No 7 - Golden Palms

This is a Limited Edition polish from a little while back now, last summer maybe, or even the summer before, so unfortunately I don't think it's still available.

 

 

Golden Palms is a bronze based polish but in certain lights it has a sort of golden purple colour shift which make it really pretty and a bit more exciting than a flat bronze.

 

The formula isn't great, these pictures are 3 thick-ish coats and there are still patches where it looks quite thin, I forgive No7 for the thin formula though as this is a beautiful, glowy polish.

 

It changes to a much darker orange bronze when it's out of bright or direct light.

No7 Disco Ball

I picked up this No7 polish using a money off voucher last week, it's one half of a current collection of glitter top coats, Sun Rays which I showed you previously is the other.

 

 

I don't think Disco Ball is the best name for this polish, yes it's sparkly but it's not the most sparkly polish I've ever seen and to me a disco ball would be pure silver whereas this polish has a sort of lilac lean to it and almost blue toned glitter pieces depending on the light.

 

It applied nicely and although it's supposed to be a top coat it's fully opaque in three coats, you might even get away with two if you were careful.  Unfortunately it's chippy, large pieces peel off the nail fairly fast which makes this a night out polish rather than one to wear for any length of time.

 

Green & Gold Glitter

 

Today's festive finger colours come from Kiko, 441 Illusion Green from the Digital Emotion Collection, and No7, Sun Rays.  Sun Rays is a limited edition polish, I think, it's sold on the Boots website, HERE.  If you see it in store grab it, it's a goody!  Totally opaque golden glitter in just two coats!

 

 

Illusion Green is a perfect Christmas green; bright and sparkly the base is a gelly type texture (meaning you really do need three coats unless you're using a base colour) jam packed full of tiny circle and strand holographic glitter.  It's SO sparkly in real life the pictures just don't do it justice.

 

Both polishes applied well and feel relatively smooth with a quick coat of top coat.  I love the combination of green and gold, it's sort of reminds me of a decorated Christmas tree, especially since it's so sparkly.

 

I think these lovely glitters could be just the thing to add a few stickers too, or maybe some stamping?  Stand by tomorrow to see what I decide to go with!

Betty Blue - No7

I decided my nails needed chopped last night, after doing that I felt the urge for some dark navy polish so I applied Betty Blue from No7.

 

In the bottle there is a faint blue shimmer through the polish, created by lots of tiny glitter particles but on the nail it's pretty much impossible to see which is a shame.

Models Own Hayley's Comet

I've posted about this polish before when I wore it over black polish but I wanted to try and get it to look more like it does in the bottle with a sort of browny tone to it, so this time I decided to apply it over Beanie by No7 which is a sort of browny taupe colour.

 

Initially, it looked great and definitely gave me the look I wanted however I painted my nails before going out to the cinema and didn't leave enough time for them to dry (mostly due to the fact Beanie has gone all vile and took 3 coats to become even so I was sporting 5 coats of polish in the end) and they got totally massacred. :(

 

I've decided to stick a quick picture up anyway to give you an idea of the colour but excuse the state of the chips and dents, I was tempted to re-do the manicure the next night but I didn't love it enough to do the exact same things again.

 

 

It's a lovely browny wine polish with turquoise shimmer through it, in a lot of lights it looks very blue toned but I've managed to get a couple of (chipped) pictures of the duochrome effect which give you an idea of how it looks on.

 

 

It reminds me a little of Urban Decay Bruise which is handy since it's discontinued and no longer available.  I'll definitely be using this polish again some time soon but I'll make sure I have a better base colour or longer to let it dry before I do!

 

No7 Violetta

Two coats of No7 Violetta today.  In outdoor light it looks quite purple and you can see why it would be called Violetta.

 

 

Indoors it takes on a much darker grape colour.

No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Brush

Boots No7 have recently lunched they're new Cleansing Brush and it's currently on offer for just £15, that's nearly £10 off it's RRP.  As far as I know the offer runs until the end of this month (Feb 2013).

 

I was keen to try it out as I have been lusting after a Clarisonic for ages now but there is no way I could justify the £100+ price tag so when No7's budget version appeared I knew I had to take one home with me.

 

 

The brush is battery powered, unlike the Clarisonic, and comes with two AA batteries to get you started.  I've only been using mine for just over a week now so I can't comment on battery life by suffice to say they definitely last more than a week at a time which was an initial concern. (Update 19th June 2013): I have changed the batteries once since having the brush so I can now safely say that one set of batteries will do you for several months of use.

