ORLY Spring 2012 - Cool Romance!

What do you make of ORLY's spring 2012 collection, Cool Romance? It looks like a nice collection, but I'm a bit worried that the shades don't appear to be that inspiring on the image. I do like the look of the pink, grey, taupe and lavender shades in it (will find out shade names asap) but it's hard to tell if they have anything a bit more special to them, such as the finish etc. Will report back when I find out more.

What do you think about it s far?


This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Party Season Nails: Orly 'Fowl Play'

When I saw this polish in Orly's Birds of a Feather collection, I loved the look of it - even though I couldn't 100% tell how it would look from the stock photograph! When it arrived through my letterbox, I was thrilled, it's even more stunning than I imagined it would be... a deep purple flakey polish that is so different to most of the polishes that I own and actually more like 2 polishes in one due to the shimmery,, shiny flakes inside it!

The polish applies well, it's a 2 coater that lasts very well with only minor tipwear after about 4 days - please excuse my haphazard application, I'm afraid it was another train jobby, since I've barely had time to sneeze recently... and I'm still not all sorted for Christmas yet!

I love the overall appearance of this polish, it's perfect for this time of year (I do love a dark polish in winter) and, more importantly it is SO perfect for party season - especially if you want shimmer, but are not a big fan of full on glitter!

It's available right now from Beauty Bay for the bargain price of £6.95 for a whopping 18ml bottle (gotta love Orly for the big bottles)!

Wordless Wednesday - ORLY Nail Polish Competition!

Fabulous looking competition, think I might have to enter this one myself as ORLY make the most A-MAZING nail polish! Go enter guys!

A Few Gel Nail Swatches & A Kooky Nail Wrap From Pro Beauty North 2011!

 The ORLY/OPI combination is what I was wearing before the show, thought you might also like a little look at that too though?! Picture doesn't do it justice!

Whilst at Professional Beauty North on Sunday, I thought it would be rude to not partake in a few trial gel nails, since I've actually never had them done before(!) which frankly seems ridiculous, being that I am a beauty blogger! The gel nail polishes that I had applied were by Artistic Colour Gloss, Nubar Gelicure and Calgel Nail System and so far, I am impressed with them all!

I wanted shimmery, glittery finishes and I wasn't disappointed - the bonus of having gel colour and glitter is that you get a totally smooth finish. The Nubar Gelicure is by far the most blingy of the ones I chose, and consists of 2 coats of a grey polish (I think it's called smokey or something) followed by 2 coats of the silver glitter and I love, love, LOVE it!

The Artistic Colour Gloss is 3 coats of a shade called 'Hotness' from what I can remember and it is beautiful, it looks like it's lit from within with all the sparkles... totally stunning and I think would be perfect for Christmas, don't you agree?! It also doesn't look sheer near the base of my nail like the photograph shows it, think that must've been the flash playing tricks there.

The Calgel system is actually applied from a tub, rather than a bottle and is self levelling, which is great for those of you with ridges or pitting as it REALLY smoothes the nail (so do the others, but I feel this one does it a little more)... I don't know the shade of this one, but it is lovely all the same!

This gel is said to last 4 weeks, which sounds great... but honestly, in 4 weeks time there will be a big gaping hole between the colour and my cuticle that I really wouldn't want, so I think this would be coming off long before then!

I also had a heatless nail wrap applied (above), they're by Kooky and I've been watching them for a while, ever since receiving an email with some of their stunning designs on that really caught my eye (see below)!

I had the Snakeskin Brown & Gold design (second one in) applied on my middle finger, and it looks gorgeous... so I bought a pack whilst there (well, it would have been rude not to) - I forgot to add them to my haul post yesterday as my brain just wasn't functioning as it should, whoops!

I like that they're heatless, it's one less step for me to muck up so on that score they're a big win - I shall let you know how long they last when I do a full review as I'm not sure if the heat would make a difference in how long they last! There's also a MASSIVE range of designs available, I could have honestly bought a lot more than I did, but I was a good girl and stuck to just one!

Do you likey, ladies? x

Feel Unique Monthly Beauty Box - October Contents!

