nailpolishUK/bats about nail polish

Essence The Only Chance!

2011-09-02T18:45:00.003+01:00

This is after 2 days of wear.
2 coats and that's plenty! RESULT!
This was a gift. Double ++ result.
You forget how useful brown shades are. I think they suit everyone.
This is perhaps a tad lighter IRL. Lovely and milk-chocolatey. Not yer average chocolate either. A really yummy milk chocolate.
Oh, and it's really glossy but my shit-camera-work doesn't show that. Dammit.

Jenni

Catrice Dirty Berry - you have to love that name...

2011-09-01T18:45:00.000+01:00

I nearly didn't get this one. The air-con in the shop was such a blessed relief that I couldn't concentrate on the cosmetics. But I'm jolly glad I took a better look. 2 coats of very subtle holo. And it applies like a dream. The kind of dream with meadows and a gentle stream - not the dream I usually have about school or exams or being in a room with someone lurking outside or doing the same thing over and over and over again.

Catrice is a super brand. Really cheap. Round the £2 mark. Watch out for this in Croatia (if you ever go - I love it there) and Central Europe and wherever else it's sold. I like the bottle design and everything about Catrice.

Jenni

Essence Choose Me - and I did...

2011-08-31T18:45:00.000+01:00

3 coats of a quick-dry polish that cost about £2 in Hrvatska (Croatia). I think it's a glass fleck. Pretty vibrant and doesn't smurfify the nails to any great extent. Phew. There weren't many polishes in the little town where we stay but I don't go there to cosmetic-shop. Ignore the little finger. That's an experiment.

This stuff lasts really well. But wouldn't you know it - I only noticed a chip on the last morning when we were due to leave at 9am?! Could do nothing about it. All packed.

In the forthcoming days there will be :

my mini-haul from Hrvatska
my holiday snaps (you can skip over them, that's understood)
my amazing gift from Glam Nails
some moaning about having to go back to work on Monday - boo, hiss...
nail swatches

Jenni

Oo, Radio 4 is just broadcasting a trail for a programme about caves in Croatia! What are the chances, huh?

Nail Art "Competition" that isn't a competition - PLEASE participate

2011-08-29T18:35:00.000+01:00

There used to be quite a few blogs a while back that invited photos. Haven't noticed it for a while so I thought I'd have a go moi-meme and launch an initiative. Idea is that we all have a go at doing some nail art along these lines and you send me your pix and I publish 'em. No prizes. Sorry.

Here's the inspiration. Atsuko Tanaka. 1932 - 2005.

There's an exhibition at the Ikon in Birmingham. Found this card in my library. How hard can this be? Even for me. Mind you, I haven't tried it yet.

If you have a go then email your effort to nutty teacher at gmail dot com. I'll do it too and we'll have a sell-by date of September 4th. Please do have a go. I have lots of ideas/inspirations that are better than this one but thought this would be an easy start (for me).

Jenni

Nail art (allegedly)

2011-08-27T18:45:00.001+01:00

A blast from the past. This was my very first post. Two years ago now. I was inspired by Leanne at DoNotRefreeze. Do ya know what it's meant to be yet? (That reference only makes sense if you were brought up with Rolf Harris - life isn't all a bowl of cherries...)

Didn't even know how to take a non-blurry photo. Pipe down at the back there! What d'you mean: You still can't!? Cheeky.

I do like those bendy, jelly, rubbery rings you got with Hard Candy polishes. Pity the precious stone falls out after a couple of hand-washes or they might be worth something!

And, if you hadn't guessed, it's a tiger mani. Frankly that's my best nail art ever. It all went sadly pear-shaped after that. But I have a cunning plan. All will be revealed. Ta da DA.

Jenni

The embarrassing story of a frog...

2011-08-25T18:45:00.001+01:00

2009 - went to Canada on holiday. Stayed first in Montreal and then Mont Tremblant.

Hotel in Tremblant had its own little lake. Cue frog. This was a big frog. Just bear that in mind.

Now what does this frog have that's a little unusual? A very long tail. I was convinced I'd discovered a mutant frog at the least or a new species at best. When I got home I emailed lots of Canadian universities with my discovery. Anura Jenniferiana I thought it might be known as. I'd be hailed as the Linnaeus/Attenborough of my generation! I did get Biology 'O' level, after all. That makes me a naturalist, right? Also a naturist (but that's another story).

Er, no. It was not to be. I received very kind responses which did not treat me like a moron (for which I am grateful to the native politeness of the Canadian) that informed me it's a froglet. The tail was soon to disappear. I think it absorbs into the body rather than just falls off. Freaky.

I tell you something for nothing. You don't get baby frogs that size in the UK!

Any road up - in my researches I found out a lot about frogs. All of which I have subsequently forgotten. But one thing I do know. There are some really cute ones out there.

Unnamed Canadian lake. They have so many they don't even bother to name them all! So cool.

Jenni

GONE FISHING + bonus CUTE animal and Dobar Dan from Croatia

2011-08-23T18:45:00.008+01:00

Not really. Don't fancy fishing. Love eating fish though....

If you need me I'll be here.

Now here's someone who does excel at fishing. Adorable sea otter. I have not seen one here. Not sure if they hang out in the Adriatic.

Jenni

...buttercups our gold...

2011-08-21T18:45:00.001+01:00

Children's hymn theme continued...

Same rules as the silvers. I have fewer gold because I'm not a 'gold' person. You're either silver or gold, aren't you? It's a Marmite thing.

2 coats
The Edge Egyptian Gold - could do with a 3rd coat but I do like this
Misa Disco Queen which has a sulphurous, greenish tinge to it - devilish!
Leighton Denny Golden Girl with Mavala Gold Diamond (got a hair on the nail I couldn't dislodge)
Boots 17 Sphinx (well, it looked gold in the bottle - er, gold-ISH) - the maxi-brush on this is HUUUUGE

Obviously the Boots 17 just doesn't belong. Nothing wrong with it. It's just batting for another side.

Are you silver or gold?

Jenni

Daisies are our silver...

2011-08-20T18:45:00.006+01:00

(It's a children's hymn.)

Pathetic, I know, but I'm running out of ideas. I have quite a few silvers so here are four I just grabbed.

2 coats of each for fairness
Little: Leighton Denny Diamond Diva
Ring: Models Own Sterling Silver
Marks and Spencer Rainbow (a bit holo)
Misa Dance Fever
I like them all and they're all good and they don't need further coats (unlike the golds I grabbed - see tomorrow's post)

You get to the point where you're looking for silver with a twist. D'you know any silvers with added oomph?

Jenni

Nails Inc Barnsbury Road

2011-08-19T18:35:00.004+01:00

Not going to revolutionise the nail-polish world, is it? Plus it's suede finish (I'd say satin). Perfectly pleasant 2 coats with a top coat. Don't know why I bothered. No, I do. One of a cheap set of 4 from TK Maxx. That's why I bothered.

And this is Barnsbury Road, N1. For what it's worth.

Jenni

Frozen Jelly (a Jessica Red Tint and beauty uk Frozen Kingdom hybrid)

2011-08-18T18:35:00.001+01:00

Oh, dear. It's a bit blurry. I used red whereas I really wanted pink but couldn't find it and had no patience or perseverance to look harder. Typical lazy-bones.

It took me ages to paint my nails today though what with ridge-filler and top coat and layers PLUS the Missguided Misstique left me with Super-Smurf nails and fingers. Honestly, I don't even like blue that much. Why did I bother? Almost enough to make me utter the 'never again' phrase. Never again will I wear blue polish. For now....

Is there any blue that doesn't smurfify the nails?

Jenni

Elemis...and why not!

2011-08-17T18:35:00.000+01:00

A home housing two highly untidy women may yield a multitude of riches. Particularly in the summer holiday when our cleaner doesn't come. Theory being that I've time to do the cleaning myself! Time I have. Inclination? No.

So I was just rooting for something in my bathroom when I found some forgotten bits and pieces. I do have more Elemis products than these but a quick scout-round revealed the above.

The cleansing wash smells particularly delightful to me. Lady's Mantle in a unique milk protein base! (From the back of the bottle.) Serum I always love and will use on my hair/hands/the lot. The best of all though is the bottom left Frangipani Monoi Moisture melt. The glass bottle is too cute with that little silver top that unscrews and the contents moreover are solid at normal temperature. So I take it in the shower to warm it and then spread it over my face. A very powerful fragrance is frangipani. It doesn't appeal universally i.e. to she who must be obeyed. But I only slather it on at night before retiring.

And better yet! This stuff is made in England! Which means jobs!

Downside? Elemis is expensive but you need to watch ebay for bargains and they can occasionally be found. The quality is excellent. I haven't even pictured their hand and nail cream. Now that is tremendously effective.

Anybody have any Elemis recommendations?

Jenni

Missguided Misstique - misnamed

2011-08-16T18:35:00.011+01:00

No mystique about this. It's a lovely, creamy 2-coat polish. Even covers up my ridges. I do like this brand. Pity there are so few colours. Got this as a freebie just like the rest of you probably did with some magazine or other. But I'd recommend it even at full price. Not sure this aqua-turquoise usually suits me but this doesn't seem to give me "lobsters" so......result. Nowt special colour-wise but a darned good formula.

Jenni

How it all began..Fairy Dust (Sally Hansen Fairy Dust Pink)

2011-08-15T18:35:00.000+01:00

I've painted my nails on and off since about 1969 but I haven't in recent times had a day of naked nails since August 2009. Had time and dollars to spare at Montreal airport in August 09 so I had a mani. Great Turkish-Canadian girl. Very friendly. The concession was OPI-fied so I had a coupla greens. That got me hooked again. (I think they may have been Electric Eel and Green-wich - something like that.)

That developed into buying more polish and reading blogs. Finally I got my own blog going.

One of the first polishes I ebay-ed in 09 or 10 was this Sally Hansen. I'd seen something similar on a blog and just took a punt on it. I checked the prices on ebay today and they are mega-silly. I'm sure I didn't spend more than a coupla quid though. So there's no point stimulating demand for these "magical" polishes. (That's what they're called by Sally Hansen btw.) Was minded to wear this because I just got £14.50 for GOSH Holographic on ebay so had holos in my head. This applies better than quite a lot of holos which I find almost invariably patchy. Pity SH don't do this range any longer. The prices demonstrate it was highly-regarded.

Ah, well. Just a pretty polish for a sunny day.

Jenni

Colour blocking, anyone?

2011-08-14T14:21:00.000+01:00

Nothing new under the sun. You have no idea how radical these fashion images were in the 60s! Unless you're my age! I loved Mary Quant stuff. Up until then teenagers dressed like their mums and their grandmothers. Nearly 50 years has gone by since this photoshoot. Not saying you'd want to dress exactly like that now but......

See this next one? Original Sixties ad. Is this not gorgeous even now? I think so. I had that lipstick and nail polish. *sighs* This is one of my all-time favourite/evocative ads. The fact that I am crazy for black cherries really doesn't harm its cause. Black-forest gateau. Nom nom nom.