 

The brush is a very sleek, simple design made up simply of the body of the brush and the detachable brush head (replacements can be bought in packs of 2 for £8), there's only one button which controls the heads two speeds.

 

The brush head itself is fairly large and the bristles are beautifully soft, unlike the Clarisonic which oscillates back and forth the No7 version does spin a full 180 degrees when it's working.

 

So far I have been using speed one (the slower setting) to do my cheeks and then using speed 2 (which is faster) to do my t-zone and more stubborn areas on my face.

 

The brush comes complete with instructions, which I have taken a photos of to show you to save me typing them all up, lazy, I know. :)

 

As I said I have been using the brush for just over a week now and so far I am really impressed.  Rather than buy a new cleanser to use with it I have been alternating between No7 Hot Cloth Cleanser, Superdrug, Hot Cloth Cleanser and Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish all of which seem to work pretty well with it.

 

The brush definitely feels like it is exfoliating but isn't so rough as to feel like it's damaging the skin, I haven't noticed a huge change in the appearance of my skin but it definitely feel softer and well exfoliated and I haven't had any break outs of trouble with my skin while using it.

 

For £15, or even for £24.95, the Cleansing Brush is worth trying out, for me it gives a similar level of exfoliation and cleaning as using a muslin cloth does and it definitely leaves my skin feeling clean and well cleansed so for those who have been lusting after a Clarisonic and not quite been able to justify the price I would urge you to try out this budget version.

 

All in all a good job by No7.  Have you tried the new cleansing brush?  What do you think?

 

Update (19th June 2013): Just a quick update now I have been using this brush for a good while.  I am still really liking it, it leaves my skin feeling well exfoliated without that over raw feeling you can get from harsher exfoliators and it does seem to have made a difference to the troublesome blackheads around my nose.  Although I'd still love to try a Clarisonic I'm happy to stick with this excellent budget version for now as it really does seem to do the job it's meant for.

No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser

As part of my ongoing search to try and find a bargain alternative to my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish I decided to pick up No7's version while I had a £5 off voucher.  The voucher meant that the cleanser was just under £5 which for 200ml of product and a muslin cloth is a pretty good deal.

 

 

As with the Superdrug hot cloth cleanser I tried recently this is a nice product, it feels fairly thick and luxurious when you pump some out of the tube and it applies nicely onto my face.  The smell is very neutral, it doesn't have the same sort of obvious (and in my opinion, lovely) botanical scent that LE, and even the Superdrug cleanser, has.  No7's version is much more subtle, to me it smells the way a lot of unscented products smell, not a major downside but I do like my face products to smell good and this one doesn't really smell at all other than vaguely of generic 'face stuff'. :)

 

It removes make up well and leaves my skin feeling clean and soft, it doesn't seem to leave the same slight dryness that the Superdrug version did so it seems more moisturising.  Altogether not a bad hot cloth cleanser, but again, while I am happy to use it up I wouldn't swap my Cleanse and Polish for it unless I was on a serious budget.

 

It looks like when it comes to hot cloth cleansers Cleanse and Polish is still the original and the best, sometimes you do get what you pay for.

Silver Stamping

Today I have a very simple stamping manicure to show you, over the top of Winter Tale from the other day I added Barry M Silver Foil Effect using Bundle Monster plate BM206.

 

 

I'm really pleased with how this turned out, it's simple and delicate and very pretty.  I love the little heart in the middle of the stamped image. <3 p="">

No7 Winter Tale

Today's polish is a new shade (I think,I've certainly never seen it before the recent re-brand) from No7 at Boots.  Winter Tale is a sort of dove grey lilac shade which in certain lights seems to have almost minky greige shades to it, it's really quite complex for a grey polish. :)

 

You may also note the chopped nails, winter and various things needing done in the flat are not being kind to them so they had to come down in length.

 

These pictures show 3 coats, two would probably have been sufficient but I felt 3 was the ideal for a totally opaque look, it applied nicely. 

 

Winter Tale is an interesting polish and I'm glad I picked it up, it's a sort of neutral shade that you could easily wear to work but a little more interesting than a plain nude sort of shade.

 

It has a bit of added interest in the way it changes colour depending on what light you are in.  Definitely worth picking up if you're in the market for a nice, interesting grey.

