NOTD: Essie Watermelon

Back to my string of Essie polish swatches with Watermelon. This was the first one I picked up but possibly the least impressive of the lot. It's a very thin consistency which means it takes a few coats to get the colour in the bottle and it chips really easily. I've quickly learned that Essie is similar to OPI in that the consistency across the range is poor but the packaging is so cute and shade selection is great, I'm not writing them off just yet.

This particular shade was a bit blah compared to how wow it looked on the shelf. I'm sure I have dupes within my vast polish collection and it's just not as special as I'd first thought.

Essie recently launched a range of their best selling polishes in Boots

You can purchase them here for £7.99

Watermelon is included in the collection.

Miss BB

How To Remove Glitter Polish

This is one of those things I'd always heard about but took ages to try and when I did I couldn't believe the results. I'm sure for a lot of you this will be like teaching you to suck eggs.. you've seen it all before, right? Well I would have thought so too as  you're all so beauty minded but when I mentioned it in a recent video I had an overwhelming response to film a tutorial so of course, I did.

If this helps only one poor glitter lover it will have all been worth it!

What you'll need...

Acetone Nail Polish Remover

*acetone free works just not as quickly in my experience*

Tin Foil

Cotton Wool Pads

• Cut your cotton wool pads into quarters and your tin foil into strips.. you'll need 10 of each.
• Saturate a cotton quarter and place it on your nail.
• Wrap your fingertip with foil - don't use too little foil and make sure it's properly covered.
• Cover all 10 fingers and leave for 5 minutes.
• To remove wiggle the foil and the cotton pad on your nail and pull the whole thing off, you should be left with a clean, glitter free nail.

The polish that I was wearing was Razzle Dazzle by Deborah Lippmann, I absolutely love this stuff but it's the worst to remove in my collection because the tiny glitter particles act like sand paper to my cotton pad. Nightmare! It was this polish that first drove me to trying this method and I still can't believe how effective it is. I know it's still time consuming but you feel a lot more productive wrapping your finger with foil than you do scrubbing away an entire pack of cotton pads for an hour. I reserve this removal for the more terminally difficult polishes.

It's easy peasy and I'd have thought you could follow this easy step by step but here's a very short video tutorial for you if you'd like to see it in practice...

Here's to many more glitter moments for us all!

Miss BB

NOTD : Wet n Wild Tropicalia

This is my new favourite polish. Fact!

It wasn't too thin in formula and covered in one coat - I added a second out of habit - it lasted really well, 3 or 4 days chip free and it was only $2. I will be trawling the internet for more wet n wild polishes in the UK because this was really impressive. The colour is gorgeous and just generally I cannot recommend this enough. So so nice!

 

Are any of you obsessed with Wet n Wild nails?

Miss BB

NOTD : Essie Fiji

I posted yesterday about Ole Caliente, the second Essie polish I chose from my new haul was Fiji. Now this wasn't quite as good. What you see here is 3 coats, it's still better than any other baby pink shade I've tried for opacity but it only lasted one day without chipping and for how long the application took I expected better. This is still the best quality shade of it's kind in my collection and will definitely see lots of use in the future but Ole Caliente wins on formula so far. I'm repainting tonight and undecided whether to go for Cute as a Button or Watermelon.. any preference as to which you'd like to see next?

I have my eye on a few others on BeautyBay right now, I've had some great suggestions of what to pick up but if you have any more leave me a comment.

Miss BB

My First Essie

My love for Essie until now has been altogether shallow and meaningless. I have admired their cute little minimalistic bottles from afar but never took the leap and bought one of my own. They looked lovely and all but unlike OPI they never seemed to have anything special to offer, nothing I couldn't find cheaper elsewhere anyway. While we're briefly on the subject of OPI I have always found their formulas to be somewhat lackluster and this is definitely a contributing factor in why I have avoided Essie until now. I thought they would be cut from the same cloth and while OPI have certain 'must -haves' I cannot go without Essie just seemed to offer your basic colour palette in prettier packaging.

My need for them didn't die though and when i spotted them in the US at just $8 a bottle (around £5) I couldn't resist starting my collection. This wasn't just one purchase either.. I just couldn't stand the thought of regret once I was home so.. I bought 5.. as you do. The 5 I chose are as follows (L-R) Fiji, Demure Vix, Cute as a Button, Ole Caliente (new for S/S '12) and my favourite and first pick, Watermelon. So far I've only tested one and that will be coming very soon as a NOTD post but let me tell you.. I'm impressed! One coat was all it needed and after a day of gardening I am still chip-free. I obviously can't comment on the entire range or Essie as a brand after trying just one product but I can say I am very excited to hear that they are coming to a Superdrug near you very soon. I will blog more on that later but I have heard that the formula and brush will be different for their UK drugstore 'diffusion' range so whether it will be a lesser quality or a smaller bottle (like ORLY do in Boots) I'm not sure but I will be first in line to give it a go.

I know I am ridiculously late on the Essie bandwagon so all you fans.. what other shades do I need?

Gellish Much?

