China Glaze Romantique Polishes

I got some China Glaze polishes I am VERY excited about!! I missed this collection, so when I saw them for below retail I jumped at the chance to buy them. This was the spring 2009 collection. (I will be reviewing the shop I bought them from in my next post! Please stay tuned for that!)

So here we go! I have taken a picture of a swatch with the bottle in both bright sunlight and normal light, I have also provided a scruffy swatch of how it performs in konad stamping. Excuse the picture quality, I had to do them on my iPhone.

I bought Harmony, Emotion, Cherish, Devotion & Adore

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


Firstly, Harmony. This is a beautiful metallic deep grape purple. It covers well and is a lovely deep colour without too much silver, it isn't too frosty. It does very well with konad as it is a pigmented one coater!

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


Emotion. This is a lovely deep pink, not quite dusty rose, but along those lines. This is a one coater that also does very well for stamping and isn't too silver frosted, yet it maintains the metallic feel.

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


Cherish. This is a lovely light yellow-based green. This is has been described as mint before now, however I wouldn't say that was too accurate, as mint tends to be more blue based, whereas in person this just doesn't look too minty at all. It appears a little more frosted, however the colour pay off is still good.

Bright sunlight

Natural light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


Devotion. This is a lovely metallic silver shade, though in some lights it looked a little purple, though maybe that's just me going a little bit loopy! Anyway, it is a staple silver metallic that everyone needs; it is pigmented, smooth in application, and is great for Konad stamping. It's very frosted, but very gorgeous.

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


And Finally, Adore. This has to be one of the most beautiful blues ever! It is a bright and beautifully metallic blue, though not overly frosted. It is very pigmented and very smooth to apply, it is also thick so great for Konad stamping. Who doesn't love a blue like this? It is definitely one of the beauties of the collection.

Bright sunlight

Normal light

Scruffy demo of Konad stamping


So, my overall thoughts. I am always on the lookout for normal nail polishes that apply well, dry well, are beautiful in colour and texture, but also can Konad stamp, and these polishes tick all the boxes. They are very good quality, pigmented, beautifully metallic and very well textured polishes. If you can get your mitts on them, I say do so! :]

Asos Exclusive Pixi Wake Up Eyes Palette in Bright and Light

Picture heavy post! I apologise if it takes forever to load, but I wanted to give a really detailed view of it. Now, this is named by Asos as the Wake Up Eyes palette, however the name on the actual packaging is "Winter Wakeup Eyes" so I am not sure what this called!




This is version 1 Bright and Light, though this was the only one available. It was a pretty good bargain at £10 considering you get 12 different shades. The shadows are a mix of shimmer, glitter and matte, though the orange is the only proper matte in there, other colours do have a matte like texture and appearance even though they are not technically mattes.

In terms of the colour selection I absolutely love it! There is something there for so many looks, that it need be the only palette you need to take out, and if you are travelling light it is ideal. Smoky eyes, neutral eyes, pastel eyes, bright eyes, everything is possible. It is small, light and has a mirror in it, so it really is perfect for travel.

Small but perfectly formed! This fits in the palm of your hand so will fit easily in a make up bag or handbag.




The colour selection.


In terms of the quality they are pretty pigmented and apply easily. They aren't the smoothest shadows or the most pigmented, but for the price they look good and do their job. They were very easy to use, and you don't need to many layers to get the optimum colour. The camera didn't show the colours up very well, they are a lot more visible and bright in real life!





The packaging is a little cheap, the shadows are a bit wonky here and there, and there isn't any room between shadows so powder can transfer from pan to pan, but also the surrounding packaging just being cardboard stains from the loose product and can get a bit dog eared. The packaging is pretty though, but plastic would have been more practical, especially when keeping the shadows fresh.

Overall, I love this, it has everything I need in a small and convenient form, and the quality of the shadows is good for the price! I'd grade it 8/10 if I had to.

Laura's Look Book! Simple Neutral

I have been away for a while, and I do apologise! Job hunting, uni applications, volunteering and work have gotten in the way. Luckily, I have been accepted to uni so that is one job ticked off the list! So I have a look and a review for you tonight, first up a neutral look I have been wearing a lot recently.

This is a really simple neutral look that anyone can do, I'm not even a lover of neutral eyes normally, but I absolutely love this colour combination!



