OPI - Alcatraz... Rocks swatches and review!

I'm finally back from holiday to America (which was so good that I didn't want to come home!) and decided to do some posts of the polishes that I got whilst I was there. OPI is ridiculously cheap in America compared to the UK so I made sure to stock up! I'd been wanting Alcatraz...Rocks! since I saw the first images come out and leapt on the chance to buy it at basically half the price!!

Alcatraz...Rocks is another liquid sand formula from OPI and true to form, it totally rocks (see what I did there? Oh, the wit! *ducks rotten vegetables*). It's a gorgeous deep purple glitter (though I've seen it described by many as a cobalt blue which personally I can't really see!) with flecks of multicoloured glitter throughout - gold, pink, green - you name it! It's seriously, seriously awesome!

The finish is the usual "sandy" feel and I only needed two coats for full opacity. In the shade this colour is beautiful but when the sunlight hits this baby, wow does it shine! I have to say, it's probably one of my favourite ever nail varnishes! I can also say with some confidence that even if you don't like the liquid sand finish, you should get this polish as with a top-coat this would be a stunner!

With flash - just look at that glitter!!

In the shade

Macro-shot of the glitter-bomb beauty!

Kawaii Nail Lacquer - custom order review and swatches!

Today I've got two of the four custom order polishes I asked Jamie from Kawaii Nail Lacquer to create for me and boy are they perfect! She got them exactly how I wanted and I'm so happy with the way they look!

You can check her out here and place custom orders for practically any design you could think of! (within reason, ladies) : http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KawaiiNailLacquer?ref=pr_shop_more. I've ordered three or so custom orders for several polishes and they've been super amazing every time!

Here's the first of the two I'm showing today - Confetti Party! It's millions of little glitter bars in a clear base with microfine holo glitter chucked in for good measure! I've teamed it over one coat of Sinful Color's Why Not (as seen in yesterday's post!) and I love this combo! I think I'll pair it over black or white next to really bring out the colours though it can work with literally anything!

The other polish I have to show is called Lois Lane (I'm so original with names ;)) and is to DIE for! It's a clear base again and is jam packed with blue, red and purple glitter. Sounds simple but it works hella well! I absolutely love this over black with a matte top coat on - wow! Probably my favourite colour/glitter combo ever! Mattified glitter is always good in my opinion though so I may be a little bias!!

Sinful Colors - Why Not review and swatches!

Today's post features one of my new all-time favourite nail polishes. Sinful Colors has impressed me with their colour range and polish quality in the past but this has taken the biscuit! This polish is a ONE COATER! Apart from one Essie polish, this is the second I've come across that has managed to achieve full opacity in one coat! It left no bald patches and the smile line was covered too! And here's the real kicker: you can pick it up for £1.99 at Boots! Truly, truly impressive work from Sinful Colors!

The only downside that I found was that it stained quite badly upon removal and unless you have something like ORLY's Cutique cuticle and stain remover (which worked incredibly well, by the way!) then you will be left with some ghastly blue stained nails which can be a problem if you're not planning on painting them again soon!

On to the swatches!

L'Oreal Paris Confetti nail polish - review and swatches

I've seen a few bloggers pick up this polish and have loved the look of it so I decided it was time that I did too! I actually managed to get this free on a 3 for 2 offer at Boots which was an added bonus!

Firstly, I will say that I love how jam-packed this is with glitter. It has black and white hex glitter with some larger pieces thrown in but also has a really really fine subtle black shimmer glitter too which just makes it a little different from most black and white glitters!

However, this polish was an absolute nightmare formula wise for me. It was thick as anything and the base is so swallowed up by the glitter that it was dragging horribly. Luckily a coat of Seche Vite sorted that out but it was still rather disappointing to see. Also, the brush had several bent bristles which was a pain in the bum! Not a fault maybe, just bad luck!

I layered one coat of this over two coats of OPI's You're Such a Budapest.

Kawaii Nail Lacquer - Tequila Rose review and swatches!

I couldn't resist doing another swatch fest of one of Jamie from Kawaii Nail Lacquer's wonderful creations! This baby is one of my favourites of hers and I recommend checking it out!

Tequila Rose is a lovely tulip pink base with pink, red and some purple glitter of varying sizes. The application was fantastic as usual and I didn't need to do any glitter placing! Here I have it layered over one coat of NYC's Spring Tulip with one coat of Seche Vite on top!

L'Oreal Paris Super Liner Blackbuster - review

I saw an advert for this new liquid eyeliner in a magazine and was tempted by it straight away. It's a chunky felt-tip style nib which is something I've not used before as I prefer to stick to a thinner nib. I was running dry on my usual so decided to pop to Boots and pick this up for £6.99.

