Bargain Nail Haul

As I said on my last post, you evil nasty bloggers have been forcing me, yes FORCING me! to buy more nail varnishes! So here are some more swatches and mini reviews of what I have bought over the past month from bargain shops.

Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine in Glow: This has quickly become one of my favourite polishes. It is a shimmery bright green, almost lime, with a metallic gold shine to it when it catches the light. The photos do not do this polish justice. It lasts for 3 days without chipping or peeling, which is almost miraculous on my nails with the amount of gardening I’ve been doing. The skinny brush doesn’t leave streaks and it dries quickly. It takes 3 coats to become fully opaque, although you can get away with 2. You can pick this up from Ebay for around £2-£3. I urge you to (and don’t confuse it with the Hard as Nail’s product also called Glow, which is an insipid pink). I got it for £2 from The Factory Warehouse in Stourport-on-Severn.

Revlon Nail Enamel in Strawberry Electric: This is a bright, almost metallic pink. It’s what Barbie would wear in the future. The shimmer is intense. It has a thin brush and sometimes streaks slightly. It also can take a long time to dry. However, the wear is fairly good and the colour is amazing. You can buy this from Ebay for around £3. I got mine from Savers for £1.50-ish.

W7 Nail Polish in Purple Paradise: W7 Nail Crackle is amazing, so I decided to try the regular polishes. This, I do not love. It is a shimmery plum purple. The wear is terrible, it streaks, the drying time is ludicrously long and the gold iridescence that the bottle shows (which the camera couldn’t pick up properly) doesn’t transfer to the nails. It’s not the worst polish I’ve tried but it’s put me off the regular polishes by W7. Disappointing nail polish can be yours for £2 from Amazon. I got this for £1 from The Factory Warehouse.

OPI Irre-swiss-ables Swatches and Review

It's been a long time since I last did a post. However, just because I haven't been writing about makeup it doesn't mean I haven't been buying any. Thanks to all you lovely makeup bloggers, I have started buying nail varnish in such quantities, I could paint my house with them. Naughty bloggers! No more enabling my new addiction!

Anyway, one of the things I bought recently was the OPI. Irre-swissables mini polishes. The set was released last August and I was lucky enough to find it at my local Sally's Beauty Supplies in Kidderminster for £6. The marketing for the set sums it up quite nicely. Supposedly OPI took inspiration 'from a backdrop of snow-peaked mountains, lush glacial valleys, and glittering lakes'. Fancy! My nails are having a winter holiday.

In the set you get four 3.75ml bottles, all of which seem to be part of the permanent collection. To some it may seem better to buy the larger bottles if the shades aren't limited edition but I love mini sets to try out new shades. You get Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvelous (pewter), Yodel Me On My Cell (dark teal blue), So Hot It Burns (red) and the OPI RapiDry Top Coat (clear).

Return of the Smurfette

I thought I'd better let the blogging world know I'm still alive as I've been neglectful due to being on holiday. So today, instead of pretty makeup and my ramblings, I give you a picture of Bonnie the bonkers black lab and her first trip to the seaside.

Mmmmm, sand is so tasty when you're sitting in a hole you've just dug!

I'll be posting again soon with a look from the Sleek Carribbean palette, swatches and review of Collection 2000's smoky eye palette and possibly some NOTD from my recent hauling (if my nails have recovered from playing on the beach and falling over in the sea).