I've been hearing about Gellish/Shellac nails for months now and when holiday time came it seemed the perfect opportunity to give it a go myself. I booked an appointment at my local salon where they have just started offering the treatment and are running a deal too good to miss. Mani/Pedi £20!! For that price I couldn't say no, unfortunately there were a few reasons that the deal was so good, 1. The Nail Tech is newly qualified and 2. The colours available were extremely limited. I think she had 5 all of which were a bit dated, frosty mauves and such, the red was really my only option. From the start I wasn't super impressed with the paint job.. no neater than I could have done myself but the whole process (hands) took about 40mins and I was impressed with the glossy finish and the promise of 3 weeks wear. I knew that I wouldn't get that long from it as my fingernails grow quickly and the re-growth would drive me mad but chip free for the duration of my trip was all I wanted. 

The pictures above and below are both 1 week in and I am distinctly underwhelmed. After only one day I could see wear and 3 days in my thumb and forefinger had both chipped. Bare in mind that I was on holiday.. no housework, washing up etc.. I was expecting more. 

In this instance it could well be a case of you get what you pay for but I wouldn't pay more after this experience. My regrowth was bad after a week and even the best nail tech couldn't avoid that so I won't be shelling out the big bucks for this kind of thing but my toes are lasting well and I would consider having this done again for a week away so as not to worry about repainting while on holiday. Having heard such wondrous things about gellish I thought I'd add my not so wondrous thoughts to the mix, I'm not saying don't try it I'm just saying manage your expectations.. it's not magic!

Miss BB

OPI - Nicki Minaj

I've never been drawn to OPI mini's before but the Nicki Minaj collection was full of such fun colours I couldn't resist. Yes it is frustrating that the mini bottles don't have the names on the bottom but I'll take a sharpie to them and fix that myself. For £13 I can live with it! I doubt I would EVER have used up a full bottle of these shades (well.. maybe the black.. ahhh) and that's probably true of most of my nail polish so I'm kind of coming around to these little tester collections.

L-R
Did It On Em, Fly, Pink Friday & Metallic 4 Life

I have to say I am absolutely LOVING Metallic 4 Life and having taken my polish off last night I'm thinking of that on all my nails when I redo them this evening. I also love Fly but it's stained my nails pretty horrifically. They are full on blue now.. not sure how I feel about that. It wouldn't put me off wearing it again but it's definitely a point to note. 

You can purchase these minis for £13 here

Buyapowa currently have this set for just £12 here down from the RRP of £21

BARGAIN!!!

Miss BB

Wedding Nails? #2

This is my favourite so far. It's wintry but sparkly and wedding-special at the same time.

Miners White Pearl with MAC Unconditionally Fabulous over the top. Love it! Look out for my collective post on my wedding blog next week to vote for your favourite!

Here it is with my rings.. aah!

Miss BB

Wedding Nails? #1

Over the next week I will be posting as many nail looks as I can to put to the vote. Which should I wear for the wedding? Quirky or traditional or somewhere in between? My Dress is short and my heels are pink so I think I need more than french tips.

*What Did I Use?*

OPI - Chapel of Love

Models Own - Utopia (on ring fingers) 

OPI - Coronation (over utopia on top two photos)

Sinful Colours - I Miss You (over Utopia on bottom two)

Miss BB

NYE Nails

WHAT I USED

BARRY M NAIL PAINT IN SILVER

NAILS INC GLITTER IN ELECTRIC AVENUE

RIMMEL NAIL POLISH IN BEIGE STYLE

I discovered if I layer a glitter over a metallic polish it has more staying power! I consider the Rimmel lycra wear shades to be quite long lasting but the nude nails have started to chip 4 days later and the silver is still going strong! I'm impressed! I'm also totally sold on the thumb and ring finger being painted alternate colours.. especially with glitter that's a pain to remove!

What did your nails wear for New Year?

Miss BB

Hand Spa

'What is a Hand Spa?' you might ask.. well, you've heard of a foot spa? It's nothing like that.

A Hand Spa is a little R&R for your neglected nails, some pampering for your palms. If you're anything like me your hands get the least attention, every time I paint my nails I sigh at my peeling skin and dry cuticles and vow to give myself a proper manicure before I next repaint.. but another year has passed and my forgotten fingertips are still waiting patiently for there turn to be treated.

You can imagine my glee then when on Christmas morning Santa (my Mum) left me this little kit under the tree. Sally Hansen's Perfect Manicure kit, my hands involuntarily clapped with excitement upon unwrapping their gift. I'm not uber excited about the nail growth treatment as my nails grow fast as it is and I generally keep them short but it promises to strength and that's something I need! Having only recently been spending time without polish (babies don't allow for drying time so it's tricky to get chance to reapply regularly) my nails are dry and brittle from the constant suffocation under a layer of varnish and use of remover in between switching colours. Now I am leaving time between applications it seems the perfect opportunity to get my nails back in tip top condition. 