And you've guessed right. I have no personal inspiration today. I tried the Sleek Pout Paint in Peachy Keen. So little did it suit me that I felt it OBSCENE to take a photo. That's how bad it was. Not my colour. Not in this lifetime anyway....

Jenni

No drama, just good stuff....Models Own Mystic Mauve

2011-08-13T16:45:00.006+01:00

I spend too much time lusting after collections that are either too expensive or simply unavailable that I forget we have a great brand of our own here in the UK. I refer to Models Own.

Their foil polishes are simply magnificent and, thinking back, I have never had a bad Models Own. So there. Sorry, Models Own. I will try to appreciate you better.

Mystic Mauve. 2 coats. Foil. Would look better on younger (unridged) nails but I have what I have.
(That was easy...)

My left hand now sports short nails but I'm letting the nails on my right grow. They look OK.
Jenni

Oh, dear..... sad face.....Illamasqua Raindrops

2011-08-12T14:41:00.000+01:00

It's all very well. Looks quite nice. A very pretty polish. But application? Blimey.

3 coats. Then I just couldn't help myself. I had to apply another.

4 coats! I can live with that but I had to be so careful.

Too little polish on the brush and I got fearful drag.

Too much polish and I had a puddle.

It's a jelly. I love jelly polishes usually and have never found them difficult to apply but this baby...? Whoa.

The photo makes it look a tad blue whereas it is a genuine grey.

Tricky. Coming to a verdict - tricky. I do love it but it is in my top 10 of silly buggers as regards behaviour. Maybe top 5.

Funnily enough this is one of the 'suggest a colour' polishes. I got in the top 50 in that competition. Or DID I? I've read a lot of bloggers who've had that particular email. D'you think it possible that Illamasqua flattered us in order to foster brand-loyalty/sales? I'd love to know how many of those emails went out! Allegedly. Just insert 'allegedly' in every sentence in this paragraph. *fingers crossed*

Jenni

LIP WARS! Sleek Pout Paint v OCC Lip Tar

2011-08-11T11:51:00.000+01:00

This is smudgy because I didn't mess with it for the photo. I tidied it up with a brush afterwards!

I don't suggest these colours are dupes. They are obviously not. But they were compatible to be worn together.

Top lip: Sleek Mauve On

Lower lip: OCC Katricia

Sleek

Not peppermint-y, neutral flavour

Maybe a little drier in the tube and more reluctant to squeeze out

Seems a lot glossier on the lip (which is odd considering the point immediately above)

May need a smidgen more product to achieve coverage - but quantities are so small it's irrelevant really

Seems less likely to transfer onto the teeth which can be a big problem with the OCC

It did quickly transfer onto the lower lip - is it more highly pigmented/stronger than the OCC? Maybe

OCC

Dries matte on the lip

Pigments seem from the photo to be less evenly distributed - I've had the OCC longer but didn't notice any problem in the tube - I have heard that some separation can occur in Lip Tars

Does have a sharp minty tang - less so than some of the other shades though - I know some people quite dislike it

Yes, I applied with sponges. I have found it works quite well with these. It's hard to keep lip-brushes clean and remove product whereas the sponges are ten-a-penny and you can easily keep them and match them to the correct shade at a later date.

Quantities are identical.
OCC tube marginally more workable because of the 'gradient' but you have to use brushes (or sponges) for these anyway - do not apply directly

Conclusion
Have to award the laurel wreath to Sleek. I do think it's a better product at a lower price (normally a fiver but currently 3 for £10 at the moment) and it's readily available from Superdrug or online in the UK. A clear knock-out win for Sleek. Not even a victory on points. Knock-out. OCC however do more colours and were initially aimed at the professional make-up artist (I think) who does a lot of blending. So if you are super-creative/innovative with your cosmetics then I'd suggest you get lots of the Sleek and supplement any blending shades from the OCC range.

I really rate the Sleek so I had better reiterate that I bought these myself and I've never had a product given to me for review by anyone. Lest you think I am too ardent in my support!

Jenni

Eyeko Liptastik Loudmouth + Baby Bonus/Bonus Baby

2011-08-10T16:45:00.010+01:00

I failed with 2 of my 3 TK Maxx purchases. Nails Inc polishes not so good. Ditto OPI. The Eyeko however was another story....

All these for a fiver! Loudmouth is the one in the middle.

Lasts for ages.
Feels good.
Not too sticky.
Good value at 3 for a fiver.
Very highly pigmented.
So easy to apply. Foolproof actually.
Don't need a sharpener. Just twist the base (see pic).

(Oh, sharpeners for jumbo crayons! Do I have to buy a pen-knife and learn to whittle whilst humming "Ol' Man River" in order to sharpen my Barry M Lip Lacquers or is there a jumbo sharpener I can buy?)

UNfortunately made in China. I did not realise this because there was a label stuck over country of origin and I just tend to assume (bloody fool) that British companies get their stuff made in Britain. Or how about Europe even? Once I had broken the seal I couldn't return them.

My latest Illamasqua polishes are made in Australia! What's that all about?! I have to stop buying Illamasqua now. OK, the Australians aren't employing slave labour and beating people but the carbon-footprint implications are just plain intolerable to me.

I won't start on trade, the global economy and jobs for local people. But I SO COULD! And probably should.

On a lighter note, the next post will feature LIP WARS!

Plus a "baby bonus" pic. Granddaughter. 9 days.

Jenni

Couleur du jour?

2011-08-09T12:44:00.001+01:00

Maybe even couleur du mois/ de l'annee!
Orange.

Illamasqua Insanity. Even WITH a bubble it's simply the best orange there is and moreover the best polish I've bought for a long time. £5 in the sale! Superb result. How chuffed am I.
3 coats is plenty. 2

So what d'you reckon is the genuine, current couleur du jour?
Orange
Coral
Other

And would that be a creme formula?

Oh, a little pointer for those who weren't sure. The large square cap on Illamasqua is MEANT to be removable. In fact you SHOULD remove it and leave the smaller cap for proper control. I have heard some say Illamasqua polishes are unwieldy. That need not be the case.

Jenni

BLOG SALE - over 60 polishes

2011-08-08T10:10:00.002+01:00

The Revlon is Silver (actually a grey)

NEW, UNUSED
OPI (2) ~~Miami Beet~~ & Fiercely Fiona £4 each
China Glaze MINI First Mate £2
Barielle (2) June Bug & ~~Myrza's Meadow~~ (Barielles tend to separate out in storage but these ARE new) £3.75 each
Models Own (7) ~~Concrete Mixer~~ & Lemon Meringue & Sterling Silver & Baby Blues &Blue Moon & Champagne & Mystic Mauve £3.25 each

~~Illamasqua Rampage (in box) £6~~
Color Club Electronica £3.75
Finger Paints Blissfully Blue £3.75
Nails Inc The Hurlingham & Hays Mews & Chester Terrace £3.50 each (the latter 2 are suede)
Barry M Instant Nail Effects Black & Blue £2 each
Bourjois Orange Creation £2.50
Mavala ~~Pure Diamond~~ & ~~Daring Pink~~ & Milky £2.25 each
Revlon Silver £1

USED ONCE (probably only on one hand)
OPI (4) DS Coronation £7 & Hopelessly In Love £3.50 & Samoan Sand £3.50 & My Private Jet (new version) £6.50
Illamasqua (2) ~~Purity~~ and a red one that may be Ruthless £5 each

Models Own (3) Nyla Nude & ~~Utopia~~ & Lili's Pink £3 each
~~China Glaze Blue Island Iced Tea £3~~
Essie (4) ~~Alligator Purse~~ & Nutcracker Sweet & ~~Gladioli~~ & Lily Pond
Confetti Happy Birthday £3.50 each
BB Couture (3) Santa's Sak & Tuxedo Night & Bullfighter £3.50 each
Leighton Denny Golden Girl £5

missguided (3) Misschievous & Missdemeanour & Missunderstood £2.50 each
~~RMK Holographic Blue Pink £4~~
Bourjois (2) Bleu model & Fuchsia provoc' £2 each
Pop Beauty (2) Violetta & Pinkest £2.50 each

Hard Candy (see photo for colour) £3.75
~~Sinful Colors Out of this World £2~~
~~Barry M Nail Effects Pink £2~~
~~Accessorize (2) Purple Dream & Pin-Up £2.50~~
Nails Inc Drury Lane £3

P&P within the UK is £1.60 for a single polish. For the 2nd and subsequent polishes add 20p each (example: 4 polishes would be the price of the individual items + £2.20 P&P) You're not in the UK? Please indicate this in your comment and I'll calculate a price for you.
This is ordinary 2nd class post. I get proof of posting but if you want recorded or whatever then please ask.
Paypal only - gift to friend (see next point)
On ebay I have 100% feedback as jayannlay. I buy and sell on ebay and I have 289 transactions to my name. If you don't feel you can trust me and don't want to do the 'paypal friend' thing then I'm afraid we have no deal. I just don't want to pay the extra charges!

Jenni

OPI pink-astrophe gradient

2011-08-07T13:31:00.000+01:00

Pictures first.

VNL? No problem with VNL in THIS house.
3 coats and still streaky? Now that IS cack.
On goes plenty FlorMar to attempt to rectify matters. Hm, tolerable.
But I shouldn't even have bought this mini-set. Seduced by cheapitude at Tk Maxx. Serves me right, huh?
The colours (!) are Alpine White, Bubble Bath and something along the lines of Pink-ing or Pink-est (frankly I don't care) + a RapiDry
I'm sure the box said 'Princess Rule' but I chucked the box and I'm not going through my recycling bin just for that!

Oh, yeah. Princesses. As the mother of two daughters and grandmother of very small grand-daughter plus I'm a woman myself (yeah!) I deplore the whole girlie-princess thing. Ladies, if your idea of success is marrying some ghastly chap and sponging off him then you're welcome but I don't share your ambition and never have. Girls don't need heels as much as the ability to run fast and deal a knockout blow if absolutely necessary. Girls don't need tiaras (leave that to Elton John) as much as brains and education. Girls don't need petticoats as much as they need gumption.

In short, pink polish is fine. Pink/fluffy attitudes and aspirations? No.

Jenni
Blog sale tomorrow. Best time?

Nails Inc Augustus Street - not so august

2011-08-06T10:42:00.000+01:00

Well, I googled it and I can't say I was impressed. Looks a bit shabby to me. The street in Camden. Ya get wot am sayin', blood? OK, that's enough of me getting down with the kids.

(BLOG SALE WILL BE MONDAY AS REQUESTED.)

The polish ain't no better. Looks good in the bottle. Not so much on the nail. And it's suede-effect! Bah. I've put RapiDry over it and it still isn't glossy. So I tried Top Rock. I'm new to RapiDry and I'm guessing it isn't even meant to provide shine. Does anyone know? The Top Rock improves it a little.

AND worse yet it's one of a set of 4 I got cheapo from TK Maxx and they are ALL suede!

Never mind.

Jenni

I can't believe it's not better! AND BLOG SALE NEWS

2011-08-05T13:52:00.000+01:00

The photo. It's no good at all. Can't get this to show up nearly as well as it looks IRL.
Mavala Pure Diamond over beauty uk Gun Metal.

