Browsing Tag

Nail Varnish

Nails

ETOS Feather Effect Nail Polish in Blue Bird and Purple Bird

June 4, 2014
ETOS Feather Nail Polish Purple Bird Blue Bird

ETOS Feather Nail Polish Purple Bird Blue Bird

If you read a lot of our posts you will no doubt know that I have a long distance relationship with a delectable Dutch man, which means I often just pop over to the continent (Sounds very swish and glamorous when I put it like that!) for mini breaks to see him. Of course I take a keen interest in Holland’s cosmetics, and of the few I’ve actually tried this brand is my favourite.

Etos  is the Dutch the equivalent of Boots  or Superdrug, selling drugstore to mid-range cosmetics  on every other street corner. I’ve got quite a few different colours and finishes from their range and they all cost a bargainous  €2.00 –  €3.50. I picked up Blue Bird  and Purple Bird  on special offer so got both for  €3.00. 

I’m really into my glittery nails but I’m trying to ease off the all-over-in-your-face-sparkle-argh-you’re-burning-my-eyes-with-your-disco-ball-nails, so I’ve been flittering around with a couple of Barry M  confetti polishes and decided I could definitely add to my “subtle glitter” nail collection.

Blue Bird  and Purple Bird  are both clear polishes with rectangle slithers of glitter. The swatches below are only one coat, so I theorize that each pot will last approximately forever…

 

ETOS Feather Nail Polish Purple Bird Blue Bird

 

The drying time was very quick,and the bonus with such glittery topcoats is that you (usually…hopefully!) get a few extra days out of your manicure because the clear polish adds a layer of protection over the colour beneath.

I got five days out of this stuff on my nails, not bad for a budget own-brand!

Unfortunately Etos polishes aren’t available in the UK, but everyone knows someone off on a weekend trip to Amsterdam, right?

Volledig hel gebogen voor mijn nederlands pools collectie (en de nederlandse vriendje is niet slecht;))

– Gem

 

Nails

Etos Glitter Nails and Glitter Topcoat

February 25, 2014

Etos Glitter Nails

 

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.

Etos Glitter Nails

 

 

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)

Etos Nails

 

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

Jess Glitter Nail Varnish 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 

 

Jess Rock Chick, Ibiza, Tiger Lily, Celebration & 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.Jesss nail varnish swatch glitter

 

After two coats they really came into their own!

Jess glitter  nail varnish

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

Debenhams Beauty Box Nail Varnish

February 4, 2014

I received one of Debenham’s Beauty Box sets this Christmas and was pleasantly surprised at the contents – of which came 8 beautiful nail varnish’s.

Now Debenham’s isn’t really the sort of store that I think of when it comes to nail varnish, in terms of it’s own brand stuff, but the colours from this box are absolutely gorgeous!

b-box-red

The first two here are my favourite – this is two coats and the pigment’s are just superb. The purple is so bright and the other three are various shades of red/pink, however none of them are too pink for me to wear which is a bonus. Unfortunately, they don’t have any names or shade numbers.

b-box-gold

The last four were these gold and silver shades. The first gold has a bit of a pinkey hue to it and the silver is really metallic which is great. The gold glitter was only one coat! I’ve never found a glitter that is so textured in just one coat and I’m super excited to try this out over some varnishes from my ever growing vast collection.

Debenham’s beauty box has been heavily reduced since Christmas and is now only £12.50 instead of £25.00 and contains the following:

  • 2 x cuticle tool
  • 2 x nail clippers
  • Nail scissors
  • 1 x nail stencil set
  • 3 x eye shadow
  • 3 x eye shadow palette
  • 2 x lip pencil
  • 2 x eye liner
  • 2 x mascara
  • 7 x lip gloss
  • 8 x nail varnish
  • 2 x nail file

You can find this and other tiny treat’s and mini beauty box sets direct from their website here.

Has anyone else tried out this little bundle of joy? If so I’d like to know your thoughts.

Totally hellbent for surprising treats

-Pants

 

 

Cosmetics Storage, Nails

Roo Beauty Zebra Print Travel Nail Polish Storage

January 31, 2014

Roo Beauty Nail Polish Storage

 

Roo Beauty Nail Varnish Storage Zebra

 

 

Today I want to share this awesomely cute nail varnish case from Roo Beauty!

I travel around a lot with my band (not to mention the frequent trips across the channel to see my boyfriend who is studying in Rotterdam!) and I always loose my nail varnishes in the bottom of a travel case somewhere. Cut to ten minutes before stage time and I’m frantically trying to find a black sharpie to cover up all the chips I picked up during load in!