Products Used;

MAC Phloof!
MAC Shadowy Lady
Barry M Black Liquid Liner
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero

I used Phloof! on the lid, just until the outer corner. I used Shadowy Lady for the first time in this look, and wish I'd discovered it sooner! I used it in the outer corner and crease and blended a little but not enough to lessen the contrast between colours. I then used a 213 to apply Barry M liquid liner across the top lash line, and the 24/7 liner on the lower lash line and water line. Et Voile, a simple but lovely neutral! Hope you like it.

Review on an Asos exclusive Pixi eyeshadow palette to follow!!

Laura's look book! Sassy Streams

This is a bright green and aqua look, I know I have done a fair few of greens recently, however I am trying to find the best combos, and I really like green!

Products Used;

MAC Gulf Stream
MAC Sassy Grass

I used Gulf Stream on the inner corner and lid, and then blended Sassy Grass into the outer corner and into Gulf Stream on the lid. I also used Sassy Grass along the outer half of the lower lash line, and Gulf Stream along the inner half of the lower lash line. It's very simple, very green, and the colours don't have a massive contrast. This isn't the best green look I've done, but I still like it. Some liner wouldn't have gone a miss.

Laura's look book! Pinkies!

I looooove my pinks and I also love my liner! So this is a look I like to wear a lot :]

Products Used;

MAC Lovely Lily
MAC Fuschia
Clinique Cream Liner.

I used Lovely Lily on the inner corner and blended it out to the lid, and I then blended Fuschia into my crease and outwards into Lovely Lily. I then applied the liner thinly on the inner lash line, gradually getting thicker as it gets towards the outer corner. I then did a chunky but quite short wing.

Hope you like it. The colours are very subtle as they are very similar, so it isn't a huge contrast, but it can really make your eyes pop.

Jemma Kidd High Shine Silk Touch Lipgloss in Coral

This is my first Jemma Kidd product so I didn't know what to expect in terms of it's quality.

I got this free with Red magazine, however this usually retails at £14, so price-wise it is in MAC territory. This is in Coral, as I have plenty of pinks and reds, and I have always worn them as a safe option, so I decided to leave my comfort zone and go for something a little different. This really is a beautiful shade in the tube, however I was a little scared it would give me weird coloured lips, however not at all! This is sheer enough that your lips don't go orangey, but coloured enough to give lips a lovely and fresh tint of colour. I love this shade, it is different but pretty. The colour is also buildable so you can apply depending on what shade of colour you want.

In terms of formula it is as it says, high shine and silky. It doesn't settle into lines, applies evenly, sheer but buildable colour, it's silky but not sticky, and it lasted quite well on my lips. It doesn't taste of anything, however has a lovely and light citrus smell, kind of smells like fruitellas!

The packaging is nice and simple, but also strong and sturdy. It is also square which is a little unusual but nice.

Overall, a lovely lipgloss that's a pretty colour and great quality. Would I have paid full price for it... Probably, it is a really good lipgloss.

Nubar Reclaim

Oh my days! This did not disappoint me at all! I bought this after seeing a swatch of it online, when I was searching for more holographic nail products. When I saw the picture of this beautiful green shade that was also holographic, I knew I had to have it, my jaw just dropped and I immediately went to the blog the picture was from to see what this lovely nail varnish was, and saw that it was Nubar Reclaim. I had never heard of it, but I am so glad I saw a swatch. And what luck, I was currently ordering Nubar polishes anyway (2010 & Treasure), and so I added Reclaim to my order. This is from the "Going Green" collection by Nubar, which was a mix of different greens including glitters, creams, a duochrome and of course this beautiful holographic!

This is possibly my favourite holographic nail varnish! The green shade is so beautiful, I hadn't seen a green holographic before, and I am glad the shade of green is beautiful! This is a true holographic polish, as it has a spectrum effect, rather than just being multi-coloured glitter. When I see my nails in the sunshine, I can't help but stare at them.

In terms of formula it is pigmented and thick, in 2 coats it was opaque, but for the best effect I used 3 coats. This is really unusual for a holographic, normally you need to pile on the layers to get it showing up right. It also dried pretty quickly too, which is always a bonus. It covered well, I had no streaking problems at all, and the colour shows up pretty true to how it appears in the bottle.