And one in the sun.

Ah, well.

BLOG SALE - launch tomorrow (Saturday) or wait until Monday? Your thoughts, please.

What's your go-to item to revive or rescue a mani or an outfit or a "face"?

I tend to slop this Mavala over pretty much anything. And a new bottle of it will be featured in the sale.

Jenni

Reports of my demise greatly exaggerated...BFF BIG FAT FAIL

2011-08-04T16:30:00.000+01:00

The OH observed I looked dead.

The spiffing plan was to execute a funky-glitter French with OPI Extravagance. The outcome was nails that merely look grubby. Hey, you live and learn.

Jenni

beauty uk Gun Metal

2011-08-03T09:57:00.000+01:00

A regulation shimmer/frost gunmetal but it has a tiny hint of glitz, I'd say. 2 coats are more than adequate. I have a Revlon like this - only not so good. Another impressive polish from beauty uk. Well done to them.

I'm very anti-colour these days. Couldn't bear the thought of another coral/green/yellow/blue. A little jaded.

Jenni

Leighton Denny Natural White

2011-08-01T16:45:00.000+01:00

If ever I had any nail-blogger credibility I think I may be losing it. I am now starting to adore pale, natural colours beyond all reason. Time to lay up the old polish brush and retire. Oh, I can't during the long school hols because I have to have a hobby (hated word, makes me sound like someone who collects stamps and knits) to keep me off the streets.

The index finger has 4 coats of lusciousness. The others have an extra layer of FlorMar goodness. LD is a top-class brand. Thank-you TK Maxx for selling this stuff. And can you please get some more stock in.

Enjoying your summer?

Jenni

W7 mega matte lips

2011-07-31T10:50:00.000+01:00

Ugh, you say, who wants matte lips? We want glossy lips. Seductive, kissable lips.

That's as maybe but...
1 What if you don't like the gloopy feel of glossy lips?
2 What if you have old lips which have lost outline and pigmentation and want your lips to look fuller and not have shine distracting the eye and minimising the area?
3 What if you have thin lips and want to enhance them (see above)?
4 What if you are after a fairly natural look that's easy to maintain?
5 And other stuff...

Anyway, I found these in TJ Hughes (closing down, get there fast) and got 2 for under £3.

I love this, I do. Can't find a number or name on it but the print is fearfully tiny so it may be there somewhere. They do a variety but they're all pretty much of a muchness. Didn't prevent me from buying 2 though. Feels so velvety. Love matte lips.

(See how good beauty uk shatter polish is? Yes?)
Oh, and the cap is itself matte. How cool is that? I do love the feel of matte rubber tops and lids to beauty products. Like Orly polishes. Fab.

My lips used to be fuller and plumper and so forth. Shine on the lips just gives the effect of lustre but doesn't really suit the *ahem* more mature woman. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Forgive hideous grey.

Jenni

Giveaway - GOSH Holographic

2011-07-30T12:16:00.000+01:00

It is but a humble bottle of polish I offer. Somewhat careworn and tattered (probably due to having been languishing in the back of my local NotSoSuperDrug for aeons) but unopened, unused, untried nonetheless. A virgin bottle of holo goodness. Although, I have to admit, I have never managed to make it work for me. It has never agreed with any base coat I use. I know some people prefer to apply it to unprepared nails to avoid streaks but I can't bear not to prep my nails. Be warned. The results can be spectacular but it is temperamental.

Open to my first 300 followers only. This isn't a desperate gambit to acquire new followers. This includes Trixx who appears to be 301 but I stupidly managed to follow myself in the early days so 301 is the cut-off point.
Open internationally as it's just 1 ickle bockle.
1 entry each for leaving your contact details in comments below and stating a. which polish in your collection you'd be MOST reluctant to giveaway b. which polish in the whole, wide world you wish you could have c. whether or not you already have this polish.
If you don't have it then you get an extra entry as I'd prefer it to find a home with someone who doesn't have it already as it's one of those HTF/rare/niche/Holy Grail polishes. So I'm enhancing the odds for those who don't have it. And if you're a blogger I can check! Sneaky and suspicious, moi?
Closes (hm, now let me think) 9th August.

If I've forgotten anything then please let me know.

Bonne chance!

J

Mavala Milky

2011-07-29T16:45:00.000+01:00

My new favourite coral-peach. 2 coats of Mavala-lousness. *It just never gets old!* Just maybe could take a 3rd coat. Application as easy as (insert here your personally-favoured dubious analogy referring to a woman's sexual availability) ...... anything.

Next up in the Mavala-fest will be Daring Pink.

Jenni

beauty uk shatter polish night fever (THEIR lack of caps - not mine)

2011-07-28T16:45:00.000+01:00

Top class packaging - me likey
Top class product - I have a few shatter polishes and this is the best by far, more predictable application than others, doesn't go gloopy or streaky, excellent
The gold is properly gold - not drab like the Boots 17 I have
It was a poor decision to layer it over Mavala Vanilla - needs a more striking base
'dix points' on the Eurovision scale - might even stretch to 'onze'!

Jenni

China Glaze Pelican Grey

2011-07-27T16:45:00.000+01:00

Grey is fearfully dull but does make a rather flattering nail polish shade. I am now madly researching shimmery and frosty greys. This has my trusty FlorMar over it just to even it out and just enhance the shimmer a jot and tittle.

This conspired to be both thick and watery. Nonetheless I award it 'neuf points' on the Eurovision nail-scoring scale.

Even more remarkable was the price. £2.10 plus VAT from Sally's. One does have to pop in and check out the sale shelves and brave the inevitable "D'you need any help?" from the predatory assistants when one is in town.

Favourite greys?

Jenni

Mavala Vanilla and FlorMar

2011-07-26T16:45:00.000+01:00

I knew it would be a streak-fest and I was right. After 3 coats of pastel (and what pastel doesn't behave badly?) shimmer I had to apply a coat of FlorMar to try to even things out.

Partly my own fault as I didn't prepare properly with ridge-filler so I'm going to give it 'huit points' anyway because I love the colour and finish and Mavala can generally do no wrong in my eyes. It doesn't even suit my skintone but what the hell!

Got my covetous eyes on the launch of Sleek Pout Paints. Bet my grotty little branch of Superdrug (no, my TWO grotty little Superdrugs) doesn't stock these until the seas run dry. Bah.

Day 4 of my 44 day holiday. That's a lot of blogging and tweeting.

Jenni

Flakies must always be mattified: IT'S THE LAW

2011-07-24T14:05:00.000+01:00

Because, if you leave them glossy, reflections detract from the flakie goodness. I just thought I'd mention it.

This is Leighton Denny Provocative (lovely formula but the little beggar chipped on 3 nails in one day) with Nubar 2010. Then 17 matte top coat over that.

Took me a long time to see any merit in matte and I wouldn't buy a matte colour but top coat does have some value.

Jenni

Berlin in 2010

2011-07-23T16:37:00.000+01:00

Mavala Berlin topped with a FlorMar and then Nubar 2010. Only ever so slightly washed-out by the flash. Really loving this Mavala grey.

Wish things weren't named after specific years though. Whatever happened to 1984? I could never reread the book now. And 2001? One of my favourite films but the actual 2001 was such a sore disappointment that even that is now somewhat spoiled.

You see, I was born in 1955 and when I was small I thought of 2000 as the science-fiction-future. After all, I'd be 45. Forty-whole-five! I really believed we'd all be time-travelling. I looked at Dr Who and Star Trek (and indeed 2001:Space Odyssey) as pretty firm predictions. I was thoroughly convinced I'd have a small aircraft/vehicle of my own - very much like Fifth Element. We all know the rather pedestrian reality.

How horribly off-topic I have strayed. What I really want to know is this. What flakies are available in the UK apart from the Nubar and GOSH Rainbow? I have Barielle Elle's Spell and a Kinetic with flakies but surely there have to be some others. It's driving me nuts!

Jenni

Mavala Berlin - hot from Smurf Central

2011-07-21T16:45:00.000+01:00

The curse of blue nail polish. You can never get rid of it...

This was streaky after the 1st coat and I thought I'd be heading for a minimum of 3 but the 2nd was more than sufficient. Another excellent polish from Mavala.

Looks like me, Mavala and Leighton Denny are going to make a cosy threesome. Really want to support European brands. And UK polishes if possible. I checked and the LD are made here. This may account in part for their higher price in addition to their excellent quality but I'm happy to pay more to keep jobs in the UK. Don't want us to be seen just as a nation of bankers. Bankers. Is that the right word, I wonder? Hm.

Jenni

Leighton Denny Provocative

2011-07-20T16:45:00.001+01:00

OMG, a perfect jelly red in 2 coats. So shiny. A beautiful blue-red shade. Mwah! How much do I now love LD polishes. They are truly fabulous. I am now on a mission to hunt them down at semi-bargain prices. Wish me luck.

I had to fiddle in iPhoto with temperature and tint because this was showing way too yellow-orange. Consequently my skin looks positively purple. Matters not.

Nothing more to say.

Jenni

I cracked it with Comments! Hurrah!

2011-07-19T16:45:00.003+01:00

See this? I had to paste my comments into Word and then repaste into the blog but it works! Brilliantly! My comments on your comments are in red.

