GIVEAWAY! WAH Nail Art Book, Nail Art Pens and a Bit of Glitter

"Give it away give it away give it away give it away now
Give it away give it away give it away give it away now
Give it away give it away give it away give it away now"

Give it away by Red Hot Chilli Peppers

 It's been a long time coming, but here it is something to get those creative nail juices flowing!

The Rio Nail Art Art Set has all the basic colours to recreate nail art designs. The dual ended nibs means you can have a dotting nib or use the brush function. I have another set of these myself and have found them really easy to use, unfortantly my artist flair has been lost recently but I find they are brilliant for doing neat smile lines for french style manicures. There is some small pots of glitter to add some shimmer your designs.

WAH Nail Book is what you expect from the top of the Nail art tree, trendy and cool designs that can be easily recreated by their step by step instructions. You also get a history on how they've got to this point and are introduced to some of the staff.

The whole set is worth £35 and is open to anyone in the UK from today until 0.00am on 13th October. The giveaway is supplied by myself with my own money and will be sent out as soon as the winner has given me their details (as soon as possible would be appreciated). All run through Rafflecopter, all details collected are only for the giveaway so I can contact the winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck 

NOTD - Vamp by Leighton Denny

Now months ago when I ordered my BBBBeautyBox Number 3 my eagle eyes spotted this mini polish in the luxury sample zone of LatestinBeauty. I have seen this brand at numerous trade shows and have their colour charts but had never came round to owning one. This is also after watching many hours of him painting nails on QVC, I have even resisted temptation.

The polish is what you expect from a pro, easy to paint on, leaving an even and level finish. The brush holds enough of the lacquer so it paints on well without overloading. It took two thin coats to get the correct coating here and dries in a reasonable time. I would be confident to pick Beth up if she was crying after a few minutes of painting.

RRP £11.00 for 12ml of varnish. I have my eye on Hollywood collection's emerald green, Click Click Flash Flash.

NOTD - Rouge Louboutin by Chirstian Louboutin Nail Colour #BeauteLouboutin

Sales assistants, this is what happens when you leave a sample bottle unattended with a few beauty bloggers around. It the #SummerLondonMeet where the group of us was perusing Selfridges that the preview display was spotted. As the sales assistant went on her sales objective, I snuck to one side and painted my blank nails in Rouge Louboutin rather than the assistants paint them. I need to feel how it works for me as I'm not going to have someone around to paint them for me.

The bottle is inspired by his Ballerina Shoe from his collection and is visually stunning, would look perfect on a pinterest designed dressing table, but not for my nail varnish tray in my make up tool kit. I actually like the long handle and didn't have too many problems using it. The brush however is a different story, it has a small brush that doesn't fan out, this makes it harder to distribute the polish evenly over the nail. It does even out when it dries when you do finally get the whole nail covered.

I did paint this on a blank nail with no base/top coat so this will affect the result of wear which was half a day. I will say the formulation is thick (which is useful trying to apply with a small brush), I smudge it about 5 minutes after application thinking it would be dry by then, my mobile still have nail varnish marks from where I was wrong.

 Is it worth the £36 price tag? No, not at all, there are other ranges that do perfectly brilliant matt pillowbox red varnishes, with a quick dry time and have far better brushes. This is for the ladies who lunch that can afford the shoes and would probably like the idea of having the polish to match, but then isn't these the people who have the time/money to have a manicure/pedicure as often as I have cups of tea? I'm scratching my head for who is this really for - the nail lovers will love the packaging but hate the polish and the people who admire the brand from afar but can't afford the shoes, will also think a few times about the price tag.

At the moment there is only the Rouge in range but there will be other colours being added, but seeing the range there is nothing that really, "Wows" me. This is one range I'm very happy to leave on the shelf and put the money towards owning a pair of the shoes, so that's 12 bottles of Louboutin Varnish for So Kate Suede heels I need to save.

NOTD B.Makeup Nail Varnish in Seafoam*

My Mint Candy Apple has finally departed me and I need something to to fill its minty hole for the Summer. I had always been a fan of B.Skincare so when I offered a chance to try some of the make up range I was very eager.

