Jelly glitter sandwich

With Jessica Aqua Tint and NYC Starry Silver Glitter

• Left the ring finger unsandwiched so it's weedy and thin but I wanted to see the NYC more clearly
• Am SO going to get smurf-fingers
• I would like it if I liked aqua on me
• I cut my nails back a little too far
• It is quite an easy thing to do and is fun in the sun (which we have again today) 

We can all get the NYC easily enough from Superdrug. Do you have it? Or did you think it was a bit too unsubtle and kiddie?

Jenni

Frozen Jelly (a Jessica Red Tint and beauty uk Frozen Kingdom hybrid)

 

Oh, dear. It's a bit blurry. I used red whereas I really wanted pink but couldn't find it and had no patience or perseverance to look harder. Typical lazy-bones. 

It took me ages to paint my nails today though what with ridge-filler and top coat and layers PLUS the Missguided Misstique left me with Super-Smurf nails and fingers. Honestly, I don't even like blue that much. Why did I bother? Almost enough to make me utter the 'never again' phrase. Never again will I wear blue polish. For now....

Is there any blue that doesn't smurfify the nails?

Jenni

Oh, dear..... sad face.....Illamasqua Raindrops

 

It's all very well. Looks quite nice. A very pretty polish. But application? Blimey.

3 coats. Then I just couldn't help myself. I had to apply another. 

4 coats! I can live with that but I had to be so careful.

Too little polish on the brush and I got fearful drag.

Too much polish and I had a puddle.

It's a jelly. I love jelly polishes usually and have never found them difficult to apply but this baby...? Whoa.

The photo makes it look a tad blue whereas it is a genuine grey.

Tricky. Coming to a verdict - tricky. I do love it but it is in my top 10 of silly buggers as regards behaviour. Maybe top 5.

Funnily enough this is one of the 'suggest a colour' polishes. I got in the top 50 in that competition. Or DID I? I've read a lot of bloggers who've had that particular email. D'you think it possible that Illamasqua flattered us in order to foster brand-loyalty/sales? I'd love to know how many of those emails went out! Allegedly. Just insert 'allegedly' in every sentence in this paragraph. *fingers crossed*

Jenni

Leighton Denny Provocative

OMG, a perfect jelly red in 2 coats. So shiny. A beautiful blue-red shade. Mwah! How much do I now love LD polishes. They are truly fabulous. I am now on a mission to hunt them down at semi-bargain prices. Wish me luck.

I had to fiddle in iPhoto with temperature and tint because this was showing way too yellow-orange. Consequently my skin looks positively purple. Matters not.

Nothing more to say.

Jenni

2true 28

Juicy jelly finish. 2/3 coats. My first little 2true pot as opposed to slimline cylinder. Yet another great polish. Subtle glass fleck/microglitter what-have-you.

I have raved about this brand so much that eyebrows have been raised and suspicions aroused (glad it wasn't aroused eyebrows) that I am showing (perhaps) unwarranted enthusiasm for 2true. I'd like to say that I am not now nor have ever been a FIFA executive and am consequently uncorrupted.

Not that I haven't tweeted the odd hint to 2true and beautyuk and GOSH that they might just like to send me some stuff. But, not entirely unsurprisingly, no packages have winged their way to me.

I actually like buying my own stuff. Independent type, me.

How much of what you feature do you buy with your own hard-earned?

Jenni

Illamasqua Brigitte

This is 3 coats. Of jelly, liquid flow-y scrumptiousness.
Half-price in their sale.
It's a little more pink than in the pic.And a lot less orange-y. Still not got the camera settings right.

If you google Brigitte then you're likely to discover it's a German women's magazine.
But to me it's the actress who once looked like this. Brigitte Bardot (born 1934 so a bit younger than my mother).

And now looks like this.

We're all supposedly obsessed with weight gain and ageing.

My views are:
WEIGHT I'm too fat from a medical point of view but not as fat as lots of people I see in the supermarket (my personal litmus test!) so I'm relaxed about it.
AGE Never had it so good as now. I'm 55 and I like it! Apparently 30s and 40s are the time women are least happy. Work pressures. Relationship problems. All that stuff. I'm over that.

Where do you stand on weight and age? Woman's Hour (BBC Radio 4) has spent 2 days on women and weight and I just want to shout at them to shut up. Are we not more than our lb and oz? Ffs. I know that's a bit odd/hypocritical coming from a woman who spends hours on fashion blogs but all that whining gets so tedious. RANT OVER.

Jenni 

BB Couture Bullfighter

Squishy, jelly red.
The ridges on the ring finger nail are just SOOOOO bad.
Sorry.

3 coats.
This is one amazing polish. It sorts of gloops on in a way one can almost feel and HEAR. It's beautifully thin and controllable but it has the consistency of double cream or something. I just painted and painted because it was so satisfying. I've since added Napa Valley Red to it and that's special too.