	I love this polish... always have! By Charlie on China Glaze First Mate at 17:39
	thats a gorgeous colour and it looks really nice on you, i've never tried leighton denny but might get some now after reading this : ) By nail loopy on Leighton Denny Miss Behavin' at 11:05 Another funky French with Miss Behavin'.
	Ooo i love a good funky french mani. They remind me of mermaid nails! x WHAT A LOVELY THING TO SAY! By Clazzerati on Attitude Asteroid at 09:02
	I love that colour, I used to get a Revlon colour very similar called Ink off the market and was gutted when they discontinued it. x IT IS BETTER THAN IT LOOKS IN THE BOTTLE. AND THAT'S QUITE UNUSUAL. By Vix on Leighton Denny Miss Behavin' on 17/07/11
	Oh so pretty! It's all twinkly like stars :D By Lillian Funny Face on Leighton Denny Miss Behavin' on 17/07/11
	would love to find this in US =( ISN'T IT NICE THAT OLDER POSTS CAN STILL BE READ. By Anonymous on Topshop Gypsy Night on 16/07/11
	Loving the funky french! Foil + glitter looks great :) x By Gemx on Attitude Asteroid on 14/07/11
	Ooh that looks awesome! By Lillian Funny Face on Attitude Asteroid on 14/07/11
	I love this funky french! I have a few attitudes but not as lovely as this one :) By rmcandlelight (nailsbeautiqued) on Attitude Asteroid on 14/07/11
	That makes for a fascinating read. Men's nails must grow faster as Jon's forever cutting his talons. Love the Cutex ad even if the pointy nails are a bit scary. x POINTY NAILS WERE A VILE TREND. By Vix on Who knew? Fact or fiction. Truth or lies? on 13/07/11
	How interesting! These type of things just make me wonder 'why?' Why on earth is our body made this way, what is the point? :P I KNOW, I KNOW. By Lillian Funny Face on Who knew? Fact or fiction. Truth or lies? on 13/07/11
	Great post! Don't know if it's all true...THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THE INTERNET. ANYTHING PRINTED APPEARS TO BE TRUTHFUL....I CAN BE SO GULLIBLE AT THE BEST OF TIMES.... By rmcandlelight (nailsbeautiqued) on Who knew? Fact or fiction. Truth or lies? on 13/07/11
	I've never heard of Nina before. I actually like this colour for myself :-) By Karen on Nina Ultra Pro Hazelnut on 13/07/11
	Thats lovely, I want it on my toes. Hx By Helly on Nina Ultra Pro Hazelnut on 12/07/11
	Can't say I've heard of this brand before! Cool colour though.YOU GET IT FROM SALLY'S. THIS WAS ONLINE THOUGH. RAVEN COSMETICS. By The Student's Guide To Nail Polish on Nina Ultra Pro Hazelnut on 12/07/11
	Nina does tend to get ignored. Sometimes Sally stores here will have sales on them, and I've picked up a few on clearance from time to time. THE PACKAGING IS JUST "MEH" IMHO AND THAT COSTS THEM SALES....EVERYBODY GOES IN AND JUST LOOKS FOR THE OPI AND CHINA GLAZE. By KarenD on Nina Ultra Pro Hazelnut on 12/07/11
	What Sarah said--not to glam up the corpse but rather keep it from horrifying people any more than having a dead body on display already does. My immediate family leans toward the cremation followed by memorial service school of thought so we haven't had many open caskets, but they are pretty commonplace. Odd to go to visitation to support friends and see their parent for the first time, dead and laid out as if sleeping in their Sunday best. JUST DON'T DISPLAY THE BODY IS EASIEST. I JUST THINK IT'S WEIRD. CULTURALLY BRAINWASHED I AM. By KarenD on Twitter will be the death of me... on 12/07/11
	I never get along well with these corrector sticks, they always seems to make me spotty and I always gets the stuff everywhere when I twist the end for ages and then it all comes out at once :/ I love the pink grapefruit polish and knockout red is my favourite reds, especially for the price! :) xx THE PINK G SEEMS TO HAVE SLIGHT SHIMMER IN OTHER SWATCHES BUT NOT ON ME. I WAS SLIGHTLY DISAPPOINTED. By Gemx on Boots 17 Hide & Chic - not so much YSL Touche Ecla... on 11/07/11
	Despite having ridiculously red cheeks I've never actually liked green correctors, maybe it's because I'm so pale but I always just end up looking a bit green! I love the free nail art stickers, pink leopard print hearts? Yes please! YOU HAVE TO BE REALLY RUDDY TO WEAR THEM AND I AM. YOU ARE TOO PERFECT! By Lillian Funny Face on Boots 17 Hide & Chic - not so much YSL Touche Ecla... on 10/07/11
	Pretty. And yes she's is very thin, I'm most fascinated by her lack of hips (as someone who is overendowed in the hip department). It's obviously her natural body shape as Pippa is v. similar but how she's gonna do her sprogging duty?! By Cali369 on Mavala Romantic on 10/07/11 YEAH, POTENTIAL ROYALS HAVE TO BE CHECKED FOR FECUNDITY. GUESS THEY HAVE C-SECTIONS WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE? Spam \| Delete \| Remove Content
	Ooh, this is a nice one! By ABOP (laquerlove on MUA) on Mavala Khaki Vintage on 10/07/11
	Painting the nails of prom goers? Where was my invitation??? Though technically I'm attending afterprom, not prom :P What I like to do is to paint the tips on with tape, and then create a nice smile line with a cotton bud in acetone. Thanks for the shoutout in your previous post! BELIEVE ME, OUR PROM WAS NOT A COOL PROM. By The Student's Guide To Nail Polish on French tips....a bad day in Bordeaux.. on 07/07/11
	Karen, thanks for the advice. Northern Lights is by The Edge. They are well cheap. Google 'em. By jaljen on French tips....a bad day in Bordeaux.. on 07/07/11
	Sorry Jenni is Northern Lights a BeautyUK or another brand? I can't find it on their website? By Karen on French tips....a bad day in Bordeaux.. on 07/07/11 NO, IT'S "THE EDGE". ALSO BRITISH. NEVER SEEN IT BLOGGED. WHICH IS A SHAME.
	Hi Jenni, I love this mani. I love glitter too! I'm definitely going to get myself Northern Lights for starters I don't have any BeautyUK polish but I'm going to go have a look tomorrow. One tip for Manis that I do is use a ring binder sticker to cover your cuticle that way you don't have nail polish too near your nail bed and cuticle, its a tip someone told me so feel free to share it. Karen THIS IS ME SHARING THE IDEA AND IT'S A DARNED GOOD ONE. By Karen on French tips....a bad day in Bordeaux.. on 07/07/11 Jenni

China Glaze First Mate

2011-07-18T16:45:00.007+01:00

Any decent blogger would be ashamed to post this. But I have no shame.

Honestly. The cuticle remover has completely knackered the skin round my nails. Hey ho.

2 coats of this gorgeous 'dirty' blue. Lovely quality.

Begs the perennial question. China Glaze or OPI? Ditch it or dig it? If one company had to bite the dust which should it be? I'd ditch OPI. They are loads more expensive and do too many boring colours. Plus they got into commercial bed with L'Oreal which isn't all it should be on the animal experimentation front.

Jenni

Leighton Denny Miss Behavin'

2011-07-17T10:55:00.000+01:00

I like blue least of all possible nail colours on me (except perhaps red which is such a cliche) but I am currently sporting blue polish on both hands. Not the SAME blue. Obviously.

2 coats of LD which is plenty, plenty. I think Leighton Denny is the best polish I have ever tried. I do wish it weren't so expensive. This colour has shimmer, depth and a jewel-like quality. Exquisite.

I have tried my very best to source LD more cheaply but they keep a very tight hold on their distribution. There isn't even a sale section on their own website! Grrr.

When they come up as a magazine freebie then BUY THE blahddy magazine. This is a mini that I got from TK Maxx. Four for eleven quid. 4.6 ml bottles but totally worth it. I tell you no lies.

Jenni

Attitude Asteroid

2011-07-14T16:45:00.003+01:00

For some reason I have become addicted to funky-French manis! So this one has foil tips. Then a clear-based glitter coat over the top. My index nail is especially yellow but ... what can ya do?

This British brand is Star Nails Attitude. Apparently it's mostly available in salons. Don't think I've ever seen it however. I bought mine online (usual suspects) and they manufacture some funky colours and I do recommend their polishes. The bottles are 14ml (whoever said that size isn't important simply lied) and you can always get them for two or three quid. Result.

Jenni

Who knew? Fact or fiction. Truth or lies?

2011-07-13T11:45:00.014+01:00

Nails grow faster in the summer than in the winter. I probably knew this.
Men's nails grow faster than women's (except during pregnancy and later in life when growth increases). Nails grow faster when you're older. Are they quite sure?
The nails on the hand you write with grow faster. Think I had heard this.
The longer the finger, the faster your nail grows. Crazy! Bad for me with my stubby fingers. So not fair. Not that I even want long nails but WHY?
After an illness, your nail growth increases. Suppose it makes sense.
Nail disorders make up about 10 percent of all skin conditions. Ugh. Had a partner with a fungal nail problem once. Gross. I blame the acrylics.

An ad from 1949.With that tapered nail shape that I really don't like.

(Facts from the Cutex website.)

Well, I say "facts". I tend to credulously assume (ouch, split infinitive) that everything I read online is true. If I stop for a moment to reflect I know that my assumption is foolish. But I can't help wondering - how many of those 6 facts are 'true'? And to misquote Prince Charles "...whatever true is..".

Jenni

Nina Ultra Pro Hazelnut

2011-07-12T16:14:00.000+01:00

Typical fugly colour such as I love.

3 coats. Topcoat. Little finger has a coat of Flormar because I had a 'ding' to obscure.

I don't have many Ninas. Two? Three? I am not much disposed to root round Sally's and the Ninas are never reduced. They always give the impression they are the unloved ugly sister to Cinderella China Glaze and Princess Perfect OPI. This one was from my beloved Raven Cosmetics etailer.

Well, I like it.

Jenni

Boots 17 Hide & Chic - not so much YSL Touche Eclat as...

2011-07-09T17:34:00.000+01:00

...a bit of paint and a few bristles in a plastic case.

One of those promo teasers - spend a fiver (I think it was) and get the following for nowt.

The one to which I am pointing is Pink Grapefruit. The other Knockout Red. And I did actually want Pink G so that was fair enough. Heart stickers? Maybe not so much. But who can resist a freebie? Rhetorical question.

OK, now to review the items for which I paid.

Even Tone Corrector Stick - if you have cheeks as rosy as mine (think tomatoes crossed with traffic lights) then you need a greenstick and this one is fine TICK VG
Hide & Chic Eye Brightening Concealer in Light Rose

problemo numero uno: the number of times you have to twist the top to get any fluid to the bristles, thought it was never going to work
the amount was negligible and dried almost instantly on the skin making blending an impossibility
I had to cover over it with another, more accommodating, concealer
Touche Eclat it ain't, looking for a dupe? this ain't it - you could just smudge anything beneath your eyes (emulsion?) and it'd be better than this
THUMBS FIRMLY DOWN

The pictures are poor but I'm not recommending this so I didn't bother with pictorial verisimilitude. The polishes will be reviewed in due course.

Jenni

Mavala Romantic

2011-07-08T16:14:00.000+01:00

Nowt special. Just a perfectly bog-standard coral-pink. 2 coats.
But still it's the excellent quality I now expect of Mavala. It gets me every time! I think, "This one's going to be a bit thin and weedy. It'll need more coats than a skinny girl in Saskatchewan." (Oh, and isn't Kate Middleton too THIN!)

Every time the polish turns out to be a thick (but not overly thick) 2-coater! How do they do that? Bizarre.

Where to get Mavala?

ebay
Beauty Bay - this and the 2 greens were from BB but I should have got a bigger order as the P&P was a leeeeettle high
Amazon
Lloyds pharmacy locally

Jenni

French tips....a bad day in Bordeaux..

2011-07-07T17:00:00.000+01:00

I used sticky tape and did the tips, then base coat, then a glitter coat. I shouldn't have magnified the pix really as it looks plenty better IRL. I should also have done a much thinner fake 'free nail' section. I'll know better next time.

The beautyuk polish is the exceptional Frozen Kingdom (loving that name) and the other is Northern Lights.

I've never done an 'Essex-girl' before and am surprised by how much I like it. I am painting nails of prom-goers tomorrow. Requests are for purple, hot pink and gold. They don't believe me when I say I've got lots of colours. They think gold is just....gold. SO innocent!

How many golds do you have? I'm going to count mine now.

Jenni

Twitter will be the death of me...

2011-07-06T18:04:00.000+01:00

Do I need more excuses to time-waste?
But if it were not for twitter I wouldn't have been alerted by Lena to something I at first dismissed out of hand as ridiculous.