This was included in what I received and instantly thought it would fill that minty hole left behind. Side by side Seafoam is a tiny bit bluer but that's if you look really hard and make yourself go cross eyed. Formula wise, I did two coats on the picture above but felt I could of easily done a third coat coat to get it more solid and brighter if I wanted. It does go on smoothly and found it levelled well when drying which dries quickly.

Seafoam will set you back £4.99 exclusively at Superdrug. I have my eye on Matador (A deepish Matt red) and Woodland (A deep green) for my AW varnish update.

* Seasfoam was given for my consideration, all the views are my own

NOTD - Model's Own HyperGel Naked Glow

You might reconise this from my New Mum Wish List as one of the four varnishes I wanted for Spring/Summer update, as it went live I went out and brought it the very next day.

This is part of the new Hypergel range, a gel like finish with lotus oil, they say they are high pigmentation to provide a salon finish for £5. The fomrulation I found really thick, this does need to be built up in thin layers, but once dry does have that glossy finihs without the topcoat.

Wearwise I have had this on for three days with my hands in/out of hot water cleaning baby bottles and apart from a small chip on the thumb where I knocked it has survived. I instantly loved the colour as being so pale trying to find a milky enough nude has always been a challange, it has the right tone of colour and yellow base to match my skin tone.

Model's Own can be brought in most chemists or their website for £5 - My recommendations is to invest in the pastels of Lilax Sheen, Cornflower Gleam and Pink Vaneer.for Spring

Rose Quartz Nail Varnish by Barry M

Rose Quartz with There She Rose by OPI

I had spotted this polish on different peoples blog and always though it was pretty but it wasn't until I saw it on Fee's Blog Makeup Savvy that I was convinced that I had to hunt it down. It is a mixture of small rose gold glitter with fine hologram glitter in a clear base.
Fee had put hers over a nude/white polish while I put mine over a rose tone (OPI's There She Rose), it did look beautiful but to me the glitter seemed to blend in with the polish. The is when I turned to Nail's Inc. Porchester Road

I prefer this as the finer parts of the glitter seem to show more on this slightly darker colour but still in the nude genre. Trying to take it was no longer than any other glitter polish, just a lot of patience and acetone but it well worth getting as it is just beautiful.

Available at all high street chemists/online RRP £2.99

NOTD - OPI Designer Series in Lapis

When initially saw this is I wanted it, the goldilocks of blues (not too dark, not too light) I was instantly drawn to it enough for it to feature in my AW Wishlist. I then went onto buy it at Olympia Beauty when I saw the swatches they had on stand.

OPI Designer Series is a collection of polishes are a step up from they normal collection, they are holographic or full of fine glitter. The two they launced for AW12 is this one and Pewter (a mix of black/grey), what I didn't realise until I painted them on was they dry completely semi matt, the above picture taken with no top coat.

It went from being something I though was beautiful to something that was challenging Essie's For The Twill of It as my number one AW13 varnish to wear. The wear time is good, was still chip free when I took it off a week later and removal was very easy for a glitter polish.

The Designer Series is more expensive than the main line - RRP is £16.75 compared to RRP £11.50 but for the simple WOW factor it's worth that little bit more investment.

NOTD - Essie's For The Twill of It

This has been on my wish list since I first saw the swatches on the Essie Twitter. It is a mixture of green/pink duo chrome in a dark grey base with a metallic finish. I got my bottle last weekend at Olympia Beauty so I have the professional formulation but I have noticed a difference between this and the diffusion line on the high street.

You cannot rush the painting as it can show brush streaks so I find it easier to take it slow with thin coats of polish (this was done in two coats). It is however worth it, my instagram feed went berserk with hearts when I uploaded it and my work colleagues where asking when and where they can buy it from. I personally have not stopped staring at it's multi-tonal beautifulness since I've put it on.

Keep an eye out in Boots stores as it will fly out of the store once in stock (£7.99)

 

Olympia Beauty 2013 - Haul included (it's a long one)

There is two things I learnt from this weekend: It is not wise to go to a day long event while recovering from Laryngitis and pregnant. I had been unwell with a virus for nearly two weeks but I insisted on going, I love trade shows, not only from a blogger point of view but also as trade.

