NOTD - Berry Ice Cream by Barry M

I have been looking forward to wearing this polish ever since I decided to do my A to Z nail project.  It is one of my all time favourites so I couldn't wait to wear it.  Of course the downside is once I take it off I won't be wearing it again until I conclude my project (insert sad face here!).

The colour of this polish is a beautiful pastel creamy purple/pink colour.  Such a lovely spring like colour.  It cheers me up no end on this dull cold January day to see a Spring colour on my nails.  I think Spring is probably my favourite season as it brings all the promise of Summer.  Every year I hope we have a hot summer and every year I am disappointed, but the next Spring I am full of that promise again!

The only downside to this polish is that I think it does look better on tanned hands rather than pasty pale ones like mine!

The formulation of this polish is great, it applies so easily and dries quickly.  Barry M polishes are so cheap as well, no wonder they rank amongst my favourite nail polish brands.  This polish definitely gets an A+ from me!

Next up is Betty Blues from No. 7.
Until then,
Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Dark Pinks

My final nail wheel is dark pinks.  The darkest ones are almost purples but still more pinky than purple which is why I put them on this wheel.  There are 15 polishes altogether on this wheel ranging from the lightest (Rose Truffle by No. 7) to the darkest (Victoria by Nails Inc).

1. Aubergine by Marks and Spencer
My newly discovered favourite.  I fell in love with this colour recently after I wore for the first time and didn't want to take if off again.  Its just an amazing red/brown/purple colour with a metallic sheen (metallic again surprise surprise!).

2. Chambord by Nails Inc
I was bought this nail polish for Christmas a couple of years ago.  It was a collaboration between Nails Inc and Chambord (a black cherry liquor).  The colour in the bottle is just amazing.  It does not translate as well on your nails and this is the reason why its only second on my list and not in the top spot.

3. Cranberry Zest by Rimmel
Part of their I Love Fruities collection this polish has a definite fruity smell when you apply it and for a couple of days afterwards.  It has a lovely cream finish.

Are you inspired by any of my favourites?

Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Medium Pinks

These colours are amazing shocking pink colours, really eye catching and very Barbie like.  I have 10 colours in this range and they are all very similar with only subtle differences between them.  The lightest on this wheel is Pink Flamingo by Barry M and the darkest is Trick by George.

My top three favourites are:
1. Hot Pink by George
An amazing metallic pink colour (can you tell by now I like metallic finishes?).  A really beautiful colour.

2. Shocker by Rimmel
This was from the 60 Seconds range from a few years ago.  An amazing bright pink.

3. Jammy by No. 7
This polish is amazing on your toes, I wore this for weeks over the summer and did not want to take if off.

Would you are wear these pinks?

Lealea x

NNR (Not Nail Related!) - Carmine Beauty Box - January 2012

In a complete break from nail related items I wanted to blog about my new Carmine Beauty Box that arrived today.  If you don't know what a Beauty Box is basically its a subscription service where you pay a set amount and every month a new box arrives at your door.  In this box are five deluxe samples of make up and beauty related items that you may not have tried before (or heard of!).  The idea is for you to try out new products and new companies and then maybe you might want to try more of their products or spread the word about them.

The concept of the Beauty Box has been around for nearly a year now and there are various companies that do it (to varying degrees of cost).  The Carmine Beauty Box has only been around for a few months so is a relative newcomer to the market.  I have been impressed with the few boxes I have seen and at £12.95 a month it seems like a good deal.

This is what the box looks like when it first arrives.

Opened up you get a black box full of goodies

 Inside:

Unwrapped:

The goodies:

The products in January's box are:

• Wild Rose 24 hour Moisturising & Brightening Cream from Korres
• Eldora False Eyelashes
• Radiance Face Oil by Balance Me
• Himalayan Pink Salt from Westlab
• Fat Eye Stick from Eyeko in Satin Taupe

I am most excited about the Fat Eye Stick.  Its a beautiful colour and seems to be so versatile to be used as an all over lid colour or as a liner.  To buy this is £10 so this product alone almost covers the cost of the box.

I am least excited about the bath salt.  I don't normally take baths (I do wash honest!) as I prefer showers.  But I am willing to give it a try and see what its like.  To buy this is £2.85 for 500g and the sample I have is 100g so its really only worth around £0.60.

The other prices of the products if I bought them would be:

Wild Rose 24 hour Moisturising & Brightening Cream from Korres - this is £19 for 40ml and the sample I have is 10ml so is worth £4.75.