I got the promo for this in my inbox but I get so much Illamasqua spam I didn't bother to open it.

HOWEVER.....Illamasqua are now tied in professionally with an undertaker's business to do funeral cosmetology. NOT something I'd ever thought much about. I have now!

I've never seen a dead person. Not as far as I know. Certainly not reposing in their coffin! Do the British do that open coffin thing? I believe it's much more common in the US but I have no clue as to the customs surrounding funerals worldwide. Please enlighten me.

So I was hugely derisive at first. Make-up when you're dead! No, no, no. Once I googled it I realised how run-of-the-mill it is in the US. I just can't see 'funeral cosmetician' as a prime career option somehow. I know I've limited vision. Who am I to make mock...

What d'you reckon to a bit of slap in such circumstances? Consoling to the bereaved? A sign of respect? Look your best at all times? Somewhat superfluous?

I think my current position is that it perhaps detracts from the gravity of the event. Cosmetics are very much a part of life. Cosmetics (delightful as they are) are transient and of the world whilst death is perhaps the time to think on higher things.

Jenni
PS A very good initiative commercially by Illamasqua, I think. Suits their image and marketing strategies. Innovative. Bold.

Mavala Bronze Green

2011-07-05T15:45:00.000+01:00

More Mavala-lous polish. (Sorry. REALLY sorry...)

2 coats of hotness. Plus topcoat. These Mavala polishes are at their best when glossy and I've read other blogs saying that they do need topcoat top-up to achieve the best effect and I'd agree with that.

An unassuming little number in the bottle but fabulous on. Different under different lighting conditions.

Jenni

PS Please recommend a cuticle-remover that doesn't strip the flesh from the digits and make one look like a snake sloughing its skin! But does effectively remove cuticles. Natch.

Mavala Khaki Vintage

2011-07-04T18:44:00.001+01:00

Ordered this online and was disappointed when it arrived.

"Thin green shimmer, huh? Well, this'll take about 8 coats then. Oh, dear. Maybe I shan't bother then." WRONG. It's green and it's grey and it's soft and it's shimmery.

It's actually rather thick too and took only 2 coats which was plenty! Plus topcoat. Jumping Jehosophat, but this is one cool polish. I know Mavala works out pretty expensive when you consider the bottle holds only 5ml. But Mavala are really impressing me quality-wise. Their ridge-filler is excellent. And that's high praise from me. The woman with ridges deeper than the Grand Canyon.

I have 2 more to show you. Mavala doesn't get much love on UK blogs which is a shame.

Jenni
PS Comments promptly attended to...

Comments and how to handle them...

2011-07-03T14:11:00.000+01:00

I fear I am a very bad blogger (yes, yes, in addition to the dodgy camera-work and rubbish cuticles) and am hopeless with comments made.

(This is a tinkering mani with W7 Earthquake Silver, Barry M Nail Effects in black, Boots 17 matte coat, topoat over ring finger and then W7 again over the original Nubar Knight's Armour.)

I don't seem to know how to acknowledge comments properly and I feel guilty about it. I love getting them but I just think I'm not paying them enough respect. It gets to the point where I don't want to/am afraid to read them in case someone left me a really lovely comment or question and it's obvious I haven't been paying proper attention and what will people think of me for not having made a super-prompt response.

I do not know how you peeps with big followings cope! Does it prey on your mind? How do you handle it?

So should I

A just continue to do my best and leave things as they are
B discipline myself to read and answer comments at the same time each day without fail
C disable comments and invite peeps with QUESTIONS and ADVICE to email me and then I KNOW I will get back to them because I'm fairly good with my email correspondence
D other (please advise)
E if you leave comments on blogs what do you expect from the blogger? Do you go back and check?

Help!!!

Jenni

Nubar Knight's Armour

2011-07-02T10:59:00.000+01:00

My red hands are due to the pressure exerted by trying to grasp 2 bottles of polish simultaneously in my teeny little paws.

Lazy woman that I am I slopped the Nubar over the 2true "Paradoxal". How much do I love that 2true! Do get it. 2 coats of Nubar btw.

Cor, I love this Nubar too. This is a great way to wear black which can otherwise be rather dull (ha!). I do feel rather bold and chivalrous wearing this! I realised it's pretty well identical in the bottle to Mavala Black Diamond. I'm developing a real "thing" for Mavala. Knight's Armour was the star of the Fortress collection which I derided at the time. I was unwise in the ways of lacquer then and thought a bunch of greys was a pointless waste of space. I know better now.

I love Nubar and I love Mavala. And on that positive note - adieu.

Jenni

Dupe-time again....

2011-06-30T11:45:00.005+01:00

2true no. 46. 2 coats. I like it. It's better than Barry M Dusky Mauve (better as in "got more going for it complexity-wise").

And guess who didn't do a very thorough job of removing Bourjois Orange Creation? No prizes.

YET AGAIN the Bourjois So Laque chipped on me. That's 2 out of 3 of the latest range. Consider me displeased.

With dupes though - don't you have to issue them within a couple of months of the original? Is there any point otherwise? What d'you think? Is it not just a bit lame doing it half a year later?

Oo, and ta muchly for all the help with my bottle-problems.

Jenni

Men land on moon in 1969 - polish stuck in bottle 2011

2011-06-29T12:18:00.000+01:00

Albert Bridge and Kensington topcoats.

Do you think I can get a good load of polish on a brush? Enough to coat even a single nail adequately in a single stroke? Can I hell!

And why is this? Why do I have to tilt these bottles with the mathematical precision of an Einstein to get the merest micromillitre of polish on the brush?

Why does it look as if I shall have to jettison these despite the fact that there's half to just under half left in each?

Please recommend a good topcoat that is usable for about 80% of its contents because this is a phenomenon that is right royally p!ssing me off! Is it a conspiracy by the manufacturers to make us buy more?

The usual colour polishes (I generalise) only rarely trouble our nails often enough to diminish to even 50% but topcoats one DOES rather expect to have some longevity.

~~GrumpyGit~~ Jenni

Bourjois Orange Creation

2011-06-28T11:45:00.001+01:00

2 coats over ridgefiller plus top-coat as it dries insufficiently glossy. Sadly I selected a topcoat that has seen better days - hence the bubbling and uneven finish. Not perceptible IRL.

Oh, BIG MOAN! Got a lot of chipping on the Bourjois Bleu Model. Hope this is better. And lots of tipwear on OPI JITNB. Not funny! Be warned. Please report back if you experience unwarranted chipping on the new Bourjois. I haven't had a polish wear so poorly in nearly 2 years.

This is an intense and slightly dirty orange. Not quite neon. I like it. These come out just as they look in the bottle. Consistent then.

Worst polishes for chipping?

Jenni

2true Glossywear No 9 - the end of the affair?

2011-06-27T11:45:00.004+01:00

I thought I'd be very clever and get a linear holo with 1 coat of Mavala Pure Diamond over 2 coats of 2true Glossywear no 9. My bright ideas rarely pan out...

The nine 2true FastDry shades are excellent. This Glossywear in the chubby bottle is merely OK/average. You'd need at least 3 coats for a good finish and it did feel thin. Only £1.99 though so ....6/10. I still do love 2true though.

And I got the Paradoxal dupe which I've seen on other blogs and looks substantially better than the original from what I can divine. Will try it sometime.

Got 2 Mavala shades and an eyeshadow for £7.95. Have you seen Mavala foundation prices? VERY steep. Going to collect some more Mavala methinks...

Any Mavala recommendations?

Jenni

Fashion punditry. Is it a job for the average woman?

2011-06-26T12:58:00.000+01:00

Due to the roaring success (judged by comment numbers) of my p!ss-taking of that ghastly ~~curtain-thing~~ dress by Monsoon I thought I'd try my hand at a bit more fashion advice.

So I looked at my inbox and attempted to find some risible excuse for a fashion item (clearly it's far more fun to be a hatah than a lovah!) but failed.

Accessorize had emailed me (I like their nail polish) and I trawled through their site hoping for dodgy gear but I thought it all pretty attractive. How very disappointing! I like the playsuit above. And thought the following boots might go pretty well with it.

Now, I do have criticisms of these. The toe isn't as bulky and rounded as I'd like and the heel is a little insubstantial but they're OK. I prefer these floral ones (below) but I think the colour-blocking on the others is needed to counteract the florality of the playsuit.

So I was now getting a festival vibe. So I'll conclude with a hat. This isn't 'cream' enough but it was crucial not to have more flowers, I thought.

I've never been to a music festival in my life. Nor shall I ever as my tastes incline more to Mozart than ....than... a modern musical group beginning with M. But this is what I envisage festival-goers might wear. Possibly festival-goers also wear undergarments but I didn't bother with those because..what if they don't! And they very well may not.

Sorry to be so relentlessly positive. How very dreary. Don't we all love a bit of poking fun and a good old moan? Not this time.

Please give me a score for this ensemble.

4 maximum for the playsuit

3 for the boots

3 for the hat

Your marks out of 10, please.

Jenni

Is this really the new black?

2011-06-25T11:45:00.000+01:00

OPI Jade is the new Black
Yes, I know everybody else bar the Archbishop of Canterbury has been all over this already but it's still new to me.

Got it for £6.95 which I think was a fair price.

2 coats but it really needs 3, applied very easily and fluently
Really intriguing colour and changes a lot in different light conditions
After 48 hours I have significant tipwear - displeasing in the extreme
Absolutely love the colour

Now phrases predicated on 'is the new black' are just lazy. Taupe/beige/brown/jade/whatever.

Black is, and will always remain, the default colour of choice for all-purpose use. Bold statement and, like any generalisation, doesn't account for specifics such as weddings or possible fashion change in the 22nd century but pretty fair nonetheless. As regards clothing.

For nails however black never was the OLD black - let alone the NEW black. For nails red or pink is the old black. This season yellow or orange are the new black (for which substitute red/pink). For winter green could easily be the new black.

So, what would you LIKE the new black to be?Not a fashion forecast but a whimsical wish.

Jenni

Don't mock the teapot!

2011-06-24T11:45:00.003+01:00

Looks familiar???

Original BTC are a fabulous company. I'm guessing these are the lights featured on The Apprentice this week (Episode 8). Oddly I've been looking for kitchen lighting for a while and this is the company I am ultimately going to purchase from as I love their stuff. That was before being adopted by Team Tom but I haven't let that put me off despite roundly detesting that Melody creature. Ugh. I found it first, LordSirAlan. So put that in your Tottenham Hotspur and smoke it!

Is this not simple and beautiful?

They make all their stuff in England. Yes, actual England. Of course they may employ Poles to do the actual manufacturing as yer average Brit won't demean him/herself to do manual labour any more. Despite turning out thousands of kids annually who can't read or write (I blame the parents but, being a teacher, I would...) we have become a nation that believes the road to riches lies in A becoming a footballer or B marrying one. Anybody who does a steady job is like totally lame and a loser. Call me Vicky Pollard, why dontcha.

In conclusion Original BTC is utterly fabulous and those philistines on The Apprentice who did not appreciate their glorious style should be ~~shot~~ fired at the first opportunity. The French loved the product and La Redoute would have bought squillions if Tomtasha hadn't been so w@nkily useless.

