Eyeko Vampira - the lazy woman's guide to vampy nails

Loved the Bourjois but hadn't applied it well and had made a c0ck-up of the filing and hadn't the time to do a full revamp so slung 1 coat Vampira over the top
First time of asking for the Vampira and it needed no encouragement/went on easily and needed only the 1 coat
Now I know you'll protest that it went over a blackish base but I feel that you wouldn't need a lot of those for opacity even starting from scratch. So shoot me.

2 points

Point 1 - I love all the Eyeko I have and I think they're a great brand
Point 2 - I had CG Lubu Heels and it was a massive disappointment and this is honestly stacks better
Point 3 - My nails/hands are so dry I had to anoint myself liberally with oil - I am such a slacker
Point 4 - The amount of retouching I do digitally to make my ring finger (warty witch that I am) tolerable does make it look rather freaky but that's probably a good thing for Vampira
Point 5 - The other hand is still silver and I think that makes for a good look
Point 6 - The assistant in Sally's liked my nails this week (but I can't remember what I was wearing)
Point 7 - A bloke at Worcester Racecourse was impressed too

What mani of yours has gained the most remarks (favourable or otherwise)?
Keep on truckin'

J

Bourjois 1 Seconde Greyish black or Blackish grey

This is my LH but the accent finger isn't subtle enough - dammit

The flash makes this look much lighter than it is
Lovely and creamy
2 coats but could have made do with 1

That's more like it. Shiny, happy nails. Much more colour-accurate.
Trouble is that one can see the ragged filing on 2 nails. FFS I have a Leighton Denny £10 file and I still make a pig's ear of it. How? Why? And why do I sometimes punctuate and fail to do so on other occasions? 43.

The accent has GOSH Rainbow

I love Bourjois polishes. I haven't had a single Bourjois polish I haven't really liked/admired/loved.
What do you think of Bourjois? Some say the colour range is a bit bland but what thinkest thou?

Jenni
Still too darned hot.

Bourjois 1 Seconde + Sinful Out of this World

Naughty, naughty Nicole!
The extent of tip wear and chipping after 2 days of Star of the Party was mightily displeasing. I'd go so far as to say it was the most badly-behaved polish I have had for a very long time. Those who criticised Nicole for polish quality can now welcome me in their number. Great colour but I don't expect chips on 4 nails after less than 48 hours.

I had one green hand and one purple paw and was sick of colour. A small haul (Sinful) arrived today so silver seemed restful.
This is 3 coats except for the index which I mangled when attempting to pick up a cotton bud from my desk. So that one wasn't redone - no, far too idle to do that - but had an extra coat of Bourjois blah blah.

It kind of works. Adds a bit of interest. A way of almost getting white nails without having to resort to the monstrosity that is a white polish.

I like it. The other hand is grey/black.

I much prefer my nails short-short but I am incapable of filing them neatly (that's point 1) and filing them so they are the same length (point 2). I know some of you hate to see that so I'm sorry. I claim lots of sympathy marks - not for trying but for being such a klutz. I let them grow and hate them and then chop at them with scissors.

So - how often do you do things to your nails other than painting?

How often do you

file
treat cuticles
cut nails
use hand cream
use special treatments
address other nail-issues?

Jenni-fur
Keep thinking it's Friday as I worked today and Thursday is one of my 4 days off. Very confusled! Yes, CONFUSLED.

Layering with Bourjois 1 Seconde

I am liking my Sinful Mint Apple, BB Couture Bassins Bleu II and Nicole SotP far too much to change them today.

So here's one I prepared earlier.

And again

I loved the Essie Mauve-ing Along (still maintain that it's totally misnamed) so dearly that I didn't want to rid myself of it so added the Bourjois. The Bourjois has only a number to distinguish it from any other Bourjois but surely it deserves a splendid title! Bourjois are without exception (almost) great polishes. Can't they have some crackin' names bestowed upon them? For a small fee I'd do it. I would!