Loving this. (I did have a huge chip on the middle finger after 2 days though which I do not believe was my fault. Hm. No matter.)

Jenni

Barielle Elle's Spell - a day's wear

What a rubbish day! I usually love my work (teacher) but today was bl00dy awful. Plus my mobile does not appear to be making or receiving calls plus plus plus.....On the good side daughter 2 rang to say she is OK after I read on her facebook that she had had lots of pills from the doctor! Kids, eh?

Oh, yes. Nail polish. I really like this one. End of.

AND I hate Children in Need and Comic Relief and all that forced jollity alternating with dreary violins. You have to be in the UK to know what I'm on about. And I wish I could exchange places if you're somewhere else.

Not that I'm curmudgeonly or anything. Much.

Are you ranting and raving or rested and relaxed?
Jenni

Illamasqua Rampage

They say the camera never lies. But I'm not so sure.....

This looks way worse in the picture than I think it does IRL.
But IRL I'm 5' 6" with flowing golden locks and the body of a minor divinity....So what do I know?
Forgot topcoat because I have a filthy cold. Stay back. Back. No, FURTHER!!!! You really don't need these germs. 2 coats. It's a jelly. At least jelly-ish.

Finally succumbed to greed and shelled out the £ahem required to secure this rather super polish. Irritatingly it was reduced to almost half-price only 2 days later in the bl00dy asos bl00dy sale! I'm nonetheless glad I got it. Lemmings rarely live up to expectations but this one did. Aha! Aha inDEED.

What kind of camera do you have?

• Fancy with all the gubbins and lights and lenses, you technoholic you
• Mid-range
• Rock bottom
• Hey, I've got a 'phone - who needs a camera!

Jenni

M & S Rainbow and Jessica jellies/tints

Picture. Without further ado.

Sloshed (hence the particularly messy cuticles) the jellies over the top of the silver holo in the kitchen. FAIL, thought I. Got to take the pix anyway, thought I.

Took photos, looked at results and decided it was only a partial fail.

This next one is blurry - but I like the violet tint and it does show that the pink tint doesn't work at all.

The aqua works and so does the red.

The tints that were layered on top of the Rainbow are my trusted Jessica jellies.

Must find the green. Where have I put it? Actually I must do a thorough inventory of my stash. There's a coral too but that's my least favourite.

Hey, it's actually NOT raining. Much to my shame I stayed in yesterday so the dogs are keen to get out and about. I bought a pedometer yesterday (the rain didn't prevent me shopping) so I'm keen to discover how many steps my dog-walking will amount to. 10,000 is my target. Wish me luck. I'm at 1143 steps so far and I've been up for a couple of hours.

What's your exercise regime? Do you even have one? Went to the GP earlier (routine stuff) and was so depressed by the clientele that I decided I really do have to spruce myself up a bit to avoid becoming a bit of a saddo.

Jenni

Barielle Daring Dahlia BOGOF

There's a BOGOF on all the 2010 ranges and I badly wanted Aura Angora and the silly one with a long name with Cashmere in it. So I picked up Blossom and Daring Dahlia to make it worth the £3.95 postage. Working out at just less than a fiver each all in. Not too shoddy.

2 coats. I was expecting this to be a creme but it's more of a jelly and hence has become an instant favourite. Most people would require 3 coats because they prefer an even finish. I quite like the way the polish settles at the tip and gently pools there. Looks interesting in different lights.

A lot of people also report Barielle generally being "too" thick to work with easily. I really like their formula.

What I do NOT appreciate is the way they (yet again after me complaining) shove 4 polishes loose in a padded bag. So the polishes have every opportunity to bang together and shatter. This did not happen fortunately but what a negligent way of posting a fragile product. Boo!

Can you believe this ad is from 1944? With a bit of restyling this could easily work in 2010.

Jenni

Misa Pour Me Something Tall and Strong

They don't think about the bloggers, do they? I mean - "mid jelly blue" doesn't cut it but ffs PMSTAS!!!
And what a waste of time spent typing and printing label-paper and having to change the settings on your spreadsheet (if you do one).

Indoors with flash.

Outdoors w/out flash. I am SO lazy. Why don't I just step outside more often....

But oh oh oh oh oh...I love it so.
I can see that it's streaky at the tips after 3 coats but IRL it's so shiny/blue/gorgeous.
Let's get technical.
It's neon and dries matte. You WILL want top coat.

Let's get NON-technical.
Misa is one of my favourite brands and I got 3 new ones yesterday. 2 are on back-order. You'll see another tomorrow on my RH. I'm wearing it now and it's A-MA-ZING. Guess what it is? You never will. Misa has a fairly hefty back-catalogue and I'd recommend that you get into it if you haven't already.