Jenni

It must be love da da..It must be love da da..(Thanks, Madness)

2011-06-23T11:45:00.001+01:00

Bourjois Bleu Model

(BUT before we proceed a big THANK YOU for all the great and amusing comments I've been getting these past few days! Really bucked me up no end!)

If this is blue then I'm Pippa Middleton's body double. Cuticles still dire. Sorry.

It's green. C'est vert. End of.
Whatever you'd call it I do know one thing. It's 3 coats of creamy gorgeousness! Cannot stress sufficiently how good the formula is.Bourjois really does quality nail-polish.

Is this a joke?

2011-06-22T17:13:00.000+01:00

I sign up to all sorts of websites in order to get discounts and codes and suchlike. This monstrosity of a dress is what Monsoon emailed me in a bid to encourage me to spend money on their stuff. I only use Monsoon for Accessorize nail polish but even if I were in the market for a dress I wouldn't pick THIS!

Is it just me or is this truly hideous?

I then consulted their site and found a whole host of gruesome outfits. Believe it I could not. Who buys their clothes? Yeuch.

Would you wear this dress?
A Are you crazy - it's to-die-for..
B Do you really need to ask? NO.
C It's OK. I'm a better stylist than Gok. There's nothing I can't work with. Actually I quite like it.

Oh, and what do you think of this?Also from Monsoon.

Jenni

Mavala Pure Diamond - and unapologetic feet...

2011-06-21T11:45:00.002+01:00

Toes. The OH thinks polish on toes is irredeemably chavvy and I don't care enough about it to argue the point. I'm not having naked nails so it has to be subtle.

Mavala does some great shades but the teeny bottles.... They don't half put me off. I like a big, butch bottle!

I'm one of the few people who likes feet. I thought of becoming a podiatrist but teaching is more lucrative so I shan't be donning a white coat just yet.

Those ARE FitFlops. Some colleagues recommended them. I find toe-posts irritating so I was a little concerned but they are actually really comfortable.

Feet - for or against?

Jenni

Name that polish!

2011-06-20T11:45:00.000+01:00

Don't cheat by looking them up. I'm guessing most of my readers don't have these yet because I haven't seen them much on the blogs I read daily. Looks like they may be fairly new in shops.

Now, my colour vision is rubbish. This I know and was proved by my pitiful score of 34 in the following test.

http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=77&Lang=en
For example, I would casually call the first 2 nail colours above 'green'. The middle one for sure and the left one blueish-green. That's how inaccurate and imprecise I am.

Bourjois gave them boring names. How would YOU describe them? OR what do you think they are dupes of?

And these? Cool colours don't suit me. Why did I buy them? Duh.

Oh, these were (maybe still are) 3 for 2 at Superdrug.

Jenni

Who's been a busy bee?

2011-06-19T11:36:00.000+01:00

Not me, that's for sure.

I'm in a foul mood (work stress) so a wasp mani is appropriate at this time.

I thought Mavala Black Diamond was black glitter in clear polish but it's not. Anyway I ended up with a single coat (could do with 2) over the Bourjois. NOT what I meant it to be - black glitter over yellow - but I actually like it.

Nobody could say the Bourjois Jaune Trendy is flattering (to anyone?) but it's fun and this wasp/bee theme is even more appealing to my puerile fancy than the plain yellow.

Anybody else fed-up and grumpy?

Jenni

Bourjois Jaune Trendy

2011-06-18T10:37:00.000+01:00

(Cuticles are rubbish. Sorry. Having real trouble.)

2 coats and a lot of Mavala ridge-filler. Well, it's a yellow creme. But 2 coats! Honestly, this is brilliant.

And now for random thoughts on a French-theme (those who are easily offended - and French - should beware) calme-toi, ma chere liloo

All Bourjois stuff is fab and I like the packaging- those little pots they do are so cute
The French should not be allowed to use English words like /cool, trendy, super/ because it just sounds wrong
To call anything Jaune Trendy goes beyond wrong to preposterous
Bourjois are amazingly brave to have put out some great shades this summer - proper funky colours
The collection is called Paris (*stifles chortles* because .......see next point)
No Parisienne would ever wear any of these colours, Parisiennes wear dull colours - that is a FACT
Parisiennes have brown hair
Parisiennes are immaculately turned out in a way no British woman could ever achieve
Mid-price and budget French cosmetics ranges never include funky colours and the high-end companies make a bloomin' great fuss about it when THEY do a yellow or a green (ya know what I'm talkin' about?)
I could say a lot more about Anglo-French relations but I should perhaps quit before being dragged off to a guillotine somewhere
Why do Brits go on holiday to France but never to Germany?
What is so great about croissants?
Why is African French so much easier to understand than French French?
Have you ever been up the Eiffel Tower? I only got to the first stage and there's a long story (wholly tedious) about why I never made it to the top
My favourite Paris memory is a little crocodile of French children with their attendants trotting through Parc Monceau in the sunshine - cycling round Versailles was good too but does Versailles count as Paris? (not really)

Jennifer

Pop Beauty Violetta

2011-06-17T11:45:00.000+01:00

This is the hardest ever polish to get a colour-accurate picture of. (Ended a sentence with a preposition - ghastly!)

I should probably iPhoto it and blue it up a bit. That's probably what it needs but I know I still wouldn't get it right. Some companies do similar shades and call them Dahlia (Barielle). I'd say fuchsia.

The central bell-section of the fuchsia. That kinda colour.

3 coats
Satin finish
Tipwear - I really detest tipwear
Slow to dry even with topcoat

You'd conclude that I don't like this but I do. It's vibrant, edgy. It sings!

What polishes do you love despite very evident flaws?

Jenni

Pop Beauty Pinkest

2011-06-16T11:45:00.000+01:00

I googled this and I haven't seen an accurate photo anywhere so I'm suggesting this is an awkward customer. IRL it's more...er, (the clue's in the name) pink. 2 or 3 coats. I do love it. It dries satin-y so needs a topcoat IMO. Nubar 2010 conceals/distracts from a 'dink'.

Tip wear isn't great on this. I have slight wear on one nail after a day which I do not think acceptable.

It's both neon/fluorescent and jelly-like. Quite unusual. I'm very fond of this brand and am going to attribute the tipwear to ..to .. the weather or something.

You don't see this brand much. Any other brands you reckon are 'rare' but worth more attention? This is not HTF or anything. This was from asos but you can easily get it from Pop Beauty's own site.

Jenni

Giveaway Winner is..

2011-06-15T18:00:00.000+01:00

Well, there were 35 entries. I would say at least 15 of these were thanks to la belle liloo and her tweets (elle est vraiment la reine de tweets). Now that's a selfless act because that boosted the entry by 75%!! And consequently reduced her own chance of winning.

So a huge thank you to liloo.

http://lilooblog.blogspot.com/

On another note I have forgotten how to do links. I once knew but have now forgotten. Oh, dear...

So I assign each entrant a number in the order they commented, enter the numbers into random.org and press the button (and by crikey I thought my Mac had crashed because it wasn't an instant result today - weird) I got the winner.

So I'll be sending her an email in a minute. It's gemx. Of http://www.gemx.co.uk/sparkle/

Congrats to Gem. You know the drill. Address, please!

A demain!

W7 silver

2011-06-14T11:45:00.000+01:00

I can't honestly say I'm over crackle. I CAN honestly say I never much liked it in the first place except when used sparingly. Maybe an accent nail here or a tape mani there.

And a tape mani is what we have here. The W7 is pretty good. I'm not connoisseur enough to be able to distinguish between an OPI, Models Own or W7 silver crackle so I'll content myself with saying this is a perfectly good one and I definitely wouldn't buy another. In some lights it looks white or grey rather than silver if I'm going to quibble. No, I'm in no mood to quibble. Quibbling begone.

So what IS the next big thing????

Jenni

Leighton Denny Golden Girl

2011-06-13T11:45:00.000+01:00

Not much to say about this. 2 coats of perfection.

Except it doesn't suit me. But that's not that fault of the polish. There's surely a 'rule' about what gold works with what skin but I don't know it.

I'd characterise this as dirty gold or even brass. I don't know anyone who likes brass. It's only ever used as a pejorative adjective but this still manages to be a fine polish.

OR IS IT?

So far so GlossyBox giveaway...

2011-06-12T11:45:00.002+01:00

This is what's in it so far. There will be more.
Ends Tuesday 14th June.
For T&Cs click on the 'My Giveaway' box on the RH side.
There are 20 entrants thus far.
Everything is new except I've had a couple (meaning two) squidges of the NARS.

And a picture...just because....

Vivienne Westwood wedges - not any wedges but JELLY wedges that smell of bubblegum

Only £120!

#it'llNEVERhappen

Jenni

Not very seasonal as we head towards the solstice...

2011-06-11T11:45:00.001+01:00

China Glaze named it 'Mistletoe Kisses'
And a truly superb nail-paint this is
I got it from Raven
And made quite a good savin'
It was even approved by the Missus!

CG Mistletoe Kisses. I applied this over the LD Diamond Diva as that was still perfect after ...oh, aeons.

This is great! It was just a makeweight in my Raven Cosmetics package to make up to £15 and thus generate a 20% discount. But I am so glad I chose it. It's really theoretically too 'blue' to please me/suit me but I love it! Pure class. £3.95.

CG glass fleck at its very best.

I need back-up of this.

Jenni

A classic - (in verse)

2011-06-10T11:45:00.000+01:00

There's a polish I saw on the net
That I never thought that I'd get
I guess it's a classic
But I was boracic
And I haven't figured out a fifth line.....yet

CG Classic Camel. 2/3 coats. Quite thick but not horrendously so. Another fugly. I must show you my beloved fuglies some day. From Raven Cosmetics on a BOGOF. I got 3 CG and an OPI for £13.48 including P&P.

Any guesses as to which OPI? Clue: it's a green.

Jenni

Ya wanna see my boudoir?

2011-06-09T11:59:00.000+01:00

My mini Vivienne Westwood Boudoir. How much do I love this? Way more than Vince Disneur loved Jim (Apprentice reference). So that's quite a lot. I have 4!

Really, I shouldn't have posed it against a backdrop of IKEA filing-cabinet. It deserves something far more exotic but hey ho.

Mandarin, tobacco flower, vanilla are just a few of the constituents.

I succumbed to Lemony Flutter. The sales staff in LUSH are so persuasive though. I spent £20 on random stuff that I didn't intend to.

Now, who is working on smello-vision? Because beauty blogging NEEDS it. Imagine that I could transmit the odeur of Boudoir and LF to you as you read this ~~nonsense~~ riveting stuff. How powerful a sales weapon would that be???? Coz these two babies are strong. The fragrance force is strong within them. They shall not be denied.

Can someone explain why smello-vision does not/CANNOT be perfected?

Jenni

2true Crystal Lip Gloss 3

2011-06-08T13:26:00.000+01:00

I don't even like lipgloss but Superdrug had 3 2true items for £4.99 plus any lipgloss FREE so I had to have one....

