Boots 17 Nail Xtras Matte Top Coat

I even shocked myself with the generally lousy quality of my last post. Therefore attention was paid to the nails and some improvements made.

An extra coat of Illamasqua Viridian was added to each nail and then I put a matte top coat over one nail to give an accent. It's actually more matte IRL than the photo suggests. An easy way to add a bit of variety to a mani. I'm going to use it to do matte tips as well. Also simple. I hate matte polishes but a layer of matte TC over one nail I can tolerate.

I looked for a buffer in Boots but there was little choice and they were all made in China so that's a no-go. I did get a ridge-filler. Haven't used it yet. Likewise very little choice. My town is really sucky as regards cosmetics availability. Oh, got a great Barry M lip crayon. I want to show you that soon.

Should I draw a red circle on my nose on Friday for Comic Relief? Just nose or nose and cheeks?

Such a dilemma....

Jenni

Illamasqua Viridian ombre + a total disaster

Here it is in all its hideousness. No point in tarting it up.

 
And how the nightmare was wrought.
It was NOT a good idea to franken with the myface polish because it was thick and streaky on its own so why did I think it would make a good base for adding Viridian? Because I'm a cheapskate, that's why. Thought I could use it for good. Who am I? Superman?

So - DON'T use rubbish polishes for frankens.
DON'T neglect the thorough blending of the 2 shades.
DON'T persist with it when it's obvious from the first nail that it's no ruddy good.

Such a shame as the Illamasqua is a lovely polish.

Two for just over a tenner from asos.  That's not a lot for such quality items. And I eff it up bigtime. Maybe I should try foils or something. Something FOOLPROOF for people like me who are fools. *grump grump*

Off to Boots to see if they have the new Barry M crackles in stock. And get a nail buffer.

Jenni

Sally Hansen Super Frost Platinum + more lacy tips

Keep looking for a shimmery white that covers in fewer than half a dozen coats. This could be it. Platinum thingummy by SH.

Creme polishes are no ruddy use on my nails any more. Can someone PLEASE recommend a ridge-filler? I'm getting desperate now.

Now, I realise this would be better with a black base and white or silver tips and I will do that when Models Own bring out their range of crackle polishes. I wasn't going to post the MO promo pic because who needs it all over again for the umpteenth time? BUT I decided I would because I could then refer to the actual shades and say I shall definitely get the silver and white. I'm not a fan of coloured crackles though. Maybe the yellow may prove alluring but I shall wait for swatches. The OPI and China Glaze are too expensive over here so they can take a running jump.

To conclude:

• Do you know of a heavy-duty ridge-filler?
• Will you get any of the above?
• Do you too find the Models Own caps wide and unwieldy and a s0d to work with?

Jen

Coral ombre - or whatever it's called...

I felt like a bit of coral but it's fairly boring so I did 5.
They are:

Missguided Misschievous *
Nails Inc Drury Lane *
Rimmel Apricot Punch
Jessica My Cabana Boy
Rimmel Sunrise
* first time I've used them

3 coats of each to greater or lesser effect...

Conclusions

• The Missguided is a tad red in some lights - certainly the best coverage/quality except maybe Sunrise which is a bit frosty/shimmery so not exactly comparable
• The cremes I'd used before had gone gloopy - boo - I don't like gloopy
• They all look closer on the nail than in the bottle - weird - so it didn't turn out as expected
• The Jessica turned out neon and matte (not as I had remembered it)

 

I had to slather serum (hair serum) over my hands to make any photo even remotely acceptable. First off I used the 'vignette' function in iPhoto to try to capture the colours whilst simultaneously disguising my sloughing-snakesin mitts. Yuk. I quite like the vignette feature. Can cover a multitude of sins. In dire need of Photoshop.

Doesn't coral come in lots of colours? So why do we call this soft-orange 'coral'? Anybody know anything about coral? The more you say it the odder it sounds as a word, I find.

