months was a damaged one. Then, earlier this week, I noticed that they had a few more in stock, and luckily for me all of GOSH’s varnishes were on offer for £1.99 each! Obviously I bought it straight away and applied it when I got home, so today I thought I’d share the swatches with you.
Like its purple counterpart, ‘Frosted Plum’ is a pleasure to apply, looks opaque in just one coat (although I applied two), and dries really quickly. It’s also rather hard-wearing, and stays put for a good few days without chipping, even without a base or top coat.
The best thing about it though is the colour. The base shade, as you’d expect, is a beautiful deep plum purple, but throughout it are flecks of gold, bronze and bright pink, which give it a brilliant depth. It looks absolutely amazing in the sun, and even indoors it still looks impressive. The glitter in this one is a lot more consistently sized than in ‘Frosted Purple’, and I think it looks a bit like a caviar manicure.
Indoors (with flash)
Outdoors
I’ll stand by my previous statement that GOSH’s Frosted Sand glitters are honestly the best glitters I’ve tried, and I will continue to add to my collection! I have my eye on a couple of their spring pastel shades, ‘Soft Blue’ and ‘Soft Green’, which are also currently £1.99 in Superdrug (reduced from £3.99).
Will you be buying any of GOSH’s frosted glitters?
Naomi x
NOTD: GOSH ‘Frosted Purple’
5
8 years
by Naomi in Nails
Earlier this week I nipped into Superdrug whilst shopping with my mum, and whilst browsing the make up stands I spotted this gorgeous nail varnish by GOSH. Most GOSH varnishes usually retail for £3.99 each, but the range of ‘Frosted Sand’ glitters, which are very similar to OPI’s Liquid Sand collection, are currently discounted to £1.99. I was instantly drawn to this shade, ‘Frosted Purple‘, as the colour looked incredible in the bottle, so I snapped it up and couldn’t wait to get it home to try it out.
‘Frosted Purple’ is a simply beautiful colour, and is neutral enough to wear with just about anything. It’s a dark silver tone with a lilac tinge, and consists of two sizes of glitter – a very fine micro glitter, with larger flecks throughout. The varnish dries matte, which is quite unusual for a glitter varnish in my experience, and is textured like ‘frosted sand’. It feels slightly rough to the touch, but I’ve used far rougher glitters in the past.
Now, I know this is a bold statement to make, but I think this varnish is the best glitter varnish that I have ever owned/tried. It even beats my trusty favourite brands, Barry M and Models Own. Most glitters need layers and layers for full coverage, but not this one. My swatches show the coverage after just one coat. That’s right, ONE COAT! And it really doesn’t need any more than that, as it’s completely opaque. The formula is lovely too – very smooth and not at all gloopy, so you can actually brush it on (the brush is nice and wide, yay) rather than dab it on, as is usually required with glitters. It also dries very quickly for a glitter.
In terms of hardiness, I’ve been wearing ‘Frosted Purple’ for three days now, and the tips of my nails are just starting to show signs of wear. There are no chips or anything though. I can tell it’s going to be a pain to remove as it has the same texture as Models Own ‘Northern Lights’ and ‘Southern Lights’ which are really tough to get off, but it’s a small price to pay for such a high quality glitter.
EDIT: I was wrong! The varnish was actually really easy to remove with a normal nail varnish remover, and it barely took any soaking or rubbing to get it to budge. I’m very, very impressed.
I spotted four shades in the ‘Frosted Sand’ range, all of which are Toluene-free and Formaldehyde-free. ‘Frosted Silver’, ‘Frosted Gold’, ‘Frosted Purple’, and ‘Frosted Plum’, which I think is a new addition, and is next on my nail varnish shopping list! Will you be trying any? If so, get on down to Superdrug quick to take advantage of the £1.99 offer!
Naomi x
Miss Sporty Metal Flip Nail Varnish in Beetle Wings
12
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
Today’s featured nail varnish is another that I was gifted for my birthday, this time by my partner’s sister Rachel (thanks Rachel!), and it comes in the form of Miss Sporty Metal Flip in the beautiful shade ‘Beetle Wings’.
Before Beetle Wings I had never tried a Miss Sporty varnish before, and I must say I am very impressed with the formula. It has a smooth, creamy consistency which applies evenly, and gives opaque coverage in two coats, and it dries quickly too. In the time it takes to paint ten nails the varnish is dry to the touch and ready for the next coat, so there’s no waiting around for ages in between coats! Also, the brush is lovely and wide and covers the nail in one sweep, which lessens streakiness, but I do find the lid a bit too small to grip easily, which can make application tricky.
