Maybelline Colorshow Crystalize Nail Polish - Nearly Black

Another textured polish today, this time from Maybelline.

 

 

Nearly black is, as the name suggests, a black base with lots of multicoloured shimmery glitter particles through it, it reminds me of the night sky or maybe of fireworks or some sort of gem stone.

 

As with all of the textured polishes it dries fairly quickly to a matte finish.

 

Maybelline Color Show - Street Artist Top Coat

I saw this new, to me, range in Superdrug the other day on offer - buy one get one half price - and couldn't resist picking up a couple.  I chose White Splatter and Alley Attitude.

 

 

Today I have pictures of White Splatter, the polish on the left.  It's a clear base full of different sized and shaped glitter.  There are various sizes of hexagonal glitter, some long strands and some tiny tiny pieces which look like glitter specks.  The colours are a mix of purple, blue, green and white.  I decided to try it out over a light purple base (Kiko 331).

 

 

These pictures show just one coat which I think you'll agree gave great coverage.  Although you have to dab the glitter on rather than brush it on like you would a regular polish one dip into the bottle and dab on the nail leaves you with tonnes of sparkly pieces on the nail.

 

You could probably build up a few layers for a more 3D glitter look but I think it's rather lovely with just the one coat, it definitely lives up to it's graffiti name, to me it looks like paint splatters on the nail, I can't wait to try it out over other base colours too.

Gosh Frosted Sand - Purple Frosted

I showed you the Gold from this collection the other day, there's also a silver which I don't have...yet.  The purple is similar to the gold in finish and effect but instead of gold it's purple toned, although in some lights I think it looks quite grey.

 

 

Again it's beautifully sparkly and the chunky glitter adds an extra interest to the polish, I think this one looks a little like certain types of tarmac on frosty mornings.

 

The application is nice and easy and the polish is fast drying, so all in all I can see this being a polish I wear again very soon; it's pretty, sparkly and a little bit different.

 

Wedding Nails: Maybelline - Brocades - Rosy Rosettes

As promised as update on my wedding nails from the weekend.  My oldest cousin was getting married and I wanted something sparkly and gorgeous on my nails to match my dress, I chose Rosy Rosettes from the Maybelline Brocades range.

 

 

This is three coats with top coat, as you can see it's a lovely bright berry red shade with lost of sparkly hex glitter and a micro glitter base.  There are golden pink tones through it which makes it very sparkly and festive looking so I expect this will get another outing over Christmas too.

 

And just in case you're nosy like me here's a quick shot of the whole wedding outfit so you can see what I was matching my nails to.

Sparkly Haul - Part 2

There is only one person to blame for this mini sparkly haul and that's Claire from Nuthin' but a nail thing.  Her recent post on the best of all the textured polishes, along with her lovely photos, meant that I had to add a few more to my collection, that combined with Superdrug having a 3 for 2 on all cosmetics at the moment meant that I came away with these three pretties:

 

 

Barry M Nail Effect Textured Nail Polish in Lady

2True Sequins in Naomi

Maybelline Brocades in Rosy Rosettes

 

Lady is a second attempt to get a white textured polish which I like, I really didn't get on with Celestial Pearl, the very similar looking polish from Seventeen, so I am hoping I'll like Barry's version better.

 

Rosy Rosettes looked so lovely in Claire's pictures that I couldn't resist and I thought it might go with an outfit I am wearing to a wedding soon so that was all the excuse I needed to buy it, plus it'll be lovely over Christmas for a festive manicure.

 

Naomi is just pretty, and reminded me of a friend who recently passed away so it seemed like a perfect choice for my third polish to complete the trio.



Maybelline - Brocades - Foil Flash

A second Brocade to show you today this time Foil Flash which looks very silver in the bottle, however on the nail there is a distinctly golden flash to it, as you can see in the photo below.

 

 

These pictures are 3 coats although two would probably have done as it's quite an opaque polish.  The base is a shifting silver gold colour made up of tiny glitter particles and then there are larger silver hex glitter too.