I arrived about 10.30 as normal the trains confused me (and I know I wasn't the only one), and headed straight to the Media centre. The really wonderful thing about Olympia Beauty is that they do fully embrace beauty bloggers and they are welcome into the rest stop of the media centre. After grabbing a cold diet Coke, I headed into the masses for initial walk around to assess who was there and see if there was any brands I wanted to speak to/spend money on.

After an hour I was back into the media centre for the PR meet and greet, this where the brands who are there come and have a chat with the media about new launches and form new relationships. This was great as trying to speak to anyone on the floor was impossible at this point, the crowds where huge!

I may have done a little fan girl sequel at OPI being there, as many of you know I am a huge fan of their polishes and used them when I first trained as a manicurist. They were there to show off the new Limited Edition Mariah Carey Christmas Collection - rich reds, plums and gold glitters. The part I instantly needed to have was the liquid sands, which have to recently not really bowled me over.

These will be available on the OPI website, on being told that I could buy them at the show did invest in the liquid sands (notice the plural), and if where eagle eyed enough on my Instagram (unevenlemming) you also know that I might have got a set to giveaway.

While I was at Olympia I also refreshed my subscription to Scratch Magazine (Professional monthly magazine for nail technicians which featured Karla Powell's amazing Pop Art make up and nails.) as well as Professional Beauty Magazine (updates on the industry and trends coming through). With Scratch I got a gift worth around £80 with nails foils, OPI mini kit, Morgan Taylor varnish and top coat, files etc.

I also targeted Essie for the AW13 Collection - If you had read my wishlist I had been hankering after For The Twill of It and was determined to get my hands on it. It does not disappoint in person, and after a show and tell to Kat (Tales of a Pale Face) , Alice (Bright Town Girl) , Dani (So Many Lovely Things) and Natasha (Shot of Beauty) we know all now own one (I am not an embalmer - honest). I also managed to pick up some bargain false lashes for £1-£2 each to pop into my kit.

Unfortunately after a long day in London, the Laryngitis returned leaving me with no voice and also open to getting another cold, hence why I'm few a days later than I wanted with this entry as I've been curled up feeling sorry for myself. Lesson learnt.

Autumn/Winter 2013 Wishlist

These are the items that invade my dreams at night, the ones that I loving look at swatches online and sigh that they are not mine - yet. I really love AW collections, they seem to suit my tastes and skin tone much better than Summer.

1. Poisonberry by Lime Crime - This I truly blame on Jayne from Jayne's Kitschen, every time she wears it I get lipstick envy and keep telling her that I need to buy it. I have looked loads of berry shade lipstick swatches and find that I have got something close to it already, this I haven't at all. I have a huge obsession over this colour.

2. Sleek Make Up i Divine in Vintage Romance - I really like the quality of Sleek Make Up, I got my first palette last year (Sparkle 2) and was blown over by the quality of the palettes for under £8. Perfect AW colours of soft berry and golds, I could see this being used everyday as a break from brown/beige.

3. Illamasqa Lipstick in Shard - This one compared to Poisonberry is much more red but deeper and matt, same again saw swatches of it around the launch date and kept going back to them. I love the way you could wear big and bold or as a stain (see? It's multipurpose lipstick, two for the price of one). Just read they are going to be at Olympia Beauty this weekend (does a little fist pump).

4. Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner Black (available at all High Street chemists) - Another AW trend is the catflick, something I really hadn't embraced before. I have had liquid liners but found them fiddly and gave up after a while. I'm hoping that this will encourage me to bring out my inner cat woman. This recommendation came from the very talented Scottish MUA, Andrew James.

5. Essie For the Twill of It - Now I was left in a tizzy over this because OPI has also Love & Peace & OPI which is the exact dupe of this. After reading a few comparisons it came to Essie as I read the formulation is a one coat and looks better on.

6. Bourjois Java Rice Loose Powder (At all High Street Chemists) - Vintage style packaging? Check. Lightweight and slightly illuminating? Check. Good Price? £9.99, check. Been embalmed by other beauty bloggers to buy it? Triple check.

7. OPI DS Extragance Lapis (Also known as Granite) and Pewter - I wasn't too bound over by the San Francisco Collection apart from Love & Peace & OPI (See number 5). Then I saw these glitter infused beauties and realised as an lover of OPI I don't own any of the DS Extragance range. I'm more driven towards Lapis at the moment with a want to look at Pewter (I think my Illamasqua in Creator that I got in the sales could be close to it).