Beetle Wings is a classic duochrome shade, combining gilded green and copper brown, and the colours alter fluidly according to the light. The green is actually the more dominant colour in the mix, but for some reason the brown shows up more in pictures. Though I haven’t used Chanel Peridot myself, Beetle Wings looks like quite a decent dupe from what I can tell. It’s also reminiscent of Models Own Golden Green, which I do have, although Beetle Wings is slightly more tinged with orange.
The varnish has a stunning metallic shimmer finish which looks incredible in sunlight, and stops the colour ever looking dull, but unfortunately it does show up any imperfections quite a bit.
Here is how the varnish looks on the nail… Excuse the messy edges!
Isn’t it pretty?
One of the best things about this varnish is how long it lasts. After three days and no top coat, Beetle Wings still looks excellent on most of my nails, although it has chipped slightly on a couple. I imagine it would last even longer with a top coat though, which is great is you want a manicure that lasts!
Overall, I really like this varnish. The colour and finish are incredibly pretty, and the formula and lasting power exceed what I’d expect of a budget range. If you like metallics, duochromes and affordable dupes then this is definitely for you. Miss Sporty Metal Flip varnishes are available from Superdrug and come in three shades. Look out for my review of Aurora Borealis, coming soon!
Naomi x
Nails by AB
15A few weeks ago I was asked by Amy of Nails by AB to review a set of her gorgeous false nails. Amy is a trained beauty therapist and her new business, Nails by AB, specialises in creating personalised designer nails which are painted according to your own specifications, and then posted out to you. Having seen some of Amy’s designs on Twitter I was hugely impressed so, of course, I jumped at the chance to try some of her nails for myself. The design I asked for and swiftly received was a set of bang on trend owls.
The nails came very nicely packaged in a drawstring bag, and a handy little tube of nail glue was also provided.
This stunning owly set contains 18 nails (9 pairs of differently sized nails), so you’re guaranteed to find a complete set that fits you in amongst them. A set of 18 owl nails costs £8.50 (including UK postage), which is incredible value for money considering the amount of effort that goes in to painting them! However, if you want a smaller set (which usually costs less) Amy will ask you to measure the width of your nails upon ordering, so that she can choose, tailor and shape your nails specifically to fit you. How great is that?
As I’m sure you can tell from my photographs, the quality of these nails is excellent. The design is simple, yet really carefully and neatly painted, and the colours used are really bold. I absolutely love these little owls, they’re just so cute, and it is obvious that Amy has a real talent for nail art!
Both my sister and I have tried these nails on and we both agree that they are very comfortable. The nails themselves are made of plastic, which is thin enough to be flexible and look like a natural nail, but not too thin so that they break easily. The glue that is provided keeps the nails on for a good while (basically until you decide to take them off), so if you want your nails to last longer than just a night out, these will.
The photographs below were modelled by my sister. She has far shorter nails than me so I thought it would be a good idea to show that the nails stay put even on short nails…
The Nails by AB range features many quirky, bespoke designs, including the latest Moustache Nails which cost £9.50 a set and celebrate Movember, with £4.00 of the proceeds being donated to the Movember charity. However, Amy is more than happy to paint a set of nails to your own design if you have something specific in mind. Nails by AB nails start at £6.50 a set, but only go as high as about £10.00, which is so worth it when you consider what you’d pay for a salon manicure.
If you would like to order some pretty little nails from Nails by AB, you can do so via Amy’s website, on eBay (under nailsbyab), through the Nails by AB Facebook page, or even through the Nails by AB Twitter account. Payment can be made through PayPal or Credit/Debit Card, and once payment has cleared your nails should hopefully be in the post to you within 2-3 days, sent FREE by second class post.
Nails by AB’s products and service are top class, and it is obvious that so much care and passion is put into Amy’s work, so please help to spread the word about this nifty little company!
Naomi x
NOTD: Yes Love, a Little Treat from Portugal
12
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
I have a gorgeous Nail of the Day to share with you all today. Earlier this month my mum went to Portugal for a fortnight and I asked her to bring a bargain nail varnish back for me. The nail varnish she chose was a gorgeous purple shade by a brand called Yes Love, which I wasn’t familiar with before, and it cost just 1 euro.
