Boots 17 Magnetized Polish

I'm not a fan of this metallic nail polish trend. I just don't like the finish of metallic polishes, it feels a bit childish and cheap to me - this  Boots 17 magnetized polish, however, is one aspect of this trend that I can fully get on board with, I LOVE IT. Maybe I'm just a sucker for novelty (I love my Del Sol colour changers for example), but I really love how the effect looks! It's like crazy robot fingers, they look so 3D! Like the recent crackle trend, this technique is maximum nail art effect, with minimum effort.

Magnetized polish works by formulating the lacquer with iron particles, and by holding a magnet with a pattern polarized into it over the nail, the iron particles become attracted to the patterned magnet, and the design appears in the polish. It's pretty innovative and scientific! Don't let anyone tell you the beauty industry is dumb haha!

17 are not the first company to bring these out, LCN, Fashionista and Essence both have a magnetized polish range, and in the UK, Nails Inc have bought some out too. Nails Inc magnetic polish retails for £13.00, however, and my 17 version cost me £4.99 and they literally look exactly the same. (I also bought the blue one, and 17 are giving away a free gift with 2 products bought - WINNER. Any way to justify my addiction).

Here is the finished look. Definitely took me a bit of practice, but I nailed it after a couple of tries! (Pun intended, haha):

The polish comes with the patterned magnet slotted on top of the polish handle, and it just lifts off:

This is what the polish looks like when un-magnetized (this is an option, don't forget! You can still just use it as a gunmetal, metallic polish! 2 for the price of 1!). It's a shimmery, gunmetal silver that is actually very pretty, and bang on trend. I took this photo with flash so you can see how sparkly it is, as well as how amazingly 3-dimensional the magnetized nails look:

The magnet has to be held over the polish while it's wet, and the best way to get the most pronounced effect, that I found, was to apply a thick layer and immediately place the magnet over the top as quickly as possible. The wetter the polish, the more defined the effect will be. The magnet has a little lip on one side, so you can rest it on your finger while you magnetize. It takes 5 seconds, maximum, to create the pattern :

And voila!:

I also bought the blue one, but I couldn't get it to work as well. I need to keep experimenting I think! I'm not sure these polishes are in every single boots, the advantage of living in Nottingham (where Boots originates from) is that they usually stock absolutely everything. You can, however, buy them online very easily. I really want to try out some different magnet patterns, I know LCN did a starburst one - now THAT would look awesome. Has anyone tried these magnetic polishes from 17? How do they compare to Nails Inc or Fashionista? I absolutely love them, and am so glad I bought 2 different colours!

On a side note, the voting for Cosmopolitan's Blog Awards is now closed, thank you to every single one of you who both nominated and voted for me, I really appreciate it! I'm up against some incredible, incredible blogs with thousands of subscribers, so don't get too excited haha. It is a great achievement for me just to be nominated, and never imagined this little blog would come so far. (This is starting to sound like an acceptance speech!) The reveal party is next week, cross your fiercely manicured fingers for me!


xxxxx

Vivo Cosmetics at Tesco Review

Hello Everyone!

If you're in the UK, you may have heard that Tesco have launched a new (incredibly affordable) cosmetic range called Vivo, that is designed to celebrate colour and vibrancy. Although the brand is exclusive to Tesco, it is a separate company, and benchmarked as "the MAC of supermarket make-up brands". For a budget-conscious recent Graduate, this brand is right up my street - its affordable, high quality, and I can pick it up with the weekly shop!

I was kindly sent 3 items by Vivo, an eyeshadow, a bronzer and a lipgloss. First up is the Vivo Shimmer and Shine Lip Gloss in Just Peachy:

Retails for £1.99 in Tesco

The wand has a flat applicator, and is very easy to apply. The gloss itself is a bit sticky for my taste, but it lasts absolutely ages. I'm talking hours. It's such a high-gloss, glassy finish with gorgeous gold micro-flecks that really warm the lip and compliment a sunkissed complexion.

The price is utterly unbeatable, and is the best £1.99 lipgloss I've ever tried. You find a better one if you're willing to pay 5 times as much, but for the financially challenged among is, it's high quality with a low price all the way!

although it's called Just Peachy, it's less of a peach colour, and more a light translucent pink. It smells just like peaches though! Yum!