 

No7 Pinky Pure

A very plain and simple manicure today (I'll probably stamp it or add something on top tonight, I can't go two days with something so subtle on my nails!).  This is 3 coats of No7 Pinky Pure:

 

 

It's a pale, baby pink shade.  It's not great to apply, hence the 3 coats, and can be a bit streaky but once it's on it's a nice subtle shade, although it does remind me a little of Pepto-Bismal or Calamine Lotion. :)

Houndstooth

Here is a quick manicure I did with one of my new GALS stamping plates, I used GA2 for this one along with Lucky Lilac by No7 and Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Plum for the stamping.

 

 

 

I'm a little annoyed at how smudged these look in the photos, the stamping wasn't perfect but you really can't tell in person whereas in the pictures they look very messy.

 

 

Overall I was pleased with this look, they looked almost like nail foils or stickers as the pattern covered the whole nail so well.

Santa & Golden Sparkles

Another festive manicure today, this time I used Barry M White as a base on most fingers with a Models Own Scarlett Sparkle accent on my index finger and added a LE Boots N07 gold glitter over the top.  I also added in a couple of little Christmas stickers, Santa and a Christmas tree today, here's the results:

 

 

I'm please with how this turned out, you can't beat a little bit of festive glitter!

Star Shower & Stick on Flowers

I decided to do a quick addition to my manicure from the other day so I could leave it on another day and not get too bored, I used a sheet of tiny white daisy stickers which I bought in Spain while visiting my parents.

 

 Nothing too exciting but I do like these delicate little daisies.

No7 Stay Perfect Top Coat Comparison

As I mentioned previously No7 have recently re-packaged a lot of their products, including their quick drying top coat which is one of my favourites and a definite staple in my collection. 

 

I've always identified the top coat as 'the one that says touch dry in 60 seconds on the front' and the new bottle doesn't have this so I was keen to pick up the new bottle and check if it was the same product inside or whether there had been a cheeky change of formula too.  After a lovely friend sent me her spare No7 voucher, I decided to pick up a bottle and test it out.

 

Here are the two bottles, side by side:

Left: New Bottle, Right: Old Bottle

 

The new bottle does still have 'touch dry in 60 seconds' on it, it's just been moved to the back of the bottle.  The bottles are a similar shape and the same size (10ml), the only major change, other than shifting some of the text around, is that the new cap is white rather than black.

 

 

The brushes are also very similar, the newer style looks a tiny bit more rounded and possibly slightly plumper but there was no difference in how the top coat applied using the new brush.

 

Left: New Brush, Right: Old Brush

 

Formula wise I would say this is the same top coat formula, I've used it a couple of times now and really can't see a difference in application, drying time or wear.  It seems like it's purely a new bottle from No7 to fit in with their re-branding. 

The only difference I noticed was that the new bottle seemed to be a very slightly runnier consistency, however that could be due to it being brand new and me comparing it with an older bottle that I had been using a while which has no doubt thickened up a bit with use.  There really was no difference once it was applied to the nail and I suspect with time it will also thicken up a bit like it's predecessor.

 

So, excellent news for me and anyone else who was a fan of the top coat in it's previous incarnation it looks like the formula is just as it was, No7 obviously know not to mess with an already winning formula.

 

No7 Star Shower

I was in Boots the other day having a look at the new No7 counter, they've recently re-branded and re-packaged all of their products and changed round the counters, the majority of the products seem to be similar to what was there before but there are a few new products, including this nail polish shade which I picked up, Star Shower.

Star Shower is a strange sort of colour, on first glance it remind me of Urban Decay's Stash eyeliner pencil or a polish which wouldn't look out of place in the Orly Cosmic FX collection of a few years back.  A sort of murky grey, green, gold combination with the addition of bronze coloured flakies and very fine blue glitter particles too. 

All the glitter and flakies give it a sort of duochrome look, changing through grey, gold and brown depending on how the light hits it.  It's a very interesting colour, very shimmery and glittery but still quite subtle.  It's the sort of glitter that's suitable for people who don't really wear glitter. 

Now on to some nail shots, ignore the fact I have had to crop out my index finger, I've had a mauled cuticle incident and nobody needs to see it in it's current state:

These pictures are 3 coats on bare nails but I'd be interested to try it as a top coat over a black or dark blue to see how that changed the look of the polish. 

 

I bought this polish with a Boots voucher, which gives £3 off any cosmetics purchase.  The nail polishes are now £5.50 so with a voucher the polish cost just £2.50.  More expensive than it used to be when using a £5 off voucher but still a pretty good deal.