I layered with something that isn't GOSH Rainbow. How out-there is that?

Layering

• I've resuscitated my CG Fairy Dust with my big bottle of Restore so that's back in service.
• I found CG Cowardly Lyin' for £2.35 in the Sally shop yesterday. Wouldn't have bought it for any more than that but it was on its own! Like a foundling. Abandoned. Lonely. Neglected. Just shoved in a box with some lotions and potions. What was I to do? I've just put that over 3 nails of Mint Apple and it hasn't spoiled it so Cowardly is now elevated to the status of go-to layering polish.

Do you think £20 per week (hence £80 per month) is way too much or just about OK? I may go cold-turkey sometime. Can't do it yet. *shivers in horror at thought of no-buy*

How much do you put into your pastimes? Maybe not in figures - more a percentage of your income? Are you disciplined or impulsive?

Jenni-fur

Nicole by OPI Star of the Party

My first Nicole (ebay). I won't say so much a bargain but very reasonable at 3 polishes for less than a fiver each including P&P.

The bottle is distinctive but NOT IN A GOOD WAY. Like a truncated chess piece or a boot adapted to a foot with dismembered toes! Or a rather unorthodox cricket bat.

Very awkward for the small of paw such as myself to manage. Hmph.

2 coats was plenty.

Why is there not more blog-love for this polish, I'd like to know? Does it have as yet unrevealed malignant properties? It dries fast. It has great coverage. Strong colour. Lots of flash. Blah de blah. I mean to say - look at the damson-y goodness in that bottle. It doesn't smell unpleasant. So why is it not more popular? The ways of men! (And women).

Mine not to reason why however.....

And I got my first bottle of Seche Restore today to thin a couple of my older polishes. Makes me feel almost serious about the subject.

If it could Restore/thin me to my 1987 state then it WOULD be a miracle product. There's no cautionary note on the bottle to advise me not to drink it! I shall have to update my spending-sidebar to reflect today's purchases. Gloom.

Jenni

Sinful Colors Mint Apple + BB Couture Bassins Bleu II

Got the Mint Apple from Silver Diva over at Nail-ing Life Online in a swap
Coz I specifically asked for it
And for once
For once!
It is actually as delightful as hoped
It has sparkle, it has inner beauty...

None of this - Oh, they're a wonderful squad man-for-man, far superior to the Germans, just you wait, they'll make mincemeat of the opposition, Premier League players, best in the world! - nonsense.

No, this is a polish that promises fabulosity and DELIVERS. Hear that, S Gerrard? DELIVERS! No empty boasts.

Not that I'm bitter or anything. Not that I feel duped by the hype at all.

The accent nail is my beloved Bassins Bleu (why not Bleus so the adjective agrees with the plural noun?) and is quite a surprise because they look a lot closer in the bottle than on the ongle. You can see here, yes? But in the final analysis *hums Final Countdown* it's far darker.

Do I think mint has had its chips? No. Not in this house. It's a new classic. That's my final word on the matter.

It's hot. I made a worse mess than usual. I seek pardon.

Jenni

The Cherry award...

It is my pleasurable duty to select 5 Cherry award-winners...

Thank you to Karen of Frazzle and Aniploish for nominating me and I now hereby confer this honour upon-----

OK, hold it there because I have to explain a bit. I could have picked dozens of blogs because I read dozens every day and I wouldn't do that if I didn't love them so I had to have me some selection criteria. I still could have chosen more than 5 though.... 

The criteria were:

• young (opposite of me who am old)
• British (or living in Britain because I am speaking primarily to a British readership)
• blogs with exclusively or a fair bit of nail-content
• I like them

So I tag -

Rebecca of Nails Etc

Tilly of Matilda's Manis

Rebekah of For the love of nails...

Rachel Queen of Turquoise...

Lena of The Student's Guide To Nail Polish

1. Please copy the award onto your blog.
2. Thank me in the most ingratiating way possible!
3. Select another 5 recipients.
4. Include a pic that means something to you.
5. Write 5 positive comments about yourself.