Well since my partner-in-crime gave me this gorgeous polish storage I’ve had no trouble putting my hand to my polishes when out and out!

Roo Beauty Zebra Nail Case

This gorgeous case has space for twenty polishes in a roomy foam insert, and so far I’ve managed to fit almost every kind of polish in the circular spaces. The only brand I have that doesn’t fit is the Avon Nailwear Pro+ as they come in square bottles that stretch the foam out of shape.

The case itself feels very sturdy with a heavy duty zip, and even the mesh top (very useful to spot what you need in a hurry!) feels like it will stand up to lots of abuse being thrown in and out of my tour bag. Even the removable foam is great quality, and I don’t think I’ll have to worry about it crumbling apart any time soon.

I love anything zebra print, so this was the perfect case for me but if you are after a classier black crock print, or a trashier bright leopard there are plenty of designs to choose from!

Available from RooBeauty.com for £14.99.

Totally hellbent for perfect nails on the road!

– Gem

 

Nails

Models Own Velvet Goth Trio

January 28, 2014

Models Own Velvet

 

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.

Models Own Velvet Goth trio swatches

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!

 

Models Own velvet with topcoat swatch

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

Nails, News

Shatter by O.P.I

January 16, 2014

Shatter by OPI

I am very much a latecomer when it comes to the crackle nail polish scene. I had one or two when they first hit the market but never really bothered with them much, I think these three polishes from O.P.I have completely changed my mind!

I found these in Pound World of all places, and picked up Shatter the Scales, Super Bass Shatter and Black Shatter.

I remember reading a review on these somewhere that hinted that if you applied them directly to the nail they didn’t crack, but as you can see below Shatter the Scales is the only one you could really wear alone, Super Bass Shatter was far too streaky and Black Shatter crackled even without base coat.

Crackle by OPI

 

 

Used over a coat of polish ( I chose Soho Silver by Nails Inc) they crackled up right away, though Super Bass Shatter and Shatter the Scales seemed to only break vertically.Black Shatter  was very impressive however, and I think I’ll find myself using it more and more to cover up a manicure after a few days of wear.

Crackle by OPI

 

If you fancy getting a hold of them then your best bet is Amazon or Ebay where all three can be found at discount prices, though it’s worth checking the pound stores if you get the chance!

Totally hellbent for getting into a trend years after it shows up!

– Gem

Nails

Rotterdam Spoils

December 18, 2013

Gem and I recently hopped across the channel for a long weekend in Rotterdam. Gem went to see her partner and Brains and I decided to attend the Rotterdam Deathfest.

Besides the bonus of feasting on cheese and Stroopwaffles whilst on the mainland, Gem and I had a gleeful skip to their local “Superdug-esque” store “Etos”. Many shiny things live there, but the shiniest of them all is probably their Etos nail varnishes at a mere €2.50 euros.

etos

Unable to resist such a juicy offer, I restricted myself to two new nail varnishes – a light blue and white, perfect for some festive nail art:

Coverage is great with these and I could have got away with just one coat of the blue, so if you are ever near and “Etos” I would definitely recommend checking out their stuff. They have a vast array of colours to choose from as well as lots of shiny glittery top coats and mosaic effect varnishes.

Totally hellbent for mainland spoils

-Pants

 

 

Make-up

Elf haul part 1 – Pants

July 22, 2013

IMG_1184

Following Gemma’s haul, I thought it only fair to show off my half of our glorious “accidental” but perfectly justified retail therapy purchases.

I jumped at the chance of slinging the mineral primer into the basket, as with the Kabuki (I’ve been lusting after these for so long now). The others I had absolutely no need for (except maybe the brush Shampoo) I just simply wanted them, and will be looking forward to trying them all out!

I am especially looking forward to the lipsticks and blusher which are complete newbies to me from Elf!

Totally hellbent for new shinies – always –

-Pants

 

 

Nails, NOTD

NOTD – Avon Red Bombshell

July 21, 2013

NOTD red bombshell

Today’s nail is one of my all time favourites. I often struggle to find the perfect “red” nail varnish. They are usually slightly too dark or more of a coral colour. This is one of two nail varnishes which is the “perfect” match.

I am a bit of a sucker for Avon nail varnish. They are super easy to apply and combined with a base and top coat, seem to last for ages for me at least. Plus, they look great next to each other.

My only downside to this varnish, is that Avon gave it a different top so it doesn’t match the rest of mine!

Totally hellbent for the perfect red

– Pants