Kiko 231 - Sparkle Touch

I decided to jazz up yesterday's plain nails with a bit of glitter, I went for Kiko 231 which is part of their Sparkle Touch range of polishes, this one contains small glitter which changes from yellow to green to blue and larger pieces of hexagonal peach coloured glitter.

 

In low light it's a fairly subtle shimmer.

 

 

But in brighter light it really comes into it's own and shows off all it's difference colours.

 

 

 

This next picture is the closest to how it looks in real life, thankfully in real life my cuticles don't look quite so hideous and dry, this new camera clearly means a better hand care regime for photos!

 

 

This is three coats to get an even spread of glitter.

Kiko 371

This polish is a gorgeous caramel shade, in photographs using flash you can see that it is shot through with a golden glitter, sadly this isn't quite so obvious under regular lighting.

 

 

However, even without the golden glitter peeking through this is a beautiful polish, it's a beautiful warm caramel shade.  Very sophisticated and a perfect neutral colour.  As with almost all Kiko polishes it applies like a dream.

I got a new phone this week, which means a new camera too, it definitely seems better for taking nail photos but I am a little shocked at how well it shows up my dry skin and horrid cuticles, rest assured I will be on serious skin care duty from now on to try and sort it out!  Now on to the pictures, the first too with flash are showing slightly more grey than the polish looks in reality.

 

 

Essence Peel Off Base Coat

When I saw this mentioned online recently I knew I had to try it.  No matter how well the tinfoil trick works it's still a total pain to remove glitter polish, especially if you have a few layers on.  So the promise of a base coat which allows you to just peel it off when you want rid of it sounded almost too good to be true.

 

 

Unfortunately, Essence isn't available in the UK so I had to get this via a lovely friend in Europe who saw it, thought of me and then posted it over to the UK for me, bless her.

 

 

The base coat looks, and smells, a little bit like PVA glue which didn't come as a great surprise as I've read on a number of blogs online suggesting that using PVA in place of this base coat would do a similar job.

 

The idea behind the base coat is that you apply it to your nails before glitter polish meaning that you can then just peel the whole lot off in a oner when you are bored, saving you the hassle of scrubbing off the glitter like you'd normally have to. 

 

Here's what the packet has to say:

 

 

I decided to try it out under Models Own Emerald City, a gorgeous green glitter which I love but is a pain to remove.  I applied a thick coat of the base coat and then waited for it to dry.  It took a good 10 minutes for it to go fully translucent on my nail.  Once it had dried I applied my usual two coats of polish and a top coat and carried on as usual.

The polish wore well, there was no major lifting or chipping.  I did notice a fair bit of tip wear on the polish after a day or so but that can happen with any base coat and polish combination so I don't think it's specific to the Essence.  I had expected the polish to be ready to peel off very soon but actually it lasted pretty well, after a hot shower I could feel a slight amount of lift around the edge of a few nails but nothing major and no popping off.

When it came time to remove the polish I was fairly hesitant, everything you read tells you NOT to pick nail polish off as it damages your nails - a lesson I have learnt through personal experience more than once - but the Essence base coat requires you to do just that.

It was harder to remove than I expected, I assumed each nail would pop off with no bother at all but some of them did take a bit of picking to get the polish to fully lift so I imagine I could easily have got another couple of days out of the polish if I'd wanted.

Underneath my nails were not damaged at all, the base coat did - at times with a little bit of effort - simple peel off and leave clean un-damaged nails underneath.

I was really impressed with it overall, it's definitely something I will be reaching for again if I want to use thick and hard to remove glitter as it cut the removal time down significantly without cutting down the wear time on the polish similarly.

Part of me does wonder if PVA glue would do exactly the same thing but I am quite happy with my neat little bottle and brush combo from Essence.

Have you tried peel off base coat?  How did you find it?

Christmas Stickers

I am already planning my month of manicures for December, I'm VERY excited about all the potential Christmas themed manicures I'll be able to do, part of that preparation has been picking up a few bits and pieces.  As well as some stamping plates that I ordered a few weeks back I have also picked some stickers from eBay, the first set arrived today so this post is a quick run through of what arrived.

 

 

I ordered a set of Fraulein38 nail stickers from wildcentury on eBay, they were £3.99 for 25 sheets with free P&P.  I received 24 different designs, there were two of one of the designs.  They arrived neatly and well packaged.

