NOTD - China Glaze - Ruby Pumps layered over Rimmel - Black Out

Hi Everyone,

I've been lemming over various red glitter polishes in a black jellly base (Like China Glaze's Lubu Heels or Eyeko's Vampira) for a while now, but never got round to purchasing. Last night whilst looking through my polish stash for a new colour the idea of layering China Glaze's Ruby Pumps over black popped into my head. I wasn't too sure how it would turn out but I'm glad I gave it a go -  I think this could be my new favourite nail polish combination!

I applied 2 coats of Rimmel 60 Seconds - Black Out, 1 coat of China Glaze - Ruby Pumps and 1 coat of Barry M 3 in 1 Nail Paint as a topcoat. As Ruby Pumps is densely packed full of glitter 1 coat works great for this. I've never been able to get a good photo of Ruby Pumps as my camera hates glitter but I think these photos do it justice for once :)

Hope you like it! Definitely got me in the mood for Halloween :)

-LadyDanger

xxx

NOTD: Illamasqua - Viridian

Hi Everyone, 

It's been a while since my last nail polish post, mainly due to snapping a few of my nails which led to cutting them all of and painstakingly waiting for them to grow back- which they have now :)

A while ago I was invited to the Illamasqua Art Of Darkness event, but sadly couldn't make it which I was very disappointed about! Alex from Illamasqua offered to send me some information post event, but much to my surprise a few days after the event an unexpected package arrived on my doorstep! 

One of the products kindly sent to me by Illamasqua was one of the new nail polishes, Viridian. It's a beautiful multidimensional emerald green. It looks different depending on how the light hits it, a brighter emerald shimmer is illuminated within the deep forest green base. I'm not usually one for green toned polishes however I found the shade worked quite well with my skin tone - so I think Illamasqua may have converted me into a green lover. The photos of these run a bit darker and more blue based than it looks in daylight, it's definitely more of a true emerald colour.

The polish took 2 coats for me, I don't think I'd reccomend 1 coat for this polish as the layering of the colour really gives a more dazzling effect. It does dry a little matte compared to how it looked wet so I applied a glossy top coat to bring out the reflective effects of the polish.

I love the green beetle (I'm wanting to say it's a scarab beetle) featured on all of the packaging, the 2 items I recieved featured a decorative slip cover unique to the collection over the traditional black Illamasqua packaging - I'm really liking the attention to detail Illamasqua have put into the whole collection.

I did pull off the larger square cap when applying, as it reveals the smaller cap underneath which is much easier to hold. The brush for the polish is quite thin in comparison to most polishes in my collection, but I found it very easy to control. As I've only just applied it today I can't say how well it wears, I'll update through the week!

*Update* The nail polish lasted 4 days without chipping, I didn't use a base coat (naughty!) and the topcoat was my usual Barry M 3 in 1 nail paint. It definitely lasted a lot longer than I can normally get away with! I had a little tip wear today on the 5th day and 1 small chip on my index finger, very impressed!

-LadyDanger

xxx

NOTD: Barry M - Berry Ice Cream (Take Two)

Hi everyone,

I posted a NOTD featuring this polish quite a while ago now, however the picture quality was awful and the colour looked off  so I thought I'd do it again after painting my nails this colour :) I actually haven't worn this polish in a while, despite being nearly half way through the bottle! I was only reminded I have it when I did a little swap with Phylicia from Expensive Pink as this is one of the polishes I sent her (a new bottle of course not my one!).

To me this colour's a bit funny, I think it's just my skin tone but it's a little more of a muted colour than I thought it would be. Most pale colours are quite stark and vibrant, this seems quite soft to me. I'm pretty sure it's just down to how pale I am :) It certainly doesn't distract me from noticing how gorgeous this colour is!

Like most Barry M polishes this is easy to apply, and took just 2 coats. I do think this is one of Barry M's more sheer polishes however. Base coat and topcoat was the usual Barry M 3 in 1 nail paint.

-Lady Danger

xxx

NOTD: China Glaze - Pink Voltage (Neon)

Hi Everyone,

Today I finally removed Flip Flop Fantasy which lasted really well, I only noticed slight tip wear this morning which was the 4th day of wear - pretty good in my book!

I decided to go for another bright pink shade to cheer myself up a bit, going for Pink Voltage which is another one of my new purchases. I think I really do have a soft spot for pink neons! This is definitely a straight up bright pink neon, it leans towards being more cool toned which I think is more flattering on my skintone as opposed to the orange tones of Flip Flop Fantasy - which I still love!

This is a really gorgeous colour, it's somewhat of a jelly consistency and has a subtle blue duochrome which adds some shimmer, it's definitely not a flat colour. It's quite sheer so it took 3 coats, 4 on my pinky finger because I smudged it! This dries semi-matte so was touch-dry in around 2 minutes, I used my Barry M 3 in 1 base coat and topcoat as usual.

 

I think the top image is a better representation of the actual colour, this one's a smidgen too light. 

