Glitter Gal Blue

Just plain 'blue'. For one of the most mind-blowing polishes there is! Tut.

• Not a blue that suits me at all but I don't care.
• Formula perfect.
• Available in the UK from http://sjmwellnails.weebly.com/ 
• You'd be crazy not to get some Glitter Gal UNLESS you don't like superb holos. There may just be some polish-addicts out there who don't. Who's to know?

How much do you like a good holo? 10 being a complete nut and 0 being beyond indifferent.

Jenni

Catrice Dirty Berry - you have to love that name...

 

I nearly didn't get this one. The air-con in the shop was such a blessed relief that I couldn't concentrate on the cosmetics. But I'm jolly glad I took a better look. 2 coats of very subtle holo. And it applies like a dream. The kind of dream with meadows and a gentle stream - not the dream I usually have about school or exams or being in a room with someone lurking outside or doing the same thing over and over and over again. 

Catrice is a super brand. Really cheap. Round the £2 mark. Watch out for this in Croatia (if you ever go - I love it there) and Central Europe and wherever else it's sold. I like the bottle design and everything about Catrice.

Jenni

 

How it all began..Fairy Dust (Sally Hansen Fairy Dust Pink)

I've painted my nails on and off since about 1969 but I haven't in recent times had a day of naked nails since August 2009. Had time and dollars to spare at Montreal airport in August 09 so I had a mani. Great Turkish-Canadian girl. Very friendly. The concession was OPI-fied so I had a coupla greens. That got me hooked again. (I think they may have been Electric Eel and Green-wich - something like that.)

That developed into buying more polish and reading blogs. Finally I got my own blog going.

One of the first polishes I ebay-ed in 09 or 10 was this Sally Hansen. I'd seen something similar on a blog and just took a punt on it. I checked the prices on ebay today and they are mega-silly. I'm sure I didn't spend more than a coupla quid though. So there's no point stimulating demand for these "magical" polishes. (That's what they're called by Sally Hansen btw.) Was minded to wear this because I just got £14.50 for GOSH Holographic on ebay so had holos in my head. This applies better than quite a lot of holos which I find almost invariably patchy. Pity SH don't do this range any longer. The prices demonstrate it was highly-regarded.

Ah, well. Just a pretty polish for a sunny day.

Jenni

Giveaway - GOSH Holographic

It is but a humble bottle of polish I offer. Somewhat careworn and tattered (probably due to having been languishing in the back of my local NotSoSuperDrug for aeons) but unopened, unused, untried nonetheless. A virgin bottle of holo goodness. Although, I have to admit, I have never managed to make it work for me. It has never agreed with any base coat I use. I know some people prefer to apply it to unprepared nails to avoid streaks but I can't bear not to prep my nails. Be warned. The results can be spectacular but it is temperamental.

• Open to my first 300 followers only. This isn't a desperate gambit to acquire new followers. This includes Trixx who appears to be 301 but I stupidly managed to follow myself in the early days so 301 is the cut-off point.
• Open internationally as it's just 1 ickle bockle.
• 1 entry each for leaving your contact details in comments below and stating a. which polish in your collection you'd be MOST reluctant to giveaway b. which polish in the whole, wide world you wish you could have c. whether or not you already have this polish.
• If you don't have it then you get an extra entry as I'd prefer it to find a home with someone who doesn't have it already as it's one of those HTF/rare/niche/Holy Grail polishes. So I'm enhancing the odds for those who don't have it. And if you're a blogger I can check! Sneaky and suspicious,  moi?
• Closes (hm, now let me think) 9th August.

If I've forgotten anything then please let me know.

Bonne chance!

J

Nubar Prize

This is meant to be holo. Not on my nails it isn't. But I love it regardless.

3 coats, I think. It isn't as red as I had expected either. But this went on beautifully. I do love Nubar. Even after the contretemps with Petunia Sparkle!

I don't have product loyalty to anything really. I have a million perfumes. I buy supermarket own-brand. I like experimenting. I am unerringly faithful to my OH and that's about it.

What about you? Is it Heinz for beans? Nivea for the face? M&S for knickers? What are your 'until hell freezes over' items?

Freaky friends...completely random. This really ought to be a caption competition.Please have a go because anyone can improve on my lame effort.

Fat cat: Just leave me alone! I told you before. You know I don't go out with birds that are taller than me!



Jenni

Marks and Spencer Rainbow

Long Wear Nail Lacquer

Well, well, well. It comes to something when I had to see this on an Australian blog You've Got Nail before I knew it existed. Marks? Marketing? Not in the same sentence, methinks.

Silver holo. 2 coats.
Sounds simple enough.
BUT I've had silver holo before. GOSH holo. Dragged like a draggy thing. Hopeless. It had to go.
This just goes one like a normal polish and you KNOW how awkward holo lacquers can be. So, simple is good. Better than good.

I actually painted this on the nails of both hands and I never do that.
I'm going to layer it with my Jessica jellies tomorrow to make (I hope) a pink holo, a blue etc etc. That's the plan.

Nul points for the choice of name. Rainbow should be banned as a polish name due to extensive overuse. Lamer than a 3-legged donkey.

Likewise red polishes called anything including the words Red Square.

Any cosmetic names you've had enough of?
Jenni

PS Does Ed Miliband have a cold or does he always sound that nasal? He's beginning to annoy me.

Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm (holo)

I'm still anti-colour so today we have one of the best polishes I have.

