Accessorize Nail Polishes - A/W and Metallic Collection Review

Greetings, all!

Today I have 2 Accessorize polishes under review - I remember when Accessorize first launched their cosmetic range and was SO pleasantly surprised when the quality turned out to be top notch. My Coral Crush Lipstick is still one of my favourite make-up items over 1 year after buying.

Accessorize have recently launched 19 new shades of Nail Polish, including a metallic range - woweee!

I decided to give you some Nail Art to perv over, rather than just do a standard, plain review - I'm just THAT kind to you! I started with a base of 2 coats of the Accessorize Winter Berry - a gorgeous warm-toned plum colour. It's the perfect wintery shade, in my opinion, and looks loooovely on the nails.

Now, if you follow the blog regularly, you'll know I don't really care for metallic finishes - they are not my fave - but they are PERFECT for stamping. This is especially the case for Accessorize Aquamarine, as it is a perfect one-coater and designed that way. I stamped the leafy image from Bundle Monster Image Plate BM210 and added a coat of Seche Vite to reveal the glitteryness.

used the flash so you can see the lovely glitteryness of Aquamarine!

Both polishes have a great consistency, with Winter Berry being especially glossy and easy to apply. They are brilliantly pigmented so these little babies will be great value for money. A definite YES in my book, I can see myself using Winter Berry constantly for a chic, winter look and Aquamarine for stamping. Excellenté.

You can snaffle yourself some Accessorize polishes from SuperDrug! 

Let me know what you think! Have you tried any of the new Accessorize polishes?

I think it's time that this guy made another appearance. Don't knock it, it is completely and utterly necessary.

xxx


These polishes were kindly provided by Accessorize for review. opinions are 100% honest and in no way influenced! :)

Zooey Deschanel's Golden Globe Tuxedo Nails - A Tutorial.

The world has gone Zooey mad since her new (amazing) show, New Girl, hit the screen. I just love her. She is just bloody brilliant. Lesbian crushes aside, I wanted to do a tutorial for the Nail Art she sported at this year's Golden Globes - I love that now Nail Art has gone mainstream we see it a lot more on celebs! Zooey wore little,  black and white Tuxedos on her digits, which are incredibly easy to do and perfect for short nails. Since mine are being stubborn at the moment and refusing to grow, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do a Zooey Deschanel Nail Art Tutorial.

Start out with a white base and use a striping brush of Nail Art Pen to paint a thin, black line along the nail tip:-

Next, we need to draw the little, tuxedo bow-ties. The easiest way to do this is to draw 3 small dots across the top of the nail, to create the basic shape of your bow tie, then join them together:-

After you have drawn the little bows, it's time to draw the tuxedo buttons. These are just 3 small dots in a vertical line from the bow-tie to the tip. Make sure you have a good sized bead of polish on the end of your Nail Art Pen, dotting tool or tooth pick then lightly dab it onto the nail:-

Add a topcoat and Voila! Your very own Tuxedo nails, perfect for any occasion, even red carpet, Hollywood dos apparently!

Let me know what you think! I would love to see a picture if you follow the tutorial - it really is very simple and the look you can create is so much fun! I will leave you with a picture of Zooey Deschanel to drool over. If you don't like her, then good luck in life without a soul.

Madara Tinting Fluid - Review and FOTD!

First of all, I hate the word "fluid". Just say it to yourself. "fluuuiiiid". Urgh. It just sounds so clinical and...well...gross.

Getting past the name, Madara Tinting Fluid (in Moonflower) is a lighter alternative to foundation and is designed to lighten and brighten the complexion.

The Company

Madara were a brand I hadn't heard of before trying the Tinting Fluid, but I'm glad I am aware of them now. Created in Latvia, Madara Skincare products are all inspired from a love for nature and have strong ethical beliefs. They are strongly against animal testing, and their packaging is extremely environmentally friendly - they only use renewable paper sources. 


TRIVIA: Madara is Latvian for Cleavers, the flowers with which Madara skincare products are scented. They are one of the most common inhabitants of the Baltic Meadows.You have now learnt something. You are welcome.

The Packaging

The Madara packaging makes the product just that bit more lovely. It's clean, crisp, feminine and - above all - environmentally friendly. It also has a kitsch little story on the side about the Latvian Cleavers, as well as a full ingredients list. the Tinting Fluid itself comes in a skinny, pump action bottle:

The Outer Packaging - the box.

The Product

With natural and organic ingredients, the tinting fluid is a sheer foundation. When I say sheer, I mean it - if you're a fan of heavy duty face bases, this is not for you! It simply smoothes the skin, making your complexion look fresh and dewy. It doesn't cover imperfections very well - I still used a concealer on any blemishes and dark circles. If you want something light for summer, a tinted moisturiser, or even a primer, this is lovely. It feels silky on the skin and it also smells really nice and fresh - quite a green, leafy smell. As it comes out the pump, it looks a lot more pigmented than it actually is, don't be foooled:

I added a translucent powder over the top, and used Froncover's peach blusher on my cheekbones. I did a subtle, neutral smokey eye using MUA's Heaven and Earth Palette and Max Faxtor Mascara. I then just slicked on some Rose Vaseline - I tried to keep it natural, so as to fit with the Madara theme! :D

As you can see the skin looks natural, not too over-done. I did have to add a translucent powder, over the top, to feel comfortable though - otherwise I just felt a little toooo bare!

