Burgundy (Magnetic) by Barry M

As you know I am a huge fan of magnetic nail polishes and when I saw that Barry M were not only bringing out their own range but with different magnetic patterns on each polish I did a little happy dance! 

Unfortunately the Superdrug where I bought my recent Barry M haul (six in total!) only had the Burgundy colour so I had to settle for just one instead of all four different colours.

The premise of having the different patterns on the lids means that you can actually use the different patterns on each colour magnetic polish meaning that there are 16 different combinations you can try.  My favourite pattern of the four has to be the one that is shaped like a Union Jack, perfect to wear during the Queen's Jubliee celebrations next month I feel.

I found this polish was ever so slightly too thick and I tend to be heavy handed with my nail polish application so I had to try and be soft and gentle and not apply too much polish at once.  That is my only critique of this polish though.  It is fully opaque after one coat, although you need to apply two if you want to use the magnet. 

The magnet itself is easy to use and not once did I catch my nails with it.  I think it would work better on people who have flatter nails though, mine are quite curved and the magnetised effect does not quite reach the edges of my nails, especially on my thumb.  No matter though, it is not really obvious to anyone other than me and does not take away from the effect.

The pattern with the Burgundy is diagonal stripes.  The effect actually reminds me somewhat of a school tie, I have no idea why!

The other colours in this magnetic range are Blue, Dark Silver and Violet.  I can't wait to purchase the others and put them in my collection to try out.  These nail polishes retail at £4.99 and Superdrug currently have a 3 for 2 offer on all makeup ranges so here's hoping I can find all three I want in my local Superdrug!

The next polish in my collection is Climax by Rimmel.

Until later,
Lealea x

Nail polishes of late

So as you will have seen in my post of yesterday, I have only worn a few nail polishes over the last couple of months so instead of doing a review I will just post pics and details of those polishes.  If you want an in depth review of any of them, just let me know.

Firstly, Chocolate Shakespeare by OPI.  My apologies for the bad lighting.

City Grey by Marks and Spencer

Black Multi Glitter by Barry M (yes I know its out of sequence.  Blame Barry M for bringing it out after I had completed the B's!).

My next review will be of Barry M's new magnetic nail polishes.  As you know I am a huge fan of magnetic and so I was excited to see them in the shops!

Until next time,
Lealea x

I'm back!!! (and where I've been)

So I'm back!  Missed me? 

Huge apologies for abandoning my blog, its been a rather hectic time over the last couple of months and I haven't really been wearing nail polish over the last couple of months let alone be able to blog about it.  You see I have been off growing two small humans, and boughts of morning sickness left me with no desire to paint my fingernails!  Now that I have gotten that pesky first trimester out of the way and am feeling better, I figure its high time I continue with my nail project before the two small humans are born and I don't have time to look at my nails, let alone paint them!

I can assure you I have been keeping up with my vow though and if I have worn polish over the last couple of months it has mostly been in alphabetical order.  I must confess though I did cave last week and buy six new nail polishes (I really needed them I swear!) and a couple of them started with B so I have worn them out of order.  But they were really beautiful and just begging to be worn!

I will post again tomorrow with photos of the nail polishes I have worn in the last couple of months and my next review will be of the new Barry M magentic nail polish in Burgundy.

Until later
Lealea x

NOTD - Cheeky Chops by No. 7

Over most of last summer Boots seemed to continuously have a deal on where if you spent over £5 you received a voucher for £5 off No. 7 products.  I spend a lot in Boots anyway and No. 7 polishes are normally £7.  So with a voucher thats £2 a bottle.  I spent waaaay more than I needed to in Boots to keep myself in supply of No. 7 vouchers and as a result I have about 10 - 15 No. 7 polishes!

Cheeky Chops is a very bright pink.  It is similar in colour to Pink Flamingo by Barry M which is a bit of a cult colour.  Its a very spring/summer colour, guaranteed to cheer you up when you look at your nails.  Its actually a nice colour to wear on your toes, especially with a tan (or so I would imagine as I haven't been anywhere to get a tan for so long *sob, woe is me*).

No. 7 polishes are very easy to apply although at times I find they do border slightly on the gloopy side.  The consistency of Cheeky Chops is not fantastic though, I put two coats on and it was still not opaque.  I think it would have really needed three coats to truly achieve full coverage.  Maybe I will keep this more of a toenail colour from now on.

Next up is Chocolate Shakespeare by OPI.
Until next time,
Lealea x

NOTD - Chambord by Nails Inc

I received this nail polish as a gift a couple of christmases ago.  It came with a bottle of Chambord Liqueur which is a black raspberry liqueur.  I also received a bottle of champagne to make Chambord Champagne Cocktails - very nice!

The nail polish is a deep pink colour to match with the black raspberry liqueur.  It has a shimmer running through it which is truly gorgeous.  The only downside is that this makes it slightly difficult to apply as it can go streaky if you don't apply it with a straight steady hand (I've no chance then!).

It does apply well and the consistency is great.  It did chip on the ends after two days of wear although I was prepared to overlook that.  On the third day though after my shower I noticed it was really peeling off my thumbnail so it had to go.  It was gorgeous while it lastest though!