Now for the eyeshadow in Aquamarine - a vibrant, bright turquoise. I used to wear colours like this all the time when I was still at school, but nowadays I wouldn't wear a bright turquoise eye during the day!

you can see where I accidently schmooshed it with my finger! oops!

 Quality-wise, it's not bad at all. I would definitely use it wet, as it goes on more pigmented, and can look a little sheer and flat when applied dry:

Left: applied Dry, RIght: Applied Wet.

It blends rather well, and I did a little comparison with Collection 2000 Tinkerbell, and Boots 17 Viva Diva for a little colour comparison:

left: Vivo Aquamarine, Middle: Collection 2000 Tinkerbell, Right: 17 Viva Diva

 Here's a look I created showing you how easy it is to blend the Vivo shadows:

So, although I wouldn't wear this often, as it is definitely not an everyday colour, the formula is great, and the pigmentation is really strong when applied wet.

Next up is the Bronzer, my favourite. I've never been a fan of bronzer, even before me and my two best friends got too drunk before we applied our going out make-up one night (rookie mistake), and whacked on liberal amounts of bronzer in bad lighting. The photos came back and we looked like we'd fallen face first into the sun. NOT a good look.

Vivo's baked bronzer, however, has taught me that the key to a good bronzer is a good formula and skillful application - less is more. I love this product, and use it often instead of a blusher. I applied it very sparingly, as it is very pigmented and has a gold shimmer that can look a bit TOO metallic if you really pile it on (think C3PO). This is a plus in my books though, as it means this huge bronzer will last you FOREVER. I swept it lightly onto the cheekbones, down the nose, and onto my chin and the top of my forehead.

 

Sunkissed!

My final word - I absolutely recommend Vivo cosmetics, the quality is fantastic for the price, and I can't wait to try their baked eyeshadows next. I approve!

xxx

Scotch tape "V-Gap" Manicure

I'm embracing the metallic trend as well as I can, given that it is definitely NOT my favourite finish. This is a manicure design pioneered by celebrity Nail Artist Sophy Robson, if I'm not mistaken, and it involves a V shaped gap at the nail bed (hence V-Gap mani!), that Sophy often leaves bare. I've decided to do a combination of Purples though, Gosh Deep Purple as a base, with the metallic lilac Technic Shade 32 (one of my favourite polishes for stamping with, FYI):

To create the design, paint your nails in your favourite base colour (I've used GOSH Deep Purple), and wait for it to dry completely. Place a triangle of scotch tape at the nail bed to make the "V" shape, then place a long, thin strip of tape down the centre of the nail, overlapping with the triangle of tape. Take your metallic shade, paint one thin coat over the entire nail (including the tape), and then peel the scotch tape away while it's still wet. Your base colour should remain untouched by the metallic polish, and you "V-Gap" shape is created!

Don't forget you can still vote for my blog in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards in the Best New Beauty Blog category! Just click on the button on the right! I was emailed my invite to the event today - it all seems very real and daunting now!! Anyone got an Oscar Dress I can borrow?! Haha!

Also, it's a bit awkward when you look at your finished manicure and realise that it resembles intergalactic bounty hunters...

 

lol.

Models Own Purple Ash with Freehand Flower Nail Art!

I had forgotten in the haze of spring pastels and summer brights just how much I really love Autumn shades! Models Own Purple Ash is a lovely deep maroony purple, but I wanted to brighten it up a little with some floral details. I added a stripe of Claire's Blue Glitter, then added a few flowers from Konad image plate M57. Using a pearlescent green Nail Art Pen from eBay, I added some vine and leaf details:

 

This was quite hard to capture, as the glitter and the pearlescence of the green caught the light differently at different angles, but I think you get the right idea of the detail! Models Own Purple Ash is a great polish to apply, and it's perfect in 2 coats. The Nail Star Nail Art Pens from eBay get a lot of stick from around the blogisphere, but I actually get on well with them - except for the horrendous stinkiness of them.

I hope you like it! Overall, I'm finding the transition into Autumn trends rather easy - I 'd forgotten how lovely some of the deep, muted shades are! 

Don't forget that you can still vote for me in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards in the Best New Beauty Blog section! Just click on the pink button on the top right side of the page!!! :D

 xxx