This was very affordable, it was only £6 something, just like China Glaze but cheaper then drug store brands like Revlon, and the quality is AMAZING! I also love how it is free from all the bad stuff some nail varnishes contain. I will definitely be buying more Nubar :]

If you want a perfect green holographic nail varnish, look no further! My pictures really don't do the product justice.

Nubar Treasure

This was from the Prisms collection, which was supposed to be a holo collection. However, I found these are slightly holographic, however more glittery so it isn't a 100% holographic, it would have been more effective as a foil, but it has holo qualities.

In dim light or a cloudy day this just looks glittery, however in natural sun light and in bright halogen lights it looks very holographic. The glitter being very fine helps this appearance, however because the effect is by little bits of glitter rather than one all over effect it doesn't have the same spectrum effect given by ones such as Gosh Holographic, or even Reclaim which is also by Nubar. It is a very pretty varnish in both types of light. The colour is a gorgeous grape purple, which is lovely and feminine and compliments the multi-coloured glitter really well.

In terms of pigmentation, it is pretty sheer and thin in formula. I used about 4 coats to get this opaque and holographic, the first coat is a hint of colour with some glitter, so you really need to build it up!

Overall, this is a super pretty colour and nail varnish in general. It is not the most holographic varnish but it has holographic qualities. It also needs a lot of layers to get it opaque, but the result really is worth it!

Nubar 2010

This is my first flakie nail varnish, and my first Nubar purchase! So I was waiting by my letter box for this to come very impatiently!

I love this polish, it dried pretty quickly, and it gave a better coverage then I thought it would, the flakies weren't too sparse. On my swatch I did use about 3 coats, and as you can see it is totally packed with flakies.

The iridescence is beautiful, depending where the lights hit, it shows up green, red, yellow and orange. Over black polish it looks beautiful, the colours really pop. Unfortunately, my black polish (Barry M) chipped really quickly, so the swatch isn't the best!

This was the same price as China Glaze which I find very affordable, so I will definitely be buying Nubar from here on in! I can't wait to use this over other colours to see how it appears, no doubt I will post them here when I do :]

Affordable Nail Art Haul!

These are the products I show you in the video, I have also put a link to where I bought them, but many other sellers do these products, so have a look around to find the cheapest you can! New listings are coming on all the time :]

Nail Art Brushes - I bought them here, £2.49 shipped.

Rhinestones - I bought them from a seller who sold out, so search here for the best value ones. I got mine for 99p without shipping, so it would have been £1 odd after shipping.

Different Shape Rhinestones - I bought them here, 99p Shipped.

Dotting Tools - I bought them here, £1.68 Shipped.

GCOCL Plates with Hello Kitty Plate - I bought them here, £6.99 shipped.

Fimo Canes - I bought them here, £3.27 shipped.

Make Up Sponges (I use these for gradient nails) - I got these from Home Bargains for 79p, which is a shop in the UK. I am sure any supermarket or discount store will have something like this.

Remember, these are just ones I have bought from, you can always have a look to find better bargains! :]

Inspired Looks - Rebecca Loves Nails - Gradient Tiger

I saw this look at the blog Rebecca Likes Nails and loved it so much I wanted to try it myself, plus I have done a couple of gradients recently and loved them! Rebecca is so talented, I love her nail looks.
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Products Used;
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Barry M Yellow,
Nails Inc Instyle Candy Orange,
Eyeko Punk,
Chanel Vendetta,
Konad M57 plate.
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I love this look, and how it turned out. I was constantly told my nails were lovely, and also asked if they were stuck on or false! 

Laura's look book! Green Matte

This really made my blue eyes pop, and I love greens but didn't fancy a shimmery look, so I used mattes, which aren't exactly my fave.
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Products Used;
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MAC Sassy Grass,
MAC Plumage,
MAC Steamy,
Clinique cream liner,
Urban Decay 24/7 liner Zero.
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MAC Steamy in the inner corner, MAC Sassy Grass on the lid, MAC Plumage on the outer corner. Clinique liner along the top lash line and Urban Decay 24/7 lower liner. This look isn't as good as I would have liked it as Plumage was a NIGHTMARE to use! Worst MAC eyeshadow ever! It doesn't go on that pigmented, it just brushes off, and the texture is awful!