The Poison Which Fascinates: Blue

Showing posts with label Blue. Show all posts

Friday, 10 August 2012

Nail Polish/ Cuticle Gap Look

Recently, I've seen some looks where there is a gap between the polish and the cuticle which I have really liked. I decided to try it myself and was really pleased with the result. Initially, it was a bit awkward but it is easier than I thought it would be. A major advantage of this look is that the cuticles look tidier and there doesn't tend to be as much (or any, if you are careful) nail polish trapped around the edges.

First Attempt:

Base Coat

Illamasqua 'Poke'

Models Own 'Indian Ocean'

17 Glitter Top Coat

Base Coat

Barry M Gray

Rimmel Matte Top Coat

Base Coat
Barry M Cyan
Collection 2000 White
NYC Red
Barry M Blue Glitter
Top Coat

Friday, 3 August 2012

A England

I have been meaning to order some a-england polishes for a while now but never got round to it, so when they had some of their polishes on sale for £5 (usually £9), I knew I had to get a couple. I ordered Tristam (a dark blue) and Lady of the Lake (a purple colour), both of which have a slight holographic glitter running through them.

They arrived only yesterday so I haven't tested their longevity yet, however, they did survive housework and typing without chipping; one nail did chip when I dropped a hot tray on it but even then the damage was surprisingly minimal.

The polishes applied really well, even just one coat it was quite opaque and even- if applied carefully you could get away with just one coat:

With two coats the polish is just gorgeous, really thick and smooth with a glossy finish. In direct sunlight and under bright artificial lighting the holographic effect* really shows up. At full price it is good value for money (£5 was just incredible) and there is currently free first class postage (would have been great if it hadn't been delivered 9 days after it was sent, thanks Royal Mail). I will definitely be buying more of their polishes (love the "Legends" collection) in future.

A England polishes are cruelty free and do not contain DBP, Formaldehyde or Toulene.

* This is not a holographic polish, it is much more subtle than the GOSH Holographic or the Layla holographic polishes.

Monday, 2 January 2012

Recent EOTD Dump

In celebration of the fact that I can wear makeup again, I've been having fun with my collection. These are looks that i've done over the Christmas period, in the second look my brows look really strange, which they didn't in person. I did have them threaded and tinted last week for the first time, it was a strange experience as it was done in the middle of Superdrug and it hurt (unsurprisingly) but it does look tidier and I prefer them a bit darker than they usually are.

Christmas:

Boxing Day:

27th:

New Years Day:

2nd January:

Thursday, 29 December 2011

Review: Ciaté Nail Polish

Ciaté Nail Polish in Regatta (£9.00).

I had been keen to try this brand for quite some time but had never got round to ordering anything until a local department store started stocking it. The presentation of the nail polishes is fantastic with lots of bright colours, cute but stylish bottles and at £9.00 were not extortionate. As the selection was quite good I had considered buying 2 or 3 but managed to restrain myself and only buy Regatta, a navy blue with specks of silver shimmer in it. I'm glad I only bought one as I was seriously disappointed. The polish applied smoothly and even with one coat it went on opaque and did not look streaky and I was delighted. However, my delight did not last long. Once the polish had dried it looked very dull and almost powdery, I was quite disappointed but even then it wasn't too bad as once I had applied a top coat as it took away a lot of the dullness although I would have expected it to be a bit better. The worst thing has got to be how badly and quickly it chips. I have tried everything I can think of to make it last longer but to no avail. Within two hours of application (when all I had been doing is watching tv) it was chipping, I was a bit irritated by this as no other nail polish I have used in about 10 years has chipped so quickly and under so little stress. If it had been a new company or a cheap polish I wouldn't have been so annoyed but Ciaté have been around for a few years and £9.00 isn't really that cheap (especially in comparison to the fantastic Barry M polishes which cost about £3.00). I had considered that it could just have been the Regatta colour/formula which was the problem but I spoke to one of my friends who had used them and she had the same problem with different colours and formulations. By time I had had it on for about 5 hours, I had to buy some nail polish remover as it looked really untidy, more in line with having worn it for 2 or 3 days (and having cleaned the house, typed and bathed/showered with hot water- the usual day to day stuff). The 'long lasting' comment on the bottle is a bit of a joke.

In short, I wouldn't buy this again and I was disappointed as I had expected something wonderful and got something I would have thought should cost £3 or £4. The dullness without a top coat I could deal with but the ease with which it chips is harder to overlook and it is a pity.

2 coats over an OPI base coat and under an OPI top coat.

Friday, 17 June 2011

Margarita: Love and Destroy

I was really bored earlier today so I decided to try a look inspired by a scene in my favourite book, The Master and Margarita. This is kinda how I think of her makeup during her flight over Moscow (not at Wolands Ball where I imagine her face to be even paler, more sharply contoured and the eyes darker- a bit like how they did Illamasquas Dystopia collection a couple of years ago).

I initially thought of trying to replicate the look in the video at the bottom (the song is Love and Destroy by Franz Ferdinand and the video is a scene from a Russian tv adaptation of the book). I had remembered the eyeshadow wrong so it is quite different.