October’s Feel Unique Box has now arrived and as ever, I’d like to show you the contents. The reason for is that I still think that the Feel Unique box isn’t quite as well known or widely blogged about as the likes of Glossybox and Boudoir Privé; and also because it contains some more mainstream brands that may appeal to readers of this blog who haven’t yet heard of it or who would like to see a multiple box content posts to judge whether or not they think it would contain products that would be right for them. So without further ado, here is what I received!

Full Size:

Tigi Catwalk Sleek Mystique Mystique Straight Collection Blow Out Balm, 90ml (£10.35) – This blow out balm promises to give ‘touchable, glossy hair without sacrificing natural fullness’ which sounds great as straight hair can often mean lifeless hair with no body. I’m looking forward to giving this a whirl!

ORLY ‘Mani Minis’ Nail Lacquer, 5.3ml (£5) – I’ve put this into full sized products because whilst this is a mini compared to the full sized 18ml bottles, these actually get sold in Boots at a fiver each, so I feel is still a full sized product that can be bought as such! I love ORLY nail polishes, so I’m really pleased to get this and let’s face it, you can never really go wrong with a classic red polish!

Good Sized Samples:

Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash, 60ml, £5.60 (Full size 197ml, £18.40) – This is a 2-in-1 cleanser and exfoliator and my first impressions are very good, it smells lovely and the exfoliating grains are very fine, yet still did a nice job of exfoliating my hand. I can’t use it on my face as I am currently doing other skincare trials but it does look promising.

Crabtree & Evelyn India Hicks Island Living Spider Lily Hand Therapy, 25ml, £3.50 (Full size 100g, £14.00) – Despite the rather terrifying mention of a spider in the name of the product, I actually really like this hand cream. The tube reminds me of the L’Occitane style tubes and it’s a good sized sample but one that can easily be put into my handbag and carried around with me (very useful). I haven’t used it long term, but after using it a couple of times I do feel that it moisturises very well and it also smells GORGEOUS, I can’t stop smelling my hands after applying it!!

Caudalíe Vinexpert Radiance Day Fluid, 10ml, £10.20 (Full size 30ml, £30.60) –This product is said to offer ‘firming, protective and anti-wrinkle action along with optimum moisture to ensure a glowing complexion all day long’ which sounds very nice indeed, don’t you think? Last month’s box also contained a Caudalíe product, one from their Vinoperfect range, but I’m still looking forward to giving this a try too!

Normal Sample Size:

Burberry Body EDP Fragrance Sample, 2ml, £2.57 (Full size 35ml, £45) – I like the idea of getting perfume samples but I always have at the back of my mind that I could generally get these vial samples for free from department stores etc... and I actually do have a free sample of this fragrance coming from their Facebook promotion. Regardless, it’s a very nice perfume indeed (kind of sweet and musky all at the same time), and because it’s an EDP you don’t need to use as much, meaning the sample should last a little longer.

My box contents are worth approximately £37.22 in total which is quite good for the price I paid. I’m still ‘feeling’ the Feel Unique box so I will continue for yet another month. Do any of this month’s contents grab your attention?

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that you get 10% off all brands featured in the beauty box each month which is a nice bonus. The code for this month is BBOCT10 – I hope they don’t mind me putting this on for you, I can’t see how it would be a problem though, as any sale when using this code is a bonus for them!

The Feel Unique Beauty Box is available here for £9.95 per month.

ORLY 'Holiday Soiree' Collection For Christmas 2011!

I've just caught wind of the ORLY Christmas 2011 collection, 'Holiday Soiree' and I have to say, it's a stunner! At least 4 of the 6 shades are on my *must have* list after seeing the press release picture (shown above), those being: Androgynie, Oui, Le Chateau and Ingénue... although I wouldn't say no to the other 2 either, if I am honest!

Out in November!

What do you think, do you like the look of the collection? Are any shades jumping out at you already? x

ORLY Birds of a Feather Collection for Autumn 2011!

Sweet Peacock     Lucky Duck       Peachy Parrot         Nite Owl             Sea Gurl          Fowl Play

This is a sneak preview of ORLY's upcoming Birds of a Feather collection, due out in September... and what a collection it is. I am completely loving all the colours in it on this picture, jumping straight out at me are Sweet Peacock, Peachy Parrot, Sea Gurl and Fowl Play - I do like the look of the other 2 but I think, from the picture I prefer the other 4.