 

 

Like it's sister polish from the same collection, Knitted Gold, Foil Flash is super foily and sparkly, another brilliant polish for the upcoming holidays

Maybelline Brocades - Knitted Gold

Maybelline in the US have a page on their website about these polishes but as far as I can tell we only get 4 in the UK and they seem to have different names. :)

 

I picked up two, the first of which I have to show you today, Knitted Gold.

 

 

First up, this polish was a bugger to photograph, it's so foily and shiny that it's almost impossible to get a decent picture of it, I'll forgive Maybelline this though as the impossible to photograph foil finish is gorgeous on your nails; super, super sparkly and foil like this is definitely the sort of polish I will be bringing out around the festive season.

 

These pictures are three thin coats and it covers pretty well for a glitter polish, the polish is made up of a sheer base crammed full of minuscule golden glitter particles and two sizes of larger pink hex glitter.  Application was pretty easy, it goes on nicely and doesn't require too many coats.

 

I added a couple of layers of top coat to fully smooth it out.  The wear time is pretty good, I have one annoying chip on my index finger but other than that it seems to have held up pretty well which isn't always the case with glitter formulas.

 

All in a very pretty polish and super sparkly, ideal for festive parties.

Sparkly Haul

I had some Advantage Card points to spend so I decided to take advantage of Boots 3 for 2 offers and pick up some polish, without meaning to a created a bit of a glittery sparkly theme, here's what I got...

 

First up two if the Seventeen Rock Hard Couture polishes; Charm Bracelet and Celestial Pearl.  I've been meaning to pick these up for ages now but I've been good and waited until there was an offer on.

 

I also picked up one of the textured Barry M polishes; Countess.  I was tempted by others but I already have a few pink textured polishes from the Kiko Sugar Mat collection and the other two in the collection are basically exact dupes of the Seventeen colours above.  

 

I grabbed the new LE bar glitter polish that Boots have available at the moment too, it's a mix of pink, green and blue bar glitter in a clear base.

 

Then two of the new Maybelline Brocades; Foil Flash and Knitted Gold.  I've seen the US collection pictures of these (they seem to have 8) and so I had to try a couple when I saw that Maybelline UK had 4 available, there's also a grey/black and a red but I preferred the silver and gold ones.

 

Finally, Rimmel Space Dust in Total Eclipse.  Since getting back online after the purchase I've realised this is another matte finish textured polish which I didn't know in the shop.  It's a gorgeous colour so I'm looking forward to trying it both with and without a topcoat to see which is prettiest.

 

Look out for swatches over the next few days, I have enough new colours to keep me busy for a good few manicure now. :)  A good use of my hard earned points, I think.



Maybelline Baby Lips - Cherry Me & Pink Punch

I've been keen to try out the Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms for ages now, they're really popular in America and have recently launched in the UK and there's been a fair amount of hype about them online so I decided to pick up a couple to try them out.  I chose Cherry Me and Pink Punch, two of the tinted versions which as well as moisturising give a hint of colour to your lips as well.

The packaging is super cute, I've read some reviews saying it's a bit too tween and childish but I really like the tubes, they're bright and funky and easy to find in your handbag which is always a plus for me, the official pictures from the Maybelline site show them off well.

The lip balms come in a cardboard backed package which is a little wasteful but does mean Maybelline can cram on a bit more information than there is on the tubes and you get a nice fresh lip balm which definitely hasn't been tested on anyone's hand in store before you buy it!

So far I am liking both of the lip balms, they do seem nicely moisturising and they smell amazing, Pink Punch in particular is very moreish, it has a sort of tropical fruit scent to it which I love (it reminds me of Capri Sun's Tropical Fruit flavour - I think it might be passionfruit I can smell?).  As lip balms go they moisturise well but they don't seem to last a hugely long time which means you will have to keep topping them up if you want a freshly moisturised feel and glossy look all day.

As you can see, the two I chose are coloured in the tube.

They're not hugely pigmented but they do leave a nice colour on your lips.  Cherry Me is a red shade and Pink Punch is a cooler, Barbie sort of pink.  I like the pink shade but it is quite pale so it may not suit every skin tone.

