Tuesday 13 November 2012

Color Club Back To Boho - Part 2!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back to Part 2 of my latest Color Club stash! The Back to Boho collection is an almost perfect Autumn/Winter collection - despite it being last year's collection, its still a great one to have!

Let's crack on, shall we?

Color Club Artsy Crafty

 




 

This is one of those polishes that leave me wondering if they are worth the effort. The colour is lovely - a sort of British Racing Green - but application was not. This was just two coats, but the polish formula was a bit too runny for me. It was the hardest to apply, it needed a lot of clean up AND it stained my cuticles.  You can see how messy it is in the pictures.


Color Club Blue-topia

 



Another polish, which wasn't what I expected! At first glance, this looks a bit purple-y in the bottle, but when applied its very very blue! Its an ultra-glossy blackish blue - very vampy! This was just two coats, and again the formula was a little bit runny, and prone to stain. However, this was a lot nicer to apply compared to Artsy Crafty.


Color Club Rebel Spirit

 


 


 

Last but not least, we have this rich reddish brown. It looks like a grunge-y khaki brown in the bottle, and well, a bit dirty. I had rather low expectations of this, and if it hadn't been in the set, I would never have bought it or tried it. Instead, we have something that is a lot more elegant and grown up. This polish needed 2 coats, as it was a little bit streaky to apply. This is the polish I'll go to, when I want something dark, but not true black. I'm so glad I have this in my collection - this is a close second to being my favourite from this collection - Nouveau Vintage is my top pick from this set!

What do you think? Do you have any favourites from the Back To Boho collection?

What are your top picks for the darker months?

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x

Sunday 11 November 2012

Color Club Back To Boho - Part 1

Hi Everyone!

Whilst this is a collection from 2011, I have only acquired it recently! And I am so glad that I did, as it is a great collection for Autumnal nails! Its full of rich, jewel tones and a couple of surprising flecked polishes full of shimmer!

I got the second part of this collection, courtesy of Beth who spotted it in her local TK Maxx (a polish haven, yes?) and quite rightly, she knew I'd love it!! I'm going to share the first three with you today! All polishes are shown without top coat, as I wanted to show the polishes as they dry naturally! So here we go!

Color Club Boho Mojo

 



 



OK, so truth be told, this is my least favourite in the collection. Its a bit frosty and streaky for me, however it has a beautiful consistency and feels lovely to apply. This was a 2-3 coater; I could have gotten away with just 2, but I was trying to get rid of the streaks. It has that molten metal sort of finish to it, which is kinda nice, but no matter what I did, those streaks just annoyed me. Especially under the flash. Its all I can see in these pictures, I don't even notice the colour. In the natural light pictures, it does look a lot softer, but I can't spend my days avoiding bright lights just because of my nail colour.


Color Club Nouveau Vintage

 



 



In a nice contrast to Boho Mojo, this is one of my favourites in this collection. Its a bit gorgeous, and the SHIMMER! Oh, it reminds me of the mixture of Autumn leaves, all the beautiful bronzes, golds and browns. In the bottle, it looks a bit grungey, but when its on, its really lovely! This is showing 2 coats - the polish applied really nicely and dried quite quickly too! Gorgeous formula and a beautiful finish!


Color Club Voodoo You Do

 


 

Again, a slightly frosty polish, but a rather unusual one for me. This had a rather thick formula, which applied OK - not as nicely as the other two though. This was just two coats, and the polish dried to an almost rubbery finish! Its a dark, woody green with lots of shimmer in it - personally, I think the colour is beautiful, and gorgeous for this time of year, but I don't think it suits me. It does look rather elegant on long nails though - if you're a fan of greens, this is a must! Maybe I'll bring it out for some Christmas manicures!

So there we have the first three polishes - keep your eyes open for the next part!

Do you have any must-have Autumn polishes? Any Winter-y recommendations?!

See you soon,

Love Charlotte x

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Nude Inspiration

Hi Everyone,

It seems like everywhere I look, nail bloggers are telling me that nude nails are going to be the next big thing.

I am slowly warming to nude nails - they're classy and elegant, grown up and very work friendly. And, there are a lot more shades available now to avoid running the risk of mannequin hands!

I saw this tutorial over at Polish You Pretty, and decided that this was a lovely, seasonal spin on the nude trend!

Alas, my attempt was obviously not as good as theirs, but I'm pretty happy with it all the same!



The nude base is 2true Shade 11 - one of their tall, skinny polishes, which are very good considering they are only £1.99 each! I used two different shades of red. Well, technically three, but two of them (Revlon Vixen and Bourjois Very Vernis in Cerise Noire)  turned out to be practically identical! Doh! The other one I used was China Glaze Ruby Pumps! I was desperate to get a bit of glitter in there somehow!

Although patience is a virtue, I guess I'm not always virtuous... As you can see, I applied my top coat just a little too soon and we had a bit of a smear on a dot or two, but despite that, I'm very happy with how this turned out! Especially on my little short nails!

How will you be wearing the nude trend? Playing it straight, or with your own little flair? Let me know, I'd love to see your manis!

Love Charlotte x

Monday 5 November 2012

Remember, Remember...

The Fifth of November!

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick one from me today, as I wanted to share my fireworks mani with you!






This is two coats of Topshop's Gypsy Night, with a couple of stripes from various nail art pens to make my rather girly firework! Gypsy night is a brownish black jelly infused with multi-coloured and multi-sized glitter flecks which pop up in different lights! I thought of this one, as the multi-coloured flecks have always made me think of fireworks on a dark sky... but I couldn't resist adding a few of my own!