Eldora False Eyelashes - these synthetic and are worth £3.90.  I've never worn false lashes and I'm not sure when I would ever get the chance.  But now I have a pair just in case I ever should need them!

Radiance Face Oil by Balance Me - this is the most expensive item - it would be £30 for 30ml and the sample I have is 5ml so would cost £6.

Overall the cost of all the items in the box would be around £25 and I paid £12.95 so not bad.  I am looking forward to trying everything - not sure I will purchase the full size version of these products even if I liked them, but its fun to try new things.  I was slightly disappointed only to get one item of makeup as I prefer make up items to skin products but we'll see what comes in the next box.

Do you subscribe to a Beauty Box?

I'll be back with a NOTD soon!
Until then,
Lealea x

NOTD - Beach Melba by Ciate

Todays nail polish is a very light nude colour.  I think it would be a perfect colour to wear as part of a French Manicure, very much like a "your nails but better" colour.  It does not work by itself however which is how I am wearing it today. 

I put on three coats of this polish hoping it would hide the whites of my nails but it didn't, they just look like really dirty white tips! 

I find the formula of Ciate polishes a bit hit and miss.  Sometimes they are a bit thick and gloopy.  This one was not though and applied really easily and even with three coats it dried really quickly with no smudging (unlike Basil Street by Nails Inc).

I am torn between leaving this on for a couple of days or taking it off later (after only 24 hours).  If I had done a full French Manicure I would definitely leave it on.  I am eager to wear the next polish (my all time favourite Berry Ice Cream by Barry M) but I have a ton of cleaning to do tomorrow and I don't want to put that on and ruin it.  If only I had a Cleaner, I wouldn't have to think of these things!!

Until next time,
Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Light Pinks

I have that many different pink colours I had to split them onto three different colour wheels - light pinks, medium pinks and dark pinks.

I have nine colours which I thought fell into the light pink category from the very light (Pinky Pure by No. 7) to the very bright (Bright Pink by Barry M).

I think light pinks are to be worn when you are feeling very girly and very flirty.

My top three favourites are:

1. Admire by China Glaze
From their Romantica collection this is one of my all time favourite pinks.  It is an amazing metallic pink colour and one of those where you can't stop staring at your nails when wearing it.

2. Pink Underground by China Glaze
A lovely creamy light pink colour, perfect for summer days when you are feeling like a girly girl.

3. Bright Pink by Barry M
This polish truly is what is says on the tin - it is defintely bright pink.  One of the first Barry M colours I ever bought and the one which started my Barry M love.

Are you a girly girl?  Do you love light pinks?

Lealea x

NOTD - Basil Street by Nails Inc

I got this polish free with a magazine.  I have a few Nails Inc polishes and they were either all free with magazines, free with deodorants or bought for me.  At £11 a bottle, the price is too high for me to buy for myself when you can get some great polishes for much cheaper. 

I find the quality of Nails Inc polishes are ok, but not £11 worth of amazing.  This polish I found to be rather thick to apply and two hours after applying it and a quick dry top coat, I still managed to smudge it.  That usually happens when I have applied too thick a coat and it takes an age to dry.

The colour of this polish is somewhat boring I find.  I would liken it to a very milky cappuccino colour, quite dull toned really.  I went to a business meeting wearing it and it was perfect for that environment, I don't think my bright  Back to the Fuschia would have been appropriate there.

I think the best word to describe this polish would be "meh".  Do you like it?  Would you wear it?

Next up is Beach Melba from Ciate.

Until then,
Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Metallics

I love metallic polishes, I find them captivating when I am wearing them.  They always add a touch of sophistication to any outfit.  I have 13 polishes which I think are true metallics and I love them all!

They range from silver (Silver Foil by Barry M) through to metallic browns (459 from MNY).

My top three favourites are:

1. Soft Sienna Silks by China Glaze
I first wore this back in September and it is such a beautiful autumnal colour, one of those I couldn't stop staring at.  Definitely one of my all time favourites.

2. Rage by Orly
One of the only Orly polishes I own, I bought this after I saw someone use it in a nail tutorial on youtube and I fell in love with it.  I always get compliments whenever I wear it. Its just an amazing gold colour.

3. Robotika by China Glaze
This is a dark metallic pink colour from their Romantica collection.  A darker version of Admire from China Glaze which I think was also part of this collection and one of my all time favourites.

Do you love metallics? 

Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Whites/Yellows/Nudes

I have lots of nude nail polishes, its just a colour you can put on when you want to wear polish, but don't really want a massive pop of colour or to make a lot of effort.

I have a few yellows and whites and quite a lot of nudes.  The yellows are not really my first choice of colour but they can look cool in the height of summer.

The lightest colour in this range is Angel Wings by Sally Hansen and the darkest colour on the wheel is Commander in Chic by Sally Hansen.

My favourites on this wheel are:

1. Peach Melba by Barry M
A beautiful bright peachy colour.  I wore this to a wedding over the summer and it was just the perfect bright nude.

2. Effervescent Opal by Revlon
This is an unusual pick for me as I don't normally go for almost sheer colours.  However this one adds just a lovely sheen to a nude nail.

3. Mudslide by Sally Hansen
A sludgy muddy browny pink.  Sounds awful right?  Its not, its just a great way to wear a deeper nude colour.

What are your favourite nude colours?  Or would you go more for one of the yellows?

Lealea x

NOTD - Back to the Fuschia by Sally Hansen

First of all I just love the name of this polish!  Back to the Future has to be one of my favourite films of all time, so this play on words is very funny to me.

The colour is very fuschia, very bright shocking pink.  The bottle has a hint of purple shimmer when you hold it up to the light but this does not translate much onto your nails, the polish has more of a creamy finish.

I love the colour but I am not sold on the consistency of the polish.  One of my main bugbears about nail polishes is when they are not truly opaque - even after a couple of coats.  After two coats of this polish I can see still the shadow of the whites of my nails underneath the polish.  I hate that.  It also started to wear off the ends of my nails within 24 hours of putting it on, even with a top coat.

A lot of people rave about the brush with Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes.  It has a very wide large brush to enable you to cover your whole nail with only a couple of strokes.  For a clumsy person like me though, all this means is that I manage to coat the sides of my fingers as well as my nails.  Not sure that is the desired effect!

All in all this is a nice polish for those who are feeling very bold and daring.

Next up is a complete change - Basil Street by Nails Inc (a neutral cream/brown).

Until next time,
Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Oranges/Reds

I put all the orange and reds I have onto one wheel as it seemed to make sense as most of the colours are so close to each other.  I have 18 altogether ranging from an almost sheer orange (Sorbet by No. 7) to a dark red (Salsa by No. 7).

I had a harm time picking the three polishes I love the most from my collection.  I have to given honerable mention to Red Glitter by Barry M - I wore this on Christmas Day and it is the most amazing Christmas colour.  The only downside is that it takes forever to remove and thats why I didn't pick it in my top three.

The ones that did make it are:

1. Red Carpet by Rimmel
Part of their 60 Seconds range, this is an amazing shimmery red colour with gold reflects running through it.  Perfect for a glam look.

2. Salsa by No. 7
This is a dark shimmery red, much darker than Red Carpet but with a similar effect.  A grown up red.

3. Knockout Red by No. 17
I got this one as a free gift from No. 17 a couple of years ago.  It is just a bright pillarbox red which is just lovely.

Do you love a good red?  Or are you more an orange lover?

Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Greys

Grey is not a colour that I would think would make a nice nail polish colour, you'd think it would be a bit drab.  However I actually love wearing grey on my nails, it goes so well with a pair of jeans and tank top for a casual but glam outfit.

I have six grey nail polishes ranging from light grey (Grey Matter by Rimmel) to virtually black (Nightshade by No. 17).

My top three favourites are:

1. Grey by Barry M
This was the first grey colour that I bought and I love it!  Such a sophisticated, but oh-so-casual colour.

2. Grey - Magnetised by No. 17
The first magnetised nail polish I bought, it is totally gorgeous.  The effect makes the finish almost metallic with light silver through to almost black in an amazing 3D effect. A definite must have.

3. Deceit by George
This is almost black with but flecks of silver running through it which creates a beautiful colour.

Would you wear grey nail polish?

Lealea x

NOTD - Azure by Rimmel

This is one of my favourite colours so I was very excited to wear this one.  The colour in the bottle is a beautiful almost duochrome blue/purple.  This does not translate as well onto the nails but you can still see a hint of purple in with the blue.  The colour is absolutely electric on your nails.

My only complaint would be that the colour is not fully opaque on your nails even after two coats, it would have required three to be truly opaque.  But that is my only grumble. 

I would say this is a must have colour for blue lovers.

