Glitter

Nails

Etos Glitter Nails and Glitter Topcoat

February 25, 2014

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you will know I’ve just got back from a trip to Holland to see my lovely other half, and almost all of these trips involve me popping into Etos (sort of the Dutch Boots) to pick up a couple of their own brand nail polishes. This time I went for a shimmery pair of silvers, one Glitter Nails Polish and one Glitter topcoat.

Unfortunately neither of them are named or even numbered (one of my absolute pet peeves – please can’t all brands give their cosmetics cutesy names!) but both have gorgeous finishes to make up for it!

The Glitter Nails polish is a deep metallic silver with multi-holo micro glitters and a sort of sandy texture similar to the O.P.I Liquid Sand. It took two coats to get full coverage but dried reasonably quickly.

The Glitter Topcoat is a much more delicate polish with white and silver micro glitters in a clear varnish. You can hardly see it at all on the pic below but it has a gorgeous ethereal shimmer worn alone if you fancy more of a subtle glitter polish.

I tried the Glitter Topcoat out over a few other colours, and absolutely loved the variety of looks you can get with it. (L-R Leighton Denny – Meet me in Monaco, Ciate – Plastic Fantastic, MUA – Pistachio Ice Cream, Revlon – Black Star, Revlon – Emerald)

Unfortunately these aren’t available in the UK , but if you find yourself in The Netherlands you can pick them up for around from € 2.49 from Etos

Totally hellbent for little treats to cheer up long distance boyfriend blues!

– Gem

Nails

Jess Glitter Nail Varnish – Rock Chick, Ibiza, Tiger Lily, Celebration & Alfresco

February 23, 2014

I’m a sucker for a bargain and can never resist poking my head in Poundland to see what manner of lovely things I can purchase for only one hundred shiny pennies. I often pick up Revlon and Sally Hansen polishes for a fraction of the RRP, but skip past the lesser known or own brands. I’ve never heard of Jess before, but the Poundland website tells me they are a new and exclusive range which would explain why I’ve not seen them anywhere else!

I wasn’t much interested in the display at all until the twinkling of the row of glitter polishes caught my eye! Cheaper glitter polishes tend to be lacking in pigment and are usually quite sparse but these look absolutely packed! I took my chances and picked up five colours (L-R) Rock Chick, Ibiza, Tiger Lily, Celebration and Alfresco

The swatches above are a single coat, and for a £1 varnish I don’t think you can ask for better than that! Tiger Lily is definitely packed with the most glitter, but as far as topcoats go, they all delivered a substantial finish. They all applied easily and dried reasonably quickly too. I really can’t find complaint with these at all.

After two coats they really came into their own!

But if you’ve the patience for three coats you get something completely spectacular from a £1 varnish.

I will definitely be seeking out more of the glitter Jess range, and could probably be tempted to try some of the other finishes too.

Totally hellbent for bargain with a bang!

– Gem

Nails

Models Own Velvet Goth Trio

January 28, 2014

I can’t believe how long it has taken me to get a review up for this set – they’ve been on my nails almost constantly since December! I’ve only tried a few Models Own polishes, and despite my love for all things glitter they were all traditional finishes, but I can see my collection growing very swiftly on the basis of this set!

The Velvet Goth Trio is an ASOS online exclusive that takes three shades from the collection (L-R) Amethyst, Sardonyx and Absinthe. All three are glitter polishes with a rather unique matte (and yes almost velvety!) finish beneath the shimmer. I’ve been wearing these a LOT, especially Absinthe which has become my go-to stage polish choice! I’ve only had to apply two coats once, as every other time the extremely thick consistency has been enough in just one quick coat.

I love the mix of glitter sizes and the really pigmented colours, but for me it’s really that unique finish that makes these polishes stand out. If you’re not so much into the velvet finish you can turn all three into amazingly shimmer glitters with any old top-coat!

Overall I have to say these are my new favourite polishes by a mile, and I think I’ll be seeking out the two other colours in the range sooner than later.

Available for £9.00 (reduced from £12.00) from ASOS.com

Totally hellbent for unique and rich glitters.

– Gem

Make-up

MUA Luxe London Glitter Eye Palettes in Rock Chick and Diva

November 21, 2013

My transition from occasional glitter lover to full on magpie seems to be reaching an all time climax and I nearly did myself some damage when I saw these little boxes of sparkle!

