Barry M Silk Finish Nail Paint

It's no secret that I am a fan of girly, painted nails. I am always on the look out for interesting new shades or finishes so I was fascinated by the soft pastel shades of the new Barry M Silk finish collection that launched recently. I picked up two shades  to give a try; Pearl which is a creamy white and Meadow which is a light, minty green.

I have to start out by saying that I love these polishes! The consistency, the colours, the longevity... everything!
I was rather worried when I bought Pearl as white polishes in my experience tend to be too watery, and take hours to build up to an opaque finish but this actually only took three thin coats which, due to the unique formula, didn't take long as it dries quickly. Meadow is my favourite of the two however. I am slightly biased as minty shades are some of my most loved colours to wear but what I really like about it is that the formula really does look just like silk. You get a metallic shimmer which sits in a semi matte base and gives that very feminine effect that you get when silk catches in the sunlight. I got lots of nice comments about the polishes as well which is always a positive!

Have you tried any of the Barry M Silk range? What are your thoughts on them? Are you as impressed as I am?
Annie xx

NOTD- Seaside Inspired Shimmers

After a lovely weekend at the seaside enjoying the sunshine in Weymouth I came home and fancied some pretty blue nails to remind me of the beach.
I am loving blue at the moment so there was little excuse required to whip out some of my favourite blue nail polishes and create some shimmering sea nails.

I started off by applying two coats of the lovely lilac toned blue Bluebell polish by Nails Inc which gave a soft and even base colour before topping with one coat of the oh so popular Indian Ocean from Models Own which is formulated to give a shimmer reminiscent of when the sun catches calm, clear sea water as it washes onto the beach. Finally, I created a focal nail using Barry M shade 340 Aqua Glitter which contains various sized glitter chunks and gives a very pretty and glitter packed finish with just one coat.

I had forgotten just what a beautiful finish Indian Ocean gives. In the light you can see that it contains a pink toned glitter which gives any blue polish a lovely depth that looks really special in the sunlight.
I go through stages with painting my nails and recently I've had them painted continually so expect to see more nail art posts in the near future :)
What colours have you been loving recently? Have you tried any of these polishes?
Annie xx

NOTD- Nails Inc Topping Lane

Happy Saturday!
To celebrate the start of the weekend I treated myself to some pretty nails using one of my favourite yet more underused polishes; Pudding Lane from the Nails Inc Sprinkles collection. I love the entire collection but there's just something about the blue base with the pink and silver glitter that draws me in.

Eee, isn't it a cure polish? In the photo here I applied one coat of my trust Nails Inc Malibu Mojito to give a nice opaque base and then a single coat of Pudding Lane. The formula is thick without being gloopy and allows the glitter to spread evenly across the nail. I always top off with a coat of the Nails Inc Caviar top coat which leaves an almost completely smooth feeling finish and that little bit of extra shine but to be honest, it isn't a particularly textured feel polish anyway so I wouldn't say it's an essential step if you're short on time.
In terms of wear, if I'm careful I find that I can get a good few days chip free from Pudding Lane, especially with the top coat. Removal is a bit of a pain as with all glitter polishes but I think it's worth it for cute, pastel sprinkle nails!

What do you think? Do you own any of the Sprinkles collection?
Annie xx

January Favourites 2014!

Suddenly it seems that February is upon us, which is crazy since it feels like January has only just begun, but here we are.
It's been a month of rediscovering old favourites rather than purchasing new especially since I'm not currently working so I've been shopping my stash and have fallen in love all over again with products that I've owned for a while.

First up is the very first perfume I ever owned and I can't actually remember where or how I got it but I rediscovered the Britney Spears Curious perfume just before Christmas and have been loving it ever since. It's such a warm, long lasting scent made up from light fruits and florals held to the skin with a base of vanilla and sandalwood. Usually I'm not a fan of celebrity fragrances but believe it or not, this one is actually really sensual and sophisticated.
Who doesn't love Nars blushers? I bought Orgasm around this time last year and loved it for months before moving on to bronzer for the summer. I used this during the pantomime season to add a pop of coral glow and since then haven't been able to get enough of it, especially now I have my fringe back so I'm going for an almost doll like look with pale skin, pink cheeks and bright lips. Beautiful!
Illamasqua is without a doubt one of my favourite makeup brands. The products are beautiful and the ranges are always so unique. Sparce is a baby pink speckle effect polish from the I'mperfection collection. I also have Speckle which is the same effect in purple which I use fairly often but the other day I picked up Sparce as a change and remembered just how pretty this mini egg reminiscent shade is!
I've raved a lot recently about the Clinique Spot Treatment Gel and oh my goodness I've needed it in this last week or so especially! After a few too many late nights my skin rebels but this works wonders to keep it in check and back to normality super fast.
Finally is the Rumble in the Jungle palette from Catrice. I picked this up when I was last over in Mallorca along with a few other bits to try out the brand. I adore all four of the colours and they work so well together. I've been using either the purple or light green along with my Naked 3 palette to add colour along the crease and just above to liven up the look a little because we all know how I like colour!