 

 

 

Here are all the stickers laid out:

 

 

And some closer shots so you can see the designs:

 

 

 

 

 

There are a good selection of Christmas themed stickers included; wreaths, baubles, santas, reindeer, snowmen, candy canes, decorations, bells, stockings and presents.  Definitely lots of options to choose from.  The stickers seem to be good quality and relatively thin which is important for getting a smooth effect on your finished manicure.

 

While I may not use all of these designs there is definitely a good proportion which I will use and for under £4 delivered I think they are a very good deal.  They arrived within a week so if you fancy ordering some yourself there's still plenty of time before the big event.

 

Here are a few of my favourite sticker sheets:

 

 

Overall I am really pleased with this selection and can't wait to try them out, even if I am still a good few weeks early.

 

Do you have plans for some festive manicures yet?

Remember, remember...

The 5th of November; gunpowder, treason and plot!

 

It wouldn't be the 5th without some fireworks so here's my nail based attempt using Kiko 275, possibly the best black nail polish I have ever owned, Maybelline Colorama 30 and some nail stickers.

 

 

I started with a black base and then added some stickers which looked like bursts of fireworks, over the top of that I blobbed a little bit of the Colorama polish to add some extra holographic sparkle.

 

I'm pleased with how these turned out, they look better in person than they do in the photos as you really get the glitter effect which is hard to capture in a still image.  i am less pleased with the havoc the colder weather is causing to my cuticles. :(

 

 

 

 

A minor niggle with this manicure is the fact that the stickers started to lift very quickly, you can see that a couple are already coming away from the nail despite being under about 6 layers of top coat, this is the first time I've used this brand of stickers so I don't know whether it's their fault or if the Seche Vite I used as a top coat might be having some effect.  It's not a serious issue but it does mean this won't be a long lasting manicure.

British Nail Bloggers - Weekly Round Up!

Another weekly round up to see what the Uk blogging girls have been up to.

Lyndsay has had busy week this week showing off her Halloween manicure and taking delivery of a new polish haul over at Pie's Eyes.

Ruth found some inspiration for her Halloween Special this week, with some fun nails and pumpkin carving for the day!

Wendy from Wendy's Delights has just done her first ever Half Moon Mani with added glequins!

Nada went a bit crazy and created two designs for Gruesome Halloween Check it out!

Claire at nuthin' but a nail thing has cats popping up all over the place... Miaow!!

Hannah at Doodle Nails got into the Halloween spirit with a skittle mani!

This week The Teenage Shopaholic has been... getting spooooky! She created and wore her cute Halloween nail art mani to a Halloween party.

Rachel from Phoenix Nails has started a new challenge The Lazy 15 and the first is a tape mani.

Steph has been taking inspiration from others and recreating their mani's and celebrating 100 followers with a new competition over at Never Mind Suzi.

At Northern Nails this week , Jo has been celebrating Halloween in style check out her Halloweenie Series Posts will also be a bit thin this week as she is also recovering from a cold!

D is for Dogstooth? Or is it H, Houndstooth Enigmatic Rambles gets confused here!

Emma bares all on holiday in this naked nail post at Emma's Little Corner.

Lou is back from holiday with the new Christmas Holiday 2012 Chanel Polish Malice which is a complete stunner and has a go a finding a good dupe.

Kerry at JustTalkNails shows off her first Jade Holographic spectacular.

Jazz at Glitter Infatuation has been trying out nail art for the first time!Will it be a win or a fail? Glitter is appropiate no matter what occasion.

Current Skin Care Routine

I've never been lucky enough to have good skin, I have as many spots, blackheads and blemishes now as I did when I was a teen.  Over the years I've tried so many different spot treatments and face washes, masks, medicated toners and basically anything on the market which suggested it might help with breakouts.

 

I use a fair amount of scrubs and microdermabrasion type products too and I do probably use too many harsh treatments in an attempt to get rid of blemishes when they spring up, I've come to the conclusion that this might in fact be irritating my skin more and making it worse rather than better.

 

Recently I decided to try and calm my skin down a bit and instead of using lots of different products I wanted to try sticking to a very simple routine, using minimal products and not using anything which might irritate my skin too much in the hope that once it calmed down I could add back in the odd scrub or mask too.

 

Although my skin isn't 100% better I have noticed a bit of a difference so I thought I would do a quick post featuring the products that are actually seem to be working:

 

First off I have been using Liz Earle C&P in the LE rose & lavender version which I previously mentioned here.  I've had the original version before and I'm sure the effects I've seen would have been the same using the original version.  I just apply the cleanser all over my face, rub in and then remove with a damp muslin cloth.

