Eyeko Vampira
I am having a manic week this week. I’ve spent the last 3 days re-writing my literature review from scratch. It may have been a painful few days, but it’s all come together quite well! I’m pleased that I only have a few more hours of work to do on it and with 2 days left till hand in, I feel quite organised for once! W00t!
To celebrate I had a lovely pizza delivered and I am now finally going to watch Wonder Boys, a film a friend gave me to watch, with my Moskovskaya vodka. I feel quite relaxed for someone who has 2 big hand ins on Thursday and 2 exams next week. Maybe my stress levels peaked and are have been at this level for so long I have become accustomed to it? Meh. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Anyhoo, before I disappear for the next 2 weeks for exam time I have an old NOTD for you all.
This is Eyeko Vampira. I bought this awhile ago with Eyeko Cosmic, but I never took any pictures of it. It is a red glitter in a sheer black base which after 2 or 3 coats is opaque. It is very similar to Cosmic, but with red instead of multi coloured glitter. In dull light the colour looks plain black, but in the light you can see all the red glitter.
I really like this polish. Vampira and Cosmic are my go to polish for black nails because they apply really nicely and I like the the subtle glitter. I tried to capture the red glitter in the pictures, but it’s winter so light is limited. I have been trying to decide whether to invest in a daylight lamp. I want one not just for picture taking, but mostly because I’ve been getting eye strain from working in dull light. They seem a bit pricey though, they are about £40 on Amazon. Hmm, think what else I could buy for that :p
I wish any of you who are experiencing the pain of exam time good luck! It will all be over soon! I’ve scheduled a few posts for over the next 2 weeks, but I probably won’t be commenting or reading so many of your lovely blogs until the stress is over, which sucks :( Wish me luck and see you in a little while! xxxx
Christmas Nails
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I had a fun time and I have eaten far, far to much! I don’t want to eat again till new year, but there is so much stuff in the fridge to eat before it goes out of date! If you don’t hear from me again, I’ve exploded! I can’t believe how cold it’s been, I’ve been watching TV from under a big fluffy blanket. I received my Twin Peaks DVDs on Christmas Eve, so I’ve been kept happy. My mum got me some awesome flurry boot slippers which I am never taking off, they are so warm and comfy! I hope everyone had a lovely, cosy time too! :D
Here is what I put on my nails for Christmas day. It took me ages to decide on what to paint my nails for Christmas. In the end I decided I was thinking about it too much and went for a Christmassy red with red glitter!
I used 17 Knockout Red as a base and Barry M Red Glitter on the tips. I only needed one coat of Knockout Red as it was opaque in one, which was great! I prefer one coaters from when I’m doing tips because I put an extra coat of topcoat on. I don’t like to have 6+ coats of polish on, I feel like some sort of polish monster, more polish than human!! :o
Anyway, after I let my first coat of topcoat dry I cut up some tape and just placed it at random angles and painted on a tip of Red Glitter, removed the tape and put a final topcoat on. It worked out pretty well! My tips look far better when I tape off the area, I’m so clumsy otherwise.
I hope you are all having a lovely Christmas week, keep warm and cosy! :D
Barielle Elle’s Spell
I finally managed to finish my Christmas shopping and get all my cards posted! I am very happy about that. The only problem I’ve had is I could not go to Bournemouth on Monday as planned to visit the in-laws pre-Christmas as the snow has wrecked my train catching plans. It isn’t so bad where I am now, but Bournemouth is pretty bad still. Plus my in-laws live on a steep hill, so that will be fun and slippy. They would probably have to throw us a rope down and pull us up the ice! Oh well, hopefully I can get there one day this week if the weather likes me! :)
Here is a post about Barielle Elle’s Spell, which I’ve been meaning to put up for ages! I really like this polish, it feels Christmassy! It is a red jelly with flakies. If you are not one for jelly finishes then you will need to put a coat of something underneath first. Here I have put 1 coat of Elle’s Spell on top of Essie Bermuda Shorts. It was a bit of a slap-dash day so it wasn’t a great paint job.
When I was sorting out this post and looking at these pictures I thought I definitely want to try it again and I didn’t show the colour on it’s own. So I put it on again! :) Jelly polishes always look so juicy and the flakies look great as they always do. Below are some more pictures of this polish, because it is lovely. :)
The index finger has 1 coat, the middle 2, ring 3 and little 4 coats to show the opacity on it’s own. The thumb has 1 coat of Nails Inc Hampstead Heath and 1 coat of Elle’s Spell. As you can see it is much easier to put a coat of something underneath first as it needs 3 coats on its own for full opacity. It is a lovely red and it looks great together with the orange in the flakies.
Hope you are all having a good Christmas week! I assume most people are off from work now or snowed in! I had my last day at uni today and I don’t intend to return for over a week. I still need to finish my literature review, but it is well under way. I actually feel like I can relax for Christmas, which is lovely!