You can sort-of see the holo on the ring finger. This is 3 coats. No TC.
Even if it cost more than a coupla quid it would be way worth it.

Look at the bottle!
I think this is a cross between dinosaur skin and fur.
People babble on about OPI My Private Jet but they can keep it. I don't know what gets better than this.
I want to stroke it. It's like velvet dinosaur skin-fur. It's like serenity and bliss in a bottle. It makes even my pudgy paws look vaguely half-decent. It's the song of the blackbird on a cool morning in May.


Now for the mundane.
In the UK it's available from Konad Nail Stamping Nail Art - Flashy Nails.
Every Diamond I have is a great polish.
Charm is one of only 2 polishes for which I have back-up.

It appears from my survey that most of you are dancer(s). Just saying.

The love of my life resurfaces on Thursday.
Test cricket. None of this 1-day malarkey. And 20-20 is beyond evil. The work of the devil.
England v Pakistan.
My cricket memories. Those days of yore.
My dream job would be cricket-commentator for the BBC. I kid you not.

Very cross as my googled image of Sir Geoffrey keeps disappearing. Bah, humbug.


This is one of my cricket heroes - Sir Geoffrey Boycott. Don't tell me he hasn't been ennobled because in my head he IS Sir Geoffrey. Why am I not doing a cricket-blog? Expect lots of cricket to have to skip beyond until the Test series is over but am I repentant? I am not.

Dream job?
Sporting hero?

Jenni

Sally Hansen - Fairy Dust Pink - The magical range - a holo

I do love a good holo. And a good cup of tea. But that's another story.

2 coats.

Halogen lighting. I have found that my bathroom is an excellent venue for photography.

Began with the hair-tearingout-inducing drag and bald spots associated with every holo in existence.

This happens with most holos and I have to re-remember every time how to apply the stuff.

Lots of polish on the nail is the solution. Lots. It's all plain sailing from that point.

What a pretty bottle. Such cute packaging.
BUT - and you know the problem - what the blue blazes does the polish look like inside?
I HATE it when the companies do this.
But no matter. It was cheap. Ebay. Discontinued. The holo effect is strong so I don't much care about the colour. Luckily I like it but the opaque bottle is a daft idea.
This is more lavender than pink but WTF. It has aspects of blue and is different in varying conditions. It's also quite reflective and has a slight mirror-finish.

Notice anything?
Yes, I've been de-digitated.
Voluntarily.
Removed the old stuff and there was a split. A SPLIT. Right down the middle.
That nail has gone on holiday for a week to recover. Crete, I think it said. I've never been.

I think my next post is going to encompass either footwear for summer OR eyeliner.

Please vote for your preference now.
Eyeliner
Shoes

Happy dreary day
Jenni

Another pig's ear - Butter London Minger and Bourjois Rose Virtuel

Minger
It is mingin' - i.e. it doesn't suit me
Lovely quality polish though for the right person and I am offering an exchange (see right)

Dear Lord, what does it look like? I didn't change the middle finger from yesterday because I'm like that...
2 coats here, pre-cleanup because I wasn't sure if I'd keep it on
It's a creme

On the RH something more successful but unexciting

Bourjois Rose Virtuel - holo
2 coats, easy as you like
I am a huge fan of Bourjois

The Max Factor Blue Energy from yesterday pleased me and remained flawless but I had meant to apply Minger yesterday but had forgotten to remove the large cap before applying base coat and was thus scuppered

There's always another day in the world of nails....
Oh, and is anyone up for exchanges?

Jenni

Greens - Nubar Reclaim, Cutex Sweet Pea, Hot Looks Ninja, BB Couture Redwood Forest

I had some new greens and I wanted to try them/compare them.

Reclaim 2 coats - why don't I do a whole mani of this??? a lovely holo
Cutex Sweet Pea - 2 swift coats and a stray bit of sparkle - dirty creme
Collection 2000 Ninja - creme 3 coats, a bit streaky
BB Couture Redwood Forest - you have to see this IRL, jelly dark green with blue glass fleck, just get it, I am a huge fan of BB so I'll say that you should get everything they make! 2 coats - no need for more, perfect in 2

The pic washes out the Cutex a bit. I have never seen these swatched which is a very great shame. They do a dirty blue creme also (Huckleberry) which appears to be one of a range of 6 autumnal colours. They include Cider and Eggplant. I don't have those but I mean to acquire more. Cutex used to make lots of shades in days gone by. Perhaps they were merged or taken over by some other corporate giant. Who's to know?

The moral of this posting is: on the whole you get what you pay for. There are caveats to this and I'm sure we could all think of exceptions.

Happy days

Jenni

Bourjois Prune Virtuelle holo Very Vernis - yes, HOLO!!!

A holo
Plummy?

2 coats + base + top

Next pic in sun

Bottle shots

Goes on like the proverbial dairy product.

Got this from:

http://www.cosmetic-kingdom.co.uk/

Price? £1.99

They have lots of lovely Bourjois, including Rose Virtuelle (a pink holo??) which I must get

Good company this - they sent me a freebie nail-file with hot-air balloons on from Montreal which was weird because I met a woman in Montreal who helped with their annual Montgolfier Festival thus exemplifying the expression "It's a small world..."

This is not holo glitter. This is holo in the same vein as Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm (one of only 2 polishes for which I have back-up).

I love this one. It's so easy. Unlike other holos there is no drag. No care needs to be taken.

Jenni