There are four palettes on offer, Rock Chick, Diva, Burlesque and Twilight, ranging from cool blues to fiery reds. I of course went for the two blue toned palettes Rock Chick and Diva and I’ve been pretty mesmerized with them since.

The glitter is suspended in a gel, which I thought would be poorly pigmented and difficult to build up, but actually it’s the complete opposite! Unfortunately all eight shades are liable to crease purely from the nature of the product, but I for one am happy to overlook this for the sake of such gorgeous colours!

The sponge applicator that comes with each palette is actually pretty good for applying the gel, with a thick and thin end for more precision.

Diva consists of a bright emerald green, a black/silver, a grey holo silver and a white holo silver.

Rock Chick has a deep turquoise blue, a black/multi holo, a light blue and a pure silver.

If you’re a fan of warmer tones I suggest you go take a look at the other two palettes on offer, as they are just as gorgeous and will no doubt make their way into my possession soon!

Available for £4 from Superdrug.com

Totally hellbent for all things sparkly and shiny!

– Gem

Nails

NYC Disco Inferno Topcoat

November 19, 2013

NYC are really upping the game on glitter topcoats at the moment. As well as the gorgeous Rock Muse collection (reviewed here) I also spotted this gorgeous stand alone shade Disco Inferno.

A clear base with blue and silver holo glitter, it really has to be seen up close to understand how absolutely gorgeous it is.

I think it would look great over any complimentary shade but I really love how it looks over the dark blue. (B. Complete 180 Midnight from this months Glossybox) It’s equally stunning over both black (Avon Rapid Black) and white (Avon Star)

You don’t often get such a gorgeous finish with budget brands, but NYC never fail to impress across their nail range. I’ll be keeping my eye out for anything that twinkles on their stand from now on!

I do find it strange that this isn’t a red/orange/yellow tone given the name, but I’ve decided it’s a bit more of a metal inferno and I can’t complain about anything giving me reason to indulge in this most magnificent riff (and THAT chorus)

Available from Superdrug stores for £1.99, I can’t currently find it anywhere on-line but if you find it shoot me link!

Totally hellbent for anything that inspires thoughts of Symphony X!

– Gem

Nails

NYC Rock Muse Collection and Swatches

November 13, 2013

One of my favourite nail brands + glitter + rock music influences names = win.

There are four colours in the NYC Rock Muse collection and I managed to grab them all across two different trips to Superdrug. I’ll admit it was the polish names, subtle (and not so subtle!) nods to some rock greats that made me need these, but I’m actually a big fan of glitter polishes anyway so I’m sure they would have ended up in my possession one way or another!

Rock Muse is a smoky black with silver micro and hexagonal glitter. You could likely get away with wearing this alone, but it really comes into it’s own over a black base.

Gold Maiden is a clear polish with gold micro glitter and silver hexagonal glitter. I like the look of this in the bottle, but think the silver clashes a little over a gold base.

Red Hot is a clear polish with silver micro glitter and silver hexagonal glitter. This looks gorgeous over a bright red, though at the moment I’m wearing it over a deeper richer red and it looks just as lovely.

Green Day is a smoky black with silver micro glitter and green hexagonal glitter. I wasn’t impressed with this one on it’s own but I think it’s the most beautiful of the set over a black. The silver glitter seems to have a slight bluey/green hue under lights that looks fantastic!

All four dried reasonably quickly, and do built up enough to wear alone with enough coats. I like that they don’t feel too rough for glitter polishes (though I’d advise adding a clear topcoat if you really hate the scratchy glitter feeling). They will definitely be getting some wear over the festive period and beyond!

Rock muse 01 is available for £1.99 from the Superdrug website and the others are available in store.

Totally hellbent for tarting up with topcoats!

– Gem

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Make-up

September most wanted!

September 11, 2013

The changing of the season always brings with is a whole bunch of new releases, and for some reason this time a lot of them are things that want to empty my bank account!

First up Rockateur from Benefit.

Er hello Benefit. Please stop making things that I want as my purse is very empty and I attribute most of that to your shiny pretty things!