I hope you are all having a wonderful time! Are you all set and ready for Christmas? The only thing left for me to buy now is Christmas dinner, which I’m going to attempt to get tomorrow. If you never see me post again it is because I have been lost forever in the shopping centre! Wish me luck! xxxx
Nails Inc Hampstead Heath
This polish was free with Glamour magazine. I like Nails Inc polishes, they always apply nicely and they tend to be one coaters and this one was no exception. It is a burnt cherry red colour which I think it quite nice, a lovely red for winter. This is only one coat, it applied lovely and I was done in about 5 mins!
These are pictures of my right hand! :o All other pictures I’ve ever taken of nail varnish are of my left only as I can’t hold the camera steady in my left hand. I had Elle’s Spell on my other hand and didn’t want to remove it, so you get to look at my weird looking left hand, it just seems wrong! I have a misshapen index finger…how strange, it doesn’t really look like that I swear! Maybe because my nails are pretty long in this picture it looks a bit weird, oh well, they have been chopped off now, so I’m in stubby finger city for a few weeks! :P
I recommend this lovely polish, I don’t recommend my awkward left handed posing. :P Also, I had to do some minor photoshop fixing of the painting as I cannot paint my right hand very well at all. I thought I would improve with practice, but after 3 months of painting my nails every 1-3 days I am no better at painting my right hand.
How about you guys, right handed or left ‘sinister’ handed? I am very right handed to the point that I can do nothing with my left hand, I drop everything and have no dexterity. I did read some recent research that there seems to be a genetic link between dyslexia (hi!) and dominance of right handedness. Interesting stuff! (I’m in research mode for my literature review…my brain!)
Have a good weekend everyone! :D
No7 Sheer Temptation in Tempt
Owwww, the pain of the 9am Monday morning lecture. I kept myself going all day, even when I was almost asleep on my keyboard. Now it’s 1am and I’m not tired! I don’t have to be in till 1pm tomorrow, so at least I don’t have to get up early. It was really dark when I got up this morning, winter is definitely here and my computer says it’s -1°C outside here tonight, eek, more blankets on the bed time! I have a couple of nail posts to sort out, but the lighting is rubbish, these dark-dreary days are no good for my bad quality phone camera. I might have to start taking pictures at uni where the light is better, though that might be a bit strange if anyone sees me! :P Anyway, here is a No7 lipstick review. I’ve been using this a few weeks and I really like it.
With my last Boots No7 voucher I bought one of the Sheer Temptation lipsticks in Tempt. It’s more of a tinted lip balm kinda lipstick really, but some days that is good as it means you don’t need to worry about finding a mirror to re-apply lipstick. It’s a nice cherry red and for a sheer colour it isn’t a bad colour pay off. It is really moisturising which is great for the colder months! As for staying power, it lasts an average amount of time. It doesn’t last through drinking/eating, but in general it won’t disappear quickly. 
The swatch is pretty much what it looks like on lips, it’s quite glossy too without being all greasy and sticky. I really like this range. I bought it because I had a voucher just to see what it’s like, but I’m definitely going to grab a few more colours. However, I think I’ll grab them when the vouchers are back as they are £9.50 each!
Boots say - Our glossiest-ever sheer lipstick, the new Sheer Temptation formulation is deliciously soft and creamy. Enriched with natural waxes and Theobroma oil (which you’ll find in chocolate!) to care for your lips, and Maxilip to help hydrate the lips. Colour glides easily over the lips, creating a shiny lipgloss effect without any stickiness.
I think that’s a pretty accurate description! It is like wearing a tinted lip balm, but with the convenience of a lipstick applicator (I’m awful at using pots of lip balm! :s) and with quite a good range of colours, but definitely grab them when the vouchers are on. Nice as they are, I’m not sure they are worth their high price, but they are great for £4.50! :D
Ciate Dangerous Affair
I think this is the last images I have to put up with long nails! :( I chopped them down and now my fingers look stubby! :s Oh well, prepare for lots of stubbiness after this post! :p
This was free with Marie Claire this month, I’m liking the amount of free polish I’m finding with magazines lately :). It is a red jelly, very shiny even without a topcoat. I really like this red. You do get a slight visible nail line due to it’s jelly nature, but it’s not too bad, it is barely noticeable. I put on two coats of the red and only noticed the nail line when taking the pictures in the sunlight.
I have not tried any Ciate before, but I liked the formula of this polish, it’s very shiny, but it did remain dentable even after several hours. I went to bed about 2-3 hours after application and still woke up with sheet marks on some fingers. Do all Ciate have a similar formula/take ages to dry? I did not put a topcoat on though, so that may have been my error rather than the polish. I shall try again with a good topcoat as I really like the colour.
This is probably my favourite red polish I have, the red is very red, but it doesn’t bring out any bizarre skin colours. If that makes any sense?! I have some reds that make my skin look red and others that make it look blue. Neither are a good look! :P
Also, Ayden over at Little blog of horrors has a giveaway that ends next Tuesday 2nd November. I really like reading her blog, she is really sweet.