In this kit you get a 'hand resurfacer' - basically a micro scrub, a file, a growth treatment, hand cream and some nifty little gloves for extra conditioning at bedtime. I'm interested.. does anyone ever use these gloves? I suffer from hot feet and hands and much as I love the idea of sleeping in socks/gloves and waking up with uber soft feet I don't think I could sacrifice the night of sleep I would inevitably lose in the process. New Year is all about pampering and putting back in to your skin everything that's been lost in these wintery months and of course the 'party season' so tonight I shall be treating myself to a manicure, slathering myself in body butter and falling in to a luxuriously deep sleep to wake up feeling refreshed.. or else I'll be woken 10mins in by a crying baby needing his bottle.. 

Miss BB

NOTD - Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

First off.. loving this! I know not everyone was overly enamoured of their December Glossybox but no matter what i got I think this would have won me over. I love me some glitter at Christmas time and having purchased from this brand before I was aware it's NOT CHEAP! I love the special glitter shades from Deborah Lippmann but I've only tried one polish from the brand previously and it chipped so quickly it really put me off trying any others. I have to say though..  after trying this one I'm already chomping at the bit to add to my collection. I've had it on my nails for a couple of days and it's showing very little sign of wear. I already knew that it would look fabulous but if it chips an hour after I've applied it I'm not interested. Glossybox absolutely got it right for me this month. They've made a customer of me where I'd written DL off as a bad job. This is going to be an expensive habit!

The polish is luxuriously dark and festive cranberry shade with an overload of raspberry glitter. I can't think of anything more fitting for the Holidays.

A full sized polish is 15ml and a mini is approx 9ml (I had to do some fl oz - ml calculations as I couldn't find a volume online on any UK site) I think that's a really nice size. For something like this that you wouldn't wear every day the mini size is ideal! FYI The polish on the right is 'Waking Up In Vegas' and the yellow colour shakes out.. it settles like that when it's left to sit.

Have you tried anything from Deborah Lippmann?

Miss BB

Paradoxal Dupe from 2True

I know these have been compared in the past but I had to share this for those of you that have missed it especially as right now you can buy 3 2True products for £4.99 from Superdrug here (£1.99 each)

I haven't splashed out on Chanel Paradoxal myself as 1. I don't love it enough to spend that kind of money and 2. I already have this shade (no.46) from 2True which is close enough for me! It was super difficult to photograph but hopefully you can make out the purple/blue shimmer running through the taupey-greige polish. I think the polish itself needs to be a touch more purple to be a true dupe but it's pretty darn close I'm sure you'll agree  and at £1.99 what have you got to lose?...well... £1.99 I suppose.

I couldn't do a dupe post without a photo of the original swatch, could I? So I had to borrow this one from  Lacquerized.com. Click on the photo to be taken to their original review post.

MissBB

Guest Blog Post - Blue Ombre Nails

I don't know about any one else but i'm always switching up my nail polish. No matter how lovely the colour looks or how long i've spent making them look nice, within a few days i'm bored and want something new. I've always liked nail art but spending hours on intricate details to remove it all a few days later seems silly!

This design is quick, easy and cheap(and did i mention really pretty too?!)

To get Gradient nails(or ombre as some might call it!), where the polish goes from light(less opaque) to dark(highly opaque) or dark to light(whichever you fancy) all you need is one nail polish. I've seen this done(and attempted it very badly) with multiple polishes but that's where it starts getting a bit tricky!

When doing this with a single polish it's best to use one that is thin and that isn't very opaque. This allows us to create thin layers that we can gradually build up.

I chose Barry M's Silver Sea. It's a lovely silver ocean blue with a bit of glitter that really adds another dimension to the gradient. It's perfect for the cold Winter season that's coming up. It's also a complete steal at only £2.99.

Seche Vite fast dry top coat, Barry M Silver Sea, Leighton Denny Sex Kitten.

The first step is to apply a very thin coat of polish onto bare nails. It doesn't matter how thin it is as we're going to build it up. It also doesn't matter how messy the layers are as this won't be noticeable once we've finished all the layers.

Bare in mind that my thumb and ring finger are already painted.

When this layer is nearly dry start slightly higher up the nail and apply another coat, still quite thin. 

Repeat step two higher up the nail again, making the coat slightly thicker

Apply another layer focusing on the top half of the nail.

Finally apply the last layer focusing right at the tip of the nail.

The tip should now be opaque and the colour should be gradually getting darker as it goes up the nail.

Once all the layers are applied, it's important to let them dry before finally applying a top coat(I used Seche Vites fast dry top coat). If they're not dry when you brush on the top coat it can smudge the polish and ruin the gradient effect.

It's such a quick and easy way to create such a lovely effect. You can also do this technique over a base colour like i've done below on my thumb nail for a more subtle effect. Firstly apply the base colour, mine is Sex Kitten by Leighton Denny(From October's Glossybox!) and then repeat the above steps on top of it when it's dried.

Zoe, xo

About Todays Guest Blogger...

My name's Zoe and my Blog is zozeze.blogspot.com

I'm a 17 year old who makes too many impulse buys and spends far too much money on superficial things.

I'm very new to blogging but i'm already obsessed! My blog focuses on make up, current trends and shopping but occasionally something about fashion and style might pop up!