It's quite funky for a lipgloss (which, did I mention, is a product I've no time for).
Sticky? Yes.
Sweet, sickly smell? Yes.
But I kinda like it.

When I say I like it I don't mean on ME but I like it conceptually. As it's sparkly.

What products do absolutely nothing for you but you know everyone else raves about them/it?

Jenni

Leighton Denny Diamond Diva

2011-06-07T11:45:00.001+01:00

Not too shabby.

Jenni

Bourjois Rose Corset

2011-06-06T15:44:00.001+01:00

It isn't rose.Well, roses can be this kinda shade but when we say 'rose' we don't think of this colour, do we?
It has nothing whatever to do with corsets that I can think of.
2 or 3 coats
Great Bourjois thick quality
Love the Bourjois brush
It's one of the shades du jour

Jenni
Is Bourjois too expensive? Discuss. Sorry to be so bossy.

Leighton Denny Diamond Ivory - almost same as yesterday but not...

2011-06-05T15:42:00.000+01:00

The Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover I bought really does remove cuticles but it also dries skin quite a bit. Has to be expected, I suppose, on the omelette-broken-egg principle.

The yellow nail is where I tried to introduce a little opacity with some gold polish but it didn't work. Or I just lost interest. I love this LD nevertheless and, if you have nice skin and nails, it would make you look very polished and professional. Now that's not at all how I see myself 99% of the time but you have to buck the trend (even your own trend) occasionally.

It was so sheer that I GOSH Rainbowed it and mattified. But the polish is still swoon-worthy.

Jenni

Leighton Denny Diamond Rose

2011-06-04T13:24:00.000+01:00

A tweet by Cali of Polishtopia (http://polishtopia.blogspot.com/) alerted me to the presence of LD on sale at TK Maxx. I've always wanted to try his stuff so this was my chance and I love it.

Diamond Ivory and Diamond Rose for £9.99. Above is Rose with GOSH Rainbow and mattified. OK, OK, it's sheer as a Hamburg whore's camisole (and I've BEEN to the Reeperbahn so I know this) and my dodgy, yellowed nails just can't tolerate that kind of exposure but it's just.....unutterably glorious polish. After 4 coats I had to add something to it but I love it. Everything. Finish, formula, bottle, handle, brush.

Hurrah for discount shops.

What's on your wish list for a product you may just try one day. Not something crazy like that Rodial Snake Serum at £125 but realistic.

Jenni

My Lena-style rant...

2011-06-03T12:18:00.000+01:00

Lena is so good at this. I'll give it my best shot but I don't think I have the vitriol a teenager naturally possesses. My vitriol gave out a while ago. Sad but true.

Promo pix

That's what gets my goat. Promo pix. How many times the last 2 days have I seen the new China Glaze crackle metals on my dashboard? Too damned many.
Is it just me or do other people find these pix bore them rigid?
I'd love to see some swatches. Show me some swatches. Actually I lie. China Glaze bring out some more crackles? I could get more excited about a re-run of the Royal Wedding with subtitles in Dutch. I might learn something.
In general though I do like to see swatches of new collections. Because polish when applied to the nail looks different in different contexts - light, skin colour, number of coats etc etc. So swatches are worth a thorough examination.
But a teeny picture of a bottle of nail polish just doesn't do it for me. And 6 teeny pictures is 6 times WORSE! Maybe this means I'm not as much of a nail fan as I thought....

Go on then. Play devil's advocate and argue in favour of promo pix. IF YOU CAN! Ha! You can't, can you. Ha!

Jenni

PS
This is how a professional teenager rants.
http://thestudentsguidetonailpolish.blogspot.com/2011/05/epic-rant-social-networking.html

TOWIE

2011-06-02T11:45:00.002+01:00

The only way is ETHICS (not what you were thinking huh?). OK, here's my ethical dilemma.

http://www.just-nice-things.co.uk/2010/04/15/gosh-holographic/

This is a photo of it on Helen's lovely nails. If you have this polish you should read her post because I didn't find this an easy polish to work with (impossible actually) and Helen tells you how to avoid the pitfalls. Thanks, Helen, for permission to use your pic.)

Yesterday I found 2 bottles of GOSH Holographic in Superdrug. Looks like they've been storing them in the dirty laundry basket since Methuselah was a lad but unused bottles they are nonetheless. I think they may have a supply that they dripfeed slowly onto the display.

So my plan is/was this - ebay them, hope to exceed the fiver I spent on each of them, spend the resulting profit on something I want. I tweeted my delight at finding them because I know they are fetching above RRP on ebay but my pleasure was short-lived. Why?

Well, I realised that there a lot of polish enthusiasts out there who didn't manage to get this polish when it was readily available and can't now easily afford or justify the prices these are commanding on ebay. Many (no, MOST) readers and bloggers are a lot younger than I and consequently less well-off and I began to feel rather guilty.

On the one hand I don't want to rip people off (but nobody forces you to buy polish and it's not quite like elevating grain prices in the developing world) but on the other hand there is a market for this and I'd like some more cash to splash as I'm having to be particularly careful at the moment because of my mother's nursing home fees (but is it OK for me to capitalise on my credit card to drive speculation?).

Plus I have another of these I only used once...

What do you think are the rights and wrong in this?

Jenni

2true 28

2011-06-01T11:45:00.000+01:00

Juicy jelly finish. 2/3 coats. My first little 2true pot as opposed to slimline cylinder. Yet another great polish. Subtle glass fleck/microglitter what-have-you.

I have raved about this brand so much that eyebrows have been raised and suspicions aroused (glad it wasn't aroused eyebrows) that I am showing (perhaps) unwarranted enthusiasm for 2true. I'd like to say that I am not now nor have ever been a FIFA executive and am consequently uncorrupted.

Not that I haven't tweeted the odd hint to 2true and beautyuk and GOSH that they might just like to send me some stuff. But, not entirely unsurprisingly, no packages have winged their way to me.

I actually like buying my own stuff. Independent type, me.

How much of what you feature do you buy with your own hard-earned?

Jenni

Giveaway data and what your dream products tell me...NARS Orgasm to be given away!

2011-05-31T11:45:00.000+01:00

The giveaway entries are revealing. (See giveaway in sidebar to the right). I expected some cosmetic savvy responses and I've learned a thing or two about current trends.

Discerning readers have identified the following as desirable/aspirational brands/products (not a comprehensive list):

Urban Decay - but of course!
Tom Ford fragrance
Chanel (and why not?)
argan oil (it is an interesting product and I'd never heard of it until I went to Marrakesh - goats in trees eating olives and passing the stones which are then ground to oil, who knew?)
MAC - not entirely unexpected
Laura Mercier - I'm a Laura virgin myself!
YSL Touche Eclat (this I have had and it was OK but not THAT brilliant)
Creme de la Mer (out of my league)
La Prairie - I tried Silver Rain and I loved it but
Kiehl - also good stuff by all accounts
Rodial - Rodial?
OCC Lip Tars got a mention - please, if you love your lips then do get some
Deborah Lippmann polish - you can add me to the list of the love-lorn
Clarins 230 - when was that last onsale and can someone show a bottle of it, please

Now I'd never heard of Rodial. Thought it was maybe shoes? No.

This is what Rodial has to say about the product pictured above.

Forever pushing boundaries, Rodial have gone one step further and present glamoxy snake serum.

Glamoxy snake serum helps relax expression lines with a unique combination of snake venom-like peptides and oxygen. The revolutionary oxygenated, viper-inspired serum contains syn-ake; a neuro peptide that mimics the effects of the Temple Viper's potent venom to instantly lift the face, freeze muscles and plump fine lines and wrinkles.

This a truly innovative and ground breaking addition to the glamtox skincare range, the question is 'How far will you go to look younger?'

-25ml

Benefits:

Encourages cell respiration to fill and plump the skin, whilst adding instant radiance.
Instant 3D plumping effect, and redensifys and moisturises the complexion.
Helps fade fine lines and imperfections and corrects skin tone.
Provides powerful antioxidant protection.

Any spelling errors are not mine btw. Guess the price? For 25ml. Well, I'm not telling. And I'm sorry to disappoint you but it's not going to be included in the giveaway box. Not even half a solitary ml. Because a miserable little 5ml (think a medicine spoon) would cost £25. So half a ml would be £2.50. And if you sneezed then...

We do need someone to review this though. Anyone got it? Or perhaps they have used it and become so young they are now a mere embryo and cannot therefore write.

Synthetic snake venom? Count me in.

Jenni

Celebrity jeans fell down! Shock horror!

2011-05-30T14:43:00.000+01:00

Coz this is the evil twinning of Barbara Daly Denim and Barielle Falling Star.

This is Barbara Daly Denim from Tesco. It's a horrid steely blue.

(Oh, and it was pointed out to me that it was the Greeks who came up with ba ba ba barbarians. True true.)

Oo, thought I when in the shop, this is very like Barielle Falling Star. This is why I am a rubbish nail blogger. Because that is a garbage observation.

See the microscopic coral glitter in the BD? The BD is more sheer (no, be honest, watery) than I'd like so I got out a tiddly make-up sponge on a stick and did a bit of a sponge gradient. Which is harder than you'd think because the Barielle dried on the nail almost at once. I need to work on that because it would be a good look when done well with different colours.

Any tips on sponge manis? Leanne of Do Not Refreeze is an expert on this as I recall. See what I mean?

http://www.donotrefreeze.com/

Jenni

Blue and green should never be seen...

2011-05-29T11:27:00.000+01:00

I think that's the commonly-held view.

Illamasqua Prism over Jessica Victorian Crush with a blob to disguise the little blips where the tape didn't lie flat.

It's an OK mani. The tip-wear on the Jessica wasn't great though...Or maybe it was the fault of the Illamasqua. How'm I to know..May just be that I'm not being thorough about wrapping the tips these days.

Very impressed by these stick-on stones from 2true. They don't half adhere! I topcoat them of course but they don't dislodge easily and I don't shield my hands/nails much in terms of protecting the stones from wear so I'm very pleased with their tenacity. ALSO they are a reasonable size. I bought oodles of little ones in dinky-winky bottles but I can't find a way to handle them so they're of no use. Boo.

Jenni

2true Fast Dry Shade 6

2011-05-28T12:52:00.000+01:00

It's not going to set the world on fire colour-wise. Hence the FlorMar layering. But it does glide on beautifully. OPI do a trillion shades like this but the OPI quality is unequivocally no better than this modest self-effacing product.

These polishe are like liquid plastic or something. The consistency is superb. I've only one more 2true to review. Boo hoo. Next step is to try the squat bottles. But they have a lot to live up to. Problemo.

Your cheapest budget polishes?

Jenni

Jessica Victorian Crush - whatever that is...

2011-05-27T15:41:00.000+01:00

Another sludge-green I simply had to have. And only got courtesy of ABOP and her RAOK.

http://anotherbottleofpolish.blogspot.com/search/label/jessica

Dear sweetie took note that I had admired this and just sent me a bottle! I had won a fab Diamond Cosmetics collection from her last year so she had my address already! Is she not a total sweetheart? She is also brilliant with her replies to comments.