What have been your favourites during January?
Annie xx

Essie Winter Warmers Collection

An exciting little email pinged into my inbox this afternoon giving me a first glimpse of the Essie Winter Warmers collection which is launching January 2014. The set is made up from 6 pretty, yet very contrasting shades of deep reds and soft pastel blues. A real refreshing change from your classic winter ranges.

Aren't they so pretty? I'll give a more detailed look when I managed to pick up some of the collection but what I do know already is that they will be on sale in both Boots and Superdrug from January and retail at £7.99 :)

Annie xx

NOTD: Seventeen Rock Hard Couture- Bijoux Baby

Just a quick one today because the depression is in full swing at the moment so motivation is pretty low :(
I've been obsessed with the Rock Hard Couture polishes that Seventeen released recently. The colours are gorgeous, the coverage fantastic and the wear pretty long lasting too making them an all round good choice in my eyes, especially at just £3.99 a bottle!

The shade that I love the most is the pretty baby pink Bijoux Baby which I am wearing here. I love the fairy like colouring and the subtle green toned shimmer that runs through the polish giving it an ethereal sort of feel. for full opacity bottle finish you need just two coats and that's quick and easy because it applies evenly and dries in around 60 seconds. The only thing that may put some people off is that these polishe do have a textured finish which I personally like but would need several coats of clear polish to smooth off for peopl who like their nail completely smooth to touch.
You can pick them up either in Boots stores or online *here* ready to wear for Christmas party season! Or they will also make great stocking filler gifts. Either way, I think everyone needs at least one in their nail polish collection :)
Annie xx

MAC Temperature Rising Collection Scorching Haute Nail Varnish Review

Sunday was a naughty day and I found myself at the MAC counter drooling over all of the pretty colours whilst two of my friends tried to drag me away! Everything is just so pretty and pigmented!
In the end I made two cheeky purchases, both limited edition, and both sooo gorgeous.
The first was the Scorching Haute nail varnish from the Temperature Rising collection.

Scorching Haute is a peautiful bright purple glitter polish and is every bit as pretty on the nails as in the bottle. Its the perfect colour for tanned summer skin!
There is a mixture of fine and slightly larger pieces of glitter floating in a purple base colour and you only need two thin coats to create a great, full cover glitter effect. On top of this I used a single coat of Nails Inc caviar top coat for extra shine and I have to say, I was so happy with the finished effect. They looked perfect.

However...
This second photo was taken this morning after having only painted them yesterday evening and after not having done anything harsh on the hands at all. I was gutted. Two coats of high quality glitter polish, complete with a high quality top coat should not be chipping in under 12 hours, especially when more than half of that time was spent asleep!

These two photos show how my two hands look now, after just one day wearing the nail varnish. I haven't been at work, I haven't done anything such as washing up that would expose them to much water and haven't really done anything out of the usual.
This is my first MAC nail varnish and I have to say that I won't be spending the money on another because I've just been so disappointed. I have always been a big MAC fan, as you will know from all my reviews, but this has really knocked my faith in the quality of their formulas a little. Such a shame.
Scorching Haute cost me £11 and is a limited edition product so if you do fancy giving it a go then get in there fast.
Annie xx

Christmas Gift Guides- Little BU Nail Polish Review

Its coming to that time when people are getting stressed about all the presents they haven't bought yet so its time for some gift guides. I have 5 lined up for the next 5 days to help you finish off those slightly tougher to choose presents.

Little BU is a brand that is new to me but when I received an email from their PR company telling me about the brand I was instantly excited. Little BU is a range of nail polishes that are non-toxic, odourless and cruelty free (and 100% safe for nail biters!) designed for future fashionistas who are at that age where they are getting into beauty and wanting to start painting their nails.
I was sent two colours to trial; Alexi* which is a beautiful shimmering red (very festive!) and Sofia* which is a lovely deep purple and I have to say that I have been very impressed.
What first struck me when I started applying little BU was that they really are odourless which is due to them being chemical free and also just how good the coverage is. When I was growing up, the first nail varnishes I was allowed were very sheer, watery and to be honest, enough to stop me being interested in nail varnish for a very long time, however these are more or less opaque after just one coat, and the colours are lovely and bright. I'm not a fan of dark colours so Alexi was my personal favourite of the two but there are 12 colours in the range to choose from so I'm sure there will be something to suit all little beauties.

As the polishes are water based there is no need to worry about spillage's on clothes and counters because the polishes wash out completely which is a big plus in my eyes. I'm in my 20s and still end up with splodges on my duvet pretty regularly (I'm a messy person who needs to learn not to paint her nails in bed). The water base also means that the polish is easy to remove from nails. The PR information I received says that they can be washed off nails easily under the tap however I found the wear to actually be a lot better than this and lasted several days. It was easily removed with a very small amount of remover though.

Over all, I was incredibly impressed by both Little BU polishes as well as the concept behind them and think that they make a really sweet, thoughtful present. When I first received them I was slightly put off by the price; at £9.95 for a 9ml bottle they aren't cheap, but after trying them I can see that you are paying for quality as well as bringing happiness to a young beauty fan who otherwise may not have been allowed to paint her nails and show her personality in that way. You can buy Little BU polishes either from Harrods or iluvlittlebu.com

Annie x

*this post contains PR samples however that doesn't affect my opinions which are 100% honest as always