Barry M 'Pink Sapphire Glitter'

Today I want o show you one of Barry M's new glitter polishes. I was at the Barry M stand in Topshop Oxford Circus and my eyes went directly to this polish. It has a clear base with silver and pink hegaxonal glitter with silver bar glitters. It's really quite striking and fun looking in the bottle and that translates well to the nail.

1 coat of 'Pink Sapphire Glitter' over 2 coats of Barry M 'Raspberry'

When I tried this nail polish out I wore it with Barry M "Raspberry' underneath so I still used a pink colour but it was a bit darker and more sophisticated and the glitter didn't look childish or anything. Application was really nice, there's a lot of glitter in the polish so it isn't hard to get a nice amount on the nail and it isn't hard to get it to stay where you place it because the polish isn't too thick and doesn't drag.

1 coat of 'Pink Sapphire Glitter' over 2 coats of Barry M 'Raspberry'

I really liked the way it looked over a deeper pink colour and I think it would look nice over burgundy and deep red colours also. I personally wouldn't wear it over a light or bright pink colour because that would look a bit too girly and sweet for my personal style but if that's the kind of look you like then i'm sure it would look really pretty.

1 coat of 'Pink Sapphire Glitter' over 2 coats of Barry M 'Raspberry'

I'm very impressed with Barry M at the moment, especially with some of their newer polishes. What do you think of Barry M polishes?

Mac Marilyn Monroe Collection

I know that this is a blog devoted to nail polish but when I first started I promised myself that I would post on makeup if I had something really cool to talk about, and now I do. On Thursday just gone the Mac Marilyn Monroe Collection hit stores and I was all over that because I am a huge fan of Marilyn's, I think she was an exceptionally beautiful and talented lady. To make sure I got everything I wanted I ordered online on Tuesday as the collection was released online earlier than in stores. My order arrived in 2 days and I had it on the same day I would have had it by visiting a mac counter, I was a very pleased lady. Anyway, I thought I would just give you a quick run down of the items that I purchased.

How lovely is the packaging?

The images that are on the outer packaging are also printed on the product packaging

Forever Marilyn beauty powder - £23.50

I won't lie, half of the reason I purchased this is to keep it in my bag for touch ups and the packaging is so pretty. I also thought that it would work as a nice highlight on me as I am fair and it's not too shimmery which is great because I do have combination/oily skin.

Phiff dazzleglass - £18.00

I knew I wanted to get one of the two dazzleglasses released in the collection and I thought that Phiff would be a better choice for me as I have naturally quite pigmented lips and really light colours tend to make me look a little odd and dead, Phiff is a sheer peachy colour packed with a tonne of shimmer, it is quite sticky but nothing you can't handle.

Nail polish in 'Flaming Rose' - £11

Nail polish in 'Flaming Rose' - £11

I knew that I wanted to get a bright red creme finish nail polish from the collection and Flaming Rose was it. I haven't used it yet but i'll be sure to do a post on it when I do. I haven't always heard fantastic things about MAC nail polishes but even if doesn't work that well it's still something that i'd like to have because of how lovely the bottle is.

Nail Polish in 'Vintage Vamp' - £11

Nail Polish in 'Vintage Vamp' - £11

I actually purchased this polish for my mum as she likes Marilyn just as much as I do and was looking for a deep burgundy creme polish for autumn that wasn't too dark. I know that she has used it and she said she really liked it and that the formula was pretty good which makes me hopeful for 'Flaming Rose'.

Lipstick packaging printed with Marilyn's image

Lipstick in 'Love Goddess' - £15.50

Lipstick in 'Deeply Adored' - £15.50

Last but not least are the two lipsticks that I purchased, I chose 'Love Goddess' because it was much pinker than any of the other lipsticks in the collection and I've been searching for the perfect vibrant pink colour. Then I chose 'Deeply Adored' because I have lots of true red lipsticks and wanted to go for something a little bit darker and vampier.

So there you have it, what did you guys think of the Mac Marilyn Monroe collection?

Butter London 'Shag'

Today I want to talk to you about another Butter London polish...but the obsession will end soon...I promise. 'Shag' is a gorgeous colour, it's a deep coppery orangey metallic colour. As soon as I saw the promo photos for the autumn/winter collection from Butter London I knew I wanted this one, it's the kind of colour that really appeals to me, it's very warm and inviting.

2 coats of Butter London 'Shag' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

The formula was really nice on this one, it was fully opaque in 2 coats and didn't have any of the streakiness that often comes with frosty or metallic polishes. It also dried really, unusually shiny, I used a top coat to make sure that it lasted but I really didn't need to.

2 coats of Butter London 'Shag' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

One of the best things about this polish is that I don't have a dupe for it, I looked through my collection and the closest I have is OPI's 'Brisbane Bronze' and it's really not very close at all. It lacks some of the depth and shimmer thats in 'Shag'. It's just perfect for Autumn, especially if you don't like wearing darker colours on your nails.