This completes the A's of my polishes, onto the B's now.  First up is Back to the Fuschia by Sally Hansen. 

Until then,
Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Purples

Purple is my all time favourite colour so its unsurprising I have a lot of purple nail polishes.  I see one and I can't resist buying it!  I have 14 altogether ranging from light purple (Berry Ice Cream by Barry M) to dark purple (Burlesque by Ciate).

I love all of my purples so much I had a hard time narrowing it down to just three.  The ones I eventually picked are:

1. Berry Ice Cream by Barry M
One of my all time favourite polishes from their Ice Cream collection.  Its a beautiful pinky purple colour and when I'm wearing it I just can't stop staring at my nails!

2. Ultraviolet by George
This is one of the only duochrome polishes I own.  It changes from blue to purple depending on how you move your hands in the light.  Truly captivating and you find yourself waving your hands in front of your face all the time, just to see the colours change (or is that just me?).

3. Purple Pulse by Sally Hansen
This is a deep purple colour with silver undertones.  This does translate onto your nails, in full sunlight its true colours come out.

What purples do you own? 

Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Greens

I'm not normally one who would pick out green as a favourite colour so I was surprised to note how many green nail polishes I have (12 altogether!).

As you can see my collection ranges from very light green (Aquamarine by Mavala) to very dark green (Totally Teal by No. 7).   I actually found it quite easy to pick three favourites from the greens, actually I could have picked more!

My top favourites are:

1. Peacock by No. 17
I got this free in a No. 17 promotion a few years ago.  It is a beautiful shimmery green blue colour which has an almost metallic finish.  Beautiful!

2. Under the Sea by George
George (at Asda) is not a brand I would normally buy.  But I saw this colour on the stands as I was browsing for clothes and it caught my eye.  It is actually quite similar to Peacock although is much greener.

3. Mint Green by Barry M
This is part of their Ice Cream collection released a couple of years ago.  It is a very pastel green, such a lovely spring like colour.  I've always gotten compliments when I have worn this polish.

If you love greens, you will love these!

Lealea x

Top 3 Favourites - Blues

I was looking at all my colour wheels today and decided that I would start to do a series on my favourite colours from each colour wheel.

First up is the blue wheel.  I have 13 (unlucky for some!) blue nail polishes starting from the very light (Blue Moon by Barry M) to the very dark (Betty Blues by No. 7).

From these I have picked my top three which are as follows:

1. Blueberry Ice Cream by Barry M
This is from their Ice Cream collection.  Such a beautiful robins egg blue it always makes me think of spring when I am wearing this polish.

2. Blue - Magnetised by No. 17
This is a recent purchase and part of the new magnetised polish craze.  I love magnetised polishes - its takes so little effort to create an amazing look and these polishes when you catch them in the right light look like they are 3D.  I always get comments when I wear them.  The effect you get with the blue one is great - the light contrasted with the almost purple dark.  Stunning.

3. Azure by Rimmel
From their I Love Lasting Finish range.  This is a gorgeous metallic looking blue which has so many different undertones running through it.  I could sit and look at the bottle all day!

Have you tried any of these?  I recommend you do so immediately!!

Lealea x

NOTD - Aubergine by Marks and Spencer

Todays polish is from Marks and Spencer.  Not a place I would normally buy nail polish from but I saw a review on Youtube which was good so I thought I would check them out.  When I bought this in December they were running a buy one get one half price offer.  As the polish is was £3, it seemed like a good deal so I bought four.  Unfortunately all four were in the same bag and somehow they got knocked into each other and one broke.  The green one.  Yeah cleaning that up was fun.  Nail polish doesn't seem to come off skin as easily as it does off nails and I spent the next 24 hours afterwards looking a bit like a smurf!!

Anyway enough of my clumsiness and back to the nail polish!  This is a very dark red/brown polish.  It looks more rusty red in the bottle than it does on your nails, but I do like the colour.  It looks like a very grown up polish.

The polish itself has a thick consistency and so is a bit tricky to apply.  I did ruin my thumbnail on the first coat as I applied it too thick and when I tried to even it out it it went blobby.  Luckily it smoothed out on the second coat.

I would give this polish an A for colour, but only a B for how ease of appliance given how thick it was.

Next up is Azure from Rimmel - a beautiful electric blue colour.  Can't wait!

Until then,
Lealea x

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just wanted to add to this my verdict on this polish.  I am still wearing it 4 days later and apart from normal wearing on the ends it hasn't chipped at all.  The colour is so gorgeous - its like a metallic dark red/brown, I love looking at my nails with it on.  I think this is definitely one of my favourites!

