Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Shine
Heavy Spike Bracelet from Accessories Boutique
2
7 years
I was recently contacted by the lovely Julie of independent jewellery retailer Accessories Boutique, who very kindly offered me the chance to choose a piece from her online store to review. Accessories Boutique is a veritable, virtual treasure trove of individual pieces that have been specially chosen to suit all styles, and they stock everything from necklaces and bracelets, to scarves and bags. There are hundreds of beautiful pieces available, so much so that it took me a while to choose one, but I eventually settled on this stunning Heavy Spike Bracelet, which retails for £18.00.
I’ve always had a thing for studs and spikes on accessories, and used to wear a lot of them during my ‘Goth’ teen years, but unlike the cheap, tacky stuff I had back then, this bracelet is classy, eye-catching, and a bit more ‘grown up’. It consists of five rows of high-shine metal spikes, which are blunted so they won’t snag on clothes, and are securely joined at the back and strung onto robust elastic. As its name suggests, it is also quite heavy, but not to the point that it’s uncomfortable to wear. Everything about this bracelet, especially the weightiness, oozes quality, and it is incredibly well made. It fits really well too as it’s slightly curved, so has an elegant shape and sits neatly against the wrist.
This is undoubtedly a statement piece which is perfect for the current Gothic and Biker trends, and it is also very versatile. I usually wear a lot of thin bracelets stacked on top of each other, but this is so big and bold I can get away with wearing it on its own, with whatever I’m wearing that day, and it always grabs people’s attention. In fact, I love it so much that I plan on featuring it in a few up and coming outfit posts, so check back soon for those.
You can get your own Heavy Spike Bracelet, and loads of other gorgeous pieces, online at Accessories Boutique, and if you spend £20 delivery is free.
Happy shopping!
Naomi x
*This Heavy Spike Bracelet was sent to me by Accessories Boutique for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint in Greenberry
12
8 years
by Naomi in Nails
Last week Barry M launched four more Gelly Nail Paint shades as part of their Spring collection – Lychee (nude), Dragon Fruit (pink), Greenberry (green) and Papaya (orange). When I saw the new colours advertised on their Facebook page I instantly fell in love with Greenberry, and since I’d never tried a Gelly before I made a special trip into town to pick this up not long after the launch. Barry M’s Gellies are supposed to have a gel effect finish which is highly glossy. I find Barry M’s standard Nail Paints are already very shiny, so I couldn’t wait to put the Gelly to the test to see whether it lives up to its name.
Barry M’s Gelly varnish has a thick but creamy consistency, which applies extremely smoothly with no streakiness. However, if you have too much varnish on the brush it can apply a bit too thickly, so its best to apply as thin a coat as possible and build up from there. I made the mistake of applying fairly thick coats at first so the coverage was instantly completely opaque, but I applied a thinner second coat over the top for good measure. As with all Barry M Nail Paints, the Gelly dries to the touch rather quickly. I put this on not long before I went to bed, but I didn’t wake up with fabric imprints on my nails, which is always a good sign with me!
Greenberry is an extremely beautiful greeny turquoise shade, and is delicately bright. It’s almost a pastel neon if that makes sense! It has a creme finish, and of course, an intense shine which you can almost see your reflection in. In my experience, it’s quite rare for a creme varnish to have such a shiny appearance, so it definitely lives up to its name. It doesn’t even need a top coat!
This Nail Paint lasts really well too. I first applied Greenberry on Sunday, without a top coat, and didn’t remove it until yesterday, and after four days of wear chipping was minimal. There were a few nicks at the ends of my nails on my right hand where I caught them on the zip of my bag, but other than that the varnish still looked as bright, shiny and smooth as it did when I first applied it – just like a gel manicure!
Overall, I am suitably impressed with Barry M’s Gelly Nail Paint as it looks great and lasts long, and to top it off Greenberry is a gorgeous colour. The Gellies cost £3.99 each in Boots and Superdrug, which is £1.00 more than most Barry M’s varnishes, but its well worth it for that extra shine and staying power.
Have you ever tried a Barry M Gelly? What did you think?
Naomi x
Ciate Mini Mani Month Round-Up: Part 3
6Hi everyone,
First off, I would like to wish my sister, Freya, a very Happy Birthday! Today she turns 21, an important age, but she’ll still always be my baby sister, wanting all my things. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FREYA!!
Now, down to business… Today I opened the door of Day 18 on my Ciate Mini Mani Month advent calendar, which means it’s time for another weekly round-up! This post will feature Day 13 up to Day 18, and I have swatches of all but one of the Paint Pots this time. I must admit, my feelings were mixed this week. There were a couple that I really liked, and one or two that I wasn’t keen on at all, but you can’t win them all as they say!
Day 13 – Glass Slipper and Day 14 – Speed Dial
On Day 13 I opened the door to Glass Slipper, a lovely blue glitter polish, and the first of the calendar’s three exclusive shades. The glitter is very fine and beautiful, and doesn’t feel too rough in texture, but it isn’t really dense enough to wear on its own (unless you’re willing to apply 3+ coats). It works perfectly as a top coat however, and is surprisingly easy to remove for a glitter.