Overall I am pretty pleased with these, I got mine on a 2 for £5 offer in Superdrug but they normally retail at £2.99 each.  I've previously review Miss Sporty Dr Balm tinted lip balms HERE and HERE which are only £1.99 each, so slightly better value, for a similar product.  The Maybelline ones do have a nicer smell (I think) and a slightly better coverage colour wise so it depends whether you're going for a bargain or are more interested in colour pay off and something that smells great.

BB Creams Round Up & Review

I'm currently waiting for a delivery of a few of the new Skin Food Good Afternoon BB Creams but before they arrive and I review them I thought I would post a quick round up of the BB creams I have been using regularly and what I thought of them.

 

Over the last couple of years I've used quite a few so I thought it might be good to do a little round up before I add more to my collection.

 

First up, the very easy to get hold of readily available UK based BB creams.  Both of these are available in Boots or Superdrug or a variety of other high street stores so if you want to try one out they shouldn't be too hard to track down.

 

Garnier's formula is quite light and doesn't give a huge amount of coverage, it's definitely closer to a tinted moisturiser than a foundation type product and I find it can leave my often greasy skin looking quite shiny.  Saying that I like the light formula and I do wear this one fairly regularly in the summer when my skin is looking good without too much help.  Of all the BB creams I have tried this one is the darkest, even in the lightest shade, I suspect on very pale skin it might look a touch orange.

 

 

Next up Maybelline, this another lighter coverage BB cream which I have in two colours so that I can wear it normally and when I have a bit of a tan.  It definitely does give a fresh faced glow but it can also have the tendency to leave me looking a little shiny, it's lovely and light though and the darker shade (02) is perfect when I have a bit of colour.

 

Next up, the BB creams which I have ordered online (all through eBay) and are not so easy to track down in the UK.  With places like eBay it isn't much hassle to order them online there just isn't the instant gratification of buying them in store. :)

 

Shills was the first BB cream I bought (there's a post on it HERE).  It's a thicker formula which leans more towards a light foundation coverage than a tinted moisturiser.  That's really the biggest different I have found between the original Asian market BB creams and ours here in the UK, the Asian ones tend to have fuller, better coverage.

 

Some people might find the colour of the Shills looks a little ashy right out of the tube but I have found that it doesn't look that way once applied and blends nicely into my skin tone.  It gives great coverage and hides any imperfections and flaws without looking to heavy and cakey, definitely one of my go to products for every day wear, particularly in winter.

 

I also tried out a LE Cherry Blossom Oil Shine control version but to be honest I found it pretty much exactly the same as the original, so not bad but also not worth shelling out for if you already have the original.  Although it initially looked a touch lighter it didn't seem so when applied so basically a favourable review but not really any different from the original product.

 

Next up, two BB creams from Skin Food.  I love both of these, like the Shills they have a better coverage than the UK equivalents and hide any imperfections I might have on my face while not looking heavy or clogging anywhere. 

 

Ginko Green claims to protect sensitive skin and improve skin tone.

 

While Red Bean nourishes and moisturises rough skin.

 

So two fairly similar claims, both of which I would say stand up.  These two are fairly similar formulas too and I use them both regularly (so much so that the Ginko Green one is actually finished now), they apply smoothly and leave my skin looking fresh and glowing without being overly shiny.  Both last well throughout the day and definitely improve the look of my skin.

 

Overall I have been pretty impressed with all the BB creams I have tried but for my often slightly greasy skin which I like to give a bit more coverage the Asian BB brands really win for me, their slightly heavier coverage and shine control seem to suit my skin very nicely.  The pale shades are also a big plus with my skin tone, even the darker colours which I use when I have a bit of a tan don't look remotely orange when applied.

 

Based on that my new purchases are again coming via eBay from the other side of the world, check back for reviews of the Good Afternoon range over the next few weeks.

 

Maybelline Polka Dots - Chalk Dust

I first posted about these Polka Dot polishes from Maybelline HERE when I picked up the collection, today I decided to use Chalk Dust as a topper for the yellow varnish I had on the other day.

 

Chalk Dust has a clear base jam packed full of black and white round glitter particles in a variety of sizes, these pictures are two coats, you could get away with one but when it comes to glitter I tend to think more is more. :D

 

The polish dries to a fairly smooth finish and with a thick coat of top coat you will get completely smooth nails even after applying a couple of coats of the glitter.