NOTD - Aquamarine by Mavala

My nail polish today is a light green colour from Mavala.  Mavala is not a brand I would normally buy but I found this one in the clearance racks in Boots.  It was in a set of two and was £5 for them both.  Never one to miss out on nail polish for £2.50 each I thought I would try it.

The colour in the bottle is slightly shimmery, it seems to have a silvery blue shimmer to it.  Unfortunately this does not really translate to your nails.  I also had to apply three coats so you couldn't see my nails through it and even then I still can slightly.

Not sure this will pursuade me to buy any more Mavala polishes but its not the worst polish I have ever tried.

Next up is Aubergine from Marks and Spencer.  I haven't worn this one before so I am quite excited to try it!

Until then,
Lealea x

NOTD - Apricot Punch by Rimmel

Todays nail polish is one of the Fruities range from Rimmel.  This means that the nail polish has a slight fruity smell - this one as you can probably tell from the name of the polish is supposed to smell of Apricots.  Not sure about that but it does have a slight fruity smell if you care to sniff your nails!

The polish is not quite bright orange - its like a muted orange colour.  I normally like the formula of Rimmel nail polishes but this one is quite streaky to apply. The first coat was very patchy, the second coat evened it out but I still found that even with two coats its not very opaque and you can see the whites of my nails underneath.  Despite being a Lasting Finish polish it is already wearing of the tips of my nails after 24 hours.

Not my most favourite polish I must admit.

The next up is Aquamarine from Mavala.

See you soon
Lealea x

NOTD - Angel Wings by Sally Hansen

I went to a Christening today so was glad that the next nail polish in my collection was Angel Wings by Sally Hansen which is a muted pearly white.  It seemed to go much better with the occasion than the bright red I was wearing before!

This nail polish is very sheer, more like a wash of pearly colour rather than being fully opaque.  It is not a colour I would normally wear or buy but this one came in a set of two with Mudslide by Sally Hansen, a lovely muddy pink colour. 

In this photo I actually have three coats of polish on as well as an undercoat (Boots No. 7 in Clear) and topcoat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.  Even with three coats on you can clearly see my nails underneath (which actually were a bit yellow-y when I took the All Fired Up off).  I think this is more of a nice occasion nail polish rather than a statement polish.

Sally Hansen nail polishes are great to apply.  They have a very wide angled brush which makes application easy - especially on your little finger which you can do with one swipe of the brush.  The formulation is also great.  I would give this an A for its easy application but this particular one a C for colour as its so sheer.

Next up on my list is Apricot Punch by Rimmel (one of the Fruities Collection).

Later,
Lealea x

Colour wheels

So after getting organised I thought I would buy some of those nail colour wheels so I could see exactly how many polishes of each colour I have.  I bought them for £5.99 from ebay (10 wheels, 18 "nails" on each wheel).  I decided to separate each colour spectrum onto a wheel.  Good in theory but in practice I had 12 different colour spectrums so I had to put all the greys/blacks in with the glitters and shatter polishes and the reds with the oranges.  As all the reds and oranges take up all 18 places on the wheel I guess that means I can't buy any more red/orange polishes again!

Here are all 10 laid out - don't they look pretty?

In close up...


Oranges/Reds

Medium Pinks

Light pinks

Dark pinks

Greens

Purples

Whites/Yellows/Nudes

Metallics

Glitters/Shatters/Greys/Blacks

Blues

I had so much fun painting these, putting them all in order of light to dark, labelling them (yep I am that sad!).  I can't wait to wear all of these this year now!  I love them all!

New polish on tonight so I will do another NOTD tomorrow,

Until then,
Lealea x

Getting organised!

After deciding to carry out this little project I decided it was time to organise my nail polishes so it was easy to find everything.  Rather than stash them all in a large make up bag (which I couldn't even close!) I decided to store them all in boxes so that they were all easy to see.  I figure it might stop me from buying yet another pink polish when I can clearly see that I have about 30 sitting in a box!

I didn't want to spend too much on this organisation so a quick trip to WH Smith in the sales sorted me out, I found some cute stripy storage boxes for £1 each (told you I liked a bargain).  So now my polishes are all neatly stored.  Love it!

Oh and for your amusement - this is what my living room carpet looked like before I boxed everything up...

If only everything else in my house was as easy to organise...

Take care,
Lealea x