Yes Love’s packaging isn’t particularly outstanding, but for 1 euro I wasn’t expecting buttons and bows. It’s what’s on the inside that counts anyway! The bottle contains a generous 16ml, which is a very good size for a cheap nail varnish. I have to say, at first I was slightly dubious about this product due to its small price tag, but I have to hold my manicured hands up and say that I was wrong to be so judgmental!
The large lid is easy to grip, meaning that it is also easy to control the brush, and the brush itself is fairly wide and flat. Due to its shape (which happens to be my favourite nail varnish brush shape – yes I have a favourite!) the brush covers the nail in just a few strokes which minimises streaking, making for even, smooth coverage. The formula of the varnish is lovely too. It has a slight thickness to it so it doesn’t run everywhere, but it is thin enough so that it doesn’t go gloopy.
I was really impressed by the drying time of Yes Love’s varnish as well. It only took two thin coats to achieve good coverage, so it didn’t take long to dry at all, perhaps a few minutes at the most. In fact, I started chopping vegetables and cooking dinner about 15 minutes after painting my nails and all but one of them remained unsmudged (the smudged one was the result of knife slippage, woops). In the future I’d probably apply a third thin coat though, or a slightly thicker second coat, for completely opaque coverage.
For me, the most special thing about this varnish is the colour. As you probably know by now, I’m a sucker for purple, and this really is a perfect shade of purple. It reminds me of the colour of a Cadbury Dairy Milk wrapper, which is such a regal, luxurious shade, but also very bright. The varnish also has a lot of dimension and depth to it, due to the stunning shimmer which runs through it.
The shimmer looks a lot like a classic flakie top coat, but it is a lot finer and is incorporated into the varnish itself. It has a very strong golden shine to it, but I’ve also spotted hints of pink, red and orange in some lights. The burst of colour and glimmer means that, even in dim light, this varnish looks fantastic and incredibly eye-catching. I really can’t get enough of it – I’m amazed at how high quality it is considering the price!
Overall, Yes Love’s purple golden shade is, well, beautiful. The deep berry colour and glitter make it bang on trend too. I just wish I could get my hands on some more Yes Love varnishes in the UK! I may just have to steal the pink and golden green shades that my mum bought for herself and my sister…
Naomi x
Mini Nail Varnish Haul featuring Models Own and Barry M
20Hi everyone,
Just a quick post from me today as I want to share with you my recent nail varnish buys. As well as the Models Own sale items I ordered a few weeks ago, I have acquired a few more shiny pretties lately. In fact, they’re ALL glittery! It must be the time of year, what with the party season and Christmas just around the corner.
The most exciting new varnishes in my collection are three from the new Models Own Wonderland range. The range features five sparkly, wintery glitters, all of which give a different stunning effect. The three I went for are…
From Left to Right:
- Northern Lights (pink micro holographic glitter)
- Southern Lights (purple micro holographic glitter)
- Jack Frost (Blue micro glitter in clear varnish)
Aren’t they ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL?? The photos really don’t do them justice. I can’t wait to try them on! I nipped into Boots to buy these yesterday and was extremely pleased to find them included in a 3 for 2 offer, so I got all three for a total of £10, saving £5. If you want the whole set I recommend you grab these whilst they’re on offer as it works out cheaper than buying the full boxed set from the Models Own website!
The next varnish in my little haul is a new one from Barry M – Ruby Glitter.
Barry M released this shade along with a few other glitters a few weeks ago. There are quite a few in the range that I would like (especially Amethyst Glitter), but I went for this one first because I instantly fell in love with it. It consists of different sized flecks of black glitter, studded with red/magenta glitter. It reminds me of Valentines Day (my birthday) for some reason… It just has an air of passion and luxury about it! Like most Barry M Nail Paints, Ruby Glitter retails for an affordable £2.99.
The final little gem in this haul is one that my mum brought back from Portugal last week – a lush purple shade from a range called ‘Yes Love’.
This varnish is Cadbury purple with a delicate golden shimmer running through it. I’m wearing this at the minute and it looks really lovely on. Apparently it only cost a bargainous 1 euro as well, which is a miniscule price tag for such a good quality varnish.
I’ll be reviewing all of these varnishes over the coming days and weeks, starting tomorrow with the ‘Yes Love’ purple so keep an eye out. Which is your favourite so far?