 

I think the monochrome glitter gives a nice effect with the bright base, a bit like bees.

Kiko 339 & Maybelline Polka Dots in Chalk Dust

When I posted about the Polka Dot collection the other day I mentioned I wanted to try Chalk Dust over other colours, well, here's my first attempt!  This is over a base of Kiko 339 which is a gorgeous pale blue cream colour.  These pictures are 2 coats of Kiko and one of Chalk Dust.

 

 

I'm pleased with how this turned out although it wasn't exact what I was expecting, I thought it would look like Robin eggs but instead it looks more like a sort of paint splatter effect in real life.

 

I decided to try using a matte top coat to see if that made them more egg like.  It didn't! :)

 

I still love how it turned out though, for one coat of Chalk Dust you get an amazing amount of glitter on each nail and you don't even need to splodge it around like you do with some glitters it just applies beautifully, and evenly, right out of the bottle.

 

I'm really impressed with this polish and I can see it getting quite a bit of use.

Maybelline Polka Dots

More and more gorgeous indie alike polishes are sneaking their way onto the high street and the Polka Dots collection from Maybelline are the latest.  Four polishes, three coloured and one clear base, packed full of large and small black and white glitter.

Park of the Color Show line the Polka Dots come in 4 shades Chalk Dust (black and white), Shooting Stars (blue), Rain Forest Canopy (emerald), and Speckled Pink (fuchsia).   They're £2.99 each but I was lucky enough to snag mine on a buy one get one half price deal making them under £10 for all 4!

I've used a base of Lychee (thumb) and Prickly Pear (pinkie) Gelly Hi Shine polishes to show off Chalk Dust as it's a clear base unlike the other three polishes.  It's also, in my eyes, the star of the collection. 

It's been touted as a dupe for L'Oreal's Confetti polish which has become increasingly hard to find of late and although it's very similar Maybelline have crammed in much more glitter which makes it a total winner in my eyes. 

Of the other three Speckled Pink shows off the glitter best, Rain Forest Canopy and Shooting Stars give a more subtle glitter effect.

My favourite nail from this manicure was my thumb, I just love how chalk dust looks over Lychee, like little eggs, I can't wait to try this one out over other colours, I'm thinking baby blue for starters.

Holiday Make Up Bag

I always find it interesting to see what beauty products and make up people take on holiday with them, I have a terrible habit of packing waaaay too much make up when I travel and then never using most of it, so this year I decided to try and pack minimally make up wise and see how I got on (yes, this is minimal).

 

Here's what I took:

 

 

Urban Decay Naked Palette

5 Assorted eye brushes

Kiko Eyebrow Pencil

Elf Eyebrow Gel

Too Face Shadow Insurance

Maybelline Mascara

No7 Cream Blush

W7 Candy Floss Blush

2 L'Oreal Rouge Caresse - Dating Coral & Sweet Berry

Revlon Lip Butter - Sweet Tart

No7 Poppy King Lip Crayon - Skipping

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Honey & Rendezvous

Miss Sporty Dr Balm Lip Balm - Gossip Kiss

UD Grindhouse Sharpener

Maybelline BB Cream

Powder & Blusher Brush

Cotton Buds

Hair Clips

Eyelash Curlers

UD 24/7 Liners - Stray Dog, Demolition, Uzi & Perversion

NYC Face Powder

 

Despite this being hugely pared down from what I normally take I still didn't use all of it!  I could definitely have gotten away with fewer lip products and fewer eye liners too.  I never wear much make up on holiday and when I do it's always fairly light and basic yet I can't seem to convince myself it's ok to leave the country without a load of stuff!

 

Do you have the same problem?  Is it possible to pack a capsule wardrobe for your face?  What do you take when you go away?

 

Holo Nails!

This is 2 coats of China Glaze, Cheers to you, with two coats of Maybelline Colorama, Ice Princess, over the top.  Ice Princess is my favourite holo glitter, it looks great over so many colours.  I just wish it was a little easier to photograph!  These pictures really don't do the holographic goodness any favours.