 To get rid of stubborn eye make up and as a secondary cleanser and toner I have been using the Micelar Water I got in Spain, you can find a review of this product here.   The more I use this product the more I like it, it's definitely a grower.  Although this particular one might be hard to track down there are countless other, similar, micellar waters on the market if you want to try one.

 

 

 

As a treatment I have been using Origins Super Spot Remover and I'm really pleased with the results, it seems to stop spots in their tracks and dry them up super fast.  It's expensive, £11 for a tiny bottle, but you only use a really small amount for each application so to me it's totally worth the money and I will definitely re-purchase, I got this bottle as a gift from a friend but I won't hesitate to replace it when it runs out.

 

 

Finally, for moisturising I have been using Therapist's Secret Facial Oil by Sanctuary.  I only really use this at night as I wear BB cream during the day and find it slips off if I use an additional moisturiser under it, but for evening use this is perfect, it smells divine and really moisturises my skin without leaving it feeling heavy or greasy as you might expect with an oil.

 

Obviously, skin care is a very personal thing, everyone's skin will react differently to different products and will require different things, for me this combination is really working though, it's gentle enough to give my skin a break and help it to heal as well as it can but effective enough to keep my skin clean and treat the blemishes when they do arise.

What are your current skin care heroes?

Kiko 388

 

 Another beautiful Kiko polish today, this time number 388 which is a sort of shimmery turquoise / teal / sea green.  Although it is a manily green colour there are slight blue undertones in certain lights and a definite shimmer to the polish whcih you can see clearly here in a photo using flash.

In daylight it appears slightly less shimmery but you can see the blue undertones coming through a little more.

Formula wise this is another winner from Kiko, smooth and silky to apply and fully opaque in just 2 coats (excuse the glittery mess of the final photo)

Originally I had planned to stamp over this polish right away but it turned out sdo beautifully that I decided to give it a day in it's own right first.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Romantic

I already have a couple of these Balm Stains, which I blogged about previously, I really like the ones I have so I decided to add Romantic to my collection, it's a bright red shade, something I love wearing but am always a little wary of, it seems to be so hard to get just the right shade that not only looks good but also lasts. 

 

The formula of this balm stain is smooth and creamy and all of the colours I've tried in this range go on beautifully.  They have a nice glossy texture which isn't at all drying on the lips, of all the lip products I have I like the colour pay off and moisturising properties of these ones best. 

 

 

They're also great because they are so easy to carry around and apply, you don't even need a sharpener, simply twist them up when they start to wear down.

 

 

What I particularly love about this shade is that unlike a lot of bolder red stains it wear off beautifully, you aren't left with that horrid 80s lip liner line effect around the edges of your lips while the middle of your lips look bare.  The wear is even and easy to top up later on if you wish.

 

 

For me this is the perfect way to create bold red lips in a buildable way, one coat gives a flush of colour but going over your lips again allows you to build up the look into a bright, vivid red shade, perfect for a night out or when you really want to make a statement with your lip colour.

 

Have you tried any of the Just Bitten Balm Stains?  What do you think?

Lovely Lilac

To create the nail colour I have on today I used 2 coats of Kiko 330 with two coats of Hedy's ma.nish.ma Blaster a glitter duochrome polish.

 

 

 

The effect is beautiful and truly duochrome, although it's impossible to photograph properly!  This shot is the closest to how it looks in real life, a gorgeous lilac base with tonnes of bluey-pinky-lilac shimmer on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's really hard to capture the pink shift in a photo but in real life it's pretty apparent as you move your fingers around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under artificial light the polish glows with all the blue glitter in it.

 

 

 

 

I'm really pleased with how this look turned out but after I applied it I did have a certain feeling of deja vu... I've checked and they aren't the same but there are definite similarities to Models Own Indian Ocean, I'd quite like to do a little swatching test to see just how similar.

 

Blaster seems to lean more blue whereas I was surprised at just how pink Indian Ocean was but without trying them both over the same base colour it's hard to tell how close they are as dupes.  Regardless Indian Ocean is one of my favourite duochrome polishes so I'm quite happy to have it's close cousin my collection now too!

A limited number of Hedy's polishes can be found on Cosmetic Fairy website, details in this post: Polish Haul.