The Jessica in this pic is the darker shade btw.

Name a fave blogger!

Jenni

This A-Z tag-thing that's doing the rounds...

2011-05-26T11:11:00.000+01:00

Not me (the hairy one or indeed the one in her flimsies). But this IS the style of bra I wear (see U for Underwear)....And this is an orang-utan from Chester Zoo (Z for Zoo).

A. Age:55

B. Bed size:Double. But my OH has her room too. And she has a double as well. Own rooms. The ONLY way to go. I like to be able to stretch and wriggle and read and have the light on and then off and then on again...Who wants to have to be considerate in bed?

C. Chore you hate: Cleaning and tidying. Hence our cleaner.

D. Day:????

E. Essential start to your day:Breakfast! The clue is in the name.

F. Favourite colour:Black. But I'm still fat even so...

G. Gold or Silver:Silver.But I don't know why.

H. Height:Five two on a tall day.

I. Instruments:Piano. Church organ. Taught myself clarinet. Recorder. Soprano and treble. Voice.
J.Job:Teacher

K. Kids:2 adult daughters plus a grandson and another grandchild due end of July

L. Live:Midlands/Worcestershire

M. Mum’s name:Barbara - amazing etymology - the Romans thought foreigners went 'ba ba ba ba ba' (a bit like rhubarb rhubarb, yeah?) so they called foreigners 'barbari' = barbarians

N. Nicknames:none that I know of

O. Overnight hospital stays:bovine TB aged 4, 2 C-sections, plastic surgery on ears, maybe more, one forgets

P. Pet peeve:noisy eaters....... mastication *shudders*

Q. Quote from a film:n/a - not a great film-buff

R. Right or left handed: right

S. Siblings:an older half-brother but he's a "secret"

T. Time you wake up:probably 7 but I can easily go back to sleep/read/sleep until 11 (see B for bed)

U. Underwear:how very dare you, OK, bra from Bravissimo (Panache Tango) and knickers from Marks mostly

V. Vegetables you dislike:sweetcorn (too sweet and sickly and it smells)

W. What makes you run late:I do try not to, I hate unpunctuality - maybe that's a pet peeve!

X. X-Rays you’ve had:plenty, plenty - teachers have to prove they don't have TB, broken arm, loads I should think...

Y. Yummy food you make:you jest - cook for me, please

Z. Zoo:Chester? Last went ages ago with a group of kids from school. One little "dear" threw something at an orang-utan who promptly threw it right back at him. A better shot than the lad too. How I laughed!

Huitres de la Garonne

2011-05-25T12:20:00.000+01:00

Oysters. Apparently. According to the OH who lived for a year or so in Les Landes as a tot and has a better command of French than I and some local knowledge. I was thinking more lizard or snake but what do I know?

The serendipitous accident that arose from the meeting of Utopia, GOSH Rainbow, FlorMar 02, Barry M black crackle and then FlorMar again.

You can see the huge gap which gives the game away in terms of how long I have had this polish on my nails....

Quite like this one.

Jenni

To tan or not to tan?

2011-05-24T12:00:00.003+01:00

Nubar Tan Me

Over Models Own Nayla Nude.

The big pustule (or rhinestone, if you prefer) on the ring finger is from a pack of 2true Crystal Couture.

The OH gets kinda fed up with endless mani changes so I have to eke out my manis by adding stuff to existing manis that are quick to do and quick to dry. Then there's the blogging time and the taking of photos. I can't devote all the quiet time I might like to doing this.

Next thing I need is nail tape. That looks to satisfy my criteria for ease and speed. But I'm on a no-buy. How to reconcile the conflict? *sighs*

So I may easily have to make an initial coat of paint last 5-6 days without getting too massively bored of the whole farrago.

What's your boredom threshold?

Jenni

A Utopian Rainbow

2011-05-23T12:00:00.001+01:00

i.e. Models Own Utopia + GOSH Rainbow mattified with Boots 17.

I am completely gaga for this combo of flakies + matte.
Good thing I have a back-up of Rainbow as I haven't seen it in Superdrug for a while.
I also have Nubar 2010 though so I should be OK for a while.

What are your essential back-up polishes?

Jenni

GIVEAWAY

2011-05-22T10:36:00.000+01:00

The "It'sNOTaGLOSSYbox" giveaway. Except that it IS a GlossyBox. As in the pink cardboard-thing. But the contents are....well, read on.

What d'you mean by that?
I take my GlossyBox er...box and fill it with little goodies. More than 5! Extra eco-green points to ME for reusing the box.

What goodies?
It's a surprise. Just like the contents of the GB itself are a surprise. I'm not telling you. BUT it does include NARS Orgasm 30ml. I confess to having had a couple of blobs from it but it's essentially full as I only got it on Wednesday and haven't used it every day.

OK, so what do I have to do?
You have to be a follower and tell me your email address and roughly where in the world you are e.g. Romania or Ruislip. Then you have to tell me in the comments box what 5 (probably expensive) products in the whole world you'd like to try one day. Hair, skincare, lippie, anything! Well, not rhino horn obviously. And I'm not sending you a kitten. And ultimately the winner will get more than 5 items in the box. Will have to see how much I can stuff in there.

Any other entries I can get myself?
Well, you could always blog or tweet about it but A) I won't check and B) I won't check. So it's just the comment-y thing.

Any restrictions?
Yes, EU only this time, I'm afraid. This may turn out to be a heavy box so I'm worried about P&P. Actually I don't know offhand all the countries in the EU so I'll say Europe.

Anything else?

You can always just tell me your 5 product list even if you're far, far away and can't win. Just for our mutual amusement.
The winner will be selected by random.org
Closes June 14th.

Jenni
All clear?

In the nude....

2011-05-21T13:36:00.000+01:00

Models Own Nayla Nude to be precise

I saw this on a blog somewhere/somewhen and really craved it. Got it in a 3-pastel set from asos. £12. Good value.

2/3 coats. I wasn't being very careful. It's not a brilliant formula but it's OK. A bit gloopy.
It reminds me of MAC Brown Bag. Can anyone comment authoritatively on that? I've always hankered after that but I'm kinda anti-MAC without knowing exactly why...
I like it a lot. Whilst sometimes not liking it. Which is good. One likes to be entertained.
Will go down as one of my beloved fuglies with Misa Hot Couture and so forth.
Finally - who has this natural skin-tone? Nude? In which country? Or indeed on which planet? Maybe I don't know enough people...

Jenni

What would a perfect world be like?

2011-05-20T16:11:00.000+01:00

Models Own Utopia

Because, without looking it up, that's what I suppose Utopia to be. Perfect world.
I have wanted this polish longtime.

It is pastel and it is a bit streaky. 3 coats for sure. You have to get a lot of polish on the brush. Easy it's not. Not by any stretch.
But the colour is unusual. I have over 1000 polishes now and it's unique in my stash.
Luckily I lemmed it and I love it.
Is it pink, lavender, lilac? Don't know.
The photo makes my hands look lobster but that's not the case irl.

You know any dupes for this?

Jenni

GlossyBox - orgasm!

2011-05-19T12:59:00.001+01:00

01 NARS Orgasm. 30ml
02 The proper lippie - not a mini
03 A little (4ml) phial of cleanser - looks very serious and clinical
04 Hair product
05 Body lotion 50ml

The box is majorly pretty/good quality.
It is opened by pulling at a tear-strip. MUCH MUCH better than loads of tape.
The contents have to be worth 10 squid of anyone's marine molluscs.

A resounding 100% satisfaction.

Jenni

Grossly misleading IMO.....RMK

2011-05-18T16:23:00.000+01:00

OK, I mattified it and added glitter to the middle finger and threw some GOSH Rainbow over a bunch of nails BUT BUT BUT BUT...see that word on the label? Yeah? Holographic.

Yes, and I'm the love child of Barbara Windsor and Stephen Hawking.

It is pink with blue shimmer is what it is. I got this from asos as it was much reduced and I like to have a representative polish from as many brands as I can. Good or bad. This isn't bad but it isn't effin' holographic.

Any tales of products which you consider badly mis-described? Also your best most holo-y holo?

Jenni

Matte flakies are better than shiny flakies..

2011-05-17T16:33:00.000+01:00

Well, that's what I think. I put GOSH Rainbow over the 2true to disguise the bubbles. Then I put matte over one nail just to see the effect.

Eureka! Glossy shine distracts from the flakies. Matte enhances them. QED.

This is a post-industrial sci-fi alienation counter-culture mani.

Do you agree with the matt flakies proposition?

Jenni

2true Fast Dry Shade 9

2011-05-16T16:46:00.000+01:00

This is unfair in a way because the bubbling is due entirely to me using the wrong product as topcoat. It mucked up my other hand too which sports a different polish. Totally my fault.

Big sorry to 2true because this is another great polish - 2 coats and you're done. The accent nail is Pop Beauty Twinkle which is a bottle of liquid joy.

Is anyone else suffering dry skin at the moment? I think I may have been neglecting my hand-care regime but maybe it's... sunspots! Or...........something in the water? Any ideas?

Jenni

Lilac ombre with beauty uk

2011-05-15T09:55:00.000+01:00

This goes:
Little finger Lilac
Ring - Lilac plus a coat of FlorMar (OK, this makes it too blue, I know)
Middle - Soft Lilac
Index and thumb - Cotton Candy

It works alright conceptually but what I can assure you is that the beauty uk polishes continue to be great successes. 2 or 3 coats and you're done. Very pleased with the quality. Days were that cheap polish was sh!t quality. Those days seem long-gone. If you can buy it in a reputable shop then that's your guarantee that it's good stuff.

The apparent crustiness on my fingers is where I went overboard with base coat. Oops.

BIG APOLOGIES

I'm not keeping up well with comments

I'm not fulfilling all my promises to mention people when I said I would

*smacks hand and vows to do better*

Jenni (What kind of things do you beat yourself up about and how do you make amends/improve?)

Orly Galaxy Girl - OPI This Little Piggy

2011-05-14T10:00:00.000+01:00

OK, so it isn't really anything like Galaxy Girl unless you're partially sighted or have imbibed far, far too freely of the juice of the vine. But it's nice.

The darkest 2true shade from the Fast Dry range plus an OPI topping after a coupla days of wear.

I'm having to layer to bring some variety into my life as I'm on a no-buy.

News tomorrow about:
a blog award
the identity of my mysterious Jessica benefactress

IF you were on a no-buy what would you currently be craving? Hell, what ARE you currently craving?

Jen

Barbara Daly oil-free foundation in Ivory

2011-05-13T17:57:00.002+01:00

This is AFTER.

This was the 'before'.

See the difference? Not bad, huh?
Around a fiver. Reduced at the moment.
Has a silly spatula-like applicator like you get in a little tub of ice-cream at the pictures. What's that all about? Barking.
I apply it/dab it on with a sponge. I apply all foundation with a sponge. Don't like icky fingers.
It didn't cover the yukky spot but it evened out the rubbish skin-tone.

Pity you have to go to Tesco to get it! Horrid, big shop.

Jenni