A close up of the eyes and skin:

On a side note, I absolutely ADORE the MUA Heaven and Earth eye-shadow palette, it's a great alternative to Urban Decay's Naked palette - full of neutral, buildable shades suitable for anyone. Plus, it will only cost you four of your English Pounds. Barg.

I digress, Madara Skin Tinting Fluid is a definite YES in my books - I love the way it felt on my skin, it was moisturising and very versatile. With so many BB creams out on the market at the moment, all promising the same, skin perfecting result, I'm afraid that Madara might not get a look in. I do, whole-heartedly, recommend it though. It's perfect if you're all about the natural look and concerned about natural, organic ingredients and ethical guidelines.They're a great company and I wouldn't be surprised if they started cropping up in Beauty Boxes.

SMILEY MOON-FACE FOR MADARA:

I should probably brush my hair every once and a while, amiright?

 Let me know what you think! Is the Skin Tinting Fluid somehting you would try? Although all my links are to Madara's own website, you can also purchase it at Feel Unique (often the better option for us Brits!)

While I'm not usually a fan of strategically placed, ironically used web memes, this one was just too darn appropriate for me not to include:

...likes Madara Skincare....

urgh....................fluid.




*Product kindly provided by Madara for review, though all opinions are 100% honest and my own. See my Disclosure Policy page for more info! :)

Hello Kitty Nail Art!

I have done Hello Kitty Nails once before, but that was just as I was starting out. Seen as I don't get to use the Hello Kitty stamp from the Born Pretty.com (great Nail Art Supplies) promotion very often, I thought I'd dig it out and do an EVEN BETTER MANICURE. Haha. I painted the nails with Natural Collection White and stamped the Hello Kitty image using Konad Black Special Polish. I filled in the bows and noses with pink and yellow and added a coat of Seche Vite. For the accent nail I drew Hello Kitty's face using various Nail Art Pens.

Sorry the photos are a little blurry and dark, I had to take them in my shower because I was out of day light! Sounds odd, but it's the brightest light in the house, and still doesn't do the job!

They came out really cute and are a fun way to wear white nails - which I rarely do! Let me know what you think!

Born Pretty Store also give away 10 of these Hello Kitty Image Plates COMPLETELY FREE, everyday. All you have to do is add it to your cart, and enter the code BP299 at the checkout. To be taken there, you can click on the banner in my side-bar! ----------->

xxx

Winter Wonderland Nail Art!

I suppose I should've waited for it to snow before posting this manicure (the synchronicity would be satisfying!), but I still feel bad for leaving you all alone for a month so I'm cracking out all my best stuff.

Now, I really like the design of this manicure, but it was executed badly - this, I fully admit, is my own fault. I acquired the base colour (Barry M Aqua Blue) from The Clothes Show Live, and I didn't realise it was so sheer before I began applying it. Had I known, I would've used a pastel blue base because it took about 6 coats to achieve opacity. Too many! This, paired with the 4 coats of Claire's Holographic Silver Glitter Topcoat that I added to the tips, created that horrible "too many coats of polish" look. It's kind of bubbly and icky and raised off the nail - not a fan! As if it wasn't bad enough, my Seche Vite has gone thick, and caused shrinkage, exposing the very tip of my natural nail. Here are the photos anyway, just try and ignore the poor execution and focus on the pretty glitter and snowflakes! Eeee!

cuticles are GRIM, sorry sorry sorry!

How I created the glittery snowflake tips:

Once my Barry M Aqua Blue base was dry, I added a thin layer of Claire's Holographic Silver Glitter Topcoat, starting about halfway down the nail. On the second coat of glitter, I started my brush strokes slightly close to the nail tip, and repeated for another two coats to create the glitter gradient effect. Once dry I stamped the Snowflake image from Bundle Monster Image Plate BM14 at different places on each nail tip using Konad Special Polish in White. With Claire's White Nail Art Pen, I filled in some of the gaps with dots, to make tiny snowdrops. I topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite, to make it super smooth.

Thanks everyone! Let me know what you think on the comments, I'd love to see it if any of you give it a go! I kept this on for a few days, I really liked it, especially when it caught the light!


xxx

I'M BACK...

...did you miss me?! I have definitely missed my little corner of the internet and I feel absolutely AWFUL that I've neglected it :( I have started a new job and I work very long, miserable hours - not a lot of free time or daylight. Enough wining, I'm so happy to be back and really sorry for being away so long! Today's Nail Art is a super-intricate freehand manicure to make up for it! Admittedly it's Christmas themed, and I've kind of missed the boat on that, but here it is anyway :D

Santa through a dawn sky on Christmas Morning!

I started with a gradient base (American Apparel African Violet with Barry M Cobalt Blue and Topshop Celestial sponged over the top) and freehanded in the reindeer with a brush and Barry M Mushroom. I then drew in Santa Claus with various Nail Art Pens and added the snow on the rooftops and sky by dotting a White Nail Art Pen. I topped it off with a coat of Seche Vite and I was so pleased with how it came out!

I know it's not Christmas anymore, but I'm finding it hard to let the festivities go haha! Let me know what you think on the comments (and also how your lives have been, I feel so out of touch!)

xxx