Don't forget to go to  Konad Nail Stamping Nail Art - Flashy Nails for the clearance sale of Diamond polishes and Konad stuff. No Misas there but Diamond is another underrated manufacturer. And she's a great seller who's just had a baby and needs to clear her stock.


Here follows a Thirties ad with the hated (by me) Gatsby manicure. Aren't you glad you weren't a smart woman in the Thirties? Horrid, horrid fashions.

OK, I've blue on the LH. What d'you think I put on the right? It's a Misa. If you know your Misas then guess a name? If you don't - then guess a general colour?

Jenni

Jessica (again) - gradient + thimble

I can't carry on just painting them. I really do have to try to be more creative. Don't hold your breath though...

It's a mix of 3 Jessica jellies. Aqua, Emerald and Violet.
Just slopped on. I wanted a sort of drippy candle-wax effect but it is what it is. Fine. Not bad. Quite like it.
Sorry about the ring finger. Clearly if I COULD fix it then I bloomin' well would. No idea what's wrong with it. Considering wearing a plaster over it permanently. You remember Nelly and Kelly? Plasters? Oh, and even Adam Ant. Could revive a trend. Keep your Minx. Maybe I should be looking for novelty-plasters. Or glue a thimble to my finger? Better get on to it.

Forgive state of paws. They don't look nearly as good as this IRL. Honest to God I'm sloughing my skin like an adolescent lizard. Too much information?

I do love to see the sun shining through these tints.

Here's my thimble.

It's Faberge. A bit plain for my taste. Must find a better one. I want to be able to tap rhythms on my desk and bring my students to attention with a tap of my thimble. Getting excited now.

The German for thimble is Fingerhut. This means "hat for a finger".

Jen

A most extraordinary thing...

....happened to me today and this is the result. See below.

Long story starts now...
Old iron packed up a while ago. OH got a new iron. Turned out new iron was far too heavy for my poor ickle paws and the handle was too thick and I strained that area between thumb and index finger. Ouch. Went to John Lewis for new iron. Not made in China obviously. OK, found iron for person with small paws - me. You have to have a quick look round John Lewis while you're there. Obviously! Up a floor. Disgorge from escalator right onto the Yves St Laurent counter. Not exactly onto it but you know what I mean.

Now THIS is where it gets crazy!

OH says (I kid you not): Oh, thats' nice. Do you like that? (Meaning the polish you see above).

I take a closer look and say nonchalantly: Yes. (And bravely saunter on).

Well, do you want it?

(Casually as if couldn't really be bothered). Yes, that would be very nice.


OH deplores my nail habit as a rule. Freaky. OH bought polish for me.

It is a jelly. I knew it would be. It cost £16.50. Worth every bleedin' penny.
2 coats + top coat. The 2nd pic makes it look more tomato-red but it IS a genuine blue-red. Even the 1st pic is not really accurate.

YSL Copyright Red.
A proper polish where the top comes off and leaves you with a manoeuvrable black handle. No clean-up needed.

No WAY do these pix give it enough respect. I am a very grateful wife!

What does your partner-person make of your habits/addictions/eccentricities?

A very happy hand-waving, hand-admiring, smugly-grinning
Jen -fer

Jessica jellies - Aqua and Coral

Aqua and coral - they ought to go well together, yes?

Hark at me! As if I go diving in the lucid waters off the Great Barrier Reef every morning before breaking my fast with a grilled sea-trout and papaya.
I did go to Blackpool once...


Lots of coats. In sun.
No base coat and no top coat.
A I'm getting lazy
B I'm somewhat thrifty
C I'm desperately impatient and I just wanted to get on with it and it took an age to remove the glitter plus I knocked a brush on the carpet, made the mistake of squealing involuntarily and thus alerted the OH to the catastrophe, hastily swabbed carpet, assured OH (still downstairs) that no bones were broken and no further intervention was required and got on with it...

I love these even though Coral is too orange for my taste. But it does speak to the Aqua (a genuine aqua IMO) and so I will graciously accept it.

In shade.

Bottles. You can see how clear the Coral and Red are. The Pink appears essentially creme which it emphatically is not. The Emerald is far left and the other dark one is the Violet (my fave so far).

They are so GLOSSY. I smooch them.

Btw I hate real jelly (I hesitate to say edible food-item as it is neither palatable nor of any value to the human body). Does anyone like it?

That's the QUESTION OF THE DAY.
What about jelly? (Not jam.)
What ABOUT jelly?

Fave flavour? Fave combinations? Do you loathe it? Best jelly mould?

Jenni

Pink and green - the sequel - Jessica polishes

OK, here's where I lose 90% of my readers.
There's VNL coming and d'you know what?

I don't dislike VNL. At all. Ever. It's not a problem.
I do not get the bitter hatred. So pass this by if you are a hatah!


These are called tints.
Emerald and Pink.