2 coats of Butter London 'Shag' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

All in all this is my favourite colour from Butter's a/w 12 collection, closely followed by 'Gobsmacked'. What do you think of Butter London's newest offerings?

Rimmel Metal Rush

Rimmel just released a new collection of nail polishes for autumn, they're called 'Metal Rush' and they all have a duochrome effect. As well as being an ordinary polish, they are supposed to 'flip' a colour if you layer them. There are four shades available : Royal Blue, Pearly Queen, Purple Reign and Gold save the Queen. I tried out all four and for the most part I really liked them.

(Left to right) Royal Blue, Pearly Queen, Purple Reign, Gold save the Queen

All of the polishes were opaque in 2 coats apart from 'Pearly Queen' which was sheerer than the others and took 3 coats to get an opaque finish. In regards to the duochrome effect, its quite pronounced in all of the polishes, probably least so in 'Purple Reign' but even then theres a fair amount of colour shift in it. I liked all of the polishes on the nail but to be honest i'm not sure I could see myself wearing 'Pearly Queen' that much just because it is sheer, takes careful application and just isn't the kind of colour that really appeals to me, particularly in the cooler months where I prefer deeper and richer tones.

2 coats of 'Royal Blue' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Royal Blue was an interesting one for me, I really love the colour and the way it looks on my nails but i'm not sure i'll get much wear out of it in autumn or winter, for me this is a great summery duochrome; but perhaps that's because I personally favour lighter blues for the warmer months. The colour shift on this one was really great and true to how it looked in the bottle, goes from a blue to purple with a hint of yellow and green in there, a very pretty shade!

1 coat of 'Royal blue' over 2 coats of Nails Inc 'Black Taxi'

When put over black this colour is super beautiful, this I really can imagine myself wearing during autumn and winter. It kind of reminds me of when petrol and water mix and you get that great spectrum of colour. When this polish is layered over black I think it becomes way more complex and you can see lots colours in it. I really wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do.

3 coats of 'Pearly Queen' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Let me start by being very honest, this was my least favourite of all four of the shades, not because it was horrible or impossible to work with or did anything bad to my nails, but because it's just not my thing, I can see a lot of people loving it though. This was the lightest shade and the sheerest, it still only took 3 coats though which isn't too bad really. Again, the duochrome was quite pronounced in this one, and actually much prettier than it looked in the bottle. It went from a purpley pink colour to a light green, looked more opalescent than pearlescent to me.

1 coat of 'Pearly Queen' over Nails Inc 'Black Taxi'

I like this much better over black, its less frosty looking then it is on its own. It went a dirty, sort of purpley green colour. The duochrome wasn't so pronounced so it kind of just looked like a metallic polish with a little bit of colour shift. I like it, but again, I prefer some of the other colours in the collection.

2 coats of 'Purple Reign' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

I like this polish a lot, it's the kind of colour that I really love for this time of year; it's deep, rich and warm which is pretty much my idea of a perfect autumn polish. The duochrome in this one is way more subtle than it is in all of the other shades but I don't mind that because there isn't too much of a colour shift in the bottle either. The shift that it does have goes from purple to red with a bit of gold that can only be seen very occasionally. Overall one of my favourites.

1 coat of 'Purple Reign' over 2 coats of Nails Inc 'Black Taxi'

As far as this colour as a layering polish goes, I don't really think that it 'flips' the colour underneath very much. There is the least difference between when its on its own and when it's layered over black -it just seems to get a deeper shade of purple, and i've got a similar effect just by using a normal nail polish over black. It still looks pretty though so I suppose I can't complain, it just doesn't live up to the 'flip your colour' claim made on the bottle. Overall I prefer this one on its own because layered over black it seems to lose the subtle duochrome that it has when worn alone.

2 coats of 'Gold Save the Queen' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Last but by no means least is 'Gold save the Queen'. I really really like this one, it may be my favourite from the collection. The duochrome is really pretty and goes from the slightly dirty looking gold colour to a pink and green. I think this is quite a unique colour, for my collection anyway, and I think i'll get a lot of use out of it, especially near Christmas time. To me, its a more interesting take on gold nail polish.

1 coat of 'Gold save the Queen' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Just like 'Purple Reign' this one seems to not transform the black base as much as the first two colours. Perhaps the more subtle duochromes are less suited to being layering polishes. I do really like the colour it made though, it's like a dirty brass colour which I think is pretty cool. I can't really see any duochrome in this one, again it just looks like a metallic shade (a pretty awesome one) but I probably will wear it layered just because I love the shade it creates and the formula is pretty nice on these.