Naomi x
NOTD: Rimmel 60 Seconds in ‘Blue My Mind’
7
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
Earlier this week I received a lovely little package in the post from RaRa Reid. I was lucky enough to win her first giveaway and the prize was a pink nail art pen, a set of nail wraps and this nail varnish – Rimmel 60 Seconds in shade ‘810 Blue My Mind’. Thanks Ra!
I have always rather liked Rimmel’s range of 60 Seconds nail varnishes as they tick so many boxes, and ‘Blue My Mind’ is no exception. As you can see from the sticker on the lid, the varnish has an ‘Xpress Brush’, which is wide so covers each nail completely with the right amount of pressure. Though it takes more than ‘1 Sec’ to achieve even coverage, the wide brush means application is very quick and takes very few strokes of the brush. It only takes two coats of the varnish for fully opaque coverage as well, which in my eyes is all it should take – any more is too many!
As you would expect, the varnish dries in ’60 Seconds’. I only had to leave a minute between applying each coat, so by the time I had painted the nails on both hands, the first hand was ready straight away for its second coat. As such, the whole mani took less than five minutes which is extremely speedy! Perfect for a quick fix before an impromptu night out, or even before leaving for work of a morning.
The coverage in the photo above may look slightly blotchy, and though I was left with some fabric imprints in the top coat when I woke up, most of the ‘blotchiness’ is actually just reflections of the clouds and trees! That’s just how shiny the finish of this varnish is.
‘Blue My Mind’ is a really stunning shade of royal blue. I’ve really taken to blue varnishes this year and this has to be the most beautiful blue that I own. In unnatural light it looks very deep and almost black, but in natural sunlight the azure hues really pop, which reminds me a lot of the ocean on a sunny day.
The only thing that disappoints me about this varnish is that, after less than 24 hours, there are already signs of wear at the tips of my nails (which is visible in the photo above), but luckily there’s been no chipping.
Overall, another fine example of an excellent nail varnish from the Rimmel 60 Seconds range!
Naomi x
NOTD: Filthy Gorgeous London Nail Polish in ‘Rosey Posey’
6
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
Yesterday I promised that I would post swatches and reviews of my What’s In My Handbag free gift, so today I thought I would feature the Filthy Gorgeous nail polish that I was sent. The shade I received is called ‘Rosey Posey’, and retails at £9 for a 10ml bottle. All of Filthy Gorgeous’ polishes are 3-free as well which is a massive bonus.
I had seen Filthy Gorgeous nail polish on other blogs in the past and was impressed by their eye-catching packaging and wide range of bright colours, so I was very excited when I found this in my gift parcel. The packaging really doesn’t disappoint with its pleasingly round bottle and pretty lace effect lid, and the guitar pick charm is the icing on the cake. It gives the polish a rocky edge and is detachable too, so you can wear it on a piece of jewellery or a keyring if you so desire!
Ignoring the product’s image and getting down to the polish itself, I have mixed feelings. Though the brush bristles are fairly long, a few of them kept bending back on themselves and fanning out when I was using it, which made getting it in and out of the bottle quite difficult. The consistency of the polish is creamy and not too thick so it applies really nicely, leaving an even coat with no brush strokes. However, it is a lot more sheer than I was expecting so it took three coats to create an opaque finish, and even then the whites of my nails are still slightly visible. The drying time of the polish is quite impressive though, only taking around ten minutes to be dry to the touch, but I wouldn’t risk doing anything too hands on for a good hour or so after application.
In terms of colour, ‘Rosey Posey‘ is listed on Filthy Gorgeous’ website as a neon polish which is a ‘warm coral pink’ shade – a spot-on description which I can’t really improve on! It’s not a shade I’d normally go for as I’m not much of a coral fan, but I like the fact that it is more pink than orange, and I think it is a very pretty, girly shade that I will wear often. It makes my hands look quite tanned too (not that you can tell in the photo), so Filthy Gorgeous are right when they say it ‘looks perfect with a tan’. The polish has a glossy creme finish and an impressive shine which makes your nails look flawless too.
So far, the lasting power of this polish is fairly decent. It survived an hour of swimming today which is great as my polishes often chip after holding onto the hard pool walls, but there is some sign of wear at the tips of a few of my nails after just 24 hours.