What do you think, do any colours cat your eye? 

ORLY Pin Up Collection - Coquette Cutie!

When I saw the ORLY ‘Pin Up’ Collection online, I immediately had to have it; especially the pinks as they were really calling out to me. I’ve now received the 3 that I ordered (2 pinks and the purple) so will be swatching them individually and letting you know my thoughts!

No Flash, natural daylight - although a bit dull!

Coquette Cutie is probably my favourite from the collection, it’s a bright, in your face pink – perfect for summer months and looks especially good with a tan (although mine is fading). It’s a glossy crème and my swatches show it with no topcoat as it was perfectly shiny enough – plus I always want to see the wear time without a topcoat to give a true indication of how well it lasts.

No Flash, natural daylight - although a bit dull again

!

This leads me to its staying power... this is almost indestructible, seriously. I applied it on the 9th, I am still wearing it today and there is not a single chip. To be honest, even the tip wear is minute – I can only see the tiniest amount of it if I look closely. I am extremely impressed.

Application was fine; it took a good 2 coats to get a decent finish (not flimsy thin coats), although I did 3 just for the sake of the photographs, as they seem to show transparency etc even if there’s none to look at in reality, so to speak!

Couple of raindrops!

My swatches show the polish in different lights as this really can alter how the polish appears, in terms of hue, however the first photograph and the video swatch (below) are definitely the most accurate in terms of how it appears mostly (maybe just a tiny bit less blue as it was really quite a difficult colour to photograph).

The video shown at the bottom was filmed about 5 minutes ago, so you can see how well the polish has lasted - I added a tip on the middle finger using the purple from the ORLY 'Pin Up' Collection too - just wanted to see what it was like and couldn't wait any longer, ha!

Like is?

ORLY Cosmix FX 'It's Not Rocket Science' Swatches!

I just love the ORLY Cosmic FX range, and ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ is probably one of my favourites from the collection. It’s a gorgeous green/gold/brown duo chrome type polish. It’s glitzy and looks like a heavy glitter but without the rough texture and is also easier to remove than a glitter polish!

 

I find that ORLY polish lasts well when worn (at least on my nails) with usually only minimal tip wear after a good few days of wear. I don’t wear topcoat when I wear the Cosmic FX range as I just love the finish of these polishes without the need for it and because the formula wears so well, I don’t feel like it needs it to stop it chipping on me.

 

I’ve done swatches in different lights and on different backgrounds, hence the difference in each photograph - sorry it's so picture heavy. I also did a couple of videos and uploaded to YouTube so you could see just how beautiful this polish is and how it reflects light with normal movement (and no flash). All swatches show 3 coats of the polish.

Have you tried any of the Cosmic FX range? Do you love it as much as I do?

Swatched: ORLY Halleys Comet (Cosmic FX Collection)

In the next few weeks I’m going to be swatching the ORLY Cosmix FX polishes. I’ve had them for a while now and think the collection is fantastic, I’d go as far as to say that it includes some of my favourite ever polish colours.

I’m starting off with Halleys Comet; a beautiful teal/turquoise polish shot through with gold, green and blue shimmer – kind of duochrome, but not quite as noticeably so as some of the others in the collection. It almost looks like a glitter polish, but without any of the roughness or difficulty removing it which is completely up my street.

Application is lovely, though the brush is thinner than some I’ve used... this doesn’t affect me so badly because my nails are quite thin, but it might be something that some of you may want to consider.Drying time is fairly reasonable, so long as you don’t pile it on in very thick layers... and even if you do muck it up, it’s fairly easy to do a decent patch up job because of the textured finish!

On the swatches above (excuse the cut near the nail), I’m wearing 2 coats of the polish... it could have possibly benefitted from an extra coat but I only really noticed this when I came to crop the photo’s that I took. I also note that my swatches make it seem bluer than it is, not really catching the other colours running through it... in fact I'd say the stock photo (first picture) was actually very accurate.

This is why I decided to take some more photo’s just of the polish on one nail (below), although they’re not a great deal better at catching the colour but I think on some of them you can see a little more of the green in it. I’ve added a few pictures of the bottle at the very bottom, mainly because I quite liked them, but also because I think some of the pictures of the brush show the colour fairly well. What do you think?