BeYu Brilliant Shiraz 209* (Clarins 230 dupe?)

I'm going to let the photos do the talking...*Not the dud version

**Update - swatches can now be seen here

Thanks for looking. x

NOTD - 'Salomé

I picked this random polish up from a make-up stall in Saint Lazare station, Paris. There was a heap of different polishes all for 1 euro each and people were going crazy rummaging through. Had I been by myself I think I would have looked at every single bottle. Anyway one polish jumped out at me and for a euro I thought I'd give it a go.

A very pale lilac with small purple glitter

4 coats plus a coat of Seche Vite. Wearing Barry M, Silver Cascade on my ring finger

I've never heard of 'Salomé' before which I assume is the brand name and I probably will never again but from the ingredients list I know it contains all the naughty chemicals so I'm glad I didn't buy more than one. It's very sheer and even after 4 coats my nail line is still visible. So what do you think, worth my 1 euro?

Barry M - Silver Cascade

My fingers kept wobbling around so the photo is not pin sharp but you get an idea of all the glitter that makes up this polish. Amazing huh?

I have never seen this polish in store so your best bet is to order it from Barry M directly.

Chanel Peridot Dupe

Everyone loves a good dupe, Revlon was spot on with Facets of Fuschia and this little beauty I want to share with you today is no exception . Feast your eyes on this...

...Sephora's - Diving in Malaysia

Looks pretty similar doesn't it? Unfortunately I don't have the Chanel one but next time I'm out shopping I might be cheeky and ask if I can test Peridot on a few fingers and then do a comparison for you guys.

Gold/olive green duochrome, just like Peridot, applies and dries like a dream!For those in the UK, it's definitely cheaper to buy the Chanel polish than to take the Eurostar to France unless of course someone else is paying for your ticket (thanks hunny!). Not sure if this is an European exclusive?!?!

Update: Check out a comparison between Peridot and Diving in Malaysia here

Revlon - Facets of Fuchsia

Unless you have been hiding under a rock you'll no doubt have heard Facets of Fuchsia is the poor (wo)man's Bad Romance (Deborah Lippmann). I'm one of those poor women ;-) so I can't do a side by side comparison for you but from looking at pictures I can't really tell them apart? Who's going to know, I won't tell if you don't!

Here I have applied 2 coats and a coat of Seche Vite. I probably should have painted another coat because the black jelly in which the lovely purple/magenta glitter sits looks a bit patchy.

***Due to a lot of interest in this nail polish I have taken more pictures using my DSLR which represents the polish more realistically!

Another coat of Seche Vite perhaps?

Wearing this take me back to my goth days at college. I'll definitely be wearing this over the autumn and winter months!! Love it!

Thumb with no top coat, a little patchy and bumpy
At the moment Boots have £2 off Revlon polishes so if you fancy grabbing this beauty it'll set you back £4.29.

Meet Me At the Star Ferry

From the 2010 OPI Hong Kong collection I present to you...

...Meet Me At the Star Ferry

Violet/mauve with tiny flecks of gold shimmer.

Click the picture above to see the shimmer!

Great coverage in two coats, quick drying and minimal stroke marks which can sometimes be a problem with this type of finish. Love it.

TK Maxx

I just wanted to let you guys know that recently I've seen OPI and Butter London polishes popping up in TK Maxx stores. We're not talking about HTF polishes here so there's no need to go mad, but the ones I have seen belong to the 2007 Russian Collection...

NOTD Barry M Berry Ice Cream

Today I'm wearing the other Barry M nail polish I bought. I don't think it really suits me.

The pictures I upload onto blogger seem to get a bit desaturated :-( This looks ok in the picture but in real life the polish clashes with my skin tone!

Poundland Gems - Swatches

Check out these babies I bought in Poundland!

Rimmel 60 Seconds - 850 Hard Edged. A stunning vampy duochrome wannabe.
And Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro - 420 Midnight Blue, a deep blue shimmer in bright light but appears almost black in low lighting.




Totally worth my £2! I wondering whether I should get back ups?

July Buys

I think I deserve a pat on the back for July, I only bought 3, yes THREE nail polishes!!! You're probably thinking, 'hang on what about the OPI polishes?'. Well the OPI haul which you saw in an earlier post was a little reward/gift from my BF for helping him out with his OSCE exams so they don't count! ;-) But just for completeness I'm going to include them in the list.

So in July I acquired:

An OPI Designer Series mini set which included:
Coronation
Extravagance
Classic
Reflection

Full size OPI Skull & Glossbones, Mermaid Tears and Meet me on the Star Ferry.

H&M Blue Wave and L.A. Colors Apricot (which is so hideous I might throw away) and Jewel Tone.

August is going to be a tough month, I've already surpassed 3 polishes and I'm yet to treat myself for passing all my exams!! :-)

NOTD Barry M Blue Moon

I recently snapped up a couple of Barry M nail polishes from Superdrug, the first of which I want to share with you now. This is the gorgeous Blue Moon, a baby blue, pale blue, powdery blue (however you want to describe it) with hints of iridescent shimmer. The shimmer doesn't really translate on the nail but it does stop the polish from looking flat.

Can you see the darker hints of blue?

The only downside I guess with this polish is that it required about 4 coats and is quite streaky. I find with Barry M polishes if the coats are too thick, they take forever to dry even if you apply a top coat like Seche Vite, so it's better to build up the colour with thin coats and try to ignore the streaks at the start.