Overall, I like this Filthy Gorgeous polish. The packaging is stunning, it’s a lovely shade and it applies well and dries quickly, but the fact that it took three coats to achieve opaque coverage is quite disappointing for a £9 polish. I’m not sure I would pay full-price for it, but I’m pleased that I have it in my collection. Although, having said that, there a couple of shades on the Filthy Gorgeous website that I would love to try, especially Fuchsia Pink 3D Crystal!
Have you tried Filthy Gorgeous nail polish?
Naomi x
Unboxing: What’s In My Handbag Free Gift
6You may remember that a few months ago I posted about a new social website called What’s In My Handbag, or WIMH. WIMH is a place to post photos of what you carry in your handbag, and to share your beauty secrets with other members by tagging each product. You can also see what other people carry with them and learn about their beauty secrets in return. I joined, and was given a personal invite link to share with friends, family and bloggers, which I did, and because 25 people joined using my invite I earned a free gift! Thank you if you signed up using my invite by the way. After waiting a couple of months for my gift to arrive it turned up this morning, rather unexpectedly, which was a very nice surprise indeed. I had a job interview this morning so I needed something to calm my nerves and the excitement of receiving this helped!
The gift came in a sleek black box, and was wrapped with black tissue paper and paper pieces… Very reminiscent of Illamasqua’s classy packaging, I must say! It was also sealed with a personalised sticker which I thought was a really lovely touch.
When I ripped open the tissue paper I was met with a ‘Service Menu’ from Filthy Gorgeous. I have been wanting to try Filthy Gorgeous nail varnish for a good while so I got very excited when I saw the leaflet, and kept my fingers crossed that there was a Filthy Gorgeous varnish inside!
And now for the part you’ve all been waiting for… Here is what I found in amongst all the packaging!
As I’d hoped, my free gift contained a bottle of Filthy Gorgeous nail varnish in the neon pink shade of ‘Rosey Posey’. The varnish looks absolutely gorgeous with the lace effect on the lid and the pretty little guitar pick detail. I can’t wait to try it out! I also received a bottle of L’Oreal’s Mythic Oil. I’ve heard quite a bit about Mythic Oil and it sounds like an interesting product so I was pleased to see this in box too.
Overall, I’m very pleased with my free gift and I’m looking forward to using both things, so keep an eye out for swatches and reviews of the nail varnish and oil coming soon!
Naomi x
NOTD: MUA Frozen Yoghurt
8
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
Earlier this month MUA released quite a few new make up products, including two nail varnish shades – Frozen Yoghurt and All Nude. As soon as I saw the swatches of Frozen Yoghurt on MUA’s Facebook page I couldn’t wait to try it, but it didn’t actually appear in my local Superdrug store until late last week! I must have visited Superdrug about ten times over the last few weeks to see if they had it, so when it was finally in stock I was a very happy bunny indeed.
Frozen Yoghurt and All Nude are the first two basic MUA nail varnishes to have proper names, rather than just being called ‘Shade _’, and like the rest of the range they cost £1 each, which is amazing value.
Frozen Yoghurt has a creamy formula which applies extremely smoothly. I applied two coats of the varnish which gave completely opaque and even coverage, and it dried impressively quickly too. I only had to leave a couple of minutes between applying each coat and the top coat, and within ten minutes my nails were dry to the touch. If you’re a regular Bewitchery reader you will know that I often make the mistake of painting my nails before bed, which usually results in fabric imprints from my sheets on my nails the next morning. Well, I painted my nails before bed again but, miraculously, I woke up with perfectly smooth nails and no imprints! That, for me, suggests quality.
Here is what the varnish looks like on, in natural light…
Frozen Yoghurt is a very rich, beautiful shade with a creme finish. It is a very unusual shade of purple, which has a strong blue tinge to it – I can only describe it as a dark lavender colour. I think it’s quite feminine and delicate, but at the same time very striking and bold.
My only issue with this nail varnish is that it seemed to chip quite easily at the tips. Less than a day after applying the varnish there was obvious wear along the tops of my nails, which soon turned into slightly bigger chips. To be fair, I had been cleaning and mowing the lawn that day, but I’ve done the same whilst wearing other varnishes which have lasted longer.
All in all, I think this varnish is great. In terms of the formula and shade it is a definite winner in my eyes, it’s just a shame about the chipping! At £1 you can’t really complain though, and I can’t wait to incorporate this colour into some nail art.
Naomi x
Next »
