Dupe-time again....

 

 2true no. 46. 2 coats. I like it. It's better than Barry M Dusky Mauve (better as in "got more going for it complexity-wise").

And guess who didn't do a very thorough job of removing Bourjois Orange Creation? No prizes.

YET AGAIN the Bourjois So Laque chipped on me. That's 2 out of 3 of the latest range. Consider me displeased.

With dupes though - don't you have to issue them within a couple of months of the original? Is there any point otherwise? What d'you think? Is it not just a bit lame doing it half a year later?

Oo, and ta muchly for all the help with my bottle-problems.

Jenni

Men land on moon in 1969 - polish stuck in bottle 2011

Albert Bridge and Kensington topcoats.

Do you think I can get a good load of polish on a brush? Enough to coat even a single nail adequately in a single stroke? Can I hell!

And why is this? Why do I have to tilt these bottles with the mathematical precision of an Einstein to get the merest micromillitre of polish on the brush?

Why does it look as if I shall have to jettison these despite the fact that there's half to just under half left in each?

Please recommend a good topcoat that is usable for about 80% of its contents because this is a phenomenon that is right royally p!ssing me off! Is it a conspiracy by the manufacturers to make us buy more?

The usual colour polishes (I generalise) only rarely trouble our nails often enough to diminish to even 50% but topcoats one DOES rather expect to have some longevity.

GrumpyGit Jenni

Bourjois Orange Creation

 

2 coats over ridgefiller plus top-coat as it dries insufficiently glossy. Sadly I selected a topcoat that has seen better days - hence the bubbling and uneven finish. Not perceptible IRL.

Oh, BIG MOAN! Got a lot of chipping on the Bourjois Bleu Model. Hope this is better. And lots of tipwear on OPI JITNB. Not funny! Be warned. Please report back if you experience unwarranted chipping on the new Bourjois. I haven't had a polish wear so poorly in nearly 2 years.

This is an intense and slightly dirty orange. Not quite neon. I like it. These come out just as they look in the bottle. Consistent then.

Worst polishes for chipping?

Jenni

2true Glossywear No 9 - the end of the affair?

 

I thought I'd be very clever and get a linear holo with 1 coat of Mavala Pure Diamond over 2 coats of 2true Glossywear no 9. My bright ideas rarely pan out...

The nine 2true FastDry shades are excellent. This Glossywear in the chubby bottle is merely OK/average. You'd need at least 3 coats for a good finish and it did feel thin. Only £1.99 though so ....6/10. I still do love 2true though.

And I got the Paradoxal dupe which I've seen on other blogs and looks substantially better than the original from what I can divine. Will try it sometime.

Got 2 Mavala shades and an eyeshadow for £7.95. Have you seen Mavala foundation prices? VERY steep. Going to collect some more Mavala methinks...

Any Mavala recommendations?

Jenni

Fashion punditry. Is it a job for the average woman?

Due to the roaring success (judged by comment numbers) of my p!ss-taking of that ghastly curtain-thing dress by Monsoon I thought I'd try my hand at a bit more fashion advice.

So I looked at my inbox and attempted to find some risible excuse for a fashion item (clearly it's far more fun to be a hatah than a lovah!) but failed.

Accessorize had emailed me (I like their nail polish) and I trawled through their site hoping for dodgy gear but I thought it all pretty attractive. How very disappointing! I like the playsuit above. And thought the following boots might go pretty well with it.

Now, I do have criticisms of these. The toe isn't as bulky and rounded as I'd like and the heel is a little insubstantial but they're OK. I prefer these floral ones (below) but I think the colour-blocking on the others is needed to counteract the florality of the playsuit.

So I was now getting a festival vibe. So I'll conclude with a hat. This isn't 'cream' enough but it was crucial not to have more flowers, I thought.

 

I've never been to a music festival in my life. Nor shall I ever as my tastes incline more to Mozart than ....than... a modern musical group beginning with M. But this is what I envisage festival-goers might wear. Possibly festival-goers also wear undergarments but I didn't bother with those because..what if they don't! And they very well may not.

Sorry to be so relentlessly positive. How very dreary. Don't we all love a bit of poking fun and a good old moan? Not this time.

