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.

 

GOSH Frosted Sand - Gold Frosted

I picked two of these polishes up on a whim when I was in Superdrug the other day, they had £2 off all GOSH cosmetics so the polishes set me back just £1.99 each.  I've been slightly obsessive about textured sand polishes of late and I don't have a proper gold one so when I saw this for such a bargain price I couldn't resist.

 

 

It's a lovely pure gold colour, quite pale but VERY sparkly and it applies beautifully, this is two coats and as you can see it's fully opaque.  It also dried nice and fast as tends to be the case with these textured polishes.

 

The polish is made up of the base of fine glitter particle and also has the extra sparkly addition of larger gold glitter bits to make it super shiny and extra textured.

 

I really love this polish, it's very elegant and would be a perfect party shade.  Look out for swatches of the other shade I bought coming soon...

Bundle Monster H18 Stamping

I used a plate from Bundle Monster's Holiday Collection for this manicure, H18 which is a love / Valentine's sort of theme, I just used it because I liked the pretty pattern.

 

 

I use Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Blueberry, a dark blue colour, for the stamping over yesterday's Coloured Speckled manicure and I'm really pleased with how it turned out, the glittery base adds a little extra to the overall look I think.

 

I really like the Holiday Collection from Bundle Monster, despite being themed around certain holidays or events there are tonnes of designs which can be used whenever and aren't just tied into a holiday or event making it a useful set even if you aren't big on tying your manicures to life events.



Yes Love - Coloured Speckled - Blue

I have a lovely blue polish to show you today, it's one of Yes Love's Coloured Speckled polishes which I was given as a gift by my lovely friend D a little while ago.

 

 

The polish consists of a blue crelly (jelly cream) base with various sizes and colours of glitter speckled through it, these pictures are three coats, two cover adequately but I like to add a third for extra glitter bit goodness.

 

I think these polishes will be pretty hard to track down if you're based in the UK but if you happen to be in Europe for a holiday then it's well worth keeping an eye out as Yes Love do some rather fantastic dupes of polishes from much more expensive lines.



Kiko - Digital Emotion - 440 - Electron Blue

Electron Blue is another polish from the Digital Emotion Collection which was Kiko's Christmas release last year, I've posted about the others from the collection already and today is the turn of my fourth purchase.

 

It's nice and glittery but it's not as holographic as the others in the collection which is a bit of a shame.  It's still a pretty shade though and does have nice sparkle.

 

The polish covers well in two to three coats, you can generally get away with 2 but adding the third means you get a more 3D look to the layers of glitter.

 

 

 

Kiko - Sugar Mat - 456 Teal Green

Another in my long list of Kiko Sugar Mat posts today, this is 456 from the Sugar Mat Collection Box I got just before Christmas, which is a deep teal green sort of colour.

 

 

This one also has a little silver teal sparkle running through it which is very pretty and as with all the Sugar Mats it applies beautifully and is opaque in just two coats, this collection are also super fast drying which makes them great as a speedy manicure choice.

 

I really love the colour of this polish, it's a lovely bright, blingy shade but still feels quite sophisticated.

 

Double Stamping

This manicure didn't quite turn out how I was hoping, and I've cleverly forgotten to take a note of which stamping plates I used so it's not going to be the most useful of blog posts ever. :)

 

They're both from the Bundle Monster Create Your Own collection and the polish I used to stamp is a pink to purple Chameleon polish from Barry M and Gold Foil, also Barry M.

 

 

Unfortunately these pictures have highlighted the tip wear quite badly, it wasn't noticeable in person but it certainly is in the pictures so apologies for that.

Kiko 341

I felt like something different today so I chose a bright blue Kiko shade, one which is probably more suited to summer, 341.

 

It's a lovely bright blue cream colour which is totally opaque in just two coats.

 

Although it's definitely more of a summer colour it was nice to have something bright and bold on my nails after all the festive shades I've had on.

 

 

Kiko Sugar Mat - 451 - Apricot

451 Apricot is another of the polishes from the Kiko Sugar Mat Nail Lacquer Set which I have posted about a fair bit recently.  I am slowly working my way through the set and trying out each colour and today was the turn of this peachy little number.

 

As with all of this set it applies nicely, is opaque in two coats and dries quickly. I have to say it's not one of my favourite shades from the collection though, it's a tiny bit insipid for me, for lovers of nude of neutral nails it should be a favourite though.

 

There are tiny pinky peach glitter particles throughout the polish which add a bit of extra interest but for me, and in particular with my skin tone, it's just a bit too pale and wishy washy.

 

Kiko Sugar Mat - 454 - Wine

Another polish from the Sugar Mat Nail Lacquer Set today, this time 454 Wine.

 

 

I pretty much love ALL of the Sugar Mats and this one is no exception, it's a burgundy wine shade with a subtle glittery shimmer.

 

It applied beautifully, is opaque in two coats and dries lovely and fast.  I love these polishes and they are definitely my lazy day option as they are so quick and easy to apply.

 

Kiko - 442 - Techno Black

Techno Black is another polish from Digital Emotion, Kiko's Christmas Collection for 2013.  This is the polish I had on for New Year.  I was planning on stamping over it but yet again time overtook me and I ended up just leaving it plain.  Thankfully in person it's a lovely blingy holographic glittery shade so it still felt fairly party appropriate.

 

 

It's pretty much impossible to get a photo which shows how sparkly and lovely this polish is so you'll have to trust me that in person it is very glittery and gorgeous.