Next up is Cheeky Chops from No. 7.
Until next time,
Lealea x

NNR (Not Nail Related) - Carmine Beauty Box (February)

After waiting for what seemed like ages I finally received my February Carmine Beauty Box.  I must confess that I was too impatient to wait to see what was in it, so I may have peeked at some spoilers when other bloggers received theirs.  Bad girl!  It did actually spoil it for me slightly though so I don't think I will be doing that again.

So without further ado - this is what I got in my Beauty Box this month...

This months box was a mixed bag of items.  Two makeup related items, whitening toothpaste, face/hand/body cream and a shower gel.  Also thrown in as a bonus item was a perfume sample.  There were two full size products in this box which is great and overall I like the mix of things.

The products were:

White Glo Whitening Toothpaste
Apparently an Australian brand developed for models and actors/actresses.  I've not tried it yet so I can't say whether it actually works, but it is definitely something I would not have tried for myself.  I don't drink tea, coffee or red wine and I don't smoke so I don't have stained teeth but I'm sure they could always be whiter.   They sell this in Boots for £4.07 for 150g (including toothbrush).  This product is 24g so would be worth approximately £0.65.

Balance Me Moisturising Body Wash
This product smells lovely so I can't wait to use it in the shower.  I am not one who spends a lot on shower gels, so it will be nice to try out a more expensive shower gel for a change and see whether its worth it.  This one is made with all natural products - no parabens, sulphates etc.  Should be nice to try.  A 260ml bottle costs £12.25 so the 125ml bottle in the Carmine box is worth approximately £6.

Steam Cream
This cream can be used on the face, hands and body so is very versatile.  This is also a full size product which is great.  There is nothing worse than receiving such a small sample of cream that it runs out before you've had chance to try it out for a few weeks to see whether it does make a difference.  I love the funky designs that the pots come in.  I got the leopard print one.  If I carry it around in my handbag I will definitely be able to find it!  A quick google tells me this retails around £12.95 so definitely worth the price of the whole Beauty Box.

Diego Dalla Palma The Lipstick.
This is not a full size sample of lipstick, in fact it is quite small.  The lipstick does not retract in the pot so I can't say how long it will be before I break it trying to put the lid back on.  I have already managed to get some around the edges of the lid.  I received no. 32 which is a coral colour.  Not really my colour at all, so I'm not sure whether this will get worn at all.  Apparently this make up range is available to buy from Tesco Direct.  A full size of this lipstick would set you back £14.

Andrea Fulerton Nail Polish
Ok so you all knew that this was going to be my favourite item of them all!  Nail polish samples were one of the prime reasons I signed up for a Beauty Box so as soon as I saw the spoilers for the February box I couldn't wait to get my hands on mine just to see what colour I got.  There were six different colour samples that were sent out, so its such a shame that I got the one I did.  I received Stella which is a dark red colour.  Of all the colours I find dark reds the most boring so I was actually disappointed when I opened my box and saw this one.  *Sigh*  The one good thing is that it is a full size bottle and I have been wanting to try Andrea Fulerton polishes for a while.  Of course with it being called "Stella" it will be a long time before it makes it debut on my nails as I have a lot of polish to get through before I get to the "S's"!!  Andrea Fulerton polishes retail at £4.99 at Superdrug.

Yardley London Peony Fragrance
This is an extra sample thrown in with the box.  Mine arrived half empty though so I'm not sure whether it has leaked in the box or it was supposed to be that way.  The smell is ok, not sure its something I would rush out to buy myself but its nice to receive and even nicer that its from a company I have heard of! 50ml of this Eau de Toilette will cost £9.99.

All in all I like this box although I would have loved to have received a nail polish and lipstick in a different colour.  But beggars can't be choosers and its what I signed up for so I can't expect it all to be exactly to my taste.  The contents of this box cost approximately £30 so more than I paid for the box.

I think when March's box arrives I will not be looking at any more spoilers so I can be surprised all on my own!
Until next time,
Lealea x

NOTD - Casting Call by Sally Hansen

First off - my apologies for having been absentee for a week - its been rather hectic around here this week and I haven't had much chance for blogging (or changing nail polish would you believe?).

Casting Call is one of my new nail polishes bought in my mini haul a couple of weeks ago.  I loved the look of it in the bottle, so bright.  When I put it on though I wasn't so sure of it.  Its not quite an orange,  not quite a pink - its like it can't decide what to be.  It reminded me a bit of Rimmels Apricot Punch but pinker.

Despite it not being my favourite colour I did get compliments on it so it must look good on.

As with all Sally Hansen polishes this was easy to apply.  I used two coats although you could still see some of the whites of my nails under the polish it wasn't too pronounced.  It did chip around the ends of my nails but as its a lighter polish it wasn't too noticeable.  I did end up wearing this for five days which is practically unheard of in these parts, so for that I was impressed.

Next up is one of my favourites - Chambord by Nails Inc.  Can't wait.
Until next time,
Lealea x

p.s. You may have noticed that once again my command of the alphabet has slipped (Casting Call should come before Caviar Glitter).  I blame the fact that it is slowly turning into spring and I am becoming too giddy that winter is nearly over ;)