And here's a somewhat pixelated super zoomed in version of the top image which shows the blue flash across the nail - I really do recommend enlarging the image to see it properly ;)

-LadyDanger

xxx

NOTD: China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy (Neon)

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday I finally got to pop into Sally's, the nearest one to me is located in a different city where I usually don't shop so this would be the second visit I've ever made. The China Glaze and OPI polishes that they do stock is fairly limited and a couple of the colours I wanted were out of stock so I shall be ordering those from Ebay- which works out slightly cheaper anyway.

Flip Flop Fantasy is a neon which looks very different depending on the light source, when I put this on last night it looked more of a pink toned coral, while today in natural light it's a way more orange toned coral that is quite milky looking. I think that my skin tone makes it look a bit more orange toned as in the bottle it is slightly more pink. So this is pretty much a milky pink/coral neon which is a colour I haven't seen before- I think this would look absolutely beautiful against a darker skin tone.

Taking pictures of neons is always a challenge as the glare does alter the colour making it look in most cases drastically different. All of my indoor pictures came out as a neon bright pink, with the exception of one which looked like a pastel orange... so I settled for taking them outside with my camera's 'Flower' setting on which is just a slow shutter speed with no flash and it managed to capture a good representation of the colour. Looking at it in person it is a lot more glow-y and bright.

 (click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

This is 3 coats of Flip Flop Fantasy with the usual base coat and topcoat of Barry M 3 In 1 nail paint. My experience with creamy neons is generally that they take around 3 coats to be completely even, but they do dry matte making them dry extremely fast.

-LadyDanger

xxx

NOTD - Rimmel 60 Seconds: Purple Reign

Hey everyone, 

I purchased this nail polish recently when it was part of a large Rimmel display in boots - I believe it was for a 3 for 2 promotional offer across the store (or something along those lines), I hadn't seen this colour before in my local Boots as they have a smaller selection compared to the larger stores in the city center. It instantly caught my eye and I picked it up straight away - it's a gorgeous bright warm purple with a  light blue shimmer.

I think the name is very cute and fitting too - it makes me wonder if they really did get inspiration from Prince or the naming is just a coincidnce! I kind of wish they could have got away with actually calling it 'Purple Rain' but I'll let Rimmel off; I thought it was one of their more inventive names as they usually tend to play it safe.

(click to enlarge)

I've purchased polishes from the Rimmel 60 Seconds range before and I've always been happy with them, and this one certainly didn't let me down. This is 2 coats of Purple Reign with a base coat and top coat of my usual Barry M 3 in 1 Nail Paint. 

I recently snapped my index finger nails on both hands so they are looking a bit awkward at the moment! They are starting to grow out slowly but surely though - I just didn't want to have to trim my others down to match, I can live with the growing out process of having 2 slightly awkward nails for a while ;)

-LadyDanger

xxx

NOTD - DIY Holographic Glitter Nail Polish

I'm just going to be honest: I like anything that's glittery, sparkly and is reminiscent of a disco ball.

After my 'Holographic Nail Tips' blog post I decided I wanted to take it a step further and go for full-on blinged out nails.

I entirely blame Katy Perry for my fascination with sparkly silver nails after she posted a photo on Twitter of her silver rhinestone encrusted nails:

(image from twitpic.

Due to the fact I didn't have near enough rhinestones on hand to attempt a re-creation, I decided to make my own holographic glitter nail polish instead. I generally favor holographic silver glitter over plain silver glitter as it looks a lot more sparkly. The rainbow of colours it reflects gives more of a star burst effect.

I used an older bottle of Barry M's 3 in 1 nail paint that was about 1/5^th full and had become somewhat gloopy due to regular use; when the bottle is fresh it's a very thin textured topcoat that dries quickly.

To pour the glitter into the bottle I used a piece of paper rolled into a funnel shape and stuck it in the top of the bottle, then poured the glitter in. I didn't measure how much glitter I used, but by eye I'd say about 1/12^th of the container. I added some more clear nail polish to the mixture (from a new bottle of Barry M 3 in 1 nail paint) to thin the polish out.

All photos are taken after 2 coats of polish, which isn't entirely opaque:


Before I go out tomorrow night I think I'll add one more coat to cover any gaps (as you can see above). 2 coats gave pretty good coverage, but not full- ideally I would have used a silver polish underneath.

-LadyDanger
xxx

NOTD - Barry M Shocking Pink

I picked this up today on a whim and I'm sorry I hadn't tried it before!
The formulation is lovely, you can get away with 1 thick coat, but I opted for 2 thinner coats.
Base coat and topcoat as always is Barry M 3 in 1 Nail Paint.


(click to enlarge)

It's a really nice summery colour, it looks lovely on pale skin but I can imagine it looking gorgeous on darker skin tones too :)

My nails have grown out a fair bit too without breaking which I'm happy about- I really need to invest in a good strengthener though. As much as I love my Barry M, they do still occasionally break. Any recommendations are welcome!

This is a bit of a sneak peak before my full review, but it almost perfectly matches the Topshop Cream Blush in 'Pinch'! I also purchased 'Neon Rose' which was my favourite, but some silly person had put a different darker blush in the box and I didn't realise until I'd got home :(
I'll be returning it and have the full review up when I get the right blush soon - but I can tell you these are my favourite products from the new range.