Now, when I got home I decided to look up some reviews for it and instantly wished I hadn't. The reviews weren't great - people were saying that the formula wasn't very bold. Not one to usually listen to reviews though, I carried on and tried it out this morning. I probably should have listened to the reviews!

Now, before I have a moan, lets start with the PROs: 

• The formula was good - it flowed on really well and was quick to apply!
• The chunky nib meant that I could get a decent sized line without having to go over and over again. 
• The actual packaging was easy to hold and allowed for a firm grip when applying it!
• The end result was good - it wasn't too "heavy" looking nor too subtle which is great!
• Despite the nib being so chunky, it comes to a very "sharp" point which is good for precision.
• Once I'd gone over it twice, it gave a nice colour.

On to the CONs: 

• The formula really isn't very bold, it came out quite transparent for something being advertised as being a "super liner". I actually had to go over the line again once it had dried to get a decent coverage.
• The fact that it was so chunky meant that making a fine cat-eye flick was kind of difficult. I had to remove some excess once I had finished

Here's the before and after shots:

Before

After

A close up!

Overall view: I like this eyeliner, but I'm not sure I would spend £6.99 on it again as I have to go over it twice to get a good colour. The formula is nice to apply though so if having a super dark black isn't a problem for you then this may be a good option. 

Would I recommend it to a friend? Probably not - you can get a lot better for cheaper!

Kawaii Nail Lacquer Breaking Bad collection - review and swatches!

Hey guys! Today I've got an exciting post to share with you - swatches of the fantastic Kawaii Breaking Bad collection! I've never actually watched the show but I've heard that it's really good - and these themed polishes do not disappoint.

If you want to purchase these babies, head to Jamie's store here: http://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/111033473/4-breaking-bad-themed-polishes?ref=shop_home_active

Now, on with the swatches!

First up is Blue Sky, a beautiful sky blue (funny that!) crelly with blue glitter dispersed throughout. The formula was the best of the bunch and it applied like an absolute dream! This is by far my favourite of the four and is just perfect! The swatches are one coat of Blue Sky over one coat of Sinful Color's Sugar Rush. 

Next is my second favourite (though it is close to being equal first), Yeah BITCH. The name is brilliant, and I'm sure there is some sort of Breaking Bad reference but being the BB noob I am, I don't get it! The polish however is jam-packed with shreds of multi-coloured glitter, the noticeable colours being purple, blue, yellow, green, red and holographic silver hexagons. This is literally a party in a bottle! The swatches here are one coat of Yeah BITCH over Sinful Color's Unicorn.

The next polish is Br Ba which is a gorgeous muted lime green base with big white hex glitters swimming throughout. This formula proved to be the most difficult to work with as it was very thick and I had to do a bit of placement with the glitters but boy is it worth it! I am in love with how this looks! The swatches are one coat of Br Ba over one coat of MaxFactor's Cactus Green.

Finally we have I Am The Danger (aren't all these names awesome?!). This is a very sheer red base with red, black and white hex glitter with some black bars floating around. This polish gave the best coverage and also looks fantastic on. Jamie did a great job with all of these polishes (as she always does!) and I really like them! These swatches are one coat of I Am The Danger over two coats of OPI's I Theodora You.

 That's all for this collection! Another great selection from Jamie, go check her out!

Kawaii - Water Element review

Today I've done a review of Kawaii's "Water Element". It's described as a "colour shifting top coat" and wow, it certainly is! Unfortunately however, the pictures don't really do the colour justice. It's a clear base with a blue/purple/red/pink shimmer depending on the light. Just one coat of it over a plain black colour is incredible as it's so densely pigmented. Absolutely adore this nail polish!

You can get Jamie's fabulous polishes here: http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KawaiiNailLacquer?ref=seller_info (go buy, seriously this girl knows how to make polish!!)

With flash, dark background

With flash, light background

In shade

Close up!

Barry M Nail Art Pens review!

I got the brand new Barry M Nail Art Pens in the post yesterday and had to try them out as soon as possible so I thought I'd try something a little hectic. I wanted to try all four colours out at once so just started... doodling!

The style of "pen" is different to most - the "nib" is a hard point and requires pumping up and down to get the colour flowing. It then flows perfectly onto the nail and is very accurate - I had no problems with formula at all! It seems more "runny" than normal nail polish and that's what allows it to flow so well. The colours are brilliant - three out of the four were brilliant, but the silver just seemed so pale for a real silver polish. Even with two "coats" of each stripe it was very sheer and I felt slightly disappointed. However, the other colours (pink, black and white) were fantastic - bold and easy to use!

Here is the finished look:

I really hope they bring out more colours, these are so good! I liked the outcome, but best not to mention my right hand.. Oh how I wish I was ambidextrous!