Silver comparisons

I surely have enough polish now to do comparisons - hundreds but not a thousand, I think. But curiously there are few outright dupes.

I do like silver. It ended up NOT a straight silver post but wanted to go glittery.

Little finger - new Topshop polish Wilderness - a poxy 6ml - it looks like a proper size polish on the website - swizz! metallic silver and a good polish
Ring - Topshop White Witch (goes pink on!) + Diamond Cosmetics Glitter Silver
Middle - Misa Dance Fever
Index - Hansen Dividends which is like the Misa only darker and leaves bald spots and never dries and wound me up no end + GOSH Silver Star (see Dividends for how it applies....boo)
Thumb - Diamond Cosmetics Silver Brocade - very like Wilderness but a hint of glitter

I conclude:

• Topshop sold me a pig in a poke with a teeny mini that didn't say it was a mini
• Don't bother with White Witch
• Misa is one of the best brands bar none - buy Misa
• Hansen Dividends not very good and neither is the GOSH - these are generally 2 brands I don't have much success with though
• Diamond Cosmetics - such a shame you can't get this in the UK any longer because it's another GREAT brand and it's crazy cheap
• My skin is unsually dry and it may be attributable to the Hansen Kwik Off polish remover that I am using but that people report to be tough on the skin

Jenni

2 questions

1. Straight silver OR silver glitter?
2. Are the LFW models too thin? When I say too thin I mean unattractively thin. Not unhealthily - that's another issue. Too thin to be attractive.

Topshop Utilitarian + a brief introduction to the philosophy of Utilitarianism

First the polish. Worst pictures EVER. It looks gritty (it isn't), it looks very dark (it isn't). The bottle shows it properly. It's a lovely polish IRL.

2 coats. One might do it. I tried so desperately hard to get an accurate photo but cannot explain what went wrong. Familiar Topshop quality.

Now on to the much more interesting meat after the disappointing hors d'oeuvre.

Utilitarianism 

This fascinated me as a teenager when I read an article (Sunday supplement, I think) about Jeremy Bentham. He died in 1832 and left his body to medical science. In the 60s or 70s his head was still on display in one of the London University colleges and there was a picture of it which both intrigued and disgusted me. Being a typical teenager with an interest in the macabre and radical thought I was hugely interested. Bentham advocated sexual equality and the liberalisation of laws against homosexuals amongst other things. Good egg.

This is NOT the real head which is now safely locked away as it became the target for student pranks (yuk!) but I believe that the skeleton stuffed with straw does remain the basis of the body.

Utilitarianism is swiftly described as ".. the greatest good for the greatest number.." Now read on!

This means that all acts require "Felicific calculus" to achieve "the greatest pleasure for the greatest number." Therefore there are definite rules and codes as to what the person must do in each situation to benefit the most people. The hedonic calculus is what Bentham thought all people must do before deciding the utility of the certain act in question. It is dependent on:

• Its intensity.
• Its duration.
• Its certainty or uncertainty.
• Its propinquity, or remoteness.
• Its fecundity, or the chance it has of being followed by similar sensations: that is, pleasures, if it is pleasure: pains, if it is pain.
• Its purity, or the chance it has of not being followed by, sensations of the opposite kind: that is, pain, if it is pleasure: pleasure, if it is pain.
• Its extent (the number of people who are affected by it).

Hedonic calculus? It sounds so good, no? The text in italics is from wiki.

It's one way to determine your actions and not a bad one at that. Discuss.

Jenni

Topshop Silver Bullet + general Topshop observations + many thanks for your tape-method assistance

A straightupanddown silver chrome.
Excellent quality. One coat would do (I did two though) and it went on very easily.
I didn't know it was a chrome as I bought it in a set for the sake of Gypsy Night. I tend not to go for chromes as they look a bit manky on ridged nails but this is a peach.

I have a few Topshop polishes and they are excellent quality and they do well-funky colours.

Topshop
1. Why is it one word and not two? Just marginally irritating.
2.  They are doing free P&P until Tuesday.
3.  I ordered this from the new collection. Plus 2 other things. Including one item for the next giveaway. Not telling btw.

4. This is the set I bought which includes Bullet and Gypsy. In general their photos are informative but this little set not so much. Luckily Gypsy Night is stonkingly fabulous, Bullet is really good and so is the third! But nul points for the picture which I magnified HUGELY.

5. I do Topshop buying online. I'm not sure if they existed when I was a teenager. Probably not as it was in the days of Methuselah. Naturally I wouldn't set foot in the actual shop for fear of frightening the youthful clientele. Just wanted to reassure you that although I have a mutton dressed as lamb natty way with my appearance I won't be lowering the tone in Topshop.