They just proved too cool (not cool in a good way, you understand) alone so out with the glitter. Sinful UFO and something I picked up for £1 that has bar glitter and isn't a PITA to remove (always a bonus). I enhanced this pic because my camera is showing my skin too pale. I've begun to tan and my camera hasn't caught up...

Loads of coats. Add a soupcon of dog hair and a dash of bubbles. Garnish with a dent and a re-slop. And I like it. Not as much as the purple. Oh, no.

But I love these translucent polishes. Lucky for me that I alone in the whole world like them because, thanks to the economic law of supply and demand, they are cheap.

Looks blue but it so clearly isn't. The pink appears positively opaque but it is not.

I love them because there were a host of these when I was a teenager in the 60s/70s and it's a nostalgia-thing.

Watery, jelly, summery. Crystal pools and shady rills. They're even called: Vernis Cristallin.

The other hand still sports the immovable glitter-fest. I shall probably have to wait a few geological epochs before that comes off....

A fail - Barielle - and a pass - Jessica

Context is all.

Yesterday I did the bling-thing on the LH so the RH had the much-anticipated Barielle Belly Dance. It was lovely - now my official fave taupe - but I couldn't see the pink iridescence as promised so I was frankly "meh" about it and (highly unusual for me because I hate waste) changed it after a couple of hours.

To this..

Jessica Violet Tint

I got 6 of these for £6.50 all inclusive. 

This is probably 4 coats but it goes on without any effort so who cares? I actually enjoy ladling it on with a trowel. 

These are true jellies. If you hate VNL then you'll loathe these.
I have always loved this kind of translucent finish so I am in 7th heaven with these.
I have emerald, aqua, pink, red and coral to try.
Because it isn't opaque it doesn't verge on that tedious "looks-like-black-all-the-bleedin'-time" territory. Looks black in the bottle to be sure but not on the nail.
Hurrah, say I. And at that price I've ordered another 6 as back-up. Now that is a rarity!

And here's the Belly Dance with Mavala Pink Diamond attempting to distract the eye from a c0ck-up. It's a lovely taupe but it simply didn't suit my mood.

"What larks, Pip!"
(In honour of elder daughter's 22nd birthday today - not that she reads this)

Happy Friday
Jenni

BB Couture - Dragon's Breath - jelly goodness - more giveaway news...

Rebecca of www.nailsnailsetc.blogspot.com  was raving about BB Couture yesterday and I wanted something easy-going on the right hand as I was expecting bother with Topshop Bees Knees so I selected Dragon's Breath from BB. (Bees Knees proved a lot more accommodating than expected so I was a happy bunny).

3 coats but 2 is fine. How do I love thee, Breath of the Dragon?

Just slop it on. 

Cue the praise for Kim at Overall Beauty. Honestly, you HAVE to buy some just so you can deal with Kim and experience great customer service.

Outdoors in sun.
This is one of those desert-island polishes. I don't have a Top 10 but this would have to be on it.

Now the RoW giveaway for Europe and beyond! Apologies for shoddy photo.

A lippie (Bourjois), some things you put on your nails (in little boxes), 3 of the Barry M ice-cream collection - berry, pale blue and a pale pink. They are all cremes and they'll be off-trend by the time you get them and Barry M has boring product names but it is a brand that isn't readily available everywhere and is identifiably British so....

Anyway the giveaway T&Cs will be posted later today. And the British giveaway won't be as stingy as just 3 polishes, I promise!

Later, later...
Jenni

Boots No 7 Speed Dry - Cherry Tang - cherry jelly

OMG!!!
The No7 shelf in my local Boots requires me to crouch down (not easy) and angle my neck oddly and for such a "boring" brand I don't ever bother.

But today I'd run out of ideas so I deigned to give Boots the once-over and OMG (again) I am thrilled! Surprised and thrilled and...surprised...

Btw these pix have taken on too orange a tone, it is more cherry-red than it appears here in such bright sun

Jelly for a kick-off. I love a jelly finish. With glass fleck. Silver glass fleck.

3 for 2. Count me in.

Flowed on like the proverbial dairy product.

This is 3 coats but I was happy with 2. There is a wonderful glow through the tip when I hold my nails up to the fierce sunshine.

It's a new shade. If they are all like this then I'd be buying shares! Naturally I got another 2.

I just can't stop with the pix...

I have a few BB Couture. They cost $9 and the Boots are £6 odd at the normal price so I would say they are price-comparable. The quality of this polish is wonderful. I was positively drooling.

I love this effect. I know most of you appear to hate VNL though so I am guessing you'd want to build this up to complete opacity. I actually like a degree of translucence sometimes.


2 questions for you

1 Boots No 7

• No, thanks
• Yes, I have a couple

2 VNL

• Can't stand it
• Not a big issue

Sunny days

Jenni