Speed Dial is an unusual shade – it looks bright orange in the bottle, but I found it applies somewhere between a red and an orange. It is more orange in real life than it looks in the photo above though. I just can’t quite decide whether I like it or not! It definitely doesn’t look that good with Glass Slipper over the top, but with the right outfit I can see it working. Not one of my favourites, but not bad. It applied evenly and has a creamy formula at least!
Day 15 – Headliner
Headliner is my absolute favourite this week… I seem to have a thing for blues at the minute! It is a dark turquoise blue shade with a stunning creme finish and I love it! As you’d expect, the formula is great and, quite impressively, it only takes one coat to achieve a completely opaque finish (the photo above show two coats, however). Headliner got me a lot of compliments when I wore it, and without a doubt I’ll be wearing this one a lot!
Day 16 – Big Yellow Taxi
Ick, I’m not liking Big Yellow Taxi. I initially thought this looked okay as it appeared quite a creamy banana yellow in the bottle, but when I applied it I was soon disappointed. It has a really strange gloopy formula, so it went on very streaky, and no number of coats seemed to be able to even the finish out. The yellow shade is slightly too bright, and in all honestly it looks like tippex coloured in with yellow highlighter pen – not pretty! On the plus side, it doesn’t leave any stains behind at all. I don’t think I have the skin tone to pull this off, but it would probably look great against darker skin… I may use it for Batman nail art though!
Day 17 – Power Dressing
I haven’t tried Power Dressing yet so I can’t comment much on the formula and colour, but in the bottle it looks like a classic deep navy blue, and I imagine it will have a lovely shiny finish. I’m looking forward to using this!
Day 18 – Candy Shop Caviar Pearls
Candy Shop is the third out of four bottles of Caviar Pearls in the calendar, and so far they are my favourite. The beads are very small and coloured in three shades – turquoise blue, pink and orange. As with the other pearls that I have tried, these are very easy to apply (just pour over a wet nail, press down, and leave to set for 15 minutes), and look really striking against a bright varnish. The purple shade I chose to pair the pearls with is actually Cabaret, one of the shades I didn’t swatch in Part 1, so now you can see what it looks like.
So there you go, a mixed bag of mostly brights this week. Which is your favourite? Please vote below! Check back for Part 4 next Monday, on Christmas Eve, and if you want to see the previous shades in the Ciate Mini Mani Month, they are swatched in my Part 1 and Part 2 posts.
Naomi x
My Perfect Summer Lipstick: L’Oreal Caresse in ‘202 Impulsive Fuchsia’
5
8 years
by Naomi in Lips
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win Thoughts In Little Boxes‘ 100k Giveaway. The prize was a lovely box of beauty goodies, and within the box was this lipstick… A shade called ‘202 Impulsive Fuchsia’ from L’Oreal’s Caresse range. There are ten pretty shades in the range, and out of all of them I probably would have chosen this one myself, so thanks Carly for sending this colour!
On first impressions, L’Oreal Caresse lipstick looks great. The unusual square, clear packaging and silver inner make it look very classy, and I like the addition of the coloured end on the lid. The lid has a gap which clicks over the ‘L’Oreal Paris’ logo, which is a very good design as it will never fall off in your make up bag and mess up the product! I also think the lipstick itself benefits from being flat and round in shape, as it allows for easy application.
The product description on L’Oreal’s website says that this lipstick offers ‘A flutter of kissably soft light-weight feeling colour’, and it definitely delivers. The lipstick itself looks and feels very much like a lip balm. It smoothes on effortlessly, leaving behind an even layer of beautiful colour, and has the texture of a creamy lip balm. Because of its balm-like consistency, it doesn’t feel heavy and drying like some lipsticks, and is instead extremely moisturising.
I’ve been very impressed with the lipstick’s staying power too – one application in the morning lasts pretty much all day. The colour fades slightly over the hours, but it fades evenly so still looks pretty and fresh. At most, I’ve had to reapply this once per day which is good going, and because it’s like a lip balm you don’t necessarily need to use a mirror to ensure neat application!
‘Impulsive Fuchsia’ is a very bright pink shade, with an undertone of bluish shimmer which gives it fantastic, lasting shine. It’s a colour that, I would say, is complimentary of most skin tones. I am quite pale and I have been told it really suits me, but I think it would also look stunning against darker skin. I love how girly and vivid this colour is, and I’m quite amazed by how intense and highly pigmented it is, as you wouldn’t expect it from such a light formula.
So why is this my perfect summer lipstick? Because the ‘light-weight feeling’ makes it ideal for a delicate, summery look, the moisturising element stops your lips drying in the sun and the pop of girly colour makes you feel as bright as summer itself. I genuinely feel confident and happy whilst wearing this lipstick and I firmly believe that more lipsticks should be like this!
What’s your perfect summer lipstick?
Naomi x