Here's a pic

This is my lovely grandson on my knee last August (my 54th birthday!).

5 positives

1. I'm a lot more tolerant these days
2. I am making a success of my marriage (having not been a great wife on 2 previous occasions)
3. I think people at work enjoy working with me - I do try to brighten the day!

To be honest 3 is good going for me. I used to be such a judgemental, conceited b!tch. I'm rather chuffed to have thought of 3 genuinely good points.

Over to you, my little cherry-dumplings!

Jen

Essie + a puzzle/Hokey cokey karaoke and let the dog see the rabbit...

Here's an Essie

Got it for £3.50. Didn't much like it in the bottle. 3 coats. LOVE it on. L O V E   I T.

Here's the puzzle!

A recent Rimmel polish was called Coralicious because it was coral-coloured. That's my opening example. Other polishes with the colour in the name are: Ruby Pumps, Red Stallion, Blue Moon.

So what did Essie call THIS?

What colour family do you think this belongs to?

I want you to guess by posting a comment, if you feel so inclined.

But the answer (the actual moniker by which this is marketed) can be found below. Highlight the supposedly blank area and you will see what it's called. 

Mauve-ing Along

Now you can call me a blind old bat with the colour sense of a mole in a hole but I really don't think that this polish can be called mauve. But what do you think?

I'm going to post my 5 Cherry tag blogger/folk/peeps later today and an Illamasqua question.

Jennifer

Models Own Blue Moon + Dusty Mauve

Ingredients
See above
Boots expert  nail ridge filler
Misa Breakneck
Use of Mac iPhoto to edit major imperfections

Method
1 Apply ridge filler
2 Apply 1st coat of polish
3 Apply 2nd coat
4 Apply further coat (if necessary according to taste)
5 Wait 5 minutes before applying topcoat
6 Evaluate

Evaluation
Very pretty. Moon is a blue foil. Not unique but easy to apply and a typical foil
Mauve -  on the nail a soft grey but in the bottle more complex (see below)

Extension activity (sorry, I've lapsed into teacher-ese)
Very pretty but I messed up with a coupla dents'n'dings so the ol' Fairy Dust had to come to the rescue.

Voila. My most-used and rapidly thickening polish.
I am far too tight to buy a bottle of Seche Restore and I know not to thin it  (attempt to anyway) with remover so have you any budget tips for me, please?

Or I shall be very sad.......
I don't want my Fairy Dust to die! Help my Fairy Dust to live, I beg you!

Tatty bye
Jenni

Models Own haul - gang of 5

Less than 48 hours
Free P&P
You'd better hope Eng-er-land beat Germany on Sunday if you want 20% off a little bundle of beauties under the Models Own "Surely that sorry bunch'll never win anything so we can offer loads of discounts to punters safe in the knowledge that we won't have to make good on our promise" WE SUPPORT ENGLAND campaign.

Cr@ppy pic of:
Dusty Mauve
Nude Beige
Pink Lady
Champagne
Blue Moon

These look way better IRL.
I'm going to pick 2 now to do a mani with but won't post until tomorrow.
Short of time today, I fear.

KarenD of Frazzle and Aniploish (http://thekarend.blogspot.com/) me with one of these - for which I thank her.

I have to nominate 5 others and I'm going to devote some time to that before launching in. I also have to write about 5 other things but more of that anon.


OK, I can't leave you without a pic so for a LAUGH (a LAUGH) I am posting my beyond-feeble isn't-this-the-lamest-nailart-ever photo of my cherry blossom effort from February (?).

Actually that blue looks OK but the alleged flower (!) is beyond words cruddy.
Just shows I have more confidence now. I had about 2 followers when I did this and didn't dare expose it to public view but ........well, it's in the public domain. Oh, and the cuticles and.......

Bet Karen wouldn't have tagged me if she'd seen THAT!

Vow to self - must do better.

Onwards and upwards
Jenni-fur