Whatever you do tonight, please stay safe! A pretty fizz in the sky is not a worthy risk for hurting yourself! And remember our little furry friends who will be terrified of all the loud noises and bangs, or who may have made themselves a little nest in the bottom of your bonfire. Please take a minute to check that all creatures are safe and sound too!

Have a great night,

Love Charlotte x

Saturday 3 November 2012

Leighton Denny - Message In A Bottle

Hi Everyone,

Well, if there was a message in this bottle, it's 'Buy Me NOW!'.

It shouted to me from the M+S Beauty Hall. I seem to be there a lot lately. Foolish, but wonderful!

Anyway, this polish is almost identical to my beloved Accessorize Colorado - shown here! The grey is slightly paler, and the shimmer more noticeable. The formula is also better too! Granted, it's a lot more expensive... but... I couldn't help it.








This applied beautifully! I used two coats, but three would have been perfect, as a slight bit of VNL shows up under the flash. It was fine in normal daylight... but an extra coat for good luck never hurt anyone!

In comparison the the Accessorize version, this seems that little bit more refined. Softer, and a little bit cleaner. I love it.

What do you think? Leighton Denny, or Accessorize? Or Nails Inc of course?

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x

Monday 22 October 2012

Cappuccino To Go

Hi Everyone,

About a month back, a brand new Marks and Spencer's store opened near my work. I wasn't very excited about this prospect, until the thought hit me... would there be a Beauty Hall in there?

I had heard so many wonderful things about the M+S Beauty Halls down in London, and was desperate for a browse in one of them. However, the last time I went to London was probably about 8 years ago. I don't get out much, eh?

I convinced myself that I wouldn't be lucky enough to have the Beauty Hall practically on my doorstep, and carried on with the day to day.

When the gigantic store finally opened, I went for a nose about - as you do - and decided I was going to be happy if I could find something tasty in the Food Hall.

Oh yes, you guessed it. There was a Beauty Hall. *Happy Dance*!

After a considerable amount of time was spent touching and smelling everything (twice) I made a few purchases. Of course, there had to be some nail polish in there somewhere...

By some, I mean lots!

Here is the first one that caught my eye! Limited Collection Cappuccino:





This is two coats of Cappuccino - which is fine on most of my nails but gives a little bit of VNL on others. It's a beautiful bronzey brown, with a golden shimmer running through it. There is just the slightest hint of grey to the brown, and the occasional hint of copper in the shimmer. It's not your regular run-of-the-mill brown, and a great addition for my Autumn polish requirements!

The polish itself has a nice formula - the brush is rather nice too. It dries quickly, and with little fuss too.

Yep, I like this one! And the best bit? Its just £3.49. Bargain!

What do you think? Do you have any Beauty Hall favourites? After getting the lip balm, I so have my eyes on the Nuxe hand cream...

Love Charlotte x

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Paint It Black?

Hi Everyone,

Today I am not actually referring to the Rolling Stones song, but to the choice of polish colour... Black.

To me, black polish makes me think of the Goth Kids in South Park...



... who don't even seem to be wearing any polish, but still black polish seems to shout Goth to me. Especially if it's chipped.  Not that there is anything wrong with that of course, it just isn't me. Although, I'm loving the purple lipstick and black eyeliner combo the girl goth is working!

Also, I have this whole thing where certain dark colours make my fingers look fat, and I won't wear them out of the house! But sometimes, we do need a bit of black polish in our lives, and the right black polish can make all the difference.

My black polish of choice is Bourjois' Noir de Chine from their So Laque range.







It's a very glossy black polish, that dries relatively quickly and only requires two coats. It dries to a very even finish, which is beautifully shiny. On it's own, this is far more glam than goth, and it can also be an excellent base for any nail art or sparkly top coat! You may remember my Summer Flames nail art offering, where I used this as a base.

I've actually had this in my stash for quite some time now, and whilst the formula on my bottle is pretty good, I hear reports that this range has taken a turn for the worse. I hope that this isn't true, as I will need to be on the look out for a new glossy black, that won't break the bank! Do you have any issues with the 'new' So Laque formula? 

Either way, seeing as the nights are drawing in, and the weather is going from bad to grim, I think that a bit of black polish is in order, don't you? Even if it's just to see what combinations I can come up with!

What about you? Do you rock black polish? And do you have a favourite?

Let me know!

Love Charlotte x





Friday 5 October 2012

Avon Calling!

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick one from me today, just so that I can share the loveliness that is Avon's Decadence.

It's beautiful. It ticks so many boxes for me, I can not tell you how nicely surprised I was when I tried this!

1) It's purple.

2) It's shimmery.

3) Its got a slight Duochrome.

4) Its got a nice brush.

5) Its got a nice formula.

6) It didn't cost the national debt to purchase!

Should I go on? Actually, I'll let this do the talking for me!!




Gorgeous, eh? It's so pretty! I get so many compliments when I wear this polish. It is a surprise favourite of mine now!

I got mine via my Avon lady... a.k.a my Mum's friend who does it on the side, but you can get it from their website if you don't have a local rep. They're normally about £6 each, but are currently half price. Or 4 for £10. Wish I hadn't seen that... I'm likely to be buying more polish today, I see!

Don't blame me if you buy the lot haha!!

Hope you like it,

Love Charlotte x