-LadyDanger

xxx

Nail SOS - The Teabag Method Tried & Tested (plus NOTD)

Products Used:
-Barry M Base Coat, Top Coat & Nail Strengthener
-Barry M Bright Red Nail Paint (262)
-1 teabag (mine happened to be of the PG Tips pyramid variety ;)
-Scissors

Last night whilst filing my nails I noticed a tiny little nick in the side of my thumbnail, thought nothing of it, went to bed and went about my business today. Then later today I noticed the little nick had turned into a full on split. It's pretty low down meaning I'd have to trim my nail down very short to get rid of it and avoid further splitting.

I've seen a few videos about using a teabag to help strengthen the split, allowing you to grow it out - as I'm trying to grow my nails I thought I'd give it a go. I'm estimating it's going to be about 2 weeks for the split to grow out at the rate my nails grow so I'm going to do a follow-up blog. I don't mind repeatedly applying a little square of teabag every time I re-paint my nails if it means I'm not going to have to trim it down.


The split in question - complete with arrows to point out the dreadfulness of it all! ;)
Please ignore how the second image makes my cuticles look like death - I can assure you they're happy and moisturised in reality.


Firstly I washed my hands of course, then cut a piece of teabag this size:


Then applied some clear nail polish to the area I was going to be applying it to, and placed the tea bag square right up to the edge of the split ensuring it covered it completely:


The bottom half of the tea bag wasn't stuck on fully – at this point I was thinking there's no way I'm walking around with a huge white hunk of tea bag stuck to my finger like an idiot. A bit more clear nail polish to attach it fully soon sorted it out however.
I applied a generous top coat of clear polish and to my delight the square became invisible and smooth:




(Super close up with the light reflecting off it - I'm sure if you were looking at it ridiculously close or with a magnifying glass it would be slightly noticable but I think you can get away with just clear polish.)

To cheer myself up I whipped out my favourite red polish (Barry M Bright Red nail paint).

This is 2 coats + topcoat - no visible tea bag at all. The consistency of the polish is more of a jelly red than a creme.


(click to enlarge)
And voila! A full set of happy red nails, which completes the 'Tea Bag Method' application and NOTD :)


I'll update on the end result.

-LadyDanger
xxx

NOTD - Collection 2000 Dynasty

I finally chipped off a bit of nail varnish from my 'Glitter Manicure NOTD' - but it did last from Thursday evening until today to I'm quite impressed by the lasting power of Barry M's 3 In 1 nail paint (base coat, topcoat & nail hardner).

I decided to give Collection 2000's Dynasty nail polish from their Hot Looks collection a try.
It's a pale pastel lilac that has a pink tone to it. Very pretty! For £1.79 a bottle I thought I'd give it a go and I'm glad I did! This is 2 coats with a base coat and topcoat (Barry M 3 In 1 nail paint). The application was very smooth and streak-free.
I feel like these pictures pick up the pink tone a lot more than the lilac, in daylight there's a definite lilac tone to it. So imagine it a bit more lilac-y ;)





As you can see from the picture below, the bottle size is fairly smaller than your average nail polish, compared to the 10ml Barry M polish, the 8ml Collection 2000 one looks tiny!



I'll have a few more makeup posts up this week for those getting tired of my NOTDs!

-LadyDanger
xxx

NOTD - Glitter Tips

My nails are finally starting to grow out without breaking so I thought it was about time to do a manicure. However, I didn't have any white polish - the alternative? Holographic glitter of course.
This probably won't be to everyone's taste but I think it's really fun, and of course very sparkly.





Products used - Stargazer holographic silver glitter, Barry M 3 in 1 nail paint (base coat, topcoat, nail hardener): I really like how glossy this looks when it's dried.
Naturally, the camera doesn't really pick up just HOW sparkly this is in real life.



-LadyDanger
xxx

NOTD - China Glaze Atlantis + Rimmel Black Out

It's been 1 week since I cut off my nails in an attempt to grow them back more successfully and it's going pretty well so far. I prefer my nails to be square, but square nails apparently don't like me. I've recently been very good at chipping the corners completely off. To try and avoid this I've rounded the corners a lot more when filing them and it seems to have solved the problem (and using nail strengthener like it's going out of fashion).

I adore China Glaze Atlantis in the bottle, but I don't like how the green base looks on my nails as it really brings out the pink in my skin. Plus I prefer darker polish colours whilst my nails are this short.



This is 2 coats of Rimmel 60 Seconds in Black Out with just 1 coat of China Glaze's Atlantis. This is just personal preference as I don't like the look of really dense silver glitter over black, I prefer it to be slightly more sparse.
The ratio of silver to holographic glitter is really off in these photos, the camera picks up the holographic glitter more, when in fact there's not a lot of it when compared to the silver.


Blurry one in an attempt to show just how glittery it is. It's like mini disco balls at the ends of my fingertips in real life :)

Check out Scrangie's post of China Glaze Atlantis for a more realistic look at what the polish looks like without a black base. I'd say the colour is slightly off as it's a lot more green in real life, at least mine is. (Scrangie's blog is basically my nail polish encyclopedia).

-LadyDanger
xxx