All in all, I think that this collection is a winner, especially great for a cheaper brand 

(these polishes were £3.99 each and I purchased mine from Superdrug but you can get them wherever Rimmel is sold). I've been pleasantly surprised with all the less expensive nail polishes that i've been trying lately, what are some of your favourite cheaper nail polishes?

Essie 'Shine of the Times'

I'm pretty late jumping on this bandwagon. Essie 'Shine of the times' (love the name by the way) came out with their holiday luxeffects collection last year. It's made up of small glitter flakes that are multichromatic....and it's so pretty! I really think that this polish is something quite special.

1 coat of 'Shine of the Times' over 2 coats of Barry M 'Black'

The colour shift in this is really quite incredible, when I first got it I just stared at the bottle for a while because I was so mesmerised by all of the colours in it. On the nail (or at least in the photos that I took) the main colour shift I saw was from reds and oranges to greens and yellows but that's just because I applied it on top of black. When I tried it by itself on top of a bare nail you could see way more colours though.

1 coat of 'Shine of the Times' over 2 coats of Barry M 'Black'

In the photos shown I have one coat of 'Shine of the Times' over 2 coats of Barry M 'Black' and I have to say I really do like the result. The red and orange in 'Shine of the Times' really does make the black look more burgundy, and I don't know if it's just because i'm feeling all autumnal but the green to red colour shift is making me think of the leaves changing colour and falling from the trees.

1 coat of 'Shine of the Times' over 2 coats of Barry M 'Black'

All in all I really love this polish and the versatility that it offers. When worn on it's own, the flakes are fairly dense so it offers quite nice nail coverage, I have worn it without any base colour with 2 coats and I thought it looked pretty. I really want to try layering this over a blue or a pink to try and make those aspects of the multichrome more prominent because they're there, they're just very subtle.

Close up of 'Shine of the Times' on the nail

'Shine of the Times' in the bottle

I really love this polish, I think it's the perfect way to make your nails that little bit more interesting!

Butter London 'The Old Bill'

Butter London 'The Old Bill' is a light metallic copper colour with warm undertones. I think it's perfect for Autumn, I originally got this in the summer in the olympic set that Butter London released but have only just used it because it didn't seem like a summery colour to me but it's exactly the type of colour that I like to wear at this time of the year.

3 thin coats of 'The Old Bill'

Butter London describes this colour as "Burnished copper with a beautiful antique patina". I agree with this to an extent, I don't think it's entirely accurate, but this polish changes so much depending on the light its under that it's hard to define it. Under some lights this polish can look even look gold. In the photos I took  (natural light on a not too sunny day) the polish looks kind of like rose gold which is interesting and very pretty.

3 thin coats of 'The Old Bill'

Application was fairly good, it took 3 thin coats to reach full opacity. Because this shade is quite metallic and frosty there were some visible brush strokes but nothing that couldn't be sorted out by being careful. It dried quite quickly to a nice sheen but I applied a coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine topcoat in the photos shown.

3 thin coats of 'The Old Bill'

Overall I do like this colour. It's metallic which makes it interesting but its light enough to be considered neutral which means you don't have to worry about it clashing with your outfit. It really does look quite classy and polished on the nails, i'm definitely glad I tried it and will be using it again before long i'm sure.

A close up of 'The Old Bill'

What are some of your favourite nail polish colours for this time of year?

Revlon 'Blue Slate'

I've been hearing lots of good things about Revlon's new colourstay nail polishes and when I saw that they were buy one get one 50% off in Boots, I decided that it was time for me to pick a few up. There were lots of colours that caught my eye but I had dupes for a lot of them. 'Blue Slate' was one that I couldn't think of any similar polishes to, so I picked it up.

'Blue Slate' appears darker on the nail than in the bottle

'Blue Slate' is a moody, grey toned blue polish in a creme finish. I think this is great for autumn because it is that bit darker and more grey toned, I also think that this is one of those colours that suits a whole host of skin tones. The best thing about this polish is hands down the formula, can you say one coat wonder??? After one coat this polish dried to a completely opaque and glossy finish, and that one coat was really easy to apply, this seems to be the dream formula. 

1 coat of Revlon 'Blue Slate' topped with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

I think i'll get a lot of wear out of it just because it's so quick to apply and it also appears to dry quite quickly. It does appear a little darker on the nail than it does in the bottle but I don't mind that as I favour darker colours for autumn and winter anyway. I kept this on my nails for 3 days and only really saw some minor tip wear and no chipping which was pretty good.

In natural light

I think this is a great way to do a deeper blue for the autumn and winter without wearing navy, although I really do like navy, its fun to switch it up and give yourself more options, especially when blue nail polish is a true love of yours. Overall I was incredibly impressed by Revlon with this one, i'll definitely be purchasing some more from this line, I way prefer it to all the other types of Revlon polish.