I’ll admit the rose gold shimmer of Rockateur is not exactly the most rock and roll of blushes but the swatches of this look gorgeous and the packaging and marketing have sent it straight to the top of my wish-list!

Rocateur is £23.50 and available here.

Urban Decay Heavy Metal glitter liners

Urban decay have relaunched their Heavy Metal glitter eyeliners (which in my opinion are the best glitter liners EVER) in seven colours, L-R Glamrock, Distortion, ACDC, Spandex, Amp, Junkshow and Midnight Cowboy.

I own three liners from the last time around – Glam Rock, which is identical to Glamrock (except..you know…without the extra space in the name), Air guitar which is very similar to Amp, and Stavedive which doesn’t seem to have a dupe in the re-launch. I’ve already got my eye on Distortion and Spandex, but I think I’ll wait and see if they do them in a set at a discount before I rush to buy them individually.

As far as I can see these liners are currently only available on the US website for $19 each.

Lime Crime lipstick in Glamour101

This is by no means a new release, but something that has hidden on my wishlist for a long time. Glamour101 is described as a retro/blood red and even if it wasn’t for that gorgeous rich deep colour I would want this just for the purple glittery unicorn packaging!

It’s also well worth checking out their more extreme lip colours, one day I will be brave enough for the bubblegum blue of No She Didn’t!

Available for $15.99 from the Lime Crime website or £11.50 from Cocktail Cosmetics.

ELF HD Blush in Headliner

Again, not a new release but this has been out of stock since forever! The ELF HD blush comes in five shades, and Headliner is the lightest. Though I love a strong blush, the colours are very intense on the skin so I figure starting with the fairest shade and working up to the most intense might be a good plan!

Elf HD blush is £3.70 from here, though only 4/5 of the shades are back in stock.

Illamasqua Reflection Palette

Do I need more eye-shadows? Er yes! Illamasqua make the most beautiful silky colours that have real staying power and their newest palette is definitely up my street! I love the fact you could make everything from the most subtle to the most outrages looks with just these four colours. Also hello fabulous packaging. /shallow.

Available for £34 from the Illamasqua website.

So there you have it, all the shiny things I want the most this month, is there anything new or back in stock that you are dreaming longingly about?

Totally hellbent for things I don’t really need but really really really want!

– Gem

Nails, NOTD

NOTD – OPI I don’t give a Rotterdam & Revlon Stunning

July 17, 2013

This was my first OPI varnish and I have to admit it was the name, not the colour that sold it to me. I purchased “I don’t give a Rotterdam” purely on the basis that I missed my boyfriend (who lives in Rotterdam!) and the name cheered me up!

Luckily I found it on Fragrance Direct for £3.99 so managed to grab a bargain with full RRP at around £11.50!

It’s a lovely bluey grey with a light shimmer, a really unique shade that I’ve never seen elsewhere. It applies as well as you would expect an OPI shade to, and is quite lovely alone.

I decided however that I needed to up the game a little, so added two layers of Revlon Stunning for a little extra va-va-voom! Stunning is a mix of micro and hexagonal glitter that is slightly holographic. I found it in a local Poundland saving myself a few pennies, and it is quickly becoming my new favourite glitter varnish.

Finally a touch of Sally Hanson Clear for take-off to stop that horrible scratchy glitter feeling! This is a great top-coat, both fast to dry and long lasting. You can find it here on Amazon for £6.99.

Totally hellbent for giving a Rotterdam about fabulous nails!

– Gem

Nails, NOTD

NOTD – Avon Opalesce

July 11, 2013

Photographed in natural sunlight

I’ve been wanting to try out a flake-glitter topcoat for a while, and when I saw this blue tinted one from Avon I simply had to try it.

There’s two coats of Avon Speed Dry in Fast Time Teal as the base (one of my favourites as you can see from how much I’ve already used! I love fast dry nails, as I really can’t stand waiting for them to dry!

The Avon Top Coat in Opalesce didn’t seem to have much pay-off by way of glitter at first but when I pressed the brush down a little firmer I got way more flakes off the brush and onto my nails!

I used two coats of the top coat to get a half jelly look!

Avon nails varnishes are available online or from a local Avon representative.

Totally hellbent for blue and glitter ALWAYS

– Gem