Please give me a score for this ensemble.

4 maximum for the playsuit

3 for the boots

3 for the hat

Your marks out of 10, please.

Jenni

Is this really the new black?

OPI Jade is the new Black
Yes, I know everybody else bar the Archbishop of Canterbury has been all over this already but it's still new to me.

Got it for £6.95 which I think was a fair price.

• 2 coats but it really needs 3, applied very easily and fluently
• Really intriguing colour and changes a lot in different light conditions
• After 48 hours I have significant tipwear - displeasing in the extreme
• Absolutely love the colour

Now phrases predicated on 'is the new black' are just lazy. Taupe/beige/brown/jade/whatever. 

Black is, and will always remain, the default colour of choice for all-purpose use. Bold statement and, like any generalisation, doesn't account for specifics such as weddings or possible fashion change in the 22nd century but pretty fair nonetheless. As regards clothing.

For nails however black never was the OLD black - let alone the NEW black. For nails red or pink is the old black. This season yellow or orange are the new black (for which substitute red/pink). For winter green could easily be the new black.

So, what would you LIKE the new black to be?Not a fashion forecast but a whimsical wish.

Jenni

Don't mock the teapot!

Looks familiar???

Original BTC are a fabulous company. I'm guessing these are the lights featured on The Apprentice this week (Episode 8). Oddly I've been looking for kitchen lighting for a while and this is the company I am ultimately going to purchase from as I love their stuff. That was before being adopted by Team Tom but I haven't let that put me off despite roundly detesting that Melody creature. Ugh. I found it first, LordSirAlan. So put that in your Tottenham Hotspur and smoke it!

Is this not simple and beautiful?


They make all their stuff in England. Yes, actual England. Of course they may employ Poles to do the actual manufacturing as yer average Brit won't demean him/herself to do manual labour any more. Despite turning out thousands of kids annually who can't read or write (I blame the parents but, being a teacher, I would...) we have become a nation that believes the road to riches lies in A becoming a footballer or B marrying one. Anybody who does a steady job is like totally lame and a loser. Call me Vicky Pollard, why dontcha.

In conclusion Original BTC is utterly fabulous and those philistines on The Apprentice who did not appreciate their glorious style should be shot fired at the first opportunity. The French loved the product  and La Redoute would have bought squillions if Tomtasha hadn't been so w@nkily useless.

Jenni

It must be love da da..It must be love da da..(Thanks, Madness)

Bourjois Bleu Model

(BUT before we proceed a big THANK YOU for all the great and amusing comments I've been getting these past few days! Really bucked me up no end!)


If this is blue then I'm Pippa Middleton's body double. Cuticles still dire. Sorry.

It's green. C'est vert. End of.
Whatever you'd call it I do know one thing. It's 3 coats of creamy gorgeousness! Cannot stress sufficiently how good the formula is.Bourjois really does quality nail-polish.

Is this a joke?

I sign up to all sorts of websites in order to get discounts and codes and suchlike. This monstrosity of a dress is what Monsoon emailed me in a bid to encourage me to spend money on their stuff. I only use Monsoon for Accessorize nail polish but even if I were in the market for a dress I wouldn't pick THIS!

Is it just me or is this truly hideous?

I then consulted their site and found a whole host of gruesome outfits. Believe it I could not. Who buys their clothes? Yeuch.

Would you wear this dress?
A Are you crazy - it's to-die-for..
B Do you really need to ask? NO.
C It's OK. I'm a better stylist than Gok. There's nothing I can't work with. Actually I quite like it.
 
Oh, and what do you think of this?Also from Monsoon.

Jenni

Mavala Pure Diamond - and unapologetic feet...

 

Toes. The OH thinks polish on toes is irredeemably chavvy and I don't care enough about it to argue the point. I'm not having naked nails so it has to be subtle.

Mavala does some great shades but the teeny bottles.... They don't half put me off. I like a big, butch bottle!

I'm one of the few people who likes feet. I thought of becoming a podiatrist but teaching is more lucrative so I shan't be donning a white coat just yet.

Those ARE FitFlops. Some colleagues recommended them. I find toe-posts irritating so I was a little concerned but they are actually really comfortable. 

Feet - for or against? 

Jenni