Are there any shops you avoid? Because you think they are too young or too OLD for you? Too exclusive/expensive or too down-market?

Jenni

Topshop Gypsy Night

1 of a set of 3 x 6 ml bottles. But I must have immediate emergency back-up. Express delivery. US cavalry. Military outriders. Presidential escort. (Don't know why I've gone all gung-ho Bruce Willis meets John Wayne all of a sudden but this polish is HUGE.) The other 2 polishes are probably lovely too btw.

3 coats. Is it brown or black or olive-brown? Don't care. Is the glitter brilliantly integrated? Yes. Are there flakies in there? Could be.

A bit too much of the ol' flash but those look like flakies to me.

Women of Britain, buy this polish. Swatch it on your lovely nails. And get some blinding pictures posted. Thank you.

Jenni

Topshop - Bees Knees - yellow creme + the promised GIVEAWAY

3 coats but I was dreading this and it wasn't the streaky little b@stard of a yellow that I was expecting!

I did need 3 coats but I'm used to that and I do feel I got a good (for me) result.
These Topshop polishes get high marks from me. 3 out of 3 so far.

Outside pic. I've been doing this for a couple of months now and I've only just realised I get a more accurate photo in natural light! I had a love affair with a Mary Quant yellow in the Seventies or Sixties (can't properly remember) and I am trying to recapture that joy.

Bear with me before I get to my giveaway news, please.

Just another pic of Miner Denim Shorts because I remembered to get a natural light shot before I removed it and I do think it's sweet.

This is because I was attempting to show the pinky-red traits of this polish but I still failed. Both these pix are after 2 days of wear btw.

My giveaway. 

Misa Pour Me Something Tall & Strong

Runway Diva

Dirty, Sexy. Money   (er, what's with the commas, Misa???)

There'll be some nailart-y gubbins too. Or stuff I just shove in.

You can't enter yet because I haven't firmed up the entry conditions. All I know is this is UK only. BUT I am waiting for some more bits'n'bobs to arrive for the RoW (rest of the world). So I'll wait until I can open the giveaway to everyone.

I chose these because I love Misa and they're not easy to find in the UK. Not in the shops anyway.

I'm thinking of asking entrants to be followers and to make a comment and maybe answer some questions. That's OK, isn't it?

BUT what do YOU think makes fair/unfair giveaway terms and conditions? Extra entries for blogging? I really just want to say thank-you to the peeps who bear with me and not encourage followers who just sign up for the giveaway and then bugger off. I do try to comment on lot of blogs and not just pop up for the freebies but I know there are lurkers who just .....lurk. 

Oh, and have your giveaways ever gone to people who took the goodies never to be seen again? How do you feel about that?

And, speaking of giveaways, here's my gloriously glittery gift from Simone at GiveTheJewGirlToys!

Tum te tum

Jenni

Lambs would not forgive, nor worms forget....

Topshop - Cloud - Is it blue or is it grey?

Just one pic today
I applied this yesterday
2 coats only - that is highly significant (see below)

It looks grey in the bottle - I was disappointed because I thought the bottles with flecky caps rather than spotty tops were glittery or otherwise enhanced in some way

Experience has now taught me that cremes just reveal the ridged flaws in my nails to a horrific degree

BUT this is fabulous

2 coats and, if you were careful, you could probably just use one

This is my 2nd Topshop and it is lovely, I am so looking forward to the 3rd and 4th although Bees Knees is yellow so my anticipation is tinged with dread...

Another BUT!

Is it blue or is it grey? I keep looking at it. A pic taken with flash was grey but IRL it's blue. Or is it? My perception of blues is skewed so what do you think?

• Blue ?
• Grey ?  

Another sunny day in Paradise here in rural Worcestershire...

Jenni

Topshop - Poison Ivy

My little gang of 4 arrived yesterday - very prettily packaged

First up
Poison Ivy - described on the website as a blackened green
£5 each and I ordered online when postage was free so watch out for that if you, like me, have no Topshop in the vicinity

2 coats but the pigmentation is exceptional - you could get away with a single coat

A stubby little brush - much like my good self - which I found very controllable

Obviously this shows the blackened aspect rather well
In the glorious weather we are currently experiencing this can't be mistaken for black

I think darker colours shouldn't be reserved for the summer/winter as they often have shimmer or glitter which shows to better effect at other times of the year

The others I chose are Cloud, Carry On Camping, Bees Knees. Cloud is on my RH and that too has great opacity and will appear tomorrow.

MY LUCID BUBBLE

LUCIDITY ACHIEVED THROUGH NAIL POLISH

Giveaway news above - not for long though! Check out Lucid Bubble. She is also offering exchanges and sounds like an all-round nice person!

What are you wearing on your nails this very day? Please leave a comment.

Jenni