 

It applies nicely and two coats leave it opaque, I did three as I like to have a really good layered coverage with these sort of glitter polishes as it makes them seem more three dimensional.

 

Kiko - 437 - Intuitive Pink

Intuitive Pink is a polish from the Digital Emotion Collection, Kiko's Christmas Collection for 2013 and for me it is by far the winner from the 6 polishes released, I only have 4 of the 6 but I am willing to bet I couldn't love the two I don't have any more than I love this.

 

 

Intuitive Pink is rammed full of pink and holographic glitter pieces, I used a pale pink base but alone it would easily cover in three coats, maybe two.  It's impossible to capture how super sparkly it is in photos, particularly these photos which I took while feeling very delicate on Boxing Day.

 

This was my Christmas Day manicure, I'm a little late posting it - I know - I was hoping to have something much more festive and fancy but as it was I was so busy on Christmas Eve that I decided just chucking on something quick but sparkly was the way to go.

 

I'm pleased I did because I loved having this polish on, so much so that I have been struggling not to put it back on for the last week, it's so gorgeous and glittery and holographic in person that it's hard to stop looking at it, hopefully next time I wear it I might manage to get a slightly better representation in picture form to show you.  In the meantime if you like it then grab it quick, Digital Emotion is a LE collection so it won't be around forever.

 

Yankee Candle - Q1 2014 - New Fragrances

New Year new Yankee Candle fragrances for Q1.  This selection are very definitely looking forward to warmer weather and holidays, I think, that or distracting ourselves from the cold UK weather by dreaming of far off parts.  There are 3 floral scents and two mixed 'scene setting' sort of scents in the collection this time.

 

 

First up, Champaca Blossom: The rare beauty and joyful spirit of enchanting champaca blossoms come to life in this captivating fruity floral nectar.

 

 

Second of the floral scents is Lovely Kiku; The flower of happiness the elegant, rejuvenating perfume of chrysanthemum blossom and warm vanilla.

 

 

The final floral is Pink Hibiscus; Bright and beautiful the effervescent, slightly citrus bouquet of delicate tropical hibiscus petals is always inviting.

 

 

Next up is Under The Palms, I'm really excited to try this one out; Imagine yourself in a hammock or stretched out on an oversized beach towel. Palm trees swaying gently above you, providing a relaxing respite from the sun. The sky the most beautiful shade of blue. This fragrance is like that cool, refreshing shade . . . a lush, green scent of sea grass, palm leaves, and island coconut.

 

 

Finally another scent I am looking forward to trying the previously US only scent of Midnight Oasis; Across quiet sands, a midnight breeze mixes with island citrus and warm sandalwood.

 

I'm looking forward to trying all of these although it will be hard to leave the warm, cosy, foody scents of winter that I am burning just now behind while it's still so cold outside!

Miners - Tin O Tint

Quite a while back I found a few of these retro looking little tins in T J Hughes a sort of discount department store, I picked up Cherry, Watermelon and Vanilla (there's a bargain set of those versions HERE if you are interested) and they've served me well.

 

Tin O Tint does pretty much what it says on the, well, tin!  They are little pots of deliciously scented, tinted lip balm which add a touch of colour while also keeping your lips moisturised.

 

While browsing online recently I saw there were three newer shades and I decided to order them and try them out too, I'm a sucker for owning a full set of things.

 

 

The new versions are Pink Grapefruit a bright Barbie sort of pink shade, Mango a gorgeous coral and Cocoa Bean which is a nudey brown sort of shade.  They all smell like you would imagine their namesakes to.

 

My favourite of the bunch has to be Mango, it's got a lovely fruity scent and when applied it adds a gorgeous glossy pop of coral colour to the lips.

 

These little tins are ideal if you want something to leave in your handbag or on your desk to add a subtle pop of colour to your lips throughout the day, they're not as bold or bright as a lip stick but they are a bit more made up looking than a plain lip balm.  The texture of them is lovely too.

Skinfood - Good Afternoon Berry Berry Tea BB Cream

As I mentioned in my recent post about the Apple Cinnamon version of this BB Cream, I liked the first three versions of this range so much that I felt like I had to give the other two a try too.  The final version in the Good Afternoon BB Cream range is Berry Berry Tea which I am showing you today.  The packaging is the same as all the others in the range, pretty and fairly luxurious feeling.

 

Berry Berry Tea smells really nice, it's a soft creamy scent, fruity but also a little flowery, I really like it.  It's very pleasant to apply to your face as it's a delicate feminine sort of scent which isn't too overpowering.

The BB cream applied nicely, it feels quite mattifying on the skin as it goes on but feels slightly less moisturising than some of the others in the range.  Berry Berry is described as a wrinkle smoothing and concealing BB cream that smooths fine lines and dents while evening out skin tone with anti-ageing superfood acai berry and raspberry because of that I was expecting it to feel very creamy when it went onto the face but in reality it wasn't any more than the others in the range. 

 

So far I can't say I've noticed any great improvement in wrinkles but it does leave the skin looking nice and smooth and give a medium coverage which for me is what a BB cream should do.

 

When I tried this one on my hand I though it looked a bit more orange than the others from the range but once it was on my face it looked absolutely fine and there was no issue with the shade at all, this one is shade 1 again as it suits my skin 90% of the time when I don't have a tan.

Overall I like this BB cream but I don't think it would be top of my list in the range, stand by for a full round up of all the shades and my top pick from the collection very soon.