This weekend I will also be heading towards London (for will be one of my last times before Minilemming) for Olympia Beauty - a beauty trade show that contains half of this wish list. I had an absolute great day last year and look forward to bumping into people I know this year, please feel free to say hello etc.

So the question goes to you, what do you want this AW?

NOTD - Moss Behaving by Cheeky

Cheeky are the younger sister of Cowshed, they will be launching in 25 prestige Superdrug stores at the end of October. They still keep the core of Cowshed's philophy of simple and natural products, but are more accessible and fun for people who cannot get the Cowshed Spa. They will offer treatments for the person who wants to keep maintained but want it now.

As well as cheerful range of products they are also bringing out 21 nail paints that will retail for £7 each or if you are lucky enough to get to Superdrug store can have a file and paint for £12 as well as take the colour home with you.

The range has a vast array of colours but the one I was really intrigued by was Moss Behaving, just screamed AW trend but was completely different to the berry tones the other were wearing. I had a file and buff as well as a paint which was not only quick but technically perfect. My manicurist was passionate about her work and I couldn't fault her.

The colour itself I found took on different colours, in the warm light of indoors it went a deep green, but once it was outside into the white light of day, it went to this beautiful blue/green. I have had this on for 5 days now and it still going strong, even with showering and constantly typing.

Superdrug Press Day AW13

I was invited to my first press day by the wonderful people who look after the PR at Superdrug. The theme of the day was to celebrate brands that can only be purchased at Superdrug's stores as well as championing their own brand products. The wall above is one of two that hosted everything they sell their own brand, I did spend some time ticking off what I already use myself and was surprised it was more than I expected.

If it wasn't for me tweeting how much I love the look of the B.Skincare Facial Oil, I wouldn't of been there so it was only right that I visited them first and get some information on what I think is going to be one of the hottest new skincare launches since their Miceller Water.

 

The range is simple - split into 3 phases on not your age but what phase your skin is at the time: Phase one: Hydration. Phase two: Prevention and radiance. Phase Three: Firming and repairing. I have fallen for the B.Skincare for its simplicity as well as products that do what they say.

 

I have been lucky to try out the B.Replenished Facial Oil for Anti Oxidant Boost for nearly two weeks and already it has replaced my Antipodes Divine Oil as something that my skin really reacts to well. This I will be reviewing more in depth at a later time as I feel it needs an entry of its own.

 

I also got a chance to try some of the make up which I hadn't before. My highlights were the new Colour Correct Cream where the lightest is light enough for pale skins and provides a high SPF of 45 (Launches November at £11.99). I also was drawn to the B.Stunning Vibrant Eye Shimmer in Lizzie - described as a soft neutral pinky/beige, when swatched it looked skin toned peachy/pink with a gold shimmer, a perfect base colour if I ever saw one (Launches October at £6.99).

 

After a stroll round I did get a little giddy over finding that Nicole by OPI are stocked in some branches of Superdrug now. They are the younger sister of OPI Professional and retail for £7.99 compared to £11.99 for the professional range. I am currently hunting these down as I write this.

 

I then got distracted by the shiney nail varnishes at GOSH including the new Frosted Sand polishes, these dry to glitter but matt finish. I instantly was drawn to the vintage lilac colour that the make artist was wearing (a thank you for modelling for the photo). I have the silver version to play with after I was given it to try.

 

 

I was also having a magpie moment with GOSH's Girls on Film which is now added to the increasing wishlist.

 

 

Of course we cannot talk about exclusives to Superdrug without mentioning their biggest make up brand: MUA Cosmetics. The AW13 line up is the strongest they have had in a long time, adding to the successful palettes they are now adding the Matt palette (after a social media campaign) and Smokey palette (with eye liner).

 

Top Left: Luxe Pretty Edgy Eye Palette. Top Right: Matt. Bottom Left: Luxe Glitter Palettes. Bottom Right: Smokey Palette

 

They are also introducing another line to the MUA and MUA Pro lines: MUA Luxe. This is the on trend but premium side of MUA, the prices are only slightly higher than the other lines (Undressed is £4 while the new Pretty Edgy Eye palette will be £8). The quality of ingredients will be a higher quality to match with the  price point. A key example is that eye shadow powder in the Luxe range are more finely milled and I found go on smoother.