Barry M Nail Effects Crackle
Hello! I’ve been busy with my lectures for a couple of days, now I have the rest of the week to work at home. :) I said I wouldn’t buy any more polish till I had tried my un-loved-un-tried ones, but I had to get this one and show you all as I think it is pretty cool. It is a bit gimmicky, but what the hey! I like gimmicks! :)
This is the new Barry M Nail Effects matte black crackle polish (long name!) over Ciate Dangerous Affair (free with November Marie Claire). I love this effect. I wasn’t sure at first, the randomness and unpredictability of the crackle effect was putting me off. However, now I’ve seen it, I love it. I think my love for it will be dependent on the colour combos being used, but red and black, I <3!
I really like the black matte, I tested a thumb (bottom corner of second picture) with a gloss topcoat, but it didn’t look as good. I think the red looks like lava and the matte black could be burnt ground. I quite like that. Even when you watch the effect happen it kinda looks like the burnt earth splitting and lava coming through. I’m easily entertained.
I apologise for the cuticle smudges, but I painted these while trying to haphazardly paint and film myself, with only a phone and a box. So the cuticles aren’t as neat as they could be! However, I did get some fab videos of how I applied the polish to get this effect and how long the polish took to crack (see below). The polish takes less than a minute to dry. Once it’s finished cracking, it’s dry. I took a shower right afterwards and they looked just as good when I got out as when I had just painted them.
Barry M say you should not overlap the colour, but I think this is more advice than a rule. I think it means that once the bit you’ve done starts to dry and crack you shouldn’t go over it again, as it will not look as good. If your quick and just painting your nails normally with a little overlap it still works fine. The warning of no overlapping had me mess up my first nail (the thumb that I put the gloss topcoat on, see thumb in picture above), it went really crackly and looked a bit rubbish. I was too slow and too careful I think. Whereas on my other fingers I just painted as I would normally and they looked far better, more blocky, which I prefer. It also took me less time to do and just felt a lot easier without worrying about this overlapping business.
Anyway, here are some videos of me using the Barry M nail effects polish. Now…this was shot with HTC Desire, it was on a shoe box with the lens hanging over and I just painted my nails under it. It’s a bit MacGyver, but it did the job ok, apart from the being able to see the shoebox on the right hand side of the screen, ignore that! :P Speaking of gimmicks, what do you think of videos in blogs like this? Are they useful or just taking up space?
The first video shows me disregarding the Barry M overlapping suggestion as I didn’t have enough polish on the brush on the first go.
Lastly, in ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’ style, this one seemed juuuuust right. Enough polish on the brush to cover my nail in one go and not too messy.
If you find this post interesting please feel free to follow my blog for more of the same! :)
Models Own Cherry Pie
Another from the un-tried list. I was really looking forward to this polish, but it just didn’t look as nice as on the website. It seemed a lot more deep, foil red on the website, but it’s just a shiny brown, bleurgh colour, and it wasn’t a foil as I had expected. Hence why I’ve been avoiding it. I guess it’s not too awful, but I just didn’t like it. It doesn’t look too bad in the sunshine, it brings out the red glitter.
And here it without the sunshine. It’s just brown…It’s ok, just not very interesting. With the name Cherry Pie, I was expecting something more…cherry…not burnt pie…that was an awful joke, sorry! I shall rename this polish Burnt Cherry Pie!
And so this isn’t just a boring ‘I-did-not-like-this’ post, here is a cute kitty! He doesn’t normally get on the bed, but it was quite sunny today and I think he wanted to lie in the sun. His eyes are not very dilated, so they look really green in the sunlight, soo cute! :)
Revlon Cherries in the Snow
Gah, the heat! Please can we keep the nice sunny/none rainy weather, but turn the temperature down a notch? I’ll be sad when the rain comes, but I’m far too hot at the moment! I’m going into work just for the large fan and ice cold water cooler! I’ve been invited to a BBQ at the weekend and because it’s work people I want to look reasonable. but not wear my usual tame(read:boring) clothes I wear to work, nor my going out clothes as they are a bit much(read:too weird for work folks.). I’m attempting to motivate myself to go out and buy something appropriate to wear. I hate trying on clothes anyway, nvm when it is soo hot!
Anyway… *spontaneously combusts*
This is a NOTD from last week. This is Revlon Cherries in the Snow. I love the raspberry red shade as it looks less scary on my pale skin than true red. I really like Revlon polishes, I know I’ve said before, but they are pretty, cheap and apply nicely!
I’m still liking my Nailene nail art sticker things! So easy to put on and they look cute. I have a problem though, when I see nail art stuff. It makes me want to try to attempt it myself, but that would probably end in disaster, think it’s best I stick-to-my-stickers :)
After a five days of wear, slight tip wear, but not too bad. Before I removed it I had to test Prism over it and I was pleasantly surprised by a pretty purple result! Below is the original red next to Prism over red. I’m going to have fun testing out other colours!
About me
My name is Gem and I am a psychology graduate in the south of England. I like shiny and sparkly things, but I am also a total nerd. ^.^
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