Jenni

Sort-of lacy effect...Barry M Nail Effects

Used tip guides and Barry M Nail Effects to spruce up the Rimmel Play Fast Camouflage and got this.
Just wait until I get hold of the new Models Own crackle polishes! Cue a gleeful rubbing of hands. All this from a woman who kinda resolved not to blog and sorta resolved not to buy any nail polish because it was taking time away from the nearest and dearest. I just can't help myself.

Keeping it short and sweet.

Jenni

If you blog, how much of a compulsion/therapy is it for you? Do you NEED it? Do you really NEEEEEEEEEEEEED it?

Misa High Waist Hue + Nubar 2010

I love Misa and I love this particular nude.
My yukky cuticles I cannot love. Not even a mother could love my cuticles.
"Maybe I didn't love them quite as good as I should have....." (Pet Shop Boys version for me, please).

Nubar 2010 is just another of those GOSH Rainbow/Sally Hansen HT polishes that lengthen the lifespan of a mani when you don't have a lot of time. That would be me then...Ideal.

Cue the cute animal pic... Why? Why not?

Jenni


Elvis

• too cliched to be true
• great performer
• legend
• sad
• not my thaaaang

Rimmel Play Fast Camouflage + Hello again...

Been moving my mother down from Shropshire to live in a new home two miles down the road from me. Busy.Wore a mani for a straight week. Priorities.

• Focus is rubbish.
• State of nails and skin likewise rubbish.
• Polish is fantastic! 2 coats and one would probably do it.

Why, oh why, do companies discontinue some of their best-quality formulae and shades? Barking. Not as if Rimmel is a high-fashion label that has to be avant-garde...


On that topic I notice a couple of highly-desirable new collections out. Illamasqua Toxic Nature. I don't have enough reserves of hyperbole for that one. And BB Couture Touch of Greece (damn silly name but stunning colours).

And in closing:

 

A photograph of my grandson and my dog. I rather like the pouty pose. He was eating one of his beloved apples. Dog is naturally intent on fate of apple. He would gladly eat the scraps from his master's table/hand.

Personal photos on a nail blog?

• Too much information. Yawn.
• OK in moderation.
• Nice to have a bit of personal background.
• Other

Jenni

OCC Lip Tar Katricia

Or another one that makes me look dead according to She Who Knows.
Well, I like it. These Lip Tars use a mere droplet of product for maximum coverage. They last forever on the lip and make a great base for other stuff. Sadly the £8 was but a short-lived offer on Love Makeup - they're back to £8.99 now. Still worth it but I should really make some money by clearing out some items from my hoard before I make another purchase. Lots of people report these to be minty/tangy even to an unpleasant degree. This shade is one of the more minty but only marginally to my way of thinking.

 I am using 'hi-speed burst' on my camera the last couple of days which captures colour really well but loses a bit in the sharpness of focus sometimes. Swings and those round things that go round...

Nail polish tomorrow and then I may be taking a weekend break. I could cue some posts but sometimes they just bizarrely and unexpectedly post themselves immediately despite my having followed all the processes correctly. I blame blogger.

Have you ever had problems when you've scheduled a post but it's rebelled against you?

Jenni

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.

OCC Lip Tar Uber + how taupe is not just for nails

There's a little pink in there but that's because I don't clean my lipbrush after every application. Oh, and I can see my lips need exfoliation (for which read my olive oil/sugar mixture). Other than that and the smudgy foundation - perfetto! And the weird lip line isn't the best. But everything is done in such a hurry these days.

I'll just reiterate how much I love Lip Tars. Although the reaction of She Who Knows was "cyanotic" and, "You look like a dead person." Heck, I still like it.


I only work 3 days a week at the best of times with 13 weeks of holiday and I'm on half-term now but I still don't know which way is up. Mum is now in a hospital in the small town where she lives so that's good for her numerous neighbours and frequent visitors but even further away from me. Extra driving. But hey. She seems happy enough. She's talking fluently but it's like jamming the wrong pieces of a jigsaw together and doesn't make much sense overall even though it sounds pretty much like the old Mum superficially. Day at a time and all that jazz. As I say, she's merry enough so that's fine!

Jenni

Taupe/mauve/beige for lips? Or not?