 

There will also be a range of glitter palettes launching with the Luxe range, suspended in clear non sticky gel there will be a choice of 4. Can be worn on their own or over the top of another colour, and will have not fall out into eyes. Palettes will be £4 each.

 

 

 

For Lime Crime Valentine fans they are also Velvet Lip Lacquers launching in October, matt finish lip paint that will honest not budge. I had these on my hand the whole day and didn't even fade after washing hands, etc. Very impressive for £3 will come in Red, Purple, Coral, Deep and Light Pink.

 

There are some very exciting launches that are coming from Superdrug at the moment which isn't great news for my bank balance.

Unevenlemming's Beauty Box

After British Beauty Blog's Beauty Box (there is a lot of B's there), it got me thinking, "If created my own beauty box, what would be my picks?" Now as normal these thoughts were swimming round my head on a late 1am evening, where either cramp, my bladder, or husbands snoring were keeping me awake.

First of all, what to pack it all into. I used to work for Fossil watches a few years ago and my favourite things about them was the tins that the watches came in. They were all limited edtion and was changed once a month, we also has them on display so customers could chose what tin they have. There was even some really rare ones that could be turned into birdhouses. The tin I have in mind is one you could use after for storing baking in (like I do with the old Roses tins), I do like the style of this one, and it is very much my humour.

So what to put into the tin?

Antipodes Divine Oil

 

I have reviewed this oil in a previous post here - Main summary is that it is a light notorious oil that hasn't broke me out in spots, smoothed and soothed my sensitive skin. The combination of essentials are also evoke relaxation and soothes rattled nerves. One of my facial must haves.

OPI Makes Men Blush

 

This has a special place in my nail collection, this is the colour I wore when I got married. It's a delicate pink/peach with a faint pink shimmer, which I use two coats on but goes opaque in three. I am a huge fan of OPI and even through I now own more Essie, my favourite colours have come from OPI collection.

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle

 

I have used Ojon, Aveda, and a few others that I cannot remember as there has been a few. I do have a sensitive scalp, one that if it doesn't like a product will itch constantly and flake everywhere. I took a gamble many years ago and brought this for when my hair was slightly drier. It was perfect, smooth, glossy and no allergy symptoms. I have tried other things but have always come back to Aussie every time. I've even converted my high end, fussy product mum to it, after she 'borrowed' it one day when hers ran out.

 

Glamglow Youth mud

 

 

OK, let's address the big elephant in the room - It is just under £50.00 a pot (please shop around, I have found it cheaper) and the most expensive thing in the tin. For me I loved how it felt after I took off, fresher, brighter skin that looked smoothed out with no sensitive redness. I have stated my case for it here

 

 Now I throw it out to you guys, what would you put into YOUR beauty box (because I'm noisy!)

NOTD: & Other Stories Blue Twill

I am a little bit smitten with & Other Stories, the store is crisp white and clear, the clothes are beautiful but feel they won't fit my fuller frame. It was the beauty area that I spent the most time in, clearly laid out, their own range of cosmetics has cause a bit of a storm since launching, and I had heard rumours that Blue Twill was a dupe for Nails Inc. Baker Street (but half the price at £5).

The colour is bright, stupidily bright, but it was love straight away, it was a good solid colour in two coats. The brush fans out perfectly and had no problems in applying it, as well as dried fast. The wear time is good, I got a good four days before the tiniest little chip on the edge. I loved it so much I took it off and refreshed it soon after.

#ldnbbmeet - When Bloggers Attack Selfridges

Monday was something that I had been looking forward to since my holiday had been confirmed at work and I put my name done as coming. Organised by Tattooed Tea Lady (assisted by Lisahh Jayne and Sophie from Candy Cane Heart), it essentially was a meet and greet with an hour touring the beauty halls of Selfridges.

I decided to make a day out of it as the event wasn't until the mid afternoon and I really love spending days ambling round London, I was over due for a trip. I first went to Convent Garden and ambled round the antique stalls, restrained myself at Forbidden Planet and brought a vintage scarf from Rokit for £3.

For my birthday (thank you for the best wishes last week) my husband brought me Gok Wan's Chinese cookbook and a wok as I've been saying that I've wanted to try and cook Chinese for ages. I did my first dish over the weekend (Traditional Noodles with chili), I was eager to go to Chinatown and go round the markets to get some inspiration as well as steamer so I can do some Dim Sum.

After a quick pit stop I started the slow walk down to Selfridges viva a few shops on the way. I did, as well as a majority of people, go into the new & Other Stories store, the new older sister of H&M. I skipped over the clothes, being a plus size person I wasn't holding much hope, I headed straight towards the beauty section. The store is airy and clean with everything laid out making it easily viewable. I ended up with Twill Blue nail varnish, a £5 dupe of Nails Inc Baker Street.

I arrived early so after a sit down and a pot of Earl Grey, I lingered at the Selfridges entrance. Being one of the 'older' beauty bloggers it was over whelming at first, I managed to grab someone I recognised (thanks to Bex for rescuing me, sorry if I sounded like a crazed woman at first!), everyone was welcoming and also felt in the same boat.

We descended on the poor people of Selfridges and brought like mad woman but alas it was soon time for people to move on to other things. A small group of us has agreed before to continue shopping and hit the bar afterwards. The shopping didn't last long and was soon chatting away with a jug of Pimm's, topics included Beauty boxes, youtubing, foundations for pales, and how Superdrug are now doing 50 Shades of Grey kits. We then adventured into Primark afterwards which I'm really surprised we didn't get out for the amount of laughter that was coming from us!

Team Pub was Indra from Alice in Beautyland, Sarah from Some Sparkle and Shine, Face Value Blog, Leotard in Leopard, Kimberly Beauty Blog and Amy from Amoi Universe.

As well as my Chinese food ingredients and & Other Stories polish, I got Antitopdes Avocado Oil and Rosehip facial oil, Whitard of Chelsea instant teas in Turkish Apple and Dreamtime, and Sinful Colours nail varnish in Nail Junkie.

I had a brilliant day and evening, it was great to met some people I knew from Twitter already and a whole new bunch to talk to. It was brilliantly organised and we had a drink to the hard working girls that night.

Brand Masterclass - Essie

Essie Weingarten was inspired by shopping trips with her father, after ballet lessons (the only feminine past time with sport mad tomboy had). She visited a apothecary that her distance family owned. After a few more years in hosiery sales she saw a market, brands were investing in lotions and make up but not nail varnish. Stores would hold limited colour lines, her dream was to crate a range that not only inspiring but wet looking and iron strong that would last a over a week. With $10,000 investment she looked for a chemist to make her the formulation that would work, with that soon solved, she created a line fo 12 colours to launch with.

Out of the original line up "Bordaux" (a deep wine red), "Blanc" (Chalk white) and "Baby's breath" (a soft white used for french manicure) are still in the current line up of 200 colours. Essie got inspired from the world around her, "Fiesta" was from a pin cushion that owned and loved the colour of. The now famous "Ballet Slippers" was of course from her childhood days of the shoes of ballet dancers.

Essie sold door-to-door, flew in from New York to Las Vegas to capitalise on the disposable income and high life of Vegas. She left with 10 cartons of nail varnish and never looked back. Starting from the 100 odd salons of Las Vegas to now sold in 95 countries in 30 years, not many brands can say that their polishes have been requested by the Queen to grace her nails (Ballet Slippers for your information).

Purchased by L'Oreal in 2010 they went from being a professional only range to now dominated the nail varnish market.

While researching this I came across a brilliant article and interview by Into The Gloss and would encourage to read it, as I find out inspiring and an interesting look into the brand.

Bad Apple's Almata Nail Varnish

I got this months ago at the #BbloggersXmas Event from Bad Apple Cosmetics. I have worn this a few times by now and have liked the colours, the formula is the right consistency and goes nearly solid within 2 coats. For me its the duo chrome colour that's inspired by TVR cars (which speaks to my inner petrol head). I got given what I think is the more wearable colour, dark bronze/grey with pink/purple shimmer. The wearing time is good as well, there was very small chips after 5 days (I refresh the top coat as recommended every other day).

I now want to increase my collection with the other duo chromes Arlington and Arkansas. You can buy them from www.badapplecosmetics.com for £9.95.

The top photo is with flash and the bottom is in daylight.

It Started With OPI - My Current Collection

Many years ago when I first started training to be a natural nail technician, I was introduced to OPI. OPI actually stands for Odontorium Products Inc, as it started as a small dental company. It wasn't unitl  Suzi Weiss-Fischmann was OPI's Vice Chairman and Artistic Director of the company that it expanded into the nail industry with acrylic enhancements. This soon took over the dental side and OPI was born.

I like OPI for the performance of the varnish, it lasts well and the range of colours is mixed. They also match the colours not only in the varnish but now in the gel varnish range. Their Nail Envy treatment is still on of the best for making nails more stronger.

I must admit I can't even remember my first bottle of OPI, but I know it was from a mass purchase at the trade show, Professional Beauty. It was also the brand I wore when I got married (Blush pink called Makes Men Blush), and most of the time the brand I get the most excited at new launches.

L-R: Past,Present and Fuchsia, Makes Me Blush, I Don't Give A Rotterdam Swatch Here, Gold Shatter and Wocka Wocka

 

Makes Men Blush

Wocka Wocka

Thanks to my brothers girlfriend, my latest addition is the brilliant The Bondettes from the recent Skyfall Collection

L-R: On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Goldeneye, Die Another Day, Live And Let Die

 

NOTD: Essie Ballet Slippers and Beyond Cosy Accent Nail

While I put the finishing touches to my final assignment, this the lastest nails I am wearing.

I wanted to wear something that was feminine and delicate after wearing cherry red nail varnish (OPI's Wocka Wocka for The Muppets Collection) for a week. I also had Beyond Cosy from Christmas that I hadn't worn yet. I am now deeply in love with the twinkling delight that is Beyond Cosy, next to the delicated sheer pink of Ballet Slippers it's beautiful.

In the next few days my assignment will be sent off for assessment and hopefully with the next week I shall get a email to tell me the result of my BTEC.

This is when normal services will resume and my husband get his wife back rather than a make up obsessed fiend or so he likes to think .......

Essie Collection: 0 - 7 in 3 months (With more to come in SS13)

Top L-R: Leading Lady, Ballet Slippers, Sugar Daddy, Beyond Cosy
Bottom L-R: Merino Cool, Mint Candy Apple, Tart Deco

 

Mid November I lost my Essie Virginity after winning a blogger giveaway to win a set of three of Nikki Etc, favourite Essie polishes. Since Merino Cool hit my nails I haven't looked back.

 

I am and will always be an OPI girl, they were the brand I first converted even before I started to train as a manicurist. I have, however, been seduced by Essie with it's slightly higher coverage varnish, easy to use brush and one of the longest wear times I have had.

 

The range of colours every season has been bang on trend and highly desirable. In the case of the Christmas collection there was a mixture of Christmassy colours for the purists and brights for the rebels.

 

Leading Lady (above) is now my favourite red ever, it's a jelly with red glitter infused. To me it doesn't traditional glitter, it glows. I had this on for Christmas and didn't take it off until New Years Eve which is nearly 7 days of wear and I only had the smallest chip on the corner of my thumb.

 

My husband also brought me Beyond Cosy which is a gold glitter, this one sparkles. I do like that's it's not a brassy gold and it is not a intense good, there seems a bit of silver to tone it down. I've found this makes a great accent nail polish.

And now onto my two new ones, an impulse purchase from Fragrance Direct for the grand price of £1.99 each. The one above is Ballet Slippers, an almost white cream, that's soft and feminine. The other is Sugar Daddy which is suppose to be sheer pink nude. I think this will be perfect for the times I more a groomed look.

Onto Spring/Summer 2013 - Delicate pinks, lilacs, blues and greys. I've seen no swatches so far, but I will be keeping an eye out for the whole of that bottom row. With the trend heading towards to pastels again, I think I'll also be able to reuse my Mint Candy Apple (as it matches some of my light jumpers).

Note: Don't worry OPI - I got The Bondette set for Christmas, our love affair is not over yet